Good morning!

Tatoulia, is the bag biodegradable as in paper, or is it "biodegradable" plastic - that requires municipal composting which we don't have here.

Lila, I don't know about Tatoulia's sheets, but with mine, I've had very good luck wetting the stain and sticking a piece of strip to it a few minutes before laundering - even got off dried on ring around the collar.

Hooray for the coffee table solution! I think you got quite a bit accomplished!

I am trying to get myself into motion this morning. It's harder than I expected. Even though I am particularly looking forward to my third class today, I am just really ready for thanksgiving break!

Dh had to physically go to work this morning, and he has a work dinner meeting (I am sooooo glad he got his booster!) tonight, so I am getting some time all alone. This is something I really need. I am such an introvert that I don't even really relax if I am technically alone, but someone else is around and might turn up at any minute (like when Dh is out mowing the floodplain, which would be two or three blocks away in Tatoulia's world)

Ok, off to be functional!

SubC, I used to rescue from trash piles when I lived in KY. There were all kinds of nice things set out on the curb for trash day and I got lots of good things! Fortunately, here we are not allowed to put things out like that, so there is no temptation. Everything has to fit inside the cans, aside from a couple weeks a year when it is 'clean up month' or something and we are allowed to leave things that area like 3 feet square. So still, just small items. If we want to dispose of bigger things we have to take to the dump and pay a fee.

The CleanPeople sheets sound really cool! I love that idea! So do the sheets do a good job getting things clean? Getting out stains or do you need to still use stain spray? I am going to look on the website because less big jugs in the laundry room would be very nice.

Nice to hear from you too, Tatoulia.

My day was tired. But I forced myself to do a couple little things. For one, I cleared off one couch in the living room. I folded the blankets and put them in my room with the other homeless blankets.I folded the dog bed and put it in the laundry basket full of stash and dash, to sort out tomorrow. I put a bathrobe and a hair towel in the donation box. I put away a couple of dog items. Oh, and I found a solution to the baby books/puzzles! My coffee table lifts up to open and has small storage areas in the top (I wish it was the whole top! I vacuumed them out and dusted them, and the baby books fit in one side, and one wooden block puzzle fits in the other side! I put the larger books and puzzle on a shelf. I am so glad those things have a home now.

I also started to sort the kitchen table by piling papers and mail in one pile, throwing out the junk, piling toys in another pile, put a thing or two away. Opened up 3 Amazon packages that have been sitting there for weeks and threw away the packaging.

So hey, I felt like I got nothing done today but listing it makes me feel better. Tomorrow I will do more.

Okay was able to stay in tonight, other than taking the trash out. I've showered and put the dishwasher on the timer. Off to bed. Goodnight, everyone.

As you know, SubC, I do a lot of laundry. A lot of little loads. I didn't subscribe, I just bought a large amount. I can see where a subscription would be too much! The dishwasher pods are nice. The bag they come in is biodegradable. They are in the little rinse-away pods. I prefer this brand to the brand that Whole Foods carries.

I do hope they'll let me swap the unopened pack for the unscented ones. They are a decent company and I'm a good customer. We shall see.

I have kitty's box clean and I'll take my laundry out now. I'm waiting to see if BF needs something from me tonight. I'm hoping not, as I'd like to shower and go to bed now. I have a few more papers to shred. Cleaners are coming in Thursday this week. I'll be at work, so they will pick up keys from BF and then he'll zip over here to reset the alarm. It will be terrific to come home to clean sheets. Really nothing like it.

TruEarth. Also Canadian. I have a yearly subscription - they ship me a 4"x 5"x10" cardboard box with a shipping sticker and a piece of tape on it every year. It's too much for me, Dh, and dd2 - who brings her laundry home and also takes sheets back to her pay laundry. Even with barn laundry and sheets for company, so eventually I will have to cancel for a while.

Tell me about your dishwasher soap. Are they plastic pods?

We cross posted, SubC. I buy my furniture used. Much better quality and lessens the impact on the environment. Whoever invented disposable furniture makes me sick. It's terrible. The consignment and thrift stores have what you need. Although I do believe in new mattresses. .

That's funny that you say that about the dog food, Lila. I contacted a shampoo company today to tell them that the shampoo smells like smoke or fire. And they are sending me a coupon. And I also contacted my laundry detergent people to tell them that I made a mistake when ordering the scented and that I need to send back at least one packet. I haven't heard back yet.

I buy laundry soap sheets. They are like rolled out powdered laundry. I get them from Clean People (made in Canada). I used to use Earth Breeze but they are made in China. This isn't anti-Asian on my part; it is a commentary on US businesses deciding to exploit people and use unknown chemicals and little oversight etc. so anyway I buy a year's worth of of soap at a time. The Clean People come in tiny title packets and I bought enough for up to 180 loads of laundry and I mistakenly bought the scented. Unfortunately, I don't like it and I also question whether it is bothering my poor painful eye. So I've asked if I can return the one package that I haven't opened (something like 90 or 94 sheets in the package). Even though the scent is barely perceptible, it is the only thing I've changed and my eye is really bad. So we shall see what they say. I do not anticipate a problem. I like the sheets because I am horrified by the plastic laundry jugs. I don't mind the premium price for the sheets. And they take up no room. I've also started using their dishwasher pods and find them to be very good.

The earth beeeze came in bigger packets but still made so much more sense than the plastic jugs. I think that SubC may have tried a different brand.

So I need to do some more work stuff then take garbage out. I hope I have more cat litter, I forgot to check my closet. If not, I have some sitting in my car. I'm going to go see BF anyway and his business is next to my garage. Actually it's how we met. I would walk by after parking my car and the rest us history. Although it took us a year to start dating.

Ug. I hate trash night. I actually have to drive through some neighborhoods that have their trash out when I take Bean back on Mondays. It's really hard for me to see the giant piles and cans of trash and all the things people have put out.

Covid did help me with my stop and rescue impulses, and even now I am resisting (like the two little bow back children's chairs I drove past twice tonight) but it is aggravating.

I just want people to stop buying things they are going to have to throw away and stop throwing away things that can be fixed or even don't need fixing.

I went to an online program about recycling in my area during bean's nap, and it was just depressing.

We built an addition on our house, which involved removing a WALL and part of the roof, and when we were done, I put out 18 cans of trash, 40 lb limit - including regular household waste, over a three month period.

So, anyway, that's my angle - I'm here to help you stop hoarding by never buying anything again (slight exaggeration)

We did get a new mattress topper in the mail today - Dd picked it out and ordered it but we paid for it. It's for the bed where Dd and dsil sleep because dsil needs a firm mattress, but the surface is too hard. Fortunately all the packaging will recycle at the store drop off.

Tomorrow I am doing a bunch of "removing things from my house" drops - used book store, thrift store, 2 recycling categories, "like new" Christmas drive, and the two plastic grocery bags of trash (mostly disposable diapers) that have accumulated in my house the last three weeks.

