I love the birdsong, and yay for cats. Technology not working as it is supposed to is one of the things that causes meltdowns for me, so I'm fully impressed you handled that happening during your livestream
Monday mornings have been very tough on me for a long time, idk what it is but I feel thrusted into the new week every Monday when I’m still trying to process last week! All that is to say: Porch Coffee is now a helpful part of my morning routine. I truly feel like I have a friend checking up on me every Monday morning, I answer your questions out loud LOL. And oh my word your cat Ernie(?) melted my heart today!
Claire I just love you! I'm so happy your cats are taking care of you! I have a black cat too Miss Medusa, she comes running to me when ever I cry. Thankyou for sharing your experience with us!
I was sad when I realized I missed your live by an hour. Glad over the minutes you went from blue to more cheerful. Afterwhile accept yourself more and move deeper into self discovery. You will find a great person. Your streams are quite well done. Be yourself. You are perfect at that and getting better. Autism is common ground we're all on. We feel the stream. Not just watch. Thanks for sharing!!! Look up and turn the heat up a little. :D The bird ambience was awesome. My cat reacted :)
Another great porch coffee This week has been stressful, but it's been a good stressful 😊 I'm glad that the cats were able to lift your spirits this morning 💜
Hope your week picks up! Started getting chilly in Melbourne (AU), so people around me are getting the blues. I'm doing a spring clean, too... 6 months late, in Autumn... Just got my diagnosis in the last week, so yay, official status. Anywho, willing positive vibes for all, have a good week er'body!
April has been a blue month... 💙 This was the month I officially started the process of getting a formal diagnosis. I've known for 10 years so it was a surprise how hard it's hit me. Thanks for being so vulnerable. Your story is helping me continue unpacking my own. ❤
So sorry you're feeling blue, Claire... as someone with a strong tendency towards depression I understand entirely. As always from me, here's how I'm relating to all this: A few years back I was looking after a friend's cat, a beautiful but very standoffish, cold and unaffectionate little boy. One night I went to bed but was really struggling to not have a meltdown (ear defenders on!) so I couldn't sleep as my stress levels were through the roof... so this little cat, who was sleeping at the other end of the room on my chest of drawers, jumped down off his perch, climbed up onto my bed and lay down on my legs... oh my lord it was so comforting I immediately felt better.... Thank you, cat! Poor little guy was being bombarded with my miserable stress pheromones I guess and knew he had to do something about it! Don't be "professional" Claire - it's a colonialist, imperialist idea! The work you're putting out is great, don't go changing to match the neurotypical and imperialist standard of "professionalism"... just be your wonderful self ❤❤❤
When I’m feeling blue, I like to watch funny cat videos until I’m full-on belly laughing. Snuggling with my real life cat also helps. Glad you’ve got some furry company internet friend!
🐈⬛🐈Sending you lots of hugs!! Your cats are gorgeous. Hope you have a great week Claire!! I have been working towards some goals, so have had to cut back on watching videos (that's OK, I will save them up for later). This morning, before work, one of your world tour videos popped up. I have not watched them yet, and I had to tear myself away from the screen, and go to work!! Your videos are so good!!! It's autumn here now, getting cooler, and we will finally get some rain tomorrow. Working towards some work goals and deadlines. Promised myself that when I achieve this, I can buy one of your hats. Before winter!! Wishing everyone an awesome week, best wishes, and from my 2 cats as well 🐾🐾🐾🐾 ✨✨
I'm honestly so happy to see your porch coffee.I've been looking forward to it all weekend! Right now after my diagnosis I feel like I'm on a terrifying, scary exciting roller coaster ride feeling all the emotions at one time.. I teach yoga And I had my first Yoga teacher class yesterday after the diagnosis. I only had 2 students show up which was fine but I realized that it's too much for me to teach in person classes anymore.I should just be doing online classes. And I watched your fabric video yesterday to help myself relax. I loved sharing in your special interests!
I can’t start this comment without talking about cats first. There has been scientific research that found that cats observe their humans. They figure out when the human is feeling down and like demonstrated in this video will find you to cheer you up. My cats do it a lot whenever I’m feeling down there is always one of them in the same room. You predicted it but I’m going to say it anyway. The chat was really active which means people are having fun. This technical issue again was one you couldn’t help it was a TH-cam thing. I normally have the chat going on my TV and that wasn’t working either. I looked into it and TH-cam did some upgrades. By the next members live stream they’ll have figured out the bugs and everything will be working. You’re halfway to feeling better when you make sure you go outside. That’s what my therapist says anyway and I agree. I had a pretty busy first two days of the week. I had appointments with three people on the other side of the table for two days which whipped out the rest of my week. Have a great week Claire and friends. Ps I’ve been waiting to watch the fabric video for when I need some energy because that’s what they give me I’ll be watching it soon so you can add another view.
This week, I'm gathering supplies for my son's birthday on Sunday! I also have my first IEP meeting with my son's new school on Wednesday. I can't believe how quickly this school year is coming to a close. I'm worried about summe. My son doesn't do well without the routine of school. I also get jealous seeing families go on trips. Summers just aren't what I imagined them to be, but I'll try to make the best of it. Take care, Claire and friends! 💞
I so hear you on the summers! I find I just get the hang of the new routine and then it's September! Wishing a gentle transition to summer mode for you.
