FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 22 - 12:11 AM

My gift card from the new printer (Dell) was about to expire, so I ordered the new Ring doorbell with those points. Time to figure out how to install it once it arrives. I'll enter the domain that Jon inhabits, being able to view the outside world through a camera account. My phone was updated today with a new SIM card from my company and already I can see a difference - the Google Voice calls ring through with a small screen that lets me accept or reject the call. Excellent! I was dealing with outdated technology.

A trip to the pharmacy fully masked (KN95 under 3-layer cloth) was quick and late enough that the store was quiet. And since it was even quieter at Aldi I stopped to pick up some of my favorite chocolate (not available for delivery via Instacart - the entire inventory at Aldi doesn't appear on their list). I wanted to get in and out so didn't go looking for any other things I could use (but don't need right away). The fridge and freezer are crammed, it's only the produce I need to round off everything else.

I feel like I'm grounded; no plans to leave here until Feb. 1, for a doctor's appointment. Damn Omicron. 13 days. My county is under a disaster declaration and the rate of spread and hospitalizations is even higher than Dallas County. New drive-thru testing sites have been open at large facilities (stadiums) with FEMA staff here to deal with the numbers of people needing testing. It's last winter all over again, but worse.

On a bright side, the flannel PJ pants I ordered arrived this afternoon and are in the dryer. We have a very cold spell moving into the area.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Jan 22 - 12:59 PM

You heard it here first: HP printers have too many websites, and figuring out how they work is beyond the ken of a normal human. That's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

My previously autistic computer is working wirelessly again, but I don't know why it stopped in the first place and I don't know why it decided to resume cooperation. I have a nasty sneaking feeling that it's at the point in its service life where it thinks it doesn't owe me anything any more. Dammittohell, the thing was purchased in 2017! It's practically brand new! (Gales of hollow laughter, Bruce).

And it's cold in Stratford, and I'm fed up.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 22 - 02:23 PM

I helped a friend with her new-last-year printer when it stopped communicating and finally suggested she use a cable and found the correct one on Amazon (a $6 fix). That was a 45-minute phone call. Once she had the cable the printer started working wirelessly again. It is their job to make fools of all of us.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Jan 22 - 08:25 PM

Not computer — printer. But you knew that.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 04:39 AM

my printer/scanner finally died at christmas & & I've been trying to get a new one since - no stocks!

I've been recommended a brother MFC mono laser & they are even scarcer than hen's teeth. I need the scanner more than the printer, tho I do print, sometimes a lot! & so does my neighbour as she does everything with her phone.

I scan archival documents from the 50s & 60s so don't want the "recommended for you" offered instead of the one I want - A. it is bigger with a pop-out paper drawer, B. it costs more & C. gives me stuff I don't need. (grumble)

A - no room for a taller machine & a pop out tray, B & C. why pay more for "features" I'll never use - paper tray that takes a zillion pages, & option to scan dozens of pages at once ... (GRUMBLE)

I'm planning to visit a large office supplies shop tomorrow & speak to a staff member about the other printer/scanners on their shelves & there are very few of them - see which smaller ones they recommend, cos I've been mainly grumbling & not doing much research

sandra

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 11:11 AM

No stocks here, either, Sandra. I will continue to nurse along the printer I have -- clunky great nuisance that it is -- until its software problems become terminal. Let's hope the world is working better when that happens.

I finally got the complete price of my new-to-me car, complete with extended warranties and snow tires. It's an insane amount of money, far more than I would have spent if the motor vehicle industry were not in a complete tizzy due to supply shortages. The VW dealer in Kitchener had nothing else to offer that came even close to my modest requirements, and in fact the car I'm buying is much fancier and more powerful than I need or even want. An American car would have cost less, or perhaps a Kia, but I've driven VWs since the 70s and I'm used to their quirks. So I'm paying over the odds for fancy wheels with familiar quirks. First World problem.

For the first time in living memory I feel like cleaning the house. I had better do it before the urge goes away.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 12:32 PM

Sandra, I have always had a dedicated flatbed scanner, though my recent purchase of the Epson ink jet brought another one into the house. My Cannon is several years old, and it has a few buttons on the front I rarely use (to copy, etc.) Mostly I use it with Photoshop or Adobe and do high resolution scans (300-600dpi). I wonder if for the time being you could find a gently used one on eBay? This CanoScan 4400F also is lit on the top and I can do some low-rez scans of slides and negatives. (I have a dedicated slide scanner that I have to start using.)

I haven't tested printing from my phone to the ink jet printer. I'll have to see if I installed the app and test it with a piece of email.

