Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 06:08 PM

First draft submitted. Of course I'd like it better with a week to improve it... but that's what my blog is for!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 02:21 PM

OH:

All systems here cooking and supporting a surprise request for immediate turnaround on Big Bucks fundraising copy for one of the organizations I volunteer for which is lobbying for policing changes state by state-- assembling copy I'd already mostly written into a powerful "ask" aimed at deep pockets. With a 24 hour turnaround. I'm on break awaiting a key quote to drop in but will def finish by mid-evening.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 09:54 AM

Beaver:
De-cluttering is mainly snow removal! About a foot came down - all Thurs night and all of Friday. Cleared path to wood pile and studio Friday eve and from car to road - about 20 feet - on Sat morning so I could get out. Then again when I got home - the snow plow had left a fair ridge; I could drive through it when soft but thought it the better part of valour to clear it before it froze. Sat was just above freezing but it went to about 17F last night.

So snow removal is added to the exercise regime. More cold = more wood being used and, hence carried in. This is unusual snow for this early; does not bode well! But Fri and Sat are predicted as high as 39F ---Slush, Tush, Mush!!!

No word from R! I am beginning to wish for a sign that I can go to Quebec WITH the house plants - directly to the new house. On a day that is above freezing. I am getting anxious to get on with the new life in a new community. However, I still have pottery to finish and I am cosy here.

Two boxes of pots packed to go to Quebec.

Oh. yeah! Snowing again!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 18 - 08:10 PM

All sides, tops, bottoms and faces of my fence pickets have been treated with the clear wood preservative for one panel on the corner I'm working on and laid out on a tarp drying.

The brackets are in place with the bottom cross member attached. Since the plank is 8' but the expanse is only about 7', the end was cut off and I'll use it to measure against the other two cross-members. The "good" side will go toward my yard on one side and toward the street facing the street. I have a couple of extra pickets for putting up across the intersections to conceal "seams."

I quit when the mosquitoes came out.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 18 - 11:20 AM

Today is the day for painting clothes and gardening shoes as I tackle the fence at the front corner of the back yard and then move to the front yard vegetable garden (on the other side of the house) to dig around in last year's crops. I'll share sweet potatoes with the neighbor on that side if I have any, she's a regular recipient of my garden surplus. Neighbors on both sides get my attention today.

I picked up most of my list of perishables for next week; the weekend before Thanksgiving is like the night before Thanksgiving, a zoo in the parking lots and stores. Any more shopping can wait till midday Monday or Tuesday.

I continue to add items to my donation bin in the laundry room, and I'll probably drop the contents off on one of my trips out early next week. It's time to think about holiday decorations; I don't use as many as I once did, but this year, since I have a new dog who loves to take random objects (towels, rugs, plastic cups, etc.) through the dog door into the yard, I must consider what goes on the hearth in her reach or I'll end up with a back yard full of nutcracker soldiers. I'm not giving them up, I'll reassign them to higher posts. Promotions for all! :-)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 18 - 10:26 PM

I picked up a drill and impact driver set today to do the fence work. It was past time to get a big girl drill. The part of the fence I'm going to be working on will have pickets fastened with screws, not nails, and no way I'm doing it by hand. I was able to transport 30 cedar pickets (that smelled wonderful!) on a tarp in the SUV, along with vegetables and a few other things for Thanksgiving. Multi-tasking here!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 16 Nov 18 - 09:07 PM

Due to the snow storm, I had today off. I have a great supervisor who appreciates how far I drive to work and she didn't want me on the road any more than I wanted myself on the roads! I slept in today, quite late for me actually as the night before was chaos. I had worked all day, picked up Jeremiah, got him ready for his first Cub Scout Award Ceremony, drove home only to find the power was out. Normally, Pete and I are just fine with this kind of situation as we have the wood stove to keep things somewhat warm but Jeremiah is thin and gets cold much more quickly than we do so I drove back into town and we stayed overnight at my mom's house. It was a much appreciated warm spot for the night but I rarely sleep well the first night away from home and that evening was no exception....so today, I was making up for lost sleep I think!

I spent time cleaning in the kitchen, cooked a ham in the crockpot to go with scalloped potatoes. I also had a previously roasted chicken in the fridge so I picked all the meat off the bones and set the meat aside to make chicken potpie (that will happen tomorrow). I boiled down the bones and made homemade chicken noodle soup (and grilled cheese) for dinner.
I also spent some time playing my ukulele today. I've been asked to play at a local holiday event so a little practice was in order. :)

I currently have 5 bags set to go to Goodwill tomorrow. YAY.

Maggie, I've been thinking about Thanksgiving as well. We will be spending the actual day with family but we are providing the turkey (among other things). We raised our own turkeys this year and are excited about that! :) I will also be making the cranberry sauce and a corn bake. My mom always makes her traditional German stuffing so she'll take care of that. She also makes the most incredible mashed potatoes...they are my favorite! Because she has very arthritic hands, I will be helping her peel all the potatoes for both the stuffing and the potatoes. It's funny....I can make the mashed potatoes the very same way that she does but hers always taste better....a mother's love I suppose! We used to make a huge dinner but these last few years, we are more about keeping it simple so no one spends ALL day in the kitchen either cooking or doing dishes. I'm sure we'll play some games afterwards....I'm looking forward to it!

I get more days off for Thanksgiving than for Christmas (Christmas is so hard for so many so our agency is closed only for Christmas Day and New Year's Day...no extra days). I'm looking forward to some extra time off next week. :) I have many plans......if I can some of them done, I will be most happy!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 18 - 11:19 AM

I cleared out a bunch of garden debris piled on the driveway ahead of last week's first frost. I have basil drying in the kitchen and was able to compress the wilted and drying leaves into a smaller area this morning. I have to pull the hoses and sprinklers out of the garden area then I'll run the mower over the top and level everything except the sweet potato vines so I know where to dig for those potatoes.

Thanksgiving is a week away. So far I've purchased a bag of Russet potatoes for the mashed potatoes, I have cranberries to make sauce, and I picked up flour for making crusts and rolls. Turkeys are on sale around town and I think I'll pick up a fresh one early next week, probably on my way home from a job interview (!).

