ohhh I almost forgot!

Road, about FB marketplace: when you list something there is a button that says "hide from my friends" so you can click that, and they can't see it! Great huh??

I also am on a Buy Nothing group on Facebook where everyone just gives things away, and I give things away that I don't think I could get much by selling, or when I don't have time. It's nice because everything is free BUT for any of you who think you would not be able to resist wanting to go get all the free things and bring them home, skip this group. It is a risk. I look at it and only take things I wanted to buy and needed, and I look for people asking for items. So you can ask "does anyone have clothes in size 10" and if someone has them they will give them to you. I like it a lot and feel like I am blessing people by giving them things they need, at no cost. So check that out, just type in Buy Nothing and your city name. It is a closed group so your friends can't see what you post unless they are also in the group.

What a great bunch of posts! You all made my day, which was super busy but I came home and sat down to read here to get encouraged. Thank you! All you share does help.

SubC and Road, re: dh, no, he would never "allow" me to throw out any trash, but he also does not object if I just throw it out when he is not there AND make sure he cannot see it in the trash, so, it has to go in a bag with other trash and be under more bags in the trash. I usually do that on trash day (Friday) so it is gone before he can dig. I remember back in the early years of our marriage, I threw out a few burned out light bulbs. He had a MELTDOWN when he saw them in the trash, dug them back out, wrapped them up and saved them.

And yes, I would expect he WOULD move trash into the new room... maybe not all of it, but it is likely his method of moving the stacks of envelopes, receipts, junk mail, layered in with wrappers etc and dust, would be to put it all into a box or bin and move it in there. But, I do hope I am wrong, and he wants a change, and will get rid of some of this stuff. But my rule is it HAS to go in his room and not into a common area or I will throw it out myself.

I did one thing to make my place better today: I went outside and put on my gardening gloves and picked all the dead leaves out of the big pots of plants in the front of the house. There was a lot and now it looks better. I got the dead leaves that were on the ground around the pots, too. I am proud of myself but also dismayed how little stamina I have. I am exhausted and hurting and I was only working for like 10 or 15 minutes.

Oh My. Gawd.

Sub c!

Amazing work on the scullery!!!

Whooppppppp!

Subc, awesome sleepover days with bean! It's very good for a marriage to have a local grandma eager to have turns with the baby. We always had to ask and that made us reluctant to ask. We never really got the hang of hiring babysitters partly because of my sons needs, and partly due to being cheap. I'm just trying to say they are lucky to have you! And you are lucky to have a bean and cherishing every minute of it. 100%! Why hesitate to say progress on the counter? Afraid of invoking the wrath of the scullery jinx? I could start writing a novel right there. Wrath of the Scullery Jinx. Hey with this group we could have a round robin write-a-thon.or we could each contribute a chapter! Heheh.

Lila, I was very surprised ? but mostly excited ? to read about your H's response. I think that's a legitimate anti hoard technique. Switching rooms... I mean it doesn't solve the problem but there's got to be a learning situation in there. I wonder if he will feel jittery being in an "empty" (clean) room like I. Used to. But I mean he's not gonna move garbage from one room to another. I assume he would just take stuff he needs as he goes, right? Then all that's left is stuff to get rid of? Right? What do you think will happen? I'm sure in the absence of him having new skills, or new effort, or fresh perceptions, he will quickly clutter up the new space, but surely he will gain some awareness, right? And I would agree that's definitely a good sign that he rearranged the furniture in there.

Coupons! I think that's one of the things that got me in my early hoardy days. I gave up coupons long ago. Have to turn a blind eye. I guess the only one we use is the free cheese pizza for our little party guests when we order pizza from the local place. But that's like a $10 pizza and they will not honor it if you don't hand it over.

The H came in abruptly and declared "if you want me to help you you better get your bins lined up." Why does he have to do it that way? Ugggggh

Lila, did you say you're using FB marketplace? you've inspired me again for the furniture. I am shopping love seat and lamps (still)... we are down to around 3 shops now and one consignment and I am not having any luck. One question I have about getting rid of stuff is how do you prevent friends and family from seeing what you're getting rid of? Or maybe there's no way. Separate account?

