Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Completely agree with you that this could take a really long time.
That's the thing about "birthin Babies"
it takes as long as it takes. ;D

Holding you all close in my heart and thoughts
((((HUGS))))

WAY TO GO! for all the jam!
That's a workout in it's self.

Good luck, best of wishes with your virtual staff meeting.
I am hoping the tide is turning about the mask issue.
Seems mask wearing is getting more positive responses this past week.
Anti-maskers are now facing more critical backlash about their position.
At least this is what I am now seeing in places where indoor businesses are now all mandating everybody wear one.

Supposed to be a few degrees cooler next few days.
Still 97F to 101F but that is better than before.
But now the heat has generated clouds and lots of humidity.

Steven has stayed home for more than a whole week now.
From what I could understand from one of his nasty rants the other day he can't go anywhere any more now.
This is because he refuses to wear a face mask.
And he argues in a very nasty way with the poor people trying to enforce the rule.
He proudly tells me about how he argued with them.

I can still go into any shop in Nevada that I want because I would wear a face mask.
I used to have to wear a face mask every day at work when I did surgeries and it was no problem at all and kept my germs off my patients.
I also have allergies and allergic asthma and the mask doesn't interfere with my breathing. ;)

Goid morning.
No baby yet,
but it's baby day.

They have an appointment to induce at 10:00.

They will take the dog out before they go.
We will pick the dog up this afternoon.
Dsil thinks he will come take the dog back tomorrow morning.

(Actually this could take a really long time and she could have the baby tomorrow)

Yesterday I did not exercise, but I did finally make jam. 6.5 pints - enough to last us 4-6 months. Today is supposed to be a berry picking day, but it is also supposed to rain most of the day. Even if there is a break, it is not good to pick when the berries are wet.

CM, so odd that the frog responded to the rain when he is inside.

The house is messier because of the jam making.

I have a virtual staff meeting this morning. I think it is going to be stressful. I am getting some notes ready in case I need to defend my mask position.

And I need to do laundry.

Tatoulia, how did the laundry turn out?

Tillie, I am glad you are getting better.

Hello CriticalMass
GREAT that you are getting a good night's sleep!
Amazing how much difference that can make.

WTG! for doing laundry!

Wish your Frog would come here and eat the Cricket that chirps so loudly right outside my window all night.
Since it's been so hot even at night, the Cricket chirps very fast and constantly.

YEA! for your rain.
Jack and I were out watering the garden this evening and a few, very few, rain drops fell.
But the big dark clouds were nice and blocked the hot evening sun.

Since it's 8:35pm guess I could get ready for bed now.

Peeking in to see if there's a baby yet...

Been getting to bed earlier and noticed improved mood and even some productivity, so I'm sold for now. I kept staying up hoping I'd feel the satisfaction of getting something done, yet I was more piddling around than anything.

Did two loads of laundry yesterday. We got 1-1/2" of rain in the night. My frog croaked LOUDLY about it.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
How nice they came to visit!
Yes, it would feel weird having actual people right there after all this time in isolation.
Happy you had this time (((HUG)))

WTG! for riding and hiking!
Bet those brownies were delicious. ;)

Good luck with your jam and order making today.

I think a lot of parents are concerned about classroom school too.
So much we still don't know or understand yet.
A lot of 'wait and see".
But relieved you will still have enough to pay for things you need.

I think that if everybody wears face masks when inside together, keep their hands clean, this virus could be brought under control.
Too many people never thought before this just how badly we all spread germs to each other.


Yesterday I got my little patch of grass out front watered at about sundown.
Then showered & washed my hair.
Then did two loads of laundry and have it hanging out on the clothesline.
Soon as I finish posting I'll bring it in & fold & put it away.
Still need to take it easy but improving every day. :D

Good morning.
No baby.

Dd is now scheduled to be induced tomorrow, no more changes, (unless she goes into labor today) so by Thursday I should have news.

I picked more berries, did more work in the scullery, and started the jam yesterday, but then Dd and Dsil decided to come for dinner since we were all locked down, and I put the seeded pulp away in the fridge to finish today. It was good to see them, but kind of weird to have people in our house.

I won't start more chicks before school starts, but I may hatch some in my classroom, or another teacher might.

Rode the bike and took my walk yesterday. Dd brought brownies. My weight isn't budging.

Been communicating back and forth with my administration about class changes for fall. My schedule is taking a significant cut, but it's ok. My pay will be down about 30% even though I got a raise because I will have 1/3 fewer hours. I will still make the mortgage and a lot of my salary goes to optional things - there have been, and will continue to be, fewer optional things. Our enrollment is really down. I'm still pretty stressed about returning to the classroom and how much pushback there will be on masks.

Meanwhile, jam to make and order to creep toward....

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Your scullery counter sure is a very busy place where so many important things go until they are properly addressed.
WAY TO GO! for working on it! :D

YEA!!! for biking and hiking!

Very glad Dh is out clearing your land of fallen trees and brambles.
Good for him to get that physical outlet and good it's making walking your property lines easier.

Yep, I know so few of my neighbor's names too.
Used to know the "Old-timers'" names but they have all died years ago.

When Steven's mother and her husband came here long time ago before they died
they were ragging on us to clear the property and put in a grass lawn.
We live in the DESERT. That would be a HUGE waste of water, water is precious here.
Plus the Wildlife would be impacted without their natural habitat.
They said we were just lazy, making excuses.

So sorry so many Chicks are posturing like Roosters. :(
Will you try growing another batch?


Today I need to tackle the kitchen.
Not many human dishes to wash, cat bowls mostly.
Still going to take it easy after that heat ordeal.
Do the necessary stuff and rest & eat.

Good morning
No baby
They go this morning to decide wether to induce today or tomorrow.

I have still not made jam. I started clearing off the scullery counter and it us a much bigger, longer job that I thought because there are so many different mentally taxing things piled on it. I took a chunk of my day yesterday.

I almost caught up with the dishes and I picked beans and rode the bike and Dh and I took a walk.

Dh is doing a really nice job clearing downed trees, vines and invasives and opening up trails in the woods. He has found all the property lines and made it possible to walk very close to them. In the process he has had conversations with two of our neighbors who wanted reassurance that we were not clearing to build (Basically the same conversation both times - hey you, who are you what are you doing are you building?)

we never talk to our neighbors. As in, at the close of the first conversation (reassured that we were not building) the lady (Name unknown) thanked Dh again for our help clearing their driveway - 8 years ago. And after the close of the first ever and surprisingly lengthy conversation with the other neighbor - Dh reported to me that in the house live, at minimum, a couple and their adult son who just left an abusive gf and that the father worked for the company that originally built our bridge and helped on the construction. But that no names were offered. (Dh offered his) We have lived here for 17 years.

I am amused that the neighbors are so concerned about their privacy - I understand it. It is possibly the only thing we have in common - but apparently unlike me they have not learned that if you want privacy you do not clear to your own property line and put the yard in grass - no matter what the property next door looks like.

Tillie I am very glad you are cooled off and feeling better.

