Happy Solstice!
Happy new (solar) year!

It's good to see you all! Lila, I too wonder where our short timers go and if the will ever come back. I always wish them well on their journey when I think of them.

I have turned the tree on, made coffee, and rekindled the fire from last night's coals (staying up all night to tend it is too much for me these days.) it would have been nice to do it at 4, but I slept until I woke on my own, so I missed that window. It's supposed to be cloudy, but I'll go outside to great the sun anyway.

This morning I am also thinking of the blessings that have joined us in the past year and meditating on Carl Sandburg's line "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Hope.

Meanwhile I have some journaling to do and some things to write on bits of paper and add to the flames. I plan to spend my New Year's Day getting my house in order. I don't know how far I'll get, but that's the whole plan.

Tatoulia, I hope you continue to feel better. Why are you panicking?

Lila, it sounds like you made a good start yesterday! I hope your vacation renews you however you spend it.

CM, I will hope ;) we both find the time and space to sew this year. Poco a poco, one thing at a time, take something off the couch. :)

Happy Solstice

Hope is a good word, SubC. My BFF and I each have a spiritual word - hers has been Peace and mine has been Hope, for awhile now.

I understand about attachments to sewing machines! My mom even went through that a little, I think, with the one my grandpa gave her for a wedding gift. When I had my first job I bought her a nice one. My current workhorse one I'm semi-attached to but I could probably be open to a new one at some point - it all depends on money availability and quality of the prospective new one, etc. For now, I'm thankful that cleaning my current one fixed my own tension problem and the dust cover I purchased should help prevent other issues for now. More time and organization to be more productive on sewing would be awesome. I hope your new one is amazing and a joy to use.

Yes - counting items dealt with rather than time seems to be the way to go.

Hi Tatoulia - I hope you get all your goals done - I believe you will. You've been getting pretty efficient these days from what I can tell. :) Momentum takes awhile to build but less effort to sustain, usually. My momentum got generally better this year, with some ups and downs. Like I said awhile back, certain projects were outdoor at least in part, and that weather pattern that brought less wind was very helpful; unfortunately it came with a side order of severe drought, so... we'll see what the new year brings. And plenty of indoor things to work on too. Starting to pick away at those.

Lila, it sounds like you are having a good balance there between chill time and productive time. Hope it continues to be at a pace that feels calm for you.

hello SubC, CM, Tatoulia,
I do wonder what happened to Road, and others, sometimes.
I'm sorry you've been sick Tatoulia. And SubC, I will be praying for Buddy and his surgery. CM, I am thankful for solstice as well.

I finally have my two weeks off and am sooo glad. I just need to be home, get things done, relax, etc.

My bedroom has been appalling, and the rest of the house not much better. But now I have time to fix it.

This morning I slept in, then when I got up, everyone was gone shopping. So I got to chill. I also:
Loaded the dishwasher and ran it
Put in a load of clothes to wash
Put all the things that are not mine and don't belong on counters on the kitchen table and mentioned to DIL that we could have it cleaned today (she has things to put away)
Sorted boxes, saved 3 to wrap presents in, and took 5 or 6 out to the bin
Walked around the whole upstairs picking things up off the floors and putting them away
Walked around my bedroom and filled a grocery bag with trash and took it out to the bin
Went through each thing on my nightstand and tv tray - I still need to dust them and put things away, but I threw out quite a bit

The clothing situation is still very overwhelming to me in my bedroom. I am sitting on my bed right now, and there are piles of clothes on my desk, computer chair, a bin, a small chair, a rocking chair, and on a pile of blankets on the floor. There is also a basket of towels. I will start by folding the towels. Then, I will make my bed and sort clothes and blankets onto the bed - some probably need to be washed, some put away. I may have to donate some things to make room.

I hope to be on here each day while I am on vacation to get encouragement and report in!

Thinking of you all.

Good work donating the sewing machine. I can hear how hard it was and yet you are being practical. These are tough decisions.

I reserved a car for Sunday. I definitely do not feel like driving anywhere but I need to make some donations. I feel smothered in stuff.

I am finally feeling better and was able to get my garbage out last night. I canceled the cleaners this week because I cannot have them getting sick. I'll change my sheets today.

I'm up super early for me because I've panicking.

Good morning!

The actual solstice will occur at 4:20 a.m. tomorrow, so tonight will be the longest night.

I stayed too long at Bean's house last night and did not make any progress toward cleaning up, and I teach today, but I really want to focus tomorrow on getting things in order for the new year. I have never really gotten into the"word of the year" thing, but I think my word this year is hope.

A very practical, deliberate form of hope.

I got invited to a former student's wedding yesterday. I'm not going, but it was a very sweet gesture. He was a good kid. I hope he will be happy.

If I don't get moving I will elate for this last, chaotic, overwhelming school day of 2024.

