The best part of dog day is when the shy, not so confident kid stands up in front of the class and gives a presentation - because they have their dog.

Glad you got some peace and quiet Lila. It sounds like you did a good job on the playroom.

I bought two puzzles and a rolling toy at the rummage sale. I sent them home with Bean when I returned him to Dd (since the rummage sale was between school and his house, I just picked him up today.)

Mil is still working on clearing out her house. She has started offering nicer things. Today I got my first "will you store." request from one of my kids. This is going to get rough. I am not running a self storage. I want to have the thing I want in my house.

Lila, I am glad to hear about the improvement in your grandson and hope the specialist gives you good news.

Bean did go trick or treating and loved it.

My week continued to hit me with a hammer. Heartgrandson ran away Thursday night. They found him at 2 a.m. and apparently took him straight to the hospital. Heartdaughter sent a message that he is "ok" but still no further information. I tried to call her last night but the phone went straight to voicemail.

However, in the one bright spot of the week - Buddy had his routine scans and follow up yesterday and they are not worried about him. His condition is not only not getting worse, it may be improving (any situation where the healthy part of the lungs grows faster than the mass is an improvement) and they want him to get some more tests that may provide non-surgical options!

Bean helped me clean up the Halloween decorations, although I have a few fragile things left to wrap and put away. I may get the fall/thanksgiving out this weekend. I may also get some more work done in my studio. At the moment I'm just trying to focus on reducing stress.

Oh dear, SubC, a lot to handle. Emotional stress is very hard, so I'm glad you are taking care of yourself. Give yourself some rest and do something you enjoy.

I worked yesterday just a few hours and today is my other usual day off. I have done some good today:
- washed off some counters
- unloaded and loaded the dishwasher
- out hand washed dishes away and washed a few more
- wiped down appliances in the kitchen, not perfect, but better. Not in the mood to scrub.

I also worked on my bedroom a bit the other day. I hung up/put away most of the clothes, threw out trash, and between that day and today I found 6 items to donate, which I listed on the Daily Tally.

Today I also took clothes out of my drawers (which is where the donated clothes came from) and put them in a bin to move downstairs (summer things) to make room in drawers for things I actually wear right now.

I hope you all are doing well!

Good morning.

Yesterday I put the laundry away, went to the feed store, returned my library books, and dropped two books in the little free library.

Then I spent too much time online and eventually got out to my studio where I actually made some progress. Dh cooked a real dinner, which is a thing we haven't done for a while (an actual carb/vegetable/protein meal made from ingredients and eaten together) and that was nice.

Today it's supposed to rain all day. I'm off to a slow start, but my plan is to go back out to the studio and lose track of time. I do not have to go anywhere today, and Dd is bringing Bean and Buddy here tomorrow, so there is no hurry in the morning tomorrow.

My mind is finally shifting out of survival mode and I have time to think about things. Lila, I found your small group lesson really interesting. It makes me think about patterns of resource use too - like "what am I saving this for?" And "what are the effects of saving this?" I don't know if it makes sense, but it also connects to my grocery store being stripped recently - like, try to keep a few extra rolls of toilet paper on hand, but don't buy so much toilet paper that people who are actually out can't buy it. Or, fast fashion - you can work for more sustainable fashion choices not just by choosing to buy fewer, quality things, but also by letting go of the things you are done with in ways that allow people with fewer resources to also have those things.

Your comment on cleaning out your drawers made me think about taking everything out of mine and just refilling them as the clean laundry comes back. I would need a place to put a big pile of clothes though - maybe after the holidays.

SubC how sad for the loss of your student. And I'm sad about your mother in law, too. Cm, you did an awful lot of work! Great job getting so many things done and getting to church on time!

I haven't read all the posts so I'll just send love to Lila for now.

I am determined to take at least one bag to goodwill this weekend. I have reserved a car for the occasion. I just have to do it. I can't make excuses. I just need to keep moving forward.

I go on holiday in December and Emiko will stay here for part of the time and I'm enlisting others to feed the cats for me. All the more reason to make the hard decisions and move things out of here. I cannot continue with too much stuff.

