DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Jan 26 - 01:54 PM

When is the ex going to see the orthopedist, and is it time he looks into grocery delivery? I know you like being kind and helpful, but if this is adding stress to your life, perhaps he needs to be more helpful too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 26 - 04:05 PM

Yup. I need to show him how to do grocery delivery, and I ask regularly if he has the appointment yet with the knee guy. There are a couple of other things to work on also - get his printer and scanner talking to the computer, for one.

This winter storm (it has been named by the Weather Channel, but NOAA doesn't name anything but hurricanes or typhoons) is forecast to roll in for us on Friday evening and be yucky through Monday. I finished my running today (groceries, pharmacy, deliveries) and don't have any more to do until the ice clears. I checked in with next door, we're set if the power goes out (both households have several gallons of gas handy for their generator; when not going into the generator it will be used in our mowers, tillers, etc.) Also checked across the street and delivered muffins.

I asked my daughter how she is preparing, and one thing for her chickens is that the coop is warm but if they head out of it for food or water the wind chill can be a problem, so she's setting up an ancient tent in their shop/garage and filling it with hay and the food and water containers. They'll be indoors in the tent and at the end she may just toss the old tent.

Recycling offloaded at the bins today and I have several things to list on the buy nothing page today that could be picked up tomorrow before the weather hits. That'll clear out some stuff in the fridge and freezer (food products that aren't open but have never been used.)

I'd love to spend the next few days just watching movies and sewing or reading. Let's see if I can even get near the sewing studio (the gardening podcast thing is growing larger by the day).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Jan 26 - 09:43 PM

Best wishes with the storm. It looks like we will catch just a bit of the tail of it. But temps below 20 for a prolonged period scare me because even normally secure plumbing can be affected. I encased the small stretches of pipe on the porch in foam wrapping, then a styrofoam box, and leaned patio stones against the insulation, but will that make it through 16 degrees? I guess I'll have to drip the kitchen tap and hope that helps.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 26 - 12:16 AM

Definitely let the tap drip. Even if you have a finite amount of water, a drip every second or two (and you can catch them in a bucket so they don't go down the drain) will spare you the agony of broken pipes. The cupboards under sinks should be open also. It's so easy to forget and use the faucet then turn it off that I usually set things conspicuously in the way to remind myself, and keep a pitcher of water handy to use.

Working on video editing and having to relearn some of the steps I don't usually need to do. Keeping copies all along and ending up with a folder full of early versions (all named or numbered to try to be clear). Ugg. (It's a really old program; I need to learn to use the newer one I have.) I have a couple of eBay boxes ready to list with but this was enough of a distraction that there was none of that today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 26 - 11:08 AM

Lots of conversations with the gardening guru boss, and yesterday he talked about getting a new mic, and was thinking about going to Best Buy, but did I have any other suggestions? "I'd go to a camera store, they'll have a better selection to work with the equipment you have." Turns out that's what he did, found one not too far from his home and got a lot of help and they're happy to answer questions if he has more. Whew! This is kind of like Sherlock Holmes' Irregulars; pulling in people in the community to help with the gardening podcast business.

It rained last night and is in the mid-50s now, too soon (too muddy!) to put Cookie in her jacket, but that's about the only bit of preparedness I have to attend to, after putting a couple of plants in the garage. Devices are charged, the laptop is charged and updated so if I have to use it this weekend it won't waste my time and phone data by insisting on updating everything before working.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 26 - 07:50 AM

It’s -27°C in Ottawa this morning — -35°C with the wind chill — and honestly too cold for me to go out if I don’t want to cough all night. The CBC news at 0600 hr was mostly about weather, from Ukrainians struggling to survive Russian strikes on their energy infrastructure to the huge storm forecast for most of the United States, to Winnipeg homeless shelters flinging their doors open 24 hours a day to help their clients avoid frostbite. Edmund’s aphorism about “no bad weather, only inadequate clothing” fails when skin freezes with three minutes of exposure. And no, a balaclava ski mask is not the answer: everyone has to breathe, and a mask just gets clogged with ice.

