TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . ABOUT US . CONTACT . CHAT  
Bomis   Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Archive through February 07, 2005

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Mar. ~ 2005 May: Home and Garden (ARCHIVES): TVCH's Home & Life Organization (ARCHIVES): Archive through February 07, 2005 users admin

Author Message
Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Good tidying job Vee!!

I got a little crazy myself last night, and unpacked all of my leftover boxes (from my move in October), and put away all the extra stuff into my storage closet.

Your porch looks great. Now, a nice cup of hot chocolate, and a big blanket, and you can almost sit out there!!

ETA: I notice Basil is conspicuously absent from the pictures. Are you trying to torture me?

Grandmato2
Member

07-16-2004

Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 1:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wow Vee! It looks great and so patriotic. It is sunny and a balmy 38 here in PA.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 3:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks, gals, but it only got done because I posted that first picture. I can honestly say that it took longer to post the photo than it did to haul the stuff to the car, etc. It's off to Goodwill on Monday!

Sorry, Eeyore, Basil stayed with his other grammie while my ds and ddil went snowshoeing. So, even though I thought I might nab a photo or two of him today...

Schoolmarm
Member

02-18-2001

Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 6:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lum....I'm with you about the shoes~

I think that it's a German thing. I find that I have LESS DIRT IN MY HOUSE if people take their shoes off at the door. It's also more comfy.

SIGH, I think that might be why my house is a mess...I can't get past Flylady's "get dressed to the shoes" bit! LOL!

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Monday, January 31, 2005 - 1:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Grandma, that must have hurt to turf all those books. Hope your community will be generous with their donations.
This morning I was soooooooo tempted to skip Curves, but I knew once I start making excuses it will be way too easy to skip again. So I dragged myself down there. Is your local open before work? At lunch time? Lots of members at my local come in during their lunch hour.

WOW, Vee, love your porch. It looks so cozy. You really went at it in there. The result is so very much worth it, I bet you can't wait for warm enough weather to use it.

Actually, Marm, it's not a German thing at all. Whenever I go to visit now I have to remember that taking off your shoes upon entry is not expected at all, unless they are muddy, of course.
It is so ingrained in me now though, that I don't realise what I am doing until I see the surprised look on my hosts' faces.LOL

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Monday, January 31, 2005 - 2:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Goodwill was happy to see me this morning and I was delighted to unload two bags of clothing and a large box of Christmas decorations and dishes and a bag of hats, mittens, and scarves. It's always a good feeling to unload that stuff and I know that I am not going to miss any of it. After all, it's been sitting on the porch since Thanksgiving and I haven't missed it so I think that I am safe.

We don't use the porch very much, Lum. I used to use it a lot more when there was a big old sofa out there to take naps on, but that got the boot when the fussier wicker set showed up. We do use the deck beyond the porch a lot.

Guess my house looked pretty good yesterday because both son and his wife kicked off their shoes outside the door (on the porch) and I didn't say a word one way or the other.

How's it going with the unpacking, Schoolmarm? Have you been able to chip away at the stack 15 minutes at a time?

Grandmato2
Member

07-16-2004

Monday, January 31, 2005 - 3:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lum, I know what you mean about Curves. I hadn't been there for about 3 weeks. Our opens at 6 AM but I leave the house at around 6:15 most days. I have a 30 mile commute so lunchtime is out of the question. I did go on Saturday and again today so I am back on track. YEah!

Vee, congrats on your donation to Goodwill. Doesn't it feel good to get that stuff out of the house. I keep telling myself - to work on the clutter 15 minutes at a time.

Tonight, I need to work on my checking account for 15 minutes. Haven't balanced it in months. YIKES!

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 4:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I admit that I've been busy, but I also felt like I was talking to myself, so since my connection was telling me I was on when I wasn't and my posts kept getting eaten, I took it as a sign that I was supposed to NOT be online so I wasn't, even when I thought I was.

And if anyone can explain this to me, I'll be REALLY happy!!!!!

Okay, backtracking, and catching up:
Gto2: while going through paperwork, I found an email from our FIRST group dating to 1999. I found an email from you referencing Flylady in 2000, in response to my asking if you had joined yet. So, I think we were among the first.

Vee: I love that. I wish I had a foyer. I ask people to remove their shoes, but I phrase as being considerate of our downstairs neighbors. I'm not as obsessed as a former friend who not only had you remove your shoes, but made you wear hospital booties over your socks so that you wouldn't shed skin cells on the carpets. He totally freaked me out, and I told Potshot I was never going over there again. Never have.

Spinner? Are you moving your marbles? I do something very similar--one color for exercise and one color for water.