I don't know about the chicks. There is a way to sex them as day olds, but I don't know what to look for. Secondary characteristics show up later. I am concerned because an unfortunate number seem to be doing the rooster chest bump/flap challenge with each other. I can't remember seeing two hens do that....

Tell cowgirl kitty not to worry - things rarely leave the carport hoard.

Hi Guys :D

Feeling so much better!
Microwaved a piece of banquet chicken and ate it.
Been moving around. Feels so good to move.
The cats are perkier too.
Scooter shared my chicken with me.

The house is very dusty and the floors need sweeping & vacuuming.
But I won't worry about that today. :D

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Yes, many kids would be completely nocturnal if they were allowed to be. ;)

WAY TO GO! for exercise bike, berry picking, animal chow and especially for all that clean laundry!

Glad the feed store has curb side pick up.

A big pot of jam cooking on the stove may entice the Baby ;D

Baby birds of all sorts are so cute and silly looking at that between stage.
And they look itchy with all their constant preening as the feathers grow out.

Do you know how many are hens?
I never sexed baby chicks so I don't know how long it takes before you can see the difference.



Slept over 10 hours.
I was/am exhausted from the heat ordeal.
The house is at 74F while outside at 2:00pm it's 105F in the shade today.
I think I could even cook a little food today.
Didn't cook when the house was too hot already.
I do not recommend the "hot house" diet.

The balloon is still trapped in the carport.
Cowgirl Kitty safely had her breakfast this morning. ;D

Good Morning
No baby.

Tillie, I'm crossing my fingers for the cooler. I was very glad to read that you are cool now!

It's supposed to be miserably hot here today. Not like Tillie's temps, but high 90s and humid.

CM, you are making good plans.

I'm glad people there are wearing masks.

I got feed yesterday. The feed store has no mask requirements (freedom! Yay!) but I can call and have my feed rung up and then pull in and they put it in the back of my car.

My students are nocturnal. Yesterday at 6:00 (a.m.) I was responding to a student email when I noticed it had been sent four hours earlier. I'm pretty sure some of them get up right before our 1pm class.

That balloon story is so funny!

Yesterday I picked blackberries and I did my half hour on the exercise bike. I also ran some laundry, since I sweated through three sets of clothes before dinner and I was out of shorts that fit. Also, Dh was so out of clothes that he was wearing the big t-shirt I use for pajamas. Laundry is pretty much caught up now on washed, but not put away.

The house needs a lot of picking up. I guess today would be good for that since it will be hot. I also want to make jam, and I need to clear off a bunch more space on the scullery counter to do that.

The chicks are two weeks old now and look like funny little ugly birds with their fluff mostly gone and pin feathers everywhere.

Hi CriticalMass
Just 11pm here.

So many people are struggling with their weight during this time.
Good luck with your plans and WTG! for the walking since you can't swim.

YEA! for getting donations delivered!
That would really help if someone else stored Bunny Club stuff.
You need any space you can get.

Happy you have been doing the mental work figuring out the storage arrangement.
So much easier when you plan things like that out mentally first then tackle it. :)

It's 70 degrees in here now.
I should turn off the cooler but don't want to.
Took a shower and am really enjoying the coolness after so many days at about 90F degrees day & night. :)

Was out watering the grass this evening, the wind picked up, gusting around.
Cowgirl Kitty came and was singing and dancing on the porch wanting some dinner.
I told her just a minute, soon as I relocate the sprinkler I'd feed her.

Got the sprinkler going, turned around just in time to witness this huge shiny gold balloon (number 2 shape) rushing over to get Cowgirl!
She was frozen in place with fear but managed to leap out of it's way just in the nick of time.
Then that evil balloon started chasing her!!! :O

She ran into the carport, balloon close on her heals.
But the balloon made a big mistake and got trapped in the middle of all the carport hoard.

Cowgirl was saved from that blood thirsty balloon that was going for her throat.
YEA!!!

The balloon is still out there though and there is no way to reach it. LOL :D

I fed her her super.

Wow, Tillie, he fixed it? Amazing! I'm so glad.

Tatoulia, I feel your pain as I try to avoid gaining the Quarantine 15. I'm already irritated enough that half my 30 that I lost in 2016-17 has returned through gradual creep.

I had a convergence of circumstances and internal motivation and discipline back then that made it easy to lose weight, and have not been able to duplicate that since. :( But I do remember a trick or two, like halving portion sizes. And I am taking those walks.

SubC, blackberries sound yummy. Roommate has plenty of them but the birds and critters get them first. Her other produce has been snitched as well. Tonight her dog was barking at a possum.

My room decluttering progress has slowed; I hope to pick it up this coming week. These days I feel somewhat sluggish, but time whizzes by. Dropped donations off for church sale. People were wearing masks.

Bunny club board meeting tomorrow, with masks and social distancing, and at the home of a gal very close by. No driving across town in the heat, though that means no extra bunnies to pet. Just one adorable little scamp, Bandit. She is 6 pounds of attitude in a 3 pound bag. Heehee.

I think I'm going to ask if anyone in the bunny club has room to store some of our event paraphernalia, door prizes, etc., that I really don't need to keep shuffling around making my own clutter worse. And my roommate and I talked about it; she had bought some of it, nothing expensive but I didn't want to presume - anyway, she was fine with my donating whatever the bunny club doesn't want to keep.

When I got the church sale donations out of storage this week, besides the bunny club stuff, I also saw some other good starter decluttering projects I could do - including a set of shelves that have been in an awkward spot and if I got them out I could push tubs back and have more room, thus making it easier to work and spot more stuff that can either go away or at least be neatened up a lot. So that's encouraging. Some of the ideas are even doable while it's still summer, in the cooler times of day.

Well, better get to bed. My time stamp says almost 1:00 local time. Being a night owl so much lately. Hoot.

I don't know why but this evening he fixed the cooler.

???

Keep fingers crossed it is properly fixed and stays fixed. XX

Hello Everybody
Just about 12 noon here.

Hi Subclinical
Yes, I make ice! :D

Sounds like you had a nice more laid back day yesterday.
Good!

Must keep rested during the Baby watch. :D

So many food products come in very nice reusable plastic containers with good fitting lids.
When one of my rewashed/reused baggies won't seal any longer I use it for things where it's good enough just folded over at the top.

I have 4 assorted size round Pyrex "casserole" dishes with lids and use them all the time for food storage in the fridge and freezer.

Great plan to eat all the berries as they ripen and have your icecream later.
So happy you have lots of icecream and cheese.
Now, about the goat milk soap???
Think after the Baby comes you need to make yourself a batch.


Watered the Lilacs this morning and have the hose on slow watering trees now.
Don't need to spend much time outside, just move the hose to another tree after one tree gets watered for several hours this way.
This evening I will water the grass.

Everything is suffering with the heat.
But I think I am watering enough to at least keep it alive. LOL :D

The cats have been drinking lots of their water too and I give them can food that I mush up with extra water sort of like a thick soup/stew.
Scooter's mousie is well hydrated laying at the bottom of the water bowl.

