Good Morning Everyone 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WTG! for laundry! 😀
Have a wonderful time with your Mom driving out to the Fed-x depot.
Yes, in the Summer heat and high humidity you get extra miserable when your house is dirty.
This year I really hope you can look around your home and see just how much better things are there. (((hugs)))
Have a fantastic time tomorrow visiting with your friend. ;D

No laundry to do, kitchen is clean, rain watered the garden...
Other than cat related chores, today my plan is to leisurely play/decorate/rearrange the doll house. ;D

SubC! You found the right person for the job! Now send that kid over here! I bet he loved having his talents used and appreciated. I am so proud of you for getting this done!

Tillie?I bet you feel good knowing the you have homemade foods ready to eat! And WTG for getting the kitchen all clean and tidy!

I am sore today. in a good way. I have the man purse in the box and I have tape to get it closed. I will be taking mom out today so I thInk after I pick her up I'll stop by here to get the box. It's too big to carry. I found a fed ex location a bit out of the city that has parking. So it will be great. Mom is up for any ride, any activity, any time.

When kitty woke me up I immediately stripped my bed and put the sheets in the laundry. They are drying now and I've run a small load of delicates that I will hang to dry. I haven't yet put sheets in my bed but will do so soon. I'm running the dishwasher. I haven't been keeping up here at all and I need to do so! Hot weather is here and I need constant reinforcement of how unhappy I am with a dirty place when it's hot.

I see my friend tomorrow. Her friend from England arrived so all of us will go out tomorrow.

So, what are you doing today?!?

Hi Subclinical 🙂

YEA!!! WTG!!!
So wonderful that you had some great help too!
WAY TO GO!!! OCD Kid!!! ;D
Yes, sometimes we just have to accept that not everything made these days can be recycled or repurposed. (((hug)))
Hope you can get some good rest this weekend. 🙂

Finally finished washing dishes and the kitchen is all wiped up and back to "DONE".

I am exhausted and emotionally rung out.

My car is packed full again - a load every day this week, but My classroom looks amazing! I turned the ocd kid loose on it. He was so happy when he left - I think he had been wanting to do that all year. And I hope he knows how grateful i am.

There is a woman on the board who comes in and helps with the organizational aspects of cleaning every summer. When she sees my room, she is going to ask if I was fired!

I even filled a huge black trash bag with things I had to accept had no other destiny.

Tomorrow I go to see my boy.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂

Yes! I'll bet you're sore, but just wait until tomorrow when whatever doesn't hurt too bad today really kicks in. 😉
WAY TO GO! for feeding the hungry!
Enjoy the evening with Ms. Kitty (((hug)))

Did a lot of baking and cooking.
I like having ready to eat stuff in the freezer,
keeps me from snacking on easy to reach junk.
All those tomatoes Steven brought me are now nicely simmered into seasoned sauce.
Soon as it cools enough I'll freeze it for when I am ready to make spaghetti or something.
Perfect weather to have the kitchen all toasty warm.
Washed some dishes as I was cooking but still have some more to get to yet.

I'm back! What a productive day! There were 13 of us volunteers and it went very smoothly! We served 126 women and children! Soup for everyone! Talk about unused muscles? I can already feel it in my legs and arms. And my feet are hurting.

We could either tie our hair back or wear a hat. After I washed my hair this AM I immediately pulled it back. Didn't bother drying it.

Tillie I hope I can adapt to the sadness. It's funny, but I find it sadder that my father is dead today than it did at the time. The passage of time blurs some things but brings other things into sharp focus. I will continue to let myself feel how I feel. I've still only had one sad day re sibling. I'll haven't had to Be Strong yet since I've felt no desire to get back into that situation.

I left my purse, keys, etc at BFs this AM and then when I stopped by to see him and pick up my stuff, I accidentally left my glasses at his office. When he discovered it I was halfway to the grocery store so now I'm waiting for him to bring them to me. Going to the grocery store was a big mistake as I hadn't eaten and I got very shakey. Plus it's hot today! The walk back home was miserable.

