One of those times it has been (and promises to be for the foreseeable) so busy it's hard to keep up with reading and posting here. It will get easier. In the meantime, here's a short one.

I stayed at the bunny shelter house four days and three nights last weekend and was tired afterward. A couple of days early this week I took naps. Feel caught up on rest now.

There have been lots of tasks to do, places to go, things to remember. Roommate has a number of medical appointments this month, and for some of those I stay home in the mornings and care for her pets instead of going to morning Mass. But it's okay, soon we'll be done with that, and she's so far getting favorable reports, good for another 100,000 miles etc.

I've got a graduation party to go to tomorrow for the daughter of some church people - I used to sit behind them on Sundays when this young lady was an adorable baby. So I bought her a fleece throw with the mascot of her college she's going to go to. Roommate's birthday is Sunday and I bought her a set of patio lights for the screened in front porch. Hope she likes them.

Roommate has come up with an idea for our clutter problem - we have both reached Critical Mass due to the house being small, constant craziness, etc. We also lost time to the dog's illness, bad weather, and more. I'll tell more about what this plan will entail in another post soon.

The year is getting to the point of my capacity insofar as events go - the one tomorrow isn't a stress in any way, the rabbit club ones are more tiring although we do seem to be getting it down to a routine. As long as the late-septuagenarian mom of the bunny house is not overworked - she was so tired after our most recent event. I was pleased that during our weekend, though, she seemed rested and not overtaxed. Her knees bother her so I took the rabbit care tasks that involved stair climbing and that worked well. We had one bunny freak out, can't remember if I told about that - it was on Saturday night, everything had been so peaceful, and this poor furry dude just got triggered big time. He was okay by Sunday morning, though, and no lingering sequelae, thank goodness.

Other things that are upcoming include more Inkscape graphics classes at the public library in July. But I really want to learn to do Inkscape well, so hopefully that'll be fun. The teacher is great - an artistic nerdy guy with a good sense of humor and willingness to help. He also helped me out with some glitches this laptop has had - software conflicts and updates I still needed to do.

Things in my town are strange right now - so many places are being remodeled - restaurants, one public library branch, the parish church that's not mine but the next closest and where I go sometimes because it's bigger and has more activities - it's just kind of crazy that it's all going on at once. And on occasion I'll drive in a different part of town and some building that had been around for years is just gone. I guess it's a good time to be a building contractor here? It'll be interesting to see what they do with the ones where I regularly went. I especially hope that library branch will be done well - please no harsh migraine inducing lighting!

Well. I see that my "short" post has turned into another of my infamous rambling ones. Surprise surprise! Take care, ladies, I'll be back more often as soon as I can.

Lila! Do not color your hair! Everyone is going natural right now. My last hair dye was March 2020 and within a year or so all of the dye was gone and I now proudly wear my greys! They are only in the front and also look like highlights to some extent.

If the lighter colors are looking good on you and gaining compliments maybe that is the way to go. Lighter blues and greens. They don't have to be bright colors, it sounds like the softer colors are working for you! Get a scarf or two and then wear white tops. You instantly have a number of outfits just by wearing a scarf.

hello, friends.

Been so busy and working constantly.

SubC, I did go to the party, and I managed. I knew some people so just sat around chatting and we had snacks. We did some icebreaker games. It was fine and afterwards a couple of us stood around and chatted about more serious things. I think I got home around 10 and was wiped out for work the next morning.

Working long hours, a lot of volunteering, and finding things I can say no to.

Tatoulia, I felt so bad all week because I did not get back to you. I went to my Instagram page right after I last posted and it said it was locked down as being a fraudulent page?!? It had steps to take and I started through them and could not get it to work so I gave up. Tomorrow is my day off, so I am going to try again.

