Good Morning Everyone
Iced tea "clink!"

Hi Subclinical
Extremely happy you have been having very good fair experiences this week.

Consumables are always the best freebies.
I would have eaten those tomatoes immediately too.

WAY TO GO! for passing along the extra canning jars!
And for being strong about not acquiring any bunnies.

Hi Tatoulia
This killer heatwave won't last forever and you can then resume all your usual activities.
It gets to me too having to lay low inside but the heat is deadly.
Especially since I never learned how to sweat.

Yes, fresh clean smelling still laundry is so lovely. 😀

Miss Kitty looks quite content with her chair.

Did two loads of laundry late last night and hung it out.
Brought it in soon as I woke up, folded & put it away.

You know you have been watching way too much stuff on Roku when for a second you try to put the cats on "pause" while you tend to something else.

Managed to finally kill all the wasps in the breaker box.
Now the nest material needs to be removed and the hole plugged to keep them out of there.
The breaker box is on the outside backyard wall.

My plan for today is to stay inside until evening when I'll go out and water grass and garden.
Laundry and kitchen are all done, clean & tidy.
Maybe I'll dust a little.

That mat I bought to keep kitty litter from being tracked around is really working.
It removes about 98% of the litter from their gummy moist little feet.

I am staying inside today, I promise. If BF decides to run errands in the car I will join him but only in that circumstance. I have no reason to go outside at all. That was a mistake yesterday and today will be even hotter.

Great work SubC on taking home consumables and for getting canning supplies ready for a new home!!! Great work!!!

Tillie I will report and I will stay inside today. I have no reason to go out. I can't even go two blocks without feeling the effects. The restaurant we went to was four blocks away and I must say I felt a great deal better after eating.

I don't have to hate my house because it's clean and fairly clear. What a relief that is. I did do two loads of delicates yesterday. They are now dry so I shall fold and put away. I've been adding borax to my laundry and when I hang them to dry, they feel more like they've been hung outside. A little stiffer. I love that feeling.

I'm reading today and staying in. Kitty is under the bedroom chair, like an angel. I posted her under the chair yesterday and when I woke up this AM she was on the chair, so I have a picture of that too.

Tatoulia,

Please slow down! You have been doing really well with your walking, but now is a time to take a break. Even healthy habits require moderation.

Fair is over. I stayed very late last night and had a good time with my fair friends. This morning I will rest a little and straighten up the house, then I go to pick up my fair entries.

I brought a bunch of freebies home last night - they released food products at 8:00 and I was gifted by friends with zucchini, garlic, little tomatoes, hot peppers, and another cupcake. But I ate the tomatoes on the spot.

I did not bring home any rabbits - which was extremely hard because of something I won't share because it would probably make CM sad too. But I had promised dh I wouldn't bring home any rabbits.

We have friends coming over when I get back. One of them cans and I have promised him a bunch of jars because I have too many. - more stuff leaving the basement. Go me!

Please report this incident to your doctor.
Meantime stay in, rest, read or Roku.
Make sure you are drinking enough water.
Whenever we are not at 100% extreme heat just exacerbates everything.
((((HUG))))

Barely moving. Reading and sleeping. Went out for dinner with BF. Very unpleasant out. I tried walking earlier in the day (very slowly, to post office) and I started to black out. A police officer (whom we know) drove me home. He's driven me places before and is very kind.

That's twice in a week an officer has driven us someplace. We got a ride from a different officer to the museum Thursday night. Today's officer was worried because I was getting sick. So I accepted the nice cool ride.

Good Morning Everyone
Hoping Everybody is managing to stay cool and out of the burning sunshine.

Hi Subclinical
Yes, the experience alone is well worth the price.

YEA! for donating the plastic flatware!
It was already made and exists. Holding onto it does not help your home environment.
We can only hope that they will stop making nonrecyclables when all the people finally learn not to buy them or accept them.

A fantastic kid occurrence?
WAY TO GO KID!!!

My brother's wife was once asked to judge olives for the county fair.
Afterward they asked her to please go away and never return.
She is such an unpleasant person. LOL 😀

Been awake since 4:30am. Tried for an hour to fall back asleep but finally gave up.
Already fed cat's breakfast, Jack was sleeping on the back porch.
My back was hurting too much yesterday to stand at the sink and wash dishes so today I will wash dishes.
Have a little bit of laundry to do.
Have to work on a large yellow jacket wasp nest.
It's in the breaker box panel and has lots of wasps.
Been killing off as many wasps as I can but there are still too many of them.
Will keep at it, one dead wasp at a time.

I had a thought about the freebies.

