DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 25 - 10:42 PM

I've learned that the last quarter of my year, employment-wise, is going to go through a change. My part of the operation seems to be the most productive of the various venues involved with this site, so while it stays in place, the operation will rotate 180^o. The upcoming changes means things might be easier, after a few months of fixing broken code. I know this is cryptic, but it is good news.

Is it really only Monday? It feels like the week is racing past. Charmion, where are you in the New House exercise? Dorothy, what is going on in Quebec? Who have we missed lately?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Sep 25 - 07:12 AM

I finally have a house — still just a house, not yet a home — and yet another contractor in my life. This one is Mike, who popped in to reconnoiter the hardwood floor project yesterday. But my to-do list is extending out beyond the horizon, starting with locating the post office and securing a key to my pigeon-hole in the community mailbox. Oh, and finding said mailbox …

The sellers of my house were landlords, not occupants, and the place shows the effects. First, it’s not clean — the kitchen drawers are full of crumbs, and the cupboard under the sink looks like a lab experiment. The deck out back is just awful, apparently innocent of maintenance for years and years. And the kitchen needs a complete re-think …

The dominant feature of the kitchen is a fancy-ass refrigerator with an ice-maker and cold water dispenser. I disapprove of such complications and would much rather have a plain-Jane fridge that doesn’t require plumbing. And the cabinets are builder-grade MDF designed by the mile and cut off by the yard, so there’s wasted space but not enough room for my stuff. And SIL No. 2 hates the dining room light fixture, which is a very large pendant in a room of modest proportions.

But first things first — floors and walls. Today I must track down Elias the painter, who has been visiting family in the old country, and buy a pack of toilet paper for the good of us all.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Sep 25 - 10:50 AM

My wife and I both got a Covid infection. My wife is very uncomfortable, but my symptoms could not be more mild, with a runny nose and occasional productive cough with no headache or sore throat.
I owe that to vaccinating up to twice a year some years.
Since I am the chief cook and dishwasher, I'm making a super lasagna today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 25 - 11:50 AM

Pamper the family if you can, Don, and don't make yourself sick doing too much. You're a poster child for why the vaccinations are worthwhile. Charmion, I know what you describe from here. This house was a rental, not updated for about 20 years. I found some interesting stuff stashed in the attic. At least you can work on those things on your own timeline, once the floors are taken care of. I have never completed all of the things I had in mind here. Maybe one day. Your family members must have numbers for a local house cleaner (or crime scene cleanup, depending on the state under the sinks) to do some of that for you? The phone number of a generalist handyman can be priceless.

This week I need to make a major cardboard purge in the front room and run it by the village recycling bins. Now that the vacuum has had all of it's filters and brushes and crevices cleaned out it's grabbing doghair and dust like a champ, and that front room here is the only one that still has wall-to-wall carpeting. Not as bad as shag, but it holds a lot of dust. Even with the doorway blocked dog detritus has drifted in.

Patty, congratulations on finding a good local grocery! And do you have a hardware store, or are you stuck with the big box ones? Mary doesn't drop in often, but I hope she has the same luck in finding a good neighborhood for library, stores, and recreation.

Bearing down on fall (or spring for Sandra) - with all of these moving projects going on, who has plans for indoor projects to do just for pleasure?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 10:59 AM

The drive times for this cat sitting gig mean I drive into the sun at dawn and dusk, and the smears from my attempts to clean the inside of the windshield are most prominent. This morning found me acting on the second part of the Consumer Reports recommendations for clean windshields, at an automotive store picking up an eye-wateringly expensive (when compared to paper towels, newsprint, old dish cloths, or microfiber cloths) chamois to finish the job. It should last forever.

Another small task that I've put off for ages is painting the decorative bars on my house. Charmion moving into a new place has me thinking of what I did when I first took possession here (in addition to building a new garage and remodeling the old one into a hall and two other rooms); things I meant to do it when I moved in but never got around to. A few years ago I bought a quart of flat black latex enamel and stored it somewhere so well that it hasn't turned up since. As I work on improving my mood through small tasks, I think I can do the bars on a single window at a time as time and weather allow - I have 12 windows and two gates. It will take more than a quart, but I'm starting with that. Before each window I'll use a rag and water with a little bleach to wipe them down. The carpenter/painter who initially told me how said to clean them first so mildew doesn't make the paint bubble over time. In the end, they should go from being an ugly gray to an invisible black.

