Hi Hi Hi :)

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are dealing with a major home issue right now.
Finally convinced Steven to call the professionals to fix this problem properly since he can't.
Steven's foot went right through the top of our septic tank the other night.
I want the WHOLE top fixed properly & the pros are coming out today!
;D

Happy Saturday!

Going to see brother and hopefully have enough strength to get mom out too. It's nice when I can get both of them out on the same day. Gives me a day alone.

This weekend I want to deal with boxes. I've gotten quite a few packages lately and I'll need two boxes for Christmas gifts. The others need to go to recycle bin. I need to make my decisions and act.

I'd also like to clean off the top of my bookshelves, wrap the gifts I've already bought and put them there. I need to get things out of my way.

So....what are you doing today?

Ok there are a lot of posts here--and I hope I don't leave anyone out or become confused....but let's face it, earlier this week I posted under Tillie's name...

Joan! I am sorry about the scare and very pleased that you were able to order a new humidifier. Dryness is so hard on the body.

Tess, I hate that. I so hate that. I hate the self-doubt and being a good sport and being dumped and all of it. I remember those feelings and situations. Wondering what I did wrong and having to be a good sport and all that jazz. You are wonderful and valuable. And please remember, my dear friend, that Time is the answer. Just please find a way to stop looking at yourself in a bad light. You and he weren't a good fit because YOU ARE WONDERFUL and HE'S A JERK and those types of differences can't be reconciled.

SubC wishing you a good sale! Looking forward to hearing about it!

Now, who has the bunnies. I think it's CM. I hope the bunny is doing ok. I know you are being a great bunny nurse!

Tillie I am smiling from ear to ear to think that you had a nice long visit with your neighbor! Boy that was so sad when they moved.

Ok someone got a flu shot--Anony??!!?? I got mine two weeks ago at work so I too hope to be as healthy as possible this season.

Very busy at work. There are mountains of work. Trying not to be stressed. It's the quantity that is difficult.

I need to do cleaning this weekend. No excuses. Who can help keep me honest or hold me accountable??!!

Love you all. Tess you are valuable.

Tess, I second what Tillie said to you. You are not repulsive. Low or even moderately wavering self-esteem, in today's environment, attracts predators who make the victim feel even worse about themselves. Personally I have a couple of friends, and otherwise try to keep humans at bay.

Tillie, great that you had a nice visit with your ex-neighbor!

I had a bad experience a couple of nights ago. Some of my health problems are made worse by dryness, so I turned on my humidifier, but had not cleaned it. During a difficult night I remembered that mold is much worse for my health problems than is dryness. So the next day I ordered new humidifier filters and Bacteriostat, and am awaiting delivery. Happily the outside temperature is still good. Trying to get by until the new supplies arrive without turning on the humidifier.

Keep up the good work, everyone.

Hi Tess :)
WAY TO GO!!!
For tackling those big chores you've been dreading
and those few daily minutes really do add up and help overall. :D
You are NOT repulsive!
You are a valuable human being deserving of respect and love. (((((HUGS)))))

My neighbor friend who moved away last year surprised me today with a visit!
It was so wonderful seeing her again.
We sat and talked for hours.
All my plans for doing stuff today were happily tossed out the window.
PLUS, my house was truly "good enough" to let her in even though it's dusty and really needs some attention, it was generally tidy, sorta. :D

Hi everybody! I haven't posted in a couple weeks. I just wanted to stop and say hello! I've been in the dumps and haven't had much to say. I got dumped a couple weeks ago. Instead of leaving after like a decent human, he really does want to be friends. He hung out as if nothing had just happened. He even made plans for several days next month including a weekend out of town. He also had the nerve to ask me if he could ask my friend out. I should have walked away, but I'm too much of a pushover. So, I've been spending my days trying to figure out why I'm so repulsive and why I have no spine. Despite that, I have been keeping up cleaning for a few minutes daily. I've actually tackled a couple big chores I've been dreading. That felt good.

Hello Everyone :)

Hi Subclinical :)
I know just how inconvenient this must be for you.
We use the credit card to pay for everything and then pay it off monthly when the bill arrives so we don't need to carry any more cash than to pay for things 5 dollars or less.
Hope you can still get everything you need, even though you have to use cash.
(((hugs)))
Saw you posted while I composed this post...
Good luck with getting all ready for your sale!
WTG! for stickers & business cards! ;D

Hi Tatoulia :)
Thank you, I do feel very content having the pantry fully stocked, Lots of cat food & treats and lots of T.P. :D
Hope your work day went smoothly.

