I am sad to have to stay away from Bean, but I am mostly sad for my dsil and for Bean. Dsil lost his dad when he was 21. The situation was complicated and left him somewhat estranged from his mom for a couple of years. With support from Dd and his sister they have reconciled and grown close again.

Bean will never tell me "my other Grammy has a donkey." He will be deprived of the person who would bake him gooey cheesey carbs in many forms and rich sugary desserts in absurd quantities. (We could make him the food, but we would always be thinking "this food is so bad for him. He shouldn't be eating this food" - the joy is lost) He is losing the person who sings and who knows all the stories about when Daddy was a little boy.

I had my paternal grandmother for 15 years. I held my baby cousin and paced the floor the night she died. And I know all the things my cousin missed.

And Bean will grow, and he will do things that worry his father, and dsil won't be able to call home and hear "you did that. He'll be fine."

I will be fine. I have more than enough to keep busy and I can drop by the porch and look at him every week.

It's also possible that I may end up watching him if dsil needs me to. We are less worried about baby transmission. Babies don't seem to get sick. Dd said "I'll just leave him in the porch in his car seat." I told her I will take off work if they need me to.

The basement floor is concrete.

Today I make another stab at being productive.

Tillie, good job cleaning up, but don't overdo it.

Tatoulua, I forgot to thank you for voting!

Birthday badger: 🎈🦡🎈

Hello...

Yes, dishes and laundry doing is so futile.
Most all house cleaning is too.
But WAY TO GO! doing it! :D
Nice having clean dishes and clean clothes to use & wear.

Is the basement floor cement?
Hope your vinegar turns out nice. :)

Hi Tatoulia
WTG! for filling a donation bag!

Do you need Badger tomorrow for the cooking and getting the cake? 🦡🎂

Sending Happy Birthday wishes to Mom ((((HUG))))

My washing machine does a better job when I don't fill it as much as I could without overfilling/stuffing it.
The way it agitates, less than full gives the things more wiggle room to swish around.
I will wash 2 large sheets with two regular size pillow cases but the duvet cover washes alone.

Hoping you can get some mums to flourish and brighten up the view from your windows.
I'm getting a lot of joy seeing mine. :)

This next month we should all be extra careful about exposure.
The changing weather might cause more outbreaks as people huddle inside away from the cold.
Stay calm and carry on (((HUG)))


Today I ran the vacuum.
Picked up & bagged all of Scooter's toys.
Moved some smaller furniture.
Even vacuumed the cat perch.
Now the place looks so much better even with thick dust on most everything else.

I understand the hopeless feelings, SubC. I am sorry that you won't get to see your beloved Bean due to the mil's illness. That must be weighing on you (as well as the weight of school and the world). I know that seeing your grandson gives you something to look forward to.

Standing by your side and shoring you up.

Yikes on the vinegar!

Hello.

Happy birthday to your mom Tatoulia. 🎈

I've spent most of my day on dishes and laundry. So that is better, but it seems so futile - next week it will be backed up again.

My vinegar overflowed and stained the basement floor.

And who cares....

Very clever badger! Not yet, badger. I don't know what my problem is.

SubC what a sad thing for the other grandmother. I was so fortunate to grow up with four grandparents.

Cm, you continue to make great progress! I am amazed that you are able to find more things to donate! I am so proud of you!

I have a bag of clothes ready to go. I've washed them all since they've been in my closet.

Today I mailed the Halloween package to our
Iittle friends and then I went to the paint store to check out some additional paints, then I went to vote at the Boston Public library. Long line but well managed and it moved quickly. Start to finish it was 50 minutes. Mild day. My time outside was about 20, 25. Then I picked up some lunch for BF.

one of my friends sent my mother flowers for her birthday. She was thrilled! Her day is tomorrow and I am afraid I haven't picked up her cake and I haven't cooked the meal she wanted. I'll get my act together tomorrow Right after I change the toilet seat. Wink wink badger.

I just washed my duvet cover, and I'll pull out the comforter soon. I think the temperature is supposed to take a big turn downward tonight. I know I could get through so much more laundry if I were willing to stack it together, But I don't want to wash the sheets with the duvet. I like things to be their own thing. And drying a duvet cover is miserable. And I imagine with sheets it would be even worse.

Anyway, I am waiting to go get my pjs out of the dryer. I'm going to take a shower and put them on. Mom just called and she got 20 birthday cards from my friends today. Pretty nice. It may be closer to 7 since she's an exaggerator. But if she thinks there are twenty, then there are 20.

Tillie our cases are starting to soar in Boston. I am being twice as careful and only expect to be more careful as the days go on. Mom wants me to cook for her so I'll do that tomorrow. I have to pick up some beef. And a cake for her. She asked me what t I've are we eating. She isn't getting it that we aren't eating together. I think it's hard for her to remember just how miserable everything is. That may be a blessing.

I wish I had a garden. I didn't plant mums in my flower boxes because it's been too warm here and they just go bad within a day or two. I don't think it's too late, however, so maybe I'll get some next weekend.

SubC, I think about my platelets donation and how they help fight cancer. I have two more sessions planned right now. I find it extremely satisfying even though I get so sick to my stomach. I'll think of your daughter's mil next time I'm donating.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Yes, what Subclinical said, storage is just fluffed up.
You did a fantastic amount there before the sale.

True, the memory of a past nasty virus should be enough to get everybody on board with trying their best to stay healthy.

Glad you got in some necessities.
Very good plan to try your best to stay away from the shop during the holidays.
I found that Wally World senior hour is 7am to 8am but the store is still pretty empty for even the next few hours.
Good time to go and you can get in & back out quickly.

Make sure you have fun things to do to occupy your time while quarantining.
Even a line up of movies or tv shows to watch.
We just need to "relax" into the solitude and not fight it.


Hi Subclinical
Sounds like you and the school are doing everything right (((HUG)))


What terrible news about Dsil's Mom.
Everything about this really sucks.
DD did what was best at the time only knowing what she knew at the time.
This is all just so heart breaking.
Make sure they take lots & lots of pictures of Bean with his Grammy.
They must have Christmas with her while she is still well enough to enjoy it.
Bean must stay healthy so he doesn't give her even a tiny cold.
My most sincere thoughts and prayers are with you all.
(((HUG)))

CM,

You got a lot out of that storage area. Don't let the fluffing fool you.

