BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 10:55 PM

Things are coming to a climax for my friend in foreclosure - I think we have his ducks lined up now so he can move this weekend and still earn the payment for cleaning the house. He'll be able to pay people back and settle into the new digs. By this time next week it will all be finished with.

Not so good for Susie, the aspiration test on the bone marrow shows the cancer there, so he'll be moving to hospice in a few days. They're fighters who have reached that insurmountable point. He's comfortable and that's the best they can hope for. I won't draw comparisons to W y s i w y G's mom, but he also had a lucid day when he was quite talkative and enjoyed family company. This is a gift, and she knows it - they'll give him enough platelets to get him through a few days of family coming in, and then I think they won't.

Meanwhile, back in the village, I'm still planning a garage sale in 3 weeks if the weather cooperates, most likely sans Susie. I have household goods to move out, and we'll pool stuff from neighbors on this end of the block. It might be only one day, but if I publish enough photos of the items for sale I think some of it will go early.

It's cooler but not fall weather cool yet. My garden is really active; I finally spotted one of the culprits who eats cantaloupe - it's a rat. I put a rat trap with meat in it next to the cantaloupe it has been eating. I'll have to catch them one at a time because I don't want to fill the place with toe crushers. I saw a path yesterday and I'll put it there next.

Busy week and it's only Tuesday.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 08:07 PM

TBTG, as of this morning my Mom is much more alert, coherent, 90 percent back-- chatting away.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: LilyFestre
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 01:20 PM

SRS,

   You are absolutely right....I am incredibly content!!! My life and my house are a work in progress and that's fine with me!!! I am healthy and so is my family..what more could I ask for? :) I've grown immeasurably, found a different perspective and my priorities have changed immensely. This past weekend was another opportunity for growth and I want to share that with you all but am still mulling the entire thing around in my head. There's so much...it might take a while.
   In the meantime, after hugging my family tight, tight, tight, spending the night having family time and a night of solid sleep in my own bed...I'm up and ready to go!
   Made breakfast, packed Pete's lunch, found the kitchen table, made a curried chicken casserole for dinner, have a load of laundry going, swept the floors, picked up toys, vacuumed the rug, played with the baby and when the sun goes down a bit, I'll finish cleaning out my car.   :)

Have a great day everybody!!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Penny S.
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 10:15 AM

I decided to make more opportunities for using my pedal exerciser, and the pedal assembly has decided to fall apart!

Can't find a blacksmith, or a metalworking company. Can't find a replacement locally. And I took my Dad's to the charity shop. Oh dear.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 09:30 AM

I have a ceramic pumpkin that is meant to hold a candle - I don't do much more than set that out on my kitchen table these days. Too much pumpkin destruction around this area to leave pumpkins on the porch.

The quality of the light these days is more autumnal, but with highs still in the low to mid-80s it doesn't quite feel like fall yet. But soon. What that burst of energy hits I'll see what project comes to hand. I think some of you have experienced it already.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 08:55 AM

Beating myself up yet again this Autumn - beautiful nerines in flower in everyone's garden but ours! Keep forgetting that you plant the bulbs in SPRING, but when Spring comes, I forget.
Have managed however to put in loads of copper and orange-coloured selections of tulip bulbs, and the elegant white Thalia daffodils. Should look quite nice together.
Have stuck bubble wrap onto the lower part of our sitting room window. Hope this helps to keep the heat in.
Husband has promised to repaint the fascia boards before the winter arrives, but he was nearly blown off his ladder, so I made him stop!
Thrilled to see Hallowe'en things in Tesco's. Bought a small box of 'treats' for the village children when they come. Must remember to get a pumpkin later for the front step.
Actually, can't be too grumpy about the change of season, there are lots of delights in Autumn!

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 11 - 12:15 AM

Gargoyle visiting the declutter threads - that's a first! He has a point - if only an academic one - it would be nice if everyone could be weaned from these drugs and get back to "normal" lives.

Michelle, you are sounding quite content these days! That is such a nice thing to see, given how things were a year or 18 months ago.

I think my role in Susie's life, in addition to watching Zeke, is to try to feed her. I had dinner ready this evening when she came by to pick him up, and she ate. I think French toast tomorrow will be on the table right about 7am when she drops him off. This way I can at least know she gets a couple of meals. I told her I'd like to see more than static cling keeping her going.

My friend who is soon out of his house has had bad news and good news - the new apartment folks were going to ask for a second month's rent as deposit, but then called to say it would only be $250. Such relief! But we're still going to see if we can make a push to leave a few dollars in his pocket by clearing out the house. This will be a very busy week, I think. I told him that all things considered, with my friends who are needing help, he's moving and the other one's husband is dying. In perspective, he'll be fine in a month or two. I think he actually appreciated that reminder.

I bagged the peppers I cut up and froze last night, and bagged frozen whole okra. I picked another pound of okra - this is great - I am getting good edible stuff out of the yard.