Hi CriticalMass :)
YEA!!! for that quilt top! :D
WAY TO GO! for the flu shot, hope you have a healthy virus free Winter.
Poor puppy (((HUGS))) good he's feeling better now.
Keep up the great care for the bunny. The bunny appreciates everything you do for her.
Ohhhh... no furnace yet???
Don't worry, once it gets cold enough that cat will snuggle and help keep you warm. ;D

Did one load of laundry and cleaned the kitchen today.
Then did assorted random other stuff here & there.
But kind of spaced out a lot too.
Hate when there are a lot of different choices of things to eat.
I have a very hard time making up my mind what to eat.
Think I will make up a daily weekly menu and follow that instead of trying to decide every day what to eat. ?

I'm reading and thinking about everyone and the critters, but really busy. House is staying ok. Not great, but ok.

Pottery Sale this weekend and no school next week.

I bought a package of stickers for price tags and made 3 sheets of business cards.

Grape juice clinks! I had some grape juice in the fridge I need to finish up so I had a coffee cupful.

Tatoulia, I'm glad you're not a soul eater, zombie, vampire, or anything of that sort. LOL!

Clutter ate my soul there for awhile, then I met you guys! ;) Today is my clutter cleaners meeting day but I have just this little bit of time to post. It's been crazy as usual and days are a blur, but here's what I do remember accomplishing:

I finished my quilt top! Got the borders sewn on plus a "false" border that is just for something to tack the quilt into the frame, then it gets ripped off after quilting and the border sewn on. I'll be making the border strips soon.

I also had to make templates for marking the quilting designs. Used a little burning tool thing, but it leaves ragged edges. Wish I had room and could afford a Cricut or something. But don't know if I'd use it a whole lot. Places like Kinko's/Fedex ought to offer that as a service if you only need a couple of stencils cut.

Today I finished up the bunny club's quarterly newsletter, which had been dragging out - not all my procrastination, some of the holdup was computer glitches on both ends - I was awaiting photos of bunnies and then my computer was being sluggish.

Got my flu shot Monday.

Dog was sick starting Monday a.m. going from both ends. It was gross. He's recovering now.

Elderly bunny girl is hanging in there pretty well. Thinking of more things I can do to help her be comfortable and move with ease.

Still no furnace repairs. Cat would sleep with me but then the weather warmed back up a bit and he has no need for me. I must not take this personally! It's supposed to climb up to 78 here Friday and I need to do outdoor stuff if it does.

Hope we get some warm days here and there - since I moved my storage unit, I haven't done the organizing it needs to be really useful. I need to get started on that again.

Tally ho!

Coffe clinks!

Good work getting your supplies, Tillie! I hope it brings you some peace of mind!

SubC oh boy--what a shame about the cc and the possibility it is one of your students. Honestly I'm surprised that it's 10 business days--I thought the cc companies were much more on top of things than that. What a shame.

Suddenly I just got very busy at work. Will write more later.

It makes me very glad we don't rely on credit. It's going to be very inconvenient because ten buisiness days is the rest of November. We normally do Christmas shopping thanksgiving week while dh is off, I have a lot of groceries to buy for thanksgiving, and I don't like to carry a lot of cash.

Also, I normally put everything I can on the cc because the 1% back is like a 1/2% raise.

We don't know who did it. There is a small part of me that thinks it might have been one of my students. (The when, what, and where of the charges are circumstantial and she had opportunity.) I hope not, but otoh, I have been very worried about her for a while now and it is better than some of the other things I have been afraid she was going to do for money.

OH!
How horrible Subclinical...
Do you have any idea when/where/who did this?
You must feel so violated (((HUGS))).
At least you can still access cash to get through the next week.

Tillie, I should have stocked up with you.

Someone stole our cc info. So the card is cancelled and we don't get a new one for ten business days. Now dh has to go to the bank and get me money so I can buy food and gas.

Hello :)

Went grocery shopping and am all stocked up now.
So in case the registration tags don't come before the end of this month I will be ok without a car.
Also got the cats two, new to them, cardboard boxes!
Got some "cranberry" bagels. I hope they are good.
Will find out eventually. :D

Tatoulia THANK YOU!
I was wondering about that....
And I figured that souls do weigh a lot but actually contain no calories.
ROTFLMAO :D
WTG! for having the scan done. (((HUGS)))

Hi Subclinical :)
I am not surprised.
One time I had around 2 dozen dairy cows standing in my front yard.
Mooing at me looking out at them.
I have had to wrangle sheep, horses, pigs, chickens and peacocks that managed to escape from neighbors pens & corrals.
Once I was chasing down a baby cow to get him off the road and he finally laid down and rolled back under the fence. ?
Happy your staging area is under control and you have a solid plan for the stuff.
Once I made Steven a staging area, he buried it under a large amount of stuff and it became just another part of the landscape.