I'm thinking if I create a structure for saving up for a vacation with proceeds from eBay it might motivate me to do it. Thoughts?

Hey Cm, I'm a graphic designer. Non A working one At present but I will still claim it. Re software, The adobe creative suite is also available for trials I think. If you can qualify for educator discount - or student- its only $30 a month or so for the entire package of products. But if you're interested, I would look to see if they have free trials and then just do a program or two at a time depending on your interest area. Since it's in the cloud, you can access it remotely from your own account - you just log in.

I forget who was asking about smells. We do have that issue. I *think* in our case it's the duct work. Can't even describe the condition of the duct work it's that gross. At least the H changes the air filters regularly. Smell could also Possibly Be the wood floors. We don't have that many soft surfaces really. I bought a bunch of those odor absorbing can things and a few spray bottles of some chemicals that ended up freaking me out and not using. I will tend to light a candle near the door if someone is coming over. Not sure how to really get rid of them. We have a little broom closet in the kitchen that reeked. When we installed central air 20 years ago they had to use most of it for the cold air return but there was still a little space up front. So I got the wise idea of enclosing it and adding little shelves with cheap white paneling. Must say it was a great success. No one is allowed in my cute little pantry. Lol It's surprising how much you can store on 5 8x10" shelves made with things that were never intended to be shelves. But anyway I painted and painted and painted and the smell keeps coming back. I should say I killzed and killlzed and killlzed it. Who knows. I give up.

We had another cleaning frenzy at my brothers. He wanted his old sleeper sofa moved into the living room so the H went in and did that and we waited in the car. Then we went in with donuts and tried different furniture arrangements and vacuumed and cleaned and dusted as we went. Now his entire living room is cleaned out, rearranged, vacuumed, etc. with the exception of the coffee table that has all the junk and dust on it still, and the carpet which needs shampooing. I was thinking the odor was better but it was still oppressive. Trying to figure out how to bring it up to him. And no clue what to do about it since most of the furniture is gone now and I can't really tell where it's coming from. All the other rooms are still trashed but he's making some progress.

Excitement yesterday was - well, I will have to save that for another time. Let's just say The Yosemite same expression "my biscuits are burnin'!" Has new meaning for me.

Ok road, you've got 5 books to get rid of.

You don't have room in your life for so-so.

I'm feeling tough lovey this morning because I:

CLEARED OFF HALF THE SCULLERY COUNTER!

I mean, yes, I could spread out what is still on there and cover the whole thing again, but it is progress. And I made myself put a few things in the garbage bag, and I am taking the garbage this morning because there is broken glass (down one drinking glass.)

I am making a list of things that increase daily or close to daily, and I am going to see if I can pay attention to them and try to reduce/keep up with them through the end of April. It will probably be exhausting.

So far the list is:
Laundry
Dishes
Eggs
Milk
Trash
Recycling
Feedbags
Manure
Dirt

By the end of April I will need to add "weeds"

Today I have worked on laundry, dishes, eggs, trash, and recycling.

I am also going to try to note down each day things that I add to my life that require an input of time and energy. Yesterday it was "seed potatoes" (came in the mail - need to be planted, bed is not prepared) and "pottery store purchases" (have to be unloaded and put away.)

Hi errrbody,

Just checking in... we are on spring break this week...

I've been up since 3 again and am starting to nod off so I will keep it brief. Two big events today. It's dvd release day for sing 2. The date my son has been asking me about obsessively since mid December... however, now that the big day has arrived, I am starting to hear "Easter... soon?" (The next big thing). Unfortunately, I fear what he is lookingforward to (other than ham/corn) is seeing my nieces and nephews who no longer live here. It sucks big time. But nothing I can do about it. Well, the thing I can do about it is being better at zoom calls and sending packages...

Other thing on the agenda is moving some bins to garage. I'm aiming for 8-10. The H is down with it. For now anyway. He's mercurial so you never really know how he's going to perceive it when it's time. Need to decide if I want to vacuum/clean my closet walls and paint or just leave it as is. Kind of getting excited at the prospect of repairing my "standing desk"... would be impossible without getting all this stuff out from under it (and on it).

