BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 11 - 05:18 PM

;-)

Moving wheelbarrows full of dirt, and contemplating ways to tamp it down without renting a thing to tamp it down. I can simply walk on it, or I can use a bucket of water or rocks and lift and place it. I'll moisten the dirt a bit when I finish. I'm using a long 2x4 and a level to be sure that the surface of this dirt is indeed level. I have some bags of gravel that I am planning to put down around the edges of the dirt to help stabilize it more once the floor of the shed is down.

I'm not getting a permit for this; it doesn't require a foundation, no plumbing, no wiring, and I'm making sure it isn't in the right-of-way. It also will be pretty close to the house and blocked from view by the fence so I'm hoping the village folks don't pay attention and ask about it. It's a temporary building at most.

Am going out to dinner with a friend tonight, so I need to find a logical stopping point and come in for a shower. We'll meet at the restaurant so I don't need to clean house first, or I'd have to stop the outdoors stuff now and scramble. :-D

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 11 - 02:52 PM

Front porch now stuffed with things ejected as the main floor was deep-cleaned (missed last year's). Probably about half is trash or recyclables and half is yard-sale worthy. Now I know what that oddly-located front door is really for--ejections!

In the midst of MIL visiting I am working now on the guest room for an anticipated September guest, and that leads to an office project looming. Then I leave this house in order and head to Chicago to organize the sick relative's probable need for live-in care for a few months.

Friend at another forum I frequent have some fun signatures-- here's one that applies to the surprises in a busy life: "I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me."

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bettynh
Date: 10 Sep 11 - 02:45 PM

Sale is done, and I made $142. I still have the carpet chair and wicker rocker. The xylophone went to a young woman who knows a musician and works with children. ;-) The wheat pennies went to a 7-year-old who just discovered old coins. He was thrilled to have a coin more than 100 years old (one penny was 1910). The old books were pretty popular. I sold two of the biggest (and heaviest) sets, both histories, and the huge book of bound art magazines (1885). The Civil War memoirs are gone. I'm a bit surprised that I sold a book of hymn lyrics and psalms, but not the Zane Grey. There is just no predicting... And the sci-fi came back in. I think all the books, including the sci-fi will go into the next sale, in 2-3 weeks. Ditto with the china and bowling ball. On the front lawn are a kitchen chair (all alone, needing a new cover for the seat), a wire closet organizer, and a box of assorted stuff, mostly jelly glasses, with a "FREE" sign. I really hope the chair, at least, disappears. Salvation Army is so stuffed that they reject less-than-perfect furniture and the dump has closed the shed where you could leave useful stuff (too many pickers, fighting?). It's a good chair, solid maple. It just needs a piece of plastic and a stapler to make it a perfect (single) chair.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 11 - 09:41 AM

Lovely morning. I've packed up a couple of things to put in the mail and have moved sprinklers during our day of allowed watering. Last night I started working out the position of the greenhouse by putting the floor pieces down and checking to see if they were level. They're not, so I'll be doing some work with a hoe and shovel first thing.

Michelle, I hope you had a good visit! Betty, I hope the yard sale is going well! I'm hoping I can have enough stuff in place by Oct 8 to do one then. Oct 1 might be even better, but that will happen only if I've managed to sort the garage gardening stuff into the new shed so I can start staging the garage sale. I'd love to advertise one and have it called for rain (we haven't had rain for so long that we'll do just about anything to tempt the weather to come along and ruin plans!)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 11 - 12:21 AM

I turned on the old computer in the kitchen, the one that uses the flat screen television on the wall as the monitor, and played a movie in its' DVD player. While it ran I washed all of the dishes, cleaned the counter, cooked a late dinner, then ate and put the extra away. The movie ended as the dining table was cleared (and I found the Sept. issue of a magazine that I was thinking hadn't been delivered) and tomorrow it will be lovely to wake and walk into a completely clean kitchen.

Ciao! (I watched Under the Tuscan Sun)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: mouldy
Date: 09 Sep 11 - 03:20 PM

Well the builders have been absent for the rest of this week, due to the jobs they are having to finish (last one today, I believe). The planners have approved the addition of a small roof light (in principle) but drawings and measurements will have to be done by the architect for a "minor materials amendment application". The builder's going to get hold of him next week, when HE (architect) gets back from holiday. It's all very frustrating, but should be worth all the hassle. It's the downside of owning a listed building in a conservation area!