I have always had a hard time spending money on myself. Bringing home free stuff from the fair made me feel like I was offsetting the cost. If I got someTHING "useful" for my money than I wasn't just spending money to have fun.

This is my vacation. We can afford it (easily - it's a cheap vacation!) taking time to have fun is important. Going to the fair is worth the money all by itself.

Being a goat judge is too hard! And I don't want to judge ceramics because I want to enter.

I had a great fair day though. All the questions i've been asking in the home arts building must have endeared me to the people in charge instead of annoying them, because today, after the baked goods were judged, I was up there cooling off, and they offered me half a cupcake (left over from sampling for judging.)

The cart and pack show was great fun today, I made some possible contacts for sales/breeding/new goats, and we had a fantastic kid occurrence (I don't want to invade anyone's privacy, so i'll just say there was a big win for a kid who needed it with a mom who needed to see it.) also I got to spend time with my 4h friends.

AND I took a bunch of plastic flatware to the picnic, donated it all to the club, and didn't try to bring home and wash any that got used. I don't think that was a permanent change, and I don't feel entirely good about it, but I know it was a big step.

A young Red Tailed Hawk came by the yard today.
ALL the other species of birds started screaming at him and flying at him and chasing him.

I've seen this happen many times before.
Robins, Finches, Sparrows, Wrens, Dove and all kinds of birds group together to chase away the predator.
Real team work. 😉

Hi CriticalMass
You have made some GREAT progress now that you no longer feel the need to pick up all the freebies, just some consumable ones.

Good luck with all your BADGER plans for today! 😀

Hay fever/allergies suck. 🙁

When my son was about three or four we went to the county fair.
Going through all the different booths set up with different sellers and government agencies my son insisted on having a tote sack and was filling it up with all handouts and pamphlets/brochures.
He especially liked the forest service freebies, all Smokey The Bear related.

Badger Day Progress report so far: The car tag office has been very slow. My roommate's number was finally called a few minutes ago. Hopefully she can get business transacted - there was a complication where the VIN number from her old car is still on the paperwork instead of the new one.

Then if all goes well we might have time to go to the Y so I can speak to someone about security. Along the way we'll see about the sno-cone for Badger. Maybe one laced with allergy medicine for yours truly. This itchy nose hay fever thing is for the birds. I don't know if scheduling my medical stuff can happen today also, but there's always Monday. It may be rainy and cooler then.

I can so relate to picking up freebies at the State Fair years ago! Sometimes I needed more than one plastic bag! 😂 I was an information hound - so many pamphlets I kept on so many subjects. I used to have half a dozen or more steel file cabinets. Thank God for the Internet; the file cabinets are long gone. And even if I went, I wouldn't pick up non-consumable freebies. So I guess I have made progress over the years.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Have a wonderful day at the fair.
YEA! for no longer needing to bring home all the freebies!
Maybe some day you will be a judge at the fair since you know so much about fine goats and pottery.

Hi Tatoulia
Thanks for the chuckle about how you "needed" to get all those freebies. 😉

How nice the exhibit wasn't crowded!
You were able to take the time to appreciate it without feeling rushed through.

Stay cool, whatever it takes.

Was woken up this morning by a small airplane constantly flying low over this area.
I don't know why but he did that for an hour.

I can see coyote footprints around the house, they came in too close last night.
But Jack was on the porch for breakfast this morning.

Walking out across the road yesterday to fetch in the mail there was a cottontail bunny sitting out by the mailbox.
Just sat there as I approached and only moved over a little as I came near and just sat and watched me.
Of course I thought of CM. 😉

Great job at the fair, SubC! You've come so far! Amazing to hear how you've adapted to enjoy the fair without ending up with armfuls of things! I used to have a terrible time with freebies. Not only did I want what was being offered, I wanted two. The time that changed me was when they were handing out some sort of ziploc bag that came with a device that would take the air out of the bag to improve freshness. They were giving out two at a time, and I went twice, and my friend asked, why do you need four? Then I was with her and they were handing out shampoos for redheads, and I'm not a redhead plus my hair is dyed, and she couldn't understand why I needed the shampoo. I can now avoid the freebies unless it's a yogurt or lip balm or the occasional granola bar. But I was hooked on the freebies.

All this to say, you've come so far and I am so proud of you!

Thank you also for a description of your activities at the fair! It sounds amazing and yes we will walk side by side someday.

Tillie I am grateful you are able to enjoy your garden now that it's smaller. I can't imagine living in a place so dry that you can leave your laundry out overnight!

I will not be walking in this heat. I can walk to work today and I'll decide how to get home. I could stay late and take the subway. I wish you could've joined us last night. The exhibit was so well done! And it wasn't crowded, thanks to the fact we didn't get there til 8.

