I saw my Boxer chase an adult bird away as I was trying to scoot the little thing into our garden fence and restrain/contain our animals. I was walking my Lab, who really wanted to eat him, and we had a loose chicken, which probably would have eaten him, too. He wasn't there this morning, so hopefully all is well. He hopped away from me with only a couple of little flaps, so if he is learning to fly, he's really new at it. Actually, I guess maybe he could be a she? It seems females also have white bars (Googling, of course).

Wow I we actually clean the house.... vacuum house dishes (x2) kids' laundry -- (boys done, DD's is rolling over to tomorrow) organize living room (leftover from Friday) kitchen day (clean counters, appliances, door and drawer faces, backsplash, & windows) wipe down bathroom counters, sinks, mirrors get recycling ready for export tidy up kitchen table (one side is...interesting; I don't have a desk) wash throw blankets (dog hair) wash MBR sheets (dog hair, but I'm not shaving my Lab; he's too cute) MIL takes youngest for the day plan menu errands, with a focus on food procurement (can live doing this tomorrow) cook dinner water seedlings seat work corrections The older two helped with a good bit of this with relatively little fuss/discipline, so they get equal credit.

a baby Mockingbird. :sad: I'm hoping it finds it's mama again.

I'm 34 and flip flop between the two, sometimes daily. Reasons for either one range from boredom and laziness to philosophy and faith. :D

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: The world demands all the wrong kinds of perfection.

Seriously, I pretty evenly split it between the two, depending on which side of the bed I woke up on.

That's really rotten. :glare: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

It's still frustrating for people on tight budgets or who are just natural tightwads. No matter how great a product is, or healthier, the price difference between regular and organic is real. I understand production differences are real, too, but that just doesn't change the budgeted dollars and cents. And if they took away the cheaper product and replaced it, that's super annoying. I would probably just stop buying yogurt, and maybe make my own. I'm not suggesting that gardenmom should do this, that's just the hard-headed sort of consumer I am. edited for grammars.

Hope it goes/went well! :grouphug:

I'm no help; I just shift things to the next day/week/etc., or relieve myself of the responsibility somehow (either through delegating or dropping the task/activity). And try to prevent myself from attempting to do more than I even have time for (I underestimate time-in on nearly all my activities). However I DO prioritize tasks and put time-sensitive items at the top of the list each day. If I get projects piling up, like photo albums unfinished for years, I will take a "vacation" from daily life for a week and focus on that. But we relaxed-school year-round so this is not terribly disruptive to that end of things. It's tough; I hope you find solutions that help. :grouphug:

I'll trade your 4000 sq.ft. for my 1200 sq.ft.! :lol: We talk about Alaska. We talk about land in the middle of nowhere. I don't care; people are adaptable and anywhere we lived I'm quite sure I'd find something to like and something to complain about. So here's as good as anywhere, most of the time. Neither of us like living in a neighborhood, but DH distinctly dislikes it, and I'm merely the negative side of ambivalent. I just don't like the keeping up appearances aspect; I don't want to wonder what the neighbors think about my crazy yard or make them worry about its impact on theirs.

But I'm so good at that... :D

Since DH and I skip family gatherings without any previously arranged engagements, I think you're fine. ;) 3 hours isn't anything to sneeze at, but that's up to you and your comfort. Since these are your adult children and their spouses, I'd feel extra justified in going ahead with your own plans and maybe trying to have lunch with your brother the first week of June. Or next week, even. If he wants. Good luck; don't let guilt ruin the weekend!

I didn't even used to own an iron. I eventually got a hand-me-down from a friend. And I still haven't used it. Thankfully DH is not in a line of work that requires ironing.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

How would you do this? chopped mushrooms, some sort of dairy product, flour, and seasonings, right? I tried this last week, used milk. It wasn't as thick as canned cream of mushroom soup.

Did: paid a bill bought a skirt (yay!) updated bank ledger MBR tidying mulched garden #1 (kids helped) broadforked a little with DS2 weeded a small flower bed (and broke something important) fed people and things started dinner DD: did a load of dishes Did NOT do: vacuum (DS1's day) dust mop laundry counter & sink wipe-down seat work Also, my yard is like, 3 feet high and my mower's broken. :lol:

I keep a spreadsheet, but don't add to it too much. I have one for the kids. Mine is just title, author, date started, date finished (and usually it's YEARS apart). The kids have title, author, date, subject, and initials so I can write it into their end-of-year reports as extra reading.

I love this post. :D

ONLY after I've made it for a while, or have followed a recipe. But yes, I make burrito filling, pasta sauce, and chili this way. But only because I've followed enough of those sorts of recipes in the past. So I don't give myself magic chef marks. Maybe repetitive chef... :lol: