DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 25 - 04:09 PM

I spoke too soon about Patty's dust storm - it has arrived and was apparently giving a push to the morning tornado watch we had. The air is a weird yellow/brown that isn't the same weird yellow/green that the sky gets when tornadoes are approaching. The outdoor circuit breaker to my office has popped twice today, once in the windy rain, and just now in the wind, and I am going to schedule the electrician to do the work as soon as I know the funeral date to work around.

My next door neighbors are on a 10-day cruise and she is only using email this trip (the phone company gouges on a travel plan and adds extra fees when she travels). We've exchanged remarks about branches down in her yard (not many, and they aren't very big) and the state of the creek (no flooding, but it is always a risk if we get many days of rain in a row). I hate to be the bearer of worrisome news, and so far it is just updates but nothing wrong. And if need be, she'll take her phone off of airplane mode and call, regardless of the extra fees.

Charmion, do you have groups to reconnect with when you move to Ottawa? Is that where you lived before? Good luck with the paint, and keeping the cats out of it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Mar 25 - 06:01 PM

Yes, Stilly, I’m from Ottawa — born & raised and, after 10 years away, I lived there from 1984 to 2017. The Brothers live there, as do Nephew No 1 and his family and Great-nephew No 1. I don’t know yet what I will do with myself most days of the week but I intend to take my time re-integrating myself.

Today turned out unexpectedly expensive: the vacuum cleaner died. Taxes included, its replacement — a humble machine with only one bell or whistle, HEPA filtration — cost a cool thou. I’m kinda stunned but, with two constantly shedding cats in the house, I must have a vacuum cleaner.

The Trump tariffs are now in force and the Prime Minister has said out loud what many people here have suspected: that Trump’s desired end-state is Canada in economic collapse and ripe for annexation. I’m having Munich 1938-ish qualms.

Time for tea, and a sit with the cats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 05 Mar 25 - 10:08 AM

Apparently it was a sure-enough haboob that rolled through Deming, saw video of it on a weather site. Up here, it hit hard and blew all day, but I didn't see it approach. Drifts of dirt on the patio but only one tumbleweed.

Meanwhile the too-big-for-its-britches electric company took 13 hours to restore power to my house and about 1200 others. Sheesh.

The power went out minutes after I awoke at 6:15 a.m. Made the best of it; headed to town and grabbed a friend who loves to breakfast out, caught up on her travels, then loaded the furniture from the auction in the cargo trailer with help from her and another friend, parked the big rig while we picked up two more friends for a little jaunt to Mexico. By days end, power still off, dropped in at the local social club to wait it out with yet another taco and beverage, caught up with an old friend and got to know an acquaintance much better. Don't you love days that turn out completely different than you had planned?

Blessedly, the mini-splits remembered their setting, and the house was warm when I returned. But it does make me think hard about equipping the place with solar panels and not being quite so dependent on the shabby power company.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 05 Mar 25 - 12:01 PM

.... Well, knock me sideways with a bedding trowel: primroses *are* primulas (primula vulgaris, which I for one find delightfully common). Anyhoo, I noticed the other day that our rather rugged primulae have seeded themselves into the back lawn, which I hereby declare to have been primulated. All from one plant donated by a friend and planted in mid-summer, when I'm reliably informed our clay soil was as friable as concrete.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 25 - 12:32 PM

Patty, I've also thought about solar power here. I would buy them outright, not go with one of the companies that wants to average your current payments and keep that going to them - I think they lease the panels to you - they have too much squishy stuff going in the operation, and the point is that you add power back to the grid and save money in the end, not just keep paying someone else. But that comes on my list after getting the foundation work done, and quite possibly replacing the roof before putting up panels. Research needed in the future.

Funeral and visitation announcements are up for my friend's husband and I have offered to stay at the house on Friday during the funeral (to deter a break-in) and a couple of our little university group could join me for lunch. It's a full-on Catholic funeral and I have trouble sitting through religious ceremonies of any kind. Visitation tomorrow is very near me, so plans are forming, a couple of friends could come to my house and I'll us drive over, saving some space in the parking lot. I'd better go clean out the middle seat in the SUV.

The temperature today isn't bad, mid-50s, but the wind is still brisk so it feels colder. I am glad to see the woven shade cloth tarps over the patio cover are still up but I'll probably have to swap out several of the bungee cords that have been in place for a while and wearing thin. Yesterday I surveyed down branches (not many) but see that a tree that was hanging onto my bank by a few roots and leaning into the creek has completely broken off and is probably now washed up against the bridge (creating a dam and can cause flooding if the village doesn't remove it soon. The tree is anonymous so they don't know it was mine, but if need be I'll report a tree against the bridge to the village staff.) All of us who live along the creek pay an extra fee on our water bill every month to cover this kind of work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Mar 25 - 08:21 AM

Ground water is seeping up into the northwest corner of my basement and I am completely ticked off. The shop vac is deployed and the bucket and mop are handy, but my back is not up for three to four clean-up sessions per day until the wet season passes. And what in hell will I do in April, when the house goes on the market?

Must talk to Real Estate Lady soonest.

In other news, the purple bathroom is no more. It is now the same gentle duck-egg green as much of the rest of the house, and looks a thousand percent better.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 25 - 11:29 AM

Your purple to duck-egg paint job reminds me I have intended to repaint the bathroom that is now hen's egg yolk yellow to something milder.

Today when I watered plants in the windows I looked out at the yard and realized the time has come to mow. The weeds are growing lush and soon will be tall, and if I start mowing now I won't have the huge jungle to battle that happens some years. Saturday is the day set aside for that. (With this first mow I have to be watchful in the front; there is occasionally a bunny nest out there.)

