Good Evening Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
Hope the sewing thing works out.
When I was in school my friends and I would get together at someone's home in the evenings or weekends and sew whatever dresses/outfits we were making.
It was so much fun having company rather than sitting at home sewing all alone.

YEA! for going to storage and taking care of some things there.
WAY TO GO! for catching up on stuff and doing hot spots and recycling!!!
Slow & steady always gets results.

So wonderful the shopping urge is receding.
SPACE, the final frontier!

Hi Subclinical
Wish I could share this cake with you and also taste your frozen custard.

Really nice crunchy green bean snack you made.
WAY TO GO! for a clean kitchen after all that food prep you did today.

Wishing you smooth sailing with all your plans for tomorrow.

Good to see we're all keeping busy. Hi Tess!

Tatoulia, so happy about the new kitty.

Tillie, enjoyed the mouse tale, and happy for you that it worked so you could get him outdoors and gone.

SubC - glad open house went well and the year is starting off with a good arrangement for having your classroom space.

I may have an answered prayer - went to lunch with a new lady from quilting and we seem to have a lot in common. She is connected with a sewing bee group, which I might get to go to - a BYOSM (Bring Your Own Sewing Machine) and project you're working on arrangement.

This could really help me be productive with doll clothes and quilt piecing, and in the process busting my fabric stash. Also yarn - the lady makes throws and baby blankets for charities so whatever I make I would just pass to her to take with her finished ones. They go to domestic violence shelter, police to give to kids removed from bad situations, veterans, people in nursing homes, etc.

On the way home I did follow Badger's plan and go by the storage unit, and grab out that big bag of boxes and packing materials. Brought it home and most went in recycling. I saved just 1 cubic foot or so of bubble wrap since that stuff's pricey to buy. But I'm willing to let go of it at a later date if that seems right to do. I promise not to save tons of bubble wrap for Justin Case!

I'm starting to do catch up things on the computer, sorting and discarding paper, clearing "hot spots," and other projects I had on the docket for after the bunny club event. It is a lot, but it is doable if I pace myself. Slow and steady wins the race.

And one more answered prayer - the desire to shop is receding! I'm reminding myself that shopping really has gotten boring, and that getting this mess dealt with is going to feel so darn good, and is how I want to spend my time now. So that later I can spend my time enjoying and being productive in the freed up SPACE!

Please pass the cake 😉

I have two batches of custard mix (it is really custard, not ice cream) chilling in the fridge for tomorrow, and the dehydrator is working on 2.5 lbs of green beans. I coated them with olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast and will dry them until they crunch. they will be a healthy, salty snack.

I also cleaned up the kitchen, although there are a few dishes in the scullery sink waiting for the next load.

Hopefully on Thursday I will turn the skim milk from the custard making into mozzarella. I don't have a robot for that though.

Yes, it was jasmine Harmon! She is lovely and sweet like my people. When her mum said she needed to move everything out somewhere so she could work on it, and jasmine actually got her a warehouse, I thought "oh, now you have to. You just have to!" That she still had that much faith in her....

Been chatting with my students today. I have a teen helper for one of my little kid classes and have been going through some prework with another student I really like. I'm learning interesting new things about him. He's much more careful and cautious than he lets on in a group.

Tomorrow I free the green bean slave, set dh up with breakfast and a packed lunch, put the custard slave to work, and do chores. Plus lesson plans, because I didn't get to that. If I have enough time while the custard is freezing, i'll load up some stuff for drop off and work on dishes and laundry.

Then off to get gas (and drop trash) shop at the pottery studio, maybe stop at the reuse store if I have drop offs, to school to put away my purchases and print some more things out (forms for our recycling/environmental program and some class materials I just found) swimming, and home.

The cake is all done.
The pieces are all cut and sitting on individual pieces of wax paper finishing up cooling.
When they are thoroughly cooled I will wrap them up and freeze all but the one I have out for me to eat today.

The dishes are all washed and the kitchen all wiped up.

In a few minutes it will be cool enough to water the grass and garden.

