DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 04:31 PM

A stack of 11 large media-storage boxes sufficient to hold literally hundreds of CDs has gone off to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, where they were greeted with glad cries. That’s a relief — and another empty space in my basement.

My next task is fall and winter clothing to Goodwill. I’ll probably do that on Thursday.

On Sunday, I will leave Stratford with a car full of odds and ends for a visit with the kin-group in Ottawa. I turn 70 next week (as do you, Stilly), and The Brothers still like to make a fuss of birthdays. I have some family doohickeys and a box of CDs for Elder Bro.

There’s also a duvet filled with genuine goose down that’s far too warm for Stratford’s wussy winter; somebody in much chillier Ottawa will want it. Its absence will create useful space in the linen closet, and it can go packed in a large plastic trunk that’s been cluttering the box room for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 24 - 01:20 PM

The antique rotary sewing machine is listed. That was a big job, but for someone looking for a well-maintained solid old machine this one will be prized. After this project there will be fragments of Styrofoam floating around the kitchen and den for a while. The main packing box has styrofoam around the machine; that box is in turn set into a larger one and there I used lots of packing a friend provided; it's thick 12" x 12" corrugated sheets of the dissolvable cornstarch that are in plastic bags to keep them dry and used not just for packing but for insulation. She gets frozen cat food packed with these. The amount I used would have kept a couple of month's worth of cat meals frozen. This whole thing should ship as a stable and manageable parcel.

Volunteering today at two places where I usually alternate days. This is the "get dressed in respectable clothes and make the trip once and work at two close-proximity places" experiment.

Patty, how is your travel progressing? Did you empty the storage unit in the Deep South and were you able to fit everything in the trailer smoothly or did it require some shoehorn work and general pushing hard on boxes?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Aug 24 - 02:50 PM

Mac life is so much simpler: the browser is Safari. Period.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 24 - 01:27 PM

The computer has been really sluggish lately, so I went in this morning and cleared the cache. The default browser is Chrome, and it got rid of several hundred megabytes of stuff (I left my cookies and history). But to see if it had a different result, I also went into Firefox and that browser had nearly a Gig of cache to dump (again, keeping history and cookies.) Hmmm. What other browsers should I clean out? I use several, but these two are the main ones.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 24 - 11:31 AM

Mrrzy, they did that before my new office ceiling maybe five years ago. Whatever tape they used to hold down those sheets has real sticking power - I still haven't scrubbed all of it off of the tiles in the hall. Maybe GooGone? Anyway, congratulations on the ceiling and you'll enjoy your organized cabinets.

In recent weeks the trash pickup has been early; I sometimes miss it if I only have a small bag to put out that morning. If I use the can it goes out the night before because coyotes and dogs don't bother it. This morning I got up early enough to cut and pull weed tree saplings from the iris beds to fill the mostly empty can. I'm cooling off now and I hear the trash truck approach. Win/win!

Last night I spoke with an old NPS friend; we met in New York City many years ago when we worked in New York Harbor - I at Ellis Island NM, she at Jersey City State Park. We've been rangering all over the country since then and settled 1200 miles apart, but when we get talking it's like picking up from the last time. One thing that has complicated contact with her is that she rarely uses email, and had an old flip phone, unreliable voicemail on her house phone, and never did texts or anything. But she finally got a smartphone! It was a good clear connection! After our call I texted her photos of a couple of the books we talked about. It's an occasion to celebrate when a friend joins the 21st century, and she has a remarkable stories to tell each time we visit. Who knows, maybe one of these days she'll get an app that lets us do video calls (she has an Apple phone, I have Android, so it will have to be Messenger or something - she isn't real conversant with all of the apps yet.) Instagram does video calls. Maybe she can start small with that. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Aug 24 - 09:41 AM

Argh the people putting in my new ceiling plastic-sheeted the kitchen so it looked as if they could dismember bodies in it, and the plaster dust still got into closed cabinets and, for instance, filled my muffin tins.

Everything out of all cabinets. Clean cabinets. Clean everything. Put back. Well, a chance to reorganize...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 11:05 PM

The ugly inner box is packed and padded and taped. A larger flattened box pulled from behind the upright grand piano will work as the outer box - once I figure how to pad inside it. It may involve several kinds of materials. This is to be expected. The box that my new sewing machine came in was gigantic—with fewer articles included with the antique machine, this is just huge.

Dorothy, have you had any help with boxes being moved for you, to sort out your books and pots and such? Did your pottery sale go well (I think you were going to send some to someone to sell?)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 08:12 PM

Those things didn't occur to me - because I've been doing them for years, but you're right. If you don't read labels and weigh food you're in the dark. MyFitnessPal is free (yes, ignore the ads) and is a great tool. I started using it to track my calcium, and have shifted the settings over time to watch protein, carbs, and sodium also.

Out of curiosity this evening I sprinkled a little regular table salt over my piece of sockeye salmon - and it was way too salty. Had to rub off some of it. With the wheat and most of the sugar out of my diet I notice my blood pressure is lower. I'll measure it this evening to see if it shows up via higher levels. I do get salt in and on other foods and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Come to think of it, it has been quite a while since I noticed any of the occasional side effects from the ADHD meds.

The ugly bulk around the sewing machine has grown, and as I add a new layers of Styrofoam and wrap it with my Uhaul cellophane it actually looks like it might ship ok.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 06:08 PM

Not *every* keto beginner makes all those mistakes, and my low-sodium problem showed up more than four months in.

The article missed two important mistakes — not using a macro tracker, and not weighing portions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 06:01 PM

Cutting Styrofoam chunks into pieces to support parts of the sewing machine requires frequent going-over of the work area with the vacuum. The finished package won't be so large as any of the chandeliers I sold via eBay but it will be cumbersome. A box inside another padded box, to play it safe.

Trash day tomorrow and I still don't have a lot to go out (other than off-cuts of Styrofoam) so I'll step out to the front curb in a bit with the hand pruners and lop some of the woody things sprouting along the street that the code enforcement folks are going to complain about one of these days. I can tuck them into the can instead of tote them back to the compost.

A big birthday is coming up, but not THAT big, so it is heartbreaking to see that in the last couple of weeks three of my high school classmates passed away. When I was in high school I couldn't imagine how ancient I'd be by the year 2000, let alone all of these other decades later. Perspective and experience we gain along the way, and I don't know the stories of each of those folks, but still, I do know that they died too young.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 24 - 01:59 PM

I was playing with the non-AI access to the Google search this morning and decided to drop in a question about Keto diet - how much meat is enough or too much versus other foods.

