DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 26 - 10:53 AM

I had a pair of Teva at one time, very comfortable, lots of straps for adjustments. No idea what happened to them. I have a Bearclaw brand that is quite comfortable. This most recent pair of Sketchers is "vegan" and is machine washable.

Experimenting with King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour and made an ok half batch of banana muffins. The surface texture looks a bit dry, but they taste good. Into the freezer for an occasional treat, I'm working on reducing the carbs for a while to lose the steroid weight a little faster.

Salon day, so I'll make my rounds at a few favorite shopping spots in the university town were I still go for haircuts (started when I worked there for decades - when you have a hairdresser you like you follow them from one shop to the next as long as they're in the region). This trip includes shopping for items for a care package for my son; I haven't sent any of those for a while. This will include some special tea he's interested in, but I always manage to tuck some of his childhood items into the box so they're at his house to keep or discard. As his parent I find it very difficult to thin out the items that serve as markers of his various mileposts. I'd clear out a lot of space in his closet if I pull out and ship the 30-gallon tub of Legos.

I must start looking at the craft stuff I accumulated for activities I haven't done for years. That would clear up space in my sewing studio.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Jul 26 - 06:00 PM

I'm very flat footed & have been using orthotics since the early 80s.

Earlier this year I bought a cute pair of bathroom scuffs with cartoon bunnies on them, perfect size to catch under a mat & down I went! Bunnies were cut out & given to a friend to use in craft & soles went into the rubbish, so did the mat.

I cut the heel strap off an old pair of sandals & I am now about an inch taller (yah! I must be an Olde Pharte as I have shrunk about 2" over the years) & my bedsocks fit nicely, so my feet are warm these cool days & nights.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Mary G
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 12:37 AM

I decluttered some money today. Been looking for a cheapish ticket to
Barcelona and got one in $500 range when most were about $1,000. Cheap hostel to stay in ..I am mainly going to Lourdes (it's a Catholic thing but it is really a great place) train goes right to Lourdes but I'll prob take a cheap bus back. LateSep early Oct. Should be great.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 09:54 AM

Mary, it looks like you've figured out the nearest large city to fly into, to keep the cost down. Good job! Have you been there before? I'm sure Rick Steves has a guidebook to fill in any further information gaps.

Next week is the donation appointment to hand over art and storage supplies to the teachers group, and during that appointment I've also agreed to participate in the sorting and putting it in the right department. That'll give me a look at what else I might be able to declutter from here into their warehouse.

The friend I cat sit for bought a case of pint canning jars so she could use four of them and gave the rest to me. I suggested that in the future if she needs a canning jar of just about any size or shape to ask me first, because I've accumulated quite a few. They go out with pickles and pickled okra, and most of them come back eventually, not all of them, but I always have plenty of jars to spare. People pick up boxes of jars at estate sales or someone is giving away and they make it to my house. I recycle the mayo jars and use the canning jars. Right now I have at least a half-dozen quart jars in my new kitchen cabinet for making tea for iced. The drawers hold lots of lids. There are also two two-liter jars for my larger batches (usually green tea with lemon balm). Those come from a fancy Italian company and have one-piece lids. I don't have a pot large enough to process those, they were always intended for tea or juice.

On the kitchen peninsula there are two cardboard flats (from cans of sparkling water) full of the San Marzano variety of Roma tomatoes. Once enough are fully ripened I'll get out the asparagus steamer and can pints one jar at a time. It makes for a lot less heat in the house than using the huge steamer. I can use them as they're ready, not have to wait and end up filling the fridge before I have enough for a full batch. I watch the tomatoes ripen in the garden and once there is a rosy hue to the base it is fully ripe enough to pick. Letting the whole thing turn red in the house means it's less likely to be assaulted by birds or squirrels.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 12:27 PM

Yes, canning jars seem to multiply, it's the lids that are the choke point! If the end times come, the ones with a stash of good sealing lids will be in the catbird seat.

