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Archive through March 26, 2005

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Mar. ~ 2005 May: Home and Garden (ARCHIVES): TVCH's Home & Life Organization (ARCHIVES): Archive through March 26, 2005 users admin

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Grandmato2
Member

07-16-2004

Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 7:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Morning all

Finally some sun here in PA.

I plan on spending the AM cleaning the house in blitzes. Then I will work on paperwork and school stuff this PM. I swear the paperwork multiplies faster than rabbits.

We had a flock of snow geese land in the river sometime yesterday. They took off about a half hour ago. It was simply beautiful to watch them take off and go into formation. Had to be over 100 of them. A sure sign that spring is on the way.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Monday, March 14, 2005 - 11:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Spinner: I'm interested too.

Computer problems are always frustrating to me on a PC, since there are so many possibilities. In this case, I did not know what to suspect, since every time I tried to access the TVCH site, I would be given either a 404 error or the computer would just shut down--neither option being acceptable.

I defragged, virus checked, spyware checked, and did all of the magic to be done. Talked to Microsoft (since we have their router/cards and it was happening on IE) for way too many hours and they were mystified.

Since I couldn't sleep last night (again), I decided to see if I could try something new.

It worked without any problem.

And they say computers don't have a sense of humor....

I don't want to move. However, I am not sure that the new management under which we find ourselves are going to be people with whom I can work.

On the other hand, in July DH is old enough for senior housing, which is about the same price, but with more amenities (like transportation to stores and banks!; elevators for upper floors;) which would make life easier for me.

I don't know what we're going to do--I just know that I'm going to keep plugging away at clearing stuff out of the apartment.

myicon

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, March 14, 2005 - 12:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I'm on a fools errand today, LOL. Or making a bigger mess than I started with!

Kids are out of school for spring break and I thought this would be the perfect time to do spring cleaning. Sounds silly with the kids home, but really its not, lol. They saw what I was doing and took off so they've been out of my way most of the day. I figured though since I'll be staying home, no going out to drop the kids off and volunteer in classes and no going back out to pick them up this would be a good time to do it, stuck at home and all.

Today I started with the living room. Cleared off the entertainment center, dusted and windexed, put everything back nice and neat, end tables, kids desk, kitchen table which is in the other part of the living room, book cases...if it was a surface with something on it I took it all off then wiped it down, cleaned up the stuff and put it back. Moved the couches, cleaned out from under the turtle tank (tank sits on an old coffee table base, so we have some storage which I used to put some of the kids books and art stuff, put all that on the book cases and am now using the area under the table base to store board games.) Washed windows, wiped down walls.....going all the way today, lol.

Foolish part? We've got major wind today, 50-60 mile gusts. I dust the entertainment center, turn to work on the kids desk, turn back and the entertainment center is filthy again. And there is absolutely nothin I can do about it. With the winds this high, everything is going to stay dusty and dirty. If I mop the den floor, it'll be muddy in no time. The living room floor which I already vaccumed looks horrible again. Dusting and wiping stuff off is useless. I should just give it up for today, but I really want to get all this done today! I've got plans later this week with the kids and my nieces so I need to get as much done as I can now. Otherwise I'm gonna have four kids here later this week wanting to know why I'm cleaning instead of doing the crafts I promised them, lol.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 4:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wow! With all that spring cleaning, Wargod, things must be looking amazing at your house. Hope you have some time to relax and enjoy some fun activities with the kids. Oh, and don't forget that chores at home can be fun when the kids are included. Everyone grab a small plastic bag and fill it with things to give away or another time things to throw away. Set the timer and it's a race. I have fun doing it myself so I think the kids would, too.

Thank goodness, I don't have spring cleaning to do. Although, once the snow is gone and then the mud, the floors will require a good cleaning. That's as close as I will be getting to the concept of spring cleaning. No "carpets to beat," walls to wash, etc., since it's all done on a rotating basis throughout the year.

Laurie, things continue to sound interesting in your world. I am sure that something good will turn up in the housing department. Can you get a headstart on the senior housing by signing up early in anticipation of an opening after July? The senior housing apartments around here are very nice. Many seniors transition from their too-large homes to the apartment communities as soon as they are able and an apartment becomes available. All those amenities would be hard to turn down.