So the “adequate clothing” for today is a house. A house with a furnace or reasonable facsimile thereof.

I got my grocery shopping done yesterday when the wind scouring Loblaw’s parking lot was merely nasty, not actually dangerous. ‘Tis the season for turnips in mustard sauce, winy beef stew brightened with chopped parsley, and buckling down to read the New Yorker from cover to cover.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 26 - 12:20 PM

Brrrr! Makes me wonder how thick the insulation is in your walls and attic to protect from that kind of cold. Part of that adequate clothing would be a wool balaclava, it behaves much differently than man-made or cotton fibers. Even with condensation it will still be warm. In my mountaineering days I made sure to have a good array of wool, though often you can wear a cotton t-shirt or silk long johns under it to prevent it from being itchy. That, or fur, as in Inuit use (with the fur toward the skin, not on the outside for looks.) Wolverine is particularly good in that case. My ex was stationed in Alaska when he was in the Army and I think he still has a uniform jacket that has wolverine trim around the hood.

This morning's putting Cookie in the dog jacket was anticlimactic - I laid it down on her dog bed in such a way that when she sat in front of me with her feet in the middle of each arm hole I just pulled it up quickly and zipped it down her back. Will that ever happen again? I can't say, but for now she's a toasty little pit-boxer mix. I stepped into the yard to take a few photos of the small amount of snow and Pepper with her complex blue heeler coat followed but Cookie, even with her jacket, sat inside and watched us through the sliding glass door.

Those meals sound good - a container of mystery stock (probably chicken, but it could be turkey) has defrosted and will be chicken soup this afternoon. I have non-wheat pasta here or could use rice to give it extra body.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 26 - 01:42 PM

All that wool and fur actually works, sure, but the Inuit build snow houses for a reason — to get out of the wind. A ski mask wet with condensation will freeze to your face, causing frostbite if you're out too long in the wind. Going out in these conditions when you don’t have to is just nuts.

The design and construction of a modern Canadian house is all about the insulation — thick batts of it, with vapour barrier on the inside and Tyvek house wrap on the outside of the structural sheathing, under the cladding. We also have triple-pane thermal windows (eye-wateringly expensive if you have to replace one) that permit passive heating from the bright sunshine that usually comes with the stunning cold. A modern exterior door is essentially a steel and insulation sandwich. With all that, I still have the Hudson’s Bay blanket on the bed, on top of the duvet, and I wear woollen socks night and day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Jan 26 - 06:03 PM

I live near Sydney harbour, but can't see it due to lotsa' high & medium rise, so my version of winter might be your summer! My windows are locked open about 6", I don't have a heater, just layers.

Outdoor shop thermal tights (not the heavy ones), ditto long sleeved t-shirt, black cotton socks, often over a pair of black sandals, in wet weather walking shoes, long velvet skirt, merino & possum waistcoat made in New Zealand (in the 19th century someone thought it would be a Good Idea to import Australian possums!) On top either a good thick Scottish cardigan, possum/merino cardigan, or a light or medium down jacket.

If I'm cold in the evening I might wear both my cardigans

ps. I have neighbours & friends who use heaters & wear less clothing. My electricity bill is similar winter & summer when I use fans in bedroom & living room - 6" & 15" - to cool down.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 10:22 AM

The wool for mountaineering was not because we planned to climb in super cold weather, but for in case a storm blew in en route. This was also back in the day when the local weather guy drew cartoons to represent what they thought might be coming.

I've cycled through several kitchen waste (for the compost bin) containers lately and each has been discarded as some aspect failed. Putting in the freezer, nope, old yogurt container, nope. It has to do with the handling and messy lids, so yesterday I deployed a stainless steel 2 quart kettle that was retired to occasional dog water pan after it warped (steaming and forgot to put water under the basket). Lid lifts easily and the whole thing can go in the dishwasher regularly.

It's 14^o (-10C) this morning and I have my jacket and gear ready for taking Cookie into the yard. Even wearing her dog jacket she refuses to go on her own and last night when I realized and took her out on a leash she peed and peed. Now I have to take her out a side door because the back yard sliding glass door has frozen shut. It's that or shove her through the dog flap and cover it until she takes care of business, but she'll just cower by the door refusing to budge. There's no husky or malamute in this dog! Pepper is fine going in and out all day. (There's an inch of accumulation over ice.)

