DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

Subject: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Dec 22 - 11:01 AM

2022 Declutter thread, Pandemic edition year 3

Our habits shift over time, tilting more toward environmentally sound practices. Organic gardening, recycling, buying products in containers that are recyclable (glass and metal and corrugated cardboard are most likely to be recycled; plastic and mixed paper less so), and looking at our closets and thrift stores for slow fashion. Gardening because it's good for us and good for the planet; when the carbon footprint of your meal is nil because you carried that eggplant or tomato 25 feet from the garden. Growing from seed. Driving prudently and making several stops in one trip instead of single task trips. Walking more, driving less, or even moving to a place where everything is nearby and transit is efficient so a car is unnecessary – that's more difficult, but might be a goal we need to shoot for in our lifetimes.

It has been many years since Katlaughing started these declutter and fitness threads, and now it is quite a few years since we lost Kat La France who went by that moniker. Other members have drifted away and drop in occasionally with updates (we love those!) We lost Alice Flynn in early December; at one time she was quite active on these threads (and in the Facebook cognate). They were interested in all of these things we're still talking about, an aspect of these threads unlikely to change, and chances are these conversations will lure in a few new participants.

COVID is still here, with its recent companions RSV and the Plague Influenza. Planetary scientists are looking at the super storms racing around the planet (we just finished a horrible long freeze that hit the lower 48 US states, when on Christmas day they were all simultaneously frozen at least somewhere.)
We need to continue using our spaces as efficiently as possible including the making of compost to fertilize the garden, buying clothes to last, mending clothing, remaking existing clothing, learning food preservation, learning to trade or barter, etc. I've been reducing the amount of turf that needs mowing every year, though I still have gas-powered equipment along with the electric tools. I don't know if I'd ever use a push mower on this half-acre, but that is a possibility at some point. I have planted and will continue to plant various sized trees, while leaving myself a sunny area to garden.

I don't make resolutions – though late in 2022 I decided a few things that I have already started on, like weeding out the email I never read (unsubscribe) and make a bigger effort to sell things in the house now that I know the kids aren't interested in. Redistribution of resources to declutter and avoid the need to manufacture new is a task to refine. If you use the Japanese or the Swedish approaches to household inventory, or other trends that come along, please share.

National Wildlife Federation: Gardening for Climate Change

Subject: RE: Declutter * Health * Climate Change * 2023
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Dec 22 - 02:23 PM

Thanks for the new thread, Stilly.

I joined this group-within-a-group comparatively late, in 2020, after my husband died and I found myself neck deep in clothing, books, papers, furniture, housewares and other assets -- even an extra car -- that I did not need and either could not or would not use. Over two years, I have shed most of the excess and reorganized the house to suit myself on my own. Only the library remains to be reduced to manageable size, and I have actually started work on it with the transfer of all remaining children's books to the youngest cohort of the family. That's the declutter part.

Health? I'm still here, and functioning remarkably well for an aging asthmatic recovering from COVID-19. I have an ugly cough and at present I sing better than I talk -- don't know why. I can still drive on high-speed autoroutes, even at night, although these days I need a break every 150 km or so. I'm a frequent flyer at the YM/YWCA swimming pool and I still walk well. The doctor doesn't see much of me; in fact, I doubt if she could pick me out of a police line-up.

As for climate change, I've probably lightened my carbon footprint about as much as I can without selling the house. Thanks to the inadequacy of Stratford's public transit, I will need a car as long as I live here, and I'm nowhere near ready to move. I travel very little these days and not at all by air; in future, I will probably take the train to destinations more than two hours away by road. But Canadians have good reasons to be heavy consumers of energy, and that won't change as long as we have cold winters and high housing costs leading to long commutes to work. Of course, I don't have to commute any more (hurrah!), so at least I don't contribute to that problem.

I find myself returning to the abstemious habits I learned from my parents, who lived through the depression and the war, and raised three children on not nearly enough money. It's oddly comforting to decide that entire classes of consumption are simply off the menu, out of the question, not for me. Avoiding advertising is a big help; what the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't yearn for.

By the way, the foot and a half of snow that fell over Christmas is now gone. I woke this morning to rain on the roof and today's forecast high is 8 degrees Celsius; yesterday it went up to 12C, and we won't see freezing temperatures again until sometime next Wednesday.

New Year's Eve is a good time to settle debts and count blessings. In that spirit, I shall clear my MasterCard bill, vacuum the upstairs (I'm so lucky to have an upstairs!), and phone my sister-in-law to thank her for hosting the family hordes. Then I shall make myself a toddy (three people gave me whisky for Christmas!) and settle down with the cats for a nice evening of reading and television.

Life is good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health * Climate Change * 2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 Dec 22 - 07:44 PM

Charmion - singing & talking come from different centres of the brain, which is why a past colleague of mine could barely be understood with a severe stutter, but sang like an angel. I've also read something somewhere about people recovering from strokes who can barely speak, but if they use a sing-song voice are understandable.

Declutter - hmmmm

Thoughtful distribution of unwanted stuff. Before covid I used to visit a huge community centre (ex-WW1 & 2 Army base) weekly. One of the community groups there was a composting organisation with huge bins so I used to take all kitchen scraps. During covid I couldn't go that far so took selected scraps to a friend's worm farm (worms are fussy!) & have been throwing out unwanted stuff. I know there's a local facebook group for contacting individuals with compost heaps who welcome contributions, so JUST need to ask friends on facebook to check it out for me. A few months back our small soft plastic recycling industry collapsed - one company lost their premises to fire, another had stockpiled plastic cos they couldn't use it fast enough! Not good, & stockpiles are a fire risk, so we all need to toss it out at the moment ... more waste.

I recently took several long term bags of unwanted (& very much in the way) stuff to charity shops! small YAH! but there is more to go.

A friend's teenage granddaughter is visiting & they have been going thru small family treasures & other ornaments etc. The charity shop pile is slowly growing. I suggested several anonymous family treasures (eg. small unmarked painting by an ancestor) be marked so her sons & granddaughters know what they are looking at if she suddenly pops off the twig. My cousin who has 2 daughters is looking forward to my smallish collection of family treasures so they can continue to be passed down in the female line.

But I have so much other stuff that needs sorting, including some that is already supported & was forgotten ...

Charity shops re-open next week, but many are overwhelmed by donations at this time of the year.

sandra (ignoring floor that needs vacuuming cos various craft projects & books are filed on the floor

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health * Climate Change * 2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jan 23 - 12:52 AM

A friend left today after visiting for most of the week, during which time she visited with her grandchildren and their child and seems to have caught a nasty cold from them. So I'm hoping it doesn't land on me in a day or two. I was going to go out to the gym but decided to keep my germs to myself for a few days, just in case. I don't need to offload a cold (or who knows, RSV?) onto other people.

It's warm here and in the next couple of days I'll finally finish some of the garden work - the tough, woody okra plants need to come down and get tossed into my woods over the back fence. The old sweet potato vines break down easily and can go on the compost, and I'll even dig to see if there are potatoes in there. I'm going to visit one of the big box stores and see if they have any leftover rosemary xmas trees - I have to replace at least one plant that died last week when it got down to 9^o. I'll keep them in the greenhouse for a few weeks until the last freeze date has passed.

I'm recycling old t-shirts of mine by putting them on my blue heeler, to keep her for scratching at her surgical spot on her stomach. It takes more than just a cone to protect the area; she can lift her back foot and scratch, not just lick. It has been suggested in other venues (Facebook pages, I think) that really old towels and such can be donated to animal shelters, and I have some that I think it's time to send in that direction. Even then I'll have plenty here left for me to use. I should ask if they also use general clothing rags or just old towels.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health * Climate Change * 2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jan 23 - 08:35 AM

When I had to buy a car last year, I had a hell of a time convincing the sales staff at the Volkswagen dealership that I really did want the smallest, fuel-stingiest vehicle they could find. Wasn’t I afraid of being crushed in a collision? Didn’t I want to impress people with a brawny ride? Well, yes, in fact I am kinda scared of being crushed in an accident, but I know that’s actually more likely in a boxy, top-heavy truck-type vehicle with stiff steering and awkward sight-lines. The Golf I bought impresses with its ease of extraction from snowbanks.

In re: dog licences — Whaddaya mean, “reimpose” the dog licence? You don’t have to tag your dog in Britain? Since when?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jan 23 - 11:49 AM

This thread isn't about Greta and that kind of political topic. I transferred those two off-topic posts to the Good news re: . . . environment thread, where they fit perfectly. Climate change may be too broad a subject in the title, I will adjust it to keep it pretty tightly on topic here; we touch on lots of things, for example, some recipes, in passing, but not multiple-post discourse; we generally stick to local references to aspects of national topics that impact the participants in the thread.

The dog reference that was transferred leaves Charmion's remark hanging; sorry about that. We still have ongoing pet discussions here (and licenses are required). My dog has a new rabies tag after her surgery, when they caught her up on her immunizations, but because she is now wearing a reinforced cone (I literally put a new cone on behind the vet's harder plastic and now cracked cone) I won't expose either of us to the possible ridicule a walk could initiate.

Now that I'm thinking about donating towels I've starting a box in the laundry room (where my regular donation bin also lives) and will add towels and some of the really old bedding (I imagine washable old blankets are also used at the Humane Society, but I'll ask before I drop them off). I have some really old bed pillows that need to come out of the closet; it looks like if I run them through the washer and dryer, I could then upcycle them into other uses, by taking the fiber out of the covers and stuffing new cases. One site has several new case suggestions, but there is also an image of a long narrow device to block the cold air from coming under the door. That would be helpful in a couple of areas and they could be made of some really sturdy corduroy or sail cloth. Would they survive dog attention? They'd be washable.

I unsubscribed a half-dozen email sources so far, and many more ahead.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jan 23 - 11:07 AM

One more dive into the closet rack to pull out some really big t-shirts that were favorites but that I've passed by for many weeks now when choosing a t-shirt for the day. They are too big to use for the dogs also (Pepper is wearing size medium or large that aren't humongous.) And a few of my long-sleeved shirts that are too baggy or worn out to look good, though I still have several larger blouses that I will typically wear over the top of a contrasting color shirt and roll up the sleeves when I want another layer. For the last several years the loose outer blouse was worn to hide the "love handles" from where my snug t-shirt under it revealed the muffin top above my jeans waist.

My organizing system is to put the shirts with a messages or art on hangers along the upper rod in the closet; there are shelves in a narrow cabinet built in the back and I keep a large wire basket in there to stack my folded (I used to roll them) shirts on, arranged by color. No art - they're the tops I wore to work or to dressier events when I'm not a walking billboard for a philosophical statement or cause or some silliness. Ever since I worked on my Dad's estate and realized he hung his t-shirts arranged by color I started that - it's easier to find what I'm looking for. I have a few blouses and slacks, but they are a thing of my distant working past for the most part, with one or two nicer fabric/higher cost to mix and match for occasions like weddings or funerals.

As days pass my fingers are crossed that what my houseguest last week experienced was a bad allergy attack and not a cold. She coughed and sneezed all over the house on Friday and Saturday so I'm three days out and still ok. I really don't want to catch a cold or RSV or whatever it is going around now. I keep my allergies tamped down to avoid getting sinus infections - until I admitted that I had allergies I used to end up with horrible sinus stuff. A head cold isn't going to respond to the allergy medication and not so well to the decongestant.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jan 23 - 01:28 PM

Today is the statutory holiday for New Year’s Day, so the town is quiet. The Y was open, however, so I went to pool class, where I saw several unfamiliar people. The long-term frequent fliers call these folks “Resolutionists”, and expect them to vanish by February.

I weighed myself yesterday and found that I had gained half a pound over the month since I came down with COVID, including Christmas. I ate whatever was handy and palatable when I was sick and accepted every delicacy that came my way during the festivities, so I expected to be considerably fatter. I wonder if my body has right-sized itself and I should focus less on calories and more on eating what I need and what I like.

Tomorrow, I intend to visit the LCBO and get as many boxes as will fit in the car. It’s time to start packing up novels that I know I won’t read again. Goodwill Industries has a bookstore in London, so that’s where I’ll take them, one carload at a time.

I still feel compelled to continue shedding stuff, and I’m not quite sure why. No one is pushing me to sell the house and move, and I know lots of people who just let their families’ accumulated possessions pile up around them without so much as a second thought. I’ll have to think about it …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jan 23 - 01:54 PM

When I remember what a job it was to go through the separate houses of both parents (divorced many years earlier) and how rough it was on the rest of the family, I would like to avoid that in this generation. It's a lot better than it used to be, but I have a lot left to do, though I *think* it isn't as bad as my parents' homes.

LCBO? Liquor boxes, maybe? Trying to figure out that acronym. In Washington State they had way-expensive state liquor stores (until Costco sued and got the right for itself and other retailers to also sell hard liquor) and we used to go get boxes for moving. The theory was they were strong for bottles and not too heavy to lift when they were packed.

This afternoon I pulled out six long-dead okra plants to be hauled out back, and I dug around and found a few small sweet potatoes. The trouble with growing those is the vines sprawl all over and you have no way of knowing where the potatoes end up under all of the vines. I got a few small ones and broke a piece off of a larger potato but couldn't find the rest of that potato. Odd. It'll sprout next year and we'll have more sweet potatoes in that area. I still need to finish tightening the gate hinge, something I'll head out to do in a few minutes. It's warm and very humid right now, getting ready to rain.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jan 23 - 05:13 PM

Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Stilly.

Boozetería.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 02 Jan 23 - 10:34 PM

From which one can buy (and has indeed bought) Sortilege Maple Whisky.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jan 23 - 08:30 AM

Sortilège is one of those things that, if liked at all, are typically liked a lot, a class of article that also includes poutine, butter tarts, and ketchup. It’s all yuck to me, and sometimes I wonder if my Canadian birth certificate would be revoked if the government ever found out.

It’s still grey, wet, and too warm for January in Stratford; I continue to feel washed-out and wobbly, presumably from COVID after-effects; and the cats are fighting again for no apparent reason. Things really have to improve.

What if I were to wash the kitchen floor? Or would that be too drastic?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 23 - 09:23 AM

That might do it. Or look around that bathroom you want updated and decide to start a project on your own without beefy craftsmen to do the heavy lifting. That lets you view everything else from a new perspective.

Yesterday was dreadful here; I thought about posting or sharing via email to a friend and finally posted a jeremiad to a small private group - this morning [most of] the things I complained about had reversed themselves and were fine. Whew.

The SUV gets an oil change and tire rotation today. I have an overdue library book that I'll read while I wait then return it on the way home. I've just ironed a handful of my 3-layer 3D COVID face masks to wear as we enter the fourth year of COVID. Knock wood the threat of a head cold seems to have passed, but the mask would help keep my germs to myself if it was still a question of coming down with something.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Jan 23 - 10:37 AM

Stilly, the LCBO was and may still be the largest single purchaser of alcoholic beverages on the planet. It maintained (and may yet maintain) a leading quality-assurance laboratory from which many other booze vendors have benefited; in the early 1980s, it (along with the West Germans) detected ethylene glycol in Austrian wines. The scandal nearly ruined the Austrians' export market. The history section of the LCBO's Wikipedia article is worth reading, if only for a reminder of what things were like in a nanny state with no laws to protect one's privacy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 23 - 06:19 PM

Andrew, that's quite a rabbit hole to descend.

The blue laws in Texas and Kentucky and Louisiana that I have experienced over the years impacted Sunday purchases of alcohol along with odd things. Clothing, automobiles, personal things like pantyhose, no rhyme or reason to a lot of it. Most of those have been removed (though in Texas auto dealers have the choice of which weekend day they are closed, they can only be open six days a week.) I just looked up my home state of Washington's liquor control board and find they seem to be largely about cannabis now.

The holidays have an impact on diet - so much sugar. I'm off of the various breads and cookies, along with the wine and Scotch that were here over the last month, now just to finish off the last of the dark chocolate caramels and go cold turkey. I'm hoping that if the dog cone and stitches are resolved tomorrow that I can finally go back to using the dog door and spend more time away from the house. I know people go to work and leave their dogs indoors for nine or 10 hours at a time, but these guys aren't used to it and the Lab can't handle it. I'll go to the gym tomorrow afternoon and make more progress on my audio book. I've missed that. (I typically don't just go to the gym, as far away as it is I combine that activity with volunteer activities and am usually away from the house 4 to 6 hours.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 03 Jan 23 - 07:59 PM

Charmion, I'm also quite partial to butter tarts and Nanaimo bars - my friend in B.C. makes delicious bars - but we don't have them here in Oz, they have been treats on visits to Canada. Ditto poutine. Your ketchup is different to our tomato sauce, it's much sweeter, something our Canaussian son remarked on when he was first in Canada. According to Doug a meat pie was not a meat pie without lashings of tomato sauce....or dead horse, as oldies sometimes still call it. He has learned to use ketchup but still hankers for Ozzie tomato sauce.

The Chrissy decorations, such as they are this year, will be put away soon. They are being gathered in one spot to make for easier putting-away-of. It has turned quite hot here but the next few days are set to be cooler, so better weather for doing household Stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Jan 23 - 01:58 PM

I have had my moments of art by pen, clay, oil, digital, wood, stone and now will begin my acrylic age. In the meantime I have one mixed media space portrait to finish composed of translucent silk layers and LCD-illuminated stone stars, planets and UV glowing nebulas. Sadly its depth is impervious to photography and its final effectiveness is as of yet unknown.
Ecologic innovations? I wish I had some. Minimal Jeff Goldblum Xmas decorations on the second floor basement will stay until the super bowl.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jan 23 - 08:56 PM

I have a bag of towels and an old blanket to donate to the Humane Society, but they were closed by the time I got there today. I picked up Pepper, still a bit loopy after sedation, but no more in a cone or t-shirt. The Humane Society is across the street from my vet, so in a couple of weeks for a recheck I'll take the towels over. And by then I may have rounded up a few more bedding pieces that can go to them.

The dogs cornered a cat in the back yard this evening; their Invisible Fence collars prevented them from reaching it, but that wild thing wasn't interested in my help (I got scratched) so I dropped my hoodie over the top of it and tossed the cat over onto the creek side of the fence. I expect coyotes will find that guy just like my dogs did; feral cats don't last long out there.

What a day. Today's exam showed that Pepper's scar tissue is unusual and so we went ahead and sent in the tissue for pathology. Should this be treatable in a reasonable way, ok, but I suspect it's going to be a rough year for losing pets.

At least I got my overdue library book turned in this evening. They don't charge fines now, but they were emailing me about it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jan 23 - 11:08 AM

It still feels good that the holidays are over - they were rough this year. And after a couple of days back using the dog door it still feels luxurious to have my time to myself now that they come and go as they wish. I have to puff a dry medication onto Pepper's tummy daily, where one wound is still healing, but that's it.

A few days ago I took pliers and level and a pry bar and a couple of bricks to the side gate installed last summer and I raised the height (it was dragging) and tapped the hinge into place then tightened it completely. A determined burglar could bring a pliers and dismantle the gate latch and come through; these kinds of gates keep the dogs in and honest people out. Now that the gate is working well I need to take the wheelbarrow through it and finish moving the last of the dead garden vines and plants to the backyard compost.

The knee surgery six-month follow-up shows good progress. I went from there to the gym, but it was late afternoon and the place had more people than usual (with their resolutions to get in shape). I spent only 30 minutes this time, getting back to the routine, but left before the after-work crowd arrived for the fitness classes. I wear a mask and make a point to use machines that are fairly isolated in the rooms. They finally finished the work in the wet area so it's time to get a suit and add laps to my routine. We'll see if Charmion's description of "bingo flaps" or such (the upper arm wattle) in the pool is very noticable. I expect to just swim, not wave my arms around in the air. ;-)

I hope Dorothy locates this new thread pretty soon. She had a lot of moving around planned and keeping up with it is always interesting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jan 23 - 12:52 PM

Bingo wings, Stilly.

I've been to pool class and I'm tired and a bit wobbly; apparently, this is the new normal, at least for now.

The mouldy bathroom really is urgent, and well beyond my limited skill with tools, so I contacted one of Stratford's main building firms for a quote. Their website said I would have to wait for an estimator, but within a few hours an email rolled in proposing a visit next Thursday. I accepted with enthusiasm.

If I tried to tackle that job on my own, I would make a mess and probably hurt myself. Even the destruction phase requires tools I don't have and don't know how to use, not to speak of the mould itself, a major threat to asthmatic ol' me. Classic example of a task for a properly equipped master carpenter.

Damp spots have been appearing on the bedroom rug lately, and I suspect Watson (who spends his days on the bed) although I have not noticed so much as a whiff of cat pee. This cannot continue, however, so I rolled up the rug and told the cat, "This is why we can't have nice things." He just showed me his belly and purred.

Today is Epiphany, or Little Christmas, and neighbour Neil across the street is taking the tastefully restrained festive lights off his roof. I bet the people on the corner will leave the gigantic inflatable (but only half-inflated) Santa on their lawn until at least half-way through Lent.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Jan 23 - 01:13 PM

Dupont:
Here am I! Back, on Monday, from a week at Beaver. R's mid-winter break but not nearly long enough. I wish we could have sent him far away for a month. He drove the whole way there but I was still exhausted as tho I had done it myself. I believe I was not well for a long time before we went and, finally, felt better after a few days there. I sent him off in my car to enjoy as much as there was - thrift shops mostly closed but he explored what he could and finally went off on Sunday to play chess with our 90 year old Estonian friend. This made R remember how much he enjoys playing chess. Arne Roosman is a highly regarded artist (you can google), a highly intelligent person, and much loved locally. So it was a good break for R. Maybe someday I can acquire one of his paintings.

I just mainly hung out at Beaver and considered doing something... The snow was rather overwhelming. When we arrived on the Monday, R had to plow through thigh-high drifts to get to the house - and the shovel! He cleared a path for me and I texted our snow-clearance guy, knowing he had been up to his eyeballs! He came early on Tues. We could park on the road as there are only 4 or 5 neighours beyond us.

The most interesting aspect was that the wind had come from a different direction and put snow into the front of the wood shed. The back deck was also thigh-deep! R did lots of shoveling! I was too tired - unusually.

The trip back was ... I had hoped to meet a friend in Tweed, thinking his driveway would be impassable but... He did not understand my texts and invited us for tea (the drive was clear) but by then, R had gone off to consult re business so I thanked my friend. Rather than go back 15 minutes to his place, we headed south to the 401 ... The dentist phoned with an opening for my tooth cleaning... So we went back 30 minutes and got a bite to eat and R had fun exploring Madoc while I got clean teeth. Now it was getting late and R's driving was driving me crazy so I ended up driving the remaining 3 hours, as it got dark - home to Dupont at 7:15 pm. And felt OK the next day, unusual.

We did de-clutter stuff in ON. Now I look at what is here and... I need to sort through piles of fabrics and see what more I can easily part with then invite a friend, who sews, to choose whatever she wants. The rest will go back to Beaver for the Thrift shops there.

I have slightly de-cluttered bank accounts with donations re animal rehabs and a burned down house. Deciding how much I can give to local group that is dedicated to helping people in need - housing, food, drug rehab... This group is making a BIG difference for a lot of people and encouraging political action/complaining/pushing re the severe lack of affordable housing. I consider them worthy of whatever I believe I can afford, with some left for ...

Hoping we make it to the monthly old time music event tonight; our social event here. We managed to attend an open mike event when we were at Beaver.

And a new cord for the computer arrived by Fed-ex this am; I ordered it a couple days ago in desperation; the old one died completely late last night! And, as I was watching R leave this am, a neighbour walked over and said he would clear our drive - no charge! We have not needed it as we just push though it! But it was nice to meet him - from New Zealand and now I realize the older couple who offered help a while back are his parents - a Canadian and a Belgian. They all speak English! I look forward to seeing them again. I only know one other Anglophone neighbour and he is so busy- teaching classical music (choir I think) that we rarely get a chance to chat. My only social life is going to the grocery store and the library (did that on Tuesday).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jan 23 - 11:04 AM

A significant declutter that over a hundred people in this area are thrilled about is the departure of a Really Really bad boss. She arrived at our institution in 2012 and proceeded to break it so badly that about 75% of the people working there at the time found new jobs, quit outright, or retired. (I was in the latter group). She's moving on to break another institution's library in the far north, but the odds favor her being fired there within the six month probationary period. When we learned of this job consideration we kept her incompetence quiet, so the other institution wouldn't learn of it—because this local one needs her to move out so it can heal. (Honestly, we think this is how our institution ended up with her - someone here didn't do their due diligence on the projects she did at her last university - where they undid her big changes as soon as she left.) So - once she leaves, the new employer will be given the information they need to be on their guard for her evil personnel management techniques and general level of incompetence. There is new top management at our institution, president and provost, who, we think, don't suffer fools gladly and told her to find a new job and leave on her own or she's out. And now that she's announced that she is leaving and has given an end date, there are no do-overs if she finds the next place changes their mind. So much interesting information has come in through the back channels lately regarding these personnel matters.

Here on the home front eBay stuff is beginning to move again. One box delivered to the post office yesterday and a couple of more listings nearly ready to put up. This is good work for chilly evenings. Since today's high temperature will be in the mid-60s I can go out for a little while and finish cleaning out the freeze-damaged contents of the pots out front and at the side of the house. It's a day for puttering inside and out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jan 23 - 12:41 PM

Puttering indeed.

I'm procrasti-cleaning, putting off writing the minutes of the latest choir board meeting. While I'm at it, I moved a small bookcase from the study to the bedroom and dusted all the baseboards (how to tell you're not just cleaning, but actively avoiding another task).

With no rug in the bedroom, thanks to Watson, I have to be even more punctilious about keeping the floor dusted in there. That task is easier with more room around the bed for bending over and swashing the dustmop or the vacuum cleaner underneath. To that end, the enormous chest of drawers moved across the room and the considerably less enormous bookcase took its place.

And now I want to move the pictures, and put up the new one my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. But I really have to write those minutes, and the choir newsletter -- the deadline is coming at me like the noon freight.

One final note: I envy Dorothy her outings to old-time music and open-mike events. I finally got to play a few tunes on Thursday with my fiddler friend, who has finally quit her draining classroom teaching job, but that's about the sum and total of my non-family social life that isn't choir practice.

Grocery shopping doesn't count, Dorothy!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jan 23 - 01:54 PM

Dupont:

Charmion would get more out of the "Brysonville School revisited" than I.It is a bilingual group and only a couple that I talk with. A few songs last night in French sounded delightful. Of course, even when they are in English, I usually have no idea of the words due to my Auditory Processing problem, unless "You are my Sunshine" and the like! It is a rare voice that is comprehensible to me. Enunciation is not taught in school.

R's is getting worse - or my problem is - or both! My current comment is, "Just make sure if the house is on fire, I understand you." There are people I understand with ease. "Grocery shopping" - I usually understand staff. So, twice a month I have something akin to social time.

Yesterday, a cross-the-street neighbour caught me outside - as I watched to make sure R put on his safety belt, which I do every morning. This short visit was an event: Jay is from NZ, offered to plow our drive free of charge. I found out his parents (also over there) are Canadian and Belgian. SO! 3 possible social connections. The dog walker down the street has become a friend but with very little time; he did come in for a bit a couple weeks ago.

Now, I shall brave the frosty weather and go socialize at the vitamin shop! And the produce store. Then try to see if I can re-configure the kitchen - like that pic circulating on FB - sans chat!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 11:14 AM

At xmas my kids gave me a specialty bidet commode seat. The Cadillac of bidets with a warmed seat and warm water, etc. I set the box to the side for a couple of weeks because I had company and frankly didn't want advice or to have to fuss with someone else wanting to try it before I figure it out myself. (This last holiday season got on my last nerve something fierce - it started with the dog in a cone for three weeks, add to it an elderly visitor who coughed and hacked and blew her nose much of the time she was here over five long days . . . ) I've had time to calm down and read the installation instructions.

Today Amazon should be delivering an indoor/outdoor power strip that will be plugged into the GFCI plug on the far end of the sink counter. The extra water protection may not be necessary because of the GFCI plug, but whatever. With an 8' cord it will reach along the wall and be attached to the wall next to the mirror so the bidet power cord can be plugged in. I have checked with the stud finder and should be able to make this power strip pretty stable where I want to place it.

2023 may turn out to be a perfectly fine year, but the start to it has had a number of puzzles and annoyances that have me on edge. I still have a really old dog and the middle dog may have cancer but on the plus side my ex retired so my income will increase one of these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 02:13 PM

Been trying hard to get-things-done at the start of the year, and making headway, after some goof-off time at Camp Harmony. But honestly it seems I get 2 things off the list and 2 new ones crop up.

One thing was a large ordering binge while I am stationary for a few weeks. Ebay turned out to be wonderful for ordering odd-size clothes, bless the people who gather these things up and make them available. Land's End, on the other hand, still hasn't actually shipped anything but has sent 3 promotional emails. They are moving at the speed of Sears Roebuck in 1962. Minimizing my Amazon buys, and will send back the mis-sized item they speedily sent.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 03:10 PM

Charmion asked, ”In re: dog licences — Whaddaya mean, “reimpose” the dog licence? You don’t have to tag your dog in Britain? Since when?”

In the UK, Dog Licences were abolished in 1987. The old dog licence was a bit of a joke costing, as it did, the princely sum of 37 pence (slightly less than one US dollar). A promise by the then government to introduce a formal dog registration scheme never came to fruition, although it is a requirement that dogs must have a collar with owners’ details when in public this rule is widely ignored.

Personally, I would change the law to require a licence costing at least £50 p.a. for every dog, but I suspect that such a move would result in huge numbers of abandoned dogs in our streets, and rescue centres would be totally overcome.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 03:58 PM

When my kids were growing fast and I discovered eBay I used to pack together like-sized clothes in good condition for kids and sell them as a "lot." Pants and shirts, generally aimed at school-age kids. I sell estate sale handbags and shoes there, and specific types of garments like vintage things from my mom's closet or really old things out of the trunks from my great aunt's house. And thrift store finds like types of jeans that sell well.

I had a couple of lemons I peeled the rind from to use in baking last month but never squeezed the juice; they were stored in the fridge in sealed containers. I finally decided to squeeze them and today have been looking for a recipe or two for lemon juice. There's a nice yogurt lemon pound cake that I'm going to try (I love lemon meringue pie, but if I'm here by myself I'll eat the whole thing.) The cake sounds like something that would freeze.

Yesterday I used things from the fridge and freezer and made what I will call an unusual batch of kidney beans; I added several of my roasted Hatch chilis and a smoked chicken breast that had been in the freezer for a while. It's odd but edible. Like Hatch chili stew with beans added. It used some frozen garden tomatoes and used up a small container of sofrito from a batch of Puerto Rican arroz con gandules we made last week. The goal was to empty several containers, and I did that.

My power strip has arrived, but I ordered an 8' cord and this is 6'. Damn. Either change plans or return it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 04:37 PM

”I love lemon meringue pie, but if I'm here by myself I'll eat the whole thing”

And the problem there is….what, precisely? ;-) :-)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 05:57 PM

10 steps to reduce extinctions https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/19/cop15-biodiversity-wildlife-extinction/



Texas could do alot more to protect the ocelot population as well

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 06:05 PM

If you have spare bits of lemon, just stick them in your freezer. Next time you're peeling apples, carrots or parsnips, put them in a pan of not too much water with your piece of lemon. It stops them from going brown and means you can peel them in advance. Voila!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jan 23 - 07:31 PM

This week has been one in which things feel like they're flying in all directions. One of the few areas where I have maintained some control is keeping to the weight I'm at after working for 6 months to get here, and a lemon meringue pie is hard to resist. I have figured out how to make some of these things in smaller versions, and that is one possibility. I'll throw out the lemon juice before I make the whole pie and do that to myself.

The really terrible boss who impacted a lot of people and most of my friends, since most of my friends here were co-workers, has announced she's leaving, after 11 years of misery and the diaspora of those friends. I retired before she could fire me ("we're not extending your contract" they told many of the others); the writing was on the wall. A lot of old memories have churned up. Add to this the recent family diagnosis of ADHD and the realization that there is a direct line from my father, through me, to that child, and I'm hit with the realization that my scattered way of doing everything was possibly treatable decades ago. There is great potential in view - I think the best way to look at all of this - but great change is part of it.

I have rescinded the intention to do a dry January, though I'm keeping it to most days of the week. Self-medication with a glass of wine and streaming a video is a socially acceptable and non-destructive way of coping. Now that the dog is out of the cone I can get back to the world for hours at a time and stop by the gym. That is a huge help but I just wish it wasn't so full of people starting out their new year's resolutions right now - I try to go when the place is sparsely in use. I went out in the sun this afternoon to let it shine on my forehead; I always find that improves my mood. I've also been doing some sewing; it seems that multitasking has been my standard operating system and sewing and watching TV at the same time works. That, or sewing and listening to an audiobook.

This is more than I usually share, but it has needed to come out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 06:08 AM

Husband is moving back in with me in two weeks, and he's having a sort-out of all his surplus clothes which are clogging up his flat in a nearby town. We've been to the supermarket where they have large containers for unwanted clothing (Salvation Army etc) and popped lots of stuff in there. Also took some small pieces of his furniture to our local tip, where they have a big shed for 'still useful' items.
I've lost tons of weight (from size 20 to size 10!!) so all my fat lady's clothes have gone too.
But he wants to keep his 20 pairs of sporty trainers and dozens of football shirts. (Why not eh? If it keeps him happy!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 06:39 AM

I'm terrible with clothes. All my shirts are cheap and cheerful short-sleeve ones, generally from Asda George and Mountain Warehouse, and half of them are falling to bits. I wear cheap sandals only and have just a single pair of shoes, in black, for weddings and funerals only, that I've had for over thirty years. I don't wear socks. I have one pair of half-decent trousers, one white short-sleeve shirt and an ancient sports jacket for emergencies and I wear cheap nylon shorts all year round. I will put on a tie only at gunpoint. I never wear wool or anything with long sleeves. I've just bought a cheap winter coat for twenty quid (I haven't had one for years, but that December cold snap and my advancing years gave me a wake-up call), of the Rab type that everyone seems to wear, but their genuine Rabs cost upward of £150. I can buy seven or eight of mine for that money. I don't get it. I hate paying full price for anything but I really have to do some shopping. My size is XL, the first size of everything to sell out in the sales. I'm the kind of bloke that could put on a sharp £300 suit and immediately make it look like I've picked it up for a fiver in the Scouts' jumble sale.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 09:43 AM

Now almost ten years past leaving my last government job, I have pared my wardrobe to seasonal variations on shirt + trousers + sweater. (Canadian weather ranges from tropical heat to polar cold, so we need those variations.) I can't remember when I last wore pantyhose, but the hassle of keeping them hauled up is fresh in my mind. Make-up makes my skin crawl, and then break out in a rash. Giving up dressing up is probably my most important decluttering decision ever.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 11:03 AM

Steve, this might be a good time to stroll through some local thrift shops (not jumble sales) and see what turns up. You might find better-looking and better-made things for a fraction of what you've been investing. You're right, the XL sizes can be hard to find, but, you might find great things on the hunt. I understand you're not a fashion plate, but, a couple of nice new things can give one a lift of spirit, especially if the results of a successful bargain hunt.

Stilly, the upside to finding out ADHD is a thing in the family is, you didn't blindly get put on strong/wrong drugs for years.You have the advantage of perspective and the results of society's large scale experiment with them, and other methods of coping.

We join with you to toast the departure of the wicked witch of the workplace, glad she won't be able to do your coworkers or the institution further harm.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 11:21 AM

Thanks, Patty!

Cosmetics make my eyes water and don't do my skin any good. I think it's the coconut products in it, same is in many soaps, shampoos, and lotions. On rare occasion I've used a waxy wand thing like a mascara tube to force my eyebrows to appear on my face, though I think wearing a pair of half-rim glasses with a dark upper rim tends to achieve the same effect. I mail order glasses through Zenni.com these days.

My wardrobe for volunteering is usually good jeans, attractive walking shoes and a knit shirt with no message (unless we're asked to wear one identifying us as volunteers). The closet also holds black slacks and a couple of mid-calf skirts, a couple of suit jackets, and for special occasions a long cashmere kilt I bought about 50 years ago. There was a lovely sweater to pair with it but moths devoured that; the kilt is packed in an air-tight bin.

It is astonishing the quality of clothing that turns up in thrift stores, especially things from the last 30 years or so—there are some things that are truly out of style, but garments like mid-rise or high-waist jeans (the latter I prefer) and simple strait sweaters or knit tops are fairly timeless. The current lightweight "fast fashion" also turns up there to be left on the rack.

I buy new shoes starting in the clearance rack at DSW. I grew up going to Nordstrom's in Seattle with my mother, starting at their clearance rack. That's when Nordstrom's was JUST shoes and just one store in downtown Seattle. Decades ago they merged with Best's Apparel and for a few years were called Nordstrom Best's until they went back to the single name, keeping the nice clothes.

When my father died I filled a large U-Haul box (the next size down from the wardrobe box) with shoes, mostly running or walking sneakers (called "trainers" in the UK). I think I estimated the value at $50 a pair (most of them barely if ever worn) and with donations like that to the local Saint Vincent DePaul was able to wipe out the estate's income tax bill (and they were THRILLED with the shoes that mostly went to homeless men.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 12:34 PM

My decision to join an amateur vocal chorus means I have had
to add to my wardrobe, what are called "concert blacks".
Black blouse, full-length black skirt, black shoes.