Last thing for now: I received my obnoxious shipment of books I bought on eBay the other day. Out of 8 books, 2 were really good, 2 were losers, 1 was more of a kids book but very good, 2 were so-so and1 was a duplicate. I'll repeat that: a DUPLICATE! Invariably, every time I get book hoardy on eBay I end up with a dupe. So there you go. Back later!

Tatoulia, you would always be welcome!

Lila, I am glad your furniture situation is becoming something that gives your home a sense of peace and comfort!

I hope that the new room helps your Dh. Is there any chance that he will let you dispose of some of the garbage as he is moving?

CM, your full day at the library plan sounds good. It is wonderful that you were able to travel! I laughed when you said it was 80 degrees - it was 21 here.

I had a wonderful day with Bean yesterday. Apparently he was asleep less than two hours after I took him home, which included dinner and a badly needed bath. It was hard for me to return him, but when we reached his neighborhood he started chanting "mama" and he paid no attention when I left, so I think the visit was long enough for him.

I didn't take him to the store (due to the "mama" chant) but I did go, and spent my gift certificate. My favorite fancy and frivolous tools were on sale and I treated myself to 8! of them. They are small though, ranging from 1/3 the size of a pencil (3 of those) to twice the size of a big fat marker (only 1). I also bought two little jars of glaze I wanted (the selection is still awful on those) and two more boxes of clay. I went over by the cost of most of one box of clay, but I saved $4 by buying two. I know it goes against the "use up the clay" plan as well, but I was almost out of that type of clay and have a project I want to finish made of it.

I hesitate to say this, but I have made some small progress on the counter.

Hi everyone,

CM you have a lot going on! Thanks for catching us up to date. I'm grateful that you do have a nice library to go Tom even if it is a bit further away. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the home plumbing situation.

Lila, I'm glad the visit went well and that your husband recognized your efforts in the room for him. Congratulations on the new chair and ottoman!

I have done some paperwork tonight. Just shredding. And I had two checks I needed to deposit. I ran some errands with BF and saw mom. Litter box clean. I am still hunting for those coupons, Lila. Have a few little areas to check.

Pound cake sounds delicious, SubC! Mind if I stop by for a slice?

Better do an update, feeling a bit blah, but I was worked up earlier so I'll settle for blah, I guess.

There have been a few "developments" (drama, rather than solutions) re the plumbing issue, I don't want to go into detail because it has been upsetting. I think it may be moving toward the point where my roommate will bite the bullet and do something that may ultimately lead to resolution. It's just a daily struggle to get to that point, is all. Raised hopes and crashing disappointments. In other words, business as usual.

Enough on that for the 83,562nd time. 😝 So sick of it.

Had come downtown to the library, was venting on the phone to my bff out of state. Sitting in the sun getting overheated. Guy gets out of a car in the next parking space, hits my van with his door, just acts like nothing. I know my temper and its potential so I let it go. Not today, Satan. Not today. It wasn't too bad of a ding. Least of my worries.

Came inside the library, used the restroom, wet a paper towel to cool off. Got on the computer, and did get signed up for some free graphic arts classes they are having - Inkscape I & II, Krita, and Tinkercad. So much easier to use the computer here than at home - as long as no obnoxious people bother me, and I pretty much know which computer stations are best, not too close to others who are talking or listening to rap on YouTube (ADHD makes me pick up on every little thing so it makes no difference if they are using earbuds). There are a couple of young ladies conversing at a nearby table, but luckily I've been smart lately and brought my noise canceling headphones. Relaxation music for the win! 😏

It is warm here and will be even warmer tomorrow (80s). Windy today, though, so I don't feel guilty for not attempting storage unit. Rain coming midweek. So many things to juggle. Activities starting up. Rabbit club yesterday. Out of town trip for my uncle's 98th birthday Saturday evening (first road trip for 1-1/2 years, was concerned about agoraphobia, but did well - no panic - yay!).

It's just been hard to work around the rain and the roommate being home and the false starts on the plumbing thing and what-all. Speaking of roommate, her boss has been making noises about them coming back to the office at some point. Which will be both difficult for roommate and somewhat of an adaptation for me, in other ways perhaps a needed break for me. I just pray she can deal with the morning commute because that was so stressful for her.

