FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 22 - 10:56 PM

Definitely time to purge papers. I spent 20 minutes hunting down insurance info that was actually right there in front of me in a file so stuffed I couldn't see it. Grrrr. Almost timed out on a computer form twice. And I need to have that company send me a card. We have a couple of rainy days coming up so I'll start tomorrow assembling a stack of pages to put in the burn barrel after the showers.

Weekend chores moving along, and one more jar of okra pickled. That always makes me smile, seeing home-processed jars cooling beside the stove.

The gate beside the garage had a padlock on it but wasn't actually closed, the latch missed the post and was on the yard side of the post. The dogs couldn't push it open from inside, but someone could have gotten a nose in the gap and pulled it back to wiggle out. Who knows how long it has been that way - I'm sure I'm careful and I'm sure the fence didn't expand and contract to leave it in this state. It is a mystery but is now locked correctly.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 22 - 03:08 PM

Charmion, that is why when I shop at Costco it either goes into the freezer or is fruit shared with the ex. I haven't canned Farmer's Market peaches in a while, I enjoy the task but find I don't use them fast enough before they are way out of date and get composted.

I take a denim long-sleeved shirt with me to the museum for the same reason - aggressive air conditioning makes work conditions uncomfortably cool in the small room where I work. They can't balance the cool around the building perfectly and their main goal is to keep the public galleries comfortable.

I have two sets of sheets that need new elastic, and if I get that replaced, I'll add them back into the sheet rotation and probably give away the set that is in the guest room now. They're showing their age but work ok, so fine to Goodwill.

I mowed about 1/3 of the front yard before it got too hot out there. Part of this was wrestling the mower over the top of a dead spindly-armed salvia greggi shrub (that may come back from the roots but I think I'll dig it out first). Meanwhile I'm thinking about where to plant a few things that have been in pots way too long.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Aug 22 - 01:44 PM

It's beautiful in Stratford after a couple of days of rain, but the air has that indefinable tang that indicates the imminent end of summer. When I walked home from the theatre last night, the temperature had to be down around 10C and I was really grateful for the light cotton sweater I had brought against the aggressive air conditioning of the auditorium.

I did the week's grocery shopping the other day and came home with five items. Before COVID, when I had a husband and friends who came to dinner, I could fill two folding boxes and a freezer bag on a typical shopping trip. Now, when I buy meat about once every six weeks and venture but rarely into the middle aisles, one box is quite enough for the big loads and a single bag is usually all I need. I haven't been to the farmers' market at all this summer -- what the hell would I do with a dozen ears of corn, or a four-litre basket of peaches? I used to wonder who the hell would buy four oranges and one onion; well, now I know.

This morning I boiled eight extra-large eggs: that's ready-use protein for four lunches. When I buy meat, it's a stack of chicken parts or lamb chops that get individually vacuum-packed and frozen -- ready-use protein for a long series of suppers. Add milk, fruit, veg and whole-grain bread, and I've hit all the macro- and most of the micro-nutrients. Neck a vitamin tablet at breakfast (which is coffee) and call it done.

This is most definitely not the life I imagined for myself back in the day, a mere three years or so ago.

Decumulation continues. I now have far more bed-linen than I need, so I'm moving on three sets of queen-sized sheets to one of my sisters-in-law and two double sets to the niblings -- or Goodwill, if the younger generation aren't keen. Two queen-sized quilts could most definitely find new homes within the extended family.

Now, I wonder who would like a memory-foam pillow ...

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

Good luck with the pottery sales, Dorothy! And enjoy your shifted approach to cooking. I use my little toaster oven several times a week because it does avoid the power usage of the big oven (and not heating the house). I still have a regular toaster I use, often just for thawing bread before using it for something else (it has a button for "frozen" bread to thaw before toasting). I can do the same thing in the microwave or the toaster oven, it's just which one appeals to me for the task at the time. The toaster is mostly used for bagels (though I haven't eaten many of them as I pursue my weight loss goals).

We're into hot weather for a couple of days; mid-to high-90s this weekend, so I'll save water and mow the lawn before I take my shower today. A portion of the back got mowed yesterday (parts of it are now sprouting small groundcover after it died off during the heat) and the same for the front after I move a few obstacles like the extra bird bath saucers). It has been since mid-June that I last mowed; the lawn tends to go dormant in the heat, this year a fair amount of it died.

Still drawing down stuff in the fridge where I have unintentionally ended up with a lot of foods that need eating now. Some I'm sharing with the dogs who always get some kind of vegetable on top of their dry food for their evening meal. Alternate day fasting (this is a fasting day) means I go through the fridge contents slower than usual.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 07:14 PM

Dupont:

Guest room is de-cluttered of ugly desk!!! Now to decide what to put in there to suit guest mode. Den is full of said desk! But we will be away from home most of weekend - and there is still room to sit and read. R agreed to get rid of a couple more pieces of furniture - take them to the Antique/flea market event tomorrow!

My booth is all set up, covered with plastic - hoping there is no wind storm tonight; not on weather report. Car de-cluttered so I was able to purchase 3 heavy plastic planters on the way home and pick up food order - There will be no more ordering! The nice woman had everything packed up for me- 3 brand new cardboard boxes and a bunch of bubble wrap! My neurosis about being environmental is distraught! However, having visited the actual store, I think I can avoid this in future. I will negotiate with her! The website could use some clarification.

Project for this eve is freezing the two flats of raspberries from the orchard. And R loves raspberries, even pre-froze. End of season! I will leave a few days worth unfrozen.