I did have a question for you, though, and an update for all about my "scared of my own appearance" issue. This week I got like 4 or 5 compliments on my hair! It was so weird. Just out of the blue. I did nothing special. I was about to color it again but got so busy and didn't... and now everyone is like 'oh I love your hair, it is so pretty' and 'what did you do to your hair, highlights? it looks so beautiful!' so well I feel good about it and am holding off coloring it again. I was always a natural medium brown and started coloring it in my 30s as it was going grey. I was darker brown for awhile. In the last 10 years my hair is pretty much totally grey but I color it a lighter brown. I started coloring it a very light brown/dark blonde just so the roots wouldn't show as fast. Now it fades to a lighter blonde, almost.

So, Tatoulia, my question is this: do you know what colors of clothing look best on a person with light hair, light skin and blue eyes? As I've mentioned, I tend to go with blacks, dark greys, dark blues. But a friend insists my hair looks great but I need to "brighten up my color palette" of how I dress. I am scared to do this. And I am fat. And I am extremely self conscious about patterns... you know why.

Any thoughts from you or others on best colors and maybe patterns would be good.

Most recent compliments were on the light blue/cris cross patterned shirt under a white sweater, and awhile ago a green/blue patterned blouse under a black sweater.

Mostly I try to hide and not be noticed. But I want to look nice.

Hi everyone! I'm making a lot of tough decisions these days with respect to stuff. First off, I own too much. I have kitty's old dishes packed and ready to go. A girlfriend came for dinner Tuesday and she took some of the cat dishes with her. I have donation clothes bag started. I do have three things to photograph for Lila and I will do so.

We are cleaning out BF's basement in anticipation of his move and I'm just getting rid of almost everything. Big suitcase that was my mother's, three chairs, records, etc. could I sell some of this? Maybe. Do I feel like it? No. Donate. It will be a big trip to goodwill this weekend. I also have some cat stuff to take to the shelter.

So a lot going on. It makes me feel good to just make the decision. Stuff I didn't know we still had and I certainly do not need anymore. Never did need it, actually.

Reduce. Reduce. Reduce. Feels so good. Finding a use for something is not the same as something being useful. Not the same. I only have so much time on this planet and moving stuff around isn't a good use of my time.

Emotional roller coaster mostly school related lately.

Never enough time - Alice's rabbit!

I picked up a piece of discarded furniture on tuesday with an eye to making it a cool project I don't have time for.

Exhaustion wears down my resistance.

Good morning!

Had a great day with Bean yesterday - he really likes the ducks. We did not go get feed however, because he didn't want to, so I must squeeze that in this morning before school (or the chickens will be eating more expensive goat food all week)

My days are still too full. I forgot it was dsil's birthday yesterday so ended up using nap time to squeeze in baking him a pie instead of school work. I took Bean to school to be picked up and dsil asked if I could wait for Dd to pick him up (not a problem, but I helped him make some little clay cookie cut bears instead of getting started on what I was there for) Then Dh wanted a haircut last night. I did that, but seem to have gotten so tired/distracted that I ground the coffee, filled the coffeemaker with water, and then walked away without putting the ground coffee into the coffeemaker last night.

I also left folded laundry on the couch.

I also brought home a plastic three drawer wheeled chest that was sitting out by the dumpster at school. I don't have plans for it - it just looked so useful..

I was at school for a couple of hours. I got the projects picked up, kiln unloaded, loaded, and started, and notes made on about half the projects that need to go back. I need to make notes on the rest today.

I made myself a 28 day calendar page with all my events and hard deadlines on it. It is kind of overwhelming.

This morning I have started a load of laundry (and made coffee).

SubC you've gotten a lot done! Congratulations! Yes finding bathroom time and food breaks is nearly impossible some days. Even for me, who works in an office job and works from home a lot of the time. I love the idea of a sewing kit for a graduation gift! Really a great idea.

This weekend I did mainly social things. I tried on some of my clothes to determine where I am in the weight loss. I haven't lost much lately, just another two pounds. I've maintained the house and laundry situation. Have kept up with the dishes for the most part but have not been perfect.

I have to take some things to the dry cleaners today. I keep putting it off. For no reason other than being very busy.

Good morning again!

