FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

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: keberoxu
Date: 24 Jan 22 - 10:07 PM

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

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: 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 - 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 20 Jan 22 - 08:25 PM

Not computer — printer. But you knew that.

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 - 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 - 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: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 22 - 10:44 AM

This morning was an illustration for myself of just how much I don't want to catch COVID. I rose early enough to get to the doctor's office for the blood draws right when the doors opened - and was the first one to enter that little lab room for the day. From there to the gas station and realized it has been 28 days since I last bought gas (and I only needed 7 gallons, so not an urgent purchase). I was double masked, and while it's a lot of stuff on your face to have the N95 under the cloth mask, I was certainly protected.

Another morning, so another shelf declutter. Interesting what you find when you use a step stool and tongs to reach for the contents of a long-ignored cupboard. Contents organized, one item to the Goodwill bin, and one in the eBay stack. And I'd forgotten that I have dog-bone-shaped cookie cutters for making dog biscuits. I'll make some this week if I have the ingredients here (brown rice flour, no wheat flour--I think there's some in the freezer).

We have another few really cold nights ahead. Last year at this time it was cold but not frigid. Tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of my first COVID vaccine, when I stood in a chilly line on a damp day and every person in that socially-distanced line was thrilled to be there, to start the real fight against COVID that we could take part in. I found an appropriate meme on Facebook yesterday - it said "I didn't realize that 2020 was going to be a trilogy."

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 22 - 03:55 PM

Oooooo, Dorothy! Sink envy! Enjoy that dish washing.

With this morning's call I changed my phone plan. My monthly bill has averaged ~ $33, it will come in under $20 once the new SIM card arrives for an update to the new plan.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Jan 22 - 02:00 PM

Dupont:

After 12 years of two dreadful composite sinks (Montreal and here) I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL STAINLESS STEEL SINK!!!! With a lovely new fully functional faucet. And, when I came down this am, the counter was cleared of tools! I was jumping up and down with joy! R says he still has plumbing to do in the basement - but nothing to do with the sink. He "enjoyed the process"! Problem solving! No end in an old house!

I cleared the front steps and path but will need to move the snowplow ridge to leave. A beautiful sunny day; perhaps I shall just relax, and, later, wash the 3 days of dishes in my beautiful double sink with separate hot and cold faucets!!!

I hope the snowblower will tickle his brain next, and soon!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jan 22 - 12:05 PM

I’m still waiting for the revised settlement offer from the insurance company, which is due today or tomorrow. The money will be deposited by Interac e-transfer, and I can complete the deal with the VW dealer when it has landed. The old-fashioned part of the process will be the trip downtown for a bank draft — car dealers like an actual document they can hold in their actual hands.

An important part of a modern car purchase is negotiating the warranties, and I will have to go back to Kitchener to do that. So … I’m looking at maybe another week of driving the cracker-box.

Snow continues to fall in Stratford with no immediate end in sight, and you just bet I’ll have winter tires on the new car before I take it off the dealer’s lot.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 22 - 11:26 AM

Dorothy, when I moved into this house in 2002 I had work done in the kitchen, including new counters and a new sink. I had a light put in over the sink and I think the carpenter stood in the left sink when doing that work and it has had a hairline crack in the bottom for all of these years. I noticed last week that the line is longer and a bit more pronounced. I probably need to plan for a new sink this year. I can pick up all of the parts and have a plumber install it and move the disposal unit from the old sink to the new.

Charmion, when do you pick up the new vehicle? Will you have the snow tires put on and have you found a home for the set from the previous vehicle? You seem to have a network there that allows microwaves, dressers, bookshelves, camping gear, and now tires to find new homes. We await the news of where they go!

Doctor appointment scheduled after the office called back and said they'll only do a partial Rx, not a full renewal. I have to go in for bloodwork first so I'll plan to go early and get in and out before lots of people breathe their germs in that lab room. Schools in this area closed down for several days last week to make an extended MLK holiday, hoping to slow the Omicron spread. I fear they simply delayed it; I'll watch the county numbers.

