BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 07:19 PM

Let's jump into October a little early. Leave behind the heat and light of September. Here's the new thread.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 02:05 PM

Seasonal baby clothing change-over foiled by a nap!!!! Sleep well Jeremiah!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 11:07 AM

I had a pair of shoes that were for yard work and are finally so far gone that they are in the trash.

My neighbor from across the street and I were both out peering into the woods this morning, trying to figure out what the heavy equipment was that we could hear. Turns out the builder is finally picking up trash after years of letting it blow through the woods. Of course they're only picking up six feet back from the fence line. I am wearing a pair of capri pants, so came back and washed my legs because there is poison ivy in those woods. I walked carefully, but you can never be too careful with that stuff.

Good night's sleep - I like the furniture in the new locations. It's nice to have all of that dust up also. I washed a couple of small dusty rugs and they air-dried overnight.

My next door neighbor has had no phone service for several weeks and the AT&T folks can't seem to work it out. We were out poking around in the back yard on my other side, looking to see if there was one of those green phone stands. Nope. I'll look at some of the property tax maps, see if they show the utilities and the rights-of-way. We should be able to find the line. I wonder if they cut off his end of the old phone system before connecting him up to the new line they ran last spring (that we still don't have any access to, apparently).

These things will sort themselves out. And I'm enjoying any excuse to go outside on a lovely day like this. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 10:42 AM

1. Laundry started
2. Pot roast and veggies in the crock pot
3. Big breakfast this morning, Red Pepper and Mozzarella Omelet, Side of Homefries (I know this doesn't sound very diet friendly but the cheese was minimal and the potatoes were boiled and then *fried* in Pam. Pointwise, it was 7 total including my skim milk!)
4. Baby fed, changed, loved, played with, read to and is now napping. I'm off to work in our bedroom on the mountain of clean clothes that need to be put away.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 03:25 AM

Have lobbed out about half a dozen no longer required or worn pairs of shoes...4 to the bin and 2 to the charity shop.

I have decided to reassess the girth of the tree, given that my panic may be merely a product of frustration at the moment, given that there is a lull in the progress of the sale, and I am probably bored!

I've found a store that has some of the (now discontinued) range I got my sofabed from last year. I'm going to see if they have anything useful.

Dried a couple more trays of apple slices yesterday. There is no way I am going to ever use all the apples!

Andrea

ps - actually got on the scales this morning, and I have piled a stone back on since June. Not proud.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 03:13 AM

New sofa bed not arriving until Wednesday. The sofa maker's van is in for service. He has generously offered to deliver after 5.30 pm so I don't miss another day of work.

Old sofa to be assessed for worthiness to be donated to Farleigh hospice on Saturday. If they deem it too big, they will not take it away. I will try it on ebay for next to nothing reserve. If it still doesn't go then we will have to break it up to take to tip. Seems criminal because it still has loads of life left in it.

Have appointment with GP this morning to get blood pressure sorted per the cardiologist instruction. Watch this space. Wearing compression socks everyday has helped immensely with edema.

All DVDs and CDs are now stored in shelves in the spare room. Would like to paint the lounge walls from terracotta to nutmeg, but I don't have enough paint and can't carry cans of paint from shop. So I will have to live with the dark walls this winter.

Not finding the SADS lamp to be making any difference on the way I feel. Maybe later in the year it will be more effective.

One load of laundry going, after doc appt I will deep dust and vac the lounge (means moving everything).

Alice those pics are lovely. Maggie that soup looks wonderful.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 11:38 PM

That should have been "you're catching on".

In a fit of energy after my shower I decided to move the bed. Which of course meant moving the dresser, the wash stand, the lamp, and the table with the television. I found lots of dust (what a friend calls "someone coming or going").

The motivator, in addition to what I've said before about how I view the door from the bed, is having a lamp just inside the room to turn on, rather than walk carefully in the dark trying not to trip on the metal corner of the bed frame to reach the lamp. I often turn on the hall light and have to go back and turn it off once the room light is on (the ceiling light is usually off and flipping that switch turns on the ceiling fan - but that will change very soon!) The lamp is near the door now, and it's also one I can use to read with in bed.

This activity will confuse the heck out of the dogs next time they come in. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 10:15 PM

You could reduce the recipe to a smaller amount and give it a try. The woman who runs this blog and some other cooking sites does a lot of canning, so the volume is there as a batch for the canner.

You're catching -- you've figured out that you have to sometimes schedule time when there's a baby in the house. I remember having trouble figuring out when I could even do something so simple as take a shower. It takes practice, and learning when they have times when they are safely tucked into the crib or play pen / play yard / whatever they call protective enclosures if they're still around any more.