Good morning!

We had a late night with friends last night. It was lovely, but I am very tired and slow this morning despite sleeping in. I am going over to watch Bean and Buddy this afternoon so dsil can go to the dentist and prepare for his mother visiting this weekend. Buddy's surgery will be January 16 as long as he passes his health screening on the 15th. They will be keeping Bean home for the first half of January to avoid exposure to colds. Don't know if I will be welcome once classes start, but I plan to go back to school at least the first week. Bean will go back on the 15th and then come home with me.

CM, I know that struggle with little bits of time. I want to plan and sort everything, and then it is partly laid out, but I have to quit and then it gets jumbled again. I'm finding from working on the counter that I need to just grab one thing and put it somewhere better. Not always it's final destination, just better - like my hair elastics keep ending up on the counter. When I see them, I will put them on my wrist. Then when I am in the bathroom, I will usually remember to take them off my wrist and put them in the drawer. Or if I see something that needs to go in the basement, I will move it to the chair by the steps. The mess got there one item at a time. Surely I can make it go away one item at a time.

Yesterday I cleaned more things off the counter than I added.

Tuesday I dropped the donations off at the thrift store. There were some things in the box that were hard and I wanted to second guess, but I didn't.

Here was the hardest thing - I have not done any sewing for a couple of years. The tension on my sewing machine is just too frustrating to me. The model I had became known for difficulties with tension. I've been meaning to take it in and have it serviced to help with the problem, but haven't found the time. Dh has noticed that I am not sewing, and that potential sewing projects have become one of the visible issues as I work on clearing things out and they are less hidden by other things. He bought me a new sewing machine. It's a really nice one. Not fancy computerized stuff, but a top of the line basic workhorse model with really good reviews. But he told me I could only keep it if I got rid of the old machine.

I got the old sewing machine when I was a young teenager. It was very fancy for a beginner. My grandmother - who was an accomplished seamstress - bought herself a new machine and bought the same one for me. The purchase included classes in how to use all the fancy features on the machine, and we took them together. She taught me to sew on that machine. I made clothes and costumes with it for myself and my friends, my ring bearers outfit, and clothes, costumes and quilts for my children. I didn't realize how emotional I was about it. I cried. But I also realized that my grandmother would have replaced hers by now. She would not have put up with that grumpy tension adjustment (it got worse with age) She bought me the machine so I could learn to sew, and she taught me to sew so that I could sew. And I established that if I have to spend twenty minutes fiddling with a tension adjustment every time I want to sew, I won't sew.

So the old machine left on Tuesday. Hopefully someone will get a good deal on it who has the technical skill to work on the tension, or the patience to readjust it all the time, or can afford to have it professionally addressed because the machine was so cheap. I am still in the process of letting go, but now I can unpack my new machine (I did already take it out of the box, read the manual and look it over to be sure I wanted it), set it up, and get to know it. I'm sure there will be some crying and a lot of talking out loud to Gram. But next fall, I hope Bean will go to the renfest fully outfitted. And maybe there will be at least one less bin of fabric in my basement.

I'm here too, counting the days till solstice (spoiler alert - there are 2!). SubC, I will be praying for Buddy, and for everyone who is sick. There are people in my circles facing difficult things too. So I just pray for everybody and I add "and if I forgot anybody, them too, Lord."

We got some more boxes of roommate's books donated to the library. I'm needing to declutter at least the public area, e.g., the sofa where I sit and stuff accumulates. It hasn't gotten too bad, thankfully, but it needs to be done and I'm a bit sluggish and/or not sure when to tackle it because the days get broken up into small pieces and I'm not great at making use of small pieces of time (it takes me most of them to organize my brain but oh well). I'll be with a friend tomorrow and Friday will probably be exercise day, then after that should be the home stretch before Christmas.

So far no Covid. Fingers crossed this will be the year I break that pattern of catching it before Christmas. Hopefully good riddance.

I am here, just miserably sick. Waiting for 5PM so I can rest.

Hi Tatoulia!

We crossed. I'm so glad your trip was good, but sorry for the rough ending. Hopefully you will recover quickly!

Good morning.

Lila, I hope you got some rest. Also hoping Tatoulia is having a lovely time on her trip and CM is enjoying the advent season.

I have been working on the dining porch in preparation for the bounty of visitors we will have in the next weeks. I think I got it about 1/3 done yesterday.

Our first in house activity is this Wednesday, when we are having some dear friends over for dinner and carols.

I am spending the day at Bean's house again today and taking along a bag of trash. I have been more resigned lately to sending things that require too much labor to clean for recycling to the landfill, but it is hard for me. Keep trying to remind myself that my time is better spent creating healthy food from scratch to avoid packaging than cleaning packaging for recycling.

Gotta run, much to do.

