Yoga, chores, breakfast, fire, a load in the washer, AND I have cleared off one foot of the counter of doom.

Dh leaves recycling/donations/trash on that counter because it is my job to sort them to their destination. This was decided by me, because he does not care enough to sort and will just do whatever is easiest - which used to be throw everything in the trash can.

Then I cancelled the trash service and told him he was welcome to call and get it reinstated, but I would no longer pay the bill, empty the wastebaskets, take out the trash, haul the cans to the road, or bring them back. Nor would I call the trash company when they did not pick up the trash (which at the time was averaging one week out of four)

So now my system is easiest.

He does throw really obvious trash into the bathroom or kitchen trash can - we don't have gross things on the counter. And he leaves the compost on the kitchen counter for me to divide into compost or chicken food - usually in bowls or on a cutting board)

Anyway, I'm going to ask him to put new items on that clear foot so I can address them first and know I am making real progress when I clean something off the rest of the counter.

Lila, I will be thinking of you today. I generally don't do funerals, but I went to the last one because it was important to me to let the family know how much I cared. It ended up being a really healing experience. I hope whatever you decide brings you comfort.

Please google "donate phone women's shelter" or "donate phone domestic violence"

The table is half cleared! Now the table will stay half cleared! And get better! And there will be family meals! I have faith.

It's very cold today and it snowed last night. It's not supposed to warm up into the 30s until tomorrow, but I'm trying to get a bunch of stuff done today in case Dd wants to bring Bean sledding. (They have a tiny yard and their only hill is short, steep and ends in the garage door - the parks are full of big kids)

At the moment it's a slow start though.

Dh noticed that 1 - I have lost some weight, and 2 - I have made progress on the counter of doom. Both of those make me feel really good.

oh, also, SubC, invisible tasks checked off are still progress, and lift something off our plate.

ohhh SubC, you mind reader!! Do you know how many old cell phones I have in my bedroom and in totes? I don't either, but I would guess six. I am pretty sure I have never gotten rid of a cell phone except to pass it on to a kid here and there. Maybe I will possibly start to begin to think about doing something with them... maybe?? I will try!

After my last post, I worked on the kitchen table. I threw out a few junk mail, stacked my son's things, pushed all dil's food items onto one spot, put away a few cans of soup and some snacks in the cabinet. I admit I took one box and just chucked it into that storage-like small bedroom. But, now the table is about half cleared.

So that is something. I am tired and I really don't want to go to the funeral tomorrow because it is hard, but I do want to go because she was my friend, to support the family, and to hear the beautiful sentiments. But really I want to curl up at home and cry. Not sure why I feel so low.

Oh, I also made dinner from the freezer. I thawed 2 kinds of soups (when I make soups I freeze the leftovers) and one vegan meal I bought some time ago and never ate. Funny, the kids loved the vegan meal. I didn't. We also had muffins my friend gave me the other day.

I am so tired, drained, and melancholy.

Lila, I am so sorry. To lose two friends without warning is a very heavy burden no matter what their age. The emotional load you carry for teen is already a lot.

I am glad you are getting your new phone! (The old one gets recycled, right? Net zero.

I feel like I have done so much today, but it is invisible because it was mostly computer work.

My last thing was preparing to order my garden fencing next week. I really need to do that so that it will arrive before things eat my garden.

I like 'a chair is not a shelf', SubC. And I am hoping I can get people to stop putting things on the table. I don't know where they can put things, so I need to make room. DIL has several food items on the table because we are out of room on the counters and in shelves. I need to create more room in the actual kitchen, so the table can stay clear. I have done nothing on this today.

I did get one big thing done today. My phone has been dying. As in, needs recharged constantly, is lagging and glitching... Son2 says it is old (he is older than TotsDad and Son who lives in my house. He was helping me choose a phone online, looking at features and such, and when I chose one, he purchased it FOR me, because he works at a seller, and gets it much lower cost, but cannot be reimbursed (rule for employees) so he said it is an early birthday gift! What a nice gift. I am very excited that in about a week I will have my new (refurbished) phone. I have always bought refurbished or used phones and never have had any trouble. Then I chose a case which I will buy online.

I also helped with the grandkids and tried to do a little in my room. Got my desk cleaned off and organized.

I had not shared but two friends died in the last 2 weeks. They were older friends from church, but both were unexpected and sudden. It's sad for us and for their spouses left behind in shock. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow. Another friend has a very dire diagnosis this week and that is also hard. So I wish I could take a few days off and just be quiet, but I have to work tomorrow and Sunday. I do get Monday as a paid day off.

I am so emotionally tired, though. Teen had a huge meltdown the other day that wiped me out.

Greetings oh mysterious Lila. Here is the secret to the table. It sounds easy, but it is not. But it is simple: rule #1 - Do not put anything on it. Even for a minute. Do not let other people put things on it. You may have to find yourself saying out loud to your self - "don't put things on the table."

But all the things in the house are somewhere. They might not be in their best place, but their best place is not on the table, so don't put them there.

The things not in the house should only come in the house if you need them. If you need them, they should have somewhere to go that isn't the table because you don't need things on the table. Don't put them on the table.

Now, take things off the table. At whatever speed you can.

There are a finite number of items on the table, so if you follow rule #1, it will become clear!!

I have managed to clear off all but three chairs in my house by telling myself a chair is not a shelf. (Those three chairs I have decided actually are shelves. Because it would be better if I had a shelf where they are, but sometimes I need the extra chairs - at which times the things on the chairs have to go in boxes on the floor of some other space - sometimes my bedroom.)

