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Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Jul 18 - 06:48 PM Charmion, you don't even need to build frames for raised beds-- lasagna gardening. Ohio: Two DW loads actually put away, and the last two big handwashing items are soaking. The potting-bench end of the long kitchen table is now clean and restored to vinyl tablecloth prettiness-- I was given some surprise succulents when Judy's garden center closed, and it took quite a messy dig to shoehorn them into the terra cotta dish garden with its other inmates. I'm down to one box of miscellaneous cluttering that table, now. Btw I decided to forego our fabulous PA kitchen island. If I liked bar stools... it would be perfect, and it being a tad narrower than the table, it would ease one of the two kitchen traffic paths. But after several months wrestling with how to add a hinged tabletop to side of the island, I decided I love that table too much to give it up. And the space under it swallows up even more stuff than the island would have. So Hardi gains a garage storage piece, with a food grade top for prepping outdoor-cooking goodies-- we'll need its storage space out there. I got into the habit of sitting at that long table not only for food prep, but for at least one meal out of four each day-- like the LR eating space, it overlooks a pretty front yard view,,and I like varying the view. And from there, at brekky or bedtime snack, it's a few quick steps to call Newbie in (out of barking mode). I'll miss the island-- I'd planned it for so long. But I ljust love that table, and it will seat 8-10 people-- which actually happens nowadays, since we're finally near family. (It's also a fabulous buffet space!) ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jul 18 - 06:04 PM Charmion, Rather that trying to dig into the clay, build some raised beds over the area (even a few inches is going to help) and fill it in with topsoil, compost, humate, whatever they sell over at the big box store that DOESN'T say "Scotts" or "MiracleGro." Avoid those products and go with making your own healthy topsoil mix and plant in there. The fridge was full of small bowls with small tomatoes, and today I converted them into cooked tomatoes. Two pints are canned (yeah, I know, a lot of hot water for that little, but I want to be able to say I canned something this year!) I also put some cooked ones in plastic containers and froze them. I used some of yesterdays black beans and made a small batch of black bean and corn salad. It's sitting in the fridge now and smells wonderful. Tomorrow I'll make more of those fish tacos it's so good with. Next - vacuuming and picking up. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 04 Jul 18 - 04:53 PM Himself is now barrowing away the spoil from our new garden bed, where he toiled in the heat for nearly a week. Perth County has some of the best farmland in Canada, but our little hunk of it is ... mmm ... not so much. About eight inches below the surface, Himself hit a layer of yellow clay that was close to brick-like in its ability to resist the shovel, and only a mattock (Cdn$39.95 at Canadian Tire) would even pierce it. The weather was unspeakably hot and sultry the whole time, with highs around 35C, and each shift of digging resulted in Himself drenched with sweat and covered with yellow clay -- net result: mud. So yesterday's laundry was six loads, of which less than one came from me. As well as the mattock, this project also required the purchase of a pair of no-kidding work boots (Cdn$159.99) and about ten bags of compost and sheep manure (Cdn$65 and change). Fortunately, we were able to borrow a wheelbarrow from Neil-across-the-street, thus avoiding a significant layout of capital, but now I must visit Canadian Tire again to negotiate the purchase of a sprinkler. We had one in Ottawa, but it disappeared in the move -- pêrhaps never made it onto the truck. The grass looks awful after having had a couple of cubic metres of yellow clay piled on it for a week, so I'll go the full Monty and buy a pound or so of grass seed while I'm at it. On the plus side, the air conditioner is working again. Gawd, what a relief. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Jul 18 - 04:38 PM Ohio: Unpacked a milk crate of books, did more LL space planning, put away some LR stuff, set out new wastebasket... |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Jul 18 - 12:42 PM Ohio: Second DW load going-- pots/pans. Clean laundry stowed. Recyclables washed and stowed. Second big DB found for NIF's from 1st DB. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jul 18 - 11:35 AM There must have been a facial tissue tucked away somewhere in the laundry; this morning the work clothes went into the dryer and the sheets and other items on the line; when the line-dry linens come in they'll do a quick turn on air in the dryer to catch any paper fibers. Today is mostly about vacuuming, putting stuff away (clearing out the fridge, and around the house clearing as many horizontal surfaces as possible) and eBay. This is going to be my Holiday from Clutter. It seems to me there was a movie that used to play around this time of year, Cheaper By the Dozen, about an efficiency expert, and probably summer-time drama with his sons and daughters. Or the Jimmy Stewart movie with Maureen O'Hara as his wife, and they went to a cottage at the beach for the summer. Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. As I recall, their houses were never cluttered. Seven Year Itch, now that's a summertime movie, but I only remember the state of her freezer in that one. This has nothing to do with anything, but a little holiday stream of consciousness. I'm reading a book (sent by Jeri as Secret Santa) in which women in historic times in Portsmouth, NH, worked really hard at whatever they did. So as I hang my laundry on this July day and contemplate knocking lint off later in the dryer, I know I have it so much easier than a couple of hundred years, or even just many decades, ago. There is some chicken defrosting to cook on the charcoal grill (I haven't filled the LP tank yet), some tomatoes in the fridge to can (that's the 'clear the fridge' activity), and lots of boxes to prepare for eBay. The can where I empty my vacuum cleaner tank is ready, and I plan by this evening to kick back and watch a movie and keep the dogs in the house so they won't worry about the racket. