Tatoulia, that is a lot to handle. And feeling alone is one of the worst feelings there is. Even if we have people/friends etc, sometimes we are alone IN a situation, and that hurts. Praying things go along smoothly with your mom's things.
I am glad you had the integrity to not give that place your business. I hope whoever wrote that will think twice about the words they use.

We had a nice family dinner today, and I am glad. It was a lot of work cooking. I feel like I cleaned all day to get it presentable and then cleaned after. I keep thinking, "next year I will be in my new house and everything will be better!" I sure hope it is true.

I really wish I had another day off. But I have to work tomorrow. I love my job. I'll be happy about it once I am there. Getting up and ready and going is the hardest part after so much time off.

Also I gave away a big foam pad from the garage.

post 2 -

oh I am so tired. And sneezing, blowing my nose, have a headache. I just want to rest. But I have to take Teen to another appt, and they are already distressed and crying and yelling, which has my adrenaline running and feels crummy. Maybe after, I can rest. I want tea.

The dogs are shedding so badly you would not believe it. Hair everywhere! I ordered a little Dog vacuum/grooming kit and it will be here today. It has grooming tools that attach to a long hose and has a very small vacuum (shoebox size). I did try to find attachments for the vacuum I have, but it was almost the same cost as this whole system which was half off. I am actually excited that this might help me keep the dog hair under control. It is the bane of my existence... hair everywhere all the time unless I vacuum every day, which I don't. I think grooming them this way once a week will make things much better. (When I groom them with brushes, no matter how careful I am, hair flies everywhere. I hope this will be more effective - they are big dogs).

So I also:
- vacuumed the carpet and kitchen
- took the dirty sheets off my bed
- sorted some vegetables that were going south, fried up the mushrooms with garlic and sliced a tomato and had those with an egg and a piece of toast.
- froze some soup from the fridge that was not getting eaten

I am leaving soon for that appointment. My goal today WAS to get my bedroom under control, but I have not been able to work on that yet. I hope to get the clean sheets and blankets on my bed, for a start.

I need to tackle that room the way I have been tackling the garage! With a donate box and a storage bin.

Tatoulia, brushing my teeth is not routine for me. I am as impressed by that as I am by keeping up with laundry.

So, You did laundry, you wrote thank you notes, you dropped off the rug, and you gave your brain time to rest. Well done.

I like paper books. I like the way they feel when I read them.

The Christmas season is finally over here and some of the decorations are put away. Bean decided he wanted to keep his three dinosaurs and two of his books at my house, but I am not counting those as "in". I put his Dinos away in the toy snake bin.

He did not want to do playdo on the big counter, so I made no progress in the scullery.

I have a lot of laundry to do.

Lila, I would love to see Road back.

Lila, I meant to congratulate you on selling a stroller! And now a foam pad is gone!

What did you make for dinner?

Also below I wrote my very best friend but it should have read my neatest friend. She's neat and tidy.

Thank you for your support. I did a little consolidating here. I've done the dishes and cleaned one cat box. Going to shower and go to bed. I too could use another day, Lila! One more day.

Took laptop in by keyboard, cleaned (keyboard was mostly in case but wiped a little dust from edges). Plugged keyboard power in, tried to push On button, nothing happened. Going to Target for 6 D batteries, hoping it will run on those till I can talk to someone about the power adapter connection. Fingers crossed... would hate to think keyboard not working.

I miss road, too. I'll see if she's on instagram.

I understand the feel of a real book and would never argue against it. I know im lucky that I'm able to enjoy the kindle so much.

I took the garbage out and ran to the dry cleaners and stopped at Whole Foods and came home and put my pjs on but I need cat litter. And we are expecting high winds and rain starting tmr. So I'm going to get dressed and go get some kitty litter. Two cats is a lot.

They are doing better. This AM while I was getting their food, the two were about five feet apart in the hallway and mom's cat was hissing and so I looked at her and she meowed. So they are trying.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, that is a lot. You already have plenty of challenges for January.