Good job getting rid of the jeans! I am proud of you!

Did I miss you telling about people dying? I am sorry.

I do understand the introvert/people thing. The hard thing about being an introvert is that even the people you love become exhausting

I finished a lot of school work, cleared a few items off the counter of doom, and worked in the pottery studio for a bit. Poco a poco.

hello, it's the elusive Lila here. Reading and catching up after a very busy week.

SubC, I know about dreaded tasks, paperwork, phone calls. It is no fun but it does feel so good once we finish.

CM, I have never heard of the Gesima Sundays, but I really like the idea! I will make a note to look into this for next year. I got a Lenten devotional this year, which has a short one page reading and then 2 pages to journal, from Ash Weds through Holy Week. I am enjoying it so far.

Tatoulia, the table is pretty important. But also overwhelming. It is still not cleared, but I will work on it today a bit, as it is my day off.

I am emotionally drained from people dying and from stress. I have a big "away" event next weekend and I know I will enjoy it but it is bringing up stress in me. It is a group I lead, so I have to be there, sleep there, lead everything. A blessing I enjoy, but my introvert self is wishing I had delegated this.

I am in my bedroom at my desk, because it is a bit overwhelming being with people all day even though I enjoy them. I needed to type in peace without stopping to take markers out of a kid's mouth or do little things they need. The only thing I dislike in here is that typing on my laptop seems SO LOUD. I am not sure if this is because it is on a wooden desk, or because it is echoing from the "hutch" in front of it, or what. Any ideas? Maybe I could try some kind of mat under the laptop?

But the desk is nice, and more organized than piles of stuff on the couch. I can't leave my bin of important papers on the couch anymore, so this is nice.

I accomplished one thing today. I took a pair of jeans I have been wearing anytime I am at home and not working, and I put them in the trash. They had a big big rip in the inner thigh, but who cares when I am working at home? Son noticed it though, so let's have a little self respect and ditch them.

I will be working on my bedroom for a bit and then also the table.

Hope you all are well today!

Good morning!

I'm off to a strong start. Honestly I think part of my problem is that I have a Bean day, and then a recovery/prep day when I am still needing a lot of rest and low on energy, and then a school day, and then a recovery/prep day, and then a school day, and then what should be a recovery/home jobs day, but lately has been overtaken by a (fun, I'm not complaining) activity with Dh or Dd and Bean or a scheduled event, followed by another of the same with the same factors, then Bean again.

Having two days in a row with nothing specific on the schedule feels really good.

I did yoga, my chores are done, I finished the paperwork and walked it up to the mailbox - with a side ramble down the creek to make it over a quarter mile, and I have a fire going in the woodstove.

Last night I made a little progress on the counter of doom, and I anticipate more later today. But to start, it is just a few minutes past when I would usually leave for school, and I am going to sit in front of the fire and catch up on computer tasks (formerly known as paperwork) for my classes.

Holy electrons Batman!

They already sent my the document - as a pdf.

Sure glad I didn't pay $300 for next day service!

I did the online task.
Hopefully I did it right.
It took me two hours.
They will either send me a document or a refund of my payment with a note that I did something wrong. Hopefully if it's the second one, they will be specific.

Now I wait. For more than three business days because I chose not to pay for any of their expedited services. I do not know how many more that three business days. With my luck 8-10 weeks.

When I get the document I can fill out the next form.

School is cancelled tomorrow because there is a gas leak in the building. The kiln was running when I left yesterday, but I guess it didn't blow up. They would have told me, right?

I'm having trouble getting started this morning. Everything I need to do feels overwhelming, and I am reluctant to start a fire because it will be warm later. Which is silly, because I can let it go out and it is cold now. I know I just need to start in somewhere, even if it is very small.

CM, I'm glad you got your paperwork done and got to go to mass. Good job getting things out of the house!

SubC, your paperwork beast sounds more ferocious than mine. I did get mine tamed, so earned my ice cream whenever I decide when to go get it.

I was going to get up and out earlier than usual for Ash Wednesday Mass at my parish, but then changed my mind and went to the noon one at the downtown cathedral instead. I really like getting to go to Mass with our Bishop when the opportunity presents itself. He is a very gentle and holy man. So that worked out well.

Back home, I made my super easy baked macaroni and cheese that I figured out how to make. All it involves is a greased lasagna sized pan, a big bag of macaroni (I'm partial to the shells), a quart of milk, and 8 ounces or more of shredded cheddar. I just immerse the macaroni and shredded cheese in the milk, add more cheese on top, shove that bad boy in the oven at 350-375 for 45 minutes to an hour, just watch until it looks and smells good then test a piece for doneness, et voilá! Dinner is served.

Working on some computer things for the bunny group, easy and quick stuff. The week is almost out of the busy feeling it has had. I'm glad. Also took some of roommate's donations by the senior center yesterday after my Bible study, as it was on the route.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, why are you doing zip cars if you still have your car?

Good job donating! I hope you have a good day at work today.

I did not sleep well last night. For some reason I was convinced that I was going to oversleep my alarm. I slept shallowly and woke up a lot.

The result of my three hours of discussion was knowing I need to start with an online task which is my first step to getting this stupid form done. I will try to do that task tomorrow. I got the information I need from Dh last night, but I was too tired to deal with it. I did get to talk to an irs agent with a sense of humor. When I asked her how I should do something, she said "it depends on how you want to be taxed." I asked if "not at all" was an option and she said "sure. That's easy. Just don't make any money."

