Hi Tatoulia
LOL :D
Your post made me wonder how many clowns you could hold in your trunk?
YES! get that crock pot put back into use!
So many hearty nutritious meals to keep you warm and happy this Winter. ;D
WAY TO GO! for this fantastic start on clearing out the trunk.
Hope you don't find any clowns or marionettes in there.
;P

Tillie! WTG for all you accomplished despite the miserable weather!

Remember when I vowed to clean out the trunk of my car? I swear it was a challenge in September a few years back. I think LR was involved. Well I started on it today. (Sheepish smile).

I took two bags of things from the house to goodwill today, and a third bag of stuff from my trunk, including stuff I'd bought at goodwill but never used. See what a slug I am? BF helped me gather up a huge trash bag of my brother's mail, which I will now shred and get out tonight. I also got my crock pot out of the trunk. It has been sitting there for about a year, ever since I lent it to brother. Hopefully I can start cooking nice fall dishes soon.

I'm going to get to work on brother's mail now. There is still tons of stuff in trunk. I'm trying to only bite off what I can chew right now.

Hello Everyone :D

Hi Subclinical :)
Hope your kitchen is getting all back together.
It's reasonable to fall behind on our goals when there are special events going on.
We all knew you would be keeping some souvenirs (((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia :)
Your plans for Kitty are GREAT!
She should be just fine except for the part where she misses your cuddles.
Have a WONDERFUL! time and enjoy yourself (((HUGS)))
WGT! for all your doings in preparation for the trip and especially for that rug plan!

Been watering stuff and also treated the ants to their new poison.
Didn't do the trees cause it got too hot and heavy feeling out.
Maybe tomorrow morning while it's still cooler?
One chrysanthemum plant has been looking bad and I have been trying to help it and today I saw it had fallen over.
All it's roots have been eaten off by a disgusting ugly big fat grub. :(
Tossed the grub out in the driveway to die and replanted the chrysanthemum and gave it lots of water with plant food.
Maybe it can recover.
Anyways I am staying inside now with the cooler running and plenty of ice tea.
"CLINK!" :D

I'm doing it! I wrapped up my rug and will take out back tonight for garbage. Might ask one of the guys upstairs to help me.

Have a lot to do. I need to clear out car trunk so mom's wheelchair will fit.

Going to keep working here til I've had enough then will head to car. Wish I could get one more laundry done but I can hear someone is using it when I open my door so it may have to be late tonight. I am going in to office tomorrow. So tonight's my only chance to get things done.

Take good care of yourself, Tillie! I know you are mindful and careful with your health but still I worry.

It is sunshine, sunshine, sunshine today. I've had a cup of coffee--first one in a long time (it's been iced tea weather) and boy am I buzzing around here! I am polishing silver and dusting and getting ready for my road trip with mom. Mom is pretty excited too and my sister is being great and kind! I bought a jigsaw puzzle and I have two Sunday NYtimes puzzles to do with my friend and her husband. I took mom an overnight bag yesterday when I dropped off her dinner. She is very, very excited.

Tillie, I am going to feed kitty wet food Wednesday AM and leave her three bowls of water and three of cereal. (She generally has two and two). BF will stop in on Thursday to give her canned food. He will check her cereal levels and will replace all the waters with new clean bowls. I'll be home by dinner time on Friday. I think that will be sufficient but wanted to double check with you. I have her winter bed out and she is sleeping in it/now that it is cooler. I'll leave a light on in the back of the house and keep the front dark. I have an alarm system that is always on. I'm going to change the batteries today just so we don't get any false alarms while I'm gone.

SubC of course you can keep a wedding memory box!

CM I love your plans to make quilts and donate them. Your craftsmanship and creativity will be rewarded with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment!

Hello to Anony and Joan! And everyone else! We can do this!

Tillie, I am sorry the heat made you sick! Be careful of those ants!

Tatoulia, I'm glad you are enjoying your new washing machine option.

We are mostly cleaned up from the wedding weekend festivities. I haven't met my clean kitchen goals for the 100 day challenge the last two days though.

I need to get back on top of it because I go back to work tomorrow!

I have a box of wedding souveniers that I'm going to keep. Not too big a box, but still. Dh uncle brought some special family items to give to dh and my kids, and mom brought my dd some dishes, but those are not my concern.

