Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Nov 17 - 10:19 AM

Beaver:
Working up to the prep for leaving to go to Montreal for 10 days. On the plus side is my grand d and the father of her daughter, due in Feb. I am SO looking forward to seeing her and meeting him. I HATE leaving my home to get cold and have been wrestling with how to maintain the plants with least expenditure of electric for little heaters. Will be using the "magic" outlet, Maggie, for the Bathroom but still need a place for blooming diplademia (too awkward to transport) and Af. violet - in full lovely bloom.

Today is final prep day: clean a cheap tea trolley that was in the studio, put all the geraniums on it and put in studio which I have been keeping above freezing - kept hoping for energy to pot if solar gain warmed it enough - neither happened but I shall keep it going as I do NOT want clay to freeze and do not feel like moving it into bathroom. Also put dahlia and canna roots in there. All to be re-thought when I return.

Eyes are not bothering any more! Ankle has been better - hot bath and comfrey poultice! The moving of firewood into house is making me stronger day by day and energy level is better. May have lost a couple pounds, too.

The carrots are frozen into the ground but I am hoping today will thaw enough to get them out. Carrot soup! I put a window over them in hopes solar gain might help but there is no solar yet today, just pale grey sky!

Leave for the mill in the morning at a time that will not have me driving east into the rising sun. Then to Montreal on Weds to have my head organized, at least, in that disastrous house. All meals will be eaten out. A series of musical events are planned. And I suspect some museums will be visited. Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, and leave on Monday am. Then I rest!

RE those darn engine lights! Double darn!!! My 12 year old car needs an emissions check to be licensed for next year. It will not pass if the lights are on. So, Tues I go back to that dealer, where I did not get the lights tended to a few weeks ago... (DID NOT know about this test back then!) Hope it is simple! Then wait two days before emissions test. Will stop at dealer in Belleville on way home on Thursday. arriving home poorer but hopefully with test passed. The actual test is free.

Life really is fraught with hazard.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Nov 17 - 10:33 AM

DP, not sure this is applicable but clamp lamps with small bulbs kept newly hatched chicks warm in a winter barn.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Vashta Nerada
Date: 13 Nov 17 - 02:05 PM

I've been reading about leaving root vegetables in the ground till you need them, but that presupposes the absence of mice. I have had sweet potatoes attached by mice, so I dig them now, don't leave them out there.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Nov 17 - 09:06 AM

The electricians have arrived for what they claim (and I hope) will be their last day on the premises. The washing-up tackle has been removed from the laundry hole (where the electrical panel is located), and all food secured. The cats have gone to ground.

Today's plan includes a visit to the gym and some grocery shopping: frozen entrées, because preparing raw ingredients is just too messy for our current situation, and salad ingredients. I am already heartily sick of lasagna and cottage pie, but must acknowledge the great improvement in the quality of such ready-to-heat comestibles over the last 20 years. Himself wants salmon ...

The electricians are invading the sitting room today, and when that task is completed every single space in the house will have been affected by the kitchen project. Truly, a modern house is a framework containing a web of plumbing and wires, and we live in the heart of the web like a couple of spiders.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Nov 17 - 08:27 PM

PA

Since I'll be away for tomorrow's planned purge date upstairs, I took some of today's active rest day and put a better work chair and a pack of leaf bags up there, then purged the rest of the books stored in the garden room. A large box awaits 3 or 4 more books from another room and then it can be taped for delivery. Also purged the master bedroom's trash and recyclables (Rx bottles), leaving a recycling box set to catch the ongoing RX bottles.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 17 - 08:46 PM

We've had three huge downstairs windows replaced today. We've waited for many weeks after first ordering them, and whaddya know? Pouring with rain when the men arrived first thing this morning. However, the job's done, the chaps were thoroughly professional, even vacuuming the house before they left, and we are now totally double-glazed downstairs for the first time ever. It should be a cosy winter! But what a day it's been. Lovely fellers but they took a liking to my cappuccinos so I ended up making eight! Mrs Steve abandoned me for tea and cakes with her mates in town...Thank God for this bottle of Negroamaro...

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 17 - 09:56 PM

I need to replace the windows in this house, but there are a number of things that won't get done until the foundation is stabilized. So nothing big will get done anytime soon. The big project this weekend is to replace the sewer line; calls to the plumber are expensive and the mess that must be cleaned when the line backs up mean this is an essential job now. That will certainly declutter my pocketbook considerably!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Nov 17 - 05:45 AM

Living in old houses generally means sensible-sized rooms and a cosy feel but there's always something to fix. We still have a few totally knackered single-glazed windows that desperately need replacing. We have an extremely deep stairwell that needs decorating and there's no way I can do it myself. We need new radiators throughout. I worry about the chimney. The kitchen needs a new floor covering. We have a damp wall. I need to dig out a new soakwaway in one place. We need new gutters all round if I'm honest. But it all works for us. I need a sugar-daddy. 😂

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 17 - 08:42 PM

I'm pretty sure what You consider an "old house" is way older than what people around my area consider old. I've read the exploits of several UK folks working on their houses, and it is a different world, with historic structures and craftsmen working on things built decades or centuries ago. My house was built in 1976. I also worry about the chimney on my house, it doesn't draw well and it water has worked into the masonry so the mortar around the ugly stone hearth is crumbling.

