Ok I took back my power--in my mind. I was going to see brother tmr anyway, so I still will and I'll be nice about it, and I'll get my dishes at the same time. I gave him the power in my mind and I took it back in my mind. Problem solved.

Oh CM so sorry about the plumbing issue. So far we are okay here but very cold. Tillie we must embrace those few and far between moments of normalcy and praise.

Since I got my brother his new apartment, he's let go of his trash hoarding and his otherwise hoarding. It's been very good all around. Today he's aggravated because he wants me to take him out and I'm leery of car's ability to hold up in the single digit temps.

Back to brother's hoarding: he couldn't let tvs or computer monitors go. Now he has just one tv and I've cimputer monitor. He actually gave his other tv to a neighbor whose tv was in terrible shape. He gave the roku that went with it too and now his neighbor has access to all that roku offers. It's been good to see that development.

I would love to get rid of my dishes today but I simply cannot carry them to the car in this cold weather. There is no parking by my house as we just got hit with a big snowstorm on Thursday. I will continue to box up.

Oh great my brother is now being nasty and treating me like an employee. I just told him I don't work for him and he's trying to provoke me. I'm worried now about my Christmas dishes. My BF told me to take them Christmas Eve.

I think diet ties into hoarding because at least for me - when I am at a good weight and eating well I have more energy and stamina. This helps me make good decisions and do the physical work of cleaning out. It also makes me feel better about myself so that when I slip up I can be more forgiving and start again instead of falling into a downward spiral of negative thinking.

Planning meals and then preparing them and eating them is a big deal. It is something I struggle with over and over, but when done well it avoids overstocking up and food waste, which are two big hoarding issues. It also Reduces trash from buying food - which is a personal trigger.

Milestone.
It's Friday I ate all the extreme anti oxidant foods I bought this week. I can't say Fasted, but I didn't gorge . Fasting for weight loss is a bridge too far for me at the moment. Due too my job as an auto worker. It's strenuous at times and requires stamina and energy , but the days are divided inti 4quarters and I never know which quarters are the high stamina ones.

So for now I'm trying to limit what I eat outside of work. Which is boring for home meals. But does give a greater opportunity to expand my meal menus. Yes, I have time for practice , practice , practice,.

In warm weather I seem to cook outside almost exclusively.
Grilling salmon on fish days, and steak on steak days.
After eating all the salad fixings. The week seems to just start all over again. But since it's winter veggies are more expensive.
Ive been working on perfect balance Hummus type dip.
I know this isn't hummus, but I improvise the balance of health foods into it ,

Instead of tahini/sesame .14 half Walnuts ground down into oily paste
Instead of chickpea only, I use red beans half and half . Splash in a little tumeric and black pepper.
And either stuff into mini peppers or just dip with the peppers
If it's too salty I add just a few fresh blue berries , and walla magic . Ugh it's makes me stinky, so it's just a way start my weekend so I'm not offensive to my co workers.
I'm trying to set up the homemade hummus to be my fasting food , but it's high calories so it's gas a specific spot on the weekend. After a 24hrs complete fast or 36hour semi fast .

What I leaning toward is not starting my fast on Monday's , to adjust to the demanding working conditions. To start with my last lunch of the week as zero hour . So
Day 1 start Friday 10:30. I'll energy for working.
The next marker is eating just before starting Monday 6am.

So I'm trying to fit the best fasting situation/s into the 57½ hours between Friday lunch and monday clock in.

Friday 10:30 am nuts and berries on salad.
Fast
Saturday 10:30 am. Hummus, greens, shrimp
Saturday 6pm evening steak dinner. Followed by exercise
Sunday 6 am Omelete made healthiest light workout.
Fast
Monday 6am Protein drink,1boiled egg, green tea, dried fruits.
Monday 10:30 nuts berries on salad
Monday 6pm dinner shrimp 600 cals

Tuesday 6am Protein drink,1boiled egg, green tea, dried fruits
Tues 10:30 nuts berries on salad
Tuesday dinner 6pm lemon pepper chicken

