| Tillie | Posted: 26 December 2017 - 11:52 PM |
For all of you posting on phones and other small devices... | |
Replies (1045)
| CriticalMass | Posted: 27 January 2018 - 06:12 PM |
Flyby in my Tardis Time has certainly had some strange effects on the side trip we took to Planet Flu and environs this week. My roommate had the real deal. I had some wimpy annoying allergy thing from Kansas's version of the Santa Ana winds (i.e., they come at any time of the year and blow till your last nerve is fraying, merrily bringing with them all manner of dust and who knows what allergens - blech). My van was starting so great when the starter & solenoid were replaced, till Thursday when I went to make an essentials run. It started - but then it wouldn't QUIT starting! The ignition switch is mucked up, and I like to never got it to turn off. Scary. And so will be the bill, but I suppose it could be worse. I'm really working on not letting these things upset me, and in any case I don't have the energy to make much of a fuss. The clutter mates and multiplies amongst all these adventures - I had just been going to really tackle it this week but "the best laid plans of mice and CM" and all that... Bunnies are doing okay except for the little old guy, still on meds for his respiratory thing, and reluctant to eat. I've had to hand feed him still. We were able to get out today and get his meds refilled. Cats are very loving and snuggly. Dog is a little cuckoo from not getting enough exercise but hanging in there. Hoping by this time next week we'll all be well on the mend, van included. I'll check in sooner than that if my health and the Tardis allow! Midwinter iced tea clinks! (I know, I'm an oddball.) | |
| Tillie | Posted: 27 January 2018 - 11:45 AM |
Good Morning Everyone π Hi Porter π Hi Subclinical π Hi Tatoulia π Still working on getting better. I see a little improvement everyday. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 27 January 2018 - 10:29 AM |
SubC! Your husband is very loving! It's a nice feeling to be taken care of. I'm excited to hear more about kidding. Sometimes I forget you have a farm! You have such s full life. And it's wonderful for you to share it with us. And little by little, we are all having less full homes. Joan! Always glad to hear from you. I think of you daily and send you healing thoughts and prayers. Tillie--three loads of laundry. Love that feeling. Well I am super late to go see brother. Coffee clinks everyone. Big news: mom has TWO full bags for goodwill. I had given up on trying to get her to do stuff--I don't want her to be alone and thinking about how I'm mean. I do gently ask when we buy new things if it means that she could get rid of anything old. But I'm gentle and careful and accept her answer. I am going to make her get rid of our gingerbread house this weekend. BF also needs to throw out the one I made for him. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 27 January 2018 - 05:16 AM |
Hi again. I did stay home yesterday. I made myself sit around and just read and watch videos and talk to people on the phone. - rest. Tatoulia, don't worry about me. I have a husband who takes good care of me. Last night he drew me a hot bath and closed me up in a nice steamy bathroom to decongest with relaxing music before bed. I am still stuffy today, but definitely on the upswing. I'm going to go to an all day teacher workshop I signed up for. It's a really good program, and if I start to feel crummy I can always just leave. Porter, it sounds like you are doing well. Tillie, I hope your poor nose is better and you sleep all night tonight! | |
| Porter | Posted: 27 January 2018 - 01:20 AM |
Lost a post, An important survival skill , is to keep trying to improve ones situation everyday. Don't just sit, or accomplish nothing. This week , I still plan to ave poker part ties , because they generate new furniture , what happened is a friend has started having the parties at his house , well the gus who have money to gamble. I keep trying to improve my environment for such events. I really like my cat, but after so many other long lived pets in the past, i forget how long it can take for a cat to fully trust. I've made my decision on which house to build, if I get the opportunity . At 50 it's not too ambitious , where I want to put my ambition is on reaquiring a sailboat. So I can live in it while a build a house. I have 19 years left before I can get social security. So I'll keep working towards building and paying off a hybrid of adobe wall and foam core panel home. I got my bike. It's everything I hoped it could be, it's very simple to use. I'll keep it unchanged for at least the first year. So now that I have the house design decided. I can focus on the hovercraft , even though it is only hobby, a creative outlet , I'll pursue it as if is a possibility . This week, I fast 1 day. Ate fish twice had salad 6 times I only cleaned my living room , bathroom, kitchen, and car this week, but the trash bin was totally full and went out as scheduled. Will post later to respond to your posts. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 26 January 2018 - 07:28 PM |