Scatter-shot reporting this evening. I'm bushed - and I didn't do nearly as much as some of you. Claire, you deserve a badge (virtual, so it doesn't clutter your house) - and keep moving forward. Have a plan. Start with the smallest room first and empty it, leaving only what needs to be there, and move on. Now that you have the momentum, you need to nurture it, because success breeds success. For all of us!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 10:27 PM

Laf Kat ... throw away the meds.

Slowly, over the next 60 days

Your replacement clone is "boring" there is nothing to "tweak....disturb....ruffle." I need you back.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

I believe MAX can no longer pay your clone wages so he is pulling the 36 hour Tuesday "Mudcat Time" shift....himself. (I have seen some MAGIC)

--It took a mudelf to fix garg's typo

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: LilyFestre
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 09:05 PM

I am home & happily exhausted. :)

My car is still packed. Who cares about that when Jeremiah and Pete were waiting inside?!?!?!?

It can wait until tomorrow.

Sweet dreams everyone!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 02:00 PM

qi gong - 30 minutes with a nap in between? Arrghhh...in a funk, adjusting meds, more later. Goodonya Claire! SRS, all I know is his dog has a ninja costume!LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 01:29 PM

Claire, you have arrived in the right location and that is a great accomplishment! We're all working on similar tasks - I inherited a lot of stuff from my parents and several great aunts - one problem was that I didn't know much about the extended east coast family and when I had the opportunity to have family heirlooms and stuff, I grabbed it, but I've been lugging it around ever since. My parents died in 1997 and 1998 and for a while stuff was in storage, but when I bought this house in 2002 I decided everything had to come out of storage. And for the past few years I've been whittling down the stuff. I have a lot more room here; my books went through a major organization a couple of years ago on the tile floor in the living room - the A tile, the B tile, etc with a couple of tiles for the letters that had more authors. I found duplicates and things I'd never read, took several good sized boxes down to sell to my local used book store (Half-Price Books).

I've been selling a lot of smaller easy-to-ship things from these estates on eBay. That's a story in itself.

You'll find our threads are usually linked back to the previous ones, if you want to read more. And you'll see a lot of living going on here also - Michelle (Lily Fester) started talking about her ovarian cancer here and spun off into a separate thread so more people would find it. She's cancer free and has an adopted son who came along just as she was finishing the chemo - it was an amazing ride, in the pages of these declutter threads.

Welcome to the group!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: ClaireBear
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 12:21 PM

Hello, all! Yes, I've been a busy bear. I am contemplating some changes in lifestyle, and a good way to start seemed to be to lighten up, literally and figuratively! I got started on the literal slimming down about 6 weeks ago and have lost I'm not sure how much weight, but enough that I'm into what (for me, bear-shaped) are "skinny jeans." Maybe 15 or 20 pounds? (More walks, less food, using my muscl3es differently, and believing in myself for the first time in years all helped with this.)

Now, on to the figurative. I have also become weighed down by STUFF. My bedroom has never really been my own. It started out my husband's room, shared with my son, then it was my room shared with my son...everybody's stuff was still in there, and none of it had ever been sorted. Also I've been a notorious thrift store junkie and had heaps of clothing in there -- which is one reason I've been sleeping in a tent or in our motor home for the last year and a half, avoiding the unwelcoming bedroom.

This weekend I asked a dear friend (with excellent taste) to help me sort and declutter. We culled through the books all day Saturday and then went through my wardrobe piece by piece yesterday. She strove to be brutally honest with me about which of my clothes worked and which didn't. At the end of the weekend, I donated something like 30 each boxes of books and bags of clothing to charity. I am left with about 1/4 of the clothing I had before, it's probably still more than I need, and it's all "good stuff." I probably gave away 1/3 of my books. I still have more than I will ever have time to read, and now I know where they all are. And I have a ROOM, at least in progress. Not sleepable in yet, but still...

This morning, for the first time since my marriage 17 years ago, I was able to walk across my very own room to the arts and crafts desk (adorned with a vase of roses and cozied up to an arts and crafts bookcase with most of my favorite books tucked into it) that I haven't used since I left the cottage I loved in Alameda; sit at an actual desk chair; and use my computer in comfort.

I am so jazzed! Far to go, and yet to have achieved so much in so little time amazes me. Properly motivated, what can we not get done?

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 10:47 AM

Woke to a clean kitchen this morning, and the last of the laundry washed overnight is dry and waiting fold later on. Simple stuff. I feel good about all of the food processing, though I sure miss having tons of tomatoes to can and freeze; this is the second year of little or no crop. The rain we've had over the last 2 days is welcome and a little more today wouldn't go amiss. About the only way I can make myself stay indoors to work on house stuff when I have spare time is to have cold or wet weather.

I noticed a report on facebook this morning that Claire Bear has gotten a lot of clothes out of her closet (75% she says!) and perhaps we can hear about what she's up to one of these days.

