Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Good luck and best wishes getting your school schedule to where you need it to be. (((hug)))

YEA! for swimming. :D

I clearly remember the first time I got to pet a sheep.
How wonderful it felt, my fingers disappearing down deep into the warm soft wool. ;D


Got my head back on straight this morning.
Sometimes being the only adult and having to do everything all by myself gets me down and I have to dig myself out again.
Today I will clean the kitchen and tidy up the place.
That tiny penguin was laying beside the water bowl sopping wet from it's swim.
At least Scooter helps him out of the water instead of leaving him down at the bottom like poor little mousie.
Twinkles refuses to drink the mousie water and nags me until I fix it.

Swam. Schooled.

Tillie, your day off sounds nice. Days off are important too.

I am meeting with my director to discuss my schedule for next year today - at my request. Class proposals are due after break, and I am feeling very torn about what/how much to teach next year. I know I cannot continue at this level of demand, so I need to focus on classes that require less outside preparation and grading. I am also considering cutting back my hours, but unless I drop a day, I don't see that being very helpful.

I know they have already interviewed a possible additional person for the English department, and I requested that they explore having her take my junior high group.

Also today, the sheep is coming to visit.

Good Afternoon Everyone
Raspberry Zinger tea "Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
The window wreathes look very pretty. :)

Hi CriticalMass
In time, with practice, you will be able to recognize the mind booby traps and will have developed strategies to help untangle yourself quickly. ;)

Hi Subclinical
Hope you had a fantastic day at school and also got in some swimming. :D


Decided it was too hard to cope with life today.
Got dressed, fed & watered all cats and went into town.
Talked with a few friends, looked around the thrift shop.
Bought 4 strands with gemstone beads. One has a carved jade or jadeite turtle.
Bought a long burgundy skirt with ruffles and lace, cotton, made in India.
Came home and ate what I had all made up in the fridge even though I was very tempted to stop and buy a hamburger.
There are dirty dishes in the kitchen, a cat quilt Twinkles vomited on last night, carpet needs vacuuming, etc. etc...
But I am taking today off so none of this is bothering me as I watch movies on Roku. :D

Thanks all. I showed dh the speech and he asked "did you cry?" And he also said "you are funny? You do funny voices?" But I would not perform for him. I feel very humbled. But I am going to put my speech where I can read it on the hard days.

CM, you will get there. Just keep reminding yourself of the lessons you are learning. Eventually you will be able to think of them in the moment and decide you don't want to put more onto your future self.

Tillie, I am glad scooter is choosing to decorate his bowl with creatures that can swim at least. I am very curious about what is going through his mind!

I'm not sure how much extra time a second bunny would take. Most of it would be grooming. Often I groom the bunny while I watch a video, and I currently watch videos without grooming any bunnies, and I often snack during them, so possibly a second bunny would decrease unhealthy snacking. Things like serving food and water, cutting a second chew stick or carrying a second bunny out to a run would only take extra seconds or minutes.

The bunny should live about 12 years.

IF I breed the bunnies, I would do it knowing I had 4H kids interested in the litter. This particular breed is hard to find and usually expensive here, so it would give the kids a chance to have one at a reasonable price.

Today is a swim day. I keep thinking I am going to do a few extra things in the evening, and I keep being too tired. So, I am going to call today school and swim.

Tillie, I did wonder if Badger has a Tardis!

Have gone through about 2/3 of the quilting magazines. It's taking forever! Hoping this will make me very hesitant about buying any more of them even if they are only 10-25 Cents. I am capable of looking through and putting back ones that don't have a quilt pattern I am really interested in.

I stayed after the quilting session in the church basement and was scanning the patterns I did want (not every magazine had one that interesting, so some magazines were quicker to go through). But it took more time than I thought, and some of the files may or may not have come out.

I'll check them on my computer but this is making me kind of fed up so maybe I'll be even MORE selective and go through the magazines really fast and not scan much.

This is a good lesson, though, about the proportion of time it takes me to get my attention caught by some interesting thing vs. how long it takes to actually process that thing - decide if it's really a thing of potential. And then of course we move to the $64k Question: Will the potential actually be realized? Yikes.

I hope I make those quilts. I think I have enough quilt patterns to keep me busy, and besides the ones like these (which I probably tweak) I'm capable of drafting my own.

So I really don't need to be seeking out quilting patterns. It's just the colorfulness of them that attracts my eye to the magazine - and the way something like that is more fun than doing more involved, productive things that take more effort and time.

I have all this insight into my mind's booby traps; will I ever get to the point where I avoid the traps in the first place?

Congratulations SubC! I am crying a bit for you! Your hard work and worry and dedication and devotion and self doubt and sleepless nights and caring and love and wisdom have reached your students. You are a teacher. And I am so happy for you!! You put out so much energy and you are reaching them. I am so happy for you. Extremely gratifying. I am so proud of you and proud of your students.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Proof that you are a wonderful teacher who the kids will always look up to and remember all their days. :D

For me it's Mrs. Kingston.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Subclinical
How much extra time would it be to feed, groom, clean up kennel and spend time with two bunnies rather than just the one?
I find taking care of two cats as easy as taking care of one cat.
But raising breeding bunnies and managing the litters would be a lot more time intensive.
Same as when people raise them for food. :(
How long do bunnies live?
Gerbils and hamsters are not a long time commitment.
Sorry about my rambling... ;)

Hi CriticalMass
Thanks, Twinkles' wound is healing fine, just a small scab now. :)
Hope you do get to make some XMas cookies.
Better get provisions laid in because the grocery stores will just keep getting worse from here on out.
I plan to grocery shop one more time next week then lay low till it's all over with.
WTG! for delivering that Barbie and bringing pizza too!!!
Yeah, being put on "display" in your storage unit would be a road block.
A sheet/tap/blanket cover/curtain would really help.
Right now spiders who haven't found a nice warm house to hide in are laying low and not very active.
Didn't you know that Badger has a Tardis???
Can be anywhere anywhen. ;D

Hi Tatoulia
That tiny tool set sounds very cute and I think he will adore it.
WTG! for garbage out and a kind collector who waited!
Hope you are happy with one of the pair of boots. :)


It was cold, dark and dreary today.
Went outside and cut down all the dried flowers.
Garden looks better with all the dead foliage removed.
With any luck they will all return again next Spring.
Scooter drowned the tiny cloth penguin but he removed him from the bowl himself.
Remorse maybe?

