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

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jul 20 - 11:27 AM

Seventy dollars (Canadian, to be sure) for a flat of raspberries! Himself is out shopping.

That feraminous price probably comes from lack of pickers in the fields, due to You Know What. The most stubborn outbreaks in Ontario are on farms that employ migrant workers, which means pretty well all fruit and veg producers.

I guess I had better not burn the jam, or let it boil over. No pressure!

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

Today, I finally get a haircut.

With masks all round and waiting outside until the previous client leaves, it will be remarkably like a visit to the minor surgery clinic, but at least I will be free of hair in my face and stuck to the back of my neck. Hip hooray, and a tiger.

I must also visit the supermarket. No use wasting an excursion on a single errand.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jul 20 - 01:26 PM

Well I don't need a new pump. It just had indigestion because I fed it too much mud. The heater needs a thermister though and no one does that so it is a DIY project. Its like changing a light bulb with screw drivers and wrench.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 20 - 12:29 AM

Good work on the shopping, Dorothy! I ordered online today, deciding that as COVID-19 spreads so quickly here I need to leave the selection of a bag of potatoes, onions, or a carton of milk to a younger, healthy person who is part of the gig economy.

Charmion, that link isn't behaving, partly because of my ad blockers, but possibly because it wasn't durable. I'll try searching on Cordero's name on that newspaper later.

I saw an interesting video this evening to do with restaurants putting their menus online and simply presenting a QR code for customers. Scan it with your phone or tablet and the full menu appears. If you don't have a QR scanner in your phone, this would be a good time to find one in the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. Point the scanner at the square block and it instantly brings up the item it's linked to.

Also, Dorothy, good job on the old house. I hope it sells eventually—I saw your link to houses in the area and it does have great potential for someone to renovate.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 09:15 PM

Dupont:

Donuel! Green water sounds gross!

All of southern Quebec has been having that heat wave though we did have a good rain Tuesday.It did not cool for mare than an hour! Grass not mowed has a better chance of survival, she says hopefully. Only the part next to the neighbour was mowed, by R, on the weekend. Oh, I did a little more but knee high grass and a small mower... My back ached two days later, predictably.

The AC in the BR has gotten the room down to 78, from 82 earlier. Seems the best it can do. I use the large fan in the TV room to survive. Today, even the first floor is too warm. Up to now, it was OK. Guess the heat is in the brick wall now.

On day 17 of "diet". Have no idea if I lost any weight but I do feel noticeably better. I am used to feeling "hungry"; I doubt it is actually hunger but just a desire to eat. So, I told R Weds that on Friday, I or both of us will be going to Beaver. This depends on whether or not he comes home tonight and can or cannot go tomorrow. I made a large pot of veggie stew today in prep and things earmarked to go are in the car.

I also did a shopping trip today. Watching the charts on line that tell how busy the stores are at a given time - live and changing with the time. Refresh and AH! I dashed out just after 6 to the produce store which was virtually empty; it closes at 7. Then to the grocery for a number of things. Also empty. YAY! The frig is full again.

The previous Sunday, we went to the still unsold city house. The neighbour has been insisting the Manitoba Maple is how raccoons get in his house. Of course we know a raccoon does not need a tree; it can go up the brick wall with ease. So, I read and he cleaned out the shed enough to see a row of concrete blocks missing from the side of the house next door. He texted the neighbour and he and the landlord came and saw and Agreed that was the entrance and agreed to put up a new wall after R clears away his board wall - which he now has! Landlord also agreed to help pay for removal of the "maple"!!!! Although everyone likes it, it is a nuisance, growing so fast, R has to keep removing branches that are on various neighbours roofs! This past Sunday, we went again and I read while R cut branches. A huge pile! I also found stuff in frig which I packed up and brought here. I never realized that R had not moved that stuff, and cabinets full of food! All re-homed now. This was a MAJOR accomplishment.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 12:27 PM

I was cleaning the pool and the water pump died after 20 years.
It's the last part of the system to be replaced. The weak link are the impeller blades. So tommorow the repairman comes since I'm not messing with electricity and water. Meanwhile the water is green.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 11:03 AM

If ever I spend a ton of money on plumbing work one thing on my wish list is an outdoor spigot on the driveway side of the house. There is one front and one back, but most of the watering happens on the side, so it means lots of hose-dragging.

A friend is scheduled for "elective" surgery (not really - it's a partial colectomy, meaning she has felt bad for a long time and really needs this now) and we have our fingers crossed that she doesn't test positive for coronavirus (she goes for the test today) and they haven't closed down elective procedures by Monday. Every day now the local record from the day before is broken; in Texas there are 9,600+ hospitalized and on Wednesday 98 people died. Just Wednesday.

I cleared the packed eBay boxes off of the bench in the sunroom, but I tossed a lot of flattened boxes into the room behind it so at this point the sunroom contents are simply achieving a lower level but the floor is still covered. As I get things arranged in the front room I'll either move more sunroom contents or take them (boxes) to the recycle bin or garage. It's a deadly move to store flat boxes in the garage because they multiply when left alone in the dark.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 10:30 AM

Nick Cordero may be claimed by New York, but he was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, and got his start in the Toronto theatre scene, where he is sincerely mourned. Here's a story about him in our local rag, the Stratford Beacon-Herald.

The case of Nick Cordero demonstrates how very little we know about COVID-19, even yet. He was a strong, fit, healthy man in the prime of life, not a frail senior stuck in a nursing home until some opportunistic affliction gets around to carrying her off.

Speaking of frail seniors, our neighbour Neil's mother died the other day of one of those opportunistic afflictions, probably pneumonia. She was 96. Her husband, Neil's father, predeceased her at the age of 99. Neil himself is about 70 and looks 60, except when he's chucking garden rubbish into his flat-bed trailer, when he looks more like 40. I get the impression that he knows he still has a fair few years ahead of him and keeps fit accordingly.

