Hugs & Coconuts! I knew it was funnier than cupcakes...

Hi errrbody!

I can't tell you how excited I am to hear Your big news, CM! And just in time for your birthday (and Easter) ! I am certainly glad I took care to tapdance sideways with eyes averted crossing my fingers so as not to jinx it. And I must say that sounds major and expensive. I don't know why I was imagining a much more minor repair. One of my friends just had en epic disaster/repair involving sewer lines and the price tag was staggering.

I just erased a whole paragraph there because I couldn't find a way out of it! 🤔🙃

Crazy weather here too yesterday. I left Aldi and rounded the corner and almost couldn't hang on to the cart. I think it must have been the biggest gust of wind I've ever been in. We are hosting for Easter but haven't done much to prepare. I just impulsively stopped there after my PT appt. I went from aisle to aisle thinking "Easter", "spring" and I think I covered most of the bases. Butter, potatoes, asparagus, green beans, frozen corn (because my son is hyper focused on "ham-corn") sad thing is I think he associates "ham-corn" with seeing all his cousins which he won't because they're all gone. Ohp. Just walked straight into another deep pit there. Dampit. So I decided I need to force myself to start entertaining more/again and start widening our circle. The family is shrinking instead of expanding, and what's left in the family is becoming more dysfunctional every day. So, up with neighbors and friends. This is a new phase of life and I need to reboot.

Ok, so now I think I know where I was going with that paragraph up there. So that friend who had the major repair has major mobility issues. Needs a hip replacement but can't get her weight down enough to get it done, I think that's what's going on. She has a fairly substantial corporate job. After the thing with her house she decided suddenly to move. She found a new place, bought it, and the same week cleared out her entire house. MAJOR PURGE. It was funny hearing her describe herself as a hoarder without actually admitting to herself that she was a hoarder. We are talking about power suits from the 90s that were moth ridden, garbage bags Of stuff being drug down from the attic and up from the basement, carried to the dumpster by high school aged kids of her friends, etc. She said "I guess I never got rid of anything and I have an emotional attachment to weird things..." and I know she only let one friend into her house. In one traumatic fell swoop she's rid of it all and getting ready to move into a new place. Fresh start. Curious how all the times I alluded to my situation she never let on that she had a similar issue.

Tatoulia, I love how you are embracing putting some finishing touches on your place to make it just how you like it.

Subc, still no garden here yet either. Normally, I would be up to my eyeballs in 8 trays of leggy seedlings. I am dead inside. Lol

Well, anyway, I should hang it up here. But once again CM, I salute you!

Hugs and (cupcakes?) & check the laundry, y'all.

Oh my goodness CM you have plumbing! Wow! How absolutely wonderful. Wow! So touched by your comment that Bean would've loved the trucks.

Happy Birthday, CM!

SubC the weather is crazy. Last Saturday I was driving and we had torrential rains, hail, then sunshine. So odd.

I did my friend's taxes tonight. She brought us Thai food. And we made some positive changes in my apartment.

Bf has a vinyl rug he's never used. So I put it in my office area. Then we took the one that was in the living room and we moved it under the couches and further into the room and everything looks so nice. The one that we moved was showing wear and also there was a rip from the cleaners and everything looks very nice and extremely well put together. While I did the taxes she pulled out my Easter things and they all look so pretty.

Road I am thinking about you and so very sorry about your medical diagnosis. Please make space to grieve a bit, should you need to.

Hugs and coconuts, Road.

I'm so sorry, Road. Hope you can have some success with treatments and healthy living and not be badly affected. And that the shock is giving way to hope and being able to make plans.

I just came to say thanks everyone for hanging in there with me, we did finally get the big repair made, on Tuesday of this week. And I am thankful. Also exhausted.