I won an award at school today. It is the best possible award to win because the winner is chosen by the students. It came with a copy of the speech the kids wrote about me. Lord help me be the person these kids think I am! I did not cry.

Tillie, I hope things are looking brighter. And that twinkles feels better soon.

CM, I am very busy with school the next few days, so badger is all yours. It is good you are thinking through the causes of your difficulties.

I have thought about breeding the bunnies, but I am not at that point in my life. I have never gotten a bunny fixed though. My experience is that they are not particularly social, so they have just been kept near each other, not together. I have enough materials to make a second bunny run so that they could be out in the yard at the same time, or one could go in the run while the other was being groomed. My biggest concern is the extra time to groom and play with them. I might start taking them to school more often though - the kids love my bunny.

Sil is actually over the moon excited about the baby - more than Dd - lol, but I can see where going through old family stuff could be extra hard when you are just about to have family to hand it down to. He also lost his own dad a few years ago, and a lot of the stuff is with him because of that.

Tatoulia, I hope you get boots you love!

Thought I'd better post before y'all get worried about me...and I've been wanting to, just been a little disjointed, dealing with misc. details.

Sunday afternoon I took a nap, but then stayed up too late; however, that in turn made me sleepy last night and I slept well without icky dreams. Felt relaxed this morning.

Like hearing all the goings on. Tillie, I was like you as a kid - sad or scary books or movies really hit me hard. I bawled hysterically the first time I saw the cartoon of the Grinch stealing Christmas! Or if Bugs Bunny got bonked on the head I was afraid he would be dead.

Where the Wild Things Are was fun to me, though; I think because the artwork was so well done. And because it was just so quirky and different.

Best wishes for quick recovery of Twinkles' neck wound. I'm beginning to think the two cats here just wait till certain times to get dramatic - they can be at peace all day then when my roommate gets home they like to show off.

Mousie seems determined to have his swim.

I need to get back to my swimming! And other gym stuff. Just haven't quite gotten there but feel like I'm going to soon, barring any new crises.

Went to Joann Fabrics and got a piece of clear vinyl to cover my roommate's dining table so I can roll out cookies there. I have SO missed making Christmas cookies for several years, and I really want to try and do some. Also popped in Walmart but didn't buy anything. The shopping places are starting to get more hectic so I'm hoping to start my moratorium real soon.

Tatoulia, a chair massage sounds good. So does working from home. If I could be employed again I wish I could find something like data entry I could just do from home but that was a legit thing not a scam.

SubC, you and Badger have accomplished a heck of a lot! I agree with Tillie that your son-in-law is probably a bit shell shocked at the thought of being a dad - once he processes that, he will be more able to deal with other things.

I remember when I was going to that clutter club locally; they had a good handout about helping someone. Really simple and user friendly do's and don'ts. I have a PDF of it somewhere, just need to find it during this transition between computers. Do you think it'd help him if you showed him a copy of it and said you had read it and promised to abide by it? I could post the text of it here.

Regarding the 2nd bunny - are you thinking of breeding them, or just wanting a companion for your 1st bunny? If the latter, be sure to get it fixed!

What I've done these last few days:

Last night, I did finally get to my cousin's daughter's to visit. Took the pizza as planned. The kids were cute, and the 6-year-old girl was tickled with the Barbies. And the 1-year-old boy was just a little charmer.

The grandpa, the one I was nervous about, was usually in the other room. He has a loud voice, especially when he starts a sentence. It's a bit unnerving to me, especially knowing his background.

But there was no drama, so again I'm hoping he has mellowed. I figured the best thing was just to remain nonchalant and neutral, get a feel for his current personality since I haven't interacted with him for years, and not much overall. I hope to be able to get together with the daughter and the grandkids; it is so nice to have family finally in my same town. Well, I have one other cousin and her husband, and I need to contact them, as they've retired so maybe we can hang out a bit as well.

I haven't done big things with my clutter but the weekend was more busy (including napping, LOL). Still want to get all the quilting magazines put on the giveaway pile at church. It's slower going than I would like. Today I got 3-4 of them done. I quilt again tomorrow so the box will go with me. Possibly I can stay afterward and finish.

Also over the weekend I visited my storage to check on that toolbox in there. It's the big one, full of automotive tools, hammers, etc. Chonky heavy stuff. So I do want to get a medium sized one for the hand tools I keep over here at the house. Have been a few places looking but not found one that gives me that "This is it!" vibe.

And while I was over there at the storage unit, I looked around and again felt depressed that it looks VERY hoardy, maybe not as bad as the other storage at its worst, but depressing and discouraging nonetheless. I do think it'd take less time and effort to put into order, but the main problem is that things need to be shifted and there's even wasted empty space that's blocked by piles.

So what's the logjam? It came to me. I'm surprised I didn't realize it before. Here it is:

At the old storage place, which was bigger, the layout of the buildings was such that you could go down the row where your unit was and be out of sight of the office, and the main drive where other people came in. Where I am now, it's like I'm on stage.