My big de-clutter is high heels: no more, never again.
Sure, I have some shoes/boots with one-inch heels, but that's not high.
And the black shoes have to be decorous-looking onstage,
so they have to be nice shoes;
but they can still have lower heels and be acceptable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 12:56 PM

I haven't used deodorant for over thirty years (I do shower twice a day!) and I never use body sprays or any soap or cream that contains perfume. I've had to give in when it comes to shampoo because I need something that keeps dandruff at bay, though a small bottle will last me a year. I have far less hair these days. Our washing machine does not rinse my clothes and towels anywhere near well enough and I react badly to any residues thereon, so I do a huge amount of rinsing, typically in cold water in the sink. Gosh, what a delicate thing I am.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 01:24 PM

I haven't used deodorant since high school; it isn't good for you. That said, I have gotten to where my hair needs to be washed usually about once a week in the shower and I take baths every couple of days. It takes a while to adjust to this, and washing spots is perfectly acceptable in the interim. I rarely use soap on my face. The soap I do use is usually Mediterranean or African, made with olive oil or shea butter. I use that on my hair also.

When I finally learned that I was allergic to coconut about 15 years ago that answered a nagging question about skin breaking out. It's internal - eat coconut (the shredded product, the juice, the oil, etc.) and external (soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc.). https://www.livingbeyondallergies.com/coconut-allergy/

Jump to the "Hidden names of coconut" that I've learned most of through researching any products I buy new (and revisiting what is in regular products in case the formula changes). Some of the most common lathering agents in soap and shampoo are Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, just about anything with "Lauryl" or "Cocoate" in the label, and a lot more.

Keb, after having bunion surgery on my right foot I stopped wearing heels, and that has kept me from needing any further foot surgery. I have a couple of pair of boots with 1" heels, for special events.

I have to empty the donation bin contents into a bag and take them to Goodwill, and make a pass by the city forestry department where they have free mulch. Tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 82^o and I can get some work done in the yard in the afternoon after running errands.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 03:34 PM

I, too, have "concert blacks", Keb. That's my last skirt, a Christmas present from Edmund in 1998, and I wear it with a long-sleeved black tee shirt, black silk long-johns from LL Bean, black socks, and a pair of black sneakers. My spot in the choir is the back of the Alto section, so nobody sees my feet!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 11:55 PM

Finally! I finished the jigsaw puzzle I started early last year. It languished in the sun room for many months of heat when there was no AC in that part of the house. I'm ready to box it up and move on, and offer it (via Facebook, or here) to anyone interested (first come, first served). Not all of these puzzles interest people, though I'm mailed a couple of them to collectors. This was so tough it seems someone drawn to the challenge might want it. I thought a piece was missing, but there it was, right on top of the rest of the puzzle when I had everything else in place.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jan 23 - 07:47 PM

My volunteer gig this morning went long so I didn't have time for the gym, but had time to kill before a doctor's appointment, so stopped in The Container Store for inspiration. They didn't fail me: in the drawer organizer section there was a two-level junk drawer organizer (think silverware organizers for drawers, but with an upper sliding layer and lots of odd little compartments). I have a bunch of round restaurant take-out plastic containers in my junk drawer and over time they all get mashed toward the back of the drawer. For $12 this may be a more reasonable and transparent way to sort the stuff that doesn't have anywhere else to live but is deemed necessary to keep. And there's still room for the other Rubbermaid silverware holder that actually houses screw drivers, pliers, kitchen scissors, pencils, can openers, etc. And room at the front of that for my rubber kitchen mallet, because doesn't everyone need a mallet in the kitchen?

I'm going to break down and pack up the completed puzzle and choose something completely different in look and complexity for my next outing. I took up jigsaws during COVID and it's something I want to continue, but that last one was nearly the end of me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Jan 23 - 10:22 PM

I've been doing jigsaws for many decades. Before my grandmother died she gave me two 1950s puzzles which will go to my cousin along with other family treasures. I sent all my jigsaws to charity shops a few year ago (many of them came from charity shops!) Unlike my jigsawing friends, I only have one table in my apartment so it needed to be cleared to puzzle, & bending over did my back no good.
So now-a-days I do oonline jigsaws I only kept 2 puzzles, one is a cheaply made war time puzzle of General Macarthur & Battle of the Coral Sea (probably a fundraiser), the other is a good quality puzzle from 1954 of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jan 23 - 10:38 PM

ecologic innovation trends feature composting cadavers.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 12:11 AM

New York State recently authorized human composting. I'll stick to kitchen waste and garden refuse for now.

The new drawer organizer worked well and I was inspired to toss some of the redundant stuff that doesn't merit donating. Old paper clips and safety pins, zip ties and whatnot. The plastic containers are in the sink but will probably head for the recycle bin; they've been in the drawer long enough chances are they're too brittle to put back into use storing food.

There are tons of keys in there, some of them I know what they're for, others I should have tossed when the locks they went to went away. Lots of key rings, holders, and more. They've never all been in one place like this before. I'll take time to sort and thin those out later.

Thanks for the puzzle suggestion, though I have to say that I do too many things online already; the idea of online puzzles is interesting but I'll stick to the analog boxes of pieces I have here for now. You've mentioned it before and that may be a link that someone else (one of our lurkers?) can deploy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 04:00 AM

I'm very cautious about composting kitchen waste (in my case, I have so much garden refuse that kitchen waste wouldn't add much in any case). There's the risk of attracting rodents via the shells of raw eggs, and I've bought onions in the past that were infected with the dreaded white rot. Then there's the issue of pesticide residues from bought produce getting into my compost. I go to some lengths to avoid virus diseases of potatoes and club root of brassicas and I'm not about to risk introducing them via shop-bought potato and brassica peelings. My own home-grown stuff is fine.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 10:20 AM

Senoufou, tu lui donnera un grand coup de pied de ma part.

Funny how things work out.

Since becoming an ex-hoarder I have to keep my clothing amount down, so I have rules, like no more tshirts than fit in my actual dresser drawers. I have a heavy tallboy.

When I got back from my back surgery, the drawers in that tallboy were too heavy to move, so I had a friend pull them out stepping-stone-wise, so I could get to their contents. Which meant things were spilling out of the drawers but at least I could get to my clothes.

Now I can open the drawers myself and have discovered that somehow I don't fit in them any more. I can't *close* them again.

So time to declutter... But do I?

Well...

Yesterday I locked my keys in my car, which isn't supposed to be possible but anyway, I called my kid, who has a key to my house, to fetch my extra key from my top drawer...

An he couldn't find it. I had put it somewhere else. But I came home to the contents of that top drawer dumped out on my bed! Perfect first step! Thank you, kid! [It was my request not to put anything back.]

So I now have in that drawer neat piles of socks in pairs, long-sleeved shirts with and without hoods separately, got rid of the big shirts from the sleep pile that I don't like to sleep in [old hoarder habit, moving the too-big shirts to the sleep pile] because of their material...

Only 3 more drawers to go!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 11:51 AM

Mrrzy, tu as raison, je vais le faire s'il ne se comporte bien une fois réinstallé ici. Comment va ton dos mon ami? J'espere tu vas tres bien. Bonne Année!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 12:07 PM

Steve, you are perpetuating old wives' tales as far as the reluctance to put stuff in the compost. If the compost is breaking down as it should (it does so faster if you turn it occasionally and water it if you don't get much rainfall) then the microorganisms in the compost itself will do that work for you - including destroying any residue from pesticides on the onions, etc. You can also drop in, contrary to those same old wives' or more likely old bachelor farmers, dog or cat droppings. It breaks down. That whole "no predator poop" nonsense is just that - nonsense. Things like cow or horse manure must be composted before using, and should probably be composted separately before adding to the household compost. Same with chicken. Rabbit droppings can go directly on the garden. (Literally - I do this gardening advice for a living - I know what I'm talking about.)

Over here in the US there are products like Milorganite that are the composted highly processed solids from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin sewage treatment plants.

Good job on starting the dresser reorganization, Mrrzy. I still occasionally find some drawer or rack with clothes I've forgotten about. Last week in my closet I realized the hanging plastic bag with strings at each corner to support shelves of sweaters had been overlooked as I shopped my closet for things to wear this year now that I'm lighter. There were sweaters I haven't worn because they were too snug but now they're perfect, and I donated a couple of them that were a) too big and b) a mistake to buy in the first place, I never wore them.

The jigsaw puzzle is put away and I have several now to choose from. The boxes are on the table I use for puzzles and I'll wait until the impulse hits, which one appeals. Right now I'm kind of puzzled out. :-/

Don, please stop dropping in random statements with no context or participation. That may work on some of the other threads, but we prefer that you share more information about what you're actually doing, not random brain droppings.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 01:08 PM

I compost all types of animal manure when I can get it, Maggie. That's not what I was saying. It's the potential for spreading plant diseases that bugs me. When I started my veg garden here 35 years ago I had no onion white rot. Somehow it got into my soil and I haven't been able to grow onions, shallots, leeks or garlic without losing a half to two-thirds of my crop. The black spores can lie dormant for 20 years. Unlike most UK gardeners I've managed to keep brassica clubroot at bay. I had that when I had an allotment just outside London and it devastated my crops every year. So nothing from any bought cauliflower, cabbage, kale, sprouts or broccoli goes into my heaps. The counsel of perfection is to put suspect material into the middle of fresh heaps where the heat will kill any spores, but in practice that in unachievable for most of the heap, especially the stuff nearer to the outsides. I generate so much compost from my home-grown crops, weeds and grass clippings that I should think that shop-bought trimmings would contribute less that one per cent of the bulk. My blighted potato tops go in the heaps as the spores can't survive the winter unless they're in "volunteer" potatoes, and I never worry about weeds that have seeded. As for pesticide residues, to register as an organic farmer in the UK you mustn't have used the chemicals banned for organic for at least two years. That rule is there for a reason. Many shop-bought products, including oranges, tangerines, lemons and peppers are dusted with fungicide before sale. There no definitive evidence that mere rinsing gets rid of it all.

My view on fresh chicken and rabbit droppings is that they should go on the compost heap, not straight into the soil. Small amounts of rabbit won't do any harm, but chicken is a "hot" manure which will do wonders for your heaps but not a lot for crops, and in large amounts it will do damage. The only fertiliser I ever buy is chicken manure pellets, which have already been composted. Not saying you're wrong, but I've been gardening organically for 45 years...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 03:58 PM

Black onion rot is a fungal disease - you have a couple of options. If you're starting with onion sets, then I'd give a good sprinkle of corn gluten meal on the ground where you're going to plant them, stir it into the surface a bit, then put in the sets. You can't use the corn gluten meal when planting seeds because it tends to prevent germination. That's why it's a good one to apply to prevent winter weeds, and to put down when putting on the soil around bedding plants to slow weed growth around them as the season starts.

Hydrogen peroxide (the store strength 3% variety) is a good fungicide, but even at that strength it will burn the plants. You might want to spray it on the soil the day before you plant onion sets and see if that helps, then add a little to a mix so it's dilute if you ever do foliar feeding in the garden. And you could continue to sprinkle corn meal (cheaper) or corn gluten meal around your onion bed every so often as they grow. Or put corn meal in water to soak for a while then spray the "tea" directly on the plants. You might even want to try spritzing the seeds with a mix of compost tea and hydrogen peroxide before you plant (place them in the ground still moist).

Another anti-fungal treatment is potassium bicarbonate or even baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), a couple of tablespoons dissolved in a gallon of water with whatever else you're putting on the garden - compost tea, liquid organic fertilizer, etc.

It sounds like you could treat the soil ahead, treat the soil at planting and during the growth season.

The only things I don't put in my compost are plants with seeds that I absolutely don't want sprouting as volunteers around the edge. So I get rid of the datura from the front yard flower bed into the trash, the seeds can scatter everywhere and if the dogs eat them it will make them sick.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 04:01 PM

I really, really should compost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 04:28 PM

It's mid-January, when Ontario is usually very cold and knee-deep in snow, but Perth County has temperatures hovering above freezing, consistent rain, and no snow at all. This has been going on since New Year's Day. I think we got the winter that should have been delivered to southern Germany.

On the other hand, I'm not eager to wear the big coat and heavy boots that are normal January kit, or to put up with chilblained fingers.

Tomorrow I have a date with a builder's estimator to talk about my bathroom. I've had a lot of asthma this winter, probably initiated by the bout of COVID I had but surely made worse by the presence of a major mould infestation to which I am very allergic. Pumping myself full of steroids and bronchodilators keeps the worst of it under control, but the drugs make me feel wobbly and tired.

I'm not doing anything interesting with compost, and the house remains full of books that need new homes. The box-seeking visit to the LCBO (liquor store) hasn't happened yet. I must admit, however, that I'm looking forward to getting shot of the works of Sir Winston Churchill -- not only his history of the Great War (four volumes) and the Second World War (six volumes), but also his biography of the Duke of Marlborough (four volumes) and his memoir about youthful adventures in South Africa. That's a lot of shelf space to devote to an ... um ... "unreliable" narrator, as they say in literary circles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 04:53 PM

What you're calling black rot is what we call neck rot, I think, which is caused by a Botrytis. White rot is completely different. It attacks the base of the plant with a soft-rot white fungal growth which soon produces the typical black spores that can persist for many years in the soil. Check out Stromatinia cepivora (syn. Sclerotium cepivorum).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 05:28 PM

Hmm. Having just checked, I think that our neck rot is not your black rot! Neck rot is a botrytis infection whereas black rot is an Aspergillus infection. Neither of them is connected to the white rot I mentioned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 06:04 PM

I pulled up my browser history to find the fungus I was discussing: Black rot of onions (Aspergillus niger).

Here is a starting place about corn gluten meal and you can use the Library Topics link to bring up the alphabetical list for things like Hydrogen Peroxide and Compost Tea.

I've just returned from several trips to the back of the back yard with a tarp filled with the pruned Salvia greggii from around the front yard. I took it down completely in three places and left it standing in two others, where it is a good barrier. The cut branches are dropped over an area that was becoming a path along the back - it's private property so we don't need it looking like a path into the woods along the creek. It's 84^o right now, but supposed to cool considerably overnight, so this was a good time to do the job.

I had a call from the vet while I was working–it is good news for Pepper. That mass was a mastitis tumor that flared badly but it wasn't cancerous. If I'd gone in to have her teeth cleaned last year in the spring (they knock them out and do any other small things or trim nails at the same time) and had it removed, this wouldn't have happened, so this is on me. At the time he thought it was just a fatty tumor, but either way, it wouldn't have become this big messy expensive surgery had I acted promptly.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 06:21 PM

I could be wrong but I'm not aware that the aspergillus infection is a serious issue here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Jan 23 - 06:53 PM

Thank goodness for good news about Pepper, Stilly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jan 23 - 11:20 AM

Trash is picked up twice a week here and my contribution is usually small because I keep recyclables in a separate bin and take it down to the collection dumpsters at city hall every week or so.

My donation bin is next to the recycle bin and it's filling up, so I think over the weekend I'll be emptying both.

My methods to get more stuff out of here are to sell it, donate it, or throw it away. The eBay activity is started up again and it will feed itself once a few things start selling. Success breeds success.

I've managed to follow-up on some ideas and appointments that were written on bright yellow post-it notes stuck on my computer monitor. I'm leaving in a few minutes for one of those appointments and have only one note left to tend to. It's a new year that had a rocky beginning but I think I can turn it around. Now, to get a mask, put on my earrings (with closing hooks so I don't fling them off accidentally with my mask) and grab my shopping list.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 12 Jan 23 - 07:17 PM

The builder’s estimator came, and this time I just might get my bathroom squared away.

It won’t be cheap … but good service rarely is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jan 23 - 10:30 PM

Charmion, will they have to build a plastic barrier between the bathroom and the rest of the house, to keep the mold out of the general air circulation? Will it involve connecting with the framework of the house, not just pulling out tile and sheet rock and redoing it? What will be the extent of that remodel?

This weekend a friend is coming over with some aluminum crutches, needing help trimming them down. She has Osteoporosis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and needs her crutches to be adult strength (versus lightweight child size) but very short. Her husband is deep into a form of dementia and is no longer able to help her, as he used to do. I'm glad she knows I'm here to help; I have my coping saw and my drill handy. She has remarked several times that it astonishes her that at this point in her life that she is considered the "able-bodied" of the two of them.

This is a friend who retired from the university, though she wasn't a victim of the awful dean as were many of us (she worked in the next building over from me). When I look at the array of friends both inside and outside my old workplace, clearly most of my friends now were met at work. I throw up my hands when the subject of where your friends should be made comes up (work or outside work); ages ago I understood that those people you met outside of work were organically the best friends (why?), but it has been my experience in an educational institution with thousands of employees that you meet people with whom you "click" because of your fields or because of similar interests. I see packs of librarians traveling and partying together; they met at work. If I return to the part of the country where I grew up, the people I know there are adults who were kids I went to high school with. Very few adults from my working life. Does this make sense? I'm questioning the validity of suggesting our friends should come from a particular part of our lives. I'm curious where each of us situates our friends in relation to our jobs or workplaces.

By way of explanation, I know why this has come up. It's in the front of my thoughts because of the departure of the almost-former dean. A psychologist friend today stated adamantly that I (all of us) need to leave the anger at her behavior behind. "Burn her in effigy. Buy a piñata in her shape and destroy it!" Good advice!

Lunch with my daughter and a trip to the gym tomorrow. Pleasant company and then a workout listening to an interesting book. That sounds like a good day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 11:43 AM

Rounding up dishes and running the dishwasher today after the messy process of making a loaf of lemon poppyseed pound cake last night. So much work and splatter to beat all of that butter with everything slowly added. I like it, though I think next time leave out the poppyseeds. They go straight for the gumline, don't they? I followed the instructions in the cookbook the first time and nearly burned out the motor of my ancient handheld egg beater. Another time, use the Kitchenaid stand mixer.

I think I have that out of my system - it was something I wanted to make over the holidays that kept getting postponed. After sampling a slice the rest is in the freezer and will be a lovely dessert when friends come over for lunch.

Also trying to get coconut out of my system. I think something came into the house with the term "natural flavorings" that was actually coconut, I can't figure out where else, but I've had my classic skin breakout after coconut this week. I've gone through the packages of things here and tossed a couple where contents were vague.

Rereading my riff on where we manage to make friends, at work or outside work, I want to add that what I'm always pleased to read here are all of the people over the countryside in two provinces who Dorothy seems to know when she describes her travels. She sets an example of how to be friendly and a good friend and (most importantly) enrich both herself and those people in the process of their conversations, however long, short, or involved it might be. Taking note of the people we meet and the in-person conversations, those are so good for us.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 12:07 PM

Friendships seem to develop with people you spend a lot of time with, work being a big one of those, or have common interests/pursuits which bring you into regular contact. Of course these situations vary throughout life; you don't stay in the PTA group for your entire lifespan, though you might keep in touch with a few of them.

All I really know is it is easier to pursue friendships in retirement because people have more time for it. The modern middle-ager is locked into work, housework, yardwork, child care, extended family, maybe religion, and usually youth sports. Who can be surprised if their only new friends in adulthood are work friends?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 12:32 PM

Well... We moved from London to Cornwall 36 years ago when we had two small children. I had a teaching job in a nearby small town and our children went to the local primary school. Those were our two fast routes into making a new circle of friends. On the other hand, there are lots of stories of retirees buying up cheap homes or chalets in the south of Spain where they'd go for a few months every year (or even to live permanently) to escape the British winter. Many of them find themselves mixing with similar ageing Brit expats only and can feel lonely. There's the language barrier for many and the fact that many locals don't take kindly to incomers who are not Spanish. What's more, many of the lovely summer holiday honeypots almost completely shut down in winter. I always felt that moving to a different area to work may go down a lot better. Careful choices to be made, eh?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 10:51 PM

I weeded a bunch of old calendars out of a shelf in the office closet - I mentioned them to my ex - that it was time to let these go. He suggests taking photos of the pages before recycling. It's all of the appointments the kids had, guitar lessons, field trips, doctor's appointments. I suppose that will work and they won't take up any more space. There are other papers around here to scan or photograph, I could spend a fair amount of time working on all of that.

Papers are coming out of that closet also, and I probably don't need as many file folders as are up there. After the next rain I'll set out the burn barrel to burn old bills and receipts. I bundle them a year at a time; it's time to set up this year's accordion folder and start putting the January printouts and bills in it. They're piling up on top of the printer right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Jan 23 - 06:55 PM

Made it through the rest of the drawers but moved things amongst piles and did not get rid of anything.

But they close, now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 07:58 AM

Drawers that close! And open again without jamming!

The true basis of household order.

I have decided to rehome the large cooking gear that I never use any more. The giant Instant Pot, the roasting pan big enough for a young emu, the cast-iron skillet that I can barely lift — it’s time to let them go. Must canvass the family …

In other news, we have snow again, but not even enough to sweep off the porch let alone bring out the town plows. If this goes on, we’ll have a drought come spring.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 10:15 AM

innovation
While Dal-le AI software can create art of every painting description and 3D printer cad cam can carve marble sculptures similar to Bellini it Michaelangelo, I am still creating art that AI can not create.
It is because I am combining sculpture and painting using unusual materials.
The AI database is over 800 million images and is headed way past a billion.
Today we can type a brief description and create a Van Gogh or Rembrandt painting or even animation. Easy come easy go. It may make true handmade art more valuable but diminish the need for graphic artists when good enough is all that is needed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 11:01 AM

Don, how much art do you make, and is this for your personal use or for sale? My art these days still is largely the sewing of masks (I gave two new ones to a friend who was here yesterday - she still wears them religiously in public buildings, as do I.) The art in this case was choosing a new fabric color and pattern and combining the t-shirt yarn ties and a couple of colored hard acrylic beads for the adjustable ear loops.

Yesterday my mask friend from above came over with a stack of old aluminum crutches picked up at Goodwill; she has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), is 4'3", and children's crutches aren't robust enough. Her husband used to cut down adult crutches for her, but he has a form of dementia making that work impossible, so she explained her requirements and we attacked the spare crutches (one of the current ones has a broken plastic underarm piece). We got one cobbled together by shortening an adjustable part and it involved the reciprocating saw, but that isn't easy and doesn't cut completely straight. Also that tube was molded in an oblong shape, but she had a couple of other crutches that have round adjustable tubes and it dawned on my last night to get out the little pipe cutter I've used on copper pipes. I'll be making another pair of crutches for her this week for backup and replacement crutches will become a feature of my Goodwill shopping. #ItTakesAVillage

At Goodwill last week I examined a Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) battery backup unit that was probably donated because the batteries inside need replacing. For $15 and $50 in batteries I would have a working unit and I considered buying it to use as a backup in the main part of the house for power outages (for phones and tablets and a small light). But until I replace the batteries in the hall UPS that keeps the router and modem running during a power outage there is no point in buying another. Fix what I already have first.

Time to make a list of house and garden goals for this year; I noticed the last list on the fridge didn't have things crossed off during the year but I'd managed quite a few.

Today is a fasting day and will feature a trip to the gym. The sugar from the holidays kicked in the addictive sugar-craving that adds weight, and I've about got it out of my routine again. I wonder if I could think of a few bacon-based gifts to give out next year? Or beef jerky treats with a holiday bow in a bright red gift bag? And keep that kind of snack at the house. Trouble is, I enjoy the holiday baking. :-/

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 12:24 PM

Oh, I didn't say they opened again...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 12:49 PM

I've lost a key. Wish I could declutter it. Looked everywhere for it.
My room has a lockbox for prescription medications.
That's the key that has gone missing, an old-fashioned metal key.
The nurses' station managed to get my locked meds box opened,
and now I have to leave it unlocked.
And I will probably have to pay to have a new key cut,
as I really don't know where that key went to.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 01:02 PM

Keb, the easiest way to solve that mystery is to have the new key made. When you go to put it in a safe place, that's where the other one will be. It works *every* time - buy the replacement and the absentee item turns up.

So Mrrzy's drawers don't close? Then the job isn't finished. Did you consider hanging any of the drawer items in the closet? If you're not going to thin them out (do you really wear every one of those garments? Aren't there a few you pass by every time you look in the drawer?)

My hall closet is better these days; it used to be that I could open the door, stuff something straight into the dense collection of jackets, and it would stay there without a hanger, not falling to the floor. Try to remove something and the garments on either side also exited the closet. A while back I cleared out a few things that I wanted to keep but I don't personally wear. They're the extra jackets and sweaters kept in case a visitor to the house needs one. That has happened enough times that I keep these spares, but they are now in the guest room closet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 01:51 PM

I started as a kid making landscapes that changed color every 5 degrees of motorized rotation. It was Paintings and sculptures until 20 years ago I prolifically decorated violins and cellos. Since then I went digital, ink cartoons and now stone. I have only kept about a dozen odds and ends and have never had any support or marketing since its a personal hobby. If its different its worth doing for me. My ancestors were probably cave painters.

Took down the tree and decorations today. This marks no more carbs till May. Also marks the start of Spring cleaning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jan 23 - 06:04 PM

I used a long orange heavy duty extension cord in the master bath to calculate the length of a needed extension cord, routing it along the path from the wall plug to near the new bidet. I'll get a 15' black one to run down the wall, along under the sink cabinet, and back up the other side next to the commode. I settled on a simple black extension 3-prong cord that will be plugged into the plug on the far wall and won't need a surge protector because of the GFCI wall plug. When I get to the point of having the electrician in for my growing list of electrical projects, I'll have him run a line to put a plug in beside the commode.

I could stand to have both bathrooms updated with new cabinets and flooring, but they work as they are so will stay this way for now. I look forward to hearing about the work on Charmion's bathroom.

Dorothy, did you and R sell that house you had for years in Montreal? It sounded like it was in a great neighborhood (I think you posted a link to the Zillow page for it once) but it had floors that were ready to fall through and needed a lot of work and cleanup.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 11:42 AM

My list of seasonal chores is growing. One regular thing I didn't do today is put out the trash because there simply wasn't enough to bother with, but I hope by Thursday to have a bag full of items discarded from the greenhouse workbench. One of the signs of spring is when local people share on Instagram their pots of soil for planting from seed; it's too early to plant outside for at least two months, but I can start a seeds-in-pots planting station. There is a garden cart in the sunroom, right now heaped with plastic containers and oddball things I should have sorted or discarded. To have space to work on the bench I first need to finish wrapping up the holiday lights . . . this is the "work backwards until you can do what you set out to do" method.

Before planting bedding plants it will be time to plant potatoes (late January) so I'll finish hauling away the pile of dead stuff from last year's garden. Okra makes quite a large pile if dry thick stems and potatoes tend to do well in the corner where I've stacked that stuff. I'm glad I finally fixed the gate next to the garden making the moving of it all easier.

Today is a bank and post office holiday in the US, but most businesses will operate normal hours. I ended up not going to the gym yesterday because I didn't have any other places I needed to go; today I have a short list that will satisfy my eco-goal to make each trip efficient. Go early enough and it might not be full with the new January members.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 01:44 PM

Definitely not finished, agreed!

My closet is limited to its hangers. I got rid of all the extra hangers so now I can't hang anything up without culling. This was on purpose.

There are a lot more clothes in the closet that I never wear than are in my dresser. I got rid of most of the dresser never-wear clothes the last time I decluttered.

So good idea. I could go through the closet, cull, then move some drawer-contents to the closet...

However several piles of things I moved from shelves I was decluttering to my desk area for later decluttering, now that I have decluttered my desk, have moved back to the shelves... but in nice neat piles, sorted.

So um, maybe moving things around is not a long-term solution...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 09:55 PM

I solved my clothing storage problem some years ago. I'm lucky enough to have my grandparents 1920's dressing table & wardrobe (this style - note comment about modern coathangers) & 20-odd modern padded coathangers took up too much room, so I bought five 4-tier padded metal hangers meant for shirts, which are also good for dresses. My 3 summer skirts & 2 winter skirts take up the rest of the rail in the wardrobe.

My grandparents managed with the wardrobe plus the dressing table with 5 drawers, but I also have off season clothes in an old suitcase. I have one summer 1970s midi-flared skirt I can no longer wear (shrunk in the wardrobe as a friend said when she gave me 2 winter velvet hippie skirts some years back!) which I can almost wear again. I won't get rid of it as I made what was supposed to be a 6-10" braid when I was learning bobbin lace back in the early 80s, but kept going for several metres & put it around the hem!

Of course there are a lot of other stuff I have, especially embroideries & craft items I've made over the years. I've given away bits & pieces but there re still too many items, as well as too much craft material & lots of other stuff that needs new homes. Stuff has slowly dripped out, but that doesn't really empty the dam, good thing I live in a 4-room apartment, & not a 4 bedroom house!

My cousin has 2 daughters & is taking family stuff, including items made by our Great Grandmother & Great Aunt, but I can't give her all my embroideries & other craft, unless one of her daughters turns out to be a crafty maid! fingers crossed

sandra (who has been very slowly downsizing for at least 5 years without visible effect)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 23 - 10:38 PM

Sandra, we should all compare notes and do a summertime "secret santa" and send garments that might be worn but other Mudcatters. It would involve measurements since sizes don't mean much these days. I have a couple of skirts like the one you mention, lovely, and it would be nice if someone could wear them.

I have a covered bin in the laundry room that I drop things into as I decide they need to go. Last year there was a long gap in donations and in late 2022 I realized that a couple of the things in the donation for the last six months bin now fit. Everything else left the house.

The gym was getting crowded today so I stayed only 45 minutes; I'm switching from just recumbent bike to half bike, half treadmill. I also let the treadmill run on a slight incline and I can feel it in my hips this evening. I was able to make the trip efficient by picking up free mulch at the city park mulch bunker before the gym and on the way home stopped to pick up the 15' extension cord I need.

The dogs have created a forest floor again in the den, with lots of chewed up tree branches; fortunately, that mess is confined to that room. Now that Pepper is past the oozing part of her surgery recovery I can put my nice Persian rug down in my bedroom. I've missed it now that it's winter with cold tile floors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Jan 23 - 07:39 AM

I have what I impolitely call my Ethnic pile.

It has all the things that should go back to where they came from.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 12:07 AM

My mother had a Mobile Muddle. It was the heap of homeless stuff that migrated from room to room, waxing and waning but never quite getting tidied away. I would come home on leave and make a move to deal with it, and Mum would shut me down as soon as she realized what I was up to. Much as she complained about it, she liked the muddle or perhaps just preferred not to live without it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 02:26 AM

Husband is moving back in with me in three days' time (whoopee!) and he's been coming round with stacks of stuff. Yesterday it was two large bags of washing. I had no idea he owned so many sets of underwear, socks, shirts etc. but I set to work after he left and it's now all washed, dried and neatly folded on his bed.
Personally, I hate 'stuff' and like a simple, uncluttered environment. But everyone is different, and I'm determined to 'grit my teeth' and let him fill our bungalow to the ceilings if that's what he wants.
He's bringing his absolutely massive TV over on Saturday when he moves in. It's like a cinema screen (I hate it) but he's going to mount it on the wall of his study, so I can watch my little TV in the sitting room.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 11:00 AM

Senoufou, my ex lives in a house that I never liked but was the only one he would accept when we moved to town years ago (he was the one with the income - who said "any house you want" except it wasn't). Upon divorce I moved out and let him keep the house (versus selling and splitting the income) because I wanted my kids to have their neighborhood network in place when they stayed with him. The house is spotless and almost empty, but you should see the garage: that's the Dorian Gray portrait that shows the accumulation and clutter, stacked and piled in boxes. A few years ago he cleared it enough down the middle so he could park his car in there, but other than that, it still needs a lot of work.

It seems to be a season for changing out batteries. My outside thermometer was blinking red desperately, the television remotes are unhappy, and (shhhh!) I should have changed out the smoke detectors with the most recent time change (here they suggest doing it annually on one of those changes to or from Standard Time, but I lose track of which one I used as my reminder. Must leave a note on one of the detectors.) I also ordered a couple of boxes basic batteries from Amazon. I also have some rechargeable ones that I put in devices where I'm sure I'll notice it's rechargeable and not accidentally throw them away. The next battery to tackle is ordering replacement insides for the hall UPS that supports the router and modem.

I've unfurled the new long extension cord to let it relax before I take hammer and nails into the bathroom to tack it into position under the built-in cabinet along the kick board area.

Today is another unusually overcast day with a slight drizzle that should clear within the hour. I'll step out into the yard to do some more cleanup (dead plants in pots, moving plastic containers into the greenhouse, etc.). This morning I listened to a news story about a man in Canada who has to use his personal snowplow 4 times in a season to get a return on his investment (I'm guessing to make the payments equal to what he paid someone else for snow cleanup). That will never be the case down here with equipment like lawn mowers; they get used about 11 months of the year - my next mow will be to mulch leaves that I'll rake onto the turf from the curb.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 12:12 PM

Two dozen bottles from Edmund’s accumulation of wine have gone to become prizes at a choir fund-raiser. I don’t drink nearly enough — and neither do my friends — to work my way through it before some of the white varietals get too old to be fully palatable, and I was pleased to wave bye-bye to it.

Unfortunately, my lower back is punishing me for picking up a box of a dozen bottles, and the toothache has returned to my right sacro-iliac joint.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 01:47 PM

I've always found that wine can last a lot longer than the back labels sometimes suggest. I found a four-year-old bottle of Prosecco (i.e., I bought it four years ago) last weekend that had accidentally been overlooked and it was lovely. At only 11% it should have been well off, and the label said to drink it within a year of purchase. Never give up!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 04:28 PM

Six dozen bottles are still collecting spiderwebs down below, Steve. Plenty for everyone. Come to think of it …

One of those bottles is a 2018 Moscati at only 7 percent abv. I’ll pop that in the fridge.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 05:33 PM

I'm impressed that you two 1) read the labels (beyond the basics of brand, variety, and % alcohol) and 2) keep them long enough to worry about their going bad. The only one here that I think might be old is the marsala I bought for cooking because I forget it's there and usually put in a dollop of whatever is handy when I'm cooking (I do pay attention to red or white before adding, but otherwise, it all works pretty well for cooking).

This afternoon I've finished dragging the last summer's okra plants from next to the driveway back to toss over the back fence. This is to make the back look less inviting—it isn't a public path even if it looked like it.

I've also started on a project for the front yard, the disassembly of a really old rusty wheelbarrow. I'll put the barrow part on a stack of concrete blocks, fill it with potting soil, and plant something in it. This afternoon I assessed what else needs to be done. With a couple of wrenches I'll be able to hold the bolts in place and screw off the rusted nuts. The carriage underneath needs to be removed before it will sit properly in place. Two nuts and bolts down today.

I hauled out my Dad's old crock pot and set it up with a batch of beets; ever since I burned a batch in the pressure cooker I've been gun shy about cooking that way again, as fast as it is. It took ages to clean out the pressure cooker, but the crock pot bowl is removable and easily washed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 23 - 08:59 PM

I have unsubscribed a regional newspaper that I used to get because it was tied into some contract work I do; since they severed that tie last year I've left it in place, but I don't read it often. The unsubscribe routine is typical: if you want to cancel a subscription you have to call and they connect you to the sales department who talk you into a lower rate, etc. I wasn't interested so cut to the chase: "I know this is the sales department and I don't want to negotiate a price, I want to unsubscribe." So he set it up to conclude after this month's payment ends - but he did give me a helpful tip: Subscribe to various email newsletters now and I'll be able to read this stuff after the subscription ends. I did that today and built in a filter in my email to send it all to one folder. I need to now subscribe to the newspaper in the city where I live. (I used to get a physical paper every day, who knows, maybe I'll be back to that for a while.)

Each year when I call to unsubscribe from SiriusXM I know the routine - it's the sales folks, and they'll offer me an extension of the introductory offer. I listen to SiriusXM a lot more than I read this local newspaper, so I go with that $7 a month offer. I offer this up only as a tip for everyone else - there is usually a less expensive price to be found if you are willing to beard the sales staff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 03:14 PM

With the weather relatively warm these days I'm going to make a run to the lumber store and get pickets and supports for another fence panel, and bring home a couple of 2" thick boards in treated lumber to continue the work of reinforcing the sides of raised beds. While the weeds and grass are dead I might have a good shot at digging up those areas and putting down a thick layer of mulch beside the beds.

The replacement UPS battery was delivered quickly and this afternoon I'll work on that battery backup and, in the same closet, run a CAT-5 cable that is already wired to my office and change out the ends to use for data instead of a phone line. The newest lines to support blazing fast Internet are CAT-6 that go up to 1000 whatever, but I don't have that service. Though my service is faster than 100 that the line is rated for now. Hmmm. Maybe I should think about pulling some new cable one of these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 04:52 PM

If it wasn't for visiting friends or family we wouldn't see museumland the same as new Yorkers don't go to the Statue of Liberty on their own.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 23 - 05:54 PM

When I worked out at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty we heard that a lot from people - they had never been to the islands but they had out of town company who wanted to visit.

I have had an "a-ha!" moment - I'm paying for all of this fancy speed from Spectrum but running Cat5 cable in the house. It's time to update the line to the computer, to start with, and it happens Spectrum wanted an appointment next week to address some service issue. I'll ask if it's CAT7 from the point on the house to the modem, and if not, have them replace it. And I'll then use the existing cable to pull some Cat7 to serve the computer. And replace the cable from the wall to the computer. I can always think of complicated or expensive renovations to do. Good thing most of the lines are in already, I can use the existing ones to pull the new ones through and not have to spend a lot of time in the attic. It requires new jacks also.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 23 - 03:20 PM

The speed test available from various sites shows that the speed is considerably higher than the 100mbs rated on the existing line, but changing out the line to the computer to the higher grade may make some small difference. And if it does, I may run new line to a couple of other rooms as well. If I ever plan to sell the house the odd mix of wiring in my hall closet now might be daunting. If I cleaned it up and speeded it up, that would be helpful to all. The new battery is in the UPS and is charging for a while before I plug anything into it again.

