Beauty

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@aprilskies 

It seems like the concept I have the most trouble remembering is the easiest: don't bring stuff in.  Whether it be gadgets, junk food, clothes, whatever.

If I don't bring it in, I don't have to deal with getting it out.  It's like trying to bail out a sinking boat.  If you don't plug the hole first, it's a constant (and often losing) battle.

I need to concentrate on just what I know I'm going to use up for a while.  

ETA:  I'm with ya on the humidity.  Our heat index is 100* today and tomorrow.  Last week we were in the 70s.  No wonder I have near constant migraines.

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@geezerette Sometimes it's very hard to NOT bring things in. But yes, that is the key.

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@Eager2Learn 

Gotta watch out for one category in particular:

This is something I will use... someday.

That's the stuff that really piles up.  The dressy outfit you'll wear to the wedding that never happens.  The jewelry that never leaves the velvet box.  The book that's never read.  The hobby project that never actually becomes a hobby.  The tart pan.  The red lipstick.  The Italian-Made-Easy system.

You know the usual suspects.

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@just bee 

@Eager2Learn 

Ah, yes.  The stuff for that fantasy life we all think we're going to live someday.

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@geezerette 

Which is fine -- if I end up living in landfill.  With all my "stuff."

There are things we need to buy, things we need to replace.  But I'm just not motivated.

I keep thinking about the things I lost and the possibility of losing things again.  I just don't want to get attached to anything new.

[geezerette]

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@KaySD wrote:

Early this morning my cat got out--right through the screen door. The door was closed at the time. When I woke up and found him missing, I thought I'd lost him forever. He has no experience with, well, anything, really. 

My neighbors spotted him, but didn't know he wasn't supposed to be out. Two hours later, here he came, to the front door. I fed him, and he was really thirsty, but apparently undamaged. I, however, am a wreck.

Close call. We have coyote and other critters around here, too. I think we will have to sleep it off. Zzzzzzzz.

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@KaySD 

Whew!  Glad he came back.  But he knew where the living was easier after he'd been outside for a while.😁

I had been teasing my friend about accidentally leaving her cat out all night a few weeks ago.  Early the very next morning, while it was still dark, I was opening the windows to cool the house off, then went back to bed.  I fell back asleep for a few hours (a rarity for me lately), then got up to close the house up.  As I approached one window, my little cat jumped on the outside sill meowing his head off.  How the heck did he get out there!!!??? 😳

Well, I had let him out. When I opened the sliding door I thought the screen was closed but it wasn't so he just walked out as pretty as you please.  Duh.  He loved it.  But he was filthy and had three ticks on him.  Yuck.  And I think the worst part of it was I had to confess my indiscretion to my friend.☺️

It's springtime.  I think the male cats especially are anxious to get outside, even if they are fixed.  Mine just enjoys all the cool stuff to do outside compared to in the house.  

[just bee]

BH woke me up in the middle of the night to look at the moon.  I went outside and saw June's Strawberry moon looking like a strawberry.

A red moon.

Immediately I said: There's a fire.

I could smell it -- BH couldn't.

The state is burning and the smoke in the air made the moon look red.

I have a different relationship with fire now.  I don't know if that's good or bad.

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

@aprilskies 

It seems like the concept I have the most trouble remembering is the easiest: don't bring stuff in.  Whether it be gadgets, junk food, clothes, whatever.

If I don't bring it in, I don't have to deal with getting it out.  It's like trying to bail out a sinking boat.  If you don't plug the hole first, it's a constant (and often losing) battle.

I need to concentrate on just what I know I'm going to use up for a while.  

ETA:  I'm with ya on the humidity.  Our heat index is 100* today and tomorrow.  Last week we were in the 70s.  No wonder I have near constant migraines.

---

@geezerette Sometimes it's very hard to NOT bring things in. But yes, that is the key.

---

@Eager2Learn 

Gotta watch out for one category in particular:

This is something I will use... someday.

