DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Jun 26 - 09:40 PM

Those storage areas are great, Keb, I've seen them in more modern buildings, my building & our neighbour have 2 garages underneath - in 1917 not many people had cars! Our 4-story buildings were build on a site that had contained 4 terrace houses.

As to my current living space, I have one empty wardrobe which used to hold a few garments & a whole collection that went to a friend. All I had left was a winter jacket & 3 outfits I made back in the 70s, unfortunately these vintage fashions had shrunk in the wardrobe (tut, tut, tut) & are now heading for the charity shop.

My living room looks like a bomb hit, or maybe burglars worked it over! I'm working on 1 large project (a lap quilt) & also turning a funny tea towel (dish cloth?) into a wall hanging (cartoon cats with a book "How to train your human") I just spent a lot of time trying to find that image - no luck, but there a were zillions of amusing pics to scan!

I'm also (not) working on half a dozen (a full dozen?) other projects + I have lots of archival stuff scattered around. I'm also archivist for Australia's oldest folk club

I really must neaten the piles - one day!

I also have several bags of stuff for charity shops, a large part of those useful items went on it's way last week - WELL DONE ME!! A smaller bag will be delivered on Friday.

My place will never look like a something wonderful seen in fancy living magazines - who would want to live in a showplace?

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Jun 26 - 10:44 PM

My living room looks like a bomb hit a music studio cum rock shop. The office will take some time to whip into shape. Once I thought about it, it was obvious the small-door-big-closet will need shelves on both sides of the doorway. I'm thinking 2x4 cleats holding up planks.

Last few days I have sorted out a lot of rock 'rough' and micros. Some got examined and labeled and stored away. Tomorrow I will take a lot of it up to share with fellow micro people, may lose half the bulk that way, may not.

And have been getting set up to take micro photos through the trinocular, a new digital camera just arrived for it. Also started setting up some equipment to help me shoot multiple exposures at small distances apart for 'focus stacking'. I'll probably have to set up an old laptop next to the scope for storing the many images, then use a thumb drive to process them on the big desktop. Don't hold your breath, I'll have to set up the photo software and processing software in Linux before any 'eye candy' gets created.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 26 - 12:23 PM

patty, I still have a bunch of the Rubbermaid rails and brackets that get screwed onto the wall at each stud, brackets put in place, and I used 8 and 10" pieces of lumber. I have two in the office behind me (an upper set is narrower than the lower set, and the lower set has long brackets on the top row with a 12" plank to hold large things like a turntable and receiver). The extras in the garage came out of my office at the time of the ceiling replacement years ago and were not reinstalled, but I can't make myself give them up. Planks are also in the garage.

Most of my house looks like a bomb went off. For the last three weeks the combination of the cat gig and the regular remote web content job have been like a full-time job plus overtime. No cleaning happening here until maybe tomorrow.

A storage cage sounds practical. My aunt in Calgary had a long narrow room in the basement of her condo that was combination storage and wine cellar. A friend in a NY City apartment doesn't have storage but people put things they don't want any more in a common area in the basement, near the laundry room, and he comes up with some amazing items (that are usually sold). Here in the wide open spaces we have garages and You-store-it facilities everywhere. I determined once I moved into the house that 1. I wouldn't use a storage facility (stuff from both parents' estates was in storage for a while) and 2. I would park inside the garage and get into and out of the car without being a contortionist. So far I've managed those. There is one room in the house that is not usable for anything but storage, but I'm whittling away that content.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Jun 26 - 06:12 PM

whittling is good!

One of my triumphs of finding the proper home for an item was an antique dance card I put it into an envelope & posted it to a friend who has a PHD in colonial dance & music as the late 19th century card either came from a town in England or Tasmania (the state that hangs below the continent of Australia!) She posted it & a Tasmanian friend replied her Grannie went to balls in that Town Hall.

sandra

ps. Bookmark Messy Nessy if you like filling in time reading interesting stuff! It's been a few weeks since I checked out her site, so will do so later today

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 26 - 10:30 PM

The long long gig is over, and when I checked in to be sure she got in ok my friend said "the floor feels so smooth" - after I swiffered the long living/kitchen room and around her bed. There were a couple days when I wasn't able to get there for every feeding (but anticipated the bad weather and gave them stuff ahead of time) so I made up for those absences by doing some general cleaning (three weeks with three cats in charge adds up to lots of hair and dust). Mopped bathrooms and the screened porch and did some laundry, in particular stripped and remade the bed because getting home in the evening after a long trip what seems the best thing is to have fresh sheets on your own bed. I vacuumed a bedroom rug—she has a Dyson—damn that thing can suck! Nearly pulled the whole rug into the machine.

Now to decompress and work out my schedule. Dog training, yardwork, and house stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 17 Jun 26 - 09:44 AM

> Chinese puzzle

--- Ah: the 14/15 puzzle. There was a version where the 14 and 15 were swapped, and Sam Loyd offerred a substantial reward for anyone who could unswap them by sliding the pieces. He knew his money was safe, as he'd proved that it was impossible. (That's the sort of thing you get to know from having read two of Martin Gardiner's books at a formative age. What I've also got is a nagging annoyance that I can't recreate the proof for myself from scratch.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 26 - 12:38 PM

patty, I thought of you when I was cleaning my garage this week. There are two bulky old cardboard boxes full of rocks that my brother picked up when he was a Geology major undergraduate. Somehow they all got moved down here with my stuff to Texas. I haven't had the heart to toss them into the yard but there is no way I'm mailing 150 pounds of rock. Perhaps I'll build a small something or other next to the limestone I'm going to rearrange on my driveway (large stones left over from demolished "wing" structures at the house, it was used on the front of the house also.) I wasn't a geology major but I worked for two years in a geology lab in college, so have the same interest in gems, minerals, and rocks of all sorts. Some of the nicer pieces came into the house (he had some chert and opal from Eastern Washington, for example).

