Sweet dreams Tatoulia 🙂

Hi CM--great to read your post -- you are doing so much and handling it all so well! Sorry about the the losses you are experiencing right now. It is hard to be an adult in so many ways.

I bet your quilt is going to be beautiful--I hope there is some way we could enjoy a picture of it.

Tillie, I bet that was great fun lounging today! I had to go into office for a conference then office closed for summer event. After summer event I went back to office to work a while then had BF pick me up and I came home and slept. Absolutely glorious sleep. I just got up now to check in kitty and to feed her. I will go back to bed now.

Just wanted to check in on everybody.

Hi CriticalMass 🙂

Thank you for your wonderful post!
Have a safe trip and enjoy your visiting.
(((HUGS)))

I got to sleep in today AND stayed in my nightgown until 11:00!
Did cat stuff and nothing else but rest, relax and have fun. ;D

Checking in to Phase Eight with many updates.

Went back and read final posts from Phase Seven.

Fasten your seat belts, this is going to be a pretty long post!

Porter, glad your daughter stopped by and that you're enjoying being absorbed in your research. It's fun to be "in the zone" with an idea.

SubC, Tractor Supply here has been having Chick Days. Fun. I get it about "Frankencoop" LOL - we have "Frankengreenhouse." We tried, but kept having to re-engineer things that didn't work. If at some point it becomes affordable to replace plastic sheeting with plastic panels, it may work out a lot better.

That was cool of the priest to invite you & students to watch the eclipse. An astronomer, eh? Wonder if he's a Jesuit like Brother Guy Consolmagno, the Vatican Observatory's head honcho - whose books are in my "to read" stack.

Glad also that you found such a great recycling and donation place. Sounds like a win-win for everyone. I, too, hate to throw things away that can be used for crafts, etc., though I've been able to force myself to for the sake of decluttering. But recycling would be preferable if it just were less time-consuming and close by where I live. Down the road when I've de-hoarded enough I think I'll be able to do more recycling in an organised fashion.

Tillie - Steven let go of some stuff - that is nothing short of FANTASTIC. I do believe your quiet example is bearing fruit. Perhaps it's not beyond possibility that he will catch the de-hoarding vibe. Because he's got to see that what you are doing, you are doing because you find value in it - and maybe a part of his mind is mulling that over and beginning to see that it might be worth experiencing for himself. We can hope!

Tatoulia, hope the delight in redecorating will still be there despite the parts that feel like a drag. I know I get so impatient - it's like, well, I made the resolution not to hoard & clutter, so now I want everything clean and neat YESTERDAY!!

Hope your kitty will be completely better soon.
And your washer - hope that gets fixed at last. Repairs that drag out are, well, such a drag.

My big bunny Heather is having "sore hocks" which means her back feet are both afflicted with pressure sores. We may need a vet visit but I'm trying some home remedies for now - rubbing coconut oil into the sores - it softens the skin and helps the hair regrow, which will give her feet more cushioning, and it has antibacterial properties. I've also got a softer kind of bedding to try. She is so comforted by spending time cuddling with her "husbun" - they are so sweet together.

Sadly, the other big bunny Ginger in our bunny club died the day after my aunt passed. 🙁 It appears Ginger had a stroke right when she was recovering from the big surgery. Poor baby, she went through so much.

Our bunny club meeting was Sunday - and getting ready was stressful and sad. The event went well except for some drama where a couple of our club members got bitten trying to break up a rabbit fight. I'm concerned about our club - we need to have liability insurance if we're going to do public events. It had lapsed. And the bitten members were venting to me and I felt the old "I don't want to adult and have to be the one who takes the flak when sh** gets real" nervousness.

Anony, sorry to hear about the tarp setback! Hoping you find a good one. I know it's hard with them for roofing because of the UV damage making things deteriorate. My roommate's greenhouse is a constant challenge in that regard.

Speaking of UV and light, hope everyone enjoyed the eclipse. Here we had 93% totality. I had seen the glasses at the grocery store a couple weeks ago for $1.99 but was hesitant to spend the money - there are times my new resolves of frugality and not buying too many things backfire. You guessed it, by the time I decided I would go get a pair, glasses were sold out everywhere.

But it just so happened that my next-door neighbor is home in the daytime and had a pair and was nice enough to share! I had also made a pinhole setup, and I enjoyed taking pictures of the crescent shadows the leaves made on the ground.

Get this: I will get to go to my aunt's funeral. God works in mysterious ways. My roommate and I had a trip planned that way for this weekend and the funeral is scheduled for Saturday. How perfect is that? I will miss my aunt, of course, but I'm coping okay with her passing because she did indeed have a full long life for the better of 96 years, and she was getting pretty feeble. My uncle passed in 1998, one of her daughters in 2008, and her brother earlier this year. So now she can be with them again.

I'm going to take some framed needlework pictures up when I go to give to a cousin who I think will enjoy them. They were ones my mom and I liked but I don't think I'll have room for them in my new future life I hope to have - passing them on to a family member who knew my mom is a great way to have them still be enjoyed.