Hi Anonymoniker :)
Feel better real soon (((HUGS)))
When dealing with dusty stuff...
Mist it down with some water to help keep the dust from rising into the air.
Any old spray bottle should work.
If there is any rodent droppings in the area where the dusty stuff has been stored
make a mixture of 50/50 water & bleach and spray that to help keep the dust down and also diseases like hantavirus.

Have my grocery list made out but keep checking to make sure I don't forget anything.
Have 2 large empty water bottles in the car to fill tomorrow at the water depot & still have 5 already filled & stored in the pump house.
So, sometime tomorrow I will go into town and stock up.
Last Tuesday I applied for my new drivers license and it arrived today in the mail.
YEA!
Suppose it would take longer if it were one of those I.D.s that allow you to fly or enter federal court buildings.
I don't have anywhere to fly to and now I won't ever get called on again to do federal jury duty.
When I got a summons for federal jury duty that meant that I had to drive 150 miles round trip to Reno every day.
Fortunately the people understood why I did not want to do that and they let me go.

Soul eater. Good God. SOUP eater. Honestly.

Back from the ultrasound--will have results tomorrow. Not worried.

Cold, raw, rainy, so I'm having some delicious carrot ginger soup. So yummy. From a box!!! I've turned into a soul eater because it really holds me and the calories are negligible--this is 120 per 8 oz serving and I measured it out to make sure correct serving size. Some of my other favorites are as low as 90 a serving!

Did my laundry --sheets, darks, pjs. Will do kitty blankets on Wednesday when I'm home.

Need to go do some work then take garbage out.

Anony--get well soon! Rest and drink water! You poor thing! I'm so pleased with the progress you are making and I'm proud of your efforts with your colleague. Ugh the drama with the ex. That certainly makes it impossible to enjoy his company! Keep up the good work--AFTER you have taken care of yourself.

SubC, my only staging area right now is Christmas gifts. I don't buy a lot but they sure take up room! I have them all in a box right now so at least they aren't aggravating me.

Tillie--I'm doing my laundry too. And of course we don't want to disturb the cats. They need their sleep!!

~♡~Good Morning!~♡~
I have a horrible flu bug, which is rare for me. Yesterday i got about half of my staging area table cleared, but the dust from it was too much, since i already was sick, so i just made the decisions as to where to put the stuff, once i feel better! That is the biggest part of it for me! :D
SubC, i think i may just replace my filthy, old plastic drawers & put the old ones in my storage trailer. That could help a lot getting my living space cleaned up. There is a lot that i do need to keep, but doesnt need to be in my immediate living space. These old plastic drawers have old cat spray soaked on the outside, etc., which doesnt clean very well.
My ex lasted 11 days this time before having a hissy fit & bailing on me. I have far less patients for bs now that im in the throes of ~The Hormone Crash of 2017~ ha ha
The intro workshop for learning to build earthbag buildings is later this week. I hope im feeling better by then. I have a few new sites as options picked, that will let me stay closer to my cats, simplify the project as just a bedroom, and eliminate the ground crack & transformer box being too close!!
My friend/worker has been like a dream! We have so much fun, yet get lots done , too! Im happy about it!
~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

I can't believe this but one of the goats STILL managed to find a way out of the fence.

Doing a little dishes and laundry, firing the kiln.

I realized I never typed to anony, just thought - I clean the plastic drawers by taking them apart, washing them in the utility sink, and running them through the dishwasher (which is what makes it super slow- I pretty much have to be caught up on dishes.

I find a staging area very helpful. I have to be honest though, I do not clean it off right away. Mine is currently my dining room table and it still has Halloween stuff on it because I have not sent pictures to the kids, even though I did put away the (4, down from 5!) bins of Halloween stuff I am keeping.

But I will not use it for anything else for more than a week and when I clear it off it will be into boxes for the kids and goodwill, so nothing will get shuffled and reshuffled, and nothing else is going to go out there with the Halloween stuff. I simply have the luxury of being able to leave the job and come back later.

Good Morning Everybody :)
"CLINK!"

Hi Subclinical :)
WAY TO GO! for fence mending and using what was already on hand! :D
WONDERFUL! that you can find what you need in the almost organized studio.

Hi Tatoulia :)
I am ready to start making this a good week. ;)

After I post this I will start the laundry.
My plan for today is to clean my room.
Vacuum around the edges and under the dressers.
Dust, wipe off and polish the furnishings & things.
Unfortunately, my room is the cat's favorite room and this will greatly distress them and make them have to take naps elsewhere in the house.
LOL ;P
I always put off doing my room for too long just because of the cats.

So much fun bring friends with all of you!

Glad you got some good outdoors work done, SubC and Tillie! I am jealous of your outdoor space! Good to hear that the studio is in greatly improved shape SubC!

Are we ready for a good week? I hope so!!

Oops, I overcompensated by turning tillie into tatoulia! Sorry.

Hi Joan!

