Declutter & Accountability - January 2012

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 02:21 PM

Same here for {{{{Moonglow.}}}}

SRS, nothing your vet will recommend will hold a candle to AMERIGEL. It is safe for pets and I have friends who swear by it for their pets' wounds. It's the only thing which worked on my leg last year and is all natural ingredients.

Good luck to you for this week!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 02:10 PM

I hope all goes well for MoonGlow and that she will let you take care of her (In my experience, no one takes care of you like your mama!!!). Get some popsicles or fruit bars to keep on hand for her sore throat!

XOXOXOOXOXOX   <-----Hugs for MoonGlow

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 01:34 PM

Heckuva week coming up: I have a dog that needs attention because of an injury that I'd like to help heal without an expensive trip to the vet. The jury is still out as to whether this will work. Moonglow gets her tonsils out tommorrow and her roommates are in and out, so I'll spend the day there. Oy. I hope I can convince her to come back down here for a few days and get a bit more consistent attention from her Dad and me. We have jobs and days off available, not classes and a rigid schedule in the student job market. There are also a couple of work-related appointments.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 10:56 AM

Meditation and qi gong this morning. Off to a good start.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 11:09 PM

Per sched/plan: 45 minutes ai chi and backhab (second half). Delivered adjustable step-up platform, now stowed.

Office org. plan now sketched!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 04:41 PM

Michelle, there is a really neat blackboard paint you can get to put on a portion of the wall where little fingers can write on it. My daughter did that for Morgan and he loved it.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 02:36 PM

Made the last push to get the brass and copper chandelier listed on eBay. It seems a lot of items don't sell there because the listing only has one ugly photo of the item in the auction. I put up a lot of photos and described it as thoroughly as possible. Gave a starting price and a buy-it-now price. Almost everything I list sells, I think think the photos are the reason why. I always include the statement "These photos are of the chandelier up for auction so should be considered as part of the description." I think that helps.

There's still a lot to do around here, but that was my big hurdle for the weekend. Next comes a dog walk, minus Poppy, who is once again limping. I've realized that Cinnamon is really confused right now as to who is in charge when there is a new dog in the pack - I need to reinforce that I am the pack leader, that she shouldn't clobber Poppy when Poppy interacts with Zeke. She doesn't need to do any correcting, that is my job (and basically, Poppy tells Zeke to back off if he gets to rough at play and Cinnamon should accept that).

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 02:06 PM

I've been working up a storm in my *office* which really has become nothing more than a storage area for stuff I don't use for often anymore.

The plan...I think I wrote this before....is to divide that room in half so Jeremiah can use half of it for a play room and I can use the other half to store my stuff (mostly bookshelves and crafting goodies these days) and set up a beading station where I can both bead (already have the desk planned so little fingers stay out) and where I can see him. I'll put photos up when it's closer to being done but the process has been started in a big way.

I'm off to look over some paint samples as I intend to paint at least half the room later this week. Half of the room has no windows, this is where I will be setting up my gear. I don't want the baby playing in a windowless area...that would just be sad. In any case, there is a Berber carpet in that room...off white...brown flecks. I think I'm going to go with a classic sand color...I think that will work well. Besides, the walls are going to be covered with his artwork anyway (on paper...we hope!) so it will be plenty colorful. I'm also going to search for a bean bag chair. I am not big on television but PBS has some really great kid shows...he loves Sesame Street and Word World so I'm thinking of putting an old television & VCR/DVD player in there as well. I have a collection of Disney movies that I recently picked up at the thrift shop as well as some educational DVDs that were given to Jeremiah from family at Christmas time. I'm thinking morning playtime will be in the playroom and then later in the day will be time spent in the kitchen or living room while we make dinner and hang out with Daddy. We'll see.

I have an all day appointment at the onocology clinic on Tuesday so won't get anything done then but the rest of the week is looking free so I might just get this all done before the month after all!!!