Two boxes ready to ship later today, and one other I'd like to send, but probably not till tomorrow. This is a bonafide declutter, ceramic pieces I kept from my Dad's house that are going to another family member who has a little and would like some more.

Harking back to earlier in the week's wine topics, I found a nice inexpensive Spanish Grenache at Costco, it even has a twist top. Bottlers are finally catching on that screw tops aren't repulsive to wine drinkers. At least, not to this wine drinker. Is the cork industry suffering? Are cork oaks prospering more now that they might be left in peace?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Jan 23 - 05:23 PM

What cork they don’t put in the necks of wine bottles ends up in Birkenstocks and kitchen flooring, Stilly. I’m drinking my over-age 7% Moscato right now, and it’s delicious. It has a screw cap, a technology whose time has come.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Jan 23 - 06:25 PM

Dupont:

Have gone back to read the last couple weeks. Wonder where I have been! I had to find where I left off and see what folks have been thinking/doing.

Charmion: PLEASE be sure your builder uses non-toxic materials and keeps you safe!!!

SRS: Dogs are great but… Well do you know it! Just one notch down from our children - or half a notch! I have had a bunch in my life. Each one a member of the family; each loss a heartache. But worth it in any case. Now I have two stuffies - no walking, no fur to clean up, no sweet kisses… I gave the last two away to good homes when I left Whidbey. I miss having one but the mere thought of walking a dog on icy Quebec/Ontario roads…! Also, the thought of leaving one behind; I had been adopting Senior dogs for about 15 years so they would not outlive me.

Friends: Mine are scattered across NA, many so scattered I have no idea where. Going through the archives, I found a postcard from 1984! Found him on line and on FB and PMed him. Delighted to find he is still writing, taken up art and involved in Plowshares! My first playmate just turned 90, in Hanover, NH, where my father and I took him for his first year at Dartmouth - all those years ago! He helped develop the Appalachian Trail. My newest dear friend - songwriter/poet/musician - has me thinking, contemplating, a uniquely spiritual connectedness. A gift.

That darned house! R says he is selling it; it is "for sale”. So are a number of other buildings he and bro own. Nothing ever seems to move forward. Once in a while I ask… At least I don’t have to go there and see the mess made of the yard I planted with care: Clematis. Hardy hibiscus, day Lillies… GONE! And I have started over again - with less energy. HE says he moved everything out (not all the furniture) but I feel some things are missing - but cannot bear to go there.

Just got to Mrzzy’s “Ethnic pile”!!! That sounds interesting! But prob not what I would think - like the folk dance skirt which our leader once referred to as a bedspread -“How many of you had a bedspread like that?!!” I love it! One of the things I rehomed last spring in PA was a dress we bought from an Indian booth in Old Montreal in 1970. The friend we stayed with in PA loved it!

Senoufou’s massive TV reminds me of a wonderful article my DIL wrote, “When the Black Satan Came to Our House”. She had never had a TV until my son moved in to her life!

UH OH! I am dangerously … Just smelled something …??? OH yeah!! I put ribs in oven for a long slow heat. Not sure how long or what. Using fresh ones instead of frozen ready to heat and eat… I hope this works. At least it smells enough that I shan’t forget them…. Hopefully!… They look good but I have no idea when I put them in or how much longer they need. Guess I could have sought advice… They are not burning.!! yet! ...

Caught up! Busy folks! I found enough energy to throw some pots a week or so ago. YAY!!! 8 bowls from 10 kilos of clay!!! The next morning, I barely made it out of bed. A hot bath helped but it still was a few days before I could trim 3; the other 5 are still on hold.

My goal had been to go back to Beaver this past Monday. HO!!! HO!!! I was still walking with difficulty and the pots were not ready! And now it is snowing and snowing.... Beautiful all day today! The bridge from Montreal was SLOW at 10 pm last night! Not sure if R will make it home tonight! I am thinking the trip will wait until February - after the First Friday music.

We visited friends!!!!! Last Sat we celebrated my BD (86), which R had totally forgotten! When I pointed this out to him, "What would You like to do!" The roads were not too bad so we drove down to southern QC to Chez Alain, a small neighbourhood restaurant with good food and a great staff; the kind of place you can chat with the folks at the next table, which we did! I hoped some friend might be there, but not.

Then we went to see Joe and Jessie and Theo (10). My ginger plants?? "Oh, they need LOTS of heat and light. Just keep them damp until warm weather." So I've moved them to the upstairs South window above a rad. Spring will be here ....

Theo played Ragtime on the keyboard, between playing with a neighbour and eating fresh chicken soup. They raise the chickens, grow the ginger for the tea, and the nuts - "here, try these." Theo, "home" schooled, is fluent in French and English (parents are one of each), a friend is teaching him Russian and he has picked up some Spanish from the Latins in the area. Joe and Theo are going to Colombia this summer to work on a building project. Last year they helped build something for an Inuit group north of the Arctic Circle, and learned some Inuit. This is home schooling! And he beat R at chess!

Both parents near died of Lyme disease a few years ago, due to lack of knowledgeable healthcare. Joe passed out in the ER waiting for care. (He was dying.) Jess (about 40) had a stroke, and a pocket of blood in her brain was giving her seizures - amongst others she would hear recorded music when there was NO music playing. She is still recovering from a 6 hour brain operation. I mention this to underline the need to pay heed to the ticks and to insisting on adequate health care. I had no idea the effects could be this dreadful.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 23 - 10:18 PM

Wow, Dorothy. That last paragraph describes a tough time. And there are ticks in the woods here; I put the expensive tick collars on the dogs for that reason, and I don't walk in the woods when the trees are in leaf.

I hope R is able to sell those properties one of these days. Lowering the price is not the favorite approach but usually works. Just to get rid of them, at this point. Think of the relief at having them off of his hands.

I've also tracked down a few friends over Facebook and Googling names in communities. I have mentally planned a "dream dinner" going back decades, that would be to have all of these people come in from different corners of the US and even the World, to meet and see if there is more in common than just being my friend. I would hope so. And all of you would be there - I'd love to meet this group in person.

On another subject, I've just sent a friend information about how to get access to the Word files she has created via her previous work software but apparently can't reach since she retired late last month. Clearly she hasn't figured out the system. I still use the software from the university where I retired four years ago, but since last year I also pay for Microsoft storage space, and it has the perk of MS Office on the side. $70 a year isn't bad for a Terabyte of storage for all of my photos from my phone. It's cheaper than paying for Dropbox ($120 a year). Dropbox offers 3T for their price, but I don't need that much space. I don't know if anyone else in our group uses their phones for work and other photos, but it is nice to have a backup.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Jan 23 - 03:12 AM

We have Lyme disease here in Norfolk UK, due to the large population of deer which carry the ticks. Many of our village dog-owners have had to remove ticks from their pooches. Rather worrying, because Lyme disease can have lasting symptoms which are difficult to treat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 23 - 10:00 AM

I concur with Dorothy about the building materials in Charmion's soon-to-be-updated bathroom. Use healthier materials where possible, even simple stuff like paint, where the off-gas as it dries can be strong for a while. The low-smell paint should become standard. And for everything else, just collecting dust as they work is a help.

Another healthy week ahead, when cat sitting trips will mean I get to the gym more often because I'll already be half-way there. I hope also for a good gardening opportunity in this upcoming week, when we have a day with a 100% chance of rain. If it rains on Tuesday then Friday when it warms will still be moist enough to dig out weeds along the edge of the garden and put down a thick layer of mulch. I happened to see and track down today a photo of a garden that shows this - it happens to be Meghan Markle's garden in California, but don't worry about that - just look at the planks around the raised beds and the heavy mulch path between. Over the years I've wanted to have something like that here. Why do I think I can finally achieve that now? It took digging out the whole side bed last fall in time for the heat pump installation to realize I could actually achieve that (the bed beside the house now is all mulch.) It means digging things out deeply and keeping new weeds down with a strong vinegar spray. Putting in the work to dig it out then walking on the mulch so it weaves together and helps keep out the weeds.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Jan 23 - 06:29 PM

Monsieur Senoufou must have returned by now.
Is he still out of a job, Senoufou?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 23 - 09:06 PM

Keb, when you use the entire name it can turn up in an Internet search. We've had a couple of Mudcatters essentially doxing other participants lately. If people don't use their own full names, please don't add it here. (WYSIWYG thought she was being clever by picking up a really unusual name from an obit and dropping the middle initial then using it as a character in the Mudcat Tavern adventures, or something along those lines. Imagine our chagrin when the family of that late professor did a search and found her prancing around Mudcat as a make-believe character.)

Yesterday I finished a handmade gift for a friend; it has taken a while to complete because it involved finding a pattern, printing it the right size, transferring to fabric, then doing a lot of close work to turn under the edges and finally stitch it onto a larger piece. A one-of-a-kind apron for a friend who originally sent some aprons that he wasn't able to use for printing. I sew on them then send them on. Into the mail tomorrow.

I'm still making masks, because I have friends who (like me) are still wearing them, and their collections need refreshing. I have three cut out this evening to work on later.

I have a busy week coming up, with volunteer activities and feeding a friend's cats. Just because one is retired doesn't mean life slows down.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jan 23 - 10:05 PM

The unscented laundry detergent I used for years disappeared from the supermarket, so I bought another brand.

Alas, it stinks, and apparently has the persistence of skunk juice.

I laundered all my singing masks yesterday. Today I sang way too much — regular eucharist in the morning and the installation of our new rector in the afternoon — and the whole time I had my nose covered with a nice, clean mask that reeks of Persil.

I would ditch the damnable detergent, but that stuff costs the earth these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 23 - 10:58 PM

In 2021 I made the switch to buying envelopes with sheets of laundry detergent that come in modestly-sized paper envelopes in brown wrapper shipping envelopes and every speck of it is recyclable.

Earth Breeze

The scented variety is so subtle that's what I use most of the time but I also got some unscented that is truly no scent at all. I bought a multi-pack of it in early 2021 and I'm still using them (it was a number of packages sent at once). I just looked, and see I have one envelope of unscented (60 loads) left. I'll be ordering the scented next time because it is incredibly mild but enough that I can tell the laundry has been washed with something. I have a couple of partial bottles of the old regular detergent that I am using up, and these days only use when washing things like rugs or dog beds. Because they're dog beds and can use some scent masking. Except for the fact that I use these for dog beds and rugs I'd donate what is left to the Humane Society.

The Earth Breeze folks are very helpful - if you want to tweak your order you can email or call and they'll take care of it for you. I wanted to compare the two types of detergent but the original order was just one or the other. They swapped out some so I got to try both. (I just placed an order, 1 envelope every three months for $12 plus .99 tax.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jan 23 - 10:12 AM

Earth Breeze is apparently unavailable in Canada, Stilly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jan 23 - 10:26 AM

I didn’t look far enough — Earth Breeze is available on Amazon.ca, but only in massive quantity. Three packets of 60 loads’-worth each can be had for a variety of prices ranging from Cdn$114.71 to Cdn$120.00, which is a lot to sink into laundry all at once.

My underwear drawer contains a miasma of Persil whiff. This cannot go on!

If I keep the packets dry, it won’t go bad …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 23 - 11:15 AM

I ended up ordering it for a lot less than the price you found - we could discuss this via back channel - I ended up getting them for about $9.25 each (60 loads). I could mail a couple to you a lot cheaper than they can, apparently. (Since my ex is using this now also I figured I'd let him have a couple of them rather than his also going through the hoop jumping - I normally wouldn't buy this much just all for me.)

This week will be more working off of a checklist of things that have come up or that annually occur. Like putting my file box in order and updating for this year (this is where the most active accounts live - if I had to grab one box of records and flee the house, this would be that large box.) There are several aspects to that. Along with diddly stuff like changing out the battery in my SUV key fob before I get locked out. It seems those batteries go pretty quickly, so I finally put a spare in my handbag and I'll put a couple of spare in the center console as well. (I recently spoke to a poor guy who had locked his running car outside a Burger King restaurant on a quick lunch stop. His fob died and he was overdue returning to work and was trying to pry open a window.)

Decluttering is on that checklist; I have boxes spread all over the place lately so they need to be flattened to recycle or set aside for eBay shipping. And I'm getting close to the stage after various sewing projects in which I can offer a robust bag of "crumbs" - those small pieces of fabric that can be assembled into blocks for crazy quilts - to whatever lucky quilt-maker happens to be a member of our local Freecycle or FB Buy Nothing group.

The den again looks like a forest floor, and I notice a buildup of dog hair around the house in general. Same ol' same ol'.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Jan 23 - 10:21 PM

Dupont:

There may be "scents" that are non-toxic. I only use Tide Free and Clear. It may not be the best environmentally but I do not have to deal with a stench - in fact, I would give anything that smelled at all to someone capable and willing to accept it.

R cooked himself a BF Saturday that stank so that we had to open the doors - at below freezing temps. He did not smell it - NOW I find out he has had almost sense of smell for years! (I've known him for 55!) And mine is hyper-sensitive! It may have had to do with adding the left over tzaziki (?) to his eggs in the frying pan. It was puke-quality stench for me!

Here, the ticks are in the grass. I picked up a couple from walking through tall grass a few years ago. The only ones I have encountered here. But our friends are outdoors much of the time; Jess runs a coop farm/CLSC.

On the homefront: bare essentials - minimal cleaning, plant care, keeping the woodstove going, sometimes even clearing some snow, finally getting some energy back; my back has only just stopped hurting from my pot throwing. I will not do THAT again! We have a fair amount of snow. A neighbour cleared the drive a week or so ago, though we generally manage to get in and out OK. And some has melted and then more arrived and freezing a thawing...! Yesterday, R got stuck and the cross the street neighbour cleared us out very well with his snow blower. There was a conversation about the fact that R has one... He has not succeeded in getting it working! And we may have 10 inches more in the next couple days...

No thoughts of traveling!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 23 - 11:13 PM

Dorothy, we may also get snow tomorrow, but no accumulation. I hope R gets the blower operating - otherwise it's just a paperweight. Mostly just rain tomorrow, predicting an accumulation a bit over an inch. It will be helpful.

I go through some days planning to finish projects or fix things, and seem to have entered that kind phase. I've worked on several projects around the house lately. On Wednesday I'll have some answers about work I may end up doing here (speeding up the Internet reception to the computer). I have to redo some garden areas, and in the process work on several things that are in the garage and the greenhouse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 02:16 AM

Our village hall is now asking for jigsaws and bookshelves, to add to their collection of unwanted books people have donated. I think this is a very good idea, as they offer a 'warm spot' for villagers to sit and chat while keeping warm. I might sort out some more unwanted books to take down there.
Husband has settled in once more, and our bungalow is rather full of 'stuff', but I'm very happy and can't complain. He's filled all our kitchen cupboards with bowls, dishes, cutlery, pots and pans which he's brought over from his flat. His bedroom is crammed with mountains of clothes and trainers. However, he got a ladder and put all his suitcases in the loft. He brought over a super little vacuum cleaner which is very easy to handle, so I hoovered every inch of our home yesterday while he was at work.
He's also made a collection of many of his unwanted clothes to take over to Ivory Coast next summer for all his family to have. They'll be fighting over them all!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 02:14 PM

My Mennonite friends came by this morning for some tunes. It snowed last night, at last. The world is all tattered and torn, but the sun is shining in Stratford and I feel fine.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Jan 23 - 06:32 PM

Dupont:

I doubt the snow blower will get repaired in the near future. We shall just keep muddling along. R manages to hae too much on his plate ALL the time and when I think/hope he is staying home to "get something done" - what gets done is another book read or hours - literally - spent looking at news on his phone. Sometimes there are even work-related emails or texts.... His library downstairs is "fine" and I hear he is getting a workshop together... I don't go to the cellar(workshop) or the basement (library) due to air quality. The snow blower is too large to bring in the house and he does not do well with the cold. He has had at least 3 summers ... There is also a brand new generator that needs ???? and ... Oh Well. If I can only help him maintain a semblance of getting the absolute essentials done. Time goes by and Well, the taxes got paid a few days before they sold the house for unpaid taxes... Yeah, all this is hard to deal with so I just keep reading books and, come to think of it, he just keeps reading books... But I am not letting anyone down. Some days, it is scary.

But I have an out: Beaver and enough money to live there alone if it comes to that. I would have failed to be the support person I had hoped to be. The job seems to be beyond my ability. There! I have said it. We will just keep muddling... I will keep my nose above water and hope he does also.

A storm is coming; I need more green tea!

Also, I want Charmion to know that Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) has considerable info on healthy houses, building supplies, etc. Our friend Oliver Drerup built the first low-cost healthy house complex, near Ottawa and then lectured on the subject internationally. It all started when a family convinced him (a tough job!) that their brand new dream home was making them sick. He built them a healthy house... and went on from there. He should be retired now (maybe) but there are books on the subject and the website was comprehensive last time I looked.

This morning was spent writing an email to a friend re the traumas that can mess up our lives, starting in utero. I have spent a good chunk of every day for several weeks, contemplating this and considering how to approach a subject that is clearly unresolved for him. For most of my life I have wished for a way to send my thoughts through the ether, so to speak. We do hear of people having this kind of connection at times. Anyway, the primary message has been sent. I would be more comfortable face to face in a peaceful environment.

That, I hope, is the most important thing I have done in these weeks. Never mind the particulars of everyday life. Now to continue to trying to figure out how to get a stubborn Scot to recognize how he is shooting himself in the foot - daily. This could be one of the most important things I do with my life - or the biggest failure.

My #2 son has still not called re my birthday - almost two weeks ago. And my bro's cancer is turning nasty. But there is food cooked and teh sink is not full of soiled dishes, the sheets are clean and the house is looking good enough if anyone should happen to visit....

Visit??? What's that? Phoned a friend today and got her dear husband and we talked about visiting in the summer! And I have a great idea for warmer weather - to put a few chairs under the trees in the front yard and sit out there to read so I can talk to people out walking their dogs or just walking by. No front porch! But I will fake one. I suppose I shall have to tack the chairs down but that is possible. I will watch for folding chairs at the thrift shops.

Lots of snow on its way. I need to go back to the library in the am! We spent Sunday aft there but 3 of 5 of the books I brought home were already read! I will re-read the James Lee Burke just for his beautiful way of writing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 23 - 03:43 PM

Spectrum (Internet/cable) messaged me that there was something that needed fixing on my line and needed to come check it out so I went ahead and set up the appointment; I'm not playing blazing-fast online games so I would never have noticed. What I did notice was that the appointment for 10am stretched out and out and out and at 1pm I had to tell him that I had things to do and they needed to wrap it up and if something else needed working on, we'll do it on a day when I don't have errands and a deadline looming. And it took another hour to get it over with. Four hours pretty much blew my plans for the day out of the water.

I'm onto plan B, no gym today but a shorter trip to the discount grocery, and since I couldn't be online during that time I picked up around here, puttered, and made a batch of dinner rolls. A friend will be over shortly to go along.

Dorothy, your observations about R and his methods of operating aren't a surprise; I'm gaining new insight as I move closer to getting tested and a possible diagnosis that has been a long time coming. The level of disorganization you describe is worse than here or what I've seen in most instances, but now that a family member is getting treatment for ADHD and is feeling relieved, a die has been cast, and think a couple more of us need to follow that example. It's time for me to attend to the level of distraction and impulsiveness that make it more work to get anything done (at work or hobby-wise.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Jan 23 - 08:58 PM

The one change that didn’t work: I decluttered my house – then began buying back my belongings

I've always been suspicious of Marie Kondo even tho I love Japanese design & art & crafts. One collection I've successfully downsized was my Japanese dolls collection (approx. 6 shelves) - I helped a younger collector stagger out with 10 Green bags full of dolls & decorative items. All I kept were 2 modern Japanese teenage dolls I dressed in kimono - Jenny in white religious ceremony kimono ($205 for the used book, OMG!!!! maybe I should sell my copy, or did I give it away?) she also has a gold with red lining wedding kimono displayed on a hanger. Traditional Japanese brides wear their (family) red/gold kimono for the rest of the festivities.

Green bags? they are reusable grocery bags made from recycled plastics & themselves are recyclable when no longer needed or useful, for those who don't know them under that name. Not all of them are dyed green, but most are!

One collection down, a zillion others to go ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 23 - 11:59 AM

My endeavor to continue eating down the over-stocked supplies in the pantry and freezer has progressed. When shopping yesterday I picked up fresh produce and some dairy but managed to stay away from prepared foods (I don't buy too many of those anyway) and frozen meat, etc. There are plenty of protein sources around here to last for ages.

I'm eating more protein for breakfast, on the recommendation of a counselor who advises "brain food" in the morning. Not that it is just protein, but that there is a good portion along with whatever fruit or vegetable I'm also having. Unless it was something like ham and eggs, I never usually ate protein for breakfast. Now I'm trying to avoid breads at breakfast, though I'll include oatmeal or raisin bran as long as it's on the side. It isn't easy, developing new habits, and right now I'm in the evaluation stage, to see if it is worth the trouble.

It's sunny and cold here, no need for a blower to move the errant sunbeams off of the driveway before leaving the house. I hope everyone else is comfortable and has good access to places they need to go.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Jan 23 - 01:58 PM

Dupont:

A lot of snow blankets us this am. R went out to clear the car- at least his - and found that noise I heard in the wee hours was the neighbour's snow blower - his large parking area and our very small one!

R cleared part of the front steps - including totally unnecessary places. I wonder if ADHD includes this - to me - highly annoying bit. I am all for efficiency, doing what is needed. From the bottom of the steps, one must, then, wallow through about a foot of snow to the cars - but the edges of the steps - where no one ever need walk - are clear!

As a result of this and something SRS said, I went googling and found Frank and Lillian Gilbreth - oft cited by my father when things needed to be done efficiently - as did everything!

"What is Lillian Moller Gilbreth most known for?
"Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognize the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management."

Time and motion studies amongst others.

She is worth a look see. It was their theories that impressed my dad and their dedication to efficiency which makes me hard to live with! "A place for everything and everything in its place" was oft heard. Father never acquired more than could fit that motto. I have, and, hence...

Every once in a while, largely thanks to this thread, I remember to attempt to clear more of the decks, organize a bit better - though my organized kitchen is sacrosanct; easy for anyone to find things ... if THEY put it back in its place!

I add almond flour (2gm protein per tablespoon) to my porridge (one cup oat flakes) as well as a handful of dried cranberries (organic, sweetened with apple or orange juice - I forget), a diced apple and a couple T of ground flax seed. This has been very helpful; leftover is good for BF or lunch or snacks for me. I also add almond flour and flax to my buckwheat pancakes. One batch is good for BF for both of us and planned-overs for me whenever. They also include a couple cups of frozen fruit (could be fresh in season) per batch (1 c flour...).

I got so into looking at odds and sods on line, I forgot this post!

Maybe today I will make beet/black bean "burgers" from a simple recipe I found. The beets and beans are ready, just process and cook in oven - think I'll use the toaster oven. But it is cold enough out to justify the large one - if I add in a couple squash!

Did grocery run yesterday "before the storm". The snowflakes were just arriving as I was getting into car from last stop!

Recognizing that I might be spending more time here, I knuckle under to the need to make it more palatable. Now that Covid is less of a monster, though still needing attention, I am looking at finding people to invite -- when the weather is conducive!! Talked with a friend a couple days ago and he is game to come out from Montreal in good weather - with family. We could have a pot luck out back; I have chairs and tables...

A post on FB about the paucity of front porches triggered: No front porch on this 1902 house but I could put some chairs out under the trees in the front yard - from thrift shops! and read out there. People walk dogs and just themselves even in this weather, of course. But if I were handy, someone might stop to chat.

In addition, our trip a couple weeks ago to southern Quebec taught me that our friends down there are actually delighted to have us drop in! And they are a total delight to visit. We are grandparent age for them! And there are a few others down there whom we met through music that I can connect with, even if R is "too busy". We even risked our lives attending a CD launch at Jim's - a terrific, and unique, venue. There will be more... I may be a hermit but total isolation does not work! I shall be watching the weather for a trip to Beaver in mid Feb.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 23 - 02:53 PM

Dorothy, I am just learning about how focus, hyperfocus, distraction, and impulsive behavior dove-tail together. Everyone has these things, it's just that for some people it's an everyday minefield of trying to stay on task, etc. (I tend to climb one side or the other of the stairs and use a rail, maybe that was a factor on the snow-blowing?)

I think the best way to describe this process is the analogy of the fish that doesn't see the water it swims in. Once you can see the water (the behaviors and the coping mechanisms) then you can't unsee it and it's time to look into how to address the issues present.

You'll have to let us know about your beets and black beans dish results. I can't say it sounds like an appealing combination, but I like both of them on their own.

There are a lot of music venues over in Dallas, but I hate driving in Dallas so I never go to music over there. I fear pretty much everything else around here is rock or country. I'm glad you're able to get out to music events in the provincial areas you visit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 23 - 02:36 PM

When I don't recognize calls coming in I don't answer them. Today after waiting for a return call for an appointment and instead getting a woman huckster asking me to sell her the house at my ex-husband's address, I changed my message. It usually just gives my number and says to leave a message but I changed it slightly. Now I state that if I don't recognize their number I don't answer so they have to leave a message. So even the calls I'm waiting for will have to go through my voicemail and we'll play phone tag. So. Much. Spam.

A friend had a particularly bad COPD attack this week, and though he literally lives next door to a hospital ER, when he asked the doorman to help him walk the half-block, the doorman wisely declined and called an ambulance. It might seem silly for such a short distance, but it wasn't worth his job, considering the liability issues with that request. That said, the story of the stay in the ER and then overnight at the hospital was priceless. I bet he spent his whole time there taking notes in order to write the report he emailed to friends today. My knee surgeries have never been particularly interesting (can you hype an account of a really dry grilled cheese sandwich into a comedy routine? I think not.)

Even for retired people the looming weekend is welcome. For some reason, the days feel different. Have a good one, everyone!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 23 - 09:37 PM

Some weeks ago I described helping my ex move an incredibly heavy latex queen-sized mattress out of his guest room and into the SUV, in order to drive it to the dump. He had three of these, and one of them ended up here. It is so heavy that in order to move the mattress position I have to rotate the entire bed frame (the classic and inexpensive angle-iron frame on wheels that holds the box spring and mattress.) It took some doing, but this evening before changing the sheets I moved stuff out of the way and turned the bed so the foot is now at the top and I'll sleep on the side that doesn't have a depression. This maneuver also gave access to some dust puppies under the bed. I'll wait till I have help before I try to flip it over months from now when another change is due.

Tomorrow I have plans to do some digging of gardens in the front yard, more of a full-body workout than I've been getting lately. And celebrating having finished the 3x a day cat-sitting. I've been to the gym several times this week because I was so close when I was at her house; there will be one more trip tomorrow or Monday since she forgot to leave the usual cash; I'll pick that up then head over for a workout. (Because of the knees, for ages I just used the recumbent bike, but I've started using the treadmill also - walking is a weight bearing exercise good for your bones. The digging will give the upper body more exercise.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 09:53 AM

Well, darn! After a warm day yesterday then next six days are forecast to be a lot colder, freezing overnight, and rain much of the week. The yard needs it but I won't be out in it digging new garden beds. Instead, the weeds will grow, unmolested.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 11:27 AM

Having always been impulsive I see the timeless zone of hyperfocus as the joy of creating and distraction as a rest from it all. Getting set up for hyperfocus has more procrastination than I like but I don't have work or the ambition to work at great sacrifice of money. I'm like a playful otter compared to the hard working ant. Coping with migrain pain sapped most of my time in the past but now its just non stop time with the typical age pain de jours before the great grand pause. Yep I enjoy being lazy. Its good that I can reach deep sleep in a short time. Many small sleeps keeps me in touch with my unconscious self and dream states.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 12:42 PM

Dupont:

SRS: our steps only have a rail on one side and rubber mats start at that side, the end of each a clear line - "stop here!" But cleaning around the log that keeps the door from swinging too far, the pot of plants that are just sitting there until I get around to deciding where to move them... 3 feet of clear steps with rubber mats is quite sufficient... I am concerned.

The "burger" concoction was declared "no taste at all"; I could have improved them with onions, herbs, something! My heart was not in it. I think "burgers" are not necessary to our diet! The texture is fine.

WE spent yesterday aft at the local library again, a pleasant place and I watched the sun go down, a treat - there was sun! And I got to see it set. That library has no more books by the author I was seeking. The super nice staff person offered to order something for me but I prefer not to put them to the trouble. I just checked the times for the library in southern QC that I used a lot when we were down there. It had an amazing collection of books. Strictly volunteer run and with the municipalities paying all their other expenses, they must focus on books! And I do go that way at times - Plan! Planning to make life in QC more palatable. Maybe if I have some fun, I can get a few projects moved on out of the sewing room. Nothing beats an improved state of mind?

So pots trimmed from the 8 bowls that wrecked my back. And then I threw 2 more - just 2! Maybe I can get some strength into my back if I don't overdo it! Just a little bit at a time.

SRS: ADHD never occurred to me. Now I am wondering where are the excellent books I had on the subject when I was working... Daniel Amen did incredible work on ADHD. Did I give them away? Quite possibly! Oops!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 01:50 PM

Dorothy, ILL (Interlibrary Loan) is a standard offering from libraries, they probably subscribe to a system in order to do it. I think you should accept the offer to get your books locally, and support that service.

I've read some of Dr. Amen's stuff; he's very popular and I don't know how reliable on all subjects. I'll look at the book I have here to see what he says.

There are online tests - very sketchy - that probably catch the most pronounced cases. They don't necessarily snag the three main features of inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive, or any combination of the three. As one would expect, there are different aspects of this to consider. Time management, interruptions, unfinished projects, wasted workdays, distractions, and more fuel the kinds of questions that might get to the heart of the matter more quickly. But everyone does those things, so it's a matter of intensity. And it seems that the medications give the brain the stimulation that it is seeking with all of the revolving search for stimuli.

Heading out for a while, and one thing I plan to do today is stop by one of the little restaurants along the busy street that runs into my part of town. It had lines around the block to their drive-thru during COVID and is still popular. I've looked up the menu. It's a Mexican taco place, more takeout than inside seating (because it's small) and I'll pick it up on my way back home. I live near all of these really interesting little places but there's only one I go to with any regularity. I suppose you could call this a New Year's resolution, to try some of these places. I've planned it for ages, now I need to do it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 08:22 PM

I’ve been hunkered down at home since noon Friday, avoiding people and frowsting. I should have gone to church this morning but didn’t; instead, I read the New York Times and dealt with the aftermath of a major cat-fight.

I have no idea what set them off this time. The first bout erupted around 0400 hours with lots of screeching, swatting and slamming about, and they kept it up episodically all day. One of them — can’t tell yet which — suffered an injury and bled on the parlour floor, and by the time I came downstairs there were bloody smears and paw-prints all over the place.

Hmmm. Come to think if it, of course I didn’t go to church. When the rest of the choir was getting stuck into the introit hymn, I was down on my marrowbones wiping drops of gore off the dining room wall to the accompaniment of feline growls. The kitchen, hall, dining room and sitting room all needed floors scrubbed,

After a day of Mexican stand-offs, I’m watching telly with Isobel curled up on my lap and Watson has retreated to the bedroom. With any luck, tomorrow they will have forgotten their tiff and I’ll come home from pool class to find them intertwined in the comfy chair.

Silver lining in the cloud? The kitchen floor is cleaner than it’s been in weeks, and I even raked the crud out from under the stove.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 23 - 11:12 PM

The two younger dogs here do that periodic power struggle or fighting also, usually the bigger one drawing blood and the smaller one usually starting it. It illustrates the adage of they can't live with each other and can't live without each other.

Fort Worth is famous for its nearly month-long stock show and rodeo that starts mid-January. And it's also famous for "stock show weather." This week we're entering that phase of cold wet and possibly icy weather to make the folks walking between the livestock barns at the convention center miserable. (I have been the the stock show exactly one time, when my kids were small, in over 30 years of living here.) The weather means I have a harder time motivating myself to go to the gym to dress in lighter workout clothes to exercise, but I did it today and survived. Between their keeping the gym warm enough and my starting a new activity (using the incline on the treadmill) I worked up a sweat. I still haven't gotten out a swimsuit to start swimming laps yet. The pool is usually around 82^o, I should be able to manage that. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 23 - 03:51 PM

Not just "Stock Show" weather, but a full-fledged winter storm coming over the top of us. Fingers crossed the power stays on—I am better prepared than in February 2021 after those 4 sub-zero days with no power, but I wouldn't look forward to it.

This is "Soup stock" weather. Turkey stock is defrosting, carrots are roasting. Looking for healthy foods for this next few days when I don't plan to go out to volunteer or for other appointments. There are too many tall freeway bridges between here and most places I drive and the surface route would take three times as long.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 23 - 01:46 PM

I've just taken the coaxial cable faceplate off of the bedroom wall only to find that there is no junction box there, just a nickel-sized hole for the cable to pass through. I happen to have one of the J-boxes they make for this situation - I must cut the precise hole for the box, slide it in, and there are small wings on the top and the bottom that swing out from the box and tighten against the sheet rock. An electrical engineer friend taught me how to run cables and do the J-box.

This will be a data port, and there is a similar cover on the other side of the room for an ancient phone line. On either or both I could also run coaxial for a TV antenna or future cable account (this is the "after I sell the house" kind of account). All of this has me thinking about if it is time to rearrange the room, since I do that every so often. Whatever new arrangement, it will still include the fitness space. Meanwhile, as cold as it is right now, I'm not going to climb into the attic to pull the lines, I'll just update the outlets in the room.

I have devices charging, including the backup battery I keep in my purse for the phone or tablet. There is more ice coming this way and the fear seems to be it will take down branches and power lines.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Feb 23 - 04:56 PM

Cold and sunny in Stratford.

I'm sorting the library, and it's taking longer than I expected -- not because I can't decide what to let go, but because my first cut hardly filled a single six-shelf Billy bookcase. I know I would regret it if I were to dump the lot, so I have to resist the nihilistic urge and go through the process more thoughtfully.

There's a lot of specialized military history on those shelves, and that I definitely don't want to keep. But what about the books about Victorian tourism, the development of rugby, the spread of Calvinism in France, and the foreign policy decisions that got Britain into the Seven Years' War? Right now, I still have the attention span of a cat and congratulate myself when I finish one of the New Yorker's longer articles, but surely that won't last. In another year, or maybe two, things will be different and I'll be ready for a biography of William the Marshall or "The Age of Scandal" by T.H. White.

Nobody's pushing me to sell up and move so down-sizing isn't a priority, but I confess that I'll be relieved to have fewer books to dust.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 23 - 10:55 AM

There has been some virtual decluttering this week; the expansion drive inside the new Dell was in the red zone, and I realized I had a duplicate set of video files there that was also on an external drive, so removed that. Those take a lot of space. And the same on the old HP where I have the newer software but not connected to the Internet - lots of duplicates to remove. Meanwhile, I took some not-so-great photos of the silver thaw around here today - documenting it. I didn't spend long out there and I should have used the flash more, but what I have now is fine.

The yard is a slick icy crust and it requires very slow walking. I am hoping this melts quickly today, though the resulting mud will be intense. (What is it about the viscosity of the mud after a freeze? There must be a scientific term, it isn't just anecdotal.) That mud will be tracked through the den and into the far corners of the house in the next few days. My hypothesis is that the particles align to become stickier.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Feb 23 - 08:37 PM

I’m making progress on the library project.

What really strikes me is how much my interests have changed over the ten years since I quit my civil service job. Nowadays, I’m not willing to give houseroom to detailed official military histories of the first and second world wars. Neither do I wish to keep shelf-feet of military memoirs and accounts of derring-do.

Edmund accumulated books to an extraordinary degree. What strikes me now is how important it was to him to collect and keep books about the official British view of, especially, the Second World War, but also the expansion and eventual collapse of the British empire. Okay, I’m good with shedding those volumes.

I guess I’m still engaged in the painful business of extracting myself from my 25-year relationship with Edmund. Sorting the books is like having an extended debate with him about everything we were both brought up to hold dear.

It’s a good thing I’m not doing this on deadline.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 02 Feb 23 - 08:46 PM

Dupont:

Hunkered down for the cold snap; fire in the wood stove; thankful for the heater working! Turned up the baseboard heat in the hallway between den and Bath so the den stays warmer. The rest of the house is comfortable -so far; I don't need it too warm.R likes the den warm when he gets home and I had let it go out for a few days as we are running out of wood. Hard to replenish the supply when the available wood to purchase is under a foot of snow! and we can no longer get to the back yard and shall have to pile it in front and ... I did find a FB group for this area where people ask who does this or that and a fellow who does snow removal put his phone number - maybe if we can get some wood, he can help move it for me; that has been a concern.

I brought in most of what is left today enough for a few days. I have the idea that the brick chimney and fireplace collect a great deal of heat and radiate it. The BR above the den has a warm wall as a result. A bit like a Kachelofen.

R is busy trying to freeze proof buildings - could have been done in September? ... We might not make the music tomorrow night but I can still go the the Farmer's Market on Sunday - without him if need be! If the roads are OK. Tonight is predicted to go to -25C (about -6F?) And windy! White outs reported in Central Ontario and wind predicted for here tonight.

There is a possibility!!!! that the son of one of R's best friends may want to buy the city house!!!!! And the son of my friend Hannah may want some bowls so I photographed what I have and sent pics to her. Also suggested she could give him some of the zillion she has - a 40 year collection! So I have thrown more - only two a day, and not every day, to be sure I stay mobile!

