Good morning, everyone.

SubC I bet there are so many days where all you want to do is just teach. I know for me I just want to work but then there's meetings and other people's priorities and my first reports who are unhappy, etc and I just need to block out time to do my job! And you have to juggle so many personalities and responsibilities. I don't know how you do it!

I have some photos of my apt on IG. I'm going to look for replacement lampshades for the lamps I now have in my bedroom. I've wanted to replace the shades as I estimate the lamps are probably 40 years old and the shades are a bit off-color for my taste. I'll see what I can find and see if that will change how they are just fading* into my walls right now. I do like having my black lamps in the living area. They complement the drapes.

Okay finally fall weather! Heading out soon!

Good Monday morning, people. I keep wanting to call you all leapers cause the last Group I was in like this (10 years ago on ww) that's what we called ourselves. We got to know each other well over a few years Time and took a couple vacations together. Random pet peeve... I will never understand why they never started calling weight watchers or the world wide web "double dub😏" or "triple dub" or "dub cubed" Or something because "doubleyou doubleyou doubleyou" is no fun to say and then when Oprah bought ww they actually changed the name from weight watchers (3 syllables) to the acronym which has double the syllables. Oi.

So the bday weekend went well. After I downloaded my trauma on here I was able to put it out of my head for the most part and just keep things moving and mostly happy for the boy. He's still a little confused and disappointed about the kid party that hasn't happened yet (or been planned) But... we did have a very good time doing what we did do which was two family parties, some phone calls, presents (of course) and some fun activities. My sister and niece showed (lucky for them!) and oddly acted as though all the extreme drama last week just hadn't happened at all. Very bizarre but we just enjoyed their being here and being straight or mostly straight. And I was relieved that they showed up for my son. I had an aunt and uncle visiting from out of town who were there too which probably helped the family behavior... We haven't had more than 3 family members in the house at once since Christmas 2019 so it was wonderful and nerve wracking at the same time. 2 hours in and I was ready for everyone to leave so I could go to my room by myself for 30 mins. 15 years ago me would not believe that.

So now that the bday Is mostly done and the initial school meeting Is done, the stress is back to a manageable level for me. Also some bonus housecleaning got done. Stairs got swept and all the floors, clean blanket for the messed up couch, found the dining room table cloth, etc. Got some deodorizer things for the musty smell when you come in (we think combo of vents that need cleaning, damp basement, and "eau de new puppy"). Now that my room is navigable the duct cleaning is actually something we can have done. I just have to overcome my perfectionism /ADD issues now.

This am meeting up w my Stitchy friend to hit the local shop. I am nervous - not sure why. I have newfound empathy for people who struggle with social anxiety. This stuff sucks!

Alright, here endeth my ramble. Will read through and check back in a little later,

Road, that was kind of how it was for us here on Saturday with the bunny club garage sale. My roommate and I knew some of the ones who have kicked up the ruckus might be there. (I don't want to paint them unfairly as complete troublemakers; I'm sure they somehow mean well, and there are nuances, but it's been a tense time.)

Anyhow, it was just us and two others, and not the ones with the, erm, strongest opinions. And there were bunnies to hold and pet. So tensions were not present, and chat was about neutral topics. That was a relief. Glad your get together went smoothly as well.

Thank you, Road. I am perfectly confident in speaking for CM and SubC when I say we are so glad to have you here!

The black cat is mine. The big cat in the store was my BF's cat. TIgger died last year at 23. We miss him a lot. The other cats are mom's. The tiny tabby and the really pretty calico/tortie. Thank me thing I am grateful to have a significantly cleaner house for my cat to live in.

Friend picked up the bed! No issues! BF came down to help.

Ok I have to walk to beacon hill now to feed my other friend's cat!

Nothing new 🙁

Friend from my church quilting group called to tell me she and her husband were having plumbing problems. I apologized in case it is contagious. Wouldn't wish what we're going through on my worst enemy. It works just a tiny bit but there are many things normal people can do that right now we can't.

Bunny club still in the midst of a schism. And the garage sale for it is this weekend. Wondering what that'll be like if I am working with some of the ones on "the other side." 😬 Just going to be strictly business and poker faced. Masks help with that. 😷

My decluttering has been so minimal. I may get some done towards the sale before the weekend. But everything feels confusing and sluggish.