By the way, did you ever go on college field trips and find yourself collecting everything else except the reason for the trip? I remember picking up plant samples on geology trips and rocks on botany trips.

Tidying the kitchen and decanting my bulk Davidson's tea from an acrylic canister into a glass canning jar. I discovered that the decaf Earl Grey tea had somehow degraded the acrylic that now has lots of cracks. And the spot where the package label was tucked inside the jar didn't have those cracks. There's nothing like conducting a natural science experiment in your kitchen to make you wonder about how things are made. (Yes, I'm keeping the tea. I suspect the bergamot oil is the culprit, but it tastes great.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Jun 26 - 05:56 PM

You are hereby awarded a GOLD STAR for your experiment, well done!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 17 Jun 26 - 06:37 PM

Well the rock pile grew instead of shrunk. Passed on a few pieces, but a claim owner of a major location was cleaning his garage out brought 100 lbs of mineralized rock to the meeting, and it was only polite to take a few nice pieces. I guess it's 'clean out the garage time' even in hot locales. A local club had a bust of a garage sale early June; seems 27 other garage sales took place the same day, who could get to them all even in nice weather?

I have a family member who stacked up some nice looking vuggy rock he excavated elsewhere into a little hill in one garden bed. It has lots of little flat terraces and nooks, and he has taken to planting viny things like pumpkins there because they don't sit in standing water and bugs have to make an effort to infiltrate the higher ground.   

I'm afraid we got graded on field trip information, so I scrambled to pay attention, take a few notes, and snap a few pics. Wish I had more pics, and lat-long for a few long-lost places. But yes, one does get interested in novel new plants, flowers, and just new landscapes, rather than structural history which is not my favorite.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 26 - 10:56 AM

Two pint containers of mashed bananas are out of the freezer and now the anchor ingredient in three loaves of banana bread to take to the exe's birthday lunch today. The large loaf is for him, the next smaller loaf is for our daughter, and the somewhat smaller loaf will be sliced before bagging because they will probably want samples when the loaves are handed over and they can share that one. Though I don't eat wheat now I have some good organic flour here for occasions.

My goal over the next few days is to finish mowing the yard and set up the flags for training Mango. I won't put the flags out until training starts because they need to be a novel sight to offer a strong visual clue that accompanies the noise the Invisible Fence collar makes (the first day or two) and then the shock the collar delivers once I remove the rubber prong caps. She'll be restricted to going out only on a leash during the training. Mango watches and learns from Cookie, and it will dawn on her that Cookie never approaches the fence for a reason. By the time we reach her three-month anniversary with us she should be able to go into the yard at night (I keep her in now so she doesn't go all the way to the fence if there are coyotes back behind it.)

The work in the yard will be paced according to heat, but building the walls can be a few rocks at a time. That's just as well because it means I can take a look and think about the next move. I'm going to set up a couple of crenelated gaps that large charismatic pots can stand in to be viewed from the street. I use those for decorative sweet potato vines that drape and sprawl beautifully during the growing season. I'll build the wall a little higher than before and let it serve as shade for the herb pots. Other pots will go mostly on one side of the walled area so its easier to set up a sprinkler to water them all at once. Right now they're sprawled along the driveway and sometimes get a bit dry.

Indoors, it's time to finish the clearing and setup for the kitchen faucet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jun 26 - 02:54 PM

I am idly sprawled on the sofa with Isobel aboard, having done absolutely nothing useful in days. No cleaning, no laundry, no cooking beyond the most basic survival meals. I’ve been reading a fair bit, and I got out of the house for a long walk yesterday, but otherwise I have done nothing to justify my existence except water the orchids and make the cat happy.

The scanner gadget I bought to make .jpg files from photo negatives and slides arrived while I was away in London. I unpacked it and put it on the study table, but I feel no urge to get busy.

After years of decluttering and downsizing, and then managing the move and all the house repairs both here and in Stratford, I guess I’m finally ready for some down time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 26 - 10:56 PM

You've been remarkably efficient in going through a lot of stuff that must have been particularly painful to think about or part with; taking a break is not only earned it is probably required at this point if your friends and family have any sway in that.

Finished the big cat gig Tuesday and spent the last two days working on stuff for other people. Tomorrow is mine, all mine. Heading to bed early tonight because the only way to get yard work done this week is to start at dawn. Today was treacherously hot.

patty, I've learned a new word. I looked up "vuggy" and find the description of the small cavities sometimes lined with crystals fits a number of rocks I have here that I picked up because of the attractive little crystals. We are such crows and magpies, collecting shiny objects! Today at lunch I took along a shiny object, a ring with a large piece of amber in an ornate silver mount that I never wear any more. I stuck it on my pinky to remember to take it to see if my daughter could use it. I gave her my Mom's jewelry box and the best thing in it was a long string of good-sized chunks of amber (may have been made to be taken apart for jewelry making). She wears it fairly often, and when we sat down at the restaurant she zeroed in on that ring right away, so it now has a new home.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Jun 26 - 10:53 AM

Good job getting the amber to its optimum new home!

Yes, vugs are great, they have room for crystals to grow freely. Do your all seem to be quartz or calcite, or is there anything exotic? Veins are nice, but so often they are completely filled in, no crystal faces or terminations survive. Of course the agate hunters and lapidarists want that solid filled in stuff, which is why I skip a lot of the local field trips.

Another day, another power failure, just as I was clicking off tasks on a productive day. Went downtown and socialized with friends rather than stewing in the dark, but it turned into a late night.