Appreciate you Claire! I had a week full of social interaction and learning new things so I'm feeling a little disoriented starting the week. I thought I'd do some yoga this morning to help regulate etc but as I was getting my mat out I discovered a Thinking Putty incident lol (ie. thinking putty all squished up in a basket of blankets and clothes). So after cleaning that up and having a little stomp about the house I decided it was Porch Coffee time, and it has definitely lifted my spirits, thanks Claire + Ernie ✨
Hi all! I'm glad it's the end of the month as April has not been kind to me. We had to have a new roof and things have been out of step for the entire time. Just sorting the last of the mess now then life will be back on track. YAY! 😊
I’m sorry you’re feeling blue. I totally understand that your kitties make you feel better. I had five but had to leave them with family when we moved to another country. I miss the company of my furry purry family 🥹
I have definitely noticed that you’ve upped your production value. Your editing skills on the fabric organizing video were very nice. I hope you find an amazing yarn thrift haul to lift your spirits ❤ I know that lifts mine. My week has been a downer, too. My dog has Pica and keeps eating things she shouldn’t. She’s sick at the moment because of it, but she’ll be ok, and we’ll clean the house more, and hopefully remove whatever is tempting her. I started my first color pooling project with Bernat baby blanket yarn, and it’s turning out pretty cool!
Hey there internet friend, thank you for having coffee with me while I ate my breakfast at almost 2pm because I completely forgot that I need to eat 😊. It sounds to me like you handled the tech problems really well, and that can only be a good thing, it's bound to make you feel a bit down. It also sounds like you have lots of good things to plan and do soon as well. I think that your videos have really come along on the production side of things, the only way from here is up. I have had a pretty rubbish week last week and I probably should have done more at the weekend, but my back was feeling ok ISH on Saturday so I spent Sunday not doing much too, I've had 5 days of rest and pottering mainly at the weekend so the pain I had is now all gone YAY. I walked the smallest to school this morning which I still could not do on Friday so things are looking up for me as well. I have been delayed getting my blankets finished for the kids so I am about to get the sewing machine set up now so I can finally move on with other jobs that I planned ages ago. Whenever you are feeling blue, cats are an excellent remedy. Rocket is our substitute cat because he's a bearded dragon 🐉 and he loves hugs to. Take time for yourself this week. I hope this week is a good one. 😊
It is hard when things don't go as planned and it's good to have goals. Your cats are so sweet. I am grateful for your chats and porch coffees because I don't have friends. Before I found woodshed theory, i attended a monthly autistic womens group. It did more harm than good for me due to going there physically, dealing with all the sensory overwhelm and people in person. I'm glad to know im not alone w my struggles. Most porches in the morning are places where birds can be heard. I'm feeling better this morning but I also was blue last week, I had more meltdowns than usual, it's effecting my work and family, so I reached out to my doctor for some PRN medicine perhaps. Here's to a good week
Good morning Claire. Hope you are feeling better, and I'm excited about your upcoming podcast episodes! This week I've been feeling very overwhelmed trying to plan for sevaral summer trips I should have planned out months ago. I really feel like such a procrastinator some times. I'm also a little stressed too because I can't get to do one of my usual favorite things this week due to a schedule mismatch. On the brightside, a friend offered to take the kids for a night so we can get a little break this week.
I feel like with how horrible things are in the world these days it would be pretty strange not to feel down intermittently. Thanks for your generous efforts as a creator.
I am looking at working on my entryway area as the floor has been ripped up, we took out a folding door and removed some molding. Did some plaster and painted the whole area twice. Now I want my flooring back, which should be Wednesday.
Hello Sweetpea... I enjoyed the doves calling in the background. Did you know that they mate for life? FYI, when I am feeling 'less than', I set the timer for whatever time I think I might need to grieve. When the timer goes off, I get up, dry my eyes and start living again... Love you, Ms C
Maybe you could try going for a short walk Claire🙂?. It really helped me today when I was also feeling blue and down. Hope you feel better later in the week🙏.
Hi Claire! Aren't black cats the best? 😊 My mental state last week wasn't great either. Recovering from a busy weekend, then I gave myself food poisoning, then work stress, then my anxiety-guilt complex kicked up. Here's to trying for a better week ahead. I enjoy spending Monday mornings with you. Take care❤
Ernie has gotten so big and handsome! Pets can be so comforting sometimes. ❤. Speaking of pets, we are now nannying a wild baby bunny whose mom died. 😶. My kids are thrilled, of course. I’m just hoping we can keep him healthy enough to release him when he gets a little bigger. 🤞🏼
My black cat, Shadow, jumped up on my lap and sniffed at Ernie when he made his appearance, it was super cute. 😻 I've been in IT for 20+ years and it always amazes me the ways computers like to act out. You can do everything like you should and they still do something random that it has never done before. We had a fantastic time during the members stream and you rolled with it being dumb like a pro. Have a fabulous week!!! 🌈
Cat cameo! I've found that cats just sense when their person needs a little cheering up. I'm sorry you're feeling blue. The last week has been rough for me, mostly due to money struggles. A lot of unexpected expenses hit all at once. I really appreciate you being honest about your feelings, Claire. And your cat cheered me up, too! ❤
They say misery loves company, so I hope you take a little comfort in knowing that you're not alone. I'm currently staring down the fact that am I forced to confront, on a daily basis, an increasingly strong phobia of being misunderstood that has developed over a lifetime of being an undiagnosed autistic person who could not articulate the deep distress I was and am experiencing from being an extravert who cannot for the life of him be understood. I have been answering "I'm ok" for so long because the idea of trying to say what I felt is frightening. There's the mental effort of packaging my thoughts into words, then doing several editing runs to try to make sure that it's as clear and accurate as possible, then I have to pass through the barrier of fear that I will once again fail, or worse, actually be understood and abandoned for it. I had been thinking that being "always ok" was one of the ways I showed my love, as ridiculous as that sounds in retrospect. In reality I think it's easier to pretend and tank it all than to try and fail again.
