Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 12:31 AM

A quiet day of contemplation here. I learned that a close friend has a metastatic form of lung cancer and will probably go in for surgery next week and radiation for a long time to come. That causes one to sit back on their heels a bit.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 08:17 AM

SRS, yes... indeed.

OH:

After 24+ years of helping to host leaf-peepers, today I get to be one myself. I even get to ride with a dear friend who prefers to do the driving, so it's all scenery for me. Next week I get to drI've so she can peep.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 09:40 AM

It's garbage day in our leafy suburb, prime time for minor decluttering.

Among the many things I enjoy about city life in 21st-century Canada, municipal garbage pickup stands high in my esteem, right up there with potable tap water. I have plenty of friends and relations who live in rural areas that lack such services, so I understand what a privilege it is to haul the bags and boxes to the curb and expect it all to disappear before lunchtime, leaving only the blue plastic recycling bins asprawl on the grass.

The house feels lighter with its waste-paper baskets empty and the stack of newspapers gone from the corner of the hearthstone.

We took a trip to the States last week, which meant seven days of eating in diners, restaurants and the cafeteria at the Methodist Retreat Centre, home of the FSGW Getaway. I don't know what it is in commercially prepared food, but the inevitable result of one of these jaunts is five to ten pounds of weight gained through sheer bloat. Home food is salted, so it's not just sodium content. Stepping on the scale on Thursday gave me a real shock -- and almost all the extra poundage is already gone.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 10:59 AM

Sodium really is a culprit in restaurant food. I can go days or weeks watching healthy levels as I enter meals into the food diary in My Fitness Pal (I use the free version and in particular use it to keep track of my daily intake of calcium and sodium) but once I add a fast food sandwich or commercially prepared dish, the sodium levels soar.

I have trash at the curb this morning and agree, that fresh water, electricity, trash pickup, and having a washer and dryer really make a civilization civilized. :) I've gone through spells of having to use the commercial laundromat and find it very efficient and a time to read while I wait for machines. I fold everything I take out of the dryer so it's ready to put away when I arrive home. But being able to walk into the smallest room in the house and put a load of laundry in to wash - that is luxury. I've lived places where we didn't have trash pickup; in those days I was recycling things at a center on campus and we had a burn barrel, and a neighbor who had a pig farm would stop by for the kitchen scraps, so there wasn't much to go into the "trash" per se. If someone was going to the dump they'd stop at neighbors and ask if they had anything to go. Social welfare on a different scale. (When I hired a 30-yard dumpster to work on clearing out my dad's estate every so often someone would knock and politely ask if they could add an old commode or some broken screen doors to the bin, and that was fine with me.)

The latest batch of muddy towels (line them up inside the dog door at the back of the house) has gone through the laundry. Even with those down to catch the worst I have a lot of mopping to do to clear the tracks off of the tile. In many ways life would be easier without that dog door, but the dogs would sure miss it.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 11:58 AM

Beaver:

Our township does not have garbage pick up. Across the street they do; their taxes are higher; I am so glad I do not live across the street!

Interesting, Charmion, about the meals away from home. I am concerned that R eats out when I am not there, and has for many years. He is, happily, cooking some meals at home while de-cluttering the house in hopes of making it more saleable. He CAN do it and is even enjoying it - both clearing out the house and ...the frig!

One might wonder why I am not there, helping. It is NOT my clutter; I cannot sort it. I would want to sweep it ALL into a dumpster! 9 years ago, I put a stack of newspapers out of the parents mold filled house into the recycling bin. R and bro went to the house and came back in fits of - "You threw away...!!!!!" They had taken them back out.

Well, just think of his sense of accomplishment! And, just maybe, it will help keep the new house from being filled. That, and the fact that I promise him I will simply leave; I will not put up with living like this again.

This little house does not look like "Home Beautiful" But it is reasonably tidy and will be more so when I remove the things I am putting aside for "the new house". Energy permitting, I will store some of it in the VW van - which still has not moved in ... is it 3 years now?

Meanwhile, I lay awake most of the night, after 3 am, and re-thought the BR so, energy permitting, I will follow through on the new ideas, maybe even today. Re-thought some other things also. Went out this am with a large clear plastic "chip and dip" and transformed it into a garden of mosses and succulents. Looks nice! To take to the horticultural society tonight, along with the posters on Giant Hogweed and Wild Parsnip.