I have a couple of DVDs to watch, due at the library soon. Chicken soup was made last night and I'll make another crock pot of spice tea to drink and make the house smell great.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 02:17 PM

Cookie vs the dog flap: Herself's family had a minitature Daschund called Lisa. One winter, when her poor little legs were shorter than the depth of snow, she was sent out to Do Her Business, but it was discovered (the hard way) that she hadn't. Herself's mother carefully watched her when she was put outside the next time: Lisa proceeded to trot round from the back door to the front-door porch, hide herself in the porch for a while, out of the snow, then trot back unemptied.

How this was resolved is not recorded. Better luck with Cookie.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 09:20 PM

I think Cookie is getting the hang of this, but I've put the leash on her a couple of times for a quick tour of the front to see if she needs to pee, and mostly she doesn't. I've also looked in a few corners to see if anyone decided to pee indoors; again, so far, no.

Today was a combo activity; eBay listings and a double feature, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, having seen neither before. And realizing pretty early on that the plot is simple and it is mostly running around and fighting and special effects. Entertaining on a cold afternoon as I worked on listings.

Finally got the logon and editing tutorial for the new website for the gardening guru; I'll start going through the instructions in the morning when I'm fresh. Start it now and it's liable to have me up later than I want and make it hard to sleep if I'm churning the details in my head. Tonight I'm going to read a book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 26 - 04:09 PM

Day three of the hard freeze. Our new automated truck-and-bins trash pickup should be tomorrow but chances are since today's part of the village won't be collected, ours won't be collected tomorrow. I don't have much trash, but there are some meat wrappers making their presence known. That means I'll have to dress for the expedition across the driveway (today has been flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers day around the house).

Next week another cat sitting gig starts, and somehow even these "quick trips" she plans end up stretching out. Eight days this time, and one planned for next summer (taking nieces to Europe) that will be two and a half weeks. Interspersed next week are a dentist trip, a couple of medical appointments, and resuming the museum scanning. Busy days ahead (I hope the weather cooperates).

Back from the trash run (swapped slippers for shoes and went around through the garage to avoid the expanse of slippery concrete). It's starting to melt this afternoon, so this should all be gone by tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 11:21 AM

I spoke too soon. After dusk the temperature plummeted to 21^o so the accumulation is now case-hardened ice and worse than before to walk or drive on.

It has only been a few days but cabin fever is setting in. I'm ready to head out and drop off stuff at the library and get some more fresh produce, but it isn't safe driving now, so I'll dive into the freezer for a bag of green beans and the library DVDs will wait a day or two to be dropped off (they don't charge fines but they do so many automatic renewals that there isn't really a good excuse to not return stuff eventually).

The gardening business stuff is all a jumble right now as I wait for the new site to work properly and let me get fully logged in. It fails to send the email authentication (and I check the spam filter regularly).

I have a book for the docent book club to finish in the next three weeks and can spend some time with that as a good distraction, and my sewing studio beckons. I have a project sitting on the table in there that I started over the holidays and should finish before it collects dust.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 04:31 PM

I have lotsa' unfinished sewing projects gathering dust!! Ditto lotsa' unstarted projects

back in the 70s I saw a crossstitch kit SHE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST (x) WINS - fill in appropriate word - fabric/yarn/unfinished projects/ etc ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 10:06 PM

Even though I thinned out a lot of my sewing studio it built back up during COVID and after. Today I tried to sign up to donate stuff only to find that the project is moving to a new building and will be closed until April. The good news is that it's a building I'm very familiar with and it's much closer and easier to get to.