Now that I've finished the video I just wanna say that you're doing great and that we appreciate you and the content you make. Production value is great, but it will come. Your community is here because we like you. Trust me when I say that stressing about it looking "professional" is a great way to never put out anything. I've put at least 10 hours into my current project, and I haven't even put anything out yet. Everything has been discarded because it wasn't how I wanted to present myself, and I've had the camera I bought to make videos for 4 years now. You're good enough You're smart enough And damnit people like you. :)
My client said something to me last week that I am pretty sure I’ve repeated to myself a hundred times since: “Progress, not perfection.” It seriously helps! I wasn’t at the livestream because I accepted a coffee invite from a new friend, which seems like a pretty valid excuse as an autistic person, but I hope I’ll be at the next one and I bet it will be AMEOWZING. 🥰🧡
Yay for cats! I hope you're feeling better today. I've just been kind of blah lately. I was better today, but back to feeling tense and on edge, fight/flight again... and not sure why.
Hey Claire, my fiancé and I have also been feeling down, I’m convinced some of it has to do with the weather changes. Aww Ernie you’re a sweet boy, my black cat girl Opal is snuggly too. Ernie is a handsome guy. I hate feeling when I try my best but it still doesn’t go well. Animals are the best. I love waking up to birds. Have a good week. Please love up the furbabies for me
I’m sorry you have been feeling blue Claire! Again not the worst episode of Porch Coffee, you are allowed to vent and we are here to listen ❤️ It’s great how our animals seem to know when we are and they come to comfort us ☺️
Fur babies are just the best! Claire, be a shark....always swim forward. Bored can often be confused with blue. Not to say that you aren't blue. I'm just saying that sometimes when I'm bored and have too much time to get in my head, I get blue. Just doing something, anything, really helps me get out of my head and get happy. Take care & lots of hugs.
Never been this late to a porch coffee but I’m here now! Hope everyone has a great week! I also will pray for your blueness to subside, Claire! Love your channel!
When you are diagnosed you should be issued a cat! 😺 I know Mike from Autistic AF would back the project! 😝 Looking forward to more interviews! Thanks for the vid! :D
If anyone knows the song "True to your heart" at the end of "Mulan"... I always change the words to: Cuddle you cat/You've got to cuddle your cat/Cause when you cuddle your cat/You will feel so warm and happy/ Open your eyes/Your cat is fuzzy and cute/And when you cuddle your cat/Then you'll have all you need to make it through. 😺 What a sweet Ernie, and a sweet Bert!!!
Claire, you handled the chat snafu perfectly well. Consider that perception of your professionalism and genuineness and effort has nothing to do with issues that happen, whether they were due to your mistakes or not-and let’s be perfectly clear, that was a TH-cam bug and NOT your fault AT ALL. We’re here for you because we like you and appreciate who you are and what you do. You ARE genuine and you DO care and you DO put in a ton of effort. We know this. So sure, keep improving in whatever ways you feel are important, but do that for you. You don’t have to do that for us. You’re already doing all the good things.
Oh I feel so bad about saying the technical issue was gold! I genuinely don't mind when that kind of thing happens, it shows real life and how you respond to adversity. Sorry if my comment was frustrating to you.
The bird sounds make me feel chill, honestly, as does the kitty love. So cute! ❤ I understand blue. Relate all too well. Recognizing it and being gentle with yourself is best.We ride it out only to rise again stronger. No worries on tech glitches or professionalism. I could watch countless videos with a polished air but I make it a point to come drink coffee with you because you are real. I totally relate on the feeling though. The worry about appearing professional enough has sadly kept me from trying a lot of things but you are inspiring me to rethink what I might have to give and embracing it coming from my authentic self. Rest assured, you come across better than professional in the sense it feels like a welcoming place to just come and be. I know it cannot take away all the stressors that naturally rise when something glitches but I hope I can encourage you that you are doing great nonetheless! I am invested in your cleanout effort so will look for the video mentioned to check out your progress. Blessings on your week, friend.❤
I loved this Porch Coffee! So real and unvarnished…which I really appreciate about you! And you know I love hearing the birds! Mourning doves are the best!!!!! They’ve only just started to arrive here in MN! This past week has been out of control for me. Way too much work. Lots of demands…which I alternately feel guilty because I’m not getting things done fast enough or go into a major PDA mode. Mostly the guilty (probably unnecessarily) this round. Oy…. I yelled at my message notifications yesterday because I couldn’t figure out a tech thing and I felt inadequate but didn’t want to admit it. So the easier thing was to yell ‘shut up!’ at the incessant (not really) dings. So I completely feel you on the ‘why can’t I figure this out’ front Hope your week is turning out better but if not then it’s okay anyway 😊
Hey Claire, sorry to hear you're having a down week. We're always super hard on ourselves but kitties help! I actually had a combined ASD and ADHD assesment yesterday and am feeling pretty down about it, the assessor seemed to think I bring all my social issues back to attention, I feel like I don't 'look autistic' to him. Anyway still processing it all. Hope things pick up for you Claire 💐
Feeling blue is a good description of last week. Looks like it with several more people With a pain in my foot I was a bit trapped. And then the mental talk starts and depression lurks around the corner. Meditation helps me, but it's a new habit. My cat always joins in. Sharing more is my goal next week. Hence this post. The birds in the background fit in so well. What I've learned about proffessional it doesn't have to be perfect as long as the intention is right.
Claire, you are such good company!! But I do really relate. We can be far too hard on ourselves, though. I wish I had a kitten to snuggle on my lap! Also, I just joined the Mug Club!! 🙂 When I can't make porch coffee I'm going to use this mug as my reminder to do some self care, drink, and take a moment for myself. Thank you! 💜
Awww Ernie is so cute! So sorry you are feeling a bit down. Hoping you will feel better. This week here was quiet activity-wise. But had to work through a very hard time of me processing a situation a family member has going on. I still don't know what will happen but trying not to worry. Otherwise the rest of my life seems ok for which I am glad.
