Hooray for the new kitty!

Open house was great. I was so happy to see all my kids again!

I am feeling very appreciated. My boss came by and agreed to block off my room from use the period before my first class tu/th, so I can come in and work or set up if I want to, and I don't have to share my room - i'm Teaching in it all to other periods. That is a big deal, because it costs the school money to keep that spot open.

I always unplug my toaster and put it away. I did have a toaster catch fire once, but I think that was an outlet problem.

Back to school tomorrow for the teacher luncheon and final details. I can leave my room set up for next Tuesday, because - no roommate!

Good Afternoon Every One

Hi Tatoulia
Why are there no pics posted of the new kitty?
So happy she has found a wonderful forever home (((HUGS)))

I too always unplug small electronics.
My toaster is always in the cabinet when not in use.
Small appliances malfunction and may/can cause fires.
I have an "issue" with small electric things.
They get on my nerves so I only have as few as possible.
When not in use I always unplug them, even the microwave.
The evaporative cooler, Roku, Blu-ray player and stereo are used on a strip to make it easier to plug in and unplug them.
Soon as my laptop or tablet is recharged I unplug the charger.
I have even seen a plugged in but not turned on table lamp decide one day to flame up.
Maybe my "issue" with electric things comes from my father being an electrician and also the house burning to the ground when I was seven so I learned the many ways electricity can start fires or electrocute you.
There was never a cause discovered for the house fire because there was absolutely nothing left of the house to investigate.

Nothing to report today. It's all the same old same old.

Good morning everyone! I have done no work here whatsoever. I have kept up with the usuals: dishes done, clean kitchen sink, bed made, plants watered.

Yesterday I walked and did errands. I made a lasagna and brought leftovers to mom. I did some grocery shopping. They didn't have the frozen shrimp I like so I got frozen bay scallops. We shall see how those work out for me.

The big news, which I didn't mention yesterday or Friday is, we adopted a dear little cat for mom. My Friday volunteer work was done after our delicious lunch (homemade clam chowder and a salad, followed by a platter of cookie and coffee), and instead of going to work I decided to walk to the shelter where I found my kitty. (Let me pause and say, this volunteer work I did was professional volunteer work and not for a charity such as a food bank or soup kitchen. Thus, I take vacation days for this and while company-approved, it is not company-sponsored). There were a few cats at my shelter and each one had people standing in front and "claiming" the cat. I walked past my home and to BF's office and I called mom. I picked her up and took her up the shelter where she'd first met her kitty, and we got a kitty!

She's a dear little thing. Just had kittens. Not sure where/what happened to the kittens. She was spayed on the 19th and there was a sign saying she was on hold. I kept pressing the volunteers on that and finally went to the desk and they said, oh we can remove the hold, and we got her!! Right now she is very shy and has been sleeping in mom's closet. She's been through a lot. I think she'll grow into a delightful companion. She's about a year old. She's coming to mom in identical circumstances as her last cat so we are happy. She's coming out to eat and is a good little eater and found her litter box in the bathroom. So I've been checking in there a lot. During one visit yesterday I took her out of the closet and just hugged her and she was extremely sweet. She's just adjusting right now and my mother has the patience for it.

Today I have to go to work to get my laptop. I'm also going to stop in a store to look for a cat bed.

So the badger isn't around largely because there's a cat in mom's closet.

CM, life starts anew when it get crisp in the Fall. I feel confident your faith will be experience that renewal and guide you properly.

SubC, I've been of the impression that leaving a usb plugged in draws a bit of electricity, which on its own is hardly of note, but multiply by a couple per household by who knows how many millions of households, and there you go. Plus sometimes they feel warm so I know something's happening. Lastly, I'm a big unplugger. I unplug my coffee maker (again with a clock, it's drawing electricity), my toaster (never know if today's the day that the toaster will turn on me and catch fire, etc). So I may be wrong about this but I just can't leave things plugged in for the heck of it. Tv, lamps, yes, but stuff I use periodically (paper shredder) no.

Debbie you are amazing. Tillie, you are smart to take care of yourself. I LOVE THE GRAMMA STORY. As always, I picture her and braided rugs and peacefulness and industriousness and calm and practicality and I can almost smell the house. Thank you so much.

I'm going to plug in my toaster, make an English muffin, unplug the toaster and go to work.

Just hello before I leave for Mass. I'm determined to pull out of a spiritual slump I got into over the summer. I have started, but it's got to be constantly reinforced with patience and discipline. Most importantly I need to shore up my faith that my life is not over, that all the financial losses of the last few years can yet bd overcome somehow. That I will be able to get my own place etc. And in the meantime to refuse to use the uncertainty as an excuse not to tackle the hoard/clutter, or as an excuse to go aimlessly shopping.

So I'm gonna pray, and then have a summit conference with Badger.

Hi Subclinical
YEA!!!! WTG!!!!
You got new underwear!!! :D

Your home does need that vacuum.
Sweeping and cleaning rags just aren't the same as a good vacuum.

My Granma grew up in a very nice big house.
They had large room sized rugs throughout.
But they had no electricity or indoor plumbing.
She explained to me how they took care of the rugs.
Once each year when the weather was nice they would have to empty everything out of the rooms.
Take up the rugs and take them outdoors where they had to beat all the dust out of them.
With everything removed from the room they would then wash all the walls and ceiling.
Since it was a hard and tiring job they would only do one room each day until all the rooms had been thoroughly Spring cleaned.
Other times of the year they would sprinkle sawdust all over the rugs then sweep it all up with the broom.
She said the sawdust helped get up all the dirt & dust.
Granma's stories were every bit as good as Laura Ingles Wilder's.

I'm so happy you will have a vacuum! ;D

Wishing you a wonderful open house tomorrow.

Good luck Tillie!

If you have some idea what the bills are - power, water, Internet, phone? gas?, taxes..., and to whom they are owed, you can call. If your name is on it, you can get information. If your name is not on it, you will at least know whom to call if he dies. If he's dead, they will want talk with you so they can keep getting paid.

Debbie, funny, I don't mind folding he clothes, it's the sorting (before and after) and the putting away. Mostly the putting away. And the remembering to move them out of the washing machine.

My cat brought me a baby squirrel yesterday. I ran out because I could hear the momma squirrel having a fit (I thought there might be a hawk) and he was running toward me as fast as he could go with the little squirrel in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet. I don't know if it was a gift or if he thought I would help him keep it, but he was sorely disappointed. I took him inside and then left him there until I had scooped the little squirrel into a plastic bucket using the plastic lid and put it back by the tree line (it did not look or act injured. Just terrified. ) and its mother had retrieved it.

Tatoulia, why shouldn't you leave USB chargers plugged in? I do it all the time, as does dh, and he is an engineer and does electrical wiring and has never expressed a concern.

How did the badger do on the closet?

CM, i'm Glad you have what you need for your novel.

Sensory kids tend to fixate. Some if their issues are fairly consistent and predictable, but others are categoric and the specifics vary. My sensory kid loved sour and hot (spicy). Still can't stand sticky. D❤️gs went through a stage where he wouldn't eat anything crunchy. That was a sound issue though. He couldn't bear hearing himself chew.

We were very profligate today. Dh decided that even though we aren't done with the car, I needed a new vacuum. And underwear. So he took me shopping. While we were out he bought us coffee and donuts. We couldn't find exactly the vacuum cleaner I wanted, but I got to try different ones that had the features I wanted - just not all together - or with too many extras. There were a couple of local places that could order it for us, but the cheapest was 25% higher than amazon (all costs included) so we ordered it online. Then I discovered that my manufacturer discontinued my underwear (4 years ago-think I needed new?) so I had to choose new brand. That was also only available special order in my size and color (white!) so amazon got our business there too - 10% less and I don't have to drive back to the store.

