Thank you for your support. It took a long time to get home. We had a flat tire but AAA came within an hour. It was raining and we were in the mountains, so mom and I just talked and had a lovely time. We made one last visit to sister who kept it together pretty well. The rest of the time She was nasty and mean and embarrassing and it was awful, but I always try again. Our friends have a beautiful house where mom and I stayed and she likes this particular friend quite a bit. Both she and her husband are so kind and wonderful.

Also stopped for a nice lunch in a little cafe with mom on the way home. So got home 4 hours later than planned but kitty didn't mention it.

Will reread everyone's posts later but quickly wanted to mention that is a great idea, CM to get the storage printout! Very creative idea! Brilliant! SubC good for you to say, don't need to make every wobbly, ugly thing into something that will work! Great progress! Tillie--glad you got some rain. Poor Scooter (poor Vet!).

Joan, I am standing right by your side. Anony i hope you are well.

Tillie, I'm so glad you got your rain! We have beautiful fall weather without rain finally, so it is all good!

I hope scooter is feeling better.

Our kitty was born feral and shortly after we got him he went out in a storm and was missing for a week. Now if there is a storm he follows us around the house if we are home.

Tatoulia, I'm sorry your trip was so hard. I hope you are home safely with your kitty now.

Joan I hope the vertigo improves!

CM, I am so excited about your move! I hope the storage manager gives you your printout and it helps!

My first week of classes was good, but stressful. There is so much trash at schools. Even with the recycling bins! I didn't even try to start the compost buckets this week. After being immersed in it for a few days I found myself unable to throw away the top of a coffee bag this week. It is brown paper laminated to a silver waterproof liner. So no recycle, no burn. But I thought it could go under a plant like a coaster. I kept a twist tie because it was a pretty color too.

On the other hand, I am doing much better in the thrift store. I've been looking for garden tools (which they almost never have) for my class and coming out empty handed a lot.

Yesterday I was looking at stools because dh wants a guitar stool. I found myself thinking "this would make a good guitar stool, but it is wobbly" and "this would make a good guitar stool but it is ugly." Instead of "this is wobbly, but I could fix it and it would make a good guitar stool" or "this is ugly, but I could paint it and it would make a good guitar stool". And I didn't buy any. This is a big shift!

Hi Everyone 🙂

IT'S RAINING!!! 😀
Beautiful evening rain storm.

Hi CriticalMass 🙂
WAY TO GO!!!! for all your hard work moving the storage!
It won't take long before it's all sorted out and arranged in a way that you can start to manage it.
(((HUGS))) 😀

Hi Joan 🙂
Take care and please check in with us whenever you are able to.
We worry about and miss people.
(((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
So sorry (((HUGS))) but at least you have your Mom there.

Been a busy day here.
Had morning watering to do and Scooter had a Vet appointment at 2:30 and Netflix put up season 7 of "The Walking Dead" and my internet went off line for hours.
AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! >:(
When Scooter got home he was panting real hard and his heart rate was off the charts, took over an hour for him to settle down.
Being born feral he has a hard time being exposed to adventures outside of the yard.
He wanted to bite the Vet but he didn't when she said "none of that!" and pointed at him.
It's so cool and refreshing here now that we have had a nice bit of rain.
🙂

Quick hello from my trip--
Thinking of you all. I've been up since 4:00 AM and have had coffee and breakfast. Not sure when we are leaving. My sister has been nasty to me and I cried all afternoon yesterday. It's been really tough. My mother is still happy to be here and has been a good friend and great comfort to me.

Take care, dear friends. It's going to be a long drive today and I'm not feeling at my best. But we will make it through.

Joan sending you much love. You too Tillie! And everyone else.

Looking forward to seeing kitty later on today, God willing.

Hi Tillie!

I hsven't even been able to keep up with reading the posts lately. My biting has been difficult, and I am going into my third week of vertigo. It's not really bad vertigo this time, but I have to be careful standing up and walking about, especially in the middle of the night. I see a great chiropractor weekly, but once the Atlas pulls off-center, it can be a while before it seats properly again.

I saw my healer today, now going to lay low and hope for the best. Take care, everyone.

Hi!

Tillie, taking a time out to see a movie sounds like a treat.

SubC, I am like you in that most things I wouldn't want to eat continuously for a week. My ex boyfriend back in the day made chili and was having it morning, noon, and night. About the 3rd time I went to his house for dinner and it was chili again, I mutinied! LOL!

But with the upright freezer at my roommate's house I can make things and mix up the order in which I eat the leftovers. So that will work great.

