De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 21 - 01:02 PM

The reason I bought the burn barrel is to keep that paper ash waste from blowing around. It has a few holes in the lid to let out smoke and heat but keeps ash inside. But it think being amenable to your friend's suggestion is a good idea. Here it's a sunny day after 2+ weeks of rain so I'll get my Behren's barrel out and give some of the scholarly editing a go. (It says use for composting or burning - I think composting would rot this thing out in no time.) I can recycle copies of articles and such, but the personal papers go in the fire.

This is the last day of lots of eyedrops; tomorrow I start tapering just one type, a tedious but essential reminder of the recent procedures. I am mindful of the not lifting/bending, though I did pull a few weeds this morning to give a struggling small okra plant some room in the garden. Later this week the whole thing will get a good going over and more mulch added.

My household recycling usually sits in a plastic kitchen trash bin, and paper recycling goes in a cardboard box to be transported to the bins behind City Hall. If I'm going to start recycling academic papers I'm going to need a bigger box.

P.S. We have been discussing cat fountains here at Mudcat and I'm in a Chrome browser most times, sometimes Firefox. And now my phone's Instagram feed is offering Amazon ads for large capacity pet fountains. They seem to have done the math and realized I have dogs when it comes to reading my posts and making suggestions.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 May 21 - 01:33 PM

We've got an incinerator bin with a chimney in the lid that I sometimes use. A problem I've found with them is that you get them burning too hot, the galvanised coating breaks down and they soon rust away. I sprayed our current one with heat resistant black paint when that started to happen. That seems to have prolonged its life a bit but it could do with more paint on now.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 26 May 21 - 01:54 PM

The new filing cabinet arrived this morning and is now in place, thanks to Leslie the cop who lives across the street. She was on her verandah with a power drill and a rickety kitchen drawer when the Staples delivery crew did their dump-and-dash, so she came over to volunteer for heavy manual labour. Nice.

Everything in the study is now stowed where it will stay, and locked up if it needs to be locked up. Just the way I like it.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 May 21 - 06:43 PM

Dupont:

Ok, so yard by yard I have managed to clear enough tall grass to get a garden - 20 more bags of black earth unloaded this aft during a windy spell. The ashes and compost from the garbage can are underneath. Tomatoes and squash mostly planted. Tomorrow it is said to be cooler. I will plant some yellow bean seeds and corn - more for fun as there is not that much room. And maybe some other things, space and whatever seeds I already have...

Front yard is roughly cut. Back still needs some, but there are little white flowers !! So... And the yarrow... Neighbour just did her huge yard for second or third time; I could feel the vibration of her machine in the house. She did not cut the Dandies so she had higher grass than usual for her! Ah! Rain coming down!!!

Waiting for R to determine when his next shot will be, then I will plan trip to Beaver. Pat has been keeping the Coach House as open as possible, carefully minding restrictions. Even so, I have enough not to have to e-send the rent! I have that load in the kiln to bisque and glaze and fire when I get there. Will consult with Pat re colours! Ontario is still driving people nuts with its inability to organize shots. Mine is not until July but I was hoping for earlier...HO HO HO...

We went to the local library this am - I finally realized it is open! But I seem to have lost the card so R arranged a new one and I picked up one new book. Hundreds of books in the house but none tickled my fancy.

The air is so much nicer at Beaver - cleaner! De-cluttered of pollution.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 21 - 10:10 PM

I got out the burning barrel, then attacked one of the file boxes in the closet. I put the barrel away again when I realized it was a waste of energy to burn the stuff I've dug out so far. I shredded the front pages of a few of the papers but the rest are piling up in a box for the recycle bin. And I will get a bigger box, this one is filled up to the top. If I dive into one of files of old bills then I'll put those in the burning barrel.

Jon, I have a very similar barrel to yours. I set bricks in the bottom to provide more air space for circulation when burning with it. Then I take out the bricks, empty the ash into the compost, and store it back inside the greenhouse. It would rust if it was out in the weather. I hadn't thought about paint, but that is another possibility.

It felt good to pull out those papers. I held onto some that tie in with the paper I'd still like to write, and I kept a few that I remember were such a huge trouble to get my hands on. I'll put them in their own special file and maybe scan them one of these days. I'll pull some more this evening and when I head out to run errands in the morning I'll drop them at the city bins.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 27 May 21 - 11:56 AM

I'm thinking more and more of what I want my heirs and assigns to see when I pop my clogs. I was about to toss all Edmund's old letters into the Burn Now box when it occurred to me that only a couple of them were ... um ... rather too interesting, and most of the rest were written by the nieces' and nephews' grandparents, and they might want to read them on those grounds alone. So I did what a good censor does and kiboshed only the material that would embarrass /me/ if it appeared on the front page of the Globe & Mail. The remainder fills only one file folder -- manageable.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 21 - 12:00 PM

Good call on the letters, Charmion.

My calendar was crammed full for the day but lunch was rescheduled so my first trip of the day will be over to the recycle bins, to deposit household stuff and a 9" stack of paper from graduate school. It's the tip of that iceberg, but it's a start. I've compressed the contents of two boxes into one, and next will move onto file drawers.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 21 - 10:47 PM

I'm good to go with regular activities now, and I asked a few questions before ordering a pair of glasses from Zenni. My favorite titanium frames, but this time no correction on top, just the bifocal correction on the bottom. These will be my walking around glasses, and I can keep using the readers at the computer and piano.

I worked out where some of the papers that are still here can be stored (with related subject matter) and clear out two file boxes on the closet floor. I have a small stack of documents for the burning barrel but will wait till the stack is larger before setting up the paper pyre. There are old bills to discard, I'll be ready to burn after the next bout of rain passes (due here tomorrow).