Lila, I am tired too, although with me a lot of it us the daylight. I'm very proud of you for using up the dog food! Save money! Gain space! (I would also throw out the food that made my dog sick)

Tatoulua, I hope the eye doctor can help you!

I like trash night too, Tatoulia. We actually have two big cans to put out, and I try to make sure they are pretty full each week. It's like a challenge... what else can I throw away before the trash truck comes??

I am so tired today, no energy at all and drinking a Coke to try and get moving. I had my morning meeting which went well but gave me more tasks to get done (not today). I came home, looked around at the stuff to do, and felt like giving up. So what I have done today is: put the small handheld vacuum on its charger so I can use it. Asked my son to open a box that has been sitting in my living room for a month - it is a birthday gift for one of my sons, a set of tools. It came late and then I never took it over since it is heavy. So my younger son opened it, put it in my car so I can take it, and got rid of the box (which is too shallow for donations). I also contacted the company where I got a huge bag of dog food that made my dog vomit, and they quickly refunded all the money for that bag! I think there is something wrong with the food so I asked son to take it out to the trash. So that's done, too. I also got out a new food from all those free samples etc I have piled in my room to start the dog on and gave it for lunch. I will use up the sample bags before I buy more food. Clearing space.

Now drinking Coke and trying to get motivated to do a bit of decluttering and cleaning once the caffeine kicks in. I will do some email/online tasks while I sit here.

What are you all doing today?

Keep up the good work, ladies!

Tonight is trash night. I look forward to it. I change the cat box and generally like to shred my mail. I don't empty the shredder. The cleaners do that on Wednesdays so they can vacuum up any escapees. The little shreds go everywhere.

My eye is still terrible. Will see if I can get to the doctor tmr.

Thanks so much for the suggestions with the couches and the grandd's toys and books. I will work on that tomorrow. I need to pare down a little and find some dog-proof spots for the things we keep, tomorrow.

I went to a small social tonight and it was nice but now I am exhausted again... it doesn't take much! Oh and that reminds me, one of you asked about my time mentions... yes I am west coast :)

It's almost bedtime but I am relaxing in front of the TV some more before I go to bed. Wish I had a jar of yummy apples to eat! That sounds so good... I bet it would be amazing on vanilla ice cream!

Tomorrow I have a super busy meeting in the morning to plan an important event. It is going to be a lot of work. I am excited but nervous and need to be sure I recruit more help than the last time I did it. Then I have most of the rest of the day free and can work on the living room/dining room. I really hope I feel motivated and energetic in the morning. I did not get much sleep at all last night so hope tonight is better.

See you guys tomorrow.

I do love your husband for being supportive. He adds the right perspective just when you need it, SubC.

Lila, SubC has a very good suggestion. You have these couches for Thanksgiving. Throw the sheets on them. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Don't apologize for the couches. They are not a reflection on you. They are just old couches. That's all.

I'm not a fan of binning stuff but if your grandchild won't be enjoying the books and puzzles until he/she is older, bin them for now. Soon enough you will have a higher shelf of a cabinet to put them in. Seriously. Don't be so hard on yourself. You've got this. And like it or not, you are stuck with us and we will see you through this.

If your grandchild will enjoy now, then leave two books out and one puzzle. Just for now until you have more space. And you will have more space. I don't have kids so again I may be off base here (and okay to call me on it) but kids only need a few things to play with at a time. They didn't need four puzzles or five books. At my grandmother's house we played with the marble thing where we would feed marbles down it, with the old bank that looked Ike a cash register, and super Spirograph. That's it. If she had other stuff in the cupboard (and it was full) it didn't matter because that's all we ever played with. All we needed, all we used. You will have space again. You are moving forward.

I'm not sure where you live but check to see if you have a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. Great furniture, minuscule prices. Just a thought.

Most of all, hang in there. Some days are frustrating. That goes for you, too, my dear SubC. So have a glass of water and just forget about it.

I will take your advice about a compress to my poor sore eye. I may also go to the eye doctor on Tuesday.

Im going to go get the dishes into the dishwasher and take a shower.

Good evening.

Tatoulia, I am glad you found your watch!

I hope that your eye feels much better soon!

Lila, that sounds like a good start!
Yay for dishes and fewer dog toys!

I would put the books in a cupboard that the grand Dd can open but the puppy cannot, or up on a higher shelf in a bin or not in a bin.

You have extra sheets and blankets - choose some and tuck them around the couch to cover the cushions. You don't have to make fitted covers right now.

My pie filling did not come out right at all. I was feeling really down that I have so many projects and so little time, and the one big project I did today came out so badly, and I was listing all the things that were wrong and what I might be able to do to still use them for pie, and Dh said "hey - worst case - we have eight jars of yummy apples!" This is one of the reasons why I love my Dh.

Tomorrow I have Bean.

Tatoulia,

ouch! That sounds awful. Maybe try a warn compress? Hot water over a washcloth folded and squeezed out feels good on painful eyes. I hope it gets better soon.

Well, I did my 5 or 10 minutes and got so overwhelmed. I don't know why some days 5 turns into 30 and things go with ease, and others everything feels impossible. But I did pick up all the dog toys off the floor, found one new that no dogs play with and put it into a donate box. I looked in the toybox for toys to donate but found none. I stared and the books and other toys and got super frustrated so instead I cleaned my dog's ears which I'd been putting off. Now taking a rest.

The thing I am stuck on:
I have books for my grandkids and I already purged about half of them. I really want what is left and grandd will love them when she comes over (I can't gift to them - they toss everything!) I wanted the little kid books where she can reach them but my darned puppy keeps pulling them down and trying to chew them! Same with the nice wooden puzzles. I have 3 puzzles I kept for her. I'm not sure where to put this stuff where the dog won't ruin them. Hmmm.. I could put them in a plastic bin but, yeah... another bin of stuff. Maybe it could go under the coffee table. Or I could make space on a higher shelf and get them down for her when she wants them. Ugh I dunno.

Also, the bonded leather (cheap) on my couches is flaking off terribly. The areas are too big to patch or anything. Looks like crap and makes me feel bad about my home. Not sure what I am going to do about that... could get better couches on craigslist for cheap but who has time or a truck to do all that? UGH. A cover would cost too much... and a throw would not cover the big areas. If I sold the medical equipment I could buy some decent couches on CL for like 500 and hire a delivery truck to bring them and dump the old ones. But not in time for Thanksgiving.

Well, on to things I CAN do something about today...

Thanks SubC, those are good words. It is most important the house be Thanksgiving ready, as we have company coming. When I am done here I will take 5 minutes (at least) and put things away in these areas. It is more straightforward than the bedrooms anyway... I mean, it's just "put the dog toys in the basket and if it gets full, donate, toss or put in the dogtoy bin." Not that hard. I found solice in taking some of the older stuffed dog toys that are worn but still have some life, and cutting out the squeakers and tossing the toy. I have some good quality toys whose squeakers died that I can stick those in, after Thanksgiving. Saving a squeaker is a lot less space than saving a whole toy!