Charmion: R would love some of those books; too bad you are far away. And I think of our friend who owns The Word bookstore in Montreal... An article in the McGill news about Adrian recently. But you seem to have pretty good handle on how to dispose of them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Feb 23 - 09:40 PM

Canada Post works, Dorothy. Or you and R could make a road trip and come visit — with a car boot full of boxes.

No kidding. PM me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 23 - 08:55 AM

Colder today than we’ve seen all winter — forecast high of -14°C and we’ve a ways to go to reach that. So the ensemble du jour must include earmuffs, lined jeans and woollen socks as well as the sheepskin coat and the serious mittens.

The builder’s quote on the mouldy bathroom came in yesterday. When I regained consciousness, I realized that, yes, I can afford it. What’s more, I must afford it — the house would not sell well with a mould infestation. Not that I’m at all eager to sell! But the house is my most important asset, and youse all know the rest of that thought.

I’m such a bourgeoise.

And I think I’ve finished sorting the books. When they’re gone, I will be able to unload five — count ‘em, five! — six-shelf bookcases.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 23 - 10:19 AM

I want to read about that visit, and the drive to get there! Dorothy had better wait until the mold in the loo has been dispatched, so you both can breathe easier while you're disturbing the dust on those books.

According to Weather.com some of you in Canada and the US NE are going to be about 40^o below average tonight and tomorrow. Stay warm! Down here will rise above freezing finally, but I've cancelled lunch with friends tomorrow because everyone will be playing catch-up after a week stuck in the house. My street is still a crunchy sheet of ice. (This weather is one reason I built the stone wall in front of the berm I piled in my front yard - to keep cars from slithering through the stop sign, jumping the curb and hitting the house.)

Tonight I'll make my recipe for Hirino Me Melitzanes (pork with eggplant) using a thawed pork loin, canned homegrown tomatoes, and eggplant from the garden that I sauteed before freezing to use in this particular recipe. It's served with mashed potatoes—good thing, since I bought a 10-pound bag of potatoes recently. Buying potatoes cheap only stays cheap if you can use them all. Leftovers for me for a couple of days and I'll take plates to a couple of neighbors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 23 - 11:41 AM

The builder's contract arrived by email about an hour ago. I shall sign it forthwith, and write the somewhat gag-inducing cheque for the deposit. Then they will book the work.

Cold weather and what it means in everyday life is top of mind for most Canadians at least four months of the year -- so important that, instead of "Have a nice day", some people say "Keep warm!"

The gas bill came in yesterday at twice what I paid in December. It ain't the weather; January was weirdly mild. I don't track fuel prices; natural gas isn't something I can shop around for, and it's not exactly discretionary spending in the dead of an Ontario winter. Lowering the temperature in the house, currently set at 20 degrees Celsius, would just result in protracted misery and numb fingers. So I embrace the suck, as the soldiers say, and thank my lucky stars for woollen socks and a decent pension.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 04 Feb 23 - 07:52 PM

Dupont:

Where I have barely moved in two days. R has not come home, only partly because the bridge is unsafe - black ice! I keep the fire going, hunker in my chair with a mohair throw, make another cup of tea and a bite to eat - not very healthy bites - Sheer inertia as I feel the cold trying to get in. I am sure it would not feel so terrible if I were at Beaver - where it may be colder but the wood stove is bigger and the house much smaller. The good news is the furnace keeps working! The bad "news" is that the water will probably be frozen - under the house - when I get back to Beaver. That only means fetching buckets of snow from the back deck to melt on the wood stove. And waiting for spring to thaw the pipes under the house. I do remember it being close to minus 40 for stretches when I lived at the farm - I was 15 years younger. Tomorrow will be about freezing or one degree above. It will feel like summer!

I doubt we shall ever be able to make a trip to Stratford! I am afraid my bro may not be with us much longer (cancer) and that will require a trip to PA, not because it would matter to him but my SIL would be devastated if I did not. And a trip to Whidbey, in May?, to see Troy and Julie's new home is essential-- and exhausting. I am finding 86 very difficult and hope spring will renew my energy...

I am keeping the plants alive, mostly, and take delight in a vigorous sweet potato plant rescued from outdoors, and a lovely yellow bloom on the Canna which ended up in a plastic bag and saucer in the hallway - full sun through glass door when it deigns to shine.

This 1902 house seriously needs new windows... The breezes!!!

I am enduring...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Feb 23 - 09:14 PM

My ex was over for lunch today and I sent him home with some of my ripe bananas and a loaf of whole wheat bread from the freezer. It seems that during our icy spell none of the delivery trucks made it to the grocery stores, and they haven't caught up yet. When he stopped at Aldi today they were out of many perishable items. The Highway Dept. ran advice over the news to not head out today if you could avoid it because there is still ice (shaded spots on highway bridges, roads, and overpasses). I poured boiling water on the slip-and-slide shaded path yesterday while it was above freezing to clear out that ice.

I'd like to get to the gym again tomorrow, my knees are stiff when I don't do the extended walking or pedaling several times a week. I've started using the treadmill longer and at more of an incline. There was a thing on the news about a popular Tik Tok video about a "5-3-30 workout," interesting that it seems to be what I've worked out for myself. It means setting the incline at 5.0, walking at the rate of 3 miles per hour, and doing it for 30 minutes. This has been my practice because I tend to like to walk that fast and I split my gym time between the treadmill and the recumbent bike, adding up to at least an hour.

I know what you mean about the cold, Dorothy. Even though the temperature is set at about 70, there are cold patches all through the house and near the windows, so you're always reminded of the cold. Plus after the 4 days with no power in 2021, we're still aware of how vulnerable people can be when the lights go out. I've had a lot of green tea during the cold weather since it doesn't seem to have the same caffeine impact on me like black tea.

There isn't a gas line to this house, only electric, and I'm sure my eyes will water at the bill that arrives after this cold spell. As they will when I get the water bill, because not only did I leave water dripping in two sinks over four days, I stepped away from a slow job of filling the dogs' water bucket and accidentally left the water running in the kitchen. It ran over the edge and down the drain for at least an hour. The equivalent of what - a bath or shower every day for a week?

It hasn't been a particularly productive week, mostly small tasks. I am continuing the wiring of data ports and did some sewing. Many other "must do" chores languish.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Feb 23 - 11:19 AM

Yesterday I worked around a neglected 15-year-old Italian Stone Pine at the back of the yard. With the moist soil I pulled about 4" of dirt off of the base to expose a couple of girdling roots from when it was originally in a black nursery pot. The root flare is now properly exposed. Circling roots were trimmed, and I sprinkled some fertilizer. There are several other trees that need this attention. The extra soil pulled back (making a depression around the tree about 3' across) gets moved to a garden raised bed rather than left to create a moat around the tree.

I checked my cat-sitting financed fence fund and I am situated to go ahead and purchase more cedar pickets and treated lumber cross-members for the next panel. Hopefully that purchase is later today (I haven't driven in a week so fingers crossed the SUV battery is fine after the cold.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Feb 23 - 08:07 PM

Dupont:

So I was on Weds, car loaded, on my way out of town, happily heading to Beaver! The in car phone rang and, I finally managed to figure out that is was my niece - telling me my brother was no longer going to be treated for his cancer but was coming home to die in hospice care. WELL! ... If I wanted to see him in decent condition... So having parked for the phone call, I turned around and came back in a bit of shock. Called R to tell him I was not leaving for Beaver and spent the day looking on line for a reasonable way to get to PA; no train right now - covid - and crying, or trying to... Phoned my former babysitter, blubbering, "I don't know why I'm calling you, but you are there!" She has known my bro for 60 years; he has done electrical work for her and he has served most of those years on the volunteer fire dept... Everybody knows him! And she is now a twnshp supervisor... She messaged me this am offering hospitality and I responded today with our plan of staying here. The best of all possible babysitters (at about 12) is now a dear friend back living on her home turf - on daffodil lane. (Davis Lane)   

R came home about 8 pm last night and we batted around the situation. He was not comfortable leaving work for even a few days. I finally decided the best choice was for me to drive down myself. and went to bed. Phoned SIL this am and she assured me that I did not need to come down, that it was a long trip for me, and I could talk to him on the phone and Face time. She has a son and daughter with her and another son nearby... Sometimes it is excellent to be unneeded!

R went off to work, then, having forgotten his phone returned just in time for our first phone call. Bro sounded good - for 10 minutes and then he was wore out; the guy who has talked the ears off many brass monkeys.. No question- I will stay here. But, also will not go to Beaver due to the poor signal there. So, my current plan is to remain here until bro reaches point where he can no longer communicate - which may not be long. Niece was concerned that I be in touch while he still could; Jen is a nurse of high standard; she has been very helpful.

R stayed home all day to give me support. I finally suggested ordering in - We NEVER do. R suggested he cook something... I remembered the freezer and dug out a lasagna from the bakery - an excellent comforting meal and heated it in the toaster oven. Maybe I will feel like doing something tomorrow.

The greenware I was hoping to fire will not get fired - yet. It was loaded into car and now it is back in the hall. If it were not winter, I could do it at the mill but too much snow to plow through. The twists of life...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 23 - 10:54 AM

Aw, Dorothy. Here's hoping the care is palliative and he's comfortable and will go on his own terms. It's sad you can't get there but I'm glad you're staying home safe, when faced with a possible lone drive and iffy weather. More worry for the family would compound things right now.

When was the last time you saw him and his family? I remember you describing a trip to PA a couple of years ago. And thank goodness for the friend who was once a babysitter!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Feb 23 - 05:59 PM

Dupont:

I am OK - mostly! Glad not to make that trip, esp at this time of year. We were there in May for the Celebration ... of my friend.

The overflow of dishes is cleared. Supper will be the rest of the lasagna; I may make salads as I got the the store today for lettuce and some other stuff. Above freezing day but rain seemed cold.

I see I will shed a few tears at times. #1 son emailed briefly - "Pa (his GF who died at 58 when T was not quite 3 - a huge loss) would be glad that both his children lasted until 2023!" A wonderful thought! I encouraged him to phone; his uncle might have some stories of his childhood to share with him. Last chance! I hope it will not be long. Pain management is all bro will have. I hope they ensure it is adequate. And very glad he has come to terms with it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 23 - 08:16 PM

Somewhere around the house is a hand tool for cutting the sheaths off of cables but can't find it. So I started looking above the dryer where some of the small hand tools live and ended up sorting the basket with tools then moving to sort the basket next to it that holds old lightbulbs and various small electric socket extenders, dim/bright adjusters, switches, etc. I've set aside some bulbs to list on the Freecycle page (incandescent, curly fluorescent, and halogen - I use LED now).

In the cupboard and shelf over the washer I organized all of the paint brushes, small saw blades & the Ryobi reciprocating saw, rolls of tape, hammers, and several analog timers. I should donate a couple of the timers.

I need to sort the garage workbench area where more tools live. It's easy to pile stuff on the workbench, hiding small tools. And it wouldn't hurt to go through the cables and computer peripherals in the office closet. So many tools in so many places.

Yesterday I did a similar purge of the tea cart, dumping ancient boxes of flavored teas and discarding some old containers that looked nice but aren't air tight. I can see all of the various boxes and cans now that they're arranged in a single layer. I have some duplicate types of black tea so I won't be shopping for a while.

The result is a lot of stuff going to the recycle bins, a full donation bin for Goodwill, and a large bag of trash. I'm sure there was something else I was supposed to be doing instead, but this job came along and got done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 11:08 AM

From the Washington Post about Buy Nothing groups. "There’s a lid for every pot, as the saying goes."

Last night I tackled the little 40-drawer small parts storage organizer thing in the cupboard over the dryer. Surprising all of the stuff in those drawers that I'd forgotten about. Now they have more stuff, though a few pieces were moved to newly-curated locations for speciality items.

I believe I have all of the parts required for installing the Japanese bidet with warm seat and warm water. An electric cord is anchored in place and I picked up a new flexible water line (the existing setup has a solid pipe and gives no room to insert the new commode seat line). See you on the other side.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 11:31 AM

I now have a plan for re-homing the military history books I am not keeping.

The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa has a support group that operates a popular bookshop specializing in -- guess what? -- military history. So now, all I have to do (my least favourite phrase in English) is pack up the books and haul them to Ottawa.

My elder brother turns 70 on the first of March and I really must make the (frankly major) effort to go to Ottawa for the festivities. Consequently, the car will be stuffed with books about wars, rumours of wars and preparation for wars, with maybe a bit of room left for my AWOL bag. An ex-colleague (old soldier) has agreed to coordinate the deposit. And thus I have a deadline to collect boxes and get packing.

The slimmed-down library is much more appealing. There's a lot of stuff I did not read when it came into the house and forgot in the tumult of the last few years and, now that I have made a deliberate decision in favour of every remaining book, I remember why we wanted them in the first place. Some of them even spark joy.

After one day of normal cold ten days ago, the weather has returned to the weird bracket. Thursday was particularly nasty, with strong winds, temperatures just above freezing, and hours and hours of torrential rain. At supper time, I ventured into the cellar for a bottle of pinot noir and found a large puddle beside the furnace -- the humidifier had pissed itself. Very disconcerting. After some quality time with a bucket and sponge mop, I closed the valve on the water line. I guess the house is quite humid enough.

Of course, the furnace and the cellar drain are on opposite sides of the house. Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 02:35 PM

Dupont:

Grieving today; weepy. Called good old friends and was able to talk about it... That helped. And messaging with a FB friend, retired nurse, very pragmatic and caring. Texted SIL to phone when she felt like. She phoned- a blubbering mass of protoplasm, that made two of us. Bro is beyond Face Time. That 10 minute call is all there shall be. His suffering is almost over. Maybe I shall go back to bed and pull the covers up, and cry. I think my sons missed the boat. We did not have much warning.

Beautiful sunny day. Just below freezing. ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 05:50 PM

It sounds like they've made wise decisions and going quickly is desirable. My father dropped dead suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. The coroner told us he probably never knew what hit him. My mother died the death she always feared, we all fear, slow and painful from cancer. She was still angry after the divorce, but on one of the last times I saw her she told me that he got it right as far as dying. Big hugs to you, Dorothy.

There are two tasks in the master bedroom area, the bidet installation and finishing the data line and antenna. The attic part of the work is easier during daylight when light filters in through louvered vents. I've been up there making a path for pulling cable, and picked up some old original cedar shakes that were dropped into the attic when the new roof was installed. They'll be stashed in the greenhouse as kindling source for any outdoors fires (like today, for lighting the burning barrel for old file papers that are too many to shred).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 01:05 PM

I always put the burning barrel away on the day I use it because overnight it would rust from the dew. Ashes were dumped into the compost and the bucket of water I keep nearby for just-in-case poured over them to extinguish embers.

The Attic Dek plastic planks are designed to fit either 16" or 24" spaced framed floors, but in a few places in the attic the builders were sloppy and the space is a *little* wider than 24" so the decking won't screw into wood on both sides of the gap. I'll use pieces of 1" thick wood cut to 26" in their place to extend the path. All wood forming a whole deck up there would make it very heavy, but a few here and there is ok. I'm doing this one route across the attic (above the bedroom hall and over the closet and dressing room to the back of the house) because it reaches the point where anything enters the house from the pole at the back. Telephone or cable and the current outdoor TV antenna connect there, and to reach it involves dexterity. I want to add a little support for a clear route across the insulated surface and past all of the heat and cooling ducts.

I found a long piece of TV aerial 300 ohm twin-lead coiled up near the den ceiling; I don't know where it originally was routed into the den, but I can use this to add an antenna port just about anywhere in the house (next to a data port). I'll take a large trash bag with me next trip because there really is a lot of old roofers' and builders' crap that got left up there over the years, making work more difficult and it just looks messy. Yes, you read it here, I'd like my attic to look presentable (that also means I have to organize all of the non-electrical data, telephone, and coaxial wires that run in every direction and constitute a tripping hazard.) And organize the stored large boxes (for speaker and stereo equipment, etc.)

Dorothy's various sheds and the Mill, Charmion's basement, and my attic - places where necessary equipment is housed and sources of occasional amusement and organization. This cleaning in the attic is kind of a treasure hunt - so far I found a hammer, screw-heads for the drill, a couple of boxes of nails, loose cable and spare wire, lots of intact shakes (maybe for a future art project?), metal objects like a solid galvanized ring that went to the now-removed attic vent fan.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 10:46 PM

Dorothy, did you spend the day close to the phone, or instead bury yourself in a book or binge a program? Figuring out how to cope is different for everyone, so we will wait until you tell us what worked for you. I hope you have a supply of tea and chocolate.

Today the circular saw come out for a few passes to cut planks to size for the attic. There's nothing like power tools to make you feel like you're moving along. I've figured out how to move into the next area - getting safely over a duct will involve putting in a step over the top of it. Tomorrow. Once I can get to the right areas to pull the cable to the bedroom and the sewing studio this job will shift to the hall closet outside the office, where the existing ports will be updated in a bigger box and faceplate. Something I've meant to do for years.

Meanwhile, the Internet is running faster after unplugging or turning off everything then rebooting. Things were running in the dial-up speed range for a few days there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 06:54 PM

Dupont:

Yep, spent most of the time between the computer and an interesting novel. Until Sunday, when I stayed in bed and slept until the phone rang about noon and Hannah instructed me to get out of bed; we talked for over an hour, then I got up and opened the computer to see if there were any messages from sons, or anyone. SIL phoned about 4:30 to inform me Geo died at 6:20 Sat eve with everyone there - but me. So glad it was quick.

I went back to the computer and there was a condolence from a friend down there. The whole community knew before I did... After the call from SIL, I started thinking it would help to go to the funeral and asked R about paying Eph to drive me down; he had offered.

R said he could do it because now there is a set time - not being there waiting for the end which could be a long time. He was relieved that I chose to do it; he has been concerned. As soon as we made this clear decision, my clouds lifted! So we are driving down on Thurs for the Friday Funeral.

A friend is leaving us key to her home! She is going to Mississippi. R can pick up the two books he left there in May. And we can rest up and enjoy the trip back, taking two days. Son Taun is coming. Troy may be able to get it on line. In connecting with him, I got a Face Time tour of their very modest new home on Whidbey, with its stellar view - across Puget Sound to the Olympics! The only cluttered room was the music room with guitars everywhere!

Life is looking better. I even managed to find semi-suitable clothes that FIT. I thought I had gained weight ... I could, just, get into the size 16, never worn, suitable, and very nice, dress - looked like an old fashioned pot belly stove. It would look great with a minimum of 20 pounds less. I'll take it; maybe Tenley would like it. But I have an alternative that will suffice, and fit.

I had gone upstairs to throw a couple pots but decided something to wear took precedence. Good thing. Guess I need to stop eating - as I go to have something to eat!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Feb 23 - 11:49 AM

Dorothy, grieving affects people differently, and eating or not eating is one of the factors. I've been imagining you as fairly slim since that last time you wrote about your weight; winter months do make it harder to not nibble, when your brain is telling you calories help fight off the cold weather outside. I'm glad you kept an outfit that fits for the funeral; I have a part of the closet where those few things hang that are there to be used for somber occasions, and they are also in about three different sizes. They cost enough or involved careful matching that even though some of them are a bit large, I kept them.

A neighbor offered up wood chips from her yard on the FB Buy Nothing page, and I'll be running by there to load some and drop them on top of the garden area until I'm ready to till it. I figure the chips will shade out any weeds that want an early start. The wood chip compost I get from the city is a five minute drive from here, the offer this week is a 5 block drive.

I put up a listing concurrently on FB's Buy Nothing local page and on the Freecycle listserv as a test instead of taking a bag of various types of lightbulbs to Goodwill. This is a lot less-odd than some of the things I see posted.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Feb 23 - 02:09 PM

Important declutter achievement alert!

Four pairs of much-loved, immaculately maintained and frankly expensive shoes by John Fluevog (Google him if …) have gone to a friend from church who can and will wear them. Since my right foot is now quite twisted, I can’t any more. (O woe! No more cute shoes for me!)

Tomorrow I have to go to Kitchener for my monthly needle at the allergist’s office. Before I return to Stratford, I shall hit the U-Haul moving supplies store for boxes suitable for moving books, and stout sealing tape. The liquor store staff were not willing to let me clean them out of booze boxes so I’ll have to buy some, at least for this first Ottawa load.

I have now emptied the first of the six bookcases I intend to re-home. The military history books bound for Ottawa have been segregated from the rest slated to leave the building. Packing will begin on Friday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Feb 23 - 04:57 PM

my new podiatrist was very interested in my weird gait (unlike my previous long-term podiatrist, both have doctorates, they are not just toe-nail clippers!) & sent me off for x-rays which I haven't had for years. He also frowned at my pretty (sensible) sandals - I've worn orthotic since 1983 - & suggested fancy walking shoes.

Gloom, desolation, I hate socks & walking/running shoes, tho the new styles might look colourful & cool (or is that an eye-rollingly Olde Pharte word?) they don't compare with purple floral sandals

I've never been able to wear fashion shoes, having pigeon-toes, flat feet, knock knees with foot, leg & back pain - gloom, desolation ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Feb 23 - 07:36 PM

A podiatrist who surgically repaired a bunion ~20 years ago told me I had "functionally flat feet." I walk fine, no pain, etc. When I look at this diagram I have a slim print like I always have so I set aside that information as possibly incorrect. (He wanted to sell me some custom orthotics.)

That said, since the surgery I wear flat shoes, with only a couple of pair that have a 1" heel for special occasions. And a few years ago I found an orthopedic brand called Propét that has a lot of attractive walking shoe styles. Much less expensive than the ones Sandra linked to and these are incredibly comfortable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Feb 23 - 07:47 PM

I have noticed of late that the current fashion is for white sneakers/lace up walking shoes/whatever you call them, and while I applaud that on one hand....comfort, etc....in Oz's hot summers all I can think of is "sweaty feet, erk!"

Following a twice-fractured foot (a Jones fracture, yes, it is a thing) I need to be careful what my feet are clad in. None of those mesh fabric type sneakers/runners for me, no; my shoes need to be proper supportive leather. I can wear sandals in summer (thank goodness for that) so long as they are not high or flimsy.

So I look at pretty sparkly strappy sandals, and sigh......

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 06:04 AM

speaking of flat feet, one of Australia's best source singers, Duke Tritton, applied to join the army in 1914. He was told his flat feet ruled him out. He was astounded as he'd spent years carrying his swag (possessions wrapped in a blanket) walking around the state looking for work, & probably spent most of his time in any job on his feet! He must have had the same condition as Stilly.

I look at pretty floral sandals & sigh.

solid shoes & socks in hot (or any) weather - nah! The last 2 winters have been very mild & I've worn my sandals all year long, but than I live near Sydney's harbour & spend much of my time in the inner suburbs, which are much warmer that Sydney's western suburbs, some of which get frost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 06:10 AM

Stilly, Propét shoes are available here, but of course they cost more in $AUD
I can check them out

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 04:30 PM

Sandra, I was looking at the listings on Amazon and eBay for the Propét styles. My first pair was on clearance at DSW (a big US shoe store chain). It's unusual that I wear narrow sizes any more (they're not out there that often). I first tried a 9 narrow and it fit like a glove and was so comfortable to walk in. They are like most shoe companies and retire designs regularly, but if you're looking for comfort and not worried about the current color of the year, you can find them discontinued at a savings. And Walmart sells them in the store. I rarely buy shoes without trying them on first and I don't by from Zappos online, etc. But when there is a documented style that works and I can reproduce that purchase online, I'm good. They're true to the size—you don't need to go larger or smaller than your normal size for a better fit.

Damn but it's cold here today. I led a tour at the museum where I volunteer, then scanned slides, and when it came time to leave and head for the gym, that wind hit me and I was ready to head for home.

I'm researching how to make my own soap and my own tincture of green soap with olive oil. It involves lye. A friend once told me that it's worth the risk of second degree burns to make a good bar of soap. I will report back later.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 05:51 PM

I'll get the results of my x-rays on Monday & find out what I need. One thing he mentioned was that I probably need extra support for my right ankle -OMG! worse case options - eek -

I shall get on with heading to the train & ignore doom scrolling.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 09:21 PM

Sandra, good luck with your x-ray results. I do specialized exercises to keep my hips strong, and do the Essentrics stretching for a full-body level of fitness. Foot surgery can make a big difference (I got the bunion fixed before it became too pronounced, so they didn't need to break the bone) but feet take a longer time to heal, if it comes to that.

Initial soap-making research shows that it is best done in warm-weather (for good ventilation) and there are lots of types of soap to consider. How to Make Green Soap: An Excursion Through Time
This Ancient Soap Making Recipe Hasn’t Changed Much. Many of the soaps use "vegetable glycerin" that contains coconut oil, and though it can be substituted for others, the process involves candy thermometers and careful measuring. I buy olive oil soap at the Halal market and it's much cheaper than the soap you can see on the link. I often get the Aleppo soap (you'll see hand-cut bars through the linked listings - it's brown or green, often embossed with the company information on the top of the bar) and the Nablus variety (usually light colored in white wrappers). I'm not sure where the green bars come from. The Halal market offerings vary from one month to the next but sticking with this is probably my best bet. So, nothing much changes, but this summer I may try making some soap.

At Goodwill today I dropped off a light-weight wood unit for DVDs or books and a couple of bags of hardware and clothes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 07:37 AM

OMG indeed, Sandra.

Whenever I lace up my sensible walking shoes, I can hear my mother tsking “ I told you so.”

I can still wear Mephisto cork-soled sandals in summer, but I can’t walk much in them. For any jaunt farther than the mailbox, it’s socks and shoes such as I would not have been caught dead in when I was in high school.

Pain is a great manager of expectations.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 12:31 PM

In 2021 while on vacation in Italy my daughter completely ruptured her Achille's tendon, and after a surgical repair is really picky about her footgear and ankle support. And because she wears a larger shoe size than average for women, "One size fits all" doesn't work so well and finding socks that aren't just men's socks sometimes requires hunting around. Socks for xmas means she can toss the worn out ones. We discussed this very subject earlier this week before she left for Japan where they will walk up paths on forested hillsides to view ancient temples. Gotta have good shoes.

Today is starting out calmer but cool, and the rest of the week is supposed to have more of the off-putting windchill that makes outdoor excursions unpleasant. It's not like Canadian windchill of minus 0 proportions, but it's that it looks like it should be good walking around weather and when you step out the door the wind whips your body heat away from your head and neck and any exposed parts of your torso and you need to go back inside for the hat and scarf and gloves.

I need to do a return trip to the attic where there is enough airflow that I hope the sun shining on the roof compensates for the movement of air through the space. I need to finish some of the projects I've started and my next batch of Attic Dek panels arrived yesterday (purchased from NewEgg but drop shipped from Walmart - which, when I search, lists a price way higher than I paid, so I am truly puzzled.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 03:28 PM

Whoa, Nelly!
Western Massachusetts has had a week of weather
with daytime temps in the 50's and 50's Fahrenheit.
Today actually started out in that range.

I don't know what the temperature is now, but . . .
it's SNOWING.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 04:19 PM

Here, too, Keb. And we had sleet last night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 05:10 PM

The first load of books — five boxes, each 1.5 cubic feet — is packed up and stacked by the garage door.

I applied literally every body mechanics technique I know, but carrying those boxes downstairs was still a serious challenge to my poor ol’ back. Nothing went *spungggg* in my sacro-iliac region, however, so I have reason to hope.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 05:39 PM

... five boxes, each 1.5 cubic feet ... an excellent piece of downsizing while taking care of your back!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 07:18 PM

Next time carry the books in small batches to the box and fill it near the garage door. The extra steps will be good if you use a tracker. Alternately you could stack them near the door and wait to fill the boxes once they're in your car. Over time there are tricks one learns when there isn't an extra person or a guy around to help lift stuff. These include using lot loaders to put heavy stuff in the car and then the part at home: while the heavy box is still in the car open it and carry the parts in piecemeal. Reverse that operation with the books.

Someone who lives nearby claimed the bag of light bulbs offered via the Buy Nothing Facebook page. It hasn't been a good week for gardening so I haven't gone to retrieve any wood chips yet through the offer I responded to, but I'll see about getting some tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 18 Feb 23 - 12:28 PM

Is a "guy" not a "person," Stilly? ;)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Feb 23 - 02:26 PM

I tried to fix that but Mudcat is giving out error messages today. It is trimmed down from a remark about losing her guy who helped load and unload stuff and I thought perhaps that was too much information. This might not go through either.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 11:52 AM

I have started one of those monthly bone-building medications that is taken on an empty stomach and for an hour you have to stay upright, not lie down or even recline, until it is out of your stomach. I used to go walking with a friend who was taking a weekly version of this and we would walk for that hour after she took her pill. I worked out a few chores to do (while the kitchen timer was set). I have finally reprogramed both thermostats in the house closer to the actual temperature I'd like; it was set as if I was leaving five days a week for an 8-hour work day, but it meant I pushed it up every morning because the house was cold. I've set it at 68 for the daytime, we'll see if that works (I have tended to push it to 70 when the morning is cool, but that 2^o can add up to a few dollars more on the monthly bill). I also started working on some of the eBay stuff that has been around for ages needing listing. (Mudcat is broken right now so try to post single paragraphs and they should go through.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 10:07 AM

Re: comfortable shoes
Ecco is, like Propét, a manufacturer of shoes
that are both sensible and stylish.
They run a little expensive, though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 10:50 AM

Stilly, I'm very, very careful.

That said, my packing method has benefits that outweigh the risk. First, I need to keep the garage door free of clutter -- it's dark, cramped, and in the kitchen -- and the library has both plenty of space and lots of natural light. Done right and within limits, carrying heavy things is good exercise; I have worked with personal trainers who used a wide variety of expensive fitness equipment to mimic the precise tasks involved in packing and moving boxes of books. Form is critical.

Also, I stop before I get tired.

Lent begins this week, and each day is brighter and longer than its predecessor, except when it's pitching down rain. I heard a robin (of all things) the other day, and the cardinals resident in the hedge are already whistling their "Hey, ladies!" song. It's just the mid-winter thaw -- plenty of foul-weather potential left in the season -- but very enjoyable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 12:18 PM

Dorothy, I've had questions to answer in this ADHD research, and one had to do with Daniel Amen's materials that you remarked on. This morning I searched Daniel Amen and came across the linked Daily Beast article. There are a number of the popular medical folks who have lectured on PBS who have later turned up to have flawed data or a business model that does more selling than curing. I'm looking into exercises that might be useful in staying focused. (The WebMD blurb about Amen sounds like it was written by Amen's PR staff). I think his work with Pastor Rick Warren and Mark Hyman, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD, is the scariest part to warn me away. People lost weight, but I suspect they also lost their souls, or their pocketbooks came out a lot lighter around the four of them. Amen has a 30-day program and when looking for reviews of it went down that rabbit hole. He identifies "seven types" that he justifies with his expensive brain scans. All said, I suspect we're looking at a modern form of Phrenology from the inside out. I'm still working on this and will try to avoid over-sharing.

Today is a modestly popular federal holiday, so the trash was picked up and except for the post office and banks pretty much everything else is open for business. Mattress sales abound. While some of you are due for Winter Storm Olive it's overcast and humid 80s for the first half of the week, so time for some yard work. The weeds and winter grass need to be mowed in the front. Amazon knows no holidays and will be delivering an 8 ounce jar of my favorite seasoning salt (there are a few dishes where it is a great shortcut) and I've tossed the ancient contents of the 2+ pound jar that I bought in 2017. I can use that shaker jar in the garden, so there is still some good that comes from that huge purchase (putting diatomaceous earth in it to dispense on ant hills and such).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 04:12 PM

I now have coordinating instructions from the Canadian War Museum bookshop, so the transfer of my fifty-year accumulation of books about military matters will happen on Friday morning at 1100 hours.

Eight boxes are packed, stacked by the back door, and ready to go. I’m pretty sure the car’s load limit is ten to a dozen; I have to be able to see out the back windows. If I ask him nicely, Neil across the street will probably help me load up on Wednesday.

My fuel bill for the outbound trip will be a stinker.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 04:38 PM

congratulations for finding the perfect home for your specialised collection.

Extra congratulations for the sensible movement of heavy stuff.

Inspired by you, I've finally just now emailed a friend for advice about finding a good home for s specialised collection I have.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 07:11 PM

Dupont:

Back from PA in good shape. I did most of the driving and am fine. We are glad we went. The Amish Mennonite funeral was interesting. I was surprised by attendance of soon-to-be-former DIL and their #2 son, on their own. SIL was glad we came. The only other members of her plentiful family who spoke to me were her two sons who gave wonderful presentations about my bro as their father. One other very dear friend of SIL surprised me by coming and giving me a hug and a nice chat. Political differences...

Time with #2 son was good; he took us to lunch and we went back to our "home" and he spent about 8 hours with R and I, telling me a bunch of stuff I did/did not that upset him. R did a wonderful job of mediating; he has known my son for 50 years and explained very clearly that son's "engineer mind" thought it was explaining things to me but only another engineer might have understood - more or less! I am exonerated but missed out on spending a great deal more time with the grands because of the lack of clear communication. Water over the dam/spilt milk...   

On Sat, we, with son and his partner, had a last visit with SIL to give her more support before we left. Son did some computer help for her. We did not, however, manage to find the Parshall history book or the older family photos. Son has designated himself our family archivist.

Then we headed north until time to sleep. On Sunday, we had brunch near Albany with friends, went to see a building somewhere in upper NYS that had interest to R, then booted it on home, arriving at 7 pm and I went to bed!! Spent today deleting emails as I never opened computer for four days!

Laundry caught up today, folded and ready to go upstairs.

Surprised by what SRS found on Amen. I only saw his excellent ADHD materials, and Change your Brain Change Your Life.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Feb 23 - 08:57 PM

Dorothy, I think there are some areas where Amen's work is more sound. The advice about healthy foods and exercises and deep breathing are helpful. The brain scan, not as much. And frankly, he's judged by the company he keeps.

It sounds like a good trip to PA, and I hope the discussion with your son wasn't too troubling. I think something like that with my mother would have fallen on deaf ears for some of the issues we had when we were kids. The number one thing we hated and she ignored was her lifetime of heavy smoking. I suspect most reasonable parents wonder about the things their children harbor about their childhood, and I'm sure I'll hear about that one of these days. I know there are things I wish I'd done differently, or that I had done right at first and didn't have to learn from mistakes. I suspect that some of what we're learning now about ADHD might skew how we view past events.

Charmion, the reason I bought an SUV is because I couldn't afford a truck - even used pickups down here in Texas are expensive, they're so popular. So with three rows of seats and the third row always down I have a pretty good cargo area and when I'm moving a lot of stuff I lower the middle seats and sometimes push the front passenger seat forward and down. If I didn't feel like I had a lot of bulky stuff to move around fairly regularly having a smaller vehicle would be more practical. If I lived someplace that had really good and reliable transit I'd be tempted to not have a vehicle at all, to rent when needed and otherwise ride bus or train or cab. When I lived in New York City it was so easy to take trains instead of driving anywhere. I left my little pickup parked in Connecticut at my great aunt's house and if I needed it for a longer trip I took the train or bus up to her house.

Did I mention earlier that I have a daffodil blooming in the yard? And suddenly the weed grass is growing so I'll need to mow it this week while it's still warm out there. Spring comes quickly here, though we still might have some hard freezes, so to paraphrase Aesop, one daffodil does not spring make.

Good luck with your research, Sandra! Keep us posted on the progress.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Feb 23 - 09:10 AM

Stilly, in my opinion an SUV is a better buy than a pick-up truck simply because its cargo area has a roof! It’s also more stable on the road and safer in a collision.

But that’s not enough to tempt me to own one — I’m just too stingy to buy the fuel required to run it.

Preparing for my trip to Ottawa makes me wonder how my life got so complicated. I have a long list of people to be told I’m going away, and chores to do in order to ensure that I don’t return to domestic unpleasantness.

Once upon a time, I could just toss some clean underpants in a haversack and lock the door on my way out. Those were the days!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Feb 23 - 12:15 PM

Yes - I am anchored here by the dogs, so when I do have to go anywhere overnight I make arrangements with my ex to feed them. For a very long trip and I'd have to double up and pay someone to come over to give him a break, and ask him to spend the night here occasionally so they have more attention. I'm cat sitting for a friend this week and her cats protest her absence by inappropriate urination - she has a shower curtain (!) she is going to spread out over the top of her bed after the last trip. When I had cats I left out a lot of food and extra water and made sure the boxes were clean and that was it.

I had a camper shell over the back of the truck, so anything I hauled had to fit in the back. I wasn't interested in removing the shell to transport really large stuff. I do miss it, but the last truck had only 2 airbags and the cab didn't have extra reinforcement (the small back door and the main doors on each side met in the middle, there was no steel support beam for them to close against, so the top could have crumpled in a roll-over.) It would have easily held all of your boxes of books in a single layer on the bed of the pickup, and that vehicle was a gas hog. The SUV is better, partly because there is so much plastic in the skin of it. I always try to make trips efficient with planning a route that lets me make a loop of stops instead of heading out for single tasks. I'm due to buy gas after a loop that takes me to the gym, the store, the pharmacy, and my friend's house to feed her cats. The local run for wood chips is under a mile and probably will be separate.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Feb 23 - 09:22 PM

Dupont:

If nothing changes, I am off to Beaver tomorrow with a bunch of pots to fire and glaze and fire again. Thought about holding off for warmer weather but impending storm - Thurs - could affect the electric and the studio freezing would mean a bunch of lost pots (frozen greenware is not good!) and clay - worse yet! If I am there, I can bring these things into the house where the wood stove keeps me warm.

Leaving R with a pot of cauliflower soup and fresh batch of apple sauce. ARGHH! Excuse me While I put black beans on to cook ... There are none! Too bad! There are a number of prepared meals in glass in the freezer. He can make an effort! lots of bread and cheese, peanut butter...