I have no idea what this "Greatist" site is (part of the Healthline group of sites), but the answer seems to offer reasonable advice. 8 Mistakes Every Keto Beginner Makes (and How to Avoid Them). Topic 4 - Not staying salty - seems to address the problem Charmion was having.

I pulled up the article because after shopping yesterday I want to portion and freeze the chicken and pork I brought home. The fish I buy frozen is usually in ~ 5 to 6 ounce portions, so checking to see how much is best versus too much in these other protein sources. (I'll portion and freeze the meat then bag it instead of putting each portion in its own bag (that uses too much plastic.) It looks like the 4-5 ounce portion is fine, but the important part is that putting "enough" olive oil in to fry (a couple of teaspoons) is actually not the right answer - putting in a bit extra because the higher proportion of fat is what really does the heavy lifting in the diet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 24 - 07:20 PM

In the literature it looks like the keto diet folks have a glass of wine in the "allowed" carbs category, and when I weigh the options of no carbs in Scotch or some in a single glass of wine, I think wine is a better choice when few and far between to avoid much reaction to sulfites. Wine blends in with meals, where as the Scotch (for me) is timed differently, usually not with food, but before or after. The pushback against how spirits are metabolized and how they hit your gut flora is something I came across in my most recent foray into the science of it.

Meanwhile, in another section of the kitchen, not all proteins are alike and I am looking at the sodium levels as important markers regarding the problems of processed foods. Cheese has a lot of sodium, but when compared to things like dry Italian salami (I have loved it on pizzas or sandwiches or plain - a snack plate of salami and dill pickles and a side of cheese . . . mmm!) the salami is so processed it does more bodily harm, joining the list of foods that will be purchased infrequently.

I finished the last of the nectarines and tomatoes today. I'm sorry you had to exclude peaches for your diet, they're such a great part of summer! I have to head to the store this evening, and the main thing while there is to not get carried away in the produce section. The size of servings is the main thing that lets a variety of fruits and vegetables stay in the diet. (Though I do load up on produce for the dogs also.)

Recycling was dropped off today and dishes and laundry are ahead.

Dorothy, how is it going? Patty, did you get a good family visit and are you headed back west one of these days? Sandra, Jennie, what is up in your parts of the world? Jon, how are you these days? We haven't heard from Donuel in forever, I look to see if he has visited as a guest but nothing for a while. All of you - don't be strangers!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 09:07 PM

Today, for the first time in a while, I feel clear of head and steady on my feet — or at least as steady as I normally do. I guess the Gatorade is kicking in.

I’m sorry you feel compelled to suspend your evening tot, Stilly. I’m no toper, but I would feel excessively deprived if I had to give up my occasional glass of wine or slug of hard stuff. It doesn’t kick me out of ketosis, and I continue to feel digestively fine with no cravings or other forms of disordered eating behaviour, so I’ll just stick with the routine I’ve established.

I have only 3.4 Kg to go on the weight-loss front and my innards are behaving better than they have in years, so I’ll soon resume eating some of the higher-carb foods I’ve been avoiding — milk first, then more veg and fruit. I have missed peach season this year (*sob*).

On the declutter front, I’m just about ready to square up to what remains of our 30-year accumulation of CDs. The classical music is gone, and the pop and rock stuff that Edmund’s brother likes, so now it’s down to the hard-core folk and the truly weird stuff. I have boxes and tape, and I’m not afraid to use them!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 24 - 04:50 PM

This afternoon I suspended other activities and made myself stay put and finish reading the Taubes book. It's dense and I read slowly, and the book now has upwards of three dozen post-it notes poking out from pages so I can find topics I might want to revisit.

This paragraph precedes a list of 10 conclusions:

Throughout this research, I tried to follow the facts wherever they led. In writing the book, I have tried to let the science and the evidence speak for themselves. When I began my research, I had no idea that I would come to believe that obesity in not caused by eating too much, or that exercise is not a means of prevention. Nor did I believe that diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's could possibly be caused by the consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars. I had no idea that I would find the quality of the research on nutrition, obesity, and chronic disease to be so inadequate; that so much of the conventional wisdom would be founded on so little substantial evidence; and that, once it was, the researchers and the public-health authorities who funded the research would no longer see any reason to challenge this conventional wisdom and so to test its validity.

It's a good idea to read this book through; the list of conclusions is a nice summary after reading, but I wouldn't have picked up most of the details I found helpful. Things I've heard but didn't have the full information. He discussed the classic Pavlovian research on dogs - for humans hunger can hit with the smell of food. When you smell something good there is "a reflexive release of insulin"(443). That clears out whatever blood sugar or fats your system was using for energy. Depending on what you eat, the insulin subsides or it increases. If you eat carbs, you end up with a lot more insulin in your system and it messes up how you use the existing metabolic fats. Low carb eating means the meats and fats you ingest fuel your system without the insulin.

If you eat processed carbs they hit the bloodstream and brain fast. If you eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains they offer fiber and liquid and break down so slowly by comparison they don't cause as much of an insulin hit. Also - I learned why artificial sweeteners can be a problem - not just because they are chemicals. It's because when you taste something sweet you end up with that same metabolic insulin rush. See me being more careful with those monkfruit drops - enough to take the tart out of the yogurt, not so much to make it taste like a sweet dessert. The extra insulin isn't good for you. It's why I'm also going to take the evening Scotch out of the diet again. The enzymes that break down alcohol have a similar effect as insulin and sugar; the oxidation effect can add up if anything else is awry.   

There's still a little of the business day left. Let's see if I can get a couple of things taken care of before the official start of the weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 24 - 11:12 AM

Decluttered wallet of annual home warranty payment. Two years ago it paid to repair the dryer, this year was smaller, it helped with the roto rooter of the house line. I am getting close to paying off the new heat pump but there's an old one that I hope keeps going for a long time, but can't count on and they will be a big participant in the replacement.

I also wrote a check. Amazing that. The new checks were ordered after I got rid of the PO Box address last year, and it's the first one out of the packet to be written. (The dentist miscalculated a copay.) I used to write a check for my hairdresser who prefers not to take credit cards, but mostly I just give her cash. The last time I saw her I apologized for including about $10 in ones, but her now-seven-year-old daughter seems to prefer folding money to the dollar coins she used to love in plastic Easter eggs. She does chores and gets paid bills and is saving up for a specific toy. Good to know - I still have an envelope of about $50 in ones from setup for a garage sale that never happened. (And I can do a happy dance this month - for the first year in about 25 I'm not paying the post office for the box! It was $250 last year.)