This week I've updated a couple of eBay listings and am planning to take down one that has attracted little interest. Goodwill time for that item. I've also done a lot of writing and am preparing to send messages to my elected representatives about their lack of participation in the democratic process that includes pushback or impeachment. You know that throw away remark of "it's always something" that one hears when describing complicated times? Now it really is. That "flood the zone" or "muzzleshot" approach is growing very old. A Slovakian friend in grad school introduced me to the saying "Not my monkeys, not my circus." Well, now it is.

Last week I bought two large multi-fish packages of tilapia that were frozen and needed careful softening so the fillets were still frozen but could be separated. I put them back in the freezer on a tray and the original packaging, to be bagged later. It worked. I just heard the trash truck drive by and realized I should have put that original wrapper in the trash today. Now it will wait in the freezer until Sunday night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 25 - 09:51 PM

This afternoon I was prepared to ask the apartment management to do a welfare check on the friend who hasn't answered calls or messages for a day, but when I got to the apartment and rang the bell she answered. Whew! Seems her CPAP mask is broken and sleeping is difficult, so she was propped up with the mask and slept through calls. I'll make one of my 3D Covid masks for her to use to help hold the mask in place for now (her appointment is Monday and another week before she gets replacement equipment. This is the life of a person on Medicaid, something Trump is trying to completely remove.)

This evening I've looked around for a couple of portable chores I can take with me tomorrow and complete while I'm at my friend's house during the funeral activities. If I take my laptop I can keep going with my usual stuff, so it's turned on now to sync the browsers. It's only a few hours, but can I make myself complete some chore while I'm over there?

I have a growing stack of stuff to donate to the project that accepts craft donations for local teachers. They just sent a report about what they've accepted so far this year:
- 14 dumpsters of materials were rescued from landfill doom
- $155,019 worth of free supplies was distributed to schools
- 705 educators felt supported by their community

There seem to be a lot of us decluttering our craft supplies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Mar 25 - 05:48 AM

been there, still doing that!

last year I decluttered 2 big craft collections - jewellery stuff (2 big reusable shopping bags) & mohair for teddies (3 ditto.) I had stopped making bears 10/15 years before & probably had more mohair that full-time bear makers! All I ever made with the beads were earrings & I also had far too many supplies!

But as some clever cross stitch designer said decades ago "She who dies with the most (fill in item) wins!" Same or another designer also said "As ye sew, so shall ye rip" & I'm certainly not downsizing my seam ripper, I was only using it yesterday ...

Last week I decluttered one of my dozen or so (I just counted 17) zipped folders of felt toy patterns. These were cat patterns to a friend who knits cat blankets & goes to a craft group run by a cat protection society. Now all I need is to find homes for dogs/elephants/rabbit/mice/christmas etc patterns. Some folders also contain lovely Japanese craft books. I used to teach craft at a friend's church which had a Japanese congregation & after the tsunami I put ribbon hangers on all my samples for a fund raising fair. Last week I opened the Poodle folder & am finishing off several gorgeous little poodles and cut out 2 more ...

Today at craft I gave away some small stuff eg tape measures etc. to a friend's sister who is teaching kids. Another member brought in a dozen tapestries of Australian birds. Her friend has bought them for her antique dining chairs, but they were too big for the seat backs, so gave them away. Our friend bought all the threads & stored them in the shed ... alas the threads drowned & died. One panel went to a member & I took the others to our local Craft Op shop (Opportunity/ thrift shop) The Sewing Basket & I only bought one small doiley to embroider + 3 balls of wool! Well done, me!

I also have more yarn than one person can use - did I need 3 more balls? YES!! I knit coathanger covers (12 stitches, shoulder width) to cover padded coathangers for a charity chop in a local hospital & I didn't have those colours (I think/I hope/I want!)

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Mar 25 - 08:43 AM

Charmion, a sump pump is designed to relieve ground water problems such as yours. Its not exactly a do it yourself project.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Mar 25 - 09:08 AM

https://www.artechouse.com/location/dc/

Today, an immersive gallery opened in DC. The walls and floors all move with beauty. Some floors are interactive with surprises like live plants that create unique music from your personal galvanic touch. The website does not do it justice but several international artists are behind the miracle. This is what multi-media art always dreamed it might be one day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Mar 25 - 02:37 PM

A contractor came today to assess the cellar. He quickly established that the primary leak is the ever-popular window corner crack, in my case running down the foundation behind the framing timbers of the wall between the furnace room and the rest of the cellar.

Boo, hiss.

So, first I must get in a carpenter to rip out the end of the partition and remove enough drywall to expose the entire crack. Then I can get a realistic estimate on repairing the crack, plus the carpenter again to make good the damage to the walls.

I hate finished basements.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Mar 25 - 06:55 PM

A trip to the apartment today.
Emptied one carton and threw the contents in the dumpster,
one bagful at a time (small, heavy bagsful).
ALso trashed some more cardboard cartons.
I don't do a lot at a time, but I do what I may.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 25 - 02:42 PM

Last night I had a call from a cousin who now lives in Utah to be near her children. As we wrapped up the visit she asked if I would please call more often because there is no one there she can talk to about politics. (Utah, Texas, they have a lot in common, though with all of the LDS there it might be even worse for her.) And she told me that the kids had discussed end-of-life things amongst themselves and told her that if her husband died first they would work to keep her busy, and if she died first, they agreed they'd have to cook a lot for their father. This cousin is 10 years older than me, so following that trajectory I might not get such a call from my kids for a while, but it's a good thing to think about and discuss sooner rather than later. I think Charmion moving closer to her family must be the result of that same kind of discussion.