If you find that sugar-daddy, see if he wants to travel to the U.S. also. :)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Nov 17 - 05:42 AM

Our house was built in around 1890. It's made with stone walls two feet thick. It has a slate roof that we had to renew at huge expense about ten years ago. It stands on its own in a big garden surrounded by farmland. We're a hundred feet above sea level (by my reckoning, safely above tsunami reach) and less than half a mile from the Atlantic and we're fully exposed to the westerlies. In thirty years we've had to make five insurance claims, three for roof damage (but none since the new roof - the slates are individually clipped down now) and two for demolished greenhouses! Via lots of shrubs and trees I've gradually managed to create quite a sheltered garden, in contrast to the open field we had when we moved in. The climate is mild but lots of shrubs and trees wouldn't be able to take the salt winds we get in winter. A good overnight blow often means we can't see through the salt on our windows next morning!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Nov 17 - 07:53 AM

A house is a hole in the ground into which you throw money, shovelful by shovelful.

The gas-fitter arrived at half-past seven, and now they're making holes in the walls and calling to each other in distressed voices. "Can you see that?" "Have you got enough room?" Rumble, rumble, rumble. I don't hear any positive responses, so I sit up here in the study thinking dark thoughts.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 17 - 09:33 AM

I just skimmed through this thread to find my May and October reports of having the rotorooter guys come get the roots out of the sewer line, the outcome of needing a new line, and I've set everything in motion. The excavator arrives today, the yard is flagged by the various utility services to protect any existing lines nearby, and tomorrow it happens. I have to sign for the equipment when it's delivered today, then all will be revealed to the neighborhood - something big is happening. If, until then, I work in the back yard and leave the garage door closed with the SUV inside, the code enforcement guys (who cruise past regularly in their white pickup trucks) won't see I'm home to ask about it. They're off on weekends (they suffer from the "big fish in a small pond" syndrome and are busybodies in their little fiefdom).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 17 - 11:29 PM

It's difficult (but essential) to have the sewer line replacement happening this weekend before Thanksgiving. I need to start staging the meal, making space for a thawed (or fresh - I don't have one yet) turkey, and all of the other stuff. Tonight I worked on something I would have kept till tomorrow, to get ahead. When I make batches of kidney beans (based on a recipe from my late Puerto Rican mother-in-law) I empty a lot of things from the fridge. I have decluttered the fridge of a pint of fancy little tomatoes my ex gave me last week, about 8 ounces of canned pumpkin leftover from last week's pumpkin bread, a bowl full of poblano pepper that came in from the garden right after the first frost of the year, a container with garlic and half of an onion, etc. The resulting batch of beans went into 11 12-ounce jars in the freezer for lunches. It cleared about a half-shelf for holiday ingredients.

Charmion, did the electricians really finish this week?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 17 - 07:34 AM

Never keep tomatoes in the fridge, Acme! More than a day or so of fridge temperatures switches off genes that produce volatiles that give tomatoes their flavour and aroma, and they don't recover when you warm them up again. It's one reason why shop tomatoes can look lovely and red yet taste of nothing - they've been cold-stored for too long.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 17 - 10:20 AM

Talk about clearing out. Mrs Steve's away for the weekend so I'm mopping up forgotten-about food. Just had an omelette made with out-of-date eggs, whacked on top of a plain naan bread that was five weeks out of date (grilled it and tipped the omelette butter on it first). Delicious!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 17 - 11:01 AM

These were store-bought tomatoes at the point when they were going to deteriorate, and they'd probably already been in a fridge. My garden tomatoes don't go into the fridge until they absolutely have to, and I then try very soon to process them (canning or freezing).

I regularly share garden produce, and my former next door neighbor called one day to see if I had some tomatoes. I'd given her a bad time about buying some the week before, when the garden was going great guns. I was getting ready to can and she laughed when she walked into my kitchen and saw every flat surface covered with a layer of boxes and bowls of these ripe tomatoes.

The work is underway in the yard, and we have a wind advisory all day today as a cold front moves in. It won't be too cold to work out there, but it is going to take some of the pleasure out of the task. I realized pretty quickly that standing around watching isn't helping, it kind of cramps their style, and though I brought an offered-and-accepted array of shovels (they had their own, but you can never have too many when it comes to the specialty ones - trowels, short shovels, sharp shooters, etc.) and at one point some needed duct tape. For tomorrow: I'll have to replace a chunk of concrete in the path. That's easy enough with 2x4s edging and bags of quick concrete, but it means another step in the job.

I need to work on my self-assigned task for today, to rebuild my wheelbarrow with new handles. I think I'll move this activity into the greenhouse. That wind is a killer. And while I'm at it, I'll straighten out the greenhouse. Truth be told, gardeners are packrats, you can never have too many pots, etc, but I should probably get rid of some of the really lightweight stuff that occupies space but rarely gets reused. I'll need the wheelbarrow - I had visualized a tidy line of excavated dirt through the front yard, but there will be quite a bit of shoveling and shifting to do out there when they finish, and the refurbished wheelbarrow is instrumental in that. (I could buy a new wheelbarrow for probably twice what I paid for the new handles, but there is nothing wrong with the barrow itself and I hate the idea of throwing things away instead of repairing them.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Nov 17 - 11:34 AM

PA

When is the purchase of Twenty-five Fashion Scarves not hoarding?

I noticed recently that the scarves I'd bought from eye lust for eye candy are getting not only polite compliments.... but blurted exclamatory compliments. So I started paying more attention, and I hypothesized that their eye-catching contrast with "my" olive drab, pastel, or grey-tinged colors somehow draw the beholder's eye away from my thin hair, my tetracycline smile, and my too-casual garb. Hm. So I tested that hypothesis with a full length mirror-- not a loved item due to a recent thyroid-slump weight gain I'm just trying to LOSE, even if all that fits comfortably is sweat pants and drab t-shirts!

I've had three scarves to alternate, all Goodwill purchases. Yesterday I went back for another one or two. Deep in the bins I found 50 of the length that has been working. About 10 are the texture I love next to my skin. A few were very dressy, with sparkle. One is actually a sash belt that will either fit or be used as a scarf tied differently.

