~iced cinnamon coffee clinks!~
Tillie, the fire smoke you get regularly sounds awful?! At least its cool inside! It finally cooled off enough last night for me to not be hot for the first time in at least a week!
Abandoned animals upsets me more than almost anything... 🙁
SubC, im so sorry youre feeling bad. I had to look up apathy, cuz i didnt think it described you at all with your passion for so many things, especially environmental issues? Nootropics are natural brain supplements that you may want to try? That is what im looking into now, and partly to help me get motivated to fix my place up. I think i might take anything at this point that would do that...
Tatoulia, you are allergic to cats, yet you have one?! Wow! That is amazing! YEA!, for the new floor mat!
I went for a walk last night after it cooled off again & i scared all these birds that were roosting the whole way...i shouldnt have laughed, but it was hilarious!
Ive just been watching movies trying to stay cool, but it is cloudy & much cooler today, so hopefully ill get something done today~

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂

I heard that you can buy that diatomaceous earth at plant nurseries.
I never used it but many people rave about how well it works and is not poisonous or dangerous to pets.

Hi Sharon, i deal with a lot of bugs where i live & if it were me, id first try getting some diatomacious earth, which is cheap & non-toxic(just dont breath in the powder). I use it a lot & its great for most tiny bugs. You can google about it. I put it in my bed when my cats bring fleas in to it & anytime i suspect bugs.
Good luck! 😀

Good Morning Everybody
"cough, cough ,cough.

Hi Subclinical 🙂
You have done well with the drawer/shelf challenge. 😀
The goal of the challenge has been to just do something, anything.
Which is better than not fixing up a drawer or shelf this month along with everything else we all have going on in our lives. 😉
And you have been doing very well keeping up with the floor challenge too.
Every little bit counts!

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
I had been hoping something would come up that would reschedule the cleaning lady without you having to reschedule or cancel her yourself.
YEA! ;D
Doesn't Tigger have his own cleaning lady at the office?

All those fires burning in California are sending thick choking smoke this way today.
The air is orange, my eyes and throat are sore.
I'm coughing a lot. The house reeks of wood smoke.
But other than that it is a lovely cool quiet morning.
I hear horses whinnying nearby but no bird song.
Going to water trees today. I turn the hose on to slowly drip, set the timer for an hour and then move the hose to another tree, repeat.
OK, just saw a rider less horse trot down the road, LOL ;D

Good morning everyone! Iced tea clinks! I got up at 630 to feed my only cat then went back to bed. I haven't lolled in bed on an age!

I fell down on the shelf storage space, SubC. I did some of my scary cabinet then let go. Last night I worked on my shelves in my dining room closet but the reason was I was looking for something. I got things in better shape but nothing was eliminated.

SubC, I am sorry for your emotional state. I am immensely grateful for your friendship and I am grateful you have a good partner in your husband.

Good news: neighbor asked if we can have cleaning lady on Wednesday instead of Monday! That will be so helpful as I do not imagine i will have Tigger throughout the week; hopefully just Monday.

Ok I have to get on with my afternoon, as the morning has come and almost gone without me!

I forgot the shelf/drawer challenge.

I guess I am doing well on it since I cleared off a lot of shelf space sending ds his things and then emptied three shoebox sized bins that sit on a rack when I took stuff to the reuse store. I will clean up my little floor mess today and be back on track.

Hello 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Yes! A new bunny! How nice 😀

Some people should never be allowed to have any animal, EVER.
People abandon cats, dogs, horses, poultry and domestic bunnies out here.
They are just disgusting.

So sorry you are experiencing overwhelming apathy
(((((HUGS)))))
Take it easy on yourself and I hope the weekend structure helps.

Tatoulia 🙂
That is lovely!
They all look so nice.
Can't wait until you report back how wonderful it is having it down! ;D

Funny isn't it?
Being allergic to cats but yet we happily live with them. ;P

Had to water the flowers again this evening even though I watered them yesterday.
They all look so terrible, wilted and dying.
Watered the dry crispy grass too.
Tomorrow I will water the trees and bushes again.
Wish I had some ice cream LOL ;D
But I don't need ice cream since I am trying to reduce my sugar intake.
Have some more drawer/shelf paper so I better get busy, the shelf/drawer challenge is coming to an end soon.