I gave myself a weekend off from "doomscrolling" through the emails of blog posts from the political leaders I follow on Substack and a couple of other places. You have to take breaks from the hard stuff if you can, but I'm ready to wade in again tomorrow and do more writing. The muzzleshot from this administration hasn't slowed and it has named more targets that need defending.

It's cold and soggy here today so it looks like indoor work for now. The garden is calling, and the yard was supposed to be mowed yesterday, but it was sodden after a pre-dawn thunderstorm. More rain overnight. Maybe tomorrow will be the day to tune up the mower and give it a run out front.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 11:49 AM

During my weekend break from activism I watched some of the Lord of the Rings and realized there were times in the audio I could barely hear it - and I think it has to do with the Surround Sound settings and the small speaker at the front. The receiver I'm using was purchased at Goodwill for about $15 and I think it was set to speaker levels by the former users that I need to reset. Or that speaker needs replacing.

The house needs dusting and a lot of picking up and scrubbing. The lawn needs mowing. The garage needs organizing and the SUV needs a good cleaning. Where to begin?

Dorothy, how are you doing these days? Have you managed a trip out to Beaver since you last shared with us?

Lynn hasn't been back for a while, but it seemed over the last couple of weeks she was digging her way out from drifts of snow on her patio and blocking her door. Looking forward to an update that you've escaped from the house!

How is everyone else doing? Spring is just around the corner and the packing away of lap quilts and sweaters (unless you're in our Oz contingent, in which case you're looking forward to your part of the world cooling down a bit and are getting those things out.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 12:17 PM

More dust storms, went on so long I had to haul in the auction furniture regardless of the high winds. Lots of cleaning done and still to do, sand and dirt everywhere, especially in the desk that had been left outside of the auction house.

It was hard on the vendors at the Deming rock show. They got hit with wind, dust, cold, til the last day which was blessedly perfect. Picked up some good items and met some wise local rock vendors/collectors. Sunday went out with visiting friends to an area adjacent to Baker Ranch agate land, and found delightful little agatey geodes. Brought the splitter, so we didn't haul home lots of duds, but were able to see what was good right then and there. Came home with one berry box full of choice ones and half a backpack full of 'other'; rather than buckets and flats of 'maybes'.

Exhausted, and it's time to start a concerted push to get the house and music system ready for the gathering, buy food etc. Just realized I really need porch lights, and not the 10-second motion ones I have. Perhaps the handy neighbor can be engaged to do a handful of electrical fixes this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 01:26 PM

Patty, busy week! Get up on a step ladder and look at your porch lights - if they're like mine, you can adjust the amount of time they stay on after detecting motion. The wind that hit you hard came through here, not as destructive, perhaps, but definitely wicking any warmth from the days for much of the week.

And your rock collecting gig reminds me of something similar I did at Petrified Forest; I was on a busman's holiday - a park ranger from one park spending my time off visiting another ranger in another park - and we drove to a parking area at Blue Mesa. If you look at the map you see the classic alternate public/private section land grants that were distributed to raise money for the railroads. The NPS never got the landowner to sell, so there is a lot of private land within the park boundaries, so we hiked down the hill from the parking lot and climbed through the barbed wire fence onto private land (yes, we were technically trespassing) and picked up petrified wood pieces there. The trick was walking back up the hill to the car and not looking like we were carrying 50 pounds or more of rock in each of our packs.

Trash went out this morning and I usually use a small plastic grocery bag because I recycle a lot more than I throw in the trash. For use this week the can is lined with regular kitchen-size trash bag and I'll see if I can't fill it with stuff that is sitting around and isn't recyclable or donateable. Shredded paper, plastic stuff not embossed for recycling, etc.

Also clearing out forgotten jar contents from the fridge. Olives so old I can't remember when they were opened (to the compost). Many-years-old gifted jelly (that will get dissolved into water and poured over the garden). Home canned items that have passed their prime to be discarded.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 11:26 PM

The front yard was mowed this afternoon, giving me more steps than I've been getting lately on my fitness tracker. I'll take a Benadryl at bedtime because a lot of pollen from surrounding trees had settled in the weeds, ready to puff up around me as I disturbed the area. Also did some weeding of the large pots waiting to be planted for the season.

Dishwasher running, some stuff cleared from the fridge. Heading in to read for a while. Back yard needs mowing tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Mar 25 - 04:39 PM

The snow in my back yard was hip-deep only two weeks ago, and today I can see mud and dead-looking grass. Ah, Spring! In Ontario, it’s more like an ambush. Despite today’s bright sun, however, it’s nowhere near time yet to take the snow brush out of the car.

Now that the snow has melted away from the back wall of the house, the wet spot in the basement has dried out. The crack repair must be done anyway — the evidence is all over the wall in the form of great streaks of the mineral salts with which our water is loaded. But it’s not quite so urgent as I had feared.

While the carpenter is here, I shall also ask him to rip out a section of drywall that has a mold stain left over from last year’s furnace condensate pump crisis.

I just finished digging through several bins of doohickeys, from which I sorted two boxes for Goodwill and a large bag of garbage. One bin has been packed with Christmas decorations that were sculling about without permanent stowage. Two others have been repacked with ornaments and photo frames that I may be able to use in my next abode. If not, Ottawa has church bazaars, too. The empty bins will go to Habitat for Humanity. They love bins. The Goodwill boxes will leave the house tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Mar 25 - 05:08 PM

There is something about the consistency of mud after the freeze and snow that makes it particularly viscus and trackable. I put off scrubbing my den floor until I'm sure we're past any more of that weather.

