You know Tillie after I wrote that out, I thought about how the hospital asked me if I'd fallen recently. I will text my dr as soon as I'm done here.

I had no idea it is so nice here today. I'm walking with BF. He's running an errand. My errands are done.

The replacement pedometer and clip were relatively cheap and I've earned 10 already this quarter, which I cashed in and used. So including shipping it's under 25 out of my pocket. It's not like the expensive fit bits.

Tillie tell the kitties I say hello. I am working on bedroom today. I've washed two loads of laundry (towels and I like to keep up with delicates and pjs). Bedroom almost done.

I have a bag for goodwill and one dress for cleaners. Still has tags on it. ??Twas a mistake.

Hi Tatoulia
Such a sweet cupcake memory, thank you for sharing.
I have a gallon size baggie in the freezer filled with unfrosted cupcakes.
Plan to ice them as I "need" them.

If I drank alcohol or took drugs, that's what I would be doing.
But cupcakes are my feel good drug of choice.

I want you to call your physician's office and explain all about what happened to you.
Tell the nurse or the P.A., not just the receptionist.

Having a total "brain fart" like that could possibly be a warning signal of something that could become a major health issue.

I am hoping it is simply over exertion/heat exhaustion.
But either way this should not go unreported.
Please (((HUGS)))


Glad you & Mom had a lovely time together ;)

OK, no more shoes!
Badger, badger, badger!!!
And Badger will be looking extra ferocious with sno-cone colored snout & jowls.

Oh well, you have to buy a replacement pedometer.
But that's how you get the physical fitness bonus.
Well worth it.

Cupcakes!! Tillie when I was little, my parents went to Europe for six weeks. My paternal father joined them (mom and grandpa travelled around while my father was on business) and my paternal grandmother took care of us. My mother baked 12 dz cupcakes for us two girls. (No brother born yet) she packaged them in groups of two and they were in our big freezer. In the Midwest, we came home for lunch. We could never wait for the cupcakes to defrost. To this day, when I bake cupcakes, I freeze them before eating.

I know I've told this a hundred times. Can't stop now.

I fell asleep on the couch last night and I may have been sitting up. I had a hard time brushing my teeth and I was very dizzy. I fell once I got in the bedroom. I actually stumbled, then fell. I was on the floor thinking, I need to get into bed now or I'll be on the floor all night. Once in bed I could hear the water running and I got up no hadn't turned the sink off while brushing my teeth I didn't have the strength to turn off the lights so they were on all night. Extremely odd. I was so dizzy. I'm find today.

I walked, walked, walked last night and got home about 10:30. I had it in me to walk another hour but it was just too late.

I don't know what happened last night. I rarely fall asleep on the couch, which makes me wonder if I was sitting up. It was all very disorienting.

Oh well. It was hot and humid yesterday and I was doing the best I could.

I took mom shopping to the Talbots Outlet yesterday and we had a blast! I have several gift cards and I spent them on mom. Usually I go into the dressing room with her and I help her try on clothes, then I try on stuff separately. Yesterday we just changed at the same time in her room and we had such a good time. She got two dresses (one a classic navy with white trim, one a pink seersucker), an open cardigan for her dresses, a skirt and a blouse. I was so happy. And she was so happy. Last night BF and I stopped by her house to bring her fruit and she was so excited to show him her clothes. So that was tons of fun with her!

I have to return a pair of shoes today. I got a little caught up in the Allbirds situation and I don't need another pair. I wear them to work every day and they are great for my walks but I've gone too far. No new shoes til I need them. Pledge.

I lost my pedometer that I wear as part of the contest at work. I had to order a new one. I suspect I lost it Friday night. Before the chaos of the dinner, I'd been sitting in the recliner and I bet it came off my skirt. That one was free, but the replacement one is not. It's one of those digital ones that syncs with an app. I wear it on a clip because I don't like the look of it on my arm. So I clip to bra or skirt.

I need to finish my bedroom. So I can feel some peace.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Have a great and busy day today ;D


Nice cool quiet morning here.
Need to run the vacuum around.
The porches need some sweeping.

Spiders are out in full force so last evening I sprayed bug barrier around the outside to try to keep them from coming in.
Also cleaned the sediment from the kitchen faucet aerator so it would flow straight.

The wasps are terrible, nesting in everything.

Steven does nothing.
He has not lifted a finger to do anything needing done around here.
Spends all his time sitting out in the hoarded stinky garage.

Tillie, cupcakes are not bad! Cupcakes are yummy!

You can come teach my pioneers how to weave rugs,

Tatoulia, how are you?

CM, good luck on the appointments.

I have a very full day today. I already fed dh, packed his lunch, got him off to work, did chores, moved some goats and gave routine meds, loaded my swim bag in the car, and unloaded the dishwasher.

Next is to finish getting all my bits and bobs together, take care of some pre-class work, and go drop off farm product entries for fair. I have class this afternoon, need to stop at a specialty grocery store for some healthy "treats" and then plan to swim and stop at the library on my way home - I have books due tomorrow.

I have too much plastic (for covering work in progress) in my studio, so I am taking some to class to share. It is always needed there.

This evening I made 24 chocolate cupcakes with butter cream icing.