Sending love and prayers to all, including Buddy and his surgeon. I am back in the states and have strep throat. Miserable plane ride home. Had a wonderful time and a "surprise celebrity guest" (someone I wasn't expecting to see) and the trip was pure magic. My friend who stayed with the cats decorated my house and cleaned and organized the linen closet. Pretty nice!

Lila! So good to see you!

I hope tot recovers quickly and doesn't infect the rest of the household. And that you are getting a sense of control.

The big pottery studio had its holiday potluck on Thursday and I had a lovely time. Always good food and good people. In the gift exchange I got a lovely raku bottle from someone I have enjoyed classes with in the past who has focused on her work the last year and far surpassed my skill level, so I will be keeping that and not counting the bowl I took as an out. (It went to a teenager who seemed quite happy with it.) Bean came by at the end for some cupcakes and I took him home with me to spend the night because Buddy had a consult with his surgeon early yesterday morning.

We did not get the news we were hoping for from that meeting. Apparently one of the cysts in Buddy's lung has grown appreciably, and it is impinging on both his bronchial tubes and his aorta. The surgery will be more invasive and complicated than we had hoped, and is tentatively scheduled for mid January, when he will be four months old. Dd1 shared the news with the family thread during my first class and I saw it when I took attendance. I was already tired, and it was a long day.

Skipped the hac yesterday and cried last night, but I have slept ten hours and have nothing scheduled until Monday so perhaps I will get a chance to recover and catch my breath. My job in all this is to be Bean's person. I talked to a friend at work about possibly covering some of my classes during the surgery and recovery window, and he apologized that he can only do two. I told him "it's fine. Somebody will cover it. Or, I'll quit, and somebody will cover it." I don't think it would come to that, and my director is very caring and compassionate, but I have reached the point where they cannot make me come to work. - I could work out the economics, and would just be sad about missing the kids. It is a nice place to be!

So, off I go to try to create some base layer of order.

I'll update if anything is accomplished.

I can't believe it has been a month since I had time to look here. I think over the past 3 weeks if you added up my work and volunteer hours it would be over 40 per week (I am at 20). I actually ran out of work hours and had to get approval to finish out my tasks for the month. Even with that, I only have about 10 or 15 hours left, so I will be taking "off" (not paid) Dec 20 through Jan 2, only going in for about 4 volunteer hours a week. It will be so nice to get a break!! I love my job, but I need some down time.

All my big events are done for the year, with the next one in early January. So I can relax. Yesterday was a big event and it went great!

Today I am staying home except to go out for a haircut. Tot is vomiting all over the downstairs today. I feel sorry for her, but also am disinfection everything possible because I really don't want to catch it. It's in the carpet and everything. TotsDad will bring home the carpet cleaner and some more disinfectant to clean when he gets home after work.

Suffice it to say, I have done zero decluttering and only the most basic of cleaning. My bedroom is the worst it has been in over a year. Piles everywhere, in disarray, stuff all over every flat surface and chair and on the floor. I can't find anything. One goal for today and tomorrow is to try and at least get things put away and organized. It is hard because I don't know where anything is.

Good job on the potty purge, SubC!
Missed you all. Need to put in laundry. Back later.

Good morning.

I wish it wasn't so quiet here, but I know people are busy.

The hac is surprisingly hard to keep up with. Both mom and I are struggling. I've been clearing out file folders (only one folder a day) for the last couple of days. I found documentation that I was homeschooling my kids legally. Since they all graduated from college more than 8 years ago, I recycled it. There was a letter in there documenting a conflict I had with the local school system (i won easily), and I was surprised how much negative emotion it still brought up.

Spent yesterday with my boys. School today and I don't really want to go. I just need a break with some downtime, but my winter break is already fully scheduled.

Can't seem to keep up with everything, and yet, I got up early this morning and have spent an hour just reading online and drinking coffee.

The school year will be 40% over at the end of the week.

Ok. I did it. I got to 100 pieces of pottery removed from my studio in two months.

I need to make a plan for next year that results in continued progress.

Well, I have not been doing any making anything in the studio, but I did get up in the loft where I have been busy with "sort, organize, and purge." I have to find two more pieces I made to get rid of by December 31 to meet my "100 out in November and December" goal.

Since I don't count pieces "in" as I make them, these will not count as "out" in my tally. But my loft is less overwhelming.

I am also making a shelf of "clearance" and "seconds" pieces that need to be gone by the end of 2025. They are worth trying to sell at a discount or donating to a raffle or something though. The "clearance" ones are just pieces I made a long time ago that for whatever reason haven't found an audience. I donated one to our school raffle last year for the flower teacher to put an arrangement in and it brought in a good bid. I figured it was mostly the flowers, but the buyer found me and told me how much she loved the pot. So you never know.

I'm counting!

I like public transportation because I don't like to drive. Although I do a lot of it because I choose to live far from everything.

