DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 24 - 11:42 AM

Report from repair shop - parts on hand, work soon underway, it could be as long as another month before I get it back.

Yesterday I took some scraps and made a three-layer piece that is about 10" x 3" intended as a sleep mask. No tie, it's meant to lay over my eyes at bedtime or for a nap. The little ready lights around the room offer up a fair amount of light; I'm not going to go try to turn off everything, but I can block it out. I was using folded washcloths to test the theory. I tested the prototype last night and it worked fine. Two layers of black t-shirt jersey and a dark green woven flannel block light well and I have a couple of soft textures to choose from. I'll make a couple more.

Since June 1 I have made note of my calories each day, being careful to stay under the limits I want to follow, and today I weighed myself. Down 3 pounds. This is with higher protein, lower carbs, and trying to get enough fiber to keep the gut happy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 24 - 10:54 PM

Spring cleaning again today with several loads of laundry washed and dried, and the dishwasher set to run at bedtime. Everything is freshly changed out as far as bedding. But that's mostly the "usual" stuff, not the declutter. Maybe I can get an eBay listing ready to go this evening and I'll post it tomorrow (since I'm about to the screens-out portion of my evening.)

The new canna bed was weeded (a few bits of Bermuda grass were left behind last week and sprouted); vines pulled off of some of the crinum lilies that I hope will bloom this year. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain overnight so tomorrow I can go get some of the free mulch from the city forestry site (it's always too heavy and tends to steam right after a rain.)

A friend needs help with some of the trash at her house (her daughter was over working to declutter their house) and my friend isn't supposed to do much lifting. The bin the daughter filled is too heavy for the local trash collectors to take, so we propose to transfer some of those contents (apparently things like discarded ancient canned goods) into contractor bags that I can carry and I'll bring a couple of them back here to put at my curb for our bulky waste pickup next week. My village is a lot less fussy at bulky waste time (her city charges extra. A lot extra.) What's left at her house will be light enough to be picked up.

I also have to start dragging my branches (and roll those three chunks of log) to the proper spot on the curb (bulky waste is any day next week, when they get around to it). There is a section of the back fence that needs to have brush removed still and I'll use the reciprocating saw for that. All of this brush and trash goes about 20 feet north of the driveway, not under the pine tree beside the drive, in case the solid waste folks come through with the big truck and mechanical arm that grabs piles of brush. They won't operate that under trees. If I get busy in the next few days I can clear out some dead wood in a couple of trees in the front yard also. (I have a friend who might bring over his chainsaw on the long pole and take them out, then we'll pile them at the curb.) It's possible this can finally be a productive week in the yard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 24 - 03:15 PM

Patty, when my daughter moved to their 18 acres to start building tiny houses she said there was a lot of stuff the previous owner didn't want to move, so sold it really cheap or gave to them. (She and a core group are on the mortgage and several other friends are participating in the purchase; they're all building houses around the property, each less than 700sf) I asked her if she needed any of my extra gardening tools and she rolled her eyes - said there was so much stuff on the property in the workshop that they sorted the working from the ancient and tossed what they couldn't use.

Though my house was empty for two years before I bought it there was enough stuff left behind in the garage, patio, and attic that I had a fair amount to work with. I like some continuity between residents on the property so I took apart the heavy-duty redwood picnic table (that had been mightily chewed by the final renter's two Dalmatians) and used planks to build a workbench in my newly constructed garage (I converted the old attached garage into an office/extra bedroom and storage rooms). The old plank legs and side of the workbench in the new garage give it a feel of having been here as long as the house.

Charmion, I also hope you can reclaim that third rug. I put a PDF of that article in the FB page where we've shared some of this stuff. In the last couple of weeks I've read two articles about pests that have literally recently evolved with human activity. Cockroaches and clothes moths. The cockroach article was online at Smithsonian Magazine.

Humidity is wretched still. Horrible night's sleep last night trying to get comfortable. Today I've decided to finish the spring cleaning with washing mattress cover and the light blanket, and the mattress topper was reversed end-to-end and side-to-side. It's too humid to hang bedding on the clothesline, it would take forever to completely dry. Tonight I'll put another cover on the bed and crank down the AC.

The local PD approved the hit-and-run accident report I filed, which has been forwarded to the insurance rep. As I wait for news on the amount of damage to my vehicle (soon), I've answered the phone when the number isn't identified as spam. I've resorted to telling the spam callers who want to buy my house "what a timely call! I was just thinking this morning that I should let some scammer steal all of my hard work for pennies on the dollar!" and hung up. But after a couple of times that gets old. I think the adjuster is just going to have to leave a voicemail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:11 PM

Sympathies on your rugs, Charmion, what a shame! Hope the Kabul one can be saved.


I have not begun to collect furnishings. Seems chancy to get serious about that sort of stuff until I know if the mortgage is really going to happen. Perhaps I can go out and visit the house during the inspection and make lots of notes on what's needed and what big items the sellers may want to ditch.    There is a monthly auction in town where I might pick up some likely items. Honestly, it's like furniture buying is a long forgotten thing that never crosses my mind.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 01:36 PM

The Atlantic pay-wall won’t let me read more than the two paragraphs you pasted here, but I get the point.

I have a cedar-lined blanket box and several large plastic trunks. So far, I have found one hole in the oldest Hudson’s Bay Co. blanket, which could well date back to the Great War — who knows when and how the moth got at that?. All the woollen sweaters get cleaned and wrapped in plastic bags before I put them away for the summer. Everything hung up in the upstairs storage room is in a zip-up garment bag. Now I guess I had better start looking for pheromone traps!