But I'm here, well fed, cat by my side, and as soon as he brings my glasses I will take a shower. I know if I hop in the shower now he'll show up.

Good Morning 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Do you have to wear a hair net at the soup kitchen?
Sorry, but I just keep thinking of that Seinfeld episode where the mean man says "no soup for you!"
People usually say that grief or sadness will fade away/lessen after a time.
But in my life I have noticed that it never truly fades, we just adapt to living with it. (((HUG)))

Another rainy day predicted for today.
I have some laundry on the clothes line.
Yesterday I finally discovered where Twinkles hides when I absolutely cannot find him.
He is snuggled into my clean sheets on the shelf in my closet.
So... I needed to rewash some of them.
The closet has no door, just a drape over the opening.
The sun was shining through at sunup but now the rain clouds have moved in.
Going to be such a dark & cool day so I think I will do some baking.
Then clean the kitchen again.

Good morning! SubC I can picture it! And it's hilarious! Good work getting those goats wormed. I'm sure it's physically taxing. 21 goats! You are amazing!

Tillie believe it or not, as you were describing the weeding chores, I was thinking how much that must hurt. Very physically punishing.

Sounds like my coffee is ready.

Thank you for supporting me. I am so relieved not to be abused. Only one day was I depressed and sad about sibling. I am not out of the woods as this type of sadness will never leave me. But no one gets out alive, so to speak, so it's a matter of dealing with my sadness and looking to make my life, and hopefully others' lives, a little more bearable.

Good Evening 🙂

Hi Subclinical
That would be a fun activity to watch at the county fair. ;D

Hi Tatoulia
I think it will feel real good to have that man purse gone.
You never used it, never needed it, didn't even really like it.
Was one of those purchases made just to buy something I guess. 🙂
I can't tell you how relieved I am that you are no longer subjecting yourself to that abuse.
Stay strong (((HUGS)))
Good luck at the soup kitchen and YEA!!!! for vacation! 😀

Nothing but reruns of "Supernatural" until next season.
Nothing interesting on PBS.
The Hawaii volcanic activity videos on Youtube are amazing.
Had a little more rain this evening and now there is a brisk cool breeze tinkling my wind chime.
To weed the garden I sit on a little low gardening bench/stool, bend over and pull the weeds within my reach.
Move the bench around to face other weeds when one small area is done and continue to pull weeds.
Sounds physically easy doesn't it?
It's not. My body is not used to the positions/contortions and now I am getting sore & stiff.
Finally got all the dirt out from around & under my finger nails but my fingers are stained greenish from the weeds.
But the garden looks so lovely and the blooms are wonderful and there is the promise of still more flowers to come.
I had Humming Birds visit with me as I worked out there!
Well worth a few aches & pains.

I wormed all the goats.

I don't know anything about worming horses, but here is the thing about goats
- they do not like to be caught.
They do not like to be weight taped
They do not like to have a syringe stuck in their mouths.

But they do really like the taste of the wormer.

So the goats you did not treat yet are running away, and the goats you already treated are climbing on you trying to steal your syringe.

I have 21 goats, so I'm sure this was very funny.

Hello everyone!

My vacation starts tonight! My friend arrived last night. I'm not sure when I'll see her. Her friend arrives from overseas tonight. We have plans for Sunday and I'm not sure if I'll see her before then. She wanted to have lunch tomorrow but I'll be at the soup kitchen.

My sibling stopped by to see BF today. Earlier this week Bf had offered to buy him sneakers and he said he found a pair at store xx at mall yy. He had a complicated story around the sneakers and they were two to three times the cost of the sneakers they were looking at earlier in the week. BF said, great, just wait til employee comes in and I'll take you and sibling said no, I want the $$. And bf said no. Bf said he could tell by the way he was asking and the look in his eyes that sibling just wanted $$, not the sneakers. He said he's seen that look in other people's eyes over the years (where they have a story and just want the money) and he had to say no now, otherwise it will be a regular thing. It will never stop. He said he kept thInking about the time I ran over with food and medicine for the sibling, only to have sibling scream at me, "just bring me the money, you %*%}*@&" and he threw the food and the medicine into the street.

