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Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013
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Subject: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Sep 13 - 02:41 AM Poetic license in this name of this thread. It's the first one in which Kat isn't at least reading some of it in all of the years these have been running (almost five!) We're moving forward without our friend, but knowing that she cheered us on and enjoyed reading about our experiences and observations. This one's for you, Katlaughing! As the seasons change and it cools into weather that brings more energy and anticipation of the holidays, this might be a good time to make some short lists of the things we want to accomplish before the end of the year. I'll let this run for a couple of months again and we can look back to our lists and see how we're doing. If you want, we can even do I always want to have eBay stuff going to both make space and make money. This fall I'll endeavor to actually do so. My kitchen is looking much better with the new closet pantry in place, but now I need to finish drawing down the sales things in my sun room because that is where I keep crystal and platters, in a shallow cupboard behind sliding mirrored doors. It is a bit of an obstacle course to reach that cupboard, so clearing the eBay stuff also clears the sun room. I do have higher retail goals - I would eventually like to pick up things at estate sales to sell on eBay, but I've resisted much of that shopping until I have the room to stage the things I bring home and turn around and sell them quickly. There's no profit if all of my cash is tied up in unsold items. So it needs to be ready before I expand. My other ongoing project is that I have 15 - 20 pounds still to lose and I want to finish by the end of the year. What are some of you planning to do, and can you pace yourselves to accomplish it/them this fall? Declutter, crafts, sales, remodels, repairs, etc.? Into September with anticipation of more comfortable weather and establishing reasonable goals. Here is the last month's thread. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 01 Sep 13 - 12:48 PM I love the beginning of you post...thinking of Kat often and wondering if she can see down into our lives and is giggling at how much work we have yet to do and how much of it really matters in the end. However, for me, September is the beginning of my favorite time of year. The days are cooler, the leaves are beautiful (ok...I do love the changing colors but abhor the thought of naked trees to come) and the renewed sense of energy. It feels like the perfect time of year to start fresh with things...perhaps from all those years of heading off to begin a new school year. I want to begin really working on my weight issues in earnest because I haven't been. I haven't gone crazy with eating things I shouldn't but the fact is, I've gained enough weight that I am now ready to begin again on that journey. Weight Watchers is in my very near future. I'd like to think I can go it alone but I know myself well enough to know that that just isn't the case. I hate to spend the money on it but in the end, it's what I need to do for myself. I will feel better and have more energy...both are things that I wake up wanting on a daily basis. My house will continue to be in a chaotic state for a bit longer as it is canning season. I have cases of empty jars and cases of filled jars with more work to be done. This week will involve corn, cucumbers and pears...perhaps some apples as well. It's just a crazy busy time of year. I am toying with the idea of joining the local YMCA however, not until canning season has considerably slowed down. In the meantime, I'll continue to do the daily chores that keep the house running smoothly and livable but will save the larger jobs for a bit later. Craft wise, I am currently working on a Christmas quilt and have everything cut and ready to sew for a large tote bag...a very large, cute tote bag that I am anxious to see finished. I'm also working on several different table runners/toppers to sell at a local craft fair that I've committed myself to do in November. It's my first and I'm excited about it. My nana turns 91 years old in a few days and I am going to head downstate to be there for her special day. The family has planned to take her out to lunch (which is about all she can handle) and then to return to their homes. This means I'd have to drive 3 hours, do lunch and drive another 3 hours with my 3 year old. That's not a great plan. So....I've decided that I'll go down the day before and spend some time with her at her house, staying overnight. She loves to see Jeremiah so that will be nice. I made a chicken dinner that she LOVES (which I also make a ton of so I can freeze a good 12 servings or so that I can freeze individually for her) so I'll make that for her birthday dinner. :) She doesn't want or need anything (although she always loves photos of Jeremiah) so I think this is the best thing to do and then maybe a game of Phase 10, her favorite game. :) So...for now, that's my plan. Happy September! Michell |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Sep 13 - 01:38 PM Sounds like a great plan, Michelle! Here is the video that set me on losing weight, but I know you have health issues that might not make this entirely do-able. It's here for anyone to refer to. I latched onto the bit about alternate day fasting, and have lost almost 30 pounds since I started this in April. Today is a "fasting day" so I've been drinking tea and I just ate some cantaloupe from the garden and a peach. This evening I'll have a bowl of soup or something along those lines, keeping in the 500 calorie range for the day. Another hot day (hankering for fall cool weather also!) that is supposed to hit 104o, so I'll list more eBay items. I went outside this morning thinking it would be cool enough to weed but it never really cooled off overnight because the humidity is pretty high. Back to the stack of stuff in the sun room. