Good afternoon.

By the new metric I am doing very well. I put on my clothes, did my chores, added some straw to one of the chicken pens (barn attempt), took the compost out and spread out one of the garden tarps (garden attempt?), and spent 20 minutes just picking stuff up in my studio and putting it away or with like items (pottery attempt?)

Now I am cooking some rice and some broccoli so I can eat a vegetable.

Lila, good for you maintaining your nightstand!

I would say keep focusing on the meds - in a house with small children they are a concern, and also they are expensive things that you need.

I taught four classes and unloaded and loaded the kiln yesterday. The kiln requires multiple trips up and down three extra tall flights of stairs. I got winded and tired. I got home with nothing left after the classes. I have shinsplints and sore shoulders. And my ddil scared me to death last night. She called crying, and I asked if she was ok. Backstory - there was a very big overwhelming mess in her house involving Birdy, a bowl of curry and the dog, and she was tired and overwhelmed and home with just Birdy.

So, when I asked if she was ok, she said "no". And I forgot that I did not raise this child. Because all of mine would have said "yes, but..." as in "Hi Mom, I'm ok, but I think I broke my collarbone" (she did) "hi mom, I'm ok, but I totaled my car." "Hi mom, I'm ok, but I'm definitely losing the baby."- times when my kids were "not ok" included a severe panic attack when I had to drop everything and show up, eight shattered adult teeth, the loss of a young friend, and the end of a first serious relationship that my child thought was approaching marriage. Stained carpet, furniture, and paint are not a crisis. For a long minute, I thought something really bad had happened to Birdy or my son.

Anyway, I talked to her until she was calmed down and told her to just put the now clean and wet dog in her crate and get herself and Birdy clean and then take Birdy and the dog to a clean room and wait for my son to come home and finish the clean up. Then I messaged him. When he got home, he messaged me "thanks mom, everything is ok here."

Anyway, I got nine hours of sleep last night and I am still tired and I have a crashing headache. I would like very much for this to be over.

My original intent for today was to do yoga, finish cleaning up dishes and laundry and various messes in the house, and plan my garden, and start seeds, and do pottery, and organize some school stuff, and work on the barn because it's about to get cold again.

My new intent is to put on clothes, do my chores, attempt one of those things, eat a vegetable, and get to bed early.

I'll be back later.

post 2 today -

Well as sick as I am, I still got some things on my list done. I cleaned the kitchen counters. I started to sort my meds - took them out of the bags and consolidated them.

I also made soup, and rested.

I hope you all are having a good day.

hi CM, nice to hear from you! Thank you for coming and posting! It is nice to come here and see familiar 'faces,' so to speak. I hope for new ones, too. Hi Tatoulia and SubC.

I am on my days off again finally. My dog is doing much better. I am sick now though, with a head cold that started yesterday. I'm very congested and tired. But, the grandkids are all off visiting a friend today, so it is quiet, and I will be trying to accomplish a few goals.

I have an abbreviated list, too, SubC. I will share it here, since it has been in my planner for over a week with no real progress.

- do something with all the tea that Star flung everywhere (tea bags, boxes, etc from a drawer, all mixed up, need sorting and a container and a new place to be)

- clean off the kitchen counters so there is space for things and for food prep. The counters are a disaster!! Stuff everywhere including like 10 different meds for the dog strewn around.

- clean off the bar/counter, which is piled higher than I am tall, for the same reasons

- work on my bedroom, which is a wide assortment of piles and stacks on every flat surface EXCEPT for the nightstand that I cleared last month and promised I would not re-clutter any newly cleared space. (It looks so nice, an oasis of order in a sea of chaos!)

- work on my master bathroom, another sea of chaos

- sort my meds. I have bottles of prescriptions everywhere and bags of newly filled bottles all over the place.

That is my planner list. I hope to do some of that today.

I also want to trim my dog's nails today.

Today I have:
- loaded and run the dishwasher
- called and reported income and household changes on my medicaid application
- cooked breakfast, watched tv, read for awhile

I really need to get some of this stuff done because the piles are awful.

Good morning.

Even that shortened list of goals proved too much. The counter is still a mess and I need to gather my thoughts for today's lessons. I also must go to the feed store on my way to school this morning.

Dh says my focus for this week should be getting healthy.

CM, I think now might be a very good time to focus on pantry eating. The whole tariff thing is likely to have effects on food pricing. I can only cross my fingers that it will encourage the use of farmers markets and local, in season eating as that becomes available.