Wednesday6am Protein drink,1boiled egg,greentea,
Wednesday 10:30 nuts berries on salad
Wednesday bananaNutbread, salmon, sweetpotato,TurnipGreens

Thursday Protein drink,1boiled egg,greentea,driedfruits
Thursday 10:30 nuts berries on salad
Thursday dinner open
Friday Protein drink,1boiled egg,greentea,driedfruits
Friday 10:30 10:30 nuts berries on salad 35g protein

Ok I didn't plan to plan, it just happens sometimes.
How does tie into hoarding? Well, hmm.
If I'm not keeping the kitchen clean and clear , I'll be so disorganized I'll fall back into something simple.
Soi have to keep goto items like. Shrimp ready to eat.

..

In the past I was on message board forum for fasting , my goal was to lose wieght, but I found more reasons for fasting. Like gut flora, immune building, lowering protein to cause lower rates of hghf-1, DNA repair mode, lower a1c.

Taking a long hard look at fasting in why I should do it like a weekly thing or life, or is it fad?
So on that forum, I felt I was over posting, so I would try and earn an opinion by researching relevant or tangent to fasting or weight loss and add it my daily update. So for two years I gather a good deal of knowledge, especially once my wife was diagnosed with cancer, I had a my finger tips doctors and nutritionists that I could pick their brains.
They still don't know exactly how it works, but fasting can be a factor in longevity. How to live to 100 and still run a 26mile marathon? Smaller portions.
Taking in only what you need. Not over eating protein , adjusing protein when age changes meabolism.
Constant intake of antioxidants.
Walking 15,000 steps a day
Fish two times a week.

I made a list of all vitamins and minerals to research and post. Collating details on the top organic sources for each one on the list.

Whichones cancel eachother out?
Which combinations synergies more nutrition uptake than individually?

Lol. I'm still a terrible cook.

My observation?
The forum and research was my creative outlet.
What I came away with.

Fasting lowers protein intake.
There's no human requirement for carbohydrate .
If we survive everything else cancer is what will bring down in the end, but we can prevent it for as long as possible and fight it with foods too.

So we slow down aging by eating less protein on the cellular level.
We also use anti oxidants to keep cells healthy at the cellular level lends to lower rate of daughter cells proliferating DNA errors.

So if we eat foods that help us on the cellular level divide less cells, but also at the sametime, of the cells that we do creat with less errors.
Through in nutrition that helps identify errors and nutrion that helps repair are discard err red DNA cells.

Fasting is the only thing that creates that envirionment.
DNA mode. It take practice , practice, practice.

Why is that the direction I took. Because after 20-30 lbs of fat loss the body adjusts the metabolism, fat loss decreases it rate of loss and it be a long plateau of being hungry, With strong Likley hood of rebounding. Ugh right?
However if the focus then becomes 15lbs fat loss per year, while try the longevity trek.then the " dieting is extended over a 5 year period. Long enough to get better at exerting the fasting induced DNA repair environment.

Then there other aspects, how to heal muscles and organs.
How to build muscle, but not stress the heart. Inflammation and cholesterol balances.

It enough just to find a lonely little kitty and just seize the day.
I bought a lottery ticket.
If I win, I'm helping all of you.
Beside my wish list. What I want to donate to is the rep,antingbof trees in Africa to help give a permeant multination reserve for the elephants and rhinos.
And to continue work on making the

Monday 6pm

Hi CriticalMass 🙂
That's a great idea for the worm out laundry hamper.
Plus cats always enjoy playing with things that weren't meant to be cat toys more so than actual authentic cat toys. 😀
Sorry about the plumbing problem, hope it's resolved quickly and financially painlessly.
About every two months I put baking soda and vinegar down the drains followed by letting the hot water run for a few minutes, to help keep them clean.
Plus it's fun to watch it react.
One of the first things I did with Eowyn was test her hearing. She hears very well. 😀
Both her eyes are blue and I knew about the possible deafness.
Did you know that pure white (albino) cats with one blue eye and one green eye are always deaf?
Happy your jeans still fit. YEA!!!
Mine do too so I know I'm doing alright. HaHaHa 😉

Something very weird happened today...
Steven actually commented on the newly exposed freshly painted wall space.
Said that The paint job was very good, looked very nice.
Said that the open area looked much better than how it had looked before with the cupboard up there.
He is normally someone who hates even the smallest change and he never compliments, just complains.
I accepted his compliments, said thank you.
Hope this shows he may be ready to make a few more positive changes in our home. ;D

Tillie glad the cabinet will have a bright new career as a yard equipment holder

Tatoulia, hope the pipes and you keep safe! You too, SubC - sounds like you're facing some SubZ! Yikes. I don't like that frigid frigid weather.