On a kind of silly note: as I mowed this evening I realized my bra was kind of loose as I worked. I was thinking this is great, I've lost a little weight. But upon further consideration, I think the elastic is just shot and it's time to toss it. Darn! ;-)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 09:46 PM

SRS,

   The soup looks WONDERFUL! I'm not sure we have that many tomatoes left in the garden (although who says I can't to the farmer's market?!?!) as Pete picked a bunch of tomatoes this morning for salads and sandwiches. We are finished canning them though as the Roma's are now gone. I think that tomorrow I'll be picking up another bushel or two of pairs at our favorite nearby orchard (both the pickin's and the people are GREAT).
   On a completely different note, having a baby in the house changes so many things. I just found myself asking Pete if he could watch the baby for an hour (on his next day off) so I can spend some time in our bedroom putting laundry away.....LOL...I want free time to put away our clothes....weird. Weird. Weird. I also need to rearrange Jeremiah's dresser again....getting rid of 90% of his summer clothes, keeping just a few things for Indian Summer days.
    I have so much fun dressing my baby. Today he was in little polar fleece pants, a long sleeved onsie, a sweater (made by one very wonderful Auntie Allison), a pumpkin hat and a blanket over his car seat made with love by Auntie Jacqui!!!! People at the grocery store are full of compliments....even the men!!! He is just so stinkin' CUTE!!!! :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 09:13 PM

Lovely, Alice!

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 09:06 PM

Whew! Productive evening! I ran to the post office to mail the box to Australia (eBay is making it easier and easier to mail overseas boxes now) and then ran by the grocery to pick up a few apples and some broccoli to go till payday. I have a long list to pick up after that, but the essentials were fresh fruit and veggies.

When I came back home it felt just perfect temperature-wise to mow. If I'd been spending time outdoors in quiet pursuits I'd have put on a long sleeved shirt (haven't wanted to do that since early May!). It was perfect for mowing, and when I came it in was the house that felt hot! :)

The front yard is mowed. I also went out with a spade fork and finally dislodged the little patch of native prickly pear I planted when I first moved in. Heavy rain last week and again this weekend made it an easy job. I had thought of turning that side of the yard into a cactus garden, but there is just too much rain in the area, it always filled up with grass even though I didn't water. And I took down a tree I had planted at the same time as the cactus that failed to thrive. Finally, I took another whorl off of the pine tree by the front walk--I want people to be able to see it clearly, not have a tree a burglar can hide behind.

The cactus are in the wheelbarrow and tomorrow I'll take it back and dump it on the "back 40" (feet, that is) overlooking the creek. Anything that will grow with deep roots is welcome back there to stabilize things. It's trees and vines now, the cactus is just another worker in the pack, and it will grow just fine in the shade.

I have to work on photos tonight, and see if I can finish and deliver them tomorrow. I'd have to head to that side of town anyway to get dog food, and drop off some old paint at the toxic waste depot.

Michelle, if you still have a lot of tomatoes from your garden, here's a recipe I stumbled upon over the weekend that I'm dying to try. I don't have a crop to speak of this year, so I'll hold onto the recipe, but see if you can resist this one!

Roasted tomato and garlic soup

MMmmmmmmm!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 08:49 PM

Exercise - walked around the neighborhood again this morning. Unusually warm weather here all of a sudden, in the '80s.

Gathered together more images and uploaded
click.



A.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 07:17 PM

1. Grocery Store, FOUR times. Don't ask.
2. Vaccuumed for my mom
3. Carried in all groceries and put them away.
4. Made a pot of cajun food (jumbolyia....killed the spelling, I know)
5. Made gingerbread
6. Did dishes

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 02:31 PM

read up on celery for high blood pressure..works very well for some people I understand...mg

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 12:56 PM

Unfortunately the branches are hinged on the trunk and don't come off. It may push up against the wall, but the weight of branches against the wall may make it unstable. I thought of the dining room, but it's a bit smaller. It might fit at the back of the hall, but that would block the understairs cupboard. I've fetched it down from the loft, and I'll perhaps put it up and measure the spread. It may not be such an impossible fit as I think. I think the problem I have it that the process has slowed just now, my daughter and her family are on holiday this week, so I haven't got Freya - and I am at a loose end. The weather's horrid and wet at the moment, and I can't get into the garden to sort that.

The chimney sweep rang to cancel - a "tummy bug" - he got nearly to my house and then rang me, saying he realised he needed to be rather close to "facilities". He's coming on Saturday now.

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 11:07 AM

Good luck with those medicines, Susan. They're very important.

Andrea, I had a similar thought about the tree - you have several rooms in that house, is there another one you can dedicate to the holiday for part of the year? (If you tried to put the tree in that tiny kitchen you'd have to use the branches to make a long wreath around the counter-top - but is there an extra living area?)