We find that roasted root vegetables are much more satisfying than stuffing, so I'll find a variety to throw in that mix.

I spent time yesterday out in the cold re-attaching the MDF underside of the soffit in one area near the back door yesterday; the job isn't complete but I've made progress. The nails that were used to fasten it up pulled out and it's difficult to find the beams it was attached to. I've completed one plank and need to stud-finder to figure out how to re-attach the second section (it's sagging, not off, or I could see it all).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Nov 18 - 02:08 PM

OH:

Great fone visit w Greg last night. Soon we'll be back in team formation.

It was so much fun seeing how the lawn svc deals w leaves that the city sucks off the curbs. They even got up on the roof to blow leaves off, and I learned a neat ladder-setting trick. I've never been here to see this in past years.

Last night was the first time I can remember, thinking ahead about what I'd be doing for myself the next day with a "planning check." Til last night I was only looking at each day, each day. Sometimes not till noon after early AM commitments were fulfilled. Stuff w others was in my mental map, and calendar reminders, but not my personal stuff. That's pretty f&cked up! ;-)

This must be part of the sexist conditioning that leaves women serving everyone else and exhausting ourselves. I used to do all that re-prioritizing in my head, and leave myself off the priority list most of the time. I've had to learn life skills our family didn't cover; for me it always seemed easy to re-map every day all day, around others' needs. I don't think I can or wish to live that way from now on. I'll use my mind for other things!

So after having looked ahead last night, today I spent some time looking over the next few days to see what I'll need to flex, and this is what I found may work, which cued me to prep today for what will need to happen later as the rest of this week unfolds into next week:

Today: Garage, Patio, Scooter, No Dinner Out bcuz dinner out tmrw instead; garage/patio will be retrieving last wkshp items from car and seeing if it's warm enough to scooter out for milk and cash. If not, drive. Evening, ctd hse pickups, long shower, and set a bucket soaking.

Thu. AM TOC ofc, prepping for key Fri mtg, session, movie and poss supper w Judy, no extra sleep meds @bedtime bcuz mtg Friday.

Fri. No sleeping in; early shower/hair; 1pm Dayton mtg w Rep. Strahorn for the week's Explore/Fun (lv Newbie); bedtime Xtra meds.

Sat. Sleep in, Chore, Fun (take Newbie); chase down pool passes.
.

Without having done this, I'd have let a friend run me over with her steamroller, earlier, over plans we'd made-- she's been home sick too long but had really hit the ground running today, and had some timing ideas for our plans that I had to interrupt rather strongly.

Also because I'd done that thinking, I got to the store earlier than I might have, and actually got a scooter after a bit of a wait.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 18 - 10:09 AM

This region will probably break annual records for rainfall; the good thing about now having freezing nights is that the grass isn't covered with dew when I take the dogs out the last thing. They can go on their own (dog door) but this trip out (with a treat in hand to assure 100% compliance) is to get the oldest dog out one last time. During the summer she was drinking so much water she was having incontinence problems overnight when she was sound asleep (she's also deaf, so noises don't wake her). She was sleeping on the tile floor at that time. That trip out works, and good thing, because I put the dog cover on the sofa last night (it is waterproof, but I don't want to test it with more than the occasional wet feet after a romp outside). They get to sleep on the furniture in the winter. Pepper was beside herself with joy at this development!

I rearranged things in my office and put the Amazon Fire stick on the television that is now recessed on a shelf by itself. Clearing old computer books from a different shelf meant I could move music books over there and this TV is now on it's own; it was standing on top of the record player part of my sound system, but I'm needing access to that again.

Another thing about bookshelves is that often things are stacked horizontally on top of the books. Some piles of those papers have been moved to my second desktop and I'm going through a few sheets at a time every time I walk past it. Slow but steady and most of the paper had logical and more orderly places to live, or into the recycle bin.

In the kitchen I just bagged a gallon of frozen hot peppers and the house smells herbal now as a whole bunch of basil dries on counters. This was brought in before that first hard frost. I have more things to cut up and freeze, and there is a box of tomatoes that are going to ripen slowly.

Charmion, your new community appears to be in the headlines now - HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain) was living and acting in your midst. He did a lifetime of good work, but it's nice to have a really iconic piece to hang it all on.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Nov 18 - 10:03 AM

The snow is down in Stratford. Time to dig out my winter boots, and put away almost everything else I might put on my feet.

Crap.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 14 Nov 18 - 09:37 AM

Beaver:

Safely home at 7 pm on Saturday after my two day adventure. The house was 50F - not too bad. There were still small coals in the stove but I needed to boost them - de-cluttering some of the summer's collection of paper.

Mostly I was gratified that my energy level was still good. As though the trip had energized me. The cool night - it took that long for the house to feel warm - was OK. I would have liked another blanket but they are upstairs and opening the trap door would be a major heat de-clutter! The heating pad sufficed.

Even more gratified to find good energy on Sunday and not having to drag myself to do things. Remembered, for the first time in months, to take the spirulina. So, I have been getting things done - and taking it daily!And getting up earlier and getting things done.

De-cluttered the studio of most of one type clay - threw, trimmed and tehy are drying - and cleaned up tools, wheel, et al so it will be ready to switch back to the other clay. Did a bisque firing at the low peak time.

Today started out at 17F! Brry day to unload the kiln and take stuff to the studio for glazing - all of 20 feet but mind the ice! Sand is by the back door. But it is sunny!!! And I find it easier to go out into the cold knowing I can get back into a warm place. There will be good solar gain in the studio today.

R is still working on the house and people are still waiting to view it. "You don't want to be here" he told me so I am staying here until I get the word.

I have lost another couple pounds. I am now doing well on the Keto, finding creative ways to enjoy eating the veggies. No longer eating choc or craving muffins... I started bouncing (only) on the mini trampoline - 100 bounces only but it has an effect. Bringing in the wood is my best exercise and I feel myself getting stronger. It will be hard not being here to do that if we actually move into the new house. I know I lose that effect in the summer. My ankle seems almost 100% now and the bouncing does not cause a problem nor does driving for hours! (I drove about 8 hours on the weekend.)

Hoping the carrots are not frozen into the ground. This week is mostly all below freezing with highs of 30-32F. Tonight to 5F! About 3 inches of snow cover.

