Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Badger is like Santa Claus, magical and can be all over the entire planet in just one night.

Sounds like you have a "log jam" with stuff in the way of getting stuff to where you want it.
Once you start moving the things to where they all belong it should get easier to move things around...

YEA! for cutting 4 bunny's nails and getting to make plans for the 18th.

Have a very pleasant visit tomorrow. :)

Hi Subclinical
First the car and now the vacuum. :(

WAY TO GO! turning the corner!!!
You are doing fantastic working on this project.
Good luck figuring out this other stretch of wall.


Hi Tatoulia

I cleaned the toilet, watered some stuff and did a few other things.
Could've done more but I didn't want to. ;p

Quick Sunday evening summary. I am going to bed early because this afternoon I got a text asking me to sit with my lady tomorrow early.

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks. Bunny fundraiser luncheon event the 18th. Bunny Mani-Pedi today, only 4 bunnies but it gave us humans a chance to touch base on event plans, food etc. More doctor appts on Thursdays.

Since I swam, then got contorted by the medical scan techs this past week, my back, hip, and leg are being rebellious. I hope I'm not getting a herniated disc. Dr. Google seems to think it's a possibility. But now that I plan to exercise more, if I can drop some extra pounds that should help, along with supplements, nsaids, etc.

Room and other places I hang out are bad, clutter wise. Containers that were purchased to hold specific items are in the way till I can swap out the old rickety containers. Hated to do it but I stuck a big new tub back in the van MOMENTARILY... And I've been intending for a couple of weeks now to drop things at storage and pick up bunny club event items from it. Sigh...

And yet I know other things have gotten done - do we need to recruit more badgers? Like a whole army of them? Maybe the one has just been so busy at y'all's places! I hope he's a magic badger that can be more than one place at a time.

And I wish people would stop taking out their issues by shooting other people. 😢

Corner is done - three shelves along the back wall, one full, one mostly full, one mostly empty. Two shelves along side wall - one mostly full, one empty..

I'm not sure yet what goes on each shelf. Which is a problem, because I am running out of space to put the things I take off the shelves, and I have two more shelves to empty before I can clean along another stretch of the side wall and put up the board shelves dh suggested.

I do know what is going on the board shelves, so I can put some of that away and have more space to sort and organize the rest in to see what I have and make decisions about what to keep and where.

So, I turned the corner literally, but not figuratively yet.

Bad thing - my vacuum died and dh can't fix it. (Well, he could fix it, but the parts are as much as a new vacuum.)

The vacuum he just bought is only for hard floors and doesn't have any attachments.

Now is not the time - we still haven't heard about his car.

WTG! Tatoulia
For getting things all sorted out and back in place there!

That's great that your "designated key place" is working so well! :D

I was not going to buy ice cream today but many flavors were reduced to 1.50 so I bought butter pecan and rocky road.



One thing I know is that taking away my guns will NOT solve this problem.
That would just leave me helpless against evil doers who prey on country folk and also give me no defense against rabid coyotes and rattle snakes.

Anyways...
The solution begins in the cradle.
A whole new ordering of values and ethics.
Being "popular/famous/infamous" is not a goal to strive for.
The murderer's names should never be spoken ever again, their memory completely erased from existence.

These shootings are sickening. I've been in touch with my colleagues in El Paso. I just can't imagine what is going on and I don't know the answers but I need to see people doing things, working toward a goal of making us safer.

I'm back from taking mom out. My house is starting to look like my house again. It was terrific walking in and putting my keys on my table. I haven't lost my keys since I got this table and designated the dish as a key holder.

I have my tools and other things back under my sink. I have four things to re-home and I know where they will go. I have one thing in donation bag. Feeling strong.

SibC you are doing a fantastic job! So proud of you!!!

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO!!!
You are doing fantastic sorting out, cleaning and making so many hard decisions.

Of course your real job is rewarding and makes you happy.

Once you take care of this years long backlog it will be all done and over with once and for all.
Honest!
With just a little daily, weekly, monthly and annual maintenance it WILL stay done too.


Hi Tatoulia
Good Luck!
Stay safe when vending alone.

Have a pleasant Sunday. ;D

Did you get a litter scoop?
How do you like the new litter?


Decided to take my life into my hands this morning and went into WallyWorld early this morning.
Figured any mass shooters were all still in bed.

Wanted more kitty litter and needed more kitty snacks.
Bought more cherries too.
Was running low on TP and didn't want to risk running out.

Good luck Tatoulia!

Another hour. Glazes are boxes up, station is broken down, floor is swept but not mopped and I have another shelf to clean.

If I can get the floor mopped and that shelf clean, I can set it and another shelf that is already clean up and have my starting corner completely clean and organized/ready to put things away in.

