DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 12:33 AM

Concert shoes? What makes them different than regular shoes?

This week I have several sewing projects to tackle. And to finally put the holiday letters in the mail. It was finished and has had time to rest; next I'll reread and trim out enough so I can design it with a couple of photos and keep it to two pages (the second side with enough room to write a note also at the bottom.)

I finished the final book in my Good Reads challenge today. It wasn't as robust a number goal as past years, but I got there with a couple of weeks to spare. And today I finished that next jigsaw puzzle (I listened to the book as I worked the puzzle, so it was a doubly entertaining afternoon.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 07:47 AM

Concert shoes are plain black and tolerable for extended periods of standing. They should also have flexible, grippy soles for graceful entrances to and exits from a variety of staging risers. Mine are lace-up Mephisto sneakers made of black suede with — for a wonder — no decorative doodads whatsoever. They were hard to find and frankly expensive, so they go back into the box between shows.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 08:49 AM

Yes, my concert shoes are Eccos, and they are plain slip-ons with wedge heels.
The heels aren't so comfortable for standing, but I need them
with the long dress so I don't step on it or something.

One more concert, on the 21st, and then it's done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 10:02 AM

Been having fun ferreting out interesting Christmas songs for karaoke gatherings. We got through a creditable version of "Marvelous Toy" this week, and two of my buddies enjoyed Hanukkah In Santa Monica, even if the rest of the crowd didn't get it. Last night I discovered a rowdy 'Season's Upon Us' by the Dropkick Murphys, trying to learn that. And some great soul on Youtube has been uploading very obscure stuff such as "It's Too ___ing Early for Christmas" which I coulda used 3 weeks ago. I'm glad Charmion and keb are doing choral music at Christmas, though I know it can add to the busyness of the season. I kind of miss decades past, when real Christmas music was more important than buying stuff.

The bed project is finally done and dusted. The dresser and vanity got cleaned up (no small project), one drawer repaired, friction tape applied. All the furniture is now in place, with clothes moved in. Wonderful to have a clean furnished room that looks good and does what it's supposed to do. There is still a big mirror in poor shape that needs mounting or stowing away, not sure which yet, but the hard work is done and there is now floor space in the living room.

On to many other concerns!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 11:33 AM

Charmion and Keb, understood. My equivalent to your concert shoes are my museum tour shoes. Something about the floors in museums, they are more dense, are harder to stand or walk on for an hour or more at a time (and think of the gallery assistants, standing all day!) I have a pair of the Propét orthopedic walking shoes to tour in. They stay on the closet shoe stand (I built of cedar slats for my shoes after looking at an expensive stand in an InFlight catalog).

Congratulations on setting up your bedroom, Patty! A question - you're doing xmas karaoke but you also study Gaelic and go to folk events, so some scholarship in approaching the music you follow. Do you play any instruments? Back when I attended some of Joe's Monday Zoom meetings I remember seeing you but don't remember if you accompanied yourself.

I didn't sleep well last night and finally realized that I was too warm. The temperature was 68^o this morning when I took trash to the curb. At 2am it was probably mid-50s and there I was with all of my blankets, so I tossed a couple back and dropped off finally.

One of the books on my Good Reads list, A Return to Common Sense, is coming off of it today. It's a primer on American government and an important read for people who didn't have Civics and Government and Social Studies classes coming up through school, but I did, and Rachel Maddow describes this stuff in detail every week. 60+ pages in I agree with McGowan's illustrations of how government works, but there is nothing new to me. I'll skim the other chapters and call that one finished. I've downloaded the next in the Louise Penny Gamache series, this audiobook will accompany sewing instead of a jigsaw puzzle. An important book I'm rereading is Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny.

Trash at the curb includes stuff cleaned out of the fridge. The next bag lining the trash can is a small plastic grocery carry-out bag (since I recycle so much I don't have much trash to go to the curb). I had a bunch of grocery bags stashed to eventually recycle but it seems they don't actually get recycled. So they've been stuffed into a box surrounding the whisky for my east coast friend whose municipality has banned the bags. Thing is, he only uses them one at a time to fit into his kitchen waste bin and they go into the trash in his building, they're not out blowing around on the street. So I am his supplier of kitchen waste bags. He'll be as happy with the packing as with the spirits.