Lumbele has been sidetracked by a misbehaving back and neck, I believe. Her wonderful ds and dh should have things pretty well under control. Lum? Is that true?

Well, happy flying everybody. I sure do miss this little corner of the Clubhouse.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 2:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That is the nice thing about Flylady: no more fall or spring cleaning.

Things here continue to be interesting. This morning we had the dubious pleasure of having to give Punk a bath.

The feline fun thing to do is to play in the bathtub--lots of surfaces to slide on, especially since Mommy waxes the sides of the tub plus the tub's porcelain is nice and cool. Unfortunately, we have another leak in this place: in that faucet.

So we have 1 cat with litter on his toes jumping into a wet area...welcome to the world of bathing one feline who suddenly develops 18 legs, 13 tails, and 9 ears.

After the bath, we wrapped Punk in a towel, I changed my shirt while DH held Punk still, and then Punk and I crawled under the covers so that I could dry him off and have him in a warm area. While I held him hostage, I took the opportunity to count his whiskers/eyebrows and he has 54. (Lilian Braun says the typical cat has 48. Speckle has 48, Bopper has 44 [and Bopper is, shall we say, not playing with a full case of tuna].) I am going to look funny the next time I get a kitten, and I start counting its whiskers before I choose one.

While I was doing that, DH called the office to again request repair work on the kitchen faucet, bathtub faucet, and master bathroom toilet. Again we received the "as soon as we see someone, we'll send them over."

In the midst of the chaos, the woman we are donating the extra cat food to called to try and find us. I gave her directions, so fingers are crossed.

Anyway, I have a pantry to organize--I hate this pantry. I'm looking into wire pull-out baskets for the pantry so that I can actually have some order in there. The silly things are 24" deep, about 15" wide, and very dark brown. I'm also thinking some of the mini touch lights in there. The cool thing about the wire baskets, of course, is that they would be able to go with us.

Today, meanwhile, the main task is laundry. I'm still finding myself tired from yesterday's shopping adventure. I was able to REALLY grocery shop for the first time in awhile. I have everything (mostly) put away, but pretty haphazardly, and once I get more canned cat food for Bopper, the canned goods I stowed on that shelf will have to move.

I do know that it feels really good to have food in the house. The fear that I had every time I opened the freezer or pantry or refrigerator and seeing a lot of emptiness is indescribable. That is one thing I totally hate about freelance: no predictability on when he will get paid, or how much.

I'm sorting things next to the bed still; I've tossed out two BBB and still have more to go through. I also pulled out some clothes to go through and determine what is in the drawers under the bed. I want to stop the chaos.

And I will. In--and on--my own time frame.

myicon

ETA: The woman found the place, so the dry food is now on its way to a cat shelter for strays. I still don't know why the food and litter was sent to me, but I am grateful. While I couldn't use the food, it went to people who were low-income and could use the gift, and as for the litter, it helps us a lot to have it and not worry about whether or not we can afford to buy it. If the person who sent it to me is reading this, know that I--and many others--appreciate your generosity. Thank you.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 4:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, the plumber from the complex is here. Nice Hispanic man who reminds me of my dad.

He changed out the faucet--and even put my sprayer head back on for me! He then said we had leak D: Under the kitchen sink because the hoses weren't any good.

Oh joy! BUT on a bright spot: Because the under-the-sink cabinets in both bathrooms and the kitchen SUCK, (for example, the bathroom cabinet floors are sagging and all things fall toward the back center and through the crack between the cabinet and the wall), I have everything in plastic.

AND, the two plastic bins under the kitchen sink that I store things in, for an easier pull out weren't touching the water area. The water was dripping toward the back center, where I had nothing out of common sense of leaks; so, everything stayed dry.

And, since it is also dark brown, the light rarely hits behind the Cascade bottle--which is where the leak was. So, we had good timing in the end.

Now...shall I ask that the kitchen and bathroom drawers be fixed so they can be used, and the drawers not fall out when you open them?
myicon

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 4:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Looks as if your luck is running pretty good so far so I'd definitely give it a go. They can't read your mind.

Does this mean that you have a new hose in the kitchen? I love new hoses. A new faucet, too? Wow! Things are looking up.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 5:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Vee: In this case the hoses actually connect the water pipe to the faucet--no fancy hoses for sprayers or anything. So, I'm not sure if your excitement is totally contagious for me.