I'm sorry but not surprised that the emotion hit you when you were done. I'm also very sorry about the rug place.

My Dd works in construction and she has difficulties with calendars. Sometimes they are gifts from vendors.

Lila, just keep telling teen you love them and making sure they get as much care as possible. It's all you can do.

Will you be downsizing houses when you move?

This morning I am going out to my farm sitter's place and learning how to milk a cow. She says it's easy- just like goats, but twice as many handles. Hopefully her cow is an easy milker. Cows are big.

I also need to run some errands and try to continue and build on my good habits. The scullery sink is empty!

Good evening.

Hope, looking for a job is accomplishing something. I'm sorry you were told you are overqualified.

Lila, I don't know about the hormones. My mom had a bad experience with hormone therapy and there is cancer risk in my family. I'm also not sure they're that fast acting. - I can't actually predict when the bad days are going to be, just that sometimes they seem connected to hormonal shifts. (I am not menopausal, but have not had anything like a regular cycle for some time.)

We'll see. I was feeling like it was really, exceptionally bad and then I got the email from my former student and then I actually felt better for a bit.

I'm sorry teen is resistant. Finding your tribe is really important. There are autism sites where you can just go and lurk and read - I found one where I was reading a thread that just kept making me laugh, and Dh asked me what was so funny and I started reading him things and he just looked at me blankly. One of the things about my real life is that people often laugh in the wrong places. It was really nice to experience humor that made sense to me. Just feeling like you have people and are not alone. Even if you never talk to them.

I hope you got to rest.

I had a good day at school. My expected visitor came at lunch, and then after we'd been hanging out for about half an hour, a second student who graduated with her just appeared in my door and we rushed him for a giant group hug. It was so good to catch up with them. They are doing well. We also discussed that none of us has heard from the third member of their cohort since graduation, which makes me sad. But they figure he'll resurface eventually.

During the private conversation, she talked about struggling with executive functioning and how showering is really hard (she's living with roommates and said her parents would remind her, but her roommates don't say anything.) I said "yeah. I have a husband who asks me frequently ‘have you showered today?'." She looked startled and I waved a hand and said "fourth wall." And then she laughed and said "so there's hope for me." This is why I want teen to have people.

I dropped off the trash and recycling today.

I got dressed and picked up the kitty litter. So that's done. Ready for bed.

Oh how I would love to get a calendar! They are on the endangered species list for sure!

I get a lot of food baskets and sweets. Most I put out for my department but a few I distribute to other non-public facing departments since we receive so much. I also take a few each year to my mother's place. I received a beautiful basket with champagne and sweets, which I gave to an elderly neighbor. I did not make my gingerbread houses this year and I wanted to bring her something. I looked up the basket and it was $150! So I took it to her on New Year's Eve. She mentioned that she was wondering about her gingerbread house. I did not mention that my mother had died. I get probably 20 to 25 things each year. One person sent me six YES SIX bottles of wines, which I gave to a friend who was helping me with mom's house. There was no point in keeping even one of the bottles. Another sent me a small bottle of wine (very cute) with some cashews and a wine glass, which I gave to the UPS person who was delivering it. I managed to get off of a lot of people's lists, which is a relief since I cannot deal with all of the stuff coming my way. If we get something good like a blanket generally people give me theirs since I know so many people who are minimally housed and could use the blanket. This year the one blanket I received I donated to goodwill. I was much too overwhelmed to take it to an individual. Looked like a nice throw so I'm sure it will keep someone warm.

So I worked on thank you cards tonight and I made a small bag of things to shred at work tomorrow. Good luck to me to find something I can wear to work. I'm large.

I slept after work instead of doing stuff. Not the best habit.