Wrestled with inscrutable linux installation procedures for the new microscope hardware and software. Finally got it working, but you'd think for real money spent they could spare you a few hours of wrangling for no good reason, print a few paragraphs on a piece of paper for heaven's sake.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Jun 26 - 10:57 AM

Re-homing jewellery can be difficult. Pieces you love, or were given by people you love, may not appeal to anyone else you know, and it's hard to let a sentimental piece of no intrinsic (e.g., bullion weight) value go to the church bazaar or Goodwill. I have a little box of late Victorian items from my father's family that I can't part with and will never wear. They will wait for another generation to tackle, though I really should put a note in the box so my nephew (Edmund's sister's son) won't think he has to identify the photos on the mourning brooch. Come to think of it, at least two of those pieces came to me from my father's eldest cousin, who could not find anyone else in the family to pass them on to.

Fortunately, most jewellery is small.

I brought a box of negatives up to the study from the basement, but I still have zero desire to start scanning them. Not sure why; maybe I don't want to confront myself as I used to be?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 26 - 12:16 PM

patti, a cruel question to ask about the types of crystals here - I shot down that rabbit hole like I had nothing else to do today but poke around the rocks in my house, where there are rocks in every room. I got started by picking up a lot in the North Cascades where there is a mix of igneous, sedementary, and metamorphic. Quartz crystals being igneous but garnet being metamorphic, etc.

On the windowsill in the kitchen I have a flat tan piece of rock that is probably a chip out of something much larger, the matrix is recognizable as tiny quartz crystals probably with some hematite but there is a white quartz vein with larger clear crystals through it with a vug and tiny sparkles in it. Also, there is a piece of what I've always called serpentine that doesn't have crystals per se but in the past I understood it to be a sedimetary form of talc, though I don't think that is correct. It's a slick green and the pieces always have a kind of hump in the shape. It's possible to find jade in the same area, or what we called jade. Dana's Minerals didn't help sort this question. I have a pebble picked up in a creek that I think is green jade. Could be the form of serpentine that is misidentified as jade. It's homogeneous, no crystals. And there is a lot of olivene in the Cascades, a related mineral. Like I said, a rabbit hole. The other rock on my kitchen windowsill is a flat piece of what I think must be a mica schist, as a teen I picked it up wading in a cold stream in the Canadian Rockies on a family vacation. It caught my eye, a golden bright rock standing out from the darker rocks around. Like I said, rocks all over the house and that just covers the kitchen windowsill.

In the bedroom on shelves I have some flat pieces of Darrington phyllite that has the classic angular cubes of gold colored iron pyrite embedded in it. Petrified wood from Arizona, mica schist from the ferry slip at Ellis Island (Manhattan Island is full of schist and slabs of muscovite. It probably arrived as landfill from construction.) Lots of quartz crystals picked up and others purchased in Arkansas (I'm sure you know exactly what I mean - Mt. Ida and the Lake Ouachita area is full of quartz mines). Sometimes you just have to buy a big gorgeous chunk of clear quartz crystals, and I found several clusters of phantom quartz, double-ended, in a you-hunt-around shop and buy it by the pound. When I brought them up to the owner his eyes widened - he realized he'd missed some good ones, but he still sold them by the pound. Nice guy. No one needs to wonder why I have a clutter problem. :) I broke this into paragraphs to make it more readable.

I was up at dawn, the sun was hidden and the thunder was in the distance. Instead of gardening I've sorted through the front room and bagged a bunch more packing stuff I don't need and it is in the trash at the curb.

I have some Victorian jewelry also, some of the necklaces restrung. I've worn the jet beads a few times and there are some clear crystal beads I have worn quite often. Some of the pins are pretty odd and stay in the box they came in, I've never used the hat pins, but I've put a moonstone broach and thin gold chains into my jewelry box but don't wear them often. There is a lovely gold and shell cameo that is probably worth a fair amount for the gold. I saw some at a local jewelry store a while back, no one wants to wear them any more. My daughter picked out some silver filigree and a couple of other pieces a while back. We revisit these things every so often, it's fun to look and I share the stories I learned from the great aunt whose home they came from.

Charmion, I have a couple of ways of scanning slides and negatives and they've sat ignored for years. I need to get started. This week I was remembering an occasion in a national park where I worked and I know I took photos. They will be on slides in a plastic sheet or a box somewhere, and I'd love to find them. Big job. I need a spreadsheet to keep track of it all. I also have my father's music collection of mostly cassette tapes to digitize and transcribe. Have barely touched them. Procrastination central here. Once you get started you do build momentum, I've found that at the museum where I've been scanning some of their slides for the past six years, though I only get in about once a month any more.

Still raining. I'd better get up and get moving around the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 26 - 11:40 PM

The clearance crock-ette 1 quart pots are cleaned, matched with the proper lids, cords wrapped and tied with a twist tie, and ready to list. There are four of a different design (the crock is connected to the pot) that will go in a different listing. My fitness tracker doesn't show it but that was a lot of steps back and forth. If any of our usual participants here wants a 1-quart low-wattage crock pot in which the pot removes for washing, they make perfect oatmeal overnight, let me know and I'll send one, gratis.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 26 - 11:32 AM

Down memory lane this week, starting with that amber ring and my mention of Mom's jewelry box. When Mom died my sister started mailing a lot of stuff left from the estate; I have no idea if she picked through the jewelry box but it was pretty full (it may have had other stuff added from around the room). I purposely didn't pick through then hand it over to my daughter, I wanted it to be an intact inheritance of sorts, I only retrieved one item, a coral pendant I'd given Mom many years before that reminded me of her favorite color. I have no idea what she did or does with the things she doesn't wear, if they're now family guilt items I've passed on to her.