Two more days and two more cupboard shelves organized and emptied of spare stuff. There is a collection growing on the kitchen peninsula so I have to move all of this to a box and eBay area. Mugs from a Seattle potter and spare dishtowels that didn't all fit in the rolling basket from one cabinet. I'll have to bag the really old ones for rags and they can live in the laundry room for now.

I went down an article-search and YouTube-link rabbit hole this morning with the news of the death of Meatloaf. I learned about him right after his first big album came out; my kids learned about him in Rocky Horror Picture Show and then I got out that first big album and played it for them. I have a solid 4'+ line of LPs here, most of them classical and folk, but there is a solid section of rock contemporaneous with my 20s when I was listening to more and able to buy it. No decluttering going on there.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 03:17 PM

Looking again at Charmion's remarks about her "modest requirements" in a vehicle. When I had to replace my pickup I went with a small car at first because I was in a hurry and it was affordable. It turned out to be cute as a button but very poorly designed, so when that was traded in I went larger.

The last couple of vehicles have been SUVs. Not because I need to drive eight people around, but because it has enough room, when the seats are put down and a tarp is spread over the tops of those seats, to put lumber up to 10' long in a diagonal position. I put down the middle row of seats (the back row is always down) and again with the tarp I can carry several cubic yards of the free compost the city provides. My recycling of large flattened boxes fit in there, etc. It's an attempt to have the transport ability of a pickup without the sticker shock of buying a pickup. The SUVs used to be on a truck chassis, now it's a unibody that is still ok for hauling stuff. If I had the cash to buy a pickup truck I could afford to pay off my house and buy some kind of small automobile at the same time. And this was BEFORE the supply chain snags of COVID.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 05:57 PM

I broke it so I fixed it. The upper rack of the dishwasher collapsed when I put weight on it. A drill and a proper screw put it right again.
Cleared large branches from the snow storm. Accross the street a branch pierced the roof. I did bedding laundry that consisted of 4 giant blankets that never would have fit one by one in the old washer. I also leveled the washer only to find it rocks a bit from the pedestal.

The grocery store is too close to go full speed (200mph) so its good I drive so little that fuel is not a problem. I shoulda bought a Hyundai but at least I have never needed a single repair on the CTS performance model which is like a four seat Corvette. I'm a fluid changer believer. The new electric Corvette goes 240mph which is ridiculous in a drive through. In Ohio they have liquor store drive throughs but Maryland frowns on that.
There is no doubt I'm in better shape this year compared to last. Getting up off the floor used to be a challenge and now its a snap.
I go looking for projects when I used to procrastinate even thinking about what to do.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 07:36 PM

I have no carpentry skills, so i don’t haul lumber. In fact, I don’t need to haul anything bigger than a bag of cat litter or a crate of wine. Consequently, a compact hatchback is all the car I need. Plus, I’m stingy. I hate the idea of paying for the fuel required to move extra weight of vehicle.

Over way too many years of driving, my car has been burgled exactly twice. I’m fairly sure that’s because I have always driven a very modest car and I never leave anything of value in sight, even parking change. And driving a manual means joy-riders don’t bother. In Stratford, I don’t even bother to lock it.

As for drive-through liquor stores … ! I was shocked enough to find draught beer for sale at service stations on the New York Turnpike.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 09:30 PM

Dupont:

Still reveling in the new sink and faucet. I can use much less water because I can choose hot or cold and not fiddle with the #%$# until I get what I want. Also realize that dishes built up because I avoided the ugly thing! I go down in the morning and tell the sink it is beautiful!

Undressed the little Christmas tree today but decided it was the better part of valour to wait for R to take it out. Most of the water in the big bowl is gone but the mahogany table - even though I put plastic and a cloth over it... Let R do it! In the process of repacking Christmas I re-organized parts of the closet. Have a fair amount of stuff leaving when I go back to Beaver - hoping for first week of Feb ... though I am very comfortable here, I need to check the mail; do not want to ask someone to do it for me.

Saw a moth in something in the upstairs closet so I put the box outside to freeze. Never had moths in all the years I lived in a house thet had no heat unless I were there. Forgot they existed until they ate everything precious when in PA.

Went to produce store today and filled the frig. Nice veg stew cooking and rice. Need to remember I have more root veggies in the cold part of addition. The two spare rooms have their own thermostats. Just sent text to R to remind him to bring home the carburetor for the snow blower; maybe he can get it running tomorrow! Before we get more of this white stuff.

I am loving my new sitting place in the upstairs hall - comfie and bright on a sunny day - today.

Maybe I will ask R to put the big empty bin in the cellar. I have not found a good spot elsewhere. (I do not go to the cellar; afraid of the air quality.)