I had lots of plans for today, but I woke up with a migraine. So far I hav3 done chores and started a load of laundry. The medicine is kicking in though, so I may get moving. Dh has gone to buy ds's Christmas gift and he says then we need to take stock and see if we are done shopping.

So far I have kept up with the hac with mom, but most of what has left has gone in trash or recycling, so it doesn't count for the tally.

Still need to clear out 22 pieces of pottery by the end of the year.

Only 15 more days till solstice, but who's counting? (Lol!)

Trying to keep my head above water - it got colder here, though it doesn't stay consistently cold, thank goodness; it's variable. I helped roommate put some clear vinyl up to make the screen porch more like a greenhouse through the winter. It can be 20 degrees warmer out there than inside.

The Christmas rush and traffic have already increased here. I had hoped to get to the grocery store earlier this morning than I did, hoping to catch the time when it's more sensory friendly (e.g. mainly that the loud obnoxious so-called "music" is not blaring). I'm stocking up on basics and hoping to be in stores very little - I had already done that in October and November, so didn't need much except perishables.

I'm not a public transportation type at all. It triggers my panic and here it's not something that normal people do anyway. So a person would be out in all kinds of weather, and mostly the people who take the bus are those who have no choice, some of whom can be vaguely or overtly creepy. Plus I just like having my van around me like a little home away from home, a protective shell, stocked with things I need, snacks, etc. and my own tunes playing or a radio station I like. It helps me feel more relaxed. Driving is fraught enough but in my own vehicle it's tolerable - I have my routes that take me on less traveled and congested streets whenever possible. Night driving is getting very hard nowadays, though, with all those super bright LED headlights on other vehicles. People are beginning to push back against those, though.

Getting stuff out of here has slowed down some with the extra busyness but it will not be forgotten. I may be able to get some more boxes of books gone tomorrow, provided I can get them loaded today. I probably better go and do that!

Enjoy your trip Tatoulia!

I would love to use public transportation. But unfortunately the only public transportation available to me is the senior bus, which I can schedule to take me to the grocery store and limited additional shopping on their schedule or medical appointments on mine after I turn 65.

I suppose Dh and I could drive about halfway into the city and then take the bus the other half, but it would extend the travel time so much. (The bus schedule is only efficient for certain limited high traffic times and locations - it would be horribly impractical for evenings) We generally just drive in, park, and walk around, or plan things in a line in and out. There is a free trolley that covers the areas where we walk. We have used it in bad weather. At one point there was talk of putting paid light rail from the trolley line out to within twenty minutes of us and I was pretty excited, but it fell through.

Bean and I got the train set up under the tree last night. He is really enjoying playing with it. It was hard to get him to bed. Today more train, making a plate for a present for his parents, maybe potting up some of my amaryllises (rescued from Dad's farm) and taking him home late afternoon because I have a work party tonight.

Plus I have to do my hoarder's advent calendar (henceforth hac) again. Mom is doing better than I am.

I bet your tree is very pretty, SubC!

I did not get everything done before leaving for my trip but I did a lot. Cats are in great hands. I took a special bus to the airport and it was under 20 minutes. And it was only $3. And the return is free but I will likely take a cab, as I will be too tired to walk the half mile home. My way of reducing waste/taking care of the environment has centered around public transportation. A big fan of it. Not everyone has access, and I understand, but I like to be part of the congestion solution.

Good morning!

Dropped towels and recycling yesterday and some old "might want to use this for/I can fix/redo this" pots tossed out. I got my check from the sale and picked up an extra sale at work yesterday, so I am down to 22 pots to clear out. The amount of available space being created is shockingly small.

I'm really happy with my sales this year though.

Bean is spending the night tonight - buddy has tests at the hospital tomorrow morning. Bean is excited to put out more Christmas decorations.

My mom is doing the "hoarders advent calendar" with me. I am now feeling a lot of pressure. I don't know if I can keep up the momentum. And it is only day 4!

Gotta go, because I am not ready for school.

Hi Tatoulia! Thanks for stopping by! I was getting lonely.

I wonder what everyone else is doing. I'm sure advent is a busy time for CM and Lila.

My tree is up and beautiful! It is the biggest one we have ever had and all the ornaments are on with room to spare. It's also the only one they had left over 7 feet, so next year 8 feet will be the maximum. Getting a tree anywhere else is not a choice. We've been cutting a tree at this local family lot since my kids were little. Bean "helped" cut it down and helped decorate. He is very proud of it.

This week is very full, but I am going to keep on doing the "advent calendar for hoarders" and posting on the thread of stuff going out. Today I drop the towels and also take the single stream recycling to the drop.

Good to hear your sake went well, SubC! Glad you had good food at your father's!