Steven actually spoke to me last evening.
?
He was not hysterical or screaming and swearing.
?
He came inside from the garage just to talk to/at me.
?
He talked about how ridiculous the mask mandate is.
He said he is claiming medical exception.
He has no medical reason not to wear a mask.
He went on & on for about half an hour about how nobody is getting sick or dyeing.

I did not argue or add much to his conversation.
Did not beg for the cooler to be fixed because I am afraid of him, his reaction.

No baby yet.

Oh dear Tatoulia!

Shall I keep you updated on what kind of ice cream We're having? I'm actually stashing almost all of it in the deep freeze. Right now I'd rather eat blackberries.

I do have two of those bags. I don't use them very much. Somehow regular bags seem to come into my life a lot, and like Tillie I wash them until they fall apart. Actually, when they get a little hole or tear, I tape it and use them in the studio or classroom to keep small work from drying out. I reuse a lot of grocery containers too.

Have you seen the stretchy silicone bowl lids? Those I LOVE! I use them all the time. They fit on my square baking pans too. Most of my plastic Pyrex lids have aged and broken, so I bought the silicone instead of replacements.

I'm glad so many people are helping you out and looking forward to the laundry report!

Tillie, stay cool! Sit by the fans and play with your beads and drink lots of cool water. Do you have ice? Roll up a damp hand towel and stick it in the freezer or fridge to put against the back of your neck. You can use two and switch them out.

I did not do any of my exercise things yesterday. I picked green beans and washed some dishes and read and watched videos. Must do better today!

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
How nice you got to catch up with lots of people!
Nice that you got your car inspected for you too.

That's harsh. No more icecream. :(
How about only Subclinical's or once a month till it gets cooler out?
Those fruit pops sound very refreshing.

YEA! for a new washer!!!
And you got to do the shopping for it so I am sure you will really like it.

I am glad you don't regret limiting your linens.
I don't regret anything I don't have any longer, I feel I have the right amount.
As things wear out I will replace them some day.


As the sun was fixin to set the wind picked up.
Really raging when I was out there watering the garden.
Well over 100F today and next three days supposed to be even hotter.
Was able to keep it at 88F in the house.
Finally down to 78F inside tonight but feels cooler with 3 fans going.

Tillie are you feeling better? I'm so worried for you. We received a heat alert for Sunday and Monday.

I didn't do much today. BF made mom tea with honey to help her out and I also brought her ginger ale and a fresh loaf of bread. Then I went to while foods and got a sandwich and a slice of vegan spanikopita. I then came home, showered with my one towel, then napped. I do have a lovely Turkish towel that I received as a Christmas gift from my artist friend to go with my new bathroom color scheme so I pulled that out and put it over my pillow due to my wet hair.

An executive at the insurance co has been helping me with the prescription problems and I'm much calmer now. She doesn't have any significant solutions but I like her and I feel heard.

My laundry was picked up at 9:17 tonight. The guy seemed nice. I had my three bags ready. Towels, sheets, pjs. All whites/light colors. Even though I'm out of towels, I am grateful that I own four and only four. It's really the right number. I had a set of towels for my mother's friend when she would come visit but I gave one to my sister and the other is in use to help keep the ac in my window. The portable one leaves a gap and so I've folded that towel to bridge it. It doesn't show from the outside. At the end of the season it will be stained irreparably so I'll wash it well and donate it. It won't be gross, and the kitty cats won't mind a bit.

I gave the laundry guy an ice pop. I got them at Whole Foods. Organic, all juice, no added sugar. I've never liked popsicles or ice pops but these are delicious, refreshing and much lower in calories than an entire container of ice cream.

So nothing to show for today. It was a good day.

Oh! Wednesday night I ran into a lot of people I haven't seen in a while. I'd gone to BF's work to wish one of his employable happy birthday. We had a cake for him to take home and some individually wrapped pastries to enjoy at work. Gone are the days where we served cake to customers and cops and whoever else was roaming around. Anyway I saw three different people I hadn't seen and for that I was grateful. And one of them was the woman who used to use my car everyday for her son. She has her own car now so I asked her to drive me home and when we got here I said, oh my goodness my car needs to be inspected so she took it the next day for me. I abhor having the car inspected. And you know what, I really needed that. It expired in May so from my perspective, she got a few months off. I hate doing it so she's always done it for me. What a relief. She's just so great about it.

And with new washer Monday, the nice man downstairs with the kitties said he'd deal with the delivery and installation for me, which was fantastic. Again something else I don't like to do. He said he wants to do it, selfishly, because he can then jump in and start his laundry.

SubC I loved your story! She's world-weary yet respectful and you delivered a surprise! I wish we could've seen her face! Speaking of deliveries, I'm saying prayers for your daughter.

Cm sending you a shout-out.

I realized today that my weight is really bad. So I'm going to go lock up the house and listen to my CD. I owe this to myself. No more ice cream for me. SubC I'll have to tell myself no ice cream unless you make it for me.

Tillie please know I am so sorry and I need you and the kitties to be safe and well.

Hello Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Please make an effort to connect with your Friend (((HUG)))

Since you can't swim at the Y I am happy you are going on morning walks.

Best wishes for finding quick relatively easy tasks to tackle.
Even little things done is a step in the right direction. :)

Hi Subclinical
LOL, I can just visualize the building manager thinking that cart was good and should be saved for Justin Case it could come in handy some day. :D

Soap is always good to have and nowadays especially needed.
Happy to know you will have your own homemade soap :)

Things change daily, maybe Dh won't return to the workplace the 27th?
Fingers crossed...

WAY TO GO!!! for you and your Students all getting together and caught up on things! (((HUG)))


Hi Tatoulia
Hope Mom is doing better today (((HUGS Tat's MOM)))

I didn't know they made those "baggies".
I just hand wash regular ones until they fall apart. ;p

Hope your laundry comes back smelling and feeling like a million dollars and that the service didn't cost a million. ;D


When the sun sets I will go out and water my garden tonight instead of getting up at sunrise tomorrow morning and watering it.
At sunup today I washed dishes.

Tillie,

I am very worried about you, and I hope you are ok.

I hope tatoulia's mom feels better quickly too.

I came by to offer a little hoarder humor.

During the summer we have a very efficient and minimalist woman who comes in and does deep level organization in our building and throws out broken stuff and orders upgrades and replacements. Sometimes she goes overboard, but honestly, this year, what she is doing is very important! But it's funny, because she sends out a lot of emails "does this belong to anybody? is this important? is someone using this? Do you need this? Is this yours?..." and I send a lot of emails back "me! Yes! Also me, mine! please don't throw that out...."

So today, she sent a picture of a cart that I replaced and told the building manager to throw out last year (one wheel is seized due to damage and it screeches) there is a piece of tape with my subject and room number on the cart. I have no idea where it was hiding for a year. The text with it said "yours, right?" I could hear the discouraged resignation. And I got to send back "nope. I marked that for rubbish last year."

I can almost see her dancing with joy that she finally gets to throw out some of my stuff.