This afternoon I visited the modest apartment of a friend in a 1929 building that has many of the historic features still in place. Tiny kitchen, small living/dining area, modest bedroom, one bath. 550 sf with plenty of space because he doesn't have it filled furniture, books, and stuff. I couldn't pack all of my stuff in there even stacking it and using a shoehorn. (He has a cat, that I will be caring for while he is on vacation.) During COVID he offloaded extra stuff (eBay), and I need to do more of that now. It was an interesting glance at a frugal household, but there wasn't the array of things to do that I have here - the entertainment is built in at this house! Sewing/craft room, greenhouse, office, storage, guest rooms - all good for comfort, but not necessary.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 27 May 21 - 11:23 PM

Don't forget the suana.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 28 May 21 - 09:32 AM

My brother Paul cleaned some gutters and put the roof tile back in place yesterday. He doesn't visit often but when he does, he always comes with some work clothes and asks if there is a job needing doing. As far as I know, mum had already phoned someone who agreed to do the job but didn't turn up...

I think, this time we are finally in for a warmer sunny spell. It was lovely yesterday evening and I went out after tea and did some mowing, filled the bird feeders round the back and a little bit of tidying up.

I've, at last, put the 3 courgette plants outside into tubs. I'll plant some marigolds and some lettuce later and probably do more grass cutting but I am waiting for a ups delivery at the moment.

Dad's on poor form at the moment and I've reverted to wheeling him for the toilet in the day time but I think that's probably caused by the stress of having visitors for the past two days (they set off for home this morning) and hope things pick up again. I say stress but both parents enjoy and want to see other members of the family. It's just trying to be at your best can cause some anxiety.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 May 21 - 06:32 PM

Jon, I hope your father perked up as the day progressed. Here we had a lovely morning and I sat down to knock off my usual Friday morning employment tasks - by the time I finished it was raining again. Kind of blew my mood! You're lucky your brother visits with the aim of doing something helpful while he's there, and that would boost my spirits!

I did get over to Joann fabrics, they have a good sale going this weekend, but I don't need much now. Mask making is winding down, or more accurately, shifting to the specialty prints for occasions and those made for friends with health issues who are glad to have masks to wear. I picked up more fabric for the inside lining of my masks and thread was on sale (buy 3/get 3 free). It was quiet because of the rain so the woman at the cutting counter had a little time to visit. She is still making a lot of masks also, and said the store has gotten in some knit fabrics now because a lot of people who took up sewing for making PPE are now looking for other projects. The fabric store is predicting that making clothes like t-shirt tops will become popular. This young woman has done some of her sewing on a treadle machine - now that's diehard! (She also bought a Brother because the electric machine works faster and more reliably.) Even as things start to open up, I still find those conversations with total strangers can be very interesting and fill my need for face-to-face society.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 29 May 21 - 09:51 AM

Yesterday was frigid in southern Ontario. The forecast high for the day was 7C but the thermometer never crawled above 4C; snow fell only a little bit north of Stratford; and I had to turn the furnace on. It rained heavily for hours.

Today is clear and sunny but still chilly, so I guess a good walk is in order. I really don’t have anything else to do now that the study is hoed out and squared away. Except practise the mandolin, of course, and weed the garden. I guess that should be enough to get me through to suppertime.

The current lockdown is supposed to relax somewhat on Wednesday, but we have yet to hear where we can go and what we will be allowed to do.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 21 - 11:33 AM

Has the rate of vaccinations increased at all? Down here the vaccine has been distributed to local drug stores so pharmacists have hours when they give the shots. The big vaccine centers are generally winding down or closing entirely. There is still a long way to go here, but now it is more a matter of persuasion than access.

I pulled a pork tenderloin from the freezer and have calculated that I have enough other ingredients in there to make my pork/tomato/eggplant casserole. The tomatoes are canned, the eggplant frozen (after lightly sautéing).

Last night one of the dogs (most likely Pepper) dragged a big ass branch of rosemary in (the one that grew for 15 years beside the driveway until the big freeze) and chewed it on the dog bed in the den. I tossed it into the trash to keep them from retrieving it from the back yard again, but there is bark and the soft wood everywhere. It looks like a good day to sweep and mop. We have a couple of days before more rain is forecast.

The older sewing machine is messing up again - the timing is off so it's dropping stitches. I need to get under the hood again.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 May 21 - 01:11 PM

Dupont:

Set Tuesday as departure for Beaver and its unpolluted (almost) air. Taking a box of greenware that will need to wait til next bisque. I hope I can make a full load, esp plates for Erica, to bisque and glaze in the two weeks I can be there. Plan to be back for R's 2nd shot, paying heed to my son's admonition not to plan anything for the next day.

Mine is not until 27 July unless they decide to shorten the wait. However, things in ON are so bad I wonder how they decide anything. I hope R can take a couple days to go with me on that trip. I could just tough it out but am concerned that I only have cell service if I am able to sit at the window; I could sit in the car all day! We'll see.

Here, I am still finding the energy to finish the garden - plant seeds in the remaining space. I end up pulling weeds until I need a break. But rain is predicted for tomorrow and Monday so the time is today! Most of the frosted-last-month geraniums are coming back from the bottom. I potted a bunch of rooted Kalanchoe shoots this am and one from the nice coleus; now I have 3 from the cutting I swiped a couple years ago. The tiny pear tree just produced new growth! and I saved 5 seeds from the Bosc pears I sauteed for R yesterday. Wisdom is to not try to start them until I get back. There is more than enough for R to care for while I am away. OH, darn! I still have to use the pansies and lobelia which are languishing in their tiny pots. They look very pretty on the front steps but need room to grow. Next energy spurt...


Interesting to hear about SRS' neighbour's apt. Beaver is 600sf. Exc kitchen, neither too big nor too small -for me, small BR and bath, LR is fine for a few people, dining area is for 2. Big difference is propinquity to out of doors: back deck, studio, tool/kiln room and the two sheds and beautiful screened room in the "back 40". Plenty of room - to breath, to do things.