I do not miss this. Not for a second.

I'm relaxing with the cat now and thinking about Tillie's clean, line-dried laundry. Keep up the good work, SubC and Anony! My trash and recycling are out. Clean kitty box.

Tillie you have a very good understanding of hoarding and clean up. Learning the emotional issues through you and others here has helped me let go. Now I say, I've loved it long enough and I send it on it's way.

Someone at work gave me the right-sized box so I can pack up the man purse. Unbelievable-I wish I knew how much I spent on it. I would guess 400 or more. Never carried it. I have the shipping label. So I'll just have to figure out where there's a nearby fed ex drop off. Easy enough to do. If I get even $50 I'll be happy. If I get nothing, I'll be happy to see it go.

Hello 🙂

First thing this morning I washed and hung out a big pink cat blanket.
Then I got out and did a LOT of weeding in my flower/herb garden.
All this rain sure has the weeds growing!
Got half that area done "good enough".
Yesterday all my laundry dried before sundown so I brought it in, folded it and put it away and then it started raining bucketsful and lasted for hours.
More rain predicted for the near future.
After over 20 years it is so wonderful to have a Spring that is what normal here used to be. ;D
Just 12:15 here now so plenty of time to do something else today.
But first I'll have some lunch. 🙂

Oh, and Anony, what is "tapping therapy"?

Tillie, I realize that a lot of it comes from the conditions of the house and that the people on the British show are catching people much earlier, but I also think the show itself tends to show the worst parts because that is what the American audience wants to see.

The first episodes of hoarders were much closer to the British version. Although the British version still shows a lot more positive interaction between the therapist/family/friends and the hoarder and a lot less of the actual mess. One house clearly had a mouse problem and they just showed one shot of paper with mouse poop. In the same show they showed the cleaners (wearing protection) carefully pulling dishes out of really gross packing material to be cleaned and they commented on how sad it was that something so important to the person had gotten into such a state, sounding actually sad about the situation. In "hoarders" the same box would have been thrown into a dumpster (maybe due to time constraints) on camera and the comment would have been more like how sad it was that the person let this happen - I am sad that this person is so dysfunctional.

But again, it is the audience. There are hours of film in both cases and the producers show what they think people want to see. Whatever the actual experience of the people on the show, the British audience is enjoying a heartwarming story of how mental health and cleaning professionals can help someone and the American audience is enjoying a cautionary tale of what happens when you refuse to face your daemons.

As someone with daemons in the basement - I prefer the first story.

Good Morning 🙂
Clink!"