I'm not a dog person either but if it'll help I'll take hers out to pee in the mornings if need be - or if he refuses to pee in a timely fashion, which was what was occasionally a problem before. I think it is less so now. He is more mature and settled. But animals do get used to one routine and have trouble adjusting, so I'm just going to tell her if he balks, let me know.

My bunny girl was having a urinary problem but I think she is better - got her some Aquafina to reduce the amount of calcium in her water. Our city water is hard. I was uncertain whether to go on the road trip then later Saturday afternoon she perked up after I squirted extra water into her mouth.

I'm just going to have to figure out what I need to do in so many areas. This library computer is a good thing, the gasoline to get here, meh... but it's not super far. Again I wish that closer one had a better vibe. This one has natural light from big windows, the closer one is all indoor and flourescent lighting, sort of drab and although freshly remodeled, less aesthetically/sensory comfortable than it used to be.

The computers are fast. That is good anyway. My computer at home is slowing. It's over 10 years old. I want to get another one but with all this inflation I hesitate somewhat. I also need to improve my "desk" situation, decide whether or not to keep that stand that is too slanty and wobbly. I thought it was a great find, minimalist, and at first it didn't seem flimsy. It folds up, so I guess I could store it - not forever, but it really might work for a printer stand or something so I am hesitant to get rid of it hastily.

Hmmm... maybe I should use the rainy days to do a boatload of computer work - have full library days, which would justify the gasoline as well. Write out a list of stuff to catch up on and just go to town with it.

This has been a ramble, and probably not all that relevant to decluttering - except that doing a "brain dump" does help me to think more coherently.

post 2 -

My son helped me rearrange the furniture in the living room today. I have this long, narrow living room. If it was just 3 feet wider it would be so much more functional, but as it is, we managed to get the seating so that several people could watch the tv at once (tv has to be on a long side) but also there is enough seating facing each other for conversation. And the windows are mostly not blocked now. It is a lot better than it was. Might change it again for winter but I think I like it this way for now.

As for the dh update, here is a further bit of hope. I went into the new room to see if he has moved anything at all into there, and there are a few (very few) items in there now, and, he moved the furniture around to his liking. So this is a positive thing! I am hopeful he will start moving things in there soon. He has a recliner, a bookshelf, a dresser, and then the rest of his current room is tubs and tubs of stuff, laundry baskets of stuff, and literal piles of stuff. There is trash mixed in with everything. Mainly every piece of mail, junkmail, ads, magazines, and envelopes that came to our house for the past 7 or 8 years, layered with used paper towels, old used envelopes, receipts for every single thing he bought in the last 10 years, empty plastic bottle, empty food containers, just piles and piles of paper, wrappers, and thick thick dust. I would be surprised if moving it doesn't give him an asthma attack. But he does have a handheld vacuum and an air filter so hopefully he can get that done. He will feel so much better in a clean room without the dust.

hi all,

the visit went well. I gave up on the counter, which was not really that bad, and I just shoved what was left into presentable looking stacks and dusted the one edge that was showing. I did a quick bathroom wipe down (not really clean, but not offensive either) and dusted the living room. Really my mind is playing tricks on me, because I "saw" so much clutter and junk that the house looked just as bad as it did a year ago before I started working on it, but it did not take long to get it presentable. Shocking, really.

So that is over and I can relax. And I have a nice clean kitchen table with nothing on it!

Remember my lovely new furniture? Couch, loveseat, recliner. All very nice. Well there is this one, old, torn recliner left in the living room and when people come over, I put a blanket on it and it's off in the corner. Yesterday I was blessed to hop online and immediately saw a FREE leather chair and ottoman, from a different person, NO damage, looks new, that matches my other new furniture! So I asked, I got it, my son went with me and we brought it home! Can you believe it? I thank God for helping me. So that beautiful chair and ottoman are now where the old torn recliner were.