I have been tossing a few small things in the trash. I want dh to come home and see them, because they are hard, depressing things - like a grimy game piece to a game I got rid of because it was missing a piece... I want him to see because I want him to know I am doing it (Instead of say, washing the game piece and tucking it away for some imagined future use, or taking it to the reuse store, because, I don't have time to wash game pieces right now!) also, I want him to see it so that I don't take any of the stuff back out - refer back to game piece....

Meaning I'm not holding out for maximum money/I want it out.

SubC you are doing great and inspiring me! I desperately need motivation or discipline to get things done today.

I've listed my vitrine on Craigslist. Wish me well. I priced it right, below value by about 1/2. This is about selling/decluttering and nothing else.

Going to work some more. Seeing mom in about an hour.

So far I have spent an hour this morning on plaster molds. I found eight I never got around to washing back when I acquired them and was washing the dirty ones. They were hiding under/behind some other stuff.

I washed six of them and set two large ones aside to be thrown out - I will have to take them to school and throw them in the school dumpster. I'm ok with that since they are part of a haul that my class is benefitting from - free to the school and I invested free labor.

All the clean, dry molds are put away on clean, dry shelves, and the six are drying on a towel in my driveway. I can't get my car out until I put them away.

I am highly confident that there are no more plaster molds hiding anywhere, but there is a big mess, so who knows.

Next I am going to disassemble the glaze area, box up the glazes, and clean the empty space.

Dh looked at me last night and said "I think you are happier when you are working." I said "you mean doing work or my job?" He said "your job. I've been watching you the last week and you just look beaten down."

I told him I love my job, and he may be right, but that also what I am doing in the studio is incredibly hard and exhausting.

He thinks he gets it, he talks like he gets it, but i'm Not sure he actually gets it.

Setting aside the amount of money you would have spent will show you how much you spend on things you do not need.

So for today you would put $14 in the savings account?

I think that's a great idea. It will help you save, and your account will slowly go down just like it would if you were shopping, so you won't look at the balance and think you can shop more.

BF and I went to an art show this afternoon then we went to Lord & Taylor. I was shopping the sale rack, found a very nice white top, went through the entire sale rack, put it back where I found it and then met up with BF in the men's department. Good day. All I could think was, I'd rather have the $14.

One thing I'm thinking, as an experiment: for the month of August, transfer the $ of what I normally would have purchased abs put it in my savings acct. thoughts?

I'm downstairs with neighbor's cats. They are so dear. I have a little one in my legs. So very sweet.

After L&T BF and I split a sandwich then we picked up a few groceries. I'll drop off mom's milk in a little while. I wanted to take care of the kitties first.

Nice work Tatoulia!

I took a nap.

Then I made myself go out to the studio, clean the floor, and get two clean shelves into place.

Unfortunately I have now realized that this process is going to involve every shelf and cabinet in the studio, meaning I will be moving every single item at least once. Twice if I keep it.

I wonder if I will finish before Christmas....

Hello SubC! I have changed my sheets, done four loads of laundry, swept the hallway and put the vinyl rug back and I've just gotten out of the shower. With the exception of the laundry that's hung to dry on the rack, the clean laundry folded and put away. The trash/recycle receptacle is out of the living room and back in the kitchen. I have put a few more things in my donation bag. Dishes are all in dishwasher now. Kitty has clean dishes and a clean placemat.

I've made myself a small tuna sandwich so I have some protein in me.

I think thundershowers are on their way. Going to see BF In a few.

So Tatoulia, what did you decide to do?

Dsil and I had a good time. The houses in that area have such cool architecture and yards!

He got an ice cream maker, and I got doilies and little bowls for press molds for my classroom and a dotted line maker for me (for clay - I do not know what it is supposed to be for - making your own crackers?) we both got chocolate chip cookies from a little girl.

Dsil also gave me a set of plastic drawers for my classroom. But after I left him, I stopped at some more sales on my way home and bought two weird textured balls for claywork at home and five new cookie molds. The cookie molds are a weakness.

I spent $11.50 including the cookie.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical.
Have the most wonderful time today! ;D

That's what's nice about recently going through our things.
We know what we have and the condition it's in and can use that knowledge to help us make the best acquiring/non-acquiring decisions.


Hi Tatoulia
Yes, those silly installers wanting access to the plumbing.
Who would have thought. ;)

YEA! for making up the bed with fresh linens!

Good luck today straightening out your home, getting everything back to where it belongs.

Under my kitchen sink I keep a small/very small plastic tub with one dish soap, one cleanser can, one can of Bar Keeper's Friend, the silver polish.

When I buy another dish soap or cleanser, etc.
I put that on a shelf in the pantry.
Just to keep under the sink at a minimum of items.

Also under there, double sink, double doors with tiny side doors...
I have a "tidy Cat's" plastic bucket for the trash and another one for things for the burn barrel.
Tiny door to the left is where I have the tiny bin of cleaners.
The tiny door to the right is where I keep my dish drain when I am not washing dishes.
The kitchen area is so small that keeping the dish drain out all the time makes it look cluttered.