I worked on cleaning up the glaze area a little more tonight.

Tomorrow is open house!

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Debbie
Thank you. :)

LOL :D
He stole your toast!
Well, you did leave it just sitting out there.


Got the trees watered today.
Washed dishes/cleaned up kitchen. With taking care of Twinkles then What'shisface the kitchen became a dumping ground.

When it cools off a little this evening I need to water the lilac hedge.
100 degrees today.
The forecast for the next ten days is high 90s every day.

Spoke with Steven about the financial black out I am living in and he seemed agreeable to enlightening me.
But not holding my breath because he's lied about it before.
Plan B... I will intercept all incoming mail and formulate a plan as how to use this to my advantage. :p

Hi Everyone! Tillie I just wanted to say how sorry I am for the way you have to fight for everything, even for Stephen to not let himself die! I hope you can get him to give up some control so you can know where you are financially. I hope he takes your medical advice too and gets better! Maybe he will be scared into letting you help. But I think he is an extremely stubborn person and that makes it unlikely. It's probably like admitting he's wrong and that is almost impossible. I am praying he surprises me and starts to let you share in the financial decisions. You are so strong! I read old posts where he was hospitalized before and recovery was months, but afterwards he started to reduce he hoard for a while. You took him to all those appts and put up with the therapists and all. I hope he gets another burst of de-hoarding after this illness. He really owes you that and so much more.

Still no garbage collection but decided to wait till Wednesday when my pickup happens to see if I get a different driver. Otherwise I found a different service and will switch Thursday.

CM, so glad your novel is safe! And with the flash drives etc maybe you can recover most of your stuff. I am getting an external hard drive after I move just to be safe. I had a computer crash once and lost my files because they wanted $80 to recover them for me. When I thought about it, I didn't have anything cared about that I didn't save to the cloud (only pictures). So I put the cpu tower in the tub & drowned it and left it to rust for years and then recycled it. I am soooo cheap!

Glad you got the laundry done and wish you good luck putting away bunny stuff and setting up your room!

Subc, it's funny that stuff about robots doing laundry and dishes! I am always surprised that people complain about those things. It is only folding clothes that I think people really dislike. I do it while on the phone or listening to a book or podcast. And the bad thing about dishes is they never stop! It's not hard or dirty. I kind of don't mind them. I only want a dishwasher to hide the stuff in, haha! I will probably half wash the stuff and put the dishes in it just to have clean counters! I hate cooking and washing walls! I think trying to figure out what to make is what I hate, really. Washing walls is just painful and I think I will get cleaning fairies to do it.

Tatoulia, I am sorry about your brother. I know 2 people very like that and there is no way to deal with it except from a distance. I am glad you still help him but that you keep that distance is so good for your own mental health. Even the argument about leaving the thing plugged in actually happened with one of the 2 people I know! He always went crazy if you said something like "people say that's not good" , he would jump on it and say who are these people, are they scientists? Blah blah blah, and just rant rave and curse about how stupid you were to listen to "People". It was impossible to have a rational discussion. I gave up and avoided speaking to him ever. He made a scene at my husband's funeral because he wasn't allowed to visit. But it was my husband's choice and so I just told him that and walked away. I don't expect to speak with him again if at all possible. I know he's mentally ill and so I just try and stay away from him.

Today I went outside with my eggs and toast and coffee to enjoy the beautiful cool weather and sunshine. My neighbor called me to the fence and while we talked a squirrel helped himself to my toast and I think a bite of egg! She saw him running off with the toast so I gave the egg to the dog next door and made my breakfast over! I have been feeding the squirrel leftover chunky peanut butter cuz I don't like it (was my husband's) but I guess he decided to help himself today. Little stinker!

Well back to work and hope you all have a great day!

Good Morning Every One

Thank you Tatoulia
Thank you for understanding and sorry that you know what I am dealing with all too well.
(((HUG)))

You all are doing so wonderful keeping on with everything.


My brain is filled with my plans of attack here.
He MUST tell me how to pay bills online.
He must give me the sign in info for doing this.
He must tell me what all there is concerning the finances.
If he is so willing to just lay there and die I must know these things.
I have asked him for years and he has always refused to comply.

(Should he die)...
Then I must figure out what to do with all the derelict vehicles.
Who in my area may take them?
Then I must figure out who would help me clean up all the rogue trees and weeds.
Then I need to rent a dumpster and start clearing out this massive hoard.
But I would need to hire help to do the lifting & carrying.
Then I would need to hire people to fix the problems with the house.
Then I would need to figure out how to pay for ALL of this.

He is leaving me with such a mess.
Time for me to fight back.
Wish me luck?

Tillie your strength and compassion are awe-inspiring. You persevered and put your own safety (mental and emotional and only you know about physical) aside. I have been there to some extent, as I am sure you can imagine, but you stayed with it. You are a wonderful human being.

I remember once telling my brother (I was cooking Christmas Eve dinner and cleaning his apt) and I mentioned you shouldn't just leave USB chargers in the outlets, you need to unplug when not in use and he started screaming at me and calling me dirty names and demanding, repeatedly, what stupid #%*¥ in my mailroom gave me that piece of advice. So I said, forget it, not an issue, and he told me Christmas was cancelled and to get out of his house.

Yes I did this for decades. I'm still a bit hungover but I'm getting there.

Tillie I am on your side and again, you are amazing. Also, I take your advice and I wish you were here when I'm sick to bring me crackers and a sip of ginger ale. Just getting out of bed when I'm ill sometimes makes me have to think about it for what seems like hours.

Everyone, you are doing well and please forgive me for not remembering what everyone said.

Debbie! I am so glad you are gear! You are doing a great job staying positive and overcoming obstacles!!!! Great work!!!

CM I'm glad you have your writings. Please consider not fretting too much on the list emails and passwords. If it's been a long time, then maybe it's been long enough to just not access them. I say this with great kindness and compassion, and i picture us sitting on the couch like girlfriends and just talking about past loves and dreams and discussing letting go. There's no criticism between us, just a couple of ladies sipping iced tea and wondering where the time has gone.

Sending out much love and strength. After the badger has had her coffee we will tackle the dining room closet.

Hello everyone

Been a tough day.
Steven would not do anything I told him he needed to do.
He was/is dehydrated because he refuses to drink because he "Thinks" he is up every 15 minutes to pee.
In reality he had gone over 12 hours since he last peed.
He refused to take any of his heart, thyroid, BP meds because he said they would upset his empty stomach.
I said THAT"S what I gave you crackers for!
He said he only needed to get some sleep.
I informed him he had been sleeping since yesterday.
That doing what I say to do would make him feel better. Fixing his heart with meds & rehydrating would make him not be exhausted.
Anyways...
About 3pm today I got real ugly and forced him to eat the friggin crackers, drink the friggin Gatorade and TAKE YOUR FRIGGIN PILLS!!!
It worked.
His color is better, he's not as groggy, he is still dehydrated but he has started urinating again.
He was up and getting about for a few hours and has now gone back to bed but that's alright.
Other than those friggin crackers he has not eaten since Wednesday.
He always thinks he knows better about his health than any health professionals and argues and refuses to comply.
But if some Bozo off the street says something he will listen to them.

