I have been shedding electric doohickeys. The Edmund Thomas Memorial Espresso Machine is packed up in its original carton and waiting for the day -- soon, I hope -- when I can hand it over to No 1 Niece and her Italian husband in Windsor. Edmund's ridiculously expensive blender is stashed in the Glory Hole, along with the electric kettle (purchased for the kitchen renovation) and the meat grinder, until I decide what to do with them. The beer fridge left the building weeks ago. The Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and food processor that live in the pantry may also move along to a new home, but not yet.

The only appliances still on the kitchen counter are the cats' water fountain and the toaster oven. The microwave has a purpose-built niche. The Food Saver vacuum-sealer lives in the Glory Hole, but makes frequent visits to the kitchen. A stick blender and a small hand-held electric beater live in a drawer.

Everything is clean and fully operational.

The lawn mower and garden shredder both left the property yesterday with a garrulous young man who rehabs small motor equipment as a side hustle. Both machines are electric -- the lawn mower battery-powered, the shredder a plug-in model -- and both are unreliable. Young Georgia from up the street mows the lawn now, doing a much better job of it than I ever would, and I never saw the point of the shredder, which is ugly-noisy and freakin' dangerous. It also occupied valuable space in the garden shed.

So powered garden equipment has been reduced to a battery-powered Stihl weed-whacker and a rather intimidating hedge trimmer from Canadian Tire. They're clean, and they work.

Plus the hoes, shovels, rakes, axes (three of them!), ice-choppers and other handraulic implements of destruction, and a stable broom to clean up after them. Neil across the street just sharpened my spade and my shovel. That man is earning lots of jewels for his heavenly crown.

When Constable Leslie has a day off with no domestic obligations of higher priority, we'll sort out Edmund's camping gear. She is a demon camper and all her friends and relations are equally fervent about the whole fresh air, sleep on the ground experience, so we should be able to make a substantial clearance of the garage.