Good Morning Everybody

So wonderful to read your pleasantly detailed posts.

Please forgive me for not responding to them at this time.
Maybe later today.

Twinkles and I are not feeling very well. I think he has a headache too.

SubC, that is exactly the type of information and leadership and empathy that your students need. Well done! I know that the emails from our CEO and Board of Directors are giving me the leadership and structure I need. We are definitely officially closed til August 1 and we've been told more likely to be September 1, but then with school starting (or not starting), we are probably looking at mid-September. Even getting that information was good direction and structure for me. You're right in the money-knowing that people are thinking about it and working on it is key! And yay for heart daughter!!

CM it is tough to keep up with people. Just don't ever let the passage of time be the reason for not reconnecting. I had a great fall with a friend who I hadn't seen in years. We picked right up and you can too.

Steven is cruel. That's the word right there.

Why am I not at doctors? Mom was up in the night with stomach issues. So we couldn't go. That poor thing.

Tillie, using those bar soaps must be terrific for you! I used one of the triple mulled almond soaps with my shower last night and it was lovely.

I cannot wait for my laundry to be picked up and returned! I will see if it frees me up to do other stuff or if it's too expensive, etc. right now I feel like everything is filthy because the washer wasn't working right and I have the heebie jeebies. I'll buy a basin and hand wash tonight.

SubC! I bought two reusable ziplock bags and they are fantastic. One is snack size and one is sandwich bag. They are all the good things like BPA free and I got the ones that are dishwasher safe. I adore them. They are so wonderful. I'm sure you are years ahead of me on this one. Fantastic products

Good morning, no baby yet.
He is fully cooked today.

Such lovely long posts!

Tatoulia, I am glad things seem to have worked out well for your mom. And you are getting to spend time with her!

I will be following your laundry journey with interest.

Tillie, the cooler thing just makes me so angry! Can you make yourself a small cooler with a wet sheet and a fan?

You all have reminded me that I need to make soap again soon.

CM, I'm sorry your sleep is disrupted. If you are staying up Kate and walking before 7, no wonder you are tired!

I hope you can catch up with your friend.

Dh is having trouble sleeping. He says the work at home/quarantine routine is grinding him down and he needs a change of scenery. We both slept in this morning because he couldn't get to sleep, and so I couldn't get to sleep.

Some of his coworkers are back in the office and he is jealous. He will go back on the 27, so the baby should come now so I can have more baby days!

I wish he would not go back at all.

Yesterday for exercise I only did yoga. It was still very hot in the evening and Dh and I were both tired.

I froze the ice cream and took the beans out of the dehydrator. Today I pick more beans and restart it. I am loving these dried beans so much. I wish I had planted more beans. much better than filling the freezer with them.

I had a good time with my students. I like the new one. They wanted to talk with me about what will happen in the fall. They are lost and uncertain and anxious and we need to be supporting them better.

I told them what I know and how much I don't know. I told them there would be some class and teacher changes, but that I couldn't tell them which ones, and no, none of their teachers has died. I told them there would be some new choices and that I would be back and that a well loved teacher from the past (I named her, it's my heart daughter) is returning for some classes. I told them the administration has surveyed their parents and the teachers will be meeting for discussion groups next week. I told them they should expect to start later this year because we want to see what happens when the public schools reopen. I think it helps them to know that someone is in charge and thinking about the problem.

I told them I hate this too.

The night owl cycle is self-perpetuating...

Tillie, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your sharing of how Steven's hot spots went away. I hope it is so for my roommate as well. She did mention tonight that she may have been having some kidney pain, but that does not have to mean something terrible, we hope.

The scan place was supposed to do the kidney one yesterday along with the other, but the orders got screwed up. The place is way on the east side of town. I had been planning on her being there awhile, and having some time to drive around, do a little shopping, maybe park in the shade and eat, etc. I sold her on the idea of doing so after I jetted back to pick her up.

Then this morning the error was discovered, and it looked like we might have to embark on another journey. So we waited, waited to hear. When they did call, it has been scheduled for Monday so that kind of ate up the morning.

This afternoon I got sleepy again after lunch. I must do smaller lighter meals - and stop staying up so late - but when I can't get diddly squat done in the daytime it makes me furious to have to turn around and go to bed. Sigh.

I wish Steven would just stop being hateful and lift the damn panels already so you could clean the spider arms.

Today I also learned that my friend I would visit daily in spring 2019 throughout her long journey back from death's door and off to a care facility in the town where her daughter lives, is in ICU again. This actually hasn't been the first time since this all happened last year. If she makes it through this time, she will come here for a step down hospitalization. But thanks to Covid, of course, I won't get to do like I did before. But maybe we can catch up via some online thing - I don't know. It's been harder than it should've been for me to stay in touch with her and I feel guilty over that. And sad.

SubC, thanks for the insightful empathy on being married vs. single - and I know married gals have to spend time with the hubby so there are tradeoffs in anything. Still, my roommate and I have often remarked about the ways each of our lives would be different if we could find our Mr. Rights (we even have names for them, LOL). I remember my dad, and how he took care of so many things. Well, and my mom did a lot of the paperwork because she had a knack for that.

And I've taken pride in the things I have learned to do as a single gal, it's been good for me no doubt. But it does get overwhelming, particularly when money is constantly short and things can't be well maintained, and suddenly things break and it's one crisis after another.

I've been going on the morning walks with my roommate most every morning I can. If we get out before 7:00 it's not hot, and it's peaceful.

Hi Tatoulia, glad the situation with your mom is winding down. Those sorts of things are incredibly stressful. And that you're getting some options for the laundry. I remember when I lived in my apartment all those years from 1986 to 2003, there was a community laundry room but it only had 4 of each machine then later only 3 and they were smaller.

So then I'd go to Mom & Dad's or a laundromat. The laundromats were quicker but one had to avoid sketchy people, and cigarette smoking was slow to be banned, which is hard to imagine now! Nothing like taking clean clothes out of the machine to fold and having some other patron's stinky smoke waft over to them. :P One of my huge goals in life was to move to a place with my own machines.

Then from 2003-2011 I had Mom's machines at her house, and took them with me to the dinky apartment, then stored them from 2012-2015 or so and ended up giving them to my mechanic for one of his kids when it was apparent I wasn't going to get my own place again for awhile. :(

These last few days I've really had a time getting much done, but my motivation hasn't gone away completely. It's in danger of ebbing if too much discouragement happens, so I need to find some things I can accomplish quickly thus giving me inspiration to keep pushing forward.

I'm still positive about my taper off the antidepressants. There may be a little shifting and adjusting going on in my brain and energy levels. I feel confident it'll resolve okay over the next few weeks. Sometimes I'm a bit cranky but I'm working on getting that under control. I feel like the benefits of this taper are already outweighing any slight difficulties. May hold at this lower dose and evaluate whether/when to go down more or completely off.

We're supposed to have a hot weekend here.

My church is going ahead with their garage sale in a couple weeks. Roommate has stuff to put in in it and I do too. I wonder what a socially distanced church sale will be like. It might get less disorganized - a rummage sale without so much rummaging!