Hello! :D

Hi Tatoulia :)
I always sort laundry too for color and fabric.
When I wash a bunch of cat stuff I always have to run the machine empty afterward to help clean out all the fur even though I shake out everything before I wash it.
Wonderful that you are having a beautiful rainy day.
WTG! for sleeping all day and are now ready to boogie to some tidying music! :D

Today was officially 101 degrees.
Clouds and gobs of sticky humidity.
It has made me physically ill.
Had some plans for today but decided to not do anything.
Did take a nap. :)
All the cats have been lazy and napping today too.
Tomorrow is not supposed to be so hot & humidity miserable.
I'll do things tomorrow.
I was going to use a new ant killing poison on the 3 big ant hills.
Those ants have a bite/sting that leaves you bruised and in agony for weeks.
I have been trying to kill these ants for over 20 years and nothing ever works.
One year Steven dug down deep into one ant hill, poured a gallon of gasoline into the nest, lit it on fire.
It burned underground for days but didn't bother the ants at all.
Also was going to put some tree killing stuff along the fence where the small trees are starting to grow where I don't want any trees growing.
Yeah, tomorrow I can kill ants & trees. ;D

Congratulations to SubC and CM! So proud of you and so happy for you!

Great to catch up with you!

I have the music on and am going to do some cleaning while kitty is awake. And yes I'm doing laundry. I love those machines downstairs. I can do bigger loads now but I still separate by color and material--still do sheets separate from towels due to the disparity in the fabrics.

Ok, let's see what I can do tonight, slept all day. Rainy beautiful day for it.

Hi Subclinical :)

What a wonderful time you had!
So happy everything went so nicely.
(((HUGS)))

CM,

It is fantastic that you are getting your move done! And yes, it is one decision at a time and you don't gave to make them right now. For now, it is incredible just to try everything moved. If anything gets discarded along the way, that is just icing.

My son's wedding was wonderful last night!

There is a bunch of cleaning up to do from the brunch, but very little trash! We just had people take their plates to the kitchen (we used a mix of "disposable" plastic and real because the sausage was too hot for the plastic plates) and my caterer friend loaded my dishwasher. The food was so good there was none to notice left on the plates. So we had about half a package of used paper napkins and some plastic the food was covered by. The napkins could really be in the compost or burned, but I will be ok throwing them in the trash.

There has been so much love around me all weekend.

Hi CriticalMass :)

Yes, you only need to sort it all out one box/one decision at a time.
Great idea spreading that Diatomaceous Earth.
So happy for you (((HUGS)))
You have been wanting and needing this for so long.
:D

Hi Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Yes, cats are sometimes sneaky about where they throw up.
Happy the spread is all better now. ;)
My cats are helping me wash the carpet here one small area at a time by never throwing up in the same spot. LOL

Hi Joan :)
Happy you finally got your soup! :D
Hoping your new yoga teacher is everything you need.
(((hugs)))

Hi CriticalMass :)
Love your HAPPY DANCE! :D
WAY TO GO!!! for all your storage re-doing!
Really glad the van no longer has all that extra stuff in it. WONDERFUL!
About ginger...
Before I started using it there were mornings when I could not stand or walk.
Started using fresh ginger root and have not had one bad day since.

Well...
the Burning man festival is going on.
Been watching a live stream of the festivities on youtube.
They just now finished burning the man.
I live very close to this event in the Black Rock Desert.
We are the biggest town/last stop before the area so we get to see all the people coming and leaving.
They say there are about 70 thousand participants this year.
They burn down the temporary town structures/artwork that they build for this festival.
Just what I need, more smoke...
I would sooooo go to this event but I would dry up and die out there in the barren desert under the relentless sun during the day.
Nathan asked me once what it was like back in the "Hippie Days" and I said you had to be there to really understand.
Then I sent him to Burning Man so he would know.
When he came home he said I was right, there is no way to really understand until you live it.
He had so much fun he went six more times. :D

Right now the old storage unit definitely looks like "There appears to have been a struggle." The good news is more of the good shelves are at the new unit.

I want to clean the dust off them and sweep out dead bug carcasses. We put down Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth to organically deal with the bugs, They're some kind of black beetle type things. Fewer spiders than at the old place, which is good. Will get some sticky traps too.

Some emotions of overwhelm looking at the stuff from off the shelves - it looks like a ton of stuff when it's not as stashed away. I look at it and see a million decisions to be made. then I remind myself that I only have to make one decision at a time.