This week I picked up Junkyard Planet again and his description of rag pickers, "grubbing", and of various levels of recycling that occur in places around the world makes North Americans look like slackers. We can afford to recycle stuff in bins at the curb because we don't need to sell the paper, cardboard, glass jars, scrap metal, and other found items to feed our families. He describes a hierarchy of recyclers in his city in China that is precise and incremental as materials move from an apartment to a scrap buyer to those who buy scraps and take them to larger recycling businesses. So much of our wealth is sent to landfills. I think that for those who are older and the children of parents who lived through the Depression, it is all apparent - we see the packaging that comes with purchases and would like to see it used again, we have all of these items that might be useful one day, so why throw it away to purchase again later? Can someone else use it now if we donate it?

I spent the afternoon researching and writing messages for my representatives. I'm to the point of mailing a letter to each again, in addition to calls and messages on their contact pages. Now to go do something else; the side yard and back need mowing. Moving around will do me some good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Mar 25 - 10:46 PM

Dupont:

Spending most of time on computer re the state of the world. Nice visit from Rita yesterday - I had not even gone shopping for a couple days! Low Atmospheric pressure and the time change threw me for a loop - most of a day in bed. Plus the memoir of Navalny - An amazingly dedicated man.

Today was springlike and I managed to walk down to the river - 340 steps each way I guess, though it is "uphill" (a bit) on the way back. Anyway it felt good to do it. Meant to do a second trip but the computer held me in thrall.

The house is moderately clean, dishes washed and planned-overs still available in frig. My good spell went kaput for those low (2) AP days but seems to be back with higher AP and above freezing weather! Darn! weather may hold through the weekend but rain in Bancroft - which could freeze. Guess I will stay here and hope for April! My son might be able to get there; he sees the route from Philly to Bancroft is only 20 minutes longer than to Chateauguay! So we could meet there and it might even be spring weather!?!

Alt weekend is Bluegrass here in Chat. Some fine musicians and getting acquainted with a few folks. NEED a social life!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Mar 25 - 04:05 PM

I'm reading a book about how we use so much stuff and discard so much stuff and yet I spent the morning researching routers because it turns out the one here is an "End of Life" product. Dealing with the planned obsolescence part of being a modern consumer - how much are you going to add to and rely on a product that will no longer be supported by the manufacturer.

Dorothy, I agree, having a social life is a must in taking care of your health. I hope you made a couple of trips over to the river today. I'll get a big dose of that tomorrow with a trip to the museum for training and scanning. In the evening the artist whose installation is situated in a main corridor will speak about her work, and I will attend to hear her talk about all of the garments she dismantles to make her art. The scraps hanging from the ceiling like jersey stalactites are remnants of other work. I have baskets full of that still after all of the mask making. I plan to ask her about where to use or send it.

A note on household implements—for a couple of years I've been experimenting with using ceramic knives. The first one is still around but the tip is chipped and it's a bit dull. They apparently can be sharpened, but it isn't as easy as sharpening a high-carbon steel knife. I also have stainless knives and they just don't seem to need sharpening. When people are here I'm careful about who uses the ceramic ones; a friend was going to pry something open and I had to grab it out of her hand. My daughter was cutting carrots and thumping the knife on the board with each stroke. The last couple of weeks I've returned to using just the steel knives and have decided that the durability of steel is what I'll stick with. It's the same reason I'm no longer using the non-stick pans. They're more trouble than they're worth.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Mar 25 - 08:57 AM

I have one ceramic knife that I use only for cutting cheese. I won’t acquire any more. For decades, my favourite small kitchen knife has been a little Victorinox parer with a plastic handle and about four inches of stainless-steel blade. Edmund was forever trying to get me to use something fancier, but it fits my small hand perfectly, holds its edge, and doesn’t mind the dishwasher.

The carpenter is expected today, so I must move stuff around in the basement to give him room to work. Marco the painter is due at three to discuss the upstairs hall and touch-ups in the bedrooms. Four years of clearance efforts are paying off — clearing the walls doesn’t scare me, and I know precisely what’s in every box and bin!

Taking a chance, I put away my sheepskin coat yesterday. Today, the tall fleece-lined boots get packed in the bin they share with my mukluks. I’m sure we’ll get more snow around the equinox (we usually do), but I doubt very much that I’ll need serious winter gear again this side of Remembrance Day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 11:29 AM

Busy and stressed here, and waiting for the well people for the third day in a row. In their defense, it's hard to do outdoor work in raging dust storms. They'll either show this morning or let me know if they have to delay to tomorrow.

This morning I learned about the excessive powers ceded to 'the executive' in the crummy Continuing Resolution Bill, basically they will authorize the oval office to tamper with any program they like including Social Security, at will, at whim. And (*^)^! Schumer thinks that's fine, apparently his billionaire owners told him that. Good grief. Yes, let's just alter our government with text hidden in some fine print in a funding bill, they'll never notice.

Left a message at one senator's office, could not do it with the other one. Tried to leave a written message, but you have to fill out a form which is clearly meant to put you on phone and mailing lists til the end of time.

SRS, do you have a real email address for the offices of the New Mexico Senators?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 11:32 AM

Another Freudian misreading:

oval office -> offal office

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 12:16 PM

Patty, I'll email you the link to my blogged list of tools and addresses and such. (I see I need to add these two general links also):

All House Representatives

All US Senators.