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 01 Sep 13 - 03:14 PM Yeah...I take insulin so I'm not sure this is a good option for me. Thanks for sharing it though! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 01 Sep 13 - 04:42 PM I am half way through the video and must stop to do something else but I am interested and intrigued. Hmm. Can't wait to see the rest of it..maybe it is something I can do! Thanks Maggie! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Bat Goddess Date: 01 Sep 13 - 08:46 PM Tom and I just spent a lovely afternoon with a couple of friends, sitting around the table on the deck under the umbrella (which became important when it started to spritzel, then turned into a real and steady rain). Better than a vacation, we finally had a chance for real conversation where Tom could contribute -- it being reasonably quiet on the deck and there just being the four of us. I am finally very mellow and relaxed... We also sampled some Sea Hagg's poteen (I'm not sure what they actually called it), some of Flag Hill's Karner Blue gin (ineresting aromatics), and some of my infused vodkas -- the Earl Grey made a hit. Time to go upstairs and under-react for a while before putting Tom and the house to bed. What I was reading last night out of H. Allen Smith's "Life In a Putty Knife Factory" has inspired Tom to start on his memoirs. Linn |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Sep 13 - 02:36 AM That sounds like a lovely afternoon, and something Tom has probably been craving for a long time. More stuff on eBay this evening. I'm stacking the boxes as they are described, measured, weighed, and listed. I try to list things that I think will actually sell, so here's hoping this adds up to not only getting bulky stuff out of here, but bulking up the PayPal account. Monday off. Nice! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: GUEST Date: 02 Sep 13 - 06:12 AM On the top of my declutter list is getting rid of wasps that have been living and procreating in timbers that raised the yard on the other side of my fence about 2.5 feet higher than my yard. I enlisted the help of my neighbour as the nest is technically on his property. It's my walkway that is not useable until the wasps are gone. So far all we've accomplished was removing one fence board to get some access to the nest site and upsetting the wasps who stung the young fellow on his hand when he went closer to see if they were asleep. I'm wondering if it will be safe to go anywhere in my yard this week? My high school grad class will be celebrating 50 years with a dinner in the city where I graduated. A few months ago I sent the money to pay for myself and Mr. rags to attend. Now that the event is just weeks away, I'm regretting doing that. The few friends that I had, of the 250 students who graduated with me, are all on the "unable to contact" list, leaving me, a social phobic, to spend the evening sharing memories with people I don't remember. rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Sep 13 - 01:05 PM Rags, I bet you'll still find some ways to connect with some of them. I didn't make it to any of my reunions so far; maybe I'll make it to 50. And I suppose it will be incumbent on me to try to reach some of those folks I want to reconnect with and see if they're going or meet them elsewhere. We had some rain overnight! There was a noisy (but rainless) storm in the evening, and it passed, so I thought that might be all, but then about 2am lightning started again and at dawn it was actually raining. Good omen for autumn, I hope. Shifting gears a bit today. I have a half-dozen electronic related items listed on eBay, now for a few soft goods, then some puttering around the house. And paying bills. Oy. That's going to hurt, after last month's impromptu travel. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Claire M Date: 02 Sep 13 - 02:35 PM Hiya, Dr's appt @ 8.50am tomorrow, cos I wanted a specific dr – aarrrgh! I'm always de-cluttering; clothes I now find uncomfortable due to increasing stiffness [ooh Matron], along w/ other reasons I won't mention [no more jeans for me!], magazines, cds, dvds etc. I no longer want. Some were/are 2nd copies [unwanted, given away, then – God knows why – wanted back] Craft-wise, I've always loved designing, so @ some point, I'm going to start making my own tops, floaty/tie-dye ones. & yet more earrings [I need to grow more ears!]