I've regained the 8 or so pounds that I'd lost last year, thanks to stress eating. 😣 I'll try to at least halt further progression.

Sorry for the gloom and doom tone. One of these days maybe it'll be different.

My Instagram is bunnyplanetqueen

Good morning!

Definitely glad you are here Road! (Check your laundry) I have found that most things take longer than expected, but you are making good progress! Papers are the worst. So much effort for such little volume.

It sounds like once you get your room under control you will have some space in there, so maybe if it is cold, you can do the garage in your room one or two bins at a time?

CM, I hope things smooth out with the bunny club. And the plumbing goes without saying.

I haven't been able to do much decluttering for months! I am barely keeping us in clean dishes and underwear at the moment, but I know if I stop checking in I could very quickly find myself sliding back into the landslide of adding items. It creeps up slowly and then one day I realize I have goat paths again.

Sort of like my weight - which plateaued and then bounced a couple of pounds and is sticking, but at least it is sticking lower than it was before.

Ok, I promised myself to make good use of my time this morning, so I will get to work. Hang in there and keep moving forward!

Good Friday morning!

Cm, your sense of humor is dangerous in the early morning while the rest of my house is still sleeping. First I read your comment about the marauding "plumbing contagion" and laughed out loud - then I saw your iG account, went over there and saw your meme about squished squirrels and laughed again. On the rare occasion when I actively avoid drama and gossip, a poker face is definitely the way to go and masks defn. Help. If you can wear sunglasses, all the better!

Tatoulia, thanks for the cat breakdown. Sorry about Tigger. We had two that made it to 20 despite being dragged around the country for 15 yeArs with various members of my husbands family - Chicago to NC to Ohio to Seattle and back again. And evidently they did some drugs while in Hippie college in Ohio. Gatsby "pillow cat" was all white (exactly like one of cm's cats), one green eye, one blue eye, deaf, Wiley and sweet. Jasmine "puppy" became my baby. Incredibly sweet, would play fetch, wanted to hear all about your day... I still miss her. Before them I had Lucie, most vocal cat ever. and most recently Diablo "Dobby" all black. He was feral so he had some weird behaviors but he was really sweet and he would play fetch with me too. I used to crumple a little post it and Flick it to him and he would catch it In his paws or mouth and sometimes he would toss it back at me. Thinking of their personalities I miss them all. We have two small dogs now.

Glad to hear about the bed. That must've been really satisfying seeing that plan go from start to finish.

SubC, you got me the other day with the "check the milk!" Story. One of our family jokes is "don't forget the bread! " if I burn something the joke is you (surname)'d the bread! I definitely answer to "check the laundry!" You know how some people envy every new appliance that comes out and fall for all the marketing, and covet the neighbors new kitchen? That's not me. BUT.... To have a washer and a dryer upstairs instead of in the basement... that would really be a game changer for me. I think I might actually enjoy doing laundry. I just detest the lugging and the climbing.,, and being in the basement!

Well, this is my sons bday week... unfortunately it does trigger a lot of trauma - both with when he was born (had a traumatic experience with the dr. And the delivery) and then there was the diagnosis shock, and then all the annual IEP crap That layers on top of that... and it all ties back to my childhood trauma of being in hospitals etc. Yesterday was just a pre-meeting and it wasn't even in person, but I was spinning so much I had to make myself a couple mango margaritas before hand. You know, technically it was afternoon and I wasn't going anywhere... but I don't like To have to do that. I can't pop any pills cause my niece is addicted to all of them and that has been no fun. Anyway, I got through it and some of what I was worried about vanished into thin air, and other things, I need to process more before I attempt to deal with them. It does feel like everything converges on these couple weeks though. Tomorrow we will have my side of the family over here, then Sunday we will meet the H's side prob out somewhere. Then I stil have to pull a fun and safe kid party out of my ass somehow but I'm going to Try not to think about that til next Monday. So today will be some errands, some wrapping and lots of cleaning (my favorite) so wish me luck.

Did just a few things yesterday.

My physical therapy is coming along so now I'll just go 1x a week for another month. Plus at least one gym day a week, now that I have the knowledge and guidance of what to do or not do. Hope to build those atrophied abdominal muscles!