More hindsight on the dog swap last April; at our birthday lunch this week I was describing how well Mango has adapted and how she learns from Cookie, and has decided the crate is a good place to sleep after all. As I described how it used to be "base" - a safe place where Cookie could scoot to if Pepper was in attack mode - I found myself asking out loud "why did I keep Pepper as long as I did?"

Rain on the way this afternoon, I'd better finish my work work then see if I have time to get out and do some yard work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 20 Jun 26 - 08:04 PM

Sorry to send you down a rocky rabbit hole, but, surely it's no worse than lingering in the garden 'smelling the roses' to look at shiny crystals?

California is chock full of green serpentine-y things in many variations. Lots of people just call them "Franciscan Formation" and be done with it. Talc is usually metamorphic, I found some in SoCal on a project, looked for all the world like frosted green eye shadow. Schist ditto, as you probably know, signals some 'cooking' has taken place. We found some long ago in NC with wine color garnets strewn through it, pretty common but we were excited to find it.   

Music event today, but this week I realized I keep having to shuffle chairs around either to play the guitar or use the microscope. So on the way home from town, I grabbed a pair of straight-back chairs at a resale shop, and a small handmade table for resting music stuff on. Best to make a room functional if one is going to get it organized.

Sympathies on Texas heat, it's very hot here too but apparently not as bad or dangerous. I'm scooting outside early to do what needs doing and retreating inside most of the day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Jun 26 - 08:36 PM

Charmion, good to hear that you are taking it easy.
Hopefully your voice is gradually coming back as well.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 26 - 09:57 AM

keberoxu, how is your throat and voice after your big performance? Does that kind of work take a toll? And I hope Charmion is back to singing soon.

Last night my sinuses were doing some kind of allergy thing and it took the Neti pot to clear and soothe and head off a sore throat. I love living by the creek but it is host to a lot of sources of pollen that hit locally and don't show up on the weather report.

Digging up garlic, moving potted plants, moving rocks, and mowing the lawn are all on today's dance card. Lots more exposure to those allergens. Dog hair is plentiful also (fortunately not an allergy), and the new dog sheds white instead of salt and pepper, but shed she does. If the afternoon gets as hot as I think it will, about 3pm will be bath time for these two.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 26 - 04:26 PM

Garlic was in the ground too long, this batch won't store for as long as last year's batch (that is still looking good and what I'm using now). I'll use what I dug today for planting in the fall. I moved from there to transplanting the little Japanese maple that was on sale at Costco. It has been planted under the baldcypress in the front yard and I transplanted a bunch of the irises (that desperately need to be thinned) to a zone around it, topping the area off with a bunch of the leaf litter that has lodged in the irises so it looks like it has always been this way.

Next door had a redbud (pretty native understory tree) sprout in the front flower bed and she decided not to keep it so I dug it up and it's in a pot for now. They always wilt after transplant but it's in a shady area and hopefully will bounce back; this is for my daughter's property and might be ready to plant in the fall or winter. Both of these small trees need attention and frequent watering to make it through the summer.

It's 93^o now, too hot for mowing, so next come the dog baths. I'm so sweaty already that getting wet from their baths will feel good and I'll change after.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jun 26 - 08:57 AM

My singing voice is finally beginning to return. Oddly, recovery is more evident at the top end; I’m fairly clear in the octave from G to G, but I have nothing below the E next above middle C on a piano, where I should have five more full tones.) More important, the notes I do have are stable, without waver or wobble, and I can do portamento up and down the scale. But even the available range is weak — I can’t generate more than about mezzoforte in volume — and my throat tires quickly. An hour at church with three hymns and I was done.

It’s time to find a vocal coach who can help with rehab.

On the home front, all is well. I could do with a plumber’s attention to the kitchen faucet, which is loose on its base, and the taps in the laundry sink, which leak badly, but those issues are not show-stoppers (yet). Ceiling fans in the bedrooms and towel bars in the bathrooms have yet to be installed, but so far life is fine with those tasks still pending. (Why don’t I put up the towel bars myself? Easy: The results would be bad.)

Fuel prices are so volatile that I have given up trying to game the system; when I run low, I just grit my teeth and pay what I must. The best I can do in that area of my life is to ensure that I complete my errands as efficiently as possible — no driving around aimlessly. I got lost in a construction zone on Saturday and grieved over every millilitre of gasoline I wasted finding my way back to civilization.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Jun 26 - 11:06 AM

Glad your voice is coming back, Charmion.

I stumbled on this decluttering concept yesterday and it has been helping me process the main room and get started on the office situation. She belabors her points a bit slowly, but I find it really does streamline the process much better than the 'take a big pile and sort into smaller piles' approach Kondo and others preach. With this method you can just start at the edge of a problem area, work through it til you get called away, and come back later to chip away some more.

I don't know if anyone on this thread really needs this besides me, but for lurkers or whatever it's worth,

Dana White, Two Questions

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jun 26 - 06:08 PM

I prefer to attack decluttering room by room, separating the contents by class of article. First, concentrate items by type, then work through them as ruthlessly as possible.

This approach works well in the first pass through the house, storage unit, or what have you. After that — and, yes, you have to do it again and, probably, again — I found it best to go through the house and gather up items and sequester them out of immediate sight and wait a month or two to find out whether I missed them. Then — work through them ruthlessly. Repeat as necessary.

Hobby stuff is hard, I admit. My only hobby is music (not sure if that’s a hobby or a way of life), so I’m not qualified to comment on sewing supplies, accumulations of wool, etc.

Books? Now, there, I’m your huckleberry.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jun 26 - 11:02 PM

Lately attacking clutter here results in stuff leaving the house but there is still a lot stirred up and sitting around. Until the kitchen faucet is replaced there is more than usual sitting around on counters. And that hopefully will be this week.

