DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 24 - 10:01 PM

However it happened, today it fits, and that's what counts! Nice to be in furnace weather, we have the air conditioner running this evening.

The odometer tells me that today's round-trip was of 521 miles to pick up a friend who will spend a couple of weeks in the area; a few days with me then the rest with family. When the average speed is between 75 and 85, the trip goes pretty quickly. And I got several hours of a new audiobook in. The big thing is that I finally figured out to work the phone and the bluetooth through the car. It used to startle me when it rang - well, it still does - but I know how to decline spam calls now so it's not nerve-racking. The dogs were ok with my absence since I left after I fed them breakfast and dinner happened right when I got home.

The SUV battery replacement a couple of weeks ago has thrown the fuel estimate gauge for a loop. It keeps adding to existing miles instead of resetting to the standard miles to be expected when I fill the tank. I'll query the blogosphere about resetting myself before I take my problem to the Nissan dealer. I'm avoiding them these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Oct 24 - 08:59 PM

Better to say I can wear that jacket *again*. For many years I was way too fat.

In other news, it’s finally cold enough in Perth County to start the furnace, though we have yet to see our first frost.

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

Charmion, I saw your jacket in a FB photo - props for being able to still wear it all of these years later!

Getting ready to drive to pick up a friend so tonight I'll go and and link the phone to the SUV via bluetooth to listen to my audiobook for part of the drive. We'll see if I can stand the phone nonsense that comes with that connection. With spam calls as a distraction I have in the past disconnected the whole setup.

To maintain a keto-centric diet I'm going to take along a cooler with a couple of prepared things that can be eaten cold (tuna salad without bread part of a sandwich - use a spoon) or is shelf-stable (jerky). Non-wheat crackers and cheese. It's only a few hours, but I don't want to fool with trying to figure out where to pull over to eat lunch before I get there and I'm pretty sure that the woman who lives with a son who is the owner of a bakery isn't going to have keto in her fridge. I have a jar of tea that will go in a cooler of ice for - voilà! - iced tea (and two cups with lids and straws, so my friend can have tea on the drive back.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 12:05 PM

Congratulations, Charmion. My University of Ottawa jacket still fits, but Deb bought it for me in my 40s so no real achievement there on my part.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 11:17 AM

I have always kept track of my calcium through My Fitness Pal (since about 2016) - and use supplements to bring my daily intake to 100%. Now is not the time to be light on calcium! I aim at 1200mg per day (and am doing bone density stuff as a member of the osteopenia club.)

Guest arrives tomorrow, so I have to finish picking up and dusting around here. The flu shot arm ache disappeared after a day and there were no side effects other than that first sleepless night. One family member doesn't have a spleen (which filters out a lot of stuff that could otherwise make you sick) and a 90-year-old house guest, plus generally an older pool of friends makes it all the more important for me to get it every year.

Busy day today, including baking some regular bread to have here for my guest (and give some to neighbors across the street). For now that is a skill set that mostly goes unused.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 10:26 AM

While rummaging in the box room today, I came up with my undergraduate jacket. Designed and made 45 years ago for a teenage boy with hips like a trout, it's a bit stiff now and makes creaky noises when I move around, but by George it fits! Well, better to say that it fits as well as it did in 1979: I can zip it up and close all the snap fasteners. The sleeves are a tad long and there's room inside it for a heavy sweater -- but, in this climate, that's a feature, not a bug.

I'm told that Queen's University makes these in women's sizes now. In my day (class of 1983), it was somewhat transgressive for women to wear them. So of course I acquired one and wore it, and might as well wear it again!

The ketogenic diet has had me running low on calcium for six months, so it's time to adjust to a less restrictive low-carbohydrate regimen that allows me to eat yogurt more often, and drink milk at all. I felt positively gleeful yeterday as I nipped out for a two-litre carton of what we in Ontario call "homo" -- i.e., homogenized milk with 3.5% butterfat. A mug of cocoa has never been such a luxury.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 24 - 10:59 AM

There is the classic kitchen "junk drawer" that holds everything from screwdrivers, measuring tapes and extra lanyards to the box cutter and a cup of all of the old dog rabies and name tags, and then there is the "small kitchen tools" drawer. Skewers, knife sharpener, cheese slicer, a few spatulas, and I keep a few clothes pins to serve as bag clips and extra jar lids. Except today I realized that the clothespins and the jar lids were having family reunions in that drawer.

The spare rings for canning jars and a few used lids are there to top jars that are going in the fridge or freezer, and there are some solid plastic and metal jar lids also (the classic "spaghetti sauce lid" type). But the canning rings had gotten out of control along with enough clothespins to hang an entire row on the outside clothesline. I've reallocated most of them back to their original canning and clothes management positions and the drawer opens without having to rearrange the contents.

In the "no good deed goes unpunished" online chat this morning, my young friend who is selling on eBay encountered her first setback - a return request. The item sold looked in good shape but in fact she didn't test it so didn't know it didn't work. She can do a refund and learn from this (I'll send her a file of the boilerplate conditions I put in all of my eBay sales.) We were going to have that conversation soon, I just didn't realize it would be this soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:28 PM

Happy Birthday, Keberoxu! Only 67? You're a young'un around here. :)

Roma and a few other tomatoes are blanched, peeled, and in a bowl so I can chop them up tomorrow then make a batch of marinara sauce. The kitchen is looking better but there is more to move as I prepare for company late this week. I have a pound of ground lamb thawing in the fridge for tomorrow (not for the sauce), and finished up the rotisserie chicken at breakfast today before putting the bones into a pan with water and making a small batch of broth.

Though I thought I was making an improvement as far as plastic consumption in the world, it seems that the laundry sheets I've been using have their own form of dissolving plastic that are harmful as they go through the water system. Same with the dishwasher pods covers. Polyvinyl alcohol is the thing that holds the detergent sheets together and is the exterior of the pods. Once the current supply is finished I'll go back to buying cardboard boxes of regular detergent for both machines. I'll use the bin the current dishwasher pods are in to store powder and put in a scoop (easier than pouring powder out of the heavy box), and find a similar way to manage the laundry detergent. What's old is new again. I have a recipe for making a dry laundry detergent with washing soda so can consider making some of that. Trouble is it uses a grated bar of Fels Naptha and that is made with coconut oil (I'm allergic to coconut.) I'll look around for other comparable soaps to use.