I want more peace, which is available via open spaces

Will read more later.

Good morning.

Today is the day the dogs come to visit my class. Anybody who has a dog is allowed to SCHEDULE A TIME for an ADULT to bring the dog to school ON A LEASH and stand with the dog OUTSIDE while the kid (or the adult if the kid chooses - but hopefully the kid) shares about the dog with the class. Then we ask if the dog would like to be petted and if the answer is yes, the kids are allowed to pet the dog one or two at a time if they want to. THAT DOG LEAVES, and another dog arrives. Pretty clear, yes?

The kids love this. I hate it. Someone will drop their kid off for the day holding an unleashed puppy. Someone will show up unscheduled and be allowed into the building to just appear at my classroom door. Someone will say "oh, my dog loves kids" and walk the dog right into the class group and up to the one kid who is afraid of dogs. Someone will show up at the wrong time and interrupt another kids turn "oh, we had to go to the bank, so I figured we'd just come now." Someone will let their dog poop on the playground and not clean it up.

I will have to talk to parents.

I don't know why I do this. I wish I had scheduled a sub.

We have scheduled a trip East for thanksgiving. I am looking forward to seeing my parents because I haven't seen them since a short overnight at Christmas last year. We are also visiting Dh parents. His brother will be there. Bean is sad because he wanted us to come to thanksgiving at his house with his other grandmother and his aunt and uncle. I promised him that when we get home we can have another thanksgiving and he can come with us to get our Christmas tree and spend the night.

I'm rereading old kids books for stress relief and deciding if I really want to keep them for my boys or if they should just be passed on, or in the case of sone of these paperbacks, recycled. It's surprising me how dated some of them are. I'll add them to the tally when they are actually gone.

Hi

SubC, I'm with you, as dogs are generally sensory and energy overload for me. And some owners are clueless or entitled. Just this afternoon I was sitting in the screen porch and the next door neighbor gal goes by with her dog on a too-long, slack leash, and it makes a beeline for the trash bag I'd just put out by the curb and hikes a leg and pees on it! I couldn't believe she didn't prevent it, which could've easily been done, yet knowing the habits of this chick actually I could believe it. It wouldn't do any good to say anything to her; roommate and I have tried on various occasions with various things and it doesn't help, and I have to watch my temper. So.

It's been a busy week but good in terms of accomplishments. Got covid shots yesterday. This morning I decluttered a small problem spot that had been bugging me. Somehow I ended up with my prescriptions a mess of pill bottles and pharmacy papers and bags, and I got that all sorted, old slips to be shredded, trash gone, pill bottles neatly in their box again. One of those odd and tedious tasks. Hoping I can keep up with it now.

Good morning.

It's been very quiet here (my physical location) since the election, extra groceries unnecessary.

Ignoring the election,

The last two days have been awful.
The student who came for lunch brought the obituary of another student - class of 2020, self inflicted, funeral was yesterday. And my in-laws called last night to tell us mil has stage 4 cancer, but they don't really know anything about prognosis or treatment. Dh is still processing.

My blood pressure is no longer good.

Bean spent the night last night. We're cleaning up the Halloween decorations and putting out fall/thanksgiving today.

Oh dear, SubC, what a load of awful news. I am so sorry about the student who felt that hopeless. What a heartbreak. I am also sorry to hear about your mil. Hopefully they will have some treatment to help her, somehow. Did Bean go trick or treating?

Hi CM, nice to see you! In my church we are protestant but have a love and partnership with Catholic churches as well - we believe we all serve the same God. So we do advent and lent as well. I am currently doing a pre-advent devotional, just of my own accord, as I felt I needed it. I'm sorry about the passing of the nice lady. And glad the bunny is ok.

Hi Tatoulia, I hope things are going well for you. I hope you feel better and make sure you eat something.

I am feeling better. We have all been exceptionally stressed about the new baby's condition which was looking worse over time. I invited the pastor and two prayer team friends over last week and they anointed him with oil and prayed over him and blessed him, and while it may sound hard to believe, his very visible issue disappeared over the next few days. He now looks like a normal baby and it is quite shocking really to anyone who saw him before and after. Praise God for mighty healing, which so often we pray for but do not receive in this broken world, but sometimes, his glory shines through. We are still taking him to his specialist appointment in about a week, to see if they see anything residual or anything that needs attention.

