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

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 25 - 12:16 PM

By bedtime last night the hand was uncomfortable and swollen, but ice and the antibiotics helped and today it looks and feels much better. Now for a week of probiotics to counteract the medication.

The season is changing, not just the calendar. It was a remarkably mild summer here but I still had the usual extra large water sources for the dogs. Now I'm stepping those down and will soon get out the extra dog beds (in the summer they prefer sleeping on the cool tile floors.) It helps to rearrange the furniture some so those beds don't become tripping hazards.

In the past I've fussed about the dissolving plastic pods for the washer and dishwasher. I bought the Kroger powered dishwasher detergent and it doesn't do the job as well as the name-brand product in pods or the Kirkland pods. I recently found that Cascade still sells powder in cardboard boxes (not carried in most stores, but Walmart and Amazon have it). I got a box and it works much better, so that research has concluded. I still have a couple of envelopes of the laundry sheet detergent, but when that draws down I'll look for the Arm & Hammer dry in a cardboard box.

I'm to the point where the only sparking water I drink is in aluminum cans or glass bottles. I can't avoid plastic for bottled water, but I don't drink that often, I have it around to hand out as needed. (For tap water I usually go for "still water" - fill a pitcher and let it stand for a few hours so the chlorine dissipates.)

Let's see if I get anything accomplished today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Sep 25 - 06:00 PM

I have been a busy beaver today, and my feet are complaining as a result.

The cat doors have been installed. Marc the carpenter showed up at 0915 hr with the appropriate tools and got it done in less than an hour. But then I had to break down the emptied boxes and bag the packing paper — a surprisingly demanding task. It had to be done, however, as hired muscle is due tomorrow morning to move the too-tall bookcases out to the garage, whence they can be moved on to new people. Then the basement storage area must be rationalized to allow stowage of five boxes of repacked china and kitchen traps and access to (I think) six 4-cu boxes of who knows what. Finally, the boxes of books must migrate from the centre of the living room floor to a less-travelled spot. After doing a number on my right leg from just shoving a stack of three of those boxes, I’m leaving that task to the testosterone team.

So now I’m settled in the comfy chair with Watson purring in my lap and a substantial mug of beer. This basement retreat space isn’t a “lounge” — I think “bunker” is more like it. I’m relaxing in my bunker.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 25 - 10:57 PM

Charmion, did you measure other spaces around the house and determine that there was no other place suitable for your slightly too tall bookcases? No possibility of the basement as a place for the existing shelves for storage?

In the house where I grew up the previous owner had a new set of kitchen cabinets (cupboards below, counters, and cupboards above) built and moved the former (almost identical) set into the basement. We never really used them for much down there but they fit and if we'd done craft activities there they they would have been perfect. The story goes that the owner was a woman who was under 5' tall and she wanted everything scaled down. When we moved in we were tall and all suffered with her low work surfaces, but because of the cost never considered swapping them out. The main bank of them must have been 15-20 feet long and 8-9 feet tall, built as a single unit.

This afternoon when I walked into the pharmacy the pharmacist was surprised that I actually brought in okra. It turns out that he lives with his extended family (Vietnamese) and they love okra. So the ~ pound or two that I had in a bag won't be too much, it will be a nice meal for everyone. I gather their preferred preparation is roasted or grilled and then there is a sauce they use for dipping it.

Lovely rain tonight. I did a quick mow this afternoon to knock down the tall autumn wild grasses in the yard that sprouts 12 to 24" above the surrounding turf. The rain will wash away any clippings I didn't sweep up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 12:06 AM

Had a good field day at the Graphic Mine. Splendid weather and views. The tailings were on the picked-over side but plenty of material for micromounts. A little smithsonite, some small malachites, a bit of azurite, lots of specular hematite, some teeny pyrites that may do well under the microscope. A couple of flaky friends were too late for the trip up the mountain so I rode with a very high level collector, which was pretty lucky and educational. He is trying to get in 2 field trips a week. I may never get there, but I do want to get moving now that the weather is moderating, snakes be damned.

On the way home took the back road through Reserve and it was peaceful and scenic.

Today I finally loaded OnX Hunt on a tablet, it offers aerial photos and land-ownership maps, very helpful for staying out of trouble when finding mines in the wild. Regrettably it does not have contours, section lines, or the other good things on USGS topos. So, I'm hand coloring the ownership status on the paper topos I have for my first few expeditions. I've already marked up mine locations (which are not always correct but it's a start).

Now all I need is time and better weather, so maybe next week. There was standing water in my road and drive when I got back, first time ever. I have a few unsuspecting friends who seem willing to go along so I'll not be 4WDing in strange places alone.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 12:00 PM

Patty, a couple of questions. Where does the name "Graphic" come from in the mines? Lead is found along with other igneous minerals, sphalerite, etc, and it sounds like you were picking up a mix of igneous and sedimentary minerals. Is that area an igneous intrusion through sedimentary rock? I've picked up specular hematite also, and it kind of looks like molybdenum (igneous), but in different areas. I'm jumbling together a lot of my rock collecting memories here, not necessarily adding clarity to the question. :-/ "Graphite" and "graphic" aren't interchangeable for a lead ore, are they?

Do you have topographic maps of all of the areas you go exploring to use in conjunction with the tablet app? (I carried them around for years as a mountain climber/back packer, and when I worked for various national parks and forests.) I love topo maps. In the mid-1970s I was working for the Forest Service on the establishment of a new wilderness area in the Cascades (Alpine Lakes). It was a land exchange on a large scale and we had to look at historic maps to identify all of the mines and any other claims. Those old maps were amazing. We also got to go out occasionally with an archeologist to look at sites on the ground that might need special protections. Mostly it was an office job, planimetering on maps to establish the value of the various types of forests being traded. I haven't thought about that in a very long time.

