SubC,

try this link and then go to the right side of the webpage that comes up, should be a grey box to download a PDF. Let me know if it worked.

What a shame regarding your husband's back, SubC. Yikes. I hope the medications help him!

Cm I am aggravated by your mechanic. I don't like him keeping you from enjoying your day!

Tillie, I'm in on eating better and exercising more!

Today I took a lovely walking tour on Boston Art Deco Architecture. It was lovely. In the very humid afternoon, I ran a quick errand and then hung out with BF a bit. He has a part-time employee who left in March with COVID and she's back! So it was fun to see her tonight. She's very sweet. Her parents are worried about her but I reminded her we are her cool parents so not to worry. Then I did scores of laundry this evening. Will go finish folding.

Ok I am insane. While donating platelets yesterday I was miserable. So unpleasant. And I swore I could never endure it again. Today, I feel differently. I can not only keep my September appt but I've signed up for an October appt too. My discomfort is nothing compared to what the recipients are going through. I'm waiting to see if I have that marker that makes my platelets unsuitable. I've also figured out that I need the tums much earlier to help with the facial and hand numbness.

I cleaned kitty's box today. Finally got the litter.

I have one door out of my apt and two common area doors. The back of my house has fire escapes, which were strengthened and reattached two years ago.

The urban life is wearing on me.

New COVID case at mom's. One of the aides. I'm so worried for the aide. Now on lockdown. She's grateful that she got her haircut yesterday.

Cross-posted.

Tillie have fun with your beads!

One thing I love about grocery shopping in the current situation is that I just add everything I need to my cart. Then when Dh is ready to go to the store, he submits the cart, they pack it up, and he pulls into the pickup slot, calls with his order number, and opens the trunk. They load the order right in.

The downside is that often the fruit is not good and things may not be available. Some things they substitute too.

Right now Dh can't drive, and I am not going to do the pickup, so our food will center around eggs, milk, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, beets, beans, jam, pickles, rice, flour and sugar for a while. We won't starve!

CM, thank you fir the link! The pattern buttons all say "nit available" so I emailed the lady. Hopefully she will reply. I love her skunk!

Baby bunnies - squee!

G'day.

Dh has a back injury. He is on medication that makes him loopy and drowsy (he's supposed to take it for a week and then get an mri if his back still hurts)

Normally he is very go-go-go and I tend to set my tone around him. Last night he was loopy but not sleepy and we stayed up past midnight watching crime shows. We didn't set an alarm, and this morning he poked me awake and said "it's ten o'clock." It was very cloudy, so the sun hadn't woken me. The goats were angry!

CM, I am very impressed with your storage unit reduction! Ride that energy as much as you can!

Add me to the weight crowd. At least in a month I will start doing the stairs and pacing my classroom four days a week. Also not eating lunch on w/f because I won't eat at school. I miss swimming laps.

Tatoulia, I knew you weren't criticizing. Also, I probably need a "don't you have...?" Anytime you think of one. I have definitely been known to forget I got something and acquire another one!

It's good that you were walking, but maybe don't walk to blood drives - walking home seems like too much exertion after donating!

Things like your trash story remind me how urban your life is. It seems so strange to me. I can't imagine a building that doesn't have a back exit. Are you safe for fire?

Tillie, I have a lot of garden work to get to too. Yesterday i picked beans and put tomatoes in the dehydrator. It is so humid here that the tomatoes aren't done yet. Fall (on days without rain) and winter are actually better for line drying here than summer. The air is dryer. I have been known to freeze dry things on the line over snow in February.

I got the ice cream made yesterday and all my materials lists sent out for my classes.

I have 30 days before school starts. I am going to set a goal to spend at least one hour working on my classes every single day. That is less than three hours per class, which is not enough, but I'm sure some dats I wil, get dug in and spend more.

Today I have started the dishwasher. When it is done I will make cheese. I want to change my sheets today too. I don't know what else, but nit much because the day is mostly over! 7 hours to bedtime. (I do have a plan for dinner. Dh is not cooking right now. He is mostly lying on the couch.)

Thanks for the rah-rah, all! It will keep me going.

Wish I could be doing more today. Instead I'm waiting for my mechanic to call. Talked to him earlier and he said he had to make a run to the dump first. But the time stretches out... it's nothing critical, though, but roommate and I can't do anything else but wait, wait, wait.

The bunny club has 4 adorable BABY BUNNIES that we want to go see this weekend! So we need to get this car business going - we could take her car to go see the bunnies if we just had the chance to pass my van off to the mechanic and let him get started.

Tillie - yes! I don't want to become a slave to the junk like Steven, or even like my own self back when I was less aware what it was doing to me. My hoarding really took off in the 90s after I had broken up with my ex-bf in the late 80s.

I believe I was attempting to surround myself with the domestic life I had envisioned had I managed to drag him to the altar. And crafting was a big part of that, and as we know crafting supplies can have almost no upper limit! At first it felt cozy and creative. But I would always try to "organize" and wonder why it would quickly get disorganized again.

Well, now I know the new mantra that says "You can't organize clutter." Even if I am still a work in progress implementing it. But good progress is to come. I can feel it.

Been catching up finally on reading posts while I wait for my mechanic...

SubC, I saw you want the pattern for the knitted bunny. This is the gal's site - she has so many cute animal patterns, and they are all free! Henry's Bunny is the one my roommate has been doing. I told her she should also make the larger Henry's Rabbit and Spring Rabbit.