Back to working the styrofoam for the sewing machine. It is coming along. Last year I ordered a heavy-duty paper cutter for my daughter (who makes custom books as a hobby) and the box had "HEAVY" stickers on a couple of sides. I'll have to print something like that to tape on this box. And if it goes in the mail, help carry it to the truck with my mail carrier who is a tiny Vietnamese man who would blow away in a high wind.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 04:16 PM

Good you have that answer then! Sorry to nag about it here, but you're too far away to run over and check on. I had a bottle of salt tablets in my climbing gear to combat leg cramps that could make life difficult on long climbs. Those things last forever; I haven't looked in the backpack in years - I wonder what is still in there? It's probably full of mud dauber nests - they build on anything, including fabric.

I cluttered the garage with several burlap bags of mulch picked up from the free compost bunker nearby. I had to drive a convoluted route to get there as highway construction intrudes on entrance and exit ramps in my area.

Online work this afternoon then sewing this evening. Since it's Wednesday, one of my allowed watering days, I'll also set a timer and run out several times after 5pm to move the sprinkler around, focusing on the areas I want to weed and mulch. The soil is rock hard these days, there's no pulling out roots of weeds unless I water.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 02:20 PM

The light-headedness is from low blood sodium — hyponatraemia. I went to the doctor and she ordered a whack of lab work, which is why I know sodium is the culprit. My blood pressure and blood gases are normal. I’ve kept a food diary for years.

One of the effects of ketosis is a change in the body’s tendency to retain water — in short, you urinate more. So electrolyte replenishment has to be part of the plan. Hence the Gatorade.

Come to think about it, I’d rather drink Gatorade than take salt tablets, which is what we did back in my military youth.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 12:41 PM

Light-headedness isn't something to ignore. Do you have a blood pressure measuring device and something for blood oxygen (the little pulse oximeter they put on your finger?) They're relatively inexpensive (read reviews - not all are created equal). Food diary, drink plenty of liquid (why did you choose Gatorade?) and probably don't Google symptoms because you can scare the bejeezus out of yourself that way. And think about that diet you're working on. Too little salt, too little of something else? Do you take supplements? Have you had bloodwork done lately? If you're feeling light-headed then your brain isn't happy for some reason.

It's a quiet week here, fewer appointments or volunteer gigs (though I see another last-minute tour opening on the weekend.) Still sweeping dog hair after the bath. Working on eBay things, and taking more time for the jigsaw puzzle. For a couple of weeks I've dabbled with a new 1000 piece puzzle from The Oatmeal; they're clever but not so difficult that they take forever. I'm finally moving the loose pieces toward the outer edges of the table as I get the edges in place (only half of it so far). And I put a fluffy bath mat on the floor in front of that table for when I'm barefoot (as I was today). And I was quickly joined by a dog lying next to my foot on that mat - I knew that would happen.

We have a slightly cooler day today and I'm going to get more mulch before hopping into the shower. Might as well finish the sweaty stuff before cleaning up. In the house that sewing machine isn't quite part of the sweaty stuff, but it does involve some heavy lifting. I've finished the photos and description and now I've rounded up boxes and tough scrap styrofoam for lining a sturdy case for shipping. Once I have it packed I can weigh and measure and list - chances are the shipping is going to cost about half as much as the listing price. There is no free shipping of cast iron sewing machines.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Aug 24 - 11:36 AM

The light-headedness continues, though much reduced. It's worst in the morning, presumably because I haven't eaten or drunk anything for about 12 hours. So I move slowly and hang onto the bannister on the stairs.

For the record, Gatorade Zero will never be a favoured tipple.

My garage is neat again, after an orgy of box-flattening and disposal of packing material that I could neither recycle not re-use. The debris of the busted-up Waterford, plus the inadequate packing material that came with it, cost me a whole garbage tag. Not that I'm bitter ... okay, maybe a touch.

My brother Andrew proposes a drinking game for viewing the Democratic Party Convention: Every time somebody says "weird", down a shot. Your liver will not be happy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 24 - 12:39 PM

This is simply a guess, no science to it, but I realized this morning when I looked at my newly trimmed and polished toenails that the nail fungus that I've had on the middle toe of the right foot for ages - we're talking maybe 25 years - has gone. The toenail trimmed like a normal nail last night. Years ago I tried a special nail medication that was painted on and supposed to get rid of it - never worked. I soaked my feet, I tried tea tree oil. Never worked. I had this very thick nail with the odd consistency that I always carefully trimmed down but was always fatter and flakey and cloudy looking. In the past two months as that nail grew out the fungus part grew off and is gone as of last night's home pedicure. It's exactly two months since I stopped eating wheat, simultaneous with when I took myself off of the statins (I'd only been on those a couple of years, one thing I know is they weren't a cause.) My sugar intake is still very low, but not gone.

My fingernails are also stronger. I was thinking it was the higher amount of protein that was making the difference, and maybe it is what also helped the toenail. Or it is all from the lack of wheat. Or the low carbs. Or just dumb luck.

I shuffled around a lot of boxes last night and left a heap of packing materials in the doorway of the front room. I'll have to straighten that today, it was looking better in there until this dropping of materials any which way.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 24 - 01:29 AM

I stayed up late to watch the speeches tonight at the DNC. I had a snack before bedtime to celebrate the speeches; both of these things go against my new health routine. It happens. (They were very good speeches!)

After planning to do it for a while the dogs got baths today. They were good girls and are so happy about how they feel now (even if neither was in love with the bath itself). And later I pampered myself by soaking my feet so I could scrub off the dry skin that builds up, and trimmed my nails. Summer is hard on my feet, I need to do this every so often this time of year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 24 - 12:57 PM

I'm low carb these days, but I don't think I could manage 20 grams a day. I'm nearing my target weight as I choose healthy carbs and during this process making sure everything runs smoothly - enough fiber to feel good. Not eating what in the western world is considered breakfast - cereal, toast, bagels, etc. I had some lean lamb with a generous side of steamed asparagus this morning, and lunch will be a nectarine with plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (and some monkfruit drops to sweeten the yogurt). If I add 1/4 cup of my homemade nutty yogurt that pushes my carbs a bit outside my goal set on MyFitnessPal, but the gut is happy. And it still ends up about 20% of my daily intake being carbs. A piece of tilapia, a salad and a big tomato for dinner will round out the day.

The piecemeal approach to yard work continues. Before breakfast I spent 15 minutes in the front yard with the mower knocking down the tall grass around the big patches of groundcover. It's another heat advisory day, so pacing yourself is the way to go. Now to work my way down the list of online things I have to accomplish.

Dorothy, are you far enough north that the end of August is a bit cooler? How is your garden and do you still have a house full of plants?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Aug 24 - 09:36 AM

60 grams of carbohydrate per day? I’ve been getting by on 20 or less since April. On 60 grams I could eat peaches.