Getting more sleep is helping my energy and focus, but getting to sleep when it's as hot as it is means using the ceiling fan with a sheet to keep the breeze off of my legs and turning the air conditioner down a couple of degrees to keep the room cool enough to stay asleep. Once the main heat of summer is here the air will be dryer and it won't be such a struggle to stay comfortable.

Trash day tomorrow will adios a beaten up hose that has lived a long useful life in the front yard. There was a long hose from the back yard set off to the side for a while that is now out front and I've set up a new 4-way splitter and tossed the old garden hose splitter that was leaking after heavy use by painters. Last week I trashed a bunch of old styrofoam packing stuff, this week I'm flattening a lot of boxes to go to recycling. I am making headway in the garage and the front room.

The dogs are soft and clean after baths yesterday; Mango was a bit alarmed by it but was well-behaved. When I let her out of the bathroom with her wet feet she raced across the den tile floor, did a cartoonish slip and fall and slid into a dining table chair that tipped over and then she bolted out the dog door.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 23 Jun 26 - 09:28 AM

Another day, another 50 tumbleweeds. One of the larger ones sits in the far back yard flanked by 2 animal burrows, maybe 5" diameter. I suspect snakes. Is there any time of day that they are more likely to be 'not at home'? High noon perhaps? Would like to decrease the odds of an encounter while I lop the thing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 26 - 10:39 AM

Snakes will sun in the morning and move into the shade in the heat of the day. Don't step in the holes.

I spotted one of the yard tarantulas yesterday while mowing and managed to miss running it over. I left the patch of grass where it was concealed and hopefully it got back to its hole after things settled down. She's gotten pretty big in the last 20+ years.

Today was going to be for my puttering but it seems that while viewing entertaining videos the ex picked up malware, so I'll go fix that. The lesson (soon to be forgotten) is to right click the bottom task bar to open the task manager and close the application. What else needs doing while I'm out? We need to drive his car some more to put more miles on before the inspection, I suppose we could plan a trip this week.

Another package finally sold on eBay. Things have been slow over there lately. The last electronic thing I listed was low enough it should go. There have been a lot of views.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jun 26 - 02:49 PM

Things that occur to me during the day to mention here seem to vanish when I sit down at the keyboard. I've done a reset on the books in the bedroom to read before bedtime and am feeling more focused and energetic with less evening screen time and more reading. That still won't help remembering now the bright idea I had in the shower earlier.

Mango seems to understand that shoes come in pairs. I caught her carrying off my loafer last night (I tend to kick off my shoes when at the computer) and only then realized the other shoe was already missing. I found it in the back yard with a small part of the upper chewed off, but will still work as a yard shoe. The shoes were waved at her and she got a relatively gentle whack on the backside to understand this is a punishable offense. (The whack is to hurt her feelings - not her body. She needs to leave shoes alone, and I've figured out spots to set shoes up out of dog reach in the places where I sometimes take them off.)

The kitchen table, the standing kitchen worktable, and peninsula are cleared and cleaned. A 2-gallon bucket is in the kitchen sink to catch rinse water. This time of year I make several trips a day to the garden and potted plants to use this water and run a sprinkler less often. I make sure not to rinse greasy stuff into the bucket, just soapy water from washing and water from cooking, etc.

I'm catching up with some of the modest donations I usually make each year as I process the stack of papers I've kept to remind myself to do that. I see three separate requests from the local food bank in this stack, so I've been thinking about it for a while. Saving the world, one bucket of gray water and one small donation at a time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jun 26 - 06:42 PM

The high humidity now makes the heat index soar into the low 100s, keeping trips outside fairly brief after midday, though I did a quick shopping trip to the discount grocery because they announced on FB they had organic strawberries on sale. I brought home two cases (four 2-pound packs per) and finished processing 16 pounds of berries that I got for $22. There are three trays balanced on top of frozen stuff in the upright freezer; I'll roll the berries into ziplock bags when they're frozen. The cut flowers on sale were an extra perk of the trip.

The main reason for dropping in was to share praise for Manoush Zomorodi's Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being that I've just started reading. I've enjoyed several long-form interviews with her and she offers some easy-to-follow strategies for people to avoid sitting for long periods of time. (I've set a little timer on my computer desk at 25 minutes, and when it goes off I get up and do something else that is standing or walking for at least five minutes.) A warning that I will probably be sharing some of these tips in the coming days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jun 26 - 11:59 PM

Still working on projects around here, and a photo of Charmion's lovely deck (on FB) was enough to convince me it's time to get a cover for the gas grill a friend gave me last year. I've also ordered a couple of replacement parts (it didn't get the best TLC before and the grates are very rough). I ordered from the manufacturer and at checkout Capitol One Shopping popped up and asked if I wanted to test savings codes. It was nice to get an $18 savings on the $85 purchase.

At an estate sale near my neighborhood I found a round iron table and two chairs that can go on the front porch, the side yard, or the back patio once I finish the organizing (and put a new cover up). For now they're on the patio.

The kitchen was the biggest beneficiary of the sale because I found a rolling butcher block top cart. It had wooden dowel handles - like you might hang a hand towel on - that I removed from both sides and was then able to slip it next to the peninsula counter on the other side from the sink. The convection toaster oven moved onto it and I moved my tea station to the now empty under-cabinet spot clearing counter space. There are some jars and storage bins I'm ready to send to Goodwill as I rework those shelves.

Tomorrow's trash day contributions don't take up a lot of space in the bin so far. Maybe something will present itself in the morning. I've cleared the packing materials from a number of 10-gallon plastic trash cans that can probably be donated to the teachers art project.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Jun 26 - 06:47 PM

I love my deck more every day. I sit out there in the early evening (before the mozzies come out) with a glass of wine or a cocktail and a book, and revel in the luxury. If only I could trust Watson to go outside without getting into trouble! A cat on the lap completes the contentment equation.

