Hi Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
You don't bring it up too much.
That was a huge but positive step you took.
It was extremely emotionally hard on you.
Honestly, I believe doing that was what opened up the dam and allowed the water to flow in a most positive direction for you.
(((HUG)))

Yes, kitties do look cute out in the yard.
Scooter and I went out again and he was laying down low in the tall green grass, like a tiny tiger ready to pounce.

Shrimp Po'boy!
OK that's two words...

WAY TO GO! for all that you did today.
Was a busy day for you so enjoy your professionally made bed.

Ok back from mom's. After we did the cards, I cleaned her kitty's box, then I went to PO to mail the cards then I stopped to buy a few things and then dropped off cream for mom's coffee. I also took my recycling out. So I got some stuff done and I'm pleased.

I'm also feeling a bit tired. I think I'll go put on my pjs on and climb into my professionally-made bed.

Kitty and I are envious of your yard and garden! I bet the kitty looks so sweet under the lilac bush!

I just had my coffee and soon I'll go to mom's. I keep telling myself I feel strong, as the positive imagery is helpful to me.

Tillie I bring it up too much but shedding the sibling weight has done wonders for me. Naturally I don't say anything to anyone about that. A lot of people knew I was taking care of a sick sibling but I never let them know just how sick. And I rarely mentioned the toll it was taking on me.

I'm still pretty hungover from the decades of insults. But that's fine, too, because it's over.

I would love to have you over for lunch Tillie. Say the word!!!

Hi Tatoulia
All the changes you have made, you made in the right way.
No unhealthy "crash" dieting in Your health, home and life.
((((HUGS))))

WAY TO GO! taking care of daily stuff, helping Mom and getting in some fresh air and exercise.

Wish somebody would bring me lunch. 😉

Was outside with the cats, Scooter and I came back inside but Twinkles is napping under the lilac bushes.

Now (at 1:00pm) I need to go fix some lunch.

Going to make a cup of coffee. Will give me a caffeine boost. I also opened up my back drapes. The workers have left for the day and even with the scaffolding and the netting around it, I can get some light in here. It's been really tough having it dark in the living space.

I did two loads of laundry and I ran the dishwasher. I'll empty dishwasher while coffee brews. The clean towels are washed and put away. The other load of delicates is drying on the rack. One front bedroom window is open.

I've made a list of things to do tonight.

Thank you for the encouragement Tillie. I've been at this long enough to know that it's time for more help. I've had my cleaners about 9 months now. I think they started in June or July. I haven't suffered from any remorse about my choices. And I am very satisfied with my new choices about what comes in and what goes out. I am very happy with my new, more expensive clothes. The quality comes through in the fit and fabric, and I feel fantastic.

Bf also bought me lunch, which I will eat at office tmr. I don't think mom will like it so I'll take all of it to office and see if anyone wants to share.

So on my way to BFs to pick up lunch I saw our mailman. He asked me where I've been hiding since he hadn't seen me in a while. He also commented on how terrific I look. Later when I saw him again on my way home from BFs, he also said, I'm not saying this just to say it, but you look ten years younger. I just told him that I'm feeling fantastic.

Losing weight and losing the sibling obligation and gaining back my house have changed so much for me. And it's time to get someone in here to help me with closets. I will need to sell some stuff. And I'll be happy to do so. I wish that consignment shop had gotten rid of my other stuff. Oh well. I may pawn the jewelry.

Tillie enjoy your day! We have bright sunshine and warm weather! I will address Easter cards with mom tonight then take a walk. I've made a list of things I want to accomplish.

Happy to hear that Tatoulia

You have done so much all on your own and now you know having help right there in person is the best way for you to break through to another level.

YEA! for lunch! YUMMMM!

When I have helped families declutter, organize and clean
I just am there, they do all the physical work while I talk them through it.
I am there to help them sort out why to keep or toss and if keep, where to keep it.
Hardest decisions are those ruled by fear (Justin Case) and sentiment.
This way they learn the skills they need to make all those decisions and how to follow through so they can keep it up afterwards.
Having someone there with you is really the best way to get through the hardest parts.
Another person's point of view.
None of the families I helped have fallen back into disorder because they have the skills needed to maintain.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
How wonderful to see a pic of her in the dress! 😀
WTG! letting go of the others you will never wear again.

When I look through the clothes at the store I think "that's cute" but that was me years ago and I'm not her any more.
And I'm alright with that. 😉

Have a GREAT day!

The wind isn't blowing and it will be warm soon so the cats & I are going to go water the flowers and grass today.
Then I'll do something else but haven't figured out what that will be yet.
So many things to choose from.