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Jul 18 - 09:40 AM Ohio: I decluttered my fast mega-project of researching 53 police-involved deaths by running the whole list through the most comprehensive database I'd rediscovered, and the next stint will be to run them again thru an obit DB-- my assignment is to find the story, find family members living in the area, and choose among those found for the most appropriate to contact-- close enough to know and potentially contact the immediate family but not so close that a contact from the outreach org would cause them harm. (FB is a resource at that step.) I'm not making the contacts, but it's an honor to have been invited to do the research piece. The stories are so sad. (The outreach org offers outstanding support from other grieving families.) I shifted to this approach instead of name by name, start to finish on each, because my old notebook was groaning so badly that it slowed down the work too much. (And that made for too much unhealthy desk-sitting time.) With the DB clues entered in my document, I can use the fone for some steps, with feet up, and to find the stories that weren't in the DB. Hardi and I had another good talk the other night about vacay activities and priorities (and cargo planning), so I have my tasks well laid out for the next few weeks in prep for his arrival. I need to plan a safe doggie space in the garage so she can hang out while I work in there with garage door open for light and air. I think I have a spare tether-cable out there, that I can hook up for her. Today is house-chores day, in short shifts between desk time shifts. The dishwasher is already running. One added task is to go thru Hardi's closet to check on what he already has here (vs what to bring). Tonight, I'll scooter with Newbie to get groceries after it cools off (and before neighborhood firecrackers start). In between, putting 1008 sq feet of clutter away. :-) ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jul 18 - 09:22 PM It was 103o here today, and has been like this all week, but it appears a respite is coming our way - if you consider 95 - 98o a respite. You can feel the difference. After the trip to the vet it has been a day of small tasks performed so that there hasn't been much need to go outside, though this evening I stepped out to run the sprinkler in the back yard to keep a green zone for the dogs. I'll set up the washer to run overnight and first thing in the morning will hang the laundry - it'll be plenty warm to dry everything but not in the heat stroke category yet. I did some cooking today because I was completely out of black beans. I usually bottle them in old LiteHouse salad dressing (~ 12 oz) jars and freeze them for later use in all sorts of dishes. This spring a friend brought a wonderful black bean cold salad over to lunch that we ended up spooning on top of fish tacos, and now I can't imagine the tacos being complete without that mix. As I wait for my friend to send the recipe I'll freeze most of the beans and keep some out for salad. Going through our first noisy Fourth of July with a new dog. The racket will start any time now and continue for a few days. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jul 18 - 09:13 AM Dog to the vet this morning; I finally realized she may have a bladder infection, with all of the water she's drinking. Getting in during a short week is difficult. All appointments are taken so I'll head over and wait to be seen as a Walk-In. Those are long appointments so I'll take a book to read (not just read on the phone). Everything is more difficult to plan and to carry out when it's this hot; the heat we had during June is typical of August, yet we're just starting in on the July hot days. Hard to say if this will break the record of the 1980 Texas heat wave (42 days over 100o) but it will be a contender. The electric bill will certainly declutter the wallet considerably. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 03 Jul 18 - 08:09 AM Ohio: And before Detective Wilson called, there were the Sprint "return equipment" mailers inside my front storm door, which explained the cabling I'd found on my return. Somehow, Tyler had re-upped the house's sellers three accounts, and naturally Sprint wanted the bills paid or equipment returned. So I wrote to Sprint right away, mentioning my prior report to cabletheft.com; I also contacted the seller to let him know his name had been fraudulently used. I included two messages for Tyler via Wilson, the first time he called yesterday-- I'd love the return of anything of ours Tyler might still have, and Sprint woukd like theirs as well plus payment of their bill! ;-) It is sad that Tyler needs all this intervention, but everyone I've spoken to who has loved him since he was very little has said that he needs the hard consequence and structure of more jail time. We certainly hope he takes full advantage of treatment available. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 02 Jul 18 - 01:56 PM Ohio: I've just been asked to help with a new project--researching Dayton ppl killed by police since 2000. While working on that this AM, I received a call from Det. Wilson that Tyler had been arrested in Dayton and was on the way to Xenia (parole violation plus our guitar theft). He just called again to ask if I'd paid Tyler with guitars, for "installing a new garage door" (for which job, Wilson was told, Tyler has witnesses). I laughed my ass off, described that Sears had installed the opener on the door that came with the house-- and reminded Wilson how this pastor's wife generally is assessed as pretty credible, and how willing I would be to laugh my ass off in court-- and then shared that I have a clear and specific memory of showing Tyler the guitars as part of the house tour when he moved in-- "you can play these". Not "you can sell these." LOL. Fool must be high now. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jul 18 - 10:39 PM I wish this time of year, in addition to the heat, didn't also involve so many ants. Every time I go out to the garden, take something to the trash, drag sprinklers, whatever, it involves picking up a few ants that I find on me for a while after that. They are like their own little prickly heat generators. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: LilyFestre Date: 01 Jul 18 - 03:10 PM Today has been busy. Lots of prepping fresh fruits and veggies for the week for snacking and nights when I'm just dog tired after work and don't want to do anything, much less cook. I spent a few hours in our bedroom/closet going through clothes that I have had for years...some of them over 20 years...and am getting rid of them. I do NOT need all that stuff and I'm tired of it hogging up all the space! I bagged up 14 garbage bags (tall kitchen size).....2 for my mom, 2 that are one size smaller than I currently wear and so far, there are 10 bags that are going to be donated. I'd say I am about a third of the way through of just MY clothes. Pete is almost as bad as I am...we hate to throw things out but I am loving the new open space....so buh bye to too many clothes!!!!!! