BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 09:36 PM

Company arrived just as I finished writing the last post. As it would happen, they knocked on the door before I hit the send button...so YES they were here! Everything went really well and it was good to see them. I forgot how different people from New England can be than the people from here...makes me long to be back in Vermont!!!

Anyway, dinner turned out great and I made plenty so there are lots of leftovers for lunches or dinner this week.

Funny how things work out....after they left, my girlfriend called and asked me to meet her for lunch tomorrow. Another friend emailed and asked me to come over to her house late tomorrow afternoon. She is doing mission work in Ethiopia soon (her son and his wife just adopted a 2 year old from Ethiopia and my friend got to go along) and she wants to share about her adventures. Also, her time to hold Jeremiah has been very limited and she wants to play with him. I'm really looking forward to that! If I hadn't done so much work in the last few days, I'm not sure I'd be able to do BOTH just because I'd want to have stuff done....anyway, it is ALL done and I'm going to enjoy an afternoon out with friends tomorrow!!! :)

Now it's time to relax...we're watching The 19th Wife on Lifetime. The movie has actors that we like to refer to as, "Another fine graduate from the John Black School of Acting." Cheese fest. :) I read the book earlier this summer...very interesting about an off-shoot of the Mormon community that still practices polygamy. The history of it fascinates me.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 07:30 PM

Today was kind of a weird day.

I guess you could say my exercise today was unexpected. I had to haul out flooring material from the bathroom that was water damaged. Some stuff went in trash, some stuff hosed down and drying in the sun in the driveway with a fan on it.

One completed project, another listing on Etsy.
print - Girl, Cat, Lighthouse, Book cover Illustration


A.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 06:25 PM

Good job, but what torture! Since part of what makes dieting so difficult is the deprived feeling, it seems that a small piece of pie is in order, with a good meal so you don't get such a surge of sugar that you set up a sugar habit. Don't keep the entire pie nearby. Just eat one piece and be done with it. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: gnu
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 06:20 PM

203.2. That coconut cream pie is just within reach but I am at a plateau again it seems. Tomorrow... wall washing... and thinking about pie.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 06:17 PM

Michelle, is company there yet, or are they arriving in time for this delicious dinner?

I agree about the size of the butt, Andrea - mine, not yours! Gotta get more exercise and try to get into some of my better looking trousers. :-/

One of the dogs has a sore toenail (a cut right at the base behind the nail on her toe, done while digging in a rocky area) - the same kind of injury I did to myself a while back with an accidental jab next to my fingernail. I ended up with a little herniated bit of flesh that wouldn't heal back behind the nail. My doctor used a bit of liquid nitrogen to kill the little flap and the nail healed. Right now it's actively sore on the dog's foot and I'll give it a couple of more days to see if it will heal on it's own or if I have to take her in. While it's like this I'm not taking her out for walks. She'd go, but she'd be in pain. It's a curious kind of injury, but can be debilitating.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 06:16 PM

Well, I got the ad placed to run for one week. The guy taking the ad said the kids are really getting squeezed out of the market by the gas co. people and the outrageous rents they are willing to pay. He was so glad to see a student rental ad, he gave me a discount on the ad and it cost about half what I had estimated. Which is good because the work I did up there today resulted in a "to purchase" list I can move on, tomorrow, instead of having to wait till Wednesday or Thursday.

The second stint up there resulted in two medium-large bags of trash and a floor clear enough to lay the last two rugs. I also spent quite a bit of time checking all the outlets and what is plugged in where and planning how to limit additional plugging into the extension cords-- not because I am worried about the electric bill so much but the fire hazard.

A task today was inserting a dressing mirror behind the curtains that create a faux window where one is needed. Nice how it bounces the light around and gives a place for the tenant to check their clothes. The clothe=s rack will go nearby and the toiletry/clothes shelf is there as well.

I'm wavering about purchasing a microwave for the Room. If they want one, WalMart is right on the way here and I'd rather not encourage the use of it. Not much room left to put it, either, on the shelf that would have held it. Hm....

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 05:13 PM

Hey Maeve,

   It's good to see you here!!! :) I'm sorry things are so hard but you are right in that you can never, NEVER EVER GIVE UP HOPE!!!!