I have more ornaments than I need, and I have gradually thinned them out. My living room isn't decorated every year, sometimes I use garland and though it doesn't weigh much, it takes a couple of large boxes to store it properly. I suppose I should pull out all of it and decide what comes and goes. There are things my kids remember fondly that they may speak up for - but when will they make the move? Not likely any time soon.

I was able to compress the clutter in my son's room enough to take out a small stacking bin thing, and I'm working next on his computer table. I'll replace that with a smaller work area. My allergies are in full bloom today - not sure if it is his dust or the ragweed out in the creek. I'll be sure to keep the antihistamines going as I do this work.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 10:46 AM

Animaterra,

The day here is off to a great start.

<> The planned decluttered schedule (posted upthread) actually began life today; I went to bed thinking it would be just like that and actually got to sleep looking forward to it. I describe it as "began life" because the sched (rule of life) so totally reflects a life moving towards greater life-- across the board.

<> The major energy-outlay task of the month is DONE, and help to maintain it is on board. All the areas I worked so hard to make better (just tally the task's details tracked in my posts here!) are now at a point where weekly, focused attention is all they will need to keep them as are or better. They have subsided to NORMALIZED areas subject to the habit so well utilized this past year in upstairs routines I can now resume: "see a simple need, and simply do it as you pass by." Nothing "piles up" in an approach like that, and thus never needs to be decluttered.

<> The computer issues that precluded my doing this month's work in the ways some folks vainly insisted I "should" or "could" do them have been fixed; that supports not only the continuing income planning but the offCat commitments that supersede efforts here to control my behavior which, ultimately, have nothing to do with me. Your PM about the Light and what happens around it)-- SO TRUE. (That PM, as we discussed, is definitely going to my discernment committee. It looks to be a committee discerning two-- so your PM will also apply to the committee's talks with the other person.)

<> A correspondence in email with a landlady who has actual experience to share (instead judgement) is well underway.

<> I think I'm skipping the October meat sale that is either this week or comes next week-- MIL not coming this year wanting the special charred steak WE don't need to eat ANYway! :~)


A picky meds issue remains to address: the twice-daily Stupid Pill that (hopefully) brought my BP down from 225/175. A fasting test I need to do will, hopefully, happen tomorrow; that test (and the internist visit to follow, for results) will determine if I need to keep adjusting to the Stupid Pill or take something else. I'd hate to waste the month I spent adjusting to it halfway! ???
[shrug]

And I'm off and RUNNING! Thanks for your support and encouragement (ditto mouldy and mg and any others I missed)--

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 09:25 AM

I am trying to declutter the lounge of one terracotta coloured sofa.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 09:07 AM

Andrea, can you assemble the artificial tree minus its back set of branches (and thereby just move it closer to the wall), decorating only the front half? Or is there another room it can go in and show well?

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 27 Sep 10 - 04:49 AM

There's a bit of a lull in the progress of the move at the moment, as the bank are playing "catch-up" on mortgage processing after the holiday period. My buyers have gone on holiday for a week, and I am waiting for my survey report on Church Street.

So - I started visualising my furniture and stuff in the much smaller space and came up sharp with the realisation that MY CHRISTMAS TREE IS TOO DAMN FAT FOR THE LIVING ROOM - or at least I think it is. It's a 6 foot bushy thing, and will take up far too much space. So it will have to be de-cluttered via an ad in the village post office window, methinks, and I will have to look at one of these newfangled "slimline" ones. (I bit the bullet and went from real to artificial 3 years ago. Now I've got to go even further.)

The chimney sweep is coming this morning, and then I think I will have to visit the loft and start to hoik the tree down the ladder. Maybe I'll go through the other decs and decide if I will be able to use them there. It's only September and I'm doing this? I must be feeling the pressure! I could have a look at some of the other stuff while I'm up there too, because I have a feeling I won't get much chance to store stuff in the loft when I move, unless the listing allows me to enlarge the VERY small original loft hatch!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 10:46 PM

Auction ended - after the fees and such I'll clear a tidy sum that will pay a couple of bills. I have to ship to Australia. Good practice for the upcoming Secret Santa Season, this overseas shipping! I really do enjoy that - it's such a great game to look forward to.

Box in my son's room to clear stuff off of the desk. There are unused shelves in his closet, so I should look to see what fits in there best, and work outward.

The laundry is all washed, dried, and folded. The kitchen table is almost clear, there isn't a lot on the island and it won't take too long to clear up after dinner (fried rice). I need to work on the formal dining table, that still has a lot of crystal glasses that need to go somewhere. I pulled them out of a trunk, the one that I think I'll put in my son's room - it's very sturdy, a WWI ordinance locker.

I vacuumed in my bedroom, under furniture and around areas where spiders and cobwebs have congregated. The mop and bucket are in the hall and I can do the bathrooms before I pour the wash water down the toilet. I need to put on the heavy rubber gloves and scrub the sinks in the kitchen, so I can leave it looking good for tomorrow morning.