My potential helper will be coming in on Saturdays for 2 hours. She was supposed to start last week, but 1) it was her 18th birthday and 2) she had an all-day student council meeting. So I will verify her coming in on Saturday on Thursday. I'm hoping that she can help me with the sorting--I hand her things to put into the baskets, I don't have to move as much, and she can do more lifting. Plus, I've known this young lady her whole life, so it's not like hiring a stranger.

Vee, the porch looks great. I'm impressed.

Mostly, I've been posting things on eBay and trying to remember that I'm not in a competition with anyone but myself. I've found that IF I can get my sleeping pills to kick in early enough, that I have some Pep pills that will actually WORK. (This after trying metabolife and Hydroxcut, these are literally called "Pep" pills and are all herbal.)

I spent the last few days fighting off the blahs that fibro seems to enhance. I am sending DH away to Tucson next Sunday afternoon until Tuesday early evening. I'm hoping I can get a lot done when he is not here. A friend of ours asked for help, after he couldn't dissuade a reporter from The Washington Post to not come to Tucson to see his company.

Potshot will also be going to NY for a week at the end of the month. I so want to finish everything while he is gone at the end of the month so I can surprise him.

Today, meanwhile, is an eBay and art day. I'm behind on an art deadline, so I need to get busy and do laundry in the interim. Also tomorrow is Imbolc. I'll explain what it is when I come back from doing something.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 6:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wow.

I walked to the grocery store and picked up a few items--3 bags, but not very heavy and easily carried. On the way home, I picked up the mail, and found that we had a package at the office. That made me less happy, but I figured I could juggle it.

It turns out the package was a shipment of boxes from the post office--not heavy, per se, but really awkward.

I folded up my cane and put it in a bag. grabbed hold of the box in one hand, and the box in the other, and began limping home.

I was walking back past the mailboxes and some kids playing, and one of them on Rollerblades broke away from the group and offered to take the box home for me. (Now this youngster CONSISTENTLY asks to help me, but I usually send him back to play with his friends.) I once again demurred, and he said he was taking it because I was limping. And take it he did.

I explained to him that I live two cul-de-sacs away and he asked what a cul-DE-sac was. I explained and he seemed pleased to have learned a new word. He then asked if I liked living here, and I said yes, since there are a lot of nice kids, especially him.

We went over the rocks (over my objections, but he said his Rollerblades would let him walk on them) and I said he could just leave the package at the bottom of the stairs and I'd have my husband stop his work, come down, and carry it up.

His reply: "You haven't got a husband--I'll bring it." I then proceeded to get into an "argument" with him over whether or not I had a husband. The shocked look he gave Bill when he opened the door was similar to what a scientist would on finding a new species of animal life.

Meanwhile, I took out a dollar and told my young friend that while I know he wasn't expecting a monetary reward, and he had helped me with the box simply because he was a gentleman, I wanted to thank him not only with words, but with a financial gratuity.

He looked at me confused and said "I didn't know women had husbands in the same house." He thanked us for the money, and padded back down the stairs to put on his Rollerblades and skate away. I heard him later, when he was playing in the courtyard, outside the bedroom window: "Did you know that the lady with the cane has a HUSBAND who lives there?" It makes me wonder what some of the arrangements are around here.

I guess I rocked his little world.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 8:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Imbolc is one of the four greater Sabbats, celebrated on February 2nd (or whenever the Archaeoastronomy calendar places it for the year). It is to celebrate the first stirrings of spring from the depths of winter--sound similar to Groundhog's Day (If, on February 2nd, the groundhog--most notably "Punxsutawney Phil" in the small Pennsylvania town that bears his name--sees his shadow, we may expect six more weeks of winter. If he does not, good weather will arrive sooner. It is largely a meaningless holiday, since whether it is sunny or cloudy on this day has not been shown to have much effect on how soon spring arrives. But the history of Groundhog Day is far more complex than what it has become: a staged event in which poor Phil is observed in the glare of television cameras so our local meteorologists have a cute sound byte and a brief close-up of his blinking, bewildered groundhog face, a yearly ritual that appears on the morning news)?

This is when the first buds can be seen appearing on trees, when the days are quite visibly longer than they were around Yule, and when there are the first days of semi-bearable temperatures.

The word Imbolc literally means "In Milk." This is because it is the time when the cows and goats generally begin lactating in Western Europe.

The festival is sacred to the Goddess Brigid (pronounced "Breed," often spelled "Brid"-the Celtic triple Goddess of Inspiration, Healing, and Metalwork. As well, she is a patroness of midwives (in much the same way as Hecate was to the Hecats in Greece) indeed, the Christianized version of Brid, "St. Brigid", was said to have been Jesus' midwife (and when Brid was occasionally stomped on by the patriarchy, it was said that she was Jesus' maid when he was schooled by the Druids).