Kat, how was the weekend with Morgan? He must be thinking about Halloween costumes by now - every child his ages counts the days until trick or treat. What will he go as?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 12:18 AM

More progress this evening. Seeded and cut up a bunch of jalapeno peppers, everything else is put away. One last load of laundry will go in before I go to bed. The kitchen looks great - everything washed and put away. The dogs were in for a little while and they were so exuberant that they moved the furniture sideways when trying to climb up into my big leather chair. I think we're all feeling frisky now that the weather is cooler. :)

Susie's husband is dying, there is no way around it. I'll try to feed her and offer support. Meanwhile, I think Zeke has heartworm, he has the cough, and I know she hasn't kept up with the monthly treatment. I'm going to have to get her to have him treated now so he's in shape to be a good companion when her husband passes. I had to run Poppy through the cure a couple of years ago - it isn't easy, but it is better than it used to be. I can help her with that, but we need to get the test soon and go from there. Wish me luck - that's my task in the next week or two. Once they get the heartworm treatment the dog has to be relatively quiet for a few weeks.

When it rains, it pours.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 11 - 08:46 PM

When it rains it pours. I'm sorry you're fighting this three-pronged health battle, Susan. My Susan here has been struggling to get information, and finally they told her today that her husband's platelet count is dangerously low, so that's the thing they're hoping to bring back up, but transfusions aren't working. She's held together with static cling alone right now.

Lots of garden good stuff today. I've picked and frozen more okra, I've sliced and frozen green peppers and in a little while I'll seed and slice jalapeno peppers. The frozen eggplant is bagged and I've been pulling grains and beans out of the freezer - after so long in there any weevil eggs should be gone. Makes more room for produce. I also made a loaf of bread and I'll freeze half.

Yesterday I closed the extra "free-no-longer" checking account at Wells Fargo. It was kind of an odd little account anyway, and if they're going to charge $60 a year I don't need it.

Laundry finished. I've been on my feet a lot today - I watched a movie while I was doing the kitchen stuff (a Maggie Smith version of Suddenly Last Summer - it was a very good performance) and am ready to sit down for a while.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Oct 11 - 12:45 PM

Sister is stable, mom has been and is still in hospital with serious bowel issues after a recent surgery-- she's in ICU, last night in restraints because she was unhooking tubes to go home. This is exactly what she most has not ever wanted, so.... my brother is there with her.

The new cooktop will arrive at the store this week and then, soon, be installed. Till then we are using grill and a nice old Black and Decker two-burner mini-cooktop. The new cooktop is a good, expensive one but the landlord decided we'd been using the old one (only 2 of 4 burners worked these last 5 years) long enough to spring for the one that really made the most sense-- covered burners with downdraft.

So it's on us to spring for a new dishwasher, and I almost have enough saved to do it.

Not much else-- work stuff, getting some work admin declutzed to submit.

Oh and PT-- MWF with Dr. Pain Tina (lower body, core) and T/Th with Dr. Pain Hardi (upper body). The bad med is now at 75% of the level that had been keeping me in the chair, YAY!

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: maire-aine
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 10:29 PM

I've been watching the DVD of Rizzoli & Isles #1, with a glass of inexpensive (I won't say "cheap") pinot grigio this evening. One more load of laundry in the washing machine. Really enjoying this warm autumn weather, because I know how cold it's going to get pretty soon. I've still got a few tomatoes ripening, because we haven't had a killing frost yet.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 08:07 PM

Lucky you, Maryanne! This is sheer torture - I had to buy cans of whole tomatoes today to make a pork/tomato/eggplant casserole. My Super Fantastic plants are making miniatures of themselves now, probably from shock from the heat. I've picked 3 pounds of okra in the last 24 hours, though.

There may be rain headed this way. I have 2 good hours of TV tonight and I'd love to feel tucked in and enjoying this while it rains and is chilly outside. I'll be sorting playbills while I watch - though since it's the new season of Dr. Who I might be compelled to sit and watch that all of the way through. I've seen most of the New Tricks episodes, though we're due a new season soon.

I am resolved to get these playbills out of here - it makes a big difference in my taxes if I do. They're worth real money if I donate them.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: maire-aine
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 06:49 PM

Perfectly lovely autumn day! Farmers Market in the morning; bought tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries & Honey Crisp apples. Spent 1.5 hours peeling & chopping tomatoes with the canning folks; they're making chili sauce & then using part of the chili sauce to make HOT bbq sauce. I'll pick some up next week. Managed to squeeze in a few loads of laundry, too.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 04:46 PM

"It is written - MAG will garden somewhere" - the greenhouse tells her so! :-D

I saw feet pass my office window a little while ago and my next door neighbor was bringing over a friend to see the garden. I walked out with a clippers and a bag and sent her home with a pound of okra. :-)