That's the stuff that really piles up.  The dressy outfit you'll wear to the wedding that never happens.  The jewelry that never leaves the velvet box.  The book that's never read.  The hobby project that never actually becomes a hobby.  The tart pan.  The red lipstick.  The Italian-Made-Easy system.

You know the usual suspects.

---

@just bee 

@Eager2Learn 

Ah, yes.  The stuff for that fantasy life we all think we're going to live someday.

---

@geezerette 

Which is fine -- if I end up living in landfill.  With all my "stuff."

There are things we need to buy, things we need to replace.  But I'm just not motivated.

I keep thinking about the things I lost and the possibility of losing things again.  I just don't want to get attached to anything new.

---

@just bee 

Oh, I definitely agree.  And I'm finding that I'm not really much attached to many of the things I already have.  I'm tempted to take some of my knickknacks right off the shelves and donate them.  But then all I'll have are empty shelves.  (Although that would be easier to dust, but I don't bother to dust anymore anyway so it's rather a moot point.)

I'm not prepared to rid myself of all possessions and live like a monk, although at times it does sound promising.  But I can do with a lot less than what I have.  The older I get, the more the things I have that I thought I wanted to keep to remember certain people or experiences I find that I don't really want anymore.  Or maybe it's more that I don't feel that I need that stuff to remember.  

And then, there's that inevitable thought of imagining what my final years might look like.  I've been around enough people by now that I've watched in their final years and they all have at least one thing in common.  They need less and less physical possessions that were once so important to them.  Their needs change.

And in my case, and I think probably yours too, I know that very few people care about very little of what I own.  A few younger relatives left that may want a few family photos, and maybe a friend or two that would want an odd object of mine.  But on the whole, whatever I have left is going to be a burden for somebody to deal with.  And if I'm not enjoying it in the meantime, why keep it around?

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@KaySD wrote:

Early this morning my cat got out--right through the screen door. The door was closed at the time. When I woke up and found him missing, I thought I'd lost him forever. He has no experience with, well, anything, really. 

My neighbors spotted him, but didn't know he wasn't supposed to be out. Two hours later, here he came, to the front door. I fed him, and he was really thirsty, but apparently undamaged. I, however, am a wreck.

Close call. We have coyote and other critters around here, too. I think we will have to sleep it off. Zzzzzzzz.

---

@KaySD 

Whew!  Glad he came back.  But he knew where the living was easier after he'd been outside for a while.😁

I had been teasing my friend about accidentally leaving her cat out all night a few weeks ago.  Early the very next morning, while it was still dark, I was opening the windows to cool the house off, then went back to bed.  I fell back asleep for a few hours (a rarity for me lately), then got up to close the house up.  As I approached one window, my little cat jumped on the outside sill meowing his head off.  How the heck did he get out there!!!??? 😳

Well, I had let him out. When I opened the sliding door I thought the screen was closed but it wasn't so he just walked out as pretty as you please.  Duh.  He loved it.  But he was filthy and had three ticks on him.  Yuck.  And I think the worst part of it was I had to confess my indiscretion to my friend.☺️

It's springtime.  I think the male cats especially are anxious to get outside, even if they are fixed.  Mine just enjoys all the cool stuff to do outside compared to in the house.  

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@geezerette 

And that's one reason I don't see myself with a cat again.  I always had cats that were free to roam outside.  I wouldn't be able to do that now.  I would have 100% indoor cats.

And that would be weird.  I don't want to be one of those people who walks their cat on a leash.

And I guess cat parks will never be an option.

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@Eager2Learn wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

@aprilskies 

It seems like the concept I have the most trouble remembering is the easiest: don't bring stuff in.  Whether it be gadgets, junk food, clothes, whatever.

If I don't bring it in, I don't have to deal with getting it out.  It's like trying to bail out a sinking boat.  If you don't plug the hole first, it's a constant (and often losing) battle.