Went on goathead (caltrop) patrol again after recent rains. Only about 100 quite small plants, zapped with the 30% vinegar. The sprayer jar is strapped to a folding handtruck, and that works well, I can just roam the acre in a rough grid pattern, handle in one hand, sprayer in the other. Of course, much less work than digging up plants.   

So far so good, I was expecting much more of a 'bloom' by now. Last year's diary for late July was full of 'weeded 2 (or 4) hours' notes. Perhaps digging up 2000 plants last year helped a lot, and perhaps the harvester ants harvested a lot of the seeds.

Some ant mounds are gone, some persist. Another round of DE in order, but this time using my new swim goggles because that stuff irritates the eyes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Mary G
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 12:55 PM

I have spent about two days in Barcelona, mostly with jet lag. It is an awesome city. The architecture was outstanding. I did not see most of the famous sights. I can't remember any of the food and I stayed in a female only hostel that had women quite a bit younger than I. I think I went to Rennes Le Chateau via Carcassonne and then ended up in Lourdes. Somehow I flew to Lourdes from Dublin. Maybe I am mixing up my trips. I want to do this trip even more frugally than usual so I am leaving off most side trips. If I had it to do over I would get the cheapest Eurail pass and take several short train trips.    Anyway Lourdes is an awesome place, and is very close to some famous caves. I could not get into a tour before but hopefully this time I will. I love the whole Pyrenees area, Basque Country, Catalon...fascinating places. I can only go a week because I do not want to miss too much tutoring time...

Come to think of it, I can hardly remember any food in Europe except for one ham sandwich in Netherlands that was outstanding. Italy was so high carb...I am not a foody..Hungary was probably the best place for food for me. and you can't beat an Irish breakfast of bacon and eggs and brown bread and butter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 12:58 PM

Are there more ants this year than last? I wonder if the balance has shifted as the caltrop is reduced. It sounds like you did a great job last year - a gift to yourself this year. Do the ants harvest those seeds? Your yard sounds like an interesting place to poke around for the plants and wildlife.

This morning I greeted one of many juvenile spiny lizards in the tomato patch (yesterday I released a juvenile anole caught in the house). They love the garden, climbing around okra and tomatoes on the hunt for bugs that I don't want there. I suppose when they come inside they eat house bugs. Win/win.

I culled a couple of handbags from the upper shelves in the master closet as I get ready to empty the racks and clean in there. The big computer tote can go to the teachers if one of the kids can't use it. (I usually give them first dibs and usually they decline, but it's an opportunity to say "hi" and catch up.) The pants rack is getting a bit snug and there will be garments in there that are never worn and don't fit and can go to Goodwill.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 04:41 PM

Yes, the 'harvester' group of ants are supposed to feed on seeds specifically, so I have to assume they went after the goatheads in and under the ground. There were several new colonies this year.

It is an interesting little ecosystem, and I have been struck by the variety of plants in an arid place with poor soil, and the sea-changes from year to year. Last year pigweed ran wild, this year I don't see it, but rocket and tumbleweed went nuts. Who knows what August will bring?

I specifically left alone most of the other natives/weeds, and I enjoy seeing them. So to some extent the goatheads are also being competed against, although there is still plenty of bare ground they could attack.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 26 - 09:58 PM

Every summer my daughter and I have a celebratory BLT once the tomatoes are in. This year I got a late start, but now I have some beauties to choose from and we'll try to do it next week. Since she's at work I prepare all of the parts and take it as a picnic where we assemble them, do the ceremonial "smash the sandwich" just enough so the mayo sticks to everything and keeps it together.

This evening the dogs had their usual dinner of dry food topped with veggies (cooked carrot slices and the trimmed ends off my steamed asparagus spears). I also had a piece of sockeye salmon so they each got half of the skin and then licked the melted butter and salmon flavor off of the plate. But Mango still has some of the rough hungry-dog habits from before the shelter; I walked into the yard a little later and she was separating a dead cicada from the stick it had been hanging onto. She ate it while I watched, as she has also eaten katydids and some pretty large grasshoppers. She doesn't need the insect protein to support herself, but it is a habit.

