DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 24 - 01:41 PM

Damn. I just realized my Harris/Walz and Colin Allred (senate race, Texas) were stolen overnight. They could have leaned over to grab one sign but the other two they had to advance into the yard. I reported it, but who knows if anyone will be caught doing this today. The sheriff should know this kind of thing happens and watch out for people after hours. Oh, wait, our village contracts with the sheriff and they don't go around here 24-hours. I've put out a query on Facebook asking if there are spare signs around.

I had an old Biden/Harris sign in the garage so taped over Biden and put that out. It's closer to the house in front of a window but visible from the street. Us old broads are resourceful.

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

Brahms, Beethoven, and Rimsky-Korsakov on the CD player this morning. No radio. The only radio I want to hear today (it goes off with a startling alert) is the weather radio. The moist warm air that Charmion noted is part of a really long front that is down here also, raining on many Texas counties. It's what we got overnight. Fingers crossed there are no tornadoes or snowstorms or flash flooding events in the next 48 hours.

Yesterday's laundry marathon was concluded with the putting-away of everything - that is sometimes the slowest part of the operation. Today is sewing and eBay and now that I've moved the gardening cart out of the way in the sunroom, back to the jigsaw puzzle.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Nov 24 - 08:34 AM

Stilly, the Stratford Symphony Orchestra doesn’t need help from the Concert Choir; in fact, we need them. With a loyal army of fans and volunteers, the Symphony sells out every season. Most of them are professional musicians with steady gigs, especially teaching and session work. Serena the Fiddle plays with the Symphony when she’s not working with pupils in her home studio or knocking out tunes with me and Mary Anne the Guitar.

Winter is marching into southwestern Ontario, too. Last week was chilly and grim — leather jacket weather. Due to an air mass rolling northeast from the US midlands, this week will be warmer — weirdly warm, for November — and very wet, so it’s ball cap and raincoat for me.

Last week, I pruned my coat closet and sweater drawer of garments that are now laughably big on me, and yesterday I took them (along with the fancy blender) down the road to London to pass them on to Great-Niece No. 1, who should not spend money on stuff she could get from me for free. Fortunately, she was brought up on thrift stores and rummage sales, so there’s no hesitation about Auntie’s cast-offs. Her eyes lit up like highway flares at the sight of the blender — good move on my part there.

I’m still wearing my size-extra-large raincoat, however. It’s rubber-ducky yellow, made by North Face, and I can wear it over a bulky warmth layer (e.g., quilted jacket) in sleet or wet snow. The Internet has yet to come up with a comparable garment in a less enveloping size, so I’ll keep it even if it makes me look like an eight-year-old who just inherited half his big brother’s wardrobe.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Nov 24 - 09:14 PM

Flipping through @Threads this afternoon I heard a brief talk by Dr. Francis Collins of the NIH on research into how music that we really like creates great dumps of endorphins into our brains. He mentioned he's doing this research with Renée Fleming. Forgot his name but knew hers so I was able to find an article. Singer Renée Fleming Shares the Healing Power of Music
The star soprano has helped spearhead a study on the positive impact that music can have on the brain.
However your program committee manages the concert, just know that it will help a lot of people. Keberoxu, are you singing again in any holiday concerts or big name one-off oratorio performances? (And how's the new car?)

This evening I have more CDs playing, Bach and Berlioz. The ones that always give me a thrill, including Passacaglia and Fugue, Toccata and Fugue, etc., and Symphonie Fantastique. After that Chopin Sonata #2, and concluding with Brahms Hungarian Dances.

This evening I'm also making the next batch of granola, and have learned my lesson after the last batch when I was running low on things and didn't want to run to the store. It's one thing to use ground flaxseed to help bulk it up a bit (in lieu of all of the carbs in a bunch of oatmeal) but entirely another to use whole flaxseed if you were short on sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are bad enough in your gums after you eat them, but whole flax seed is like adding razor wire to the recipe.

Packing boxes for beer glasses are in place and now to figure out how many best fit in each and what extra padding to deploy.

Humid as hell after thunderstorms on this first day of Standard Time. Some years we've already had a hard freeze by now. The bedding is all washed and in place, and I have a little lap quilt (4'x6') that a coworker gave me years ago to toss over my feet if it gets cool. It's too soon to get out anything more. (The exchange happened after a holiday party at the library - I had a nice cashmere fluffy sweater from Ross or someplace that I put in the "Chinese gift swap" event - Patty ended up with it and it was odd, I felt like it was always meant to go to her (things change hands frequently in those games). I mentioned that (because she worked in one of the coldest parts of the library) and the next day she brought this quilt. I was astonished, but I love it. I've modeled other lap quilts after it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Nov 24 - 12:13 PM

Hiring an orchestra is a great way to support the regional artists; maybe that one contract is enough to bring them into the black and keep them going. Win/win. What is the alternative, local volunteers with lots of rehearsals? Good for them socially and practice-wise, but who gets to do all of that work?

I didn't get to the clock in the SUV last night but the rest have been set back. I've decided that with the time change and fall still not really quite happening yet (we're still in the 80s this week) I'll act like it's here and do some fall cleaning. All of the bedding is off, including the mattress pad, and that going through the wash with the thermal blanket to distribute weight so it doesn't go "tilt." (Anyone else play pinball in their youth?) The thermal blanket is a loose waffle-weave that is the only one I've used so far this autumn. I layer others on top of it as the season progresses.

More laundry later then vacuuming and dusting. Keeping myself busy and playing my own CDs (after my weekly gardening radio show) so no more hourly news for a while. I'm exhausted from all of the politics. My offer is still out there to drive people to the local polls on Tuesday. I hope to get a nibble or two.   

It's getting dark out this morning and the radar shows a storm headed this way, a batch of green with a core of yellow and that has a core of orange. Yes, please! Heavy rain without the gully-washer of the red in the radar. There is rumbling now and the blue heeler is fussing about it. She'll spend the time in my office closet where I have a bed for her.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Nov 24 - 12:28 PM

I eat live, plain yoghourt every day, milk (300 g servings) about three times a week. My innards handle milk just fine, and there’s nothing wrong with my cholesterol levels. I have the bloodwork evidence!