I am getting ready for my trip. Still so much to do! I had the whole weekend and did some but not all. I got my towels to the cat shelter and I bought the wreaths for my windows. I started to pack tonight.i have the foldout made with clean mattress pad and clean sheets. I've washed a comforter for the foldout and I've washed all the cat blankets. I winterized the windows in my bedroom to some extent. Ran out of the weather stripping. Got keys made for the three people staying here —one at a time.

But I look at the house and it looks a mess to me. I'll try to finish packing tmr. I have a haircut tomorrow.

A but panicked but largely I made the decision to sleep most of Thanksgiving Day (rainy and windy) and a lot of sleeping on Saturday, too.

I got rid of the final box from my car. At last. I had a lot of trash and recycling tonight. That felt good.

Okay off to bed. I miss you all and will do better once I'm back.

Good morning!

I wonder what you all have been up to while I was gone.

The trip was good/tolerable. I gained weight on my father's cooking, which is delightful, and my mil's which is full of sugar. (Her holiday sweet potato casserole is basically my sweet potato pie filling with extra sugar and no egg)

My father sold his farm right before I arrived and Dh and I helped finish the barn clean out. (The farm is a short drive from the house - he has had his garden on one side of the barn/green house and rented out the field on the other side for years. The house is on a fully wooded lot, but he has decided he is done gardening except for the beautiful woodland and house plants he grows) there is only his friend's bicycle left in the barn to be collected before closing.

I have a collection of "new" items to confess later, and more determination to attack this house.

On that note, someone posted an "advent calendar" for hoarders. I think it was meant to be funny, but it is not a bad idea. - every day open a cupboard or drawer and get rid of something. Anybody want to play?

Taking a quick break from packing for my trip.

A quick tally of my inventory tells me my sale exceeded my goal as far as income, and I sold 36 pots that were not part of my regular inventory (there are some pieces I can do in nearly identical versions in different colors that sell well, so I try to keep them in stock. Those also went well, so I will need to replenish. i ran out of purple again.

So, when I get back I will need to clear out 41 pieces of pottery from my studio (I actually think I messed up on my inventory, so if my check is more than I expect, I will give myself one more piece grace.)

I also have an update on my tally.

Tatoulia, I am excited for you about your trip! I bet you will come back and see your space with new eyes.

I am up, but tired and trying to push myself into action. When I went out to the studio last night I decided to finish waxing some new raku pots instead of grabbing old stock, so I was up too late. I have my restock box in the car ready to go but not priced, I'll have to price them as I put them out today.

I am super hoping that today will be even half as good as yesterday - Sunday is usually slower. If I have another really good day, there is one more thing I'm going to buy. - I always make a pre-sale list of all the things I really like and then look to see what is still there later because the list is too long. Often my list includes "everything on M's stand" so if I have a great day, I will treat myself to one on her small, beautiful objects. Maybe jewelry, maybe an ornament, maybe a little pot.

Good to hear the same is going well! I do hope you meet your goal!

I am on countdown to my overseas trip. No where near ready but the house sitter/catsitter situation has been worked out. I have to wash the heated mattress pad I bought for the foldout. I also bought new sheets for it after I said I wouldn't. I donated the old sheets earlier this year or late last year.

I have to buy a suitcase and then I need to pack. All the clothes are worked out in my mind.

I need to keep moving in the right direction. House is looking pretty good. Might reserve a car next weekend. Donate some stuff.

Good evening!

My sale is going well! I actually managed to get all of my restock pieces out by the end of the day! I do not think I will come close to selling the 87 pieces that I would have to sell to meet my "clear 100 things out of the studio by the end of the year" goal, but I am still planning to do a deep sweep to try.

There is too much old and lesser quality stock sitting around, and I have not done any of the rework I pledged to myself last year.

I am going to go out and try to refill one of my restock boxes for tomorrow though - it will be "lesser" stuff, but maybe there will be space and some of it will sell.

I also shopped, so I will post that and sone online orders on the other thread.

First day of my sale today. Dd1 came over to help me set up last night. My booth looks really good. I can't find my business card holder, but I just put the cards out flat. Maybe I'll make a new one. Or maybe I'll find it whenever I eventually clean the studio out.

Dh is driving me in and dropping me off so he can pick me up for the concert and we can just come straight home after.

Wish me luck! I need a good sale to help with my motivation to get my studio more in order and clear out old inventory. - Almost everything on my booth this time is fresh and I feel so much better about it. I have one full box of "restock" and if I put it all out today I'll take some of the older pieces tomorrow. Maybe a box of "clearance".

Ok, gotta go!

Tatoulia, I love it too!

Did my best yesterday, which will have to be enough.

I didn't finish all the work I wanted to finish, but I got a lot of new work priced and packed. I am going to focus on that and not even take most of the older inventory, I can sort through it later.