How are the cats doing at their extended-stay cattery?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 11:39 AM

Watson and Isobel are apparently revelling in their access to the “catio” at Cats’ Paradise, where they can hear and smell the world, and threaten the birds and squirrels without any obligation to, you know, catch one.

As for me, I am again spewing money across the landscape. At Home Depot, Cdn$350 bought me a pleasantly unassuming chandelier for the dining room and new locks for the front and garage doors. The dining room fixture that came with the house belongs in a much bigger room, and I have hit my head on it three times, which is quite enough. As for the locks — well, who knows how many keys to this house are out in the wild? I’m not willing to find out the hard way.

Elias the painter is back from Lebanon and prepared to start work tomorrow — what a relief. The colour scheme will be the same as in Stratford: shades of sage green. I’m told that’s fashionable now. Who knew?

Meanwhile, the carpenters are raising Cain with their table saw, power nailer, and rock-n-roll playlist. The study floor was almost finished when I showed up at 0900 hr this morning, and now they’re halfway across the main bedroom. It will be beee-yoo-tiful up there when the tumult and whacking are done, but right now it’s a No Go Zone unless I want to risk a toe.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 12:37 PM

My late Mudcatter friend Deckman (Bob Nelson) was a carpenter of some renown in his area (with a museum-quality collection of wood-working tools in his garden shed). He also lived near a busy street and was tired of scraping up pet cats, so built a chicken-wire-clad structure of 2x4s that had a wire tunnel boxed in from a bedroom window and included a small tree near the house. Imagine a chicken wire bubble on the side of the house that was a cube up to maybe 10' on each side and tall. They could get out and still stay safe.

Have you met the neighbors yet?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 02:15 PM

Nope, no neighbours have shown their faces yet. The family next door has a striking accumulation of large moulded plastic toys, of which several are heaped in front of the garage. The main body of the muddle is in their back yard, however, which makes me think longing thoughts of a new fence.

I would love to have a catio built, but the design of my house doesn’t lend itself to such a project. Serious thought would be necessary.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 06:56 PM

will they still talk to you when they leave Cat Paradise?

Heavy rain, flash flooding hits Sydney as SES receives 850 calls for help

Last night as I was going home from Library Craft Group at 7.15 the skies kept opening & my trolley flooded! it's earlier model of this without ties to keep flap over the body Fortunately my craft supplies were in a lovely zipped blanket bag, rescued some time back from bins before the trash was removed! My leather handbag, newspaper & new crossword books were wet, but all dried out. As my elderly trolley is no longer completely waterproof I keep a giant black garbage bag in the trolley for permanent stuff (spare shawl, shopping bags etc) in to & they were in water! Pulling the wet vinyl off the frame & the wet black heavy duty bag out was (not) fun - upending them & finding spaces for them, & soaking full-length raincoat & slightly longer dress & thin puffer jacket with wet sleeves was fun (not) I pull the trolley behind me ...   

Last night I found my large snap fasteners & will sew one on before I leave the Thursday Craft group, eek supposedly in an hour, definitely after sewing, then shower & breakfast. Rain has just stopped - it must just be taking a breath or maybe the clouds are just regrouping. Sydney radar

As always, last night & this morning I think of the people who sleep rough. And we have a lot of homeless people.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 25 - 10:24 PM

Sandra, thanks for posting a photo - I envisioned you stranded in a streetcar (trolley) on a ride home. Climate change is real. There are seasons when I don't carry a leather handbag because they're hard to dry. I hope you're able to recover everything that got soaked.

Today I spent a couple of hours at the museum scanning and caught up on some local news, and I'm planning to get back for a couple of more hours tomorrow or Friday. This evening is getting set up for making more pickled okra tomorrow. My activities are short in duration because of stopping for all of the cat meals, so I've washed all of the jars and it will take two more intervals to do the the trimming of the pods and then the processing.

