Good Morning

Tossed & turned in bed last night but finally fell sound asleep and slept until almost 11:00am.

He's taken off to yard and rummage sales. >:(
He got a 35 pound plastic bucket of "Tidy Cats" kitty litter.
He was just going to leave it out by the back porch and got angry when I begged him to please set it inside the door, he did set it just inside the door.
No way could I carry it anywhere.
So I will use a cup or bowl to ladle some into the litter boxes.
So YEA! the cats have their litter! 😀

Smoke hazy today and will be warm 80s.
Scooter has done his "scarf&barf" twice this morning.
He just eats too much too fast.
Fears from when he was a starving baby and never knew if he would have food ever again.

Good Evening Everyone

You accomplished a LOT Subclinical
So ok, tomorrow muck out the stalls and work on lesson prepping.

Today I did a whole lot of pencil puzzles while laying in bed.

You have lots of lovely tomatoes put up and cheeses too.
So many tasty dishes you will have.

Noticed today the Apricot tree has small patches of gold leaves now.

5:15pm going out now to water my flowers.
Chrysanthemum all have so many flower buds.

Tillie, I'm glad your weather is getting better!

I think I would have given up on the bed a long time ago. You are a good example.

Ok, I am feeling overwhelmed and underaccomplished.

I did my morning chores.

I made Dh breakfast

I emailed my boss (unsatisfactory reply)

I canned three pints of tomato sauce because that was how much tomatoes I had cut up.

I picked the tomatoes in the garden

and put the dehydrating tomatoes in the dehydrator (running half full) and left the cutting up tomatoes on the counter.

I made two wheels of mozzarella and a pint of ricotta

I ran a load through the wash and dryer and started another load of wash

I put away two baskets of previously washed laundry

I cleaned up the kitchen and ran the dishwasher but not all the dishes fit.

I did not do those things in order because they can overlap.

Dh is bringing home dinner, and there will be chores and bedtime and I did not get any lesson prep done.

Or stall cleaning - which is high on tomorrow's list.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Subclinical
Good luck with your tomato, milk and lesson plans today.

I have seen seating layouts for other classrooms and they do look so strange.
Tape on the floor and desks all placed 6 feet apart.
Knowing kids, it will be hard for them to not go hang over a fellow student's shoulder and talk.

Good plan to have a "wait and see" as to how things are going at school.
In one month you should know if the virus is there and spreading even with all the precautions in place.

Sure do understand your Dh's predicament with his back.
Laying here we see all the things we would be doing.
Then the pain eases up a little one day and we are able to do a little thing now.
But next day we are almost back at square one again.
So disheartening. 🙁

With the weather not getting any higher than the 80s I can now stop watering the grass every other day.
Really helps with that one day off from watering, gives my back the break it needs.
The garden flowers still show stress if they don't get water every other day.
But they have shallow roots, not like the grass and lilacs or trees.

I sleep on the sofa bed.
Every single day for years I would fold up my bedding and remake up the couch.
Have not been able to do this for many weeks now.
So I just have my bed here to lay in all the time since it's impossible for me to do the movements necessary to redo it morning and night.
Scooter loves this arrangement and I still can't do a sitting position anyways...

Cm, wishing you peace and for good luck on the sale.

Tillie, keep resting and taking it slow. Dh keeps taking two steps forward, one step back because He tries to do too much when he feels better.

Twinkles can stand a few brambles.

Hi Tatoulia!

My classroom is set up for my first class. I even put materials out on the tables. It looks so strange. I had to swap out my colorful group tables for rows of individual white squares, and there is tape on the floor showing where your chair goes.

Dh has a "socially distanced" work event tonight, so Dd is waiting to decide if I can come on Monday after she talks to him after it. Once school starts, we are going to wait two weeks and have a discussion about visits.

Today is going to be about tomatoes and milk and lesson prep.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Pib and Fish stick🐈🐟

Hi CriticalMass
What kind of pie?
Was the cinnamon roll iced?

Glad you are getting a handle on the scheduling anxiety.
Wishing you smooth sailing from here on. ⛵

Nice you have relatives there. 🙂

I got the grass watered today.
Asked him to buy kitty litter, he didn't.
Nice gentle breeze today kept the smoke away from me.
Twinkles was really begging/suffering to go outside so I let him.
He was so happy and took a nap under the sage brush and got sticks & stuff all caught in his fur.
Still can't brush him or bend or a lot of things.