I got one pen of chickens cleaned up and moved, but somehow have to find time to do another and get the buck into the barn before we leave on Tuesday morning. I don't know how I'm going to do it with school and holiday fair set up today, sales tomorrow and Sunday (and a concert with Dh Saturday night - I'm going to be so tired on Sunday!) and Bean on Monday. and I realized last night I fired a whole batch of pigs without painting on their eyes. I don't think I will have time to fire them again before the sale is over.

House is a mess and I am feeling overwhelmed. Bp and weight are both up this morning. Better choices need to be made!

I love the little calendar with the goat!

Good for you to take some towels elsewhere! I will walk to the animal shelter this weekend to donate a few towels.

I am getting things out! It's pouring rain right now and I haven't been out all day. But I'm thinking of getting out anyway. I could wear a light colored jacket to be more visible.

Was proud of myself and my progress today.

Good morning.

Moving slowly today, but need to speed it up. I teach today and have a lot to do before my sale this weekend and my garden needs to be covered against frost tonight.

We got an update from my mil. Current prognosis is at least two to three years of reasonably good health with regular treatment. (Could be ten or more - she's 82) I don't know what effect this will have on her house clearing.

I got exasperated with my "cleaning towel" cupboard and asked at the studio if they can use more old towels. The answer was "always" so I will clean that out after fall break.

That's it for the news.

Oh, I wanted to share, Bean has a December calendar. He wanted to show me - He and mommy drew pictures on all the important days. There is a little goat on every day he will see me. Also the playground gate (his drop off point) for school days, a cat for play dates with his girlfriend, hard hats for the days mommy goes to work (after maternity leave), a tree on the day he is coming to help us get our Christmas tree, Candles for advent, a decorated tree for Christmas, and a sun and moon for Solstice.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, I hope you were able to fill that compost. ;)

Mine needs to go out too. And it's raining.

I thought "swooning" was supposed to be "depending" not sure how it would have made the jump though.

CM, good for you doing laundry. Rainy days are hard.

I spent yesterday with Dd and my boys. We ran out to the thrift shop so she could drop her donations and look for some new shirts (I ended up with one new smock shirt for school from the donation bag) she found two, but I didn't buy anything. While we were there, she saw a wooden hutch she loved, that had a big crack in the back and was only $25. As she was contemplating fixing the crack (no doubt she could) I commented that it looked like mine (from my great grandma) she said "I know. That's probably why I like it." I said "where would you put it?" (Her house is tiny and full) and she said "I don't know."

I found myself saying "when you figure it out, you can have mine." Mine is currently full of rarely used/seasonal glassware and pottery in my basement. It could easily and efficiently be replaced by an upright cupboard, a shelf, or less pottery and glassware (well, that last isn't easy). She wants to move before Bean starts grade 6 He's going to be in K next year. Anybody think I can finish my house by then?

I don't have a lot of faith. Which is crazy. My mom and my uncle cleaned out my grandmother's entire huge 4 story, packed to the gills house in a year. Every item. I should be able to finish this house next summer if I just FOCUS.

Instead I'll probably find myself with a giant pile of my mother in laws cast offs. Why is this so hard when I can see it coming?

Ok, much to do before school today.

Swooning is as good a word as any when it comes to confronting our stuff, lol.

I'm doing a big load of white laundry. The pile was like Mount Everest. It's been a busy month already and I'm not ready for it to get busier with the holidays but I'm trying to tell myself it'll be manageable. I don't even do much, go places or have people over, yet it still feels like a lot because I guess I absorb the busy energy around me - traffic, stores (thankfully I won't need to go in them much), pop up ads about Black Friday (yuck), etc.

The weather has been rainy and turbulent, which does somewhat impact my decluttering because some things need to be taken or done outdoors. But I'll try to do some with the indoors stuff. It's just harder being cooped up at times. Though it's not wintry winter yet, so that's something. Not liking the shortness of the days but I have my countdown to solstice numbers written in my calendar squares. That keeps me hanging on!

No idea on what Swooning was supposed to say.

I did very little yesterday but the things I did needed to be done. I used foam to plug a crack. I cleaned my earrings that I haven't worn because they were dirty I went through my teas to see what I have and to get rid of those I will.l not enjoy. Not much but something.

I need to work some more today. I need to see progress. Tonight the garbage and recycling goes out so the more the merrier.

Wow, SubC, that is a lot of company. I'm panicking over the number of cat sitters I'll have when I'm on holiday. Swooning on what I find today, I may need to schedule a car for next weekend as well to get to goodwill.

Last night I realized that for several days during Winter break, I am going to have ten adults and three children under 5 in my house at once to celebrate the holidays. This will include 4 generations and one SO we have not met yet. I now have the Eagles Hotel California looping in my head "I was thinking to myself, this could be heaven or this could be hell."