As for black plastic, I have a spoon that belonged to my Dad, which makes it so old that it pre-dates widespread recycling and the very term “e-waste”. My two non-stick pans are used only for eggs and fish, with wooden or silicone tools, and they’re the best quality I could obtain. I’m not particularly chemically aware, just stingy.

A crisis is brewing in the choir board, so next week will be emotionally fraught. I do not plan to take a lead position on either side of the dispute, but I will fall in briskly behind the Program Committee chair in her support for the conductor’s plan (actually a Program Committee plan) to hire an orchestra for the spring concert. It’s about money, control, and big city vs small town values, so it will be ugly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 02 Nov 24 - 06:23 AM

Gee, ain’t it fun to get old?

Old age isn't for weaklings!
Milk and yogurt, by the way - maybe leave out the milk but go for the (live, unflavoured) yogurt, which isn't as harsh on the old intestine?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 09:20 PM

Dupont:

OK day. Went to Bank to cash govt cheques as in infusion after giving the govt all my cash yesterday. Then stopped in at a community group. Still trying to figure out where the office is, Joanne, the only one I recognize, greeted me effusively as usual. And a Sandra joined in. I suggested they know where I live they could drop in??? Also mentioned the book someone borrowed in January. Joanne said she would look into it. That was the sum total of today's energy! Came home and picked up computer. Looked for auto ins, making a few phone calls - phones that were dysfunctional and people who did not speak clearly. Got an on-line quote and will think on it. The current company is only Ontario. They have sent me a form to sign on line - I'll try! after I sort out the new stuff.

I, by the way, have never bought, or used any black plastic spatulas nor those no-stick pans. Only stainless or glass. When my Dad was dying of Cancer (1962), the doctor told us to get rid of all the aluminum - we did. Never bought Tupperware either - a distrust of plastics generally. Dupont- the company in Delaware that developed the motto: Better living through plastic" was just a few miles away. They came to the New World in a sailing ship and brought their entire library. Visiting an exhibit at one of the estates they had donated as a park/museum, I was quite impressed that they brought their library! I am not impressed that they started out manufacturing gunpowder then plastics... But the public gets to visit their discarded estates with marvellous gardens.

Now I take my pills and go to bed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 05:33 PM

If they had to resort to surgery, Don, your SIL must be in a bad way. Fingers crossed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 12:50 PM

This week my sister in law is having a segment of small intestine removed due to a chronic infection. Sounds dreadful.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 12:04 PM

Charmion, this week's book is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, and in the current chapter he is taking the concept of "Nutrients" for a spin. I read a criticism of some of Pollan's theories in the big Taubes' book, I think it's the "more vegetables, less meat" part. So far they both cast a critical eye at the Western diet and food industries.

At any rate, Pollan discusses how the only way some of the science folks could discuss types of food without the big food companies coming down on them was to break everything into neutral components to discuss. Nutrients. Protein is general enough, it can be meat or fish or poultry (so the beef or chicken producers don't complain). Sugars have a huge lobby. And both of these authors describe the problem that nutritionists don't really understand how Food works. They understand what the party line is as far as parts of food, the nutrients, and for many of them all things are created equal (e.g., all sugars are the same. Except they're not.)

Rain is headed this way and on Sunday the clocks change ("fall back"). I've waited months to reclaim this hour.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 09:14 AM

Thompson, the low-FODMAPs diet is close to the ketogenic regimen I started in April, except that keto people avoid most fruits and all starchy veg. Both diet types are so restrictive that docs describe them as diagnostic or therapeutic — designed to identify and/or treat a particular problem within a limited span of time.

After six months of keto, I had gone down two sizes in trousers and my blood glucose level (the problem) was bang on normal, but I was low on sodium (God knows why) and short on calcium from avoiding milk. Cue the return of more carb-dense foods, starting with milk and yoghourt.

The dietician at my doctor’s office shares her profession’s obsession with cholesterol (mine is normal), so her list of foods to resume eating started with meat alternatives — in short, beans. I usually follow professional advice — why buy a dog and bark myself? — but that list went into the bin on Monday.

I’m almost back to normal today if still a bit sore below the belly button, but I’m taking a final sickie because I can, and to catch up on admin crap I couldn’t tolerate earlier in the week. Great-niece No. 1 has claimed the fancy blender I have to re-home, so I’ll deliver it to her on Sunday, when I’m going to town for a tune session. I have some expensive (if bought new) winter clothes that might fit her, so I’ll take those, too.

Gee, ain’t it fun to get old? No, don’t tell me — !

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 01 Nov 24 - 05:55 AM

Charmion, a few of my friends have been put on a diet called FODMAPS, which cuts out all beans.

Fermentable: foods which do not fully digest/absorb in the intestine so ferment in the large bowel.
Oligosaccharides: there are two groups of oligosaccharides that cause symptoms; Fructans and Galactooligosaccharides. These are poorly absorbed in all people as we do not have the ability to digest them in
the small intestine.
Fructans are also known as fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and are chains of the sugar fructose of different lengths. Main dietary sources of these are wheat products (bread / breakfast cereal / pasta), some vegetables (e.g. onion, garlic, artichoke) and as an ingredient added to some processed foods as a
prebiotic (e.g. FOS, oligofructose or inulin).
Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are chains of sugar galactose. The main dietary sources are pulses, beans, legumes and cashew or pistachio nuts.
Disaccharides: Lactose is a sugar found in all animal milks. Milk and yogurt are main sources of lactose
Monosaccharides: Fructose is a simple sugar but in excessive amounts may be poorly absorbed by some.
Polyols: Polyols are sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol. These are poorly absorbed in most people. These occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables, but are also used as artificial sweeteners in sugar free chewing gum, mints, and other low calorie or sugar free products.

The diet seems like a nightmare to me, but most of the people who are on it seem to choose some parts of it and not bother about others.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Oct 24 - 11:19 PM

Dupont:

with a few loose ends yet to go, I am legal in QC - health, auto, driving. Need to tell auto ins company of move and change address on myriad other items - is there a list on line? I keep thinking: Oh! and...

I keep being told to stay active - the firewood was my activity!