SubC, I'll sure be checking to see when the baby comes in case it is before Monday. :)

Good Evening

Hi Tat :)
Have fun tomorrow escorting Mom to get the xray.

Happy you are satisfied with the outcome of the computer sale snafu.

OK, so you are using a laundry service to get caught back up on the backup from a broken machine.
Maybe it won't be too expensive and they do a great job.
I dunno, I think you will miss doing your own linens and will eventually stop using the service. ;)

When I lived on the island I did all my laundry by hand.

I always bought/buy nice quality bar soaps whenever I saw them in the thrift shops.
People got expensive soap as gifts and donated it I think.
Anyways, I had a lot of those fine bar soaps.
They smell sweet in drawers and linen closet etc.
I have really been enjoying using them at this time.
The smell is nice and they have luxurious silky lather.
Still have a nice little stash ready and waiting to be used. :D


I can fix the cooler myself.
The not working "spider" arms need to be cleaned of blockages and readjusted.
I can NOT remove the side panels.
They are hard to lift up & out and are too heavy for me.
He is just so cruel.

Thank you for the loving support. The cleaning man came into my mother's apartment today and apologized profusely. I'm glad that I didn't speak with the maintenance guy who wanted details. So it's over for me. He knows I know and he knows that Sally knows. And I hope it serves as a warning to the presumable uninvolved maintenance man that I'm watching everything.

I so enjoyed your post, SubC. It had a nice rhythm to it and I smiled when you said that not this afternoon for the baby.

Tillie I don't know what we can do about the evaporative cooler, esp since it sounds like it could be repaired. I can't have you sick. I share in your inability to tolerate heat. Is there anything at all that I can do?

Well I have piles of laundry here. I went through my towels and they just aren't clean. The washer wasn't working right for a couple of weeks and i can't use the towels. You may recall that we (yes it was a group project, we all here did it together) cleaned and organized my linen closet. Well I kept only four bath towels which is the perfect number. I only have the one I am using, the others washed up terribly in the broken machine. And I have two sets of sheets needing to be washed. One of the drs upstairs is going to use a service called life without laundry, which picks up and delivers your laundry. She said that the other drs use it and they love it. Their website looks really good. They use cold water and gentle soaps and dry on medium and do other things that I do. They will skip the softener and the dryer sheets so I asked for that. So I have my sheets, towels and pajamas all ready for them. They will pick up tomorrow night between 7PM and 10PM and will return them Saturday night. I'm pretty excited about this. I have thre big bags waiting for them, God only knows what it will cost (it's by weight). I am so excited. Everything feels so filthy ever since I discovered that the washer was busted.

I can wash my unmentionables and my skirts by hand. For years, even in grad school, I washed all of my underthings by hand. I found it very soothing. So I'll go back to that for now.

Okay, garbage out and cat box cleaned. All laundry is in bags waiting to go. I have tomorrow off to take mom to the hospital for an X-ray. I am so excited that they said I could be her companion. The wheelchair van will pick us up at 9 AM so now following around for me right now. I need to shower. I have clean sheets on my bed and I'm glad I have three sets. OH! the point of the towel story is that even with just four bath towels, I absolutely have the right number. And I'm glad I Gabe three sets of sheets. I just pray that when I washed this particular set that the washer was working, it's been a t ough couple of weeks. New one Monday but I think it will be crowded. BF thinks I'll fall in love with the laundry service and yeah, he's probably right, If I can make it work with the budget, the I'll stick with it and only worry about doing my clothes. But let's see what the budget is. I'd love to find a new soothing way to live such as wiping the kitchen counters. But let's see how much all of this weighs and costs.

Hey CM. hey Joan.

I am absolutely fascinated by whether people will be hoarding or purging in the pandemic, I can see it going either way. For me, I've been working really hard to buy soaps that I find comforting. I generally buy all of my bar soaps on Etsy but I've needed extra comfort so I've purchased a lot of Bulgari
Green tea soap and shampoo and conditioner because it is a very soothing scent for me. Reminds me of Japan. I also bought some Caswell & Massey triple milled almond soap. I feel very soothed and calmed by the familiar soaps and so that's what I've been doing. And I use them right up. And I feel better.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
I am relieved.
At least now he knows that others know and he has to watch his step, or else.

YEA! for getting to go up and be with your Mom and little Sister! :D

WTG! for shopping and finding a good replacement washer!

Thanks for the show recommendation.
Will have to check around for it.


Hi Subclinical
((((HUGS)))) hugs and best wishes for you all at this time!!!!! :D

AT least she can have her Dh with her.
I heard earlier they weren't allowing anybody in for deliveries and that's so cruel for the Mother.

WAY TO GO!!!!
You have been doing a LOT!

Love that you took a long walk and hope you do that more.

Good luck and have a wonderful time today with your Students.
I'm sure they will all enjoy the game. :D


OK...
Steven is not hot.
He has a cooler in his bedroom and an even bigger one in the garage.
He never spends time in the house where me & the cats live.

I can not open his bedroom door and allow that cooler to maybe help a little out here because his room stinks to high heaven and he has removed the window screen allowing flies from the neighbor's horses into the room.
Plus Scooter can jump out the window and I wouldn't know he's outside.
Scooter can go outside with me but he tends to get himself into predicaments to be out all alone.


Since last night I have a sick headache and am nauseous.
I don't tolerate the heat.

Got up at 6am this morning and watered the garden and brought in the laundry I hung out at midnight.
That's all folded & put away.
9am and it's a wonderful 73F in here for now.

Tatoulia,

You gave to do what is best for your mom, but they are probably trying to make sure these things don't happen again to anyone. At least they are aware and will probably watch this guy more closely.

I'm glad you got a visit. My mom is lonely and I can only face time her. It makes me sad.

Tillie, I am also concerned about you and the heat. I hope Steven gets tired of being hot and fixes the cooler!

CM, good wishes for roommate today.

I did not get as much done as I would like yesterday. Laundry and dishes are still the bane of my existence. But I did a lot.

Ramping up my exercise program - Morning yoga, 1/2 hour on the exercise bike, and our evening trail walk was almost 2 miles. A little sore today. Solution - more yoga!

I pulled weeds, picked the beans and got them in the dehydrator, and I made more ice cream mix.

I am going to pick blackberries again this morning and I'm looking forward to my game this afternoon. So excited to "see" my kids again.

DD's appointment went well. They don't want her to go much over her due date (tomorrow) so they scheduled an induction for Monday, but they don't think she will make it that long. My a Dad is rooting for Saturday because Saturday is his birthday. I am rooting for any time except this afternoon.

Thank you everyone for your support. He took the computer back and had oddly not cashed the check so he gave that back. He must've known he had done something that I would find out about. Mom was very nice and said she couldn't see it. She had it in a bag for him, the way I asked her to. She claims he gave her the check and she tore it up.