Delivered box of pottery to Jane this am. YAY! a box full gone! A debt paid. And a brain de-cluttered of the weight.

Really hoping for the energy to throw 20 or more mugs, transforming a bunch of clay into potentially useful items. The temp in in the 40s and the weather is heavy; I will have to be inspired to push the weight of the atmosphere away so I can work. The studio is warm enough.

I have yet to find a site that tells me how to deal with weather sensitivity. That day on the River set me up beautifully - all those negative ions! I once had an ionizer...

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 01:59 PM

I backslid some yesterday - at Goodwill I spotted a tall rectangular solidly built wood table for $20 that I could just fit in the SUV. Now it is given a polish once-over and is standing in my kitchen and everything on all sides around it are openable - fridge, cupboards, dishwasher, oven. It could be a middle-of-the-room staging area (the room is too small for anything but a very small island and the counter already has a peninsula). Or I could put it somewhere else in the house, it's a great size for working at and standing or sitting on a tall barstool.

Lovely weather finally. I have many outside tasks to perform this afternoon.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 05:37 PM

It was an efficient afternoon and the weather was perfect t-shirt weather. I weeded the bed with the sweet potatoes, pulling mostly Bermuda grass out. I'm not ready to start poking around to find potatoes yet, I have a few I bought recently and they actually store pretty well in the ground as long as you know where they were planted. The vines will sprout if they're on the ground and give you lots of clusters of potatoes, so getting rid of weeds now makes it easier later to figure out where the vines are after the first frost kills them all.

I use two five-gallon paint buckets with lids to start composting kitchen waste; once one of those things is full the contents are awfully gooshy and I can pour them into the middle of the big compost heap in the back. I then cover it with a lot of weeds and pick up dog droppings around the yard to scatter on top. And my organic gardening guru recommends dog-dropping tea - a bucket of water and poo, soak for a little bit, then pour it over the compost and that repels the dogs. Zeke walked up and took a smell of the bucket and wrinkled his nose and made a funny noise as he backed away. Perfect.

I cut some more slabs off of the cactus stump; it's still good sized but next time I may use big mattock or an axe and take it down to ground level.

The next door fence work is almost finished, and the guy doing the job said today that they lost 12 days of work due to rain this month. That's huge for Texas. And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow, but so far it looks like only a one-day event. I'm going to begin my extension to link the two this weekend. We talked about my options and I think it'll go smoothly because they left it easy for me to tie mine into theirs.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 10:29 PM

OH:

Head Gardener Brandon sank my potted peony into a tub of insulating compost and mulch today, now that night temperatures are hitting 30. I'll water it and then cover it with wool blanketing in the garage's warm corner. He also loaded a few travel items for a short trip I'm taking tmrw.

And we tried to hook up the old analog TV or my notebook computer to the new cable box, but all the connectors were wrong. I'll pick up a small flat-screen during my trip, which I had hoped to avoid, but all the cabling is now in place and we had some good laughs getting that far. He works fast and smart, collaboratively.

Friday I'll get home in time for him to move a small Euonymus rom the patio to the front of the house, and a parrot cage as a garden feature to sit over the ground the shrub is coming out of. He's a real treat to work with.

Senior Helpers sent me a new helper today without advance notice. I loved her-- she way outdid Brittney-- but I still called a procedural foul on the agency. They'd promised not to do that. The cleaner arrives when I'm barely awske. I'm tired of training new people, and the county agency that contracts with them has a second agency to try if this one won't make her permanent. We made a bunch of arepas today.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 18 - 12:01 PM

Getting the hang of retirement, until a part-time job kicks in (at least - still looking): yesterday was gorgeous so I worked in the yard. The forecast was for rain today so I'm doing other stuff; volunteering at a political "pop up" headquarters this afternoon, then yoga this evening. Hopefully it's just a gentle rain; the weather radar wasn't a technicolor array, just green with little patches of yellow throughout.

Working here tomorrow, then going out with friends on Friday.

I'm kind of liking that new tall table in the kitchen.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 18 - 09:53 PM

Three hours spent on a volunteer phone bank for my candidate. Hard work, actually. You really have to be on your toes.