Yes, I'm being bad :P

Good late Afternoon/Early Evening

Hi CriticalMass
Glad you decided against eBay selling.
It is very time consuming.

Looking forward to hearing about your success scheduling medical tests in person.
The dentist office here has gotten used to me coming in to schedule rather than calling on the phone.

My Cocker Spaniel baby preferred Icees over sno-cones.
Then her mouth & jowls would be all stained bright red.

Hi Subclinical
I want to participate in that modern pioneer class.

WTG! for all you did today! :D


I have run out of possessions to get rid of.
What I have left is precious or useful & used.
A few things I just plain want, like my tiny blue Dalek and windchimes & sun catchers.
Maybe someday I will declutter them too but not now.

I was thinking that too! I was thinking "yay! Badger gets a snow-cone! He will want to stay with CM forever!

CM, I am glad you are posting more often too. I hope you hit a good nap. So many tines I am tired and I just let the day drift by and get nothing done while trying to find my get up and go, when I should probably just take a nap and salvage the time after I wake up!

I made a tiny bit of progress in the studio. I put some clay in the cabinet I cleared out to put clay in, and I found a box of metal lids to recycle and a box of bottle caps to take to the reuse store. I also started moving candle making stuff to the house. (I will make candles with my modern pioneers classes this year, so some will go away.)

I dropped my entries at the fair (beans and eggs and blackberries go tomorrow) and I bought some groceries and put them away! And made dinner. I also washed a load of laundry and a load of dishes, but I may not get either put away tonight.

The badger will be super psyched about the sno-cone.

Happy Sunday

I'm getting ready to take a nap. I think that's what I've needed to cure my fog brain. Tillie, the summer theory may or may not fit - I had such a strange spring with going up to the hospital to see my friend. Spring was this thing I caught out of the corner of my eye as I drove back and forth. So I'm simply disoriented that it's mid-July already.

I did do a few things here and there this weekend, as I said. I think I realized that there just wasn't the time to get too many big time-consuming things going. That might've created stress.

I'd moved my laptop to a small pop-up worktable my roommate has and put it by her rocker where she always sits. Last night it occurred to me to try putting it by the sofa where I sit. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to get more spontaneous computer work done. If it doesn't work, it's no difficulty to take the table down.

SubC, I think that's a fantastic plan for the studio/basement dilemma. I'm doing something vaguely similar here - attempting to get extra stuff out of both the shared sewing/craft area and my own bedroom. And it is slow going. But the storage unit will also be gradually coming together, things getting gone from it and the keepers organized.

I'm going through dolls some - the Barbies that don't make the cut to keep, near-duplicates, and so on, will possibly go to Dolls for Appalachia. I will need to sew them basic sets of clothes. But they can live in my storage or somewhere. It's not that many dolls, just like a shoebox or two's worth.

I had said last year I would try fixing up dolls to sell on Ebay and then this year realized that's more hassle than it'd be worth for someone in my life situation with limited space, and Ebay sales are sporadic on the type of dolls I could afford to buy to "flip." And the hassle of taking them to ship and so on. Clothing is easier because it's so lightweight and can go in an envelope. I can probably do that with a postal scale and chart and stamps at home, or at least do several at once on a trip to the post office.

Tatoulia, thanks for the sweet comments on my sewing! It makes me happy! A fabric or a trim will often tell me what quilt or doll dress or other project it wants to be a part of. And usually I feel so productive at the sewing machine. I've even developed tricks for sewing tiny doll garments that I want to compile into a book.

I'm glad I'm posting in here frequently even if what I post about is just bits and pieces.

Next week I'm going to go physically to the place where I've had trouble connecting by phone to schedule those medical things (mammo & bone density). They are at the same place. I'm just going to plant myself there until someone assists me! I prefer in-person to telephone anyway, but I was going to give it a go, and I did last week, and got nowhere. Badger can come along for the ride and I'll buy him a sno-cone.

Hi Subclinical
I think that is a very good idea.
You spend time working and creating in the studio.
The basement is a place you normally just pass through now & then.
Getting all non-studio stuff out of the studio will make it so much easier to get the studio all organized and a more pleasant space to spend time in.

The basement storage overflow will be just a temporary situation that you will continue to chip away at.

Just as long as the path through stays clear and things are stored in a way that they will be safe, not getting ruined it's a good plan.

You have made such a FANTASTIC start with the basement project that now you have some space to house the other stuff from the studio.

GOOD LUCK! getting the studio all sorted out and organized and a wonderful easy place to create in. :)

Tillie, we are your friends. My 30+ year friends both live in other states far away.

Glad you got to wake up in a fresh, clean space! Good work!

Tatoulia, good luck on your bedroom.

CM, thank you for th book titles. I read a lot of teen/young adult fiction, and those sound like books iight also want to suggest to some of my kids. I forgot that you were into steampunk. Then when I saw your pictures, I got e cited about it. I'm working on sketches for some steampunk inspired pottery right now.

Did you find a place to start?

I have been tagging my fair entries and getting them ready to drop off this morning. Entering dolls in the fair helps me really look at my collection at least once a year. This year my eye was caught by a little modern Japanese doll. She is pretty, but stiff, and I have no sentimental attachment. I am going to enter her in dolls of the world. If she wins, I may take her back every year until someone beats her. If not, I will pass her on.