Anyway, I have shed the first 2lb at WW....went to a beer festival this afternoon! However, I have only strayed 1pt into my "extras". Going to a food festival tomorrow, as I want to get something to take to a buffet on Sunday, (seeing as I'm not in a good way for making stuff). Now THAT is going to be torture!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 11 - 12:55 PM

Betty, sounds like the kind of garage sale I love to visit! Good luck and good weather!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 11 - 12:49 PM

It took three 40-pound bags of topsoil to fill two of the dog-dug holes in the back yard. One near the faucet was going to cause an accident, same with the one by the edge of the patio. The others are out in open areas and not problematic. The rest of my topsoil (five more bags) is to level the area for the greenhouse shed.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Sep 11 - 11:24 AM

Rock on Betty!!!

Cleaned the guest room today, vacuumed the nursery and dusted, scrubbed the bathroom (did the floor on my hands and knees), 2 loads of laundry are done and on the line and soon I'll tidy up the kitchen and living room.

Can't wait to see my friend...she'll be here in about 6 hours!!! YAHOO!!!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bettynh
Date: 09 Sep 11 - 11:05 AM

Yard sale tomorrow. I mined the attic and came out with a folding carpet rocker (needs carpet), wicker rocker, box of tuned metal bars that would be a xylophone if put together right, and a school chair (the kind that bolts to the floor). That should pull in the antiquers. While I was there, I found my grandmother's trunk. Notebook from her (high school, about 1898) physics class, a certificate from WW1 about her brother(?) signing up for National Guard, a photo of unknown men in front of a Civil War-looking tent, some clothes, 2 albums of postcards, all on the first layer. It'll take weeks of sorting, looking, thinking about, and deciding what to do with all that stuff. There are more very old books and magazines up there, too.

I hope to sell off 2 partial sets of china (1950-60s), the bowling ball that was in my son's closet when he moved into his apartment, a pile of assorted tupperware and kitchen gizmos (NO ONE needs more than one potato masher) and several boxes of little stuff for the quarter table.

I'm trying something new with all my sci-fi books. Packed them in plastic supermarket bags, 15 to a bag, and selling for $1.50 a bag. I've decided a Kindle is in my future. Hopefully someone who likes sci-fi will need a winters' reading.

The big problem this week is the old books, though. I can't bring myself to sell them for a dime apiece, and, really, I don't want to burden someone else with interesting boat anchors. They're heavy, and that's the worst problem. I doubt I can convince my son to bring them back in if they don't sell. I did list a few separately in my craigslisting, so there may be hope.

I'll load the front porch and back of the truck with stuff for the sale, so I can start setting up (in the driveway) before my son gets here at 7:30 to drag boxes out of the front door and set out signs. He gets upset when folks arrive early looking for a deal, but they can carry boxes, too. They have to pay whatever price I set, though. My rule is NO bargaining before the signs go out. I'm not a morning person.

Meanwhile, empty boxes, wrapping papers, and boxes of things I actually decided to keep are sitting in the middle of the kitchen.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 11:18 PM

Thank you. We'll try to take delivery on it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 08:24 PM

*sigh*..My basement area was a wee bit damper than I thought. The water that barely reached one carpet managed to 'wick' across and under almost to the other wall. Had to move some furniture and drape dampish carpets over plastic tables and turn the fan on them.
The place looks like we were just moving in. It was tedious, but I don't want to think about how it would go in a few days, if I hadn't noticed. I 'think' I can dry it all with fans overnight, then turning carpets over tomorrow.

Then I get to put it BACK in time for company Sat. night!

I hereby bequeath all rain for the next month to Texas!

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 07:35 PM

I turned the water heater tank thermostat way down this summer, but when we get to cooler days I'll turn it up so I can have satisfactorily hot baths.

When it rains hard here the creek rises in the bottom of the yard and in the street out front. We keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't reach the house, but we do pay flood insurance. I have only one room has wall-to-wall, because I didn't know when I moved in here what the odds would be that they'd get wet. It turned out that the only times the house did get wet were when the gutter on the back of the house was attached wrong and it fed water into the chimney bricks and puddled in front of the fireplace.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Tinker
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 05:49 PM

Came home to only wet floors and no clean up -- Well aside from the fans and dehumidifier It is tropically damp down there. But it is unseasonably cool. I did see a patch of sun and blue skies for about half an hour on my way home.

