DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Mar 24 - 04:20 PM

I just noticed that the room I've been sticking stuff into that doesn't go anywhere else is filling up. Hmmm. If things don't fit places, other things will have to go. But not today, Zurg!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 24 - 01:32 PM

JennieG said That could probably be looked upon as decluttering all those cut fabrics, they aren't clutter when they become a finished quilt, do they?

I'm operating on the same wavelength - I've sorted fabrics and notions and batting and such and am going to learn to do some of the quilted projects, starting with scraps since I have so many. Having such a plan did involve getting a new sewing machine and doing a lot of rearranging - part of the long-range outlook for this hobby. And all I can say about Sandra's kind offer is that it's better she lives closer to JennieG than to me - receiving stuff from someone's stash is magical and yet it's also something to store and figure out if you can use. Good luck to the two of you in that handoff!

Charmion, that's such a misery, get well soon. I have neighbors who have ended up with surgery for that disease. I learned of their condition over the years when sharing garden produce, so try to offer things I know they can eat (if they love okra but only eat it fried, and that's a trigger, I don't offer okra, etc.)

I finally finished a jigsaw puzzle that has been set up way too long; since I promised it to friends I used that as the reason to make me finally finish it. The handoff will come soon, and another one I finished last year will be donated back to the thrift store where I occasionally buy puzzles. I find having a mix of small (300 piece) ones to work between the 500 and 1000 piece ones is a good way to pace myself (not just doing the big gazillion piece ones all of the time.) I need to find a couple of 300-piece puzzles to balance out all of the bigger ones people have given me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Mar 24 - 08:47 AM

A flare-up of diverticulosis (-itis) has me grounded today. While one’s lower gut is engaged in prolonged misery, one would prefer to remain within easy dashing distance of one’s personal WC.

Meanwhile, Stratford is having another bout of nearly summer weather — yesterday’s high was 20° Celsius — so I shall cut back my stupid weeping mulberry. When I’ve done that, I can finish the minutes from the last choir board meeting. (Only three more and the AGM to go.) Also, my Trillium mandolin busted an E string last week and really needs a complete suit of new ones.

That’ll be plenty of thrilling activity. Whee.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Mar 24 - 02:50 AM

well done, Jennie, downsizing fabrics is Good!

Now that you have a little bit of space, I have some new fabrics for you - a friend who used to teach & is now in a much smaller home is downsizing & the craft group went thru her fabrics. I didn't see anything I needed, but thought of you ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 11:05 PM

I have a lot of music which I want to organise, so my brilliant idea is to acquire a two - or three would be better - drawer filing cabinet and file the music in hanging folders. In alphabetical order, of course.

All I need is the cabinet....I have my name down at one of the op shops in case one is donated, I'm not going to pay full price......

When my heirs are going through my Stuff they can chuck the lot, cabinet and all, should they so wish.

At quilt group earlier today I managed to sew a round (can it be round when the quilt is square?) of diamonds to the central leafy block. It is looking gorgeously autumn-y. That could probably be looked upon as decluttering all those cut fabrics, they aren't clutter when they become a finished quilt, do they?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 07:16 PM

I love that 'mobile muddle' phrase too. And this mobile home has got some mobile muddles!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 05:36 PM

I tackled one mobile muddle today and filed bills and papers going back about three months (the stack kept moving from the top of my printer/scanner to the bookshelves behind my office chair. They're now filed in the office closet). - you are talking about me! apart from the mention of stuff being filed.

I just moved the 3 or 4 bits of hobby stuff off the archival stuff & found the 2 envelopes of info about the upcoming festival & folklore conference & moved it aside. Well done, me!!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 01:43 PM

Heading down the GoodReads rabbit hole this morning had me sorting some of my recent virtual and physical book purchases and I've updated my list for the annual reading challenge. Keb and Charmion toting books off to the used book stores reminds me that I have quite a "want to read" stack.