Happy Labor Day Weekend. everyone! Joan, glad you are popping by. Yay for the healing and I will continue to pray for you.

Tillie, ginger is SO good for inflammation, isn't it. I like to munch on the crystallized ginger chunks or Gin-Gin candies which are more like taffy. It was helpful back when I had thumb tendonitis.

Well, Day 1 of the Great Storage Unit Move went pretty well! I got some of the lighter shelving set up myself, though I'm not putting items on it yet since there are more shelves to come and I'll need to figure out what should go where.

I brought over several tubs with family memorabilia - feels so good to have that closer by. Also my good craft stuff like my polymer clay molds and rubber stamps, and the yarn and fabric that made the cut during the time I was downsizing those. I have been carrying fabric and ribbon in the van for over 2 years so that got offloaded as soon as I was able to get into the unit. Eventually it will be all together and accessible, and I'll complete the projects with it then no longer maintain much "stash" of those things.

I have learned from one of my quilt guild members of a couple of charities that I can do quilts for later on - lap size for cancer patients and baby quilts for crisis pregnancy center. This will let me have the fun of making quilts without creating excess stuff in my own life to deal with, and help others - everybody wins! The yarn will be knitted and crocheted for charities also.

Today will probably be the biggest push with the move; my friend with a pickup truck and dolly, and my roommate as a helper, and we should be able to get the shelving over and any things I'd need help lifting.

The rest will just be "batting cleanup" - it's the stuff that will be the most tedious. From greeting cards to stuffed animals to odds and ends that one keeps because of some attachment or for Justin Case - but the secret for me is to separate a bit from the herd at a time and deal with it. Divide and conquer.

I'd show you my Happy Dance, but since I'm not the most graceful person I don't want anyone to injure themselves laughing. Simply imagine a crazy gal doing some combination of an Irish jig and John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" while swatting at a fly and you have the basic idea. LOL!

A cup of miso soup sounds so good, Joan! Glad to hear you are keeping your focus! I know it's hard work--I'm cheering you on!

I ended up doing laundry til after midnight. The bedspread took forever. But it's clean, folded and put away til next summer, so actually maybe kitty did me a favor (look how I'll twist anything to defend her).

Have a great day everyone!

Oh, thsnk you, Tat.

Yes, I am still here. Big transition for me is winding up. I just focus on my routine. Hoping that soon I can do regular stuff that most everyone takes for granted.

Got myself some instant miso soup this week, and some wakame to put in it. Have wanted it for years. Have some somewhere in the dining room, but it is buried. Was too sick to chase down which store(s) carries it and the wakame before this week and last week. Very much enjoyed a couple of mugs of it this afternoon. Good for settling the stomach.

Early call tomorrow, going to yoga class. My teacher is retiring the end of this month (sniff‼️) and a new teacher is sitting in who will "take over" October 1. Big change for me. I really depend on that class.

Wishing everyone well. Hi Tillie! Hi Anony! Hi Porter!

So happy for you, CM! And wishing you good health, good weather and much strength as you make the switch over! I am very excited for you!

Tillie it feels like fall here. I'm pretty excited about that. Doing laundry tonight. I put a load in the washer as soon as I got home (about 20 minutes ago) without realizing that a tiny cat threw up on my bedspread today. I've had her 12 years now, she frequently vomits, but only three times in my bed in all these years. Not bad. I wish I had discovered that before I put my laundry in--I would've made my bedspread the first thing in the washer tonight. So I guess I'm resigned to doing two loads tonight/not as easy as when my own washer was working. I do believe my bedspread will fit in our washer, as it is large.

That's the news for me tonight. I hope everyone is doing well. Special shout-out to Joan!

Hi CriticalMass :)
YIPPPPEEEEE!!!! HOORAY!!!!!
HAPPY DANCE!
Now you be very careful, don't move too fast or strain anything.
Just take it slow and easy & not over do.
So happy for you! :D
Wonderful that the trip and funeral and all that was pleasant.
I believe that most everybody is hoping and praying for all the people in the path of this storm (((HUGS)))

Hi Porter :)
My tongue has severe freezer burn from eating raspberry sherbet.
But it is sooooo good I just couldn't stop.
WTG! for getting a good start on that basement! :D
I have found that taking fresh ginger root, cutting it up and simmering it in water for a long time then using the ginger water to brew my tea has greatly helped reduce the pain and immobility of my arthritis.