I didn't sleep well last night, it might have been a result of the flu shot I got earlier in the day. Hoping for a more typical night tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 04:40 PM

The covered dish with the un-knobbed lid can be repaired, and I will know better than to put it in the dish-washer; I'm not sure Nephew 1's wife will. The set has two, and with cats in the house, I can use a nice-looking covered dish. As for the worn and stained coffee cup -- dunno. It's not the only such item in the china cabinet, but I admit the walking wounded items total fewer than five.

There's a business in Toronto that mends broken porcelain and bone china. A few years ago, they fixed a teapot lid for me; I just mailed the lid and its detached knob to them, and a few weeks later it came back looking as if nothing had ever happened to it. That job was too fiddly for me to do myself -- very small parts -- and this one involves traces of old glue that must be removed before anything new is applied, and I have no idea how to do that. Besides, they will do a good job and I wouldn't.

I have an ancient willow-pattern platter that dates from probably the 1880s. It's huge, so large that it was probably used only a few times a year its entire life (e.g., Christmas turkey), and it would seem that none of its previous owners was in the habit of warming it in the oven, so the glaze is still in surprisingly good condition. Edmund loved it; all his most dearly held notions of hospitality could be expressed with it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 11:54 AM

Charmion, it seems that unless you yourself are going to throw away the less than perfect Wedgwood, then your nephew should be given that opportunity. They may have alternative uses for the incompletely-covered dish in the background around the rest of the collection (sitting on the counter holding pencils, pad of paper, scissors, glasses cases with spare readers, etc.) I sold the lion's share of my great grandmother's semi-vitreous Mercer Waldorf antique china because as semi-vitreous it was badly crazed and would let food stains through the tiny cracks. Not a good material for food, it's the same as subway tile, and I didn't want to soak them in bleach after every use. But there was one platter that remarkably had no crazing at all. So I kept that and it is displayed much as this one is. It's enough for me to tell my kids or other family members the story of working through the huge house that was my great aunt's when she left the contents to me and two of my father's first cousins. What a lot of work that was (and it turns out that antiques these days aren't the goldmine that we thought they would be 40 years ago.)

Patty, our conversation reminds me that there are termites in the pine stump in the front yard and I should check around to see if any of the roots reached the house. There is a water spigot in the front wall straight back that could be attractive to termites if they follow the root. Ugg. If I dig a small trench a few feet out in front of that part of the house I should be able to see if there are roots there.

I'm about 20% of the way through Chip Colwell's So Much Stuff and I can see the outcome is going to be stuff-gluttony for the human race. Here is a small section in the early part of the book bridging his description of human ancestors learning to make stone tools and Ötzi the iceman, who died more than 5,000 years ago with a cargo of stuff in his backpack:

With him, Ötzi carried a longbow and 14 arrows in a quiver, two birchbark containers (with one carrying fire), tinder fungus, a scraper, a boring tool, a bone awl, a retouching tool to make stone flakes, a stone flake, a stone dagger with an ash-wood handle and sheath made of leather, and a copper ax. He carried all this—and likely more that was lost to time—in a backpack made with an upside-down U-shaped frame with slats and netting. All told, Ötzi carried 400 things, made from stones, minerals, 21 plant species, and the remains of a variety of wild and domesticated animals. "It's a lot of things," Aldegani said. He estimates that all of it would have weighed more than half of Ötzi's own weight.

Because so much organic material typically degrades at an archaeological site, Ötzi offers a stunning view into the material world more than 5,000 years ago. He shows how far our ancestors had traveled from those first few stone tools Lucy's species had invented millions of years ago. Everything Ötzi possessed are things recognizable to us today—things not very different from what you likely are wearing right now (underwear, shoes) or have at home (matches, knives).

At some point between the rough stone tools Lucy's kind used and the iceman's overflowing backpack came the foundation for every thing in our modern world. [63-64]

Ötzi was about 5'2" and weighed 110. Keep sorting and selling. The more used things people adopt, the fewer new things manufactured (in theory.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:47 AM

Thanks so much for the info! From the tube/tunnels I've seen around here, even way out on the road, and the sawdust coatings, it looks like they are Subterranean. Good idea, I can at least drag the logs out to the fenceline for now. (neighboring land is vacant scrub).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 08:50 AM

I spent a good part of yesterday marshalling all the Wedgwood china promised to Nephew 1 on the basement work table. A couple of pieces are too beat-up to pass on, such as a coffee cup with an immovable brown stain and a covered dish that shed its lid knob (fortunately the knob itself is not lost). But Lord, what a lot of crockery! Unless Nephew 1’s car is far larger than I think it is, I think I’ll end up hauling at least half of it to Ottawa myself.

With the Wedgwood bound elsewhere, my crockery accumulation is sufficiently reduced that I can stop fretting about it. Everything that remains has a place to be that isn’t a cardboard box on a basement shelf, and I understand why I’m keeping it. My granny's ancient teacups aren’t what I’d call exactly “useful”, but they evoke such powerful memories that I can’t let them go. Yet. Ask me again in 20 years.

Summer may be waning, but in Perth County it’s still verging on hot at mid-day and not what I’d call properly cool at night. Rain is expected today, the first in a week, in a season that’s supposed to be bone-achingly damp. The trees are only just beginning to turn colour. I’m not eager for winter, but I wish autumn would get a wiggle on.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 10:03 PM

You don't need to poison the property. You do need to know what kind of termites they are (they often follow water lines into houses). And get those logs out of the garden! If nothing else, move them to the opposite side of the yard where there is no building nearby and let the ants clobber them over there. About DE.

There is a company called Soil Mender that used to put out a can with DE that comes with a slim straw - the thing about DE is that it should go out in a really fine layer and the puffer (the bottle with the straw) is perfect. The straw goes in the top of the bottle and you puff it around on the ground. I'm not sure if they're out of production now, but DE never goes bad. This place sells them. All you need is one of these cans and then refill it with food grade DE as needed. I see lots of varieties of DE for sale on Amazon, most of them will be way over priced. It's a lightweight material so you don't need to buy 10 pounds of it. I'll look at my local nursery and read a few labels - if nothing else, I can mail you a box with some. Housewarming gift?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 09:40 PM

Wonderful that you could be that true 'friend in need', SRS. Hope the worst of her hassles are behind her now!

I thought I was making progress, cut and bagged 4 large hefty bags of weeds (can't compost the goatheads, they have to be gotten off site). Neighbor finished carpentering in the new back door. We walked out past the ant highway, where I showed him the large yet very low hill. And lo and behold, their commute to work leads to the stupid gnarly logs the prior owners stuck in the front door cactus garden, where apparently termites are pasting on their weird sawdust crusts.

Meanwhile, I had already tried 4 stores for diatomaceous earth, no luck. Will try the feed store tomorrow. But, maybe not, neighbor says the black ants eat the termites, so they are not the real enemy.?