A thread on FB was discussing K stuff. I pulled off a shelf an induction burner (?) and considered the space it takes and the fact it has never been used as it is a mystery to me - even after googling. Well, the stove is aging and one burner has quit completely so rather than re-home it, I will put it away somewhere - top shelf of pantry that I can only reach with a ladder? Just in case. Re-did that shelf space already! I spent large chunk of my life not buying electric appliances "because someday I will live without electric." And I did. I am slow to change gears! I went all those years without so why would I need it now?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic ridiculous
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 11:35 PM

If you're one who hasn't had Covid its likely you don't have friends or have abandon them. America land of the craven and home of the hidden. Biden says America has stood up, which is a feat for a 79 year old. Tom Hanks said we are all brave - now put on a face diaper and go hide.
Gun sales have hit a new peak and a new flood of ghost guns are assembled at home. Everyone's armed and there's no one to shoot except in schools. The outlook on coming elections is viewed by both sides as corrupt on both sides now. i've looked at votes from both sides now and still somehow, its all Bull Shit that I see...sorry thats enough of that.
So you don't have to raw dog it, but its time to go back out... in zero degree temps. Things have never been greater, like hypocracy, overcoming depression and death rates. "Two out of three ain't bad".

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 22 - 11:52 PM

The 2x4s and pickets I usually bring in the SUV are for building sections of fence. Not a lot of carpentry skills needed. A level, a screwdriver. Sometimes a carpenter saw if the 2x4s need trimming. Drill and ratchet for the crossmember brackets. I've also bought flooring planks (cheapest available) to use to edge the raised beds in the garden. Lay them on the ground between corner bricks.

I'll probably be making my 4 square mile drive again this weekend - dropping off more cardboard, more stuff at Goodwill, and picking up mail at the post office. Each spot along or at the corner of this 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 mile route. Rinse, repeat.

I'm making progress on the jigsaw puzzle—it has slowed me down to realize all of the pieces are almost the same shape, making it easy to mismatch similar parts of the puzzle. Thank goodness there are some zebras and a flamingo in the African wildlife that give me something to work outward from. It's good to get back to doing a puzzle after being stymied by the last one that was both too difficult and incomplete.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jan 22 - 09:44 AM

My approach to fence construction is much brusquer than yours, Stilly — save up some money, hire a guy who builds fences for a living, and get it done and dusted. I respect those who can do for themselves, but I can’t (won’t) live with a half-assed result and I know my limits. I’m pretty good at hanging pictures, but beyond that I won’t go.

The Ministry of Health has announced that the latest lockdown has worked as intended so the province can resume limited operations on 31 January. Only half-capacity, still at two metres’ distance and wearing masks, but sorta kinda like the new normal we were getting used to back before Christmas. Will we be allowed to sing in the presence of others? Further deponent sayeth not.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jan 22 - 10:13 AM

To me FITNESS is =equally= about uninterrupted rest. Some may identify with meditation, restorative sleep or healing deep states.
Good for you if you can get to delta sleep quickly but its not a race.
The most dreams come in alpha sleep or vivid dreams a bit deeper.
An after meal sleep makes it easier however the worst time to eat is late at night. If short spans of sleep is what you can manage do more of them.
I'm not selling anything but whatever improves your rest like a massage or weighted blankets or melatonin, enjoy the toys.

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

Interesting you would write about sleep, Don. I had the weirdest string of seemingly related dreams last night. I think it was the late chocolate. I know better. (I can't remember what the dreams were about, but they were troubling enough to keep waking me.)

Local health officials are predicting the Omicron cases will rise until the end of the month. But now that more people are using at home COVID tests, they won't know exactly how many cases are out there. There is a county site to report, but it is in English only.

Sneezes today tell me that there is still juniper pollen drifting through the area and the temperature will keep me in. Tomorrow is supposed to spike up to 65^o so I should plan to get out to do some work or at least walk the dogs. If I wear one of my masks I'll get less pollen during the walk.

I need to choose today's cupboard to clear. I need to do a deep dive into that capacious cabinet that is in the corner under the peninsula, that has three doors (from the sink side and the dining room side) that open into it and that is where odd things go to be saved until I need them but I forget they're there. I should install a couple of those battery under-cabinet lights in there so I can see, instead of needing a flashlight.

The front of the fridge was cleared of several old papers and calendars. I don't have the discipline to have a completely clear fridge; the fridge and freezer are where magnets hold up all sorts of notes and treasures, though a bit of time watching one of the HGTV hoarder programs is enough to have me want to dump a lot of that stuff. With those programs a little goes a long way.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 22 - 10:01 PM

After several attempts I figured out how to get Alexa and LIFX to play nicely and operate the second smart bulb, this one in the den, next room over from the first bulb. I tried creating a second room in the LIFX app and soon realized that was a mistake. They are both marked "Favorites" and that helped. Eventually I found the device as far as what Alexa knew it was and renamed it (I'm not going to say "Alexa, turn on mini-bulb model 12345x.") Now she turns on either/or. I'm embarrassed to say how long it took me to set this up after originally buying the bulb. A smart doorbell is on order. We'll see how that goes.

