Goid morning!

Road! It is so good to see you! I am glad your son's health is better. I have been worried!

Grief takes time. I know the house must be a huge job. Are you struggling to let go of things there, or is that part ok?

When is your last day of school? Mine is the 26th. Since I don't teach on Mondays, I only have 8 more days. Three of those are basically clean up and play. Really hoping for no rain on the 26th.

Tatoulia, great job on the weight loss! Have you gotten some new clothes? Or did you have smaller ones to get back to?

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well last night.

I think I overdid working in the heat with Dd and was dehydrated. By the time I got home from taking her to the airport I had a bad headache and felt pretty crummy. Water, ibuprofen, and sleep have fixed things. Annoyed that I can't keep up with a girl in her 20's.

Today is a Bean day. No real plans about what we'll be doing.

The May Monsoon Season may have arrived here. At least yesterday, when we got an inch of rain in a short time.

I had to run outside and pull the van up into the driveway because the street was getting flooded. At the time, I was on the phone with my cousin, who just moved here in March after taking care of things of her dad's (that was my uncle who passed in February). Her husband had already been established in a job and house here.

She and I may get together tomorrow and I can take her some places I know - she wants to find a job, needs some additional computer classes and I know that guy at the library who teaches them, so I can help her make that connection.

I'm feeling guardedly optimistic that I will feel more connected to family now. I do have one other cousin and husband in town, whom I need to make more effort to see regularly. That one is 10 years older than me and this one who just moved is 1 year younger so we had always been closer. But I need to appreciate them both and cultivate those connections. Maybe all three of us gals can have some get togethers.

My roommate has made arrangements with the Habitat for Humanity place to come pick up some of her stuff in the garage - nice wood that someone can use and that will make her garage decluttering go more smoothly having those big unwieldy items gone. And she is also proposing that we get a very temporary storage unit so that we can both do staging of our stuff - we are both so overwhelmed and we would have to be very dedicated to not letting it become its own problem - we already discussed that. It was her idea, not mine. So... the main challenge for me if we go ahead with it will be staying on task and coordinating the work there with other daily and weekly tasks. And hoping the weather at least minimally cooperates.

It's a big deal, could be a gamechanger if it goes well. Again, it's risky, we know that. But things can't keep on the way they have been since her retirement and even before that, during her working from home time and the pandemic and crises like the lack of plumbing - things that are resolved yet the clutter piles we each have accumulated remain and threaten to keep growing. We must dig out. And we will feel so much better when we do.

So lots moving and shaking in my little corner of the world. Trying to mentally keep track of it, and to process the emotional excitement (my cousin lives in my town now - mind blown!) is quite a bit! But good things for a change, instead of all bad crises and glitches. So trying to enjoy the blessings and make the most of opportunities.

CM,
I say this with so much love -
No.
Do not put money into another storage unit.

It will not be faster or easier.

You will have to gather the things, load the things, drive the things, unload the things.

It will rain.
The wind will be bad.
An animal will get sick.
Duties will call.

How much would that storage unit cost? It would be better to just give away that much money worth of replaceable stuff from your house every month until you have enough room to work at home.

How much space will giving away the wood make? There is an easy to use, free storage area with no commute.

Clean off one table and start three piles - keep, maybe, go.

When the table is full, put the keep back where it came from, put the maybe back if you have to, or in a box if you can find room for the box, and take the "go" out of your house. Start the next space. Even if a "space" is only a drawer or half a shelf or a box, every "go" makes a little more room.

A hoarder renting a storage unit is like and alchoholic opening a fifth to just put a drop on a toothache. The odds of it ending well are not high.

If you can't clear a table, clear the seat of a chair, clear a piece of floor, anything! Start small. If you clear out enough small things, you will have room to sort things that are a little larger until eventually you can make a nice workspace in the house.

hello all!

Road!! So happy you came to post. We missed you! I'm sorry for your loss, and your difficulties... but also glad your son is better.

CM, that is great! We can do our pantry challenge together! I want to look up the YouTuber that SubC mentioned for ideas and inspiration.

Tatoulia, wow!! What success with the weight loss! congratulations! I went to the Dr today and I HAVE to lose weight, so he gave me a prescription and said to get the weight off to help my many health issues. I will take it tomorrow.