Regrettably, when property transfers in NM, water and sewer have to be rigorously tested but termites do not. On the upside it's not a woodframe house, so I'm probably not in danger of property loss, but, do I need to let the ants keep knockng down the termites til I track down a local termite guy or some do-it-yourself poison?

And the computer died today. The stupid cheapo new internal batteries that swell up and bow your trackpad area. Can be replaced by tearing off the whole back, but I'm so disgusted with the machine I'd rather retire it.   

I did backup everything yesterday, except I forgot the bookmarks list. I know that can and should have been synced, it just always struck me as creepy to do that.

2 steps forward, 2 steps back!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 08:44 PM

I tackled the front part of my driveway with the string trimmer, mowing down the grass growing through the cracks. I swept trimmings that I hit so far, and I'll finish this job tomorrow (it's a long driveway). My nextdoor neighbor came over while I was working to ask about the neighbors across the street; his sister moved in a few doors up at the same time I did and we've all been friends with that across-the-street family. The brother moved in about 4 years ago. He knew she'd want to know how that couple was doing so came to ask before walking up to visit with her. On this level, you wouldn't be able to tell who are the Democrats or Republicans. It's what I want to preserve here, the kind caring for neighbors.

Got my flu shot today; it has a blooming kind of zing a minute or two after injection, but is just the normal kind of achy arm now, several hours later. I did this so any side effects will be finished by the time I need to go pick up my friend.

I want to brag a little; my friend downtown is working her way through almost being evicted (the management has a terrible accounting system in place for residents - she needs her account audited; I think she is a month ahead on her payments.) She is at least caught up. I had recommended getting a credit union savings/checking account because they play nicer than banks (she wasn't able to get accounts at the banks she tried, having been homeless messes up your credit), and she did that. And now she's set up to sell on eBay many of the perfectly good things she finds tossed in the trash rooms at her apartment - this is bin diving in a pretty good setting. On her Facebook account she has a page of photos of some of these finds - it is astonishing what people throw away. Anyway, this week we'll be talking about the finer aspects of eBay as an 800-pound gorilla, and getting her labels, envelopes and packing materials so they're on hand when needed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 07:54 AM

yesterday I took 3 books to one of "my" charity shops, the books are about local history/archival pics & the bloke accepting them said I always bring such interesting stuff! I'll go back.

We have 4 Op (opportunity) shops in our suburb & I have 2 other bigger shops in nearby suburbs + the Craft op shop, so am able to fins homes for lotsa' stuff - all I need to do is start!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 07:18 PM

Wonderful news from both of you - that's major recovered square footage on both. Is the china already packed or is that going to be your fall project? My report is puny in comparison; I took a few shirts, some small ceramics and a couple of working vintage electrical devices to Goodwill after dropping off my recycling at the village bins. This was some of mine and the last of the stuff that was in the garage from my friend's declutter this summer.

This afternoon I spooled string onto all of the extra empty reels for my electric trimmer and spent time in the front trimming tall seed heads and edging in preparation for mowing tomorrow. I won't mow the whole thing, just a few spots, the groundcover is coming along nicely in about 70% of the area directly in front of the house. The sides still need mowing so needed edging close to the house that the mower won't reach. I scalped grass and weeds on the paver and gravel porch patio and tossed one old crumbling pot (the soil distributed in a separate flower bed first). I stopped when my arms were getting tired; there's plenty to do every day this week for an hour at a time.

I'll be making a round trip drive later this week to pick up a friend to bring back to town for a couple of weeks. I haven't been to her town in ages so am looking forward to seeing how it looks now. It was a sleepy little town with a historic fort and lots of bed and breakfast Victorian houses last time I was there. Staring tomorrow I'll clean house and make the bed in the guest room. I'll make a batch of my dinner rolls to have here for her and visitors, though I am still trying to stay off of wheat altogether. My diet won't seem so odd to them if they can get one of their favorite foodstuffs here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 06:25 PM

Congratulations, Keb. Off-loading major furniture is important. Kudos!

I have a potential major declutter to report: my Ottawa-based nephew and his wife have decided that they would like my Wedgwood china — all eight place settings, plus demitasses, two teapots (large and small), and the full range of serving dishes. Back in the day, it was highly prized and worth thousands; now it’s not safe in the microwave. It sure looks nice on the table, though — and their kids are old enough not to smash it. We will probably effect the handover at Christmas.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 11:37 AM

Just sold my extra bed to a nice lady
whose father was moving to a retirement community
and she thought it was a good occasion to get him a better bed.
That's a major declutter in one of my two bedrooms,
and a big move toward downsizing for my next home.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 24 - 05:49 PM

An afternoon of shopping, making the rounds and amazingly got everything on my shopping list - that I left behind on the kitchen counter. "Slow carb" vegetables and organic strawberries, good Czech sausage links from the restaurant supply near me and in between those a couple of other stops. Dropped off groceries for my ex who was complaining of a sinus headache today. Anyway, tonight and tomorrow will be for food prep (washing, coring, and freezing seven pounds of strawberries and making a batch of marinara sauce. I bought a case of 8 pounds and one was for my ex. The rest for my freezer.)

With sugar and flour out of my diet the sodium in foods doesn't push my blood pressure up much. I'm not going crazy with salt, but am glad to have sausages back on my plate. I picked up sauerkraut to go with them.

This is the weekend that Autumn dictates a shift in bedding. I didn't sleep well last night and think it had to do with my feet being a bit cold. The thermal blanket will go on today and the antique cotton summer cover is going through the laundry (on delicate - one of these days it will completely turn to shreds, it's so old and thin, but I love it.) It's also a good time to once-over with the vacuum in there on my good Persian carpet and my exercise carpet.

Before heading out today I washed the outside upper half of the window in the front room and put one of my Harris/Walz signs in it for now. Until Oct. 5 I can't put them in the yard, but they will go out exactly on that day, set so neighbors coming and going can see them clearly. I've seen more Harris signs than Trump signs so far around Fort Worth proper (where they can put out signs earlier). I wore my KAM47A shirt out shopping today and got a couple of smiling nods of approval. :)

It looks like an outer band of tropical storm Helene is passing over the US/Canada border around Toronto and give Detroit a good soak. We haven't heard from Maryanne Dunmire in ages, but she's probably getting wet about now. Is any of it going to shift further and hit Charmion or Linn?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 09:33 PM

I have an acquaintance I've been meaning to contact about jewelry repair; she works for a company that manages estate sales and deals with upkeep of old objects. She might also have a clock repair person to recommend. Good idea. And as it happens, I have a clock very much like the one you describe that came from my great aunt's house, a folding green leather alarm clock. It still works, but it hasn't been used in years.

