Farm Journal - 2025

[sKePTiKal]

You'd have to be prepared to stay over until the next storm (coming weekend) clears off!

[Hopalong]

Works for me!
I'll harness up Ole George (my best mule) and be rat thar in a couple weeks.....



hugs,
Hops

[lighter]

Hops:
Have you decided to hire help for decluttering?  Every time I do, I'm always happy I did.

It goes so fast....no time for all the discomfort and normal agonizing, IME.

Great swaths of progress make it a super win/win.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Thanks, Lighter.
I've got a lead on someone who might like to give it a go...and is a lot less expensive than the "professional organizers" who land at about $65/hr. Way out of reach.

Hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

The thing I'd be hiring her for is the paperwork/clutter purge. I don't have lots of things, per se, but enough paper to build a papier mache monument.

[sKePTiKal]

Just a tech observation: seems the board is easier to access in the early morning now.

Having some issues with my eyes; the optometrist panicked and went worst case scenario on me. Got me a 9 am with the surgeon the next day. Surgeon double checked and finally agreed with me, that the issue with pain (inflammation caused) in right eye was from sinus. Could be a lot of different things for the floater in the left eye - so back on predisone drops 6x a day for a week; then a recheck. He said he could try oral prednisone later, if the drops don't clear it.

The snow here has turned to slick ice. Impossible to walk on, so we're trying to melt what we can during this slight warm up. I've been hearing water in the gutters, so it is melting. I'll probably grab some ice melt when we go shopping this week.

[lighter]

Hops:  I find an organized person, to help sort, but mostly take things out of my arms, is be very helpful.  Especially those things with emotional charge.

Paperwork, particularly, used to have an emotional charge of an electric chair.  Thank goodness, not anymore.

Having a plan, for dealing with things....files, space, ability to access....is good to figure out ahead.  Typically, I don't know how much space I'll need, so it all has to be figured at the end.  Right now, I have more than one clothing basket full of papers for particular projects papets/samples etc.  Having one basket, for each, would be better.

Amber....food allergies/sensitivities impact my sinus, sometimes eyes, often skin.  I hope things resolve soon.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Love the electric charge image, Lighter. So spot on.

I have a place/space...my study (original master BR). Now with a couple antiques
clogging the middle since Pup discovered animal hide varnish is yummy.
Hope he's outgrown that.

Have a lovely large 2-drawer file-credenza made of cherry and matching desk.
Neither's fully visible under the paper debris. The reveals will be so happy.

It's not hard for me to imagine a practical system for the process.
Execution is the challenge. Hope this new potential helper will ride with me.

Hmmm, you got me thinking of baskets. I think the cheapest and most practical might be rectangular laundry baskets. File folders can be stacked in those in alpha order, once we/I do the basic sort.

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

Amber, how are your eyes?
How is the rest of you?

I'm sorry this has been slow healing; hope the sinuses insights will bring relief.

Hoping y'll are still cozy. It was shockingly cold here when I was out and about today.
Maybe you and B and kitties are doing living warm blankets stuff together.

hugs
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Oh Pickles comes & curls up on my right side and Freddy sits on the left arm of the couch. We've had a woodstove going since lunchtime a couple days. Heating pads are our friends. The cold means we've cut smoking down (this past week or two) by more than half - just because it's too unpleasant outside. The studio is warm, and we do smoke out there - with windows open & ceiling fan. Which I probably left on Sat. night. I'll slide downhill later today to check on it.

It's been a very slow time, except for the eye excitement. The prednisone seems to be doing the trick on the right eye - but it's still blurry. The floaters seem to be going away in the left eye. Do another check on Wed.

[Hopalong]

Pickles & Freddy, such wonderful names for your kitty heating pads.
And the wood stove....thank the lawd for that.

I'm glad you sound calm, peaceful, and coping.
It's warming up a little here....hope it is there too.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow's eye appt.

I've deteriorated home-wise, a lot.
Grappling with that.

hugs
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Well, when one is stuck inside because the weather is brutally hostile, I think we need to give ourselves some slack on how we're coping inside the house. Yes, I still do the dishes in the morning - but it might be 3 pm when I finish. B vacumns woodstove & surrounding mess every morning... and the rest of the house gets cleaned when I can write my name in the dust.

But basically I treat it like a 10 yr old treats a snow day off from school. LOL. The big Have To is usually cooking dinner. And what we watch on TV - if we watch something.

Seems like R eye vision is getting a bit clearer, some days; not consistent. The floaters in the other eye are going away. But I hope he can explain the slidy bubble I notice sometimes out of the corner of my R eye. I do spend an above average amount of time looking at screens.

[lighter]

Hops..... deteriorating?

Before you turn on yourself fully....
sometimes being still is necessary. 
Sometimes it's exactly what needs doing.
Sometimes, asking for help, is catalyst for difficult strides....
but you're always worthy, good and well intentioned.
Even when challenged by old foes.....
paperwork and organization.

Be kind to yourself.

There are amazing things only you can do. 

No one is great at everything.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Well, doc sez eyes are much better and for 2 weeks I use 2 drops a day in each eye till then. R eye is getting clearer but I'm having to "train it" to focus at distance again, like I did right after surgery. Whatever happened with my sinuses knocked some things in the eyes sideways, I guess.

Going back over the mountain this morning for B's usual refill appt. Then stopping for steaks at our butcher's for the weekend. Regular shopping tomorrow. The snow is melting finally. Seeping into the ground nice and slowly.

Kitties have had some good runs on the warm days - and they're trying to chase our '"brown cows" - there's a group of 7 yearling deer hanging around the house. I stopped hunting on the property a couple years ago, to let the herd build back up. Might take a couple this fall.