Hi Subclinical :)
WAY TO GO!!! for all the cleaning & clearing you two have done!
Little random plants "weeds" make great ground cover to help sop up the muddy water and also keep down the dust.
Thank you (((HUGS))) but don't worry, I have pretty things to help cheer me against the horror of the filthy hoard that surrounds my tiny oasis of tranquility.
Two of my lamps are Tiffany and I own some of my Great Grandmother's crystal and furniture.
I keep brightly colored quilts draped over things
to brighten areas and snuggle with in Winter.
The rag rugs I made last Winter are very cheerful and useful.

Hi Tatoulia :)
Hoping you got the cat supplies.
VERY dangerous to ever run out of cat stuff! ;P
Yes, my new curtains make me smile whenever I see them.


LAST DAY OF AUGUST 2017...
Did some watering this morning.
Just sorta kinda been hanging out around here.
I can see, smell, feel and taste Autumn.
Been a heck of a rough Summer for me but I still hate to see it go.
Guess that's why I'm sorta melancholy.

Once again, I must post without having caught up, which I like to do. But this is a busy week - in a good way.

I'll just say that my trip couldn't have gone better; my aunt's funeral was a tribute to a lovely woman and they don't make many like her anymore. I also enjoyed visiting with other family members. We heard from a cousin and his daughter who are in Houston. I'm hoping they're still okay. He is in a rehab after a trucking accident in June that smashed up his legs.

My big news is that we're going to move my storage unit contents to the closer by facility this Labor Day weekend! I'm paid up on the old one through the 20th. Tomorrow is payday and I'll sign for the new one. My roommate and another friend will help especially with moving the shelves and heavier items. I can get the rest. I'm going to be cat sitting a lot in September, which takes me to that side of town (where the old unit is). I can just keep grabbing loads and drop them off in the new unit each day.

It'll be a mess at first but the big hurdle will be DONE and the nitty gritty sorting can begin. I'm almost pinching myself wondering if I'm dreaming, I've waited so long for this!!

I do seem to purge more when other people are involved.

I got 2 of 7 parts of the basrment done then took a shower then took a bath with a favorite mug of ice cream. Raspberry sherbet.
Im going through my mail and bills putting them all in order.
not cutting grass this week. It doesnt yave be perfect. So ill restart my regular cleaning cycle once the basement reset.

I had in my hoard vicks humidity vaporizing.
So I have it down there. Not sure if its keeping the bacteria down but I feel better using it . I also replace the furnace air filter.

drinking lemon ginger green tea. And eating sweet peppers and hummus to help boost my immune system. Again not sure if actually helps. But I believe it does so im hoping it will at least as a placebo effect.

Porter, you are inspirational!

Dh and I did a big clean up this morning and he just left for the recycling center. Lots of construction scraps and random other stuff. I took a deep breath and did not argue with him even about the end roll of flashing. Better to have the space now and a small amount of money now and do my tiny drop in the bucket to reduce bauxite mining than to store it indefinitely against "someday" right?

I even cleared off the rusting metal shelf in my barn and let him take that. The truck was pretty full.

Meanwhile I am doing my part to clear the yard by burning all the scraps of OSB board that we have been using as temporary "sidewalks" around the house. The grading is good enough that it is no longer mud all the time, and plants are starting to grow (I wouldn't say "grass" but dh mows them.)

last night I dragged out all the equipment needed to strat cleaning the filth out of the basement.
my strategy is remove salvagable objects.
Then remove unsalvagable .
clear the drain areaand place screens and filters over the drains.
and use a pressure sprayer and garden hose to start washing out the slege back down into the srain it came from. Except the cloggy stuf ill just shovel into bags.

I have many tools for this job to make it thorough.
boots
mask
rubber gloves
hoody
huge squeegee
not so nice towels
pressure sprayer
hose
soaps
buckets and screens
wet vac
leaf blower
floor fan
scrub brushes
and sanitary wipes

I fear I I dont get down in there and just put in tbe 4 hours a day to clean each area ill just let it go. And im trying my level best to keep ahead of the mess.

insurance was in my wifes control and was not paid up.
so what is lost is lost. But I have insurance now.
I have clear up this mess then work towards preventing it in the future.
Vok no more talking about it. Its elbow grease time.

