Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 18 - 12:56 PM

I was too late arriving at Goodwill so will take it over today. And will keep an eye on the new fence that is slowly going in - I'm going to have to modify the chain link fence to remove a portion of it or there will be a 2' swath of weeds between the new wooden fence where there never was one before. It used to be just my chain link (also called "cyclone" fence) that divided the yards, but again, it was too close in on my side of the property line. I'll put in a new post up against the new wood one and rework the end of the chain and take out the upper posts.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Oct 18 - 11:54 AM

OH:

I'm contemplating a seed order for air conditioned summer sowing, for outdoor fall plantings, heavy on weed-suppressing ground covers.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 07:27 PM

I put off gardening and it got hot again this afternoon. Maybe I'll get some done in the morning. I finished the last of the weekend cooking I planned and have some prepared foods ready for the freezer for future meals.

I'll take a look at the recycle bins down at city hall and see if I can cram in the trash-bag full that I've accumulated. I also have the hard drive-free old HP computer that I think I'll take by Goodwill. It was a great one, but it is more than a dozen years old. Someone might buy it and put in a new motherboard and get all of the drivers for the drives and devices. This is a good time to donate it because it was stored in the guest room.

Family visit will probably happen next weekend. The house is looking pretty good now but can look better. Hopefully my next few days will be productive in that direction.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 01:25 PM

OH:

Funny how, now that it suddenly feels like real Fall weather, I suddenly want to garden. I have a lot of decluts to do out there, but I should take note that Fall gardening really should be where I focus most of my future efforts, and research/plan accordingly.

One declut is the several daffodil bulbs I salvaged. Master Gardener Judy affirms my plan to chill them, and then force them in January (when Greg takes up residence here).

I took a closer look at the potted peony they so carefully deconstructed, which i mentioned had started life here as an end-of-season rescue from the garden center's discard pile. Its in a 6" pot with no bottom, inside an 18" diameter shrub pot with drainage and intact bottom, which was filled with well-amended soil. With another gardening friend's brainstorming, I found another disability-friendly solution for wintering that until its bed is ready-- in the garage, but inside an old plastic bin I was about to recycle, full of mulch, and set in the warm corner of the garage after the nights get a little colder. (Judy concurs, and reminds me to water that monthly.)

Coming next week to audition for Head Gardener (the skilled member of the young crew) is Brandon, who is Judy's best helper. We'll develop rapport while he helps unload a few heavy items from the trailer, neatens up yard waste, and loads the year's deadwood into the trailer for me to take to the city's free-mulch dump. The following week he'll move a small bush to the spot now collecting the deadwood, start reshaping beds, and relocate some iris bulbs that didn't do well. (Half the bulb bed was excavated and needs to settle before planting, but half remains as it was.)

I'll cover the wheelbarrow-load of soil, which is now in a low concrete-mixing trough. I'll amend that in the spring for fall bulb planting in the reshaped bulb bed. In the fall, Brandon can plant the baby peony into its much larger bed.

Judy is interested in a little patch to mini-garden. I want white hydrangeas. Perhaps she'd like to plant around those.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 11:38 AM

There is a growing stack of items for family in the Northwest that will be transported to them by a visiting relative, whenever they arrive. It dawned on me that this is my best bet to save on postage for some time to come, so I'm digging out things that can go to them and I may even include xmas gifts.

Lovely fall day out - finally! Branch trimming, mowing, weeding ahead.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 01:25 AM

I took the hard drive out of my old HP desktop. I bought it in 2005 so it is very slow, but it had Win7 in it before I retired it. And my current machine isn't that much newer, purchased in 2000, but with lots of upgrades (so many that not another thing can be crammed inside it).

Too bad HP stopped making most of their desktops. I custom ordered machines in the past. Next one will probably be a Dell and I'll customize it myself.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 18 - 11:44 PM

We had another heavy rainstorm mid-afternoon (I do live in North Texas, not the tropics, but you wouldn't know it by this weather) so it's more indoors activity. I crossed four of five cooking chores off of today's list. A big one for tomorrow will come after I clean up the kitchen in the morning.

Dog beds and rugs have been washed, there's one last bed to find something to counter-balance it in the washer; I think the dog bed in the hall outside my bedroom will be the one (that's where Pepper settles in in the morning, waiting for me to leave my room).

Three books arrived today from Bat Goddess, Lawrence Block novels with a burglar as protagonist (I think). He is prolific, and I've read three of his series characters, but not this one.

