FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Nov 22 - 12:37 PM

In Ontario, patty, the most reliable way to find a well-maintained swimming pool is to look for a branch of the YW/YMCA. The Y is non-profit and family-oriented, so the facilities tend to be more durable than luxurious, but every Y I’ve ever been in was/is inclusive, welcoming, and all about fitness for everyone, at every age and ability level. Also, comparatively inexpensive, especially for seniors.

I’m an awkward swimmer, although I won’t drown unless hit on the head before immersion, so I prefer water aerobics (aquafit) to swimming lengths. It’s a great way to put all my limbs through their full range of motion with light to moderate resistance, and I usually get out of the pool with my wonky body parts feeling better than they did when I went in.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 22 - 10:10 PM

In the 1990s when I was on the park board (for six years) we fought to keep pools open, especially in the underserved neighborhoods. Today all but one of those pools aren't just closed, they're bulldozed away. Heartbreaking.

I have to look into what classes will be offered. To start, I'll just swim a few laps.

Waiting on the return of my son and his partner from a wedding reception they came down for (a bit of a reunion with high school friends also). I'm headed to bed once the turkey is in the brine, and expect a full day of activity tomorrow. The ex came over today and we made pie crust for the two pies he'll bake tomorrow morning to bring over for our dinner. I made the first one, showing how, then he made the second one, getting his hands on the dough to see how it feels just as it comes together. He took home two waxed paper parcels to roll out.

Cat sitting is finished for now, it was nice to earn the cash. I am usually pretty good at making any particular trip out add up to several stops to make the gas used go farther, but not always this week with coming home to do stuff with family. I was last to the gym on Tuesday. I need to do my exercises at home for now, in the mornings once I'm up and before I'm busy or too tired later on.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 22 - 10:55 AM

I have a jar of a non-name-brand Nutella knockoff that is so good - and addictive. Must do more laps to account to burn off those calories - a spoon and the jar are a dangerous combination.

Today's cooking will be with the intent of making enough but not extra of several things. The turkey is what it is, but I don't need to make so many potatoes (mashed or sweet) that I have leftovers. I prefer to have extra roasted vegetables, and they're what usually disappear quickly. I don't want to have all of these high-calorie things here at the house to eat my way through (though I hope to send some home with people) for the next week. I would like to have extra gravy because I love open face hot turkey sandwiches. The dinner rolls always disappear quickly and they're not the right size or contour for the gravy-covered sandwiches. My son adores those sandwiches so tomorrow I'll make a loaf of bread and we can use it for the sandwiches for the next couple of days until they head home.

We finally have sunshine today. What a relief. I was feeling the SAD effect from the heavy cloud cover all last week. (I wonder how WYSIWYG is doing? Susan used to suffer from SAD and had lights around her house as a remedy.)

A decluttering note: While here, my son is being asked by both parents about things in closets and the garage, etc., that he wants to keep or not. I have some things (from my dad - ceramic mugs) to mail to them; my sister gave them a couple and they'd like more and I ended up with the rest from the estate. Good. Meanwhile, some of his own stuff from living here will also be shipped - books, games, etc.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 22 - 10:21 PM

The very short version: everything else was ready for dinner before the turkey was out, and if I'd turned it around once it would have been ready on time. One side was more done than the other. But the food was good, we had an amazing number of tall adults fit into the kitchen simultaneously, making various dishes.

Dishwasher is running and the whole carcass is in the fridge cooling. Tomorrow is soon enough to slice the meat off; I didn't want it out any longer.

It was great to be putting stuff away and listening to the kids at the table talking and laughing. It's what you hope for - kids who are great adults who all like each other.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Senoufou
Date: 28 Nov 22 - 02:28 AM

Our Village Hall has just started a book-lending service, and are asking for donations of unwanted books. I'm so pleased about this, and today I'll have a bit of a sort-out of unwanted books from my large bookcase. I can stroll down to the hall this morning carrying a big bin-bag of them, and enjoy the space it will create in my sitting room.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Nov 22 - 10:54 AM

Nice, Senoufou! We should all send you books to contribute to the village collection. Happily, after this visit I have a stack of books my son pulled out of his dad's garage and the shelves here that I'll be mailing to him after they return home. I'll also mail a box of the Sam Scott mugs and a couple of his fancy bowls that my father collected. My sister also had some of this wonderful pottery and gave these two a pair they really like. I showed them some of what I have here and they picked the ones they want, allowing me to finally do what I planned, share them in the family. I ended up with most of them from administering the estate and having to pack up everything to clear the house.

It is no surprise that this week has seen me put on a couple of pounds so I'll do a few days of alternate day fasting to keep myself in my five pound range. Easy enough today since the kids are over at their dad's overnight, trading off between houses. (And while he's there, my son has to reset his dad's router because the password was lost. . . it begins.) They'll be back for open face turkey sandwiches, so the fasting will probably have to begin on Thursday, after they leave. I also love those sandwiches. The rest of the day I'll keep it to the fruit and vegetables around here.

In December I can resume my volunteer activities that were largely ignored in the preparation for the heat pump installation (almost finished) and this visit. The heat pump still needs a cosmetic addition, a metal case over the lines running up the wall, and a new heat pump thermostat. My nextdoor neighbor has solved that shopping problem by offering a briefly used thermostat she has on her hands. They had a unit installed that failed after a couple of years and was replaced last year. The thermostat they bought for the first unit was replaced by one that came with the newer unit, and she didn't want to toss it because she paid several hundred for it. She wants to see it used so will send it over here. I will add another panel of my fence between our yards into the "paid" column because she won't let me buy the thermostat. I have about five panels left, two of them I was planning to put up by the end of the year, now I'll finance the third myself above the cat-sitting cash, and put it up also. It has been slow, putting up this fence, but it beats the alternative of never doing it because the total cash output was more than I wanted to afford at once. Once I have all of the lumber and screws here it takes a couple of hours to put up a panel.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Nov 22 - 11:44 AM

A tiny, perfect editorial job landed yesterday, with a tight deadline that will keep my procrastination tendencies in check.