The cat bite is at an achy stage, where I'm trying to get it to heal and not somehow fester or get worse despite the antibiotics. A hot compress this morning to boost the area circulation. And the friend (who I didn't visit with in person when she got home) is now testing herself for Covid as symptoms arise following the weekend with people and two airline flights (that included a 6-hour delay at the airport on the way out). That weekend, with all of the cat hospital bills, is a gift that keeps on giving.

In this week following my tumultuous weekend I consider it a win that I got the trash down to the curb before the truck made the rounds.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 12:43 PM

I'm a little alarmed about your infection. Are you taking zinc and C at least twice a day to help your immune system do battle? Please rest and push fluids if you're not feeling well yet, many of the chores can wait.

I have acquired several topos for my home area, but they are no longer $2 so I don't have a huge collection. They are invaluable, though not always perfect, and the more recent ones are often sparse and junky so it's good to download the older ones. Blessedly the USGS has finally gotten their online mapping portal to be convenient, you can now choose your own rectangle and download and print little maps of select areas, very handy if your target falls across 4 quads.

I don't see any explanations of the Graphic Mine name, I guess I am used to random names being given to mines so I did not inquire. No, it is not normally a term used synonymously with lead deposits, at least in my experience. There is something called graphic granite but it doesn't occur here.

A lot of our mines are indeed located at igneous intrusions, often monzonite, with associated faults which host accumulations of ore minerals. The host rock here is hard limestone, and one collector found a complete horn coral replaced by smithsonite.

Here's a couple links about the mine and district.

Graphic Mine

Magdalena history

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 12:54 PM

When I saw "Graphic Mine", I envisioned miners chipping art work out of the rockface. I shall now go and hide.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 02:51 PM

As it happens I have a bottle of "Super C" with D3 and zinc, so have taken an extra one today (I usually cut them in half). And will drink more fluids (it isn't quite as hot right now so I haven't been as thirsty, so that was a good reminder, thank you!) I'll save the outdoor work for a few days, now that the more urgent mowing job is finished.

There's a map I've seen (this isn't it, but might offer some useful information: Texas Minerals Resource Map) with the various gems and minerals to be found around Texas. I was interested many years ago to learn that the area around Amarillo has some of those intrusions of igneous into metamorphic and there are ruby and garnet (metamorphic minerals) in the area. It has to do with an ancient submerged mountain range that is exposed at the current surface in a few areas. I think I saw the map in a rock shop in Amarillo, when I was in the area researching the Alibates Flint Quarries. Adding "rockhound" to the search helped. This guy might have some breadcrumbs to follow. This one has map coordinates. Something to keep in mind next time I visit out in West Texas. Road cuts can be wonderful! :)

How's the house coming along, Charmion? Is the painting finished?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 05:24 PM

The painter was touching up trim even as the movers hauled in the furniture. I hope never to see that dance again.

Team Testosterone — beefy Marcel and his nephew Emmanuel — arrived at 1045 hr and immediately began imposing order on the chaos. The too-tall bookcases are now in the garage — and no, there isn’t room for them anywhere else in the house. A big, fancy, Victorian bookcase with glass doors lives on the ground floor, and an even bigger but more prosaic Victorian bookcase with no doors occupies most of one wall in the study upstairs. There’s also a half-height bookcase topped with a marble slab in the dining room. It has cookbooks in it.

The old bookcases, made of walnut and maple, are much stronger than modern ones made of veneered particle board. I keep art books, bound volumes of “Punch” from the Great War, atlases, a massive leather-bound family Bible, and other heavy, large-format volumes in the one with doors. The other one holds music and reference books, plus whatever history doesn’t fit elsewhere.

The storage area that takes up the half of the basement that isn’t the bunker is full of boxes ranging in size from 5-cu dish barrels (four of them!) to 1-cu book boxes. Stuff that came from Stratford in Rubbermaid bins is stashed on plywood shelving along the wall, and everything else is neatly stacked where I can get at it. The washing machine, dryer and freezer are all accessible — hooray!

Speaking of the bunker, eight large picture boxes are leaning against the wall where the bookcases were supposed to go. I haven’t even thought of unpacking them yet.

And the books — packed in six 2-cu boxes and three 1.5-cu boxes — are lined up along the railing that separates the dining room from the stairs down to the bunker. They’re safe and out of the gangway. Can’t say fairer than that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 25 - 11:06 PM

As you unpack each of these items it gives you a chance to meditate on why you chose them and why they moved to the new house. Sounds like you have some great storage.

This was a day for puttering and a nap and not doing much else. The hand is still tender but looking better. I have four different friends who aren't feeling good this week, two with confirmed Covid, one testing for it, and one who stubbornly never admits that he has seasonal allergies and could take a 24-hour Zyrtec and make it a lot better. I checked in with all of them, and this evening had a bonus call with a friend who has AFib.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Sep 25 - 11:59 AM

My antique rug went into the shop last week for a fringe repair and he was very quick this time, I'll pick it up tomorrow. That means I'll vacuum and mop and have the room in good shape before we start the inevitable dust build up again.

I haven't taken down the stove hood yet, but may get to that today. I have a big plastic tub for the sink to fill with hot soapy water to soak the screens, but it occurs to me that the screens are inexpensive and easy to replace. I can soak the washable fan parts in the tub instead (after running the filter through the dishwasher - it seems that is possible also).

Antibiotics are not playing nicely with the gut flora. I'm taking a probiotic and have taken the magnesium out of my supplements for the time being. I must do some running around this morning but after that I'll plan to spend most of the rest of the week close to home.

Fall is here but the summer heat is hanging on, at least through today. It looks like starting tomorrow we'll have highs in the 80s instead of 90s. Makes a big difference to yard work (or painting window bars).

Sandra, how is it going in your area? Has the weather improved? Are your injuries all healed?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 01:09 PM

Part of yesterday's problem might be the result of eating a generous portion of fried okra. I haven't eaten greasy food in a long time. No more until after the antibiotic has finished.

