DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 24 - 12:20 PM

At 11am it is already 92^o so I'm finished for now, but I took a couple of large boxes, flattened them out on the ground under a large tree in the front yard and poured two of my burlap bags of mulch over the top. I've moved some of my potted plants onto that spot and watered, and I'll move more this evening. Pretty much anything that survives this summer will have to have some kind of shade. And with those pots under the tree, the tree will get water when the pots do.

A while back my daughter brought down an odd collapsible laundry hamper that didn't work the way she hoped and suggested I put it on my free sites. I listed it yesterday and someone grabbed it a couple of hours later. I did suggest it might be good for a dorm room or RV, so it can be flattened to about the size of a textbook when not in use. In my experience the laundry hamper always has something in it and when it gets full or I run out of underwear I do laundry. Maybe the taker has something else in mind to store in it.

Charmion, were you able to get that third rug back? Will it go in the bedroom with the smaller bed and new mattress?

Shopping yesterday at Costco brought a case of sticker shock; it was a trip with my ex and for things like packages of frozen fish and a large leg of lamb, all pricey, and cases of sparkling water. My ex doesn't buy canned water himself himself, I don't know if my daughter does, but both were here last week and each went looking for a cold can and I was out. The lamb will be cut apart, remove the biggest chunks of fat and package the lean meat in ~8oz portions to freeze. When cooked it's down to about 6oz, a good portion size.   

One of the free sites had someone looking for scraps of floor tile, and he thought he'd be in town this week and could pick it up. I'll go pull that out of the garage and have it ready. I've tried offering it on the free sites before and there were no takers, so I'll jump on this one and try to unload all of it. Everything else I work on today will be indoors, it's just too hot for now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 24 - 08:52 PM

Charmion, most of the scam email hits the spam filter and never makes it to my inbox, but lots of calls come in daily, and I've taken up a new trick for the phone scammers. I don't answer most calls, but if I do and it's some asshole who wants to buy my house, I announce that I hope they will vote blue to elect Biden this year (and listen to THEM hang up!) Quite satisfying!

I got into the yard today and harvested most of the acorn squash and this afternoon I pruned the lower branches off of the redbud tree that I planted in the front yard a few years ago. (Three?) Now it has a more "leggy" look - you can see the lower trunk, it isn't just a mass of branches from the ground up. It looks like a small tree.

Last week a new pair of readers arrived from Zenni and after a few days of testing I like them, so I ordered another pair (a bit different so I can tell them apart) to use when I go work at the museum or other screen things around the house. The first pair lives next to the computer.

I turned on the news this afternoon to see if the Supreme Court had sent any more decisions, but no. Wednesday is the next opportunity for news of their decision regarding Trump's immunity (poppycock!). It's time to turn off the news and stop giving that felon free rent in my brain. I'll sew for a while and start the next audiobook in the Louise Penny series. Three Pines, here I come.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jun 24 - 06:15 PM

Another unnerving email scam arrived today, this time asserting that my subscription to FedEx, Kinko's and Geek Squad services had been renewed to the tune of $349.95. Need I mention that I never had any such subscription, and indeed have never done business with any of those companies? I don't think Kinko's even operates in Canada.

The heat wave continues. I have acquired a dress of the type we used to call a "shift", made of some Space Age material that does not wrinkle, stick to me, or otherwise show evidence that I'm sweating inside it. It's the closest I'll get to comfort until the weather breaks. Oddly, we've had several spectacular thunderstorms this week that had absolutely no effect on the heat. Back in Ottawa, a frog-strangling thunderstorm usually breaks a heat wave.

Down to London and back yesterday for Great-Nephew No 3's graduation from Fanshawe College with a diploma in police foundations and investigative technique. The city's largest arena was jammed to the rafters and I found the last possible street parking spot within the city limits only half a block from the door. Between Western University and Fanshawe, convocations alone must account for a goodly proportion of London parking lot operators' annual profit. It was a cheerfully uninhibited occasion, with graduates' families and friends cheering loudly as they crossed the stage. After shaking the President's hand, each graduate was met by a capped-and-gowned official who delivered a hearty hug.

Not at all like my graduation more than 40 years ago, where I knelt before the Governor of Queen's University, who swatted me on the head with her mortarboard and pronounced me a Bachelor of Arts while a minion slung an academic hood around my neck. I don't remember any of my classmates jiving across the stage or blowing kisses while the crowd went wild. Things are better now.

The guest room closet is now full of clothes culled from the box-room, where I keep out-of-season garments and stuff I haven't yet brought myself to part with. I will pack them up and take them to Goodwill later in the summer .... Hmmm. Why wait? "Don't wait for fall, do it now!" I can also part with the hangers they're on. What fun!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 24 - 11:49 AM

Revising the plan for craft items intended for donation: I found another box of my friend's items to go in that stash, but I am of a mind to go retrieve several gunnysacks full of mulch, so all of the boxes will be stacked neatly to the side for now.

Made it through the week until Friday with only mis-identifying the day of the week (out loud) once; for some reason yesterday felt like Monday. Maybe it was the holiday on Wednesday that threw me off.

I spent a few minutes near dusk yesterday to finish harvesting the potatoes, and now need to use the tiller to rework that bed for more crops for the summer.

More research into statins shows that while the onset of symptoms can start right away or be gradual (I'd estimate after a year they really became troublesome), the resolution once it clears your system averages about three weeks. I'm saving links and PDF copies of the articles I find helpful for future discussions with my doctor. I'm only using articles that cite their sources. Diet-wise I'm still reading, figuring out the foods most beneficial to the intersection of things going on personally. Taubes' book on Keto is on order. Since his books tend to be discourse on his reviews of the literature I hope to find more recent source material.

And on a completely different note, after last month's skunk event both dogs got a bath after which they had softer and better smelling coats, and I'm thinking the one or two a year they usually get are less frequent than I like. We're six weeks out from that last bath and at least Cookie could stand one again. I do it myself, they don't go to any groomers (I'd have to pay a premium for them to struggle with Cookie!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 24 - 06:25 PM

Patty, that was a disciplined collection day if you got out with only 10 pounds of rocks!