Now I can stop worrying about getting more food stains on my shells and shirts-- the scarf du jour is unwound as a crossover bib. I can leave the scratchy ones at the gourmet restaurant whose high-tech entrees have ruined many a blouse. I can divide the duplicate color ranges between PA and Ohio. I can leave a generic color in each of our two cars. I can tie scratchy ones on my scooter and walker handlebars to tie up my hair or cargo, or stream in the breeze. I can reduce the amount of paper I use as kleenex or extra napkins. One had necklace-conversion jewelry I can swap onto any scarf, and a pendant to convert to a necklace using that really narrow scarf too narrow to use as a scarf and too short to use as a scooter tie.

I can consider them disposable after several uses, because 25 cost $25. Now they're off to wash out a trace of mothball scent, and then sorting begins!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 17 - 10:18 PM

Too many distractions to work on the wheelbarrow, but I need to do it tomorrow, before the guys come back to finish backfilling the trench. The sewer line is finished, though there is a drip where sweating a repair in the water line (got hit by the excavator) didn't close it perfectly. While one of them fixes that, I'll be putting edging back, trimming, and planting to give the yard the look that I was landscaping all weekend.

It was rough today but tomorrow will be calm and feel warmer since the wind died down. The repair didn't go all of the way to the house because there is a part of the foundation (that went under a long gone planter) that is in the way. There will be more garden work out there over the long holiday weekend.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Nov 17 - 09:37 AM

So....the new food plan in our house is working out fabulously! We are both happy with it, not feeling hungry at all (weirdest thing ever for me....aside from uber-stressful times of not being able to eat....I can't remember a time when I haven't been somewhat hungry) and I'm down 6.8 pounds this week and I am not dragging in the energy department! Yes, I know...water weight....probably but it's a rockin' start!   I did not get to yoga...chickened out and opted for some other activity/errand/thing to do. Maybe this week I will get to yoga....maybe not...overtime hours will need to be put in due to an early closing of the office on Wednesday and subsequent 2 days off (while we get paid for those days off, we get 7 hours of pay and not 8 and I'm kind of anal about getting in my 40 hours).....anyway, we shall see.

After a week of the above plan, Pete and I decided it was something sustainable for us so yesterday I did a major grocery shopping expedition to overhaul my kitchen.

Something else I've been thinking about is my closet. I've started working in there but the thing is, I just want to ditch everything that does not currently fit, with the exception of maybe 5 favorite items. I have a huge closet that is full but most of it are items I can't wear anymore. So this morning I approached my thought with Pete. "Dear Heart, what would you think if I got rid of EVERYTHING in the closet that doesn't currently fit and just start over?"   He said, "Go for it, it's probably all out of style anyway." While I tend to wear more classic clothes instead of trendy, I'm happy with the go ahead! :)    I have approximately 10 solid work outfits I'll keep and 4 days of play clothes/after work clothes, etc. The rest is going buh bye! I can't wait to have the space and it will make it so much easier to find things. :)

It's cold and damp today and I have seen a few snowflakes this morning. The pellet stove and woodstove are both on making it very cozy here. I've spent some time this morning, picking up and am just about to sit down to breakfast which my beloved has made. :) Lazy Sunday mornings are my favorite.

Have a great week everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 17 - 09:55 AM

Finishing my morning cup of tea, then out into the yard to transform the heaps of dirt into the look of landscaping.

We weren't able to replace the entire line. The section close to the house is sound, but it is under a corner of an extension of the foundation, so the new piece is a few feet out from the house. And down at the curb - there is a gas line somewhere under there, and these guys regularly work for a public works department in a neighboring city - they know better than most the risk and danger of hitting a gas line. So they dug to within a few feet of the curb and connected to the line from the street. I'll still have to use root killer twice a year to treat that end of the line, but the breaks in the connections that ran through the yard will no longer be part of the equation. The cast iron segments were held together with rubber boots held in place by hose clamps. The rubber had failed and roots had been going through.

Now that I know that that shallow bed in front of the house is a couple of inches of soil over a true part of the foundation, I'm going to take advantage of it and extend a porch out there. That's a project for next year.

P.S. Michelle, your closet plan sounds like a winner. If you find something exceptional you'd forgotten about as you clear out, you can decide to add it to the keep pile or not - but feel totally virtuous about clearing the space. I have a few bins up on shelves in my closet I should probably do that with also. They're clear bins with a paper in view on the inside telling me the size and contents - I kept what I felt were the "classic" pieces of sizes I hope to get into in the future. Those bins have been taking up space for a long time now. I'll have to ask myself what else I would do with that space. Congratulations on deciding what direction to move with this project.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Nov 17 - 03:09 PM

No, Acme, the electricians are not *really* finished. Wires dangle from every connection in the work area, waiting for the carpenter to repair the walls and ceilings; the plug receptacles in the sitting room are dead again for no discernible reason; and half the circuit breakers in the panel have misleading labels, as the circuits have been rewired and now cover different parts of the house. Also, the range and its exhaust hood have yet to be installed, a project that will involve both a gas-fitter and an electrician.

We must also summon back the plumber, as the sink in the second-best bathroom drains very slowly despite several doses of Drano. This condition makes it possible to see that water from the new supply lines laid in when the leaking pipe was discovered contains grit. Although the sink drains so slowly that we have not been able to flush those lines as thoroughly as a plumber might want us to, I believe that the water should be running clear after nearly two weeks of use.