The hoarder next door is a good show and you can watch it on Youtube.
"HOARDERS" is formatted the way it is because the people who apply for the show are in very desperate situations.
They are facing having their children taken away by CPS or having their homes condemned by the city or being placed in assisted care, etc.
The workers on HOARDERS are trying to comply with the orders of the city, health department, CPS/APS, fire department to help the people keep their homes and/or children.
There is a strict time limit on when the home must be in compliance, not the shows decision to move so fast.
Before taping, the people have meetings with psychologists who specialize in hoarding.
During the show they have access to therapists.
After the show they are offered therapy but many decline the help they are offered.
When items are contaminated by human or animal fecal waste or mold or dead creatures they can not be recycled or donated.
The items must be disposed of properly. Sometimes taken to special hazmat waste sites where they are incinerated.
"1 800 GOT JUNK" does sort out their truck loads of household waste when it's not contaminated stuff.
They RECYCLE what can be recycled.
What "HOARDERS" is showing is what can and will happen if intervention/help never happens before things get so bad.
This message board and the Steri-Clean company are here to give help to all of us so we can dig out in a slower more controlled way before we are all buried up to our eyeballs in clutter.
And by working slower we can all learn ways to help keep us from back sliding into squalor.
The "HOARDERS" people know that a fast clean out against the persons will is not the ideal way to proceed but they are there to try and comply with the court orders the people have been given by the city.
The drama on "HOARDERS" comes from the people fighting to hold onto all the stuff even though they know they will lose their kids and/or homes due to the court orders.
"HOARDERS" shows the worst case scenarios but the professional cleaning companies, when hired do not work so fast and furious for lesser jobs where the clients are not facing homelessness or losing their kids.
They work with the people and try to help them achieve their goals as to what they want or do not want removed from their homes.
If you hired a proper certified professional cleaning crew/hoarder remediation team they would help you sort out the treasures from the trash.
They search for valuables and important documents and special sentimental items in all the clutter.
They would advise you as to things that are hazards/dangers in your home and help you get your home a safe and sanitary place to live.
But the cleaning company would never just throw out anything you did not want tossed.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you could really use this help do NOT be afraid to call them.
We all get older or develop health problems that make hard labor impossible or even just the daily chores to keep up our homes.
If we are also dealing with overwhelming STUFF
that can and will just snowball into something impossible for us to handle all by ourselves.
Before my home is condemned by the county I will definitely call for help and know that my wishes as to what to keep or toss will be respected. 😀

P.S. I know all of this to be true because I have had long conversations throughout the years with all the cleaning crew companies, organizers, 1 800 GOT JUNK, therapists and psychologists associated with the "HOARDERS" show. 😉

~♡~Coffee clinks to all!~♡~
Tatoulia, the man purse sounds like a good thing to sell! ;D
Tillie, im so envious of all the storms youre getting! 😀
SubC, i have never watched the hoarder shows, but what you described is exactly why i would not & have not watched! TV has gotten scary sensationalized in the past 25 years that i havent had it, but aside from, there is an attitude about 'hoarders' that seems wrong to me. I would watch one on YouTube if it were actually more helpful & not just being mean to the people for ratings. Maybe ill check for that British one? 😀
I have a new dress i love! I pushed myself to buy it & im glad!
I also started something called 'Tapping Therapy' I like many things about it!
I changed the sheets & now have yet another box of stuff that was in the bed, of which there are many bins, boxes, & laundry baskets filled with important things from changing the sheets, all over my house.

Just hung up my clothes. Also a cute t-shirt dress. So I did a good job yesterday. I also put back two things that fit and looked good but I knew I'd never wear.

I got a chuckle out of "man purse" Tillie! Your day sounds lovely and you were easily able to shrug off the weather and laundry situation! Well done!

SubC I will look for the show. Do you know if it is on Netflix? It does sound like it's the kind of work we are doing here, with the right amount of Tillie encouragement and Tillie wisdom!

I bought a bagful of clothes. I made good decisions, I think. I have two skirts, one sweater, two tank tops and a blouse. Plus a necklace and two pair of socks/the little ones that are more like cotton liners. I think that's it. I haven't hung up any of it yet.

Ok time for work, my dear hearts. Tmr I work in soup kitchen. I remembered to take my sneakers out of the goodwill bag. I got everything dropped off yesterday, including the windshield wipers I bought for my car that didn't fit. They were still in package. I like to think they will make somebody happy.

Oh! Car is running like a dream! The neighbor mentioned it too!

I've been watched my episodes of "the hoarder next door" which is British. It strikes me as so much gentler than "hoarders" they work with the person for six weeks and send cleaners/organizers in near the end. There isn't the same level of squaloror melodrama.

They also seem content to let the person choose to end up with a much larger quantity of stuff as long as it is clean and neat.

They also sometimes leave the process unfinished, but it isn't like in hoarders where they start out saying "we are going to completely clear this out, oh no, we only did the living room, failure.." it's more "we are going to teach this person to make decisions and let go, let's see how far we get, success!"

