hello! Happy birthday CM! I too read that book in hgih school and loved it. As a child I also loved Terhune books, esp Lad the collie books.

SubC, you are doing lots. Jane Doe? Cute 🙂

Tatoulia, it sounds like a lot to deal with. I never dealt with much when my parents died. Mom inherited Dad's, and then Mom left everything to her church and I got nothing and had no say. I did have a very nice aunt who felt bad for me and helped me purchase a few things from the estate sale.

Worked yesterday and today. You guys I did a new thing. This morning I did, actually, a daring thing. I pulled out a new shirt I bought over a year ago and have never worn because it is not "my usual." It is light blue with small white flowers and sort of peasant style sleeves. I pulled it out and put it on and in my head I am thinking, I wonder if that guy (the one who made fun of my sweater way back) will say something about this... what could he say? Does this look silly on me? I always want to wear basic plain dark colors to fade into the background.

But I wore it and felt good in it and even got a compliment on it. So I will add it into the rotation. I need to decide which things I will add in and which I never will, and cull those out.

I have much I want to do but don't know how to do it because I feel like I need help. I need a load to go to the dump (TotsDad), I want other Son to clean up the dog yard and mow, I want a clean house but I am so tired all the time.

Also my ex the hoarder says he is coming to get his junk with a moving van in 3 weeks. Wow. I am nervous because I don't want him to take any of MY stuff.. I probably will need to go in the garage and storage room and make doubly sure anything of mine that he could be prone to take is put away in my bedroom (he is not coming in here). Another thing to do that is kind of stressful. I need TotsDad to move some things before I can do that, and for ex to be able to get his junk.

Today looks like a beautiful day here, too! The boston marathon is tomorrow and I hope the nice weather will continue. It will be hard on me without BF by my side as I cheer on the runners but I prefer to do this alone rather than with others. Next year. I also took myself to the theatre Friday night and had a wonderful time. I enjoy going by myself and did even when BF was here. Living so close makes it easy to just pop over.

The marathon will not be as much fun without BF but it still will be fun and I need to get over the hurdle of having him gone. It will be easier on me.

I have a zip car for a few hours today so I need to stock up on seltzer. Trying to make a bag for goodwill. Anything to keep moving forward and gaining more space.

Will report back later!

Good job Tatoulia!

But do your taxes!

My life is pretty cool. - lol.

Last night I stayed up too late reading online which was a bad choice. Also, there was something in the news that was heartbreaking for someone I know (which is as much as I can say online out or respect for privacy)

This morning I am cleaning up loose ends, doing laundry and dishes and prepping for the week. Dh and I are going into the city for entertainment and dinner with friends (in that order, so hopefully it won't be a late night) after lunch.

It's gorgeous weather again, and I really want to work outside, but there isn't really enough time to get into anything before I would have to clean up.

Hi everyone and thank you for the encouragement. I'm making really tough decisions here. Getting rid of the stuff is a weight lifted off of me.

SubC, there was no estate of my mother's, so to speak. She owes some money to her assisted living and technically it's not my responsibility but I'll pay it. They were very good to her and I'm not going to quibble. They used up her deposit. I think it's likely the charge for all the furniture that I couldn't move. Who knows.

I have more things to get rid of. This is a lot of work. But I value my space more.

Lila you own a lot of clothes! Start wearing them and see how you feel! I'm so sorry about your eye issue and the UTI. No fun.

SubC I am fascinated by your life.

Cm, it does sound like you had a happy birthday!

U had Emiko over for dinner tonight for her birthday and then I did her taxes. I still have to do mine.

I did a lot of errands today and I'm really proud of myself.

Happy birthday, CM!!!!!

The baby girl is doing great. I have named her Jane.

Today I cleared off the hay rack, completely cleaned all the composted deep bedding out of the corner stall, picked up a truckload of hay and a truckload of straw, found a "new" heavy gate chain so I could hang a water bucket on the light one I was using even though it wasn't strong enough, set up the stall and moved the moms and babies into it.