Mayhem begins again tomorrow, when Tony the carpenter returns to start hanging drywall. Sean the contractor allowed as how we probably have three more weeks (Three! More! Weeks!) to wait before we can count on making tea in our new kitchen.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 17 - 05:19 PM

My yard isn't finished, but most of the piles of dirt are gone and I've put in a bed near the curb and transplanted in herbs and iris and filled in with mulch. I'm headed out for a batch of mulch, and maybe a second if it doesn't get dark.

The excavator will be picked up tomorrow morning, and I'll be spending next weekend working out front taking advantage of all of this softened and moved dirt and top soil. (The time I'm taking to type this is also when I'm grabbing a very late lunch/early dinner.)

Resting up from the weekend tomorrow at work.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 17 - 10:02 PM

Two batches later (from a place a few miles from here where the city has free mulch from trimming trees in city parks) I've spread some around and left the full bags blocking anyone from tumbling into the hole left out there - the water line isn't completely mended yet, it has a slow drip but is on so I have water in the house. My friend will finish the repair tomorrow after work, then we'll finish filling in that hole. And over the next couple of weekends I'll take advantage of all of that disturbed soil and extra dirt and redo more beds. I also have to fix the wire for the Invisible Fence. That got clobbered and a repair at the break doesn't work - it must have broken in two places, and we haven't found the other one yet. I'm sure the company will have a solution.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Nov 17 - 02:31 PM

PA

The 25 scarves are sorted, and the PA lot are hung up on hooks that were sitting there, empty, inside the door of the closet in the room where I dress (bathroom). The Ohio batch is packed.

I used some of the jewelry on one to modify another one (it was actually not a scarf) that was more fabric but lighter fabric, and too big for a scarf overall; it ended up making a long, simulated ruffle in blue tones, running all down my front.

One was a continuous-scarf-type I want to make into a regular one with fringe; I opened uo the seam but its too filmy to fring it myself; so I'll look for some fringe to sew on, at our next Surplus City trip (on a day off).

I'd scored some t-shirts on my way to Ohio, there, that solve another problem-- I like t-shirts with messages, but my message budget and message drawer have hit their limits. I discovered via YouTube that Sharpie can be used to make a message shirt or a tie-dye effect (or both on one shirt). So-- as I stain the fronts of these in everyday wear, I'll use the same idea tattoo artists use to cover a bad tattoo, using Sharpie art with a message, as phrases come to me for one-of-a-kind messaging. $2 each. I'll fringe a few of those, because they are extra long; I did that with another long t-shirt and got a lot of compliments. Apparently, fringing my big butt balances out my big bosom. I'll expreiment wit shapes-- longer on the sides, for instance, so Im not sitting on fringe knots!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 17 - 11:47 PM

After cleverly arranging to do the sewer work over the weekend and have the excavator picked up early on Monday morning to remove evidence of major earth moving, it is disappointing that the rental company still hasn't removed the equipment by Tuesday evening. It's a pretty clear advertisement that we were up to a big project. The city code enforcement folks work Monday through Friday, and as obtuse as they are, they have probably noticed this appliance in my yard by now. Next: #Obfuscation

The water line was broken on Sunday and fixed, but needed a better repair (done today). The dog containment (Invisible Fence) gets fixed tomorrow. The only thing remaining on the project is to put in a new section of concrete on my front path, once that dirt settles a bit.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 17 - 05:00 PM

The house is a mess, there is dog hair piled up in corners and under furniture, and I have tons of cooking to do by tomorrow. The next 24 hours are some of the busiest of the year. Miracles will happen. Have a good Thanksgiving, everyone!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Nov 17 - 09:22 PM

I lost 5 of the 25 pounds I gained during the last thyroid slump.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 17 - 09:39 PM

I don't expect to lose any weight in the next couple of days. I will pay careful attention to sodium and calcium.

On a bright note, my replacement fitness tracker from Nokia arrived today. It died in the middle of last summer and they didn't replace it with the same model because they all had a condensation problem. I've been patient (and they sent me a free scale to lessen the blow of waiting so long). I did find it helped me do a better job of getting exercise.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 Nov 17 - 09:00 PM

Today was all about family time. We did not do a traditional Thanksgiving with turkey and such but what we did do was wonderful, fit the plan we are working and the company was fabulous! We helped to put up a Christmas tree, fixed up some very interesting remote controlled candles, played games, talked, laughed....it was a most wonderful day!

I am not partaking in the Black Friday madness. No. Just NO.

Tomorrow I will be working in my sewing room. I am working on a quilt for the House of Care which is where I often stayed during my cancer treatments. I have sewed together several pieces that have been signed by survivors and now have to piece the rest of it together. A friend of mine will be doing the long arming. She lost her mother to cancer and she wants to be part of this quilt. :)

I have an enlarger in my sewing room that will be looking for a new home. I must get it advertised and get it out of here. I wish I could use it but a darkroom just isn't in the plans. It's time to part ways and make some room.

My closet remains in the same state....I predict that half of the closet project will be completed by Sunday....as long as my quilting gets done anyway. :)

I hope everyone has had a spectacular Thanksgiving!


Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Nov 17 - 11:52 PM

What a difference a year makes - I'm tired and my feet are tender after all of the standing and walking around the kitchen, but last year I was struggling through the full-fledged pain of Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR for short). I've been on a treatment since April of this year, and though I've had to adjust my dosage back up a bit recently, I'm back to my old self muscle-wise. I was able to lift, get up and down, and use my hands (I could barely open a jar last year).

That's the long of it. The short of it - thank goodness for dishwashers. :)

Too bad about no darkroom, Michelle. Do you use Photoshop and Lightroom? That's where the processing happens these days in my world.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 09:21 AM

I'm glad to hear that the Thanksgiving madness is passing down south, with much churning of dishwashers and inventory of left-overs. We don't have a major eating holiday in November, so the kitchen project at our house is not disrupting our social life -- much.