Tatoulia, that is wonderful about the consignment store! And your dress friend.

Tatoulia, I am sorry about the bills. Maybe Steven is improving? Not suggesting you count on it, but it would be nice. Anyway, enjoy it for now and I hope the car registration turns out ok too.

I have been really focusing on getting ready for a big pottery sale that starts Friday. I have my whole week planned out and so far it is going pretty well. The studio is the most organized it has ever been - which does not mean it is organized, but it does mean i can find most of what I am looking for quickly.

So far I have needed to open only one of the three jars of glaze that I bought, but I still have glazing to do tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Dh fixed the fences today (I helped for a couple of hours) using materials we had on hand. No more escaped goats and a slightly reduced stash of "useful stuff" (ideally the "useful stuff" stash will slowly get smaller through use until some day our kids can throw it all in a cardboard box when we die. This plan requires us to live a long time, so I like it.)

WAY TO GO!!! Tatoulia!!! :D
How wonderful that it didn't even hurt to pass up the china!
Your thought processes are spot on!
Nice buy on the pearls. ;D
I discovered that with pearls, unless the clasp is from a high end jeweler, people tend to price them around the same price as the overly produced newer "real" pearls and there are some wonderful bargains to be found.
Says she who has a lovely matched, strung & knotted pearl choker now. ;)
Your new dress sounds beautiful.
HAPPY DANCING for the beneficiary of your dresses!
Wonderful that she is enjoying them already. :D
Keep up the great progress of filling and dropping off your donation bags.

Steven really helped me today by working for hours gathering up all the leaves off the grass and around the lilac hedge and bagging them up.
First time he has ever done that...
I have always had to do all the yardwork all by myself.
He also has been pleasant, not snarky.
I am confused but grateful. :/

Very big moment today. Took mom to the consignment store. They had the set (serving 12 Plus the serving dishes) of the dishes I have wanted for years, at about $1 a dish (fantastic price) and I passed. I have no room and I have mom's beautiful china. If they'd had a serving platter, only, I would have bought it. But I have no need for and no room for china. I didn't even feel a twinge of pain. I couldn't use them for every day as they are most definitely not dishwasher safe.

What a great feeling. Mom found something lovely for my BF for Christmas and I got a small gift for an overseas friend's husband. Oh and pearls which were incredibly underpriced and which are a perfect length for the velvet dress I've picked up for the holidays. I have other pearls but nothing this length. I am not sure why they were priced the way they were because they are real pearls and the shape & color of each pearl was perfectly matched. Well, not for me to decide.

Oh other big news: I saw the woman whom I gave the dresses to. She was wearing one (it looked beautiful on her) and she told me that every piece that was in the bag was perfect for her. That made me happy--none of the dresses were very old since they were recent purchases to accommodate me when I put on extra weight. I had carefully chosen what to give to her vs to goodwill.

I took a bag to car today with goodwill purchases. I will need to start another bag asap to keep everything moving in the right direction.

Oops! I was empathizing too much! That was me, Tatouia. Identity crisis over. FOR NOW,

Love you, Joan,

Dearest Tat (((HUGS)))
Thank you.
So sad that you know so personally what it's like.
Steven's computer is all set up with security apps to do all the bill paying online, but he refuses to allow me access to the passwords or I could check and make sure the bills get paid on time.
If he dies first I am going to face a huge mess trying to straighten it all out.
I am making out a shopping list and listing all the necessities even though right now I am set.
But who knows how long it will take to get the car tags and I don't want to be caught short.
Nice thing about almond milk is the "use by" date is always months away from when I buy it so I can stock up on that and not worry about it going off.

Hi Joan :D

P.S. Steven just returned home from where ever? he goes Sunday mornings so I asked him again about the tags.
He told me he paid them online last night right after I nagged him again about it.
Said they should be here in 7 to 10 days but I know better than to take any chances that he's not lying, Tuesday I will still stock up.
Plus he brought me a peace offering of locally harvested pine nuts and when he brings gifts I become especially suspicious. ;P

Tat, are you hsving an identity crisis?

Did you just post as Tillie?

Oh gosh, it's like a page out my life. My brother has improved but your situation isn't so far back in my past. I feel the anxiety.

It's like he knows best and any attempt to even talk is met with an abrupt meanness that is out of proportion to what you've said. Then when it all blows up is up to you/me to fix. And then I get to listen for the next five years how I've handled something poorly. This all could be avoided, but for their inability to take small steps to keep it together. Small steps. Everything is done on line, for crying out loud, so what's the big deal?