When my calendar pinged an appointment notification yesterday I realized there was a funeral for a former coworker so I scrambled into more suitable clothes (no skirts or dresses, but the gabardine slacks looked good and there was no slogan on the front of my t-shirt worn under a linen 3/4 sleeve jacket). I sat with three former coworker friends and we had a good visit. Caught up on important stuff until the next funeral or university retiree dinner.

One of those friends has adopted the dog that belonged to a retired colleague who died last year. We discussed old dogs and I followed up by shopping for large dog pads to put on the bed in the crate in particular since the dog who most often sleeps in there is more likely to not wake when he needs to go out. This morning he got a good going-over with the furminator tool and his ears squirted with the cleaning fluid. There will be a bath one of these days; for now he gets an occasional spritz with the enzyme spray that breaks down the proteins in pee.

I tackled one mobile muddle today and filed bills and papers going back about three months (the stack kept moving from the top of my printer/scanner to the bookshelves behind my office chair. They're now filed in the office closet).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 08:11 AM

I'm looking at my mobile muddles - official archival stuff with unofficial hobby suff on top. Originally 2 piles, then combined & parked on the scanner to get them off the floor, then I needed to scan ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 24 - 12:21 AM

Mobile muddles. I've never seen those words combined before but understand them perfectly and I have illustrations of the concept in many rooms in the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Mar 24 - 03:44 PM

I know what you mean by mobile muddles, Charmion!! I've got 'em!
And I am making dents in them as best I can.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Mar 24 - 02:38 PM

Patty is right -- whatever you select for disposal, get it out of the house as fast as you can. Otherwise you end up with what my mother called the "mobile muddle", an accumulation of stuff that never gets put away or rehomed, but just sits in one place or another in the house until everyone stops seeing it. This is Bad. Mobile muddles tend to grow and spawn, which is Worse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Mar 24 - 02:28 PM

Best wishes on the project, keb. I like your approach of pulling out things for specific destinations and taking them there posthaste. I got a lot of good mileage out of that approach. So many tackle things as a giant sort-out that gets bogged down.

Stilly, I used a POD for 30 days, it did help me clear out rooms to paint and also help with the keep/purge process. But, cost was high and rising, I hope it's affordable.

Also, was shocked to find some clothing damaged. I had hung a lot of stuff high up in the unit, which had a translucent (fiberglass?) roof, some things got severely faded. Anything subject to heat/cold/light damage, be careful.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Mar 24 - 11:31 AM

Starting on the apartment without a plan can set you back, moodwise. I hope you have a list to work from. It sounds like a nice-sized apartment, is it not someplace you want to live again? If the community has all of those thrift stores you name it sounds like a good sized community. One method that has come into vogue (and probably what I would use in my next move, if I make one) is to load up PODS containers and then have them moved to the next place you want to move into. Easier than living with the stress of a moving company (and all of the loss from casual workers lifting prime items or boxes with labels that suggest the contents are fungible (to pawn cash). If it can be dropped in a parking space near the apartment fill it and overnight put a padlock on it. When you finish filling it lock it and have the company pick it up to store and get the next POD to fill. Rinse and repeat until you have everything.

The breaker to the office popped again overnight, and there was no storm to cause it. I need the electrician out here to change that to a standard breaker so that chore goes higher up on my list of things to do this spring.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Mar 24 - 10:49 AM

Stilly, I"m still living at the "facility" in question;
the apartment I describe is a little over two hours away,
and it is functioning as a very expensive storage unit at the moment.
I have been renting the apartment during my entire treatment.

A dental appointment had been scheduled for me last week, and so
I took advantage of the appointment to set aside some time
in order to start clearing out the apartment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 08:43 PM

Keb, is where you are living now the apartment you describe, or is the apartment near the facility you have been a part of?

Two of the dogs and I took a quick walk this evening before dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the way back to the house. Much of this lovely day languished as I worked on computer stuff I need to finish. Yard work pushed to tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 07:30 PM

Declutter is one of the activities required of me now.

