Hi to everyone.

Roxie, glad you were able to get some rest yesterday after the doctor appointments.

Tillie, glad your candidates won! : ) Yes, I did find my gift card, and yes, I did get some new athletic shoes with the card. I suspect my feet will be thanking me for that in the long run.

Me: Got my goals done that I posted yesterday afternoon and made it to the first part of the chat last night. I made plans to sign off from it earlier than usual so I could hit the sack early. Wanted to be out the door by 6ish this morning to get work done out in that rural area before it got too hot. That went well. More on that later. (My computer just announced to me that it wants to reboot.)

Happy afternoon.

The primary election votes are all in and my candidates won!!! 😀
YEA!!! for "None Of The Above".
Happy to see that so many other voters agreed with me.
Unfortunately, None Of The Above will not be able to serve so the second place candidates will get the positions. 🙁

Good Morning 🙂

Wednesday already!
Hope you all are enjoying these last few days of Spring. 😀

Diane, I am glad the dog is gone. However, the daughter was yanking you around by not keeping her word, not coming when she said, etc. YOU did nothing wrong. (((Diane)))

Brother seems to be sleeping in, in his car. I'll check on him a little later. He was very busy yesterday and did a grocery run after we came home. I slept. 🙂

Yes . . . yea, you, Tillie!

Hi 🙂

When I turned 18 it was the very first time people 18 were finally able to vote.
I voted then and have voted every single election since. YEA Me!!!! 😀

Hi Diane 🙂
hope you are planning to do some playing and self care like maybe pedicure, hair do, maybe pretty summer dress, picnic lunches, coffee house cup of coffee, visit in person or on the phone with a friend...
Yes, sometimes everybody just feels crappy.
Whenever I get upset about all his clutter/squalor I turn my focus to me.
What can I do to make me happy. I have my no clutter zones and my garden to focus on.
I rearrange stuff, swap out the drapes & table cloths for different ones. Find a craft or book to lose myself in. Hang out with the cats, birds, lizards & bunnies.
I can only control myself, can't control anybody else.
It is up to me to make the changes that will make me happy, working with what I have.
I would love to have it different here, maybe some day it will get better but in the meantime I do what I can.
Talking with all of you here on this messageboard makes me very happy. 😀
To be a member of this community where people are working so hard to make their lives the lives they want. (((HUGS)))

WAY TO GO!!! for all the cleaning and de-furring you did!!! 😀

Good afternoon.

Yea, diane! Glad the dog has gone home. You've done so much work today! I hope you enjoy some relaxation. Hope you do, too, Tillie! Roxie, I hope your doc appointments go well. Whew! . . . I'm chewing on your "vision" question from that other thread. Good points that many of you are making about focusing on our own responsibilities (as opposed to blaming and doing other such not-so-useful things).

Plans for the next few hours include looking for a gift card I have that I can use to get some new athletic shoes (which will probably help my still-hurting foot . . . my old shoes are wearing out); getting things packed once again to go do some work in that rural area; vacuuming a small section of my living room; and spending ten minutes on paperwork.

Hugs to all.

I called the daughter about 9am yesterday, she said she would call back and tell me the time she would pick up dog. By 8pm she had not called, as the dog knocked over my ice water, I really had to focus on not being upset. I waited, took a few deep breaths and called her. No answer. I left a message saying she was to call back, hoped she was still picking up dog. Said dog had to be picked up between 7am and noon. She called back finally and said noon. I had dog and stuff out there at noon, she got here at 12:15. Apologized for sounding a bit frantic last night but after a month of sleep deprivation, everything seemed like a big deal, she was very kind. Did tell her, thought would do better at her house in future, since she has 4 kids and dog would have lots of entertainment, just too much for me. She said she had told mom before she would take care of dog, and will next time.
So I started at 6am vacuuming, everything, changed vacuum bag and did it all again, yep, one hairy dog. Played fetch 15 minutes of each hour. Cleaned bathroom counter, washed floor. I did take a few breaks, but by 11:30 I was so exhausted. Dishes were done, kitchen floor almost done. Living/dining room completed. Deck carpet has first vacuum, needs another. Shook all area rugs, then vacuumed them. Deck area will have to be washed, some outdoor rugs have to be washed. washed bathroom rug already. feels so good to sit in living room with no dog stuff. I am feeling a little upset at myself for telling daughter how I felt, she just forgot to call me back. Actually very exhausted and bummed. I thought I would be so happy, but after cleaning 5 hours and 2 hours of fetch, I am worn out, which affects my mood. Good I read your inspiring posts, so happy for you Roxie to have help. And to hear LR say she is bummed, sometimes we just feel crappy, and others do too. Good to hear my rant helped see the importance of focusing on cleaning up our side of the street, so much easier to look at others. As I write this, I realize my upset is worrying about what the daughter thinks of me because I was not as happy as her. Good reminder to let that go and focus on enjoying what is left of my day, and realize I already accomplished so much today, can take time off, relax on deck, then go pick up prescriptions and make a few dog toys. I have done enough today already. So grateful you posted. Tillie love that you do whatever you want and don't think you have to keep working after you do things to tidy up. Such a great example of making your area nice. If you focused on his crap and were angry all the time it would eat you alive, and where would we be then? We sure learn alot from you, thanks tillie