SubC, I caught up on your posts too! My last day of teaching (a class at work) is this Weds and I will be so relieved. Although I enjoyed it a lot, it took up so much time because it was a brand new class so I had to study, create a lesson plan and worksheets every week. Whew, I don't know how teachers do it all the time! At least if they ask me to teach this class again in a year or something, I have the materials done and it will be easier.

Yesterday I had Son help me wash my sheets and make my bed.
Today I sorted most of the fridge and threw out stuff that was gone bad but I never got rid of it because I felt so guilty about it all.
Fresh start. I will run the dishwasher tonight.

ohhh thanks CM! That does look fun and interesting!

I have no captcha issues. It could be the multiple refreshing? I just choose any boxes that have any part of a motorcycle, or bridge or whatever and it works for me.

I am tired and being lazy. Tot and Acorn are coming with their parents for dinner and I need a plan. Actually rather nap. Kitchen is a wreck and no one is helping me clean it. I got the dishwasher loaded and asked Teen to clean up their mess, no luck. Asked Son to help with washing a few handwash items. He is busy but is likely to help me later. I just want to sleep.

At night I always thing, "why did I waste the whole day? Why didn't I get this and that done?" but during the day, I am just like, blah... too tired.

I worked this morning and work tomorrow morning.

ohhh you guys, we are doing something new!

Teen suggested this, and coming from them, I think it is good advice. They told me we have so much food that all the cabinets, fridge and freezer have no room and things are hard to find and going bad. Teen said "we should just stop buying things and eat what we have!" I told them they would run out of their staple items they love and they said "yeah but we would just have to get creative!"

And so the BUY NO FOOD CHALLENGE has begun!

We want to see how long we can go without buying ANY groceries. Since I get a free produce box each week, plus have plenty of produce that needs to be eaten, I think I will do fine. We will use up what we have, which is a lot of frozen, canned, dried foods.

At some point I think we will break down and make a "Farmer's market" rule that if we go there once a week we can get local produce. That starts in about a month. So until then... we will see what we end up eating.

Tonight it was frozen chicken wings baked in the oven, and baked potatoes, and I made a fruit compote to serve over ice cream. I would have made a salad, but had no one to chop things as Son fell asleep.

I work a half day tomorrow. I hope to get my sheets washed and have someone help me make a salad.

Lila, funny coincidence, I've been thinking too that I tend to accumulate too much food. It's been more of an issue since pandemic supply chain issues, but those seem to be getting resolved so I need to chill. Another driving factor is my dislike for the experience of grocery shopping, so if in doubt I go ahead and buy something so I won't have to go back if I change my mind. And it saves gasoline to go less often.

But I do tend to lose track of what I already have, so I've been thinking to be more mindful about that, and work on using up stuff. I don't know if I want to be absolute about no buy, but just be more deliberate in consuming the current stash and then see where that leaves me after I've cleared some space in fridge and pantry. There are things I've wanted to make such as smoothies yet I don't because the fridge is crowded and I need more room to keep my boxed ricemilk for them.

We'll see how it goes!

Happy Mother's Day!

I got a "happy caregivers day" for all those who care for another life from an expat in Japan this morning - and that is everyone here!

I got a truck load of mulch and a truckload of compost yesterday. Could have made one more run if Dh and I hadn't had concert plans, but didn't push it. Dd2 helped me start work on the flowerbeds also.

Lila, I think the no food challenge is excellent. I especially love that you and teen have a goal to work on together.

There is a YouTuber who does a "pantry challenges every year where she tries to feed her family out of only what is left from what she grew and preserved last year in order to make sure she is using everything, make space for new, and be realistic about quantities. She only lets herself buy essentials if she runs out of them (like flour, butter/oil, salt, maybe rice..)

I slept late because we got home from the concert at 11! It was the last of the season and ran long because they were honoring the retiring musicians - one of whom is a friend of mine. It was a really fun concert though. Now I am tired and lazy and not doing much.

My in-laws arrive in 12 days. Dh has asked me to take the boxes of Easter decorations out of the denn(easy) and clean off the counter (aaaa!) before they come. Actually, he said he doesn't care if I throw everything on the counter into boxes and stash it, so..