I haven't gotten the skunk smell off of Cinnamon yet. I've been spraying enzymes on her two or three times a day. It'll take care of it pretty soon, but I'm not ready to let her come in and sleep in the house with that skunky forehead. :-/

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 08:56 PM

I need a shower, I'm covered with dust and grit and who knows what else from in my son's room. I've been down on the floor sweeping under furniture before moving it, which allowed me to reach all of the floor areas with a mop. I will pack up some scattered supplies in boxes just to get them out of the way for changing out the table in there for a segment of an office work desk (think the wrap-around or L-shaped units they sell at Office Depot or Sam's Club). Shortly after I moved in here I was at a garage sale and found a desk with two main work spaces and a triangular corner piece. The two pieces have been used around the house and are about to get re-arranged.

I may also store one of the antique trunks in his room, use it for the television. It's a huge honker my neighbor gave us after her mother died in the nursing home. It's 36", a good size for the game players. Right now it sits on a chrome wire heavy duty rack that I can use someplace else.

Nothing is going away, he'll be able to poke through his stuff. I don't want him to think he's getting the bum's rush out. But it'll all be boxed and put on shelves. As with his sister's stuff, it is compressed so the room can have more grown up uses (such as visiting guests or for staging projects for the house, etc.)

It feels good outside, cool, still a little humid. Tomorrow might just be that first day that really feels like fall. It might have a nice fresh-mown grass smell to go with the weather. I know as soon as it cools I'm going to feel like cooking up a storm. I'll have to figure out how to do that and not make so much that it goes to waste. Not everything is suitable for the freezer.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 08:39 PM

Oh Kendall....

   LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: kendall
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 08:04 PM

A little boy was sitting on the curb eating from a sack of candy bars. An old minister came by and asked what he was doing. Boy says, "I'm eating my lunch."
Old Minister said, "You won't live to the age of 80 eating that stuff."
Boy says, "My Grandad lived to the age of 91."
Minister says, "Ill bet he didn't do it by eating junk food."
Boy says, "No, he did it by minding his own damned business."

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 06:22 PM

It's been a bit like Sherman marching thru Georgia, this month. October/November are always fully committed to diocesan ministry events, so September is always my month to do big projects. And this month it's been getting that attic room up to snuff to squeeze some money out of it. But I'm cleaning my way towards it as I go, bigtime.

Today I knocked out the laundry room "cleaning prep;" it's about 8 feet by 20 feet and now ready to vacuum, power-wash, and wet-vac up the water. That slate floor has not been really clean since our 2000 housefire filled it with ashes, and it's the mudroom and catbox room as well. It's also the main entrance to the house, and the only entrance in winter.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 06:02 PM

know what? chilli is exceptionally good if you stir in a little green and blacks 70% cocoa dark chocolate...


yummy

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 05:38 PM

It's been a busy day here on the farm.

Dishes done and put away, several loads of laundry done, sweeping almost complete and a loaf of honey oatmeal apple raisin bread is baking away.

I was the one who had asked for the pita bread recipe...Pete loves to take olives, feta cheese and pitas to work for is lunch. I'm sure he'd like it even better if they were homemade and he knew more about what was in them (especially NO CORN SYRUP!). The tortillas look simple enough and I'll make a point to try them later this week.

Pete just came in from working outside....digging up potatoes (Yukon Golds) and moving some larger bales of hay closer to the steer. We had some time out on the porch too but it's getting chilly and Jeremiah's little legs were getting cold as were my arms. While we were relaxing I also brushed the dogs. Maggie is finally slowing down in the shedding department...thank goodness!! Too bad I can't sell her fur on Etsy to be used for spinning or something!! I'd be a rich woman!

On to coupon clipping and grocery list making.

Toodles.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 04:21 PM

Pulled out a cookbook I picked up at a garage sale earlier this year (a Martha Stewart Entertaining title) and made a dozen tortillas. Her recipe suggests making tiny tortillas for party snacks, I simply wanted a working recipe. 3 cups of flour, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 tsp Kosher salt, 1 cup water. I watched women rolling out tortillas and slapping them on the griddle at a gas station/convenience store/fast food place. In the time it took them to roll out the next one, the first one had cooked a little, been turned over, and then dropped on a towel. I ran out of tortillas and figured this was as good a time as any to give them a try. For some odd reason, the MS cookbook was the only one with that simple recipe for tortillas.

Someone asked about making pita bread. I'll be doing some of that in the next day or two, so I'll put up the recipe after I dig it out. It's another simple recipe, but it's a yeast bread.

Knocking off photos, and knocking off dust around the house for now. I'm going to make a big push and rearrange some furniture in my son's room this evening, so I can get to the floor under the stuff in there. It'll be like working a Chinese puzzle, though, 35 tiles on a board with 36 spaces.