AWWWW thank you Tatoulia (((HUGS))) Hi Joan π My symptoms are starting to ease up. Did 3 loads of laundry this morning since I was awake at 5am any way. | |
| Joan | Posted: 26 January 2018 - 07:14 PM |
Ditto what Tat said. I hope you are both feeling better soon, Tillie and SubC. I like a good strong echinacea tea when I am sick. Oh, also, yes, the captchas are often very mesningful. I almost posted about that a couple of years back, but decided to let others draw their own conclusions. CM, hope your spirits improve. Porter, I think you are very creatuve! Take care, everyone. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 26 January 2018 - 07:09 PM |
SubC and Tillie I've been worried about you! I'm glad you could finally find a way to have someone(s) cover for you, SubC. Everyone has been sick this year and it is sticking around. I was sick over Christmas but nothing like you two have had. Wish I could change your sheets and air out your bedrooms for you. Anything to make you feel comforted and loved, SubC and Tillie. Glad twinkles has seen the vet. Glad Stephen took him. Will write more later. Just wanted to check on my patients | |
| Tillie | Posted: 25 January 2018 - 09:56 PM |
Twinkles vet appointment went well. He's one of those really large cats with really long fur and he's 50/50 orange and white. Twinkles and Marty were both abandoned out in the country to fend for themselves and were just days away from starving to death by the time they made it to my porch. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 25 January 2018 - 04:50 PM |
Hi Subclinical π Think you may be right about it being influenza rather than the common cold. Steven just left for the Vet with Twinkles.
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| Subclinical | Posted: 25 January 2018 - 04:32 PM |
Tillie, that is sounding like it might be the flu. I hope you will take yourself to the "vet" I& you need to. I got new shelves in my classroom today and am very excited to set them up when I feel better. For now, I managed to patch together 3 subs to cover my day if I need to stay home tomorrow. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 25 January 2018 - 11:45 AM |
Good Morning Everyone π Hi CriticalMass π Hi Tatoulia π Hi Subclinical π I feel like I'm fixin to die. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 25 January 2018 - 05:59 AM |
Still reading. Sick is winning. Living on soup and tea, trying to do the minimum every day and still making it to class. We have no subs available - everyone is sick! Kidding season starts next week and the barn is not ready and the temps are still going to be dropping into the teens. Also, I need more sleep, not less. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 24 January 2018 - 04:04 PM |
Hello everyone. Sorry it's all such a chore, CM. If you can, I encourage you to get the food stamp renewal done. I try to keep my brother's up to date because it is more of a chore to apply all over again. He's let his lapse in the past and sometimes it requires a visit to the office. But if you cannot, I understand. You are being hit with a lot right now. I wish I could do the paperwork for you. Please do what you can to take care of you, your roommate and the bunnies. Tillie I've been working st putting things away. Things I leave out that I don't need to be out. I'm trying to look at my apartment with a more objective eye. I have a lot of demands on my time right now. One of my volunteer positions was supposed to end last year but they haven't found anyone to replace me. Meanwhile I applied for two more positions at other organizations to replace this one. Well, I got both positions so now I have three volunteer jobs in addition to my career and everything else. Im tired but definitely enjoying myself. And I'm proud I received these positions. And frankly, I'm managing my time better with more to do. Ok, need to finish up my workday. I've started a bag for goodwill and a bag for consignment. Im putting things away. Im trying. Hot tea clinks. | |
| CriticalMass | Posted: 24 January 2018 - 09:54 AM |