As a bonus technology win, I don't use Facebook on my phone much, but I wanted to log on today so used the synched password, then for the first time was asked to use the new FIDO (Yubico) and I used the Near Field Sharing to touch and get it to work. I set this device up as another form of two-factor authentication last fall.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jan 22 - 11:37 AM

I have enough trouble keeping the printer in communion with the computer. The rest of the house and its contents will remain un-smart.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Jan 22 - 11:42 AM

Smart technology doesn't make what already works stupid.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 22 - 04:35 PM

I got a FIDO (Fast Identity Online) key several years ago for logging on securely to my accounts on a university computer in the public area. They're not expensive and not difficult to set up on various online accounts (Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to get into those accounts (and block someone who might want to hack them). I updated it last year because I realized the old one couldn't be used on the tablet with the USB-C devices (and getting one with NFS ability means it doesn't need to actually be plugged in.)

With a bit of practice I've figured out how to send documents and email from my phone to the networked printer and make it print double-sided.

Yesterday afternoon I started wondering if I had caught COVID or the flu - but by the time I went to bed the achiness was so awful that it dawned on me that I had somehow, in all of this masked world through which I travel, picked up one of those 24-hour viruses that I used to get back when I was in college or working in places with lots of public contact. The kind that feels like you were beaten with a baseball bat. Sleeping around the clock helped along with staggering a Motrin/Tylenol cocktail. No fever, and a COVID test this morning was negative. Tomorrow I'll go get one at a drive-thru location near here just to be safe. It's ironic - I was last out on Wednesday, to a doctor's office and a pharmacy. And thinking back to my weird dreams overnight before this started - that tends to happen when I'm getting sick.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Jan 22 - 07:39 PM

Dupont:

Tech-wise (dumb!) I am with Charmion. Today I figured out how to bring my phone onto the car screen so R could phone someone - not while driving but he parked! YAY! Apps on phone?? Guess I might need a "passport"; hope someone can do it for me. I have my 3 pieces of paper from shots. In a pinch, I can find a place/phone # by asking the phone. It seems to change things with no help from me - ARGHHH!

Christmas Tree was giving last rites and R took it outside for the critters. I swept the debris and put it amongst the containers for the fire. And cleaned the wood floors. The induction thingy was put on a top shelf by R; if we need it, it is there. In the meantime, it is well out of the way.

Plumbing debris is dismissed but under sink is not really done as, apparently, some work "needs" to be done in cellar and may affect what it under sink...???? So, not knowing when this might happen, I will put the stuff back under the sink and keep an eye out for a shelf/shelves to make the area more efficient when it is done and the nice lino in place. I keep telling R, "have I told you..." He is apologizing for having taken so long, to him it was "just a dirty sink". If I had not ordered the faucet, he might never have... I guess I must stop "rubbing it in".

Runs to grocery and to produce store, at off times, last week. Frig and freezer full, still bread from that big order out on the deck frozen. Put large jugs of juice between back doors; the cranberry was frozen solid last night; still on table thawing! I suppose I could take everything out of the smallish freezer and reorganize it. Without even taking it outside but I could put it out if I needed to. Interesting idea as I am sure there is stuff that has gone to the bottom. Manana?

Since I cannot put fabrics in the beautiful DR cupboard (not mouse proof), I will use the drawers for extra jars and plastic bags... New thought as I remembered I started using a drawer for plastic bags. Make more room for other things in mouse-proof pantry.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 22 - 08:07 PM

Despite being tech savvy I haven't set up the phone via Bluetooth to the SUV. I find it a huge distraction to have to figure out what to push if it rings when I'm driving. And since about 90% of the calls I get are spam, there is no point it bothering to link them. In my last vehicle I had a little Bluetooth connector between my phone and the speakers via the accessory setting, but it wasn't set for the phone service, I just used it for listening to audiobooks.

I think the virus has passed; I'm feeling kind of wrung out but no longer chilled like yesterday. Time to change the sheets and take the extra blanket off of the bed that I needed overnight.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 11:18 AM

Among the many things I like about Volkswagen cars are the phone-to-car connection and its controls: a button on the steering wheel to accept or end a call and a rocker switch for sound volume. I don't have to take my eyes off the road at all -- and I'd hate to have to tell you how long it took me to learn to work it without fumbling. I use the phone while driving as the pilot of an aircraft uses the radio, and if callers think I'm brusque too damn bad.