A new character joined the construction drama this morning: Patrick the painter, who pronounced the existing decor "really ugly" and agreed to quote on the rest of the house once the kitchen project is finished and our bank balance has recovered somewhat. Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Tony the carpenter is building a new door frame for the ground-floor loo, which thus will become usable again by close of play today. Sean the contractor says he will start installing cabinets on Monday, so today I must call the appliance dealers and tell them to deliver the new range, refrigerator and dishwasher next Friday.

I remember the excitement of Christmas when I was five and had convinced myself that my parents would buy me a pony. I remember the breathless anticipation in the week before the "formal", which is what we called the big dance when I was in high school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. That's nothing to how I feel about our new kitchen appliances, the first such items I have ever chosen for myself, to meet our needs as cooks and householders, rather than accepting what was supplied by a landlord or housing developer, or was cheapest at Sears.

Whenever I leave the house these days, I seem to buy or otherwise acquire something before I come home again; I'm such a frequent flyer at Canadian Tire that the cashiers smile and wave. When all this tumult is over and the house is fully functional, I intend to launch a no-acquisitions regime. I wonder if I can get through Lent next year without bringing anything into the house that is not food or something required for cleaning or emergency maintenance. Interesting challenge ...

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 11:24 AM

Between an early Thursday morning death notification and Gregs pastoral call, and a Friday morning Columbarium service just concluded, our always-flexible "holiday" plan sustained us with brunchy turkey salad and brie... after late rising Thursday... while we prepared and roasted a whole leg of lamb with spinach creamed in feta cheese sauce. There were grapes as well. Now it's on to a Black Friday bulk meat sale for chix at $0.29/lb and freezer packing fun.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 05:05 PM

Fifty pounds of chicken at $50 (all breasts and leg quarters), plus several pounds of lamb (free), plus Monday's free turkey will equal one very full freezer for two people.

We cooked the chicken leg quarters and about 2/3 of the boneless/skinless chicken breast. The white meat will become either stir fry (six 2-portions ziplocs, shredded and frozen). The lamb went into two big ziplocs for meals already cooked for later, and several more smaller bags' worth are yet to be sliced and divided as sandwich or curry packages. Half of the cooked turkey is frozen.

I'm glad to be leaving Hardi with a full freezer in January, but the most fun part was Newbie and her leg of lamb bone.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 09:43 PM

I didn't do much productive most of the day, just lounged around and enjoyed a day off. Something I rarely do.

This evening I made a pot of turkey soup; it's finishing simmering to let the rice I added cook completely, then it's into the fridge for meals over the weekend and next week. After having people in for the meal yesterday, the house is looking good. As the soup cooked I reduced the size of the dining table and put my sewing project out on it again. I puttered in the kitchen, clearing up, gluing, repairing, tossing a few things.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 17 - 09:23 AM

Last weekend I completed my self-assigned task and replaced the handles on my wheelbarrow. There is a brace between the posts down at the front end, and when the old handles were still on it shifted and the wheel scraped against it. I had to stop and move that loose brace to do much; now everything will stay where it is supposed to be. It feels like a new device. Today I'll use that barrow to pick up and move some of my concrete stepping stones that were moved across the yard out of the way of the work. And I need to mow the lawn for the last time this year (though I'll have the mower out a time or two more for mulching leaves.)

My fridge is full of food, even after I sent a lot home with people. Sweet potatoes for breakfast this morning - mmmm!

Subject: Bad Back in Motion for Rebuilding Stamina
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Nov 17 - 11:41 AM

PA

Bad Back in Motion, for Rebuilding Stamina

We were both so tired last night that we went to bed before 10pm and slept til 7:30 am. After a lazy wake-up Hardi planned to head out back to put on the snow plow blade (first bringing me cooked chix legs and breasts into kitchen), and I got to work with the next round of dishes-- big pans to dishwasher after a quick soak/scrub. Started chicken packing, which Hardi ferried to freezer as he passed by.

Next I grabbed more DW items from LR (keep that sore back in motion), added those, staeted the DW, refilled the vinegar jug, and took a bag of lamb to LR table to slice. This resulted in one feta-sauce glass pan of weekend eats, and 2 small bags for sammy/curry while I'm in Ohio (labeled).

I discovered the lamb shank cut off ydy but not cooked and frozen, that I chuckef into the freezer instead of poaching-- we need to close this project, and shanks are always slow-cooker fare anyway; so freezing twice = no problem for a future shared meal and bone for Newbie.

There's one giant pan left of chix thighs to pack, once the Lodine kicks in, at the LR table where I've already gathered the supplies. The glass pan with feta/lamb is in the nukerater for Greg to fire up when hungry after snow blade is installed. I'm not hungry, yet, having snacked on meat shreds as I packed meats.

It was an intense 1-1/4 hour in motion before my back screamed SIT. So Ah settin'. Oh yeah I spent an hour early this AM picking out 6 months of Saturday music and setting up the year's planner which involved removing half the pages to recycle-- it includes ALL saint's days for possible planning, but we use this only for Saturdays and leave the rest to the organist.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 17 - 04:25 PM

It's hard work preparing all of that meat but in the coming months you'll thank your past self again and again. I read a Boston Globe story from 2015 about former Gov. Michael Dukakis and his love of turkey stock - he takes the turkey carcass home with him from dinners at friends or family homes. I make stock with the carcass of turkey or chicken, though won't recruit other birds. There's a batch of soup in the fridge right now, and the fixings for another batch soon. He's also a gardener, and believes in not wasting food.