“Traditional” diets include processed foods, too — polished rice, for example, and slaked corn. In fact, all grains require at least minimal processing to be edible at all. The substance consistently found far less in non-Western diets is sugar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 24 - 04:07 PM

What to eat that we can digest well, that feeds our brains and our hearts, that doesn't pile on fat or mess up our internal organs or trigger or feed cancer growth, that leaves our arteries supple and our brains clear through old age . . .

There is a conundrum when it comes to writing about the sciences - journalists and other types of writers generally do a better job of being clear and approachable than scientists who struggle to keep their writing free of jargon and not assume we all know a bunch of related science - links must be spelled out. When the writers aren't scientists they have to be careful and thorough and sure they understand the topic they address. Often with the help of scientists.

The books I've been reading lately are a mix, some by physicians, others by researchers who are writers, not scientists. I'm adding another author to my list to see what he can contribute to my goal of eating healthily. Michael Pollan has several well-received books on the subject and I've added Food Rules: An Eater's Manual and In Defense of Food to my reading list. If this opens correctly it should be an excerpt from Food Rules (you'll probably have to scroll down to "Review" then click "Read More" to open the whole thing). It appears to have been scanned and no one corrected the run-on words at each sentence break, but you can make sense of it. In particular:

He talks about "two important things you need to know about the links between health and diet. All the contending parties in the nutrition wars agree on them. And, even more important for our purposes, these facts are sturdy enough that we can build a sensible diet upon them."

1. The Western Diet isn't very good for us, because lots of processed foods and the ingredients we use help generate the "so-called Western diseases: obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer."

2. Populations that eat a wide range of "traditional diets" don't tend to have chronic diseases. "What this suggests is that there is no single ideal human diet but that the human omnivore is exquisitely adapted to a wide range of different foods. . . Except, that is, for one: The relatively new (in evolutionary terms) Western diet. . . what an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick!"

He also notes that people who get off of the Western diet see dramatic health improvements.

Meanwhile, back on the homestead, I'm working around the house (it's another hot one, nothing much going on in the yard today). I have several items posted on my local buy nothing list (my expensive pound of decaff earl grey tea turned out to be mislabeled fully-caffeinated "vanilla" that I don't like and can't drink. I got a refund but they don't want it back, so someone else will get a $30 bag of loose tea.) Plus other stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 24 - 07:48 PM

I agree with you 100%, Charmion. As I read the Taubes book I realize that I need to look around for information about how much and what types of proteins are going to be best. Case in point, my nextdoor neighbor can only eat beef once a week due to kidney issues and he has to watch the high-oxalate vegetables and things like chocolate. I'm fond of fish and shrimp, and will build more of them into the diet that already has a fair amount of chicken and pork and lamb. This week's shopping included asparagus, spinach, celery (celery mostly for the dogs, but some for me in stir fry), nectarines, and pears. The latter two are going to be probably the only carb of the day when I eat them, since I am working on losing the last few pounds. I'm at 154, aiming for 150. That still gives me a bit of a "buffer" (for my height the weight I see suggested as "optimal" is about 144. I look like a scarecrow if I'm that light).

It looks like 60 grams of carbs a day is what some of the keto routines recommend; one talked about 30 grams a day to get started if you're losing weight then up to 60 grams regularly (that was Perlmutter in Grain Brain).

When we share shopping duties my ex and I are able to save trips (better he drive to my house to pick up stuff than make trips to a couple of stores). I pick up things for him at Costco and we split their large portions (today he took some of my nectarines and pears). Next time I buy a rotisserie chicken it will only be when I can send half of it home with him. It also means we are each the someone who is paying attention as far as each of our well-being. I keep track of his health issues, and I share my experiences, so while our daughter is the contact person for each of us, we also have that information amongst ourselves. He's trying to solve a dermatology-related issue right now and I'm getting over the statins.

Today I ran an errand for the friend who lives downtown and loves the dumpster diving she can do in this high-end building (there are great tax breaks for those buildings when they let in a few public assistance housing clients; she is one of those). Yesterday she asked if I'd take some luggage over to the night shelter and I didn't want to put it off; I've never been there before but a family member used to volunteer there, and more importantly, this friend has an apartment that is filling up with stuff she has found and is gradually giving away or selling. As I drove up the side street to the night shelter at about 4pm the curbs were lined with people sitting waiting for the facility to open for dinner and to let in those who had a bed or cot for the night. All of their worldly possessions are in the packs, suitcases, shopping carts, and rolling duffle bags they have with them. So when I backed into the donations-only parking space and caught someone's eye, I was ready to simply hand over Melissa's donation. The woman who brought the canvas cart out did a double-take when I opened the SUV back and unloaded two large rolling hardside suitcases and two large canvas duffle bags. These are pure gold at a shelter and they probably already are in the hands of new grateful owners. I will describe this dropoff to Melissa later so she will get the glow of having made a significant donation (she was homeless herself for a couple of years, she knows what people need).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 24 - 04:30 PM

The bloodwork results are in: electrolyte imbalance -- low sodium. So I have added Gatorade Zero to my diet (blech). Its flavour is strongly reminiscent of understrength Kool-Aid, but it will at least do me no harm.

I was interested to read in Wikipedia that Gary Taubes's carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis has provoked emphatic professional push-back. That does not surprise me, or convince me that the low-carbohydrate diet is not worthwhile as long as it is helping me achieve my objectives and not making my life more difficult than it needs to be. (In other words, the same criteria I would apply to any special diet.)

I actively enjoy freedom from colitis effects and I don't miss gingivitis one damned bit, but it's kinda obvious that eating more vegetables and more fruit on the regular is a really good idea, With only four kilos to go, I figure I can start adding fruit maybe by Thanksgiving (the Canadian one).

But I intend to stay off sugar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 24 - 12:10 PM

If this started since the new drug routine then read all of the side effects and interactions and go from there. Can you return to the old regimen? The doctor was no help and this sounds like a dangerous way to move around the house and world outside (dizzy and foggy) then you have to be your own advocate.

I'm working out a list of places to go today, that will start with dropping board games at the library and then volunteering at the museum and end with loading up on a particularly good 85% dark chocolate with dried cranberries at the gourmet last chance store. A couple of small squares of that are enough to satisfy the snack impulse and it is said that dark chocolate improves your mood. It doesn't hurt and they have a good markdown. Tomorrow I have a tour at that museum so today I'll also walk through quickly to see if they've moved anything since I was there last week.

A modern conundrum has just crossed my desktop: an email with my newly calculated credit score (it's robust) has key factors listed that affect my score:
1) too many accounts with balances (I only have two - the credit union loan for the heat pump and my mortgage) because the credit cards are paid off every month. But there are only three of them so

2) too few accounts with recent payment information. Meaning if I would spend more money on more accounts they'd better be able to rate my score? Technically I have an account with a large computer manufacturing company in my state but I only use it when I buy a computer or printer, so, not often.