Parcel finally in the mail to WYSIWYG. Won't take up much space; it came up in an earlier thread. I didn't even open it - just forwarded it, so I hope it's the right parcel. :)

Watching the World Series - and wondering if Rumpelstiltskin is on the field - so many large beards. Beards are definitely a Thing these days. I remember a couple of decades ago when the Series was in San Francisco (the year of the earthquake?), there was one player with a big beard and it was remarked upon a lot. Now clean-shaven is in the minority. There are quite a few with the stubble look that I think is maintained by a standard clipper setting. /back on topic

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 03:24 AM

SRS-- mystifuckified and intrigued! Trust I'm not high enough in Ohio for a Wasserman surprise! ;-)

Vacay Date:

Last one of THESE drives I'll have to make! Swapping van with srmipermanent trailer for coupe with kayak and cargo. Nice timing-- bush-moving Brandon can unload the kayak tmrw when I zoom back in time for his available 4pm Friday slot.

I forgot to ask him to offload the scooter ramp from the van Tuesday night. Oh well. Later tdy I get to play Tourist Leaf-Peeper again with Greg.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 12:12 PM

Once again from the office window my gaze overlooks a cloudy, sodden world. My phone map app finally seems to have figured out that I'm not driving to the workplace any more - it simply informs me that there is "light traffic in your area." But I'm not headed anywhere this drippy morning. There's plenty indoors to keep me busy.

The large box I got out for an eBay shipment is way too large, so I'll explore the possibility of cobbling two smaller boxes together or buying one closer to the right size. Since I have been able to recycle boxes or use the free USPS priority boxes it's rare that I have to search for the right size to purchase. Except for the rain sometimes ruining the boxes I can always look in the village recycle bin (and I still might - I'm waiting on a small vial of white enamel paint to touchup the item I'm working on now; later in the week when I go out to pick up the order I'll swing by the bins.)

To keep myself productive today I'll stagger the indoor chores, eBay boxes and paperwork. To have a bit less distraction I've put the cover over the dog door; Ms Blue Heeler was real yippy this morning. Maybe the cool weather energizes her. There's a muddy trail of footprints that needs mopping up.

I combat the gloom of gray days by giving the house a heartbeat—running the dishwasher, the washer, the dryer to do the various cleaning tasks in sequence. The sound of the radio or television might be sufficient but there are times when I'm trying to concentrate and those are distractions.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 01:46 PM

Beaver:

Something seems to have de-cluttered my energy; I did my volunteer work of reading the newspaper on line for the sight impaired and left the building squinting. Something in the air... 2 hours later am in recovery and trying to re-boot!

Also trying to get tires changed for winter and "my guy" is BUSY! I will feel better when that is done. Love my car but it will not drive on any snow at all without snow tires. So I am feeling crippled, in a sense. NO, it has not snowed yet but there was a cover the other morning that would have precluded any trip out had it not melted.

Pottery thrown two days ago is over-dry so having to re-moisten AND push for energy to trim. Would love to throw more...

That "new" table sounds like a good idea, Maggie! Of course, it is always a temptation to clutter such a space! As R "disappeared" our K table! Such a good place to lay out piles of papers...

I am feeling good about improvements in clearing BR; not so much getting rid of but organizing better and even did a couple small projects to lighten the load. Stuffed the remains of 3 mohair sweaters under the same cabinet where I found the fringe from my mexican rug/wall hanging after the critters de-fringed it! If the want cosy...! Have a plan for the pieces of sweater I salvaged.

Under the heading of things not to de-clutter: when I left PA for the west coast I doubted the need for changing of tires and left the spare rims(and tires) with a friend for his son. I actually could have used snow tires on Whidbey! And it is cheaper/faster to have them changed if they are on rims! Now the car is 15 years old... Wonder if I could find some second hand... Pete keeps asking, "are they on rims?" Could have had it done by now if the were. And I would not be feeling kind of unable to keep on until this important task is complete.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 07:00 PM

I moved all the sitting room furniture around today, working up quite a sweat while I tried to achieve good reading light on all the comfy chairs and clear passage to the door. Himself is accustomed to such upheavals after 20 years, so he took himself off to the library and left me to it.

It's better now, and the sofa doesn't skid any more. I win.

I also made a jeezly great cassoulet today, for a dinner party on Saturday, and did the laundry.