This afternoon I used my DSW Shoe Warehouse $5 birthday coupon to pick up a good gym bag (from the clearance section) - my gym stuff was in a canvas bag from the 2016 election (it has "Hillary" in text on the front.) The canvas bag is in the laundry and my shoes and clothes are packed in the Adidas bag ready to shoved into my favorite locker at the gym. Now to motivate myself to go to the gym; I have an audiobook in the queue ready to listen to while I ride the recumbent bike or walk the treadmill.

I just checked via https://www.lwv.org/elections/vote411 to be sure I'm still registered, not purged from the local voter rolls. I'm good, and should be getting that absentee mail-in ballot any day now. I can hardly wait!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 04:52 PM

Stilly, you could do something radical and take your little German clock to a professional watch and clock technician. Such people still exist, and perfectly normal citizens patronize them. Me, for example.

Among my father's endless accumulation of doohickeys was a little traveller's alarm clock in a leather case that folds to make a stand. It's emerald green, with a "gold-tone" face. He bought it for my mother in 1975, indicated by the manufacturer's guarantee still tucked into the back of the case. It had not run for years, possibly decades. Last month, I took it to the watch and clock guy on York Street near the river -- funky little shop full of ticking. The repair cost $150, and the little green clock now ticks gently on my chest of drawers. It has a truly hair-raising alarm, far more effective than the burbling noise my phone makes, and -- of course -- I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Yes, a battery-powered clock would keep better time. Yes, I could use my phone. But I still think I didn't waste my money getting the little green clock repaired.

A pair of corduroy trousers that I bought from Land's End, through their website, arrived yesterday. Woo-hoo, winter trousers! But no, at size 12, they're miles too big. (Size 12 at Land's End is considerably bigger than size 12 at LL Bean.) But now I have to figure out how to exchange them for the same thing in size 10 -- not an easy thing to accomplish from Canada. The Land's End website awaits: I must plumb its depths to find the elusive Customer Service page. I may take some time ... Don't wait up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 12:59 PM

Today I nailed a picture hook in my dressing room and put up a little German porcelain-face clock that my aunt gave me when I was probably 10 years old. It was on my room wall forever but when I moved out to go to college a younger brother moved into the room and unfortunately didn't know what he was doing and over-wound the clock.

If I bump the pendulum any time I walk past, will that movement eventually untighten the spring enough to let it work again? Or once they're broken, is that it?

The porcelain sink in the kitchen is looking better today after I put a few folded layers of paper towel down and poured on a little chlorine bleach and moved it from one section to the next until I'd completely removed the brownish tea stain that cleanser never seemed to get. At one time cleanser alone did the job, but it seems to be formulated differently? Anyway, progress in the kitchen advances with more clear counter and table space. The fridge is also more clear as I try to avoid overstuffing it (as I change my diet I'm not eating all of the same things so I'm shopping for fewer items now.)

Poking around in other people's rooms comes to mind as I remember that brother mocking some of the things he found in dresser drawers when he moved in (why didn't Mom tell me this was going to happen and I'd have put my things away?) I also remember occasionally going into my Mom's room trying to find something that she said she'd "keep for you so it doesn't get lost" then promptly buried and lost herself. Two lessons here: deal with the things you don't want other people poking through yourself, and be more organized in trying to save things that you really do want to keep for later. Both parts of what I work on now. Back to the glasses on eBay . . .

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

This morning when cutting up some small bell peppers as part of the vegetables to top the dogs' dry food I realized that the brightness in the squash casserole may also come from those colorful bell peppers I used in it. I had a couple of bags picked up at my discount grocer and used them in the dog meals mostly but I do also eat them, and they have a stronger flavor than regular sweet bell peppers. I'll set one of these on the windowsill to age and dry so the seeds might be viable and see if I can grow any next year.

It's a volunteering day ahead so into the shower I go, and back to my bar of olive oil soap as shampoo. Last hair wash I tried some from a bottle that is "sulfite free" but that isn't enough, it still has coconut products in the ingredients and my ears are itchy from it.

It is cooling here finally; overnight I didn't turn on the ceiling fan. It's still warm enough that just a sheet is my only cover, but soon I'll be using the loose-weave thermal blanket with it and then add layers as the season progresses.

I offered some blouses over on my Buy Nothing group that no one claimed so they are in the Goodwill bin where there is enough to make a run, so I'll bag it all to drop off today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 06:59 PM

Last week I found a bra that fit properly but only the one of that style; got a $10 Kohls Cash coupon with the purchase. After fussing with the battery for a few days I finally got to the other Kohls in the area today and they also had exactly one of that style, now even more on sale plus $10 off. At least two of the very worn articles can leave my dresser drawer (I keep one older one for wearing when I'm doing really sweaty yard work and I already have that.)

The friend I catsit for gets frozen cat food in well-insulated parcels and saves the padding and boxes for me because they're perfect for packing glass sales I put on eBay. Picked up four of those boxes today and some of the padding will go into the box I'm currently working on.

The daily highs for the 10-day forecast are high-80s to ~ 91; tolerable. The front is getting a bit tall so I need to spend a morning filling the spools for my string trimmer then go out and hit the patches of grass coming up through the groundcover I've pampered all summer. I also need to find new homes for some of the potted trees and shrubs (I watered them all summer so when given away and planted in the autumn they're more likely to survive.)

I made a dog food run today and am stocked for the next few weeks. Hopefully as I get toward the end of the bags I bought today I'll be back to placing scheduled online orders (with free shipping) and save the trips to the hinterland. Tractor Supply doesn't have city locations, they're in small towns outside of big towns. Getting the food supply back into sync is the goal.

Yellow squash casserole made tonight to last for several days, and to be taken to my neighbors across the street tomorrow. It came out great, with enough tomato and country-style sausage to make it almost a stew. A few dollops of red wine scooped from a jar in the freezer gave it a nice bright flavor. I don't drink wine often any more but I still love it for cooking.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 24 - 11:48 PM

Dorothy, are you still registered to vote in Washington? Please be sure that is taken care of in time! Good news about the trip to Beaver; if you'd taken all of your pills you might have been able to relax more. Something to remember when planning future trips.