Hi everybody, clinks of tea I keep watering down, because I'm not focused enough to make fresh, and that's sort of a metaphor for how life is right now. This'll just be a bulletin on how I'm doing and I'll make another thorough post later. Just hit the highlights now. I'm inching back into my routine life after the holidays and cat sitting, and vehicle repairs. Some things are going better. The cat sitting friend and I are breaking the ice a little after the difficulties communicating; I know sometime we'll have to deal more in depth, but I don't want to attempt that with only these two or three lonely brain synapses functioning at the moment. Went to quilting yesterday for the first time in awhile; enjoyed it. Had to skip today though because my roommate is home sick, and one of her bunnies is sick. He's been on meds, and I'm trying to tell if he needs a vet visit today or just TLC and observation. I'm trying to tackle the sort of paperwork that must be done but I hate paperwork. My food stamp app - which I may just let run out and then reapply in a couple of months - what has been happening is I keep getting the renewal app in late December and then they want it like on New Year's Day! That's ridiculous. So I wonder if I just waited a couple of months and shifted it to a warmer month. Unless they're all due at year's end, in which case I may still let it go because it's only $15 a month and getting it done is a stress. The other one I may be able to do online - it's for my student loan to lower the payments based on income. I think that one is actually not as hard to do online, I just have to look at my notes. My brain doesn't do well at all with things you only do once a year. Too much time to forget how to go about it. What else - oh, yeah, I am fostering a new girl bunny. She is very sweet. My boy wants to charge at her, but I stop him before he can reach her (usually - he nipped her butt once or twice). I'm giving him lots of snuggles and positive talk. He is hard to read, so I don't know if he is still grieving for his first wife. Wouldn't blame him - I miss her too. π Anyway, all the clutter and things to do seem like they come in so much faster than they get dealt with and go out. Did this just happen gradually, or what? I feel like I'm never going to get caught up - and yet I can't afford to indulge that thought or I'll throw in the towel and just nest in my squalor. Aaack! π | |
| Tillie | Posted: 23 January 2018 - 10:42 AM |
Good Morning Everybody π Hi Subclinical π Hi Tatoulia π Yesterday I didn't do much of anything. | |
| Sunclinical | Posted: 23 January 2018 - 05:21 AM |
Hi everyone. I've been reading. The sick is getting worse, but I am throwing vitamin c and hot liquids at it like snow in Boston. Going to bed early, but still getting up early. I also rode the stationary bike this morning because I think exercise is also good for me as long as I pay attention to my body - I did a slow ride so I wouldn't get out of breath. I'm going to teach today. I don't have a fever, so I meet the guidelines. And if I don't work, I don't get paid. And I now have a car payment. Because I bought a "new" car. It's a 2012 Ford Escape with 85000 miles on it. I like it better than the old car (I mean obviously, because it runs!) but I like it better than I liked the old car when I got it. It has A/C, which my other car didn't, so that will be really nice in the summer. And the thing where you open the door at night and the interior light comes on works too! Dh says I am not picky. It also has a computer that tells you how far you can drive without running out of gas - which will really reduce my stress on those mornings when I am tight on time to get to work but not sure if I can drive straight there. Anyway, I am supposed to get a raise this month, and it will cover all but $12 of the car payment. (Good credit, long loan, less expensive car) my first payment isn't due until March, but I don't get paid in June, July, or August, so I will need to set extra money aside for that. More motivation to not buy stuff! I named the car Finn because he looks a little like a stormtrooper, but he is a good stormtrooper. Dh says you don't name cars after men. I finished all my extra January paperwork for classes and am looking forward to getting back to the basement project. I'll keep you updated. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 22 January 2018 - 10:34 AM |
Good morning! Water clinks! Brother and I ended up just getting together yesterday and visiting my BF. We will do movies next weekend. It was about 50 degrees out so I took him for a ride then we had coffee with BF. Then I watched tv and just hung around. Today I'm working from home. I have laundry, as usual, and I'd like to make some progress here today. I did clear off my bedroom chair, which had started to gather socks and other odd bits of clothing. I will keep you all posted. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 22 January 2018 - 09:10 AM |