I need to go back and read some recent posts, but just wanted to say hello.

Thanks for the Candlemas wishes, SubC! It was nice that it fell on Sunday because I don't always get to weekday Mass on the day. Very nice with symbolism of Jesus being "a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory to my people Israel." Beautiful. Also, of course, Groundhog Day but as someone pointed out, if he sees his shadow winter lasts about six weeks either way. It's hard to believe it's February already, what with bad weather and being sick January was sort of a time warp. Super Bowl coming up, though I'm not into football but KC sure has been in a lot of them in recent years - Wichita has a lot of Chiefs fans.

Today was payday for me, so I ran errands. Not too many. I'm trying to not buy many groceries and stuff, eat up the backlog groceries here that I stockpiled for winter, and I hope that I can get the very wonky pantry back to neatness and order eventually. Things are piled in crazy ways, a situation which just devolved over time. It's another one of those things where there's not a whole lot of space, and I have thought of holders and baskets, even tried some in the past, but I end up buying different things in different shape or size boxes or cans, so that standardization just doesn't seem to happen. Oh well. I do still think thinning it out will help me perhaps envision some solution. And it will help me think about what items I use more efficiently and consistently vs. impulse buys that I don't always like when I get them home and they languish.

Right now I'm going to make beef with noodles for a late lunch.

Good mor Ning. Tatoulia, I'm glad you got out of the house.

Lila, don't get too exhausted. I think I remember now that we had this conversation. I also am technically a pescatarian, but only rarely eat fish - I was raised on the coast fishing with my dad and so eat fresh seafood when I am home, along with occasional tuna or salmon as encouraged by my doctor (a few times a year, not the every week suggested) and now and then a fish from our pond.

I am still up and down. I did get 8 hours of sleep last night. I could have used more, but Dh got up to go work out, made no attempt to be quiet, and left the lights on. My head is very stuffy and my energy level is low.

I had a very impressive list of goals when I went to bed last night, but right now I am thinking that laundry, planning for my classes this week, clearing the counter back off, and putting away the last of the things I got out for Bean could be enough.

I do really need to do some clean up work in the barn...maybe my energy will improve. I will try to eat some healthy food - my appetite is gone again this morning as well. All I want is cinnamon tea.

hello friends. I am feeling better tonight. Thank you for the casserole thoughts, Tatoulia! I will take it! Yes I am vegetarian (surprise, SubC!) although technically I am pescatarian since I eat fish maybe 2 or 3 times a month. However, I get tired of explaining it to people in real life plus I have a shellfish allergy, so I generally say vegetarian, and that gets me by.

Tomorrow I go back to work, and I am glad and also nervous, but I plan to go in for about 3 hours and then come home to feed and check on my dog and take a break. Then unless my afternoon meeting gets cancelled I will go back in after 3 hours, for a 2 hour meeting. Feels like a lot after 3 weeks off. I have wanted a long stretch of time off to get things done, but nothing got done since I was dealing with crisis after crisis. But it's ok, I just have to roll with what is.

I do think I will be exhausted tomorrow, though.

I am looking forward to getting things done on my days off.

I am glad you are enjoying your grandsons, SubC, what a delight.

Hi everyone! I forced myself out of the house today and I am glad for that. I returned stuff at two stores, picked up my prescription, glad about that.

I'm going to watch the news now and then I have a list of things to do tonight. Hoping to get the garbage together and the cat boxes cleaned so I will be ready for trash night when I get home from work tmr.

I think the washer is in use but I may try to do a wash load.

What a beautiful post, SubC. Warmed my heart in every way.

Good morning!

Happy Candlemas CM!

Tatoulia, I think I am the only vegetarian in our group?

Lila, how are you today? I'm glad Totsdad can fix your car!

Tatoulia, it's the finishing the tasks that always gets me too.

Bean was very happy to be home yesterday, and I was very happy to get to hold Buddy! He is really a different baby now. He has a follow up appointment on Valentine's Day to check his healing, and then he will be able to visit my house with Bean!

I thought I would get a lot more sleep last night, but I slept terribly.

I went by the library after the teacher workshop, joined the winter reading challenge, and checked out sone books. Last night I stayed up until nearly 11 reading one of them. I read the whole book. Then when I did go to bed, I woke up over and over again. I finally got up at 5:30. Maybe I will be able to catch up on sleep tonight.