Tillie, I wish we could ease your pain.

I am glad that at least you are warmer.

Tatoulia, is the new seat on?

I will start with good things - I want to be safe at school, but I really do not want to go online. There is a good chance that the county where I teach will go purple thIs week - we set records for cases and hospitalizations 3 of the last 4 and 5 of the last 7 days. But, I talked to my boss and we will not necessarily go online (we are exempt from school orders) In 4 weeks we have had a couple dozen people kept home awaiting testing results, (Including me) but ZERO cases in students, staff, or family members. None of our community has chosen to stay home for 10 days after symptoms disappear instead of getting testing. We will continue to watch trends, follow safety measures, and keep an eye on numbers, but as long as parents feel safe sending us their kids, we are unlikely to shut down without having an associated case.

I got to have a yummy dinner, cuddles, and bath playtime with Bean last night. He has grown so much!

Unfortunately - the bad part - dsil got a call while we were there. His mom's cancer is stage 3 or 4, and the 5 year survival rate is zero. She will do chemo and radiation, but they are not sure what kind of time she is looking at. Apparently she left instructions that she was not to be given the surgery results - they went to her husband - and that she would do any treatment available no matter what. (So if it is weeks, I guess they schedule the treatment way out and give her a few weeks of denial.) this is going to be really hard.

Dd is feeling terrible about keeping her apart from Bean so much the first three months On the theory that they would have plenty of time to do many things together. Things they even talked to the other grandmother about. I told her she did her best at the time. Now it is the other grandmother's turn to see Bean as much as she wants, and my turn to stay away for awhile so I don't bring germs from school.

Have to go - I'll check in again later.

It wasn't my intention to let so many days go by without posting, yet here we are. And even so I'm posting after 1:00 a.m. It has just been a disjointed week again.

And it has turned cold, and will be nasty next week. But after that milder the first week in November. The trees were pretty today with autumn colors, though duller than in other years when we've had decent moisture.

I hope to do some storage unit stuff that week. Tried this week but there wasn't much decent weather and I just wasn't very organized or motivated.

Was a bit shocked when I saw the unit again for the first time after the garage sale craziness. It is a right mess, and I felt discouraged. But a little better now. Last night I did take out some more Halloween items and today donated them. Hopefully someone will have fun with them still.

Mainly this week I was just trying to make sure I was out of the house while my roommate had online work meetings. Hopefully next week she won't have as many. Today her boss said they might not go back to the office till March or so.

10,601 cases in my county, of which 160 are new.

I do not understand the problem normal average people have with mask wearing. But then I survived that pretty bad case of Beijing Flu when I was 31. The memories are burned into my brain - and I didn't even go to the hospital, or end up on a ventilator! ANYTHING halfway reasonable that even MIGHT help never to go through such an ordeal again, I'll do!

I've gotten several of the staple items I intended to ahead of the holiday rush. Kind of broke at the moment for all but necessities. On payday or shortly after I hope to ensure I won't have to shop much at all till after New Year's. Or if I do, I can go just after the senior hour when it'd still be a light amount of people.

Dealing with cabin fever will be a challenge even though I know it'll be worth it and better cabin fever than Covid fever for sure. Roommate's surgery will be another challenge in there.

Tatoulia, I know what you mean about people we won't see again. It's weird. There are some I need to call. In some ways I've thought I'd do better with this quarantine time if on my own, so I could call people late, not have someone else around so I had more privacy, etc.

But then I may have freaked out by now if all on my own. I have a friends in risk groups who have been a lot more isolated than I have up to now. I'll get more of a taste of that with my plan to really stay home even more during the holiday season.

Oh well. It is what it is. You all are never far from my thoughts. Tillie, I wish I could send you warm heating pad or something that would really make your back feel better, and SubC I hope your school goes virtual if that's what'd be best and that if it does, it won't be too stressful. Either way I hope for relief from stress for you and all of us.

Hello

Watered the grass today maybe for the last time this year.

Spent a lot of time laying in bed wishing the pain would please just go away.

Was a very pretty but cold day today.
Got the electric radiators out of the pantry.
So nice not having to fight through the garage hoard to try getting them any more.

Yesterday I managed to winterize the livingroom window where the cooler is.
Already made a nice warmer difference in here.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Glad you can still have phone conversations with your old friend.
Keeping in touch by phone, internet or letters is all we have to work with right now.
Almost like living back in the Dark Ages.

It is scary outside where you are.
Right now it's not so bad here.
But that virus is here and our positive rates will be going up soon.

I lay here thinking how I want to get out, go to the thrift shops and see my friends who work there.
But it's foolish to go anywhere that is not absolutely essential right now.
For now I have enough to eat and other essentials so no need to grocery shop yet.

Hope you can stay in except for essential trips out.
In another month we should be better able to see how/where this virus is moving around.

We just all need to keep doing whatever it takes to stay safe.
We also need to do things at home for ourselves too.
Nice things, happy things, things to help us pleasantly pass the days.
We are not being punished, banished to our rooms with no dinner.
We are just being safe. :)

🦡🦡🦡🦡🚽

Covid is so tough. And yes, Boston schools are back to online.

Honestly, I understand that some people are going to get it. What I don't understand is not protecting yourself every waking minute. My mother is a scientist and understands the importance. She's 91 and forgets. And the other resident with it around his chin. I know she was just having a knee jerk reaction to defend him.

I talked to a very dear friend a few weeks ago. And I told him
I've made peace with the fact that we won't see each other again. He is in his late 70s. And that's that. He tried to argue it differently but we both knew it, even as he discussed coming here for breakfast some day. It was nice to dream but it's not realistic. He is someone that I adore. But nothing we can do about it and we only ever see each other once every three years or even less frequently. There's plenty of will, there's just no way. So at least he called to check in and we talked for an hour, which was a real treat.