Hi Claire! I hope you feel better now. I really wanted to participate in the live stream but I think it was in the middle of the night here in Sweden because otherwise I would have noticed. 🤪 I've been editing and that makes me kinda confused. I'm sorry you had technical issues but it happens to many and I can really understand the frustration you felt because I lost some files yesterday and it's been a pain in the butt the entire day for me. I have a hard time accepting that I'm human sometimes and that I can sometimes struggle, like I bully myself for it and I know I can make more videos and I gain experience from it. But it's still so hard to go through the obstacles.
Glad to hear you’re already feeling a little bit better. I hope you will continue feeling a little bit better every day this week. Wish my cats were as thoughtful as yours 😆 I wasn’t able to join the stream as it was a bit too late for me so I’m excited to find out who will be next on the podcast. And the ones after that. Remember that tech issues aren’t always your fault. I know it’s disappointing, but you DID prepare. That is professional in my book. And eventually you will get the hang of it and/or YT decides not to throw you curve balls. (Might very well have been a bug in YT’s software - I also had some very strange things happen with the chat at Autistic AF’s live stream last week)
I have a black cat too named Isreal❤❤❤. I also love all of your videos. Autism info and special interest. TH-cam has not given me notifications though in a while 😢.
Don't confuse professionalism with perfectionism. The latter is a very common Au/ADHD/trauma trait as I'm sure you know. As you say that's why you're feeling down - things didn't go as planned. You're still here. We're still here. Nothing bad has happened because of it. Do try & focus of that. Stuff happens but you're safe you're channel is safe. my update. Still slowly healing. So **** slowly. Getting a little more endurance. Abdomen still tender & sore. This is mostly (?) caused by clothing rubbing across it when I move. Still slowly realising how traumatic that surgery was both physically & mentally. Not good. The one good thing, which I keep overlooking, is that the end result of the surgery has been excellent in terms achieving what was aimed at and in terms of physically recovering from it. Unfortunately it's somewhat overshadowed by the psychological fallout which has been much worse than anticipated. Had a meeting 'in clinic' yesterday at local hospital re. my bowel tumour. They were keen for me to have this surgically removed in 6 wks time! I wasn't. No way can I think of doing that again so soon. After some discussion they have set a preliminary date for 3 months time with a progress scan in 6 wks and a discussion (I hope) as to how to proceed from there. This time line is not what was discussed with me last yr prior to the liver surgery which was meant to be 3 months recovery, possibly more chemo with 3 more months after that before any more surgery. One thing that has become super apparent from yesterday is that everything is under a huge amount of time constraint. They can only allow each patient so much time to discuss things with (way too little for me) & thus they're doing a lot of thinking & decision making 'for' the patient then limiting what they tell them in order to manipulate them into doing what they want to get the job done and it's very much about getting the job done (tumour/s removed) and very little about what that means for the person in the aftermath. I can see I'm going have to up my game in terms of getting what I need for a life worth living out of this. I shouldn't have to be fighting the system on this but that's just the state that things have reached in the NHS now. It sucks so much.
I do not care for cats, they are a perfectly fine animal, just prefer dogs personally. As a side note, why are we supposed to watch articles of your clothing? Lol.
Well that was exactly what I needed to hear “if you’re autistic, it’s not a bad thing to be autistic, be kind to yourself.” 🥲 thank you Claire. I keep waiting for late diagnosis to get easier… 1.5 years later and it’s still really hard some times. I know you get it. Keep snuggling with those cute kitties, I know kitty snuggles always make me feel better. Unfortunately my black kitty has been sick, but hoping some meds will help him feel better. Have a good week Claire and everyone!
I don't think this dude watches Porch Coffee, but there is a porch, and there is coffee... ...and there's a random police chase right through his yard. th-cam.com/users/shorts19g_I2llIM0?si=oF39_-jNgKt44nZA
Sending Feline Army! 🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈
All 13 of them!
Send in the cats!
Hope you feel better, sending love + prayers ❤🙏 have a good week everyone! 💗
Glad to see you, Claire. I hope you can take it easy. Cats are such great companions. ❤
professism is not the absence in tech issues but more about how you handle the tech issues.
I love the birdsong, and yay for cats.
Technology not working as it is supposed to is one of the things that causes meltdowns for me, so I'm fully impressed you handled that happening during your livestream
Monday mornings have been very tough on me for a long time, idk what it is but I feel thrusted into the new week every Monday when I’m still trying to process last week! All that is to say: Porch Coffee is now a helpful part of my morning routine. I truly feel like I have a friend checking up on me every Monday morning, I answer your questions out loud LOL. And oh my word your cat Ernie(?) melted my heart today!
you will always have your crew, even when your days are blue
Definitely one of the worst 😊 have a great week Claire
Cats make everything better. :3
They do. Also feel low and mine is on my legs ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hello Claire, I’m sending you internet friends hugs 🤗
Traci, thanks for sharing a hug with us all, Lee
Claire I just love you! I'm so happy your cats are taking care of you! I have a black cat too Miss Medusa, she comes running to me when ever I cry. Thankyou for sharing your experience with us!
I was sad when I realized I missed your live by an hour. Glad over the minutes you went from blue to more cheerful. Afterwhile accept yourself more and move deeper into self discovery. You will find a great person. Your streams are quite well done. Be yourself. You are perfect at that and getting better. Autism is common ground we're all on. We feel the stream. Not just watch. Thanks for sharing!!! Look up and turn the heat up a little. :D The bird ambience was awesome. My cat reacted :)
Another great porch coffee
This week has been stressful, but it's been a good stressful 😊
I'm glad that the cats were able to lift your spirits this morning 💜
Hi Claire !!!! ☕️. God Bless 💞👊🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hope your week picks up! Started getting chilly in Melbourne (AU), so people around me are getting the blues. I'm doing a spring clean, too... 6 months late, in Autumn... Just got my diagnosis in the last week, so yay, official status. Anywho, willing positive vibes for all, have a good week er'body!