Today I watched a tv show with my kid. That was sort of a way to reconnect after the argument last night, so I'm glad I took time for it. Then I unloaded the dishwasher and re-loaded it and will run it when my kid is out of the shower (hot water). I washed out the kitchen sink. Threw away stuff on the counters and some older stuff from the fridge. I had a stack of plasticware on the counter because the drawer is full, so I went in there and pulled out some old lids and tossed them, and put the lids to glassware in the glassware bin. Then I had space to put away the plasticware. I also put away all the clean measuring cups which for some reason were scattered around the counter.

Ok, taking 5 minutes now to put things away in the living/dining room!

I'm sorry you are down, SubC. I know the feeling.

I like both your idea, Lila, and SubC's idea. I'll add one of my own. Trash out. Go around and gather the trash. Trash out. You know it when you see it. And seeing it go is so satisfying. It is a real motivator. I bet your cluttered bathroom has a lot of products and other things that can go. If the product is wet, has been wet, and/or is covered in dust, declare it trash. Do the same in the fridge.

Then, follow what makes most sense to you. I do think that SubC has offered a very good order of things. We have done this and gone through it. We are still having to make decisions and prioritize. Sometimes I come on here just to have someone to tell me to let something go or to reassure me that letting it go is okay.

I went to the consignment shop today to drop off some jewelry. Just trying to get it out of my life. I spent a lot of time in the shop. It was filled to the brim with stuff. Did not buy a thing. Wasn't even tempted.

When I was pulling the jewelry out of my drawer (my friend organized my drawer for me) I saw a black velvet bag that said Tissot. And just like that, I found my missing watch. I knew it was here. It's been missing for a while, but I didn't start wearing a good watch til June 1st when I went back to work. Before that, I was wearing one of my two summer watches. (And one of those broke over the summer so I threw it out). So I'll have the battery replaced so I can wear it again.

I then did mom's grocery shopping and dropped it off for her. Now I'm home, after visiting with boyfriend.

I have an extremely painful eye. I don't know if I mentioned that. Not conjunctivitis, thankfully, but could be a stye. Incredibly painful.

Lila,

In my experience, everything takes longer than you expect.

I would start with clear off the table. Then, I would start every day with clear off the table. If you have company in ten days, I recommend you start with the living and dining rooms.

Also, I know you want to get the closet fixed for your Dd, but she's waited this long, she can wait two more weeks. Or, get her to help - for every fifteen minutes she helps you in the living/dining room, you help her in her closet.

I say this as a person who far too often tries to "finish this thing before I start that thing" and then discovers that there wasn't enough time for "that thing" which was more important.

Once you have your living/dining under control, focus on shipping, returns, and any space that is likely to result in donations - permanent removal! That will give you more space to work.

Good afternoon Lila - lol, are you a west coast girl, or did you lose track of the time?

I do tend to waste a lot of time sitting - usually online. I try not to, but I get tired. Then I try to tell myself if I'm tgat tired I should at least go to bed.

Right now I'm waiting for my apple pie filling to boil so I can can it. I got through about 1/3 of the apples. They are starting to go by.

It has been dark all day and I am very low.

I am thinking about how t prioritize the decluttering right now. I get scattered and will do a little bit here and there in every room and never get one room in decent shape. I think writing out sort of a plan here will help me, and I welcome any observations and suggestions too.

For now, the garage and sheds are just going to wait until spring because they are not heated and it is cold... unless I need space in there then I will have to get rid of an item to move an item in there. So schedule garage for spring/summer.

Here are the areas of focus:

my bedroom is what I am mainly doing now. It's big. It has an attached bathroom that also needs decluttered but the bedroom is more important.

dining room - this is piled with mostly papers and things I have no place for but need to keep. I want to get the table and bar cleared off before Thanksgiving, which is coming right up... only TEN DAYS!! There is also a tall cabinet piled with all kinds of things on every shelf, on the stereo, on top, etc.

Living room - it's not bad. I have a few items on every surface that need to be put away. When you add up all the surface it turns into a lot. Sitting here now - one couch has blankets, sheets, a dog blanket, and toddler toys on it. Fireplace mantle has pet medical items, a couple toys, some little things like screws. I have a painting that needs to be hung before Thanksgiving sitting on a cabinet but it as no hangers on the back so I have to do that first. There are toddler toys on several other surfaces as well as books to put away, dog toys, dog nail clippers. Oh, I just noticed a laundry basket on top of a cabinet. It's been there for months (not laundry, just a dash and stash I think).

I have tubs and stuff in my daughter's room that really need to be dealt with, and the closet is full of toys and dance costumes and all kinds of random things. She wants it for her clothes so I need to get at least the closet dealt with.

Hall closets, laundry room, halls and bathrooms are kind of a mess but not a priority yet.

okay, so - the plan:

1) finish a few tasks in my bedroom (deal with the big medical equipment item, sell the other big item that I have listed, pick up a few more things and consolidate whats left to make space. Put tubs back under the bed. Box up and ship the stuff for my son. Return borrowed books. Then I will put the room on hold so I can get ready for company for Thanksgiving.

2) Dining room - clear off the table, bar, and tall cabinet without doing a total stash and dash. Put away or get rid of at least half of the stuff in there, and then if I have to stash and dash the rest so be it.

3) Living room - hang the picture, donate any toddler toys we don't really use, put the rest in the toybox. Put books on shelves. Sort the dog toys, put them away or donate. Put away all the other random stuff and get the room cleaned and dusted for Thanksgiving.

4) Daughter's closet. I may work on this in between the living/dining rooms even if I have to just throw most of it in boxes and donate some, to get the closet empty for her asap. I can go back and sort the boxes and tubs when I get the dining/living room ready for Thanksgiving

5) Finish daughter's room

6) Go back and finish my room and bathroom.

I know this will run into December so at that point I'll be decluttering the Christmas decorations. Then in January, I can work on the closets, kitchen, laundry room etc.

Does this sound like a good plan?

Good morning guys. I feel a bit better today but feel kind of wiped out like a ran a marathon. Emotionally drained. I went to church this morning but didn't stay after and ran home to decompress. I am drinking hot tea and catching up here. I appreciate this safe place more all the time.

I like the blanket idea too. I think I will give that a try!

Congrats on making a dent in the stuffed animals! That is great. Heck, ONE stuffed animal gone is great because they hold a lot of emotion for many of us. I have too many too but this summer I will get into the garage and start sorting them. For now I am working on the actual living space.

Do any of you guys waste a lot of time sitting around? I feel terrible about this habit. I mean, given the choice or a day with no obligations, I tend to want to sit on the couch with coffee and the tv on and be online, watching tv, etc. Which is fine but I can literally do this all day, every day if I am not careful. I often have to force myself to get up at all. I do have obligations and appointments that keep me moving some. And I do force myself to get up just to do one thing, or 15 min of work, or let dogs out etc. But I still seriously spend way too much time sitting here. Today I feel like I really need the rest and decompressing, but most days there is no reason for it. I guess my house would be clean if I didn't sit around so much.