For four years I have put off decluttering my apartment (2Bd, 1Ba).
Now I'm getting started.
There is a lot of trash in the form of papers and old files,
so that is getting removed a little at a time.
The unneeded clothing is going to places like St Vincent de Paul,
Goodwill, or whatever drop-in box is convenient (other organizations).

The unneeded books are going to a place called More Than Words.
It combines the sorting and selling of second-hand books with
a mission for assisting disadvantaged high-school students.
I love driving a back-seat-load of boxes of books to More Than Words.
The students there are always ready to help unload the boxes and
to carry the books away to their own storage room.

The apartment still looks cluttered at the moment,
but I know what has been cleared out
and I can see the clear spaces that used to have piles or boxes stacked in them.
Eventually, though, I will have to clear out the file cabinets that have files I have not looked at, or needed, in years.
For now the cabinets can sit there while I get rid of the stuff outside of the cabinets.
I'll probably get rid of the cabinets themselves anyway, when the time comes.

Most likely I will have to downsize to a smaller space and so
eventually some of the furniture will have to go as well.
Then there is what is left of a cheap bookcase.
The bookshelves were made of particle board.
I loaded the shelves up with books, and one day they came apart
and the books spilled all over the wall-to-wall carpet.
Now the pieces of the shelves are waiting for me to
get someone to remove them as "junk".

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 05:21 PM

Two huge boxes of excess cookware have left the building, gone to Goodwill. This lot included Edmund’s enormous cast-iron skillet that I need two hands to lift, an enormous preserving pan, a small canner (the size of a normal stock pot), and Edmund’s stack of spring-form cake pans. What’s left on the basement work table is more attractive stuff destined for the spring rummage sale at church.

Upstairs, I have started purging music and video that doesn’t need to take up physical space, and pruned the books again — novels that can also go to the church.

I’m not sure what end-state I’m heading for, but it will come with visible baseboards in every room.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 12:30 PM

Thompson, my Mom had a rule for herself that she instilled in us: to have a base amount in the checking account that you simply didn't go below. You teach yourself to unsee that amount. College years were hard on my checking account but once I was working regularly I've made it my policy. (Credit unions have a base amount in Savings accounts you're not supposed to go below - a puny $5 - but when using programs like Quicken I notice the difference between what Quicken shows and what the CU shows on that balance.) At one time the commercial bank I used had an arrangement so you could have a second checking account to use in the way you describe (I think the plan was to protect your main checking and savings account from being hit by hackers or fraudulent checks). But commercial banks charge fees for everything and it was annoying to watch them nickel and dime my accounts monthly. Once the kids were grown and on their own (they used to have accounts linked to mine so I could move money for or to them if needed) I cut ties and moved to the credit union. Another thing that needs periodic examination is the way bills are paid, which is why I noticed the gouging going on.

My electric company merged with another company early this year and the bills have shot up, but I have a contract for a relatively low rate, so I have to pull up records and see what is going on. It's always something.

Lovely weather today so there will be yard work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 02 Mar 24 - 04:23 AM

Yikes, glad you're ok, Donuel.

Stilly, I used to have a method, and am creeping back to it, where I made a table of all inevitable weekly and monthly and annual expenses, worked out how much each was per week, and transferred all direct debits into a separate bank account, with money automatically transferred into that account every week. It means that if a sudden €500 bill comes up, there'll be money there to cover it.
And the great beauty of the method is that if the money to cover these expenses is gone out of your main account, you don't really consider it yours any more. It's incredibly calming to do this. Even if you can't manage to put the whole amount aside every week, you can put in a basic amount, then throw in a bit extra when you have a "win" - an extra payment for something you do. It takes away that sub-panic of trying to have the money in your main account when a payment is due to trigger, and worrying that it'll accidentally spend itself!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 05:22 PM

Clean laundry is good, even if you dress straight from the dryer, but best if it is back in the closet and dresser.