With the nasty side effects intruding, I read more about this med and am informed that 30% of women may last 53 months. At 87, I am surprised they are giving me this expensive stuff; I suppose it is the experimental aspect. That's OK. My body is happy to have a week's break. No vertigo today. Just itching and some sporadic discomforts.

Negotiating with a fav musician to obtain the actual words to his songs I love - I love hearing the feeling in them but would like to know the words. They will be an important part of what sustains me through whatever piece of "53 months" I last. This is not gloomy; this is OK.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 24 - 12:34 PM

November is one of those months when a number of annual bills automatically renew, causing an automated sticker shock. Good thing the heat pump is paid off, because those plus the vet bill are looming large this month. Some of it can be shifted over time to other months, but it takes planning.

More sunflower branches went in the trash this morning, along with a couple of items I hadn't planned on until I read an article in The Atlantic. Here are the first two paragraphs:

For the past several years, I’ve been telling my friends what I’m going to tell you: Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid.

In 2018, Turner published one of the earliest papers positing that black plastic products were likely regularly being made from recycled electronic waste. The clue was the plastic’s concerning levels of flame retardants. In some cases, the mix of chemicals matched the profile of those commonly found in computer and television housing, many of which are treated with flame retardants to prevent them from catching fire.

Apparently black plastic that is otherwise ok is ejected in regular waste-stream recycling plants because the optical sensors can't see the black color. So there is a shortage of good black plastic, and that's where e-waste steps in to fill the demand for recycled black plastic. They tend to be treated with flame retardants and "another paper from 2018 found that flame retardants in black kitchen utensils readily migrate into hot cooking oil."

The other things that need to go are the most of the non-stick cookware. In one of my two free reads at America's Test Kitchen this month, they say that

As Dan Jones, associate director at the MSU Center for PFAS Research, told us, different PFAS chemicals may have different levels of toxicity too. The problem is, we don’t know as much as we’d like to about all the different chemicals. The two best-studied PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, have been phased out of use, at least in the United States, but many others exist and remain in use, and their health effects are less well known.

That "remain in use" part would be me and all of my thrift store non-stick bread pans, a large skillet (to make lefse), and probably more.

The article says "it's not clear that the PFAS in your nonstick cookware actually migrate into your food when you cook" - but we can see all of these coatings gradually scratched or peeling off.

It's always something.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 09:53 PM

Apple cider vinegar might have helped when I was forty. At this point, I’d rather follow the indication I already have — stay low-carb, and no beans.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 09:06 PM

Dorothy, trying to avoid vertigo and stacking firewood don't seem to be compatible activities. Maybe the neighbors across the street can help with that also when you ask about someone to help clean.

Charmion, I will perform a similar escort to and from a surgery event for a friend in the first full week of November. I did this about three months ago (she needs a surgery on each arm) and will be better prepared for how to help her out, knowing what to expect. (I'll pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco instead of paying a small fortune for tiny birds at Tom Thumb, like I did last time. Having food ready-to-eat when you're recovering is a nice touch.)

Dishwasher has run its course and the glasses are cool. Time to find the packing materials and decide which boxes to use. I'll list them tomorrow, and it will be two or three new listings instead of one. When I do it this way if someone wants more glasses at a time they can indicate they want combined shipping; it means I have to repack, but usually ends up costing them a bit less in the end. (Just so they don't buy all three - then I'm back to the original problem of safely packing that many glasses in a large box.)

More sewing this evening to modify a couple of more shirts for the dogs. Pepper can test another one tomorrow, and then she's finished with canine couture for now. There is at least one more of the previous shirts that needs to be tossed (just as well because when they're dropped in the trash can the shirts block the smell of the wrapper from the lamb I cut up yesterday). Trash day tomorrow so I need to go out in the morning to cut more sunflower limbs to add to the trash can full of lamb drippings and dog shirts.

The beer glasses are out of the dishwasher and look good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 08:09 PM

Dupont:

Re Beans: I believe in ACV [Apple Cider Vinegar -- added by mudelf] for gut stuff. Still have my copy of Vermont Folk Medicine. Took a bottle to Mexico in the 80s for possible problems - a little in my water at each meal. Doing that today and it is solving a gut problem.

Got Drivers License yesterday. Left here early enough that it didn't matter that I was lost in Valleyfield and had to stop for directions - nice man at a tire place printed them out for me! I was forever at the kiosk, leaning on the counter and hoping the incipient vertigo (a new nuisance) would not get worse before I could get out of there! Was still with me today.But I have gotten rid of it- ACV.

Checked possible side effects of Ibrance last night. Made a list and sent in email to pharmacy in Ottawa. Good response we agreed to take a week off. My med stuff is readily available in both provinces but they have not gotten the idea of switching me totally to QC! They were (ON) however, kindly helpful! But they keep telling me to see my doctor - getting a doctor in QC ????? or ON where it took a few years - to get a darn fool.

Friend Rita texted me this am before 9 am! I was non-functional! But got back to her. Did I get my wood stacked yet? "No" but it is not a hurry and I want to do it myself in bits - something physical to do!

Enjoyed the day in bed because tomorrow I need to take the car back to V for its safety inspection. The trip down is 39 min when you know how! Neighbours were doing yard work on the warm day!

There seem to be a bunch of neighbours across the street. If they are out tomorrow, and I feel well enough, I may walk over to see if I can hire someone to clean the house.

And if I have the energy to stop at a pharmacy, I will look for those glasses - and more batteries for hearing aids which are behaving nicely this week. Now, have to wait until 9:30 to take pills.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 07:55 PM

Thompson, I think that ship has sailed for me. The problem is that my lower gut is already significantly compromised by diverticulosis, so high-fibre foods are too challenging. If the problem was farts alone I would go out and buy dulse tomorrow, but a severe belly-ache that isn’t over three days later is a whole different matter.

The first such flare-up hit me about 20 years ago, and I’ve had them two to three times a year ever since. (There were plenty of doctor visits and fancy imaging adventures — X-rays, CAT scans, gastroscopies — along the way.) Until Sunday, I hadn’t had one since just before Easter, coincidentally about 10 days before I started down the keto trail.