In the pantry I have a small shelf where I keep all the household cleaners like furniture polish and Murphy's, etc.
My tool tote is also in the pantry.
I love having a pantry. Makes having a tiny kitchen manageable.

Hello everyone! I too chuckled at CriticalMess!

Have a great day, SubC!

Tillie under my sink is one of those areas that I cleaned out last year and made functional and put up a curtain rod to hold my spray bottles. It is also one of the areas that needs to be part of my Cover Old Ground, as it has gotten full again. So I will need to make choices before putting anything back in. It has my tool basket, my cleaners and my trash can liners. That's all that should be there. Today will let me know what else migrated there and what else I can get rid of. The installers removed everything. I foolishly didn't know that I would need to do that. So now I'll see what needs to go. Not moved. Leave.

I have started my sheets, just stripped the bed and put in the laundry. I will put new sheets on the bed now, so I feel that something is accomplished.

I will do a second pass on the kitty plates but that may prove to be lower on my priorities today. Or it could be a quick pick me up. Time will tell.

Ooo! Now I want the 4" shelves. I can picture them, they would work in my little room...

Mr. kitty is a minimalist. He has one bowl. He drinks out of the fountain, the pond, or the goats' water buckets.

Under the scullery sink I keep a wastebasket, dish soap, a mouse trap, and the peanut butter jar I use to bait the mousetrap.

Under the kitchen sink we keep a wastebasket and a bin of dh coffee roasting equipment.

CriticalMass, I am glad your tire is on the rim. I didn't understand a thing you said about computers, but have fun? Please take the badger with you. I do not want him along this morning.

I can tell I am doing better because last night when I was excited and I said "[dsil] and I are going to go out and get into trouble tomorrow" dh gave me a stern look, but it was a pretend stern look. Then I said "I mean, we are going to help each other make good choices!" And he laughed.

I haven't been to a yard sale for a long time. I used to go with my mom a lot and we had such fun! I think I am very prepared. In the last few weeks I have faced the messes in my classroom, studio, and basement. I am very aware of how much I have in my favorite categories - books, projects and art supplies, fabric, yarn, toys for my grandchildren....

I have been meditating on all I have left to do, and also reminding myself of the treasure trove at the newly redesigned st. Vincent's, and the huge bargains at the reuse store, just waiting for me any time, so i don't have to buy now if it is something common.

I will have fun with dsil. I wasn't honest when I said we "never" do stuff - we go to teacher workshops together, and once he was my "date" at a clay studio party. Dd was supposed to come too, but she stood us up. Everyone thought he was my bio son, which I enjoyed.

His mom is kind of a mess. She came up to me in the middle of the wedding reception and said "can I leave now?" I told her it was up to her and dsil, but it was nice to meet her. (We actually met at the rehearsal) what I wanted to say was "yes. Go. He is ours now!" He says she was different when he was a kid.

Ds's in-law family is very different. My dd2 lives near ds's mil, and whenever ddil goes home to visit, dd2 ends up doing stuff with ddil's family. Dh was looking at pictures of them all at a festival yesterday, and he asked "why does [ddil's] family keep taking [dd2] places?" And I looked at him like he was crazy and said "because she's [ddil's] sister."

Once upon a time I hoped dh's sister would be my sister - I never had one, but that did not work out.

Anyway, I am excited about my adventure today. When I get home I will clean the corner in the studio.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Thank you

Don't think the 4 inch shelves would fit in my dollhouse, there is already 2 hutches, a china cabinet and 2 shelves in there.
But I would try hard to fit them in. :D

I have seen ads for that "Inkscape" and it looks like a lot of fun.

WAY TO GO! getting all those important things done and especially for getting that spare tire!


Hi Tatoulia
Ask Miss Kitty how she feels about using fewer daily dishes.
Here, the 2 boys tell me that the 5 bowls are not enough even with me handwashing between meals.


I am not worried about your place being a mess.
I know that as soon as you have the free time and are feeling well enough you will put it all back together.


Just how much stuff do you store under the sink?
What kind of stuff is stored there?
I try to keep under sink stuff down to the bare necessities.
This way it is easier to be on top of any leaks or bugs or mice or (?).
I never store paper products there because they would be ruined if there was a leak or mouse or bug.
One big problem I have with under the kitchen sink is Scooter.
Open the door and he will sneak in unseen.
Close the door and he will be trapped and try to dig/scratch his way out.
The door just easily pushes open but he can't figure that out.

BTW did you get a litter scoop?


Got the tea I ordered. The girl was surprised that I was right out there to receive the box.
I said I checked the internet and saw it was coming today, no big surprise.
Kitchen is clean except one cat bowl.
Everything that needs watering has been watered.
Even hosed all the dust and bird poop and little bits of apricot off the car.
It was nice having all those apricots for the birds to enjoy this year.
They liked them so much that they almost finished the whole apricot, not just a little peck in each one.