The holidays do make for a lot of break in routine, and I'm getting more like my mom every year; she used to say she'd be glad for life to get back to "normal." My life has very little "normal" in it, but at least back to a "routine" would be good enough.

Hi Porter, sounds like little kitty's earning her keep very well. I agree with the others - she'll probably hunt fine on a full stomach because they just can't resist the movement of prey.

I'll tell everyone what's a great toy for cats, too, I discovered by accident: Memory wire. I get those mesh pop-up clothes hampers from Dollar Tree store. They only last a few months, but are the easiest thing for me in this limited space where I don't have room to put my rigid plastic laundry baskets.

Anyway, I just pulled on the wire sticking out of a torn up Dollar Tree hamper and the cats went nuts. There's something about how memory wire bounces in the air. So I've been saving it (what our cats don't need I'm going to use to make some cat toys for friends or the Humane Society). Also the mesh can be stitched easily into bags to fill with shed bunny fur and hang out in the spring for birds to nest with.

Tillie, can Eowyn hear? I know most blue-eyed white cats are deaf. Glad Gimli is protective of her.

I don't fast for entire days but if I eat a large meal it's usually lunch, since that's when I sometimes go out with my quilting buddy, or cook something I can't cook with roommate home due to her food allergies. Then I eat a very light supper - toast or rice crackers or something, maybe a dab of yogurt, and some fruit. I have the occasional candy or cookie (those "C" foods Tillie mentions!) - have been more into that with the holiday abundance, but slowing down again, trying not to stress over it; my jeans still fit. I think switching it up does trick the metabolism into not hoarding fat, LOL!

Well, I've been getting into the groove as best as I can with the new year. First few days felt like I was spinning my wheels a little. Part of that unsettledness was waiting for Wednesday which was payday, and organizing the bill paying and such that goes with it.

And, I got a call from the friends I cat sit for; going to be doing that starting on the 8th. Hoping it goes smoothly. It used to be easier before I was also doing my roommate's dog's midday potty break, because then I could go in the morning and spend most of the day with the cats (it's across town), and be back to my bunnies (and these cats here) in the evening. But now I have a shorter time with my cat sitting cats.

We already have a big crisis, the first of 2018 - the bathtub wasn't draining. Plumbing guy (also our mechanic) came today, snaked the backyard line and got a couple clogs. So far so good, seemed simple. Then he came inside to do the bathtub on down. Hit an obstruction and is going to have to go into the pipes themselves. It's going to be a mess both of logistics and money. Sigh.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Wishing you good luck with the 20 hour challenge! 😀
Seems very reasonable and not too overwhelming to strive for 20 hours in January.
Even if you fall short, you will still be ahead. 😉

Hi Porter 🙂
The way to become a better cook is to find easy recipes and make them.
Experiment with adding your own "special secret" ingredients to make them tastier.
Tasty, nutritious home cooking comes from practice, practice, practice.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WTG! for putting the candy down! ;D
Glad you will have a fresh clean blanket to add to your bed tonight.
Weather forecast is saying the East will now get super cold.

Everybody stay warm and stay safe. ((((HUGS))))

My biggest dietary problem is "C" foods...
Cookies, candies, cakes, chips...
Other than that I am happy eating a vast variety of fresh healthy foods.
When I am cutting back on eating, I find a handful of unsalted nuts satisfies my hunger and stabilizes my blood sugars.
Today I will apply coat two of paint in the kitchen.
Yes, there is a very slight difference in the paint since the kitchen was painted many years ago even though I'm using the same leftover paint to cover this area.
But I can live with it and it won't take long for the fresh paint to age/cure into the background.
I am striving for "good enough" not perfection. ;D
Using what I already have costs nothing but time and effort and the payback I am getting out of this is priceless.