No, but they can read all of my monthly repair requests, which I submit with the rent check. Maybe for next month...
myicon

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 6:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I am not convinced that they can read as it seems the phone call worked ever so much better; put you dh back on the job.

A full pantry is a wonderful feeling. Have fun getting it organized the way you like.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 10:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, I'll do one more note with the rent for the drawers--after all, these folks are new.
BUT, we will be calling in about the toilet that needed snaking. It worked twice, and is now back to its stunts. So, we'll call again since I really want that toilet to work.

The new kitchen faucet is ... modern. It is sleek, thin, and incredibly shiny. My old faucet sprayer ended up not fitting. He tried, but it just wouldn't fit.
myicon

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 2:25 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, I called in about the toilet. The office worker wanted to blame the maintenance man, something I kiboshed immediately. I let her know that this toilet has been an issue since November, and the previous people had, after discovering that snaking had no long term effect, kept putting our repair request at the bottom.

She bravely (and foolishly) stated that she was sending him back over with the instructions that he is not to leave until it is totally fixed. Uh, it's Friday afternoon. Replacing a toilet--which is what I think will happen--took my dad and me three hours. I don't think I slowed my dad down that much as he showed me how to do it, so I think he WILL be leaving before it is fixed since we don't have a guest bed!

We just got a new assignment from Bill's editor. I'm supposed to tape Deadwood for her (her VCR broke), and DH has to fill 20 pages of a magazine. I think we'll be reconstructing a vehicle over the weekend. (I'll be helping, since he has trouble with spatial relations.)

So much for the house!
myicon

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 11:30 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
okay, miss holly's room is finally finished.

c
d
e
f
g
as you can see it is a very narrow room, and holly was used to a room that was about twice as wide as this one, with alot more closet space. by getting rid of her dresser and desk, she has gained much more storage space. we have decided to remove the chair, after having it in the room, as it takes away from the space of the room.


Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 4:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
All those cubbies! Wow! I'm jealous.

Does Holly use the chair? Sometimes it doesn't matter about the space as long as the room functions. At least, that's been my experience. Many times people think that small rooms require less furniture and small pieces, which is not what is recommended.

Looks as if Holly has everything she needs for a wonderfully cosy bedroom with everything a gal could possibly want.

Thanks for sharing your photos. What's your next project, landi?

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 5:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
what gave me the idea of using cubbys was "the gap" it was a way of getting rid of the dresser and yet being functional. holly is the one who really doesn't like not having the open space. and now the bed faces the tv/dvd/PS2 so she feels she doesn't need it, like she used to in her bigger room. also i was thinking of using the chair in my family room and getting another one at cost plus to match.

next project - hmmmmmmm, maybe my bedroom. i'm not quite sure. kitchen, holly room, and living room are done.


Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 7:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hope we get to see pics of that, too!


Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 1:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I love the evidence of Holly's in-between age. The Snow White calendar and the hot teen boy star posters. I like the cubbies too!

Seamonkey
Member

09-07-2000

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 4:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Looks good, landi! You've come a long way from all those boxes in the hall.

Skootz
Member

07-23-2003

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 4:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Great job Landi. It looks awesome. I have most of my clothes in a closet on shelfing. It is much easier then dressers for me to see what I want.

I am sure her friends will all be jealous now :-)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 6:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Didn't see ds' pic in there with the heart throbs! LOL
Cute room!!!

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 7:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
well, annie, you need to send one! i'm sure he'd go up next to chad! or some other cutie! thanks everyone for the kind words!

Citruscitygal
Member

08-07-2003

Friday, March 25, 2005 - 3:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
It's so quiet in here. I've been living vicariously through all your organizing and decluttering. If this quiet keeps up, I might actually have to try doing my own! Egads!!!!!!!!!!

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, March 25, 2005 - 4:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Landi: Great job!

CCG: Heaven forbid that that happen!

*******************WARNING: Rant Occurs*******************

A lot of stuff is going on here. I finally made it to the doctor (we had to borrow the money to pay for the doctor visit). I had called the doctor yesterday--early--to find out how to detox off the pain medication I was on as we didn't think we'd be able to get the money. He never called back, so we did some major borrowing from people. (We had been expecting a check that was mailed from Tucson on Monday AM and thought it would show up on Wednesday. It didn't--it showed up today.)