It's so nice out I'm going to walk the dogs this morning, we haven't been out for a while. This is acknowledging Chapter 13 in Snyder's book. Practice Corporeal Politics. (Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.) Also why I need to get back to the gym and do more volunteering with groups in the park. The next administration is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 05:22 PM

For a visit to a museum — any museum — I have learned not only to wear appropriately supportive shoes, but also to sit down at every opportunity. My back does not tolerate the slow mosey of most museum patrons and quickly starts to ache if I don’t either pick up the pace or halt altogether and take the load off. Consequently, I never go on popular days — I’d get myself chucked out for charging through the throngs of folks standing in the gangway while they discuss brushwork and lighting. No museum has ever had enough benches, incidentally.

According to my fancy Space Age bathroom scale, I have altered my body composition to less than 35% fat, and therefore can no longer be described as “over-fat”. I’m sure that’s great for heart health etc., but the skin on my thighs is a size too big and I have to wear a sweater and wool socks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 05:55 PM

One of the (many) things they don't tell you about getting old is that you lose fat in odd places. Sitting on hard benches can be sore if you don't have the cosy padding of the youthful buttock. And my lifelong desire for a pair of Converse high-tops has receded somewhat on hearing that their extremely flat soles make them sore to walk in unless you put in orthoptic insoles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 06:29 PM

Indeed, my bum bones are now too sharp for your typical church pew or plastic stacking chair. I’m not yet ready to travel with a personal cushion, however, so I guess vanity is not dead.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 08:29 PM

A tip to all of you museum goers: if you ask, they will tell you where to find portable folding seats that you can take with you through the museum. (The photo is of what ours look like - your museum may vary.) When we do tours the seating carts have been rolled out for visitors, and when they do docent training we lug those around to each stop where the curators choose to teach about the new exhibits. One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons has two women seated on a bench in front of a large painting in a museum. The caption has one saying something like "this is my favorite painting" - clearly because of the seat.

A proposed Costco shopping expedition this evening was cancelled after we had a heavy thunderstorm wash over the top of us. Postponed until tomorrow. Over time I've sorted the kinds of things I buy at Costco: mostly frozen foods that keep versus the king-sized fresh produce packages, as well as things like canned tuna or bottles of oil. We were headed over to buy frozen fish and fruit. I rarely shop the home-goods aisles or clothes, etc. As Michael Pollan remarks about food choices, I shop around the outer edges of the store, where I find fresh meat, fish, cheese, eggs, dairy, or along the frozen aisle.

One holiday package sent in plenty of time to arrive before xmas. Now to get the kids to give me their lists. And to figure out what needs to be added to mine. AT&T sweetened the pot this year with $150 in gift cards for my shopping.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 09:01 PM

Museums as a topic, always reminds me of one of the most memorable traveling exhibits I ever traveled to see.

The painter was Claude Monet and there was painting after painting of the facade of a church in sunlight, and of haystacks.
All with brilliant sunlight and it looked like it was glowing. Such intensity in the Impressionist style.

I have forgotten what museum it was, but they thoughtfully provided,
not just benches, but cushioned islands out on the floor.
You could literally crash on one of those cushioned things
after being visually overwhelmed by too many glowing haystacks.
Literally one needed to rest one's eyes,
to say nothing of other anatomical areas.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Dec 24 - 11:42 AM

That exhibit sounds like quite a spectacle!

Many years ago when I was still an undergraduate I took AMTRAK from the Pacific NW cross country to visit some aunts in Baltimore and Connecticut. I paused on the way to spend a few days in Chicago area with a friend from school. I was killing time waiting for her to meet me and spent a couple of hours at the Art Institute in downtown Chicago, where they had a traveling exhibition of a triptych of three of Monet's huge Water Lily paintings. (I think it's the same that is on exhibit at the MoMA in NYC right now). As I recall I was travelling in layers including overalls and a heavy jacket and my large red backpack had to be checked at the cloak room. (There are times when you can look back and be embarrassed for your younger self for a lack of style, or at what might be considered the dismissal of it.)