These two weeks have been confusing and draining, too much crammed into them. I went over a week ago to the bunny ladies' house to fill in for the daughter who was going on a trip. Helped the mom out with all the bunnies and some computer work. My brain was pretty fried with everything to get ready and get there and the sheer work load of it all. I wasn't too good cognitively so I just basically indicated to her to point me in the direction of a bunny and tell me what it was time to give that bunny, and I'd go do it and return to get what the next bunny needed, rinse and repeat.

Came back to where I live on Saturday evening, made it to church for Palm Sunday, took a nap but it wasn't as restful as I'd hoped. Monday was my (gulp) 60th birthday. How can that be possible, I feel like an overgrown adolescent still.

Monday was also when the HVAC guys came because the air conditioner unit was where the sewer guys would be needing to dig, so they unhooked it and moved it out of the way. It was really warm during the day on Monday, with a cold front that whammed into the warm, making storms in the night, but thankfully no tornadoes or bad hail.

Tuesday the sewer guys came with BIG honkin' equipment they could barely maneuver into the yard. And about four thousand feet of pipe. There were at least half a dozen men working. Honestly, I don't even know if the guy we had been trying to get to do it could have with just him and his two sons and would the machine they would've rented been a monster like the one capable of doing the job? We had the trenchless repair though, so they didn't have to dig the length of the yard. But the hole out by the easement was so huge that one guy was down there in it and his head was a foot or more below ground level!

SubC, your Bean would probably have been fascinated by the big equipment! ☺️

Anyway, it's done. HVAC guys returned yesterday to put the air conditioner in its new spot.

I'm just going to need a few days to adjust to all of this, and I wish it could've not been right during Holy Week, but of course I will take it just to have it completed. I'm trying to remember what Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday usually mean to me, and hoping I will experience at least some semblance of that meaning in my tired state. Today I did get out and about a bit. Weather is a little windy but not as bad as some days have been, and sunny, which gives me a little peace and renewal.

If I don't get back here before then, Happy Easter to you all. 🌄✝️☀️💐🐤🐇🥚🌷👒

Good morning.

Road, good job attacking the paperwork! I'm so sorry you got bad health news.

Lila, I am thinking of you also.

Very swamped here. Too much to do and not enough sleep.

Also literally swamped with heavy rains and standing water everywhere. I really want to get my garden in. It is late. But also we have a freeze predicted for Saturday night. Enough already!

Hi all,

I don't quite understand how these waves work, but today was a day where the $#!+ finally hits the fan and I have to sit down and plow through the paperwork pile til I get to the very bottom. And then I look back and wonder how I managed to block out all that was not getting taken care of. Like today I wrote up all my PT appts, reviewed some notes from my last appt, researched seizure disorders, Shopped for accent chairs for the living room, wrote the SLP an email and included about an hour of work to gather up a bunch of names and photos... I figured out the prom info and wrote The check for that, a spring play we can go to, shopped for discounted broadway tickets (didn't buy any), registered my son for summer camp and summer school, and all the normal stuff of drop off and pick up and doggy care and making dinner,and bath and bedtime... but the more I dig into the paper work I realize how much hasn't been done and how much more there is to do.

I had my first PT appt yesterday. (Did I say this already?) nothing new exactly as this is basically what I've been dealing with for a long time but with a nasty case of sciatica thrown in,,, I forgot to do stretches this time but purchased a tracking app this am and did a short seated yoga routine this am. I just found out I have kidney disease which was something I always worried I would develop given my medical history, but which multiple doctors completely blew off. I had my physical last week and for the first time? Some labs were off, we discussed a follow up lab and a kidney u/s, but it wasn't til I got home and read through the summary did I find out I had already been diagnosed w kidney disease. This was never discussed. I was absolutely rocked because it's not a reversible condition. The best you can hope for is that you manage the disease and then you will only have x number of years. If you screw up or are unlucky, you get even less. Well, anyway, I can't overstate how shocking it was and how incensed I was with this doctor sending me home without saying anything. But I've had a few days to adjust to it. There's a remote chance it's a false positive but I will know more after these follow up tests this month. In the meantime I am trying to make sense of the kind of odd dietary restrictions and trying to move forward without having to deal with this doctor again.