I also went to help with a lesson last night in a small group, and it turns out the lesson was on hoarding vs saving, and how we use our money and things to bless other people or just hang onto it. They actually talked about hoarding briefly and how we have compassion as it can be an emotional or mental condition, but also, that if we are able, we can trust God that we will always have enough. Someone shared about how if we trust him, it frees us up to bless others. We don't have to save 3 or 5 or 10 of something just in case. We can share our things if we have that mindset. I know that is not the mindset for all of us, but it is for me, that I save EVERY thing I MIGHT someday need, in case when that time comes I cant afford it. Remember how I had like 10 pairs of sneakers and never wore any of them? Like that. And the massive amount of clothes I have when 80% of them don't fit. And having a huge box of cords that basically I don't know what anything goes to.

Today is not my usual day off but my boss is away, so I took today off and turned off my phone. My goal today is to decrease the mass of hoard in my bedroom, which is so much now that you can only walk a little path, can't find anything, piles all over the place. I put a donation box on my bed and will try and keep that mindset of giving, sharing, and trusting God. I might also put some of it online for free to bless others in need.

Will check back in later.

Wow. I'm sorry the person said that to you, Lila. I'd have a hard time up hearing that, too. SubC! How awful!

My bit of good news is that the person at work who makes my life very very stressful is moving to a different job. Will still be with the company but my contact will be extra low. It really compounded to my stress last year when my BF left and when my mother was dying.

Im about to make dinner. I went too long without food and started to get shaky just now when I was out running errands.

I took half a day yesterday to run errands I the afternoon, including having a pedicure and picking up my lamp from the lamp repair shop.

I'm busily working toward getting ready for my trip overseas. Took some new corduroys to be hemmed.

Going to sit quietly while dinner bakes. Very shaky from not eating.

Good morning!

Lila, I hope your stomach feels better. I can understand wanting to hide with all that you have going on.

Tatoulia, I'm glad your stressful person is moving away. Don't forget to eat!

My sales went ok yesterday. Most of my sales were to other vendors (ones I also bought from - I don't think I have found a good fit with the customer demographic yet) I only sold eight pots, but they were mid to upper range, so it wasn't a horrible sale. I came in about $100 short of what I hoped for. Dh did ok with coffee, and I got to spend most of the day with him, so that was nice.

I did not sell any of the pieces in the category I failed to glaze, so that didn't matter. But I do need to get to work for my big sale in three weeks.

Dh bought an art piece from the woodworking guy which I love - it is three little rustic owls. It's on my new shelf, and I don't have to count it in because he chose it and bought it on his own. We also bought honey (consumable) and bees wax candles (also consumable) - from two other vendors, and I bought two more Christmas placemats from the quilting ladies because my family is growing. I came home and stuck a lot (I counted them, but I forget now - around a dozen?) of cheap paraffin wax tapers into the donate box. I don't like how smoky they are when you put them out or the way they smell.

So, I'm going to count two in for the placemats. I donated a piece to the raffle table (the sale is a fundraiser for our fire department) so I am up to 9 of my 100 out goal. Not looking promising from a sales perspective, but I am still determined to clear out some old inventory one way or another.

Today is a day to stay home, rest, work in the studio, and recover the house.

Been thinking to catch up but in a sequence of days that had something going on every day. Halloween evening at my friend's helping hand out candy, which was a blast. Upon my return, though, had a stressful challenge because my roommate's bunny had tummy trouble. Very worrisome because he wasn't bouncing back until I followed advice from online to just keep getting bunny to move. All of a sudden apparently he passed the gas bubble and started munching parsley.

That was a huge relief but by then it was 2:00 a.m. and I planned on 8:00 a.m. Mass for All Saints Day. Did not wake until 7:15, but put on the afterburners and made it. Then had to stop at the grocery store for urgent things like phone card. It was a zoo in there, busy and loud. Rested in the afternoon. Went to the Rosary service in the evening for a very nice lady who always sat in the pew behind me.