I need to concentrate on just what I know I'm going to use up for a while.  

ETA:  I'm with ya on the humidity.  Our heat index is 100* today and tomorrow.  Last week we were in the 70s.  No wonder I have near constant migraines.

---

@geezerette Sometimes it's very hard to NOT bring things in. But yes, that is the key.

---

@Eager2Learn 

Gotta watch out for one category in particular:

This is something I will use... someday.

That's the stuff that really piles up.  The dressy outfit you'll wear to the wedding that never happens.  The jewelry that never leaves the velvet box.  The book that's never read.  The hobby project that never actually becomes a hobby.  The tart pan.  The red lipstick.  The Italian-Made-Easy system.

You know the usual suspects.

---

@just bee 

@Eager2Learn 

Ah, yes.  The stuff for that fantasy life we all think we're going to live someday.

---

@geezerette 

Which is fine -- if I end up living in landfill.  With all my "stuff."

There are things we need to buy, things we need to replace.  But I'm just not motivated.

I keep thinking about the things I lost and the possibility of losing things again.  I just don't want to get attached to anything new.

---

@just bee 

Oh, I definitely agree.  And I'm finding that I'm not really much attached to many of the things I already have.  I'm tempted to take some of my knickknacks right off the shelves and donate them.  But then all I'll have are empty shelves.  (Although that would be easier to dust, but I don't bother to dust anymore anyway so it's rather a moot point.)

I'm not prepared to rid myself of all possessions and live like a monk, although at times it does sound promising.  But I can do with a lot less than what I have.  The older I get, the more the things I have that I thought I wanted to keep to remember certain people or experiences I find that I don't really want anymore.  Or maybe it's more that I don't feel that I need that stuff to remember.  

And then, there's that inevitable thought of imagining what my final years might look like.  I've been around enough people by now that I've watched in their final years and they all have at least one thing in common.  They need less and less physical possessions that were once so important to them.  Their needs change.

And in my case, and I think probably yours too, I know that very few people care about very little of what I own.  A few younger relatives left that may want a few family photos, and maybe a friend or two that would want an odd object of mine.  But on the whole, whatever I have left is going to be a burden for somebody to deal with.  And if I'm not enjoying it in the meantime, why keep it around?

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@geezerette 

I was keeping a lot of items that reminded me of things I really didn't want to remember.  I wonder if I'll be better off without them.

I suspect I will.

I think I can still remember things I want to remember.  When I eventually forget, I doubt an item will remind me. 

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@KaySD wrote:

Early this morning my cat got out--right through the screen door. The door was closed at the time. When I woke up and found him missing, I thought I'd lost him forever. He has no experience with, well, anything, really. 

My neighbors spotted him, but didn't know he wasn't supposed to be out. Two hours later, here he came, to the front door. I fed him, and he was really thirsty, but apparently undamaged. I, however, am a wreck.

Close call. We have coyote and other critters around here, too. I think we will have to sleep it off. Zzzzzzzz.

---

@KaySD 

Whew!  Glad he came back.  But he knew where the living was easier after he'd been outside for a while.😁

I had been teasing my friend about accidentally leaving her cat out all night a few weeks ago.  Early the very next morning, while it was still dark, I was opening the windows to cool the house off, then went back to bed.  I fell back asleep for a few hours (a rarity for me lately), then got up to close the house up.  As I approached one window, my little cat jumped on the outside sill meowing his head off.  How the heck did he get out there!!!??? 😳

Well, I had let him out. When I opened the sliding door I thought the screen was closed but it wasn't so he just walked out as pretty as you please.  Duh.  He loved it.  But he was filthy and had three ticks on him.  Yuck.  And I think the worst part of it was I had to confess my indiscretion to my friend.☺️

It's springtime.  I think the male cats especially are anxious to get outside, even if they are fixed.  Mine just enjoys all the cool stuff to do outside compared to in the house.  

