De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 20 - 12:38 PM

Congratulations, Charmion. Does it have a "new computer smell" like a new car has a distinct scent? My new one (a few months ago) was silent running until I put in an extra HDD, and now it has a low vibrating hum every so often.

I put the last of the xmas ornaments away this morning, and it's still only January! Yay to me!

The rain and heavy overcast of the last few days has lifted and now it's a lovely sunny incredibly soggy day - inviting to enjoy until you put a foot on the lawn and feel the sucking squish of mud under the turf. Looks like another day of indoor productivity, with a possible dog walk (where we will stay on the pavement).

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jan 20 - 01:24 PM

No new computer smell, alas. Far less clunkiness than the old Windows machine, and no more snake's nest of wiring behind it and on the floor, but I'm not loving the painful process of learning all over again how to do all the basic stuff -- receive mail and save attachments, file documents, do the fucking household bookkeeping.

The house is filthy after the double door transplant effected by Tony the Carpenter on Wednesday and Thursday. Part of a modern pre-hung door is a metal threshold that must be secured to the sill of the doorframe, typically a two-by-six plank. In this house, however, the doorsills are cast concrete with a slight lip on the inboard edge intended to butt against the weatherstripping on the bottom of the door. These lips had to go, so Tony went to Canadian Tire and purchased a grinder attachment that mates to the hose of his Shop Vac. Thus equipped, he ground both doorsills flat, generating great clouds of dust that MOSTLY ended up in the Shop Vac. Guess where the rest of it is.

The new doors are great. No more fighting with the old exterior storm doors with their hyper-strong return springs, and the whole house is more comfortable now the winter wind stays outside.

The agenda for this afternoon is an exciting roundabout of vacuuming, dusting, and laundry, as Himself has achieved bingo status with respect to clean underpants. It's a great life if you don't weaken.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Jan 20 - 02:10 PM

Dupont:
You guys cheer me up and cheer me on!

Plants to outside: I have tiny sweet pepper seedlings (from the pepper that grew this winter in Bathroom) on the rad in den south window; the tomato cuttings are doing very well in a west window; one has a tiny tomato! and the plants themselves are still in the west LR window. Doesn't everyone...? Less than two months to the equinox so along about April I might do more cutting back and rooting. There will be plenty of cherry tomato plants to put outside in late May. In Toronto, nothing tender is planted before Victoria Day.

I have discovered that Cyclamen need cool semi shade so they are now in the pantry north window, the coolest spot other than the unheated bedrooms and there are no plants in them as it may get very cold. minus 16 C outside today. Both schefflera look like they are getting used to new home.

I too am still getting used to new computer, after two calls to applehelp and one short training by phone; she sent me some emails to help out; I will look at them when I have the mental energy. Finder is a mess!

I really need to get to Beaver but no energy and R cannot take time off. I will put a notice on the Bancroft area ride board to see if there is anyone in Montreal wanting a ride to Bancroft. Slim chance.

Managed to eat less junk yesterday. Stairs and watering plants are my exercise! Even if the outdoors were safely lacking in ice, I cannot see myself going to a so-called health club sort of thing. I shall keep an eye out for someplace convenient, then check it for toxins in the air... OR go up and down stairs a LOT! Until it is safe to walk around.

Concerned about coming storm; no real firewood yet and R has been in the city for two nights due to vehicle non-function. I suggested time for a newer pick up; "I like driving this one"; I did not shout, "But it is not drive-able!" GEEZZZZ! He might rent a car today but that precludes picking up wood. The weather does not wait on his convenience!

In the meantime, I am staying safely in the house, where I might get up the inclination to do more than watch TV/read. The squirrels did not come out today. I have started making observations about their hours in yard and not in yard. Weather seems to have an effect and if I work it out, I could read their predictions.??

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 20 - 04:13 PM

As Dorothy perfects her Squirrel Barometer _{[Pat. Pending]} and she and Charmion and I all work out our new computers, it sounds like there is still dust and clutter in the background to keep us busy later. I still haven't set up the backup drive, but it is time to put new batteries in the UPS and then figure out how to connect the many-terabyte HDD to it for regular backups, keeping the backup drive out of the way. The place where it will live is probably dusty right now.

I have an interior door serving as an exterior door on the garage and it is crumbling. Time to measure and replace, probably find a handyman to do that. And install a new dog door once it's up. It's also time to file and create a folder for tax documents. Indoors or out, I have plenty to keep me busy.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 20 - 11:11 PM

This evening I evicted non-working electronic equipment to the SUV to drop off in the e-waste bin on campus this week (the remote control still works so it will go on eBay). Sometimes these things are valuable enough they can be sold for repair or parts, but that doesn't seem to be the case. A couple of boxes with replacement batteries for my UPS have been sitting here waiting for attention, I need to finally install them and the old batteries will go to the bin.