It is so scary outside. I think I'm in other than errands. Don't see myself going out. I am terrified.

Tillie I am so sorry about your living situation. SubC this uncertainty is so hard. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

I think I'll just go change the seat now. I can change it or I can lay down. Cm how are you holding up?

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Really hoping they do not wait too long before going back online there.
Online sucks but the rising positive numbers are too scary.
Kids are still in the schools here, for now too.
Yeah, I saw Boston's schools closed too.

I think masks will be less uncomfortable when it's cold out.
But bras will always be a pain.

I want your Mom to make a sweet little Christmas in her home for herself.
Some decorations and to have a pleasant meal at a properly set table, wearing pants is optional.
Doing these things for ourselves is important even if family can't be there.
((((HUG))))


Shivery cold morning...
Will try working on plastic covering some of these old rattily single pane windows.
Not ready to stop wearing my summertime dresses and start wearing jeans.
I don't care if I look funny in a summer dress wearing socks and a flannel shirt over it.

Hello,

Good morning.

Negative on the father. Another family of kids is out awaiting test results. State set another record yesterday and the local counties are getting dicey. My boss sent out information on our guidelines. If things continue as they are, we will probably be online in a week.

Tatoulia, I saw Boston schools are closed again.

The mask situation where your mom is is unconscionable! I wish people would just wear their masks. I don't understand why it is so hard. Ok, fine, they are uncomfortable. Keep trying some different ones and see how much you can improve that. I have been wearing a bra for almost 40 years. I find that much more uncomfortable than the mask, but wear it for less compelling social reasons. (I spent half my summer wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underpants)

I'm sorry your mom doesn't understand. Mine is coming to grips with not seeing anyone at Christmas time. She isn't even sure she will have a tree.

Tillie, I'm glad you had a good day. I hope the garbage keeps leaving.

114 more school days.

Good Evening

Was such a lovely day.
Watered my flowers and they are looking so pretty,
Glad they survived the killer summer heat.

Spent a lot of time laying down, even took a short nap.

Good Morning Everyone
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
Understandable your Mom temporarily forgetting to mask up but that man with his mask around his neck is not acceptable at all.

Sorry, my training as a surgical assistant was heavy on watching others and making sure everybody followed proper procedures at all times to prevent contamination or injury to the patient.
Best part was I was allowed and expected to even yell at doctors and keep them in their place. ;D

Happy you have birthday plans already for Mom. (((HUG)))
She will appreciate all you do for her even if she is grouchy.

Maybe put the new toilet seat right out where you see it all the time to help remember to put it on?
I always find putting something out related to a task helps me remember I need to do it.


Was rudely woken up at 5:30am but was able to get back to sleep till 8:30.
yea

Today I should water garden flowers because it will dip down into the high 20s over night and plants do better when they are watered.
I really want to/need to wash the back porch but he has way too much "precious crap" piled all around that area and will get mad if I get it wet or try the impossible and attempt to move it.

But over the last few months he has been removing many grocery plastic bags full of garbage from the garage and putting them in the truck for the dump.
The hoarded up garage where he sits on the computer all the time is/was full of years worth of food related garbage.
Maybe he is tired of all the mice poopin on & chewing up stuff, snacking on his dinner?

He basically lives out there, peeing in bottles.
I won't allow him to smoke or drink liquor in the house because of all his health issues that I then have to do the emergency and home care nursing for.
But he chain smokes and gets drunk out there every day thinking I don't know...
He has been declared to be in heart failure. Heart very enlarged, irregular heart beat.
Not following doctor's orders and not taking his meds as prescribed.
Also does not believe in covid19, says it is only a very mild cold and there is Hantavirus in this neck of the woods and any mouse is not to be tolerated.

At least the emergency room doctor knows and understands that I am helpless to get him to comply.
If he dies out in the garage the coroner will have a very hard time removing the body.
Since I stay out of there it may be days before he is even discovered.
Lovely thoughts, such lovely thoughts.

Anyways, beautiful sunny Autumn day and I plan to enjoy it. :D

Tillie those are good ideas. I bought pretty napkins and paper plates for her birthday. She asked me for a specific dinner, which I will cook for her. I'll get her a small cake and flowers. I bought her a cute coat.

I think she doesn't leave her room frequently enough to remember a mask. I feel badly for her. I will make her birthday as cheerful as possible!

That is a lot of laundry you did! Congratulations!

I have to get to PO tmr to mail some things. I keep forgetting to change my toilet seat. I have to do better to look alive.

Hi Everybody

Tatoulia,
I just want to SCREAM!
NO MASKS. Stupid people!
The best things we can be doing right now is to wear masks, wash/sanitize our hands and distancing.
Plus anybody who even just thinks they may be coming down with ANYTHING must quarantine themselves.

Your Mom doesn't need to get even the simple common sniffles.

I guess for her birthday you can bring her a special supper, cake, candle and pretty plates & napkins.
Same for thanksgiving too.
At least she would know what special day/holiday it is.

Staying home all the time, cut off from the rest of the world I too am having difficulties with knowing what day/date/holiday it is any more.
But I do know it's Autumn because I see the trees and my chrysanthemums. :)

Today I did 3 loads of laundry, it's all dry folded & put away.
Also washed dishes and wiped the kitchen down.
Weren't many dishes, haven't had much of an appetite.
I am able to do a little more housework now since I don't have to water outside so much.
Still need to winterize but Steven did start to winterize the cooler today, maybe he will finish?

Hello everyone! Holed up in Boston!

Took my blanket out and washed it up. So cozy. I haven't integrated it into my bedding, just on top and I had a great night's sleep.

My mother isn't understanding the scope of the pandemic. Apparently she was telling everyone that BF and I will be taking her for dinner on her birthday. (Sunday). I told her there is no place to go. Everything's closed except for outdoors abs it's too cold. I told her that some places do indoors but I'm not willing to eat indoors. She seemed surprised and disappointed. Then she said, well Thanksgiving is coming up. And I told her, we aren't having Thanksgiving this year. The restaurant we go to won't be open and I'm not willing to go inside anywhere. So she's not putting it together, I'm afraid.