Here is the link:
Rabbit Hole - Woodsy Animals

Tatoulia, I hope you are recovering well now from the platelet donation. My uncle Jim was a 5-gallon blood donor before age 65 then did platelets after that. However, he got multiple myeloma cancer of the bone marrow. I wonder if he pushed his system too hard. Or it could've been completely unrelated.

Either way, he gave life to many people. He was such a good man. My mom's older brother. Died in 1998 and I miss him to this day. When I was a kid and we'd visit, he'd take me to the grocery store upon our arrival to pick out whatever breakfast cereal I preferred. Just those good host gestures that always made us feel so welcomed.

Okay, going to post this much now then return to reading posts. More later. Iced tea clinks!

Good Morning Everyone

Going to be another hot day here with no rain.
But the air is clear of smoke. :D

Didn't grocery shop this last week but I will force myself to go this next week.
I keep a running list of needed things, jot things down as I see I am low or out.
That list is getting scary long, might try to make it into 2 lists and go different days.
Cats need more of EVERYTHING and there are many non food items on the list too.

But it has been nice seeing open space in the pantry and fridge like in the "good" old days. ;p

Think I will play with beads again today. :)

Good Evening Everyone

WAY TO GO!!! WOOHOO! CriticalMass! :D
That's GREAT! Get angry with those items that are holding you back and keeping you down!
Only keep the items that truly add value to your life.

With my minimalism I am free to do whatever strikes my fancy.
No long drawn out sessions of sorting and arranging things that would eat up my free time.
Cleaning is easy.
I still have a lot but I use what I have.
Less is really so much more.

It makes me sad seeing how Steven is such a slave to all that useless hoard he has with absolutely no time to enjoy life.

Nothing in his hoard is helpful or useful to weather Covid or riots or store shortages.

Good luck getting the oil change and YES get that bike back and ready to ride! :D

Yep, for the first time in my life I am fat.
Stress, snacking and all that.
Lets promise each other September we will eat better and get more physical exercise, ok?


Hi Tatoulia
YEA! for Mom's cute haircut. ;)
WTG! starting another donation bag!
Looking forward to hearing your progress on the painting.

What a horrid ordeal you had.
(((((HUGS)))))
Please rest and drink plenty of fluids.
Watch your salt and potassium intake too.
Too little can cause such issues.
Hint, hint "Gatorade/Pedialyte".

Listening to CriticalMass is so motivating isn't it? :D

WTG CM! Amazing! I am so proud of you! I too am realizing the weight of my objects! A hearty congratulations on getting rid of those things and lightening your load! I will be lightening my load this weekend. And I'm excited about that.

You are my role model this weekend! 😀

STILL haven't had time to catch up on the posts like I want to, but I will. I enjoy them too much not to.

Yesterday I went to my storage unit to get out some murder mystery paperbacks I had decided I was probably not going to get around to reading. Ended up getting out several other items as well and taking them to thrift store. About 4-6 cubic feet total worth of stuff.

Starting to get further ideas about what will come out next and be rehomed. I'm in a sort of no-nonsense mood with items that have been the most difficult to decide about. All of a sudden I am really irritated with those items for being a burden on my mind and soul. So I targeted them first! It worked.

Covid and the other madness in the world seem to be shifting my perspective on what's important. Plus just the desire to only keep things that "spark joy" and to get rid of miscellaneous cluttery crap like papers.

Thinking about my minimalist life goal, and how I have felt the last year or two that I've gotten off track, had begun to wonder if maybe I didn't want it badly enough. Yesterday proved to me that from what I can tell, I still do; I was just a bit bogged down.

More BIG plans about that storage unit to come, I will detail as they unfold. Just have to see how my roommate's medical appointments get scheduled as that will be what we plan around.

Tomorrow my van needs its oil changed. I pray my guy doesn't forget me or get sidetracked. Also hoping to get my bicycle back from him, whether he has had time to fix it or not. If not, I'll take it somewhere and get it in good shape. I want to start riding in the fall.

My weight has been creeping up still. I won't deny I've been snacking, but I also think getting up early to go on the walks (and not having time for breakfast, and shifting my meals later) has not helped a lot, and maybe the stress has even been counterproductive. When cooler weather comes, if she doesn't have to go back to the office, she can walk the dog midday and then I might go some of the time again.

We are supposed to get some rain this weekend.

Hello everyone. Mom looked cute after her haircut. Donating platelets was an ordeal. I won't be able to do again. It's weird and uncomfortable in many, many ways. They are very nice and I was largely able to keep my discomfort to myself. But yikes.

I need to get bathroom panted and I need to reduce. Keep peeling the onion layers. I started another bag today.

It's 9 Pm. Have been in bed since I got home around 6. I did feed kitty first. I walked both ways. Ugh. It was too much of an ordeal. Tingling, feeling cold, then too hot, then legs cramping and the extreme nausea. Holy cow.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
HaHa :D
That's not the first time you told us about taking the trash out in your jammies.
With a mask and sunglasses nobody would ever know it was you. ;D

But what a hassle to have to walk all around the block to get to the dumpster.

We knew you weren't criticizing about the hammock. (((HUG)))

Good luck and have fun taking Mom for her haircut.
Best wishes for the blood donation and WTG! for walking there.

Many times just having a positive optimistic outlook when problem solving is the greatest tool in successfully completing the task.


Almost September already!
My goals for September would be to get out and clean up my garden.
But it's still 100 degrees around here.
So if it ever does cool off that's what I will do.