Today I finished a little more work finished in the greenhouse. I took out some small bungee cords to hold some things up high and repaired some BB holes in the windows with some 3/4 inch round clear vinyl sticky discs (usually for avoiding scratching furniture). Inside and out, we'll see how well they stay in place.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: MAG
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 02:16 PM

sorry sorry to miss SC -- next year

I am happily settling into my new life in Portland OR -- joined 24 hr fitness and have 5 lb of the weight I regained over the last 2 years -- no place to garden at my new house (sob! and am on the lookout for a community garden somewhere

In the garage I found an assemble-it-yourself greenhouse! one of those projects for a lull in winter weather -- but where to put it????

glad to be back

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 12:13 AM

I heard there are some ball games going on - is that what you're talking about? I don't follow sports at all, so it's lost on me. And this evening I was at a Friends of the Library meeting with a speaker who is a four-time All-Star player (with a couple of World Series wins, etc.) and not only had I not heard of him, I hadn't heard of most of the people he talked about. A few, certainly, the huge names. Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Yogi Bera. But I found it best to mostly acknowledge when someone address a sport remark that I don't follow baseball. And to not offer too many remarks myself. Got some good photos of people very happy to be at the meeting, though!

Odd meeting. First one several of us did on our own since my former boss went back to teaching, but we learned a lot.

Chance of rain this weekend. I hope so! I'll happily work indoors if rain will soothe my out-of-doors.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: maire-aine
Date: 07 Oct 11 - 11:10 PM

Hello, everybody. I'm still here, altho I took the summer off from posting. Haven't done much declutter/fitness stuff. Mostly just the usual-- cleaning & laundry, etc. We've had a few frosty nights, but for now we've been in the mid-70's, and it's supposed to last thru the weekend. Haven't pulled out the tomato plants yet. I've done more canning this summer that usual: bread & butter pickles, dilled green beans, & pickled peaches. I've also been working with a group in the area that's doing canning on a larger scale-- big cases of tomatoes, peaches, pears & plums-- making chutneys, sauces & even sauerkraut. From 2 to 6 people show up on Saturday mornings & the work goes pretty fast. That's about it from Michigan. Stay well.

Maryanne

PS: Watch out, Maggie. There are Tigers coming your way.

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 11 - 09:54 AM

Mary, make simple syrup and simmer your berries in it. 1 cup of water brought to a boil, add 2 cups of sugar, stir to dissolve and let it simmer a minute or two, then add as much fruit as you think looks good in it. Very simple process. And I envy you your huckleberries. I sometimes would make muffins with red and blue huckleberries for a great July 4th look. :)

Zeke is back for doggie day camp and I sent Susie off to work and the hospital with a muffin in hand.

Out to the garage to work on the new grill, and plan a trip to the store for a filled LP tank. I'd love to cook outside this weekend! BTW: did you know that those tank exchange stations outside of stores are only required to fill the tanks 3/4 and they can call them "full?" The guy at the LP business told me that. His company supplies a lot of the other suppliers in the area, and my friend who is being foreclosed upon told me about this place. He also said he'd give me a scale to measure the tank when I come back for my tank - then before I start some big project I can check to see if I have enough fuel.

I still have some things to move to the greenhouse, but you know how it is - when you've looked at things in the same space for a long time they're almost invisible. Identifying the items that can be moved is half the challenge.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 07 Oct 11 - 12:48 AM

Eat your hearts out..we are having buckwheat pancakes with huckleberries and perhaps huckleberry syrup if someone knows how to make it..along with real maple syrup. MAG..still time to come..just show up. See Sunnycamp thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 11 - 12:10 AM

Another region heard from! Dorothy, it seems like you just dug yourself out of winter not to long ago - and now you're already into cold and rainy weather? Better start wearing more wool socks - they're warm even when they're wet.

I finished a bunch of work for work today so I can take the morning to do stuff for myself tomorrow. I'll dismantle the grill and see what the hose and fitting look like for the gas bottle, and I'll see about some replacement coals for the bottom to radiate heat. I have a late work day because the Friends of the Library meets in the evening. My library camera is acting up so I'll probably take my personal camera and drop my work Canon off at the camera shop.

No buckwheat cakes, but I made both whole wheat rolls and blueberry muffins in the last couple of days. I want to be ready if my tired and dispirited friend comes by to pick up or drop off her dog; at least I can offer a hot cup of tea and a fresh muffin. Things haven't gone well from a diagnostic standpoint, so she's busy sorting it out.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Oct 11 - 09:37 PM

so now it is October already and I have no idea where it all went.

I managed to do most of what I meant to do to be ready for the pottery demo at Branches and Roots Festival on Saturday. I managed to totally mess up one glaze and need to regather energy to try again. So those pots did not make it.

It was a fun day but I think I was verging on hypothermia. I gave up potting just after 3 and walked around, hugged a hot water heater for a bit, then started packing up. R had disappeared - at open mike - but I mentioned it to a couple people and he got the message and came back. He looked at me and disappeared again, returning with hot green tea and some tasty pastry fool of veggies and tofu. Then we packed and loaded the stuff, chatted with some folks and went up to the music hall.