I am reading and worrying about the weather and being glad for everyone's progress.

I am moving slowly.

I can feel the depression building up again. It is not being sad, it is being indifferent. No reason to do anything, because it is all the same. I am going to get dh to help me with some structure when he is around this weekend. My brain knows what I should be doing, but I don't care enough to do it. And it is hard when I know my body will not reward me with happy chemicals like it is supposed to.

One thing on my list for tomorrow is to deep clean the rabbit hutch because it looks like I am going to get a new bunny on Sunday. I hope she will be sweet like my old bunny and I will fall in love with her. Right now, I am just thinking "that should be good. I liked having a rabbit. Having a rabbit is a good thing." She is another rescue and the same breed as the bunny I lost. They don't know how old she is. Why do people move and leave behind rabbits? What is up with that?!

That's great advice, Tillie. The cats will figure it out. I am both excited and nervous to have the cleaning lady here.

The rug is fantastic. Unbelievable. If you care to see it, you can look up Spicher & Co vinyl floor mats, find the pattern University: Dulwich. Beautiful.

Ok off to bed. I can't breathe due to my allergies. Cats.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Since she is just one cleaning lady and not a cleaning crew,
she can only be in one room at a time.
The cats will be fine since they can just go into another room if they feel she is being too spooky.
That's what my cats do. 😉
YEA!!! that your new rug is there! 😀
Is there much furniture to move out of the way?

Hoping the cleaning lady is a cat person,
if so she will understand the situation and pause long enough for the cats to figure her out. (((hug)))

Good thing it's way too hot to go to the store.
By the time I do go my cinnamon raison bread & butter craving should have passed. ;P

Glad to hear from everyone! So much going on! Tigger has gone back home and will be back here on Monday. Monday is also the day the cleaning lady starts. Oh well, we will live through it.

Sorry I started all the raisin bread cravings but my goodness it is so good! So I can never buy again. Maybe on my birthday.

My cat hasn't been out since Tigger left. Hopefully soon. I just washed up his dishes and now I'll take care of his litter box.

Cm do what you can. Breathe and take good care of yourself. You are doing a good job of rolling with the punches and deciding to do laundry next week since you can't do it the way you like to tonight.

Anony please be careful around the skunks. I hadn't thought of rabies til Tillie mentioned it.

Tillie 106F in the shade! I can't even imagine that.

My vinyl rug is here but until I do the floors I can't put it out. If I could wait Monday then the cleaning lady could do my floors. I don't see myself waiting til Monday.

The timing is definitely lousy for the cleaning lady but my neighbor made the arrangements and I'm not comfortable asking her to change them. Everyone will need to be big cats and I'll need to be a big girl.

Hello 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Happy the kitties are doing fine.
Figured they would be. 😉
Schedule in the time to go to the museum, by yourself and with your Mom.
Make it a firm date and keep it. ;D
Good that your friend's home is alright. That was a terrifying fire. 🙁
Yeah, the key to nice cold ice tea is to make it the day before.

Hi CriticalMass 🙂
I'M so happy that you can spend time with your friend and seeing babies even if it takes you away from other plans.
Do not wrap things in plastic. If you fear he may spray something just drape a plastic sheet/drop cloth/table cloth over the item.
This way it will be easy for you to access the things.

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
We may not be able to see the eclipse but we can still see the huge full moon, that counts.
🙂

106 degrees in the shade on the back porch.
High clouds and hazy smoke.
I sound like I have bronchitis when I start coughing. ;P
74 degrees inside here. New movie on Netflix.
Cats are all melted, laying around all over the house.
I'm eating cherries and drinking ice water. 😀

~Hey there CM!~
A phone call interrupted my post, so i just now saw yours. I hope your kitty will be ok? It is so sweet of you to help so many people! Just take of your own needs, too? 😀