Feeling that I weathered this trip pretty well. Good feeling! Tomorrow is only 5 hours.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Feb 23 - 11:55 PM

People who want to collect parts of this shattered Koons sculpture probably have a clutter problem.

I was interested to see that the managing of clutter was in a question on an Executive Function survey I took earlier this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Feb 23 - 01:37 PM

There was a heavy thunderstorm at dawn today so the garden I've started digging will be muddy, and the mulch I've started picking up at a neighbor's house is heavier for now. I'm putting down a deep layer of wood chips around the raised beds and when that's finished then I'll dig the beds themselves. It's better to do now while it's cooler and the soil has moisture. Once it's hot the soil outside the garden is like digging concrete but the weeds continue to grow if they're there.

I spoke with the handyman friend who does lots work in my neighborhood; I think soon he'll be taking down a large hackberry in the backyard. My aim is to remove it before it falls and breaks things. This morning Antonio was actually next door talking with them about work they need doing and I walked over to say hello. Since he'll be taking out two trees there I should do this other one at the same time. It can keep the cost down if he's already set up for the job.

This week I finally turned my attention to eBay again. I was sorry to see that they now have to report even fairly modest earnings to the IRS - it used to be you could make as much as $40,000 before that happened, now it's down to $600. Sales don't take into account what things cost, just what you sell them for, so it looks like more paperwork will be needed to keep that all in order.

I turned on one of the Hoarder programs this morning - oy. Those serve as confirmation that it isn't what is going on here (as I continue to thin out stuff from family estates) but there is one room that on its own wafts of over-collecting—my eBay room.

Better get moving.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Feb 23 - 02:47 PM

Twelve boxes packed and ready at the door from the kitchen into the garage. Neil-across-the-street is coming at five o'clock to help me load the car.

My back is fine, if a bit tired.

It's snowing today in Stratford, and there will be more tomorrow in the Ottawa Valley. Traction won't be an issue with 18 cubic feet of books in the car, but I wonder: can a VW Golf GTI waddle? If so, that's how I'll make my progress across the province.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Feb 23 - 03:12 PM

If your car waddles like a duck, then . . . ?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Feb 23 - 09:02 AM

If the car waddles like a duck, then the other motorists will laugh and the Ontario Provincial Police highway patrol will be like tsk, tsk, tsk.

I'm good with that. A chat with the cops could be a nice break in the day. It gets lonely out there on the Seven.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Feb 23 - 12:30 PM

I had a short pallet of porcelain floor tile in the back of my pickup and was entering a green light intersection when a city vehicle ran the light from my left. I simultaneously leaned on the horn and stood on the brake - I couldn't stop but I at least slowed enough that I missed hitting the pickup. Both driver and passenger looked startled but they probably didn't know how close they came to being killed. Don't overlook the start and stop times when you're transporting a heavy load, books included.

Finally, after years of not finding a satisfactory battery, I have ordered a replacement for my 10-year-old Vaio. It's the backup computer here, it lives in the kitchen, and is always plugged in because of the old dead battery. With a new one it will either be more useful here or will be eligible to be sold (though removing the content from a hard drive in a laptop is a big fuss - maybe keep the drive and tell the buyer they must install their own HD and OS?)

We're back to cool weather - and the temperature wouldn't be a problem except it's the wind that makes it not good for continuing the outdoor work I started this week. This isn't your snow and ice, this is just inconvenience to a fair-weather gardener, who has daffodils in the garden and henbit in the lawn.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Feb 23 - 09:49 PM

I've had to switch a medication I've taken for years. A compounded bioidentical HRT that was taken by mouth will via a lotion. This is so it doesn't mess up a bone-building medication taken for a while.

After a trial use I've figured out that the lotion base has a coconut ingredient (the pharmacist abbreviates a group of coconut ingredients to "SLS") resulting in scalp & hands breaking out. It sounds like it won't be possible to completely eliminate that coconut, so I'm removing it everywhere else to lessen the impact. My kitchen handsoap is a mix of Tincture of Greensoap and Dawn dish soap, where greensoap has vegetable glycerin from coconut. Instead, I'll be using a Middle Eastern bar soap from Laurel (a relative of bay laurel) grated into boiling water to dissolve it. I've grated half a bar into about 4 ounces of water to test, dispensing from a squirt bottle.

Today my handyman friend was here and we talked about the tree removal. Expen$ive, but it does need to be done before the tree falls and breaks something. That will happen soon. I might be able to tackle one of the trees and a couple of limbs before all of this happens to reduce the quote; I'll look at that over the weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 07:29 AM

Architecture that automatically eliminates clutter is Frank Loyd Wright's homes that I have seen. I kinda like some Victorian clutter. There are no Wrights or wrongs when it comes to some clutter.
Roman clutter was quite grand.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 11:05 AM

Clutter that is hoarded and collapses to crush the homeowner is onerous.

A couple of aha! moments this morning: when I work in the attic I have a few lights up there but it's not easy. These days they make strings of bright LED lights that can be put along the length of the house and turned on with a single switch yet use very little power. I've measured the distances down the middle of the house to set that in motion.

I've also concluded that the way to remove the smaller tree in the back yard is by dragging the extension cord and using the electric reciprocating saw with one if its long wood-cutting blades. The DBH (except it's DAH - diameter ankle high, not breast high) is only about 8 inches. Doable by taking out a wedge in 1/3 of the tree then cutting through from the back.

It's cold and overcast today, so after placing a couple of online orders I'll head into the sewing studio and consider how to assemble a project for a friend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 01:02 PM

Beaver:

Darn! Missed out on suggesting I meet Charmion in Madoc for lunch!

Made it here on Weds. Have not done much. Still recovering from too much driving! Did go through a cabinet and took all the warm clothes I could part with over to the warming centre, along with some cash. Stayed home yesterday expecting freezing rain which happened as I thought about going the the horticulture meeting; stayed home.

Back deck is daunting- frozen snow again! A foot to two feet. I cleared a path on top so I can bring in stove wood without injury. To get to the studio will take more effort. Waiting for a bit warmer weather - tomorrow? And may go to warming centre to see if anyone wants to make a few dollars!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 01:14 PM

Beaver:

SIGH! checked emails; a very dear friend died this am. I am bereft allover again. In 1968, this sweet 18 year old took this newcomer to Montreal under his wing and helped me find a place to live and took me to the Yellow Door to interview for "office assistant". He set my whole life on a special track. I knew this was coming and am glad he is out of pain. I wanted more chances to talk with this beautiful person whom I saw through 3 marriages and many changes until he reached his goal of becoming a rabbi. His retirement was short. DARN!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: leeneia
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 02:20 PM

My condolences, Dorothy. It's so hard to lose a good friend.
======
Back on Feb 4th, you wrote "This 1902 house seriously needs new windows... The breezes!!!"

Years ago, my father went to a government seminar on the maintenance of church buildings, and he learned that you should caulk windows, but most of the cold comes right through the glass. The best thing to do about that is to put up heavy drapes.

This doesn't have to be a major project. Get the spring-loaded rods that pop into the window frame (no screws or nails.) Do you have fabric stores? Look for heavy fabric on sale. Or go to the thrift store and buy drapes or bedspreads. Sew a header at the top and fold the bottom edge so it rests on the windowsill and makes a pocket for cold air to flow into and stop. Think of the cold air as cold water, flowing down the glass and onto the floor.

When the bitter cold is over, take them down and store for next time.
======
Stilly, I learned something about cutting down a tree from a man who did it for a living. When a tree is being cut down, it will fall on its heaviest side, so matter where you cut the wedge. Examine your tree and see if it has bigger branches on one side. That's where it will go. Makes sense to me.

Fortunately 8 inches isn't very big.

I like your idea about LED lights. I have them in my kitchen now, and I'm so glad.
======
Donuel, I like your comment about some clutter. I've seen anti-clutter videos where the house ends up looking as sterile and pragmatic as an operating room. I would find that hard to take.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 02:29 PM

I like a bit of clutter — but only a bit. What’s a coffee table for, if not holding the stacks of books that one is half-finished reading?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 03:58 PM

Speaking of books, the Friends of the Canadian War Museum are now the proud owners of 18 cubic feet of books that no longer belong to me.

My poor little car needed its tires reinflated — no lie! And, with the load aboard, its fuel efficiency was awful: 7 litres per 100 kilometres, when usually it manages about 4.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 06:34 PM

leenia, I spent a few years cutting down trees as a summer seasonal forester and fire fighter. I have that well under control.

I'm looking forward to the lights - I bought a string of 5 approx. 75watt (1000LM) bulbs on a 50' string. And the line itself works like an extension cord so I could plug something else into the end of it if needed. They will serve to light the central corridor/highest point through the unfinished attic. Sunday will warm up for better attic work again. I have a string of sparkling LED lights on my front porch that are festive but not very bright; this attic set is a construction-type of light string. When I moved in here we were still using incandescent and portable fluorescent were a thing. Halogen would be too risky, they get too hot. The lights up there haven't been updated in a really long time, and they're all plugged into portable sockets.

Good work on redistributing the books! You're lucky the tires were just low and none went flat! And I agree about the interesting objects that sit around a room - to have all of them gone would be unnatural in my world. I just hope to have a few clear surfaces to work on at the end of the day, and not have to turn sideways to enter a room.

Dorothy, I'm sorry to read about your friend. I lost one like that about 20 years ago, and it took a lot of processing to sort my reaction to his suicide. But he made a huge impact on the directions I have traveled. Still does today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Feb 23 - 07:59 PM

Charmion, some people use emojis (not me!) I like drawings, so picture
a GOLD STAR + A PAT ON THE BACK (hand patting smiling person) + HAPPY DANCING (Snoopy & Woodstock)

well done, & the only costs were your time (not your back), a bit of air & some extra fuel!

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Feb 23 - 08:13 AM

Awww, gee thanks, Sandra!

But this was only the library project’s first tactical bound, as they say at HQ. I have emptied three bookcases, but still have three more to clear and their contents to dispose of, and then the six bookcases themselves to re-home.

I will have to hire a couple of large guys to move the six bookcases downstairs and out to the garage, where they can be more easily loaded up and hauled away. But that will be a job for the summer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Feb 23 - 09:13 AM

it's a good start

I've started an email to someone who might like some of my craft stuff - 3 large boxes which were taken from the top of my wardrobes, all that's left is a shoebox with birthday cards in it! The empty boxes are on a chair & the contents are all over my bed - bummer cos it's time to go to bed ...

Next email to go will hopefully find a home for 2 shelves of more craft stuff.

Both collections are things I no longer make, & I have lots more crafty stuff I'm working on.

sandra - shutting down & heading for the mess

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Feb 23 - 11:27 AM

Sandra, a friend of mine in NY City used the bed surface when he started sorting the contents of his large bedroom closet, and I think he has slept on the sofa in the living room for a quite a while since he hasn't finished that job.

Charmion, I would have a difficult time letting bookshelves leave the house. There are so many things (that clutter we speak of daily) that can live on shelves when books aren't present. (Of course at my house, both happens - books at the back of the shelf and small interesting objects positioned on the front edge - a great way to insure that you will rarely dust for having to move all of the small objects.) I did manage to donate a DVD/book case recently, but no small objects could rest on that and it wasn't terribly stable for larger things.

I haven't made pancakes in ages but last week I found buttermilk on sale so this morning made a full-sized batch (enough to feed me and both kids when they were big). The cakes I ate were probably half of the day's calorie allowance, but they were good! I'll wrap the rest in plastic two at a time and freeze them for future meals. These are very thin and flexible, Scandinavian style like I grew up with, much like crepes, so sometimes a smear of jelly or sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and rolled they make a great lunch or dessert. (I am not fond of restaurant pancakes because they're stiff and thick and dry.)

Another cold overcast day here. I hear the postal carrier on the porch (confirmed by the barking blue heeler, who has him on her radar six days a week) so I may make a trip to the attic with the new lights even though it'll be cold up there. Gotta love how fast Amazon is - you can have an impulse and act on it soon enough with their next day delivery that there is follow-through on some of these ideas.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Feb 23 - 12:24 PM

Stilly, I am not letting myself accumulate either books or small interesting objects any more. Those days and those habits are over for me.

Disposing of the excess bookcases makes it official.

It also makes more room for a person playing the digital piano to push back her chair, and for the instrument cases currently stacked under the window to stand out of the way, but handy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Feb 23 - 10:30 PM

Interesting small objects are still arriving here. There is a lovely wooden bowl with a lid that was turned by Mudcatter Bill D; I sent him a chunk of the vitex wood from my yard and some months later this delicate bowl arrived in the mail. It was made from a portion of that block, and sits in a place of honor on one of the bookshelves behind me in my office. Along with interesting small frames with photos of the kids and any number of objects I was given by them over the years. Having children does add to the stuff you keep.

Today I set out small-ended screwdrivers and a bowl and carefully opened the laptop and replaced the dead battery with a new one with a two year warranty (300-500 recharges). The process involved only one trip to YouTube to see how to open the Sony computer, and opening it was easier than closing it, but it is now finished and fully charged. I'll have to use it enough this week to draw down then recharge the battery several times to get it conditioned properly.

An Amazon box was deposited on the porch with the new lights for the attic - but too late in the day to head up to do that job. It was dark by the time I got home from the gym and shopping, so this is for Sunday.

I've started a project for the NY friend who sleeps on his sofa - sewing specialized masks. A visit to Joann Crafts/Fabric today has me good to go on that for an extra layer of fabric in addition to some the friend had delivered here. (Joann's always get me with the "buy 3 get 2 free" thread offerings). While there I noticed an expensive plastic multi-tier storage "system" that they charge $82.99/$42 for (I found it at Goodwill for $5). I'm thinking my daughter will find a good use for this.

It's always something.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Feb 23 - 10:23 AM

It’s snowing heavily in Ottawa today, and the temperature is rising steadily to -4°C. Sunny in eastern Ontario tomorrow, but sleety west of Toronto. So it goes.

If the stars align correctly and the traffic and weather cooperate, Dorothy and I will hook up for an early lunch at Tim Horton’s in Madoc, where Highway 7 crosses the 62 to Bancroft.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Feb 23 - 11:07 AM

Beaver:

Feeling uplifted by friends of all sorts and by my successful trip to PA, accomplishing something I seriously doubted I was capable has renewed me amazingly. And then to be able to do the 5 hour trip here, where I have continued the R&R until today when the snow took a break, and the cold also, while I carried pots from house and studio to the kiln room, having warmed the kiln. Bisque firing under way. Have a bunch of bisqued ware I can glaze during my next burst of energy so they can be fired tomorrow. May need a couple more glaze firings then take stuff back to Dupont to fill two requests for bowls.

Of course, little by little, I first made paths through the 15 inches of frozen snow - to the wood shed, then to the studio, then the kiln room. For most of it, I just took off the top layer of loose snow and had a firm base of 10-12 inches of frozen snow. Around the door to kiln room, I had to use the iron wedge to break a couple inches of ice so I could even open the door.   

leeneia: I know you are correct about the heavy drapes and I have tons of very heavy fabric on hand and rods. Maybe your suggestion will motivate me to do the job. I am careful to catch as much solar gain as possible.

SRS: My weight never went below 160, not adequate to fit this elegant size 16 dress. However, I would have been terrible overdressed at the Amish Mennonite church in Lancaster Co! And since I could only find one pair of slacks - no skirts fit- and one really decent blouse which could have been viewed as "hippy" AND no other woman had on slacks! Other than the family (baptists) every woman wore a tidy white blouse, black skirt and a white cappa. Oh well, I was that woman from Ontario!

A moment ago the sun was out big time, now more flurries! BUT only one degree below freezing!!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Feb 23 - 04:45 PM

I found that spot on Google Earth - I hope you are able to cross paths for lunch!

The laptop battery is replaced, but I haven't figured out how to get the screen to power up when the computer doesn't have a power cord plugged in when the machine is on. What's the point of the battery otherwise? I know it's on because the keyboard lights are on, but that's not much use by itself.

Stew is slowly coming together this afternoon after I browned meat and set it to simmer in the crock pot. I'll add ingredients as the afternoon progresses. The house smells great.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 26 Feb 23 - 05:16 PM

Our seasonal snowfall this winter has been 6 millimeters.
One day Canada will grow warmer too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 26 Feb 23 - 05:18 PM

This Ozzie has been to Tim Horton's at Madoc! How 'bout that!

Have a dark roast for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 01:24 AM

The stew was amazing, with a lot of broth to give it a thick soup-like quality. I had mushrooms and chicken broth in the freezer to add to it and I poured in a lot of red wine, so it was almost like a stroganoff but without the sour cream. (You can add chicken or turkey broth to a beef dish and it still tastes like beef, but don't try to add beef broth to poultry dishes.)

I've found information about resetting the laptop power management for the screen, I'll do that in the morning. I spent time sewing this evening but stopped to clean lint out of the machine and since it has been a while it took me longer than usual to remember how to reassemble the bobbin housing. It's good to go now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 05:58 AM

I've found that, in the absence of chicken broth (which we tend to call "stock"), a home-made veg stock works with almost everything. A couple of chopped-up carrots, celery sticks and shallots, boiled up for an hour with a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and a handful of fresh herbs... I have organic cubes but they are a last resort and often lead to a noticeably inferior dish.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 10:05 AM

Dorothy, if you do meet up for lunch, please wish Charmion "bonne route" from me. I did not rise early enough to give her a call before her departure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 10:55 AM

The wind last night nearly took my tarp cover off of the frame over the patio, so I must take myself over to Lowe's and purchase another package of bungee cords and replace a few that wore out over the last year. Two tarps overlap, one has screws holding it in place, the other is the cords. My goal for this spring will be to screw down parts of the longer top tarp at the grommets so it is more stable.

I've decided to have only one tree cut down in the back, not two. I can do the second one myself and it should keep the price a bit lower. It wouldn't have taken my friend long to do it and it won't take me that long either, but it's for another day. That way I can go forward on the main job sooner. This week I'll take down the nearby clothes line so the cross member doesn't get hit and broken during the dropping of branches.

Last year on HGTV I started watching a program in its sixth season so have plenty of episodes to catch up on. It's called Home Town and in addition to talented builders/designers, it has the town of Laurel, Mississippi, going for it. Lots of historic houses on various types of lots to work with. A couple of weeks ago an episode addressed my question "what if something really big happens when they start the work?" A house with an awful concrete basement that needed chiselling out and re-pouring. They confided then that they require each applicant to the show to have a contingency fund that is pretty big. It gives everyone a buffer that lets them go forward. One day I may redo my kitchen, but having a plan and the cash plus the contingency - that's the thing that keeps me puttering around the edges and working on fences and trees, not interior redesign.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 05:24 PM

I am back at home after a successfully simple drive from Ottawa. Dorothy is just as I imagined her, complete with the remnants of an American accent. The weather was perfect — for February — until about three in the afternoon, when I stopped for coffee at the Cambridge service centre. All was grey but okay when I went in, but fifteen minutes later, on opening the door to leave, I found myself in a maelstrom of snow.

From Cambridge to Stratford, highway 401 to 8 to 7, I drove slowly and very prudently, with four-way flashers on and every nerve-end firing. Visibility was terrible, ranging from about 30 metres to white-out, and the road was quickly covered. The snow fell so thickly that the SATNAV stopped receiving signals and the car’s collision-warning system kept beeping. I would have been happier in my old 1986 Golf with automatic nothing.

However, here I am in my comfy chair with the cat, so it was just another Canadian travel experience.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 11:03 PM

"Home Town", what an unlikely story that has been! I have kinfolk in Laurel, and you would hardly believe the rebirth and transformation that downtown, and the whole town, has undergone. All because a talented couple pursued their quirky little plans, and one of them did a good blog about it, a sharp producer took a chance, and over a period of several years, thousands of lives have been transformed.   

It is now a delightful place to visit, where once it was a depressed town, only a sad fading shadow of past timber and oil prosperity. The power of a few people doing good work, and others believing in them. I haven't seen a ton of episodes since I am mostly catching broadcast, but, always amazed at her design ideas, and his reworking of old wood into innovative furniture.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Feb 23 - 11:38 PM

Drives like you describe can be quite memorable - I must have been about 21 when I made a snowy night drive down the freeway in Washington State - low visibility and I was at the front of a line of cars - any of them could have passed me on the left, that lane was open - but they all chose to stay in the line following along. I would have appreciated being able to follow someone but no one moved forward. That was a long ~ 10 miles for me in my VW Beetle. I pulled up the Google map of the route you described - I'm glad you didn't find yourself up to your axles in a ploughed field along the way.

I don't suppose either you or Dorothy thought to take a selfie to share of your meeting? I'm glad you were able to meet!

The new string of lights is now hanging from robust cup hooks in the attic. The string comes with a sturdy cord, lightweight bright plastic LED lights, and at each light there is a little carabiner to use for hanging. The old fluorescent in a reflective work light shield is still clamped to a 2x4 near the opening, plugged into the porcelain socket on the ceiling above the steps. I've added a socket extension (like this) into the old socket. That's where the new string of lights is plugged into a grounded switch. I wish I'd done this ages ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 02:01 AM

Patty, that's nice to know about the Laurel connection! I never paid much attention to the earlier Fixer Upper series done by couple Joanna and Chip Gaines out of Waco, Texas, but it seems to be along the same lines. I never thought of Waco as charming when I lived nearby in Temple, but it is a tourist destination now. And agreed, I love it when Ben and his friends head into an old family barn and come back with some beautiful piece of wood with local history to turn into furniture or other features in the houses they work on. (I've also watched a dozen episodes or so of a Mother and Daughter team out of the Indianapolis area do these kinds of things, but they are house flippers and sometimes their schtick is more like an architectural high-wire act. At times it mades me wince to watch them and their crew.)

When I moved in here I found various things around that had been left behind in the attic or laundry room or forgotten in a cupboard that were incorporated into projects because it felt like a nice homage to past tenants of the house. The original couple lived here for several years but rented it out for many more years. At this point, I've lived in it longest of anyone and have made changes, though it is still a work in progress.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 08:45 AM

I’m no good at selfies, Stilly, so I don’t do them. Dorothy’s phone has limitations. Besides, we were too busy talking.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 10:13 AM

Beaver:

I, too, am not fond of selfies; never occurred to me. Glad to hear C is safely home. No surprises there; she, too, was who I was expecting.

I now avoid "Canadian driving experiences" like the plague. Enough have been survived. However, the last hour of our trip to PA was a fair equivalent - dark and rainy night on a two lane road full of Thurs night shoppers in myriad small towns, headlights magnified by rain... One of the most stressful hours of my life.

Bisque firing unloaded and bottoms waxed, all on shelves in studio waiting for me to feel like glazing and re-loading kiln. Snowy morning so no hurry as I cannot carry pots from a-Z without snow landing on them - not a good idea. Maybe that is a good excuse? I'll get there soon. Studio is warm, glazes are stirred... Motivation still catching up!

JennieG: Madoc is a long way from Oz! I hope the adventure was a good one!

Well, it was nice watching the snow fall, now to gather myself to forge ahead!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 11:01 AM

*Note for those who don't take selfies: ask the well-tipped wait person if they will take a photo and hand them your phone. Chances are they'll do a great job!

A friend is coming over in a few minutes with 8 ounces of Market Spice Tea - this is the excellent variety available from the Specialty Spice Shop in Pike Place Market in Seattle - he placed an order for both of us to save on the high shipping cost they charge. I drink their decaff, which is the ONLY decaff tea I'll drink, it actually does taste as good as the original full-octane variety (I have some of that also, but only for morning consumption).

A day of running ahead, starting with a tree-planting event at a friend's house. Spring is just around the corner when the gangly delicate-but-large crane flies are bopping all over the place (in the Puget Sound area I grew up calling them "gallinippers," though a search on that generic term shows it applies to several types of insects.)

It sounds like the potting/glazing energy will come with longer days and snow melt, Dorothy. Be patient walking around on ice loaded down with heavy trays!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 12:29 PM

Tim Horton’s is a fast-food joint with over-worked staff who come near the tables only occasionally, to wipe crumbs off them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 03:04 PM

And even more often with a dust pan and broom to put you off your food.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 05:32 PM

It was a fun adventure, Dorothy! We live in Tamworth, Oz, so when visiting our Canaussian son in 2015 we included Tamworth, Ontario, in our itinerary.

It's much smaller than our town but was interesting, just the same; our population is mid 50,000 while Ontario Tamworth is about 500. We both have Peel Street but ours is the busy main drag, while the Canadian one is a quiet lane near the river. Both towns were in areas first settled in the 1820s.

Madoc was a pit stop on the way back to Toronto. After driving on it once on a previous trip, we avoided the 401 like the plague on subsequent trips.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Feb 23 - 09:34 PM

Those memorable town names can make a drive interesting. I have driven across the US a number of times, and when the trip takes me the length of Tennessee, I stop at Bucksnort, just because. At the bottom of a valley in the middle of nowhere. There is a little gas station, and I don't remember if there is a post office, but I've been known to mail postcards from interesting little towns during my travels. Chunky, Mississippi, didn't have a post office (and the name was derived from a Choctaw word, it wasn't a physical description of an individual, apparently.) Utopia, Texas, etc.

This week I will be exchanging plant material between friends. I was at a home today where the cannas were being thinned and I brought home those that were dug up (purple stalks and orange flowers). I'll trade some of those to a different friend who is going to give me some schoolhouse lilies (they don't bloom long, but they're wonderful right at the beginning of September when school is starting, hence the name.) And I have some crinum lilies to contribute to the collections of two other friends. Bright pink when they bloom. I am sorry that my discussion of blooming plants and gardening lands right when some of you are snow-bound!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 12:44 AM

not here!

summer is winding down, tho we still have very hot days coming next week. My fuchsia is also winding down, with one almost-open flower, 5 dead blooms & 5 teeny-tiny buds.

There have been times since I bought it in October from the supermarket when I had 12 buds & 7 flowers.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 10:54 AM

Point well taken about taking selfies. It's hard for a normal, discreet sort of person to force themselves to take group or pair photos at a reunion or meet-up.   Seems the sort of thing one's obnoxious Aunt Griselda would insist on doing.

But, after my first year of traveling, I discovered I had way too many lovely landscape and sunset shots, not enough of the people who had made the journey so memorable. So now I'm that obnoxious Aunt Griselda, although I do forget sometimes, when swept up in the experience. But I try, even if they are ragged candid shots of the campfire, or one of a friend alone if necessary. Often in tourist spots, a desperate glance will result in a fellow traveler volunteering to take the shot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 11:00 AM

Been to Chunky! Lived nearby. Back then the highlight of the summer was a trip down to Dunn's Falls for a float on the Chunky River below the falls. Maybe the original Choctaw name was Bogue Chun-qui or something.

Other great M'sippi towns are Hot Coffee and D'Lo. And I am always tempted to get off the Louisiana exit for Tickfaw.   

Managed to snap a photo in Utah of the exit sign for Pumpernickel Valley.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 11:03 AM

When I worked at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis, tourists in New York City were all very cautious about their cameras being stolen. But on an island when there is an official in uniform right there - I was frequently asked to take photos so got to use a lot of cameras taking photos for those groups. And I still do it in places like museums, parks, etc. It will sometimes be the only shot in the whole trip that they are all in.

Heavy rain early this morning has postponed the yard work I was hoping to start today. I have a bit of running to do but will wait until the puddles have drained from the roads before leaving. Until then, the house looks like the inside of a goat's stomach, so I can start picking up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 08:08 PM

Beaver:

Pottery firing -another lot today. Leaving tomorrow after the kiln is cool enough to unload. I will open it a bit as early as I feel like trekking outside. And, yes, I was very careful on the frozen snow with those trays of precious pots! Only three or four to a tray, so not very heavy. Oh, the first firing was just fine, happily!

Car is partly loaded so morning will be packing pots when they are cool enough, changing the bed, batten down the hatches, and get the remainder into car; trip to library (5 min away) and back down route 62 to the 401. Others hate it but I do not find it odious, except near Toronto. Love my cruise control. 5 hours to other home, stocked up with stuffs from Local store.

Never been to Tamworth, that I noticed. I will keep an eye out. Sometimes we explore.

Took note, just now, of a music event in Belleville at noon on 18 March! A friend is involved. I could manage that on a trip either direction with some planning - in my calendar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Mar 23 - 10:39 PM

Dorothy, it sounds like you've got that mischief managed as far as transporting your pots to the kiln. Have a good drive back to Dupont!

Patty, I do envy you the mobility you have right now, to explore the places you pass through if you wish. The parts of towns that speak to me are those places where I can see that people have made a space their own and have a garden or workplace that suits them. They aren't usually in the neighborhoods on the beautiful homes tours, but they're interesting. I remember Chunky as being small and utilitarian, and we didn't have much time to drive through, but spending more time would have been welcome.

Back here in North Texas, after the thunderstorms passed the ex and I made a trip to the discount gourmet warehouse store for the Wednesday Market and we were not disappointed: I came away with lots of fruits and veggies (and to make the purchases worthwhile I need to manage to eat all of it!). Pineapple, mango, apples, cucumbers, and four bags of Romaine hearts. One of those Romaine hearts is gone with dinner tonight. Cauliflower for me or (more likely) for the dogs. I buy a lot of produce to add to their dried dog food so they get moisture and fiber every day. I cook veggies for the dogs (you often get more nutrition from cooked stuff) and they really love it because when it's cooked it tells them "people food." I watch when they eat - they always scarf down the veggies before the dry food.

Today I picked up two of a fruit I have never tried before - Dragonfruit - and I have a page of results on YouTube telling me how to cut and eat it. Trying new fruit is akin to the trying of new taco stands and restaurants - getting a bit out of my comfort zone to find new and interesting foods. Out of curiosity I asked a Mexican friend yesterday about these taquerias that are near our neighborhood - turns out the one I liked best is owned by the in-laws of the guy who works with him (who will be here to cut down a large tree in the yard on Friday). It's a small world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Mar 23 - 10:55 AM

I passed a small stainless steel food truck as I drove thru Tularosa, New Mexico on Tuesday.   Something told me to turn around and try it. It was "Tularosa Tacos", where the food offered was in an aluminum cake tin with lid, a set of 3 tacos. Of course I tried the variety combo. These were small, steamed, corn tortillas, doubled, I guess for strength. One soft taco was stuffed with freshly grilled carne asada, another sauteed chicken chunks, another was pork with a hint of pineapple. Fresh salsa, pico de gallo including fresh Hatch chilis, and a bit of sort of creamy sauce apparently involving farm cheese.

Oh my goodness, made you want to slap your mama!

You take a chance on stopping for random food trucks, but, seems like 3 out of 4 times it's worth it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Mar 23 - 04:18 PM

Good for you, Patty! Once I started looking for them, those food trucks are all around here. The neighborhood has enough vacant parking lots that they stagger themselves up and down this part of town - so the pecking order is to go to full-service sit-down restaurants with a wide menu ($$), to go to a taqueria with a limited but very good small menu ($), or to stop by one of the food trucks that has a really tiny menu ($). I noticed one with camarón (shrimp) that I'm tempted to try if I can find it again. They're set up most often in the evenings and have little neon signs on them and strings of lights to catch your eye.

My day's activities were cut short due to weather - not the ice and snow of the nothernmost members, but the springtime churn of moisture on warm days that can lead to tornadoes and hail and all manner of damage. I left my volunteering early (the museum is also closing early) and didn't follow-up with my usual session at the gym. I have plenty of picking up to do around here. This morning I got up on a ladder and reattached my patio cover tarp or I'd be bound to lose it in this storm.

Time to put the thundershirt on Pepper and get out ahead of this to see if it helps her.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Mar 23 - 05:33 PM

Hang in there, Pepper. And Stilly, and Cookie. And Zeke who is deaf ... but I suppose Zeke can feel vibrations or something when it's stormy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Mar 23 - 08:13 AM

Snowpocalypse is heading my way, again. “Winter Storm Warning!” shrieks the Environment Canada website in a red banner across the top of the screen. Sure, of course we’re facing another storm — it’s freakin’ March, and we live within spitting distance of four Great Lakes. It’s Canada, in late winter. It snows. Relax.

In other news, I’m waiting on two people to come and pick up large items that I don't need or want. If all goes well, I will soon be rid of three full-height bookcases and Edmund’s rolling composter. Cross your fingers!

Also, now that I have a stock of sturdy boxes, items bound for Goodwill are heading out the door. First up: Edmund’s accumulation of hats, size way too large for most people. They’re packed and ready to go.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Mar 23 - 09:41 AM

The weather that passed through down here last night seems to be the tail end of what is approaching to clobber everyone in the north as well. Will your visitors be carrying bookcases out in a blizzard? That composter would have had a welcome home here, but the trip to pick it up would be a hefty one!

The big backyard hackberry that is in danger of falling on (take your pick) the garage, the greenhouse, the dog kennel (or all three simultaneously) or the fence or the tree next door or even smashing into the yard next door and taking the fence with it is coming out today. Conditions are sodden out there, my handiman friend offered to do the job yesterday but wind was threatening and I had appointments. Now it looks like yesterday might have been easier because the winds didn't really start till about 5:30 and it was still dry. Hindsight is 20:20.

We have a couple of more days of dry weather before the next rain passes through so I suspect this weekend will be one for digging in the yard. It needs at least today to dry out a bit before I try it.

The dogs bark periodically when something thumps out back - I'll take photos of the tree removal progress, partly based on when they make a fuss so I can go out to look. They're in the house today, for obvious reasons - mostly they'd be underfoot, but also the gate will be open and Zeke doesn't have a collar to keep him in the yard.

It goes pretty fast, though this tree is much taller and a larger volume of wood to haul to the dump than the last tree he took out, a pine in the front yard. Too bad we don't have a chipper, I'd have a lifetime supply of mulch. As it is, I'm still getting mulch a few blocks away where that neighbor had a regular tree company come in to do work with the chipper truck they bring along. They left the chips for her but she has way more than she can use. My guy may be taking this to the recycling company nearby - they have a big chipper. That would be better than the dump.

Another paroxysm of barking - time to head out to see what's up (or down).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Mar 23 - 12:39 PM

I will keep a few rounds from the thickest part of the tree to use as either seats or (more likely) perches for Cookie. The nearby wood waste recycling plant will grind up the rest. Antonio laughs that they'll give him back his trees when he goes to buy mulch. But the size of equipment needed to grind all of this landscape material is such that charging to receive the raw stuff as well as selling finished mulch is the only way to keep the equipment paid for. I'm good with that. They undercut the cost of taking it to the dump so they keep raw material coming their way.

It's cool and muddy in the yard but the sky is a glorious clear blue. It's beautiful to be working out there right now. We took a break - closed the gate and let the dogs out to investigate and take care of business.

I've set up to do some sewing today, to finish a project for a friend, and I have a new one to start. Later there's a gathering of friends and I'm thinking of making a dessert to take along. I made cranapple juice this week (put frozen berries through the steam juicer) so I have fruit pulp for those rich cranberry bars. I'll keep a few here and take the rest to the party.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Mar 23 - 06:40 PM

The composter has left the property.

Huzzah!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 10:31 AM

Yesterday I swept enough sawdust into a 10-gallon bucket to super-charge my compost pile. The yard is a new place with that huge tree gone, it really opens up the space and there will be grass growing on that side of the yard again.

This weekend is forecast to be perfect gardening weather so I plan to make use of it.

I shared some plants yesterday with a friend and will digging more to take over (I gave him a big bag of canna roots and he gave me three lily bulbs. At the next place she was interested in the cannas also so I told the first friend (probably terribly ungraciously) that if I'd given him too many cannas that this second friend (who lives near him) would like some. But I realized I'll be in town early next week and will take over more of those if they want plus some crinum lily bulbs. Friends who are gardeners here trade plants from yard to yard. :)

I need to put in some cucumbers this year along with other stuff I usually plant. I want to make more pickles; I almost bought some cucumbers the other day but prefer to use the really fresh homegrown organic ones. Other than those, it will be the usual tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, okra, but it's too early to put any of those out yet.

The sewing project for a friend is at the halfway point. I've finally cut out enough pieces of everything to simply assemble them now. I have several other projects to work on also. I listened to the current audio book while sewing and may manage to finish it before renewing (it's a very long book, renewed 3 or 4 times now!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 03:59 PM

Yesterday Stilly mentioned the storm headed for the East.
In my part of the east,
we are merely cluttered with an additional four inches of white slush.
Not the big mess we were told to expect.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 05:14 PM

eBay quandry today. I sent out a perfectly working used device and today received a refund request (purchase and original shipping cost). The return shipping (the buyer doesn't get that back) is ~ $15. I have my doubts as to what happened (impatient people can break these things), but I don't do repairs. I decided to see if I could split the shipping difference - offer the purchase refund and original split the shipping cost, but he keeps the parcel so doesn't have to pay $15 before he gets the refund. I don't do repairs, I have no use for it if he broke it. I'm not Zappos, I don't absorb all of those costs. We will see if the purchaser has a cool head and can do the math. That way I'm only out $7 instead of $15 and he is also out only $7 instead of $15.

Higher math.

I mowed the back yard today and will do the front tomorrow. I need to do some digging in the garden before it gets much later.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 09:10 PM

Aaaand … the bookcases have left the building!

It’s really quite amazing how many spiderwebs and dust bunnies can hide behind three six-foot bookcases.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 10:28 PM

Did they leave during a snowstorm? I have a visual image of people sliding down your icy front path seated on top of the bookcases.

I've cut and pinned and sewn this evening to finish a project for a friend. He asked for six masks, I think he's going to end up with about a dozen. I had a pattern from Joann's for a reversible mask to which I've added a third layer to make it more robust. I still prefer my 3D pattern, they're far more comfortable, but it's what the client wants that matters. Elastic ear loops and no nose-wires for glasses wearers. It's the fabric that matters.