I am also rethinking my goal to finish my basement this summer. When I was working in the studio, I realized there are still things stored in the studio that are not studio things. The only place to move them is the basement. I cannot move them to the basement now and have the basement be neat and orderly and done, and I have finished all the fast clean out. The rest will be slower, harder decisions and slowly passing things on to kids and using them up and not replacing them.

But, I can move them to the basement and have a part of the basement look like a packed storage unit while the rest is more functional. That would let me finish the studio and work on the basement over time. Having a working studio is more important than having a nice basement. So I think my new goal is to reduce the stuff in the studio to only studio stuff by the end of August. It will still need organizing and paring down, but I will be able to use and enjoy the space more easily and really see what I am working with.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Hope you slept well last night.

Sounds to me like you are suffering what a lot of kids used to experience during Summer vacation from school.
They had plans and dreams of all the things they were going to do all summer but for some reason never actually did those plans.
Just sorta kinda hung out, sleeping late then just reading books in the shade.

Just dig in to a project like it's a required project.
Doesn't matter what. Could be doll fashion or writing or working on decluttering and organizing a small area or box.
That may help you feel less adrift. (((hug)))


Hi Subclinical
YEA!! for dry ground finally!!!

Nice that you can move the Buck's shelter to new areas, like a chicken run.

Those cushioning floor mats will make a big difference to your feet and legs.
WAY TO GO! for all you did to make your space an easier place to work in.

Hi Tatoulia
I have to vacuum a lot right now since Twinkle's long white and orange fur seems to be getting left all over the floor.
Scooter's very short orange fur seems to not shed very much.

Nice that your massage gift cards still have more sessions.
Yes, tell Santa and all his helpers that you will need more.


I used to have friends.
Some of them I unfriended because they changed into the kind of people I would not be friends with.
Many of them just up & died.
Then neighbor friends and Nate & Mrs. Nate moved far away.
There are many people in town I am friendly with but I don't socialize with.
Mainly because I am tired of having friends and then losing them.

Spent all yesterday getting all caught up.
Caught up on dishes & laundry & watering.
Then showered & shampooed my hair and slept on fresh clean sheets.
So nice waking up all caught up with nothing needing done today.

Ps on the massage-used up one gift card and part of another for yesterday's session. Have enough for probably 2-1/2 more massages. Then Christmas will come and Santa may remember.

Good morning! I've been up since 730 thanks to going to bed so early yesterday. And I feel great!

Most of my friends live other places, not here. I am a good person to be friends with people I only see once a year or once every other year. I count my friends on one hand, but in truth there are many more. I have been very lucky that way. Friday was a disaster but doesn't need to be the end of it. I'm just done, however. Not angry, just trying to find peace.

CM I don't know if I mentioned how impressed I am by your sewing skills. Your doll clothes are cute and stylish and inspired. You put the fabrics and trims together so thoughtfully and so wonderfully. And your quilt!!!! So beautiful and something I would love to have in my home. Lovely piece.

Tillie my indoor cat is a little melty today. I just put the AC on for her. I have to wash her white cloth (protecting the couch) at least once a week. There are clumps of black fur everywhere.

Tillie the sandwich spot is this little coffee shop that is very funky and very comfy on the inside. I'll see if owner minds if I take pictures next time. It's not my esthetic but it's comfy and relaxing. There's a table with super comfy chairs that is BF's preferred spot. We didn't have it at first yesterday but were able to move over to it.

I will have a bagel with my second cup of coffee then I truly need to do something here. I've made bed, etc, but need to clear clutter. My bedroom would be easy enough.

SubC, the series is Finishing School by Gail Carriger. Volumes as follows:

1 Etiquette & Espionage
2 Curtsies & Conspiracies
3 Waistcoats & Weaponry
4 Manners & Mutiny

I want to make one of those sandwiches! Next time I think we need a picture.

Tatoulia, I am very sorry about your friend. I hope you have lots of friends, because in the whole world, there are only two people I have been friends with for 30 years, and the thought of falling out with either of them is awful.

Tillie, I hope your cats firm up soon.

CM, I would like to know what series you are reading.

Maybe you should let the badger out tomorrow - see if he can get you to do just one thing. Getting started is often the hardest part.

It is finally dry here! So nice not to have to walk through mud everywhere! Dh mowed today and we moved the bucks' shelter to higher ground. They had dug a mud pit in front of it. (It is built on skids, so we attach a tractor to the cable and pull it)

I worked in the studio, mostly straightening up and washing things because it was a good drying day. I don't know if you remember the blue mats I brought home from school a long time ago, but I had the floor in front of my slab roller/counter/little drawers all clear and I swept it and washed 8 of the mats and hung them on the fence to dry. Now I have a nice cushioned area to stand on while I work! I also washed a couple of buckets and emptied out a cupboard. The cupboard will be for mid and high fire clay storage.

I threw some stuff away, filled a big box of recycling, and found one item to donate. A good day's work.

Sorry for the rough days, SubC and Tatoulia, and Tillie for the hot day.

Not really much doing here - I waited for my "bachelorette time" to begin yesterday, but by the time it did, my mind, having been in neutral gear overlong, was drifty and unfocused. Today it's pretty much the same.

