Hello everyone!

Glad you are making progress on the fabrics, CM, and that you are developing workarounds for the uncooperative weather! SubC so glad you had a good visit with your family! I bet your parents were elated to see their great grandson!

My cleaners were here yesterday. I also had a lot of laundry piled up so I treated myself to the laundry service. They picked it all up today. Sheets, dishcloths, pjs, throw, etc. I just needed to do this. I did wash my towels yesterday and did a load of delicates. Sometimes I need to treat myself. The only thing left is dark clothes.

Earlier this week, My mother surprised me and took herself to the cafe next door to her place. She wheeled herself over and had a tea and a blueberry muffin. Astounding. I've never seen her do anything like that on her own, let alone now that she's in a wheelchair. And today someone from her dr's office is coming over for a walk and I suggested they go to the cafe and do the same thing. This is such great news and has lessened my burden considerably.

She's apologetic toward me but I'm not in a position to respond. I'm calm and cool and soothing but I am not available emotionally beyond that.

So here I sit, working on a bit of a cold and grey day with a tiny cat sleeping next to me.

My friend returns May 2 for a week or two and we will work on my closet together. She can't wait.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, I'm sorry we left you all alone!

Good job on the bag.

I had a lovely visit with my family. But I am very tired and scrambling to catch up with school stuff. Also behind on planting the garden and two goats are late for their shots. I'm hoping to take care of that tomorrow.

CM, nice job on the fabric! As someone who tracks the April weather very carefully, I know what you mean. Nice days in March feel like a gift, but the nasty ones in April are a disappointment! Hang in there and enjoy the bunnies.

I'm just kind of slow and I think of posting then the day gets late so I say I will the next day, rinse and repeat.

Have done a little with my quilting fabric, reducing big tubs into smaller ones, and finding a few pieces I know I won't use that can go. Putting together what I can envision going into this or that quilt idea, pulling from disparate lots of stash fabric and hoping to do several quilts that will consume the bulk of the stash. Then I'll do scrappy quilts from the remainder and/or give away some of it.

The weather is still being pretty uncooperative. With the fabric so I'm having to find workaround strategies for the storage unit - the fabric I sorted this week I literally put in my van, along with the boxes, and brought home instead of trying to deal with it there with wind blowing and so on. If I don't get some sort of momentum going, I'll have another season go by without getting much done, and that just can't keep happening.

The middle of the unit is occupied by a mountain of piled books, which looks intimidating but will be easier to go through if I can get some tables set up. Which again I may have to do in a different way, like sort of scoot things and clear a space well inside the unit, pull the door halfway down to block wind, etc., instead of setting up tables on the cement between my van and the entrance.

In addition to being frequently windy, the weather has also been chillier. Not cold, but not as warm as I had thought it'd be. The last week of this month it should be pleasant. The last weekend/beginning of May I'm going to spend at the bunny shelter helping the mom care for the foster rabbits so the daughter can go to some event out of town. It should be a busy time but with bunny snuggles and a change of scenery, which might be good for me.

Hello everybody!

I did get a bag out to the car of things to donate! I'm busy but keeping up with the basics. Cleaners come tomorrow!

I hope everyone is doing okay. I miss you all and of course, I miss Tillie.

My dreams last night were focused on getting rid of stuff. Somehow my mother still lived in the house my parents built in the 60s and she was moving and we had to tackle stuff.

Yesterday I did start a bag for goodwill. Pajamas and other stuff. I should fill it up today and take it with the other two bags in my car to goodwill.

Make that will, not should. I will fill it up and go to goodwill today. I am guaranteed to feel so much lighter.

Terrific, SubC! Wow to see everyone again! That is amazing! And having your daughter clean for you?great news all around!

I got my first dose yesterday. Took no time at all. Very well organized. Didn't even have to wait a minute. And, the second the bandaid was on, my phone pinged and it was a link for my second dose!

I walked downtown with a friend today then tonight I went to see BF. Now I'm showered and ready for bed. Must feed kitty and start the dishwasher. (Sorry to hear about the death of yours, SubC)

Goid kirning!
Coffee clinks!

CM,
I hope you are feeling more together.

My parents are here, my youngest is here, Bean's family was here until evening and will be back today.

Dd1 not only kept up with the dishes, she cleaned my scullery! She is like a cleaning fairy! It's not perfect, but it is so much better! (I do confess to tossing about a shoebox worth of random objects into a box and stuffing them in a cabinet) right now my house is the cleanest it has been in a year and a half.

It is so good to have my family here. (Right now they are all sleeping - I got up to milk. It is good to have milk again too.)

Good morning!

So much good news!

I am tired and overwhelmed, behind on my garden and my house is still mostly a mess, but pretty good for me.