A sale on eBay this afternoon was for a sump pump that ran on my AC until the new unit was put in three years ago. The guy who bought it is replacing a pump at his house that failed; I sold it as-is but it was working fine. Thing is, I don't have any extra parts but I did find spec sheets and instructions when researching it so I emailed those to him now. When the box arrives on (fingers crossed) Friday or Saturday he'll hopefully have any adapters or parts to use to connect this pump to that system (and he may have stuff in place already that will work fine if he's replacing an identical model.) The post office may not deliver again in the morning (to pick up the box) but by afternoon I should be able to drive the short distance from the driveway to the larger road on the other side of the bridge, where it should be clear. The post office is a mile away.

The washer is still acting up. I've found that sometimes when I run a shorter cycle and without the extra rinse it finishes ok, but tonight it gave the code again so I got photos and a short video and will have to call a repair person soon. I'll scan back up the thread for MaJoC's remarks about what the problem might be to also share with the tech. (He sent "* Briefly: Too much current, and it gets hot and goes nearly open-circuit. Remove the mains to let it cool down again, and service is restored. End of blethers.)

A long video call this evening answered a lot of questions to do with the new website and got me in with a working email (it wasn't allowing a certification of our email address.) Big improvement.

Finally, I pampered myself today. I was tired of the cold weather gear I'd been wearing most of the weekend, so ran the ceiling heater and turned the bathroom toasty before taking a shower and then changed the bed linens and put my stack of books back on the bed (and I'm headed there in a few minutes to read.)

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

We must be close enough to another full moon to be affecting eBay world. I always list a price, I don't accept offers (though eBay sets that as a default so I always have to uncheck it. I lower prices myself as time passes, if needed.) "65% of eBay sellers accept offers" it says when you turn it off. Well, yes, perhaps 65% of the folks don't drop down that extra menu to find it and uncheck it. But in the last two days I've had messages from people asking if I'll lower the price. One an international buyer and I don't ship outside of the US or Canada. OY.

I'm still iced in here (we have an unusual "freezing fog" this morning that just makes it all the more charming. Today is supposed to warm to near 50, so I hope that puts an end to this. Overnights not so cold now and up to 60 tomorrow.

Fire, ambulance, and sheriff all pulled up at the house across the street (where all of the work has been happening). There was a worker there yesterday, I don't see him today. I wasn't at the door when the gurney left so didn't see which of them was transported, but I'll check because whoever is there will need help.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 28 Jan 26 - 05:28 PM

Bright but cold here, good days to stay indoors and try to get my stuff in order. Soup, muffin, and hot cocoa days.

Took the time to record little phone messages left by relatives the last few years. One just died and it seems like a good time to 'get around to it'. My horrible phone and company make this as difficult as possible, but I got a recording of the whole mess and then saved clips of important voices in Audacity.   Before I erase them from the phone, I'll back them up to external.

It's a good time for backups too, so I'll do a round of that, and fish for recovery of photo files that didn't make the last transfer properly.

THEN, fully backed up, I will ditch this awful phone and company, already have the new phone ready to go. I'll probably stay busy with this sort of thing through strike-and-buy-nothing-day on Friday. Just in time for the useless library to close for 2.7 days as per usual.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 26 - 12:11 AM

That's a nice idea, saving audio of people's voices. I have lots of my Dad because he was recording all of the song circle events, but I wonder if I have any tapes of my mother?

Ice finally retreated into slush and after the post office I picked up the ex for shopping, and finished our expedition at Panda Express. I used to regularly eat there (less now as I avoid sodium). On a whim last November I stopped in to pick up a meal to get some calories into him. The next trip out I took him inside to see the choices, and he's a big fan now. The restaurant is only 4 blocks from his house so food is still hot when he gets it home. He's a Puerto Rican who grew up eating a lot of rice so always gets enough for leftovers.

My food adventure this evening is of a different sort; I pulled out my Middle Eastern cookbook for the basic no-special-equipment yogurt recipe. It's in a large covered bowl wrapped in towels overnight, and will be ready in the morning. If I want Greek yogurt I can strain it a little, and if I wanted yogurt cheese I'd strain it a lot (to the consistency of cream cheese).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 26 - 11:40 AM

Yogurt came out great, and is a reminder to me it's easy and for the batch I made it came out much less expensive than the good store yogurt (made without pectin or guar gum thickening agents). Whole milk was ~ $1.20 for six cups and the 3/4 cup of powdered milk might have added another 50 cents. I used 1/4C of my existing commercial yogurt, and while the homemade variety shouldn't be a starter after more than three days, alternating making my own with buying it isn't so much to save money but just because I love making it and it turns out well. Kitchen magic. :)

This morning I took a small flat ended shovel and cleared a path to the front door from the curb and a path from the side door over to the driveway. (No regular snow shovels here.) The street is clear but any shady areas still have up to an inch of crust.