Hello everyone!

Cm I am glad that your PT is over! I hope that means you are feeling better. Congratulations on your sorting projects! Good work!

SubC I am so glad you have your grandson. It's fun watching him grow up. Great work on making tough stuffed animal decisions! I loved your idea for Lila's too hot comforter!

Lila. I am so sorry about the rough patches. We all can relate to the desperation and headaches and nausea, etc. so terribly sad. I am happy about the loveseat! Yay it's gone! And yay you found more new sheets! Excellent work!

SubC I'd forgotten about the fluffing! Because I too sometimes question the unbelievable amount of stuff I still have despite the massive output of stuff, stuff and stuff.

Spent yesterday day with a few friends baking cookies. I brought 4 home for BF and 4 home for mom. I ate my share while there. One woman took home about 20. I wouldn't be able to have them in the house! ESP since we used one of my mother's recipes and it is my favorite cookie.

Ok going to run errands now. I did a quick load of towels this AM but once again forgot to put in my terry bathrobe, which I don't use over the summer. I'd like to give it a refresh before using it. I think I'll take it out of the closet and put it in my hamper.

Have a good day, everyone! Thinking of each of you!

PS I don't think I was clear in an earlier post and I don't think I said enough. If someone was judging me, I'd be really upset. My mother's friend was being very kind when she gave me tips. It was coming from a place of love. If she had been judging me or criticizing me, I would've fallen apart. Gotten defensive, angry, weepy or all of the above. Unnecessary to treat people poorly. It's hard enough in this world.

Update - Bean has gotten very attached to a stuffed animal from DD's childhood. We are trying to find a back up to allow for washing. They do still make them, but there is a whole line, and of course the one he loves is the one everybody seems to be sold out of.

I was motivated to go sort through the stuffed animal bins (four huge bins) to see what I have with embroidered (baby safe) eyes.

I found a few things to offer him to play with, but even better - I found seven I can donate. Seven is not a very big dent, but it is a dent, and these are four bins of "best and most loved" out of hundreds that belonged to me or my kids through the years, so any dent is good.

Good morning.

I have a donut! Dh got us donuts on our way home last night.

Our date went well. We went to an indoor, live concert for the first time in over 20 months. Everybody had to wear masks and you had to show proof of vaccination at the door. The first half all the seats around us were completely empty, and then at intermission some late arrivals sat down diagonally in front of me. At first I had to keep reminding myself that it was safer than school, but then I just enjoyed the music.

Dh is being very kind to me. I think the hysterical screaming melt down yesterday might be why..

Lila,
Grief is heavy and hard and you should also treat yourself gently. I cannot do funerals. I went to my grandfathers funeral, and my cousin got up and said some very nice things, and the whole time I just thought "how can she possibly speak?" All I could do was cry.

About the bed. here is what I think you should do - put the ugly warm blanket on the bed. Cover it with the pretty hot blanket - now it is daytime and your bed is pretty. At night, take the pretty blanket off - it is dark and you are sleeping anyway. In the morning, make your bed with the pretty blanket. Keep doing this until you find the right blanket and donate the other two, or until you decide pretty isn't worth the effort and donate the pretty one.

$2000 is a lot of money. The fact that there are people who have more money than small countries doesn't change that.

I'm glad the loveseat is hone!

CM,
I love your hearts!

Yay for graduating physical therapy and making house progress!

Given all you have going on, I might suggest a few months with one bunny, but your roommate is an adult.

Yesterday - besides melting down - I cleaned up our living/dining/kitchen space (unfortunately mostly using the move the piles method), ran a load of laundry, put two away, and unloaded, loaded, and ran the dishwasher. I also picked up feed and watered my plants.

I think the only actual progress I have made the last few months is using clay and partly finished projects I already have for my classes. Does that count?

No sun again today. It was supposed to snow last night, but there is none on the ground.

I took some tylenol and a tums and laid in bed for almost 2 hours. Cried and thought and listened to music and got warm. It is now bedtime, but I felt better and not sleepy so got up.

Tatoulia, thank you for the advice and tips. Those are very helpful. I like the thought that you lose the money when you buy it, not when you get rid of it. That's a good thought.

The medical device I needed but knew I did not really have that kind of money, so made payments and it was over $5k in a year and a half. I am hoping to turn around and sell it for $3k. But heck, if I got $2k for it I would be happy. I just hope I can sell it. That's a lot of money for me. So I hope tomorrow to lay it out and make sure it works, then wipe it down, take photos, put it in the original box, more photos, and try to find a buyer.

The other item I put up for sale for $45 has had no bites, so tomorrow I am putting it down to $40. I paid $110 for it and it is like new but did get some use and was worth it.

I lost 2 pounds last week but today I was stressed and ate a bunch of pasta for breakfast and dinner, so... probably back to square 1.

That darned blanket, Tatoulia, it makes me kind of mad. I had a different blanket on my bed I liked pretty well. But I only used it 4 months of the year and decided I wanted something prettier, so I donated it and bought this dumb one. I say dumb because it is pretty. I liked the look of it in the online ads. I thought, I will treat myself to this. Got it, and finally put it on the bed this fall and although it is quite thin, it is very dense and HOT. No breathing room at all. Part of me likes it when it is very cold because it warms me up fast. But then it gets hot and I throw it aside, and then I get cold and put it back on, get hot, on and on and lose sleep all night. It is a generous queen size so pretty heavy for being thin. Anyway it is making me mad because it is new, I just bought it, it was supposed to be a special treat and it just keeps making me hot! But I don't have another blanket warm enough. Maybe that comforter I just put away downstairs but it is ugly and really puffy, ugh. It is so annoying. Not sure what I will do about it but like many things, I need to get over it and get through all those emotions before I can move on from it.

SubC, the fluffing makes so much sense. I think that has been happening. Also I pulled things out from under the bed and they are still out being sorted, which takes a lot of room.

I hope your date went ok. I had an argument with my kid (I try never to do that but they did something that made me so angry) and now I have regret and a massive headache. I had a terrible day going to the funeral of a close friend. I was supposed to say some things about them but I just sat there completely choked up, unable to speak and unable to stop the tears from streaming down my face. At one point I felt like I was going to have a panic attack and almost left. I just sat there trying to think of other things, distract myself, breathe... it was terrible. I am tearing up just thinking about it.

I did get the dog stairs put into the garage, and threw out 2 large boxes from the garage to make that room. They were empty and not good boxes for donating things in (holes).

I found a small blanket for my bed and put it on the bed to keep me warmer and that worked. I folded a few blankets and put them in the empty cabinet space... and found another set of sheets.

I found the contract for the medical equipment, went through my records, added up payments and amount owed, and I am clear. It's all paid for and I can sell it. That is as far as I got. I need to lay it out, clean it, plug it in and be sure it still works fine. Then I can contact a couple people who may want to buy it and if they don't, list it for sale. I really need the money, I am so broke right now I had $19 in the bank after the house pmt this month.