I tried to give the recliner away, dh objected as it is an expensive Lazy Boy electric recliner. It has been the "dog chair" and has damage. So then... I started looking online and found a very nice looking cover for it for $35. Ordered that and it will be here tomorrow. I will keep it and it will look nice, dh happy, and a living room full of very nice looking furniture!! I feel so much better about myself.

Thank you Tatoulia for the coupon reminder! I have some for FREE dog food that expire 3/31 so I will dig those out and go tomorrow.

Also - dh update: he has been home 6 days. He actually thanked me for doing such a nice cleaning job getting his new room ready. He says he will use the bed that's in there and the dresser too. So, it is all ready for him to move in... but, I don't see any movement yet. I have not been in the room, but his old room is still fully hoarded up and doesn't look any different. But he seems to be in a good mood, so I will give it another 2 or 3 days before I say anything, like, "do you need any help moving into your new room?" Just hoping he actually does it.

We have had a lovely morning! No rush hour driving, no worrying about being on time so Dd can get in to work.

I had my coffee before Bean woke up, then we had a cuddle, breakfast with dh, and did the chores. He was a great little helper. Played for about an hour, cleaned up the kitchen and dishes from last night, ate a morning snack, and started bread and pound cake. The dishwasher is running, the pound cake is in the oven, the bread is rising, and Bean is taking a nap.

After nap we will have lunch, with pound cake for dessert, and hopefully go spend some time in the garden. I can take him home whenever. I have a bit of shopping to do at the pottery studio near his house, and they said I can take him in the store with me. (I am hoping some friends will be there so I can show him off!)

Great work, Lila! Glad you have your grandson tonight, SubC.

I am not a dog person. Have been a cat person my entire life. I wouldn't know the first thing about training a dog!

Yes, on the smells. Sometimes it smells when I walk in the house. I know that occasionally burning a soy candle helps. In general, I do not like to burn candles because the soot and danger. But a small soy candle in the kitchen helps. I also have my windows open frequently. Near my friend's litter box I keep an air freshener. One of those solid cones. I do not like any type of plug in scent. I don't trust the electricity and I have bad allergies.

I can definitely smell the clean after the cleaners have been here. Makes a big difference. I am big on having open windows. I like to air out the house. I have good cross-ventilation since my apartment runs from front to back.

I have to go through some papers tomorrow. I have to find coupons that expire at the end of the month. I also have two checks to locate and deposit.

Okay going to try to head to bed soon.

Lila, nice job!

I hope your visit went well.

The kids decided to let Bean spend the night, so we get to have a lazy morning tomorrow.

ohhh boiling cinnamon is a good idea subc, thank you. In fact now I remember I have essential oils in various scents I could add. Rosewood or some such. Cedar too I think. That would help.

Yeah, I have always really disliked poorly trained dogs so all my dogs have been exceptionally well trained, beyond normal training and good manners. This one just got grown too fast as I was sick and hurt a lot all year. But I do crate him when people come over so he does not annoy anyone. I will work on it...

One hour down, 3 left. My son put the laundry away for me, so kind. He put the empty baskets in the laundry room and helped me put a few other things away. I actually got the whole kitchen table emptied AND wiped off... it looks so good! And I had a basket there for stash n dash but I did not have to use it! I guess when you clean it off every other month or so, it never gets as terrible. I pretty much just put everything where it goes. And the counter is also about half done. And a few toys and items put away.

I am sitting down with some iced tea and popcorn. I need to eat actual food though. Then will finish the counter and work on the living room and bathroom.

Sprinkle cinnamon in some water and put it on the stove to boil. You can add a dash of vanilla extract right before she comes.

Honestly, I am not a "dog person" and have never lived with an inside dog. My son and dil keep a pretty clean house and groom their dogs extensively. My sil is an excelkent housekeeper. To me, both houses smell like dog. Currently, my house smells like stinky wet dog because my Dh took DD's dog out to the pond and then brought her in by the fire. It will probably smell like that all week, and I am a little annoyed because he let her walk on the area rug that is hard to clean.

Also I am annoyed because he just let her into the house loose and Bean and I were sitting on the floor eating bread and milk. The dog snatched my bread out of my hand and ate it. Badly trained dog and Dh with no dog skills.