I'm getting close to the end of a novel I've listened to for ages. Silly me, I have a print copy of it but still prefer the audiobook; I move a bookmark through the paper copy so I can sometimes look at the words on the page. Next month I have to renew my public library card so I want to finish this before I have to jump through those hoops (I use the water bill from my ex to show that I'm still in the city limits and can use the library.)

More gardening tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 23 - 11:30 AM

My gardening hand tools were spread all over the house and out buildings, with the lion's share propped against a wall in the garage. A few were behind the door to the sunroom. They are now back where they started in a dedicated spot in the corner of the greenhouse.

Another pass through the pantry has revealed a way-old big canister of powdered Gatorade that I mix up to drink in gardening season, especially during the summer (the salt content helps avoid cramps overnight). It's mostly sugar, though, and I'm going to set this can aside and once the garden is going I'll mix it up in water and pour as a fertilizer—it would be a missed opportunity to send it to the landfill. This also works with soft drinks, old milk, etc. (Milk helps fight fungal diseases like powdery mildew).

In a drawer I found a couple of the small bungee cords I've been needing, and in my mind's eye I can see the container I've been looking for, but either I put it away so safely it will never turn up or I used them all and recycled the container. I'll pick up some more (Lowe's had a good price).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Mar 23 - 01:33 PM

In southwestern Ontario, a late-winter storm is likely to be violent and dangerous, but they don’t last long. Friday’s weather bomb lasted until sometime after midnight, but stopped abruptly when the system rolled past Toronto and headed down the St. Laurence River. When the sun came up, the temperature was already above freezing. The cloud cover thinned and vanished by noon, and by suppertime the sky was a clear blue.

Nick’s Snow Removal keeps my driveway clear all winter for the princely sum of $650.00 Canadian — a screaming deal. I shovel the footpath myself, just to keep up the skill. By the time the new owners of the bookcases showed up, the strong sun of the afternoon had made away with the last vestiges of snow on the footpath and the third of the driveway closest to the house.

So, no quaint Cornelius Krieghoff scene of “Canadians Moving Bookcases in Blizzard Conditions”.

(If you don’t know about Krieghoff, he did Currier & Ives-type paintings of country life in Quebec, where it was apparently always winter.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 05 Mar 23 - 04:08 PM

I looked up Cornelius Krieghoff, Charmion.....I bet life in wintery Quebec wasn't always as jolly as he makes it look!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Mar 23 - 05:52 PM

You got that right, Jennie. Imagine the outback of Oz during the 19th century, but sub-Arctic.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 23 - 10:01 AM

The goal for the garden is to have a thick layer of mulch on the path around raised beds, keeping weeds at bay, so yesterday I started that digging around the upper end of the garden plot. I've tried putting down cardboard and mulch over existing weeds, but they break through, so the weeds are coming out. The first bed will be planted with potatoes this week, and I'll work my way down the hill past three more raised beds. I have lots of places around the yard to dig and things to plant. In addition to a vegetable garden there are canna lilies, schoolhouse lilies, and asparagus (it needs its own bed so it can come back every year).

The house is the inside of a goat's stomach with everything in a state of flux. So many projects underway. My attempt to turn bar soap into liquid is at the testing stage - I had a second foaming dispenser jar under the sink that is now holding the slurry. Not sure this will work, I'll probably have to find a pump bottle to use. I'm sure I kept one, I always do. "I might be able to use this for something else" and it gets tucked under the sink or into the laundry room somewhere.

I've ordered a hose guard cable protector thing to run across the driveway in front of the garage door. This will eliminate the need for a very long hose to run around the garage (to avoid driving across it). These guards aren't cheap, but I will be able to do more with the hose with it in place.

Last summer I bought a large bag of corn and flax chips that I've just tossed because they're several months out of date. The size of the bag is off-putting; I was thinking I should wait to open it when I have people over to go through it quickly and there it stays forgotten on the shelf. Aldi's offerings are more practical, small bags of similar products that I'm more likely to open (and if I don't less expensive when it's tossed later.) For months I've been working to draw down the large surplus here, in particular in the pantry and the large freezer. This means sticking mostly to fresh fruit and veggies when I shop, or things I'll consume fairly quickly. I am making progress.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Mar 23 - 12:06 AM

The ADHD tests today were essentially a form of audible and visual drip-drip-drip water torture, really meant for children, not adults. At this point they prove that one aspect of the condition is the ability to hyperfocus to complete tasks. Since I'm not hyperactive but have the "executive function" problem of distraction, we'll discuss this further. Meanwhile, my house is full of unfinished projects. I need to make a list.

Tomorrow, more work in the yard. But also work in the sewing studio, plus one trip out. My bank seems to have crashed as far as online stuff so I may also have to drive over there since online deposit is kaput. We live in a world when all it takes is one employee clicking on the wrong PDF file in an email to crash an entire bank. I hope there isn't a ransom involved.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Mar 23 - 11:11 AM

So many small projects are underway here, but I've sorted some of them to prioritize. To name just one, two boxes of Attic Dek panels need to be moved from the hall up into the attic, and there was an old box of long screws that came with a special (misplaced) drill bit that I'd like to use up there. My Ryobi bit set had one that fits, so no need to buy more screws or a new bit. Up they go.

I have the last few chapters of an audiobook that I'd really like to finish so my choices of projects today will depend on what can I do that won't distract me from the story. Not attic work (wearing headphones up there too precarious) but I can sew, and I can clean out some of the pots for this spring's planting—there is so much standing water in them now it will be mosquito central soon if I don't clear them out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Mar 23 - 12:46 PM

Two more boxes of household clag have departed: most of Edmund’s accumulation of broad-brimmed hats, off to Goodwill.

Now, suddenly, I actually have room in the closet for all of my own hats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 12:00 AM

I must start a list of multiple projects and small tasks I need to do. They seem to occur to me at times when it isn't convenient to do them, so they are forgotten again. It's time to start addressing and crossing off some of this stuff.

Today I picked up the packages of hose-protector things that will lie across the driveway like a speed bump to keep the hose from getting smashed as I come and go to the garage. When ordering I tried to calculate how long the things would be and concluded it would take two to span the width of the area I drive over with a large SUV; I think now that one will be enough and one can be returned. They're in the back of the SUV right now (two young women worked together to load the cart at Lowes and I rolled them out and just tipped the things onto the tailgate and shoved.) I'll open one box in the car and if all of the parts that come out add up to long enough, I'll leave the other to in place to return later.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 08:55 AM

On Monday, the builders will start work in my mouldy bathroom. Things will be chaotic and expensive for a while.

Next week is the midterm school holiday (“March break”), so half the town will be focussed on finding ways to occupy the time and attention of their children. Late-winter trips to sub-tropical places are popular with folks who can afford them. I am always amazed at the ever-increasing number of people who seem to believe that international vacation travel is anything but an insane luxury … Oopsy, I seem to be slipping into rant mode.

Gotta take my vitamins and go to the gym. It’s snowing again. Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 11:40 AM

After a 2020 pause, spring break/superspreader events seem to have grown in size. Boggles the mind. I doubt many of them even glance at the CDC advice about how to travel safely.

Good luck with the bathroom work. Will this also involve cats locked in other rooms of the house during the day? Will they pout or misbehave? Any idea how long it will take, and are there new things installed (tub or shower or commode or sink)?

I've started a list - it's a long one. I have to just pick something and do it. Easier said than done.

My daughter and I had lunch yesterday and I described an old-fashioned project I'm working on, one that the grandmother of my middle school best friend used to do. In the 1960s we'd often walk to her house after school (she lived with the grandparents). And if her grandmother wasn't cooking she was doing needlework. I asked her about the projects and she had a technique of joining two pieces of fabric, the top with a printed design (picture). Stitch around the elements of the picture she wanted to feature, then make a slit carefully through the backing and stuff the space with batting before closing that gap to create a raised relief. She framed these. As I described them my daughter's eyes widened and she grabbed her phone to pull up the Wikipedia listing for Trapunto Quilting. Well who knew? It isn't exactly the same, because this is using a print instead of a plain piece of fabric, but I'm impressed that she recognized it and gave it a name. And I'm impressed that what was old is new again for us.

It rained gently yesterday so today is a bit soggy for the yard work. Also cool, and the weekend should be nicer, so I'll look at the list and see what I can tackle in the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 03:39 PM

Oh, yes, Stilly, there will be ripping out and replacement of all fixtures and cabinetry. Also removal of an entire tub-surround of small ceramic tiles with their mouldy grout. And remediation of the mould in the wall behind the small ceramic tiles.

The cats will spend their days in the basement with their water fountain, kibble dish and litter box. I will shut the doors of all the other upstairs rooms and remove everything hanging on the walls between the front door and the top of the stairs, and in the upstairs hall. The garage will probably be used for staging and carpentry space, so the shelving has to be draped with tarps and the car will go outside.

Not my first rodeo.

This project won’t take long, as renovations go, but it will be messy and stressful while it lasts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 04:00 PM

Ah, yes - the thing I realized when I had the heat pump replaced - all of the stuff I had to move from the door to the workspace included art on the walls. The art was coming down as they started walking into the house.

I've gotten over the "hump" so to speak in the attic decking project - a raised platform to protect the heat pump lines and over the center spine of the house. I'm not to the point to pull the data line yet, but I am to the point where I've realized that the large duct on the SW side of the house is an important air intake and I should treat it with more respect. I'll move the dresser that stands in front of the bedroom grate. Drill batteries are now charging and I'm done for the afternoon since the attic has warmed considerably.

No snow, just drifts of white petals of Mexican plum blossoms and the dogs are still tracking in sawdust from the tree removal last week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 10:18 PM

I waited until the attic cooled and spent a few more productive minutes up there. More Attic Dek in place and I found the coaxial cable that I want to use to pull a new data line and use as a defacto tv aerial (it won't be attached to an external antenna, the cable itself will be the antenna up in the attic.) There is a really long chunk of the coax cable inside the wall and with duct tape and string and CAT5 I can accomplish what I want easily.

I have to follow the wall header for two of the bedrooms in the attic and find the right place to drill through and run a piece of CAT5 for data in the sewing studio. The room at the front was my son's (it's now the guest room) and I wired that years ago when he was the only kid at home by then and it didn't matter if he was on the computer in the living room or his bedroom.

I might as well wire all of the rooms - I have the materials, I have the time, and when the time comes these will be obsolete because everything will be all WiFi all of the time. But for now, faster streaming and better pictures in any room where someone takes a device that can use the connection.

This afternoon I cleaned up some of the plant saucers by the side door then took a bucket of leaves to the compost area where I relocated the black compost bin and dumped in some recent weeds and poured in the 10 gallon bucket of sawdust from the forestry work last week. It's a great way to kick start the pile. That bin was put in the last spot two years ago and now there is a beautiful pile of compost ready to use.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 10:33 PM

I recently cleaned the shower grout with CLR, magic erasers, and Scocth green scrubbies. The floor required extra soft scrub.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Mar 23 - 11:53 AM

Beaver:

Focusing on throwing bowls; texted customer tonight to check on colours. AOK. Hoping to get fair number completed before trip back on 18th. Remember to order a couple dozen of our fav muffins (carrot/raisin) from our fav bakery, to pick up en route. Stop for music event in Belleville and home before dark...??? Time change Sunday...

In the meantime: have to park on road due to plow having made a mess. That's OK since only about a dozen vehicles go by in a day re the few homes up the dead end road. Still about 8-10 inches of frozen snow on deck but my paths are still OK. Today it was dicey so I sprinkled sand on the paths. I suppose some will come indoors... Someday I will vacuum! In April.

There was an event at Community Trust today, attended by our local member of provincial parliament. Talked with his nice young assistant about our health care problems and the desperate need for affordable housing; they get calls about these issues frequently - GOOD! The Trust is geared to helping low income folks and those with drug problems, and managed to get permission from the Town to have a warming centre - Finally! Still trying to get permits for apartments on second floor of the donated building.

Well, that was my event for the week! I could not stay long as I suddenly got so hungry I had to go home. I did my pottery work before I went and hoped to do more after lunch but went to bed instead. Realized the weather had come down on me and a cup of green tea helped but the day was too far gone by then. I put plastic over the un-trimmed pots to hold them 'til tomorrow.

Then spent way too long on internet (it costs when I am overtime). Lost a carefully written email and will have to start it again tomorrow. But managed one to a friend on Cape Breton. We worked together 50 years ago on a new project at the Yellow Door - finding ways to be supportive of the older people in the neighbourhood. The folks running the program now are asking us for memories of the beginnings so I need to dredge mine up and compare notes. I can try to use my early morning thinking time...

(This, written on Friday, will go out next time I connect to internet - Sometime Saturday)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Mar 23 - 12:59 AM

Dorothy, I am always impressed and entertained by the places you've been and the people you've met.

More attic work this afternoon/evening. I'm not able to get the cable to pull through on the side of the bedroom that I thought would work (the drilled hole is too small and the wall header is too deep for any of my drills to expand the opening), but after removing extraneous old phone lines and leaving the one from the far side of the master bedroom, that may be the one I can to use to pull through new lines for data and antenna. I will have to rearrange some furniture. Decluttering: this afternoon in the attic I pulled out two old phone lines, a long double line of coaxial cable (I originally used it to haul my newer antenna lines through the attic - I see my signature wraps of blue painter tape on the end) and two strands of 300 ohm twin lead antenna wire. The attic is its own little archaeological "dig" - I find signs of people who came before (the antenna leads from the previous tenants) and my earliest days in this house (in 2003). I've also pulled out more old cedar shingles to add to my kindling bin (it's hard to believe that they put cedar shingles on all of these houses in ~1976). The previous owners who bought the house new with a cedar shake roof put on standard asphalt shingles in the late 1990s.

My front yard got mowed this evening as a gazillion flying insects rose from the turf. Not mosquitoes, yet, but very soon.

I hate Daylight Savings Time. It starts tomorrow, which isn't such a big deal, but I have places to be on Monday and that's when the time shift will kick in for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Mar 23 - 01:00 PM

Beaver:

I look out the window at about two feet of snow!! And SRS is mowing the lawn!!!

I, too, detest DST but fear it may be here to stay. Complaint read about kids walking to school/bus in the dark! CHANGE THE FLIPPING SCHOOL SCHEDULE! At this point I don't much care which time we get as long as the #@$%^&* change STOPS! NOT having a great morning! All my energy left home!

Pots drying, and hoping I will find energy to trim the last few small pieces. Fire wood is not optional! 0F this am but going up to a couple degrees above, they say! Sun is shining!!! Deck is re-appearing a few inches at a time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Mar 23 - 06:09 PM

Dorothy, do you have to keep your new pots in the warmth - would freezing damage or break them? It's ironic that here where it's warm I'm building up a supply of cedar kindling and I don't even have a usable fireplace. I only use it in the burning barrel or I can use some starting the charcoal grill (right now I have more kindling than newspaper, the usual starter of choice).

I am alternating activities this afternoon, with an hour of reading for the volunteer museum work with an hour of hauling more wires out of the attic. In addition to more shakes (I filled a 15 gallon black nursery pot) I've pulled the old DSL line through the hole and into the attic (it still terminates in the hall closet, and I'm going to reposition it to wire the master bedroom) and got the coaxial cable that was stuck yesterday free at the outside end and now the whole things moves inside as well.

So - one more attempt at Plan A before considering how to manage plan B (the one that involves moving furniture).

Also noted while up the ladder outside, the soffit near all of this wire activity is slightly sagging in a couple of spots and needs snugging into position now. There was a feather stuck to the line at one point - a past avian death in the attic, I fear, and if this isn't fixed now birds and squirrels will be able to get in. The soffit material is some kind of fiberboard and earlier repairs worked best with wide washers around screws attached at the edges.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Mar 23 - 12:05 AM

My fitness tracker doesn't reflect all of the times I was up and down the attic stairs, but the lines are finally in place and I was able to wire the antenna and the CAT5 data ports and finish with a plug wall plate. The data line isn't live yet, but this was the biggest part of the job. The most satisfying part is that if I decide to switch Internet providers it won't be a puzzle as to what lines run where and how to get to the point where lines enter the house. I left an old phone line that can pull a new fibre optic cable if need be.

In the bedroom on the wall opposite most of the work I took off the obsolete phone jack cover and put a simple data faceplate with a blank filling in the port. If I ever decide to put something there, that old line is inside for pulling a new data line.

This weekend I broke only one drill bit and dropped another down inside the wall cable enclosure, but got my trusty sewing pin magnet that's on a cord to fish the bit out through the junction box opening.

Several items crossed off of the list.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Mar 23 - 08:55 AM

The builders have arrived, and the bathroom project is officially under way.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, the water heater is ailing. I popped into the furnace room-cum-wine cellar yesterday and found that its drip pipe had dumped some four gallons of water into the bucket that lives under it just in case. Well, I'm so glad that the bucket was (and still is) there; four gallons of water on that floor would be no damn' fun at all.

And it's snowing again in southwestern Ontario, because of course it is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Mar 23 - 03:16 PM

The wall damage was indeed deep and bad, to the extent that the sheathing board under the tile surrounding the bath tap was soft enough to push a finger through. Fortunately the mould was confined to the wallboard, grout and caulk, and the studs underneath are healthy.

The mustard-yellow bathtub, the crappy painted ceramic tile and the Canadian Tire cabinetry have all left the building, and the bathroom has that unmistakable look of a bombed-out bordello.

Mr Google tells me that my water heater is almost certainly suffering from a surfeit of lime scale, no surprise there. So a visit to the cellar to empty the bucket is now a daily event, until the bathroom project has reached the point where there's room in the house for a gas-fitter down below.

The cats are so not impressed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Mar 23 - 05:42 PM

Today I am stiff and sore from weekend contortions in the attic and from pounding stakes with a two-pound hammer to reposition the compost bin. After museum training (this morning) I usually head to the gym after but decided to skip it today, so by turning the other direction out of the parking lot I spotted my daughter walking toward me headed to shop and eat lunch. She hopped in the car and we did both things. What a nice surprise for Monday! (It took the full the five minutes that she was in the pharmacy for me to find the correct button to change the SUV clock to Daylight Savings Time.)

Charmion, when both showers in this house were redone (I moved here in early 2003) they used a type of green sheetrock behind the tile that is supposed to prevent that kind of damage. By now there's probably something even more innovative available. All of the cabinets throughout the house match, bathrooms, kitchen, and hall linen cupboard, to say nothing of the fully-paneled den. Painting and refacing the kitchen cabinets might be an improvement.

Every time I cross something off that that to-do list I add more to it, so it never seems to shrink, though crossed off items show I'm doing something.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Mar 23 - 10:03 PM

Beaver:

Bills paid and not much else on this grey, snowy day. Snow was melting as fast as it fell but there may be a bit in the am.

Did consult with neighbour re the hole in my armpit - result of totally unnecessary op 18 years ago. The hole got worse and the consult was -where to find health care. We finally agreed I would go first to my fav pharmacist: epsom salt poultice followed by Polysporin. Done! Took this to MD a year or so ago and received NO advice at all. REAlly needed Sue's encouragement. Health care is an oxymoron in Ontario - most places from what I am hearing.

Greenware Must keep from freezing! Currently wishing I had thrown more but best I could do. A few more small pieces to trim, then vigorous drying so I can fire on Tuesday. And would like to mix a black glaze. Much to do but not much energy; barometric pressure NG! But I want to push on so I finish in time to go to music on Saturday, on way back to Dupont.

Above freezing weather ahead - a little, for a couple days...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Mar 23 - 12:19 PM

Stilly, the building code here requires what the builders call MR (for moisture-resistant) drywall (sheetrock to you) in bathrooms. It can be green, blue or purple, depending on the maker -- anything but just like all the other drywall.

The new bathtub is in, but the plumber is AWOL. The carpenter is not pleased. The house is a mess of plaster dust and drop-cloths on the stairs. The front door is forever opening and closing, so I'm chilly. Boo, hiss.

And the weather is not great. We're getting all the snow that should have fallen in January, and we're getting it all at once.

I checked the weather radar (and my privilege) this morning and thanked my lucky stars that Perth County does not get nor'easters. While south-central Ontario lay under a scrim of pale blue, indicating the slightest of sprinkles, a vast green and purple swirl over the Maritime provinces and New England showed that our neighbours down east are having a most unpleasant day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Mar 23 - 01:20 PM

In view of Charmion and Dorothy's winter weather it seems churlish of me to complain that the temperature here is cool enough that work outside is less than comfortable. A light jacket would suffice except for the breeze that sucks body heat from exposed skin. To say nothing of the pollen that is a yellow dust on any dark vehicles that are parked outside overnight. I'm back to using Flonase every day to combat the allergy sinus stuff.

Health care is a moving target down here also. The shortage of some medications is putting stress on the availability of others as substitutes. (Too bad the FDA wasn't keeping such a watch on the far more dangerous oxycodone; they would have saved lives.) The pandemic let a lot of people who started working at home realize that the noise they thought was the workplace was actually inside their own heads.

A discovery this year, even though I missed my high school reunion, was a couple of people I enjoy reconnecting with via Facebook. One is a quilter and has someone do the quilting on the tops she pieces together. Amazing work. I realize how much more that stitching can add to a pattern - and it has me thinking that if I do pick up the quilting habit I'd better start small and learn topstitching as part of it. I'll pull out my Georgia Bonesteel Lap Quilting books and see what she advises.

Good luck locating the plumber!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 14 Mar 23 - 05:47 PM

Beaver:

Sorry about the weather, Charmion! Bancroft is having a mostly sunny day with a bit of melt. Still waiting for the huge chunk hanging off the east roof to THUNK! It has moved almost another foot downward. Tomorrow for sure! It is meant to go above freezing - a few degrees!

Still drying pots- put them all in the kiln with the dampish ones to themselves. Plan to turn it up about 7 tonight so it can be cool by morning - with hopes that the small ones that were last in will not explode!

Spent a length of time on phone with former neighbour who had a cancer - complete removal of female innards in Dec and some radiation. Hoping for the best; she is only 75. Great attitude!

And another lengthy phone call, with friend Hannah re the history of programs at the Yellow Door. Mind like a steel trap, just like her Dad who got it all going, or allowed and encouraged it. The two of us who were supposed to start the "Elderly project" have been asked by current admin to provide history. Be careful what you ask for! I am gathering a small committee of those who were there. And Hannah is searching out a newspaper articles from the time.

Also made a list of available glaze materials, deciding what I can do with this batch of pots and what materials - and glazes - will have to wait for an infusion of missing ingredients - may be at the mill. If it warms a bit next week I can get stuff from there and bring it back. Or think about option of setting up at Dupont if R has time to make me a civilized space.

Indoor woodpile replenished. I am still parking on the road... Waiting for enough warmth to clear the mess the town plow made. Smelling spring in the air, in any case!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Mar 23 - 11:00 AM

We might have achieved peak chaos this morning: the carpenter and the plumber plus two electricians (journeyman and apprentice) in the house, plus a frequently visiting site supervisor. That bathroom and the wee, tiny corridor space between it and the top of the stairs are not designed to accommodate more than one full-sized adult human at a time, and right now there’s four of them all trying to work in there.

The electric receptacle in the study, where I plug in the computer, is on the same circuit as the bathroom, so I’m not getting any work done today.

Bugger.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Mar 23 - 02:05 PM

Keeping an eye on the news today, lots of Trump trash is coming home to roost. (The world seems also to be watching as lot of banks are starting to wobble. Thanks loads, Donald.) Later in the week I may need to do a news blackout, too much of this isn't good for me.

Spring cleaning today, when I pulled a half-dozen light jackets from the hall closet (fleece and jeans) and ran them through the wash. I tend to wear the fleece jackets around the house in the winter instead of turning up the heat, but now they're the right weight for going out so they can all stand some freshening. Next up: dog rugs.

I think the day is about as warm as it will get, so I'll head out and do the soffit repairs before rain that is forecast later today and tomorrow. And the back yard needs mowing, so I can put on my ankle band for my fitness tracker and see how many steps. (They're meant for wearing on a wrist that moves as you walk but the wrist is stationary during mowing, hence my regular default to an ankle strap to track activity.)

This afternoon I may complete the first attic di-pole antenna using an old coaxial cable that's no longer connected to a cable company point outside the house. It's a test. Something for R to play with if he's ever in the mood, Dorothy. :)

I picked up Cara Cara oranges and Ruby Red grapefruit at Costco yesterday - and I'm back to at least one citrus fruit a day while they're in season. This is one food group that has a well-defined season if you want really good fruit.

It looks like our New England and Down East lurkers are getting pretty nasty weather today. I hope some of them will check in. In the far West, another atmospheric river is headed toward California. Keep your heads above water and let us know how you're doing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Mar 23 - 06:18 PM

Beaver: pushing myself through a total lack of energy, I managed to get pots waxed, glazed and into the kiln. And returned to total lack of energy.
On this totally gorgeous spring-like day. Not quite warm enough to sit outside.
Dragged myself out to fetch a lunch special from The Curry House - butter chicken. Did not help much. So I am plowing through The Children of the Holocaust (1979) and going out for breathes of spring air.

Another firing tomorrow. Hope I am more energetic. My goal was to mix small batches of a couple new glazes and test them in this firing cycle. A green and a black - to satisfy curiosity!

Friday: start organizing and loading to leave on Saturday, picking up 2 dozen raisin/carrot muffins in Madoc and stopping off for a music event in Belleville.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Mar 23 - 07:36 PM

It sounds like good progress with the pots, Dorothy, and I remember you talking about those favorite muffins in the past. I'm assuming you'll stash them in the freezer - but wait - didn't you end up with cases and cases of some kind of whole wheat bread a while back? Did you use all of that, or is it forgotten in the freezer somewhere?

I hope the bathroom work is moving swiftly. And a question - if the circuit your computer is on is the same as the bathroom, is it impacted by a GFCI switch? I have a kind of weirdly wired switch in the circuit breaker box that impacts my office. Before this area was a room it was part of the garage and there was a GFCI switch in the breaker box for that area. If we get a heavy rain something about the humidity sometimes flips that outside switch - and there goes the computer equipment operating on the circuit. I finally realized that they didn't put this in on purpose when they remodeled the room, they never changed out the breaker. So, next time the electrician has to come over, I'm getting that upgraded and for more amps.

I postponed the soffit work for ages, but it is finished. I used a combination of wide steel washers and wood screws to push the soffit under the back eaves up into place then screw them with this hardware combination so the screws would hold. The wood is some kind of fiberboard and the screws by themselves just push through it. The washers are for stability. And it is finished for now, after pushing and disturbing dust and what I suspect is mouse or squirrel hair from years past. They live lightly along the inside edges of these planks, probably ingress at cracks near the chimney.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 06:52 AM

Grapefruit interferes with quite a few medications. Just sayin'...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 12:46 PM

Another rainy day in North Texas, and apropos of nothing, I started making myself a list of essential garden hand tools. It's amazing how many are out there, and because they basically evolved over time without patents there are tons of styles and names (when you start looking online for photo examples). Garden tools are a physical manifestation of the folk process. I've bought a lot over time and many others I inherited. And I've found uses for all of them. (I was organizing tools in the greenhouse last week and I have another batch of them my neighbor gave me in a corner of the garage that need to move to the greenhouse.)

As my focus shifts to the out-of-doors, yesterday's work on the soffits revealed a couple of new tiny wasps nests starting along the edge of the house. Wasps are beneficial - but best kept at a distance. Any time they build around doorways or well-traveled routes, someone (me) gets stung. So time to knock those down and have them move along.

I ordered the next batch of dog heartworm vials from the Australian pharmacy I started using during COVID. I used to buy from one in the UK but COVID shutdown air travel, taking out the airmail delivery mechanism for that business. The last time I tried to check out the site I got a logon screen with no information and it makes me think maybe that site is in the wind and someone has scooped up the domain and is trying to get logon credentials. The latest issue of the AARP newspaper arrived yesterday and the heading is "What we learned from COVID." A lot, and so many things are done differently now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 01:45 PM

GFCI switch? There is one in the bathroom, but so far it has never affected the study or anything plugged in there — possibly because no one in the bathroom has ever plugged in an appliance more demanding than a night light.

The messiest phase of the bathroom project is complete, and half the house is veiled in a light coat of plaster dust as a result. Today I’m in hiatus as the mud dries on the fresh drywall (yes, it’s the green mould-resistant kind) and the patches on the old plasterboard.

The concert choir I sing with has reached the panic stage of preparing a program of French romantic music for performance next Saturday. Three of our tenors have fallen by the wayside and the sopranos were no more likely to make their entries last night than they were a month ago. Two extra rehearsals have been laid on. There went my weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 06:43 PM

Beaver:

Well, I wonder what my life might have been like if I were sensible.

The fuses blew last night but I did not notice until 10 pm. Then I replaced fuses and restarted kiln on high - with a gasp of OH WELL! I hoped for the best... In the am, I found it too hot to open ...for quite a while. Finally peeked and stuff looked good - but VERy glossy - as in overfired but just fine anyway... Except I really don't like them that shiny but someone else will.

Glazed pots the remainder of pots while waiting for stuff to cool enough to unload. Unloaded and reloaded and started kiln...Almost...! No dice. upper elements did not connect. What to do -- Call my fav electrician who will be over in the morning. The cost will be another donation to Community Trust. (He does not realize I do that but he also volunteers there... )

This is going to be very tight scheduling for getting out of here on Saturday with pots cool enough to pack. Years ago, in a big hurry, I realized there was smoke coming out of the newspaper... We learn by these things, sort of.

I did realize that the fuses blew about 7 pm - about the time I used the toaster oven. SO, the clue is that with my pitiful 100 A entrance, there is no extra when the kiln is firing - I will avoid doing other than lights - no water - the pump!, no cooking except gas stove... I will consult with Mike tomorrow; he really is an experienced, retired electrician as well as an absolute sweetheart.

Took all the used fuses into Home Hardware and they checked them for me. Most were OK. I Still did not get a lesson in using the meter! But I bought a couple buckets and mixed a new glaze to test - black, I hope. I had a really good black but most of my recipes were lost in the Whidbey fiasco.   

So I brought all the heavy duty books back to the library and looked for something frivolous, picking out 3 hopefuls to get me through. Now I am going to find some comfort food; I need it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 08:29 PM

Beaver:

The BREAD! There are still a few loaves that will be around for a while. In my enthusiasm - I really do not like these varieties much so need to do creative things - which Will take a cold day in July! They are all rather heavy rye types but not than the heavy rye types I totally enjoy.

The muffins are treasures that we dole out. Last week when I bought the only six available on my way to QC, I immediately ate one - Ambrosia!! This time I have ordered ahead so there will be enough for awhile.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Mar 23 - 09:49 PM

We're all having electrical issues, sounds like. I have the little wall-mounted push-button pop-out switches in the kitchen and bathrooms, and in the kitchen (like Dorothy discovered with her oven and her kiln) if I have the toaster oven going I can't also turn on the electric kettle or they'll pop that little wall breaker. But there are also a couple of 15 amp GFCI breakers actually in the circuit box that's on the outside wall in the backyard. The place where the master breaker and the various room breakers live. When you have a GFCI breaker and a GFCI switch, it's really easy for one or the other to pop to the off position.

I love your story about the "smoking newspaper" - you must have asbestos fingers to handle those pots (I'm assuming you use tools and mitts, etc.)

I did my volunteer work today but when I headed out after to go to the gym the alarming clouds and the wailing weather sirens dissuaded me from my usual workout. I got home and parked in the garage just before it hit to the north of us. So far we've just had rain but there was golf-ball-sized hail in the warning that has just now expired.

Today I heard about 20 minutes of an hour discussion about memory - types of - and how to improve it. It's on a local NPR talk show that has gone national to I don't know how many stations, so others could have heard it. It will replay again this evening here locally and anyone can listen to the podcast. Think: The mysteries of memory and how to improve it. I've linked both the program and the book they discuss.

Memory is key to who we are and, yet forgetting is so common. Boston University School of Medicine neurology professor Andrew E. Budson joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his work studying memory, how to control what you remember and how diet plays into this ability. His book, with co-author Elizabeth A. Kensinger, is Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Mar 23 - 10:54 AM

Several blustery days ahead and I see a freeze warning for next week - I knew it was too early to plant tomatoes. Since the yard isn't inviting me out to play I'll make a push to pick up indoors and in solidarity with Charmion's construction chaos, I need to dust everything. COVID masks come in handy for dusting and for the work I've been doing in the attic.

And like Dorothy, I have some loaves of whole wheat bread in the freezer (though I think I like these loaves better than she likes her crusty rye) and I've started making croutons again. They're cheap at the store but those seem to last forever, telling me there are probably preservatives. I'm back to eating salads several times a week and I do love the crunch of seasoned croutons.

I've done some rearranging in the master bedroom, a trunk under the window is now in the closet, and a box of stuff from my Mom's house is ready to be examined and used or tossed. I really don't think there is a demand for her high school yearbook. Should I scan it for Ancestry or Classmates, or do they already have a 1940 annual in the collection? Our family is slowly offloading family items, one postal box at a time; my sister sent this to me. I sent some of my Dad's ceramics to my son this week. At least the post office is making some money out of us.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Mar 23 - 01:42 PM

University yearbooks! I have three generations of them, dating back more than a century, and they take up the whole bottom shelf of an 80-cm bookcase.

At present, I’m not pushed to do anything in particular with them, but I think mine and Edmund’s won’t be missed — to the recycle box with them! My parents’ (1947-1951) and my grandfather’s (1905-1907) copies of Old McGill might find a home with a cousin, or even with McGill University itself, in Montreal.

If I can find the energy and initiative to make any of that happen. Not soon, at any rate.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Mar 23 - 03:59 PM

I think the compromise is to scan them if I'm not going to keep the physical volumes, and stash the files where the family can grab them if they want. I always check eBay to see if someone is in search of this stuff.

Every year on March 17 there are "sales" in the genealogy marketplace, and this year I took advantage of one with a two weeks free trial followed by low monthly fees until I cancel. This is to upload some stuff and make it available—and my goodness, but this is quite a rabbit hole to descend! I've loaded the DNA results from one site into another (less expensive than Ancestry and more prominent in Europe, where most if not all of the family came from anyway). I did also pay $20 extra to the original place where I did the test to find out about an "Archaic" human ancestry.

I've done some of the dusting, with more to do. In the process I stumbled across the wire strippers I misplaced (near the speaker wires I was working on in the den ages ago - must finish that project.)

The bread machine is set up to make a batch of dinner rolls as comfort food - these next few days are breezy and cool and there's nothing like carbs to make you feel warmer. I mostly use them to make small slider-like sandwiches. (My favorite being breakfast sausage patties in a roll.) I'll share a few with the neighbors so I don't eat them all myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 11:12 AM

Charmion, before you dispose of Edmund's and your university yearbooks, might you scan any content involving yourself or Edmund, and preserve it digitally?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 01:50 PM

Okay, okay. But not now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 01:58 PM

Note to self: Only buy calendars that will fit on the scanner bed. This photographing of the pages means some aren't quite as clear as others. I suppose I should set up a tripod or put the calendars under glass to keep them perfectly perpendicular to the camera. I'm noticing some interesting stuff as I wander down memory lane, it is worthwhile to preserve this information.

Online shopping and pricing of things today. The prescriptions through the domestic mail order pharmacy are moving at a glacial pace, meanwhile two days ago I placed an order for dog prescriptions from Australia that are already on the way and may beat the local orders. I have to shop around for a brick and mortar pharmacy big enough to have my meds in stock. This may be what finally gets me into Walmart more than once a year.

I swept and vacuumed and dusted in the den yesterday, so of course this morning one of the dogs brought in a stick and chewed it to pieces.

There is a freeze warning for overnight, but not cold enough for long enough that I need take the hose off of the faucet, and I don't have anything tender in the ground yet. I will kick myself if instead of dropping to 32^o it drops to 22^o and breaks my pipes, but that's not likely to happen.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 07:25 PM

Statin drugs reduce cholesterol but can cause muscle weakness. After some years I noticed a weakness and by stopping the drug for a week full strength has returned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 10:24 PM

Dupont:

MAde it back today, in good time with no bad weather! Stopped for muffins in Madoc and brief catch up with fav staff persons. Of course had to eat one on way to Belleville! Ambrosia! Also picked up container of quinoa/sweet potato, etc salad for Robin. Slept for about 3 hours after arriving. I had stayed up late last night to finish a novel to return to library.

Major glitch in potting life when kiln refused to turn on top elements on Thurs. Phoned Mike who came at 10 am on Friday and spent an hour dismantling the control panel... Came in with the offending object... I came to terms with - this firing is on hold for awhile. Oh,well! The first firing was lovely and I brought the pots here; I can stash them under the DR table until I have enough for a showing.

Had a nice very visit with Mike about ageing and dying - doesn't sound so nice but it was helpful for me to hear about how he and Lyn had dealt with 3 very aged parents - in their 90s to close to 100. Helpful for me at 86 to get a better idea of what I might be facing... Small thing: throw rugs; Lyn pointed out this hazard a couple years ago. I changed to more stable slippers but this week I note that I have been rumpling the rugs - not picking my feet up enough. Took note and will be wary. I really hate to give up the colourful little rugs... I would hate a fall even more. That could greatly clutter my life in a most unpleasant fashion!

Just after I got here, text from Mike that he had found part on line and should he order it? No... Then as brain cleared - Yes! He may have it fixed when I return in 10 days!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 10:31 PM

I've read a little bit about statin drugs, but mostly in passing. There are issues, but there are also issues when every year your doctor tells you your cholesterol is too high. My brother became essentially a vegetarian to get off of the meds.