It's blistering hot here for the nth day in a row -- forecast high of 35C (95F), and the ground under the frizzled grass feels like brick. We now have soaker hoses rigged for watering the garden beds, and I get a bit of exercise hauling out and reeling back the 100-foot feeder hose, which is hitched to our only external tap at the back of the house. It's a great way to ensure that I sit down to supper with my hair drenched in sweat.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 11:01 AM

I've built a few minefields around my house. My front hall, case in point, now has a small serpentine front desk and a Victrola pushed against one side. And screens for the security door on the other. It is a bit of a dog obstacle course these days—they have their own steeplechase.

Bt and compost tea in a bottle sprayed on the tomatoes and other crops because caterpillars have started to appear. I'm canning soon, and ran a case of pint jars through the dishwasher yesterday.

Last night was remarkably quiet compared to July 5 on previous years. I think the explosives amateurs blew the entire box of fireworks overnight on the fourth.

There is almost enough stuff in the donation bin in the laundry room to make another run over to Goodwill. If I see the guy who gave me the black elastic I'll offer him one of my cloth masks as a "thank you." Not going in anywhere right now, the horror stories we heard from New York City last spring are beginning to emerge here in Texas and other southern tier states. And New York isn't finished; the story of the 41-year-old theater actor Nick Cordero who died after 90+ days in the hospital and after the amputation of one leg should be a cautionary tale for all of us. (They had recently moved from NY to LA, but New York still claims him.)

I'll keep working around the house and I've continued to make masks. I have enough now to offer a few at a time to local friends who are needing them (until now I've kept family and close friends and neighbors supplied). You can't really get by with just one or even two; if you wash the mask after using it then that is out of circulation until it's dry (and ironed, if needed). Three minimum. I have one by the front door in case I need to speak to someone there, a couple in the kitchen waiting to be washed or hanging dry, and a couple in my handbag.

Maybe I'll finish moving things to the front room and restage the sun room today. We had a surprise thunderstorm in the wee hours today so there won't be yard work until it dries out a bit.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 09:55 AM

No more recreational explosions on this side of the border, which is still closed to non-essential travel. We hope it will stay that way for a good while yet.

Southwestern Ontario is in the shank of a major heatwave, and our thermostat just died. Rodney the HVAC Guy promised to visit this afternoon, but right now the mugginess is mounting throughout the house. I don't think I have opened the bedroom curtains since sometime last week; otherwise, the heat in there would be intolerable.

Before Rodney arrives, I must do something about the domestic obstacle course in front of the breaker panel in the laundry room. A boot tray with Himself's hiking boots, work boots and Wellingtons (marry a soldier and you get his footwear fetish), sacks of water-softener salt, a rack of mops and brooms -- I can pick my way through it, but it's my minefield. I might have to rescue Rodney.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: mg
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 03:25 AM

I wish they would issue tickets. Fine them. Reasonable Amount first offense. Get some revenue.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jul 20 - 11:42 PM

Last night was wretched, clearly no one was enforcing the "no fireworks" laws in the county or municipalities. What they choose to enforce or ignore; in some instances it's a matter of "choose your battles." Here is a county with several million population and all of these scofflaws would have been too much to ticket, even if they were causing fires, yet George Floyd died because he had the bad luck to have a bogus $20 in his pocket when he went to buy cigarettes. Police officers chose not to ignore that, tell him to take it to the bank tomorrow. So much of what we experience these days must be viewed through the COVID-19 and George Floyd lenses.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 20 - 03:56 PM

I have since learned the details of that sad estate: hoarder and spendthrift. Loans taken out, recent new car purchase, I fear the kids have their work cut out for them. And the spouse of one jumped the gun, was there with his pickup backed up to the house before the body had cooled. I'll leave anything else to your imagination. So sad.

Hot work now, but a lot less humid. The trimmer and I have toured the front yard so far, and I'm in for a few minutes to cool down. I had a nice conversation with an old friend this morning and we tested our various video call options. I have a little hood I put over the top of the web cam when not in use, and will need to remember to replace it each time. I found photos in a file in the last computer with me in my bathrobe, something the computer captured when I wasn't aware.

Those of you in the states, I hope you have a safe and explosion free evening. Last night it sounded like artillery being fired across the creek. I kept the dogs from exiting the dog door as I will again tonight. A story on the news today said the firework stands have done a booming business (pardon the pun), with many people planning to fire off their own stuff instead of going to firework displays. Keep the fire department on call tonight.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 03 Jul 20 - 08:49 PM

Dupont,

A murmur indicted we would go to Beaver today but the murmur was withdrawn by the end of Weds. I took it a bit hard. SRS comment about neighbour is scary. How long until we know whether he is out of the woods. Dr next Thurs. I thought to go alone to Beaver but not wanting to leave him in case. When I just do not feel/care about doing anything, that smacks of mild depression; I have just given up. But I shall recover. In the meantime, and with the heat, why would anyone lift a finger! Meals happen. R has taken to cooking some or all of his own BF. Doing very well! I asked if I have been depriving him all these years but he is ok with it. I now only eat 2 scrambled eggs with a bit of cheese for BF. Today is Day 11. Keeping track does string me along.

We have mice much of the time in this old house. We just deal with it. No cat. The little raccoon might have been handy. but I am still finding places to clean up from him. Mice are easier. We have had rain and things are growing. Some plants that were supposed to be perennials succumbed through the winter. Makes me doubt the nursery.

Someday I will vacuum. And mow some more lawn. The back is a field of lovely white yarrow. NOT cutting it!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jul 20 - 04:12 PM

Clearing up after a hoarder is definitely an eye-opening experience. That family has my sympathy.

