DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 24 - 01:43 PM

Keb, I hope you're able to get a comfortable position to sleep if that cyst was in an inconvenient spot on your head.

This morning I let the Alexa app have access to my phone contacts after I picked up one more Echo dot device. Last month I realized how lucky my friend was, the one who fell during the night and broke his hip, that he was able to have his Alexa device call his next door neighbor for help. It won't call 911 but it can call numbers in your contacts. A fall, phone in hand, would allow easy access to help, but the scenario of getting up in the night and falling on the way to the bathroom is commonplace. Now to declutter the list of the ones that are deceased or no longer used. This device in a part of the house where I spend a fair amount of time.

That same friend is rounding up art supplies he doesn't use and will add them to the stash I'm donating to the non-profit that provides art materials to local teachers. I'll swing by later to pick them up and do a couple of other errands at the same time (drop off more puzzles at the thrift store or library, and while I'm thinking of it, I have some boxed games that we never use that I can donate to my library.

The kitchen stove overhead exhaust fan started making a terrible racket lately; I cleaned the screens that cover it but next I need to disassemble to clean and graphite the moving parts. There may be enough grease buildup on the fan blades that it goes off-balance so that is the main objective for now. This has been in place for years and it may be time for a new one.

Outside the house it's time to start regular watering in the areas I need to soak to keep the foundation in place and a few plants that aren't completely established. I'm using my gray water bucket (rinse water in the kitchen sink) to carry out to pour on targeted areas and that helps reduce the need to sprinkle entire areas. Several buckets a day keep all of the potted plants happy also.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 24 - 01:59 PM

Oy, Patty, your hair! And I thought it was awful last spring when the sleep study tech covered my head with extremely greasy sticky pads to apply electrodes. So much scrubbing when I got home.

Many furniture items can be purchased online and delivered, but I suppose extremely remote addresses test the limits of those services. Can you deploy any Google map GPS information regarding the devices on that property for the utilities in question? In this day and age pulling up map coordinates is something any motivated property owner can do. Or maybe there is a county or state or FEMA or Corps of Engineers (etc.) overlay map you can access. I visualize you spending time in a library if you have one nearby.

Good luck! And PM me your address if you've a mind to, I'd like to look at the property (Zillow) and send a card once you get moved in!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Jul 24 - 06:14 PM

Stilly, if these sellers actually vacate and we actually have closing on Monday, I will pm a link for the location.   If they do not, then I'm done with this whole circus.

No, it's not a remote location at all. We just have a too-big, unresponsive utility that has stored the service address in their database as "N of town", which will not allow me to start service at the correct address (or under the meter number), until someone presents whatever they consider suitable documentation that the meter is at that address. Utter stupidity.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 24 - 11:07 PM

The current owners can't provide the information to you? Or it hasn't occurred to them? Good luck with that!

Tomorrow is the craft supply drop-off, but I didn't end up picking up stuff from my friend; he felt like he could round up a lot more stuff given a bit more time, so I'll get his donation for my next batch to Welman. I'm sure there will be more. I found a bin full of pencils (regular lead, art, and colored) that have been added to the box, along with some ancient paper doilies and several pads of paper. I also looked in my bookshelves for anything superfluous to the work I do these days; one design book for the donation box and I dropped several 20+ year old computer web html books straight into the recycle bin.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Jul 24 - 08:13 AM

Yesterday entailed a great deal of box-heaving as last season’s choir repertoire went back to storage. Next season’s music includes only three works we already own — “Messiah” (as usual), Vivaldi’s “Gloria”, and a setting of “Hope is a thing with feathers” — so we boxed those up and hauled them out. Consequently, my home library work table is clear and reduced to minimum size for the first time in weeks.

All that will change as the rest of next season's repertoire rolls in. Already I have two cartons from Faber Music in the UK to unpack, a process that will result in stacks of a Bach cantata. By mid-August the table will be at full stretch again with piles of scores to be stamped (“Property of …”) and numbered. Then Jane and Herb will return for an afternoon of twiddly work and uplifting conversation followed by a nice cold bottle.

My granny used to make quilts with a gang of church ladies. They worked in an upstairs room at Granny’s house that was probably the only indoor space in town that could hold a fully extended quilting frame and the work crew. (Granny’s house was built as an inn, and I think that room had once accommodated three or four beds.) Nowadays, when I settle down to an afternoon of music maintenance with my friends, I perceive the continuation of a well-established pattern of small town life for older folks. If it wasn’t the choir, I would have to join the garden coven, or finally learn to sew …!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Jul 24 - 01:11 PM

Dupont:

I have been to the country and back again - went to B on Saturday - "I'm not sitting around in the heat all day again!" My car has A/C so I would be cool part of the day. So I threw the bare essentials in the car and drove to Beaver. Stopped at the Hidden Gold Mine about 3:30 and they made me a hawaiian panini to go and I got the very last muffin - our fav raisin/carrot! And I finished the trip, organized what was necessary and let Larry know I was back for a couple days. Good sleep.

Put the ready-to-fire pots in the kiln - about 2/3 load - and considered next step. Had a great visit with Larry on Sunday and neighbour Sue joined us. Then read,rested, thought. Bought 4 20 inch fans. Had a good sleep.