I finally hit the weight number I promised myself a treat at, so I will be stopping for a breakfast croissant at Starbucks this morning (still have gift cards from students)

Must get my day prepped...

Hi everyone!

Three hours on the phone is so frustrating, SubC! You still got a lot done today! Very impressed! I'll have to find the NPR piece on Ozawa. He was a dynamic force in Boston, to be sure.

CM I hope you can get the Christmas decorations put away! I donated a bunch this weekend. They were things from my car. I have done zero to get the car ready for transfer but I was sick with covid so I'm allowing myself some grace.

Emiko is coming over on Saturday and I'm going to ask her to take the bag of things to sell with her. I have a lot so will need an appointment, which could be a few months down the road. I'll call for the appt on Thursday and then formulate a plan

Cats fed and dishwasher running. I need to shower and get to bed. I haven't been in the office for three weeks so tmr will be a big day for me.

Spent three hours on the phone with government agencies. Haven't put a single letter or number on the paperwork.

Met with my summer boss and roughed out camp

Returned library books. Bought vegetables. Dropped trash.

Cleared more brambles. (Somehow I get stuck into things and have trouble shifting)

Made a mess spreading out all the things I need to prep for tomorrow, but haven't prepped anything.

Talked to ddil and dd2 on the computer/phone at length.

Did most of the laundry, even put a lot away.

Good morning.

CM, my dad always told me god made the mosquitos too. (Btw, I don't capitalize god because the lowercase is more inclusive and direct to me. I mean for it to be a descriptor, not a name because so many people have different names for the same thing, and I feel like sometimes the names become possessive and exclusive - MY God vs. YOUR God. Like ocean vs. Atlantic Ocean - all the "Oceans" are connected. We cut them up and named them. I do not mean to be disrespectful.)

Did you get your ice cream?

I did not do my paperwork task that I meant to have in the mail yesterday. Hopefully I will get it done today. So much on my list! Dh will be very late tonight because he has a dinner meeting. I'm meeting with my summer boss around 4, so I will drive into town. Not too far from her are the post office, goodwill, the grocery store, the hardware store, and the library all in a cluster. It's up the street and back in that order. So I may prep and run some errands.- and mail that form.

I have a lot of dishes and laundry to catch up on, barn work to do, work to check and lessons to prep for school tomorrow, and seeds to plant.

Yesterday Dh informed me that I had split my jeans in the back. Only about 3/4" but you can see my underwear. I want to mend them, but it is right next to the pocket. Apparently I tried to stuff too much butt into them. Sigh.

Bean enjoyed the saw, but he lost interest quickly because it was hard work, and we did not get all the trees cut down. He wanted to stay and play with his trucks in my mulch pile (not great for the "pile" aspect of the mulch, but I can get more mulch.) so we stayed in that area and I cut out a bunch more brambles. He helped me rake out some weeds with his hand cultivator too. He is surprisingly effective and will be useful when it is time to strip beds for spring planting.

I'll report back later on what actually gets done and if there is any progress.

This will be as quick as I can possibly make it, hitting the highlights - good posts from y'all which I will hopefully get to read later in more depth.

SubC, you caught my error about President's Day - I am ALWAYS doing dumb stuff like that with calendar dates. That is my ADHD at its finest and most annoying. My roommate had caught it for me a day or two ago. Then this morning I started to make another error because I hadn't turned the page of my paper calendar to March, so I was looking at the February days and the numbers and weekdays weren't matching up and I was getting annoyed. Once again my roommate immediately saw why I was having trouble. She deserves combat pay for putting up with me.

Lila, yes, for Lent I did not get to do the extensive planning and discerning I'd hoped due to the interruption of Covid. I was remembering the fancy multisyllabic Latin "Gesima" Sundays - the three that are a run-up to Lent, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima (which was yesterday) - they are no longer formally observed post-Vatican II, but I kind of liked the idea of a "warm up period" and strategizing. Ah well. I'm thinking God may be telling me to just wing it and trust instead. So now I am leaning towards adding in Bible study. That might be what you would like to do too! ;) Or you may come up with some other special thing. In any case, may it be a time of blessing for you.

And SubC, gardening is of course a wonderful time to meditate on spiritual matters. I like it too. Until the devil sends the mosquitoes, lol!

Tatoulia, Seiji Ozawa, I know I have heard that name announced as conductor many a time on classical radio which I used to listen to more in my vehicle than I have in recent times. So although I don't know a lot about him I'm sure he was quite talented.

KC Chiefs won the Super Bowl, which I didn't watch but would check the scores since some of my close friends are big fans. I had seen they were tied at the end of the regular time so went into overtime, then I got to reading my book and suddenly started hearing fireworks.

Okay, now, ladies, I could keep going but I MUST get started on that negative-dopamine paperwork task. Bleah. But I'm hoping I can get it done quickly. It's only once a year, so I forget what all is involved, but I do think that it has gotten easier over the years; I have written notes to myself to streamline the process, and I have this new computer so I don't have to trek to the library, etc. I plan to celebrate the completion of it with something - probably Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. Cold Stone has been my reward go-to over the last couple of months after going through the scary medical test, after recovering from Covid the first time, etc. Not very often because the stuff is rich and expensive. But once in awhile it really serves as an external incentive to get through the things that internally I dread so much.

The weirdness of Lent/Valentine's and the delays due to Covid have put me behind on getting Christmas decorations taken down and back to storage and getting out Valentine's and St. Pat's (I plan to leave Valentine's up through February to make it worth the while), and also my usual little Lent devotionals which I might want to look at, depending on how much reading I end up doing in the book for our class that starts tomorrow.