I am going to have a long soak in a hot tub courtesy of my new hot water heater tonight. Anything else can wait til tomorrow.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 04:37 PM

We had 'relatively' minor seepage in one end of what we laughingly call the 'guest room', where Tinker slept. It was dry beside her bed, but a bit soggy by the far wall. Tinker, bless her heart, moved a few things before I even woke up, and helped me sort out the damp throw rugs & carpet samples. Then I drove her to get her car. (She is about as easy a guest to have as any you'll meet...good company and clever. *grin*)

I now have 3 fans and the dehumidifier running, and will probably be back to vaguely normal by Sat. morning..(good Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise ☺). Tinker will likely have more to cope with when she gets home than I did!.

Weather maps look slightly better for next few days...for us, anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 03:37 PM

So it's flooding at Bill's house also?

Michelle has posted some links to impressive photos on her facebook page. Looks like the end of summer in PA is a sodden mess, not the lovely beginning of fall when people are on the lookout for the colors to start changing.

Not much to report except that stuff is piling up around here, but once I get started I can draw down the stacks of clutter. It's just getting started that is the trick. Today I'm tired, but I don't think this is symptomatic of my excavation of animal droppings last weekend. I think I just got to bed late last night.

Kat, is your weather cooling off? You'll probably be out doing your drives through the countryside to look at the Aspen turn. If Michelle can't supply good fall colors this year, you'll have to pick up the task. :) Here in Texas the color is brown. Unrelieved brown. Or black where it burned. Nothing to brag about usually, but this year is worse.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: SINSULL
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 11:38 AM

How high's the water Momma?
Five feet high and risin'


Sunshine this weekend.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Tinker
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 11:32 AM

Jarius woke me up this morning (by phone) to find out where I left the pumps.   Less than 24 hours after putting in a new hot water heater it is wet again.... But the men will deal with it.

Then my feet went squish as I got out of bed.

Bill and I have picked up the wet carpet and raised up the need items from the little seepage here.

Know that there is a problem with the ignition coil, now waiting to see if that fixes it or if there is more of a problem...


YEAH! Car is ready !!! Time to drive on through the storm.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 10:56 AM

Sins, so glad to hear that Dan is okay!

Tink, enjoy the company and stay dry! It will come out in divine time...sometimes there's just no rushing such things.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 09:18 AM

The morning is lovely but it's one of those days that feels a bit "off." The dogs were happy but kept getting tangled as they forgot to just walk and kept playing with Zeke and jumping on Susie. Zeke got into trouble at his house by raiding trash and getting into his food bin. Along the way there was a dog out who is simply NEVER out (he wasn't a problem, he stayed in his yard, but considering how careful this family is when they walk him or keep him in the back, this was odd.) Silly signs but the whole walk felt a little off-kilter. Maybe we're due for an earthquake? We aren't due a storm though we sure could use one (with the absolute exception of a firestorm)!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: SINSULL
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 08:12 AM

Stay dry Tink. I hope your basement does too.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 12:19 AM

Tink, you landed in a warm, safe place! And Bill D likes good beer, so check out the man's fridge. :)

My posters for work turned out great and after delivering them I stopped by my friend's house. He is resigned to the move, waiting for the other shoe to drop now that it's hurry up and a wait. Since the driving route to the place I picked up my posters went through the area his roommate wants to look for an apartment I got a look - convenient location, tons of apartments. They have to compete with each other for tenants, so they keep them up.

I drifted away, distracted by other web sites. Time to call it a night and see if I can get my topsoil tomorrow. This evening I ended up in the high-end grocery and spent more than I intended, but I only get there very 4 to 6 weeks now, so it will average out to be not too bad a hit. (I go a little crazy in the produce and fish sections of the store).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 04:30 PM

THIS IS NOT BILL IT IS TINKER.

The second half of my trip last night only made it as far as Silver Springs. Bill and Rita rescued me after 8 hours of driving last night and this morning the car refused to start.

The tow truck was 3 hours late, the mechanic can no longer squeeze it in... it'll be morning before I no when and what is going on...

Mudcat friends are the best.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: SINSULL
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 01:36 PM

I have a family reputation for giving toys with thousands of tiny parts. LOL Sorry.
As to the cat poop - if you figure out what the cat was thinking, let me know. Mine occasionally use the bathroom sink. Most embarrassing when company is around.
M

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 10:22 AM

Michelle, it sounds like a great setup for a little custom gardening on the side - you read about the restaurants that serve specialty salads or dishes from local farmers - any opportunity to branch out a little in your growing and improve the food quality in your community? If I ever get my garden to a point where I can consistently produce extra, I'm going to see about sending it to our local food bank. Or set up a fruit stand at the bottom of my driveway. ;-D

My ex has been patiently waiting to see how my sweet potato growing experiment worked, hoping that as with the Irish potato experiment, there will be extra to go around. Yesterday we took a spade fork out and I dug a little closer to the middle of one plant and we found a few of the potatoes. I covered them back over and I'll harvest them after the vines die way back, well before the first frost. Something is eating up all of my cantaloupes - I'm going to have to get a rat trap and see what it is. Rat, squirrel, some other rodent. Possum? It could be just about anything.