The next door neighbour hailed me for a chat yesterday - just as I was preparing to plant seeds. She does this in the decent weather and it is hard work for me as I struggle to find some French words for her, I guess for her also but perhaps she is lonely. I sensed a certain sadness as she pointed out the various trees she has planted in her 40 years here- large oaks and lindens.

I doubt I am projecting; I know how I would feel/have felt selling a property into which I/she has put so much energy and now she no longer has the energy to keep doing it. She will be moving the chickens to the other end when it becomes necessary. Then I shall miss them. And her shed with a canopy of grape vines. I try to not think about it but... If the new owner pulls out the cedar hedge... My dog walking neighbour designed and had built a lovely house with picture window looking at the river then a house was built next door and they look at a brick wall. I shall continue to not dwell on it.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 21 - 01:56 PM

That's sad about the house and the window - my aunt in Calgary had a similar situation happen on a long narrow piece of property they owned for years. The old house was at the far back of the lot, and as they prepared to build a new house further forward before tearing down the old, the next door neighbor messed up their plans by putting up a tall house in front of where the new one would go. So they moved downtown to a new condo with a great view overlooking the Bow River and no chance of it being blocked and sold the original property.

The garden needs tending - as I work my way through each bed I'll weed, sprinkle some dried chicken manure fertilizer, then top with more mulch to slow the return of weeds. And mow the front yard. And walk the dogs. I need to make up for a lot of lost time after surgery and with all of the rain.

I'm finally scanning the repair manual, ancient as it is, to figure out how to restore the timing on my oldest sewing machine. I wish the overhead scanner had been working correctly, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. (It kept cutting off the outer edges of the pages.) This most recent timing issue compels me to solve it once and for all.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: mg
Date: 29 May 21 - 10:23 PM

i am going crazy with password changes. i can't keep up. got a whiteboard to write them on and still can't. does anyone use one of those one password things where master password remembers all? Also, while I am at it, I got one of those chargers you lay your phone on. it does not seem to charge. i also got one of those flash drives that takes the pictures off your phone. nothing seems to plug in anywhere. i think they might have given me one for an iphone with different plug. i think i will send it back.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 21 - 10:53 PM

I use a 3" three-ring binder. Any time I set up an account I print out the page with the logo on it (or write it on the top) and the logon and password info. Make note of any challenge questions and answers. I print it, punch it with a hole-punch, and alphabetize it, so any time I have to change a password I go to that page to cross out the old one and note the new one. There are actually two notebooks. One is for commercial accounts (places where I make purchases or have paid subscriptions) and one for connections via email, and other free logon sites.

I use too many browsers and too many devices to trust one password management account. This works, and has worked for over 20 years. They are very big books.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 21 - 12:23 AM

The onion (the only one I had) for this evening's cooking had spoiled, so I borrowed two medium sized onions from my next door neighbor and will replace them tomorrow. I was in the middle of sauteing stuff and didn't want to turn it all off and run to the store. But the casserole is now finished (dripped on the oven floor, darn it. Time to clean that again.) I'll be using it for meals this week and was glad to use homegrown eggplant and tomatoes in the dish.

The dogs and I went for a walk this evening, with me wearing wrap-around sunglasses since I don't have regular glasses to wear now and feel a bit naked without them. The new ones I ordered are photo sensitive so will respond to the bright light (hopefully they'll arrive in a couple of weeks.) After our walk I picked some grass seed out of their coats, and when I take off my shoes tonight I know there will be a few that poked through the cloth of the uppers and need to be tossed in the trash. Something about that wild grass that really knows how to spread itself around.

Mowing tomorrow.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: JennieG
Date: 30 May 21 - 01:51 AM

We have a "bottom drawer book". Passwords are in it, as is other information such as where wills and personal papers are kept, name of solicitor, funeral director, etc. The aim is to have information at the fingertips of whoever is left - there are only the two of us in this house; one son lives 720 kms away and the other is on the far side of the world. They wouldn't know where to lay hands on such information bit by bit, so it's all in one book. A "one stop shop", as it were.

There's nothing like being prepared, is there.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 21 - 09:25 AM

In the top drawer of the One Filing Cabinet, at the right-hand end (it’s a lateral). When I leave town and entrust the house and its resident cats to the care of someone else, I lock the cabinet. Easy.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 30 May 21 - 10:33 AM

Wot? No locking bar and Sargent & Greenleaf lock?

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 21 - 11:30 AM

Unfortunately, dear bro, Staples' line of basic office equipment doesn't include cabinets equipped with a locking bar, or I'd have one. As for the S&G, the house is no place for documents classified or designated at Level II or higher. That's what a bank box is for.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 21 - 11:52 AM

I just spent a vigorous hour in the garden pulling up great clumps of clustered bellflower (Campanula glomerata). It's a handsome plant that came to Ontario as a garden ornament, but it's as invasive as the Golden Horde with a strong tendency to crush everything in its path. So ... now the compost bin is full of it. For the rest of the summer, I shall pull up every flower spike I see before it can start spewing seeds around my tiny corner of the landscape.

I also have bugleweed and lily-of-the-valley, both equally invasive and difficult to expunge, but I like bugleweed and lily-of-the-valley, so that's okay. I'll cop to the hypocrisy.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 21 - 02:39 PM

I looked up your bellflower - pretty - there is an invasive weed here called Mexican petunia that next door planted on purpose that now crawls through my back yard lawn.

The casserole smells great but boiled over and now there is a sticky brown puddle in the bottom of the oven. Do I want to soak it off or just go ahead and do the whole hot long oven cleaning thing?

Sunday afternoon on the holiday weekend and I'm not finding much energy to go outside and do all of the garden things that need doing. Once I get started I keep going, it's the getting out the door to start with (I suspect the cloudy overcast that is partly to blame). That said, I am sitting here at the computer and working my way through the book, a quarter of the way so far. I'm reading along on parts as I go and can see how some of these repairs are handled.

