Oh! And Anonymoniker! That control thang! Both my husband and I are still fairly newly retired, he has been so kind about doing things around the house that I once did myself. I am having to learn to give up control, too. Fortunately, he never brings up my control issues, but he listens when I do. I'm learning. It is s freeing to let go!

Well, just wiped out what I was writing . . . .

It turned out that I don't have a leak under my sink, but this concern made me clean out that area and get rid of a hoard I had not thought about. Cleaned it up and put tings back together. Think I'll spray in there with hydrogen peroxide occasionally just to make sure I don't develop a mold or mildew problem.

I agree with Anonymoniker re the Christmas fuss that seems to be taking over Internet social media. And good night! So Starbucks has a red cup without Xmas stuff on it. Get over it! Admittedly, however, I don't do Christmas, so I have no strong connection with it some others do.

Haven't started taking care of my bee collection yet. But oh, my house is starting to look so CLEAN!! Loving that!

Actually, Tillie, my wonderful new boyfriend has been clearing the weeds in my yard & fixing it up by rearranging the rocks around the trees and stuff. I cant take credit for that! As silly as this may sound tho, its taken a bit of trust and loosening up on needing to be in control to let him do all that! I trust his judgement and sense of esthetics, tho!...(sigh)....im madly in love!!! ~♡~

WAY TO GO!!! Anonymoniker
for doing such a FANTASTIC job on your yard! 😀

I have the vacuum out and today I WILL vacuum those fridge coils even if that is the only thing I do today. 🙂

Good for you, Tillie!!!
Those coils being cleaned regularly cuts down on one of the top, major fire risks in the home!
I cant believe how early stores have started pushing Christmas, now?! Im sure Jesus would just love the way people celebrate him these days....geeeez?!!
My yard is looking fantastic! Ive been dancing around in it, now that its clear of weeds, stickers and junk! The shop is getting emptier by the day! I could not be happier! 😀

Hi Everybody 🙂

Hi AbiYah 🙂
Yes, that bathroom cabinet does seem to be a priority. Hope you don't have a leak.
I keep the under sink areas pretty minimal on stuff just to keep it easier to check for leaks.

About making "plans"
What I do is sit quietly and think about what around in here bugs me the most.
If it really bothers me, then doing it is my plan.
Right now it is the refrigerator coils needing vacuuming/dusting.
Easy to put that off since I can't see it but I know a build up of dust will make the fridge run harder and die sooner.
What I hate most about cleaning those coils is they are underneath the fridge and I have to lay down on the floor with a flashlight, the vacuum and a special brush.
It's a real pain in the neck.

I made myself go to the grocery store today.
I pretty much have my agoraphobia under control except when the stores start putting out all that XMas stuff and playing XMas music.
The stores get more and more crowded and hectic as December 24th grows closer and they start putting out XMas stuff earlier and earlier every year.
So anyway, WTG! me, for going. 😀

I admire those of you who make a plan, then do all you can to make it work, although circumstances sometimes knock some things off the track. I am not there yet -- not even to try to plan. I am still sporadic, undisciplined.

Here it is Sunday already, and I haven't begun the bees. At least the ducks are done . . . I think. 🙂 (You know what I mean.)

Tillie wrote, "I believe that by thinning the collections down we make the few extremely special ones all that more of a precious memento of a specific time in our lives."

You are So Right! Before, I thought, I had to gather around me tons of each of my collections. A motley collection. Now, I am beginning to understand what you wrote.

I have a cabinet under my bathroom sink that I think needs attention before I really start on the bees. There may be a lite leak there, and regardless, it needs a good cleaning.

I just wrote this to my daughter:
"Oh, Jennifer. I have two vicious beasts in me: one called Hoarder and one called Order. They have been at war with me, especially since your father died. Order, however, is winning now. I have gotten rid of So Much Stuff and I'm in the midst of bringing order to what is left. I have three pantries, and can now find what I need in all of them, although I am still working on them."

My daughter does so much better than I do -- not a hoarder at all. My sister calls herself a collector; however it's very controlled: she will only collect one item -- that's enough for her.

I am learning! I love the order I am starting to see in our home!

Well, catch up with y'all later to read what you already wrote.....

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Karl 🙂
I agree...
"A stitch in time saves nine".
What that translates to is mend a hole while it is still small cause it will just keep getting bigger in time.

Looks like another nice day here.
Yesterday turned out to be so lovely that the cats and I spent several hours playing outside.
I don't want to go into town today. Just want to stick around home.
There is some food here so I won't starve, just no more fresh fruit & veggies or almond milk.

Would love to hear how you all are doing. 🙂

I actually have a velcro leg-band that has the additional advantage of being reflective. But, I should still repair the hole.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Karl 🙂
That all would be frustrating, but now you know how the trains in that area run. 😉
About the chain wear on your jeans...
I used to use a big rubber band to keep my pant leg away from the chain.
Would that work for you too?