Canada Day in Stratford was very quiet, both literally and socially. In previous years, we have heard many minor fireworks explosions around the neighbourhood as well as the cacaphony of the municipal display, mounted more for the tourists than for us townies in my opinion. This year, the town celebration was a live-streamed concert; if we wanted more than that, we were on our own.

We invited the still-unpacking BIL and SIL to dinner and drew the line at that, but some of our neighbours broke out the firecrackers. Desultory detonations marred the suburban peace until about eleven o'clock, when everybody just gave up and went to bed.

The cats paid no attention, focussing instead on the antics of the back-yard robins.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 20 - 04:00 PM

I learned today that a family friend, the ex-husband of another family friend, died suddenly last Friday. And apparently while no one was looking he turned into a hoarder. Their kids are the ages of my kids, and are grown and married. They will work it out, but it's a shame that happened because it makes getting over the loss of a loved one so much more complicated.

Tomorrow is the bank holiday and Saturday is July 4, so I'm expecting lots of fireworks noise. I'll have to keep the dogs in at night; one is very unhappy about the noise and the newest one feels the need to bark a challenge at the back fence at every explosion. The oldest dog is deaf so is blissfully unaware of it now.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jul 20 - 12:14 PM

We have mice, too, Jon. Cute little brown critters, probably field mice since our surburban house is close to cropland. Watson, our tomcat, has slain at least six over the last year. I don't know how they're getting in, but I suspect our rickety basement windows might be implicated. That's our next capital project, for when we have more capital.

We have found mouse signs only in one kitchen drawer and in the cupboard under the sink, but the cats have killed mice in the bedroom upstairs and in the basement, as well as in the kitchen and dining room. One poor little soul had taken refuge at the top of the dining-room curtains, and Watson had him in a nanosecond after I shook him out of the folds.

No rats here, but we definitely have raccoons -- when we first moved in, Himself put a hunk of mouldy bread in our brand-new composter, and the very next morning it was uprooted and overturned, and bits of bread were all over the garden. Raccoons are very intelligent, for a small animal, and strongly attracted to high-calorie edibles such as bacon grease, bread, fish and meat trimmings, and bones with even a trace of meat on them. I'm sure they also monitor the composter, because they'll have the lid off if we put eggshells or gnawed corn cobs in there.

Our current unpleasaunce is a small triangular space between the toolshed and the seven-foot cedar hedge that encloses the east end of our property. It is full of deadfall branches from our four huge maple trees (sadly, none of them is a sugar maple), bits of old drainpipe, and a stack of cast-cement pavers left over from the last year's major capital project, the construction of our patio and front path. The pavers are too potentially valuable to dispose of -- sure enough, we needed some this year when we installed two rain barrels -- and there isn't enough drainpipe to justify a trip to the dump, so ... there it stays!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jul 20 - 12:04 PM

I've stopped putting out birdseed to reduce the number of rodents on the property, and it seems to have helped. Now keeping the bird baths filled with water is the main attraction for birds.

There is a single panel of fence in place where there once was an expanse of fence that was removed when the garage and driveway were built in the back yard. That remnant at the side of the driveway has served as the place to stash the trash cans, to leave the mower when I want to hide it but am not ready to put it back in the garage. Everyone needs a place like that.

Our heatwave alert runs through Thursday evening so I might get the tall grass mowed on Friday morning.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 01 Jul 20 - 06:06 AM

I’ll try to remember that word, Charmion. I don’t think ours have ever been treated to more than being referred to as “the dump”. Like you, I think the patch “no-one ever goes to” that develops into a tip is quite common.

We have had lots of problems with (brown) rats in the roof here over the years but that area of ground has never been implicated, in fact I think the only outside thing that was has been bird feeders. We are hoping that the last round of trying to have things cleaned up and rat proofed has been successful. This took place sometime last year and so far so good…

We have had problems with field mice instead. These have been seen on the kitchen floor but not on the worktops. I think they have been getting in via a gap around a kitchen or bathroom waste pipe but we’ve not wanted tradesman in doing work with the virus worries.

That said, I’ve not seen a mouse in over a fortnight although we are setting a peanut butter baited humane trap in the kitchen every night.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 20 - 11:20 PM

Much of last year was a series of kidney stone episodes and I think three surgeries for my next door neighbor. I'm happy to report that he's feeling much better now, his diet is somewhat restricted, but it's worth it to avoid building the stones again.

Horrible heat and humidity here this week; I see most lawns in the neighborhood need mowing but few people have bothered to step out into the steam room to mow.

July and August are pretty awful in Texas, and this year of #COVID19 makes it all the worse. I'm going to be staying home most of the time and will order what I need via the delivery services. I made a big push to get somethings today that I didn't trust someone else to select for me; now it will be fresh fruit and vegetables and occasionally beer or wine.

Some friends and families have been trying to expand their quarantine to other family members of neighbors, with the understanding they won't go anywhere else so there won't be extra risk. But the numbers in Texas are climbing so fast that has to be put on hold.

I'm moving stuff between rooms and preparing to put surplus packing supplies in the trash and donate items I'm not interested in selling on eBay to Goodwill. At this point everything is in flux but I hope by the end of the week to make the rooms functional and have the sunroom a welcoming space for the time when anyone is able to enter my house again.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Jun 20 - 09:58 AM

Jon Freeman, that space behind your pigsties is what I would call an "unpleasaunce". Every property has one: the spot where stuff gets put because no one goes there and it's out of sight most of the time and, therefore, out of mind.

The development of an unpleasaunce is close to inevitable, but they can harbour hazards. Before I married Himself, I lived in an old house in downtown Ottawa with a large garage in the back yard. The back wall of the garage was very close to the property line, as was legal back in the days when Ottawa city blocks were bisected by lanes to allow the polite passage of the night-soil man. But by the late 20th century backhouse latrines and cesspits were bit distant memories and the lanes had been absorbed into the house lots, creating the perfect space for an unpleasaunce.