Been nice today not having other things demanding my time and attention.
I needed this break and even got some cake out of it too. 🙂

Hi Tess
Wonderful to "see" you! 😀

Since I am still living in the center of a massive dirty infested hoard, yes seeing the places makes me cringe.
But I focus on the professionals and what they are doing.
How they react to and talk to the hoarding person who is resisting everything.
What the Drs. say about certain conditions that are unearthed that show just how messed up the person's thinking is.
Helps me to relate to what I see here everyday.

My Friend Nate grew up in a squalorous horded house and he has never/will never watch any hoarding program.
Says it's just too much bad memories.

Hi Subclinical
That lady with the British show is Jasmine Harmon who was helping her hoarding Mum.
Loved her series.

GREAT that your Dd can be your swimming buddy!!!
WTG! getting all your slaves to working. 😉

Well, the cake is in the oven.
Taking a break to rest my back before washing up the dishes.
Standing in one place for any length of time really hurts my back but by taking little rests I can do whatever I want to do.

Hi Tess! What have you been up to? I have a hard time with the really filthy houses.

I realize (first hand) that any place you let stuff pile up is going to get dirty, because you can't clean it, but when spaces are full of rotten food and poop, that is too much for me.

There is a short series of British shows that I find better encouragement for where I am. The woman who works with the horders was inspired by her experience with her mum. I think the title of the first one has "my hoarding mum" in it. They're on you tube.

I like the new (current) hoarders episodes better than the old ones for the most part. They feel less sensational.

Tillie, i'm Glad one of us is sure I can handle this ;).

Sleep is the hardest one for me. Dh and I have such different biorhythms and it is hard not to stay up with him when it feels like we just got home. Also dh says that I have to swim, but then he doesn't push me hard enough. Good thing there though - I found out Dd can join the health center as a dependent even though she is married and moved out and independent. She wants to swim with me twice a week, and nobody pushes me like she does.

Today I am trying to get more caught up before I dive in. I have my laundry and dish slaves hard at work, and I just blanched some green beans so I can put them in the dehydrator overnight. After that I might prep some ice cream mix so the ice cream slave can get to work in the morning.

I'm also planning to get my lesson plans at least for tu/th in order before I go to bed tonight. Tomorrow I go out running errands, and if I get stuff together I might do a drop off or two.

Hi friends!

I've been watching hoarders lately. Does anybody else struggle to watch? I couldn't bring myself to watch when the show originally aired. I I was still buried and the show made me somehow feel exposed and uncomfortable. I thought I could watch now that I've dug myself out. But here I sit with my shoulders tense and teeth clinched right. I hope I'm not alone there. It's such an odd feeling.

Oh boy! I see I missed some mouse drama! I need to catch up on my reading.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
I love Fall too. Autumn is my favorite season.
But I'm just not ready, time is moving too fast.

I'm positive you will handle the full school schedule just fine.
Things at home will fall behind at times but you will play "catch up" when you have a few free minutes.
Keep the number one priority your health.
You must relax, eat, sleep and swimming exercise.
With busy schedules you need to let the lower priorities like some housework slide.

This school year sounds like it is going to be fantastic!

I'm glad nasty mouse didn't have to eliminated with extreme prejudice and he's now back in nature where he belongs.
Hope he had such a bad experience in here that he never wants to come back inside.
Twinkles and Scooter miss him, stupid cats. ;p

I had laundry out on the line over night and will bring it in and fold it at 10:00am.
Twinks finished his last dose of antibiotics last night.
He's eating his krispies and snax alright so he doesn't need any more extra care.
Think I can relax now, have a little time for myself.
Maybe I'll even make my chocolate chip, pecan & date crumb cake today.
Been wanting to do that for weeks now.

Hello all.

I'm glad the kitty is adjusting. And I have to confess that I am not sorry the mousie escaped. Poor mousie was probably lured in by the nice cozy home Steven has created and then discovered that all the grocery stores were listed....

I have had mice get into my hoard, and it is horrible and frustrating. Mr. kitty generally does a better job with outside mice than with inside ones.

Debbie, I hope the rest of the move goes smoothly!

I will never know about the squirrel, but I did the best I could. Baby bunnies almost never survive once you remove them from the nest.

We got dh car back last night, so hopefully that is done. It better be!