Our house is in spectacular shape after a busy morning doing last minute things, a trip to the store, dinner prep (I finally on a menu of: Tossed Salad with cucumbers and freshly picked red cherry tomatoes and yellow miniature plum tomatoes, rolls, grilled chicken, stuffing, a cranberry crunch salad, gravy and buttercup squash from our garden. Pete made some apple crisp that is currently bakng in the oven and smelling OH SO GOOD!!! There's vanilla ice cream if anybody wants some and a fresh pot of coffee too.

   I've dusted, washed chair covers, swept, put laundry away, cleaned out my car, cleaned out the fridge and sent lots of peelings out for the steer. And last night before we went to bed, we shucked all the corn that was ready to be picked, blanched it and packed it for the freezer. I think we had a total of 8 or 9 quart bags packed full....ready for a cold winter's dinner of shepard's pie!!! ;)

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 03:53 PM

Maeve, there are some truly amazing people here, yourself included, and it's great to get some input from them, even if it isn't always what I would want to hear (although it mostly is). You are doggedly fighting your battle, but there is an invisible army at the back of you, holding fast to you both.

I was going to post a moan - radiator corroded and leaking, and several doors sticking just when the surveyor is coming tomorrow on behalf of my buyer's mortgage company. Somehow, in the grand scheme of things, it suddenly seems rather petty.

SRS - I agree about the "one-butt" kitchen (never heard that expression before, but I like it). I will just have to do something about the size of said butt!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 03:20 PM

{{{{Maeve}}}

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 02:51 PM

Well-put, SRS, that's kind of what I meant to say.

maeve, I have no doubt you and TL know exactly what to do and how.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 02:50 PM

maeve,

I'd like to suggest something. As we rattle along here and talk about things we're going to donate locally, if something described would be of use, please send a PM and let the donor know. I for one would be happy to send a box of useful items and I'd much rather send them to you if I knew you could use them than to heap a box on the already crowded counter at the Goodwill.

We in this loose association of de-clutterers have made a habit of sending each other things we picked up when we knew others were looking for them. Maryanne sent me an envelope full of handkerchiefs she found at a garage sale, for example. A small thing, but I love and use these every day. Extra bedding, towels, I have those out the wazzoo here from my aunts' estates and my father's house. With so little room there I would never send stuff unsolicited, but if even a couple of extra towels would be helpful, I'd hope the items themselves but also the knowledge they were sent with love would be helpful.

We can send lists via PM, no need to run all of this out in the open. But just say the word.

This is all I'll say on the subject, anything else will be via PM. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and I certainly don't want to put you out of sorts by keeping this topic in play.

Take care,

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 01:55 PM

We never, ever, lose hope.

We know all the survival tricks. We hope to remain alive. I have edited out my first response. :)

Friends here asked me to post, so I have done so. No more "progress" posts from me for a little while. I don't have energy enough to post in a thoughtful and friendly manner, and it is important to me to be able to do that. PMs and emails are quite welcome.

Thanks and have a great autumn. Happy painting, sorting, selling, baby raising, baking, building, painting, house hunting, weight control, etc.

Warm regards to all.

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 01:37 PM

We "heated" our non-insulated popup camper last weekend. Of course the climate Maeve and TL are dealing with is much harsher as the winter goes on, but I'd be exploring insulating the trailer from outside, and plugging in an oil radiator, right about now. Or a teepee made from trees wrapped in old parachute silk.

Some of you (maybe Maeve) will think I am being too suburbanite or silly, but I spent a winter in an unheated tent, sleeping on the ground. My mother was my role model-- my great uncle spent several years, starting the first year in winter, in an unheated cabin he built from pine saplings and what cost, back then, $50 in lumber, heated by a woodstove with water hauled daily from the nearby creek. Built small to have the minimum space to heat. That was around Lake Champlain.

Why I say "there are always options" and that "I am confident Maeve and TL will figure this out" is that this-- sheer survival-- is exactly what human beings have been doing for thousands of years, and so I expect them to get through this winter.

"Species survival" is a tough instinct, stronger than our ability to hope. That's why when we lose hope, we tend to stumble upon solutions we had missed. That's why we're all here, now, despite having left warm Africa.