The next batch will be the last because I don't want to have a backlog, I need to give it all away this fall. I'll be able to give the fresh pods to people until the season ends (or will make the pickles on request if they supply the jars and while okra supplies last).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 07:59 AM

Sydney has newish light rail (= tracks in the CBD heading out into nearby suburbia on wide roads) as well as traditional CBD underground & on ground rail out to suburbia & beyond, plus a new Metro (= underground for a few miles, then above ground heading to remoter suburbia) plus buses so we are well served for public transport. Living 1 station from the CBD I'm well catered to as all buses to suburbia are just down the road.

some pics Yesterday we (Sydney CBD) had 122mm rain (4"),today 8mm (much less) Yesterday was our wettest day since 1879!!

more pics NSW tornadoes not rare as Sydney records heaviest September rain in 146 years

Everything dried out & we had a bit of rain in the morning as I was heading out, & a lovely day followed. We noted sunbeams coming into the room from the blue sky!

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 09:42 AM

Weather folks here have noted the unusual absence of hurricanes at what is statistically the height of hurricane season. We've had a remarkably wet summer and cooler than usual, for which we are grateful but I think most of us figure we'll pay for it later in some dreadful way.

This morning's trash included an old broken soaker hose that had loitered on the property in case I wanted to use it to construct a short link in a watering system, but for now I'll stick with the oscillating sprinklers and not run soaker through the garden. Of course I cut off the end of it because it can be used to repair a regular hose (I bequeath all of my hose ends and pieces to my children when I'm gone). When I get back home from cat sitting (there now, tablet in hand, as I wait for the appropriate time to administer kitty chemo, an every-other-day event) comes the okra fest.

Today also starts the work on those decorative iron (except they're aluminum) window covers. I've chosen the kitchen window as my first target because it's smaller than the others but it's also one I look at and out of most often and will be reminded I need to do all of them (because it looks so good - fingers crossed).

Charmion, how many floors are finished now? I think you said you're just doing the upstairs? Does that house have a basement? Any sump pumps to tend to in rainy weather?

Dorothy, where are you in the potting and planting and house revisions in all of the places you travel between?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 10:14 AM

Carpenters upstairs laying hardwood flooring, painter on the ground floor putting on the first coat and muttering about the poor workmanship of every painter before him, and the Bell Canada technician in the basement sorting out a birds’ nest of wire. Noisy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 11:14 AM

Will you have just Internet at the house? Wired phones at this point are expensive spam magnets. I've gradually reduced that "birds nest" of wires on the back of the house and am now down to a simple box for the Internet (AT&T fibre optic) and one old Spectrum attachment. I wired inside the house myself so there are data ports in many rooms, all served by a panel in the small pantry near my office. Whoever arrives after me may curse that assemblage of devices.

I have a list of things to do today, starting with okra, but was up so early to try to beat traffic to get to the first feeding I'm thinking a nap may be in order first.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 01:06 PM

The current bout of new hardwood flooring is going into the bedrooms, study, and upstairs hall. Replacing broadloom with hardwood on stairs is apparently a job for a specialist, in this case a guy named Tosh, so that must wait until the early winter — I hope no later. The flooring in the finished part of the basement and the basement stairs is some kind of laminate, maybe engineered hardwood. Marc (not Mike) the contractor told me that “everybody” has laminate or engineered hardwood floors these days, and my project is his first in about eight years with real wood.

As of lunchtime, the wood is down in the study and primary bedroom, and the carpenters were hard at it in the guest room. Eli the painter had the darker green parts of the sitting room and dining room finished and was starting on the rest of the ground floor. He can’t tackle the upstairs until the carpenters have finished on account of sawdust.

My end of Greenboro is not marshy or known for flooding, so I don’t have sump pumps to care for. Thank God for small mercies — but, after Stratford, I’m not ruling anything out. The unfinished parts of the basement show no signs of water damage, so my fingers are crossed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Sep 25 - 07:43 PM

I live in a small apartment block (4 storys, 15 1BR & 4 2BR) & the one across the hall is getting a full reno soon. It was a very cheap Renovator's Dream - remains of original cheap 1978 carpet & doors off some/most? of the cheap 1978 kitchen cupboards, "old fashioned" bathroom with shower over bath (just like mine!) & will be very liveable & trendy when the noise stops. Maybe my heirs will do well with my "renovator's dream" when I pop off the twig!