Just caught a bit there SubC and will chime in to say I like some of the neurodiverse spaces on Reddit, and there's also a site called Wrong Planet that I want to look at more. I'm trying to go slowly on some of the autism questions I have because it can become its own rabbit hole (speaking only for myself here). I am naturally introspective and have plenty of "How the heck did I get here?!" questions about my life's trajectory. It'd be one thing if I were younger and might have time to do more damage control. Alas.

Anyhoodles... actually came to report a happy thing:

Bought the batteries and put them in my keyboard and it turns on! So the problem is not the On/Off switch which can be one possibility, according to some forums I looked at. The adapter is aftermarket and its green power indicator lights up, and it doesn't seem to be loose in the port, but dunno if there's still some problem with the port that I can't detect visually. Might see if someone can try the adapter with another device to check it, or if there's another compatible one I can test with my keyboard but not have to buy unless I'm sure that's what's needed. I'll talk to the guy at Guitar Center; he was so nice the other day. I don't want to take the keyboard out in the damp cold weather though. Just pick his brain first. Also my library tech guy may know something about these things.

I have been finding the books and accessories that go with the keyboard, which has been a real trip - on this one set of shelves that has hardly gotten looked at for several years. My sheet music has resided there. It's also where some of those sewing and quilting books and things were/are, some of which I thinned out earlier in the week.

There's something of a mood of renaissance about all this. Creative areas of my life that had gone dormant, stifled under discouragement, now being not only reawakened but the streamlining process making it much more likely that I will not be bogged down, and more able to be productive in it all. Jettisoning the dead weight. Dusting - it's wild to dust these things and see them looking spiffy and "alive" again. That sort of dusting is a joy.

good morning. I caught up on your posts and am cheering everyone on. There is some good advice in this thread. I also laughed at the Counter of Doom, SubC... you know I have one myself!

I am still sick, but TotsDad came over yesterday and we worked in the garage together for 30 minutes. That's all I could do. But we sorted quite a bit and I posted a bunch of things in the Daily Tally. I also threw out quite a bit of junk that was uncountable, like boxes of random odds and ends. Then I was so cold and tired I came in the house. I thought TotsDad was just moving a few tools to where they belong, but he stayed out there and worked. Over an hour later it suddenly dawned on me he was still in the garage and I had a fleeting thought of OMG what is he doing? What is he touching? Is he going through things? Is he making decisions?? But it was fleeting, which is good. I just trusted him. He told me later he was organizing and moved all the bins and boxes we already sorted into one space and put the things we have not sorted into another space for me to sort. How nice of him. I have not gone in there to look but I bet it is great! He is a good worker.

If it was not so cold and if I was not so sick I would be out there sorting now. But I am pretty sick.

I am also very, very tired, and am missing work today.

Ohh SubC, I lived in a dairy farm long ago. Milking a cow by hand is pretty much the same as goats... I have done both. My husband taught me to put my head in the hollow of the cow's gut, between ribs and back leg, so they can't kick the hell out of you.

Tatoulia, you have done well. Rest is part of recovery, too.

Our New Years Day dinner was a prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, steamed peas, rolls, gravy, and salad, with cheesecake for dessert. All homemade. It was delish. Tonight was pizza, which I did not want to spend money on, but it was for a party, so I did it.

I worked today, then took Teen to an appointment (grueling), then shopped, then visited someone in the hospital, then home for the party. I am so tired. I got up early to color my hair. I have to work early tomorrow. I am very glad I shave Friday off. I can get through til then. I really like my job but am SO tired.

Yay for a working keyboard!

And for finding your things and streamlining and cleaning up!

It's great to hear you making progress!

If anybody cares, I would also give a shout-out for wrong planet. It's a mixed bag, but that's part of what I like about it. A lot of different voices and viewpoints, but I like the cultural norms if that makes sense.