April has been a blue month... 💙 This was the month I officially started the process of getting a formal diagnosis. I've known for 10 years so it was a surprise how hard it's hit me. Thanks for being so vulnerable. Your story is helping me continue unpacking my own. ❤
Mae, i hope it goes smoothly, Lee
So sorry you're feeling blue, Claire... as someone with a strong tendency towards depression I understand entirely. As always from me, here's how I'm relating to all this: A few years back I was looking after a friend's cat, a beautiful but very standoffish, cold and unaffectionate little boy. One night I went to bed but was really struggling to not have a meltdown (ear defenders on!) so I couldn't sleep as my stress levels were through the roof... so this little cat, who was sleeping at the other end of the room on my chest of drawers, jumped down off his perch, climbed up onto my bed and lay down on my legs... oh my lord it was so comforting I immediately felt better.... Thank you, cat! Poor little guy was being bombarded with my miserable stress pheromones I guess and knew he had to do something about it!
Don't be "professional" Claire - it's a colonialist, imperialist idea! The work you're putting out is great, don't go changing to match the neurotypical and imperialist standard of "professionalism"... just be your wonderful self ❤❤❤
When I’m feeling blue, I like to watch funny cat videos until I’m full-on belly laughing. Snuggling with my real life cat also helps. Glad you’ve got some furry company internet friend!
Good Morning Claire. You be able to appreciate the sunny days more.
🐈⬛🐈Sending you lots of hugs!! Your cats are gorgeous. Hope you have a great week Claire!! I have been working towards some goals, so have had to cut back on watching videos (that's OK, I will save them up for later). This morning, before work, one of your world tour videos popped up. I have not watched them yet, and I had to tear myself away from the screen, and go to work!! Your videos are so good!!! It's autumn here now, getting cooler, and we will finally get some rain tomorrow. Working towards some work goals and deadlines. Promised myself that when I achieve this, I can buy one of your hats. Before winter!! Wishing everyone an awesome week, best wishes, and from my 2 cats as well 🐾🐾🐾🐾 ✨✨
I'm honestly so happy to see your porch coffee.I've been looking forward to it all weekend!
Right now after my diagnosis I feel like I'm on a terrifying, scary exciting roller coaster ride feeling all the emotions at one time.. I teach yoga And I had my first Yoga teacher class yesterday after the diagnosis. I only had 2 students show up which was fine but I realized that it's too much for me to teach in person classes anymore.I should just be doing online classes. And I watched your fabric video yesterday to help myself relax. I loved sharing in your special interests!
Sending you a hug (( ))
I can’t start this comment without talking about cats first. There has been scientific research that found that cats observe their humans. They figure out when the human is feeling down and like demonstrated in this video will find you to cheer you up. My cats do it a lot whenever I’m feeling down there is always one of them in the same room.
You predicted it but I’m going to say it anyway. The chat was really active which means people are having fun. This technical issue again was one you couldn’t help it was a TH-cam thing. I normally have the chat going on my TV and that wasn’t working either. I looked into it and TH-cam did some upgrades. By the next members live stream they’ll have figured out the bugs and everything will be working.
You’re halfway to feeling better when you make sure you go outside. That’s what my therapist says anyway and I agree. I had a pretty busy first two days of the week. I had appointments with three people on the other side of the table for two days which whipped out the rest of my week.
Have a great week Claire and friends.
Ps I’ve been waiting to watch the fabric video for when I need some energy because that’s what they give me I’ll be watching it soon so you can add another view.
Your awesome ❤I love watching Porch Coffee videos and I’m excited to see what’s happening with your podcasts you can always talk to me anytime
This week, I'm gathering supplies for my son's birthday on Sunday! I also have my first IEP meeting with my son's new school on Wednesday. I can't believe how quickly this school year is coming to a close. I'm worried about summe. My son doesn't do well without the routine of school. I also get jealous seeing families go on trips. Summers just aren't what I imagined them to be, but I'll try to make the best of it. Take care, Claire and friends! 💞
I so hear you on the summers! I find I just get the hang of the new routine and then it's September! Wishing a gentle transition to summer mode for you.
@natyork thank you! I appreciate it! 💞
Take care my friend...a big hug from the Isle of Man where cats don't have tails...
Ernie!! Such a beautiful, loving, good bwoi
Appreciate you Claire! I had a week full of social interaction and learning new things so I'm feeling a little disoriented starting the week. I thought I'd do some yoga this morning to help regulate etc but as I was getting my mat out I discovered a Thinking Putty incident lol (ie. thinking putty all squished up in a basket of blankets and clothes). So after cleaning that up and having a little stomp about the house I decided it was Porch Coffee time, and it has definitely lifted my spirits, thanks Claire + Ernie ✨
I enjoy kicking off my work week with you.
Hi all! I'm glad it's the end of the month as April has not been kind to me. We had to have a new roof and things have been out of step for the entire time. Just sorting the last of the mess now then life will be back on track. YAY! 😊
I’m sorry you’re feeling blue. I totally understand that your kitties make you feel better. I had five but had to leave them with family when we moved to another country. I miss the company of my furry purry family 🥹
Cats are the best! I am in a fibromyalgia flare and I spent a chuck of yesterday in bed with my 3 cats. They soothe the soul!
I have definitely noticed that you’ve upped your production value. Your editing skills on the fabric organizing video were very nice.
I hope you find an amazing yarn thrift haul to lift your spirits ❤ I know that lifts mine.