Laundry is finished, and I'll do some ironing as I watch Inspector Lewis.

As noted earlier, I have deleted an unread PM. Enough has been said about lumping and sorting in individual threads. Stuff that tends to hijack an existing thread needs to find a life and audience of its own.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 12:38 PM

I wondered what look you were trying to achieve if you were putting dryer creases into your velvet curtains! :)

I have an antique half-slip in the washer on extreme handwash gentle. I put it in with a couple of towels and I'll air dry it. There are machine and hand stitching areas in it. It soaked much of the week in water, and then in oxy bleach, and finally overnight I used Iron Out, a stain remover that can be used on laundry or rocks. ;) (I bought this to use in a mix to soak the rusty red stain off of quartz crystals I picked up or bought in the rough from rock shops in Arkansas. I'd love to go back and get some more, but for now I use this Iron Out on laundry problems.)

Web work, processing some freelance photos. This is a job best accomplished in spurts, so I loaded them into the file and will work for 15 - 20 minutes at a time then head out to do some small chore in the house. I've been vacuuming the dust lions and tigers under some of my furniture. These long ago outgrew their kittenhood. . .

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 12:11 PM

oops

without creases and scan is Thursday and Monday.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 12:09 PM

not going to jump into the fray except to say, I wish everyone well.

spare room paint is drying and book case goes up in about an hour. One of the curtains in condenser dryer. They are velvet so they will take forever to dry. Just giving them each a once through on 30 minutes delicate so they dry with creases. Then hang for the rest of dry.

When bookcase goes up, rest of my crafts bits go in and all the videos from lounge.

getting ready to make loads of chilli for tonight's dinner and too freeze.

ironing tonight while I relax in front o telly.

I am off work tomorrow so will paint part of lounge before the new sofa bed arrives this Tuesday.

get myocardial perfusion scan on Friday and again following Tuesday.

evidently I am losing weight as my Kent folk friends who have not seen me since August commented on it yesterday at event in Kent.

Given that it is raining, windy and cold, I am not in too much pain. That is the best accomplishment! :~)

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 11:58 AM

De-cluttering takes lots of routes. Some of us are selling things and once they're gone, they're gone. Others have revolving stock, but the point is to find a viable way to move this stuff out of the house. I haven't tried Etsy but it is offered as a method to de-clutter or to set up a business. This seems to be germane to the topic.

What we all got rather tired of were the "stroke brain" endless lists. This is something that needs to be worked out in a personal diary or in a domain where others can look at those lists and detect a pattern or otherwise recognize the process, and I suspect those who have experienced health problems or those who counsel are the ones most likely to see the minutia of such cataloging as significant. I'm afraid here it just caused some excessive eye rolling.

I enjoyed reading about the construction of Dog World, I thought the relocation of stuff the create office space, and the arrangement of gear for your swimming work was all interesting. I enjoy it when you count coups about the Freecycle process - you're a one-woman dynamo when it comes to wringing good stuff out of that system.

The housing thing strayed into different territory. We as total strangers see a space that appears to not be up to code being prepared for renting. That's a little red flag right there. And the details of Jessica's life, her boyfriend, her parents, all of that, makes me cringe, because I'd be appalled if I was preparing to rent a place and my life was being discussed by a stranger in a wide-open public venue. That was a judgment call that I suspect many of us don't see in the same way you do.

Stay with the group, but prop a list on the computer of topics that perhaps belong somewhere else, and we'll all be fine.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 08:14 AM

We are ALL free to skip anyone's posts we prefer not to be bothered by. Check the FAQ-- it's all right there.


What's unreal is that people who decry my posts and insist they do not read them apparently are not only reading them but taking ideas from them.

My goals for this perticular round of decluttering may not be to everyone's taste, and if that is so then don't read about them. But most of the posts themselves are a record of decluttering.

This IS the decluttering thread. It's had a lot of various goals over time from various people, and sometimes quite a few "off topic" posts as well. For example Etsy is not a decluttering topic. Since I know I support folks' efforts there, I know experientially that we can support one another's goals if we wish to. We certainly all supported Michelle's health goals. Mudcat used to be known for mutual support.

What's also unreal is to offer threats in the guise of wellwishing and then insist that one is being victimized and does not wish to be addressed. This is a public discussion, not a private chatroom.

Those among you who are part of a formal process of reviewing my ministries have done so via PMs. The comments here evaluating me are not part of that process-- but how I respond to them sometimes is. I would remind you all that your view of me is quite limited and that people who actually know me are the people whose opinions I consider first. My life here is growing, because I am doing the work that results in growth. My life is not centered on Mudcat.

Let's move on.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 10:18 PM

I agree with Mary and Maeve, the huge amount of material we've gotten on the one topic of renting a room really has been so copious that it deserves it's own thread. Renting property isn't why we all gather and share notes in the de-clutter thread. A discussion for present and future landlords might well bring in a different group, folks who haven't strayed into the de-clutter venue because it didn't fit their needs.