This morning it occurred to me that if I were swept away by COVID that the family would walk into the house and see everything being equal - all of the stuff around here needing to be dealt with, probably swept into trash bags or donated to Goodwill. So what is here that I look at every day that simply doesn't need to be here? I cleared off a small kitchen shelf of things just for display, such as mini jelly jars so old the contents are unrecognizable. A small sealing jar with Kosher salt - I'll just put it with the rest of the salt. Etc. If I do a shelf a day I could clear out some of the kitchen clutter in about a month. And then what to do with it? Recycle, donate, list on eBay. (The jelly is all emptied into a larger container of water and I'll pour the slurry onto the garden area since it works like an organic fertilizer.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Jan 22 - 03:53 AM

speaking of MLK Day 2022

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 11:55 PM

Dupont:

Charmion: on a day like today - anything is ok!

The K sink is slowly getting completed - perhaps yet tonight. Slow and not very steady but he is getting there. It is beautiful!!!!!!! But I have stayed out of the K and upstairs all day so eating - well not so great! Needless to say, the counter is awash with tools and parts! R commented: "maybe he sold the house because of the plumbing!" But the prev owner was here over 20 years so I suspect the crappy plumbing was his doing. When R finishes, it will be like Mary Poppins - practically perfect! Why it takes so long!

For R, I took out myriad containers of food and let him choose and nuke what he wanted. Then put them away. I finished the cauliflower soup and have been sitting here eating peanut butter and crackers to get through the night. Cannot even make popcorn. But, OH! how wonderful it will be when complete.

I did manage to do some sorting and putting away on the second floor. Some welcome progress - two empty boxes! And kept the fire going in the wood stove.

And a surprise call from a friend we met thru music - she has the voice of an angel - definitely! - I had tried a couple times to connect but she only answers the phone if she knows who it is. So now she knows - I left a message- and we had a good chat; she lives nearby and would feel comfortable visiting in this large empty house - after her first grandchild arrives - imminently! Something to which I can look forward!

Not keen on going back to Beaver. We got a bunch of snow; they got a bigger bunch. And the temp is dropping again!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 09:18 PM

I had a gin sour and a protein bar for supper.

Dimly, I recognize that this is somehow wrong.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 09:12 PM

Phone calls today to renew prescriptions and to switch from using the GoodRX coupons to actually using my insurance plan. A couple of months ago I revisited the setup with Medicare and our state insurance - to see if I was using those most efficiently. I was (and now I know why). Next, a call to the phone company to decide if the plan I'm grandfathered into is best for me. I think the time has come to tweak it.

Contact has been made with the family of the COVID friend and I am relieved that they have a plan if she needs more help and learned that there are local folks who are checking up on her.

I had groceries delivered to get more veggies and dairy (it was a modest order). The forest floor in the den was swept up, dishes emptied out of the kitchen sink. I did a little digging around in one garden bed, pulling weeds where I'll poke in some sprouting garlic soon. There are still some cluttered kitchen surfaces to organize. I made a big batch of my nacho beef and black beans filling and froze several pound-sized pieces of beef. I'll be freezing some of the cooked mix as well. Tomorrow I'll dice and freeze onions.

Contact with the outside world is digital.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 12:39 PM

Charmion, shifting into a smaller pair of jeans is a nice bit of progress in an a world otherwise stuck in place. I, on the other hand, ripped out the seat of a really really old pair of thin PJ pants and went against my "no-spend" policy this month and ordered a replacement flannel pair. Larger (alas).

I've researched the sites for monoclonal antibody infusions and have forwarded the information to my friend with COVID and to the most responsible of her grown children. I just heard that her son got on that plane to Hawaii. I am so disappointed in him right now. I have contacted my doctor's office and asked for Rx refills for now and go in for annual bloodwork when it's safer to go out. I don't want to go sit in that tiny lab room that has butts in the chair all day long (and compare that to the insanity of sitting in a jet for 8 hours).