If I see a tiny thing I can do - and I mean tiny - I do it. But there has been no laundry, novel writing, bunny club event planning, projects for the reorganizing of an area in my room or the pantry or with my quilting things (some ideas have come to me and the book cube or lazy Susans or whatever are readily accessible).

My brain is like it's got air drifting through it rather than thoughts and actions. Some thoughts about fun stuff - those are always there - the fun stuff I want to put everything else aside and irresponsibly run off and do. But even if I let myself, the lack of space here wouldn't permit it at this time.

This probably isn't making a whole lot of sense. I have been taking my vitamins, though, so those may kick in again. I haven't had much caffeine at all. I usually avoid it at home so I won't get jitters, but the iced tea in restaurants now and then, diluted with ice, gives me just enough.

Sleep - as in an afternoon nap - is another thing that with this schedule I need but since I wanted to go to Saturday 5:30 Mass again I didn't want to lie down at, say, 2:00 and have to get up and scramble.

Well, maybe I'll get going on pet care earlier and try to get to bed at a better time. I'm reading the first book of a fun 4-book teenage Steampunk series at bedtime. Light and easy going and I can tell when I get drowsy. Nothing super creepy to give nightmares, just adventure, like Harry Potter with a Victorian spirited heroine and gears and steam etc.

And I might just take that nap tomorrow afternoon. Need something to reset my rhythms, I suspect.

If there is anything easier in the universe than procrastination, I don't know what it would be.

Regarding friendships - mine are shifting - some people have moved away, some I've lost touch with, one is sick with a contagious thing, others have tricky schedules to coordinate with. And then there are the ones I'm inclined to avoid for awhile, what with an election year approaching if they and I disagree on politics/religion/etc. and I know they're going to want to try to push my buttons. I refuse to play.

Add to that the fact that I'm a creative introvert and trying to deal with this clutter crisis, and I admit that complicates things greatly because it always seems to happen that when one of the friends has free time and wants to get together, I'm either on a major energetic push to finally get going on some project, or I've been "peopled out" somehow (a trip to the grocery store can do that some days) and I just want to cocoon.

Languid, slow iced tea clink...

Good Afternoon Everybody

Outside cats are doing fine but inside cats are puddles. (?)

Hi Tatoulia
So glad you had that massage today especially after all that drama.

I want to try one of those sandwiches but this town is too small to have anything fancy like that.

Hey SubC my day ended pretty poorly yesterday too. Not as much going on but I went for dinner to see my friend of 30 years at her brother's house and it was a big disaster and I ended up getting up and walking out. Brother's wife came out crying and said she'd drive me to the train but I told her I'd rather walk. The only thing I can say is I didn't yell and I didn't swear, I just got up and left. So 30 years of friendship down the drain. But I'm good with it. I couldn't take what was going on.

My massage today was lovely. So lovely. Then I walked to work and did an hours worth of work. I picked up computer and walked home. Stopped at grocery store for mom (she needed coffee) put a quick load of delicates in the washer then met BF for a sandwich. I got the sweet potato spinach goat cheese green pepper sandwich SO DELICIOUS. I ordered BF his sandwich and mine before he got there so I got to pay! This never happens! I also got a blueberry muffin for mom and ran it up to her together with the can of coffee she needed.

I am now laying down with AC on.

How are your melty cats, Tillie?

Good Morning Everyone
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical
That was a very rough day you had.
Even just one of those situations was upsetting enough. (((HUG)))

Tillie, I am picturing your home as a Dali landscape now.

I had a rough afternoon yesterday. I did not do pottery.

I got an email from my boss about possibly cancelling some of my classes due to low enrollment. I went ahead and okayed one, but I am struggling with my options on the other two.

I got an email from my one friend at work (I define friend pretty tightly. There are four other people at work who I enjoy working with and talking to, but if they left and were replaced by new people I enjoyed working with and talking to - never seeing them again would bother me not at all.) her dh has been transferred out of state. He is going to move in two weeks and she and her high school aged but not driving Dd will stay here for the year and then go. So she will have no time for me and then be gone. I do not have many friends.

Dh came home from work tired and very grumpy, so I couldn't really talk to him about anything, and then right at bedtime Dd called needing to talk because she is feeling very stressed out and overwhelmed about her dh and his hoarding in their house. I want to help him, and I really feel like I could, but I can't get in the middle of their marriage. HE has to want me to help.

So I couldn't sleep.

Good Evening Everyone

Watered the trees today, then the lilacs.

High temperature today was 100 degrees.
Late afternoon the sky filled with dark gray clouds and the wind was raging.
Lots of blowing dust and tumbleweeds.

I felt three tiny rain drops then the winds blew the clouds all over to the mountains.

Lots of apricots dropped from the tree.

Twinkles and Scooter looked like melted candles most of the day.

Summertime...

Cm you are a cutie pie!!!!

Welp. I have not been an instant Instagram whiz. Some of my pictures I will need to resize to their ratio so that heads don't get cut off and so on. I'll do that. Glad y'all liked what you could see of my posts so far!

Good Afternoon Everybody!!!

Hi CriticalMass
YEA!!! I loved all your photos!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

OK, now you will be able to make noise any time and arrange your schedule around all your activities and only "have-To" tasks are critter care.
Have a BLAST! ;D


Hi Tatoulia
Your flowers are beautiful and thriving! :D
So happy you have those living growing blooming plants to add a little joy to your space.