Sorry about the rant.
Love you all (((HUGS)))

Happy Friday evening

I guess I scared you without intending to - I am 99.99% sure I am NOT missing any essential parts to any novels! I realize my explanation was rather convoluted, though, so I can see how you may have thought that.

I went to using at least two flash drives, plus some things are on my tablet as well as laptop. And my roommate has a portable hard drive I can back all my data files up on!

I want to get one of those that's my own one of these days, too, and back everything up including the software. In case the 10-year-old laptop's motherboard or some other essential component dies. And so when I someday get a different computer hopefully I can port my system over and keep going. We'll see.

Anyway. I really do think my writing is backed up. The big science fiction novel really needs to be redrafted from the start. I have learned a TON about where NASA and other space agencies are on finding exoplanets, and I've read many awesome books and articles on astrobiology. So my story's going to be a lot better for all that. I'm also not sure whether I want to keep all the same characters. I'll refer to the old drafts a bit, but new writing will be just that - new. And I'll back it up 6 ways to Sunday!

Did laundry today instead of sewing. No yellow box yet, I haven't looked. Getting that pile of clothes out of the way was needed. I can borrow a seam ripper from my roommate maybe, to get by.

Debbie - that sounds so satisfying getting all that stuff hauled away! That's what I want to feel. The weather here is cooler after that storm. Maybe I'll go by my storage unit and grab out a big bundle of flattened packing material I'd saved when I thought I'd be selling Barbies on Ebay, and put it in the recycle barrel here. It needs to go.

Tatoulia, hope you find a wonderful kitty for your mom. I want to go to an adoption event at a bookstore tomorrow. Just to see the puddytats. And maybe network about animal rescue on behalf of the bunny club.

SubC, hope open house goes great. And you got items you will use. My roommate has a worm composter but I don't know if it's still going. I don't know if I'd be able to find something safe to eat at an Indian restaurant, but I'd enjoy seeing the people as you described. In my reading about picky eating, I have run across the idea that American culture got too hung up on giving babies and kids bland food, and that just having them eat what Mum and Dad are having without fuss works pretty well. I don't know if a kid with ADHD & sensory issues would be okay with it but maybe in my reading I'll find out.

Tillie - happy to hear Twinkles is on the mend! And good luck with Steven. Hopefully his instincts are at least as good as Twinkles' and he will eventually get himself the liquids that he needs. You did what you could.

Badger and I will start putting away bunny event stuff, and redoing thd bedroom, and my hope is that the sewing box will be uncovered.

Happy weekend to all!

Good afternoon all!

Debbie, you sound like you are in really good shape with the house! How aggravating about that wire though. I used to have a lot of trouble with my trash service. That was one of the reasons I cancelled it.

Tatoulia, enjoy your volunteer day! What fun about lunch!

The badger is all yours this weekend. Just keep him away from your mom's cat, ok?

Tillie, that twinkles is sneaky! I'm sure he thinks he knows best though. Maybe Steven would like some kitty soup. ;)

I have been puttering around the house and finishing my pumpkin bowls today. I also picked away a little more at the backlog of glaze, and scavenged some parts from a wobbly cart and put the remainder in the metal recycling pile.

For some reason, I was remembering a mom's board I was on a long time ago. One of the moms said she needed a robot servant like in the Jetsons, and one of the other moms said she already had robot slaves and that she got up every morning and set them to work. She had robot slaves that washed and dried her clothes, one that washed her dishes, and even two (named crockpot and bread machine) that cooked her family dinner. She said her husband had invested a lot of money and effort in them to make her life easier, and that it would be disrespectful to let them stand around idle when there was work to be done.

I don't share her particular world view, so i'm Not worried about disrespecting my husband, but it did occur to me that I should be making more use of my labor saving devices. So the dish and laundry robots are hard at work, and I am contemplating starting up the ice cream robot and the one that dries green beans.

Good Morning to All! Well Am Vets came and took all but 2 small tables and a DVD cabinet. But I was getting worried they weren't coming! So happy to have it all gone! My garbage service picked up the recycling and left the garbage (which is full for the first time as I am really cleaning out!) Called yesterday and they said they would come in the afternoon, which they did not. Called today and the problem is a low hanging wire that has been there for the 35 years I lived here. It crosses the street and the driver says it is too low. However there were at least 3 other refuse trucks that came yesterday. This has happened twice before and by the following week they come as usual. But they said they are not coming till it is fixed. I called Com-Ed and they are coming. I don't know whose wire it is but I hope they will fix it. They just sent an auto call to tell me my "outage" s/b restored by 6pm. Well I guess I will try and get a different service just in case. I tried to call the township but their phone is not working. I am in unincorporated part of town. I might try and call the main town and see what they say. What a pain!

Well I emptied everything from upstairs except two beds and an air conditioner. Then I emptied the pantry and washed it out. I have 8 cans of paint (free with rebate) to give away and lots of new paintbrushes etc. My brother gets to look first and then any left over goes to the Restore place. I cleaned out my desk as much as possible and packed files and shredded more. So I guess now I have to eat up what's left in the fridge and pantry. I am going to wait to disconnect my TV and computer till the last day I guess.

Today I think I will work on the garage a little. Luckily I have worked on it for the last year and most of the stuff is gone. I have a mower to give my sister and one I am leaving here till I sell. I am having a service come for the rest of the year at the new place. And next year I plan to buy a rechargeable mower!

The Com-Ed guy has called me 3 times already. He can't see a line that is in the way. He is calling the trash service to ask where it is! OMG they gave him the wrong address too.

Tatoulia, I looked at the dishwasher while babysitting and realized it's 3hrs 46min! Egads! Hopefully mine will be shorter. Glad your ladies came and cleaned so fast! Hope the kitties have calmed down by now. I am with them, I hate to have people in my house!

Sorry you have the pillow dilemma! I hate when I don't like a gift and I have to say I usually just hang onto it for a few years. Then get rid of it. I had a wreath someone made for me like that. It was very pretty but not me. I put it up for a few years and then got rid of it! The maker never asked where it went, thank God.

Hope your Mom finds a cat soon! You are lucky to have her so close and get to see her so often!

CM, glad your eye appt. went well. I just went too and my distance is getting so much better that it looks like I will need reading glasses some day. He said not yet, but I use my husband's to read medicine bottles already! And I guess a cataract is in there now. He said not to worry for quite a while.

Hope you found the sewing box and that you can recover your files! I have lots of pictures and documents I would hate to lose. But I don't save emails except receipts or letters. That would be horrible to lose the novel!

Tillie, glad that Twinkles is better and so hungry for his kibble! Haha, helped himself! I wonder if you ever tried listening to books on tape or CDs? That is how I go to sleep so fast. I can't think about whatever is bothering me if I concentrate on the story. My library has a lot of them and now you can get them on Overdrive through your library, if you have a tablet to download it to. I used to listen on my 45 min commute and then I started listening at bedtime too.

Glad you finally got the groceries! I need to go for 2 things today and I don't wanna! Hope Steven is better so you can have the house back! I know it's hard to clean and just relax when someone is sick in bed!

SubC, I do feel lighter with all the stuff gone! And I had fun with the boys, thanks. We made green slime and something called ooblock? Fun and messy which made them happy! I have decided to just worry about a couch and nothing else till after my surgery. You are right, no pressure to finish it all at once.

Glad you got the worm composter! I compost and my yard is so wormy I almost dread digging! I have good soil. Congrats on the pots turning out well especially the favorite 2! I wish I could take your classes, they sound so fun! Melting glass and immersible blender!