Tomorrow is the 30th day after I retired, so at this point I can work part time in any school or .edu setting without a penalty on my retirement. Full time I would have to wait a full year, but I don't think I want to work in a school full-time. Several people have suggested that substitute teaching is a good option, and I'll look into it.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Sep 18 - 08:42 PM

Beaver:

Amazing the difference doing a bunch of small things can make. I did not feel as though I was making great progress but a lot of areas look better. It was not a good day for outdoors, sporadic showers precluded that. I picked up some nice veggies at the Farm market and socialized there and elsewhere, arriving home to cook a nice lunch. The cabbage needed a chain saw to cut it up so I took off enough for a meal and enough more to make it fit in a large saucepan and cooked the lot for tomorrow and tomorrow... Must remember to grow my own next year!

Heavy frost likely tonight. Fire in stove and is not making the house hot, just keeping it comfortable, which is what I prefer but a sign of the plummeting outdoor temp.

R phoned last night to tell me he could get here "tomorrow". "But the long weekend is next week." "Oh, is it?" So, hopefully he will arrive next week. He is seriously ready for a break.

Maybe tomorrow I can move the stuff from my car into the van - for storage! The mugs I threw the other day are still drying - slowly! So I brought them into the house, near the wood stove, in hopes of getting them dry so I can fire. (In this few minutes the heat went from ok to HOT! I closed the stove down!! WHEW!) That should help the drying.

Now, if Someone would just let me know they are driving to Quebec later this week. I am at the point of accepting that Hannah might not get her bowls by Thanksgiving; I do not feel like driving 10 hours this week!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 10:57 PM

I had a list for all of the things I needed to do today and actually got to all of them. I picked up two political signs for my yard (it is at an intersection so I can put them facing two directions) and three small bumper stickers (I ended up giving away one sign and two stickers, I'll go back for more next week). I dropped off shells for my daughter (got a kiss!) and from there met friends for lunch and we went to an event on campus celebrating the completion of a new science building (over the top of the parking lot that we all used for a couple of decades.) And I did some shopping on the way home.

Tomorrow there is some cooking that needs doing and I'll be ready for whenever family finally arrives. It's better to have stuff ready and keep the prep quick, reheating or adding something new to the existing items. My freezer is full so I need to stop shopping for some of these things, but it's irresistible to buy two large roasting hens frozen for $5 (today's bargain). I have to saute some of my eggplants and have them ready for my favorite pork, tomato, onion and eggplant casserole. I'll cook them ahead and freeze - the dish bakes for a long time so adding the frozen quarters when there is an hour left in the baking works well.

Today I wore the new pair of sneakers all day and my feet survived - I try to buy the kinds of shoes that don't require much breaking in because ever since the bunion surgery I am careful about the shoes I buy. My closet has more shoes than usual, so it may be time again to send Goodwill the ones I never wear. And I have another new pair I haven't started wearing yet (they're more for this season than summer, when I bought them.) One bonus stop this afternoon at Goodwill, where I found two items that can go in my sunroom eBay stash and I HAVE to start listing more of these things. I have a $5 birthday coupon at that shoe store with no minimum purchase so I'll swing buy and purchase a pair of socks. You can never have too many socks.

It was lovely last night, when I woke up and was uncomfortable and realized that I was cold - I pulled the second light blanket over me and it felt wonderful! There is such a difference between sleeping in a room that is air conditioned and sleeping in a room that is cool because it is cool outside. I'll put away the light summer blanket that's over my thermal blanket and use one of the slightly heavier ones that has been stored in the closet for the last five or six months. (Once it gets really cold I'll use the quilt over the thermal blanket, and if it gets effing-cold then I get out the down comforter.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 06:27 PM

Beaver:
Screen wipes? I am neurotic about only using the appropriate spray and special cloth, carefully kept in original plastic bag.

Peony? Forgive me for my neurosis about peonies! I understand they need LOTS of nutrients in their new hole as they hate to be moved and intend to stay in same place for YEARS. Of course, this neurosis has to do with the one I rescued in 1989. Walking around newly purchased property, I found a unique leaf, about 6 inches high, in the tall grass of the long untended yard. "Hmmm, that looks like a peony!" It took about 3 years of careful nurturing before it thanked me with a lovely bloom. In the ten years of my tenure, it grew into a large enough and strong enough plant to survive. When I visited the old homestead last month, I was delighted to see it still holding its own and treasured by the newest owner. I take such pleasure from this!

My self- appointed pottery goal has been met and pots are now drying. I hope to have them ready for Hannah in time to get them to Montreal before Thanksgiving, even if I must drive them there myself. (I have a notice on the local "FB rideshare" in case anyone is going that way for Thanksgiving. This would greatly de-clutter my life! Shipping pottery is both expensive and iffy.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 03:42 PM

I use the tail of my shirt. Am I a slut, or what?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 12:14 PM

Karen, I use single-pack lens wipes and occasionally one has dried out due to packaging failure-- they work fine if moistened with tap water.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: KarenH
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 11:54 AM

Cleaned out all the 'screen wipes', which, sadly, never come in dry-up proof packages and are therefore mostly useless when you have taken opened the pack and used one. Thinking of returning to spit and polish.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 11:23 AM

I need to give a lot of these things to my daughter who uses all sorts of fabrics in costumes she makes. There is a novelty factor of having old Irish linen dish cloths that someone took the time to mend/darn at some point. They were very frugal back in the day.