Tillie, I am glad that you are able to get things for yourself that make your space more appealing! I was starting to worry that you were living in a stripped down barren space as a reaction to the hoard.

There will be people who understand about the plates. Some of the guests are even "separate the compost from the plastic and wash the plastic" people. But dh says it's tacky to put out multiple labelled "trash" cans and try to get people to not throw away their flatware and plates.

We are using real mugs for tea and coffee.

I'm thinking about not putting out trash cans at all and bussing.

I'm also thinking about using real plates, because my mom is bringing a set of dishes for dd2 and together we would have enough.

Dh thinks using disposable stuff is "easier" but he doesn't understand that for me it is much harder than running the dishwasher three times.

Fantastic score on the curtains, Tillie! And washed and hung already! You must feel so happy whenever you see them!

I'm getting ready for office. Not making much progress here but I have been sleeping a lot an sometimes that is its own reward.

We have plans tonight and I'm hoping to get to grocery store after our dinner. Very low on cat supplies.

Hello Everybody! :D

Hi Anonymoniker :)
Decision making is simpler when we know all the pertinent information concerning the situation.
You were not informed that the honey had built up a "charge" and would explode all over or that the tarps would instantly dissolve.
Keep looking around and asking questions about solutions until you know enough to make the best decisions for you.
(((HUGS)))

Hi Subclinical :)
Could you confide in someone who will be at the gathering about your anxiety over the disposable plates?
If I were there I would deal with them for you, they would just disappear so you would not be guilty of the crime.
(((HUGS)))

Hi Porter :)
So far my cats have kept me safe from mice and snakes and spiders and moths.
They are also very good alarms if there is something/someone creeping around in the yard.

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO!!!! getting the car serviced before your trip!

Scooter is asleep on my left foot right now.
Was a very full day today.
Went into town to drop off some donations and since I was there, I looked around.
Found something I really needed as soon as I saw it.
Curtains made of fabric that has row after row of Dr. Who's Tardis all over!
Went to the grocery store and bought lots of pretty fruit.
Came home and washed my new curtains and they are now hanging in the window of my little room.
Was really cloudy with a few rain drops and I was playing outside and did some very needed weeding in my garden.

Animals are great companions. Mine is next to me right now, sound asleep. That is funny that your cat needed to make everything his/hers--even if that meant sleeping on a wobbly chair!

They definitely keep the mice away.

Love cats. But cleaning after them I draw the line at 1.
I found a video of my cat from the past that lived 15 years.
I miss him , a pet I tried to treat like a friend.
he always had be nested in the highest spot no matter what or where always looking down on us.
I didnt even know we had mice until he was gone.

Here is a cat funny for you.

Every time we put a new chair in this space, the cat has to jump up and sleep on it for a while. He likes the one with the soft leather seat best, but right now he is sleeping in the curved wooden rocker, because it is "new." Even though it wobbles around every time he moves.

Great work, SubC! And the brunch will be lovely. I don't have any advice for you on the plates. It will be out of your hands and maybe you'll be able to accept that. I know how hard this is for you. Sending you strength and peace.

Cleaning, organizing, took a load of stuff to goodwill. Dh is putting up light fixtures.

We are hosting a brunch for 30 relatives Saturday morning before my son's wedding. It is also my parent's 50th anniversary.

Don't worry, I'm having it catered. By a talented cook and good friend who I am comfortable having in space. I just fill the fridge with eggs and milk and juice and say "the kitchen is yours. Feed the people."

We will be eating and socializing in the not finished but semi-furnished and climate controlled addition.

Then after everyone leaves I will have a breakdown over the disposable plates.

*car not cat. No one takes the cat.

Hello everyone! All that anxiety for nothing. Dropped the car off, got a call, picked it back up/easy peasy. Just as I was pulling into my parking spot, the neighbor asked if she could take my cat. She wanted to pay to have the tire fixed but I wouldn't tell her the amount. So now my tire is fixed and I have fresh oil. All around very good feeling.

Beautiful day here. Sunny and low humidity.

Will get back to work then see if I can do something here. I won't try to do laundry again til the weekend, when I suspect most people will be out of town,

Hope you are all doing well!

Iced tea clinks!

Cloudy day here but I see the sun peeking out. Has been cool and autumnal--we are heading into the fall and I enjoy it so much.

Laundry in use today but I'll get to it over the weekend.

