Hello 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
I knew you had access to good seafood there.
But I have wondered about the clam chowder.
At Pismo Beach I had some in a cream sauce that was delightful.
Is the chowder there red or white? ;D lol
So happy the nutritionist is working for you.
We all want you to be healthy and happy. (((HUG)))
How Tall are you?
I'm 5 foot 4 inches tall with very slender bones.
My brothers used to tease me that if I ever broke any bones I would need to see an ornithologist to fix it.

This evening was warm but nice outside, no smoke.
So I opened the door and went out with all 4 cats.
While they did cat things I removed a 5 foot long flower bed by the front of the house.
Using a shovel and rake I managed to remove the decorative tile border and the non-blooming iris rhizomes and some penny royal.
Smoothed the area over.
All done.
Still need to load up the stuff in the garden cart and put it into the compost heap.
The border tiles will probably used somewhere in the area I am keeping.
Felt good to start this project and it was not hard to do either.
If I Tackle it one small section at a time I feel confident that I can physically do this. 😀

Great cabinet work, Tillie! I too made a dr appt today! I think mine is on the 4th. New dr. I hope he likes me. My last dr is going on to a cardiology fellowship. I am in touch with her by email.

SubC and Tillie you both eat so much healthier than I do. I am impressed! Being in Boston we do get excellent seafood.

In highschool I weighed 99 lbs. yes I'm short. Right now I'm looking forward to being 20 lbs down. I'm shedding the weight at about a pound a week. Safe and easy. I now crave vegetables and fruits, oddly enough. Praying on this as I want to be healthy.

Hope you had a nice time with your friend, SubC!

YEA! for making the Dr. appt! 😀
Glad you were able to work some in your classroom today.
Have fun with your visitor. 🙂

After I finished all my everyday morning tasks
I decided to empty the cabinet where I keep all my cooking dishes, colander, cookie cutters.
I keep the toaster in there too because it fits in nicely and gets it off the counter.
But I tend to worry because toasters have crumbs that may attract undesirables.
Good news is I saw no evidence of any intruders. 😀
Also have some more drawer/shelf liner and have been redoing a few drawers and shelves.
Just ate lunch (2:00pm) and having a little break now.

Made the doctors appointment.

Took care of some furniture changes in my classroom and got some paperwork signed.

Dropped trash and recycling.

Bought wine.

Friend should be here in a few minutes.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Please do make a doctor appointment.
I'm sure modern medicine has something to help ease all your discomforts. ((((HUGS))))
Sure do understand the seafood issues there.
I do not eat seafood here in the middle of the desert but used to eat a lot when I lived in the San Francisco bay area.
I knew you would follow a very clean and healthy diet avoiding HFCS and chemicals. ;D
Have a fantastic visit today with your friend! 😀

There are two fires nearby west of here.
Near Reno and Carson City.
That's what has been causing the latest smoke.
Have no pans yet for today, still thinking about what to do.
Think my computer may be wanting to crash, so if you don't hear from me that's why.
But I've had this laptop for a while now and will just find a new one somewhere.

Tatoulia,
I think it would have been nice to have you over for dinner.
Dh had leftover pizza and I had an eggplant from the food bank landslide. Nothing wrong with it, we just needed the fridge space for milk and eggplant hardly ever goes.

I was 120 in high school. Very early in high school. I must be taller than you because at 130 I start losing muscle mass - I got very sick and hit that once several years back.

Dh is a string bean and even though he is taller than I am has always weighed less. Once when the family was here we were talking about something Dd and sil were doing that was relevant to weight, (house improvement and a load bearing set up maybe?) and Dd said "[sil] weighs less than I do" and he looked shocked. She said "oh, it's fine. We all grew up assuming women weigh more than men."

Tillie,
The thought of changing my diet overwhelms me. I am already vegetarian and cow dairy free. Plus I severely limit processed food (packaging) and avoid HFCS whenever I can see the label. And I have been trying to cut back on "added sugar" (mostly desserts but also refined breads) because of my weight struggle.