While getting reamed out for being late on seeing him, we pointed out that as Bill is freelance, we don't know that a check will come in, and his office's rule is payment before seeing him. He said that from now on, I am to come in regardless and he will deal with it. In exchange for that nicety, though, the bomb dropped on me for weight.

According to the doc, if I do not lose weight immediately, in 6 years I will be having heart attacks, have diabetes and high blood pressure. Also, my 10,000 steps a day are insufficient and I should be bike riding (which the orthopedic surgeon doesn't want me to do). He then said I need to begin swimming IMMEDIATELY--despite the fact that the pools in our complex won't open until Mid-May.

I was ratted out on my eating habits and when I pointed out that I am eating out of depression, I was told to get over it. (I do have an appointment with a psychiatrist early next month.) I pointed out that I am trying to deal with the clutter, since the more chaotic the house is, the more out of control I feel, and the more I eat to escape it.

While he mentioned Atkins, I'm going back on the Serotonin Solution diet. Here's the plan for it:
Breakfast: 280 calories
16-18g Protein; 15g Carbohydrates; 15g Fruits
Lunch: 420 calories
24g Protein; 30g Carbohydrates; 10g Vegetables; 1 Condiment/Free Food
Dinner: 510 calories
8g Protein; 45g Carbohydrates; 10g Vegetables; 15g Fruits; 10g Fat
The Before Dinner or Mid-Evening Snack must have 40-45g of Carbohydrate with a maximum of 210 calories.
Total Calories: 1420

Since I'm currently eating between 2800 and 3000 calories, I should lose easily at first. The doc also wants me to drink 128oz of water. (I'll be doing my 10,000 steps just to the bathroom!) I want to do my aerobics here, and I get made fun of and comments are made about how I'm going to hurt myself. I have a balance ball, a thigh master, some lightweight handweights, and an aerobic mat. Plus I can do wall exercises, etc. But, instead of support, I'm getting the you're going to hurt yourself routine. That gets OLD fast.

One a bright spot, to ensure that I can work through the pain, the doc upped my pain killers another 10mg. The apartment office has a small gym open when the office is open. Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm going to dress to exercise and get over there.

Last night, on the way to walking to the bank and then to the store to get my prescriptions, we managed to get into another extended argument. Before we had even gone a block, he turned to me and said: wouldn't it be great if by the time you got your SSD, you had lost weight and actually had a great quality of life to enjoy?

I just said "I guess so." I wasn't sure where he was going with this: that the SSD wasn't going to go through until I lost the weight, in other words over a year more???? That losing the weight would miraculously cure the fibro—even tho the researchers have said that there is no connection between weight and fibro? That I currently have little energy to go and do things now, and that exercising will use a lot of the energy so it is even less likely that I'll be able to go places? That by the time I receive SSD, I would be thin enough to find a job in spite of the fibro and would be able to work? I just wasn't sure WHERE he was going with it.

He then became angry: "Why do you always have to look at the pessimistic side? I have fibro, I'll never be able to do anything. I might as well feel sorry for myself." And he is sick of it.

I said that I didn't see the connection, since I barely can go places now and yet I now get to take the little bit of energy I do have and expend it exercising. So that when I'm done, I can go back and crawl into bed again. What's changed? Oh, yeah, I'll be eating less. Got it.

He pointed out that the walk to the bank wouldn't leave me as tired if I wasn't hauling around two people, and that my knees would feel better. I said that was true, but I didn't see how it related to the fibro. That was when I was told that for someone who is smart I can be really stupid.

The idea, as he explained it through gritted teeth is as follows:
A) I won't be hauling around another person on my knees;
B) I shouldn't need the cane anymore once I lose the weight. (Hmm, guess the fact that I need two knee replacements will vanish once I lose the weight.)
C) If I do need the cane, I will be able to walk further without having to walk slowly;
D) The more I exercise, the more energy I will create, so even with the fibro, I should be able to do more.
E) I'll be able to live a more full life with just fibro, instead of having diabetes, heart attacks, and HBP.