Ok, off to try to use this day for something before we take Dd2 back to the airport tonight.

Hello everybody and Happy Caregivers and Mother's Day to all!

I echo SubC's and CM's enthusiasm die eating what is in the pantry! I cannot do that since I buy my foods pretty much nightly. I'm built this way. I generally have tuna in hand and Shri not in the freezer, but other than that, I ought to figure out what I'll have for dinner and pick it up on the way home. Cooking for one is a luxury. It's what do I want. I do have one girlfriend who comes for dinner once a week and I buy whatever we will be having the night before. She doesn't have any strong preferences for what we will be eating so I don't worry about what I decide. Although, our meal for next week will be chicken Waldorf salad and I think she'll enjoy that.

I took three bags out to goodwill yesterday. One tablecloth, one bedspread, dishes (going back to whence they came, meaning goodwill) and some clothes. The navy dress would have been lovely on Lila but the sleeves were not going to work for her! I feel your pain, Lila! Lila, I sent you a message on IG with the size charts for the pants you might like. See if they will fit now and if you don't like them or they won't fit now, then not an issue, I'll take to goodwill.

I have several bags for the cat shelter. I'll figure out when I can drop them off.

Relief to get these things out of my house. I feel so much better.

Next Saturday is hazardous waste day. I have some electronics and some textiles (clothes that cannot be donated) to take there. Using the shredding service at work has made my life very easy. They've told me I can continue to use it since we are not meeting our minimum each month since there are so few people at work and so papers, too. So that is working out for me.

Beautiful day here. Sunny and a cool, breeze. Really nice.

Clearly, I didn't proof my post. I generally have shrimp in the freezer. Also, I buy my groceries nightly.

We had cake with mom today for Mother's Day and she was having issues with her shoes, which ended up being perfect timing since I had two pair for her present. She was a bit all confused, thinking she'd been moved to a new apt, but she pulled it together okay enough. BF joined me and afterward, he came here to help me with some projects. I gave him an antique chandelier that I bought for my bathroom and have decided not to use. My ceilings are too high for a small chandelier. So he'll take it overseas. One more thing out of the house.

We walked around and then we stopped for dinner. I'm not feeling well. We split a meal and still I'm too full.

As of this AM, I am down 32 lbs. feels great. The next 8 will be crucial.

Hi all,

Sorry to be absent for so long. Tatoulia said hi on Instagram and it nudged me to make my way back over here to touch base.

Happy Mother's Day and caregiver's day today to all of you.

We are busy with end of the year school things, spring gardening, and summer plans. The major unpleasant ongoing project in my world is working on my brother's house and possessions. We have worked through a lot of it, cleaning a lot, tossing a lot, donating a lot, boxing things up and getting quotes on junk removal, etc. We had his memorial about a month ago already. He died back in February. Still very tough to deal with grief-wise. I think I'm struggling more now than a few months ago but I think that makes sense. My son is doing ok. His health seems better. My husband actually just got diagnosed with fluid in his chest cavity also like my son so that seemed very strange. Family dynamics are similar. my dad is a handful and is having a knee replacement this week. He and my mom are both really underestimating recovery times/intensity I think. My sister is struggling a lot with losing my brother like I am. We are talking more and she is retiring next week so I hope that helps and doesn't make things harder for her.

Anyway, trying to chip away at everything and hang in there.

I hope you are all doing ok. I will try to catch up a little and see what you've been up to recently.

hello, friends.

Been so busy and working constantly.

SubC, I did go to the party, and I managed. I knew some people so just sat around chatting and we had snacks. We did some icebreaker games. It was fine and afterwards a couple of us stood around and chatted about more serious things. I think I got home around 10 and was wiped out for work the next morning.

Working long hours, a lot of volunteering, and finding things I can say no to.

Tatoulia, I felt so bad all week because I did not get back to you. I went to my Instagram page right after I last posted and it said it was locked down as being a fraudulent page?!? It had steps to take and I started through them and could not get it to work so I gave up. Tomorrow is my day off, so I am going to try again.