I don't think I so much as poked my nose out the door.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 18 - 11:21 PM

I've been moving a couple of chairs and experimenting with lamps for a reading space myself; sometimes I sit on the sofa, but often times I sit on a rocker with a rocking footstool that is behind the sofa and next to a small table with a lamp. But the tablet doesn't need a lamp, so then I use a different light source to avoid glare. There's a science to getting that all perfect.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 11:35 AM

There's a new small stack of papers for the burn barrel, once the yard dries out enough that exposure to the lawn won't cause my small barrel to start rusting. I worked on one file drawer so far, removing things I no longer need from work but at the same time creating a couple of succinct files of my personnel documents in case anyone at the university finally gets around to suing the woman in charge of my old department. She has it coming.

Clearing the files has of course meant that things on the desk can now be filed and I can see patches of wood again, though several ongoing tasks are stacked there awaiting my attention. A new freelance job came in yesterday that will join the files on top.

Oh, wait, I see some journal storage boxes on the floor with folders in them - possibly things to go into the file cabinet. But there are four file drawers here (and two more in the closet) to work with. I brought home things from work that I simply didn't want to leave behind, but that may not need to be retained.

I just dove into the bottom drawer of the first cabinet I've been weeding from and found a collection of article ideas that I still would like to pursue. Time to brush those off and update the research. These look wonderful - a gift to my future (now present) self!

I have a list of workmen I need to bring in and the electrician is moving to the top of the list. I've fixed the ceiling heater (the fan post needed lubrication) and replaced bulbs in a fixture over the sink, but now I need someone to replace the doorbell (it has needed replacing for ages) and to work on a plug on the back porch that is connected through the bathroom ground fault switches (odd). When the porch plug gets wet (the box needs replacing with a waterproof cover) it pops the breaker that also controls the breaker wall plugs in both bathrooms. I have to repoint brick on the house, starting back near that outdoor plug, because I think it is water splashing in with each rain event. A friend did some repointing recently and shared the instruction videos. It's slow but relatively easy work. With each task that needs doing here, I have to back up a couple of steps to figure out WHY those tasks need doing. :-/

Oh - I made the call to the guy who painted new reflective house numbers on the curb at a friend's house. They are simple black and white and really pop off the curb. In the conversation with the painter (who has to wait till it dries out more and I'm on the waiting list) he sent me a link to his business Facebook page with the fancy colors and school and community logos he does for people, but I want the black and white and nothing else. I told him he can add a photo of my curb to his collection - it seems that adding a photo of the most basic black and white job never occurred to him.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Oct 18 - 03:55 PM

OH:

In 1.5 hours, Brandon and I:

. Brought in, hooked up, troubleshot TV/cable-- need free cable svc call.
. Recovered password off notebook to restore Google acct-- I need to enter it into password doc
. Installed spring-activated door catch on people door to garage from patio. This did not resolve problem, so--
. Adjusted strike plate with clever use of Mortite where there is zero wood for 2nd screw
. Repaired suddenly awful garage door closer mechanism, with 2 pairs of eyes to spot issue and one clever set of fingers to reattach hardware that had popped off
. Planned garage space for kayak to unload on a dry day "soon"
. Planned exact spot for Euonymus he's moving
. Stowed 3 full bags of deadwood he'd picked up ydy-- 2 in trash barrel and one next week to go in barrel
. Eyeballed garden tools and soil amendment items on hand
. Established where household tools, tape, mortite, and garden tools live
. Brought in stealables, meds, and washables from Cruiser
. Cleared a back seat for Newbie
. Set up timesheet memo in my fone for a rolling tab
. Dried the wet gloves he'd left here ydy out in the rain
. Set Judy's vacuum clnr by her bins
. Entertained Newbie.

I ended up with both garage doors functioning normally without specoal fixes to teach senior helpers, and doors I can enter from either direction without having to remember if it's locked from the other side. YAY for grocery mgmt via Bowman driveway parking-- instead of slippery clay to traverse getting between house and Ridgebury driveway. Also no more having to step off curb for street parking. Front parking is now restored to visitor use!

With one more week of sorting files in the garage, I can park in the garage. Only need to move wheelbarrow and pillow bag to fit kayak plus car. Yay!