CM! We cross posted the other night. Say hello to the badger and send him here once you have worn him out and he's only up for being a tiny, sleepy badger.

Good morning everyone!

It's badger Friday!

I think about the badger every time I walk past the "sno-Kones" stand at fair.

And yes, CM, I said hi to the bunnies for you. I think about you every time I walk into the rabbit barn.

Tatoulia, I wish you were here to come to the fair with me. I'd love showing you around. Stay safe and out of the heat today!

All of the judging is done and I had a respectable showing. I was able to be there for some of the judging yesterday and I learned a lot.

I also had a very interesting conversation with the young man who judged the meat goats. There was a moment when I almost asked him if he wanted to see a picture of my daughter, but then I remembered that he thinks it's ok to eat goats.

Today is goat shows all day and a picnic with the dairy goat club for dinner. I'm sure i'll find some time to visit alpacas and rabbits too.

I was reflecting yesterday that when the kids were young, I used to come home from fair loaded down with freebies, carnival prizes, and ribbons.

Now I return the ribbons that don't have dates, don't play carnival games (they stopped having skee-ball) and the only "freebies" I picked up are a pack of colored post it tabs for my English classes this year and a card I will recycle when I finish reading my book. My shirt will be an even exchange, and I plan to have one less doll.

Tatoulia
I absolutely FORBID you to walk in the heat!

Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit, bet that was a wonderful experience.

Hope you get a good night's sleep and feel better tomorrow.

It's been hot here but I don't have to spend much time outside.
Garden is easy and I can do most of it early morning or late evening.
I can wash laundry at night, hang it out and bring it in in the morning.

Only time I tend to be out when it's hot is when I drive the air conditioned car to and from the grocery store.
Then carry in my groceries.
But that's just every other week since I hate shopping.

Hello everyone.

BF and I went to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the Museum of Fine arts tonight. It was wonderful. I believe it leaves on August 2 so I'm glad we made it. We then walked home.

My feet are tired. I did a lot of good walking today.

Dangerous heats are coming our way. I'll do what I can and not a bit more.

I'm feeling poorly and will go lay down.

OK, now I am very curious about the story behind the picture of that bathroom door.

Good Morning Everybody

Hoping everyone has another great day today! ;D

Good Evening Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
YEA! for BADGER FRIDAY!!!
Don't forget his sno-cone.

That's a great way to motivate each other.
You two can also have quick contests.
Like five minute dashes to do a task.

Your minimalist look is perfect.
Keep up the good work and you will get there (((HUG)))

Hi Tatoulia
After I eat I need to take it easy & rest for a little while. Nothing too physical even though I eat light.

WAY TO GO! for doing such a great job today making progress!
It takes time to sort out and evaluate our stuff and make so many decisions.
At times it feels like the decluttering and organizing will never end but eventually you will "get there".

Please send any of your unwanted excess rain my way. ;D

Got the grass & garden watered this evening, came in and took a shower.
It feels so good sitting here with the ceiling fan blowing on me.
Jack helped me water and I was picking up dropped apricots and tossing them to him to catch.

I think Nathan's so great. I like him so much.

I walked and walked. I had eaten really late today, before I went out. I just had tuna with pickles (out of a bowl, no bread) and it was too close to my walking time. I felt like I was swimming right after eating. My stomach hurt and I felt lousy. But I thought about something I read recently, something about when not feeling motivated, that's where discipline comes in. Something like that. So I used to overcome the nausea.

I am pleased with my accomplishments today. I made some good and sincere progress today. I thought I'd already passed along the Reiss bag. As I inspected it today, I started thinking about using it when I go away in September. Then I thought, no. I also thought about a woman at work who used to covet it (I must've had it at work for a work trip) but she left the company long ago.

I did not get to post office because once cleaner got here, it was pouring rain. I may bring to work on Friday and mail lunch time. It's all ready to go and I've filled out the customs forms.

HELLO CM.

It's a giant steam bath outside.

I'm going to feed the little one and go to bed. I've showered and I'm running the dishwasher.

Goodnight dear friends. Again, SubC, you are doing so great.

HELLO JOAN. AND DIANE. AND ANONY. AND OTHER DIANNE. AND LR. AND ROXY. AND BITSY.

Diane I really miss you.