Hi CriticalMass 😀

The fairies have left and they did a great job!!

I need to face facts: I need just one fairy to come on a non-cleaning day to help me sort and shred. There's still too much stuff here.

I cannot do it on my own, otherwise I would have done it already.

I will take an afternoon off and schedule some time for someone, anyone, to help me. All of her friends are hardworking people.

I can do it if I have somewhere here making me do it. And I still feel strong. But stuff makes me feel weak. So I will talk to her about getting this done.

When she came by to get the fairies, she brought me my lunch. I'm grateful for that because all day long I've been thinking about her cooking.

Glad you are feeling better, Tillie. SubC itvis so hard to find enough time in a day.

My cleaners are here. She called to see if she could drop off two of her friends instead while she and another woman clean a different house. One of the women has been here before and she showed me a picture of her with her boyfriend wearing one of my cocktail dresses. She looked beautiful.

So I went into my closet and took out the two remaining big dresses, gave one to her and one to the other woman. Now the extra dresses are gone. My usual lady took a big bag I had for her as she dropped them off. Some of these dresses might fit me but they are sleeveless cocktail dresses and those days are behind me. Gladly behind me.

So I'm feeling strong today.

Normally when walking around the city I wear comfortable walking shoes. Like sneakers but no laces. Sketchers and other comfy shoes. Last night I was wearing cute flats. I can normally walk to and from work in them but I was doing a ton of walking yesterday, and my feet missed the cushioning of walking shoes.

Will talk to you all later. I'm feeling strong and want to focus on work so I can get more things done at the end of the work day

I am grateful that much of Notre Dane was saved.

Hello

Hi Tatoulia
Saw that billionaires have donated 700 million so far to restore Notre Dame.
The organ and rose window were spared.

YEA! for cleaners!!!

What shoes were you wearing that your feet hurt?
Hope you soaked them cause that always feels good.

Hi Subclinical
YEA! for doing some pottery!

Goats out playing in a field are always so cute to watch.

Now to find another use for those plastic cups...

Feeling much better this evening, hope it lasts.
Had a good time beading.

Yay for cleaners!

Yay for trash! I so hope this is a beginning!

Someone gave me a giant box of pots, so I will not be drilling holes...

Got a tiny bit of pottery work done this morning.

The boy goats seem to like their new digs.

Tillie wow. I don't dare say more. Let the planets stay aligned.

I hope your dizziness is passing. Terrible feeling.

I'm exhausted. Had volunteer stuff after work and walked home. My feet hurt.

My cleaners come tmr and I'm pretty excited!

Good Afternoon

Have some news to tell...

Asked Steven where he was off to.
He said he was making a trip to the dump since the trash can is full.
Yesterday I noticed it was full because he had been filling it with plastic grocery bags of trash from the garage.

He put all the trash from the can into the truck and then I watched him carry about a dozen more plastic grocery bags of trash out of the garage and put them into the truck!!!

He then gathered up a heap of larger assorted size pieces of trash that he had placed beside the garbage can and put all that into the truck!!!

For YEARS/DECADES I have been saying if he just got rid of the obvious trash it would be a lot better.
Less clutter, more floor space foot path and fewer mice & rats.

Lets all keep our fingers crossed that he continues.

Feeling a lot less dizzy this afternoon and am just about to do some beading.
Too cold and windy for me & the cats to go outside.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Great way to repurpose those plastic cups!
Necessity truly is the mother of invention.

WTG! mending fences, worming the bucks and relocating them.
Bet they are happy out there with room to roam around and play.

There are never enough days in a week for you to do all you want/need to do.
Gardening or pottery, hope you have a wonderful day.

Mozzarella! Yum!!!

Hi Tatoulia
How nice your Mom has pen pals.
I loved writing letters and sending cards when I used to have people to write to who would write to me.

I figured that in Boston, Marathon days were all holiday days.

WTG! for trash out and litter box cleaned.

Feeling better today except still terribly dizzy.
Been dizzy off & on since last week.
Another dark overcast dreary cold day with a chance of rain.
Still hasn't rained here no matter how high the predicted chance of rain has been.
The winds keep blowing all the rain clouds over to the mountains where it rains & snows.
Plans for today are to take it easy and try to do simple things without wearing my glasses.
I have noted that the dizziness is worse when I have been wearing them while standing.

Thoughts this morning about storing Justin's belongings - I somehow do not have enough small garden pots. I do have a large stack of "disposable" plastic cups that I keep trying to find a way to make best use of.

I am going to drill a hole through a stack of cups. Then I will have pots.

Hello all!