I dodged a laundry issue today. I showered when I got home this morning to wash the sticky oily goo and washable marker ink off of my scalp and hair. I was away overnight for a sleep study and they get you up at 5am - right when you're finally getting your best sleep. Duh. Anyway, after the sensors are removed one touch revealed the sticky stuff and there's no way I want that on my own pillow so I didn't go back to bed, I fed the dogs, drank decaf tea, then got into the shower. (You'd think that a medical person who spends their evenings measuring and marking heads before attaching sensors would know exactly what I was talking about when I asked her about her modern phrenology work. I had to explain about the early 1800s pseudo-science.)

This week I've made progress on the current jigsaw puzzle, promised to friends after I finish it, and I'd like to hand it over while they still remember the offer!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 03:26 PM

Reminder: carbon monoxide is toxic, dirty laundry is fetid but not fatal.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 03:10 PM

Yikes!

I have a day off. Am planning on -not actually doing, mind you, yet- putting all my clean laundry away. It's been weeks. There are multiple piles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 03:07 PM

Our big cat started meowing constantly yesterday.
Today the CO alarm went off. A giant lint clog fell down the chimney and opened a joint in the furnace flu.
We dodged a fatal bullet with our CO alarm which continued to go off 2 hours after all windows and doors were opened.
The gas company came within 15 minutes but the furnace people are not here yet after 2 hours. Yeah, I felt a definite brain fog.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 11:23 AM

The cats have gone off their very expensive canned meat. Dammit. And Isobel (small, intelligent, suspicious and unscrupulous) has a vet appointment this afternoon at three o'clock, which means that every door in the house is closed to ensure that she doesn't take refuge in an inconvenient spot such as under the cellar stairs. Watson's date with the vet is next week, but he is no trouble -- putting him into the carrier is a matter of scoop and drop.

Tuesday's blast of winter has ended, leaving a layer of new snow that is rapidly vanishing in bright sunshine. On the whole, a sheepish entry to the month of March.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Mar 24 - 09:11 AM

Rainfall yesterday wasn't measureable, but it was enough to generate more muddy footprints in the den. There was some snow and more rain than we got in the Texas Panhandle (400 miles northwest of here) that may have slowed the wildfires but the weather is supposed to warm and get windier through the weekend.

Dog food containers were both needing refilling this week so the large bags are no longer reclining on the couch (for lack of a better place to stack them this time.) Knock wood they leave the bags alone instead of chewing a hole (I seem to remember the cats doing that) but I still don't put them on the floor where it is an open invitation for mischief.

The new month in the Bullet Journal shows a robust list of things to do, starting with mowing this afternoon once the grass dries.

I hope we hear from Dorothy soon, and fingers crossed the health outlook is good. Same with Jon, and any other lurkers out there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Feb 24 - 11:38 AM

Bills. They come up every month, and sometimes every six months or year. I happened to glance at the statement for the auto insurance and realized the cost of paying monthly has climbed precipitously. If I pay monthly for five months on a six month policy, the total is $110 more than paying in a lump sum. It used to add $3 a month to pay over time, clearly that changed! Paying it in a lump sum basically saves the amount that I paid for the wheel alignment.

I also went in and cancelled the auto-renewal of a genealogy site that I joined last year (by mistake, I meant to try a month or two, but the fine print I missed meant I was stuck with a year). I'm not closing it so I can still look at the materials. They just offered a 60% off year that I may accept, but it's still steep. I need to finish gathering the information and move onto another hobby. It was my mother who was really engrossed in this, I just wanted to see if the Internet age could update her findings (instead, it seems a lot of people carelessly enter their information and I get several emails a week telling me of discrepancies, mine or someone else's.)

Rainy today and cold, so more indoor work. Recent eBay listings have had some looks but no sales so far; I'll switch to other items that tend to sell quickly. It's a hobby to post listings, but for real motivation they need to bring in cash.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Feb 24 - 01:36 PM

The thermometer has dropped some 13 degrees Celsius since supper-time yesterday, and now it's snowing sideways, driven by a truly ferocious wind. Just in case anyone got the idea that spring might be at hand.