I don't want to scare anyone with my remarks above - I don't have heart disease so the treatment of cholesterol is simply because of the amount measured during blood tests, not because there is anything else going on. And I'm continuing to read (newer studies in particular); if my doctor protests my stopping there are other products we can look at, but she's going to have to have a good reason for trying another.

At lunch I handed over a bag of fabric and storage containers to my daughter and bagged the rest that we don't want that can stay in the SUV until my appointment to donate. And between now and then if I find anything else suitable it will join the fabric. After lunch I scanned at the museum, but I didn't make it to the gym after that because I forgot my bag of fitness clothes and shoes. It's around here somewhere.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 24 - 12:12 PM

I'll note that in view of the reading I've been doing, I seem to be tilting toward the Keto diet myself, I just wasn't aware of it until I started revisiting the whole cholesterol/statins area of thought. Dr. Amen states that one side effect of statins is lowering of certain enzymes that affect mood via digesting fats. When I look up one of those in particular I see that supplementing with it when you're on statins can cause side effects of its own. Better, I think, to remove the statin than to add more stuff (all of those ads you see about taking CoQ10 if you're on statins - that's another one of them.)

The thing about the use of statins is that it's the answer to a popular idea that blood cholesterol has an effect on heart disease. It isn't backed by science; every time a study comes up that shows no connection between the two the powers that be suppress it. On page 53 in the Taubes book I'm reading now he shifts from examining the fraught science studies to show a link of fats to heart disease. For years one powerful and well-positioned researcher (Ancel Keys) had held fast to his hypothesis that saturated fat caused heart disease, but the studies weren't conclusive. He only accepted results from studies that seemed to confirm his bias. "Believing that your hypothesis must be correct before all the evidence is gathered encourages you to interpret the evidence selectively.^[24]"

After science failed to support the link, popular culture stepped in. In the 1960s counterculture ideas about humans eating less meat in order to feed the planet, and books like Erlich's The Population Bomb are where the "anti-fat, anti-meat movement evolved independent of the science.^[42]" And that is when George McGovern got involved. "It's possible to point to a single day when the controversy was shifted irrevocably in favor of Keys's hypothesis—Friday, January 14, 1977, when Senator George McGovern announced the publication of the first Dietary Goals for the United States. The document was "the first comprehensive statement by any branch of the Federal Government on risk factors in the American diet," said McGovern.^[44]" From there you look at who wrote and edited it, it wasn't the product from one of the medical research institutes, it was people still pushing Keys' hypothesis. "Once politics, the public, and the press had decided on the benefits of low-fat diets, science was left to catch up.^[53]"

I'll conclude this little book report with this: ("Most drugs have multiple actions," notes the University of Washington biostatistician Richard Kronmal. Saying that statins reduce heart-disease risk by lowering cholesterol, he adds, is like "saying that aspirin reduces heart-disease risk by reducing headaches.^[77]")

This comes from three different books I'm reading now. And I'm reminded of the few acquaintances who seemed displeased that I started statins (after resisting for years). I had the thought "it can't hurt," but over a couple of years on them, I'm realizing that they can hurt. I won't describe my symptoms here, but I've noticed changes, particularly in the last year, that have bothered me. The sleep study results may also tie into this. I've finally made the connection. While I'm forever on Levothyroxine and watching my sodium, I'm off the statins.

Resuming regular commentary: now it's out to lunch with my daughter, where I have several bins of stuff to hand over that she can use in her costume design work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 20 Jun 24 - 12:03 PM

Well that casserole sounds great. I've been eating either 'road food' or 'feast food' lately, neither too good for me. We hit two of the better restaurants near Creede, well worth it as a special event but no good as a regular thing.

The mine has several things going on; most people come for mine tours, but there's rock and mineral sales tables, a jewelry and gift shop, and access to tailings. As a club we were given access to the 'better' half of the tailings, 1/2 mile down a switchback road, which contained a lot of 'sowbelly agate' and pale amethyst. I might have done better in the other half looking for micros; just got some cuprite and silver-bearing galena, and who knows what I'll find in vugs when I do some splitting. Paid no entry fee, just $2 a pound for my bucket of keepers which came in at $20.   

Honestly, I prefer hounding alone and perusing old abandoned tailings piles on my own, but a lot of times club field trips and these fee operations are the best or only way to get access.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 24 - 08:28 PM

Patty, I did a quick look at that mine. Silver - means there can be any number of other interesting related minerals around. Is there an old tailings area that people are allowed to dig through? I've hiked up to mines in the Cascade Mountains and found small samples that were discarded in the mine operation. I've made any number of hikes up Vesper Peak in Washington, twice to climb the peak (it's a lovely climb and at the front of the range to have a great view of not only other mountains but of the Puget Sound area and across to the Olympics). On the route up I always was picking up crystals and minerals (you can't leave them along the way to find on the way down - that never works). I've also made the trip in order to hike around the modern copper mine tailings and higher up to an old garnet mine. (The copper mine is a shaft; the garnet mine was a surface operation, as far as I could tell.)

Charmion, does summer aggravate your allergies or asthma? The smoke from fires last year, for example? Pollen, dust, and heat itself (with associated lower humidity)?

Today I used up fridge stuff for another batch of my yellow squash casserole (without pasta). Onion, bell pepper, garlic, oregano, and olive oil are the base. I used two types of sausage (Italian and a local pork sausage with lots of black pepper), along with a batch of diced portobello mushrooms. Tomato paste thinned to sauce consistency, and some red wine (a few spoons of it scooped out of a jar in the freezer). Came out great and will be meals for the next few days. I also thawed a chunk of baguette to make a half-size bread pudding. The amount of bread and sugar is small compared to milk, eggs, butter, and dates, so not as bad as many other desserts. In my evening reading I'm learning more about the science of fat and oil (and polyunsaturated vs saturated) in diet, and my next book will be Grain Brain by Perlmutter and Loberg. And looking into the science of cholesterol-lowering statins.