Charmion, I'm doing a similar removal of cold weather gear, though it isn't mukluks and heavy jackets, it's the extra blanket off the bed and washing sweaters before stowing them for the summer.

Heading out to shop the discount produce place and stopping by the liquor store nearby to pick up a couple of bottles of the Scotch I like, just in case Trump pulls a really stupid tariff and clobbers the distillery industry. They'll last for quite a while and in the meantime maybe someone will impeach him, dispose of him by other means (will that goofy cabinet do Section 25? I doubt it, but it's there), or he chokes on a hamburger.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 04:36 PM

I looked back at more of Patty's description of her contact adventures - Patty, look at the blog post about contacting them, it offers a lot of options that I found. When you enter your address and phone that is how they verify you are from where you say you are. They don't sell phone numbers or addresses. I use an alternate phone (my old house phone number was ported Google Voice to keep the number because it is still tied to some accounts). I use that number and I use one of my alternate email addresses (not the one for real bills and the doctors' offices and such.) You do have to give a physical address also.

If you call and choose to speak to a member of the staff chances are you end up on voicemail anyway, but leave your message. They keep track of the subjects people call about. (It's hard to speak to a real person, even if it is an intern manning the phones, but that is the gold standard, to read your message to them.)

I picked up a couple of bottles of the whisky I like and the clerk said she's heard that the Canadian sellers have removed the American brands from their shelves. Even without tariffs at the moment, this is one of many areas where people might do well to put in a supply for a couple of months. The northern tier states were going to get clobbered with electricity fees (because power from Canada is sold to the US) and that paused. Gas prices will go up, lumber will go way up. For those of us decluttering via eBay or other sales locations, sales might get weird. I don't have many out of the US sales, but they do happen, usually to Canada or Australia. (I may need to buy my veterinary medications that come from Australia before he slaps a tariff on their stuff.)

Life is enough of an obstacle course in "normal" times. This mess is because of a spoiled churlish despot. 1407 days and some hours and minutes left in his term as of now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 07:02 PM

Another day of disposing of boxes of old stuff at my apartment.
This box contained letters that I have kept for years,
even though I have stopped reading them.
I steeled myself and threw them out along with the rest of the trash.
Where I am going, there isn't room for extraneous stuff,
so the letters had to go.
The boxes that contained these papers have been broken down
and fed to the dumpster.
Little by little, the work is getting done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 07:08 PM

I hope Stilly wasn't involved in the Texas dust storm fiasco.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 07:47 PM

The car is packed with yet another load for Goodwill, this time stuff from the boxroom. First thing tomorrow, off it goes.

Half the back wall of the basement is now stripped of drywall, and I have established that the leak is not coming from a crack in the foundation! Instead, it’s pouring in under the sill of one if the basement windows, then trickling along the framing timbers to pool in the furnace room. The exploratory surgery took several hours and cost $100 bucks cash to a jobbing carpenter — lovely guy.

So now I have to get the carpenter who installed that window to rectify the problem and figure out a way to shield that window from snow build-up. And replace the drywall and the sodden insulation the other guy took out.

After all this Sturm und Drang, I’m having an asthma attack. I toked up on Symbicort and decided to take it easy tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Mar 25 - 11:22 PM

Charmion, I've watched a lot of This Old House and Ask This Old House episodes, I feel sure you'll be set when the carpenter gets the right waterproofing insulating product installed there. It sounds like the kind of question they get regularly.

Don asked about the dust. It has been dry and windy here; yesterday my allergies kicked in. The worst of it was for people out in the wide-open spaces, especially drivers on West Texas highways.

Good work with the letters and boxes, Keb. I also have a lot of letters I should toss, I haven't looked at them in ages. It's nice to have a sample of a loved-ones' handwriting, but I don't need every card they ever sent. Too dry now for burning them now, but maybe I can send them to a shredder at an Earth Day event this year.

It took the Amazon vendor almost two weeks to deliver the small digital camera, and after a test run I think it will work for taking photos at any political events while my phone stays safely tucked away. (Related - I have a couple of things on my shopping list that I've searched for from local stores instead of buying on Amazon since this is the last day of the boycott. I need a larger-capacity SDXC card and the one I am testing now will be a spare.) I'm finally seeing some political meetings scheduled in my county.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Mar 25 - 10:32 AM

Called my sister this morning to get talked down from my panic. The well people finally showed up yesterday to work in bitter cold and wind, took the tank out, left to get a part, came back, discovered that wasn't the part with the hole after all, but the part that fits into it, which they might have at the shop, which cannot be bought anywhere. So I am without water til they fix it. They will be back today but I have got to make the big grocery run, so they will have to let themselves in.

On the good news front, after I swept/scooped 10 gallons of sand and dirt off the porch this week, it looks like yesterday's drifts will be the last, because it rained last night. And it should be picture perfect and calm tomorrow.

Way too much to do before guests arrive tomorrow late afternoon, and I am so stressed I can't even think clearly about who to ask to help with what, when. Maybe I can ponder it on the drive to town this morning.

Technology is not helping; I set up the order, then "normalized" the playlist volume for the party and the (*^)&*( software erased 12 song titles, and still not sure if it will write to a thumb for me. Then, got the laptop to send a 'mirror' image to the big monitor so people can see words to songs they will be presenting, but everything is totally out of whack size-wise, so that'll be an hour's tweaking. Stuff like that. Wishing for simpler days at this point, because at least the old CD player worked then, and if you told a computer what size monitor you had, it grasped it.