The snow brush is still in the car, which is still wearing its winter tires. This is Ontario, dammit, and winter has another month to run.

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

Wheels aligned; next up, AC fan and brakes, probably next week. It's always something!

Last night I pulled one of the blankets off of the bed because it was too warm after the high temperatures this week. So this morning it was down to 41. Ugg. I needed a jacket this morning and I might as well change into clean jeans because these grass-stained ones from yesterday won't be getting more grass stains today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Feb 24 - 10:54 AM

"Rude health" describes the girls and actually is pretty much the state of the deaf old lab who staggers and bounces more than lopes around the yard (he moves his back legs at once, not one leg in front of the other any more, due to the arthritis).

Getting the wheels aligned today so I'll do a cursory cleanup of the inside of the car since I have to point out the buttons to press to get the fan to make it's broken noise. That diagnosis will be for a near-future repair (hot weather is almost here, the AC needs to be working.) Must take a book along to read while I wait, or maybe listen to my audiobook that I've been trying to finish for ages.

The back yard is looking good, the compost bin was emptied of the old finished compost and is now full of the bagged grass from that first mow of really tall weeds and grass (it will soon shrink down to nothing but it's a great kick start to the process of breaking down the year's weeds and clippings.) The yard always looks lovely when the weeds are still green and they are mowed. Front yard mow is this afternoon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Feb 24 - 11:46 AM

The first Perth County Particular rainstorm of the year, complete with chain lightning and ferocious thunderclaps, has just rolled out of town. It arrived as I was driving home (due west) from the allergist’s office in Kitchener, so I watched it develop on the horizon — quite the sight, like the “Night on Bald Mountain” segment in Disney’s “Fantasia”.

But the last week of February is at least a month too early for this kind of weather.

Next week, the cats will go to the vet for their annual check-up. Lately, Isobel has been coughing almost as much as I do, and yesterday she was wheezing … These are not good signs in an aging pussycat. Watson seems to be in rude health, if a bit portly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Feb 24 - 11:23 AM

It's February 27 but just like that! the heavy terry cloth long bathrobe is too warm for wearing even in the morning (after yesterday's high it was 68^o this morning). Today's forecast high is 89^o. I'm drinking my tea after breakfast then headed into the yard before it gets too warm to work. The robe is going into the laundry and then back into the closet and a lighter flannel robe will move to the foot of the bed. Wednesday and Thursday may be a little cooler (highs ~ 50) then the rest of the week in the 70s and 80s.

A few small items have been dropped into the donation bin, but I need to do more. I rearranged a table and chair in the den and repositioned the dog kennel; many of the items on the tabletop just collect dust so may be candidates (and if the dogs bang the kennel into the table they'll knock things off and break them). I usually offer collectible objects like these to the kids before selling or donating, but it means more clutter in their houses. I should break that cycle.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Feb 24 - 04:07 PM

I've moved several wheelbarrow loads of compost from an old bin in the backyard to one end of a bed in the front where potatoes will be planted soon. I have to finish chopping out the Bermuda grass roots then spread the compost and run the tiller through the beds. This afternoon the thermometer says 91^o so I'll wait till evening to do more, it cools quickly this time of year.

Charmion, did you ever resolve the communication and pickup problem over that walnut settee you were selling? I'm still envious that Canada has use of Kijiji (used to be part of eBay.) I hope it worked out. I've been reading about a furniture transfer problem as a friend tries to extricate family heirlooms from the hospice facility where his mother passed away last week. They were moved there with her when she left a skilled-care part of a facility that she originally moved into when she only needed assisted living. It seems the early-American furniture may be grabbed by staff instead of returned to the son, who lives 1000 miles away and arranged a for company to ship it to him. His townhouse is already quite full, so the arrival of more pieces will make it officially stuffed to the gills.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Feb 24 - 12:15 AM

More and different dog beds in the washer tonight. Rinse, repeat.