. & posters; w/ lots of help of course. Well, help w/ 1st 2 @ least. Usually try to pass whatever it is on/leave it where others can use it; that's what I was brought up to do, rather than throw it away. People are a bit finicky here – they think I've left my stuff by accident, & insist I keep it w/ me @ all times. I always think if people want to contact me they will. I vividly remember an encounter w/ a former classmate who cornered me, telling me how his gf had dumped him after discovering he lied re being ill; another one said he hated everyone @ college, it was crap, he wished he'd never started etc. This is why I don't use Facebook.......... |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 02 Sep 13 - 05:49 PM I've tried to locate the other geeky kids I hung out with in high school, we were a loose collection of loners, in the fourth year Latin class and the Physics Club. The last time I saw any of them was the day we graduated. So far no luck. I'm guessing that the women married and changed surnames? It's likely that some didn't make it this far? We're all close to 70. The one "boy" in the group should be easier to find, he'll still have the same surname. Unfortunately that name was "Chan". Any idea how many "Joe Chans" live in the Vancouver, BC, area? rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: wysiwyg Date: 02 Sep 13 - 07:45 PM The impending annual MIL visit this year coincides with cleaning-as-PT and (as usual now), flea control. A helper gave the downstairs a good deep cleaning about a year ago and now my turn begins. The flea application of choice this year is food-grade Diotomaceous Earth (DE). So as I clear up the floor of each zone in the downstairs rooms, it gets all furniture moved for a thorough vacuuming, then the DE is applied and brushed in, then furnuture moved back. A week later each zone will get re-vacuumed and thoroughly dusted. A zone or two a day should get it done. Hardi helps by moving larger pieces and brushing the DE into the rugs. When we get to the dusting we willl do it together. As I go I am feeding the Trash, Keep, Sell, and Donate bins and boxes. I'm hoping MIL will help me price and display the Sell items for a late September porch sale. My hope is that this wil be a foundation for adequate home care routines now that I have a metabolism to do that, thereby ending recliner life and TV school. ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Sep 13 - 10:12 PM If you search on your high school graduating class you may be surprised at what you find. I located quite a few people that way. Kitchen work this evening. Heading to bed early and back to work tomorrow. This has been a very nice four days off! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 03 Sep 13 - 03:12 AM The wasps were still hale and hearty today. They allowed me to remove equipment that I'd left near their nest last evening and paid no attention to me as I wandered around my yard. There were signs that my neighbour is determined to eliminate them, the most promising being that he had purchased and left three more cans of wasp spray in the walkway that fear of the wasps has prevented me from using. Weather was perfect today to give my living room and dining room drapes and liners their annual washing, followed by hanging them on the clothesline in the hot sun. With relative humidity ranging from 32% to 50% they dried very quickly. I was able to wash and dry them all in two lots. They are all back hanging where they belong tonight. SRS, What does "If you search on your high school graduating class" mean? I have no idea how/where one does that. Thanks, rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 03 Sep 13 - 10:57 AM Have cleared an area of my garden which never looked much. Plan to plant with small Heucheras (it's a bit shady down there.) And have just ordered 50 Allium bulbs of 'drumstick' type and 50 of 'sky-blue' type. They're really good for flower arranging and stay around forever in the garden without being bullies. At this time I try to assess what is looking nice and what is a bit of a mess. Too much of the latter and not enough of the former, so a few changes needed before the spring! |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 03 Sep 13 - 11:15 AM Sky blue Allium sounds gorgeous! Good luck with the new plantings. rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 03 Sep 13 - 01:10 PM Thank you ragdall! I get tempted to buy lots of nice bulbs and plants, then when they arrive I groan inwardly at all the planting. But hopefully it'll be worth it next summer. Must also get lots of compost to replenish the soil. Norfolk soil is light and free-draining, and needs some added bulk to retain moisture. |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 03 Sep 13 - 01:38 PM 17 quarts of corn canned or frozen 6 quarts of peaches canned...so far today....at least another 9 to go! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Sep 13 - 01:44 PM Rags, if you go to the top facebook search bar (where it says "search for people places and things") and enter your city and town and high school name (i.e., Sealth High School Seattle WA class of 72) you'll likely find there is a group that either is in place for your school, or a group that is more specifically in place for your year of graduation. You'll see some of those people contributing info about local lore and can track back via their friends to find the people you're looking for. Another way to find some of those people on facebook is on one of the proliferation of "You're from Seattle if. . . " threads (using Seattle only as an example, these aren't my search terms, and probably not yours either.) I've been meaning to turn off the lights and computer earlier to get to bed earlier, and I managed it last night, even though sometimes it's tough after a few days off. That meant I was up early this morning and I even had time before heading to work to put up a couple of the bracket supports and three shelves over my potting bench in the sun room. I have a bunch of painted boards that we used as shelves in a setup years ago. They've been stacked against the wall in the garage and every so often I find a place to use some of them - this was one of those places where three are in use. I'll also pick up a couple of those under-shelf hanging wire baskets and use those for gardening gloves or other lightweight things that can stand to air out a bit on the wire racks. (Like this.) It was a pretty morning and the high is predicted in the mid-90s. It's getting closer to being nice weather again (not too hot, not too cold.) Fall is creeping up on us. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Sep 13 - 01:46 PM Great news on the canning and freezing, Michelle. I have to finish making jelly and jam tonight. That'll clear out more space in the fridge. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Sep 13 - 12:54 AM Jelly and jam out of the way. Don't mind those small second and third degree burns on my arm, the jam was feeling a bit frisky. And the spots should wash out of my shirt. More work on the new shelves this evening. There seems to be a lot of duplicate stuff in here so I'll take a batch out to the greenhouse tomorrow and keep a single set of the basics in this location. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 04 Sep 13 - 01:09 AM Michelle, The amount that you and others here accomplish in a day astounds me. I find it a challenge just to get showered and dressed before 3 pm. SRS, Good work with the shelves. Thanks for explaining how you search for people. When I put in the school name and the city I got, "No results found for your query." The result was the same when I added the class year. The popular outgoing people will likely be at the reunion, so there is no need to look for them. Others, such as myself, are not likely to bother with social media. rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Sep 13 - 01:27 AM Try just the name of your school - fewer search terms may get you in the ballpark and you can zero in on your target from there. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 04 Sep 13 - 06:53 PM Thanks. That worked. I found information about the school. I don't recognize any names there. i think they are all people who are currently involved with the school. It's okay. I will be meeting the people who were interested in attending the reunion when I go there. There are about 65 names on the list. That leaves about 190 unaccounted for. As none of the people I spent time with will be there, perhaps I can convince a few who are there that we were good buddies and they've just forgotten? I've been looking at their pictures in our Grad yearbook so I'll recognize them. They shouldn't have changed much in 50 years, should they? I know that I haven't, (wink, wink). rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 04 Sep 13 - 09:35 PM I have no idea where the energy streak is coming from but I am enjoying it immensely! Today I ran 4 hours worth of errands, canned 13 more quarts of peaches, cleaned up most of the kitchen (still have 2 large pots to clean but they are cooling outside on the porch at the moment) and have had a shower. (All this on 3 hours of decent sleep....allergies making it hard to sleep). Tomorrow is crazy busy so I'm hoping to get some decent sleep tonight. I gave in and took the Benedryl early (last night I didn't take it until about 3:00am). My schedule looks like this for tomorrow: Up early, Jeremiah to school, then to a town 30 miles away for a haircut, home, off to the pear orchards (this is prime picking time...expected to be over by next week), then an hour away to pick up two new oreo piggies, back to get Jeremiah, back to the orchards and home. Whew. I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it. Seems that everything is going on at once right now. I also have a half bushel of cucumbers to pickle, a quarter of a bushel of peaches to dehydrate....yeah....I can do...yes I can..I can, I can, I can. And oh yeah...I CAN (as in I have been canning) LOL Don't mind me. I'm punchy. I. Am. Done. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Sep 13 - 12:29 AM What a day you've had! I feel like I was working in slow motion during the day and got moving this evening. This evening I found myself pulling out all sorts of little containers from the fridge. I tackled the produce items from the garden that were too old to use - they're now in the little compost bin beside the side door or on the big compost pile out back. I'll be picking during the fall and try to keep up with the rest of the peppers (most of what got dumped). Also cleared out this evening are lots of little custard cups of grease from cooking. The dishwasher is full. Trash day tomorrow - that's why all of this fridge activity tonight. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 05 Sep 13 - 01:14 AM Michelle, You're doing the work of several people. You'll be well prepared for the winter, just as my little squirrel, who is also racing around, will be. SRS, At least the peppers won't be wasted, they'll make great compost and go back into the growing cycle. Before I left home this morning I managed to wash and bleach some bird feeders etc. that have been empty for several weeks and to put out food for the squirrel and migrating sparrows. That's the extent of my accomplishments for the day, at home. A morning meeting for board members at my seniors' centre forced me to get up from my foamy on the floor three hours after I went to bed. The AGM will be even earlier on Friday. I'm finding that I no longer run well on only 3 hours sleep a night, several nights in a row, but I've been a night person so long that I'm unable to make myself go to bed earlier. I was so tired by 4 p.m. today that I dragged my foamy out to the living room, put it on the floor beside the open (but screened) sliding door and had a wonderful peaceful sleep in the fresh air for over four hours. Ahhhhhhhh. That was so good! I guess that brought me up to seven hours sleep in 24 hours? rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: wysiwyg Date: 05 Sep 13 - 08:03 AM The whole downstairs is now coated in DE. While it sits for about a week I will now sort the crap I didn't purge, and purge some more. Then I'll vacuum-dust. Then I'll re-stage all the horizontal surfaces and finish-dust as I go while Hardi wields the long-handled picture-duster. The kittens are great motivators for SRSLY keeping surfaces only sparsely occupied! :-) ~S~ PS main puder off line till MIL leaves in late September-- fone posting. |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 05 Sep 13 - 09:09 AM To quote one of Allan Fraser's wonderful songs (dance hall girls), I'm a week behind - or is it ... Anyway, life moves on so quickly. Fall is definitely in Quebec. Tons of rain and cool breezes. Time for another wall in that so-called living space - maybe next week. I thought it would happen this week and covered everything with plastic on Tuesday. Today, I am going down and will uncover and keep moving to keep warm. Dentist yesterday and a good chat with her wonderful self, ascertaining that any more work will be removal of a tooth if it gives me trouble - sometime in the future. Great relief as I had not understood her the previous visit (December) and was so confused I did not go back. Good news is that R has finally reached the saturation point and agrees we need a designated "get rid of" area. fortunately there is lots of room at the mill for this. The auction on Monday netted two truckloads and a car load of "90% junk". The auctioneer just gets tired and says, "R will take it"!! or some such comment. Some good stuff, some very useful stuff and 90% yard sale or just plain junk. Next summer, on suitable days, I can put my portable wheel out front and a "YARD SALE" sign and try to re-coup some of what he spent but, more importantly, find homes for stuff that can be someone else's treasures. We now have a beautiful bamboo vanity and linen cabinet and flooring for the bathroom. Of course there is still the huge hole in the room and no window! But there is a skylight and patio doors to go in, when B has the time for us ---- AFTER the wall between living space and the rest of the building so I can put in an air cleaner. Also a small wood stove for the LR. I am leaving the city shortly for the country, hoping to meet with a prospective pottery student. Also hoping to get potting as I now have several orders to complete. And the writers support group at 5 pm. Gotta go. Just stopped in to say, "hello, I'm still here!" |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 05 Sep 13 - 09:10 AM For heavens sake, Susan, do not breathe in that stuff! |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Sep 13 - 12:18 PM At least the DE is feed grade, not for pool filters (a contaminated version of DE). But I agree, don't inhale it. This morning while tea brewed I folded some laundry. The sheets from last week got folded before being needed on the bed again this weekend. Too often I simply pull them out of the clean laundry basket and put them back on the bed. :-/ My goal with my eBay listings this month is to raise enough to pay the cell phone bill through PayPal. Giving myself a goal like that makes it easier to keep stuff listed. I have a couple of hundred dollars worth of stuff listed now, but it may not all sell, or not all this week. There are a few watchers and a fair number of views on some of them, and I have a stack to draw from to add more things to my listings. The fridge is a much friendlier place this morning, without overripe peppers and cucumbers glaring at me from bags and bins. There are still a couple of unhappy cantaloupes in there, but I'll finish cutting those up tonight. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 05 Sep 13 - 02:29 PM My health consultant points out that even food grade DE is contaminated with aluminum, thus causing a friend to have aluminum poisoning. She does not take these things lightly. Back at the mill, the weather is COOL! And the mold pollution is health threatening. Recent rains seem to have exacerbated the problem. I am in process of considering how to cope. All doors open - it just blows through the whole place. That wall is essential. For now: stay in sun room - OK. Put plastic back up to block ... not going to work, too much wind. Darn! Need to go work on this, Bye! |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Elmore Date: 05 Sep 13 - 03:17 PM Got tired reading this thread. Time for a nap. |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Bat Goddess Date: 05 Sep 13 - 07:17 PM Dried some of the laundry that was washed yesterday, but it will have to wait to be folded. (Nothing that can't sit in the dryer overnight.) Got a mess more appointments for Tom at the Wound Center, with