More eBay stuff listed as I push to clear the front room and plan to move in furniture from my sewing studio. This will be a full summer of work, but worth the trouble. Selling these things on eBay supports paying off the heat pump loan faster since I expect the larger heat pump to die one of these days. Our weather now is warm, but it's weather we're used to (if the big heat pump goes out I may sleep on a cot in my office until replacement). The New England states that are getting our typical June temperatures seem to be suffering; later in the summer our temperatures will be 15 to 20 degrees higher and really miserable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Jun 24 - 11:21 AM

Good morning from Isleta Pueblo near Albuquerque. There was a small fire burning west of town last night but no danger here. People very concerned about Ruidoso, so many people love the area or know people there.   

But our travels were far away, only affected by a bit of smoke haze traveling on the winds as we got near ABQ.   Hope a rain front comes through the state very soon.

Splendid time to be in Colorado, 70 degree days, 50 degree nights. We made 3 trips up from South Fork through Creede and to the Last Chance Mine. You start out following the Rio Grande where it is a clear tumbling trout stream, then climb into the mountains, fresh evergreen scented air, lupines blooming, very blessed to get to do that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 24 - 11:25 PM

You're doing better than I am, though I have made progress at increasing the protein in my diet, with fewer carbs, and staying at my daily limits. I need to get more exercise.

Patty, are you far away from the fire danger? Your field trip to Colorado may let you cool off, but take the long way around if you have to on your way back home. How is your prospective property as far as fire services? A local fire department, or volunteer one? Stay safe out there!

Listing small items on eBay this evening. About to call it quits to go read.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jun 24 - 05:21 PM

I had my monthly date with the asthma doc in Kitchener this morning, and came home with a whole new drug regimen and a stack of laboratory requisitions for bloodwork and an electrocardiogram. This is fallout from the pulmonary function test I had two weeks ago, which showed that I’m very good at breathing out and breathing in, but my air-processing capabilities are a bit odd in other respects.

Fun times.

Meanwhile, the keto diet is going well — down another kilo — and the house is neat but grubby. I can’t be arsed to haul the vacuum cleaner downstairs unless company’s coming. Watson the cat is sprawled across my knee and all is calm — thanks to air-conditioning, because Perth County is sweltering under the same heat wave that’s preoccupying half the continent. The forecast high on Thursday is 34°C. Yuck.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 24 - 04:15 PM

Got the SUV back, and except that the back gate won't latch by itself (probably jostled in the accident and they didn't catch it) for now I'm just shoving it closed. I have an idea that it can be fixed without losing another week in the repair shop.

This was a luxury Infiniti car dealer that did the repair, and I sat outside on a bench waiting for it to pull forward, talking to a woman awaiting her pristine Lexus (the car wash at Infiniti dealership is faster than at the Lexus lot across the street, apparently). She commented "whoa, listen to this one. . . " as mine sat there rattling, and then she looked at me and realized it was mine. "It's the fan blower that's rattling, and I was going to get that fixed before I got hit. It's a small thing. . ." and pointed out that my insurance company works with this shop for repairs. And that the Nissan is a good affordable vehicle for a retired state employee. (I'll get the latch adjusted when I get the blower worked on.)

I finished some work in the garden yesterday but have several other projects to attend to. The stack of eBay stuff is still staring at me, but that is this afternoon's chore. I'll wait till after dinner when it's cooler for a little more yard work. I loaded my regular stuff back into the SUV and now have cleared space in the garage and kitchen table where it just sat.

In the vehicle comparison, my SUV drives better than the minivan I was renting, though I could live with either if I had to. Rentals don't get much respect and that one needs to be serviced. My good tires and recent alignment are part of the reason the SUV feels better. The space in the minivan, though, that is enviable.

Now, what was I doing before things were so rudely disturbed by a reckless Cadillac driver?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 24 - 10:47 PM

A box of Tupperware is on the floor next to the computer, my magnifying glass at hand, and I'll be noting the piece number of a couple of dozen items that will go in a lot of containers on eBay. I was going to list them this afternoon but instead decided to plow through scheduling a week's worth of social media posts for the gardening site I work on. That job can eat up way more time than it needs (or I get paid for) so I have in recent weeks tried various ways to time myself or plan out as much as possible. Will I put my free time to good use? We'll see.

Another item sold on eBay and shipped today. The garlic is harvested along with another acorn squash. Still no SUV. I dusted and vacuumed some of the house, next I need to sweep of bits of a branch the dogs dragged in and chewed in the den. There are boxes and plastic storage cases sitting all over the kitchen and den; as soon as I have my SUV back I have a number of things to stash in it (things that are always there for emergencies, plus shopping bags, umbrella, etc.) and the craft stuff that can hang out there until it's time to drop it off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jun 24 - 02:32 PM

HAHAHAHAHA!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Jun 24 - 09:01 AM

Yes? ;)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Jun 24 - 03:56 PM

Andrew, are you suggesting that I should be myself, as everyone else is taken? Or merely commenting on techniques for managing temptation?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 16 Jun 24 - 09:35 AM

"I’m beginning to wonder who I am and what have I done with Charmion ..." Evidently you no longer struggle with your inner Oscar Wilde.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 24 - 11:51 PM

Sounds like you did a great job resisting some major temptation. I'm not a fan of pecan pie or cupcakes, but the chips - well, if there's a good dip around, I'm lost. Kielbasa sounds good - sounds like you've developed a taste for savory items.

I mowed some of the back yard this morning and finished this evening, getting almost the whole days worth of steps in the process. In between I pulled together more stuff for Goodwill that was dropped off, then helped a friend with some vinyl patches for her mobility electric chair that that snagged on an ADA doorknob. I also took measurements and can make a dark corduroy cover to go over the top of the chair back to protect it (and can go in the wash periodically). The main reason for my trip up there was to deliver a small Blueray DVD player I'd promised. It was buried in my eBay stuff the front room but by organizing stuff during the search I have to say the whole area is more approachable now.