I did have a question for you, though, and an update for all about my "scared of my own appearance" issue. This week I got like 4 or 5 compliments on my hair! It was so weird. Just out of the blue. I did nothing special. I was about to color it again but got so busy and didn't... and now everyone is like 'oh I love your hair, it is so pretty' and 'what did you do to your hair, highlights? it looks so beautiful!' so well I feel good about it and am holding off coloring it again. I was always a natural medium brown and started coloring it in my 30s as it was going grey. I was darker brown for awhile. In the last 10 years my hair is pretty much totally grey but I color it a lighter brown. I started coloring it a very light brown/dark blonde just so the roots wouldn't show as fast. Now it fades to a lighter blonde, almost.

So, Tatoulia, my question is this: do you know what colors of clothing look best on a person with light hair, light skin and blue eyes? As I've mentioned, I tend to go with blacks, dark greys, dark blues. But a friend insists my hair looks great but I need to "brighten up my color palette" of how I dress. I am scared to do this. And I am fat. And I am extremely self conscious about patterns... you know why.

Any thoughts from you or others on best colors and maybe patterns would be good.

Most recent compliments were on the light blue/cris cross patterned shirt under a white sweater, and awhile ago a green/blue patterned blouse under a black sweater.

Mostly I try to hide and not be noticed. But I want to look nice.

Lila! Do not color your hair! Everyone is going natural right now. My last hair dye was March 2020 and within a year or so all of the dye was gone and I now proudly wear my greys! They are only in the front and also look like highlights to some extent.

If the lighter colors are looking good on you and gaining compliments maybe that is the way to go. Lighter blues and greens. They don't have to be bright colors, it sounds like the softer colors are working for you! Get a scarf or two and then wear white tops. You instantly have a number of outfits just by wearing a scarf.

One of those times it has been (and promises to be for the foreseeable) so busy it's hard to keep up with reading and posting here. It will get easier. In the meantime, here's a short one.

I stayed at the bunny shelter house four days and three nights last weekend and was tired afterward. A couple of days early this week I took naps. Feel caught up on rest now.

There have been lots of tasks to do, places to go, things to remember. Roommate has a number of medical appointments this month, and for some of those I stay home in the mornings and care for her pets instead of going to morning Mass. But it's okay, soon we'll be done with that, and she's so far getting favorable reports, good for another 100,000 miles etc.

I've got a graduation party to go to tomorrow for the daughter of some church people - I used to sit behind them on Sundays when this young lady was an adorable baby. So I bought her a fleece throw with the mascot of her college she's going to go to. Roommate's birthday is Sunday and I bought her a set of patio lights for the screened in front porch. Hope she likes them.

Roommate has come up with an idea for our clutter problem - we have both reached Critical Mass due to the house being small, constant craziness, etc. We also lost time to the dog's illness, bad weather, and more. I'll tell more about what this plan will entail in another post soon.

The year is getting to the point of my capacity insofar as events go - the one tomorrow isn't a stress in any way, the rabbit club ones are more tiring although we do seem to be getting it down to a routine. As long as the late-septuagenarian mom of the bunny house is not overworked - she was so tired after our most recent event. I was pleased that during our weekend, though, she seemed rested and not overtaxed. Her knees bother her so I took the rabbit care tasks that involved stair climbing and that worked well. We had one bunny freak out, can't remember if I told about that - it was on Saturday night, everything had been so peaceful, and this poor furry dude just got triggered big time. He was okay by Sunday morning, though, and no lingering sequelae, thank goodness.

Other things that are upcoming include more Inkscape graphics classes at the public library in July. But I really want to learn to do Inkscape well, so hopefully that'll be fun. The teacher is great - an artistic nerdy guy with a good sense of humor and willingness to help. He also helped me out with some glitches this laptop has had - software conflicts and updates I still needed to do.

Things in my town are strange right now - so many places are being remodeled - restaurants, one public library branch, the parish church that's not mine but the next closest and where I go sometimes because it's bigger and has more activities - it's just kind of crazy that it's all going on at once. And on occasion I'll drive in a different part of town and some building that had been around for years is just gone. I guess it's a good time to be a building contractor here? It'll be interesting to see what they do with the ones where I regularly went. I especially hope that library branch will be done well - please no harsh migraine inducing lighting!