Spammers have been hitting the 'cat hard over the last week or more, I think I removed about 75 new threads or posts this morning alone. Ugg. Decluttering of the virtual sort.

The aluminum screen range hood filters were scrubbed with dish soap and super hot water yesterday, then run through the dishwasher and are much improved. A Rubbermaid container flipped in washing and held wash water with quite an accumulation of black ash from the screens. The fan is now soaking in very hot water; do I want to run it through the dishwasher also? Possibly.

Rain overnight, not unheard of this time of year, but unusual. A bag I'd left on the porch for a freecycle person got wet, so I decanted the contents into a box. She sent her phone number via email, for some reason wanting instructions that way instead of email, but I'm not fond of just adding more numbers to my phone, there is too much spam coming through already. I used my Google voice phone account so I can send her a text from my computer with the instructions (typing long messages on the phone screen is for the birds and I refuse to dictate a message into text, the phones make so many mistakes) and will delete her when this is complete.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 01:26 PM

Yes, the spammers have been insufferable, I was shocked to see the number of spam threads above the BS line on the Mudcat forum this morning. Somebody needs to get a real job, seems like.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 01:43 PM

I think they get points or payment per post, but I don't know if it counts if they go away right away, so we make them disappear completely.

Loading the dishwasher with a few items this morning and am including the big plastic fan from the range hood. It ends up off-balance due to buildup, so though I soaked in the sink and scrubbed already, I'll give it another cleaning this way. The housing itself needs a lot of attention also, a full afternoon enterprise. There are parts I can't reach unless I take the entire thing down, I don't know that I'm that gung ho about the job. (I always use the dishwasher on air dry to prevent plastic things from warping—double-checked to be sure that was the setting before starting this!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 04:03 PM

For the investment of a couple of hours time I have a clean and quiet running stove hood fan. The settings used to offer high and low, now it only runs on high, and the bulbs I put in it a few years ago won't do high and low, just high, but they're LED vs the original halogen, so a lot less heat.

Putting it back together after cleaning was easier; the encrusted grease around the fan axle made removal difficult. I had to clean the stovetop of a lot of stuff dripped during the process, but my vintage kitchen now has a vintage vent fan that works without the racket. To quote the landscaping channel I watch on YouTube, "Not perfect, but better." Cleaning the filters isn't sufficient, I should have been getting up inside more often. (As with the refrigerator compressor - something I need to remember to do perhaps quarterly.)

Now to go pick up the rug.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 04:56 PM

Stilly, get well soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 25 - 08:53 PM

Thanks, Don! Much better today! The friend I cat sit for reports that the virus her cats caught seems to have run its course (her regular vet agrees - they caught something from the emergency vet's office) and they're beginning to eat. She, on the other hand, is on Paxlovid for the COVID she picked up on the trip or one of the flights, but she detected it really early so is feeling ok. We haven't talked face-to-face for this reason. It has been a complicated couple of weeks for our commingled health and cat activities. She is the source of the cash payments I stash away, though there was a hefty draw-down today for the repair on the gorgeous family antique Persian carpet. It is magnificent and is once again on the floor beside my bed.

On my drive back from the rug shop (I took ~ a pound of okra along as a gift - and kidded him "that was a rug repair and wash for a pound of fresh organic okra, correct?") I considered some of the small things I've meant to do that I always forget as soon as I get home or conditions change. One of those, as I looked at the vehicles in front of me with dealer frames around their license plates, was to take the dealer trim off of my SUV. So as soon as I backed into the garage I reached into the toolbox for one of the big old Philips head screwdrivers (that came from my Dad's house - I enjoy having many of his tool here still to use) and it took less than five minutes to remove them, re-attach the plates, and clean off the dust that had collected under the trim. Into the trash with the plastic advertising bits. They're not even worth trying recycle.

The nerd in me is glad to discover another Argiope spider hanging out beyond the front porch. This one has a web from the front corner of the roofline down into the Salvia gregii in a front bed, about 6' forward from the dame in the near top corner of the porch. She's even larger than the one I've reported on all summer. No idea why she hasn't been visible until now.

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

I’ve ordered blinds for the bedrooms and the big south-facing window at the back of the house, and entered into a contract with a local snow-removal company. A security consultant came by to assess the alarm system — rudimentary, inappropriate (because motion detectors) and obsolete. His company’s quote is sitting in my inbox. In short, I continue to spew money about the landscape.

The garage is full of flattened cardboard boxes and huge recycling bags stuffed with used packing paper, all waiting for pick-up by the moving company. That’s with several 4-cus, four 5-cu barrels, and most of the books still to go. And, of course, the pictures. But the radio, the TV and DVD player are fully functional, I can wash and dry the contents of the laundry basket, and I have identified a decent local pub. I can cook real meals, even for other people if they don’t mind dining with the stacked boxes of books. I’d call that initial operating capability.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 25 - 11:18 AM

A decent local pub - nice! Something I used to visit in my college days but wouldn't consider walking into one of the drinking establishments around here.

Does the moving company pick up those boxes for reuse or simply to discard for you? (Hopefully reuse!) There is a steady stream of moving boxes offered and asked for on a Freecycle group I moderate, for handing off extra boxes after this initial pickup (for future reference).

Running errands this afternoon to drop off an eBay parcel at UPS and to help a friend remove a bandage down the middle of her back. The subcutaneous pain electrode thingie wasn't working so was removed.

I'm dressed for painting the window bars, once I'm back from my running. I'll start with two of the three on the front of the house, after I take a graphite pen out to spritz their locks so I can open them for easier inside painting. The third one has three issues: a porch glider is sitting in front of it, there is a several-inch-long heavy smear of mud from a past mud dauber nest I need to scrub off the top, and there is an active paper wasp nest going in the corner a few feet away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 26 Sep 25 - 08:49 PM

I have seldom had access to a local 'Cheers' type bar, but this town has one in each social/service club; Elks, Moose, Legion. Very nice, inexpensive drinks and 'everybody knows your name'. Apparently it's a thing in some towns in the West. It was news to me.