As soon as I stopped eating high-fibre foods, most of which are high in carbohydrates — the less-threatening symptoms of diverticulosis (notably the constant flatulence) just up and vanished, and until Sunday I didn’t have so much as a twinge of discomfort, let alone a full-blown diverticulitis flare complete with sleepless nights and low-grade fever. But within a few hours of eating a single flipping serving of beans I was squirming in pain.

I’m bright enough to take the hint without letters of fire on the wall.

Meanwhile, normal life goes on. Today was spent taking a fellow chorister up the road to Clinton for cataract surgery, waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for her to emerge from recovery, driving her home, and then hanging around for a couple of hours to ensure that she continues to recover properly from the anaesthetic. We aging ladies have to hang together!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 04:45 PM

Charmion, if you eat a little seaweed - nori, dillisk, whatever you're having yourself - with beans it tends to lessen their dramatic effects.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 02:23 PM

There are stories and a couple of photos of Hillary Clinton pulling a small bottle of hot sauce out of her handbag when she was eating out or at various functions. It's standard in several forms here. My favorite general one is called Tapatio, particularly good over scrambled eggs, omelettes, on anything like tacos, burritos, etc. Hot salsa is another category, used in large amounts, a juicy kind of tomato pepper vinegar relish (plus spices) also very good over eggs. Kamala also apparently favors hot sauce, and since she grew up with an Indian mother and it is my experience that Indian food is often hot and there is hot sauce everywhere. (I had to use my "Just Read" browser extension after turning off my ad blocker to read this Houston Chronicle story.)

Say what you will about the trustworthiness of Hillary Clinton. The candidate who could make history as the first female U.S. president has been nothing but transparent about the fact that she's a hothead.

"Sriracha, Tabasco, tomatillo or what?" a participant of a town hall hosted by "Good Morning America" asked Clinton in April.

"I have a collection of all that and many more," she told the fellow fire-breather. "I started using hot sauce back in 1992 because I read an article that said it would help my immune system stay healthy." Ever since her husband's debut presidential campaign, she's stayed on message. "So far, so good!"

Clinton's liquid fire of choice is Ninja Squirrel, a brand of sriracha available at Whole Foods Market. But she also relies on a fresh hot pepper every day, she told National Public Radio, crediting the ingredient for "one of the reasons I'm so healthy, and I have so much stamina and endurance." (Science backs her up. Chilies are rich in folic acid and vitamins A, C and E; eating hot sauce also triggers the release of stress-lowering endorphins.)

Meanwhile, in the Pepper department at my house, the t-shirt she wore for the last couple of days was attractive but is now so torn up that it went into the trash. She had stitches removed (and ointment over the little holes) so needs a shirt for two more days they said. I took a shirt recently culled from the closet and stitched a three-inch dart on the back of the neck so she can't walk out of the neckhole. It looks good on her.

Yesterday a box of Gibraltar Duratuff glasses were listed on eBay, today I have a dozen Pilsner beer glasses (came from a friend's estate, but I never did get around to using.) They will go through the dishwasher, get polished for photos, and probably listed a few at a time. Packing a dozen or more is difficult and heavy and riskier that they arrive all intact. They took up a fair amount of space on the built-in shelves in the den, so I can spread things out (and consider if there is more on those shelves to move to the eBay list).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 12:33 PM

Yup, baked beans — like Heinz, but with onion, garlic, thyme, and a touch of vinegar as well as molasses, mustard and tomato. And not mashed.

I first encountered huevos rancheros in a US Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, which is also the first place I saw widespread use of hot sauce. Without the hot sauce, the food there was essentially tasteless.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 24 - 12:29 AM

Baked beans? Not refried beans or a side of black beans? Were they mashed up? (Just curious - I'm sorry they seem to have spoiled the effect of what should have otherwise been a nice farewell dinner.)

This evening I cut a boneless leg of lamb into personal-sized portions and they're all wrapped and in the freezer. Fresh fruit has been cleaned and frozen, and I am organizing the fridge as we are now one month out from the US Thanksgiving. I need to figure out what I'm going to cook and if I need to load up on anything. It may well be lamb this year - my D-I-L is vegetarian except she will eat lamb (and suffer after, apparently, but she loves it). A turkey breast has less leftover, so some of each of those two would work. Family will be expecting my homemade dinner rolls, and I'll make a batch, but I'm also going to try making a batch using the gluten-free baking flour from Bob's Red Mill (so if I do a turkey breast I can have a sandwich.)

I have some recipes they like that could work for Thanksgiving, such as cranberry duff that is like a thin cranberry upside down cake with non-wheat flour. Of the two things I'm avoiding, wheat and sugar, I'll err on the side of sugar for that recipe.

In dog world, the tummy stitches come out tomorrow morning. Not a visit I look forward to; but it's the last appointment in this sequence. Meanwhile, this morning I found out one reason why breakfast isn't always as popular with this dog - the neighbor had upped the number of biscuits he was giving them in the morning and those things are large. I asked him to keep it to them sharing - break one in half for the two of them once in the morning. No wonder she's gaining weight even as I reduce the food in her bowl!

I have to finish the fence back there, with a gate, and then he can step through and hand each dog the biscuit without having to toss and hope one doesn't steal from the other. They can't go right up to the fence because of their Invisible Fence collars, and that is intentional. But he is welcome to come into the yard and if we have a gate it will only be between our yards, no one else would have access to it. I've been talking about that darned thing for ages - it's time to finish it. We're still in the high 80s but tomorrow should see a shift and rain for several days after before staying the 70s. Then I can work out there comfortably.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Oct 24 - 06:12 PM

I may never eat beans again.

On Sunday I indulged in my favourite diner dish: huevos rancheros. In Ontario, at least in Stratford, they are served with traditional Canadian-style baked beans. The only consequence I expected from that choice was a sharp up-tick in weight, but what I got was a nasty visit from the Diverticulitis Fairy.

The belly-ache struck about suppertime on Sunday, worsened steadily over night, and by dawn I had decided to call a stand-down until I could dare leave the house. Monday was unpleasant, but I slept through the night (tired out, I guess). Today, the lower gut still hurts but at least I can do stuff -- a good thing, because the car was due at the dealer's in Kitchener at 10:00 am for its semi-annual spa day with the mechanics.

