I do! YAY! Actually, a lot of people have been offering to help me but for a lot of reasons I only occasionally take anyone up on the offer. It's too big a job for me to expect other people to do for free. I don't want to be anyone's "project". I also don't want too many people shuffling our things around. I can really identify with those people on the hoarding shows who freak out the minute they feel like they no longer have full control.

So, I hired someone to help me, the same person who is helping MIL. She needed more work and I am so thrilled to have an able bodied person to help do things that would take me twice as long to do. I always feel more comfortable having people help me when I know it's mutually beneficial.

She scrubbed down the drippy, molding walls of the master bath while I sorted through the melee in the bedroom. After about four hours the bathroom sparkled from top to bottom, but the bedroom looked almost exactly the same. It's not, though. Assorted piles of various categories are merely awaiting phase two... appropriate receptacles... which have to be brought in. Tomorrow.

The way I work, with my hip problem, is to sit on the floor (in this case a blanket), and scoot around the room dividing things into categories and putting them in piles, bags or boxes. While working, I thought I smelled a hint of something foul but I assumed it had something to do with the toilet, or the cleaning products we were using. Unfortunately it got stronger and stronger as I worked my way toward the closet. That's when I discovered the fresh pile of cat poo. We have a house full of disgustingly crappy 50 year old flooring in every other room but this cat had to choose the only room with carpet that is new!!!

She's new in our home. She was on our doorstep when we arrived here a few weeks ago. I was so NOT in the market for another pet so we tried to ignore her. She didn't go away. Instead, she sat meowing at our door for two days. We finally relented and went out to pet her and give her some food and water. She climbed all over me, purring and licking my face. What could I do?

This is the first boo-boo I've discovered, but in a messy house it's not always that obvious. Knowing that she's broken that boundary it's going to be hard not to be a little paranoid. It may sound heartless but I cannot add animal feces to the list of yucky things to deal with. I'm hoping it was just a 'misunderstanding'. I'm giving her a second chance. I really like her so I want this to work.