Mine was occupied by a family of raccoons and, at one point, some brown rats.

I came to terms with the raccoons, who did not bother me if I kept the garbage under close arrest, but the rats were a different story. One of my cats, a small black fellow named Cecil, killed at least two -- he brought me the corpses -- and they did not invade the house, but they were a major threat to the wiring of the garage and anything stored in it.

Ah, city life.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Jun 20 - 09:55 AM

Dupont:

R is still in kidney stone mode; until that finishes there will be no - ever so longed for - trip to Beaver.

The cross the street neighbours took out the 8-10 foot high hedge between the two drives. The view from my usual chair in the Den is vastly deteriorated; instead of the lovely old cedar hedge - 3 or more vehicles, a camping trailer, a not too bad small building and the back porch and side of house - not terrible. But now there is a 24/7 light on the bloomin' trailer. I am trying to adjust plants on the sill to block the view without losing the nice breeze --- now that the weather is blissfully cooler. I realize they did it to gain space; we sure miss that hedge!

We have also had wonderful rain a couple times. I lost a tiny hydrangea to the dry - it looked as though it was getting ready to bloom and then it looked totally dried out - lack of attention. The squash flowers all gave up - no water, no squash. They can try again; the plants are still healthy. But everything is showing its happiness to have water! - lettuce, beans et al.

The stores here, at least those I use, have online sites with a chart showing how busy they are throughout the day. So, needing stuff, I checked several times yesterday and went off to the produce store at 6pm. Bought groceries in an almost empty store and went to check the plants adjacent - already end of season sale! but nothing suitable. I want to use some very large clay pots filled part way with styrofoam and then 6-8 inches of soil for potted geraniums (keeping them in 5" pots). I wanted to infill with something droopy and flowering. May try a nursery today if it is empty of people.

That does it! I have to put a sheer curtain across that window, just the bottom 15 inches! Too ugly looking at all that.

Today is day 8 of being hyper careful of eating. NO choc -let it run out; no cookies - R put them where I don't see them. I actually feel better. I also feel hungry a good part of each day but am managing pretty well so far.

Thanks for the spelling, SRS! I always wonder but close enough... In any case, my hummus has been a treat on a big bowl of lettuce with a dollop of salsa mixed in.

Now, a curtain!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Jun 20 - 08:19 AM

I’ve bought two tools in fairly recent times to deal with a couple of things I found in the garden. Aviation snips to cut up an old rusty incinerator and bolt cutters for the springs from an old mattress (not sure where that came from…). In both cases, I was able to get things down to reasonable sized bits for easier disposal.

I’ve been dotting about between a few outdoor things and one other thing I’ve been doing is trying to reclaim the area behind the pigsties. I remember strimming there when I first moved here around 20 years ago but it got forgotten about at some point and it’s surprising how quickly nature can take over…

Between ivy, brambles and elder, most of that patch was impassible a few weeks ago and, apart from clearing up stuff I’ve cut, it’s probably about at a point I’d settle for now. The main things to me anyway are having access again to the back of the pigsties and to the blue pipe which carries water from the 12 butts at the back of the house down to join 4 more by a shed and all used for watering round the back. I think we need to fix the fence by the back of the house.

Another thing I’ve done bits of and need to do more of is bits of garden timber. The bit that has my attention at the moment is the table outside the “BBQ shed”. It’s looking a little weather worn but I think it’s it’s a nice piece of quite solid, simple furniture. I’ve not tried this before with anything but I’m going to try sanding, a little bit of wood filler and teak oil with this one.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jun 20 - 12:16 PM

"Now if I can just keep track of the day of the week."

Oh, yes. I'm ashamed to admit that I check the phone or the computer to remind me, and then I forget again, especially in the grey space between Tuesday and Friday. After Garbage Day has passed, my only firm guide is the amount of effort I have to put into the New York Times crossword puzzle.

BIL and SIL are still in a welter of paper and boxes, with days if not weeks of sorting and shifting ahead of them. Their new house is much bigger than the little rowhouse they left behind in Toronto, and was rather ruthlessly renovated about ten years ago to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. It has two large bathrooms that, oddly, have no doors; oddest of all is the man-cave attic, with a massive Jacuzzi whirlpool tub right spung in the middle of the space. Whoever installed that would have needed a building permit and an engineer's report, followed by the agony of hanging double joists to take the weight -- and why? Likewise, the largest bedroom has a huge en-suite bathroom with no enclosure to block the view even of the toilet.

However, it's their house. I just thank my lucky stars that it wasn't the only house in our price range when we hit town three years ago.

Speaking of houses, ours is as dusty as the Sahara right now, and it can damn well stay that way for a couple more days; I have zero interest in housework right now. I will probably get over that soon, as the weather is hot and muggy enough to make any expedition unpleasant. Of course, there's nowhere fun to go.

Himself chivvied me out yesterday morning for breakfast downtown, our favourite after-church spot having reopened for take-out service. It was okay, but frankly I would rather have eaten at home; perching at a picnic table in the market square to eat out of compostable boxes is just as unlike restaurant dining as it sounds. Plus, no church, although the bells were ringing. The Anglican Church of Canada has hoisted in that group singing is actually one of the most dangerous things to do when COVID-19 is around, so ... no church. And when church is finally back, it will be said Matins and Evening Prayer. No singing, no eucharist. Bleah.