Originally had planned to go to the funeral as well yesterday morning, but didn't. Our drought breaking rain had arrived and the roof leaked again - it had been repaired a year or two back. Ended up on a ladder in the rain mucking leaves out of the gutters - they had only recently come down, in the days of strong wind that preceded the rain. I'd been unsure about the funeral but if I had gone, I wouldn't have been in the house to notice the dripping from the ceiling. Roommate's brother hopefully can patch the roof soon.

So it's just been a lot going on and will be for a few more days. The book project is trickling along and I will be able to do more with the cleared space soon. Poco a Poco, indeed.

School today.

My blood pressure numbers have been very good except for the day with the conflict.

I went to the grocery store last night and it was stripped like Covid and blizzard warnings. It scares me a little about how my community is going to handle the election. But hopefully everyone is just planning to stay at home quietly until we get results? - I don't want to start a political discussion, I am just hoping for calm and people who don't agree to continue focusing on the common good like when we all chased out dollar general.

A former student is coming to see me at lunch today. 🙂

Lila, don't panic. You are doing a lot to clean! No shoe recommendation other than to pick them up and make sure they are light in addition to being comfortable!

SubC, I have a lot of my mother's things including artwork which I have hanging and her silver and a few other things. Just the straggler things to get rid of. Not much left at this point.

I'm freezing to death! I don't feel like it but I'll get up and do my dishes now.

Lila, please take this in the sense of love with which it is offered. I do not want to be dismissive of your beliefs, but I don't understand why they have to be physically present in your house to pray for your grandson. Could you not just accept their prayers and thank them without having them over? If the point is that they are praying with you in order to strengthen you as well, is that helpful enough to compensate for the stress you are going through getting ready? And if you do want them to come for support, I feel like that support should have room for you to just say something like "thank you so much for coming. As you can see from the house this is a very stressful and exhausting time."

But maybe you are benefitting from the motivation to clean up and the the resulting increase in order.

I was raised with a little "c" view of christianity where if somebody needs help, you just help them - and sometimes that means taking out their dirty diapers. And the whole "judge not." thing.

Anyway, my point was that whatever you got done is fine, and if your visitors don't think it's fine, they should pitch in or shame on them.

I teach in merrell moccasins. They aren't light, but I find them comfortable and supportive, and they hold up for several years of daily wear in a variety of weather.

Tatoulia, did you do your dishes?

I may be MIA for a bit. There is too much going on this week with class, school - two new students starting this week, dr. Appointment, holiday sale (Saturday) prep, and I just got an s.o.s. From my farm sitter who has to leave town for a family emergency and needs me to milk her cow. And I am STILL trying to get this house back into at least the shape I had it in 2.5 weeks ago.

So, gotta run..

Thank you SubC. I know they have been praying for him at a distance and that is effective in my belief. We do believe in laying hands on/anointing the sick, not as a necessity, but as a sign of faith and another way to pray. I did want them to come, so maybe it was good even though stressful... it was shockingly easy to get the house in good enough order. I wasn't sure if I would get it done, but since I have worked for months on decluttering, it was not as bad. I mopped, washed surfaces, dusted, cleaned windows, and put a few bins in the storage room. I did use a lint roller on the couches for dog hair too. It was still a bit cluttery but not at al bad, and it felt pretty clean and smelled nice. I used Mrs Myers fall Acorn scent cleaner which was very pleasant. The praying was, I think, also a blessing to the baby's parents and siblings, to see people come and hear them pray for him with love.

So now the house is nicer and I think, wow, I could dust every week and it would feel nicer. I will try to do that.

I went into a nursing home today to visit a friend. A lot of people in there are quite old and disabled. As I was sitting talking to my friend, a lady with dementia in a wheelchair was coming past. As she went by she looked at me and said "WOW, you're SO BIG!!!" just like that. I just smiled and said 'thank you' and she continued, "and your hair is beautiful!" and wheeled on by. I said thank you again. I don't take any offense, although my friend was a bit mortified for me. But it was hard, slightly embarrassing, because I have been trying so hard to lose weight and am down 4 pounds and am committed to getting healthy. But still, I dunno, I keep hearing it in my head.