I was secretly in touch with one of the women there. She's like a sister to me. She was outraged and upset but understood that mom didn't want to make a fuss. I'll just name the woman Sally. So Sally texted me tonight to say that the maintenance man wanted my phone number. It was the cleaner, not the maintenance man involved in this. And Sally said I can't just give you her number but I'll ask her. And he said, I know you know what's going on and I need to speak with her. And Sally said, I don't know what's going on. Anyway I told her to tell him that I said no.

In the midst of this Sally let me go upstairs to see mom. It was a nice visit although hard for mom to hear me with my mask. Mom wasn't wearing one but we were six feet apart at all times. Cat was very cute. I snuck out and that was that.

Sally definitely wants this to get to the director of the facility. I need this to die down. My mother is too vulnerable there.

Well I found a washer for us. I'm waiting for one final homeowner up agree to it and I'll order it in the AM. He had previously approved but now that I've found the right thing and have an estimate, I think he needs to give me permission.

I haven't made any progress here but I haven't lost any ground.

SubC your husband is a doll. I'm thinking of your daughter. Cm I hope your roommate's scan goes ok. Tillie I am worried about you and the animules. I wish he'd just fix the cooler.

Here's a show I like: what we do in the shadows. It's in FX but I'm able to watch it on Hulu. Just a suggestion. You used to be able to get a 30 day free Hulu but now I think it's only 7 days. Might be worth it to try the seven day trial and watch an episode or two. There's also a movie by the name but I haven't seen it. I adore it and it's really like nothing I'd normally watch.

Hello

So hot, can only just sit still with the fans on.
86F inside, 103F outside.

It's 5:30pm-ish

He just got out of bed at 4:30pm.

Have not initiated any conversation with him and he ignores my existence but he keeps slamming doors and stomping around.

The cats are miserable too.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
The time stamp for me is always wrong, it was only 10pm when I posted, so not a night Owl. ;)
WTG! for figuring out how to back up your photos on the phone.

When I watched "Dark Shadows" I had to laugh at myself because I started to sound like the guys on mystery science theater with all my snarky comments. :D
Glad you are enjoying it too.

My fingers are crossed for Roommate's scan tomorrow. Steven's later scans showed the glowy spots were resolved, diminished, gone.

True, some people have been doing the hard mental work to help reduce clutter or overcome hoarding due to the popularity of those methods.
But without ever doing the mental work, hoarding is a danger for some people.
Decluttering all starts in the mindset.

Maybe doing some light physical work after eating lunch would help you not get so sleepy?
I have to get up after lunch or I will just fall asleep too.


Hi Subclinical
YES! pots boiling away on the stove! LOL :D

I am so happy and grateful for you having your Dh there living and working with you (((HUGS)))

WAY TO GO! you have been doing so much! Keeping up with things and enjoying gathering up your harvest and making wonderful additions to your stash of foods. :D


Last night I was laying on the bed, Scooter laying beside me.
He was on his back with all four legs sprawled out in different directions.
He was enjoying finally cooling off under the ceiling fan. :D

Good morning!

To start - tatoulia, you absolutely must report the man. The facility needs to know. You can do it very nicely "I need to talk with so and so, he sold my mom a computer. I'm sure he was trying to help her, but apparently he's unaware that she can't see well enough to use it. I'm sure she wouldn't tell him. But I need him to return the money and take the computer back. Also, is there some place I can make a note that employees shouldn't be helping my mother write checks?

As an aside - if your mother can't see her checks, why does she have a checkbook? You should have the checkbook.

I'm laughing about the dangerous trees, because Dh and I took a walk around the property last night (Dh says we're going to do it every night - it's 1.4 miles, more if we add any interior paths) and one if the things we actually did was make note of dangerous trees. Also ripening blackberries.

And, my dad was an insurance agent (now retired) for years and years he had people tell him a tree "suddenly appeared" or "jumped out in front of" them. Seriously. People would say the tree jumped in front of them. They must have been those dangerous Boston trees. I'm glad you are watching out for them.

I hope you get the washer thing resolved quickly!

Tillie, I am very pleased with your bead supply. I can envision the strand. My inner squirrel finds it quite promising.

I am worried about the evaporative cooler though.

CM, I'm glad you and roommate have a fun evening activity.

I too am excited for the baby. Dd has an appointment this morning. She has started texting me every morning: "still pregnant. <Frown emoji>."

Listening to all your computer things made me think. There are so many things I don't have to do in a day because I have Dh. So, Tatoulia, I may sound very busy to you, but there are a lot of things I don't have to do that you take for granted. For example, we are updating our wills. All I had to do was answer three questions Dh asked me. Then later I will have to sign things. Easy peasy. The brakes are going bad on the truck (don't worry, it's a "never moving again" kind of bad, not a "can't stop" kind - the way I drive the truck, worst case I get stuck on the road within 5 miles of home and someone pulls it off to the side and gives me a ride.) So Dh is researching the cost of replacing the brakes vs. options for a new farm truck. (I may get a new truck!) Dh filed our taxes. He mows, he takes care of dangerous trees, he provides me with fire wood, he cooks dinner....

I mean, seriously, someone cooks me dinner. I used to cook dinner, so I know how much time that frees up!

I am still working on getting my days and my weight under control (the walk is Dh trying to help me.)

Yesterday I picked blackberries, cleaned stalls, froze the ice cream, made more ice tea, finished the dried beans, and emailed students.

Today more beans, random garden maintenance, maybe more ice cream mix, laundry and finish up my island for tomorrow. Dh is nudging me to make pickles. I think that can wait for Friday. Nothing like a stove covered in boiling pots to make a baby show up.

Tillie, I see we are both being night owls. It's hard to get much done these past days. I'm glad my laptop is working a lot better though.

It is thundering here.

July is in that hot draining stage sometimes. Add to that quarantine disorientation and it seems like the days pass with not much getting done. After lunch I get ridiculously sleepy, so I hope to start eating smaller lighter lunches because if I doze off that carves the heart out of the day.

Yesterday was crazy - I wanted to get the photos on my phone backed up and technology wasn't cooperative. Had to try several different strategies, finally did get most of it done. And my roommate is working on end of fiscal year stuff trying to get figures to balance etc. Then the landline phone kept ringing. We're not going to have it much longer - it's redundant nowadays. So many annoying interruptions and such frazzlement.

In the evening is still "Dark Shadows" time around here. I'm amazed how hooked my roommate has gotten; I didn't know if she'd like it because it wasn't straight sci-fi, but she likes classic horror, and the characters are likeable or love-to-hate and make snarky comments about. LOL.

SubC, you have been quite busy and I'm sure excited about when the baby will come. You've got some good things going on with being able to provide food and stuff. Hope the stuff from the store is better next time. I've thought sometimes about how we aren't very self-sufficient in this industrialized society, how we can so easily take things like available shelf-stable groceries for granted.

There probably will be a few hoarders from this pandemic - whether they were latent and this will just be the catalyst, or conditions like this can actually create hoarders out of "normies," hard to say. Although this is the first big event in a time in which we also have the Marie Kondos and the minimalists and Swedish Death Cleaners - a time in which we're aware we've been overly materialistic and some want to change. That could mitigate some of it, maybe.