The workshop was delightful yesterday. Very inspirational. I got some work done and socialized with adults. I got to talk with a fellow I still think of as "a lovely young man" even though he is well into in his 40's now. He went to school with Dh cousin back when we were adults with kids and they were boys with dreams. Both of them have become gifted artists and teachers, but Kirk is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I know and it was an interesting experience to tell him about my month. The care and concern just flowed across his face and when I said "couldn't go home because his brother had just had major lung surgery" he actually teared up. After awhile you just start accepting things as normal, and it was a relief to have someone acknowledge that no, this was not normal. This was awful.

I brought home three pieces of finished work from my fall class, two pieces of unfinished work from my fall class, four pieces of unfinished work from the workshop, a handmade tool from the workshop, literature, a cork coaster, two pens, two really nice brushes, and three containers of consumable surface finishing materials. I have no idea how to track all of that. I've been keeping track of the pottery I make separately and somewhat loosely, and I feel like other than the brushes, it is all ephemera. I don't count pens out when they run out of ink and I drop them in the recycling box at school..

This morning is the brunch, and then I have been invited to come back to Bean's house to spend time with the boys, and then I will come home and get my house in order for the week.

I would love to make you a casserole! I cannot remember if you are vegetarian. In any event, I'll make you something comforting with no meat.

I had soup for dinner, which I found very comforting. It was from a can but did the trick.

I am happy with how my house is looking. I have a new mental trick I am playing. I tend to do things halfway or three quarters of the way. I'm forcing myself to complete the tasks. For example, getting the dishes in the dishwasher but leaving a random thing that I'll do later. What is wrong with me? So I'm finishing the tasks and I feel good. I swept up before friend came last night and that felt good, too. I changed my sheets today because I canceled the cleaners this week because I was sick and I don't want to wait til they are here for clean sheets. So as I was putting the cleaners sheets on and making my bed, I started to walk away before putting the pillowcases on, thinking I could do later. WHAT? An extra 60 seconds and the bed was made and looking tidy.

So that's my new battle for myself. Feeling strong.

I did zero today btw. But I'll get outside tmr. I've been cooped up all week and my lungs feel good enough to be in the cold. I did some online shopping which I now have to return everything. That was a stupid exercise.

hi SubC, thank you for the good thoughts. It is fun having littles around, but a lot of work! Enjoy your sleep. Hi to you too Tatoulia. I am feeling a bit better today. TotsDad is working on my car and found and additional problem but he things he has that fixed as well. I probably will take it for an oil change at the dealership and ask them to double check that nothing else is wrong.

I would like a newer car, one that is reliable. I am asking God to provide whatever I need. I am happy with whatever.

I did a bit of cleanup and laundry. Am spending time with my dog and and going to enjoy my days at home. There is a lot I would like to do, but little energy to do it.

Actually I would like someone to make me a nice comforting casserole for dinner.

Oh Lila, I have been worried about your dog! I'm so sorry you are dealing with these struggles.

I am still post- Covid tired with a throat clearing cough. I nearly lost my voice at school yesterday, but it was good to be back.

Bean enjoyed his last evening with us and then got a bit overwhelmed at bedtime. He was teary and didn't want to go to bed. Change is overwhelming for him. He told me he will come back "Sunday night" but I told him Mommy and Daddy want to keep him longer than that because they miss him, and Buddy misses him. (And also, Grammie is planning to go to bed early Sunday night and sleep late!) We are going to skip the Monday visit this week, but I'm going to find some time to go by their house and see Buddy.

It actually feels strange that I will not be eating dinner before 6:00 tonight, and my evening won't include an hour of pajamas, tooth brushing, potty trips, stories, and cuddles.

This morning I need to gather up the many things that need to go home with Bean, and then this evening I will tidy away all the toys we have just left out everywhere.

My director sent me my proposed schedule for next year (I gave her a lot of leeway in what classes I would teach -I told her to just use me in whatever slots she needed as long as it was two full days) I'm going to be teaching mostly elementary/middle school Wednesdays and Fridays. It's a total of 10.5 hours. This year I have 11.5 hours, but it is spread out over three days with an extra lunch and two more hours of commute. I'll probably end up with a roomate again because I am only teaching two days.

Poor Lila! Poor doggie! I'm so sorry you have been going through this and now the car is on the Fritz! I am thinking about you! Sending warm wishes.