So I say, with all the compassion of one who has been there (and in many ways is close to a similar situation right now)-- Maeve, hang in there and keep flailing your way forward; you can and will do this.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 01:26 PM

Thanks, Maggie.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 01:23 PM

The thing about Mudcat is that we all speak in this common place but we're so spread out. Here I am bemoaning rattling around an empty house. There is room here, but travel to Texas probably isn't helpful to oversee work on the property. Even Susan's room is several states away. What we can offer is moral support, so I hope you'll continue to send us news of your work, and don't hesitate to ask if you need some material thing we can supply.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 12:18 PM

Thanks, Susan and Kat. We know what we will build. We have no options for going anywhere else. We have no income. Talking about my concerns doesn't help me, but thank you for the kind offer. We know we have people rooting for us here. There are times when even that is no help to us.

What we need is physical help on site, and there is none. We will deal with what is; and do without what is not. Think Katie Cruel, that song that maybe should have been called "Katie Crewel".

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 12:03 PM

maeve, if you feel like sharing what it is you want to build, we can at least help to visualise it/dream it up for you? (I know first thing, visualise the "hellhole" cleaned out and filled up, right?) It must seem so discouraging and frightening to face winter not knowing how to cope with such great odds. Sharing those concerns and fears with friends might help a little bit. That old adage, sorrow shared is halved, joy shared is doubled or some such. These threads have become a good place to do so, so please feel free.

luvyakat

P.S. Any options open for maybe going south for the winter to a warmer clime for a few months? My son has just subscribed to the Caretaker's Gazette and will be sending me a copy if you'd like me to check it over for possibilities.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 11:46 AM

Your posts are welcome here, and you will figure it out. I'm so sorry it's so hard.

(((Maeve/TL)))

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 11:36 AM

There is no house. The camper is not insulated. There is only the hellhole and the many barriers that are keeping us from building. We have no idea how we will manage. We know what we want to build but too many things stand between us and progress.

I'm sorry. I really shouldn't post. You all ARE accomplishing many good things and I'm glad for you.

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 11:35 AM

Just back down from a stint of Room prep, OMG give me strength. Good thing I only took 1/2 sheet of paper to write the to-do list, because I filled THAT up in no time. I did do some of the easy-peasy ones, like hanging up the (non-playable) bowlback mandolin to direct attention to the clothes hooks I also put up... I gathered up yet more trash..... Faulkner hung out.

I took down our band sign to put up the hooks. :~(

And oh I finished making up the double bed with a pretty topper, and moved the oil rad to a better location so the snack fridge could be left running....

Made a list of needed hardware-- my first and minimal purchases to get this space ready to make me some money. I really did have nearly every item I needed, as God has kept telling me for the last year in so many circumstances. "You already have everything you need...." Example: each and every bedsheet I reached for fit perfectly, with just enough to do the job and leave a spare set for our July AC re-occupation.

Still, it felt like a black hole of impossibility, so I took down all the window-coverings to let in the light! I will want to photo it in good light anyway. Tenant can close them all back up for warmth!


The plan is to start showing it no sooner than Saturday, tho I am sure I can shoehorn in the time to get it all done by then; it's just like the annual MIL visit except I'm doing this Room this year instead of the LR/allergen sweep because she can't make it this year-- her appendix burst about a month ago and she's not out of rehab in time for the annual first-week-of-October visit. And I have to clean the kitchen and loo to show, but I have learned that I can whip that in an intense hour.


HOCKEY starts Oct. 7 so I have to get to the LR stuff by then because we threw out a nasty recliner ydy. A bit premature, but before bedtime I went and dumped OJ all over it so-- bye-bye, filthy, broken PRISON of a chair... and in with a lightweight zero-grav temp replacement from the camping set.

Ydy I also took up a 2-1/2 gal container of non-fracked-up water for the tenant. We don't drink the well water, and I hope they don't either.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 11:19 AM

Maeve,

...figuring out how to manage...

I know you can do it (and I know you ARE doing it)--- gogogogo!

You and TL continue in our prayers-- mine, daily.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 11:03 AM

Oh, my! maeve, that puts the rest of our preparations in perspective. Your trailer is insulated, isn't it? The "without" part, is that the house you're working on?

It's Monday and some of our special events that I will photograph at work start later this week. I have to finish photos from earlier events and want to stay caught up on that.

The living room has space for the antique folding table I will use (in addition to my rolling sewing machine cabinet) but they're in front of the lounge chair. I have a dining room chair nearby that I'll probably pull over to the table if I have much work, it's a better height and not so soft.

Must pack and ship a box of goodies to my son. I had planned to ship it last week but it was deferred by all of the funeral running.