In one episode the therapist asked the person to start by cleaning off a chair. In another, it was see how much you can put in this small bin in an hour. Then they move on to larger stuff - an easy room or category, then a harder one.

It seems healthier to me. Maybe because it is more reflective of my journey.

Also the show seems more focused on recycling and charity and not just "let's throw everything away as fast as possible"

Sometimes when I watched hoarders, I would get angry at the waste and at the way I felt they were further traumatizing people. I am curious about the long term outcomes for the two groups.

Hello 😀

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WTG! for all you did today! 😀
I never wear shorts. It's either a dress or skirt for me in Summertime.
Hope you can find some things you are comfortable in.
Yes, looking forward to your time with a nutritionist!
This way you will lose weight in the healthiest way. ;D
Good luck selling that man purse.

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Ok...
about time the stars and planets aligned for you.
Hoping your meditation is going well (((hug)))

Hi Subclinical 🙂
WAY TO GO! getting the classroom mostly finished.
YEA! for a loom!
My thrift store right now has a very large "blanket size" loom.
Yeah, your thrift shop probably couldn't even sell those old cassette tapes.
At least you tried to salvage them (((hug)))

Had a really good time in town this morning.
Had conversations with several humans and also got my beeswax.
Found some other things at the thrift shop that I wanted.
Came home by 12:00 noon and completely filled the clothes line with freshly washed laundry.
Just in time for there to be a cloud burst that was a real gully washer.
No time to bring it all in, the rain happened so fast & furious.
Maybe by 9 or 10 tonight it will be dry. ;P
Anyways... happy I got out for a while
in a much better mood.

Great work, SubC! All that recycling and garbage! I am sitting in the car right now, BF will drive me home. I ran some errands including taking the things to goodwill. Then I bought some casual clothes. I'm trying. But I'm so heavy that it's hard to find stuff. I haven't weighed myself but I'm probably 40 lbs overweight/maybe worse.

I see a nutritionist in June. I cannot wait.

Tatoulia, that sounds like something to show for your day!

My plan for the tapes is to put them in the garbage I guess. I was hoping they could be donated, but I doubt the thrift store will want them? I may check my kids books on tape and pull out a couple of unbroken tape cases first. For now they are in a bucket in my studio.

We finished most of the closet and part of the second zone in my classroom. Another full recycling bin and a full wastebasket.

Another teacher is moving and wants to sell a small floor loom. It's a good deal and I am planning to buy it. She is bringing it tomorrow.

My extra things home today were cards and gift cards from my students.

I am glad you are finding some time to reflect, Anony. BTW I will never, ever let BF know that you find him perfect. My life is tough enough, right?

Well while so far I have nothing to show for my day, I did find a place to consign a very expensive bag that I purchased once FOR NO GOOD REASON I've never even carried it. And I spent hundreds on it. Maybe 20 years agoI researched it today and come to find out that 1) it's a man's bag (snort) and 2) I could realize some $$ for it. So I am consigning with a luxury firm. I'm pretty excited. Hope it sells immediately.

I just need to find s box for it.

Okay I need to look alive here. I have to run some errands.

~☆~Greetings & iced coffee clinks!~☆~
Tillie, i hope you get to feeling better soon? ~♡~
Tatoulia, im so glad your perfect boyfriend(ha ha) is helping to keep you out of your sibling's path! ~♡~
SubC, wow, you handle so much, it is hard for me to imagine! I have felt that same way about becoming part of the ecosystem where i am, with all the critters! ~♡~
Ive had a very strange & profound few days filled with what seems to be situations & coincidences that cant be just random, they must be messages from beyond this realm~☆♡☆~Im spending today meditating & reflecting on it~☆♡☆~
~☆♡☆~Much Love & Light to All!~☆♡☆~

Hello Tillie!

Interesting about the Ta Da list! I will give it a go!