Hello CriticalMass 😀
Hello Anonymoniker 😀
Hello Joan 😀
Hello anyone I missed ;D

SubC you did really well! Remember that home made soup is much much better for you (less sodium, more goodness) and I hope you'll try fasting again. Good work on sorting your pots. It's a good time of year to take s fresh look at things.

I'm going to finish getting ready for work and gather up the garbage and get going.

Ttyl!

I ended up eating a bowl of homemade soup and a big handful of pita chips with dh at about 23 hours. Then I had two cookies. Then I stopped myself and went to bed.

Porter, you have out far more thought into this than I! I just know it is hard for me to eat lightly and in a healthy manner all day and easier to postpone eating completely. Especially at the beginning of the day.. but if I fast too long my metabolism shifts down, which is bad since I am trying to lose weight.

Fasting on a day when I am busy and distracted seemed like a good jump start. My weight is down this morning, but I know that it is mostly because my digestive tract is empty. Today I will focus on healthy foods.

I spread out my pots and looked them over last night. Just for general impressions.They range from things I am very pleased with to things that turned out very badly. Some in the middle (nothing wrong with it except that I don't really like it) are worth adding to my sales inventory. I will try to make decisions this weekend.

Also, I have signed up for anothe4 challenge to spend 20 hours in January working on problem areas in my house - the studio, the basement, and my scrapbooking hoard. I will let you know how that goes.

In recent years i always try to be strict with the fasting after the start of the new year. But I rarely can keep it strict enough. What one person stict to easily another per just can't do and so on. If eat anything , I mean put any flavor in my mouth , I can't stop. It's like I've a awakened my huger and it naws at me. So I have stave off and food ideas till lunch time and if I don't eat enough to feel full , it just keeps nawing at me till I do feel full.
So that's me. How I deal with it to look past tring to loose weight. To the bigger picture, living longer. For my own reasons I want to live well into my eighties, just 30years from now for me.
I can lose weight, I can exercise , but If I'm constantly allowing myself to become malnourished I'll ave same death rate as a smoker.

I quit smoking in 1991. Started yoyo dieting in 1995.
Started exercising and fasting in 2008. When my wife was diagnosed with cancer I did alot of Internet reading on cancer prevention and cancer fighting. And basically came up with this opinion.

IF
If I can avoid child mortality , accidental death, preventable death, weight and age related diseasesand environmental issues ,then as I get older, eventually it will be cancer that brings me down. Reason being , the natural process of cell division, eventually all our original cells we were born with expired , and each generation of cells that passes to next carries some errors . Those errors are cancer. Sometime the errors just aren't great enough to cause the body to recognize the errors as needing to be attacked and discarded. So we get issues with the growths.

So I kept reading, obese people can live into their nineties if they exercise , but underweight people whom exercise not as well into their nineties. I keep reading. Those that fast, exercise, have a normal weight, have same death rate as meat eaters. I keep reading, those that eat fish two times a week, fast two times a week, and walk walk walk alot. Have the highest longevity. This perplexed me. I came up with my personal opinion.

By only taking in what the body uses. If I use 1800 calories then I take in 1800 calories. The body doesnt age as fast at the cellular level. The process where the body takes in uses and then recycles what it used and then requires new intake doesn't really fit the 3 meal a day schedule we follow 9- noon -5.
So there are many key factors but the most important one is great nutrition. And best from natural sources , or from plants and animals not so much just straight out of the dirt.

I think the fish factor is a way of balancing good fats with bad fats enough that there isn't too much of one or the other, but there's another keep factor. Where the walking and fasting together combine to lower the fat level much much more.

Further. By taking in the disease fighting foods, and the gut flora enhancing foods. Good dental care for crunching the nutrition up on the molars. Eating pre biotic , probiotic, and things the cleanse the body.

It may seem like a lot work, but it's really not when put into practice. , but for me it costs a little more, than quick cheap food.