I managed to partially salvage my day yesterday. The staff meeting was really good and I made some plans with some coworkers and did a little polishing and prep in my room - I have everything set out for my first class on Tuesday.

We got some money, and the science department is going to buy a chick incubator! Also, I am going down to the clay studio tomorrow morning to buy a few new tools for my class.

I swam, and then I picked dh up and we had a fight(around the logistics of picking him up) and I went to the grocery store. Then we had dinner and some wine and the fight blew over.

I have very bad poison ivy on the inside of my right elbow spreading up and down my arm and it is making me extra grumpy.

Anyway, I didn't put The non-perishables away last night and I have a lot to do today - staying home all day today. I'll report back aterinstead of setting myself up for failure with a very long list that I clearly can't finish.

I don't mind moving into fall at all. I love fall! Excited for school to start, but also worried about how i'm going to handle my very full schedule!...

Hi Tatoulia

Thank you and the worthless cats all thank you too 😉

Once kitty's spaying site is all healed she will come around.
I find it comforting that your Mom is not alone even if kitty is hiding nearby.

Read there is a mosquito carried virus in your area.
The EEE virus. Never heard of it, we just have West Nile here.
So please DO NOT feed the mosquitos.

WTG! for laundry, vacuuming and getting trash out!

YEA! for a great start filling that donation bag!

Labor Day weekend so soon.
I am not ready for Summer to end but I do already smell Autumn on the breeze and can see and hear it in the leaves.

Been thinking a lot since this whole mouse thing began.

I am so grateful that I have my food all mouse/bug proofed so I did not have to worry about it.

I am so grateful that the other things stored in my pantry are so minimal.
The two Edenpur heaters stacked to the left.
The electric radiator to the right of them.
The two cat food containers next then the step ladder and then the ironing board to the right.
To the left wall is my tool caddy and right wall the vacuum cleaner.

I had removed all that and had the ironing board and heaters in my little room.

I did not need to remove the food shelves, they were safe.

I am so grateful that my little room had space enough to set those things in there.

I am so very grateful that the rest of my house (except Steven's bedroom) is not cluttered.
Has just the right amount of things.
Lots of open space.

As much of a pain this was it was not difficult and I had the situation under control because I had room to do what I needed to do.

I am so very grateful that I have done all the planning, organizing and work to make my life easier for me.

I have never had a hoarding problem.
What really makes me sad is seeing just how much harder it is to do everything.
At times it becomes impossible to do even the simple things like cook, bathe, sleep
let alone remove a random nasty mouse visitor.

Hello all. GOOD WORK Tillie on he tting rid of the mouse. The cats were useless but only you and I know that. They cannot believe their helpfulness!

Debbie keep moving forward! You'll get good sleep in your new house! Generally the mortgage companies approve the mortgage in advance and then once you are near closing date, they need to make sure that the information is not too old-must be within thirty days of closing. At least that's the way it used to be. 730 is very early to be expected to be lucid and feeling like talking!

I have garbage gathered and must take out soon. Recycling is ready, too. I had to bring out the vacuum tonight due to a large bit of cat fur on the couch. I generally don't need to vacuum but the spread was in the washer and kitty was on the sofa.

I washed some laundry for mom today and I went up again to spend time with kitty. I know she'll come out of her shell. I don't know what I'm so anxious about this. She's very tired and worn out. But she's less swollen. And she's eating well. Mom finds it comforting just to know she's there.

SubC and CM I am thinking about you. You too Tess. And everyone else. Labor Day Weekend I need to tackle the closet. I've started on a goodwill bag and it's 1/2 full.

Hi Debbie
Noticed you had posted one minute before I did but had to run.

Life was not too hard for Granma back then.
They had hired hands to do the heavy lifting and work.

WAY TO GO! unplugging small kitchen appliances!
So much better to be safe rather than sorry.

Hope your broccoli was still warm & delicious. 😀

Well...
I was keeping an eye on the heater from the window.
Jack lost interest and wandered off to roll around in the grass.
He loves to roll all around on the ground.
Anyways...
Nasty mouse jumped out of the heater
ran off the porch and into the catmint (catnip) in the garden right there.
I immediately ran out and said a few choice parting words to nasty mouse and brought the heater back in before nasty mouse could climb back in there.
THE END!