Good morning 🙂

TTYL 😀

Diane, are you free at last? I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts.

Hugs and coffee clinks.

OMG! Thank you for the reminders to focus on what I can do in my own life, instead of blaming others. My hubby has just as much problem as I do about hoarding and collecting and not cleaning up after his projects....so guess who I've been whining to myself about...

ha! I'm sitting here looking at a drawer I didn't shut SIX days ago. Geez. Sometimes I am so frigging ridiculous. It's obvious if I got my stuff in order, our home would be so much better that his wouldn't be as much a problem.

Strangely, I have noticed when I focus on my stuff and get on a cleaning and sorting and tossing task of my own, he actually starts tidying up and tossing some of his mess.

Pretty cool.

It's the 10th, diane! Yea!

Kathy: Stir fry sounds good. Glad your mom is better. Sounds like you got a lot done today.

Tillie: Can't say that my outlook was especially good today. Was tired, and that led me to be kind of bummed out. Nonetheless, thanks to the message board and the people who got on chat today, I got stuff done I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. Yea!

diane: I did not in any way think your post was boring. As a matter of fact, to me it was inspiring. And I like how you are standing up for yourself on the dog situation.

Me: I got everything done on my list of goals for this afternoon/evening, other than getting gas in my car. Need to remember to do that early tomorrow morning. Thank you to those who were on the chat today and helped encourage me along. (Oh, found the missing makeup bag while working today.)

Hugs to all. Have a good evening.

Really enjoyed reading all these update posts! 😀

(((hugs)))

Put out the trash, including a large cardboard box from the garage, did the dishes and kitchen counters,folded the sheets and blanket from the dryer and put them away. Made a veggie stir fry for dinner in an attempt to eat more healthy food.

LR tomorrow is the 10th and the big needy, shedding dog goes home, day 27. That is a long time to play fetch. I now understand what you cat people go through with the hair everywhere, always had bichons that do not shed. It is good to try out different breeds to see what kind of dog I will get when I am ready.
Well called the daughter that is to pick up dog tomorrow, she can't because she works tomorrow. I then called the other daughter, she had a lot of reasonable excuses, but I told her I really needed dog picked up before noon so I could spend the day cleaning up dog hair. I almost backed down, feeling sorry for her getting stuck with the pickup of dog, but I am not willing to keep her another day for free when owner already paid $8.oo a day less than she should have. So hopefully daughter won't call and say no, I will then offer to bring dog to her house if she does.
Already did another load of laundry, hanging out. Wind is picking up from north so my air is now almost clean, poor people in Bend. I am 14 miles north of fire.
I had my smoothie out on deck in lounger and enjoyed the cleaner air and took a break from fetch.
I went out to the back yard and finished cleaning it up, folded up all the weed prevention cloth that was under the pine needles. Moved the needles that did not get burned and made a path in yard over fly away dirt. I still have 2 big bags to spread. Just making a thin layer to help hold the dirt down that big dog made into powder.
Just had a though, how boring this must be to you as you read this!!!
Tillie, happy kitty is feeling better, he is one expensive kitty, dental cleaning, yikes, it is $250 here to have dog teeth cleaned. Good there is a working man in the house. Good for something.
I am thinking of you Tillie as I work on reclaiming my no clutter zone. I feel it is manageable now that I have done some of it. My plan is to keep dog on deck//yard tomorrow after she gets up and try to get all the vacuuming and cleaning done, before daughter picks her up, that way I will have most of work done, and can really relax.
Last night in chat I realized again how we make excuses, blame others for the way we are treated, and lack empathy for how the hoard affects others. when in reality, I am responsible for taking charge, get rid of extra stuff, whether on computer, closet, cabinets, deck, garage. Much easier to focus on my hurt feelings than improve my life. Instead of thinking how inconsiderate my neighbor was, I have now just focused on my responsibility to tidy things up. Much easier to focus on how anal he is than think how he must feel looking at my messes. Brat self has said, I will show them what a mess really is. Only makes me look dumb. Ok, I know, I am rambling, anything that do dishes!!