My week has been a downer, too. My dog has Pica and keeps eating things she shouldn’t. She’s sick at the moment because of it, but she’ll be ok, and we’ll clean the house more, and hopefully remove whatever is tempting her. I started my first color pooling project with Bernat baby blanket yarn, and it’s turning out pretty cool!
good porch coffee morning Claire! I hope you feel better soon. One day at a time. give your Cats a snuggle for us.
Hey there internet friend, thank you for having coffee with me while I ate my breakfast at almost 2pm because I completely forgot that I need to eat 😊. It sounds to me like you handled the tech problems really well, and that can only be a good thing, it's bound to make you feel a bit down. It also sounds like you have lots of good things to plan and do soon as well. I think that your videos have really come along on the production side of things, the only way from here is up. I have had a pretty rubbish week last week and I probably should have done more at the weekend, but my back was feeling ok ISH on Saturday so I spent Sunday not doing much too, I've had 5 days of rest and pottering mainly at the weekend so the pain I had is now all gone YAY. I walked the smallest to school this morning which I still could not do on Friday so things are looking up for me as well. I have been delayed getting my blankets finished for the kids so I am about to get the sewing machine set up now so I can finally move on with other jobs that I planned ages ago. Whenever you are feeling blue, cats are an excellent remedy. Rocket is our substitute cat because he's a bearded dragon 🐉 and he loves hugs to. Take time for yourself this week. I hope this week is a good one. 😊
It is hard when things don't go as planned and it's good to have goals. Your cats are so sweet. I am grateful for your chats and porch coffees because I don't have friends. Before I found woodshed theory, i attended a monthly autistic womens group. It did more harm than good for me due to going there physically, dealing with all the sensory overwhelm and people in person. I'm glad to know im not alone w my struggles. Most porches in the morning are places where birds can be heard. I'm feeling better this morning but I also was blue last week, I had more meltdowns than usual, it's effecting my work and family, so I reached out to my doctor for some PRN medicine perhaps. Here's to a good week
Good morning . Hoping you're feeling lighter soon. You are amazing and how much you care about the channel has been more than evident.❤
Good morning Claire. Hope you are feeling better, and I'm excited about your upcoming podcast episodes!
This week I've been feeling very overwhelmed trying to plan for sevaral summer trips I should have planned out months ago. I really feel like such a procrastinator some times. I'm also a little stressed too because I can't get to do one of my usual favorite things this week due to a schedule mismatch. On the brightside, a friend offered to take the kids for a night so we can get a little break this week.
I feel like with how horrible things are in the world these days it would be pretty strange not to feel down intermittently. Thanks for your generous efforts as a creator.
I am looking at working on my entryway area as the floor has been ripped up, we took out a folding door and removed some molding. Did some plaster and painted the whole area twice. Now I want my flooring back, which should be Wednesday.
Such a sweet little buddy! ❤️🐈⬛
the sweetest.
Hello Sweetpea... I enjoyed the doves calling in the background. Did you know that they mate for life?
FYI, when I am feeling 'less than', I set the timer for whatever time I think I might need to grieve. When the timer goes off, I get up, dry my eyes and start living again... Love you, Ms C
Maybe you could try going for a short walk Claire🙂?. It really helped me today when I was also feeling blue and down. Hope you feel better later in the week🙏.
Kitty!! Best worst porch coffee ever
Hi Claire! Aren't black cats the best? 😊 My mental state last week wasn't great either. Recovering from a busy weekend, then I gave myself food poisoning, then work stress, then my anxiety-guilt complex kicked up. Here's to trying for a better week ahead. I enjoy spending Monday mornings with you. Take care❤
Your live yesterday was perfect! It reminds me of my lives and all the weird things that happens in them.. I felt seen and heard in your live.
Aw, what a sweet kitty. They really do know and try to help us feel better.
Ernie has gotten so big and handsome! Pets can be so comforting sometimes. ❤. Speaking of pets, we are now nannying a wild baby bunny whose mom died. 😶. My kids are thrilled, of course. I’m just hoping we can keep him healthy enough to release him when he gets a little bigger. 🤞🏼
I forgot to say what I did last week. Lots of drawing and glue booking. I would love to make you a drawing.
My black cat, Shadow, jumped up on my lap and sniffed at Ernie when he made his appearance, it was super cute. 😻
I've been in IT for 20+ years and it always amazes me the ways computers like to act out. You can do everything like you should and they still do something random that it has never done before. We had a fantastic time during the members stream and you rolled with it being dumb like a pro. Have a fabulous week!!!
🌈
Cat cameo! I've found that cats just sense when their person needs a little cheering up. I'm sorry you're feeling blue. The last week has been rough for me, mostly due to money struggles. A lot of unexpected expenses hit all at once. I really appreciate you being honest about your feelings, Claire. And your cat cheered me up, too! ❤
They say misery loves company, so I hope you take a little comfort in knowing that you're not alone. I'm currently staring down the fact that am I forced to confront, on a daily basis, an increasingly strong phobia of being misunderstood that has developed over a lifetime of being an undiagnosed autistic person who could not articulate the deep distress I was and am experiencing from being an extravert who cannot for the life of him be understood. I have been answering "I'm ok" for so long because the idea of trying to say what I felt is frightening. There's the mental effort of packaging my thoughts into words, then doing several editing runs to try to make sure that it's as clear and accurate as possible, then I have to pass through the barrier of fear that I will once again fail, or worse, actually be understood and abandoned for it. I had been thinking that being "always ok" was one of the ways I showed my love, as ridiculous as that sounds in retrospect. In reality I think it's easier to pretend and tank it all than to try and fail again.
Now that I've finished the video I just wanna say that you're doing great and that we appreciate you and the content you make. Production value is great, but it will come. Your community is here because we like you. Trust me when I say that stressing about it looking "professional" is a great way to never put out anything. I've put at least 10 hours into my current project, and I haven't even put anything out yet. Everything has been discarded because it wasn't how I wanted to present myself, and I've had the camera I bought to make videos for 4 years now.