I've started working through the stretches in a book a friend gave me (Bob Anderson: Stretching, it has been around for decades) and it feels pretty good after working through the leg set. I'll start a yoga class after the knee surgery; right now I have to choose moves that don't make the inflammation worse, awkward during a class. I found a PDF of the book (saves me scanning pages of mine to print to carry with me to the gym, I can load the PDF into my phone). Exercise to warm up then use the bicycle, treadmill, etc.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Jan 20 - 07:19 PM

Dupont:

Posted the anti-inflamation tea twice today:
* a couple of teaspoons of termeric (preferably organic)

* a nub of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

* juice of a whole lemon

* a few shakes of cayenne pepper

* hot water

You can mess with the ingredients to your taste.

It also occurred to me afterward that cinnamon would also be a great addition health wise as it's also an anti-inflammatory. It's just whether you like the taste...

I need to use it too! I have been doing pretty well with my handful of supplements. Two sessions of Clearing the Car of Snow added to my exercise regime! An hour today and then a trip to store. Streets were icy but the parking lot was OK. Watering plants takes about an hour a day. cooking BF half an hour... I wish I could get inspired to write a book, or anything.

R made it home last night.

Post on ride/share elicited suggestion from a friend that I stop in a hotel if I get tired. Better idea: start early, stop for a lunch en route and finish trip before dark. Maybe Weds. I am so fed up I don't care if the food rots in the frig or the plants die from lack of water. I need to get there and breathe the air, see the friends,clear the back deck, fire up the wood stove... HOPE the water is still functional. I have always found it less icy there so feel safer walking around.

Pepper plants are growing. Bruggie is getting new leaves after complete loss. The days are truly getting longer!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 20 - 07:20 PM

Batteries are replaced in the UPS and the old ones will be recycled later this week. Replacing them costs about 1/3 the amount of replacing the whole unit (and no point in replacing it when it otherwise works perfectly well). I see a lot of these at the thrift store, probably when people don't know about replacing batteries.

Since I had to move equipment around to do this I rearranged before plugging it all in again. The printer is now where I can reach it to use the sheet feeder and easier to fill the paper drawer. And it makes the old computer and that equipment easier to work with. Having a well-running office with this much stuff is a work-in-progress.

The glider on the front porch makes the space seem smaller than before, but it's nicely placed to view the yard and street and I dozed off for a few minutes in the sun this afternoon. There is a small tarp with two corner grommets tied to the back legs of the glider (good use of old sneaker shoelaces from the junk drawer) to flip over the top and front when not in use.

I need to transplant one batch of asparagus and transplant a redbud seedling to a pot for a little while before putting it in the front where the huge pine was removed. Redbud is a smaller understory tree with lovely heart-shaped leaves and is one of the earliest bloomers in the spring.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 20 - 04:55 PM

I completed my first morning volunteering at a local museum, doing some of the work I did at the university library. This will be six hours a week, giving me a nice destination for an outing a couple of days a week. It may put me in contact with more germs, I want to avoid germy school children (who frequently tour the museum) and such. That is one problem associated with getting out around people.

Harbor Freight is a chain hardware and tool store that is probably around the US. I stopped by to pick up batteries (at 20% off - coupon) and pick up the ubiquitous LED battery (free with coupon and a purchase). I keep them around the house in case of power outages, also to help see what I'm doing on various tasks in tight places around the house. Old eyes. I now buy the replacement batteries for my free flashlights at Harbor Freight. :)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jan 20 - 08:21 PM

Thanks for the tea recipe, Dorothy. I’ve been wheezy lately, so I’ll give it a whirl.

I think I have pretty well figured out the Mac, except for one thing: downloading and saving documents. If there’s a Mac version of the Windows “save as” command, I have yet to find it, and I get a “failed to save” message with dreary frequency. Any hints that might be floating around would be more than welcome.

I also miss the Windows “right click” capability, which I now realize saved me a great deal of twiddling and faffing about.

In other news, I finally cleaned up after Tony the Carpenter, and gave myself an asthma attack as a reward. Boo, hiss.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 20 - 09:40 PM

Why did you buy a Mac if you're so proficient on the Windows machines?

I'm sorry about the asthma attack; here we have a miasma attack of politics (Trump's impeachment "trial" as conducted by the Trump toady McConnell). Hold your nose.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jan 20 - 08:56 AM

I bought a Mac because I do not want to have to replace it any time soon. If all goes well, this computer will last as long as I do -- or, at least, as long as my eyesight and wits do.

The problems I'm having now arise from ignorance -- I do Windows things because I don't know what the Mac thing is, or don't know that a Mac-specific thing even exists. A bit of Googling last night led me to a forum where I learned that Duplicate is the Mac version of Save As. More Googling will reveal the Mac equivalents of the keyboard shortcuts I have become so accustomed to in Windows programming.

Relearning is painful in one's mid-60s, but unfortunately necessary. Not to speak of good practice.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 20 - 12:12 PM

My 2010 HP is still running fine, though I would have to refresh the operating system to get it back online (and lose the software I've installed).