I have put on ten completely unwanted pounds over the last six months, so I have to pay much closer attention to what I eat and when. Since recovering from my last bout of diverticulitis, I have been eating only small meals a day, fasting from eight o'clock in the evening to noon the next day, and that is beginning to turn the tide. Trotting up and down stairs and around town is about the only exercise I get since the gyms are still closed, but today it's just too damned hot.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jun 20 - 11:00 AM

Weird windy weather today, and I think we still have Sahara dust swirling in the air also. I was going to set up the burn barrel and clear out some old files and add some of the extra paper packing material, but not with the wind. I think the village has stopped emptying the recycle bins, so either I have to lug mine over to my ex's house (if he has room in his bin) or simply put it out at the curb. Now that would be depressing, though in this market I don't think much recycling is going anywhere. Many marketplaces have shut down.

And since Texas is having a surge in novel coronavirus infections, I have to cancel my plans to make a trip to the grocery store. The law says everyone has to wear a mask, but there are scofflaws who have them on and suspended under their chins - the letter if not the spirit of the law.

Mowing awaits my mood shifting. It's so muggy that it's like pushing the mower into a steam room. The only steam room available these days since my gym (pre knee surgery) never re-opened.

I've made progress moving things from the sun room to the front room, and need to keep that going. I need to establish an area for setting up my photo cube (a nylon tent-like tabletop setup that works for diffusing light from the sides and getting good photos for eBay, etc. The goal of organizing this stuff is to resume full-time eBay activity.

Now if I can just keep track of the day of the week.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jun 20 - 04:24 PM

Charmion, that is excellent news about family moving to the area!

Texas is rolling up the sidewalks again now that the governor has finally seen the light. I was planning a trip to the grocery store on Monday during senior hours, but I'll see how busy the parking lot is before deciding to go in. Costco has large aisles, that's their saving grace; I've saved up on things I usually buy there and have a rather long list. Going through a shopping service means I'm bound to miss things I forgot to put on my list but still need and will spot in the store. What I really crave right now is some sharp cheddar. I've been out for ages.

Today I've begun emptying stuff from the sunroom into the newly cleaned and emptied front room, though I've stopped for the time being to give the dust a chance to settle and to think about the next step - how much packing material can I discard to reduce the volume in there. Over time it's too easy to stash stuff, and when you see it all at one time in several containers and realize there is way more than needed, it's time to cull. A lot of it isn't recyclable, so I expect a large bag at the curb on Monday.

The craft room has gained a fresh ironing board cover; the old one was probably 25 years old. I left the old pad under the new one so it's the Cadillac of ironing board covers now. I've assembled a bunch of fabric for the next set of face masks, I mailed a bunch last week, and I have a few new orders.

What I'd like, when I finish this rearranging, is a more efficient house and something that will entertain and interest the family next time they walk in and see it so different. And decluttered.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jun 20 - 08:58 AM

Himself's brother and his wife moved from the Big Smoke to our corner of Paradise yesterday, after months of stressful preparation, and their arrival represents the beginning of a new phase of our life here. Up till now, we have been much on our own, as any family visit required somebody to saddle up and drive half across our very large province.

We hosted their elderly cat for the day while tumult and shouting prevailed at their new place, and gave them dinner. They were the first guests to cross our doorstep since the 13th of March. (The plumber and the HVAC guy don't count.)

Perth County is now in Stage 2 of opening, with hair-cutting establishments back in business (with shields and masks) and restaurants setting up out-door patios. Much to their credit, the town council voted to give up large expanses of street-side parking to allow the use of curb lanes for umbrella tables; squint hard, and you could be in France. Alas, it's raining today, so we won't be patronizing even our favourite joints quite yet; if I have to get wet while eating outside, I want army food and a Field Service Allowance.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 20 - 09:23 PM

Pedant alert: it's Hummus. Not Humous. That sounds like a medical condition or the gardening by-product. :-/

Piano shifted across the room next to the doorway to the hall, and may be moving to a different part of the house later. Trunks moved.

The two torchiere lamps have been refurbished with LED bulbs, $9 each and saving me having to buy new lamps.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Jun 20 - 06:40 PM

Dupont:

Made humous and a pan of stew yesterday, deadheaded a bunch of perennials, considered mowing and rejected it but cut down a bunch of burdock that were getting ready to bloom. The tomato plant saucers were full of water from the wonderful rain Weds night! Changed the bed, did a load of laundry. Enjoyed the cooler weather and stuck to a diet free of choc and cookies.

Today I re-found the lovely daybook that only made it to 4 January, just so I can write in it the number of days, to encourage myself to stick to it. Today, Day 4 is being difficult. My 5pm meal (veggie stew) is not sufficing. Going back for lettuce/humous. Now.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 20 - 11:30 AM

Following two days to let the second half of the carpet dry in the front room I now need to start moving furniture in earnest. It's a good workout. And when I finish that, there is some heavy lifting in the garden to do.

My county is, as of 6pm today, under a mandatory mask-wearing order for anyone entering a business. It will run until early August. Yesterday I mailed a half-dozen facemasks to family members and last night I pinned a few together while I waited to see if I could successfully launder the heat-resistant cover of my ironing board. Yes and no; it's back on the board for now but the next time I make a run to the Dollar Store I'll look for another one. It's getting a lot of use right now but has been in place for many years, so it's time to replace it.

The garden is producing tomatoes and peppers. I need to plant the small okra, that's part of the heavy lifting coming up. Shaping those beds.

Stay healthy, everyone!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Jun 20 - 09:35 PM

Dupont:

We GOT RAIN!!! Maybe half inch and slightly less humid and a bit cooler. Supposed to go down to 16C tonight!

The spider has gone to someone who will care for it. Yesterday they gave it a pork bone to clean up. Who would have thought? It enjoyed it.

Other than that, I just open and close windows and drapes. Started soaking chick peas to cook tomorrow for humous and made a lentil stew. No choc or cookies for two days. Tonight is hard but I will manage.