MY computer has become so slow it is painful. Looking for a glaze recipe last night, I found lots of duplication and wonder if a good de-clutter would help. It would be tedious!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Nov 18 - 05:18 PM

OH:

I started today with the new home services agency. OMG they are totally professional! The assigned "care partner" was great. We got acquainted over arepa-making; she made eight (six of which are frozen now), and she can now make them independently.

Today was mostly orientation. A few basic tasks got done, and a lot of basic concepts were communicated and understood-- where stuff is kept, what's important and what can slide. Plans for succeeding weeks were made pending agency confirmation that she'll be permanently assigned.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Nov 18 - 10:15 AM

I got a Fitbit for my birthday. Among the many things it tracks is the number of occasions per day when I climb the stairs. Stair-climbing is apparently a major contributor to cardiac fitness among sedentary people, so I do it frequently -- at least 10 times per day.

I believe that Fitbit has it wrong, however; going up (as most of us know by now) is actually the easy part. The big trick is coming down gracefully and safely, without teetering, toppling, skidding or otherwise losing one's footing and, consequently, doing a head-first dive or a bottom-first bumpy slide to the bottom. For me, the hindrance is arthritis in the knees, ankles and feet that stiffens the joints of my personal undercarriage. The first descent of the day is always a crap-shoot: will the ankles flex today, or not?

The housework task that generates the most fitness benefit for me is vacuum cleaning. It combines weight-lifting with upper-body and core flexion and several interesting balance challenges, of which the first is moving the vacuum cleaner from the bedroom closet down the stairs to the sitting room rug without bashing the plaster.

Fun times in retirement. What larks, eh?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Nov 18 - 09:50 AM

SRS, I also use home tasks for part of my fitness. What a structured workout could add for you is balancing muscle groups and flexibility that those home based things tend to miss. For every muscle we use in one direction, there are other opposing muscles that also need their turn. Very hard to describe, but say one set of muscles pushes, another set pulls. Or picture someone who does a lot of lifting but doesn't work on flexibility-- they'd have a hard time hanging from monkey bars.

I'm sort of desperately awaiting my card, so I can oppose water in all directions. One balance I need I know I need is more core work to balance my walking muscles.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 18 - 09:19 PM

That's a great overview of work and home, Michelle! I'm glad to see that your healthcare maintenance is moving the direction you want. I joined the "Silver Sneakers" program when I retired but am not sure how to get going - I have an account but no card. I guess I just have to go to one of the gyms involved and ask them. I'd rather do productive work around the house and yard to burn the calories, but I suppose a monitored program run by professionals would be a good addition to my routine.

This afternoon I took apart portions of the existing fence; I realized as I started that each bracket has to be slid up over the top so I took off the top ones instead of the middle ones. However, now that I have these I think I can take out the screw that holds them in place on the post and force three of them around a post that already has brackets and a fence in place. The screw is to stabilize it after such a maneuver. That's the theory I'm working on; I'll try it out tomorrow, and if it works, fine. Otherwise, I'll take out an existing fence post and move it and work from there. I could hire someone to do this and pay for all of the stuff, but I have it here already in that the old materials would just go to waste. And I'm stubborn - I can do this myself.

P.S. I don't have cable, I watch over-the-air with antennas. In the last couple of years some of the channels have shifted frequency for whatever reason, though they were in theory still the same channels (5.1 and 5.2 most recently, and a while ago channel 27.1 and 27.2 changed.) My television gave them new locations without removing the old locations on my preferences; I had to remember what the new numbers for the old channels were. A couple of weeks go I decided to research this and managed to set my office TV to the factory settings and rescan the channels. Perfect, everything where it belongs. Today I found the way to reset the kitchen wall TV and did the same thing. Life is easier when you can just punch in the numbers on the remote and it goes there.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 11 Nov 18 - 06:50 PM

Today I cleaned out more of my closet coming up with a large kitchen trash bag full of things to go to either Goodwill or Sally's.   Jeremiah found a few things as well.

I'm not sure this counts as decluttering but I went to a craft fair yesterday and came home without making any purchases. I used to love craft fairs but anymore, unless something is really screaming my name, I walk on by. There was one woman there selling mittens that she makes out of old sweaters and lines with polar fleece which I happen to LOVE but at this point in my life, I have several pairs and really...no REALLY do NOT need any more! I did stop to ooh and ahh over them and held a few but I didn't purchase anything.

The women who I am close (proximity and otherwise) to at work and I did some rearranging at work. It's funny how it happened....one of the girls got a large metal desktop organizer which prompted her to do some rearranging and the conversation over the top of our cubicles turned into how much we wanted some extra filing cabinets either for each of our spaces or larger ones to put at our end of the office. We also all agreed that we wanted another 5 drawer filing cabinet in the main office where all client information is kept under dual lock and key as currently we each have one drawer to ourselves....each being full to the max making it difficult to retrieve and return our daily client files. We have a great maintenance guy and we talked with him about what we wanted. He told us he had some things in storage and if we would be able to condense one of the large 5 shelved cabinets in the main office, he'd bring us another 5 drawer filing cabinet. I imagine you've never seen a group of women empty, sort, toss and condense office items into a different space in such a short time. Our new 5 drawer cabinet arrived but then our maintenance man brought a 3 drawer and a 2 drawer for us to keep at our end of the building (no client files, only Department of Health and Office of Mental Health paperwork that we use on a daily basis) so we don't have to run to the office all the time. We collectively decided that since there are 5 of us, we'd each get a drawer to do whatever we want with. We are all very excited and some serious decluttering is happening in our cubbies....and the thing is, we're all having fun with it. Nesting at the office is most interesting! :) Also, given the change from Halloween to Thanksgiving, we are all changing up our personal decorations as well.

Today I decluttered my car of the Whattachairs that have been kept in the car all season for soccer and assorted family events. I like when my car is basically empty. :)

We decluttered 1/3 of our chicken flock as well recently and have a freezer full of free range chicken for the winter. :) It's a great feeling knowing what our food consists of.