I have a printout of the 12-days-of-cleaning thing that LilyFestre shared back in ~ 2018 (it was meant to prepare for the holiday season). It serves as a nice way to break up the number of tasks that need to be finished by a set time - and is what I'll use as I get the house ready for the comings and goings of family and physical therapists after the knee thing. I need to pamper myself ahead of time with a clean house and prepared meals.

I have 11 days of cat sitting coming up, something that is good because it forces me to get to bed earlier so I can rise early to head out to feed kitties at their normal times. I should be getting to bed earlier anyway, with the days still dark early it's easy to loose track of what time it is when most of the light in my day comes from artificial sources.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 09:39 PM

A group of former co-workers gathers here for lunch every few weeks to catch up on life and news, and yesterday I threw out a few possible dates for the next one (and probably last until after the knee stuff). They concluded that the one date that works best is Sunday, so tomorrow I will be giving the house a good going-over in preparation. This is primarily because one of those friends is allergic to dogs.

There are several boxes of things to go to Goodwill and the eWaste bin. I'll stash them out in the SUV so I don't have to remember to take them out later.

Soon I need to build another enclosure for compost, one that must be dog-proof from the very beginning. I should probably peruse Pinterest or someplace to see what has already been invented. It's time to start putting in beds for spring, and I need to do it before the surgery, so the weeds need to have someplace to go. My daffodils haven't opened yet, but I've seen some around the neighborhood. Spring is just around the corner.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 20 - 12:30 PM

I just received the book Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale I'd stashed on my Amazon Wish List last fall. It arrived with an order of good-fitting yoga pants for wearing to the gym. (With the way Amazon delivery people seem to be stressed I try to be more efficient and not place single-item orders.) The book is a look at the business of thrift stores and how castoffs from the US travel around the world. There need to be more people speaking up about how to recycle effectively, and I plan to start here in my village. The crap people throw into the recycle stream via bins down at city hall is a starting place. And the stuff that goes to Goodwill that should instead be put in the eWaste or fibre stream.

The turf weeds are growing tall so some of my fitness activity this week will be mowing. The gardens are taking shape by themselves sprouting new growth and daffodils have buds already. There is a lot of digging to do out there, and in the back of the back yard there are several piles of finished compost to move to the beds out front.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 03:48 PM

I just spent an hour of my life that I'll never get back on the phone with eBay customer service. The poor "team member" who picked up my call had the sketchiest command of English I have ever heard in a call-centre employee, and the script she was obviously working from was of zero help to her as it did not cover the thing I wanted to talk about; i.e., refunding the sum I was charged for shipping an item through eBay's Global Shipping Program because the seller sent it direct by US Mail.

What I really wanted was to get eBay to use some of the money to pay the seller his postage and give me the rest, but that was way too complicated. In the end, I "escalated" the issue (as they say these days) to talk to a manager, who promised to give me my money back. I wrote to the seller and asked him for his PayPal address so I can pay him myself.

Sometimes I quite dislike the 21st Century.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, we have just learned that all kinds of materials that we were used to putting in the recycle box are not, actually, recyclable at all. So parsing the garbage just got more complicated.

The new manuscript has landed and I am hard at work, except when I'm reading the Mudcat. It's the same book I was working on almost two years ago; it's been in production limbo while the part of the Department of National Defence that was supposed to publish it collapsed and apparently died. Army Headquarters is still struggling to get something for its money, so I'm back on the job.

As Flanders and Swann once sang, "It all makes work for the working man to do."

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 04:50 PM

Dupont:

Charmion:
Applehelp is wonderful. And generally answer quickly. I called twice the first few days. One sent me bunch sites for explanations.

I tried shoveling snow last Thursday, almost one hour. Seems like a month ago. Exhaustion, aching, hot baths on Fri and Sat and Mon. By Monday, it became apparent that I ached, hurt, - I could feel aches in muscles that shovel - and was sick with some sort of a bug- the first time in years. R got it too. He may have brought it home as I have not been anywhere other than the grocery store, briefly on Weds or Thurs. My life has stood still since then, mostly in bed not caring about anything, and periodically coughing my guts out.

R comments on the pile of dishes but he doesn't feel like doing them either! We have plenty more!

Today I got back to watering plants.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 09:24 PM

eBay is trying to compete with Amazon and Zappos and all of those cheap, free shipping, free returns companies, but many sellers don't handle those kinds of products. You have to spell out that you don't do it eBay's way if you're a small vendor selling vintage stuff, etc. I don't do much international shipping any more because there are so many hoops to jump through. I've bought things from just north of the border that were probably mailed on this side.

Time to order new glasses, and this year I'm not even considering going to the optometrist's shop in town, they are way too expensive. It actually costs the same with insurance as without; people without insurance are given a 1/2 price offer. With insurance it is "full price" and the insurance brings it down to about the same amount out of my pocket as those without, so what is the point of insurance? I'm surprised they haven't been busted - they just make a lot more money out of every insurance holder.