Thompson, I was thinking out loud when I remarked about convection ovens, but this morning I found a study that looks into it. Skimming it and skipping to the bottom, it looks like the ovens had a liquid source for higher humidity and that the tests had a lot to do with how well the masks fit after being treated in a convection oven. A scalable method of applying heat and humidity for decontamination of N95 respirators during the COVID-19 crisis. From June 2020, so ages ago.

This article (from November, 2020) says dry heat can be used to decontaminate: FDA allows dry heat treatment for single-user mask reuse

So maybe just putting the mask away for a few days? Here is one that is quite bizarre - putting the mask in a paper bag inside a pressure cooker (with liquid? with the weight on top?) in the oven. How to Disinfect Your Mask: A Step-by-Step Guide is from June 2020.

And it sounds like some of them can be washed in water - a combination of treatments may turn up in a scholarly journal if I keep looking. I need to share this over on the COVID thread also. Give people something to dig their teeth into to complain about. :-/

No mail, no banks open today for MLK Day. One holiday isn't enough to bring virus spread to a halt if everyone stays home, so I'm going to postpone returning to my volunteer work by a couple of more weeks.

My jigsaw puzzle is coming along, though I swear there aren't enough edge pieces. Along the area where the dog usually attacked past puzzles, but I've kept it covered. In the end it usually means the size of the puzzle is smaller than I thought (it starts out spread out widely across the table top and compresses with its being solved.)

It's that time of year when a bulb of hyacinth or amaryllis is in a special clear pot (roots in water) to bloom on the kitchen windowsill. This year's purple hyacinth is open - and the smell is strong and sickly sweet. It's the worst of cheap motel soap smells, and I think this plant is going to go into dirt and out to the greenhouse really soon.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 09:12 AM

It’s snowing to beat the band all across Ontario today and I must go out — no veg or fruit in the house, and a date with the physiotherapist. I don’t look forward to surfing the Chevy cracker-box over the drifts.

I’m very gradually getting thinner. Yesterday, I noticed that my lined jeans are flapping around my legs and the waistband is all bunched up under my belt. I think I have another pair a size smaller …

Last night’s supper was mostly cauliflower, with garlic butter and freshly ground black pepper. Delicious!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Thompson
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 04:43 AM

Oh, a fan oven. OK.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Thompson
Date: 17 Jan 22 - 04:33 AM

I see warnings online *not* to use a convection oven for this (what is a convection oven?)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 22 - 02:06 PM

Another friend down with COVID, the most vulnerable person I know, she's 87 and has COPD. She has been vaccinated and boosted.

Dorothy, I remember reading articles about reusing the N95 masks, and hospitals ran them through autoclaves. I wonder if something like an air convection oven would work? They might blow around, but would get warm enough long enough. Or put silverware in with them through the loops to hold them in place on the bottom rack. Mine is a large glass bowl with the heating element and fan on top, and the temperature can be pretty precise (and I could use an oven thermometer in the bowl.)

The water of COVID is circling the drain, picking up everyone. We need to stop the magical thinking that we won't catch it and just stay home away from people. My friend, mentioned above, lives with her son. Who is on his way to the airport tomorrow after today visiting with all of his siblings in this DFW area (he lives 4 hours drive west of here). My friend tested positive this morning (after testing negative yesterday and thinking she just has allergies). The son plans to get on a flight from DFW to Hawaii tomorrow - those plans need to abruptly change, for everyone's sake.

I texted the kids to give the friend a call to "cheer her up." Code for "say goodbye." I hope for the best and fear the worst.

Meanwhile, the fellow I do contract work for was commenting on his allergies on his gardening radio show today. I work from home, never come into contact, but the business is basically a three or four person operation. [slaps forehead]

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Jan 22 - 10:44 AM

Not all here this am: meant to share this possibly helpful info:
Can you clean N95 masks?