A high-end pair of blue-blocking readers arrived from Zenni today. They work fine as readers; I'm curious to see if the blue-blocking helps as far as evening computer work. I still need to stop with screens an hour or two before bed. (I've also set each of my screens to go into an evening mode with much less blue.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Jun 24 - 10:42 PM

I have just returned from Chatham, where for two hours I sat in the presence of a pecan pie, three kinds of potato chips, two dozen iced cupcakes, and a celebratory chocolate cake without touching any of them. I had some cheese, a few slices of kielbasa, rather a lot of diet ginger ale, and a single spoonful of somebody’s extra-special baked beans that I just *had* to try and did to avoid giving offence.

At no time did I feel hard done by as everyone else chowed down on cake.

I’m beginning to wonder who I am and what have I done with Charmion …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 24 - 03:54 PM

I've worked out storage for fabric that will be donated to the teachers art materials site next month (and organized it by bagging each type in clear plastic so they don't have a lot of work when they receive it). A box for Goodwill is ready to head out the door this afternoon, but I have yet to sort out a major tripping hazard in the back doorway of my garage. That solution involves getting out the tiller, more about the French drain later.

I set a lamp on some shelves in the bedroom next to my exercise area, where a Mission oak rocker sits and that is now going to serve as a reading spot. It's easier to mark on the text or a postit note to stick to a page when I'm seated versus reading lying in bed. I'm enjoying getting back to bedtime reading but it doesn't mean I'm not reading to retain content. Right now, as I get further into the Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories, it is distressingly obvious that a lot of early researchers were more driven by confirmation bias than they were in actual proof that their theories were correct (or not, and moving on). This has created patterns of thinking that are difficult to dislodge in medicine and popular culture.

For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and exercising more. Yet despite this advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Taubes argues that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates, like white flour, easily digested starches, and sugars, and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. In this groundbreaking book, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong.

Heading out to deliver a couple of items and take measurements for a chair back cover for the friend whose mobility chair keeps banging into things and the vinyl gets ripped. I may also make it over to the gym.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jun 24 - 03:20 PM

My cats used to sleep on my bed (hard to stop them unless I closed them out of the bedroom every night) but I don't let the dogs up, with very rare exceptions. They're bed hogs and not subtle about their comings and goings, and if another skunk event were to happen like last month it would be a laundry and furniture disaster.   

I had hopes of the SUV's return this week, but no news so far. I put gas in the rental last week and since I have to return it with only a half-tank (the way it was when I got it) I should do some more driving on my gas dime.

Must take some of the fabric for my daughter to choose from. The teacher art donations are by appointment only and the next one's a month out, so what she doesn't want will wait somewhere in a corner. I also need to drop off a couple of things, but that waits till tomorrow when there's less traffic by my friend's home.

Sorting through front room (eBay stuff) and deciding what to list and what to send to Goodwill or drop in the trash. The vintage Tupperware has a market but I think my time is best served to selling as one lot. Someone else can take their missing parts to marry and sell any of these as whole. Other stuff has been determined to be beyond interest and to the trash. Selling repair parts is one thing, but when new intact replacements don't cost much it isn't worthwhile peddling the old. Lumping versus sorting also helps me pick up the pace.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Jun 24 - 02:15 PM

I just got off the phone with Niece No 2, who will gladly accept a large basketful of queen-sized bedlinen: two sets of sheets, two quilts, and a handsome green 100%-wool blanket that looks like Hudson's Bay but isn't. (The quilts and the blanket came from Edmund's mother, so I'm just ploughing them back into the family.) The Niece declined the goose-down duvet that is also looking for a new home, but it really should go back to Ottawa. Winter in these parts just doesn't get that cold.

Great-nephew No 3 (third son of Niece No 2) graduates from Fanshawe College this week, so I have two road trips on my agenda: to Chatham for the family whoop-up tomorrow, and to London (the one down the road) for the convocation on Thursday. Suddenly I'm a social butterfly.

Watson the cat is less than delighted with my new bed, which is too narrow for him to sprawl beside me with his head stuffed into my armpit. That doesn't keep him from logging a solid day's snoozing on it, however; the new quilt will soon be just as clogged with cat hair as every other bed-cover I possess.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 24 - 08:59 PM

Progress today on the contents of the front room where the eBay stuff is stored. I found an item promised to a friend and while I was at it organized boxes and packing materials (I reuse padded envelopes I've received inside boxes being shipped to avoid having to pay for padding materials. They pile up.)

Mosquitoes are biting, so I have to get out and treat the standing water around the house - keeping up with the mosquito dunks in planter trays and such is critical. It isn't enough to empty the planters, if it rains again they'll be back. I need to sprinkle or spray the Bti products to kill the larvae if water accumulates (it lasts for about a month after treatment).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 24 - 09:01 PM

There were four little teapots in the stuff that came from my friend's house, they have been photographed, along with some art stuff, and are next in play on the offer sites. The fabric has been sorted into bins to keep or to give away, and small scraps bundled into a bag for quilters who want small pieces (crumbs). Meanwhile, out in the garage, a couple of unopened but elderly kits for children's art will go to the art project along with some children's books.

The lawn was mowed in the front, and tomorrow I'll do the back. I've cleared up a lot of dog hair in the house, and it looks like the rain has passed for now, so time again to mop the floor in the den and scrub dirt out of the tile pattern.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 24 - 11:14 AM

Charmion, I saw your photo of the bed on FB, it's lovely! And congratulations on setting aside the bit-too-large jeans. I'll weigh myself later this week and find out if I've lost any more, but the empirical data here is that the pants fit fine, aren't too snug, but they were a bit snug last month.

The SUV is close to completion according to the weekly report from the shop. Any day now. Once I pick it up I'll have to keep an eye on things that might need further adjustment to get it taken care of promptly. Insurance repairs aren't like regular repairs, especially if the shop isn't branded the same as the make of the vehicle.

The last load of gifted fabric is in the laundry now, though my friend tells me she found some more to send my way. There are a bunch of her craft tools next to examine, catalog, then send the list to my daughter for anything she might want, and from there, to the donor art project. The offerings on Freecycle and FB were picked up yesterday (and I got rid of one of my own extra items at the same time).