Subclinical has school work to get back into.
CriticalMass wants to do some storage sorting if it's cool and not raining.
What does Tatoulia want to tackle? Maybe getting the painting done?

I went full-on quarantine behavior this AM By putting a sweatshirt on over my pjs and walking out back to take out my garbage and recycling. With a mask and sunglasses. You have to understand I'm the third house in the block so I pass two other row houses, a cafe, then walk down the alley to take out my garbage. And it felt great!

Want to make sure that I wasn't criticizing the second hammock! I was thrilled as I know how much land and space you have, SubC. I was merely bragging at my memory skills. I am so happy for Mom! I know how staying in shape and taking cars of her body are important to her! I'd like a shot of that, if anyone could help me with that!

Tillie I too tend to stay positive. Especially in public. I'm the one at work who doesn't see a problem, who has something nice to say, etc. it's a lot of work and output for me sometimes and other times it's just perfectly natural and easy. I'm grateful you have the new seat. I can see where the duck tape would be aggravating for him enough to have him take action.

I take mom for her haircut today. Her appt is at 12:45 and I'll pick her up a bit early. It is a beautiful day with sunshine and low humidity. Two nights in a row where I slept with no AC.

After her haircut I'll start walking down to my blood donation appt. it's at 2:30 PM. It's about a mile from here.

Okay I'll ttyl. Let's do this! Whatever ?this' is!

Hi Subclinical

That is really great news about your Mom's bones!
WTG! Mom! Keep up the great job! :D

WTG! Subclinical for laundry, icecream mix and dishwasher loading!!!

Yes, I remember you lost your clothesline when the construction was going on.
What would it take to get the line back up?
You probably can't line dry in the wetter Winter months so lets keep this plan on the back burner for next Spring. :D

That huge hammock sounds like a lot of fun.
Great you already have some bolts for it too.

Good luck nibbling away on the menu tomorrow.
Sweet dreams :)


I was unfortunately born as one of those nauseatingly positive people.
Always looking for the tiniest bit of good in any situation.
Always being grateful for the lessons learned when things go bad.

Optimistic but realistic that things rarely go smoothly.
Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.


Scooter and I have reached a truce. He's so needy and clinging to me when I sleep or sit still.
Twinkles allowed me to brush his other side today AND allowed me to cut off three large mats.
Now both his sides are soft & smooth.
He still has some small mats on his belly from when he was sleeping out under the sage brush.

Quick bedtime check in.

Yes, I have a hammock - it is a lightweight nylon one that I like very much and packs away easily. I don't leave it set up, it hangs with straps and is more like a beach chair as far as use. The weight limit is 200lbs. This one is a big green rope one that will hold two adults or several kids easily. It needs bolts. I do love the idea of hammocks hung out at different points in the woods. We actually have bolts in trees at two locations.

Which leads me to - I hardly ever hang out my laundry any more. I would like to get back to that.

Also, I was glad when Tillie got rain and the smoke was gone and I liked the thought of fresh rain rinsed laundry. (Here it would never dry)

Tillie, you are always so positive! It helps remind me to count my blessings!

Mom got her bone scan back today and her bone density has actually increased! This is great! She has been worried because she can't go use the weight machines at the hospital. But she has been working hard to get exercise at home. Long walks and soup can lifts!

I snuck in another load of laundry, prepped ice cream to freeze tomorrow, and reloaded and started the dishwasher.

My menu is crowded tomorrow, but hopefully I will chew my way through it.

Hi Tatoulia
We cross posted. :D

He got the new toilet seat only because he was not happy using the duck taped one.
If he didn't mind he wouldn't have fixed it.
It's so nice!
It's securely bolted, smooth and not splintery & wobbly and no cracks where the wood pieces join together threatening to pinch you.

OK, I have to get the most out of every tiny scrap of positiveness. ;p

WAY TO GO! for easy laundry. Doing whatever as you travel through life. (((HUG)))
No drudgery and a nice fancy new machine too.

I do believe you are correct that Subclinical already has a hammock but she also has a whole forest full of trees and could easily use as many as she gets. ;)

YEA! for drinking extra water!
Sometimes we think we are hungry when we just really need a drink.

Good luck getting the trash out tomorrow and don't forget the kitty litter.

Good night, sweet dreams 🛏

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Subclinical

WTG! Dsil!
He cleaned out things he couldn't use and gifted you with some things you can use! :D

Those cat litter buckets are so sturdy and can have a million different uses.
I gave some of mine to Steven with orders to fill them with donations and move them along.
He did fill them but they are still here.

Good luck with your class materials lists and lesson plans.
Hoping the students will all be enthusiastic no matter all the newness of our new "normal".

Glad you got some good sleep and rest.
WTG! for doing the laundry, dishes and drying more beans. :D

Tillie, I am shocked that he got a new toilet seat! Of course it's not the one you wanted.

SubC good to catch up with you. I know you'll be missing your baby eggplant but how nice to have a little breathing room on getting your class materials together. Yay for a new hammock! I know this will sound weird but did you get a new hammock a few years back? It will be great to have another one set up! Unless my memory is crazy.

I didn't have to get BF lunch today, so I had a pretty uninterrupted day of working. I did go up to see him after work, I forgot to get kitty litter and then I forgot to take my garbage out before dark. So I'll get up early tomorrow to take care of all of this.