Last night I brought her cough drops and ice cream. She has a sore throat and has had one since Saturday. She met her in the lobby (I had to get her laundry, too) and there she was, no mask. She was in her wheelchair with no mask. So they gave her one and she said come in (I was in the vestibule, between the double doors and I said, no, the guy behind you doesn't have a mask. And she said YES HE DOES ITS UNDER HIS CHIN. I'm going to lose it. I'm going to lose it. I'm going to lose it.


So it's really sad that she's not getting any of this and I just want to scream. But I can't. This is the same person who chastised me and didn't sleep one night over the weekend because I'd donated platelets.

I'm losing it.

Good Morning All

Hi Subclinical
That Irish tea bread sounds yummy!

Glad the Kid's Father got tested.
Holding my breath that everything turns out negative.

What a shame...
Canning jars and lids used to be so plentiful and easily found for not much money.
Guess many more people have been canning this growing season.
I haven't been looking but it must be the same scarcity here too.

Bean time right now is always "wait & see" one day at a time. (((HUG)))


Hi CriticalMass
YEA! for the new tablet!

Sorry you are missing out on the perfect Autumn weather to work in storage.
But Winter weather is better than the Summer heat there.
Just need it to not be rainy/snowy.

Yep, I think it is smart to have a back up of staples in the house in Winter and especially smart with the virus now.
Hibernating is not such a bad idea.


So dark at 5am...
Sun is now starting to light up the land here.
Weather report has changed and it will be down in the 20s over night by Thursday.
Going to start doing laundry now.

20 pints.

I have wide mouth lids, but only wide mouth quart jars which I use for milk.

I have regular mouth quarts, 24 oz, pints, half pints, and 4oz jars, but no regular lids.

Neither hard nor lids are available locally and online they are expensive and back ordered. (My reusable lids still haven't shipped)

Canning appears to be on indefinite hold.

Good morning all.

Good morning CM.

We will fight the darkness together. Here it seems the rainy season has set in again.

You did a lot on the storage unit this fall. It is ok to slow down, regroup, and refocus.

The election will be over soon. It helps me that I have already voted. (Early in person)

I love frozen applesauce in the summer.

I have a student who will be attending online today because his father was exposed to someone who tested positive. The whole family will be staying home until the dad gets a negative test back.

I talked to Dd on FaceTime and saw Bean last night. I think she is already getting cold feet about Monday.

Time to start on pickles!

Another week hath begun...

I'll chime in with one of my favorite hand products. You must know that I don't care for strong "perfumey" scents and that I love anything vanilla. 🍰 Camille Beckman French Vanilla is so wonderful you might be tempted to eat it like pudding. There used to be craft market places here where people would sell CB products and they'd usually have a little sample jar of the cream sitting out and I'd partake. Couldn't do that these days...

I have some Avon vanilla lotion too, which is more affordable for frequent use. I think many people have nostalgia for that original Jergens 🍒 too. My mom sometimes used it.

SubC, applesauce sounds so yum. I just have storebought but it's a nice comfort food anyhow. I get the big jar of no sugar added, sometimes organic if it's available. Since we're pressed for refrigerator space but have that upright freezer, I portion it out into servings and freeze those. It's a nice treat when still part frozen if weather is warmer, or I can bring one to the fridge a day ahead of time and let it thaw if I don't want it too cold. 🍎🍏

These darker mornings have been making it harder to want to get up for some time now. 🌃⏰

Weekend was a bit disjointed, some good, some bad or meh, but all in all better now. Saturday I went and got a new tablet since my first one is six years old and I've done things like replace the battery and charging port to keep it going. Don't want to wait till it conks out like my old laptop did.

So have been setting up the new one, getting the apps I want, and I'll be transferring pictures and stuff. The old one is still good for simple things like at night when I want my Debussy or New Age music to drift off to sleep with, etc.

I was still feeling the stunned sadness over my gradeschool friend's arrest. His picture in the news looked so different, long hair and beard when his look had always been short haircut and clean shaven, relaxed, open, and normal. He was smiling in the recent pic but his eyes sort of looked... crazed. Apparently he had been upset at not being able to visit his mother in a care facility.

This Covid time is just volatile for us all and if we've already got some issues it can push a person over the edge. I have had days when I feel like I'm hanging onto my sanity by the skin of my teeth. So though of course I don't condone making threats of violence, again I'm just thankful he was thwarted before he did something regrettable, and I leave judgment to God. And pray for my schoolmate's healing.

So anyway, back to my weekend - I got the tablet and have been fiddling with it, I made a chocolate mint cake Saturday afternoon. Yesterday took a rabbit club T-shirt over to one of our members because I had extras and this one was a 2X and fit me like a sack. 👕

Today I was going to fill out a form for Social Security and I wanted to see how I'd done the previous one, so I went into the scary area of my bedroom to tackle the piles that were in front of my boxes of files. Actually ended up doing a bit of organizing. There is still clutter on the floor but I'm getting some of that gone too, bit by bit.

Weather is catching up to us and overtaking, some really cold with possibility of the frozen S-word precipitation next week! 🥶🌨️❄️ I had lost some momentum on the storage unit with the concerns over how we'd handle my roommate's surgery and I guess I was just generally regrouping after the bunny club garage sale, but not fast enough. Then there was the laptop Windows 10 thing - anyhow, I guess the nice period of Indian summer is past, unless it comes back in early November. 🍃🍂🍁

Now that's not to say I won't be able to still work over there, in jeans and jacket, and get a few more things done. Will just have to be more focused, which is not easy with the election (yuck) and roommate's surgery planning going on. But I'll do what I can. I am still glad I made the huge chunk of progress I did.

It sure is anybody's guess what going into winter with the pandemic still going on will be like. I've already been buying staple things as I think of them. Hoping I'll be able to hole up and hibernate for the most part. Yet somehow at the same time avoid seasonal depression. It will be fun, they said!🤪

Good morning!

Tillie, it was a nice surprise to see you posted so early, but I am sorry for the reason. I hope you are getting sone rest and that you are able to get your winter basics done in time.

My dishwasher is running again but I still have dirty dishes from yesterday's applesauce, dinner, and ice cream making.