I think it was a few weeks ago when I was getting brother's Medicare renewed and he wouldn't give me the simplest of information which would have allowed me to do on line. So I got to fill it paperwork, get his signature, then go to work on a weekend to scan it in so I could fax. All that in my end, For if he'd just given me a mail a month earlier me had given me the one tiniest piece of information,,,,but I live by his rules. And living by his rules means inconveniencing me a lot and aggravating me a lot. And by not causing another scene of having him get violent. AND there's no tough love that I can do because it's still up to me to make sure he has a place to live and insurance and food so I can't play the very valid method of, well, let him go s month or two without XYZ and see if he gets better. There's zero learning from experience.

YES stock up on whatever you can. Make yr soups and your dinners. Make sure have TP and paper towels and cat sand and cat food. This is what we cope with. Yr rant is certainly justified. I stand by your side. I understand very well what you are going through. Protect yourself. Protect the cats. I understand. I truly do. I have two dry shoulders should you need to cry. And I have a deep well of compassion with your name on it.

Good Morning Everybody :)
Iced chai masala "CLINK!"

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO!!!!!
For "smart" shopping!
Happy you now have nice, warm new things. ;)
YEA!!!! for a dish free sink!
Have a wonderful time out today with your Mom.
YEA! WTG! for scheduling that test! (((hugs)))

Hi Subclinical :)
How are all your projects coming along? :)

Warning, rant coming...
Well, super depressed, anxious and upset.
Steven insists that he handle all the bill paying so that he can control all the money and spend it all on his shopping for more clutter.
He has not taken care of the car registration and the tag expires end of this month.
His desk is a massive mountain of mail, bills and invoices, etc.
This stuff shifts & slides and gets coffee spilled on it and the cat vomits on it and it's all covered with dust&dirt&grit and cat hair.
He always does this kind of negligence and then has to hustle and pay late fees and causes so much unnecessary grief and anxiety.
Anyways, my plan is to get to the grocery store before the end of the month and stock up just in case I no longer have use of the car for a while.
Just hope he has remembered to pay the Discover bill this month.
I always ask him if he has taken care of this bill or that bill and he always snappishly answers "yes!"
But he lies all the time. >:(
So, along with all the physical squalor here we also have a lot of financial squalor too.
This kind of thing keeps me from sleeping and messes with my stomach & intestines and makes me a nervous wreck.
Rant over...

Thank you all for being here. You are the only people in the world that I can tell this stuff too.
(((((HUGS)))))

Ps Tillie my ultrasound is Monday at 3

Happy Sunday!

The zinc/vitamin C combined with sleep, sleep, sleep put me where I need to be! All better today!

Tillie I channeled you yesterday! I got rid of (donated) a lot of my gloves, mittens and scarves last year. When I went to buy more yesterday, I had to have you sitting in my shoulder. The first place had gloves and I bought one pair. I started to buy a scarf that was going to be ok but had a lot of problems. It looked cheap, was too long, and essentially seemed like something I wouldn't wear. So I put it back. Second store had a great scarf, two pair of gloves I really liked and a fantastic pair of mittens. I ended up with scarf, one pair gloves and the mittens. I wanted that other pair because they were beautiful and made in Italy etc but decided they'd never be warm so what am I doing? Back they went.

This may seem like a lot of gloves and mittens but I tend to leave them places and I walk quite a bit. Last year I purged when I decided I was sick of my coat and so I donated most everything. I'm good with the purchases.

Anony, keep up the good work! Yay on having a staging area! Tillie's right, seeing stuff out in the open is a fresh set of eyes. I'm glad you are keeping your limits with BF. As to my relationship, I know how lucky I am. He grew up overseas with several older sisters. He is kind and polite. He works a ton of hours, which gives me the proper space for myself. We are both old souls, so that helps too. He's easy to be with, and I'm working on being easier. having things we enjoy doing together--antiquing, theatre, lectures, symphony, etc helps. He's the type with a million friends and admirers and although I'm more outgoing, I probably only have five people I consider friends. It works, and I hope it continues, but who knows what the future holds. When we first started dating he felt badly if I went to theatre or symphony or movies alone, now he completely understands how much I enjoy doing those things alone.

No dishes in sink--so shocking!

I am going to get mom out today. She's so great.

Ttyl. Love you all so much.

Hello Everybody :)
Been running ever since I woke up this morning and have finally found a chance to sit for a while.

Hi Anonymoniker :)
A staging area is a great way to sort.
Moving the stuff away from where it has been sitting helps us to see it differently.
Helps to make those keep/toss decisions easier.
One rule of the staging area is that it must be cleared off after every session. No leaving the stuff to pile up there.
So try not to bring out any more than you can sort through in the time you have to do this.
Good Luck! with all your home improvement plans! :D

Hi Tatoulia :)
Happy you had a fun day but so sorry you are now sick.
Take care, rest and feel 100% better soon.
(((HUGS)))
WAY TO GO! for putting things straight into the dish washer!
Wish I had a dish washer if for nothing else a place to hide dirty dishes rather than beside my sink. LOL

Beautiful day here today.
Sunny, few clouds, gentle tiny breeze.
Swept all the leaves off the porch & walkway.
Did 2 loads of laundry and they smell heavenly after drying on the line in the Autumn air.