On the health front, the LiveStrong Program has been delayed a bit so I don't have much to report on that front. I have, however, found a new endocrinologist and am having incredible success with my glucose levels since he instituted some insulin changes. I also have a FreeStyle Libre which is a sensor that I can wear for 10 days that allows me to check my blood sugars with a scanner...no more pricking my fingers. This means I check much more frequently and am able to really see how certain foods and activities affect my glucose levels. New thyroid medications are on board too. I am hopeful that I will be having much more energy and feeling better soon.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is well.

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 18 - 12:30 PM

I have the socket and ratchet set out, this removal of fence hardware takes the 7/16th or 11mm size. I'll be using a hand saw (only six 2x4s to shorten), and the drill to pre-drill the holes for the fence hardware screws (the size of small bolts). I'll go into the back yard next door to take a look at how they spaced the fence brackets on the corner posts or if there was an extra piece needed.

It is now winter in North Texas. We had a week of fall weather and that's all we ever get. The benefit to my schedule now is that I won't be at work 20 miles away during the warmest parts of the day when yard work is pleasant. I'll lay out a tarp in the garage to put the wood preservative on the fence slats without worrying about wind or weather. Good thing I cleaned out the garage last year and have plenty of floor space to do this work. A friend left a plastic tarp with me that she was going to recycle or trash; I'll lay it out for this job and then decide to reuse or trash it later.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Nov 18 - 11:25 PM

Friends came over for lunch and we each assembled our own pizzas on quarters of large tandoori bread (an Iraqi flat bread) that I pulled out of the freezer. Sauces included Alfredo, a fabulous jar of pesto, and an organic tomato sauce. Cheese was provolone, and there were peppers, mushrooms, onions, sausage, chicken, and herbs and spices to add. This worked well since one of the friends is vegetarian and didn't have to worry about picking ingredients off of his share. Each quarter of the pizza/bread was baked and the crust was delightfully crisp and easy to cut into two slices. Apple cobbler for dessert.

Tomorrow I start scavenging hardware off of the existing fence that will soon be disassembled. I have the cross-members and after putting them up will calculate the number of cedar fence pickets. I'd like to have this finished by Thanksgiving (the entire job, including taking down the old fence).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Nov 18 - 01:01 AM

The air smells like a freeze though we're not there at this moment; perhaps by dawn. It's a mix of cold air and wood burning fireplaces. I don't have a working fireplace at this point, so the smell is tantalizing but not something I can contribute to. I picked a few pounds of green tomatoes and hot peppers today, and one eggplant. I won't bother to try digging sweet potatoes right away, they're protected underground from this kind of frost.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Nov 18 - 11:04 PM

Somewhere in Ontario!

At an airbnb in a field two miles from a charming village - where I spent the late afternoon, having soup and tea, because I could not get the door open with the code. A police officer finally helped me; he thought I couldn't find it but he did manage to get the door to open. Life is fraught with hazard! Eventually, the husband came home and found - big oops!- they thought I was coming tomorrow. I had at least 3 reminders from airbnb; I wonder if the hosts had any?

The idea was: eye appointment in P-boro, an hour and a half drive, a meeting tomorrow in Orangeville, another 2-3 hours west. Cut my driving. and gas usage. Added a bit more driving by detouring to pick up some stuff I could not get elsewhere which also aided a stop at a great grocery store where I could get special stuff. All a good plan other than the door glitch.

The major de-clutter is not having to go back to the eye doctor! My eyes are healthy and vision is 20/20, she says. And I can see at night!! So I do not have to worry about getting home before dark - as I surely will not tomorrow.

It snowed lightly all day without making much effect; roads were only wet. The mild weather (hovering at freezing but not below) meant an easier get away - no worries about plants and other freezables.

The sofa that prob has/d bugs is naught to do with me, or the house; it is in a dif building, thankfully.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 18 - 05:07 PM

I was going to start work on the fence after picking up my pressure treated 2x4s, but the weather forecast tells me there is a freeze warning. About-face and head to the garden with clippers and boxes to harvest whatever is still growing out there.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 18 - 01:29 PM

Yesterday went well and all is fine. It's a nice day today and I can eat what I want again, and tomorrow friends are coming over for lunch and I think we'll build personal pizzas on middle eastern flat bread (an Iraqi bread that is like a big version of naan), have salad, and an apple cobbler. It's cooking and baking weather now, so we're all looking forward to this one.

I the fence post put up on Wednesday is now ready to use. Today is cool and lovely and I'm going to head over to the hardware store to get the 2x4s I need for the cross-members and start scavenging from the fence supports already in place on the old fence. When my brother was here visiting he shared a fence tip with me - stack the cedar planks and apply the wood preservative to the sides, top, and bottom, then lay them out to paint it on each face before I nail them into place, then I can be sure everything is fully treated. (Home Depot and Lowe's are competitors and are equally close to me - Lowe's announced they will be closing stores so I think I'll take my business there to help keep this store open.) I pick up wood in a couple of trips because it will have to go on a tarp in the SUV with the seats down to fit them in. I do miss my old pickup.

Last night I cleared about 2' of shelf space in my office; some computer books so old they'll go straight in the recycle bin. Back copies of university publications I kept for research are going as well. I had a box full of cassette tapes that have duplicate copies of LPs from my father's estate, and I need to start making digital copies of various of his personal recordings (Song Circle, etc.) and reduce the number of cassette tapes, though many of them need to be kept as original source material and the digital copy will be for research use. I kept copies of his LPs back when I was going to have to send them to various siblings but I got all but one box back. This was for reference as far as where he learned his songs. I don't need copies of the LPs I have in my possession.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Nov 18 - 06:44 PM

Ozonators remove smoke on surfaces; things that absorb smoke, not so much. After our Dec. 2000 house fire we learned about this. A commercial fire-recovery ozonator is huge, and creates its own temporary odors.

The new cleaning service starts Tuesday. In the fone intake, I emphasized sending a regular cleaner once we discover the best match. We'll see. I'm going to video some training modules to save my voice/mind!

Off tmrw to a wknd workshop so cya Monday!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 07:55 PM

Is this the sofa you thought was nice looking? Perhaps time to rethink that furnishing choice.