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Jul 18 - 02:11 PM Ohio: Ah yes, car storage. Friend Judy's van got clogged with items when the garden center where she'd worked closed up shop-- and her apartment is about the size of your average assisted living studio. So since I'd just cleared some space when helper Btittney brought in a small bookcase-- which had been stored in the only little-used corner of my garage-- I gave Judy's stuff temp space there to stack a few bins while she declutters a closet. Thus Newbie-dog was able to ride along in style when we traipsed about yesterday. I can't wait to stock our new van with the standard items it will carry-- ministry gear, activist gear, accessibility gear, and dog gear. This one has cleats to fasten in the gear, and I have two standing zip cases, a big duffel, and Newbie's crate to containerize it all. Another LL Topic Kit got catalogued today-- 'Working with Young Children.' Handily, a one-page turned up among the articles, which belongs in a guide I'm writing for a program I developed in 1990, which may be revived next fall. That went with items for the same guide, that I am came across the other day, into a handy metal standing file on a shelf awaiting items from those bankers boxes of archives that I brought. It has just enough dividers for each role in the program's leadership, and metal sides where I can put sticky notes with notes to self as inspiration strikes. Acme, that's another place where several of your kindly-shared binders will be used--each role will need a binder. I reorganized my LL cataloguing worksheet to separate out the topics yet to be catalogued, and I added a boilerplate section of items to copy into each topic as I get to it. Another organizing thing I recently did was create a standardized sample entry for the journals going in, so I copied that into the boilerplate as well. I still can't say I love cataloguing, but it feels so good when I stop! ;-) ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Jul 18 - 12:27 PM Michelle, I missed your last post as I was writing. That vacation sounds lovely, and I'm glad the spot will be removed after. Good for keeping an eye on it; I have a couple I probably need checked (I had lots of moles removed when I was younger, for fear they could grow to be problems). And it's a great plan to clean the house before, because often the best part of the vacation is returning home. Yesterday I pulled a couple of non-starters out of the things listed on eBay, and I have a trip to Goodwill today to drop off those and a few more. Someone can use them, but even a nominal charge is too much when the shipping adds to the price. The computer desk will go to my daughter today after a friend comes by to help me load it into the SUV. Like Michelle, I like to keep it pretty empty so I can do this kind of moving without having to unpack it. There are a couple of boxes in the back back that will ride for a few hours in the middle back seat (the back back seat is always left folded down so it's a cargo area.) There may be other terms, but I grew up in a large family with a station wagon with a third, rear-facing seat that my brother and I had to ride in. That was the back back. (We've come a long way since those days - if I ever have to use mine for people they're lovely forward-facing seats and have their own AC controls and a couple of car power plugs for people with devices. Everyone has devices they want to plug in these days.) |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 18 - 07:24 PM It seems that the company operating the Rx collection bin at my nearby Walgreen empties it about every two weeks, but it fills within about four days. So I'll try again later. Not all pharmacies have these collection points, and not all Walgreens. It has been four weeks since Ms. Pepper came to stay here, and what a difference a month makes. They're all pretty mellow, and my next door neighbor says she has relaxed and figured out the treat at the fence routine. At first she was a little nervous when he tossed the dog biscuit, but has worked it out and joined the game as happily as the other two. She's glad to meet anyone who comes to the house and takes the lead of the others - any friend of mine is a friend of hers. She is growing back hair on her tummy after being spayed two months ago, and her coat looks excellent now that she's not confined to a concrete and chain-link environment. She still has this odd habit with water - I don't remember seeing water dishes in the kennels, so I think they got a drink any time they were let out. She still gets these really long drinks any time she follows me into the bathroom or kitchen. I am hoping this habit relaxes, it is disconcerting just how much water she drinks when she drinks it. Back to listing sales items for the evening. When I shipped that large box this week I cleared out a lot of space for more of these items (I pack them up so they're ready once they sell). |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: LilyFestre Date: 30 Jun 18 - 07:08 PM We had plans to go to the races and fireworks tonight but the high temperatures made us all change our minds about wanting to go. There will be other races and there will be more fireworks. On that note, it IS hot out today and we've been doing what we want, when we want to....taking our cues from how we're feeling. The boys did some work outside while I went to market early in the day. We had a nice cold lunch and then we all promptly fell asleep in the coolness of the house. The lights have been out all day (on purpose, curtains closed, fans are on and one window unit AC. The house temperature is absolutely wonderful and we are thankful for that! Our very first family vacation is approaching quickly and I think I made a good decision.....We have 3 days off before we leave and it is my intention to spend one of those days really cleaning the house, one day for errands and one day for packing. I am looking forward to a fun, restful vacation and a clean house upon return so I can hit the ground running for work. The only thing that will need to happen when we get back is laundry and that's not a big deal. All my work clothes are staying home...LOL...I am NOT taking them on vacation! ;) Anyway..I like the idea of leaving it clean. :) Today I am puttering here and there. It's been a very long week for me, the bad definitely outweighing the good but I suppose we'll have this from time to time. I needed today to just be....in whatever form that may be. One thing I will share is that I have a spot on my arm that has to