The first half batch of ice cream is in the ice cream maker. (I can only make a half batch at a time)

It's dark and rainy here, so I am trying to stay busy and focused.

I have come to a decision. When I wake up tomorrow, I will have 5 hours before I want to leave for school, (need to fire the kiln) and almost seven hours before I HAVE to leave for school. I looked at my pickle recipe, and it takes about half an hour to cook to pickles once they heat up. In the same time, I can bring the small canner to a boil. I am going to try to get up and get started on my pickles. I let too much time go by in drips and drabs because I am afraid I won't have time to finish a big project.

I can load the kiln after school if I need to.

While I was looking for my pickle recipe, I found the recipe for Irish tea bread a friend gave me years ago. I decided today would be a good day to bake it.

Well, that had so many interruptions that I'm on the second half of the ice cream. If this becomes a cross list, I'll check back.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical
WOOHOO! that's a lot of apple sauce :D
No wonder you ran out of time to prep tomatoes too.

Nice, homemade coder vinegar too.
Livestock are so wonderful eating up leavings so hardly anything ever goes into the compost.

WTG! for not having too much of a big kitchen clean up AND for icecream making too. :D

Good luck with your lesson planning.


Woke up about 4:30am. tried to fall back asleep.
Finally got up and took 2 aspirin about 5am.

Almost 6am and it's still so dark outside.
Forecast says that Friday we will dip down to 31F over night.
Really need to get things winterized.
So much to do and I am still struggling physically with no help here. :P

Goid evening.

I am laughing very hard at myself that I thought I would gave time and energy to cut up the pickles tonight.

I wish I could get them canned tomorrow because they have to sit overnight, so now I can't can them until next weekend, but I am too tired and it got too late. I spent most of the day cutting up apples.

17 quarts of applesauce plus a little in the fridge (one jar hasn't sealed, so if it is still unsealed I the morning, it will go in the fridge too.)

Three jars of cores soaking in sterilized water to make apple cider vinegar.

Big pot of cooked peels that I milled out of the sauce for the chickens.

Dishwasher is running, scullery sink is piled high, but the kitchen is not too bad. Room to easily make breakfast in the morning. And there is a pot of ice cream mix cooling on the stove so I can put it in the fridge before bed and get it frozen tomorrow.

Also tomorrow I need to concentrate on lesson plans so my week won't be too hard.

Hang in there everyone!

Tatoulia, it's not good to be out of coffee!

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
I get very good results with Vaseline intensive care body lotion.
I saw that Jergens recently re-released their original scent.
As a little girl I loved it because it smelled just like chocolate covered cherries.
So I bought a bottle and the scent immediately sent me back through time to my Granma's house, the feeling of being a little girl again.

Somebody donated a fresh new hand cream bar to the thrift shop, all natural ingredients, wrapped up in paper and I loved it and used it all up.

I refuse to put on or into my body anything that states it was made in China.
All the pets and babies they sickened and killed makes me never trust them, ever.

Happy you got away from the city and spent time with your friend :D
Hope you got things like coffee and Mom's groceries too.
So much fun writing out holiday cards and sending them off.
I always loved doing that. :D


Hi Subclinical
Winter weather is hard on our hands too.
Maybe the lotion bar people have a website?

That's a LOT of tomatoes there.
Good luck getting them all sorted and put up.

Hoping things work out for you and Bean next week
(((HUG)))

Seems like many cities & areas here and in other countries are tightening down again.
People in London and Liverpool are in the streets protesting closing of the pubs/curfew.
We are heading into a difficult time.
Positive test results are up, hospitalizations are up.
Just keep doing what you all know is the right things to do.
Stay far away from the unmasked huddled masses.

Good morning!

That makes perfect sense on the hand creams! You know what works best for you! I do hope you get to see the baby next week, SubC.

Rates are rising in Boston which means that a couple of colleges have told their students that if they go home for Thanksgiving then then shouldn't come back. So BF may soon be facing another crises with his businesses. But we will persevere. As long as we are both healthy, we will persevere.

I wrote out a number of my Halloween postcards last night. Will finish up today. It's important to me that I'm now doing on a more organized basis. I have my Thanksgiving cards too.

I didn't realize that I'm all out of stuff like coffee. I do need to get to the grocery store. I have to do mom's shopping too. I'd also like to work in a few loads of laundry. But that may have to wait til during the week.

For now, it's coffee clinks to all, I may out on some music and see what I can do this AM. Need to reduce.

Hi tatoulia,

Glad you got a break.

I appreciate the ideas for lotion. Lately I've been using up teacher gift stuff, but I have also used jergens in the past. And bag balm. Honestly, I am way past most hand lotion, and I prefer to avoid chemicals I can't read out loud on first sight. - I usually go to the renfest every year and there is a stand that has lotion bars - Shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax, a little bit of some other oils, and some natural things for a light scent. They come package free, but I usually store them in wax paper or beeswax wrap.

It's not just the gardening,pottery, and constant washing either, once I have a rough spot on my hands, I will scratch at it.

Tillie, we try to stretch the food trips out a couple of weeks. But we also order our groceries and just pull in and have them put in the trunk. The groceries themselves are a bigger risk than the getting. Still shortages and substitutions here though - always interesting to see what we actually get.

I will cut up the best green tomatoes for pickles and let them sit overnight tonight. Then they get cooked and canned tomorrow. The red ones will hopefully become sauce and hopefully the in between ones will ripen.

I picked more than three bushels from about 1/3 of the patch yesterday.

Hi CM!

We set another record yesterday. Transmission rates and positive test rates are also creeping up. I don't know if there is a trigger threshold to put school back online. One of the counties we serve is now back in the range where the cdc says high school should be fully remote.

Today I am going to focus on applesauce.

Dd says she wants me to keep Bean a week from tomorrow. I am hopeful but know that she could change her mind.