But, I have corned beef, rye, and cabbages to buy asap, so off I go!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Mar 25 - 11:57 AM

Patty, that's a whole lotta stuff going on all at once! No water right before guests arrive seems the most drastic (to say nothing of no water for just you at the house!) Good luck with the computer/screen setup. Do you ever use books (like the beloved/reviled Rise Up Singing)? Slow cooker for the corned beef? How far are people travelling for your event? And will they all arrive with their own accommodations for a collection of RVs around the yard?

Yesterday's run to the discount grocery store was for research; I have concluded that Thursday is most likely to have the best array of produce available outside of Saturday (with the crowds and long lines). Since my ex often goes with me I let him know that he might want to plan for twice monthly Thursday trips.

A couple of loads of laundry today of the heavy robe, sweaters, lap quilts, etc. as I prepare to put them away for the summer. Another blanket off the bed to be folded and zipped away in the vinyl under-bed bags. The washer only did a UL symbol once with this first batch (as an old pinball player I always refer to that as the "tilt" message.)

While preparing to mow the lawn I pulled a few sprigs sprouting from the Mexican Plum roots. One is in a pot now to grow through the hot weather and I'll plant it in the far back by the creek next winter. I'm considering taking the plum out for a couple of reasons; in fire danger it is too close to the house, and it suffers from poor drainage right there. A few feet further over is a large baldcypress (planted 23 years ago), that will stay put. It has been my experience that for every three trees I've planted here I've had to remove one of them when it gets too big. I have a couple of smaller trees in pots (Texas kidneywood) that I'll plant on the far side of the baldcypress in a sloped part of the yard with better drainage. I still need to put in a French drain close to the house even if the plum is removed.

Declutter via eBay continues.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Mar 25 - 04:15 PM

Are you feeling better, Charmion? Will your course of medication have to run over a period of days (I seem to remember you having these episodes over as much as a week at a time?)

I heard the next door neighbor crank up his mower right after I decided not to mow - the air quality is way high in the red zone after all of that dust. I called and spoke with his wife to alert her to tell him; it's a sunny day, except for a kind of haze you won't know the air was this bad.

Shredding papers indoors today (no burn barrel for the foreseeable future, we're in high fire danger). The next load of laundry goes in soon. Also considering the backup options with the external hard drive and the various ports I can connect to. Using what I have here instead of buying new adapters or converters.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Mar 25 - 01:50 PM

After many shots of Symbicort on Friday night, I shook most of yesterday and I’m still a bit nervy today. Symbicort is a cocktail of the steroid budesonide and formeterol, a powerful long-acting bronchodilator. The attack took most of yesterday to resolve, and I spent the day lounging with a book and one cat or the other.

The weather is unseasonably warm and very blustery. Leaving church this morning, I had a hell of a time holding the door of the car open long enough to get in behind the wheel, and neighbours are out checking their property for torn-off roof shingles. For days, the radar map has shown a massive front extending from somewhere up around Timmins to deep into the US midlands — as far south as Environment Canada bothers to report. Next week won’t be much better, as equinoctial gales are normal around here.

It’s a good thing I don’t go in for fancy hair-dressing. An elaborate do would last about ten seconds out there.

I think the box-room is honed down to the stuff I really want to keep, so the garage and the garden shed are the next targets. I have an awful lot of tools I don’t need and/or can’t use, so a major clear-out is necessary there. I think I’ll ask Neil-across-the-street to give me a hand with that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Mar 25 - 06:04 PM

I mowed about half of the remaining tall grass in the back today, but every time I turned the corner at the west end of the yard a big gust of dust flew up. The air quality is good except that there is a boat-load of pollen along with the dust in that tall grass and I decided to finish in a day or two. My eyes are itchy and the sinuses will be uncomfortable this evening. I suspect that a lot of the dust and pollen that is blowing around down here has crept up into the winds that are pushing on Charmion's car door. Funny how weather ignores international boundaries.

Today I tried to figure out what is going on with the Rubbermaid vintage food storage containers. They sell for fairly high prices on eBay and other online sale places. I'm using less plastic but when I do it is the newer BPA free Rubbermaid now. It's the human conundrum of "I'm trying to not use them but everyone else seems to want these things so should I keep a few?" For now I'll thin out the ones in the pantry I never use, and if I see these at Goodwill I can pick them up to sell.

While I'm at it, I really should thin out surplus stuff in that little pantry cupboard. And stop picking up stuff at Goodwill.

Laundry and some dusting and vacuuming finished.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Mar 25 - 12:17 PM

It bugged me that I hadn't finished the mowing yesterday, so after a couple of hours I put on one of my cloth masks and finished the job and was comfortable doing it. The dust will be with us for at least another week, and then the rain chance isn't huge, so I'll plan to wear a mask during yard work.

I have concluded the research on the Internet setup here - new modem and old working router and wanting to setup a remote backup. I've finally figured it out with the help of Reddit and someone trying to do the exact same thing.

Continuing the spring cleaning activities here. The first part of that is simply putting away stuff sitting around the house, and deciding if it is something to keep, donate, or sell. Maybe this will be a productive year if we're all able to draft off of Charmion's work as she prepares to sell and move and setup in a new place. Following along in her wake!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Mar 25 - 11:38 AM

I made the mistake of listening to a political commentary (the recently fired Joy Ann Reid, she's very smart, but this was a particularly pointed one about Musk and the billionaires aiming for another gilded age) and it seemed like my brain churned for hours. I definitely woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning, mood-and-courtesy-to-others-wise. Gotta fix that with some outdoor work to clear my mind.