I am so sad, and I feel sick because of grief and stress of the arguing, and the headache is awful. Can I just erase today?

Also, this evening I finally got someone who wanted the loveseat I have had listed for free. So thankful he came and got it. It was piled with my husband's clothes and suitcases so now he has to find a spot for those. I am putting a piece of exercise equipment in that spot after we vacuum it tomorrow.

And with that I am going to take a tylenol and a TUMS and try to feel better because I feel so upset I am nauseous now.

Okay,I'm just going to hop in because right after I made the previous post with the blue hearts, I saw Road's post about her son so I wanted to check again on him. I am glad that there is a less scary possibility, and of course I will be keeping him in my prayers. 🙏 And now I'll drop another visual for myself.

💗💗💗💗💗

There. Now I'll again know where to catch up on reading besides what I quickly skimmed.

My roommate is out of town till tomorrow, and I set up card tables to sort on in the living room. Made some good progress! Some doll boxes into recycling, dolls neater and more condensed.

Art supplies and writing notebooks were unearthed behind the teetering stack. So a place to start next, all ready to go. Plus the hope of getting more artwork and writing done again. Need to dust first of all! 😜

It's getting chillier here, though I'm sure we'll have some warm days interspersed. But if I can't get to the storage unit, I can do plenty of good here. Graduated physical therapy on Thursday so won't have the appointments to fit in. Though I'll need to keep it up at the gym, but can be flexible with scheduling on that.

Roommate wants to get another female bunny.

Aaaand, take 3.

The high chair has been scrubbed, the dishwasher has been emptied and filled and started, the tea is gone, and I listened to an inspirational podcast. It mostly inspired me torethink my entire life, but I'm sure I'll be able to narrow that down eventually.

It would help so much if the sun would cone out. Even for a few minutes.

Tatoulua, I appreciate your cheerful encouragement!

Good job in shopping at the museum and not buying the fleece.

I still can't imagine getting to your level. My fantasy is someday opening a closet door and having an empty shelf for extra cats.

Someone posted that should couldn't understand how she could get rid of so much and still have her space be so full. Tillie called that fluffing. All the things you have packed away are settled down or under pressure, and when you sort through them, they "fluff" and take up more space.

That's how I feel about all the things I need to do right now. Like I have been forcing things into limited time slots to do just enough to get by, and every time I get a little extra time, they just fluff up and fill it.

Ok, off to start some wash.

Round 2.

I gave done chores, watered the plants that aren't dead, put away one basket of laundry, cleared the dining table, and picked up feed.

I feel tired, shaky and overwhelmed and I have been yelling at Dh who left to do errands. We have a date scheduled tonight - we'll see how that goes.

I'm having some tea. Possibly not the best choice since my caffeine consumption has been ramping up the last month and I probably need a detox, but it is warm.

Road, I'm glad you have your bf to help you with the medical stuff. Hang in there.

I think a lot of us associated with schools have some ptsd (not even sure the post part is relevant, really, we are still in it. If anything, schools are becoming more and more of a battleground) from the complete disruption of everything we relied on to structure our days and support our work. In some things you can make up time and recover lost ground - but you can't recover childhoods.

I hope your day went well with your niece.

Check the laundry ❤️

Lila, thank you for describing your situation! I know it well! I would put everyth8ng into bags and then stuff my closet. One year at Christmas I couldn't find the potatoes. I made BF check his car. I looked everywhere. Come spring, I discovered well-sprouted potatoes in my closet.

I don't stash and dash anymore. It has to be gone. Papers shredded, dishes away, etc. it's a matter of constantly reducing my things.

About the medical device: what about calling them, seeing if you have an open balance. If it's more than you can gain by selling it, ask them to take it back. Then your debt is gone and you have more space. Be realistic about what you can sell it for. One of my favorite decluttering quotes talks about how you lose the money when you buy the thing, not when you get rid of it. Obviously being a medical device, you needed it. But if you don't need it now, find the easiest and cheapest way to get rid of it.

I hope you find another blanket! Is your new bedspread too hot always or just now? If always, sell it. It's not going to get any cooler because it is new.

I'm just sharing with you what I do and say to myself. You are not expected to do these things, just something for you to consider. See what resonates.

No one would find my house to be minimalist by any means. But I've greatly reduced and I am happy. At Christmas, I'll go through my things once again and decide what to do. I'm sure there's more to let go. The fewer Christmas things I have, the more precious the others will be.

I had one of my mother's friends here a number of years ago. She doesn't sleep a lot and has to be always moving. She really cleaned my kitchen. She also offered me tips. But I wasn't offended. I was really glad she cleaned my kitchen. By the second time she visited, I had cleaners every other week. She felt pretty proud that I had taken her tips and kept up with them.

The first time my cleaners came, the main person squealed with delight and said my house was really dirty. She was kind and genuine. I said, I know, I've been really sad and depressed. So we decided which areas she'd clean that week. Now it's her two friends that clean here. Originally I wouldn't let them clean the bedroom and now? In addition to cleaning it, they change the sheets once a week.

Just keep doing what you are doing. It is no longer a battle for me. I mean, it is a battle but I have reframed it in my mind to be something logical and normal. Just normal decision making.

Take care everyone. Thinking about you all.

*instruct them, not "obstruct them" in post below.

Good morning.

I slept 10.5 hours.

It is overcast and dreary here.

Lila, Bean is almost 16 months and yes, he is the center of the universe.

My Dh is a keeper of nothing - not strictly true, he has a few sentimental items, but if he decided to leave me, he could probably move out of the house in one trip with our truck and then he would have to send people to fetch the piano. His tools would require a second truck trip. He tries to be patient with the hoarding, but sometimes he loses his temper. He has gotten better as I have gotten better.

Congratulations on your paths, your new bed, and your donations! I hope that the large items (both size and value) find a goid path out of your life quickly. That would be a good boost!

Your "helping" friend was inconsiderate and judgey. Helping someone does not give you a right to obstruct them. Also, there is no way I would do that every week. I'm pretty sure Tatoulia's cleaners don't do all that every week!

I understand the table/bar situation. Piles are my downfall. I keep trying to unbury the counter in my scullery room and it just keeps getting worse all fall. I know I would be more functional if I could use it and clean it off each day, but I just can't seem to get there.

I think you have a good plan for your rocking chair.

Did you move the dog stairs?

Back later to catch up with everyone else!

decluttering update -

Yesterday I managed to get those old sheets and blanket picked up for someone's dog bedding. Got my new sheets and blanket washed and put on my bed. They were very comfy last night but I was cold! So today I will do more "closet shopping" and find a second blanket to put on top. The bedspread I have makes me TOO hot. It is new so need to decide where to put that.

I also listed one medium sized thing for sale. It is not sold yet but I will drop the price as needed. In fact I have a friend who might be able to use it so will offer it to her if it isnt sold soon.