It's still overly warm and very muggy out, so I'm postponing the yard work until this passes. It will pass, and shouldn't take weeks to do so. It IS September. Eventually even Texas cools down.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: maeve
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 10:09 AM

We are digging out the hellhole, looking for ways to keep warm, and figuring out how to manage without running water, heat, septic, and safe winter housing.

Great progress, y'all.

m

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 09:38 AM

!!!!!!!!!! Innat worth big bucks? I *see* you skimming over an ocean full of abundance of all sorts.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 09:19 AM

WYS - yep, it's certainly that time (note to others: my beloved Byron died in early October, 2003. No matter how happy and serene my life is, the autumn has a tinge of sadness).

And not to worry, my dear one understands and cherishes me in my many-colored moods. As I do him!

We are in a bit of a bustle today, as we go down to the sea tomorrow- we will be sailing a 40-foot sailboat off Mount Desert Island, Maine for a week! Hunt paints portraits of boats and has been commissioned to paint this one, or one just like it - in exchange for the week's charter!

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 09:04 AM

frozen this way they'll be easy to take out one at a time

Yeah, we did that with a boatload of grapes once and a boatload of blueberries another time. They bagged up nicely, and the bag stays pretty loose if it doesn't get too much condensation. I've done burgers that way too, then stacked them in a bag with no trouble separating them.

===

Hey, is everybody set for sunlight issues for the winter? If not, or if you never saw the old thread:

SAD/Winter Blues/Sun Shortage: Solved

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 12:36 AM

official home page of Carl Larsson (Swedish) w/art

I didn't know about Carl Larsson and his art until after I got my degree in art and was already in my painting career. The art history classes didn't include him. But, in the early 1970's, his work started being reproduced more on cards and posters that I saw. It appeals to me not only because of the light and airiness and his skill at illustration, but that the subject matter is mostly of home and family.

a.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 12:28 AM

I learned long ago when doing illustration that I can support myself better by selling reproductions of my work than selling the originals.
Also, right now the economy is terrible for selling high priced luxury things like art. But... low priced nice things are something that people treat themselves with.

Today I searched on values of celluloid vintage charms, as I have some of those mixed in with old buttons. I need to go through what I have and sort out anything bakelite and special, then will probably put them on etsy. I have so much that my mom collected that passed on to me, like my postage stamp collection, my mom's stamp collection and my brother's stamp collection. Then there are all the old postcards and other paper ephemera. My head is spinning with stuff I can do using images from old early 1900's trade cards, letters, stamps, etc.

Now I'm starting to think of things that are steampunk, with all the old stuff I have.

My arms got a workout stretching to paint around the garage door.
The weather was PERFECT for it today. I hope it holds longer.

A.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 12:08 AM

In today's specific tasks I (1) worked out a template to use to cut a special piece of tile for my office floor. It's odd shaped, so I may decide to split it into 2 or 3 pieces and (2) set up the grill and roasted the peppers I bought this week. Maybe 3 pounds. They're in the freezer now on trays; I'll bag them later but frozen this way they'll be easy to take out one at a time. The peppers I froze last year all became solid one pound blocks of peppers so I couldn't take them out a couple at a time, I had to often use them en masse.

That said, I defrosted one of the old blocks of peppers (I'd actually taken about 1/2 pound out of the brick the other day and refrozen this before it got too soft). This was used to make some quesadillas, dinner tonight and lunch or dinner later in the week.

There were a bunch of branches from one of the sunflowers in the driveway and I finished dead-heading the branches. The flowers can be crushed and scattered for the birds this winter. The limbs from the flower (as large as a small tree) went into the back on the compost pile.

As I worked this evening I watched a movie from the library. A little bit odd (Mrs. Pettigrew Lives For A Day) but okay in general. As I watched that movie I puttered in both the kitchen and the living room. I've been moving things off of my really ugly fireplace hearth and I set up a surge protector, plugged in next to the back door beside that fireplace. I have a lamp and a mantle string of lights plugged in there, but now with the surge protector I can plug in my computer or my sewing machine. I moved a short (height-wise) bookcase and pushed the couch back a bit and made room for a table to work on in front of the television. Nirvana! Sewing and watching/listening to a movie, etc.

A few other odds and ends around here. Despite having less time this weekend, I did get through most of the weekend chores.

Alice, I can see the influence of Larsson in your painting. I hope you understood in my remarks above that I think your talent is large enough that I hope you can hit a more high-dollar venue one of these days. Aim high!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 11:30 PM

I decided then that some things had to go. I just don't have room for them in my life anymore. :) It counts as decluttering, no? :)

Absolutely!! Good for you!