A friend drove by with a pickup and trailer and I rode with him to pick up and deliver a bed for a friend who moved (she bought this through the Facebook Marketplace); I may have mentioned this several days ago, I don't remember. It took a couple of hours because the bed was in the next county, but it was a nice setup with all of the linens and covers she needs. A sad task coming up this week, she can only have two pets but has four cats and has to send two of them to the city shelter. The Humane Society will do more to try to get them adopted, but there is a surrender fee. My dogs are not good citizens around cats even I wanted any; to them cats are just squirrels. I've sent a note to a friend to ask if he's ready for another cat, his died last summer.

This evening I did something I haven't in ages - I ran the dishwasher and the clothes washer simultaneously. No overflow. Exciting times here in North Texas!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Feb 24 - 05:24 PM

rendered invisible - Here in the Land of Oz we have a huge housing problem as most are too expensive for poorer tenants, plus many rental properties are now AirB&B + many others are unoccupied. Older women are a substantial part of the people without secure accomodation. Some have cars & live in them - some car sleepers get woken by nasty locals telling them to park elsewhere.

State & Federal Governments are trying to encourage more housing, but lack of tradesmen, & NIMBYism & lack of proper planning (the recent plan to add 13,000 homes to a county town of around 1000 homes not far from Sydney without any infrastructure plans is not a sensible plan)

In 1981 I bought my apartment, I could have travelled overseas like my siblings & friends ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Feb 24 - 10:58 AM

Dorothy has spoken over on Facebook.

We followed LilyFestre's pain, lethargy, fear, diagnosis, surgery, follow-up treatments, adoption of Jeremiah, and triumphant return to life and work and everything else as seen in a thread started for her by the late great Katlaughing. This is Dorothy's choice, so I'll only share this link to the first set of remarks she posted yesterday on Facebook. She isn't shy about sharing struggles and progress and the first post makes it clear she's speaking for women her age who are too often rendered invisible or ignored in the health care world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Feb 24 - 12:34 PM

Dog beds in the wash, set on ultra hand-wash to not beat up the zipper cover that goes over a big orthopedic foam mattress.

All parties are in touch and arrangements are set for tomorrow's bed retrieval.

Several projects await in the garage in addition to garden work.

It's glorious outside today and this weekend; Monday is forecast to hit 93^o. For any day in February that is startlingly high and unwelcome. I'm getting my wheels aligned on Wednesday and at that time I'll get a quote on the fan repair in my SUV cooling system. I'm going to need it sooner than I expected.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Feb 24 - 10:34 PM

I was going to mow but ended up spending the afternoon writing and coding on a tangled part of a website I work on; the mowing will happen tomorrow since nice weather is forecast all week.

The dance class this month is a one-off as far as my participation in that program; the instructor is moving the class 20 miles from here and it would involve a rush hour drive, so I'm not continuing with it. Darn.

Dog beds need washing again, and I suspect dog hair contributed to the clog the plumber cleared out. I usually take rugs and beds outside to shake before washing, and now I'll be sure to.

We haven't heard from Dorothy for a while. I hope the arrival of spring (or faux-spring) isn't complicating projects at her various properties.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Feb 24 - 05:05 PM

My opinion on aging has not changed, Donuel. And victims of murder, warfare and accident often die healthy, but broken.

I finally got around to vacuuming the parlour rug and washing all the floors at ground level, leaving the upstairs for another day. I also dusted the walls and changed the furnace filter. I’m not sure what got into me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Feb 24 - 04:29 PM

'it ain't for sissies' is the second time you've posted that. The first time was 10 years ago. I prefer 'nobody dies healthy'.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Feb 24 - 11:35 AM

My weight-related challenge this week (so far) was refilling the water softener. In these parts, salt comes in 20-kg bags. Twenty kilos is just about the outside edge of my deadlift capabilities in less than ideal conditions such as my laundry room, where I lack the space required to align myself and a bag of salt correctly for a heave in good form.

