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.