Related to nothing in particular, this evening I plugged in my lava lamp (my mother always called them "Oobleck lamps" - did anyone else love that Dr. Seuss book as a child?) It's quite a nice mesmerizing thing to have at my computer desk, to fixate on as I'm thinking.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 20 - 04:41 PM

I finally found an inexpensive sewing machine table that will fit my current main machine. It needs to be re-glued and some screws put in to stabilize it, but it will do the trick. Then I can rearrange my craft room and consider what to do with the large table that is in there now. I still need space to spread out stuff, but it will be easier without a sewing machine in the middle of that space. That said, this table has a sewing machine in it, but I don't know if it works. I could probably recycle or donate that machine if I don't need it.

I also found a nice steam iron that only needed the face plate cleaned up, and I've put it in the spot in the laundry room where I've kept an old Black and Decker iron forever. That B&D iron has been used to heat strips of veneer to work on projects around the house, it's pretty dinged up and not used for ironing clothes any more.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 12:04 PM

A day to myself when I don't need to go anywhere (though I will probably go to the gym later) - so, round up stuff that needs to be redistributed into the recycle stream or the donation stream (Goodwill) and head out. It's cold this week and I didn't feel like lugging a dead CD player and some huge batteries to my eWaste bin on campus so I'll leave them in the garage and load them before the next trip over.

I have probably mentioned that I need to construct a dog-proof compost bin and get started using it soon; the other one has enough stuff in it now that it should just sit and compost for a while. Pinterest, here I come. One of the few things I use that site for is figuring out how other people already solved this kind of problem.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 07:49 PM

Dupont:

Dishes achieved yesterday! WE almost hit bottom. I really thought today would be shopping but energy quickly gone. R stayed home again - because he could. Plants got well watered. That's all.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 20 - 10:27 PM

I try to make myself do some chores like emptying the dishwasher while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil for my morning tea. It takes about the same amount of time. And if I make an evening cuppa I'll load the sink full of dishes to wash tonight or tomorrow.

All of the horizontal surfaces are once again covered with stuff. This weekend I'll take a shot at putting stuff away or discarding it. Earlier this week I stopped at a Goodwill and found the right size sewing machine table to fit my main sewing machine, so I can move that machine off of the table I use in the craft room. I'd like to eventually be able to use that table for laying out stuff instead of having to use the dining table (that has it's own story as far as projects set up right now.) That sewing table had a machine in it, I haven't tested it. The funny thing is, it's apparently meant for sewing jeans. My oldest machine is an original White from the 1940s or 50s, my newest machine is a knock-off White that doesn't use any of the same attachments; this is an actual White from before the Chinese company bought the company but it's much newer and uses cams. And when I mentioned this to my daughter at lunch today I saw her pupils dilate and she was interested that I had a heavy duty machine for denim. Usually I send her a photo and ask if she's interested in machines when I find good ones, and I didn't this time - she would have said yes, I think.

So, I have three sewing machines here now, but I also have several bins of denim from de-constructed jeans for projects I want to work on. So it may be a good fit (but it means I have to decide which machine stays in the sewing table . . . )

Three steps forward, two steps back.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 20 - 07:19 PM

I've had trouble getting going lately, partly due to ongoing allergy symptoms (headache and runny nose) but today I made myself get out and mow the back yard. All of that walking seems to have put my brain in gear and I'm feeling warmer and more energetic. Tomorrow I'll mow the front yard. I've had to tip the mower on it's side periodically and use a screwdriver to scrape all of the pasted on grassy goop from under the mower case. It's so wet out there none of the mulched grass is landing on the yard.

I've cleared a few horizontal surfaces in the kitchen and when I go out in a few minutes I'll take some recycling and Goodwill donations to drop off. And I need to look for a special pet hair broom a friend told me about, one that has short dense bristles and seems to dislodge a lot more from the floor than standard brooms. My whole house needs a going over at this point!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Feb 20 - 03:36 PM

Hello Friends!

    Today I am full of anxious energy. Pete will get the results from his full body scan and CT scan tomorrow morning. I've finished up 3 loads of laundry, made a batch of homemade Cheeseburger Soup, balanced the checkbook cleaned out the fridge and have had a shower. I'm looking at my piano which is covered with all kinds of stuff and am thinking about taking care of that surface next. My closet still needs MAJOR assistance but I'm not sure I have enough energy left for that mess!
    I am doing well aside from this miserable anxiety. I have Xanax and another anti-anxiety medication but I think cleaning/cooking works equally well for me so I'm trying that route first. Work is going well. I had to take a week off to assist Pete with medical things but I saw all of my clients and everyone is all up to date which means I crammed 4 weeks worth of work into one!
    I had a lovely Mother-Daughter day yesterday with my mom. We went to lunch at a new Thai place and did some grocery shopping together...doesn't sound like much but I was so happy to have some girl time..it didn't matter what we were doing.
    I haven't been keeping up with Mudcat lately but know that I think of you all often and hope all is well with each of you.