I have running to do today, a nice departure from several days at home. I need to schedule myself enough outside activity so I keep track of days of the week, etc. Once I land another job this will cease to be an issue.

This morning is a bit slow-moving, I was up late finishing some copyediting (deadlines are best when they're not looming). Today or next week I'll meet with the editor, and I'm looking for several more essays for this journal issue.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 09:48 AM

I am tired today and therefore have decided to do not much of anything at all. I may take a little stroll downtown, should the spirit move me, but otherwise may spend the day pootering around.

Antique table linen is a bit of a challenge, and I envy Stilly her extended family where she can find new custodians for her own stash. I have at least four Irish linen damask tablecloths, ranging in size from modest to very large indeed, and when I am dead they will probably become trash. They all belonged to my grandmother, who was married in 1907, and I'm pretty sure she made the largest one -- embellished with drawn work and white-on-white embroidery -- for her trousseau, with assistance from her mother and sister. I once tried to iron it myself with a steam iron on a normal ironing board, achieving dismal results, so every time it is used means explaining the concept of "linen tablecloth" to a confused counter clerk at the cleaners', and a laundry bill of unpredictable size.

Meanwhile, the linen gets trotted out once or twice a year to blasé acceptance from my family and wondering remarks from in-laws and other guests. I believe the younger generation considers it "retro", along with the (real) silver cutlery that does NOT go in the dishwasher.

A big box of heirloom linens went to the church variety sale this spring, and I wondered (idly) where it went. Then one day I was in the big antiques market that operates in an old warehouse on the edge of town, and the centrepiece of one stall was a display of my granny's embroidered linen guest towels. God knows who would buy it; when was the last time you saw a linen guest towel in actual use?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Sep 18 - 08:03 AM

OH:

The plumbers will return today to finish backfilling the sewer line trench. I was able to nab several daffodil bulbs to toss in as they fill.

They also carefully deconstructed a partly planted peony. It started life here as an end-of-season rescue from the garden center's discard list. It's never bloomed, though it did attempt to bud this year; it's still in a large pot I had nestled, for safekeeping, into what had been planned as a rock garden whose time I missed due to the Tyler stuff. I'll have the plumbers save me a wheelbarrow full of soil, which I'll amend next week for transplanting the baby peony into its much larger (rock-garden-free) bed.

So I hope to be decluttered of a couple of yards of soil by dinnertime, and to enjoy the crew's help to put some heavy retaining blocks back around the bulb bed (which will declutter my driveway). They built shovel time into the bid and have been delightful to work with.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 18 - 07:39 PM

A box of family antique table linens is ready to go via visiting family to another family member. The table is cleared, temporarily, so I could roll them out to compare patterns (linen damask table cloths).

It has been lovely weather all day so the dogs will get a walk, now that the hearings are over and the rehash is underway.

I have to do some editing tonight, so any other hobby stuff will happen only if I finish the paper I need to copy edit.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Sep 18 - 06:06 PM

OH:

The plumbing crew replaced the sewer line, and presented me with a lsndscaping-worthy boulder and interestinhlt-shaped concrete slab, delivered by Bobcat bucket to locations of my choice. I also was able to pick 4 daffodil bulbs out of the dirt as they excavated. Rain broke out so tmrw they finish the backfill and the restoration of the bulb bed.

I got half a banker's box emptied between photo shots for Greg.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 18 - 02:54 PM

I waded into my son's closet and pulled out one of two stacking bins and redistributed the contents. Some to bookshelves, some to the other bin in the closet, some to the trash, and some to the donation bin. I'll pack up a few items and send them to him soon via a relative who will be visiting during a bucket-list road trip.

The bin is now washed out and ready for more craft cloth. I don't expect it to be holding this for long, I need to move forward with the projects this fabric is intended for. But I needed a way to contain a stash of materials as I work with them.

It will be no surprise to anyone that I'm listening to a full day of testimony in the Senate hearings to do with Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey Ford. I think this will open the floodgates as far as sexual assault victims telling their stories, because the difference between the Anita Hill and the Christine Ford testimony is that Hill was battered and abused by the hearing itself; even though the GOP is hosting this meeting also, they realized they couldn't behave like they did in 1991. Victims may be able to begin the talking cure if they've kept it bottled up. I have radios on around the house so I can do this work and not miss a word.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Sep 18 - 07:18 PM

Beaver:

Lentil soup sounds like a great idea!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 18 - 06:54 PM

A pot of lentil soup is now in containers in the fridge and the house smells wonderful. I steamed some broccoli and took a look in the produce bins in the fridge where there is some I need to use soon (and the dogs will get lucky tonight).