Did the grocery shopping and put everything away, including a couple of things (teacups etc.) that were trying to set up residence in the car...there are some sheets and a blanket in the dryer patiently waiting to be folded and put away. My mom called this morning, she thought she wasn't going to live through the night so she wrote a good-bye letter to us kids but she is OK. She is recovering from dental surgery. I suggested that she take the antibiotics the first dentist gave her even if the dental surgeon didn't think they were necessary. Our family has genetic immune deficiencies and she has an IgA deficiency.

Good afternoon.

Kathy: Glad you did get to make it to the chat last night. Yea for the kitchen work. Cool that your mom is 93.

Vi: When those water heaters go bad, it can be a real pain. Nice that you were able to help your Mr.'s mom with that and other plumbing things.

Tillie: As always, thanks for being here for us. Glad Twinkle is doing better. Green tea/lemonade . . . yum.

diane: Glad to be able to give you a laugh. Am happy you're just one day away from June 10. (I'm losing track of which ones are still with you right now and which have left already, so the June 10th date may not be as significant as before.) I've Googled the fire situation off and on and am thinking about you.

Had a slow morning. Very tired/sleepy, mildly bummed out for no solid reason. I think that thunderstorms kept waking me up last night, which probably contributed to my feeling tired.

Never did actually post my goals this morning, so here are some for the afternoon and evening: eat a healthy (albeit late) lunch, load dishwasher, put away clothes I'd hung up to dry, get more gas in vehicle while there is a break in the rain here, get a few grocery items, add to my gratitude list, vacuum some of the living room, get a couple of bills in the mail, spend at least ten minutes on paperwork.

Have a good afternoon and evening, everyone.

Glad I got to attend at least the last 90 minutes of the chat last night. Good to see everybody is still working...

I did get the dog mess in the kitchen cleaned up last night, and the sharps put away, and even filled the dishwasher and got it going.

This morning however, I didn't do much--listened to my mother on the phone, she is recovering from dental surgery and was so sure she was dying last night that she wrote us a good-bye note (well she is 93). Then I spent some time preparing for next Sunday's talks and fed the dog and ate breakfast and took my meds but haven't taken vitamins yet. Napped.

I still need to do grocery shopping today. And start picking things up around here. Grocery shopping is a big job for me, and I'm trying to put everything away after doing it, so that might be it for today.

Sorry I missed yesterday's meeting, I didn't think we'd be out as long as we were yesterday, but it was for a very good cause. My Mister and I were replacing water lines and a water heater for Mister's Mom since hers died and leaked all over her little mobile home. we managed to pull the old one, replace the pipes, replace and improve the hardware for the washing machine hook ups, and install the new machine. As it is she has hot water again and we only need to fix a few things that we rushed on last night as it was pushing 11 PM PAC by the time we left. everyone was tired this morning, but it's alright. My son starts summer vacation next Monday, so I'm trying to button up the rest of the house by then so it's easier to get things done around here. Both kids together can get a little crazy so I have to prep a bit hahaha.
TOday I only have a little bit to do as far as my dailies. no laundry because I don't have enough even for half a load, maybe I will tomorrow. Just a sinkful of dishes since we didn't eat at home all weekend and I did most of them yesterday before we left, so today I just have to check the litter box, make the beds, sweep and vacuum the house and clean the counters.
I also need to gather up my documents so I can procure a shiny new WA ID card. I know it's silly, but since I don't drive I've just kept my OR Driver's license and it expired last year so now I really need a new one.
I have a feeling it's going to be one of those days where I wear my headphones all day and listen to old goth music, european Rap and EDM all day because I need to stay focused.
I'll talk to you guys tonight, and if anyone needs a little boost today I'll be in chat and I'll check back in around 12 Pacific.