Monday: decided the next thing needed was change of address so I went to the post office and arranged that - for a year. (Who knows?) Left Beaver in good order and drove back to QC. Ate the muffin for lunch! The traffic was heavy at the food stops! Thankful for the muffin which got me home. Precooked -by me- food in frig and brought back from Beaver still keeping us going!

Trying to find the guts to go to the dreadful bureaucracy to change Driver's license and car registration. I'll try on Monday

Two rainy days were wonderful and R moved a large cabinet out of pottery room - so I have room! He also carried some clay up as I am still leery of carrying much weight, esp upstairs. One smallish cabinet that had been clutter for a few years has, thankfully disappeared! To the cellar, I guess. I don't go down there.

The large one was upstairs because it was the only place to put it when the folks I gave it to 45 years ago, returned it!! Visiting a friend here a few months ago, I was inspired to suggest the cabinet might fit nicely into the tiny old house she is restoring. She has agreed to take it as soon as she has time! So it sits in a side hall for now - just a little bit in the way but tolerable.

The reason I gave this lovely pine cabinet away 45 years ago: A bunch of buildings were being torn down in Montreal and the contents were for sale. We bought it for $10 and brought it to where we were living - in a 3rd floor flat. We could not get it up the stairs so we put it back in Tom's truck: Let's take it to Roger. They took it into their beautiful old home as a "mitten cabinet"! (88 inches tall, 32 wide and 17 deep!!) It lived with that family - from home to home to home. Parents died, no one else wanted it... We also were gifted an antique day bed which is just right in the upstairs hall - where one could nap/recline/read and look at at the big trees in the front yard. I may do that sometime! It's ready any time the weather is not too hot!

The landing at the foot of the stairs is now clear of stuff and my single box of albums is almost in their special new home - and someday we may be able to play them on the special machine we bought for $50 and have not - in several years taken the time to figure out. We were told it will convert the 33/3 to CDs. If my son visits, I will try a Tom Sawyer! There is a Dan Hill in the box! (that and Norm Hacking peaked out.)

(Had to go find Norm on line and play a song. Haven't listened in years but remembered it right off - Really liked his music!)

OK, so here I am on another HOT day. Pulled weeds for maybe 20 minutes until it started to hurt. Another bit and that area will be clear of the invasive weed with nice purple flowers! They have an area where they are allowed. Milk weed has taken over a big chunk of two "flower beds" but that's OK! Cute little pods are maturing. I have not seen any butterflies at all...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 24 - 10:22 PM

Art items dropped off during my donation appointment and while I was in the front shop (their fund-raiser area) I noticed a number of lengths of cloths for sale in a bin - that is easily how some of what I dropped off could be used if they don't actually put it in the warehouse for teachers. These items will be used one way or another. I added more of my surplus stuff to one of the boxes at the last minute.

Tonight while changing my bed linens I told the new Echo Dot to play MSNBC on SiriusXM. To my surprise, what came across that small speaker is that someone took a shot and nicked Trump. I've had the news off all day, so I was hearing this some hours after the event. I still think I'll listen to less news, it is generally repetitive and the next 24-48 hours even moreso. Meanwhile, the linens are changed, I've had a shower, a load of laundry is in the washer and I'll program it to wash during the wee hours when there is less demand on the power grid.

An online viewing discovery today is a YouTube account called "Midlife Stockman" who seems to do transformations on vacant lots, school bus stops, abandoned sidewalks, abandoned houses, etc. He puts in a LOT of manual labor and uses a time-lapse camera and drones to document it. Makes me think the changes of a good landscape refresh would be a nice thing to do in my yard. He has some great tools (including a Stihl Battery-Operated Cordless Pruning Saw to die for). He appears to be working in a northern tier state to do this all day long, I'd have to be out at 5am to start work here and stop before 9am.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Jul 24 - 10:01 AM

I have achieved what feels like a workable compromise on the heirloom dohickeys spread out on the work table downstairs. After a careful triage, I put them in an ornamental box made by a Haida artist. The oddest things survived the sorting, such as a golden tress from Granddad’s first haircut, in a box labelled “The hair of the deep-dyed villain”, and a disc of leather with “First Prize Sharpshooter” and Granny’s name carved into it. The opera glasses, the Japanese pen case with its opium pipe, and the wine-bottle seal made the cut, along with a snuffbox made of the tip of a ram’s horn. I’ll find a way to dispose appropriately of the many sets of drawing instruments and the boxes of military junk jewellery.

Supper last night was an experiment: lamb shanks cooked in a small Römertopf clay pot. I love lamb shanks, but until now failed to figure out a way to prepare them for just myself. Using the flavourings from a NYT recipe by Robert Farrar Capon, I put two shanks in the pot with a sliced onion, two chopped Roma tomatoes, ground allspice and nutmeg, and oregano, salt and pepper. Lid on, it went into the oven for an hour at 425°F. The result was as delicious as the original version, and the only thing I’ll do differently next time is browning the shanks first. The second shank is for tonight, with another glass from the bottle of Bardolino I opened yesterday.

As for Mr T’s close call yesterday, I can’t stop myself wishing that he had been stood maybe six inches to his right.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Jul 24 - 07:16 PM

Pattyclink, I hope the house situation works out for the best,
whatever the best may be.