Brain dysfunction so bad that I could not think to take off wet socks and put on the dry ones a friend had brought me, until I sat for about 2 hours. Then my feet were so cold that instead of putting on the socks, I gave R my feet to put inside his cosy jacket and hug them for a while. Then I put on the wool socks but my feet were still cold. A friend went and warmed a bottle of water for my feet and that really helped! They were almost normal at midnight.

Great music from about 6 til midnight. Plus, I had been able to hear the rehearsing most of the afternoon. I was delighted when Bruce Murdoch said "the emperor has no clothes" and refused to use the dreadful sound system. We only got to hear 3 of his songs and folks had to shut up and listen. They usually do - for him.

It was a COLD and rainy day. but everyone - well those who ventured out - seemed to have a good time. The open mike, I heard, was terrific - in a different building.

Today is the first day since that I had any energy. Taking extra chromium and, yesterday, zinc. I seem to have done myself out of them - the cold? I was really wrecked.

Today, I put the finishing touches on a PR called Home for the Winter, about excluding animals from buildings so they won't use them for homes and have their families in them. I hope the paper will print it nicely as the one in the spring. I sent it to the SPCA for input and in hope they will translate them for French papers. They still have not upgraded their website but they do have a link on home page to wild animals.

Tomorrow, I will go to the cabin and try to get some work done, then go to the cafe. Time to get ready for winter. We have a good pile of stove wood and the little wood stove in the cabin does a terrific job; I just about heated us out on Sunday! We'll see what it does at zero F or lower.

I just realized I could have put out some raccoon PR too. We need to educate people about them and also find release sites for the rescued kits who need to go into the wild in relatively safe places, to have the best chance of survival. Next time.

We have been enjoying apple/cinnamon buckwheat cakes for breakfast often. And some good peaches from Ontario - very rare to get good ones. And I made a very nice large pot of tomato/cauliflower soup on Tuesday to use the tomatoes that needed to be used NOW.   

Andrea's new kitchen sounds exciting as it nears completion! And SRS is busy as usual!

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 11 - 01:11 PM

This weekend there is a chance of rain. Fingers crossed - it would make the yard work I have planned easier (the garden soil is like concrete these days).

Cleared off the kitchen table last night, but I put the stuff in other places so I need to go sort and toss or put away. But I was tired of moving things to sit down and eat. The gradual buildup is an old story we all know.

I spoke to a company yesterday about getting a filled LP gas bottle for my new (recycled) grill. We discussed various maintenance aspects of them, and he's a pragmatist - the cheap ones work as well as the expensive ones, and when they wear out he buys another cheap one. This is probably a mid-priced one and I'll do some work to bring it up to speed. Clean the racks, wire brush on the burner to clear clogged vents, etc. Maybe this weekend (if it isn't raining) I'll cook outdoors again! I made room for it in the garage, in a spot where I can pull it out to use in the driveway or around the corner and into the back yard.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 11:24 PM

This is some heavy lifting folks are doing. No wonder we don't hear from some of you often! Today my accomplishment was small by comparison: I cleared off my kitchen table. :-/

Tomorrow morning I'll make some blueberry muffins and simply keep a supply on hand. Then I'm ready if anyone drops in. Susie stopped for a bit this evening; she's heading back to the hospital very early in the morning so Zeke is still with us. Sometimes a cup of tea and a muffin is just what is called for on those brief visits.

Tomorrow I have a whole slew of stuff to finish for work, but I am thinking that what I need to do is establish a 4/3 work week, with 4 10-hour days and a long weekend. My work is flexible, it is allowed in most instances. Sometimes 8 hours just isn't enough to finish things I've started and don't want to turn off. And 3-day weekends sound so wonderful!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: mouldy
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 05:30 PM

I should have said that the new kitchen will be about 3/5 of the one in my last house! It's going to be about 11ftx9ft, and my last was about 13x11 (I think). It's been a while!
My calves are killing me after zumba (Mon), morris (Tues) and clog dancing class tonight. My achilles tendon is a bit sore too. It has been for a couple of months, after the border morris workshops at Whitby. Luckily I am seeing my sports massage lady tomorrow.

It's weigh-in tomorrow evening too. When it comes to me losing much weight, my gut feeling is that all bets should be off!

Sounds like you are having a bit of a stressful time, Penny. Hope your back is mending.
Everybody seems quite busy at the moment.


Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 03:37 PM

Wow, you've been busy, Penny.

Michelle, have fun!

I got a link from Kovel's today which I thought might be of interest to some of us: Trash to Cash - Queen of Auctions. I haven't listened to it, yet, but it sounds like fun and maybe inspiring.