Hope the car is fixed and isn't too bad. That Indian place sounds yummy! It is so rare that parents are paying the kids attention! Always on the phone! So glad your classes are all set and hope you got lots of sleep!

Well I should go do some cleaning and then try to meet someone for a dinner or movie. I am sick of being home! Otherwise I will mow and wack weeds and water the garden. It can wait a day tho if someone is free!

Great work, SubC! Send the badger here over the weekend!!

Yay Twinkles!

Cm I'm sorry about your email problems. I want you to find your novel and other writings. And I also want you to find some peace with it. It may be too early in the process but I do hope you find some peace with it. We are here to help.

Ok I have only a few minutes. Vacation Day/volunteer day for me and my fellow volunteer member sent an email last night inviting me to lunch st his super swanky super subsidized office cafeteria. And it's raining! So I get to bring the beautiful umbrella he gave me last time!

I'll write tonight. And I'm praying we find mom a cat this weekend. The right cat, not all the cats I would take.

I do hope Steven feels better. I know what you are up against but thankfully I never lived with my brother.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Hope tonight you are sleeping soundly and wake up tomorrow all rested up.

That little yellow box, WHERE ARE YOU???

YEA! for good eye appointment!

Good luck with all that computer stuff you're doing.
My laptop has that cloud thingie on it but I never even looked at it.

The things that I create I feel the need to send them out into the world, not to keep them for myself.
I feel that is why I was inspired to create in the first place, not for me personally.
Does that make any sense?


Hi Subclinical
YEA!!! WAY TO GO!!!

You have been so busy all Summer break.
So glad you have also been doing pottery too.
Hope you ate dinner and are soundly sleeping by now. :)


Spent the afternoon doing some pencil puzzles and then took a nap.
Did some stuff when I woke up.

Twinkles snuck into the kibble/cereal and was so happy.
He has really missed his crunchies.
He is supposed to be on a soft diet only for several more days but he seems not to have hurt himself.

Steven has been sick in bed since yesterday.
Tried to get him to drink water or ginger ale but he is too mean and ornery so I have given up. :p

Hi CM!

I'm sorry about the email situation. You seem to be handling it well though.

Yay for good eye appointments too! I hope you find your yellow box!

Badger and I chewed through all my classes! They are posted and ready to launch when the director flips the switch on Sunday. There is one page missing a photo, but admin promised to put the photo in for me. If not, I guess parents will email me and say "I can't see the kit" and I will reply with the photo.

I took two pottery breaks. We also ate a lot of snacks. I really need to work on my weight. It is going in the wrong direction. I am hoping school will help - many stairs and no easy snacks.

Did a little laundry, but you can't tell. I might work on the house a little, but I plan to be asleep in three hours and I haven't addressed dinner or done chores.

Hi from the main library this time - the other day I was at the branch.

Checked more old email accounts - it's going to take time to comb through and assess the "damage" - I realized today that years ago when I got a 2nd account, and a 3rd - I held it there for awhile - anyway, when I checked all 3 of those regularly I used them as my own backup for files*, though I did also use flash drives and still do.

Thing is, I once had a flash drive fry itself and the only copy of my science fiction novel begun in 2009 (and still not finished - Calling Space Badger! LOL!) was on it. Fortunately one of those data recovery outfits was able to restore it for me.

So... I don't know if I have any documents, website links, etc. in those vanished emails or not - hopefully not anything I don't have backed up elsewhere. Sheesh. I need a directory of projects etc., but to keep something like that up would cut into my time to be productive that much more. I don't miss my ancient hernia-inducing big steel file cabinets full of papers, but they did what they were supposed to do, as long as there was no fire, flood, etc.

I suppose God is trying to teach me something here and I'm resisting the lesson a bit. It's one of my big spiritual conflicts in life - He gave me intelligence and creativity, so I want to produce stuff with it that seems to be worthwhile doing. But how does one do so without becoming "attached"? Greater philosophers than I have pondered such things.

Ah well. I'm still just checking things and doing pretty well at not getting anxious. I'm going to take that as a sign from my subconscious that either I have backed up what I needed to or it's obsolete (like early drafts of writing etc.) by now so it doesn't matter.

We had a big storm last night with winds in the 70-mph range in parts of town, and 3 inches of rain! My frog had been yelling about it yesterday and he gave out another series of loud croaks this morning, as if to say "See? I told you so!"

I went to the eye doctor today - no more appointments for awhile, yay! My glaucoma test went well, and my cataracts aren't growing much at all. My eyes were dilated, though, and I'm always surprised how long it takes to return to normal and how it leaves me feeling a bit "off" - almost woozy but not quite. I think it's mostly worn off now though, 6 hours later.

Tried making a Barbie dress for the little girl out of a bright patterned kid's sock from the Dollar Tree. I just flew by the seat of my pants as I am wont to do, and the end result wasn't quite good enough to give as a gift. It can clothe some nekkid Barbie of mine.

I was still tired yesterday when I tried to sew. And I could NOT for the life of me find my little yellow sewing tool box. I had it at one point doing something with crafts before the bunny event - so it's most likely hidden in the aftermath of that tornado of hurrying and scurrying and being so glad to be DONE that I have forgotten lots of things. It'll turn up. I need my bodkin and my seam ripper especially!

I should probably wrap this up and head home in a bit - got a few catching up things done on the computer. With the storm and all, my sleep was not great so I hope to sleep better tonight and wake refreshed and ready to sew - and oh, if I could find the yellow box that'd be great!

*This was before "the Cloud" and I don't use the Cloud - trust issues... so I came up with my own way - which I guess wasn't so great either - sigh. It's things like losing data that feed my hoarding monster just when I am trying to starve it out!!

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
WTG! for the six pots coming out nicely!!!

You sure were busy.
So many different things all done and ready for school to begin.

Make sure to take those pottery breaks.
They are important. ;)


Woke up about 5am.
Decided to grocery shop today.
Stayed around the house till 8am to give Twinks his meds on time.
Then went to the grocery store.
Not many people in there.
Got everything on my list.
It's all put away now and I'm just sitting here reading on the interwebs.

Good morning everyone!

Tillie, i'm So glad twinkles is better. Do get some food soon!

Debbie good job on sending things off with Amvets! Do you feel lighter? I agree with Tillie that you don't need to buy furniture right away. But maybe you need a couch to make your recovery from surgery better. It was smart to measure the sectional!

You will hear me complaining a lot come evaluation time. I really hate evaluations.

I hope you had fun with your g-nephews.

CM, I am smiling at you "turtling along". I have a vision of you as a giant turtle with a basket of tasks on your shell. Good luck with your room. I'll be watching for an update. No job too small!

Tatoulia, Maybe Miss kitty was afraid they would vacuum up her mice.

I need to send a condolence card and I am stuck on what to write. The boy I dated in high school lost his father last week. I want to send a card to his Mom, who is a dear lady and was always wonderful to me (I am still a little jealous of the woman he married - I think I got a better husband, but she got a MUCH better mom-in-law)

I think maybe you need to work on not telling people things are wonderful when they are not. Lying is stressful. Maybe you can find somebody who really does like the pillows and actually give them away. Sparkles? Do you know any teen age girls?

I will share the badger with you today. Everywhere I look there are things that need to be done.

Yesterday I had trouble getting out of the house. I finally decided I was overplanning and just left.

I stopped at goodwill, where they finally had the worm composter I was eyeing in the back room last week out for sale. bought that for my classroom along with a few other items - glass to melt on projects, a rack for the little glaze cups, another rack for their ware boards...