I have been eating a lot more nuts lately - I think I am craving more protein in my diet. I have cut back on the milk and cheese because of the fat content, but the nuts might be just as bad or worse. I say "vegetarian" but I am actually piscatarian - I will eat most seafood if it is served in a social situation where not eating it would be awkward or leave me really hungry, or when I am "home" (where I grew up). My parents fed me a lot of seafood when I was there, and I did not miss the nuts or drink most of the goat milk I brought with me. So I should probably examine my lean protein consumption. But I live in the Midwest and the seafood here is not the same as "at home" - the best stuff here is the flash frozen. At home it was still in the water that morning. Also, i'm Not sure I am comfortable eating that much seafood.

Anyway, I got a severe talking to last night (my skin has become drier and thinner and itchy and I scratched myself until I bled) and will call my dr. Today.

Also today, my friend is coming. 🙂 and I will keep cleaning up the old kitchen/mud room from the landslide. Maybe my friend will take some food home.

Hello 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
You may just be really thirsty, that happens. 😉
Your fudge recipe sounds exactly like mine.
Mine came off the can of Hershey's cocoa powder.
Milk, sugar, cocoa.
Boil to softball stage, about 110.
Put in butter & vanilla, stir until it loses it's gloss.
So true about living in a small space.
Everything out is right there in your face all day.
OOHHH Ice Cream YUMMM
I will have ice cream again someday.
And cookies and fudge.
But I thought I should at least try to get my sugar consumption under control and then I can once again have treats, but not too much too often.
I am waiting to see if there any physical benefits from doing this.
So far I haven't noticed any except that my moods/emotions are more stable, not better, just sort of flat lined ------.
But that may not be related.

Hello everyone. Going to bed now. Still thirsty from my dinner although it was not overly salty, it was by my standards.

God help me I need your fudge recipe, Tillie. Mom and I always used the Betty Crocker recipe. Heating to soft ball stage, then adding butter and waiting for it to cook at a certain temp (I seem to recall 110 but who knows) then beating it just until it lost its gloss. Fabulous recipe.

I haven't had ice cream or other sweets recently. It doesn't much occur to me. I am a sweet fanatic and formerly ate a quart of ice cream a night. I'd love some now. But I'm working on going in the other direction right now. I'll have some ice cream soon. Haven't had pizza either. I want to go to DubC's house for dinner and I'm totally good with the idea of the placemats being out! My place is so small. Every little thing makes a difference.

Goodnight dear friends.

Hello 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Weight gain and menopause go hand in hand.
Our metabolisms change so much and some foods we could easily digest before can now cause grief.
I went through it all without any medical help what-so-ever.
I had always consumed a lot of dairy all my life but decided to eliminate it for a while to see if that would make me feel better.
Well, it did. Something about the natural cow hormones in the milk.
So then I tried soy milk.
BIG mistake. Did not know until then that I am allergic to soy.
Go figure.
Next I tried almond milk and it was just right! 😀
I do still have a bit of cheese now and then but removing the dairy milk from my diet made me feel so much better.
And now I know to avoid soy and edamame.
Anyways...
There are other things I avoid or strictly limit and this has really helped.
So maybe you could do a test run on eliminating certain foods from your diet for a few weeks and see if you get any relief.
Wheat, eggs, sugars, etc...
(((((HUGS)))))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WTG! for all the trash & recycling out! 😀
WOW! you sure have been busy and did a LOT today!
HAPPY DANCING about that cabinet being ALL done!!!
Every night before I go to bed I look around and see if there is something/anything out of place and put it away.
Have always done this and it makes mornings so much easier. (((hug)))

The smoke today has been medium thick making me cough. >:(
It's hot but nothing drastic.
Got all the 6 trees watered.
I turn the hose on real slow and put it down in the tree well.
Set the timer for one hour and move the hose to the next tree.
Unfortunately, my well is ancient, deep but very narrow.
If you run water outside you can not run water inside at the same time or it will reduce the water level to below the ballcock and you lose the prime and have to prime the well pump to make it draw up water again.
Big pain in the butt.
Doing good on about avoiding processed sugars.
But I still have cravings. Mostly for my homemade chocolate chip pecan cookies and fudge.
But I am being good and don't even have all those ingredients to make them in the house.