~Cinnamon coffee clinks!~
Tatouia, just this week i barely resisted buying raison-cinnamon bread for that same reason..ha ha..its funny i put it in my coffee before reading your post. And of course your cat is an angel! ;D That is sooo sweet youre playing familiar music for Tigger! =^-^=
Tillie, youre right about unusual aggression being a concern(rabies) & i hadnt thought of that, but i was growling & throwing sticks at them first, which didnt intimidate them at all, i think that was just the bold nature of skunks.
I thought we couldnt see the eclipse in the U.S.?
SubC, i used to keep containers in my car for restaurant leftovers, that way i always had some.
The new reuse store sounds like it could be a wonderful outlet for you for both donating & getting what you need & the staff's appreciation & understanding certainly makes it all the better!
I may vacuum the living room today, even in this heat, cuz i need to move around & maybe do some yoga & stretching after being so sedentary in this heat. I took a nice walk last night once it got cool enough. It helped me sleep, too.
It almost seems like when there is something in the way of my cleaning or organizing, besides my normal procrastination, it makes me want to do it even more?
~☆~May today's eclipse bring wonderful changes to you all!~☆~

Hi all, sounds like this week's theme is cats and I'm right there with you.

The cats are doing great! And I had a delightful lunch with my friend at work.

I will work on my floors tomorrow. If rug arrives tonight and if BF brings to me, I'll leave it rolled up til all is clean.

Tillie I bet the sky is eerie with the smoke from the fires. I have a friend in Greece and I spoke with her earlier this week. She is far enough from the fires that her house isn't in danger but the sky has been very, very odd.

I'm going to get my dishes in order. I didn't empty the dishwasher today. And it needs to be done.

After brewing my tea, I waited an hour before pouring into pitcher and all was fine. Very tasty this AM.

I will see about going to the museum tonight. We are supposed to get terrible storms tonight. I may wait and see if BF wants to go on Sunday. We are members and we enjoy going. I'm going to take a day off in September to take my mother to the Casanova's Europe exhibit, which is very well-curated and an absolute delight. I would also like to go see it alone one of these days. I saw with BF but I'd like a chance at it alone. That's the beauty of our membership. It's all just waiting for me.

Good Morning Everyone 🙂
Iced chai masala "Clink!:

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Go to the museum and later wash the floor.
Tigger will be alright, he knows you and he knows you love him. (((HUG)))
WTG! for all the tidying up and mopping floors too!

Hi Subclinical 🙂
WAY TO GO! for remembering to bring your own take out containers!
I have noticed that when my skunk babies are about half grown they roam about together but without their mother with them any more.
I suspect that they part ways after she has successfully weaned them onto grown up foods.

I am so tired, can hardly stay awake since yesterday afternoon.
The smoke from Yosemite fire has gotten much thicker here.
The sunlight is very yellow and last night's moon was deep orange.
The air quality is sorta bad but not dangerously so.
Hoping the clouds and smoke clear enough so I can watch the moon tonight.
Planning to spend the day watching Netflix and watering trees and doing some beading. 🙂

SubC you are doing great! Keep it up!!

As to bringing your own containers, that strikes me as less unusual today than it would have 10 years ago. People are much more conscious now. There's a woman at work (she's in her late 20s) who keeps a mason jar on her desk. So when we have leftovers from a meeting, she pops her sandwich or cookie or whatever into it. She also uses mason jars to bring her lunch to work. Several of our restaurants no longer have straws. People are getting there, and bringing your own containers is in the range of normal.

Tigger is here. He's a bit agitated but he's settling down. He seems so old and frail. I remember when I first met him, fifteen years ago. I wasn't dating my BF yet but I used to pass his office on my way home from parking my car and one day I saw this giant tabby cat.

I'm streaming pandora so that kitty hears the type of music that would normally be on with BF.

Ok back to work. I'm meeting a colleague for lunch then back home.

Now I want raisin bread.

Tatoulia, I hope you and tigger have a very good day.

And yes, one of the reasons I am excited about the reuse store is that it will help me rescue things - and put them in the hands of people who want/need/will use them instead of my studio or basement. I stopped yesterday on the way to my class and gave them some of my collected things - more items taking up more space than what I bought on Wednesday. So, currently real progress. Also, the staff is great. They seemed really pleased with everything I brought them. A nice change from "why are you saving all this crap?"

Anony, I wish your critters were more respectful. My momma skunk was in the barn all by herself last night. I am hoping that means her babies have moved out like mine and not that something bad has happened to them. I have become very fond of the skunk family.

