OK, I come to pat myself on the back -- we just went to breakfast, because it's so hot, I figured morning would be my only outing.

I came home and tidied up the dining room and kitchen, and THEN I broke down a mountain of cardboard boxes for recycling. Like, months' worth. I feel slightly bad about not.passing them along, but, honestly, a lot of them were not reusable, and OMG it's so pleasant to have that corner of the dining room clear again.

(It sounds worse than it was -- a dining room 1/4 full of cardboard -- the room is large and basically empty except for our high table that is collapsed down to a generous four-seating but can be expanded to eight. But it was a big job, so I am gold starring myself!)

I have heretofore sucked at making lovely spaces for myself the way, say, Allyson, Aimee, Hec & JZ, and so many more of you have demonstrated over the years.

But at least I killed it with industriousness this morning!

Thanks, everyone!

Yay for industriousness! It is a rainy day and I should get some organization done. It is still a mid-construction disaster area, but much can be done to improve it.

So far today: emptied dishwasher, folded laundry, brought one box down from upstairs storage/disaster room to distribute, and really I need to make this list much longer soon.

In the meantime, I did the usual making coffee and brunch for myself, and taking care of the animals.

I did reward myself yesterday and subscribed to Disney+ so there has been quite a bit of Doctor Who in my life the last couple days. My plan is to alternate chores and Who.

I skipped a bunch! because Tilly is kind of demanding. And I was camping in the woods, which was lovely and restorative. I recommend.

I did see a number of parental health issues, and I wish swift recoveries for all. I also want to pass along this post from an online acquaintance, which summarizes quite a lot of eldercare advice that I could have used when I was in that situation.

Which reminds me, I really need to get with a lawyer and get my estate planning done. I keep putting it off because it's a hassle and expensive, but needs to be done.

I hope everyone on the east coast survives the hot weather without too much difficulty. It's going to hit 86 here today, which is really not that bad by comparison.

Hot as balls. Alas no pool today due to music festival in the park where the pool is.

I ran two errands and returned home to eat and cool off.

I could clean or grocery shop or meal prep. Also need to get passport photo taken and application started. Cannot find my most recent expired passport so have to start all over.

I have heretofore sucked at making lovely spaces for myself the way, say, Allyson, Aimee, Hec & JZ, and so many more of you have demonstrated over the years.

I'm afraid our place has fallen into heavy messiness, as I just let things go while organizing the Memorial. I do want to spend some time digging it out today.

As I've noted before, not having JZ here to share the housekeeping tasks has proven difficult. And while I'm ready to spend on a housecleaning service, I would need to do a fair amount of organization first to even start that process.

Congratulations, lisah!

Well done, JenP! Full marks.

Consuela, I'm not sure what your estate requirements are, but we did a Living Trust which turned out to be incredibly valuable. Really liked our estate attorney too, if you need a rec. It did cost about $5K but was necessary considering the value of the estate.

Ours was very straightforward though, with no cutouts. JZ and I were equal members of the trust. The survivor inherited the whole thing. When that survivor died, then Emmett and Matilda get the entire estate 50/50.

The only extra element we added was that the estate would be distributed in two parts if the kids were young: half at 25, and half at 30. If Matilda was under 25 when the surviving parent went, then JZ's brother Chris would administer her trust until she was of age.

If I [knock wood!] die after Matilda and Emmett are both over 30 then they just inherit the whole thing 50/50.

And while I'm ready to spend on a housecleaning service, I would need to do a fair amount of organization first to even start that process.

I had housecleaning help for many years, and the biggest challenge was prepping for her. Panic! Because the debris field needed to be cleared first. I'm better at keeping it under control now. If I get my place here in some degree of order I'll look for help. Seriously, I don't want to do floors anymore.

Woe unto me, I have a sinus infection, just in time for my birthday (tomorrow). But I just got antibiotics, so they should vanquish their microbial foes in a few days.

It's so fucking hot and humid here and the air quality has been terrible for several days so my asthma is kicking up. <---- All of which is to say, we skipped the Pride parade today because the weather is actively trying to kill me. And I have nothing but respect for the drag queens doing their thing in this weather -- not just standing on floats in the parade, but performing on an outdoor stage in the middle of the day, in heels and pantyhose and foundation garments and tight dresses and makeup and nails and WIGS. The Marine Corps could NEVER.

I had housecleaning help for many years, and the biggest challenge was prepping for her. Panic! Because the debris field needed to be cleared first.

We have so much clutter because we have too much shit for a house this small. Our debris field is mighty. And the solution is not a bigger house, because that would only lead to the accumulation of more shit. But we do need to get a cleaner in to, at the very least, do a deep clean of the kitchen and bathroom. They need to be sandblasted, or powerwashed, or maybe just exorcised.

Having the cleaners every two weeks forces me to be generally more on top of shit than I would be on my own, but there have been many, "Yeah, no need to clean the office today..." convos nonetheless. House is actually in good shape right now, because the landlords did their yearly drive-by a few weeks ago, so I did a bunch of office clean-out for both of us.

Sinusitis is the fucking worst, Tep. Also, super-gross. I did a Bowman phonebank today.