I disturbed dust in the front room where a large trunk holds some damask lengths that I'll unfold and see if any are as long as what my sister needs for her dining room table. I'm also thinking something from that trunk might be useful to my niece who, with her husband, bought a large house last summer and they're getting set up to stay there for a while as they start their family.

Added more to the Goodwill donation bin, clearing the dining table to measure the fabric and to cut up the stack of jeans from Freecycle. It also turns out that my ex is working on an art project and was looking for some of the rivets that are on jeans, so I'll give him the leftover seams so he can pick those out. I'm really curious about that art project!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Sep 18 - 06:37 PM

Beaver:
Emails to friends seeking therapist for son needing to move toward divorce. Really nice response from one who now has a LIFE having left behind the albatross. I take delight in her new life. Hope son can soon have the same.

It is taking energy.

I threw about 20 mugs a couple days ago; still not dry enough to trim and place handles! RAIN!

Little by little, still sorting things here, finding better spots for things. Would like it to be a bit better when/if R comes for Thanksgiving. It is mostly pretty good but needs finer tuning. Realized I have been missing out on a storage unit - the vanagon that has not moved in two years! A better place to triage the stuff to go to "new house" than my car which is now full of that stuff! Maybe tomorrow if it is clear. The battery is dead so R would have to get it working, register it and phone insurance before moving it! I was tired of paying uselessly for those latter!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Sep 18 - 03:25 PM

OH, garage:

The rice/chix livery stew is warming for an early supper.

I just spent another very productive garage hour-plus: another banker's box DONE (and recycle box filled).

I also slightly rearranged garage obstacles to improve scooter parking/charging, and redid the scooter's snap-hook hanging system for ferrying bagged groceries on its back. Found two empty cloth store bags out here to hang on it, and now it's all ready for the next trip-- hardware, tomorrow maybe.

I found another "fun" job for Brittney in here next week-- vacuuming 2 area rugs out here and then hanging them on an adjoining fence to rinse themselves in the rain (or air). The following week, she can lay them in the garage work zone for my bare feets.

I see some areas in here I can consolidate/straighten up on my next box-sorting day.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 18 - 07:02 PM

Two job applications filed this week so far. Two lunch dates made with friends and family (one date got changed because the business is closed for repairs to the AC system after so much rain over the weekend). Poked my head around the corner to see the progress on the fence; I predict that by Friday the new posts will be stable enough (fence pipes in concrete) that they'll start on this last side. Too bad it's stretching so far down toward the creek, I've enjoyed an expansive view of the greenbelt.

The sun is finally coming out and this evening I'll take my soapy spray out and hit the bugs on the vegetables. I'll add some spinosad to the soap and perhaps kill a few stink bugs.

I have realized that if I try to leave reading till the end of the day then I don't do it; I'm tired and I opt to go to sleep. So I need to pick a time earlier and make that a habit. I bought a couple of new books for the Amazon Fire tablet (the Kindle app) and I'll start with those.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 18 - 06:11 PM

OH:

After some major lifting (mine) throughout the day, the TV stand is now tucked into the LL closet, with a folding rocker tucked in beside it that may be replaced by Greg's other favorite camping chair-- his zero-grav recliner.

The chairside cube from the Sewing Room has been emptied of its recorded music and added to a musicians' books tower in the LL, where a pile of unpacked Saturday night service players' binders were taking up floor space. A folding chair is tucked beside the tower and adjoining shelf. Binders are stowed and room for Greg's to arrive in October.

The chairside SR cube was replaced by a low set of plastic drawers from PA, to hold my toiletries basket and fone charger. (This will stay there until Greg takes over that room.)

The big gray plastic bin finally came off the trailer today-- my rest of summer clothes, all perfectly dry as hoped. Summer's are long here, and I look forward to having a few pieces different from the few clothes I've kept here and worn to rags. Time to purge as I put them away.

That bin will play a big role in the January move; a 2nd small indoors-only scooter in PA will probably fit in there, disassembled, on the hitch-mounted platform behind the van.

I began negotiations with the PA landlord family yesterday regarding leaving the house unoccupied for 60-90 days before we complete moving out. Greg and I are agreed that we will most probably need to do that in March-- not January. So lists have been made about essentials to throw into the van Jan. 1 to get his resting period underway ASAP. When he wakes up he can organize His Garage, into which bis weights and woodshop will go along with all the last of the PA stuff for slow and gentle incorporation into the house.