Much love always,

Michelle

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 20 - 04:33 PM

Careful, Michelle - they'll start thinking you can work like that all of the time and quadruple your case load (not entirely jokingly - this is an issue in many social service agencies.) But good for you and your fortunate clients! Our best to you all as far as the results tomorrow! Will you be making another quilt one of these days for Pete's health care center?

Anxiety and medical stuff do go hand-in-hand, and it's building now that I'm ~2 weeks away from a knee replacement. I'm pushing past the anxiety on the stationary bike at the gym, and though it's a bit of a struggle, I mowed the back yard yesterday and the front today.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 20 - 07:32 AM

Garbage day in Stratford, the weekly feast of municipal neatness. You never appreciate garbage service until you live somewhere without it, or a place where they charge you up front and in cash what it really costs.

The book project is going okay, but I’m still working on the not-shirking-fitness piece. It’s too easy to sit down in front of the computer at 0815 and return to reality just in time to realize that I should have left for the Y fifteen minutes ago. Bugger.

Fingers crossed for Pete.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: LilyFestre
Date: 03 Feb 20 - 01:30 PM

Pete got great news at the doctor today! The scan shows that there are still malignant spots but we were assured that this is normal and that the radiation will continue to kill off any cancerous cells. Pete will be safe for us to be around although the radiation activity continues for about 3 months...it is still a powerful tool against remaining cancer cells. He will have scans, bloodwork and medication adjustments in the months ahead. For now, we get to breathe and hopefully get some peaceful rest.

Also, I mis-typed in my last post. I got 4 weeks worth of work crammed into 3 weeks, NOT ONE...Oh my...that just isn't possible!

Maggie...my mom had her knee replaced a few years ago....the more you prepare yourself with exercise now, the better. Who will take care of your dogs while you recover?

Thanks for all the good wishes, prayers and crossed fingers for Pete!!!

XOXOOXOX

Michelle

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 20 - 06:23 PM

Whew! I'm glad to read that, Michelle, on all accounts (Pete's health and your workload!)

We're going to wing it on the dogs - I think they'll spend more time in the yard and garage stall (with a heater, if it gets cool); I'll have my neighbor come wrangle the dogs before PT if I need help. I'll have someone spend the night for the first couple of nights home, people stopping by on their way home from work, and a couple of friends I'll schedule for rides to appointments. One thing about being retired with retired friends, our time is more fluid.

There is stuff to do beforehand, and today's "joint camp" offered insight on what to plan for at the house and what to expect as far as the surgery. Keeping the dogs out from underfoot is going to be critical because they're tripping hazards under the best conditions. I think I'll be moving the SUV to the far side of the garage to leave plenty of space next to the stall and gate, and have it set up so whoever is feeding them doesn't have to fool with them coming into the house via the back door or dog door.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 03 Feb 20 - 07:21 PM

Dupont:

Good news re Pete!

A better day today but still far from energetic! R went to work for part of Sat, and today he is not home yet. This has been a real nasty bug. The AI tea has been great. We both drink it in sips all day. Clears the head pretty well and makes me feel a bit better generally. R has been taking vit C. Today, I have eaten more food than any day in a couple weeks. I want to try not to get back to eating "too much".

Had to throw out 2 qts of once good soup today, found in back of frig.

Weather at freezing point - only! - and longer days are cheering.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Feb 20 - 10:11 AM

Himself set out on the train today for Ottawa, where he intends to do some legal research at the Mother House of the Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Forces. He won't be back until Sunday, so I have the house to myself for a few days.

But my main concern is the book.

It is *so* not a good book, but the best I can do with it is make it a little less bad. The author has spent his adult life writing about war and armies, especially the Canadian Army but he's not picky. He's prolific, with some 14 works in print right now, but he obviously went native at some early point so every paragraph is larded with staff-speak and soldiers' jargon. After only a week of working with this book again, I'm already heartily sick of troops "engaging" insurgents with mortar fire, enemy forces being "attrited" by air strikes, and fighters "exfiltrating" the area of operations. His primary sources are the Daily Situation Reports in which every manoeuvre unit records the minutiae of life in their grid square, and they are overwhelmingly written in the passive voice. So the author does the same, to the great detriment of the story; when everything is passive, it's a tad difficult to tell who does what and with which and to whom. Which, as we all know, is the very essence of Story.

But, as my dear old sergeant used to say, it's clean work and I don't have to do it at night if I don't want to.

Speaking of clean work, with Himself out of the house, I guess I can wash the kitchen floor any old time.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 01:03 PM

Making a checklist of things to do daily and at various frequencies once I'm home again after surgery. And after reading through the list of exercises involved in PT, I can see that I'll need to arrange some sets of chairs for stretches and leg extensions, depending on where I am in the house when the time is right. And instead of Swedish "death cleaning" I'll undertake surgical "health cleaning." It involves clothes, bedding, and towels right before I go in, and having things that are easy to wear after. A shopping I will go (for sweatpants)!