Nevertheless, I managed to pour 40 kg of salt into the device without doing myself a mischief. Next time, I'll wear my padded leather gloves to reduce the strain on my hands -- always my weakest spot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Feb 24 - 08:58 PM

It'll feel good to hand over some of those jobs - you helped them a lot while you were there, and finishing the music organizing sounds like a great final act with the group.

My arms and shoulders are achy after chopping and digging. I did a little work today, refilling the 1 gallon gas can from the 5 gallon can I use to get the non-ethanol gasoline for the gas engines. The big can is too heavy to use directly filling the mower. I started the mowing in the back and have the wheelbarrow and shovel parked beside the compost pile I'll dig out tomorrow. Once there's room in that bin I'll set the mower on Bag and get some green gooshy goodness to put in the bottom of the pile. I don't need a whole backyard's worth of clippings, just a couple of bags full.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Feb 24 - 03:06 PM

In Stratford, we're having Fool's Spring Mk II, with sunny skies and balmy breezes. Any day now we're due for the massive dump of snow that means this is Ontario, dammit, and winter's not over, and we should not even think about changing our tires or taking the snow brush out of the boot of the car.

But I just spotted Ma and Pa Cardinal, residents of my back hedge, hopping around the yard apparently picking up twigs. And the sun is definitely yellower and higher and altogether more springy with every passing day.

Yesterday I told the concert choir president that I want to get off the Executive Committee -- no more board minutes or drafting contracts for this little black duck. I will continue to take care of the music library because, well, because it's a mess and I haven't finished tidying it up yet.

I seem to have spent the better part of the winter in a funk of anxiety over decluttering and moving house. This is not coincidence: whenever light levels get low, I will find something to fret about, and I'm capable of making myself really miserable. This week, I feel markedly better and -- amazing! -- suddenly the house issue is much less pressing and I can even think about something else.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Feb 24 - 08:59 PM

Mid-70s?!
We were lucky, up here, to get up to freezing today, brrrr.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Feb 24 - 06:49 PM

The weather is glorious today, in the mid-70s. What my fitness tracker interprets as a whole bunch of steps this afternoon was actually me chopping my way through a raised bed with a mattock clearing weeds to transplant some big gobs of asparagus roots that have languished in the wheelbarrow for about three months. A few of them are sprouting. I've put several large sets in that bed and have a few smaller ones that I'll plant in smart pots. It's a test to see if they can do well in that environment (pots tend to get quite warm and dry out in the summer, but these have handles and can be moved pretty easily).

Last month the tire store mechanic said I should have the wheels aligned, and recommended a place and has a $20 off coupon for the work. I pulled up the shop website and find they do a lot of other work and are a mile from my house. I'll ask what they think about the noisy fan in my air conditioning unit (a repair for another day). It's nice to find a place that isn't the bloated dealership for some of this work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Feb 24 - 06:44 PM

It turns out the plumbing problem was both inside and out, but mostly within the house, so I called the warranty folks before the job was finished, he told them what the problem was, and they'll pay above the co-pay amount. The plumber didn't write that he also ran the line outside to the street so they wouldn't quibble (since I have to scan the invoice and send it in). Nice of him!

Now to mop the laundry room floor (I ran the washer as he ran the snake and it flooded again before the job was finished). A pro tip for future maintenance - he said run hot water in the kitchen sink for a few minutes then put a big squeeze (~ an ounce) of Dawn dish detergent in and let it run a little longer before turning off and letting it stand in the pipes for a while. The heat and the soap will keep a grease buildup out of the line. (Repeat a few times a year.)

The dogs were in the backyard for this service call, so as the work moved to the side of the house they could see us through the back gate and set up a ruckus. I explained to Randy the plumber that if we said hello they would settle down, otherwise they'd bark the entire time. They were thrilled to meet someone new, he likes dogs so gave a couple of pats through the gate, and they quieted. It's their job to watch the house and yard, so the courtesy of an introduction acknowledges their work and they know I'm safe.