Now Bean is taking a nap.

hi everyone, so nice to see lots of posts today. I used to have a little foofy dog who needed haircuts, and yes, why do they do that?? You talk about what would look cute and then BOOM they shave them down to nothing and they look like a wet rat. Oh well, it grows back... Now I have big shedding dogs and they don't get haircuts. But my pandemic puppy is also not well enough trained (my fault) and doesn't settle well often, but he is 95 pounds sooo that is a whole 'nother ball game. I need to train him!

I went to church and now I have 4 hours until that lady shows up. She will be in my main areas plus downstairs. I started to panic and almost cancelled again but I told her yes, and now it has to be done.

I got my son to vacuum and he is doing that now, all the areas. The floor still looks sketchy in the kitchen but I don't know if I have time or energy to mop it, or maybe Swiffer it is I have wet pads.

So in the next 4 hours, I have to clear off the table and piled-up counter/bar area (likely stash n dash), wipe counters, load dishwasher, put away baskets of laundry (more stashing?), declutter the living room. Dust the living room because the dust is visibly thick. Put away toys, books, etc. Clean up the entry way ugh... it is so much to do. But this lady is old with a pristine beautiful house. I cannot have her in the filth here so at least it has to have the appearance of being somewhat kept up. I have very little energy and have not eaten lunch yet so will do this in bits and stages and eat in between... wish me luck, this will be hard.

Have any of you had issues with smells in your house? Like, I guess we get used to how our homes smell and don't notice. And then I go out for a day and come in and if all the windows were closed, I come in and it smells like dust and dogs. I know the ultimate solution is to keep the house clean and dusted and wash the dogs more often... but... now what? It is not warm about to open windows for long but I will open them for a little bit. Do any of you have tips on making the house smell nice quickly? I don't have time to bake cinnamon rolls!

Will report back...

I do need to schedule the chairs. I do need my friend's help. I can probably do one alone but not both because I'll have to match the stripes. And I don't have a good eye for that.

I went to the consignment shop to pick up a check yesterday. Almost bought something, ultimately did not. That felt really good.

Okay I've washed my blanket (haven't used it in a few years) because it's going to get cold here and my comforter is at the laundry and my cover is at the dry cleaner. Even if they were back here, I wouldn't use them. They are gone til the winter.

My month of spending is over now. Back to no spend in April. So that's a relief, in a way. I already bought BF's birthday gift and even if I hadn't, I get him pretty much the same gift every year so it would've fallen into the regular spend category.

BF is contemplating some changes in his life. It's a good feeling on the one hand and a sad feeling on the other hand. I have no opinion other than offering support. He is extremely reserved, so I know that by the time he started saying it out loud, he had really thought about it. I'm just praying a lot.

Going to go run some mom errands. I'll ttyl!

Good morning!

Tatoulia, I'm glad your review went well!

I think you need to schedule those chairs.

Road - check your laundry! I have more to do from Dh work trip. We do not have enough clothes to wash only once a month! Well, I might, but I would have to wear dresses a lot. I could also do fine on tshirts, but not work tshirts. And I'd need more underthings.

Do you have a shelf for the genealogy binders or will the bin be parked in your room? Getting 5-10 bins out to the garage sounds like a lot!

Dh and I went out last night and I stayed up late and slept in again this morning.

The kids are going to church and then coming out this afternoon. The house is a mess, but I got some papers checked yesterday and am going to try to do more this morning.

I am still trying to find a balance between rest and productivity.

Glad to hear you are doing well after your colonoscopy, Lila. Road, I'll get on you some other day about taking care of yourself. SubC, good job letting go of the styrofoam duties!

I had a fairly good week. I had my review and it went very well. It had been causing me some stress. I got the full raise amount and my bonus also arrived so all around, things are going well. I walked home from work last night. It is so pleasant to do that. Lately I've been taking the train home because I stay late and then I go to the grocery. It was nice to leave work at a reasonable hour and then just walk home.

I'm doing a load of laundry this AM because I figure I'll be sitting around drinking coffee anyway, so I might as well get a load done.

I have a few things I'd like to do today which would involve driving. It would be good to get the car out and get a few things done.