BRANDON, OTOH, has fall yard work to complete! :-) ??

A "senior helper" can finish Cruiser unloading Tuesday.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 18 - 09:53 PM

Today I bit the bullet and joined Costco. Family members have bragged about it for years, though they haven't taken the trouble to learn of comparable low-cost grocery locations like those I use. My various stores save a lot of money over your standard large one-stop name-brand carry-every-brand-size-and-flavor grocery store (Albertson's, Kroger, Tom Thumb, Publix, etc.). I used to belong to Sam's Club, but stopped paying the annual fee when I didn't go there often (after the kids went away to college). I occasionally go to Sam's Club after printing their day pass (with a 5% upcharge) for a few bulk products like my allergy medicine and fiber capsules; these are things that Costco also carries. The thing that makes a difference, that I think makes the annual fee break even, is the price of their gasoline. I filled up at the store today and saved 50 cents a gallon. I always record my purchase and today versus a few days ago was that much cheaper. We haven't had a sudden radical price drop of gas in this region.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 08:25 AM

Beaver:

This morning the long impending precipitation showed up - about 4 inches of snow (will post a pic on FB). Now I feel better. This weather sensitive syndrome has plagued me all my life. "If only it would rain and get it over with!" This snow was a surprise - beautiful! but it will soon melt away. Happiness is having finally gotten the snow tires on (Friday!).

And the three potted cherry trees are safely under a blanket of leaves that Larry brought me on Friday. They really need to be protected until spring when, hopefully, they can be planted - at the "new house"? or ???

Robin has been working like a fiend clearing the Montreal house of the ... that I have been complaining about for ?? years. About 10 people are waiting to see the house. Two have seen it and made offers! But no idea what the offers are. He continues to cook himself decent meals. YAY!

So, Maggie has found enough to do to keep her busy in retirement!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 11:54 AM

I've always have a lot to keep me busy, but what I need to do is motivate myself to work on a schedule so I get it done more quickly than I have so far. For some things, like paperwork, I can schedule it at times when there are radio programs I routinely listen to. This morning I listened to my gardening guru and now an NPR program about economics is on, so I'm doing more filing, shredding, etc.

Dorothy, I'm pleased to read that R. is motivated to clear out the house and get it sold. You'll both be so much happier once that's out of the way and not cluttering the mental radar. When will you start moving things into the new house?

This morning I came across a bunch of documents to do with when I bought and first moved into this house; papers I no longer need because accounts have changed, etc. They're going in the burn barrel. And as part of the file clear-out comes more book clear-out. I have back copies of journals where I was published and they really need to go into the book shelves, so to make room books I read once and enjoyed but have no plan to read again are going in the stack to head to the used bookstore.

Another set of papers that I need to deal with are those small scribbled notes on backs of envelopes, post-it notes, etc. They build up under the computer monitor, on the kitchen counter, on the second desk. The contact information I needed, the new password, etc. needs to be transcribed to a larger durable notebook and the scraps of paper go into the shredded. Quite a few of those are now history in the cross-cut shredder.

Last night I finished emptying the library magazine holder and am now using it for draft versions of documents I've designed. There have been times in the interview process when interviewers ask to see samples of documents in progress, so these are trotted out. Those drafts are usually large and bulky (from the printer and not trimmed, etc.) so the holder is a great place to corral them. I see another box on the floor next to where that was, and it's full of stuffed manila envelopes. I predict more burning-barrel fodder.

My radio program will end in a few minutes, so it's time to turn my attention to mowing the front lawn and preparing the area where I will pour concrete to fix my front path. And dig the hole for the fence post.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 01:07 PM

Yesterday, Stratford got a southern version of the weather system that dumped four inches of snow on Dorothy; it rained and grizzled all day, with a snell wind blowing the whole time and the still air temperature hovering just above freezing. My barometric ankles hurt like the dickens when I got up and never improved until quite late in the afternoon. Most unpleasant.

I made a large apple pie and a batch of brown rice pilaf with mushrooms for our little dinner party, so, with that and the remains of the cassoulet, we now have a fridge full of delicious ready-use food.