Realized that will help me fight the bad feelings I had over regaining weight. Hopefully it'll make the weight go back down and dare I hope push past the plateaus that are usually what make me start regaining.

I did go to the storage unit. It was a stash and dash because I had some of my doll sewing boxes in the back of my van. Needed to be able to take card tables and donations to the bunny club garage sale. I'd been thinking of pulling out a couple sets of those sterilite plastic drawers so I did that. They're really too flimsy for my needs. Let someone else have them.

I'll have to go back to straighten up what was left messy. But that'll provide a starting point for a sorting session, and segue into other projects there. Maybe I can still get enough done before winter to not feel like the whole year has been a bust.

So in the evening my roommate rode with me to the house where the garage sale will be, out in a subdivision near the airport. It was dark, and it was one of those winding street places, with many cul-de-sacs. We got so lost! Directions from the other club members weren't clear enough, and Google maps were apparently confused too owing to the abundance of cul-de-sacs and variations on the same street names - Yellowstone and Yosemite (too much alike to begin with), and each with segments labeled St, Ct, and whatever else. At one point I thought we might end up on the airport runway! ✈ Finally the gal called again and talked us step by step to where I could flash my brights and she could see me. Crazy adventures. 🤪

Everybody have a safe and good weekend. I'll try to do the same.

Great to hear from everyone, even tiphough some of it is definitely tough stuff! Road, you frequently make me laugh! Cm I can you imagine getting into the runway? Good decision making to get rid of things that no longer suit you.

I had yesterday off so I took some things to goodwill and did a bit of shopping there, too. Then I went to a friend's house for lunch. The friend who took my bed. It looks fantastic in her bedroom!

At goodwill, I bought four things and out away many more that I wanted but don't need and won't use. Nothing too devastating in terms of acquisitions. Four things and one is a birthday gift for mom. A large, very lovely belleek vase, which I will fill with roses for her upcoming birthday. I am moving my lamps around because my lovely black lamps don't really fit in the bedroom anymore so I brought those into the living room and the turquoise pottery ones into the bedroom. They aren't perfect in the bedroom but better. The black ones look lovely in my living room.

Today I am on a quest to find cat food. All the shelves have been nearly empty here. I've been buying a few cans every time I'm in a store but now I have only be can left. I don't like to buy too much because I'm trying to leave slack in the line, rather than contribute to the shortage. BF is going to call one of his suppliers today so order a bunch for me. Litter, too, is impossible to find so he's been ordering it for me.

Mom's cat food comes from chewy. I don't want to do that with my food but I will order extra for her next auto ship.

I loved hearing about your cats, Road. Happy birthday to your son!

Road, check your laundry!

Tatoulia, is your room on ig?

I have not been in goodwill in ages. I did order a book and a shovel online this week. It is a very nice shovel. It's my birthday present from my parents (they sent a check).

CM, I'm glad the physical therapy is helping. Hang in there on the house and storage unit. Anything you can do is good, but you need your basics taken care of first!

I'm glad you didn't get hit by a plane.

Road, good luck with the birthday. I hope you can focus on good things and enjoy it and get through the stressful parts smoothly.

I wish school/parent meetings weren't so stressful. We really all (should) have the same goals. I dodged one this week though. After several emails my boss stepped in and met with the parent. Then she handed me a ten point action plan (for the CHILD) and told me "and I told her she owes you an apology. I said "she did apologize. very nicely. I said so in the email." and my boss said "the mother. The mother owes you an apology." Yeah, pigs will fly..

Anyway, it was another long week. Besides the angry parent, one of my students got expelled. My heartgrandson has been absent with a sinus infection (negative covid test) and I have two students from whom I'm supposed to confiscate phones if I see them.

Trying to finish things off and do prep work for the next session in the classes I'm taking, plus I need to process all the apples Bean and I picked before they go bad.

Today I slept late (Friday night seems to be my catch up night) got feed, and cleaned the produce - including garlic that finished drying and a squash that rotted and required scrubbing - off the front porch. Plus I ran the dishwasher, put away a load of laundry, husked a basket of ground cherries, picked another basket, weeded they herb garden, scheduled farm sitting for our family weekend away, and made a chocolate torte.