I really thought the goathead/caltrop season was over, but they have come back after recent rains as though I never pulled up the first thousand plants. After I got over my horror, I got a new sprayer and was all set to use the acid treatment, but, this dastardly weed can grow, flower, and set fruit/burrs all in 2 weeks--if you look at the stems with lovely little yellow flowers, there are already big fat burrs further down the same stem. Again,too late to poison or acidize, because would still have to harvest the plants to keep the burrs from getting into circulation.   

I see now that one must acidize or poison only the fresh new sprigs which are pretty darn small to hunt down. And I would get right on that, but right now hundreds of large plants have to be dug up, there are lots in the driveway in that will hitch a ride on my tires if I don't act now. I am getting out more of the root now that the ground is wet, so that's something.   But I studied up on caltrop and was dismayed to see it can take 3 to 5 years to eradicate it even with great effort, because the seeds stay viable that long.

Meanwhile, I've been careful to wear dark jeans for weedwhacking, but I wore a longsleeve shirt to foil the sun, which now has a grass-stained area. What is the advice on dealing with that?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 25 - 10:39 PM

Wow. It sounds like an operation that might involve heavy gloves, a short mattock, and stuffing the plants into a contractor weight bag as you chop them out (I bought my last batch at Home Depot). Grass stains would probably respond best to an enzyme soak before washing (Biz, etc.) Look at the 15" handle one, not the big one that requires two hands to use. It's one of the tools I use most often around here, along with the spade fork (that might also work for this, but not as fast to cut off the roots with a chop just below soil level). It would probably be best to have a set of clothes dedicated to this work (like my painting clothes today - though I never got back in time to paint). Yes, vinegar can kill the new growth, but when plants are sturdy it doesn't do much to them.

Today I delivered an eBay sale to UPS then headed out to do a couple of other errands and dropped off fresh okra with my cat owning friend who is getting over Covid after the last trip. Even with Paxlovid she's still feeling it. We talked on the porch, and she's three days into the medication so is probably no longer contagious. I have one more dose of the antibiotic for the cat bite then I'll switch to three days of Diflucan to combat the yeast infection headed my way. It was a week to remember.

A small pan with a few of the last tomatoes of the season is simmering this evening and I'll freeze them as-is since it isn't enough to make anything with. They'll be a good addition to something else I'm cooking one of these days. Along with a lot of okra I picked an eggplant today and see a few more small ones started on the plants; as the fall weather makes the plants happy there should be a lot more.

My nextdoor neighbor brought me some squash that was growing over the fence in the other property he owns in the area; his neighbors there are a Mexican family who have a robust garden in the back yard and these squash were dangling in his yard. I don't recognize the variety. I'll be sending these to my daughter's chickens. While we were talking I introduced him to both front porch spiders and opened the security door so both dogs could greet him. As guard dogs they suck, but they make noise and would scare off burglars. He was ok with both the dogs and the spiders.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 27 Sep 25 - 10:40 AM

Yes, using rubber-coated gloves. Getting impossible to find cotton-based ones, the stores all have cheesy thin ones on synthetic fabric, not only uncomfortable but don't last.

The tool of choice for me is a long handle combination thing which allows me to work from a standing position. https://www.gardenyourway.com/search?q=dewit-comby-long-handle-tool-4-tine-cultivator-and-straight-edge-hoe-head

Today I am giving an irritated shoulder a rest, attending "Sandfest 2025" via Zoom, a gathering of sand collectors, scientists and educators. Wish I could have gone to NY state for the festivities, but it just didn't work out this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 25 - 12:52 PM

I fixed that link - we're on the same wavelength as far as chopping and digging with one tool. Good luck finding the perfect gloves for that work. I tend to buy polyester gloves with the palm and fingers coated with nitrile for gardening. Getting them in 10-packs is cheaper, but every time I go looking for more the previous version is no longer available and the next batch of bulk gloves are cheaper and flimsier. In the back of the SUV I have a pair of leather work gloves stashed (the heavy ones with a big cuff) for when I handle lumber. I always forget them and have over the years bought several pairs of them at the store for loading lumber. Finally got smart and left at least one pair in the car.

This morning I took the time to connect the Bluetooth of new pair of comfortable headphones (a birthday gift to myself—they go completely over the ears, not on ear or in ear) to my phone so the Libby app will now let me listen to audiobooks. For weeks I've been reading a book on paper but it came through in the unabridged audio version so I've synced the recording to my reading progress.

House plants have received attention this week, and right now I have several pots of pothos being sprouted from what was once a long vine (some in soil, others in water, to see which works best). I also have a couple of plants that have failed to thrive and one may go to my daughter (she seems to have a magic touch when it comes to succulents).

The radio is on to NPR this morning and they just played a story about adverse possession of property. The owner of property was set to sell some but it was discovered the neighbor's goat fence encroached on their land in a wooded area between them (spoiler alert - he lost his property to the neighbor). When I was in college I housesat for an old friend who was suing a neighbor over his encroachment on several acres (he lost, after several years and going to the state supreme court). In my instance here, the fenceline was several feet inside my property line when I moved in (there were a couple of fences side by side). I gradually was able to remove the old fences, but when the new neighbor bought the property the former owner and I both asked that he have the property surveyed and put the new fence he intended on the actual line, not on the existing line. That way I got a long strip six feet wide back. If I'd ignored it, I could have lost it simply by the fence having been in place for so long with no correction or challenge. #FirstWorldProblems

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Sep 25 - 03:57 PM

Today I took the bus uptown to watch England crush Canada in the women’s Rugby World Cup final. It’s years since I last watched sport in any form, and I’m here to report that rugby fans are the same whatever the gender of the teams in contention — loud, brash, and periodically moved to explain the nuances of the game to total strangers.