So I try to keep it simple
Eat fish as often as I can, walk as often as I can.
Eat salad geared for fighting cancer and disease and then make it taste good with sone honey French just barely enough. And drink in the same way. If it's not water, then a tea that fights disease. Like lemon watervor green tea, or lemon water with green tea sweetened with honey .

Then there's the whole alkaline vs acidic thing. Enough to make it seem less like just shopping at the store without having think it out and over plan for expensive leftovers.

The key for me was restarting every year on Jan 1.
Maybe I should restart on July 4th too.
But restarting the fasting 2-3 days a week ,
Where one day is low energy day then the next is high energy.
I learned to make the menus like
Monday low energy but rich in antioxidants low protein. Nuts berries
Tueday high energy and protein. Fish
Wednesday low energy but rich in antioxidants low protein. Nuts berries
Thursday high energy and protein fish.
Friday low energy but rich in antioxidants low protein.sleep
Saturday eat socially till Satisfied
Sunday eat socially till Satisfied

I made a big list of some really healthy foods,
Tried to keep them in the kitchen in stock.
What I found that thereis enough health food , to keep satisfied. And the stuff that isn't as appetizing was easier to eat to break a fast when I'm most hungry .

After all that , I got strong again. Like nothing can stop me type stamina . I do what I want and love who I want. And feel what I feel about myself and others. So Im happy that I was brought up in religious way that favors the love of family over the self. I hope I live long enough to be a loving grampa someday. Something I think is worthbthe effort of eating the diet of intermittent faster. But the truth be known. After about a year of eating the good stuff like blueberries and brocoli at almost every meal. I started to really enjoy it emensly. No longer slave to my hunger, I switched the learning focus to the thirst. And yea , I've found joy in health drinks there too.
To my delight my daughter friends asking. Me how do I get it to taste like that. Make it taste clean and healthy can do more that satisfy the taste buds, please the sense of well being.

Then I would turn and see a mountain of hoarding. And just sink into feelings of overwhelm. No matter how much I tried I couldn't keep up on it. It always returned. .
Not till I lost my family members did I realize. Individually were that bad , but together we made a house of hoarders.

I just have to remember. TAke it one day at a time. Find peace or joy everyday. I wish I were a better cook.
Falling asleep , good night.

Hi SubC--good work on fasting! I do two to three 36 hour fasts a week. It's been a little hard getting back on track after the holidays. Might I suggest peppermint tea when you feel hungry? That and a brisk walk (which is counter-intuitive) tend to stave off the hunger for me. THAT SAID, when I fast I can have up to 500 calories in a day. I rarely eat the full 500 although I did yesterday. Keep up the good work!

I started to buy Hershey kisses yesterday (honestly what is wrong with me) because 1) they were half off and 2) they were. It's. I put them away, as I would've eaten the whole packet by now. I have very little self-control with sugar. Yes it's surprising I can fast.

Well I'm doing laundry now and will have clean sheets soon I also washed a human blanket (as opposed to kitty blanket) as I think I'll need to add one tonight.

I have garbage to go out but will take out in AM. Wind and snow continue here.

Yay for rescuing kitties and bright kitchens!

Today I picked up my class work from the fall - 2 boxes of new pots, and bought a new tool dh promised me because he broke a pot (fat marker sized) and stopped at the grocery store.

Bought five bags of chocolate chips for cookies later because they were over 50% off. Also bought two boxes of raisins at a good sale price, but skipped saving 20 cents a can on pumpkin.

Trying to do a 24 hour fast right now, but thinking i'm going to fall about two hours short.

How wonderful! Great work, Tillie. I look forward to having those types of moments myself soon. That feeling of clean and sunshine.

Still very stormy on the East coast. Thinking of having tuna for dinner. That means a saucer of tuna juice for the kitty!

Got the kitchen wall all prepped this morning and just recently applied the first coat of paint.
Stood back in the living room area to admire my work when the afternoon sun shined through the window and lit up that whole area.
So light, open and bright now.
😀

Au contraire I read every word! Love cat stories!

Just made lunch. Ttyl. Stay warm and safe everyone!