Finally - and I'm really going to end this post, I promise - once I have the paperwork thing behind me I think it'll be easier to prioritize other things in this too-busy week. Some things have fixed times, others are just "to do's."

Okay, over and out.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, public radio did a nice piece on Ozawa. That is cool that your sister knew him.

Bean and I have big plans today! We are going to cut down some small trees that a couple of years of neglect have allowed to grow up in my fruit garden. With a saw! Then if he still wants to play outside, I am going to start digging out the base of a piece of fence I need to remove. He can bring his trucks and move around the loose dirt. Then a bath I think.

No decluttering unless you count the trees.

Hello everyone!

Lila, I'm sorry about the massive headache! I'm proud of you getting the tshirts and tanks into a drawer! Very impressed! Cm I didn't realize the Valentine's Day/Ash Wednesday combination!

I've never done anything for lent. I'm not sure it was a thing in my church growing up.

Lila, you got rid of 1,000 items. That is thrilling! What a wonderful achievement!

I would have loved to have joined you and your husband for the concert, SubC. We in Boston are mourning the passing of Seiji Ozawa. I actually phoned my sister to tell her because he was an absolute favorite of hers. She got to know him fairly well when she was a teen and he was very kind to her. If I could tell you how many times we waited by the stage door at Symphony Hall.

I've arranged the thank you lunch for the staff and residents and my mother's doctor's office. I'm putting the final touches on the catering. I'll hold it in March. My sister will come down for it. I'll be a little shakey.

Good evening!

Lila, I hope you feel better. I'm glad you put your clothes away!

It's great that you and dil were both able to work on stuff today!

I really want you to keep that table clear so you can all eat together. But maybe that is not the most important thing to you.

My list has become overwhelming again. I'm not even going to try to put it here, but it has gotten up to an entire page. What am I doing? Waiting for my tea to steep.

Dh and I went downtown to hear Brahms' German requiem. Then we got dinner on the way home. My dinner was huge! I only ate 1/3 of it and brought the rest home, but I think even the third I ate was more calories than I usually have all day. It was so good though!

While I was getting ready for the concert I found a pair of shoes and I purse I can let go. I also broke a necklace, but I'm not counting that out because I may restring it.

I also found a sweater I am thinking about.

I don't usually do anything for Lent, although if I were trying to find something that would bring me closer to god, I'd say 40 days of gardening- the garden is where god and I have our best conversations. If I were trying to be a better person, I would say do something for someone else every day without expectation of credit or reward.

Maybe you could try to find some things in your house that you are keeping because they might be useful or you might need them and give them to someone who does need them right now? That would be an act of service and sacrifice that might help you in learning to trust god and let go of material things?

Good morning friends. I woke up with a massive migraine and sore throat, so stayed home and worked from home this morning (had to be at a specific time).

SubC, good advice. I put the tee shirts that have lived on the rocker for years into a drawer. They are with tank tops. I don't know why that bothers me, but it bothers me less now that I don't have tee shirts all over my rocking chair.

CM, yes, other people's stuff is harder/complicates things. When my ex left I was at least able to quarantine his hoard out of my living space. Totsfam is doing good about keeping their stuff in their areas, for the most part, although of course the toys and kids' items and some food migrates to the living room and kitchen, which is no problem. I wonder if I will be lonely when I buy my own house.

Yesterday I told dil I was going in my room to sort, so she took the kids into her big room to sort also, and we both got a lot done!

I am pretty proud of myself for getting rid of over 1000 items last year, not even counting actual trash. And I am at 266 items this year so far. That is significant. When I imagine it all in a pile... holy cow.

My bar/counter is piled high, and the kitchen table is stacked pretty badly except for one end where the kids eat. The rest of us ate in the living room yesterday. I need to get it cleared but stuff keeps ending up there.

For example, Acorn kept getting into an art supply drawer thing and taking markers and glue sticks, so I put it on the table since she can't reach it. But it needs a home, but every surface is cluttered, and the little bedroom that is storage is SO full. But, Tot likes to make crafts so I'm not getting rid of it. Stuff like that.

Please tell me what you all are doing, if anything, for lent. I am not Catholic but we do ash Weds and all that, and I am thinking about what meaningful thing I can do. I want to not just give something up but add something that will help me be closer to God, which is what our pastor preaches.

Good morning!

Lila, yay for a clean dog! And for things still going out.

I hope your head feels better. I don't know how you should organize your drawers, but for right now, I think if the clothes fit in the drawers, they need to go in the drawers. Put a post it on the drawers if you are afraid you will forget what is in there. Just put like with like - pants, shirts, whatever. You can refine it later. Putting the clothes in drawers will give you more space to work in your room and keep them from getting dirty or wrinkled or lost.

Tatoulia, I am glad you feel better. You got some things out, so that has to help. You will get there.

CM, I'm glad you got to go swimming. Your post was very helpful. I had forgotten some paperwork I need to send in tomorrow. But I checked the post office schedule and president's day is Feb 19, not tomorrow. Are you sure about your library?

I think I would suggest napping during the pregame rush and going out during the Super Bowl.

I am not looking forward to the time change because it doesn't change the actual day length, I just lose daylight before school. But I'm glad you will enjoy it. I did notice lent starting on Valentine's Day. There is a huge Catholic population in my area and all the restaurants and bars had a huge push of valentines events this weekend, because everyone will be giving up desserts and alcohol and various other things they make money on.

I have lots I want to do today and a concert downtown with Dh after lunch, so I should get busy.

The counter of doom is looking a little bit better, but miles to go!