So (changing the subject)... dads bday is this week and we are hosting Easter but I have done minimal planning so far. Hopefully I can hold it together emotionally and try to keep things simple for Easter. I talked with my bro today at lunch and brought up the tracking app (lose it) which he used a number of years ago to lose 150+ and he the alluded to getting his elliptical set up again as part of the major push to get his house under control. I was so happy to hear him say that. My goal in using it is to get a handle on this new diet, not to motivate him, but I know if I keep at it he will be drawn in for sure. And if we both do it, we might hook my sister in...

Better close out but I hope everyone is doing well or at least hanging in there. Hugs & coconuts. That was sort of an auto correct but I loved it so I left it.

I concur, sub c... we should all be so lucky to have a Tatoulia for a daughter. When you do your best the vast majority of the time you have bought yourself the freedom to "not be there" on occasion with absolutely zero guilt!

I'm sure seeing things like that is a particular neurological / dementia issue so if that's the case all you could do is humor her basically. If it is possibly real, there are mousetraps that are fully enclosed. More humane and safer for cat than poison, and relatively humane without the horror of aN old fashioned mousetrap. Unless you think putting some out would make it worse for her mentally.

Lila, you're on my mind!

Will check back after I catch up.

What a sweet thing to say. Thank you for finding the time!

Tatoulia, you are a wonderful daughter! I can only hope my kids will take care of me as well as you take care of your mom!

You also get to have your own life.

I don't really have time to post, but I had to say that!

Hello everyone

Mom just called to say there are two mice in her place and she wants my BF to go over and get them. I have no idea what he's supposed to do. I'm not sure if there is or isn't a mouse, let alone two. We cannot put down traps because of the kitty. And she goes through these periods where there are tons of mice and I'm not sure if it's real or not. It's real to her, and that counts for something. But I have never, ever seen a mouse dropping in her house.

I sometimes get weary from taking care of other people's problems. At least I don't have my brother to tend anymore. That really drained the life from me.

I don't know if BF should go up there and pretend to scare them off. I asked the woman at the desk at mom's to pretend to do so. I'm sorry I'm not taking her as seriously as I should. Her eyesight is very bad and some nights she sees bugs everywhere. And one night she said the personal products I purchased were loaded with bugs and I asked her how many and she said hundreds. And that she closed the container. So I called the desk and told them to send an aide. When the aide arrived, I asked mom to let me talk to her and mom kept saying no. I finally talked to the aide and there were no bugs whatsoever , which I knew. But I had to cement that there were hundreds because otherwise she would try to save face and say that they ran off.

I feel sorry for her. She said she's sleeping downstairs tonight. I have no idea what that means. We will see what the woman at the front desk comes up with for a solution

Since I live in s brownstone, there are fifteen steps to get into my building. My mother cannot walk fifteen steps on flat ground so she cannot do the stoop. There is no way for her to come here, which is a blessing in its own right.

I'm sorry that I'm a bad daughter. I know if I had gone to visit her tonight that her mind would not have invented this.

Goid morning.

Here I am again - start if the "school week" after a "three day weekend" exhausted, behind and overwhelmed. Why do I do this and how do I stop?!

I ended up taking Bean all the way home yesterday because his daddy messaged that he wasn't feeling well. I may have worn Bean out too. Poor little guy fell asleep in the car and I woke him up taking him out of the car seat. The minute he saw his mommy he started crying and grabbed her and she said that pretty much continued until she put him to bed. Hopefully he won't get up early today.

I'm guessing I'm not invited for dinner tonight.

Road, I am glad you found a solution that involves using something you already have!

My impression is that you have been reducing the hoard and also moving it to the garage - so you will have it all in one place - which will allow you to truly see the extent of the remaining problem. But remember - you did reduce it on the way. If you can recover your house it will be a win, even if you have to play bin Tetris to keep working on the garage. Just keep reminding yourself not to bring stuff in.