As for the damaged rugs, if any part of them is re-usable, it won’t be by me. That level of craftiness is way out of my range.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 12:54 PM

Dashing out in a minute, this just popped up in Facebook and I've only grabbed the URL, haven't read much yet. Alas, it is timely.
Sweater-Eating Moths Are an Unbeatable Enemy
They will eat much more than just your clothes.

Every year, beginning around the end of March, my household starts planning a massacre. Our targets are our home’s clothes moths: My spouse and I lay pheromone-laced traps in the closets, living room, and bedrooms; we—and our two cats—go on alert for any stray speckle of brown on a cream-colored wall. The moment we spy an insect, we’ll do whatever we can to crush it. After killing dozens upon dozens, my husband and I can now snatch moths straight out of the air.

None of this has been enough to eliminate the moths. These particular moths—webbing clothes moths—are simply too well adapted to modern human life; as a species, “they don’t really live outside anymore,” Isabel Novick, a biologist at Boston University, told me. Clothes moths have evolved into a perfect nuisance, so capable of subsisting on the contents of our homes that permanently purging them may be impossible.

Like cockroaches, they have evolved with people. There is no getting rid of them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:34 AM

That is so sad! Can pieces of them be cut down into smaller mats or area rugs? Drink coasters?

Enjoy that last meeting. Will you continue to participate in the singing after this?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:27 AM

Bad news from the carpet cleaners: Three rugs so badly damaged as to be unsalvageable. My favourite, the big green Bokhara, is one of them. The Chinese runner that came from my grandparents' house and one of the red-and-yellow Afghan runners Edmund brought home are the other two goners. I'm holding out hope for a bedroom-sized bluish Kirman that Edmund bought in the Kabul bazaar; that was what I was looking for when I started pulling the lot of them off the top shelf.

The choir's Annual General Meeting is tonight. It will be my swan song as the Secretary of the Board and, therefore, my last set of minutes. What a relief.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:18 AM

Patty, the mineral that comes to mind with long thin crystals (and somewhat flexible) is chrysolite. That would get you banned from the campground! Maybe instead work on an artform that involves sheets of muscovite. :) Is the stuff you're putting into the storage unit what you brought in the trailer from MS, or are you now accumulating furnishings locally for the new house?

A couple of nights ago I conducted a self-as-guinea-pig unintended test of my plan to stop screen time well before bedtime. I got busy and forgot and it was time to go to bed when I turned off the computer. I'd also had a rare glass of wine fairly late, and those two things, while they didn't seem to make a difference about going to bed, meant I didn't sleep well (efficiently?) and was really tired the next day. Stepping away from screens accomplishes a couple of things; I sleep better, am not so tired during the day, and I'm reading more books (versus reading stuff on screens which isn't usually books). I've moved my tablet to the kitchen and I read my online journals and papers at the table in the morning, not in bed in the evening.

During the appropriate screen time I an viewing sewing tutorials on projects and have ruled out some stuff just because of the computers, cutters, and devices they're using. I upgraded to the fancy sewing machine but want to keep the projects fairly analog. I started one project last year that is a sort of Trapunto that I learned by watching my junior high school best friend's grandmother. She did the old fashioned method of backing a print with a solid then stitch around the print items you want to have contoured. She would slice into the back fabric, stuff with batting, then stitch the backing closed. I was just stitching through two layers around what element I wanted filled but pushing batting into it then hand stitching it closed. Come to find there are some remarkable things going on with multiple levels of batting. I'm rethinking how to complete that project.

Shopping today after my haircut, going the usual route I drive to see a few friends and pick up things at the halal grocery near where I used to work. I'll have to remember to not take the express lanes because I don't have my toll tag and I'm pretty sure the rental agency will overcharge for that privilege.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 10:45 AM

I'm about to get decluttered of an infected lump on my head.
It's oozing, and it has to be drained. Oh, joy. (It hurts as well.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 10:12 AM

I had no idea there was a traveling lady making fiber flowers, but it makes sense! If she were a mineral collector, perhaps she would specialize in the the ones with acicular habit (long thin needley crystals).   

Two friends do sewing on the road, even when boondocking without 120V electricity. One makes beautiful small items and quilts, and another is constantly making curtains etc. for herself and anyone else who needs them. She participates in 'van-build' events where people help one another upgrade vans to be more livable.

I can't imagine fitting all the odds and ends of a sewing room into a camper, but, we haul around what is important to us. Being in 120 square feet will force the issue of what is really wanted and needed.

The storage saga got worse yesterday, locked out of 'my' unit again, this time by fussiness in the mechanical part of the latch, which would not move during the 2 seconds the light was green to open it. And that baloney about onsite managers 'you can always call for help' Nope. Locked up house with doorbell removed, heavy shades, unanswered knocks, unanswered phone despite barking dogs and 2 cars parked there.   

But in desperation tried jamming the thing into the wall and it finally opened. So I did get Load 1 transferred into the storage unit. Had to revert to deep-south day planning and get it all done before 10 a.m. because we are now flirting with 100 degrees in the afternoons.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 24 - 04:45 PM

Sandra, that is amazing work she does! A programming background is perfect when it comes to the techie stuff that goes on with those embroidery sewing machines. It helps one see that while the machine is producing the work, the vision, design, and programming are what make that art possible.