The money will be nice, too. The rehabbed wing-back chair is almost ready at the upholsterer’s shop and it will, indeed, not be cheap.

Other than that, nothing is new in this corner of Gloccamorra.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 22 - 11:21 AM

Today is a fasting day, to start counteracting the four pounds of Thanksgiving weight. Under normal circumstances it would be easier, but with family in town there is less opportunity to visit the gym, so I've had to watch for opportunities. I'm waiting for confirmation that they're headed to museums today before I head out to do my museum volunteering then to the gym.

Yesterday was a trip through various places we shop, so they have an idea of what is available for motivation to see if there are any shops like these near them. We went to the high-end nuts and candy shop, we went to Town Talk (lots of unusual cans of kombucha, yogurt products, restaurant sizes of iced tea bags, etc. for them to consume now or ship home.) The produce warehouse was open and they saw both of us make a bee-line to see what goodies were there; I didn't need much and still have stuff in the freezer, but there were several things that will be on the menu at their dad's house this week. I really need to learn how to use the tropical fruits, they had some beautiful papaya there. The Halal market was also of interest, and when we went to dinner later at a Lebanese restaurant and they were considering the spice levels on their lamb and chicken, I pointed out that the packages of spices I'd been showing them were what were used on the meat or in the rice. An ah ha! moment occurred. While in that market they mostly shopped the for boxes of loose tea. Of course, since they bought their own this year that takes that option off of my gift-giving list for them. :)

I'm going to put up some holiday lights this week and I notice they aren't up yet next door; I'll ask if they need help. He usually puts the same "Merry Christmas, Y'all!" light display up on his fence the day after Thanksgiving.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Nov 22 - 03:32 PM

Question for the group: How long does an opened jar of Hellman's mayonnaise remain trustworthy? It lives in the back corner of the refrigerator, whence it has hardly moved since Edmund died.

The use-by date is ... um ... 10 November 2020. Oh, dear.

However, it shows no sign of degradation: it smells as it should, it's still fully emulsified, and I saw nothing untoward in the jar once I had identified certain dark flecks as thyme leaves, consistent with my only use for mayonnaise, in chicken salad.

As for Christmas lights: phooey. This year I decline to play along; my neighbours have already filled their yards with enough illuminated gimcrackery to drain half the turbine output from Niagara Falls. My house stands out as a black hole in the evening streetscape.

But I'm not a total Scrooge: I've made two batches (three loaves each) of fruitcake and will probably crank out a third -- the oven ran a bit hot for the first batch and it came out a bit dark. Liberal application of rum solves most of that problem, but it's still not what I'd call prezzie quality. I'll eat it myself, slice by slice over months and months. Nothing like fruiitcake with a large cup of tea.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 22 - 08:14 PM

Your fruitcake sounds wonderful!

The lights in my yard are a pop of light in one corner of the yard, I don't put them on the house or windows, etc. I have a wreath on the front door. I grew up in a house that looked like a gingerbread house with a steamed-shingle roof meant to look like a thick thatch, so we always put lights along the roofline to fit the look. That was plenty of holiday lighting for a lifetime (my brother and I took turns up the ladder to install the lights.)

I had to look at the age of the mayo in my fridge to give you an educated guess—my jar sell-by date was during the summer 2022, and I'll keep using it until it's gone. If you're not sure, toss it, mayonnaise won't break the bank if you buy a new jar.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 22 - 10:36 PM

I've located my Julkaka recipe (in a cookbook - pages from a letter held near the front with a paperclip, just not in a logical place in the right category) and though the ingredients are a bit different than the bag of dried fruit I picked up, I'll use this and see how it works out. In the past I've bought small containers of citron and such and used a small amount and the rest got tossed after it was older than Charmion's mayonnaise. (I scanned the recipe to be sure I have a copy now.)

I have cranberry bars in the freezer; I'll make the julkaka in small pans, and then deliver a plate with some bars and a small loaf to the folks I usually share holiday treats with.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Nov 22 - 11:00 AM

I have to go buy a bag of frozen peas because I'm making a batch of turkey pot pie filling for lunch today (and turkey or chicken pot pie must have peas or it isn't the perfect recipe). That store has a good bulk section so I'll see if they have any of the candied fruit to purchase in really small amounts to add to my julekaka.

I have boiled potatoes that were leftover and not mashed at our Thanksgiving dinner so those will be diced and added at the last minute (otherwise they would cook to mush) to the pot pie. And I'll use our good wheat crackers for crumbling on top, not making another pie crust (of which there would be leftovers that I'd just end up eating later by myself.) A side batch of blueberry muffins will travel well, though, so they can take them along.

In addition to a comfort-food lunch, today is the day to pack boxes to ship, so I'll have the tape roller and a number of flat boxes for them to choose from. It's better to mail them from here and have them arrive easily in a few days than to fool with a checked bag at the airport. What I find amazing is that my two travellers arrived with one carryon bag apiece and didn't ask to have any laundry washed while they were here. I did offer.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Nov 22 - 11:10 AM

Nix on using that mayo! I use the stuff so rarely, my small bottle had gone just a few months out of date. Seemed fine. Messed up my tummy for days, and wasted all the perfectly good food I had mixed it with.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Nov 22 - 02:32 PM

Dupont:

Mayo: bet it depends on the brand and the amount of preservative, and whether or not any already soiled implement was introduced at any time. I hate the stuff but R loves it and I solved problem of soiled implement (a concept beyond his ken) by purchasing the sort that is kept upside down and is squeezed out through the lid - easier if stored appropriately - upside down is right side up so the stuff sinks to the neck for evacuation!