A timely study, conducted by Dr. Pascal Juang and published in April of 2020, determined the following about mask cleaning:

Rotate between three to four masks, wearing one per day and then letting it rest for three to four days.
N95 masks can be heated to 70 C (158 F) for 60 minutes.
Boiling N95 masks for five minutes
Steam cleaning N95 masks at 125 C (257 F) for five minutes

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Jan 22 - 09:48 AM

Dupont:

And I phoned Applehelp last night and a wonderful woman guided me out of the AppleTV mess. I am still not clear about how it happened but it is fine now AND she told me how to connect computer to TV for that larger screen! I wrote it down. So I can console myself with programs I like rather than sports and other stuff of no interest to me. And I did not have to wait overly long for help, and had the choice of silence rather than someone else's choice of Music.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Jan 22 - 09:20 AM

Dupont:

Now there is no sink at all!! And the stores that sell parts are closed today! There is the bathtub... Trying to think of things to cook that require little mess. Need a wash basin... Waiting for the next exciting episode! I did get to see how wonderful the Stainless steel sink will look!!!

R then went off to supper at his cousin's wearing good clothes. I did a laundry, including the was-once-red Jacket; it is sort of red now.

minus 24C and beautiful sun, clear sky - which is why it is so cold- no cloud cover to keep the heat down here! I need to bring in more wood- hate to open the door!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Jan 22 - 08:47 AM

I’m still sorry I scrapped a camo-pattern sweatshirt that said “You can’t see me”.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jan 22 - 11:08 PM

The trifecta of Saturday cleaning accomplished: I ran the washer, the dryer, and the dishwasher in sequence (they add a nice heartbeat hum to an otherwise very quiet house). The sheets are changed. In the kitchen the fridge has been cleaned and a few things have been cooked for meals this week.

I went shopping yesterday and discovered the large grocery store was completely out of onions. The stocking clerk said they haven't been able to get any for three weeks, and he has heard that other stores are having similar order shortages. I mulled this: was I going to try another grocery store? Last night's trip was calculated to find an empty 24-hour store (it was). I don't want to go indoors around people much with Omicron in the air. Get curbside pickup and hope someone else could find a good bag of onions? And would they do curbside for a single item? Then it dawned on me that the restaurant supply cash-and-carry little hole-in-the-wall store near me has a few produce offerings. I headed over, there was no one else in there, and found and brought home six large onions. I'll be dicing a couple of them to freeze and bag (I do this anyway when I have extras). I'll be cooking with a couple. A couple are spare and hopefully onions will again appear in the stores by the time I need more.

In another pandemic-avoidance move (after reading up on disposable masks) two boxes of surgical facemasks arrived today (thanks, Amazon!) For the last two years I've worn the homemade cloth masks; the ones I've made since summer of 2020 are the three-layer 3-D style that are still quite safe. The older more fitted ones are t-shirt jersey or other lighter fabric and are only two layers: those need to be set aside. And even with the 3-D masks, it makes sense now to double mask. That's why I have all of these disposable surgical ones. I've tested it a couple of times now, it is ok. The cloth mask keeps the surgical mask underneath right against your face so you really do get a good filter. Those I sent to the NE and other contingents of Mudcatters (I've lost track, I sent out a lot of these) just double up and you'll be fine.

In cold weather it's layers time so I got out my favorite sweatshirt (an oversized green one that says "Aun Aprendo: I'm still learning.") It's really old, so I spent time zigzag stitching on patches and tacking things back together. It's still pretty ratty, but I should be able to wear it for one more winter.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jan 22 - 02:13 PM

Awww, Dorothy. I'm so sorry!

The last time I saw one of my oldest friends I was in 2013, driving my son around the little town where I had worked for several years. We hadn't spoken in a couple of years when I stopped by her house unannounced, where her grown grandson was now living with her. She was glad to see me, I introduced my now-grown son, and then she asked how the kids are. All faces in the room froze with realization. I miss all of our long conversations from over the years and haven't heard back from her son to know if she is even living now. You're very lucky to have had "lucid" right up to the end! And that new sink will always remind you of her. Instead of Shirley Valentine talking to "Wall," you can talk to "Sink." {{Hugs}}