As for spam calls, I fixed that problem by setting the phone to ring only when the caller is in my contacts list. Everything else goes to voicemail, and legit callers leave messages.

It's snowing again in Stratford. Bleah.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 12:20 PM

That's the thing I haven't taken the time to do - and I know practice with the car settings is the only way to respond easily when it's in use. Not being motivated to spend the time practicing is the culprit. I've set the phone so a lot of spam is caught by the Hiya app. I took a look at the device settings, and while Google Voice will forward only people in my contacts list, the company that the phone is activated with doesn't seem to offer that in it's settings. But maybe I should set using the Bluetooth effectively as a goal for this year. It won't cost me anything to add that new-to-me feature.

Another day of late rising means the trash was already collected on my side of the block but not next door and up the hill, so I walked my bag of trash to keep company with the neighbor's trash bag. I have a can full of the cut-up pieces of the last sunflower but haven't put it out yet. If it gets windy the wad of dried flower parts may blow down the street like a tumbleweed. Maybe I should just tote that to the far back of the yard and let it drop seeds back there.

After an almost catatonic weekend I've started organizing another kitchen "shelf," in this instance, The Junk Drawer. Everybody has one, right? I found some great stuff in the junk drawer at my Dad's house (things I still use here now) and this drawer is equally interesting - it contains things that had a use that can be used again, if only I remember they are here. I so far have extracted a handful of screws, smashed coins, and expired dog license and rabies tags. I don't know of a museum collecting such icons of a life lived, so I may take one of my old yogurt containers and dump those items into it for the kids to look through on their next visits. Do they want the flattened penny embossed with the nature center logo that we probably paid a dollar for? And more. Or maybe I'll toss them all now and the tiny past memory will be less durable. A handful of various screws went from that drawer into the large plastic ex-pickle jar in the laundry room where I typically go when I need to find the right sized screw for something. This drawer will probably take a while, but I've made a good start.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Thompson
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 12:20 PM

The phone should really be in the boot when you're driving. Safer that way.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 01:21 PM

The phone has an app that sets up a "do not disturb" mode and it doesn't ring or make noise when I'm moving. But there are times when a call out might be useful. And if I do connect them, I can again listen to audiobooks while I drive.

Sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, and now moping in the office is finished and I'm waiting for the hard plastic chair mat to dry in the hall bathtub. It needed a scrub with the hard bristle brush on both sides. I think putting a few rugs and a couple of dog bed covers through the laundry is the next move.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 04:22 PM

For the record, I don’t have a junk drawer in my kitchen any more.

There’s a box in the Glory Hole where I put gadgets I haven’t used in a while. If I miss a gadget, I return it to service. If it’s still there when an opportunity (such as a church rummage sale) arises to get rid of the box contents, I obviously didn’t need it. A couple of weeks ago, I cleared the contents of the junk drawer into either that box or the trash. Almost all if it went in the trash.

Now the Foodsaver vacuum sealer lives in that drawer with the box of batteries and the downstairs flashlight. No more junk drawer.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 09:04 PM

Every time I read the name of your basement storage space I am reminded of a very racy scene in Judith Krantz' Scruples novel.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 10:07 PM

"Mopping" in the office is finished, Stilly??

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 10:43 PM

Anyone who tries racy stuff in my Glory Hole deserves the inevitable painful result.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 11:33 PM

Mopping is finished, and the room has the slight lemon-fresh scent of PineSol. Three dog bed covers were washed in a Gain knockoff detergent from Aldi (I usually use a gently scented environmentally friendly detergent sheet) and a HUGE gob of dog hair came out of the dryer lint filter. I wiped down the inside of the washer and got a fair amount of dirt and hair, and when I pulled the dry covers out of the dryer there was still a piece of chewed stick stuck to one of them.

Of course they couldn't leave it alone - this evening I walked into my office and could see muddy footprints on the tile floor, tracked all the way through the house from the back door after today's rain. Gotta love 'em, the dogs don't leave anything clean for long.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 22 - 01:20 PM

Something went pear-shaped overnight when I set up system restore to get the glitch out of my desktop computer's right click context menu operation. The account on the Windows 11 thread.

I'm waiting on an onion bagel to toast as part of lunch. I'll focus on not burning the bagel or dropping the butter, and work upward from there.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jan 22 - 01:45 PM

I asked about the mopping, Stilly, because
the 24 January post reads "moping".