Part of my attitude toward holidays (I stay away from the noisy crowded activities) comes from years as a park ranger when we were usually the destination of a lot of people with the days off. There were no days off for us on public holidays, it was overtime or holiday pay, but the public aren't famous for being bright and thoughtful; especially during these nice-weather holidays there is a lot of drinking and driving or boat operation, campfires out of control, fights break out. Noise. Long lines at attractions.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 21 - 12:18 AM

I'm practically stooped over from standing then leaning over the scanner 200 times, but the book is finished. This will allow me to OCR the text and scan for the parts that fit my repair needs best. Oy my aching back, though!

I seem not to be the only one unmotivated to work in the yard today. I didn't hear a single lawnmower all day, but the weather was fine for mowing. Maybe tomorrow.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 21 - 10:39 AM

Darn - I forgot to empty the vacuum cleaner into the trash before putting it out. I got one of the bagless Shark vacuums because there is so much doghair and dog debris that I'd go through bags at a rapid expensive rate with a regular cleaner. I did remember to empty the paper shredders before the trash last week. I emptied a bowl of bacon grease from the fridge into the trash this time. The washer and dryer are empty, the dishwasher has clean dishes and needs emptying. The small fridge (inherited from a friend) has a large tub of organic salad greens I need to remember to use before it becomes a science project. The microwave could stand to be steamed with a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes before a wipe down. The toaster needs crumbs removed, and the toaster oven could use a wipe down inside and out. The new Waterpik machines are doing fine in the bathrooms. The oldest sewing machine needs work, the newer of the old machines is doing okay. The clothes iron, the lamps, even the Amazon Echo, all in good working order.

The bread machine will come out later today to make some dinner rolls and maybe a loaf of bread (I run it on the "manual" setting so it stops before baking in the machine, I prefer my own pans and baking in the oven.) The blender is humming along, as is the vegetable chopper and the Kitchenaid stand mixer. I love my Seal A Meal, though I need to do a little work to clean the insides and replace a gasket. The crock pot for oatmeal does the perfect job; I don't use the larger crock pots very often but they always do the job well. I have an estate sale George Foreman grill that works like a charm.

Lots of devices in the office I won't name by name because I don't want them to hear me and be jinxed. They're all working okay. The scanner did a yeoman's job over the weekend finishing work on an old out-of-print book.

My lawn mower is in good shape after I tuned up most of it earlier this month, the electric trimmer is new and works well but I need to get some extra string holders so I don't need to stop to refill the one it came with each time I run out. The electric branch chipper in the greenhouse will get some use soon since some pine limbs have dried enough to run through it.

I have probably just named the tip of the iceberg of small appliances around here, and most of these I could wait a day or even a few to repair or replace if something happened to them. TVs, radios, various players - so many electronic devices. The one I use most often and rely on is my glass electric kettle. My morning tea, and sometimes water for reheating vegetables in a bowl, or for adding to something I'm cooking. I couldn't go a day without ordering a new one if it went tits up.

You?

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 31 May 21 - 01:40 PM

I have been shedding electric doohickeys. The Edmund Thomas Memorial Espresso Machine is packed up in its original carton and waiting for the day -- soon, I hope -- when I can hand it over to No 1 Niece and her Italian husband in Windsor. Edmund's ridiculously expensive blender is stashed in the Glory Hole, along with the electric kettle (purchased for the kitchen renovation) and the meat grinder, until I decide what to do with them. The beer fridge left the building weeks ago. The Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and food processor that live in the pantry may also move along to a new home, but not yet.

The only appliances still on the kitchen counter are the cats' water fountain and the toaster oven. The microwave has a purpose-built niche. The Food Saver vacuum-sealer lives in the Glory Hole, but makes frequent visits to the kitchen. A stick blender and a small hand-held electric beater live in a drawer.

Everything is clean and fully operational.

The lawn mower and garden shredder both left the property yesterday with a garrulous young man who rehabs small motor equipment as a side hustle. Both machines are electric -- the lawn mower battery-powered, the shredder a plug-in model -- and both are unreliable. Young Georgia from up the street mows the lawn now, doing a much better job of it than I ever would, and I never saw the point of the shredder, which is ugly-noisy and freakin' dangerous. It also occupied valuable space in the garden shed.

So powered garden equipment has been reduced to a battery-powered Stihl weed-whacker and a rather intimidating hedge trimmer from Canadian Tire. They're clean, and they work.

Plus the hoes, shovels, rakes, axes (three of them!), ice-choppers and other handraulic implements of destruction, and a stable broom to clean up after them. Neil across the street just sharpened my spade and my shovel. That man is earning lots of jewels for his heavenly crown.

When Constable Leslie has a day off with no domestic obligations of higher priority, we'll sort out Edmund's camping gear. She is a demon camper and all her friends and relations are equally fervent about the whole fresh air, sleep on the ground experience, so we should be able to make a substantial clearance of the garage.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 31 May 21 - 01:49 PM

Different topic.

I think my cat Watson is developing urinary tract problems. He pissed on the parlour carpet yesterday afternoon, right in front of me, after a prolonged session of padding in small circles, pawing at the nap of the rug, and mewing disconsolately. This is the fourth such incident since about Remembrance Day, and the third that is definitely Watson's doing.

Once is happenstance and twice is circumstance, but three times is enemy action.

So Watson earned himself a trip to the vet today, which could get expensive. X-ray, ultrasound, blood and urine samples -- the beat goes on.

The big green Bokhara carpet is rolled up and stowed in the garage until I can get the carpet cleaners to come and get it. Washing it and giving it the anti-piss treatment will cost a bundle of dough -- probably about $250.