Which doesn't feel like much and doesn't include either the apples or the pottery I need to do. Plus lesson plans. Always lesson plans. I was just too tired and the days are too short.

Ah, Tatoulia, you found me and thanks so much. You are now the only person in the world who has seen the full range ? beauty through a narrow lens and 1,000 bins & a foot of garbage on the bedroom floor...

My big accomplishment for the night was going alllll the way down to the basement to move the laundry from the wash to the dryer. Whooo hoo! But I also realized I forgot to feed the doggies and once I remembered they had slready gone to bed. Weird day - all the routines got thrown off.

Good morning!

I used to belong to a parenting forum and I was always putting the milk in the freezer to quick cool and then forgetting it and my jars would break. A couple of my friends started beginning their posts with "(.. )Check the milk" it was very helpful. so I will start saying "Road, check your laundry."

I am not on Instagram, so it only let me look a short time before saying I had to log in to continue, which I cannot. But your cross stitch is very beautiful! You use real fabric. 😮
I think I got a glimpse of your family as well. 🙂

Grandmothering is definitely a sweet gig. You can relax now - your boy will still enjoy a lot of the things that mine quickly got "too grown up" for.

Yay for your fridge! If I had any tech skills I would make you an award and post it here:

[this space reserved for Road's mothering award]

Bean and I had a great time at the apple orchard. We got there at opening when the grass was still wet and had it all to ourselves for the first 45 minutes. Then an older couple arrived. The first family group was checking in as we checked out. Bean loved riding in the wagon, picking up windfalls, and generally wandering around under the trees. He got soaking wet and muddy. I gave him lunch and a nice warm bath when we got home and he took a really good nap. Then he helped pick squash in my garden and we got one of the rabbits out and he got dirty all over again.

I agree on the award for Road! Well deserved! I'd also like to nominate you for an award, SubC. You are just so lovely and so great. What a great day the bean had!

I worked from home today. Will do so again tomorrow and probably Thursday, too.

I am getting used to the new headboard. It looks lovely. It's the lack of a footboard footboard that I'm still getting used to!

Tomorrow my friend comes to get the bed. I wink be pretty excited about that! I hope she has many happy years with it. I remember scrimping and saving for it.

Tonight I am crying.

One of last year's seniors came by to visit today. He is halfway through his first semester of college and so grown up and so happy. He went online with the rest of us in March 2020, but his parents never let him come back in person - even on the day we had a fire outside, when he was vaccinated. They didn't let him see friends either. I taught him online and I worried about him and I emailed him, and I worried about him, and I packed his stuff in boxes to go back and forth, and I worried about him..

And it was so so good to see him, and he has grown so much. But I am angry. I am sad. He has grown so much and I was robbed of so many days with all of them. I missed so much and they will never come back. I will never walk into a room and see that particular group of kids, who I loved, sitting together at my tables in all their adolescent mess and glory.
And it makes me angry and sad.

Let it out, SubC. Just cry and let it out. You've lost so much and the kids have lost so much. It's natural to mourn.

Standing by your side, shoring you up.

Oh, I know you all know this but this is a truly special group of women here. Wow. I am so fortunate to have stumbled in here when I did.

I heard several separate reports yesterday about the level of (widespread) stress From the pandemic and how to look out take care of yourself and Look out for others. Bean and all your students are very very lucky to have you. From a mom's perspective, you just hope your kid has people like you who will love and nurture your kid while they're away from home. Glad you got a visit, I know how much that means to the H when one of his former students comes in to visit.

Tatoulia, fun to see a bit of your world, too! Love your decor & getting a view of city living... I used to live in the city and travel through every day to work on the other side of the city and I do miss it. I'll bet your cats are so happy when you work from home. And I got to meet mom as a bonus! 😀

My clearing update this am Is that i went through a batch of paperwork, started hanging a larger bulletin board, and started clearing off my main desk. (Both the main desk and standing desks have been buried and were inaccessible due to all the crap on the floor)... there's now a 2 foot wide path almost to the wall. I've already cleared some of the big stuff out of there, but now I am actively working on that area. I found what looked like a pile of catalogs so I went through that section and was able to throw away about a reams worth of paper garbage. The whole back half is choked with craft projects and office and craft supplies and sorting trays and shoe boxes, etc. My goal was to be out in the garage a few weeks ago and I am still in my room. Not ideal as the garage would make the H happier and it will be colder and less comfortable working out there but ... so far I've been able to maintain what I've done so far and need to keep reminding myself that if I can maintain it, I will only have the horrendous slog once. If i can pick up the pace, the slog will be over sooner and I can move on to other things that are more fun. Well, I am rambling so I will sign off.