vascular docs and with the infectious diseases doctor (because if the heel wound is too deep, he'll need intravenous antibiotics again every 4 hours or so -- Tom has replacement heart parts). They are very very cautious, and, I guess, that's good. Did a lot of running around today -- had to pick up a replacement computer mouse at my other computer guy's place, then had a nice visit with an old (in age) old (known him since 1973) friend who lived close by. Brought him the book "Misquoting Jesus" which he'd been wanting to read and de-accessioned a spool of week-whacker cord to him. Was home long enough to have lunch (I finished off the heirloom tomato soup -- gotta get some more tomatoes at the farmers' market Saturday and make a big batch to freeze) and organize some paperwork (so I can photocopy some more documentation and take it to Community Action tomorrow). Took my elderly friend's mail to the post office and bought stamps for him on my way to get my hair cut -- all of a sudden as of yesterday it needed it desperately. Had a nice visit with my stylist of the past 30 years, too (but I left with a pile of magazines...). Then over to some other friends with the BB gun (and BBs) I promised to sell to them. Sold it to George for what I had just paid Carol to cut my hair (and tip). It all works out... BLTs with heirloom tomatoes for supper. Not Brandywines but they look and taste like Brandywines. Boy, were they good! I think tonight I'm NOT going to work on filing Tom's freelance writing as I have most of this week. (Oh, looks like I haven't mentioned that here. Discovered why my archives don't have newspaper articles for a lot of events in that era -- Tom wrote the article and it was hidden in the boxes.) Think I'll just read tonight and relax for a change. Too much running around today. Linn |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Sep 13 - 08:34 PM Sounds like an excellent plan, Linn! And a good example to follow. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Sep 13 - 02:51 PM That's a cute chain pull you posted on facebook - a blown glass bat - I suppose the next best alternative is to lure a real bat into the room to perch on your fan pull chain. :) The installation of new shelves in the last couple of weeks has taken a lot of pressure off of the flat surfaces in my kitchen, they're no longer over-crowded. I'm still going back and forth on where some things need to live on the new shelves, but already it makes my canning activity much easier because I can see my empty jars all in one place, not stacked throughout the wire shelves as they were before. The next push is to decide if I want all of the vintage and antique items out the way they are or if some of them need to go away and be rotated into and out of the display on top of my cupboards, fridge, freezer, and kitchen queen. Each day this week it has been up to 100o and the air quality has been poor, but the sun is setting earlier and the mornings are a little cooler. Autumn is beginning to be detectable. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Sep 13 - 10:09 PM Got plenty of birthday calories today. Went out for dinner with a friend and had a bowl of ice cream when I got home. Tomorrow is a fasting day and I need to mow the lawn so I'll burn more calories than I take in with my one small meal. I hope this law of averages keeps on working! As usual there is a mix of stuff to do this weekend. Looks like it'll be hot every day for a while, so I'll have to work outside early or save stuff till later when it cools. I can't put off mowing, so I imagine that is first on my list for tomorrow. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Sep 13 - 03:29 PM Relisting eBay items, pricing them to move. Adding more. My ex just came over to pick up a few things and we did the tour of the pantry and I sent him home with a fresh batch of jelly and salsa from last fall. We were out with the dogs for a while (Zeke obsessively fetching) - it's still very hot so I'm leaving the mowing till evening. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 07 Sep 13 - 04:34 PM SRS, It's impressive that you can accomplish so much when the temperatures are so high. The new pantry shelves must be a great help. At what point do we stop adding ways to organize more thing and start actually reducing the number/volume of things? I know the clock is ticking its way closer to the time when I will have to move into a basement suite or a small apartment. I think back to when I moved into this house over 40 years ago. We came from a small apartment, had only a small collection of furniture and very few "treasures" collected. There was so much empty space! I long to return to that state, but there is nothing that I've acquired since then that I feel I can part with without feeling a great sense of loss. My feeble attempts to get rid of things hasn't made a noticeable difference. Another obstacle, as of September 1st, our Regional District has imposed a fee system for loads of rubbish we take to the dump, that used to be free. Thursday evening, I mowed both lawns (front and back yards). Friday evening I put fertilizer on both. Pushing and pulling the heavy lawnmower and the much lighter fertilizer spreader are equally hard on my spine, knees and hands. I'm taking anti-inflammatory meds and resting today. I don't know if I will manage looking after this house and yard much longer. So much upkeep that should have been done this summer and last