I was listening to a program about the weather last night and thinking about all of you who are hot and near fires. The whole program was somewhat discouraging about what we are doing to the earth.

I also got dinner with my Dd last night. We went to the Indian restaurant near my class. The food is very good, but always too much. I remembered to bring containers so we could take it home without styrofoam! Part way through dinner Dd realized I was going to be faced with the leftovers situation and I told her "it's ok, I brought a container." Then her face started to reflect the thought of putting her leftovers in styrofoam in front of me, and I added "I brought you one too!"

When we were putting our food in the containers she said "this is the weirdest thing you have ever made me do." And I said "no it isn't." She said "now I am remembering the weird things. I wish this was the weirdest thing you had ever made me do."

Dinner out for two, trash - two paper napkins and a paper towel (I washed my hands at the restaurant)

Tillie, I hope you will take advantage of the food bank offer if you need to. It doesn't have to be desperately need. It is ok just to call them because it will make your life better.

Not sure what today holds besides indian food leftovers (yum)

Ok all my garbage is out, I've cleaned the litter box, swept and mopped the bathroom, etc. papers gone in living room. I just have to put away the vacuum. Tomorrow night I'll have to work on my hardwood floors. Or maybe I'll just leave my rig rolled up and I'll deal with floors on Saturday. I'd really like to go back to the museum tomorrow night.

BF is bringing Tigger in the AM. He just called to say he'd rather bring the kitty in the AM. I brought my computer home, so I'll work in the AM with the two cats. Then I'll meet colleague for lunch then come back home. That's the easiest all around. He's worried about his cat. I can't blame him. The cat lives in his office, so tomorrow during some contractor work he needs kitty somewhere else. He super worried about Tigger, probably because he's so old now. I like the solution. And yes, if there are any issues I'll put the angel in my bedroom.

I am making iced tea and I only have a little ice. I do not feel like going out to buy a bag. So I'll see if the cubes I made last night will be enough I've already put them in the pitcher and I have the pitcher in the fridge. I'm brewing the tea now. I'll let it cool a bit in the pan before pouring into the pitcher. I just can't face tomorrow without my tea.

Taje care my dear friends. I know you are suffering with terrible heat. Let's hear it for Netflix! It's a wonderful thing. Love you all. Please take good care of yourselves.

I pray the lunar eclipse restores some much needed order and peace in the world.

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Thank you (((HUG)))
Since I know you know too well skunk behavior
that's why I worry when you mentioned unusual behavior in this one.
Unusual friendliness or unusual aggression are warning signs to watch out for.
Take care of you! (((HUGS)))
YEA! for an ice foot rest! ;D

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
Me too! I would eat that toasted raisin bread all warm, dripping with that butter too! ;P
Good luck with the cats behaving.
If you think they may "have any issues" just shut them away from each other.
But of course, your kitty would never misbehave. 😉

Hello everybody!

SubC the reuse store is very interesting and I'm glad you can both take things and leave things there. It's good that you are being mindful. It made me think of myself. For me, if I have a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread in the house, I know I will toast it up, two slices at a time, slather it with delicious unsalted Irish butter, and eat it all night. So I don't bring raisin bread into the house. So it's good that you know you can't rescue everything in the store. Just keep telling yourself that it's already been rescued.

Tillie I am also touched that the food bank would take good care of you.

Anony honestly I am amazed that you can coexist with creatures. And Tillie! Having spiders as pets!!!

I am going to do some sweeping up. BF's cat is coming over tonight. I need both of the cats to be good. I have to go to office tomorrow due to lunch plans that I made six weeks ago. I may, after lunch, work from home in the afternoon. BF will be able to get the kitty after 2. The two cats have not been together before other than trips to the vet. Both cats seem chill enough for it to go ok. OF COURSE MY CAT IS AN ANGEL.