We dashed away to Beaver on Thursday to give R a break from business. Found our little home in good shape, quickly started a good fire in our wonderful wood stove and had left overs from QC for supper. Reading and wandering about; R did all the thrift shops - more books! Open mike Cafe Friday night - terrific squash soup! I shall have to make some. Wandering/reading on Saturday, a large shopping at Harvest Moon, bulk food store where I have shopped since 1981; supper at The Curry House - so good we went back for lunch on Sunday and Monday!

Drove out Monday -way out! to a church that had been sold to check out what was still on offer, then drove a new back road, circumnavigating the vicinity of a large lake with lots of residences - for a very nowhere area. Emailed a nearby musician friend in case he might be interested in the beautiful, in good condition pump organ for his music room. (Just got an email that he is looking at it Thursday; "music plus exercise!")

Coming back on Tuesday we did a back road and found an interesting area with functioning waterpowered mill, a place to revisit in summer. R tended to business, visiting a business to which he had sold a machine and, yes, they would like another one! On this road we rarely travel, came across the factory of the cheese I like and I was able to by a large block and a couple small ones, and a bag of cheddar curds to nibble en route - all without calcium chloride!

Then we continued to the highway (401) and went on it until we saw a notice of a nine minute delay. We got off, found a better gas bar than usual and had mini pirogies, stopped at a thrift shop and then headed east on side roads to avoid the "delay". Two hours later, having toured a marvellous old mill town and wandered north instead of east, we finally returned to the 401; there was no longer a "delay"! And, at the next rest stop, I took over the driving so we would arrive home the same day!

Which we did. Car is unloaded house is mostly back in order, BF was routine, we brought in much needed stove wood to dry and I drove R to the office to get back into the morass. And came home to recover and catch up, with good fire in stove and lots of rain outside! The break did help R some.

Thawing chicken for a nice supper with lots of brussel sprouts, some zukes. onion, green pepper and spaghetti sauce - with rice.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Nov 22 - 03:29 PM

Reading about julekake reminded me of Jansson's Temptation, a supper dish of potatoes, onions, pickled herring and onions baked in cream. It's what you have if you're Norwegian and you're just back from the midnight service on Christmas Eve. You can't sleep anyway, with every church bell in town banging away, so you may as well eat!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 10:00 AM

It’s been two weeks! How are we all?

It’s sleeting in Stratford, and I’m recovering from COVID.

And … go!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 11:00 AM

Aw, Charmion, what rotten luck.
I'm so sorry you are ill with the coronavirus.
Take good care of yourself now.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 11:16 AM

I have another question about stability of preserved foods. Manzanilla olives stuffed with pimento, to be precise.

I found a jar of olives in the refrigerator. It seems to be still vacuum-sealed. The best-before date on the lid is ... May 2016.

We must have brought it with us from Ottawa in 2017. I think it has been in the fridge since the visit of my martini-loving sister-in-law in 2018. Deb is the only martini-fancier among the people for whom I make cocktails, and if it's still sealed she must have chosen another tipple.

Opinions, please. Should I pitch the olives, or might they be safely eaten? When I have regained my olfactory sense, of course.

Or maybe I should eat them now, while everything tastes of nothing?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 11:31 AM

Well, damn! I just searched FB to see you posted COVID test results last week - it doesn't show me posts from everyone, so this didn't scroll through my radar. Sorry for the belated Get Well Soon wishes! These days with RSV and Flu it's easy to imagine that there is something else going on. Did you get a dose of the antiviral medications? I hope you've had good company and therapy from the cats. Food delivered and people running errands for you?

Sinuses have been tender for over a week due to allergies (and it isn't just me, it's the rest of the local family with all of this rain and the resulting mold and fungus from the moist world). Or more likely, cedar fever (pollen from Central Texas drifting this direction).

Today is the "OMG everything has to go in the mail" realization day. But it's also the day before Pepper goes in for rather urgent surgery; a fatty mass on her tummy, first noticed last spring, has suddenly enlarged and become painful. I managed to get her in to the vet yesterday when I realized what had happened, and he agrees this can't wait until a regular dental cleaning procedure I had scheduled for next month. There's nothing like a huge vet bill at Xmas. (She's not eating as much but she is her old self in other ways; she just announced that the postal carrier is in the neighborhood.) She's on pain meds and antibiotics now and I had to convince Cookie that roughhousing isn't a good idea. They were in the back yard with me in the brisk air and Cookie took on that play posture ready to start dashing around with Pepper. We don't need a play injury.

I have a couple of the dog t-shirts (handed down from the kids and me) in the laundry; rather than wear the "Elizabethan collar" (listed on the estimate) I put a t-shirt over their head and front legs and tie a knot at the waist. It's much better for the dog and they seem to know to leave the wound alone. The cone of shame is a last resort. My favorite photo of a dog in a t-shirt is of my old pitbull Cinnamon in an "I Love NY" shirt.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 12:19 PM

Sealed and refrigerated they aren't close to the age of some of the Grecian urns of olives pulled from the bottom of the Adriatic. Are they something you would ordinarily use (if they weren't buried in some dark corner of the fridge)? I have olives in my fridge that only get tossed when the brine seems a little off, but otherwise were used and no harm done, and I'm sure they were well-past the sell-by date.

