The new goat is terrified of everything.

I am not managing my time well.

Also, I keep feeling sick to my stomach over things I have no control over. BECAUSE I have no control over them, so i'm Not sure how to help that.

I'm not sure I can face for a third time, the idea of going to a dinner party.

Good Morning Everyone
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical

How is the new goat adjusting?
Hope the other goats are making him feel welcome. ;)

Wishing you many enjoyable parties, get-to-gathers and hoe downs this Autumn.


Hi Tatoulia
Kitty looked comfortable having her picture taken.

Hope your Mom is feeling all better now. (((hug)))

Brush Miss Kitty!
Please don't fret too much getting ready and going on your little trip.
You will be fine, Miss Kitty will be fine, you will have FUN.


Other than the usual every day cat related tasks, I have nothing that I have to do today.
So I am declaring today to be my day off! ;)

Good morning and coffee clinks.

You did a lot, CM! I too see the bunnies huddling for a board meeting. I like that you have an energetic professor/students to help out the cause!! That is great news!!! good luck at the dr's office.

Tillie I need to brush my cat. She's looking a little ratty. Do you know who's not looking ratty? Mom's cat! She's so sweet. I'll post some pictures.

SubC the dinner party is cancelled again. Oh dear.

I'm doing some delicates laundry now. The cleaners are coming either Wednesday or Thursday. I leave Friday! Don't know which day I'll be back.

Tillie you are so good to wash your windows. I really need to do that.

Okay off for now. Will be gathering things for goodwill and taking to the car. Mom was sick yesterday so I didn't get her out. But I had two nice visits with her and that adorable cat of hers.

Hi CriticalMass

When you said Bunny Club Board Meeting...
my brain was picturing a group of Bunny Rabbits sitting around a table conducting business.
LOL ;D

Today it only got up to 87 degrees for a little while in the afternoon.
But the winds started picking up and it always feels cooler when the wind's blowing.
We have a slight chance of rain tomorrow.
I just washed the windows so it should rain just enough to mess them up.

Good luck and best wishes at the doctor tomorrow.
Really hope you can go swimming, best exercise ever.
Very glad you were able to walk around the fair without too much discomfort. (((hug)))

Twinkles thanks you and says he feels fine except I don't brush him enough.
He wants to be brushed all day long, only taking breaks to eat and nap.


I hate when automatic payments are not taken out of the bank.
The car insurance did that once and told the DMV we didn't have insurance so DMV canceled our license plates/registration and fined us hundreds and when we had a mortgage bank of America did that with a house payment then tried to charge us a late charge.


I got the dishes washed and the grass & garden watered.
My headache left this afternoon but my shoulder back area is still achy.

Tired and brain fried. Those 90s temps, I don't know if it's hotter here today or just that yedterday the excitement of the fair was distracting. But it was hot there too.

Rain is forecast for Wed thru Fri here - but not a lot of cooldown. Tillie, I wish we could share a little moisture with you. I'm glad to hear you will wet down the yard, better than risking a fire. Continued get well wishes to Twinkles.

Tatoulia enjoy your trip - hope it is a time of rest, renewal, and no worries.

SubC, hope the goat is settling in well.

This afternoon the bunny club had a board meeting. We have a graphic design professor from my alma mater who is guiding his students thru designing a cool new logo for us, has ideas for events and merchandise, is connected in the community, and very energetic. This will help us at no cost for their work, and the suppliers of logo merch are ones he knows and will give us good deals.

It's a lot to take in though, after a day of travel. I could easily go to sleep right now at 7:30! But can't wrap up the day this soon.

Tomorrow is my doctor appt re migraines and hip/leg/back. As far as the migraines I think one thing I did, having as little caffeine as possible, has helped. The hip did get achy yesterday about 3/4 through walking the fairgrounds, but that's better than I thought it'd do.

So I think mainly this'll end up just being an advisory appointment, like what exercises should I do at the gym, or avoid. I want to go later this week if possible. Hopefully there'll be times when there aren't thunderstorms with lightning, so I can swim.

Tuesday I "babysit" my lady, and in between I have several ditsy details to follow up on, such as why my insurance payment has not been deducted from the bank several days past when it should've been. I don't like ditsy details to follow up on. My brain is ditsy enough all on its own.

I'll try to check in tomorrow.

Lovely fall day here as well.

Goat is home safe and sound and the dinner party is cancelled again.

I'm going to do some lesson plans and I don't know what else.

CM, that is wonderful and amazing about your tip! And I am so glad you got to enjoy the fair.

Tatoulia, i'm sure kitty will be fine, even though she will probably tell you how much she suffered and needs treats when you return.

Tillie, rest and stay safe.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Hope everything goes well fetching home the goat.
Have a lovely time at the party. ;)

Hi Tatoulia
Happy you are enjoying the beautiful weather and listening to the bells. :D

Good luck with the dishes, yours and your Mom's both.

So when exactly are you leaving?
I'm sure Miss Kitty will be just fine and if she needs more, your BF will take good care of her needs.


Hi CriticalMass
WAY TO GO!!!!
Driving on the freeway and at night too!!!!

You also have been doing fantastic chipping away at your bedroom.
Getting things where they are supposed to go and rethinking what goes there!

So happy you went to the fair and had a lovely time and didn't feel the need to bring home every brochure. (((HUG)))


Internet was not cooperating last evening at all.
I'm still in pain from the work I did Friday.
My spine does not like when I do certain labors.
That's the reason I put off doing that task for so long, I knew it would hurt.

High wildfire danger warning for the next two days.
Humidity 5% to 15% with high winds.
People are advised to not even do yardwork like use gas lawn mowers, etc.