In short - it's too embarrassing to start pulling all my crap out for sorting! I feel like I'm on a stage! So I thought, Okay, what would help? I remembered the sheer size of my old clunker van - it would've blocked more from view than my minivan. I thought of screens or something, or getting some friends with larger vehicles to come park with me! LOL!

My roommate thought of hanging a bedsheet up to block view of some of it - this might work. There are lots of spiders, by the way, and I can control the ground crawling ones with diatomaceous earth, but as we know, the arachnids have that superpower of being able to descend from the ceiling on a fine thread.

But if I can just check the sheet and anyplace I'm working for creepy crawlies, that's just something that will have to be. And getting more containers will ensure that the 8-leggers don't actually get IN my stuff.

Hoping too, of course, that I might find more things that can go away.

So - I figured out what the complicating factors are, and I'm brainstorming some possible ways to mitigate their impact on my plans. I will probably need Badger - I think she is capable of time travel in case more than one of us needs her services at a given time.

Iced tea clinks!

Tillie I felt that you've been struggling. I'm so sorry. I wish I could help in some way. Just remember that Nate and Mrs Nate have put a piece of masking tape on you!!

I have my overseas friend's box almost ready. I have to pick up a package at her attorney's office on Friday.

In the meantime, it is my goal to mail something small I've decided to give to my sister's BF and something for another friend. I was looking in my desk drawer and found this little brass tool set-miniature-that i has bought at an antiques shop. My father used to have them on his dresser when I was a kid. I think her BD would enjoy this little set. They are tiny and the scissors cut paper and the wrench opens, etc. I think her BF would like them. I wasnt planning to give them away.

So I will go to P.O. tmr. I think I mentioned the contractor st my BF's house was very nice and he only needs 10 minutes tomorrow and the next day so I don't have to work from there. Neighbor can let him in. Very nice person.

I ran to catch the garbage man today and he was very nice and waited for me. I had gathered it up last night knowing that I had to leave early to get to my BF's house. I was so grateful to get it out!

I have figured out the tips for mom's people. She has named 4 (not the maintenance guy). She wants one of the sides, the two people who change her sheets and the lady who does her laundry. So I'll do $20 each and see that mom writes the card so it's from mom and not me. I budgeted $100 but I'm doing $20 not $25 in case mom thinks of one more person. So I've got a cushion.

I came home, showered and then jammitized myself. It is 60F and rainy. My snow boots arrived right after I left BF's office do I'll see them tmr. Hopefully I will want to keep one of the pair. Then I'll quickly return the other.

That's the news for now!!

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hello Subclinical
YEA! you and Badger sure did a lot together.
I was thinking about your Dd's situation.
I was thinking about all the emotions, fears and doubts a young man would go through thinking about all that big responsibility of becoming a father.
I think he needs more time to process and reassurance that he WILL be a good father, able to handle all the challenges that brings.
What I am trying to say is I'm sure he will sort out the stuff but he will need to go slowly at first.
He is preoccupied right now and we all know how you need to be able to think things through to sort and make all those decisions. :)


Hi Tatoulia
Happy you went and made cookies!
YEA! for that desperately needed massage!


Sorry about my absence.
Been down in a very dark place.

Yesterday I was finally able to hang out laundry on the line.
When I went to bring it in I didn't know if it was still wet or just very cold.
Brought it all in and it soon warmed up and was all dry.

Twinkles has an abscess on his neck.
Pretty sure that it was Scooter who bit him since they haven't been outside recently.

Tillie are you okay? I'm good with it if you need a break so I'm just making sure you aren't sick or hurt. You know I love you madly so I'm just checking in. Of course, maybe you're busy or your internet is out!

I'm working from home today/BF's home. It's surprisingly easier to work here and concentrate than it is at my house.

There's a lot I'd like to organize here but I'm keeping it together and not doing it.

I think tmr I can be home since the contractor only needs about 10 minutes each of the next few days. That means I can do my laundry and change my sheets and go to post office, etc.

How is everyone today?

WTG SubC. All that laundry and having the guest beds made up!! You did GREAT today!!!! Decorating and cleaning up and barn chores and so much more!!! Thank you written!!! I'm so proud of you! Great work!

I was in office today and thus had no chance to check in and cheer you on! I'll leave the bunny advice to CM and Tillie! I have all I can handle with my little feline friend here.

Well wasn't this interesting-i went into office on a Monday and who knew but it was also Chair Massage Day and they had a masseuse on each floor. And because the slots weren't all full, I was able to get one appt in the AM and one in the PM. She broke up the area of tension in my neck and right shoulder. Amazing. It hurt but it was great.

Pouring here. Pouring and windy. I walked home and stopped at grocery store on way home.

I'm working at BF's the next two days, meaning I'll be working my job from his home, not me at his businesses.

I'll miss the kitty. I do enjoy having an intern. But it's nit worth it to bring her up with me. Would be traumatic for her.

Ok off to bed. I'll need to be up bright and early tmr to get to his house and get organized before I have to log in and start working.

Stopped posting because I was talking to myself.

Did watch a couple more videos, but did laundry too.

All the dirty laundry fits in the basket. Three beds made up with clean sheets and warm blankets for my kids in two weeks.

Dishwasher is running and there are only three things waiting in the sink for the next load.

I put out more decorations - the dining porch is almost done, and the tree has a few ornaments.

I helped dh make dinner, did my chores, and finished the layout on the book my class wrote.

My swim bag is packed for tomorrow.

I scheduled the sheep visit and made contact with someone who might sell me a second bunny.