You're good enough
You're smart enough
And damnit people like you. :)
My client said something to me last week that I am pretty sure I’ve repeated to myself a hundred times since: “Progress, not perfection.” It seriously helps! I wasn’t at the livestream because I accepted a coffee invite from a new friend, which seems like a pretty valid excuse as an autistic person, but I hope I’ll be at the next one and I bet it will be AMEOWZING. 🥰🧡
been feeling this way too.
cats are perfect beautiful angels!
This too will pass Suga. Conversation, is a wonderful release.❤❤❤ you make me smile
Great Porch Coffee! Hope you feel a little better😁
Yay for cats!
I hope you're feeling better today.
I've just been kind of blah lately. I was better today, but back to feeling tense and on edge, fight/flight again... and not sure why.
Praying for your downs aka blues and your not alone
Looking forward to passing out! I was really down on Saturday, but the chat cheered me up. Thank you! ❤
Thank you Claire. This really helped me. I’ve been feeling rather blue too.
cute cats *hugs*
I'm so glad you're feeling a little better by the end of this one. 💖
Hey Claire, my fiancé and I have also been feeling down, I’m convinced some of it has to do with the weather changes. Aww Ernie you’re a sweet boy, my black cat girl Opal is snuggly too. Ernie is a handsome guy. I hate feeling when I try my best but it still doesn’t go well. Animals are the best. I love waking up to birds. Have a good week. Please love up the furbabies for me
I’m sorry you have been feeling blue Claire! Again not the worst episode of Porch Coffee, you are allowed to vent and we are here to listen ❤️
It’s great how our animals seem to know when we are and they come to comfort us ☺️
I harmonized with 🎵Woodshed Theory🎶
porch coffee and cats, great one!
"the good part is i didn't have any kind of breakdown!" was so real
I was feeling low this morning and my little kitty did the same cuddled up to me, warmed my heart. Thank you for being vulnerable and brave. ❤
Fur babies are just the best! Claire, be a shark....always swim forward. Bored can often be confused with blue. Not to say that you aren't blue. I'm just saying that sometimes when I'm bored and have too much time to get in my head, I get blue. Just doing something, anything, really helps me get out of my head and get happy. Take care & lots of hugs.
Never been this late to a porch coffee but I’m here now! Hope everyone has a great week! I also will pray for your blueness to subside, Claire! Love your channel!
When you are diagnosed you should be issued a cat! 😺
I know Mike from Autistic AF would back the project! 😝
Looking forward to more interviews! Thanks for the vid! :D
Kitties make everything better. My little buddy is sleeping next to me now. He pretty much always joins us for porch coffee.
If anyone knows the song "True to your heart" at the end of "Mulan"... I always change the words to: Cuddle you cat/You've got to cuddle your cat/Cause when you cuddle your cat/You will feel so warm and happy/ Open your eyes/Your cat is fuzzy and cute/And when you cuddle your cat/Then you'll have all you need to make it through. 😺 What a sweet Ernie, and a sweet Bert!!!
My cats make me feel better, too. They have so much love to give. ❤😺
cats really are the best
Claire, you handled the chat snafu perfectly well.
Consider that perception of your professionalism and genuineness and effort has nothing to do with issues that happen, whether they were due to your mistakes or not-and let’s be perfectly clear, that was a TH-cam bug and NOT your fault AT ALL.
We’re here for you because we like you and appreciate who you are and what you do. You ARE genuine and you DO care and you DO put in a ton of effort. We know this. So sure, keep improving in whatever ways you feel are important, but do that for you. You don’t have to do that for us. You’re already doing all the good things.
Oh I feel so bad about saying the technical issue was gold! I genuinely don't mind when that kind of thing happens, it shows real life and how you respond to adversity. Sorry if my comment was frustrating to you.
Please don’t feel bad at all! I wasn’t bothered by it! It was pretty funny considering we always seem to have an issue.
Very best kittycat ever ❤
the very very best
The bird sounds make me feel chill, honestly, as does the kitty love. So cute! ❤ I understand blue. Relate all too well. Recognizing it and being gentle with yourself is best.We ride it out only to rise again stronger. No worries on tech glitches or professionalism. I could watch countless videos with a polished air but I make it a point to come drink coffee with you because you are real. I totally relate on the feeling though. The worry about appearing professional enough has sadly kept me from trying a lot of things but you are inspiring me to rethink what I might have to give and embracing it coming from my authentic self. Rest assured, you come across better than professional in the sense it feels like a welcoming place to just come and be. I know it cannot take away all the stressors that naturally rise when something glitches but I hope I can encourage you that you are doing great nonetheless! I am invested in your cleanout effort so will look for the video mentioned to check out your progress. Blessings on your week, friend.❤
I loved this Porch Coffee! So real and unvarnished…which I really appreciate about you! And you know I love hearing the birds! Mourning doves are the best!!!!! They’ve only just started to arrive here in MN!
This past week has been out of control for me. Way too much work. Lots of demands…which I alternately feel guilty because I’m not getting things done fast enough or go into a major PDA mode. Mostly the guilty (probably unnecessarily) this round. Oy….