Broiled sausage this am in the "new", slightly larger toaster oven - much better than frying pan! The size makes more seem possible. Not having a stove for a few days, I learned some new ways of cooking - and like them! Corn on the cob - microwaved in a wet paper towel for 3 minutes. Poached eggs in microw.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 22 - 10:46 AM

Earlier in the week I stopped at the local thrift store with the best clothing selection and prices and found a pair of shorts in my current size. And today I'm wearing them. As I took them off the hanger I wondered if this was the act that was going to bring summer to an end—not the "don't wear white after Labor Day" kind of act, but the "new shorts in August means it cools off so much I won't get to wear them much" act. Maybe I should have bought these in early July. :)

Last night I had the PBS channel "Create" on and watched a couple of episodes of Sewing with Nancy. That little half-hour a week was a tour-de-force for people who love to create through sewing, and last night they replayed two wonderful episodes - one on how to adjust patterns to fit you (shoulders and back measurements in this instance) and one on quilting for garments. Not the homemade garments that make you wince when you see them walking toward you in the mall, but the kind that are artistic masterpieces that suit high fashion. It makes me want to run to the sewing machine and start work on something. There is more than the ability to sew in those, there is an artistic eye to design. Can one learn that?

Time to do some picking up around the house, since I seem to have misplaced my favorite tea cup. No doubt I was moving from one place to another yesterday and stopped somewhere and set it down. Someplace not in my usual route (like from the office to the hall bathroom, with setting things on the table in the den on the way past) that I searched this morning.

Finishing an audio book this weekend in time for a new mystery, released on Aug. 30, to arrive via Amazon. Books on paper—I don't read as many of those these days—but I do like to have a hard copy of some of my favorites.

P.S. Found the mug - left in the microwave with yesterday's cup of cold tea. :)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 22 - 09:46 PM

Dorothy, I'm glad to see that your kitchen is becoming so much more usable. (My dad had one of those Jennair stoves at his house and I think a friend took it home before we sold the house. I never figured out how to use the grilling feature.)

At Costco I found good nectarines today. Last time they were a bit over-ripe. I also picked up a couple of ingredients for lunch over Labor Day weekend with friends. I'm thinking that fish taco ingredients will go very nicely wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla for the diabetic friend. They sound great anyway!

I also stopped at the nearby Aldi, where I buy my bread - their 12-grain and whole wheat are nice-sized loaves for $2.09 each; the last time I checked a two-pack of Oroweat loaves at Costco costs about $12. I freeze these loaves and pull out slices as needed. I had tried a couple of Aldi's little frozen pizzas but decided to get a larger fresh one today, cut it in quarters, then freeze it. I add a few things to the top but I like this regular crust better.

No trips out until Monday, but plenty to do around here in the meantime. I must mow, for starters, and trim around the garden beds. I made two jars of pickled okra today, and I'll be making them one or two at a time as soon as more okra is ready (I have a jar of prepared brine in the fridge and can do one jar at a time.) I took a bag of some of my accumulated unused okra next door (I try to use the very freshest for pickles) - what I gave her is more like grocery store okra, in that it's a few days after it was picked. She'll fry or boil it soon, and was quite pleased with the gift. I said toss it if it gets too old - she laughed and said it won't have a chance. :)

Our high temperature was 91^o - high compared to what some folks are seeing, but so much better than most of the rest of the summer.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Aug 22 - 08:33 PM

DUPONT!

YAY!! "New" (borrowed) stove is in place and plugged in! It was a lengthy procedure due to having to take the Jennair out first; that is now on the back porch covered with a good piece of plywood. R has the fantasy that he will be able to use parts from a cooktop to replace the dysfunctional burners. I am not sure how he thinks the oven can be repaired. The electronic technical aspects look dreadfully daunting to me. I really liked that stove! (It came with the house.)

A great deal of cleaning was involved so this was a few hours of me being on hand and doing what I could. The "new" stove is very ordinary but looks handsome, and clean. I am not enamored of the "child proof" controls that require reaching over burbling pots to adjust them. But the K is back in order and we have a stove! I was dreadfully tired of negotiating around the half-out-in-the-room stove - in pieces! Major de-clutter!!

We have had wonderful rain. Of course need more but plants are much happier and the river looks happier also! Containers on the deck filled with water so I will be decanting heavy ones into buckets I can carry out to the garden.

Hope: that the fall is warm enough for the veggies to produce that which did not occur during the severe water deprivation! We had one melon the size of a tennis ball - the critters enjoyed part of it but R cut off their share and the remainder was delicious, he said! The rest of the veggies looked more dead than alive but are now taking heart and making an effort. IF I had realized this scenario, I could have put the soaker hose in place before I left and texted, "TURN ON THE HOSE!" every few days. (We do not pay for water!)

Car is fully loaded for the weekend event and I have an agenda for tomorrow - places to go and things to do! - which will culminate with a half ready booth covered with plastic,   and a container of frozen organic foods to bring home. As it is also a "flea market, R has also loaded a lovely powder room sink with faucets to sell. YAY! He is parting with something! It is definitely not needed here! Was in the guest room closet.

There are no overhead lights in the LR/DR (one long room) so R brought, finally!, a floor lamp (from the old house in the city. It has a gorgeous stained glass shade and I am hoping it will be sufficient to light the DR table so we can eat some meals in there (with company).

So, the house comes together for the family visit - place mats for the DR, A second shower curtain to prevent flooding! and the back deck continues to be de-cluttered/organized so I can make it look civilized with the new outdoor carpets and the comfy chairs given to us by a friend of R's - "a consumer".

The weekend forecast is terrific - not too hot and no rain! I may de-clutter us of some pottery!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 22 - 10:44 AM

The phone doesn't seem to be communicating with the main house WiFi channel. I've set it to a different one for now (so it doesn't use up data on my current plan) but it means I need to see if the router is working properly. Meanwhile I've been consulting with a friend whose ethernet isn't working (so his router or modem may be a problem) and I fear his apartment is a hoarding scene so I don't want to go in to help. (On the other hand, if I do go in to help I might find the half-dozen Toyota car keys he lost in there over the last 10 years.)

Warmer today, but I'll be dismantling the kiddie pool with rocks and a small fountain. The pool can store in the greenhouse, the bricks wherever I find a place for them, and then the lawn will be clear for mowing. It suddenly needs it after all of that rain a few days ago. Whether the turf revived or it's all weeds, it needs mowing.

