Ever since my sister started helping me get my sewing and art rooms organized, my whole house has been a disaster. Partly this is because I’m a living tornado and I no longer have my storm chaser picking up after me. I don’t know how he kept up. Well, yes, I do.

• He was not ADHD
• When he decided to do something, he just did it
• Beyond keeping thigs looking neat, he was not fussy

None of that is me. Nonetheless, I am learning to pick it up–NOW!, to put it away–NOW! Or deal with a big mess. I think I about 50-50 on that, but I’m inproving.

The other reason for the disaster is that she and I do things very differently. So, she’d get something started and want me to decide something about it. ADHD people have a difficult time deciding anything, but on top of that, I didn’t know what the heck she was doing. It wasn’t anything I’d have been doing. And when I said I didn’t want something done yet, she was lost because she had to do that first, to be able to move on to what she considered “next.” What I wanted done was, like, fifth in her way of doing things. Last week she finally said she couldn’t help me because we do things too differently. It took 72 years to figure that out?? LOL I knew that from previous attempts to work together. I’m a good helper, but a terrible delegator. She’s an excellent delegator, but it’s hard to help when the person you’re helping can’t tell you what to do.

Then, this week, she went to PA to spend time with our brother, sister (in law), 2 nephews, a grand-nephew, a great-grand-nephew and a myriad of grand-nieces and great-grand-nieces. She won’t be back until the end of July. I told her not to worry about helping me. And in fact, something in me finally clicked. A light switch? I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I finally got moving.

I don’t know what happened to Monday. It was part of a weird weekend for me. Tuesday and Wednesday I had afternoon appointments, and my brain simply doesn’t switch modes very easily. I also don’t remember time very clearly. I think it was Friday that I tried to move the treadmill into what will be the “exercise” room, and learned that, short of dismantling it, it won’t go through the hall and fit through the doorway, even folded (such as it does). It’s not the tread, but the arms that are too wide. OK, so now I need to rethink if I really want/need to keep it. I think so, but we’ll see.

On Monday, I decided that I’d move my dad’s media cabinet instead. It was simple enough, but I think it weighs more than my spinet piano. I can lift that enough to get a carpet or glide under it. I finally managed to get the glides under the cabinet, but I would rather it had been the piano! Remarkably, I didn’t mess up my back doing it, though I sure did strain some muscles. The rest of Monday and after my appointment on Tuesday I organized all the LPs I had to remove and then replace into that cabinet. I was texting with my son as I worked. Because these LPs were from my Mom, my sister and what I had before Alex put some of those into his collection, I ended up with several I have not heard (though I know I’ve heard the music) and 4 duplicates that Alex was delighted to take. (Well, have me send, hopefully next week.) He’s definitely a phonophile. He showed me a picture of his LP shelves and he has two or three times as many as I do. I can’t hear the difference between LP and CD. He can.

Wednesday my appointment took all afternoon. I looked at the area I’m working on, and worked on my computer filing instead. I also totally spaced out putting the trash at the curb. Fortunately, I don’t have that much. And I got to bed at 1:30 am, which is early for me!

Yesterday I worked all afternoon. I got the laundry room counter cleared off. I put all the flattened, pre-used keeper (until I know I won’t need them) boxes into one large box on the laundry room counter. And I basically got about 90% of the former exercise area cleaned. I did a load of laundry. And I did a lot more filing.

Today I worked outside. I watered all my pots and a few particularly dry ground areas. I pulled a bunch of weeds, though there are plenty more, and I was finally to remove a lot of the dead daffodil leaves. It’s best to leave them until they pull out easily, but they sure do get messy as they dry. I had hoped to do all the necessary deadheading, but didn’t get much of that done at all.

Starting tomorrow, the temperatures will be significantly lower, but will come back hotter. So despite a good chance of rain, it will be a good time to get more work done outside. I’ll be able to dead head and trim back bushes, and pull more weeds. I have to wait for a dry day to cut the grass. Unfortunately I let it get too high for my unpowered mower to cut. But Ill go over it with the weed eater first and then it’ll cut just fine.