Do you think it's a mistake to get a second bunny? I have the hutch and everything I need - we used to have 4 bunnies when the kids lived here.

Got all the clean laundry put away. Washer and dryer still going.

I wanted to watch another video, but badger said no.

He did let me have one handful of caramel corn, and promised me another after I took the basket of clean towels out to the studio, put away the bin of fall decorations that was parked on the dining porch, and wrote a thank you note to my aunt for the caramel corn. So I did those things. Badger has good timing - it is now raining so hard that even driving out to the studio would not have kept me or the towels dry.

Not sure what comes next. It's so dark. Mr. kitty is voting for cat petting and another video...

Got all the dirty laundry off the bedroom floor, put out fresh towels, and started a load.

The rain had eased up, so we took out the compost, and took care of the baskets of yard waste and the wheelbarrow she had left in the yard.

Then we hung up her husband's work shirts.

Next we are going to reward ourselves with ONE video while we have a healthy snack and put away the baskets of clean laundry she seems to enjoy storing in guest rooms.

I had a talk with badger, and we decided today would go better if I forgot that I did this to myself.

So I am pretending this is one of those swap shows, or something like "the nanny"

I got up, made coffee, fed dh, ate breakfast, took my vitamin and then took stock of this poor crazy woman's life.

So far badger and I have done her barn chores, unloaded, loaded, and started the dishwasher, and hand washed all the recycling bits she had piled in her sink. Next I think we will attack her laundry.

Badger on her way! I'm sitting here doing the light therapy before leaving to the office.

It's a bit dark here too. I think the next two days are supposed to be raining here and in the 50-60F range.

I know this is hard and we are all so tired. But I believe in us!

She has suggested he call me, but she says he won't.

She sent me a note last night that he is planning to go through some of the stuff with his sister over Christmas break. That is good, because it is family stuff. Due to some bad circumstances, he ended up being the emergency saver of family stuff a while back, but now his sister has a house.

I have a lot I want to do today, but my energy level is really low. And it is going to rain all day, which means it will be dark. It's going to be a struggle.

I don't want to post a list because then I'm afraid I will just end up with a long list of things I didn't do. But I will hopefully post the things I get done.

Please send the badger and I will check back in.

Hello all. I'm a bit full and headachey and not quite myself tonight.

SubC I know you have a good relationship with your SIL. I seem to remember that you and he have enjoyed together time. I don't know how to broach the subject with him. Maybe your daughter could just say, my mother gets stuck like this, why not give her a call? I know that's more direct than the situation may be able to bear.

We did cookies at friend's house. It was fun. Her mother and sister are so sweet. And mom was happy.

I hope everyone is okay. I've had some tea and going to tuck in early. I wrapped a bunch of presents this AM and I'm pleased with myself.

Going in tmr to office/rare Monday. Everyone will be surprised. I just have so much work to do and some of it is paperwork, which will require my bring there. Cannot carry it home with computer. Too much strain on my already aching shoulders and neck.

SubC for the most part I don't relish crowds, either. I live in a crowded city. And I love it. But it takes a special person to wade through the crowds and not feel exhausted! I can do it for our once a year sale. Or back in the days of the old, true Filene's Bargain Basement (just a memory now). Needs to be a prize or a hunt for me.

Tillie and CM! Thinking of you both

My dd1 just called.

She wants me to have an intervention with my sil.

They are supposed to be clearing out a bunch of stuff to make room for the baby, but every time he tries to address his stuff, he just gets overwhelmed and depressed and glazes over. I keep offering to help, but she says he won't call me.

I think he thinks that I mean help move stuff or help clear things out or help by making some of the decisions. And I just want to help him find the one easiest thing to deal with. And then another thing that is just a little bit harder....

I want to help him work through all the decisions and the things that make them hard like we do here.

And I don't know how to initiate that. I don't want to get in the middle of their relationship, but I feel like I really could help him if he would just let me, and I need to figure out how to ask him to let me help.

CM,

How did your errands go?

Tatoulia, way to go making the cherries!

Tillie, Mousie just really needs to go for his swim! Is he a catnip mousie? Maybe scooter is trying to make catnip tea?

Dh says we can put the wine opener in dd2's stocking. It will be a joke because every time she tries to open the wine here, she mangles the cork. But she can keep it and use it if she wants to.

I had fun with my girls yesterday. But wow, dd's life! She loves to go to places that are very very crowded, and we basically shopped all day. She took us to a market full of stalls that were almost all food - mostly ready to eat but some groceries, and pretty pricey (but she lives in a city) the aisles were packed! We often had to turn sideways to move and it was very noisy. The baked goods looked very tempting, but I ended up buying the girls lunch at a vegetarian stand that had heavy paper bowls instead of the plastic and styrofoam that was all around us. We took it to a quieter, less crowded area to eat. It was yummy.

Then we went mostly window shopping downtown, stopped in at her favorite (super crowded, tiny tables crammed together, long lines) coffee shop where she treated us, then a cool also crowded with tight spaces but mostly packed with inventory old Victorian duplex turned bookstore (we each bought a book - mine is things to knit for the grandbaby)

More downtown shopping (I bought grandbaby a toy at the baby store and got some ideas for later) and home where I just sat alone on the couch in silence for a couple of hours reading!

I could have stayed in the book store longer, but for some reason, they had a variety of music playing in different rooms. All a little too loud and none of it appealing to me.

Today I recover and clean up my house.

Tillie you would've loved the sake! Again I spent too much but so be it!