If the grass dries, I can cut some tomorrow. And deadhead some iris and day lilies when they are in the shade. Did the peonies yesterday.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 20 - 03:45 PM

I disturbed a lot of dust this morning as I moved trunks and furniture from one side of the front room to the other. The two remaining items are a three-level glass front lawyer's bookcase (full of books) and a half-ton upright grand. I'll move those two items then steam clean the rest of the carpet in that room (started over the weekend). I took down some curtains that have never been moved since I moved into the house; they'll go to Goodwill. If I'm going to do all of this work I might as well come up with the room looking different and being more useful. I'm thinking that one side of the room can hold a bunch of the antique trunks, stacked two-deep and it can act like a counter-top for the eBay stuff that I'll move in there.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jun 20 - 09:20 PM

You have had your hands full, Dorothy! Good luck getting the grill in place, Charmion. And I've used live-traps so I can distinguish between pests (rats and mice) and the good guys (toads and lizards). Some are released, some aren't.

I've figured out how to restore two torchiere lamps that I haven't used in ages because they were made for the the blazing-hot halogen bulbs that occasionally fricassee a passing moth and stinks of burned wings and disturbed dust. I used to have more but donated or broke them down, depending on their condition. These last two solid examples will receive dimmer but much better LED replacement bulbs later in the week. Amazon says they will arrive on Wednesday. Sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and poke around to see if what you need has been invented yet. These bulbs exist, and while there are brighter bulbs that would be perfect replacement of 300 to 500 watt halogen bulbs, they cost over $60 a piece, so I will get along fine with the $9 100 Watt equivalent replacements. I usually never turned them up full strength anyway.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jun 20 - 10:52 AM

Our fire-pit has been installed, so we marked the solstice with supper outside and a nice fire to dispose of rather a lot of deadfall branches from our many maple trees. Now I'm just waiting on a local metal-worker who's making us a cooking grill long enough to reach across the 32-inch diameter.

We definitely have a mouse problem. Watson (large black tomcat) is enthusiastically efficient at catching them when they venture into the main spaces of the house, but I'd rather they avoided us entirely. Besides, Watson makes a lot of noise when he's on the hunt at zero dark thirty, thumping about and meowing on the other side of the bedroom. I know the mice roaming around in the kitchen cabinets under and on either side of the sink and dishwasher because I have found spoor, as it were, but they don't seem to have discovered the pantry, for which much thanks.

More than 40 years ago, when I was posted in Germany, I lived in a house that dated from the end of the 30 Years' War. The floor was stone with linoleum laid on it, and I could see daylight around the casement windows, so it was about as airtight as a lace curtain. That house was alive with mice and beetles, especially in the fall when the famers reaped the fields and the weather turned cold, and I very quickly learned to keep all foodstuffs in gnaw-proof containers. I still do that, thank God.

When we moved here, the packers complained bitterly about how much "kitchen stuff" we had. A lot of that kitchen stuff was then, and is now, my museum-quality collection of Mason jars, canisters and hard plastic bins and boxes, and I don't plan to dispose of a single damn one any time soon.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 08:14 PM

Dupont: STILL!

R has not had time to go back to Beaver to fix the septic. I have pretty well missed June in a blue funk. I mentioned my distress at being in Quebec - highest covid in Canada - on another forum and a fellow pmed me; for some reason his two brief emails triggered something and I decided it was time to rejoin the living.

I have managed to get plants and seeds into the ground and things are growing in spite of NO rain for ages! Putting all the geraniums outside had de-cluttered the window sills. There is a great need for window covers on west and south windows, which plants make more difficult. Of course, I now have to water the outdoor house plants almost daily.

Out back, the numerous tomato cuttings are potted - 3 to a 12 inch pot and are on the railing of the deck, with a few small peppers and tomatoes coming along. MORE watering! The seedlings in front flower bed have sprouted and will live or die; will not be watered! Many flowers on the four zuke plants but without rain... Most of the bulbs and plants I planted on the bought pile of soil - I call it a dinosaur grave - are being very successful with a nice succession of colour. The peony clump has not lasted a week; I wonder if the lack of moisture?

The garage project is on hold. 2 weeks ago R found himself with a kidney stone and I waited on him for one whole week as he suffered great pain. Then one day the pain was gone but he shows no sign of getting back to work. An op is scheduled for Friday and last Friday we went to hospital for pre-op tests. He reads and sleeps - a lot! Fixed a couple leaks in plumbing - a great help to the damp basement.

The K faucet leaked but I had no idea what it was doing until I saw dampness in the cabinet! Expecting it to be dry, I had stored a large bag of oat flakes - original bag perhaps 50#! When I pulled it out the bottom disintegrated and R gets 10 gold stars for rescuing what could be - 15 large yogurt containers and taking the rest out to the woods. He LOVES cleaning up messes!! Oh, JOY!

The house is moderately clean; we are eating very little that needs much cooking; I still use the distiller as we need the water but now put it on the stove next to the vent with a fan to pull hot air out of the house! I never knew there was such a thing but it is great!! Cooking odours and heat ...GONE!

Oh, Big thing was we hosted a young raccoon for 3 weeks while searching for a rehabber. bottle feedings to solid food and PHEW! A wonderful woman took him to a new home for us just as R was hitting the worst pain. He was wonderful but too much. "moderately clean" includes paw prints in various places, some of which, "I washed that twice already!" I miss him; it was quite enchanting to see his brain working, problem solving. I hope he has the best possible raccoon life! He needed a peer group and wanted to be outdoors; he could smell it.

Now our only pet is a huge brown/black spider that R found in the cellar. It looks like one someone called an Inspector Spider years ago. R wants to show it to someone then let it go. I hope back in the cellar.