The new owner is very conscientious & wrote to all the owners & tenants giving his apologies for the future noise & disruption, & his contact details!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 25 - 11:41 AM

Sandra, what a courteous neighbor!

Unusual couple of days. Midday yesterday the sickly cat was staggering around and had missed his litterbox, I figured he was having a diabetic problem, called the family vet then made the executive decision to take him to the emergency clinic instead. Seems to have been the best choice, he had dangerously low blood sugar and for now he is boarding at the vet because his blood sugar isn't stable. My days just got much easier.

Trimming and mowing are in my near future (getting to it before code enforcement puts a tag on my door). Food preparation. And hopefully, sitting down at the sewing machine. Still skimming only on news, and adding more blocked names to my FB Purity filter. The climate at my part-time employment is suddenly imploding, not sure how this will progress. The trick I have to master is not letting any of these folks live rent-free in my head.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Sep 25 - 08:13 AM

The floor upstairs is finished and Eli has the first coat of colour on the bedrooms and study, more to come today.

But the kitchen had another unpleasant surprise for me: major filth under and around the stove, and years of grunge on the sides. Back I went to Home Depot, this time for a bucket and scrubber, and cleaners with serious grease-lifting capability. Also rubber gloves, on account of wanting to keep the skin attached to my hands.

The sellers of the house had signed a contract promising to hand it over in “broom clean” condition. That usually means hiring a team of professional scrub artists and inspecting the property when it is declared ready. Obviously, that step was missed completely — and the cobwebs on the bannisters and light fixtures should have told me as much.

All my life I have believed in “what goes around comes around”. After painstakingly scrubbing down before vacating every home I have ever occupied, is it too much to ask that others would do as much for me? Colour me irked.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 25 - 10:38 AM

Have you moved in an electric kettle and a cup and a few supplies to have a cuppa tea as you work in the new house? It seems to be where I start (and the last thing to leave as I empty a house). Too bad about the lack of attention on the house; chances are they offered the renters their deposit back if it was "broom clean" and out of sight, out of mind gets short shrift. I bet the inside of the microwave is scuzzy also.

Yesterday a call to catch up with my sister broke a new long-call record. Two hours and 22 minutes, touching on a lot of family history, thoughts on managing our stuff (with both of us handing off to my kids), and thoughts on house cleaning. She's undergoing a big renovation and had brought back a cleaner she liked to help and is making it a regular thing now. Help when she was working was one thing, she did it herself after retirement, but has resolved that "at my age I need help." She's four years younger; the point I need to reach is when enough stuff is put away so a cleaner doesn't have to also work around clutter.

Having friends over for lunch tomorrow so today is cleaning and some baking ahead. I'll make a regular loaf of bread (the remaining part will go home with someone, I'll use my gluten free for me) and make grilled cheese sandwiches and lentil soup, with a side of sausages and homemade pickles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Sep 25 - 02:04 PM

The kettle, teapot and cups are due to arrive with the rest of my possessions on Monday. Like the painter and the carpenters, I get by with a water bottle until I get too hungry to pretend I’m not, at which point I down tools and go for lunch.

Speaking of Monday, the house will be a zoo. Eli has yet to tackle the baseboards and window frames, or the insides of closets, so he and the movers will be stepping over and around each other while my furniture and boxes get deposited only approximately where they are supposed to go.

People keep asking me whether I’m excited yet. I consistently say No, probably because I expect something to go wrong. If we get through Monday without incident, I might relax a tad.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Sep 25 - 08:13 PM

email from my sister -

Apropos our convos re procrastinating/getting started, The Guardian had an article today:

“In an ultra-viral TikTok video, a woman lies on her couch. “I’m tired. I should shower so it’ll wake me up; if I shower, I should exercise first so I don’t have to shower twice,” intones the voiceover. “If I’m going to exercise, I should eat first; if I’m going to cook, I should have coffee first so I have energy to cook,” it continues. The video – which has almost 5m views – bears the caption: “What executive dysfunction looks like.”

Hundreds of videos have circulated through social media, pinning people’s various struggles on “executive dysfunction”. Each video follows similar themes: showing people failing to initiate tasks, growing overwhelmed by household chores or theorizing why they’re never on time.

But what is executive dysfunction? Why do people experience it, and what can be done to mitigate it? Additionally, what is executive function? We asked experts to explain.
What is executive function?