Good Morning Everyone 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Glad you got groceries in before the storm.
My blue eyed albino little girl kitty is named Eowyn.
She lived with her Mom on the college campus, feral.
On December 26th Steven heard her crying all day in the storm drain where they lived then discovered her mother dead in the parking lot.
Being white she was hard to see in the snow.
We set up a trap and she was so starved that she came out and got in the trap for the food.
She was only 4 weeks old, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
She still hides from everyone except me and barely tolerates Steven's presence in the house.
She sleeps on "her" pillow right next to my head every night and wears my slippers and shoes every day.
Being the only female cat here, she rules the roost with an iron fist and nobody dares to mess with the "Poohkie".
If she screams, Gimli my big orange tabby boy always comes running to her defense, ready to take on anyone who would dare make her scream.
Gimli is another rescued baby, about two weeks older than Eowyn.

I know, TLDR ;P

Everybody stay inside when you can.
Stay warm and safe.
Spring is just around the corner.

Gently rained here over night.
I slept very soundly all night long.
Today I begin prep work on the kitchen wall project.

The slippers sound wonderful, Tillie! What is the girl kitty's name? I love new slippers. They are so comforting.

Well I took down the wreaths on my front windows today. It was much warmer--20F so I took advantage of that. I can't take out garbage til tmr night but they are in a giant contractor's bag and are not bothering me. Normally I'd leave them up longer but it's been so bitterly cold and now we are expecting a storm--it just seemed like the right time.

I've run the dishwasher. My office is closed tmr due to storm but that won't change my day--I'll still be here working.

Will head off to bed soon. Not a very productive day but I'm glad I went to the grocery store. Looking forward to making something yummy tomorrow. Maybe pancakes.

Hi again 🙂

Not nice enough weather to work outside here yet, but I look out the window and mentally go through the check list of what I would do if I could.
Went into town today and got water.
Stopped by the thrift shop and talked with the people I know who work there.
It was good. 😀
Bought a pair of Minnetonka moccasin slippers. New, never worn, black suede, fleece lined.
My little girl kitty loves shoes, she approves of my purchase, rolled all over them, sits there with her front paws in them like she is wearing them.
Now they are all covered in white fur.
Half the time I can't wear my slippers because she is on them.
Been eating very sparsely the last few days and eating only healthy things.
I feel so much better after having binged a little too much on my B-Day cherry pie. 😉

You also need to make sure kitty has a clean bowl of water every day. Even if you think she doesn't drink it

It's in the 20s here today and such a lovely walk to store and back. I'm fasting so naturally everything looked delicious. Good to have some things in the cabinets. I almost bought some meat but decided I may not use it so I bought my low sodium soups and other items. Bought an extra loaf of bread to take to mom's--more just as an excuse to visit than anything. I did all her shopping on Friday.

Back to work. We are bracing for a storm here.

Didn't do any laundry today. Felt like taking the day off.

Chiming in on don't starve the cat. Cats need the equivalent of 5 mice in protein every day, if they go 24 hours without eating, their liver can shut down and they die.

If your kitty is going out, she is probably eating birds, which are easier to catch. My suggestion would be give her some dried food regularly and try to keep her inside at night. Then she is more likely to hunt house mousses at night and leave the birds alone.

If you want to reward her mouse kills with treat food - that is good.

Tatoulia good planning.

Tillie, funny to hear you talk about working outside. I would just like positive numbers on my thermometer when I go out to do chores!

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

The best mouser cat I ever had never ate any mice, he preferred to eat Friskies.
He once killed 17 mice in one night and always laid them out in a row where I would see them in the morning.
He just enjoyed the hunting.

Just now 8:00am here.
About 10:00 I will head into town.
Need to get drinking water.
The well water tests out perfectly good to drink but without a filter I do not enjoy all the bits of pond life floating in my glass.
Haven't ventured out in a long time and really need the break.
Don't need any groceries yet, maybe by this weekend.
Got the house all tidy yesterday and found & brought in what I need to patch & paint that little bit of kitchen wall/ceiling.
Getting anxious to get outside and start doing some yardwork, cabin fever has set in, Scooter has it bad too.