Tatoullia, the big item I might owe money on is a $3k medical device I bought in monthly installments last year. The company went through a terrible time so they stopped contacting me for payment, but I either paid it off or only owe one more payment. It's complicated because they added one accessory near the end so the original contract is not accurate. I need to find it, add up the payments and pay whatever I owe, and then I can sell it and have some real $$ which I need.

I did not move the dog stairs yet so that is probably the very next thing I will do when I get up from this couch.

I also will do a little 15 minutes of something in my room again to get it improved.

Here is an item I need help with:
I have very few things from my childhood. But I have kept this little rocking chair that I got when I was like 2. It is super cute and has nice memories with it, and when I was 9 my neighbor reupholstered it for me in actual leather, so it is a really nice little chair for a child under about 5 years old. I have a grandd who is 2. Giving it to them is not an option because sweet dil allows grandd to grab markers and color the walls, furniture, etc sometimes and I would be upset if it was ruined... and also they 'purge' items often and seem to have no connection to any item as special. So it stays here. I also have a grad on the way. It would be a nice chair to have in a playroom but now the playroom was taken over by my son (kids traded rooms etc) so it has to be in my bedroom or the living room. I have a puppy that still chews sometimes. Well maybe it's not as big of a dilemma as I thought, as I type this out I guess the answer is to set up a little reading area in my room for now, and next year when my pup is better behaved I could make that space in the living room. Or in a playroom if son changes rooms or moves out. Any other thoughts are welcome!!

I am praying for your son and you, Road! It is so hard not knowing what's going on so try not to think about scenarios. It could be a misread like you said, so try and let it go until the consult. My dd also missed so much of high school and now wants to quit online school and get a GED. I am sad about her not getting the experience, but will support her in this is it's really what she wants.

Tatoulia, wow. You sound like you've come such a long way! Putting things back etc. And having cleaners! That would be impossible, or at least very embarrassing, for me. I have done the dash n stash method before the pandemic - if company was coming, or when I had a car accident and needed help so friends were coming to help clean - I always threw everything from the dining/living room into boxes and laundry baskets and threw them all in my bedroom. That's a good part of why my room got like it did. I remember 3 years ago when 2 friends came to clean my kitchen and living room because of my injuries. I did my best to wipe it down before they came and had the clutter hidden. But one lady who is quite matter-of-fact said something to me as she was cleaning. It was something like 'you have to keep this up, and do it every week.' She was getting on chairs and dusting the freaking ceiling, washing light fixtures, wiping down every cabinet etc... things I generally might do once every 2 or 3 years. I felt bad.

Now since I got sick a couple months ago, my kitchen table and bar/counter are piled with stuff. For my son's birthday I managed to get everything off the table (onto the bar and my bedroom) but it is piled back up so we can't eat there. I hate it and want to take care of it but it is even more overwhelming than my bedroom, so I am doing one space at a time. I think I am close to the point where I will be stopping on my bedroom soon and the kitchen table/bar counter will come next. I dread it. But will talk about it here as I go... that helps.

And I was gonna say sub c, that's so nice you got flowers. Teenagers are so funny. I mean, that is a *major award!*

Lila, that's one of the rare pluses of a hoarding problem... you can shop for brand new things in your house without spending any money! I was just looking at some kitchen accessories to try to finish-finish my kitchen and I found this one thing that is kind of a retro chicken wire little cubby shelving thingy... (say that 3x fast) and I was like " heeeey, I think I have one of those already.." 😫🧐🥴

Alright I guess I better call it a night.

Tomorrow we have plans to see the new Wes Anderson with my niece. Say good thoughts that she will hold it together and not flake out and disappoint my son tomorrow...

Hello everyone! Nice to read your very social posts in spite of the scary events going on in your lives. Road, I am grateful to your BFF for giving you the support that allowed you to call the neurosurgeon. This is a very scary time of "what ifs" for you and I'm glad you have support! I do hope your son will be able to participate in the Special Olympics.

Lila, tell me more about getting rid of one large item. What are you considering? And what does it mean you might owe money on it? Do you use the rent to own model of getting furniture? Because selling it could declutter your physical space and your financial space if you are paying monthly on something. Congratulations on clean sheets and new blanket! That is terrific!

CM, what a spate of sad news. I am so sorry. I'm happy to hear from you and glad you are working through this.

SubC! That floral class sounds terrific! What a nice thing for the students and the teachers! Congratulations!

Lila, no strong Boston accent here as my Midwestern roots show up at odd times! But I'm sure I sound a bit Boston to others!

So I went to the Museum of Fine Arts today with a friend and her kids. We met at BF's office first then to the museum. I then stayed at the museum after they left. I went back to the gift shop and had a fairly large cache of things I was buying and nearly one by one, I put them back. I did keep two books. One I'll read and donate and one I'll read and send to a friend.

Tonight I started shopping on the Macy's website for a throw blanket and mercifully stopped, identified that I do have a winter throw blanket, and also id'd that I have several cat fleeces to keep my friend warm. I'd given a favorite and fairly new throw to my friend when she moved out and I gave her some cat fleeces. But I still think I'll have enough. If it turns out that I really need a winter throw, I'll purchase it. But not until I determine the need.

My cleaners came this AM just before I left for the museum. BF came down and set the alarm for me. Yes I'm a city mouse!

They'd never come in the AM before so it was a bit shocking for all of us. I bet they had cancellations due to Veterans Day. And something happened yesterday where they couldn't come. One nice thing about having them every week is my house is never dirty.

I too struggle with space, Road I have gotten rid of so much yet still think I have no room. I think part of it is a mind trick. I used to have stacks of stuff. Now I do not. You could vacuum or mop my place and not have to move anything beyond the furniture. I used to have unusable kitchen counters. But now I have one, clean space. It pays off to get rid of the stuff. It's peaceful now.

Oops
And then see what the surgeon says on the 8th and go from there. I saw plenty of scary words under the "long term prognosis" and "morbidity" sub heads but I am not reading those. This condition is one you read about when you're a new mom (with a baby with Down syndrome) but in the last 18 years having met hundreds of other families, I've never actually known anyone who got diagnosed with this. Gee I hate being the rare exception in cases like these...

Lila, I love hearing about your progress. It's motivating to me. I had so many things to say but now I am blanking out. I will have to check back again.

Sub c. I did manage to go back and deal with the laundry. Funny annoying thing was then I forgot to turn on the dryer and it molded in there overnight!!!! Oh well. I did fold the rest of the stuff and updated my calendar and crossed a few more things off my list. I am still adjusting to post COVID (not actually past COVID) realities of there being things to put on a calendar again. I was really feeling horrible about missing it on my sons entire high school career and it's almost over and I realized half of it was kind of lost to COVID. I mean the football games and basketball games, the dances - things he'd enjoy... I've gotten more neurotic Also but he hasn't been in school a huge chunk of his high school years. Same boat as the rest of humanity. Just another mental adjustment that has to be made.

Oh, and the puppy is a maltipoo. She's 3/4 poo and extremely hyper. My husband had a coworker who had just gotten her And timing was bad because she had a life crisis and wa# desperate to get her off her hands basically. My husband asked me and I said no twice and then I said ok, and then we ended up having some crises and it was terrible timing, but things are evening out a little now.