Good Day All,

Pushed through a challenging day yesterday. I started working on my family room. I got through six bins, very little attachment issues, threw away 3 bags of trash (less than I hoped). Goal for today is to work on books. I have 10 bins (not including what's already on shelves). I hate parting with my books but I hate living like a slob more so I will begin sorting through to see what i can donate. I definitely haven't been able to throw any books away. Although I didn't have attachment issues, I did experience moments of joy and pain as I have vivid memories of how and when I used / shared these items with family (some who are now deceased). I also keep envisioning what my family room used to look like when it was functional. Trying to let this inspire and motivate me to continue.

Lila - Sorry to hear that you are still not feeling well. glad that you were able to get some sun yesterday and I understand the issues you are having with letting go clothes. Can you set a goal of parting with maybe 2-3 items per day? I see how well the daily tally is working for you so wondering if a similar daily clothing target may work with you.

Just my two cents. I'm struggling here as well at times because I've already thrown away so much and have only a few items that I can fit. It should be easy to let go, it's like a mental hold that I won't have anything. On the other hand, when i get frustrated, I blindly throw away things to get it out (with the mindset that I will repurchase if needed). Feels good when I reclaim the space but now I barely have clothes to wear which is another reason that I isolate.

SubC - Glad that you finally got to play with Bean. Were you able to get any laundry done. Thanks for the reminder on one day at a time. The goal is to make incremental progress without adding to the hoard. And yes with all that's going on, I am really taking inventory of my relationships, it's a painful but necessary process.

Tat - Great job on getting rid of 20 bins of books. This is challenging for me. I like kindle as well but not as much as holding the book. But thanks for the reminder, this is a great compromise. Also, great job on getting the litter and be safe in the storm.

Forgive me for rambling all, still working on brevity but wanted to join to keep myself accountable and to try to support you all as much as you're supporting me.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, you would not want these calendars. They are not appropriate. Dd has to tell people to take them down.

My farm store has nice free ones with animals though.

The cow was sweet. She did not kick at all. I did get some milk on my jeans. The farm sitter sent me home with two sticks of butter and a pint of cream.

I had planned to go to the grocery store on the way home and buy some fresh fruits and veggies, but because of the cream in the car and the milk on my pants, I did not. And then when I got home I crashed. I got very little done yesterday and I made bad food choices. But today is another day and I get Bean - whose family is still Covid free. They will come for orthodox Christmas this weekend.

Tatoulia, be gentle to yourself. You are doing amazingly well.

When I was crashing yesterday I rewatched "white nights" I remember watching it with my Mom and thinking Baryshnikov was so attractive even though he was old because he moved with such grace, and now I think how young he was - lol.

So, today I have Bean and I will take him home and go by the downtown studio to hopefully pick up the last of my pots (not good for my tally) and I will get my fresh fruits and veggies. I think Bean and I will probably just play.

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I looked at Wrong Planet and sent a link to Teen. Who knows, maybe they will find support there. Any other good forums or anything to find peers? They are more likely to do online stuff than in person at this point.

I made my bed.

The dog grooming vacuum came and I am disappointed. It does not have a lot of suction and the hair still flings around some. The tools slide through the hair and leave shedding clumps on the dog - not strong enough to suck them up or even brush them out. It is not really any less work than regular grooming. I imagine I would have a similar result by using my usual groom tools and a dustbuster next to me. It has a 30 day return period so I may try it one more time and then clean it to new state and return it.

Sad it was not my miracle grooming tool.

I wish I had gotten some work done on my bedroom today, it truly is like you raided a thrift store and threw 8 or 10 big bins of clothes and stuff in there. I can't find anything. It is terrible. I may try to clear a path to the closet and hang up a few things tonight.

I did cook a new recipe with Teen, and that is something good.

You guys are killing me with the books! I have felt the same way. Let me share about my books, a little.

I have always loved to read. I collected books. In my living room two years ago, I had 3 large, tall bookshelves, a short bookshelf, and a medium height very wide bookshelf, all full of my books. It took a LOT of gut wrenching decisions, but over time I am now down to two tall bookshelves, not crammed full. I donated almost all the other books, but put a few on a shelf in my bedroom.

I do have a couple bins of sentimental books I will deal with in time.