Today I need to, really need to wash dishes.
This afternoon I will water the grass and garden too.
It needs water and I will feel better with that area wet down.

Hi, hope weekend is going well.

Tillie and Tatoulia, I hope for you relief from aches and grumbly tummies.

Tatoulia, glad the little one and your mom are forming a bond. May I suggest kitty probiotics for her digestion, as they have helped our former feral and still do when he gets soft poo.

And I will pray for you with the sibling situation because you are doing so many positive things to regain and maintain your own health, the last thing you need is to max out on that old stressful pattern with them.

The mental health system is broken and overburdened, and those who need help are often in denial. From my own experiences as both client and working as an admin assistant briefly for an agency, and having relatives and friends who themselves or their family members were in "the system," there is much sadness and struggle involved.

SubC the young man, I will pray gets good help for the causes behind the tragic event, and the new trauma of the event itself.

Hi Debbie, Tess, Joan...

I did some more on what I started earlier in the week. The clutter drift is mainly in one end of the bedroom. The other half is almost looking good. I had bought a white rug awhile back - my roommate prefers darker colors, and my eyesight doesn't do well like if I drop a small item on the dark grey flooring in there. So finally I had cleared enough space for the white rug to go near the bed, and swept the floor before laying it down.

Then beside that went my new book box for my "old friend" books that I re-read periodically. My Beany Malone vintage teenage series, Harry Potter, Twilight, and Nora Roberts Bride Quartet. An assortment of different comfort foods for my brain.

Many books that have been in the bedroom went back to storage. I gazed round storage in a bit of dismay, but tried to reassure myself that Badger and I will soon be making up for lost time in there. Whenever the temperatures decide to get out of the 90s.

Well, one last thing to relate, and it's a biggie. Went to the State Fair - and I drove. On the highway! At 70 mph! Roommate rode shotgun; I'm nowhere near being able to solo, but there have been so many years I didn't think I could've done this.

And we had the most fun and relaxed time. Saw the quilts in the domestic arts building, agriculture stuff, vendors (I didn't buy anything nor did I pick up but a half dozen paper items which I will look at then dispose of promptly.)

The highlight of course for me was the Rabbit Building. Saw hundreds of gorgeous adorable bunnies, but in those horrid little wire jail cells. Wished I could take them all to a huge happy place and just lie down and let them swarm over me and give them treats and lovins.

Stopped by the nursing home and visited my youngest two aunts (in their 80s). More on that later.

Got lost for awhile trying to find the way back to the highway from there, and it was already latef than intended. Which meant... I drove back at night!!! Talk about a bonus round. I did fine with that as well. I feel blessed for these inroads - no pun intended - against agoraphobia.

Well, I better feed my bunnies and get to Mass. More later.

Hello everyone! Coffee clinks!

My towels are in the laundry. It's a beautiful sunny fall day and the church bells are ringing. So beautiful. When I lived in Beacon Hill, I could hear the bells chime every half hour, and when I'd be studying, I'd wait to hear the chimes to figure out what time it was. Today feels like that for me.

I don't know which church this is. But it's beautiful.

I took the plates down and looked at them. Now I'm going to wrap them up for donating.

I also gave to wrap mom's clean dishes in a tea towel to take up to her. I like our little system.

BF said he will come here each day that I am gone and nap for an hour. I wish he'd stay overnight but I'm happy he'll be napping with the kitty. I'm not sure if I'm coming home Monday or Tuesday. I have a bit of flexibility. If I come home Monday, I'd like to work from home that Tuesday but Tuesday isn't one of my days I can work from home. And so I will let it unfold.

So, what are you doing today?!?

Yay for your dinner party tonight, SubC! And you are home safely.

Tillie I'm sorry you are feeling so poorly. I too have been plagued with sick headaches lately. I'm not sure what it all means. I got a bit of a walk in during the afternoon and I just ran errands with BF. It's nit even 7 and I'm ready for a shower and bed. I know that can't be tight.

Bf made me a cup of his delicious coffee around 4 so I should be a bit livelier than I am.

I got home safely.

Dh fixed the truck.

He's going to come with me tomorrow to get the goat.

Then I gave to gone home, shower, and go to that dinner party.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hey Subclinical
Did you get back home safely?

Hi Tatoulia
That's cute the Kitty will sleep on the bed with her. :)

WTG! running errands, doing daily tasks and listening to your tapes!


Had a rough night.
My back, neck & shoulders hurt.
Then I developed a real sick headache.
Been poppin lots of Ibuprofen.

Got my laundry folded & put away, it dried overnight in the moon light.
Have the hose slowly watering the trees today.
Mostly just been watching stuff on Roku but today I need to be a couch potato. ;p

Good morning, All!

SubC what a shame. I am so sorry.

I am up early today and dressed, too. I kept trying to sleep later but couldn't make it happen. I started a load of wash and was drinking my coffee when I remembered mom needed TP. So I got dressed and brought her a cup of coffee and had someone let me in so that she wouldn't have to wake up. She'd had a small cat sleeping at the end of her bed. So it looks like the girls are getting along!

Now I'm home and doing second load of laundry. I'm also ru. I g dishwasher, as I picked up mom's dishes and combined with my half load, ready to go.

I will do my tape now and do some reading. Nice autumn morning but it's supposed to heat up a bit.

Drove halfway to pick up goat.

Brakes on truck froze.

Sitting in Panera waiting for brakes to cool and traffic to let up.

No goat.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Great to know Kitty is eating and drinking properly.
I have noticed that feral/abandoned cats really appreciate the water bowl, more so than the food.
The proper diet will continue to improve her fur, skin and general overall wellbeing.