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 22 - 01:54 PM

Dyslexia and no squiggly red line under the word work hand in hand to give lots of typos like that.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 22 - 05:47 PM

I really should have removed that external drive with all of the video files. It's killing me waiting for the backup before the reinstall, but it has started so I'm not going to interrupt it. 12% after 3 hours.

I have the old computer set up and am going to do some photo processing on it (it doesn't connect to the Internet), and I have this little backup laptop in the kitchen I mostly forget about. Limping along, but it's like travelling in the Shuttlecraft instead of on the Enterprise.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 25 Jan 22 - 07:53 PM

Many many years ago (when I was young and slender.....sigh) I worked for the Goodyear tyre company, back in the days before computers and copy machines when typists used carbon paper to make more than one copy. (Yes, I am that old.)

I was given a letter to type referencing the end-of-year shutdown when many employees took their annual holidays, to allow for factory machine maintenance. It was duly typed; I checked it, my boss checked it, his boss checked it, for all I know the Big Boss Upstairs checked it too.....and it still made its way to Akron, Ohio, with the heading "Christmas Shitdown", causing, I believe, great merriment on arrival.

Subject: RE: Tech: They lied, Here's Windows 11
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Jan 22 - 07:18 AM

Sorry about the PC, SRS. Sometimes, they seem to conspire to be as bloody minded as possible... I hope you've got it sorted. Re your question in the other thread, if I was faced with the reinstallation of everything, I would put Win 11 on but that's just me.

I got more gadgetry yesterday. A SPDIF audio splitter and a Bluetooth transmitter. Sound from the living room tv can now be played to Bluetooth headphones and/or the tv sound base. With luck, it will put an end to mum moaning about sound (either too loud or sometimes on at all) from the tv. We’ll have to see how it goes but dad has said he’s quite comfortable with the headphones.

A couple of little things I need to do, partly as mum had a clear out in the bedroom are to have a bonfire. I'll try to do that tomorrow as the forecast is for a bright sunny day. She also wants some bases of drawers lining. I got some coloured A2 card from Amazon for this but need to motivate myself to to the job.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 22 - 10:42 AM

As a recipient of both the super-strength Flu vaccine and three of the COVID vaccines, I can only conclude that I had a modified version of the flu last weekend. COVID test came back negative. Whew! I have needed to pick up mail at the post office for days and didn't want to go till I knew for sure.

Amazon came through overnight with a faster external hard drive and I'm moving data from the drive that will be wiped by Windows to a backup via the old computer with no Internet connection. In a few hours I can let the new desktop be exposed to the ministrations of Dell and Windows and see if it will come back with a completely empty "renewed" machine. Then I have to work on it quite a lot before I can work on it. It looks like no more drawer decluttering for the rest of the week.

Damn. The machine is dead. Long live the machine.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 22 - 03:44 PM

My kitchen laptop is now connected to the ink jet printer (thank goodness that was in place - the network doesn't need the big computer to be running, or even extant, to run). I installed a new browser to use with my work accounts and have slowly added them to a growing list of tabs that will open at once. Glad I don't have to move the laptop into the office or lug one of the printers into the kitchen.

The backup is slowly moving into the new hard drive, and I have an older backup in a hard drive from the previous machine if catastrophe happens (worse than already). But the more current data I can hold onto, the better. I'm going to have to recreate quite a few files for now.

I went in this afternoon and reset the computer to "NEVER" as far as going to sleep. That's what shut down the backup I started yesterday.

There is redundancy around the house with tablets and Bluetooth keyboards, the phone, etc., but working on the big desktop is still the gold standard. Everything else is just getting by.

To make this temporary workspace more comfortable I've moved the pad for my standing desk into the kitchen to use at the waist-high bookshelf where the laptop lives. Elsewhere I rearranged bedroom chairs so I can use a library chair (a solid walnut-looking piece with the back wrapping to the arms, probably not bentwood) as the barre for the exercises I'm starting with the Essentrics program (I have two or three DVDs to work with before I decide if I want to join online). She suggests a simple and portable setup with a yoga mat, a length of cloth or a belt (I'm using the gait belt from my knee surgery PT), and a sturdy chair. Since I'm mostly doing other things than working on my computer today I imagine I'll move more stuff before day's end.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 22 - 11:08 AM

The computer backup slowly continues and my odd kitchen office is up and running. It's a strange day as I continue to remember the things I need to reproduce in order to do the work I normally do (contract job).

My across-the-street neighbor was taken away in an ambulance yesterday; I watched from the house, I didn't step over to say anything. That was a family time and frankly I couldn't tell if she was conscious. I've been in this house about three weeks shy of 20 years and I fear our neighborhood is about to lose one of the fixtures in this little world.