BMV to renew my car tags, Then grocery store to drop off the trash and buy some nonperishables we were out of.

I picked up the six pots I made in my class this session (they are all good, but two of them I love - dh loves one of the same ones.)

Other grocery store for dh cookies and some fruit and a roll for my lunch.

To school, where I unloaded all my purchases and the things I brought from home and got my classroom all set up and looking good for open house (I will have a few things to move when I get there because they were going to clean my floor mats last night, so I moved the stations they go under.)

Stopped at another thrift store, where I bought an immersible blender for my class - yay! and some things that go on a shelf to divide it horizontally - as I have been setting up my studio I was wishing I had a few more of those - and there they were!

Picked dh up at the mechanic - his car is in for round two because we only did a "what will it take to drive it safely" repair the first time. Now we are doing the more expensive "And also not worry about it breaking down again" part.

We stopped for dinner at a little Indian place we like. It is funny, because we are almost always the only non-Indian people there, and I am pretty sure we are the only ones who come regularly - they recognize us now and have stopped looking at us strangely and actually make our food hot. And we sit surrounded by conversations we cannot understand and music with words we cannot understand and I try not to stare at all of the beautiful children. (The youngest ones are always so dressed up, and I love the way the adults are centered on them instead of considering them a hindrance to enjoying the meal.) Last night there was a little girl about 6 months old and she was dressed in red and gold silk with tiny bell covered bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and her father carried her in in his arms and held her and shared his plate with her the whole meal - no sticking the car seat on the bench next to mom and handing the kid baby snacks American style.

Anyway, then home, unloaded the car, put away groceries, set up my shelf, did chores, and after typing that out, I know why I went to bed exhausted!

My priority today is to finish all the work I need to do on my classes before open house, and then I need to clean up this house. I give myself permission to take three breaks to work on pottery. Unloose the badger!

Good plan for the pillows Tatoulia :)
Now you can stop fretting half as much.

You're welcome
You all here give me the hope and strength to go on (((HUGS)))

Those condolence cards are HARD.
Reading them is when I cry the most, just can't help it, just can't stop till I'm all cried out.


Twinks took his medicine like a champ.
He laid down on the floor next to his hair brush so I'd brush him after the dosing was done.

Maybe I'll grocery shop tomorrow.
I am all out of fresh fruit & veggies.
The fridge and freezer are almost completely empty.

Of course I can do this. I think what I will do is keep one (just in case she does visit again) and that way I could've given one away to a friend. I like it. Plus I am known for just giving people whatever they say they like and the friend has been the recipient of that. Many times, including a painting I did as a child (one of three. One is missing and BF has the other one), an antique clock that reminded her of her mother, eye cream, etc, etc. so that would make sense. And only keeping one will bother me less and I'll treat it as an act of charity.

Yes I know your woes very well, Tillie, and I thank you for your strength and support and wisdom and love, all of which have helped me to reduce the woes in my life.

I went by mom's tonight and cleaned up a bit. She is getting many cat condolence cards because I put the word out and everyone is answering. Wevtead a few together tonight.

Hi Tatoulia
Thank you (((hug)))
You already know my woes & worries.
The house needing fixing and his hoard causing infestations and my health deteriorating and I'm not able to do much and so on and so on...

About the pillow gifts.
We are allowed to do whatever we want after receiving a gift.
But yeah,
Some people want to SEE that we have kept everything they ever gave us.

Make up a story.
Burglars stole them.
One of your cats (not Miss Kitty, the other cat)destroyed it. Shredded them or vomited mousie guts all over them.
Someone fell head over heels for them and you gifted her with them.
Spontaneous combustion???
They are in your (imaginary) storage locker with other treasures.

Come on, you CAN do this!!! ;D

Tillie I am so sorry about your worries and your sleep. I know this all too well and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Is there anything you want to talk about?

Yay Twinkles! There must have been something special in your soup that has brought him back so soon! Good kitty. Good Tillie.

You've been through a lot lately CM so don't be too rough on yourself.

So here goes: last year when my mother's friend visited she brought some awful pillows for me. And I had to first make an excuse as to what happened to the prior ones she'd given to me. Now I'm finding myself resentful that I am taking up space storing them. I thought I could try to like one of them but I was wrong. They are identical; I was just wondering if I were only using one if I could live with it in my home. Short answer: no. They are not my style at all. They are beaded, giant cats. She mentioned how expensive they were and I was actually pretty pumped to find out they were $30 each (as opposed to the 75 each i had feared). They have nothing to do with my style and she even said, I don't know if you'll like them (after seeing the changes in my house) and I said, they are perfect and she said good, because they were expensive.


Dear me. I want to get rid of them because I get a lot of stuff from people and yes I love cats but that doesn't mean buy me cat decor. I have a cat. She's adorable. I'm don't mind a tea towel or something cute like that. Something that has a use. Throw pillows are a commitment.

I worry if she comes here and twice I've ditched her pillows. The other ones had cats on them too. Mass produced cat pillows. I do have one handmade cat pillow on my bed. It's cute, small, I bought it myself and when I'm done with it I will lovingly pass it along. But that's my private space.
Ugh I've tried to be okay with them in my closet til she gets here next but I can't do it. Should I just shove them under my bed? See if she comes here next Spring as planned? This is about hurting her feelings. One thought I had was to donate one and them just store one.

Ugh. Let me work on something more productive for a while. I have other stuff I can get rid of.

Clearly I'm obsessing so I don't have to do important stuff.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Hope you got to all your plans for today and they went smoothly.

Hi Tatoulia
Sorry Miss Kitty but they are keeping you safe from killer dust bunnies. (((hug)))


Hi CriticalMass
WAY TO GO! getting all those animal chores done!
Really hope you do get to making some doll clothes.
You do such beautiful work. :)

Hi Debbie
Feeling pressure to buy anything is wrong/bad/erroneous.
You know you want a sectional couch so just concentrate on finding the exactly perfect one.
Since you will have a bed and a table you can take your time.
Forever items like furniture should not be rushed just to fill the spaces.
So, there is no pressure. Relax, take your time. :)


Twinkles is doing fantastic.
His appetite is ferocious.

I've been having a sleep issue. Too many worries waking me up.
So I'm really tired. So I am only doing the basic necessities.
Really need to grocery shop, maybe tomorrow?

Turtling along...which I totally gave myself permission to do knowing this week was going to be one of recuperation from the bunny event. You know how there are articles now saying people shouldn't try to multitask, that it really negates any supposed efficiency? Well, right now I couldn't multitask if I tried! My brain has set forth non-negotiable terms of one task at a time.

So today, one at a time, I did these things:

Fed cats
Fed bunnies their pellets
Washed and refilled bunny water bowls
Cleaned Beatrix bunny's litterbox
Got bunnies each their hay and a treat
Washed a kitty water dish and refilled it
Watered a few plants - waiting to see if we get rain
Caught my frog a grasshopper and took it to him

So nothing earthshaking, but I shall steadily do what needs doing (wrap up pet tasks) and what I hope to do (sew a few Barbie clothes for my cousin's little girl).

I have an eye doctor appointment on Thursday, but I think other than that the week is free. If it's not storming I'd like to check out the new YMCA facility and their water park maybe Friday. I can't believe it's almost Labor Day. If I can't make the water park there's always next year and indoor pools till then. Relaxing exercise sounds really good as another way to purge any residual stress.