I also moved a piece of semi-mobile (too heavy) fence to close off the area outside of the chicken coop, opened the trapdoor for the chickens (who have only been able to go out through the sliding barn door into another area) and worked on cleaning out the chicken coop. (The chicken coop is really bad and it is a multi day job that gets worse again in between. There are so many layers of muck and clean straw because I never have time to get all the way done.)

Very tired and sore.

Good morning.

Ah yes, James Herriot and his cautionary tales.. Loved them, failed to learn from them and so got a farm anyway.

The goat I thought had another week or three to go had her babies last night. The boy was tiny and had no muscle tone and even though I brought him in and dried him off and gave him supplements and a cozy bed in front of the heater, he never swallowed and died in his sleep. (Baby goats have about 12 hours to stand and eat or they don't make it) Herriot never wrote those stories.

I have not been out yet this morning to check on his sister, (Sister! - I forgot they also come in mixed sets) but momma was showering her with love last night and she looked ok. I'm still too tired to face any other possibility.

So I think kidding is over. Pansy could still surprise me up until June, but I put her on the stand last night and checked again, and still don't feel anything but soft goat belly.

CM, happy birthday! have fun at the nursery. Don't buy work.

The studio where I am taking my class - my "community" studio, is an hour away. - it's only twelve minutes from my job and seven from my grandson's house. Sadly there is a lot of
City, suburb, and farmland between.

Lila, I hope your eye gets better quickly. Maybe something scratched it? You are getting a lot done. In spite of all your health challenges.

I pet the baby goats twice a day even on work days.

Clothes - I have done the turn your hangers back wards thing, but don't know if I will follow through. My clothes don't really fit my life. (Or my body right now) can you gather up all of your work shirts, pick your ten favorite (that is still a lot) and donate the rest to a place that provides clothes to people who need nice clothes for interviews and work?

I remember how hard it was to get rid of all of my "teacher dresses" but where I work now, I teach in jeans and a school shirt.

Jars? The glaze from the other thread? This week I bought a $4 pint of stuff that makes it easy to remix the glaze (think "I realized I'm never going to make this fancy cake from scratch so I bought a cake mix") and hopefully that will help me empty some of them out. Then they will get reused for other pottery materials (a few) or recycled (most) I also got more gloss white. So now I will probably find the other jar(s). I estimate 2-5 years if I just remix the glaze when I need it.

Today it is not supposed to rain, so I need to go work my butt off in the barn.

SubC, your post about the goats brings back memories. I have been a fan of veterinarian author James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small series) since high school and I remember from the books - there was a chapter about lambing, with a bit about a large single lamb being harder to deliver. And a set of quadruplet lambs, and various other events. Time for a reread of those books one of these days. I introduced my roommate to the TV show too, two or three years ago. With Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, and Peter Davison (who was also the 5th Doctor Who) whom we met in 2016 at a con. Sorry for rambling but nostalgia hit me hard there, lol!

How far is your studio? I want to get back to my painting someday along with everything else. The days are longer and maybe I could paint out on the patio, before bugs get bad. If not painting right away, perhaps some drawing.

Lila, I sure hope you feel better soon. You're still getting a lot done, and pushing forward despite many obstacles.

Tatoulia, you are getting a lot done too, and it's a series of big decisions and logistics involved. That takes energy!

My birthday was yesterday. A semi milestone, 62 (!) in that there are a few options that open up although not all ones that I would be in a position to take. More housing options but I'm not ready to make a change yet. Could convert disability to retirement but the staggering cut it would entail makes that a non starter as well. Only if I also married a rich man would that work, and if I found one, it wouldn't matter either way, as long as he was nice and we both had good health etc. But dreams aside, I had a nice day. Went to church for a little prayer time in the chapel, met up at the coffeehouse with a lady from my Bible study, and roommate took me to dinner later and I had a tasty steak, potato, salad and fruit, and cake.

It's getting warmer again here, sometimes windy, other times reasonable. Still not consistent as far as temperatures. But then no need to rush right into too hot of weather. The flowering trees are giving way to leaves, but not all trees are leafed out. Bedding plants are being sold. Roommate and I and a couple other friends are going to plant nurseries tomorrow. I mainly just look, because I don't have a lot of extra time for gardening. But it's fun to see the pretty flowers.

hello friends! After 5 days of work I am back, with a day off. I work tomorrow and all week until next Friday.