Hope you awesome people have an awesome day.

Road, I am blown away by the beauty in your life. Well-deserved. You are amazing and what a sweet soul your son is. Thank you so much for letting me peruse your IG.

Tatoulia, I *like* your friends. They seem like good people. Sorry if I forgot but what color are you painting the headboard? Wishing again my frequent wish that this was a more modern format that supported picture sharing. I'm very visual. Was the marathon this weekend? One of my all time favorite albums is Billie Holliday live at Storyville. Random fact.

Cm, sorry about the bunny club. I've been in some quilting and Down syndrome groups where the tension can bring it all down -or at least ruin things. Hope it resolves without too much drama.

Subc, I love hearing people say they got so much sleep. You can tell you really must've needed it.

Vent /Trigger warning:
Last night we had family drama with the two members who are struggling with substance abuse. My niece put up a post on Facebook publicly calling out my sister on her bs. It was somewhat profound, slightly incoherent, soaked in lies, and full of honesty all at the same time. It was interesting because my brother is more in the mix as a sounding board now and I think he was trying to vent to me although it took me awhile to figure that out and I was thinking "dude, I processed that type of thing 6 years ago, I've been burned 67 times since then and I can't afford to care anymore." They will try their best to complicate things but what needs to happen is simple. The two enmeshed parties need to not live together, use whatever carrot will get them into rehab again, sort out the longer term stuff once everyone's been sober for a little while. But until at least one of those people actually puts those wheels into motion, the cycle will just repeat. We used to be the most "normal, average" family. The wheels started to really fall off about ten years ago and now we're kind of the all-American $#!+show. Le sigh. I sent texts out last night "take that post down" and "you need to move out" and "she needs to move out" and "take steps to get healthy" aka get thee to rehab, all else can be sorted later. I'm sure they both saw my name at the top of the text and tossed their phones at the nearest wall. All is silent on the drama front today. Ooh that was a long vent - sorry!

Oh Riadm sorry to hear of the family drama. It is hard to stay out, isn't it? I just try to remind myself that other people have messy lives and I don't want that for my life. Addiction is terrible and life-ruining. It is very sad and very tragic and yet I applaud you for knowing that you don't have to be a part of the story. Hard to do it but worth it.

my headboard is a very subtle white color. I don't know if you know the Farrow & Ball paints but their colors are saturated and they probably have a dozen whites. The paints are from England and are water based, so much better for the environment. I used Skimming Stone. It is very pale and very subtle. Absolutely no odor. My hallway is their Borrowed Light, which sometimes looks pale blue and other times looks a bit minty. My bathroom is painted Light Blue, which in my bathroom looks like a green color.

The headboard, which I purchased used from etsy, was a cream color when I got it.

I have an anonymous Instagram account if you want to take a look at any things I've done in my house. Let me know if you use Instagram and I'll show you my account.

Ps marathon is tomorrow. Usually in April. I was down by the finish line last night. I love the marathon. It's such a fun time in the city. I am not comfortable going this year.

Tatoulua, I hope everything goes well for the marathon.

If you cancel your cleaners, you will gave a taste of every other week. Maybe it will make you more certain about what schedule you want long term.

I understand now that the headboard is not a structural part of the bed. If you took away my headboard, my bed would fall apart.

Road, addiction is really hard. I have family members who have struggled for years and those who overcame it, but the shadow is always there. Just keep reminding yourself that other people need to own their own stuff. I had a long conversation with a former student/now friend about that a few weeks ago.

I don't want to say Facebook is toxic, but Facebook definitely allows us to amplify and reinforce the worst of ourselves. My mom has been watching her cousin's daughter's "storybook" marriage disintegrate in a public and unpleasant fashion on Facebook recently. And my DD's ex tried to use it to manipulate her. While I don't think misdeeds should be covered up, there is something to be said for not airing your dirty laundry in the public square.

