Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Curious as to which 4H projects you will judge.
I love looking at the projects at the county fair.

Hope you do get to swim today.

Good luck catching up on the laundry.
Always so much to do after a trip.

Maybe your bat colony had to relocate.
I have no idea where mine lives and just hope humans don't encroach on their habitat.

So far this Summer has been different, better than previous years.
It has been more "back to normal" of 20 years ago.
Still no rain but we have cooler mornings and nights and day highs have not been in the 112+.

Glad I washed out litter boxes yesterday cause now I don't have to do it today.
Need to wash some dishes, mostly cat dishes.
Will hose off the car this evening when I'm out with the hose watering my garden.
Have my shopping list all made out and the check to pay the DDS insurance for tomorrow when I go into town.
Now just need to psyche myself up for going into town. ;p

Oh dear.

The meditation bowl is still just sitting on a shelf in the scullery. None of the things on that shelf are in their forever home. I don't intend to keep the shelf.

When Dd was a teenager she asked for a yurt. She wanted to set it up in the yard and live in it.

Your tiny bats make me smile. We used to have bats, but I haven't seen them for a long time.

Today I have to drive to another county to judge 4h projects. On the way home I will swim. That plus chores is enough. Maybe dishes and laundry because I am still behind.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Happy the first day of class went well!

You have been very good about what you have been bringing in.
But, lets talk about that small meditation bowl. 😉

Hope you can capture the yurt feeling in at least one area of your house.
Or maybe start drawing up plans to build yurt, JK.

When I was a kid we put up a big camping tent in the backyard.
Us kids spent hours out there all Summer, even slept out there some nights.
I suppose it was a kid version of a yurt.

Hi CriticalMass
Hi Tatoulia
Hi Everybody

Was planning to scrub out litter boxes tomorrow but said "what the heck" and did it today.
Got the trees all watered.
Tomorrow I will hose off the car for going to town on Wednesday.
So much dust and apricot colored bird poop on it.
Soon it will be twilight and the teeny tiny little bats will come visit. 😀

And the yurt was very quiet. And it had a skylight and the sun came in, and there was a huge comfy bed and big soft armchairs. And no food to cook and no dishes to wash.

I looked back, and mom gave me a third book I didn't tell you about. It's really important to me to tell you guys all the things I bring in

Started my class today and it went well.

Good Morning

Hi Subclinical
Welcome home.
The main appeal of a yurt is it's simplicity.
Basic but comfy and cozy.
Hope you are able to put some of the ideas from that book into practice.
It's good to change things up, switch activities to keep from burning out on something.

Really wish I could hire someone to come do the yardwork.
Steven becomes quite abusive if I spend any money.

Hi Tatoulia
Have a wonderful time with your friend today!
Someone will be very happy to find your underpants at the thrift shop.
I see people buying the nice ones all the time.
I once bought 6 pair of Victoria Secret panties at the thrift shop, in my size.
They were so new they still had tags on them and I was so excited to find them.

Lets see...
It's Monday. So today I'll water the trees.
Do a little tidying up.
Resist the urge to vandalize parts of his hoard.
Resist the desire to go off on him, that could end in bloodshed, his, not mine.
Go out at twilight and visit with my bats.

I love your newsy post, SubC!!!! You sound great and positive and your husband is so dear.

No that's my hallway!!! I don't leave anything in the shared hallway. For some reason I started putting things on my narrow console table and the underpants were things to put in the donation bin. They are all nice quality, good shape, and clean. I don't know if someone will take them or not. I wanted to take them off the table before I took the picture. I'm thrilled that they were there, because it is a bit of funny.

I'm off today to spend with friend before she leaves. I will be sad because there's no Next Time coming up.

Tatoulia, did you really leave your underwear out in the shared hall? Or is that inside your apartment?

Mr kitty is very happy that we are home. He need lots of extra pets. The farm sitter said he actually let her pet him once while we were gone! She has known mr. kitty the whole 9 years of his life and that was the first time.

Tillie, I am so sorry that you are discouraged. I hope the trip to town helps. Could you get someone to come use the new weed wacker for you? Remember - if it all gets to be too much, you must go to nate's. He has dibs.

I was not happy to get up when my alarm went off this morning. I'm feeling rather overwhelmed by the idea of the next seven weeks. There is a 4h potluck that I have been wavering about attending tonight. Right now I am thinking no - because my class starts this afternoon, and I have had so much people time this week.

I must also restock our food supplies today. And do laundry.

I don't think i'm Ready to go back into the basement.