My incision, according to the nurses who examine it, is healing well.
At least it doesn't feel as tight as before.
And sleep is working out better than I feared,
I can still sleep on my back as I'm used to do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jul 24 - 08:48 PM

Two more listings up on eBay so far today. I have a couple of other things that need more information before I can list them (that somehow I didn't measure when photographing and before packing).

A few days ago I pulled out more craft things stashed out of sight in the sunroom that I intended to donate on Saturday, but that never made it to the donation box. I'll start a new box with this stuff and today I found a few things to add to it.

Charmion's lamb shanks sound wonderful. I have a small Romertopf baker I usually use for chicken, but that could be used for something like the lamb. (I find it amusing that the recipe's author has the last name "Capon.")

How's your scalp, keberoxu? How's your house, Dorothy?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Jul 24 - 12:57 PM

Not much will get done this week because I have come down with COVID. It’s a messy cold with a barking cough, nasty headache, no olfactory function, and precious little energy.

Oh, well. I didn’t have any important plans …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jul 24 - 06:12 PM

You're the third person I've heard of this month who caught it despite warm weather and more time spent out-of-doors. And Paxlovid is harder to find for those who are eligible and willing to use it. I was glad to see friends stepping up to offer to help over on FB.

This afternoon I set up the steam-juicer and put in about five pounds of Roma tomatoes. I have 1.5 quarts of juice now and will run the remaining solids through the food mill to separate seeds and skin from pulp. I've wanted to make some sauce and it's always best from fresh, even if I didn't grow these tomatoes myself.

I also boiled some eggs and will use one large tomato I set aside for a chef salad for dinner tonight. (In case this isn't a universally known recipe, it is a big plate of salad greens, I use a mix of Romaine and iceberg, topped with shredded cheese, slivers of types of meat, and quartered tomatoes around the outer rim, interspersed with two halved hard-boiled eggs. I sprinkle some nuts and seeds and use Italian dressing over the top. The meat will be roasted chicken and deli ham.)

You know it's July in Texas if you're in the low-100s outside and boiling pots of water in the kitchen for canning or making sauces. Today's batch was three pints, two of which are now in the freezer. It didn't take long but there were quite a few dishes in the sink before all was finished.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 08:38 AM

Got the key yesterday! Celebrated with friends, and took one out for a visit to the house last evening, first time there unsupervised by realtor etc. There is always a wonderful peaceful vibe in the house and back yard, stillness plus a few bird sounds.

Someone at the power company quietly fixed the database issue. So when I tried the website again, it did work and they did switch over the power.

Continued the search for a bedframe at the local antique 'mercantile', but there were few and very elaborate. But, they had a nice bookshelf, which will be loaded into the cargo trailer today along with some stuff from storage.

Off I go, to scoot over to storage before the sun gets too high above the horizon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 10:15 AM

Happy house-warming, Patty!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 10:25 AM

I'll second that!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 11:35 AM

I'll third those congratulations, Patty! How long were you officially a vagabond in the RV? Do you have friends from that community who you stay in touch with, who might swing by for a visit? And how many trips will it take to move the stored stuff? (Or is it too soon to know that? How many places do you have stuff stored?)

How are you feeling, Charmion? Is this variant milder (each one seems to be more contagious but also less virulent)? LA, San Francisco, Seattle, I'm seeing various municipalities report the COVID index in sewer water treatment plants is rising.

Looks like rain here today (a more than 50% chance). I have to drop off recycling and pick up some fabric (another project than the yard art) this morning. The bin is a lot heavier than usual with those textbooks. (While I'm at it I'll toss some of my son's college textbooks from his closet - they're way out of date now.)

I made only one purchase during this summer's Prime event - another Roku streaming device (half price) as I slowly replace Amazon Fire sticks. The Roku devices just work better, though the ones I'm getting are WiFi only. I have two Fire sticks wired to data ports for faster performance, I'd have to buy a larger Roku device to run on ethernet.

I finally finished the last batch of my zucchini casserole and it was about two meals too many in that batch. Next time I'll make a smaller amount.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 06:15 PM

My nose itches intolerably, I have no sense of taste or smell, and I get tired changing my mind. I’m obviously still contagious as hell — ACHOO! — so I can’t go anywhere except the mailbox, and there only if nobody else is on the street. I have to sneak to the mailbox in the dark!

Apart from that, I’m great. This variant does feel less dreadful than my last bout of COVID, but I’m still very wary of its potential to send me into bronchitis again. The lung misery I had at Easter was bad, and if it happens again so soon I can probably write off the rest of the summer.

My elder brother has allowed as how he would like our Dad’s set of Bohemian crystal wine glasses, so I have packed them to travel the next time I go to Ottawa. That leaves room in the cabinet for iced beverage glasses I have been ogling on Ebay — much more useful in the circles where I move these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 24 - 08:20 PM

What kind of iced beverage glasses are you looking at? I have some Libbey Duratuff glasses (the amethyst/purple color) iced tea 16oz goblets listed on eBay, and a number of other smaller colorful glasses yet to list.