Another overcast day. I'll take the string trimmer to again clear the grass out of the area where one of these days I'll plant some stuff. Our growing season ends in late October, sometimes mid-November, so starting late isn't such a problem (unless it is as hot as last year.) This evening I'll finish another eBay item that I started ages ago (photos) - it needs a box and packing materials before I list it. The sale goes up when the box is ready to go out the door.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jun 24 - 06:07 AM

Lynne Stone, musician lived in a bus with her sewing machine & supplies for making 3D flowers which have ended up in museums.
video of Lynne talking to Gardening Australia program

I haven't seen her for over 15 years & had to search for info, all I knew was her first name & the dance group she played for!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 24 - 01:07 AM

Forward movement today on the eBay listings, and I'm realizing that my bigger Canon camera isn't as good at this as it used to be. Some photos for listings are with the Canon, but the closeups are now using the phone camera. They've come a long way in the last few years. These listings were small and didn't take long. I'll work on some high dollar items tomorrow.

I made progress on a sewing project yesterday and am about to set up a feature on the new sewing machine that I haven't used before, to do with free motion quilting to achieve a Trapunto style.

I think if I were in Patty's shoes of traveling in an RV I'd have all of my books on my tablet or laptop to free up space but I'd have to carry along a couple of bins of fabric and notions and the sewing machine. And figure out the most interesting projects I could do with the limited resources involved with that travel. This would be one of those projects.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 24 - 12:54 PM

Mike the carpet cleaner has hauled away all the stored rugs. He says the insects visible through the plastic are not of a species he recognizes, such as the common clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella). Nevertheless, he promised to steam-clean and mothproof all of them. This will cost me a hell of a lot of money.

Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jun 24 - 11:19 AM

I'm not sure if it rained again overnight but the yard is still sodden. Way too wet to cultivate beds without the squish of mud from any of my digging tools. One wants to flocculate the soil, not end up with glazed planting surfaces that don't allow water to move to and from plants for the season. Another day of work indoors it is.

I can pick up just about any small thing sitting in the front room and it is an item to be listed on eBay. There is a randomness about doing that, but I'll give that a try this morning. I moved a cassette player into my office equipment area (a new surge protector is arriving this morning so that all of these audio devices can be plugged in with space for some of the wall wart sized plugs). That player was wrapped with an unrelated power supply cable, probably added when someone was unpacking from an estate sale and lumped them together. So let's see if I can send a stray power supply to a new home (I see this model sells on eBay.) And work out from there. (I'm still looking for a couple of devices offered to friends, once I lay my hands on them. This is part of that effort also.)

It's a nice temperature today but the house is incredibly muggy so I'll turn on the AC to dry things a bit, get a long sleeved cotton shirt, and go to work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 24 - 10:02 PM

The top two thick cotton bath mats from the stack (of four) outside my bedroom door, along with a couple of other small rugs, have gone through the wash again. This is after narrowing down the possible sources of the skunk that still wafts through the house when the air conditioner turns on or a door is opened into a closed hallway. The mats are there for the dogs who often sleep outside my door.

The garden goal is to head out the door early tomorrow and prepare a couple of spots for crops. And to transplant a native hibiscus from a pot into the ground. All of this will involve the string trimmer, the tiller, a mattock, a spade fork, and a shovel. Oh, and the wheelbarrow. Everything is handy and ready to go.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 24 - 10:38 AM

Patty, I know that area, and have camped at City of Rocks State Park—it's an amazing formation. Lots of wildlife, beautiful sunsets, and so many stars at night. (And up the road from it is the unincorporated community of Dwyer, New Mexico. I noticed it on the map and had to drive past; as I recall all we saw there were a few mailboxes and an abandoned gas station on the county road.) I drove through Silver City and was interested to see the (at that time) old fashioned dirt roads and the little houses in the old neighborhoods, but then the big box stores that had all built up along the main drag. It's like a lot of small towns in the middle of seemingly empty landscapes - a magnet for shoppers in the surrounding region. I've stayed in Deming a time or two on road trips and it is a regular stop for food and gas off I-10. Deming has a tiny little old downtown area with the 2-3 story brick buildings and the rest of it kind of sprawls. I also went through one time to find Rockhound State Park for camping (we were there in cold rainy weather so didn't do any rockhounding ourselves).

I had to look up "mini splits," they sound interesting. I have all of the duct work of a heat pump here, but that sounds like it was easier to install around the house (retrofit) without ducts being added.

It sounds like you'll have a good time settling in once you take possession! Given time to get to know the area, if you decide it's time to move into town later you'll have an idea of where to go. (My friend who stayed recently moved to Arizona for about 15 years and lived in a retirement community, from age 70 to 85, made a lot of friends and was socially active. Four years ago she decided it was time for the next phase and has moved back to Texas where she lives with her oldest son. She visits the Arizona town where her sister still lives.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 May 24 - 11:08 PM

Stilly, that moving-and-storage saga sounds like quite a nightmare. I'll try to be more grateful I'm not juggling deadlines like that!

Well the house is a 2/1, stucco with newish tin roof, on a fenced acre out amidst cattle ranches. Tucked away on a long driveway off the little-traveled county road, so I won't be high-visibility, just a couple of near neighbors so not totally isolated. Has a well, new septic. View of the Cooke Range on one side and the Mimbres Valley on the other. Got renovated/updated in 2013, then got new appliances last year. High ceilings, airy, with 4 new mini-splits. Storage/mud room and small outdoor storage shed too. Slab from an old garage can either host a new tall garage or perhaps will let me enclose a teeny pool.