A few items will go with me to hand over at lunch today when I meet my daughter, and chances are good that she'll have a bag of recycling to give to me. I tend to end up ahead, giving her more stuff. Then the first of a few holiday celebrations this afternoon. I have stuff in my freezer to pull out and make a batch of cranberry bars to give away (I'm not eating them myself but I hate to just throw out the ingredients). Tis the season for cranberries! I've made cranberry juice and put the solids in the freezer. They go in the bottom of a cake pan and have a cake mix and chopped nut topping added then bake and turned over. They are amazing, but talk about carbs.

I should offer up some of my garlic corms on the buy nothing page - it's the time to plant them. What else from the yard could go? I have some trees and shrubs in pots. I'll ask my daughter if she wants any and go from there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 11:09 AM

A housekeeping day today, while planning a short trip to hunt for a car next week.   Lots to clean and tidy.

Ebay let me down by giving the seller many days to make several ridiculous offers, then agree to a refund just before it was time for them to step in. So now I am saddled with waiting for a return label and shipping the darn thing back by seller's arbitrary deadline of Jan 1, BEFORE I can get a refund, which I fully expect them to renege on. Tried to contact EBay, but instead of being allowed to add a message to the thread, you just get put back in a circle of clicks where 'good news! Time to ship your item back' is the dead end. As far as they are concerned, the problem is solved.   

I do play guitar. I set it aside for a few decades while working too much, but methodically started back in when I hit the road in retirement, collecting and chording one song at a time.

Picked up a banjo from Elderly in Michigan, but learning that got bogged down, long tiresome story. I hope to get back on that soon; some of the picking and fingering skills do transfer over.

And now there's room for a harp, but not time or money for a harp. Maybe some day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 12:15 PM

Patty, the good news is that eBay will have not given the money to the seller yet because you filed for a refund, so you will get the money back, it's part of their guarantee. The mailing label should be an email or download message, you should already have it there somewhere.

Several years ago I bought a stand up desk (it is the one with the crank handle that fits on either side, it doesn't have a motor) and after the big rearrange of the office and equipment I have all of the cables and equipment placed so I can raise it without risking anything pitching over the side. This accomplishes two things. Standing is better than sitting all day long, and I tend to take short breaks to walk around for a couple of minutes. I don't leave it up for more than an hour or two, but it's a good way to be a bit more active while I work. An ergonomic mat is part this setup.

This morning is chilly but I'll be doing yard work later. I make a run to Lowes where my online search found an LED puck light set (advertised as under cupboard lights) that I'll replace the existing up halogen lights on top of my mantle. Every year when I set up decorations I am careful around those and it finally dawned on me that there are LED versions of just about any kind of light you can think of. Amazon and eBay have a gazillion of them with obscure named companies from China but I want to actually look at them before buying.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 11:55 PM

I ended up finishing my holiday letter instead of getting into the yard, partly because it didn't warm up after all. By the weekend it will be in the low 70s again. I stood in the next door neighbor's yard talking with him and his sister (who lives four doors up) while the ambulance workers loaded up the across-the-street neighbor and headed out to the hospital. That was enough fresh air for today. Now to get these letters in the mail.

The doldrums have settled in today, not sure why now in particular. The politics are looking progressively worse, but we've had a little time to accustom ourselves to the idea. Listening to Jamie Raskin this evening is hopeful - he feels we have a robust Constitution to protect Democratic institutions and people. I hope so!

As winter approaches I've rearranged some of the dog beds around the house, putting out the biggest one (the size purchased for the 70-pound Lab) with another one on top of it and doubled up the bed in my office closet (a bit of the princess and the pea scene here with piled up beds). They have various places around the house they sleep, depending on where I am or what the weather is doing. (If it is thundering the Blue Heeler sleeps in the hall bathroom tub. I have a rug in there also.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 11:07 AM

Yesterday, while talking to the neighbor from up the street, I remarked on how amazing her hair was looking - full and wavy and white - and she said that since an illness last year and her hair started falling out she started taking biotin, and found shampoo and everything else with biotin. My goodness! I tried it for a while to see if it would help my nails, but it didn't make much difference, but this reminds me that I have dry gelatin in the cupboard that I can resume taking for my nails (a teaspoon dissolved in the bottom of a mug, then put the tea water over it and it doesn't affect the flavor). Maybe after I use what I have here I could try some - I've always had rather fine hair that isn't particularly full. (Gelatin is a collagen, and sometimes the biotin comes mixed with collagen.) For a while I seemed to get a boost from switching to more protein and fatty meats, but the nails still could be stronger and it never hurts to have fabulous hair. :)

So many things going on around the house and yard this autumn. No gift lists from family members yet. I always make a Puerto Rican dish for my ex as his holiday gift, and the kids usually have books or games or art supplies on their lists.