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Penny S.
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 12:46 PM

I've not been all that fit the last few weeks, with a complaining back, and now my right knee feeling sore, so I've had to miss the local walks for two weeks. Did give it a try today, but had to pull out as they were going down into the valley, which would have meant climbing up again.
For a while I didn't feel like cooking, and that leads to a bit of a vicious circle of energy loss, but I'm back on that again. Yesterday was an overgrown courgette stuffed with lentils, bulghur wheat and cheese, with herbs together with grilled tomatoes from the garden. Today was runner beans sliced narrow and eaten like spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce (that was out of the larder). While I've been off cooking, there's the Chinese takeaway in the village (and the Indian and the kebab and pizza places, but I don't feel those are so healthy) and ready meals from the Co-op or Waitrose.
I've also been decluttering the yarn stash by making stuff on circular knitting looms (did I mention that before?). I've made a child's hat, several scarves in fashion yarns, umpteen string bags, and am currently working on a lacy white scarf, and taken them all down to the charity shop.
Also doing digital art work on photos to mount in cheap picture frames from the charity shop to return to them for sale at a higher price. Unfortunately, the slide and negative scanner has broken, so I am confined to photos from the digital camera, and not many of them are suitable for the treatment.
We had a setback with selling my Dad's house. The one at the other end of the chain dropped out - poor person had a bipolar episode (we are wondering if the bid was made during a high), and everything stopped. Fortunately, the other family who wanted Dad's still does, and have offered us more, today. Sadly for the people whose house they were nearly ready to exchange on.
And I've had two people interested in mine, one who can do it in 4 weeks.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: LilyFestre
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 11:13 AM

So tomorrow my adventure begins. That means today is going to be spent running last minute errands and packing. Jeremiah was up several times last night so he's still sleeping and I'm taking a little bit to sit and soak up some of this glorious morning sunshine. :)

Tomorrow I head to Vermont to visit my good friend Amy from my college days. We don't have any big plans..we're just going to hang out, have dinner, watch a movie and talk. I can't tell you how excited I am to just be seeing her!!! I'll stay overnight at her house and then on Friday, I'm headed to Camp Bravehearts where I will spend 4 days with other women who have had cancer. It's an oncology camp. Sounds creepy, right? The thing is, I'm excited about this. It will be a chance to be with other women who have been through the fire and I have a sneaking suspicion that these women are like me….wanting to let loose and have FUN and to ENJOY what's going on because we've all come uncomfortably close to losing our lives….not just a random floating thought, but a reality. I'm sure there will be poignant moments too and people will share their stories but I think that kind of sharing is good for the spirit. I'm not worried that I'm too fat or too ugly or not smart enough to hang out with these total strangers because I KNOW that we all KNOW what is important and that is that our bodies, no matter what they look like, were strong enough to carry us through and allow us to be here today & take part in life. I plan on having a giggly, heartfelt, let my freak flag fly, fantastically fun kind of time!!!

Love to all,

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 09:37 AM

That's unusual - remodeling to come up with a smaller kitchen! Will it be a different shaped room in the new space?

Scrambling to get ready to head to work this morning, for a barbecue lunch to celebrate the ultimate in organizing - over the last year our university library conducted inventory. All hands on deck, working in shifts. We have about 1.3 million volumes and each one had to be touched and accounted for. As you can imagine, reading the shelves and reshelving to put everything where it belonged made everyone a little punch drunk after a while. This should be a good lunch.

I made a batch of healthy rolls, adapting my favorite roll recipe. I'll post it if anyone is interested - I use 1 cup of white flour but the rest is spelt and whole wheat. It has carbs but a little healthier mix. Most of them went into the freezer but a couple went home with Susie. She picked up Zeke to spend the night at her house (I suspect that lucky pooch got to sleep on a bed!) and then brought him back this morning.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: mouldy
Date: 05 Oct 11 - 08:57 AM

Yes, I got the car on Thursday morning. It has developed a squeaky steering wheel and a slightly noisier engine than I remember (sounds a bit more "dieselly"), but it is running fine, and although they said they'd have it in to check it out, I can live with it for now. At least it has a new clutch and cylinder.

The new kitchen will only be about 3/5 the size of the last, and much darker. It will also be dominated by the cooker. I plan to have cream units with a wood effect worktop, and a fairly light coloured floor, to get as much light into the place as possible. I probably won't have room for a central table, but I hope I'll get a small one in under the side window...

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 11 - 06:24 PM

Your former kitchen was a very narrow space with counters all around. As I recall the photos from your previous house, you had a large open kitchen. Will the new house be more like the old house when you finish all of this? The rest of the house will feel wonderful once you get everything moved out of temporary spaces into the rooms it belongs. I guess for last week your car was ready in time so you didn't have to make other arrangements to get there and back? I find myself needing to head in to the dealer for a couple of little issues. Fingers crossed they're both quick fixes.

Kat, a month of using that program so intensely would certainly acquaint you with the fine points of use. Maybe work on some short stories so you can quit when you have enough or think you've mastered the program. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: mouldy
Date: 04 Oct 11 - 05:50 PM

I wsa away down south this weekend for a Cancer UK charity lunch, and a catch up with old college days friends...all in 30C heat! I am back up north now in 14!