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 09:52 PM

OH!!! I almost forgot....we are watching Hoarders and while it's been on, I took apart a pedestal fan and gave it a good scrubbing...it had some pretty thick caked on dust that is now gone...it's been calling my name for some time now...so HOORAY!!! It's done! :)

Michelle

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

One 10 shelf bookcase totally emptied, dusted, rearranged, more space made which I promptly filled with my cancer books. I am liking that they are in one spot and at a height which makes it easy to find specific things when I need them. Curtains have been taken down in the living room and bathroom and are currently in the washer and dryer. I'll iron them later tonight or tomorrow morning & rehang. Windows washed, window sills wiped down. Four dozen ears of corn picked, shucked and waiting to be blanched and frozen tonight. For now....it's time for dinner. It's been a busy day and I am happily tired.

In addition, I've made some decisions about a few things in my life that are acceptable and things that are not. Plain and simple. When I was struggling to get through each day this past winter, I had ample time to think about things and people in my life who have been positive and those that have not been so positive. I decided then that some things had to go. I just don't have room for them in my life anymore. :) It counts as decluttering, no? :)

Ok. Dinner.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 08:42 PM

Oh, Alice, there is so much expression in his face, so much said without words through the skill and talent of yourself. I love that one, esp.

I had hoped to get back some of what we paid the IRS this year by doing an itemized deduction, but after racking my brain for 2-3 hours, I gave up, figured we didn't spend more than the standard deduction and finally just did a 1040EZ. Sheesh! I coulda done that last April. Oh well, at least it is done. We won't get back anything, but at least we won't owe any more, either.

We went for a drive and found a lovely small cemetery out along an old farm country road. It had huge old cottonwoods, so we got out and walked a little bit so I could hug the trees and the dog could walk,too, on a leash. I saw a few familiar names from my elementary school days. So I had that walk and also did the vigorous 16 minute qi gong.

Got the bathroom scrubbed and have done four loads of laundry, all folded, not all put away, yet.

The other day, Morgan asked why he didn't have a taller table for his sanctum the way I do. Mine is about dinner table height with my candles and incense burner on it. He's been using a small table my granddad made for his candles and incense burner, which, btw, is a repurposed salt shaker in the form of "Lady" form Lady and the Tramp. My mom had the set, but I don't know what happened to the other. It makes a perfect holder for stick incense with the holes in the top of the head. The other day he insisted on three sticks, one for each hole and said she looked as though she had a "mohawk" hairdo.

Anyway, Rog went looking in the shed for a taller table for Morgan. He found a bedside stand I'd forgotten we had which is a little tall, but has two below shelves with a small pull-out drawer. I'll let Morgan decide if he wants to use it. If not, I think I can use it out here in the DR office area.

Rog finished mowing and weed-whacking as well as did the litter boxes and a bit of grocery shopping.

I have the taxes, a netflix movie, and two more books ready to mail out, tomorrow.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 08:37 PM

Took a break from rental-room-think after the local ad paper blew my mind.... did some officey stuff and am finally getting some work DONE. It's been so hard-- during vacay Hardi and I planned so many changes that my schedule has been totally reformatted. With a BP meds change and doc appts as well, I'm a bit..... off, in some areas.

Anyway earlier today I looked at the ad paper. The rents people are getting around here now due to the gas drilling!!! I see now why my friend named such a high figure, and why the kids at the local uni must be going out of their minds. And why this rental, if it flies, will pay me to have a cleaning lady for OUR part of the house AND pay me to climb stairs much oftener each day-- because WE will be upstairs more, in OUR little slice of heaven.

So I drafted this ad to run tomorrow, purposely not quoting rent because it will depend on who calls (age) and what amenities they want to underwrite. I have a few days before it runs to make my peace with the huge rent I will try to get. (If I am too high I will adjust my spiel of course.)

The goal of the ad is to wash out undesirables, be clear on geographic referents, and offer pluses-- then I'll do a round of phone interviews, emails with pictures, and hopefully a very few showings to these pre-qualified tenant applicants. We also let the word out at our local fave biz and dining spots. (I used all the same tactics to quickly fill my aquatics class a few years ago with the same ad paper. Who knew? People actually CALL!)

Funny news-- another cash-producing idea I had on vacay netted me the $20 last night which the one-week ad will cost, so I begin in the black.