Getting back to work around here, photography for eBay and more moving of things into the donation bin.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Jan 22 - 11:30 AM

I'm making a stand for the new electronic gadget. I've joined a huge 80 lbs subwoofer to a full spectrum speaker and attached a screw removable board permanently joined to the tv base. Perfect height to hold the 80 lb oled 65 inch tv. I couldn't lift it up to the tall wall mount anyway. I thought I had a 65 inch tv but apparently not, since this thing is enormous, with the stand it is 60 inches tall. Its as awkwardly heavy as it is fragile, just a quarter inch thick glass screen that broke when the corner touched the floor. The replacement comes on sunday. Amazing Amazon. So the learning curve has led to this surprisingly good looking new piece of furniture that matches the tv and is more secure than a table with legs.
After all the weight lifting yesterday I feel fine today. I guess it wasn't enough to feel the burn.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Jan 22 - 01:37 PM

Dupont:

With no inclination to go home to Beaver - weather is forbidding with severe cold and sporadic snow; energy level is sub par and I have large chunks of each day when "it doesn't matter". I think I am spending more time in bed than out of bed and even after I get up, I want to go back. Brain gets tired and things do not get read; eyes get uncomfortable and I keep trying to find a solution - a fingertip of honey sometimes helps clear the eyes. Things ache here and there, now and then.

There must be mail in the box at Beaver; I consider asking someone to get it and send anything important to me. Then I don't do anything. I need a new sticker for car license and started to go on line to try to do it... I gave up...

A potter friend suggested "just throw two things"; it is too much trouble to change into work clothes. I keep hoping that tomorrow will be better. Then:

Yesterday I did two loads of laundry - redid the bedding, put the freshly washed throw back on the TV room Futon and everything is put away. A fitted sheet from unknown source (R) is in the "leaving" pile. I also went for groceries - to a store almost empty of people as was the hardware store where I bought two brooms and a large dust pan. This is in hopes of keeping things a little cleaner - one upstairs and one down (no excuses!) and the dust pan is to make an effort to compost the never-ending debris from the huge fern. Also brought in 4 armloads of wood and have kept the stove going. Cooked a batch of rice w/o burning it(!) and a large batch of applesauce w/o...! My new modus o.. is to take apples, cutting board, pan and knife up to TV room so I can sit and ready the apples; take the full pan down and put on stove at a LOW heat. YAY! And a new batch of black beans - unburned! Little things matter. but no pots thrown...

Spent time checking into the state of mind of a friend at a distance; had a great phone visit with a man whom R and I have met and he is aware and doing what can be done. Also messaged a couple other mutual friends to check their awareness that support/encouragement would be good. Will continue to keep an eye on his posts, as well as another friend in crisis. There is so much happening to bring one down these days. Moving into a "senior's residence" is one more blow for the one friend.

Trying to feel better, to figure out what could make me feel better, I finally got it together to soak my feet this morning- in hot water with Epsom salt, then used a couple products to improve the very dry mess of it. And trimmed toenails. This seems so simple but it has not been done in far too long - I just couldn't.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 22 - 08:53 PM

Self-care is something we all need to do, so Dorothy, your comfortable feet are a good start. And paring apples in one room and taking them to the kitchen - sounds good! I've had slow days like that also this week, the process of getting over the bug from last weekend.

I've started doing the Essentrics stretching in addition to the Hinge Health exercises, but figuring out the best time of day is what I'm considering now. I think I ought to spread it out, leave the 15 minutes of hip-strengthening exercises at bedtime and do the stretching when I get up. I'm rearranging the bedroom some to remind me to exercise. Simply turning the bed 90^o in the corner where it sits and arranging a washstand and trunk will make more room for the exercise space.

A few more things have been dropped into the donation bin today. The hard drive backup is crawling steadily, and I've again rearranged the kitchen workspace. Standing was getting old so I've shifted the computer two feet to the right to the peninsula counter that has a 12" overhang and tall stools for sitting and eating or working.

I have to go out next week for a couple of appointments and will resume volunteer work. I'm set with masks, and am told that all of the staff in the part of the museum where I volunteer are wearing masks. Good.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jan 22 - 09:10 PM

I finally took possession of my nearly new VW GTI today. The weather was so disgusting that even the 18-wheelers on the highway were keeping to the usually ignored speed limit, and the Chevy cracker-box tried to ditch itself in a big patch of drifted snow at the county line.

The GTI is comfortable, stable and powerful, just what I like for foul conditions. My bank account is badly deflated, but at least I didn’t have to take a loan.

And the insurance company got its numbers wrong and short-changed me by about two thousand dollars. So that business is still to be settled. I sicced the Stratford insurance broker on them; he has all the direct phone numbers.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jan 22 - 06:28 AM

The Big Screen store motto "No need to miss a single moment of the agonizing holocaust in crystal clear clarity."