Today I got my wreaths at a church sale and they were very reasonably priced. The bows are pretty too. I'll take a picture. Then I drove around and returned a pair of pants then I bought a candy thermometer. I need candied cherries for tomorrow's baking session and I couldn't find them anywhere. But I could find a recipe, so I made them tonight, if you can believe it. I also did a little bit of laundry and I ran the dishwasher. I showered and I'm ready for bed.

It may just be psychological but the ancient pill did a great job for me.

Yes Tillie you have taught me the power of owning things temporarily and for that I thank you.

I loved Where the Wild Things Are!

Oh and I dropped off all of mom's bags and one of mine at goodwill. What a blessing to get rid of them.

SubC an electric wine opener. Oh boy. One more thing. I'm sorry about that boy getting expelled and agree that finding out why isn't necessary. You know it'll hurt you.

Cm I may not have commented on all your doings but I'm glad to read your posts and see what you are up to.

I have to go downstairs to pick up one more dryer load. I'm almost too tired.

Good Evening

It was a beautiful day today.
No fog, lots of crystal clear sunshine.
Temps in the upper 40s, slight breeze.
But that was just the calm before the next storm system hits.

Got the kitchen clean, tidied the bathroom, rescued mousie from the water bowl.
Had put mousie on my dresser thinking Scooter never gets up on that dresser, guess I was wrong.
He's now on top of the fridge.

Good Morning

Hi Subclinical
Have a wonderful time today!
YEA! for three more students.
Sorry about the wine opener, LOL :D
Have a safe drive today, wishing you clear roads and sunny skies.


Today I need to do a little housework, stuff like dishes.

I am enjoying all the news on everyone's lives.

This week at school I got three new students (two in a class that really needed more students.)

An autistic student who I had last year and felt like I had made some progress with apparently got expelled (1/3 of the way through his senior year). I don't know what happened. Some of the kids just told me he probably wasn't coming back and asked if I wanted to know what happened, and I said "no. If [our director] thinks I need to know what happened, she'll tell me." I just don't need any more pain right now.

We went to dh work party last night. We took two items from the basement for the white elephant and brought home an electric wine opener that I Hope dh doesn't intend to keep. I tried to get him to steal the light up toy representing an item made by the company (and drop it in a toy collection bin this week) but he wanted to gamble on unwrapping something new.

I have reached a new non- pregnancy related high on my weight this morning.

Today dd1 and I drive up to spend the day with dd2.

Yeah Tatoulia
Just rub it in ;p
Glad you had a good time at the sale and got a few treasures.

Good luck and best wishes taking that ancient pill.
Hope somebody gives you massage gift certificates for XMas.
That would do you better than spooky old medicines. ;/

Remember that jeweler would buy any precious metals if/when you get tired of wearing them.
I often pick up small inexpensive pieces at the thrift shop with the thought that when I am done enjoying them I will be able to get my money back, usually at least twice what I paid too.

So many children's books made me cry, except Dr. Seuss.
Disney movies terrified me and made me cry a lot too.
My son always asked me to read him "Where The Wild Things Are".

Hello ladies

My brain is tired so forgive me for any missteps. Tillie I'm amazed at how much work you've done on your ceiling! That is hard work! I like your suggestion for reading a comforting childhood story. I still sob when I read Charlotte's Web.

CM I am so sorry about the cracked tablet! I swear they could make these things last better.

Great fun at the sale today. I'll tahe photos of my treasures later. A couple of rings, including one that has a big tiger's eye and is 14k gold and made in Italy! $3. (No fun if we aren't discussing the price tag). I also got. Black and white enamel ring that may be real gold. Doesn't matter, it's very stylish and also $3. I got a a Wedgwood click for $5. I wish it were blue but instead it's a light lavender. For $5 I can enjoy and then donate. So little stuff like that. Nothing I'll be too attached to yet can enjoy.

I have had so much tension in my neck lately. I've got 10 year old muscle relaxers and I'm going for it. I'll take one in a little while.

So great overspent today, probably close to $40 but I did have a nice time, as did mom. I was grateful to be driving BFs car. It was much more comfortable for me.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Fracking, need I say more? ;p

Hope you are up & at it!
Yes, get those toys off & donated. :D

Suggestion...
At bedtime read yourself a sweet short childhood story.
One without witches, ogres or other scary characters.
Horton hears a Who type story.

Good luck finding those raspberries.


Well I did it.
Measured and cut and glued up the partial side ceiling tiles.
Started about 10am and finished at 2pm with a break for lunch in between.
Next step is to run a slim bead of painter's caulk down the seams then paint them.
But not today.

Somehow I never pictured you getting fog, Tillie. Of course, ten years ago I never would've thought we'd ever have earthquakes in my part of Kansas!

I'm wanting to go run errands, but things here are taking a long time - especially since I went back to sleep from about 9:00-10:00 a.m. I have tried so many things to get rid of the dreams that mess up my sleep, but this early morning they were back worse than ever. Like Brain, where do you even come up with this nasty stuff?!

Then I remembered I had been reading a book on alien abductions (research for my novel) and there was a rather gross chapter, so that may have been it. So I guess, like horror, another genre to add to my "never read after 4:00 p.m." list.

All in a day's work to get the novel written. And I don't have to do a ton of graphic detail in the writing; this is just background reading getting a feel for the abduction movement. The novel will be more about the everyday life of the character.

Anyhoo... errands today:

Bank deposit to make, gasoline to get. Aldi store has fresh raspberries under $1.00 but the one yesterday I went to was out. Hoping to get them today. Would like to get Toys for Tots stuff dropped off so it is sure to get into the collection before the deadline. Walmart, a couple of things; Dollar Tree things I forgot yesterday (sheesh).

And woops, I got sidetracked by Facebook and now look at the time! I better get going!