Also, reading the book about recycling (Junkyard Planet) has me looking at my household through different eyes. So much stuff, and so much in view that I don't see any more because it's always there.

A detour from usual activity is required this week since my insurance company is dropping a whole bunch of the medical folks I use, all members of a major group here in my town. My card says I can go to them still, but only if they're willing to file more paperwork. I have to call each and ask if they will do that. Bummer.

Final note: the daily gelatin in a cup of tea seems to be doing the trick as far as stronger nails. Changing the diet helped some, adding this helps more. The usual name brand has doubled in price so I shopped around for what looks like a good quality brand I've never heard of but lots of good reviews on Amazon, at half the price. Or the old price, however you want to do that math.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Mar 25 - 12:13 PM

The concert choir is doing a show on Saturday, and I have the big solo that the guest artist isn’t doing. Oddly, I just can’t be arsed to get tense about any of it, especially ticket sales. This is part of the disengagement process I go through when I have to move, unplugging myself from all the people and activities that preoccupy me before taking the big step.

Likewise, I didn’t bother with the annual vestry meeting at church. Not my circus any more.

The carpenter who put my basement windows in has yet to get back to me about a time to look at the damage. Now, *that’s* what I call a source of stress!

The after-effects of Friday’s asthma attack (and the drugs that stopped it) did not pass off completely until sometime Monday evening. At this morning’s monthly visit to the allergist, the nurse cross-examined me carefully, but in the end decided that, as long as I can manage these episodes on my own, they are not yet a cause for major concern. Unlike many asthma patients, I don’t tend to panic as my breathing deteriorates, which is probably an important mitigating factor.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Mar 25 - 01:58 PM

Charmion, I wonder if your experience with controlling your breath in singing helps you manage the asthma response? I just Googled "what chemicals are released in body in asthma attack panic" and, well, wow. Stress triggers lots of stuff. Do you suppose the singing discipline gives you a level-headed response?

My outdoors work is off for now - high winds started up again this morning (part of the dry conditions contributing the wildfire danger; the outdoor thermometer said 18% humidity this morning.)

Last night's wee-hours brain churn has me making a renewed effort to get a bigger variety of stuff listed on eBay. And for other items I need to figure out how to more efficiently recycle them, with reuse being the best choice.

It looks like a good time to do a no-spend month, so that's my goal for April. This month I've been drawing down the freezer surplus, and there's a lot in the rolling pantry shelves (a tall set of shelves on casters) as well that should be used. (The closet pantry is where non-food items are stored, mostly cooking and canning things, and I've mentioned that also needs a good thinning out.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 18 Mar 25 - 06:54 PM

Housebound today with gusts up to 68 mph, dust and wind. The whistling through the poorly sealed back window is starting to get on my nerves.

Spent more time today trying to carefully rewash the borrowed crocks and cooker. The party was a great success, though as frazzled and tired as I was, the guests enjoyed it more than I did. Tried to write down some 'lessons learned' in case I ever think a big house party is a good idea again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Mar 25 - 12:51 PM

Patty, it sounds like you did a great job with the party! Isn't the host always the most tired at the end of it? I'm thinking of my Thanksgiving meals here. They're fun but exhausting. (The most organized Thanksgivings have happened since the ADHD meds became part of my routine. I was astonished at how much easier it was!)

Lots of wind this week, and yesterday I walked across the street and spoke with my 90-year-old neighbor and then proceeded to chase off a "roofer" who had knocked on their door and told them they needed the roof fixed. He was up on the roof and his partner waiting in a pickup truck. Yes, it needs work, a loose shingle is in view, but never hire some guy driving through the neighborhood looking for marks.

More eBay stuff listed. I guess my sleepless night finally got me motivated to unload this stuff faster than I have been. Even if it's just small and inexpensive now, the income adds up when it sells, and better yet, it clears out some space. The goal is to empty the front room, and right now I'm working on the things that have piled up nearest the doorway into it.

Shopping run tomorrow, and there the goal is to stick to the shopping list. Hairdresser on Friday and my usual stops in that town (the Halal market, an Asian market, and a couple of friends to visit. Again, list in hand.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Mar 25 - 05:19 PM

Stilly, no fewer than three respirologists have told me that my singing habit has kept me breathing these many years. But it’s just as important that I usually recognize the very first signs of an asthma attack, I know what to do about it, and I always have the drugs handy. Also, I can easily afford to buy the drugs.

When I was working at National Defence Headquarters, one day I heard the unmistakable sound of an asthmatic woman coughing, then wheezing, somewhere in the cubicle farm. I grabbed my Ventolin inhaler and went looking for her. I found her in the area where temporary staff were put. Sure enough, she was an “office temp” on a two-week gig replacing a clerk who was on vacation. She did not take inhaled steroids because she could not afford them — the one I used in those days cost $150 a month. Worse, she didn’t even have Ventolin, which is cheap as chips. She had no extra health insurance to cover drugs because she worked for a temp agency.

I don’t think I would handle an asthma attack so calmly if I didn’t have the drugs.

Tony the carpenter just left after a forensic examination of the leaking window. He has agreed (thank God!) to take on the job of “caulking the shit out of it” and repairing the interior wall. He also pointed out that the recent gale-force winds have nearly torn the aluminum fascia off the highest section of the roof at the front of the house, and it’s flapping in the breeze … Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Mar 25 - 06:11 PM

Your flapping fascia is the equivalent of the loose shingle reported across the street, but reported by a known and reliable contractor. Good luck getting that fixed easily. I'm watching across the street for the arrival of the daughter so I can run over and get her phone number and apprise her of the front yard confrontation yesterday. I'd rather be the eyes watching out than have to wade into the fray, if there are people with more say in the matter.