So far eBay sales have amounted to enough to pay my phone and Internet bills this month. Nice. :)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 11:48 PM

No item is too odd to list on eBay; this evening I sold a pair of the leg pressure cuffs sent home 2.5 years ago after knee surgery. Listed lower than others for sale and the dog hair lint on them was pointed out so it isn't a reason to reject them later. (The entire surface is like Velcro.) They work and they sold. Who knows how much Medicare paid for them? I have another pair I can list soon. If someone else can use them I'm glad it is affordable.

Time to get rid of a lot of paper; after the next rain (later this week is forecast) I'll get out the burning barrel. When filing to day I realized there's a lot of old paper in general files that can go in an annual purge. Too time consuming to shred.

I'm back to Essentrics stretches and it was comfortable doing the knee bends she always incorporates. And after 2 months since surgery I've lost enough weight that other moves are also easier.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 03:19 PM

Out of sorts today.

The water bill was paid last week after the bill arrived a week later than usual. I pay with online banking (but since the city is so old-fashioned the payment has to be mailed from the credit union but arrived late), so was surprised to get a shutoff notice. This is a revenue source for the city so they never budge; I think it's time to get city council to address this and use postmark, not arrival date. I don't trust them; they're inept enough to get hacked so I don't have auto pay set up.

After the rain the temperature outside is lower and the AC isn't on nearly as much, leaving the house humid. And there's only one functioning AC. (The portable one can be set to dehumidify but I don't want to fool with draining it.)

Time to start the Essentrics stretching program again. Some of the moves hurt the knee prior to surgery and that should be resolved, even if it is still a little stiff. And maybe exercise will improve my mood.

Jars in the dishwasher to use for making more pickles this evening. I need to clear the counters to do that work.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Aug 22 - 10:46 AM

Dupont:

Up to 22C and rising. But two hours ago, as he was leaving, R suggested it was a nice cool day for yard work. So I have done yard work for almost two hours. Weeding and taking out those left over stems from day lilies and iris, moving very carefully but getting a good deal done. Reached my limit of heat so indoors to look at my other world.

Hoping for a "new" stove today...tomorrow? Soon?

Burn is still healing; a hot bath with epsom salt yesterday helped it along. The healing has definitely taken a toll on my energy level and I still have to be careful how I moved lest I abbraise (?) some part of it. A very light cotton skirt was best attire. Still is! But I wore light weight, wide leg short shorts to garden.

Text from Rita that she phoned about marking our spaces for the weekend event (antique/craft/junk/music/social); the wonderful Judy told her it was done! So check that off list! Nice to be considered part of the gang!

Taking a shower after bath - to clean off salt and residual dirt - I was reminded that the current shower curtain is NOT water proof. Cleaned up floor with large towel and put shower curtain on list for today's foraging. Well! the floor is clean!!

Saving vaccumming(?) for the last minute!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 09:21 PM

Indeed, Maggie....as do I! Our house needs its 'end of winter clean' but while we are still burning wood it won't get done. The floor might get swept if it's lucky.

No visitors are expected, so the scurryfunge won't happen.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 08:50 PM

JennieG, we all do that, but I never knew it had a name! When company is coming all of a sudden you can see your house through their eyes and see the shortcomings. :)

Dorothy, I have the Black and Decker toaster convection oven, and I might do a chicken if it was cut up and all wrapped in foil to hold in heat and splatter. A small chicken. I use a glass bowl convection oven that really works best for chicken and I also bake bread in it; the glass variety is literally a bowl in a stand that has the heater in the lid. Google search. The brands available seem to change names but they look about the same. I see these in the thrift store on occasion. This speeds up cooking so it's maybe 2/3 of the regular oven time. I roast eggplants in mine for babaghanouj, I have a bread pan that fits a full-size bread loaf and it takes about 30-35 minutes (usually 40-45 in the regular oven). It stores on a shelf when not in use.

Keb, thanks for the note about the three swimsuit types - the last time I shopped those were still options and I think I went with that modest leg type because it looked more comfortable. I see them for sale on Amazon with international shipping so that might solve the access problem. The Speedo suits there offer (on the left side of check boxes) "High, Low, Mid" rise options. Not sure if that has to do with legs or if it's because the page was constructed for all types of swimsuits, including bikinis that might actually fit those descriptions. The prices are lower on Amazon.

The heat broke and today's high is about 25 degrees cooler than the last month, and very muggy. The heavy rain was in the news yesterday, today's rain was gentle. I need to empty some standing water now (the terracotta saucers and the bird bath water was evaporating before) to avoid mosquitoes. I have a long list of garden chores coming up soon and I'll be putting away some of this stuff for the season.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 06:23 PM

Charmion, I learned some time ago that there is a wonderful word - "scurryfunge" - which means rushing around cleaning and tidying when company is expected.

You can have a scurryfunge before your rels arrive.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 05:19 PM

Alas, Stilly, that’s an American website that is not set up for Canadian customers. Even if they ship to Canada, I would have a hell of a time returning a suit that didn’t fit.

I find that the fit of a bathing suit is so complex that I really have to try it on before buying. Most suits designed for fitness activities have no bust support at all, and many are difficult to get into — in particular, I can’t work a clasp that fastens in the mid-back, and anything billed as “control fit” (or words to that effect) is likely to be uncomfortably tight.

The two suits I have now are polyester and, consequently, long-lasting despite pool chemicals. The colour is neither black nor offensive, and they fit perfectly when I bought them. Of course, the maker discontinued the style!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 04:03 PM

Dupont:

"Dorothy, I hope you get your stove fixed before the upcoming family visit." I hope so also. I find it awkward, at best, trying to cook a meal with the microwave and the "new", improved, toaster oven. I overcooked the chicken in the T-O and is is a mite hard. It took forever to cook a large quantity of veggies in the microw. Corn on the cob does admirably; I shall switch to that mode permanently for corn. Porridge is perfect; poached eggs - getting the hang of it. We are getting fed...