Tillie, I'm sorry the cooler is acting up and the hot weather makes everything more frustrating. Hope the beading helps take your mind off at least some of it.

Tatoulia, I'm sorry you had a run-in with a jerk and then a crook where your mom is! Especially the latter - wish you could report him or at the very least tip off as many people as possible. My mom went completely blind the last few years of her life, and it was sad to know how vulnerable she was.

"Dangerous Trees" sounds like the title of a crime suspense novel or something. ;)

Roommate has a medical scan tomorrow on the other side of town, midday-ish. I'm getting tired and it's later than I meant to stay up, so I'll say goodnite.

Good Evening Everyone

I am OUTRAGED! Tatoulia
I want that scum reported, arrested for crimes against the elderly!!! >:/

Or find and give me all his personal info like address etc. and I will hunt him down and exact justice on his ass!

He has probably scammed other residents, stole their money or assets.
He is a danger to the residents and I would be a danger to him!

Good luck getting the washing machine replaced or fixed.
You MUST have a washer. You NEED a washer.
It is a medical device for you to relieve tension (((HUG)))

I am so happy and relieved that you are on the job of ferreting out and reporting all those dangerous trees. ;D


I could fix the cooler myself if my hands and arms were strong enough to remove a panel and if my back was good enough to lift it out, the panel is too heavy for me.
But I have a bad back and weak and puny hands & arms.
It was up tp 85F in here today.
I don't want to ask him to help because I am emotionally too weak to tolerate hearing him scream at me to die and for everything here to die again.

Early this evening I watered the grass and spent time walking in the wet grass and getting sprinkled on and my dress all wet.

I have black out insulated window covers and kept them shut and had the malfunctioning cooler running & that helped a little and I had fans on.
I also have a mist maker. A bottle that you pump up and the nozzle sprays a fine mist on you.

An evaporative cooler has a contraption that has 8 arms attached to a center hub.
The water goes into the hub and drizzles out the 8 arms, wetting the excelsior pads.
It is called a "spider".
The water is not coming out all the arms to wet the pads.
The cooler has 4 sides with pads.
Only 2 pads are getting wet.
So the air is not very cooled.

The sun has set and the grass is wet.
I have a fan in the front window now bringing in the wet grass coolness.
The ceiling fan is blowing it all down onto my bed. :D

Tillie! I am worried about your evaporative cooler. Is there any chance Steven would take a second pass at it?

SubC that potato salad sounds absolutely delicious! Once again, I am amazed by how much you do in a day!

I am up to see Bf today. Only for a minute. Significantly cooler today. I hadn't realized it til I went up to his house. I'm. Not sure if I'll use AC tonight in bedroom or not.

I was out in charge for the washer repairs today. The guy told me we are really looking at a new one. I Ike this small shop where we get our appliances. I've purchased most everything from them, and years ago my mother bought her entire kitchen from them. They don't have our model in stock and they don't expect to til mid August. I have asked for an estimate to repair, and I'll call another small shop that I've used tomorrow. I hope the other shop can help us out. We have a tight space and we want Maytag as we need something large and with commercial grade components. I will take my towels to the fluff and fold tomorrow. I washed them over the weekend but when I folded them, they hadn't gotten clean. If I have to wash pjs or other things, I'll do myself at their laundromat. They use too high heat at their fluff and fold service.

Okay another incident involving mom. My mother is functionally blind. She can't see us and she can't even read the enlarged letters on the Tv. So I find out that someone at her place (a worker, not an aide) sold her a computer. He brought her a computer, wrote out a check to himself, and she signed it. She lied to me about the amount, first saying 20 then 100 then when I told her I was calling her bank she said 150. Of course she can't see so it could be any amount. I lost a night's sleep over it. He didn't come into her apartment today and so she hasn't told him she can't see her computer and she needs her money back. I'm not reporting him. Out of respect for my mother but what a snake. BF and I are active and strong forces in my mother's life and he pulls thus? Of course I am greatly shortening the story and mom fought me tooth and nail. She's embarrassed that she fell for this guy's scam. And she's afraid that he will be mean to her. She still thinks he was being kind but naturally I don't see this. Today she was going to tell him to take it back but since he didn't show up for his regularly scheduled service at her place, she didn't. I can't stop payment because I don't have enough info although her banker was very kind and put a note in her file.

So I feel like I'm dying.

I am now having trouble with work computer so I just emailed someone. BF is accusing me, very sweetly and kindly, of looking for things to be upset about. So we've been laughing about that. I told him I'm going to head outside to look for dangerous trees so I can complain to the city. This is an expression that we've fallen back on over the years. We will be driving along and he will ask me if I see any trees to report. Or if I'm getting worked up too much he'll interrupt to find out how the trees are. I don't know where it started but it's a good shorthand in our relationship. So I'm looking for dangerous trees.

Love you all. Thank you for sticking with me. I will get through this.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Got up, got dressed and went out and watered the garden.
Came back in and fed the cats.
Now I get to have my tea.

Yesterday got all the rose quartz beads strung and I have an almost 4 foot strand to work with.
Today I will string the multicolored fluorite beads and will probably have a strand just as long.

Going to be another hot day but this morning is pleasantly cool and very quiet.

:D
Subclinical
You have come so far and learned so much about yourself.
I am so very proud of you and all the hard physical and emotional work you have been doing.

You make very good decisions about just what Justin Case can keep around.
Your purchasing has been very well thought out and the things were useful to you today, not someday maybe.

(((HUG)))

WTG! for getting the beans going and making cheese!
That hot potato salad sounds delicious.
The best I ever had was at my Granma's cottage.
YEA! for cheese dishes in the dishwasher!


The evaporative cooler is having technical difficulties.
The inside of the house was 85F degrees.
On one side the water quit dripping down wetting the pad.
Steven "fixed" it but then the other side wasn't getting wet.
He beotched and swore and slammed things around.
Said terrible and hurtful things.
Was unnecessarily cruel and nasty.

Well Tillie,

It is helping me.

The wonderful reuse store is taking this time to sort out and reorganize and they are having two "free days" this week - one "everything that we set out in the parking lot is free to anybody" day and one "if you can show that you are a teacher and tell us how you are going to use it in your classroom you can have it" day.

I want very badly to go. But not badly enough to risk getting sick. Even if I wasn't waiting for grandbaby, none of that is worth risking anyone's life. I still feel guilty about the time I spent in the pottery studio. I think it was safe, but it wasn't actually necessary.

I am learning what Justin really needs (very little) and how easy it is to create abundance.

I got my beans set up in the dehydrator, and I made more cheese.

I ran the dishwasher again with just the cheese dishes, but the dishes are all backed up again because Dh made a yummy hot potato and green bean salad for dinner. His portion had bacon. It used a lot of pans.

Time for me to head to bed.

Don't mind me.
I've just been thinking bout stuff...

So many hoarders featured on "HOARDERS" say that they save everything and especially food no matter how old & questionable it is because...

They or their mother/grandmother lived through the depression and/or wartime rationing.

