*my friends won't like me if my house isn't clean* 

I love the privacy for the new mug club member, but I’ll just say it was me guys! Guilty lol! I’m just so excited that I had to share 😂 my week was alright, but being greeted by your lovely words always starts my weeks wonderfully!

I've had a good week. I'm pleased that my gardening efforts, although chaotic, are having positive results. Currently hiding in my hallway to avoid an awkward interaction with the window cleaner. 😂

Hey Claire! I have been thinking about what you could crochet for your etsy shop for summer and I came up with a lot of ideas that may be interesting to you. Home decor, accessories, bathroom and kitchen items and my favorite idea...wait for it...MUG RUGS! I hope this helps.

Hello, well, pretty big week, finally got my ASD and ADHD diagnosis 🎉❤ so that is Claire your content has been really important for my journey! Also glad you're doing well!

Hey. Good morning. ❤😊 Mi week was horrible Tuesday and Wednesday. I was fighting with my kiddos Pediatrician's office and Walmart Pharmacy. Everyone pointing fingers at each other's, having to make phone calls and straight things out so my Autistic kiddos would have their ADHD medication. I had an autistic burnout, and my anxiety was all over the place. But everything worked out fine in the end. Now my kiddos are at school, and I can recharge and relax 🤗❤ I can't wait for your next podcast is really great. ❤😊

My weekend was rough. My kids were getting on each other's nerves and it was pretty draining. This week is my sons last full week of school, he get one day after Memorial Day. I'm dreading summer a bit. My son gets the whole month of June off and he gets very disregulated when not in school. Luckily, he gets ESY (extended school year) in July, so hopefully we can survive until then lol. Today, I have a breast MRI. My mom and grandma both had breast cancer so I am doing some self care. I hope you have a great week, Claire and friends! 💞

I can relate to the house cleaning. We can live in it comfortably but is never up to our standards for potential visitors. It is not unusual to take a day off from work to clean house to be ready for guests. I can't wait til Tuesday evening! Love your channel, Claire!

Before autism was even on my radar, we called this “panic cleaning” in our home 😅

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. I’m 30! 🎉 and how lovely it is to be graced with a porch coffee on my birthday. ❤ Slouchy thin berets are a good summer hat option. They’re supposed to be kind of lacy, so thin yarn with a big hook - it could work up quickly??

"Friends and enemies, join the mug club" 🤣. I can always count on you to make me smile 😉

I try to keep as much of my stuff in clear bins as I can. It's been doing wonders for the cleanliness of my house as the things that I'm not actively using can be put in neat stacks and the stuff that I am actively working on can usually go in a couple labeled bins. If I need to quickly tidy the problem stuff up, it's usually a matter of just gently tossing it into a bin and being done with it. One of the added bonuses is that if I need to move, a good chunk of the stuff is already boxed and labeled. So, it's mostly just a matter of listening the various boxes and it's really only things like the stuff in the kitchen that really needs to be boxed up, as that stuff gets used enough to not be in bins. Also, a nice notecard with the theme of the items in the box, a serial number and a photo of the items that are in there makes it a lot easier to figure out what there is in each box. I haven't tried it yet, but I wager that it's probably possible to feed the photos into an AI to come up with a list based on the photos. And if not yet, probably in the near future.

Inviting people over to motivate thyself to clean house is brilliant thinking, IMHO.

I’m on vacation this week! Home to do some yard work and writing.

Having a decent week. Things are a little crazy, end of school for the grands is near. One of our daughters is in the midst of purchasing a house from us. Closing soon (hopefully). Bought some flowers for flower beds and veg for garden. Absolutely cruising on finishing up socks from cranked tubes. I have a vintage sock knitting machine. I love it. I think I have a good groove going by working on a pair before bed and a pair during breaks in the day. Then I'm working on a lace cardigan during TV time. I've finished 2 crochet blankets in the last 2 weeks and some other WIPs. I think I'm down to 6 WIPs, not including sock tubes and blanket tubes. I don't even count them in wips until I am actively connecting strips/tubes. I think it's because I can easily reclaim the yarn if I decide to make something else from it, even though it's in knitted tubes currently. Just about ready to check out of being available digitally for the day, so have a good one. Take care Everyone.

For me, strategies of applying self-pressure, like inviting people over in an attempt to induce myself to do something like cleaning, is a reliable recipe for shutdown.