Storage unit update - offloaded into the new and gathered another load from the old yesterday. I was by myself so I didn't get as much. I was tired! There remains one miscellaneous "dregs" load and stuff that will be given away which may be one other load or may be able to fit in on top of the dregs load. Then all that will remain will be to sweep 'er out and tell the manager goodbye!

I'm going to ask the manager if she'll make me a printout of how long I've been there, amounts of rent and that I've always paid on time. This may help me in the future when it comes to renting a new place. You see, here, as probably in many places, I could probably squeak financially and afford a mid-level apartment, but no one will let me have a go because on paper I don't make 4x the monthly rent amount - yet I've been paying nearly as much when I factor in the storage unit.

Thanks to decluttering, I may fit into a more compact place (depending on whether I have to cage my bunnies or not). But I would prefer a little more square footage and especially location, location, location NOT in the ghetto.

Well, that's the future. Plenty to do now. I will need to go to the new storage place and arrange the books - I have almost blocked access to some shelves at the very back because of hustling in baskets of books quickly. This fix won't take long, and since it'll be so close to go over there, it's no big deal. I've designated areas for various categories - family stuff, books, kitchen stuff, craft stuff, etc. It'll truly be a storage area, rather than a pit to toss stuff in at random.

I feel SO blessed that this is finally happening! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Good Morning Everybody 🙂
Ice tea "clink!"
Planning to go into town today.
Don't need to water anything today.
Kitchen is clean, laundry is all done,
house is "good enough" as far as cleaning goes.
I am lonely and bored.
Going to see if the theatre is showing "IT" and if so I will go to the matinee showing.
It's only 63 degrees this morning, Summer is almost gone.
Later this afternoon it will be back up in to the high 90s.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi CriticalMass 🙂
WOOHOO!!!
So happy. excited and also relieved that the storage shuffle is going so well!
Having all your stuff nearby could really change up your life.
(((HUGS)))
Have a wonderful time cat sitting.
Since my neighbor friends moved away I really miss baby sitting their kitties. 🙁
Sorry that the smoke is choking you out.
But that pink moon sounds incredible! 😀

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Hi Porter 🙂
Hi Joan 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
That's wonderful that your 2 DDs took some of their stuff to their homes! 😀
That should give you a little more elbow room.
Thank you, yes that headache is all gone today.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Hope you are excited about your trip, I am. ;D

Need to do some watering this morning.
The kitchen needs some attention too today.
Going to be another hot & humid day but so far the wildfire smoke has been light.
Last night it was hard to fall asleep because the moonlight was too bright and I had the drape open for the air and two kitties were insisting on snuggling right up against me.
That usually means the coyotes are close by hunting.

Oh, forgot to answer - I don't take vitamin D, I am outside a lot.

I do take a b complex and iron, but often I forget. I'm working on doing better with that.

Tillie, I hope you feel better today!

CM, that is amazing that you might be done ahead of schedule! It has to feel good to see the new unit coming together. And to have all the space in your van back!

I hope your check up goes well.

I am a person who would make a big pot of something and eat it all week, but dh is not. He likes variety in his meals. He finds coming home to the same food the third night in a row depressing.

Which is funny, because he eats exactly the same breakfast every day.

I don't think I told you that dd1 did take a bin of her old toys with her when she came home for the wedding, and dd2 discovered that her new closet is huge and took almost all of her clothes and shoes back with her. Hopefully that will keep her from buying more clothes and shoes. She left her bride'smaid's dress, two semi-formats, and her ski pants.

Hi, time for another chat and update. SubC, glad to hear the wedding went well, and the start of school. Do you take Vitamin D when you get the SAD? I can sure tell in the winter if I skip mine.

Tatoulia, you've really been on a roll! Going great guns on getting rid of stuff plus all the prep for the trip. Hope you enjoy it. Kitty will miss you but hopefully all the nice provisions you're leaving will help it go smoothly for her.

I'm starting my first September round of cat sitting tomorrow for a week. Two toms and a little old lady cat who rules them with an iron paw, LOL! But they're all a delight to spend time with.

I've been amazed how quickly the storage unit move is going. Shelves are all at the new unit, and boxes and tubs and large items like vacuum cleaner are easy to deal with. One wall at the old unit is lined with things that I'll be giving away or considering giving away. More potential giveaways than I'd expected to still discover. And though I have until the 20th, I may be out of the old unit by the weekend.

Tomorrow I see the surgeon who repaired my abdomen last year, just for a checkup. I think all is in order; no issues that I can tell.