The back yard has been mowed, now to the major job out front - hauling the remnants of the vegetable garden back to the compost area. A friend gave me a compost enclosure thing I'm going to try out for some of this (including the food scraps from buckets can go into this - they've already broken down for weeks in a covered 5-gallon bucket, but you'd be amazed at what my pit bull will dig out of the regular compost pile). The front needs a lot more work, but I wanted the back to be ready to receive anything I haul from the front. I pulled out the holiday lights and I'll put them up this afternoon as well. There's a juniper that is perfect for decorations this year.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Nov 17 - 10:10 AM

Acme,

Yes, I've managed our meat supply that way now for years, and that's why we were able to squeeze in an actual Thanksgiving between a death call and a funeral (two different people/families, 36 hours apart), very smoothly. The difference this year is packing the freezer, also, in light of my planned absence and return, with the surprise meat sale... for which I had packaging materials already on hand.

A big change I'm looking forward to, when we retire, is not having to run it this way. We're actually too old for all this bulk management. I just wish my DIL's lived close enough to learn this approach to kitchen economy.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Nov 17 - 10:13 AM

Montreal:

Charmion! Thank you for a good laugh - but so true!!

"A house is a hole in the ground into which you throw money, shovelful by shovelful."

Beaver is getting further tightened with rigid insulation on the floor upstairs and plywood on that. Dan says it looks like a real room now! It is high enough in the centre for a not-too-tall person to stand so we will be using it as a sleeping loft. He found lots of holes where cold was getting in. He is also going to do some structural strengthening before I get back. He also made styrofoam insert for me to put in the hole for the trapdoor-to-be. Currently, there was only a piece of plexiglass - which is great for letting light come down from upstairs windows but not very good for keeping heat downstairs. At night I can put insert in place; daytime have light!

I finally arrived at the house in Montreal to find R had actually decluttered enough of the LR that there is room for 5 chairs! and we can see the floor! Far from nice middle class gentility but a tremendous improvement. He did not have time to vacuum, alas!!! I am too fearful of dust to do that so it remains filthy around the edges. He did wash the wood floor. And cleared enough surface in the K that food prep was possible - with care.

Thank heavens for airbnb!

My beautiful granddaughter along with my 3rd ggd in utero and the father of such, arrived on 16th. We had a terrific weekend - at least from R and my point of view. A marvellous accordionist at the cafe in St. Isidore on Thurs, and a good meal. Fri, Ali and I went to a special Quaker meeting at Friend Molly's long term care facility; Molly was in far better shape than I expected - So terrific!

Then we picked up Jeremy and I took them to Old Montreal where we wandered around and had lunch in a small cafe. The big event was an evening at the Yellow Door Coffee House - where I worked for years and my young sons hung out, perforce! This was top priority for son Troy as he has such positive memories and it started him on the music track that has so enriched his life.

A quick side trip to the All Night Bagel Factory was also on the list and elicited a surprised response from the young ones. J posted an excellent pic on FB! Saturday, A & J walked up to the Fine Art Museum, spent the day and then walked back down to our place where we had chili, family photo albums and visiting until they walked the 5 blocks to their airbnb.

On Sunday, A, R and I went to meeting and pot luck then picked up J to go to a museum/house dating to late 1600s. Wow! Then to a big buffet restaurant - crowded bit not overly.

We got them to the plane on Monday and I collapsed. R went to work. Tues took car for a new oxygen sensor, thinking this was it - but NO, something wrong in the front wheel; have to order part from US, come back next week. Thursday, it started making a nasty noise. Fri, I arranged to leave it at the dealer en route to cafe; R followed me in his truck and we left my car and continued in truck. Good music, went to mill to pick up distiller as we were running out of distilled water. Stayed the night and left early (for us!) and had big BF at a restaurant.

My 10 days in Montreal is turning into almost 3 weeks. A friend is arriving next week to stay for 18 days. We will give him upstairs BR which is --oops, we cannot move our clothes up there until after this visit. R did live trap the rat!! We will use the new-to-us futon downstairs. Hope it is reasonably comfortable.

I have triaged a bunch of stuff to take to thrift shops and some to Beaver. It is a relief to be able to "swing a cat" in the LR. R is happy to have me cooking him good food. I am feeling appreciated. It was so wonderful to have Ali visit, and to meet J; they are fine young people. It does help de-clutter the mind to have assurance that the younger gen is fine.

Today R & I are having lunch with a very dear special friend from the 60s, and his wonderful wife. They have moved back to Montreal after many years in the USA.

I have given up thinking about dieting for now. Just eating good food.

My health consultant Connie, rose to the occasion after we talked a couple days ago about my discomfort/pain that resulted from the removal of lymph nodes 12 years ago. She found a post on line with good explanation and suggestions for self healing! R and I are so happy as it was becoming a serious issue. I posted it on FB.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 17 - 10:14 AM

As I was drifting off to sleep last night I figured out how to use the broken up concrete resulting from two segments of my front path that were broken up during the sewer line replacement. I'll place them a couple of inches apart and fill in around them with pea gravel next to the front porch.

I did the same thing a number of years ago when next door broke up their concrete driveway to put down bricks. I put down chunks and pea gravel in an area where the dogs were always making the lawn muddy near the back gate. There's a lot of grass in it now, but the area is stable as far as the dogs running over it. Out front it will be easier to keep out the grass because the pavers and gravel will be on that bit of foundation. I was thinking about building a deck over the area, but this will work better and I can still put potted plants and a bench on that spot.