I'm dying because I went to type my username and started to type "CriticalMess"!!! 😂😂😂 Oh dear! Laughing so hard tears are coming out.

Freudian slip? I hope not!

SubC sounds like you're coming up with creative ideas for organizing. Badger loves cupcakes even more than sno cones apparently.

Tillie, stay cool and I will hope against hope Steven improves. But you are still in the game even on the hard days and that's what counts the most.

I thought about SubC's 4" bookshelves and how they'd be perfect for your dollhouse!

Tatoulia, hope the soup kitchen volunteering went well.

Today was payday for me so busy with bills and mostly necessary purchases - picked up Rx's, bought cell phone card, withdrew $ for rent, and (thanks to Badger) went ahead and got that spare tire I've had mounted on a rim - no procrastination till mid month and then wondering if I can afford it.

Haven't gone on Instagram but I will soon. Need to fix those pix on mine that weren't sized correctly. I enjoy learning how to do photo and graphics software. I use GIMP (like Photoshop) which I taught myself to about intermediate level. It was a steep learning curve.

Today I signed up for a free class at the public library for Inkscape which is vector graphics. It'll be nice to have help getting started. If I catch on quickly, I hope that will enable me to create a logo for our bunny club.

Well, need to go feed and bed down bunnies.

CM Mass not Mess, I hope...

Yes that was a lot of cat dishes, Tillie. I have gotten rid of a lot of them but still have many. This week I did put one of her bunnykin bowls in the donate pile. I don't need five. We use two at a time and I have four. I should probably think about further reducing to three.

CM I am grateful you are getting your health together. It can be tough making drs appointments and going. It's worth it. I see my dr again in a week or ten days. I'm looking forward to it.

SubC how nice to get time with your son-in-law! Congratulations on getting so much done.

Tillie my house is a mess: I have the vitrine half emptied with stuff strewn about the kitchen. Everything from under the sink is pulled out. I haven't put my rug back in the kitchen and the wastebasket/recycling combo are still in the study area. The hallway table is in my bedroom. I didn't change my sheets today. It's all a giant mess. But oddly I'm not discouraged.

I fell sound asleep after the soup kitchen today. I showered and fell asleep I had a very hard time waking up but then BF needed me to go help his employee and so I had to run out. Then I went to mom's and I'm just back from seeing her. I changed her cat's box while I was there.

I did get my garbage out today so I had one tiny victory.

Now I'm tired and ready for bed. I feel like taking a third shower of the day.

I stopped by mom's tonight, late, because I wanted to bring her some stuff and I want to leave tmr for me to work on my humble home. I don't want any demands on my time.

Nice looking new dishwasher. :D

You sure filled it up fast!
Miss Kitty uses too many different dishes for every meal. ;)

WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You really did such a FANTASTIC amount today!!!!!

Have a very nice time tomorrow.
Enjoy the time together. :D

Dh says I can go!

4 FOOT tall bookshelf, not 4". I really should proofread more.

Yes, my favorite part would be spending time with my new son. I don't see him very often and never without Dd!

She is going away for the weekend and he wants to go to a big yard sale event near them that will also have craft booths. Dd suggested that he invite me so we could go together and "help each other make good choices". He is looking for antique/quality woodworking tools that are in usable/refurbishable condition, and a 4" tall deep bookshelf.

I am looking for - an immersible blender, a White belt, (black dress pants but not with dsil), and casters. I think if I buy a 2x4 dh might thump me with it. (Not really, but that might be jumping the gun. Also, there may be one in the lumber pile, or my construction girl might be able to score me a free 2x4 later.)

I spent another hour and 20 minutes. I did not wash the wooden shelf, but I took the first plastic shelf back and cleared off the next two shelves (also plastic) and carried them to the backyard where they are waiting to be washed.

The corner from which all progress will radiate is now empty and has been swept. It needs to be shop vac'd and mopped. About 4 cubic shelf feet of stuff went into the trash or the pile to go to school. That was about 12% of what I moved today.

Hi Subclinical

Spending quality time with Dsil could be good.
You could just look for casters and maybe a length of 2X4.
You could help him make good decisions.
The both of you could have a relaxing pleasant picnic lunch.


WAY TO GO! for all that shelf shuffling and cleaning!!!
Uninviting word spaces really do make us resistant to working.
Good luck making a glazing area that is a welcoming and inspiring place to be.

Yes, waiting to ask Dh after you have cleared and cleaned the space is a good plan.
He will do a better job making you those things. ;)

After a slow and lazy morning, I made another pot of coffee. Then I drank the coffee, went out in the studio, and spent two hours cleaning off a shelf. The shelf was covered with many small pueces of bisque wear that are waiting to be glazed and mist if them got wrapped and boxed. I clearly should spend more time glazing. I can even bring the glazing inside to work in the new space near dh in the evening.