I wonder if anyone has thoughts on the toaster oven large enough to do a chicken - B&D 9 slice one with rotisserie versus a convection/air fry/microwave that would also do a whole chicken???? No, I don't roast a chicken often but would like to be able to. It would be nice not to have two separate items cluttering the K; there is very little counter space. We also have a very nice but separate toaster that R prefers for his toast. Ok for bagels also. I have two web sites up on computer, trying to make a decision. NOT going to any thrift shops. An old house with brick walls that we are loathe to put holes in complicates electric outlet additions.

R's cousin is willing to lend us a spare stove of the ordinary sort which will fill the hole left when the Jennair (SADLY!) leaves. With any luck it could happen this week - the carcass of Jenair with all its magical tech stuff will leave and the white stove arrive AND the @#$%^ UGLY desk leave the guest room! The rest of the house needs mere cleaning!

Is it cluttering or de-cluttering to get a wall cabinet for R's tea pot collection!?? We may get to look at one I found on Marketplace, right here in town, in the next few days.

Green with envy at Charmion's fresh peaches!! No peach orchards nearby!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 01:44 PM

Stilly, I followed your link to Speedos which, as well as selling bathing suits, prints customer reviews.
One woman posted that she had purchased, for the first time, the front shirring-panel option, and she was not happy with it. The suit fit well enough, but "next time" she had to buy a suit, she was going back to her tried and true flat smooth one-piece Speedo suit, thank you very much.
Then there was a critique from a customer who remarked on the leg holes. There used to be three options: conservative, moderate, and whatever they call the immoderate leg holes. The conservative cut has been eliminated, and this customer is angry about it!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 12:13 PM

A new heating element part for a dyer $100 or less. Fee for just arriving $100 or less. Its a quick job.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 11:36 AM

Charmion, the two one-piece suits I have are Speedos and are pretty true to size in their fit. The older suit (size 12) is a standard one-piece suit with "classic" coverage, typical legs (not high legs) and the bodice comes to just above cleavage. The size 14 is a more modest one selected for how the legs fit (so the leg holes didn't come way up my hips, etc.) and the bodice comes closer up to the collar bones. If you poke around and adjust the settings (recreational swimwear, training swimwear, racing swimwear, all one piece swimwear) and go from there you can set other featues (coverage, size, etc.) and come up with something to order and try. I go to Academy Sports and Outdoors here in town to try them on, I have no idea if they're also in Canada. (Speedo has a one-piece suit with a shirred panel up the front that is very attractive, but I wonder how it looks on a real human woman?)

Don, dropping one-off posts to do only with the pandemic don't fit the character of this discussion, they're a jarring diversion from the general topic. I'm sure when the next Pfizer vaccine (developed to address a couple of the current variants) is available we will be noting when we go get our jabs, and possibly discuss side effects. In the general course of our daily decluttering activities.

We didn't have flooding here at my house but the creek was very full for the time of that heavy rainfall. I walked to the back of the yard and saw no signs that it was over it's bank and running across the yard (though there were lots of little "high tide" marks where puddles formed on the lawn and the dry grass drifted to the edge to form a little berm.) I'm hoping this helped the foundation a bit by soaking into the ground around the house. In this part of Texas we have to "water the foundation" to keep it from cracking worse.

Has anyone else noted that any time you go into certain brick-and-mortar stores that after the purchase the emails from that company start up? I have to look the DSW clerk in the eye and tell her "do not turn on email notifications!" because they always do that at their registers. And Tractor Supply was emailing a receipt. I have one in my hand, I don't need another plus all of the ads coming to my email. Decluttering the email may be a small thing, but it's damned annoying to have to unsubscribe any time I go to the actual store.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 09:49 AM

I read in today's New York Times that the Dallas-Fort Worth area has wide-spread flooding after a prolonged torrential rainstorm. I'm glad to know that SRS is maintaining her position clear of the water table.

Bathing suits! I badly need one at least a size smaller than what I currently wear to pool class, but this is a terrible time of year to shop for a bathing suit in Ontario -- sizes are limited to teeny-weeny and very enormous, and everything left on the racks is black with fuchsia patches (or worse).

I have two large bags of winter clothes ready to go to Goodwill in October, when I imagine they will actually be wanted, and a large laundry-basketful in the box room waiting to be packed up. The winnowing of the closets has produced a considerable over-supply of hangers for coats and suits (the curved wooden or plastic kind), and I hope Goodwill is interested in those, too. The clothes rails in the box room now have significant bare patches, the study closet is organized so I can see everything stowed in there, and the guest room closet and chest of drawers are empty. Only one plastic bin of variegated junk remains in the basement.

Summer is already hurtling to an end here in Stratford. The two Red Haven peach trees in my friend Alden's garden are producing abundantly, and yesterday she gave me a dozen perfectly ripe peaches that, unlike the fruit sold at the supermarket, have never been refrigerated. What flavour! Absolute bliss! I have already eaten six, and will probably eat the rest before lunchtime tomorrow.

Cat hair is gathering in the corners again, so I really must break out the vacuum cleaner and the mop. I have ten days to get the place squared away before Elder Brother & Wife land on my doorstep. EB likes cats, Wife tolerates them, and they're both too polite to criticize my housekeeping, but my residual bourgeois pride requires me to scrub the kitchen floor and de-fur the niche behind the toilet before they get here.

The dryer has apparently decided that generating heat is no fun anymore, so a technician is coming on Thursday to set it right (I hope). I just sent another large lump of money to Niece No. 1 for her son's college fees, and my bank account is consequently a bit on the slender side if I'm looking at another major appliance failure. Fortunately, next Monday is pensioners' payday.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Aug 22 - 09:01 AM

The declutter party line now ignores the pandemic part of social changes- Got It.

Oct and Nov should be the best declutter and joint healing months to look forward to.