---

@geezerette 

And that's one reason I don't see myself with a cat again.  I always had cats that were free to roam outside.  I wouldn't be able to do that now.  I would have 100% indoor cats.

And that would be weird.  I don't want to be one of those people who walks their cat on a leash.

And I guess cat parks will never be an option.

---

@just bee 

I'm still torn about how I feel about outside cats. 

One of mine has always been an inside/outside cat.  Now he's getting old enough to prefer most of his time inside, which suits me fine.  But I honestly don't think I would have kept him if I had forced him to stay inside while he was young.  He would have driven me crazy to get out.

My other young one want desperately to get out all the time.  I do let him out occasionally under my supervision for a few minutes and only around the house.  But I even wonder about that because it just makes him crazier to want to get outside.  And he enjoys it so much out there.  So much to investigate!😻  But for many reasons, I don't want him to be inside/outside on his own.  

But I wonder if it isn't cruel to force them to constantly be inside when their whole nature is to go out.  What is a better life: a long, lazy, boring life in a house, or a (probable) shorter one outside doing what cats love to do?

This is one of the biggest problems I foresee about me moving to town.  Keeping Carla in a smaller house with a small yard, and trying to keep two cats inside all the time.  I know most people wouldn't give it a second thought, but it's making me nuts.  I know it's one of the reasons I'm procrastinating on moving.  That, and the fact that I haven't found a house I can imagine living in.  I'm even putting aside enough of my pricing budget to allow for putting on a sunroom--just for the cats.😸

[just bee]

Better get this dog to the vet this morning.  Time for those glands to get squozed...

[just bee]

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@KaySD wrote:

Early this morning my cat got out--right through the screen door. The door was closed at the time. When I woke up and found him missing, I thought I'd lost him forever. He has no experience with, well, anything, really. 

My neighbors spotted him, but didn't know he wasn't supposed to be out. Two hours later, here he came, to the front door. I fed him, and he was really thirsty, but apparently undamaged. I, however, am a wreck.

Close call. We have coyote and other critters around here, too. I think we will have to sleep it off. Zzzzzzzz.

---

@KaySD 

Whew!  Glad he came back.  But he knew where the living was easier after he'd been outside for a while.😁

I had been teasing my friend about accidentally leaving her cat out all night a few weeks ago.  Early the very next morning, while it was still dark, I was opening the windows to cool the house off, then went back to bed.  I fell back asleep for a few hours (a rarity for me lately), then got up to close the house up.  As I approached one window, my little cat jumped on the outside sill meowing his head off.  How the heck did he get out there!!!??? 😳

Well, I had let him out. When I opened the sliding door I thought the screen was closed but it wasn't so he just walked out as pretty as you please.  Duh.  He loved it.  But he was filthy and had three ticks on him.  Yuck.  And I think the worst part of it was I had to confess my indiscretion to my friend.☺️

It's springtime.  I think the male cats especially are anxious to get outside, even if they are fixed.  Mine just enjoys all the cool stuff to do outside compared to in the house.  

---

@geezerette 

And that's one reason I don't see myself with a cat again.  I always had cats that were free to roam outside.  I wouldn't be able to do that now.  I would have 100% indoor cats.

And that would be weird.  I don't want to be one of those people who walks their cat on a leash.

And I guess cat parks will never be an option.

---

@just bee 

I'm still torn about how I feel about outside cats. 

One of mine has always been an inside/outside cat.  Now he's getting old enough to prefer most of his time inside, which suits me fine.  But I honestly don't think I would have kept him if I had forced him to stay inside while he was young.  He would have driven me crazy to get out.

My other young one want desperately to get out all the time.  I do let him out occasionally under my supervision for a few minutes and only around the house.  But I even wonder about that because it just makes him crazier to want to get outside.  And he enjoys it so much out there.  So much to investigate!😻  But for many reasons, I don't want him to be inside/outside on his own.  