Got three loads of laundry hung out to dry.
Supposed to get almost all the way up to near 50 degrees today.
No clouds and just a small breeze and the frost has already melted away. It should all pretty much dry out there.
Need to go grocery shopping but don't feel like it today.
Will just hang around home and watch the laundry dry today.
Maybe I will go into town tomorrow.
We'll see 😀

TTYS 🙂

Thursday plan started out OK, though for some reason I was thinking it would give me several hours at the storage unit, rather than the 90 minutes imposed by my constraints. So I probably should have tried to use all of it, instead of starting out half an hour late and only giving myself an hour. Since I didn't have time to "dig deep" and search one of the big boxes for a missing item, I just picked a smaller "miscellaneous old papers" box and worked on that. I trashed a bunch of papers, and brought home a few that I figured I might want to transcribe first.

It's finally chilly enough that I switched from shorts to jeans for the return trip. I found that there's a small hole in the right leg, at the point where it occasionally gets caught on the bicycle chain. I'll have to add a mending task to my to-do list.

Good Morning 🙂

Hi AbiYah 🙂
I really love the story about the Bumble Bee. 😀
I believe that by thinning the collections down
we make the few extremely special ones all that more of a precious memento of a specific time in our lives.
Good luck with the duck & bee projects! 😀

Hi Karl 🙂
WAY TO GO!!! 😀
Your scheduled tasks seem to be working great for you.
Good Luck with your plans for today!

Got down to 20 degrees over night.
I really enjoy wearing my summer dresses but think that today I will have to start wearing my jeans. 🙁
Oh Well.......
Have a headache and other pain issues from cleaning the cupboards yesterday.
But they are all dustless and tidy now.
Also washed down the kitchen walls/ceiling/light fixture/fridge/water cooler
which isn't saying much since the kitchen is so tiny.

TTYS 🙂

Yes, I'm feeling better -- evidently it was a food reaction, not a virus. I did get 20 minutes of cleanup done on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday; and now that I'm done with the puzzle marathon, I'll have one less distraction to deal with.

Thursday plan -- I'll be taking public transportation to a social event in the evening, and so for the same ticket price I could arrange to also visit my storage unit again, and spend some time going through it. Maybe I'll do that.

Good morning, everybody!

Karl, I, too, am sorry that the plans didn't work out. It's harder when w even make back-up plans, and they don't work. I like the idea of setting a timer. Wonder if that would work for my bedroom.

Tillie and Tatoulia, I worked on the ducks and told my husband I only had @ 50 left. I lied! I counted this morning and found a whole bunch more. I still have about 100, and I plan to take care of them today. I'll have about 70 left when I'm through, but many of those are knick-knacks, not rubber.

So I told my husband I will finish the ducks, then I need to start on my collection of bees. He asked, "Are you ready for that?" I answered, "Yes."

The bees. Both my husband and I were brought up in a cult -- an abusive cult. But it was all we knew. Several years ago, my husband saw how depressed I was and suggested that we go to the ocean. Keeping this short, what happened was a fuzzy bumble bee decided it would walk up and down my arm, and it stayed with me, on a windy beach, for over an hour. It only left me because I took it to where there were other bees on some flowers. But wow! The experience was magical!

So I started collecting bees. When I get through with the ducks, it's time for the bees.

Good Morning 🙂

Hi AbiYah 🙂
Good Luck! with the duckies! 😀
I actually hadn't really been to the dentist in over 10 years but broke a molar and desperately needed to get it crowned.
My check up went very well, no cavities or other major issues.
Hope you schedule yourself an appointment in the near future. 😀

Hi Karl 🙂
Hope you feel better. (((hugs))
Sorry your plans all fell through.
How's your cleaning up schedule going?

Today I have the energy and ambition to do some deep cleaning in the kitchen.
The cupboards are dusty inside and out.

Hoping to hear from you all, miss you when you don't keep in touch (((HUGS)))

Saturday didn't work out well -- after plans A and B fell through from lack of a ride, plan C was to go to a friend's Halloween party; although I made it off of the waitlist, I then had an unexpected bout of illness, so I stayed home after all.

Still haven't done today's cleanup. I'm going to start that now, and be done before tonight's support meet.

Rained all day here, too, yesterday, with snow on the distant outskirts. Company gone as of Sunday late afternoon.

We retired persons also need occasional days off, so Monday was sort of a day off, then I learned my husband was going down to see his father today (Tues), so I am sort of taking it off, too.

But you, Tatoulia and Tillie, have been so encouraging to me to get started on the duck collection that I am going to get at least a start on them -- in a few minutes. After "Pit Bulls and Parolees" is over.

Thinking about who I should give the rubber ducks to. Thinking I may give them to children I see along my way. Will make sure they are very clean and germ-free. The only time they have been in water has been when I've occasionally cleaned them -- mainly, they've been on display and have, thus, gotten dusty.