I read a book on my trip about rest, and how many accomplished, creative people limited their work to 4-6 hours a day. It also talked about timing and sleep cycles and breaking tasks up into 90 or even 30 minute stretches. I know that I do finish the lion's share of whatever I am going to do that day in the mornings.

It also cited studies on the "rest and recovery" benefits of switching to an activity that was different, but still active and engaged - like splitting my day into syllabus writing and pottery, or gardening and basement cleaning. And Tatoulia, you will be glad to know, there was much praise of naps!

Mostly I would very much like to get back into my yurt headspace. Even though I was going straight to my mother, I did not want to leave the yurt. Dh says I have to figure out what it was about the yurt that was so good so that we can recreate it.

CM, i'm Sorry your "break" was frustrating. I'm glad you got some writing done at least.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
Taking a few cabs with your visiting friend is a small thing for the company.
You'll make up the miles soon.
Just try to stick to mall walking when it's hot & muggy.

I'll be paying close attention to the bedroom before pic. ;D

Got the grass watered then watered my flowers.
Sun was going down and I decided to water lilac hedges tonight rather than tomorrow.

Had the most wonderful time in the twilight with all my tiny little bats fluttering all around!

There's lots of mosquitoes and other small flying biting bugs for them to eat tonight.

Today I hunted for and found 4 wasp nests.
Sprayed them when I found them then went back in the evening and sprayed them again.
First time all the wasps weren't on the nest, they were out gathering provisions.
In the evening all the remaining members were at home.
Then I knocked the nests down and smushed them to kill the maggoty babies too. 😀

Tap tap tap

I can picture your blue-eyes kitty, Tillie.

Yes going into town sounds like a good idea! And that is very helpful to have the dental insurance!

We had a beautiful day today. My friend flies out tomorrow night. I've had a good time with her. She is very easy to be with. She cannot walk as much as I can-there is not a lot of walking in her country, everyone has cars and plus it gets way too hot. For example, it's expected to be 115F tomorrow in Kuwait. So she's not used to walking. We did take a few cans today, which I was fine with. We got one big walk in and I managed to get some of my own walking in so I've done just around 5 miles today. May or may not make it out a bit later. For now i am tired and so I will nap. I'm tired.

I enjoy having my friend here and she is so easy to be with but it's still more together time than I am used to. It's great and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But it's more tiring than my usual life m
I have so much more I wanted to accomplish this long weekend. But I did the hallway table and it is helping me to keep it looking sharp.

Bedroom would be an easy fix. I'll take some befores, secretly hoping there's something scandalous to make you laugh, Tillie.

Tap, tap, tap... ;p

My blue eyed albino girl kitty was so shy that she would not let anybody see her, ever.
Just me.
When my neighbor friends took care of the cats for me when I stayed at Nate's home when Steven was in the hospital last time they knew she was here but never saw her.

One day neighbor friend stopped by and saw her sleeping in the front window.
I saw him and he was so happy to finally see all that beautiful snow white fur.
But he just could not resist and tapped on the window.
Then for an instant he saw her big blue eyes as she ran away in terror.

WTG! not buying anything!

I'm going to have to go into town sometime this week, need some fresh produce.
Also need to drop off my annual dental insurance payment.
For 64.00 annually I get a reduced rate on any dental procedures.
Pays for it's self with just cleanings & checkups.
Could mail it but then I would have to go buy stamps first and the DDS office is right there anyways.
And I need to unload the car of things at the thrift shop and the animal shelter.
Plus I didn't go anywhere last week and maybe getting away from here for a while would be good.

Maybe Wednesday or Thursday???

You are never alone! We got you! Shoring you up from afar and glad my underpants could give you a chuckle!!!

Great day today. Walked around with friend. Bought NOTHING. But I did post a cute cat picture. Should anyone need one.

Just finished running errands with BF. He's so great.

Good Afternoon Everybody

LOL Tatoulia ;D

Have no desire or inspiration to do anything.
Later when it's cooler I'll start watering the grass.
Set the sprinkler in an area, turn on the water, set the timer.
When the timer dings go out and move the sprinkler to a new location.
Rinse & repeat...

warning, honest speak ahead...
He is really making me depressed.
He has done NOTHING.
The new weed eater is still laying out in the driveway.
His bedroom is disgusting and stinks to high heaven.
The roof is still un-repaired.
There are some super sized wasps nests growing out in all his yard crap.
All he ever does is sleep until after noon, shop and sit at his computer out in that putrid disgusting mess in the garage.