Today I programmed the house thermostat higher; day and night are now 82^o on the larger heat pump (it was on 80 during the day), and in the room where I usually work it is set at 80, and I can adjust it up or down as humidity dictates. The electric bill for June was pretty high, and it'll just get worse for the next couple of months without this shift.

I spoke with a sibling today about his getting off of statins; we're opposites in how we're doing it. I'm closer to the Keto approach and he's on a low-fat vegetarian higher carb routine. We both get exercise, right now he's getting a lot more than I am (he has acreage to work on in a cooler climate).

Online defensive driving ahead. Not fun, but saves on my premium for the next three years.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 03:49 PM

Thanks for the housewarming wishes, Charmion, Sandra, Stilly!! It is wonderful to have a place of my own. I have been on wheels for 7 years.

Yesterday hauled half of the locally stored items to the new home, and picked up a new-to-me bookcase. It was about 102 for the high, so while the original load-in to cargo trailer went well, the load out into the house was hot and slow. Trying to stick most of the boxes in their destined rooms as I go. Got exhausted, will hopefully move the remaining 40% over this weekend.

No furniture yet, so lunched in my lawn chair at the kitchen counter and had a lie-down on my sleeping-bag pad. Long enough to be sure that floor-sleeping will not be an option with achy joints from moving boxes.

Discovered the place stayed eerily cool for days after the A/C was last on, stucco construction is a great fit for this climate. 4 modern mini-split air handlers let me cool it further.

Well, except for the mud/storage/rock room, where there is a new large water heater on display, which heats up that room, the only room with no mini-split. Desperately needs an insulating blanket to keep the heat in the tank (it's already set as low as it can go). So add that to the list of to-gets.

Will work hard to get a bed in this week, shop for a sleeper sofa for maybe later, then get ready for a run east for the rest of my stuff in storage.

The RVing people I know tend to come through this area in winter, and the mineral people congregate in Socorro in November, so I'll be hosting visitors for sure. Hence shopping for a sleeper, and the yard has plenty of room for RVs to park. Have not upgraded the electric line for plugins, but I'll look into that. And I better start planning a housewarming for the locals for early fall.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 04:07 PM

Continuing to read and this week I came across a discussion of how the different types of sugar are broken down in the body. The old dietitian line of "all sugar is alike" (calorie count) is not true. Calories are the least of it. Depending on if it heads to the liver or directly into the bloodstream, etc. For years I've avoided high-fructose corn syrup, and that spared me some weight and health issues. I also avoid most artificial sweeteners, again, they break down in unpleasant ways. But that doesn't mean I've avoided lots of other fast-metabolizing carbs. I'm approaching this because today I was thinking about snacks - and what might work. The irresistible crunch of chips, for example, is a long-time go-to for me. A crisp apple instead? The fruit sugar is broken down slowly and fiber and moisture accompany it. Corn chips, potato chips, in limited amounts with healthy dips?

I'll have to figure out a non-wheat bread for my occasional grilled cheese sandwiches (for now I have the frozen store brands to test). Non-wheat bread will still be a fast-digesting carb product (without gluten) so will be limited. I'm creeping ever closer to Keto, without quite adopting it. Some kind of high-protein low carb (of the healthier varieties) plan.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 05:25 PM

As my fourth day of quarantine / house arrest draws to a close, I was thinking that I feel kinda guilty for having spent the last eight hours in the comfy chair — and then remembered with relief that I’m not allowed out until I stop sneezing and test negative! Legal idleness — how sweet it is.

The cough has not improved, though; I’m still hacking like a cat with a hairball.

I bought the glasses I was lusting for. They’re Waterford Marquis, their “Vintage”, pattern, like my red wine glasses. Funny; I used to think wine is wine and would taste the same whether you drank it from crystal or a Melmac cup, but now I find that the right glass makes a big difference, especially to high-tannin reds. I guess I’m a wine snob, now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 06:35 PM

I picked up various types of glasses over the years at Goodwill - they don't all match exactly, but then, it took a while to accumulate what amounts to sets. I found the Duratuff glasses I'm selling at Goodwill. Their next owners will see "estate sale" in my listing (I always assume they're left over from such events), giving it a little more cachet than "thrift store."

As I strolled the aisles of Winco this afternoon I realized that nuts would probably meet my "crunch" requirement so picked up an assortment and photographed the bins each came out of for the dietary values. It'll only be a few at a time, but that is the way the chips are also supposed to be eaten.

This afternoon's main trip was to pick up a new dental night guard that will replace the current lower retainer I've used since the orthodontia was finished years ago. Hopefully this will help keep my jaw in place at night to prevent possible teeth grinding and let the creaky TMJ clear up, or at least not get worse.

I weighed myself this morning and am going to add intermittent fasting (like the alternate day fasting - lower calories some days) and in a way that there are 16-18 hours between meals once or twice a week as part of the blood sugar management I've read about.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 09:40 PM

My favourite nuts are pecans, walnuts and almonds, in that order. I weigh out 30 grams in a dish and eat them for lunch. I also eat pignoli — pine nuts — but I like those toasted in vegetarian dishes such as spinach salad and sautéed greens with garlic. If your goal is avoiding carbohydrate, don’t eat cashews. The price of pecan halves is shocking, but I almost don’t care. I feel the same way about rib-eye steak, but I buy it anyway. Sunday dinner should be nice.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 24 - 09:47 PM

Patty, I lived in the Sonoran Desert for a couple of years, when I worked at a national park at the US/Mexico border. The trick that they did there was to turn off the water heater in the summer. The heater was in the house so was cool, and the water coming in through the cold tap was hot from the pipes running underground in the local environment. You literally turned on the cold tap for hot and cooled it from the hot tap that came from in the house. I hope this helps.