Tillie, I actually put off going to the dentist -- I'm overdue now. Already go a light-weight lecture recently from my husband. 😀

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Thank you. I survived but was tired and went to bed early.
Today I am feeling no after effects. 😀

Sometimes I think I would rather take a freak.
It would be a different kind of break from always keeping my emotions under control. ;D

Going to put my Halloween decorations away today.
Don't have many, only seven.
Since I don't decorate for any other holiday they are easy to manage. 🙂
Today I will prepare some food and since I didn't eat much yesterday I am really looking forward to it.
Rained hard all day yesterday and through the night.
Areas nearby got lots of snow.
Overcast this morning but looks like clearer skies are on the horizon.
Good day to stay inside. 🙂

TTYS 🙂

Take a BREAK not a freak. But freaking out is probably more accurate !!! I'm using iPhone and don't always proofread my posts!!!!!

Hope you are doing okay, Tillie. I know how anxious you are at the DDS. Abi, with the ducks, start with the easy ones. Once you put in bag, do not go back! Do the easy ones first. I suspect that when you start, the easy ones will be few and far between. But as you continue to go through, your thinking will change and you'll be able to get rid of more and more. Tillie and some of the others call this something like building up your muscles. You may find you actually feel stronger as you go through them.

Be sure to drink plenty of water and just take a freak if you start to feel overwhelmed. It will get easier, I promise.

Oh! One thing I try to ask myself is whether I have lived something enough. Dometinrs it's nice to let done ken else love it for a while. If I find I'm keeping something because I used to love it, the. I pause and ask myself, have I lived it enough? If yes, then off it goes. If I still love it, then it stays. For now.

Keep us posted! Much love to all. Will write more later. Vacuumed living room and library tonight. Washed cat blankets, except the one she's sleeping on. Dear heart

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Glad you liked it AbiYah 😀

Well, have to eat something and get ready to go to the dentist.
Hate being hungry after the dentist when my mouth is all stupid and numb.
Planning to stop on my way back home and pick up a few items at the grocery store.
It's been raining since a little after midnight.
Dark rainy days are great times to bake cookies but I can't do that today. Bummer 🙁

TTYL 🙂

LOVE it, Tillie! You're cute!

Start by getting all your ducks in a row.
Walk by them saying
"duck, duck, duck, goose".
Chase that goose away.
;D

Sorry, I have been eating way too much sugar this weekend.

I may have started an important hoarding decision today. Can I do it. I think I can, but time will tell.

I have a huge collection of rubber ducks. Yep -- you read that right: rubber ducks. I do not plan on getting rid of all of them -- just the ones that don't have high significance.

I started (I started to write "collecting" but I need to be honest). . . I started hoarding them when my daughter married, and she and my little grandson moved from our house. He accidentally left his rubber duck in our bathroom, and I started buying and hoarding every rubber duck I could. And people gave me rubber ducks! I now have about 300, maybe more, rubber ducks if I count all of them.

By the way, he was 2 then; now, he is 26 now.

Well, I think I can do this. I want to get rid of all other than his rubber duck I stole, those that are gifts, and those that have actual significance. That will leave me with a manageable collection.

Any advice? I am not willing to get rid of all of them.

Tatoulia, thank you so much for your welcome! Good that you managed the mentally ill family member as you needed. Looks like a major victory worth repeating! I fall apart when I face such things and have been known to just avoid such family members. I guess I'm just not strong enough. Or is that an excuse?

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Wonderful to read your post. 😀
So happy that you put yourself and needs first.
Looking forward to participating in some mini challenges this month.

Together, we CAN do this! 😀

Hello everyone! Great to read your posts! Welcome, Abi, great work! Speaking if great work, glad to hear from so many of you! Sorry to hear about your wrist, LR. I didn't issue a challenge this weekend because I'm busily writing an article for work and I had a 2;00 PM deadline. But I did makeup deadline and then enjoyed the rest of the day. This was the first Saturday in a long time where I set boundary with my mentally ill family member and I didn't see him til today. It felt great to take care of myself!

Today I did see him today but I didn't get upset when he started screaming at me. I just let it happen. Now I am shopping with mom.

This is a good month to start new. I will decide what to do and will issue mini weekend challenges and will see if I can get any company!

I have an idea for tonight--I inherited quite a bit of artwork recently. So I will challenge myself to hang three pieces tonight.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

November 1st. already!

Hi AbiYah 🙂
You're welcome 🙂

Yesterday the cold breeze stopped and it warmed up into the 70s.
It was GEOUGEOUS outside!
My chrysanthemums and marigolds were completely covered with small yellow butterflies.
The cats had a great time out there. 😀
Nate came by with his dog and we had a really nice visit.
No Trick-or-Treaters here so I get to keep all my candy.
Spent the evening and night watching monster/horror movies.
AND, I got that pepperoni pizza I was craving! 😀
Today I have to get myself mentally prepared for that D.D.S. appointment I have tomorrow.

So, does anybody have any goals/plans for this fresh new month?
I plan to remove things from the kitchen cupboards/cabinets, clean the areas and neatly put the stuff back in them.
Also need to get up there and clean the ceiling fan.

TTYS 🙂

Thank you, Tillie, for your encouraging words!!