Lila, I agree with SubC that the best approach for the time being with dil is to lead by example.

Tatoulia do look up how to retrain the sense of smell after covid by smelling different things. I hope it returns very soon for you!

This past week was just off the charts in terms of craziness though it has settled down some. But with all our illnesses and glitches, roommate and I are playing catch up. We managed to fit in a leisurely swim yesterday.

I have some tedious but necessary paperwork to do. Probably Monday. Hoping I can do it at home. Because the library will be closed for president's day. Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and though I'm not a football person I live in Kansas City Chiefs country so I'd have to live under a rock not to be affected by the hoopla. I won't set foot in the grocery store if I don't have to - too busy. But then when the game is on it's so quiet! Everyone is inside. It will be on the chilly side. I'm thinking about another nap, wouldn't hurt to boost energy and destress.

Alas, I have figured out that this year the springtime rush will be starting early because Easter comes early. Valentine's and Ash Wednesday on the same day - just weird. The bunny club has its February event next weekend, Lenten group starts on Tuesdays (that's a stress reliever though, and hopefully will flow very smoothly into the schedule). The church quilt bingo first weekend in March.

Setting the clocks forward in just a month - longer days, woohoo! Looking forward to that very much.

Another bunny event in March, with prep to do both in terms of publicity and party stuff like food and decorations, activities...

I wonder though, because everything is starting sooner, will it feel at all like a lull come April? Because I have big plans that I hope will be a game changer on the storage and various other aspects of the clutter challenge. However, spring usually tends to be jam packed no matter what.

Lila I did also want to empathize about the having more people and more stuff to fit in. My roommate's house is so small, and we both have so much accumulation. It can get frustrating. Her retirement has not brought as much spare time as she had hoped for her decluttering, and mine keeps getting derailed. We had to check the internet router and it was so hard to get to it... and I have my own similar space/stuff dysfunctional trouble spots in my room, etc. Where does it end? Hopefully not in disaster before we can get it better. I pray not.

Well, like I said, I've got to do that paperwork thing before anything else come Monday, and when I get it done I will feel ready to regroup on other pending stuff.

Good job clearing the mom bags, Tatoulia!

I have a very bad headache. But I cleared a path to my closet in my bedroom, hung up the clothes that should be hung, and folded things into piles on my bed: sweaters, tee shirts, and a robe. I did not, however, find my missing jeans or any other missing items yet. I need to make space for this stuff somewhere, also.

I filled an entire grocery bag with trash and packing materials and took it out. I found two boxes and took those out. Three actually.
I put a whole bag of clothes someone gave me a couple months ago into the donate pile and a few other things in the donate box.

It's progress and I can see the floor around the rocking chair now, but the chair has stuff on it and the little table by it is stacked with stuff.

I don't know how to organize my drawers to fit the clothes. They would fit... but I am having trouble with the organizing part. And, I still cannot get to my big dressers on the other side of the room. Floor is covered with stuff.

Greet work on the dog bedding and the dog! That's a lot of work, Lila! You seem to be taking your new roommates in stride! Keep up the good work!

I'm excited about the summer pottery camp, SubC! That sounds like a. Lot of fun for a finite period of time!

I cleared through five mom bags. I have two bags of stuff to sell. I also cleared through the bag I brought from my car just before covid struck. That stuff was largely out in a good will bag. Once I had two goodwill bags together, I reserved a zip car and took the bags over there. Then I went to the grocery store and bought three cases of seltzer (in cans). Now I am home and I am exhausted. But I'm going to start on laundry.

The place doesn't look any better but I feel better and that needs to count for a lot.

Tatoulia, my son and dil lost taste and smell with covid too, for a few months. It has come back to normal but took awhile. They told me about some therapy of tasting/smelling things in a certain order, sour, salty, sweet etc... I can't remember the protocol but you could look it up online, if you're interested. It is hard to eat with no taste. I had a weird taste change with covid too, for many months.

Well, I got nothing done in my room yet, but I did actually wash my dog. The bog one who is almost 100 pounds. He was smelly and I thought it would be lame to wash all his bedding and sanitize his pen and then put a stinking dog back in there. So I washsed, conditioned, AND blow dried him! He smells much better, and his bedding is in the dryer.

I feel good about that. I need to do more things today though too.

Tatoulia, that is great about the mom bags!

Lila, you are making a lot of steps forward! I think the best thing you can do to help your dil is model the process. And talk about it. Hearing other people talk through their experiences can help us process our own.

Can you find one thing in your bedroom that can leave?

This morning on the way home from the feed store I rescued a back to back glider swing (you can google it - no more links for me!) with rope and chains attached. I am keeping it, but it needs to be washed.

Bean had fun today, but he was sad when his momma took him home. He begged me to spend the night, but I need to get some stuff done and I need some downtime with Dh this evening. I told him maybe he can spend the night tomorrow (but he said he doesn't want to, but he wants to spend the night next Saturday.) we'll see what happens.

My future boss called today to confirm that she was serious but let me know that she probably couldn't get all the information emailed to me until Monday. I said that was fine.

I'm through four mom bags!

The new job sounds fun, SubC. I hope you have a good time with Bean.

I am off today as well. I did not get a lot of my list items done yesterday, although I was super busy all day. Grandkids, food, Teen, laundry, kitchen. I did sort my tote of "papers I am working on right now" and threw out or filed maybe 1/3 of them, which feels like a relief.