Subc I have to laugh at "pinnacle of fine dining". I could go for a chili dog right now! We used to love Howard Johnson's when I was a kid.

Friend came over, put the Christmas stuff into the closet, and I convinced her to take all of my lovely glass ornaments. She packed them in a box but it is pouring rain so she'll get them one night next week. Giant weight off of my shoulders. They are so beautiful and so perfect, but I will never be able to have a tree while I have cats.

So I am feeling better. I spent an hour cleaning up before she got here so I feel significantly less chaotic. Still more to go but an excellent start.

hello friends. I can't believe I have not been here in three weeks. I have had a terrible time. My dog almost died after surgery and has been in and out of vet ICU for 3 weeks. It has been a nightmare. Now my car is broken down and I've been not feeling well. My dog is going to need re-checks as well so now I am stressed out trying to get my car fixed in case he needs to go in urgently. The hospital he was in that saved him in a couple hours away. The local hospital was basically ready to give up and let him die. I am kind of traumatized. But, I am trying to get it together and go back to work and start cleaning up my house which is a mess.

I am glad Buddy's surgery went well. What a relief. I'm sorry you've been sick, SubC... I read the other posts also and want to say hi, Tatoulia, CM... my brain is running on fumes.

Lol Tatoulia - I think your idea of mess and chaos is likely fairly tame. Borrow a 4 year old some time.

We are in the home stretch. Today we stay home together, Dh has a guitar lesson after work, so he will be home late (after bedtime)

Tomorrow we go to school (yay school!) and Dh says we can all go out to Skyline to celebrate for dinner (Bean is very excited about that - Skyline is his pinnacle of dining. - if you have never heard of it, try google. "Skyline Chili", remember, he's four.)

Saturday morning we get up, get in the car (no breakfast required - light buffet available at teacher workshop, no one will begrudge a 4 y.o. A muffin) drive down to the pottery studio, and mommy whisks him away while I spend the day at the pottery studio learning fun new lesson plan ideas with other teachers. Objects will probably come home.

Sunday I may go back to the studio for the monthly coffee and clay social. The theme for February (they skipped January) is "setting and keeping goals and resolutions in your clay practice"

Good to hear you have eggs! I am so worried about the bird flu and glad you are keeping the chickens safe and toasty!

I do hope you have strength to work and go to your pottery class!

I am much improved today. Thank goodness. My house is a terrible mess.i cannot keep living like this. You would all find it very messy. It's terrible. Chaotic. I think I'll see if I can make myself some dinner and determine if I have what it takes to get my place cleaned up. I canceled the cleaners this week because she's I cannot get them sick.they'd probably be okay if they came on Friday but I have an electrician coming on Friday. I need some outlets replaced.

So I will endeavor to be productive and I'll get back to you to record my progress.

Hello CM and Lila and Road!

Well, we aren't making it to school today. His cough was just too bad for my conscience yesterday. I got subs.

I am planning to take him to school on Friday even if he is coughing, because the 2024 guidelines say ten days (when I looked them up, they are now labelled as an historical document no longer in force - there are no new guidelines) - my boss says "24 hours fever free and whenever you feel better" and kids are coughing and sneezing all over school all winter. I'm hoping he can go home Saturday.

I have an all day pottery workshop for teachers on Saturday and Dh has promised to stay home with Bean if his parents aren't ready for his return.

My appetite has mostly come back, but my weight has stabilized, which is good. I'd like to hang on to the weight loss. (I'd like to build on the weight loss) my energy level still isn't fully back though.

A friend came over last night and I gave her a bunch of eggs. The chickens and ducks have been laying because the heat lamp was on so much. She said the local grocery store was out. I told Dh we are rich because we have poultry.

No cleaning up or clearing out projects happening, although Bean is very slowly using up drawing paper - at the rate he works, I clearly have enough drawing paper to last his entire childhood.

Glad to hear everyone's on the mend, SubC! So great that the chickens can eat the seeds!

I continue to be sick. Now the coughing is accompanied by head stuffiness, blocked ear, runny nose. Progress, I tell myself. I'm not hungry but had some soup.

Good morning!

Bean is finally sleeping in today. Hopefully it means he has turned the corner and we will both be able to go back to school on Wednesday.

Yesterday I went through my seed box and cleared out all the empty packets and everything too old to plant (there wasn't too much, mostly things that come in packets much too big for my garden. and it all went to the chickens. They like seeds.)