Wonderful to hear how you can now open your door and welcome people in.
Clean and neatly stored linens right at hand.
You're a lovely Hostess. :)

Been busy ALL morning.
Removed window screens, washed, rinsed and set to dry.
Hosed off the exterior walls and window sills.
Washed the windows.
Washed off both porches and all the door mats.
Hosed the walkway.
Came inside and washed windows and window sills.
My back is killing me but I feel very good about a job well done. :D

Now I need to wash a load of rags.
Later I will water lilac bushes and spray "Bug Barrier" to keep the spiders out of the house, hopefully.

I am pleased that your state has mental health court. I want this boy's issues addressed as he will need a lot of help to move forward. please keep us posted. Incredible sadness.

Tillie new kitty's poop is a little soft but getting better. She's eating and drinking her water. I will take her next month for a visit to the vet. Her coat is getting softer, not as coarse as when she lived on the streets. She is eating both wet and dry food and she is definitely drinking her water.

I am very late for work so I will sign off for now. I'm buoyed by having my friends over and not making even one apology and not feeling uncomfortable at all. It was also very nice, when I got them washcloths to wash up, that I could open my closet, pull out two nicely organized cloths, and tell them that the towels in the bathroom are clean. I felt like a genuine human being.

This will help me get rid of the vintage dishes this weekend.

Thank you Subclinical
It seems to have gone well, considering.
Really hoping it goes to mental health court where the case belongs.
((((HUGS))))

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Bail was not changed - good
He was remanded back to the secure mental health treatment facility he has been in - good
He is no longer allowed unsupervised visits with his parents - sad for mom, but probably good as far as his dad is concerned
His case was assigned to a judge, and he goes before her in 5 days for a pretrial hearing when his lawyer will present his arguments and documentation for having the case moved to mental health court.

Hi Tatoulia
You posted two minutes before me :D

OH! NO! PLEASE save yourself!!!
You have been so much better and I don't want you to get all tangled up in this damaging drama (((((HUGS)))))

Judging by the litter box offerings, do you think Kitty is eating & drinking enough?
No constipation or diarrhea I hope.

Good luck the reflux was a one time thing.
Remember to take medicine at the first sign if it happens again.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
WTG! sorting stuff and getting the acrylic cube put to use!
Strange the keys were in the flower bed. "?"

Yes! stuff does fluff up and then compresses down over time!

Wishing you and Badger all the best of luck getting storage all straightened out and thinned down to the real keepers. (((HUG)))


Hi Subclinical
I guess Mr. Kitty uses different criteria than we do when assessing dangerous situations.

YEA!!! the Goblins were all ready in time!

How did your friend's son fair in court?
Hoping with all my heart things work out for everyone. (((HUG)))


Twinkles was very hard to get into the carrier this morning, remembers his last Vet visit.
Surgery site looks alright but could be looking better.
He is healing slowly but I think he irritates the sites by eating the krispies and not just the canned food I feed him.
He spent a lot of time pouting when he got home.

Was doing some of this & that around here all day.
Feel like the day was wasted but I did get stuff done.
The air was pretty clear most all day.
Jack helped me water the flower bed.

Hello everyone. SubC how did it go in court today? What was it for? Certainly too soon for a trial. What a terribly sad time.

Tillie!! Where are you??!!??

Cm just keep moving forward. I'm not sure if I understood what you wrote as I am battling a headache right now. But I hope you find the things that will help you move forward. You can do this!! You are doing a remarkable job!

It is nice and cold here. I just had a baked potato for dinner. so Delicious. I stopped by mom's in the way home to bring her cat litter and to change the little one's box.

Brother is seriously escalating things and trying to make his problems my problems and I've slipped a little and I need to pull back. I need to stop replying to his emails. In the past 45 days, I've straightened out his health insurance, I've sent him $45 and I called the dr's office to renew his meds. I should not have done these things. It's a short step to bring back in part of it and doing the break over again. He keeps sending me desperate emails. I need to stop reading them. He's making noise about no clothes no food etc and I can't be a part of this. I'm not his solution.

I still have time to save myself.

I will do my tapes in a bit then go to bed. Cannot lay down now because I do not want a repeat of the acid reflux. That was odd and painful.

CM, Your project etc sounds hopeful.

I'm glad you found your keys!

Tatoulia, I understood. Wonderful that you could have your friends in so easily. And great news about kitty!

Mr. kitty and I had a discussion about which items he is allowed to kill. He is still maintaining that the shoe looked dangerous.

The tables fold into squares like a flattish suitcase. I can carry one in each hand. Right now they are in the scullery, but I will find them a spot in the studio.

No time for anything during the school week! But the goblins were ready and put to use.

Today I need to get feed before school, so that will take my free period.

I slept badly last night. My friend's son goes to court today. CM, please pray that they will reduce the charges. The whole family is just shattered.

Well, once the big kerfluffle with the keys was past, my day improved.

The big project that I'd done in the bedroom was to take off books from the top of a bookshelf, dust, and put up there this acrylic cube I found at a thrift store awhile back.

Sadly, as with many of my good intentions, the cube had been getting in the way and making the bedroom clutter situation worse. I'd bought it because my minimalist wannabe self likes clear acrylic, it's sturdy, and the right size to hold some large art technique books and science books.

In the process of getting it in place, I picked books to leave the house either temporarily to storage or permanently. Those got loaded in the van.

I've shaken up the status quo now! Badger is eying other hotspots that we will tackle as early as tomorrow.

The missing keys were in the driveway flowerbed, beside a pincushion flower that had put on seed heads that I wanted to harvest. Wish I'd discovered that before tearing the bedroom apart. But in a way, that also shakes up the status quo, so good may come out of it.