I paid my car insurance directly from the bank but this serves as a reminder to pay the home warranty insurance through a credit card to give it a little more activity (then pay it off that month with money saved in the bank for the home warranty policy). This is a small game that can be played with the banking community when one isn't ever going to be rich, you can at least appear to be responsible.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 24 - 10:52 AM

One trip to the doctor later, I have no more clarity on my foggy head-state. Still dizzy and tired when I get up, a tad better by supper-time, but definitely not my usual perky self.

Doc speculated that I might have come down with some passing virus and sent me for a whack of blood tests.

I guess my take-away from all this is no sharp movements, and always hang onto the rail when walking downstairs. Also, maybe aging ladies shouldn't do drugs, but that's a counsel of perfection; most of us have no choice.

Rain in the imminent forecast gives me a good reason to spend the rest of the day reading and keeping the cats happy. Dolce far niente!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 24 - 12:06 AM

Sounds like an excellent visit coming up, Patty!

With the heat warnings these days I'm doing small outdoor chores that let me see something has been done, then heading back into the house. Mowing the side yard where the old wheelbarrow had tall grass around it, trimming the suckers coming off the base of the Vitex in the front. Small amounts of time when I won't overheat. On a trip to Costco I picked up another case of their inexpensive bottles of drinking water. At one red light on the way there a panhandler was looking pretty parched so I handed him one of my spare bottles along with a $5. I think at that moment the water was the best offering, it was opened immediately.

The donation stack is growing with games, puzzles, and housewares (and the places things will go are various). Now that the hall closet is cleaned out it has me thinking about what I have hanging in other closets and what needs refreshing or donating (or being taken over to my daughter or put into a box to send to my son).

Weight is down another pound (I don't have much to go for my goal, I was only working on about five pounds). My fingernails seem to be stronger now with the higher percentages of fat and protein in the diet. Still reading the long book about calories. All calories are not the same.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Aug 24 - 07:14 AM

Final leg east today will find me meeting up with sisters I have not seen in a couple of years, along with some other family. Looking forward to it and hope the stoplight gods are with me as I push through southern Virginia.

Spent a day and a half in High Point NC, seemed like a good place to learn about the current state of furniture. So I learned a lot, it's an interesting town with people easy to talk to. No new furniture is cheap, but I did see stuff from several outfits making real wood furniture, and got helpful advice on sleepers from a very knowledgeable fellow.

Also saw lots of crazy stuff, giant princesss beds for McMansions, antique stores full of big in-your-face objects-to-impress. One of the weirdest things was a line of real-world furniture with 'pickled' finish--which makes it look like cheap laminate! We're coming full circle on phoniness I guess.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 24 - 03:10 PM

I hope there is an easy answer when you put all of the medications on the table and discuss the situation. (I wish my GP had considered the statins when I described my lack of energy last winter - they should have been a red flag.)

The last of the coats and jackets are in the washer; this time the nice tan fitted raincoat (made in Poland - one I bought from I. Magnin in the late 1970s, and the style comes and goes in fashion -I couldn't fit in it for quite a while, but now I can), a couple of nylon rain slickers, a Gortex heavier rain jacket, and the new LL Bean parka. The only item left unlaundered in that closet is a down vest, but it hasn't been in there for long so I'm going to treat it as if any mouse traffic up and down garments happened before the vest took up residence. I can wash down items in the tub with a special soap, but it is a lot of work.

Burlap bags and a scooping tool in the back of the SUV; a trip later this afternoon will entail getting gas and a case of bottled water at Costco then heading over to the compost bunker to fill the bags with mulch that needs to go in the bed where I've been working.

I've been doing more sewing in the evenings. I don't have any finished new items to show for it, though have completed some mending projects.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Aug 24 - 01:19 PM

Yes, Stilly, I rather think it’s time to see the doc, and take the whole deplorable collection of drugs with me. My GP’s group practice has “sick parade” in the late afternoon, so I’ll toddle along at four o’clock.

Still woozy today. Not very, but enough that I don’t feel safe on stairs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Aug 24 - 12:46 PM

Do you think the light-headedness has to do with the medications? With the end of COVID, with blood pressure? Sounds like it's time to take those questions to the doctor.

More closet laundry, this morning two bulky outerwear sweaters and my heavy LLBean parka are all in the washer on delicate with an extra soak and rinse and a lightly-scented bottle detergent. I don't use the little sheets of detergent on things like rugs or dog beds or jackets - the scent is light when they finish, but it helps neutralize anything that might have been contributed by whatever was in there. Mice usually chew up paper or cardboard and there was none of that. There was no dead squirrel or rat to show me what it was and I don't see how it got in.

Now an awkward segue from squirrel droppings to cooking. The rotisserie chicken carcass is simmering for stock. I didn't finish eating all of the bird this time, the salt levels register too high when I keep track in My Fitness Pal. The dogs got some good snacks. I'll have to bake my own whole chickens or put them in the big bowl convection oven (that version comes out closest to the consistency of rotisserie, but without salt in the seasonings before I cook it.) As salty as the current chicken was the broth will also be salty, so I'll freeze it in ice cube trays and use small amounts when cooking.

After a couple of months without, I had wine with dinner last night and this morning I could feel the itchy sensation on the back of my neck and scalp. That serves as confirmation about the sulfite sensitivity. It'll just have to be out of the diet except on special occasions when I live with the itch. I keep wine in jars in the freezer for cooking so the rest was decanted into other containers with good lids and frozen. Future wine for cooking can come in smaller containers and the rest frozen. I don't consider such small amounts a problem but they do add good flavor to sauces and stews.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Aug 24 - 10:34 AM

Today I got up feeling tired and a bit light in the head. Not myself at all, but not sick. I went to bed at a sensible time last night and slept well, rising about 0645, but I could easily sack out again had I nothing important to do, but such is not the case.

I have agreed to drive a mum and toddler to the well-child clinic at noon, and I must set up a microphone on my computer so I can record German lyrics for the choir. The owner of the microphone wants to talk me through it on Zoom, so I have to be awake and aware when both of us are available, which means just about now.

Sigh.

To avert mishap, today I shall move carefully, hang onto all handrails, and avoid making binding decisions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 24 - 11:35 PM

Two zip up hoodies, two fleece jackets, and my jeans jacket are going through the dryer now, along with a few small pieces of climbing gear (a couple of hats and two pair of gaiters that were on top of the games on that upper shelf - gaiters go around the top of your boots and the bottom of your pants to keep snow out.) I'll work my way through the rest of the closet either washing or dry cleaning as the week progresses.