Tatoulia, hugs for your very hard thing. I am sorry you had to go through it. We care about you. You mentioned the car being gone is better for your mental health. That got me thinking, what do I have that, if it was gone, would be better for my mental health? My answer as of right now is - clothes, kids' clothes, unused toys. I have massive guilt around those items.

Even today I went in my closet looking for something to wear on my day off. I have 4 certain comfy shirts for days off but all were dirty from a mishap I won't recount. As I looked through no less than 2 dozen shirts hanging in my closet, I thought "that's too nice, this is a work shirt, this would be a good work shirt, this looks too nice to wear around the house, what if I stain it, " etc etc. Silly. I finally settled on a short I used to wear for work but it is plain and just a 3/4 sleeve tee and there is no reason not to wear it. Honestly most of what is in the closet never gets worn at all. I wear the same 5 things to work pretty much every week. But I feel traumatized if I think about getting rid of anything.

SubC, what will you do with all the jars? I hope you are having some enjoyment of the baby goats. I read your posts and had other comments but forgot so forgive me!

CM I hope you are doing well, I also read your post and forgot what I wanted to say. My brain is terrible.

I have pain in my right eye as if there is something stuck under the upper eyelid. It has been like this all week but I can't see anything in there, I have rinsed many times with the artificial tears rinse, and my eye is not red or even pink. I could not get an appt til Monday. It burns most of the time and hurts when I blink. I don't know what to make of it. I also have a UTI and am on antibiotics... again! ugh

Today I:
- unloaded the dishwasher
- loaded the dishwasher
- hand washed some dishes
- got all the spoiling stuff out of the fridge
- ordered groceries and got them all put away
- gathered 3 bags of trash and had Son take them out before the trash truck came
- put in two loads of laundry, mostly my clothes
- put one load in the dryer. Working on the rest
- cooked a meal from a kit someone gave me, which was very tasty
- did quite a bit of Bible reading and study
- watched an explanatory video on one of the Bible books I was reading
- listened to a podcast a friend sent me

Wow, look at that. I did not totally waste my day like I thought!

What are you all doing today?

More twin bucklings!

Momma has a nice udder though, and they are up and have had their first meal. She's a first fresher, so I'm very pleased with her.

Useless is letting me down though (on gender)
My kidding preference in order:

Twin doelings
Triplet doelings
Single doelings
Twin bucklings
Single buckling
Triplet bucklings

(Odd numbers are always more of a challenge and single bucklings can be huge and create birthing issues)

Good morning!

Tatoulia, I'm glad you got the car resolved.

Does the check take care of your mother's estate? (Besides what is in your house) Or do you have more administrative work?

I got a lot done at the studio yesterday. Maybe enough to finish my project on time. It was actually pretty nice working in the studio. Quiet and I got to talk to a couple of people briefly. I have a really nice little work space for this class. It's in the basement - which is not optimal, but since it pretty much rained all day yesterday it was fine. My legs, hips, and back are pretty sore today after standing on the concrete so long.

Today is a school day I really need to get moving on that.

Hey everyone! I did two loads of laundry tonight, took out the trash and recycling, and got to the grocery store for cat food. Now I'm going to shower and go to bed.

Hope everyone had a good day and that everybody is healthy!

Hello everyone! Taking a break from work.

I need to do quite a few things tonight and I hope I get to them. Only have cat food that one cat likes, for example. Need to drop off a check at my mother's former place to close out her account.

So relieved to have the car out of my life. Making a big difference for my mental health.

I have to figure out some stuff for goodwill. I still have more things than closet space, due to getting things from the car and still some mom stuff.

Good morning!

It's quiet here.

I have not done anything in my house. I have mostly been focusing on pottery. I have used up some of the scrap clay in my studio. But it is like trying to empty a bathtub with a thimble. Maybe a quarter cup measure - that might be proportionally accurate. Emptying a tub one quarter cup measure a day.