I yelled at my message notifications yesterday because I couldn’t figure out a tech thing and I felt inadequate but didn’t want to admit it. So the easier thing was to yell ‘shut up!’ at the incessant (not really) dings. So I completely feel you on the ‘why can’t I figure this out’ front
Hope your week is turning out better but if not then it’s okay anyway 😊
That was awesome when your cat picked the purfect moment to sit on your lap 😻. My dog will often snuggle with me when I'm feeling blue 💛
it was purrfect timing
Hey Claire, sorry to hear you're having a down week. We're always super hard on ourselves but kitties help! I actually had a combined ASD and ADHD assesment yesterday and am feeling pretty down about it, the assessor seemed to think I bring all my social issues back to attention, I feel like I don't 'look autistic' to him. Anyway still processing it all. Hope things pick up for you Claire 💐
Feeling blue is a good description of last week. Looks like it with several more people With a pain in my foot I was a bit trapped. And then the mental talk starts and depression lurks around the corner. Meditation helps me, but it's a new habit. My cat always joins in. Sharing more is my goal next week. Hence this post. The birds in the background fit in so well. What I've learned about proffessional it doesn't have to be perfect as long as the intention is right.
Claire, you are such good company!! But I do really relate. We can be far too hard on ourselves, though. I wish I had a kitten to snuggle on my lap! Also, I just joined the Mug Club!! 🙂 When I can't make porch coffee I'm going to use this mug as my reminder to do some self care, drink, and take a moment for myself. Thank you! 💜
Awww Ernie is so cute! So sorry you are feeling a bit down. Hoping you will feel better.
This week here was quiet activity-wise. But had to work through a very hard time of me processing a situation a family member has going on. I still don't know what will happen but trying not to worry. Otherwise the rest of my life seems ok for which I am glad.
Hi Claire! I hope you feel better now. I really wanted to participate in the live stream but I think it was in the middle of the night here in Sweden because otherwise I would have noticed. 🤪 I've been editing and that makes me kinda confused. I'm sorry you had technical issues but it happens to many and I can really understand the frustration you felt because I lost some files yesterday and it's been a pain in the butt the entire day for me. I have a hard time accepting that I'm human sometimes and that I can sometimes struggle, like I bully myself for it and I know I can make more videos and I gain experience from it. But it's still so hard to go through the obstacles.
Cats are comforting to me!
me too!
@@WoodshedTheory Your cats are very cute too!
I'm blue too, it's ok
Love your videos 😽😽
Glad to hear you’re already feeling a little bit better. I hope you will continue feeling a little bit better every day this week. Wish my cats were as thoughtful as yours 😆
I wasn’t able to join the stream as it was a bit too late for me so I’m excited to find out who will be next on the podcast. And the ones after that.
Remember that tech issues aren’t always your fault. I know it’s disappointing, but you DID prepare. That is professional in my book. And eventually you will get the hang of it and/or YT decides not to throw you curve balls. (Might very well have been a bug in YT’s software - I also had some very strange things happen with the chat at Autistic AF’s live stream last week)
When I feel down I dive into my special interests though life can get in way of me doing that.
I have a black cat too named Isreal❤❤❤. I also love all of your videos. Autism info and special interest. TH-cam has not given me notifications though in a while 😢.
bummer about the notifications - not sure why it does share them
@@WoodshedTheory I hear this happening on other channels too. YT is weird sometimes. 🤷🏻♀️
Don't confuse professionalism with perfectionism. The latter is a very common Au/ADHD/trauma trait as I'm sure you know. As you say that's why you're feeling down - things didn't go as planned. You're still here. We're still here. Nothing bad has happened because of it. Do try & focus of that. Stuff happens but you're safe you're channel is safe.
my update.
Still slowly healing. So **** slowly. Getting a little more endurance. Abdomen still tender & sore. This is mostly (?) caused by clothing rubbing across it when I move. Still slowly realising how traumatic that surgery was both physically & mentally. Not good. The one good thing, which I keep overlooking, is that the end result of the surgery has been excellent in terms achieving what was aimed at and in terms of physically recovering from it. Unfortunately it's somewhat overshadowed by the psychological fallout which has been much worse than anticipated.
Had a meeting 'in clinic' yesterday at local hospital re. my bowel tumour. They were keen for me to have this surgically removed in 6 wks time! I wasn't. No way can I think of doing that again so soon. After some discussion they have set a preliminary date for 3 months time with a progress scan in 6 wks and a discussion (I hope) as to how to proceed from there. This time line is not what was discussed with me last yr prior to the liver surgery which was meant to be 3 months recovery, possibly more chemo with 3 more months after that before any more surgery.
One thing that has become super apparent from yesterday is that everything is under a huge amount of time constraint. They can only allow each patient so much time to discuss things with (way too little for me) & thus they're doing a lot of thinking & decision making 'for' the patient then limiting what they tell them in order to manipulate them into doing what they want to get the job done and it's very much about getting the job done (tumour/s removed) and very little about what that means for the person in the aftermath. I can see I'm going have to up my game in terms of getting what I need for a life worth living out of this. I shouldn't have to be fighting the system on this but that's just the state that things have reached in the NHS now. It sucks so much.
oh my it sounds like they are forced to rush you through, that sounds overwhelming.
I do not care for cats, they are a perfectly fine animal, just prefer dogs personally. As a side note, why are we supposed to watch articles of your clothing? Lol.
You are not supposed to do anything. It’s your choice to watch or not watch. Please be kind.
@@terrigoulding559 that was an attempt at humor, i guess the thought train was not as evident as i hoped for others.
Sounds to me like you're trying to adhere to the neurotypical idea of professionalism.
"Not about us without us" needs to include *all* of "us".
Well that was exactly what I needed to hear “if you’re autistic, it’s not a bad thing to be autistic, be kind to yourself.” 🥲 thank you Claire.
I keep waiting for late diagnosis to get easier… 1.5 years later and it’s still really hard some times. I know you get it. Keep snuggling with those cute kitties, I know kitty snuggles always make me feel better. Unfortunately my black kitty has been sick, but hoping some meds will help him feel better. Have a good week Claire and everyone!
I don't think this dude watches Porch Coffee, but there is a porch, and there is coffee...
...and there's a random police chase right through his yard.
th-cam.com/users/shorts19g_I2llIM0?si=oF39_-jNgKt44nZA