Like Maggie, I'm pleased to read that Dorothy is seeing progress toward selling the house. Nothing concentrates the mind of a pack-rat like the reality of having to move excess stuff -- or pay a moving crew to do it, in cold, hard cash.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Oct 18 - 10:37 AM

Purging files and shredding old documents continued, resulting in more space on the floor (two emptied boxes removed) and desktops (work in progress, because as I work on files things are temporarily added to the desktop).

Food preservation activity has slowed since the garden isn't producing much now. I'm going to pick a bunch of the hot peppers and slice and freeze them (though often times I simply freeze them whole and seed them later when they've thawed; they're like oblong green and red marbles when frozen). I started cutting down the non-producing okra stalks and I think the rest will probably come out this week, giving me access to the sweet potatoes in the bed beneath. There are some green tomatoes out there, but those plants have struggled this year with the rain and an infestation of stink bugs. I'm going to be putting out beneficial nematodes heavily in that bed to try to kill the soil-stage of the beetle life cycle.

Today begins a seasonal battery exchange: my dogs are due their monthly heartworm treatment, so at the same time I'm going to take their collars with the Invisible Fence devices and check and change those batteries if needed. And next weekend, when the time changes (Standard Time) I have a batch of fresh 9V batteries to replace all of the smoke detector batteries (they are wired + battery). That's five of them in bedrooms and a hall; I gave up on having a smoke detector anywhere near the kitchen, though I could put one up in the sun room. I may even add a sticker to each battery noting when it was replaced.

It's a great day to walk the dogs so while their collars are off (I have to wait a few minutes after removing the old batteries to put the fresh batteries in) we'll take a spin around the block. There's a pecan tree I keep any eye on this time of year for the nuts it drops on the street. I asked them if I could pick them up in his yard and he said yes. Most of the ones harvested in the neighborhood are shelled as dog treats. Back when they were young they used to gobble them up shell and all, but now they get whole unsalted peanuts for a treat and the pecans are less often and always shelled.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Oct 18 - 06:27 PM

OH:

Couldnt sleep so up at 5:30 three hoyrs early.

Got my debit account caught up and grocery list made. Lots to restock-- bladder infection plus weekend trip = empty pantry and food storage bags. Went to USPS first to mail Greg an item he'd left in the car I picked up, but they opened late so had a delay there. Then I had an unusually peaceful and helpful Walmart trip with a rare, fully-charged scooter. Fridge items came in and chix was started in the crockpot. Still need pork and beef for the usual rotation, but enough!!!

Noticed again that the recent repair of the garage patio door is FABULOUS.

Aftn, short but deep chair nap. Then lengthy combat w cable company:

Good news/bad news on cable TV here. Good news: we keep NBCSN within the rate already quoted, despite its mistaken inclusion by the salesperson I'd spoken to for the promotional deal, who they say mysteriously "canceled" the tv service the 17th (no wonder Brandon couldn't get signal!) Bad news: she never said they had 2 set top box options (live or dvr), and dvr is extra. Of course we want dvr, and I tried hard for discounted billing... but no cigar.... so the total rate goes from the $84 she'd quoted into $90's. Other news-- I'm FINALLY now set up for online bill paying when desired. UCK!!!! Five-department clusterf*ck!

Brandon was due "after 6" for kayak stowing, so I suited up to prep and spent a lovely hour or two ferrying groceries from the car to the front step via scooter, using my very sore left shoulder/arm as little as possible. I used the scooter to push the trash/recycle bins, to permit more kayak-maneuvering space around the car. Cleaned trash/recycling out of car. Moved dead brush around the camper for more space.

Then I spent the crisp and beautiful dusk-falling time, scoping out future plantings, with multiple short videos from several angles to share ideas with Judy.

Also replanted a windblown election sign and planted two more (senior svcs ballot issue). I got cold and went in to warm up and charge the fone-- so of course that's when Brandon showed up.

It's been fun driving everywhere with a pretty kayak on top, but the kayak is now finally unloaded into the garage. I described the method and coached the initial steps. Then....

Brandon: "How.... do we carry it?"
Me: "Um.... I see one strap to grab but none for the bow.... hmm..." So he swivels it a leetle bit towards himself and catches it-- before it finishes rotating stern to ground in the prescribed method-- hugs it to his chest at the balance point-- and walks it into its waiting spot in the garage. Took longer to type it than to do it. My jaw is still in the driveway.

