DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jan 26 - 10:36 PM

When I was a child we had a remote lakeside cabin and a Monarch wood burning stove that a lot of paper and plastic was tossed into. Very little trash ever made it to the dump.

I agree about an annual assessment, I just try not to jinx good changes by doing it at New Year's. Another habit I've added to my routine is to use an electric toothbrush. My dental hygienist has suggested they do a better job of cleaning along the gum line. The "medium" brush that came with it was like a jackhammer so I waited to start when the very soft brush heads arrived. It takes getting used to but I think I'm there.

I am planning new things also, adding a few in the task list in this month's Bullet Journal pages.

The salmon is smoking now and I'm looking forward to comparing this with the wild caught fish. It's larger and a bit softer in consistency.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jan 26 - 09:20 AM

I’m told that the cool kids these days prefer “intentions” over “resolutions” at New Year. That’s a distinction without a difference, in my opinion.

For the first time since Edmund died, my New Year review does not include any concerns over where I should live or how much stuff I have. This house needs work, to be sure, but none of it requires figuring out — it’s all obvious tasks to be done. Ambiguity and decision fatigue are over, and I have but to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Taking care, of course, not to slip on the ice.

When I last tried using an electric toothbrush, its vibration made my teeth ache. Is there such a thing as a low-stress toothbrush?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Jan 26 - 09:40 AM

I had a great electric toothbrush that finally died. Its replacement was so noisy at such an awful frequency I couldn't stand to use it. I guess it's time to research getting a better one.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jan 26 - 11:49 AM

Consumer Reports discussed pros and cons of several major toothbrush brands, and a huge con on some was the price (up to $300!) In their columns of noise, durability, customer satisfaction, etc., the one that I chose was one of the best, yet least expensive. Philips Sonicare series 4000 was about $40. The brush head on it was medium, and as Charmion notes, made my teeth ache. I found it at Kohls (and while for some reason Amazon prices the colors of the handle differently, Kohls was $40 for any color). The ultra soft bristle replacement heads required some searching and I was surprised to land on Costco as a result. I mail-ordered the pack of eight heads with a modest shipping fee. Just as my refrigerator keeps track of the calendar and turns on a light when the water filter needs replacing, my toothbrush will apparently light up when the brush head needs replacing. Were I interested, I could go through a series of switch on-and-off and lights flashing steps to change the intensity from low to high. Low is fine with me.

A quick biology lesson regarding my smoked salmon. Wild caught salmon have gone the anadromous route, fresh water immaturity, heading out to sea for years as adults, then returning to fresh water to spawn. Catching them in the ocean is where they are largest and good eating. Farm raised "Atlantic salmon" are generally awful; poor flavor, artificial coloring, poor farm conditions and they've had a poor diet and the addition of antibiotics. My young friend in the market described the care and good diet of the farmed fish from Scotland, and I agree, they are excellent fish. But they aren't the best for smoking because they are like the eunuchs of the salmon world - well fed and kept in an enclosure where all they can do is develop more fat and less muscle. They would be nicer for grilling or cooking for a meal, but when the goal of smoking is low-temperature for hours to slow cook and dry the strips of fish, they are so oily the result isn't going to be the same. I smoked them for about five hours (if I were a purist doing the heating and drying just in the Little Chief I could leave them in for up to 12 hours) and put them in the oven to bring them to a uniform 125 degrees. If you're looking for good farmed fish, the company is Wester Ross, a small brand that is kind of picky who they sell their fish to. Texas' HEB owns a few high-end Central Market stores, and they had to talk the company into selling them their fish, and before that Wester Ross sent representatives over to see how CM runs their fish counters.

It's a lovely day again, sunny and highs in the 70s.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jan 26 - 06:07 PM

I mentioned adding new things to the task list on my bullet journal and I've found two more. I want to play the piano more, and today heard a sonata that sounds playable by someone who hasn't learned new music in years. I'll look to see if I have the sheet music before ordering it. And an interview on NPR with Jimmy Wales (who started Wikipedia) reminded me of a category I'd like to contribute to ("Women In Red" - those names highlighted in red that aren't articles there yet but should be.) I've been a Wikipedia editor for at least 15 years, not as active lately as when I was working and did regular posts on behalf of the library.