The roof trussses are up, and I hope the roofers will be here in the next day or so to sort that out. Not sure when the rooflight will go in, as I haven't heard from the planners yet. (I daresay it may get put in anyway!) I need to find out when the interior structures will be done, so that I can time the cooker delivery.

All of a sudden I can see most of my wreck of a lawn, and it looks like I might be able to salvage it. Needs a bloody good haircut, though. It's got to be 6 inches long at least. Once the builders have gone, i'll be straight at it!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Oct 11 - 11:53 AM

traditionally, I've only done it on even numbered years, but I am toying with the idea of doing it this year. And yes, I will be using Dragon if I decide to do it. However, with the advent of book Brewer, I have been busy entering my books there as e-books, so I may make November more about that, instead.

Sorry I haven't been around much. We've been doing the usual cleanup and decluttering on the weekends. Small things here and there, but they seem to add up. I don't have Morgan at all during the week now so Saturday mornings have become breakfast with Mama and Papa days for him and us. That and other things have piled up and I am starting back with the therapist tomorrow to head depression off at the pass, I hope.

I did manage to get to one new exercise class last week at the hospital life center where the salt water pool is also. As I make appointments here and there with other things, I will build that class into my schedule. It will be Monday Wednesday and Friday and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I hope to get to the pool.

That's about all I've want to share right now. I am reading along and glad to see some familiar faces, who have been away for a bit, returning.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 11 - 11:17 AM

Looks like Zeke will be here for a day or two more, what with long days and hospital visits. This way Susie doesn't need to drive back down here to let him out and feed him. The weather is lovely so it's perfect play weather for that backyard pack.

I fertilized and watered the vegetables this morning - now that everything is into growth spurts. I made room in my garage for the neighbor's old grill and my first project will be grilling some of my veggies - peppers and onions - to make salsa. I don't have any of my own tomatoes yet, still hoping for some, but I've discovered that when the veggies are grilled the smokey flavor in the salsa is fabulous. I need to get a tank, but a place has been recommended so I'll get it later this week. This is a welcome addition to my domestic operation!

I've cleared my sewing area (a computer had sprawled on the far end of the table) and started on the mending that has piled up. When this is finished I have several new projects to work on.

Kat, now that you have this Dragon speaking software going, are you going to do the NaNo(?) November novel? What a great way to both master the software and get another story down on paper. I heard an NPR interview last week with a woman whose novel that is out now (and optioned for a film) was written during one of those Novembers.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 11 - 06:15 PM

Got a call from Susie this afternoon, her husband has back problems that are very painful and he'd fallen. This on top of chemo - talk about insult added to injury. She couldn't get him up by herself (she wanted to get him to the car to take him to the emergency room). I drove right over, heard one of his wails as we tried to lift him and went out on the porch to call the fire department: "Can you come up and help us lift him, and if that doesn't work, which I don't think it will, THEN you can call the ambulance?" It's a small town, and they did come up and I thought they'd have better luck into talking him into the ambulance ride to the hospital downtown where she wanted to take him. They did talk him into letting them call an ambulance and I left before it arrived, bringing Zeke down here to stay so he wouldn't be underfoot and so she doesn't have to worry about him if she's gone for a while. I'm assuming she'll be at the hospital for many hours as they make him comfortable and decide on what needs to be done.

I'll make a batch of blueberry muffins to take over tomorrow, her husband likes those.

I took a big bag of recycling stuff to the bin this weekend - I think next I'm going to take a lot of boxes. I keep them in case I need them for eBay but I haven't used many of them over the time I've been listing there, so I'm going to flatten some and deliver them to the bin this evening. When I brought Zeke down I parked outside the garage - when he's here I don't open the garage door or he charges out of it. Some of what I want to recycle is in the garage, so I'll flatten it and open the door a couple of inches and slide them out underneath. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: LilyFestre
Date: 03 Oct 11 - 05:38 PM

I sure did get to vacuum! I had it all plugged in and in the living room before the baby was even up!! Jeremiah does like to *help* but mostly it involves pushing around the vacuum cleaner AFTER it's been put away! It has wheels and is stored on a laminate floor so it's easy to push. I find it in the weirdest places sometimes!!!

I did a lot of phone call work this morning and made a small crock pot of chili...enough for my lunch today, dinner tonight for the family and Pete's lunch tomorrow. Cornbread is on the menu too! I spent some time in our bedroom today as clean clothes have been piling up for all of us. It seems that is the last room to get any attention around here! I took everything off the bed, mattress cover included and am washing all of that at the moment. I am hoping I have the energy to dust and vacuum in there tonight...we'll see. I also gathered one bag of things to take to the local clothing bins in town. I have lots more but I'll settle for getting one done today. My adventure is getting closer and I'm getting more excited as time goes by.

Gotta go.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 11 - 03:52 PM

Michelle, did you finally get to vacuum? Does Jeremiah like to help? I need to discover my breakfast table. Several projects have been layered there lately.