It was very hard for me to give away most of those books. But now I know I only have books I really love on those shelves in the living room.

However, ex left books all over my house when he left. And boxes and bins of books and magazines. Son and I have been trying to consolidate ex's books and throw away any trash, magazines, junk mail that was shoved in with them. I bet he has 25 boxes of books that I have not looked in. It is insane and I kind of resent it. When I see a book of him that I think, "this is ridiculous!" say, how to identify a cactus by its needles or how to write a legal dissertation, I donate it. (He is neither a lawyer nor a plant biologist). It is highly likely all these boxes will be here until the day he dies, so I don't think it matters.

Anyway I feel like crap but will try and sort a bin or two today in honor of TotsDad's hard work yesterday.

Happy New Year.

I celebrate each of you for your kindness and transparency. I've been too embarrassed to invite anyone to my home now for several years. The relative that used to help me out at home died so I no longer have help. I got laid off so can't afford to hire help and have been a bit depressed about the layoff and state of my home so some days just hard to pull myself out of bed (and I have never been one to lay around all day, I am usually a workaholic).

I did wash several loads of clothes but I still have so much more to do.

I got out the house for New year's eve and New Years day and visited family. It felt good to get out because I had been isolating BUT i felt like crap seeing how neat and clean everything was at my relatives house. I kept thinking of how bad things were at home. I really miss entertaining family at home.

I threw out six bags of trash and also cleaned my driveway today. I don't trust myself trying to count things right now. I just try to get it in a trash bag as quickly as possible before I change my mind. Still feeling overwhelmed and immense shame. Praying that I find a job soon and for strength to keep decluttering a little at time.

Tatoulia - try to be kind to yourself. you are doing a wonderful job with all that you have going on. Grief is a process. Reading the stages of grief helped me to better understand what I was feeling going through after I lost my mom and a few other close relatives. I am also glad to hear that you got some rest.

Lila - congrats on getting back to work and for reaching your 2023 goal and setting your 2024 goal. I too believe it won't take long for you to reach that goal. You are truly an inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

Subclinical - congrats on setting your 2024 goal and on learning how to milk a cow.

Good afternoon.

If I were being practical I would be starting evaluations, but I don't have the energy. Instead I have been poking around at drawers and shelves.

I listed some of my progress in the daily tally. I also may have improved the book situation, but we'll see. I'll list books when I actually drop them at the used book store. You can't actually see any improvement except on the two shelves that I dusted.

Dh and I are going out tonight. The kids have put off their arrival again until tomorrow. The Christmas tree is dry and starting to brown and I am sad when I look at it. But I also still want to keep it up until after we open presents with Bean.

I am accomplishing nothing because I don't want to write evaluations.

Lila, I don't understand the current situation with your ex and the space he was/is renting and the moving.

I once lived in a very small town in Iowa. I had more books than the local library. If you don't count textbooks I have more than my school does. I am ok with that, I am just trying to be sure they are books that are in good condition and will be loved and used and read and that they are accessible. Things like outdated nonfiction and junky adolescent fiction need to go. Also, anything that is a read aloud that I am not excited about reading to Bean or Birdy. It's just hard, I second guess myself a lot.

Happy new year Hope!

Nice job getting up and leaving the house! I mean that sincerely. Please try to just enjoy your family and not compare. You are seeing their outside. Never compare your inside to somebody else's outside.

When you say you cleaned your driveway- was your driveway blocked? Or just messy? How is it now? Is there enough stuff in your yard to cause you concern? If so, you aren't alone. I know Lila has done a lot of work on her yard, and I live on a farm with junk piles. I am just trying to get a feel for where you are starting so I can better encourage you.

Thank you for congratulating me on my new cow skills. My family tends to gently (or not so gently) roll their eyes at such things.

I had a good day with Bean. I made pretty good food choices. I showered and took my vitamin and i picked up my last three pots from the pottery studio and went grocery shopping.