Currently the corner I have set up for glazing is very uninviting, which I think is part of the problem.

Right now the empty shelf (plastic, modular) is in the back yard waiting to be washed. There is also a large wooden shelf which needs to be washed (by hand instead of with a hose, because it is wooden). While those are drying, I need to clean off and move two more shelves. Then I will be able to put the two clean, dry shelves in place and reload them in a neat and organized fashion.

While I was working, I thought of two more changes I would like to make. I want a large worktable and a rack for my drywall boards. Both of them can be built almost entirely with materials already in the shop. I do want them on casters, so I would have to buy the casters. And possibly a 2x4 if there isn't one in the lumber pile long enough to stabilize the long side of the table.

I am going to ask dh if I can have one of those AFTER I finish cleaning off and moving the shelves and set up the long bucket and board shelves we have planned for the side wall. (Because I will want him to do most of the building in the interest of good construction.)

And then I will ask him what I need to do to get the other one.

Dsil just invited me to go yardsaling with him tomorrow. Is it bad that I am considering it?

Good Morning Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
YEA! for getting the medical tests done!
Now we are all waiting for all good results. :)

Wishing roommate a fast recovery.

WAY TO GO! playing like a little kid at the pool!
Want you to have many more days of just floating in the water.

Have FUN sewing outfits for the dolls. You do such a lovely job of it.

Doing bunny pedicures. As long as the bunnies don't fuss too much should be enjoyable.

Hi Subclinical
Thank you.

YEA! for such a delicious cupcake reward!!!

Fantastic that the class was FANTASTIC!
The fancy free sponge sounds like something you can and will get a lot of use out of.

I am so happy for you that your family has been showing you appreciation and giving you support.

Good luck/fingers crossed that the new swimsuits are everything you expect them to be.

Of course when finances are tight the car decides to break down, Murphy's law.
I know you will find lovely creative presents for the upcoming events.

Be strong when those "Justin Case" feelings arise.
We are here for you if you need a sounding board about some decisions.

Enjoy your slower paced coffee day (((HUG)))


Hi Tatoulia
That new dishwasher sure has been needing a lot of your attention and making you do things out of order.
But now it's in, things should settle down and get back to normal.

Hope the soup kitchen is cool.
Have FUN. Even wearing a hair net things like that are fun. ;)


Other day when I was looking at tea on Amazon I saw some "Stash Tea" that I love that the stupid store doesn't carry any longer.
So I ordered a box of 100 and it will arrive today by USPS.
Had laundry drying over night on the line. It's all folded and put away.
My plan for today is to watch for the mail. ;p

Tatoulia, that is nice about the soup kitchen.

I told dh I have a "hoarder hangover" and I am not planning to do anything today but drink coffee, and he said "that's ok. You have been doing a lot of really hard emotional work the last couple of months."

I did order swim suits. One of mine is completely worn out, and the remaining one is close - it is thin in the rear, but not embarrassing (haha) unless you look very closely. I can wear it a few more times since I just swim in a nearly empty lap pool - in, out, nobody hanging around out of the water...

I cannot find a decent swim suit locally. When I look online, several of the local retailers have suits that are actually for swimming, but they do not have them in the stores where you can try them on. I tried ordering the suit I have when it was on sale, and the (National, established) retailer waited two weeks, then sent me a notice cancelling my order as "no longer available" then a few days ago, they were advertising the same suit, on sale at a higher price. Am done ordering from them!

Anyway, I found an online only retailer that looks reputable and has the brand of suit I like. I ordered one similar to my current suit, one in a different design with "chlorine resistance" and one from a cheaper brand in a similar cut that also advertises "chlorine resistant". They say "free exchanges and returns" so cross your fingers for me.

The suits were pretty expensive for me (about what I was paying for practice suits when my kids were on swim team) but I sort of need them.

I'm a little worried about my finances, because I have been spendy this summer, and I have less than 1 month of salary in my checking account. I don't get paid again until sept 27. Although, after sept 10, I can use my cc and won't have to pay it until oct. still, that is 41 days and I will need feed again next week. I have dd2's Birthday, ds's anniversary, and our anniversary before the 10th. I will have to get creative about presents.

(Dh salary covers the regular bills and some extras, but he has a car repair now and we don't know how much it will be yet.)

Mostly though, I need to avoid feeling strapped, because that always triggers the "I should keep/accept/rescue this because I might need it" impulse.

Coffee clinks, SubC! Be kind to yourself. You are doing a lot. As a lifelong insomniac, don't let the lack of sleep undermine your self-worth. Lack of sleep can ruin my confidence, convince me I'm worthless, and other mean stuff. Be kind to yourself and remember, there was a time when it seemed impossible to get to where you are today. You are wonderful and strong and brave.