I give up. I have no hope.
Since MY cats died, I have no happiness in this life.
I try, I really do try but it's getting so hard to care about anything any more.
end of emotional rant

Thank you, thank you all.
I really needed to get all that out.
Now I do not feel so all alone (((hug)))

I thought the pile of too big underpants would tickle you!

Good Morning Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
Good to hear you are feeling less frantic and frustrated.
WTG! getting some writing things done!

Hi Subclinical
Good luck getting all those syllabi ready.
We know you can and will have them done in time, it's just all the other things you will be doing at the same time.

Hi Tatoulia
Sorry, but that before pic made me chuckle...
WAY TO GO! restoring it to it's former self. 😉

Beautiful cool quiet morning here.

The birds are starting to eat some of the apricots half way instead of just a tiny taste out of each one.

Did laundry till midnight last night and hung it out over night.
Already brought it in, folded and put away.

Good morning, all.

Much cooler here today. I'm feeling better rested, not exactly well-rested but better. A lot to do with friend here and I'm neglecting my mother and BF. But I try.

SubC good to hear from you! I love cloth napkins. What a difference they make. And I use them with abandon, don't care if they get stained. My good ones are kept safe and used for company but otherwise I just use all the time.

Cm that is a lot of work with a lot of animals. I can have exactly one at a time. That's my limit. But it's flexible in case I need to inherit mom's cat or if Tigger needs a retirement home.

Tillie it is glorious out today. I'm glad I walked last night. I was so tired and it felt really good. I didn't get the deep restorative walk since I was with my friend but a walk's a walk.

I posted before and after pix of my hallway table. Precious little I've done but that is one accomplishment!

Hello all, been reading along. Glad to see you all keeping up.

I am at in-laws right now - heading home today. Dh mom gave me an antique pin, and his aunt sent over 4 more cloth napkins and some family pictures.

I was doing some planning yesterday and realized I have seven weeks until school open house, where I will need to have syllabi for 14 classes. That's three and a half days per class to get them ready! And many days are already full in the next 7 weeks. Time to get started!

Peaceful here. Watching sweet little girl bunny hoppity hop around. The day never got too ambitious, and I've been forgetful on some of the little routines. I have come to realize that I am best with just a couple of pets as far as the juggling of feeding, litterbox, exercising, etc. not to mention my own routines goes. I'll play catch up tomorrow.

I first realized my limit a few years back, when I took care of the bunny house bunnies for a short while. I don't know how many there were, far fewer than now (28). But it wore me out!

My roommate didn't intend to end up with as many animals herself but she likes to always have one dog and a cat. She got the current girl kitty about 5 years ago when previous cats had passed. Then Mr semi-feral kitten got too trusting and ended up living here as well.

And of course our friendship grew out of her joining the bunny club because someone had given her a bunny. Then she adopted him a wife. And so it goes.

But I'm relaxed now, having done a little better on time management and planning. I made a point to get a meal after church, and I ate half and saved half for tomorrow's lunch. So I wasn't all spacey and jittery trying to do these evening routines. Yeah, it's midnight, but that beats 2 a.m. and soon I'll wrap up.

Overall less frantic and frustrated. Even got printout done of the two pages of writing I did plus some research that pertains to it, and tucked all neatly into the binder for that novel.

Good Night Tatoulia

Glad you walked in the mall where it's cooler and less humid.

I'm exhausted but stopped by to say that I did finish the hallway. Including polishing the silver lamps. Will post before and after pics tomorrow.

Cm and Tillie thank you for the long posts. Cm you are welcome to join on the walks anytime!

I walked with friend tonight in the malls. I'm tired Will go to bed now.

Hi again CriticalMass

That is kinda spooky weird you had that quake on that specific day.
Yeah, that fracking and aquafer depleting is causing a lot of seismic activity in those states.

Don't anybody worry about me vs earthquakes.
Been through at least 100 and just rock & roll with them.

Yes, scientists who are looking into the phenomena think that animals are sensing some kind of "waves", magnetic or other before a quake.

How WONDERFUL that you are enjoying the feelings of releasing little things.
Getting them out of your space and mind!

About your worries about those reported sex crimes...
Have there been any more reports? Have the police issued any statements concerning more cases?
They may have been resolved.
I insist that you ask at the gym SOON so you can feel safe and secure to go back there.
Even if the gym personnel don't have satisfactory answers, educate yourself by following all and any news articles and police reports.
Most newspapers have police crime blotters posted.
These things can also be found online.
Educate yourself as to what is happening in your area and you will be better able to keep yourself safe.
Tatoulia keeps herself safe in that big busy city by knowing when and where it's safe or not to walk.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
It's good that you are doing the bare minimums right now.
So much better than not tending to important things like bunny exercise.