The teacher social pottery thing last night went well. I was rewarded with the leftover tub of dark chocolate covered almonds.

I went to the studio to work on my project for two and a half hours afterward. It was a learning experience. It's supposed to rain all day today, so I am planning to drive down and spend the day there. The first thing I'm going to do is undo almost all the work I did last night. If I don't get the basic structure finished today, I don't know how I am going to get this thing done.

Tomorrow is a school day.

Saturday the weather is supposed to be good and I am hoping the ground will be dry enough for a garden day. Sunday Dh has made plans for us with friends.

Did the dishes, ran to grocery store, cleaned cat boxes, showered. So got a few things done. Going to bed now.

Hello everyone,

Glad you got to see the eclipse. I went to VT and had a very long day. Left the house at 7:30 A and home right after 11:30 P. The traffic was terrible. Several hours just to get out of Vermont. It was a mess but totally worth it! We were at my sister's house in the mountains. Good to see her.

I'm beat today. That was a very long day.

I have to find the strength to do some things today.

CM, I hope you got to enjoy some time with your cousin.

We got sunshine and drove up to the park.

It was pretty cool. The weirdest part was how the light got dim like dusk or heavy clouds, but the shadows were still sharp and short. I expected totality to be darker than it was. It was pretty cool to see "Dawn" all around the horizon.

This morning I got more fence set up.

Well, it looks like my cousin won't be able to make it today or if she does it would only be for a short while. She decided to make a trip to my grandma's town again because there is getting to be an urgency to wrap up the estate. Because I am an heir, I totally support this. I also need to communicate with another cousin who is the executor to get up to date.

I'll just enjoy the eclipse today and then see what's next. It's cool to see how excited people are getting. SubC, maybe you will get a break in the clouds...?

Tatoulia, we are very proud of you for doing your hard thing by yourself!

Know we would be there with you to hold your hand if we could.

I did not set my alarm this morning. Slept past six. I'm still waking up with a headache.

I have a lot of todos on my list today - I'm in "so many things, so little time" mode right now.

I don't know if Dh and I will try to see the total eclipse today or not. We have glasses. We would have to drive about 45 minutes on back roads, so it will be close in our yard. And there is a good chance it will be raining.

Mostly I would just like a huge infusion of energy so I can do all the things I want to do.

I did very hard stuff about the car today. Very hard stuff. Don't think I can go beyond that.

He will register it tmr. He tried to go Saturday but they weren't taking walk ins. So I went to the car myself today and went to goodwill and dud very very hard stuff.

Sorry about the dear little goat and welcome new goat!

Too traumatized right now, even all these hours later. Did my best today.

Ok Lila, it's dark here. Did you do your ten minutes?

I got up ten sections of my new fence and took a walk in the woods with Dh to mark tree seedlings. We have to remark them every year until they are big enough to see from the tractor. Also did some more glazing. But I am tired and wondering where my day went. I think it mostly went to baby goats.

How interesting about the pots, SubC! I never would have thought of that.

I am struggling, probably because I am avoiding my list. I went in my bedroom and moved things and tried to put sheets away but the dresser is so packed full. I sort of shoved the last one in, and if I had pushed any harder it may have broken the drawer. I then started to get upset and quit.

I think obviously, some things in drawers need to leave or be consolidated to make room for the sheets, or I need to pull out all the sheets and decide which ones I don't want. But, I am just avoiding yard work, which is odd because it is nnice out and I like doing it. I guess the overwhelming tasks are, find a pair of yard gloves, find the trimmer, go out and do a bit. Even ten minutes would be a success. Okay, I am forcing myself NOW to do 10 minutes.

Good afternoon!

My in-laws are gone. I did not go to my pottery brunch this morning because my goat was in labor. Twin bucklings. First one was footling breech and has struggled a bit, but I think they are both ok. Little brother and mama doing great - circle of life on the farm.

Also, fresh milk in two weeks! Yay!

With the horse hair pot, you heat the pot, then decorate the surface by taking it out of the kiln hot and laying horsehair on the surface. The horse hair catches fire and the carbon from it burns into the surface of the clay leaving black curvy lines.