I'm tired again. Just had a chicken Caesar wrap from Whole Foods. Tasty. I'm drinking extra water now too. The day stayed pretty cool and was raining on and off. I was able to keep my windows open,

As soon as I get my laundry out of the washer and hang it, I can go to bed, I just did my towels and my bathrobe and then I put in a load of dark delicates. I did my light delicates last night. Still more laundry to do but I'm just going to do this for now, I like the more reasonable and easy going attitude I have now toward the laundry. I just do a load here or there and I wait til the afternoon to get started.

So much going on around here I don't have time to type everything I think at you.

CM, great for reorganization and downsizing! Hope the china shop is gone.

Tatoulia, I'm happy that things turned around with your mom and tgat the printer solution works.

Tillie, mixed feelings on the toilet, but very annoyed at scooter! Cats are ungrateful wretches.

Yesterday dsil spent some time cleaning out. He sent me home with nine empty cat litter buckets - which I need because many of my students did not return theirs after online classes, a hammock we have space to hang and they do not, and two cans of soup that Dh likes and Dd bought at the beginning of quarantine and is unlikely to eat.

Today I caught up on my rest. I did not realize how tired I still was from the weekend until I slept ten hours! Took it easy today - a load of laundry, a load of dishes, filled the dehydrator with beans.

I thought I was going to do the materials lists for my classes, but Dd asked me not to come tomorrow because they have had a lot of socially distanced/zoom visits this week and she wants some alone time with her boys. So I put them off until tomorrow. I have to get them out by tomorrow night, but they shouldn't be too hard.

I lost track of how I did with the food preservation - ok I think, but I haven't done any lesson plans yet.

Well, YEA!!!

He didn't mind when the toilet seat was twirling around on the one hinge.
I don't think he minded when the seat became totally detached.

But I guess he did mind the duck taped down seat, found it annoying and inconvenient.

There was a LOT of swearing and slamming around.
He finally went away in the truck and returned in over 2 hours with a new toilet seat.

He no longer was swearing or slamming things as he removed the old one and installed the new one.

Unfortunately it's not the white one I wanted, it's another "wood" one that I absolutely hate but for some reason he always prefers.

But at least it works properly.
Unfortunately the toilet still needs replacing because this one never really flushes and I have to use a bucket of water to get things to go down.

Plus from ages ago when he refused to replace the leaky wax seal
the floor all around the toilet needs replacing and is now just rotting wood that is impossible to ever clean.

But whenever I say something about fixing this mess he becomes so violent that I no longer mention it.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical

Hi CriticalMass

Hi Tatoulia
Hope you are all caught up on your sleep.
Wishing you well and that everything goes smoothly with the donating.
You should try eating a more balanced diet every day, I know, easier said than done. ;)

Hot glue guns are such wonderful inventions and make fixes quick & easy.
Without hot glue and duck (duct) tape I wouldn't be able to manage. ;D



Speaking of duck tape...
The toilet seat has been loose/wobbly at the back hinge for some time now.
The other night after Steven left the bathroom the right end of the hinge completely broke off.
Now the seat part has come completely loose but the lid/cover is still attached only on the left hinge.
Well, I need a seat that doesn't move around threatening to throw me off.
I got the duck tape and placed a long strip over the back of the seat and down the sides of the bowl.
Took another long strip and did the same along the front of the seat.
That toilet seat is now very firmly in place.

Now I could go and buy a new seat but my hands are not strong enough to remove the bolds from the old seat to get it out of the way to install the new one.
Been trying for many months to get Steven to help with this project but he refuses every time I bring it up.

Wonder how long this duck tape " Mickey Mouse" solution will remain in place.

So many house maintenance problems around here just like this and the house is deteriorating daily.

I'm sorry about your dress! What a shame.

I slept and slept yesterday. Really pathetic. I need to make sure I get a good balanced meal today and good sleep. I'm donating platelets tomorrow. Wish me well!

The tables are in a good spot to use for my printer. I would not have purchased them if not for the printer. They are nice and I'll use my glue gun (great suggestion, Tillie) to strengthen them.

Back to work. I'm exhausted but need to get BF his and my lunches today.

Hi Subclinical 🐐

Hi Tatoulia 🐱‍👤

Glad you have a nice place for the tables and like how they look.
WAY TO GO! for walking and remembering the most important Kitty food!

I also like to see pictures of people's decluttering efforts.
Before room/area pics are ok but only when later there are the after shots to enjoy.
I really like episodes of HOARDERS when they show the before, the clean up & fix up scenes and have the finished rooms featured at the end.
I daydream what it would be, could be here.

Have done diddly squat today.
The hose is very slowly running in a tree well.
Fed & fresh watered cats and brushed Twinkles, but only his left side since he refused to roll over.
Having an argument with Scooter because yesterday I discovered him hanging by one paw with his claws stuck in my good dress.
Now it has a nasty tear.

Cm! The new ovens on their shelf are absolutely perfect! That shelf is very nice! I wish you'd taken a picture of the four boxes of knickknacks. If you did, would you consider posting? Would be soothing for me to see someone else's stuff going out. I am grateful you'll be able to worship this week.

I had sugar for lunch and now I'm jittery and tired.

Tillie I will look for Corey's videos! What's shame with what happened last night and I'm sorry you saw it. I went straight to bed after happy hour with my friends.

I put the nesting tables in front of the fireplace and they look good. I move them closer to the desk when I'm printing. They look remarkably nice where they are.

I can't remember how the lamp came. If I'm pretty sure I had to assemble it to some extent.

I really need a massage but am not yet ready to go for one. I'd also like to have a reflexology session.

Got two walks in today. Did get the kitty food for my little buddy. I adore her.