Having my own cookware nearby and reading you all's ideas for dishes to make is motivating. I've been wanting to come up with things I can make in quantity and freeze. Tillie, I'm a picky eater to the point where I have a blog on it (which I hope to resume posting on soon). But I can tweak recipes to my preferences fairly well.

We had a lot of haze in the air yesterday (from the wildfires in Colorado and Wyoming) and the sun set a beautiful watermelon red. Then I noticed that the Moon was pink! Tried to capture it with my tablet camera but the pinkishness didn't come through very well. It was sure unusual and pretty though.

Better get to sleep now so I'll be ready for the doctor and the kitties tomorrow! Night all!

Hi Everybody 🙂

WTG! Tatoulia
for getting the sweaters and fitting the wheel chair into the trunk!!!

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Happy your first day back was good.
WAY TO GO!!! for tossing those four little bags!

Have a medium size nagging headache all day but still treated the rogue little trees with defoliant, washed two loads of laundry and shampooed my hair.
Did some other miscellaneous stuff too.
This evening I saw a teeny tiny cotton tail bunny in my garden area. 😀
It's funny how they "hide" by just standing very very still.
The ants I poisoned the other day have not come out all day but that has happened before with other pesticides I've used.
After a few days they are back as if nothing has happened.
Hoping this time they are gone for good.

Good luck Tatoulia!

The first day of school was good, but I am tired.

I need to plan simple food or leftovers from Mondays for Tuesday nights.

I threw the garbage from the week and the brunch in the dumpster when I got to school this morning - 3 plastic grocery bags able to be tied completely shut, and an 11oz chip bag.

No ins today but food.

Quarter after 8 and I'm showered and very tired. Had a good day at work then walked home. Went to drycleaner to get mom's sweaters, dropped them off then went to car with wheelchair. I did enough to get the wheelchair in the trunk. Then visited with BF now home and very, very tired. I will pack tomorrow.

Hope everyone is well and happy. Would love to hear about your days.

I was unstoppable yesterday--still up around 2 AM. But still so much to do. Like the trunk. Although it doesn't seem better in here, I still have to find a way to feel satisfied.

I'm already late for work. Have to get home tonight in time to get mom's clothes from drycleaner. I took all of sweaters there last winter when she was in hospital and just haven't had the funds to pick them up. Will get done tonight.

I'm not a vegetarian but I rarely eat meat.
Sometimes it just creeps me out.
Never any pork because I have a hard time digesting it for some reason.
Never have been a big fan of chicken and I hate fish, except for shrimp & lobster.
Yes, I am a picky eater but I have over come my life long anorexia. YEA! ME! 😀
Don't have a crock pot/slow cooker since small electrical appliances creep me out.

All this talk about corn chowder has me really craving it now.
Have put down ingredients for it on my shopping list.
Since I only cook for myself I usually make a big batch and freeze it in small portions so I have ready made food all ready when I am.
Last week I had frijoles, avocado, lettuce, tomato, salsa and corn tortillas so I ate little tacos for every meal for three days until all the food was gone.
I do that a lot.

When Tatoulia says she's polishing silver it makes me think about my tarnished pieces that I need to get to.

WAY TO GO! Tatoulia for all the cleaning you did! 😀

Subclinical
it is hard to decide what you want to eat and what you want with it.
We need to find some menus to read, the kind that tells you everything that will be served with the main course you order.
I am reminded of the menus Steven had when he was in hospital.
Those were prepared by a nutritionist too so they were very healthy.

YES Tillie allrecipes is awesome! SubC I suggest making turkey tetrazzini with the turkey (or chicken) on the side. Add more vegetables than just peas. I eat meat but get freaked out every so often so I have made the tetrazzini without meat in the past. It's an enjoyable meal for a Monday--make it on Sunday (all but the baking part) and put in fridge and bake on Monday. Absolutely delicious.

Making a corn chowder would also be a good meal--you could omit the bacon. Serve it with a wedge salad with a hard boiled egg and some blue cheese crumbles together with some nice hearty bread. You could have husband fry up some bacon to crumble over his chowder and over his wedge salad. That would be a terrific Wednesday night dinner, depending on your teaching/volunteer schedule. Or you could cook up a few shrimp to add to the salad or chowder.

I did get another garbage bag out. I vacuumed bedroom but did not dust. I also didn't vacuum the couches-that will have to wait. I polished some more silver and I cleaned a kitchen counter I've been ignoring. I did get my desk dusted.

I haven't done the bathroom yet. But it's late and I'm going to bed.

Goodnight and thank you for the great support today--thank you always but today I feel I've accomplished a lot and it's been great catching up!!

I still have to clean car trunk tomorrow.