In my case, among the rituals I do is to plant seeds so that they will be seedling--ready for planters on Ostara. I also begin the ritual for "Spring Cleaning," which, while not required for physical space cleaning under Flylady, psychic/chi (energy) cleaning <b>IS</b> required.

So, I'll do the ritual tomorrow, and then plant the seeds. And then, between now and Ostara (Mar 20,'05 4:33 AM PST), I'll spend time working on the energy of the apartment and getting it ready for Ostara.

Pictures will be posted tomorrow of the altered book.

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 9:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Love your shopping story, Lk. I'd keep that little cavalier "warm"; they are so rare these days.
Good luck on your projects, hope you'll be able to surprise Potshot. Then he can take you out for a nice meal to reward your efforts. Tell him, lumbele said so.
Wish Imbolc would hit here soon, and although it is almost shorts weather in comparison to what we have been having (-40's), our potential buds are still buried until a pile of snow. This is the stage I *really* hate, dirty snow everywhere, muddy puddles etc. Aaaaagh!
Blessing day for me today, but I seem to be moving in slo-mo. No pep behind the newly acquired muscles. Ah well, I have all day to get it done, I guess.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 1:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lum: I've found that we have more than our share of nice kids in this complex. I'm always getting Hi's, offers of help, and just smiles. I'm so used to getting snarls or just the treatment of not existing from our previous complex, that it's nice to be around pleasant kids.

One munchkin last summer fell and scraped her knee up and I could hear her crying under the bedroom window. I went down, with the first aid kit in hand and dried her tears, cleaned up her scrape, and applied a band-aid. Since then, it's like word got out through the kid network that I was okay to be around.

I'll get things done. I do better when Potshot isn't here, and I can let my internal clock run at its own pace. Going out for a nice meal would be nice. Unlikely, but nice. Personally, I'd rather have it together enough to have a nice meal at home.

Imbolc hits everywhere within the 24 hour period. This is a time of new beginnings and growth. At this time, think of your goals and dreams for this year that you will accomplish. Just as the seeds I plant hold the promise of life, Imbolc holds the promise of Spring.

So focus on your goals and dreams and know that Spring is coming. If you are doing your House Blessing the FlyLady way, set the timer for 10 minutes and do SOMETHING on the list.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 5:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Once again, I feel all alone....

On a bright spot, I sold 3 more things that I posted last night on eBay.

Dipo
Member

04-23-2002

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 6:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL, don't feel all alone!! I was just commenting the other day that all the trees in my complex were budding out and I hope it meant spring was here!! But I am afraid we might get another cool spell.

I like thinking of new beginnings!!! Good luck on all your projects, I am slowly but surely tackling the projects around the house. Got one set of sliders almost clean, just need to finish up part of the outside. Okay though, because the part I look through is clean!!! LOL.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 1:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You're not alone, LK, I haven't been able to do much but have been able to read at least, lol.

First the roof probs derailed my plans to clean the closets. Got that taken care of, then the plumbing went to hell. Thinking I could start this week off on a good start may have jinxed me. Sick kids, one gets better, one's been sick all week, I haven't even been able to get most of my normal housework done. Took me three days to vacuum the living room because Kota was camped on the couch. Haven't been able to do laundry because of the squeeky dryer either. Closets still aren't done. Eventually I will get that done!

Lk, I loved your story about the good kid helping you out. So rarely we hear about good kids even though there's so many of them who do little things for others for no reason. Last year I was driving across town when the drive shaft fell off my car. I managed to pull into a parking lot before it died, but was struggling to push it myself ('77 Lincoln Continental, ain't no little car, LOL) when a couple of kids who were about 14 ran over to help. I have no idea who those kids were, but their parents ought to be very proud of the job they did raising them because they were some good kids!

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 2:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, I got one of my art pieces completed, and ready to be mailed today.

I also got 3 pieces that sold on eBay between 5PM yesterday and now bundled up and ready to take to the mail place. Most importantly, I packed up 1 box of mail and stuff that belongs to a friend in Colorado and mailed it to him since he sent us something today so I finally had his freaking address. I also filled out a change of address card for him.

I desperately want to get behind the front door cleaned out. I'd like to put the animal carriers there, instead of in the linen closet, so that in the case of fire, they are easily accessible. Of course, as I think about it, maybe they should actually be in our bedroom. If at all possible, I'm going to be grabbing cats on my way out--it would be nice to have a place to put them as I gather them.

The only thing remaining behind the door is another box the same size with stuff that belonged to my unofficial foster daughter. I'm not sure what to do with it. Should I just toss it? She's not in contact with me--and in fact has gone to great pains to avoid me--and I'm not in contact with her birth family. It's mostly old stuff from school, and the paperwork for our foster agreement. That I know I have to keep for 7 years. There are also copies of letters from her dad in prison and my letters to update him on her progress. She never asked for them--and I don't see her wanting them now.