Charmion, did you ever sell that china on eBay? Patty, when you were doing sales there, did you specialize in something? (I have a few things that if I come across them at estate sales I have enough information to be able to list them - oddball stuff like chandeliers, and obsolete things like VHS players). I was answering questions for a friend this morning about how eBay calculates their final costs (they include the shipping price as part of your sale, then deduct their fee from the whole, not from just the item cost itself). My friend is selling found items from her upscale apartment building so isn't out any money for purchasing what she sells, but the extra amount still stings.

Better get moving, to drink my tea and address holiday letters.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 11:33 AM

When I sold stuff on Ebay, it was strictly clearing out the house to sell, which involved many rounds of donating while renovating the place, a few trips to the landfill, and a big moving sale. As I went I would pull out items to sell that needed to get to collectors or seekers rather than random garage sale people.

Hub had been acquiring vintage stereo components, and there were some collectible CD sets, coins, books, a few fossils, etc. One box was a stack of old Infoworlds, one with a cover story on this bright young fellow named Steve Jobs, lol.   

And of course in the depths of winter, the guys up north in their basement workshops would snap up newish tools pretty quick. Oh, and old garage door openers turned out to be in demand! Who knew?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 01:35 PM

Sounds a lot like my approach; selling family stuff from estates over the years. "I am not a museum" is the thing I tell myself, and research and list items. Occasionally research shows me I should keep the object, but not often. People walking up the driveway for a garage sale are not the best audience for collectibles (or they want to buy them cheap to sell themselves).

The first batch of holiday letters are addressed and ready to go to the post office. I printed out 15 and have another 15 printing now. For this alone it was worth buying a color printer (it's an Eco tank so I don't spend a fortune on ink.) I missed the carrier this morning, but if I don't finish and mail the rest this afternoon he'll get some of them tomorrow. My locking box has an enclosed compartment for placing outgoing mail that isn't visible from the street. I love that a one-time $75 purchase of that box saves me $250 a year. (I got it at a considerable discount on eBay; every so often as I shop online the CapitalOne shopping extension pops up with a price savings, and moving from Amazon to eBay for that purchase saved about $15.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Dec 24 - 08:34 PM

Cards are mailed. Keeping in touch with distant friends is important and I have to hold up my end of it or people take me off their lists. And this year I've made a note on my address list - one person was removed and three more off next year if I don't hear back. I can only presume they don't want to stay in touch.

Today I explored the options on the Silver Sneakers program (my insurance pays for); it is best for going to gyms (no cost to me) but I was hoping they'd have online on-demand exercise sessions, but nope. I need to find someone else who goes to that gym and go at the same time to make the social aspect of it more appealing.

Deep funk has descended upon the household. Political turmoil is the prominent reason, disappointment that so many people weren't paying attention or believed the nonsense they were told. You'd think the day after the election would be the worst, followed by next month's inauguration, but it seems to be slowly blooming into a fetid cloud. And now we're all looking at a deep abyss of misery as rich folks try to reset the nation to suit themselves. Kind of takes the shine off of the holiday. Plus the cat-sitting gig feels like a death watch, one cat is just so ill and the instructions become increasingly complex. After this week she has one more trip planned that I agreed to feed them (scheduled last fall when he wasn't so far gone), but after that if the little guy hasn't been put out of his misery I may have to decline jobs until he is gone. Bleh. I'm poking around streaming sites for something new to watch as a distraction. Someone recommended Detectorists. Slow moving and charming. Really slow moving.