BUGGER!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 21 - 03:07 PM

Cat pee has featured in my last two pet-sitting commissions. In the first place I think it's mostly one cat acting out against all of the medications in his daily routine. I failed miserably at finding all of the places where that cat managed to spray and piddle, making the assignment more difficult than usual (and where only one of the three cats is willing to be picked up, let alone touched). At the second home the cat is very old and if the litter box isn't scooped twice a day, there will be a puddle on the floor in front of it. That cat is gregarious and happy to be petted and talked to and not retaliatory in her accidents.

You mentioned a number of other gadgets here I didn't think to enumerate. Yet I also have a long of the analog versions of those things that get a fair amount of use as well. Knives and cutting board vs chopper, etc. Usually the decision is based upon the amount of cleanup involved versus time to do the task.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 21 - 06:26 PM

It seems that, as aging tomcats are wont to do, Watson has developed struvite crystalluria. The vet says I caught it early enough that it can be treated with a special diet that is, of course, not cheap.

No kidney stones, which tend to be fatal in cats, and no infection. Grateful for small mercies, me. The vet’s bill was not small, but neither was it as bad as I feared it might be.

I hoofed over to my fiddler friend’s house this morning and we played tunes for an hour and a half in her garden. Later in the afternoon, once Watson was resettled at home, I took a trot around the neighbourhood, checking out the annual explosion of lilac blossom. According to my Fitbit, I logged more than five miles today, and my wonky foot DOES NOT HURT!

So, all in all, a good day.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 21 - 11:14 AM

Has anyone else ever noticed how difficult it is to put on socks and shoes when there are dogs in the room? They see your bending over or exposed foot as an invitation to schmooze. My socks and tie-up shoes are for yard work today (I started mowing the back yesterday, wearing flats, just because I wanted to get a start on the tall grass, but they aren't made for that kind of work.) This morning I heard a mower running in the neighborhood but I'm waiting for the dew to dry, it is such a gooshy job otherwise.

I stepped on the scale this morning - I need to work on weight loss now that I've been on synthyroid for a month. This morning's numbers reveal that the ice cream and chocolate plan doesn't contribute to that goal. The mowing and dog-walking activities might help.

Good catch on the cat pee problem source. You'll both be more comfortable as the food works to bring that under control. I need to pull up Charmion's Brother's link to the thunder shirt (I did some research - and does Charmion's Brother have a regular name as well as that moniker? Thank you!) and see if I can offer Pepper some extra reassurance when it comes to thunderstorms. They're reasonably priced and offer a good return policy. What's not to love?

I made the final corrections to the sewing machine manual, OCR and printing a copy for the sewing room. I need to get a good set of small screwdrivers to keep in there. I have lots of oddball tools, but one of the guys on YouTube who repairs machines said he made a point of getting a good set of what I think are stainless steel or high-carbon tools to avoid stripping screws and such. I'll look at his video again before I head over to Lowe's.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 21 - 09:39 PM

Stilly, the company is called Thunderworks, and the product in question is ThunderShirt (note fancy capitalization).

Their website is www.thundershirt.com

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Jun 21 - 08:57 AM

Stilly, my familiar name is right there in the "From" line.

Major (retired) Andrew Bartholomew Chaplin, CD, BA
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
:)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 21 - 09:24 AM

BA, CD, RSVP and Bar, VD and Scar … ;-)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Jun 21 - 10:30 AM

... CCM and Sprocket, Handlebar (no grip)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 21 - 10:51 AM

Of course it's there - I just always saw "Charmion's brother" and stopped reading at that. :) Thank you, Andrew!

It is entirely possible to have days jam-packed full of stuff to do, even if you're retired. Today is one of those. I have a batch of my famous dinner rolls rising (I season them with granulated garlic and dried oregano, and use olive oil instead of shortening) while I prepare for three events and one change of clothes. Haircut, museum class, museum class party (with rolls). In between, return library book, stop by Halal grocery store. By having less time I end up doing more because I have to prioritize and overlap (I can do several other things while the rolls rise and then bake. When I have all day long, well, sometimes things don't get done. Mañana.

This is my first event since anything in early 2020; I don't know anyone so it won't be as exciting as a party of friends and family, but I'll take it. We've come a long way since we met early this year, pre-vaccines, as a family for our xmas holiday at a fast food (Panda Express) restaurant equidistant from our homes, ate our takeout in our cars, then hopped in and out of our vehicles to do the gift exchange in the open air, all the while wearing masks. I'll still have my mask today, but to be indoors with other people will be a second (since museum class today is our first together after months of Zoom).

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 21 - 10:41 PM

My insurance company is offering a targeted exercise and PT program through remote devices and I've signed up for the knee and hip exercises. As the thyroid adjustment makes everything feel better when it moves, I now need to conquer the bursitis and strengthen the non-surgery knee. My hands and joints aren't stiff like they were before the thyroid, so now I can comfortably start exercising.

Today was busy but tomorrow I'll be home to finish mowing the lawn - this time tackling the front. And the last two veggie beds. We have a long growing season here, so it isn't late, but it could have been going quite a while ago.

It is four weeks until my street's quarterly bulky waste pickup, so I need to use this time to finish some of the fence work (old slats go down to the curb) and cut a bunch of the privet growing in the back yard and lug that out to the front (it's an invasive shrub here and is mixed into the trees growing above the creek beyond my back fence). The yard work is good exercise, but in a general way. Perhaps between the two activities I'll whittle off some weight.

Lilyfestre posted progress photos on Facebook this week and is showing excellent progress in her health goals. That's great inspiration!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 21 - 12:17 PM

The back yard was mostly mowed (I missed the edge strip behind the garage) but the front yard, that I hoped to mow this morning, has been rained on for a couple of hours so far this morning. Maybe mow tomorrow afternoon if this ends now.

