OMG! I just accidentally broke the shower in the bathroom! :( in the bathroom I have a hand-held shower head. And while I was taking a shower, it fell right off the wall in the bathroom. While I was in the shower, the shower head looked a little crooked. So I adjusted it so that it would be straight again. As I kept taking my shower, the shower head got crooked again. For some reason the shower head did not want to stay straight in it's holder. So I just decided to take it out of it's holder to use it. And just as I was getting done with my shower and about to turn the water off, I put the shower head back in it's holder. Again while it was in it's holder, it did not want to stay straight. So by then I was getting really annoyed; so I decided to shake the shower head and yell at it. While I was shaking the shower head and yelling at it, that was when it happened; it totally fell off the wall; the shower head, the hose attached to the shower head, and the shower head holder all fell off the wall. I was so ASHAMED and EMBARASSED when I walked out of the shower holding the shower head and CRYING.

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!

Today I am making a beef roast with rutabagas and parsnips.
Going to relax and quietly enjoy the day.


Update on the installation of the new leech lines...

The contractor did not believe my hoarder could get that side yard cleared and clear access to the area for the work to be done in this short amount of time.
So he did not really schedule in the job.

So, my hoarder is working to get a firm commitment as to when this work will be done.

Anyways...
I don't care because this is the most progress that's been done around here in years. :)

Everybody, have a wonderful day this first day of winter. :)

HAPPY END OF THE WORLD! to everyone on the west coast. :)
It is a little after 3:00am where I live. And luckily nothing has happened yet; at least nothing that I know of has happened. And hopefully nothing will happen today.
Everyone be safe today. :)

Ok, it just turned midnight here a few minutes ago. So it is officially December 21st here where I live.
Some of my friends and I just came in from outside, where we were running around and banging pots and pans together while we were yelling, "HAPPY END OF THE WORLD!" :)
So far nothing weird, bad, or scary has happened yet; which is good. :)
Right now my party is still going strong. :)
Some people are playing pool.
Some people are dancing.
Some people are playing cards.
Some people are playing video games.
And some people are playing fetch with Matt and Cory. :)

And right now I am about to do some shots of tequila and just bask in the glory of throwing an awesome party. ;)

Hey Tillie,
Yeah the wind is doing the exact same thing where I live too. But in an hour, when it turns midnight where I live, my friends and I are still going to go outside and run around and bang pots and pans together while yelling, "HAPPY END OF THE WORLD!" :D

At sundown I started my Winter Solstice celebration.

Right now I am eating my sugar cookies and drinking Silk dark chocolate almond milk.

The wind is raging outside and we are all comfy inside. :D

Hey Cory,
Thanks. And ok I won't tell you about all of the crazy stuff that has happened so far at my party. I'll let it stay a mystery. I might need you to help me clean up the house after the party though. It's already gotten pretty messy. And the party is not even over yet. :)

MayMay,
Have fun tonight, but...whatever happens at the end of the world party needs to stay at the end of the world party! We don't even want to know :)

I'm sooooo EXCITED for my "End of the World" party tonight. The party is supposed to start an hour and a half from now. :D
I just hope we don't lose power where I live. Because right now it is very windy outside. And the last time we had a lot of wind blowing outside, we lost power.

OMG! Something hilarious just happened to me! I just went to change the channel on my TV. and instead of pressing channel "70" I accidentally pressed channel "700". I had no idea what was on channel "700". And it turns out that it is an "on-demand" channel for dirty adult movies. Lol. The movie titles on this channel are hilarious. Lol.

Some of the movie titles are called:
100% Real Beef
Dude Bang!
Ethnic Injection
Massive Meat
Sausage Fest

And my favorite movie title on this channel is called:
Gloryhole Sex Party.

Is me finding this channel some sort of sign for what's going to happen at my "End of the World" party tonight? LOL. ;D

Good morning :D

Today I am making my last preparations for tomorrow's Winter Solstice.

I always look forward to this celebration.

I will prepare a feast for me and my cats and any animals that drop by my yard.


Tonight a strong winter storm is predicted for this area.

I have no idea what he is doing today. Will have to ask him "what's up?".

Everybody, have a wonderful day!