How we're moving-- Pods as such are not readily available in our PA market, but U-Pack is. For about the same cost as a rented Penske truck, they bring you a 'pup' trailer to fill up-- those shorter trailers you see being pulled by semi's in twos or threes-- 28' available space and you only pay for space actually used. (You install a supplied bulkhead behind your stuff. The driver fills the leftover space with commercial freight.) We will carry fragile items in the van, the lawn tractor and snowblower on the trailer, and let them drive the pup trailer. That gives us a cushy overnight stop along what is now a very tiresome route.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 18 - 01:40 PM

Corrected version of previous post submitted as power died.

SRS, it sounded to me like nephew lost the battle to play in a different garage-- good end run by his dad.
.

OH:

Helpful passerby Glenn showed Brittney and I how to un-ratchet the clothing bin from the trailer, which now awaits me in the LR. We also unloaded a set of plastic drawers for a side table switch I'm working on, and reloaded the dog crate that rode in Judy's van Saturday (I ferried it via scooter). Also ferried Greg's two milk crates to the front door, for which there is now sewing room space. Scooter ferrying is MUCH more fun than furniture dollies!

Brittney lifted banker's boxes in the garage to get them all in one place while I setup a sorting station out there, and she tended the recycle box that resulted from me sorting into four category-boxes and emptying one 1st-wave banker's box. All boxes to be sorted are now by the sorting table-- I made a mistake and had her stack them in the scooter path, but I can go around the table to drive that in/out.

Four boxes left to rough-sort-- perfect to finish out there before meeting Greg in October. Looks like 2 program-boxes will result plus 3rd already out there, for further sorting out there if warm, or in LL if too chilly. Creating a binderized draft program guide = good indoor post-move project.

The TV stand is now in the LL closet, and the giant Rector's Library box is now stowed our of the way in the SR, with room for those milk crates I ferried.

Brittney's going to the store for me for rice, after she washes the big frying pan-- my back is done.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 18 - 10:28 AM

It sounds like you provided both inspiration and motivation to get that other garage cleared out. I worked on mine many months ago and my aim is to keep it free of clutter. That's much easier than trying to clear it out after years of buildup.

Dog walk this morning, finally, before breakfast. There's no standing around much because the mosquitoes are wretched after all of the rain (I need to make the rounds again with my mosquito dunks). We stopped by next door to say hello to the fence contractor friend, and I looked at the planks being used - they are wide western red cedar slats that will last a long time. I'll use the same thing to replace the front facing part of my fence in my yard to tie it together.

Indoors, I'm clearing out a backlog of items that need to be mailed out. Two more parcels can probably go out tomorrow. I'll be meeting my daughter for lunch so I have a list going of the various other stops to make while I'm out there. My goal is to spend less on gas after having to commute for the last six years (telecommuting is so much easier on the mileage!)

We're almost into cooking weather; right now it's cooler out but very humid so I'm having to push the house air conditioning a little cooler than I prefer to dry the air. Soon that won't be necessary. I'm going to make a pot of lentil soup this evening to enjoy for the rest of the week.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Sep 18 - 08:56 AM

OH:

The sound system we passed along to our nephew was a big hit. In a matter of minutes it went from "there's no room in the garage for 3 boxes!" (SIL) to BIL (musician) cleaning out garage to make THEIR garage the home of the garage band. The garage was looking very roomy by the time Judy and I arrived to drop it off! ;-)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 11:57 PM

My daughter is looking for some sea shells for a costume design project. Now if I could just find the ones that are in a basket around here somewhere. . . I found several other sources of shells around the house but not the size and type she asked for. If I don't find them by the time she needs them I know they'll turn up in plain sight shortly afterwards.

We're still seeing cloudy humid weather here but eventually there will be a few clear autumn days. The fence is progressing next door.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 10:44 PM

OH:

I am REALLY liking the structure provided by the schedule the cleaning agency finally has me on. Tuesdays Brittney? Monday cooking!!! I canlt wait to disciver how he rest of the week sorts itself out now that these pieces are in place. After 24 years of chaos, this works.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 12:08 PM

Beaver:

The "new " bookcase now matches the walls, pale yellow, and blends in. Looks SO much better but not yet full of stuff as I want it to look decent even then, so choosing its contents requires thought. I have considered a curtain on it if all else fails.

The dryer weather is helping to de-clutter the bowls of moisture so they can be fired, hopefully at the very beg of October so they are ready by end of that week. Looking for a ride for them to Montreal so I don't have to drive.... Hope...

Now to get some mugs made. Seeking energy! The day is young...

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 11:47 AM

Charmion, neighbors two doors up the street are the divorced and remaining family of a man who after the divorce and in a different house had a young girlfriend who had a friend of hers move in with them. Turns out the girls may have been lovers and this irked the guy, who killed his girlfriend and packed her into a trunk that was on his back porch. I don't know many more details than that, except that he'll stay in prison the rest of his life.