Yes, you need a cover for your gas grill. My last one survived almost 20 years of weather and use because the cover kept it from rusting out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jun 26 - 02:06 PM

The Body Electric book has all sorts of citations to do with the problems from being too sedentary. One simple answer discussed in interviews is to set a timer for 25 minutes then get up for at least five minutes and walk around or do something else that doesn't involve sitting. So I have an ancient little timer set and I'm mostly pretty good about getting up. Today I'm alternating working on a podcast and preparing the pretty pots to plant in (by emptying them of the trees that were plopped in them to be used later.)

In the back yard I've poured water on the spot where I'm going to plant one of these trees and dug the shallow/wide hole. So the dogs will leave it alone (!) I've scooped poop and run water into the bucket to make a couple of gallons of poop tea to pour on and around the new tree. I could sprinkle hot pepper flakes also. There is a little wire border edging thing to keep me from hitting it with the mower. Next trip out it gets planted. Then I have a few turmeric roots to plant in pots (it grows fast and is a lovely potted plant. You can do that with ginger also.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jun 26 - 12:03 PM

Lots of stuff arriving tomorrow. The parts for the grill and the new rug and mat set. I'll do some cleaning in preparation for setup for both of those projects. The rug will probably be spread out someplace away from dogs for a while and I'll give them a chance to get used to it so we don't have any destructive chewing. I may need to use bitter apple spray to start with. When I finish swapping out the new grill parts I'll add the new cover.

My plant pots at the driveway door area are starting to look great, I've reworked the soil in several, changed out the saucers (yesterday I bought a few heavy-duty plastic that are eye-wateringly expensive at the local nursery; any more will come from Lowe's or Amazon.) Over the years I've picked up pretty color heavy-duty clay and porcelain pots and it's time they were doing more than standing there growing weeds. (The funny thing is that the most "weeds" I have this year are basil and sweet potato vines. A nice problem to have.)

The kitchen counter space is amazing now that the convection oven is on its own stand. I still haven't figured out what to store in the stand's two drawers and small cupboard. The three-shelf wire tea cart holds too much stuff to fit and I don't want the tea out of sight. I can start by moving in the quart and 1/2 gallon jars that I make iced tea in. They usually take up space in the pantry.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Mary G
Date: 29 Jun 26 - 12:49 AM

I am getting rid of more PERFECTLY GOOD (PG) STUFF tomorrow. A very lovely pair of pants, almost never worn. They do not fit and taking them to a seamstress (I could not take them in correctly) would cost more than when I bought them on sale. They are so baggy in the legs and look and feel horrible. But they are otherwise perfect. Last week my sister came down and I released a PG ironing board, folding table, mini washing machine, folding chair and new pillow that is too hard for my head. Well, I hope someone likes them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 29 Jun 26 - 11:09 AM

Remembering things, right till one is at the keyboard: I used to get that with composing filk while cycling to and from work. My eventual fix was to always carry a notebook in my coat pocket; the Book of Filk is now in its fourth generation. Of course, when I got a hardcover notebook for the task, the filk largely dried up.

Herself had similar problems with poetry or stories coming to her in her sleep.* Nowadays, whenever the Muse kicks her in the lug'ole at two in the morning, she knows to get up and go downstairs, so the two of them can commune without being disturbed by my snoring.

* Sir Pterry is on record as crediting "the rather better author who has time-share with my brain while I sleep".

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jun 26 - 11:53 AM

The Ottawa region has entered that stretch of summer when bathing is best done late in the day, just before supper or between supper and bed.

Today I vacuumed, and oh! the cat hair! Great tumbling wafts of it under the dining table and the bed, clustered around chair feet and piled in corners. The dining room also had a significant accumulation of cardboard shreds from the cats’ scratch-pads. All in all, things look rather less squalid now. A trip to Pet Value is on the list, however, as Watson has clawed his way through the last of the scratchers.

I usually clean chair feet by turning the chair upside-down on the table and inserting each foot into the vacuum cleaner nozzle. Neat and effective, no? A little too effective today; the vacuum inhaled and swallowed one of the silicone glider pads that keep the quarter-sawn oak feet from ripping the varnish of the dining room floor. Which really sucks. (I said it so you don’t have to.) So that’s another trip to Home Depot.

Aquafit resumes on Friday after a month of hiatus for pool maintenance. Children’s summer day camps use the pool in July and August, so I must be in the water by 0800 hr. I’m usually up soon after dawn anyway, so it’s just a matter of foregoing an hour of reading and coffee on the sofa with the cat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Jun 26 - 08:45 PM

I think I might need to know what the heck a 'filk' is!

A pool expedition sounds wonderful, but it's hot and dry around here and the city pool probably will stay closed all summer again.

Made a good bit of progress on the main room and office organization, though a long way from done. Yesterday the music files got a cleaned new home, a suede holder some good soul left at the thrift.

Today I got a bunch of sand samples washed and sieved in time to do some show and tell photographs for a club zoom. The laptop battery was unreasonably tricky to install, but I did it, and am now in the focus-stacked-microphotography business at long last. A lot of pieces had to fall into place to get to this, and there is a long learning curve ahead. But the trial run on some exquisite little minerals went pretty darn well for not knowing all the tweaks to do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jun 26 - 11:00 PM

Pet hair—we've had a shift from Pepper's black hair flung around the place to Mango's white fine straight hairs that don't show up until there are a massive number, and it's like cotton candy all around the house. I did a big sweep this weekend but it's coming back fast. The bath last week seems to have loosened the winter coat to shed now.