Wow! I can't believe it is already December 20th.
The last day before the world is supposed to end.
Hopefully the world won't end.
I don't think it will end; but for some reason the mayans think it will.

So what are you doing today on the last day of the world?...

Today I am going to take Cory and Matt for a walk; and then when we get back from the walk, I am going to give them a bath so that they will be all nice and clean for my "End of the World" party tonight. :)

The party is going to start around 8:00pm and end around 6:00am tomorrow morning; December 21st. If I survive the end of the world, then on December 22nd I am going to run around outside naked and scream, "I'M ALIVE! I'M ALIVE!" LOL. ;D

Right now I am watching "Chelsea Lately" on "E!" and on the show Chelsea Handler is talking about the changes that are going to be made in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM). And on the show she mentioned that one of the changes that is going to be made is that, hoarding will officially be considered a mental disorder in the (DSM).

Good morning :)

Today I am going to bake my Solstice cookies! :D
I have the sugar already colored, the cookie dough all made and in the fridge and the cookie cutters I will use are all selected.

He has been working on that side yard and will continue doing that.

He has done a great job so far but what really surprises me is his attitude.
He is not all mean and nasty, swearing, throwing things around or having ugly hissy fits.

He just keeps working without me having to prod him to go do it.

This is nice. Like it is supposed to be. :D

Have a productive day everybody!

I accidentally overslept today. Matt and Cory just woke me up by licking me in the face. Lol. I don't have that much planned for today. I just plan on doing some chores around the house. And then later on today I am going to take Cory and Matt for a walk. :)

OMG! Right now Cory is doing the funniest thing. :)
Right now Cory is asleep on my bed next to Matt; and he is barking in his sleep. I'm kind of shocked that he hasn't woken Matt or himself up with his barking; because he's barking pretty loudly. I wonder what he's dreaming about. He's probably dreaming about chasing a squirrel or something. Lol. :)

Cory,

You are the GREATEST! :D

WTG! Cory. :D

Thank you Tillie and MayMay for your letters to Cassie. This is going to be awesome. I raised over $900 for this day so now it is time to put my party planning hat on and give her a day she and her family will never forget.

You guys rock!

ATTENTION all readers!

Cory has posted a new thread at the very bottom of the main message board.

Please check it out.

Thank you :D

Good morning

Today I am off to the grocery store.
Have my list and coupons all ready.

This time of year I like to buy enough to last about 2 weeks so that I don't have to visit the store often.
Even grocery stores get crazy this time of year.

Have a great day or at least try to make it great. :)

Good morning :)

I have had to go out and help redirect him.

When things just lay around in the same place year after year,
hoarders get what is called "Clutter Blindness".

They honestly just do not see it any more.

I had to point out to him a HUGE amount of stuff piled up that would be blocking access to the side yard for the earth moving equipment.

This stuff has been sitting there collecting lots of other stuff for many years.

Once I pointed out the stuff and started naming what is there
he finally "SAW" it and agreed with me that it would need to be moved.

There are also some smaller piles of stuff he just did not see.

I believe that "clutter blindness" is a big part of the problem that hoarders have.
They just don't see it any more.


My To-Do list for today...
tidy up
do cat type chores
and periodically go out and point out to him anything he can't see.


Have a great day! :D

Hello Hannah! :D

Big Way To Go! for making more donations!

How wonderful to have new windows.
Not only do they look nice but they will help keep your home warmer in the winter.

So nice to "see" you again. :D

Sincerely, Tillie

Took a few things to Goodwill this am.I got there a little early but ppl had already dropped stuff off outside.The lady came out and asked if I had just a few things and I said yes.We also finished putting up the curtains and valances on some windows as we had 23 new windows installed last week.They look so nice compared to our older crappy windows.

Yeah I have no problem picturing Cory at a bowling alley. But for some reason I'm having trouble picturing him at a night club.

All though, I could totally picture some girl suddenly spotting Cory in the night club and then suddenly scream out, "OMG! It's Cory Chalmers!" and then suddenly a swarm of girls crowd around him and tell him about how hot he is and then start asking him a bunch of questions and asking him for his autograph. Lol. :)

I have no problem picturing Cory at a bowling alley. :)

Hey Cory,
Wow! You in a night club? For some reason I am having a really hard time trying to picture you in a night club. ;)
Have fun though! :D

Hey Tillie,
I will read the books. :)
These books will be the first books that I will have read in 4 years.
The last time I read an actual book was when I was still in high school.
I love reading magazines though. I read magazines all the time. :)

TY Cory :D
I plan to enjoy this time and try not to allow anything to interfere with what is happening here.