Thoroughly enjoy that massage tomorrow, you need it.

WTG! getting trash & recycling & the AC box out!


Hi Subclinical
My 1st Mountain Lion encounter was a lot like your Dd's except mine had just killed a Doe and was happy to stay there as I slowly climbed back down the mountain.
Shivers...

Wonderful! So happy your workshop was such a relaxing & creative experience!

YEA! for swimming!

Your Dd has wonderful sweet memories of growing up in her family home (((HUG)))

Good luck with your chart.
As long as it doesn't make you think you should be doing too much in a day when you are busy with all the important things you have to do.
Like animal care, self care and then school.



Been keeping real busy, doing lots of piddly little things all day from morning till bedtime.
Just busy work to keep me from thinking.

I got to see CriticalMass!
😍

That quilt is gorgeous!

I want you to move next door to me. And Tillie, and Tatoulia. We will have an artists colony and you can quilt and write and I will make pots and Tillie will make rugs and do beadwork and Tatoulia will be our muse!

I made myself a chart. I am going to show dh when he gets home, because I put the stuff in my head on the chart, and I am afraid it is too much, but i also think it is the bare minimum.

I put ten things that are important on the chart so I can check every day if I did nothing, something, the minimum, or extra. The only exception is exercise, which I am just marking "structured" (swim or exercise bike) "active" (yoga, stuff like a lot of walking or significant outside work) or "none". Defining the minimum is going to be the sticking point.

Also there are no extra things on there - like errands or working on the basement. I clearly do not have time for ten things every day, but some days nothing will be fine or even qualify as the minimum - like laundry - if there is not enough laundry to bother with, i'll just check minimum - keeping up.

I want a visual of what I am accomplishing and neglecting.

I did a good job getting my outside stuff done today, but then I crashed. I have snacked a lot and am having a really hard time shifting to pottery - I kind of want to just let the rest of the afternoon go.

Hi

Happy Friday - I'm a bachelorette for a couple of days again...

Roommate just departed for her family visit. Kind of sad, they are going to pre-plan her mother's funeral. It's one of those situations where an exact time isn't known but they were advised by the hospice people to go ahead and get that done so they wouldn't have to worry later.

Tough times. Losing my parents in my 40s and having friends who get to keep theirs much longer is an incongruous experience. I'm happy for them though.

I haven't done much yet today, but I'll fix some lunch now and figure out what I will do. Just hopped by mainly to say that while I was waiting for her to get ready, since I didn't want to be gone, yet it's too distracting a time to do much, I spent the time figuring out how to upload pictures from my laptop to Instagram. My tablet is so full I can't put the app on it. And most of my pictures are on the computer or a flash drive that goes into it.

bunnyplanetqueen

Tatoulia enjoy your massage!

Yesterday when I was working in the studio, I realized I was having a yurt moment. The studio is crowded, and it is noisy, but I am comfortable with the people around me and they are all focused on their own stuff.

The yurt is more of a headspace than a place. So, what was good was that I was focused on what I was doing, I felt like I could just keep doing it at my own pace until I was done, I had everything I needed easily at hand, and I had no pressure or reminders to be doing anything else.

I love all the different things in my life, but there is always something else clamoring for attention. Right now I am sitting in the new space, and as my eyes move around, my brain shouts "flower bed!" "Ditch!" "You haven't been doing yoga!" "Dishes!" "Class prep!".... there are certainly things I can do outside - to my environment - to help with that, but a lot of it also has to happen inside.

You do so much in a day, SubC! WTG! Oh and your daughter sounds every bit as dear as you and your husband. What a nice child you raised.

Garbage out, recycling out, Giant AC box is out. Pretty good.

Going to wash my face and climb into bed

MASSAGE ON Saturday at 11!!! Pretty nice.

Tillie, that hunting experience sounds very frightening.

My Dd hiked up on a mountain lion once. She came over the ridge and it was just lying in the sun. She said her first thought was "that's a mountain lion." Her second thought was "it's not as big as I imagined it would be." Her third thought was "that's a mountain lion!" Then she backed very slowly back the trail the way she had come and chose a new route that looked down on the mountain lion from a distance.

She and her dh came out tonight for dinner and she baked cookies and left us some. (they also needed to borrow the chain saw and let her dog pee around my yard a lot.)

CM, I identified so closely with your post. Those morning hours are really important to me too. Letting them slip away is how I often end up binge watching videos instead of doing other, more important or interesting things. Tillie is right, there is tomorrow. But it sounds like you pulled off a save.

I made it to my workshop a few minutes early today. It was great! We did three different projects, and they gave us a goodie bag with a brush, a stencil, and a lot of fun consumable materials. Plus some literature that I plan to read and file or recycle.

I stayed and worked on projects for my class afterwards (I brought home three things to work on tomorrow) then I dropped off the recycling, swam, and came home to make dinner for my crew.