Quick. Check in. SubC the lotion that helps me the best is Vaseline intensive care oatmeal. It has other things but look for oatmeal. I generally buy the store brand version. It is the nicest on my hands. I prefer it above all other lotions. I do not like any lotions made in China. The scents don't work for me and the moisturizing aspect isn't strong. I've had lotions of all price ranges and flavors and honestly, nothing beats the oatmeal stuff. It's in a yellow container. I get actual hand cream for my hands and then I buy the body version for my legs, arms, etc. also I love Jergen's original.

Cm That's pretty unnerving about your childhood friend.

Tillie I'm exhausted. Spent the day with my one girlfriend. We went for a walk then to a farm stand. I'd driven up to her house. Really nice to get out of the city.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
That is sad about your old friend.
Glad he was apprehended before anything happened and I hope they treat him with compassion.

YEA! for getting your shopping done without a crowd of people all around.


Hi Subclinical
Wishing all the best for Dsil's Mom (((HUG)))

So we have a mysterious Miss Bunny :D
Glad you made the nest box, if you hadn't she most certainly would have needed it. LOL

Fingers still crossed and still holding my breath for everything to continue to go well at school.
That
It's good you are following the state/county official positive test results.
That helps us to keep safer, know when we should just shelter at home and not risk getting food.

I would be making sure to keep table legs exactly on the marks too. ;D
Bugs me when things aren't lined up "just so".

When my neighbor friends and I shared a garden
They would give me a huge amount of green tomatoes by first frost.
I placed then separately on paper and/or cardboard flats.
Had them all over the house.
Moved them around as they slowly ripened at different paces.
I had fresh ripe tomatoes to enjoy for months after growing season ended.


Twinks seems to be back to normal today.

Good morning.

Tillie, I hope you and twinkles continue to improve. So angry that there is not medical care for you!

CM, what an awful thing. I too hope the man gets help.

Tatoulia, thank you for donating. I'm glad you are enjoying your bathroom!

Beautiful but cold day here. Frost killed the tomatoes this morning, so I need to go pick them all and make pickles and sauce.

I also need to make the applesauce - my hopes of getting a fourth apple variety were dashed this week)

And so of course I am sitting on the couch surfing the Internet.

The weeks are so hard. I just want to be lazy on the weekends. I can't seem to beat back the inertia.

Lowlights of the week -
fighting with dh - because of corona disagreements, his attempts to take charge of my mental health, and a lack of reserves on both our parts.
Dsil's mother diagnosed with cancer - 60% 5 year survival rate if caught at stage 1. Palliative care recommended at stage2 or later. They'll get stage information after the surgery she has scheduled.
The rabbit thing I did was building a nest box, but the rabbit wasn't pregnant. She's a previously owned rabbit without much history so could be too old or fixed. She's also a little fat.

Highlights -
We have made it through three weeks of school. I do not know of any covid cases in students or staff. I got three new students and only lost one.
I have lost three pounds since school started.
Dd told me that they are going to want me to watch Bean on Mondays sometimes starting in a few weeks if things are still going well.

My state set new case records on wednesday and Thursday, but came in between the two numbers yesterday.

The OCD that I don't officially have is starting to intrude on my life. (Dh actually praised me for not taking a shower immediately after getting home on Thursday.) Tape on my classroom floor might not be the best thing for me. I spend a lot of time making sure the table legs are exactly on the marks.

Also my skin is cracking. I need to get some really good lotion to keep in my school desk.

Having a strange evening...

The end of this week in general was good. Went shopping yesterday and the stores weren't crowded so it was peaceful for a change. Sometimes I'm just so annoyed when shopping especially by folks who are clueless or plain stupid about social distancing.

My roommate had work meetings yesterday and today so I was making a point to go out so I wouldn't be underfoot for her, and I wouldn't be distracted from my own thoughts by all the talking.

This evening I was browsing another website and saw a link to a breaking news story here, totally by some weird serendipity. It involved a local man, retired firefighter, who was arrested for plotting to kill our mayor. The guy was in my third grade class and I knew him through junior high, was Facebook friends with him, and went to hear him sing and play guitar at a wine bar a few years ago.

I had noticed he was getting rather weird a couple years ago or so. He was upset about masks. It's sad. Why masks ever had to get politicized - it's a moral and common sense issue, people. But at least this was discovered before something really bad could happen, and maybe he will get the mental health help he obviously needs.

2020, just stop it already.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
Happy you are happy with the "new" bathroom.
:D

WTG! keeping up with the house!

Hope you are feeling better and can get a good night's sleep.
Did you have a good dinner that's easy on the tummy?
Take it easy for a few days.
Donating can be and is psychologically trying even when physically everything goes smoothly.
(((HUG)))


Twinkles is a little more active but still laying low & napping a lot.

I spent most of today in bed.
Did go out and water my flowers this afternoon.
Not been sleeping very well due to the discomfort (AKA pain).
Keep waking up through the night and taking short naps through the day.
But I am better than I was before.

Yesterday I did spend some time on the phone begging again for some medical financial help.
Was denied, again.

Today the food bank thrift shop had a huge sale.
Everything was 50% off and they filled a warehouse with items & called it a garage sale.
I stayed home and did not tell Steven about the event either.
Nothing I need and there is too much covid19 around here lately.
Win win :D

I had today off and went this afternoon to donate platelets. It went significantly better this time! Very glad I did it.

SubC I am thrilled that the styrofoam will be recycled. I'm very glad for that.

Tillie do keep taking care of yourself. I see that twinkles has been having to do the same.

Cm I'm grateful you have a spare tire. That is crucial.

I've been greatly enjoying my new bathroom. I've been keeping up with house chores.

I'm running the dishwasher and in bed. I was suffering from nausea for the platelets. They were able to get a double dose of platelets and some plasma. That's a good feeling.

Good Morning

My Chrysanthemums are gorgeous.
The Ash trees are all golden yellow.
The Apricot tree is 50/50 green and golden apricot colored.
Asters still doing great.

Twinks definitely seems to be improving.
Will try to brush him a little on the cat window perch again.

Scooter is being exceptionally affectionate to me.

Everybody keep doing everything possible to stay safe & healthy.
I am so pleased we all got our flu shots.
(((HUG)))

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Sorry about that mandatory school photo.
One more tradition that could have been set to the side for now.