I've cleaned the game boxes and half of those will go to the library, the rest will go back on the shelf (that has also been washed off).

Kitchen clearing out. I took my recycling stuff over to the bins behind city all and there was still room, lucky me! This is the bin that sits in the laundry room and overflows into the laundry basket if I don't go often enough. Then cleaning extended to the kitchen scrap waste bin (again) - it doesn't take much time at all for some kind of small fly to lay eggs in the scraps and they hatch quickly. This evening when I lifted the lid to tip my tea strainer into it there were tiny light colored maggots crawling up the sides. I turned off the motion-detector light at the side door before stepping out in my nightshirt to empty the bin in the outdoor covered bucket. The little bin and its cover are now soaking in the kitchen sink with bleach (one of the uses I do find acceptable). If I were Mr. Trump I would inflate the number of maggots in view, but since I'm not, I'll just say I'm glad I caught them when I did. It could have been worse.

The main thing this evening is that I called the recently-widowed friend out west and a two-hour call covered a lot of bases. She's thinking about setting up Facebook because so many people use it now instead of email - I told her I'd help her so she can shut down a lot of the nonsense that is default in the program. Being able to do video calls via Messenger is good - and can be done without a FB account, but it's fussy to set up. Better to have a well-regulated FB account so she can keep up with her quilting group and the local volunteer fire department and her generous neighbors who supported her for the last year. (She described their help - I love them without even meeting them.) When your beloved spouse was dying over the course of a year you're ready to move on - I asked questions, tried not to give many opinions - she is moving forward at the pace that works for her. I may drive out this fall for a short visit. We've been friends since 1989, so have a lot of history to reflect on.

Is it really only Monday? I've done so much already this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 24 - 01:59 PM

Dorothy, you waited so long to get a diagnosis after being ignored, it has to be frustrating now trying to not be ignored any more.

On Saturday I emailed a book review to a friend in west Texas and heard back that her husband had passed away a few weeks ago from a rare cancer that is typically diagnosed very late. She is a retired nurse so did his hospice care at home. "Sadly this has been the worst year of my life," she wrote. They didn't have children (and her cat died earlier this year also. Sigh.)

They were vegetarian, and probably ate a lot of grains and wheat. I'm reading about diabetes and dementia in relation to wheat, but it seems the insulin response to wheat may also help cancers grow (instead of the early cells being killed off by the immune system.) So many theories, finding proof is the challenge regarding the Western Diet. As the saying goes, no one gets out of this alive, but how we go . . .

Today I'm digging the daffodil bulbs out of one bed in the yard to create a clearing for my political signs. I have to get free compost at the bunker the city parks maintain near me. I'll put mulch over this area and use the spot for seasonal annual flowers. That way if the Bermuda grass overruns it I can dig out the grass, put down more mulch, and not worry about anything else that spends the entire year in the bed.

I have a box of file folders sitting out collecting dust, waiting for donation, and I need to decide where to offer them. Before that I'll check out some of the shelved boxes in the office closet, I probably have more stuff to go.

There are a couple of completed jigsaw puzzles to drop off at the library, and some games in the hall closet. NOTE: I just checked on those games and found the top shelf and boxes covered with rat or squirrel droppings. Ugg. Looks like a long-stay hotel and I can't see how they got in there. I'll wipe down the shelf and all of the boxes with a liquid cleaner (I'm not that much into bleach). Most of my coats and jackets are hanging below that shelf - I guess I'll have to wash a lot of those on general principles.

Ugg.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Aug 24 - 12:13 PM

Dupont:

Stilly keeps mentioning all the stuff I do but does not realize the 10 to 12 hours a day that I am in bed on most days, or sitting in my comfie chair with computer on lap or, better days, a book. I do manage to cook something some days or just put a frozen something in toaster oven. Yesterday it was a big tray of cabbage rolls from M&M in oven as it was cooler weather, so R could have something different - he did not come home last night!

The trip to Toronto was worth every bit of the trouble: biggest being that I did not realize my next med appointment was contingent on having started the new meds at the "right time"! I just spent an hour trying to get through to someone at the cancer clinic. But - have faith! word did get through and a wonderfully cheerful nurse did phone me and will phone back with required info! I did not start the meds as soon as they arrived - unaware of the contingency- because I did not want any new side effects to get in the way of the trip. I told the nurse it was mental health med!   

Getting to meet Jay Linden, a cancer survivor, and creator of wonderful songs. I met him on MySpace 15 years ago when I loved "Looking for Something Better to Believe". And to see he and Colin (his brother, who I have known about 40 years, but not seen in many) interact on stage was worth the two days getting there and the 6 hour drive through the horrendous RAIN storm getting back. And a night in a Comfort Inn which was quite comfy. I was only out of bed 8 hours Friday! On the way, we had a night at Beaver - I spent the night and the next morning in bed. Then drove to Toronto for 7 pm - horrendous traffic for 3 hours! And yet, it was something I really needed to do and I would have been seriously bereft, even depressed, had I not succeeded.

Now, I must pay heed to the schedule! This med could cause remission. As for being at death's door: I certainly felt that was the case when this first hit me. I also just wanted it to be over without any suffering. But my cheering squad helps a lot.

AND I am hoping to have good hearing aides in a couple weeks!

And I have no ice thingy on my frig and no javex/chlorine anywhere - highly sensitive to it- and the furnace is working and the portable a/c is working and the weather is cooler for a bit, the basement had water but the books are OK, I can weed for ten minutes....

AND the oncology nurse phoned and we cleared up when to take the pill and she asked me all sorts of questions and gave me her phone number and extension so I can phone if the new med gives me any trouble ... and the next appointment is 9 September for blood work and chat with the Dr.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Aug 24 - 08:07 PM

I’ve been taking the new medication for about six weeks now, and I thought I was getting used to it. My speaking voice is weaker than before, and a bit hoarse, but I can sing so I almost don’t care. I usually take it after breakfast, but today took it on an empty stomach. I won’t do that again.

The medication combines three drugs: a steroid and two broncho-dilators. It is entirely possible that it caused a precipitous drop in blood pressure. I have Questions for my next visit to the asthma doc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 24 - 04:30 PM

Damn, there are so many ways that fall must hurt! I looked back - you mentioned a new medication in June. You're starting it now after the other was used up? Is it a blood pressure drop that caused that, or the medication hitting your system another way? Or both? Good luck sorting that out quickly.