You guys are sweet. It's not so much the recipes, it's choosing the menus. There are too many recipes everywhere! And I can never decide what goes with what.

I need somebody to say "make potato salad on Thursday" or "chicken, baked beans, corn bread, broccoli" When Tatoulia says "I'm washing my bedspread" and I think "man! When is the last time I washed my bedspread? I should do that."

Also, I don't have a crockpot, and I am a vegetarian, but dh is not. (Actually I'm a semi-pescatarian who really prefers not to eat actual fish, but shrimp and shellfish I'm ok about)

So, I cook a meat that can be served as a side dish/add in (like pork chops or hamburgers or baked chicken breasts) twice a week with a good vegetarian option, dh cooks seafood about half the time, and the other nights are totally vegetarian but he often has leftover meat.

Here is the place I always go when looking for a recipe.

ALLRECIPES

You can find crock pot recipes here too.

😀

Tatoulia
WAY TO GO!!!
you've done so much and especially WTG! for the rug being out!!!
Happy Dance!!! 😀
Be careful with the coffee potion, it turns you into Wonder Woman.
;P

Hi Subclinical 🙂
My potato salad is like yours, full of veggies and considered a complete meal. 😀
In the Winter I eat a lot of soups & stews and sandwiches that I put under the broiler.
The sandwiches are fun, using different kinds of breads, English muffins or bagels & fixins.
And the soups I make I big batches and then freeze it in smaller batches so I have it ready.
Since you get Winter SAD make eating properly easy so you don't skimp because that just makes SAD worse.
(((HUGS)))

SubC, i make a really good turkey tetrazzini I skip the mushrooms because I don't like them. Basically make a white sauce and add in grated Parmesan cheese (I grate it myself). I use Rachel Ray's recipe because I don't like cooking with soups. I also make a good pasta dish with smoked salmon and sundried tomatoes and pasta. I use the sundried tomatoes you find in the produce aisle and not the jarred ones in oil. Corn chowder is another good recipe. Just throwing these out for you--I also have a delicious chicken dish with apricots and prunes--so good with rice. When in doubt, I throw a turkey breast in the oven.

Of corse none of these are crock pot foods but I did find a good recipe for crockpot turkey breast that I will try.

That's so funny that I'm helping with your laundry!

Well I need to do some more here if I'm to feel any peace today. I just want to do a little more and maybe get dressed and take one more garbage bag out--once I fill one more garbage bag.

Hi everyone!

Tillie and Tatoulia, it sounds like you are doing well.

Tatoulia, maybe you should post what you cook - you keep reminding me to do my laundry. 😉

Seriously though, deciding what to cook is really hard for me. Our fall routine starts tomorrow and dh helped me plan the first three meals.

I am writing menus on index cards, so now I have those three cards, plus "pizza" (homemade) "potato salad" (I make a veggie filled one we eat as a meal), and the eggplant dish he liked last week paired with rice and pork.

He is going to try to help me add at least two new menus every week so that by the time the SAD kicks in, all I have to do is draw some cards and make a grocery list. He will either cook or take me out on Wednesdays. (I plan to start swimming after work on Wednesdays and Fridays in October)

Oh gosh--There could be a steady stream of clowns because the trunk is deep! So funny!

I have shredded all of brother's mail, have taken rug out back, all of my recycling and two bags of garbage. Now I'm trying to put house back together. Have changed out all of kitty's dishes because I worry about the dust from shredding papers. Her box has been changed and I've showered.

Going to run dishwasher now. I am plugging away but may crash soon. Going all day on two cups of coffee and three large glasses of seltzer water. Wil need to eat soon. But I'd like to vacuum bedroom and dust bedroom too. We shall see.

Tomorrow night will be focus on the trunk. So insane. I wish LR were here to enjoy the laugh!

Hi Tatoulia
LOL 😀
Your post made me wonder how many clowns you could hold in your trunk?
YES! get that crock pot put back into use!
So many hearty nutritious meals to keep you warm and happy this Winter. ;D
WAY TO GO! for this fantastic start on clearing out the trunk.
Hope you don't find any clowns or marionettes in there.
;P

Tillie! WTG for all you accomplished despite the miserable weather!

Remember when I vowed to clean out the trunk of my car? I swear it was a challenge in September a few years back. I think LR was involved. Well I started on it today. (Sheepish smile).

I took two bags of things from the house to goodwill today, and a third bag of stuff from my trunk, including stuff I'd bought at goodwill but never used. See what a slug I am? BF helped me gather up a huge trash bag of my brother's mail, which I will now shred and get out tonight. I also got my crock pot out of the trunk. It has been sitting there for about a year, ever since I lent it to brother. Hopefully I can start cooking nice fall dishes soon.