It's always something. ;p

Hi Guys

Hi Tatoulia
Hope by now you have had a tasty and filling dinner.
Soon the kitty will forget all about any spooky things that have happened in her life and relax into her new life. (((HUG)))

Back to nasty mouse...
At 5pm both Scooter and Twinkles gave up and were napping in the livingroom area.
The Edenpur was situated in the diningroom area.
At 5:20pm I looked over and THERE WAS NASTY MOUSE peeking out of the heater!
I called both stupid cats that the mouse was there and they said "BS" and continued to lay there.
Nasty mouse ducked back in when I approached.
So...
I picked up that heater and placed it on the front porch.
Jack came over to greet me and I filled him in on the situation.
Now Jack is guarding the heater.
Scooter is watching from the window.
Either way, nasty mouse is outside of the house where he should have been all along and I would not try to kill him. ;D

Hi All! My family all kept me on the phone all Sunday. Even had a sore throat from talking too much. So I didn't get a lot done and just took a day off! Today the mortgage people decided they needed all the stuff I already sent re-sent, updated, reviewed, etc. So that and the gym and Weight Watchers was my day. The bank woke me at 730 am! I couldn't believe it! I said aren't you supposed to wait till 9 to call people? She said no 830 is when we start. But it is 730 I said. She goes it's 830 in Indiana isn't it?
Well first of all I live in Illinois, and second, no in Indiana where I have not moved yet, it is the same time zone. And it is 730. She apologized so I tried to wake up and make sense! I usually am up by then, but I was reading and stayed up past 130 and set my alarm for 830 to get enough sleep. Oh well I will sleep well tonight.

Subc, glad your open house went so well! I bet the kids missed you just as much as you missed them. So convenient that you don't have to have a roommate and can leave things set up now! Nice! New undies and vacuum too! I need undies but am waiting till after the move.

Hope you managed to get something done in spite of having to drive DH around. Is his car almost fixed yet?

Hope the baby squirrel is okay? My neighbors found baby bunnies in the grass after mowing. One didn't make it but they were holding all of the others. I said I had them under the grass like that before and that the mom came at night to feed them I thought. They were trying to feed them. So I hope they survive. They have a large German shepherd in the yard and I am shocked the mom put them there.

I just unplugged my toaster and blender! I always unplug my coffee maker, but forget the toaster and blender and don't use them often. My sis in law had her toaster plugged in while on vacation and had a little cloth cover on it. When they got home it had just started smoldering!!! So I should know better! Thanks for the reminder Tillie.

Tillie, hope you can get what you need re finances from the mail if he won't tell you what you need to know. I can't believe it is 100 by you; I think it is 60 here! It's August for cripes sake!

Boy your Granma sounds Tough! That was such hard work keeping the floor clean!

I hope the mouse makes a run for the outside when the cats are distracted!

CM good luck with getting out of the spiritual slump. Now that I'm alone, I walk around saying thank you God for anything good that happens. I talk to my dead relatives and friends too. I want to believe and so I just act like I do.

Tatoulia yea for the new kitty! She sounds so perfect! What a nice thing you did to give up vacation days to volunteer! You make me hungry everytime, clam chowder is a favorite! I will have to look at the pictures on my tablet where I saved instagram address.

Well I have to go eat my broccoli before it gets cold, so have a great night!

Hello everyone

Busy day at work of one meeting after another. I am very hungry. I stopped up to see little pretty kitty today. I brought her out of the closet and loved her a bit then took her to mom's lap. We just support her and pet her quietly. She then went to eat her food and went back to the closet. I put her new bed in the closet for now, in the opposite corner of where she's been sleeping. She's so lovely. Lovely little cat.

Ok lots to do. Waiting to hear what BF is doing before I start cooking dinner. I haven't done mom's groceries. I ran errands with him last night and we also visited with his across the hall neighbors. They are very kind. They joined us for Christmas Eve dinner last year.

Need to get the garbage ready. I'll also go up to mom's to clean the kitty box.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Hoping your day and busy broken up day smooths out for you.
WTG! for rehoming some art supplies.