My room is still pretty scary. Awhile back I'd switched my dolls to different containers but that system hasn't had the desired efficiency so I have some other ideas to bounce around. I will be working slowly on the gridlock in any case, the same way I said above - focusing in on a manageable task at a time.

I'm not one for timed challenges, my schedule gets unpredictable - but whatever such small task I do, I'm going to post it asap - that would bring a quick shot in the arm of satisfaction just to be able to say I did a thing.

Debbie I never use the dry cycle on the dishwasher. and my new one, Bosch, doesn't have one. It's 2 hrs 15 minutes and so quiet!

My whirlwind ladies have come and gone. It was super tough on my little ones. This particular combination of ladies do it in 45 minutes. They are amazing. As I may have mentioned, originally the price was quoted in time/# of cleaners but now that we are established I pay the same amount each time. I don't care how many are here and how long they take.

Okay back to work. Keep going Debbie, you can do it!!!

Great advice Tillie! I need to be reminded to slow down and breathe! I know how lucky I am that I don't have to be out of the old house and into the new on one day! But I still feel pressure! Part of the pressure is buying furniture. I am bringing my bed and dining table and chairs and not much else. So I have to find a couch and guest bedroom furniture. I hate shopping and am bad at picking the right size furniture. I actually measured the people's sectional since it was a nice fit. I hope I can find something and have it delivered on closing day or soon after.

I am going to look into Roku as I hate cable companies. I didn't know there was no monthly fee! That's great!

I am so happy to get all the stuff for AmVets out and gone! And I am sure there will be another pickup in my future, haha!

Glad the meds are easy to get in Twinkles! I hate when they bite even when it isn't hard, it always comes as a shock. I guess they are playing? Or tasting me for later as my sister always says. I only had a cat in college for a short time. She wasn't a biter or friendly really. My nephews cats follow me all the time and want to be petted and then all of a sudden they nip me. My nephew says they are playing but I am jumpy!

Yes so glad about the dishwasher! Never had one but got to like it when babysitting for my great nephews. Theirs is always going! And I learned to like it except it takes 2 hours and 46 min to do a load. I will skip the dry cycle on mine to save time. And probably use Auto instead of heavy duty like they do.

SubC thanks for the encouragement! So glad you only have 2 and a half classes to go! My nephew is a teacher too and the prep for the new semester is hard enough, but the grades and finals are even worse it seems. He does English Lit for HS Jrs and Srs. So lots of papers to grade. His students are all last minute kids too. They always turn stuff in late and it's always a scramble to get the grades in on time. I couldn't handle that. Glad you got to work on the bowls and ornaments for Halloween. And worked on the stalls! I am amazed at how much you do!

Anyway I have to go babysitting for back to school night for my g-nephews. Shopping on the way there. Thank you all so much for being there! It helps so much!

Roku changed my life, Debbie-I cut the expensive cable cord in 2012! What a blessing it has been!!! In addition I subscribe to Hulu, Netflix and my amazon prime subscription brings with it the video streaming service. Highly recommend! No more bulky cable boxes or DVD players.

How's my Twinkles today??

My cleaning fairies are here. I never prep for them in any way. Except today. There were piles of stuff on my coffee table and I just can't deal with it. Shoved into my closet. My office closet. Not good but I did it.

Now, who will send the badger over here yo get me to deal with it?

They are here now and I'm happy. They are so good. Although I haven't yet checked I believe my bed has now undergone a professional sheet change!!!
Mi stopped up at mom's with her clean dishes. This is the easiest solution ever. I don't have to stand at her sink and wash them and she doesn't have likes if dirty dishes around. She's a bit defensive and weird about it but such is life. I'll head into a routine so she won't even notice.

A very scared black cat just ran into the living room. This team of ladies vacuums under my bed NOT ACCEPTABLE to the cat. She jumped up on my couch and was trying to hide beneath the throw pillows. I just put my throw that's on my Harvard chair over her. The throw was a gift from my designer.

My poor scared kitty.

Wow,

So much going on!

I don't think grasshoppers ship well. But I could be wrong. I'm glad twinkles is on the mend.

Debbie, you are amazing! That is a lot of stuff to clear out.

CM, i'm sorry about your email woes. I'm having to learn a bunch of computer stuff for my job, and it's a struggle.

Tatoulia - keep taking care of yourself!

I have started three pumpkin bowls and a couple of Halloween ornaments. Still picking at the studio. I also cleaned the stalls today and I have two and a half classes to go.

Tomorrow I go in to school again. I have a few more things to take and some tables to clear off (stuff to put away)

Gotta run, dh and I are trying to get off the computers by 8:30.

Hi Debbie
WOW! you have been busy!
GREAT job getting all that gathered up for donation.

OK, now pace yourself.
Don't wear yourself out or hurt yourself trying to do it all at once.
I know you are on a time schedule but you don't want to burn out before you are done there.

You can always call for the AmVet truck to come out again for another pick up.

It will be so wonderful starting your new life in the new home unencumbered by all those things you no longer need or want.
This will open up space in your life to welcome in all the wonderful new experiences awaiting you.

So far as DVDs, CDs, records and tapes go...
There are so many easy ways to watch and listen to everything and anything nowadays.
Tatoulia and I highly recommend getting a ROKU.
The device is inexpensive and small but there is everything there to watch and listen to and no monthly fee for the ROKU.
So much to choose from and so many free movie/tv sites.
No need to buy cable or store dusty DVDs or VHS tapes.

So the new house has a dishwasher and the current house doesn't?
YEA!!!



It's pretty easy to squirt medicine into a cat's mouth.
A whole lot easier than trying to force pills down their throat while they clamp their teeth down on your fingers. ;p

Hi All! OMG I am starting to panic! I think I don't have a lot of stuff but I am beginning to doubt my sanity! I had 3 large tubs of puzzles and just whittled it down to one. I had way more books and so I was ruthless. If I can get it at the library, it's going to Amvets. I called and they are coming for a pickup Thursday thank God! I have so much I hope they can take it all. A sewing machine, a suitcase, several small appliances, a couple paintings, 2 fans, a carpet sweeper, 2 small bookcases, clothes, lamps, small tables, kitchen stuff, LPs, cassettes, dvds, VCR tapes. I wrote down any that I loved so I can rent in the future, or find on Netflix. I was so sore last night I took a muscle relaxer and passed out! Still have 2 trips upstairs to get more for amvets. I have my Christmas tree and one tub of decorations to bring down that I am keeping.

Tillie I am so glad to hear Twinkles is home! Also that you don't have to stick him but just give oral meds. How does that go over? Can't imagine cats like that much! Sorry Scooter is a biter but glad he doesn't go too far.

CM, thanks for the Instagram address! Such cute dolls and bunnies! That sucks about the email addresses disappearing! I worry about my yahoo acct and I only have one! I have gmail for junk mail and don't care if it gets lost.

Tatoulia, good for you doing the dishes at night! I am doing the fly lady thing - doing my dishes at night most times. I can't wait for a dishwasher! Hope your blood work is perfect!

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
WTG! for pushing through and getting the dishes done last night!
So nice to wake up to a clean & uncluttery kitchen.
Starts the day off on the right foot.

Jack has been aggressive.
When I am outside he lunges at my legs, body slamming me trying to knock me down.
He lays down in front of me and rolls around in the dirt until he is totally filthy then he wants me to pet him.
If I try to run away from him he grabs ahold of my dress.
He dashes in front of my moving feet making me accidentally kick or step on him so I will feel guilty and feed him can food in the hopes he will forgive me and stop pouting.
Jack is the monster ;P


Maybe I should mail you a big box of assorted grasshoppers.
I have a bumper crop of them this year. ;D


Been hectic today but I think I have things under control and it should settle down now.