Tatoulia, i'm glad you enjoyed the marathon. Apparently my brother ran one somewhere last weekend.

I'm very sorry about the fire. I was there once, a long time ago.

Tillie, I hope you feel much better tomorrow!

I made two wheels of mozzarella cheese this morning and froze them. Then I patched three holes in the far fence using some scrap fencing I had saved, wormed the bucks, and moved them out to the back field. They have a lean-to, and it is much quieter in the barn now!

I am a couple of weeks late starting my garden, but I did strip one bed today. I didn't plant anything. I have some time before class tomorrow and I am torn between planting, repotting seedlings, and doing some pottery work for my class. I can make up to 25 pieces and have them fired as part of the class fee, but they have to be done by Sunday. So far, I have made zero.

Every so often I too get the Roku freeze. And I pray.

Garbage is our, kitty has clean box, and I'm thinking about going to bed soon. Had a great day all around. Especially getting the exercise and seeing the runners. They are each so amazing.

Yes I hope you're feeling more like yourself tomorrow, Tillie. You do so much for me and I appreciate it. You take very good care of me.

Back to office tmr. Today was not a holiday as we ate a national company. I have plenty of vacation days so this is naturally one of the first that I put in for.

I need to find the Easter cards and get them to mom's. She's gotten a nice little group of pen pals going and I have to keep that moving forward.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Glad you went.
Oh Well, wet feet & cold.
Seems like typical Spring weather.

Here it's been very cloudy all day, cold and the wind has really started howling, but not a single drop of rain.
Typical Spring weather, totally unpredictable.

I washed the dishes and wiped down the kitchen,
Was easy, not many dishes to wash.
Good that I didn't push myself to do more housework.
Thinking after a good night's sleep I should almost be back to "normal".

My internet connection today has been terrible but seems to be working OK now.
Earlier I had a very hard time online and Roku wouldn't work, kept freezing up.

Back from the marathon. I'm so glad we went. On the way home we stopped at Lord & Taylor so BF could buy dry socks. It rained and was cold, but it didn't rain continuously and it has stopped now. The temperature has dropped.

Yes the badger did a good job for me. Now I need to clean kitty's box and take the garbage out.

Hoping you are feeling a bit better, Tillie.

Do not push yourself. You are important to us and all cats everywhere. It's hard to admit being sick. Have a cup of tea and rest.

Good Afternoon Everybody
Just now a little after 12 noon here.

Hi Tatoulia
Yes, so sad... 🙁

WTG! BADGER!
Wonderful that it didn't take long to get Tatoulia motivated to shampoo the rug!

Have a wonderful time at the marathon.

I look at the weather reports and then I look out the window and make up my own mind.
I am correct a lot more than the professional forecasters.

Had plans for today.
Been feeling "off" since Friday and after yesterday and now today, I have to admit to myself that I must be sick.

Will put off cleaning the bathroom and washing the floors for now.
I have the kitchen all set up ready for dish washing and will do that soon.
Other than dishes my new plans are to lay low, rest and drink plenty of water.
Makes no sense to push myself today.

Shampooed the rug. Heading out to the marathon.

Heartbroken. Notre Dame is on fire. BF's family says it feels like the end of the world.

Just went for a walk to get Tigger's medicine and to drop it off for him. I put my jeans in the washer before I left. It is warm, sunny, beautiful although a tad humid for me. Thanks, newscasters, for being all doom and gloom this weekend. Really irks me.

I'm going to go vacuum my bedroom, which is a precursor to shampooing the rug.

Good morning!

Tillie, the city is crowded but it's actually nice. Runners from all over the world. No drinking, no drugs, just really healthy people and their families. I went to the grocery store fairly late last night (for me, a pedestrian) simply because I knew every one would be out and about. And they were! I don't know much about Burning Man but festivals frighten me, even though I am sure they are peaceful and very happy occasions. 'm also a real scaredy cat when it comes to Halloween and St Patrick's Day.

YES enjoy the sculpture, SubC. This gives you a chance to enjoy it and still pass it on as a gift. Like it's on loan from a museum.

I had purchased a very large, very beautiful vintage poster for my BF once. In French. I had it framed and then hid it in my office. A French woman whom I worked with fell in love with it, so I let her hang it in her office til the BF's birthday came about. Now it hangs in his office.

Right now I'm storing art for my overseas friend and she's told me I'm free to hang it if I like. I haven't, but it's an option.

Tillie I do love that butter bean cat!

I'm going to go get tigger's medicine from the vet now. We don't head off for the marathon for several hours.

HI 😀

Hi Subclinical
It is perfectly alright for you to enjoy the sculpture even if later on you decide to gift it to your Mom.