Is there a covered parking area? Can you park the RV in the shade and sleep there? Even though it's awkward, there is something about moving into a new place and being resourceful as you adjust in the beginning without all of the furnishings. When we moved into this house in the first few weeks, while I was painting and putting down tile floors, I set up two regular beds and the cot in the corner bedroom for me and the kids. (I slept on the cot.) It was camping out in the house, and as I got more space ready, we moved furnishings and each eventually had our own rooms. Until I had the tile surrounds up in the bathtubs we used a galvanized tub in the back bathroom for baths.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Jul 24 - 09:18 AM

Tested COVID-positive again this morning, after coughing half the night.

Not a happy bunny.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Jul 24 - 10:37 AM

bummer, to put it politely

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 24 - 06:18 PM

There was an article in the Post or the Times this morning about the waste water testing for Covid - there is quite a spike this month all over the place. I have a tour tomorrow; I'm hoping it is sparsely attended, and I'll wear my mask right up until I start talking.

I felt so generally lethargic this spring that I didn't get much garden put in. Now I'm feeling better but it's so hot there is only so much one can do at a time. Today I trimmed in the back then mowed part of it, and used the grass catcher (I usually mulch it back into the turf). I lugged one of the two kitchen waste buckets to the compost pile and after nudging a bit of a hole into the pile I tipped in the bucket contents and covered it with the grass from the mower bag. I've needed to do this for a while. There is another bucket and I have to do some mowing in front tomorrow, then repeat to empty the other bucket.

I also watered out front with a soaker hose, and at one point in my comings and goings left the garage gate open while the big door was also open - the girls trotted up to me in the front yard! We all headed back to the house and they happily received TWO treats each for being such good girls and not testing the Invisible Fence collars in the front.

A week of cat sitting starts this evening. The cash is nice but to make it worthwhile timewise for me I need to build in my own activities to do while I'm out on some of the feeding runs. More trips to the gym, doing a feeding right before I head to the museum for the tour, etc.

I'm finishing some of the foods I already had here (that I'll buy less often on the low-carb diet); this afternoon a 1/2 cup of beets accompanied a piece of steak and side of mushrooms. And the messy magenta beets reminded me that I needed to use up the remainder of the ink bottles for the Epson inkjet printer. The tanks are topped off and bottles into the trash.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jul 24 - 10:48 PM

Down two more pounds as I continue to work on reducing the carbs each day.

I found some nice almond flour crackers at Aldi but 1) they're expensive and 2) they have plenty of carbs even if they don't have wheat. But they give me a starting point on working on a recipe to make my own. I also found cauliflower crackers - haven't tried them yet. Cauliflower is doing a lot of heavy-lifting these days in replacing wheat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jul 24 - 09:53 AM

This morning, my space-age Fitbit scale informed me that my body-mass index is now officially out of the “overweight” class, and that my body-fat percentage is only about five points above the level said to be ideal for a woman of my age. I realize that BMI is a widely debunked standard, and that five seconds of contact between an electronic gadget and the soles of my feet is hardly a foolproof way to assess fatness, but I nevertheless believe that I have reached a preliminary objective.

Closet contents are thinning, too. I will definitely need smaller trousers for winter, and I can zip up my undergraduate jacket, a cowhide item designed for a young man with hips like a trout.

On the COVID front, I’m still hosting the cough from Hell, but olfactory functions are gradually returning — I could almost taste my coffee this morning. I will do another test when the cat decides to get off my lap.

The Römertopf method for cooking lamb shanks is most definitely a winner, improved still more by browning the shanks before baking, and using the same skillet to reduce the sauce after the pot came out of the oven. I’ll eat the second shank later in the week when I can taste it properly, but last night’s had the right sweet-bitter balance with just enough acid bite from the tomatoes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jul 24 - 11:13 AM

COVID negative.

Now I can go to the Post Office and the supermarket! Wheee!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jul 24 - 02:22 PM

Good job getting over it to the non-contagious point. Now to get over the rest of the getting over it part.

During the night I woke up a couple of times to a strange sound, and realized it was a hard rain, a couple of episodes of it. We got at least an inch and today is cool and comfortable. For late July this is miraculous! There's a good chance for more rain again overnight tonight. Then maybe I'll till the garden for fall.

Steamed a batch of broccoli and baked chicken for a few meals this week (and the dogs share the broccoli with me). When I made marinara sauce a couple of days ago I didn't have bell peppers so used poblano. It is missing the sweetness of the bell pepper, but isn't bad. Not spicy hot like you might expect. I have bells now so will saute a little bit and mix it into the jar I'm using now. I'm figuring out how to get the fiber of my granola without as many calories. I use about half of a normal serving of the granola and sprinkle it over the top of a bowl of strawberries (sweetened with monk fruit and vanilla sweetener) and non-fat plain Greek yogurt. The probiotic yogurt is healthier than plain milk and the granola is mostly nuts, so a great topping.