Sort of between Deming and Silver City, with an easy drive to both.   Not far from City of Rocks State Park. Access to remnants of the Butterfield Trail, a lot of mineral districts and 'the Gila' wilderness.

Perhaps not as convenient as in-town, but, serenity, privacy, dark sky, space, and quiet will be great. To find this, move-in ready (in July) without breaking the bank is miraculous. I suppose I will discover plenty of drawbacks, but for now it's all good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 24 - 05:56 PM

That is so disappointing! You don't happen to have a large chest freezer, do you, that you can quickly put them all into? At least stop the damage at this point in time. (That's my library response - wet books? Freeze them. Infested books? Freeze them. Mildew, etc. )

I have been puttering with the electronic equipment in my office to set up the double cassette player to start some of the conversion of my Dad's music tapes to digital form. Part of my clearing out the front room is putting equipment intended for this work in place. In the background MSNBC is playing, and I joined millions in listening to them read off "guilty" on all 34 charges. Sentencing happens on July 11.

Back to work. I baked some chicken and cut up and mixed it into my zucchini casserole made the other day. So good, and low-carb. I didn't miss the pasta that I used to put in it. Alternate fasting comes starting Saturday, and stepping back from carbs and sugar now gives me a head start on the adjustment period as you get used to fewer calories and less sugar. Except for terribly stormy weather today I would have headed to the gym. Maybe tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 24 - 04:32 PM

IKEA. I meant IKEA.

But you knew that. I hope.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 24 - 04:31 PM

I just made a distressing discovery.

For a couple of years, I've had several hand-knotted Asian rugs stowed on top of the three-section IDEA storage shelving in the basement. They are rolled and tied, and wrapped in the plastic in which they came home from the cleaners. Now that the shelving unit is more than half empty, I hauled them down this afternoon to move them to a more accessible place. Two of them -- my favourites! -- are crawling with moths. I did not even open the plastic, let alone unroll them to assess the damage.

So tomorrow I have to call the rug cleaners.

Effing hell.

In other news, the ReStore guys from Habitat for Humanity have hauled away the excess bed frame.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 24 - 02:14 PM

Patty, congratulations! What can you tell us about the house (without jinxing the deal)? Property or house size, interesting location? How far will you be from amenities? Good luck negotiating the storage access. I used a storage facility in New Mexico for a couple of years in the late 1990s when I was planning to move there. Nothing high-tech about it. When I went to finally move that stuff out my ID was all I needed to get the guy to use bolt cutters on my lock because I had brought the wrong padlock key.

Family stuff moved down from the northwest was stored in Sedillo in anticipation of the settling there. I had a house lined up, a job offer and plans to pursue a PhD at the university, but my ex's divorce attorney dragged her feet so long that the whole arrangement collapsed (I couldn't buy the house by myself until the divorce was final). There is a coda: two months later I was diagnosed with cancer and I been in the new job, my insurance wouldn't have covered it. I stayed in the Texas job to keep my insurance after cancer. I left everything in NM storage for the time being (versus just moving to another storage locker in Texas.) In addition to that, I had a lot of stuff from the marital home that I put in pods when I moved out, so when I moved into this house I had the locker contents and two pods to move in. Two rooms here were packed full and unusable until I sorted it. Now only the front room is storage (though for quite a while it was in use as the library and watching TV). It is filled with the evidence of the Goodwill habit and family trunks and antiques I'm not planning to keep. That sums up the bulk of my current declutter challenge.

More thunderstorms today. I should dive into the contents of that front room and see what is easy to list next.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 May 24 - 11:10 AM

Well as long as we're discussing wireless electronics. I had to rent a storage space here in New Mexico for the next few months, while I wait for my house deal to close (yay!).

I dropped by the best local facility to check if they might have a unit. I was supposed to stand in the sun and crouch down to a small barred window to speak to the attendant. Who remained on the phone for quite a while rather than acknowledging my presence. So much for that dehumanization. Even if she did end her call, I'm not spending 20 minutes entering into a contract while crouching at a prison gate window.

My other choice? High tech dehumanization. The other place, now part of a national chain, had a decent office and polite young lady who signed me up with a minimum of grief. Then sent a text to my phone instructing me to sign up with google to download an app to be able to use the facility. So angry. Google Surveillance has to be involved with unlocking a storage shed, really?   Instead of actual locks we have (thoroughly hackable) electronic gates and doors, which rely on Bluetooth, which is flaky.   Nuts. I refuse to get a google account, so I had to stick the app on an iPad. No idea if the blasted thing will work when needed. And so excited about driving solo with a trailer while manipulating a touch screen.

But seriously. If there is one thing that did not need an app, it's a storage facility. I'll put up with it for a few months, then never again.

Hopefully it will be handy not only for stashing stuff from Trip 1, but will allow me to pick up a piece of furniture or two before closing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 24 - 11:44 PM

A trip to the store and gas station this evening when traffic was moderate was a good first run in the rental. And I'm sold on the minivan vs SUV for the next vehicle. There are several hybrids to look into next year when I expect to be ready to make the jump. They're less expensive than SUVs (though there are fewer choices - and they're all V6, which is ok) and way less expensive than pickup trucks.

I was trying to program my garage door controller into the vehicle when there was a flash of black to my right and it seems Cookie has finally decided she can leap out of the dog stall from the top of the dog house. Next thing I know she's jumping at my door—a few hours in the garage and I almost have an animal in the vehicle. [sigh]. Return her to the yard, move the dog house so she can't make the leap again, and retry the controller. It isn't connecting so far, but in my experience it takes a couple of tries before it finally connects.