Yesterday my dishwasher dropped dead. We will be hand washing a lot of dishes this weekend.

Because when I get home from work, my parents will be in my house! With my Dd and dsil and Bean!

In 2019, for the first time ever, we decided not to get together at Christmas. So I have not seen my parents since early fall of 2019. Over a year and a half.

It is going to be hard to concentrate at school today.

I'm glad you received your check, CM! I hope that means my family will receive theirs.

My shot is Friday! Tomorrow!

Went for a nice long walk with BF after work tonight. Now I'm ready for bed. I haven't done my dishes and not sure I can muster the strength. Goodnight, dear friends. Goodnight, Tillie and Joan.

Belated Happy Easter ✝️🐣🐥💐🐇

Slow start to this week after my weekend of church services (social distancing was still in effect), and chilly damp weather back today.

Feeling frustrated at my inability to collect my thoughts, much less figure out how and when to get going at the storage unit again. But I had been so tired on Easter that I took a long afternoon nap, which felt nice, but ever since I've succumbed to temptation and stayed up too late. So now in a sleep deficit most likely.

My goal of becoming a minimalist seems so far off, and the road so obscure. And there are these "new developments" that I don't feel ready to mention here but that definitely are intertwined with any plans I will make and with my overall mental state.

I need to talk about it all with God, which I have been doing and will continue to do. I also think it might help to talk it over with two hypothetical people. The first would be someone who knows me, some friend or family member, and at least somewhat knows my quirks (like anxiety). But is not judgmental.

The second would be someone objective yet kind, who doesn't know me, so could give a fresh perspective.

For now, I wrote a few thoughts down in my tablet.

Roommate gets 2nd Moderna shot Saturday.

FINALLY GOT my stimulus check today. About went broke waiting for it. Now if I can just hold onto at least some of it... 😐

Good morning!

Tatoulia, my parents and three of my kids got Pfizer. None of them has had any bad reactions (the kids haven't had their second shot yet) and two weeks after the first shot it is just as good as J&J, but then it gets better.

I got an email from a former student and she is coming to see me on my planning period today. I kind of need my planning period for planning, but I want to see her, so I will enjoy that and figure out the rest later.

I put a little more laundry away last night. Trying to get this place decent before my parents come.

You got a lot accomplished! Great job!

I hope your long day goes okay for you n

Took about two minutes to get my vaccine appt! Friday after work and within walking distance! I'm nervous. Hope it's the one-dose but someone told me it's the Pfizer two-dose.

We shall see.

Good day at work then ran errands with BF. Mom called me up, depressed and angry. I was kind and understanding. I did have to ask her to stop yelling at me.

I haven't told her about my promotion or my vaccine. I just let her talk.

I did chores and got one piece of black plastic laid out in the garden. I think I need to turn it, but it will do for now.

P.s. Tillie - my peach tree is blooming.

Good evening!

Tatoulia, I hope you got your appointment!

I am so tired, I want to go plant things, but I cannot find the energy. Got home from work almost two hours ago and all I have done is eat, read, and clean up the dishes.

I pulled off my lesson plans today and launched something that will give me a boost for the next few weeks. I vaccinated two goats and trimmed their hooves - two left to go for spring. I put away one load of laundry. I took the compost out.

Wednesday is my long school day, I don't have my stuff together for tomorrow, and tomorrow I start milking - looking forward to milk!

Ok, there is some daylight left - chores and whatever I can squeeze in.

We cross posted! Yay for the wonderful day and you did a lot! Great getting the trash out! You do so much I don't know how you do it! You are amazing!

I purposely didn't do laundry tonight because I didn't want to fold it. Pretty funny, right?

I got a notice from the state that I will receive a link tmr for my vaccine! Hope I can get an appt. have 24 hours to schedule. Fingers crossed!

Going to bed now. Kitty is sweet but definitely getting older. I have the fireplace on for her tonight.

Garbage out recycling out and clean kitty box. Swept up too.

Tatoulia,

You are doing a great job keeping up with your home!

Right now these are the things I am trying to do:
Keep goats, rabbits, and chickens
Plant a big family feeding garden
Keep up with my house, dishes, and laundry
Be a hands on grandmother
Get ready for my parents to visit
Teach
Clean out and catch up from quarantine

I mean, wifing and pottery and doing something about this body didn't even make the list and I can't keep up!

The bunnies desperately need brushing and a spring trim, the barn is a mess, the flower beds are getting weedy, I'm behind on planting, the bed my parents will be sleeping in is covered with clean laundry, the bed my Dd will be sleeping in is covered in random stuff that has nowhere to go, the scullery is full of dirty dishes and moop, there are piles along the hallway, and I am behind on lesson plans again.