Now I have some laundry to take care of.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Feb 24 - 12:22 PM

Charmion, I once had a classic response to a futon sale on Craigslist - an email saying "please take down your ad, I'll send you a check. Would you send me the change" crap. Just to waste his time I pointed out he was emailing from a UK account and he wrote with a different one. I told him to get lost. There has been a delay in my BuyNothing transaction from last week, where the woman who wants my stock pot still hasn't been by. That isn't a problem - no cash is exchanging hands, she seems to have caught a virus, but thinks she'll pick up the pot (still on my porch) this evening, if the bug doesn't kill her. Shit happens, but when there is money involved, trust your gut.

Don, I do eat meat but I usually use it as part of a dish. If I bake a chicken breast I'll use part of it to put on salad, I'll cut some cubes and add them to a bowl of spaghetti or ravioli with sauce, etc. This morning I had scrambled eggs and I have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge so I'll probably use some of it for lunch and dinner. I need to make protein more of each meal if I'm going to use it in smaller amounts. I use a compounded HRT with E2, E3, and methyltestosterone for the reasons Charmion enumerated. Since a hysterectomy (adenocarcinoma) in my mid-40s caused early "surgical menopause" my doctor put me on HRT. I tried a number of commercial versions and was unhappy (they had too much testosterone and not enough estrogen) until we compounded one. That's the Rx I was fussing about for the last few weeks. E1 is most closely linked to breast cancer, hence the choice of the other two.

The gym has a stair climbing thing that I tried recently, mostly I use the recumbent bike (for cardio and get my knees a range of motion) and the treadmill (weight bearing and cardio). I'll add the stairs more often, thanks for that reminder. I'll be mowing the backyard this afternoon, so that counts for weight bearing exercise today.

I pulled up the home warranty plan, it covers stoppages only within the confines of the building. Darn. I know it's tree roots. I just called the plumber, and it seems the service call is less expensive when I can tell them it's the sewer line. No detective work, no ladders, no camera down the line, no digging to find a leak, and easy access to the cleanout.   

Last night I thawed several containers of mashed pumpkin and sweet potato and made a quadruple batch of my favorite pumpkin bread recipe (one time I was short on pumpkin and made up the difference with sweet potato - it was so much better I always make it that way now). One loaf is on the counter, several are in the freezer, and I delivered one next door earlier. She was waiting for her husband to return from blood work and physical before fixing breakfast - and he arrived as we talked. They are having coffee and slices of that bread this morning. Nice!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Feb 24 - 10:32 AM

Donuel, aging women lose muscle mass faster than men because we lack both estrogen and testosterone. The best preventives are resistance and weight-bearing exercise and, yes, a high-ptotein diet, but there is no magic bullet. Sarcopoenia is in everyone's future if we're lucky enough to live that long.

That said, the greater frequency of falls among old women is due mostly to weakness in the core muscles, which are critical to balance -- when you slip, it's your back and belly muscles that do the most to jerk you upright again.

Getting old ain't for sissies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Feb 24 - 10:19 AM

I finally told the concert choir president that I'm leaving Stratford in the near future, and I need to get off the Board of Directors at the end of this season. That's one down.

Today I'm fussing over the sale of a piece of rather nice furniture, a small walnut settee in the Danish Modern style. I posted it on Kijiji and immediately got a bite, but the potential buyer failed to show up at the appointed hour yesterday, and now has emailed me with a proposal for an essentially anonymous transaction by PayPal, with pick-up by a "personal freight" service. In his email, he mentioned a medical crisis with his wife and a doctor's appointment that could only have taken place on a Sunday ... Colour me skeptical.

I wrote back asking for a phone call and more information about him. I said I would do the deal by phone and Interac e-transfer, but not without that personal contact.

I wonder if I'm getting paranoid in my old age.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Feb 24 - 08:12 AM

A warning sign- is one leg weaker than the other?
Tighten and release while sitting and do leg lifts in bed.
It takes a month to see a difference. Of course, long walks in the Spring is more fun.