Too bad Susan hasn't been able to participate for a while, because I'm also entertaining entering one of her favorite therapy zones: the swimming pool. I worked through a chart that suggests the size I need and I'll go over to the local Academy Sports and Outdoors and try one on. Better to have it ahead of time than have to go get one later. WYSISYG has quite an apparatus setup, I think, that goes in the van or car and with her to the gym. I'll have to go look at some of her older posts and see what she settled on.

Charmion, I also need to mop the floor. We're in another rainy session so it'll only work for so long. I also am testing a silicone broom thing that was recommended by friends to more thoroughly pick up pet hair and grit when sweeping. This one. With silicone "bristles" it does seem to keep hair from going airborne.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 03:19 PM

Thanks for that link, Stilly. The same tool is for sale on the Canadian site, and I'm a-gonna get me one -- or maybe two. Our kitchen broom is a disgrace, and the one in the basement is worse.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Feb 20 - 11:53 PM

I went in for a pneumonia vaccination a couple of days ago and that knocked me a bit off my game; the arm is stiff and I was moving slow, but I've perked up this evening.

An expansion card for the computer (more USB 3 ports) arrived so I need to again rearrange the stuff in my office so I can reach the back panel of the computer to install the card. It takes up two of the SATA slots for power so I may not be able to add much more (it will be connecting to external devices instead). More clutter on the desktop. :-/

Next week I'll see about taking unusable devices to the ewaste bin on campus; I have a bunch of batteries and old disks also. Today I was talking to a friend who is converting old computer disks and commented they needed access to a Commodore to do some of that work. I still have my father's old computer, but it hasn't been turned on in 23 years. Perhaps it's time to find someone who would like it and in return have them convert all of the disks into something usable on a modern machine. I happen to know such a geek. . . it would be nice to have it out of the house. And the huge CRT monitor that goes with it.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Feb 20 - 07:30 AM

Enjoy the things you can on your 'joint' vacation.
With all your prep you have assured you do no harm to yourself immediately afterwards. There is such a thing as "too soon".

Unsinkable, indefatiguable, undefeatable as you are, use the brace as needed.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Feb 20 - 10:20 AM

I may need to arm the walker with spikes to keep the dogs at bay! ;-)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Feb 20 - 10:54 AM

More mowing today, and if I'm smart, I'll pick up all of the hoses that are around the edge of the house in the front yard - I manage to miss them with the height set on my mower, but I'll have a friend mow a couple of times later this month and he has a riding mower that seems to cut shorter. I'd rather not declutter my pocketbook buying new hoses for summer.

It's time to assemble a new compost bin/enclosure that is dog-proof. Easier said than done. On Pinterest I see one assembled with pallets, and over the years I've had a few pallets, but finding four that are roughly the same size that aren't contaminated by something that soaked into them - I'll keep my eye on the trash this week. Pallet compost bin would go up quickly and I could build a chicken wire top to keep the pup out of it. The other thing I could have used is old fence panels cut to size, but I got rid of those and don't anticipate taking apart more fence until spring. I suppose I could build my own cut-down fence panels. Treated lumber cross-members and cedar pickets. Hmmm. That might be a more reliable way to do it than wait for pallets.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Feb 20 - 10:22 AM

Himself is returning from his research trip today, and I have not washed the kitchen floor. I swept up the loose matter (enough cat hair to start a new cat), but the splots remain. My bad.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 20 - 10:55 AM

No worry, I did some of that for you. I'm working my way through the house this week to clean and dust and discard things that should have been tossed a while ago. I've used a combination of mopping and a scrub brush to release debris from the embossed pattern on the tile, and I'm thinking maybe one of those Swiffer spray thingies kept near the door to regularly go over dog footprints? It'll be a test, at any rate. I tried a new cleaner I see around a lot (a Mexican one called Fabulosa) that I really dislike the smell of. Not many places sell my old favorite Spic and Span, so I'll find some citrus scented PineSol. The pine scent gives me a horrible headache, and the Fabulosa may be a contributor to sinus stuff this morning. #FirstWorldProblems

Last night I finally plugged in and installed and tested a printer from my son's college days; time to list it on eBay. I've since uninstalled and moved it out of the way. I'm thinking anything I pack and prepare to list this month will be scheduled to start on March 1 so I'm more back to my old mobility to get any outgoing parcels to the front door to hand to the postal carrier when they come by.

Michelle, are you in the middle of winter-time activities there or is it soon time to start bringing home the chicks, calves, and piglets? Will Pete take on some of the same tasks this year, do you think? I hope he continues to feel better all of the time!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Feb 20 - 11:46 AM

Change of subject.

Today, we are dealing with a true late-life issue: signing the contract and organizing the payment for our interment arrangements. Who knew that getting ourselves buried would cost ten thousand frickin' dollars? I sincerely hope that includes the cremation.

As veterans, we are entitled to be planted in the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa. No, it's not our version of Arlington; Canada doesn't roll that way. Almost all our war dead lie overseas, as it is the British tradition (which we share) to bury fallen soldiers where they died. Cheaper. (You think I'm kidding? I'm not.)