~♡~Greetings to all!!!~♡~
Tillie, you are an awesome counselor for folks! And that 'one in/one out' is what i had to do on my boat for all those years & is why moving on to 50 acres allowed me to 'catch up on accumulating'.
Tatoulia, i think im in love with your boyfriend...ha ha ;D And i am, perhaps foolishly, seeing my ex again, BUT this time my way! I absolutely feel differently, partly the crashing from hormone replacement therapy. Im far clearer, less intimidated & i will not expect anything of him...just enjoy our time together. I am going to try him being a part of my life & i am giving up NOTHING for him! I need to try it my way & if it doesnt work i will walk away.
SubC, ive tried to think how to clean/spruce up the plastic drawers i got when rodents kept climbing into the back of my conventional drawers. They dont clean easily, so something like you described sounds interesting?!
Ive had my wonderful worker/friend here this past week helping with the new garden fence & figuring out the best way to cover the trailer walls with plastic. We got lots done AND had fun! :D She suggested i use the juicing table under the back awning as a 'staging area.' Ive heard yall use that term & had to google what it means. Im going to try that with the stuff in the house. Ill just pick up everything in one spot & carry it out there on that table & see how that works? I may clear it off today?! Also, im now thinking of building an earthbag bedroom closer to my trailer. That way itd solve the transformer box & crack through my land site issue, plus id stay nearer to my precious cats, plus itd be a smaller, simpler building project! :D There is an intro workshop next week on the building process! :D ~♡~Love to all!!!~♡~

Good morning everyone!

I had a good day yesterday/-went out for lunch and dinner. Much more social than I usually am and it was great fun. Woke up with a sore thrust so I just took some zinc and C tablets that a friend brought me from overseas. First time taking them. Having peppermint tea then heading out to see brother.

Well here's a victory: for the entire week, I haven't kept even one dish or spoon in my sink. I have placed directly in dishwasher. Seems so simple. I don't know why I've been giving my dishes a random layover in my sink


Hope everyone has a great day. I need to sip my tea, stay warm and not overdo.

Good Morning Everyone :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Thanks for dropping by and I hope you have a great day at work! :D

Hi Subclinical :)
I really like that you post your purchases & acquisitions here.
I like to post mine too.
It does help to keep us honest as to what we are buying and why we are getting it.
With all your teaching and other endeavors you do need to get more than the usual daily type of items.
I like how you have a solid plan to use these supplies and know that you have a limited amount of space to store things.

Being honest here...
even people who do not have any issues with hoarding tend to over buy spur of the moment sale items.
At thrift shops I see the pretty shiny things and am tempted by them.
The vast majority of households in the United States are over filled with impulse "SALE" items too good to pass up.
That's why shops are always having "SALES", to sell the merchandise, and Americans are buying it all.
It is VERY hard to overcome the impulse to buy that has been installed into us ever since we were babies exposed to the advertisements.
The ads are designed by psychologists to work on us in a deeper level. They make us feel inferior if we do not buy. They promise us happiness, love and acceptance if we do buy.
This is why we all must evaluate every purchase.
If you go into the typical/average tidy house and look in the cupboards and closets and storage areas you would be amazed at the amount of stuff there is crammed in there.
Plus the millions of storage units in this country are all packed tight with all the excess that wouldn't fit inside the house.
Most all impulse buys due to the psychology of the advertisements...

At Dollar tree I had to stop and think hard when I saw they had 15oz. cans of Le Sueur peas.
I wanted a lot of them...
Stopped and thought hard, got my breathing and heartrate under control.
Finally decided that 4 cans would be what I could use up before Spring and bought them even though
Le Sueur peas were not on my grocery list.

It's hard and a constant battle to resist the "SALES".
Not just for people who tend to hoard but for everyone.
Posting our non-necessity purchases here helps to keep us honest.
((((HUGS))))

Good morning--quick drive-by.

SubC I see now what you are using the doilies for--interesting idea re finding a way to reuse. Was just checking in that you weren't falling into my stupid pattern of buying the irresistible!

Late for work and I haven't dried my hair or put my makeup on. That's a pretty typical situation.

Keep up the good work everyone! Love to you, all the kitties and all the bunnies.

Oh tillie, your poor cat!

Tatoulia, you were not harsh at all?! Did I miss something? I can't store them at school because there isn't room at school and because only the mats are for my class. I'm afraid the other purchases might be single use, but I am going to do my best to reuse them, so I only bought one pack of each.

I bought one mat before Halloween for $1 and knew I wanted more, but I waited until they were 70% off. The kids can share, but one wasn't really enough - too much wait time.