I'm going to try to put in my garden order today. I made a list of things I want- without looking at the catalogues. Hopefully that will keep me from over ordering too much.

In my bags were, to the best of my recollection, a fleece (I have a new one from my company and I do not need two), some summer tops that weren't doing me any favors, my lunch plates, two champagne flutes that were part of a holiday gift from a vendor (I gave away the champagne), a couple of Christmas things from years gone by that I do not need, and I cleaned out my winter scarf and hat drawer. So stuff that I'm not using. I cannot remember what else but all pretty decent stuff. Some old perfume bottles of my mother's, which I put in a ziplock hoping that someone collects old perfume bottles.

I packaged up these things a while ago. I have two pair of boots that I should've taken but I forgot. Snow boots in very good condition. Ones I used to wear to work back when I wore a skirt or dress every single day. The pandemic changed that for me. Stuff that I just don't need anymore. There's always something.

I have not yet packaged up the part of mom's china that I'm getting rid of. That needs to go to a different donation center.

So yes, I too feel amazed that there's always more but such is life I miss Lila and Road and Tillie and LR and Dianne and Diane and bitsy. So many. I'm sure I missed a few.

Good morning.

Wonder how Lila is doing?

Somehow I feel better that everyone else has their Christmas decorations out too. Although Tatoulia has two shoeboxes and I have seven bins.

Day ten. Supposedly according to the most recent wisdom I found, I am no longer contagious, but I still have a stuffy nose and a cough. And I still woke up with a nasty "sick" taste in my mouth.

I did get my appetite back yesterday so that my weight bounced back up a bit.

Bean's cough sounds horrible. Dh ran out to the pharmacy and got him a cough suppressant/decongestant/acetaminophen for ages 4 and up yesterday. I think it helps a little.

CM, I think your yarn plan is good. And as someone else who is having a "zombie January" I am impressed with any forward motion.

I've actually been feeling an urge to knit lately - but not enough to get out a project. My next things I need to do are lesson plans for Wednesday, garden planning and seed orders, and helping Bean make valentines for his class for after he returns to school. We definitely have plenty of supplies.

Tatoulia, sometimes I can't believe that you are still taking bags to goodwill. But as I have been noticing things that come in the last year, I guess taking things to goodwill is actually an ongoing condition of life.

I'm sorry you are still sick, SubC.

Cm that's a good idea for using up the yarn! Everyone wins!

I'm doing laundry tonight. A quilt and now my sheets. I have two cat blankets that also need attention. Might as well get it all out of the way.

I do have a car for tmr afternoon and I'll feel great getting my two bags to goodwill. I'm trying to figure out if it would be possible to get a third bag out.

CM my Christmas stuff is still on display. Some of it has been put away but some remains. I may put it all in two of those shoebox sized clear bins until my friend can come over to put away properly. She's going to try to come for dinner on night this upcoming week. I know I am spoiled.

I have an antique quilt that I really love but have never used. I'm going to check on its condition, have it cleaned, and then I'm going to use it. It's white with red embroidery. I feel like my time on earth is running out and I need to use these things. I've started to use mom's china and it makes me very happy. I'm donating my sandwich plates tomorrow. Will be using mom's salad plates in their stead.

Speedy recovery, SubC! The colder weather may be trying to drag it out more. I'm happy for your Buddy though, that was so sweet about how much he works on talking now that he can get his breath easier.

We did take a bunch more boxes of my roommate's books to donate at the library. I'm starting to deal with stuff that got brought indoors from my van when the severe cold weather was coming in. It just got piled wherever. That was utter chaos because somehow the forecast originally sounded like we might have another day to prepare and then we didn't. So it was very rushed. And hunkering down in the earlier storm, then getting out afterward, then getting sick plus a second round of bad frigid temps - all of this made the days pass in a sort of zombie blur.

It wasn't a great time for thinking and planning much less accomplishing things. So we just went for laughs and binged watched my Big Bang Theory DVDs. Roommate was a little more efficient and did knit hats to use up yarn while we watched the show. I wanted to crochet, but the zombie mode meant I was tired and brain fogged and didn't actually start to do so just yet. Perhaps soon. A few years back I offloaded a lot of extra yarn but the one tub I kept I really do like the pretty colors of, and I'd like to crochet a granny afghan to donate to church, which should be doable. Easy units and easy to store while it's being done, portable too for places like doctor's waiting room, etc.