The general answer is that olives are cheap. Probably best to toss them.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 05:05 PM

Dupont:

Good to find out what I was doing a month ago--- Seems like a month but it really only was 15 days. Same old, same old. Realizing I am no longer enthusiastic about potting. Those I threw 6 weeks ago went to Beaver with us and came back again, still untrimmed. Not going to take them again - next week we are going for The holidays. I did re-wrap them to re-moisturize.... Informed Robin I will not be using the studio at the mill; we need to clear it out; he may have another use for the space. I can advertise the wheels and kilns for sale if I get down there and make note of the particulars. I will keep one each just in case. I just don't seem to care anymore; prefer to read books and connect with people on FB. We no longer watch TV at all.

All the pottery is in the Carriage House and getting sold piece by piece. I had a surprise phone call during our last trip back to QC; I entertained everyone in Tim Hortons's in Tweed,ON - I was so surprised I forgot to take it outside! My big bowl customers (the husband) had found my card in the bottom of a drawer and did I have more bowls?? If he had phoned before we left Beaver... So I will pick up a selection this trip and bring them to QC so they can choose more. "We like your bowls!" Maybe I could will them whatever remains when I am no longer. Maybe I need to make more so they can have more... This is an 8 year relationship - their kids are now 6 and 7. And we have only conversed a very few sentences a year. The phone call was amazing! Somehow they missed my booth at the CVAA event in August. I had been looking forward to seeing them there.

My musician friend did manage to get the lovely old pump organ and is thrilled to have it. The piano was too heavy.

Waiting for the snow! I bought an evergreen wreath and decorated it with blue and yellow fabric, some little white doves, a little red bird, and fabric sunflowers. I bought a wreath of lights for it but no outdoor outlet works, and no place to hang it out of the weather so I need to bring it in when the snow starts. That and six strands of very tiny white lights draped over the 4 foot Ficus in the front window, are my salute to the winter solstice, other folks can think what they will. The returning light, lengthening days is clearly the most important day of the year.

I dug a sweet potato plant in the late fall. It did not look great but I potted it and now it is looking good so I will repot it in a larger pot when the bucket of soil thaws. It will live in the upstairs south window 'til spring pops over the windowsill. And so on...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Dec 22 - 05:09 PM

Another thread was started this afternoon to share the news that Alice Flynn died last Saturday of a heart attack. She didn't participate much at Mudcat lately, she'd had a lot of health issues after falling and hitting her head, then cancer was diagnosed in the process of recovering from the first injury.

She was only 71.

This day just got several degrees chillier. :-(

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 22 - 09:41 AM

Dorothy, you remind me that I have mugs to ship to the kids, they liked a pattern my sister gave them and I have more - these come from a potter in Seattle my father collected. Your discontinued potting and returning the Mill to another use doesn't surprise me, but I also won't be surprised if in warm weather you return to some of the pitting work again in your other locations.

All dog water picked up this morning (I forgot the back porch source, I hope Pepper did also). I'll feed the other two when I get back home in a few minutes. Dropoff for dental cleaning and mass removal this morning.

More baking last night and a batch of cookie dough ready for this morning. Lots needs to go in the mail and I still have to print my holiday letters. I didn't have any real compelling photos this year and that seems to have slowed me some since they're incorporated into the letter.

I was at the gym in the morning on Monday and that seems to be when the most women my age are there. I'm not a morning person, but it is something to consider shifting to get more out of the gym membership. Silver Sneakers pays for it, but I'd like to get a social aspect from the visits in addition to exercise and get more for their money.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Dec 22 - 11:16 AM

Charmion, how are you feeling? Are you able to get out of the house yet? Have you made any resolutions about what you'll do once you're back in circulation? Shopping, dining, or are you going to stay distant from every social environment for a while?

Keberoxu, I read your news about attorney success pending re: cash on one of your threads. (Is that a battle with Social Security disability or with the family, or both?) Anyway, good news! Will that change anything about where or how you're living these days?

Pepper returned from the vet last evening feeling surly and disoriented, I only got bit once trying to get her out of the SUV. A step stool beside the car finally helped and I lured her to eat with some fresh fried rice picked up on the way home. She had surgery (removing a mass between muscles and skin at her abdomen) and her teeth cleaned. Either one could upset a pooch, and the rice was to give her mouth a rest. She's much more her old self this morning.

Though the tornadoes that hit Fort Worth this week didn't touch down here, the house has the look of a whirlwind passing through. I shipped a box yesterday and have a couple more to go on Monday. Part of the mess is cookie-press paraphernalia after I finished the baking. I now have to fill and distribute gift bags. No surprise I've put on a couple of pounds so need to have a day or two dining on fruit and vegetables and take it off. I'm determined to stay put at this weight - I enjoy it too much to let pounds creep back on again.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Dec 22 - 11:46 AM

Thanks for asking, Stilly, but I remain confined to barracks. I'm not deathly ill any more, but I'm still coughing, sneezing and dripping at the nose, still not tasting food properly, and still testing positive. People keep telling me that rapid-reaction tests are not 100-percent reliable, and I have to keep reminding them that, whatever I've got, it's most likely COVID and still highly contagious (see cough, sneeze and drip, above).

What will I do when finally released from durance actually quite comfortable? Buy my own damn groceries. The delivery service is great, but I miss being able to spot the deal of the day (not on the website!) and choose oranges for myself. This week's delivery featured a buckshee package of chocolate chip cookies (I never buy chocolate chip cookies) and a nice note instead of the Bosc pears I ordered, which left me with mixed feelings -- both pitifully grateful and absurdly irritated.

I'm living on eggs, cocoa, oranges, flatbread, frozen veg and tinned fish -- sardines and sprats bought on special some months ago and now come into their own. I can't really taste oranges or chocolate, but sprats come through loud and clear. The freezer also features nigh onto a dozen chicken cutlets, but those have less appeal because they require real cookery.