Ok, three bags of garbage out. I have no idea how that happened. Big bag of recycling out too. Washed kitty's box. Vacuumed the bedroom and swept up bathroom and hallway. Made dinner. Just showered. I'm going to have a big glass of water then do dinner dishes and put away vacuum.

Another nice day here. No humidity and cooler temps.

Hello, All,

I was 120 when I first started dating BF. I've put on some weight, lost some weight, back and forth. I'm currently enormous. But, here's something interesting that has happened since I went to nutritionist: in recent years when dieting, I've thought, if I can get to 140 or 136, I'll be fine. Since meeting with her so intensively, I know have my goal at 120. Might as well! BF never mentions my weight but I can tell he hates it. He is silent on the topic.

SubC I'm glad that you got some yummy stuff for yourself at the food bank and I'm sure the chickens will appreciate all the food you got them! I admire your composting efforts and how much time you devote to the planet.

Tillie I love your garden/yard ideas! You put a lot of thought into that!

My scary cabinet is no longer scary and next week I'll have it scrubbed by the cleaners. I haven't done second layer yet but I am extremely pleased with looking at my house and saying, the lotion needs to go back into my purse, not sitting on the end table.

When the family friend visits she will clean. She can't be still. I may think up a project or two. She enjoys doing it and I would enjoy it too. Meaning, I'd enjoy the results.

I am hungry as a bear, so I'm going to make something to eat.

Tillie,

I am glad about the trees. I was afraid it was getting too hard to water them.

Tatoulia, that is great about your weight!

When dh took me to buy shoes, he left me sitting on a bench outside of the men's room for a few minutes. When he cane out, I said "thank you, I feel less fat."

I spend most of my time in places with people who are mostly not overweight, but looking around the outlet center, I was average. I am still overweight (the average American is after all) but it was nice not to feel like that was one of my defining characteristics in the group.

Dh wants me to call my doctor and make an appointment and talk about the struggles I am having with menopause and my weight. Not because he is upset that I am fat, just because he wants me to feel better. I told him (joking) "she's going to say "eat more ice cream." He said "if eating ice cream makes you feel healthy, eat ice cream!"

The filled my car with veggies at the food bank today. FILLED. I have unloaded the car, and I have put the yummy things in the fridge, but I have not dealt with the excess of chicken food and the "honestly this is compost" yet.

I just.... we pay to empty the dumpster. So we are paying to have stuff landfilled that can be returned to the soil. And it's crazy to me. But I have to open the packages to put the food in the compost. (And then I have to put the packaging in a plastic bag and take it to the grocery store and throw it away)

And I suppose there are better things I could be doing with my time, but there are also worse things that I do with my time already. I struggle.

My friend is coming tomorrow. She is coming into town to drop her ds at college, and then spending the night here. She is the sort of friend who you can let look in your scary cabinet (and then she will say "this is not so bad, you should see MY scary cabinet." And take everything out and wash it.)

Got to clean a stall before the storm!

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WAY TO GO!!!
A whole size smaller and done in a healthy way! 😀
Somebody will be very happy to find the clothes you are donating.
So wonderful that you are overcoming the "clutter blindness".
So strange how our brains can become accustomed to just not seeing the clutter.
That's why sometimes simply moving clutter to a new location can help us to finally actually see what it is and deal with it.
Life gets so much simpler when everything has a place.
Plastic bags in a drawer, kitty litter in a closet
Out of sight but still easy to access. (((hug)))
I would tell you not to worry about your friend's visit but...
Anyways, I am sure that it will be fine and everybody will have a good time. 😉

Hi Subclinical 🙂
About my trees...
as long as they keep living I plan to keep them.
The lilac hedge and honeysuckle too.
Here in the desert the deeper rooted plants do better than the more shallow rooted plants.
There are beds of iris and daffodils that refuse to bloom any more, Bee Balm that really suffers and is a pain to look at, that all will go.
The laurels look good in the Spring but get every kind of sap sucking bug in creation, making them too challenging to keep healthy without resorting to toxic chemicals that hurt wildlife.
Some rose bushes that get sun burned will be moved.
I plan to transplant roses, chrysanthemums, lavender and hyacinth all closer together in a smaller grouping.
Then have only catmint (catnip) at the edges.
Only smaller flower that does well is the marigold so I will allow them to stay sprinkled around where ever they choose to grow.
The flower beds at the front of the house will be reduced/eliminated down to just one hardy plant that returns every year, don't know what it's called but it's pretty.
Anyways, that's my plan so far. 🙂
SIMPLIFY