... and gave the crazy puppy a bath! Wow. What a mess! Before and after the bath! 🤨🤓

Just a little update - I wrote up my plans for the shelves... I think I could either do a lip on the shelf or I could use some shallow bins. I did find some that would work. Then I went out to the garage. ( aka Bin headquarters No. 2 ) bit of an unpleasant reality check. It seems so much more full than last time. I am hoping this is partly due to cleaning... motivated to go through things and purge but the initial challenge may be finding room to move around. Boo. But there is a bookshelf that would work instead of building shelves. Ironically it is the one I already. Moved out of here. Different purpose though. The H said he's willing to help w shelves which is nice.

Then I hit aldi for the Easter candy and fruit and misc. then I picked up my son and we came home. Now he's scream-singing his heart out to something downstairs.

Lila, thanks again for the info on marketplace awhile back. There are so many things I'd happily put out on the curb Or on marketplace if I could be sure the person who gave them to me wouldn't see... but good to know if I list my dads dog trailer he gave us he won't see it...

Over and out for now.

Hi,

Hey subc, we visited some goats this weekend... they had a little shop on the side of the barn and were selling all kinds of fresh produce, soups, meats, and baked goods - all produced there. It was out of our price range but we still b ought some stuff. My son and the H fed the goats. I was in agony with my sciatica or whatever is wrong with me. I do have a PT appt scheduled for later this month so I will hopefully get some help for that. Your bean stories are always appreciated. The trees are still sleeping buddy... 🥰

Tatoulia, good thoughts on living life. Lots there to ponder.

Lila, thanks for the update. Sending good vibes your way::::

I am not feeling particularly productive this am so I think I will draw out my plan for the closet and write up a list of supplies for that project. Kind of get the wheels turning. I had visions of tackling the toiletries and bathroom closet this am but I am walking back that idea... prob good to do a room reset though. That usually leads to some productivity. I hate to start moving around and agitate the restful state of the mini pack of sleeping doggies. Puppy is on my bed and the older dog is crashed out on the floor.

Back with an update later,

Good morning (still, barely)

My day has not gone at all as planned.

Bean woke up at 4:45 yelling "Grammie walk!" I explained to him that it was dark, the trees were sleeping, and we could not go for a walk, but he had no interest in going back to sleep. He was kind enough to entertain himself with the bin of plastic eggs for over an hour while I drank my coffee.

Yesterday I was promised cloudy skies all day but no rain, but this morning we barely got the chores done before the rain chased us inside. No gardening as it is supposed to continue like this all day. He is currently well in to a very early nap (gee, I wonder why?!) and I may take him to the library this afternoon for a bit before we meet his daddy for hand off. Between we'll probably make biscuits.

He was a bit annoyed with me this morning because I won't let him milk the goat himself. My youngest milked a cow for the first time when she was two, but it was a very well behaved cow. He is a bit younger and I'm afraid he would get kicked.

I really should try to make good use of this time, but mr. kitty has curled up on my lap.

Thank you for the recipe! I appreciate it. I have almond extract and that sounds very tasty.

Lila, I am sorry. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

I have had this beautiful Cherry dresser since I was a kid. I remember when my mother bought it for me. I love it and the giant oval mirror. I'm thinking of having it painted (professionally). I know it will be expensive and there was this side of me that wonders if I'm ruining it but then I remember, it's just me. It's me and the dresser I've had for over 50 years. So this ties in with you, Lila. Let's live our lives now.

We don't have to live our lives with this thing or that thing being valuable today or tomorrow or for this one or that one. Let's live our lives today. It's okay not to save something for someone else. It's okay not to keep something because it might be valuable. It's only valuable if someone's willing to sell it and someone else is willing to buy it.

I'll be having my dresser painted.

Lila,

I didn't ignore you - I just took a long time posting because I had to measure my pan.

I hope the blood work just hasn't cleared up yet. Not really the way anyone wants to be motivated, but if you can channel it for good, I am glad.