Well. I see that my "short" post has turned into another of my infamous rambling ones. Surprise surprise! Take care, ladies, I'll be back more often as soon as I can.

Thank you Tatoulia.

CM, wow, very busy! It sounds like you are doing so much. I'm glad you came to share.

I am enjoying my day off, going through emails a such, writing things in my planner for next week. Thinking about what to eat for lunch.

I sat in the sunshine for a bit, too.

Hope to get some laundry done and clean up a bit as well.

How are you all doing this fine Friday?

Question - has anyone else had difficulty with the Captcha lately - it adding too many extra pictures in rapid succession after you've already clicked on the original ones? I have too literal a mind for some of them, like if part of an item extends into another square whether to click it or not, that sort of thing. So I hit Skip until it gives me one where there are several individual small photos. But then it does the thing of adding more and never letting me succeed. Curse you, Captcha!

Anyhow, attempting this post again.

Lila, maybe you'd enjoy this thing I remember coming across - I was into the original Color Me Beautiful a little bit in the 80s-90s, though I wasn't rigid about it because I believe I can basically wear any cool color of Summmer or Winter and a few of the Spring ones. Probably few if any of the Autumn ones.

Anyhow, now some have broken it down into a 12 category structure:

12 Season Color Analysis

Have fun!

SubC you've gotten a lot done! Congratulations! Yes finding bathroom time and food breaks is nearly impossible some days. Even for me, who works in an office job and works from home a lot of the time. I love the idea of a sewing kit for a graduation gift! Really a great idea.

This weekend I did mainly social things. I tried on some of my clothes to determine where I am in the weight loss. I haven't lost much lately, just another two pounds. I've maintained the house and laundry situation. Have kept up with the dishes for the most part but have not been perfect.

I have to take some things to the dry cleaners today. I keep putting it off. For no reason other than being very busy.

Good morning!

Had a great day with Bean yesterday - he really likes the ducks. We did not go get feed however, because he didn't want to, so I must squeeze that in this morning before school (or the chickens will be eating more expensive goat food all week)

My days are still too full. I forgot it was dsil's birthday yesterday so ended up using nap time to squeeze in baking him a pie instead of school work. I took Bean to school to be picked up and dsil asked if I could wait for Dd to pick him up (not a problem, but I helped him make some little clay cookie cut bears instead of getting started on what I was there for) Then Dh wanted a haircut last night. I did that, but seem to have gotten so tired/distracted that I ground the coffee, filled the coffeemaker with water, and then walked away without putting the ground coffee into the coffeemaker last night.

I also left folded laundry on the couch.

I also brought home a plastic three drawer wheeled chest that was sitting out by the dumpster at school. I don't have plans for it - it just looked so useful..

I was at school for a couple of hours. I got the projects picked up, kiln unloaded, loaded, and started, and notes made on about half the projects that need to go back. I need to make notes on the rest today.

I made myself a 28 day calendar page with all my events and hard deadlines on it. It is kind of overwhelming.

This morning I have started a load of laundry (and made coffee).

Emotional roller coaster mostly school related lately.

Never enough time - Alice's rabbit!

I picked up a piece of discarded furniture on tuesday with an eye to making it a cool project I don't have time for.

Exhaustion wears down my resistance.

Hi everyone! I'm making a lot of tough decisions these days with respect to stuff. First off, I own too much. I have kitty's old dishes packed and ready to go. A girlfriend came for dinner Tuesday and she took some of the cat dishes with her. I have donation clothes bag started. I do have three things to photograph for Lila and I will do so.

We are cleaning out BF's basement in anticipation of his move and I'm just getting rid of almost everything. Big suitcase that was my mother's, three chairs, records, etc. could I sell some of this? Maybe. Do I feel like it? No. Donate. It will be a big trip to goodwill this weekend. I also have some cat stuff to take to the shelter.

So a lot going on. It makes me feel good to just make the decision. Stuff I didn't know we still had and I certainly do not need anymore. Never did need it, actually.

Reduce. Reduce. Reduce. Feels so good. Finding a use for something is not the same as something being useful. Not the same. I only have so much time on this planet and moving stuff around isn't a good use of my time.