I don't know. Having them here reminds me of one of my greatest heartaches and disappointments. Maybe for that reason alone, they should go.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 2:48 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
what does the flylady say on keeping that stuff? personally, if the paperwork is past it's age where you have to keep it. out it goes. if not, then just keep the paperwork and give away the rest of the stuff.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 2:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yeah, Landi, but it isn't MINE. if it were mine, after 3 years, I'd have tossed it into the "to be shredded" box.

My fear with the foster daughter is that she'll contact me asking about something, and I'll have gotten rid of it.

I just don't know.

Zachsmom
Moderator

07-13-2000

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 4:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Do you have her mail address? If so, mail it to her.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 4:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Nope. Her family has been told by her that I am to get no information about her. I found out that she was married from a Christmas card--I found out the name of her spouse online.

I think I'll go through and pull out the legal papers, and the rest are just certificates and things. If I find anything she might like to show her children some day, I'll put it in the filing cabinet.

That's all I can think of to do.

Dipo
Member

04-23-2002

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 7:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LK, why don't you box it up and mail it to her birth parents ( I am assuming from what you said that they know where she is) then they can decide whether to toss it or give it to her. Just send them a note telling them what it is and that you wanted her to have the option to keep it or toss it. My opinion is you need to get it out of your house so it is not a negative reminder. Of course keeping any official papers that you must, put away in the file cabinet.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Friday, February 04, 2005 - 10:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Actually, I don't know where her birth mother is--her birth father is in prison. Her paternal grandmother, and I quote, "I do NOT want her crap here, it's bad enough I have the stuff of the other four kids. It's your problem, you wanted her, you handle it." and then she slammed the phone down.

As I said, I'll go through it, I'll save some of her papers/report cards/ etc. Anything that will fit into a 6-division file folder. Everything else, goes.

Tomorrow my young companion arrives for her two-hour shift. We'll be working on the craft area. I wonder if parts cabinets would sell on eBay?

Spinner
Member

10-27-2003

Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 12:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
What a nice relationship you have with the kids in your neighborhood, LK! That's such a nice thing to have going. But I'm sorry to hear about the foster-daughter problem and the papers quandry. I'm sure Flylady would say to toss anything that is such a negative reminder, but I would think as you are--that her wanting some of that stuff might be a bridge to a contact between the two of you someday. I would think that if you kept even a little bit of it, the point that you had cared enough to do so would have been made.

Yes, the marbles get moved! I'm actually getting in much more exercise than the half-hour I used to budget--and had trouble doing, some days when my work load was heavy. But 5 minutes has so many possibilities! I've learned that I can gently run/jog in place while I stir something on the stove or use the mixer. It's easy to do 5 minutes of wall pushups or 5 minutes on my exercise ball. It's not long enough for cardio, of course, but that's what my 30 to 45 minute walk is for.

I hope your companion showed up today and that the two of you made real progress!

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 12:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I got the living room closet done today! My hand was forced though so I'm not sure it counts, lol.

Water heater started to leak (it's closet is right next to the living room closet) and the water seeped in. I had planned to go through the shoes and keep some for play, but since they were soaked I threw them out. Also had a box of papers on the floor (coloring sheets, math sheets, bunch of stuff a teacher friend gave me a couple years ago for the kids) that had to be tossed. Another box on the floor contained bags. Duffle bags, old backpacks and purses, tote bags. I like to keep those cuz when we need something like that I have it, but I ended up getting rid of about half of them. Tossed some of the purses and smaller back packs in Kota's dress up drawer and got the rest hung up. Since I'd cleaned the stuff off the floor, I kept going. Sorted out coats and jackets into the give away, throw away, and keep piles. And then cleaned off the shelves. LOL, that was fun. I found the box of left over wedding invitations. They've been there for 7 years, and moved with us (where they'd been stored in a closet then too for a year or so!) I've got about 10 left, not quite sure what to do with them though. Seems kind of silly to hang on to them (I do have one in our wedding album and one framed,) but I'm not sure I want to throw them away either.

I've got two more closets I really want done. I think the only days I have free this week are Monday and Friday so I'm going to try to tackle those then.

Once I get these done I can start on my next big project. Caleb's room, I need to go through all of his clothes again. He's outgrown everything in the past month or two.

Lkunkel
Member

10-29-2003

Monday, February 07, 2005 - 7:56 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
My companion showed up on Saturday and we had a blast. She sorted a lot of my paper ephemera into folders (a tedious job, to be sure) and completed everything I gave her. In the interim, I was able to sort through two large boxes and two small ones.

I got Potshot off to the airport yesterday. He's out of town until Tuesday. Last night the cats went looking for him trying to figure this out since he hasn't traveled since 1999. I'm sticking close to the house both to minimize their discomfort and so I can work on things here.

What is everyone up to?