The conversation then took a turn for the weird. I mean, he essentially called me a hoarding junkie. He apologized, but I'm still sorting this one out in my head, since SOMETHING had to trigger it off.
********************WARNING: Rant Over********************


Back on topic, meanwhile, GrandmaTo2 and I are tackling our places using my Wiccan Feng Shui book. Tomorrow, we'll begin in the North, decluttering, cleaning, and placing positive intentions. We'll then move to the East, the South, and the West. Once those main areas are done, then we will do NE, SE, SW, and NW.

I compiled a chart from the last 15 or so pages from the book. I found flipping back and forth to be too difficult, so I compiled it into this chart:
application/x-zip-compressedchart
chart.ZIP (8.0 k)
Anyone who wants to play along, let me know.

myicon

Happymom
Member

01-20-2003

Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 10:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hugs to you Lkunkel! Hang in there! I'm glad you have tvch to post into to vent a bit. I hope you have a much better day today!

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 11:22 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
HappyMom: I am trying. I do feel bad about venting, especially since DH is a member, although he doesn't check in with any regularity, since he doesn't get how to work the message boards.

While we are going to be doing the Wiccan FS bagua to the house--skipping to area to area, you can reduce the bagua to fit a room. For example, once I have the house decluttered and cleaned and FS'ed to my liking, as I do the FlyLady Zone, I will be doing the Wiccan FS for each room. But I'm doing the largest area first, and then I'll find the ways to fine tune it. If you aren't sick of this by then, I'll happily go through the Zones with you (probably in May, assuming it takes us awhile to get through the house itself).

Today is North. For me, this area is partially outside on the patio and partially inside the living room from the couch to my bookcase under the breakfast bar to the left side of the kitchen.

In the Wiccan FS, North stands for Wealth and Prosperity.Yes, I know that the first thing that springs to mind is MONEY, but Wealth and prosperity is so much more than that. You can be wealthy in friends and prosperous in love. An intellectual person is said to have a 'wealth of knowledge'. A prosperous creative drive could find you with a house full of your own art, evening if you never try to sell them.

Since we want Wealth and Prosperity to grow in our lives, the most common enhancement in this area is a large healthy houseplant or a small tree. (Make sure you remove the dead leaves, as they are certainly NOT prosperous!) The perfect containers for plants (alive or silk) in this area are ceramic, earthenware, or iron. (Remember North is the home of the Elemental Earth, so anything made from the earth is appropriate here.)

So, what is you have a black thumb and can kill off silk plants? There are other less obvious ways ways to enhance this area. If you want to stay with the Earth theme, a forest scene picture will do, as will a rock garden. Remember to rearrange the plants or the rocks occasionally--it will help you gain new perspectives.

Away from the Earth theme, anything that you consider to be a symbol of wealth is a good enhancement, For example, if you North area is in your bedroom, you could place your jewelry box in the north, or that special figurine you just can't live without. A change jar definitely keeps your wealth growing. To increase the magick of the change drawer, drop a piece of jade or malachite in with the coins. Jade is a stone for clarity of purpose, as well as sharpening your judgment skills. Malachite embodies the true essence of Earth with its dark green lines and overall rich green color. It is a stone that adds joy to whatever it catches. Always leave at least the stone and one coin when you empty the jar to act as "seed" money.

You could also purchase an aventurine crystal to remove any emotional blocks you might have concerning wealth and prosperity.

You can also use any of the animals (statue, pictures, etc.) that are on the list, or place a small drum there to rat-a-tat-tat as you go by. Also on the chart, it says advanced age. Say you have something that belonged to your parents, grandparents, or elders--this would also be an ideal place for it.

This is also the bagua for Yule (Christmas) so you might want to put a bowl of pine cones in the area when the time is right.

The chart also says the number of the bagua is 4. Using the pine cones as an example, you might want 4, or any multiple of them. Or say you have pictures of older relatives; a grouping of four would be quite appropriate.

If there is anything else on the chart that you don't understand, just post, and I'll be happy to help.
myicon

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 11:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sorry about the typos, I wasn't having a good brain-to-finger configuration day.

Once you know what you want to use as your "cures" you need to fill them with your intent.

The simplest--and non-religious--is to say something as follows: Be with me to bless and consecrate these items so that they may keep this dwelling alive with the powers of the forest and the fields. May the light of your strength, stability, fertility, and growth permeate this [name the item]. May Wealth and Prosperity reign within my home.

myicon