  LARGE, FURNISHED ROOM
  near Whitneyville. Semi-
  private entrance, sleep/
  study/lounge areas, free 
  laundry. Parking plowed. 
  Kitchen/other amenities 
  negotiable. Available Oct. 
  1 - June 30 for clean, sober 
  non-smoker with references. 
  Payable weekly in advance 
  (2 weeks' deposit required).
  FMI [cell phone]
  

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 07:35 PM

Took a water and rest break from painting window trim outside.

I just uploaded an image of another print for Etsy.

It is a detail of a larger painting I did about 20 years ago of my uncle Harvey with his guitar. He was the youngest of all my uncles and the last to pass away. He died a year ago, so all my uncles are gone now.

Here is the link:Harvey's Guitar

More water and then back to painting on the windows!

A.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 06:56 PM

Yeah, Andrea!

===

AniAlli,

I've been feeling very poignant lately- partly hormonal, partly time of year. Missing my kids- missing loved ones gone "behind the curtain". What helps is to remember the beauty of my present life and all I am grateful for!

Yessss..... strokebrain interferes here, but isnt Oct. "that" time? The beauty of life now, of course, includes Hunt... does he know about girly needs for non-sexualized snuggle time?

I ask because our culture is SO DUMB about that, that many men do not know there is actually a cutoff switch from skin to brain to "action."

OK I'm being too blunt for some of you-- shoot me.

PM away if desired! But nonsexy snuggle time with girls works, too.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 03:48 PM

Wow, Michelle, that is a GREAT day!

Your lunch description makes me hungry.

a.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 02:29 PM

Spent the later part of the morning finishing the kitchen with the help of my husband. We had a corner where we had stacked all the canned products...over 70 quarts of tomatoes, a BIG bucket (think feed trough size) of squash (winter) and 24 or so pints of dilly green beans. Anyway, we have a large walk in pantry where those are stored for winter use so he helped to move the heavy cases of filled jars. I climbed up on a chair and cleaned the ceiling fan, the tops of cupboards, washed down some beams, scrubbed the top of the woodstove, swept up random dust around the back of the woodstove, scrubbed the floor where the cases of veggies had been, ran some new rubbermaid through the dishwasher by itself, did some other dishes, through out our breadmaker which finally gave out after years of use, deconstructed a bouncy seat (saved the box so I packed it back up in the box) that I will either send on to Veronica if she can use it or add it to the yard sale pile for the spring and then Jeremiah woke up. At the moment, he's happily playing in his activity center and I am taking a break! There's a full size closet in my kitchen that is full of shelving. I'm going to get in that corner before the day is over and give it a good dusting over and perhaps make a curtain if time allows. If not, that's ok too. It's looking fantastic in here! While I was taking care of our son, Pete made lunch...grilled chicken breast, tomato slices from our garden, dilly green beans (that I made), bread that he made this morning and some cottage cheese...it was SO good! Thanks Love!!!!!!!!!!
   So....it's back to puttering for me. It's dark and cool out today...perfect for doing stuff around the house at a leisurely pace.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 02:18 PM

There is a textile expert in Montana who has been featured on Montana PBS regarding her collection of vintage handkerchiefs. She does workshops on textiles.
Maybe you could contact her for advice:
Terese Blanding at Viewforth Bed & Breakfast, Fairfield, MT.
A google search will give you the address and phone number.


A.

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 01:57 PM

Oh, my! Susan is definitely back in the building! Fall weather is quite energizing. ;-D

Alice, as I view these plans to sell on etsy I find myself hoping you'll also find a way to sell in a higher-end venue. I'm always talking about Martha Stewart, and she mass-produces lots of things, but she also features craftsmen like Mudcat's own Guy Wolff, who does his own thing in his own space and she goes there to see his pots - consequently sending a lot of business his way. I hope you can call attention to your work through various avenues. Those little paintings should be individual, sold with the frames you think best, and go for a good (high!) price.

Andrea, if we're voting, I like the earlier houses more than the more recent one. I'm always a sucker for a big yard, and I love the larger open kitchens. That most recent photo is what one novelist I enjoy calls a "one-butt kitchen." For obvious reasons. Great counter space, but little room for company.