Also upcoming is a major freezer clean out. Stewie is going to the butcher on Wednesday and there's going to be a whole lotta beef coming our way in a few weeks....have to make room!

I cleaned out the fridge late last night but still have a pile of dishes to tend to from that event. Later tonight I'll do them. I'm hoping to catch a nap today as I went to bed at 4:30am and was up 3 hours later (to stay) with the baby.

It's funny how you kind of get use to not having enough sleep. I'd like a nap but could really do without one as well if I were to be busy. Sitting in this chair isn't going to help with that so I'll catch you whirly birds later.

Love to all!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 12:33 PM

I've been having fun checking out organizing and gardening ideas on Pinterest. If you haven't check it out yet, you should! FUN! A visual billboard of all things that make you happy! If you need an invite, let me know and I'll send one your way (will need your email addy).

www.pinterest.com

Michelle

Subject: Mini-meals by Alarm
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 12:22 PM

When I developed the mini-meal strategies particular to our family economy, I didn't know at the time that our household would soon include a diabetic. But because we had that already in place, his diabetic learning curve was a crazy-short one.

Now I'm the one benefiting from what he then learned-- that sometimes WHEN we eat is more important than WHAT we eat, and to set an alarm.

For some folks the internal "I'm hungry" signal never goes off, or has been habitually overridden by other demands to the point where one doesn't even notice it. So for awhile, my ACOA body and brain had to go thru a phase of "Eat as soon as you feel hungry."

Now that this process has run its course, I'm taking on Hardi's structure of eating by the demands of an alarm. The new personal rule is, "eat as soon after the alarm as you can finish what you are doing," in (or course) the smallest reasonable quantity.

I seem to be thinking more clearly with the reduced meds, too, what a coinkydink! ;~)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 06:57 PM

Good day all around! I went with my nextdoor neighbor to get a new router, and we made a point of getting one that is easy to add a guest to. There is a button (push it at the point where it asks for the password or for the user to push the button), but there is also a device (a USB flash drive) that can be plugged into someone else's computer and use her wireless internet.

Now she's up and running full speed. The modem and the router were each slowly fading in and out. Ought to last another 2 or 3 years now.

Laundry from last night needs folding and I need to run another load. And I need to do some grocery shopping so I'll do that now before it's completely dark. Tonight is more eBay listings.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 06:28 PM

Three cheers for Roger! This morning, he did the dishes and then, may I have a drum-roll please, he put in the new faucet! But wait, there's more!I've been asking him for weeks to put some cardboard in the front of the radiator of the car until we can get the heater back flushed. He did that this afternoon.

I folded three loads of laundry and put them away and have three loads more to go in the washer and dryer. I cleaned off the top of my desk and now have five different pictures of my three gorgeous grandsons smiling at me as I dictate this.

Morgan asked to come over about noon, which he did. We just goofed off for a while then he started telling us again how his laptop start button wouldn't work so he was unable to use it for games or to go online for schoolwork and that kind of thing. Wound up Roger took him over to their house where they picked up our ladder the kids had borrowed and never brought back and my pie plates and Morgan's laptop.

Papa is now Morgan's hero.:-) He figured out why the button wasn't working and, while it isn't perfect, he did get it so that Morgan can turn it on and off and we downloaded one of his favourite games for him, Wizard 101. That kid had such a happy smile on his face. We sent him home at four smiling to beat the band.

I've promised Roger tomorrow off. I'm going to work on clearing the jewellery desk again and a few other little things here and there, but today feels very productive and I think I'll just relax.

kat

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 05:17 PM

Geologists at least used to always put their pickax in the picture for scale. mg

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 01:35 PM

Took some photos for eBay yesterday - I have another roadside-rescue chandelier to post - but I got smart today and hung it up and photographed it at a good angle. I hadn't screwed the top on so it was looking a little lopsided, so now that I've done that I'll reshoot some of my close shots (on a blue background - I don't like having much, if any, of the house showing in photos of items.) With a ruler, etc. Dave Letterman did a funny piece about photos with coins in them for scale (after that very small frog was discovered in New Guinea and photographed on a Roosevelt dime).