I got my mugs done yesterday. The concert was very good.

I moved the duck pen and cleaned up a bit in the barn.

I replaced the one tomato plant that got murdered by the hail.

I ran the dishwasher. I rinsed out more recycling than I created.

Basically, I gained ground on pottery, my garden, dishes, and the barn. I am still behind on all those things, but less behind than I was on Friday.

I took care of an online thing before it became a problem.

I only lost ground on laundry and a little bit of picking up after myself. I started a load of laundry when I got up this morning.

Bean and I will have to go buy feed again today. After his nap I will take him to school with me so I can make some notes on the art show projects that are ready to go home and pick up the final projects from my Friday classes (we have three more classes, but they are "cheese/ice cream", "compare/contrast ducks and chickens", and "pull weeds/harvest garlic/play review game".) The kids just dropped their projects off in the room on Friday because I was outside. Bean's Daddy will come get him at school.

I have twelve more school days this year. I am panicking.

Good morning everybody!

CM, I hope you get your nap today!

I suggest making the girl a sewing/repair kit. Ds was one of the most popular guys in his dorm because he could put your button back on. Decorate a container, toss in some basic thread colors a little pair of scissors and some needles. Bonuses: A few squares of Velcro and plain extra buttons if you have them around, some safety pins (different sizes - emergency pin or replacing drawstring), some regular pins (stuck in a card if you don't have a little pincushion) a measuring tape. Maybe pair it with some laundry sheets.

Lila, did you go to the party? Nice that you got paid for your lunch meeting. My job takes my lunch all the time. It was interesting because when I was outside all day with the goat, a couple of administration staff offered to watch her so that I could have a break to eat lunch or go to the bathroom. The third one is not in charge of me in any way, so when she insisted "you can't go all day without a break" I laughed and said "you do realize I normally go all day without a break, right? I'm just in my room where no one can see me." (I took the breaks btw.)

Tatoulia, one of my coworkers told me that next week she is going to tell kids about how the sirens went off, traffic was stopped, and the goat and I came back on a fire truck (the station is across the street from us)

I planted ten little tomato plants yesterday. It is currently raining like Kansas with hail. I hope they survive. I want to go turn the heat on in my studio so I can finish some mugs in time to drop them off for firing today when we go out for our concert, but, hail.

What wonderful news, Lila! Wow! So pleased!

SubC someday everyone will remember the time you sprinted a mile and back to capture the escaped goat while helicopters circled!

Cm you are doing great this weekend with the bunnies! I must confess that I know nothing about rabbits.

We had brunch with a former employee today. She's graduating from college and so we took her out. Absolutely lovely time.

I'm now going to head over to see mom. I was terrible and didn't go yesterday.

hi CM. I like hearing your bunny stories. My best friend, who passed away 2 years ago, was involved in bunny rescue and she loved them so much. I miss her. I hope your bunnies are calm and happy today.

SubC, that is a good idea with the free calendar. I like that you can look back over time and see patterns.

I am down another pound.

I loaded the dishwasher and ran it last night.

Today I have just been relaxing. I have a lunch date with someone, and it is work related so I get paid for this one, a surprise! Then I am invited to a party tonight and I rsvp'ed yes, but it feels overwhelming. I have said yes and then did a last minute no to the last 2 parties (same group) so I really need to go so they don't think I just don't want to be part of their social group. I do. I want to. But somehow every time it comes time to get ready, figure out what to bring, and go, I feel like such the outcast. I envision myself at the party and everyone else is talking and having fun and I am sitting there awkwardly and then leaving early. I dunno, it is hard for me. But since I have to get ready for the lunch date, it should be easier to actually go to the party this time.

I am on Day 3 of helping out at the bunny shelter house while the daughter is out of town, so that the mother won't have to run everything alone. The mother seems more rested - I had been worried about her when we had the event in March, she was so tired then. But in her home environment she has a good routine going. I, too, have been pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it runs with as many rabbits as they have right now.