I didn't even keep up with today (fell behind on dishes and laundry and didn't completely clean up after Bean.)

Although - I had a great day with Bean. I took some containers for dsil and a bag of trash when I dropped Bean off (did I tell you all the Mondays are officially back on!?) (they let me use their trash now and then) I made Irish tea bread, I repotted a dozen tomatoes, I ran a load of wash, I picked up supplies for school at the studio shop, and I ran the dishwasher.

Yesterday I finished planting the strawberries and had a lovely afternoon with Bean.

I am good at babies.

Also - dsil gave me some black plastic to solarium part of my garden when I dropped Bean, so net about even.

I will get a good night sleep and try again tomorrow.

Hello everyone! Hope you had a beautiful Easter!

It's nice having a clean home. Our dinner was moved up to a few hours earlier than I planned and it merely required me to set the table and put out clean towels in the bathroom.

One thing I've been actively working on is my mindset. When I pick something up, I take it all the way to where it is going. I know I've mentioned this before and I am now at the point where my brain says, put it in the cabinet not on the counter. Don't just put in bedroom put in drawer. It has helped me quite a bit to change the narrative in my head.

Ok off the work!

Good morning!

Happy Easter!

Bean is coming over this afternoon and I will be working in the yard this morning. It is a beautiful day!

Tatoulia,

The coffee cakes are very sweet if you. I think if your ladies are available every week and you want and can afford them, you should have them.

Good luck sorting out your people.

Today I planned to do way too many things. But I did some of them- cleaned out the woodstove because we are done with fires for the year (I hope) vaccinated and disbudded the two little bucklings, planted and mulched one bed of strawberries (I had all 4 on my list) cleared some briars away from one side of the greenhouse (thought I was going to do all 3).

I also thought I was going to work on cleaning up the house, groom the bunnies, repot the tomatoes, and move them and the peppers to the greenhouse.

Maybe I'll do some of the other stuff tomorrow.

Checking in. I did some errands and now have to do a few more. I bought coffee cakes for the staff at mom's tomorrow to enjoy for Easter.

We are picking up dinner in the afternoon then coming here. House is perfect after my ladies were here yesterday. I wish I could have them every ten days. Every week seems piggy.

I have to find a way to get rid of more stuff. I don't know where I should be working although I know my friend is going to tackle the dining room closet with me some more. I have to find a way to reduce. I want shelf space.

Hi SubC

I can relate. I don't think this was my worst year. I feel that some things have been positive or maybe I've made them positive. I can't think on a worst year in my life. I remember hard times and difficult times but I've been fairly good in not looping them into a calendar. Yes I hear you on high school. It was miserable. I don't know if I told you this but I came across a yearbook and I couldn't believe how happy I looked.

I am not looking forward to getting dressed and going to the office again. Now that I am in management, I'm thinking of letting my professional team work from home full-time instead of coming in two days a week. My administrative staff will need to come in everyday. But I'm getting ahead of myself on this. I've inherited a big mess that needs some real and creative solutions before I worry about people's schedules. We do not have a return to work date. They say not before June 1. No other details.

Well I will shower and get dressed and run some errands.

Good morning.

I am feeling very resistant to the world.

Last night Dd asked me to get her vitamins on the way to give Bean his basket (I did that, it was ok.) I'm thinking I am soon going to get back all the things I don't want (parent conferences, social obligations, in person business transactions, people standing too close, people dropping by unannounced, my inlaws...) plus medical appointments (neutral - dislike but need) without getting back most of the few things I do want (all my kids in person, feeling safe in thrift stores, feeling safe at art fairs....)

I was reading an article this morning about end of pandemic fatigue and the author said that she didn't think there was anyone in the world who cannot say that this was the worst year of their life. She has a very limited world view. Aside from the obvious survivors of wars, atrocities, natural disasters, debilitating illnesses, and violent acts, there is me. Not even close to worst. There were 4 years of high school, there was the year I struggled with undiagnosed clinical depression, there was the year the hoarding tipped into completely out of control and the basement flooded and I sat in the water and cried, there was the year I realized I had to move because my neighbor was making me so miserable I realized I might be capable of watching him die and not intervening, there were the years my grandfather died and the year my grandmother died... I'm sure there were other "regular" years that were worse than this. This past year wasn't even in the top 20% of worst years of my life! I had 8 REALLY hard weeks, and the rest of it has been ups and downs.

Anyway, we had a lovely time with Bean last night. He liked his goodies - no super hits, but he seems interested in everything. The green spotted wooden egg was the best.

Today I have a ton of farm work to do, but it is still a little cold, so I am being lazy. I did chores and started the dishwasher. Bean and the kids might come over tomorrow.