I'm getting ready to set up a backup HDD drive in the closet, connected to the router. I'll map it to the big computer and use it for a fresh backup. I haven't been pestered by Microsoft about updating to Win11 for a while, but if I do make the change I want the full backup so I can restore back to 10 if I want to. (In theory that is possible, at any rate.) My current hard drive is connected directly to the computer, and is getting pretty full. The point of putting one in the closet is more for security; no one plans on a burglary, but we had one here about 20 years ago, and they got all of the computer stuff and drives. The drive in the closet would be out of sight and preserve my data to restore to a new computer if need be.

How much space does your Bohemian crystal take up? Is it going to be an even exchange for when your newer glasses arrive or will there be extra space? A friend of mine has been buying a brand of frozen cat food that comes in well-insulated boxes that she saves for me and I use for shipping glasses. The company uses large pieces of insulated packing made of the same cornstarch as dissolvable packing peanuts. Whoever receives them can toss them into the compost or the sink and let them dissolve if they aren't reused.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jul 24 - 02:30 PM

Yes, Stilly, the cabinet will be a bit less crowded. I’ve decided to enjoy the space and let it be.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 21 Jul 24 - 10:52 PM

Moved into the house yesterday, after picking up a mattress in a box to stick on the floor. Walmart is always my last choice and a rare visit, but after efforts to shop local fail, sometimes they have a solution. The ideal bedframe and box will just have to come later.

But, on the fruitless bed-shopping trip, discovered a really lovely large gateleg table in honey colored real wood (increasingly rare in these days of laminate) and got a great deal on it and its chairs (used). Looks like it was made for the place, and can serve as both desk and table for now. Took a friend who is much more into style and decor on the foray, and she helped me make some good decisions. I learned some new things about sofa shopping. Biggest obstacle right now on stuffed furniture--the stuff on clearance is all not the tweeds but the low nap stuff; cozy in winter but in this heat it makes me want to run for the hills. (Glad Fort Worth is having a little cool snap, we are also due for a monsoon-season break).

I may indeed shut off the water heater per SRS advice, but for tonight I want guaranteed hot water in my first shower here.

Meanwhile, enjoying the yard; there was quite an array of birds swooping around the porch as I stepped out this morning, rabbits, a huge thing I learned is a tarantula wasp, lovely clean breezes, assorted blooming weeds from recent rains. This evening an impressive cloud and sunset show, mountains for a backdrop. Grateful for such a retreat!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jul 24 - 12:02 AM

Oooo, Patty! If you have tarantula wasps, you probably have tarantulas! Keep your eye open for them, and keep a plastic container and a piece of cardboard handy so you can capture any that get into the house and release them in the yard. (Drop the container over the top then slide the cardboard underneath.) They are quite delicate, if you swat one you're liable to kill it. Better to move them, they're beneficial (and a sign that the yard is a healthy place without toxic chemicals.) Congratulations on getting moved into the house and I'm glad you have a friend in the area to participate in the process. Good luck getting a bed you like!

Having lived in the desert SW for a number of years (in Arizona, and I almost moved to NM), I know the kind of house and furniture you're describing. If you can find anyplace that sells the solid pine furniture that is made in Mexico I think you might enjoy some of the quality and solid pieces they produce. The place that used to sell that here finally closed, but I'm sure the pine furniture is still made and imported. I have some of that furniture here in my house in Texas.

Recycling managed this weekend, kitchen cleaned, and small things like a bit of bleach in a mug to soak out tea stains and also dip my tea strainers in to clean them. Laundry set to run in the wee hours (when power is less in demand) and trash is at the curb (and litter from the street curb area picked up). I had a productive weekend (including the museum tour as a volunteer extra) and lunch planned tomorrow with my daughter.

I decluttered my wallet this afternoon in a push to promote Kamala Harris and I see that others had the same idea. I'm sorry to see Joe step down - he had a plan and work left to do, but it will continue with a new younger leader. Act Blue, the organization that funnels donations to Democratic candidates and causes, raised nearly $50M for her campaign today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jul 24 - 10:05 AM

The garage has been decluttered of at least a year’s accumulation of cardboard boxes, all carefully flattened as per municipal ordinance and inserted into the approved blue bins. With them went all manner of plastic and styrofoam packing materials, enough to fill a bin liner to full stretch. I kept exactly two sturdy book-size boxes and a carton full of styrofoam packing peanuts.

Now I’m tired out, asprawl with the cat in the comfy chair with Astor Piazzola (El Mestro del Tango) piped into my ears from iTunes. I had intended to go to pool class today, having ceased to be a threat to the commonweal, but I coughed half the night and I’m obviously not ready for anything even vaguely resembling real exercise.

It’s a fine, steamy day in southwestern Ontario. When I have recombobulated enough to face a shower, I will sally forth to the post office with a box bound for Toronto. The box contains a heck of a lot of packing peanuts and three crystal wine glasses, each with a flea-bite chip in the rim. Yes, I finally found a person who repairs crystal! And of course she’s in Toronto, where I strongly prefer not to go in person. So fingers crossed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jul 24 - 10:23 PM

We've had air quality issues here since late last week and I have a sore throat. I don't know if those two things are related. I also have a new "night guard" retainer that I've worn for a few nights and I'm wondering if there is a connection in that direction. This evening I've deployed motrin and a decongestant to see if it helps.