Good Morning! 😀

Have a GREAT Monday! 😀

washed sheets, hanging out to dry, clothes I washed last night are hanging, all out in smoke from big fire
I enjoyed most of chat last night, sorry I missed some of it, LR your falling asleep was funny to me, then I spaced out and watched local news then signed off computer, hour later remembered I forgot I was on chat.
It is pretty smokey here, calm winds now, will pick up to 20mph today, which will be tough for fire fighters.
Plans for today: will do more laundry, mostly things covered with dog hair. cook some healthy food.
hope you have a productive peaceful day

Good to see so many of you on last night's chat. For those who were there, yes, I did go to sleep and woke up two or three hours later. Again. But at least this time I warned that that might happen. Sorry to miss all the good stuff I (undoubtedly) missed.

So far, it's a stormy morning here, and I'm extra tired. That means indoor work, for sure. I will probably need some extra motivation this morning, given that I'm extra tired. If anyone wants or needs an earlier-than-usual chat or 15-minute challenge, post your proposed time here and I might be able to join (unless I fall asleep again). I may use some of the time to read in my new book.

Karl: 5050. I cheated when I woke up this morning and used Excel for it. (Inside joke.)

Iced tea clinks, Roxie.

Happy Sunday to all.

diane: I liked that sentence from a few posts back . . . "never thought I would look forward to cleaning." I also liked when you said "good lesson to trust inner guidance when we are urged to do work even if not sure why." I hope that fire situation doesn't head your way, but I'm glad that you've taken steps to be ready if (heaven forbid) it does. Nice that that neighbor eventually apologized to you. The dog toy thing sounds great!

Tillie: Hope Twinkle is doing better soon. Glad that the moth invasion gave some entertainment. I agree with you about letting Barb go earlier in chat if needed. And ditto to what diane said: thanks for taking the time to respond to all of us when you can. Many hugs.

Barb: Hope all your work in getting ready for family goes well. Bought that procrastination book today you've been talking about.

Vi: Yea for "defendable" areas! You've been getting sooo much stuff done!

Roxie: Hope you are feeling more rested. Don't over-do it!

Me: I did meet with friends yesterday morning as planned. On the way there, I stopped off to take stuff to the shredding truck at their usual location, but the truck hadn't arrived yet. (Now I know it doesn't arrive there ?til 9am.) I didn't have all that much shredding with me, so I'll just save it for the next time. Still haven't solved the mystery of the missing makeup bag.

Got the junky floor area underneath my pantry decluttered (for the most part). Looks so much better!

Later in the day yesterday, I got on the chat room at noon (Pacific time) to see if anyone was there, with positive results! We did the fifteen-minutes-at-a-time thing, and I got a fair amount done during that time: some laundry, sweeping, bill-paying, and various other things I don't even remember at this moment. Those times are great for accountability, encouragement, and getting to know each other better!

So far today, I got my back patio cleaned off (no small task), got more laundry washed and dried, and had a pleasant lunch with family.

Plans for the rest of the day: Add to my gratitude list, finish putting away my laundry, and make it to the chat tonight.

Hugs to all!

Tillie thanks for understanding how difficult confrontation is for me. I had a talk with myself first. "you can be kind, just state the facts, and do realize I have rights as much as wealthy people in big houses. I am still a little unsettled from stating the facts, and in a kind way, just not easy. Nice not having regrets for being rude or harsh.
Called fire line this morning, all fires are banned today, so will not finish, most is done, so glad I worked so late last night, knowing it might be my last chance. I can pat myself on the back for all I did.
Today I made two dog toys, they are great. One is out of a felted wool sweater that Max's mom gave me last year, it has a squeaky ball inside, that he loves, seems pretty indestructable. I also fixed his favorite toy that he chewed up, replaced with thicker upholstry fabric. It was so much fun, it could be a good way to make extra money after I perfect it.
I did all the dishes, even put them away. Now just resting. , looking forward to chat.