Very nice CriticalMass.
Did she already have the wire shelf?
What a nice way to save counter space and looks like there is plenty of space there for the rack.

WAY TO GO! dropping off all those donations!
Hope you get the cooler weather you need and have the free time to start on sorting out the storage. :D

Yes, go to the Mass and pray and meditate. 🕯

Yeah, things are pretty depressing at times.
Best to limit any news watching to just the basic necessities.
Unfortunately I was watching a live stream from Kenosha Wisconsin last night when a shooting took place.
There were police in riot gear, national guard, armed citizen militia, vandalizing fire starting groups and people trying to peacefully protest.
A 17 year old male thought he could just open fire on people with his rifle.

Things have got to change.


The wind has picked up nicely here and it's coming from the South.
So it's clearing away the western smoke.

Hi all,

Hope everyone is hanging in okay. I was pretty bummed early in the day yesterday about all the anarchy and violence in our country. Like about to go into a serious depression bummed. :(

It lifted somewhat later. At 6:00 this evening I'm going to a mid week Mass and prayer time the church has started having. That should keep me uplifted and as hopeful as one can get these days.

A good thing roommate and I did that we just got back from - we dropped the old microwave at recycling, and 4 boxes of her knick knacks at the thrift store! :) I took a pic for IG of the new microwave and toaster oven on their wire shelving.

It's still hot but by Saturday should drop. Possibly with precipitation, which we desperately need. If the temps are lower next week I may start sorting a few things in the storage unit.

Good Morning Everybody
☕

Hi Tatoulia
How wonderful to have cool clear air! :D
Still in the 100s here daily and the air is a bit smokier today.

What an easy fix that printer was!
So happy you don't have to look at it all the time. :D
You have been working so hard for so long to get your home to look "just right" and a printer did not match the décor.

Hope the lamp is easy enough to disassemble and get to the car.
What have you decided for the two small nesting tables you just bought?
Twinkles loves his stepstool and every morning now he is laying on the window ledge looking at the birds.
So happy I found it for him. :D

Don't forget to buy Kitty food or you will be in big trouble 😺
Hope now that it's cool you get in many miles walking.
The mask should not be too annoying on cool days. :D

Glad I took advantage of the fresher air to get caught up on the laundry.
Even the stuff that got rained on smelled fresh & clean and just right.
The air smells too smoky to hang out wash this morning.

All chewed up with skeeter bites from going out late to water things.
Need to remember to use repellant. 🦨🦟

Good morning Tillie! We have plenty of fresh air here! It is 65F and lovely. I'm so cold! What a dream!

I'd love to get a lobster roll with you!

So happy to hear that the air is cleared and you have clean laundry around your house! So lovely!

Well pulling the printer out and stowing it back away is a dream come true. It's easy to do and mentally just what I need.

I'm going to put on a light sweatshirt and go buy kitty food.

Yes the more I walk the better I do. We are getting there! I'll disassemble the lamp this weekend and get it in the car. Bye bye bad lamp.

Hi Tatoulia
Very glad you walked!
You always seemed to be better physically and mentally/emotionally when you were walking regularly.

YEA! for consigning the bad feelings lamp!!!
Hope you can put the money from it into some savings or loan payment.

I want a lobster roll... :(


Anyways, I washed all my clothes are they are hanging to dry in my room.
Then I washed the couch quilt, then a load of rags.
It dried quickly out on the line.
The air still smells clean and there is only a very thin amount of smoke.

The lightning last night didn't spark any fires around here.
Watching episodes of HOARDERS on Youtube.

Hello everyone! Good to see that things are on a positive upswing for everyone right now.

A friend (the one I go visit at her house) had an eye appointment yesterday afternoon downtown so afterward she picked me up and we parked then walked around the city. It was delightful. And the first I've walked that much in a very long time. Then we drove up to visit BF then I went to mom's and got her nightgowns. I'd also purchased her some jams while out and BF sent her and the concierge at her building a piece of cake each. Then I continued to walk despite the heat and humidity because I haven't done 10,000 steps in a long, long time and I wanted to get those in. What a good feeling. Then I arrived home around 9 o'clock and I washed mom's nightgowns. Really terrific night.

Today I dropped off two of her nighties as the short ones had dried overnight. I bought BF's lunch then back to work, it's been a pretty good day but I'm tired. I just made some coffee. I have a happy hour with two girlfriends tonight. Via zoom.

I took pictures of my floor lamp and the consignment shop said they'd sell it for me! This isn't about the money. I'll be happy if my cut is $30.

Okey dokey kids I have more work to do!

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Zucchinis.
You check the garden every day and everything is good.
But the next day you walk out there and there is a gigantic zucchini that wasn't there yesterday! ;D

Happy everyone did safe distancing and you don't have to quarantine.

YEA! all that recycling is out of your basement and your life!!!
Nice to have that free space back down there.

Sweet of your Aunt to mail you the items your Grandmother made.

That was so rude that he cut your tree.
I've had that happen here too and there was no reason for him to cut my trees.
Plus he also stole my pruning saw.

Happy you can now get back into your routine.
You were doing fantastic with putting up foods and washing dishes so you could mess them up again. :)


Hi CriticalMass
WTG! Roommate!
Seems that new toaster convection oven has really motivated her.

Wonderful the Bunny Club made it's goal with the online sales.
Good to hear your Bunny is eating better now (((HUG)))

Best wishes figuring out your computer stuff & needs.