Another lovely cool morning. I took a hoe to the area where the kennel used to stand and leveled out a few built up spots where the fire ants had piled dirt. Didn't get the bagged top soil yet, maybe today. I need to fill in a few dog holes first so I don't break an ankle back there.

I'm glad you heard from your friend, Mary.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 10:20 AM

Sins,

   That's great news about Dan!!! I'm so glad he finally let someone know where he was. I imagine lots of folks are very relieved.

The baby is just starting to wake up (what a GREAT day to sleep in...gray, cool, rainy) and I have the dishwasher going, a load of clothes in the washing machine, all hardwood floors have been swept, ALL toys that are downstairs are IN the playpen and I'll be vacuuming soon.

I have put half of Jeremiah's toys in a tote and taken them to my office, the rest remain downstairs. Please somebody tell me that I am not alone in the toy clutter making me want to pull my hair out!!! I don't mind some, really, I don't...but his current favorite are Legos and he takes them all over the house. I love to see him playing happily but every time I step on one of those little plastic lovelies, I'd like to pitch every single one of them into outer space!!!

*Whew* Ok. Rant over. I feel better. :)   I really do love watching him play and connect the blocks...just wish they could be kept in one area.

Oh and I stepped out of our bedroom this morning to find a nice pile of cat poop. GREAT. I wonder what prompted THAT. They never do that!!!! The cat box is clean, they have food and water, lots of love...what gives?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!? D~i~s~g~u~s~t~i~n~g!!!!

I hear happy chatter coming from the nursery so it's time for me to go!

Enjoy the day everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: SINSULL
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 09:51 AM

Hope your day gets better, Michelle.
Meantime, word of Dan. He is OK. Apparently, he stayed with a friend to recoup but didn't let anyone know. All is well until his next chemo treatment.
Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 07 Sep 11 - 09:23 AM

SRS,

   We have a small homestead, several gardens for food production, 2 steer, 2 pigs and a bunch of chickens. We do this for ourselves and it is not our family business. We grow a variety of things and try something new each year. This year our new thing was garlic (planted last fall). We also have potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, melons, herbs and corn. We also have a small orchard started with apples, peaches, pears and cherries. Then there's the blueberry patch and 4 rows of grapes, started just for fun to see what we can do.
   
   Today didn't start out well for me. Let's hope the day gets better.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 08:38 PM

I have to empty the back of my pickup of garage sale stuff from my friend's house. I was bushed yesterday, but this evening I'm thinking about making a quick trip for a few bags of topsoil and sand to level the place where the greenhouse will go.

Beans are simmering - it cooled off enough last night to kick my "must cook" gene into action.

I have dog things to attend to also. Baths and Revolution (for fleas, ticks, and heart worm) and to set their dog houses up again. They've had a big pile of hay in their stall, but they do like their dog houses when it's cooler out.

Michelle, how big is your farm, what do you grow, and is that your family business? Is your garden just for you, separate from what else you grow or raise? You talked about the barn lightning hit and the animals being okay - what all animals?

Maggie

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 06:07 PM

The annual dog-linens, this year at the Laundromat. Big mistake-- needed a helper I forgot to invite, so now cannot walk. But by golly I got 'em done! Three chockful, heavy trash bags. Now, meds!

A few other items came to light for the pending Porch Sale. In a few days the housemate and I will go thru all the old Mudcat Attic Dorm linens to purge for the sale-- lot of memories in those fabrics and colors. I think I may keep the pillowcases for a quilt and sell the rest.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 03:11 PM

Today I am cleaning up little piles of this and that in the corners of my kitchen. A canner. Jugs that need to be recyled. A pile to go to the Salvation Army tomorrow. Dishes are done, oversized corn pot is soaking, beans are cut and ready to blanch when I get the pot clean (they are so awkward to clean because they are SO BIG), 3rd load of laundry is going...putter, putter, putter. :)

Yoga tonight.

Soft yoga.

Stretchy yoga.

A class I requested to happen for my post chemo body.