I had planned to drive a carful of friends to London today for a concert, but that's obviously impossible; I would be a one-woman super-spreader event. (Four people in a VW Golf to London and back to Stratford, plus dinner and the concert -- ya think?) The church choir is soldiering through Advent without me, and I'm not at all sure I'll be fit for prime time, or at least not a hazard to public safety, by Christmas Eve. And then I'm supposed to go to Windsor -- three hours of Highway 401 each way -- for Christmas dinner ... Aw, crap.

On the other hand, I'm not intubated or dead. Gotta look on the bright side.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Dec 22 - 12:43 PM

Stilly, it's the family thing, not Social Security.
The consequence is not having to move, so soon,
from the program I'm in and the residence where I sleep.
It gives me more breathing room while I figure out what's next.

Poor Pepper. I recall you saying that she "snaps" at the vet's,
and to add insult to injury, she gets her snappers cleaned.
Hope that mass turns out to be benign.

Charmion, I noticed you saying that the cats are pleased to have
more time in your lap. You're turning into a cat lady . . .

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Dec 22 - 02:36 PM

I’ve always been a cat lady, Keb. Quite sane, of course.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Dec 22 - 10:00 AM

I just tested negative! So I'm out of house arrest.

Smell and taste are still wonky, but there's hope: I caught a genuine whiff of coffee this morning. And no signs of bronchitis, which is a major win.

When I have eaten the last orange, I'll be off to the supermarket.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Dec 22 - 10:41 AM

Excellent news!

I will begin packing and distributing my holiday goodie bags today, and I must corral the wrapping paper and other materials spread out on the kitchen table. Holiday letters go in the mail late but postmarked well before xmas. Two more boxes need to be closed up and put in the mail (Priority boxes) tomorrow.

It is time to swap out the strings of lights on the ornamental branch I have standing in a large terracotta pot full of gravel. It is a crapemyrtle limb I was going to cut up and put in the trash (a dozen years ago or more it fell over the back fence when next door pruned their plants) but I stopped and realized it was actually a lovely shaped limb. I have strings of lights on it and it stands by the back door and I turn it on every morning as a light source in the house, turning it off at bedtime. I'm sure people new to the house must wonder about it, but I like it. One of the strings has quite a few bulbs burned out over the years so it's time to redo the LED lights. I also have a string of the little incandescent bulbs to put on because those have enough power to run the little motors that turn and you can do three motors per string. Hang an ornament on each motor and they turn slowly in place in a mesmerising way. Of course those were purchased for use on xmas trees, but I haven't had a tree in quite a few years now, so I put ornaments and other decorations on this limb. It looks festive, if odd.

We're still working out what day the family will gather for a meal and gift exchange but it will be Saturday or Sunday. I have a five-day cat sitting gig coming up over the weekend, but for this holiday (unlike Thanksgiving) the main dish of the meal is often made by my ex and our daughter (it's a Puerto Rican rice and peas dish his mother made). So they can cook while I make a cat run and come home to dinner and hope they don't burn the bottom of a good pan (again). We manage to illustrate why the adage of "too many cooks" is based upon real-life conditions.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 09:56 AM

Pepper gets her bandage off today and I'll have them give her the Cone of Shame after all - the incision is too long and the t-shirt doesn't cover the lower end. I can't keep her from licking, so she gets the unpleasant cone. The couple of attempts have ended up in the laundry because anything that drags or dangles when it comes loose gets peed on in the yard.

We're hitting the deep freeze later this week so I have a couple of days to prepare. Break pipes deep freeze. Today I will start deliveries of gift bags to friends and neighbors, and hope to wrap it up by Wednesday.

The kitchen table is piled with the wrapping materials, they'll go away mostly today. I spent last night re-doing the strings of lights on the crape myrtle branch in a pot I described. I am realizing that I was so consumed by the work on the house this fall I didn't do my usual early shopping for the stocking-stuffer kind of items and think I'll have to do that today or tomorrow also. Practical things, often consumables, that someone might not have bought for themselves.

I'll be getting out that pair of flannel lined LLBean jeans this week. I hope they fit comfortably!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 11:34 AM

A second load of laundry goes in now that I'm back home with Pepper. It was painful to remove the surgical drain and she managed to express her anal sacs on the vet and pee all over the place. She wore a muzzle and it took four grown women to do the job holding down one 44 pound dog. The towel in the car and the shirt she had on are ready to launder. Poor girl. She's now home wearing the Cone of Shame and bumping into lots of stuff as the surgical site dries out after the bandage removal and flushing activity. I've covered the dog door and will let everyone in and out regularly through the sliding door for a while just to spare the cone (they can break when jammed against things.) I foresee a lot of treats in the next few days.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 01:49 PM

I'm so sorry your poor dog is suffering, Stilly. I hope she recovers quickly.

Pool class went well this morning, but then all I wanted to do was flop in the comfy chair. I think I'm done for the day.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 05:56 PM

We're on covid tenterhooks here. Mrs Steve and I attended a function on Friday afternoon, over 60 mostly elderly people in attendance in a fairly small room. We've heard already tonight that three of our friends who were there have tested positive. We both tested negative this evening (even though I have a stinking cold!). Fingers crossed, eh? We've decided that we'll test ourselves again on Wednesday evening.

I wouldn't eat those olives meself, Charmion. They won't see you off but I'm pretty certain that their quality will have deteriorated. Mrs Steve and I are infamous round here for eating out of date food. I used some crème fraiche this evening that was three weeks out of date, and we had a ham sandwich a couple of days ago with ham dated 4 December. Olives that are not in jars will go at least a week beyond. We've eaten cheddar three months out of date that was lovely. Shrink-wrapped smoked mackerel fillets are still great at least ten days out of date. We are having a Marks and Spencer pork pie for tea tomorrow evening that has the date 17 December. I ate some eggs a few days ago that had gone a week past their date. They were delicious.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:20 PM

The ancient olives went to the municipal compost today, along with the staggering quantity of lemon rinds squoze during my two weeks of quarantine and rather a lot of spent mint tea bags.