Good Morning Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Sorry about that tablet accident but glad it wasn't totaled.
Hope everything goes smoothly and you have a lovely visit with your cousins.

Good luck with your plans for tackling your room!
You CAN do it!!! :D

YEA! for spending some active time outdoors.
WTG! for three bags full!
Ticks, yuck :/


Yesterday the fog rolled in before noon.
Lots of the snow has melted, everything is wet and getting icy.
Ended up zoning out yesterday, watched Netflix and did a tiny bit of tidying.
Hope today the fog clears out of my head.

Hi all

This post will overlap with things I meant to put in the other one plus what I have just caught up on. So it may jump backward and forward in time a bit. Hope it's not confusing. Or it may be a two-parter.

Tillie I meant to mention I am so happy for you about the ceiling tiles - and your pretty cotton dresses, and that I had to laugh about Scooter's mousie one last time. I'm also happy for Tatoulia for the progress on her Mom's stuff and her own, and SubC for getting recycling and stuff to take to school, and I hope your holiday plans work out the best way possible.

And yes, it is sad about the kid - I feel bad for kids and good parents these days, and sad that there are crappy parents, sad for folks like Tillie who had them. So much I do pray for healing about in general, in people's home lives and in the world at large.

I had mentioned I had a moody weekend. Like on Friday when we went to McDonald's for breakfast I broke the screen on my tablet. It was freaky weird because sitting there I had a premonition I would break it. (I haven't been keeping it in the protective case because I had to open the back so many times it's kind of warped.) So I was trying to be careful, and just when I went to put it in my purse before we left, I like flipped it up in the air!

Luckily it hit on one corner, the cracks are limited to a small area because it did have the clear protective thing over the glass, so it still works fine. But the premonition thing unnerved me. I just had to tell you all about it because I think we all understand strange things that end us up in strange patterns of life, of which clutter and hoarding are one - and these mini-crises can contribute. Am I making any sense at all? :P

And like I said, things did improve from Sunday on. So that's good.

Payday on Tuesday went quite well I did have to skip quilting, though, to make time to go pay bills. And I got new Barbie and Ken basic dolls at Walmart to give the Christmas Toys for Tots. I have 4 dolls - African-American Barbie & Ken and Caucasian. And a Baby Shark puzzle.

Yesterday I went and quilted and was speedy, did a whole side of the quilt (about 10 or so 6" blocks). Came home, did some computer stuff and was going to enter my cell phone payment card.

Well. That turned into a crazy endeavor. The website said the card was "expired" and wouldn't take it. Sure enough, there was a date on the back. The store should've pulled those cards I guess. I ended up on live chat, then in the evening I went to their store for more verification. All this time I hadn't eaten lunch, but my roommate got home and went with me to the cell phone store, because by then I was so stressed and low-blood-sugar flaky she said she hated to see me get out on the road. So then we went and ate.

Still sunny here going to be colder tomorrow then nice a couple days and nasty by Monday with that four-letter S-word stuff. But with a high of 46 it'll probably melt. Of course, these forecasts can always change one way or the other over the days leading up to some change.

I hope that will be the case, because Badger got me to make contact with my cousin and arrange to take the kids' gifts to them Monday evening, picking up a pizza along the way. I hope all goes well - her dad may be there, and I really don't care to spend much time around him as he has been abusive toward his wife and son (who is grown, married, and in the military). I don't know if age has mellowed the dad/grandpa any.

The wife is my actual first cousin; this one I'm going to see is her grown daughter. The wife/mother still stays in the town they're originally from, working. It's a strange and sad situation, and I only know bits and pieces of what has gone on, but I don't trust him. I just hope he isn't mean to his daughter or those grandkids. I will pray beforehand for peace and protection, and project confidence so he will know I'm not one to mess with...

Hopefully there will be no drama.

Tillie, that goal to be back in my bedroom by Christmas is a good one. I can probably make it even a week or two sooner. I shall probably start very soon on those receipts - maybe later today as trash pickup is tomorrow. Those heat-sensitive paper tickets contain BPA, I understand, so should be disposed of in regular trash rather than recycling.

If I get the receipts gone, I will probably have emptied this one big rectangular trug thing about 1-1/2 feet long and a foot wide and tall. There is a second trug like it containing my bunny club stuff, which needs much going through, computerizing, and probably will allow for some tossing of rough drafts and scraps. The resulting stuff will be streamlined.

These are good indoor projects to do while listening to YouTube Christmas music compilations via Roku on the TV.

I got those jeans completely finished and ready to wear - they just needed a few hand stitches to tack down the new pocket linings where the sewing machine couldn't reach. Woohoo!

Since today is so warm, however, I went out to the back yard where my roommate had a stack of brush she'd chopped down and I got 3 bags' worth into the trash. Saw one tick (eeks) and shook him away and checked myself for others. The stupid ticks are why my poor bunnies can't have outdoor playtime when the weather is nice. I hate them.

It did feel good to do an active thing outdoors in the sunshine, though. Days when I can do that help break up the monotony of winter months.

Good Morning Everyone

Good plan to make them talk to you face to face.
WTG! for a bag of donations in the car!
Happy your Mom is happy. :D


Managed to sleep in till just before 9 this morning!
Usually awake before the sun.
Was exhausted after yesterday, too much fun I guess.
There are high thinner clouds and empty spaces where the sunshine actually gets through today.

Tillie, the dresses sound lovely!!! And I do love cotton from India! Great find!!!

I got a bag of donations together yesterday and they are already in my car. I stopped by mom's briefly last night and she was great. BF sent her a piece of poundcake and a few bottled waters to help keep her hydrated. Her little one was adorable, just as we planned.