Twinkles is doing very well.
Scooter is leaving him alone.
Twinks has eaten kitty soup three times.
He purrs when I pet him and spent time washing his paws and face, always a good sign.

I love that you gave Scooter a grasshopper! I bet that was fun (for Scooter) until the grasshopper became a meal! I haven't seen a grasshopper in ages. City living. We do have bunnies and they are adorable.

Good luck to Twinkles today. I'm glad the kitty has you.

I woke up today and was glad that I used discipline last night to do my dishes.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
I'm glad you took the time to sit and rest on your walk back. :)

If your bloodwork shows you are low on iron your doctor will tell you and give you supplements.
That's what my doctor would always do but he always said that "I was on the fence".
Not anemic but almost. LOL

WTG! for scooping the cat box and taking out the garbage!
Just those two little tasks really make a big difference in maintenance.

Have a good refreshing night's sleep (((hug)))


Twinkles is still under the bed so I can't reach him to medicate him.
But he does not seem to be in any pain or distress, just tired and wanting to sleep undisturbed.


I had to set up a Gmail account just to make my tiny android tablet function.
Have never done anything else with that account.

I have made other Hotmail accounts before just for one or two uses, "throw away" accounts to maintain my privacy on message boards but establish contacts.

I'm relieved that today is over with and hope that Twinkles doesn't have any more problems.
Poor baby was suffering and it was making him sickly.

His sutures will dissolve.
He needs to have a check up in 3 or 4 weeks.

He also got all his booster shots today.
Sometimes that rabies shot makes them feel bad for a day.

While I was out watering I caught a big green grasshopper and gave it to Scooter to play with in the house.
He ate it and it upset his stomach.
He never ate one before and if he had chewed it even a little I think it would have stayed down.

Poor little Twinkles. I remember when we did Tigger's teeth and he looked so mournful. And BF stayed at the work most of the night to keep an eye on him and the kitty enjoyed Lebne ? it's like cream cheese or yogurt. You are so great to make a thin soup for the wee one.

I'd forgotten that Scooter is a biter. What's jack up to these days and what is his opinion on the werewolf?

I am tired and ready for bed. Have scooped the cat box, taken garbage out. Blood work went speedy today. I walked home but took the time to sit and rest on my way back. The rain started but it felt fine.

CM that is frustrating regarding all of your email boxes. I don't know that I could ever manage so many. I have my main one and then work one. For a while I had a gmail one but that's long gone. I couldn't really get the hang of gmail. I got it do one of my drs could email me. Now I just text with my regular dr.

Ok off to bed.

Goodnight everyone.

Up Date

Twinkles has been home for over an hour now.
He purrs for me when I pet him.
He is hiding under Steven's bed and in the closet.
He'll probably sleep it off there for a few hours before he is more sociable.

I made him some very thin soup, he has shown no interest in it yet.

Veterinarian said he is such a sweetheart.
She did a lot to him today.

He has good pain meds and antibiotics.
He doesn't fuss, just looks sad.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
We have not ruled out anything yet but Scooter is leaning toward it being a Werewolf/Cat burglar hybrid.

YEA! for having all laundry done!
Hope you can wait till Wednesday for the perfect bed making. ;D


Hi Debbie
Veterinarians have learned that cats all refuse to take pills so now they give out liquid oral meds and syringes to administer the drugs.
But if they gave out injectables I would be able to handle that too since I am a surgical assistant and have given many injections.
Plus I used to pierce ears for my friends.

Last Summer my lawn had a lot of dead circles and looked terrible.
At WallyWorld I found a clearance priced bag of GrubX and applied that this Spring and there are no more dead patches.
So I believe the grubs are gone but the earthworms are still there.
Occasionally I get some gophers in the side yard but they have not been much of a problem for me because I have Hawks and Great Horned Owls that say gophers are delicious.

Your new home sounds lovely.
You should be able to age gracefully in place there.
Hope you are all settled in there before your surgery.
Just let us know what we can help you with or anything that you are struggling with.


Hi CriticalMass
Twinkles thanks you ;)
So sorry the stupid computer/interwebs is causing you grief.
Take care, rest and relax.
(((HUG)))


Scooter has been very quiet and flying under the radar all day.
Has not begged for anything, has not bitten me even once.
That's why he is still here, I could not adopt him out because he bites.
If he were in an animal shelter they would have put him down simply because he bites.
At least I have been able to teach him not to bite hard or break the skin.
He bites because he is just a natural born A-hole.

Feeling discouraged, and irritated at the Internet.

I have a lot of email accounts I launched over the years because I didn't always want to use the same one - I separated things like important business, arts related, and whatever.

But they started being really picky, these email services like Gmail and Yahoo, and they read your IP address apparently and if you don't login from the same place they send these stupid verification things - I deliberately login from more than one place so as to keep the internet on its cybertoes.

So I'd not want to bother with that till I had time to sit down and go through all my email accounts and maybe even streamline and eliminate a few.

Well, more time went by than I realized, because that's a tedious task and my computer is slow. Apparently over 12 months - and now Yahoo has DELETED MY INBOX/OUTBOX AND CONTACTS for several of them and I'm just fit to be tied about it.

I hope there's nothing important, I think it's wrong, I could storm and cuss and fuss but luckily I'm too tired. I'll put out this new fire and figure out how to deal with email as it is now (I preferred how it was in the 00s - it was simple and user-friendly).

I think I've had enough of computers in all ways for now.

I'm still really tired from the bunny event. It'll take awhile to get up to speed.

The instagram is BunnyPlanetQueen

Speedy recovery to Twinkles

Great investigative work, Tillie! Have you ruled out giraffes?

Debbie thank you for your nice long posts! I am excited about your new home! Great work on getting rid of books. I have more that I need to let go.

One of my walking buddies is in NJ and other one is in Kuwait. It can be done!!

How can we beat support you for your upcoming move? Im excited you'll have two bathrooms! What a dream! I'm sorry that you lost your husband.

Sorry this is so fragmented, I'm getting ready to go to hospital. But wanted to check in.

ALL of my laundry and kitty's laundry is done. On Wednesday when my cleaners come, I'll do the sheets. Love my professionally made bed.

CriticalMass, Nice to meet you too! Am looking forward to hearing about the Bunny event also. My nephew is 11 and just adopted a bunny and I love it. I did not expect to but he purred when I held him and hides behind my back. He is just learning to like people. He already likes the 3 cats and 2 dogs which I can't believe! I was scared the dogs would eat him! His name is Mc Nugget, Nugget for short.

Can you put your Instagram address on again? I saved Tatoulia's but somehow lost yours (in my lurking days). Now I have to do some work as I am slow at posting and it is time to pack! Sorry I blabbed on and on!

Tillie I am glad to hear the Vet is good with the meds. Hoping the kitty sleeps through the pain. I have never given anyone a shot but always thought I could do it. But this is weird, I cannot bring myself to put someone's pierced earring back in! My niece lost one as a child and I just couldn't do it! But give me a needle and I think I could. Strange.