The trip to town featured a rainstorm of biblical proportions, like driving through a car wash but with heavy traffic and bolts of lightning. Visibility was dreadful. Nothing bad happened to me, but I saw several vehicles evidently in distress at the side of the road. Once at home, I took to the comfy chair and stayed there until even the cat got bored.

Time to recombobulate has gotta be one of the greatest privileges of all.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 24 - 09:52 PM

Tonight's dinner confirmed it for blue heeler Pepper - she simply doesn't want her carrots or broccoli touching her dry food. She happily gobbled down everything in two stages. When they can't tell you in words they tell you by refusing the food offered and hope you'll figure it out. It was her refusing to eat that had me thinking her teeth might be bothering her, and is the reason she has stitches in her belly now. The fatty tumor that had formed was removed while she was under for teeth cleaning and exam. So I guess something helpful came out of all of this. $500 later. . .

I'm starting a new box of items to take to the group that collects art supplies for area teachers. A friend who taught art in middle school used to send home small samples of paints in Rx bottles when her students were finishing work at home; I'm setting aside those bottles (sans labels) and a few other things that would serve the art classroom. This reminds me that I should see if I can reconnect and see how she's doing these days. She, like me, moved out of the old neighborhood (probably also giving a huge sigh of relief - there were some real busybodies over there) and I'd love to catch up. This reminds me of a couple of other people I should look up . . .

Dorothy, do you use any readers when you work on the computer or read books? You can easily find them made with Blue Blocker lenses and they aren't any more expensive than regular readers. That might help as far as sleep after reading a screen.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Oct 24 - 09:50 PM

Dupont:

Beautiful Cold day!

Yesterday's wood moving earning me a day in bed - on computer mainly and some reading time. So, eyes burning, remembering what SRS said recently about eyes and computer... And so to sleep!

Oh, nice thought about home help, I shall check into that. Have already heard they are hard to come by...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 24 - 12:54 PM

Dorothy, does the Canadian health system cover things like home helpers going to patient homes for a few hours a day or week to take care of some of the basic care and cleaning? It sounds like something to get set up with if Robin is going to be simply away at work or out of town for days at a time.

Spent an hour on Malwarebytes chat last night again sorting out my account. I use them for real-time browser security and VPN. The last configuration (in May this year) ended up with four devices but scattered between two accounts. Now it is one account with four devices. And since we were reworking the account he sent a link to a discount (35%) so I'm set for two years. VPN on the phone and tablet are good for when I'm out on public WiFi but want security. VPN at home is most often used to view videos in other places that are otherwise blocked to US viewers. The guy's name showed up as "Michael Jordan" and the mature me resisted asking any basketball questions.

There is a hint of skunk in the house and yard this morning, but there are no bodies in the yard or direct hits on dogs so I'm not sure what the story is. At breakfast this morning I decided to go back to basics as far as fussy Pepper is concerned. A bowl of dry food and nothing else, and after that I broke up and handed each their share of a banana. For some reason mixing it together is beginning to mess with an OCD part of Pepper's head.

When the trash went out today (small grocery bag) I decided to drop it in the large bin and then top it off with the pruned limbs off of the huge Maximillian sunflowers along the driveway. Now that they're dry they're dropping seeds everywhere, so I'll send a few of those to the dump. Most yard waste goes in the compost, but these are woody and tough to break down. I also toss them over the back fence to add to the branch debris discouraging trespassers from strolling through that back part of the yard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Oct 24 - 06:07 PM

Dupont:

Cool cloudy, grey, damp but no precipitation! I managed to get most of the firewood organized to be undercover. Rescued another large plastic bin to be filled.

Weather going below freezing tonight - just a bit. I have not yet dealt with the Canna but covered them. Less and less is getting done; Getting things done one day means nothing the next day.

Tomorrow will be "do nothing" as Tuesday I must go deal with govt re driver's license, car registration. I have a total neurosis about dealing with govt in Quebec - the contempt for my lack of French is nerve wracking. At least the hearing aids will help! And the nice man at the auto insurance company assured me that I was in their computer from my previous time in QC and also assured me I should not have any trouble. Well, he was nice and assuring! It does help!

Robin has been away - in the city and the country and the USA on business. I had a weird day when I wondered what was going on - for weeks I have heard my pulse strongly ALL the time, with or without hearing aids. Then on Sat at 9 am, it Stopped! I stayed in bed for quite a while - wondering... Later it started in again. I find it quite strange when it does it (all the time now) and disconcerting that it quit! I really want him to be here if
I need him. There is NO ONE else. No friends anywhere nearby and those at a not too far distance have their own serious concerns.

OOPS, that reminds me that I told a new friend that I would try to come to the church concert tonight! It is just about a block away but I shall have to drive - for safety and energy sake.

I am living with a strong feeling that "nothing matters anymore". I shall have to do some cleaning as son in coming around 8 November - for a week.

YES, my ballot went in weeks ago!! With the help of nice folks at the library!

If these pills are helping...I feel pretty lousy But then, I did get the wood mostly covered.

OK, remember to take pills to concert in case I am not home by correct time. Go get decent clothes on and go get a place to park...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 24 - 05:48 PM

Huevos rancheros is already pretty much keto, isn't it? Eggs and cheese? Vegetables in it, and the salsa? But it does sound like an excellent occasion to eat in whatever form offered. :)

Cat sitting is concluded, my friend texted to say she is headed home a little early so no dinner run. Gives me more time to work on some of my stuff this evening. My shopping is also mostly concluded, what is left can wait till tomorrow.

So much to do around here. I need to make a couple of lists, because there are different categories of things. All of it seems lately to have resulted in pieces of paper sitting around to serve as mnemonic devices for said tasks. Then file or shred or recycle the paper.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Oct 24 - 03:16 PM

I got up tired today, did morning church and decided to bow out of Evensong — I would like to be functional tomorrow.

My favourite diner is going out of business; today is their last day. The owners somehow struggled through the pandemic, but they haven’t had a holiday in years, they’re losing money, and they’re not getting any younger. Keto regimen kicked to the curb for the occasion, I ate their very last order of huevos rancheros smothered in green salsa with blobs of Frank’s Hot Sauce, and now I feel like the boa constrictor who swallowed the pig. Worth it, though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Oct 24 - 03:51 PM

Loaded up on produce for the dogs and me today, and this means the evening will be spent preparing some of those to be frozen (cutting up strawberries) and cooking others (carrots, potatoes) for the upcoming dog meals (they get fruit or vegetables on top of the dry in their bowls twice a day).