The grocery shopping was really hard. Dh gave me a list that was not specific enough. Things like "apples" "salsa" "spaghetti sauce" "chips". The decisions were overwhelming.

Lila, I wondered if that tool did sound a little small for the job, like they oversold its capabilities. I'd go for the refund and keep looking.

My sewing machine vinyl cover just arrived! Now I can permanently place the machine in its spot on the craft table, knowing the dust bunnies will not be able to attack it again.

Got the keyboard MIDI cable connected to the laptop, and fired up Aria Maestosa (software program). Recorded a little doodle, but can't figure out how to get it to play back yet. (Plunge right in, read instructions later, that's my M.O.!)

I may not end up sticking with Aria Maestosa - because I remember Mr. Cool Tech Dude at the library speaking of a program they have classes on. It's called Audacity. I was thinking it was part of Adobe Creative Suite (which the library does have a subscription to, so you can use it there, but I'm not going to pay when there's plenty of open source available). Anyway, Googled Audacity - and it is open source! And it looks to be more currently updated and maintained. Probably has more features too. So I may just switch to it before I get too far in, and obviously take the library's Audacity classes - sounds like a win!

I don't know if I shared that the library has been setting up an actual Maker Space, with Cricut machines, 3D printers, and whatever else; I was going to check it out more but then covid and the holidays were upon me. Also, my university, WSU, has the MakeICT (ICT is the abbreviation for Wichita) center on campus and I've been meaning to become acquainted with that. So hoping that 2024 finds me really connecting more with the artistic and maker community in my town.

Closer to home - I will not get so carried away with all this that I neglect sewing and other things I've been getting back to, nor decluttering. Went out earlier to fetch something from the garage and saw bags of clothing that are more things that I need to either repair or move on out - and I can add the ones that make the cut to my sewing queue inside here. I'm going to get the things dealt with once and for all. Poco a poco!

I'm just glad though that there are many things that I will be able to be creative with, and knowledgeable people to guide me in learning how to do things. Finally, what I didn't know I was waiting for all these years: a grassroots community artistic milieu, instead of something where one has to "qualify" to gain entry even as a beginner. Or have money, for example, to rent studio space.

That entry hurdle has always been difficult for me, the pressure to produce, juried things, portfolio deadlines - to think I wanted to enter the world of academia at one time where I would've had "publish or perish" hanging over my head... yikes. Well, I bailed 3/4 of the way toward my master's because it was all so scary. There were other things going on; it was not a happy time. But that's water under the bridge. Living my best creative life now is what counts. And the knowledge I did get in the writing master's program, and later my short lived attempt at the second bachelor's in studio arts - the knowledge is still with me, stored as Hercule Poirot says in the little grey cells. As long as those little grey cells are functioning and dementia has not set in, I'm going to work them! There are so many online learning resources available too.

SubC, hope you get those hormones straightened out - I opted not to take replacement after my hysterectomy at 46, since some of my issues seemed linked to estrogen overload at the time. Sometimes I have wondered if my brain fog/ADHD is worsened by perhaps now being low on it, but I haven't pursued it. And exercise seems to be helping a lot with just about everything.

Tatoulia, wanted to throw in my moral support for you standing firm against the awful slur word the other day. If it's the word I'm pretty sure I can guess, I absolutely loathe, hate, despise, and deplore its use, to the point where anyone using it casually loses my respect. It's gross and disgusting. Bravo to you for standing up for decency.

Hope - didn't want to forget to say Hi to you also - keep popping in when you are able - did I tell you about Poco a Poco? I think maybe I did. Just keep doing the little bits of positive and don't get overwhelmed. Once you get a few victories under your belt things will pick up.

Hi everyone!

Hope we love long posts! Please don't be self conscious or start editing your thoughts! We are glad you are here! Lila I am worried about you and need you to slow down. Do not work in the cold garage until you are better. Everyone is getting sick and it's lasting a long time and turning into bronchitis. Please take care of yourself.