was neglected. That can't continue much longer. rags P.S. Is anyone else finding that it takes a very long time for Mudcat to load anything? Sometimes I give up waiting. |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: mg Date: 07 Sep 13 - 06:45 PM when do we start reducing? i say when we turn age 50..you don't want to put it off until it becomes physically impossible, and you don't want to have more than you can maintain well...plus we all probably should be prepared to be mobile, downsize, evacuate etc. |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Sep 13 - 07:17 PM Yes, Mudcat has been pretty slow on a consistent basis for the last couple of weeks. I think Max has restarted it a couple of times, I don't know if he's working on anything to speed it up. I understand about the contents of the house. Yes, we have been removing stuff and only not finding more efficient ways to store it. I understand about the furnishings conundrum - it takes me a long time to get around to removing pieces. In the last year I donated a loveseat sofa that came from my best friend when she moved out of the area. It isn't the couch that is important, it is the memories of the kids "camping out" on that sofa in the living room when they were little, and those memories aren't gone. Someone else is now using that sofa who needed it more than I did. I have family antiques that will go to the kids, but I have a lot of "gray area" stuff that they probably won't need, so that is where I need to concentrate on my thinning. The next big thing to go is the futon in my front room. Yes, the dogs sleep on it now, but I've kept lots of layers of sheets and blankets on it to keep it from picking up an aroma. My daughter's housemate is moving in December and taking the living room futon, so my futon will go up there to replace it. I've given her other sizable pieces of furniture, and when she eventually gets ready to move into a house of her own or they somehow break up the household (she shares a house with four or five other students) then I might help her move it elsewhere, but not back here. With that gone my front room will be a lot more manageable. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 07 Sep 13 - 07:40 PM Whirlwind trip downstate to celebrate my Nana's 91st birthday! I cooked up one of her most favorite meals last night for dinner and today the entire family (which is quite small) took her out for lunch. She was thrilled and that made my heart happy. She has a wonderful sense of humor and likes to tell people that she's decided her job on this earth is to make people laugh AND that she is a cougar (now chasing all men aged 70 and up). LOL With that in mind, I'd like to share that I got her a very sweet purple nightgown and some racy purple polka dot panties...her smirk was worth the 400 mile round trip....LOL!!! XOXOXO Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Sep 13 - 08:03 PM What an influence you are! I had a "spare" wire rack that is now standing in from of the third of three windows in the bay window in the sun room. I'll use it for more plants (it used to hold pots and pyrex and such in the kitchen). And more items are listed or ready to go on eBay. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 08 Sep 13 - 08:15 AM when do we start reducing? i say when we turn age 50..you don't want to put it off until it becomes physically impossible, and you don't want to have more than you can maintain well...plus we all probably should be prepared to be mobile, downsize, evacuate etc. Oh no, mg! I'm almost 20 years behind on the program. I don't think I can ever catch up. SRS, Good luck with your e-Bay sales. How long do your items stay listed? I can't think of any furniture that we have that isn't being used. The room for my son's family is occupied only a couple of weekends a month and during school holidays, but all the beds are needed when they are here. I guess I'll really need to work harder on emptying the roof space storage area, as soon as the weather is cooler? Perhaps another toy run to the son and family in Alberta will be made when we go to adore the infant whose arrival is expected very soon? I'm told that he will be called "Quits". Michelle, Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful person. How lucky she is to have such a thoughtful (and naughty) granddaughter. rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Sep 13 - 11:31 AM Rags, if you can identify the stuff you're storing that you use the least, that is certainly the least painful place to start. Once you get going you may well find you inspire yourself and can move into the next least-emotional space. My eBay listings typically go up for a week. Sometimes as an auction, sometimes I add a "buy it now" price (this has to be about 33% higher now, so sometimes that price looks ridiculous so I don't bother). Other items are listed for a set sale price, no bidding, you can click on it and buy it. They run for a week and I relist, and if I decide it is too high priced or needs some tweaking, I do that before relisting. I have usually sold most things within a week, but now that I'm listing some more commonplace items they sometimes run for several weeks. This morning I've been going through seeds packets. It's time to plant for fall (after I weed for fall) and I am tossing some of the truly ancient packs of commonplace seeds. I have a drawer-size plastic sock bin thing that I sort the seed packs by year and type (flowers or food). It goes back a few years, and what I end up doing is combining some of the older seeds in with a new batch - they get used and may grow, but I'm not relying on a several-year-old pack for the sole seed source. That said, I also think mixing years of seeds gives a little more diversity to the seed source which is probably a good thing. It's supposed to be hotter today, but I'm tired of waiting for it to cool off so I'll be out there working for a little while. I need to weed some of the new beds and finish the front yard mowing. I watered the sweet potatoes yesterday so now I can pull the hose off of the turf and run the mower through there. (The sweet potatoes came back this year as volunteers on the berm in the front yard. I didn't have a great crop last year, but they looked so nice, so I let them stay and am watering again this year.) SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 08 Sep 13 - 08:42 PM I made breakfast and lunch, did 2 loads of laundry and rode along on several errands today. I have had 3 naps and at 8:42pm, I am ready to go to bed. The heck with dinner. I am DONE. (Pete is more than capable to make something for himself and Jeremiah). Goodnight. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: ragdall Date: 08 Sep 13 - 09:25 PM I've been in "I'll just do one more thing" mode all day. At almost 630 P.M., I'm still debating whether or not to shower and get dressed. I cleaned all the dead blooms and shriveled petunia stems from the three window boxes. Most of the plants in the box on the South side are doing well, but I think I've lost the battle to save the petunias in the boxes on the North side of the house. I suspect the soil remaining damp, because of rain after a watering and no drainage, has allowed something to infect the plants. I may try moving some plants from planters into the boxes until frost, (which could come any day now). The rest of my time has been spent attending to message boards and tweaking photos. rags |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Sep 13 - 01:07 AM There were areas in the front lawn where the grass is still growing that I mowed (mostly it goes dormant, nothing kills Bermuda grass, not even a drought), and an area in the back where I keep the grass green for the dogs. Watering also taken care of for now. I've moved a couple of obstacles from the hall outside my office, a file cabinet that is now tucked away in the office closet (but on a wheeled base so I can shift it to use the files) and a wire shelf that is now in the window for plants. There was a plastic file case on the shelf on top of the file and that is on a shelf in the closet. The job will be to make myself file regularly rather than let it pile up. Laundry is in, dishes ready to run when this first load is finished, and then another load will be programmed to run before I get up and can dry before I leave for work. In hot weather I try to run these machines at night. Eight items up on eBay now, and I'll try to keep at least this many balls in the air and list more. It looks good in the sun room to have this many boxes packed and measured and ready to ship once someone buys them. If no sale, then after a suitable number of listings things will be donated to Goodwill. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Sep 13 - 01:46 PM It's a bit overcast today, keeping the temperatures "down" so that we may only hit about 95 today. I transplanted a chrysanthemum into one of my outdoor pots, it's a burnt orange color on sale at the grocery last week. Time to start seeds indoors or in pots outside, and now that I have another set of shelves in the window that I can easily reach I'll get started. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Autumn Leaves Decluttered Spaces 2013 From: LilyFestre Date: 09 Sep 13 - 02:10 PM It's been fall-ish here....great morning temperatures...nice chilly nights, beautiful sleeping weather but I hear that in the next few days the temperatures will be near 90 again. UGH. Just in time for canning. Today I spent some time cleaning out a double cupboard that is kind of a pain to reach (corner cupboard near kitchen sink). I took everything out, chucked all expired items (6 cans...UGH), wiped down the shelves, reorganized, emptied another cupboard and combined that with the first emptied cupboard. All soups, beans, canned meats, fruit, etc. Looks great...I'm going to use it as my lunch cupboard. I struggle with making a healthy lunch...I know what one is but never seem to get around to making myself one...I just grab what's easy. Well my friends, soup and fruit IS easy...DUH. Anyway, that's my plan...we'll see. I rejoined Weight Watchers today. It's time and I'm ready. I wish I had been ready 40 pounds ago but I just wasn't. It is what it is. I told my mom I had rejoined and her first comment to me was, "Well, I KNOW you can do it!" Thanks to my mom for never once saying things like, "It's about time. Are you gaining weight? What the hell is wrong with you? When was the last time you stepped on a scale? Just how many chins are you going to grow? Etc." The voice in my head could go on for hours without an interruption from anyone. I love and appreciate her supportivenss. Pete says he will go along with whatever I need. Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate my family lately? I do. I do. I really, really DO! Have a great day everybody! Michelle |
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