Today I took care of Tot and Acorn a bit and cleaned the kitchen. Then had TotsDad help me move furniture in the living room around, vacuummed, and cleaned out/disinfected the dog pen. I took all the fabrics prone to stinkiness and put them in the washer on extended wash, extra rinse, with laundry sanitizer (2 dog bed covers, the pad from the dog pen, and the blanket I put on the loveseat so dogs can lay there without getting the loveseat hairy). That will help with any dog smells. I need to also wash the bigger dog, but I can't do it alone and Son is sick.

Now I am lounging a bit but I really have to do something with my bedroom.

One thing though. TotsDad got almost everything moved in and last night I went into their big room with them and it is sooo cluttered up with totes and piles, with a small walking path :( That made me sad for them. It was nice, like a hotel room, before they brought the last load of stuff. I said something about it to my son alone, like "wow, you guys have more stuff than I do!" which is true... the garage is now MORE full than it was when we started to get rid of my stuff. He said dil has totes and tubs and boxes full of clothes and shoes. I saw them. Clear totes, the big ones, FILLED with children's shoes. More than one tote. Now I get that they have 3 kids and they can pass down, but... that's a lot. Clothes worse. Then I thought, wow. Like me, dil has come from a poverty lifestyle. I bet she has the same issue... never had enough, always scarcity, now wants to get more than needed and keep EVERYTHNG. Part of me wants to help her, but I need to sort my own piles first. I think my best help will be watching the kids so she can deal with it... right?

I need encouragement to work on my room. I will come back and tell you what I got done but OH I am dreading it SO much, more than I ever have.

Hi everyone!

Tatoulia, good luck with your goodwill bags! And I'm glad you got your package off.

CM, I am sorry about your phone. I am so proud of you that you were putting cash aside though!

Lila, wow. You really need some boundaries girl! Maybe practice saying "I'm sorry, I'm not available then"? And also, don't answer calls or respond to texts or email outside of work hours?

That was a rough week.

I don't think you hoard is worse. I think your hoard is way better. But it is smooshed into a much smaller space. Don't give up. Just keep looking for the least important things that can go.

Put the pears in a paper bag with an an apple and they should get ripe.

I accidentally got a job on the way home from work. I stopped in at a little pottery studio not too far from my house to check out their valentines weekend kickoff and got in a conversation with the owner, and now I am running a camp the last week of June. It should be fun.

Dd is bringing Bean over tomorrow to make cookies and banana bread because I have double ovens and heart cookie cutters.

Off to do chores and maybe clear some recycling off the counter of doom..

Good day, friends!

Time is short, so I will come back in a bit and read/catch up. I did think of you this week, as I worked three very long days and dealt with medical/emotional/court stuff with Teen. Plus TotsFam moved in... but I worked and was gone so much I went two whole days without seeing my grandkids! I left before they were awake and got home after they went to bed. This really needs to get reined in. I am part-time, after all.

Of course with all that plus 8 people in the house, my hoard has escalated. One night, when I needed to take Acorn and rock her to sleep, but the rocking chair in my room was literally piled with things (and piles all around it, and piles filling the pack and play), I just gave up and took the entire pile off the rocker (in two large armfuls) and dropped them atop the pile next to the rocker. So now it is bad. I cannot even get to my closet or find anything including clothes.

Why do I do that to myself?

Today is my day off, and tomorrow, too. So this morning I:
- loaded and ran the dishwasher
- cleaned out the sink, washed a couple dishes, wiped counters and stove
- sorted through the packed-full fridge which no one could find anything in, and filled a box with old, expired, almost-empty, going bad, never used things and took them to the trash.
- washed the fridge shelves and organized them
- took out more trash

So now I know what needs to be eaten or used up. I have a lot of apples and will make a cake from those.

I have a whole bag of pears someone gave me a long time ago. They are hard. Any ideas what to do with these?

TotsMom is great at cleaning the stove and washing what she uses. She cooks for her family because I am gone. They buy their own groceries and there is just a small overlap of what we share. It is going great so far! I love having them here.

Time to go, will come back and catch up and I hope someone will be around posting today and tomorrow!

Everyone is still doing good things, that's great. My week was extremely busy in the middle. On Tuesday I went to the bank because I'd waited until I was off quarantine. Sitting in the car trying to use my phone, which had been glitching, then better, then glitching again. The thing was over four years old and a budget model to begin with. I'd been making plans to replace it, researching models and putting cash in an envelope.

Well, it became apparent that if I wanted a reliable phone, it needed to happen sooner rather than later. So roommate and I drove to the Best Buy on the east side of town, stopping en route at a new fabric/yarn store she wanted to visit. She bought some yarn, I bought nothing. But it was fun. At Best Buy, things proceeded apace, I was waited on by two different young saleswomen with a third stepping in briefly. The second one did most of the transaction. She put the sim card from the old phone into the new one. Then she was trying to download some app to transfer stuff but since the old phone had no memory left to speak of, I wondered how she figured on doing it. But she was tapping away, seeming like she knew what she was doing.

I should have paid closer attention.

Because later, when we got back to the house, I discovered that she had deleted this one app that was a memo app. All the information about various things, I only remember partly what all might have been on there. Auto mileage record was one. Shopping list, maybe a stray wifi password, who knows. The young lady did not inform me about what she was doing and verify that it was okay to delete the app. I didn't think to check more closely and tell her no, not that one.

I clung to hope that maybe it was on the sim card or something but I don't know if that is where it even could have been. Had to go to the west side Best Buy for the screen protector, and geek squad guy tried but no luck. So I was happy with my new phone but anguished over the data lost. And very drained. All this took several hours to unfold.