My handyman injured his back, so no getting the chandelier hung for a while. I may look for someone else in the meantime.

Have to take the car to be serviced before my trip with my mom. Will just suck it up and take it today. I hate these types of errands. I should've asked the neighbor mom (who uses my car to get her child to school) to do it but I didn't. And with my trip coming up next week it's too late to spring it on her. Plus her son started school this week so who knows how much she has to do right now.

Wishing you all a wonderful, productive, peaceful day.

Anony, decision making is one of the hardest things for hoarders. Also, I don't know about you, but dh thinks I makes situations more complicated because I can't seem to focus on the things that are most important. I am lucky in that I am able to delegate a lot of decisions to him.

Tillie, I hope you're enjoyed your play day.

And Joan I'm glad you feel up to posting more.

I finished painting the addition and we got my great grandmother's dining table down from the loft and set it up. I also took the recycling, some trash, and a load to goodwill, and I went to the grocery store and stuck to my list except for wine to go with dinner. I may have bought too much juice. The list just said "juice"

I processed the mail and I am back down to one magazine.

All the progress is good, but my environment is very disrupted and it is hard.

~Greetings Happy Homies!~
Joan, its funny you brought omega-3 up, cuz i just got some hemp oil & used it in a pesto dish & was amazed how good it was! You mentioned fish oil capsules & a few years ago i started developing gout in my foot & then read fish oil can cause that & when i stopped taking it, my foot healed?!
Tillie, i keep thinking about that study you mentioned with the kids & cancer. That makes so much sense to me! I have been really seeing how much power our minds have & trying to work with that more. My whole decision making has gotten so messed up....but i also see how almost no situation im faced with is ever simple?! It seems to end up being more & more complicated, regardless of what i do. I really think that is my most central problem with all this at my home....

Good Morning Everyone :)
ice tea "clink!"

Beautifully cool quiet overcast morning here.
No chance of rain predicted though. ;P
Kitchen is still clean and clear, no laundry to wash.
Other than cat related tasks, nothing needs doing in here.
No need to go into town for anything.
Watering stuff outside this morning.
After that I can PLAY all the rest of today! :D

Wishing you all a lovely peaceful day too (((hugs)))

Tillie, I believe that about the children and the video games. If you start there, and keep walking in the direction of more and more "mystical" stuff that most people still don't believe is "real", you'll eventually come to my nevk of the woods.

I also resonate with the issue of maternal abuse. A lot of evil is being forced off of our planet even as I write this. That is why things all seem topsy-turvey right now.

Anony, you probably already do this, but do you include omega-3 oils in your diet? We all need omegas, especially omega 3s, for our neurological systems to function properly. We cannot synthesize omegas from other dietary sources. I have been taking flax seed oil for many years. Barleans high lignsn is the best. If you can't handle the taste, you can mix it up in salad dressing. If you cook with it, you'll detroy the omegas.

Then again, most days I just pop a fish oil capsule.

Hi Tat! Hi everyone! See you later.

Good Evening :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO!!!!!!
for allowing the old drapes & rods go to someone else who can have them cleaned! :D
So wonderful when we can let the old/past go to make room for the new/present.
YEA!!! Kitty for keeping Tatoulia safe from those papers! ;)

Hi Anonymoniker :)
Sorry you have had to learn such a frustrating and expensive lesson about just what those tarps can handle and can't. (((HUGS)))
Please do whatever it takes for the baby raccoons to learn that humans are not an easy or acceptable source for food.
My feral cats learned to eat their food during the day when I had it out for them when I had that baby skunk problem.
The now grown up skunks still come around my yard but it's to hunt for their natural foods.

Hi Subclinical :)
Steven also loves to get stuff for free, mostly from dumpsters.
Making decisions can be very hard and you always worry if you are making the right decisions.
"Good enough" light fixtures really will be good enough until the day you find exactly what you want. (((hug)))

Washed dishes and wiped up the kitchen, really need it too since I didn't do anything this weekend.
Have 2 nightgowns and 4 blouses that I have decided to get rid of.
I feel better now. :D
Just need him to clear off the back porch where he has left a whole bunch of his weekend purchases.
I insist that porches remain clear for easy escape in case of fire.
Even though right beyond the back porch is where his hoard begins.
At least the front porch opens up onto my clutter free garden/lawn area.