Last afternoon yesterday we got a surprise cloudburst with big fat rain drops.
Lasted about a minute and a half.
Later that evening I decided to wash a load of towels and wash cloths since the air smelled so fresh & clean.
Hadn't done laundry since before all that wildfire smoke so I had a lot and the weather forecast said 2% chance of rain.
Had it all out on the clothesline.
About 11pm there was another cloudburst and this time it rained for over 10 minutes.
Didn't rush out to get the laundry down, there was too much hung out and the big fat drops were coming down hard & fast.
Will get out and bring in the laundry soon as I get off the computer, it will be dry.

I have fallen very far behind.

The weekend went ok. Safe practices were observed. Dd2's bf is very nice.

I need to get a very tall ladder and fix a tree next to my driveway because fil climbed on top of his RV and cut it off blunt so that it wouldn't touch the roof. (Alternative - Park on a different part of the driveway) "I just cut that tree back a little. You're going to want us to be able to come back and park here anyway." (Am I?)

Mil kindly took four bags of recycling that I can't recycle here with her to toss in my son's bin in Wisconsin. (It was stored in my basement) I also gave her a very large Tupperware bin that made her happy and I don't really use.

My aunt has mailed me two throw pillows and a knitted throw my grandmother made. I told her that I wanted them and I had a plan, but on arrival they are more complicated than I expected and I have set them aside in my guest room for Now.

Bean is still growing like a zucchini.

Families are complicated.

Well, I'm still behind because of another migraine. I wondered why I was insanely fatigued and craving all sorts of carbs. Now I know.

My roommate has gone on a purging spree on account of the new toaster convection oven! It needed a certain amount of space around for safety, and bibbity bobbity boo she starts downsizing a lot of dishes and knick knacks in her china hutch and on some shelves.

She had been working on getting stuff into a donation box before. I took one box and she got some more boxes. This will no doubt inspire me to do more of my own decluttering!

The kitchen and dining room look like a glassware shop at the moment. I have a feeling we will be getting takeout tonight.

The bunny club had a Facebook Live online auction yesterday and made our financial goal.

My bunny girl is steadily improving, definitely has her enthusiasm back for her vegetables and is starting on rabbit pellets so I will just be a helicopter mom and be sure she is back to 100% but I think we're getting there.

The computer backup thingy I did the other day was not perhaps the success I'd anticipated; when I originally "backed up my hard drive" I guess that didn't include everything like the operating system software. (Don't worry about figuring out all this terminology gobbledy gook - I just knew what questions to ask my IT gal friend and I think I know what I did wrong, LOL.)

Interestingly enough, though I'm disappointed it wasn't what I had hoped, I'm not angry as I might've been at one time. There may be a few useful things, but I feel accepting. Ready to move on and forget having regrets. Somehow it'll work out.

I've got a lot to do and some decisions to make in terms of getting my current laptop to meet my needs, and perhaps buying a cheap 10" tablet since my 7" one is getting full and old. Plus some list making for my projects so I don't have to try and hold them all in my brain.

Things are changing - Facebook is changing its formatting so I may do less with my groups there, and that may spur me to channel time and energy back into my blogging, and of course novel writing.

Not a bad thing at all, as I've neglected those a lot in favor of FB groups, but I was enjoying connecting with people who share my interests. Maybe I'll even buy a domain or two and start a website. Not right now, though. Catching up is the name of the game at the moment.

Weather is going to be icky hot this week but maybe better by the weekend. Of course with the smoke and the hurricanes, things are not set in stone. The other night we had a red sun setting against pink clouds, and I think some of the smoke from CA had made it all the way here.

Playing catch up this week I hope will include finally getting caught up on everyone's posts here! What a crazy month August has been.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Tatoulia

YEA! for a fresh clean white quilt! :D
Amazing how just one fresh clean thing in a room can make such a big difference.

Still that thin smoke smell in the air so I'm still waiting to do laundry.
It's a nasty smelling smoke, not like a pine fire.

I never wear a mask when outside. Just right before I enter a shop.
But I am never near people as I walk through the parking lot, much more than 6 feet away from anyone.
Soon as I exit the store I remove the mask.
But I don't live in a big city bustling with lots of people.
On a hot city sidewalk in the Summer heat that must be torture. ((((HUGS))))


Been cooking today...
Just to get food ready and make use of what I have on hand.
Seasoned and browned hamburger to add to something when I decide I want to eat it, it's in the freezer now.
Cooked Italian sausages for sandwiches. Might have that tonight & tomorrow.
Lots of space in the fridge & freezer for new food now.
Kitchen is a terrible mess but I am resting a little before I get to cleaning it up.
Still have a very good selection of things in the pantry to make lots of different dishes.

Glad you could get a bit of air, Tillie. Yes get groceries this week. It'll be nice to get some fresh food in the house.

I tried to call mom earlier so I could pick up her nighties to wash but she didn't answer. It is very hot and humid today. So hard to walk with a mask on. I stopped at BF's to grab a sandwich and now I'm back. I washed my thin white quilt today and it looks so clean!

Good Morning Everyone
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
Happy you have survived without the chocolate icecream.
I ran out of it last week and have been suffering. LOL

That is so wonderful that you are now able to see how that lamp is a negative with bad emotions connected to it.
We should NEVER keep anything around us that has bad emotions/energy connected to it.
Same goes for humans too.

So many thrift shops don't take books any more.
The local library here has a book store where they sell used books and also have their annual huge book sale at a dollar a bag full to make money for the library.
Also many neighborhoods now have those tiny take a book/leave a book libraries set up in tiny "boxes" as a good way to recycle books.