Love you all! I am working hard against the clutter creep and it feels good. I need to practice this daily-how does the room look? I do automatically put dishes away and do other things along those lines but I hadn't really seen my desk as being a mess. I just need to tune into these little things.

Sweet story about the art, SubC.

My table looks nicer without the placemat on it.

I like be having that one drawer for my reusable grocery bags. Just so easy. And having the extra kitty litter in the linen closet instead of just sitting around. I'm trying to revel in the positive changes so I can keep moving forward with them.

I keep worrying about the friend's trip which is ridiculous since it is two months away. I need to live now and in this moment.

I am feeling very proud of the weight I've shed. I'm down a size starting today. I'd bought a casual cotton button down shirt and a pair of jeans just before seeing the nutritionist. I don't wear casual clothes well or often. These were bought in the next size down and as of today, they fit! I'm very excited. Already put the bigger jeans in the donation bag. I'll need to put the bigger button down shirt in there too. That has been too big for a while but I've continued to wear it. Now it too will find a new home, I hope!

Goodnight dear friends. Thinking that someone would not appreciate a child's art is very painful.

I was able to figure it out without the translation. ;D

You were so sweet to hang his art!
I know that it meant a lot to the little boy your husband was.
((((HUGS))))

Yes, my entire family is a bunch of very horrid people.
That's why I cut them all out of my life.
I have been so much healthier and happier since doing that. 😀

WAY TO GO! for working a bit on the kitchen and running the dish washer! 😀

Sleep well and sweet dreams. 😉

One place mat. Not old place at.

Get a lot done. Not " lit robe"

Tatoulia, you are funny (I mean that with affection.) I would leave my old place at out. I would be like "what? You're in my house and you don't know I live here alone?" Also, some days I get a lit robe, but my progress on the dehoarding and ordering us still glacial. When I read about all you are doing in your home, I am impressed!

Tillie, I meant to say that I know it was along time ago, but I still feel bad for your son. I think your family was horrid to do that.

When dh was a kid and brought holiday decorations or art home, his mother put them in a box - right away, not even on the fridge for one day! Nothing he made was good enough to display in her house. When we got married, she gave me the box.

I decorated the apartment out of the box until Dd started replacing things with her art. Even then I kept some of it. Dh thought it was silly at first, but I told him "I love you. And I love that you were this creative little kid and that even though I missed that part of your life, I get to share it now!" After a while he started telling me stories about making some of the things.

We didn't have ice cream. Ice cream goes in the freezer tomorrow.

The kitchen is not all cleaned up, but the dishwasher is running and the laundry is dried or hanging.

I need to set up the coffee maker as my gift to tomorrow's subclinical so her day starts off smoothly, and then I can go to bed. It has been a long day.

OK Subclinical
I was worrying that he would install it first then you would have to stain it.
Good to know I had it all backward and that it can be an out of the house staining project. 😀

I love home made pizza but I have never made it totally from scratch like that!
In fact, I have never made cheese of any kind.
AND you even made the dessert too. ;D

WAY TO GO! for all you accomplished today!
I think homemade pizza and ice cream make up for having a messy kitchen to clean. (((hug)))

WAY TO GO!!! Tatoulia
for all your puttering, wiping down, shredding and generally getting it done! 😀

So glad Kitty accepts the pillow case on the chair.
Makes it so much easier to get the fur up. 😀

Twinkles is acting healthier that he has since Marty passed.
He still naps on Marty's grave but he is no longer acting so sad. 🙂

SubC you are remarkable. I admire you so much.

I have not gone to Level 2 on the cabinets. I am tidying up those things I couldn't see. I'm wiping down surfaces, shredding, etc as I go forward. This was a good eye opener for me. I need to look at each room.