Also, I am freaking out about my house. I have this urge to run to target and buy thirty bins and just pack up stuff and stash it in the basement so the rest of the house looks "normal". I will not do that. I will just try to make it better than it is now.

I love hearing about your happy memories, SubC. Christmas at our house was very lovely growing uo.

I felt lighter for getting rid of the stuff. It felt so good.

Now I will reassess tomorrow to see if there are things I can throw out. I also have some towels and other linens to take to the cat shelter.

Bf and I talked before I went and we talked about the phenomenon where if you thought you didn't have something or even forgot about it entirely, you are find. But then if you find it you can't let it go. So I tried to invoke that today.

I'm taking a good hard look at my linen closet tomorrow. There's stuff in there that I can get rid of. Like a 10 year old bottle of aloe Vera. I haven't even used it once so I don't know why I'm hanging onto it. Plus, it wasn't mine to start with. So that was a toss. I have a few more things like that, old makeup brushes, etc.

Tatoulia, you are doing so well!

I think my mil is going to end up taking silver plate to the thrift store as well. I know that will be really hard for her, but no one in the family wants it. The younger generations are just not into the same kind of entertaining. Some of it is very sad, because I look at it and remember all the years she used it on her holiday table, but also the memories of those visits are about how everything was so beautiful but the actual experience was so stressful, difficult, and exhausting. My husband's childhood is so much better in pictures than it was in real life..

It makes me especially sad because mine was the opposite. The pictures just don't do it justice. For example, one Christmas my cousin got a tape recorder. There is one picture of me sitting next to her while she opens it and looks confused, because she doesn't understand what it is yet. There are no pictures of the two hours afterwards when we pretended to have a radio show and ran around doing interviews with all of the relatives and singing silly songs onto the tape, and reported on everything that was happening, including ranking the cookie selections. There is also no tape, because she recorded over it later. We were 8 and 9, what did we care.. And it doesn't matter. While it would be fun to hear my aunt describing the virtues of whatever her favorite gift was that year, what is more important is remembering that she stopped what she was doing to fully join in our game, and so did every adult there. And nobody brushed us off or told us they had to do something else, because like every holiday of our childhoods, we were the most important thing. I can't remember the dishes. We might have used paper plates.

I've been working on finishing raku pieces in the studio. I have 25 items waxed and waiting to be polished when the wax cures, twenty five items washed on the drying rack to be waxed when they are dry, and 11 pieces washed and next to my sink in the scullery (some of those need wax and some don't) all will need pricing later.

I also have 12 pigs glazed and ready to fire, and twelve waiting for glaze, along with a few other pieces waiting for glaze.

I am hoping it is a really good sale, because I am committed to this 100 piece cull. So far I have 87 to go.

Dh and I have a concert to go to tonight, so I need to go get ready.

I did it! And I felt lighter as I left goodwill. I also through in two skirts that I loved but even if I could fit into them, they were a younger woman's game. I also packed up a duffle bag I bought in anticipation of my trip to Asheville which was cancelled due to the hurricane. I never returned it and even though it still has the tags on it, I filled it up and took it to Goodwill. Could I use it for a weekend at someone's house? Of course! Do I go to people's houses for the weekend? No.

So I did it. Would like to repeat this exercise one more time before I go on holiday in December.

Okay I'm doing it and it's hard. Just packaged up all my Madame Alexander dolls for goodwill. I do not have what it takes to sell them plus someone at goodwill is going to find a treasure trove. They are in various states, none mint condition, but still someone somewhere will be happy.

The star wars figures are now in a small shoebox sized plastic bin for my brother to make his choices.

Some of mom's silver plated serving pieces are also going to goodwill. And at least one art piece that I bought many years ago in a different time and place. Oh and some Christmas dish towels I got at crate & barrel last year and the quality was terrible. They anger me so I might as well donate them. No need for angry stuff in my peaceful home.

Trying to see if I can tackle anything else. My winter coats are going to a woman who cleans others apartments in the building. She doesn't clean mine but she takes clothes to her church. So I'll wash the parkas this weekend so she can grab them during the week.

Wow, Lila, you got a lot done! Congratulations!

SubC, that is sweet to hear about the shy student talking about their dog.

You will need to do your best on the lack of storage. I don't know how to be strong in that situation. Shoring you up

I did not make decisions for the goodwill run so I am doing that now. Tough but it is the price for space.

The best part of dog day is when the shy, not so confident kid stands up in front of the class and gives a presentation - because they have their dog.

Glad you got some peace and quiet Lila. It sounds like you did a good job on the playroom.

I bought two puzzles and a rolling toy at the rummage sale. I sent them home with Bean when I returned him to Dd (since the rummage sale was between school and his house, I just picked him up today.)