Running around shopping today then back here with the ex to cook lots of garden stuff. A batch of my zucchini casserole then babaghanouj from eggplants I roasted yesterday. While shopping I found nice fillets of sockeye salmon so have it in brine and will smoke it tomorrow. An early birthday present for a family member.

Mary, it sounds like you're getting ahead of clutter by rehoming things you don't use. There was a book out in 2006 called Empire of Scrounge by Jeff Ferrell that had to do with dumpster diving and going through trash here in Fort Worth and the astonishing things that people put in the trash instead of returning, donating, or rehoming. I doubt that has changed in the last 20 years. (I got it after hearing him interviewed and have just put it on my "read soon" pile.)

There will be more stuff in the trash bin tomorrow but all of it is truly stuff that no one else would want. A small portion is from cleaning the iris beds and picking up stuff that landed there from the roofing and painting work, small fragments of roof, tar paper, tape, and nails. None of the bin contents tomorrow will be unneeded packing material from the rug and grill supplies because the delivery is pushed to later in the day tomorrow. The email form of "oops - tomorrow instead." I think just finding it delivered and enjoying the surprise is better than being peppered with shipment and delivery updates then more updates . . .

Progress on the pots, and after a visit to the local garden nursery I'm being resourceful in where I get the contents for these pots. Turks Cap is a lovely plant with bright red flowers and a poplar garden plant they charge a pretty penny for, but I think some is growing wild in the grassy area across the street so will poke around and see if there is any to be transplanted. And for all that the vitex tree in the front yard is huge, there are some volunteer seedlings in pots and I may shape one and keep it trimmed small and let it stay in the pot and look interesting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 30 Jun 26 - 12:06 PM

> I think I might need to know what the heck a
> 'filk' is!

Basically it's extreme folk processing, with humour and/or satire aforethought. A minor example of the software kind:

Little boy types at the foot of the bed
Though sent upstairs for his homework instead
Tut, Tut, Oh deary me
Christopher Robin is hacking in C.

There's a long and honourable tradition of such perversions amongst SF fandom and programmers (often the same people) on their respective subjects; our friendly neighbourhood Yorkshire Yankee has done political filk recently, and all power to her keyboard.

Hope this helps.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 26 - 01:09 PM

Congratulations on the microphotography setup! Successes along the way will keep you inspired to master the process. And congratulations also on the organizations of the rooms. It may be time to dust soon: I'm hearing stories today about the annual Saharan dust cloud traveling across the Atlantic and settling over North America - it sounds like it's over much of coastal and North Texas now, not sure if it will reach you. I searched on Dust in Windy.com and it's over the top of us but a little so far into NM. Looks like it will be finished by Friday.

The new kitchen cabinet now holds jars for iced tea and the few remaining plastic insulated tumblers. Off season the Stanley tumblers can live in there also. The drawers hold jar lids (purchased to be reusable) and a kitchen tool that didn't have anyplace else to live (a fancy mandolin with various blades). Will I remember to use it? A few plastic storage and drink containers are in the recycle bin or going to Goodwill.

FedEx delivered rug and grill boxes. Set them in plain view of the street blocking the door. I need to use sidewalk chalk to draw a square on the porch in the space behind the stack of cinder blocks and a shrub and write "set parcels here." The cooler with iced bottles of water is out now and the post office and Amazon drivers are regular users of the cold water.

Time to set up the grill then cover it. And I'm to the point where I can/should/need to start working on the new fixtures in the kitchen sink. First I was busy, now it has been putting it off, but I need to do it. (It's a literal pain in the backside to work under there. I'll be padding the cupboard edge area with towels and cardboard.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 26 - 11:43 PM

Today's virtual declutter was to clean up the Internet connection. It was crawling on its hands and knees lately so turning off and unplugging everything to power cycle, followed by emptying caches seems to have done the trick.

I overestimated the amount of salmon I needed for a batch in the Little Chief smoker, so this evening the remainder of the batch is smoking until near bedtime, when I'll move it to the oven to finish at 125-130^o (for wild caught salmon). My hands and the kitchen smell of fish and smoke. There's more than I planned to hand over as a birthday gift but it won't go to waste.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Jul 26 - 10:05 AM

Thanks for the 'filk' definition and example, now I know that's "a thing".

That dust band coming off Africa does look ominous. So far so good here, just the usual wind and occasional dust devils, and oppressive afternoon heat.

I'll try cache clearing to see if it boosts wifi speed a bit. Last night I wrassled with Zoom on an old laptop I put away 2 years ago and just revitalized. SO tired of programs requiring updates every few months for no good reason. From the end user side it usually is no improvement whatsoever, you just get made late to your zoom meeting, and it may require an operating system update. Forget it. I used sneakernet to move the new photos to the desktop system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jul 26 - 11:43 AM

The power cycle (turn off everything) is helpful because when everything turns back on (including the computer) there is a "handshake" that the devices all go through to be properly aligned with the movement of data - I hadn't done this for a while and something was terribly sluggish. I should also find the instructions and see if I can update the firmware in the router or modem.

The morning after smoking salmon involves finishing the cleanup of the rack, putting the smoker back in the garage, and cleaning every surface that now smells fishy. In bed last night I realized my arms still smelled smoky (I'd washed my hands but got up to lather a washcloth and clean up to my elbows, then back to bed.) And today a trip to the Family Dollar to get a disposable cake pan to transport all of this fish. I don't like sending my regular pans and pie plates to my daughter's house - they seldom make a return trip.

An appointment this week takes me to the university town where I still do a lot of shopping, and I'll search the Halal grocery for my favorite olive oil soap. There is often little or no text on the wrappers in a language I can read, but the color and smell are always great clues.