Medical stuff first: no signs of any cancer recurrence! So happy! There are still spots that they think are benign but need to be checked by the oncologist, and if he agrees, then we can just monitor. Second issue, my arm is broken after all. Sheesh. I need more imaging next week to look at it and see if I need surgery, or just PT.

Thank you SubC, that makes me feel better. I appreciate your friendship and for sure, my grands need me. You are right about my kids trusting me with their babies. Honestly I was so surprised and happy when Tot and Acorn's mom invited me to be with her during labor and delivery. What an amazing experience! And, they handed Tot over at just a few weeks old for me to babysit while they went on a date! That is a wonderful gift. I need to focus on the good. Are your in-laws actually staying with you when they come? For how long? Sounds stressful. Congrats on the review and dinner! We already knew you were excellent 🙂

Tatoulia, thanks, I have not been on here or instagram in days. I was super busy. I am right now volunteering 15-20 hours a week (more than I am even working, with all the medical stuff). I sat down with my boss this week and told him I am 'resigning' from my biggest volunteer time drain. It is 8 - 10 hours a week and I had committed to it before I was hired. He is super supportive and I will finish out the year, and we will work together to find a replacement. I hope your stressful week turns out less stressful than you expect.

Where are CM and Road? Boy it has been ages since I saw Road on here.

Today is my day off and I have an errand to run but the rest is relaxing, enjoying eggs, toast, and coffee, and doing some decluttering, I hope.

Yay Lila!

Great news on the medical front! (No cancer beats broken arm and also hopefully now that they know it is broken they can actually help you fix it!

I hope when you say "finish out the year" you mean a school year or some other artificial year and not 2023. That is too long to keep a job you quit!

I miss road too. I worry about her.

I took the goat and half the ducks to school today. The kids love the ducks. The milking went well, buttthe goat escaped and I had to chase her two blocks (while my class stayed with the ducks and another teacher) I finally got some neighbors to help me catch her in their backyard. I'm sure the whole thing was hilarious to watch. By the time the story got back to me, I had run ten blocks- which is flattering as I am pretty sure I can't run ten blocks.

Tomorrow Isa garden/barn/pottery day.

oh my goodness SubC!! I can just picture you running down the road after this goat, while the children behind you hold the baby ducks! Wow, you're an athlete, lol. I am glad you got her back.

Well, actually it is the real year. It's actually an elected church position, and they elect new people in February. I made a 4 year commitment and am in my 3rd year but my boss said since I am on staff now, I can get out a year early. So I'm in it til February, actually. However, if I can find the right replacement, then I can start working with them now - and, maybe even be released early if I have a trained person willing to come on early. It has to be the right person, because whoever takes my volunteer position is going to be working with me in my paid position. I want them to be someone I work well with, so I am praying and looking around.

I feel like today just whizzed right by. I always think I got nothing done... and I really didn't do any decluttering or even cleaning. So what I did do today:

- rested and relaxed
- cooked a new recipe made from sweet potatoes, spinach, chickpeas and a tahini sauce. It was good!
- answered a few texts, calls, and emails that are volunteer related (but not the volunteer stuff I am getting out of
- sorted papers in my to-do bin and threw away a good stack
- ordered my new planners for the 2023-24 year, since they were on sale 20% off and free shipping
(note - no-spend is not going so great. It is more of a less-spend).
- went to the pharmacy and to the grocery store (got just a few items I need for recipes)
- texted with a neighbor about their very noisy and destructive dog, and I hope we are resolving that issue
- went through a bunch of old medical docs online and wrote down dates of my visits, procedures, and imaging since I was dx with cancer, so I have all that in one place

See, I did a lot really! I feel better writing it down.

Also I am down 4 of the 20 pounds I want to lose. I have more to lose, but this is my first goal and is on the other thread.

When I got back I looked at everyone and said "thank you for not filming that."

If by "athlete" you mean "old lady who responds to adrenaline" then, sure.

I guess your year is going to be like the school year I am finishing - too long for the stress and exhaustion, but also too short for your goals. I hope that you find your dream partner.