I find myself looking at ordinary household tasks and asking myself if this is something I need to do differently. The annual review seems to be part of the process whether we intend for it to be or not.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 26 - 10:55 PM

This is the first Saturday night in (literally!) years that I haven't had to prepare stuff ahead of a Sunday morning radio show that was the bailiwick of the guy I work for. It will shift to a Saturday podcast (from his home) in a week or so. For now, no more Sunday morning radio shows. It's kind of like retiring all over again.

To bed early, and not setting the alarm.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 26 - 12:08 AM

Several more eBay items listed. A couple that were previously listed will be repackaged, I think the way I packed them led to shipping costs that were too high.

Granola and another batch of crispy pecans completed; this time I baked the pecans hotter for a shorter time and got away with it.

Today was the first Sunday in years that I didn't have a bunch of work-related things to complete, which is part of the reason I made myself buckle down to the eBay work. Also this weekend I finished one jigsaw puzzle and set up another.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 26 - 06:04 PM

Still me, nattering away. :)

At lunch with my daughter we discussed photo cubes and light sources. She makes elaborate hats for various costume events and wants to photograph them; her Amazon wish list had a couple of expensive setups with elaborate lights and filters but I didn't buy her any, instead I left my photo cube up over the holiday to show her but we forgot to talk about it. Just as well - the items on her list were just placeholders so she could look into the possibilities. Today at lunch we went over the pros and cons and now I've sent her a list of links to the things I use. I often give the kids things, but this I use all of the time so she'll have to get her own, and hopefully avoid the overkill.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jan 26 - 03:15 PM

The plumber was back again this morning, this time to clear the slow-running drains of both the sink and tub in the en-suite bathroom. Both were severely clogged with long, black hair — obviously not mine — and the bathtub drain also contained dental floss, of all things. Yet more evidence that the previous incumbents were slobs.

Marc Durocher, my current favourite carpenter, pinged me yesterday to ask if I am ready to get started on updating the barely adequate kitchen. I can hardly wait.

In other news, it’s been very damnably cold for nearly a week, but the next warm spell is due to start tomorrow or the day after. This is the rock’n’roll winter for which Ottawa is justly famous — or notorious, take your pick.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Jan 26 - 06:09 PM

Charmion, I've had sink strainers in my kitchen & bathroom since the 80s when a long haired friend reported the verdict of the plumber who cleaned out their pipes. Mother & two daughters all had waist length hair - very coarse hair - & he had never seen such a blockage!

On another matter - in later years I had waist length, but mine is very fine & when it was finally cut off in 2017 - 70cm - the cancer wigs company didn't want it, they only used thick coarse hair. They would have loved my friend's hair when she finally got it cut after her physio said it was affecting her arthritis. I had a craft friend who made porcelain dolls & she was happy to accept my hair!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jan 26 - 09:52 PM

Good for you to be able to find a place to donate the long locks! And I've had those clogged drains with kids with long hair, even with drain sieves; it's still tree roots that are the worst drainage block here.

Today I drove to Dallas to talk over all of the changes that will happen on the website and the shift to podcasting. I could have added to my work on the business side but declined the offer. I got enough of a look at the new website to make a plan for how to preserve some content that would otherwise be lost in the transition.

I don't use a GPS system. With Google maps on the computer I write my list of roads and turns for a trip. The freeways in Dallas typically have long stretches of red - a standstill - and I hate being stuck on freeways. My trip there was via freeways at midday, but heading home in late afternoon I decided to take a cross-country route straight through downtown on what amount to the oldest roads, the earliest streets established through downtown, ("Main" and "Fort Worth Ave," etc.) across the river, under several of the freeways, and out west to home. I passed Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was shot. It was a beautiful drive, and I saw parts of town I've only heard about like Deep Ellum (think Stevie Ray Vaughn and others). I did a few miles of freeway in between, but then dropped into town near my university and took the same old highway system west into Fort Worth. It was a beautiful drive on a sunny afternoon and I feel like I visited the real Dallas. My employer lives in a historic area in the old town three blocks east of the historic Swiss Avenue with its gorgeous old Classic Revival houses probably from the era of railroad magnates and cotton gin owners (there are neighborhoods like this in towns all through Texas, built on railroad, cattle, mining, and farming dollars). After reading about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge last year, Swiss Avenue reminds me of the houses on Columbia Heights overlooking the East River (and that area discussed in the recent Ken Burns documentary about the American Revolution).