The office desk is stacked with papers, things that need attention. I've had a busy week and now a few quiet days may see me getting caught up. Yesterday evening I went to a party with other museum volunteers, and took a batch of my homemade yeast dinner rolls. They had a large honey-baked ham (a US brand, not sure if it's regional, good spiral cut bone-in hams) that went nicely with the rolls. Or vice-versa. I didn't leave any here at home for me, so I'll make another batch today then share a few and freeze the rest. It's warm here but we're not yet into the weather when cooking becomes a ponderous chore.

Activities to address this month include the above-mentioned fence and pruning, I have a 10-day cat-sitting gig that I can use as a springboard for other activities (it puts me close enough to that gym I was thinking about rejoining after COVID to make multiple trips up there during that time). And eBay. There's a pent-up supply of things to list there.

As a special annoying bonus, I have a limited amount of time to re-do my income taxes and file a protest with their decision to keep most of my refund. The "adjustment" they made was a mistake, suggesting I was changing my income level to take credit for alimony payments. Now that's totally out of the blue and clearly a human error.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Jun 21 - 05:23 PM

Days after Watson came home from overnighting with the vet, Isobel is still treating him like a stranger. Arched back, bottle-brush tail, hissing and swearing — she’s clearly convinced that this creature is not her brother.

Sigh.

They are both eating the special prescription diet with every evidence of enthusiasm, so at least that part is going okay.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 21 - 10:56 AM

The time I tried to merge outside dogs with indoor cats, my pitbull Cinnamon tried to play with the calico. We heard a ruckus in the bedroom where Cinnamon had Clementine by the leg (not a bite, she caught her gently) - but Clementine turned and bit the dog so hard she broke her own jaw. Two vet visits, for the injured cat and the dog needed antibiotics for the cat bite. After the cat came home, she smelled so much like the vet that a tussle with the other cat happened and one of them ended up with a bite that abscessed on the chest. I was pouring hundreds of dollars into the vet's bank accounts at xmas and decided to leave the dogs sleeping in the garage at night and in yard or garage by day. After the last cat passed away I didn't get any more, so the dogs could come in the house.

More. Rain. Today. I can't effing believe it. We've literally gone weeks with rain almost every day. I live in a rain prairie (since there isn't much of a forest here.)

Anxiously awaiting the delivery by mail of my new Zenni glasses. I'm tired of this on-again-off-again reading glasses for close work. I think I'll report more progress on projects around here once I am back to moving around through space all day with all of my vision clear. The cataract surgery did a great thing for distance vision and such, but we spend a lot of time looking at things up close, as I have been very aware since the second eye was fixed.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Jun 21 - 11:10 AM

Isobel deigned to share the lap with Watson this morning. Crisis over.

Except, of course, for cleaning two Oriental rugs (the other casualty is a small red Turkmen from Kabul), and paying for the whole adventure. Watson should return to the cat hospital in three weeks for another urine sample to find out whether the special diet is doing the job. Rinse and repeat (probably literally).

Meanwhile, in other news, I finally replaced the cross-cut shredder that died about a year after we moved to Stratford. I took another look at the bylaw on open fires and realized that burning the tightly packed contents of at least two more banker's boxes would definitely attract official attention, and not in a good way. So back I went to the Staples website.

The instructions that came with this machine tell me what I did to kill its predecessor, which was not accompanied by a users' manual. Maximum 16 pages at a time, and no more than 20 minutes of shredding before letting the machine cool for 30 minutes. Now I wonder how our first shredder lasted as long as it did.

The investment broker sent a clutch of documents for me to sign. Can it be ... ? Finally, after eight months of nagging, is it possible ... ? But the investment company's delay means that Edmund's estate can't be finally closed and settled until the 2021 income tax returns are completed and assessed.

That sucks.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 21 - 11:27 AM

The investment company playing Big Brother - definitely an organization to extricate yourself from asap.

The only way I would burn here is with the closed burning barrel; people talk about burning papers in their fireplaces, but laying papers in doesn't work well, it isn't safe. There used to be a fireplace insert called the "Elizabeth burner" (as seen on TV) that had maybe a dozen tall cast iron upright dividers so papers could be slid in between each upright. Think of the bulk of a fully-loaded Sunday New York Times in each crevice. The effect was that air got in to keep it burning for about an hour and they burned consistently in that vertical position but there weren't ashes and embers flying up the chimney.

I have two shredders; tucked behind the paper recycling basket in the kitchen is a small crosscut one (three sheets at a time) and the small lengths of mangled paper fill up the bin fairly quickly. In the office, for things I want to shred but have less critical content, they go into the larger capacity straight shredder. (The x-cut is in the kitchen because that's where I open the mail, and I decide right away what kind of shredding is called for.)

I have several small antique Persian carpets that are kept in a room the dogs aren't allowed into often (they're supervised if they're in there). When I had cats that was even more the case.

Today will include a run to the Goodwill donation center since I have to go by the nearby post office. I ordered some re-fillable replacement trimmer spools and after distinguishing my billing from my house shipping address, the inattentive company sent it to the post office (if you're lucky, this involves a key in the PO Box and picking up the item in the parcel cabinets; if not, it means queueing during business hours to have one of the staff make the long walk to someplace out of sight and appear five minutes later with your parcel.) I'll make that part of an errand loop that includes a grocery store and Tractor Supply for dog food.

Humid as hell today, so while mowing is necessary, it may not happen (or only a part of the yard.)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Jun 21 - 04:56 PM

BEAVER!!:

Time flies when... So I read through the posts since my last one and am overwhelmed and enthralled- by the amount of papers that need shredding, by the gimmicks of strange and mysterious ... I have no idea. Living off the grid for 15 years and planning to live off for the previous years, I avoided all things electrical for the most part. You guys are talking a foreign language. I do have 3 blenders - all from thrift shops, all in good working order, rarely used now. Life has been simplified to - I don't cook much, almost never bake, If it takes more then 15 minutes...