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 12:53 PM

It's been overcast here in the mornings, then clearing off and in the 40s, but the radio just said we're supposed to have a bunch of snow in the mtns. with rain here in the valley.

We got up late this morning. Last night was quiet, but kind of wild. A bunch of sheriff's cars pulled up next door, very quietly, no lights, the officers slipping out and silently walking about the house. It was eerie. The neighbour's dogs never barked, no loud voices, cars or anything. One of our bedroom windows, the one by the head of the bed, faces their driveway, so I was a bit anxious. I was up and down, couldn't settle until about 3a. Have no idea what it was all about as the neighbours are all still here, their cars, dogs and all.

Anyway, not sure we'll get much done, today. I am still hoping for the new faucet. We need to clean up the kitchen. I told Rog it'd be a lot better to do that *after* installing the faucet.:-) I am also going to get his help in putting the clean clothes away, plus I have a couple more loads to do.

SRS, that's funny about the dogs. We finally convinced Luna to use Merlee's brand-new bed, bought it just before he passed. She wouldn't have a thing to do with it so we put it away. She doesn't seem to like soft things, but she is so hairy the covers I put on the couch were constantly needing to be changed. With the bed, I can take its cover off, wash it, and it's much better than before.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 12:46 PM

We added more fiber and flavor with a can of greens added to a weekly red-rice pot (cargo rice, a type of brown). We get plenty of vitamins from the raw veggies we have each evening with supper-- this is just green gravy and a scoop of this rice can then be mixed with a couple of chunks of chicken or tofu.

===

I fixed a broken pull-out drawer in the fridge today by swapping in a larger drawer-- a plastic pull-out one that will make lots of lunch items more easily findable, and make it less likely we'll reach for the crap food after a workout.

===

My pulse-oximeter arrived ydy which will make getting an accurate HR at the pool much simpler-- we used one in aquatic PT. You can watch your HR climb as you work, and stay out of trouble-- as well as correlate HR to how it feels, so you can watch your cardio fitness improve. These have gotten much more affordable and, for me, are more important now than a pedometer-- for that I've been going by the wisdom (SRS?) that if my legs ache, I got to my step goal and maybe a tad over it.

===

In the dry-clinic PT, we have settled into a good, workable routine that even works when the only aide available is the one I had trouble with. (She got some good direction from mgmt and I got better self-advocacy strategies.) I know the equipment better now too.

===

I am really liking the shape emerging for the weekly exercise plan, where I do a bangup Thursday PT and a land or water cardio activity Friday... and then let the body rest/heal for two days of regular, active household and church stuff. I plan to make Saturdays my sleep-in-a-tad-late day.

===

This AM I installed an inexpensive lamp with a good, hevay base in the chilly, under-keyboard slot Hardi insulated for me last week in the office. The larger oil-rad worked well in the LR last year for spot heat, but this is a much tighter space... it's safer than a space heater and can be left on in the bad cold spells. Kitteh approves.

===

The drawers left over from the install I did in the fridge will be great for holding office supplies, in a cabinet where they have been piling up.

===

In the office, an organization plan is shaping itself in my mind. We didn't get the new shelves in yet, but I can see how I want the workflow to move thru the storage system it will hold-- space planning. And even tho the office is still so cold, I am looking forward to nesting in there a couple of afternoons a week on my work stuff.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: maire-aine
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 10:32 AM

We got our first real snowfall of the season, and only about 2 inches at that. Can you believe SE Michigan with only 10" of snow since November, and all of that melted as soon as it fell? Anyway, my snowblower started, thank heavens. Pantry is well-stocked, so there's no need to go out. I guess there's nothing to do but do laundry.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 10:11 AM

Sunny and cool today, lots to do. Supposed to be in the 50s, warming into the 70s tomorrow. So I'll wait and do the gardening tomorrow.