I have a thing I want to share - dh parents own his family home. It is a beautiful place on a river where you can fish, swim, canoe, ski... dh has many fond memories of visiting his grandparents there, and our kids have spent time there at least every summer. The family has started talking about what will happen when his parents can no longer care for it. There is no clear choice to take it on, and the upkeep is extensive. Dh as asked me to think about how I would feel about us moving there, and tonight he asked Dd how she would feel about us moving or the place being sold. She said "honestly, I would rather come here. It's more fun." I know that was hard for dh to hear in some ways, even though he appreciated the compliment, but for me it was pure good. In spite of everything, she thinks of this as a good place. She grew up in a mess, but I didn't mess up too badly.

Tatoulia how are things there?

Tillie, Stay safe!

Tomorrow is another day, CM!

I read something recently and I've tried to practice it. That if you hit the snooze alarm while waking up, that's fine. But if you hope to sleep some more during it, you're better off just getting up.

I need to water my flower boxes and get my garbage out. I'm tired. BF met me after work and we had chowder and a salad and now I'm home.

Hi Tillie

LOL - I am too stubborn to do that with the alarm and I'd probably trip on my junk! Just being honest. I have an extreme startle response, so I have to do alarms very gently or my heart will pound, yet of course not so gently that I fall back to sleep which is also my body's frequent response. And all of this without disturbing light-sleeper roommate.

It's a delicate balance, one I have achieved before, it's just that I get off track as seasons change or routines get tweaked.

I came to the library when I got to feeling too blah at home, and got some business and writing done on the computer. Good enough for now. Tomorrow is another day.

Good Afternoon Everyone


Hi CriticalMass
Here is a suggestion...
Move your alarm clock far enough away from the bed that you must get up to reach it to turn it off.
Then resist the urge to lay back down again or to even sit on the edge of the bed.

Oh well, so you slept the day away today
all is not lost
there is still tomorrow.


Just finished eating my lunch of enchiladas.
Really want to go load up my plate again but seriously, I'm stuffed. ;)

Made a lot so now I'm looking forward to dinner.

Smell smoke in the air, there is a fire burning somewhere nearby.
Hope it's just an under control, control burn.

I was so looking forward to today, not having to be anywhere, and I had some great plans as to what I was going to do - then I stayed in bed too long and now I'm all spacy, unmotivated, and
indecisive. 😢 There are too many things to decide between, with the bunny club event only a few weeks away, and my decluttering, writing, projects I want to get to such as sewing...

I think I need to change the time I have my alarm set to, so I can have my two times of hitting snooze but then I must get up. That'll put it a few minutes before roommate leaves for work, so the bathroom wait won't be long.

So, trying to pull today out of the pit. Rats.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Maybe that's a good thing that the clutter there is bothering you.
Don't let it upset you.
Use your annoyance of it to motivate you to get your home more easily maintained.
A place for everything and everything in it's place.
Easy access to items stored in cupboards, drawers and closets helps with finding a place for "keeper" items and makes putting things away easier.
When things are put away where they belong, cleaning is so much easier.
But what I saw on the hall table were item that needed to be dealt with in some way soon.
It was just a temporary dumping ground.
You have been busy with health and emotional issues.
At the time you were busy taking care of those priorities but would get back to the table items later.
That happens to ALL of us humans (((hug)))


Nope, the howling and yapping of coyotes and wolves doesn't bother me.
It's when you don't hear them that is spooky, nerve rattling.
They are very sneaky and quiet when stalking prey and you don't know where they are or even if they are around until they start yapping.
Deer hunting when I was 12/13 years old there were Mexican Gray Wolves stalking us.
I was the smallest hunter and I smelled of Mule Deer and had Deer blood on me so I was most in danger and could never leave my Dad's side.
The wolves had come within 10 feet of me one night and ate the Deer entrails of the Deer my brother and I had just cleaned.
That was terrifying!


Hi Subclinical
Maybe Mr. Kitty is showing you he's trying to eat healthier?
More leafy green veggies in his diet.

So sorry about that Raccoon problem, (((HUG)))
They are cute to look at but not very cute to live with.
Maybe you need a Raccoon skin cap?
Or a new skin for a banjo?


Been up since 4:30am
Watching the sunrise now.
Wished to sleep longer but, "Oh Well"...
Nothing really planned to do today.
Will put the hose on slow drip for the apricot tree this morning and will water some other things this evening.
Will mess up the kitchen making enchiladas then clean it up again.

Tatoulia, you should feel really proud of yourself. Just the change in your shopping habits is huge!

Also, your "before" pictures look like my "after".

Tillie, dogs have masters, cats have servants. I'm quite sure the cats have claimed you, not Steven. If a cat decides to be your cat, there is nothing you can do about it. You don't even have to like your cat, it will still choose you.

I started my morning off by hopefully resolving a raccoon problem, which is all I want to say about that, but my day has to get better.

I think mr. kitty felt bad for me, because he apparently decided we should eat breakfast together. Along with the usual mouse, he brought a large plantain leaf. (Mr kitty: "ok, fine, I don't understand it, but if you insist on eating leaves and turning up your nose at perfectly nice mice, here. This is for you.")

I think CM will read us stories.

Maybe we could all wrap up in CMs quilts while eating SubC's ice cream! So cozy!

You are wonderful to the cats. We are all so grateful to have you.

That must've been eerie, all the tapping and howling.

I'm sitting quietly and going to take my blood pressure. Thank you all for supporting me. The clutter here is getting to me. But I don't hate my house because this is easily cured.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Like I said, you are a goat pro and know all about growing good ones.