Now I think we need to let September wrap up quietly and let the huge amount of landlord/tenant stuff move elsewhere. Please? Thank you.

And now for something completely different, to quote Monty Python, I stepped over some kind of portal into Southern life this evening: I picked okra from my garden, mixed up some Zatarain's fish fry and a little flour, I cut the okra into about 1/3 inch discs, and I breaded and fried it in a skillet of shallow oil. My neighbors have told me how and let me sample it last time they made it.

As I tasted it this evening while it was cooking, and found myself popping the little crunchy discs almost as fast as they were coming out of the pan, I realized that breaded fried okra is simply a vehicle to let yourself eat the good tasting crunch of nicely seasoned breading. I spoke to another friend (Dean) about this, asking for confirmation. It's like another kind of chip or fry, an unhealthy way to prepare an otherwise healthy food. Dean agreed, I had figured it out.

After this, I'll be sure to keep some of my okra for myself (2 plants are producing several dozen a day). Also, you may recall that I described earlier this week the blanching and freezing of my cauliflower. In the same book section they discussed a way to dice, blanch, and freeze eggplant also. I think I'll do a bunch of that as well. I get a bit tired of just eggplant Parmesan: it's a good thickener and flavor in with a lot of other things. I can freeze some in slices, still, but this year I'm filling my freezer with stuff I would otherwise give away. It's mostly because I can cook whatever and it doesn't matter, there isn't a teen-aged boy here to fuss about it or pick out half of the ingredients.

Over the summer I drew down the contents of the freezer - that de-clutter was necessary so I can fill it with garden stuff now. I do need to reorganize it some - keeping like things together. It's a bit jumbled now.

Good for you on that gift, Michelle! I have been clearing out access to space to do more sewing this year. We picked out cloth for some lap rugs several years ago, one for each of us, and they never got made, so I need to go ahead and to that this fall. Draw down the materials I already have here before I buy more. And then there's the upcoming Secret Santa operation. Hmmmm!

Take care everyone, take a few deep breaths if this thread has seemed to pull itself up by the boot straps after lolling around for a while. I've wanted to keep things on the thread, not start a flurry of PMs, and hope it will stay that way. Because sometimes I have been known to discard PMs without reading them.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 09:37 PM

YAY Maeve!!!

A return to the friendly intent of this thread sounds like the most perfect idea to me!!!!

My plans for the evening (since I had a long nap earlier today) is to do some work in our bedroom. I'm daydreaming of a beautiful mahogany bookcase in our bedroom...but until that happens (most likely NEVER), I need to pick up the several books I've got laying around and create some order. Of course, there's always laundry to be put away too. I've also started a secret project up there....a Christmas gift. My husband never goes on the side where my nightstand is...it's kind of like it's (a self imposed) forbidden territory...kind of like my purse..he just doesn't go there...anyway...I know he won't go poking around there so it's the perfect spot to stash the gift I am making for him!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 09:24 PM

I have a bit of one-time decluttering to do here.

WysiwyG: I spoke the truth, as gently as I could. How interesting it bothered you so. I've asked you privately and politely to leave me alone. Now I am telling you publicly. If necessary I can take the next appropriate step. I detest bullying. By the way, I grew up in the ministry. The image of Christian service as portrayed in your writing here strikes me as an obscene mockery of the Way, the Truth, and the Light. I wish you well, so this is my last comment to you.

Maggie and the rest, I'll be glad to send you an update, if you'd like. Please let's allow the thread to return to its original, friendly and supportive intent. We've all made such progress but there are more adventures for us all just ahead. :)

Onward and upward,

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 08:19 PM

You're welcome here, Mary, don't worry. There are many who drop in for a while then disappear for ages.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 08:11 PM

Oh dear. It is not my thread, as I am more or less post-clutter, and have no great projects at all in mind, other than getting to sleep and getting to work until I am able to retire. Then projects might happen. So anyway, as a relative stranger here, but one who is fascinated by decluttering (the first stop I make in a bookstore), I recommend not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, but if someone in general writes stuff you are not interested in, to scan the list of names and plan to skip what they write. I found I had to do that with 2 people, plus I blacklisted a third, but darned if I can remember who she is. But I am personally not interested in one word these two guys have to say..not because they are boring me but because I consider them abusive..but I just skip over them and read the rest of the other people...mg

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 06:55 PM

Maeve,
I understood your post about faking country. It was neither below you nor off the mark.
Somewhere along the line this thread was hijacked. It used to be a place where anyone could share their their progress or lack of it. Now it is a personal blog revealing far more than it was meant to.
Look for a PM. I won't be back here again. If you are not welcome, I certainly am not.
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 06:53 PM

FWIW: I kinda think that tip on soaking stinky plastic pee buckets comes under the category of "too much information." IMHO.

