The Amazon ads crept up on me; now they're nipped in the bud. I just opened a couple of my several Gmail accounts (they each have a different function that more or less works the way I intended) and deleted hundreds of promotions. This is inundation season from political causes and candidates. (And ironic that on the day I went in to quiet the Alexa pitch machine, a printed holiday catalog arrived in the mail from Amazon. That is a first.)

My mom had the idea to move and be in an easier place to manage after she retired, but she ended up in a more complicated house just as full of stuff. My father had a small house but it was crammed to the gills with stuff. My great aunts on both sides of Dad's family kept an awful lot of stuff. I've thinned out a lot of what arrived here thirty and forty years ago, but there is a lot more to do. As I made the drive to the ex's house this week to see if it was just his phone on the blink or if he had suddenly expired, I had an intense 10-minute reality check before I knocked on the door. At the top of that list was "so much stuff" and how to be sure the kids know how to find the important documents. And realizing a move is inevitable.

Charmion, based upon your reports it sounds like you've done an amazing job of clearing up the extras, as have Sandra and Jennie who occasionally report in. It sounds like Dorothy has a big job of just taking stock of the various locations where pottery materials are stored, and Patty is operating on a slim number of items that fit in small cargo trailer (for a couple of trips). We haven't heard from Jon in a long time - I wonder about his health - his whole family is in that sprawling house and I imagine the work will be left to siblings.

I have a couple of collections I need to start addressing seriously now, if I want anything to happen with them. I have stuff for my convenience, and family antiques that I thought would go to the kids, but who knows what they might want. My nextdoor neighbor did an estate sale before she downsized and moved and perhaps that is what I should do at some point.