This evening I dug the hole and put the steel post in for the corner of my adjusted fenceline. It is quick-setting concrete and I went out about 30 minutes later and poured some gravel in the hole. I made the footing pretty deep, it'll be covered with about six inches of dirt. The new fence is something that can begin over the weekend. Since the existing fence is going to come down I will scavenge some of the fence post bands and brackets to use on the post I put up today (taking them from the center vs the top or bottom rail of the existing panels). Eventually I'll be digging up the existing steel fence posts and use a sledgehammer to knock off the concrete footer; I did that with some that were removed to extend the driveway and put in the garage, and put them in other places. The one I placed tonight had a very small concrete footer so I left it there and put in new concrete around it.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 07:15 PM

Beaver:

I wonder if an ozonator would remove the smell of smoke. It works for mold and other stuff.

As a small child, I emptied ash trays for my grandma; hated it but did it. Would do anything to please that set of grandparents, I guess. But married a person of colour and my granddad, and uncle, disowned my father, bro and me... Did not see my cousins again for 50 years. Now one, of the two who had "found me", has un-friended me because of political differences. That kind of de-clutter I did not need.

Wind and rain most of day; full dark by 5:30. I almost got to work in the studio but... De-cluttered more of the LR and BR, brought in wood - as much as would fit - during a non-raining spell! At least I am still getting up at the old time. Went to town council meeting; visited with friends; gave S a wooden bowl I found for her at a thrift shop; she had wanted one. Now she wants a book on depression; picked one off my shelf that she can comprehend.

Call from friend who stayed at one of R's lofts last week: she had bites. She slept on the sofa. Sofa needs the treatment. Friends who stayed there last month did not use sofa, did not get bitten.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 06:54 PM

OH:

The agency that sends the cleaner crossed a red line here Tuesday and will be replaced by the second of the two agencies the local senior services folks contracts with. It will take awhile to get onto their schedule and it's not going to affect my decluttering here because there's only one banker's box to purge and then there's a pause until I come back with Greg in January.

A box of miscellaneana has formed in the LL and is slated to move elsewhere for sorting/purging. There's also a cable company box in there (the wrong set-top box they'd sent), to call FedEx to pick up. I want my limited walkspace back.

Today I put the blank note cards I was given to good use. I'd organized a post-election gathering at the local blue bubble cafe, and took some with me for participants to sign for the local candidates. It was great to be equipped to turn that idea into action!

Tdy I decluttered the yard of election signs, all of which I will re-use.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 10:37 AM

There were power struggles in my youth to do with cigarettes: I refused to wash the ashtrays (the worst stink in the world are wet ashes). And if Mom walked into one of our bedrooms with a cigarette in her hand it didn't work to ask her not to smoke in our rooms. She would answer "it's my house." She wore large opaque blinders as far as smoking all of her life. When emergency surgery was required to replace arteries from her abdomen to her legs "because her toes were tingling" she never said why. It wasn't until years later I discovered a description of Buerger's Disease that I realized how total her blindness was to this thing that we all hated. She never admitted that smoking was the cause or what the disease was. She quit smoking then but never said why, and still defended it the rest of her life. She was a really smart creative woman, but that addiction robbed her of what friends and family wanted for her, a healthy long life. And when I'm at a new doctor's office and if they ask if I smoke or ever smoked, I answer that I never smoked but I lived with a heavy smoker for 19 years.

On a different note, I see that Flickr, the photo storage and sharing site that used to belong to Yahoo but now belongs to SmugMug, will limit the number of free photos in storage to 1000. I'm sure I have more than that, so much decide which photo site I want to use and pay for. I have storage at Microsoft's OneDrive, but it doesn't share as nicely as Flickr does.

Liquid diet today, leading up to the evening "prep" for tomorrow's colonoscopy. I will be so glad to put this behind me (pardon that pun!)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 08:23 AM

Alas, Stilly, you and your brother did indeed stink of cigarettes when you lived with your Mum. If even a table still carries the odour, just imagine what was in your clothes.

On the other hand, smokers were in the majority back then, so most of your friends and acquaintances were the same.

When people talk glibly about how they wish they could turn back time and go back to how it was when they were young, I always want to yell, "No way!" The ever-present evidence of wide-spread tobacco addiction -- yuck!

Of all the nasty substances I had to clear away and clean up in my hospital days, the only one I truly loathed and resented was ashtray contents.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 18 - 10:14 PM

I have two monitors on my desktop and the smaller older one has been acting up. Today it wouldn't start at all, except briefly. I swapped out cables, that didn't help, so I swapped out the monitor for a small spare one that usually stays in the other room for guests (to use with laptops). It worked. I found a replacement that is a couple of inches bigger than the dead one but the same manufacture as my large monitor (HP) and was both cheap ($103) and deliverable today (Amazon Prime, of course). It helped to look at their list of "Top 100" devices they sell, that's why this one is there, I'm sure. It has great reviews. I use two monitors because the design work is easier with the dual monitor setup.

I've managed to clear out more around the office and the new stack of styrofoam will head out go out in the trash later this week. I need to give the front yard one more mow before it's dormant for winter. I mowed the back yard today and need to do the trimming (after I put a new gas line in the gas trimmer) to polish it off. And of course, that fence job awaits. I got a nice workout this afternoon wrestling the mower around the back.

Finally, a note about the time change: I've managed to ignore what the time on the clock says and simply go to bed when I'm tired, and that means I'm getting to bed an hour earlier in Standard Time. I'm definitely not in a going-to-the-office schedule any more, but I don't want to sleep the day away.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 18 - 02:25 PM

Some weeks ago I was at the used book store and they had lots of volumes to do with denim crafts and projects. Not a one in view yesterday. I should have grabbed one when I had the chance.

I saw a great mid-century style sewing table at Goodwill today, it was a large work surface when folded out, but opening it gave a gush of stale cigarette smoke. Nope. Not gonna live with that stink. There is a folding smaller sewing table in my garage that was delivered here recently; it was my mother's, and though she has been gone for 20 years, and quit smoking 10 years before that, it still has the smell of stale smoke and will need to be completely cleaned to try to neutralize it. My brother remarked recently that any time he left Mom's house after he'd moved away to college he always had to shower and wash his clothes (so did I) - he wondered if we always stank like smoke to our classmates and co-workers before we moved out?