During this trip I got my hands on a small self-published booklet from one of the authors my employer worked with years ago. She is long gone, but there are traces on the Internet about her work with saffron. The book isn't in the Library of Congress, no ISBN associated, so I am going to scan it and turn it into a PDF that they can either put up on the new site or sell as a small item (print on demand) on the Amazon store (to be set up soon). This is a real treasure!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jan 26 - 08:39 PM

Are those of you in the north and east digging out of snow or seeing named snow ploughs on your streets? It's sunny and fairly warm here, but the air is full of more juniper pollen; after much time spent outside I'm sneezing and feeling it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jan 26 - 09:54 PM

Alas, the City of Ottawa does not name its snowplows — probably because we have a lot of them. And yes, we’re digging out. We’ll be doing that frequently, up to several times a week, from now to the end of March. By April, we’re so fed up we let Mother Nature take care of all by the heaviest fresh dumps.

Eastern Ontario is having a warming trend right now, which means rain tomorrow and a helluva slushy mess in the streets. Then we’ll have another cold snap, and the slush will freeze into dangerously lumpy ice. What larks, eh?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Jan 26 - 08:04 AM

Weather in southern New England:
the warming trend has cleared off the plowed roadways.
We still have snow standing on the grassy places.
But if it rains in the next few days, we should lose the snow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 08 Jan 26 - 09:40 AM

One of the reasons that Ottawa doesn't name its snow plows is that most of them belong to contractors, not the city.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jan 26 - 11:30 AM

The truck our street needs is the new trash contractor. The schedule is Monday and Thursday, but trash from Monday sat at the curb till yesterday. I didn't put anything out then, I've put a bag out today to see what happens.

Yesterday an eBay sale was cancelled (she should have asked her sister if she wanted the item BEFORE she bought it) so I cancelled the mailing label then relisted. A listing taken down last week is repackaged into smaller offerings. The former Canon digital camera was appraised at the NYC camera store and the check is in the mail. It was last fall I decided to get serious about clearing out this way, not a new year resolution, but as this new year rolls out this habit is established. I need to haul the vacuum into the front room and see how much dust I can capture.

I've decided to participate in the museum docents' book club. Mid-February is the next meeting, giving me plenty of time to read ahead. I'm wondering if there are groups like that at keberoxu's new community?

Dorothy, what are you up to now and how are you doing? You've been quiet for too long.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 26 - 03:26 PM

Yesterday and today I spent time on the phone making sure the new electric company I wanted to switch to has my information. Long story short, even though I know how to find and use the public information source that compares companies I still managed to land on the agency that masquerades as them. I'd set up a company then the agency wanted me to join them - arrgggh! I called and canceled (the company I was cancelling was very helpful and professional; I told the guy that if I hadn't landed there by accident I was sure I'd be just fine with them). The preferred less expensive plan is now set to pick up my power needs for the next two years. My next door neighbor worked in the energy industry so was all ears when I told her about this. And even for a professional, she says it's a struggle to really get the best price.

In mid-December I spoke with an NYC camera store about selling the Canon camera; I mailed the body, lenses, flashes, etc. It was appraised this week and turns out they wanted everything except the camera body and one lens (they work, but have issues). The check will arrive for about $100 less than the original quote and they are returning what they don't want. I'll list them on eBay for parts or repair, and will make back that $100. The camera store will note what the problems with the pieces were, so I'll share the camera store evaluation in my eBay listing and it makes the sale to someone who wants to do the repairs even easier.

I've ordered a table-top music stand so I can set up the electric keyboard on the dining table and practice there; the upright grand piano is so far out of tune it's hardly worth attempting, as beautiful as it is and lovely to practice there. Trying to have it tuned at this point might be pointless, but I'll check around one of these days.

Dorothy hasn't posted on FB since Dec. 25; I worry when she's absent for long stretches, then we learn the computer was left behind somewhere or an Apple device went pear-shaped and needed help. Fingers crossed it's just a technical issue.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Jan 26 - 09:15 AM

> upright grand piano

(*ahem*) Do you mean a non-electronic upright piano? Grands are by definition horizontal, methunk.

Admission: our battered ol' upright is so down-at-string that it has effectively negative value. Quite apart from the missing note(s) and it being so out of tune that it's torture to play, the C-sharp below middle C has one string which refuses to stay anywhere near in tune with its mate. Its main purposes in life nowadays are to hold up family photos, absorb furniture polish, and eat Christmas cards.