If it goes to 90% off and there are still doilies and stencils, I might buy a few more packs - there are ten to a pack and I may only be able to glaze one dish with each.

I also bought a three pack of squeeze bulb cake decorators from the thrift store yesterday. The timing on those is perfect because we are about to do slip trailing in my class and a slip trailing bulb is $13. These should work fine (possibly better, I think the changeable tips give interesting possibilities, and they will be easier to clean) and were only $2 for all three.

And I bought three jars of glaze at the studio last week in colors I use a lot and am low on. I don't want to run out this weekend when I am trying to finish work for the sale.

So, that is all my non food for this week. I try to tell you guys everything to keep me honest.

Also, I have finally started washing those plastic drawer stacks I picked up. Very slowly.

Oh! I just had a thought! Maybe if I color the doilies and iron them in parchment paper the wax will soak in and make them reusable! I can do one and then if it works, I can get some of my kids to color the others and use them for class too.

WOW! WTG! Tatoulia :D
And you even did the bathroom vanity and sink!!!
Happy the chairs will both be together somewhere where they are wanted and possibly even needed.
Definitely do get a new posh frock for the holidays!
No better way to celebrate your new figure. ;D

I hate letting the cats out unless it's a sunny day when I am outside with them.
One night my pretty tabby boy was eaten by a coyote.

Sale stuff is so very dangerously tempting.
Steven is always buying stuff that is a "good price, great deal".
If one item is a great price he will buy a case or more of it, usually every one there is on the shelf.
(He once bought 5 ceiling fans, once it was 8 large heavy patio umbrella stands, etc.)
Unfortunately, all that stuff just sits here and rots away because there is no use/need for any of it.
But we all must be realistic here...
There will always be sales and we all must go shopping periodically for necessary items.
There will always be that temptation.
The key is to resist the lure to buy unneeded things or too many of something we have a use for.
When confronted with a "SALE"
Stop, get your breathing and heart rate under control.
Walk to another area of the store and think long and hard about what you already have at home.
Ask yourself "do I need it?"
"What am I willing to let go of in exchange for it?"
The rule of One in/One Out.
ALWAYS give yourself time to think it over so it won't be an impulse spur of the moment purchase.
Remember your goals of having a more peaceful serene and welcoming home life with less random clutter.
Think about your bank account/credit card bill and whatever financial goals & plans you may have.

Well I rolled up & stored all 3 hoses.
Also polished my silver jewelry.
Made scrambled eggs for lunch.
Cats are all resting, Marty is feeling under the weather again, hope he perks up soon.
The house is so much more comfortable today since I covered the windows & am keeping the cold air out.

Ok, so while waiting for BF to take me to grocery store, I gathered up the trash, changed our cat's box, swept the hallway AND.....cleaned the bathroom sink and vanity.

I hope no one fainted. The bathroom isn't clean, but the sink and vanity are. I seem to do best with tiny pockets of time that I "find". I need to do more of this.

My little one is sound asleep on the couch. I love that you have a garage container for your kitty, SubC. I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats but living in the city, I've got to keep my little one inside. I miss calling the kitty to come in at night and having him be all fresh from the night air. Or seeing kitty prints in the snow and on the car.

We are going down below freezing tomorrow, Tillie. I just went for a walk to bring BF chowder. Good news--he wants the other chair, so that's good. He did the usual that he'll buy them which is garbage--he pays for absolutely everything including my family. I'm excited the chair has found a home.

Tillie I am glad you found a new dress! I am going to treat myself to a holiday dress this year. Being slimmer, I feel like dressing up again. The last few years I haven't felt like it and I've been so embatrassed by my weight.

SubC, I hope I didn't come off as harsh or judgmental. Stuff on sale is a weak point for me. I had to learn the hard way (i.e. Living in a hoarded house) that sale stuff ends up costing me. So when I see sale stuff I have to say NO loudly to myself. I would buy multiples upon multiples, wiping out any perceived savings. So please forgive me if I stepped on your toes. I know you have a lot of needs at your school and I know how teachers and students alike use their own $$ when the budgets fall short.

Ok back to work.

Good Morning :)
Iced chai masala "CLINK!"

Hi Subclinical :)
Slow progress on the feed bags is still forward progress.
WAY TO GO!
Happy you, your cat and DH are warm. :D
I understand the buying of a few Halloween items, right after the holiday is always the best time for good deals.
PLUS you have decluttered a lot of your old Halloween decorations this year too.
Seems like a lot more than one went out for every new one coming in. :D
So, WTG!

Hi Tatoulia :)
Your BF's cat sounds like a real sweetheart. ;)
That does sound beautiful, the table, chandelier and new drapes.
If you don't need the other chairs and like just having the two, then by all means consign the extras.
If you already have the upholstery fabric, I think you really should do the chair to help really tie the whole area together. ;D
WAY TO GO! keeping up with that kitchen counter!