Ahhhhhhhhhh. I love my yoga teacher & I love my yoga!!!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 11:00 AM

I hope your husband can finish with those bags and catheters pretty soon, rags. Liz, good to see you pop up again, and Mary, this is a good time of year for WW because you feel more energetic with the cool air. Trouble for me is, I also feel more like cooking with the cool air. Let us know if you hear from your friend Dan.

My muscles are achy this morning - upper arms in particular, from all of the lifting and moving stuff. Motrin is still my friend. I did a small load of laundry each day this weekend so I could wear the same jeans while I worked moving stuff. The jeans were a big help but I can look in the mirror and see signs of my work in the form of bruises accumulated over the last week.

Today spare time will be spent simply putting things away. I'm sure I'll need a nap.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Tinker
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 09:10 AM

Ah Dani I'm heading back out of Durham (in the rain) and there wasn't even time for coffee.... Drove Julienne here after the saga of the on again, delay again, on again, off again flight, and the no excuses first ever law school paper. Slept and vegged all day yesterday, back on the road today.

Hopefully we haven't flooded again by the time I get home.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 09:10 AM

September begins my time of year. I love the fall.
Weekend spent sorting and cleaning. I finally found a missing $20 winning scratch off ticket and my manicure kit - both went missing when I decided to hide the clutter in boxes.
Plus I am sticking to WW. My first weigh in is next Monday and I expect I will have lost something. We'll see.
The house looks so different. Minimal clutter and clean floors.
But no word of Dan. This is not looking good.
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: ragdall
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 03:33 AM

I cut out and hemmed three more "pockets" to hold 500 ml drain/catheter collection bags inside pant legs. The new catheter malfunctioned the first two days in use. Adjustments were made that seem to have corrected the problem. Pants will now have a bag pocket inside each leg to give each collection bag its own place and a more direct route for the catheter tubing.

Then I headed out into the yard to cut the lawns. Drops of rain began to fall soon after I got out there and continued to fall until I was finished using the lawnmower. They never amounted to much so I was able to keep going. I used the edger to do some extra clean up in areas that I usually ignore, cut back all the daisies in the backyard, deadheaded poppies, pulled weeds and cut out some of the young shrubs that are springing up everywhere. Then I clean out the bird baths and pools are refilled them with fresh water.

My hands and joints are very sore tonight. I'd like to think it was worth it but I can't see much improvement out there.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Sep 11 - 02:30 AM

Hello chapses!

I am still alive, the cats are still around, I have failed miserably in decluttering the house and in fact, have added more stuff!

Have managed to declutter my choral society's music store though, hence the huge pile of files cluttering the dining room. Sooner I get them catalogued, the sooner they can go to their new homes and hopefully raise some money for East London Chorus.

Rejoice in the small triumphs and the larger things won't seem so bad.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 11 - 10:24 PM

I had a housecleaner come in for a half-day every other week when I was in graduate school and it made a huge difference for me in being able to keep things together the rest of the time. It is money well-spent.

Kitchen is clean. I'll fold some laundry and take it in with when I head for bed in a few minutes, but it won't all be folded. Motrin is my friend after all of that lifting and pushing today, so I'll take one and leave the bottle out for when I roll out of bed tomorrow. I also have several little blister spots from the repetitive motion of unscrewing everything to separate the sections of the greenhouse yesterday.

I did a little yard work this evening before dark - my sunflowers (the native Texas type that get huge and then slowly tip over, usually in the most inconvenient direction) needed trimming so I lopped off a bunch of branches in the driveway and they're piled at the curb for the trash guys tomorrow. Lots left for the birds to enjoy here.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Sep 11 - 09:53 PM

Wonderful day with housecleaner. My goodness she is GOOD. House gleaming. Vanilla-lemon-lavender.

Hardi and I added a new pair of curtain panels to replace thew 15-yr old sun-rotted pair I finally threw "out" (saved for other purposes LOL), last year. Not as nice as the ones he will sew when we paint, but good with the bird wallpaper we will be painting over.

It's a great thing when what I CAN do allows me to have someon else's paid help to do what they can do better than we can, and MUCH better than the very little my PT presently allows me to do.

Our system (begun with the Dec. 2000 fire/smoke cleanup) is that we outline the goals, then they're the boss and I'm on their crew. Whether it's putting in a fence or cleaning, and anything in between, I'm that second pair of hands and Hardi knows where all hidden tools can be found, LOL. So THAT part-- being the lowliest member on the crew-- is part of my PT program.