Tomorrow a push on eBay listings. I have to declutter that front room.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 24 - 02:53 PM

Getting into the rental vehicle was interesting - my SUV is seven years old and this one is light years ahead with all of the screens and buttons. I sat in the driveway for at least 30 minutes reading the manual and adjusting a few settings, but still haven't found out how to activate the backup camera (it comes on automatically when the SUV is in reverse - nothing happens in this one.) I fear that someone played with the standard settings to turn things off, so I've brought the service manual into the house to read. I may have to pull up YouTube to learn about some of the adjustments available.

The basics are taken care of - the trip mileage setting is back to zero and I've set my two favorite radio stations. It looks like I can't use Sirius (just logging into my account would be easy - but Enterprise wants you to pay for the privilege.) They said no smoking (great!) and no animals. The girls will be fine with that.

This is a Wednesday that feels like Monday, so I expect the whole week to be a bit odd. For now, I'll take a nap.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 24 - 10:40 AM

Headed out in a minute to deliver the wounded Pathfinder to the adjuster and pick up a rental. The Pathfinder was emptied (last time something like this happened I didn't clear it out and had to lug all of the stuff from the lot where it was pronounced totalled, and I forgot my little stash of coins and a couple of the plastic lizards the kids gave me for dash ornaments.) I have the portable garage door opener with me (the mirror in the Pathfinder is programmable and is what I usually use). Have I thought of everything? Probably not, but I'll find that out when I get there. Now to get the door to shut and let me drive to that shop without a warning light on the dash.

More rain overnight, and I can see by the muddy footprints in the den that I need to sweep and mop soon. The consistency of the dog hair drifting now is much lighter than before, when it is just blue heeler unadulterated by the copious amounts of Labrador retriever hair. (Cue "Housewife's Lament.")

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 28 May 24 - 09:56 PM

I am now wearing a light brace, so am still limited with my arm - and as you can imagine, it is quite weak from six weeks of inactivity. Typing is still, therefore, slow and laborious with my left hand (I'm right handed) but at least the weight of the plaster is gone.

Physio with The Amazing Emma starts next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, my stash won't be going anywhere. It will still be waiting for me. Ukulele playing, however, hmmmm....might be able to strum.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 May 24 - 06:16 PM

I made a batch of my zucchini casserole (with onions, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes and tomato sauce, a little sharp cheddar cheese and seasoned with Italian sausage). I didn't add pasta this time, to keep the carb count lower. This casserole is like a fancy marinara sauce and I'll probably eat it with roasted chicken or a pork chop, for more protein.

This afternoon I found the local police department form for reporting accidents, so I filed one, then sent a copy to the insurance company. Since it is illegal to file a false report I think this gives more credence to the accident account. With no one else stopping and no info on that other car I feel like I need to be as clear as possible that this was hit and run so I don't get penalized for the collision. (Wouldn't it be interesting if someone reading these reports sees a Cadillac report an accident with damage to their right side from the same time period? But then the PD would have to decide which version they believed, because the Caddy driver wouldn't be admitting guilt.)

We're under a hazardous weather outlook today and the forecast suggests thunderstorms are going to persist through the weekend. Good thing I have lots of indoor stuff to do. For right now it has cleared and I can go put up a piece of wire garden fencing to help prop up a couple of the new cannas put in last weekend. Two of them have toppled over and will get hit by the mower if I don't support them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 May 24 - 12:28 PM

Ouch, Jennie! Many things will resume with the cast off, won't they? Showers, for one! Were you able to type with it on, or do anything else that stepped in as a short-term hobby?

Yesterday there were many startling blasts from the new weather radio telling me of storms in surrounding counties; today the alarm blasts started way before dawn to alert me to the rain and wind passing through here. I stepped onto the porch this morning to retrieve two large boxes of delivered dog food and noticed small blue flowers everywhere on the ground. My vitex tree has been slow to reach prime blue color, but the blooms are glorious today (very tall and at 22 years, quite old for one of these) and I hope the wind doesn't whip the tree bare of blossoms. Normally it looks this good for a couple of weeks.

Indoor stuff today, and there is no shortage of choices in the declutter department.

I'm going to dedicate June to alternate day fasting, so I'll be getting a few foods ready for that (start eating that way now as much as possible as I go through current leftovers). The goal is to maintain a higher level of protein but get enough fiber to keep everything moving. And to go to the gym often.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 28 May 24 - 09:46 AM

Congratulations, Jennie! Do you have a stretch of physiotherapy to get your strength back?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 May 24 - 05:30 AM

YAH!!!!!

I assume you are eyeing your stash & the project/s that you were working on before The Plaster.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 28 May 24 - 01:46 AM

My right arm is now decluttered of the heavy plaster it has been wearing since being broken six weeks ago.

I am a happy woman again!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 24 - 10:48 PM

Sandra, I've had the same idea, several times. What holds me back is the thought of pointing someone at my house and then following them around to tell them where everything is supposed to go. I might as well do it myself. I need to establish a baseline of tidiness that a house cleaner could maintain. I understand about your hutch dust, I have a lot of tough dusty areas here also. I make a point now of going around a few rooms with the microfiber duster (looks like a big feather boa on a stick) at least once a month and that has helped.

I got part of the back yard near the house and under the trees mowed before a storm threatened to move in, so put the mower away. No rain, at least not so far. I fear we're about reached the second part of this process that we went through last year - wet spring, wretchedly hot summer. The back part of the yard has a groundcover I'm encouraging so I don't mow it very often (but when I do it spreads the seeds more.) This year I must use a sprinkler or soaker hose around the house to keep the foundation from cracking wide open.