Hey all, happy to report I am out from under the cloud. Still a serious situation but yesterday I was in such a state I kept bursting into tears.

Today my bff came over (the one who dislocated her shoulder a bit ago - she made a great recovery) and we talked for hours and I vented it all and we covered her stuff as well, and then when she left I called and made the neurosurg. Appt. and actually felt better afterwards because the nurse was so matter of fact and did not think it would be treated like an emergency - more of a monitoring situation than imminent surgery, which was a big relief. They think he has atlantoaxial instability which means your c-1&c-2 are so slippy it's dangerous. The numbers indicated on the summary report put him in the "severe instability" and "requires surgical repair" categories. They'd be fusing 2 or more vertebrae together. It would also likely exclude him from quite a few sports and make his amazing but violent dance moves nervewracking for me instead of the highlight of my life. BUT... as much as I am prone to believing I know everything, I'm not actually a doctor so my interpretation of this report could be wrong, the X-ray could have been done wrong or interpreted incorrectly for a person with the anatomy of a person with Down syndrome... whatever, so we will see what the neurologist says on the 23rd and

okay! All caught up on your posts and feeling motivated.

I decided I am done sleeping on worn sheets (with some holes, even) with a ripped blanket (I love my soft sheets and blanket so have resisted change). I posted them on a group that uses old towels and sheets and blankets for dog bedding and someone said yes they want them. I am about to bag them up to be picked up. Then I looked in 2 closets until I found a brand new set of sheets and a brand new blanket of the same type of soft fabric, purchased years ago and never opened. I got them all out and the new sheets are in the wash, and the new blanket will follow. Will be making my bed and sleeping on the brand new sheets tonight! Plus now I have a pretty good sized open space on my closet shelf. I need to look around my room and see what would fit there, that I really want to keep.

I took all the donations and dropped them off this week too. So I need to find a box and start up again. I will work on my room some more today, little bits at a time. I also need to clean my kitchen and do my laundry (clothes).

I still cannot believe how cluttered my bedroom is, still. I bet I have taken out at least 6 trips to the donation place, gave away things, and threw away many bags and yet, it is so piled up. It's like the clutter is breeding! But I don't think I am bringing new stuff in so... hmmm.

I do have paths to the closet and dressers and windows now. I have a set of great big dog stairs in there that my dog used to climb onto my bed with. I don't need them anymore at this point but I do have an older dog who might need them. I will try and find space for them in the garage today. Maybe I can donate something out of the garage to make space. That will free up a big spot in my room.

My other goal for today is to take pictures of one large item in there and post it for sale and hope I can get a little cash out of it (and make space). I also need to figure out if and how I can sell one other large item. I might own money on it, I am not sure, so I need to find the contract and see. Then contact people who might want to buy it. And if no interest then I will post it online.

Wears me out thinking about all that, but having it typed here will help me stay on track. I will give myself extra time tomorrow and Saturday to get it all done, but am going to get as much of that done as I can today!

Waiting to hear about your lives and your decluttering adventures.

Road Toad (lol) -
Oh wow, do you know yet what is going on with your son? I wish we had a more private forum to talk because my child also had to see a neurologist and a neurosurgeon, was diagnosed with scary things, was going to have spine/skull/brain surgery to fix it but they weren't even sure it could be fixed. Part of it was cranial instability. Part was some of their brain was extending down out of the skull into the spinal column. We ended up getting this fixed in a more non invasive manner a couple years ago and they are healthy now. Praying for your boy!

Also curious what kind of puppy you have! I have a German shepherd puppy.

Tatoullia, Boston! Great, I can almost hear your accent! I am more of a country or suburb person because big cities scare me. But my cousin lives in NYC and loves it, walks everywhere, doesn't even have a car. So I understand that.

CM, death is very hard. I hate that heavy feeling of loss. One of my dear friends died from covid and I have the funeral in a week. I also went to a funeral recently of my friend's teen who died by suicide. So terrible!! It sort of freezes me for a few days with sadness.

Going back to read more people's posts.

hi friends, wow! All these great posts to go through! I seem to get super busy Sunday through Wednesday, then sometimes I have a free Thurs. Am almost always home Fri/Sat which is when my mind goes back to decluttering.

SubC, how old is your Bean? My grandd is almost 3 and she is the light of my life. I try to go get her and bring her over once or twice a week. I am working on having more energy and being intentional about it. Before I got sick a couple months ago, I used to have her family over for dinner 2 or 3 nights a week. But I have only cooked 2 or 3 times in the last few months. I was so drained by being sick and am still getting my energy back.

The whole garage thing makes my nerves hurt! I can't imagine. I'm glad you are doing okay with that. How is your dh about the clutter and stuff? Is he understanding? Mine is a more severe hoarder of everything, like empty boxes and used paper towels. Mine is I call "milder" as all of my bins, totes and piles are stuff that is (to me) useful. I am working on my clutter but he refuses to work on his. He has boxes of receipts from the 70s (like for milk, bread, toilet paper) and boxes of clothes from then, with holes in them and won't go through any of it. So I am careful not to create too much space where he can add more. But he has nothing in my bedroom (another whole story... he has his own room) so I can clear that space. But it is taking so long!

Will go back and read others' posts now.

Good morning!

Road, I hope you remembered your laundry.

Good for you working on the iep.

A referral to a neurosurgeon would frighten me as well.

Your comment on"all the living things." reminded me that there was a time not too long ago when I was clinging to the nightly mantra "nothing died today" for reassurance. Like whatever else happened, as long as death hadn't visited my barn in the shape of a raccoon or a hawk or disease or old age or bad genetics, or. the day wasn't that bad. Because I had had so many adverse events I was literally approaching the barn braced for one.

So, I am in a better place. I expect all the animals to be alive, present, healthy and accounted for. I expect my basement to be dry and my pantry to be free of mice. I expect my classes to meet in person. I expect my car to be reliable. I expect to have Bean every Monday.

My next 50 hours are going to be a mix of trying to force myself to do things, doing things I wish I was better prepared for, moments of actual fun I am guarding ferociously, and sleep. Saturday I will try to catch up on things. So many, many things.

Yesterday the "florist and floriculture" classes celebrated "kindness week". At lunch time I had a young brother/sister pair I teach bring me their flower arrangement with a really sweet card thanking me for being kind. Then after school I ran into a 16y.o. student who was coming up the stairs toward my room (not heading out of the building). He was holding a vase of flowers and I genuinely thought someone had chosen him and said "oh, those are really nice." He said "thanks. Do you want them? I have to give them to somebody before I go home." The other kids had pretty much drained out of my floor, and he only has three teachers upstairs - one goes home early and he was walking away from the second. So I'm going to flatter myself that that was 16 y.o. Boy for "these are for you."