Executive function is the ability to manage and organize tasks on a daily basis, says Mai Uchida, a pediatric psychiatrist at Massachusetts general hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. This includes planning, prioritizing and thinking about how long a task will take you before you need to move on to the next thing. But it also includes the ability to break down larger tasks into smaller ones, being able to shift attention from one task to another, and maintaining working memory…

… While there are no real treatments explicitly for poor executive function, there are strategies and workarounds that professionals recommend to help make time management easier. Many are tried and true organizational strategies, says Tuckman: “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” For example, set up multiple reminders and alarms for yourself, and write out on paper checklists of things to do, even for tasks that are extremely small and easy.

Reflect on and try to recognize the patterns that get you into trouble. If you have a work deadline approaching, and you know you tend to lose track of time when you open up and scroll through Instagram, try temporarily removing the app from your phone. Essentially, avoid putting yourself into situations that require more impulse control than you are able to muster, says Tuckman.

If you get overwhelmed by the size of a task and have trouble getting started, Uchida recommends finding a small amount of time you can commit to. Maybe that’s 15 minutes; maybe it’s just five. Then dedicate just that small amount of time to the task. “When the bar is low, it’s a lot easier to get started,” says Uchida, “and sometimes it’s just getting started that’s difficult.” You might find that after that first 15 minutes, you have the ability to keep going. Or you might need a break before you commit to another 15. You have to find and adapt strategies that work for you, she says.

Carothers also recommends turning to community to help you understand where you might need assistance. “Sometimes other people have more insight into your behavioral patterns than you do,” she says. “Ask a trusted friend, colleague, romantic partner for areas where they’ve noticed you struggle.” Then ask them to help you brainstorm workarounds for those specific circumstances – they might have ideas that you never learned or considered. “Strong social connections are important,” Carothers says. “Learn from the people around you.” ”

found it!

sandra (champion Procrastinator)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 25 - 10:32 PM

Good call, Sandra! “I’m tired. I should shower so it’ll wake me up; if I shower, I should exercise first so I don’t have to shower twice . . .
I recognize that non-productive loop. I have a few local versions of it. The answer is usually just to get up and DO something, anything, and ignore the voice and forget about the shower for the moment.

Whittling down chores here, but there are a lot to choose from. Paid a couple of bills (decluttering the pocketbook) and emptied a couple of things out of the fridge (for marinara sauce). What I really need to do is get to bed early tonight, forget the rest of the chores, nothing is urgent.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 25 - 10:12 AM

Bread is rising, ready to make the soup, then grate together some cheeses into an interesting mix to slather on bread for making grilled cheese. Turns out my friend is returning tomorrow so the cats will survive my schedule today, all three meals even if there is a bit of a wait for lunch. Next, clean the bathroom and sweep. I dropped a spoon this morning and it came back with a gob of dog hair. Gotta round up all of that.

One of my friends coming over today always seems to find odd pieces of paper around here, sometimes postit notes, and where some people knit or crochet, she folds origami shapes. I'm on it this time, I have several square pieces of gift wrapping paper that will just be sitting there on the table, waiting to see how long it takes her to reach for them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Sep 25 - 03:26 PM

I remembered, while organizing my apartment, that I have a very small dolly/cart, folded up and put away.
And that I have a storage unit in the building's basement.
And that there are some cartons to be left unopened, in the apartment, that belong in the basement storage unit.
So I just finished wheeling the four cartons on the cart down to the storage unit.
There are other cartons, including two with file folders in them, still in the apartment.
But I am doing this a little bit at a time, just as I was when I first moved in a few months ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Sep 25 - 03:53 PM

I went for a walk this morning through the “linear park” that extends through the middle of Greenboro. Beautiful day — late summer warm, bright blue sky. From Brother Andrew’s front door to mine on Inverkip Avenue is just a tick more than 2 kilometres — just short of half an hour, depending on shoes.

The ventilator fan over the stove is in dire condition and must be scrapped and replaced as soon as possible. I think the most recent occupants of that house stir-fried most of their meals, judging from the state of the stove and the exhaust hood — clean oven, everything else grotty beyond belief. The ceramic floor tiles also showed signs of prolonged exposure to unchecked flying grease. I removed about 98 percent of the grunge from the stove, cabinetry and floor yesterday, but the exhaust hood isn’t worth the effort. A prolonged soak in hot water with Dawn detergent shifted only the top layer of grease from the filter, and even a trip through the dishwasher could not get it clean.