Good morning!
Happy Halloween!

Lila, that is great that you were able to get your house in order so quickly! If we can just keep moving the starting line - poco a poco as CM says, we will keep getting farther each time.

Today I am staying home all day and I hope to finish getting my house back to pre-visit condition. I also want to dig up the last of the sweet potatoes, pot up some grapes for a former student, and prepare for Saturday's holiday sale. - many pieces to finish glazing!

I am sorry that your encounter has left a bad echo in your mind. You handled it with grace.

My doctor's appointment did not go as I would have liked. I was informed that my problems are age related and I will just have to compensate for them, there is nothing physically "wrong" to fix, just ongoing treatments for symptoms and maybe "if it hurts when you do that, don't do that" as my grandfather the surgeon used to say. I was also told to get more exercise, asked if I was concerned about my weight, and informed that my blood pressure is dreadful - monitor at home daily and make an appointment with a different doctor in December to discuss.

The home bp monitor said my blood pressure was fine. I called white coat hypertension. Dh said "get a new monitor, that one is ancient."

We will just keep moving forward as best we can, one good decision at a time..

Good morning.

Well, so far the new blood pressure monitor says I am fine, although it was a high when I took it after getting home from work yesterday - not surprising as I had an altercation with a coworker. I took myself to the office at lunch to talk to our director about it - feeling terrible since it seemed to be the sort of social misstep I am prone to and I felt that it was my fault, only to be told "it's not you, it's him". And she called him an expletive multiple times during the conversation. I ended up crying in her office for twenty minutes, which is not usually the sort of thing I do, and I felt bad about that as well. The woman is busy. I was a bit trapped though, because I really needed to get my face back under control before I could leave- her office opens directly into a hall that is full of kids during lunch.

She was lovely about it and once we had finished the original topic, immediately switched to asking about my grandsons to help me become cheerful again.

Anyway, I am done talking to the man. And I mean that literally. I'm sure my blood pressure is going to spike every time I see him in the hall for a while.

I never did get the glazing I had planned done, but I am ready enough for the sale I suppose. It is nearby so an easy trip to set up this morning. I packed most of my inventory last night.

My inventory goal for this season is to sell, donate, or smash and use for erosion fill 100 pieces from my studio. (I will not count the pigs and hippos in that as they are standard offerings I try to keep in stock.) hopefully I will have a good sale today and be inspired to spiff up my inventory for my big sale in three weeks.

The house is in pretty good shape. A few baskets of laundry and a good vacuuming away from "company ready", although my bedroom, the sleeping porch, the basement, and my dining/office porch are a wreck. - my standards are low.

SubC, I'm sorry to hear about the issue with that guy at the school. I don't even know what was said but I have to agree it was him, not you, as you have a good heart. I'm glad oyu were able to get through it and I hope you just don't see him very much anymore! Also hoping your blood pressure can stay low enough. I have bp issues myself, but it is controlled with medication.

I am very tired today and my stomach is bothering me. I was planning to clean and get things done today, but I feel so blah I just don't know.

I did wash some dishes this morning. I need to wash my clothes, without delay, but aside from that perhaps I will just be quiet today, and spend some time reading and working on a meditation journal.

I wish I felt better, but for some reason I feel like I want to just hide.

Ok Tatoulia, my whole day has been a series of surprise activities. - that I chose to say yes to, and don't regret.

BUT Now I am home and my instinct is to make bad choices because my introvert self has been over peopled.

Instead, I'm going to set a timer and see how many of my small tasks I can finish.

Back in 15 minutes.

4 random objects returned to their homes
Mattress pad back on guest bed
Laundry switched into dryer
New load in washer
One and one half loads put away
(I finished the second load after the timer went off.)

Feel like I'm accomplishing things now, so back to it.

Tatoulia, I'm sorry you have been sad.