Two books of ?    I really am starting to lose words - getting disconcerting. Oh yeah, passwords. One sheet of paper folded in half and copied so I have a copy in each of strategic places. Have misplaced my Air Miles card and they want the number and my last two addresses. They can send me an email advertising some... Why can't they find me in their system??? I don't remember how long I have had it or what address I used... They also want a picture of my driver's license with certain things blacked out... I cannot figure that out either... It has actually earned a bit for me in spite of the paucity of my purchases. I will re-visit later.

But I did get here on Tuesday as planned. Turned on the already loaded kiln, only to have it quit, sometime before 9 pm; put in new fuses (I thought), still did not work. Oh well. Texted neighbour re cutting the jungle. He arrived with multiple devices before 9 am. YAY!

Exhausted as usual but did errands on Weds, visited friends in their yard. Talked their ears off and mentioned my kiln problem. Michael informed me he is an electrician and once worked in a pottery studio. He said he would come on Friday afternoon. He did. He showed me how to use that meter in the K drawer to see if a fuse was any good. (one was not- why was it in the box...?) Did the firing on Saturday, Unloaded on Sunday, waxed bottoms and everything is out in the wood shed as it is too hot to work. That's today! I did throw two plates for Erica and a few smaller items and readied clay for more plates and... Also today. Now it is 85 in the studio. The plates are drying!! Cooked a batch of rhubarb, will freeze it and take it back for R. (Do not like it.)

I have been getting some clearing up done in house and studio and lots of weeding, visit with Sue(next door neighbour) in the screen house on Friday. Took pots to shop and picked up my earnings. Arranged an earlier second shot - on 10 June!! I am staying until 19th then going back to be there for R as he has his second on 24th. Les is visiting me the afternoon of my shot and I asked to check on me on the next day. I think I will arrange to text her "And if you don't hear from me, maybe you could check".

Have eaten too much, maybe due to exhaustion. Read an incredible Autobiography on line, SRS: You might enjoy: https://www.harlanhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019%20HHBK-FINAL.pdf

no blue clicky - my brain cannot deal with any more tech stuff.

Great pics of amazing pots and a story full of - well, "things happen..." R was enthralled.

Harlan is a world class potter with attitude. I took a week long course from him years ago and ... "a Zen potter"... I learned I would never do porcelain but it was a great week. "We were saving for a frig when we met this puppy... The frig still works." He brought the Akita to class.

Weeding is very bad for my shoulder which I need for potting... I was happy potting this am and happy that I managed to throw the two plates easily. I need bats to do plates and I seem to have left a couple at Dupont - brought what I thought but wrong ones. So I shall have to throw two, wait for them to be dry enough ... Tomorrow...

Time for a salad. 77 in the house. OK as long as I don't move much.

---

I added your link, Dorothy. :) ---mudelf

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 09:02 AM

Stonking heat in Stratford yesterday; a bit better today, according to Environment Canada. I'll believe it when I see it. The Perth County summer is well and truly under way.

The lilacs are still blooming, and their heady scent will pervade the neighbourhood until the next upwind pig farmer power-washes his barn. Folks are entertaining in their back yards (five people allowed!) and strolling the riverbanks in packs. Ice cream queues snake down the street. We still have no visitors, so the locals are enjoying amenities the tourists normally crowd us out of. Likewise, there's plenty of parking.

I'll know we're back to the pre-COVID status quo when out-of-town cars again jam the space currently occupied by restaurant patios, and townies return to griping about finding nowhere to park near the pub and the post office.

After my prolonged orgy of paper-shredding, I have no desire to do anything resembling work once the carpet cleaners have taken away the pissed-on rugs. I shall probably spend the afternoon on Zoom with Joe Offer and the Mudcat singaround, which has reached its first anniversary.

I made whiskey sours last night. My lemon produced enough juice for two drinks, so I shook 'em up and poured one serving into a cocktail glass and the other into a small Mason jar that went into the fridge for future reference.

Even five years ago I would have drunk both. Moderation snuck up on me when I wasn't looking.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 12:24 PM

I wasn't sure what time it was when I woke today - heavy overcast and thunderstorms have it so dark the porch lights came on. Taking trash to the curb was a wet operation (I had to go twice because I forgot to empty the vacuum for the first trip out).

I finished binge-reading the most recent of the Robert Galbraith/Cormoran Strike mysteries. They're very entertaining, but there is a lot of talking and I imagine they're not for everyone (though they seem to be bestsellers). In the UK they have televised version of them, but I won't be watching. In particular, the male actor they selected is a lightweight compared to the character Strike in the novels. Not tall enough, burly enough, or heavy enough. Since appearance is such a feature of this character (a disabled army veteran, having lost a lower-leg from an IED) I think I'll pass. I'd rather have the version in my head than the BBC or whoever produced it version.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 03:51 PM

Knowing soldiers as I do, I have a very clear mental picture of Cormoran Strike: large and lumpy, and massive in combat clothing and body armour. I doubt there's an actor working today with that body type, or the bulky muscle that comes from training for deployment and extensive soldiering outside the wire.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 06:06 PM

Except for being too old, Robbie Coltrane (who is even heavier than Strike) kind of fills the bill. Size and presence. I was looking through IMDB for character actors - just a mental game - when Adam Baldwin plays heavies or bad guys, he really has that hulking presence. For someone like him, add darker hair and gaining a few pounds would come pretty close. (At one point in the most recent novel he named his weight as 16 stone, it comes out about 225 lbs. He isn't Nero Wolfe.) I'm thinking in particular of a guest appearance Baldwin did on a couple of episodes of Castle.

Oh, well. They're interesting, well-developed characters with the flaws in plain sight. The Scottish sub-contractor Sam Barclay really cracks me up. I had to look up the spellings on character names because I listened to the audio book, I didn't see them written. Una in my head versus Oonagh on the page.