I've made a transition around the house to summer conditions and after a shower this evening will put away the bedding described earlier. Tomorrow morning I'll get into the garden again and see about planting some hot weather crops (from seed). It's a bit too soon to harvest the garlic. I have some basil I can pick and dry, and more oregano (lots of that right now). The volunteer acorn squash are a lovely surprise and I'll start picking some of them soon. I thank my compost pile for that contribution, it's a seed that didn't break down like the rest and has risen, like a Phoenix, in my side yard with probably a dozen lovely dark green squash. Now it's time for okra and cucumbers. I really love the fresh pickles I can make from home-grown cukes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 May 24 - 08:51 PM

dusting?

last week I noticed my cane cabinet similar to this without roof, & doors are made of cross hatched cane was very dusty. I attacked it with a stiff brush & ended up with a number of giant dust bunnies, but most of the dust stayed where it was. Vacuuming hasn't helped much - sigh

I also have lotsa' dust under my wooden bed that the vacuum can't reach, & more in odd corners (dust jut loves corners, doesn't it?), I really need a cleaner for such jobs as my sore bits limit me pulling furniture around & reaching such places.

My older neighbour has a cleaner every 2 weeks to do her vacuuming, Mr Huff'n'Puff (cos he does! & also moans about the condition of the world & other stuff) but I don't qualify for such an Aged Care Package. A few years back a friend found someone who wanted casual cleaning work on facebook, so I might ask her.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 May 24 - 01:44 PM

The Great Bed Swap of Glendon Road is complete, and I just have to put the sheets back on the double so I have somewhere to sleep tonight. Of course, I also have rather a lot of drifting cat hair to vacuum up, and the innermost corners of the oak bed frame to dust while they’re still accessible. But that can wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 24 - 11:39 AM

With a nod to summer a wool bed blanket and a shawl that usually hangs on my office chair are airing in the dryer then will be folded and zipped into the under-bed holders for at least six months. The quilt will get a delicate wash and dry then go on a shelf in the closet. Summer-weight bedding is in full force from now on, as I begin the delicate dance of "do I want the ceiling fan blowing on me or not?"

While my tea brewed I started stripping the dried oregano leaves off of stems harvested a couple of weeks ago. Two new batches are drying on the front of the Kitchen Queen and later today I'll cut more and those will start out hanging over the kitchen sink. Harvesting now before they go into full flower is best. Once all leaves are separated from the stems they'll get a bit of a crush to reduce their size and be stuffed into canning jars with lids and a loosely placed ring on top. The trick using the FoodSaver canisters is that instead of using a $20 canister for one thing (to store all of my dried herbs airtight) I put the jar into the canister and use the canister to suck out all of the air from the jar. Remove the jar to sit sealed in the pantry for a long time. Repeat. You can also use commercial jars that have screw on lids with a rubber seal inside (like spaghetti sauce jars). Again, just lightly set the lid on, don't screw it tight so that the food saver can suck all of the air out to seal it.

I just heard the Navy jets flying in formation over the house. For most of the world it is Monday, here it is Memorial Day with the noisy jet demonstrations (usually offering the Missing Man Formation of one jet missing or leaving the formation to fly straight up and away. Quite moving.)

It's already hot but I'm going to mow the back this morning, then turn my attention to the gardens, where I can come and go to cool off as needed. This is one of two "do stuff around the house without needing to drive anywhere" days. The automotive place with the adjuster is open today but the Enterprise car rental office isn't, and the first adjuster appointment is Wednesday morning. One trip across town with a wonky door is enough for this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 May 24 - 10:28 AM

Just another rainy Monday in Stratford, but off to a slow start because of a 90-minute power failure. By the time the gadgets came back to life, pool class at the Y was cancelled and the last vestiges of energy and ambition had seeped out of me.

I have four file boxes of music kits to check into the choir library database. That will keep me semi-busy until the movers show up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 24 - 11:55 AM

The insurance company claim person called this morning and had only a few questions - she liked my report that I attached to the online claim form yesterday. Only a couple of questions remained, regarding the road conditions (clear and dry) and nature of the trip (personal use). Each state has different rules and in Texas the uninsured motorist part of the policy will probably kick in so my collision coverage doesn't pay for it. This sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul at one company, but on paper it means that my rates won't go up if the uninsured motorist claim is approved. (One can assume that the Cadillac either had no insurance or had it but was impaired or had so many accidents that one more was going to get them in really hot water).

The door doesn't latch very well so there isn't much driving until I take back roads over to the adjuster on Tuesday. The nursery is six blocks from here (I need to pick up some bedding plants). The mulch bunker is about two miles (I might as well work on the garden since I'm not driving to the gym or other places) and might be manageable. Both of these are accessible via surface roads, no freeway driving with a wonky door.

Otherwise, laundry is in, the kitchen is looking good, and I have a lot of eBay stuff pulled out of the front room to list. I topped $300 for my 90-day sales, hitting my $100 a month goal, but I can do better. I'll do my mowing and garden work in the mornings. And it's time to get out another jigsaw for evenings after screen time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 24 - 12:49 AM

In a city of nearly a million people, the prospect of police bothering to track down a new model Cadillac that happens to have damage that fits what happened to me is never going to happen. You're right, those same things are illegal here also, and that was a major asshole who decided that running was the thing to do. There wasn't anyone around who appeared to stop who got a license. I don't know what I'd tell the police that they could act on. If my insurance company requires a report I'll file one, but it is a formality. The drivers here are really terrible in the last year or two and I'm pretty sure it's because they had to remove all of the red light cameras. We need them put back in place.