Tatoulia, be gentle to yourself.

Bean has two friends, and a cousin on his daddy's side. They mostly just look at each other, but Bean is always happy to see them. Today after his friend left he told me "(friend) find egg. (Bean) find egg."

He also wanted to show his friend the goats.

The poundcake is pretty big. You need an extra large Bundt or angel foid cake pan - my angel food cake pan is 4.5" tall and 10" across. You have to either leave the butter out overnight, or warm it without melting it.

Bean's poundcake:

Preheat oven to 350F and grease pan.

Cream 1lb butter with 3.5c sugar (the original recipe called for 4c)

Slowly beat in a dozen eggs, one at a time.

Add 1t nutmeg and 2t almond extract (you can sub vanilla if you don't like almond)

Mix in 4c all purpose flour.

Pour (scoop - it's a little thick to pour) into pan and bake for one hour uncovered. Then cover with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Bean is sleeping - I need to do chores and get to bed myself.

hello all,

now I want pound cake. Sounds so good. I used to make pound cakes. I've always wanted to make the old fashioned, traditional recipe with a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour. But I never did it.

Dr was a decent visit. They think they got it all but he referred me to another specialty surgeon to get his advice. Also am getting a CT of my old innards this week to check for spread. Blood work was done and did not look good. I don't know what that means. I see another Dr next week after the scan. I have started to tell a few people, but not many.

DH has mostly moved from room 1 to room 2, he says. I have not gone down to check recently but I heard him running a hand vacuum down there for a long time today. I have not seen bags of trash going out so not sure where it all went. I've been too preoccupied to really look. I will go check it out tomorrow or when he goes to the store. I am sure there is stuff still in the family room, but I am going to move it into his room as soon as I get a chance, whether he likes it or not.

I am going to be super busy this week. But I am also highly motivated to get rid of anything that would be trashed if I passed away. This dx has really made it real, to look at all this stuff, wonder who would get it if I am not around anymore, and would they even know where anything of value is? Things suddenly don't seem as important.

That should have said two quick loads of laundry. Our washer takes about an hour and a half. But there's a quick wash feature which is closer to half an hour. So I did two quick laundry loads and everything is folded and out away.

I found all the Easter cards I bought and BF and I wrote them out and mailed them. I shredded a bunch of paper and I did some errands.

I'm not following no spend April. I'm failing miserably. I bought a bracelet yesterday. I did agonize over the bracelet and called BF twice about it. He said he'd take the money out of the register and give it to me, but it still wasn't the best move on my part. Today I bought Easter candy, as I normally would but I went to the chocolate shop and bought the expensive cute stuff. They make little bunnies by hand and other cute stuff. I bought BF an Easter mix that has a few of the bunnies and some marzipan and a few other little things. Then I went to the grocery store and now I have to go visit mom. I feel badly that I let the whole day get away without seeing her. Oooh she just a called. She perked up when I mentioned I picked up hot cross buns for her.

I brushed the cat until she wouldn't tolerate it any longer. It's hard with older cats. They tend to get a lot of matting. I'm not sure what to do other than to try to keep her brushed. I can only do one side at a time and she will never let me near her tummy. But I'm trying. Even her tail is looking a but mangy. She doesn't smell, luckily. She's just an 18 year old cat.

Bean has a friend!!!

I bet that pound cake smells wonderful. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

I changed my sheets, doing two wpquicj loads of laundry. PJs in the dryer and darks in the washer. I have started to sorting the mail. Will start shredding soon.

Road, it sounds like you have a good plan.

House is a mess.

Poundcake in the oven.

Bean coming in two hours for an Easter egg hunt. He is bringing a friend.

Yes it says bug and not big. It still works!

I didn't change my sheets this week. The cleaners do it on Wednesdays, and I had to cancel them this week due to covid exposure. I didn't change them myself due to laziness and this AM I realized I have to change them. I am so used to every week of clean crisp sheets. So I'm changing them now. I'm up early (for me) again today.