Back at ya, Tillie! 😉

SubC, glad the fair went well and you have an idea what ceramics might be a good fit next time. Hope you waved to the bunnies for me. 🐇🐇🐇

Last time I went to the Kansas State Fair was 2010. County fair is about now but it's too hot. In either case, I have to go when transportation is available. The State Fair is in Hutchinson, where my parents met and married, and surviving aunts on my dad's side reside, and cousins. When I was a kid through teenager, Mom & Dad & I went every year. I have mostly fun memories - and a few creepy ones, those because I was young and gullible enough to believe the garish signs on the freak show tents. 😨

Tillie, I keep clothes a long time too - some of the oldest ones weren't expensive but still have lasted way better than the cheap, often trashy looking, items on the store racks nowadays.

Tatoulia, glad the decluttering process is humming right along. The good vibes will help your immune system and overall health, I'm sure. And SubC as well, and Tillie wtg on flannel nightgown engineering.

Got my Tuscan kitchen towels washed as part of two loads of laundry done today. They are bagged and out in the van. I took 3 photos but may not need to have done that. Such dreams I had, though, in the 00s, of keeping my folks' house. I wanted to paint a Tuscany scene on a big piece of paper or cloth to pin up in that kitchen, a trompe l'oeil that would give the illusion of looking out over the fields and vineyards from my quaint historical villa... sigh... May their new owner smile.

My minimalist look will be what it needs to be to feel clean, bright, back to basics, primed for creativity. I will have the equipment, but cared for and not in a jumble. Excess stash will be gone and Justin Case will have slim pickings.

Still pulling out of that low energy slump - mood is neutral to good. Roommate has Friday off and I told her about The Badger. So we are going to designate Friday as Badger Day here and give each other moral support, a kick in the butt, whatever, to tie up our loose ends, the tasks we have needed to tackle but procrastinate on.

I've had some mild allergy annoyance. The grass and ragweed pollen are "Moderate" here according to AccuWeather.

Everybody be safe and healthy!

Nice thing about cats is that as soon as the "spooky" thing goes away or stops being so spooky, they tend to go back to normal rather quickly.
Dogs tend to stay suspicious.

YEA! for the cleaning lady!!!
Have a good walk. 😉

Hi Subclinical
You have been doing FANTASTIC!
Those are very good questions you have been asking yourself.
Excellent way to get functionally organized.

Nathan is the adult child of a hoarder.
He learned housekeeping from me.
His ideal is to be as minimal as possible and yet still live the life he wants.

At Thanksgiving when he was here he was looking through all my cupboards and commenting on how minimal they were.
Then he lamented that he has way too much stuff!

After I finished laughing at him I said...
You live in that house you just bought and need all that stuff to take care of that house.
You have an acre of land and you need things to take care of that.
You have 3 dogs and need things to care for them.
You have chickens and ducks and need things to take care of them.
You have fruit trees and a vegetable garden and need things to tend to them.
You have taken up blacksmithing as a hobby and need things to do that.
You are starting up your own business of repairing small engines and need all those things to do that.
Not to mention all the things you need for camping and hunting that you need and use.
Plus all the other things you do, etc. etc. etc...

He said "oh yeah, you're right"
And he laughed too. ;D

SubC you are an inspiration! Great work! Great decision making!

Tillie that's a very good point re medication. I'll be curious to see where my blood levels are. I may pop up for blood work before I go to dr appt. I'm really happy he's working so hard toward my health what a luxury.

My main cleaning lady didn't come. I ended up with just one woman and she did a great job. It was actually less nerve-wracking to have just one person here. We had a massive downpour with giant lightning abs thunder so kitty was really getting whacked. But she's out and melted into a chair.

I just ate because there was no lunch accompanying my cleaning. I generally don't eat on the days they come here, so I can enjoy their food.

I need to walk. I'll put on sneakers and head to the mall.

My minimalism involves a kiln! 😁

Tatoulia, good job on finding space! I do not think ugly is beside the point.

I found another bowl - large plastic - to donate, and I dumped a banker's box of saved gourds in the field. I'm sure the birds and mousies will enjoy them.

I'm afraid the bottles will be going in the basement for "now" because I am not ready to address them.

It is helping me to have one very specific question - "Is this something I am going to use in the pottery studio?" Then the next question is either "where am I going to use it" - to help me locate it -or "is it basement space worthy?"

Some of the pottery things have been put in their permanent homes and others have been stacked closest to point of use until I get better organized. I have two more empty cabinets, but I already have a stack that will be going into one because it is the best location for that particular equipment.

Good Afternoon

HELLO CRITICALMASS 😉

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO! for all your straightening and better organizing the studio!!!

Hope you find a more inspiring location to display those old bottles.
Keepers like that should be displayed where you can see and appreciate them.

YEA! for a bowl to donation.
You have been doing great with donations and being extra picky about what you bring home.