Today I can claim the same 10 hours we just paid her for, because I started hours before she arrived and crapped out (by the same number of hours) before she finished. Ten hours of thank-God-for-pain-meds hopping and bopping--carrying loads of stuff from point A to point B and whatever was at B to C, etc.-- with stuff I can do seated in between. Lots of movement, lots of strength work, lots of walking on flat surfaces per orders. (It probably doesn't sound like a lot unless you know that this crumbling old 1800's farmhouse is big enough to sleep 35.)

Faulkner-dog pre-approves all who work here. And the peeps we choose to work with totally get the concept of bossing me, and reading my face to see when I am getting past my limit. So during their boss-time I get to NOT be in charge, and in that mode I am able to do much more than I might have thought I could do, while knowing that when I have to knock off they will be more than able to carry the task forward on their own.

Katy thinks she can get back here about every 2 weeks for a half day, and that is just about what we really need. Adrian can come ahead of her to do carpentry projects or the heavy-lifting cleaning Katy then finish-cleans.

And we can focus on the more private UPstairs, while the main floor on this plan should now stay company-ready. I'm gonna need solar walkway lights from driveway to step, very soon! I saw THAT done a neat way at one campground-- they stuck them in PVC pipes pounded deep, raising the lights by a few inches and also enlarging the base so the mower doesn't cut off the otherwise-low lights. I can buy 'em one at a time-- and they don't need to match!

Think we got us'ns a parlor now!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 11 - 07:21 PM

The shed is here, in pieces, but it is all here. I rented a truck from Home Depot - they have a very simple arrangement and a lot less fuss and bother than U-Haul. I rented it for 2 1/2 hours and paid $40 ($19 for the first 75 minutes, $10 an hour after that, or $69 a day), but it was so much easier than any other option. I wasn't able to take the cover off of my pickup (the bolts have rusted) so this was my second choice.

Zeke has gone home, the long weekend is over. I need to rest up from it this week. I'll start soaking a pot of beans to cook tomorrow (pretending it'll stay cool for a while) and fold the laundry covering the living room couch, wash another load of laundry, but anything I do this evening will be simple, straightforward, and when I feel tired, it stops where it is and I head for bed. These days of lifting and hefting and dragging really are a good workout. And they generated a lot of thought.

It was abundantly clear after these last couple of weeks of packing, sorting, discarding, setting aside to sell on eBay or setting aside for Goodwill or garage sale that his partner was ill. This was a hoarder's house. There is a huge difference between a hoarder's house and a house that has a bit too much stuff in general. We talked about it - I know there has been anger at the exquisite waste on collectible trinkets, that the cash in the clutter could have paid off the house. But he still does want to remember his partner fondly, so it will time time for this past few weeks to settle out of the forefront of everyone's thoughts.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Penny S.
Date: 05 Sep 11 - 05:23 PM

Yesterday I collected some windfalls from the village orchard, and worked out how to gather some mirabelle plumlets with a picker bag on a pole. Also found a not quite ready eating apple - the rest are cookers. I will be back.
Today I spent time in the garden. Pruned the forsythia (wrong time, but it had put on far too much growth since the post flowering cut and was shading things too much). Trimmed the village hedge where it had grown over the fence, and a bit off the neighbour's shrub (with permission) where that had encroached. Rebuilt the wooden compost container and toppped it up with trimmings and some kitchen waste (also mostly from the garden). Moved the bag the mushroom compost had come in, which now holds the mature compost from the bottom of the plastic bin, and found it occupied by a large frog (that's British large, about 5 inches, legs extended). Then, when pruning the shrub, I moved a paving slab and found a toad crawling away from it (same body size, but shorter legs). I'm going to have to be very careful out there with all these amphibians. The other day I disturbed one under a potato bag. Think I saw another crawling along under the courgette leaves (zucchini). Feast on those slugs, guys! Also trimmed the virginia creeper again. The rate that grows is phenomenal. Matched only by the bramble, which has taken off at last. Neither of them need time lapse photography to show the extension, just a chair and a long afternoon. Weeded a patch where there is going to be a rockery, but where I hope at the moment my erigeron is seeding for next year. This came from my last home, before that from my Mum, and before that from a garden in Northiam, Sussex, laid out by the gardener Christopher Lloyd. Pulled up a lot of willowherb, too late to stop it seeding!

The vinca is back. And the ground ivy.