SubC, I have been over peopled too - I know what you mean! I have always been an introvert and rarely spent time with anyone outside of family, and certainly not in any crowds. I love my job and all the things I do and I choose to be with people and God gives me a joy in that, but some days you just have to stay home and be alone. I did that today.

I cleaned up the kitchen quite a bit, and cleaned off much of the kitchen table and washed it. I washed off the outside of the kitchen trash can, the top of the stove (again), and sorted some produce.

My blood work came back that my cholesterol has gone back up to a bad place. I know my cardiologist will want me to take statins but I was able to get the cholesterol back down last time by going vegetarian. Now I am still vegetarian but I do eat way too much cheese, was putting half and half in my coffee, eating a lot of sugar and fried stuff and being sedentary. I am going to try hard to bring it down again. I had oatmeal for breakfast yesterday, eating more vegetables, cutting the cheese down by 75% and not using anymore half and half. I am choosing a piece of fruit instead of sugary stuff, and will try to start walking more. I need to get better shoes, as the ones I have hurt my feet when I walk very far. I plan to go to the shoe store tomorrow and try some out.

I also went in my room today and picked up/swept up bits of trash. I will keep working on the clothing situation as well.

WTG, SubC! Great work in a fifteen minute time span. I did run some errands today, including dropping off my ballot at the library. So my voting is done. I treated myself to an egg sandwich and sat in the cafe and read my kindle.

Lila,please get the best and most comfortable shoes you can afford. I often say that I can accomplish anything if I have the right footwear. Taking care of our feet and teeth is so important.

I'm trying to figure out what I should do for footwear when I'm overseas in December. I have a pair of Allbirds mizzles but I think I may need boots, too. My snow boots saw no action last year and I cannot remember if they leak. I've had them a really long time and do not want wet feet while strolling the Christmas markets. So I'm trying to figure out if I need new boots. I ordered some from lands end, which I will return if they don't fit right or if they feel heavy. I just need to make sure that my feet are comfy during my vacation.

My goal is to have ALL mom stuff gone by December 3, which is the day before I leave and is the anniversary of dear mom's death. Or maybe the anniversary is the 2d.

So I'm going to do a few more things and go to bed now. Did two loads of laundry today. Needed to do closer to four but I didn't want to monopolize the washer on a Sunday.

Okay I'll finish the dishes and take my shower.

Good morning!

Lila, good luck finding shoes. I'm proud of you for making good food choices and exercising! I confess that I have basically given up for the moment. I have some concerns and a doctor's appointment on Wednesday (that I will have to get up and do chores super early to attend - bleh. Nothing big, just age related issues.

Tatoulia, I hope you get through your mom stuff. Do you really mean "all"? Or just all that you haven't chosen to keep? Are you keeping a few things that were your mothers?

I am still trying to get my house back to the level of "clean and organized" I had reached before my kids came to visit over two weeks ago.

They have been gone for two weeks and my "extra" things are adding my pottery classes one night a week, trying to get ready for a show this coming Saturday, and putting out Halloween decorations. I haven't been baking or anything in the house, so I'm not sure why it is taking me so long to get things back in order. I did wash some pillows, so one guest bed can't be completely remade until those are dry..

Oh! And yesterday I finished clearing the random bits off that shelf in the scullery and dusting it and putting things back - it still looks more like a random assortment of thrift store stuff than a decorative/functional shelf, but there is nothing on it that belong somewhere else. So if I get everything else back to pre-visit status, I will have made progress. Very small progress, but progress.

Thanks guys. Tatoulia, I am looking at some New Balance 880 for walking, since I am reading that they are very accommodating of custom orthotics. I need to get to the shoe store and try them on. They are pricey but I might be able to get last year's model at a discount. I also would like to try Danskos, maybe, but yeah, they are expensive. But they look nicer for work than sneakers. If you have any other recommendations let me know.

SubC keep doing your best, that's all you can do!

I had a call last night from a friend who asked if she and a pastor and his wife can come by today to pray for the baby. Of course I said yes, but you know what that means. My house is a disaster. I told them that. But, I have to try and do something so it does not look like a hoarding filth pit.