Hi Tatoulia
Such HAPPY posts!!! 😀
Feels so good when things go so well when working toward your goals.

Yeah, that sweater needed to be tossed, yucky.
Hope you start using that purse you have been storing.
That's great to shop at home, start using items we have but haven't utilized yet.

Glad you will see the Dr. sooner.
One thing I thought about...
Sometimes when we lose weight or otherwise improve our health, medication dosages we were on before may not be the correct dosages for our new improved lifestyle.
Sometimes they need to be readjusted.

Enjoy all your newly reclaimed space.

Because of the media hype around minimalism people have the wrong impression of what it consists of.
Minimalism is when we curate our possessions down to only things we need/use and want (precious/sentimental).
Nothing extra, like for Justin Case or other disaster scenarios.

Some people are very extreme, that's their choice.
Some people have lifestyles and interests where having more is good.
Like hobbies, crafts, a home business, entertaining, etc. where having the items you need is necessary but it is still a degree of minimalism.

Minimalism is having only the things that bring value to your life.

A young single man can easily carry all his worldly possessions in a backpack.
Most people don't live such a nomadic life.
Most people would feel deprived with having only one satchel of stuff.

Minimalism has varying degrees of things owned depending on the person and the lifestyle.

I made space today! I'm getting a lot done an I'm just so happy. I cannot believe it. I also faced a box containing a purse I got in Japan. I don't know why I've been avoiding it. Purse is lovely. I will see if I use it. I threw out the box. If I don't use it then I'll pass it along.

I made great space for myself today.

The sweater I threw out was crammed in the back of one of my shelves. It was of some weird synthetic fabric (I can't wear wool) and it had yellowed and otherwise was in an unacceptable state. Beyond redemption. Plus it was ugly but that's beside the point.

I made space today. I feel energized and happy. I'm not done but I'm happy.

I know that minimalism is trending these days. I'm not going for minimalism. I'm going for livable and beautiful and breathable.

The humidity today is Super Yuck. I can't tell if it's thundering outside because AC is loud. Kitty is not going to be happy if it's thundering and the ladies are here. That's extra stress for my babycat.

Ok she's running late but is still coming today. YAY because now I have a big bag for her PLUS I need my sheets changed (selfish girl).

I was looking for a pair of sandals I haven't worn in two years, figuring I'd give them to cleaners. I haven't found them but I found a giant Reiss bag that someone gave me (I though I'd gotten rid of it) and a sweater I didn't even remember owning. The sweater was put in the trash and the big Reiss bag to the cleaners. I also made a decision on a beaded bag, from Hong Kong, very nice but again, the cleaners will use it and I have another one I've been using lately. A vintage one I got several years ago.

Feels good.

Oh! And dr got in touch with me today and wants to see me in August instead of September. So I need to keep my act together. I'm doing great but I have less than a month to do even better. And I'm psyched.

I have never been to a fair so this is all fascinating to me! Tillie when I first got my kitty, my eyes were swollen shut from the allergies. I used to say, I'm allergic to cat. Singular.

I have taken a bag to car for donations and at the last minute I slipped in a gift salt and pepper shaker. I have culled through the jewelry and have a few things for cleaners. I have been shredding papers and putting my shoes away. All good stuff. Continuing to declutter or how I like to think about it, de-sh!t my house. (Apologies). I also decided to get rid of a plate I use for soap dish. I like it but I can't put in dishwasher so off it goes. Travel well, little buddy.

So stuff like that. As soon as cleaners get here I'm running to post office to mail a birthday gift overseas.

Hi all!

Poor scooter - lol! My dd's Dog really is allergic to cats. They have 2, and she likes to lick them, so she has to take medicine.

Tillie, it annoys me when it happens to other people, but I am quite capable of being market focused. There is money with the ribbons (it's how I pay for my ticket every year). If I only entered things that I would feel excited about simply winning, I would enter far fewer items. I would have to have some control over the product, and there would have to be a bunch of good quality competition - so for example, green beans and eggs would definitely stay, but antiques (no control) and soap (no competition) would likely go. The money is small, so you have to enter a lot of items to win enough to pay for your ticket.

I decided to stay home today. I thought I would be doing clay work in the studio, but I have been doing clean up the studio work in the studio. I have a load of studio towels in the dryer and I took the antique glass liquor bottles (inherited from my great grandmother's hoard when I was ten) off the top of the cupboard and washed the cupboard and put them in the dishwasher.

I had them out there because I thought the shaves and patterns would be inspiring, but I couldn't see them well on top of the cabinet.

I also cleared off a shelf, labelled it for items waiting to be fired, and collected a group of said items. And I found a large wooden bowl I can donate.