I have a lot of computer and paperwork to catch up on too, and I'm making some inroads on that. Some of that overlaps with decluttering office supplies and so on in the bedroom.

We still have some Christmas lights up, lol. It was a way to have cheerfulness during the dreary arctic time. I'm hoping to switch it out to LED Valentine's lights soon. Amazing how some little thing like that can lift the mood - and those tiny light sets don't take up a bunch of extra room to store. We also have St. Pat's, Easter, July 4th, etc.

Wonder what is keeping everybody.

I finally got all of the Christmas stuff put away. It's been hard with a 4 y.o. And Covid. I'm still sick!

Found another thing to get rid of.

Grateful that buddy's surgery went well! Sorry you are all so sick!

Cm I'm glad your roommate is working on her books! Sorry to hear you've been sick.

TLYounger I don't remember you right off the bat but I'm glad you are here! Please post!


I have two big bags to go to goodwill and I've reserved a car! Planning to get this out on Sunday. Last few weekends have not worked out due to weather or laziness. One or the other.

Bean is now sick.
He can go home January 31, I think.
I am so tired. I have another sub lined up for Friday, but not the following week. I will definitely have to be out again on Tuesday, but if he feels better and hasn't had a fever for 24 hours school policy is he can come to preschool on Wednesday and Friday. - which explains why we currently have five teachers out sick - the best guidance I can find is people are contagious for ten days after onset of symptoms, possibly 14 days after exposure.

Buddy is home, off his pain medication, happy and chatty! The eating difficulties he had before surgery are gone.

I found a pair of snowman mugs to get rid of when I was looking for a small bowl for Bean.

Hi CM,

Thanks for popping in.

Buddy has all his tubes out but still has air in his chest cavity that shouldn't be there - another X-ray tomorrow.

Bean is still healthy, we are still sick. I'm putting a mask on and dropping Bean and plans for my sub at school tomorrow.

He misses his parents so much. ?

You should see him grin when they send pictures of Buddy though! And Buddy talks now! He wasn't making sounds before except wheezing or crying, but now it's not so hard to breathe, he has a whole range of coos and shrieks!

One day at a time.

Glad for good news on Buddy. Sorry about the covid. I'm just getting over it myself. Thought my shot from October would protect me longer. But I got a bad load of it dumped on me. It was a week ago Monday at the gym. Roommate and I had gone to a different branch and I was looking where various machines were, and encountered this chick doing lunges over a fairly wide area and coughing up a storm, no attempt to cover her mouth. I immediately retreated from that area but apparently not quickly enough. Very maddening. Today I feel much better. It is such a frustrating disease though, and I wish it had never come into existence. I want to find more nutritional things to boost my immunity.

Roommate's book downsizing is still ongoing and now that I'm well I'll be able to do more with the space cleared. We've been stalled in getting donations out because of my illness and the frigid weather here. Spring can't come soon enough for me.

Buddy is doing well.

Dh and I have Covid.

Bean can't go home.

SubC, been thinking about Buddy. Glad to hear things went well.

We are in for another round of bitter cold the next few days. Yuck. But it doesn't sound like there will be an ice storm or blizzard this time.

Hello!

Happy New Year! I have an appointment now, but I will post...something soon! :-)

Buddy is out of surgery and in the ICU for monitoring. The surgery apparently went well.

Oooh sorry about the dog, Lila! I hope he's doing better.

SubC I am thinking of you and your family and the surgeons.

I finished my evals today, too, SubC. I had only three and they were a bugaboo. I spent Friday, part of Saturday, part of Sunday, and today and finally got through them. Truly dreadful.

Cm how are you holding up in the weather?

Not much to report here. I'm showered and the dishwasher is running. Time to go to bed.

Evaluations are done.
Counter is clean again.
Laundry is caught up.
We are preparing for "operation hospital".

Oh Lila! I'm so sorry about your dog? What happened?

Mr. Kitty was expensive, but not that kind of expensive. I'm glad you have insurance!

Mr.kitty is not fully recovered btw - his incision is still draining and he should probably have another round of antibiotics, but as long as he is acting like he feels fine (he is) I'm just going to keep cleaning it and letting him fight on his own.

I am just puttering through my evaluations. Bean was going to come out sledding today, but his parents decided they want to keep the family in full quarantine pre surgery so he is not coming and also I am not going there tomorrow. Suddenly I have plenty of time to get my school work prepped - now I just have to try to not get lazy and put it off.