So roommate and I returned to the house, I was still fiddling with packages and she went in the house only to find the dog and cat all freaked out because the smoke detector had been shrieking for who knows how long. But there was no fire. Apparently it had some issues. I called my friends the couple of whom the husband is a firefighter. He helped me shut the thing off. My roommate was unnerved by the possibility of it going off again. So I said I'd keep it in my bedroom and deal with it if it did. Luckily it didn't. So yesterday we went and got a new one.

It's just been crazy, and Tuesday was particularly stressful and exhausting. Today was calmer. I'm trying not to think about the missing data. Hoping it won't have been anything crucial. I do like my new phone, it was a chunk for me even though it's not one of the expensive ones. But it should last a good while. Ordered a case to protect it. The case has a baby bunny on it. It's so me.

Good work, SubC!

I had the cleaners here today. I can't smell,a thing but I'm sure it smells nice and fresh. I opened the windows while they were here and we all wore masks. I ran an errand today to the post office and that felt good. The sunshine felt good on my head and I was glad to get the package out of my house. One of my neighbors moved out and they received a package. It's been in here for a couple of weeks and getting it mailed to them today felt very good.

I have not made any additions to my donation bags but I've been thinking about what will be going in so that's a start of some sort. I'll rent a zip car this weekend and take a bag to goodwill and I will also get seltzer and juice. I'm running low on both.

After work, I fell asleep with my face firmly planted on the couch. I fell sound asleep, face down. So odd.

So I'll have to find time tmr to get a bag or two together. I don't want to squander the car rental and getting things to goodwill. I will do this, one or more bags at a time. I need to feel the peace with my home. The peace before mom's stuff got here.

Today's accomplishment - there was a webinar I wanted to watch, but I couldn't justify spending an hour and 45 minutes online watching a webinar. Especially on a nice day. However, after an hour and a half cutting brush, going inside for a while started to look good.

So I set up my iPad, turned on the webinar, and started digging into the counter of doom. The counter is very badly fluffed, so it looks far worse than when I started, but I know how much progress I made, and after all of the recycling I spread out to dry is collected into bags, it will look much better!

Hi cab! Welcome!

Sounds like a good start!

Tatoulia, that's great about the note from your sister.

I just taught today.

And I broke a thing in my classroom that belongs to me and I threw it away - does that count? I think there was a time when I would have tried to fix it or salvage it, but instead I just looked at it and thought "oh well. I don't really need this."

Welcome, Cab!!! you are doing great! We are so glad you are here!

Yes it is really hard to get rid of things and you are doing well! We are here to support you.

Well I had a nice note from my sister today who said that after being in my nice uncluttered apt with so much space, it has motivated her to get rid of stuff!!! That will help me tonight to declutter stuff I brought here from mom's. Just the boost I needed!!!

Hello! I am new here but just doing what I can to keep myself motivated. I am doing 15 minutes of decluttering each hour. Today I have done 2 rounds so far and am donating a box of books and a box of DVDs which came from my grandparents' house--without going through and keeping any of it. Both of my grandparents have passed, so it is hard for me to get rid of anything that belonged to them, but I have to. Thanks for the support!

Good job on the laundry CM. What do you do while it is running?

Don't forget to buy something at your coffee shop sonit will stay open.

My original plan was to work on grading this morning until it got warm outside, but after doing chores, I am feeling somewhat energetic, and I slept late this morning so I am well rested. I think I will go out and focus this energy on some progress while it is not raining and I am not tired rather than trying to force myself to sit still and grade work.

I got my one load of laundry done. There is another one; I wasn't sure how much there was until I started pulling stuff from the bag and it fluffed. The remainder is low priority.

Still took around four hours, perhaps more; roommate's new machine is one of those "high efficiency" numbers which means it moves at the pace of plate tectonics. The dryer she uses on a low heat setting which has a sensor but it seems slow too. I asked her if I could start trying out the timed settings instead.

I'm feeling better each day, not 100 percent ready to run a marathon but I guess coming along. It was still chilly this morning but later the sun came out.

Learned today that the bierock, sandwich, and coffee shop nearby which a couple years ago I had intended to make a writing hangout but which a few months ago went to only food trucks, is reopening the coffee shop. I will make a point to get there more often.

Bean and I had a good day.

We worked in the garden for a couple of hours and my knees hurt now, but I enjoyed it. He informed his mother "Grammie got me very dirty and I am going to need a BATH!" *I* got him very dirty. Like he had nothing to do with it! -lol!

We also listened to some of my story records. He liked following along in the book, and two of them worked very well. The third did not, so I will get rid of both the record and the read-along book since I have that story in another format. I'll count it as one when I take the book.

I hope everybody is doing ok.

Huh, interesting about the textures Tatoulia. I tend to notice the textures of food already, so I kind of wonder how I would react to that - but I do NOT want to find out!

CM, you will get it back. It can't have gotten too bad. It hasn't been long and you didn't bring new stuff in.

I wonder how Lila is besides busy.

Dh went with me to a craft fair at a garden center today that is less than an hour from me. It looks like I good sales opportunity (I talked with a potter there who I know from the city studio) and I got information on how to find out about participating next year.

Bean came over this afternoon and is spending the night. I'm so glad his momma is letting him again! We will have to fix his room up.

I decided not to start my peppers today. It is really better if I wait a week based on the frost free dates, and I do not have my greenhouse cleaned out. I don't want to create a high pressure situation for myself later if they get too big and it is still cold.

Good to hear from you, CM. I am so sorry you are going through this!

I tied to eat a bagel today and the texture is just impossible. It's just a mass of texture with no flavor.