Okay, one last thing for now. This is huge - last night I finished all the embroidered squares for my quilt! So now I cut them to size and sew them into the rows. I'm doing this the way I did the 4-patch blocks: taking photos and making a computer mockup, so I can distribute the colors how I want them. It only takes a little more time and I like being able to envision the whole quilt before I commit to the sewing part.

The surviving aunt that I'll be staying with on the trip this weekend is a quilter. It'd be cool if I could have everything sewn together to show her the finished top, but I don't know. There's a lot to do to get ready for the trip. But I can at least take the pieces so she can see, and show her the mockup.

Wish me safe travels - I love seeing everyone and I enjoy the scenery, but the travel/agoraphobia and being away from my rabbits is the downside. Trying to stay positive though. Don't know if I'll have wi-fi, but if I do, I'll post how it's going. Otherwise, I'll be back next week. Ciao!

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
You are beautiful too (((HUGS)))
I suppose our two cats are especially sensitive and emotional to react to the eclipse.
Sometimes those tarps start shredding after just a little while but you must have gotten a real "lemon" for it to be shredding already. 🙁
Keep looking for a free-bee old canvas tent. One of those along with a tarp underneath would help.
Keep up the great job soaking up all those millions of honey drops.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
I like to imagine Diane has been enjoying ice cream and berry smoothie fixings from her freezer. 😀
Thanks for redoing the thread. I never have any button issues so don't know when we need a new one.
Poor Kitty 🙁
Once Marty showed up very lame. Would not stand or walk. He had managed to dislocate his hind leg somehow. Of course it was after Vet office hours.
A few hours later he popped it back into place and was fine again.
He never did tell me how he managed to do that.
Have you checked Kitty's finger nails?
Sometimes they will break/split a nail into the quick and that really hurts and makes them limp.

One suggestion when you are feeling miserable and bla...
Do something nice for yourself.
Treat yourself with an indulgence like playing in a bubble bath until the water gets cold.
Make a blanket fort inside and eat dinner in it.
Do something naughty. 😉
Quit acting like a responsible sensible adult for a while.
PLAY 😀

Think I can take tomorrow off, except for cat stuff.
Want to sleep in and stay in my night gown until noon.

Well I'm feeling blah and still worried about my limping kitty. I will get her to vet on Monday or sooner if she seems to be in a lot of pain. The limp has gotten better but still not great. No swelling, no cuts. Poor little cat.

I cleaned bathroom vanity and toilet. Frustrated by the state of the house. Not hungry, not thirsty, nit tited. Just super bored and uncomfortable. I'm out of paper towels and disinfectant wipes, so I'm using that as an excuse to feel miserable too. Feeling blah. When I was a kid my mother would tell us something snappy that never helped--you know, of the clean your room or go outside variety.

I hope I can shake this.

Hello there Anony! Glad that phase 8 came in time! I'll try to remember to keep an eye out for it--don't want to lose you!

Well washer still not working. However, we discovered a leak while working on it--thank goodness-and plumber fixed the leak for now before I damage place beneath mine.

Anony I am so very sorry about your troubles--while I would never wish misery on anyone, I am miserable too so we have each other. My kitty still isn't w 100% but I know a vet visit will be terrible on her. My house is disgusting in more ways than I can describe and I find the re-do to be so taxing. I am trying with all my might to stay calm. Stay calm. Just breathe. I am doing it on the outside and inside is only half/convinced.

It is so gross here.

Anony I am worried about your tarp and the honey and the whole shebang. I wish I could help you. I wish I could do anything to signal progress rather than no decay.

I'm going to go back to work now. Maybe get dressed too. And be grateful for my friends here.

Love from Tatoulia.

Thank you, Tatoulia! Yes, i had lost my buttons, was trying to adjust to the 'full site' option, but it was very challenging!
~♡~Ice coffee clinks & cyber hugs to all!~♡~
Ive been having the backsliding-blues with almost everything the past few days...im blaming it on all the retrograde planets...ha ha The trick to the honey, is to keep putting warm water on each spot for long enough to soak into it, so ive been doing that...today im gonna work on the carpet & seat cushins. One of the most central backsliding events has been the unexplainable shreading of one of the roof tarps. It has barely been 2 weeks...ive been looking into old billboard tarps(they are also recycled!) Its another big chunck of money, not to mention getting on the hot roof again and hiring my friend again...so, im also now worried about all the unexpected expenses & problems with building a house, too. Money is a big part of my whole 'hoarding' saving, not replacing, not fixing, etc., situation.
Tillie, i absolutely LOVED your thoughts on the eclipse, and the laundry, and your kitty reacting...one of my cats really acted strangely that day, too?!! It was truly beautiful! You are beautiful! ~☆♡☆~
I hope we all can create new things & new ways of changing things, or handling things, through this eclipse opportunity!~☆~♡~☆~

Spending the day cooking sounds so satisfying, Tillie! I wish we would hear from Diane do we could learn if her freezer is still chugging away!

I am fasting today, which almost always feels good. I need to focus on work and hope handyman actually comes today! I did try to sneak in a wash but someone is using the washer right now. Maybe later!

Really hope your washer gets fixed today! 😀