Stuff "fluffs" when you organize it, and the goal is to allow it to continue to breathe instead of compacting it down again to the molecular level. Hence the decisions to pare down. In 4-1/2 years of living here, at first with the "bare essentials" (LOL) I have bought new stuff or brought books and supplies over from storage.

That's going to have to stop. And reverse. In order for that to be possible, the storage unit needs more of the Badger Touch. It all entails a rather elaborate choreography, making sure storage is ready to receive things, making sure I really desire to keep those things for legitimate reasons, and examining things currently in storage because maybe I don't want to keep some of them anymore.

Sooo... to unwind and sleep for now, and up and at 'em in the morning.

Hi Tatoulia
Pepto, Mylanta, any thick chalky liquid med goes down easier when refrigerated. :D

Glad you had a nice visit!
Such freedom they have with no possessions holding them back.

WAY TO GO!!! being company ready!
Just a few things to make it more hospitable and no worries!
You have come such a long way (((HUG)))


A friend of mine was a flight attendant with American Airlines and her plane was in flight at the time on Sept. 11th.
Was a long time before she was able to get away from her duties to a phone and let us know her plane was not hijacked.

Happy that new Kitty has started to trust and relax.
Your Mom's patience is paying off, soon Kitty will be over whatever trauma she's had in her life.

SubC I misread as I thought you got chairs, not tables. In any event that was good to get them!

Cm it is very difficult to think of September 11th and of course, two of the planes left from here so it is very painful. Just awful. I was so scared and shocked and stunned. This was compounded for me because I'd just gotten back from Japan and my jet lag was extreme and all this news and information and my office didn't have internet and it was terrifying. And compounded by my jet lag and feeling so odd.

Tillie I know kitty doesn't want to go back to the vet. All's fine. So glad the smoke was better today!

My neighbor and her new husband (adorable and kind) were lovely. They got here around 3:30 and they were sweating. It was hot and humid here today. So I immediately gave them clean washcloths and towels and told them to freshen up. What a delight to have them here. We drank seltzer and talked then we visited BF and had a blast with him. I walked them around a bit then we came back here and I walked them to the subway. They are off! No agenda for coming back. They will, but they don't know when.

Did I tell you they sold all their stuff? Put very little into storage, which they prepaid for a year. They also paid a year's worth of insurance for anywhere in the world but the US. They got rid of nearly everything. Absolutely amazing.

What a thrill to have people here. All I had to do to get ready was change out the bathroom towels, put out a fresh bar of soap and a fresh toilet paper roll and move the cat mat on the couch. Can you believe it? Great. I did it. And I wasn't nervous or upset.

Mom's cat slept with her again last night and tonight when I saw the kitty, she seemed much more robust.

Okay I'm going to work a bit more then off to bed. Tillie I don't know why I suffered like that last night. I think there's something about trying to sleep and being in pain that keeps me from getting up and taking care of it. I only have tums because someone gave me a bottle and it's amazing that I've had to use them about five times now and they work so well. Normally I keep pepto in my fridge (easier to get it down if it's cold) but the tums are working for now.

Good Late Afternoon Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Decluttering and organizing as if you were moving is a GREAT way to do it.
Get an image in your mind and daydream what your "new" home will be like and what makes the cut to be there.

Good Luck and Best Wishes that your dream comes true. :)


Hi Subclinical
Hope you got your Goblins all rolled up. ;)

Good luck getting all your goats sorted out and finding those few new homes.

WTG! finding shoes!
Makes perfect sense to buy 3 pair since they were the right size, style and price.
So much easier and less expensive that trying to find shoes in a regular store and shoes are something you need and use.
Now, sternly tell Mr. Kitty "PAWS OFF!"

Since you could no longer borrow tables at least you got them at a very good price.
I think they are the kind that take up very little space when stored and are light enough to carry around.

Hi Tatoulia
Hope your friends showed up and you have been having a wonderful visit.

So sorry you weren't well last night.
Maybe some herbal tea and Melba toast would sit better as a late night snack?
Take the Tums or bismuth just as soon as symptoms arise, don't suffer longer than necessary. (((hug)))

Did some sweeping on the front walkway this morning.
Then vacuumed the fridge coils under the fridge.
Since I can skootch the fridge out a little from the wall I washed the back of it and the wall & floor back there.
Then I wiped down the outside of the fridge too since I had the rag and bucket of wash water.
Washed the inside of the windows too.

Tomorrow morning Twinkles has his follow up Vet appointment.
He looks great and tells me he is fine and doesn't need to let the Dr. see.

Planning on washing the outside windows & screens and hose down the walkway tomorrow but may do it day after, we'll see.

Been a very pleasant day.
Smokeless and cool but not too cold.
Have all windows open to let in the lovely breeze and no need today for any fans or the cooler.

September 11

Never Forget

Hello all

I did some reorganization of books in my room. Some must go to storage or donation.

Then I got distracted and could not find my keys and almost lost my mind.

Some days I'm strongly feeling I want to live elsewhere, and it's nothing against my roommate. But we have such crowded space, and again I just want to have space and time that is MINE. But of course careful discernment and planning are essential.

In the meantime, I'm going to declutter and organize AS IF I'm moving fairly soon. After so many frantic moves, I can channel the state of mind: Do not dither, and take no prisoners. But some things on paper will get entered in the computer since there's time, or physical items finally sorted and neatly boxed. If they're really worth it. This strategy will make me work fast, yet not feel horribly under pressure.

I am getting close to making an appointment with my pastor for spiritual encouragement to take the scary next step of contacting the senior center and/or this local nonprofit Christian life coaching place.

The latter may be not too scary because they have the coaching, which is less formal than Therapy with a capital T. (And which I've had too much negative experience with hence feel burned out on.) They also have therapy at that place, but I don't have to get scared by looking that far into the future. I mainly need to find out what I'm up against re any housing options, and if necessary, (gulp) jobs...