I went back to where I live yesterday to check on my own rabbits, and they seem fine. Today I shall do the same, plus get some lunch, wash my hair, and go to a 4:00 p.m. Mass at the parish over here by the bunny house, and that way tomorrow morning I can just get up and help with bunnies one last time and then head back home in the late morning or early afternoon. A nap is on the agenda after I've gotten there and settled back in.

We had one stressful episode last night, though. A sort of chain reaction of stressed bunnies. One in particular got triggered like a combat veteran with PTSD. We were very worried about him. There are other bunnies near this one who are new and skittish, and that doesn't help. They pick up on each other's behaviors and body language, and of course if one thumps it sets off a chain reaction of endless thumping. It was all so unexpected because things had gone smoothly and the freaked out guy is usually mellow.

But today everyone seems okay. I pray so hard that the overall situation can get better - like, if they are meant to continue having a shelter God will direct them to an affordable building and bring some steady donors, or if not that the shelter can be downsized or whatever in a peaceful process that meets the bunnies' needs and doesn't leave emotional scars on the humans involved. Like I said above, we manage well enough if things go according to plan, but it feels like there's no reserve of resources (material or personnel-wise) for crises.

Weather here is in a change pattern - we had a nice day or two that would've been good for storage unit work, but I couldn't go there because I was doing this. Today and tomorrow it's supposed to shoot up into the 90s, and that'll breed weather - possibly thunderstorms most of the coming week. I wonder how much rain that'll entail, whether it's our May monsoon season on the way or just light storms.

Still, next week should be calmer in terms of regrouping and getting back to a less eventful flow of the days - I hope. Scared to say that sometimes, because I've said it before and been blindsided by crazy unexpected stuff.

Being away from home gives me a little emotional distance from the clutter and a little hope that I'll be able to formulate - and more importantly execute - some viable plans for tackling longstanding "hot spots" and piles. Projects that I've been avoiding because they're intimidating. And some of them do indeed require strategy - if I were to just plunge in willy nilly moving stuff around I'd make it much worse.

Weather will stabilize at some point, the storms may not be continuous - some things like crafts that I had thought of doing out on the patio may be possible, as may finally figuring out a way to clear off the back room worktable and be able to sew etc. I'm invited to a graduation party in a week and was trying to think of a gift for this girl that won't break the bank. Thought of sewing a pillowcase using the fabric for the university she plans to attend. But that's a lot to do in a week if I'm going to do it - shop for the fabric, prewash it, press it, cut out the pillowcase, stitch it together.

Used to be when I had a better workspace it wouldn't have been hard at all. These days everything is complicated. Well, we'll see. Backup plan is just find some merch with that school's mascot and pay inflated prices for it and try to spiff it up to look like more. For example, a coffee mug with the mascot, then maybe at a candy store I can find those M&Ms in the school colors and stuff a bagful of those in there and add some ribbon. I'll figure something out.

When I got back I looked at everyone and said "thank you for not filming that."

If by "athlete" you mean "old lady who responds to adrenaline" then, sure.

I guess your year is going to be like the school year I am finishing - too long for the stress and exhaustion, but also too short for your goals. I hope that you find your dream partner.

I haven't made it out to the studio to turn the heat on yet. It was hard to get up when my alarm went off. I was dreaming and didn't get up right away. I have changed the moving blanket over to the dryer (I use it to line my backseat when I transport the goat)

I picked up a free calendar from a store counter and I have been writing what I accomplish. the days are pretty full. I also write down the days I crash, so I can see what leads to the crash, and have a realistic picture of how often it happens.

I think "no spend" is pretty unrealistic - there always have to be exceptions. If it makes you really think about the things you are buying - that is enough.

oh my goodness SubC!! I can just picture you running down the road after this goat, while the children behind you hold the baby ducks! Wow, you're an athlete, lol. I am glad you got her back.