CM!!! The pool sounds like so much fun!!! Kudos to you for capturing that carefree feeling! You do so much and I'm so impressed!

Tillie, sometimes when I'm antiquing, I'll see a jar of plate of the Wade figurines and they'll have a sign telling kids (and kids only) to feel free to choose one figure. I find that so dear.

I haven't put my house back together yet. Last night after work I ran errands with BF and we didn't get home til well after 10.

Today, a group of us from work are going to a soup kitchen to prepare lunch. The company underwrites the cost of the meal and then gives us a charity day to go prep the meal. Pretty sweet.

So I'm going to change my sheets before I leave. I didn't do on my new day, Wednesday, because of the dishwasher. I also didn't have cleaning ladies this week because if dishwasher.

Okay I'll change my sheets, shower, and leave for the soup kitchen.

I feel wiped out this morning.

Last night I was amped up about all the things I wanted to do today - work on my studio shelves, write lesson plans, practice my new pottery skill, clean stalls, make projects for my class, pick blackberries... I couldn't get to sleep.

And then I finally did get to sleep, and once I stopped moving everything settled on me like an avalanche.

Getting out of bed was a struggle thus morning.

My current plan is to drink coffee.

No sno-cones. Badger had to settle for cupcakes with me.

CM, I am glad to see you here again!

My cupcake was salted caramel with sugar icing and chocolate drizzle. Very yummy. Dd had red velvet cheesecake with cream cheese frosting. Badger had some of each ;)

When we were tossing things in the dumpster, Dd told me I had to get the light stuff into the middle. She said "you have poor dumpster loading skills." I said "i'm Sorry. Most of my experience with dumpsters is UNloading."

She said she was very proud of me because I didn't even look inside.

I didn't have time to stop at the reuse store, but Dd took my things because it is close to her house.

My class was fantastic this morning. They did give me a free fancy throwing sponge - which I accepted gladly.

Tillie, you know I am sorry about Steven and wish things were better, but all I can do is say it again.

I'm at the library for just a bit this evening. Had my medical tests today. Bummed around town on that side. Bought a few items but not much.

SubC, you are kicking some serious clutter butt and I need to be doing the same. The Badger must be doing his job! Be sure and provide a sno cone; any flavor is fine.

August for me is full of bunny and other events on the weekends, and medical/eye appointments on Thursdays (didn't plan it to be 3 consecutive Thursdays in August, it just coincided that way).

Well, this past week was so stressful my roommate was off sick this week through yesterday. But the rest has done her good and she has medicine so she is on the mend.

Yesterday I went to the YMCA, to one of the three that have outdoor water parks. Floated on a clear blowup tube in the wave pool feeling like a carefree 9-year-old! And got some exercise in the process, steering the tube away from the rope and dodging other tubes.

There's another, almost new Y on the opposite side of town (actually more "my" side but I wanted to go to the one I was familiar with). Maybe I'll get a chance in August to go check it out. Or maybe I'll just do my "ordinary" workouts and swimming indoors.

Still getting ideas for scenes for my novels, and I want to get a few Barbie & Ken clothing items made for my cousin's little girl and take them to her along with the clothes for her baby brother who turned 1 - before he grows too much!

And bunny club stuff is gearing up; I'll need to edit/write and layout the newsletter, and get together with those who are bringing food to see what I'd like to bring. This Sunday we are having "Bunny Mani-Pedi Day." Somehow I got to be the toenail trimmer lady for lots of people's bunnies in the club.

My own bunnies are being very sweet - except when they have attitude, but I'd wonder if something was wrong with them if they didn't!

So everybody take care, TTYL!

Good Afternoon Everyone
Just now 12 noon here.

Hi Subclinical
YEA! go Mr. Kitty sharpening your mousie skills on that twine. ;D

True, those figurines could become a problem.
My solution was to keep one of each in the jar and some in the plants then release the other duplicates to other people and places.

You MUST come back here and let us know all about that cupcake.
Seriously.

What a busy day you have today.
Hope it is filled with good fun times.

We here are all so very proud of you (((HUG)))
You have come such a far distance on this journey.

When we get "into" an area, other areas seem to get neglected.
But that's just for a while.
All this straightening, rearranging, cleaning and decluttering is like one of those slide puzzles.
We move the "tiles" around until they finally fall into place and finish the puzzle.


Been busy since I got up this morning.
Tried to get the tree watering all set up but Jack was literally hanging onto my dress and the only way to get him to let me alone was to drop everything and feed him canned food.
Then the two monsters inside insisted they get canned food RIGHT NOW too.

So anyways...
trees are getting watered, I need to eat something.
Steven has finally gone to the dump with all the garbage.
Only thing he has done in over a month now.
Won't even mow the grass any more.
Doesn't shower or brush his teeth any more.
It's just getting so much worse and worse.