No more cold rain dripping onto my shoulder (and the passenger seat) when I drive, from the tarp straps that pass over my head. Yeah, Columbus' rainy rush hour Friday was pretty wet. Done!

Senior helper to complete cargo unloading tmrw. I'll probably use the scooter to save her back-- it's supposed to be another pretty fall day. There ain't been many, so I'll take it!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Oct 18 - 06:35 PM

Beaver:

Happy to have energy today: trimmed pots that I threw a few days ago and threw a bunch more. I love throwing pots, not so much the trimming and not at all the aching shoulder and back. Reminds of Leonard Cohen, "I ache in places where I used to play." Rather dif "play" than he had in mind. But I enjoy it so much.   

The snow is still melting and the air was moist with flurries. I finally brought in four sticks of wood but a bunch of snow fell in my shoe and I said, "tomorrow!" I'm ok for another couple days. Sun (????) predicted for tomorrow!!! Working on the pain in back and shoulder resulting from today's efforts.

Ho, ho, ho! I am having nothing to do with R's de-cluttering. Not my monkey... If he pulls this off, the move could start in mid november. I am torn between wanting some input and wanting to just stay out of the way. I can only hope this has taught him... I once worked in a senior's centre and posted "You can teach an old dog anything it is willing to learn."

If he does not, --- we will not go there! I am happy here in our warm little house.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Oct 18 - 08:10 PM

DP, but is the house he's clearing the one with bedbugs? What's your plan to keep them from traveling?

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: mg
Date: 30 Oct 18 - 12:47 AM

forgot about or never knew about the bedbugs. My advice to everyone is only have as much stuff as you can handle, emotionally, physically, financially, if you get bedbugs. i would google steam cleaning bedbugs and get the most powerful steamer you can afford.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 18 - 11:15 AM

I had to buckle my virtual office chair seatbelt yesterday and finish filling out paperwork to do with retirement benefits. The process of retiring seems to be one of gathering as many revenue streams as possible, and one of them needed some adjustment (updated address) so when it kicks in it won't be misdirected due to an obsolete post office box. I have another set of similar paperwork to fill out and dispatch today. I set a goal to finish all of this by the end of the month.

This morning I cut up some red onions to freeze on a tray and later bag for convenience in cooking. I'd forgotten how very strong those things are! I wasn't wearing gloves so now the onion smell is wafting up from my keyboard. There is a large sweet potato baking in the convection oven to use for several meals, and I have a couple more waiting to be baked soon, but then I should be to the point of harvesting a few of my own garden potatoes soon—and they're usually giants. I'm having to be careful how much I make ahead now because I've resumed the alternate-day fasting (today is a 500 calorie day) and food gets old before I get to it if I get too far ahead of myself. Motivation comes from recent weight gain and the consequences for my arthritic knee (it hurts more).

Yard work this afternoon ahead of the predicted rain tomorrow. Lately it isn't just that there is rain in the forecast and I might get some, now it seems to be there is rain in the forecast and one must prepare for a deluge. I know, however, that my deluge is ice and snow for many of the rest of you (this is apparently a robust front covering much of the middle of the North American continent), so batten down the hatches, all!

As to the bed bugs, fingers crossed none of us ever have to go there. A friend had to bag up everything he owned that wasn't affected by them then get a new bed and have exterminators in and use the steam, etc. It took several months before he could unpack.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Oct 18 - 01:48 PM

OH:

With Senior Helper Deb:
. Un-needed cable TV parts returned for refund
. Cruiser unloading finished (scooter for heavy bags), and items set at doorways of destination rooms
. Cruiser seating areas restored; hatch shelf restored; car tools and pillows gathered into hatch
. Household clutter left from trip and illness cleared up
. Trash out to curb including 2 bags of yard waste I hope they'll take
. Kayak accessories placed in closed bin and set with kayak
. Misc items from cargo put away
. LR table covered with everyday vinyl tablecloth
. 2/3 of crockpotted chix bagged for freezer
. Flat crockpot stowed
. December travel sked set
. Local source found for masarepa in 5lb bags
. Canister for 5lb bags identified
. Bathroom cleaned and kitchen counters cleaned

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Oct 18 - 04:46 PM

OH:

Thanks to having help earlier today, the decluttering has continued on my own, with reference to routine, planned Tuesday work-- though I sure didn't FEEL like doing more!