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

It's a sweatpants kind of day, freezing morning and into the 50s this afternoon as we prepare for another deep freeze over the weekend (but no snow or ice).

The winter mud season has started, the dog footprints are clearly defined across the den floor - is there a scientific name for the consistency or viscosity of mud after a wet freeze? The molecules have aligned in such a way during the freeze that they are more dense and pasty.

Our first day of new bin pickup (instead of bags at the curb) - with instructions to place the bin precisely - only to see the truck come by and people roll the bin to the back of the truck where an arm lifted it to dump. The instructions regarding precise placement at the curb, not under trees, etc., so far is nonsense. I await the arrival of a truck that does all of the work on its own, with the driver operating the arm, otherwise it goes back under the pine tree as before.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Jan 26 - 02:46 PM

Lol, that would be 'high relative compaction'. When doing grading and earthwork, you'll never get soils or clays to pack down densely as possible in a dry state. So you use a water truck and put some water in the system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 26 - 12:19 AM

I should have known who would have the answer about the mud. :)

Another super cold day here today, but I got out of the house to give a tour at the museum. Perfect weather for big soft neck wraps (most of them loops rather than simple scarves) on top of the winter jacket and hat. I didn't always wear them, but I use them religiously in cold weather now.

This evening the kitchen got scoured and I even vacuumed the coils under the fridge. It's not like I had that on my list for today, though I do have a chart on the fridge that suggests a strategy for cleaning the entire house in one day (the chart has been there for years; I don't believe I could manage that job in one day). This was just three hours when mysteries played on PBS to follow along as I worked.

I'm relearning how to use some of the software in the old computer for producing podcasts for the gardening site. I should probably learn to use the most robust of the programs (an Adobe product) and do all of my changes in one place instead of farming tasks out to different pieces of software. Thank dog for Handbrake and Audacity (both up to date) and the really old Windows Movie Maker.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 12:03 AM

More cleaning, kitchen and elsewhere, and cooking for today and leftovers. Vacuuming the den was picking up the mix of dog hair, chewed sticks and dry grass the dogs picked up when rolling in the yard. When the yard isn't wet, producing mud, the ground is dry and the dogs have spots they like to roll that now have dead grass.

I've seen Dorothy post on Facebook finally, but she hasn't turned up here for a while. I hope all is well and she's in the house that serves them best in winter and dicey weather. This is the time of year when our old friend Gary (gnu) used to talk about the snow piled up to the roof at his house, or post snowbank photos from his security cam on FB. How many of our regular participants are snowed in right now?

Over the last week I've heard the local pack of coyotes singing across the road, and last night, outside my back fence. I made sure the dogs were in (they heard and didn't seem inclined to race out like some of my previous dogs would have, to join in song). Huge flocks of crows seemed to be arguing amongst themselves, like a couple of gangs squaring off churning through the air and then in the trees of the neighborhood. Our wildlife is beginning to seem a bit dystopian, kind of like our country.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 09:57 AM

The sun is bright and the sky is blue in Ottawa this morning, which in February means that it’s freakin’ cold. The snowbanks are as high as an elephant’s eye, and frozen slush makes a hazard zone of every parking lot. The car is filthy, due to said slush thrown up by the wheels of every vehicle on the road, and there’s absolutely no point in washing it for a while yet. My lined jeans were in the wash yesterday, so I had to wear longjohns to church for the first time in ten years. Crows and chickadees are the only birds I see on a given day. Tracks in the snow on my porch indicate reconnaissance by the local raccoons. My next-door neighbour’s never-driven car nestles in snow up to its windows, with a foot more piled on the roof.