I don't think I have said much if anything about some recent disappointments with my admin, but when I came home with the flowers, Dh said "Your administration finally realized what a valuable employee you are and apologized?" And I laughed and said "Right. < sarcastic. But the people I actually work for love me." I needed that this week.

Hi people,

Alright I managed to deal with the abandoned laundry. I brought up the two baskets of clean stuff, folded towels... and started rewashing the stuff I forgot. If I get down there again tonight it should be ok.

Hit the store for some essentials, cooked some chicken breasts for whatever. All the living things have been fed and medicated and nurtured to some degree and now I'm hiding out in my room to gather myself a bit.

The stuff with my son hit me hard today. I have a cloud of doom hanging over my head. I heard from the drs office that she is referring him to a neurosurgeon in addition to the neurologist we are already scheduled to see. This has me pretty well terrified. I'm fearing she saw something on the X-ray in addition to the vertebrae issue... speculation. I know I just need to schedule this appt and hopefully it will be soon. My bff is coming over tomorrow to help with medical stuff. The H is overloaded this week with conferences and b-ball games so - but even if he wasn't he doesn't let any of this type of thing really land on him. Well, I can't dwell on it anymore, I'm gonna go back to trying not to think about it - wish me luck.

Tomorrow I will get that appointment scheduled for my son, and one for myself too - and have a chat with my friend about what's going on. I've gotten some of the iep to dos crossed off my list or started so I will try to take the next step on each of those.

Good Morning!
coffee clinks.

CM, I am sorry about your friends and the bunny.

Road, I know you are worried about your son. I hope that things turn out ok. Better safe than sorry on the X-ray.

Hop to that laundry!

No progress here, just keep writing checks my body can't cash. Looking forward to the thanksgiving break - we get a whole week.

Putting this here as a visual marker for myself

💙💙💙💙💙

I'll have quite a few of your posts to catch up on. That will let me know where to start.

Last week was rough. On Sunday we didn't notice till evening that my roommate's little bunny girl hadn't eaten and didn't want to move. So I started the hand feeding. She still hadn't made much progress the next morning so we got an appointment with a vet. That vet referred us to another vet who attempted surgery to remove the blockage of fur in the tummy. But poor little girl's heart gave out. 💔 😰

That same day I had called a friend from my church quilting group and her husband had died in his sleep in the night. A couple days later I got the news that another lady who led the quilting group for a long time, and who had been operated on for cancer in the summer, had passed away. This week I went to the one lady's husband's funeral Monday and tomorrow morning will attend the quilt leader's funeral.

So it's just been a rather heavy feeling time. Other things as well, and a couple of happier things. Also I don't like the time change but I'm trying not to let it get me down. Roommate will be out of town Thursday through Sunday so I have some intentions of tackling clutter here. I'm actually feeling positive and purposeful about that.

For those of you who deal with ADHD, by the way, I started taking L-Theanine supplements and I think they are helping me be more resilient and less prone to sudden temper flare-ups. Just thought I'd pass that along.

Hullo people.

Well, good news is I scheduled my dogs stitches thing and grooming as one thing. I forgot the clinic does grooming. So she will get that done Saturday. Check check.

Bad news is I heard back from the doctor about my sons X-ray and there was something wrong with it. Luckily we are already going to see a neurologist in a few weeks but this means he will be excluded from his special olympics basketball team which will be very disappointing seeing as how it just started and he's been waiting for two years for this. Best case scenario is they read it wrong or did the X-ray wrong and he's absolutely fine. Worst case scenario likely requires surgery and puts him in a high risk category for spinal injury. So this day really took a nose dive. I was already worried he had a brain tumor. This parenting thing is not for sissies. And I'm a sissy. I guess we will see this neurologist and he will prob order an mri Or something and we will go from there. As the day progressed it seemed more likely that he didn't need to have this X-ray after all, that the dr. Made a mistake and misunderstood the requirements and so I was ticked about that but then I thought if there really is something wrong we probably wouldn't have caught it if we hadn't had to get this X-ray done. Now if there's a major issue we can deal with it at least.

Alright now I know as soon as I sign off someone else will walk in and be stuck talking to them selves all day tomorrow. Lol.

Laundry is still molding as I type.

Good evening all!

Hello troad. I am the journaler, CM is a writer.

Nice job getting inexpensive glasses! Mine are dreadful even with some insurance.

I have a love hate relationship with IEPs. For one, I think every child should have one. And in contrast, I think all the documentation and hoop jumping is a dreadful waste of time. Because the place I teach is not legally a school, we don't have to honor them, so I only have to participate in them when a child is reentering formal schooling. It seems like the schools never want to know the things I find most important about the kids. Otoh, I have pages and pages of email conversations with some parents that actually serve the purpose for which the IEPs are intended. And are so much more flexible...

Keep defending your space!

My garage has no floor.

Hi, I'm back again. I went to the eye drs. All went well. I was afraid of various things but they were all mostly baseless. Nothing wrong with my eyes other than getting older so luckily I didn't do too much damage totally abusing and neglecting my vision the last 6 years. Picked out some (Slightly) sassy frames and walked out of there with hardly a dent in my credit card and a huge sense of relief.

Next up, need to get puppy's stitches out from getting fixed and then schedule her a grooming appt as it seems she has very high maintenance hair...

Also high priority and high anxiety and high avoidance... iep stuff. I can't even discuss it. In fact, I think I'd rather try to schedule another drs appt than deal with it.

How every body?

Or not! Haha.

<<bridge story for another day>>

On my big genealogy printout project, I finished all the great grandparents now and am working on the 2x. I wasn't sure if I'd do that but I kind of have a system now and even though it's time consuming, it's not boring because I am reading and re reading things I've forgotten, etc. and we do actually have quite a bit of info on most of them. But when this phase is done I will definitely go back into writing/reporting mode in order to share with people. I've made some videos which is a fun process for me, and is easily shareable. I would like to also be able to send some pdf "booklets" out but I really need to replace my computer to do that because I would want to design it and make it look pretty.

Well, still "defending my floor space" and am gradually working up to cleaning out under the bed. One day I will just up and do it and be done with it.

Oh sad face. I had such a good lil post going and then my iPad died.

I did copy the toad typo though. I love toads so why not.

I think I was saying I wish you guys could see my expressions while I'm reading through posts... the chuckling, the "oh gurl I been there"s, the gasps, the empathizing, and the full on guffaws!

I don't know if I ever mentioned this but in this ww board I used to belong to, one woman became convinced I was Jen Lancaster. I would wave it off like no, I wish... she's doing pretty well now, etc. but she really didn't believe me until we all finally got together IRL for a retreat.

Lila, I do "speed rounds" too. I aim for 15 minute chunks and if it's something particularly gruesome like going through medical paperwork or sifting through mixed paperwork and garbage... I will do shorter times. I feel like when I do it it builds momentum and I end up doing a few hours worth done that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Sometimes I set a timer, and free form scurry around doing rando things that need to get done. Might be humming flight of the bumblebees. Maybe.

The family invited themselves over Sunday for dinner. They are going to force me into this new phase of life like it