Cat sitting continues and gets me out of the house to do my own things during the day. I unloaded the boxes that cat-lady friend saved for me and loaded the big 5-gallon gas can to take to fill non-ethanol gas for the mower and other gas-powered equipment, a chore so easy now that Walmart built a gas station six blocks from my house and they carry that kind of gas (no one else in town has this - I previously had a 50-mile round trip to the next county to get it.)

Goddamned Google is trying insert it's AI script via Chrome - a message next to the cursor just popped up and suggested I needed help writing. Like they know what we're discussing here? I don't think so.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 24 - 09:40 PM

The sore throat isn't going away, so I have an appointment tomorrow for a couple of cultures and a checkup. The Covid test was negative.

That stupid "help me write" thing popped up so I tried it. This is the result:
I have a sore throat that isn't going away, so I have an appointment tomorrow for a couple of cultures and a checkup. I took a Covid test and it was negative.

Color me underwhelmed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Jul 24 - 10:20 AM

it is certainly not a Creative Writer!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 24 - 11:31 AM

It seems to want sentences instead of phrases and it favors pronouns.

My throat feels better today (of course it does since I made an appointment for this afternoon) but I'll still go down there; I can feel remnant tenderness and in case it is something that shows up in a culture, I'd like to know.

The lawn needs mowing but we've had a couple of wonderful rainy days and the dew hasn't dried yet. Later today.

This morning I forgot to put an eBay box on the porch for the mail carrier; he comes past the house two more times on the route so Pepper will alert me when the vehicle is close and I'll walk it out. A dozen aspic molds are headed to someone in San Diego. I never liked it as a kid (at every holiday meal) and there is no other use I can think of putting these aluminum molds to. (Would the AI hack end a sentence with a preposition? I'm not going to test it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jul 24 - 12:31 PM

I made it through pool class and brunch at my favourite diner before running out of gas. Now I’m back in the comfy chair, under the cat and unlikely to do anything else demanding for the rest of the day.

Aspic is a love-or-loathe-it dish. My mother used to make a tomato aspic that was okay — i.e., not actively repellent — but my grandmother’s jellied brawn simply would not go down my throat. I’m pretty sure the issue was texture, at least for me. When I discovered a really neat lemon pudding that combines jelly and custard, I thought at first that I would gag on the jelly part but didn’t; maybe I’ve grown out of that childhood reaction. Also, I quite like headcheese, which is just the suave, commercial version of Grandma’s jellied brawn.

There’s no accounting for tastes, especially over a 60-year span of time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 24 - 02:07 PM

I think aluminum has been cleared of the theory (for a few decades) that it might contribute to health issues, but I still don't use it often.

I'm in to cool for a few minutes; I've mowed about 3/4 of the front yard and decided to get a drink before I collapsed behind the mower.

I was out earlier to see what crows were up to in the street - they are bullies and attack owls and hawks. I'm pretty sure they were ganging up on an owl but I couldn't get out fast enough to see. I had to literally kick my way past Pepper at the door who wasn't letting me get it open and out. I'm going to have to put the shock collar on for a couple of days and zap her when she does that. I'm still the boss of the front door around here, even if she's the one who alerts about the mail carrier.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 24 - 07:00 PM

I've changed out the payment system on ActBlue for my political donations - I was using PayPal with it, but Act Blue doesn't give you the option of choosing where they draw funds from, they go straight for the PayPal balance. I use my balance for my eBay stuff and was surprised this morning to see PayPal dipping into the bank account for eBay postage - because my last donation through ActBlue emptied the balance. In almost every other kind of online purchase transaction, when you choose PayPal you see a screen to let you say where to get the funds, and I have PayPal by default connected to a VISA card that they just blow right past. Not polite, and I suspect more than a few people will make this discovery soon.

My PA at the doctor's office says no strep, no Covid, that's good (they swab you the parking lot and 15 minutes later call with results, then you can go inside.) This throat thing seems to be a combination of allergies hitting my sinuses and my adjusting to the new dental device.

I bought some nice beef on sale (from the last chance bin at Albertsons) and today am testing a new brand of vacuum sealer bags (it arrives as a long roll). The brand I had used for several years seemed to be a bit thinner each time I ordered more and were failing fairly often, so I paid more but got what looks like better material.

I'm still thinking about this higher protein diet, and wondering if it will strengthen my fingernails. Have you noticed any change, Charmion?

One trip tonight and two tomorrow to finish feeding my friend's cats. We're all ready for this week trip to wrap up. The cash is nice, but I have to keep stopping things I'm doing to drive off to mealtime. I stopped at the Supermercado on the way home yesterday and picked up a small container of their fresh ceviche and guacamole, and for dinner I used small tortilla scoops with a dab of avocado and a couple of pieces of fish and vegetables for a lovely summer dinner. I am planning to do the same tomorrow after kitty lunch and bring it home for my lunch.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 24 - 12:07 AM

It occurs to me that I should explain about kicking a path through the dogs - it doesn't mean taking aim and letting fly. It means as I approach the door and they are underfoot and behind me, I give a backward kick without knowing who is back there, a more active equivalent of accidentally stepping on a dog. It usually means coming in contact with the chest of one of the dogs who is too close and making a fuss. They understand that this is what happens when they follow too close, it isn't personal. And unlike dogs getting too close to horses or mules that can kill them with a kick, they're just getting a thud from me that says "back off."