It is always best to pass along items that trigger negative memories.
It will be good for you to not keep running across those Tuscan towels.

Good luck getting into a routine to where you can use your time as you have plans to.

Hi Tatoulia
YEA! for getting your RX!

It will feel so good to get that hallway all pretty and clean again.

Yeah, it is miserably hot now.
At least you are not miserable because of the state of your home. ;D

Please work on getting your sleep schedule straightened out.
You have AC so heat should not be an issue at bedtime.
Make sure to use the malls to get in your walking exercise so you don't overly heat & get sickly.

This post is more of a chat/respond one.

Tillie, those earthquake predictions sound ominous. Even at the distance you are, STAY SAFE. I wasn't expecting the 2nd one after the July 4th one to occur so soon. Here's something kind of spooky: I posted earlier about my sadness leaving my parents' home - well, the Saturday night of the final weekend I spent there, we had an earthquake. In Wichita, Kansas. Never in my life had I been in one. There were more and now we're semi-used to them. Natural gas fracking in Oklahoma seems to have been part of the cause. There are fault systems in Kansas and nearby.

Like your windchime, one of the things that alerted me to that first quake at my parents' house was that the bunnies' hanging bell toys were swaying and ringing. Oh and the animals - they can sense so much. Earthquakes, the Earth's magnetic field, maybe even things scientists have yet to identify.

SubC, how well I understand the concept of things "fluffing" when you unpack them and try to put them back and it seems like you should've gained more empty space! Happens to me a lot. But if we keep going, eventually the space we wish to reclaim will be there. You did great resisting large bulky items at your parents', too!

And Tatoulia and all of us - small items don't greatly reduce the volume of stuff, that's true, but I've gotten to the point of not wanting anything that I don't really like to stick around, so there's still a satisfaction in jettisoning it.

I figure that satisfaction will pay off in terms of motivation and perhaps lead down the line to getting rid of big items. Like Tillie's green trunk! 🙂 It's all good. One goal I have for my minimalist life is not to have "junk drawers" and such. I hope that's attainable. If an item is useful, hopefully it can be stored with others of its type, and if it's JUNK, why keep it?

Tatoulia, you are killin' it with the walking! Such a great healthy thing to do. I wish I could teleport to Boston and walk with you the times when your boyfriend is unavailable. I used to love to take long walks, then my STUPID agoraphobia started flaring up and giving me panic attacks when I'd get a couple blocks or so from home alone. $#*$&#!!!

It's similar to my highway driving issue; I can go with others but I miss being able to go by myself. Maybe you enjoy the solitude too. If/when I get my gym routine back, I will walk on the indoor track; it doesn't trigger me because it's not on an elevated place like some indoor tracks - I can't do those - and there are other people including employees nearby. I haven't had much trouble but just knowing if I did I could go to one of them and say I needed some medical help is enough to make me chill out and be able to enjoy my walk just fine. And being a part of a bunch of people getting fit gives a self-esteem boost which doesn't hurt either! I just need to go in and talk to management about those sex crimes that happened this year and what security measures have been taken, and then I'll feel okay about going again. I hope.

On a final note, the wasp has not been seen for days. It is possible that I wounded him and he went someplace to die. If that's the case, I just hope I don't accidentally put my hand on the carcass at some point! EEK!

Well, I guess I better go have a late lunch; I'm going to 5:30 Mass so I don't have to get up at a set time in the morning, and can use the time to prep for bunny club board meeting tomorrow afternoon. I would love a nap but it may be days before I can have one. I rarely do short "power naps" - three hours is the perfect length for me.

You are doing important psychological work, CM! Congratulations!

Tillie I love how you called the cats idiots. I could just picture them!

I went to get my RX then passed by mom's with a few treats for her. Miserably hot. I left my hat at BF's last night. I'm meeting my friend at 6. I need to polish the hallway lamps then I'm done. I've let this project drag but so be it. My sleep and hours are all jumbled and I'm exhausted. So slowly I do this. No rush.

Part one - just me and my whatever...

Second load of laundry going. This weekend has been so much more "Meh" than I had expected. Getting only the bare minimum done. I had to stay up really late last night because I was so unmotivated but I still needed to let roommate's bunnies out to play and be there the whole time since they are smaller than my bunnies and the cat is not to be trusted. Not that being with bunnies is unpleasant, but I just couldn't go back and forth in the house. And I kept procrastinating going in there and settling with a book and bunnies.