I haven't made it out to the studio to turn the heat on yet. It was hard to get up when my alarm went off. I was dreaming and didn't get up right away. I have changed the moving blanket over to the dryer (I use it to line my backseat when I transport the goat)

I picked up a free calendar from a store counter and I have been writing what I accomplish. the days are pretty full. I also write down the days I crash, so I can see what leads to the crash, and have a realistic picture of how often it happens.

I think "no spend" is pretty unrealistic - there always have to be exceptions. If it makes you really think about the things you are buying - that is enough.

I am on Day 3 of helping out at the bunny shelter house while the daughter is out of town, so that the mother won't have to run everything alone. The mother seems more rested - I had been worried about her when we had the event in March, she was so tired then. But in her home environment she has a good routine going. I, too, have been pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it runs with as many rabbits as they have right now.

I went back to where I live yesterday to check on my own rabbits, and they seem fine. Today I shall do the same, plus get some lunch, wash my hair, and go to a 4:00 p.m. Mass at the parish over here by the bunny house, and that way tomorrow morning I can just get up and help with bunnies one last time and then head back home in the late morning or early afternoon. A nap is on the agenda after I've gotten there and settled back in.

We had one stressful episode last night, though. A sort of chain reaction of stressed bunnies. One in particular got triggered like a combat veteran with PTSD. We were very worried about him. There are other bunnies near this one who are new and skittish, and that doesn't help. They pick up on each other's behaviors and body language, and of course if one thumps it sets off a chain reaction of endless thumping. It was all so unexpected because things had gone smoothly and the freaked out guy is usually mellow.

But today everyone seems okay. I pray so hard that the overall situation can get better - like, if they are meant to continue having a shelter God will direct them to an affordable building and bring some steady donors, or if not that the shelter can be downsized or whatever in a peaceful process that meets the bunnies' needs and doesn't leave emotional scars on the humans involved. Like I said above, we manage well enough if things go according to plan, but it feels like there's no reserve of resources (material or personnel-wise) for crises.

Weather here is in a change pattern - we had a nice day or two that would've been good for storage unit work, but I couldn't go there because I was doing this. Today and tomorrow it's supposed to shoot up into the 90s, and that'll breed weather - possibly thunderstorms most of the coming week. I wonder how much rain that'll entail, whether it's our May monsoon season on the way or just light storms.

Still, next week should be calmer in terms of regrouping and getting back to a less eventful flow of the days - I hope. Scared to say that sometimes, because I've said it before and been blindsided by crazy unexpected stuff.

Being away from home gives me a little emotional distance from the clutter and a little hope that I'll be able to formulate - and more importantly execute - some viable plans for tackling longstanding "hot spots" and piles. Projects that I've been avoiding because they're intimidating. And some of them do indeed require strategy - if I were to just plunge in willy nilly moving stuff around I'd make it much worse.

Weather will stabilize at some point, the storms may not be continuous - some things like crafts that I had thought of doing out on the patio may be possible, as may finally figuring out a way to clear off the back room worktable and be able to sew etc. I'm invited to a graduation party in a week and was trying to think of a gift for this girl that won't break the bank. Thought of sewing a pillowcase using the fabric for the university she plans to attend. But that's a lot to do in a week if I'm going to do it - shop for the fabric, prewash it, press it, cut out the pillowcase, stitch it together.

Used to be when I had a better workspace it wouldn't have been hard at all. These days everything is complicated. Well, we'll see. Backup plan is just find some merch with that school's mascot and pay inflated prices for it and try to spiff it up to look like more. For example, a coffee mug with the mascot, then maybe at a candy store I can find those M&Ms in the school colors and stuff a bagful of those in there and add some ribbon. I'll figure something out.

hi CM. I like hearing your bunny stories. My best friend, who passed away 2 years ago, was involved in bunny rescue and she loved them so much. I miss her. I hope your bunnies are calm and happy today.

SubC, that is a good idea with the free calendar. I like that you can look back over time and see patterns.

I am down another pound.

I loaded the dishwasher and ran it last night.