Editing and writing and more editing this afternoon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Mar 25 - 01:58 PM

Nice start to the day - labeled and shipped an eBay parcel that sold yesterday, picked up just things on my list at the two stores we visited today, and got home without it taking too much time. I forgot to stop in the electronics section at Costco to look at routers, but it's probably just as well. They tend to have more choice online that ships to the store and if I find what I want I can pick it up next trip.

We haven't heard from Dorothy for a while. Has the weather cleared up enough for a trip up to Beaver? Do you still have things stored at the mill, or has that finally been sold? Are there other properties needing unloading (the original Montreal house, was it sold?)

Allergies are kicking my butt and I've been resisting the urge to take a nap, but I think the nap is going to win out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 25 - 11:22 AM

In the past month I went in for a couple of scans to determine brain and heart/artery health as I go forward without taking statins. I looked at the latest results this morning and am happy to report that both are excellent. The test from last week shows no artery problems. The score is zero. So I'm going to keep on with this almost-keto diet and not go on any of the medications that she keeps for folks who "don't tolerate statins well."

This week I've worked on an essay that I want to be short. It takes more time to write a short piece than it does to write a long one, like the long letter Mark Twain once apologized for (the sentiment often attributed to Mark Twain but earlier versions exist). It's going to be my next letter to each of my representatives but it is also going to be posted widely as a blog post, and in future I plan to publish my remarks to my representatives publicly (so those friends who want to call or write but aren't sure what to say will have something to choose from, should they wish.)

Patty, in that book on scrap and recycling I came across a possible answer to the trimmer you had problems with this winter. It seems that the scrap and recycling programs in China are huge, and one particular city has a corner on the market of refurbishing stuff that Americans and Japanese and people of other wealthy countries don't bother to repair. They have spare parts from all of the disassembled items and they repair, repackage, and sell them. It's an honorable practice, I'm just sorry your trimmer didn't work out the way you hoped (and what they planned for when refurbishing it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Mar 25 - 12:29 AM

Finished my running around after a hair trim, didn't go too crazy at Goodwill (I did send photos of a couple of things to my daughter, who declined both). Today while heading into a chain grocery store (my source of low-tech environmentally friendly dishwasher detergent powder in a cardboard box - no more pods) I saw on their door that my prescription plan is back doing business with them. A couple of years ago they dropped out of our insurance plan. I am not switching back now. It's enough fuss that some of my doctors may not want to fool with extra paperwork now that the big health system I've been with for years has done the same thing. (They parted ways in the mid-1990s but returned after a couple of years.) These companies play chicken and every now and then one of them dodges, picks up their marbles, and goes away for a while.

Major declutter this evening - I bit the bullet and filed the taxes. I used a credit card to make the payment, not sending my bank info. It was worse than ever this year, knowing it is probably vanishing into Musk's cruel enterprise. A postal money order would have cost less than the fee to process it, but it would have involved a trip to the bank and then to the post office. I wanted this misery over with. Now back to my writing to and calling the representatives who have allowed all of this to happen.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Mar 25 - 07:28 PM

Put in another excursion to my apartment to declutter some more.
Packed out several shopping bags and boxes of used books
and drove them to donate them at More Than Words,
a second-hand bookstore staffed by high school students in the area.
Also removed some bedding and clothing for donations.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Mar 25 - 12:17 PM

Keb, late last night when I read your post (incorrectly) I saw "stuffed with high school students" and thought that was great! :-) Working or hanging out in a bookstore is good for their future - as long as they manage to not take home their entire salaries as books.

A bulk purchase of pork chops (Costco pork isn't injected with brine but their packages are huge) was frozen and is now packaged 1, 2, and 3 per bag. I am still testing the altered zip lock freezer bags for this, and will plan to use those packages first. It does let me extend the supply of the heavy-duty freezer bag roll.

A bunch of vintage plastic food storage items ran through the dishwasher yesterday to be photographed and listed on eBay today. Those are fast and easy to list; this is recent stuff designated for eBay and is listed now because it's the most in the way of everything else I'm working on. My sales page tells me I've sold $180.87 in the past 90 days. Piddling around with this keeps things out of the landfill and at this rate is enough to pay the water bill each month.

Monday morning I may be driving the neighbor's husband down to meet with the AARP volunteer tax preparer. She handles their finances so is the one who usually goes to the meeting but is having difficulties getting out (there are stairs around the house and she started using a wheelchair). I've offered to build a ramp into the garage, where there's only one step. That would use up some of my spare lumber here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Mar 25 - 07:03 PM

Breakthrough, finally! I've struggled over a blog entry for days, trying to keep it short so readers would stay till the end, then realized the real problem was I'd buried the lede; once that was on top the rest flowed.

Still reading Junkyard Planet and am utterly amazed at the wealth of resources we have buried in our landfills. He has a more recent book (2019) called Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale. I ordered a copy (used, of course!)

Keeping in mind my goal to empty out a lot of stuff by the time I pay off the house, will learning more about the secondhand market inspire or impede that work?

Rain coming up this week and after it passes I've arranged to pick up a couple of more plants at the friend's house where she's having shrubs dug up before the house sells. I also have a couple of potted trees to either plant myself (where?) or offer to others.