After raining much of today, the sun is out and my new glasses finally arrived. It took a very little time to adjust back to the bifocal placement, and it feels much more normal walking around and looking at things without putting on and removing the readers. I pulled a half-dozen pairs of my old glasses to donate over at the optometrists office where I have taken old glasses in the past. None of them would be helpful if something happened to this new pair.

I decided against making my convoluted shopping run now because it's just about rush hour; I can do some of this later before stores close. For several days I put off running around because I wanted to just walk out the door with regular glasses, not have a mask around my neck and the glasses loop around my neck and the spare sunglasses in my pack (I have a slip-on glasses from the previous pair that will work since it's the same frame.) In the past at the optometrist's office I usually ended up choosing new frames because they didn't have the same frames from before that I liked, but so far Zenni has let me use the same favorite frames three times.

There is a smallish dog sitting at my elbow emoting loudly - I think this is the "we haven't gone for a walk in a while" complaint that I will respond to closer to their dinner time. A walk and then dinner is a good combination and we can all use the exercise.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Jun 21 - 11:24 AM

Beaver:

Taking a break this am. Hoping for rain but did a load of laundry and hung it out just now. So it might get wet... A re-rinse won't hurt - good country rain. And desperately needed. Rained enough yesterday and last night to dampen the surfaces. Still waiting for turtles to nest!

Started work at 7:30 am yesterday, until about 11, then a short nap, then more until about 5. Needed a book! Tried to reach a friend to no avail. Desperately went to the drug store - thrift shops and book store closed in lockdown. The Drug store books started at $8 EACH! $24 for anything interesting - a book that would take me 2-3 days to read! Went home.

Phoned Carol, who has twice helped me get my vaccine arranged - 2nd on Thurs!!! "When all else fails, call Carol!" She checked and phoned back; had some on way to thrift shop; I could come over... I went and we had a nice visit on their deck by the lake. Her husband joined us. I talked their ears off and thought, later, of some more interesting things we could have discussed. John was interested in my new car; He helped me a couple times with the old one! And helped me find the wonderfully handy Dan.

Two bags of books and a number of good to possibly. Started with a translation of a Danish book, thinking I would reject it but found it interesting; I has never occurred to me that people actually live in Greenland, and move to Denmark... Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg is a murder mystery which so far appears to be based on her fine understanding of snow - foot prints, and her fascination with Euclids Elements! Intriguing!

So, my break: Six plates drying to trim, other items trimmed and drying, and others drying to trim. My idea of throwing another batch hit the wall this am. Still have done no glazing of the large quantity awaiting - in the wood shed.

So I washed my hair and did laundry and went on line and discovered our area may come out of lockdown on Friday so Pat can re-open the shop, so I better glaze and fire so she has some new pottery stock - today! It is not so deadly hot; I shall finish my break and get on with it. she says with hope of re-surfacing energy!

AS I scrolled through emails, I realized the break is going to take longer... Maybe back to bed for a while... A real rain might help...

I de-cluttered a number of aloe vera and spider plants by taking them to the local horticultural society plant sale!

Oh darn, the toilet is leaking around the bottom!!!!!! I going back to bed.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 09 Jun 21 - 06:40 AM

My gardening hasn’t gone as well as I’d hoped. I hadn’t realised but the Swiss chard plug plants I bought were meant to be potted on before being planted out. What I’ve got doesn’t look very well but there are new green leaves starting on some plants so there is still hope. A couple of hanging basket tomatoes look ok but my other few outside ones are struggling. I think I’ll blame the May weather and having to make a decision with plants getting straggly indoors more than me for that. I’ve lost a row of French climbing beans and I don’t know why. Some replacements are on order.

I’m very annoyed with Suttons and my clubroot resistant brassica collection. The plants, which I potted on yesterday and may yet pick up, arrived in poor condition. Not only that, they couldn’t be bothered labelling which plants are which. I’m not planting (and don’t have space for) all 22 here but had hoped to sort out my own subset and give the others away. I can’t tell which are cabbage, callabrese, sprouts or cauliflower.

On a brighter note, greenhouse stuff, potatoes, leeks, lettuce, courgettes are looking fine.

I’ve got a fly screen for the patio door coming today (dad wants the door open in this warm spell and mum is getting bothered about possibilities of bugs and birds getting in…) so, depending on when it comes, I might try to fit that later. I’m not sure what that will involve but I’m reluctant to drill and screw into the UPVC frame. Perhaps I’ll see a better way with a bracket, perhaps not… One thing there is that is by any remote chance I could picture a simple (it would need to be simple..) bracket to help, I could possibly draw it and print it.

We’re having more visitors this week, I think just for an afternoon and the only thing I’ve been asked to do for it is to make a chocolate sponge cake. Even though we have all had our second jabs here, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with people calling from away yet. There again, we don’t see many people and it will probably be nice for my parents. I think they’ve known one another since the 1950s, starting with dad and Ray both being stationed at RAF Pembrey for National Service.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 21 - 09:46 AM

That sounds like a pretty area, Jon, where your father was stationed. I pulled up Google Earth and found a 360^o photo to show me the dunes along the beach.

I'm glad you were able to find some books, Dorothy! I keep a shelf of old mysteries in my guest room for the couple of friends who are always starting or finishing a book when they arrive, and always read before bed.

Today is yard day. I was able to pick up the trimmer spools and find they may be the exact size as the ones I already had for the last electric trimmer; I'll compare and see if I can use all of them for this new one. The direction the spools are refilled is different though - upper and lower spool channels go the same direction on these, they were alternating on the old trimmer. Anyway, first thing is to trim down around the driveway and garden, then get out the 10% vinegar, mix in a little d-limonene (orange oil) and use it to spray down some weeds (an organic formula).

I'm going to start going to the gym again; I need to re-memorize my combination padlock numbers.