YEA!!! for all your blooms!!!
Make sure to take the time to enjoy them.

I understand filling in that area by the bridge.
Here I have what I discovered appears to be a large ancient stone lined well.
It was covered up and had dirt over it but part of the old covering broke away and one day my foot went through and I almost went down.
That's how I discovered it was there.
I spent years finding the right things to toss in to fill it, had to consider how not to contaminate the ground water.

I think you're right about the secrets Steven is keeping from me.
What I think is that the man granted the claim money because the leak is causing more & more damage but threatened cancellation of the policy unless Steven meets certain criteria within a certain amount of time.
Steven always takes ages to make decisions about who to call when we need to call in someone.
He's done that when we have had issues with our well and also when we've had issues with the septic system.
He takes months to finally decide...

Hi Tatoulia
WTG! for laundry and a fresh clean quilt to sleep under!
Must be crazy insane there this weekend with all the people and traffic.
When all the people are going to and coming from Burning man festival I make plans to stay at home until it thins out.

Jacks friend is no bean stalk. LOL 😀
He is short and stubby and a tubby tabby.
More like Jack and the butter bean.

A dress, Summer shorts and top and a sweater.
Wishing her many, many opportunities to enjoy them this Summer.

Tuna juice, the preferred beverage of cats.

Still hasn't rained here.
Need it to rain and wash the dust off the car.
I parked the car a few feet back from under the apricot tree since it was getting covered in bird poop.

Congratulations on a successful sale, CM. how nice that the other potters appreciate and value your artistry! I like your idea of ten least favorite! Great idea!

Tillie that is fascinating about Steven's clearing out stuff. Wow. Great work cleaning and clearing!

I was up early today and did two loads of laundry, all folded and put away. I did my sheets from yesterday's bed change and I did my white very thin quilt. That quilt is on my bed almost year round. It was starting to look a little yellow on the part that I'm constantly touching and pulling up around my head. It is back on my bed now and looks very fresh.

I took mom shopping today and she bought a dress, sweater, summer top and shorts. She paid for them herself! But likely only because I paid her past due phone and internet bills yesterday. She's my mom. I had to do it.

Bf got tired while we were out so he's heading home. We had to run a few errands and we were in his car and the city is jam packed with marathon runners so it was tough to get around. He got tired and decided to go home. I'm grateful for that. I'd rather walk around anyway. And I was getting car sick from driving around with mom and then with him.

I'll go out for a proper walk in a little while. I haven't yet eaten a meal today so I'll rustle up some tuna. Kitty will enjoy the tuna juice.

OH MY GOODNESS you have two new cats. Jack and the Beanstalk??!!??

I wonder if there is some inspection or something that he has to pass before the roof gets fixed....

That would explain the delay too.

Anyway, i'm Glad if he is really clearing stuff out.

I tossed two pieces into the fill by the bridge (the ground is constantly settling there, and I am always tossing in rocks and broken pottery.) one was chipped during travel to and from the sale, and the other had a crack - which is ok for raku but I thought it was too big and straight. Usually if a piece cracks, you get lots of tiny cracks and it looks interesting, or it cracks through and breaks.

I set two aside to donate, and I picked out 8 to rework/experiment on. I also brought four things back to the house that I hadn't tried to sell because I like them. I figure, if i'm going to keep them, they belong in the house, not the studio.

I didn't tell you I bought a little sculpture at the sale. I really like it, but I think my mom will really like it too, and I may give it to her for Christmas. Do you think it's ok to put it out and look at it for a while?

The redbuds and stonefruit are blooming and the tulips are open. 🙂

Hi Subclinical

UMMMMM mushrooms! ;D

Very happy you are resting today, you have worked hard these past two weeks and having family visit was nice but it is tiring too.

Very good plan to thin things out that way.
There will be no question in your mind if it would sell or not since the customers make that decision for you.

Some time outdoors with your hands in the dirt would be good for your spirit.
It always helps me.

WAY TO GO!!! emptying the car and dishwasher!

I got the carpet vacuumed & the floors swept.
Played with Scooter since he was extremely energetic, frisky and starting up games to play with me.

I am thinking that man the insurance company sent out to evaluate the roof damage must have said something to Steven because he has actually been filling boxes with stuff to donate.
He was doing this sneakily in the garage but now has revealed the filled boxes to me.
Last few days he has very painfully slowly been sifting through bags, boxes, bins & crates and making keep/toss decisions.
He is keeping too much but at least he has started doing what I have been trying for years to get him to do.

I think there was a lot more to that insurance company man's visit than Steven is telling me.
Actually, he really has not said much to me about it.