Hope it's enjoyable going into town today. I live with the world at my fingertips, which I think makes me less creativity very.

I am doing my usual laundry. I have two donation bags at the ready. I'm thinking of actually going to goodwill today after work. I'm also thinking about stopping at a store to do some shopping. I never really use my car during the week but I would like to do a quick stop in search of casual clothes. I own very few casual clothes. Summer is always an issue for me as i don't wear shorts.

I have taken two pillows off my bed so I'm down to four. I tend to find one on the floor in the AM so clearly I have too many.

BF said his time with my sibling went well. They went clothes and sneakers shopping, followed by picking up a few burgers at a summer burger stand. Sibling got two shirts but they are still on the hunt for sneakers.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Good luck worming the goats.
Don't know about goats but horses fuss something terrible when you have to worm them.
GREAT! plan having the students help you clean out the classroom. 😀
Once school lets out you can take a little break and catch your breath (((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Good luck with the soup kitchen work! ;D
Instead of making a "To-Do" list for cleaning the house
just make a "Ta-Da" list by listing things after you've done them.
Sometimes I do that and just looking at the list gives me a great feeling of accomplishment and motivates me to do more so I can make my list even longer.
So looking forward to this visit from your friend! 😀

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Hi CriticalMass 🙂
Hi Porter 🙂

Decided to go into town this morning.
Think I may just need to get away from the house for a while.
Thinking of stopping by the thrift shop mainly just to visit and then go to the hardware store.
My sewing thread beeswax has turned hard and crumbly and I was informed that the hardware store carries sewing wax.
The biggest problem living out here is not having many different types of stores to shop in.
I often go without even the simplest things because to get them would require a long road trip into Reno or Carson City.
Then trying to maneuver through all the heavy crazy traffic to get to the different stores is just insane.

SubC you are making a lot of tough decisions; no wonder you are so tired. What can you do with the cassette tapes? Is your plan to separate out what parts can be recycled?

My designer friend arrives from Europe today. I'll likely see her Friday. Then Saturday, Sunday and Monday. had thought that she and her husband would be taking my car for a trip starting on Sunday but alas her husband decided at the last minute not to join her. So my plans for Monday and Tuesday (furiously clean the house) are off as I will likely spend the day with her. I will figure this out. My energy hasn't been great lately so I'll work hard to stay awake tonight and make some progress.

Friday I'm working in a soup kitchen. I'm a bit nervous as it will be hot work and I'm terrible in the heat. I'll do my best.

So today I need to just be focused. I'm tempted to make a list of things to do in my house but I've shunned that practice for several years now as I find it so discouraging.

I'm going to need everyone to remind me to put some music on tonight. That seems to help.

Tillie a mosquito bulb for your good lamp? Unbelievable.

Unloaded the car. 33 tapes. One referenced AMWAY in the title, so that explains that..

Yesterday when I dropped the recycling, there were a lot of cassette tapes in the recycling bin. Cassette tapes don't recycle. I pulled out a bunch that I could reach without climbing the dumpster and tossed them in my car. I didn't count them. I don't know what they are - they have titles and names but don't seem like music - motivational tapes maybe? They are still in their plastic overwrap.

I did not climb the dumpster.

I am feeling physically exhausted and barely getting by. I needed to worm the goats last night - even had Dd lined up to help me, but I simply couldn't. So I will have to do it tonight or tomorrow without help.

I am cleaning out my classroom. I was very proud of myself yesterday - I actually filled half the class wastebasket while cleaning up (many small things, many decisions). I filled the recycling bin twice.

For some reason I feel like I need to take all of my personal stuff home this summer. I hope it is not an omen.

My classroom has 4 "zones" that need to be sorted out and cleaned. Plus a storage closet. Yesterday I did the easiest zone, plus part of the closet and little bits of other areas. Today, with the help of my students I intend to finish the closet and a second zone. I am going to bribe them with donuts and fruit punch.

This too shall pass.

Sending love to my friends.