Charmion, what kind of vacuum are you using there that you can't just retrieve the silicone foot guard from the bag or bagless compartment? It's messy and best done outdoors, slowly tipping contents into a larger trash bag to find the object suctioned by accident. I don't remember what I've had to retrieve that way, but I remember doing the operation a couple of times.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jul 26 - 02:59 PM

Stilly, gutting the vacuum cleaner bag to find a seventy-nine-cent chair glide is my idea of working too hard. Home Depot is ten minutes away and I usually have at least two reasons to go there.

It’s Canada Day in Ottawa, and we’re having a thunderstorm with lots of donner und blitzen plus heavy rain. There’s also supposed to be an aerobatics performance downtown by 431 Air Demonstration Squadron RCAF (the Snowbirds), so I don’t know how much of the rumble is Mother Nature and how much is aero-engines converting jet fuel into noise.

Here’s hoping this storm cell passes without another on its heels. The pub is having a lobster boil this evening and I don’t want to have to drive there.

We just had an earth-shattering kaboom and a lightning bolt right in the middle of it. If the Snowbirds are still in the air, they’re heading for the barn.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 01 Jul 26 - 03:28 PM

> kaboom

Was Thor going for a bullseye? or trying to scare away the competition?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jul 26 - 04:04 PM

MaJoC: Yes?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 26 - 09:43 AM

Charmion, I hope the lobster boil was just what you hoped for. I'd love to have a thunderstorm on July 4, it would at least slow down the yahoos who head out with their fire works, fire crackers and M-80s to scare the bejeezus out of the neighboring pets and people. I see by Wikipedia that firecrackers are banned in Canada. Is that actually observed? (While you're there, please donate to Wikipedia, they're asking for cash today and they do good work).

This summer I've started doing more of the Esscentrics stretching exercises and my knees feel better. Standing and sitting and standing again in a chair is also a helpful exercise and is one I do during the break when my timer goes off (for the Body Electric suggested intervals away from the screen).

I got a lot of steps in last night cooking, but they don't show on the fitness tracker. A small batch of marinara sauce using home canned tomatoes (last summer's), home grown bell peppers, garlic, oregano, and basil, all this year. I'm going to make a couple of small one-serving casseroles (cubed chicken breast, sauce, and provolone melted over the top) in lidded Pyrex dishes to take to the next door neighbor whose husband just had hip surgery after a fall in the driveway overnight. He lay there till a dog walker was able to render aid, it happened when his wife was still sound asleep. I'll also be mowing their front yard for the weeks to come because they always take turns mowing and she'll be too busy for that for a while.

My sleep routine is much improved and I can feel the difference in the energy level. Now to keep up the exercise and feel more energetic as a result of it. The mowing will do me good toward that end also.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jul 26 - 10:17 AM

The Canada Day thunderstorms were epic, dumping 110 mm of rain over eight hours and forcing the cancellation of all the evening fun, including the fireworks. A section of the new western extension of the light rail system, still under construction, was completely washed out, and streets all over town were flooded. It was drive to the pub or drown, so I found out the hard way; en route to pick up Andrew, I hit two spots on the Johnston Road that made me wonder if Volkswagen makes a fording kit for the Golf GTI.

The lobsters were lobsters; ergo, delicious. But the storm had knocked out the pub’s air-conditioner and the place was crammed, so we did not hang around. When the band started up, those of us with unhappy ears — Andrew and I — went home.

I took the left-overs in a stack of to-go boxes. Lobster bisque is on the menu for Sunday dinner.

The Snowbirds managed a morning appearance over LeBreton Flats, making the front page of this morning’s Globe & Mail, but were, indeed, grounded before the first bolt of lightning. That’s their last show in Ottawa for the foreseeable future, as their antique CT-114 Tutor aircraft are finally being retired. The publicity says they’ll be back in 2030 (“or later”) in something called the CT-157 Siskin, but I’m not optimistic.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jul 26 - 10:37 AM

Further to my last: Firecrackers are not banned in Canada, but they are very heavily regulated. The Explosives Act defines a class of “consumer” or “family” fireworks, such as lady-finger crackers, sparklers and Roman candles, that may be used for “cultural occasions”, (e.g., Canada Day, Victoria Day, Tet) that are usually set out in municipal by-laws. Anything else — including your M-80s — are restricted to people holding special licences. So we have casual back-yard banging that can evoke memories of small-arms fire, but anything that produces grenade-like sound effects is probably under licensed supervision.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jul 26 - 12:07 PM

A follow-up with the neighbor about her husband's fall in the driveway: he was making a lot of noise but she didn't hear him. If my dogs had been out they would have heard that and would have made a fuss. All the more reason to get Mango trained to the Invisible Fence and let the girls with their sharp ears back in the yard at night.

Yesterday at the Halal market I found the olive oil green soap, and I also picked up a new variety I hadn't seen before. At home I kept walking through a spot in the kitchen and wondering what I was smelling, and it finally dawned on me that the second type of soap has a fragrance. It isn't bad, just strong. I'll have to see if I can store it in a way to confine the smell, and see if when one bar is out if I can stand it. It might dissipate, but who knows how long that would take.

Three parcels shipped via eBay sales this week so I need to boost my listings. I keep a cooler with ice and bottles of water on the porch for delivery folks and the substitute mail carrier who picked up the parcel this morning told he that he lost consciousness last week in the heat. Geez! I told him to absolutely take extra water, even if it was to pour over himself to cool that way.

The grill parts are here and will be installed probably this evening once the sun is behind the trees. Maybe I'll grill something tomorrow.

Work today (to finish the podcast early) and tomorrow I am going to declare a holiday and work on my favorite things around the house, in particular stuff in the garden and sewing.