Granted, those were hard and traumatic times.

With this new "normal" we are experiencing will this lead people who did not hoard things before to begin a lifetime of hoarding things for Justin Case?

Yes, many people hoarded up everything in the stores when this first started.
I figure they did that as a temporary defense mechanism against having to go without.
They were being ruled by fear.

But will some just regular people living through this start hoarding now?

Will their reasons for hoarding be because they lived through the pandemic?
Will future generations hoard because their mothers and grandmothers lived through this pandemic?

What I think is that yes, this worldwide pandemic will create hoarders.
It is scary and traumatic and nobody knows what the future will hold.
A feeling of helplessness, depression and unrelenting anxiety.
There are many people experiencing extreme grief.
These are all contributing factors that cause some people to fall into hoarding behavior.

If ever the world needed education and understanding about the hoarding condition,
it is now.

Love, Tillie (((HUG)))

Good Afternoon

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO!!!
You sure did a LOT!
So very happy you are going to sit and relax and that you slept in too! :D

Your omelet sounds delicious and those green beans will be so nice & crunchy to munch on.

OK Charlie...
I guess you can do what I have done before.
Keep talking to and feeding him snax until he relaxes and comes over to have you pet him.
Eventually that should win him over enough that you can pick him up and shove his butt into a cage and drag him screaming off to the Vet.
?


Got Lilacs watered and then put the hose on a slow drizzle and am watering trees now.
Sitting in here with the cooler on, watching a "HOARDERS" marathon with Dorothy The organizer and stringing all the rose quartz beads onto monofilament so I can see how long the strand will be.
Then I can figure out what to do with them. :D

Good afternoon!

I almost got on last night and told you I thought Charlie cat was gone, but this morning he was on the porch. I think somebody has trapped him before. I don't know what to do.

Tatoulia, I agree with Tillieabout the crying and about the awful man. I think you should get a cane and poke people with it if they get too close!

This morning I slept late.

Did my chores, picked beans, cukes and zucchini, made up the ice cream mix, did some laundry and got the dishwasher going.

I made myself a nice omelette with onions and beet greens for lunch and in a few minutes I'm going to try to find a video to watch while I sort out the green beans - some for Dh to cook for dinner, and the rest to blanch, salt, and dehydrate for crispy snacks.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Crying is alright.
It is a way our bodies release built up tensions and frustration and other emotional things.
Sometimes a good cry is necessary.
(((HUGS)))

I am outraged about that horrid man invading your and your Mom's space.
But happy you got to hold little sister :)

Glad you are keeping up with dishes, laundry and making your bed every day.
These kinds of tasks help keep us grounded.

Be careful with the heat but still keep wearing out your shoes with walking :D


9am. I need to get outside and water my Lilacs before it gets too hot.
BBL ;)

Tillie! Yay for the big bag of polished stones!

Hello everyone!

Joan! You are here! And I am excited about the medical progress. I think about you a lot and I do worry so. Praying for some peace for you.

I had worn through my outer soles, if you can believe it! I walk on concrete day in and day out and I finally wore out a pair. I love my Allbirds and I have plenty of other pairs to wear!

Everyone I am not caught up on the posts.

I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown. I don't know How else to put it. I cried a lot on Thursday and again on Friday and even small things are getting tome. I'm having trouble with my insurer on one of my scripts and my blood starts to boil then I'm afraid I'm going to start swearing including using some rarely heard cuss words. Then on Thursday I was visiting mom on the patio and some moron (a bit of a self important Boston brahmin type) who wasn't wearing a mask kept coming within four inches of my mother's face and I was yelling at him to stay back so he came face to face to me and I kept backing up and I was in the plantings and the mulch and I said I worked really hard to stay safe and he was all grand in his gestures and his speech, explaining how we are outside and no masks needed. And that my mask is sufficient. And I said get away from us and he said, if you want six feet then go sit in a tree. So I went inside and someone reprimanded him. I was crying and said, I get to see my mother for ten minutes each week. It was pretty upsetting. They made him leave the patio because it was family visit time.

Silver lining: I was told I could stay as long as I like and the concierge let me slip upstairs to see the cat for a minute. Mom was downstairs and I just slipped into her apartment, grabbed the kitty from her condo (the closet) and held her for a minute or two. It was great. But then there was a knock on her door and I panicked. Luckily it was the aide for who, I'd bought the four nightgowns. She said that she was told I was upstairs and she just wanted to see me.

So Friday night I had to take a Xanax. I wasn't holding up. I slept all night and a good portion of Saturday. I did take several long walks despite the miserable heat and humidity. BF took me on errands tonight.

I don't know how anyone else is doing. I'm keeping up with laundry and my table is better than half cleared.

I'm keeping up with dishes and of course I'm making my bed each day.

I hope I don't cry slot tomorrow. I haven't cried all day and it is 10 PM. Not bad.

Love you all.

102F in the shady back porch and 106F in the carport.

In about 40 minutes I will start watering the grass.
Kitchen is all clean.
Making some ice cubes in the freezer. Think I should have more around the next few days.
Watching movies on Roku.
I never go anywhere when it's this hot unless it's absolutely necessary like an emergency or having to pick him up at the hospital.
Before this quarantining is over I think everybody will get to the end of all the movies offered online.
But I am grateful we have this distraction.

Hey CriticalMass
I really like that moon picture :D

Bunny, Kitty, Puppy smiles would be so cute :)

I like the island quest!
Could also be a magical coconut or conch shell.

Yes, the emergency chocolate stash always seems to run out too quickly.
Especially now with everything going on.

I'll quit worrying about you getting to see the Baby once you have seen the Baby (((HUG)))

WTG! for sorting out papers and getting outside getting your hands dirty :D

Yes tillie,

I am very eager for the baby! The stream won't flood over our bridge. It only comes up to a foot below the bridge and then it overtops the downstream neighbor and stops getting deeper. As long as they don't raise their bridge, I think we are fine.

I have some soft light flannel that could go inside the mask, and I have thought about doing appliqué on the outsides. simple stuff like a smile or rabbit mouth.

I sorted out and recycled some school papers that were left in the table on my dining porch.(Still behind Tatoulia) and then the rain stopped and I was tempted out to weed a little in my long neglected flower bed outside the windows. There were two, year old volunteer sycamore trees in the bed that I had let grow up for transplant, and Dh came by, so we moved them out near the pond. Then we had some blackberries, and I butchered the cantaloupe and had some with a salad laced with fresh cheese for lunch.

Now the clouds are rolling in again.

My map will be an island with jungle and volcanic tunnels. They start out shipwrecked on the beach. The final challenge will be the magic (crystal? Portal? Something, haven't decided yet) They find in the hideout carved into the top of the volcano that teleports them off the island. We only have 4 days.

Justin does a pretty good job with my pantry. He hasn't always, but now he tends to limit himself to things like bags of rice and oatmeal, an extra bag of flour, salt and sugar, things I canned, and emergency chocolate (except I can always think of an emergency that requires chocolate, so that doesn't last long.)