I don't get in much more than about 20 minutes in the garden here still, though it is finally cooling, so that should change. We had a nice rain before dawn on Monday, making the soil more workable. It has been too hot to garden here and Dorothy is putting on snow tires this week. One of these days I'll manage to live in a northern area again. I do miss the more pronounced seasons and nicer (less hot) summers.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Sep 24 - 10:47 PM

Dupont:

Managed to go to Beaver for a couple days - Drove there on Thurs and back on Sunday. That is really foolish. I really misjudged the time - could have stayed a few more days but did not take the pills I needed. I had a vigorous social life on Sat and picked up a quantity of our fav muffins and some scones from the Hidden Gold Mine. now frozen. Been resting since Sunday!

Most importantly, I did the "winterizing" and neighbour Larry came by so I could show him the glazing materials so he can use them when he gets to that point in his potting life. I had to take the unfired pots out of the kiln and back into the heated room. I still have hopes of filling that kiln but it is a year now. My energy level just doesn't make it.

But I am still trying- about 20 min of garden work and trips for groceries, would like to go for walks on Isle St. Bernard; the air off the River is wonderful -- and just a few weeks until snow! I cannot risk falling and being useless again.

Toyota dealer sent a text reminding it is time to change tires so I must make an appointment tomorrow to get one before snow time.

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

After sitting overnight the battery had one start left in it and I managed to get over to the Firestone store without calling AAA. They put in the battery I wanted for the price I expected, and that is a good outcome; I didn't find myself stranded somewhere on a cold day (as has usually been the case with an old battery).

Two phone calls from elderly friends required some time and attention. I didn't make it out to my shopping today. I'll try again tomorrow.

Is it only Tuesday? It feels like enough strife for an entire week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Sep 24 - 11:21 PM

Never made it out of the garage this afternoon. There isn't enough juice in the battery to turn the starter. I knew this day was coming (it just usually happens on the first cold day of the year, not the first time the overnight low is 73.)

Point of interest: There are two basic types of batteries - "flooded" (battery acid and caps that come off to fill) and AGM - (closed units with acid in fiberglass) that generally have a longer life. Most warranties are prorated so the older the battery the less you get back if it fails.

I called around for 3 quotes: the Jewell automotive shop near me, the mechanic I just started using that is a few miles away, and Firestone, not far from here. Then I pulled up Consumer Reports to learn what their answers actually added up to.

Jewell would charge me $534.80 for a Motorcraft battery, 36 month full-replacement warranty. (Not on the CR list at all, flooded, new at O'Reilly for $256.99—extra points if you can see what they're doing here).

My local little shop will charge about $150 for a Delco (flooded, CR rank 84) with installation (30 month prorated warranty).

Firestone will charge me $258.37 for a DieHard battery (Advanced Auto Parts took over the brand from Sears) with installation, 36 months, prorated.

I only give these details because of the issues. Motorcraft and Delco are cheap but serviceable batteries. Jewel offers the "full replacement" by doubling the battery cost in case they have to fulfill their "warranty." The local mechanic offered to install a serviceable inexpensive flooded battery for a lower cost. The Firestone quote - hmmm. There are different DieHards, the Platinum AGM (CR Recommended, rated 86), $220 at Advanced or the Gold, on CR (79, flooded), $170. If I tell them I want the Platinum the total cost will go up some, but I'd have a better battery.

In the morning I'll call my shop and ask if they'll buy and install a better battery or if I can buy it and pay them to install it, or else I can ask Firestone to get the better battery. Part of this depends on their suppliers and what is in stock. And whoever gives me the better answer, then I'll call AAA to come jump the battery so I can go to the shop.

You work to be sure you're not being sold a bill of goods, and even after the research it is sometimes still a crapshoot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Sep 24 - 04:14 PM

Cats in her house or owls in her yard. I wonder if the neighbors behind or beside her know about the fieldmouse project? That's the reason I stopped putting out birdseed, rats and mice do find their way in. My dogs are mousers.

Congratulations on the weight loss; keeping it at the level you want is talked about in the Case for Keto - I hope you can find a nutritionist on the same page with you. I'm going to have to have a similar conversation with my doctor; if I want to stay off of the statins I'll keep to the high fat low carb diet and the "slow carbs" he talked about.

Today I made more of my granola and the recipe is always shifting a little. This time I didn't add the one cup of raisins at the end. I have raisins to use up and some dates also, and after that will keep smaller amounts in the house. They can go in other foods that don't have so many carbs already (granola is pretty high even with very little oatmeal and high number of nuts and seeds.) I store half of the granola in an acrylic jar with a silicone gasket on the counter and the extra goes in a Rubbermaid bin in the freezer.

It seems the whole world is for sale on eBay in bits and pieces; as I move to more glass I'm considering how many of the Rubbermaid containers and lids I want to take out of circulation (keeping only new plastic I know is BPA free) and I see in eBay sold items a bunch of the vintage pieces like what I brought from my dad's house. So I may end up with a bit of extra space in the hall pantry closet if I disassession some of that. They're mementos of my Dad but I don't need all of these to remember his funky kitchen. I have a box of Tupperware for sale right now that hasn't gotten a lot of attention; I may need to repack and remove some of the containers and leave the lids and cute little speciality items, that seems to be what really sells.

My right arm has been a little tender since Friday when I got the current Covid shot; no symptoms to speak of. The flu shot can happen in the first week of October to better align with the arrival of flu. It's a cool humid day and I have some shopping to do so will leave before rush hour clogs my route to the town south of here where I hope that Kohl's has the bras that I like (I got the last one at the store nearest to me last week.) The state of my underwear drawer dictates I make this excursion and toss a few of the tattered ones.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Sep 24 - 02:57 PM

Today I weighed myself and found that I am within 2 kg of the number I rather arbitrarily selected back in April. I had planned to start re-integrating dairy foods and a wider range of vegetables somewhere around (our) Thanksgiving, and I might just step that up by a week or so. My doctor offered to refer me to a nutritionist when I saw her last, back in the Spring, so I called her office and asked that she do that now.

Typical of the first week of Autumn, it's been raining off and on all last night and today so far. When sorting out the hall closet to make room for jackets suitable for increasing chill and damp, I found that the suede car coat I wore last winter is now so big that the sleeves cover my hands. It's a very good coat with a two-way zipper, so I must canvass the extended family to find it a new home.

Almost a week after the wasp assault, my feet are again the same size and the right one is only slightly itchy now and then. Again, Benadryl for the win.

In conversation with another locker-room frequent flyer, I learned that she and her neighbour invest significant effort in piling lawn clippings against their back fence to provide habitat for the "sweet little field mice". When I asked her if she had ever saw evidence of mice in her house, she looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Field mice stay outside!" Humph, I thought, but did not say. I hope she has cats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 24 - 05:08 PM

The Bullet Journal idea has worked for me, to keep track of things but also to look back and figure out when stuff happened, is it time again, etc. Started in 2017; I see a list of magazine and newspaper subscriptions in the first volume and that has moved to the Excel file, but a lot of the rest is still going.