I took a bath a couple days ago and got an unusually good look at the state of my body. R agrees it is horrible. I have asked him to put all the cookies where I will not find them. I have gained much weight in the last two months and it was bad before. Crisis time. Maybe I can go back to the only diet that ever worked for me. One day at a time.

R installed a portable AC in BR today and found the large fan which we can use in the TV room. Right now I am trying to get it to bring the cooler air up from downstairs, which would bring cooler air up from the cellar. Hot air can go into the attic and out the "hot air chimney" up there - an early 1900 tactic built into the house!   There is another AC for his office, in which some progress has been made - y'all know - papers everywhere!
I cannot breathe if the temp is over 73 so any improvement helps. I spend time opening and closing windows and drapes. The "cool night air" is currently around 71 but it does help.

As for SRS and her DIY projects: Sure is hard to find someone who does it the way we want and as well as we can!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 20 - 11:59 AM

After a stormy night it's a morning indoors of clearing up dishes and pans I should have done last night before bedtime. And soaking the tea cups with water and bleach to clean out tea stains.

I think it's time for another frugal month, so I'll aim at keeping July as low-or-no-spend as possible.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 20 - 12:49 PM

I just can't make myself go out and mow the lawn in this heat, but when it's this hot the lawn doesn't grow fast so it looks a bit ragged but it isn't out of control.

This COVID-19 environment is getting more charged with political anxiety as a belligerent segment of the population has decided they don't need to be careful of others with masks and social distancing. If you say anything you get a snide response that has nothing to do with the science of the crisis and there is no logic behind this behavior, it's simply following the model of political figures in their particular party. It is becoming more and more isolating for a large part of the population who choose to avoid those thoughtless individuals.

I keep notes of where and when I have gone so if contact tracing becomes necessary in the future I can point at places (and via receipts, times of day) I've been. We could really benefit from adults in charge right now. And while we're staying home, here is a virtual exhibit of Pandemic Objects at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Pandemic Objects is an editorial project that compiles and reflects on objects that have taken on new meaning and purpose during the coronavirus outbreak. During times of pandemic, a host of everyday often-overlooked ‘objects’ (in the widest possible sense of the term) are suddenly charged with new urgency. Toilet paper becomes a symbol of public panic, a forehead thermometer a tool for social control, convention centres become hospitals, while parks become contested public commodities. By compiling these objects and reflecting on their changing purpose and meaning, this space aims to paint a unique picture of the pandemic and the pivotal role objects play within it.

We're all in a position to set up our own home-based exhibits. :)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 20 - 11:07 AM

I watched a couple of movies yesterday while I worked on turning several large t-shirts into rolls of t-shirt yarn to use for mask ties or other things. There are two self-healing cutting boards on the table and with the new larger one this work goes quickly, I don't have to keep stopping and shifting my work to stay on top of the mat.

We're to the season of lots of fresh fruit available and I have to be careful how much I purchase at a time. Last night's dinner included guacamole since I bought a half-dozen avocados the other day (most of it is now frozen), and today I think it will be peaches with every meal. The difficulty in shopping for fruit in this year of COVID-19 is that if I pick up a peach to sniff it to see if it's ripe, I can't smell it through the mask, and the realization that once I've touched it I'm pretty much obligated to keep it. So buy only a few at a time and hope when they arrive home that they will perform as expected.

I'm still finding things around the house to repurpose now that the original function is moot. Boxes, baskets, tools, art supplies, interesting jars, emptied-out plastic storage bins, etc. It is gradually clearing out a bit and I'm still planning the big rearrangement. The linchpin in this operation is steam-cleaning the front room carpet so it's ready to receive the items I plan to move in there. And I need to move stuff off of that carpet before I clean it. In the end, those repurposed items will probably find themselves in that front room where my eBay stuff will be organized. It's the kind of plan that, since it doesn't involve people coming in to do work, has no fixed schedule.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 20 - 05:12 PM

Mudcatter and pot-maker extraordinaire Guy Wolff posted on Facebook this morning photos of the face masks his wife Erica is making, and it added a couple of helpful ideas to the constantly changing features of the masks I make and send to people. I shared tips for ties that I hope help her.

I've had the new phone for just under a month and have had time to look at the online account and realize it wasn't calling and getting data via WiFi. A series of emails between me and a help tech has it set to rights, and yesterday I also connected my Google Voice account to the phone. The tech tells me that will reduce my bill (already low) a lot because phone or WiFi through my Ting number show up on my bill. Google Voice doesn't. This is in the "don't-declutter-the-pocketbook-as-fast" category.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 20 - 07:13 PM

The COVID-19 rates of infection are shooting up fast in North Texas, so it looks like I'm continuing to stay home. Not that I expect to go out much, but since the stores are full of people NOT wearing masks, I'll return to ordering online. Kroger today was full of people who were either clueless or didn't give a damn because they don't believe in it. Local and national politics are part of the problem. Was I taking my life in my hands to buy waxed paper? Aldi doesn't carry it or I'd have gotten it there; the smaller stores seem to have a more conscientious customer base.

I've done the math on the postal requirements for mailing these homemade masks. I found some 4" x 6" cardboard flat mailers that will compress the cloth masks easily and go as first class letters of an odd size. $1.00 or $1.20, depending on whether it's 2 or 3 ounces. Padded envelopes go at $4.05, so it's a nice savings (the new mailers came at about .40 each).

In the Increased Efficiency At Home Department, I have refined how I make ties for masks - this YouTube video was the most helpful lately, it shows how to make "t-shirt yarn," more efficient than tearing on the bias or just doing individual loops across a shirt. There's much less waste when you have one continuous strand. I'm enjoying learning these new things. Now that I'm expert at making bias tape I'm not having to make as much, but I do have a comforter I need to make some for to finish it.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 11 Jun 20 - 12:16 PM

A bucket of wet sand, Charmion, just damp enough so that it will glom onto whatever should not be burning.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 20 - 11:54 AM

You pegged it, Charmion - it's the nuts and raisins I've been concerned about. I make sure if I send banana bread with nuts that they're all on top to be picked off if need be, or no raisins in the cinnamon rolls she receives, etc.