The fresh pickles I made a while back are past their prime; most of them have been used but there are a couple of jars headed to the compost, and some small cukes bought today will go into pickles for next month. It's best when I grow my own cucumbers with the particular varieties that are best for pickles (they are hybrids with names that indicate that's what they're for). Next spring I'll get back into the pickle business.

It looks like the rest of October our days will be close to 90^o, but then a good chance of rain brings us into the 70s on Halloween and the week beyond. Often times with forecasts the days of rain keep moving further out on the calendar, but so far they seem to be set. Probably has to do with Halloween itself - so many children expressing wishes for no rain but not strong enough to defeat the more powerful silent wishes of parents for rain. :) Not scientific, but there you have it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 24 - 11:56 AM

After several days the last of the political emails have been unsubscribed. When they arrived they loaded into their own folder and occasionally I looked to see if there was something worthy of a donation, but at this point the parties are swimming in cash and the folks making money now are the consultants doing all of the begging emails.

Several cases of canning jars are sorted into their respective sizes with two cases of mixed jars within reach in the pantry. I use them for food storage and freezing so those get used enough that these boxes are convenient. The rest are stacked on the floor under the pantry shelving. I have a feeling there is a case of expired jelly still lurking somewhere.

More cat-sitting this weekend, so a chance to think about efficient ways to make each run count for more than just cats. Gym and museum stops are at the top of that list. Cash from cat sitting this fall is earmarked for the cost of cleaning two more Persian carpets.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 24 - 08:16 PM

I'm back to my volunteer schedule this week and the archivist and I did some organizing in the collection I've been scanning since 2020. Now all of the rest of the boxes of archival plastic sleeves of slides are arranged in folders so searching them (after searching through the metadata I'm entering when I scan) is easy. We both had worried that the last few boxes might need a lot of work, more folders added and the over-stuffed boxes partially emptied into new containers, but that was not the case. It's easy to put off a job that you fear is going to be complicated, and now we both know it isn't. It'll still take a long time, but it's in good order. Now to do something similar with my personal slide collection (that's why I initially started this volunteer project—to get my hands on the scanner and slides there and decide how I wanted to handle my own).

Since I made felafel last weekend and the small deep fryer was still out (oil and all) I soaked chickpeas yesterday and today made another batch this evening. My ex was over for dinner and I sent quite a few home with him, along with most of the tahini sauce. I kept enough for one more meal here. I need to use chickpeas more often, they're one of those good carbs.

Another case of old canned goods are decanted into the compost pile and jars in the dishwasher. I have at least one more case to go. [Sigh] I'm tossing the output of labor from the garden and canning two and more years ago. I should have done a better job of giving some of this away.

Next I need to decide what to do with the mustang grape juice in the freezer. The highest use would be to make jelly to give for the holidays perhaps - and be sure it is all given away. It can go into some of these jars liberated today.

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

Hurrah for "the brave little toaster" "that could"! :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 24 - 11:57 PM

You sent photos - thank you! of that incredibly uncluttered cupboard and of the little toaster that could. Perhaps if I notice any of those in Goodwill I'll know how to promote them on eBay, should I choose to pick one up.

I moved some Tupperware bowls (a nested set) to a lower shelf in a low cupboard, and the measuring pitcher (mine also has a lid) fits on top of them. These are the last of the brand that I still use regularly, and now are much easier to reach from this place. It clears out obstacles in my Pyrex shoulder-level cupboard where the bowls used to live. This makes the kitchen more efficient and still allows me to use fewer plastic containers.

This afternoon I headed to the town where I used to work and hoped to find fresh 3-litre bottles of olive oil, but they haven't arrived yet at the Halal market. Soon. I did get a smallish bag of chickpeas and some sesame seeds, but in the future I'll buy those at my local Winco in the bulk section. Winco will never have the olive oil, though. After shopping I attended a talk in the university speaker's series that was really top notch. I debated about going by myself, but in the end it wasn't a big deal. I parked close enough and the walk back to the parking lot is well lit and there are still a lot of people out at 8:30 in the evening.

Trash day tomorrow. Will I have enough to bother to take to the curb? (The question should be: how is it that the neighbors find so much to throw away and not recycle?)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Oct 24 - 08:42 PM

The brave little toaster has arrived in Stratford and settled into its new home. It works just fine, but it’s no work of art — more than 60 years of wear and tear have done a number on its chrome plating. And I like the look of empty space on the kitchen counter.

My right arm is still sore after yesterday’s COVID booster, but I don’t mind. I’m still very grateful for the vaccines. Flu shot next, when the pharmacy has a spot in its schedule.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 24 - 11:45 AM

More sewing in my future - not just the skirt. I'll modify the shirts headed for the dog bin. One of the trashed t-shirts the dogs wore post-surgery had a "normal" neckline, but for dogs that hole is large enough that if they happen to snag the shirt on their own back foot (step on it) they can actually walk out of the shirt through the neckhole. The old one has a large dart sewn into the back of the neck narrowing that orifice. The thing is, if they want they could shred the shirts in no time flat, by themselves or through roughhouse play, but they all seem to understood this is the accommodation to live with if they don't want to wear the "Elizabethan cone" (the huge plastic cone of shame that clobbers the bodies of other dogs and legs of humans nearby and makes exit through the dog door difficult.)

In the pantry I've pulled out a flat of canned relish and pickles from 2020 that will go into the compost, jars into the dishwasher. There is another flat of jelly down there, and I'm continuing to dissolve more of it to be poured as fertilizer over various plants that benefit from a boost. I plan to put in a garden in next spring so these jars will be used for canning tomatoes and making non-sweet (or low-sugar) relish and pickles, and pickled okra (for the neighbors who love it).

The neighbors notice if I have a garden or not. In the past when my knees were so bad I didn't do much one year, but after the first surgery and I could do the work, people stopped to say they were glad to see the garden and hoped I was well. So in the spring if people ask, I'll let them know that statins aren't for everyone, case in point.