We have a date late next week for the family holiday gathering, and I'm thinking a late brunch. They all like blueberry muffins and pancakes and bacon and such. A veggie quiche and fresh fruit could round out the meal.

I've been trying a few of the supplements Dr. Amen recommended in his You, Happier brain health book. The combination of L-Theanine and Gaba made a difference this evening as far as the mood. (A doctor also told me about L-Theanine that she uses herself.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 21 Dec 24 - 11:11 AM

Update on the black plastic utensils issue:

https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/journal-that-published-faulty-black-plastic-study-removed-from-science-index/

Tried using the blickifier but it just churns for a long time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Dec 24 - 01:28 PM

Fixed the link. There was a lot of black plastic that got replaced this year, and a tea kettle as well, just in my family alone. Still, calling attention to the problems of using plastic in cooking was probably a worthy cause. Math errors. 'Who did the peer review on that?' is the next question. What other health issues are simmering away until someone notices and writes about them?

The removal from the Web of Science on December 16 came just a day after a correction was issued on the black plastic study. That study claimed to find a "high exposure potential" of toxic flame retardants in plastic household items, particularly kitchen utensils, that are made from recycled electronics. The findings sparked a firestorm of media coverage imploring people to immediately throw away any black plastic utensils in their kitchens.

However, the authors made a math error in their analysis that put their estimate of exposure to toxins from kitchen utensils off by an order of magnitude. Corrected, the article notes that the exposure potential from kitchen utensils is actually less than a tenth of the limit considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, the study found flame retardant contamination in less than 10 percent of the 203 household products it examined—and only about 8 percent of 109 kitchen utensils.

Despite this, the correction notice on the article states that the error "does not affect the overall conclusion of the paper."

That scare had me looking beyond plastics at the surfaces on all of my cooking and baking pans, and deciding it is time to either change how I use them (line with parchment paper) or toss them if they're too far gone.

In my virtual world I started making lists in the new Bluesky environment, and the most important so far to me are critical thinkers in science and in politics/culture. I'll make a couple of other lists later (Tech and Writers, at least.)

A good-sized box left the house on Thursday after an eBay sale and I've started testing the promotion feature (of course it costs - but it seems the algorithms are set so your stuff is almost invisible if you don't pay them more.) The box I shipped wasn't promoted, none of my sales ever have been. But AI is making itself felt over there in eBayland.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Dec 24 - 05:17 PM

I do not plan to part with any more of my kitchen traps. I have one of those black OXO tools, a broad flipper designed for fish, and it is so useful that anyone who wishes to separate me from it will have to prise it from my cold, dead fingers. I have survived many flaps of that sort over the years, and I expect to outlive plenty more before my time is out.

Stilly, you asked whether I have sold any of my excess china on EBay. I have not; with 12 place settings of Wedgwood going to my nephew, I don’t think I have to so I won’t bother.

More snow is due this evening, but I’m going to a concert in London anyway. I’m taking two others with me, so I will be extra prudent on the road.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Dec 24 - 10:44 PM

I remember you said you had a place to take some china, but I didn't make the connection between the two. I had a 12-place setting from my great grandmother's house and it took several months to list and sell all of it. But yours is the best outcome by far, keeping it in the family.

My museum tour today was with only one person, but a delightful conversation. (Last week's tour I had four Australians and even though we all speak English it was a struggle to make myself understood. They had little background in American history or local jargon to work with.) After this tour I thought I'd swing by Lowes to get the puck lights to replace the halogen puck lights. OMG. The area where that store is located (my closest store was out of stock) is so congested that the businesses along the highway are hard to reach because they were built when it was a rural backwater. I missed the exit and then missed the store and had to loop around; an easy trip took an extra 30 minutes. But I got my lights. I set them up with double-stick mounting tape and it took longer to get the tape residue off of my fingers than to assemble and place the lights.

I found a bag of xmas cookies on my doorknob when I got home today (from the nextdoor neighbors), and I have to do my part so will bake some of the cranberry bars (the cranberry pulp is thawing now) to deliver tomorrow. I'm not eating cookies because of flour and sugar, but will be able to use them for guests this week. And giving foods I don't eat seems a little contrary but will happen this year. Maybe next year I'll work out some recipe with fancy nuts.