Went to the funeral home for visitation, then stopped by my cousin's business and talked awhile, saw Pib the office cat (pic on IG). Pib is a chubby gal and so sweet.

Stopped at an Amish restaurant for pie, bought a cinnamon roll to bring back for my roommate. Things are going smoothly. Anxiety about All The Stuff I Have To Do is lessening. I'm thankful!

Roommate is pursuing pre-qualification for buying a different car. My cousin gave me some kitchenware for the bunny club garage sale. We will prepare to drain the aquarium and relocate Fish Stick (that's what my roommate calls him, LOL) over the weekend. And pull out stuff for the garage sale of hers and mine.

Keep recovering slowly and steadily, Tillie!

Good Morning

I'm still here.
House needs lots of cleaning like vacuuming and dusting.

Cats are still getting food & water but not brushings or bending over pettings.

Chrysanthemums have lots of flower buds and will be blooming soon. 🙂

Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
YEA! the oil has been changed!!!
That was so very kind of them 🙂

WTG! getting somethings from storage for the sale!

Yes, needle biopsies are very minimally invasive procedures and the sedation will have her pretty well floating on a soft cloud.

Best wishes & good luck with scheduling and coordinating all you have to do.

Take comfort in the service for your Aunt (((HUG)))

Today I brewed a batch of cranberry apple tea and added the juice of a lemon.
Also toasted an english muffin, put spaghetti sauce on both halves and then some pepper jack cheese.
Stuck it under the broiler till the cheese melted.

Thanks everyone for the condolences on my aunt. Looks like I'll be riding over tomorrow for the visitation as well as Friday for the funeral, since the funeral starts 9:00 a.m. Friday. This way will get to see family - I plan on wearing my mask and keeping social distancing whether the others do or not.

My friends from MO came to town, the ones who gave me the van, and the husband changed my oil today. So that is a relief. And he got me a new dipstick because the old one was messed up. Bless them.

I got some stuff for the bunny club garage sale out of storage. It is stuff I've been wanting to donate at one of our events with raffle but since we're not having those, this is an opportunity to get that done.

I'm a bit stressed again with coordinating things - travel and garage sale prep but some things are falling into place. Roommate found out she can have sedative for kidney biopsy. Less squeamish and scary for us both.

Going to get supper now, more soon.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Thanks for checking in and hope you are getting rested.

I don't know why but last few days I have really been craving a donut.
Thought about all the different kinds of donuts and I would seriously eat any kind.
Even a simple plain donut dipped into a hot cup of tea would be lovely.

Checking in. Cm I am sorry for your loss.

I am not up to date. Thinking of you all. I'm doing well, just a bit exhausted.

Good Evening Everybody

Very glad Dh's back is a little better and he is cooking again.

Happy the open houses had more people in there!
YEA! getting to hang out with S and G!

WTG! getting the dishes almost caught up !

I got all the dishes done.
Did the glasses then rested.
Did the plates then rested.
Did the bowls then rested.
Did the silverware then rested.
Got it all dried and put away.
Then washed all the Kitty dishes and they are filled with food & fresh water.

Supposed to water grass this evening but decided not to.
It has only been high 80s not all those 100+ days any more.
The smoke was moderate today, not light but not as thick as before.

He will be the 4th of our kids to drive this truck.

Today I almost caught up on the dishes.

I also had my open houses. These were better attended. The other day when I was feeling sad and stressed, Dh told me to name three things I was looking forward to at school. I named three students, r, s, and g.

I came into the kitchen at lunch time and he said "hey, you look happy!" And I said "I just got done hanging out with s and g at my open house."

Dh work has eased up and his back is a little better and he is cooking again.

I am hoping for a better autumn for you as well tillie.

Good morning

So nice you have the old truck to give to him.
That all really sucks about no longer being able to hold Bean once school starts.
Everything about covid19 sucks (((HUG)))

Going to try to wash dishes today.
Not many to do since I'm not eating regularly or cooking.
So many things I have been wanting to do but can't right now.
Really hoping Autumn will be better than Summer was.

Good morning. Happy equinox.

CM, I am very sorry for your loss. You have faced a lot this year, and you are handling things amazingly well.

I wish that you could just not worry about the sister. But I know your roommate's feelings have to come into account too.

There are always too many things to do in a day. Corona virus came and cut things out of my life, and there are still too many things!

I agree that a chart or a list might help, But then, I am always starting and then losing/abandoning lists and schedules.

It's hard. I think sleep is the most important, and sometimes it just doesn't work. sleep, then hydration, then nutrition.