I've emptied everything out of the SUV in preparation for the trip to the adjuster on Tuesday at the soonest. Since it needs to sit in a shop for ages waiting for a new door, I don't need my spare change or various small tools and devices pilfered in the meantime. (I did hand out $5 at one street corner during a red light on my way to the grocery. That's why the change is in there.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 25 May 24 - 10:45 PM

Shit, Stilly! That Cadillac was a hit-and-run for sure, and I’d bet the driver was impaired. In Canada, the turn would be a Highway Traffic Act offence (probably dangerous driving), and the take-off would be “fleeing the scene”, a serious Criminal Code offence. All in all, you encountered a major asshole. It’s such a pity you were too busy not T-boning him and not running off the road to get his plate number.

Will you make a police report? Cadillac Guy needs to be caught, someday if not now. For sure he’ll do it again, or something worse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 May 24 - 09:11 PM

It sounds like your change of venue bed-wise is a sound plan (with so many moving parts!) That Mission style bed sounds lovely.

Today's activities started as planned; I mowed and trim the front yard early, then my ex came over and we visited our favorite warehouse store to load up on produce. The trip home was almost over when a Cadillac in the left lane a car-length in front of me decided to make a right turn onto the side street. Never mind there is no turning right from the left lane, they gave no signal, just POW! and there they were in front of me. I hit the brakes and swerved way to the right so instead of t-boning them it was a solid thud of their passenger side into my driver side. I pulled out of the traffic lane on the side street where I landed and looked back to see the Cadillac back up into the lanes we had been in and speed south, with no intention of sharing their insurance or checking on our condition. We are fine (the glancing blow wasn't the kind of thing to cause stiff necks, etc.)

The door is a mess (it doesn't latch completely) so I can't be sure it will work properly as far as airbags and sensors. I'll empty out my usual car stuff and take it in for an adjuster when my company tells me where. I refuse to buy a car now and have another loan when I'm paying off the heat pump, so I'll have to wait out the repair. (This also clobbered the resale value). I'll be stuck with a rental for a while, and who knows how long it takes to replace at least one door. I've written it up, made a couple of maps with diagrams, taken photos, and will file a claim this evening.

I think I'll go sew for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 25 May 24 - 09:53 AM

The mattress is due in mid-June, Stilly. “Two to three weeks”, they said.

The movers are due on Monday afternoon. First, they will disassemble the metal-framed queen-sized bed (a complex task requiring a ratchet wrench, two kinds of screwdriver, and much better eyesight than mine), and haul its components from the guest room to the garage. The mattress and its base are destined for the dump (at 25 years old , they rate high on the ick scale), and the movers will do that deed when they finish at my house. The metal bed frame will go to Habitat for Humanity, which picks up donations on Tuesdays.

Next, they will move my grandparents’ Victorian double bed from my bedroom to the guest room. This is a break-down-and-reassemble operation that Edmund and I could have done easily, but is out of the question for me on my own.

Finally, the movers will haul the Mennonite-built single (twin) bed frame from the basement to my bedroom and assemble it there. Made of quarter-sawn oak in the Mission style, it’s so massive that I cannot even pick up the headboard by myself, let alone carry it up two flights of stairs. The new mattress is for that bed, so I’ll have to sleep in the guest room for a couple of weeks.

Why go to all this trouble, you ask? The fact is that I would prefer not to sleep by myself — or even with the cat — in a big bed. With all that acreage, it’s always in the back of my mind that Edmund’s not with me, and not just storm-stayed in Newfoundland.

As for the queen-sized bed, it’s simply too big for the guest room. Also, I never liked it much; its only virtue was its low price when we needed a bed wide enough for both of us and long enough to keep Edmund’s feet in-board. I was forever bumping my hip on the sharp top corner of the footboard, and it’s a highly effective dust-catcher.

The concert choir’s last show of the season is tonight, so by tomorrow I will have 65 sets of music to sort and return to library storage. That project will choke the music room for a couple of weeks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 24 - 11:53 PM

This week saw the slow untangling of garden chores as I moved the rest of the newer cannas from near the driveway over to the enlarged and now steel-edged bed on the south side of the house. I topped that with mulch (getting rid of the last black plastic bag from last fall) and tomorrow I can use the trimmer then run the tiller in the garden beside the driveway. This weekend is a big push to get some beds finally planted. Tomatoes and cucumbers and okra.

There were more carbs than usual today because I made myself a batch of pork and shrimp lomein. There is enough of the sauce/meat/vege for a couple of more bowls of noodles, that can be cooked later. I didn't make the whole large batch to make sure I stopped at one portion. I love the stuff.

Part of this eating healthier and more protein experiment also includes drinking more water. The rule of thumb about drinking eight glasses a day (what volume in that glass?) doesn't have a lot of science backing it up, but I'm reading about brain health and that being a bit dehydrated isn't good for it, so my consumption of decaf tea (hot or iced) and regular water has gone up.

When does your new mattress arrive? You said there will be movers involved?