Those ant mound sculptures are works of art, and not just in lead any more. The silver ones are spectacular. If you decide to make one let us know! Think about your new homestead this way - if the biome is healthy, if it has been treated well, then there will be critters there. You don't want to find yourself living on a toxic waste dump or where someone went crazy with the 2,4,D and awful Ortho products.

Headfirst into eBay this afternoon, finding a box big enough for some vintage duratuff tumblers. And I've located the combination VHS/DVD player for a friend who is looking for one, but I'll test it before I take it over.

My elderly across-the-street neighbors are a hospital tag team this month; he just got home after two weeks (at 90 they removed his appendix and gall bladder?) and now she's admitted because of bad edema. I'm going to start some cooking to take over to one or both of them, something I need to do as a regular activity just so I can tell how they're doing from one visit to the next. As much as I'm avoiding wheat these days, I think a batch of my dinner rolls would be a good start, but mostly I'll work on casseroles that can be frozen or microwaved. In the past I've taken things cooked from my garden, but the garden didn't do much this year so I'll improvise.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Sep 24 - 03:37 PM

Keberoxu: great to hear of your successful decluttering project, must feel good to get one area done and dealt with, and glad you found good people to help!

Thanks Stilly. I will watch for ant trails and holes, so far that has not been obvious but I'm sure I'll find it as the weeding continues.

Re fire ants: I once saw a beautiful sculpture at a gem and mineral show; like an ornate ming tree made of metal. Some desperate plumber with access to lead-melting tools had decided to dispatch his fire ants by pouring hot lead into their branching tunnels. Very pretty result.

Meanwhile, apent some time organizing the clothes where I can find everything, also the upper kitchen cabinets. The lower are a challenge, there is one huge undivided space to be subdivided, but I have a stash of empty bins and things that may help.

Lists, yes I have lots of lists, but what helps the most is journaling my efforts, it helps prompt solutions and cultivate habits, and it is a litte more satisfying than crossing off words on a list. Which journaling I know several of you do here on the thread, but I would bore you to tears with all the details, so into the journal most of it goes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 24 - 12:17 AM

Some wheat flour items that I won't eat and aren't great candidates to give away (crackers, who knows how old) are tossed, as are a few things from the shelf where health items were stored. With two bottles of antacids that I rarely take, one bottle (I think it was in my file cabinet at work) tossed. Old hand lotion, ancient lip balm, sample toothpaste tubes, etc. They may not really go out of date, but I'm tired of looking at them.

Pyrex is now in the cupboard next to the Corning, and when poking on the top shelf I realized my pretty stainless steel teapot was hidden behind stuff. It's now on the middle shelf next to the porcelain teapot and the French press. I also relocated in a cute little ovenware miniature pie pan I'd forgotten about. Mostly trash management today, no donation items to mention. Tomorrow is eBay stuff because a local friend is looking for an old VHS/DVD players and I have several.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 24 - 01:58 PM

Patty, are they native harvester ants? They usually have a large hole (size of a quarter or up to a half-dollar) somewhere and their paths to harvest radiate outward from that center. Do you have creosote bushes in the area? They love those! If you can ignore them (get accustomed to ants) and maybe nudge the thing they're harvesting away from the patio (trim the bush that attracts them to that area while leaving plants in another direction alone) that might work. DE (be sure to get the food grade version, such as for animal feed, not the pool filter type that has impurities, and wear a mask when you puff it around). It is an interesting interaction if what you have is between ant and the cochineal target. (Different types of ants are known to tend aphids on tender plants in order to get the "honeydew" they excrete, so I'm sure there are lots of corresponding beneficial relationships out there.) Red Harvester Ants and Rough Harvester Ants. Puff a little DE into the path they travel and they are probably going to avoid that spot - you can redirect them away from a problematic side of the patio.

This said, there is no benefit to the invasive fire ants in my yard that morphed from mound-builders to underground dwellers who offer sharp painful dagger bites when trod upon. I plan to sprinkle dry molasses, another animal feed of chopped up straw soaked in molasses, dried then bagged. The sugar in the dry molasses encourages other biological activity to increase in the soil and apparently the ants don't like that.

More cupboard rearranging today, after a few days of the Corning ware being accessible. I like that ease of reach so will now move the Pyrex dishes with snap on lids out of the lower cupboard and figure out where they can be easily used and simultaneously cull some older Rubbermaid plastic containers.

Keb, you're a brave woman to bring in outsiders to declutter. Good luck with the project!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Sep 24 - 11:26 AM

This month I had my first encounter with The Clutter Queen, from the Boston area.
The Clutter Queen is a small business consisting of one Queen, a lady of middle age, and two assistants. One assistant for the office/internet/phone, and another able-bodied assistant for the actual work of clearing other people's clutter.
I ought to provide a link to The Clutter Queen's website.

When I contacted The Clutter Queen, I focused on the piles and boxes of unfiled papers that have been taking up floor space in my apartment.
We booked a four-hour slot in early September.

It's amazing how much faster it is to clear the clutter with three people (including me) as opposed to just me.
I found some things that I have been missing for some time;
and several huge bags of trash went to the apartment dumpster containing the stuff I never need or want to look at again.

The clutter isn't all cleared; we focused on one room only,
where most of the clutter was the worst in the apartment.
I'm seriously ready to contact them again to set up a future appointment.
The Clutter Queen

But first I'm trying to clear out some furniture.
I've already had someone express interest
in the twin bed frame in my spare bedroom,
so I hope they buy it from me and take it home before long.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 21 Sep 24 - 09:52 AM

So now big black ants have gone into high gear, trooping across the patio dozens at a time from one 'flower bed' to the other. Apparently I disrupted their cochineal farming or something.

After some web research, I am inclined to try diatomaceous earth. I don't want to spread poison around and the DE is harmless stuff. I considered live and let live, but it just gives me the creeps when there are constantly bugs streaming across the patio, and I have to wonder if the little dears are under my foundation, too. A million acres of open land, I just feel they need to resettle somewhere else.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 21 Sep 24 - 12:30 AM

It is, isn't it?

You have to wonder what strange items are sometimes donated...."we don't want to throw it up so we'll donate it"......

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 24 - 10:23 AM

Patty, time to take a tip from Gilbert and Sullivan and make a little list (ok, different kind of list, but I love that song) of all of those chores, and no matter how small. You'll be surprised how energizing it can be to see accomplished tasks crossed out that way.