eBay today, along with helping a neighbor (her modem and router have been a problem - I fixed the modem a few weeks ago, this weekend we'll replace the router.) And a visit to Susie.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 12 - 01:22 AM

These dogs are so funny! Cinnamon has wanted to try out the new pillow, and I discovered that this evening when I found Zeke trying to make a spot on my living room sofa. "No! Down! Come with me!" and we headed back into the front room, to find an empty space on the bed, but not the one he wanted, which was occupied by Cinnamon. I scratched her ears and offered a great scratch and tickle session - she changed to her old bed and got a deep lower-ear massage (the kind that has them grinding their head into your hand). Along with this, her bed had an extra towel on it to make it more inviting, so Zeke hopped up and claimed his fluffy cushion.

Geez. They're like kindergartners. :-)

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 08:54 PM

I am pleased with how well Zeke is settling in and has calmed down - to a degree, anyway. It isn't enough to have human attention, this dog really craves other dogs so he's quite happy to share the garage and the futon with two others. We had another warm afternoon so took a walk, but I was trying to get the leashes all at a better length so cut this walk a bit short. We're tripping all over each other with loops tied in leashes - with the new head collar, Zeke's needed to be adjusted and it was tied too tight to fix on the walk.

I'm eating more produce also, Kat, but not juicing. And I'm combining more things (like a dish yesterday - Italian sausage, mushrooms, spaghetti sauce over whole wheat rotini, and to it I added a few cut up okra and a handful of cut up chart. The okra was a marginal success - I'll try soaking in in vinegar to remove the slime, like one cookbook directs, before I use it that way again.

I was going to see Susie this evening, but earlier today I did feel cold-like symptoms. They've cleared now, but I'll wait till tomorrow to be sure it was a small event, not a cold, before I go near someone as ill as she is in the hospital.

I hope Pete gets well soon, Michelle, and I'm glad to see the yoga still feels good.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 08:40 PM

Walked a whole store with great breath resources.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 07:50 PM

We've been busy most of the day. Went to the coumadin clinic and found that all of the leafy greens I've been doing lowered my INR, so we upped the dosage. It was to be expected.

Then went to hand therapy for my right thumb and left index finger. Elbow is much better, as is everything else but those two digits. Using Dragon has certainly helped.

I bought multi-coloured highlighters which I am going to use in my day book, which is really just a thin 5 X 8 calendar book with "week-at-a-glance" pages. I am using different colours for appts., when to pay certain bills, daily weight, etc. This way I will be able to go back and find data easily instead of reading all of my hen scratch to find one kernel!:-)

Also Rog went into Lowes and bought a new faucet for the kitchen sink. The water here, even the treated city water, has so many minerals in it, the spout on the one we put in about five years ago had sprung leaks all over, corroded from the inside out. I hope he has the time to put it in this weekend. He may have to do some freelance work.

Went to the store, had a good walk round stocking up for a week of juicing and made a new batch. Still tastes yummy. I told the nurse at the clinic about it; she's all set to start doing it, too!

I'm going to try to do more de-clutttering, tomorrow.

kat

kat

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 07:15 PM

Yoga was WONDERFUL!!!

We did some deep stretching and a few sun salutations. YUM
.
Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 02:52 PM

I've been working on quite a pile of launry today as well as tending to the baby and to Pete who is home and sick. The new dresser is in it's new space and I decided to use it for something a little untraditional. :) Shoe racks have been moved as well. Kitchen floor and hallway have been swept.

AND

I'm going to yoga in just a little bit!!!!! HOORAY!!!! I can't wait to melt into my mat!!! I'll be stiff and not able to do what I used to do but so what....gotta start somewhere!!!


Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 12:23 PM

4 of us, roughly.

I re-cluttered in a CAT! Maybe two!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 12 - 10:56 AM

Friday! Even though it was a shorter work week for us here in the US, each day was a hard-fought zone, so the weekend is welcome!