Still absolutely no progress has been made on giving me the financial information. >:(

Last night Scooter said the nasty mouse was hiding inside the Edenpur space heater cabinet.
Twinkles agreed with his assessment.
Scooter spent the entire night standing guard waiting for nasty mouse to emerge.
He is still guarding the heater.
Periodically Twinkles comes over, investigates, sniffs and concurs that nasty mouse is still in there by sticking his paw into the narrow space to see if he can snag that mouse out of there.
I placed a grape and a peanut near to try to lure it out. It must be very hungry and thirsty by now.

The construction of the Edenpur is solid and made to not be opened by unauthorized people.
To be continued...........

Awww, she's a calico!

If one of my kids ever helps me get an online presence, i'll tell you guys where it is.

Today is a mess. Dh needs me to drive him places, staff meeting in the middle if the day, and it's raining.

I'm having a really hard time getting my thoughts/day organized and doing anything effective. Too many short pieces of day.

I did hand off some art supplies yesterday at school. Bit by bit.

Tillie, good luck with the disappearing mouse. Glad your food is safe!

Good Evening Everyone

She is BEAUTIFUL!
She will feel safe and loved in a few days. 🙂

Putting the toaster away is a personal preference.
I use mine more in the cold months. I only have one very short counter and the toaster easily fits down in the cabinet right in front of my Pyrex baking dishes.
Since you use it all the time it's not just sitting out getting in the way unnecessarily.

Unplugging the toaster is nonnegotiable. Just ask any fire Marshall.

YEA!!! Subclinical!
No roommate in the classroom!
Happy open house was great and wishing you another great day tomorrow. 😀

Scooter and I heard a commotion down the hall.
We got up to investigate and saw Twinkles had been in a terrible fight with a mouse and the nasty mouse was now hiding behind a shelf.
The nasty mouse used an invisibility cloak to get away from the three of us.
Then Scooter had an incident in the pantry but nasty mouse went invisible again and we haven't seen him since.

All food in my pantry is mouse & bug proofed.
No packages or bags they can open.
I store things in glass jars with rubber seals, everything that comes in a bag or box is placed or poured into a jar, cat snax too.
Cat food is in plastic containers with tight snap on lids.
And of course I have things that come in cans and jars stored in there.
I store no food in kitchen cupboards/cabinets.

Tillie what a sad story about the fire at your house. Both you and SubC put the toaster away. Should I be doing that? I use it five times a week.

SubC great news on your room! I'm glad you are appreciated and valued!!! I would love to see your work someday and hope that you'll consider getting an Instagram acct so we could see some of it. No pressure, just a thought!

I don't have many pictures of the little one. She's still hiding for the most part. I got her out from under the bed today, gave her some livings, and put her on mom's lap for

Hooray for the new kitty!

Open house was great. I was so happy to see all my kids again!

I am feeling very appreciated. My boss came by and agreed to block off my room from use the period before my first class tu/th, so I can come in and work or set up if I want to, and I don't have to share my room - i'm Teaching in it all to other periods. That is a big deal, because it costs the school money to keep that spot open.

I always unplug my toaster and put it away. I did have a toaster catch fire once, but I think that was an outlet problem.

Back to school tomorrow for the teacher luncheon and final details. I can leave my room set up for next Tuesday, because - no roommate!

Good Afternoon Every One

Hi Tatoulia
Why are there no pics posted of the new kitty?
So happy she has found a wonderful forever home (((HUGS)))

I too always unplug small electronics.
My toaster is always in the cabinet when not in use.
Small appliances malfunction and may/can cause fires.
I have an "issue" with small electric things.
They get on my nerves so I only have as few as possible.
When not in use I always unplug them, even the microwave.
The evaporative cooler, Roku, Blu-ray player and stereo are used on a strip to make it easier to plug in and unplug them.
Soon as my laptop or tablet is recharged I unplug the charger.
I have even seen a plugged in but not turned on table lamp decide one day to flame up.
Maybe my "issue" with electric things comes from my father being an electrician and also the house burning to the ground when I was seven so I learned the many ways electricity can start fires or electrocute you.
There was never a cause discovered for the house fire because there was absolutely nothing left of the house to investigate.

Nothing to report today. It's all the same old same old.