The top end is missing from of the flavour profile of every damn thing I put in my mouth at present. Oranges are acid, and that’s all. Chocolate tastes dusty, and coffee is bitter. I haven’t tried any wine — if I can’t taste oranges properly, there's no hope for wine. Whisky’s okay, however, and smoked fish is unaffected. So, Scotch with sprats for a chaser? Food of the goblins.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 08:38 PM

Bejaysus, my downfall is that I can't judge seasoning in my finished dishes, soups, stews, ragus, anything. Even after three or four tasting goes I usually get it wrong (typically, not enough salt). I don't like salt that much but I don't want anyone else to suffer! I think the golden rule when it comes to oranges/clems/tangerines is to never try to eat them after something sweet...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 09:51 PM

I love the combination of different food types - that dish of dill pickles or olives is so sharp that it's just what it takes to give the tongue a pleasant jolt after sweet (or savory).

Steve, didn't you two already have COVID once? I hope you dodge that bullet this time.

We're due for a weather deep freeze at the end of the week, so I suspect by now stores are looking a little bare. But I have enough food here to last a long time and I can eat non-green vegetables for quite a while, though come to think of it I have broccoli, zucchini and some cabbage here. I don't need to run to the store and I have what I need for our holiday dinner.

A friend tells me he's on a low-glycemic diet now after blood tests earlier this year revealed health issues. So instead of dropping off a goodie bag of breads and cookies this evening I poked through the fridge and pantry and made a bag with an apple, some asparagus, some smoked almonds, and I'll add a few pretty colors of herbal tea bag packets. Low glycemic shouldn't mean he can't get little food gifts!

Pepper is much happier this evening even with the cone. Who's a good girl?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Dec 22 - 12:15 PM

We've spent the morning with several shortish power outages, but it means things have to be reset or turned back on. Browser history restored, etc. And the UPC in the hall closet that the router, modem, and switch are plugged into is shrilly announcing that it's internal batteries need replacing. I have stuff plugged into a heavy duty power cord for the moment and will order the batteries later.

This feels like a dress rehearsal for later in the week. A reminder to charge the little personal battery backup for the phone, charge the tablets, have several large pots of water on standby in case that goes out. Water in buckets to flush, etc. Get out the new propane cooker. This is a quick dip into the really cold temperatures, not a week-long submersion like February 2021, but everyone is still a little gun shy.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Dec 22 - 01:21 PM

We had covid in the summer. Apart from a nasty cough I felt well, but Mrs Steve was quite poorly for several days. We were supposed to visit an elderly couple in south Devon today, but in view of the rash of cases among our immediate contacts we called it off. We heard today that several more people "in our circle" have tested positive, including two that we had big hugs with in our house (along with our daughter) on Saturday night. We tested again a couple of hours ago and are both still negative. It feels like Christmas is on a knifedge.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Dec 22 - 03:26 PM

Miserable weather in the forecast, absolutely bog-standard for Christmas. SIL called from Windsor to announce that she has forbidden Nephew No 1 to drive madly across the province (Ottawa to Windsor, a journey of at least eight hours on the 401), into the teeth of the vortex, just to ensure arrival by supper-time on Saturday. If the family Christmas gathering can wait for safer conditions, my whole life improves.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Dec 22 - 11:24 AM

I gave out bags of small portions of various baked goods this year to friends and family, and have just spent a few minutes answering questions from next door about how to make the cranberry bars that were in the mix. I'd always thought they were perfect alone, but she said her husband crumbled his on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream. That sounds so good - but I've reached my limit for calories for the time being and now need to work in a few trips to the gym and eat more fruit.

I think during the extreme cold I'll set up in my sewing room and work on projects there. I've realized that because of the lights it has a natural anti-SAD effect and those cold days are also bound to be very dark. I have felt the influence of the unusually overcast weather we've had this fall.

Gift giving this year is including the redistribution of items already here. My daughter's wife has taken up painting (illustration) but the desk she works at is such that her short Ott lamp is positioned in a way that blinds everyone else in the room. I have an Ott lamp on a stand to be overhead that I couldn't pass up when Office Depot was closing (I bagged a $120 lamp for $40) but I don't use it much. My daughter hinted that it would be put to good use there, so I've used a soft paint brush to scoop the dust out of all of the various crevices on the base (it holds a lot of little stuff - it would be great for holding beads, buttons, etc.) and have worked out a gift bag to hold it. The other big thing I need to see if I can fob off give to them is the set of silver plate silverware from my mother. I used it for many years but decided I wanted something that was more modern and packed it up for one of the kids. Or maybe for Replacements.com. It's one of those things that there is no point in keeping if the kids don't want it. She hesitated, and she didn't say "no" - but I suspect they have such a mix of flatware at her house that it would either sit collecting dust in the box of get mixed in and lost as a set.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Dec 22 - 09:00 PM

There is a TV on the table in my sunroom to use for testing VHS and other devices for eBay; it used to be in my bedroom for exercise DVDs and streaming my Essentrics site - it stopped working properly for a while so I replaced it. (An antenna unit fell on it and after that clunk it kept turning itself off and back on when in use, though it seems to be ok now). Today just for the heck of it I finished wiring the sunroom for data and tested it on that TV. It turns out it is a smart TV and I can view a things like NetFlix and Amazon without a fire stick. It also receives WiFi, but since the TV is wired it's faster. I have not voice activated anything in there - I don't need it eavesdropping. It's on the table where I also have my current jigsaw puzzle that I've finally returned to working. The room was too hot much of the summer and I got out of the puzzle habit for a while. This tough one is finally falling into place.