Mil is still working on clearing out her house. She has started offering nicer things. Today I got my first "will you store." request from one of my kids. This is going to get rough. I am not running a self storage. I want to have the thing I want in my house.

hey all. I have one day off so here I am. It is a 40+ hour week but ten or so of that is considered volunteering, although it is nearly the same work. It has been a good week.

When my kids were little, they were allowed to bring their dog for show and tell. ONE per week. If your Dog Day gets to be too much, my suggestion is to find a local Therapy Dog group (not service dogs) and invite them to come. These dogs are well trained, calm, good with kids, and the people are also trained to follow rules and respect people and such. The one I worked with is called Love on a Leash, but there are many organizations. Coming to schools is something they regularly do, and the dogs also are trained to lay down and let kids read to them. You might see them at a library sometime.

I got a quiet day today and the grandkids are off playing at their mom's friend's house. I enjoyed the peace and low stimulation day.

I also:
- loaded and ran the dishwasher
- washed and dried and folded two loads of clothes
- took trash out
- picked up branches in the front yard
- started picking up the play room and other general areas

The play room has not been picked up in a long time, so it is a lot of pieces everywhere. Also dirty clothes and some trash and broken things. I just have not had time, and that is where the kids play sometimes when I am at work all day. I have been sorting pieces of various toy kits into bins and throwing out broken things and making a pile of clothes for dil. I need to vacuum as well. I have no thoughts that it will stay neat for long, but, I can put some of the kits away to be brought out, used, and picked up rather than just all dumped in one room.

I am happy to have this day off.

It's so hard not to buy things at fairs and festival!

I am working on my pile for goodwill. I just need to close my eyes and do it. I dont have a choice and the car is expensive so I cannot squandered my time with it.

The dog day at school sounds like fun but I enjoy even more your illustration of how it goes!

Good morning

Tatoulia, good luck with your goodwill trip tomorrow.

I spent time in the studio yesterday. Blew up a pot in the test kiln - aggravating, but that's why it was in the test kiln. Finished embellishing two pots that probably won't be done in time for my sale, and got all but the last glaze coat done on a dozen pigs. 17 more pigs to do. Probably won't finish those either.

Went to the post office to send off a return of Christmas gifts that weren't what I expected. I won't order from them again. Their shipping is high and I almost never need to return items! Ran two loads of laundry and the house is becoming a mess again.

I really need to work on my time management.

I'm going to my favorite semi-annual rummage sale today after school. I will try to make good choices. Including not spending too much time at the rummage sale.

I've now gotten caught up on everyone's posts. Now to see what I remember!

Glad to hear that all babies are doing well. I cannot imagine the worry of an infant with health problems.

I thank you all for discussing how you are looking at things. I'm scheduled for a fairly decent trip to goodwill on Saturday. Not easy to do but I will.

Need to push myself more.

Goodmorn8ng.

First, yay CM for getting your meds in order. Also for putting out a trash bag.

Your neighbor just demonstrated a complete lack of understanding that the people who collect the trash are people.

Dog day went fairly well. We only had one parent who failed to control the (fortunately very calm and friendly and came straight to me) dog. Same parent stood by and loudly took a meeting on his phone during his child's entire presentation.

After school I went to a really cool free glaze class the pottery studio gives every year. Unfortunately I didn't get to stay because Dd called to tell me she was having what appeared to be an allergic reaction and could I come over to watch the boys. (I was less than ten minutes away) urgent care basically told her "we don't know why your head, neck, and joints turned bright red and felt like they were burning, but you're fine now, go home. Maybe don't eat the rest of the soup." (The soup was homemade by her with nothing she hadn't eaten before) they came home and her Dh uneventfully had some soup. I got two hours with my boys and home late.

I wanted to sleep in this morning, but Dh got up early to go work out, both waking me up and making me feel guilty that I'm not getting much exercise these days.

I donated four pieces of pottery to an event yesterday (as part of my getting rid of 100 plan) I'm going to work in the studio today.

Hi

SubC, I'm with you, as dogs are generally sensory and energy overload for me. And some owners are clueless or entitled. Just this afternoon I was sitting in the screen porch and the next door neighbor gal goes by with her dog on a too-long, slack leash, and it makes a beeline for the trash bag I'd just put out by the curb and hikes a leg and pees on it! I couldn't believe she didn't prevent it, which could've easily been done, yet knowing the habits of this chick actually I could believe it. It wouldn't do any good to say anything to her; roommate and I have tried on various occasions with various things and it doesn't help, and I have to watch my temper. So.

It's been a busy week but good in terms of accomplishments. Got covid shots yesterday. This morning I decluttered a small problem spot that had been bugging me. Somehow I ended up with my prescriptions a mess of pill bottles and pharmacy papers and bags, and I got that all sorted, old slips to be shredded, trash gone, pill bottles neatly in their box again. One of those odd and tedious tasks. Hoping I can keep up with it now.