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 07:12 PM

That makes three of us.

The soup sounds good, Kat. I made a batch as well last night, but it was a bit more haphazard. I decided I wanted some soup, so I sauteed some frozen chicken necks and backbones (cut off whole birds I used earlier). Added ~ 3 cups water, simmered, then removed the bones. I added some diced veggies, what I had - onions, carrots, celery, potatoes. Then when it was humming along I poured in a quart of chicken stock I made a few days ago, and added a skinless boneless chicken breast to simmer until it was cooked (but not so long it became rubbery.) I took out the chicken to cool and cut up, and added 1 cup of home-canned tomato juice (left over from earlier in the week), several big grinds of black pepper, a sprig of thyme from the garden, salt, and a handful of whole wheat spaghetti broken into 1" pieces. I love the flavor of Balsamic vinegar so I added a couple of tablespoons, added back the meat, and a little sesame oil, and at the end, I put a large serving-worth into a small saucepan on another burner and poured in a beaten egg while stirring it to give it the eggdrop soup effect - and there it was. Came out pretty good. I'd rather add the egg to as much soup as I'm going to eat, not the whole pot.

In the declutter work, I've been cleaning, measuring, photographing and describing things for eBay. And for exercise, I took the dogs for a walk in the sunshine this afternoon. A few days ago with Zeke on the Gentle Leader we walked around one large block, and did two blocks the next time. This time we wandered around the neighborhood and did several blocks, and he started to protest at the thing on his face, rubbing on Cinnamon and on my pants at times. But he'll be better about it than Cinnamon, who simply refuses to walk anywhere with one of those on her face. :-(

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 06:10 PM

I never would have guessed you were the same age as I!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: ClaireBear
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 05:20 PM

Jeri, that's about the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day! But surely, at 57, I qualify?

I used to have a coat with rabbit fur on the collar. That bunne exacted its revenge daily.

I'll be right over for some of that stew!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 05:09 PM

Feggetaboutit -- YOU have a few years to go before you can qualify!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: ClaireBear
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 05:02 PM

Yes, feline! LOL. I suppose I am a potential cougar, but I have no such urges. Well, I don't THINK I have such urges. How much younger does the cougee have to be than the cougar for it to count?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 04:32 PM

I take it you're talking about feline cougars...

I went to the gym today and bought stew veggies. I already have chicken, potatoes and ...GARLIC. It's supposed to snow tonight (it's spitting right now) and I've got a big day planned. Stew making, laundry and maybe shoveling, and all in my... my friend calls them "fire pants". They aren't pajamas if they have a fly and pockets, and they go great with the lumberchick chique look that works so well in New England, although I need to wear my ear-flapped rabbit fur adorned hat to really pull it off. If you don't mind animal pelts, don't use rabbit fur on a hat. They shed even though they're long gone. Maybe getting hair into your mouth is their way of retaliating.

I put food in the two bird feeders and moved the suet cage to where the furry, tree-pig (squirrel) can't eat ALL of it. The birds and I are ready.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: ClaireBear
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 04:12 PM

Just checking in:

No progress on rebuilding the house, but I'm steeling myself to call contractors. One problem, I think, is that I don't really want to move back there -- I want to move ON. I should have seen that coming, I suppose.

My wuzband is not dealing with the fire insurance company at all well. I suppose I'll have to take that on, along with the more-than-full-time job and taking care of our child. My wuzband is retired and could so easily deal with this issue -- also he's much more confrontational than I am, which is a good thing when dealing with insurance -- but will he? No, he just says it looks like they're not going to give us anything for the contents of our house. Yeah, right.

But there's good news: Sometime in the last few weeks my weight got down to (I think) lower than it's been since my son was born in 2000. I'd still like to lose another 40 pounds and get back to what I weighed at about age 30, but I feel so much better for the 35 pounds that are gone so far! Hurray for the happiness diet.