Where do I have to go for the live? Your channel or someone else’s? Btw worst porch coffee ever of course(relax folks just a joke 😂) I pretty much did the same thing I wouldn’t feel good either physically or mentally at the beginning of the week and I would cancel everything only to feel better later on in the week wanting to go to something I was now going to miss. I’ve grown up in a pretty messy house so I always felt the same way. Can’t invite people over unless less the house is perfect. My birthday is coming up in the beginning of June and I’m planning a small birthday party. Just a few people I’ll BBQ American style some pulled pork and beef ribs. I had to start planning for that of course a couple of weeks ago. Which is better than what I used to do a couple of months before in some cases even a year before. Not much happened this week more gardening. I have been attending a virtual pipe club last night was the second time. It’s fun to just shoot the shit and smoke together with other people. And it’s online so from the comfort of my own home. More internet friends are always welcome. I switch to baseball caps in the summer beanies get way too hot for me which I love when it’s cold out but not so much during summer. Have a good week Claire and friends.

I had an overwhelming weekend. Saturday we went to get suits for myself and my youngest son (22) for my eldest Son's (25) upcoming wedding. Then on Sunday, we went to Animal Kingdon, then over to Hollywood studios (Disney World). My wife works at Disney. All of that was too much for me. Sensory and PDA overwhelm. I really need to spend a day just recharging from all of that, but it's Monday and I need to go to work with no spoons left.

*It's Monday!* 🙌‍ You can also stock up for winter if things are slow now!

Whoa, the extravaganza stream sounds amazing 💜 I hope I can make it 😱

This week here was relaxing pretty much. I had some anxiety ridden moments where my thoughts got away from me. But for the most part I tried to stay chill.😊

I started antidepressants again so I am feeling more hopeful. I have been fairly depressed since 2020.

TK Maxx also in Germany

GoodMorning. Always a nice way to start a Monday morning.

Slipper socks of bamboo or cotton are fun. A hairband to keep hair outta your face. Belts, bags, tank tops.

So recognizable that your house has to be clean when friends come over. I can see the people pleasing in this, but I can also see shame. Now it's more likely: if it's good for me, it must be good for the other person too. Last week I came up against the concept of emotional abuse. On the one hand, it's a great relief to find a missing piece, but on the other hand, it's also exhausting. Now that it is finally possible to navigate with autism, there is a lot more to work with. In addition, it is very challenging in the garden. It just won't stop raining.😵‍💫 And with the humidity, there are now an awful lot of snails. As a result, I am now going to sow lettuce for the 4th time without harvest. It takes all my skills not to get overwhelmed. A day with sun is now like a trigger. Because then I know that I have to get everything done. So that will be balancing between hyper focus and rest for this week. And stay true to myself. I like crochets for teapots. It keeps it warm and is nice to brighten things up.

Mornin Claire! this is my 10th porch coffee, its becoming a habit 💚

Groover! :)

We've started to redecorate our house - I painted the front door a lovely shade of green!! (It was a very faded red before, so quite a change). Now filling holes before we paint. Went out for a walk at a local nature reserve today, which was wonderful - saw lots of birds & dragonflies 💚

I wear beanies all year too, but how about crocheting cotton yarn bucket hats (a short brimmed sunhat). You could do them in colour changing yarn, or striped in bright colours or pastels? Very summery and they pack flat nicely in a case for holidays. I always fancied making one. Maybe this year will be the year?!

‘Celebrated’ my 50th birthday yesterday watching sports on TV alone, with ale, cider and cakes. Five days alone, decompressing away from my clients. Back to work this Wednesday 😏.

This week was pretty good. Things are in full bloom here along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin so my seasonal allergies are kicking my butt. I have to remind myself that severe seasonal allergies really ARE a chronic illness and that it is ok to take it easy, sleep more than normal, and not get as much done in a day. I have been working on listing vintage finds on Etsy. Mostly household goods this time around. I have a TON of vintage clothing to list but I have been really resistant to setting up to take the photos. It’s more difficult to take and edit those. I need to set up outside to be able to stand far enough back to get the entire item in frame. Maybe I should move away from selling clothing? I hope that everyone has an amazing week full of everything that they love!

6:42 I really like that idea! Would the website company your working with allow you to add something like a 'shout-out' checkbox or typing field to the order form?? 🤔 That could be a fun way to increase involvement! 🥳

I am so glad you got past that whole "this has to be the worst Porch Coffee ever" kick. But it does feel odd not hearing it. Anywho, looking forward to catching (at least parts of) the live stream.

OMG so looking forward to the Tuesday livestream!!!!! I know I won’t be able to do the whole thing but hoping for a rewatch later on! ❤ My week has been characterized by too much work, some classic demand avoidance, and a rough patch with my BFF. I’m working on being kind to myself on all three fronts. So there’s that…hope your week is delightful!