Well, actually it is the real year. It's actually an elected church position, and they elect new people in February. I made a 4 year commitment and am in my 3rd year but my boss said since I am on staff now, I can get out a year early. So I'm in it til February, actually. However, if I can find the right replacement, then I can start working with them now - and, maybe even be released early if I have a trained person willing to come on early. It has to be the right person, because whoever takes my volunteer position is going to be working with me in my paid position. I want them to be someone I work well with, so I am praying and looking around.

I feel like today just whizzed right by. I always think I got nothing done... and I really didn't do any decluttering or even cleaning. So what I did do today:

- rested and relaxed
- cooked a new recipe made from sweet potatoes, spinach, chickpeas and a tahini sauce. It was good!
- answered a few texts, calls, and emails that are volunteer related (but not the volunteer stuff I am getting out of
- sorted papers in my to-do bin and threw away a good stack
- ordered my new planners for the 2023-24 year, since they were on sale 20% off and free shipping
(note - no-spend is not going so great. It is more of a less-spend).
- went to the pharmacy and to the grocery store (got just a few items I need for recipes)
- texted with a neighbor about their very noisy and destructive dog, and I hope we are resolving that issue
- went through a bunch of old medical docs online and wrote down dates of my visits, procedures, and imaging since I was dx with cancer, so I have all that in one place

See, I did a lot really! I feel better writing it down.

Also I am down 4 of the 20 pounds I want to lose. I have more to lose, but this is my first goal and is on the other thread.

Yay Lila!

Great news on the medical front! (No cancer beats broken arm and also hopefully now that they know it is broken they can actually help you fix it!

I hope when you say "finish out the year" you mean a school year or some other artificial year and not 2023. That is too long to keep a job you quit!

I miss road too. I worry about her.

I took the goat and half the ducks to school today. The kids love the ducks. The milking went well, buttthe goat escaped and I had to chase her two blocks (while my class stayed with the ducks and another teacher) I finally got some neighbors to help me catch her in their backyard. I'm sure the whole thing was hilarious to watch. By the time the story got back to me, I had run ten blocks- which is flattering as I am pretty sure I can't run ten blocks.

Tomorrow Isa garden/barn/pottery day.

Medical stuff first: no signs of any cancer recurrence! So happy! There are still spots that they think are benign but need to be checked by the oncologist, and if he agrees, then we can just monitor. Second issue, my arm is broken after all. Sheesh. I need more imaging next week to look at it and see if I need surgery, or just PT.

Thank you SubC, that makes me feel better. I appreciate your friendship and for sure, my grands need me. You are right about my kids trusting me with their babies. Honestly I was so surprised and happy when Tot and Acorn's mom invited me to be with her during labor and delivery. What an amazing experience! And, they handed Tot over at just a few weeks old for me to babysit while they went on a date! That is a wonderful gift. I need to focus on the good. Are your in-laws actually staying with you when they come? For how long? Sounds stressful. Congrats on the review and dinner! We already knew you were excellent 🙂

Tatoulia, thanks, I have not been on here or instagram in days. I was super busy. I am right now volunteering 15-20 hours a week (more than I am even working, with all the medical stuff). I sat down with my boss this week and told him I am 'resigning' from my biggest volunteer time drain. It is 8 - 10 hours a week and I had committed to it before I was hired. He is super supportive and I will finish out the year, and we will work together to find a replacement. I hope your stressful week turns out less stressful than you expect.

Where are CM and Road? Boy it has been ages since I saw Road on here.

Today is my day off and I have an errand to run but the rest is relaxing, enjoying eggs, toast, and coffee, and doing some decluttering, I hope.

Tatoulia, I am glad things are easing up for you.

I made a decision relating to treating myself as well as I treat other people today. I would not expect my children's teachers to put in the level of unpaid time and effort that I put in.

I had gotten approval to write up a volunteer position to help with some of my classroom jobs for next year, and found a skilled volunteer who wants to help me. Parents are required to either pay extra or put in a certain # of volunteer hours on various school needs based on their children's class load. My potential volunteer hasn't registered his kids yet because he needs to get paid again first, so we don't know what his commitment will be.