After running errands this afternoon I took the scenic route through the village on my way home and passed an Estate Sale sign. 4:30, were they even open? Yes, and they were half price, cash only. I was in luck and found two Corning Wear glass casseroles with lids I've looked for. They're usually pricey but it was $10 for both. As I thin out the metal baking pans I've switched to more glass, and these are the last pieces on my wish list - vintage baking dishes, safe in oven or microwave. I still have a few metal baking pans around but they're used to hold other stuff, not for cooking.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Jul 26 - 01:59 PM

I’ve been a little under the weather this week with a bad spasm in the upper trapezius muscle on the left side of my neck. Sounds complicated but it’s not — literally a pain in the neck that won’t go away. So physio, ice packs, Advil, and weird little isometric exercises. At its worst, the spasm makes me dizzy, especially on the stairs. So also watching my step and hanging onto things — bannister, wall, chest of drawers.

Awkwardness on the stairs is now evidently a thing, and that makes house work — especially anything involving the vacuum cleaner — unnecessarily difficult. The vac in question is the canister kind with a hose, a wand, and a power head and half a dozen attachments, so it takes two trips to get the entire machine up or down the stairs. Feeling woozy even on the sofa, I thought, surely there’s a better way.

On Thursday, I went to Canadian Tire and bought myself one of those over-grown hand vacs that come with a detachable wand and a modest power head. I can carry the whole thing in one hand so the other is available for the bannister when going downstairs. It’s cordless, too, and much better designed for chasing balls of cat hair under the bed.

The canister vac is in the basement for cleaning the big Persian carpet in the bunker. Should I hear that anyone in my circle of acquaintance needs a vacuum cleaner, I’ll happily part with it.

This week, I expect to re-home a large Kitchen-Aid food processor we bought about 10 years ago which never really earned its storage space. An old friend of SIL No 1 is taking it for her three-generation household of five or six people.They lost everything in a house fire some years ago and are still recovering. My Kitchen-Aid stand mixer ended up with them and they use it all the time, which pleases me immensely.

It’s hot and steamy again after last week’s rain, with delicious balmy evenings perfect for walking in the Long Park. I love to watch the neighbourhood kids running around after soccer balls (at that age, they don’t quite play the game yet) and clambering over a big jungle-gym structure. Greenboro has far more young families than my neighbourhood in Stratford.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 26 - 10:41 AM

Charmion, I thought of you as I read chapter 6 in Body Electric—"Unkinking our Bodies" Posture and Breath
It has to do with posture and with deep breathing. Here is a small section:

But the effects of posture go deeper than our muscles. As we collapse inward, the rib cage compresses, giving the diaphragm—a dome-shaped muscle below the lungs—less room to move. The result is shallow, chest-based breathing that forces neck and shoulder muscles to work harder to keep us upright. Over time, this can turn into an endless loop of tension, fatigue, and brain fog.

It took Linda Stone—a veteran of Apple's and Microsoft's research labs—years to realize she was caught in this loop. In 2007, she was struggling with chronic respiratory infections. Her doctor suggested she try Buteyko breathing, a technique developed in Russia, known for helping asthma patients improve lung function. Each morning, she practiced breathing deeply through her nostrils, with a closed mouth. It made her feel calmer and more energized. But something strange kept happening afterward. As soon as she sat down to work—her breath changed. "I was either shallow breathing or holding my breath," she recalled. Day after day, it was the same. When she stood up to walk around, her breathing returned to normal. But back at the desk, she'd find herself barely exhaling.

The next three paragraphs described getting friends and colleagues to participate on breathing research. Turns out they were breathing shallowly and holding their breaths when seated.