~ice water clinks!~
Tillie, unfortunately, im am very familiar with that feet stamp skunks do & most other skunk behavior, after my 21 years with them, but this was not normal at all! It was a youngish litter of 4, walking as a tight group in unison with each turn & movement, and actually, i hadnt ever seen that either?!
This eclipse is a big deal, but there are many other astrological things happening at the same time that intensify it, too. It could mean a war involving technology, but aggression is likely for anyone, not just government, etc., partly with Mars being super close. New changes in society is a hopeful possibility for sure! Yes, that would be great & certainly needed! ~♡~
I have my feet on a frozen water jug & its helping with the heat somewhat?
Im sooo glad you have people that are happy to help you. You help us all sooo much & you are such a wonderful & loving & supportive person, you deserve to have that, too! ~♡~

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂

I am so not afraid of spiders now that I have even had pet tarantulas and wolf spiders.
A skunk will often stomp their feet, dash forward a little and otherwise take a defensive stance when they want you out of their space rather than do the last resort, spray.
What is the rabies situation there this year?
You could call the health dept., fish & game/wildlife office or a Veterinarian to find out what the rate of rabies in skunks is near you.
YES! Tomorrow will be a very long lunar eclipse.
I am hoping it brings many positive changes to this whole world.
We really need all the help we can get. (((hug)))

Well, I did 3 loads of laundry. All dried, folded and put away except my dresses since I hang them on hangers inside away from the sunshine.
Nice and cool inside, over 100 and muggy outside.
The other day, after the shooting, I went to talk with my friends at the Christian run food bank thrift shop.
Explained that I hadn't been around since I'm hiding from the heat.
When I mentioned that I had to go out to grocery shop because I had run out of food
they told me I should have called and that they would have brought me a box of food to my house.
This really touched me deeply.

~Good Morning!~
Tillie, im still afraid of spiders, even after dealing with them all this time. Thats amazing you overcame it! I had a spider drop down from the ceiling right at me when i was yelling at it & was charged by a taranchula once, too. Last night tho, a young, full sized type skunk charged at me, rather than spraying me. Its litter mate jumped on him to stop him. Living with all these critters is a constant battle for territory.
Im also gonna stay home & watch movies, partly the heat & partly the astrology things happening.
SubC, i think your rule you made about that shop is a great idea! And donating some craft things sounds like a good idea, too! I bet youll be glad?!
Tatoulia, im excited youre so excited about your new floor mat! Your place is really sounding nice! And yes, talking to non cat people is sometimes hard. I talked to a friend yesterday that had the same problem with his Mom concerning his cat's care. He stood his ground, just like i did & it worked out, just like mine, thankfully. It felt good to hear his story!

Good Morning Everyone 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Have a wonderful time working in the studio today!
I am happy you have thought about the dangers of the Reuse store and have made plans on how best to use this wonderful resource. 😀
Sounds like the perfect solution to rehome all those "possibly could be used for something" assorted items you come across.
So true, opening up space in a drawer or shelf is exactly like buying a new one. (((HUG)))

Watering some stuff this morning.
Planning to do some laundry next.
Triple digit temperatures the next 7 days.
Sure have been getting my moneys worth out of my Netflix subscription this Summer. 😉

Coffee <clink>

I really did feel like that big row of "hi"s. I also forgot to refresh the page before I posted, so I missed a lot of posts,

Tillie, I am sorry about the shooting.

I am excited about tatoulia's floor mat and pillows. It's exciting to hear it all coming together! I thought "whole man" was "Workman".

My cat gets plenty of food, comes in the house and sleeps on the furniture, and eats lots of mice!

I like spiders. Which is good, because we have a lot of them. But I do not like webs in my face.

Today is the day Dd goes to her brother's house. With his stuff. 🙂 I also have my new toys, so I am excited to work in my studio.

I asked my daughter if she had ever been to the reuse store, because it is near her house. She said, "no. But [son in law] loves it. He goes all the time." I told her I love it too, and then about learning that I can take things there, and she said "oh. [son in law] never takes things. He just brings stuff home.

I will try to explain a little - Stephen would probably love it. It is a hoarders dream. It is also an OCD nightmare and I really wanted to ask if I could sort and organize as I went. They think they have it pretty well sorted, but things like condition, size, theme, and color have been completely ignored and some of the bins are practically random!

So, the reuse store is in a little storefront next to the community center. It is very full and crowded with shelves full of boxes and bins. They are run by volunteers and use all the money they get for the store (rent, electricity, fixtures...) all of their merchandise is hobby/craft/art focused. they sell only "donated" stuff, but some of it is normal donated stuff, and some of it is "garbage". Things like my rubber stamps are a bit more and individually priced. things like fabric, yarn, glass, paper, corks and bottle caps are sold by weight. My piece of foam was literally 2 cents. They sell gift wrap roll cores! They have project ideas all over the store. They also sell books about art/crafts/upcycling/decorating. They do not sort the books!