Charmion, another ranger and I were stung by a bunch of wasps when we were out on the job in our Brooklyn, NY, park, and the supervisor insisted on taking us to a neighborhood doctor or emergency clinic. We each ended up with an antihistamine shot that was so powerful I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep a few minutes later, but had to get myself home first. I think I slept around the clock from that stuff, but it sure did a job on the stings. I hadn't thought about that in years.

The instructions with the new LED rope light say don't cut it but say nothing about use with a dimmer; it is helpful that the Interwebs have conversations about doing it. Searching Amazon for "plug in dimmer switch" and passing on all of the too smart for their own good variety, I realized I already had one of the analog switches stashed in with the electrical cords in the laundry room. That job is complete and the den will resume it's normal low-light aspect when the timer next turns on the lights in front of the stairs.

JennieG, I was scrolling back through here to see who we hadn't heard from for a while and finally watched that Op Shop Ladies video. So funny!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Sep 24 - 06:21 PM

I remain somewhat overwhelmed by the to-dos which seem to multiply daily. But, I'm determined to be patient and work on some good new habits as I settle in. Journaling constantly, just to keep on track. I now think the tremendous fatigue of the first week was not just exhaustion, but altitude sickness, I forgot that I went from 200' above sea level to 5000'.   

All the 'stuff' is now unloaded into the house; some of it just had to wait for some spurts of work in the cool mornings. The next phase will be setting up storage shelves and tucking lots things onto them; and some new furniture/storage will need to be acquired.

Was gifted an airfryer, and so far it's fine, but not sure it's worth the counter space it sucks up--and must always be used on a wooden board so that it doesn't melt the countertop! It's been good to encourage me to prepare some simple meats and veggies.

Got great deals on a few garden tools, and finally started using them. Hoed weeds from the driving area, trimmed the stalks from a sad yucca cluster. The biggest one I had to saw, and it was so prickly to get to, I had to don a canvas rainjacket as armor.

Blasted the cochineal stuff off the prickly pears, but have not soaped them yet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 24 - 08:53 AM

Fifty milligrams of Benadryl, assisted by one extra-strength Advil and a series of icepacks, reduced my wasp stings to a residual itch overnight. It also knocked me cold for hours, and left a hangover that lasted to early afternoon on Wednesday, but I’m okay with that. Definitely a drug to approach with care. Read the package insert, and cancel all immediate plans!

Two batches of chutney are now finished and sealed, for a total of thirteen 250-ml jars and three 500-ml jars. Only one Cortland apple and five small Bosc pears are left over. I would also have seven or eight small blue Italian plums if I hadn’t busted my diet and eaten them all instead of supper last night. They don’t keep, y’know — especially not in my house.

Back to what I like to call normal today — pool class, and an afternoon of work on the concert choir’s library database. Church choir practice this evening (it’s Thursday, after all). Although the equinox is almost upon us, the weather in southwest Ontario is still hot and dry during the day, and only a little cool at night. Roll on autumn!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 24 - 02:24 PM

I will research the possibility of trimming off extra length of the rope light, making sure not to leak electricity in the process. ;-) This isn't a subtle light source; right now it's like leaving on a ~40-watt bulb in the room.

Virtual decluttering continues as thousands of update and promotion emails are now gmail pixel dust. I'm moving photos around also, out of online accounts and out of harm's way before the deleting of online versions. I use Outlook to backup photos from the phone but because of the way Samsung wants to bury them deep in a Samsung folder in my Outlook account I am not letting it manage those uploads. (If you go in and move things in Outlook in those Samsung folders then Samsung syncs them or deletes them inside the phone, creating chaos.) This means I periodically have to upload manually, essentially sharing with that account.

I stopped using Dropbox in the spring (I still have the free account with 7.5G of space) because they were so pushy, but I've moved some of the files into the computer then uploaded them to Outlook, and others I've moved into resident photo files on the computer. I'm clearing out a lot of stuff related to past employment and writing projects in Dropbox and am going to again let it upload my phone photos to that file because it is still the easiest way to get them for use immediately when I'm working on the computer. The trouble is, if I let it start uploading now it's going to want to go back and get everything it hasn't touched since March. I'll have to figure out how to tell it to load from now forward but no backlog. I have to go into a little watchdog program that guards the registry - I told it to block Dropbox nagging about uploads so I'll undo that when I ready.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen I'm still reading about food, nearing the end of The Case for Keto. I just read the bit about sodium and what Charmion was experiencing, and the accounts from different physicians who describe the approach each took to low carb high fat eating, most of them landing in Keto land with ketosis to control blood sugar. I'm still adjusting my diet and deciding how many "slow carbs" to include, and I do have dairy (cheese, yogurt, and little bit of milk, with milk liable to be phased out.) He suggests that sticking with more olive oil and less butter is a way to lower the LDL if it becomes a particular struggle (mono-saturated versus regular saturated). More research ahead.

Yesterday I sent an email with photos and receipt and heard back this morning that Ames (a subgroup of Craftsman) is going to mail me a new spade fork. I'm curious to see how that works out; you know I'm going to put it to the test when it arrives.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 24 - 12:33 AM

Ouch! I have to get a steroid shot when that happens (and it has several times in this big yard where the paper wasps build nests in hidden bushy places I've discovered the hard way.) BTW: I saw the photo of your chutney on FB; those jars are beautiful!

Harbor Freight had the rope light I needed, and it is incredibly bright but it will do the trick. I tested the timer and the fuses in the former string and nothing stood out as a problem. For now the new rope is uncoiled and stretched across the room to let the curl relax before I put it in place.

Today saw additional shopping and troubleshooting. I use wide mouth quart jars for making tea for iced tea and for food storage (phasing out plastic of all sorts), but jar rings and sealing lids aren't an easy way to close those jars. I visited the Big A and read a lot of reviews before settling (ironically) on plastic one-piece lids that have silicone gaskets to use with those jars. It isn't meant for canning, just for food storage. Hard plastic isn't as much of a problem as soft plastic, and the gradual rust buildup on the metal lids isn't helpful.

The kitchen is looking good and I'll sweep and mop the hall bathroom before putting down the freshly laundered long mat. It seems to be fall cleaning season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Sep 24 - 07:16 PM

I just found out the hard way that my composter is also a wasps’ nest. Several stings on my right foot, which (God knows) has plenty of problems already and is now swelling in a most unattractive fashion. Plus it hurts like Billy-be-damned.