Holding the breath, they told her, activates the body's fight-or-flight response, spiking stress hormones like cortisol and restricting oxygen delivery to the brain. Fewer breaths mean less oxygen and higher levels of CO₂ in theblood, which can tip the body into a state called respiratory acidosis. This shift in blood chemistry creates inflammation and strains the immune system—explaining exactly some of the kinds of problems Stone had been experiencing.^{92, 92}

She experimented with breathing apps and exercise and finally settled on "regular movement and mindful breathing breaks throughout the day. These days she also keeps a kazoo on her desk. Blowing into it requires a full exhale, activating the diaphragm and calming the nervous system."

I could have cut to the chase and said to get up and walk around for five minutes every 30 minutes and get yourself a kazoo, but showing her activity before and after might be helpful for illustrating why the problem was there to begin with. We all sit too much.

Meanwhile, here at the eBay clearance center the lowered price on those old technology quart crock pots moves them out so I'll get the rest listed and hopefully out of the house this week. I also have to vacuum and continue cleaning in case we end up with people here next Saturday. Spoiler alert: today's Connections game tells me that my plasma TV is "outmoded technology." It still works well so no ewaste (and 42" is still plenty large enough for a TV in the house.)

Today, hopefully, I get to the faucet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 26 - 09:51 PM

Today I successfully passed the Cirque du Soleil senior dexterity entrance exam (cleverly disguised as "changing the kitchen sink faucet"). I swapped my ponytail for a braid to keep from leaning back on the hair band lump as I reached up through the plumbing to the back underside of the sink. One has to be a contortionist both to get up and down into that cabinet and to thread everything in place. It's finished and looks good, took about two hours, and used remarkably few tools. As I assembled it I could see plastic parts in the system but for the most part it is a good faucet for a good price. I used the instructions from the old faucet to figure out how to take it out, and I'll keep these instructions for the same reason.

The mouse hole in the cabinet wall is filled with the anti-pest foam then the cleaning supplies were put back under the sink, so the counter to the right of the stove is cleared off. The old faucet is in the trash, and the only task left is to replace the caulk line around the sink. I have a small tube for that; I bought a larger tube for the bathroom work along with a dripless gun, but it turns out the gun I already have is dripless; I use it so rarely I didn't remember.

I used a rolled up towel and a large flattened cardboard box to make the edge of the cabinet comfortable to work on, and after the job the towel and everything I was wearing went into the washer and I headed for the shower. Dinner will be Caprese salad with tomatoes and basil from the yard with fresh Mozzarella.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jul 26 - 11:24 PM

"Cirque du Soleil senior dexterity entrance exam" - not something I could pass as I have too many sore bits, mainly back & legs.

Tho I recently did manage to get most of the dust & hair (all mine, I don't have a pet to blame) from under my bathroom sink. I can't take weight on my right knee so I leant down & brushed & pulled some up, then sat on the edge of the bath & carefully leant a bit further over (well done, me!) The rim of a 26-year old bath is not meant for sitting on.

Next time I do a bit of vacuuming I'll push the hose behind the washing machine. My vacuum is too heavy to do much so I considered a stick vacuum but a friend said it's also heavy & unwieldy for arthritic arms. Good excuse, eh?

Anyway, as Quentin Crisp said "After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse" & here was me thinking it was 2 years ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 26 Jul 26 - 11:56 PM

Well done on the sink and the dexterity test!

Had a plumbing triumph here. Mentioned the problem with the stuck-fast water filter housing, and a musician friend offered to bring a few wrenches and try, and by golly, he got it loose! And yes, the filter was the problem with the water pressure. I let it go too long, and there was crud in the filter. Under the scope it seems to be pipe scale, iron oxide, and some lovely interwoven crystals of calcium minerals. Not unnerved about the pipe scale, it could date all the way back to when they reworked the top of the well last year. And with the crystals, I may get a nice micromount out of this!

And yes, it did solve the water pressure issue! Off to buy a replacement filter tomorrow.