Handed a few VHS tapes over to the Goodwill donation folks this morning and found a mint-condition Food Saver storage jar. I don't use them to store food, I use them to seal smaller jars that are put inside with their lids loosely in place. A seal within a seal for dry foods. I was just telling a friend about that, so this may be her housewarming gift.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Nov 18 - 02:13 PM

Beaver:

I have a marvellous t-shirt: four largish animals, from the woods, playing instruments "In Tune With Nature" I guess part of being "in tune..." is recognizing and accepting diminishing energies. That cord of wood still not stacked: Does it matter if it stays there, covered, until the snow leaves again? Being so well organized, I just discovered I am missing one ingredient for the glaze I was going to make. Does it matter if I put the rest in the bucket and add that one after I get back to the mill where I have LOTS? I remember looking at it, so why oh why did I leave it behind!

But just maybe I could do some mending instead of sitting like a lump and reading yet another book.

R is still cleaning up the house. How I wish he had done all this 8 years ago! How I wish I could let go of what could have happened and just be positive about what is. This could be a valuable de-clutter! He is happy with what he is accomplishing and I must stop whining. Too soon to say for sure but there appears to be light at the end of this tunnel; we can only hope it is not a freight train coming through. Or is he just a cock-eyed optimist? At least he is on speaking terms with the realtor and looking at home insurance...

Just as I was going to comment that shredded paper is much better for starting the fire, Charmion adds the bit about her guitar! However, a small shredder would prob do the job these days and still leave room? Mind, I have enough paper starter to last all winter and more comes in weekly. Just throw bunches into the already started fire, but a fireplace is different.

I am organized to measure glaze and waiting for the day to improve/get a bit warmer, maybe even stop raining for a bit? OR so heavily for a bit? This is the warmest day for a week (45F)- Phooey.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Nov 18 - 11:32 PM

Periodically I find cross-cut shredders at the thrift store, and I sell them on eBay for several times over what I paid for them. They still come out costing less than the new ones. I went through a trade-out of my shredders this year, so that now in this office there is a straight shredder with a sensor so I don't have to switch it on and off, and there is an automatic cross-cut shredder in the kitchen (where I typically open the mail and shred things with information that doesn't need to go in the recycle bin). I sold my other two shredders. These two aren't new, but they're clean and work just fine. (I just noticed that the price tag was still on the straight-cut shredder in here; it cost $8.99 at Goodwill.)

There's a two-part program on tonight about the Facebook Dilemma. I do wish Zuckerberg had been paying more attention to world events much earlier. "Warning signs as Facebook grew." Yeah.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Nov 18 - 05:46 PM

In anticipation of the Weekend From Hell, featuring two choir performances preceded by the dress rehearsal, and the Remembrance Day parade, I am trying to be a Good Sport and not too bitterly resentful of the two meetings I am committed to attend tomorrow. At least we aren't having an election. Stilly, you have my sympathy.

Remembrance Day is next Sunday, so the public space is full of soppy advertising with photo montages of Great War soldiers, red poppies and flag-waving children, all accompanied by solemn music and slogans about freedom and sacrifice. I am a veteran, the daughter and grand-daughter of veterans, and I FUCKING LOATHE IT. If I were Queen of the World, we would go back to the way they did it in 1920: everybody stop dead for two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m. in the middle of our ordinary work day, and then carry on. It creeps me out when the crowd claps as the Old Sweats (including me) march by; the Cenotaph is no place for applause. My mood is like Good Friday, and the crowd is acting as if we're the Santa Claus parade. Bloody hell.

Our cross-cut shredder died last week, so we now have a "burn bag" in the study. Back in the day, every military filing cabinet had a large brown paper bag in the bottom drawer into which one put one's classified waste, and periodically somebody came around with a wheelie bin and carted it all off to the incinerator. Our current abode has a fireplace, so I feel no need to go out and buy a new shredder; we need tinder, so the bank statements, pharmacy receipts and pages of solicitor-client notes can go up in smoke.

And the corner of the study where the shredder used to live is exactly the right size for my guitar case. I win.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Nov 18 - 04:52 PM

I'm so ready for the election to be over. I'm bailing out so much email every day (and they're from my party and my candidate, but really! Enough already!) I voted on the first day of early voting.

Heading out to the post office, the library, and the used bookstore, and I'll take the dogs for a walk before their dinner this evening, though they've already had a good run with retrieving their bumpers in the back yard. It's streamlined now, two bumpers for two dogs, no more having to catch one by the collar to throw for the other to take turns.

This morning I have cleared the work space in the sunroom as I prepare to list more eBay items.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Nov 18 - 03:46 PM

OH:

The weekly routine is holding shape well whole leaving time and energy to add/adjust. Without the wknds being completely upside down structurally from our Sat. Svc., this is actually doable.

Per Sked: Mon. AM Quick shower, TOC office, Crockpot, Session, Scooter or Ride/Errands, PM Pick Up House, Dishes, Laundry

Per actual circumstance: Mon. AM Quick shower, TOC office, Tuna Prep, Session, Bvrcrk Thank the Candidates 5pm, PM Pick Up House, Dishes, Laundry

Shower and brekky were done despite sleeping in a bit. Got off to TOC shortly thereafter to deliver dog bed and start blog entry re Policing. Thete was a doc here to fwd first which i did.

Productive 2 hours at TOC ofc incl lvg agreed-on dog bed. Newbie had several short opportunities to relax in the closed office to await my return while I fetched tea, etc. I got not one but two entries done and sent the link off for comment.

From there I dropped off a duplicate vacuum clnr we no longer need, to Judy. Now the back seat can be reconfigured tmrw w Sr. Helpet Debbie for dog plus walker. Then I got a msg re a voter needing a ride tmrw, who had no phone to call her so I found her address and stopped by to make a plan, and got back just in time for 2pm fone session and late lunch.

Counted quarters for an event this eve that will include good and inexpensive GF pizza, served by local candidates. Comes w salad bar, so should be plenty left for the freezer.

Have magnets here to make a VOTEMOBILE car sign for tmrw. May be running voters from two local campuses, and am also on call to Dem HQ 1-6pm tmrw.