Maeve, I agree. ;-) I have a mix of city and rural. We had a summer place on a lake that was very primitive, but at the same time, placed in another century its features would have been luxurious. Kind of like Michelle's cabin, I think. Had an out house, electricity, and a phone. We had water because it was on a lake and there was a little pump house for a spigot in the house for the kitchen sink and in the boat shed where Mom kept her wringer washer. Baths were in a galvanized tub put on the floor in front of the stove, so water could be heated there and mixed with cold from the tap. I don't remember, but I suppose Mom must have hauled hot water out to the washer to mix with cold from the tap.

I still miss the trash burner stove we had. I think it was ubiquitous in farm houses and cabins at one time, a two-burner white and black stove with the metal chimney running up through the kitchen ceiling. Ours had a heater with a blower fan that was mounted in the metal chimney pipe. Not sure if anyone else calls it a trash burner, but it is where the stray bits from work in the kitchen or around the house were discarded. There wasn't garbage pickup, you burned your trash, composted kitchen and garden waste, and had a couple of cans where the true trash collected and then you drove to the dump. (I loved driving to the dump - was I the only one?)

We were down the road from a friend with a dairy farm, and used to run around that place chasing the barn cats and such.

Maeve, any news on surveys on your new house, or by the bidders on your existing house? I'd think after all of the work you've done, there isn't anything left.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 06:23 PM

It's been a day of plans that ended up being replaced and I'm good with that!!! After the book sale, I came home, had an incredible (made by husband) lunch of goodies from our garden and hens and promptly fell asleep. Five hours later and I'm finally awake. Pete took care of Jeremiah ALL DAY (well, ok...Mommy played with Jeremiah, gave love, and helped him practice getting his crunchies into his mouth on his own and how to hold his sippy cup (which he ended up doing for about 20 minutes....very slow flow cup.....that was fun!!).
   
Pete did an awesome job today...he's an incredible daddy....warms my heart in a BIG way!!

Michelle

Oh. PS. Accountability....points on track...YAY ME!!! ;)

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 05:44 PM

Maeve, that comment was below you. "Country" WAS in quotes.

We live in a town that is full of people capitalizing on tourism. At this time of year we say we have to sneak out at night to paste up the red leaves because the paying trade will be here next week all pissed off that "they" (WE) "don't have" the leaves we advertised, to show off. It was a dry summer, they're turning early, and the peak that usually comes the first week of October is happening now in most areas they pay to go see.

To make up the difference in "fun" and bring them back next year, many of us will be tap-dancing in whatever venue we appear-- church, restaurants, WalMart cashiers, etc.-- to give them what they think they want, so we can afford to stay in business the rest of the year and serve one another.

We ARE all "real country"-- that's not what the tourist think they are paying to visit.

But what they take home anyway, as dust on their shoes, is tall tales from the "country" plus a piece of our hearts-- the real us-- because we give them that, too.

That is being "real," and that is reality in a tourist town that lives on tourist bucks.

I'm sorry if it seems unreal to you, but it's no different from walking into a Chinese restaurant as a friend (and speaking as friends to the workers, and hearing their perfect English), or walking in as a tourist looking for a little thrill of multiculturality, and hearing only Pidgin spoken to you by the wait staff. You get what you pay for.

But you also get what you give, and if you give yourself, you get a little piece back from the other person.

Hardi and I live in this reality more than fulltime and we do not need to be preached at about it, by anyone who does not live the ministry life fulltime or the tourist town life.

Rant over. But don't address me that way again, because when you do-- you insult the people we live with here who live that same truth.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 05:11 PM

Some of us don't have to fake country or anything else. We are real.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 04:36 PM

:~) Here it's been Goodbye, Babylon, a multi-CD set of vintage gospels of various sorts. The newly-cleared counter will just have to house the boombox to keep me going on the rest of the work-- it will take up the space usually turned into clutter. A laundry basket is sitting upside down on another frequent clutter-catcher to hold THAT open for a subletter, too.

I heard most of that set one year on vacay, but since then our skills have increased-- I hear a lot more now that we could actually do, as well as lots of things from the 20's and 30's I KNOW came out of the spirituals, re-arranged for Black or White quartets and retitled-- thus the connections aren't quite Google-able. I hope to declut my mind of some of those connections as a winter Spirituals Permathread project.


Here's a sanitizing tip my Navy son recommended. To take the stink out of soft plastic it's gone into, soak it in a bucket of strong bleach solution set out for a week (or four) in the sun. I was afraid to open that Pee Bukket-- it wahr naisteh!-- but the hunters will like how it turned out, jes' fine. It's optional but you'd be surprised how attractive it is for old knees in the middle of the night. "Las' one down ewe jes' bring it awn down witchoo, please, find it all clean for you nex' night, set back in the stayurs."