For the record, Canada were good, but England were amazing.

After yesterday’s visit from Marc the handy-man, I now have tolerable lights in the bunker, four sections of properly braced heavy-duty pine shelving in the storage room, and a shower head that can be aimed at my lower back and doesn’t sprinkle the toilet. I also have the computer and printer up and running, and the filing cabinet stashed in the guest room closet where it actually fits. (Too bad for any guest who arrives with a floor-length gown.) Before the sun sets today, I should have it reloaded and the empty file boxes removed to the basement.

Tomorrow, the too-tall IKEA bookcases go up on Facebook Marketplace, and on Monday, I shall start on the basement boxes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Sep 25 - 09:33 PM

Dupont:

I was near a week at Beaver - a beautiful week! Helped my neighbour with the glazing mystique after I found an abundance of test tiles which helped greatly to give him some clarity and introduced him to the many buckets for mostly dry but still recoverable glazes and the glaze recipes. He went home with much more confidence.

I did not get pots made but had a good time at the "third Saturday event", visits with a few friends and then back here. No internet at Beaver other than sitting outside the library - I don't go inside due to smelly cleaning materials.

Added an hour to coming home by forgetting phone and going back for it!

Not getting much done here as recovering from the long drive. Trying to get the house sorted out as a friend from PA is due on Monday. We repotted the ficus today as I feared it was getting pot bound. It was almost touching the ceiling and will still be but on a lower level

R's two stellar workmen did a job on the eaves. They may have decimated some of the flowers. I am rooting for Roxanne - I greet it at the front steps and it reminds me of the dear friend who introduced us! Another section of the eave needs similar attention; I will be more protective of plants on that side! A squirrel lives in there and needs find a new home soon!!

Spiders? Cobwebs: Son Taun takes umbrage with the cobwebs in our house thus reminding me of his neurotic psycho father. He offered to pay for professional house cleaners - ROFL!!! This is an OLD house -1902. WE have lots of stuff!! WE struggled to evict cobwebs between a window and storm - the window did not open far enough but R somehow got most of it. I have no problem with cobwebs and I am about ready to tell my son just that!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 25 - 12:36 AM

Dorothy, so good to see your report and that you're teaching others about your glazes. I thought of you last week when I was working in the art museum archives where I volunteer; they brought in a bunch of bricks with swatches of test firings of glazes from an artist's studio whose collection they have received. They had to choose representative samples of the bricks since there were so many and they're quite large. And just as well you didn't sit in the library parking lot to get online; it's good to get away from the Internet.

Staying away from news and the Internet I finished a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle early today and started a 1000-piece one this evening. In between I did some photography for another couple of eBay listings and general work around the house. Focusing on things that will help keep my stress levels down as I prepare to step down another milligram in tapering the Prednisone.

I followed a friend's instructions for roasting okra and was quite pleased with how it turned out. With a good supply for another few weeks I'll do this frequently. I cut out one of the two cucumber plants today, it had reached it's limit of production and I have enough small cucumbers for another jar or two of fresh pickles.

The spot weld on the corner of the frame of my computer glasses (blue blocker readers) popped apart and today I tested fixing it with super glue. So far so good (when the first impulse is to buy a new pair but all it needs is to be stuck back together again, it's good I finally bought some of the glue to try out. $1 for three tubes at Harbor Freight.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Sep 25 - 04:49 PM

I am drinking beer in the bunker in front of an interesting video on YouTube. The kitchen sink is showing signs of distress, but right now I don’t care: sufficient unto Monday is the household problem that must wait for a plumber’s availability. Tonight, I’m off to the home of Brother No. 1 for dinner, armed with two bottles of pinot noir. Oh, luxury — I will not be driving!

I think this is the first year in decades in which I have not made any kind of preserves at all, not even chutney.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 25 - 04:57 PM

Two more pints of fresh pickles are cooling on the kitchen counter before refrigeration. Since it's only September I can start a new batch of plants - cucumbers, squash, and things like broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I don't usually grow broccoli or cauliflower - it's slow growing - but did have luck with broccoli years ago. The tomatoes are at this point a large hedge that is still growing - I didn't cut down the existing batch and I see a few fruits forming now. I threw out all of the old seeds so as not to waste time with non-viable stock, so will see what looks good at the neighborhood nursery and plant from seed or bedding plants. It's liberating to be free of the old seed packs that I always thought I ought to give a try, but when they didn't grow, or not many, it was a waste of the growing season.

At bedtime last night I messed myself up with my reading material. Since I had moved over to audiobook versions of a couple of books I've been reading I picked up another, Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale. He wrote Junkyard Planet that I know I talked about several times in the past. Anyway, just reading about all of the stuff in the homes of older folks and how it is being handled as they move to senior living or after they die got my brain to spinning about all of my projects here and I just wasn't getting to sleep. During the wee hours I drank a cup of chamomile tea and worked on the new jigsaw before trying again. Reading about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge would have been relaxing, but as an audiobook I didn't want to fall asleep with the headphones on and have to go back over however much I slept through later.

Charmion, I bragged about your rapid-fire move and progress on the new house to a friend of mine who is doing something similar right now. Mainly about going ahead and painting as you first move in. She has furniture that was in a house with a different color and is debating about reupholstering, but it seems it would be easier, faster, and much cheaper to simply paint the rooms that furniture will be in. She's worried about painting in rooms with carpet. (Alas, she's in an HOA and they've already heard through the grapevine that a neighbor has complained about over-tall shrubs in the back yard and mosquitoes in a fountain in the front yard. Note to self: send her information about Summit Mosquito Dunks. I will never, ever, buy in an HOA situation.)