So now, instead of attending a choir board meeting, I am watching TV under the influence of Benadryl. Not quite away with the fairies yet, but headed in that direction.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 24 - 12:59 AM

A big wince and condolences to both of you for living with those shiners, though they both sound like near-misses, considering the possible worse injuries that could have happened (I lost one of my great aunts after a head injury in a "short fall"). Something not to be repeated.

Throw rugs and dog mats are in the washer this evening after using the squeegee broom thing to round up dog hair, chewed up stick fragments and crumbs of dried dirt that Pepper brings into the den and chews. Why? Anyway, the forest floor has been cleared out for the time being. I also ran the dog water bowls through the dishwasher.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 16 Sep 24 - 10:07 PM

You have my sympathy on the black eye, Charmion - one of the injuries I suffered in a fall back in April was a black eye that could only be described as spectacular. It was over three months before the colour finally faded.

It was caused by the frame of my sunglasses when I went down; didn't hit my face on the ground, fortunately, but hitting the sunnies was bad enough.

Himself did get some funny looks when we were out together, though, what with my arm in plaster and that spectacular black eye!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 24 - 09:39 PM

I searched online for the right length of lights, comparing standard xmas strings, LED strips, and a "rope" of lights encased in a clear PVC tube. I read about LED light strips but on one that was the right length I decided to pass; the instructions were (I hope) mangled through translation—you can trim the LED strips at intervals but this one said you had to be careful to cover the trimmed end so the electricity doesn't leak out. I don't want me or the dogs sliding in a puddle of electricity next to the step.

Eventually I landed a rope light from Harbor Freight that is a little long but I can run it in front of an adjacent built-in cabinet so it won't be in the way.

I cleared the kitchen cupboard and now four each of Corning Ware casseroles and Sidekick dishes are in easy reach on the lowest shelf. The rarely used French press and porcelain teapot are on the higher shelf but are still easy to grasp when needed. I moved some of the COVID tests and devices (thermometer, pulse oximeter, neti pot) to a basket in the next cupboard to join the spare vitamins, cough syrup, cotton balls, swabs, and such. Should have been there in the first place.

A few weeks ago I went poking through cupboards and drawers in the antique kitchen queen for some beeswax wrappers I thought I'd stashed there. The small bundle was a gift a couple of years ago that I had finally thought of a use for. Never found them. They were tucked up with the Corning ware, but darned if I can remember how I wanted to use them. (Did I write about it? Maybe our close reader Keb will remember.)

Papers were filed today and I caught up on the last two of my regular donations (now listed with the others in an Excel spreadsheet). These last couple of good causes keep sending me renewals that actually finally needed renewing. (If you don't watch them, they'll send you annual renewals every other month, hoping you're not paying attention.)

Finally, I'm working on cutting back on the stevia in food and drink. I think part of the insulin response to food has to do with anticipating the sweetness or carbs. There are no carbs in stevia but if the cup of tea or bowl of yogurt is too sweet, it can still trigger insulin and works against how you burn fat (which happens only when insulin isn't secreted.) This year I've gotten off of much of the salt in foods so next come sweets. Despite the weaker flavor of decaf tea, if it isn't as sweet I can taste the tea itself better. I never used a lot, but now I'll use less.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Sep 24 - 02:47 PM

Two batches of chutney are planned, Stilly: one for members of the kin group, and the other for the Christmas bazaar at church. I will keep one or two 250-ml jars for myself. It’s a strong, complex condiment that should be eaten sparingly, so it will fit into my diet if I don’t get greedy. It’s particularly good with well-aged Cheddar cheese.

I wish more people would wake up to the proliferation of tripping hazards in and around their homes! I took a bad fall and a major dunt to the head about 18 months ago when the sole of my sandal caught under the edge of a mat laid over a slippery wooden deck; the second my movement was checked, the other foot slipped and I went down like a sack of potatoes, striking the metal door frame on the way down. The resulting black eye lasted for weeks.

And you’re right to re-arrange your kitchen shelves. It’s a good policy to put stuff you use often no higher than eye-level, especially if it’s breakable and doesn’t have a handle by which you can grab it securely. The current fashion for installing microwave ovens as part of a multi-function range hood is particularly dangerous. One of my sisters-in-law is short — about five-two — and well over 70 with a history of shoulder trouble; if she used such a microwave to, say, heat a casserole, she would have to reach over her head to lift down a heavy dish full of hot food. Yikes.

I have three pairs of Fiskars scissors (small, medium and large) in my kitchen. I don’t know how I ever kept house without them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 24 - 12:00 PM

Charmion, will you be able to eat the chutney on your current diet, or will it be for gifts? I'm looking at a case of my mustang grape jelly and pondering what to do with it.

I have concluded that it is time to rearrange the cupboard directly above the dishwasher. With the almost-Keto cooking I'm baking a lot in single-serving Pyrex lidded dishes and small trays and they're in the back of the middle shelf of that cupboard; it's a stretch to pick them up and I'm going to break something if I'm not careful. I'll empty the bottom and middle shelves, dust, and hope that by working on this cupboard I don't condemn myself to having to rearrange others as well.

On the floor along the base edge of the steps that enter the den I have a string of clear LED lights that have faded to almost not showing. They run on a timer to light dusk through dawn to avoid tripping hazards for myself and guests. It may be a fuse in the string gone, but likely they just need replacing. I also have two or three strings on my crapemyrtle branch in a pot of rocks that is an odd but beloved piece of homemade art - one of the strings is no longer lit. Time to disturb some dust and change out lights there also. The big box stores are putting out their light strings so now is as good a time as any to look for replacements. The seasonal lights I store in the office closet already have uses and the strings are too long.

My favorite pair of plastic-handled fiskars-like kitchen scissors are failing to cut, despite sharpening, oiling, and tightening. They're in the laundry room now until I think about giving one last push to do all of the above at once and see if they'll work, but in the meantime I retrieved two pair of the many scissors I inherited from parents' homes (mostly Mom) and put them in the kitchen drawer. One is really old sewing shears with the chrome finish long worn off, and the other a slim pair of Fiskars with the ubiquitous orange handles. They can take on the jobs that one pair has done for years. Reuse instead of buying a new pair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Sep 24 - 12:47 PM

It’s the week of autumn when all the ingredients of my five-fruit chutney are in season, but I missed yesterday’s farmers’ market for the sake of the annual launch of choir season. Today I’m too damned tired to drive all the way to Kitchener, the closest burg with a decent green-grocer. It will have to wait for Tuesday, while I hope against hope that the Italian blue plums aren’t all gone by then.

Too much stuff happens in September!