Good Morning Everybody π None of the predicted rain/snow came my way. π Hi Porter π | |
| Porter | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 03:43 PM |
I forgot to mention a factor feature , is my vehicle is a kia soul. When put the back seat down and air up a twin air matress. I can sleep in it. No it's not a perfect situation. | |
| Porter | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 03:26 PM |
I suppose I'm in a conservitive cycle. But I do most of my cleaning during the day when light from outside helps see things well, especially cooking and dishes. And at night I use the smokeless lamps I used to have on my boats. Bed room, hallway, bathroom. Plenty of light to see , not very much heat , but just a little. So I keep the furnace off on days above freezing temps. Use rain water to flush toilets. Once a month a week before rent is due, I empty and unplug the refrigerator . And when I pay rent, I go to store and plug it back in. . In one of the rooms upstairs , I separated all my camping and survival equipment. On the nights it's above freezing, with the furnace off. I have a tent and a small heater that turns off and on by thermostat. It's on a large glass table , but just the glass so nothing near it s flammable . But I stay very warm at 73ΒΊ and it rarely turns on. The tent is rated for internal heating. For now though , the furnace is on about 12 hours a day, but not when I'm at work. I turn it off when I wake up. It's set to the lowest temp 55ΒΊ and I just heat my everyday bedroom with a small heater too. I use gas buddy , so save nickels and dines on gasoline as I commute 92miles round trip to work. I shaved my head , I have terrible hair anyway, Pattern baldness. This way I save on shampoo and hair cuts and is easier to get ready if running late. Still it's about a savings of $60. May will be here before I know it. When my lease expires. This will help by having a back up home. The sailboat must be aroumd $5000 and can be water tight and have an extention cord port for electric dock. My commute would be 7 miles . So I could add on the savimgs of gasoline and not run my car into the ground. . I believe I could appy $1250 a month towards paying it off. more if I work overtime. I can stay out there on the dock until November 5th. The dock fee is $850 for the summer. When I had a boat the last time not so long ago. I used the boat as a storage space.mostly my summer clothes. And survival equipment. What I'm trying to do is just attempt to be in a position. I've been thinking about it, but the way I feel about it , breaking silence with y'all . I feel like I don't want to do anything else. The only glitch is my car can't haul a boat, but I could just rent one. And I'm looking for cheap land near the car plant. So that renting a truck to put the boat in the lake will be less than $100. in spring and fall. This way I'll have electricity to charge tools , and enjoy living on a lake about three years. After that a the structure should have some basic features like septic system and either electric connection or a solar panel grid. To heat and cool. But for now all I can do is try to save every penny . | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 10:42 AM |
π | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 10:41 AM |
Yes! On Murphy's oil soap! Good idea! I have some too! Thanks--perfect solution. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 10:34 AM |
Good morning Tatoulia π * Those pearls were beautifully strung and knotted but had a smell to them that was imbedded in the string, making them unpleasant to wear. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 10:22 AM |
Hi Porter π | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 09:56 AM |
Quick drive by-- Sorry about the car, SubC. Sorry you are getting sick-- Please drink plenty of fluids and rest! Resting early generally staves off illness for me. what a great day you had!!! Wonderful! Tillie I need to advice I have a beautiful stagecoach my grandfather made and it was stored in an outside shed. It smells and is dirty. I know I'll need q-tips and other things to "detail" it. It's probably 18" long. The doors open. It's all different materials The leather will need to be replaced and there's also metal and some sort of plastic he molded for the parts. What's your advice re cleaning? Dawn dishwashing? Let me know what you think. I have it boxed and bagged up til I can figure out (and get the motivation) to clean. Have a great day! My phone (landline) isn't working but internet is. | |