Today I made a big push on the calendar project. The rest of the years of large-format calendars photographed, and 2 smaller calendars to scan. It has been interesting to stroll down memory lane. Guitar lessons, dentist appointments, graduate school classes, conferences attended, field trips, college visits. Divorce lawyer appointments. The calendars became less busy when my daughter graduated and went to college, and almost empty when my son went away to college. Remaining are dog heartworm medications and cat sitting for a friend. Occasional appointments and volunteer activity.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Mar 23 - 09:08 AM

Snow again in Perth County.

It’s shaping up to be a very wet spring. I found yet more water on the cellar floor the other day, this time clearly ground water rising through a crack in the concrete. Of course, the puddle was on the side of the house farthest from the floor drain, between the furnace and the wine.

Thirty years and two houses ago I had the same problem, caused by lack of drainage around the house in a spectacularly wet season. There the problem was bedrock less than two inches below the cellar floor; here, it’s a famously dense layer of clay that lies about eighteen inches under the topsoil. The cellar floor was laid right in the middle of that clay stratum.

Previous owners of this house did up most of the cellar as a rec room with broadloom carpet on the floor. Edmund and I replaced that broadloom with laminate underlaid with Dri-Core, a material designed to mitigate the effects of rising damp. Well, now that decision is paying off, but jeez Louise! Can’t I get a break here? First the humidifier drools, then the water heater drips, and now this! Colour me fed up.

It’s Sunday. Shower, church, lunch, laundry. Whee.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Mar 23 - 11:39 AM

Charmion, I hope your performance at church goes well - it sounded like you were short-handed when you reported earlier in the week.

My calendar project resulted in 20 years' worth of PDF files, from the mid-1980s to 2008. I may have more old ones tucked away and I'll do this same routine if I find them. For any lurkers thinking about doing this same kind of information preservation project, I used my big Canon EOS camera to take the photos (lit from the side by a bright LED 5000K daylight light, no flash), then loaded them into a computer file using Adobe Bridge, that in turn opened them in Lightroom to straighten and crop off edges. I didn't fool around adjusting lighting, they're all readable and that's all I needed. I saved them with the year's name and type of calendar (Wilderness, generic wall calendar, etc.), then from Bridge, opened Photoshop's batch tool to size each month image all the same. If you make a PDF with various widths files it looks odd, so I moused over the list of photos to determine the smallest and used that smallest width to adjust all files down to that size. It takes very little time to do this. Open Adobe Acrobat and click to Combine files into a single PDF. Drag and drop the files from their folder into that Adobe form, be sure they're the correct order, and then name it after you create that PDF.

All but one of those calendars are in the recycle bin.

I have to do garden work but I also have to do my income taxes. Today is another cool one so I'd be better off finishing the taxes so I can take advantage of warmer weather mid-week.

Good luck getting the kiln fixed during your absence, Dorothy! Up and ready to go when you return gives you something to look forward to.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Mar 23 - 12:35 PM

"My brother became essentially a vegetarian to get off the meds."

I have heard of this:
the magic word seems to be "anti-inflammatory" to describe the diet/eating lifestyle.
Some advocate starches rather than proteins as being less inflammatory.
I'm reading some books by a Dr. Michael Greger on the subject,
one of them is titled "How Not To Die."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Mar 23 - 09:45 PM

A light jacket was enough to make working outside comfortable. Though it is the worst time of year to prune a tree, now that it's mowing season I decided I wasn't going to go another year of walking into the thorns on the Mexican plum. I took off two branches and some are in the trash while some are in a bin waiting to go through the electric chipper.

I was looking at the soffit out front and found a hole with a huge squirrel nest inside—there were strands of plastic and a lot of grass sagging through the hole. I used tongs to pull out a bunch of stuff (in the past there was a baby squirrel that fell out of the soffit, and silly me, I put it back up in my attic.) This time I sealed off the holes and put a piece of wood over the chewed hole. I'll check back later to see if they chewed around my piece of wood. I did this during the day so hope everyone was outside, not inside the attic. While I was doing all of my work last week they must have been quietly watching from their corner.

Interesting note - there was a large old paper wasp nest literally 3 inches away from the squirrel hole - they seem to have lived in harmony.

I mowed part of the back yard today (stopping at dusk), bagging the clippings so I could drop them into the compost. That will get things cooking in a hurry in the new bin.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Mar 23 - 12:03 PM

A new week, and intentions to get a few things on my "to-do" list accomplished. One of them is to shop local large pharmacies because almost two weeks later I still don't have the new medication that had the prescription sent to the mail order pharmacy, and this is simply unacceptable.

Weather will be improving and I have several bags of things that need planting. Some of them need new beds to go into, so I'll be working on that. The yard needs work and I need exercise: win/win.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Mar 23 - 07:52 PM

The local pharmacists are united in their unhappiness at the games the mail order pharmacy plays. Apparently it is a common complaint that they put a large shipping charge on them to get them promptly. Consensus is to call 2 - 3 days prior to the next prescribing appointment and find out the status of their supplies.

Revisiting the hall closet reveals a very tattered Eddie Bauer parka purchased in ~ 1979. Time to retire that to the sewing room for parts; the zipper and a few other parts can be reused, but the lining is shredded and the cuffs are incredibly frayed. I saw an ad for a nice parka on Instagram today, meaning I'll ignore that and look at my usual places first. And possibly even the thrift store, because they sometimes surprise me with the great stuff they have. That was a men's medium jacket and it's roomy, and it looks like a large women's will fit about the same. I like to have a layer or two under the parka in cooler weather.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 11:27 AM

I wasn't getting enough delta/theta sleep so I take 3 melatonin 10 mg gummies and they did the trick.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 11:57 AM

Dupont:

Still in recovery from trip but getting a few things done: took shop vac out to clean the car - embarrassing mess - before today's servicing. R was to put summer tires in car but not! So later for that and somewhere else, but soon. Which is worse: feeling you are wearing out the snow tires on bare roads or OOPS! it snowed??? None in forecast - very unusual. A clear sign of warming climate.

Several pairs of pants (for R) from thrift shops need hemming - maybe today! A few plants could be potted soon. Includes separating the huge Canna clump... They won't be able to go out until mid or late April, or even May, but can stay in the bright hallway. One actually bloomed there for awhile. Christmas Cactus is liking new spot in cool bright window - even has a couple buds! The orchid just keeps living - gets a new leaf, loses and old one, but NO flowers!

And, of course, I can find the energy to make more pots...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 12:25 PM

Dorothy, I have several types of bulbs that need planting. One friend gave me cannas and some liriope (an ornamental grass) and another gave me some schoolhouse lilies, and yet another has two types of crinum lily bulbs for me to pick up. And my daughter rescued some tulips dug up at her museum - the flowers were still lovely (so why dig them now?) and she's saving the bulbs for me. They'll go in the ground and come up next spring.

My goal is to put in beds that are easy to mow around, easy to weed, and so attractive that they stay in place for a long long time; these are new beds because the ones around the house foundation are in harm's way if I have the foundation worked on. I'm planning to make it mostly mulch or let the lawn grow there. (If have the foundation fixed I'll probably have to put in a sprinkler system to maintain it.) My xmas cactus blooms on and off during the winter months, and I was surprised this week to see that the poinsettia from 2021 that is still in a pot in the window has put out red flower/leaves. Not in time for the holidays, but no matter! I've never had one put out the red again after it was pushed and sold in a store. Nice! (These are actually bracts, not flowers.)

Today is supposed to warm up, but not so far, and it's a heavy overcast. So much of that this year! The next couple of days should be around 80 - very nice for getting out in the yard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 02:29 PM

Suddenly, in spite of everything, the daffs are sprouting in front of my house.

We have absolutely no reason to believe that the snow is over until next winter, but there they are. Ain't nature grand?

Today I am writing a grant application for the concert choir (not the church choir), and editing applications for two other music outfits. Of course I plan to steal ideas from the documents I am editing; that's why I agreed to do them.

The provincial government is the new Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. The Stratford Concert Choir is no new Mozart, but let's hope some arts administrator thinks we're worthy of patronage anyway.

The concert choir's show is on Saturday night -- French Romantic music with organ. We're still struggling to round up an audience that's bigger than the choir. The sopranos sound a little less desperate than they did last week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 04:00 PM

Charmion, it won't work for your concert choir, but
this is my chorus's secret for attracting audiences that are SRO.

Perform with groups that have young children in them.
All their families and friends will buy tickets and show up.

Our chorus performed in a show with:
a troupe of Irish step-dancing students
a children's chorus

and the hall was absolutely packed with people.
This was a big deal for the children's chorus,
which had been inactive from the time of the pandemic,
so no children's chorus for some three years.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 23 - 10:56 PM

Keb is right - with the kids performing their parents and families will follow!

My backyard was mowed today and I only stopped twice to turn the mower on it's side and scrape out all of the wet grass clinging to the underside that slowed operation. (I keep a putty knife in the pocket of gardening apron I use for yard work.) It happens every spring. Years ago I used to uncover bunny nests. With dogs in the back now there are no bunnies in that part of the lot.

I linked a ceramics online course over to Dorothy's Facebook page - it may be too small and fussy to fool with, but it might be interesting to watch.

Good luck with the grants - and of course learn from the wording you're looking at. Very likely none of it is truly original. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Mar 23 - 02:47 PM

Bouncing moppets won’t solve the concert choir’s issues, I’m afraid. Little kids can’t sing oratorios and cantatas, which is what we do.

Back to work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Mar 23 - 02:19 PM

Aaaand ... we're back.

The bathroom project was ticking along perfectly until yesterday, when the inevitable happened: the people who were supposed to supply the sink failed to convey some critical information from Point A to Point B and it therefore will not be ready until next Wednesday. That's a two-day interruption in the schedule.

Just as well. On Monday and Tuesday morning, I will be focussed entirely on submitting the grant application, which has to be uploaded through a frankly wonky web interface. Not having builders in the house while I do that will be a relief.

Dress rehearsal tonight, concert tomorrow. Our conductor has recruited a ringer for the soprano section, a professional who knows the work cold. What a relief. Now, let's hope none of the few remaining tenors comes down with the collywobbles, and the weather tomorrow isn't too terribly awful. Rain is forecast, but just an ordinary downpour -- nothing dramatic.

Dramatic was yesterday's trip to Kitchener for my monthly date with the allergist's needle. Perth County lay under a fog thick enough to qualify for November in Halifax, with visibility at less than 30 metres. Like an idiot, I took the county road instead of the highway, and found myself in the middle of a convoy tiptoeing along at 20 kph below the speed limit. Except for the fool about two vehicles behind me, who nourished the delusion that he could maybe beat the system and pass all the rest of us without getting creamed by a livestock truck coming the other way. Nothing bad happened, but not for lack of trying.

The water heater is dripping consistently now, about half a liter per day. Fortunately, I have a couple of large, deep boot trays that we brought from Ottawa; now one is under the water heater, and the other is under the humidifier. A morning visit to the cellar takes care of the previous day's drippings ... Gotta deal with that water heater before the next time I want to leave town for more than 24 hours.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Mar 23 - 08:02 PM

Good luck with both the sink and the concert, Charmion! You can say you've thrown everything into these projects, including the bathroom sink. (And the kids wouldn't be doing anything you're doing, they'd be doing some artsy kid thing and attracting eyeballs, is all.)

Middle of the night trip to the bathroom last night and I realized I could hear water dribbling in the tank, nonstop. It's slowly getting worse, and the little faucet handle to turn off the tank line doesn't work. Today I picked up a full-replacement kit for inside the tank (why make three trips for parts when you can buy everything in one box for $30?) That's for this evening. I have to turn off water at the street to do the repair. I'll first see if I can change the washer in that tap handle because if I can't I might have to call a plumber and let him replace that handle and then fix the insides. This is where the bidet is to be installed, so it might as well be up to snuff. I have a home warranty now - this is what they might be covering (replacing the handle plus fixing the insides that need replacing.) It depends on how much my share is. Or maybe they just cover clogged sewer lines. I'll refer to the policy.

I did my income taxes yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to have a refund due. It took several tries to get the e-file documents to stick; they fussed about how I entered an address on one form and they didn't like that my self-selected PIN was the same one I used last year. So? I've used it several times. Now they care. So I have a new one. And a couple of other bookkeeping bits, but it was finally accepted by the IRS this morning. In the process of comparing how I did last year's taxes with this year's forms I noticed an odd difference on one worksheet, and realized that last year I made a math error that the IRS didn't catch. It's in my favor so I'll have to submit a revised return to get the rest of that cash. But I'll wait until after this year's forms go through. No point in confusing them.

Last year it took forever to get my refund, it was part of the whole COVID slowdown. Here's hoping Biden has hired all of the IRS folks he intended and it goes more quickly. (Congress has the purse strings, so even though this money was approved last year, there's no saying what programs and departments the current lunatic crop in charge will try to hold hostage.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Mar 23 - 09:16 PM

Dupont:

You guys do remind me of things! Like the toilet problem at Beaver! When it would not flush but just kept spewing water, I just turned off the water valve to it and used a bucket. Easy - and I had forgotten. Mike is fixing the kiln while I am away; I did not have the audacity to ask for the toilet! I am sure he would not complain. I made a nice donation to Community Trust for their warming centre. (He refuses payment so this is our arrangement.)

SRS: garden plan is sounding good! I checked the front bed today and, on the sunniest part, the daffies are up a few inches! The rest is still covered with a few inches of snow. Hope!

Have twisted R's arm a bit for neighbour who needs a temporary home for his family DR set (trying to keep it for his daughter); Wife has refused to give it house space so far. The eternal optimist thinks she may yet let him put it in his office, or the college will finally provide an office... In the meantime it can stay in a spare room on 1st floor until he can put it in our cellar - after the snow melts on the north side of the house. I just had to move a few movable things. Sweet man teaches music at a college in Montreal - classical...choir... Maybe we will have time to talk sometime!

Managing to maintain the household at minimal standard. Hope to go back to Beaver in a few days and re-find some energy. Every day, I think I will throw some pots... I did go fetch some needed glaze materials to take back. It took half a day to go north and come back, including missing the correct exit... Ordered ahead and very well organized shop had it all ready, and a nice fellow to put it in car.

Replenished groceries and did a small roast pork in toaster oven - worked well! Did ribs a few days ago and almost wrecked them - tried to pay a bill while they were cooking - a five minute task??? Called HELP and got help, while telling them that their IT people do not understand the brains of normal folks - in no uncertain terms. "Choose a profile": 1. What is a profile? 2. Why am I asked to choose when there is only one??? And WHERE is the correct place to put the PW... after I find it! OH, timed out!! Burned the ribs - the sauce but the meat was WELL cooked!

Accepting that R is NOT a veggie... At least not 7 days a week. Maybe 4?   

Beautiful day today. Just above freezing. Back porch is totally shaded and icy! A couple more days above freezing MIGHT do the job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Mar 23 - 10:30 PM

Dorothy, I divided the toilet repair into two parts. This evening I went out and uncovered the water shutoff (this one is mine, a foot over is the box for the city shutoff). Lifted out some extra dirt then sprayed WD-40 to loosen the gate valve. Only three trips to be sure the water was off (you really have to push it all the way to turn if off). Then the toilet water tap - emptied the tank, used a wrench to remove the valve, and it was a simple matter of a broken washer. Replace it, use some Teflon tape on the threads, and screw it back into place. When the outside water was on no more running into the toilet tank - that is still off.

The kit is all-encompassing, it replaces everything in and on the tank, and I have decided to take the prudent move of doing the rest during daylight and when plumbers are on call easily. I've done this before, it shouldn't be a problem, but doing it at night just seems to court disaster. So tomorrow the rest happens, but the worst is done - just getting started and fixing one leak!

I noticed a blooming iris in the yard today, and there are several daffodils scattered around. In a few weeks the yard will be full of blooming iris - this is when it looks best in the whole year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 01:54 PM

Day Two of the Toilet Tank gear replacement:
I've remembered what the difficulty is with this setup: when they plumbed the toilet they didn't use a standard size water outlet on the pipe that comes through the wall that has the on-off handle. The flexible replacement toilet water line is too small to screw on. I'm heading out to Lowe's with the old nut and the new line and will either exchange the line for a regular sink water line (I suspect that's the size they used) or see if I can get an adaptor. The goal is to not have a plumber come $weat off the old valve and put on a new one.

Otherwise, that job is going fine. The instructions are clear and once I get past this it's only a couple of more steps to finish.

This morning a friend came by for a few minutes to drop off plants thinned from her garden, so while I waited for her I planted a new small rosemary near where the last big one was that died. I suspect that old one was unusual in how large and long-lived it was.

I hear lawnmowers running in the neighborhood, the March Canadian cognate would be snow blowers. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 05:13 PM

Older houses like mine have the "flare" style fitting for the toilet tank line, but the modern system uses compression lines. They don't interchange. I'll have to go to a plumbing supply store on Monday, because that will still be cheaper than having a plumber come in to change the tap.

It was a bonanza at the gourmet discount warehouse today, mostly fruits and veggies, but also some nice smoked wild caught sockeye salmon packages that we basically cleaned out. They were in the freezer section and now they're in our freezers. I need to stick to eating all of the fruit and produce and avoid the bread-like carbs, but have to eat the stuff in order of durability.

I put two packages of asparagus in the lower fridge door shelf, (with water in the bottom of the tall open container) and when I opened the fridge, Cookie who is at that exact height gave my asparagus a kiss. Good thing I was the veggies before I cook them. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:04 PM

After some research about adapters and an evening trip to Home Depot I ended up talking to a guy in the plumbing aisle who suggested cutting off the old valve and putting on a compression fitting. The store plumbing guy said that will work just fine. I've finally got all of the necessary parts but will again wait until daylight to turn of the water at the curb and begin this next stage. I didn't have to make any extra trips for the guts of the tank, it's this old valve that has caused all of the chaos in the project.

Not much else got done today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:15 PM

Dupont:

Total nothing day while waiting for the rain to start... Make that snow!!! And SRS has an iris in bloom! And I am perfectly happy to use a bucket to flush the toilet and spend my time on other things - including nothing at all... Never have gotten use to civilized living after years off the grid with an outhouse!

R dealt with our neighbour who needed a place to put some furniture - temporarily! Alan and Michel, and R moved the two pieces into the cellar, then - reciprocity! - they helped him get a defunct frig out - now sitting in the snow! I was really tired of Alan's problem and twisted R's arm. Well, I really cared about his problem and wanted a solution. We have a big cellar. R says it is really ugly furniture but no disputandum... and Alan is trying to keep it until his daughter can afford a home. I wonder if his daughter wants it???

R also managed to get most of the remaining firewood in from the back deck which has as much as two feet of snow in places - depending on the amount of sun that hits - or none at all. And I put a fire in the stove - using the dry wood that has been inside a while. Cosy on a snowy day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:17 PM

PS: No word from Mike re kiln. No notice re power outage at Beaver!! Hoping to go back on Tuesday, in any case.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 09:02 AM

Yes, it snowed again last night. Fortunately not much, but enough to show the sprouting daffodils who’s still in charge. Having lived some forty years in the Ottawa Valley, I’ve seen snow on apple blossom more times than enough.

The concert choir survived last night’s performance without inappropriate drama, thank God. We all sang our heads off and nailed most, if not all, the entries in the frankly challenging Requiem by Maurice Duruflé; then whipped off the rousing final number, a late-Latin hymn with all the organ stops out. The audience looked a bit stunned when it was over, and then clapped and clapped and clapped.

I went home to a stiff whisky and an hour of cats-on-lap time before bed.

The house is not at its best, in the shank of that “enduring construction” phase of ubiquitous plaster dust, pictures off the wall, and random extension cords snaking around corners. The library-cum-music room is in disorder, with three half-empty bookcases and boxes of books stacked on the floor awaiting the trip down the highway to the Goodwill bookstore in London. But I’m not doing anything about it until I finish the grant application. The deadline on that is noon Tuesday.

I have almost all the supporting documents I need — pdf versions of posters, programs and cvs — but I’m waiting on the operating budget and an audio clip from our last Messiah performance. Must pester the Maestro …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 11:00 AM

At the big box stores if I go through the gardening entrance I frequently find myself answering questions. People are usually talking outloud to others, asking questions, so it's easy to offer unobtrusive help. How durable are the various plants, what spacing, how big they'll grow, etc. Recommending organic methods for pest control issues means one less toxic yard on the planet. On Friday I passed a woman with an interesting array of herbs and woody edible plants in her cart and remarked "your yard must be delicious!" That was enough for an interesting conversation about how we cook and the flavors we have in our gardens. I think this is like what Dorothy does so well - social interactions with strangers are good for all of us.

It seems only fair that in the same store another customer offered me advice that I could use when shopping plumbing parts. He said "you can bring it up on YouTube, there are lots of videos." My response - "I'm good with taking plumbing advice from a total stranger in the plumbing aisle." You can usually tell who is at sea working on their home project and who is there for a specific piece they know they need. He knew what he was looking for. Today should be the final day of my plumbing project.

Dorothy, I'm still researching and eliminating any coconut products, and I was saddened to learn that the "vegetable glycerin" in my Tincture of Green Soap is coconut based. I'm giving these away, and my ex yesterday took home the 1/2 gallon of green soap. He'll use it as a soap, but remarked that back in the day when he was doing ceramics he used green soap to brush into the molds so the pots would release. Do you do this? This was using a slip instead of hand shaping harder clay, maybe a totally different process.

What are our lurkers up to now that Spring is officially here? Jon with his cameras and safety alerts for the parents, Patty in her RV somewhere in the American West, and many others who work quietly on their decluttering projects. Any eBay sellers? There are so many marketplaces now, Facebook offers local competition, but eBay with all of it's rules still tries to stay the gold standard for online selling.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 10:43 PM

Mission accomplished, toilet tank has all new apparatus and the bidet I received at xmas has been installed. Now to read the directions. All of this extra work isn't the bidet's fault, it's because the old apparatus in the tank was leaking and the old flare valve on the water line - its time had come.

Busy week ahead, and cat sitting for a friend again starting next weekend. She was over here yesterday and I pointed out the new fence and gate on the side of the garage - told her that her cat sitting payments were set aside for these kinds of projects. It's a way to pace myself and be sure that those projects DO get done, even if it's over considerable time. It's not something I really plan to turn into a business, it's more a small word of mouth side gig.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 09:38 AM

It may seem tacky to some but if you have a cinder block wall or an unsightly wall you don't want to paint for hours; on Amazon they have what they call tapestries that come in bookcase, landscape or unique scenes made of printed polyester that hangs nicely with carpet tacks or miracle tape.
No fuss or adhesive from 11 to 23 dollars.
Just search Amazon for tapestries and a desired scene be it interior or exterior.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 09:41 AM

They also make nice backgrounds for zoom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 10:13 AM

Good idea about Zoom. I have a well-curated bookshelf behind me for my Zoom meetings. You've reminded me that I needed to reposition a frame with a typed signed poem by Calvin Trillin, a gift from a friend. (It appeared in The New Yorker, you can probably Google it - from the Bush/Cheney era, it's called "I Can't Appear Without My Nanny Dick."

Don, there are lots of large fabric prints out there now. A few years ago I discovered Amazon's photo print shower curtains and have two of them, deployed over a standard clear vinyl waterproof liner. One is a lovely Douglas fir forest, the other is a Greek beach and ocean scene.

With this weekend's haul at the discount grocery I've decided to up the veggies on top of dry dog food; I usually do it for dinner but I'm also adding it on their breakfast. I'm convinced that the fresh food moisture is what keeps them all healthier than dry food alone. The same goes for me, though in my case I'm trying to lower the percentage of carbs that come from wheat flour.

If any of you are considering knee or hip replacement, I have to say that this spring is the first in many years when I felt like my old self - able to move around the house or garden comfortably, and having lost the weight gained over time (combination of stress at work cortisol and slowing down from knee pain), back to a level of dexterity that is a gift. My mother (and one of my aunts) at this age were truly acting elderly. I don't see myself that way - my plan has always been to take after the other aunt who took good care of herself (she lived until about 94). We're talking another 25 years.

Charmion, now that the success of the weekend chorus has buoyed you, I hope the work crew is able to contribute to your well-being by working neatly, quickly, and without dust or chaos.

Dorothy, that furniture stored in your basement sounds interesting. Post a photo on FB if you think of it. I'd love to see what it looks like. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 02:29 PM

Construction resumes on Thursday.

The concert stress has been replaced by grant application stress. I effing well hate the Ontario Arts Council.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Mar 23 - 10:21 AM

The grant application has been submitted. Cue the second-guessing, speculation and criticism.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, I might do a little light housekeeping today -- perhaps even vacuum the plaster dust out of the carpets and damp-mop the human and feline footy-prints off the hardwood floors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Mar 23 - 11:10 AM

Charmion, good luck with the dust. Here at the house the dust comes with a large dog-hair component, making dust puppies the size of fluffy slippers. We're not out of the wet season yet so the muddy footprints would instantly reappear if I tried to mop them now.

Out in the yard there is a bizarre kind of clutter - a wind storm we had a couple of weeks ago loosened the contents of some old squirrel nests in one of the back yard trees. They drag an array of fluffy things scavenged from the yard (lots of old dacron filling from when I had dog beds in the garage) and pieces of the cover and filling from outdoor cushions that used to be on a back porch bench. I blamed the dogs for tearing it up, but I think the squirrels started it. And now it's all slow-motion raining down out of the trees. There are lot of shreds of plastic shopping bags, and where they got them I can't say. Perhaps they blew into the yard and I didn't see them before the squirrels did?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Mar 23 - 07:07 AM

I have now packed five 1.5-cubic-foot boxes of books and hauled two of them to the Goodwill bookstore in London.

But now I’m down to the heavy stuff: reference books, music, and sundry big fat tomes. That means another trip to the U-Haul store in Kitchener for one-cubic-foot book boxes.

I’ll have this job done by the end of next week.

The builders are due back today with the cabinets and the sink, so I’ll leave them to it and take my mandolin to Serena the Fiddle’s house for a dose of tunes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Mar 23 - 08:59 PM

All of the fruit and veggies picked up earlier in the week are being drawn down; one pineapple cored and in the fridge, the second one still ripening. Zucchini and squash are for both the dogs and me; other fruit eaten fresh or, with some of the apples, I'll make applesauce to bottle and process because I use it in baking (usually to reduce the amount of oil used in some soda breads like the pumpkin or zucchini breads I love). It's always a race to use these while they're still in good shape.

Tomorrow I have the whole day at home so will make a short list and see if I can knock off a few of a few chores in the house before I get out in the garden to start digging and planting. The garden is always more appealing than housework.

I have plenty of boxes here, what I need to do with them is pack eBay items and have them ready to ship once they're listed and sold.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 09:38 AM

A powerful new sci-fi feminist movie is on Prime Video called The Power.
It's a three-parter right now but part 3 is good enough in a pinch.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 09:47 AM

Beaver:

Arrived on Tuesday. Just about feeling recovered. Took myself to BF yesterday and again today - today because I left my hat there yesterday... and one more treat -a BF I did not need to cook. A neighbour was there with a friend so nice chat. And he introduced me to the waitress; I had a nice chat with her as the place cleared for a few minutes before I left.

Now, check a couple things on Internet then, mix a couple glazes to test before I reload the kiln that Michael so kindly fixed. Then off to The Trust to pay him for the parts - hoping he will be there since his wife is doing a group thingy this aft.

Mostly I have read and brought in fire wood, went to chiropractor who might be OK. Not much else. Driveway is clear but snow is still deep everywhere. We are to have a few days above freezing - HOPE! I just looked up to see snow flakes coming down...!!!! JUST A FEW>>>

I have never used molds. No use for green soap...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 10:39 AM

My siblings and I are very close in age, so when one has a medical development, we all perk up. This week I learned that my brother is watching his blood pressure and is pretty sure it was the salty snacks that pushed it up in a recent episode. Out of curiosity I started reading the labels on the various snack foods around here, and it appears to be time to change some snack choices. I always read the ingredient lists looking for coconut derivatives, but it's time to pay more attention to the sodium part of the labels. He also tells me that now he has cut out most of the salt, the little bit he does use is really noticeable. In addition to eliminating smokehouse almonds, it appears the days of dark chocolate with sea salt are over. Must investigate the other dark chocolate offerings. (I'm making this adjustment now because I'm 10 months older than he is ("Irish twins"), putting me in the cross-hairs also.)

Today a trip to the recycle bin (if people flattened their boxes there would be more room for everyone; nowadays I have to go the day after the bins are emptied in order to find room for my flat boxes.) Time to put away some of the materials used in recent projects, and it wouldn't hurt to organize the shelves in the garage where a lot of these boxes of screws and hand tools live.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 01:15 PM

Looking at labels for sodium opens a very large can of worms. I anticipate a clearing out of some of the short-cut ingredients in the cupboard - in particular, my favorite flavor-enhancing things like bouillon. Also reading the labels on salad dressing, cheese, and so much more. Soy sauce. Good thing wine is very low sodium. [sigh]

A quart of applesauce has been processed. Houseplants watered - and I had a thought yesterday about setting up a shelf in front of the bedroom window and moving some in there. Now that the trunk that used to sit there is in the closet, there's a spot opened up. Cardboard loaded and ready to drop off soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 11:05 PM

Executive decision: I have a good older Canon EOS camera, and I have a little Canon Powershot that I won in a raffle. The little one takes a decent video but it is hard to focus for photos (no viewfinder). I worked on eBay stuff today and compared the two. My conclusion - it's time to list the Powershot on eBay with all of the bits and pieces and use the cash to buy a new lens for the EOS. My current favorite lens needs a repair (they are complex machines in their own right and repairs take time and are expensive). A less-robust lens will do for my eBay work and I need to see if the guy I know who fixes camera lenses is still in business. I might get the other one up and running again. (I've read that film cameras are coming back into vogue, like vinyl records—what's old is new again. I should pull out the old Olympus film camera and see if anyone is interested in buying it.)

There's a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera I have my eye on, but it's out of reach for now. When looking at photos from the Powershot, I can take better photos with my phone camera, but I have to jump through hoops to get the photos out of the phone into the computer. Someone who wants a dedicated pocket-sized camera will get a good little camera with the Powershot, but I like the bigger camera better.

It was good to get started on eBay stuff again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 08:30 AM

Today I must visit Canadian Tire to buy a wet-dry vacuum cleaner. I must do it before the puddle on the basement floor laps up against the furnace and inundates the bottom row of wine.

It’s a very wet spring in Perth County — March went out like a beaver.

Apart from that, nothing new on the home-improvement front.

Uninvited water in the basement just makes me feel tired.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 10:17 AM

There aren't many houses in Texas with basements, and those that have them usually have a sump pump in place because they do get wet. I have no basement but the setup for my air conditioning means the drain line runs up to the attic before out the side wall and down to the garden near the dryer vent. (We didn't want to break the foundation to put in a drain for this new unit.) The sump is small and very quiet; in a basement it would need a recess (put the pump in the lowest wet spot) and a power supply. I'd think one could be rigged up (you would have to chip away concrete for a more pronounced low spot than you have now). Oh look - I found a plumber in Toronto. I just searched on "sump pump setup in basement" without a location so it appears you're in good company. Their diagram is also helpful to see how they are set up.

A cursory look through the office closet finds the box for the EOS camera body (the one I'm keeping) but so far not the smaller Canon box. I typically keep them flattened and I probably organized them to someplace I'll have to find later. Maybe even the attic. I've always had in mind the little camera could be sold on eBay so I'm sure I kept the box.

Cat sitting begins today and it means I try to figure what other chores can be run while I'm out. There's a mutual aid food donation pantry near her house, so unopened food items can be donated there. (Later in the year that's where I'll donate extra garden produce.) Her house is half-way to my gym, so I'll work out more often (my titanium knees always feel better with more trips to the gym.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 12:34 PM

To help limit salt intake I found simply reminding myself what salt does really helps.
What salt does is make your entire cardiovascular system become less pliant and elastic and literally hardens and stiffens every artery and vein.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 02:25 PM

Installing a sump pump in the wet part of my basement would require a much more aggressive approach than mere chipping, Stilly. A jack-hammer might work.

And I’m not sure I want to get that tough on a problem that appears only once in five years (so far). Shop-vac first.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 03:16 PM

Yeah, "chipping" was an understatement. Years ago I was watching the old ABC Home Show, based in Los Angeles, and during water shortages they talked about these little transfer pumps people could set in the street at the curb to capture shallow water running down the street if someone else ran enough water for it to go into the street. I don't know what they're called, but something like that could round up your wet spot also.

Don, your description of the cardiovascular system is certainly clear. Something to look into.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 04:34 PM

Hi SRS, I did see your call for lurkers to report, and was on my way across Texas, and had to reroute from my usual paths. So, I thought, great, I'll get close to Fort Worth, and try to find a place to meet up with SRS!

Which last-minute, half-baked plan promptly blew up. I booked in at Kimball Bend Park, immediately started to look up meet up spots and connect with SRS, and found absolutely no Verizon service whatsoever, though in the shadow of an enormous megalopolis. What the heck? And I was sick to my stomach for most of the time, so did not hit the road trying to find a place where I could get a signal, til I had to leave for a reservation at San Angelo, where I got to hook up in an electrical storm in order to try to catch the Mudcat zoom. I think karma was telling me I will have to plan ahead much better. I would like 1 brownie point for trying and will accept 2 demerits for failing.

It has been a weird couple of months, for every great experience there was a letdown. Meanwhile another 'it's not usually this cold' freezing month in New Mexico wore on my patience. Worse wind and dust storms than usual, too many 25 degree nights.

In pursuing mineral-hunting, I acquired several flats worth of rough, and a rock splitter, etc. So clutter is mounting, and I cannot wait to get to my storage unit to get winter things out of the coach. Cannot wait to go find a home base to give collection-and-hobby clutter a home, and stop rolling for a while.

Meanwhile, I can catch a meeting of the N.O. Quarter Shanty Krewe this week, sing some shanties with them, if I can get to New Orleans tomorrow, so that's the immediate plan. Today I am filling the fresh water tank, washing lots of stuff, oiling the splitter, and enjoying a spring day in Louisiana, green trees as far as the eye can see. Was a little startled to wake to a chorus of many different birds this morning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 04:37 PM

Whoops the San Angelo disaster was the previous day, had to leave Kimball Bend for Toledo Bend, 300 mile jump. Just made it in time to register, too. They now have it where if you show up in time you can get a senior discount, but if you have to pay your balance online it's full fare. Another 'gotcha' the camping 'system' seems to be filling up with.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 08:21 PM

"What salt does is make your entire cardiovascular system become less pliant and elastic and literally hardens and stiffens every artery and vein."

I'd like to see the evidence for this. The big deal on salt in the diet is as follows, and I'm fully aware that this is not quite in the spirit of the thread, though I do think that broad-brush and potentially misleading statements deserve to be addressed:

Lots of foods contain added salt. Stuff such as bacon, sausages, burgers and cheese, even bread, can be high in salt. Processed foods and ready meals are prime culprits, as salt is used to mask the fact that low-quality, cheap ingredients are used.

I'm a big fan of Italian cookery, and that means using high-quality ingredients that have plenty of intrinsic flavour. There's a world of difference, for example, between cheap hothouse tomatoes and the very best that the best growers can produce, and the price difference can be quite small. You just have to be savvy about what you're looking for, that's all. If you use good ingredients, you need use far less salt. Most of my cooking is very simple with fresh, unprocessed ingredients. I know what salt I'm adding but I don't delude myself. I made a risotto last night that contained about 50g pancetta (for three people) and a good dose of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Two salty ingredients. The vegetables therein, nil salt. The extra salt added, nil. No-one was complaining!

One other thing, with regard to the broad-brush statement I started this post with: the evidence for harm caused by salt intake above the recommended level (it's 6g per day in the UK) is very conflicting. It's possible that you as an individual might be aware of specific adverse effects on you, apropos of high blood pressure, for example. Two things there: other factors may be contributing to that, and salt may not be the worst of them and you wouldn't know. Second, lots of people tolerate inadvisably high salt levels very well. I read a study many years ago (don't ask me where, because I can't remember) that concluded that four out of five people handle excess salt very well. Of course, who knows whether you're one of them, and Russian Roulette could be not necessarily the best way forward.

I'm not arguing against the precautionary principle here. In fact, I'm extremely vigilant about my own salt intake as my blood pressure tends to the high side of normal. But, as ever, broad-brush doesn't cut it with me. I tend always to look for the real science.

I bought a blood pressure machine a year ago that came highly recommended for its accuracy. I'm not exactly over the moon about my readings but I won't worry as long as they don't skyrocket.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:12 PM

I won't be doing much lurking for a few weeks, but will pop in if I can.

Tomorrow morning we are off in our little caravan - travel trailer - for three weeks to Canberra, about 700 kms south. I don't know what that is in miles, you will have to look it up. Lots, anyway. Our older son lives there as does The One And Only Grandkid so we will spend some time with them, but the main reason for a trip at this time of year is to attend the National Folk Festival. There are other musical happenings to take in during our trip - it will be a lot of fun!

Once I finish the coffee currently being slurped I will start thinking about packing important Stuff. Ukulele.....knitting for in the car (Himself will be driving).....hand sewing for the TV-less evenings, no TV in our van.....tablet with lots of books.....and some clothes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:46 PM

Hi, Steve! Nice to see you in these parts again.

As we age, our olfactory senses change and foods we liked when we were younger lose their appeal. Many people try to fix this problem with salt and sugar, but primarily salt. Hence, salt consumption tends to increase with age, along with all kinds of health problems that may or may not be related to sodium intake. It’s notoriously difficult to tease out the various lifestyle factors that give rise to particular ailments, so salt gets the blame for lots of highly complex ailments. Sure, it may well contribute to high blood pressure, but how much? And what about all the other contributing factors? In any circulatory or cardiac issue, there are lots and lots, and more than a few are still mysterious.