I unpacked a couple of cardboard boxes of things in one trunk that had been put in there back in 1999 when I moved out of the house my ex is in. The woman who used to help with housekeeping made a couple of extra trips over to help me pack, and it included some things I probably would have left there. I may re-wrap them and take them over one of these days. That leaves me with an empty trunk and I'll use it for storing the antique photos for now.

I have been following Martha Stewart's instructions on getting those antique hankies to return to their original white. It really works - soaking in plain water for a couple of days or as much as a week, changing it out every so often, really does work. I have a rust remover I'll use on a couple of the hankies (very gently, it's a soaking product also) and they should be good to go. When I unpacked those boxes I found several of the old linen dishtowels in there also. They're also yellowed from time, so I'm going to try soaking them next. The ones I previously washed and dried probably can never be whitened, it is set, but I'll see what happens with these. (I sent some old ones to Animaterra a while back, but I think those had been washed, but I wonder - do you have any tricks for these old linens?)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 01:36 PM

I love Carl Larsson's work. He's probably the most famous Swedish artist in the world, an ambassador for his country and the Swedish style arts and crafts movement of his time in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The house where he and his wife raised their children became the wonderful subject of many of his paintings. It is still owned by his heirs.

You can read his bio and see work here:

http://www.carllarsson.net/


Alice

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: Alice
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 01:21 PM

Susan, I do plan to sell the reproductions of the paintings on Etsy, not the originals. "Molly's Porch" is a reproduction of the detail of a larger painting. When I have them ready, the small paintings will be on Etsy as reproduction prints on archival art paper, too.

Could not get to sleep last night and woke up late.
At least the weather is cooperating so I can get that storm window painting project done! Clear blue sky and it may get up to 70 degrees today.


Alice

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 12:50 PM

Thanks for the comments! I feel exactly the same about it - on the screen anyway. I've found it now on my regular search engine, so I reckon it's fairly new to the market. There is a long shot of the yard on there, looking back to the house. It's a long, narrow space, but seems to have loads of room for the extension, especially if it's on the footprint of the existing buildings. I can't WAIT to see it. Just my luck, it'll already be under offer or something!

I spent the afternoon cleaning windows and refurbishing the finish on the hall floor again. Then I did a quick lawn mow. The rest of the time has been spent trawling the websites again!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 12:41 PM

Tam dear,

Can I hire someone else to take over one or 2 of these nightly perambulations?

Yes! As a matter of fact you CAN! When you wake, next, in that mode, try to remember (program it as you fall asleep) that Susan is taking the 1 AM and 3AM pee for you as I head back into my bedtime audiobook to drift back out. I can take the 6AM one as well (with stair-climbing up to finish the Rental Room), so you can work in your overnight exercise as well. I'll just think of you when I do them, and ask that they be slid over to your column-- I have excess of each I'll gladly share!

~Susan
(Perhaps you are essentially "OK" because no whiskertwitchery yet)

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 12:35 PM

SRS, I read of Deanna's passing before today, but held my response till I could sleep on it and consider it prayerfully.

I'm just so impressed (and so glad for all of them) that YOU were "there." In case you're not sure you did good, please know that in my not so humble opinion you did SUPERB. A lot of what you said and did will bubble up for her family (and Moonglow) for years to come-- count on it.

Please be sure to save space for your own tears and reflections on Deanna, and I would love to hear more about the unmet dreams of the person you referenced that you'd lost earlier. And the ones, large or small, that were met in any measure; I think all our lives have those-- where we dream big, get the "small," and are moving too fast sometimes to appreciate them at the time we get them.

~Susan

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

Alice, I had been following your picture-a-day before we went away; I love the Etsy setup. I think not only are the items superb attractants, but proved fairly and very tempting. I can see a modest purchase in the future as Christmas draws nearer.

I agree that selling pictures matted is the way to go; I always like to pick my own frame and I often display things in their mats till I come across the right frame. I see that in other homes as well, sometimes with a larger mat (or mats) added to make a small image more important with or without a large frame. You might want to set one up like that just for a picture, and offer that as a custom option on all the smalls. That way you show what you can do, how your work can be used in a large or small format, and save yourself the work involved in doing work not on order.

Now, another idea-- not to devalue your paintings, exactly as they are, but to think about pricing options to bring in bucks... in my tiny budget, it would be worth it to me to have your work in photo form. Because your smalls' faces are what have drawn me. They have a power in paint, and another power on screen and/or in photo form. And you can print a photo to order on the home puder, mat it, sign it, and stick it in an envelope, viola!