SubC, how is little birdy?

I took a cab home from work. It's cold and rainy and although I live this weather, we just had snow the other day and I do not want to fall.

It killed me get rid of books but I did it. Andy then I went through them again and got rid of more. I needed to do it. I still have lots of books but they fit on my bookshelves. Some of the books I had read during grad school, and I still remember reading them and living them. With age, however, my eyesight has changed and reading in the kindle, where I can increase the font, has been a Godsend.

Okay back to the office for me tomorrow. I'm going to fool around a bit and then do something. Anything.

SubC, what kinds of games do you play with Bean? Tot likes Don't Break the Ice and Candyland. We need to try Chutes and Ladders. I'm looking for more ideas.

Hope, so nice to read your post. You did great getting rid of all that trash! Do you live alone? I live with my adult Son and my Teen. I am separated and in my 50s. Female with young grandkids! We look forward to hearing more about your adventures in decluttering.

I had a very good day at work, then took Teen to another appt and it was terribly sad. I love them so much and they are so depressed and it is so sad. I would do anything to help them and have done many many things, expensive and time consuming things, to try and help, but nothing has worked at all. They say the autism is a big factor. They are starting a new med tomorrow and I am praying so hard that this helps.

This all gives me a deep sadness that is permeating my life, even in the times I am doing things I love. I am starting to see a counselor next week because this is very difficult.

I am working tomorrow too but hope to declutter and clean on Friday and Saturday.
My bedroom looks like a literal thrift store that was in an earthquake.

hi guys, nice seeing your posts CM and SubC and glad we are all making bits of progress. Glad to see you on the Daily Tally, too, SubC.

I am sick and miserable, Teen was yelling this morning and angry, everything unhappy. They went to their brother's and now I am home by myself and trying to recover. I feel really unwell but when I lie down I can't relax, so am sitting on the couch watching tv.

I did go in the garage to try and make slight progress, just sorting some papers but got that done.

I also sorted part of the fridge. Froze some things, tossed some things.

I want soup so I took out some soup we made a few days ago but it has pasta in it and the pasta soaked up almost all the broth. I am not in the mood for noodles at all, so I put it all in a pan, added extra water and am heating it up. Then I will try strained out the pasta so I can just enjoy the broth and not feel like I wasted everything by dumping it all in the trash, since no one was going to eat it.

I have not worked on my room. BUT, I did a load of my laundry and a load of towels is in the dryer. So that's good.

That room though.

Tatoulia, you are RIGHT. Working in the cold and standing on concrete is making me sicker. I am getting worse. Before I read this, I did go in the garage with TotsDad again today but only for about 15 minutes and I could tell it was making me ill.

So he brought a whole bunch of boxes and half full tubs inside for me to sort in the warm house. Very thankful. He is coming back tomorrow to help more.

SubC, when my ex left, he went to stay with a relative about 5 hours away. Since he does not have a house, he only took a few suitcases of stuff. I used to rent out a room for income, but he wanted to leave stuff here, so he offered to pay me rent for the space his stuff is taking. So all this time he pays me rent. A few hundred bucks but I need it. However, it is supposed to be for one ROOM. Yet half my garage is full of his junk, PLUS a room, plus part of another room.

So, since TotsFamily are moving in with me, they need space. What we are doing is not only purging all my excess stuff, but also consolidating the ex's things to make space.

Ex is quite elderly, has dementia, and is in poor health. Still does not have his own place. No talk about coming to get his stuff, and has no where to store it. I COULD ask him to get a storage unit, but I prefer to have the money... and it would be a real hardship on him to move it. I am not getting rid of anything he would really care for.
Just taking out literal trash and broken things, and consolidating the rest.

For example, today I sorted about 8 bins of his.
I threw away six grocery bags of trash from those bins! Most of it was junk mail, saved old envelopes, paper towels, very old pens. I did make an executive decision to throw away bills that are over 10 years old unless they are the kind of bill you need a record of.