Again, very much baby steps at a time in all this.

Fantastic finding three pair of shoes, SubC! Very pleased you found them and bought them! Good job on the chairs, too, although I'm sorry you had to buy them instead of just being able to borrow them.

I'm waiting for my friend and new husband. I thought they were coming dinner time then lunch time now 3 PM. Makes no difference to me.

I didn't do any laundry today because they said lunch time but now I'm quickly doing my sheets. I had changed my sheets but no laundry.

It's hot and humid today. Very unpleasant for me. I had a terrible night's sleep. Had reflux and was in terrible pain. Finally got up at 415 to take a tums and then didn't fall asleep til 6. Really awful. I'd had a cup of yogurt with granola just before bed and it gave me terrible heartburn. So I'm going to have to not have those things again. Truly awful.

Yay for mom and cat!

Forgot to tell Tatoulia tat I am glad she is taking her trip.

I got the vocabulary done in time yesterday. The new schedule is very hard - yes, i'm Ready for bed at night! Today I still have to roll up a bunch of goblins for the Dungeons and Dragons group - i'll Probably do it at lunch. Actually, i'll Probably just write out a list of numbers with a normal distribution and skip rolling.

I have 17 goats. New buck will make 18. Ideally I would have 16 or fewer. I have a buck I need to sell after/during this fall, plus three (or four) weathers and a non breeding female. I just can't seem to get listing them to the top of my list and word of mouth hasn't been enough this year.

Yesterday I stopped at goodwill before work and found 3! Pairs of nice everyday shoes I can wear to work. I bought all three. The prices were good and they often have nothing in my size for long stretches. My closet will be too full again, but I won't have to worry about shoes for a long time.

Also yesterday I asked the building manager if I could borrow some of the small folding tables from the furniture closet for my shows (I have done that before). she said our new furnishings person is selling them because none of the teachers like them. When I looked, we were down to 9 from 15. So I bought the last three that have all their feet and strap handle and stay closed when folded for $10 each. Convenient and cheaper than new ones. Bummed about the no more borrowing though.

WAY TO GO!!! Kitty!!!
Very happy to hear that the cooler nights have prompted Kitty to take advantage of a warm bed. ;D

Depends on which way the wind is currently blowing as to the air quality here.
Most of today it was very thin but as the evening breeze popped up the smoke got thicker.

The latest news is there are 22 wildfires burning in California/Nevada area and the Walker fire is the one I think is causing me the most smoke.
That's because the smoke is heavy on the pine smell.

Today definitely was an early Autumn day.
Supposed to warm back up this weekend, but not too hot.
Tried on my jeans today to make sure they still fit.
They still fit.

Cleaned all the cat fuzz, lint, dust, dirt and dead bugs from the window tracks.
Soon I will need to cover the windows in plastic. :p

Tillie is the air a little better? I note your font is either green or blue!

I'm going to bed now. Will listen to my tape and call it a night.

Mom's cat spent part of the evening in the bed with her!!! Last night!!!

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
You have such a full and busy life!
With all you are doing every day no wonder you have lost some weight.
Sounds like the only time you get to sit down is when driving somewhere.

How many goats do you have?
Hope the new buck with a new blood line works out for the lady goats. ;)

Bet when bedtime comes each night you are more than ready.
Take care of yourself and post updates when you can. (((HUG)))


Hi Tatoulia
Your former neighbor friend sounds like she is living her dream life.

WTG! on chipping away at your backlog and keeping up with the usual regular daily tidying ups.


Sometimes I feel that what people actually weigh isn't a good judge of things, doesn't tell the whole story.
We are often better off using measurements like how our current clothes fit.
Anyways, that's what my Granma taught me.
If your clothes start to feel tight just don't eat that piece of cake but continue to eat proper meals and don't go out and buy bigger clothes.

WTG SubC on such a productive day that had a good mix of work with some time for coffee with a neighbor/friend! You do so much!

Are you feeling okay about acquiring the wire stuff (too early for me to remember what you called it)? I chuckled at Later! Justin Case's hopeful friend.

WTG on the weight loss! I've stopped weighing myself and am working on the peacefulness I feel when I'm not overeating. I have one skirt that is tight so that will help me gauge my weight. Also I see dr in November.

Have a great day, all!

I am reading, but can't keep up with everything that is going on! Please forgive me if I just tell you what I am up to and comment now and then on your lives.

Yesterday was quite full. I still have a vocabulary sheet to finish this morning.

I made three phone calls, did lesson planning, gave the goats routine medicine, worked on my pottery, sent some administrative email, did laundry and dishes, and made dinner.

I also arranged to go see and probably buy a new buck in Ky after work on Friday. It will be a late night.

And I called my son's other Mom to find out what is the best way to contact HER son, who I call my other son or extra son - the boys were joined at the hip - who has just bought a house close to me incidentally. Anyway, I wanted to borrow his festival tent for my booth because he is currently doing only limited custom work.

She told me the tent was still at her house and I should come get it and invited me for coffee. So I did that. She also gave me ten wire shelves of the type I used to make the bunny run for the yard. So I can make a second section of bunny run, or possibly a chicken tractor. Unfortunately it is a project for later. Hopefully Later will remember to do it.

I have to go in a little early today to make copies, but not as early as tomorrow because I have first period open on tu/th. Might try to stop at the grocery store with the juice dh likes on the way in. Swimming with Dd tonight, then regular grocery store and home late. Dh might make dinner.

I lost 4 pounds last week! Lots of stairs at work and no time to snack. I know that's not sustainable, but I wouldn't mind if I kept losing a pound or two a week! It would put me in my goal range by thanksgiving.