I had a planned 35th anniversary dinner but after 2 appetizers neither of us had an appetite for an entre'.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 05:42 PM

Today I've moved two COVID posts over to the COVID thread [looking at you, Don] - let's keep posts here related to declutter topics and references to the pandemic dropped mainly in passing.

Reports suggest we got about 8" of rain here, this part of town is soggy but fine. The yard didn't flood though I think there was water over the bridge at some point during the night.

More clothes moved over to the "no longer fit" pile and trying on other stuff at the back of the dresser drawer or in the closet. My older swim suit fits but is a little snug in the shoulder straps, but given a little more work will probably fit ok. I'll hold onto both and when I reach the point when I'm ready to head to the pool I'll try them both again.

Making more pickled okra tonight, and for lunch today I had a plate of fried okra. Measuring it (for MyFitnessPal) shows that five or six 4" pods add up to 1 cup of the nuggets, a nice portion and quick to cook. I have to take some okra next door also.

In other diet news, it has been my habit for a while now to put a scoop (~1 tsp) of gelatin into my banana-strawberry-yogurt smoothie and I'm finding my fingernails are in pretty good shape. Too bad I don't play the guitar. :)

Dorothy, I hope you get your stove fixed before the upcoming family visit.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 04:15 PM

Talking of pretty little towns, over the weekend
I did a quick drive-through of
North Canaan, Connecticut, which is certainly a pretty little town.
And I managed to do it without de-cluttering my wallet, so it was a VERY quick visit.
I was drawn there by a notice of a tag sale,
which amounted to nothing much, very few vendors, so no money spent.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 01:34 PM

My creek is decluttering the neighborhood of rainwater and is flowing inches below the bridge (it is usually about 8' below the bridge). I keep my ears open for the sound of large truck engines, usually meaning a fire truck or city vehicle is parked on either end of the bridge access (usually at the bottom of my driveway) to prevent cars from floating off were they to enter the area. 150 water rescues in these two counties overnight.

Dorothy, I'm on my second oven of the Black and Decker mid-sized convection toaster oven model. I love it; the first one cost about $13 and the last one under $10, both from Goodwill. There is a lot less heat in the house when it is used.

Keb, a lot of the antique furniture I have here came from a family home near State College, PA. I've actually been through the area many times over the years, though there is no longer family out there since the last of them died about 25 years ago. Mudcatter LilyFestre lives north of there in a pretty little town that I visited, not just drove through but spent time walking around in, long before Mudcat existed.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 12:53 PM

I meant Max's territory in State College. Senior moment par excellence, this.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 12:48 PM

Dupont:

Do NOT EVER try to pour just-stopped-boiling-water from one cup to another over your lap! The result is still blistered, still uncomfortable. Only a skirt is comfortable. And more vitamin E oil, and more and more...

Then there is the very dead range(stove) cluttering up the K. R took it all apart yesterday! He found it interesting that all the same type screws were used throughout! Said screws were all over the K counters, table... Lots of screws! He cleared it up a bit and BF was eggs poached in microwave and nuked porridge with toast. And fruit...

We have a surfeit of fruit - raspberries, strawberries, melon, mangoes, apples! Tis the season and... Trip down to mill to give Merril key to gate and barricade the door that we(not R) "put a shoulder to" last week to get the wheel back in - thinking the door was "stuck". Then a Subway on way to Orchard, hoping for more delicious raspberries but we would have had to pick them ourselves and it was getting late. So a larger basket of strawberries - I shall have to freeze some. Also corn and a free can of their maple syrup to replace one I bought last year that was not good. I had emailed them at the time to alert them. Great folks!

The goal of trip was to purchase a larger toaster oven that I had found on Marketplace. We arrived at home and were greeted by ... the lovely (HUGE) Rotie and the family... fiddles on the wall! They remembered us from the wonderful venue that was, very sadly, torched a few years ago. Gave us info re the "Brysonville School Revisited", now on my calendar! (has a FB page)

Of course I bought the oven, nice and clean, only $30. The old one is a give-away. Depending on what happens next in the stove dept, I may want a larger one but that's OK for now. The daughter had had the wit to check my FB page and see that I was in Bancroft; "You are 4 hours away!" I assured her... Then to get there and find we were a community of music lovers!   

With any luck, there will be a functioning stove in a few days - before my son arrives on 3 Sept! I really liked the downdraft function on the Jennair, which pulled heat and odour out of the house. No way to put an ordinary exhaust hood in this K. I believe a toaster oven will generate last heat than the larger one in a 30 inch stove...?


Oh, and it rained!!!! I had put a soaker hose in the back garden and left it dripping for 3 days - it was SO dry. Then yesterday it rained! And may do daily this week, stopping by Saturday for the big Antique Assoc event on the weekend. Will take my pottery down (it is just N of the border) on Friday and get partly set up and cover with heavy plastic, then pick up an order of frozen organic food at a store near the mill, having just discovered their excellent website. Then a good sleep to prepare for this wonderful community event.

R helped me get the back deck in good order and we have four chairs and the carpets. It will look moderately civilized. The rain helped cleanup! The #$%^& desk is still in the guest room - about ten days to go!

Perhaps the most important de-clutter this week was a phone call from a friend of 54 years about whom I was so concerned I was considering going into the city and knocking on the door. (I hate driving into the city, esp to unknown areas.) We had a good talk and a promise of another call - less than two years hence! He has Parkinson's. I was SO happy!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 11:25 AM

You mean College Station in Texas or State College in Pennsylvania? They are worlds apart!

It has been wet, there are reports of lots of water rescues overnight Sunday into Monday. I have no plans to go anywhere and will keep an eye on the creek in my back yard. I suspect it will flow over the bridge a time or two today. It could wash away a car that would float around the bridge guard rail, so people need to "turn around don't drown."