A set of store bags I use when I shop via scooter has been reassembled and hung on the back door. Also the bag of glove compartment stuff plus car trash after last week's trip and car-swap has been sorted out, and is also hung on the back door.

Last week's laundry and yesterday's laundry are now put away.

The kitchen table is shaping up for grazing and hosting. The apple basket is now the apples/powerbars/raisins basket. A citrus basket holds clementines and lemons in a flat, airy configuration to prevent mold, and limes are coming soon. A tray holds root veg where there's not too much light. The banana hanger our PA neighbor Blair made is now in routine use. And there's still space all the way around the table to pull up a chair and use the table.

I now have all items on hand for fruit fly traps, if they start up again.

A great byproduct of Deb helping me declutter this AM is that she now has a great sense of where things are kept.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 18 - 11:11 AM

One of my older portable external hard drives has a cable with a break in the rubberized casing, but ordering a replacement took research. It turns out that inch-long 5/8th inch thick lumpy device on the cable is a ferrite bead, meant to reduce noise as far as data transmission. Not absolutely necessary, but helpful. The replacement will be a bit longer than the current one, but if this one had been longer the break might not have happened. Better to spend $5 to replace the cable than $80 to replace the hard drive. (Much of this research starts with Wikipedia.)

More important paperwork completed yesterday; too bad it was the last of the nice weather for a couple of days. I gave myself until the end of the month to finish all of the retirement research and paperwork. Cross that off the to-do list.

I have a shopping list to work from today as I run errands with a route that takes me past places where I have soon-expiring coupons. One for the hardware store - I don't have anything on my list right now from there, but I'm sure I will find something useful and save that $5. Seeds or a plant maybe. $20 at my favorite shoe store (I can always buy socks), and $30 at Macy's, a forgotten gift card. Switching to Costco for some of my shopping means I'll have to work out my routes to include a trip past one of their locations when I need gas.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Oct 18 - 04:53 PM

Beaver:

BEDBUGS! R washed everything that was washable and dried in high heat. Put the bed legs in qt. yogurt containers with diatomaceous earth, Made a tent over the bed and heated it to a very high heat, carefully! No more bedbugs in the last month!!! Determination!

The BR looks decent the Victorian parlor looks great - if he replaced the rag on the floor with a half decent carpet. "Wow, that's a beautiful sofa!" I had not seen it for the junk! Right! in 8 years!

The rest, I have not seen but he has been working like a fiend. Guess he needs to be pressed to the wire.

I made a trip: "To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump!" Thinking of youse guys and chuckling as I sang. Got rid of a bunch of dumpage, picked up two pumpkins and put them in the woods for the critters. The dump is a friendly place. That's where I obtained the nice lamp by which I read in bed. There were 3; I took the other two to a thrift shop.

Managed to get the license plate off the car - with Larry's help and went to Service ON for replacements - the front one had disappeared - sometime in last couple years but I never noticed; someone else did. I asked a police officer about it and he told me I really did need one in front also (not in Quebec). The nice clerk suggested I update to new stickers for 2020 - saves a trip back! Both plates are now firmly affixed!

Printer refused to behave yesterday; after an hour on the phone with Epson, "JUST send me another one!" So they are. I went to the Library today and Shirley managed to print out my ballot for WA state. The derelict printer agreed to scan it and it is safely emailed to Island County. This also required a phone consult with my shocked DiL - you are calling in the middle of the day - at her work! She agreed it was important that I needed to know more of the WHOs. She is so proud of me for making the effort! Likewise!

With this success, I then tried to book an airbnb for next week. This was also successful - after a great deal of pain and a complaint, last week, to airbnb: "This is the only device I have; I have used it and only it to book before. How come you cannot recognize it!!!" Oh, that was in furious caps. Now they want me to tell them things. I SHALL! That's three times they have screwed me up.

Yesterday's printer escapade had me feeling unfit to live in the 21st century.

Moved a couple more things to the "storage van", making room for a plastic container for stuff I have been having trouble storing.

Never made it the 20 feet to the studio today. Everything is covered that needs to be; tomorrow... It was pouring most of the day. Time for supper and a book.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Oct 18 - 08:35 PM

DP-- whew!

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.

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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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.