Off to work now. The person directly above me has been nasty lately and I decided to go in to avoid a nasty phone call. It will be tougher for him to be nasty to my face. He's been nasty all week. I know he's under a lot of stress.

Dear Subclinical
I know you go far and wide to do things right for everybody.
THANK YOU! for being the kind of teacher I wish children had had back in the 1950s/1960s/1970s.

Back then parents could beat the heck out of their child in full public view and nobody would bat an eye.

As a child I would pray my hardest that grown ups would change and YOU are that change I prayed for.
(((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia
Enjoy your evening :D
Relax and try not to fret.

The dresses all had different labels and they still had their paper tags attached.
They are 100% cotton. Three are that super thin flowy cotton, one is thicker eyelet.
One is a bright pink wrap around with some ruffles.
The eyelet one is teal.
One is a multicolored tunic style I like wearing to bed.
The other is like a patchwork bodice with matching strips of the same fabric running down vertically for the skirt.
All were made in India. They cost 5 dollars each.
The ladies at the check out counter were ooing and awing over them. ;D

SubC you are exactly the person we want for teachers. You are kind and generous and caring and creative. We are all so lucky that you are teaching. The whole world benefits from teachers such as yourself.

Tillie,

I am sorry about your teachers. I try very hard not to be that teacher. I try very hard to let kids know that I realize my class is only one part of their lives, but I hold the students responsible for communicating with me when there are other issues (or their parents if there are things going on the kids can/won't explain.). You don't get to just do nothing.

I know there are times when I fail. I know they aren't all going to be willing to talk to me. But I can only work with what I know.

I have let kids sleep in my class before. I have sent them to get food (I have given them my lunch). I signed out a laptop so somebody could write an English paper in my pottery class. I have excused a student from class and found her a private spot to cry when her boyfriend got arrested. I have changed curriculums and projects to accommodate a variety of people. Is ray late and I come in early. And I have been taken advantage of. It disappoints me every time.

Oh Tillie thank you for the reminder that we don't know what is going on in people's lives. Sometimes they are barely coping.

You are so brave in the snow! Four dresses!!! Descriptions. Please!!!

Great you were able to run your errands. It sounds perfectly snowy

Thank you as always, for being so intuitive and helping me sort these things out.

I'm going to run up to see BF right now and maybe mom too then run back here. Looking forward to a phone call with a friend tonight.

I also had a good call with a different friend tonight so that was great.

GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY!

Hi Subclinical
Good luck running all your errands today!
Happy you got the emergency bunny food. Hate to think what bunny would do to you if you ran out. ;)

Sorry you had to let the boy go.
Teachers were always reprimanding me in school for not being as involved as they expected me to be.
Unfortunately for me, they never took into consideration the hell my home life was and I was barely coping.

Hi Tatoulia
Sweet Miss Kitty sleeps by your bedside & shares the blanket.

You have been stressing and depressing last few weeks about the condition of your Mom's home.
Worrying because she was depressed and would not allow you to do anything there.
Hope you can now start to relax since she has allowed cleaning and is happy about it too.
Plus your place is clean even if you do have to sort some things out with the closet and XMas decorations, etc.


Well...
When I woke up and was dressing to leave it started to snow.
By the time I was ready to leave the car windows had to be brushed off so I could see.
All the while I was away from home it kept snowing harder and harder.
I rolled up the bottoms of my jeans to try to keep them dry, no such luck.
Went to Dollar Tree for a few items, then to fill my water bottles.
Had the car door open and the inside was getting all covered in snow.
Went to one thrift shop and found FOUR dresses that I absolutely love!!!!!!!! :D
Some will need alterations but I have until Spring to do them.
There was almost no visibility with the snow coming down so fast & furious.
Car windows getting recovered as I drove too.
Traffic was very light and everybody was driving very carefully.
Went to WallyWorld and got cat food and a lot of produce.
The Wintertime fruits keep for a longer time than Summertime fruits do.
Everybody every where was in such a happy mood because it was snowing.
Came home and trudged back and forth from the car to the house bringing in everything.
By then my feet were hurting from being so darned cold and wet.
Dried off my toes and put on a pair of sweet cashmere socks and my fleece lined moccasins.
Heated and ate my last bowl of chili.
Still snowing and now it's coming down in really big puffs.
Tomorrow will be dangerous with slick & icy roads.
So happy I went today and can now stay home for at least a week. :D

Tillie, I am guessing you have gone to town today!

I was feeling really stressed today. About owning too much stuff and the mess in here and the cleaning ladies coming and so I texted them to say my house is dirty and I'm upset and they said it will smell nice soon. When they got here I used google translate to tell them I'm upset and embarrassed and they have been so loving.

I'm a bit stressed about a few things. This will help quiet the stress, I am sure.

My coffee table is completely cleared off for the first time in a few weeks. My dining table is all Christmas wrappings and packages. I will finalize those things tonight.

I feel better right now. They are working really hard.

I wrote them their check but I lost it. I am very confused these days. Discombobulated.

Mom called today wondering where her tool box is and where did I put her sheet music. I got more stressed with that call. But I resolved it, finally, by saying mom we can reach everything easily now. I don't wAnt you pulling stuff out and getting hurt. I know where I put everything and I can access in a minute's time. The poor thing. She did say she opened the closet and was so pleased. I didn't let on that she confessed to sister how relieved she feels.

So in the future I need to remember that all I need to say is, I can reach it for you anytime.

These women here are amazing.

SubC I'm sorry you had to ask the boy to leave. Even though it was the right thing to do, that must've been tough.

Good work! Getting the swim in and doing all those other things! Wow! I need to channel your energy and determination today!