On holocaust remeberance day yesterday Tennesee banned the anti holocaust book 'Maus'.

Never again!

yes again ... sigh ...but this time you can't escape to the USA. You gotta go to Canada.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Jan 22 - 08:12 AM

We have our own crop of asshats, Donuel. Holocaust denial is alive and well in Canada — the home of “none is too many” — and thousands of Afghans our government promised to resettle are still freezing in transit camps or dodging the Taliban. Oh, and have you read about the trucker convoy heading to Ottawa? Check it out — they have a manifesto and everything.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, public health restrictions are easing up. The Y reopens on Monday, and choir practice will resume on 7 February. If the stars realign just right, I might go out for lunch next week.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 22 - 11:50 AM

Despite the current hit to your pocketbook, I am pleased to see you back in a reliable car, and one with a bit more ooomph to help keep you safe. Good job picking it up and not turning the cracker box into a tractor trailer hood ornament on the way there.

The oh-so-slow data transfer is more than half way now. I think by Sunday I'll start rebuilding and then upgrading to Win11. Meanwhile, this WiFi only laptop gives me a reminder about why threads in batches of 50 and with descending numbers are so helpful here at Mudcat. One aspect of moderation mode opens whole threads and it takes a while.

After measuring in the bedroom I decided to simply slide everything over to the left a foot to increase the exercise space. Turning the bed may come later, it's six of one half-dozen of the other. Who knows what I might find that has been chalked up as "lost forever" if I move the bed. I'm thinking in particular there's a pocket knife that disappeared one day. I thinned some of the stuff sitting on the dresser and wash stand, more items to recycle or put in e-waste.

Neighbor transported to hospital this week is hanging on in ICU. I'm prepared to start baking should things change. Actually, either way. If she comes home or if she doesn't, the offering of warm dinner rolls to the household will be welcome (and with a restricted diet she can still eat those). The son really likes my apple pie, so if bad news, it might be time to start joining Dorothy in apple peeling.

My wasband has ordered a new phone, his first ever smart phone. The family is thrilled that he will finally be able to see the photos we send or read longer texts (all of which resulted in error messages in his tiny soon-to-be-defunct slider phone.) He sent me the phone model and I reviewed the options - it looks good. It's a mid-range less expensive Samsung that came out last year, so not super expensive but up to date. The company he's joining is sending it, so hopefully everything is set to go, just transfer the number. I expect to run a tutorial at some outdoors location early next week. Reminding him that it's just a small computer in his pocket will make it easier to learn to use, just not reminding him about the state of the big computer on my desk will make it approachable. :-/

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jan 22 - 06:47 PM

I reorganized a floor to ceiling 15 foot book case with art encyclopedias, 9 shelves of dvds and 50 lbs of CDs in zip closed note books. Now beside it is a 7 stereo component book shelf. It took me all freakin day. There was enough dust to choke a goat but its all done now after being a catch all for 5 years. I'm glad my step ladder has a railing. There was plenty to donate. I found the cables on Amazon that will take a USB to ancient f plugs so I can use my old onkyo amp with the tv. I found some old HD radios and got them up and running. annnd here comes the snow.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 22 - 07:55 PM

Sounds like a day of re-discovery, Don! I did that kind of cleaning in my office, though, and had a huge computer crash, so be warned: no good deed goes unpunished!

I decided the tubular sided step stool thing I was using, even with a extended handle, just wasn't sturdy enough, so I gave it to Goodwill after buying a solid fiberglass stepladder.

This afternoon I started work in the sewing studio again, so far ironing the most recently-purchased fabric that had been washed but not rolled so I can arrange it in layers on the cutting board. It's mask time again, and like Dorothy going into her potting studio, it feels wonderful to get back into that creative space.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Jan 22 - 11:26 AM

Dupont:

Managed a bit of cleaning today - maybe an hour of stretching and bending to clear the debris from the fern and and dust and cobwebs as I noticed such with the terrific sun. Went out to find some tahini but only tiny jars available; I searched on line.. But I bought 3 almond croissants, the first in a few weeks to I have been good about that. One half is a treat. Then to M&M for frozen cabbage rolls which R parcels out as a bit of interest to his late night suppers.

Computer informed me I have averaged almost 8 hours a day which seems too much. Some of that is trying to figure it out and a couple long sessions on Applehelp. Then it decided to upgrade and now I need help again. I unsubscribe as much as I can give up. Read a lot of news, and pottery stuff, listen to some music and delete over 100 emails/day. Tiresome and time-consuming but interesting enough. And connect with lots of friends - very important. This all takes time. ...