Wonderful you and BF dressed up and went out for dinner.
That was so nice of the Chef to wait for you. :D

I don't know why so many mothers are not happy when their children are doing well and have made a good life for themselves.
No matter how miserable I am, I am always genuinely very happy to see others, especially young people, doing well and happy with the life they have made for themselves.
Some humans are always just too critical and negative, like my muther was.

Hope Miss Kitty was alright with the storm and got over her scare. (((HUGS))) Kitty.
Twinkles and Scooter are doing so much better since I opened the windows for them yesterday.
The house all shut up tight is too depressing for all of us.

WAY TO GO! for doing trash, laundry and decluttering!!! :D

Good luck with taking Mom for her haircut and especially on donating your platelets.
Request the ice packs, don't just wait for them to be offered. ;)

Very thin hazy bit of smoke this morning.
Never cooled off over night from the 104F degrees yesterday.
But I am feeling a bit more energetic today and the coughing has been better.
Should go grocery shopping this week, I'm out of so many things but I really don't want to go.

Coffee clinks!

It's trash and recycling night and I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can work on to make my life more pleasant.

I will send pictures of my lamp to the consignment shop. I am stunned, as I peel away the layers of the onion, to see that some things cause me unconscious stress. Like this lamp. Someone had given me a large gift certificate to Bloomingdales and that's how I bought this lamp at least 20 years ago. Well this person had taken advantage of me (and I let it happen, my younger self was complicit) and the lamp has been stressing me out. Never knew it before.

I scheduled a haircut for my mom on Friday. I'll take her before my platelets donation. I hope the platelets go better than the last blood donation. And I hope they give me those ice packs again. So soothing.

Ok I talked to mom. I was nice and cheerful and made her laugh. I'm craving chocolate ice cream but I've found that I dint actually die without it. Who knew?

Hello everyone. But of a rough weekend.

The positives: I got rid of my childhood books. Goodwill didn't want them so I found a place that would take them and I dropped them off. I donated two bags to goodwill. I photographed a lamp that I will either give to BF or consign. I didn't realize that secretly the lamp is causing me stress. No need to discuss details. I did mom's grocery shopping today. BF took me for dinner last night and even though the kitchen closes at 9:30 due to COVID-19 I called to ahead and they asked the chef to keep the kitchen open. It's our go-to place. We had the salmon and it was tasty. I showered and put on a dress and makeup and everything. Pretty nice.

The negatives: my mother is depressed and she lashed out at me last night and was pretty crappy and it reminded me that I've had decades of her guilting me because I have a nice life. I called bf afterward and that's when he said, let's go for dinner tonight. I still wasn't able to speak with my mom today. I'd forgotten that I'd undergone decades of this depression and anger. Couple that with my brother is trying to suck me back in and making demands and I'm pretty tired of having a lousy family. I kept pretty ok with mom til she started in on how I have a bf and I'm not trapped and I have friends and I told her, I'm alone 24 hours a day and I've seen bf for a total of three hours in the last month and that's been to run errands. She called me while I was at the grocery store and she apologized to me. I told her I was doing her groceries and I'd call her back. I still don't want to call her to talk tonight. I know she received her groceries and I just don't want to talk.

We are having huge thunderstorms and some rain but I don't know if it will be enough rain. I'm doing a quick load of pjs and they are in the dryer. Then I will shower and climb into bed. Kitty is very frightened, the poor little thing.

Congratulations on the new oven and getting your computer work done, Cm. Tillie I am worried. Grateful you got to see a patch of blue sky today.

Good Morning

Smoke is thin enough I can have the window open this morning!!!

Still going to be excessively hot today again.
The winds in California are blowing the smoke there North for now instead of East toward me.
So that makes it much better. :)

Kitchen is still clean. Been washing dishes as the cats & I dirty them.

Still too smoky to hang out wash.
Even this thin smoke will cling to things.

Really should vacuum and dust today.

Hi CriticalMass
Wishing Bunny Girl feels better very soon.🐰

Your Petunias are so lovely and such a variety of colors and shades. 🌺

WOW! a toaster convection oven!
Hope that inspires you two to prepare healthy gourmet meals all the time. 🥘🍲🍷

YEA! for getting the computer back up task done.
WTG! for keeping at it all that time. 🖥


Soon I will go outside and water the garden.
There is no breeze at all so it's still too hot. :P

Poor Scooter, and Tillie, and poor people where those fires are and wherever the effects are being felt.

This, I hope, will be my last hurry hurry post for awhile. Because some things are resolving themselves.

My girl bunny is a little under the weather but not seriously I hope. She will eat hay but not her kibble or veggies. Yet she fights like a velociraptor if I try to hand feed her the sick bunny hay mush food. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We got the microwave running fine. I checked the GFCI but actually what had happened was there was a grounded plug that my roommate forgot on the wall closer to the microwave cart, so that was the one to use. It was hard to reach, so I think she just didn't get the plug all the way in at first.

Not only that - but as we were looking at the microwaves she had gotten interested in those larger toaster convection ovens, and yesterday we ended up going back to purchase one of those to replace the small toaster oven! It's going to open up new possibilities.

And just now I was finally getting the backup from the computer external hard drive task completed after several days of trying. What a relief!

So, some logjams clearing away, and the prospect of much progress ahead, just got to get miss bunny back to normal.

Mornin... 🥱

Very quiet out there.
Not even the birds are making any sounds.