I can donate: corks that are not actually made of cork, those plastic 6 pack lids that some beer uses instead of plastic neck rings (they sell them by the pound, but if they get a big backlog, they call a guy who picks them up for recycling into benches), plastic thread spools, and small type 6 or 7 containers with lids.

They normally take donations only on Saturdays when they have volunteers come to sort and price, but the lady in the store said if I carry it in in a bag, they will accept it as long as I am willing to wait while they sort the bag and I take away anything they can't use.

So, because this store could become a very bad habit, I have made a deal with myself that I will only go in there when I have a full bag of stuff to donate, or if I actually NEED a specific thing they sell. (Like, they sell those wooden pegs you put ikea furniture together with, so if I am trying to repair a piece of furniture and need one...)

I am also thinking that I might take them some of the items I have been saving for years because they "might" be good for crafts and have no other use. I no longer have kids at home, and I currently have only one "grandkid", who does not like to do crafts when he is here, he can do that at home. So I could take some of my materials to the reuse store, someone else could buy and use them, and I could go there and get "new" stuff very cheaply if I have a specific project to do. Realistically I will buy very little, so I have to look at the storage space I will be regaining and think about how much I would pay for a shelf or drawer - clearing the shelf drawer is functionally like buying a new one.

Good Evening 😉

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Spiders have spinnerets. A special body part that the silk/web comes out from.
They are always having a length/stream of silk coming out from the spinneret.
So everywhere they go they always have a trail of silk streaming from behind them.
Spiders can and will swing through the air and the silk/web will trail behind them as they do acrobatics to travel from place to place.
So, that's how they can quickly make a web across an area.
And whenever you see a spider wandering aimlessly back and forth on a wall up near the ceiling, remember that she is placing sticky webbing everywhere she goes.
This web is sticky and dust gets stuck all over it and that's how "cobwebs" are made.

When I was a little girl I was afraid of spiders mainly because I had two older butthead brothers.
So to overcome my fear of the spiders and thwart my brother's attempts to torment me I learned everything I could about spiders. ;D

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
How sweet! Your Mom and her friend having pizza together. 😀
Hope your haircut went well.
The town, my town near here with the shooting was on the national news and my MSN home page.
It was not a hate crime but took place in the LDS church. Just a personal dispute.
How long before your new floor mat arrives?
Is it big & heavy?
So happy you are making your home fresh and lovely. (((hugs)))

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Whenever I need something I always check the thrift store first and many times I can find it at the much better price.
Happy you do the same. 😀
That reuse store sounds interesting. The kind of place where it's dangerous to allow Steven to see. LOL ;D
How wonderful you have found another outlet for things needing to be disposed of responsibly!

Got all my chores done that I wanted to do today.
Still hot and muggy here but the cats & I did good today and they were only melted for a little while.

Hi hi hi hi hi!

Manic and overstimulated today.

Started out with a meeting with the lady from the solid waste district about our school " waste management" program. Brought home lots of information. Then went to the reuse store for the first time (it's not a thrift, I can't explain it.) fell in love and bought a table doily, 13 large roller stamps and a set of mini stamps for clay, two small clay tools, a dozen good paint brushes, fancy wire Christmas hangers (that I use as part of ornaments I sell), and a piece of soft foam. Total under $17. Some will be for my classroom.

Worked at the pottery studio.

Went to the actual thrift store and spent $1.61 on another clay tool (that I have been wanting for some time, but it is not $1 in the studio store) and a pack of decorative paper.

Went to the grocery store and bought fruit and nuts and some meat for dh.

The reuse store will take several items I cannot recycle, donate, compost, or burn and have been throwing in the trash!

So hard trying to talk to non cat people!!

I am back from haircut. I stopped to see mom, and she had a friend over. I gave them pizza money so they can have dinner together.

I'm running the dishwasher and going to watch the news with the kitty.

YES I need to get this done on the floors!! I am so excited about my new floor mat!!! It'll be delivered to BF's work.