Charmion, we'd love a report about the arrival of the toaster and where it will live. It sounds small enough that it should be in view where it can be a work of art when it isn't being a utilitarian item.

Dorothy, did you get your ballot mailed?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Oct 24 - 06:37 PM

sometime back a friend pulled out (dusted off???) her crinoline to use under her Colonial ball grown - the elastic had stretched so I knotted it, leaving a tail about half a metre long!! We were both giggling ... probably not the only ones in the Hall.

I was lucky with a winter velvet skirt a couple of years ago, I was able to thread some thinner elastic over one track of the rotten elastic so didn't need to unpick all the channels, I just needed to use a sharp needle to get over the side seams.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 24 - 02:30 PM

I'm planning to take the waistband off and redo the elastic. It is a job - but by the time the elastic wears out again it probably won't matter. The first skirt I mentioned is unusual in that it has pockets; I might add pockets to the other one while I'm at it. Both garments are gathered at the waist and have a crinkled fabric look (so if you sit in it once it doesn't show creases the rest of the day) and not so full through the bottom of the skirt that they make me look like a blob. Worth keeping on hand.

This morning I missed a meeting at one of my volunteer places - completely forgot, even with the calendar reminder on my phone. It's time to pull out some of the training materials and read through them myself. I think this week is otherwise back to normal with a nothing back-to-back on the calendar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Oct 24 - 12:59 PM

Stilly, I too have a good sturdy skirt in which the elastic has expired. I hate to get rid of the skirt just because of the elastic, which has cracked and crackled and broken into various pieces inside the waistband. It would be quite a job to open up that neatly-sewn waistband in order to extract the broken-up elastic and install new elastic, but with a garment this serviceable it might be worth it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 24 - 12:18 PM

Good news on all fronts, Charmion! I have a whitewashed Mexican pine loveseat that I've moved around the house, unlike your Danish modern that doesn't quite fit, this fits very well but I have to decide where I want to leave it. Right now it hosts dog paraphernalia next to the back door so no humans may sit on it, but I am almost sure I've figured out the dog food thing with my blue heeler and if I can get to where they both eat one type of food, I can remove the second large food bin in the antique trunk and fill it with the dog stuff, clearing my bench for me. Yes, that's vague - I could fill the trunk or fill the bin with dog stuff. Not sure which yet.

A dive into the closet this morning. I've put the sandals away in one wire drawer where they live 3/4 of the year. I took a look at shelves I usually forget about and realized happily that a skirt I used to wear years ago fits again, though the t-shirt I used to wear with it is getting rather worn. Another lovely skirt with a wide elastic band looks good except the elastic has expired adding half again as much circumference to the waist. Put a new waistband on, wear a belt, or use it for something else (sewing project)? I pulled a shopping bag with a large leather satchel to list on eBay, and there are a couple of others in there I should also list (not used much). The bag I'll offer to the younger women in the family first. (Daughter, Daughter-in-law, and partner of son.)

There's still a bulky (18" cubed) safe on the top shelf of that closet built-in, somehow attached to the wall behind the drywall. It wiggles but won't pry loose. Never had the combination. Maybe it's time again to see if I can find a way to get it out. Patching that part of the wall is easy enough, but I fear I need to make the hole larger before I patch it, to see what is going on with the safe's anchor (probably screwed to a stud).

In the pantry I'm pulling out too-old-even-for-me home-canned jelly a half-pint at a time and dissolving it into the 3-gallon bucket of water in the sink and then pouring the contents over parts of the garden. The sugar is a perfectly good stimulator for the soil, an easy fertilizer. Might as well use it where I can get the most good from it now. We haven't had rain for weeks so I'm still having to water parts of the yard to keep things healthy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Oct 24 - 11:44 AM

I have now set aside two comparatively big-ticket items for sale: the Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, and a circa-1960 Danish settee made of beautiful walnut with loose cushions. It's the only settee I've ever seen that a reasonably fit woman (such as I) can carry upstairs -- or down! -- by herself without risking her life.

I never should have bought that settee. I thought it would work in the sitting room but it never quite did -- too long for one spot, too short for another, back not quite high enough for comfortable reading. But it's a fine piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture and some decor enthusiast will gladly take it off my hands.

As for the mixer, the kitchen is like it was never there.

I should add the Blend-Tec blender to the Items To Go group, and make up my mind what to do with the Breville toaster-oven. (Maybe Habitat for Humanity after a good scrub, with a warning about the random beeping.) The ancestral flip-flop toaster is wending its way from Ottawa by Canada Post and, when it arrives, the batterie de cuisine will have returned to 1975 standards. Except for the fancy coffee mill. I'm not giving that up unless it, too, starts emitting random beeps.

The doctor's admin person telephoned this morning with the results of my latest blood tests: cholesterol and electrolyte levels are within the normal range. I take this to mean that I can stop fretting and get on with living my best ketogenic/low-carb life. I'm a bit peckish; time for a nice piece of cheese!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Oct 24 - 10:52 AM

Laundry finally pulled out of the dryer and folded or hung up; the Capri pants were this time not put on pants hangers, they're part of the "folded" and were put back on the shelf till next summer. At the same time I've pulled a couple of long sleeve shirts to the front of the rack. Clothes change with the season.

Cat sitting will run a day short since it seems the pump from the well at the country house is not working. She'll head home in time for the cat's dinner and I'm sure to their delight lots of treats from someone who is there all day long. Just as well, I have other things to do. She has another trip coming up next week

It's time to rearrange the stuff in the garage and change out a couple of the boxes that usually ride around in the back of the SUV. One that will be added back has more winter-type supplies (a blanket, a large frost scraper, etc.)

The donation bin is being added to after emptying a couple of weeks ago. I'm looking at some of the t-shirts in my closet with messages that are becoming so worn they're not legible (the trouble with those heat-attached art pieces versus silk screen). They're too worn to donate but still have a lot of life in them. I have a couple of shirts I'm using with the blue heeler this week that are about worn out from her use, so perhaps the closet shirts will become dog recovery shirts when the current dog shirts get trashed. (Right now Pepper is rocking a red cowl neck cotton knit shirt that stays in place better and looks great with her black and white merle coat.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 24 - 07:40 PM

I finally started a spreadsheet to keep better track of those donations. If you don't you'll get annual donation requests from groups every few months and I always wonder when I last paid. I know I'm actually giving annually now, and I picked up a couple I'd let lapse.