There are 560 fires burning in California.
At least another week of smoke coming my way.

Scooter is either very depressed or not feeling well, maybe both. He doesn't want to play with the toys and spends lots of time in the corner.
His eyes are very sore.

Laundry pile is growing taller.
But the kitchen is still clean.

At least it's been cooling off over night.
A pleasant 70F degrees in here at 8:45am. 😉

Good Afternoon Everyone

I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
All animals have fresh water in clean bowls.

At 3:30pm I peaked out at the thermometer and it's 104F. :P

No wonder it's a little bit warm in here 76F degrees
but that's still a really good temperature. :D

House is all dark with the heavy insulated drapes closed.
Windows are all closed tight keeping smoke out.
The cats are all sleeping.

Will lay low in here until it cools down out there. ;)

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Sure Tatoulia!
I have the ice cold pitcher right here.
And the deviled eggs are so good too. :)

No wonder you thought it was Marty since he became so sickly and I was always nursing him near the end.

So nice that you have cooler days mixed with the hot days.
You get a break and get your energy back up.

WAY TO GO!
Letting go of those books is so wonderful!
Things like that can be so hard and now you have changed so much you could do it so easily! (((HUG)))

So sweet of you to gift the ladies with pretty fashionable tote bags.
YEA! for continuing to fill donate bags too!

I'm sure you already have the perfect purse to start using.
When I don't have to drive or need a purse for my wallet and shopping list I really enjoy not carrying a purse. :D
I only have one purse, a handmade tooled leather one I bought from the Guy who made it back in the late 1970s.


There is a thick smoke weather/health alert for the next 24 hours.
I sound like a virus victim with the horrible way I am coughing.
Glad I don't have to go out in public and scare everyone.
But they are all probably coughing too.
The high dry heat and heavy smoke is making me so weak and tired.
Praying for rain.
Roku is heaven sent to help pass the time until Autumn.
No ambitious plans until sundown when I will water the grass.

Tillie deviled eggs sound so delicious! What a treat! Oour me a glass of iced tea if you don't mind!

I had the wrong cat! Poor Scooter. You are so good to him, soothing his eyes.

It's amazing how much better I feel without that pathetic eyesore of a printer. I feel so much better!

Our heat will be creeping back up today. That's okay. I enjoyed our cooler days and am grateful for them,

I need to get to goodwill to this weekend, I went through two boxes of books in BF's basement, They are books from my childhood with an overarching theme of cats. Little golden books and others. I didn't even keep one, They are in the car now and ready to be donated. About five years ago, I went through the box and was having problems. So he brought up a box and it took me not even four minutes. Then he brought another one up and that took even less time, so I need to donate those ASAP. They are in my car. I'll carrying the clothes up today too.

I had ordered tote bags for a couple of the neighborhood ladies who sit outside and watch the world go by, I dropped them off at one lady's house last night. She'll be stoop sitting with the other lady tonight so they'll have their tote bags. They had admired my tote bag and when I told them that the artist had redone them in a more inclusive fashion by using a dark skinned woman figure, I asked them if I could treat them to the tote bags. So that was great fun, I like the dark skinned woman version better but alas I need no more tote bags so I will enjoy my original one til it's time to pass it along.

I have two other tote bags to wash and donate in my batch of things. I'm going to have to start carrying a purse again. I need to up my game. I'll feel better.

Okay back to work. Today started with a 9 AM meeting.

Hi Tatoulia

WAY TO GO! with laundry and mailing packages and working on another donation bag!

Amazing on how just removing an eyesore can improve outlooks so much.

Marty had healthy eyes.
It's Scooter who has the weak sickly eyes and they are looking so painful today.
I soothe them with a cool wet washcloth and he just lays there appreciating it.
He has been keeping his eyes closed as much as possible, cuddling and napping.

Have fun doing your laundry :D
Mine is starting to pile up because I won't hang it out in the smoke.
I'm really looking forward to when I can freshen up my blanket.
Sharing the blanket with Scooter every night it needs regular washing. 😾

I made deviled eggs using up my last 7 eggs.
Then I decided I needed to eat so had an English muffin.
Need to brew more raspberry zinger tea with some fresh squeezed lemon now.
So refreshing ;D

I thought I had posted earlier today but apparently I had not. Probably something I started but didn't finish.

Am doing a bit of laundry now. Sheets. Good to get those done. I do love my new washer.

SubC glad that you have been able to work things out so that you won't have to lose out on seeing the baby!

Cm good luck with the microwave.

So I am keeping up with things pretty well right now. I took a package to ups to send off and I'm making another bag of donations. I might run the donations up to the car tonight.

I'm doing better these days, which I completely attribute to having the printer out of my way.

Tillie, I remember how you used to take care of Marty's eyes with the smoke and fire.

Good Afternoon Subclinical

So happy your Dd's talked things over!
I do understand the in-laws coming being a downer.
At least they will have the RV.

WAY TO GO! for all those beans dehydrating and icecream mix cooling.

LOL yes, company coming we need to remember to dress adequately. :D

Goats are the best way to control weeds and grasses.
Would be nice if people returned to simpler solutions and away from damaging chemical use.

After the final late Autumn cutting of the alfalfa here the ranchers/farmers fill the fields with cattle who munch the alfalfa down, churn up the soil with their hooves and drop fertilizer all around.


Fed cats & refilled water bowls.
Haven't done much else.
Have the house all buttoned up tight and drapes shut.
2pm so I guess I will get moving now. ;)