So I went to my boss and I said "I need to write up this job, but I'm not sure what is a reasonable request. Given that it is going to be this guy, there is actually a lot he could do that would help me (examples) but those are all things I am currently doing for free." She said "all of that. We'll just make that his job. Write up everything you want. If his kids take more classes than we expect, you can expand it, and if it takes too much time, we'll look into offering him tuition reduction - he can use it."

I feel so much lighter. I don't want to give too many details about the person, but given his day job, there are a lot of things he can do easily and quickly that are hard or time consuming for me. He can even do some of them during his day job and his boss will not mind because it comes under "customer service" for that job.

I have never even asked him for that customer service type of help before. I am the grocery customer who, when it is raining and the checker asks "would you like help out with that? Says "no thank you." Because I don't want to drag some teenager out in the rain.

I stopped on the way home today and bought two carabiner clips and a rubber bucket. They will make my chores easier.

I have 13 more school days this year. Tomorrow my lesson plan is "take goat to school" - wish me luck! This should be my second hardest remaining day. I am going to improvise a milking stand from the bike rack.

Checking in. The meal sounds nice, SubC. What a great gift!

This is the last stressful week. Due to circumstances, tomorrow is being held remote. I am volunteering this week on something stressful. I received an email tonight at ten saying that tomorrow will be remote. That is a big relief. I was half in work, have at volunteer today. A blur.

Time for bed. Lila i will catch my breath over the weekend and I will get in touch with you.

Good morning!

It's supposed to be cloudy and cool all day today, but I will be inside teaching anyway. Our art show is after school, and it is also the last night we can do wet work at the class I am taking. It's actually my last week of class because I will be skipping next week for a school event.

I had some nice things happen to me yesterday. I had my end of the year review and I am terrific. A friend brought me some sweet potato slips (they were free, so that doesn't count against my no buying plan), and in honor of teacher appreciation day, a restaurant near school gave me a yummy, healthy, free dinner! Dh was playing golf, so it was excellent timing.

I was stunned. Usually "teacher appreciation" giveaways are things for your classroom, or mugs, or discounts if you buy something. This was literally "order off the menu, flash your school ID, have a nice day!" They emailed our school admin to tell us about it.

The huge lift to my mood and feeling of gratitude that someone just gave me dinner because I am a teacher also opened my eyes to how little outside support I have gotten this year. My meal was less than $10. And it made my week.

I stuck another little doodad in my friend's prize jar at school yesterday. Pretty much the best I can do lately is hold the line on things coming in.

I slept on my neck wrong last night and it is very sore this morning, so I am moving slowly.

Lila, you are important to us.

You are also important to your grands. The fact that your kids let you have tot and acorn so much tells me the problem is the other people, not you.

I really hope that all of the medical tests come back clear!

I put most of the laundry away yesterday.

My dd1 offered to come over and help clean my house before her grandparents arrive in 25 days. I said no. I told her I have made it clear to everyone that the house is not going to be clean. The timing of this visit is terrible and was not chosen by me. No amount of housecleaning has ever pleased my mil, and I am not putting in effort for them that I am not willing to put in for those of us who live here all the time. I told her that if she actually wants to help me, there are a lot of other things she could do. She said ok, no.

My school dreams were the normal, kids in the classroom variety last night.

Off to face my day.

ohhh Tatoulia, that is cool! I have been out of the country one time for my child's medical procedure. And in Europe I too washed my clothes in the sink and hung them out. At one place there was a washer and dryer but they took soooo long, like literally 3 to 5 hours each, I don't know why.

I am thinking about what else I have that will work together, in layers. Thank you for inspiring! I hope your very stressful week turns out well, and that you have some stress relief too.

SubC, what a dream! Indeed, time to plan some time off! Stress takes quite a toll on our health, I believe. And thank you for your kind words. I am doing a lot of mental work right now. I have medical tests this week to see if they got all the cancer. I think they did, but if they did not, I have a lot of awful days ahead. Praying it is gone. Waiting to find out if one is going to have a normal summer or a terrible one makes one think about everything a bit differently.