I only have one kitchen counter so it's very important for me to keep it useable.
It's 6 feet long but has the microwave on one end.
I use this counter for everything.
It's what divides the kitchen area from the living room area and is right where you walk through from the door to get to anywhere else in the house.
Took me ages to teach Steven not to just dump stuff on it.
Today it's supposed to get up tp 60 degrees.
Yesterday I drug the hoses out in the yard to where they will be in the sunlight to help make them easier to roll up once they are warmer.
So, later today I will roll them up and store them away until next Spring.
The other day I bought a new beautiful Summertime dress, the kind I love wearing around the house.
Cost me three dollars.
Now I can more easily toss out two dresses that got ripped from getting snagged on his hoard this last Summer. :(
I mended them but they just aren't the same any more.

Hello!

I am seeing my house through fresh eyes and want to move forward. I find I like my dining table with two chairs instead of three. It's a cleaner look. Where to put my third chair? Not sure. BF has the 4th chair. I have half a mind to consign them. The table is so pretty in the alcove with the drapes and the two chairs and the chandelier. I need to change the fabric on one cushion. Have done one chair and the desk chair. No reason not to finish it. The other two chairs have arms and no cushions.

Ok I'm keeping up with my one kitchen counter. Would really like to make some more progress. Just need to act.

For now, I must do work as I am swamped!

SubC can you store your Halloween purchases at school?

Tatoulia, I am so glad your chandelier is up!

I'm sorry everyone is cold though! We keep the woodstove going when we are home these days. The wood is "free" (plus labor and chainsaw gas) deadfall from our land. Down comforter ($20 goodwill score) on the bed and we are cozy.

My cat is indoor/outdoor at will, so he has a big plastic bin with a pillow and an old bathrobe up against the wall in the garage. Dh calls it his "box of soft"

Still mostly focusing on the upcoming sale and trying to keep the house from squalor around here. I'm getting pretty tired. I am still making very slow progress on cleaning the empty feedbags out of 5he barn.

Yesterday I bought three plastic mats, a bag of Halloween doilies, and a bag of cardboard stencils on clearance at the grocery store. They are to use in the studio next fall.

My house is so cold, Tillie. My first year here I cried. Now I am used to it. Wearing fleece leggings under my pjs and keeping cat covered in her bed tonight. Very chilly.

BF came by to see the chandelier and then drove out back to see it from the window. He agrees it's a bit high but beautiful. Should be six inches to a foot lower. I'll wait til my artist friend is here to do anything about it.

Kitty doesn't have the box instinct. But BF's cat loves any size box, even tried to fit in my purse once. He's a giant tabby cat but now that he's aboit 19, he's shrunk considerably. People no longer take a look at him and say, wow, that's a giant cat. Cat lives in BF's office and all the employees love him so. Occasionally cat goes home but after a day or two, it's like he's living alone since BF works so much. He has a few boxes with cat blankets in them, and in December boyfriend wraps his box in Christmas wrapping paper.

I am happy with how much got done today. Can't stop now--plenty to do before trash goes out tomorrow night.

YEA!!! Tatoulia! :D
Happy Dancing!!!
So WONDERFUL that all that is done & the ladder & box are out.
Make sure you & Kitty get lots of cuddles together tonight.
My cats here would have insisted that they get to keep the box.
They all love boxes, any box, any size.
Hope you are happy with the new changes in your home.
(((HUGS)))

Soon as I get the plastic up on the window the room immediately becomes warmer and stays warmer.
I hate, hate, hate not being able to open the covered windows but the living room area window is still openable because it's a double pane that someone gave us & he put it in.
All the rest of the windows are the old ones.
Anyways...
The windows & back door are all covered with plastic now.
I unhooked the hose and will roll up & put away the hoses someday soon.
Also will insulate that faucet.
I vacuumed the carpet today too and did a few other little tidying ups.
I'm done for today. :D

*back where they belong

Box is in recycle bin. Doing second load of laundry. Running dishwasher. Table and chairs are bacjnehete they belong. Kitty is in her bed and I put a warm blanket over her.

Ok-MissionS Accomplished!

Chandelier is hanging!
Heating element by new drapes has been disabled
Drapery pull backs are installed
All lightbulbs in hallway switched out
LADDER GONE

Good day with handyman.

Now doing laundry. Kitty walking around but still silent. I'll replace her food dishes now. I'm washing s few of her blankets too.

The plastic really does help on the windows, Tillie. I tend not to do mine because I like to be able to open them year round. But boy it's cold here.

Thank you everyone for your support!

Now to get the box out of my apartment (the one that was holding my chandelier).