The cat had made an attempted entry the other day, despite my putting wobbly trellis along the gate top - now strengthened, and it had sprayed the compost bin, by the smell. I sprinkled some lion poo about, and have had no visit since.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 11 - 09:09 AM

Oooooh! Today is cool outside! It got down to the 50s! The dogs are racing around enjoying and I'm going to move another load of garden shed walls.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 11:41 PM

Sounds like a lot of work, Michelle! I'm waiting on the washer to finish the load that has my long jeans in it and I'll drop it in the dryer and head for bed. You're probably already asleep. These hard days to make for a great night's snooze!

The shed is completely disassembled. I brought 2 loads over today, and in the morning will get another in my pickup, then decide how I want to go about moving the last of it. Someone may have a trailer I can borrow, or else I'll see if U-Haul has something local for the last minute. I have a trailer hitch and the wiring for the trailer lights and such. I don't use it often, but it is very nice to have it for when you need it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 05:28 PM

97 ears of corn shucked, blanched, packed, labeled and frozen.

Several pints of beans are ready for blanching as well.

Breaktime!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: mouldy
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 04:39 PM

I have been told that one of the builders should be with me on Tuesday, weather permitting. Anyhow, Ali says that once they crack on, I will be astounded at how fast it grows!
Bearing that in mind, I went and reserved a cooker and extractor this afternoon. The store will hold the order for me as long as I need. I just have to allow 2 weeks for delivery. The August sale price was still on the cooker, and it only cost just over double the price of the extractor. It's a good make, is cream and black, double oven plus grill and pan storage, with 4 regular gas burners, a wok burner, and a small ceramic hotplate. A proper big range cooker! The ovens are electric, and A-rated for energy.

Kinda makes a mockery of me being on a diet, really!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 04:27 PM

In for a breather. I brought a load of plastic garden shed parts and before unloading it I dragged my 7' x 13' kennel several feet to the side and then unloaded the parts into the kennel. That will keep the dogs from climbing around on them and I can stack them easily in the order I took them apart. What comes home last gets used first when I reconstruct it.

High today is mid-90s, an improvement. Tomorrow is supposed to be mid-80s and that will be marvelous!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 10:08 AM

I forgot to mention - I love pears and when I was a kid we had a great fruit tree in the back yard. Mom canned a lot of pears for us every year. They grow down here, there's a large tree a few streets away and I keep meaning to ask if I can pick some. You'll be busy canning, but it is so wonderful when you open that gift to your future self next winter or spring!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Bettynh
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 10:02 AM

Michelle, you're lucky to have pears. We have orchards all around, but none seems to have pears. When I was a kid, we had pear trees. Canned pears were always made with a tablespoon of crushed pineapple to each jar (keeps them light colored, and reduces the need for sugar). Seckle pears, the little sweet late variety, were each stuck with a few whole cloves and canned whole. We did that with crabapples, too. They weren't pretty (they came out brown), but they were a favorite treat and sooo easy to can. If you can find an Asian market, they sell cloves by the pound for fairly reasonable rates.

It's hot and humid again (well, relatively, SRS, it might hit 90 today). I think I'll haul down and wash up one of the full sets of dishes my mom set aside.

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 09:47 AM

Michelle, I feel fine - I was saying that because of the exposure to dried rodent feces I was going to be very careful if I didn't feel good any time soon. I haven't heard about Hanta virus in Tarrant County, TX. I just looked it up:

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is caused by a virus carried by wild rodents, primarily deer mice. The 1st signs of illness in humans are similar to flu symptoms and include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. They can also include headache, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

I don't think that describes the rodents we have here, and the two cases in Texas were in far west desert counties, but I don't want to become the exception to that rule. I didn't spray down the shed with disinfectant, but I tried to not stir up too much dust.

Today was a lovely morning to the dogs - not humid and not hot. Not cool, either - no sweaters are coming out of the closet, but it was nice. I'm killing a little time before I head over to my friend's house so I don't disturb him if he's sleeping late with this wonderful weather. (I love to sleep when it's cooler out but have made myself get up early all summer to take advantage of the only time during the day when you can get much done outside.)

I was a bit stiff when I got up this morning, and though I think today's work will be easier overall, there will still be a fair amount of stretching and lifting. I'll probably drive back and forth several times in the next two days. I'll see about taking a nap during the afternoon to give myself a bit of a break. I'm really looking forward to this building being here, so I'll have to pace myself at getting it dismantled and not clobber myself in the process.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 01:06 AM

I hope you feel better Maggie!!!! And soon!!! It's goldenrod season here which means I'm sneezing my fool head of for most of the morning and rubbing my eyes until I think they are going to pop out of my head. It eases in the afternoon and then starts to tickle again as the sun goes down.