I can fake "country," too, just like everybody else here. :~) I even know where to get some good pies to set out. :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 03:57 PM

Tackled the sink and 2 loads of laundry so far. And haven't found the latest skunk, but all of the barking in the back last night has resulted in a slight essence du skunk on Cinnamon's forehead. I'll spritz her with the enzyme spray. This will make four this year (the corpse may not turn up, but I've thought that before only to find it the next day.)

I pulled out 5 of the wonderful CDs from that garage sale bin of classical masterpieces (picked up a year or two ago) and have them going today. It sounds wonderful--Berlioz "Witches Sabbath" is on in the Symphony Fantastic right now. While I kept those from the bin on their own shelves for a while, I am now ready to mix mine with them (I usually bought the discount versions for a buck or two at places like Best Buy in the cheap bin). Some of those are still very good, but now they'll be shoulder to shoulder with EMI, Angel, DGG, etc. Makes more sense, I don't have to look two places to find things. Or three - I have some disks in my office also. That's where I keep and listen to all of my disks from Mudcatters. A very special collection!

I must say, it really perks up a dark rainy day to have this great music blasting through the house. I usually listen to public radio, and enjoy it, but it's pledge drive this week, and even if it weren't this music is still a better choice. Now, to finish putting away stuff in the dining room.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 03:14 PM

PS and yes, we can live happily with open cabinets indefinitely while the project rolls on.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 03:13 PM

Yes, we regularly repurpose ours. At present, having to clear room for a potential housemate (and/or hunters in residence) has jump-started that process again. There's always been a "spare" cabinet, here; its location moves according to need. (There used to be two-- but one has permanently become the spice cabinet, with one shelf for each cuisine's unique items.)

I discovered the scary fun today of removing not-cleanable layers of gucked-up clearcoat with..... oven cleaner. Nasty stuff, but neutralized with vineger it's easy paint prep.

So I can have "clean" now, any time (as long as it's warm enough to open windows.) The paint job will wait till all the doors and drawer-fronts come off. They'll go outdoors then for a good sanding, and then-- once the road dust settles down in the freeze-up-- the doors can be painted with a compressor. The tall hutch is painted in an oil paint my sister used when she made it for us-- has held up marvelously. (And oil covers latex, but not the other way around.)

The landlord has a huge salamander (think industrial-sized blowdryer) to make sure it's warm enough for the paint to cure, and maybe instead of of doing it on the porch he'll say to move it all into the unused section of the big ole barn out back. His teenager Luke can help-- maintain the property he will someday inherit. Bruce loves for us to give Luke small jobs where we can teach him How to Work.

Only fair-- they taught ours. :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 02:24 PM

I've been thinking about painting some of the cabinets in the house. They're all the same custom design, oak finish, but there is so much of it. A good paint job can make cabinets look very elegant. Another thing is to take the doors off, but right now I have enough stuff stashed in the cupboards that it wouldn't look like Martha's kitchen. It would look like crowded (though categorized and relatively organized) cupboards.

I have one cabinet over the dishwasher with all of our vitamins and medications and treatment stuff (cold remedies, sting, bite, itch remedies, etc.) and if there was another place nearby to put that, it would be nice to use this cupboard and the others on that side as open shelves with all of the plates and cups and such. I'm not using the top two pantry cupboards very well (the bottom two shelves behind the lowest door have all of my old paint). I could think about that usage and maybe make some changes.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 12:46 PM

Yeah, you can "flip" an image in the computer or printer's brain, and then iron it on so it comes out not-reversed.

===

Folks, I just committed $60 of Oct. 1 grocery bucks to PAID help I just booked for Oct. 4:

Planned job:

1. Cut and tack carpet on treads and landing to Room #1; add small rug in it (and carry one down); tack a few wires to floor. These are all things that WE have wanted for OUR use of it that will also come in handy for paying guests. Following Dog World mode-- where I was job boss and payee's helper-- I'll also be 2nd pair of hands for Oct. 4.

2. Carry up very heavy white carpet to Room #2 which has an old red, wall-to-wall carpet now that is impossible to vacuum well (and which now has some Katy-blotches on it). I'll pre-empty what I can from in there to make it as easy as possible and also be 2nd pair of hands for Oct. 4. This is also something WE have wanted for OUR use of the room, that will also come in handy for paying guests.

Helper's name is Adrian and he lives 5 minutes away; he sez he also PAINTS (and preps surfaces). So I hope this Oct. 4 tryout nets him a big winter paint job-- kitchen cabinets and LR bird wallpaper. Pray for him: I'm a nice but tough boss because I expect people to MOVE.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 12:43 PM

Here's a link to Martha Stewart Living from last month, the article about organizing stuff. I love that moveable kitchen island.