Still adjusting foodstuffs as I lower my carb intake. I use dairy for protein and calcium, but this afternoon I'm cleaning the fridge of a couple of old pieces of cheese so far gone that they'll join the plastic in the trash tomorrow. At the moment I'm baking another bread pudding (using a gluten free English muffin for the bread) with Monkfruit drops for sweetness (plus cut up dates.) And later I'll make a freestyle quiche to use up some of the rotisserie chicken - along with some blanched broccoli and whatever else looks good. No crust. Fry a few onions, maybe defrost some mushrooms. Both of these are half-size of my usual recipes.

It is a quiet week ahead as far as external demands, so maybe I'll check a few more things off of my August task list.

Good lord. The Olympics closing ceremony has a Steinway hanging from the ceiling and the pianist somehow strapped to the lower end and playing. What could possibly go wrong?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Aug 24 - 03:27 PM

Another issue with my new asthma medication.

I took this morning’s dose before breakfast, which I don’t normally do. I have to inhale it forcefully and hold my breath for 10 seconds, a technique that usually makes me a little dizzy. This morning was different; I blacked out for a nano-second and fell to my knees in the kitchen, striking the counter with my chin on the way down. Now there’s a big purple bruise on my chin, and I’m wondering whether this drug is as much a problem as it is a solution.

It’s washday here, too. I must now evict Watson from the bed so I can change the sheets.

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

Patty, that sounds like a vacation, not a resettling trip to empty the storage locker. Did you leave the trailer at the self-storage site until you swing back through for the trip back to NM?

I have a couple of necklace cords for my lapis piece - it loops around itself through the hole in the stone donut then has two sliding knots for adjusting length. I'm going to put a stitch in the satin cord knots because they are so slick they can slide out easily but the leather cord knots look stable as they are. Now onto working on my other art pieces with political content.

Laundry day today, dictated by the low stack of undies in the dresser drawer. Trash day tomorrow, so I'll go through the house and see what is sitting around that needs to go; if the plastic isn't 1 or 2 I toss it now because the local company doesn't recycle it. The bagged recycling is in the garage and I'll take it over to the city bins mid-week; most of my neighbors seem to deposit there on the weekend, stuffing them completely full, so I go down after the company empties the bins on Thursday. (I often go down to those bins looking for boxes if I need something a certain size for shipping, in which case it's better to go when they're not completely full or it's too difficult to pull the boxes out without a cascade of cans and bottles in the process.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 11 Aug 24 - 08:34 AM

Skirted all the storms, gratefully. Georgia is hot but not as miserable as LA and AL. The crape myrtles here are in their glory. I have seen so many beautiful slender ones in Virginia and Mississippi. I wonder if the soil is perfect for them here, or do they overdose them with fertilizer here, they are big, some as big as oak trees.

The mineral event was good, happily came away with only an ounce of new sand samples, but 3 New Mexico geology bulletins from their book sale.

On to the Carolinas and Virginia.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Aug 24 - 02:33 PM

There is a particularly stubborn gang of paper wasps hanging around the outside of the house this summer. After days of spraying spots where they tried building a new intended paper nest (spray was soapy water) they finally seem to have dispersed. But for the second time in recent days a large robust wasp ended up in the master bathroom. Last night one appeared and ended up bouncing on the window where I finally trapped it behind the flyswatter (moved to the bedroom after the first wasp appearance) and squashed it. I am wondering if there are wasps in the attic and getting in through the growing crack at the intersection of wall and ceiling (because of the foundation shift.) Not something I want to go up into the attic to check (plus it is an oven up there right now.)

An email question yesterday from an eBay shopper asked about the wood in an antique spoon rack I've listed; I surmise it is a softwood like pine, not hardwood like oak, but have no way to prove it. When I look at that listing today there is a red line at the top of the page highlighting the message that this item is in someone else's cart. Odd that it would be in the cart still a day later when there was no answer and no sale. I await events. It would be nice to get that large box out of here soon.

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

Rose of Sharon, also called Althea, thrives down here in Texas as well. That's one hardy plant! Azaleas in Texas are a wimpy attempt to have the spring color but they don't do well here and there are only a couple of muted colors. In Washington state, on the other hand, they are huge colorful monsters, where we had rhodys the size of houses and azaleas the size of VW bugs. Same as in North Carolina, another place with rich well-drained acid soil. Lilacs don't make it here in Texas at all, neither does andromeda, another of my favorites. Huge ferns from the Pacific NW would only grow in botanical gardens under the right conditions. (All of these plants I've wondered if I could try to grow, then dismissed the idea.) Roses are ok here, as are magnolia trees (though it isn't that popular). Crape myrtle is a star of Texas yard color, as long as they aren't planted too deep (they have lovely broad trunk flares that should be in view, otherwise the plants kind of suffocate.)

I see a steady stream of that china selling on eBay. You could putter along selling pieces individually or in groups depending on the size of boxes and packing you have.

There is a stack of three concrete slabs (pieces of the old front walk) in the front yard that I was thinking of topping with an old wheelbarrow barrow on to fill with soil and flowers, but I've figured out a better use. This fall I need to start digging out the side of the berm and pull the old tires out, and I'll put the concrete in there. I'll need some help to move/roll/drag the pieces because they're very heavy, but they'll be out of the way and the tires need to go away; I think they're breaking down and killing the trees nearby.

That planter-destined wheelbarrow (a rusted antique) has been sitting beside the garage since I put in the new chunk of fence a couple of years ago. For now it's going to join some other rusty yard art so I can mow the corner where it is currently resting. The grass is too tall around it and kind of blocks the swing of the gate right there.

Deciding on yard work now is one thing; it's too hot out to do much of it. I'll move the wheelbarrow this evening and mow, but the rest will wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Aug 24 - 11:40 AM

A seedling rose-of-Sharon has appeared in one of the few sunny spots in my back yard. I didn’t plant it and I have no idea how it got there. It’s barely above ankle height so it won’t bloom for a year or two yet, but I’m ridiculously pleased. Rose-of-Sharon is a local name for Hibiscus syriacus, a shrubby tree with huge showy blossoms that come out in high summer and last well into September.

Among the things I love about Stratford is the abundance of flowering shrubs and trees. Yes, they make me sneeze. No, I don’t care. Ottawa, by contrast, has lilacs and wild roses, but also a preponderance of spruces, pines and firs, and miles and miles of bleak, spindly birch. Here, we have chestnuts! Magnolias! Holly!

You subtropical folks with your crepe myrtle and azaleas the size of a state coach must think I’m easily pleased. Okay, I’ll take the hit.

À propos de Replacements.com, Stilly, they do not want my Wedgwood “Strawberry Hill” tea and dinner sets. The pattern is old-fashioned (a feature, not a bug, in my book), and not one of the maker’s most popular — I had never seen it before my mother-in-law gave me the tea service as an engagement present. Fortunately, the entire accumulation fits neatly into a little old china cabinet that lives in the basement, and it’s not taking up space needed for something more important. I’m sure the pendulum of fashion will eventually swing away from today’s minimalism, and fancy table settings will be wanted again..