For whatever reason, I'm finding that I really prefer to clean, sort and make my lists late at night when everyone is sleeping. It goes without saying that cleaning while the baby sleeps makes things go much quicker and I can get something done all at once. I guess I just prefer the quiet time to myself for a bit.

When I came home from Weight Watchers, Pete had done the dishes in the sink, swept the floor and picked up all the baby toys. This lasted for maybe 45 minutes..LOL. We definitely have a lived in house! I spent the later part of my evening doing up today's dishes, almost TOTALLY clearing off the counter (except for baby bottle dryer stand, coffee maker and bread machine) in anticipation of doing a great deal of canning and freezing (which means blanching time) tomorrow. We have 100 ears of corn, 2 baskets of green beans, 1 basket of yellow beans, a giant box of tomatoes with more needing to be picked in the morning and also a box of cucumbers waiting to be made into bread and butter pickles. We'll be freezing maybe half of the beans and making the rest into Dilly Green Beans, which are my favorite! On Monday, our favorite orchard will be open for picking pears. We plan to can at least 3 bushels. Also, for the first time ever, Pete planted carrots so I'm toying with the idea of canning some of those...not too sure about that yet as I love them just fresh out of the garden and won't have any difficulty using them up!

There was a wicked thunderstorm here this afternoon. I had Jeremiah out in the pool and the skies were blue...not a dark cloud in sight and no prediction for rain. I heard the thunder in the distance and got the baby in the house (oh was he mad at me!!!) and not long after this freak storm came upon our house. It rained really hard, there was hail, the thunder was shaking our house and the lightening was wicked. It hit a tree in our woods, then it hit the electric fence charger in the barn and blew it right out of the barn (that was SO loud) and then another strike in our field. Thankfully, the house, barn and animals are all ok.

I finished reading, The Help today and really enjoyed the book. I hear the movie is good too so I might have to make my way there sometime this week.

Anyway, the floors are swept, the kitchen is ready for our marathon canning and freezing sessions and I'm looking forward to that time with Pete. :)

Goodnight Everybody. I hope you feel better Maggie and that Dan has found his way back to where he belongs.

Sweet Dreams to All,

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fall feats-Declutter & Exercise SEPT '11
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Sep 11 - 07:14 PM

Companions, even if we don't know each other in person to be friends, Susan!

Today I spent four or five hours emptying all of the crud that had been dumped and stored in the big plastic greenhouse in my friend's back yard. I took out the shelves and some supports and a counter and all of that is in the pickup and will be in the garage soon. I also brought some terracotta pots for the greenhouse and a few kitchen things to store in the house. Tomorrow I begin disassembling the building and stacking the panels in the pickup and making a drive back and forth a several times. I will put it in my back yard where the dog kennel is now and move the kennel over several feet.

As I cleaned and began taking it apart I thought about the various things that can go in there. With the shelves the way they are there is storage underneath on both sides and I'll be able to keep garage items like my mower and some of the bins of things (corn gluten meal, dry molasses, etc.) in there, and I have some gardening things in my sun room that will also go in there. This will be a lovely dedicated gardening shed that can double on one side as a greenhouse.

The inside of this thing was filled with animal signs - the doors have been open so squirrels dragged lots of pecans in there to eat and leave the shells. There are birds, and rats and mice in the neighborhood (there is a school across the street with a dumpster that is the source of the population) and there were things in there from when they had a pet rabbit. So tons of dusty stuff that isn't good for anyone. I tried to take it easy with the dust, and when I came home I used the neti pot and I gargled. If I feel at all like I'm catching something I'm heading over to my doctor ASAP.

I've been working on my decluttering for a long time now and have made great progress. My home looks light and airy compared to when I look at my friend's house and see all of the seasonal stuff - so much for each holiday that it is over the top - and all of the excess in so many things in that small house, crammed into closets, spare rooms, the yard, the garage, etc. I know I'm not bad. My friend's late partner was the borderline hoarder (collector of things that resulted in a hoard, at any rate). There has been a lot of packing going on and many trips to the storage locker for him, but a lot of it is going to goodwill, to consignment shops, or to the dump.

Ideally I'd like to race through the dismantling and bring it over here and simply put it back together on this spot without a piled up not-doing-anything stage in between. I need to trim around the kennel to disentangle the grass from the bottom of the cyclone fencing, and drag it sideways. And before I take this apart any more I'm going to photograph the inside and out so I have that to go with along with the booklet of instructions.

My weekend is going to be crammed full of stuff. I'll be glad to go back to work next week just to rest up!

SRS