So this morning I have moved many things into that back storage room, and still working on it. Just so there are not tubs and boxes all over the living room and kitchen.

You ca imagine the table and bar/counter!! And so much dust everywhere!

I had Son vacuum last night.
I mopped the entry and kitchen/dining room. It is a very cursory mopping. I need to re-vacuum it since little bits of things are everywhere.
I did get the dishes done and scrubbed the stove.

My main goals now are:
dust (it is bad)
Windex the windows (hand prints and dog prints all over, look awful)
Use a Mrs Meyers nice smelling cleaner on surfaces
I just asked Son to take out the disgusting diaper trash can downstairs but he "doesn't have time." ugh. I need to tell TotsDad he has to stay on top of that.

The couches got vacuumed but need to be gone over with a hair roller.

I am so embarrassed of my house, but I can't turn this down. I am doing it for my grandson.

I have to leave for work soon too and have meds to pick up at 2 pharmacies and I am just so overwhelmed.

CM,

how is it going?

We've been so quiet.

I am overwhelmingly busy with grandsons, school, pottery show prep and various other life factors.

It's good, but I'm tired.

Bean and I got the Halloween boxes out and decorated. I pulled a few things to get rid of and also bought four yard hooks to hang my outdoor lanterns. I used to set them on surfaces around the house. If I finish sorting out the bins, I'll post a "net" on the correct thread, although it's too late in the year to actually donate the Halloween things, so they will sit in the "out box"

Hope everyone is doing ok. Lila, thinking about your babe.

We are good, and glad you are as well. Took another 6 boxes of roommate's books to donate to the library used bookstore. I am getting some shelf space bit by bit in my room. Kind of in a process of deciding what I want to do with it. For example, I have had some office and art supplies by those shelves (paper and cardstock mainly). I reduced them a few years ago and may decide to pare down even more, now that I have a better idea of how much I actually can use. Probably just keep a few pieces for collage/mixed media, a minimal selection of colored paper for the occasional poster for the bunny group (we don't do as many since a lot of announcements are online now), and a few bright pieces for reminders and To-Do lists when I want those in physical form because sometimes that jogs my memory better.

Yesterday my cousin stopped by so I was able to send with her the 5 or 6 large plastic totes that I no longer need nor want. Glad she can use them, and glad to get them out of my life! 🙂

hi friends. Just checking in. Hope to do a bit of reading/catching up later today or tomorrow.

I am feeling better, and the grandkids are doing pretty well. The baby's issue is not improving and we probably have to drive 3.5 hours to the neurosurgeon very soon. It is frightening and sad but also a relief someone will help.

Today I have been washing dishes, washing cucumbers to make pickles, getting the first layer of junk off the stovetop. All of us are exhausted, TotsDad is working, so is youngest Son, and the cleaning has been very basic. We manage to keep laundry done, clean up most spills, well, 75%, and take trash out, but there are crumbs and toys and socks and random things the kids drag in and spilled stuff here and there... so I am trying to get things cleaned up today while relaxing. I wonder to myself, what did I do with ALL the free time I had before my family moved in with me?? I can barely remember it. I am glad they are here, though, and enjoying holding the baby and playing with/caring for my grandkids.

I hope to get my laundry done, wash the counters, finish cleaning the stove, and make pickles today. Seems like enough.

Good morning!

Good to see people stopping in again.

Lila, I th8nk you spent part of that freeetime talking to us - lol!

I'm glad you are feeling better. I hope that the neurosurgeons are well worth the drive and can help your little angel. It sounds like you guys are doing well. Honestly, having time and energy to make pickles in the midst of what you have going on sounds amazing.

CM, good for you getting those bins out. And so many books! Is there a chance that you will get to a point where only your stuff is in your room? It seems like that would give you a big boost on organizing.

I have not gotten back to the Halloween bins yet. I'm hoping to have my house in as good condition as it was before my kids came to visit two weeks ago by the end of the weekend, while also getting my lesson planning done, doing some work for my first holiday show next weekend, and going out with Dh tonight. I have a very heavily scheduled week next week so rest will be a priority.