Tonight it's an easy straighten-up job to prep for Deb tmrw. She'll make arepas and help reconfigure the car, plus clean.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Nov 18 - 08:43 PM

DP, I hear you on that activity and energy thing. I'm feeling that slider button moving in the direction you described so well. I'm constantly having to scale back. :-(

OH:

Although the personal sked called for today to be a day of indolence, I did:
. Load and run DW a day early
. Fill weekly meds sorter
. Unpack Greg's stuff from the recent car/cargo swap incl Sat night svc music and his summer duds
. Unpack masarepa flour into a waiting canister, from ydy's trip for it to the large Hispanic market that is the sole grocery for a very diverse and friendly neighborhood
. Make arepas for supper
. Scooter Newbie for exercise and sun, and to spot other neighborhood Dem yard signs-- found one so far
. Chair nap.

Tmrw I'll focus on getting some doctor's appts made before we switch over from decent bennies to lesser bennies, and straighten up for Tuesday's cleaning. Last week's assisted decluttering has held up pretty well, so there are areas to clean that have been let go for awhile. Then tmrw night there's a pizza party for the candidates. I'm hoping to watch returns w Greg via fone Tuesday evening, and hockey with him via fone Wednesday evening.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 04 Nov 18 - 03:57 PM

Beaver:

I used to have to rest on each sixth day; now I seem to be able to get things done about every sixth day! It took from Tuesday to Saturday to recoup enough to trim the pots I threw on Tues. I still have some to do but not today. So, this is what it means for me to be 81.

Today is gloriously sunny and I am doing and resting, trying to get dryish day things done before the rain re-commences. Two loads of laundry! Still need to re-make the bed... Oh, yeah, and decant sand into a manageable container for the forthcoming icy season; the back deck can get VERY nasty.

My adventure was driving to an obscure area about 20 minutes away. It was obscure due to the numbering system and all dirt roads that did not look as though they went anywhere. I finally stopped at an inhabited house and a lovely young woman took me to the correct place- 100 feet away! I picked up 4 baby agave plants and brought them home to repot. Three are in lovely china pots that will suit the 3 baby af. violets. I have the pots and soil in the house so can do the potting with next "surge" of energy. Need to research the needs of these new residents.

I do appreciate little reminders/suggestions I find here: onions in the freezer would never have occurred to me and would be very helpful
when I do not feel like doing much of anything - most of the time. I now make sure to have frozen veggies on hand for when I do not feel like cutting up anything. I also do extra when I have energy - 3 or 4 meals at once.

Found mouse damage today in a drawer I thought was mouse proof. Did some unacceptable damage to special fabrics. But not in the other drawers?

Time change and the sun will soon be setting behind the hill. Time for one more chore.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 18 - 10:55 AM

UHaul unloaded, and today she has one thing to drop off (a large wooden sofa frame) at a refinisher, then drop off the UHaul and we'll run errands. After that another friend will take over and deliver her to the airport. Repeat again in a few weeks.

I'm probably going to get clobbered by another high bill soon; the residue of the water leak period will show up this month. To balance that out, the power bill goes down for a while because the outside temperature doesn't require use of heat or air conditioning. It's time for the seasonal shifts like taking down the shade tarp on the back patio cover (tucked away in the greenhouse for the winter), take up the cushions on the wrought iron sofa frame (store those in the garage), and finish the final mowing of the yard as most of the grasses go dormant with the shorter daylight and cooler temperatures. I'm partway through mowing the back. I need to take the sharpened mattock out and chop out the roots of the lantana I cut down to keep it from coming back.

I have the bagged concrete for my fencepost job for this week. We had another heavy thunderstorm come through the area last night but the ten-day forecast gives me some time for the work.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Nov 18 - 06:19 PM

OH:

Garage slightly adjusted for better car fit.

My interviewee scheduled for tmrw canceled, due to family meducal emergency.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Nov 18 - 03:53 PM

Found the video I wanted for quick set concrete (pour dry into hole around post, then pour 1 gallon of water on top). There are so many other products being peddled out there even with search terms indicating you really do want concrete. Oy. My final set of search terms on YouTube were "no-mix concrete fence post -foam." It brings up the video I was looking for. (Uses Quikrete - something I also should have searched on.)

I'll be helping a friend unload her UHaul truck later this afternoon. She's part of the diaspora who left when the current management arrived at my recent workplace; she's moving back to town after working for several years at the coast (headed for a new job at a different institution.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 05:53 PM

OH:

I think my favorite thing I did with the scooter for today was pushing the trash bin back up to the house after trash collection ydy. Scooters are specifically designed to push doors open at stores, schools, gummint bldgs, etc, so I use it that way. (It's always fun at a store when well-intentioned people are urgently hurrying to open a door and then I open it with the scooter before they can get there).... but I wasn't sure the scooter wouldn't just knock the bin over, causing a shoulder strain to right it-- it's not heavy but it is bulky and tall. Nope! Up the driveway it went! You can even steer things by how you angle the scooter. I will definitely do that again!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 04:50 PM

OH:

No Brandon till next week, so I went out there once more to see how far I could get using smart lifting techniques, plus the scooter. (I learned so much in PT!)

Space is tight, but the car is in, and the garage door remote is now in it and no longer on my scooter. I can still get the scooter out.

There's still one full box left to purge/sort, but it, and the open boxes to finish filling, are now in/on a large rolling cart normally used for other things, which can be wheeled over to the folding worktable's new temporary location-- for which I'd have to back the car out. All the filled boxes are near the door for Senior Helper Debbie to carry into the LL Tuesday; perhaps she'll wish to load them into the car to be driven around the corner.

It's not actually any tighter or more unpleasant than it was with DIL's car. It's just a little too tight. We'll see if that can be relieved, next week, but I'm ready for meds now.

I'm so angry at Tyler for stealing that 2nd remote. It's a real pain not to have it for scootering, because once I get the service dog hooked up it's awkward and painful to manually operate the door button, and it's best to hook her up with the door closed. And I'm hoping for quite a few more warm-enough scootering days before winter!!!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 04:19 PM

Hose lines await another day. I started the final mow of the season and decided it was time to tackle the lantana thicket, an island of shrubs in the back yard lawn near the fence. It took an hour to lop out all of the branches and carry them over to the branch pile, then used a bucket to collect the small stobs projecting from root level. It'll be a tripping hazard for a while but it's all low enough that I can run the mower over the top of it.