Now if only I had time to take walks, which would I think improve my circulation, muscle tone, and blood pressure. Maybe I should institute a daily constitutional with the boychild -- only trouble is, I don't get home til after dark, and There Be Cougars. Hmmmm.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 03:56 PM

Spent the morning making juice and also, for the first time in probably 20 years, made homemade soup and it was delicious, esp. with cornbread. I even invited my brother over to sample the juice and soup. He really liked them. I almost cannot believe what this represents for me, as far as mental changes go which translates into physical, too. Major, major changes.

Here's the recipe (I was out of onions, so I used scallions and also one less cup of water):

Vegetable Soup – makes 4 servings (save 2 for Day 4)
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 medium Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
3 Tomatoes, chopped with juice reserved
1 medium Zucchini, cut into half moons
1 cup Green Beans, trimmed to 1 inch pieces
3-4 handfuls Kale or other leafy green such as Chard or Bok Choy, chopped into small pieces
6 cups water
3/4 Tbsp. fresh Thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried)
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, water, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the soup for 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale or other leafy greens and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Per serving:
Calories: 185
Protein: 4 g
Fiber: 5.5 g

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 01:49 PM

Yesterday's pool time was approved by the PT and it did not relly inhibit the PT tiome today either-- a good mix. I learned how to copy/paste text msgs from the new fone to email, this AM, which will make keeping track AT the pool so simple-- I can email her a copy of the pool stats, and (DUH!) email it to the doc's office as well.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 11:51 AM

Great news, Kat! If you blood pressure needs to be higher, just keep fussing with that blog template. That should do it! :)

Michelle, I haven't been on a scale for a while. I guess I need to do that again one of these days.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 11:30 AM

Good going, Michelle.

Meditation and qi gong this morning.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 08:09 AM

Down 1.6

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Jan 12 - 12:22 AM

Spent most of yesterday working on my blog; adding to it since I parked my domain name, dumped my website, and have it pointed to the blog, now. I had a lot of frustrations with customising the template I chose. I still need to add more stuff and figure out a couple of other things, but at least it's there for people to see, now.

Had a two month checkup with the kidney specialist today and it was grand! Last time I saw him, he was threatening iron tabs which I hate to take and advised me to eat more fish and chicken. I didn't want to do that mostly because I prefer to be a vegetarian. Over the next two months, I gained a few pounds during the holidays, but have been steadily losing, then came along the juicing plan.

Today, he looked at my blood-work and urinalysis and said everything looked stable and "excellent." He was happy with the rate of weight loss, we've managed to bring my blood pressure up to an acceptable low normal (it's been too low for about a year), and no anaemia, no anything else! He was a happy camper, but not as happy as I! I told him to expect ever better when I see him again near the end of March.

It's been a bit of a long haul since last summer, so this news was very welcome, today!

I've also been doing the usual: laundry, etc. Sunday, we had a huge cleanup. (Sorry if I'm repeating myself.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 04:46 PM

And you said it succinctly. Lucidly. Yup. I agree.

Susan, if she spent the night in Pecos then she'll be past the area I'm talking about by early afternoon.

Bleh. I've done filing, organizing, etc. but the paper keeps creeping back. Must try harder.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 01:54 PM

Spent the morning with my baby, playing and doing some play learning as well. The rest of the day has been spent fussing with the insurance company.

F*CKERS.

That's all I have to say.

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: maire-aine
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 01:36 PM

I updated to IE 9 and that solved my FB problems, but still have a few issues, mostly email & printing. Still working on it.

M

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 01:26 PM

Thanks, SRS, have notified her and started a trip thread now as well.

===

PT also confirmed that our play activities are sound, PT-wise.

===

Tonight is Bills. :~|

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 10:20 AM

Pecos is good. There is a "gap" from Van Horn to El Paso that you don't want to find your self in when it is stopping time. That is the zone very near the border that is policed and patrolled heavily and stopping by the road and sleeping in ones car isn't a good idea. At. All. Think NarcoWar.