Everybody stay warm and work hard at being HAPPY!

Good morning everyone! I'm working from home today. We are expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow so I brought home paperwork in addition to my usual computer work.

Please don't starve the kitty, Porter. She will catch the mice whether she's hungry or not. Cats like the sport of it.

I am going to get all of the recycling out today and in the bin before the giant snow gets here tomorrow. I am also going to pick up some bread. I would like to go to grocery store but just too cold.

My new heater is keeping the place warm enough.

Back to work after ten days off for break/shutdown.
New shoes , felt audio I could barely get through the day, there was technical issues causing a supply back up which caused freezing temps to cause a cascade of big problem the sent us hom after 5 hours of work. No one complained.
I just came home slept so my foot could heal my heal.

SubC I used to love my vegtables and fruit gardens.
I was less of floor person , I used to use marigolds to fill in where weeds would grow. So that when. Was out there tending , I ad some natural skeeter deturents out there, it's been a long time since I had a good place for a great garden , I can't do it here. It's badly shaded. Not very much space . And the property is graded to rooftop to run off.
And I still get leaking in the basement when I run the water hose. So. As much as I wish for garden , it's not good option.
I hope you keep sharing about your plans. I'm not envious, I just just wish I could to.
----
I starve my cat. It's been 2 days.
She's a killer. It's why I adopted her. I would sit on my porch and watch her hunt birds. Then after shed drag one off. I'd call to her and leave out some tuna , or left overs.

Now she's inside , she still prefers to go potty outside .
I still do the routine .
Of playing with fake mouse on a string about 5 minutes . Whipping the fake mouse where I've seen mouse activity.
Then feeding her.
Then loving her and petting her until she naps, usually on my lap.

Twice a month. I hold back on cat food . And spend time checking the glue traps , and playing with the fake mouse.
There are very few mice left. If she brings me dead ones I feed her a little tuna. When the tuna can is gone then return to a daily feed bowl.

She's killed 8 mice in three months that I know of.
And because I use glue traps just inside the kitchen cabinets
Where hide from the cat. I've found 18 trapped mice in those three same months. Where as there were on two caught in glue traps prior to having the cat. Basically making the point . The mice to seem to avoid the traps unless a cat is after them. That's alot of mice in my opinion. Glad they're no longer in the population. Don't know if I mentioned it .
She's turtle shell colored. , might be rude to say she's ugly , so I just say she ain't pretty. She has a solid patch of black on here neck that looks like she's a bearded lady. But I know her heart. She's a predator but friendly with whom she knows and trusts., I'm going to let have one litter. Then have her spayed. In august she would sit with be by my little fire pit.
Especially when grilling salmon.

Luck was with me in the cafeteria. They ad salmon today. So even though it's was I high price fir lunch , it was reasonable for dinner. So I just had a salad for dinner. Lots of nutrients , too many to need to measure.
It was a good day.

Hi Tillie!

For me the "winter holidays" run from the week of thanksgiving - when I am off work - through January 6th. I have two weeks off around Christmas.

They are a time of chaos and disruption - extra events, joys and celebration, but also extra work and stress.

Many of the regular aspects of life are suspended.

I try to have all of the decorations put away by bedtime on the 6th, and all of the post holiday cleaning and reorganizing done as well. This year I will sneak in an extra day since the 7th is a Sunday.

Then it is a long stretch to the equinox of (re)establishing routines, focusing on my inward self and physical health, and huddling around the fire - resting up and preparing for spring. (Dreaming, planning, and ordering seeds)

Good Morning Everybody 🙂
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Thank you.
My fingers are always crossed that everybody makes it through the Winter without any major structural issues.
The two years when it got down to -35 here caused so much damage all over the state.
Unfortunately, every year people still are taken by Jack Frost.
Stay warm, stay safe.
Kitty thanks you for her cozy little pod. 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Happy you are back home.
Stay warm by the fire and stay safe.