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

OH:

Cold front settling in. Too cold for bare fingers!

Got one more box emptied. If my back would permit, I'd try to park in there tonight.... so messaged Brandon re help moving these very heavy boxes to allow parking in garage. One is a large box full of recycling paper. Don't need him to bring them in, just to stack them READY to come in, so the garage center can be cleared. (So frustrating!)

Lids matched to boxes and boxes relabeled or old labels removed.

One box yet to purge/sort, and tmrw's 54° forecast should cover it. I do have a Plan B to be able to park inside tomorrow night.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 12:39 PM

OH:

Today is supposed to be a fun/explore day per sked, but there are 2 of those planned for the weekend and it's too cold to go scootering. I may spend some time whipping thru the banker's boxes in the garage, so I can resume parking in there-- last night's rainy arrival really sucked! Good day to test whether Bluetooth will reach from the house charger into the garage!

Later.... VERY productive hour in the garage! Finds in the "unpurged" box I'd dreaded:
. Red Cross items
. Dist 97 publications in folders, with key to folder numbers
. My leader's resume
. Greg's priesthood ordination booklet

The Bluetooth did not reach, so will take tablet out for another hour. I REALLY want to park in there, and boxes can be moved Tuesday. Two to go I think. I COULD be parking in there TONIGHT.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 09:45 AM

At bedtime last night there was still a substantial amount of charred but not-completely-burned paper in the burn barrel, so I left it to finish smoldering overnight. The heat from the contents kept condensation from landing on the barrel, that has now been emptied of brick and ashes and stowed away in the greenhouse. The passive disposal is a time-saver when considering a thousand or more sheets going 3 or 4 at a time through the regular or the cross-cut shredder - the pieces would fill a large trash bag instead of being a modest amount of ash to pour onto the compost pile.

A minor strategy that seems to work is to have at least one to-do list chore that needs doing and go ahead and to do each day. I've been looking at the larger (typical sized) water lines to replace the small ones that came with the faucet in the kitchen sink. I need to clear the cupboard contents and put these new ones on so the volume from the faucet is back to usual. I replaced the faucet a couple of years ago and used the existing lines, but the larger ones will work.

Thanksgiving is on the horizon so I'll keep my eyes open for a frozen turkey and start clearing a space in the big freezer to store it until needed. I have some whole cranberries in the freezer that have been there for a long time that I need to steam juice so I can make my own cran-apple juice (mixing with commercial frozen apple juice). I have a recipe for cranberry and gran marnier sauce that I need to make again and can a few jars and have them ready. And as cooler weather approaches I need more potatoes to make a batch of the stew for chicken pot pie.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 18 - 05:48 PM

I was going to mow but then I started looking for something in the files and ended up sorting and pulling out more I didn't need—I now have 7" deep of papers to dispose of. There's still time to mow a patch in the back yard under where I'll set up the burn barrel. The ground is soggy after yesterday's rain so it's not a big deal that I didn't mow the entire yard today.

As I free up file folders I find other uses for them, usually when things were lumped together and would be much easier to find with separate headings.

This is my 500 calorie day today so I'm drinking herbal tea during the day to distract myself from not eating very much.

(I thinned out about 3" of non-identifiable papers to drop into the recycle bin, the rest went to the burning barrel.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Nov 18 - 01:19 PM

OH:

The new daily routine is working well now. Example: As planned for Thu. AM-- TOC ofc, Session, Scooter, Eve long shower (not hair), Xtra sleep meds @bedtime

As adjusted for circumstances: AM load walker and let Newbie pee in garage (pouring rain); home ofc (not TOC ofc) planning Q's for Sunday interview of Sabrina; Aftn session, shower/hair for eve mtg; Eve SURJ mtg w walker and dog; sleep/pain meds @bedtime.

Instead of TV, and/or sleepiness leading to an unwanted nap, I'm halfway thru the planned day, on task and extra decluts have continued:

I plugged in the big full spectrum light in the LR for these 3-5 days' rainy skies. Raincoat found and it fits. Walker was loaded while Newbie played in the garage. Garage door from the patio left open for dog pee later, until I leave thru garage for 6:30pm mtg in Dayton.

Before lvg garage, I finished filling (and then closed) the next all-FPH box from the sorting project, for ferrying into the house with help on Tuesday. It includes a sub-box for the next level of sorting indoors, which had folders already set up for many of the next-sort categories.

I started a questions doc for Sunday's interview with a review of open Q's from email, and stuff I just wonder about that may be too sensitive to share with me, for fishing into areas she CAN share with me.

Docs needed for Sunday were saved into the interviewee's folder on my notebook. Def taking notebook and mouse plus voice recorders.

Old faithful voice recorders and outlet cord were found. One is charging/recording, to determine storage capacity. Next I need to be sure I have their weird data cable-- pretty sure I do-- and/or be sure my new tablet can record.

The pool bag I've been prepping, in anticipation of resuming aquatics, now includes my lake suit, shampoo/body wash, and hairbrush. To add, travel towel(s). Items I wish I had are in PA.

Found voice recorder data cord. CD of copied jpgs made and labeled from previous project for interviewee.

Misc items stowed in the right places. Three dog bed covers set up with waiting old blankets as mattresses.

Bag for carrying Sunday interview tools dentified and another bag stuffed w laundered travel items to stow in car.

Folding bowl for workshops found.

Recorder on outlet is recording now, almost 2 hours. I'll let it go to determine capacity and then delete the file and get 2nd 1 gig player testing similarly.

Yesterday's clean and folded laundry was put away.

TBTG for full spectrum lights! Planning to stop on my way to the evening mtg at CVS drive-thru for an Rx; if it's not raining too hard then, I'll stop in for a flu shot.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 18 - 12:15 PM

Agreed - good to see the lovely sofa after being buried, Dorothy! We don't see the dump here, but a friend out in West Texas used to talk about treasures they'd find regularly.

One of my xmas cactus plants has dropped a branch so I'm reviving the wilted pads and will start new plants in pots soon. Outside half of the okra has been cut down, but the other plants are still flowering. I hear a mower running and though it is very wet after all of the rain yesterday that isn't a bad idea. I'll never get to it otherwise, at this rate of rain we've had.