Good morning everyone! I have done no work here whatsoever. I have kept up with the usuals: dishes done, clean kitchen sink, bed made, plants watered.

Yesterday I walked and did errands. I made a lasagna and brought leftovers to mom. I did some grocery shopping. They didn't have the frozen shrimp I like so I got frozen bay scallops. We shall see how those work out for me.

The big news, which I didn't mention yesterday or Friday is, we adopted a dear little cat for mom. My Friday volunteer work was done after our delicious lunch (homemade clam chowder and a salad, followed by a platter of cookie and coffee), and instead of going to work I decided to walk to the shelter where I found my kitty. (Let me pause and say, this volunteer work I did was professional volunteer work and not for a charity such as a food bank or soup kitchen. Thus, I take vacation days for this and while company-approved, it is not company-sponsored). There were a few cats at my shelter and each one had people standing in front and "claiming" the cat. I walked past my home and to BF's office and I called mom. I picked her up and took her up the shelter where she'd first met her kitty, and we got a kitty!

She's a dear little thing. Just had kittens. Not sure where/what happened to the kittens. She was spayed on the 19th and there was a sign saying she was on hold. I kept pressing the volunteers on that and finally went to the desk and they said, oh we can remove the hold, and we got her!! Right now she is very shy and has been sleeping in mom's closet. She's been through a lot. I think she'll grow into a delightful companion. She's about a year old. She's coming to mom in identical circumstances as her last cat so we are happy. She's coming out to eat and is a good little eater and found her litter box in the bathroom. So I've been checking in there a lot. During one visit yesterday I took her out of the closet and just hugged her and she was extremely sweet. She's just adjusting right now and my mother has the patience for it.

Today I have to go to work to get my laptop. I'm also going to stop in a store to look for a cat bed.

So the badger isn't around largely because there's a cat in mom's closet.

CM, life starts anew when it get crisp in the Fall. I feel confident your faith will be experience that renewal and guide you properly.

SubC, I've been of the impression that leaving a usb plugged in draws a bit of electricity, which on its own is hardly of note, but multiply by a couple per household by who knows how many millions of households, and there you go. Plus sometimes they feel warm so I know something's happening. Lastly, I'm a big unplugger. I unplug my coffee maker (again with a clock, it's drawing electricity), my toaster (never know if today's the day that the toaster will turn on me and catch fire, etc). So I may be wrong about this but I just can't leave things plugged in for the heck of it. Tv, lamps, yes, but stuff I use periodically (paper shredder) no.

Debbie you are amazing. Tillie, you are smart to take care of yourself. I LOVE THE GRAMMA STORY. As always, I picture her and braided rugs and peacefulness and industriousness and calm and practicality and I can almost smell the house. Thank you so much.

I'm going to plug in my toaster, make an English muffin, unplug the toaster and go to work.

Just hello before I leave for Mass. I'm determined to pull out of a spiritual slump I got into over the summer. I have started, but it's got to be constantly reinforced with patience and discipline. Most importantly I need to shore up my faith that my life is not over, that all the financial losses of the last few years can yet bd overcome somehow. That I will be able to get my own place etc. And in the meantime to refuse to use the uncertainty as an excuse not to tackle the hoard/clutter, or as an excuse to go aimlessly shopping.

So I'm gonna pray, and then have a summit conference with Badger.

Hi Subclinical
YEA!!!! WTG!!!!
You got new underwear!!! 😀

Your home does need that vacuum.
Sweeping and cleaning rags just aren't the same as a good vacuum.

My Granma grew up in a very nice big house.
They had large room sized rugs throughout.
But they had no electricity or indoor plumbing.
She explained to me how they took care of the rugs.
Once each year when the weather was nice they would have to empty everything out of the rooms.
Take up the rugs and take them outdoors where they had to beat all the dust out of them.
With everything removed from the room they would then wash all the walls and ceiling.
Since it was a hard and tiring job they would only do one room each day until all the rooms had been thoroughly Spring cleaned.
Other times of the year they would sprinkle sawdust all over the rugs then sweep it all up with the broom.
She said the sawdust helped get up all the dirt & dust.
Granma's stories were every bit as good as Laura Ingles Wilder's.