Michelle, how is your workplace now? Is everyone healthy and able to work the staggered schedule? My daughter has two days a week she goes to her museum office; they had a lot of shared offices so now it's one person at a time, staggered days. They haven't built a volunteer schedule up yet, but they'll probably move us from small offices to wide open spaces with our gear on carts to be moved in and out. I'm not in a rush to expose myself, I'm just waiting to see how they work it out. Volunteering in the open air at the Botanic Garden is more likely to open up for me sooner.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jun 20 - 11:12 AM

My guts have settled down at last, thanks for asking, Stilly. Your neighbour must really have it bad if she has to avoid baked goods; I can usually eat white bread as soon as I get off clear fluids, and the only bready things I must avoid are those containing nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

Our place is looking good, if not particularly clean. Monday is recycle day, so I am looking forward to clearing the garage of a great heap of cardboard boxes, and a trip to the dump is in order to dispose of a shredded cat tree and some broken screens. Fortunately, the city fathers have re-opened the dump to the public, probably to ensure that the fly-tippers have no excuse (not that those assholes need any).

We have a fire-pit now, but we will have to be very careful about what we burn in it; nothing that will flare up and scare the neighbours, and nothing that will stink. I must purchase a fire-extinguisher ... although a bucket of water kept handy might do.

The last outside project is a small shed for storing firewood so we can get it off the front porch. Dunno if I can get that done before the snow flies.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 05:47 PM

How are you feeling, Charmion? I think about my across-the-street neighbor's gut issues each time I take over baked goods, hoping none of it will make her worse (because she might eat things even if she shouldn't if it smells good).

We're to the time of year when outside work is best performed morning or evening, and since I'm not much of a morning person I usually head into the yard around 5pm. The next stage of the veggie garden is going in as seed starts are progressing and ready to plant. I'll be digging out the worst of the big roots then tilling in amendments and see about tilling paths to keep the weeds down.

The next big declutter project is to pull out some of the stuff that has accumulated along the sides of the garage and either fix them (the grill needs work), use them (there are planks for raised beds that actually need to be made into raised beds) or put them away in a better place (the wheelbarrow is in there now, filled with a home-mix of potting soil to keep it out of the weather). There is still room for the SUV, but not as much as there was the last time I cleared it out. Time to push back on the encroachment of stuff.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 10:18 AM

Thanks for wondering Stilly. I'm fine, without so much as a pulled muscle. I'm not the genius of body mechanics I was thirty years ago, when I could easily move a massive bookcase taller than myself, but I can still handle any piece of furniture I can get leverage on.

And as I said above, I won't take that particular risk again -- at least not when I'm alone in the house.

Our sitting room and dining room are ankle-deep in cat hair again, but I'm not quite desperate enough to haul the central vac hose upstairs and tackle it. Himself has taken to washing the kitchen floor, but the vacuum cleaner remains beyond his chosen arc of influence; he claims not to know quite how it works. I believe him; thousands wouldn't.

We were pleasantly busy this weekend, mostly in the garden. The composter is in a new spot that was vacated by last year's patio project, and we stabilized one of the rain barrels by resetting it on a large square paver the patio guys found under the demolished deck.

But most of last week I spent recovering from a flare-up of diverticulitis, which is that thing that typically happens to the lower guts of North Americans who live long enough. In me, it manifests itself as stabbing pain about three inches north of the pubic bone, accompanied by just enough nausea to make me wonder if it really is appendicitis this time. I sent Himself out to purchase ginger beer in tins and a clinical thermometer, which we have not got, and apparently clinical thermometers are sold out in Stratford. Not ginger beer, fortunately.

After a couple of days on a diet of ginger beer and bananas, I recovered enough to start eating normally, then promptly had a relapse -- leftover barbecued ribs. Back to ginger beer and bananas for another day, and now easing back much more carefully. Pasta with plain tomato sauce, shrimp, cooked veg.

Today, I might try something raw that is not a banana. Perhaps a ripe tomato.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 20 - 07:14 PM

After several searches through the garage I finally thought to look in some of the boxes (that were moved around when the puppy arrived and started chewing on them). I found my 50/50 tarp for shading the back patio, took my much safer step ladder out (after discarding the two-step wobbly one last year) and put it in place in about five minutes. The patio got cooler as I worked.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 03:36 PM

Sweeping, vacuuming, moping a few rooms today, those that get traffic. No point in doing anything in the guest room, it's closed and rarely entered. The craft room was swept recently. This means about 1/3 of the house has had the floors cleaned, and it was humid enough to stop at that point. In the summer one has to pace oneself with these moisture-generating chores. Now to hang some laundry on the clotheslines recently freed of tree branches.

As I read Charmion's table-moving post I was wondering how it came out and thinking "at least if she can write about it she didn't die from it." Good thing you didn't hurt yourself.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 11:45 AM

Yes, okay, Donuel, but I’m pretty sure most of us would rather do for ourselves what we can, if only to get the job done before the ice-worms nest again.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 11:04 AM

There is a limit as to what one can do themselves based on resources, budget, age and need. What ever one's opinion is of; designers, architects, engineers, contractors or other professionals there are things others may do better than the most dedicated DIY enthusiast.
Then there are the disaster stories or on the other hand lifelong back injuries. But I suppose all that goes without saying.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness: House, job, life 2019 - 2020
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 10:51 AM

Just as you would when working with heavy weights at a gym, this sort of awkward work should be done with a spotter, if not someone also engaged in the lifting, sister dear.