~Hugs & ice coffee clinks to all!~
....i just lost the post i was typing...dangit...ok, just like my tarp, i need to just start over & not let my wasted efforts hinder my needs..
Tillie, i am so sorry you have to deal with all that stuff. It is so strange how often our issues will keep coming at us in new , seemingly unrelated ways?! I wish there were some way that the deep underlying battle with Steven could be resolved. I do think he is doing this as an attack strategy.
As far as the baby raccoons, my main concern is that their parents know there is usually cat food in tbe bowls, so they have no motivation to teach their young to find food in the woods! If i take up the food bowls at dark, they will simply come before dark, and my cats wont have their food after dark either. My plan for now is to do that enough to push the parents to at least teach them natural options!
I am very interested in the brain & the power of the mind! I am now leaning towards putting effort & emphasis on visualization & brain nutrition, rather than just willpower....which has not been working...
Im ready to order a seriously sturdy tarp. It has been such a waste of time, effort & money so far with the regular tarps, that it has made me question everything i want to do!
I am so amazed how just knowing i have help waiting in the wings, has changed my excuses & concerns, etc. It has been fantastic!!!
~♡~Happy Homing To All!!!~♡~

Tatoulia, how wonderful! And it found like your kitty is not too bad if she is up to hunting paper.

Tillie, I just wondered if maybe knowing you didn't keep the things would make him stop, but clearly not. Your way is best!

I brought the baby pool thing on myself. It will take time for him to really believe I have changed. I am trying. He is trying.

I do not shop to make myself feel comforted - I mostly hate shopping. I hate stores and crowds and new stuff that is expensive. I rarely feel like new things are worth the money unless they are exactly right. With our addition, dh keeps making me buy things (like light fixtures) that are "good enough" because I wait too long looking for "exactly right".

I do surround myself with stuff to feel comforted though. And I love a good bargain (not a sale, a bargain, something truly useful or quality or loved that is cheap or free - like our new table.) and I love rescuing or salvaging and repurposing things.

Final drapery panel is up and it looks so lovely! We still need to hang the roman shade.

We took down the old curtains that were up on tension rods I paid a great deal for them and thought about having them dry cleaned. FOR WHAT?!?!? I should launder them before donating but honestly they are silk and someone else should do that.

So they are in donation bag along with the rods.

What a great feeling that will be to get them out of the house. As soon as I make a donation bag I get very excited about seeing it leave.

Will go take garbage out now.

Tillie I feared he was being manipulative by bestowing upon you a bunch of sh&$. I am so grateful that I've been able, to a large extent, to just stop getting tons of sale items for the heck of if. I I was not at Steven's extreme but bad nonetheless.

Laundry downstairs is going very well. It helps that I'm home during the day a couple of times a week!

Beautiful cool humidity free day here. We also had a beautiful weekend.

I have gathered up tonight's garbage, run the dishwasher, cleaned kitty's box and have swept the hallway. I've worked on my remaining papers--shredded tax returns from the 1990s. Kitty is sound asleep in her little carrier. Still limping but the paw and leg are cool--not warm the way they would be with an infection. She seems very happy and attacked a bunch of papers today. The papers didn't stand a chance!

Good Morning Everybody :)
Beautiful quiet cool morning here.
Ice tea "CLINK!"

Hi Anonymoniker :)
Thank you (((HUGS)))
He knows exactly what I want as gifts.
Nothing...
Since I was sixteen years old I have always insisted that nobody buy me any gifts.
I too was really hoping that by his giving away the guitars it meant he was ready to start letting go of stuff instead of gathering more.
How's the honey clean up coming along?
Any new ideas for securing your home against the weather and intruders?
I have seen pictures (MRIs) showing a non hoarding brain along side of a hoarding brain when the people were asked to make decisions and there is definitely a difference in which areas of the brain light up.
Sorry that I don't remember where they are to post a link for you.
Baby raccoons are sooooo cute. But just like baby skunks we can't ever feed them no matter how sweetly they beg. ;)

Hi Subclinical :)
YEA!!! WTG!!! for starting the 100 day challenge!
After a while the daily tasks will get easier and soon become routines you don't even think about, you just do.
If I tell him that I will not keep the things he will, as always, get nasty and mean to me.
So to avoid the verbal/emotional abuse I will just donate without him being informed.
I'm sorry your funny story about the baby pools was misinterpreted. (((HUGS)))


Hi Joan :)
I have seen articles where children with cancer play video games where they target and wipe out the enemy "cancer" and the researchers who conducted these experiments claim that the children respond better to their treatments than those who don't play the video games.