The dogs spent a quiet night - I'm amazed at how easy it is to get Zeke to lie down and stay put if he simply has his own bed in with the others. They're already sleeping on a bed, but they have cushions on top of it. He knows it is his while he's part of the pack, and we'll make sure to send this home with him when the time comes.

Must make a push to have a few things in order by the end of the next weekend - Moonglow will have her tonsils out next Tuesday and I'll be ready in case she decides she wants to come here to recuperate instead of with her roommates up at school. She'll probably want to stay there, but I'll be set just in case. It's a Mom thing. . .

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 08:02 PM

75 minutes clinic PT today incl 3 minutes dry treadmill at 1.4 MPH. Good shoes! MP3 player was good but I sure had the wrong stuff on it! Longer next time.

PT-ist confirms mid-March is a good time to plan on discharge from PT, to land and water stuff on my own till next fall. Leg raises with 2-lb weights x 2 sets of 10. I learned a few new land stretches that will help with post-PT soreness, but one knee is in trouble anyway (arthur-osis).

I handled a Rite Aid errand this evening with no scooter, yay, TBTG for Aleve!

Shelf build for office sched for Friday. I did some good scheduling/planning for various work projects today including shifting one up the chain of command that now can handle it; a new responsibility/learning opportunity are coming my way, so I am trimming back some of the detail level on existing stuff and allocating schedule time and office space to the new thingie.

Sleeping schedule has been messed up but, thanks to alarms and TBTG, it's come back where I want it to be. The day started with slipper repair, so I now have a nice, warm pair for my tootsies in that cold office.

Sister's drive west has reached the Pecos, TX area. I was able to help her find a motel when she called up today with her plan sot to hell by road conditions, and then I sent her a YouTube video: Waltz Across Texas! :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 06:38 PM

Saved to post when Mudcat came back:

Kat, I'm sorry about your aunt. I didn't meet a lot of my older relatives until I was in college - my father had estranged himself from his mother, but I started writing in high school when my parents separated, and over the years her sisters got in touch. I made several trips east to meet them, and visited more often when I was working in NYC. They were interesting old ladies - it would have been nice to know them less old also. :-/

I saw Susie this afternoon - she's trying to talk a little, not completely coherent yet, but stringing together phrases and answering questions. As the swelling subsides I'm sure it will get better.

Did some laundry, policed the back yard a bit, and made myself take the time to research electric companies. I'm at the end of a year-long advertised special, so I have to find a new plan or accept a plan from this existing company. I have about 2 weeks left, but I don't want to wait till the last minute. Mainly, I don't want to be penalized for not letting them directly withdraw the monthly amount - I want to be able to dispute it if something is wrong, etc. I also don't want to be penalized if I pay with a credit card. So I'm comparing plans, see which gives me the most wiggle room at the best price.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 04:59 PM

The workout last night was a copy of the preceding week's workout, minus the deep-water, fast aquajogging-- and woke up this AM minus the soreness. Yay!

No car today, so 1 set of step-ups instead of pool work. PT dry clinic tomorrow. I'm taking them a motivator-plaque for the pool area.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 03:57 PM

Be careful, SRS. Before you know it, Zeke won't want to go home! :-) Seriously, as I've said before, what a very good help and friend you are, especially to Susie. I feel sorry for her having been through so much with her husband and now this. I hope she has a safe and swift, as much as possible, recovery.

I had a ton of energy yesterday so we cleaned house. It still hasn't been dusted and I still need to put more stuff away, but we started about 9:30 AM and I was still doing stuff around three or 4 PM. We had a huge stack of dishes so we shared and did them together whilst listening to Prairie Home Companion. Roger swept all the floors, I mopped, though I still have a bit more to do, scrubbed the bathroom, and I prepped more fruits and vegetables, & made more juice. I also called my daughter, who does indeed have our old Electrolux floor buffer/rug shampooer. It was expensive and does a great job on wood floors as well as carpets. Our LR is hardwood and needs a good cleaning/polishing, so she is to return it sometime this week. (I thought she'd left it behind when she moved down here, so was delighted to find she still has it!)