Happy August!

I am glad all the kitties have their toys back. Mr. kitty keeps his under the piano. We do not buy him fake mousies because he has real ones outside. His favorite toy right now is a short piece of package twine. He also enjoys murdering cardboard tp tubes. The fuzzy rattle that used to belong to one of my kids is saved for special occasions when it has been raining too much.

I buy different kinds of tea, including Lipton. My other grandmother drank it. "Just plain Lipton." Take the paper off the string, boil the water in a kettle, not the microwave, no milk, but sometimes when she was older "I'll have a little sugar."

There was a time when I would have had to stop buying the tea because I would have been unable to cope with the figurines.

Today is dumpster and cupcake day!

Also I have a teacher class, work in my classroom, swim, and maybe take some things to the reuse store. I will be gone all day, but we are meeting in town for dinner and dh cleaned the new room to company ready last night while I was doing my chores, so as long as I clean up after breakfast, I will get two days of clean room! Also, I am proud of myself for managing so that he can do that in only the time it takes me to do chores and without me worrying about my "stuff". I am not completely reformed though, the scullery is still a dreadful mess, the dining porch is a mess, I have things all over the guest bed again, the other two bedrooms are still doubling as storage areas, I have never cleaned off my dresser, and the basement is getting worse as the studio gets better - but not at the same rate.

Still, it has definitely been a summer of "out".

Tillie, i'm Glad you are staying cooler this summer!

Yep, those are WADE pottery figurines. :D

They always look so nice in with plants.

Once before, Red Rose quit putting them in the tea boxes but then changed their minds and started adding them again.
They think they will sell the figurines and make a lot of money but then too many people quit buying the tea and they lose money by not selling much tea.
Whenever I can't find Red Rose tea I will settle for buying a box of Tetley or Constant Comment but I never buy Lipton cause it tastes all wrong.

Out of curiosity today I checked Amazon to see if I could buy it there should the stupid store out here quit carrying it and they do have it there.
The stupid store here carries things I buy but then they stop carrying it and never have it again.
Very frustrating.

Been wondering if Miss Kitty likes having her Mousies back.

Watered the grass & garden this evening and have the hose on very slow drip for the apricot tree for over night watering.
Tomorrow I will water the other trees and lilac bushes.
Tomorrow is shampoo day so that also makes it sheet & pillow case washing day too.
Need to wash the blanket, it's probably cat grubby from Scooter but dark green so the grubbiness doesn't show.

Thank you Tillie! The lion's share of the work was done by SubC. My kitchen is a mess from what they pulled out from underneath the sink. I am running the dishwasher and it is so quiet.

Kitty is stretched out. Like an angel. I love her so.

Good work finding cat toys!

SubC you handled the changes well! You did a solid amount of work with measurable results and you were able to help two family members with their problems!

Thundershowers brought vastly cooler temps here and I walked all the way home. Wasn't feeling great so I showered and have just been sitting here. Going to wash face and lay down.

Tillie I did register that you weren't having extreme weather this summer. Somewhere in my brain I kept thinking, she doesn't have it as badly as other years. And despite hot temperatures here, I also haven't found it too terrible here this year. That said, we had the hottest July in Boston on record

I'm going to spend a little time with my kitty then head to bed. She is a good girl. A lot like your three cats and the bunny, Tillie.

Hi Tatoulia
LOLOL.....
Yeah, right. The shopping cart misses you ;P

So nice to know you appreciate the WADE figurines in plant pots too.

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO!!!!
You did fantastic today!!!
Even with Mom counseling and fetching Dh.
Hope the car trouble is minor.

I just love the fact that your Grandmother put the figurines in her plants too!!!

Maybe there was an ad or something about how to display the figurines???


Didn't want to say anything in case I jinx things,
but the temperatures this Summer have been cooler than the past two decades.
Most days the highs never reached 100 degrees, just high 90s, and the nights have gotten down into the 60s.
If you remember, I suffered with temps 108+ day after day the other Summers.

The evaporative cooler has been working so well that I keep having to turn it off to keep from being too cold in here.

Scooter and Twinkles keep napping on the hot window sills and melt anyways.

Got my long dowel rod out and dug under the stove.
No finger puppet Mousie but I managed to pull out over a dozen other cat toys.
Wasn't easy with Scooter's head looking under there as I was trying to look through his head to see the toys.

You both did so much today.
I am really proud of both of you (((HUGS)))

I like all the little animals! I had to look up which ones were red rose tea. My grandmother had elephants and hippos and also put them in her plants! I wonder if red rose tea ran ads with the animals in plants?

My day got derailed a bit because first dd2 called the mom counseling center, and then dh had car trouble and I had to go get him.