YEA! swimming tomorrow!!!

WTG! for a donation drop off!
When the thrift shop doesn't have anything on my "want list" I don't buy anything either.

Great that you are catching up on the dailies!
Plus shearing DH. ;)

Hi Tatoulia
Nope, Jack's not my cat.
Neither are Twinkles and Scooter, who are Steven's cats but he doesn't take care of them and I do because I can not stand to see a neglected animal.
Marty was his cat too.

That is so wonderful that you no longer fall for the lure of the sale bin!
"They" use very strong psychology to get us to buy things we do not need.
The wording of the ads, the display set ups, colors, sounds, smells and subliminal messages.
Since the 1950s "they" have been conditioning children to be brain washed consumers.
Scary actually...

Nice that the friend commented on your style.
Business or casual you have a style.


Would be nice if we all here could get together for enchiladas.
Or at Tatoulia's for lobster rolls.
Then Subclinical's for some homemade ice cream.
What would CriticalMass serve us? ;)

Had a terrible night's sleep last night.
The coyotes kept yapping and howling and that made the dogs all bark.
Sounded like a batch of coyote puppies because adult coyotes use stealth.

Well, I did not judge the goats - I judged the goat interviews and project books - the work the kids put into the goats, what they learned, and the records they kept.

Good job everybody!

I had to go out today. I had to pick up my fair tags and I dropped stuff off at goodwill (went in but bought nothing.) and I got some feed and I tried to pay my farm sitter, but no one was home even though she said they would be.

Did some laundry and dishes and cut dh hair.

Tomorrow - teacher workshop and swimming.

So we are all clear that Jack's your cat, Tillie.

Cm thank you for the words of support. I will get there. I am dying of the heat. But I walked today!

Tillie that's a great point. I can get this together really quickly.

Quick observation: When I am shopping or in a store, I no longer look in the bargain bin. I go toward what I went into the store for and that's it. Looking at 75% off or 90% off holiday merchandise no longer serves my needs. I'm really pleased. Now if I were looking for slippers OF COURSE I go to the same area first. But I am no longer dazzled or pulled in by a sign and I no longer buy multiples of stuff I don't need.

CM I am jealous of your organizational skills and love of organizing things. I don't have that. I did do my linen closet and part of my bedroom closet has things in baskets (so useful, has really helped me immeasurably) but otherwise I'm not good at putting things together that way or thinking that way. I'm glad you are able to do that!!

I am so behind tonight. It's 9:45 and I have to put my sheets on my bed and shower and water my window boxes and I'm just so far behind.

I saw a friend from work while I was walking and she was super cute. I'm wearing a white and blue striped terrycloth skirt with a white eyelet top and she said, oh you look just like you at work, only casual. I thought that was pretty cute.

I took dinner to BF and a sandwich to Mom. And I'm tired.

We will get there on my apt. I'm just going through a rough patch.

Tillie I'd enjoy an enchilada now, if you wouldn't mind setting a place for me.

Love you all.

OH! I like those panties!
They look pretty, comfortable and like they will last. :)

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Subclinical
You are an expert judge of goats.
Hope you got to stay home all day today.


Hi Tatoulia
Settle down girl (((hug)))
You have had the place all neat and tidy in the recent past and it will be so much easier straightening up this time.

That's what I like best about my place.
Even if I am sick for a week and the place goes all to heck it doesn't take all that long to straighten things out again.

But right now your main priority is to focus on your health.
Healthy eating, walking and getting MORE rest.
So, go take a nap.

3 dollars! WOOHOO go you!!!
And they are the kind you know you really like.


Hi CriticalMass
We all enjoy hearing about your donating successes. :D

YEA! for getting to quilting!
Better late than never.

Keep up the writing
It seems to be doing you a lot of good emotionally, writing out your story.


Went to town this morning.
Dropped off donations and then went inside the thrift shop.
Bought a new, never used, still rolled up in the label, cat litter mat.
It's 47' X 33' cost 5.00
Worried the cats would not like the feel under their feet but I have it laid out in the livingroom and they have been walking, sitting and laying on it.
Hope it really catches 82% of the litter off their feet to keep it from being tracked around.

Got food...
Bought the fixins to make cheese/ green chile/ onion/ black olive enchiladas.
To be served on a bed of fresh greens.
And bought a bunch of fresh fruit, passed on the apricots there.

Bought a variety case of cat canned food.
With Twinkle's having mouth issues right now we are going through a lot of it.
Can't give Twinkles canned food throughout the day and not Scooter and Jack too.
They would be furious with me.

You got this, Tatoulia!

Don't forget you've been making many changes, which takes more energy than remaining in inertia. I know that from years of experience! 😉 And you've had health challenges along the way. So these slowdowns are to be expected but they will pass.

I slept well and woke up without pain, as opposed to yesterday morning when neither was the case. Both days I've gone to quilting even if late. Today I was almost on time.

Printed out my revised novel pages last night. Lots of scenes flitting around in my head like butterflies. Writer's block not an issue. Plotting will be the challenge, it always is for me. Writing, and quite a few creative things I enjoy, each draw on several skill sets some of which come more smoothly and naturally to me than others.