be removed. The dermatologist isn't sure if it is cancerous or not but since it's suspicious looking, she will be removing it after vacation. She was going to remove it on Thursday but when she asked if I was going to be swimming in the next two weeks, I had to tell her that I was going to be vacationing on a lake...so yes, swimming, boating and fishing are going to be happening daily! She said that she is confident that it is not melanoma so at least that's good. Still, I'm not looking forward to having a chunk taken out of my arm. Anyway....my table is clear and clean, the counters are clear and clean, dishes are done, the toilet has been scrubbed, floors are in reasonable shape, the table by my chair is just about all cleared off. I've got a spot where I've started collecting things that we want to take on our trip as well as the checklist so I can mark it off as I go. I got a new car this week and I love that it's empty. I'm planning on keeping it that way as much as possible. :) That's all for now. I hope everyone is able to have a cool spot to relax in with these high temperatures. Have a great week everybody! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 30 Jun 18 - 03:01 PM Ohio: The garage door I have includes that it will reprogram any compatible remote, so I'm passing up the temptation to ride up and down the street messing with some neighbor's head. But I need a fob style for my scooter because the Horde took the spare visor-clupped remote. I actually tried to use the visor-clipped one I'd brought as a fob, but it's too touchy-- going in and put of my pocket opens the door up to the neighborhood scavengers. A day off on decluttering today in favor of a ride to the blueberry patch and attending a rally. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 18 - 02:38 PM The heat, with relatively high humidity, is wiping me out this week. I'm trying to keep to indoor work: I spent time cleaning the kitchen this morning, and in order to make more progress than just that I decided to clear out the medicine cabinet. I'd lost track of things in there from when the kids still lived here; now I have a bag of things to take over to the disposal bin at the pharmacy next time I pick up a prescription. Lately it seems like onions don't keep very well in or out of the fridge, so I've been buying them on sale and dicing and freezing them. I finished one this afternoon and will bag it later. This saves me from the disappointment of preparing to cook something and finding there isn't enough of the onion that is usable for whatever the dish is. I'm going to do a small batch of canned tomatoes later, and save a few for a caprese salad this evening. I'm still debating how much of the eBay activity I want to do, curious if it could actually be a separate modest source of income. Getting the dress form makes it a lot easier to sell clothes and there are some excellent thrift stores in my area with garments I know I can sell for minimum two to three times what I pay for it, and some things much more. But it is work. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jun 18 - 10:18 AM If that fob is for your garage door opener then changing out the battery should be a breeze. Otherwise there might be adventures for someone in town if you discover where it goes. ;-) My garage door stays down, I have never had a worry there, but my Nissan SUV is parked there every night, and some mornings when I get ready to leave I realize that all of the windows are down. Not by my hand. I'm not sure that any remote can do that, but I have to wonder. This morning I went out to dig up the area where I want to plant my cucumbers will go and right now is tall grass. Every year the cicada killer wasps return to nest in the garden and apparently they do so even if the grass is tall. After a while I had a couple dozen buzzing around me (they're to big and dignified to "swarm," but they threaten to bounce off of you) so I retreated. I'll give the soil a couple of hours to dry out (the sprinkler ran this morning) and go out for a few minutes later. I'll eventually get this spot cleared, but give those that didn't actually have their burrows disturbed time to calm down again. A few probably will be plowed over, though. Trying to get photos of them is difficult, they're small and autofocus will get the background, so I tried panning on them in manual focus. The desk goes tomorrow, so I struggle past it today unless I move it to the sunroom (where it will completely block that traffic.) More eBay today. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 29 Jun 18 - 01:50 PM Ohio: In good news, someone's long-lost car keys turned up from the front yard mud today, hung on my front door by the lawn crew. The keyring has a garage door fob I needed that may work. I'm pretty sure they were left by this house's sellers. Mostly house declut continues,today, plus routine laundry, etc. Earlier I stuffed a pit forming again in the poor, abused camper mattress I've used on an off since we got the Ohio house. I can.not.wait. for our real, innerspring set on box springs to be here. I'm also counting the day's till Hardi's arrival and tweaking the setup for him; in between I'm doing space planning and making lists for what he'll bring with him. I'll probably catalog the Working with Young Children topic kit today. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Jun 18 - 06:56 PM I have a commitment from my daughter to take a computer desk that I don't need any more - she lives in a house with several people and someone there says they can use it. If I hadn't picked up the standing desk I use now I'd still be using that one (the newer desk was part of my struggle to figure out why I was always in pain, before the PMR was diagnosed. Was I sitting too much? Nope.) That one cost a lot less than the new one but is very well designed. There is one caster that keeps falling out of the hole for it so I glued it in place this afternoon. My vehicle is the largest for transporting this, and by the time I'm ready to take it up to her it'll be set. In the place of this desk now is a small two-door three-shelf cabinet on top of which sits a small television (that's the guest room). Considering the last piece of furniture one of the dogs bashed, I'll put a few books in the bottom to add stabilizing weight. The friends who usually stay in there are mystery readers, so I'll pull some of the stack from my front room and put them there to be perused. The dressmaker form is working well and I've listed a silk evening dress on eBay after setting it up in front of a white sheet suspended from shelves in the front room. It is much better to have closer to a three-dimensional view than a photograph on a hanger or on the fabric cutting board. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 28 Jun 18 - 04:39 PM Montreal: Got to mill, fired pots for 4 days, came out beautifully, took all to Montreal and arranged on open futon, family arrived - Son and wife, GD with partner and GGD (4 months!). Wonderful visit. They had an apartment (airbnb), convenient to the Market and the Canal, and us. They shopped and cooked dinners; we went a few places together; they went their own ways; we rested! "Family is exhausting!" Sadly delivered son and wife to Airport on Tuesday - and collapsed! (GD et al had rented a car and drove up from NYC. Very handy as they were able to go their own ways!) They were very excited to get pottery - finally! emailed pic of it in their K cabinet! A major brain de-clutter!!!! I cleared the remainder of pottery into boxes, into car and took some to mill to re-fire and some to Beaver to "show room". Took Robin and many boxes of books, and laundry to Beaver on Thursday. Did laundry, visited in the community; R repaired weed-eater, put new electric lawn mower together, installed ext cord for kilns to back deck as planned, read and rested. I cut enough grass to make place look somewhat civil - and renew pain in back - and rested. Went to yard sales and thrift shops - wonderful bookshelf for new house - need lots! and a beautiful, very special, comforter. Like Charmion, the 5-6 hour trip is tiring! We returned to Montreal on Tuesday - and rested. Now, with the bridge to South Shore reduced to one lane each way OR 60 to 90 minutes - just to get across!- instead of 20-30, I am loathe to go to mill. An alternate route would add about 30 minutes to the 90 minute trip - better than 90 extra but, with long weekend looming, I am thinking of doing nothing until Tuesday! Then I need to return to Beaver as Dan is building bridge across the babbling brook and may have time for a couple more small projects - he says we can have him for a week and a half! There are things in my car to go to mill so, when I feel it is reasonable to travel, I shall go to mill and offload stuff, pick up a few things re pottery and go to Beaver early on next day. Hope: rest, make pots, check out and repair, if needed, two kilns, fire, glaze, fire. Cut more grass but not so much as to hurt back. Harvest strawberries and lettuce, my major crops this year! Later there will be beets and carrots - between the raspberry canes, zukes and 4 cabbages, unless something eats them. A trip to library is needed today. Books are building up on stairs again - yes, already! But the 5 pounds I lost are still lost. I will get back on track to lose more when I am back at Beaver. Now for a couple books to get me through this long weekend (Canada Day). |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 28 Jun 18 - 03:58 PM Ohio: Catching up on house clutter after a brief illness. Another LL topic catalogued. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Jun 18 - 12:09 PM Everything is in slow motion when it's so hot. I have a few plants to transplant in a shady area of the yard and I'll leave the resulting pots in an area where I remember to keep them watered as the plants grow more roots. Come fall they will be nice gifts for friends who are xeriscape gardeners. It's so hot that the front yard, unwatered, is dormant and there are only a few areas that need trimming. Same in the back - I keep an area watered so the dogs have some green turf, the rest can dry out. We're to outdoor shower weather here, that will keep moisture on the lawn near the patio. A big box moved out of the house yesterday made room for more items to list and pack up for eBay. If you're patient (and tweak the price), just about everything sells. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 27 Jun 18 - 04:38 PM Ohio: The shelves were indeed swapped around as described in my last post. Their books are installed. The dolls look quite chummy bracketing the Building Alliances topic on top of the Youth, Children, and Educational Change topic groupings. This freed up most of a long shelf where other sections below it were too tight-- I can space those out now. (I'll need all that space when I add the Facilitators' Guide binders to each topic!) Brittney also kindly brought in the two main bookcase pieces we'll need for next week's bookcase assembly-- the tall, heavy side pieces. That leaves just 5-6 short shelves, top, and bottom to be brought in; I can use my scooter to bring them to the front door for Brandi to assemble. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jun 18 - 09:24 PM Three plus weeks into introducing the new pooch and they're all relaxing into the New Normal. The oldest dog still gives her a wide berth, but that is slowly changing also. Tomorrow I ship an eBay box that I wasn't sure would ever sell. I have a couple more like that I need to list or tweak. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 26 Jun 18 - 07:14 PM Ohio: Today I allocated a little patch of floor/wall space to our music binders. Now that max space has been allocated, we can start the paring-down process. Two of the old MudDorm cubes will fit, stacked, just inside the LL door for our players' binders-- one cube is there now, and the little plastic three-drawer unit that already held singalong books is set on top. If we go out to play somewhere or revive the Celebration Circle here, we can just pull out the relevant drawer and go, and the drawer will prevent the darn things from blowing away like they always did when we played outdoors. Above that music combo unit, there is space for one small poster-- now that I know the dimensions of these areas, I can go ahead and put up all of the room's art pieces. Moving that plastic drawer set freed up the space under a window for a low combo of shelves and cubby to go there; two of the four pieces for that is are in the LL now; one is readily accessed in the garage; the topper is in the LR awaiting being emptied and swapped for a bigger shelf I brought. (Senior Helper Brittney can help me swap those tomorrow-- I'll do the heavy lifting with an appliance dolly, and she can help me turn the corners to wheel it in.) On this low purple shelf topper will perch the two 3/4-middle school-size multicultural role-playing dolls, bookending the Building Alliances topic kit. Below them will be Educational Change books and journals, and maybe the Youth topic kit, if it will fit, too. In preparation for that, I also adjusted the big, wide bookcase's base to consolidate other boxed items into it, that had been on the floor around the room and in that space under the window. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 26 Jun 18 - 01:48 PM (Better tell Dan about the orthotics, Charmion!) Ohio: Another LL Topic catalogued. I've discovered the magic of keeping a bag of healthy chips in the adjoining file cabinet drawer. I'm pretty good about keeping water in a safe container nearby, but food rewards for desk work, yeah! At the doc appt ydy, we found I'd lost a few pounds. This is the longest run since DX on a synthroud dosage, where natural appetite plus natural activity level equals alertness, good sleep, and spontaneous weight loss. The more clothing I bring here, the more I discover the opportunities created by having duplicates. One year, I mis-ordered twill jeans and ended up with a surplus-- several awful colors, and they weren't quite cut right for my height, leg-shape-wise, either. (I'd use them as last resort in laundry shortages!) They tended not to get worn much, and I assigned one particularly vivid shade of blue to my Ohio closet. Well, the other day, I was wishing I had more walking shorts here, and realized that now I live in a town with a range of services not available in RuralLand-- a dry cleaner within scootering range-- with an alterations service. BOOM! Vivid blue shorts for summer with a colorful top-- that WORKS! My original pair of Ohio jeans is about to go the same way-- brown twill bought used; for a long time they were the ONLY trousers I had here. I wore sweat pants mostly. Dear old things, so soft. Now I have more jeans, so-- Oh! more shorts. And that pair of awful and dowdy-looking heavy-gauze cotton trousers-- navy blue but never did hang right, but as dress shorts? Soon! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 26 Jun 18 - 10:07 AM We're back in Stratford after a weekend away in Ottawa for a foot race. That is, a 1,200-km trip (there and back) for the privilege of hoofing as fast as possible over 8 km of Lanark County's variable terrain in the hope of doing it at least as fast if not faster than the last time I did it. I must be mad. Himself, of course, is fine with foot races; he's strong and fit with nothing wrong with his feet. I'm actually quite fit, but not as strong as I used to be and my feet are a mess. Nevertheless, I covered the 8 km (5 miles) in 80 minutes. That's a 16-minute mile; a decent forced-march pace and not at all bad for a member of the Bunion Brigade. Unfortunately, orthotic insoles are not made for such shenanigans, and I now have a substantial blister under the callus on the side of my left heel. As Churchy La Femme would say, ROWRBASIL! Then we came home. Six hours of highway, plus road food. Today, I am tired beyond belief and quite unwilling to do anything more adventurous than a trip to Sobey's for minimal groceries. Himself (who did the 5 miles in 51 minutes) has announced that he wants to break out a flower bed this week. I rather think that he has revised his plan to wait until his quads are feeling a bit more the thing. It's been a while since he ran 6 km and trotted two more. We're a great pair, we are. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 25 Jun 18 - 10:55 PM Ohio: My July 6 senior helper will help me assemble that big bookcase, yay! Not much accomplished today-- a cyst on my nose blew up into an urgent doc appt early this AM followed by long nap and pain meds thru Weds. Not ambitious, but general picking up stuff planned for tmrw. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Jun 18 - 11:02 PM Laundry is finished, dress form is set up, kitchen cleaned, papers burned, research more or less completed on a couple of projects. Tomorrow is Monday. Yuck. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: LilyFestre Date: 24 Jun 18 - 05:10 PM I've started the summer beverage switch too. I have iced tea (either Lipton or a black tea), lemonade, iced coffee, beer, wine, water, milk and Hugs for Jeremiah. Hydration is the name of the game! Not much news here....still waiting on paperwork for my new car. The fridge has been cleaned out, some larger toys have been cleaned up and are ready to deliver to their new home, games are packed for our vacation, folks to watch the property and feed the pig/birds has been secured, got 2 new work outfits yesterday, dishes are done, lunches are prepped for the next few days, I have chicken marinating for kabobs later this week and just taking a break. I feel a nap coming on. :) I love Sunday afternoons! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Jun 18 - 04:27 PM Purged old financial documents from a file and they're burning in the barrel in the back yard (next to a tub of water if extinguishing becomes necessary). I have a cross-cut shredder now, but this was a bunch of pages, the kind of thing I bought the small burning barrel for. It only took three weeks of not being able to tune into old Columbo episodes to realize that I probably needed to rescan the TVs - an Internet check confirms the relocation of the signal in the end of May. Duh. There are several sets that need attention, including the receiver in my computer. I was going to drive to Dallas today but find it's too hot and I have things I must do today that have a time limit (due tomorrow). Melting down already in June, not waiting till August for the dog days of summer - this is depressing. The time has come to start my summer routine of making a large jar of iced tea for the fridge. It involves a couple of sprigs of lemon balm from the yard and nine cents worth (three bags) of green tea ($3/100 at the Big Lots) and I like it just as well as any commercial product out there. This morning Zeke was intent on getting his breakfast, but I needed to close my eyes for a few minutes because I made the mistake of reading the news on my phone without putting on my glasses. That makes it harder to focus for a while. So I sat leaned back in a rocking chair and Zeke got pushy and wiggly and managed to knock over a 200+ year old tall case clock, knocking off the bonnet and breaking the glass on the face. I rescued the wooden works (dangling by their cords inside the cabinet) and put it back together. I'll have to replace the glass and refit the lead bell inside the works. Nothing like a hungry dog to demolish an expensive family heirloom. Lots of glass cleanup and though I swept and vacuumed I fully expect, in the next two to four weeks, to walk into the room and see a large piece of glass sitting on the floor right in the open, somehow completely missed in the cleaning. Darned clock ran for 10 minutes after all of this. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Jun 18 - 04:21 PM Ohio: WhooHOO! Finally worked my way through boxes to capture the CORNER DESK dimensions-- that limits all the office corner dimensions that look so tight between the essential bookcases. But ALL the cubbies and cubes WILL FIT where I first wanted them! And more! I could add more stackables in several areas! Also the closet half I thought would hold one file cabinet can be made to fit TWO-- taking a big gray, low cabinet out of the crowded center of the room, to be replaced with a much smaller footprint custom printer stand Hardi can whiz up-- for which I have milk crates till then. WhooHOO! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Jun 18 - 02:05 PM Ohio: Another Topic Kit catalogued in the LL. I'm probably going to have to wait a month until Hardi is here to assemble the big bookcase I brought to match the one already here. However, I seriously need to confirm that I have enough shelf space for items on hand. It's just too many planning-type things to hold in my mind-- so I'm going to mock it out. That 2nd bookcase's back is in the LL-- I brought it in to measure its wall space. I have loads of blue tape on hand. So, right on that back, I'm going to mark off the shelf placements and use sticky notes to lay out the category placements I'm hoping can live there together, by measuring any already-shelved topics I want to move and any boxed items waiting to be shelved. When I have that backing piece laid out, I'll take a picture in case the labels get dislodged in bookcase assembly. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Jun 18 - 11:42 PM The day became every bit oppressively hot as predicted. I took a shower after working in the garden this morning and I need another one so I can sleep tonight. It's the time of year when changing out night shirts and sheets happens more than once a week because I really dislike air conditioning and keep the house as warm as I can stand at night. The thermostat is programmable and I usually set it at about 79o or 80o overnight, with the ceiling fan going. Years ago (in a different house) I found that my hips ached and I had to wear socks to bed when the A/C was too low. Now I have the furniture positioned so the ceiling vent doesn't hit me directly. This is the most difficult time of year as far as getting a good night's sleep. I prefer winter when it's cold and I keep the room cool and pile on blankets, but cooling the house with A/C and piling on blankets isn't the same. I want to be acclimated to the outside so I don't keep the indoors too cold. A neighbor was out walking his three-legged dog Rosie (she chased one too many UPS trucks in her youth) and we spoke in the front yard while my dogs watched out the glass and metal security door. New dog Pepper barked, the other two just looked on. That was okay, Pepper has a job to do and she wasn't crazy, just made her presence known. We will cultivate a friendship with Rosy now that we've met in person with her human Larry. I walk past her yard and she barks, but now we'll walk up the driveway and offer a treat (and my dogs will get a treat as well). The same thing happens at Ozzy's house. After that, acknowledging the progress we've made in three weeks, tonight we tried a mellow everyone sitting on the carpet in the front room. Pepper occasionally growls, she hasn't completely mastered sharing her human, but in that short time she has come a long way. Most of my progress today was digital as I worked on some computer projects when I came in to cool down. The garden does look better after a combination of using the mattock near the plants and the weed wacker along the beds outer edges. I expect it to be hot again so more digital work tomorrow. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 23 Jun 18 - 07:35 PM Thanks, elf! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Jun 18 - 10:05 AM I was going to get up and work around the office but this glued me to my seat for 23 minutes. Worth. Every. Minute. :) The day is supposed to be very hot, but the morning is overcast and about 99% humidity. Wretched out there, but I'll wade into it to do some gardening basics. I won't do laundry right now, it won't dry on the line in this humidity; if it clears out later I'll run the whites and hang out the sheets. My dress form arrived yesterday, has yet to be un-boxed. Once it is I'm sure I'll be totally distracted so I'd best do some of the other stuff that needs doing first. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 23 Jun 18 - 09:40 AM 8 tries w blickifier later: https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2018/06/21/want-to-downsize-in-retirement-problem-one-millennials-dont-want-your-stuff/#360d1162739c Fixed |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 23 Jun 18 - 09:30 AM VN, I've been decluttering email, too-- unsubscribing from PA events and so many orgs and groups because really, my future life in that regard is already in Ohio. I'll hear enough about the PA stuff I really care about, via other means. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Vashta Nerada Date: 22 Jun 18 - 04:39 PM Decluttered a monthly donation for a program I never attend any more. I need to go through my email and unsubscribe the sites that I never visit or read their stuff any more. I'm thinking about having an email account just for bills and financial transactions. I have one where all of that takes place, but everything else in the world seems to be subscribed through there as well, and with email accounts, well, they are an embarrassment of riches. I think I have at least six that are in regular use. Also, I keep a notebook of pages from each site I have an account and logon information. It's quite a bulky book, so maybe I should go through there and see what I never use and lose it. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 21 Jun 18 - 09:20 PM Ohio: About 6 loads of laundry since last night are now folded and some already stowed. My dresser continues to amaze me with its ability to swallow up more and more nice things! What a difference to be able to sit in front of the open drawers, to fit things thoughtfully, with no back strain. I tried our dear old MudDorm cubes at the foot of the bed for a bench, and unfortunately they just don't work-- too big literally and visually. Too hard and too invisible in the dark. So I raised the feet of the round shower stool GCCOA had replaced for me, and it's perfect. Its PA twin also can go there on Greg's side. The white top shows in the dark, and the round shape makes them look even smaller than they are. Because the tops are slippery plastic, and small, they also won't attract clutter. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 21 Jun 18 - 05:34 PM Ohio: Cold and rainy day here, so no scootering dog for exercise and mutual mental health. So it was either nap my routine all to hell... or scoot furniture around in the LL to see if it all really fits. Adjusting my mental map to realize I must shrink all walls to subtract a 3x3' square from the middle of the room.... tight... but... fits. Hardi will not like it at all, at first. I didn't instantly adjust from a 5000 square foot house for two to three weeks in an 8x12' camper for three (including bunks), either. But once again, I'll remind him that this little house IS small enough to comfortably afford. Bigger than the little camper. Bigger than the later (8x20') camper. Bigger than a singlewide trailer. Big enough to live FROM it, not be holed up 24/7 IN it. (And he gets total say in another room.) No, this room won't do for him at all-- until the newer and slightly smaller TV is showing a hockey game to go with the popcorn, or until he needs desk space because his sewing project has temporarily filled his room. :-) (And here, we're close to LIVE NHL hockey!) The puder desk is now facing the center of the room (and door), which feels much safer--I would see an intruder. There will be a smaller corner desk behind it for household management, and it will get a mirror for it so I can see the doorway in it. I'm now sitting in a little recliner facing the deep closet that will hold that little TV, with my back to the desk area. From here the visible shelves do not loom too close. The outlets are right where I want them. The only HVAC register is not blowing right on me. It's going to work! That puder desk is on wheels and will have no rug under it-- for a roomier den area, it can be pushed back 12-18"-- and I will run the cords to facilitate that. But I LIKE that it's not big enough to feel like staying in it all day, in front of a TV!!! Right outside the door are bath and laundry-- "Never miss a line of a film nor movie again." A storage closet in PA is moving here to sit next to the stackable laundry-- the obvious spot for the bar fridge and hot air popcorn popper. People LIVE in rooms half this size. We have more rooms and all the outdoors. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 21 Jun 18 - 01:14 PM VN, I just roll how I roll! ;-) (Of course you're free to read or skip my posts.) Ohio: A key daily task at this house is ensuring hydration. At this time in my life, I need a steady, low humidity, and we bought a small enough house (and efficient enough HVAC and windows) to do it without a huge cost or carbon footprint. So I get pretty thirsty. I tried and didn't like several varieties of re-usable chairside water bottles. The best have been re-purposed 1/2 gallon vinegar bottles, which I reluctantly purchase when gallons aren't available. The water here needs a touch of acidity anyway, so they're re-labeled and set by the sink, full, for the chlorination to air out. Then they're distributed in the evening when I walk through to set lights and alarms, and check locks. Lately I've had trouble finding laundry ammonia in gallons to reduce the plastic purchasing for that department. I was SURE that the accumulating 1/2 gallon jugs couldn't be re-purposed for potable water... surely I'd taste a trace of ammonia?!? Turns out.... no! Not if it's rinsed first and filled with vinegar for a day or two. Rinsed again, and filled-- great drinking water. And the labels are easily-removed sleeves-- even better. Only after long re-use are theseveral various jugs recycled-- usually once their cap is lost. But they're also great for freezing stock, once or twice, cap or no. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 21 Jun 18 - 11:18 AM Montreal: WOW! Took pottery to be re-fired down to the Mill yesterday and a few other items, clearing it from here. Today, Robin loaded boxes of books from the staircase into my car to go to Beaver, to his library! We will be leaving any hour now - with laundry - for a long weekend of fresh air and art galleries. I can now fold up the futon in the cave. Yesterday, I vacuumed a missed area and installed the portable AC for downstairs. I wait... IF we leave by noon we might be able to do a boat tour of Thousand Islands. OR we could hear a friend's music if we get to the spot, en route, by 6:30. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Vashta Nerada Date: 21 Jun 18 - 09:30 AM Perhaps a tad TMI, Susan, in some of the more recent posts? |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 20 Jun 18 - 07:06 PM Ohio: First tryout with pillows: It's a lot softer than anticipated. Given that I started the tryout with a sore back, I'm not sure if the pain now is older strain now being felt, or having too much chest pillowing (now adjusted). It's soft enough that I had trouble getting back out of it, so I'll need to learn a new trick to do it without either totally waking up or peeing the bed. If it's still too soft by July 24, we'll have to replace a layer with a new rug pad. I also don't love how high it is now, because I can't sit on the side of it to get dressed. Whatever it's future holds, it's done now-- I made my bed so I'll lie in it. ??? But it was great to have Brandi's help, and I suppose if it's too injurious, Brittney will be available to help make another try, like adding a board between the foam layers on my side. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jun 18 - 06:21 PM eBay is changing how they do things again - I have been able to give partial refunds using PayPal, and I'll keep that up - eBay wants me to offer free returns (after 30 days, not the 14 that was the status till now) so I can do that. They'll cut the profit out for small operations like mine, so I'll continue to require returns to be paid by the buyer. But I have to go work on all of my listings to put the 30 days in place (or they'll what? Close my listings? They do that kind of thing occasionally). This afternoon I moved a cabinet from the den to the kitchen dining area. It reduces the amount of light, which I don't like, but it helps organize some of the stuff in the kitchen. I may be able to move things enough that this cabinet goes from in front of the window to over on the windowless side of the room. I had to offload about half of the LPs (that will continue to live there) to lift one end up six inches into the kitchen. Darned "sunken den" mentality of the 70s! The DVDs used to live on the top shelf of that piece, but now it is a mix of large cookbooks and a stack of magazines waiting to be read. Or recycled. It's that 35 tiles with 36 spaces kind of board game. I'm glad to read that everyone is busy, recycling or decluttering or not. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 20 Jun 18 - 04:28 PM Ohio: It worked exactly as laid out except that a 2nd king mattress pad turned up in the layers, which was used to marry the newly added pieces into a solid king layer. Wash is going. ~S~ |
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