But I wonder if it isn't cruel to force them to constantly be inside when their whole nature is to go out.  What is a better life: a long, lazy, boring life in a house, or a (probable) shorter one outside doing what cats love to do?

This is one of the biggest problems I foresee about me moving to town.  Keeping Carla in a smaller house with a small yard, and trying to keep two cats inside all the time.  I know most people wouldn't give it a second thought, but it's making me nuts.  I know it's one of the reasons I'm procrastinating on moving.  That, and the fact that I haven't found a house I can imagine living in.  I'm even putting aside enough of my pricing budget to allow for putting on a sunroom--just for the cats.😸

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@geezerette 

I bet there's a long list of reasons and they're probably all good ones.  Do you want to move or do you think it's a should?

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@Eager2Learn wrote:

---

@geezerette wrote:

@aprilskies 

It seems like the concept I have the most trouble remembering is the easiest: don't bring stuff in.  Whether it be gadgets, junk food, clothes, whatever.

If I don't bring it in, I don't have to deal with getting it out.  It's like trying to bail out a sinking boat.  If you don't plug the hole first, it's a constant (and often losing) battle.

I need to concentrate on just what I know I'm going to use up for a while.  

ETA:  I'm with ya on the humidity.  Our heat index is 100* today and tomorrow.  Last week we were in the 70s.  No wonder I have near constant migraines.

---

@geezerette Sometimes it's very hard to NOT bring things in. But yes, that is the key.

---

@Eager2Learn 

Gotta watch out for one category in particular:

This is something I will use... someday.

That's the stuff that really piles up.  The dressy outfit you'll wear to the wedding that never happens.  The jewelry that never leaves the velvet box.  The book that's never read.  The hobby project that never actually becomes a hobby.  The tart pan.  The red lipstick.  The Italian-Made-Easy system.

You know the usual suspects.

---

@just bee 

@Eager2Learn 

Ah, yes.  The stuff for that fantasy life we all think we're going to live someday.

---

@geezerette 

Which is fine -- if I end up living in landfill.  With all my "stuff."

There are things we need to buy, things we need to replace.  But I'm just not motivated.

I keep thinking about the things I lost and the possibility of losing things again.  I just don't want to get attached to anything new.

---

@just bee 

Oh, I definitely agree.  And I'm finding that I'm not really much attached to many of the things I already have.  I'm tempted to take some of my knickknacks right off the shelves and donate them.  But then all I'll have are empty shelves.  (Although that would be easier to dust, but I don't bother to dust anymore anyway so it's rather a moot point.)

I'm not prepared to rid myself of all possessions and live like a monk, although at times it does sound promising.  But I can do with a lot less than what I have.  The older I get, the more the things I have that I thought I wanted to keep to remember certain people or experiences I find that I don't really want anymore.  Or maybe it's more that I don't feel that I need that stuff to remember.  

And then, there's that inevitable thought of imagining what my final years might look like.  I've been around enough people by now that I've watched in their final years and they all have at least one thing in common.  They need less and less physical possessions that were once so important to them.  Their needs change.

And in my case, and I think probably yours too, I know that very few people care about very little of what I own.  A few younger relatives left that may want a few family photos, and maybe a friend or two that would want an odd object of mine.  But on the whole, whatever I have left is going to be a burden for somebody to deal with.  And if I'm not enjoying it in the meantime, why keep it around?

---

@geezerette 

I was keeping a lot of items that reminded me of things I really didn't want to remember.  I wonder if I'll be better off without them.

I suspect I will.

I think I can still remember things I want to remember.  When I eventually forget, I doubt an item will remind me. 

---

@just bee 

And the things I don't remember, I don't need to remember.

This is how history gets distorted.  People remember what they wish to remember and not the stuff they don't want to remember.

But at this point in my life, who cares if I'm remembering things my own way.  My own memories are all I have left of many things and people, and I want my memories to be what I want them to be--truthful or not.