Tillie you are so sweet. I would've never gotten out of this hole without everyone's help here. It would have never happened. And there's still more digging out to do!

I worked and worked and worked tonight so I haven't seen mom. I finally took garbage out and I did go see BF for a minute.

My former neighbor, whom I adore, is coming for a visit on Wednesday. She and her then-husband moved out in 2013. I bet she won't believe the changes here in Boston. She and her husband split but are still good friends. She got married last week, and she and her new husband have quit their jobs, sold their things, and are going to travel the world. I have no information other than that. I don't even know how they are getting here from Oregon. She loves traveling and apparently her new husband does too. I am looking forward to seeing her and meeting him.

Debbie I missed the part about changing your seat cushions. I do it frequently and it's not all that hard. Just have a screwdriver or pliers at the ready. Sometimes I mis-staple something and those are the best tools to take out the staples.

I am not crafty and I'm not good at stuff and this is the one thing I can do. I chuckled at your man hands remark.

I haven't packed up the dishes yet but they are as good as gone. Mentally their bags are packed.

Sending everyone much love.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Debbie
Only 9 more days!!!! :D

GREAT giving away that mower you will no longer be needing.
Always nice when things go to someone who has an immediate use for them.

Fruitless Mulberry trees are lovely for shade, don't grow too high and get established relatively quickly.

There really are not a lot of wildfires near where I live.
But the winds bring in the smoke from California and CA burns an awful lot.

Have fun redoing your dining chairs. Fresh new look.

Very good the tapes worked for you to quit smoking.
Somethings work for some people but not for everyone.
Motivation plays a major part in achieving success.


Hi Tatoulia
Without having a fan on I would go absolutely crazy.
Must have air, moving air!
Even if it's moving just a tiny bit.

It is exciting to watch how you have been changing.
Like watching a Caterpillar morph into a Butterfly.

Fingers crossed for good blood test results.

Tillie I hope the air clears soon. Do you run a fan inside to keep the air circulating? I generally need air moving around me. I sleep with my ceiling fan on most of the time. I just like the breeze. It also helps in an airplane to keep me feeling less claustrophobic. When my brother used to be in the hospital a lot, I used to order up a fan for him and eventually I just started bringing a fan for him. Helped to keep him calm.

Debbie you are doing great! I'm excited about the next chapter of your life! And I'm so glad we are going with you!! Good work on getting rid of the mower.

My mother doesn't save for best (the way her mother did), she wants to wear the best and still keep the crummy. It's letting go of the crummy that drives me nuts. The constant belief that each little scrap could be used for something. That her dirty old shoes should be washed, with a tooth brush, and then worn just around the house. She is in her room 23 out of 24 hours a day. Wear the good stuff!. So I keep chipping away.

Tillie I'm doing it, going to donate the dishes Pretty exciting time to be me. I'm just going to take a picture and call it a day. I think I can keep my tea in that spot. Right now my tea is kept in a couple of different places. But first I will meditate on the open space. See what will work.

Great job quitting smoking with tapes, Debbie! My nutritionist gave me CDs (I call them tapes) to focus on relaxation and mindful eating and it is a big help for me. I have about 35 lbs to go. I lost 35 in 2018 but have remained steady in 2019. So I am now working on the next weight loss.

Isn't weight watchers fun? I enjoyed that program immensely. Sometimes I'd have to go to bed early if I ran out of points. Yikes!


I'm back from getting my bloodwork done and now I need to work some. All of my laundry is done.

Hi all! 9 days to closing! I got rid of my old lawn mower to my sister. Yea! It was self propelled but the gears are plastic now, so when they go it's toast! But it works still and she has 2 houses and this way her grandson doesn't have to move mower back and forth. I had someone take off the extra stuff that made it self propelled but it was still too heavy for me to mow 1/3 acre. I used it for the ditch/culvert that was so steep. But I don't need it anymore and she can use it. Next year I will have either a rechargeable mower or a riding mower or a service! Then she can have my newer self propelled mower. My new yard is actually ½ acre. But it is flat without ditch or trees so easy to mow. I will plant a few ornamental or fruit trees. I need some shade. Anyone with suggestions for Zone 5? NO MORE MAPLES! Love the tree hate the seeds! Don't want anything that will get huge either. I planted one in the backyard from seed that grew about 25 feet high in 10 years! Yikes!

Subc, I had no idea cats chewed shoes! Glad you slept well (a few days ago). I eat ingredients too! I start with vegetables and then potato or rice and a lot of times I get full before I get to the starch. I am working on stop eating when you aren't hungry. You can have more later, right? My parents were clean your plate strict and it is a hard habit to break. I was doing it to my gnephews too! Trying to make them finish stuff. But my nephew asked me not to and so I stopped. Now I give them tiny servings and wait for them to ask for more. I thought I should do that too and it worked!

Glad you got to keep DH at home. I have funny dreams where I am rescuing things that are thrown out or I just find. Mostly I dream of driving over terrifying bridges while I try to stay awake. I have issues with bridges but have never gotten sleepy driving in real life. So these are my reoccurring nightmares. I'm sure there a deep meaning in there haha!

Glad the art fair came back, you enjoyed it, and can be part of it next year!

Tatoulia, thanks for telling me where the name came from! I love it! Glad the storm missed you! Glad your Mom gave up the shoes too! My husband did the same thing, when I bought new shirts, hankies, socks, or underwear for him, he would save it. I finally said the reason I bought it is you need it now, your old stuff is holey or not real white and I want to get rid of it. So he did eventually use the good stuff! But his first reaction was to save it for "good". When my Grandmother died she had dressers full of new clothes she never wore. In gift boxes still. What a shame! But she always dressed well so maybe she just didn't like the gifts.