Mowing out front today, though we are under an air quality alert so I'll wear a mask. The neighbors are going out of town for a couple of weeks so I'll probably be mowing their front yard at least once during that time (since they rarely let the grass get tall.)

Last night I harvested more garlic with about half of the bed left to finish, then I'll plant cucumbers in that spot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jun 24 - 05:15 PM

The minutes from the choir’s Annual General Meeting have gone off by email to the rest of the board, the new mattress was delivered and the bed is made up, a load of light colours is in the dryer, and two weeks’ worth of underwear is hanging up to dry.

Two pairs of LL Bean “boyfriend” (i.e., loose-fitting) jeans, size 12, have been relegated to storage as nearly, but not quite, way too big. I’ll keep them for now; they’re roomy enough to accommodate long-handled underwear but not so large (yet) that they fall off.

I think I have done enough for today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 11:00 PM

Dorothy, you have battles going on many fronts! Give 'em hell about the hearing aid charge, and good luck emptying the freezer. That is the huge disappointment - not just the food loss, but the cleanup.

I've listed a few of my friend's decluttered items on my FB buy nothing group. The photos were taken in the garage this evening and the phone was not cooperating, they're a bit fuzzy. Next time I'll take shots in daytime (the flash on this phone kind of underwhelms).

Two loads of wash later and the laundry basket is heaped with yardage and smaller samples. I'll turn off the computer and go fold all of that for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 09:28 PM

Dupont:
Read on line the other day that chronic cough could be allergies, so for the next 3 days I took our little yellow pills - and had 3 cough free nights. This am I forgot the pill and been coughing all afternoon. Took it about 4 pm but to no avail. Better put an alert on the phone! It was really nice not to cough all night!

Yard finally got mowed today! But, as I was getting awake this am, a friend informed me the electric was off at Beaver!!!! Sent a pic of dismantled meter! R got on the phone to HydroOne and after a long chat with a helpful woman: it has been off since 22 May after a storm broke the mast holding the overhead wire. R went to work. I phoned my fave electrician for advice; we talked about a bunch of things and I hope to get to their home on Sat to see the welding - sculptures etc, He and wife concocted at the School of fine arts in the last two weeks!

Then I phoned a friend for advice re electrician: He phoned back with a name and number. Connecting with the electrician, he can come and do repair in a day or two, will get the necessary permission and inform Hydro to replace meter! Possible this could happen by Friday??? We, of course will spend a part of our time there emptying the rotting food out of the freezer! They were too busy restoring Hydro to others to notify me!

And my neighbour, who took pics around the house - to send me - apparently did not notice the Meter sitting on the roof of our trash garage. She walks past almost daily! Even so, it was too late! Four different friends/neighbours contributed to solving this!

Do some people live boring lives?

Soon I will de-clutter this house by gathering things to go to Beaver - for the recycling there and thrift shops. And some distilled water in case there is not enough there, and no electric.

The hearibg aids have been a major headache - no instruction booklet. The audiologist blithered a whole bunch of stuff, totally incomprehensible to my addled brain and even R did not catch enough. We have muddled through with tremendous frustration, horrible frustration from the background noise in my ears and a period when they did not function at all and I messaged the office and had instructions that got it working again. Today, I checked my credit card and they have put the charge through----NO WAY! we are supposed to have two months to try them out. We go on Friday and R will have to talk as I am furious.   

The iphone and computer continue to find new ways to plague me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 12:17 PM

A note about vehicles: the rental I'm in this month has various sonar sensors that sometimes are quite startling, but are effective now that I know what they're doing. I've realized that the lights in my Pathfinder that tell me about sonar stuff don't do much, and I'm thinking that the previous owner must have programmed the vehicle to not use the features. So I'll be reading my owner's manual to see what I need to do to activate them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 10:48 AM

When I pulled into my driveway this morning after cat feeding I noticed an immature crane standing stock still in the middle of my yard, peering intently into the tall grass and groundcover for breakfast. Toad? Lizard? Snake? Insects? They're all there, in my organic park-like front yard. What a good sign to start the week! (I got a few photos.)

In the laundry this morning are the various lengths of cotton fabric that were in my friend's bins. The washer is set for lots of soaking and stain stuff, on general principles, but most of it was simply folded new fabric, all dark prints. A couple of pieces seemed to have sun-bleached spots. Nice colors. In other bins there are also quite a few pieces of non-cotton light fabrics, some silk, some satin (cotton or polyester I don't know), etc. I'll put them into one container and let my daughter pick through. I'll probably add back some of the cotton, I'm just running it through the wash now because that's what I do with yardage when it comes into the house.

Into the garage next to photograph the items to offer on the free pages, and a box for the rest going straight to Goodwill.

I've decided to shift some of the stored items sitting in the way in the general garage area into the dog stall area, since it no longer is the exclusive domain of dogs. I'll start with some tall boxes. There are still a couple of heavy-duty chewed up dog houses in there, and I should probably give away both. Cookie likes to hop on top of them to greet me when I come and go, so I'll decide if the possibility of her leaping out of the stall again via the dog house is scarce enough to keep one.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 24 - 09:45 PM

I'm glad the meals are good, Dorothy! Having a reliable supply of something you like that you don't have to do all the work is nice. (A friend of mine describes some of the packaged meals from Trader Joe as being excellent, and he just has to apply heat.)

The backyard brush has all been dragged to the curb and I've set equipment where it's easy to reach for work around the front trees tomorrow morning. I'll stack more branches then mow the 2/3 of the yard I neglected on Saturday.

The woman who asked for the pans has yet to offer to pick them up, so I'm moving on to plan B tomorrow and will list several things, including the pans. I want my friend's stuff out of my garage soon. The boxes of fabric and notions have all made it into the house, and I'm not noticing an odor (she was a smoker for years). They may have been packed away well enough to avoid it. I'll have to sort and take a few photos for my daughter to tell me what she wants. Things neither of us need can be donated to the program that collects donated art supplies for area teachers (I took stuff there last year. This year's donation will have bins included, since I'm sure they can always use storage.)