And so, I want to clean as well, and get my health and finances in order.

I want to believe I am as important as everyone else. I know I am to God. But I have exes who left and don't like me, I have some strained relationships with family, I have a Teen who regularly tries to hurt me emotionally (and in the past, physically) and parents who abandoned and disowned me, so, it makes it hard to see my value, except through the eyes of God, who loves me faithfully and completely.

White rabbits!

Tatoulia, I'm doing more thinking about clothes than doing - unless you count washing.

I'm glad you got to celebrate bf's bday with mom.

I think you were sleeping because of the stress. I hope that your week goes well.

I had a miscommunication with Dh yesterday that colored my whole day. By evening I had a horrible headache. Dh thought it was dehydration. I ate, drank a bunch of water, rested on the couch, and even took ibuprofen. It still took 2.5 hours to go away so I could sleep. I think it was stress.

Last night I dreamed that I turned myself in for killing someone so that I wouldn't have to go to work. Literally on my way to work, I decided I would just find a police officer and confess to a murder and then call my boss and say "sorry, won't be in, no sub plans, I've been arrested for murder." I don't think that (in the dream) I actually killed anyone, but I picked up a hitchhiker and took him with me as a witness so I would be more believable.

My brain thinks I really need some time off!

Lila, I forgot to tell you earlier, I would NOT think less of you if I saw your house! I think you are coping amazingly well with very difficult circumstances and you should cut yourself some slack. What I wish you could learn is that you are just as important as all those people in your life that you are pouring out energy caring for, and you deserve to have comfortable clothes that make you feel good, and a clean, comfortable, welcoming place to sleep, and healthy, nourishing food.

I am starting to actually want to clean my house again - it has reached the point where it is bothering me, but I don't know when I can do that.

I love how you are both thinking about clothes! I went to Europe once with four tops four bottoms and it equaled 16 outfits. In Paris our room had a balcony so I'd wash my things in the sink and have them dry over night. In Holland, we had a washer. I also had one or two jackets.

I'm with SubC on getting rid of the antlers. Last weekend I donated some of my bigger clothes including a beautiful pair of midnight blue velvet pants and a sparkly top I never wore. Not even once. Now I'm sorry I didn't save them for dear Lila. But, the money was spent and so no need to hang onto. I don't want the safety net of bigger clothes.

We visited mom today. I brought a cake from a bakery for us to enjoy downstairs for my BF's birthday. We offer cake to whoever wanders by us as we enjoy it in the cafe/kitchen of the assisted living. We make sure staff gets a piece and then we share with whoever comes by. It was a big hit. I had ice cream and no cake since I do not like Boston Cream Pie.

BF and I then did some grocery shopping for mom.

I slept most of the weekend. I'm not sure why. I have a stressful week in front of me. I'm out of the office for a few days with volunteer work and the volunteer work is very stressful work. And one of the volunteer days I need to pop into the office so I can present nationally and not internally—my audience is external and internal attendees. Very nerve-wracking.

Last two weeks have been stressful and then the upcoming one.

p.s., I have some hope to learn, as Tatoulia is helping me think outside my little cluttered box. I hope my IG account will be a way to maybe get ideas on clothes too. I might take a pic of my wardrobe and get more ideas what I could add to make things more nice-looking as outfits.

Thanks, SubC! I am pretty excited to have something I feel good in!

I literally own 2 pairs of pants that fit me, plus one pair of grey sweats that I can wear when the pants are in the washer. The pants are both blue jeans. One is slightly baggy and the other fits well. Every day I work, I wear the better fitting ones. I take them off when I get home and change into the other one, and wash them twice a week. When it is hot weather I still only wear the jeans.

I am not sure "how" to wear other kinds of pants - and I have no skirts or dresses that fit me. Well I do have one plain black skirt that is super long that I wear to a funeral or whatever I have to be dressy for like once or twice a year.

Every day I wear black sneakers. With the skirt I do have dress shoes to wear.