| Porter | Posted: 21 January 2018 - 09:29 AM |
Finally having money left over after all bills, hopefully will be more when the warmer temps come back. Tille In fact heating water played a role in losing our home. Thing is until it's nessasary , finding a way to heat a room on cold day, and have hot water for bathing and dishes. Plus clean water to drink and cook with. Come back when convenient , pour water into 2liters and put into the chest less than 1 minute. Lasts for 5-6 hours. I still dislike very much my wife's decision to let go of the house. So it would be more convenient to heat a single room and heat water without a water heater. Then additionally the toilet water is a chore, yes it is. But you know what. My choice is pay $65 a month for convince water. Or $25 free rain water flushing. After doing it for a week I / we start thinking of ways to make it less of a chore , I did do some things. Like use pee bottle so I was doubling up my bathroom trips per flush. And I wait til someone else went #1 So no if it's just a week, I may deal with cold showering, but longer than that I get out the non potable tea makers to the bathroom , shut the door and enjoy warm bathroom with hot water in it. I'm not trying to argue with you in any way, if I've wrote this in a way that seens defensive I apologize. . I don't articulate very well due to tbi prolonged concussion. What did take time was getting the fresh water away from the house. I don't put rain water in tea makers . Rain water is only for the toilet. However by keeping a lage tub/tote in back of the car , and a five gallon water cooler jug in the tote. I quickly found where to park the car to get access to the hose without carrying the jug into a persons house. Cutting the time down to two minutes. To fill five gallons and that lasted four days. See my utility companies make us pay the water and gas bills together, they shut off one, they'll shut off both. Sometimes it's is just cash flow. I have $385 this month to pay gas ,water , but not not the sewer. If I were still collecting the rain water ,(is cold so not) I would only be paying $345, p,us akin for help with water company is less money to ask for. Like asking my brother can spy my $75 water bill and I'll pay you back next paycheck, or may I just borrow $20. Ok ok. That's mooching, but lots better than being told to move. Due to the heat being turned off in winter. So now that I have a system in place , for getting drinking water& flushing water. I may choose to keep it in a accessible place, all organized in a fits all container in the hoard. But you're right , if it wasn't a chore , I would still be doing it. I did go to gym this morning, not enough to lose large amounts of at, but enough to keep strong and flexible. Made sugar free coffee with protein , only 150 calories , lots of green tea with lemon and stevia. I'm happy. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 20 January 2018 - 08:30 PM |
Good Evening Everybody π Hi Tatoulia π Hi Subclinical π Well, today I removed all the furnishings from the doll house. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 20 January 2018 - 08:15 PM |
Good - got to spend the day with heartgrandson. Got out some of my favorite saved toys and we baked, played hide and seek, looked for hawks with binoculars, and tracked wild animal prints in the snow. Bad - my car is dead. I think I am coming down with sick. (By "dead" I mean dh is calling a charity to tow it to the scrap yard) | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 20 January 2018 - 07:54 PM |
Hello everyone! Great job in keeping new acquisitions to a minimum, SubC! CM--it sounds like you are making some good decisions amidst all of your stressors. You have come a long way and you are doing great! Tillie I'm sorry that cold is lingering. I started feeling a little funny on Friday and eventually packed up my things and came home around four. I slept and slept and slept and thankfully I have avoided getting ill for now. I also took some zinc & c and other things my friend sends me from overseas. Today was busy: brother this AM, then took mom shopping for underclothes (she had gotten a gift certificate for Christmas and she was fitted and outfitted with new underthings including slips). Then I spent the afternoon with BF and we had a late lunch/early dinner then some shopping together. He loves to shop. I bought a few tops (greatly marked down) to wear under suits. I am now doing laundry and watching the kitty sleep. I just cleaned her food area and swapped out the placemat under her dishes. I told brother I'll take him to movies tomorrow. PS TO CM: my captcha has the place of my birth. Very odd. | |