It's also way beyond time I finished typing out our wills and power-of-attorney documents. We hired a lawyer in Ottawa, but he (or his assistant) made an insultingly bad job of it and, when I complained, fired us as clients. So I have their draft, with its crap language and weirdly old-fashioned provisions -- who nowadays cuts a relative out of the will because their parents were not married? Half Quebec would be in probate court on that rule alone.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, I am learning to type with gloves on. They are special open-fingertip gloves made of magic fabric for people with Raynaud's Syndrome, and I'm desperately hoping they work because productivity on the book project is currently crap. It's hard enough to copy-edit a great thumping book about the war in Afghanistan that seems to be written entirely in the passive voice; doing it with numb fingers is just Too Flipping Much.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 20 - 03:35 PM

There is something in Washington State called the People's Memorial Association. My parents there both were signed up and they prepaid their cremation and all of the stuff ahead of time. I think we were out of pocket only a couple hundred dollars for some of the legal documents involved. They offered to write the obituary - I worked for a newspaper writing obituaries, and have seen the crap ones funeral homes write. You'd think they'd be better at it. Anyway, I don't think they do out-of-state folks (never did) but if I end up back up there, I'll sign up. Plan prices for members. This doesn't cover a funeral, and no one in our family has wanted or had a funeral in decades. We rent the local hall in a park nearby and do a huge friends and family potluck "celebration of life" with time for people to speak. It works for us. (When dad died it was all of that plus a song circle.)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Feb 20 - 12:03 PM

A huge load of dog-related laundry is in right now, and there will be bags of shredded dog stuff at the curb on Monday morning as I thin out some of this stuff.

I found another vintage White sewing machine in a table at Goodwill yesterday - cleaned up and with most if its attachments these things sell for good money on eBay (though they're cast iron and weigh a ton as far as shipping - a random check show that some of these cost more to ship than to purchase). The attachments alone would sell for more than I paid for this. Something to work on next month.

In the realm of the totally mundane, I've settled on a citrus scent PineSol product for mopping because it doesn't give me a sinus headache every time I get a whiff of it. This doesn't just apply to a scrubbing product; I know I'm not as sensitive to stuff as Dorothy is, but I'm careful about my laundry detergent, I never use dryer sheets (yuck!) and soaps and shampoos need to be mildly scented or I can't stand to have them around. It seems over time and is a good thing the magazines have stopped shipping with perfume strips (I always had to meet those at the door, rip them out while I was outside, and toss them straight into the trash can).

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 12:57 PM

Sunshine and cool air today, but it should warm to about 70 for the next couple of days, so I must turn my attention to the clutter of tangled hoses and weeds that thrive even in cold weather and low light and gush into growth as the days get longer. It's also time to take bags of stuff to Goodwill and the recycle bins. I dropped 12 pounds of lead acid batteries (two from my updated UPS) at a local battery store.

Dog stuff needs attention. It's time to launder the sofa cover and add a couple of more lengths of denim to the backside of it that can then be tucked under the seat cushions to keep it in place. It works much better than elastic bands. Maybe I've invented the next big thing that can be sold on Amazon.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 05:08 PM

Still at Dupont!

A neighbour at Beaver kindly took key to post box and let me know what was there, ascertained nothing needs attention until April. But I would like to get there!

Actually started feeling alive again last Sunday! WOW! I was beginning to wonder. And I am really trying to maintain. With cold weather, I managed a 30 minute walk once this week and a trip to the library and grocery. I begged R to bring the snow shovel back so I could work on clearing the back deck; he brought it, and before I knew he was here, he did the clearing I wanted to do - for exercise! What part of.... There is still the rest of the deck but I am not going to waste energy clearing that which will get another foot or more before spring finally appears. It is so difficult for me to do something unnecessary even when I need the exercise. I go up and down the stairs often, happy to have the energy to do so.

Today, he put in an absolutely needed new outlet in the TV/etc room with two power cords. Now I can gather my brain to install new printer - hope.So far it is out of the box. Next wave of energy, I will try next move. The weather is getting heavy; this affects my ability to think clearly.

I am still drinking/sipping the anti-inflammation tea much of the time; it really does make me feel better.

I did the floors and the dishes and laundry are caught up. The pepper seedlings are surviving; bruggie and hibbie are getting new growth. The big schefflera each have new growth. I cut some more tomato shoots and put them in vases to root. There is still about 18 inches of snow on yard. - on top of our daffies!

With bitter weather, I have started using the wood stove - after getting a cord of nice wood. It does make the den cosy. Does not save any money on heat since I keep the doors closed and the thermostat is across the hall in the LR.

I suppose we could turn the thermostat down a bit but we are afraid to touch it. We thought we had convinced the furnace to stay on but it quit again last week, after a month of flawless behaviour! R did fiddling once or twice and it started again. He has no idea what works. My son and Dil also tried when they were here but - it does what it does! I thought my son the engineer... but... Hence - I am happy to have wood for the stove! And some heat in cellar and addition so things won't freeze... hope! A professional? Not in the books! I guess we both believe a "pro" would have no more luck and would be $$$$!