With the shift in weather I am feeling inspired to do some fall cleaning. At the moment, though, there is a whiney little dog at my left elbow right now who insists she needs some attention. I had to close the bedroom door on them last night after Pepper again launched herself up onto my bed during the thunderstorm. I am sympathetic, but the prospect of a nervous drooling dog soaking my sheets just doesn't appeal. I have my office closet rigged up for her with a dog bed and no view of a window as far as flashes of light.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 10:41 AM

Mudcat Central seems to be located around Fort Worth, rather than College Station, for lurkers to the declutter threads, I have to say. I was wondering all weekend how Stilly was doing, especially with the change in the weather.

The 'tri-state' area is getting heavy thunderstorms as well, here in the Northeast. I have got to do something about my umbrella. I don't know where umbrellas get fixed. Is there such a thing as an umbrella hospital? If there is, my umbrella ought to be in the ER.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 22 - 09:52 AM

With the most recent Mudcat weekend of radio silence the post I was saving to share as become obsolete. I see Dorothy is busy posting on FB so I assume she has survived the hot-tea-in-the-lap incident.

Rain arrived overnight last night. Four inches in the informal rain gauge (two galvanized buckets sitting on the back porch) and it looks like 4" so far. Knowing this was coming I sprinkled the garden with some granular organic fertilizer and spritzed the tomatoes with hydrogen peroxide. Their leaves are curled up and it could be a fungus and not just heat, hence the hydrogen peroxide. It's great for treating fungus on plants. Now I watch.

With rain came the thought that after three months I might want to put on a pair of jeans, and there was a discovery: most of my long pants in the closet are now too large. I pulled out a dozen pair at least (trying on to be sure) and then got down the size 12 bin from the closet shelf and now a dozen or so pair are in the dryer with a wet towel added for moisture to reduce some of the folds and wrinkles. Some are misses 12s and are a bit too snug still but the women's 12s fit fine. We'll see how the surgery scar does with long pants. I think I'll be wearing shorts for a while longer once this storm passes.

Yesterday was a fasting day and I made a trip to the gym after a trip to the thrift store looking for smaller shorts. I found one pair that I liked and two t-shirts. With the shirts it's a goal to find regular rather than cap sleeves because losing weight means my upper arms are rather saggy looking. Bummer. With two things to do it was easier to justify a drive that far over to the gym for an hour on the recumbent bike and my murder mystery. I'm to the point now where I'm going to start using some of the rest of the equipment, if I can get there at fairly quiet times. The place is full of beefy fit young men on the weekend, and while as a 60-something gray-haired woman I am totally invisible, I'd still like to see a few more users like myself. Other older women also go during the quiet times. (The pool area is opening next Tuesday after being closed for repairs so I need to try on my swimsuit.)

Otherwise, around here I did some mending and got out eBay stuff to test before listing. I'm switching to obsolete electronics for a while.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 09:07 PM

And I was thinking that a cup of green tea sounded good when I read your earlier post. I guess I'd better stick to drinking it iced for the time being! Take care, Dorothy!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 07:49 PM

Dupont:

So, I made a cup of green tea; five minutes later I spilled it on my lap!!!!! Spent the afternoon treating myself with Aloe Vera and lavender oil. Watching the bright red area fade and the blisters subside is slightly more interesting than watching paint dry. Progress has been made. Read also. I hope this is a once in a lifetime event!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 07:45 PM

Trying to move beyond the unrelated medical stuff - I moved one post over to another thread, but I'll just suggest here we stick to our household projects. (And I'd like to hear more about the work with opal that you've been doing.)

The new Steel HR arrived today and is charging. The test will be if it actually registers the heart rate; the last watch never did or stopped a long time ago. The newer more expensive models do all of this plus have things like a pulse oximeter, but I don't need that. I just want to see the heart rate when I exercise, etc. The older watch has for now been dissociated from the account and soon I'll do a factory reset and consider what to do with it. It's still a fine fitness tracker (for steps).

I did my volunteering then had lunch with my daughter followed by a tour of her new library in this new museum. Very nice - hidden in the newer building on the museum site, and no art on the walls (it's only a few years old). It is a new building and the previous librarian (who had been there for 40 years) didn't put up art when the library was moved to this location. I'll look forward to the transformation, because "art" is pretty much this librarian's middle name.

After the gym I stopped at Costco and I noticed a woman in a surgical boot looking around the parking lot near where I parked. I asked if she'd lost her car and it turned out her almost-son-in-law dropped her off to pick up an Rx and she was supposed to call him when she was ready to be picked up, but had left her phone and home and she didn't know his number to use another phone to call him. When I came out of the store she had gotten a scooter cart to use to look around and I offered her a ride home since it turned out she lived a couple of miles south of me. Very nice conversation, interesting story, nice woman. We weren't wearing masks, but we did determine that we were both vaccinated and boosted (she had COVID in 2020 and lost her husband and mother-in-law to it within 3 days of each other.) As soon as she got home she was going to call the young man and tell him to come back home from wherever he was. This sounds kind of like a Dorothy story!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 12:36 PM

Steve is correct. My assumption is that the live form of polio vaccine, that can be excreted in feces, may have come from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The vaccination teams there are subject to being killed by Taliban types. Those anti vaxxers are more extreme than ours.

The Salk polio vaccine can not excrete into public sewerage.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 11:33 AM

Dupont:

I am one of few wearing a mask in QC but shall persevere. In ON some were still but not many. I definitely did. In PA in May, I chose my times and places - carefully. So, last night, I made a courtesy call to my SIL to see how the two cancer patients are doing. We have learned to avoid the Trump issue and it was going fine until, once more (ARGGH!), the subject evolved to my niece and kids. Then to my GD and her anti-vax attitude and SIL announces that she is anti-vax also!
Could I have just hung up! Rudely, even! Happily, my phone battery died!
is it worth googling to try to find out where she gets it? Anything Ali posted read like lunatic ravings. MY bro is doing well! The niece with breast cancer is undergoing myriad tests at Duke and I am wondering when they are going to DO something! All the news that's fit to print!