In between goat checks I glazed a bit and I am now going to go set up fence!

Good luck with your list Lila!

I enjoyed your long post this morning, SubC! I am sorry for the loss of your goat. That is hard. I am really happy about all you have going on that is good. The scrap wood project they were working on sounds so productive! I am intrigued about a horse hair pot. It incorporates the hair into the pottery?

I am watching church online this morning and then will start working on my daily list. I did so well on yesterday's list. I even found the baby blanket to put in the pack and play, and I had Son put my donations box in my car. It looks sunny out today, although a bit cold, so my plan is:

- pull weeds
- trim trees
- see if I have the fertilizer and/or weed control to apply
- apply them
- call my oldest son, who lives in another state
- walk the dog (the younger one)

I may also do a little something in my bedroom, and I have some veggies I should cook.

Hoping I am successful today. I go back to work tomorrow and have a very busy week ahead.

Good morning.

Wow you have all been busy!

Lila, you are doing great! So much progress on your room! And I'm glad ex is finally taking some of that stuff out of your garage!

Awful about the caseworker, but glad she is ok. I hope that when she does come she has a good option for a group home. It would give teen more supervision and also some distance and independence from you which I hope would take some of the strain out of your relationship.

Tatoulia, I hope the phone gets sorted out. Good luck with your trip to VT. How will you travel?

CM, crossing my fingers that you get to have fun with your cousin!

The goat departed peacefully yesterday.

Dh parents have not come in from their motor home yet. I think they are still asleep. They are leaving in two and a half hours to join DD's family for church, so I have pretty much survived the visit.

It actually went fairly well. The car stuff that Dh wanted to work on with his Dad did not arrive, so they pivoted to a different project in the studio barn - moving and sorting the giant pile of scrap wood in the shop area to free the train table from when the kids were little, moving the train table to our basement, building a new rack for the scrap wood (using a bunch of the scrap wood) and cleaning up the scrap wood. All progress! Dh plans to set the train up in the basement for Bean (it's currently down there in bins.

Mil and I also went out to the studio, and I helped her make a horsehair pot using some of the hair from her horse that she saves for me. She was delighted with it! Big win. While the kiln was heating the pot, she sat in a chair and talked at me while I managed to trim and burnish ten pots I had thrown that needed to be done before they dried out too much. Conversation was limited by the fact that the guys kept using the saw, and we were wearing ear protection- because the guys kept using the saw, which also protected me from the fact that mil's normal speaking voice is loud yelling and made the experience much less stressful and tiring.

They had a zoom call with a group of their friends at 1:30, which had them tied to my kitchen table from 1:00 (afraid they would miss it) to 2:30, and then mil made cookies to take to dh cousin tomorrow. (And insisted on hand washing all the dishes in my scullery sink, which was full of soaking art bins, which she just pulled out, paint infused water and all, and put on the scullery counter with the rest of my mess. - kitchen sink was empty.) back to the studio to wax her pot - where I managed to hover closely enough to keep her from getting wax in places where it would be a problem in spite of her best efforts) dinner, and then things got a little off the rails.

Mil has found a new favorite website that is hard to navigate and probably exploitative of the artists involved, where you can buy jewelry by individual artists and she - who loves jewelry - was determined that I would choose something from it right now for her to buy me for Christmas because it is perfect because they are individual artists and they have farm animal jewelry. I have too much jewelry. I had just been corralled to look at the website when the delivery driver called about my fence. The truck was too long in spite of multiple conversations and assurances about the maximum truck size for the shipment. They arrived after dark for our very challenging driveway. We had difficulty communication as the driver had very limited English and I have only Sesame Street Spanish. Mil was determined not to let me get away. I finally got through to her as politely as I am capable of that I simply could not manage the website and make a choice while the truck thing was happening.

My fence is in the yard (as desired) My yard is full of ruts. They drove through a flowerbed and crushed a bunch of irises. We think they hit our bridge rail on the way out, but haven't had a chance to check for damage yet since it was very dark. My Dh did not yell at me, although he said a lot of things about the sales person and the shipping company. Fil was a big help.