I feel like such a disaster, really. If I can lose 20-25 pounds I have a whole wardrobe of nicer things that fit.

I think my View of Self affects not only how I dress, but my weight and my clutter, my home, my yard. Everything.

I think you should let the unwanted antlers bless some other doggie babies.

Also - you have a new outfit - yay! Did you wear it with a skirt, or pants? If you switch the bottom - you have two outfits! If you find another blouse that works, you have four! Four outfits with just 5 items of clothing! See how easy this will be? You don't need all of those clothes, you just need to get them out of the way so you can find the ones you wear and keep them neat and ready to go! (Do not look in my closet)

Ok, back to the pottery studio. I am making stuff today.

SubC, but the doggies are my baaaabies!! lol. But yes, I stopped buying them and ran out, so ordered 3 bags for Son to give them while I was on vacation. The big bin in my room actually has so much other stuff in it. Antlers. Twelve inch tracheas. Nylabones. Pig ears. And a whole bag of dried beef liver, which you are supposed to give sparingly. In fact as I was cramming the dog treats in there yesterday, I thought about giving most of the antlers away but remembered how darned expensive they were. I got them for my past dog, but my current dogs don't like deer and elk antlers, only moose. So maybe I could post the antlers on my dog training group and give them away to bless others and remember that "the money was spent/wasted when you bought the item, not when you got rid of it" and "God will provide what I need in the future."

Everything counts, SubC. I threw out a plant that was annoying me forever. It was so ugly an weird no one would want it. I let the guilt go with it.

Good thoughts on where to donate clothing. Yes, we do have a charity shop I usually give to (rather than Goodwill) but you also reminded me that there is a donation drive at church and I can donate there as well.

Clothing note: after hanging up and putting away a lot of clothes yesterday, I decided to try wearing something new (from my closet). I wore a patterned blouse that older friend had given me, which a lightweight white cardigan I bought a long time ago and never wore. I got 4 compliments on my outfit! I NEVER get that many compliments (heck apparently I even get insults) so I was excited! So now I have another outfit I will better in!

SubC and anyone else, if you want to be on instagram it was easy to make a second account that is totally anonymous. I chose "private" and used a name no one would trace me to. I am planning to post clothing choices, and progress on the cleaning.

Lila, thanks for joining IG. I'll post the pants soon!

SubC, I am trying not to struggle with stuff. I implement my, time for someone else to love it, philosophy. When I was setting aside the plates to keep, I thought, and then what? What do I do with them? And so they will all be donated. I feel so much better. Asking myself, and then what? Is helpful when I'm buying stuff or trying to save it.

Okay I've lounged enough for the day! Going into start to look productive.

Oh, also, Lila, do you donate to a religious organization? Could you maybe see donating some of those clothes you don't need to where people who do need them can get them as part of that?

Do you have a charity shop that does that sort of work?

Tatoulia, you say "I was putting too much pressure on myself so I donated it all." I still say "too much pressure, I'll come back to it later."

You and Lila are making me want to get on Instagram, but not enough to make me actually get on Instagram.

Lila, you are accomplishing things! Healthy food plus good time with teen is a double win! One thing tha5 stood out to me though was that you are still struggling with dog treats. At one time you had decided to stop buying dog treats until you ran out. Did that happen?

I am also kind of wanting to clean out my clothes, but mostly because 1) "everybody else is doing it" and 2) I kind of want a new sweater. Again, just because people ar3 talking about it.

I did decide today while I was working on the garden that I am not buying anything else that can die (seeds, plants, animals) until I get what I have under control. I will however make an exception if the right buck or bred doe turns up. There is a nice looking buck an hour and a half from me, but I have no way to get him here. We got rid of the covered pick up and I can't put a buck in the back of my car the way I did the fiber goat.

Anyway, house is still a mess, but I made progress in the garden. I used some saved fencing and used up a few packets of seeds. Does that count?

Dishwasher and washing machine are running and I am going out to my studio.