Anyway the thing with Etsy (from my DIL's experience) seems to be, post what "can" be done but keep the work itself to a minimum till an order pays the seller to actually do the work.

~Susan

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

Andrea, what I see in the housepix (after years of arranging rental decor and looking over houses, plus a little home-decor study):

<> If those are two twinsize beds we see in the bedroom photo, that has to be a BIG room, eh?
<> The kitchen and loo look recently updated and I am already envious of the working layout and counter space in the kitchen. It looks a treat to cook in.
<> Tho the loo has obviuosly been photographed to make it look as big (loing) as possibel, what I see is lots of space around the fixtures to add storage, and a nice long tub to stretch outr in.
<> Both the LR and the DR show built-ins a Mudcatter needs, because of all the music books and Catterabilia we tend to collect. :~)
<> Whether the fireplaces work or not, IMO you cannot beat a fireplace with even just candle flame to warm the heart, and I saw at least two.
<> The built-in's around the LR fireplace are a classic decor that can make for wonderful eye-candy for the occupant-- room to display colors, collections, etc. that have personal meaning to pull the eye to how the occupant intends to live her day, every day, PLUS natural light. Adding a picture above the shorter shelves can make a lovely symmetry flanking the fireplace.
<> The DR built-ins are crying for a shallow tallboy or sideboard or shelf where they show a picture sitting on the floor-- more pretty storage.
<> The bedroom fireplace-- muy romantico! And a mantel for additional display... envy-envy-envy....
<> The garden looks small enough not to FEEL small but to be easily cared for, and waiting for more climbing plants... hasn't been neglected (from the poor view this dark monitor gives). Looks like a "Secret Garden" in miniature, so again I am green with envy.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 11:44 AM

Andrea,

   What a great space!!! I especially love the kitchen, the fireplace in the bedroom and the yard!!! When we purchased our home, it was in need of A LOT of work but you know what? That is what makes it home! We've been steadily working on it over the years and I suspect it will be a couple more years before it is *finished* (are they EVER finished? I keep having ideas..). One of my favorite things to watch is HGTV which has a lot of real estate shows...Property Virgins, home make over shows, ideas for room makeovers on a budget, buying houses internationally, etc. Sometimes when the women of my family get together, we go out with a real estate agent for the day looking at houses. We personally looked for years before purchasing our dream house. Enjoy the hunt and thanks for sharing...FUN!!
    So far today I've been mostly focusing on stuff in the kitchen and dining room....mostly just puttering and enjoying the morning (baby is napping). A quick vaccuum and dusting will leave the living room in beautiful shape. I'm thinking a quick trip to the store will be in order too (or then again, maybe not)...I'm still thinking about what to make for dinner. If I do what we have on hand, it will be grilled chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, tomato and cucumber salad and a homemade carrot cake (which I still need to make). I think that sounds good. Scratch the trip to town! :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 10:35 AM

Thanks, Andrea; your post there is kinda where I can join your journey and start to try to understand what you're up to. Gosh, househunting is such a weird trip. Maybe the advice we got in the Red Cross about sensible management and decision making applies: a for-profit head with a non-profit heart... at least that's how I hope potential tenants will see that room. A step up, not a step down. A "starving student" romantic garret, not a cold tribulation! :~) (That's how I recall a similar room I still love in memory, that I took as a frisky young lady!)

I wish you well in your search and I bet the home you are meant to occupy is waiting for you to find it.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Declutter & Accountability Sept 2010
From: mouldy
Date: 12 Sep 10 - 06:10 AM

Just had a look. It's a lovely colour palette. A lot of the "look at these pictures and hate your own house" type of magazines feature Scandinavian homes from time to time.

Having discounted the houses I viewed last week, I have come across another in Belford, by using another search engine. It is a listed town house, looks a couple of hundred year old, and although the garden isn't very big, the house has oodles of potential; plus there are already plans passed for an extension, which then brings the guest room into the house itself. The room off the main bedroom would make an admirable office/work room (or even en-suite, if the planning regs would allow). I want to go see it on Wednesday. Tried ringing the agent yesterday afternoon, but they were obviously shut.

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/SANN999000323

I should spend today cleaning and de-cluttering, but there's a mind body and spirit fair on in Sheffield...however it would mean a 40 minute drive, and I would spend a lot of money again! Somehow I think the head may rule the heart on this one. Maybe my daughter will have some plans for the day.

Andrea