Woke up before 5:00am.
Huge moon shining brightly through the window.
Been pondering what to do today.
Steven is such a "trying" person to be around.
He was off work for so many days the last two months.
He returned to his regular work schedule today.
I need a vacation.
Will do the usual daily cat related tasks and a little tidying up.
The place needs a good thorough cleaning but I am too exhausted to do that today, maybe next Monday or whenever.
After I rest up and get the house in order I am looking forward to patching & painting the area where that cupboard was.
I am also planning to paint the kitchen cabinets soon, may not be until late Spring or early Summer.
Some day soon when the weather is nice I plan to start working on getting the front yard area cleaned up for Spring.
Those are my long term plans anyways. ;D

Home safe and sound.

Son in law headed off with daughter and we are having kitty time by the fire.

It's supposed to get down to negative six here tonight.

Added a tin full of goodies at the last minute when we left mom's house.

I hope the year continues to go well for everyone.

Great work Tillie!! So proud of you!!!

I got to mom's and got her tv back on track. I had a bowl of chowder when I got home. It's so cold here. Kitty is asleep in her pod. I need to get up and move around some.

Cold is expected to be here at least through next weekend. Praying my house survives. So worried about the pipes.

Howdy ;D

Cupboard is successfully removed from the kitchen area and installed in the pump house.
Washed the ceiling and wall where it had been and also washed the back of the fridge and floor since the fridge was pulled out.
The place looks so much more open and brighter in here now.
Will fill and organize the new pump house cupboard with yard stuff another day.
It will hold a lot being 36 inches long and 30 inches tall with 3 adjustable shelves.
Beautiful warm sunny cloudless day today.
Had the windows open and propped open the storm door and let all the cats go out and play.
The laundry is all dry, fresh smelling, folded and put away.

Judging by Porter's and Tatoulia's posts
It's been a good day all around. 😀

Happy New Year!

Like many of us I'm starting off the new year filled with hope. I feel that in many important ways I accomplished a lot of good things in 2017. I worked on my house, I lost weight, I was kind, I improved my coping skills, etc. and I am glad for that.

It is bitterly bitterly cold here. When we got home last night it was 1. That's it. 1.

I had planned to stay in bed all day but mom called and she's having trouble with her tv. I'll head over in a bit.

I am grateful to you all.

I am going to gather up garbage for my first garbage pickup of the year. I will further pack dishes. Will be picking up my new dishes after the 5th, which is when my coupon will work. I'm not sure of how much the gift card is for but I'm sure it'll be plenty for what I need and want. I'm looking forward to the new dishes.

I am doing laundry. I do have to have my washer fixed at some point. I miss the flexibility and ease. BUT I've been happy that I've just accepted it for now without being upset.

I ordered the new windshield wipers for my car. That will take a weight off of me, to have decent wipers. This year is about taking weight off--physical, emotional, mental, etc. I will envision what my environment should look like to further that goal. My designer comes to the US in May and I'd like to have enough money to work on things with her.

I didn't expect this.
I'm happy.
Not sure why I'm writing about 'unhappy

Something missing in my life is like these threads,but also games, and friends in those games. As my life goes along I've lost real life friends in tragic situations, long long ago. I've not just missed them, but the contact and comradery.

Life's funny happy puzzle happened to me this morning.
I gave permission for her to goto a new years eve party with girls I dislike, but it's a holiday so I gave permission for her to be with friends , and not have to report to me, or come home.

In the middle of the night I think about 2:30 AM . I heard my old iPad give a notification that I haven't heard since a best friend killed herself. Just a little kabing, and then another.
Curious I dusted off the old iPad2 . It was my scrabble accout. I had been challenged to a game by my daughters account, but it was her friends. I'm sure which one helper her set up her new tablet I bought her for Xmas.
Of all things I'm just sitting the dark can't sleep and a little sad. My favotite game and some favorite people. We played for three hours. I guess they were bored .
I guess I sort let go of my gaming addiction because I spending too much time on game. However this morning I really felt happy like I have felt in a while.

Ok gang, I'm off for another holiday fillin at my Aunts this time. I put heat on the pipes they're getting frozen. Them I'm off. .

P.S. Before tablets and phones I was a board game enthusiast. I had a big collection of board games that I've thrown out , for better phone and tablet versions.