This work meant a trip to the attic. I'm more flexible than I was early in the year so that helps, but the exploration I had to do following the line in the attic still wasn't very pleasant. I was masked for the dust up there. I have a couple of more rooms to wire, maybe I'll get to it now that I've started on the project. I had put in Cat-5 phone lines but haven't had wired phones for years. I can reuse those lines and replace the phone plugs with data ports.

It looks like we'll be doing lunch for xmas this year, because the convergence of different families means the young'uns need to parse out their time. We do what we must. Charmion, I remember reading several times of your concerns about driving on The 401, so it's good if one of your young ones is convinced to be prudent and drive that road when it's safer.

Dorothy, how is it going with settling in for the winter? Will there be any more trips to Beaver? Do you think R will sell the Mill? When are you planning to go back for a visit to Whidbey?

It was Alice's birthday yesterday, and a sad reminder when it came up on Facebook. Over the years we wrote back and forth, but I could have called, it would have been easy enough. I'm thinking I should do that more, just because.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Dec 22 - 07:09 PM

Yes, I often gripe about the 401. It’s the bug in the system that is southern Ontario.

What scares me about the 401 is the contempt people have for the familiar threat of dense traffic rolling at high speeds in all weathers. We’re used to it, and we consider ourselves entitled to go wherever we want and whenever we want, whatever the conditions. Unfortunately, we all believe that we are expert drivers equal to any challenge we might encounter, even (especially?) when we’re tired, sick, angry, hungry, scared, or simply distracted.

Edmund and I drove up and down the entire length of the 401 at Christmas for more than twenty years. The sheer volume of traffic in and around Toronto is just stunning, equalled only on the interstates serving Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City. We were financially comfortable enough to take the toll road (407) that skirts Toronto to the north, but that’s not an option for most truckers, or for daily commuters — avoiding Toronto on my last trip to and from Ottawa cost nearly a hundred bucks in tolls, on top of gasoline at $1.87 a litre.

I guess I’ve just out-lived that sense of invulnerability that makes young people do what they do so casually. Whenever I merge into the stream of hurtling traffic, peering over my left shoulder with one eye and minding the gap in front of me with the other, I feel like a gambler rolling dice that are not loaded in my favour.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Dec 22 - 07:47 PM

Dupont:
Not doing much this last while. My big event was managing to thread a needle and put the few stitches in the black turtleneck for R. It has been sitting in plain sight bugging me! Mostly I just cook, clean up cobwebs as they appear - sunlight helps!, spend interminable time on FB and dealing with emails/petitions and, managing to unsubscribe the odd email. The latest refuses to be found/go away. Maybe add to list of junk or whatever they call it - requires remembering how, which would take longer than a lot of deletes!

We would have left for Beaver tomorrow BUT....! R does not mind snow! But I would have to drive lest I have too many hemorrhages along the way... I have spent a lot of time today looking at, trying to find, road condition sites that are helpful. Bottom line, for me, is not until Sunday! Just got a text re weather warning from the electric provider in Ontario.

Asked neighbour to pick up what Kelly was going to drop off for me so I have my new Turtle t-shirt to wear - in case the small store is closed for a few days. The thrift shops will ALL be closed the week except the big one - in case R needs to buy books. Mind, he has numerous boxes of books in his library there.

I hope we can stay through to the 2nd but R may have to deal with business... Surely not during this holiday week???? I am having conflicting feelings about Beaver/Dupont. I would like to be able to stay there - go back and stay there for a few weeks BUT ----My life is full of "BUTs"! R seems very fragile as business stuffs hit the fan - repeatedly and I try to figure out how to help him deal with the uncope-able. Mostly just listen and try to get enough pieces of the puzzle to understand. I hope getting away for a week will help him.

I sleep, I make BF, I watch to make sure he fastens his seat belt, then I fill the day with FB and the odd bit of this and that - replanting, watering, bringing in some firewood, And delighting in the Solstice!!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Dec 22 - 08:20 PM

I assume we're all the same drivers around the metroplex on all of the highways, but when approaching Hwy 183 that goes to the airport, be prepared to step on it. There's something about that particular road that brings out the worst in people and they do it driving really fast.

Working my way toward the holiday through stacks of stuff with lots of stops and starts due to my dogs and the cats of a friend I am caring for (caring for cats, not the friend). The ultra cold weather means I have to pull on outdoor gear several times a day. Fingers crossed the power stays on.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Dec 22 - 11:23 PM

I'm washing dog bed covers this evening to continue the work toward freshening the house after a week of a dog with stitches, a cone, bandages, and now, super cold weather. I've tried to protect Pepper's tummy with a t-shirt (she uses a back leg while standing and scratches her tummy so the shirt is a barrier), but the t-shirt she had on this morning was stuck to a stitch - that elicited a yelp when I realized it. And it's so cold, I think someone piddled on the dog bed, so the shirt was pretty awful. I got my sharpest shears to literally cut it down the middle of the back quickly to get it off of her (gravity pulled the shirt off of that stitch) and toss it. It's weeks like this that give the rest of the year a perspective of normalcy.

I'm going to request that they sedate Pepper before the stitches are removed; another struggle like the one over the drain and this dog will never trust me again. That's next week on Tuesday.