I am not really trying to make progress in January - just keep up with laundry, dishes, and counter, and get some exercise. I'm rereading sone of my vast collection of children's books as escapism, so I may purge a few more of those. Mostly ones that seem dated or bland. - reclaiming shelf space 1/4" at a time, lol!

I have a few I never read - just finished "tween" book one of my kids left behind from the days when I could not keep up with their reading - and it was really good . Also it is a trilogy, so now I have the other two in my cart at an online used book seller. If they are still there at the end of the month (after I get paid), I may order them just as a pick me up to get through winter.

What a day I had yesterday. I got zero decluttering or cleaning done. Instead I spent all day into the evening with my dog in the vet. It ended up he needed surgery. He is still there. They think he will be alright. It was so scary, I feel completely drained. I am extremely thankful I did not cancel my pet insurance 2 weeks ago when the premium went up. I was seriously considering it. But this is thousands and thousands of dollars so I am glad now I have the insurance.

Will be recovering today.

hellooooo!

I'm back after a very full work week. I have two days off with nothing scheduled but being home and cleaning etc. I did get my pedicure, which was so nice! I also dropped off my donations and box of books.

And, I have been decluttering my office, which had started to look a lot like my bedroom, which is unacceptable. I am not counting anything from my office in my Tallies, but, I gave away two games and a bulletin board and got a big stand moved into someone else's space (since it is theirs), and was given a nice little cabinet which I cleaned and am putting keep items in instead of them being in piles on surfaces.

I will continue making my office a better space, I did order some little containers/desk drawer organizers because the drawer is awful! Looking forward to making it neat.

Today I did some reading and study. Have the first load of laundry in the wash. Made breakfast and coffee.

Hoping to add to all the Tallies today and tomorrow!

Nice seeing you all here posting!

Yeah, went to the store. Out to lunch first because roommate wanted to - I suggested a café not too far away. Roads were okay. But more snow was forecast, and we just beat it home, and now it's all on the trees, kind of pretty as long as it's doesn't weigh down the branches too much or power lines. The schools will be closed again tomorrow. I had had a routine doctor appointment set for tomorrow, but earlier in the week decided to cancel it and reschedule; glad I did.

If I start to feel sorry for myself, I think of those poor folks out in California. Devastating.

Good evening!

CM, did you go to the store?

We had school yesterday (and today but I was off). I worked on my evaluations and some laundry and dishes and kept the house warm and cozy and water thawed in the barn and filled all the wood boxes because we're getting snow again tomorrow and closing at lunch time. Not seeing a lot of my students this week is complicating my evaluations.

The counter is clean.

In one week buddy will be through his surgery.

Kinda fighting the cabin fever. We may get more snow. But also tomorrow may trundle our way down to the grocery store, which is thankfully not terriblly far. The rabbits will need lettuce. This is the first day that the public schools have been opened although a lot of people have kept their kids home. My cousin works in the mornings for a small school getting breakfast for students.

The clear vinyl I helped staple on the screen porch makes it almost nice out there at times, and keeps roommate's plants going. I should probably go out for a few minutes to get some Vitamin D. I still feel like the days are way too short, and I've been sleeping in in the mornings which doesn't help with that but I feel like I need it.

So many things I dragged in from the van like my CDs (yes, I still have a CD player in my vehicle, call me old school but I enjoy it) so they wouldn't freeze and crack. So that has made more mess and disarray and cramped space inside the house. But what can a person do when storms like this come in on short notice? It'll get taken care of, I'm just griping because I don't like winter weather in general, lol. Even the hot summer doesn't keep a person so confined. Going to the grocery store is not my favorite thing to do, but it may feel like a treat of sorts tomorrow if it's not too annoying. I wonder if they've even had time to restock after the rush last Friday.

Good morning!

Made some progress on the evaluations yesterday. Really not enough.

The hvac tech came out, looked at our plowed driveway, called his office and said it was too dangerous and too far to walk and left. Dh got mad and fixed the heat pump. Cost - power for heat gun. - I know I am very lucky. But also, sometimes I am concerned about the work ethic in this country. I remember my Dd talking about getting trucks unloaded on her first job- they were behind schedule and her guys told her it was going to take 2 days (a ridiculous amount of time) to unload the trucks. She told them, "I will be here at 7 a.m., and we will unload those trucks." She put her little 5'6" 150 lb curvy girl body in the line and made them keep up with her. The trucks were unloaded by lunch.