Today I have just been relaxing. I have a lunch date with someone, and it is work related so I get paid for this one, a surprise! Then I am invited to a party tonight and I rsvp'ed yes, but it feels overwhelming. I have said yes and then did a last minute no to the last 2 parties (same group) so I really need to go so they don't think I just don't want to be part of their social group. I do. I want to. But somehow every time it comes time to get ready, figure out what to bring, and go, I feel like such the outcast. I envision myself at the party and everyone else is talking and having fun and I am sitting there awkwardly and then leaving early. I dunno, it is hard for me. But since I have to get ready for the lunch date, it should be easier to actually go to the party this time.

What wonderful news, Lila! Wow! So pleased!

SubC someday everyone will remember the time you sprinted a mile and back to capture the escaped goat while helicopters circled!

Cm you are doing great this weekend with the bunnies! I must confess that I know nothing about rabbits.

We had brunch with a former employee today. She's graduating from college and so we took her out. Absolutely lovely time.

I'm now going to head over to see mom. I was terrible and didn't go yesterday.

Good morning everybody!

CM, I hope you get your nap today!

I suggest making the girl a sewing/repair kit. Ds was one of the most popular guys in his dorm because he could put your button back on. Decorate a container, toss in some basic thread colors a little pair of scissors and some needles. Bonuses: A few squares of Velcro and plain extra buttons if you have them around, some safety pins (different sizes - emergency pin or replacing drawstring), some regular pins (stuck in a card if you don't have a little pincushion) a measuring tape. Maybe pair it with some laundry sheets.

Lila, did you go to the party? Nice that you got paid for your lunch meeting. My job takes my lunch all the time. It was interesting because when I was outside all day with the goat, a couple of administration staff offered to watch her so that I could have a break to eat lunch or go to the bathroom. The third one is not in charge of me in any way, so when she insisted "you can't go all day without a break" I laughed and said "you do realize I normally go all day without a break, right? I'm just in my room where no one can see me." (I took the breaks btw.)

Tatoulia, one of my coworkers told me that next week she is going to tell kids about how the sirens went off, traffic was stopped, and the goat and I came back on a fire truck (the station is across the street from us)

I planted ten little tomato plants yesterday. It is currently raining like Kansas with hail. I hope they survive. I want to go turn the heat on in my studio so I can finish some mugs in time to drop them off for firing today when we go out for our concert, but, hail.

Good morning again!

I got my mugs done yesterday. The concert was very good.

I moved the duck pen and cleaned up a bit in the barn.

I replaced the one tomato plant that got murdered by the hail.

I ran the dishwasher. I rinsed out more recycling than I created.

Basically, I gained ground on pottery, my garden, dishes, and the barn. I am still behind on all those things, but less behind than I was on Friday.

I took care of an online thing before it became a problem.

I only lost ground on laundry and a little bit of picking up after myself. I started a load of laundry when I got up this morning.

Bean and I will have to go buy feed again today. After his nap I will take him to school with me so I can make some notes on the art show projects that are ready to go home and pick up the final projects from my Friday classes (we have three more classes, but they are "cheese/ice cream", "compare/contrast ducks and chickens", and "pull weeds/harvest garlic/play review game".) The kids just dropped their projects off in the room on Friday because I was outside. Bean's Daddy will come get him at school.

I have twelve more school days this year. I am panicking.

Good morning!

It's supposed to be cloudy and cool all day today, but I will be inside teaching anyway. Our art show is after school, and it is also the last night we can do wet work at the class I am taking. It's actually my last week of class because I will be skipping next week for a school event.

I had some nice things happen to me yesterday. I had my end of the year review and I am terrific. A friend brought me some sweet potato slips (they were free, so that doesn't count against my no buying plan), and in honor of teacher appreciation day, a restaurant near school gave me a yummy, healthy, free dinner! Dh was playing golf, so it was excellent timing.

I was stunned. Usually "teacher appreciation" giveaways are things for your classroom, or mugs, or discounts if you buy something. This was literally "order off the menu, flash your school ID, have a nice day!" They emailed our school admin to tell us about it.

The huge lift to my mood and feeling of gratitude that someone just gave me dinner because I am a teacher also opened my eyes to how little outside support I have gotten this year. My meal was less than $10. And it made my week.

I stuck another little doodad in my friend's prize jar at school yesterday. Pretty much the best I can do lately is hold the line on things coming in.

I slept on my neck wrong last night and it is very sore this morning, so I am moving slowly.