I am only moving from IL to IN about 15 miles I think. The houses are similar in size, but the new one has 2 bathrooms unlike this one which has one (in the dining room!). Always wanted one for company. Three Bedrooms and open kitchen, dining and living area. It is really perfect. I should be downsizing as I just got my Medicare card this month for my birthday haha! But it is on a slab and no stairs so I can manage for years I think. My health is good, my joints are not. So rejoined the gym and lost weight and now I must keep it up. I wish I was like Tatoulia and liked to walk. I like yard work but have decided to use the weights at the gym and get stronger. My Physical Therapist said I had a strong core and should save PT for after surgery as I did plenty at the gym. That was so nice of her! Saved me all those co- pays!

Tillie, I wonder what is digging? I have moles but they dig tunnels. They are kinda cute but they make my mowing difficult. So I put out Grubx to kill the food supply for them and they moved next door. My neighbor is not bothered as he has a riding mower. He feeds all the stray cats and coyotes and deer and skunks anyway.

Hope Twinkles is home soon and on the mend!

Yes Subc the timing of the move and surgery is not ideal. I didn't think it would take so long to find a house. Have looked since March, but everyone in Illinois is running across the border to Indiana and houses go the day they are listed. My new house is only about 12 miles from the old one but I wanted to stay near family and friends. Hope to be in the house by the 18th of September and have surgery by the end of the month. I am excited but scared as this is my first house purchase. My husband who passed away last October had our present house. I never would have chosen the house but now it will be sad to leave. I have a garden and trees I planted and I will miss the neighbors. But am transplanting my favorite flowers and will visit the neighbors.

I lost my long post where I answered everyone! OOPS! I now learned my lesson and in a word program and will copy and paste!

I think of stores like Restore and Goodwill like you do! My own storage unit! They always have stuff when you need it and so wait till you need it, haha!

Happy belated Anniversary!

Hi Tatoulia
Wishing you all the best blood test results (((HUG)))


Nice the lesson has been moved but that you are still all prepared for when it happens.

WTG! getting all kitty laundry done!
If nobody there wants the toy mousies you could donate them to the shelter.
Hoping your Mom's new baby likes to play with toys just because it's so cute watching them.


Walking and taking the subway is a good plan.
I know that you will call a cab should it be too much for you.

It's always seemed strange to me that we have to shower when it's muggy just so we can dry off, but it does work.


Been doing some investigating...
Not a gopher, I know gopher holes all too well.
Not a mole or a vole because they dig tunnels.
Shrews do not dig tunnels but eat lots of insects (grubs and earthworms) and rodents.
They do not gnaw the roots off of trees and bushes, killing them.
They are considered a beneficial species, not a pest in the yard/garden.
They have excellent hearing and can hear the insects in the ground, like the Robin does.
They are also venomous. Some species have enough venom to kill up to 20 mice.
They do not inject venom with fangs. The venom flows from glands and is inserted into the prey on their teeth, like a Gila Monster.
Shrews do not damage lawns with their tiny little holes, in fact the tiny holes are good for the grass.
Shrews have higher metabolisms than Humming Birds.
They must eat almost constantly or in half a day they will starve to death.
So, I may have a shrew. ???

To Be Continued........

Dear little Twinkles. I'm very curious about your animal mystery! I guess it's too much to ask for something amazing like a zebra.

Going up for blood work in a bit. Luckily I called ahead and the orders weren't in. Dr has now put in.

Doing all kitty laundry today and I'm really happy about that! Even the dozen mice that were under the dishwasher are getting a bath. I'll put some aside for mom's new kitty, whenever that should occur.

They don't want me teaching til October so that takes the pressure off. But I'll finish up the remaining chapters this weekend and then look to consolidate the lessons.

SubC what I am doing is simply no where near the scale and scope of your lessons. Mine are just little lunch hour Lunch and Learns. Nothing too fancy; trust me on that.

Looking forward to hearing about the Bunny Event and very curious regarding what you ate!!

I'm going to have to figure out a safe way to get to dr. I'm thinking subway then walk and then just the opposite on the way home. I'll shower soon. I shower at night too. So humid.

I could go Wednesday but I'm so worried about blood levels I would like to do today.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Good luck with the lesson planning.
Hope you do find the time to work in the studio a little this week.

My first thought was that it was a skunk digging the tiny holes but I have never seen holes like this before and I have always had skunks foraging here.
It's not a gopher, gophers dig tunnels not tiny divots.

Well, Twinkles is at the veterinary clinic.
He was quite concerned this morning about there being no food or water bowls on the placemat.
He just sat there staring at the spot where they should have been.
Asking me if I knew anything about this tragedy.

Good job Tatoulia!

I still have six more classes to do (in six days) and September lesson plans to write the week after. I have a starting point with in all my classes, but a book title or a craft are not lesson plans!

I'm sorry about the kitty food. It's the little things like that that hit you when you aren't paying attention.

Good luck to twinkles today.

Here I would wonder if skunks were making those holes digging for grubs.

CM, I am looking forward to the bunny report.

Good grief on the Christmas stuff. Even I haven't started on Christmas stuff, and I have 22 ornaments planned to be done by the weekend before thanksgiving. I am trying to sneak in a little Halloween if I get time to work in the studio this week. But it takes about six weeks start to finish for most pieces, and any Halloween I sell this year will be if I do the market on the last Saturday in sept.

I got rid of another blouse yesterday. I got dressed to go out for dinner with dh and as always I asked "do I look ok?" And he hesitated. I asked "what don't you like?" And he said "I don't know, something about that top isn't right. I don't think it's cut right for you." So boom - out of my closet it goes!

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Yea, that is sad about her kitty being gone. :(

WAY TO GO! working on your course and having the bulk of the work over & done with!

Great that you got that new dishwasher and didn't put it off.
It is a very necessary appliance for both you and your Mom.

Discipline to exercise is the way to do it unless we push ourselves too hard when we really shouldn't.
Please pay attention to your body if it needs to take it easier.

That is disgusting!
August and you saw Christmas stuff.
I have already seen a commercial for decorations.
It is a store that sells only XMas items. :p


All day today I fed Twinkles.
He didn't even have to ask for canned food, I just dished it up for him.
Several times today I fed him kitty snax too.
Of course Scooter also got the same.
Now the dishes are all put away.
They are both sleeping soundly now.
By the time Twinkles is singing for his breakfast he will already be at the Vet.
So I won't have to listen to him complaining about how he is starving to death. ;)

For the past few nights there has been something in my grass digging tiny shallow holes.
Have not been able to catch sight of this creature.
The holes are only about an inch across and are one to two inches deep.
Every morning there are some new holes.
This excavation is not damaging the lawn.
I'm thinking someone is eating my earthworms.
I know the Robin listens and can hear the worms in the ground, then she will peck them out.
But Robin doesn't dig these type of holes and Robin never hunts after dark.

I bet you have your hands full, Tillie, trying to keep the food and water away from the cats. It would kill me. It has come close to killing me!

I worked and worked on my course today. Only have two very slim chapters (one is a summary of the entire course) to do. Not much has changed in the new edition. I will go back (or not) and try to tighten up my slides. But the bulk I'd over and done with.

BF and I ran errands tonight and we did mom's grocery shopping. At mom's I picked up her dishes and brought them home to wash. It's so easy that it's embarrassing. I only brought one coffee mug since I didn't want them to break on the way home. I've already run the dishwasher and I'll being her everything back tmr.

I felt sad that I didn't need to buy cat food for mom.

I then went for a walk around 930 tonight. I didn't feel like it so I kept saying, when motivation fails, then I need to use discipline. So I did it. I hadn't realized how muggy it was til I left the cool mall.

Oh and I saw Christmas stuff out. I am completely disgusted.