I'm so happy you will have a vacuum! ;D

Wishing you a wonderful open house tomorrow.

Good luck Tillie!

If you have some idea what the bills are - power, water, Internet, phone? gas?, taxes..., and to whom they are owed, you can call. If your name is on it, you can get information. If your name is not on it, you will at least know whom to call if he dies. If he's dead, they will want talk with you so they can keep getting paid.

Debbie, funny, I don't mind folding he clothes, it's the sorting (before and after) and the putting away. Mostly the putting away. And the remembering to move them out of the washing machine.

My cat brought me a baby squirrel yesterday. I ran out because I could hear the momma squirrel having a fit (I thought there might be a hawk) and he was running toward me as fast as he could go with the little squirrel in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet. I don't know if it was a gift or if he thought I would help him keep it, but he was sorely disappointed. I took him inside and then left him there until I had scooped the little squirrel into a plastic bucket using the plastic lid and put it back by the tree line (it did not look or act injured. Just terrified. ) and its mother had retrieved it.

Tatoulia, why shouldn't you leave USB chargers plugged in? I do it all the time, as does dh, and he is an engineer and does electrical wiring and has never expressed a concern.

How did the badger do on the closet?

CM, i'm Glad you have what you need for your novel.

Sensory kids tend to fixate. Some if their issues are fairly consistent and predictable, but others are categoric and the specifics vary. My sensory kid loved sour and hot (spicy). Still can't stand sticky. D❤️gs went through a stage where he wouldn't eat anything crunchy. That was a sound issue though. He couldn't bear hearing himself chew.

We were very profligate today. Dh decided that even though we aren't done with the car, I needed a new vacuum. And underwear. So he took me shopping. While we were out he bought us coffee and donuts. We couldn't find exactly the vacuum cleaner I wanted, but I got to try different ones that had the features I wanted - just not all together - or with too many extras. There were a couple of local places that could order it for us, but the cheapest was 25% higher than amazon (all costs included) so we ordered it online. Then I discovered that my manufacturer discontinued my underwear (4 years ago-think I needed new?) so I had to choose new brand. That was also only available special order in my size and color (white!) so amazon got our business there too - 10% less and I don't have to drive back to the store.

I worked on cleaning up the glaze area a little more tonight.

Tomorrow is open house!

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Debbie
Thank you. 🙂

LOL 😀
He stole your toast!
Well, you did leave it just sitting out there.

Got the trees watered today.
Washed dishes/cleaned up kitchen. With taking care of Twinkles then What'shisface the kitchen became a dumping ground.

When it cools off a little this evening I need to water the lilac hedge.
100 degrees today.
The forecast for the next ten days is high 90s every day.

Spoke with Steven about the financial black out I am living in and he seemed agreeable to enlightening me.
But not holding my breath because he's lied about it before.
Plan B... I will intercept all incoming mail and formulate a plan as how to use this to my advantage. :p

Hi Everyone! Tillie I just wanted to say how sorry I am for the way you have to fight for everything, even for Stephen to not let himself die! I hope you can get him to give up some control so you can know where you are financially. I hope he takes your medical advice too and gets better! Maybe he will be scared into letting you help. But I think he is an extremely stubborn person and that makes it unlikely. It's probably like admitting he's wrong and that is almost impossible. I am praying he surprises me and starts to let you share in the financial decisions. You are so strong! I read old posts where he was hospitalized before and recovery was months, but afterwards he started to reduce he hoard for a while. You took him to all those appts and put up with the therapists and all. I hope he gets another burst of de-hoarding after this illness. He really owes you that and so much more.

Still no garbage collection but decided to wait till Wednesday when my pickup happens to see if I get a different driver. Otherwise I found a different service and will switch Thursday.

CM, so glad your novel is safe! And with the flash drives etc maybe you can recover most of your stuff. I am getting an external hard drive after I move just to be safe. I had a computer crash once and lost my files because they wanted $80 to recover them for me. When I thought about it, I didn't have anything cared about that I didn't save to the cloud (only pictures). So I put the cpu tower in the tub & drowned it and left it to rust for years and then recycled it. I am soooo cheap!

Glad you got the laundry done and wish you good luck putting away bunny stuff and setting up your room!