Good morning everybody 🙂

Have a great day. Enjoy yourselves. Stay safe & no accidents and I will "see" you in chat. 🙂

Good morning, all.
Yesterday I worked on edging the drive and sidewalks while Clay mowed. I need to be outside to supervise. He does a good job as long as I am there to answer his questions about how I want things done.
My five year old neighbor came down and pulled a few weeds with me. He said he wants to work for me, too. I asked how much he charged and he said $1. I asked how many hours he would work for that dollar and he said "Probably about 10." His dad and I agreed that they might need to discuss his price structure a little further. 🙂
I am so glad that I live in a neighborhood where parents encourage their kids to earn some of their own pocket money. We are a mix of starter homes with young kids and retired single women whose kids are grown and gone. There is plenty of opportunity.
It poured last night in the thunderstorms. I am going to get out and pull weeds from the salsa garden while they are easy to pull. The garden looks good. The tomatoes and squash are blooming and the radishes will be ready to harvest soon.
Then I really need to get a handle on the dishes and kitchen table.
I will try to join the discussion tonight but may need to sign off before it is my turn. I want to get an early start on laundry and decluttering tomorrow. I only have six weeks to get things done before my family comes to visit.
Have a great Sunday, everyone.

Huge fire near Bend, smoke is already so thick here. Fire started at noon yesterday in forest, and has been burning fast and furious heading Bend. Haven't found update this morning but by the smoke here, bet it is still bad. Lots of evacuations. Dogs live in preevacuation area, so emailed family to head home. Other dogs parents will be back from Europe Tuesday. Terrible to come home to smoke and evacuation notice. So HAPPY I did all the work this week to make my property fire resistant, good lesson to trust inner guidance when we are urged to do work even if not sure why.

Today I went to a friend's graduation ceremony for their youngest son, he was 11 when I met him and now he's done with school. picked up the kids from grandma's and went over to their house for cake and Ice Cream and hung out for hours because we haven't seen each other in a while. It's really good to see friends sometimes and I should do it more often.
Laundry is in the dryer and I only have a sinkful of dishes so I'll do them before I head to bed, cats have been taken care of and the kids cleaned their rooms before we left. the places I haven't cleaned yet in the house are still dirty, but mostly they can wait until Monday when I have time to give them my full attention. As it stands My laundry room, den, bedrooms, Kitchen, and bathrooms are clean and defendable. all that's left in the house to clean are the dining room, living room and mudroom. the mudroom is small but I've been using it as storage and I've been using the living room as kind of storage as well for all the boxes ready for the move.
the dining room has suffered from the overflow and at this point is the easiest to clean. Once I clean these last three areas and do a cleaning on the floors I'll have everything in the main house in a defendable state and can sort my boxes. my goal after that is to tackle the garage and to get my donations out of the house.
Tomorrow we'll be at grandma's but I should be able to make the meeting on time or a little bit after. Have a good weekend and goodnight.

Hi everyone, thanks for all the posts telling about your days and progress, and to those not feeling well, warm wishes for speedy return to health.
Today was the neighborhood garage sale in a very nice area of houses a block from here. I go every year, wanted to go so bad. Went out in yard at 6am and worked until 1pm, got really dirty, so tricked myself into not going by keeping busy and dirty. I am glad I didn't go now, but seemed so reasonable this morning.
My neighbor and his girlfriend smoke on their rv pad, leaning on railing, flick ashes on my yard. So once I saw a small fire started last week when she flicked, I decided to clean all pine needles I had put there to stop weeds, and burn all weeds, stickery grasses and some of the pine needles. Past 2 days got out there at 6am and stop when they come out for first cig. Well they sat up there on deck and complained last night and again this morning, so I asked to chat with him. Told him why I felt the urgency to get all flammables away from RV pad. He was upset at first, then calmed down, and I said I have tried to only burn when they are not there, or sleeping. He made her come out and apologize about an hour later. By then I was up in aspen tree breaking off all dead branches. I felt very good that we cleared the air, since I can easily hear them talking about me.
Burn season ends 6/15 so would like to burn all the crap I cleaned up today, leaves weeds needles, a huge pile, was surprised how much more I raked up from under trees, all done with lower back yard, just the upper back yard. I don't really use the area so they have felt it is fine to use it as an ashtray.
Dogs are sleeping, so nice to be able to read all of your posts and say what is on my mind today.
Tillie I appreciate you responding to every one, you are the glue that holds us together.

Hi again, everyone. Afternoon goals, depending on how well my foot (same one that was bugging me the other day) cooperates: put away the laundry that I dried yesterday; put away some tools I didn't put away yesterday; sweep and/or vacuum bathroom, kitchen, and part of living room; pay some bills.

More later. Lots of hugs.