Two parcels ready to go this morning, not eBay related for once. There is a backlog of things needing photography, description, and packing to go on eBay, and I did some clearing of the table where I do that work. Two days out from record-breaking rain the yard is still fairly inhospitable, but I did pull weeds out of the asparagus bed this morning after walking over to that side of the house to talk to the guys putting in a new fence next door. I'll be working on a new connecting piece from my yard once they finish.

The guest room is ready for company later this week, now the rest of the house needs some tidying.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 10:12 AM

OH:

I decluttered one body today.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Sep 18 - 09:45 AM

The body-in-the-barrel story is such a well-established trope because it happens in real life.

The culturally approved way to hide an inconvenient corpse in these parts is the family-size freezer; for disposal, it's a nice, big garbage bin from Canadian Tire. (Have I mentioned Canadian Tire lately? Hardly a week goes by without a visit.) Then you take a boat trip into the middle of Lake Ontario, and Bob's your parent's favourite sibling.

Chilly and damp in Stratford, true fall weather, with a distinct tang of pig poop in the air. Ah, country life.

Himself has toddled off to bail court to earn a crust, and I am bound for the gym. The kitchen still looks like a bombed-out bordello from yesterday, when I did zero tidying or washing-up, and I Do Not Care.

I'm gathering my energies for a cleaning assault on the refrigerator, in which a zucchini recently declined into desuetude and thereby tripped my personal grunge sensor. Tomorrow is soon enough for that, however. Or maybe Wednesday.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 05:49 PM

The body-in-the-barrel is a well-established trope in modern police procedurals. And that kind of barrel, with an open flame, is what one saw for years in rural and sometimes not-so-rural areas. My bucket of water wasn't in view in the photo of my covered bin, but I always have a couple of tools handy (the water and a prod or tongs) to keep track of it should I need to extinguish it. I don't burn during dry or windy weather. It is stored in the greenhouse to avoid rust when not in use.

Charmion's dinner party sounds delightful, and what I find after a rush of cleaning before company comes is that I get to enjoy the totally clean house after they all leave.

It's still drizzling here. I'm about finished with that letter and will send it electronically this evening. Not everything goes via email; I have a box of daffodil bulbs to send to Janie tomorrow and a box of jelly for a friend in NY City. And I really do need to get more of these eBay items listed.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Senoufou
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 02:47 PM

Good gracious wysiwyg! A body?? Don't give my husband ideas, he'll be thinking of the Life Insurance.
Our incinerators are about three feet tall and made of galvanised iron.
They're only about the size of a large waste paper bin.

Many of our neighbours have no central heating at all and no oil tank either. They have wood-burning stoves and cart branches and trunks of trees about with their tractors for cutting up over the summer and stocking away in their massive woodsheds for the winter.
They and their ancestors have inhabited the Norfolk countryside for centuries, and have always lived like this. They would hate heating in their bedrooms and bathrooms.
But every one of them has huge amounts of clutter and are verging on being hoarders.
They never throw anything away.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 02:34 PM

Sen, a burn barrel here is usually a 55 gallon drum, open at the top. Industrial and agricultural products here come in these with a spring-locking lid that's usually long gone before the barrel is sold for $5-25, lidless. WITH lid-- airtight and water-tight-- people have also used these to dispose of-- yes!-- dead bodies.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Senoufou
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 12:51 PM

Ah Charmion, I think that's what we call an incinerator. At Tesco supermarket this morning they had a mountain of them to buy. A bit like a metal dustbin with a conical lid for the chimney.

We'd love one for our garden, to burn fallen leaves and domestic refuse.
BUT we have about 800 litres of kerosene for our oil central heating sitting in a tank in the back garden. This large oil tank 'vents' kerosene fumes. No incinerator for us, sadly!

Our loft (attic) is almost empty now. Just two suitcases with gifts in for my husband's family when he goes to Africa next summer for a visit, the small plastic Crimbo tree and ONE set of decs (I chose the turquoise and silver baubles and the tiny silver fairy)

I can almost feel our bungalow breathing a sigh of relief!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 12:17 PM

The yard is sodden so it will mostly be indoor activities today, though I will prune some of the small branches off of the larger limbs I took down this week and fill the large trash can with them. Laundry, but no line drying in this humidity. I'm finishing a letter of interest for a job that sounds interesting and in the background I have to rip a couple of audio books on CD into the computer so I can load them into the phone for listening while I work. And clearing up stuff sitting around the house in preparation for company arriving one of these days.