Subc, it's funny that stuff about robots doing laundry and dishes! I am always surprised that people complain about those things. It is only folding clothes that I think people really dislike. I do it while on the phone or listening to a book or podcast. And the bad thing about dishes is they never stop! It's not hard or dirty. I kind of don't mind them. I only want a dishwasher to hide the stuff in, haha! I will probably half wash the stuff and put the dishes in it just to have clean counters! I hate cooking and washing walls! I think trying to figure out what to make is what I hate, really. Washing walls is just painful and I think I will get cleaning fairies to do it.

Tatoulia, I am sorry about your brother. I know 2 people very like that and there is no way to deal with it except from a distance. I am glad you still help him but that you keep that distance is so good for your own mental health. Even the argument about leaving the thing plugged in actually happened with one of the 2 people I know! He always went crazy if you said something like "people say that's not good" , he would jump on it and say who are these people, are they scientists? Blah blah blah, and just rant rave and curse about how stupid you were to listen to "People". It was impossible to have a rational discussion. I gave up and avoided speaking to him ever. He made a scene at my husband's funeral because he wasn't allowed to visit. But it was my husband's choice and so I just told him that and walked away. I don't expect to speak with him again if at all possible. I know he's mentally ill and so I just try and stay away from him.

Today I went outside with my eggs and toast and coffee to enjoy the beautiful cool weather and sunshine. My neighbor called me to the fence and while we talked a squirrel helped himself to my toast and I think a bite of egg! She saw him running off with the toast so I gave the egg to the dog next door and made my breakfast over! I have been feeding the squirrel leftover chunky peanut butter cuz I don't like it (was my husband's) but I guess he decided to help himself today. Little stinker!

Well back to work and hope you all have a great day!

Good Morning Every One

Thank you Tatoulia
Thank you for understanding and sorry that you know what I am dealing with all too well.
(((HUG)))

You all are doing so wonderful keeping on with everything.

My brain is filled with my plans of attack here.
He MUST tell me how to pay bills online.
He must give me the sign in info for doing this.
He must tell me what all there is concerning the finances.
If he is so willing to just lay there and die I must know these things.
I have asked him for years and he has always refused to comply.

(Should he die)...
Then I must figure out what to do with all the derelict vehicles.
Who in my area may take them?
Then I must figure out who would help me clean up all the rogue trees and weeds.
Then I need to rent a dumpster and start clearing out this massive hoard.
But I would need to hire help to do the lifting & carrying.
Then I would need to hire people to fix the problems with the house.
Then I would need to figure out how to pay for ALL of this.

He is leaving me with such a mess.
Time for me to fight back.
Wish me luck?

Tillie your strength and compassion are awe-inspiring. You persevered and put your own safety (mental and emotional and only you know about physical) aside. I have been there to some extent, as I am sure you can imagine, but you stayed with it. You are a wonderful human being.

I remember once telling my brother (I was cooking Christmas Eve dinner and cleaning his apt) and I mentioned you shouldn't just leave USB chargers in the outlets, you need to unplug when not in use and he started screaming at me and calling me dirty names and demanding, repeatedly, what stupid #%*¥ in my mailroom gave me that piece of advice. So I said, forget it, not an issue, and he told me Christmas was cancelled and to get out of his house.

Yes I did this for decades. I'm still a bit hungover but I'm getting there.

Tillie I am on your side and again, you are amazing. Also, I take your advice and I wish you were here when I'm sick to bring me crackers and a sip of ginger ale. Just getting out of bed when I'm ill sometimes makes me have to think about it for what seems like hours.

Everyone, you are doing well and please forgive me for not remembering what everyone said.

Debbie! I am so glad you are gear! You are doing a great job staying positive and overcoming obstacles!!!! Great work!!!

CM I'm glad you have your writings. Please consider not fretting too much on the list emails and passwords. If it's been a long time, then maybe it's been long enough to just not access them. I say this with great kindness and compassion, and i picture us sitting on the couch like girlfriends and just talking about past loves and dreams and discussing letting go. There's no criticism between us, just a couple of ladies sipping iced tea and wondering where the time has gone.

Sending out much love and strength. After the badger has had her coffee we will tackle the dining room closet.