My house is completely torn apart right now and my cleaning friends are coming today. I will try to find an hour to do something about it. That's all I need if I just focus. Focus on tidying up and not the laundry, dishes, etc. just putting the closet back together and that sort of thing.

Okay I'm off to do what I can!!

Quick check in.

School takes so much time and energy! Also, yesterday I had to ask a boy to leave my class. Which was sad. He just isn't doing the work.

I took the glue to school.

Swam, dropped recycling, picked up my check from the show, stopped to get emergency bunny food. I have to go to the feed store before school tomorrow. Wednesday are very full - 5 classes. But I am going to try to stop at the bank (with my sale check), book store for the baby gifts, and small grocer for some particular items we buy there (nuts are cheaper, and they have particular cookies and juice and bread. Possibly treat myself to a goat milk cheddar.)

I have papers to grade tonight.

Thank you Tillie for the reminder on the boots. That was a vague recollection for me!!

Cleaners come tmr. I haven't done a thing about all I pulled out of my closet. Tmr is another day.

My lasagne made for a tasty lunch today.

I walked down to Back Bay Station today and took the commuter rail (free) one stop to South Station. Then I did the reverse tonight, but with a friend and we walked around the mall for a bit. I bought nothing although I did go to the pharmacy to get my meds.

My sister spoke with mom today and she reported being so pleased with the space I made for her. Now to go back and deal with the clutter around the perimeter of her room. That one foot layer of garbage. One foot deep not high

Tillie the trip into town sounds like fun! I would love to look around the thrift shop with you. Nice to build kitty a fort!

Lately at night I cover the cat with a blanket. She's always sleeping in her bed on the chair next to my desk, and I like to cover her with our shared blanket. In the AM she's always on top of it but that's nice too.

Okay time for bed. Hope SubC and Cm are doing well! Badger badger CM.

Good foggy Afternoon
1:35pm

Well, managed to force myself to remain in my nightgown & robe until 12 noon.
Did a bunch of things but only the kind of things you can do in your nightgown.
Saw the mail delivered so got dressed and went out across the road and retrieved it.
Been enjoying just fiddling around with no pressure to do something.

Made Scooter a cardboard box "fort".
Box is all closed up with a small slit/flap on the side.
Put a rag towel in there and he gets in there and naps and/or spies on us. :)

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Yes Tatoulia, you did see the mess at Mom's house and it was driving you crazy because she refused all offers to clean.

I vaguely remember that a pair of your boots last year had a hole and your feet kept getting wet so you tossed them.
Then Subclinical had that same problem until she found new boots.

Keep decorating, bribe her with muffins if necessary.
Carry on! ;D

Hi Subclinical
Please do go swimming!
WTG! for dishes and sheets.
Maybe we should limit your home alone time to just a few hours before switching it up to something more involved with the outside world?
Then back home again.
Some people really do need that contact to keep out of the dark places.


Fog.
Another foggy day here.
My plan for today is to rest my poor sore, stiff overworked body.
Feel very satisfied by what I have accomplished.
Maybe I'll do some beading? Maybe I'll work a few pencil puzzles?
Thinking tomorrow I should go into town. Need to fill 3 water bottles and there are a few things I need at the store.
Since I'll be out anyway I'd stop by the thrift shop and chat a bit.
Need to get out & away for a bit.

SubC! I too need more of a routine to avoid negative feelings. Sending you support from afar!

Thank you everyone. I'm still feeling terrible but I need mom's place to be less noisy. She didn't look in closet so she doesn't know how it looks. It looks great!!!

I cannot organize her linen closet the way I want to until after Christmas. The stores don't have pretty baskets/bins like the ones I used for my linen closet. Right now they are all Christmas-themed.

I'm proud that mom trusted me yesterday but ashamed of myself for the giant decisions I made. BF also mentioned that I am used to her mess so I don't see it. I do actually see it but he was being supportive so I wasn't going to argue! I need this support from everyone.

I got the lightbulb for her ceramic tree. I'll take it by tomorrow.
The tree I remember from my childhood so it is very nicely made.

I didn't look for my short boots last night. I think I let them go at the end of last year. We have snow but no Snow Day. That's okay, I'll find a way into the office. I can wear my tall boots. I will see if they will fit either over or under my corduroys

Good morning!

Go CM Go! You can do it. Back in your room for Christmas!

Tatoulia, I hope you have a snow day.

I have told my kids that when I reach the point that I am no longer independent and they are sure they can get away with it, they should lie to me to make me happy.

Today I go back to school. Yesterday I didn't want to, but I think I am ready. Dh says it is not good for me to stay home alone all day - I fall down the rabbit hole. To be fair, yesterday was very dark.

I still managed to almost catch up on the dishes and wash all the sheets. Plus, I have one assignment to prepare for today and then I am ready. (It is simple and today is a late start for me)

I am going to drop the recycling and swim today. Maybe more... maybe not.

Good Evening Everybody

YEA! Tatoulia's Mom!!!
WTG! Tatoulia

I know you did not remove anything precious or important. Just all the rubble.
BF is right, she needs to be able to move around in there.
I'm sure the holiday decorations set on clean & clear surfaces will make her happy.
Half a closet of useable space!!!
Wonderful her supplies finally have a place to put them!
Your lies are all forgivable because they are for her health and wellbeing.
Your are a wonderful loving daughter (((HUGS)))

Hope is that her having these clean & tidy areas will encourage her to ask for more. ;)


I'm very achy all over. I'm exhausted too.
Got lots of areas/things washed/wiped today.
Kept the kitchen clean, dishes washed, counter wiped.
Took a shower & washed my hair.
Did two loads of laundry too.