I spent yesterday with Bean. I get to go back on Thursday and then Monday, and then after school starts I will be "an outside cat" who can only visit with him on the porch at a distance, with a mask. This will be very hard. I don't know how long it will last, but it could be a very long time. The whole idea of me watching him on Mondays will be on hold indefinitely. I am trying to accept that he may be a toddler before I can hold him again.

Today I have virtual open houses and a virtual parent conference. I am also trying to catch up on dishes and laundry and make progress anywhere. And do something about all these tomatoes!

I think tomorrow I will need to set up my classroom.

Balance. Today is supposed to be about contemplating balance.

I saw my extra son briefly yesterday. We are giving him our old truck because he doesn't have a working car. He has been driving his mom's old work truck which she needs back and which is in worse shape than ours. He's a good kid. He looked good and it was nice to see him.

I will probably be less present soon. First day of school us in one week. But I will try to check in.

Hi CriticalMass
You have enough to work on daily don't you?
Do you have a place to jot down days like toe nail clipping and other scheduled things?
Even just a piece of paper taped where you can easily see it.

Work on the things that are at hand and try not to worry about the future things.
Yeah, things always come up to make things harder but worrying too far ahead just drives us crazy.

You have my most sincere condolences.
You have lost so many relatives recently (((HUG)))

Tillie, I hope you feel better soon!

It's really quiet here on the Chat today. I even checked to make sure you hadn't had to start a Phase 15.

My aunt's funeral will be Friday morning.

There are a lot of things suddenly converging on this time frame of the next couple of weeks, and I'm starting to stress. Late last week for whatever reason (possibly sleep deprivation) I had a bunch of brain glitches and kept forgetting really stupid things, even things that before I had known, causing confusion and upset. Like which days the bunny toenail trimming, board meeting, garage sale, etc. were scheduled.

And now there are more new things to track, such as thta my roommate has placed a call to schedule that biopsy but we don't know when it'll be because they haven't called her back (phone tag is SO frustrating). Also her sister may come next week to take her to KC to look for a car.

This sister is one who it may be scary to have see the house looking cluttered (by her way more exacting standards), so that may require frenetic preparations, which will have to be fitted in around getting the things for the garage sale out. And if roommate has to be gone on the days they're accepting donations, I'll have to get stuff over there by myself. Plus be doing all the extra cat and bunny care.

Getting the things for the garage sale is not all just putting a few tchotchkes in a box. Roommate is planning to donate her aquarium - 39 gallon I think it is. There is only one goldfish in it, he will be relocated to a smaller aquarium, we'll have to bail the big one, get the fixtures and gravel out of it, etc.

There's a utility cart hopefully it can go on but we'll have to get it down to the porch and down the porch steps, slide the tank off the cart and into my van, which I'll have had to get some stuff out of prior and put down a tarp. Then when I get it to the house where the sale will be, getting it back out. And pray it sells there, or we'll get to do the whole shebang again to get it to a thrift store.

Once the big aquarium successfully gets gone, we will gain a bit of room in the living room. No major change, just enough to make walking through the door into the hallway easier without bumping a table that's by the doorway now. But still nice. So I want it to happen, but it's going to be a big and nerve wracking job. Trying to think of ways to make it easier.

And I still want to be working in my storage unit because definitely there will be things to go to the garage sale from there.

It's like everything has to get worse before it gets better, but can I keep from going mad in the meantime? This morning I was so irritated... the reason I've had sleep deprivation is that the whacko dreams returned for awhile. The ones my antidepressant had given me. Even though I'm at half the dose as before. But I think the way the ADs produce those dreams in the first place is they do something to sleep rhythms. So sometimes it's hard to tell what's from what.

I had envisioned this smooth rest of September effort with my decluttering in the storage. September is going by way too fast for my liking already. Then I figure October the weather will still be decent. November gets dicey - could stay good but maybe not.

But if there are going to be a gazillion happenings to coordinate, I fear mental fragmentation and difficulty organizing. So many times, so many seasons and years, this "too busy, too many fires to put out" issue has ruined it for getting things done over there.

Sorry for the fear and negativity; maybe something will put my mind at rest and I'll think how silly I'm being. But this is our chat, our place to vent, so I'm venting!

hello
since I am still pretty much bedridden I looked around and found a new free channel on Roku.
peacocktv
I watched alfred hitchcock's the birds, rear window and psycho so far today.

So sorry, SubC; I hope it will work out in a way that won't cause lingering upset for you or anyone else.