I definitely needed to sleep. I would like to get to a point where I don't need so much sleep on Friday nights, but with Thursday night classes into December, that is unlikely even if I get school under control.

I met Bean and his parents at the pumpkin farm yesterday for much outdoor fun (he lasted 45 minutes, which is a lot for a little guy with that much stimulation) and he left tired but happy, unlike many of the kids we saw being loaded into cars. It was extra fun for me because it was the place I used to take my kids.

I also got my garlic planted and made 6 pints of frozen custard.

Today I think I am going to take bean to the apple orchard all by myself when I pick him up. I asked his parents and they said yes, and that he liked it when he went before. That kid loves to be outside.

I love that the bean loves the outdoors. He has the coolest grandmother! Farm animals, gardens, fun times outdoors! Pretty sweet!

Well BF came over tonight after my friend and I couldn't get the bed together. It took most of the night but we got it done. Now to remake my bed and put the side tables and lamps etc back.

Ps I forgot to tell you but the cleaners will come on Friday. Yes. I want them this week. I think I'm a once a week person now. It's so pleasant.

Hey all,

Yeah, I love hearing about your adventures with bean, too. I used to feel I was just surviving my son's childhood but now that he's older if I had it to do all over again I would - so I could enjoy myself! He's watching me type and is mimicking me right now like such a ham. We have so much fun (most of the time)...

My IG is Jane says 8 ( with no spaces) if anyone wants to check it out. It's almost all cross stitch though. Not too exciting. Haha.

Today I brought up some laundry. Moldy right out of the dryer. I guess it must have been damp and got moldy overnight. I really suck at housework. Anyway, I tossed the worst of it back in the basket and folded and put away the rest of it. I just now remembered there's a load in the wash. It's ridiculous. The H was on a roll with some fixit projects. I have more initiative but can't finish it. I plan things out before I start while he just dives in head first and screws it up three times. I am very detail oriented and he is focused on the finish line. But ultimately, he gets the job done and my list just gets longer and longer... Anyway today he had me measure some things because that's more my department. The other project I was working on was his genealogy. I've done some basic stuff but never really laid it all out for him. He doesn't know anything about his dads side because they divorced early on, but his dads moms ancestry has some cool stuff like whaling ships, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in the early days, concord mass, and quite a bit of pre colonial America. I'm terrible at history so I watched three documentaries on early america ( so- called) and there were no women commentators, no women actors, no depictions of women of any kind - not even a mention of women! It was unbelievable.

There's something slowly happening in the fridge, too. I cleaned a few of the drawers out last week I think, and then I have just been chipping away at emptying it out. I'm going to try once again to not overpack it and just go to the store a little more frequently for short hops. We shall see.

Lastly I just want to say I deserve an award - Like a ribbon and a framed certificate - for cutting my sons disgusting toenails tonight.

You are a very good mother, Road. You are very sweet and very loving.

I'll try to find your Instagram. I'll give you a follow so you can see mine. Remember this is my second, anonymous IG.

This week has had more weird than usual in it. Plus the usual weird.

I didn't mind Facebook being down; I used to spend way too much time on it so have been weaning anyway.

Still more repeating variations on the Bigbut project - the gearing up, the waiting, the onset of doubt, the questioning, followed by the resignation of another day gone by, another disappointment, more improvising just trying to do the tasks of daily life.

Yesterday, the guy had actually made it to the place to pick up the excavator, and the employee was driving it to hitch to his truck, and ran into our guy! 😳 He was not badly hurt but banged up. (And he already has back problems.) His son was supposed to take over today but we never heard a thing.

The city has been under a boil water order since yesterday afternoon when a 42 inch water main broke.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 97 degrees, a record breaker.

You can't make this stuff up. 😒

There have been so many setbacks I'm tempted to wonder if our project is cursed. I get a mental image of getting one of those backpack tanks like an exterminator uses, filling it with holy water, and just soaking our place, our handyman and his place, maybe the entire town. 💧💧💧💧

Cm, it has really been an odyssey. I can see why you're burned out. I'd get crispy after 1/8th of all that happening. I really hope for you it starts progressing in a more substantial way.