I put in a total of 4.5 hours, and the back of the suv (behind the back seat) is packed full. I have two shelves empty and ready to move, but not the shelves in the space where one will go. Also, I didn't do any clay work.

Tillie the cactus sports a manatee and a lamb from Red Rose Tea. I've also included pics of Uncle Sam and the Easter Bunny. the cactus garden has other little creatures, too. My coworker received the planter many years ago. Some of the cacti have died. The first thing I snuck in there was the manatee. I swap things out sometimes. Today I added a penguin, who is very hard to see. It allows me to get rid of my things in a way that is least harmful to my feelings.

Speaking of which, today Talbots sent me an email saying my shopping cart misses me. Right, and my hoards of stuff love me back.

Hi Tatoulia
Relieved that you will take the subway during this heat.
If you push yourself past the limit, you will suffer terribly.

Wishing you and the new dishwasher many enjoyable years working together.

YEA! for rehoming some little things!
I would love to visit a sandwich glass museum.

Since long before I was born my Grandfather always drank Red Rose tea.
The tea always came with a tiny WADE ceramic animal figurine in the box.
Granpa also had some house plants and he put the figurines in with the plants.
He told me that the animals make the plants happy.

I have always bought Red Rose tea, it's my favorite.
I always put the figurines in with any house plants I have/had.
Unfortunately the tea company has stopped putting the figurines in the tea boxes but I will still keep drinking the tea anyways.
I have a tall jar filled with one of each of the figurines I've collected over the past 30 years.
My cactus is in a large pot and it's full of figurines. ;D

I hadn't realized the end of the month! Yay SubC! I ran the dishwasher, empty, on the express load (45 min) and I showered and came to work. Much like yesterday, I walked to the further T stop and took the subway 2 stops and walked the rest. The heat humidity sun combo is more than I can bear!

I loaded dishwasher before leaving. I'll run the fulll cycle 2-1/4 hrs tonight.

Okay back to work. You are doing great, SubC. and Tillie-I feel a freedom from spending. I am also feeling a big relief re: vitrine decision. I brought five little things into office and just emailed a co-worker to see if she wants my glass elephant. She does. I bought it many years ago at the Sandwich Glass museum.

Two of the little things are going in our Christmas decorations for our tiny Christmas scene we make each year and two of the others are going in my friend's plants. I always put in crazy things like a manatee or other little ceramic thing in her plants.

WAY TO GO!!! Subclinical!!!

WAY TO GO!!! Tatoulia!!!

You both are doing FANTASTIC!

The promise of cake can get me to do almost anything.

YEA! for a new installed dishwasher that works as it should!

OK, that explains that latest photo.
My kitties used to have a mousie finger puppet.
Scooter kept burying it in the litter box and I would scoop it out and wash it.
But I think I must have scooped & tossed it since I haven't seen it in ages.
But, I haven't laid down on the floor and used a long stick to pull toys out from under the stove lately.

You both are doing so GREAT today.
Wonderful way to end the month. :D

I am now up to 3.5 hours. As expected, the rate of dumpster labeling has decreased significantly. But, I have one shelf nearly neat and organized, with everything that is on it labelled, and one shelf that is nearly empty.

There are 8 shelves that will need to be addressed before I can start the reorganization I discussed with dh. (Including the almost finished one). The 7 remaining ones all have to be emptied and moved or donated.

I am only counting time that I am actually in the studio working on the project, which is why I only have 3.5 hours and it is nearly 1:00. Besides the dumpster, I am making piles for donate, recycle, burn, take to school, and move to the basement. I have made a little dish and laundry progress too, and just finished lunch.

I think I will make this a long rest, but no videos! Videos are too dangerous to sidetrack me!

Tatoulia, I am glad your dishwasher is in!

I got over the tipping thing. Only had two $20 and no 10 and couldn't see 40 for the tips. Plus there was a problem getting it to fill with water and I made him stay and do it right and I stayed calm but wanted him to stay til it worked and he did but still, I got over the tipping thing.

WTG SUBC!! WTG DH FOR SUGGESTING A CUP CAKE

It is all going well. They are here. Two men, uniforms, soft spoken. They are very kind and quiet. There were 11 mousies (10 white, 1 brown) under the dishwasher. I used to buy them for my little friend when I first got her. I'll wash them up, see if she'd enjoy one or two, and if so, I'll keep a couple. I used to buy these at the hospital gift shop back when I volunteered. They were little finger puppets.

I started on my stuff relocation. Thanks for understanding that I'll need to keep some and box it up. I'm making a lot of other decisions and I feel strong.

Looked up the vitrine. It's a barber's vitrine. Hope it sells. Just for some pocket change. I can put it in my savings acct, even if it's $5.

I wasn't going to tip these guys since they are employed but I'm changing my mind. They are kind and quiet and not making a fuss. Very gentle souls. I will do this and make my lunches if I have to., so I'm not overspending.