After yesterday's yard work I'll pace myself, I can feel a few sore muscles today. Dorothy and Charmion, I am amazed at everything you're doing these days. All of that activity is a great way to stay warm in winter.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 12:05 AM

The seasons are changing - and I'm chasing the Labrador retriever off of my sofa, so it's time to put the waterproof dog cover over it and it's theirs for the next couple of months. I need to declutter all of them of long nails so they don't rip it - I have a clipper, I just need to nerve myself to do it, without scaring them in the process. I can give them their annual immunizations, certainly I can clip nails.

Three Shark vacuum canisters full of dog hair emptied into the trash today. I went over all of the rugs and ran the wand through all of the corners.

It seems to be mostly dog stuff in this report - I also set up the compost enclosure, reinforced with three fence posts (the kind you pound in and catch the chicken wire in the little notches). I filled it with garden stuff and contents from three compost buckets. I scooped dog droppings from around the yard and scattered them in the bin and around the base. That will repel at least two of the three.

In the front, it will take me a while to empty that shallow bed and move in the pavers, but the shovel can live beside the kitchen door and a bucket is handy - a few minutes a day will get me there. My next door neighbors were glad to see the lights up already - for some of us, it's a sign of life. Someone got out and did something the neighborhood will notice (though I daresay the trench through the yard probably achieved that even more than two strings of lights). :)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 09:13 AM

I spent the weekend wiping and vacuuming and mopping plaster dust off everything on the ground floor, where the sitting room furniture was once again veiled in grey and the cats were picking pussy paw-loads sufficient to mark every surface in every other part of the house. Then I did the same in our enormous bedroom, which contains five chests of drawers and a row of three floor-to-ceiling bookcases as well as a queen-sized bed. Upholstery got vacuumed and cushion covers laundered. The dryer whooshed and thumped for two days straight. My feet are a pair of hurtin' units now.

Only the study (seven floor-to-ceiling bookcases), Himself's office (two floor-to-ceiling bookcases), the guest room and the basement (eight floor-to-ceiling bookcases and five sections of storage shelving) to go. Not to speak of the furnace room and the laundry hole, where sawdust abounds ...

Cabinet installation begins today, hooray hooray hooray hooray! The cabinet-maker and his guys were loading their trailer when I called at 0850 hr to find out the order of march. I look forward to a week of visible progress!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 08:07 PM

Montreal

Charmion! You are living in a situation that would make me dreadfully ill in minutes. Breathing drywall dust and sawdust are very much not recommended. Perhaps you could, at least, tightly close the BR so you are not breathing in that stuff all night as well.

Tonight, I hope to broach the subject of finding a home for both of us in less urban Quebec - 30 minutes from the centre of R's work area rather than 15 minutes. I found 4 on line today at reasonable prices - small, suburban, with yards and parking. One even backs onto a nature preserve! This will be an initial suggestion and maybe shot down instantly but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am concerned that he does not eat properly, by his own admission, when I am not in residence, cooking and serving his tired self.

Considering the condition of this house and the fact that he actually is considering the possibility of selling it, which, of course, does not mean it will happen in my lifetime but hope does spring eternal. Being rid of this derelict heritage house could be the most monumental bit of de-cluttering in both our lives!

We visited a friend of 49 years, and his wife, yesterday. We sat down in their modestly furnished but clean, comfortable and tidy LR and my first comment was "On my, a nice gentile, middle class LR!" (Very dear friends!) What a pleasure to be in an uncluttered LR, and DR! Maybe I have been away from Beaver too long.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 11:10 PM

I remember seeing photos of the neighboring house - it's in a great area, someone should get it and actually do the fixing-up, Dorothy. And treat it the way it needs to be treated. And you two can move on, as you say, to a less complicated and tidy living space.

I took the year off of the title of this thread. It's puttering along quietly, and with mudcat loading faster now, should do well enough for at least the next year. I can add 2018 into the title in the New Year - if the number is what helps you spot the thread.

One more eBay item sold, they're going at about one a week now, and I'm keeping up, getting more listed every couple of weeks. This isn't fast, but they add up to enough to pay at least one bill each month. For now, it'll be a modest vet bill as the oldest dog is kept comfortable. I have a lot more stuff to list.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 17 - 10:35 PM

It's amazing to consider how much activity and information is packed into the tiny space that is my smart phone. And how naked I feel without it. The phone or the battery died suddenly today. I tried various things, nothing worked. I have another one on order, should arrive on Friday, and if this is fixed before then I'll return that one unopened. I found a battery place in town to go test this Powerbear battery (that has a warranty); if it's dead, I'll wait for the replacement. I've lined up my ducks to get the battery replacement if that's called for (I hope they still make it.) I wish I'd kept the other battery; it lost it's charge quickly but still worked, I could have used it to test the phone now. I seem to keep everything, but not that. :-/

Fairly recent used phones can be sold on eBay; I've done it. But I can't sell a non-working one because it's full of my data.

I have other things to do around here, but that is a major distraction. I am continuing a project from last winter, soaking some old lace table cloths and linens to see if I can bring them back to white or cream color. Some to keep, some to sell on eBay. And I have sewing stuff spread out on the dining table again.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Nov 17 - 10:03 AM

The dining-room floor was laid yesterday, and it is beautiful -- even though it is very obviously not the same shade of brown as the abutting floor in the sitting room. That's the last time I consult Himself on a colour comparison and let his opinion over-rule my doubts.

The sample board provided by the flooring supplier was more of a hindrance than a help. No matter how I held it, I could not align any of the most likely samples with the existing floor. Also, during the week we had it, Stratford lay under a blanket of cloud that made high noon look like supper-time, making colour discrimination that much more difficult.

We had a short, blunt discussion of the issue yesterday and decided that we shall never mention it again. If necessary, we can use it as a litmus test for potential jerks; he who mentions it in criticism can be safely identified as a jerk and never asked back.