Long day on the road yesterday - to the south tip of QC to visit a wildlife sanc with a group and finding that I could not walk far - the heavy weather; I felt like I was carrying an elephant. So went back to car and drove forever (about an hour!) across to visit a friend, stop at an orchard I love, and the bakery that provides the best choc mouse cakes. Bought two frozen meals and a small cake, wrapped a heavy coat around them and turned the A/C as low as it would go!

Then I drove back across to the Mill (dif route and closer - only 20 min) and had lunch with Geri at the only functioning resto in town - the waitress - two years later! - asked if I wanted Green tea!! I did and expressed my amazement that she remembered. And a grilled cheese as I needed something! And a local musician stopped in and we had lunch and a visit. Big event on Sat and, when I told R, he thinks we can go! It will be a first post covid musical event in the "Valley" with many friends we have not seen in the interim!

I waited for a call re the folks delivering that pottery wheel I had lent to Carole a while back. Since R had not brought me a key to the cable across the drive, I went in through the neighbour's drive, THEN--- unlocked the door and pushed. Hmmm,stuck. Asked the robust man to put his shoulder to it. He did! Ripped the boards off that had been nailed on to keep the vandals from getting in again! The wheel is in. The door is blocked with a box of mags. I went out another door - FED UP!

I got one of the four things I was hoping to find in the studio. Did a perfunctory search for a large microwave/plus that SIL gave me many years ago, thinking it might help the dead oven problem. It may have never made it to the mill, or to QC even. I last remember seeing/using it on Whidbey...

Those vandals made a terrible mess and took a few small items, that they could walk away with. No need for a chain across the entrance which inconvenienced our wonderful neighbour to whom R neglected to give a key, or even recall that Merril mows that area in front so his family can come in with RVs/trailers when they have a family gathering - with permission and best wishes. R phoned him and apologized but still no key. HHMMMM! - Phone R and insist that a key be with us next trip down - Saturday!

I got home about 5 with no more stops and tried to find energy to eat something decent. Then the phone call... I spent time, googling "in my sleep!" Remembering the dear father of my SIL telling me, many years ago, that she is like a terrier - never lets go.

Congrats to Mag on being down to size 12!

Now: need green tea. It is cool and overcast. No need to close windows or drapes!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 22 - 09:40 AM

It rained hard last night for quite a while. That is enough of a report for now!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Aug 22 - 07:19 PM

I spent a messy 30 minutes this afternoon and the dogs are all bathed. They don't get many baths, but since it has been so hot I figured this was the time to do it (starting tomorrow we have some rain in the forecast with cooler temperatures). They might get muddy but for now they have clean coats down to their skin. It only takes a few minutes per dog with the hose and a pressure nozzle out in the yard. Lots of treats offered after they all stopped running around the yard like crazy things.

I visited two grocery stores this afternoon and at both I bought a bottle of corn oil. It seems to have almost vanished from the store shelves. Lots of Canola (Canada Oil) and vegetable, but almost no corn unless it was in gallon containers. Another victim of the supply chain. The second store had plenty and oddly, the name brand was less expensive than the store variety. The grocery store trips now have to be in the window between about 8:30am and 2:30pm because there are several schools that I have to avoid because school started this week. A new charter school has managed to tie up the main boulevard in my area (parents picking up kids creep along in lanes on both sides of that street plus on the feeder street closest to it.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Aug 22 - 10:11 AM

I'm wearing a pair of size 12 Capri pants I haven't worn in a very long time. They're kind of snug on my tender knee so not the best to wear right now, but it's a pleasure to get into them. In years past I've worn size 8; for now I'll be content to get into the size 10-12 range (it depends on the manufacturer how they fit versus the size they say they are. And this had changed drastically over the decades.)

This is the last day of ice water in the cooler on the porch; it's supposed to cool and possibly rain over the next week. I'll wash the dogs today on the last dry day so they can get all muddy in the week to come. ;-)

The forest floor has returned, so I'll vacuum and sweep in time for trash day tomorrow and let the guys in the big truck tote off a bunch of the dog hair. I could have knit several dogs this summer from all of the hair they've lost.

I have a bunch of old VHS players here that I've picked up on the cheap at Goodwill; it's time to test and list them on eBay. People are wanting to convert their tapes to digital but the players aren't sold much any more. I list them as working if that is the case, or if I think it's a little dicey, for parts or repair. There are people out there who fix these things. I have a testing station set up with a TV and the appropriate cables. I have a couple I use myself with the old computer and a Canopus converter box; sometimes I come across a really good old one then swap it out with one of my already working ones and list it. I suppose I could start doing this on the side but it would go slow compared to some of the companies that advertise they do it.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 09:14 PM

I have a day at home tomorrow and though it's hot now, it is feeling marginally cooler and I'm finding myself more motivated to start cooking and do fall cleaning. The electric bill last month was through the ceiling compared to what is typical (though it used to be much higher with the old standard electric company that is the default in the area. We have the "power to choose" and lots of little companies offer lower prices. My high price with this company is double what I usually see this time of year.) The cooler it is, the more energy (and I wait for that first fall day that feels and smells just right - months away from now.)

A friend was ordering several copies of a book for himself (he uses them as gifts) and accidentally left my name in the "to" section since he sent me a book via this vendor recently. Three of the four have arrived, when the last one gets here they go in a box and are shipped to New York. At least books are cheap to ship so it isn't too expensive a mistake. That's one of the problems with auto fill or pre-filled forms on sites. Sometimes I think I'm emptying my house via the postal service with side trips to Goodwill.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 08:10 PM

We have a similar issue with poliovirus in sewage here. A few samples crop up most years, but there's been something of a spike recently. The virus found here has been determined to be vaccine-derived from individuals who have been vaccinated with a live form of the virus. We haven't used live virus vaccine here for almost twenty years, so it seems that the virus found has come from someone who had the live virus oral vaccine overseas then came here. That wouldn't be a problem in theory, but a vaccine-derived live virus is theoretically capable of evolving into a pathogen. There have been no recorded cases of polio here in recent years. It seems that the risk is minimal (unless there are undetected cases in the community: none found so far), so the advice has been to make sure that vaccinations are up to date, especially in children. I have a very hazy recollection of having had only three out of the course of four vaccinations, as was in those days, well before I was ten. I won't be worrying too much but I'll check on my grandson with his mum and dad when they arrive here tomorrow.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 07:05 PM

When my kids were still getting many of their childhood immunizations I asked the pediatrician when they got the smallpox vaccine. He laughed - maybe didn't catch himself soon enough and it sounded somewhat patronizing - and said they hadn't given those for years. Smallpox is gone. But those with smallpox vaccines may have had some protection from monkeypox. It isn't a lifetime protection, though.