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Aug 24 - 06:59 PM

The increasing and constant heat is translating into the house foundation shifting. It shows up via cracks inside on a few walls in particular. I'll be watering around the outside of the house to try to reduce the amount of cracking. It happens every year. A few minutes ago I swapped a new soaker hose for one I hit with the mower last week, and have it running now. My water bill is going up up up. The air quality has been bad for weeks, uncommon for here (we get them intermittently as a rule, not for weeks at a time.)

Trash went out today before I tackled the dog hair, but I made headway this afternoon in the den and halls. Also hoovered up a few dead crickets. In years past the crickets were what could drive you nuts at night; the house is dead quiet but there is a cricket chirping somewhere, maybe between your shoes or in a crack on the fireplace. You could rarely ever find them because if you moved they stopped. The last couple of years the chirping I've heard is male green anoles puffing their bright orange throat sacks looking for a mate. There was one in the house for quite a while, though they're usually outside of the windows on the screens (catching bugs attracted by light at night). I haven't even heard that so far, though I've seen anoles around. Not as many spiny lizards so far, and though there is one big fat toad who lives near the back porch, only a few babies. I am sure it's because I haven't had as much of a garden in during the last two years. They benefit from all of the activity out there. I should go look at the Maximillian sunflower jungle on the side of the driveway - I let them grow large and dense in an area about 10 square feet and I've seen birds in them. That may be where everyone else is hanging out. If the lizards would just eat the wasps that are doggedly trying to rebuild a nest on the front porch. I've chased them away from several new starts after the bigger one fell last week.

Back to eBay listings, now that the defensive driving course is complete.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Aug 24 - 12:32 PM

You live in the Southwest long enough and you become expert at fixing peppers! I've been grilling Hatch chiles for years, though you can buy them grilled in smaller containers than full cases. This way I know they were all fresh when they were grilled, and they were frozen right away. The peppers I bought were medium hot, plenty of heat for me!

I was looking at the weather radar to the east of me, to see where Debbie is wandering, and noticed the New Orleans area got some thunderstorms yesterday. I hope Patty stayed dry!

Charmion, there are some things that brick and mortar stores are the best for, and I've bought from Replacements.com several times with good luck. I also have a few things I should offer them. (They would probably give you a wholesale price on the china you talked about selling.)

I worked on that Defensive Driving course yesterday morning and in the evening finally finished it. What a slog, but the certificate has been uploaded to the insurance company and I await an updated bill that should be about $100 less than if I hadn't taken the course. It applies for three years.

Joann's (fabric and craft store) had the right size of leather lace I wanted for making a necklace for the lapis "donut" I bought for my "spot of blue in a red state" necklace. At lunch yesterday my daughter was examining it and I explained about the mineral in general. Last night I started researching the grading of lapis and went down the rabbit hole of color and mineral content (Lapis lazuli is actually often three things - the blue lazurite, iron pyrite, and calcite). The darkest richest blue is most valuable, but with specks of pyrite it is really lovely and that's what my piece has. Streaks of calcite tend to mute the color; a little is okay but it diminishes the value if there is too much inclusion of either of them. The reason why I point this out is that I was thinking about buying 12 to 15mm beads to make a few necklaces, but to be sure to get the beautiful blue it comes in strings that cost upwards of $800. Change of plans!

I've always loved this stone, since my aunt explained to us the history of a gorgeous rather long narrow scarab ring she wore. It was silver set with three lapis Egyptian real antique scarabs, a gift from an archeologist friend in the 1940s. When she had it cleaned and reset the jeweler showed her the hieroglyphs underneath and the string holes running through them. A series of three scarabs would be pressed into soft clay as someone's official "seal" back in the day. There is simply nothing like it out there now; they were small scarabs in a row and she had long hands with thin fingers and it was the most elegant thing that she wore all of the time.

Haircut and shopping today, with a main stop is the Halal market. They had bulk psyllium fiber last time I was there, an ingredient used in some gluten-free recipes to bind the dough or batter together. It features in a non-wheat tortilla recipe I want to try because you want a flexible flat bread.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Aug 24 - 03:45 PM

In Ontario, an air-conditioning failure is not a show-stopper. However hot it is this week, the weather will turn before next week is out, and even steamy days are tolerable if the temperature drops below 20°C at night.

This furnace crisis was caused by a defective switch that had cut off the electricity to the fan and the condensate pump. That’ll teach me to situate the appreciation — I had myself braced for a fatal diagnosis, and it turned out to be a bad case of “machine not switched on”.

Oh, well. Six months from now, It will be something elde.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 06 Aug 24 - 12:59 PM

The Hatch chilis sound great, but I will continue to enjoy them prepared by the hands of experts! Always fun to drive through Hatch in fall, with seemingly every shop displaying big fat ristras of red chilis.

And the A/C dramas, yikes, it would be unliveable here without it, oppressively muggy, even by Louisiana-in-August standards. When I get back to NM, I will investigate the dripping that was coming off of one mini-split, won't run it again til I figure out what the problem is. Hopefully a clogged drain.

In New Orelans, where I had the great pleasure of joining in the singing at a meetup of the N.O. Quarter Shanty Krewe last night. What a great bunch of singers, and always newer and younger people entering the fold, even as the founder's hearty voice grows softer over time.

It was pretty touching to hear a young woman,heavily tattooed, lead us in "Wild Mountain Thyme". Gives one hope that the folky torches are getting passed on, one way or another.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Aug 24 - 11:17 AM

The furnace dates from -- I think -- 2014. That made it new-ish when we bought the house in 2017. But they don't make furnaces (or, indeed, anything else) like they used to; a service life of as little as 10 years is not unheard of.

This one has an apparent design flaw that affects the drainage of condensate: a low-lying interior duct that easily gets blocked. Last year's summer crisis (over Canada Day) required replacement of the condensate pump, and the unfortunate duct acted up just before Christmas.

All weekend I kept the house reasonably comfortable the old-fashioned way: windows open at night, windows shut during the day with the curtains drawn, fans blowing. In fact, this house was not built with air-conditioning -- it was a late-'80s retrofit -- so conditions improved quickly as soon as I established cross-ventilation. Thank God for fly screens; the mosquitoes are just about at peak.

The EBay dispute has been resolved in my favour with a complete refund, but it will be a frosty Friday in July before I take a chance like that again. If I ever again want to buy that much fine crystal all at once, I'll suck it up and get it from Replacements or -- gasp! -- from an actual brick-and-mortar shop.