Got a good workout in the kitchen today as I cut up a lot of lettuce for salad (the salad spinner after washing lettuce is a concentrated upper body workout if you overstuff the spinner basket) then made tahini sauce, made the tea for iced tea, and finally, made the felafel balls and had them ready when guests arrived. Not a lot of food, but I don't seem to have cooked as much this summer (because it's summer, mostly). One thing about the ADHD meds, they make it easier to plan and execute a meal like this without getting distracted from what you're doing. Last Thanksgiving was amazing that way.

I'm halfway through the long weekend of cat-sitting activities; I got the little guy back on track eating enough so he doesn't need to go to the vet for extra attention. I'll head over there for the dinner meal so I can get home in time to watch Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. I'll miss Sister Boniface - I haven't watched many of those but as goofy as they both are, that one is more contrived. I haven't quite figured out what her exact period is, but she seems (like the Father Cadfael mysteries) to be out of sync with the actual skills and philosophy of her fictional "time."

Dishes running, laundry needs folding, and there are always papers that need filing and general picking up around here.

Felafel was good, and the carbs in chickpeas aren't as high as many other grain or bean-type foods. Along with the salad and tahini sauce it was pretty high in protein and fat compared to carbs. And it turns out all of our group are adjusting our diets lately, for various reasons. One guest is now cooking for one, another thinks he's borderline diabetic and finally has access to health insurance (eligible for Medicare and an Advantage plan) and the other is dealing with allergies. It's always something!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Oct 24 - 11:03 AM

I renewed my United Way donation schedule yesterday. It's taken off my civil service pension at source so I don't even think about it, let alone have time to come up with spurious reasons to begrudge it.

One of my favourite winter garments is a boiled wool waistcoat (vest to Americans). It is now almost laughably big on me but I'm not giving it up unless and until I can find another one just like it but two sizes smaller. Today we are enjoying what passes for Indian Summer in these parts -- bright sun, forecast high of 20 degrees Celsius -- but next week will be a different story: solid rain setting in by Thursday, with frost at night and highs around 10 degrees Celsius. I'm not parting with any of my flannel shirts either, even if the cuffs come down to my knuckles.

Congratulations on paying off your heat pump, Stilly. Every debt sent packing is another deposit in the bank of FREEDOM!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 24 - 07:50 PM

It sounds like the house is coming along, Patty. And because it's your house you can just kick back when you want.

Cat sitting is a fraught process, tomorrow morning I may be taking one to board at the vet where they can more consistently stuff the little guy with small amounts of food. He isn't eating enough to maintain his weight even with my several stops in a day. Owner will decide in the morning after breakfast when we see if maybe he simply didn't like what was being offered earlier. She has finally realized that the reason she is so stressed is all of this stuff with her cats. I hated to interrupt her few days away, because I think the relaxing is good for her, but she indicated that this might come up.

Meanwhile, my boots look good, and the new heels will probably outlast the rest of them. Brief conversation with the owner brought up politics and I told him I hoped he voted, whoever he votes for.

Juggling a lot tomorrow, but getting a good head start tonight.

Forgot to mention (or maybe I did) that I paid off the heat pump early. The credit union had already mailed the next 14 months worth of coupons when I paid it, so I happily shredded them. And since it's paid off I dedicated a few of the dollars no longer going to that payment to a couple of good causes. Donation to Planned Parenthood (the Texas branch this time) and another political campaign. But I think that's it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 18 Oct 24 - 06:01 PM

Taking a break on a day of unpacking book boxes, breaking down dozens of empty boxes which have been piling up, and general tidying. Feels wonderful to have some daylight floor space opening up in the library/office, even if there's still half a wall of boxes hanging about.

Also dug down into the big boxes and found the heavy winter coverlets; needed one this week on a trip in the RV and will need one in the house. We went from balmy and calm days to chilly and windy. Darn shame for the snowbirds beginning to arrive.

On the toaster front, I discovered if an item is too fat for a slim one-slicer, you can air-fry it for a few minutes. Everything on the counter should multi-task and pull its weight!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 24 - 12:14 PM

The chickpeas soaked overnight and in the morning I'll grind up a fresh batch of felafel dough for tomorrow's lunch. I looked up how to make them without the usual 1/4 cup of wheat flour to bind it. My recipe book also has bulgur as an ingredient that I'll simply skip, but something needs to help consistency. The Interwebs tell me that I can use chickpea flour instead so I've pulled that package from the freezer (I have several non-wheat flours to choose from). Another option might be to add some psyllium but I didn't see anyone suggest it (an ingredient in gluten free tortillas and pancakes that binds but still lets it be flexible.)

Favorite pair of ankle-height boots have been re-heeled and are ready for pickup. This instead of discarding and buying new. Two rugs dropped off the same day will be in the shop for much longer for cleaning (and cost a lot more to retrieve). When I pick up the rugs I'll decide then if I also want him to repair one end that is close to unraveling; he said we could clean them first then decide on that, and that way I'll spread out the sticker shock.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 24 - 06:42 PM

I had in mind it might be a closet, but all I got out was "clothes." Close, kinda.

In my room it is the cedar chest that plays the role of The Chair.

The 10-year-old blue heeler is home from the vet and a bit out of sorts. We'll see how she approaches dinner, but I talked to the vet and he said they're nothing going on in her mouth (bad tooth, infection, etc.) so it's in her head, that she isn't fond of her current dry food. She's very energetic, nothing wrong there. He said dry is better for their teeth, so I'll work on this. I took a small set of portable pooch stairs out to the SUV so she could dismount easily (she was a little wobbly still this afternoon). Not happy with the steps since she has never used them before. Recheck next week so I'll leave the steps in the garage and she can use them to get in and understand more about what they are.

Cooler today, finally. The Capri pants I was wearing were a little light, so it'll be jeans tomorrow. So nice to feel chilly!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Oct 24 - 04:32 PM

I have a pole-type coat rack in my bedroom so the armchair doesn’t become That Chair. Left to his own devices, my husband would have kept at least half his wardrobe on That Chair.