Today's trip to the gym was two months from the date of knee surgery and I did a full hour on the recumbent bike like I used to. My route home meandered through town and stopped at DSW to buy good socks for xmas stocking stuffers. I bought clearance socks and had a $10 off coupon, so feel like I did well there. (My daughter wears a large shoe size and when I can find nice looking men's socks I get them for her.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 06:36 PM

Adults
Most adults have likely already been vaccinated against poliovirus during childhood, and that is why IPV is not part of routine adult vaccinations.

However, adults who are unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or are completely vaccinated but are at higher risk for contact with poliovirus should receive polio vaccination. The following situations put adults at higher risk:

You are traveling to a country where the risk of getting polio is greater. Ask your healthcare provider if you need to be vaccinated.
You are working in a laboratory or healthcare setting and handling specimens that might contain polioviruses.
You are a healthcare worker treating patients who could have polio or have close contact with a person who could be infected with poliovirus.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 04:00 PM

Ask your doctor, Don. But I would get a booster, myself.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 12:25 PM

My cats are acting up too. I thought it was a terratorial fight but...
they might be reading Earth signals, for all I know.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have a polio outbreak and NYC suburb waste water tests say it's here too.
Are new vaccines appropriate after being vaccinated 60 years ago?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 12:20 PM

There is a canine source of clutter around here that is always interesting. Last night one of the dogs brought in a chunk of wood to chew on that is almost large enough to chock a tire.

The nectarines from Costco have been great, but one I picked up at Winco was a disappointment this morning. It smelled and felt ripe but the consistency was hard and rubbery. No appealing mouth-feel. I may make one more trip later this week (I still have a couple of peaches and a couple of nectarines to use - hopefully in better condition.) I buy too much fruit then have to eat it in a hurry. Must pace myself. That season is going to be over pretty soon.

From Thursday on it appears we have a good chance of rain over the course of the following week and the temperatures will drop. I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer if that is the case. I don't know if or how many records we broke this summer, but it will be one for the record books when describing the misery of hot weather.

My across-the-street neighbor goes out in the wee hours to water his lawn with a hose; I think he finds it restful to be up at that time. He told me yesterday he saw a possum drinking from the little pool set up in the yard. Nice!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 09:26 AM

That poor cat!

Memories of my parents’ house at the time of my mother’s death still haunt me. I will never forget the third-floor bedroom that became a no-go area because a tumbled stack of boxes was wedged between the door and the foot of the bed. One of my brothers (probably Andrew) had to put up an extension ladder and climb in the window to clear the blockage.

As for Susan the mask-hater, she’s apparently working on years of resentments covering a wide range of issues, and I’m just one more problem for her. I came swanning in during last winter’s lockdown with lots of range and the confidence to sing solos without fuss. I’m also not very tolerant of people who waste rehearsal time with complaints about things beyond our span of control.

The cats (mine, that is) had a huge fight last evening, and I have no idea why. They have been together their whole lives and they normally snooze all wrapped around each other so it’s hard to tell where one cat ends and the other begins. The home atmosphere is still a bit frosty this morning.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Senoufou
Date: 16 Aug 22 - 02:50 AM

I agree with Stilly, Charmion. That lady was being obstreperous and in my opinion not very Christian in her attitude to your perfectly reasonable request. Good for you - more caffeine next time to power your self-respect!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 11:14 PM

Good girl, Charmion! She was out of line. Sometimes you just have to speak up and that kind of consequence says more about her than you. I challenged a smoker one time and had that response - but she would have totally spoiled a meal if she'd lit up.

More listings up, still low-balling my buy-it-now price to move things along quickly. One item had dog hair on the Velcro surface that was impossible to completely remove. I listed it low accordingly, calling attention to it with a photo so it isn't grounds for return later. (As an aside, I saw a post on Facebook today from a West Coast Mudcatter who, from the photos, lives in a kind of hoarder house. His cat apparently died by getting trapped or squashed in some boxes that collapsed. She used to jump around over the top of stuff. So sad. And a lesson to learn from.)

Gym tomorrow. As gas prices come down (pretty dramatically, almost $2 per gallon lower now) I may make an extra trip when I'm not already in that part of town and up it to three times a week.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Aug 22 - 12:18 PM

I think I should get back in the habit of actual solid food at breakfast.

Yesterday, I caused a snit in the choir room before church when I asked a woman to stop her unrelenting griping about wearing a mask. I was polite — I said please! — but my irritation came through loud and clear. She erupted in rage, pulled rank on me (“You’ve only been here a little while!”) and stomped off home.

I had drunk a rather large mug of black tea on arising, and its caffeine content hit me like cocaine, dissolving inhibitions along the way. Carbohydrate tends to dull that effect, so maybe a bagel would be a good idea. At least before church.

A choir board meeting is today’s main agenda item. I have just eaten a large lunch …

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 22 - 07:29 PM

Dorothy, do you think there is anything of value left at the mill? You said it was ransacked by some young men from the area, and they were arrested?

I took donation stuff to Goodwill today; I can see I have been filling that bin for several months because I found things I'd put in there last spring that would fit me now. I only kept one of the items back, the rest are styles I don't wear. My errands also took me to Winco where I needed apple cider vinegar; I'd forgotten the gallons they carry are just white distilled vinegar with flavoring and caramel color. I got a quart of the real stuff (enough for pickles) and will get a gallon when I'm at Kroger later this week.