I cannot leave my placemat out only because I use exactly one at a time! So it's loserville here. BF went home to take a nap. I have dishwasher running and I'm so happy puttering and taking care of things. Kitty has gone back to her chair and is sleeping like an angel.

Glad bunny is doing well!!

HELLO ANONY, TESS, CM, MAR,JOAN,DIANE,DIANNE, LR PORTER.

Tatoulia, I hope your mom gets her skirt.
Way to go on the cabinets!

My place mats stay out all the time.

Tillie, I hope you won't lose any of your trees at least!

when the wood comes, I will have to stain it. I will do it on saw horses in the big studio barn. I can open the door. As long as it stays in the mid 50s and 60s it will be fine. We have been working on this addition so long!

We're having pizza for dinner tonight. When I was growing up, that meant mom called the order in, half an hour later somebody picked the pizza up, and 15 minutes after that, we ate it out of the box.

Here it meant at 4:15 I made pizza dough and let it start rising. Then I skimmed some milk, set the cream aside for ice cream, and made mozerrella cheese. Used the whey to make ricotta, picked some veggies from the garden, and a few minutes ago (an hour and 40 minutes after I started) I took the pizza out to cool a bit so we don't burn ourselves. It is so worth the extra hour!

I cleaned a stall today (used up some cardboard), spent some time with the bunny, trimmed one pot, did dishes, and washed a lad of laundry.

Laundry isn't dry yet, and still a big mess to clean up in the kitchen.

I find it a fun pastime to just look at patterns and fabric even though I don't ever actually make anything.
Just the thinking about it is good enough.

WAY TO GO! for dancing and decluttering! 😀

WAY TO GO! Miss Kitty keeping those birds busy! ;D

Tillie, mom did not find a pattern she liked. But it was good bonding time for us! I am not convinced she has what it takes to make a skirt but I'm not going to be negative in front of her.

I fully support the idea on the garden. You need to enjoy it and not be stressed! Music is on and I'm doing the room decluttering right now. It feels good. Laundry is hung and I'll fold the other load I did. Kitty is in window and doing a great job keeping the birds on their toes!

Love you all so much.

Hello Tatoulia 🙂

I was able to decipher it. 😉
Thank you for being here for me. ((((HUGS))))

WAY TO GO!!! for all that cabinet progress!!! 😀

So happy you have removed the donations from the home, soon to be donated.

So wonderful that you notice those little tidying up tasks.
Left unnoticed, they really tend to pile up before we realize.

So nice you had quality time with Mom today.
So, will there be a new skirt made?

At this point in my life I need to make my life easier.
Some days I physically just can't do what needs to be done other than the usual daily cat chores.
I still want and need my little garden oasis to help keep my spirits happy.
But I can still have it if I make it a lot more simple, fewer kinds of plants and in a more concentrated area.
As it is now all I have been able to manage this Summer is to keep it watered.
It looks dreadful and it stresses me out even thinking of maintaining it as it is laid out now.

Plus I feel it is disrespectful since it is also my pet cemetery.

Tillie you do such hard work trying to pare down even more. (Corrected that)

Hello Subclinical 🙂

Yes, I do understand how all those demands on your limited time is so very overwhelming when you look at it all written down. (((HUG)))
I'm glad you are evaluating your priorities today.

I remember when Martha Stewart was just getting started.
All her projects were making gifts and décor out of trash.
She used way too much gold spray paint in my personal opinion but some of her projects were cute.

Can we please put staining and finishing the new addition wood on the way back burner for now?
In my opinion you can still entertain guests and celebrate the holidays with the wood still unfinished.
Thinking the Spring would be a better time because you want the whole house open for fresh air as you stain it.

I guess right now the number one priorities would be the farm & animals and school.
Then finding and making your recycled gifts along with making things for the show and sale.

The best gifts I ever made were windchimes made of seashells and drift wood that I gathered from the beach with my young son.
My entire family said they did not want that cheap tourist trap crap and chucked them back at my son.
Broke his heart. 🙁

And WAY TO GO! for cleaning up as you go!
At least that way you won't fall behind and lose the ground you have gained. (((HUG)))

Tillie you fo such hard work trying to late down even more. I admire you yet I feel sad. I'm on your side from her to eternity. I do hope your cooler weather is on the way. It's beautiful here and I have my back windows open and my ceiling fan on.