I dug a few potatoes (red lasoda) today to see how they're looking (good). The plants are still producing so I'll leave the rest where they are for now. Tomorrow the garlic bed is harvested; I dug out about a dozen plants this evening to see how large they are and when they come out of the ground I usually drop (intentionally - who knows how many stayed behind out of sight) a corm in the hole to have another plant there next year. It looks like a good crop in the area I dug in 2022 and have planned to confine it to. Last year there wasn't much of a harvest and I resorted to buying garlic in the last couple of months. This year they were able to produce because the plants were already established but not picked last year (if the tops die off you don't see that they're there to dig them. They come back bigger the next year.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Jun 24 - 08:02 PM

Dupont:
Tomorrow, with any luck, someone is coming to work on the yard. I had chosen someone else on FB but this guy messaged me that the other was not reliable. I hated to reject him but realized I would have to transport him and his equipment in my vehicle and that means gasoline fumes which I CANNOT tolerate. I hope this guy will come and be adequate. It may yet rain more in the night so...!!

Otherwise, nothing got done here today. I have enjoyed 3 of those meals. This particular store is geared to that ethnic food type. I shall get more tomorrow or when next I go out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 09 Jun 24 - 11:49 AM

Oh SRS, it is not awful, I have A/C, it just has to work hard in the heat! This coach has a slightly underpowered A/C, they designed it so it could run off 20 amp or generator if necessary. In reality, that is never something I do.    Thanks for your kind offer of an alternative. I was just griping a bit.

And actually, there is a mineral field trip up in Creede Colorado next weekend, so I am making plans to mosey up there and back while waiting out the time before I can get in the house. That will be a welcome change in weather. Which means delving into storage to fish out more cold-nights and cool-days gear. (I always keep a few pieces handy, but was anxious to stow most of it away this spring).

Unfortunately, the agent I was recommended to be my buyer's agent turned out to be the listing agent for the only suitable house in the area. And she's super busy running between two towns and a side business. She seems to be ethical enough to keep an eye out for me though her first loyalty is to seller, but is not a good hand-holder, nor organized enough to have given me an order-of-what-happens sequence.   I'm just used to being in control of most of what happens in my life and it's disconcerting to be, well, jerked around.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Jun 24 - 08:38 AM

No, Stilly, my new-to-me bed is not adjustable except in the sense that it came with dismountable side rails that are stowed in the basement. It’s just a rectangle of oak with four cross-pieces of hardwood two-by-four (probably maple) for the mattress base to rest on. Its design and technology would be perfectly familiar to a Victorian house-holder.

As for the side rails, they brought me to the conclusion that modern furniture manufacturers believe that beds accommodating only one person are strictly for children. The people who sold me the bedstead told me that their daughter had “grown out of it” when she went off to university. Fact is, lots of people prefer a bed to themselves and don’t need a bed large enough for two adult humans. Watson (cat) prefers to sleep on top of me, anyway!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 24 - 11:01 PM

Patty, if you decide you want to take a break from that heat you can always drive 900 miles out of your way and come visit in Fort Worth. Hang out in the house air conditioning. And two dogs. Do you have an air conditioner in the RV? Would one of the portable units work (I got one of the Black and Decker floor units that vents out a window when the office area heat pump was out). You'd probably want a 12 gauge extension cord to plug directly into the site electric box, not run it through the RV wiring. If they aren't charging you extra for the power you use, it might be worthwhile.

Do you have a buyer's agent? They might as well make things easier to earn the commission (whatever they are today, after the court ruling about Realtor's commissions.)

Tomorrow alternates between cat feeding and dragging bulky waste. I need to finish the brush pile tomorrow because - surprise surprise - there is more rain in the forecast starting Monday. Air quality seems to have improved.

I went to the annual retiree dinner this evening, visiting with a few friends and always surprised to see more of my former coworkers turn up on this side of the equation - free of the job and now out in the world. Only talked shop a little bit (with the other book and publication designer in attendance). Made a point to ask people questions and not just talk about myself (not much has changed for me since last year anyway).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Jun 24 - 10:11 PM

Oh dear Stilly, I hope the weather cooperates soon. It's tough when you have to work early in the day to beat the heat, then again at the end of the day when you're so tired it's hard to do.

We are over 100 here, which is only hard because these tin cans we live in overheat in the sun. The humidity tries to help, but dusty winds seem hellbent on making it a nasty summer.

Tough week here with urgent odd demands from the agents/mortgage people, they let you twist in the wind for a week then suddenly want tons of expensive stuff done Right Away. With several new online entities wanting Serious But Unscrutable Stuff Signed Off On and Paid For, Right Away. I hate this process so much.

Got Inspection over with, next is Appraisal. Who the hell knows what comes after that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 24 - 12:49 PM

Charmion, is this a bed that adjusts? Is there hardware to install on the Mission-style bedframe?

This morning I mowed one side of the front yard to clear out the grass in the area where I'll pile the bulky trash items. It's hot, muggy, and we are under an air quality alert so I didn't keep mowing; that can wait (mowing early in the day contributes to the problem). The log chunks are now in position and during the day I'll start dragging the branches from the back yard. Once they're in place I'll get the tree-pruning saw and address some dead wood in front trees. I have a dinner to go to tonight so I don't want to have to shower again. I'll pace myself.

The offer of pots and pans was accepted so now to move on to other things in the stack. After standing in the friend's hoarder house, even after so much of their work, it renewed my desire to finish work here, but was also a relief that my house is more along the lines of "normal" even as disorganized as it is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 24 - 11:15 AM

The new mattress is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday morning, but first I must visit the shop and pay the rest of the very large bill..

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 09:09 PM

You're still very busy, Dorothy, even for someone who sounds like they intend to take it easy! I hope those meals turn out well. I found some frozen lunches I really liked and bought a bunch at the store I go to for the great bargains. Once a certain item is gone, that's it, and those were discontinued.