We had bunny board meeting today, and are planning for a garage sale in a couple weeks. I hope it can be okay and with proper distancing - everybody seems on board with wearing masks at the board mtg and stuff.

We'll probably have to be careful how we position tables so that customers observe precautions. I should probably bring up these concerns; we were more preoccupied with the fundraising aspects earlier and didn't get to that.

I clipped bunny toenails yesterday and dropped off a baby scale that I'd had in my storage that I used to weigh my own bunnies on. They will get more use out of it now. Today we got to hold baby bunnies.

A larger piece of news - my aunt passed away a little after 5:00 a.m. but I didn't find out till after we got home from the bunny house. (I don't do the Messenger app on my phone so I would've had to have thought to login again to Facebook to see the message there.)

So another funeral - perhaps not limited to 10 people but even if not the church should be big enough for social distancing.

Found out I can get my regular flu shot at the pharmacy which is not crowded at all in the daytime, rather than going to my doctor's office where there are a lot of sick children sometimes. That feels a lot safer.

It's late, it's been eventful, it will be eventful. More soon.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
That's nice you two gave virtual house tours to each other.
Was her home picture perfect or a real place where she lives?

Good luck with your coffee table project.
But all that happened because you actually live at home.

Hope that infection goes away easy enough.

I think it all comes down to all of us making a million decisions daily as to what we feel safe with.
I would be safe at home if Steven did not believe the virus/pandemic was a conspiracy/lies and that the virus was only like having a mild cold.
And nobody has died from it.
Fortunately since his friend died he's been staying home in his garage except for his food shopping trips.
He can't go to thrift shops because they require masks and he refuses to wear one.
For some reason safeway allows him to lie and say he can't wear a mask due to medical conditions.
He refuses to go to appointments at the clinic for bloodwork because they require masks.
No bloodwork = no prescription refills.
No coumadin/warfarin = blood clots/strokes/TIAs.
The doctor at the hospital agreed with me that should he get the virus he would not survive.

Oh well...
Just as long as he doesn't infect me.
I can't fix stupid.

SubC! We are all friends with you! I truly had written a long supportive post yesterday.

Trust me, my heart is breaking for the choice you had to make. Safety is a very personal issue. My health comes before anything else right now. I was suffering with either allergies or a sinus on Friday night into Saturday, so I cancelled my plans to visit with my friend. She's the one I had dinner with on Thursday night. I've been to her house a few times since the pandemic. I know that riding in the car with her and with my BF seems scary. The trips are under 10 minutes, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. And we wear masks. It is a terrifying time and just as your daughter felt safe to go to a wedding, you need to feel safe by limiting your contact with people. I try to maintain a "no judgment, until it infringes on my health." I had cancelled a lunch with a friend a few weeks back because she just lives with too many people. Husband, children, parents, siblings and their significant others, etc. I felt the risk was too great for me. The one friend I see lives alone and she works at my company to she's working from home. My friends with the kids stay six feet apart from us. It's tricky and it's personal, I think. I am absolutely terrified of getting sick. This sinus over the weekend has me panicking.

Cm you are amazing! Do you see how much your thought process has evolved? You are applying it to all areas of your life, including, the mechanic is a good friend but unreliable. So keep him as a friend, and rely on others! You are so great!

Tillie I am so sorry about your continued pain. Slow down. Just slow it down. I know it's tough.

I did two loads of laundry yesterday.

On Friday I had a zoom meeting and afterward, the woman said, can I have a tour of your house? Do I took her on a tour of my humble abode. Then she took me on a tour of hers. And yes, she did see my messy coffee table. I should get back on that.

It seems like a lovely autumn day. It is nearly five. I've showered and will head out for a walk. Yesterday I was dizzy and lightheaded and had swollen glands etc. today I'm feeling good. Just drinking lots of juices.
I'm going for a walk soon.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Glad you are doing better today.

Doing just those few loads of laundry yesterday rudely threw me into a whole new world of pain and exhaustion.
Doing better this morning.

I feel like I killed this thread.

Carry on.

Really.

I am doing better today.

I finished posting all my class information.

Two virtual open houses and a parent meeting Tuesday
Set up my classroom
Buy some supplies
Lesson plans

Good Afternoon Everyone

OK Tatoulia 😀

I washed 4 sheets and got them out on the line.
They were dry by the time I got all the towels & washcloths & pillow cases washed.
Brought in the sheets, folded & put away.
The other stuff is out on the line now.

Now my hamper only contains some of my clothes.