Have a GREAT time at your party.
You all have earned it! :D

Tillie,
Still going at it, that is so great! Not sure what flipped his switch but ride this one out for as long as possible!

I am going to church this morning then have our company Christmas party tonight. I let one of my office staff plan it, so sorry about the choice of days but I won't be on the group tonight. We are going to a modern, adult, bowling alley that is a mix between a bowling alley, bar, and night club. Not sur what to expect!

Good morning :)

He has been spending his inside time actually cleaning.
I didn't think he understood "cleaning".
He actually washed all the crud off his desk, computer, night stand, TV and other things in his bedroom.
He has been keeping himself "self motivated".
Working to clear the side yard and then doing some more smaller tasks in his room and garage.

My plan for today...
Stay out of his way.
Tidy up around here.
Enjoy being inside during this cold, dark and drizzly day.

REMEMBER tonight at 5pm PST is the online support group.
Hope to see everybody there. :D

MayMay,


READ THE BOOKS!

Earlier today, my boyfriend and I went to go see "The Hobbit". I thought that the movie was AWESOME! Even though the theater was really crowded.

After the movie was over I asked my boyfriend if the movie was accurate to the book. My boyfriend has read all of the books; and even though I've seen all 3 "Lord of the Ring" movies and now "The Hobbit" movie, I have never read any of the books. My boyfriend did not know that I have never read any of the books. He knew that I loved all of the movies, but he did not know that I have never read any of the books; so when I told him, he was really shocked. Because he knew that I loved all of the movies so much, he asked me why I have never read the books; and I told him that I thought about reading the books back when the first "Lord of the Ring" movie was about to come out in theaters, but then I decided not to read them because I figured, why should I read the books when they are making movies based on them? I have never really liked reading books. After I told him that I decided not to read the books because they were making movies based on them, he told me that he is now going to make me read all of the books. And when I told him that I never really liked reading books, he told me that we could read them together; so that he will know that I am actually reading them. Lol. :)

Good morning :)

I slept in again today :)

It snowed last night and I woke up to a beautiful sparkly white winter wonder land.

Must do some house cleaning today.
Get the bathroom cleaned up good, not just swish & wipe.
Sweep the floors and porches.
Vacuum the carpet.
Dust everything.

Last night on the way to the movie we came upon a police blockade in the road.
The nice officer said there was an "incident" and that we had to turn around and take another route.
Checking the news, there was an armed standoff going on at that time. Only the gunman died.

Anyways....
Everybody be safe and find enjoyment in whatever you do today. :)

Me, Matt, and Cory are spending another night at my boyfriend's house tonight. And right now Cory just jumped onto my boyfriend's bed and accidentally smashed my boyfriend's "Twig and Giggle Berries". LOL. ;)

Hey Tillie,
My boyfriend and I are going to go see "The Hobbit" tomorrow. I'm so excited to go see it! I loved the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; so when I found out that they were going to be making "The Hobbit" into a movie too I was really excited about it. :)

You should have seen me back when I saw the first trailer for it. I totally freaked out. I was at my boyfriend's house when I saw the first trailer; and when I saw it I got really excited and I started to jump up and down and I was like, "OMG! This is the trailer for "The Hobbit"! I totally want to see this movie!" LOL. I am a total DORK! Lol.

Since I was 13 years old I have been a big fan of Tolkein.

My hoarder asked me if I wanted to go see "The Hobbit" today at the 3:00 showing. This was the first showing of the movie in the small town near here.

Of course I said YES!

The ticket cost 5.00 and the theater only had less than 30 people. All the other people were at work or school.

It was fantastic! :D

Today was a very shocking and sad day. :(
I'm not going to lie; when I first heard the news about the shooting today I cried. :(
There have been so many shootings this year and this shooting was one of the worst. :(
20 children and 6 adults died. :(
My thoughts and prayers are with the families.