From what I have been seeing, covid19 cases are rising scary fast all over the world.
They are much higher here now and we have had a total of 4 deaths since the beginning, two very recently.

True , the trash and waste of resources are alarming but we have no other options right now.
Open windows and doors is the best way to keep the air clear, virus seriously diluted.
I refuse to buy a box of disposable masks to use. A washable cloth mask is the best way for everybody to go.
Plus now they are being sold at most stores (two masks)for far less than a box of disposable.
Many people have been making them for friends and to sell too.

We can't do anything about the gowns and booties, etc. the hospital staff use.
Disposable "one use" items really are the most sanitary.

WTG! for the daily yoga!
Keep doing whatever you can for YOU (((HUG)))

That's fantastic you now have a place for that nasty bulky Styrofoam.


Hi Tatoulia
Twinks...
Yesterday he spent the entire day on my chest of drawers in my room.
Last night I brought him out and gave him some lovings and canned food.
He is out here with me today but still laying low.
He was on the window sill cat perch today and I was able to run his brush over him a little.


Hi CriticalMass
YEA!!! HAPPY DANCE! you now have a spare tire that you can use!

WTG! for decluttering some catalogs and receipts!

Hope you are getting the bed Kitty. :D


Still moving very slowly.
Glad I cooked but the gentle exercise has set me back a bit.
But I have enough food and water that I can stay home for at least another week.
Housework is not being done, winterizing is not being done.
No garden clean up, no window washing.
But the cats are fed several times a day and their box is being scooped.
So my priorities are covered. ;)

Good morning.

CM, yay for your tire!

My state set a new record for cases again yesterday.

Wear your masks people!

118 more days of school.

This is insane.

We still have the windows open. The building is pouring heat out. The environmental impact of this thing is also a nightmare. Those few weeks of low traffic and clear skies can't balance the piles of disposable PPE and extra energy use for remote things and ventilation.

My stress level is pretty high. Yesterday I had to take my mask off (outside, far from people, at a location yards away from the spaces we normally use) to have my school picture taken. I was not happy. I do not take my mask off at school. I do not touch my mask at school. I get it in place in the car, and I take it off in the car. I do not eat lunch at school.

And Dh is still planning for us to go see ds over thanksgiving break. In a state with a major outbreak in a county with rates over 10 times what ours are. I have to not think about that or ds or I will lose my mind.

I am doing yoga in the morning every weekday.

A good thing - my county just opened a drop site for styrofoam packaging. Not the thin kind food comes in, but the big pieces that are molded to fit items for shipping. I have a bunch of that to clear out of the studio barn. I will get that on the list.

Quick check in. Tillie how is Twinkles?

Glad we are all immunized for the flu.

I did the thing! The thing that was on my to-do list. Went to the tire place with my spare tire which I've been needing to do for forever. The rim he had sold me last year didn't fit flush enough so that time some months ago when the AAA guy tried to change it he couldn't get it to go on.

Tire guy called but a new rim would be an expensive special order. But he has dealt with this before, and there was an edge around the hole in the center that was the cause of it not fitting. He ground off the edge, painted it, and tried it out and it fit! And he didn't charge me!

It feels so good to tie up another loose end I'd been procrastinating on.

Also helped roommate with her greenhouse winterizing. And in the morning I'd flipped through some catalogs and put them in recycling, and found another little cache of old receipts that could be tossed.

So, a good day. It got up to 86 but tomorrow sometime we are going to be shifting to more fall temps. But not too cold. Hopefully cool enough to get a bed kitty...

Good Morning Everybody

WAY TO GO! Subclinical :D
Good luck with all your plans for today.

Hi CriticalMass
WTG! for Badger projects!!!
So thankful a solution has been found for Roommate.

Will write more when I can. :)

Yay for happy bunnies and hospital solutions!

And yay for everyone getting poked!

Tillie, I am hoping all comes out well for the kitties. It's nice to think of you cozy in bed with a nice little meat pie.

All will be happy to know I got my priorities in order this morning. Before I left for school I fleshed out the lesson plans, started a load of dishes, and made more chocolate sauce.

Now I am home, showered, fed, and have a wash in.

I will do chores and put things in order for tomorrow because Wednesday is always a rush, then wash in the dryer and off to bed.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Hope a good solution comes up for transporting Roommate to & from the hospital.
I understand (((HUG)))
Whenever Steven is at the big hospital in Reno I have to drive all that distance to pick him up and it is traumatic.

YES! get that flu shot!!! :D

Still not sure if Twinkles is alright. He spent all yesterday sleeping/pouting on a towel in the corner of the bathroom.
Still has not cleaned all the dirt off on his fur.
Have not seen any of the other participants since the fight either.
The yard is full of big chunks/fluffs of fur.

Hi Tatoulia
Hope your hands can now get a break from all the excessive washing.

Steaming should get that curtain seam to relax.
You bathroom sounds lovely, do you like it???

Good luck finding the exactly perfect kitchen mat.


Hi Subclinical
Come on, your house always takes a big hit when school starts back up.
Get the priorities done and you are doing great.
WTG! for yoga and hot cereal!

Can you do the drive up for hay and straw like you did for the feed?
More chocolate sauce sounds like a priority too.

Good luck with whatever you get to today. (((HUG)))


This is wonderful...
I can rest in bed all day AND have good things to eat.
The kitchen is completely clean.
Yes, I am a bit achy but it was worth it.
Will water some garden flowers this afternoon.

Good morning.

Thank you Tatoulia,
But I don't feel like I am doing great, I feel like I am barely getting by.

I try not to focus on the stuff I didn't do, but this weekend I didn't move my roosters, set up my garlic bed, or plant my garlic. The stalls are getting very bad, boy bunny needs grooming, and I have no straw or hay bought for winter yet. The fridge is full of milk and the chocolate sauce jar is nearly empty.

I have bare bones plans for today and none for tomorrow. And I am starting the week with a messy fallen behind house.

I am very happy for you that your painting is done and your shower curtain is up! I am going to need reassuring that the vinyl rug isn't going to be a slipping risk.

CM, November 10 is along time. Some people would say that gives you plenty of time to figure something out, so I hope you do, but I know for me it would be "now this is going to throw me off for nearly a month." I'm sorry for the disruption.

Tillie, I am delighted with the thought of all your little meat pies. Please just leave the bed out for a while. It's not worth the discomfort. And it is fall. A lovely time to curl up in bed in the afternoons. Hopefully you and the kitties are all ok this morning.

Dh and I drove up to the courthouse and voted yesterday. It wasn't too bad.

Trying to end on a positive note - did yoga and cooked hot cereal for breakfast this morning.

CM I am grateful that there is a good amount of time for a solution regarding driving to the surgery. Stay focused on a solution and not the problem. You've been doing a lot lately and I want you to remember to breathe. The badger was here all day, so I apologize for monopolizing the animal.

I have my shower curtain up. One of the seams might be a bit buckled. It's hard to tell. It needs to be steamed so I'll find my steamer this week and steam it out. I took the vinyl rug from my kitchen and put in the bathroom and it looks great. So I'll get a new vinyl rug for the kitchen. I'll have to take a day off to go out to the place that sells them. Nice little boutique that isn't open on sundays. And this coming Saturday I'm going to a friend's house. The same one I always see in the city. We will walk out in the suburbs by her house this time.

Have started to put my hallway back together. But not finished.

I'm a bit broke after this weekend. The paint was expensive. The painter was not. But he was here three days.

Off to bed. Would love to take tomorrow off just to get a day off. Which is crazy talk, of course.

Tillie your meat pies sound absolutely delicious! And I bet your place smells so nice. I'm sorry you had such trouble with the bed and your poor sore body. Also that was an awful lot of cat activity outside.

SubC you are doing great. You amaze me,

Goodnight, all. My poor hands are rough from excessive and obsessive washing.

I'm glad I got my flu shot. We used to get them at work, I sometimes got at work, other times at the pharmacy. I think last year I got the flu shot with my first dose of shingles so naturally that was a big day.

Hope the cats are okay and that breaking up the catfight didn't make your pain worse again.

Roommate got the call from the surgery scheduling today. It's to be November 10th. There is a concern for me because the place is unexpectedly far away, not just across town but in the bedroom community town beyond. I don't know about driving that with my agoraphobia.

It's too complicated to explain further at this time. I'm just hoping perhaps there'll be a workable solution wherein maybe some of her family could help with that part while I mind the homestead and the animals. Well, at least we know the date, and I called a support friend who also deals with agoraphobia. That calmed me enough that I feel like I can let go and sleep on it tonight and be okay with not knowing what's going to happen.

I'll get the flu shot tomorrow. The badger project went by the wayside with all the flurry of her scheduling but I'll get to it asap.

My house smells so good.
Smells like "home".
Home cooking is really the best smell.
Now I have a stash of yummy things to eat.
So tired of having had to resort to quick easy meals that lacked any hominess. :)

So far, so good.
Have the meatball stuff all mixed up and shaped into balls.
Bought Bridgford frozen bread dough cause kneading a batch of dough is out of the question right now.
Waiting on the dough to double then I will wrap them up & start baking.

Also, the kitchen is all clean!!!
Kept up with all the dishes and wiping the counter too.
YEA!!! Me ;D

Steven let Twinkles out without me knowing this morning.
Jack was out there and Twinkles hates Jack so I would never have let him out.

Well, Twinkles started a fight with Jack, the neighbor's little black girl kitty came over to join in.
I had to run out and break up a 3 cat cat fight and carefully catch Twinkles and get him inside.
Had to scruff him.
Only time will tell if anyone was injured, their eyes all looked alright.
Stupid territorial Twinkie. >:(

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
WAY TO GO!!! for getting your flu jab!!! :D
Just one less little thing to worry about.

Relieved the painter is not having problems with that paint and that it is covering well.
I never buy the expensive paint or the cheapest paint.
The medium priced paint has always worked well for me and can be washed later too.
YEA! for a new toilet seat. :D

So frustrating when the tv remote takes off and hides.
So great you were able to go up and visit with Mom and Kitty Sister. (((HUG)))

Hope sleep made that headache go away.


Hi CriticalMass
Happy you and the computer have come to some kind of an agreement and are able to work together ;D

I went through my cupboards and found you some more...
🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡


Hi Subclinical
Wonderful you had some good Family time! :D
I bet you got some pictures too.
Lovely times to remember.

Good luck getting school stuff done.


Remaking my bed was very difficult & painful last night.
But I got it done with fresh linens & all.
Spending the entire day without laying down really made me hurt.
So I won't be doing that again soon.
Sitting still hurts.

Today I plan to cook.
I will make these things that I love so much.
Small meatball size bits of hamburger, shredded carrots, garlic, onion, black pepper, basil & oregano all wrapped up in bread dough and baked till golden brown.
These are a Fall favorite of mine and I used to carry them Deer hunting cause they are small, hand size and fit in my pocket.
I always make a lot of them and they freeze very well so I would have plenty of them to eat for a while.
Wish me well and that I can do this big project! :D

Here you go CM. 🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡

Those should be enough to get you started.

Tatoulia, I'm glad the painting is going well.

Tillie I hope you got your bed back last night. I want everyone to gave a comfortable place to sleep! No am glad you gave chrysanthemums.

I had fresh sheets on my bed, and Dh decided it's time for the big down comforter. 🙂

Bean didn't take home a pumpkin, he just looked. His other Grammy (we spell it differently) got him three pumpkins in different colors and sizes for his porch last week. Next year he can walk around and choose his own. I have a bunch of little pie pumpkins for him to eat. I'll take them over when he is bigger.

We fixed him up with a little lion headband costume for Halloween. He was super cute!

What he liked best were the chimes on my trees and the Christmas lights on the dining porch. (White icicle, I leave them up year round)

Dd2 took home a pumpkin. She and her bf decided to stay over in the barn, so we had a lovely evening campfire with them, but I got very tired and behinder on my plans. Yesterday I almost finished the things I had planned to have done on Saturday.

Today I need to make sure I'm ready for the school week.