Back to school today, so I need to get moving.

The counter is still clear.

Hi everyone! Checking in! Very cold here in the Northeast but no snow in my parts.

I'm doing better around the house, and that is helping with my mood. Very stressful at work but I'm trying not to freak out

CM! Glad you are safe! You are so smart with setting up the cars that way. I too would love a handy husband! Glad you got yours, SubC!

Habitat Restore will sell the items. Their store is nice. I picked up at least two tables for my mom there and I forget what else I've purchased there. Very nice furniture at excellent prices! They set up the Chiba and the glassware in nice shelves. It's a good place to go.

I'll talk to you later!!

CM,

I'm glad you are safe and warm.

The very useful husband is definitely one of my best acquisitions. Today he put chains on the tractor and plowed us out. He also plowed from the house to both barns because he decided the snow was too deep for me to wade through. <3

There is no school tomorrow, which is good, because my evaluations are very slow going! Also our heat pump froze up, but we are cozy by the fire. This is getting to be a very expensive month - Dh car also needs an expensive safety issue repair he can't do.

Tatoulia, I'm glad you at least feel comfortable with your china decision. Will habitat sell it? I love to think of someone being set up in housekeeping and setting the table in their first home with beautiful China..

Very little progress today, but the counter is still clear except for six eggs.

Out into the cold to do chores..

P.S. SubC I did think about your rural setting and being used to the vagaries of weather a lot more, and having at least something of a community of others like yourself. I have accepted that I'm more of a semi-suburban gal than I realized. The outer limits of suburbia here are expanded out several miles from where they were when I was growing up so now this same general area is the "old" suburbs.

In any case, it's harder if one doesn't have a truck or SUV, and a garage, and sorry if this sounds old fashioned but I could really go for a nice husband who has practical skills with cars and home repairs. My roommate and I joke about the two perfect husbands who surely are out there somewhere, but must have gotten delayed in finding us. ;)

Thankfully, the power stayed on. We aren't in the part of the state that was hardest hit, with highway closures and such. First time I ever recall getting a screeching emergency alert on my phone to not travel (wasn't planning to, prayed for those who had to and first responders, etc.). The governor declared a disaster emergency so as to facilitate relief efforts.

I had backed my roommate's car and my van into the driveway on Friday so that they would face south. Today the sun is out here and it has melted the ice off mine pretty well but roommate's will need another day; I had to clear snow off the windshields and hers is more between the houses so it gets fewer hours of sun. The days may be getting longer but they aren't long.

We've been sort of vegging, resting in the daytime and watching sitcoms in the evening.

Hope everyone is hanging in there with whatever weather and other things where you are.

Lila, I know you are at work today. You've been doing so much at home! Yes! Schedule that pedicure! I started getting pedicures again over the summer, I think. I used to get a manicure ince a week and a pedicure once a month. I'm back to the monthly pedicure and it is very relaxing. And my feet are so nice.

My friend is coming Friday to pack up my Christmas stuff. I've removed two of the items and put them in a donation bag. I've filled the donation bag with other things to get rid of and I'm pretty pleased.

SubC! I checked replacements and they have a lot of my mother's Minton china so I don't think they'd offer very much for it. Plus I'd have to pay shipping. I also checked eBay and there is quite a bit of her pattern there, too. So I'll box up 2/3 and donate to habitat for humanity restore. I'll reserve a car.

I've started to move my Christmas things to the dining table, so my friend can pack it up from there.

That is a lot of work to write all of those evaluations, SubC. I have to write the ones for my direct reports. So not students but still something to do. They are due this week.

Had dinner with my brother tonight. I had a funny feeling that I wouldn't see him again so I held on tight when I said goodbye. I hope it was just a weird feeling and not an indication that something would happen to one of us.

Oh! Decorated for Christmas!

My decorations will be staying up for a very long time this year because Bean wants to help take the tree down. He won't be back until January 15.

I have just realized that although evaluations are due Jan 20, I have to finish them by the 13th, because my next week will be entirely taken up with Bean and his family. So I will start those today - it will be 20-30 hours of work.

The next week will be a success if I get those done, do yoga, keep the counter clean, and keep up on the laundry and dishes. Any real additional progress will need to wait for February.

CM, the storm looks bad in Kansas. I hope you are warm, safe, and have power!