Getting in the holiday Secret Santa mood - burning a pine scented candle this afternoon. :-)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 11:10 PM

I finished weeding an area of a garden where I planted some broccoli and found a couple of onions I missed from last spring. Picked several large eggplant, delivered four to the Lebanese guy down at my favorite gyro stop. Between us my next door neighbor and I keep the okra picked; her 8-year-old granddaughter is coming for a birthday dinner on Thursday and loves fried okra, so we'll make sure there is a big batch of it.

I have a compost bin that holds kitchen scraps until it's pretty soupy, and today I emptied that into the compost. I scooped the dog droppings first and soaked them in a bucket of water to pour over the compost to keep them out. And all of my new weeds went on top of that.

In the house laundry is drying, kitchen is looking semi-tidy, frozen cooked eggplant are now bagged, a couple of bins I had in the freezer (oatmeal and rice) are now out at room temperature again. All in all, most of my organizing and exercise has been garden related, but come the winter months I'll be very glad I went to all of this work!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 08:14 PM

I am actively tracking, getting in more movement and found myself 3 new (on big time sale) DVDs for exercise at home. :) Meds are all nicely balanced, I'm starting to have more energy and life is good. :)

I went grocery shopping today, did 2 loads of dishes, found the kitchen table, put everything away, picked up toys that were all over the downstairs (he follows me with his toys and leaves them when I leave the room). I have put together a list of things that I need to get ready for an upcoming trip that I am most excited about!

Jeremiah is napping at the moment but I have the vacuum cleaner ready to go for when he wakes up. I know people who say they can run the vacuum under their sleeping child's crib but I'm not feeling like pushing my luck tonight. :)

I've got some letters to write tonight too.

Happy October Everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: ragdall
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 05:59 PM

SRS,
Enjoy your nap!
How is the greenhouse heated? When we built a greenhouse it wasn't much protection once the temperatures dropped below freezing.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 09:20 AM

rags, I hope he continues to improve and the complications evaporate over time.

I am going into this fall season with the new feature of a greenhouse. I have things that usually die off each year that I can dig up and keep going inside. The greenhouse could make a substantial shift in what I put in the yard - I usually never had things that needed to come in because it got too crowded in the sun room and it was too dark in the garage. I don't think that kind of plant will impact my vegetable garden, but it will make a difference in the ornamental plants in the bed near the front door. My gardens are full of grass and need to be weeded and mulched. If I want to plant potatoes again in January I need to have that soil well-worked to get a good crop.

Listing magazines on eBay today. They're slick design-type magazines that my friend had to go in the trash at his house (too much stuff to sort and no time to sort it.) I'll look at completed listings and see what the best approach is - selling in batches, probably. I'd like to clear the magazines on a dresser in my sun room because I want to refinish that dresser.

I also need to move more stuff in my garage to make space for the grill that my neighbors have set aside for me. They got a new one, and I volunteered to take the old one off their hands. It's a faster option for some outdoor cooking than my little charcoal grill.

There's also a nap on my schedule today. Just because! :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: ragdall
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 06:17 AM

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to weed Creeping Bellflower out of another flower bed by removing all the plants. The plan is to replace the soil I removed when I discarded most of my plants with this year's finished compost. This should mostly empty the compost box ready to start filling, spring 2012. If time permits I will use the rest of the compost to tidy at least one other flower bed before snow and frozen ground prevent further gardening.

We've had a light frost the past few nights. So far my geraniums, petunias and roses have survived. After my unsuccessful fight with aphids on indoor geraniums last winter I vowed that I'd leave the plants out to freeze this year. I suspect I will give in and bring at least 20 plants inside again if I have the time and enough low-pain days to pot them before they freeze.

My husband's health was improving significantly but he has developed new medical problems which may actually be "complications" from the old medical problems. It looks as if our immediate future will hold lots of visits to doctors and labs again.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 11 - 12:09 AM

I spent the evening cooking. Braised beef short ribs turned out great, and I have several for meals this week. Then I turned my hand to the bag of eggplant I picked a few days ago. I think there were 8 - peeled, salted, washed, and some of them cubed before sauteing, others were sliced then sauteed. All into the freezer for dishes this winter.

The freezer has a lot of stuff in it from the summer that can come out soon - rice, beans, things that if they stayed warm (I wasn't cooling the house much below 85 all summer) could end up with weevils. This summer was so hot almost anything could end up with bugs - I know how before microbiology people believed in spontaneous generation, seeing how these buggers come out of no where.

Must put my feet up. Might as well let my head to to sleep at the same time.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: mg
Date: 01 Oct 11 - 09:56 PM

Anyone near enough to come to SC? MAG -- see my PM..would love to see you..mg

Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 11 - 09:11 PM

I just started the Secret Santa thread for this year. That's usually good for perking up the populace!

Shopping this afternoon after paying bills. Cooking this evening to freeze garden stuff. Simple, busy, on my feet all day. I'll sleep tonight!

SRS