The in-laws are taking Birdy's bin of duplos to his house. (They will get there Tuesday)

Bean insisted that his duplos must stay at my house. I asked him "do you like things to stay the same?" And he said "yes." I told him "me too."

I don't get him tomorrow because his dad wants to do a family eclipse thing.

After the company leaves I am driving down to the studio for the monthly networking brunch and staying to work on my project for class. Dh is going to stay home and have some peace and quiet.

Sorry this is so long.

The eclipse party sounds like fun, CM! I don't know if I mentioned this but I'm going to try to get to my sister's house in VTon Monday. No idea what traffic will be like!

Lila, you are amazing!!!

We don't have a DOL here in MA and I don't know that the RMVwill give me access to anything. In any event, he will have to have his own plates on the car at this point and I'll have my canceled on Monday. I'm not terribly trusting myself, but he does not have access to drive the cars and I just need my registration cancelled and plates cancelled. I do hear you about if they don't register the car and where does that leave me. We will see what happens when I talk to him tmr.

I see that BFtried to contact me three times on the new phone and the information isn't loading I tried to call him back but it's 3AM and he didn't answer. So I don't know if there's something to do with the new phone but it seems to be more than coincidental.

I a, so proud of what you accomplished, Lila! And CM, I admire your dedication to swimming!

Back with an update on my to do list:

- my laundry (clothes) DONE and put away
- basket laundry DONE and put away
- take batteries out of baby swing and put it in the garage DONE!!
- look for ex's stuff in garage and put some where he can get to it. He is coming to take some. DONE!
- Set up the pack and play DONE, I still need to find a crib sized blanket to put in there
- take donations box to my car - not done yet
- call my Aunt DONE
- check the messages on the phone DONE

I also added "bathroom sink" to the list because the sink off my bedroom is 95% clogged. I have used the sink thingy to pull a bunch of hair out of there (gross) but it is still clogged. So I put dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar down it about a half hour ago. I am heating up some water to pour down there and see if that does the trick.

I also cooked with Teen, watched a show with her, fed dogs. So I did good today.

It is almost dinner time. After that I want to read, and help Teen cook again, and then MAYBE look for a couple more items to donate.

CM, swimming sounds nice. We get winds here too like that, so I know how much damage they can do. Hopefully it won't be too bad for you.

I did some tasks towards a project:
- found a screwdriver
- removed batteries from baby swing
- put screwdriver away
- put batteries away
- folded up the baby swing
- picked up dog toys

I need Son to carry the swing down to the garage and bring up the vacuum. Then I can vacuum and set up the pack and play for the baby.

I am draggging today.

Addendum:

At least - so far - the weather is not supposed to be cloudy on Monday, plus my cousin whom I have been having a hard time getting together with texted me that she doesn't have to work her day job that day. So we may be having a very informal mini eclipse party, just me and her and my roommate. I thought I'd get some finger food - little sliced ham, cheese, cocktail buns, fruit and veggie nibbles, etc. It would be fun if my cousin can really make it. I've learned, though, to not get my expectations too high on that because she is so busy. But we'll see.

If she can't make it, roommate and I will still have fun. And I'm guessing a few neighbors might be outside too. In modern civilization, on such rare occasions one might get to chat with one's neighbors. Perhaps even get to where it is possible to recognize them on sight. One can hope.

hi Tatoulia! DOL stands for Department of Licensing. If you have not sold a car before, you probably want to check your state's DOL page on "sale of a vehicle." You may be required by law to report it. That's my last advice on that! I am not as trusting as you are! Teen's person is her case manager - she is not dating anyone right now 🙂

Well posting here did help me, and I was able to get my clothing into the washing machine. So that is something.

I also did one more thing not on my list: hooked up the hose and watered the "plants" out front. I say "plants" because I am bad at gardening, and "plants" = one straggly rose bush, a pot of desperate looking raspberry plants, and 4 pots that look dead but who knows if they might come back to life with water? LOL

If they are really dead, I will dump them and encourage Teen to choose something new to plant in them.