You are so good to your Mom! I am glad you got the coffee maker out and replaced without her getting an extra box too. I have to say I have trouble getting rid of bras because they are expensive and hard to fit. And then by the time I want a new one they have discontinued that kind. Arrrgh! This year I found one I liked and bought 3 of them. Of course then I lost 15 pounds and probably need a smaller size haha. But they are fine really so far.

I used tapes to quit smoking about 38 years ago. They were on cassettes and it worked so well for me. I learned self hypnosis and also got over insomnia with tapes. I tried them for weight loss, but it wasn't much help there. I gave the quit smoking tapes to 4 people and it did not work for any of them. I think I was just ready, lucky, and very suggestible!

Glad your Mom got to see the kitty, and got her bathroom fixed and the rug shampooed. Good to hear the trip is confirmed too. Yea for more out to Goodwill! I have several bags to drop off myself.

Gosh Tillie, so sorry about the smoke! My neighbor used to burn stuff that reeked so I couldn't breathe! We asked him not to and he was very good about it. I think the wood had been treated with chemicals and I closed the windows and still couldn't breathe. You seem to get a lot of fires and smoke where you live.

CM glad you had a good day with your lady and her gdaughter. How nice that you gave her dolls and she still enjoys playing with them. Happy you got your sewing machine part replaced so you can use it without a wait. I actually bought material last night and am replacing the seat covers for my dining chairs. I am just waiting for the stapler to come today to get it done. Wish me luck because I am not good at stuff like this, but it should be okay, I hope. I like crafts, but I have huge man hands and even scissors are hard to use!

Today I went to weight watchers, (small loss), the gym, Aldi's, Walgreens (my hair dryer quit this morning and my hair is so frizzy) and the library. I am finishing up the freezer food and packing all the last few dishes etc. My nephew came and helped me get the box springs down, Yea! So now I better finish mowing the lawn and make some appointments for utilities at the new house! Have a great day!

WOOHOO!!! Tatoulia!

You are really on a roll!
I do remember you reducing the dishes.
Very good decision now since they are never the dishes you reach for.

At your Mom's keeping the best makes it easier to let go of the rest.
Quality over quantity makes it easier to find what you need when you need it. :D


Smoke is a little lighter than earlier but windows still need to be closed.

Last night at mom's I also grabbed a pair of sunglasses to donate. I had found her old 1980s Christian Dior ones and a while back, I had new lenses put in. So no need to keep the other pair of dimestore ones she had. Today I looked at my sheets and pillow cases and have three more pillow cases to donate.

I've also made a decision on my old vintage 1950s dishes. Tillie might recall that I had previously chosen a certain number of salad plates and a certain number of dinner plates to keep, and I donated the rest. I haven't used any of them so they are also going to be leaving my residence. Just like that and they will be gone.

Good Morning Everybody
Smoke rolled back in sometime before sunup. :p

Hi CriticalMass
So nice you got to "play" Barbies with the girl.
Glad you didn't attempt driving and stayed over.

YEA! for Amazon having what you need at a decent price too.


Hi Subclinical
So nice you went to the art fair.
Fingers crossed that next year it works out for you to participate.

Interesting dream you had.
This Summer you "rescued" many things from your own home and brought them to the school.

Hi Tatoulia
Happy the cat finally materialized.

Fastest way to ruin bras is to put them into a dryer.
Six new ones total is so much better than dozens of old ones.

We are all very happy you have confirmed your travel plans.
Miss Kitty will miss you but she will be fine.


The smoke makes me tired, groggy, wheezy.
The cats too.
No ambitious plans for today.
It is nice that the days are now cooler and the nights even get chilly.
Time to swap out the blankets from Summer to Autumn weight.

Mom called late last night to say kitty was out and about. Mom has had a guy in to fix her bathroom for two days and then yesterday in addition to that, he shampooed the carpet. So it made sense that our little one had to take cover.

Folding mom's clean and dry bras today and there was one more I met go. I also ordered her two new ones. So now she'll have six new, which is all she needs. And I'll wash them each week as her laundress puts everything in the dryer, which ruins the bras.

I have showered and am dressed. I have a conference call this afternoon and immediately afterward I'm going to hospital for blood work.

I've confirmed with friend about my visit coming up. She and her husband are traveling right now and will get home the day before I arrive. I have car rented and it all should be great. BF will take care of cat for me. I wish he'd just stay here with her. It's not this coming weekend, the one after.

Cm good to hear from you! That is a long shift. So sweet about the little girl and the Barbie dolls.

Tonight is garbage night. I have a bag ready for goodwill and would like to augment it before taking it to the car.

Tatoulia, that was very good to focus on how many bras you were bringing back! Brilliant! I too am concerned about the kitty.

CM, I hope you got rid of the old cord and pedal. Justin doesn't need it.

Tillie wishing youno smoke!

An emergency happened at dh work, so his trip was cancelled. I'm glad to get to keep him, but I was looking forward to my alone time (more than the dinner party) i'll still work on my lessons when he leaves for work this morning. (He's currently "in a meeting" remotely.)

Yesterday evening we drove into a nearby small town that was having an art fair. It used to be an annual event, but then the lady who ran it died and it was cancelled for two years. This is the first year back. I signed up for information on participating next year.

While I was working in my studio this weekend I found four rubber stamps I can take to my classroom. Bit by bit....

Then this morning (after dh got up I went back to sleep for an hour) I dreamed that the other art teacher cleaned out her classroom and I was rescuing things from her trash. (I did not do that this year.)