Oh, well. That kitchen was going to need money lavished on it anyway …

The complicated refrigerator needs a new water filter (of course), which is available only from the manufacturer or Amazon. The owner’s manual that I downloaded from the LG website does not include a diagram indicating where the filter goes, so I guess I’ll have another appliance adventure soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 25 - 05:56 PM

Keb, how roomy is your apartment, and have you finished furnishing it? Does your storage area have seasonal stuff or things from your last apartment you couldn't part with?

Charmion, that sounds like a great walk you have worked out. And re: the LG, if that isn't a brand new fridge see if there is a knockoff fridge filter. Reddit discussion. I paid Sears for Kenmore filters until I found a well-reviewed generic brand on Amazon for half the price and it's still humming along. The stove hood sounds like an unpleasant job; I have to take out my overhead fan every so often to clean it, and soak the filters - it always leaves the sink grimy and needing a scrub.

Before people came over I was able to set up and process eight jars of pickled okra, though two of them didn't seal properly so will stay in the fridge till time to eat them (about two weeks). They look lovely on the wire rack still cooling.

Lunch today went well, I grated three different types of cheese (a sharp cheddar, a mild melting cheese, and a muenster just because it caught my eye yesterday), used a dab of mayo to get the cheese to clump a bit, then spread it on the buttered bread for grilled cheese sandwiches. That along with lentil soup and fresh fruit were a wonderful meal. Grilled cheese (even mine on gluten free slices from the freezer - I made wheat bread for my guests) is such a classic comfort food.

After tomorrow I have a few days of good weather for outdoor work (before the next trip and more cat sitting, Friday through Sunday.) Tomorrow is an air quality alert, but Tuesday through Friday will give me a chance to mow and do some painting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 05:49 AM

Everyone here is done with Covid. I had no fever but I did lose the sense of smell for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 08:17 AM

Sister Charmion has crossed the start line and should be on her front stoop awaiting her belongings in a few minutes. Shortly after the moving van arrives, she'll has a seat on her stoop so she can tick off the cargo manifest in more comfort.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 08:44 AM

one must be comfortable ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 10:18 AM

As it turns out, it will be my wife on the stoop, leaving Charmion to more effectively supervise the unloading and stowage — to the extent that one can in the turmoil of a move — of her worldly goods.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 10:44 AM

Yes, supervising is essential. And don't let them turn pieces to the wall when they set them in a room - that can mean they're hiding damage* that you won't see until later.

Trash day today and I stepped out to do a little trimming (despite our orange air alert) and decided to use the battery hedge trimmer to reduce the volume on the juniper out front and drop the trimmings in the trash. Rookie move when without thinking I reached up to grab something I'd trimmed and bumped my glove with the trimmer. Even battery trimmers cut and this little nick through the glove smarts, so my mantra when using this will be something like "keep both hands on the battery end."

I gave away a jar of pickles yesterday and while I still have plenty I need to make another batch today. Three or four weeks out from when they're jarred they're particularly good and they can keep for a couple of months so I'll be eating these into at least November. I'll start delivering the first batch of pickled okra to neighbors on both sides of me. The neighbor across the street with diverticulitis is not supposed to eat seeds and okra has big ones or I'd take her some also.

*Ask me how I know. The now-ex was ignoring what they were doing when I was off tending to a toddler at the short-term apartment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 25 - 06:15 PM

We are all waiting to learn how the day went, if Charmion has a bed and table and chair in the house so she can move in, or if she's waiting until more things get set up plus internet and utilities. Or workmen finish.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 25 - 02:43 PM

I hope Charmion is wearing a dust mask when needed and lifting with her legs, assuming the truck was emptied and work continues and some furniture is being staged. Is the family there to assist with all of this? One hopes so!

The anxiety is growing as American politics continue to show the ugly side of a vocal minority. Too many people are staying in their comfortable silos not pushing back, so today I'm writing letters and will sign up for a couple of events then move on and take deep breaths to keep the PMR at bay. Better to have a dose of stress and get it over with than letting it simmer daily.