I also want to clear off my home desk. I found a picture from a few months back where it was perfectly clean and cleared and it looked so pretty. I also need to do my chairs.

Ok, phew. This dog is insane.

Good job on the colonoscopy! I am years behind on both that and mammogram.

Check the laundry and also check the power outages! We need an app for that. I did two loads where I did forget them but they were somehow still ok the next morning. I guess I got lucky. Sometimes I think if I had a washer and dryer upstairs I would do laundry all day. But Cm reminds me having to go to the bathroom is not as inconvenient as going to the laundry mat, then again at the laundry mat you can get it all done at once... a lot of hauling but in three hours you're set for a month?

Goal this week was clothes. I didn't quite make it but got a few more loads done and am almost ready to have the H take more stuff out to the garage. There are a few things imgiongtobrjng back up - just the genealogy binders. But there are 5 bins in the closet he can takedown and a bunch of my sons school stuff. (Probably 4 or 5 bins worth) That will really open it up in here and will make the desk and closet more usable for what they're meant to be used for. The whole room needs to be redone at this point but right now I am just trying to get it to the point where there is no extra bulk in here and things are clean and safe. Probably about 12x17 or 18' L-shaped.

Well, I overdosed On Bridgerton season #2 yesterday. Anyone else?

Road we crossed.

I'd be furious about the dog. I'd also ask for an itemized bill and refuse to pay for the haircut. Or at least put the instructions in writing next time.

I hope things get better with your son!

We told our kids they could have one sport and one activity. Ds picked scouts for his activity, but then piggybacked on 4H since I was taking his sisters anyway. It wasn't the cost - it was the time. Dd2 did the same thing with gymnastics (her choice) and swimming (ds) for a while. And when dd1 went to high school she added a bunch of after school things because there were no busses anyway and it actually made it easier to pick her up.

Good morning.

I made it through my week.

I had to apologize to a couple of classes for not getting their assignments back. I've got to get those checked and recorded!

I slept late again and really need to get out and do my chores.

I passed off part of my role of savior of the planet at work this week. Someone left a big stack of styrofoam outside of my door and I told the building manager that I don't ever want styrofoam, but that another teacher (new guy, I like him) has been taking it to recycle.

I did not pick up the two little plastic sleds that were out for the trash this week. Or even one for Bean, or to take to the thrift store, or even stop to see if they were broken or as good as they looked from the car. It was hard because they were out all week - which probably means they were good. I am hoping someone else took them before the trash truck came.

I recovered the laundry situation.

Good morning everyone,

Crazy puppy is at my feet grooming herself. Her hyper temperament combined with inadequate attention/training her first year has made just chilling with her challenging. But eventually she settles down and is just nice and snuggly. For three minutes max! Took doggie #1 to groomers yesterday. She doesn't really need it but as long as I was being responsible adult I thought she could do with a spring cleaning. Thoroughly discussed that I didn't want a hair cut, just bath and nail trim and maybe even out an area if it looked real scruffy. We like the long Yorkie hair on her legs, etc. and she even said, "yeah, that looks cute..." a few hours later I go pick her up and surprise! Major haircut! Why do they do that? Now She's an ugly boy dog instead of a cute little old lady! IRS a shock every time I see her.

We are taking my son off his Anti seizure medication, will have to find a new neuro. He had major communication issues already and they seem 5x worse now across the board. It's horrifying. We don't know if it's the meds but hoping that's what it was and is reversible. Going to try to line up private speech again and hit it hard for a few months and see if we can make up some lost ground. Good news is my goal for him to get back into recreational activities has definitely been achieved. In feb and March he had dance class, virtual karaoke and cooking, bowling, a few evening activists at school, and now he's starting special Olympics track and bowling. Check! Sounds like a lot but it just helps keep him from getting bored and lonely since he's an only.

Better send this off before puppy steps all over the screen again!

Sorry about your laundry SubC, I hate it when that kind of thing happens.

I had my colonscopy and am recovered and trying to get things done today. I feel more hopeful.

So far today I:
- put the 2nd trash can out to the road with a few big trash items I just put in
- am working on some paperwork to mail

Other than that, I showered and ate.