My house is a bit of a pigsty so I'm going to shred my mail and take a look at what else needs to be done.

Cannot waste my life on the internet. Wish me well!

OH before I go, someone on Twitter mentioned that she had four loads of laundry that needed to be folded and put away and I thought oh please let me take care of that for you. I also wanted to make the bed for the person who never makes her bed, although I've always been a bed maker, it was this site that got me to fold and out away laundry. Before, it would sit in piles. It would intermingle with dirty laundry and fall and then the whole thing would be a bug disgusting hoarded mess.

Hi guys, nothing here to report, just checking in.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Xoxo

Praying for everyone's peace and good health.

Road, I buy percale sheets. They wrinkle more but they have the crisp feeling I like.

I did not have my cleaners this week due to covid scare. I'm negative. Am trying to turn over a new leaf. I was in office before 9 on Thursday, and before 8:30 on Friday. So far I don't mind having people in at office.

Lila, how was the drs. ? What did you find out?

In very mundane news, I have a plan for. My closet.

I think I am going to install some shelves like I did in my pantry I'm so proud of, just larger scale. I'm going to install shelf brackets on the side of the front and side of the back and then run shelves from front to back on the left hand side of my closet. There's room for 3 but I think 2 will be enough to hold my shorts and pants folded. There will still be room for a hamper on the floor and hanging clothes. I think if I put a little lip on the edge to keep things from sliding. The shelves will be about 10-12" deep and run the depth of the closet.

I watched the latest episode of the new Julia child show. Really good, and interesting to learn about some of the things they pioneered with the show... then I was inspired to cook and instead ended up making pickled verge and marinade for chicken for banh mi .

Headed out now for lunch w bff. Will check back later,

Hi all and hugs to everyone.

Lila, limbo is the worst. Hoping for the best possible scenario and a plan you can embrace.

Cm, I lost my last post but I know I was alluding to mentioning your situation *but* only while tap dancing sideways with eyes averted, fingers in ears singing "lalalalalalaaaa" so as to avoid jinxing your situation...

Tatoulia, that sounds like a good goal (sheets)... ironically I did just have to throw one away. No sooner do I mention having two sets to start than I am down one. But I will go into an actual store and buy a set. The last sheets I can remember enjoying were vintage. Not sure how they are made that's so different than now but they were amazing. Might still have some of those - just flat, not fitted. But still I think its a good step for me since I do keep stuff piled up on the bed. This would make me deal with that every so many days. But for now I think I probably need to focus on closet to solve the clothing storage situation and get that resolved.

Sub c, what's next, I would say the closet shelving... I am in kind of a crashed state right now though due to some stuff with sons health and school. Then I had my drs. Appt weds and got through that ok but then when I got home I noticed something on the paperwork that was a diagnosis that has never been discussed with me that is very serious. Furious at this dr. And myself. I am still processing it but will share more once I get my head wrapped around it.

Good news is my son got an award (basically like a citizenship award) which, imho, is the best possible thing to be acknowledged for. Very proud. Award ceremony, Photos, certificate and giant cookie pop Made for a memorable day.

Back later once I get the guys on their way...

All, thank you so much for the good thoughts and kind words.

SubC, thank you for the prayers at your Holy Hour! That means so much to me. I know the power of prayer.

Fingers crossed for you, CM.

Doctor tomorrow morning. I just want to get it over with. I hope that whatever they want me to do - any scans, blood tests, or treatments - I can get done really really soon. I hate waiting.

I got a lot, tons, or work done today. Worked almost nonstop from 9 to 6. But that project is DONE aside from training a couple of people to do the job I have been doing for 2 years (just one project, not my main stuff). It will be so nice to let some other people take this over so I can focus on my other work.

Also I signed that contract, and told the finance office that if it as too high priced I would pay the difference out of one of the accounts I am over. They seemed happy with that so I think all is well.