I turned quite red in the face in the heat this morning but I finished clearing the saplings along the back fence and tomorrow I'll drag them down to the curb for bulky waste. I'm getting a black spot on my big toenail where I thudded one of those three log pieces onto my foot two weeks ago. They have one more move - further down the curb for bulky trash.

This afternoon I visited the friend mentioned above (with the too-full trash bin) who had some boxes of fabric and notions for me and my daughter. Her three children were all there working to clear the hoarder stacks (I had worried about this but I never went so far as to contact her oldest daughter). I offered to bring home anything small & usable to put on the free stuff pages I am a member of, and in an hour of visiting they found quite a few things, maybe a cubic yard of stuff. This saves them a tiny amount of work. I also told them how to log onto the groups near them to start offering the furniture and such (now in the front yard). I've already offered some of the pots and pans (including one of mine I don't use) to a woman starting over who asked for kitchen stuff. This weekend I'll list items or take them to Goodwill.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 07:14 PM

Good to hear from you again, Dorothy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 02:23 PM

Dupont:
Just to let you know: having dumped all that, I felt better and stared getting a few small things done. Will soon be trying a cup of turmeric tea and rice is cooking for a nice lunch. TY!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 02:00 PM

Dupont:

Long time, no write! No energy.

Today, I am being visited by a small bird who keeps coming to the outer front door - all small glass panes. It lands on one and looks in and out a few times and takes off again. A mystery! I cannot see it well enough to have a clue - sparrow size and coloration; the good bird book is at Beaver!

The yard is in desperate need of cutting, lest the city get nasty. The folks I hoped were going to do it, said, on 21st they would fit me in. They haven't and I now see they posted on 22 they were accepting no more yard work! Have not had the courtesy to inform me. My brain is still tired from everything and dealing with looking for someone do do this is hurting my whole being! I stopped weed whacking about 2 weeks ago in hopes of having energy for other things. Tiredness is a side effect of the meds - sure is! There is a volunteer agency a couple blocks away; I stopped in a couple years ago to see if they had a list of helpful people. They did not and I suggested fervently that this would be really helpful. I have no idea what they actually do - maybe provide phone calls or wellness checks? Phone calls from people I don't know are a hazard. The new phone is still a super hazard -

I have lost all my guts for doing anything, esp the phone. It does what it pleases. It seemed to have decided to be permanently on speaker phone - that was great. Then it quit. I could not figure out how to get it on speaker phone when someone called. Now, if I have the heraing aid on, it muddles the sounds to mush. For it's next trick, it decided that the call could come through the computer and phone at the same time!!! HORROR! Fortunately R was here and grabbed the phone. I think I fixed that issue but I have no doubt the phone/computer/Apple will find a new way to cause me grief.

At the grocery store, I told the cashier, "I cannot hear, can't see very well and don't think my brain is working very well either!" He thought I was kidding! Now, I have a reason to go to that store - when I remember why - and I dread it. They have initiated a stupid thing where they give you a card to scratch - to win something! points or groceries... I just want to pay for my groceries and go home! I wasn't going to ever shop there again---but it is the better store.

These hearing aids are not very helpful! They put noises in my ears that interfere. The hearing aid place is just over an hour away so I cannot just zip in and get help. They quit totally for a while and I got phone instruction - NO instruction book in the fancy box! I got them working and it is good to be able to hear R - when the other noises aren't in the way.

A decent day yesterday: drove an hour to the Little green Library to return books -Late!! I Never do that - need to put due dates into phone for notifications - That I can usually manage! Went to Rita's so she could drive my Prius to see how she likes it (She does.) Visited a bit and came home, stopping in two dif groceries (forgot tomatoes!). The second one was unique - African/Asian or something. I got half a dozen East Indian sorts of packaged meals - just add cooked rice. Not the usual brand so hoping; the other store no longer has them. Also turmeric tea bags and dried mint leaves.

OK! What else can "I complain about?? It is a beautiful, cool, sunny day, after a short thunder storm. Bird has not been back. Front yard squirrels were berserk this morning; I keep hoping one has little guys in her nest but it is getting late.

And we are going to Beaver next week, by way of stops for heating aid help, peanut butter cookies, cheese at the factory, maybe a visit with a friend, and more on the saturday. If we can stay to Monday, I can pick up stuff at bulk food store there and change address at the post office. ---OH DARN! that means changing address on all sorts of things.....Let's consider that again!!!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 11:11 AM

This week we see the switch from rainy to hot, so I'll pace myself. One pot, one plant, etc. at a time. Mornings are for harder jobs and this morning I'll start cutting brush to drag to the curb for next week's bulky waste pickup.

My friend is headed out of town and the instructions for cat feeding have gotten more complicated as the littlest one is being evaluated for treatment of one of the more treatable cat cancers. More coming and going, more opportunities to put a run to the gym into each day's schedule.

A note on the sleep issues: advice from the physician's assistant I talk to about this every couple of months - blue light blocking glasses aren't all alike. The OTC ones aren't as robust as the ones you get from optometrists, so I ordered a pair of Zenni's custom readers to use for computer work. I had a discount after referring a friend to them last month so they are a very good price.

As we creep closer to official summer, what are all of our lurkers up to? How have you spent your spring?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 24 - 11:42 AM

Report from repair shop - parts on hand, work soon underway, it could be as long as another month before I get it back.

Yesterday I took some scraps and made a three-layer piece that is about 10" x 3" intended as a sleep mask. No tie, it's meant to lay over my eyes at bedtime or for a nap. The little ready lights around the room offer up a fair amount of light; I'm not going to go try to turn off everything, but I can block it out. I was using folded washcloths to test the theory. I tested the prototype last night and it worked fine. Two layers of black t-shirt jersey and a dark green woven flannel block light well and I have a couple of soft textures to choose from. I'll make a couple more.