For several months now I've fussed about the messed up numbers on my office Vizio TV; when the local channels 5.1 and 5.2 were updated and relaunched, they showed up identically as 5.1 and 5.2, but if I tried keying in the number I first hit a blue screen, then when I do the up channel click I got the channel I wanted. On my kitchen TV it's an entirely different set of numbers now; these digital channels don't really match the old analog system. Anyway, I finally turned the little office TV around, got the model number (this was my son's in college and the manual is long gone) and found the manual online. There I learned how to factory reset and scan so that the correct numbered channels show up on the first try. It may be a small thing in the scheme of the world, but as a chronic user of the "last" button it's a lot easier to flip between two favorite channels to see what's on.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 10:44 AM

We had a dinner party last night with too much wine (i.e., somewhat less than I used to be able to put away without hardly noticing), so today I am hanging around while my aging metabolism deals with the aftereffects. The dinner was great, if I do say so myself, with delicious food (All My Own Work) and plenty of conversation so sparkling I could barely get a word in edgewise.

Among the good things about a dinner party is the fact that bourgeois pride forces me to clean the damned house before the company comes. So the sitting room carpet looks like Bokhara again, rather than something run up from the pelts of small animals.

On this first day of autumn, the weather is excellent: clear sky, not hot, gentle breeze.

Two days ago, another line squall off Lake Huron blasted through town, and I thought we had experienced some Truly Dramatic Weather. Um, not so much. At about the same time in Ottawa, where we lived until a year ago, a similar weather system generated not one but two tornadoes that walloped several suburban neighbourhoods before crossing the river to Quebec and doing something similar to the city of Gatineau. On Facebook, I learned that The Brothers and their wives were assessing the damage in gingerly fashion, pleased to find their own roofs and windows intact but lacking electrical power or any clear idea when it would be restored; today, they are still in the dark both ways. One of the tornadoes plowed into an Ottawa Hydro power station in the south end, and the photos I saw on the Ottawa Citizen website looked like the aftermath of a bombing.

I admire Senoufou's ability to dispose of Xmas decorations. We have quite a few that I will eventually smash "accidentally" as they are both tatty and worn, and loaded with sentimental memories. When The Brothers visit us during the festive season, there is always a session of "Where is the [insert name of old family doohickey] that we always [insert traditional disposition thereof]?" Himself, as the fourth of five children in an immigrant family, has no such baggage, so he energetically creates his own, coming home a week before Christmas with boxes of new baubles and a sheepish grin. By the time Epiphany rolls around, I am ready to toss the lot into the fireplace with a blazing torch.

Speaking of fireplaces, I noted with interest the burn barrel in Stilly's garden, which I saw in a photo she posted on Facebook. I would *love* a burn barrel, but Stratford by-laws forbid trash burning in residential areas within town limits. It would almost be worth moving to the country (plow your own snow, lousy Internet service) for the privilege of incineration.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Senoufou
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 03:58 AM

Had a great day yesterday selling all our stuff in front of our house.
Lots of very nice visitors and also some early dealers, who always descend long before the stated time and cruise around the village buying up all the best stuff to sell at the regular car-boots on Saturday afternoons.

We don't mind dealers, as they pay just the same as ordinary folk.

We sold our huge garden rocking chair, and all four Ikea Poang chairs.

Nearly all the mountain of Crimbo decs went (I'd colour co-ordinated them into individual carrier bags) and lots of earthenware tubs and pots for people to plant indoor hyacinth bulbs.

We made £55, which doesn't sound much, but the main motivation for taking part was to shift clutter.

(And I absolutely adored nattering to all the people - villagers, visitors from other villages, holiday-makers staying in the holiday barn up the road and even our lovely neighbours showed up! I was quite hoarse by the end of the day.)
Weather was chilly but dry and not too much wind.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Sep 18 - 08:52 PM

OH:

Day off decluts except for gathering movers' info for fam to ponder.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Sep 18 - 07:42 PM

Beaver:

Just updated weather and there is a frost warning! The outdoor temp is dropping like a rock and indoors--- there will be a fire in the stove tonight!

Gorgeous Indian Summer Day! I found a useful small bookcase at a yard sale but need to paint it so I managed to triage the needful items - for tomorrow. Threw and trimmed pots. Would have liked to have done more but energy quit. Tomorrow.

I would have gotten more done but my middle finger/left curled up at 11 am and refused to uncurl. Cannot pot without that finger operative to I phoned my 92 year old friend in PA and had a great catch up. She had just come in with a bunch of Phlox so I immediately knew she is still mobile! My only friend of almost 60 years!! Not having moved in about 70 years, she has a few left, some of the next generation ( now in their 70s), and the one after that! There is a great deal to be said for not moving. I am not sure about her clutter!

This bookcase will fill a real need so tomorrow I can de-clutter another piece of the BR. Painted to match the wall, it will blend right in. I need two more pieces of furniture in specific sizes so I am checking the Thrift Warehouse every few days. Nesting in for winter!