I am going to make some phone calls and prep for a meeting I have tomorrow. My neighbor is bringing her dog over to play with my dog in the yard in a half hour. After that I will try and get more done. I have that one older lady coming over here Sunday afternoon but nothing has been cleaned yet. It is stressing me out and I am trying to think of a way to delay it, but, it looks like I am just going to have to clean up the best I can.

How are you all doing today?

Checking in. Going to office today.

Oh no, not another learning experience..

The power went off briefly on Tuesday. Turns out, when the power goes off, the dryer stops. When the power comes back on, the dryer..does nothing. I just opened it and found wet laundry that has been sitting since Tuesday. Ug.

Good morning!

Hi Road! I think not bringing new stuff home from the thrift shop is a win.

I have not seen the meme, but my teachers definitely did not think I talked too much.

I'm not sure what kind of feedback is appropriate for the needlework shop.

I went to the reuse shop that I call my "offsite craft storage" yesterday and bought two stencils, five spools of ribbon, and a handful of paintbrushes. The paintbrushes are for my classroom. The ribbon is because our annual tree order is coming in today and I want to try marking the trees with ribbon instead of plastic tape. The ribbon is still polyester, but hopefully won't break down and fall off and end up as micro plastic in our woods as soon. Plus, Dh buys the tape new. We'll see what he thinks. The stencils are for my at home pottery studio which I am still not finding time to clean up or work in.

I still have too much to do and am getting too little sleep. Maybe identifying the problem is a first step? I get home in the evening tired and I spend too much time online trying to get my second wind so I can do my evening chores. Then I stay up too late because my brain is spinning with all the things I still need to do, but I don't have the energy to do them.

Dh comes home tonight.

Hey CM!

So what's the quilt pattern you're making. Tell me all about it and what it looks like, and the fabrics, etc. I like the sound of your troubleshooting places to sew. I think all the prep is the bulk of the work isn't it? A little like painting? What's your favorite part of painting? Haha I mean quilting!

Hey, I just noticed it oooks like you can post pictures. Should I try? Ok, that didn't work.

Sorry to hear about roommates stress. Neither of those are ideal choices. Thinking of the poor people living in war zones certainly does put our troubles into perspective. I keep thinking what I would grab if I had 15 minutes to pack. And ultimately, as they say "you can't take it with you." It gets to feel more and more like a burden the older you get. I can't imagine people still buying bigger houses in their 50s. Haven't had any mortality reality checks yet? Maybe...

I did finally go into the needlework shop. I kind of don't like going in because I always feel so uncomfortable. The owner is nice And technically friendly... but kind of acts like I'm odd. And the other lady is just ugh. After several years I finally had a little chat with her last time and she was fine. But talk about a personality who should not be working in a shop. Also, I like to stitch with a type of floss they don't carry much of and they almost never have what I need. But I went through EVERY new thing that was just released and only picked out two booklets. Then I shopped for threads and found five. I can't reach half the stuff in the store so the owner had to come and help me, haha. Then I. Put one of the books BACK. and checked out. It was still $70 somehow. I've been keeping track and I don't think my annual expenditure is too bad. But a couple times a year there is a flurry of purchases and this is one of those times. I would love to go on a retreat but I think that's gonna be way out of my range. Also there's kind of a "Mecca" store in mesa that is now solidly on my bucket list,,,
I still want to hit the other. Local shop but I need at least three hours to do that one because it's a little further away.

That's all I gots to say. Brief! (For me)

Have you guys seen that meme going around "for all the girls whose teachers told them they talk too much..." 🤔😂

Hi guys.
2 things to report: I dropped off two big bags of donations. Mostly my sons shirts and some household odds and ends. I went in to shop but left with .... nothing! Actually, that part is no big deal. But glad I got a few bags out of the house.

Other thing is just now I reached over to my Newly minted pajama Pants drawer and pulled out a pair of folded jammies. I now have enough and there are still four pair in the drawer. And if you look over at my dresser, in the bottom drawer you will find about a dozen folded tee shirts. Most need to be replaced but there they are all clean and in a drawer.

Will be back later!