I have confidence that spring will come again...! Some sun is wonderful!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: LilyFestre
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 05:28 PM

Hi Everybody!

   Things are very, very slowly working their way back to normal. Pete was able to go to work for 4 days this week. I was able to get in my full 40 hours and Jeremiah's schedule really hasn't changed at all...we did our best to keep things *normal* for him.
    Today I got my bangs trimmed and did a little shopping on my own. Alone time! Last weekend, after church, I did a ton of grocery shopping and then had a little time out with some friends to do a craft project. I think it's the first time since October that I've been able to do that...it felt good but strange.
    I've been putting in a lot of hours at work, so much so that I had to go in late and leave early on Friday. I clocked out but spent some time going through old paperwork, getting rid of a lot of outdated Department of Health notices and did some organizing and filing of other things. I also got rid of 3 amaryllis and potted 3 more bulbs to place in the office hallway at my end of the building where the sunshine is almost magical. I know you can keep the bulbs to replant and have done that before without luck...so we voted to just ditch them...it's not like our cubbies/cubicles are big enough to store a lot of items. Anyway...then I went through with the Clorox wipes...lots of flu in our building and my goal is to stay free of all of that.
    I wish I could say that my home is as organized and as neat as my work space but alas, I don't think that will ever be the case. Right now, I am content to get the daily tasks completed. I am often tired and so is Pete. I am hoping that I feel a little more energized when it's warmer out and we have longer hours of daylight.
    Maggie, when is your surgery scheduled for?

Love to all,

Michelle

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Feb 20 - 12:02 PM

My good deed for the week was to take a new trash bag across the street and gather up the trash that was evidently put out last night and dragged apart by raccoons or dogs or whatever. They're both elderly and it was an easy thing to do for them.

I decided to upgrade my Fire tablet to the newer version since I've read that it can use apps from Google Play Store and not just the wonky stuff in the Amazon Appstore, but like any moderately geeky buyer knows, you have to hack your device to get it to do this. It's not perfect, but I have a few of my apps in that I couldn't get otherwise. I've also realized I could have done it on the older reader, but this one does have a longer battery and various upgrades to be expected.

The trip to the mobile vet at my favorite feed store wasn't a total success this weekend. Two of the three dogs got their nails clipped; the old lab was pretty mellow, the little boxer/pit mix struggled a lot and kind of lathered a little bit. The blue heeler was having none of it and even managed to struggle out of the muzzle I told them they probably needed. I was taking the lab back to the SUV and bringing in the pup when the vet tech met me at the front door with the blue heeler, and she described what happened. "She went berserk when you walked away." It reminds me that while dogs are pretty good survivors, a grown dog you brought home from the shelter has some baggage. She was at the shelter for about four months and someone took her there, handed her over and walked away. It breaks my heart a little. :-( We came home and she stuck real close to me, but by bedtime she was back to her old self.

Monday is laundry day even though it is a US holiday. When you're retired I guess every day is a holiday.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Feb 20 - 03:13 PM

... or no day is a holiday. Same for freelancers -- you never have a day off because you're always either working or looking for work.

Today I'm editing with seven kilos of purring, claw-flexing tomcat on my lap. It's not going well.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Feb 20 - 08:34 PM

I had a day and a half off, and am now back with a new titanium knee, and a number of bottles of pills to tend to the various aches and swelling. Just checking in before heading to prop the leg again. I have a squirt bottle with me to keep the dogs away from the walker.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Feb 20 - 06:01 PM

I hope you're not too uncomfortable, Stilly.

Now, there's one way cats are better than dogs; they don't have wagging tails that knock your walker over. Also, depending on which part of you has been surgically insulted, they can be great company during convalescence.

I have pleasant memories of waking up from a drug-hazed doze to find Black Maria, a half-Siamese cat of great wit and sagacity, watching me from a perch on my fresh plaster cast, which was propped on a stack of pillows. Her eyes glowing in the dark made her look like an imp of Hell, but any fool could tell from the purring that she was working on an agenda from The Other Place.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Feb 20 - 10:30 PM

I nodded off on the sofa for a while with a small black and white puppy snuggled up beside my other leg, and it was nice to have that little bit of heat. Back when I had cats I found that they have a great sense of the best place to hang out and purr, or sometimes to purr and massage.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Feb 20 - 10:28 PM

My circle of friends and family seem to have hit a low point; I'm limping around with a walker (and keeping the foot up more after overdoing it a bit too much today); a friend had surgery (carpel tunnel, a disabled friend whose husband has an advancing form of dementia - "I never thought I'd be the sound one of the two of us"), a friend with a case of the flu who has a parent on life-support (who she was going to go say goodbye to this week). We'll all just take it one day at a time for now.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: mg
Date: 22 Feb 20 - 04:17 AM

Just as you said that the song one day at a time popped into my head...been singing it a lot lately. It