I didn't get much done today. Kind of minimal. Did a load of laundry and cleaned a few things. This am I finished printing out Genealogy records for a great grandfather. I'm back tracking and trying to have Organized paper records on file for Everyone back to great greats. It's really time consuming but it's way overdue and will help me streamline my Processes and hopefully get me better results with less time spinning wheels. Also stitched a bit. I have a few fairly large projects that are all kind of close to being done. It's not so much that I'm getting bored because I've pretty much been stitching on the same one for months, and before that it was the same with various other projects. Not sure why I would have a psychological block With finishing cross stitch projects but I sure do. Things that make you go hmmm.

Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Quick check in. I'm sorry about the situation, CM. you truly need to catch a break. Road, I'm so pleased to hear that you and your son had some fun together.

Friend and I dismantled the bed. I put a coat of paint on the front of the headboard.

There was precious little under my bed. I vacuumed it. Friend said she'd come back tomorrow if I've finished painting the headboard. I love it when she comes over. She makes herself a cup of coffee and gets herself something to eat. We got takeout for dinner. I walked her partway home and we went by the marathon finish line.

I also forgot to mention that the bunny club is experiencing a category 4 or 5 conflict that is due for a showdown tomorrow. It may very well fracture the board of directors and who knows what all. The founders have a possible solution but the newer people who are dissatisfied may not accept it.

I'm not on the board but may have to step back in and help out again temporarily. We'll see. Hope it isn't a total stressful s---show. Makes me nostalgic for the days when we were a small club rather than a nonprofit with few resources.

So tired of so many things. 😪

Hi everyone!

Good morning!

I've been popping in to read but too busy to post.

Struggling so hard to keep up with the house - time, time, time!

Tatoulia, I am glad you found a solution for the bed. Are you camping on your mattress now?

Road, it sounds like you are getting a good handle on things. I enjoy reading about your progress! I'm glad you are taking time to have fun also.

CM, when I was reading your list, I was thinking OMG, you can't make this stuff up! And then you said it.. I am so sorry. I would also start wondering if I were cursed!

I wish that you could go away for the weekend to a nice place with working plumbing and comfortable beds. Maybe a writer's workshop..

I got three new students this week. I have another one starting Wednesday and I haven't figured out where I'm going to fit their pottery shelf. They are student #10 in a class I allotted nine shelves because I had six students to start. I think I will move one of my existing students who could benefit from more space to a different section.

My other new tablecloth arrived. I like it a lot too. I have 5 different range cloths for my table now. One of them is Halloween themed, so I will get used less, but I decorate big for Halloween. I bought it for $5 one November.

Thursday I went to Bean's house for dinner between school and the class I take. Friday it took me until 5:45 to get everything together enough to leave my classroom. It was a rough week at school and I kept leaving loose ends untied. So my evening was dinner, chores, and load the dishwasher.

I slept TEN hours friday night. Then yesterday I stripped garden beds, planted garlic (more of both to do today), prepped ice cream mix, spent about an hour looking up some information for a class, and went to visit dear friends on the other side of the city. We had a lovely time, but got home really late.

Today is make ice cream, more dishes, finish planting garlic, lesson plans, and anything else I can squeeze in. Dh is going to play golf.

Cm I'm sorry about what's going on with the bunny club. So weird how things get so far afield of the purpose. I have sat in functional boards and dysfunctional boards. I'm sorry that yours is moving into the dysfunctional category. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

SubC we set up the bed frame and the bed last night. Only need to add the headboard after I have finished painting it. I am one of those people who cannot sleep on a box spring and mattress on the floor. Good for you for getting a good amount of sleep!

My room seems weird. I have to keep reminding myself that I have given about two years' worth of thought into getting rid of my bed.

My friend is coming Wednesday to get the bed! She is out of town this weekend and will leave her car and take her dad's big SUV. She and her daughter will pick up Wednesday night.

I think I should cancel my cleaners this week, The old bed is in the hallway, the hallway table, etc is in the living room. There's too much chaos for me to have the cleaners here. So I'll see about canceling them. I hate to do so but it's the only thing that makes sense.