SubC you have such a rich life. I simply refuse to believe that school is about to start! Yes a chart for the rest of the year!

Ok, badger report: I'll go start on second layer right now! Second layer of upper cabinets. And re: lower cabinet, I took out the things for donation today and put in car.

Lovely lovely lovely time with mom today. We went to a fabric store and looked at skirt patterns and then I did her grocery shopping.

Doing a load of dark laundry right now. And just like that, it's time to put on some music to putter by. OH! When BF carried in my groceries I realized my house isn't as clutter-free as I've been giving it credit for. Although rushes completely done, I still had my placecloth and cloth napkin on my table. And a few other things along those lines. My desk. I need to declutter the desk.

Oh yeah, the cabinet.

Is there a plan Tatoulia?

I am feeling a little overwhelmed in general and haven't gotten very far on my surfaces, but I am holding the days together.

I feel like maybe I need to make a goal chart and break it back - possibly stretching all the way to Christmas. (If I am going to make gifts, I have just over 4 months, which seems like a lot, but it's not exactly four months of uninterrupted time.

I've been doing a lot of research online about art from trash for one of the classes i'll be teaching, and I now kind of want to make every person on my list something out of "garbage".

I'm taking another class, i'm going to be teaching 11, I still have the farm, I have a show and sale in the fall, my parents may be coming to visit in October, dh ordered wood to start finishing the addition, and I will have to stain it....

Suddenly there is no time.

I'm still trying to focus on "what is most important today?" "Is this item needed?" And "clean up as you go."

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!" 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Have a nice visit today with your Mom.
YEA! for lovely weather! 😀
Since I haven't read anything about it...
Badger, badger, badger...
😉

Still sitting here in bed, reading online articles, drinking tea.
There are things I should be doing right now but "I don't wanna."

I came to the conclusion two years ago that my little garden/oasis area was just too much for me to handle any longer.
That I needed to reduce the amount of plants and simplify the layout.
But my neighbor friends pleaded with me not to, so I didn't.
Been thinking long and hard about it this Summer and have accepted the fact that I can no longer keep it up.
Been mentally figuring out what to let go of and the best way for me to arrange it to make it less work.
The whole thing looks a mess right now because I just can't physically maintain it like I used to.

I am happy with my decisions and looking forward to cooler temperatures when I can start to carry out my plans. ;D

SubC with God as my witness, I thought it was your 28th anniversary! I love Lebanese food! So delicious and healthy! Shoes are important! Taking care of your feet is important! I believe that anything is possible if you're wearing the right footwear. I wear walking shoes all over the city, bringing heels in my bag if I'm going somewhere where I want to be dressier. I also have heels in the closet at work. I carry my rainshoes when we are expecting a downpour, etc. nothing worse than not being able to do something because your feet hurt!!!

Tillie I am thinking of you today! We have cooler weather and I have my back windows open and ceiling fan on. Cannot do a thing with the front windows but I know in two months the scaffolding will be down (fingers crossed). They are working six days a week and seem to be making solid progress but what do I know. Perfect weather to hang out clothes!!

Going to hop in shower and go see mom. She's up and at ?dm today, having called me at 9:15.

Good Evening 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Sounds like a very nice way you two spent your 28 year anniversary. 🙂
You deserve to have new shoes.
Every once in a while being thrifty is not necessary because you have already saved so much money with your smart purchasing.
Wear and enjoy them in good health. (((HUG)))
Seems like you both needed the new shelves.
Him for his speakers and you to get your stools back, plus it's a nice place for some of your pottery to be displayed. 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WTG! for the laundry 🙂
Hope you get some better tasting food tomorrow.
Twinkles is the easiest cat in the world to medicate.
Any of the spilled drops have been all my fault.
And he doesn't try to spit it out like all other cats do.
Funny thing is that Scooter watches me give Twinkles his medicine and then he starts mewing and begging for some too.
But whenever he has needed to take medicine he fights me tooth and nail. ;P