The forecast for today indicates a high of — gasp! — -8°C this afternoon, so I shall go for a walk in the park. Cabin fever is real, and it’s all too easy to frowst in the house for weeks while waiting for conditions to improve. At New Year I vowed to get outside on foot whenever the thermometer crawled above -10°C, and today looks like my first chance in way too long.

But first, I must put away the laundry and vacuum the Persian carpets in the sitting room and the bunker.

Watson (aging tomcat) has decided that trudging to the litter box is too much to ask if the urge for a piss hits him when he’s upstairs, so he uses the bathtub. I have decided that he’s doing me a favour; we’ve had the alternative and it was expensive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 01:16 PM

Are you going to put a litter box in that upstairs bathroom? (I saw a short video this weekend of a wire rack set over the porcelain of a toilet and a set of steps to the side that an elderly pug climbed then peed through the rack.) I had a lovely hand-me-down rug under my dining table that Poppy (the old catahoula/blue heeler) loved to sleep on, but as deaf as she was nothing disturbed her during the night to go out in the yard and she sometimes left a puddle. When I finally decided that cleaning that rug wasn't enough and rolled it up for the trash, I wrote clearly across the roll "No, you don't want this rug. Dog pee" or something like that, so it did indeed go into the trash truck.

The sky is blue here also, and it is supposed to reach 60. It's time to start digging the garden beds and get the red (Irish) potatoes planted. I can get the tiller out after trimming the area and prepare spots for planting them. I won't be planting sweet potatoes in the garden this year or for a while, there were weevils in that crop last year. I may go ahead and put them in smart pots or buckets, but keeping those cool enough and with enough water is always difficult.

Extending dry January into February, and my skin is gradually clearing after the effect of sulfites in the wine I consumed in the last few weeks of 2025. It takes a while. I remembered I have a tube of hydrocortisone cream to apply once a day and that will speed healing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 10:29 AM

A second litter box in the bathroom would require daily scooping and careful sweeping as the litter gets tracked everywhere within six feet of the box. That makes it more of a maintenance issue than the occasional pool of cat pee in the bathtub that I can rinse down the drain with a 30-second blast from the shower head, which is the hand-held kind on a long hose.

More snow today, so I’m not in any hurry to leave the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 11:47 AM

The house where I cat sit is full of cat gear, including a cordless hand vac in each bathroom where the boxes sit. I prefer a counter brush with a dust pan, much less noisy and more efficient (at my house that brush will never be used on a counter). That gig starts tomorrow.

Knock wood: I seem to have found one of the washer settings that runs the whole cycle without hitting the "not draining" code partway through. Running a second rinse was habit, but isn't really necessary and it seemed to be the source of strain on whatever pump part stalling out. For now it's easier to adjust my usage than it is to call in a tech and go through the fu$$ of a repair (I try to not replace these things if they can be repaired.)

Three eBay boxes out of the house in the last week, but to further empty it there are some things that need recycling (when selling for "parts or repair" doesn't find a taker). On the "staying afloat" thread I mentioned getting a new folding utility cart (fabric over a frame and with silent wheels). When things don't sell they are recycled, but carrying this stuff across campus in tote bags to the eWaste bin can be heavy, hence the cart. It will have other uses but that is the one that floats to the top of the list.

Hoping for no more snow or ice, I have many trips out in the next 10 days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 02:31 PM

Paper declutter today, after answering a question for a friend about a windfall she received (back pay on a disability account that was approved) and how to go about some future purchases. First things first, give a little time after her bills are all paid off to let her credit score rise and establish a pattern. I was looking for past credit reports of mine to show how soon a windfall affected my score and trying to give her a timeline. Wading through those records revealed a number of old loan documents to shred (they went out in the trash this morning).

I've been here for 20+ years and occasionally change utilities (power, internet, cable, etc.) so leaving bread crumbs helps. Every two years I change my electric company to get a new customer discount, and the best rate comes with auto pay. I spent the morning going through records to put a few sheets in the file so I can see when I changed and to what, and made sure that the old account was no longer going to send any more bills.

It's a warm sunny day, time to step away from the computer and get outside.