Cabinet installation is going well, and the shape of the kitchen to come is now clearly evident. It will work, and it will look "sharp" as Himself says. The counter-tops (five slabs of granite) and the new appliances are due to arrive on Monday, which will therefore be fraught with incident.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the forest, I am cleaning up after the plaster work. The forced-air heating system distributed grey powder throughout the house, so I have been wiping and vacuuming as if expecting an inspection by the Admiral of the Fleet. After a day of cleaning dusty books, my voice is reduced to a creak and I sneeze volcanically -- but the damn' books and the shelves they sit on are clean! Well, clean-ish. As clean as aging books can be expected to be.

The north-facing window of the study has proved perfect for my collection of orchids, which are putting out flower spikes at a great rate. They look a bit ... shall we say ... surprising, among the computer equipment and bookcases, but their continuing vitality perks me up no end.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Nov 17 - 11:08 PM

It appears to have been the phone, not the battery at fault in my lack of connectivity this week. The new one should arrive tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I have taken WYSIWYG's advice and looked at root killers. My new sewer line is attached to the old one near the house, and it's fine there (and has a new two-way cleanout a few feet from the house), but the last segment that dips down to the street level may still be subject to roots because they didn't want to get too close to the gas line during installation. The connection left some of the old line down there to be safe. (Wise men.) I picked up a jar of the foaming root killer (yes, $20 seems expensive, until you see the bill from the plumber!) to do this weekend, and a bottle of Zeb, that will be used every few months after that to maintain the line free of roots. One evening this weekend I'll pour the powder into the cleanout out in the yard then flush a couple of times to push it to where it needs to be (to stay in the line overnight). The guy at Home Depot was impressed with my description of our setup and we discussed the options - the folks who work there enjoy being more than just sales clerks.

eBay stuff is starting to move - even for small sellers this is the season. I'll put up more listings this weekend - the plan is to spend days in the yard, evenings working in the sun room.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 17 - 12:46 AM

Killed most of the day today waiting at home for the phone delivery. I did get some work done for work, but since my existing phone was dead I wasn't able to uninstall many of my security two-factor accounts, so I've had to set them up in the new phone or logon via the computer and disengage then reinstall so they point at this phone. It often involves a barcode displayed on the computer that the phone software then scans. This is necessary phone clutter in this day and age.

Lovely weather, no rain lately. The yard will be drying out (soil gets rock hard) but after so much disturbance, I imagine I can still get a shovel into it to start working around the front porch.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 17 - 10:30 AM

Last night before bed I poured Roebic foaming crystals poured down the nifty front-yard sewer cleanout, then two flushes of the toilet to position the chemical in the line to kill tree roots. I'll be doing some landscaping around that area today, moving defacto paving blocks (broken concrete from the front path) into position next to the porch.

Charmion, we all await news of the progress at your house, and Dorothy, keep us abreast of news of your various domiciles. Susan, are you still moving as much stuff now that it's winter (and presuming snow season)? Lurkers - have you performed some magical clearing of your homes that you'd like to share with the declutter thread readers?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 02 Dec 17 - 11:43 AM

Montreal:

Charmion! Orchids amongst the computers sounds great!

New modem: Netgear aircard is working SO much better than the old model which was driving me crazy. This one turns on an off in a moment so I hope it will be more efficient and less expensive, though I do not understand what it is that costs...

I visited the two possible home sites off Island - after car was finally repaired Thurs - with two new tires on front due to one having been destroyed by broken coil spring rubbing on it. After over $2000 in repairs there is the - maybe I should have gotten a new vehicle instead! But we never know. Well de-cluttered finances! And the thought of planning to be able to obtain a new car in the next year or so. R says, "wait until something goes wrong"! NO! I do not want to be at the mercy of a car dealer at the wrong time of year...

So I picked up the car in Chateauguay and started looking for these two houses by "instinct", for lack of a map. I found a marvellous treasure! Totally lost I ended up following signs for a "refuge faunatique" and found a beautiful facility - cafe and visitor's centre for the wildlife refuge which entails most of a large island between the Chateauguay River and the Saint Lawrence. Ile St. Bernard was a "nuns" island so it is historic, with a convent as well. I was vibrating with excitement; it was so wonderful. The nice man at the cafe gave me directions to one address - a small suburban house tucked between others but backing onto another huge nature preserve! The whole area is mainly swampy! What else can be done with it!!! It is half a block (west) of the Chateauguay R. as well. The pics on line look good; we have both looked at them thoroughly and find it OK. A big clean basement and a shed in back yard, 3 BRs (one for a library), and a decent K, back deck, etc.

Then I managed to find the other one which has a darkness to it. I have not bothered to show R. So, IF this house sells, it is possible we can buy something else. Whether or not R will go for the extra distance...? But I have not yet taken him to Ile St Bernard! He has seen the booklet and seen it on line - Beautiful, Maggie! To be five minutes away from real country - not agricultural!- and near two rivers!

The plot would be to spend more time with R so he eats better... Meanwhile, someone is coming tomorrow to see house and R has some de-cluttering to do!! This is an "as is" sale, if at all but a person has to be able to SEE it! I cleaned up some dust with a damp cloth and have a headache for my trouble. Back to Beaver on Monday for a couple weeks then back here in hopes of getting R to Beaver for Christmas.

It would be such a joy to have a decent home here and be able to spend safe time with R. AS we get older, this is becoming an issue - in my mind, at least. Driving still affects ankle and dust is my worst enemy!

My big job to day is to concoct something substantial for a potluck to night. Starting with beans (on stove), rice (next in line), veggies and seasoning. Ah, yes, ye useful onion, celery...