Edited note: Did you have some of last year's chutney or other preserves to pack and bring to the new house? Now that you're in place, will you plan to make a modest batch just to break in the new/old kitchen?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 09:18 AM

No chutney this year; I still have most of last year’s batch. I don’t have a church bazaar to support (yet), and these days my various relatives don’t go through it at speed. Several jars of marmalade and chutney are packed in a wine box stashed in Brother Andrew’s basement.

The hardwood stairs guy starts work tomorrow, which means the last of the awful broadloom will be gone by Wednesday. It looks worse every day, so I can hardly wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 06:24 PM

I'll be off to chorus rehearsal for the week in a few minutes.
Just reflecting on this month's rehearsals so far.
A bunch of choristers, I am told, who were out for a year or two have returned.
I know of one member who is de-cluttered from the chorus, just for the fall semester.
We spend the fall semester preparing Christmas Concerts for December.
In the bass section, I have mentioned that bass who does not read music and
does everything by ear, and has the deepest, lowest, loudest bass voice in his section.
He works hard, but he can be a little hard to work with sometimes.
He'll be back for the big spring concert.
But he is de-cluttered from the fall semester (absent)
because he is an observant Jew and objects to singing in Christmas concerts.
At least, that's what the conductor told me
when I remarked on the man's absence.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 08:33 PM

keb, I hope you have a great time with the Christmas music, it's so good to celebrate the season that way, it helps it not all be about gifting.

Well, today I prioritized getting out in the field with a couple of non-collector friends, goathead weeds be damned. It was rocky going at times, but turned out a lovely day, and one buddy turned out to be a great offroad driver. The initial mines in the low Victorio Mtns that I targeted were hard to get to, and the local rock uninspiring.

But we left via a different route, and stumbled on a lovely alternate site and found some goodies. It's accessible enough I can go back, perhaps with a collector who won't mind pawing around for longer.

Then I explored a few other local roads closer to home, and learned which roads on the maps and GPS are in fact no longer there. Lots of notes to make while the info is fresh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 10:35 PM

Patty, years ago I was pulled over at Van Horn on I-10 because I was driving a Chevy Silverado with a camper shell on the back. Bogus speeding stop (I was 3 miles over) - it turns out it was "probable cause" - people can be moved inside the shells of pickups like that and he wanted to take a look. My 18-year-old son was impressed at my pushback about the stop ("really? Three miles over?" Really?") That was during the Obama administration. Now with all of the ICE/Border Patrol emboldenment, have you been stopped when you're driving around on those back roads? You're within 100 miles of the border. Stay safe, friend, and if you have to deploy the rock hammer, make the first blow count. I suggest using the pointy end.

Keberoxu, it's a classic situation with a man getting his way even though he can't meet the qualifications of the group. Someone should tutor him on the side so he can at least read the music (but let that be another man - less pushback).

Charmion, enjoy watching the hardwood stairs guy at work. A small bonus in the midst of all of this churn.

High drama looms with the possible government shutdown here, so I intentionally spent the day away from the news and screens, instead spending a couple of hours on a new jigsaw. I'll be damned if Trump is going to keep me on steroids. I'll listen to my audiobook for a while this evening (I am watching the two programs each Monday that give a lot of information, but then I turn it off again.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 09:54 AM

Have not been stopped on back roads. Have crossed the border on foot a hundred times, and inside-the-border-checkpoints in vehicles another hundred. Once in a while I'll have them peer in the windows, only one ever asked to look in the RV which could have carried a dozen people.

But usually I get the wave through, or a quick hello to see if I have an accent. I often feel like June Cleaver, sailing through above reproach, because of light skin and blue eyes. It is a very bizarre system and a colossal waste of money, since people and commerce have been crossing the border for hundreds of years. Imagine your people living in an area for a dozen generations, and you still get stopped for driving while brown.

Our part of the border has occasional violence and drama, but usually is very low key. So far I think the ICE goon squads concentrate their efforts where population is dense.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 10:34 AM

Decluttering the savings ended up requiring a phone call; I paid a big chunk toward the mortgage principal but it was credited as the October payment plus extra. Nope. I wound through the maze of the phone system prompts to finally reach a person (and their website also sucks, in case they wonder what I think). Will be credited properly (I used bill pay from my credit union and they no longer have a line for an added note, so I need to reproach them on that failure).

Shopping and lunch today, and a haircut tomorrow. What a busy week socially! I've signed up to go to a lecture on my old campus next week.

We have had a number of air quality warnings lately, and yesterday's expired in early evening so I took the dogs for a walk before sunset. We need to do a lot more of that now that the weather is cooler (and the pavement isn't dangerously hot for them to walk on.) Even as low as this dose of steroids is I'm feeling it and need to not just watch the calories, but also get more exercise. Same ol' same ol' - when the low-carb high protein diet doesn't work as well because a medication is causing the munchies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 10:56 AM

Ottawa is having an unusually warm autumn; here we are at the end of September and no sign of frost yet. Yesterday's high was 27C, which is just wrong.

The phone menu misery Stilly describes is one of my new bugbears, too. I have to contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre to tell the minions there that I have moved, but I can't get beyond the first hurdle without my Pension Number, which is, of course, in a document that is still in a filebox that is still in a stack in the half-organized study.

That can wait until tomorrow. Or next week.

Antosh the stair guy is hard at work, but taking long breaks on the porch to manage some kind of divorced-parent crisis by phone. I am so glad that bullet never came for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 11:11 AM

ICE overreach

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 05:49 PM

Sometimes I wonder if the family stuff I've held onto for years is of any interest to my kids. The antique furniture, not so much. But we have figured out that my daughter's early xmas present this year will be 6+ yards of silk chiffon velvet my mother bought decades ago.