I also donated some clothing I knew he would NEVER fit in, that is old and discolored and from the 70s.

I also threw away two boxes of old, dirty, bent, written-on file folders.

I donated and tossed 25 usable items which I posted on the daily tally thread, bringing my total for the year to 100 already!

Good morning!

Lila, Bean also likes candy land. He Loves don't break the ice.

I am not putting in any links! We have cooperative games called orchard and snails pace race. Peter rabbit's blackberry game. Vintage hi ho cherry-o, Parker brothers game of cat and mouse (a lot of my games are old). We have lotto, but he just likes to use it as puzzles for matching. Apparently his other grandmother got him a game called "feed the hungry caterpillar" which Dd says is great but I haven't seen yet.

This is reminding me that I need to clean out the games closet..

Does teen know other autistic people?
Do they have online communities?
I hope the med helps!

Today is my last day of break.

I am going to get ready for school tomorrow and for celebrating with Bean's family on Saturday. Hopefully do some work on my environment.

Hello SubC, CM, Lila, and Hope!

I am grateful for your support! Thank you so much.

I rented a zip car today (my first time) and took my rug to a place out in the suburbs that my friend recommended. She took her rug so we met there and then went for breakfast. After I got home, I realized it's one of BF's friend's 92 birthday so I called him to wish him a happy birthday and to see if he needed groceries. So I walked over to the supermarket and got him the chicken, bacon, etc he needed and I snuck in some coffee ice cream and some cupcakes, too. He met me outside and I told him that today"s groceries are his birthday gift from BF and me. I haven't seen this friend in a long time and it was great. I haven't had the chance to see if he needs his meds or anything. BF took very good care of him back when he had his business. And then I used to pick up his things at the pharmacy and take him to get his ID renewed, etc. it's good to be able to get back to stuff like that.

Hop, the word is derogatory toward women. Really nasty.

I have to work on the stuff from my mother's. I got it all out of the hallway but now it's in my living space. I need to find a way to go through these remnants.

Big snow headed our way but the media are probably making more of it than necessary. Hoping I'll show some productivity tomorrow.

Thinking of you all and cheering your progress and hoping that the bad things turn around. Hope, it is particularly humiliating to be rejected for being overqualified. Special brand of hell. If you would permit a suggestion, you might wish to address the overqualified issue in your cover letter, such as if you used to be in management or part of an executive team, you might say "after a wonderful career of leading a team, I am now looking forward to a position as individual contributor ". This signals that you know you have the qualifications for a higher level job AND lets the company know you won't look at the work as being beneath you. Feel free to reject or ignore this suggestion.

Lila, please return the grooming tool. Let's make 2024 the year where we don't try to make something cheap or shoddy work for us. I'm working on not accepting "workarounds " this year. Example:. Glad my vendor or IT people have devised a workaround but I'm still going to need it fixed. There are plenty of opportunities for us to make things work with what we have. If the brand new stuff doesn't work, back to the store!

SubC I'm sure the browning tree is bothering you. Hopefully everyone will be in good health. I liked the story about your former students coming by! Group hug!

Cm you are moving in the right direction! Well done on the sewing machine cover AND for getting it off of the bunny cages.

Was too scattered last time I posted.

Hope, I love that you are posting. Jus5 post. However it comes out.

Tatoulia, Birdy is doing great! He has gained a pound! It is really hard for me to only see him in pictures.

Lila, with the information you have given me - I wouldn't waste time sorting your ex's stuff. Just toss anything that looks dirty or dangerous or broken and stick the rest in the room until it doesn't fit and anything else you don't want goes. The day the rent stops it all goes! What will happen to it when you move?

Tot'sdad is great!

I am having a non-functional day. Today I have failed at evaluations, Christmas tree, dishes, and - when my youngest called this evening - parenting. (I have the post phone call text clarifying my failure as a parent in case you are wondering if I am being too hard on myself.)

Hopefully tomorrow will better.