Hi, I'm fine, just catching up on rest. I pulled a 15 hour shift yesterday with the lady I sit for. And I had woken yesterday morning at 2:45 a.m. as my mind thought it necessary to worry about how the day was going to go. Arguing back at my inner worrywart was probably a good mental discipline, but not much help in getting back to sleep.

Good news is that the day went pretty well. Her 9-1/2 year old great granddaughter was there in the morning. She's a bright, creative little soul. I had a couple more Barbies to give her, and she had a case of hers, so she went to town playing. I get great joy in watching a girl like her feel safe to play with dolls instead of having to grow up too fast. And I was about that same age when I had the most memorable fun with my own Barbies. Sweet.

Then she left with her dad to go to the state fair. So mostly me and my lady the rest of the day. There was a chance for an hour's nap for me when she went go take hers. The family was delayed getting back, so I bunked in on the couch instead of trying to drive when I wasn't sure about fatigue, eyesight, and anxiety so late.

Then I returned home in the morning in time to change and get to Mass, went a couple of places afterward, and came home to enjoy a solid three hour nap with NO DREAMS, the best kind. Woke feeling fairly human.

I ordered a replacement cord/foot pedal assembly for my sewing machine when I saw they were not bad priced on Amazon. Because our repair guy is still behind and he was going to solder the wires in the old one, but I need to be able to sew without an indeterminate long wait.

Tomorrow will be a further regrouping day, hopefully a productive one.

YEA!!! WTG!!!
For a very successful purge & tidy at your Mom's!
So relieved that she was willing to let the worn out bras go.
Nothing more useless and uncomfortable than a worn out brazier.

Good that you got in walking and listening to your tape.
That's taking care of you, your number one priority.

Did you ever find the cat?

Good to get rid of the flour and box of mix.
Wheat can go rancid and it would taste bad but not hurt you to eat it, but still, yuck. ;P
Wonderful that she can access the microwave now without having to move all those things first.

It is curious just what we can get used to doing without thinking about it.
We adapt to inconveniences that we make for ourselves. LOL

Should she need to bake it will be better with fresh ingredients.
Remember to tell her that as you clean out old questionable things.
Bet that smidgen of coffee would have been nasty rancid too.


The thick smoke has thinned out very nicely this evening thanks to a lovely breeze.
As long as the wind doesn't shift direction we should sleep well tonight.

I stopped back at mom's tonight and I told her that her bras are drying on the rack at my house and that I assessed them and picked out a few to throw out and she said, there may be more than a few that need to go. And I told her I have nine that are coming back her way. So that's good. (Btw she has more bras than I do and I go to work each day but I have enough and exactly the number I need).

I also, while I was over just now, I took an old container of coffee out. It has only a few spoonfuls left and I can only imagine the age of it. I also threw out two big bags of flour that were preventing her from using her microwave and a box of jiffy mix that was in the way, too. The jiffy mix expired last year. So now with those gone and the glass straw holder that I got rid of so many months ago without her noticing, she actually has access to her microwave.

Tillie you taught me this lesson and I think about it all the time. There is no reason to have to move things in order to use other things. Amazing. I think about that a lot.

I'm glad you are weathering the firestorm. I do worry.

For myself today, I walked and I listened to my tape and I read and I shredded paper. For mom, I did a fairly solid job of getting some useless stuff out with no consequences or hard feelings on mom's part. I'm sorry I didn't get her out this weekend but I did what I could. And she's very kind and sweet about it.

YEA! for removing the old coffee maker and the new box!

Good luck that maybe she will not be too upset about the tiny declutter you did.
Bring pacifying muffins (((HUG)))

Have a pleasant evening and don't worry about us, we'll get through this.
Just miserable while it's happening.
I don't know what will ever become of this planet.
Just very grateful that I got to see it back in the 1950s/60s.

Tillie that is one of my mother's cookbooks, too, and someday it will be mine.

I have the Betty Crocker.cookbook that I use frequently.

So I didn't see the cat at mom's and couldn't find her. The man had been back to work on the bathroom. When I cleaned her cat's box, I also snuck out a wicker basket with three compartments. It was dirty and empty. To alleviate my guilt, I took out her diapers too. I also took her bras to wash them, and there were the four new ones I bought her and maybe 14 old ones. I threw out about eight. She will be furious.

I got the new coffee maker set up and washed and I immediately put the old one in the box and whisked it away. I brought her the clean dishes and sat with her while she finished the dinner I brought her yesterday.

So now I'm waiting for her laundry to finish so I can hang it up. Then I'll go spend some time with BF.

That's the news here. I'm worried about you, Tillie, the cats and the planet.

Hi Tatoulia

I was outside washing the litter boxes this morning and Jack was helping me by rolling around in the dirt nearby.
Then he then ate his breakfast after I finished.


Coffee makers are generally made so cheaply that as soon as something/anything malfunctions it's time to replace them.
Good Luck keeping the box out of her site. ;)

WTG! for planning on chipping away some more on the closet!

Glad you have been enjoying your weather and getting in the walking.

I have only one cook book.
Used to have several but they never had what I wanted to know.
Some had very expensive ingredients too.
Years ago I got frustrated with all but one book and got rid of all the rest of them.
This one cook book has been everything I want/need a cook book to be.
It's "Fannie Farmer Boston cooking school cook book".
It's a paperback copy and it looks very well used.



Scooter's eyes are really hurting from the smoke today.
He looks so pitiful and decided to keep his red watery eyes closed unless absolutely necessary to try looking at something.
He also is not eating much and doesn't want to play.
He normally plays any time he is not asleep.

The Western United States has been suffering with years long drought.
A little rain in the Winter & Spring cause the wild grasses & shrubs & wildflowers to grow but then quickly dry out, making fuel for fires.
Did not used to be so many wildfires.
There are almost 1800 burning or have recently burned.