I did a load of laundry. I will fold and put away. I need to start living again. This has been brutal.

Tatoulia, where do you and I go to cancel our membership in the Covid Club? One star, Would Not Recommend. I think mine is peaking and hopefully will begin the downhill slide soon. It's chilly and rainy here again which makes me stuffier, but is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. I watched Mass on YouTube.

Hoping I can pick back up with where I was on the decluttering - I kind of lost the plot 2-3 weeks ago in the keyboard and sewing area, I wanted to play music and was fiddling with software to connect keyboard and laptop, didn't quite figure that out yet but I will... but ended up shoving sewing stuff aside and it ended up in a sloppy stack which discouraged me.

But upon reflection - sometimes the slowdown of illness is conducive to that - I bet it really won't be as bad as I'd feared. I'm ready to face it now. Tomorrow I do need and want to do laundry, so my bedroom will be better and I'll have things I want to wear. Just one load, slow pace, poco a poco.

Sorry you lost the taste and smell but they should return. I only had that happen with the 2022 covid, and read online to challenge the nose to retrain it. So I was sniffing my baking extracts, vanilla, lemon, mint, etc. The sense of smell returned in 3 days. So you might give it a try.

SubC, that is interesting about the food in our bodies. I've heard about water weight but that is more detailed. A little weird to contemplate, lol. And it seems more realistic to me. I'm wondering if I might want to play with some different things to eat, to break out of my rut, but definitely that must be a low pressure thing given my sensory aversions and history of kookoo dieting patterns in the distant past. My head's messed up on such things which is why I haven't chimed in on the diet thread. Exercising is my superpower for now in terms of lifestyle changes. Anyway, thanks for an intriguing read.

Lila, I can imagine how exciting your life is right now, and hoping it is positive excitement as much as possible. Sometimes I wonder about the future, like maybe getting my own place. There are a lot of unknowns. The thing about these roommate situations has been that I can live in a house, which on disability would not have been possible; the tricky part is that sometimes I and the other person(s) can get on one another's nerves, and that the spaces such as the kitchen are not mine to arrange as I'd wish. Plus the time schedule of some things ends up having to mesh at least in part with the other person's schedule. I lived a considerable number of years alone, and it hasn't been easy giving up that autonomy. Not to scare you! It is probably easier with family, because you have lived together in the past. And tot's enjoyment will be contagious, I should think.

Well, tomorrow is Day 5 for covid for me, so hopefully soon I'll be rejoining civilization.

SubC I am glad you had a nice time and that you acquired some tools. I trust you with what you are doing with the tools. You have made so much progress over the years! Two job offers! Wow!

My biggest problem with the lack of taste is learning how gross textures are. Food has a terrible texture. Haha so no extra broccoli for me right now!

I am doing some laundry. I've aired out my place. We had another day of sunshine and so I got a walk in today. I'm definitely on the mend. What a relief.

I took the recycling out today, which felt really good.

Keep getting better Tatoulua (you too CM!)

Sorry about the No taste and smell. I think I'd be eating stuff that is good for me but I don't like..

Teacher workshop was great today! I also got two job offers, which was very flattering.

I bought myself two small tools (I had coupons, so the total was just over $3) I am not counting stuff for/from my studio in and out right now. It is too complicated with flow back and forth between home and school and making and selling work.

Dishes are mostly caught up.

Checking in. Battling covid. Made it outside today for a brief walk and some sunshine. No sense of taste or smell. Need to eventually eat.

Happy new world Lila!

Don't put anything on the table.

I hope you can find a thing to let go of today.

Enjoy your family!

Tatoulia - good for you making decisions while sick!

My house is messy again and I have things to take care of, but today I go to a really great teacher workshop for pottery teachers all day. There will also be a really nice lunch and an all day breakfast buffet, so I am giving myself unrestricted food today. That will give me a chance to see how much weight I have actually lost - the "average" adult has about 6lbs of food in the digestive tract at any given time, but if you are eating less, that goes down (and if you eat more it goes up, which is why you can suddenly "gain" or "lose" 5 lbs. - apparently you can stuff as much as 25 pounds of food in your body if you stretch everything out!) my new eating habits never leave me feeling full - only not hungry for a while.

Actually, that's the whole brain reset I need! My house, my body, my life. the goal should not be "full" the goal should be "enough." There should be room for something else if I really want it, but not just because I can.

Oh no CM! I am battling this like nobody's business. Only skimmed the posts. Ttyl. I've made some decisions about my stuff while sick. More later.

Spring will come. Yes!!! Hopeful!

CM argh! I am sorry you have covid. Get enough rest. I hope it's not too bad.

Totsdad and Tot showed up a couple of hours ago. I fed Tot, we watched some tv, read some books, played. Now she is running around helping her dad, who has brought the beds and dressers so they really are all sleeping here tonight. Wow! It's really happening. He is on his third load of stuff he is bringing in his truck.

This is going to be a whole new world!

The kitchen table has everything off it except Son's monitor he needs to move, a box of toy training stuff I am giving to a friend, and 2 cans of soup that need to be put in the pantry. Then I will wash the table, and we can have dinner tomorrow night.

The bar/counter is a whole 'nother matter!

My bedroom has a path from the door, to my bedside, to the bathroom. I cannot get to the closet or anything. The desk is piled with stuff.

The little bedroom that is storage is soo piled up you cannot take 3 steps, much less get to the bed or the closet or anything else.

I also worked on the recliner and got about half the stuff that was on it, put away (aka thrown madly into another room).