Lovely to see you smiley and your cute giggles 😊

Head scarves are a great idea! I would definitely buy one.

Crochet for summer! I use raffia to make hats! And also wide cotton headbands made of rows of triple crochet w a chain between that tie in back.

'Catastrophising' I no longer care about cleaning/tidying for anyone to come round. All my friends are also weirdos and just take it in their stride - at least while they're here. They still come round. Anyone else - tough. Deal with it.

Great Porch coffee!😁

What about crocheting table cloths? Would that be something you would enjoy doing? Afterall, i think they might be quite a large item to make? Just an idea. Glad ur doing well, Claire. Love your content

Thanks for dropping in for coffee yesterday I forgot to leave a comment, my brain left me and went for a walk. You are looking happy 😊 which is lovely to see. I've been battling the clothing again making adjustments to t-shirts and trying to get all the excess stuff put away... its taking me longer than I would like but I have done some of it so it's better than nothing. I'm looking forward to next week when the kids are not at school I will be able to start stuff earlier without the interription of walking the youngest to school. I've also made a start on the garden where the grass and many weeds have taken over it's going to take me a while to tame our wild area but the buttercups are very pretty. 😂

Mixed weak. Light and heavy🤷 I am planning to join the live-stream, but as I am numbers-blind I will not get wich time it starts here in Germany. And no, it doesn´t get better🤦 Those letters don´t help me. It would be easier if I have a time and a place(city/country), then I can type it into startpage and it says me which time it is here. So if someone could tell me what time it starts, I will be very thankful.

Another person said in the comments (can’t say it was my idea) … Mug mats! I think they would be wonderful crocheted and small to send abroad! I say abroad because I’m in the UK 😊 My daughter is autistic… I have suspicions I could be and going forward for dx but will probably have a wait. I’m finding your interviews awesome and they are helping me to navigate this new community I’ve found! I’ve also found some wonderful new information 😊

Helloo Claire this was a good video!! My week was good!!! Hope you are doing good!!

Hi Claire !!! ☕️ Trying to finish mine. Kinda frustrated today. Getting myself riled up and tired trying to get some phone calls done etc ….. Have a great week !!!

Hi, Claire! I've been really busy for a while. I'm in a polyamorous relationship and they're getting married in like 2 weeks and I get to take the wedding photos. They're also going to help me out with making and selling custom T-shirts and such too for a little extra money and we're looking into getting a house. I understand not being able to get around to all of the comments so I'm not going to be upset if you don't respond because I've been pleasantly busy as well. 😊

I literally cancelled the whole day today 😂😂😂 thank you for this!!! Perhaps that was not entirely necessary 🤔 Or it was. We don't know. It was still an okay day and I think I'm alright probably. 🤷‍♀️🤔😂😂😂

cleaning is one of my executive function issues.

Hi Claire, thank you.

I recently started Vyvanse 20mg and found it helps with social anxiety and I feel much more in control of my life - work and personal.

Sorry, I had a busy day yesterday so I didn't get to watch this until Tuesday. My local friends were always like "we're here to see you, not your house, don't worry about it"... though, since the pandemic, I've gotten overwhelmed and can't keep up with things (especially the past year with getting sick, then knee pain)... also haven't seen my friends in awhile... people keep getting sick or being busy. :( I'll try to make the podcast but I watch a D&D thing that ends at around 8 pm edt... so I might be late (or get myself overwhelmed trying to watch 2 things again...)

Random question but would you consider making a Porch Cocoa mug?

HEADBANDS!

Is catastrophize the word you were looking for?

Headbands?

oh my gosh! i forgot to comment last week! 🌈 prolly cause life has been pretty standard and boring over here. Except for the cicadas came out!! I'm in that double brood billions of cicadas area. Noise cancellation ear buds are a must when they all start screaming. i may not wear a beanie all year long, except for Monday mornings during Porch Coffee! Always!

Hey Claire, I’ve been feeling lonely more lately so glad it’s porch coffee day again. You say it’s hard to maintain friendships (which I agree) I did want to point out you’re doing well maintaining porch coffee and internet friends so thanks for that 😉 I definitely have cancelled things prematurely and then kicked myself because I probably could have done the thing, Not sure about fiber things for summer, I get overly hot easily due to nerve damage from having spina bifida it’s hard to regulate temperature as much as I’d like. Like Jessica says from @HowtoADHD, when you invite people over you create urgency which neurodivergents respond well to and “flip the switch from NOT NOW to NOW” If people appreciate your friendship,they will understand that you struggle with executive function. Have a good week