We've just returned from a group bedtime expedition into the yard; I in my heavy gear and a handful of dog treats get them all outside to take care of business. I stand around out there for a while so they poke around and finally finish. My old dog Poppy taught me this skill: she was deaf and slept so soundly that sometimes she was incontinent during the night. When we made these bedtime trips, me included, she took the time to take care of business and was able to get through the night. (When they're let out by themselves and come back very quickly you don't know what they did.) #JoysOfDogOwnership

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Dec 22 - 08:05 AM

Stratford is very quiet today, except for the howling wind. All roads in Perth County have been closed since midnight; I guess the cops got tired of collisions and ditchings. Snow plastered to the north side of the house is blocking the windows, so I’m drinking coffee in a sepulchral gloom while the radio plays Luciano Pavarotti singing César Franck’s “Panis angelicus”. We still have electricity, hurrah.

I’m clearly not going anywhere, so I might as well sit with the cats and the weekend papers (on the iPad). Maybe later I’ll run the vacuum cleaner over the parlour rug, but don’t count on it.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Dec 22 - 11:13 AM

Still freezing, but in the 20s now. That is an improvement. This "bomb cyclone" seems to have been named by the Weather Channel—they're calling it Elliot.

My daughter finally produced a last-minute gift wish list; I need to make the point to these guys that waiting this long can be a hardship on gift givers who who want to give practical wished-for things in time for the holiday. Gift cards don't express a lot of thought. As it happens, she is asking for things that I think I already gave her a couple of years ago, so I'll suggest she check her sewing room. And she wants some under-bed hard-plastic storage containers. I had one empty from pulling clothes out of my closet this year and one in my sewing room with mending that could be transferred to a different container (and maybe I should work on that mending). Out came the soft paint brush again to remove dust from crevices on the lid. The upside of this kind of gift giving is that it is a tiny bit of decluttering.

I haven't been to the gym in a week and my knees are feeling it; they get stiff without exercise. The trip to the attic also seems to have generated a new aching spot. I'll do a couple of the streaming stretching sessions and see if that helps. Between holiday hours and this cold weather I can't see going to the gym again until maybe next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Dec 22 - 01:01 PM

Dupont:

Finally felt OK to go to the store for a few things and another for de-icer for the steps and back porch. As I drove from one to other, there was a streak of blue sky and sun. I thought I would get home and open the drape that would let in some solar gain. I went into the store, grabbed a bag, paid and left --- right into a raging wind and vicious sleet storm. Made it to the car and left the cart in mid parking lot, avoided a knocked over sign and came home. No electric!

Found and lighted a couple candles, others handy. Put my tea in a pan on the wood stove. Phoned R to apprise him. Had a bit to eat - crackers and almond butter.

R came home. At this point it was still above freezing, raining and melting - sump pumps need electric! Water running across floor in cellar and in library (basement)... Off to look for way to manage this crisis: CAnadian Tire had a couple possibilies BUT they now have a big TV sort of thing where one can look up items and get "details" and even reviews. The items both had terrible reviews - WHY are they still in stock???

Next store: I entertained myself looking around for something/anything useful and desirable while R disappeared. Eventually, I found him on the floor near the exit, putting a small generator together with moral support from one to three staff! A young couple left with the same gen in its box. There may have been a couple more customers in this Large store -between 6 and 8 pm.

Of course, when we got home, the lights were on! R checked the cellar and we ate supper. I went to bed at 9! a few cm of snow this am and below freezing temps - a bit of sun earlier but grey now and sporadic wind.

Roads closed in most of southern Ontario. We may leave tomorrow, weather permitting. The good news, so far - the hydro is still on at Beaver!

NOW, I am going to do a "R" laundry. We had a nice BF of Pineapple buckwheat cakes - R dissected the pineapple - one in freezer, one in BF. Oh, I shoveled the slush off the front walk and back deck yesterday and ache today...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Dec 22 - 10:18 PM

After my shower this morning I noticed that the gap on that back wall from the top of the sheet rock to the ceiling, that was at least 3/8 inch this summer, is down to about 1/8 inch. That means the rain we had this fall pushed the foundation a bit into place. It won't remedy the problems, but it proves that keeping the foundation watered is a good thing.

Holiday empanadillas are made (8 of them so far) and the rest of the filling is in the fridge. Mexican families make tamales, Puerto Rican families could make pasteles (with banana leaves instead of corn husk), or in our case, meat pies. Tomorrow I can make more dough for these Puerto Rican meat pies or can bake to reheat some of the ones I made tonight. Our main meal is arroz con gondules, and the pies are on the side - all of the extra PR food goes home with my ex as his xmas present. So he may choose to take the extra filling to spoon over rice instead of put inside a hot water dough crust (think Chinese food). I had a couple of the pies for dinner tonight. We make these each year because we want the Puerto Rican recipes to be part of the kids' history, the recipes come from their Abuela. I make this because there is no point in trying to buy other gifts for someone who buys himself what he needs when he needs it, consumables are best.

Signing off for a while - and I hope all of our participants and lurkers have a great and safe holiday week, whatever you celebrate (if you celebrate anything other than family.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 25 Dec 22 - 01:10 AM

1000!

Best wishes to all the Declutterers from sunny Oz....the only white we are seeing this Christmas Day is the occasional white cloud drifting by in the sky.

Himself and I are staying home, having a quiet time....I cooked last night (a seasoned turkey roll with roast orange sweet potatoes and regular white potatoes, steamed carrots and Brussel sprouts roasted with prosciutto, followed by rich Chrissy cake and cream) so today we have been grazing as and when needed. I forgot to buy cranberry sauce but a jar of cranberry and orange marmalade was pressed into service as sauce instead, and very nice it was too. It was more cranberry saucy than marmalade-y.

Tonight, being Sunday, will probably be the regular Zoom quiz with The One And Only Grandkid and his mother, and her parents. Our son doesn't join in these days, they split up a couple of months ago. When the dust from the split finally settles we will go down south for a visit.

Merry Christmas to all, and Bah Humbug to the rest!