What a sad sad day this turned out to be.
My thoughts and prayers to all the families.
Hug your loved ones tight and tell them how much you love them. :(

Thanks Tillie. :)
Sorry to hear that you are sick. :(
I hope you feel better soon. :)

Good morning :)

I slept in until 8:00 this morning :D

So far the day is clear & cloudless & cold.
He should be out there by now but he wants to go to the grocery store.
I am still too sick to go shopping and anyways I don't need or want anything from the store.

My To-Do list for today...
Not go grocery shopping :D
Do the usual tidying up
Find something to amuse myself :)

Have a great day! :D

MayMay
Happy to hear you didn't have another bad dream. :)

I just woke up a few minutes ago.
Right now I am sitting on the couch and drinking a Pepsi while wearing my boyfriend's 1-800-HOARDERS.com t-shirt. :)
I did not have any weird nightmares last night. YAY! :)

I am so glad my boyfriend has a king size bed; because right now me, my boyfriend, and Cory and Matt are all laying in his bed and watching tv. LOL. And FYI, both Cory and Matt are German Shepherds. :)

Right now I am getting ready to take Matt and Cory to my boyfriend's house. Then my boyfriend and I are going to go out to eat for supper and then go back to his house and have a movie marathon. The reason I am taking Cory and Matt with me to my boyfriend's house is because I am going to spend the night there tonight and Cory and Matt hate it when I am gone overnight. Hopefully I won't have any weird nightmares tonight, like I did last night. That was why my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to spend the night at his house tonight; because I told him about the weird nightmare that I had last night.

Thank you Cory :)

Now that "the cat is out of the bag" about the hoard and squalor here he has to at least address the non functioning septic system.
He has set the date for the work to be done so he is working with a deadline.
That is his motivation right now.

The neighbor men have also been talking to him about scrap metal recycling and how much money he could get. Trying to encourage him to let go of all that clutter.

He has burned some very old wood panel interior doors that he has kept in the yard for over 20 years.
This is very promising in that those rotted doors were something he treasured.

I have been telling him how having all this repair work and decluttering done is so very nice.
A big load off our minds to not have to always be worried.
Fewer places for animals, snakes and yellow jackets to nest.
Easier to keep the weeds and leaves from making a fire hazard.

I keep thinking of all the positive things about this work he is doing to talk about with him. :)

TTYL :D

Tillie,
It really seems like he is putting in the effort right now. You are right that the embarrassment and shame might be triggering this thrust forward but don't be surprised if this is short lived. My hope is that he continues, but I fear he may just not invite anyone over again, then he doesn't have to face the negative feelings again, and he won't have to work so hard to clean it up. I would just use supportive means to let him know you appreciate it. Maybe telling him how proud you are isn't the right approach, not that you have dont that. But perhaps spinning it around to just say how great the areas look that he is cleaning up or how nice it will be to able to stay up on the maintenance now so this type of situation doesn't happen again with his friends. He needs that positive feedback but you need to figure out how to say it where he will appreciate it the most. My other fear is that the rain is going to stop all progress and he will lose motivation once the storm passes. He seems to be in a great mode right now, and its too bad the weather is going to halt that. Maybe he will continue indoors when the sprinkles start. Very happy for you and the progress he is showing the last few days! Talk to you soon my friend ;)

Good morning

Another cold but clear dry day.
Tomorrow the next storm system moves in.
The light dusting of snow from last night should not slow him down.
His plan is to keep working on decluttering that side yard.

I am hoping that he is learning the lesson here.
Putting off maintenance and hoarding massive amounts of stuff is no way to live and digging out and putting things right is hard work and very expensive.

He also seems a bit ashamed from having to face people and them seeing how he has been living.
These are people he has known for years but they have never been here before.

He finally admitted that the big old truck camper shell is rotted into the ground and is a useless bit of clutter now.
I told him that it can be taken apart, metal recycled, wood burned and other parts to the dump.

That is all I am doing to help him, make suggestions.

It's not my mess. :D

Besides, I am not physically able to do hard labor any more.


Have a great day whatever you decide to tackle!

OMG! It's around 6:20am where I live, and I have just woken up from having the WEIRDEST and FREAKIEST dream that I have ever had in my life!

WTG! For your husband being able to burn all of the rotted lumber and wanting to get rid of all the scrap metal. :)