Since June 1 I have made note of my calories each day, being careful to stay under the limits I want to follow, and today I weighed myself. Down 3 pounds. This is with higher protein, lower carbs, and trying to get enough fiber to keep the gut happy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 24 - 10:54 PM

Spring cleaning again today with several loads of laundry washed and dried, and the dishwasher set to run at bedtime. Everything is freshly changed out as far as bedding. But that's mostly the "usual" stuff, not the declutter. Maybe I can get an eBay listing ready to go this evening and I'll post it tomorrow (since I'm about to the screens-out portion of my evening.)

The new canna bed was weeded (a few bits of Bermuda grass were left behind last week and sprouted); vines pulled off of some of the crinum lilies that I hope will bloom this year. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain overnight so tomorrow I can go get some of the free mulch from the city forestry site (it's always too heavy and tends to steam right after a rain.)

A friend needs help with some of the trash at her house (her daughter was over working to declutter their house) and my friend isn't supposed to do much lifting. The bin the daughter filled is too heavy for the local trash collectors to take, so we propose to transfer some of those contents (apparently things like discarded ancient canned goods) into contractor bags that I can carry and I'll bring a couple of them back here to put at my curb for our bulky waste pickup next week. My village is a lot less fussy at bulky waste time (her city charges extra. A lot extra.) What's left at her house will be light enough to be picked up.

I also have to start dragging my branches (and roll those three chunks of log) to the proper spot on the curb (bulky waste is any day next week, when they get around to it). There is a section of the back fence that needs to have brush removed still and I'll use the reciprocating saw for that. All of this brush and trash goes about 20 feet north of the driveway, not under the pine tree beside the drive, in case the solid waste folks come through with the big truck and mechanical arm that grabs piles of brush. They won't operate that under trees. If I get busy in the next few days I can clear out some dead wood in a couple of trees in the front yard also. (I have a friend who might bring over his chainsaw on the long pole and take them out, then we'll pile them at the curb.) It's possible this can finally be a productive week in the yard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 24 - 03:15 PM

Patty, when my daughter moved to their 18 acres to start building tiny houses she said there was a lot of stuff the previous owner didn't want to move, so sold it really cheap or gave to them. (She and a core group are on the mortgage and several other friends are participating in the purchase; they're all building houses around the property, each less than 700sf) I asked her if she needed any of my extra gardening tools and she rolled her eyes - said there was so much stuff on the property in the workshop that they sorted the working from the ancient and tossed what they couldn't use.

Though my house was empty for two years before I bought it there was enough stuff left behind in the garage, patio, and attic that I had a fair amount to work with. I like some continuity between residents on the property so I took apart the heavy-duty redwood picnic table (that had been mightily chewed by the final renter's two Dalmatians) and used planks to build a workbench in my newly constructed garage (I converted the old attached garage into an office/extra bedroom and storage rooms). The old plank legs and side of the workbench in the new garage give it a feel of having been here as long as the house.

Charmion, I also hope you can reclaim that third rug. I put a PDF of that article in the FB page where we've shared some of this stuff. In the last couple of weeks I've read two articles about pests that have literally recently evolved with human activity. Cockroaches and clothes moths. The cockroach article was online at Smithsonian Magazine.

Humidity is wretched still. Horrible night's sleep last night trying to get comfortable. Today I've decided to finish the spring cleaning with washing mattress cover and the light blanket, and the mattress topper was reversed end-to-end and side-to-side. It's too humid to hang bedding on the clothesline, it would take forever to completely dry. Tonight I'll put another cover on the bed and crank down the AC.

The local PD approved the hit-and-run accident report I filed, which has been forwarded to the insurance rep. As I wait for news on the amount of damage to my vehicle (soon), I've answered the phone when the number isn't identified as spam. I've resorted to telling the spam callers who want to buy my house "what a timely call! I was just thinking this morning that I should let some scammer steal all of my hard work for pennies on the dollar!" and hung up. But after a couple of times that gets old. I think the adjuster is just going to have to leave a voicemail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:11 PM

Sympathies on your rugs, Charmion, what a shame! Hope the Kabul one can be saved.


I have not begun to collect furnishings. Seems chancy to get serious about that sort of stuff until I know if the mortgage is really going to happen. Perhaps I can go out and visit the house during the inspection and make lots of notes on what's needed and what big items the sellers may want to ditch.    There is a monthly auction in town where I might pick up some likely items. Honestly, it's like furniture buying is a long forgotten thing that never crosses my mind.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 01:36 PM

The Atlantic pay-wall won’t let me read more than the two paragraphs you pasted here, but I get the point.

I have a cedar-lined blanket box and several large plastic trunks. So far, I have found one hole in the oldest Hudson’s Bay Co. blanket, which could well date back to the Great War — who knows when and how the moth got at that?. All the woollen sweaters get cleaned and wrapped in plastic bags before I put them away for the summer. Everything hung up in the upstairs storage room is in a zip-up garment bag. Now I guess I had better start looking for pheromone traps!

As for the damaged rugs, if any part of them is re-usable, it won’t be by me. That level of craftiness is way out of my range.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 12:54 PM

Dashing out in a minute, this just popped up in Facebook and I've only grabbed the URL, haven't read much yet. Alas, it is timely.
Sweater-Eating Moths Are an Unbeatable Enemy
They will eat much more than just your clothes.

Every year, beginning around the end of March, my household starts planning a massacre. Our targets are our home’s clothes moths: My spouse and I lay pheromone-laced traps in the closets, living room, and bedrooms; we—and our two cats—go on alert for any stray speckle of brown on a cream-colored wall. The moment we spy an insect, we’ll do whatever we can to crush it. After killing dozens upon dozens, my husband and I can now snatch moths straight out of the air.

None of this has been enough to eliminate the moths. These particular moths—webbing clothes moths—are simply too well adapted to modern human life; as a species, “they don’t really live outside anymore,” Isabel Novick, a biologist at Boston University, told me. Clothes moths have evolved into a perfect nuisance, so capable of subsisting on the contents of our homes that permanently purging them may be impossible.

Like cockroaches, they have evolved with people. There is no getting rid of them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 24 - 11:34 AM

That is so sad! Can pieces of them be cut down into smaller mats or area rugs? Drink coasters?

Enjoy that last meeting. Will you continue to participate in the singing after this?