We also had torrential downpours yesterday and winds. The electric went off for about 90 minutes mid day.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 18 - 11:00 AM

Overnight I estimate we had at least six inches of rain, and it's still drizzling out there. There goes any weekend work outside. Thunderstorms were forecast, but usually they hit and run, with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rain and muggy the next day. But this - the street was a river, though the creek doesn't seem to have overflowed. I'll take a look when I go out to pick okra (which doesn't really like this much water and slows down a bit production-wise in wet weather).

It's just as well, this weather. I have family coming for a visit, possibly late next week (as part of a road trip) so that gives me a motivation to lean more heavily on the housecleaning activities.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Sep 18 - 10:16 PM

SRS, on the upside of tech-- my original model of primitive Kindle works and despite it being neither smart nor touch screen, adf6yer three years of smartphone I still know how to work it!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 18 - 09:50 PM

Amazing how many devices hook up to the WiFi now. I liked the online and smart phone app of the Asus best of any I've used, but a router that dies nine months after I buy it is one that isn't being replace with the same make or model.

I'm tired of tech stuff; I think I'll go read a book made of paper.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 18 - 02:56 PM

Shredding and filing and finally putting account information (printed from the sign-up pages or screen captures) in the proper notebooks. Generating a lot of paper for the recycle bin and have run many pages through the straight-cut shredder in my office. (This is one I got for $4 at Goodwill, it has an "auto" setting that my previous one, same make, didn't have, but I sold my previous one for $25 on eBay. Go figure.)

I've returned to regular scooping in the back yard and observing the yard wildlife. A newly excavated tarantula hole appeared overnight but I also found a dead tarantula (adolescent size) about five feet away. It may be unrelated or may be a smaller male who didn't survive the most recent dating encounter. The fence is going in slowly next door and I'm giddy at the thought of having the new fence and finally seeing the real size of my yard (there's another part of the fence that needs relocating, down near the creek). I'm going to replace the fence on the other side of the yard soon so they're all the same age and condition. The last fence was put up in 2005, so something put in now will be sufficient for whenever I get to the point that I might want to sell the house. Not something I foresee now, but something to keep in mind.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Sep 18 - 12:51 PM

OH:

I'm so looking fwd to the day I can stop saying whethe I'm in OH or PA!

Off to a slow (AC cold) start while waiting for local female politicians to drop off yard signs, when I will go out w scooter to do more prep for sewer line dig/install/reshape bed scheduled for Tuesday.

Four heavy (for me) cases moved:
. Picnic mass kit to underneath LR dinette
. Three sound system pieces moved to front door area for loading tmrw

. Also Goodwill bag, in mid-fill, moved behind dinette chair and 2 extension cords picked up
. Soon to be obsolete mix/match dishes boxed for Goodwill

That leaves the LL closet open now for a TV stand and peripherals. Last night I started moving the stand out of its spot for a Tuesday move w/Brittney (or sooner).

Tmrw AM the sound system goes to nephew. BIL apprised and jealous to receive.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 18 - 12:52 AM

This evening I watched PBS mysteries as I prepared 3 quarts of okra to pickle (packed into 6 pint jars). I needed a bit more for the sixth jar so went out to the garden and harvested some that were small but would have been picked by morning. That's the wonderful thing about having the garden—so much is available without a trip to the store. I'm not a huge fan of the stuff myself, though that's probably because this is the first year I've made a lot of it. In the past I tried it and it hadn't pickled for long enough, and then I ended up giving away most of the jars. It improves with age in the jar. I have more than a case and a half now; freezing it means most of it goes to waste because there isn't much I use it for except frying it. I give most of the freezer portion to my daughter. I love fried okra and a friend recently sent me a recipe for roasted that I need to try.

My WiFi access died today and this evening I figured out the problem was the router, and I haven't been able to revive it or restart it. The wired connections work, but there are probably 3 wifi devices for every wired one in the house. Amazon will deliver a new one tomorrow, saving me a drive to the electronics store I use for this kind of thing. Much of my shopping has been in the next town east because it's where I worked for 20+ years, and the electronics store is one of the best in the county, but it is a bit of a drive.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Sep 18 - 10:56 PM

Beaver:

The BB problem is in R's court. I am not touching it.

Today was an off day. No pottery got done except turning to dry, covering to keep from drying too much. Turning heat up, then down...

As I was preparing to leave for an event, and trying to finish computer, something C said triggered the memory that tomorrow may bring 70 to 80 km winds! I rushed outside and struggled, successfully, to remove the canopy from the swing, remembering someone telling me that a wind last year made mince meat of his!

On my way, I remembered the canopy! Maybe I can get it down in the am. Raining now - all the way there and back - two hours in the rain and dark! But safely home and glad I went, even though I understood only about 50%; being environmentally poisoned decluttered my brain of the ability to discriminate sounds. Sometimes I cannot help but be frustrated by everyone speaking "a foreign language".