So, when I think about it, does decluttering. For instance, I looove 💖 picking out containers, planning storage systems...back in the day when files were only cardboard entities, I loved color coding with labels. I am intellectually intrigued with studying theories about hoarding, or more recently and more of a cheerful topic, building a vision of a sustainable minimalist aesthetic and lifestyle tailored to my personality.

What I don't enjoy quite as much, haha, is grubbing in the storage unit, making decisions, and so on. But even those things I'm doing better at than I did when I first started. And there is the immediate satisfaction of finishing, hauling stuff to donate, going home and cleaning up and looking back on a work session with a feeling of accomplishment.

And sharing it here! 😁

Hello hello! Yes I know the homicidal feeling. I am generally known for my tolerance and understanding right up until I'm not.

Yay for car hosed off! Yay for getting on the vitamin regimen! Yay for 4H!!!

My house is so cluttered and messy that I can't even have the cleaners in today. I knew yesterday that I just wanted some peace and quiet in my home after being on the go so much. I'm grateful to be here. I'm defending my hallway table. It's about all I can do right now.

Exhausted, tired, need more exercise, need more home cooked good, need more exercise. (Yes that gets two mentions).

I stripped my bed, and sheets are in the dryer. I'm doing a load of towels then will do one load of something that can be hung. I have a pile of dark delicates or I could wash a jean dress and a Jean skirt (I cannot mix those with my dark delicates as I am picky about keeping fabric types together. I worked on my underpants some more today and added more to the pile. Great find, Tillie, of the Victoria's Secret underpants!

I have a new type of underpant that I like. Down a size and I like the fabric. So I ordered three more pair and guess what? I had some sort of coupon and they were only $3 total. Not per pair; total. There is no reason to keep extras around if I'm not going to wear them.

I posted something in Instagram that asks, if I were to lose it, would I buy it again. I am grateful for that. It will help me as I make a box To Go.

Terrible about how cluttered it is. Together we will change this and yes I am taking painful before pictures.

Good morning all!

Tillie, I judged the goat projects.

CM, I am glad things are going well on your novel.

Today I think I will stay home, but I might have to run an errand.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
So very happy you weren't arrested for assault! :D
Many times I just stare blankly at people thinking
I could kill you...
But then I don't because they just aren't worth it.
LOL ;P

YEA!!! for writing!!!

That's nice that you are doing what you can do instead of having a pity party because of the road blocks in your way (((HUG)))

Remember to take your vitamins and keep doing what makes you happy.


Hosed off the car this evening.
It was such a big mess, dust and little blobs of apricot all over it and bird poop.
Spiders and wasps had also taken up residence.
Now it's decent enough to drive.

Hi

At library. Did a little work on the novel! It's grabbing me pretty well.

SubC, I think that idea of doing creative and productive work in a few hours is probably the best thing. Life has been forcing me to be intentional about that, simply by not allotting me those big stretches of solitude I fantasize about.

It's been use the smaller times or nothing. And though I don't do the ambitious NaNoWriMo tradition of writing 50,000 words in 30 days (or 31 this month), I AM WRITING. Which is more than I do when I sit on my fanny and feel sorry for myself because I don't have my own place, a newer computer, etc.

Same with decluttering. I pluck a catalog and take it to the recycling bin. I stop by the storage unit and grab a few items to donate.

I'm getting the ball rolling.

And I forgot my vitamins for about 3 days - I think Fri/Sat/Sun - but yesterday I made a point to get them going again. My brain thanks me. Society would be thanking me too if it knew how much those little babies keep me from being a public grouch menace.

Case in point - earlier, at the computer across from me, was a Chatty Cathy - I've seen her at this branch location before. She seems to be a narcissist with no sense of public courtesy - she was aware people were annoyed with her and she thought it was a great laugh. I thought of a T-shirt I once saw in a catalog: "Do they ever SHUT UP on your planet?" But she would've just chirped "Nope!" and jawed on.

I did not shut her trap for her. So I don't need bail money tonight. Yay, vitamins! LOL LOL LOL

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Curious as to which 4H projects you will judge.
I love looking at the projects at the county fair.

Hope you do get to swim today.

Good luck catching up on the laundry.
Always so much to do after a trip.

Maybe your bat colony had to relocate.
I have no idea where mine lives and just hope humans don't encroach on their habitat.


So far this Summer has been different, better than previous years.
It has been more "back to normal" of 20 years ago.
Still no rain but we have cooler mornings and nights and day highs have not been in the 112+.

Glad I washed out litter boxes yesterday cause now I don't have to do it today.
Need to wash some dishes, mostly cat dishes.
Will hose off the car this evening when I'm out with the hose watering my garden.
Have my shopping list all made out and the check to pay the DDS insurance for tomorrow when I go into town.
Now just need to psyche myself up for going into town. ;p

Oh dear.

The meditation bowl is still just sitting on a shelf in the scullery. None of the things on that shelf are in their forever home. I don't intend to keep the shelf.

When Dd was a teenager she asked for a yurt. She wanted to set it up in the yard and live in it.

Your tiny bats make me smile. We used to have bats, but I haven't seen them for a long time.

Today I have to drive to another county to judge 4h projects. On the way home I will swim. That plus chores is enough. Maybe dishes and laundry because I am still behind.