We have another ozone action day today but I'll mask up and step out for a few minutes at a time to get some of the worst of the tall grass in the front. So many things to do around here. At least with the part-time job changing I can clump together the work so it doesn't stretch out a couple of hours each day. It'll be a few hours a couple of days now, and I must push myself away from the computer and work around the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 25 - 11:14 PM

It got pretty hot again today so no mowing, but before the mosquitoes were out in full force I used vinegar and water to wash down the gray bars over the kitchen window then painted on a coat of Krylon flat black latex for metal.

A bulk spool of a robust trimmer line is arriving tomorrow. The stuff that came with the trimmer is fragile .65 round nylon compared to beveled shapes of some other .65 line that is sturdier and cuts better. I'll wrap my own little spools, like I've always done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 25 - 10:42 AM

I was running low on paint (decanted from the can into a small takeout container) and racing to finish before mosquitoes discovered me so I see this morning that I missed a few small spots. I cleaned the bars on two more windows, one of which really needs Rust-oleum or a comparable rust-prevention paint so they all should probably get it. I'll check with Ace Hardware, they seem to have the brand name and their own line of paint.

Comfortable shoes will be necessary for extended standing on a ladder rung, I need painters tape on the window sill below, and when I finish will need to take a razor to peel spots of paint off of the window. At the moment I seem to have an ant bite on the instep right where most of my shoes make contact. It smarts to put on shoes today.

How's the house coming along, Charmion? Painters still at work? Hopefully the floors are finished.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 17 Sep 25 - 01:51 PM

Removing Instragram from one's phone: I had a similar overload problem with constantly checking e-mail, exacerbated in my case with a total inability to fire off answers from the hip (any reply deserves considered care). It's a dopamine-hit feedback loop; it used to be called "e-mail twitch", or something of the sort.

My (*ahem*) fix was to sternly limit myself to not opening the mail client until dinnertime, and to never, under any circumstances, start reading e-mail after about three or four in the afternoon. The former let me get on with what I'd been intending to do during the morning without e-interruption; the latter helped me to get home on something vaguely resembling a reasonable time.* Eventually, colleagues got used to slightly slower but less frenzied action on my part, and I slowly got used to not being interrupt-driven .... other than by customers coming through my door in person.†

* That hollow laughter you can hear behind me is from Herself. She likes it better now I've retired, as she no longer has to eat dinner alone at teatime.

† I timed it once: if I'm interrupted when I'm in deep-hack mode, switching contexts from what I'm doing to service said interrupt, plus restoring state afterwards, takes about five minutes, over and above the time required to service the interrupt we first thought of. To translate from the hackish: "Now where the Microsoft was I?" takes time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 25 - 03:23 PM

MaJoC, I used to check in first thing in the morning on the phone, but there are two problems with that. Even with readers, it kind of messed up my distance vision (otherwise 20/20) if I focused for very long on the phone small print. And it phucked up my mood for the day. Now I try to keep it to a couple of headlines (not opening the stories) from NY Times or WaPo, and check the weather, then don't read any more for a while.

My letters were mailed today. I should make one call, and be done with that.

Since this is my birth-month I've had my eye out for pampering myself activities, and the next, probably the final one, is taking my 4x6' Persian carpet in and having the fringe repaired on each end. I had it cleaned a couple of years ago and since then cleaned and repaired two smaller rugs. I've decided having the fringe repaired on this will give it another 100 years, and since it is in my bedroom I'll see it every day. (I vacuum regularly, but in preparing to take it out I vacuumed and turned it over and vacuumed - and was astonished at how much dust dropped out of the top side onto the floor. I repeated the move several times to get most of it.)

Someone across the street is using a stump grinder saw-device but they must be a novice at it; they keep twisting horizontally when the saw is fully into the stump getting a horrible squealing from the mechanism. I found myself thinking about what I would grab for first aid if I have to run over there, should the blade break and fly off of the axle. I finally had to come in the house and hope they survive that operation. If they borrowed the tool the person who loaned it to them would be peeved to know how badly it is being treated.

In quieter pursuits, I downloaded a book I've been meaning to read in my Libby account and will test the new earphones this evening during a date we have with a jigsaw puzzle. I can multitask in that way.