When I started researching it I realized that to sell it online the price would be huge, and I'd sell it as one piece, and have to be careful that someone didn't pull a stunt like sending it back (swapping the wrong material) or claiming it was wrong. Too many scams out there on some of the high-dollar stuff, so I didn't sell it. Today at lunch she talked about the hats she has been making (reproductions of hats from the 1500s seen in art portraits) and how she needs some silk velvet. I told her about what Mom bought when she was stationed in Japan right after WWII, ca. 1946. Silk chiffon velvet.

Since lunch I sent her my notes and photos from researching the fabric, and she has a more information from reddit: "99% of silk velvet sold these days is silk backing (in the form of a drapey thin chiffon) and rayon pile. To be frank, if your silk velvet costs less than $300/yd, you are getting silk/rayon."

She has been making historic costumes for years, but found the response to hats to be just as enthusiastic and they don't take as long to make. Hats are also more likely to fit more people than the garments designed for various body types. The rayon/silk fabric is good for testing, for samples and bulk stuff, the velvet from Japan is for special work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 11:28 PM

It was a late start, but I began painting the bars over one of the full-sized windows this evening. Those over bedroom windows are hinged and lock and this was one of those, so it was opened and the inside painted first. I moved from there to paint front and back the curly ornamental work that runs down the middle bar. Tomorrow I'll paint the rest of the front. It gave me a chance to figure out how much paint per window (I have one quart, and will probably need two to finish the whole house.) Timing-wise it was getting toward sunset, getting into mosquito activity.

Charmion, how do the stairs look? Was there nice flooring under the carpet on the stairs, or do they need new wood?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 01:43 PM

The house is a construction zone again. Antosh the stair guy is about half-way through making and installing the stringers and treads. Risers and the landing are down the road a ways. The sitting room is not a fun zone, and the staircase is an obstacle course. The project will probably take the rest of this week.

This house was built with broadloom in the bedrooms and the hall, and on the stairs. When the carpet was ripped up (cue the great cloud of dust), there was nothing but three-quarter-inch plywood subfloor under it. “Nice flooring” is not found under broadloom in a house like this, built as cheaply as possible and on spec for the working-class and lower middle-class market.

I have been piddling away at sorting out my study, making little progress since I unpacked the last box and loaded the filing cabinet. The heap of tattered papers ranging in importance from critical (house deed) to garbage (sales slips from the gas station) makes my heart sink whenever I look at it. I know I will eventually get my shit together and deal with it but, until I do, it radiates guilt and worry at me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 01:48 PM

Dupont:
A Great couple days! A friend from PA made the extra couple hours from the Contra Dance event of Lake George, to our house. A wonderful guest on a day I was feeling lower'n a snake's belly. She helped with everything - her beautiful cheery, encouraging self. Now I have learned a new meal for us, had a wonderful companion for two days, learned a better way of using the big water jug for our distilled water, took her to Isle St. Bernard on a gorgeous day, picked up the veggies at the CLSC - with her advising my choices - then she cooked!!

She went home with two large plastic bags of fabrics that I had unwisely collected over many years and no longer have the energy for, including all the pieces of patterns that had ended up stuffed into the drawers - some pinned to a fabric and cut out.... We were both thrilled - I have a few large empty drawers and she has innumerable projects planned for the winter - when it is too cold to work outdoors. We have similar tastes in colours, etc and she has wonderfully creative ideas. Wonderful that fabrics I have cherished are going to a new home. She also collected some brand new, unworn but outgrown outfits! I might have found more but got tired. I generally only wear T shirts, sweat shirts and very comfortable pants of a highly leisure sort!

I was also glad to pass on a sweat shirt for which she has one similar - from the Quaker Meeting we once attended. AND three of those fancy plates depicting three Quaker Meeting houses down where she still lives! She can pass them on! A treasure trove of the best kind of decluttering! I am elated!

Now I have room in those empty drawers for organizing other stuff!

A retired music teacher who is broadening her music horizons, I suggested she join Mudcat and check the FB page. She has gone to Mardi Gras a couple times and delights in turning her violin into a fiddle!

Now back to real life! Tires to be changed tomorrow and fall servicing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 06:42 PM

YAH!! to finding the right owner for cherished items!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 25 - 12:31 PM

Charmion, you've accomplished so much in the last few months that giving a little break before setting up your study is the least you can do. Dorothy, that's the perfect outcome for all of that fabric!

Yesterday's haircut decluttered about 5" so I can still pull it back in a pony tail or do a very short braid, but it comes to just below my shoulders. I think the last time it was this short was after our long confinement due to COVID and I had a bunch cut off to remove the previous highlights I'd been putting in (that grew out during COVID).

The entire week is above normal temperatures and has air quality issues, and next week is forecast to be almost as warm. Work is postponed accordingly. Bleh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 08:28 AM

All this week I have been feeling weak and unsteady, wobbly on my feet and unfocussed. At first I thought I was taking rather a long time to recover from too much booze after dinner at Elder Brother’s house, but today I’m still dragging my tail and that can’t be why. Maybe — just maybe — I just ran out of metaphorical gas? Exhausted myself? Of course, the series of little glasses (after the wine) did its own share of the damage, but I’m beginning to think it was actually a last straw.

So I’ve been going to bed early and getting up when the cats insist, and avoiding tasks that require sustained effort. Keeping out of Tosh the stair guy’s way is my main occupation, while sorting out the heap of neglected papers (done at last), paying the bills, and picking at the boxes in the basement storage. I have three china barrels (not full of china) and two 4-cu boxes to go.

So far, from the boxes, one wineglass and one Mason jar have turned up smashed. Four pieces of furniture were wounded in transit from Stratford, and I have made arrangements for appropriate repairs.

The bookcase problem remains unsolved, and the twelve 2-cu boxes of books sit untouched in the dining room. I haven’t cracked any of the picture crates in the bunker, either. Next week. Maybe.