So much I had wanted to do and if things had been as I'd expected... two nights is just barely enough time to get my bearings, much less establish a productive routine as I had envisioned. Then Monday it'll all change again - but maybe I'll have some free time with her back at work. Yet each day either truncates when she comes home, or I have to go to the library or somewhere to extend my working on my projects time. And I can't take a lot of my projects with me, mainly my writing.

I just came up with a thought about us hoarding-prone people. I think in some cases we start when young, because we notice things easily because we're bright and observant, and even something that looks like trash - maybe even IS trash - is a novelty to us. Our response then is to want to possess it. Then we get told by parents or teachers to clean up our room or desk, sometimes in an impatient tone, and we feel defensive. If they throw away our stuff, we feel emotional hurt and maybe hold a grudge. More easygoing children don't get as attached or reactive.

Full blown hoarding tendencies may not hit till adolescence or adulthood. If that's the case, we have jobs, spouses, societal expectations and the like telling us to get rid of our junk, don't be such a slob, etc. We also have money to buy things, so we may be inclined to be shopaholics and thrift store denizens.

It's kind of a chicken or the egg question, whether it's us seeing the stuff, or others reacting to our having stuff. But the push-pull dynamic is like a skater's death spiral. We have to break out of it, it only intensifies the struggle.

Being single and with my parents deceased, no siblings or kids, it's mostly now up to me to fight an internal battle between warring halves of my own self: The Wanter vs. The Minimalist Wannabe. The roommate situation is the only external pressure, but she has a lot of stuff too so she isn't too pressuring. As long as I don't have to move suddenly like I did a few times, I can mostly deal with my stuff on my own terms.

I think I mentioned that I've found items like books to take back to storage, and there may be some books in storage that can go away, plus Tuscan themed kitchen towels. I was doing a Tuscany theme in my mom's kitchen and the other day I saw those items at the storage unit and a lightbulb went on in my head. I'm not going to want them because a) I'm going to go with a solid color for the kitchen assuming I get my minimalist residence someday - white or possibly a pop-of-color red; and b) The Tuscany theme brings back memories of my parents' house and the horrible foreclosure, so much better to pass those items on to someone for whom they will be associated with happiness. I'd gotten rid of other Tuscan table items like a basket and what-all already.

So when I next go to storage I'll bring the Tuscan towels here and run them through the washer because they could be a bit dusty and musty. And say goodbye to what they represented, the once upon a time hope I would get to stay in my family home.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂

YEA! for working on the hallway!

Good that you stayed in bed and got some more rest.

Have a wonderful time today with your friend and make sure to get to the drug store early enough.

Jack can't come in the house because Scooter and Twinkles both are very territorial and want to fight with him to drive him away.
Half the time I won't allow those two idiots outside because Jack is hanging around the porches.

Jack does not want to fight and is not disturbed when idiot Scooter screams at him from the windows.

That bird call was strange at the time but after the quake hit I then understood why the bird did that.
Animals can feel/sense earthquakes before we can and often display odd behavior.

Tillie was Jack inside? That is weird about the bird call just before the quake.

How are you today? I woke up at 7-ish but my sleep is off. So I forced myself to stay in bed. I finally fell asleep and got up after 12. I'm working on my hallway. I have fixed the flooring and I've polished the sterling piece and the pewter piece. I need to wipe down the vase and polish the lamps.

I must get my RX today. I got to the pharmacy too late last night.

Having a great time with friend. I'll meet up with her later today. She's shopping right now.

Good Morning Everybody

Hope you all are doing just fine & dandy today.
Everything here is back to "normal".
Sun shining, a bird is singing and Scooter is being Scooter.

Right before the earthquake last night a bird was making a strange unusual call.
I guess it was aware and trying to alert every one.

I once had a cat who would howl and insist on being let outside a few minutes before a quake.

There is this one windchime I made out of thin slices of polished agate that I have hanging in my kitchen area where the wind never blows, so it never chimes.
Last night it started chiming and that was my first indication of the quake.

My plan for today is laundry.
Tonight I will sleep on fresh clean line dried sheets. 🙂

Been watching news...
Unfortunately it's not good in some areas.

Twinkles is sound asleep in the rocking chair, his favorite spot.
Right after the quake Jack was fine, not worried.

Scooter is sleeping in my bed snuggled up by my feet.
Every now & then he quickly lifts his head and looks toward the window.
After a minute he lays his head back down and goes back to sleep.

He is very suspicious. LOL ;D

I just submitted
"I FELT IT"
to the USGS