The kitchen is clean this evening, dishes washed, sink scrubbed, various items that usually sit out (silicone sink pads, dog water pan, etc.) ran through the dishwasher and now back in place.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Jul 24 - 09:12 AM

Stilly, my fingernails have always been brittle, and my skin dry to the point of damage. The keto diet has definitely improved my skin, which is far less itchy than it has been in years, but I don’t see any change in finger- or toenails. I assume this is because nails grow very slowly compared to skin, and are “dead” material. I believe the skin improvement can best be attributed to the high fat content of keto (rather than its protein content), and to the anti-inflammatory effect of its low carbohydrate content.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jul 24 - 09:58 AM

My apartment has been decluttered of four small matching chairs.
I loaded all four chairs in my car (told you they were small)
and drove to the Goodwill store to donate them.
Lots more still to do, but still, one more thing done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 24 - 12:00 PM

No more seating for unexpected guests at Keb's house!

I'm about to tackle a large (heavy) listing for eBay - an antique sewing machine. Packing it will be the challenge, keeping small parts from possibly shifting (bending or breaking). I have some styrofoam chunks that will serve (carve them into the correct shapes or adding slots to go over contours. Tape, a roll of UHaul plastic wrap to stabilize things, styro or cornstarch packing peanuts, and a box within a box. I need a nap after just considering this project.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 25 Jul 24 - 10:25 PM

Well I thought hauling a couple of small trailer loads and putting the stuff in the house was quite a bit of work. But yesterday I emptied out a lot of the stuff I've been hauling in the motorhome. Yikes. Must have pulled 500 pounds of seldom-used stuff out of there. Then filled the water tank from the spidery pumphouse, sprayed the RV off, and day was winding down.

Figured I could then hitch up quickly, but no, it turned into a 30-minute sweatfest. Problem, the cargo trailer had tipped up off its hitch block the other day when I emptied it and walked onto the exit ramp, and then came down crooked onto bare ground. I was able to right it and re-set it on its block, (by reaching into the garden for heavy stones to weigh down the door, then reset the block, then let it come down. Kind of like "Why Paddy's Not at Work Today".   Unfortunately, it wound up at a rakish angle, and that made it difficult to line up for hitching.

Well it's done, and the load-out of stuff for the trip is just going to have to wait til morning. Sometimes things just take as long as they take.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 24 - 11:34 AM

Years ago I used a travel trailer for housing in a couple of NPS jobs. Remembering to get all of the steps taken care of before moving it was so important. At least it had a jack on the hitch to make keeping it level and hook up easier. I kept a padlock on the jack end so someone would be less likely to back up to it to steal it. On your trailer if the hitch end was on the ground it's a default security setup (unless some beefy guy comes along and just lifts it).

That reminds me that I have a jack stand in the garage and I can't remember what I was using it for. Something else to donate.

Motorhomes and travel trailers are a lot like cabin cruiser boats - efficient storage tucked into lots of places. A friend had an Alaskan camper on her pickup truck, and one day she was going through all of the storage places to find a smell. She finally turned up a bag of rotten tomatoes tucked into one of the big locking drawers that opened from outside on the back.

Lots of stuff has to be finished this month but the online defensive driving course is on the top of my list.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 24 - 11:24 AM

Patty, now that you have a home base what kind of trip are you taking? Is this more of your rockhound rambling or are you going to go back and forth to empty the SE storage locker? Do you have anything stored in other locations?

I trimmed around the back door last week and this morning went out to sweep the grass off of the porch before dropping a couple of composition rug and hard rubber mats out there to knock dirt out of before I them hose off. I washed several small rugs yesterday and will sweep and mop the floor in the den and kitchen. I need to do the whole house, but that's where I'm starting. The swept up dog hair, demolished parts of chewed sticks, etc. can go in the trash for tomorrow.

Yesterday I brewed a little pot of decaf black tea but it was forgotten for a long time. I added a little stevia and poured it into a jar to use as iced tea in the evening. I think the long brew intensified any remaining caffeine; it took me a while to get to sleep (now that I've removed it from the diet I feel it when I do get it.) I'll remember to save a mix like that for the morning hours.

Keb, how are you feeling now after the scalp surgery? Do you have stitches that must come out? Dorothy, what is up with address changes and working on the various properties? Sandra, how is your craft material decluttering proceeding, or did you finish that project? How about some of our lurkers who decide to declutter and do the job quickly (instead of reporting out during a slow ongoing project)?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Jul 24 - 07:18 PM

Since you ask, Stilly, the stitches came out. There is still some residual inflammation from the original infection, but the surgery site has healed well and feels good.

Like you, I am concerned for Jon Freeman and for Senoufou, both of whom we have not heard from for some time now. They both had plenty of things to worry about. I wonder if matters have gotten better or worse.