Today, the plan is to reconnoitre the community centre with the swimming pool, and sign up for aquafit if I can. I shall also plot the best route through the road construction to the nearest Anglican church, and replenish my veg supply.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 11:23 AM

Charmion, is there any environmental stuff that might be impacting how you feel? The type of paint used, any glue used in the floor installation, etc? Do the air ducts in the house needing a cleaning? Dust or mold in the attic? After all of the work you have gone through, to feel puny now might mean more than just more work has made you tired. Also, please don't catch COVID.

Yesterday I worked on painting two sets of window bars, and on each window I had to shoo away a lizard that was hanging out on the screen over the lower part of the window itself. I didn't want them getting into the paint and harming themselves. It's always something!

Trying to avoid the stress of a government shutdown and keeping the PMR at bay is what I'm struggling with right now. Avoiding the hyper-focus of earlier this year has been manageable, but the news is impossible to completely ignore, and I don't want to. I am working on making my words and actions count the most then moving on to other stuff. So, this weekend I'll write another letter to my representatives before shifting gears to more painting, or maybe finally finishing the fence repair in the back yard. Working outside and listening to the world around is healthy (though last night as I painted the ice cream truck drove by - I'm glad I live in a neighborhood the ice cream truck is willing to visit, but one wonders about a mindless repetition of a tune about a cockroach to sell a dessert item.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 06:51 PM

I heard this tip today: the "Ask This Old House" episode had homeowners painting metal patio furniture. The painter said the best cleaner for the metal is denatured alcohol. I was using water and white vinegar. Ace Hardware sells a five-gallon barrel, way too much. Looks like I'm stuck with Walmart, so an expedition to WallyWorld tomorrow. My theory is there is a dumbing-down filter at those stores, that anyone who enters that parking lot or premises loses 20 IQ points. I'd go to Lowes except there is something else I also need from Walmart.

A grocery shopping trip today in the bulk aisle looking for healthy snacks. I'll see if smoked almonds are any less of a carb hit as my crispy pecans. (It's a lot less work to buy them than to make the pecans.) For other snacks I looked at the packages of string cheese, convenient but expensive small plastic-wrapped pieces. I'll cut a sharp cheddar block into cubes to keep in a container. I take medication in the morning with food, so aim for high protein.

More eBay work this evening, taking photos of an item on the table where I do my puzzles. I use a tablecloth over the top then remove it and am back to puzzling. I sent out a sold item a few days ago and have a couple more to list today. It will take a lot more of this to clear out the backlog, but every sale helps.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 07:08 PM

Denatured alcohol is just alcohol with chemicals added so people won't drink it. So I'd use rubbing alcohol or maybe cheap vodka.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 11:15 PM

Patty you're correct, and I had a sentence in there that I might use isopropyl alcohol, but shortened the post and that went away. I should see how much of it is around the house in the bathrooms and stashed in the pantry.

This evening was a robust cooking event. A batch of babaghanouj, then a double batch of the nacho mix I portion into jars for future meals. Most of the utensils are in the dishwasher. Tomorrow morning I'll spoon the chilled mix into smaller jars to freeze.

A small eBay item listed this morning sold this evening, so into the mail it goes tomorrow. This was priced to go quickly, something I need to do more of.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 10:36 AM

Charmion's Great Upheaval makes me tired just to read about it!
Definitely cut yourself some slack now that you are there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 11:53 AM

I've just realized that I'm trying to do at 71 what I could easily do at 51, and that I made an unsustainable plan to achieve an unrealistic objective. Somewhere in the back of my mind is a nasty little nag accusing me of laziness. Meanwhile, my body has limits and is enforcing them.

SIL No. 2 has excellent advice for my current slightly wobbly state: First, stop doing stuff. Next, drink a glass of water. Then take a walk. If possible, take a nap. Rinse and repeat. I did all of that except the nap yesterday, then went to bed at nine o'clock. I finally rolled out of the pit this morning at seven-thirty, when both cats started tromping back and forth across my legs in unmistakeable indignation. I'm still a little trembly, so another round of water, walk, and not much else is on the agenda until late this afternoon. Oddly, I'm most energetic in the hours just before supper.

I have only the three remaining 5-cu barrels to unpack in the basement, and I can tackle those in stages next week when it's raining. (I'm still looking for the sofa cushions and the wicker laundry basket, but now I'm pretty sure I know where they are.) Also, I should call the carpet cleaners and ask about pick-up and delivery services, as my current car is not big enough to take a rolled-up eight- by eleven-foot Persian rug. Come to think of it, I'm not strong enough any more to load it by myself, so I really should not try.

Summer is having its last hurrah in Ottawa this weekend, with forecast highs in the upper 20s Celsius under a relentless blue and sunny sky. It's a good thing that I have not packed away my summer dresses; I'll need one if I am to avoid melt-down.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 01:31 PM

Your home will feel more normal once the rug is in place. Good luck finding the sofa cushions.

Energy levels and general fitness for some work is impacted by so many things. Thyroid, vitamins, iron - when was your last physical and bloodwork? Time for a tune-up?

The steroids, even low-dose, have impacted me, causing their own level of stress along with the creeping weight gain. I don't want to stay on them so need to stop worrying about staying on them. Hopefully no residual memory stuff once I'm finished with them.

I found a few partial bottles of isopropyl alcohol; if hydrogen peroxide was the proper liquid for cleaning I'd be set. There are several bottles of that plus a big jug of hand sanitizer (with the alcohol, but too much other stuff to be helpful) around here. The peroxide is used in gardening.

Decluttering the computer setup yesterday hit a glitch. I moved a long-standing device plugged in on the front of the old computer to a recently freed-up USB plug, and it refused to completely boot, apparently treating that new location like a boot drive (that device is just a transfer cable). Set to rights this morning. Oh, well, it was time to dust back there anyway. I was able to get the new Bluetooth mouse to operate on both computers so I could unplug the wired mouse from the back.