Hi Tatoulia :)
Happy the new drape has been altered. YEA!
So nice that you have that downstairs washer and nobody is monopolizing it.
How is Kitty? Still improving? (((HUGS)))
Steven didn't buy the stuff for me to be nice to me.
He has been on an acquiring frenzy and somehow feels that by giving me some of his bounty this makes it alright.
That I shouldn't complain because he feels that I have benefited from his skills at buying sale items.
My neighbor friend would gift me with items she owned but she knew I had a use/need for them and I truly do appreciate what she has given me.
My strict directive that nobody buy me any gifts/presents is due to my muther's abuse of me.
And gifts trigger terrible emotional trauma in me still to this day.

Going to be another hot day here but not ridiculously hot like the other weeks were.
I still have some veggies and fruit so no need to grocery shop till later in the week.
Lots of yardwork/gardening needs doing but will have to wait cause I'm just not up to it yet.
Except for some pieces in the Russell Stover's all the rest of the chocolate is milk chocolate.
I only ever eat dark chocolate and really like Hershey's special dark.
Think today I will sort through my clothes and see if there are any there I can donate.
The more he brings home the more of my items I get rid of to try to make me feel better. :D
The living room/dining room/kitchen area here are getting bare and there is now a slight echo.
I do admit that I have the opposite end of the hoarding condition and must be strict with myself not to go overboard with the minimalism.
As hard as it is for you to stop the acquiring it's just as hard for me to stop the decluttering.
Same conditions just different places on the spectrum.
When upset, nervous or depressed you shop to self medicate whereas I want to reduce everything so it would all easily fit into a car to make it easy for me to run away and escape.
LOLOLOL ;D

Everybody have a wonderful day and week!

Tillie, what a terrible mess. How awful. And donating your "portion" is exactly the right thing! Years ago a couple friend of ours used to buy me lavish gifts for my birthday. I appreciated it but they were just too much. One year as we were preparing the dinner plans, one of the couple said to my BF, oh I'll run to Tiffany's today and my BF said, do me a favor, go to the dollar store and buy $25 worth of stuff kids would enjoy. She can open each gift during the dinner, then take everything to good will the next day. So we've been doing that for probably 10 years now. It makes for a fun evening, as I see what they bought, and then it's off to the donation center. And I'm not burdened with having to buy a lavish gift for their birthdays.

Just donate it in the most peaceful way possible, whether it's showing him it's wasted money or whether it's just a little side trip you take.

I'm enjoying my iced tea now. Worked on some papers last night. Doing a load of laundry downstairs. I'm adapting and I'm happy about it.

Iced tea clinks, everyone.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

Also, I am starting the 100 day challenge tomorrow.

The kitchen is much, much, better. The few dirty dishes are in the dishwasher. But it is not clean. Plants, papers, things...

Tomorrow. Tonight I am too tired to finish.

Oh Tillie, I'm sorry. I'm guessing you have told him you don't want this stuff (although I'd have a hard time saying no to a year's supply of chocolate!) do you think not being quiet about donating it would help?

Anony, baby raccoons are hard. They are really cute. But they grow up to be big raccoons.

Tatoulia, I'm excited that soon you will have all your drapes!

I'm exhausted from open house! It was fun, but I am not used to so many people. It will be better when classes start and they leave their parents at home.

Dh is still reacting to the hoarding. When I got home I started telling him a funny story that involved me picking up some free baby pools from the curb on the way to open house, and he got angry and interrupted to ask "why do we need baby pools?" And I told him "we don't. They're at school for my class and I already used them and they're staying there. Now listen, this is funny." But I think he was still focused on the baby pools.

Anony, I had trouble posting because you were posting at the same time, I think‼️‼️‼️

Yes, the implant I have just been having removed over the summer caused biting and scrambled my "decider". Exactly.

Tillie, so sorry to hear about it‼️‼️‼️

Anony, I think of you. I am concerned that your brain has also been scrambled by some nasty implants. Unfortunately, so little is known about them right now, that I cannot give you any substantial help in removing any that might be there.

Go ahead with the visualizations. We have much more power now than we used to have, and healing images sent to your brain of good health can only help.