I foolishly mistakenly deleted my long and supportive post. I'll start again later. I was using my phone so I couldn't hit back to retrieve it

Good Morning Everyone

I am so very sorry Subclinical.
But you need to keep doing what you know is the correct thing during this pandemic, even though it is often the hardest things. (((HUG)))

All the misinformation (lies) circulating make me so very angry.
Steven believes all of them.
This is what is helping the virus spread.

The truth is we must not gather in groups.
Isolate into small groups.
Wear face masks and practice proper hygiene (hand washing).
Until EVERYBODY does this we will never get a handle on this virus.
It's worse than the wildfires and is killing so many more.

We must all do what we know we should be doing.
Yes, it really sucks.
We must protect the vulnerable people who don't stand a chance against this virus.

Clear blue skies this morning but it's very cold.
Will wash some laundry and hang it out.
Been weeks since I could do that. 😀

Tillie,

I'm glad you have your ibuprofen now. And a break of lovely fresh air.

CM, we cross posted, I am very glad for the found books and continue to be amazed by all the progress.

I am hurting.

My dd2 slept in the barn last night - she came in to town fir a friend's wedding. Afterward she came up to the porch and I cracked the window and talked with her. She is sad. And she just wants to come in and curl up on the couch with her mom and be hugged. And I can't. And I feel like I am failing her again.

If I let her in, I would have to stay away from Bean's family for two weeks. I can do that, Bean doesn't need me. And maybe she does. But I am also about to go into a school full of other children. In less than two weeks. And I feel like the whole thing is crazy, but there is no way they will have a teacher who is more careful than I am. I have spent my whole teaching career basically assuming every student has the stomach flu, and I almost never get sick. (Once. I got sick once. It was so bad that year they asked me to come teach with no voice once my fever was gone because we were combining classes because we were out of subs. The front desk was unattended because we had pulled everyone.)

I don't know how Tatoulia gets in a car with another person. - (Tatoulia, that is not me judging you, that is me saying I don't know where you find the ability to do that) I am not afraid of being sick. I am afraid of being sick and not knowing I am sick and making someone else sick and continuing this thing that is killing people.

I don't know how a child I raised can go to a wedding right now. But I understand that she needs people. She needs her life to be more normal. She wore her mask and she "kept her distance" but there was a dance floor. She spends a lot of time with her bfs family. They don't wear masks. They are a big family. Her bf told her more people die of the flu. I said "that is not true." She said, "well, more people who get the flu die if it." And I said "that is not true."

I feel like I am not protecting her, that I am not taking care of her. Because I cannot be enough for her and so I have to let her go to get the things she needs. She is my changeling child and I have felt like this her whole life. I don't understand the things she needs.

The world is broken and I can't fix it and I don't even know if I am making the right choices to help. And school - I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this. What if I have made a huge mistake?

Good Evening Everybody

Subclinical you had me laughing out loud with
"Perfectly reasonable day, but what did she do with the carrots from the garden and when does she weed and do the pie dishes and wash her underwear?!"
So so true. 🤣

That's right, I have my (40+ years old) Tupperware that is doing good for what I use it for so tossing it out to buy the "Newest/Latest" craze is illogical.

Good luck getting your classes set up/knocked out.
That's sad that so few students tuned in.
And at that age I blame the parents for that.

Buckwheat pancakes sound wonderful.
At my house if you want pancakes or French toast it's always a dinner food.

Will you be freezing some of those garden veggies?
Most frozen veggies are great for soups & stews.

Hi CriticalMass
That darned Squirrel!

YEA! you finally found those missing books.
I remember you looking for them. 😀

WAY TO GO!!! for your continuing work at the storage! (((HUG)))

I got even more drizzle rain.
The windows were all open and the air was clean & fresh & cool and smelled like rain. 😀
Later this afternoon the SUNSHINE broke through the rain clouds.
It had been days since I last saw sunshine.
No trace of smoke all day and I hope it stays away.

I could see he was going to go to the grocery store.
He has not spoken to me for days.
I put a yellow piece of paper on the back door that read "IBUPROFEN 200mg".
Many hours later he returned and then there was a tiny bottle of ibuprofen laying on the back porch, 30 pills, from the dollar store.
Generic ibuprofen from WallyWorld costs 1.50 for 100 pills.

The aspirin was not working well and made my ears ring.
And this has set my recovery back at least another week.

He has done NOTHING to help out around the house. Not even take the trash out.
And I don't speak to him because he will expose me to a nasty ugly rant.
I don't need that.