Linn, how is your declutter going? Any more sales of stuff from out of the basement? We haven't heard from Dorothy for a while about her latest adventures, and there are lurkers who we'd like to hear from. How is everyone spending this holiday (or not) weekend as we approach summer?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 24 - 12:46 PM

We are a couple of days apart only age-wise; Roz Chast did a cartoon in the New Yorker they called "A Nursery Rhyme from the American Psychiatric Society" I went looking for just now (Sept. 18, 2000, the back page, in the NYer archive):

"Monday's kid is passive-aggressive,
Tuesday's kid is compulsive-obsessive,
Wednesday's kid is hypochondriacal,
Thursdays kid is just plain maniacal.
Friday's kid is anal-retentive.
Saturday's kid is too non-attentive.
But the kid who's born on the Sabbath day -
defies diagnosis in every way."

They post the original in the poem in the description about the cartoon:
[Monday's child is fair of face/ Tuesday's child is full of grace/ Wednesday's child is full of woe/ Thursday's child has far to go/ Friday's child is loving and giving/ Saturday's child works hard for his living/ And the child that is born on the Sabbath day/ Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.]

I'll post the graphic on the shared FB page.

Imagine trying to live up to the hype of a nursery rhyme. It describes the stages of all of our lives. (That said, I suspect all of us, looking back at photos of ourselves years or decades ago must ask "I looked ok - what was I complaining about back then?)

Waiting on the mail carrier today to pick up another eBay box, as I slowly move that colorful glassware out of the house. It's an overcast day and I'm going out in a few minutes to do some trimming and mowing. Just a typical Friday. Not doing anything this weekend (Memorial Day was a holiday weekend I always dreaded as a park ranger - it's when the crowds descended on our parks, and they went from peaceful places to zoos of hot fussy people.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 23 May 24 - 04:15 PM

I was born on the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend of 1954. "Saturday's child works hard for her living" -- did anyone ever say you were "fair of face", Stilly?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 May 24 - 12:51 PM

Charmion, our holidays are all kind of muddled. Memorial Day versus Veterans Day, and then the Fourth of July - all patriotic but were established for different reasons. Labor Day is my personal holiday (I was born on the first Monday in September and every few years my birthday lands on it.) Sales last for weeks or a whole month, and I'm not actually convinced that any prices are lowered. I think they're doubled on paper then marked as half-price, but that's me, always a skeptic.

The shirt transformation from a man's pull-over with a few buttons at the neck and a collar was successful and is comfortable once the semi-standing rib knit collar is gone. I'll have to look for another one or two next time I'm at the thrift store because a couple of my fairly worn night shirts are about to be retired. (In the cool months one can wear PJs or nightshirts several nights in a row, but in the hotter months, one or two nights are all you can manage if the house isn't super air-conditioned.)

This week an old friend from the university reconnected (through a mutual friend I ran into a few weeks ago) and in today's email we were comparing notes on thrift stores in that town (she still lives near the U). In answering her question about the thrift stores and warehouse food shopping and such I do I realized I was describing a decentralized form of commerce that works as long as you make a loop (don't waste gas) and are open-minded about what bargains you will take home to eat or wear or use in the house. Save the trips to the big box stores for the few things you have to buy new and repair parts, etc. I do order things online, but most is in person and is the luck of the draw.

The wading pool has been moved to a new home, and my greenhouse is much more approachable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 23 May 24 - 08:36 AM

Canada has no spring shopping extravaganza like Memorial Day. In Ontario, January is the traditional time for “white sales” — how’s that for an anachronism, in these days of multicoloured bed-linen? But American marketing patterns do affect us; we have Black Friday now, whether we want it or not.

Social media tell me that American veterans are as irked by the commercialization of Memorial Day as Canadians are by the encroachment of Christmas glitz on Remembrance Day (11 November). It’s yet another thing that serves to alienate some vets from the merry civilian world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 May 24 - 11:41 PM

I tried adding wine and got the dermatitis thing again (sulfites), so if I do add it, it doesn't pay to finish a bottle over a couple of days. I would have to buy the little single serving bottles and have one very infrequently.

Congratulations on the mattress. I didn't think the Canadian stores would observe the US Memorial Day, unless you're close enough to the border that they'd get a lot of competition (but customs duty or taxes might knock out the savings). Are there any Canadian holidays that have the reputation for "white sales" and mattresses and more?

Humid today and more storms this evening. The new weather radio is startling when it goes off—a half-dozen times today, so far, and I'm tempted to lower the alert volume except it usually has news I need to hear, not ignore. My next door neighbors put a new surface on their brick driveway (something that keeps the bricks from fading?) and are supposed to wait 2 days before driving or parking on it, so they're using one car that is parked on the street during the day and up near my garage overnight (to keep it out of harm's way). Fingers crossed we don't get any hail before they can pull it back into their garage.

I have to turn off the computer and do non-screen time; I have a nice nightshirt from the thrift store (a man's size 3X shirt that on me almost reaches my knees) that has a kind of broad knit collar I don't like. I'll use the seam ripper to open that part of the shirt, remove the collar, and sew the edge back together. If I cut it off it would leave a kind of stuff rim in place.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 22 May 24 - 08:04 PM

I have ordered and paid the deposit on my new mattress. Canadian vendors don’t care about Memorial Day; they offered the price that’s on the website, no more and no less. That said, the price includes the base (not a box spring, but does the same job), so I’m not quite as stunned as I could be.

The last time I bought a Tempur-Pedic mattress, in 1999, it was the most expensive thing we owned that did not require either a licence plate or documentation at the land registry office. That’s no longer true, now that I possess a fine bespoke mandolin and a Martin guitar, but it’s close.

My wonky shoulder is especially looking forward to its arrival.

In other news, one can drink red wine without blowing one’s keto diet. Not much red wine, mind you, but some.