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Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache
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Subject: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Feb 15 - 12:17 AM It is going to take me a while to clean this up, but I'll post it all here now with a different title so it won't mess up the original if it is recovered. Subject: Declutter & fitness- 2015 -January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jan 15 - 12:42 AM There are more readers than there are usual participants in these threads, but every so often we hear a great story from someone who has been lurking, decided to act, and the first thing we hear from them they've cleared up their entire house, or emptied a room of everything that was piled up, or simply made the first baby steps to get going on organizing their surroundings. Katlaughing was the friend and Mudcat moderator who started these, and when she became ill we kept them going because she enjoyed reading them. For anyone reading these who has been slow to act to remedy a clutter problem, if you decide to begin your own personal intervention on your own on yourself, this is the place you can read along, report in, or ask for comments. We'll run this quarterly and see how that goes. If you're using a device other than a computer and this thread has more than 50 posts, you'll see an asterisk and a small "d" after the number of posts (i.e.,57* d). Click on the number and the thread will open in 50-post pages, oldest at the top, or click on the d and the posts will open from the most recent first in pages of 50 (d for "descending"). Here is the thread that ran through November and December of 2014. You can click back through previous threads by finding the link back the the earlier thread, usually in the first post. Good luck everyone, in reaching your fitness and decluttering goals! SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-2015-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 01 Jan 15 - 06:57 AM Well - I was getting somewhere with the decluttering - a bookcase emptied and given to my grandson - at 5 years old he is acquiring books and the ones he's outgrown are being kept for younger brother, but then my husband wanted to change the car and I had to find the registration documents. I thought they were in a folder in the front room - no, he says. So I look in the filing cabinets, I search the conservatory, the back bedroom, the downstairs middle room and the back room - I start to turn out all the cupboards and the storage boxes - desperation was setting in with less than 24 hours to go to the switchover, I was pulling out furniture and searching with a flashlight - and then himself appears and says it was in the front room all the time. So we have a new car and I have a week of sorting out and putting away to do to get back to where I was. Happy New Year, everyone. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness- 2015 -January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jan 15 - 11:16 AM Rum, that is a timely reminder - I need to have my vehicle inspected (due at the end of last November) and go get the annual registration (due by the end of this month). I was waiting for the registration paperwork because supposedly this year you only need one sticker on the car - show the inspection paperwork to the registration folks and the sticker covers both. But I don't think this new plan is in place yet. Maybe next year. I have a small car and would like to have less stuff on the windshield (windscreen). I was in bed last night just before midnight, but then my phone on the bedside table started making noises as my kids texted me happy new year wishes. :) The kitchen and that dining area are in great shape - my gift to myself is a clutter-free kitchen. Now I'll move to other parts of the house (dust, vacuum, mop), and after I finish that in the living/dining room I'll set up is a work space (for the time being) on the dining table. I have sewing I need to spread out for cutting. I have some furniture I want to move (after the rooms are dusted) and as usual, have paperwork to finish and mail, email, or fax. Since the temperature this rainy morning is 31o I know this is an indoors day. What looks like rain drops on metal and glass will soon be sleet or freezing rain. Despite the cold weather outside, there seems to be an active ant nest coming through or in an exterior wall that is sending little pests up into my plant window area. The last thing I need is to try to clear out my potted plants soil, so I've put down ant bait on little cards along their pathway. This liquid has borax (called "Terro" and a bottle is $3 at Home Depot) that has worked well throughout the rest of the house. Bathrooms, kitchen, closets, I'm slowly knocking them out. Perhaps this is the last hurrah. Have a healthy, happy, ingenious and prosperous New Year, everyone. Don't just clean and declutter your houses, offices, etc, also get exercise. Take a class or take a walk, set up a box and do step exercises in front of the television, do SOMETHING that helps you reach the body image you know is the healthiest you. SRS P.S. I took out the "arrows" I had in the thread title surrounding the year - they were stopping posting unless you knew to take them out. Sorry about that. I'll find some other eye-catching (but mudcat legal) character to put there instead. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 01 Jan 15 - 11:44 AM Mill: OH MY, Rumncoke!! I fear it did make me chuckle. I'll bet it will not take you that long to put things to rights as it is so much easier when you have already had things in place/organized. Filing cabinet prob has an "Automobile" file but the habit of putting EVERYTHING into it needs to progress? So far this morning I have managed BF, email-deletion, a couple written, and a fed-up comment on "sugar and Shakes". R is still in the city. It is still too cold to use the studio. I finished the Anti-Cancer book - EXCELLENT! Read a short novel yesterday and am ready to continue reading The Brain that Changes Itself. I also re-organized a large K cabinet. Very helpful! The sewing machine beckons! The snow is falling; I think it is for real today. lovely to see - and know I do not need to go anywhere. Except to the K for another cup of green tea. A quick check of FB and then I will be onto the sewing machine and some hand sewing. Hope everyone is having a healthy day! Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: LilyFestre Date: 01 Jan 15 - 11:44 AM Today is the day that some of Jeremiah's toys go into his bedroom so he can play independently. Until now, ALL the toys have been in the living room where he is supervised 100%. He is now almost 5 years old and we feel he is ready for some independent play time. He is VERY excited about it! Mind you, his door will be open and he is maybe only 12 feet away but it will be HIS time and I think it's a good thing! I'm sure this transition won't happen all at once but today is the day we start! On the fitness front, my goal is just to move more. :) Happy New Year Everybody! Michelle Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jan 15 - 12:39 PM Michelle, public/family space for some activities is a good policy to start early - as they get older it leads to easier habits with technology. My kids had their shared computer in the livingroom until my son was a junior in high school. My daughter is 3 1/2 years older and was always stuck in the living room, but when he was the only kid at home and didn't have to share any more I moved it into his room. When you have kids in high school AP classes you can't tell them to stop doing their homework and go to bed and I couldn't sleep at night for the light and noise from the living room. By that age and with that schedule, we were all ready for the tech move. Dorothy, that green tea sounds wonderful. Sleet on the trees now. It looks lovely but is cold and sloppy. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 01 Jan 15 - 10:26 PM Mill: Clearly suffering today from overdose of disturbed dust yesterday. Could not get my brain in gear to do minor repair to sewing machine so looked at hand stitching and realized eyes were too itchy. Yep, I could have taken an antihistamine and did not; it has been years since I did this to myself. I have to wear a protective mask to organize!? If I am not better tomorrow, I shall take one. I did manage to do some more organizing of sewing stuff and other things. Washed eyes with dilute green tea once and that helped but now realize I needed to repeat. Mostly just muddled my way through the day with a short call from R and a long one to sil, who has FINALLY improved her diet to the point of - yeah! After 15 years of my bugging her, she had to have a heart attack (last summer) to "get it". Green tea is good stuff. R had not been to bed for 30 hours (when he finally called this afternoon) and clearly was not making it down here. Mid afternoon he was muttering about taking a nap and then borrowing a truck and trailer to fetch a fork lift from north of the city! I informed him that he would sleep 'til morning. I phoned him about 8:30 and he told me I won that one and went back to sleep! I am tired of being here by myself - with it too cold to pot; otherwise I would have felt productive. I am chaffing at the bit. Maybe on Sunday. If I had known R was not going to make it, I could have gone to visit someone but I could not reach him; he left phone elsewhere! I have managed to read and listen to some music while organizing and spend some time on FB. Now I am ready to give up. About an inch of snow. May be more tonight. Up to 27F but going down again tomorrow - Sunny and cold! Oh well. Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 01 Jan 15 - 11:27 PM Um.... CRAZY itchy ears have been an issue for me for years and I may be on the cusp of healing the cause and the effect.... skin behind my ears bleeding from scratching. Have tried a million things too complicated to list. Then I realized I've itched more than anyone I know, since babyhood. Since before ANYthing I could have done to cause it. So I decided that for whatever reason, I must produce too much histamine, and started using topical Benadryl behind and inside ears-- and suddenly I can override the urge to scratch AND sleep for twice as long at a stretch than I have for years and, as we all know, deep sleep heals everything. Ahhhhhh... relief!!! Worth a few weeks of greasy hair around my ears!!! Thanks to Hardi for that late night trip to get me that cream!!! ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Jan 15 - 01:21 AM Maybe you are also allergic to coconut. That is a big ingredient in soaps and shampoos. My scalp used to bother me, more or less depending on the shampoo, and I finally realized it had to do with the formula and the sodium laureth sulphate. Rather than employ Benedryl, fire the coconut. Or do both for a while. SRS Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: VirginiaTam Date: 02 Jan 15 - 05:34 AM I just remembered my Mudcat password. Now properly logged in. Approaching ten year anniversary of Andie's passing. I really have let my health and my life o with the grief. Time to change that. Major reoganisation of my life starting with physical environment. Main bedroom deep cleaned yesterday and will be completed today. After which the lounge and the spare room aka The Bermuda Triangle of needful thing I just had my hands on a moment ago. Sometime in February or March new kitchen install, so we need to make space in spare room and lounge to make this happen. It is original kitchen, poor layout, not enough storage or workspace or electric points. Cupboard dors hanging off and sink cracked and leaking. May post before and after photos if I can resurect my Flickr account. Started vegetarian on Boxing Day. Meals are smaller and more sensible. High fibre and moderate protien for breakfast. fresh veg and fruit of lunch and homemade lowfat hoummus on wholegrain drybread crackers. Experimenting with lowfat cheese. Dinner last night was veggi tacos with fresh homemade lime and red pepper guacamole. Yum. Chris retires on the 11th Jan. He will be planning and prepping hearty, high fibre, protien packed low fat soups, salads, etc. Also taking me swimming and for walks on regular basis. Plan is to get fit enough to climb and walk with him in Lake and Peak Districts, maybe even Scotland. Fit enough to visit places like Greece and to climb the Spanish Steps in Rome. Use the caravan more in UK and for extended continental holidays. Luckily the work I did yesterday kept my stomach feeling full with adrenaline so I didn't feel hunger as much as when I sit and surf the net. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 02 Jan 15 - 08:46 AM May I wish you much success and future happiness with your plans, Virginia. For myself, I really must get moving more and lose a couple of stones. Also, my flat is still awaiting a little (actually a lot) of attention. My lovely late wife, Ann, was a hoarder of renown and I really must get down to some serious decluttering. It's not always easy to dispose, in whatever manner,. of stuff that may carry memories, but, I'll try and be realistic when push comes to shove. Good luck to you all with your plans and wishes for 2015. Charlie. PS I will go to the gym I joined, honest. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 02 Jan 15 - 10:47 AM Mill: Susan: itchy generally equals allergy. Perhaps a good book on elimination diet? OR it could be as simple as laundry detergent - I found even those from "whole food" stores can cause itchy so stick with Tide Free and Clear- which works for me. Red clover tea is good for that type of allergy. VT! sounds like you are ready to start a new phase of your life!! YAY! Charlie: what an opportunity you have to de-clutter, being careful to sort out the memories to save. I once threw out - in the desperation of moving - letters that I have longed for many times since. On the other hand, my pottery teacher pointed out to me that the car I had to scrap was "only a chunk of metal", the memories are within me. I am delighted that I seem to be less chronically hungry and my weight, which had gone up a few pounds, is back down to 160 and I see hope. Better health, more chance of losing weight = better health! About ready to de-clutter my life of 145 pounds of R. Five years ... Thinking of the elderly Quaker lady who, when asked why she had never married, "Because it would take and awfully good husband to be better than none." (We are not married, thankfully!) All I needed was a clear answer, Will we be able to visit A&B for lunch today? At 9:45 I finally phoned him and he... You don't need this! Turned heat up in studio at 8:15; at 9;20 it had not warmed one degree. No potting at 52F.I am frustrated. So, what have I accomplished since 8 am: BF, phone call, emails to R & to A, a couple posts on clayart, and a fit of fury. A small pot of green tea. Watched the sky go from white to blue with clouds but lots of sun! 17F with a low of 3 tonight. No potting in my future. Feeling in a quandary of what to do that is useful. Time to fix the sewing machine. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Jan 15 - 11:38 AM Virginia and Charlie, you have big goals! Be sure to set some small steps along the way as well, because you'll need those to help you move forward. It's easy to set goals, then seem them as insurmountable if you don't give yourself a way to see incremental progress. Virginia, there are no timelines on grief, but when you decide the time has come, then I think you'll feel much better, and know that Andie would be proud of your progress. Charlie, my parents had more than a touch of the hoarding instinct, as children of the Depression. We have over time distributed a lot of extra stuff. I also inherited from elderly great aunts and I kept a lot of family stuff to simply learn about the family. Over time I have decluttered, but on this journey I've learned about the things I kept before I let them go. I had to decide that I am not a private museum, so as I research collectible oddities from one of the family homesteads, I appreciate the item, then let it go. Let me tell you one story: I have a trunk with oddball small items from my great aunt's home, and one of the things was a small green box with a heart-shaped perfume bottle and a turquoise green glass stopper. I had been selling stuff on eBay for a while but wasn't able to find any past reference to this bottle. I finally found the online perfume bottle collecting site where I sent a photo and asked if they knew anything about the bottle. I've left photos on Flickr so that they can be found when collectors are interested, so I'm still sharing my great aunt's bottle. I don't collect perfume bottles, but I understood this was old and unusual. I heard back from a collector who told me "I've heard about that bottle" - so when I listed it on eBay I let her know. The fact that my aunt had kept the packaging made it all the more unique, and it sold for a substantial sum. What I realized was that I was putting something back into the world - that a collector now had a bottle they had only heard about, and it was with great pleasure that I let this item go to a good home. Not everything you clear out will have such a robust story. After my father died I took a couple of large U-Haul boxes (moving cases) of clothes and shoes to a local charity shop - they were thrilled because winter was coming and many of the homeless men who they supported would be recipients. The point is, take what information you can from these items you don't need, then pass them on. Keep a photo if you want to remember the story. Good luck to both of you as you take the steps necessary to reach those goals. You'll enjoy your re-worked homes and the time and ability to travel. Please at least read along here, and participate when it helps. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 02 Jan 15 - 01:23 PM Thank you. To be honest the place could do with some serious sorting, not to mention a good dose of housekeeping - before the Miss Havisham effect kicks in. My stepdaughter belongs to a church in Durham which has a sort of charity shop branch so 5 carrier bags of books, dvds and videos went there, but, it looks like I will have to make some inquiries regarding old electrical bits and pieces, kitchen equipment, bedding and other domestic items. There is always the family but it's difficult not to be seen to favour one over the others. I know of some people who simply donated or dumped vast quantities of 'stuff' but that's not really the way I do things. This isn't a situation which I lose sleep about but I'm certain that once I make the initial'push' everything will sort itself out. My thanks again from Charlie the Eternal Cock-eyed Optimist. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: GUEST,PattyClink Date: 02 Jan 15 - 03:34 PM Thanks for the inspiring and welcoming new-year posts, SRS, many of us 'needed that'. I've done some big rounds of decluttering in the past, but this time I am needing to repair/repaint a whole house/garage/shop both outside and in, and get ready to seriously downsize. It is a little overwhelming to say the least. This week I got 'stuck' as I started to pack up books just so I can move the bookshelves out and get a room painted. The 'easy' books have mostly been given away long since, these are the ones that I mostly want to keep. But I'm sure about 20% really don't need to go into storage, and besides I'm not ready to undertake the cost of offsite storage. Yet to agonize over each one is just dragging out the process of getting the stupid room cleared out! Maybe I should go steam some wallpaper. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 02 Jan 15 - 03:55 PM I once saved up some interesting items I thought the grands might like. When they came to visit, I let them take turn choosing. Maybe, Charlie, you could sort out what you want to keep and then invite people to come and take what they want. Well, I have not done nothing. I was stymied from repairing the sewing machine by having to go find a screw driver the right size and configuration. I decided to empty the commode into the distant toilet and put on warm clothes to do so. OK so far but then I needed water to flush and the pump is not working. I got some hot water and finished that job but a call to R - find a light bulb and a lamp and turn off the hot water heater at the breaker because if the pump is not working... I fetched bubble wrap, a quilt, etc to add to protection around water pipes. Then I had lunch and read and now I am back on computer while brain tries to figure out what to do next. Realize I am just super frustrated at not being able to pot so emailed R about insulating off a section of studio - small enough to heat. Then a message from a friend/shopkeeper asking for mugs - "how bout red for Valentine's" ... NEED to make mugs - red and ,,, OK, so it has not been totally a wasted week but I really wanted to pot and had the energy to pot and ........ There must be the right screwdriver around here some place. This comes in the category of "when I lived alone I knew where everything was." It was a beautiful day - but COLD. I am hanging in for that 50F on Sunday! In the meantime... Oh yeah, screwdriver... Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Jan 15 - 11:41 PM I made myself sit down in front of the computer and write letters, fill out forms, and pay bills. I still have a set of forms to finish, but I've done enough for today. I took apart a vacuum cleaner that I rarely used and am going to sell on eBay. I found a box to fit and printed out the owner's manual and added extra bags and filters. Ask a low enough price and someone will snatch it up, otherwise, it goes to the Goodwill. The thing about eBay is that it is nice to be able to get cash for things you don't need or have room for, but you also have to determine what is a reasonable amount of time to fool with trying to sell something before you throw in the towel and donate it. These didn't have the best ratings, but it works for a small apartment and is a cute as can be. This afternoon I went up to Susie's house and put cardboard over a window her dogs managed to break sometime this morning. A neighbor called me to say she'd seen one of the dogs barking with her head out the hole in the glass! The granddaughter who is feeding them while Susie is out of town wasn't there, so I covered it, blocked the dogs from reaching it, and Susie will be home tomorrow. The dogs were all okay. This is the "it takes a village" part of keeping Susie up and running - she is getting forgetful and losing track of stuff. I think the stress of the last few months (a court hearing concluded a couple of weeks ago) is the culprit. She has been away with family - hopefully a good thing to help her rest up. I have just Saturday and Sunday left of the holiday break. Now I have to get myself back into gear for going to work on Monday. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: VirginiaTam Date: 03 Jan 15 - 05:58 AM My hoarder bent is mostly focussed on what I can use in steampunk. Several Nerf Guns, old leather coats, boxes and boxes of fabric for making carpetbags, all the beads, ribbons, jewelley bits and bobs collected and given to me for year, which must take up more than half the spare room. The rest is books (3 floor to ceiling double stacked shelves full) DVDs, and a few boxes of memories, school papers, ancient computer gaming kit that Chris wants to keep. Chris has promised to go through his library and I will go through mine to weed out stuff we won't read again. We have a young friend who lost about £20,000 worth of her sewing and crafting kit for a cottage business she was starting when a busted sewage pipe flooded her back garden and the shed where it was all stored. Thames Water only offered her a tiny compensation. So our plan is to go though all my sewing and crafting collection and create a big start up pack (couple of big boxes) for her. She can either keep and use or sell at trade events or on ebay. Funnily, some of the stuff I have, I bought from her and never used. I didn't do much but rest yesterday, as my nose has been busy playing snotfest and the post nasal drip is upsetting my tummy. It is not a cold. It's a recurring sinus infection. Must go back to GP for more antibiotic. Still being sensible on the food front. Luckily upset tummy is squashing appetite. So that's a plus. Soon to go rooting junk out from under bed and give a good vacuum in hopes easier nighttime breathing. Then deep clean the lounge. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: LilyFestre Date: 03 Jan 15 - 09:16 AM Hey VT! Nice to see you! What an awesome thing to do for a friend...sharing your stash!!! I suppose that's part of having a stash!!! I too have an overabundance of crafting things, most of mine is fabric. I don't usually buy fabric unless I have a pattern in mind for it. Trouble is, I don't have enough time/energy to sew all the things I want to sew!!! We didn't get nearly the amount of toys moved from the living room to Jeremiah's room but I suppose that will happen in time. It's amazing how much energy it takes to do that and how low on energy Pete and I are after struggling with this cold for nearly 3 weeks. So....we do as we can. Tonight we will have Christmas at our house. Santa came on Christmas Day but that was about it. No presents from us to Jeremiah, no presents to one another...just gifts to Jeremiah from Santa. We just didn't feel good. And while we are both still not at 100%, we are ready to have our Christmas complete with music, candles, a lit Christmas tree, stockings, gifts, Christmas dinner...the works! But first, I have a little grocery shopping to do and we promised to visit a friend. I'm dragging and not wanting to go but I think it's one of those things that we NEED to get out of the house and maybe that will make me feel a little better. I was up late last night so while the boys were sleeping, I did some chores. Sure is nice to wake up to a clean kitchen, coffee pot ready to go! Have a great day everybody! Michelle Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 03 Jan 15 - 09:36 AM When I was learning to drive my instructor told me about the grandmother of one young woman he'd taught. When she was ill the family arranged for the removal of several million pounds worth of things packed into dusty old boxes. When she died they found that the house had been left to her husband's nephew, so all their thoughts of developing the large plot of land in a prime location (Sandbanks is one of the most expensive places in Britain to buy a property) came to nothing. There were letters addressed to each of her family detailing the items in the boxes which were to come to them discreetly to avoid death duties. The man they had engaged to get the house tidied was never seen again, but rumour had it that he'd had a big win on the pools.... Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jan 15 - 11:54 AM Rumncoke, that sounds like the kind of story Roald Dahl would write as fiction. Have you ever read Parson's Pleasure? Michelle, the things that make the holiday important are there - family and love - so it doesn't matter that you're celebrating late. I'm sure it will be a great story for years in the future, and it sets a good example about being able to make accommodations when needs arise. VT, I also have a stash of sewing and craft stuff. You know how when something comes into the house that has an interesting cloth ribbon and pin or cord, that always gets dropped onto the sewing table for "just in case?" A remarkable amount of that stuff gets used, especially when you have a daughter making costumes, but it does indicate where a hoarding weakness lies. Time is also the missing ingredient in the projects I have fabric and materials for. I think it will feel good to send a care package of materials back to your friend. And from now I expect she will be sure the shed is up on stilts or nothing is stored down low. That's a hard lesson to learn. This morning I walked into my shiny clean kitchen and was appalled to find it filled with trails of ants! We had a heavy rain and thunder storm overnight and that seems to have energized them to come out of some crevice. Completely around the ceiling on three sides of the room, down a spiral notebook from the wall to the fridge and around the seals on the doors, down past the small pantry and the dishwasher and onto the peninsula counter where there were a few microscopic potato chip crumbs. I spent 30 minutes wiping out ant trails then spritzing with diatomaceous earth to repel and kill them. I'll have to put more ant bait out when I figure the source of the latest assault. It's a slow process, but last summer they were horrid in the garden and clearly they moved completely under the house. These are small black ants, not biting. They seem to go for savory, not sweet food, but they also go for water. They were crawling up a tall glass with a straw that I had left on the counter. (A version of this is going on facebook, I don't want to write it twice!) They have been beaten back - the DE does repel them completely. More paperwork today and getting ready to head to work on Monday morning. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: VirginiaTam Date: 03 Jan 15 - 01:14 PM Sorry about the ant attack, SRS. I just saw a recipe today for a homemade orange and vinegar cleaner that reportedly repels ants. Couldn't bring myself to drag dust covered stuff from under bed today. The bending over with a sinus infection just too uncomfortable. Chris has promised to help with this task tomorrow. I did however, replace 4 knackered drawer ruNero on bedroom chest of drawers all by myself. Yes the hoarding has been in part insurance of having plenty of materials to play with in the event of being made redundant. A threat which has been hanging over me for the last 3 years. Council is working on another 2.5 million savings over next year so still could happen. But I don't need all I have. What I need is space to make best use of some of it. Went to check on caravan, stored about 20 minute drive away. It is still very clean (no algae or moss) on the outside. No damp inside. Didn't even smell musty. Can't wait for first use in spring. But before then we will use it to store stuff to make room for kitchen replacement. Better than paying for storage facility for a month for a few boxes of junk. I've rescued the thread from the Google cache and put horizontal rules in to this point. I'll save the rest as another post and put in rules tomorrow. If the database is restored, new posts can be moved over and this one dropped. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Feb 15 - 12:20 AM Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 03 Jan 15 - 01:22 PM Finally made a start. Nowt exciting. To the charity shop; loads of t- shirts that belonged to somebody smaller than me, various other items of clothing that I no longer wear, dozens of cards of various occasions and lots of old correspondence shredded. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jan 15 - 02:28 PM One thing about holding onto stuff - last week I found a fancy gift box propped at the back of the hall closet that held a size medium pullover knit top my sister sent years ago. For a long time I wouldn't have been able to wear it but I have lost weight. When tried on last week I find it fits perfectly and I'll now wear it. I gained weight because of my insurance company - they stopped paying for a compounded Rx and said I needed to use a commercial product instead, but over time of the wrong amounts I put on weight. I finally went back to my compound and pay more to get it but have managed to lose the weight. I'm getting close to my target now as far as the clothes stored in my closet. When clothes become too large I donate them to the thrift store and I pull out more of my smaller sizes. I'm glad I kept those clothes, and that I did myself the favor of choosing just the best to keep and packing them in closed bins to keep them free of dust. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 03 Jan 15 - 04:33 PM SRS, I hope one day I'll have clothes that are too large! Well done you. Charlie. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 03 Jan 15 - 04:41 PM No - I think I have seen a cartoon of The BFG on TV - and I see that Esiotrot, which was on TV recently, but I did not see, was also written by him. My instructor had started work driving a taxi - he had driven some very famous and very rich people - one particular one who was both rich and famous gave him a tip of three pence after he'd carried his bags for him at a time when an ordinary fare would have given him sixpence without the carrying... Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jan 15 - 06:17 PM Dahl wrote a lot of adult short stories and was a regular in places like Playboy magazine. There are several collections that were published in his lifetime. "Parson's Pleasure" appeared in the collection Kiss Kiss and was first printed in the American magazine Esquire. It involves characters who appear in a number of his short stories. Several out-of-date tech books are now in the recycle bin, and a couple of obscure devices without drivers are now in my tech recycling bag (for delivery to a bin we have at work for such items). Toward a fitness goal I rearranged furniture to make more space for exercise in the living room in front of the television and found a sturdy box I built ages ago that will now be used for step exercises (originally built to place a desktop personal computer on under a desk). SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 03 Jan 15 - 09:41 PM Mill: I still have no idea where to look for that particular screwdriver and it is #$%^&* COLD in the storage area. So I just gave in to reading and computering and inertia. R arrived about 8 and checked on the water/freezing and all was well so far. This am we were late up and slow at BF but I did dishes with hot water from the distant tap while he fixed a hole in the wall of sunroom that was letting cold air in. Cold as it is, it will be colder, at times, between now and May. Life in the slow lane today. A light lunch and then off to the restaurant in response to an email from Geri. We had to tell the waitress we had just had lunch! The r is empty in mid-aft so we had a nice visit with G and another friend, stopped by auction house but nothing interesting in tomorrow's auction - thankfully. Auction-aholism is a disease akin to hoarding. Then the library where I borrowed a few and R bought a $2 bagful. So we are back to reading and computering and "have you checked the water?" Maybe tomorrow we will get to putting a piece of heavy plastic across the studio to diminish the space needing heating. Not as good as a solid wall but it will help. And R knows where the screwdrivers are - his anyway. Mouse #7 gone. I am not sure but what mice are easier than ants. 17F here but going up to 48 tomorrow and rain. Then back down and WAY down mid week! May be a good idea to find my down coat tomorrow. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 04 Jan 15 - 02:24 PM Mill: Weather reports! Today we are at freezing with freezing rain. Good reason to stay in bed! We were late up and had a nice omelet for BF and R brought me a bucket of hot water so I washed the dishes. Also changed eggshell saving method. Not going anywhere today! R has to fix roof leak before working on studio. BUT I found a screwdriver!!!! So I shall do that task next. We are still promised a big drop in temp tonight. May get flurries - on top of frozen roads! I may not go to city tomorrow. Need to:return books to city library, do laundry, replace that oven element and maybe go to Apple store to inquire about upgrade so I can get facetime and better Safari... Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 04 Jan 15 - 02:31 PM This de-cluttering story just came through on clayart: Once upon a time there was king that lived in a grass house in a very poor country. He was a good king, the people loved him very much. His throne was very small, so the people decided to give him a larger throne on his birthday. Being very frugal, the king didn't want to throw the old throne away. So he stored it in the attic. A year later the people gave him a larger throne on his birthday. Again, the king didn't want to throw the old throne away, so he stored it in the attic too. A few days latter the attic floor gave way from all the weight, and the thrones fell through. Landed on the kings head, killing him. The moral of the story is, People who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 04 Jan 15 - 03:06 PM Leaped from between the sheets, did the usual morning things, had toast and porridge listened to Desert Island Discs. Clever lady had Howlin' Wolf amidst the Mozart! why not. Got off me bahookie and walked to step-family house to collect mail, came back (4950 steps on my pedometer) rang friends watched football and now I'm typing this. Charlie. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jan 15 - 03:21 PM Do you have a daily goal for the pedometer, Charlie? And what is your next decluttering goal, have you thought of one for this week? I have raised some dust this afternoon. If you asked me when was the last time that I not only dusted but polished the legs and such under the dining room table, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I don't think it is "never," but pretty close. Now I'm working on three tiers of shelves along the dining area wall. I emptied one and dusted, and now I'm leaving myself an empty one to put the next shelf's stuff back into. The old Chinese tile puzzle, enacted using shelves. I've also vacuumed the carpet and I'll vacuum once more when I finish dusting. Headed to the kitchen for motrin and a benedryl to cope with the dust. My sinuses are protesting. I'll have some things ready to mail tomorrow and material for lunches this week. I didn't finish everything I planned over the break, but I made inroads and can say that the house is looking much better. There will be a very large heavy-duty trash bag at the curb tomorrow morning. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 04 Jan 15 - 04:06 PM Several sources reckon that 10,000 steps is a good number to walk effectively for calorie burning and some fitness. I believe I covered almost 2 miles to-day. Due to an arthritic knee I can't run, but I'll be at the gym tomorrow and do a bit of checking on the treadmill regarding calories, steps and distance. In regard to sinusitis I've actually been doing some yoga off of YouTube. Impossible if you've got a cold. but they seem to work otherwise Charlie. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 04 Jan 15 - 06:37 PM Mill: Add pedometer to list of things to do in city. Then maybe I will find the one I have somewhere! vacuumed outside of air cleaner. Supposed to be done monthly but it has been almost 18 months because I am afraid to vacuum due to dust; It was actually looking fuzzy so I used a little portable vac with good filter but not great suction; conversed with R about what I need in the way of a - small shop vac with HEPA filter. I had one but he took it and wrecked it and replaced it w/out filter. So I have not vacuumed in about 5 years, except when we had one that exhausted outdoors - around here somewhere - maybe. Sat in sunroom and watched some lovely pink clouds in a piece of blue sky - then it all went DARK! Fixed sewing machine. Still dicey, prob wear on the connecting metal pieces. Maybe I'll break down and ask advice. My mother gave me this machine - Singer Featherweight - when I graduated from high school (1954). It has never had a problem other than this. Pretty good for 60 years. Was really a disappointment not to have that warmer day. NOW it is 42F and dropping to 14 tonight. But all day there was freezing rain. I was not energized. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jan 15 - 07:30 PM You can get sewing machines repaired, and those featherlights are worth their weight in gold to many people who sew a lot, quilters in particular. I have a old White that is really sturdy that I keep running with occasional trips to the repair center. This afternoon I installed a software program I've been meaning to for weeks. I also cleared out several gig of photos and files that were on the desktop (that is part of the C: drive), moving them to the D: data drive and pointing desktop shortcuts back to them. My new solid state drive is the C: and is much faster than the HDD from before. It doesn't have unlimited space so is only for programs, not data. Virtual decluttering. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 04 Jan 15 - 07:36 PM Our house is a Victorian red brick villa, quite large, for a UK house. A few years ago now we had the wall cavity filled with polystyrene balls as insulation - the windows are double glazed and the roof insulated, so our heating costs, using gas central heating are unusually low - we always need to get the supplier to tone down the payments when we change as they want us to pay far more than necessary at first. It makes the house very comfortable as there are no cold spots. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: pattyClink Date: 04 Jan 15 - 08:50 PM Well I love the grass house story, and having been almost squooshed by some stacked up 'why-was-this-kept' stuff, I can relate. A small pile of boxed up books is now out of the room-to-be-painted, still lots to go but a little daily progress is the best I can do. A little putting away, a little sorting, a little wallpaper steaming. A lot of workout at the gym. Listening to Jean Redpath on the radio, a good way to start the evening. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: GUEST,VaTam on phone Date: 05 Jan 15 - 08:00 AM Bathroom sparkling Hall dusted and vacuumed Kitchen deep clean started Main bedroom under bed did not get done. Chri was working on edexcel verification. Will start one end of lounge this evening after work. Sticking better food intake. Lunch is all raw veg and fresh fruit. Can't walk at lunch due to some injury I've done to right ankle. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: GUEST,# Date: 05 Jan 15 - 08:11 AM "Was really a disappointment not to have that warmer day." If you ever find a weather channel that is accurate, please let folks know. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jan 15 - 12:46 PM I decluttered stuff out of the house this morning to redistribute at the library. Two boxes of latex gloves that are a bit small for me are in the FabLab ("be sure to clearly label them LATEX in case of allergies"), some stuff for the e-waste bin (batteries and a couple of old computer adapter things that no longer have drivers that can be found). And a bottle of carpet cleaner that I never used. We have carpet in our office so maybe someday someone will use it there, or take it home, whatever. That clears the bench beside my door, one that was originally put there to sit on when changing shoes. Every little bit really does help. A large bag at the curb this morning was the result of cleaning over the break. I took bags of stuff to the village recycling area several times. There was a bulky old terrycloth bathrobe that I was thinking about reworking (it was quite worn and the collar was almost frayed off) but instead I bundled it up and stuffed it into an old pillowcase and tossed it into the dogs' stall in the garage. They have old cotton towels, clothes, and bedding to sleep on instead of hay (because I learned that the coastal hay has been treated with an herbicide). Since the vet recommended using cotton scraps I've managed to migrate quite a few things out. Every couple of weeks it all comes in to be washed, then back to the dogs. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 05 Jan 15 - 01:38 PM Did 38 minutes steady waking on the treadmill this morning. The digital guides are apparently just that-guides, but I clocked up, or down, 250 calories and about 4500 steps. There is a fairly sensible train of thought that says "Why pay to go to a gym and walk when you can do it just as easily and for free outdoors". It's the word "pay" that I think is the keyword for me. if I'm paying to use a facility then I'll do it, whereas, being a lazy person I won't get up and walk out doors for an hour or so. This afternoon shredded loads of out of date documents, sorted personal papers and wished I had a bigger wheelie bin. Tomorrow bags of clothes to the charity shop and an assault on the bathroom! Charlie Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jan 15 - 01:43 PM I always thought it was silly to drive to the gym and pay to workout while simultaneously paying someone else to mow your lawn, etc. Perhaps you should walk to the gym and back home without going inside or paying. :) SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 05 Jan 15 - 04:37 PM Fair point SRS, actually, I walk to the gym and back. I wish I could get out there and mow my lawn (or cut the grass as I call it). Reading your last post SRS it sounds like your house will be echoing soon. Do you have anything left to get rid of?. Charlie. Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jan 15 - 06:33 PM Oh, yes, there is plenty still here. I inherited stuff from several great aunts and both parents. Then there is my habit of collecting books. And paper. It goes slowly, but it goes. For seasonal exercise, my yard is a half acre so when I mow I really do get a workout. This time of year I pull out the mower every few weeks to mulch in leaves piled up in the front yard (from trees in neighboring yards, not my own!) I enjoy visiting estate sales and garage sales and would like to reach an organizational point where I can shop for things I specialize in selling on eBay as a side business. But I need to clear out the room first. The current eBay activity is stuff from estates that I'm selling to push up my score. Lots of times when you buy or sell people don't post feedback, but good feedback is very helpful when selling better stuff. People know they aren't taking a huge risk if you have hundreds of sales and a 100% feedback score. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jan 15 - 09:16 PM My eBay page has dwindled down to one item, and I see that it has a bid so will sell when the auction closes in three days. This is a good time to get more stuff ready to list. Setting a goal to keep your eBay pages active is one way to make yourself list the stuff you have to sell. We have a few very cold days ahead so I will slack off of the alternate day fasting for the rest of the week. It's hard to do when your metabolism wants to run on high to stay warm. I am going to do some step exercising this evening while I watch television, and I did get one trip up to the top floor of the library today (six flights). SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 05 Jan 15 - 09:29 PM Mill still: The studio now has a heavy plastic across it, cutting the area needing to be heated in half. R did that before dashing off to city last night. Today, it was warm enough to work in there! I started by reorganizing and getting things ready. But not until after lunch! I started out this am checking the water to the distant toilet. and the lamps providing heat to the area of water pipes. One bulb was burned out so I proceeded to look for one amongst the kitchen stuff moved from the cabin 18 months ago. This resulted in emptying a number of containers and placing things in the K. But no light bulbs. I also founded and sorted a pile of paper - some into recycling but most went into archives - some wonderful memories in there! Finally turned off water to toilet, tonight, as the last time I flushed, the water only came back in a drop at a time! I can still get buckets of hot water. The studio is ready to go tomorrow. I brought some clay into warmer place so it is more pleasant on the hands! I will use warm water for throwing. COLD today. Down to 4F now but it felt seriously cold even at 3 pm. I went to the restaurant for a visit with Geri and Sarah and the dollar store for light bulbs and was going to go to grocery but the sun was starting to set and, at a certain point, it shines directly in my eyes driving from town to the mill so I came back before it got to that point. I feel as though I have done a good day's work. Looking forward to getting some pots thrown tomorrow. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 05 Jan 15 - 10:37 PM Not allergic to coconut. Pets probably. Low-level problem when there's no stress or gluten, as long as thyroid levels are right-- which they had not been since about 2nd grade. Also I doubled the D and A and I'm smoother and softer all over. ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 06 Jan 15 - 07:19 AM Just doing the take down at the end of Christmas, and I noticed that my joints are improved quite a lot - thinking about it my ankles and knees have not been so painful for a while. Since a couple of weeks after putting an extra duvet across the bottom of the bed. I sleep with a Duvet Hauler and Hugger - the duvet often ends up turned diamond wise on the bed, he's always been the same - and I would usually have to draw up my knees and warm up my feet first thing in a morning or risk toppling over when getting out of bed. Since adding the extra duvet I have woken up with warm feet - in fact, warm legs, and the cartilage in my knees is a lot better, doesn't need to have a few experimental bends and snappings to be ready to take my weight, the skin on my feet is less scaley, I can get up more easily having sat or squatted, and stairs are not such an obstacle. I suspect that the extra bloodflow is the reason for it, no more shutdown to conserve heat overnight. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jan 15 - 09:35 AM I decorate one tree in the front yard for the holidays and while the timer was taken in on the first of the month, the strings of lights remain until it is both warm and dry enough to take them down. A hook over my front door holds the wreath and I turned it inward - I see the wreath in the house to serve as a reminder to eventually bring in the lights. This morning I expected the dogs' water dish to be a brick of ice, but it wasn't even scaled over. Either I'm losing so much heat by that door that it kept the bowl warm, or more likely, it didn't get as cold as predicted. During the day while I'm at work my dogs have a heated stall in the garage. They have dog houses with cotton bedding and a dog door for coming and going into the yard. Rum, that's quite an improvement in the circulation. Keeping the covers straight sounds like an engineering challenge. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: LilyFestre Date: 06 Jan 15 - 12:53 PM Yesterday Jeremiah and I went through all the books he has downstairs, which is quite a few. His book area had become a leaning tower of disaster with papers in between, random coloring book pages, puzzles, toys, etc. We went through the books, removing stories he didn't like or books he has outgrown. I suspect we removed about 20 or so. We organized the remaining books by size and if they were board books or not. I pulled out all the holiday books and put them in a place that is easily accessible for me (the rest he can pick out at will). Toys were picked up and put away, activity books and coloring books have their own spot now as do the puzzles, magazines and his *tractor books*. We worked for quite a while on it and I am proud of us both...it certainly is an accomplishment! Fitness: Walked today. :) Purposeful walking with some arm motions, leg lifts, kicking, etc. Michelle :) Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 06 Jan 15 - 05:45 PM Mill: Finished latest novel during and after BF - had to get to the end! Sorted out a small clothing cabinet - some summer removed, others organized better. Boxed a pile of books Then prepared about 44# clay after making lists - What colours do I use on which clays, How many of this or that do I want to have in each colour/clay. Posted those on the wall. Then list of what is needed now - preparing for Valentine's market. Then prepared the clay, had lunch and started working through the fresh balls on one of my new wheels - Love it! Half way through (about 20#), went to town. No sign of Geri but the weather was, and is, grislich - ICY precipitation - very fine mist. Went to the full service gas station and let them fill tank while I went into the nice warm building to pay. Knowing I am becoming a real wimp. Went to the municipal office for new schedule of waste and recycling and the info flyer. they would come in the mail if we had a mail box - some day... Returned to mill without stop at grocery; not carrying groceries on icy surface. Came home for healthy lunch. started new novel but already read this one! Have some inclination to go throw more pots but not quite enough to make it happen. Forgot to wear protective mask and I can taste the clay. Need to do some cleaning - nasal spray for starters. So here I am deleting emails, and checking FB, etc. Three hours of wrestling with clay may be enough for today. The spirit is willing almost. I WANT to be WARM! 16 F with a predicted drop to a high of minus 2F tomorrow and a low of -16 tomorrow night. It is not cold in here but the psychology of it seems to be daunting. Now I have to consider the fact that the studio may not be warm enough tomorrow in spite of our best efforts. Hibernation seems like the best option! Nasal spray might help... Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 06 Jan 15 - 06:25 PM Rumncoke-- a Duvet Hauler and Hugger? Link? ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jan 15 - 09:01 PM Errands run after work, but I'll have to wait till Friday to get the car inspected. I need to start setting up things for eBay, but it's supposed to be very cold overnight and I'm thinking wrapping up in a lap quilt watching television sounds like a suitable cold evening activity. I will move some more stuff from the living room shelves, it doesn't take long to empty and dust one or two. Right now I've moved an old mantle clock to the buffet but I don't like it there so I'll put it back in the shelves. I know I have the winder key around here somewhere, and there should be a weight for the inside, but I don't know where they got to right now, so it is only on display. It keeps good time but my ex didn't like the ticking of the clock. I didn't usually wind the chimes. It seems that the darker antique furniture is falling out of favor and these dark clocks may be in the same boat. Perhaps I should put it in the cupboard and not have it out at all. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 07 Jan 15 - 09:21 AM I used to try sewing a loop of tape around the bottom corner of the duvet cover, then fixing it to the foot of the bed on my side but that just got pulled on until it broke, or the duvet was pulled so tightly that it hurt my feet, The two layers of duvet seems to be the answer, as not once has the top layer been dragged askew I get king sized bedding for a queen sized bed, but that doesn't help. The hauler and hugger seizes the edge of the duvet and then performs a complex manoeuvre which wraps them snuggly and securely and leaves just a skimpy triangle for anyone else sharing the cover. I have been out every day this week, which makes a nice change. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 07 Jan 15 - 09:58 AM Mill: I, too, have found double duvet a help! One each, in a sense. At least we have one we can hold onto! Another white morning in southern Quebec! Including a persistent snowfall which has deposited an inch or so on my car and now the winds begin. Plenty of food in the larder but hoping the electric does not fail as this place is dependent. So is the city house but the electric has only gone off for minutes there, at the worst of times. There is talk of putting a wood stove in here - talk.... I did love my 15 years off the grid! I am still suffering some form clay dust of yesterday. Last night, I communicated by email with the company in Ottawa re an air cleaner for the studio. Serendipitously, Robert informed me he had just entered this on their website re a particular model and would give me $100 off "because I was such a good customer". Realize I have spent near $1000 there in last 18 months! And wrote a review for masks. So, at 10 pm, I said "YES!" Have not heard back. I shall have to do a major cleaning before introducing air cleaner. ----Sitting here visualizing how to go about that!!!!!! Buckets of hot water from other end of building? Wet/dry vac? I would go buy one if - the roads were not bad and the bridge to Valleyfield might be closed? There is a notice on line - in French and beyond by ability; will have to ask for help - after the roads clear! What CAN I do today? Watch the sun trying to break through... Keep warm. Hope for the best. Go back to bed? Stultify? Drink green tea! Ask a friend for a translation; check. I really find it had to function - had you noticed? - when it is this cold. I tunred up heat in studio at 8 am but it is not getting warm very fast. OK, I will ask for translation and then go check studio - with mask on. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jan 15 - 02:52 PM My clutter factor just went up again - the university library is discarding 20,000 maps, apparently that are now digital. I went looking for those from places I've lived and worked. I could look for some more later, but my plan is to leave them in my office and winnow down from the batches I picked up to the ones I really want. The rest are being recycled. Alas. Some of these go back to the 50s. Montana, Maine, probably Pennsylvania are all in there. I picked up my home state and a few places I have worked. I have a few large frames and am thinking a couple in the hall would look interesting. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 07 Jan 15 - 08:47 PM Mill: I did manage to clean about one third of the studio floor with a large sponge and half bucket of water. This does not mean it is CLEAN, just much cleaner than it was. It was somewhat too chilly to pot. A bitterly cold day and windy, snowy. The road was not great but I went into town (3 km) and checked mops and sponges at the hardware. A wet/dry vac would be best; Geri concurred when I caught up with her, and we went to the restaurant. A bunch of locals were there in the quiet aft and we had a couple hours of conversation - covering a variety of topics - including the bridge- now open! But the roads too bad to bother. Came back about 5 and have accomplished only computer stuff, after checking heat in studio and turning it down a bit, and in sunroom. Here, in LR, the heater seems to be working overtime. I am wrapped in a mohair throw. Minus 11 F at 8 pm! It does not encourage me to do anything at all. The heater is so loud, I have trouble dealing with it. I phoned Robert re air cleaner this morning - to give him credit card info. The air cleaner will be on its way tomorrow, with a extra fine HEPA filter added, so I shall stay here until it arrives. Hopefully Friday. And Robert will include a new packet of 10 filters for the small mask in the box. I seem to have left the spares in the city. Also emailed pottery supply to check on availability of white clay. I am on last box. AOK, so I will pick it up next week - between snow storms. It is to snow for the next couple days in any case. There were nasty whiteouts on the Montreal highway today - lots of open fields for the wind to blow across. I am de-cluttering a box of stale cookies. I have not done this in quite a while - the cold is really debilitating. I cannot help being terrifically uncomfortable that I am totally dependent on electric. Tho, I do have a very good propane heater, if it will start. Then I would have to decide which area to heat and which to let get too cold. Or move it from one to another to try to keep all from freezing - clay or plants. Clay is more important. I long for a wood stove! I do, I do!!! We are to get propane here, eventually, for a lovely kitchen stove we bought last year; maybe a propane fireplace in LR???? Twould be helpful. I am through eating cookies (BLEECH!) and will now drown my concerns in a novel, so to sleep. Hope everyone is warm. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: LilyFestre Date: 07 Jan 15 - 08:51 PM SRS, how cool that you get to pick through some of those! Old maps are so interesting!!! Michelle Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 15 - 10:14 AM The really old ones aren't included, the 1940s maps (that are the only ones you see selling on eBay) are to remain in the collection. And technically one isn't supposed to sell former state materials. I found some interesting maps from my home area and from places I've worked. They are all digitized, so the only reason for keeping the paper versions is to use them in some way for display or for crafts or wrapping gifts, etc. I know our cold isn't as long-lasting or intense as what is hitting the rest of you, but it is enough to make us slow down and hunker under the lap quilt for the duration. Right now it is 19o. Ice and snow are a low percentage in the forecast tomorrow so it may be a day to plan on staying home. If freezing rain starts before leaving for work the decision is easy, but if it starts after we're already at work it makes the drive home difficult. My car is front wheel drive, and last winter I had one of those slow icy drives home. Not. Fun. At. All. I passed other vehicles that were rolled over or on the shoulder up to the hubcaps. Not something I want to repeat. Dance class last night went well - some complicated moves and steps were introduced and now I need to practice during the week to actually learn them, not just perform them as she reminds us as to how they go. I have some makeup classes so I'll probably go in again on Saturday and it is the same lesson. This is a pleasant form of exercise and good for the brain, learning new things. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 08 Jan 15 - 11:33 AM Mill: Was up to midnight looking for specific glaze info. I know it is there somewhere - on the computer/in the net... Found several ways of searching but none worked. Oh, Well! Chat with R on phone - while he watched the news and I kept searching! Turned the heat down for the night so it was only a mite chilly this am - indoors! I got up and turned the heat up and crawled back under the covers with computer to check the temp - minus 11F! Enough to make one go back to bed. But I got up and transformed the bed to sofa and continued to check FB - where I spent time responding to messages on two clay groups and checked my friends in Ontario. One is onto a new and interesting initiative that interests me - actually the son of a friend - they do grow up! Then BF and a trip to studio to check on heat and next move. Heat is OK, I added some stabilization to one side of the plastic wall. Came back to take supplements and drink tea. Put the teapot into an insulated lunch bag. Need to know I have a warm place to come back into - Then I can go into the cold regions and come back into warmth! Off I go. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 08 Jan 15 - 11:37 AM Oops, that was at 8 am it was minus 11. Now it is up to minus 3 with a predicted high of 9! It is a bright white day. Again the sun is trying. Does give a bit of gain in the sun room. A wondrous thing, the sun! Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 08 Jan 15 - 11:59 AM All this walking seems to have given me back ache - though I did slip on the step yesterday and might have jarred my spine. I still went out today, but I used my walking poles - they are a great help and the walking seems to have loosened up my back a bit. I have known several people who have resisted all forms of assistance despite pain and difficulty, and I suspect that all of them could have gone on enjoying going out if only they'd been willing to use a stick, or poles or even crutches. I think that one person at least would not have been entirely housebound if only - a fall might have been avoided - more exercise might have resulted in better circulation. The only thing I need to watch is the increased appetite the fresh air gives me. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 15 - 12:15 PM You'll do better eating small healthy meals in the cold weather to keep your metabolism happy. I am not trying to do the alternate day fasting this week with the cold, but I am trying to eat healthy when I do eat. Wearing layers today, silly knit hat, mittens, etc. In this kind of weather the fashion police stay away. :) SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 08 Jan 15 - 02:37 PM SRS, maps leftover? Homeschoolers, FreeCycle. Solved several lingstanding and major cold-house issues. 1 & 2: The laptop-chillpad died, so the oil rad under the desktop is out. Oil rad to cold kitchen, and unused electric lap robe now draped under it for cozy foot warming (at least until Othercat takes it over-- hope she'll share.) 3: Cold, dark bathroom, where old wiring in this PA rental limits us because no outlets work (the mice ate wiring to them, behind the medicine cabinet). Solution... two screwed-in instant outlets, where the ceiling fan had held 2 bulbs. Suspended, reflecting clamp lamps (with 60watt reflecting flood lamps) turned the 55 degree loo into 64 degree luxury. Soup's a-simmering, dogbones et, pork roasts and liver ordered, panful of chix cooling, laundry going, date night dinner and Hobbit movie coming. Nap. ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 08 Jan 15 - 04:54 PM Mill Susan! more good solutions! I am trying to figure out how to get full time electric to studio without more holes for cold to creep through. Oops! one task for today was to put plastic over a door in storage area leaking BIG cold. Tomorrow. I am through for today. The cold has me beaten. That and dealing with a thawing mini-freezer. HOW, in a below freezing space, could the freezer thaw? So I took everything out and put it into a plastic bin - over by the leaking door. Put thermometers on bin and in freezer. Both went down below freezing in minutes? Go figure. I'll check again in a bit. This was found when I came home with $70 of frozen meat from the organic butcher, full of confidence that there was room in the freezer. I bought a lot because I actually won a $50 gift certificate on their FB page!!!!!! Cleaned more of the studio. It did not smell of clay today! It had been a long term accumulation and I think I have it licked and ready for new air cleaner. Spent time on FB clay pages commenting and reading comments re this - like - keep your studio clean! They are right. I just let it slide because I felt so terrible for so long. Went to library for more books. I needed some novels as I cannot always manage the more serious books; can only read a few pages of The Brain That Changes Itself before my brain goes to mush. It was snowing again, all afternoon and still but not a lot. The road was not so good. No sign of Geri at the restaurant so I just came home to be warm - then had to deal with the freezer so now I really want to be warm! 5F now, rising to a high of 18 tomorrow. A great improvement! Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 08 Jan 15 - 10:13 PM Managed to delete over 700 emails tonight. An interesting process as I checked to be sure I wanted to... Pretty good de-clutter when I really felt like doing nothing at all. Other than that - a longish email to a long absent friend. Some google searches, and cooked a semi-thawed pizza in the toaster oven, half at a time. Temp rising; I was feeling cold until about an hour ago. Guess the pizza helped warm me up. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 15 - 11:22 PM I was hoping we'd get freezing rain and close down this part of the state overnight, but it looks like the crud will be to the south. I may take the afternoon off anyway to have some work done on the car (annual inspection) and an early start to the weekend. Something that came up this week: I have to de-tangle and otherwise organize the devices attached to my computer. I think the multi-port USB hub is on the fritz. The spaghetti behind the desk is phenomenal, so I'll dust and vacuum the area before I start unplugging and straightening some of these cables and electric wires. Not. Fun. At. All. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jan 15 - 11:36 AM Happy Dance! Got a call this morning from the Invisible Fence folks. I sent them a letter this week complaining about their not honoring the warranty on the dog collar receiver. I threatened social media, and I included a printout of the dashboard of my small blog. One-tenth of the hits are people reading about the Invisible Fence system and my dogs learning it. She said to send the receiver back and she'll include a copy of my letter and return it to the corporate office to see if they'll replace the unit. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 09 Jan 15 - 11:58 AM Mill: Morning realization: I need to be warm sitting here, otherwise I become incapable of moving - until is is crucial. I got up about 8 and started BF but there was no yogurt! So I dashed off to the grocery with my list. Came back, made BF and green tea, checked studio - warm enough! Been sitting eating and drinking tea and - oops - forgot supplements. Well, almost lunch time! Accomplished - long email to friend, checked emails, then the realization - turned up heater. Getting warm. Feet still icy. It is up to 19 F! Seems so much warmer. Yesterday, I gave up on going for groceries as the cold got to me after the butcher and I just went home. Today, woke to light snow falling but dashed out and the temp was quite tolerable. Not many people out for a Friday morning at the grocery! Windy but the roads were OK - snow covered instead of icy. My Paleo idea is not doing great. I have cut back on cheese and added in more root veggies but changed BF to an apple (cooked) 1/3 cup of muesli and yogurt. The apple warms the whole meal enough for these cold mornings and it seems to agree with body. So I am not giving up dairy - in moderation. Veggie soup with some lentils for lunch. --- On WOW! The sky is becoming less mono-chromatic! May see a bit of sun today!!!! Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: VirginiaTam Date: 10 Jan 15 - 10:09 AM Flying visit. Much recovered from the dreadful snotfest. Very busy today. Made Chris American style pancakes for his first official day of retirement. Cleaned Chris' desk in preparation for his new widescreen monitor (purchased with gift voucher from colleagues). Started neverending laundry carousel again. Yawn. Altered slipper boots (Mum inlaw christmas present). They were too tight on top of her deformed second toes, so I slit them down to the end of toe and basted cotton ribbon around the top of entire opening. They have velcro across ankle to keep them on, but the area over her toes will be much more comfortable. Hemming a pair of trousers for her now. she has grown out of her clothes (dementia has increased her appetite, especially for sweets). Dad doesn't know how to shop for her and he dare not take her out with dementia. I had to help her dress the last time I visited. So I've been picking up new, still tagged items in charity shops for her. She is very short though, hence the hemming. Will thoroughly clean the vacuum cleaners after sewing, using orange peels to wipe inside around the filters so they smell nice. Then another attack on the lounge cleaning. Trying not to fuss at Chris. I want to put him to work on a number of little jobs prior to the big kitchen replacement. He wants 2 weeks with no responsibilities. I just want an hour or so a week. Grumble. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jan 15 - 12:37 PM Dorothy, the Paleo diet is one that probably needs adjusting to, and if it is as cold as you say, your metabolism is going to resist. Good luck with that. VT, perhaps after a day or two of nothing he'll be looking for something to do. The "laundry carousel" is underway here. Good way to put it. Lots of picking up, twisting, dropping. Not as cold today so I'm going to do a modified fasting day. I was thinking about going to a makeup dance class today but in the end slept really late (for me). Makeup sleep on the weekend. My exercise will be practicing a couple of steps (I got a CD of the music she uses) and general house work and a couple of forays into the yard. eBay needs attention, I mailed the last item listed yesterday. Plenty to do. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jan 15 - 04:23 PM Alas, the combination of wearing more socks in cold weather and static electricity in the dryer means I have several orphan socks. Their mates are no doubt tucked into warm static-y sleeves, corners of sheets, or stuck to towels and not noticed when folded. They will eventually turn up. Off to the market to shop frugally. What else can I do on this trip? There are things in my donate bin to drop off. I need to clean out the car, so will take a trashbag with me. Though gas prices have about halved in the last couple of months, I still don't want to waste it with single-stop trips. I paid $1.76 a gallon last week, and though I'm driving an economy vehicle, not the old pickup, I work to conserve. I have to renew the annual vehicle registration and I pay cash at a local Hispanic grocery store service desk. They have great produce so I'll plan on making guacamole and eating some good squash, plantain bananas, and peppers - they also have a bakery with some tempting crispy cinnamon sugar Buñuelos that I'm a sucker for. Not glazed like in the recipe, but still not healthy. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 11 Jan 15 - 08:35 AM I left a part used pack of peas out last night - the memory is not what it was, so it is going to become pea soup with the last bits of the roast chicken thrown in. I do need to cut back on the carbs, I have put on weight since I needed to have bread available every day for my husband to have sandwiches when he comes in from work and then he only wants dinner late. I can resist anything but temptation. These days my diet is considered high fat, but I do notice how other people are huddled up in coats, hats, scarves and gloves and they are still feeling the cold when I am finding the temperature perfectly comfortable for a casual walk along to the shops. Our fuel prices have fallen, but they are mostly made up of tax, so they will always be far higher than those in the US. There is talk that it will be down to under a pound a litre (35 fluid ounces) during this year, but I'll believe that when I see it. It has been fun to see the price down by a penny each time I go past the garage - well almost every time. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 11 Jan 15 - 11:13 AM My man not only bought me a slew of new bras (driving 2 hours each way to find them), but is doing the alterations needed to make them fit RIGHT. We bought 9 and 3 are altered, pending the mailbox arrival of another style or two we de=cided to try before alteraing any more of the remaining 6. (He credits his 8th grade home ec teacher, who was cutting-edge back in the day. She insisted that no girl would leave her class not knowing how to use a drill, and no boy without knowing how to use a sewing machine.) I know HOW to sew, but past planning and cutting I'm a klutz. So we do projects partner-wise, and I'm COMFY for the first time in..... years and years. Anybody else remember those bra conversations with Kat? ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Jan 15 - 11:15 AM I went to a social event at the library on Friday and by yesterday my hands had broken out in the classic coconut allergy dermatitis response. Perhaps they used it making the cheese cake? I thought I steered clear of everything suspect. And last night I ate a pint of ice cream. My bad. Sometimes that devil rests temporarily on your shoulder. I'll climb more stairs this week. :) One of the textbooks listed last month (so they'd be in place for the new semester) sold yesterday, so into the mail on Monday. The price I listed was close to what others list for in the half.com marketplace, but probably a lot less than I paid for it when my son was at the university over the last few years. But it IS more than the bookstore would buy it back for. The trick is to sell them while they're still being used in classes or they're only expensive doorstops. (I ran the list by him and held back any he wanted to keep). While I'm at it is an eBay kind of day, and in the background the laundry continues for the dog beds. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Jan 15 - 01:27 AM Two bags of trash at the curb (a lot for me!) and most chores finished. A book is packed to ship for half.com tomorrow. I have finished dusting shelves in my living room but haven't finished arranging what should stay on them. SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 12 Jan 15 - 02:12 PM Mill: I have reached the point of "I don't WANT to go back to the city"! Was going to go "as soon as the air cleaner arrives". It arrived about 10 and the nice man put it into the door closer to the studio, I had turned the heat up in the studio so I could work, then down because I was leaving, now up again as it is snowing and it is warm enough to work but tomorrow is going DOWN! And be sunny. So... ???? Really want to finish the current novel - a page turner. That would kill the day.... Well, survived yet another year. We celebrated by R being on time for the music on Friday. I had told him that was what I wanted for my b-day. Then a quiet morning of talking on Sat. and supper with Geri at the restaurant. Then a lazy day on Sunday when he gave me a lovely pair of earrings (from thrift shop) and yet another lamp shade (from thrift shop) for the dragon lamp, which I cannot find at the moment so we could not try it. We have bought about 10 shades for this wonderful little lamp - from a yard sale. This latest seems to be made of translucent white shell, which I love. The earrings may also be shell - that sort with beautiful blue and green patterning. I did a few days worth of dishes after R brought me a bucket of hot water. Geri visited in the late afternoon. R spent most of the day on computer so I read. We studied on a property for sale and finally emailed the realtor who responded that it already has a conditional offer. Oh well. We have solved my toilet-99-steps-away problem with a commode from the parents' home, tucked into the living space - so I don't have to put on coat, etc to use it. A great relief! The freezer problem, we discovered after R moved another frig up from the other end of the building, was only the plug on the ext. cord. Problem solved. OK, not going anywhere today. Watching the snow fall and reading, and potting, she says hopefully. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Rumncoke Date: 13 Jan 15 - 06:29 AM Despite my 'rule' that things go out and not come into the house, I bought a poor little house plant at the supermarket. It is a dwarf cyclamen, and it was as limp as a beached jellyfish and marked down from 4 pounds to 40 pence. I took it home, gave it some rainwater and put it under a bright light - it being already dark outside. In a few hours it had perked up wonderfully and only a few of the flowers were lost. As a student of biology I can keep cycleamen alive for many years, and they get better all the time. I have a photo of a full size one I had back in the early 80s, having been given it in the late 1970s, which had over 100 flowers on it one year. It only died because the wicked lovebirds cut all the leaves off it to wear in their feathers. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 13 Jan 15 - 08:20 AM DP: We have solved my toilet-99-steps-away problem with a commode from the parents' home, tucked into the living space - so I don't have to put on coat, etc to use it. A great relief! Great solution! I'm going in the opposite direction. The Sept, 2012 surgery left a lot of nerve damage. I wasn't incontinent, but a bit leaky upon arising and walking; it took until I was at the one-floor Ohio house, for a long period, to get the muscles trained right for the multiple overnight trips to the loo. I got rid of one portable room accommodation there, and was able to get rid of the much more difficult one in our PA bedroom when I got home. BUT, if we needs em, we puts em! One of the PA portables goes to Ohio for a guest bedroom! ~S~ Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Charmion Date: 13 Jan 15 - 08:23 AM Very cold in Ottawa today, so I'm working on a book manuscript -- too chicken to face the real world. By mid-afternoon I will be so stiff in the hip joints from sitting at my desk that I will have to get up and do something active. What a good time to vacuum and dust the bedrooms! This house is amazingly dusty, and I cannot figure out why. We have the ducts cleaned regularly and the windows stay shut in winter. There are only two of us, and two cats, so we should not be generating the snowstorm of dead skin that would account for the constant layer of particulate matter. Phooey. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Jan 15 - 01:09 PM I've also brought home small plants on last-chance sale and nursed them to robust health. It's something I've been able to do more lately since I didn't get more cats after the last two died. They were really hard on plants and/or places where plants were placed. They either ate them or knocked them over. Or both. That cold weather to the north has seeped into North Texas but would be a lot more tolerable if it didn't also bring a heavily overcast sky. Ugg. Once again I'm sending the dog collar receiver back to the company that sells it (as part of a dog containment system). My complaint (written early this month) brought about a call and they are going to send the unit along with that letter to the corporate office to see if they will approve replacing it. The warranty supposedly doesn't include owner errors and my dispute is that I didn't break it by over-tightening, the dogs broke it by rough-housing. I'm working at home today and waiting on the mail carrier so I can hand it over and save a trip to the post office. I hope he gets here soon, I feel a nap coming on. ;-) SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: fat B****rd Date: 14 Jan 15 - 12:09 PM Hello again. Since I was last here I've managed to re-organize my pantry, throw out loads of stuff and do 55 minutes brisk walking on the treadmill at the gym. I've done my good deed for the year by collecting all my step family's washing and dealing with that. With two adults and two children my Hotpoint has been begging for mercy. The diet is on hold for a while as I have stuff to use up but at least I haven't gained any weight (Oh what a good boy, am I). I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that getting rid of some items tends to cause a sentimental tug on the heart strings but, with certain exceptions, I try not to put more store in objects than I do in emotions. Generally it's been an enjoyavble week and I look forward to more reports. Take care all of you ATB from Charlie. Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Jan 15 - 01:21 PM Sorting items that still have good use from items that have sentimental meaning is one way to start decluttering. There is a helpful book by Don Aslett called Clutter's Last Stand that examines not only how to declutter, but the psychology of how it got to be cluttered in the first place. This book has been out for a while so used copies abound and are inexpensive. He has several books on this topic (spun off from a single chapter in a book he wrote about cleaning in general). SRS Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: W y s i w y G ! Date: 14 Jan 15 - 04:04 PM I deadheaded the amaryllis and paperwhites today, and set the 2 pots no longer flowering in the sunny window to store up energy for next year. The still-flowering three are right beside me. One potful of paperwhites's foliage got WAAAAY too tall, so I put a plastic cage around the base of them cut from a plastic vinegar half-gallon. That also gave me a free funnel for the periodic springwater transfers to gallon jugs. I pruned a HUGE work-related project today by assigning most of its public functions to an alter ego, and that cleared the decks to resume work on the Blue Songbook. This week's offertory from it will memorialize Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley Jones, who was killed by Detroit police when they raided the wrong house: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Aiyana_Jones ~Susan Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-+2015+-January-March From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 14 Jan 15 - 10:48 PM Mill: Trimmed butter dish bottoms yesterday then pulled myself together for a trip to the city. Lots of empty jugs for water, lots of laundry. Stopped and library, returned and borrowed. Got to very cold (54F) house, off loaded stuff, started laundry and distiller and turned up oven - with door open to help heat. The dryer did not even want to start, the laundry room was so cold I had to put the detergent in the K to warm so it would pour! Told R: -Go get an ext cord and a cube heater - then you can have supper. He did and he did. Ever thankful for the heating pad chronically in bed. four loads of laundry, one left in dryer this am. Re-loaded car with many jugs od water for the studio, the distiller, dry laundry, pots needing finishing and set off for Market -apples and veggies, Pottery supply - 7 boxes of white clay and a couple new tools and thence across the bridge toward mill with stop to make new keys for studio; Vanessa lost her keys, tried for an oven element- no luck. went to bank and got down in time for a visit with A |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Feb 15 - 12:26 AM New stuff from here down. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: GUEST,CS Date: 21 Feb 15 - 03:56 AM You beat me to it! :) |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Rumncoke Date: 21 Feb 15 - 07:13 AM The cyclamen I rescued from the supermarket is still flowering, and has a few seed pods which might prove fertile - I do like to grow things from seed, you never know what you will get, and if and when the seeds germinate you have something with uncertainty. I never understood the uncertainty of Schrodinger's cat. The cat is either alive or dead, and just because the situation is unknown doesn't alter the possibilities. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Feb 15 - 12:15 PM Pasting the old posts is a bit tricky, I did a little formatting at the top and I'll fix the rest as I have time. It's the knowing, not the cat, that makes the difference in that mind game, Rum. :) It's overcast but warm this morning. I slept late because I had a cup of tea last night way later than I should have and was consequently awake till all hours. Now to get a late start on my day, before the cold and rain arrive. At least it is just rain, possibly ice on Monday, but nothing like New England. Irony is that if there is ice on Monday we'll probably get the day off. None of us down here will be complaining out loud, considering the 10+ feet of snow in Boston and environs! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: fat B****rd Date: 21 Feb 15 - 03:40 PM I have a pretty good recall of most of the posts by regulars on this D and F thread. Occasionally I get a kind/helpful/encouraging word which is most appreciated. My own D and f has been chugging along nicely totally depending on whether I can be a***d or not. So far I have thrown out a lot of stuff and donated some to charity. There is still a fair way to go (the garden shed). To bring us up to date to-day would have been Ann's 71st birthday so I have been to put flowers on her memorial (as opposed to head) stone. I did have plans for a little gardening but I found it all a bit wearying, especially when I got home yo find a letter addressed to her! After dealing by 'phone with the organization involved I WhatsApped some of my inherited family and spent the rest of the day being slothful. To-morrow (Sunday) after my sinful fried breakfast and papers I shall be, weather permitting, tidying out the shed and/or attacking my shower windows with vinegar. Back to the gym on Monday and, hopefully, back on the low calorie diet. Looking forward to reading lots of posts. Charlie. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 21 Feb 15 - 05:09 PM Mill: Duh! Vanessa helped me get the car out. She had some nifty metal things in her car... And I was out in no time. Before hand, I had shoveled from car to road - about 25 feet - to make sure I had a good chance. If I had asked her on Thurs, I could have gone to the cafe last night. Maybe I will go to the singing group tonight. I have not done any pottery at all. Somehow, shoveling snow seems quite enough exercise. Still trying to de-clutter sinuses; now I am trying thyme tea which seems to be helping. Dreadfully overcast day - not at all inspiring, but warmer- about 13F and rising. The toilet at the other end of building seems to be frozen. light was out and heat is off and I phoned R - who is still working in the city - and checked electric panel, trying to find something that had tripped - to no avail. Went to town and got salt - as for sidewalks and put a cup or so in toilet, trying to avoid a crisis. I did bring two buckets of water to the K. Also stopped at library and returned some books, renewed some. Emailed lawyer re purchase of property, announced on FB re move to Ontario - many comments - very interesting! Changed profile pic last night to a pic of me instead of animal(s). Tons of comments! quite interesting! Also messaged someone about doing a memorial for environmentalist friend who died about a year ago - hoping for Earth Day. I felt great when I got up this morning but as other recent days, I go downhill and by 4 I am quite ready to call it a day. I mostly do not care. Nothing HAS to be done! There will be more structure after I move; I will be part of a functioning community where English is spoken! I am SO looking forward to this! Thinking of the upcoming "move" to Ontario. It will merely show that we have enough worldly goods for yet another household. A first priority needs to be a storage shed so we do not clutter the wee house before the painting, floors and K are done. Or maybe not move anything until then. Our friends will still be able to have us. We have enough cabinets for the K from one we bought and then did not like much - stored here. It will be adequate with some cheery paint. When it is warmer, I will check out/measure the counter that we did not use (from a dif K) - kind of greyish but good quality and this K is bright enough for it. With the house so small and the possibility of the quarry, I am not being picky. Decent and clean. Warm and cosy. I have plenty of curtains for where they are needed. And LOTS of fabrics for colour. Plenty of furniture also; most of mine is not being used. The fact is, we brought my household here from Whidbey and most of it has been stored since we left the cabin. Maybe my thought processes are using energy. Something nice for supper? I am out of soup! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Rumncoke Date: 21 Feb 15 - 09:03 PM I always thought that not knowing what to believe was the natural state of all Humans so it is not at all surprising that the paradox of Schrodinger's moggy evades me. I just read - or rather skimmed through that book 'Gone girl' and thought it the most dreadful rubbish. It was so talked up with it being made into a film recently but what a let down. I wanted a distraction as my daughter in law, who is 31 weeks pregnant has had to go into hospital having had her pelvic tendons loosen, and she is in some trouble. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Feb 15 - 12:08 AM I was going to pick up that book at the library, I'd also heard it talked up. Not a good read, eh? What is the prescription for your daughter-in-law? Is this the "total bedrest" scenario? This evening I made up a recipe for dog treats and the second sheet of them will be done in a few minutes. It uses rice flour, eggs, dry milk, pumpkin, salt, and a little parsley. I tried a few on the dogs - they never refuse any food, so I can't say that they like them better than anything else, but they were certainly happy to be given an after-dinner treat. The batch makes enough that they'll come out costing less than some of the limited-ingredient treats at the store. My Labrador retriever is allergic to wheat and chicken, and wheat and chicken fat are two very common ingredients in dog food and treats. I'll make up another batch tomorrow and take them next door - the neighbors give the dogs a treat once a day over the fence and I give them treats for Zeke so he doesn't get the wheat. Today was a regular eating day so tomorrow is a fasting day. It should be okay, and in time for a really cold day forecast on Monday (an eating day, which is better than trying to fast when it's really cold). SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 22 Feb 15 - 08:51 AM Mill: Woke up this morning to the that white sky again. A window full of that monochromatic white. Lying here thinking it would be a good day to stay in bed - but then what could I say about what I accomplished today? Then I saw bits of white falling through the air. OH JOY!! But it has stopped, for now. So I got up and, feeling 100%, started doing necessary things with a view to leaving for the city this aft. Bedding changed. BF made and eaten, vitamins organized for another 2 weeks, things moving to their "back-to-city" positions. Sky is brightening, flakes are falling, temp up to 17F, sinuses are responding positively to thyme tea, the taste/smell of wood smoke seems to have finally gone away, she says hopefully. But after an hour of moderate activity, I am going to have to convince myself to carry on. So here goes... |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: LilyFestre Date: 22 Feb 15 - 12:32 PM It has been a crazy month here. My nana was transported to the hospital about 2 or 3 weeks ago which in my small family means we all drop what we are doing and go help in whatever way we can. Jeremiah and I drove down in my car and my mom went in hers just in case I needed to leave early or she had to do one thing and I needed to do another (it's amazing what 3 strong minded women...my aunt included) can accomplish together. Anyway....we stayed at my nana's and drove the 80 mile round trip daily except for two of the days due to weather (extreme cold/snow). When they were ready to release her, they said that she was too weak to be home alone and needed rehab. Nana and the 3 of us decided that it was best to have a medical transport bring her north to the town where my mom lives (30 miles or so from me) to a nearby nursing home where she has been before. She knows the staff and has made several friends there. When she arrived, the transport guys said they had never seen such a welcome reception! It does the heart good to know she is at a place where she is treated well, where we can and do visit often (mom goes daily) and Nana is happy. :) On the day mom and I were to drive back north, I got about a mile from the house and my car started to sputter and blow white smoke. A few hours later I had a tow truck take it to the nearest Subaru dealer (25 miles away) and the shop got us right in and back on the road within 2 hours for under $200.00. I was most thankful. I admit, I was blowing some smoke myself....I was SO frustrated and wanted nothing more than to be in my own house....be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. It has been brutally cold here (-25 to -30 at night), schools have had delays due to the temperatures and I plain old didn't take Jeremiah to school one day as it was just too cold. Given the car issues I had, I was afraid I'd break down on a back road and in those temperatures...it could be bad news, very fast. I spent the last few days recovering....I was just wiped out...still am a little bit. Anyway...we are home and happy to be here. Today all our pipes are frozen. Pete woke up to flowing water on the floors. Grrreat. He has it half fixed and we have water in the bathroom now but not the kitchen. I may set up two tray tables with dish pans and do dishes right there as both sides of my sink are now full of dishes. UGH. After much deliberation and thought, I quit Weight Watchers and have an alternate plan in place. They have raised the prices and it just is too much for us right now and frankly, my motivation has wained some. So...on to Plan B which I am enjoying and look forward to adding to...more on that later. Today Jeremiah and I have been working in his room, adding more toys, cleaning out old toys and clothes (we packed up 4 thirteen gallon bags and 1 very large 30 gallon bag.....it's amazing how much he has outgrown. We are happy to pass it on. He will register for kindergarten in the first week of March. I can hardly believe it!!! And not long after that, he will be having his 5th birthday! AMAZING! That's all for now! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Feb 15 - 01:53 PM I didn't realize Mudcat truncated the restored message until today and now I can't bring it back in the Google cache again. I did put up the rest of the November-December thread. I'll look into this some more, but we may have lost a few weeks. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Feb 15 - 07:37 PM I was still fussing with cache stuff so I didn't read the earlier posts. Michelle, you have had so much on your plate this last few weeks. Your line about blowing smoke was great! It's good know know you were able to find a comfortable and close place for your Nana - and I hope you have emergency gear in your car. I haven't put stuff in this car I'm driving now because I didn't have to winterize it like the pickup (putting about 200 pounds of bagged topsoil and sand to ride over the back axle), but I usually have a down sleeping bag and a couple of bottles of water in the vehicle for just in case. Dorothy, I saw a short satellite video of the Great Lakes mostly frozen over - I suspect it is going to take a while for much of the territory on either side of the border to thaw this year when spring eventually arrives. Stay warm in your mill or house. I have a couple of more forms to dig out then it's time to do the income taxes. I've put them off long enough. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 22 Feb 15 - 08:28 PM City: I finally succumbed this morning. By 10 am it was clear not much was going to get done so I resigned myself to reading and doing little things: stewed a big pot of apples and brought them with me, made up some choc covered ginger as I have not done any for a while, checked that counter for suitability and think it can work if we put a double sink in the already cut hole. I can live with that. Finished a novel, drank lots of thyme tea, nettle/green tea and a cup of "breathe easy" tea. Gave up and ate dark choc until satiated; it is a decongestant and it worked. HAd a nice veg/chicken supper. Trekked out to the car three times with stuff to bring; that was enough of that - through lots of snow. Now I feel plumb wore out and have been on FB and emails for over an hour - ready for bed. R is still at work. Tomorrow is the first day of jury trial for the man who assaulted him about 4 years ago. One charge is "attempted murder". A highly stressful period for us; if he does not get substantial prison time, we will live in fear ---forever? When I was a probation officer, years ago for 18 months, I only recommended jail twice. I am strongly opposed in general but this is the type of person who really needs to be incarcerated for safety sake. I am feeling tearfully stressed and I know R is also. Could be that is why my energy is low? |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 23 Feb 15 - 03:27 PM City: Trimmed R's hair before he dashed off to court, bf, hot bath, two loads of laundry, emails, FB, watered upstairs plants... Cold out there -but sunny! I could walk to the library but it's cold... Sinuses are better. Inertia is not. Need to hear from R re court case. Need to scan a piece of paper and email it; printer is at mill. Library? No friends or neighbours nearby. tomorrow. Inertia. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: LilyFestre Date: 23 Feb 15 - 05:50 PM Dorothy, How did court go? I've been thinking about you. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Feb 15 - 06:27 PM Dorothy, I join Michelle in wondering how this first day went in court. Let us know what you can, depending on restrictions on discussion. It was an enforced stay-at-home with the ice day today, which sounds like it will be the slick foundation upon which more ice and and then several inches of snow will fall later in the week. There are dogs underfoot at times, though mostly they're sleeping in their usual night-time locations. I had to hunt around the house to find one of my oven mits - Zeke had carried it off and I guess I'm lucky he didn't shred or eat it. It is kind of soggy. I have sorted through more stuff in my office, setting aside some things to send to my daughter that go with a good camera I gave her for xmas (one of mine she borrowed and took to Japan and seems inclined to actually use a lot). A lot of it, though, is the assemblage of old cables and chargers and dedicated plugs to devices that are long gone. They'll go in the bag to the e-waste recycle bin. And, not surprising, MORE tablets of paper have gone into the bin. Susan, you'll have to resend the PM with your address, I left it there to retrieve later but with the 'cat crash, it is gone. My taxes are all ready to go (all papers and forms assembled) and I'm almost to the sewing stage with two lap comforters (40" x 60" great for a nap or wrapping up on the couch). One for each kid. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 24 Feb 15 - 09:07 AM The cat (mine, not this one!) has been nagging me to find the table again. She shoves thing off and disturbs the strata so I can't find anything. With the record cold today, it seems like a good day to do that, as well as reorganize the loft (heat rises, after all!). My issue with the frozen hot water pipes has not re-occurred, so I'm sure that it was the gale force winds and wind-driven snow from that nor'easter that caused the problem. The crack between the sills isn't wide enough for me to get any real insulation around the exposed bits, although I did tuck as much into the crack as I could, so the fact that it was a special set of circumstances that probably won't repeat makes me feel better. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Feb 15 - 12:17 PM How much did winter 2014-15 suck? It's already taken some of my favorite people off the planet. I'm sure this AM's sad news won't be the last. I hope our family's not the next one "culled." I hope none of the Cat's habitues are hit next too, and a quick skim of the thread shows that you're all having as much "fun" as Hardi and I have been having... Pipes froze, check, and thawed with salamander before floods, check. Car embedded in drift, check. No one but me to dig it out, check.... with 5 trips out back to spell my back, dug out. Ramp in front so snowed over so bad it needed snowshoes to use it to get trash out, check. Salt applied with last of back energy, check. Coal shovel on hand to slide off the thawy bits, check-- after I open a section of the dog-escape-preventing SNOW fence that lines the damn ramp, enough to slide shovel-fulls out through the balusters! Leftover roll of snow fencing found froze to porch floor under snow, check-- to patch what I open up with scissors. I'll remake that open section REMOVABLE on the first "warm" day. Nurse flu-like hubby to be work-go-able, check. Avoid shooting myself, check. Avoid shooting HIM, check. Nurse hubby thru recurred ankle sprain, check. Avoid shooting myself, check. Avoid shooting HIM, check. So far. ;-) How? Prayer. Thyroid meds. People helping teensy-weensy bits at critical junctures. Patience. Grace. Having been to all of the above rodeos many times before. Having GREAT co-counselors with which to weep and laugh thoroughly! And a day here or there with blue skies and over-10-degree, windless days couldn't have hurt! But I made a number of mistakes that could have cost money and lives. Hardi is strong enough to help me when I get sick or hurt, but the reverse it not true at the moment. So I broke the news to him that if his ankle goes out again I'm calling his doc to auth a home health aide with rented first-floor hospital bed. It's time to head off my next round of mistakes! Next Ohio trip is April, on my own. My son is planning a visit to me there in mid-trip to be sure I ain't gone bonkers, and THIS time I take a lab order for thyroid WITH me to get a re-test there if brain fog sets in again. White privilege. ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Feb 15 - 12:19 PM Above post pasted from draft saved to email the day the Cat wouldn't take the damn post. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Feb 15 - 12:51 PM I have another ice day, though I suspect the powers that be at the university are regretting this one. Delaying the start time would have been sufficient. Tonight is when it gets really exciting, we might get snow. So I'm doing things I planned to do, but adding in one more - I'm tired of gallon jugs of things sitting around because they don't have a place to reside. I have a cupboard with two shelves of paint cans that are more than a dozen years old - it is time to give some of them the deep six. I can dispose of paint environmentally on campus so I'll set a few cans by the door ready for taking over next time the campus opens. My tincture of green soap and my chlorhexidine (a veterinary cleaner with some antibiotic-like properties) and vinegar can go into this cupboard. And I might use one of the shelves for my large glass jars (some with screw on lids, others with wire hinges and rubber gaskets. I use them all of the time but have to find room in my wire pantry shelves between uses. The cupboard would be better. I made progress on my CV reconstruction this week; a few weeks ago I found an old draft but somehow misplaced it. Good thing I had printed it so it was transcribed into a new well-labeled document. Time to let the dogs back in. This close-quarters with dogs has been a challenge - Zeke is always on patrol for reachable food (he is a "counter surfer") so I must be on my toes with anything my shoulder height. I just now hastened to the kitchen to move the Tupperware of pie crust cookie shapes from the counter into a cupboard, or he'd have found it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 24 Feb 15 - 01:35 PM We've never owned a counter-surfing dog. Heck, my first dog wouldn't touch things left at his level without permission! Bandit is fine in the house, but anything left alone with him in the car for too long is fair game. I keep a plastic tote in the car for just-in-cases. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: LilyFestre Date: 24 Feb 15 - 04:01 PM Today there was another 2 hour delay for the schools due to the cold temperatures. I think it was -19 here this morning or something very close...anyway, it's cold! I did some grocery shopping today and spent time at the nursing home with my Nana. She is feeling very tired these days and as we were sitting talking, I am noticing that more and more of her symptoms sound very similar to ovarian cancer symptoms. The bloated belly, getting full very quickly, having to pee all the time, gas, etc. I spoke to the nurse and because of my history, they will run a cancer antigen test. Her poor belly is so swollen that it pushes on her lungs and leaves her short of breath most of the time. I hope to God it isn't ovarian cancer because I know that Nana would not have it treated. I also asked about ascites on her belly....we shall see. I'd rather speak up and have the head nurse think I'm crazy than to not have it checked out. I picked Jeremiah up early from school and we made a bee-line home, got the groceries in, put away and stoked the fire. The woodstove is being finicky at the moment so I will baby it back to life...it's too cold to not have that extra heat in the house. Jeremiah is trying out playing on his own in his bedroom. He's funny....going up and down the stairs about 60 times for this and that or just to make sure I am still here. I think in a bit I will go do some cleaning in our bedroom while he plays in his room. I will be close by but still giving him some space. :) Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Feb 15 - 04:48 PM Teaching children how to be alone without being lonely is a valuable lesson. Being able to entertain oneself is so important. We're here if you need us, Michelle. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 24 Feb 15 - 05:45 PM City: Thank you for concern! It is still going on. Latest report: R will be on tomorrow. His friend who was also severely assaulted broke down and they had to take a recess for him to recover. Having had the guy's thumbs - one in each eye as his head was pounded against a wall, M is terrified he may yet loss his sight. The poor man cared for a blind mother until her death a few years ago. I feel tearful and deserving of my inertia. However, I drove R to the court this morning then went to Bureau en Gros (Staples, I think, if you are anywhere but Quebec. I left the printer at the mill due to not wanting to carry it through the snow to the car. So, realizing I may be needing to do more scanning and sending re the property - at the lawyer stage soon, I bought another printer with the idea that a printer is not something I want to be schlepping all over two provinces. One at the mill and one in Ontario, eventually. Then I went home and offloaded printer and some groceries, and went to Home Depot to check out flooring. Some interesting and not too expensive stuff. R is home and we have had some food. Now he needs to get some real work done. I may go with him tomorrow to the court. R may also break down. There has already been news coverage of the case. It actually caused changes in how things are done and we believe at least one person may have lost his job over the lack of security. The Minister of Justice actually came to Montreal from Quebec City immediately to survey what needed to change. tbc... |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Feb 15 - 09:08 PM My friend Susie babysits with her grandson, and his parents keep taking him to a mall play area on weekends, where he frequently picks up germs. It is then passed through family members, and she has been sick for several days. She saw the doctor today but still can't keep anything down. I ran to the house to bring in groceries from the car, feed the dogs, make her a cup of decaff, and made sure not to get to close. I washed my hands well after that - the bug sounds nasty. Making progress on my CV. It's one of those lynchpin documents that helps me move forward with both jobs and scholarship, and it has been a day of digging through files and trying to remember what the name of the paper was that I presented at this or that conference. Linn, did you see last week's New York Times Magazine? They've redone it, including an entirely new font face to use for this publication. Here is the article about the relaunch, including illustrations. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Feb 15 - 10:20 AM It's a cold slushy day out there, we're back to work but I have a list of things that need doing during the daytime so I'll take the day off. First and foremost, the slow leak in the left rear tire. I made progress on work in the house, though it is mostly digital. The CV has gained some entries, now to figure how I want to format it so it looks good. The electric bill will be sky-high this month. I wish I had one of the pellet stoves or fireplace inserts that work to heat whole houses. When I moved in here there was a shell of an old heatilator but it was rusted out and not repairable (they still seem to be in the marketplace but out of my reach). SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 25 Feb 15 - 11:12 AM More snow here last night. I'm going to go run some errands and hope the plow guy comes while I'm gone so I don't have to shovel around the car. I made a highly unsuccessful attempt to locate the compost pile in the back of the field yesterday. I had to use my snowshoes just to get back there (or shovel a path through three feet of snow), and was unable to locate it it, even though I know the general location. I told Michael to shove a post in the ground so I'd have a target to aim at, but he felt it was unnecessary at the time. Hah! Showed him! We might find it again before the end of April... |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Feb 15 - 11:32 AM I start a new compost pile every spring and let the old one sit for a year or two. This way it has finished working completely and is down to an even mix of soil-like compost and a few pits that didn't decompose. Maybe this is the time for that new pile! Dorothy, good luck with the court case. Susan, take it easy out on that ramp of yours. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 25 Feb 15 - 11:57 AM That's Michael's responsibility. I just shovel and do maintenance things. He deals with gardening stuff. In the meanwhile, there's a five gallon bucket outside with compost in it. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Feb 15 - 03:32 PM I stage the compost - there is a bowl on the kitchen counter for compostable kitchen scraps that is emptied every day or two into a small trash-can-shaped bin outside my kitchen door. When that fills it is taken to the big compost pile at the back of the yard. It is usually so broken down by then the dogs leave it alone, but I also put the dog droppings in the compost pile and do it at the same time I empty the kitchen bin, to keep them away from it all. I've printed out the instructions for sensor matching the tires on my car. I have suspected that when the tires were rotated the sensors weren't lined up, so the gauge on the dash isn't actually identifying the tires correctly. It's one of those "turn the ignition switch to run with the engine off" maneuvers, with 2 minutes per tire as they blink or the horn beeps to tell me I've done it right. Then I can figure out if I have a slow leak or have simply never managed to fill the one tire that just needs a bit of air. More office waste shredded, gadgets arranged logically, and some in the donate bin. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Feb 15 - 04:07 PM Dorothy, did you see this story? I know it isn't where you are, but it is interesting. I suppose this is one way to declutter- build a tunnel and stash everything! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 25 Feb 15 - 04:09 PM City: Happily, R is through with his testimony. I went along to court this am and he got through it pretty well, only teared up once. I was surprised at the things he did not remember. He was adamant about not talking about it ahead so I shall just let it go. The accused, acting as his own lawyer, was the BIG baddie. He tried to bring up a number of unrelated issues but the judge and Crown had to keep him on track - mostly. This man is incredibly pathological. M amazed me by being surprised that "he does not even realize he did anything wrong!" Sociopath. When he first went to jail, we worried about his kids, then realized the kids were probably better off also. During a break, I was able to speak with the Crown and he assured me that if he is convicted, there will be an opportunity for other victim impact statements. "If..."?; the assault occurred in a court room with judge, lawyer and court reporter as witnesses. R and M are each suing the Province due to the lack of protection in the courtroom. R was finished about noon and we went back to the car but then, he wanted to go back to the courthouse. Then my BSugar level dove and I had to buy a brownie, hoping it had the adequate combo of sugar and fat; it was pretty bad but gave me the strength to go back up to the cafe and wait in line for real food - chicken noodle soup and green tea got me home. It has been years since that has happened to me. R decided to stay and listen to other testimony as it might help with the civil case they have against this man. They will not gain anything financially from that but if they win it - some years down the line - it will help out other issues. Anyone who wants a good story can google "Robin Doak"; it was in the papers, with colour pics - both Fr and Eng - in Aug 2010 and a full page spread in September, including a good pic of some of the 200 rotting mattresses left in the parking lot at the property where this man had been, literally " a squatter". Talk about de-cluttering! It cost a couple thousand to have them removed and find a waste site that would accept them. The current case has also been in the papers as it unfolds. I hope R can settle down now that he has done his bit but we will still be on tenterhooks until the man is - HOPEFULLY- sentenced to more time. I have no idea how we shall manage the rest of our lives with him on the loose. THAT is what causes me to weep. Never truly feared anything before in my life. It gives me a new understanding of why people want attackers in jail. No wonder I don't feel like doing anything! Well, sinuses are better. Guess choc really helps ----OR it finally has subsided due to other treatments! So I shall make a pot of cauliflower soup. Need something yummy - besides dark choc! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: wysiwyg Date: 25 Feb 15 - 04:52 PM SRS, I sent one more help request out to the local universe for help getting the front HC accessible parking open... but am not expecting results. Ramp still impassable and no goodcfooting beyond it. So it's out the back door and a waaaay long way around for mail and trash, till the thaw (and drying of all soon to be flooded areas out front). TBTG for that great walker I got at the nursing home. I used it today thinking I was bringing the two empty trash cans to the back porch-- but the pickup had been missed. So the walker seat helped me reposition the full cans to a better pickuo spot, and it was great to know I could sit as needed. Its cargo pocket also held a really heavy catalog shipment of jeans and BRAS to try on. Two fit!!! ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Feb 15 - 10:26 PM Thanks for the search term, Dorothy. I found the story. Wow. That guy is a basket case. Big virtual sort out and declutter of old media. I started by trying to find some papers I wrote in graduate school, and ended up discarding a bunch of old floppy disks, duplicate files on CDs, and jewel cases (they'll recycle at the e-waste place). A stack of DVDs of work from work (they were my backup at the house when I telecommuted all of the time) are going to the office. I've cleared out three small bins and two large ones - but most importantly, I finally found a backup of the papers and an old CV that has some information to add to the file I recently started from scratch. I used to have some non-woven plastic cloth sleeves, but they leave a film on the disks after a while. Now I keep my DVDs in paper sleeves. A lot of stuff is backed up on hard drive or thumb drives, but these items weren't. I'm glad they were still readable. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 26 Feb 15 - 05:25 PM City: SRS! That guy just about made a basket case of all of us! I will be glad to be in Ontario. Wish R could be also all the time! Hot bath this am, then reading/inter-netting/ trying to figure out how to connect new printer --- I Think I have done it - just now! but no energy left to try it out! Dealt with giving info re property purchase to lawyer - had to figure out how to turn a pdf file so I could read it without holding the computer sideways. Then had to figure out how to fill in a page and send it back - they got it all back as I could not figure out how to separate the pages, could not copy and paste. Hope I got it all to them in good order, along with explanatory email for the items I found confusing. No wonder I am feeling tired. Treated myself to long phone calls with 3 different distant friends! My almost 89 year old friend does not understand why she is still here "No one else in my family lived this long!" She says she wishes she were not, however, she still has five kids, numerous grands and greats and she enjoys them all. And many of them help out! And she is planning to have raspberry canes planted this year even though she "can no longer garden". We have been friends for over 50 years... Raspberry canes sound like a good plan for an open, sunny piece of land. Maybe I shall get someone to plow or rototill about half the lot and plant evergreen trees along the north and west perimeters, then fruit trees, then raspberry canes then corn, etc. I will look at starting seeds this weekend in the sun room. Susan! You are doing so well - determination gets full points! Thankful that the house is warm, the water is not frozen, sinuses are normal for me. Could do some straightening and maybe a stir fry for supper. Now a look at FB. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Feb 15 - 11:47 PM The weather forecast changes every day - initially it was ice early in the week then clearing out, but it has been cold and wet and tomorrow perhaps snow again with the high not over freezing. I realize this is only the edge of someone else's huge storm, but we're finally getting some winter here in Texas. I took a bag of stuff to work today that will go to special collections (the remainder of my old photos and files from when I was the media person for the library) and some electronic cables that I brought home to test a theory and am returning before they become part of my clutter. Tomorrow I have another bag, this time of e-waste for the recycle bin. I did bring one thing home - a copy of the book I worked on for the last few months. That will go in my CV as a design project. Apparently the CV is necessary at work for a grant they are applying for, so my timing is good, even if I was doing it for my own reasons and not theirs. I have a couple of shelves with space that will be filled as I rearrange books in here. That is a task for this weekend. And for fitness, I'll be going to my dance class (I skipped Wednesday this week with plans to go this weekend instead - thinking the weather would be nicer by the weekend. Oh, well.) I'm going to sigh up for twice a week next month so I can learn the steps better and get more exercise. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 27 Feb 15 - 05:35 PM City: I brought the working distiller to the city but left the cord at the mill, thinking I had one here. Found I had none - none that I could find, anyway. So this morning, the situation became critical for me as I was running out of distilled water. Trying to find a source in the city to buy a new one, I phoned a supplier in Vancouver, or maybe Vermont? Super nice woman, upon understanding the problem, said she would talk to tech and phone me. She did so and informed me I should be able to get one in a local hardware store. SO! I moved out of the doldrums and into gear, went to the closest good hardware and the nice folks there quickly found me the needed cord. So happy, I went to the Market for cheeses and bought R a very small piece of an expensive one he particularly likes and picked up packets of curry powder and Ginger powder. I picked up two tubs of good cream cheese - for bagels - and when I got to cash, the nice woman suggested the other cream cheese. I told her I try not to eat chemicals - potassium sorbate in this case - and I was surprised they had they sort of thing in the store. She told me it was a mistake! Then to a grocery for orange juice - and some other stuff; it actually had some super good bread marked down so I bought all 3 loaves for frig and freezer. Came home and got my fav (closest) parking space, put things away, started distiller and had a couple small pieces of "Muesli" toast with a not very exciting but nice cheese. Not going to cafe tonight. R has a meeting and, with such a week and all that needs doing, seems a good idea to stay in the city. Hopefully, he will be able to function adequately and clear some stuff -- and his over-loaded brain - the most important de-cluttering of all! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Feb 15 - 12:06 PM Three loaves of banana bread are cooling on a high shelf so I can let the dogs back into the house on this frozen snowy (and sleet forecast) day. Comfort food. I agree, Dorothy, the products with the fewest ingredients are the ones I favor. Why, for example, buy yogurt with emulsifiers and gum thickeners? The point of good yogurt is that the culture makes it thick. I cook mostly from scratch, not because I save money (though I probably do) but because I know what is in the food. I made progress in the home office yesterday when I discovered and cleared out old CD and DVD computer backups from 10 and 15 years ago. The cases will recycle and the disks will go to a shredder (since they are computer backups!) I have a growing stack of empty baskets and small bins that may or may not find a new occupation around the office or the house. In the flux of cluttered then clear, the office is relatively cluttered, but there are empty shelves that will soon house the things that are deemed useful and keepable. I didn't make it to dance class this week - the times I could go are Wednesday evening or Saturday morning. I was home on Weds., could have gone, but was in the middle of something so decided to wait till today. But today the streets are a frozen mess. I hope she reviews well next week, I suspect I'm not the only one who missed out. I do have the music and the list of steps so I can still get some fitness activity by practicing at home. Now to make myself do it! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 28 Feb 15 - 12:27 PM Maggie - are those CD cases the standard jewel cases? If you want to get rid of some, I'd give them a happy home and would reimburse for postage. The CDs that get a lot of use in the car tend to have busted up cases because the CD crate would go on the floor in the back if I had a passenger and then the 85 pound lab/hound mix would inevitably find a way to stomp all over it. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Feb 15 - 02:07 PM Yes, these are the older sturdy standard jewel cases. I figured no one would want them so I didn't ask, but better to be reused before recycled. I have a box of around 25 of them. Is that too many? Banana bread wrapped up and way out of reach or in the freezer. Laundry next, then vacuuming. Dogs in the house all day long for many days leads to drifts of hair in halls and near the back door. I'm not going to bother to scrub the limestone-colored tile in the living room until the snow is gone and the mud has dried. For the moment, back to the CV. I need it for work soon and since I've gotten this far I'd really like to finish it (to this point in time, at any rate). SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 28 Feb 15 - 02:27 PM I'll happily take all 25. My broken ones can go to the recycle trailer instead. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Feb 15 - 05:49 PM Each pass through the files looking for CV stuff lets me thin out more old printouts of articles, printed email conversations to do with old classes, and early drafts of conference papers. There will be manila folders and other office supplies going into the donation bin this evening. The poor dogs stagger around on the crusty surface of the snow in the back yard, but dopey Zeke is all energy and wants to fetch something. I'm afraid of a torn ACL if they start racing on that, so after one fetch we stopped. The upper 2/3 of the eastern half of the US seems to be a sheet of ice (Smithsonian ran a graphic) today. Everyone stay safe, and Tami, good luck in your snowshoe race tomorrow! SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 28 Feb 15 - 06:30 PM City: Tami and her snow shoe races! All I want is to stay warm!! It was alleged to be only 21 F today. R could not do much at work so we went to look at a storage shed - very cute wooden one (about 10x13) that he has ascertained can be taken apart and taken on flat bed trailer ( he has) up to Ontario to our new property to replace the falling down shed there. It will make a terrific pottery studio!! He got the woman down to $100! it will be a lot of work moving it and she escapes paying someone to remove it. But I dug around in the car and found a nice cobalt blue mug to give her. She was thrilled and asked where she could take lessons so we helped her with that. ALSO, they are ripping the one side of their house apart in the spring - because she does not want to go outside to get to the car - HONEST! We might be able to get the entire glassed in room (about 6 or 8X10 or 12), nice wooden garage doors and........... You would drool over her house - BIG, OLD, granite - about a million$ or more. And they want it bigger???? OH well! I get a studio and maybe a sun room... THEN, we drove west of the city to Pincourt on the lake/river to look at the small trailer. about 6x9, it is just about right for a mobile Clay Play facility. Room for a table, two wheels and materials, insulated, plenty of windows so people can stand outside and look in, or come in and give it a try. The non-fun part was walking a couple hundred yards through lots of snow on top of the ice amongst the ice fishing community - humans really are crazy! The wind was biting! We were very glad to get back in the car. We drove back to city via a thrift shop where I dropped off a large bag of shoes I had found this morning on the sidewalk near the house. I put on blinders - dashed in and dropped the bag in their bin and left, lest I should see anything I must have! Had some lunch and R is sleeping in a chair, waiting for a generator to be repaired so he can go move machinery. I posted on a special North Hastings community bulletin board site on FB about the mobile Clay Play idea to see if anyone is interested. R thinks my car can pull it from place to place BUT I do not do well with backing up with a trailer! I am hoping that friends with trucks will help. I am ready got bed, myself. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Mar 15 - 01:53 AM Dorothy, your adventures in real estate and wandering around the northern countryside finding things and meeting people never ceases to amaze me. And that was a great gesture with the mug (it sounds lovely)! I'd love to have a glassed in room at the back of the house (one with those insulated and louvered panes so you can block the light without having to put up blinds, shutters, etc.) My office is at the front of the house so when cars pass I can hear that the street is still crunchy. The paperwork is paying off and I finally found the conference proceedings for another paper: through the process of elimination I have matched up most of the papers to the conferences where they were delivered. I surprised myself at how many of these I wrote (and attended). Now to lure the dogs out the back door with the offer of a treat so they can take one last potty break. That is about the only way to get the pitbull to go outside in this weather. She simply detests the slick cold crunchy surface on the lawn. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 01 Mar 15 - 07:24 AM It's all still snow here, Maggie. Hasn't gotten above freezing since...I can't remember. One of the coldest Februaries on record. I was out on the trails behind my house for the first time in a while yesterday. They're all packed nicely and the dog was able to get out and run for a bit for the first time since the first blizzard. After he had his walk, I went out again on my wooden snowshoes and had a much longer, faster walk on my own. Even jogged a bit and realized that I am in better shape than I expected from all the lazing around I've done since the snow got so deep. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 01 Mar 15 - 10:20 AM City: R has gone off to a funeral with bro and Dan; business assoc/friend, esophageal cancer., non-smoker. Anyway, I guess I have a block of time to pot and a friend just requested a "heart bowl", so, just having gotten here, I think a stint at the wheel is a great idea on a cold, sunny day. Someone on FB recently suggested putting down a tarp on a yard spot that you can lift when the critters need to do something - that is what caused me to suggest a tent. I have a wee "sun shade" tent, floorless, which I got for about $10 that would do the job nicely. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Mar 15 - 12:42 PM It's melting out there now, but if it hasn't cleared more in the next couple of hours I'll take out a garden rake and clear an area for them. I need to spend time in the greenhouse, organizing the hoses that are currently in a pile on the floor, and get equipment ready for the spring cleanup. The rakes and shovels are in the corner blocked by the hoses. I found an old photo of myself doing a ranger program back in the early-1980s. One to scan and file before it gets lost. This office clean-out has yielded some great stuff that was buried for way too long. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & fitness-Jan-Mar-Google Cache From: ranger1 Date: 01 Mar 15 - 04:46 PM Five mile snowshoe race is run. I finished 56th out of 58 runners, with a time of one hour, thirty-five minutes, and change. Two minutes faster than my time in the 4.25 mile race. Trail conditions were awesome, weather was amazing, and, most importantly, I had fun. Even with the steep ups and downs and the minor asthma issues. I will definitely be doing this again next year. |
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