My office space in the dining room has been bugging me. the rolling hanging file cart that I had, sat right over a heat register. We had a deflector on it but the papers and things still got too hot. I took it back to the old office where I will put the hanging files in a big file cabinet. In its place in the dining room, I commandeered one of those kitchen stands which has butcher block on the top and three slide out metal drawers underneath and is on wheels. We weren't using it much except as a spot to throw stuff which we didn't want put away into cupboards. So, I found places to put it all and, as a consequence, the kitchen looks a little also. The cart fit the LR space much better and allowed me to get stuff off my desk and into the drawers which makes everything look neater and gives the cats more space on my desk. LOL

By the end of the day my bum was dragging and I felt as though I had done really a full day's work, physical work, and it felt good.Today, I feel a little worn out, but I think it's more from emotional reaction last night from hearing that my dad's cousin, who I called my Aunt Helen, had passed away Sunday morning.

It was to be expected, she was old and had been in terrible pain from arthritis for years, plus she had lost her eyesight. It was just a few years ago she had to leave our area, move out of her home and into a care home closer to her daughter in Idaho, mostly because of her loss of sight. So I had not seen her in about five years or so, but we always talked on the phone and she was always the dearest, sweetest person to me.

It was she who lived with my dad and his parents for a time when she was growing up so she really was like a sister to him. He had no siblings, otherwise. She's also the one who gave me a huge photo of my grandparent's ranch which was taken back in the 1920s or so. She also gave me a set of kitchen towels embroidered by my grandma with a different "chore" noted for each day of the week. Another treasure was a little stuffed cloth doll my grandmother had made for Aunt Helen's daughter. And, when she left town, she called me one day and asked me to come over. She had a little box inside of which was a beautiful pin my grandparents gave her when she graduated from high school. My mom had one like it though in different colours. It's an early acrylic, I think, one with miniature roses caught inside, like an insect in amber. It is very precious to me as are the other items she gave me. I am going to really miss our visits. I'm so grateful we had a wonderful visit at Christmas time, the last time I spoke with her. I know my dad has one or two other cousins who are still alive, but I never knew them, so it feels as though I've lost the last contact with my dad through relatives of his generation. So, here's to my beloved Aunt Helen. I know she's in a better place, free and clear of all pain and I am grateful for her having been a part of my life.

Thanks for listening,

kat

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 01:35 PM

Maryanne, I would normally recommend Malwarebytes - but their site seems to be down. You can still download it at cnet and other places - but it looks like they're having an html issue. You can use it as a free program or you can buy a copy (best thing to start is to use it free and run a full scan.) Some of the free download sites have a lot of other ads trying to mimic the very thing you're downloading, so read carefully. C|Net does a pretty good job of keeping it clearer.

Otherwise, I'd say that IE has issues every so often. I use Chrome and Firefox more. I also have and use Safari. Seamonkey is pretty out of date, but Opera seems to be humming along. Try another browser and see how things look.

Here on the home front, I've decluttered myself of doggie-smelling-dogs. Yup. All three got a bath this afternoon. I'm still a little soggy, but they're happily drying in the yard and every time I took someone out the back they all got treats.

SRS

Subject: RE: Declutter & Accountability - January 2012
From: LilyFestre
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 12:41 PM

So far today the floors have been swept and laundry is going. I've also made arrangements to have our steer and pigs butchered as well as the trucking end of it.

Soon there will be stew in the crock pot, Jeremiah to the sitter, me off for a walk on this really cold day and then my WW meeting!

Tomorrow I am joining the Y and am sooo excited about it! YAY!!!

The rest of the day will involve picking up, dishes, seed selecting and getting things organized for all that. This homestead is going to be one organized well run machine by the time I am done!!! WOOO HOOO!

Michelle