Learn from our experience, Stilly. I suggest getting someone in to see whether it'd be worth getting your piano in tune, at least with itself, to help stop further deterioration.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jan 26 - 11:28 AM

There is such a thing as an upright grand, it has to do with string length. Compared to a spinet. I found an instrument like mine online. Mine is a thick rosewood veneer and the front "legs" are ornately carved. It has the fancy panels on front and my pedals extend directly through the case, there is no shiny brass plate. I believe the family bought it new. I inherited from my great aunt.

Making a sign this morning after impulsively signing up for a rapidly-arranged "ICE out for Good" protest downtown this afternoon. Not dwelling on it, it's a one-off, but being part of a large group is energizing.

Just as I taper Prednisone (another 8 days at 3, then down to 2) I was tapering a bit of the wine left as I plan to do a dry January/2026. The last of the last bottle in the fridge was consumed as I worked my jigsaw puzzle last night, and when I turned to pick up some puzzle pieces my chair back knocked the glass and coaster off the credenza. I figure breaking the wine glass is a good sign that it completely begins now.

PS: Here a piano like mine on this site.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Jan 26 - 01:33 PM

> There is such a thing as an upright grand, it has to do
> with string length.

My ghast is duly flabbered. I stand corrected.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jan 26 - 10:32 PM

Returned home from the protest march where I connected with friends. There were lots of steps walking with a large friendly but serious crowd that assembled on very short notice. Many police working the march, less relaxed this time since bad policing was part of the reason for this march. Several of us made a point of waving "hello" to them as we passed. I was glad to see a number of happy smiles in return.

Surprise at the house when I returned home - the garage door was open! When I tried to close it, it rolled down only to pop back open because one of the top rollers had broken off and it was out of alignment. I hauled out the step ladder, disconnected the motor and muscled the door closed, inserted the last of my spare rollers, then pushed it into place. The spring is a bit tighter than it needs to be, so tomorrow I'll work on that, and get another set of extra rollers.

Finally, a chuckle. I moderate a freecycle site in town and this was posted: "Anybody have a stroller for a boy that they are no longer using?"

Diagram that sentence. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Jan 26 - 01:11 AM

what were they using him for?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 26 - 12:35 PM

Sandra, the English Major in me was so tempted to tweak that listing (moderators can edit posts people put up) but I left it alone.

A further note on the piano - the inside is as beautiful as the outside, with the sounding board made of birds-eye maple.

The last time I had it tuned the pegs were so old (four sided instead of the modern style) that he had to dig around to find a tool to tighten them. And at least four of the strings broke, requiring repair. In the end he tuned it a whole note low, so it is very dark sounding (in addition to being out of tune now). It has a great action, the ivory still looks good, and I would love to have it restored. Maybe after I pay off the house that could be a project, but neither of my kids is likely to want the piano, so it would be just for me and then who knows. It would give it a lot more value for the future (see that site I linked to at the bottom of the above post).

The office is awash in paper on all horizontal surfaces, including lots of small notes to myself I need to either act on or toss. Annual things that need filing for taxes, the new electric company paperwork (including breadcrumbs so next time I land on the correct platform for choosing a company).

I've gotten back to using my subscription exercise program several days a week (and can feel it in my abs today). When I let it autorenew I knew I needed to resume using it almost daily.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 26 - 10:51 PM

Last night I launched the link to the employer's new podcast (this was an introductory interview with the guy who owns the podcasting platform). It was haphazard; someone from the podcast page shared a Google sheet with me with the link. No one else seemed to be doing anything, anti-climactic for such a big move. Oh, well. I've got this.

It was a quiet day to finish another jigsaw puzzle, though there are plenty of other things I should be doing. I decided to enjoy the second Sunday in a row.

The power company I set up should take over service at midnight or sometime tomorrow. I'm watching the emails for confirmation (and ignoring emails from the first company that is asking me to set up my account information and auto pay.)

The next door neighbors are out of town for a week, so the morning biscuit at the fence won't happen. I've noticed my blue heeler doing a lot more annoying barking hoping to get his attention so the bark collar is going on tonight. Often the collar is enough, but she may need a zap tomorrow to break that noisy habit.