I'm going to get to work on brother's mail now. There is still tons of stuff in trunk. I'm trying to only bite off what I can chew right now.

Hello Everyone 😀

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Hope your kitchen is getting all back together.
It's reasonable to fall behind on our goals when there are special events going on.
We all knew you would be keeping some souvenirs (((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Your plans for Kitty are GREAT!
She should be just fine except for the part where she misses your cuddles.
Have a WONDERFUL! time and enjoy yourself (((HUGS)))
WGT! for all your doings in preparation for the trip and especially for that rug plan!

Been watering stuff and also treated the ants to their new poison.
Didn't do the trees cause it got too hot and heavy feeling out.
Maybe tomorrow morning while it's still cooler?
One chrysanthemum plant has been looking bad and I have been trying to help it and today I saw it had fallen over.
All it's roots have been eaten off by a disgusting ugly big fat grub. 🙁
Tossed the grub out in the driveway to die and replanted the chrysanthemum and gave it lots of water with plant food.
Maybe it can recover.
Anyways I am staying inside now with the cooler running and plenty of ice tea.
"CLINK!" 😀

I'm doing it! I wrapped up my rug and will take out back tonight for garbage. Might ask one of the guys upstairs to help me.

Have a lot to do. I need to clear out car trunk so mom's wheelchair will fit.

Going to keep working here til I've had enough then will head to car. Wish I could get one more laundry done but I can hear someone is using it when I open my door so it may have to be late tonight. I am going in to office tomorrow. So tonight's my only chance to get things done.

Take good care of yourself, Tillie! I know you are mindful and careful with your health but still I worry.

It is sunshine, sunshine, sunshine today. I've had a cup of coffee--first one in a long time (it's been iced tea weather) and boy am I buzzing around here! I am polishing silver and dusting and getting ready for my road trip with mom. Mom is pretty excited too and my sister is being great and kind! I bought a jigsaw puzzle and I have two Sunday NYtimes puzzles to do with my friend and her husband. I took mom an overnight bag yesterday when I dropped off her dinner. She is very, very excited.

Tillie, I am going to feed kitty wet food Wednesday AM and leave her three bowls of water and three of cereal. (She generally has two and two). BF will stop in on Thursday to give her canned food. He will check her cereal levels and will replace all the waters with new clean bowls. I'll be home by dinner time on Friday. I think that will be sufficient but wanted to double check with you. I have her winter bed out and she is sleeping in it/now that it is cooler. I'll leave a light on in the back of the house and keep the front dark. I have an alarm system that is always on. I'm going to change the batteries today just so we don't get any false alarms while I'm gone.

SubC of course you can keep a wedding memory box!

CM I love your plans to make quilts and donate them. Your craftsmanship and creativity will be rewarded with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment!

Hello to Anony and Joan! And everyone else! We can do this!

Tillie, I am sorry the heat made you sick! Be careful of those ants!

Tatoulia, I'm glad you are enjoying your new washing machine option.

We are mostly cleaned up from the wedding weekend festivities. I haven't met my clean kitchen goals for the 100 day challenge the last two days though.

I need to get back on top of it because I go back to work tomorrow!

I have a box of wedding souveniers that I'm going to keep. Not too big a box, but still. Dh uncle brought some special family items to give to dh and my kids, and mom brought my dd some dishes, but those are not my concern.

Hello! 😀

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
I always sort laundry too for color and fabric.
When I wash a bunch of cat stuff I always have to run the machine empty afterward to help clean out all the fur even though I shake out everything before I wash it.
Wonderful that you are having a beautiful rainy day.
WTG! for sleeping all day and are now ready to boogie to some tidying music! 😀

Today was officially 101 degrees.
Clouds and gobs of sticky humidity.
It has made me physically ill.
Had some plans for today but decided to not do anything.
Did take a nap. 🙂
All the cats have been lazy and napping today too.
Tomorrow is not supposed to be so hot & humidity miserable.
I'll do things tomorrow.
I was going to use a new ant killing poison on the 3 big ant hills.
Those ants have a bite/sting that leaves you bruised and in agony for weeks.
I have been trying to kill these ants for over 20 years and nothing ever works.
One year Steven dug down deep into one ant hill, poured a gallon of gasoline into the nest, lit it on fire.
It burned underground for days but didn't bother the ants at all.
Also was going to put some tree killing stuff along the fence where the small trees are starting to grow where I don't want any trees growing.
Yeah, tomorrow I can kill ants & trees. ;D