Excellent work, SubC! Very impressed with what you've been able to reduce! WTG! Tell bean that I too love kitties. My mother used to have the candy maker make me a chocolate kitty for Easter.

Cm Happy Easter.

The shredding truck came today. We kept thinking we'd go to a third bin but we didn't even fill one! But apparently came close. BF was very happy with the service. Quick.

I had my house cleaned today. Really want to do this every week. I'll think about it.

Hi CM!

Good morning all!

CM, I'm glad your jaw us doing a little better. I hope it keeps improving.

Enjoy your weekend. I know this us a very special time for you. But also please be careful. I worry about all the people gathering at churches right now and I hope that yours will continue to keep you safe!

Yesterday I dropped off a big pile of goodwill stuff - the attendants no longer come out of the building and speak to you - you can just put your stuff in a bin and go. They have pre-signed receipts taped to the window. I know this could be a fraud concern, but I love the not talking to anyone part. I didn't even take a receipt because Dh just takes the standard deduction now.

I also dropped 4 paper bags of recycling and 5 plastic bags of plastic bags. The car left full and came home with two small bags of groceries - fruit, bakery bread, and chips and cookies for dh. The grocery store is still a lot for me, but it was better this time.

It got down to 22F last night. One of my apple trees was blooming, and I don't know how the daffodils will take it, but I think everything else will be all right. The tulips are still tightly closed. It's actually not supposed to get above freezing until after I leave for school today.

After school I get to go to Bean's house and take him his Easter basket.

Little drive by

Weather was a pain last week; it's improving. We had some days with a tremendous amount of wind, even into this week. Can't work in the storage unit when it's like that. Plus I was having flare ups of that pain in my face, jaw, and even down to my collarbone. Dr. Google and I are discussing what it might be.

I think it's getting a little better, gradually. The wind might've been part of the problem, and the mask elastic which I've been trying to put on very loosely until I can get around to fixing it to something softer. And trying not to clench my jaws in my sleep, that does me no favors.

Just embarking on my observances of Holy Week with the Thursday liturgy tonight and Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and Easter morning. But I'll try to hop in on Sunday, like a bunny. More later!

Good morning.

I have three large bins packed with stuffed animals in my basement. Some of them were mine, some belonged to my kids but were not their favorites, and some, well...

Goodwill used to have big plastic trash bags of stuffed animals that they would sell unopened for $5 a bag as a way to clear out when they got too many. And I used to buy them. Because $5! The fun of discovery alone was worth $5! I would run them all through the washing machine and dryer on sanicycle. Any that didn't survive that treatment or come clean went to fabric recycling. The rest were either set aside to use as gifts (generally for my kids) or decorations - rabbits! Easter!, or redonated later when I noticed there were no bags and fewer animals on the shelves (the itemized deduction returned part of the $5 and I was helping with inventory control!)

But there were a number that never got gifted or donated. So, this morning I went downstairs to see if I could find a little cat for Bean's Easter basket (he loves cats) no cats. But I found him a little baby safe fist sized lamb. AND I chose three animals to donate (I'm going to do a drop on the way to school today to be sure I keep my resolve) and three that might make good classroom prizes. (My students love prizes) so, a reduction if 2 per bin, plus the lamb.

Tonight I am not eating the cake - literally.

Also I returned the incubator to school (where it belongs) and set it up in my classroom with a bunch of eggs. I'm not giving the eggs good odds because the chickens climbed in the nest with muddy feet, so the eggs all have muddy footprints on them, but it is what I have, and I talked with the kids about it. (You can't wash hatching eggs). If it doesn't work, we have time to try again. We set 21 eggs. I'll be happy if 7 hatch.

And I found the examples I needed for another class and took them in too, but they will come back to my studio again.

And I cleaned up a bunch of little things from the scullery counter and started the dishwasher.

Tatoulia, it's the pain.

It makes me feel so stupid - it's like the stuff - i need less stuff to make my space and life more functional, and I need less weight to make my knee more functional - and yet, I eat the cake knowing it will make my knee hurt, just like I used to bring things home knowing I had nowhere to put them.

Goid job with kaundry, garbage, and donations!

I took an armload of books to the store (I have more) and I bought two new books for Bean's basket. One about a vegetable garden and one about a sparkly dragon - with real sparkles.

SubC I am huge. I don't have any clothes that fit. First, I started baking with the pandemic. Second the pandemic has been a year. I think I've covered my reasons.

Going to do some laundry in a bit. I slept really well last night. After work I got the garbage out and my two donation bags to the car. I didn't take out my large recycling bag because it was very windy and I didnt want it to fly all over the place. I can take it to our bin later. I also did mom's groceries.

Today it's just been work.

What's going on everyone? Lila? CM? Any word from Tillie?