Me, I like to eat different things now I’m officially old. Hot sauce, for example. I never liked it when I was younger, but I do now. A touch (or more) of vinegar in a stew or a soup lifts the flavour much more effectively than yet more salt. Likewise, a squeeze of lemon juice livens up a chicken cutlet or a pork chop.

The basement puddle is less bad, but not yet conquered — the rain continues and the ground water is still rising. I have now vacuumed up about four filthy litres.

I drove to London today with another load of books for Goodwill (6.5 cubic feet this time), and made a point of checking out the state of the countryside on the way. Soggy, in a word. Downright water-logged, in fact. Acres and acres with great expanses of last year’s stubble poking up through the water looked more like rice paddies than cornfields.

Ah, well, it’s only the beginning of April. No point in worrying until it still looks like that on Victoria Day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:51 PM

Darn, Patty! You were nearby. I have a couple of close friends in San Angelo, but haven't been there in years. I'm sorry to read that the weather has not cooperated with your setup. Where did you do your mineral hunting? Is this rockhound activity at places like Rockhound State Park, or is it purchasing at the gem and mineral shows in Arizona - is it in Yuma? Quartzite? Tucson?

Steve, I'm anticipating being told that I need to watch my salt intake. Time passes and the blood pressure seems to be more vulnerable to the excess sodium. Medication choices can be made if you're willing to follow guidelines that make choice possible. My brother encountered this already so I'm not surprised. I also realized recently that I had an array of particularly salty snacks around here that were adding up to a pretty hefty dose each week.

Charmion, I agree about the vinegar and lemon. More often than not when making soup or bean dishes I'll add a little vinegar. Hot sauce - I love it on so many things, in particular omelettes and scrambled eggs, and many types of Mexican food. Foods I really like now that I tended to avoid as a kid and young adult are things like bell peppers and hot peppers. I can't get enough of them now.

Garden work tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 04:29 AM

I dislike an overtly salty taste in food. I made some of Marcella's winter meatballs for last night (though we didn't have it with her roasted cabbage, just some tangy tomato sauce and home-made bread). The meatballs contain a small amount of pancetta and some Parmesan, both salty ingredients. She adds salt, but I was very judicious about that. With good minced (ground?) steak you hardly need to add extra salt as there's plenty of good beefy flavour in there. If I make home-made burgers for the barbie I just make the patties out of pure beef, nothing at all added. My bread contains 5g salt in a 500g loaf. There was a piece in a consumer magazine here last week which informed us that some bread, even from reputable sources, contains as much as a gram of salt per slice. The equivalent in my home-made loaf to that would be around three times as much as I use. A hearty ham sandwich with mayo made with shop bread would easily reach or even exceed that daily 6g limit, and that's just lunch...

I have a weakness for strong mints when I'm driving any distance, so I buy those little tins of tiny extra-strong ones, perky enough to make you sneeze. That way the sugar-calorie damage is limited. We don't eat desserts unless we have people staying. Unlike some people round here I don't have a chocolate fetish, though a binge three or four times a year isn't impossible...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 04:40 AM

...And artificial sweeteners can play havoc with my guts, especially Stevia, which converts my stomach into a cement mixer, so no sugar-free sweeties for me!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 07:50 AM

I love those “curiously strong” mints, too. My husband introduced me to them; easily sedated by long-haul driving, he used them to shock himself back to awareness, and we always had a couple of tins in the glove box.

I don’t doze on the road like Edmund, but the mints are still a fixture.

Sunshine in Stratford this morning, but the puddle around the furnace is reaching for pond-like proportions. I know what I’m doing after church.

More rain in the forecast all the way to Thursday. My back gets tired just thinking about it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 08:28 AM

Did lots of low-sodium cooking during hubby's illness.   Bread definitely is a culprit, and classic foods which rely on salt for flavor. Had to start making our own bread, and focus on flavorful things which don't rely on salt so much. It also helped to get plenty of potassium in the diet.

But, if you're 'normal' I can't see making a big deal out of it, except the usual need to be careful around over-processed, over-salted foods. Seems to me that an attempt to 'eat clean' will often take care of the excess sodium problem in itself.

SRS, this year I did some field collecting in the Chocolate Mountains near Yuma, and some near Deming but not at Rockhound Park; one can almost never get a site there any more since online reservations are a thing. But also acquired quite a few pieces at meetings and conferences of micro-mineral collectors. There is a lot of free and $1 stuff to be had by simply showing up and participating.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 09:59 AM

I like homemade bread, but mostly these days I buy loaves of multi-grain bread at Aldi and Trader Joe's that go into the freezer so I can use a slice or two at a time. I'll put my homemade bread recipe through the MyFitnessPal app and compare sodium. I agree with those who caution about processed foods - by eliminating the salty processed foods and snacks I'll probably be at a good level without jumping through any more hoops. This is about weighing my options - reduce sodium to keep blood pressure normal so I can take the ADHD meds. I like the quieter world the new Rx brings - and am willing to work to keep it. In the process, it's healthier in the long run.

Patty, what do you do with the minerals? Do you have a type you collect? (And you know that for someone with limited space in the RV, rocks are one the heavier hobby items to pick accumulate. Have you ever read Steinbeck's Travels With Charley? He had way too many books in that pickup camper.) I worked for a geologist in college who had an impressive collection of selenite (related to gypsum). I spent a couple of years in that geology lab with a big part of the job to organize the student sample trays. Drawers contained 3 trays - igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic. I kept extra samples on top of the cabinet because the more pretty pieces tended to go walkabout - I found I could sit at the drawer level and reach to the top and simply feel the minerals and know I had the right one by shape and weight. Pop it into the tray and move on. I have a lot of beads here to eventually get back to making jewelry.

Cat sitting this week has me out early in the morning. I like the idea of being a morning person but I rarely achieve it without work-type responsibilities making me get up earlier.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 10:29 AM

I can devour mounds of cheese in a sitting. Not great for salt avoidance... I mitigate the issue by devouring cheese with Matzo crackers. They are a blank canvas for cheese, they contain no salt or added fat and each cracker is 18 calories. And, most importantly, they are my favourite thing to go with any cheese.

We use only unsalted butter these days too. Normal salted butter can contain 2g of salt in 100 g. Wow. I suppose that those butter-substitute spreads are similar. I wouldn't know. They are strictly banned from our house, as is anything that says low-fat or reduced fat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 12:18 AM

I pulled up some of my favorite cheeses on MyFitnessPal - there will be days when I exceed my planned sodium level. I hope that removing the snacks is enough, and the occasional sausage or cheese won't send me into a tailspin.

Another item listed on eBay. It seems my little 10-year-old digital camera has held its value pretty well, and I'm including extra stuff (batteries, a memory card, a cable and case). eBay has over the years stopped forcing people to relist things and simply automates the process, so it's possible to list and forget. Sometimes it's a surprise when something sells after ages of being overlooked. I hope this goes much faster than that.

I won't lie - while there are important things I'm waiting for (such as if my tax return is accepted), what I really am waiting for is Tuesday afternoon, like everyone else who despises Trump. I'll be working on things around here, but when it gets close to his arrest, I'm gonna watch, hoping news cameras are close-by to catch all of the details. It will be an exciting week this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 05:42 AM

I seem to be using my iPhone to take most photos these days (I recently upgraded - rare for me! - to an iPhone 13 mini) but I also have a little Canon Ixus 285HS (in lurid purple!) which I can use for anything that needs me to optically zoom in and and out, including videos, and it's very good (for me anyway - I'm not up for lugging heavy gear around with me). It has wifi and I can transfer photos easily and losslessly to my iPad, thence Cloud, via Canon's Camera Connect app. The app is a bit clunky but it does the trick.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 08:42 AM

The little Canon uses a cable (or the card itself inserted into the card reader slot on the computer). There are reasons why using an actual camera instead of a phone for photos and video is much easier. The lens, to start with. It actually has one that moves.

Hoping the wet weather has passed for a few days because the lawn is again tall and moist and must be mowed this afternoon. And more garden work. And . . . so much. Must make a list to prioritize.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 03:27 PM

I did a little decluttering over to the MOAB thread - really off topic stuff here always fits in perfectly there. :)

The SUV annual inspection was this morning, it passed, but soon I'm going to need new tires. Gone are the days when you can have the car reshod for $100 a tire. As I wait for the tax refund it feels like the devices and appliances are beginning to stir - which one is going to need to be replaced once the refund hits the bank? The SUV appears to be the front-runner.

An unusual mix of stuff went to the curb for trash pickup today, including the ancient phone connectors pulled off of the back of the house last month. Now I need to burn some trash in the backyard - more papers I don't want to fool with shredding.

At the gym this morning I was listening to Gaiman & Pratchett's Good Omens for what must be the third or fourth time, and I always hear new things each time I go through it. I think good books are what keep me on the recumbent bike or the treadmill for a full hour. There are TVs all over the place but it's too much trouble to try to find a channel you can watch and then get the sound into headphones. Though I'm not really a morning person, it is clear that there are more women my age at the gym mid-morning, so for a more social experience I should plan to start going in at this earlier time. Talking to people while I'm there shouldn't be a novelty; older women tend to be invisible to much of the world, but we see each other.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 08:01 PM

I filled and started the hot tub and replaced our street light bulb today. I did a car full delivery of bolts of cloth for the Linus Project. ho hum

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 09:19 PM

That's on topic. A car full of bolts of fabric? What brought them all to your house? Sounds like there is a story of a hobby or business there.

Today was warm enough (up to 92^o) that the ceiling fans can start running; must get out the long duster thing and go over the blades of all of them (there are seven fans throughout the house).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 05:40 AM

I had to dismantle the metal skeleton of an old garden gazebo yesterday. Dozens of little bolts to undo, and every bolt removed risked a heap of scrap metal collapsing on to me. I managed it unscathed, so now I have to take the stack of scrap metal to the tip. I'm sitting here wondering whether it'll fit in my car. Have faith...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:13 AM

Sounds like a good project. Did you originally install the gazebo? Was this a chance to revisit your earlier self?

I took the weed wacker to the edges of the raised bed garden yesterday and today will do more work to dig around the perimeter (and reposition the corner bricks so the boards stay in place). And I still have to work on the potted plants - some will come back automatically, others need assistance.

Not as warm today, only into the low 80s. I pulled a couple of blankets off of the bed last night so it's time to give them a run through the laundry then put them away for the season. And as a recent New Yorker cartoon showed, spring cleaning means moving the heavier garments off of the chair in the bedroom and piling on a few lighter garments instead. :)

I am so looking forward to the new lens - today or tomorrow - it is feeling like getting a new camera to have the big one back in full operation.

There are several small sets of tools and gear sitting out on the kitchen counter. Perhaps today I'll finish the tasks they're associated with and put the tools back where they belong.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:30 AM

Torrential rain in Stratford last night = an hour’s work with the Shop Vac this morning, and again tonight before bed.

Anecdote from coffee hour at church: A middle-aged couple from Toronto are house-hunting in Perth County. “Is this a dry basement?” asks the husband as he explores the furnace room. “Oh, yes, very dry. Never a problem,” replies the selling agent. Husband shines his flashlight on the access to the furnace filter. “Soooo … Why is the furnace up on legs?” Selling agent has no idea, none at all.

The young lad in the hardware section at Canadian Tire told me that they’ve sold out of wet-dry vacuums twice already this spring.

It’s Holy Week, which means lots of work for the Catholic and Anglican church musicians. I’m already tired, and we haven’t even started the drive from foot-washing on Maundy Thursday through Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday to the blast of allelulias on Sunday. I can hold pitch while chanting psalms and I’m a fast learner who doesn’t fuss, so I’m the cantor. Here’s hoping I don’t cough at exactly the wrong moment, as is my wont.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:30 AM

It was one of those that we were supposed to put up only when needed, but in practice we just put it up at the start of each summer and left it there until maybe late September. I made sure it couldn't blow away in a gale by improvising all manner of hefty metal pegging-down at the corners. That worked well, but when we started to take it down last autumn we found that most of the fabric was getting past its best. I took all the fabric to the tip but have only just got round to shifting the frame. It was lovely to sit in there of a summer's evening after the barbie with a glass or two, listening to Joanie or Carly on my UE Boom 2 speakers (we have no neighbours), so we've replaced it with what should be a much easier beast to handle, a Berghaus air shelter that has four corner "posts" that you blow up with a single pumping point (pump provided) and which can be let down in a trice. We haven't tried it yet. I'm filled with trepidation.

Somebody told me that Joanie has ditched Spotify...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 06:31 PM

The front lawn has been mowed and I used the weed popper to remove a bunch of tough thistles, dandelions, dandelion-type plants (all in the Aster/Compositae family), and some Queen Anne's Lace. I have a sprayer on order to test with my new stronger vinegar mix on the rest of the tender weeds in the dormant lawn.

Apparently Tatume squash (aka calabasa/calabash, or gray squash) is less impacted by squash bugs, so I picked up a seed pack of that one today. I'll plant several varieties and see how they do. I've set up soil-filled pots the potting table and need to get several things started now.

The backyard will get mowed tomorrow; it is tall again and quite moist, so it's a struggle to push the mower through it. Before I mow again I'll clean out the mower air filter, carburetor, etc. because it's running a little rough.

I've restocked a few containers with unsalted nuts and dried fruits. There are still things to weed out and give away or just use sparingly. Most of the butter has salt but it can stay in the freezer for baking uses and I'll get some unsalted. It takes some getting used to, but I don't want to give up butter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 06:44 PM

Enjoying the lovely cordiality of people in Louisiana, you can't beat it, even when it's not carnival season. Had a great chantey sing with the Krewe.

However, was petrified not only of driving and parking near the Quarter, but of coming out unscathed. Took quite a while to find a long stretch of curb to park the motorhome on narrow one-way streets, then hiked over to the great music shop, stopped back to drop off CDs and go to the sing. In that time, someone had smashed out the window in the high-end jeep right across the street. Yikes. Glad I had the steering wheel lock to use, and hoping my window was just too high to fool with. It's a shame when you have to risk life and property to go to a sing.

Yes, I do realize rocks are heavy! That's why I collect micromounts, tiny mounted samples which let you see the crystal structure under the    microscope. There's another category "thumbnails" which are fine to see with the naked eye, slightly larger, have a few of those.

I think my favorites are the copper minerals, so many of them and so beautiful; dioptase, brochantite, etc. But, they're all good! Snagged a little gypsum from a roadcut near Roswell, but haven't 'scoped it out' yet. Usually if there are no vugs, there are no micros.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 10:08 PM

Interesting! I have a friend here who collects something similar, micro slices of meteorites, and within that category there is a specific type that he goes for. He also has some very tiny pieces; all of it would fit in a shoe box, but he keeps it in a pretty antique glass-front cabinet. I'm aware about the shape of crystals being unaffected by size; years ago I led tours in the Mammoth Cave area in one of the formation caves just outside the park boundary. In particular I learned a lot about crystals when I was researching helictites, but there were lots of other shapes and mineral variations.

Regarding the proportional shapes of minerals, it was apparent in the cave, and every so often I'd have someone with vision problems on the tour.

One boy I remember in particular, he had a form of near-sightedness that apparently wasn't corrected by glasses and he brought a dim flashlight and was trying to look at the big formations; once I knew his situation I handed him my little bright spare flashlight and told him I'd point out some of my favorite tiny formations on the walls close by our path, that they are proportionately identical to the big ones 30 feet up on the ceiling. I was a trained NPS Interpretive Naturalist working in a commercial cave, so my tours were entertaining but also factual, and with each group it could change according to their interests. When you work in a private cave like that, you earn tips. The college-age kids who worked there would give a story at the end about working their way through college to get tips. My approach was to be conspicuously good at my job, and frankly, any tour that had someone with special needs was great for me. Without being obvious, but still the group knew, I would keep them beside me so I could seamlessly build in extra stops for those people, or use some trick or other to get them past any difficult spots (fear of heights, etc.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Apr 23 - 12:36 PM

Back to the mundane:

My plan to go out for groceries has collided with reality: a massive thunderstorm just rolled into town. No, I wouldn’t melt if rained on in the supermarket parking lot, but on the whole — since I can — I think I’ll just wait it out here at home. The freezer offers a fine array of comestibles and I can get along till tomorrow without milk, eggs and oranges.

The carpenter will soon arrive to install the new shower curtain rod. If he also brings those little peg things cupboard shelves sit on, I can put the refurbished bathroom back into commission today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Apr 23 - 05:28 PM

Beaver:

WELL! Where have I been? Avoiding using too much internet... I empathize with Charmion's need to use the shop vac for her flooding - I once had to do that after the fools in our municipality (in PA) allowed a development up the hill - All the trees and shrubs and anything else useful GONE! also the owl I loved to hear! And, the next big rain I was in the cellar desperately using the shop vac to suck up water, then lifting it over the laundry tub to empty.... Gave up and phoned my bro who was 30 minutes away - HELP!! HE went to a plumber he knew, obtained a sump pump and installed it - at 10:30 pm! He was a GOOD brother. And had Great neighbours! Thinking of you Charmion! Hope it will soon be remedied!

Here at Beaver, I have managed to find some energy and throw about half as many bowls as I was hoping. But the Kiln is repaired and the firing was good. AND, I will inform the guy who wants more, more, more bowls - I will only do what I can! It was becoming too stressful and not fun anymore! So, find energy = while I have electric - It has been off and on today - our version of Charmion's storm. But up here, every twig is covered with ice -still at 5 pm! Even though the temp is above freezing.

The water in the babbling brook is about 30 feet wide! My big thing has been watching the front - that water did not get close to front door - well - I had about 18 inches leeway! Did NOT want to have to replace the K floor again! Esp since the wonderful Dan seems to have more work than he can manage!

So, need to trim a few more bowls while I have electric. and, in the am, go to chiropractor I was supposed to see this am; Phoned and said "Do I dare come out?" He said NO. I would not even try to walk to the car. Then back to QC.

Read several books.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Apr 23 - 06:54 PM

I hauled the six-foot folding table up two flights of stairs (basement to kitchen to library-cum-music room) this afternoon to provide a work surface for sorting choir music and packing Goodwill-bound books. I must be stronger than I thought because I did it easily, without straining my back in the slightest. The damn thing is awkward more than it is heavy. Useful, though. I might just leave it upstairs and get another one — they run about $100 at Canadian Tire — for patio dinners.

Hmmm, barbecue. I can actually imagine myself inviting half a dozen people over for barbecue on the patio. I guess I’m finally settling into the new normal.

Easter weekend is supposed to be sunny and dry, so maybe my personal basement fountain will cease operations and let me off Shop Vac duty. Lord, but that thing is loud.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Apr 23 - 11:24 PM

Those folding tables are incredibly handy. I have one here from my Dad's house - a friend had asked if she could keep it, but I knew I had uses, and in fact, it has constantly been set up for some use or other over the past 20+ years. Now it's the cutting surface in my sewing studio.

I dropped my phone today and cracked the glass protective cover. I have a couple of extra covers (you can never buy just one), but before I replace it I'm getting a more robust case. I used to use the heavy duty Ballistic cases but they haven't made them for my last couple of phones. I don't intend to declutter myself of this phone for a long time. (How can people stand the fuss of setting up a new phone every time the next model comes out? Pain in the backside!)

The new camera lens arrived, and will work perfectly. It's lightweight compared to lenses from 10-15 years ago, but it will do the job so I can get back to my eBay listings.

This week has seen a lot of trips for cat sitting - it ends tomorrow evening. I have another week coming up late in April and again in June.

Snow and ice and rain are things of the recent past. Rain and tornadoes are what we watch for now. Stay safe everyone, whatever your weather!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Apr 23 - 12:20 PM

The USPS is pricing itself out of business as far as my post office box, now up to $248 a year. For less than half of that I can buy a sturdy locking mailbox to mount on the wall where my current old house mailbox is. And since it has been ages since I used my card and was asked to punch in my zip code at a gas pump, I think the days of the separate zip code from the house address are over. I'll pay this year then spend the next 12 months making sure that everything important that arrives at the PO box is notified of the change. I've lost a number of things over the years when people didn't notice and sent parcels to previous addresses. The box holders don't feel obligated to return to sender (I do, but I'm in the minority). It'll need enough room to put magazines in through the top but so someone can't open the top and reach in to extract mail. I get enough small parcels in the mail that I'd like them to go into the box most of the time.

Dorothy, I hope the water stays below the level of the house! And I saw a photo you posted on FB of the roadways near your Dupont house. Was that taken from a plane or a drone? Good story about the quick install of the sump. I kept the old sump from my last heat pump; they installed a new one. I've been meaning to list it on one of the freecycle sites.

I made a batch of falafel yesterday, it came out great, and I'll put the leftover balls in the toaster oven to crisp up before eating. There's a batch of tahini sauce as well. I have pita bread in the freezer and all of the fixings for sandwiches. This is part of my effort to get more protein in the diet and not just through more meat consumption. I regularly have red kidney beans, but go in spurts cooking with chick peas and lentils.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Apr 23 - 01:42 PM

Red beans:

Louis Armstrong used to sign with the inscription
"Red Beans And Rice-ly Yours."

Of course, his red beans and rice
was probably loaded with ham hocks and the like . . .

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 12:33 AM

I have my fingers crossed that my "normal" cooking routine can continue if I just cut out the salty snacks. Ham hocks are important to good bean recipes. And I need my occasional BLT sandwiches. But for now, I'm tracking the amount of sodium.

My dogs will be ecstatic tomorrow morning because the next door neighbors returned today from their 10 day cruise (plus 2 days of travel to and from Galveston). Every morning before dawn my now 80-year-old neighbor gets up, turns on his kitchen light, puts in his hearing aids, and then hears my dogs barking. They are out in the yard way-early and have seen that light and know Cecil is up. Bark bark bark (an intermittent bark, but still, noticeable). So Cecil heads out to the fence between our yards and gives each dog a treat. Just once a day, they know not to bark for treats the rest of the day.

He asked years ago if he could do this with the first two dogs I had, Cinnamon and Poppy. They love dogs, but travel a lot so have never had any of their own. Prior to my buying this house the renters had a couple of dalmations, and he had that routine in place then, so continued it with these guys. Now five dogs later, they live and breathe for that pre-dawn treat. When the weather is bad, his wife and I communicate to make sure he doesn't go out in ice, etc. And sometimes I cover the dog door until it seems safe and then text him that the dogs are out. But we know that he and the dogs have this food-over-the-back-fence bond that is very strong, so do what we can to make it work. Stopping to think about this - I've had dogs for 18 years, so he was much younger when all of this started. Who knows - maybe this tradition is keeping him young. :)

The next few days will be cool but trending warmer, so I will be mowing and doing some garden work in the afternoons. Mornings would be well-spent picking up around the house. And I still need to set out the live trap for the anole who is chirping from my stone fireplace. He's kinda getting on my nerves (this is his second year in there - I think he returns every spring). I say "anole who" instead of "anole that is" because it feels like a personality and we have a relationship. He's a "who," not an "it," if you make that distinction.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 05:17 AM

Trivia time: we don't have anole lizards in the UK but millions of telly-watchers are unknowingly familiar with one, namely Harry the lizard in Death In Paradise, who's a leopard anole. Sadly, he's merely a digital reconstruction of one, as that way he can be made to behave just as the director wants him to!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 08:58 AM

The rain has finally stopped in Perth County, but my furnace room floor is flooded again.

Hmmmm.

It’s a forced-air furnace, so it has a pump that sends water that condenses out of the air through a plastic tube to the washtub. What if the water on the floor is condensate?

I plugged the washtub yesterday, and this morning the furnace room floor is wet but the washtub is dry as a bone.

So, after church today I shall head to the basement with a large bucket and a screwdriver. The outlet from the furnace can go into the bucket until I can get the HVAC technicians in. Which will be as soon as possible next week.

This sort of thing never happens in an ordinary week. Holy Week, or Passover, or Eid-al-Fitr — bet on it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 11:28 AM

Charmion, did this occur to you as you were going to sleep, puzzling over the water? The old plugged drain line problem! Air conditioners/heat pumps have them and sometimes algae builds up and then they do the same thing as your furnace (I've seen it here over the years). Any way you can simply blow out the line on your own? Once the plumber showed me how I could clear it myself (and I had him build a little access piece into the drain so I could pour in bleach periodically to prevent it.)

Sometimes I have to do the old "start in the corner and work outward" trick to get myself going, and this morning that's how I approached the kitchen clutter. Around the sink now looks good and through the day I'll proceed to clear off the rest of the stuff that doesn't belong there. I also need to find a space for healthy snacks that has them in view. That may require repositioning things on the two side-by-side wooden baker's racks that sit behind the small kitchen table. Right now they're blocked by the tea cart that was moved to accommodate the old Labrador retriever (that concession to the dog has made travel through the kitchen much safer).

I ordered a new phone case but forgot to look into the wireless charging through it before placing the order - just now pulled it up online - nope. That may be a deal-breaker. It all depends on how much work to pop it out of the case for charging (or returning to using a cable).

The morning air smells of new mown grass, now that the neighbors are back. Catching up also means the trip to the fence to see the dogs this morning. All is right in the world, here at our end of the street.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 03:24 PM

The lines are okay but the pump is dead, Stilly, singing with the choir invisible. It’s not merely kipping on its back.

I had plans to visit Edmund’s sisters and the niblings this weekend, but that’s not possible — I have a five-gallon bucket to dump every 12 hours.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 06:06 PM

It probably wouldn't be practical to send you my old sump pump, mentioned earlier. We've gone full circle here!

Headed to an evening garden party with several jars of pickled okra (I have a lot to give away still). The liquid boiled off more than usual during processing, something unusual, but I think they're fine even if there is 2" of headroom instead of 1/2 inch. It might impact how much "pickle" is in the top half of the jar. (I Googled it - they should be fine.)

The next few days should be lovely, a little warmer, and a low chance of rain.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 08:46 PM

To be honest, I’m hugely grateful that my water problem is a furnace peripheral and not seepage of ground water. A new condensate pump will run me a coupla hundred bucks plus a service call, maybe two. Correcting drainage problems causing a wet basement? Thousands — no, tens of thousands. On a good day.

Primroses are blooming in my garden today. I feel better already.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Apr 23 - 10:44 PM

The appliances and motor vehicle can stand down: the IRS detected a math error (the Social Security tax form is a bugger - damn Ronald Reagan for deciding that retirees should pay any taxes on SS. The calculation of what percentage is an opaque formula). The recalculation wipes out a refund and will instead cost me $14.02. So, no windfall to replace anything. If you breakdown, you're on your own.

The evening gathering was nice, several friends were there, and we stopped to see another friend who lives a few blocks away on the way home. We could have meandered through that neighborhood and seen several past colleagues, but that is for another day when they all know we're stopping by.

A pleasant spring weekend is ahead, and unencumbered by any religious beliefs, it will be a weekend like any other. My across-the-street neighbor always says that you shouldn't plant your tomatoes until after Easter, so I should be getting the beds ready for all of my planting in the next week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Apr 23 - 12:03 AM

Dupont:

Nothing blooming here yet. I was looking through old photos on phone and see the crocuses in the south yard were in bloom this date two other years - maybe tomorrow! The snow is mostly gone in that area.

The bridge photo was provided by the man who admins the FB page to keep us aware of traffic/problems/closures/detours... Chateauguay is a BR community for Montreal- lots of traffic!

Our home is about ten minutes from the south-west branch in the pic. We are high enough from the VERY full river not to worry.

Recovering from yesterday's trip but we went to the music tonight - mainly 3 fiddles! Otherwise a mostly do nothing day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Apr 23 - 04:42 PM

I've left a few postit notes for myself for things to fix (in lieu of a list) and a couple have been solved. Finally I got the laptop computer to operate on the battery (I probably had a dozen browser windows open on the desktop before settling on the advice to follow). The old battery was replaced and the new one had the same problem. I'm not worried that I discarded a good battery for the new one - the original battery was 10 years old.

Motivating myself to start the next fence panel - there are pickets ready to fall off of the existing fence so I have to do it this year. I'll start painting on the wood preservative and be ready to go soon.

Digging garden beds - there are so many I have to choose a spot and just get started. There was some inspiration in the yards I visited yesterday, they were gorgeous.

Cleaning the fridge. Something I should do regularly.

These are for this afternoon. I won't necessarily get more than a portion of the gardening done, but it will be a start.

My disappointment today is deciding to cut back on tea and limit myself to a cup in the morning. Last week it was salt. Doing things that are good for me one step at a time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Apr 23 - 07:00 PM

Charmion talks on this thread about her choral concert outfit.
My chorus has a concert coming up June 4, and we have to wear concert blacks.
This is the opposite of declutter, I think, because I'm acquiring stuff.
Anyway, I found a black dress with a peasant style, tiered skirt, fairly flattering.
The new shoes are going to work.
They are a half size larger than I normally wear.
But this way they will be more comfortable for standing;
the Brahms German Requiem goes on for about seventy minutes,
and the chorus is standing for much of that time.
Now I just have to take care of legwear.
I'm going to see about a pair of black leggings,
and I can wear knee-high hose with those.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Apr 23 - 07:38 PM

That's quite a long time to be there, Keb! Do be as comfortable as possible! How many of you are there? Will it be in German or a translation? In YouTube I see the searches people have done on it that have them going to different movements and things like "soprano part" and "alto part." Looks like more people are studying it than simply listening to the most popular movements, these searches don't telegraph anything else to me. And skipping through - it isn't like the chorus comes in for the final movement - singing almost the entire time is a workout for all of you.

Garage workbench cleared out, I found the missing measuring tape on it. Fence pickets have had the first application of wood preservative. By Monday I may be putting up this next panel. Laundry is in. Part of cleaning the fridge is preparing stuff in there, so beets are finished cooking, diced, and put away, and baby carrots are cooking (to cut up for the dogs on their dry food.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 09:27 AM

I have sung the German Requiem, keb, so I know the challenge. Take a nap, or at least an extended feet-up rest, in the afternoon before the performance. Also, drink lots of water — at least two litres — between getting up in the morning and late afternoon.

My concert blacks consist of an ankle-length A-line skirt and a vee-necked shirt with three-quarter sleeves; black sneakers and black Thor-lo socks; and black footless tights or LL Bean silk longjohns, depending on the season. I’m never in the front row, so the audience doesn’t get to know about the sneakers, which have orthotic insoles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 09:52 AM

The concert is a Sunday afternoon concert,
so there's that -- we get to recover in the evening.
There are between 80 and 95 of us -- that's a wide variation,
it's just that we have got people missing rehearsals,
which vexes the director, we need everybody learning this music.
We're singing in the original German.

What the YouTube search probably implies is
how many chorus members are faithfully studying the piece
in between rehearsals, in order to learn their parts faster.
SOME of us will know our music on the day.
It's an amateur chorus out in the boondocks,
so it's no wonder we have some slackers
(especially in the bass section for some reason).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 12:58 PM

Basses know they’re scarce and hard to fire, keb, so they tend to lack humility. Tenors are even scarcer but oddly not quite as arrogant, possibly because they are more exposed in even the densest work and they fear being obviously bad. (Fear of being bad in public is a good thing in a musician, by the way.)

The sun is shining in Stratford and my furnace is dripping its condensate into a wide, flattish mixing bowl — the largest vessel I own that the furnace technician could wedge under the outlet. I’m not going anywhere until a new pump is installed as the bowl can hold only about eight hours’ output. Of course, the HVAC firm did not have a pump in stock; that would have been WAY too convenient.

Yes, I called in a furnace technician on Saturday — damn the expense! He had real trouble removing the dead condensate pump because some idiot had super-glued it to the outlet. Likewise, the mare’s nest of wiring connecting it to the furnace panel drew an extended critique on DIY efforts. Promising to bump me to the top of Monday’s priority list, the tech left me with the impression that he had seen worse messes, but not many.

The Easter choral marathon is over for another year, and I’m so tired that I’m a bit wobbly. The congregation loved it all, so we did a good job, but it sure takes a toll. My voice is in good shape and I don’t sound old (for a singer), but the rest of the body is feeling past its use-by date.

So I’ll be studiously idle for the rest of the day. No cleaning, despite the dust cougars under the dining table, no packing of books or moving of furniture. Perhaps a stroll down to the river to see the swans, but that’s it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 09:05 PM

I ran out of wood preservative as I completed the 19th picket, with number 20 being set aside for another time. I think I only need 17 for the panel, but I always have extra for just in case. The garage door is up a couple of inches to let the area air out as it dries.

The back lawn was mowed, with the grass catcher employed to catch enough grass to pile into the compost piles that need to be boosted into action. It always helps them heat up (to break down). Once I had enough for the compost I switched over to the mulch setting. Next I have to hunt around for the hose-end borer that I want to use to aerate around a couple of trees in the back. A quick tour of the greenhouse and garage didn't turn up anything, but I know I used it here when I was trying to save a redbud that got damaged in a windstorm. (This is the "how long ago did I use it and was it in this house" query one has to do sometimes.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 10:03 PM

Dupont:

Exciting day! R and I went down to the Mill to try to sort out some stuff - What to do about the remaining - important and not so important - pottery stuff... Discussion was useful and lowered the importance level - no need to hurry - other than gathering anything I actually need elsewhere.

Then re-visiting the mess resulting from the break in last fall (?). Voices were raised as we misunderstood priorities but finally knuckled down to seeing what is actually there - somewhere in the morass. We found - OH JOY! - my box of Marie Corelli books and 4 more boxes of books, unseen these last 8 or so years PLUS - SUPER YAY!! - my albums! Only have about 40 or so but each is important to me. AND instead of taking them to Broome to "digitize" - or lose, as he has the ones I took him in May! I can try to figure out how to use the machine we bought to change them to CDs or maybe even to computer... So, A VERY GOOD DAY! It was beautifully sunny and warm enough that the building was not uncomfortably dank.

This morning R cleaned out the corner cabinet in the K as something had gotten into popcorn and lentils in plastic bags - not glass jars. It happened while I was away so we believe R left the door open. And a cabinet in the pantry has a hole in the floor allowing egress and the door does not stay closed - Hopefully these two situations are remedied. Thankfully, he can still get down on his knees to jobs like this - I cannot... and get up again!

Yesterday, I cleaned up the surfeit of dust on the second floor. And laundered the bedding and some throw rugs. The rugs were able to dry outside. Hoping to do the first floor dust tomorrow and photograph latest batch of bowls for anxious customer.

Yesterday I also drove down to the bakery (55 minutes each way) for a supply of some of their frozen meals; also added 3 scrumptious looking pastries - total frivol! Not feeling like cooking, or even thinking about what to cook, I thawed a "Turkey in gravy" meal to which I was able to add veggies and cranberry sauce from frozen cranberries, and frozen sweet potato fries cooked in the toaster oven. We split each pastry. one a day.

Will get a third meal from the turkey tomorrow but need to get to produce store for more veggies. Hoping I can still manage after the 3 hours moving stuff at the Mill today. I ache!

Was not willing to brave the stores on this holiday weekend ---Also Chateauguay was in a state of emergency as the storm put the entire town in the dark for at least two days.

Text from 2nd son a short time ago asking if I am OK. ... "Troy Jr is worried" So I phoned #1 son and he had been trying to call and not getting me. Phone never rang and no record... He was concerned about the electric outage. Assured him that 15 years of living off the grid, I was well-prepared - the wood stove, candles, flashlights... And never opened frig or freezer. All is well.

Hope I can move tomorrow!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Apr 23 - 11:34 AM

The effect of reading about all of the stuff at the mill has me wanting to toss all of the extra stuff around the house. It sounds like Beaver has the essentials and works well, and all of the rest of the locations are for the management of the overflow. I think you've inspired me to get moving aggressively on the eBay stuff.

I hope they're able to fix the furnace pump soon, Charmion. That kind of leak would kill my day, making frequent trips to check on it.

Trash pickup today is getting some of the rusty chicken wire from the compost area. I'm planning to streamline some of the operations around my yard by moving out objects in the way of the mower. The next question is - what about my "yard art" - I have a few totally rusty antique gardening implements, old push mowers and wheelbarrows, that intentionally sit under trees as interesting items on display. There are a couple more in the garage I've meant to move to the front yard (an old wheelbarrow would hold soil and flowers). If I define the beds well and remove obstacles I'm thinking I could have my friend who does lawns periodically mow for me. It isn't cheap, but if I did it a couple of times in the spring it would save me a lot of work (yes, I like the exercise, but there is so much exercise in the spring I must pace myself!)

I need a box of the deck screws to put up the next fence panel and after that I'll get another batch of pickets. Rinse and repeat - there are about five panels needing replacement on that side to finish this project.

The irony of the tax refund reversal struck me as I filled out the debit form to let them collect the tiny payment. Am I really glad that I had to spend $11,000 on a new heat pump last year in order to get a $300 credit on my tax bill so that I only had to pay $14 instead of $314 this year?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Apr 23 - 01:59 PM

The furnace technician just left, and the new condensate pump is chugging away as if nothing was ever amiss in that corner of Gloccamorra. Only the damp patches on the concrete and the lime deposits indicating high water remain to tell the story. Oh, and my tired back.

Dorothy's accounts of accumulated stuff at both the mill and the Dupont house make me want to chuck stuff, too. I have the great advantage of an imminent church variety sale, for which I have a good selection of unneeded, unwanted items that have been lurking in the basement. When I have finished packing and hauling books, that's my next challenge.

The book project will be finished this week, and I hope I can soon get help to shift the bookcases to the garage, whence they will be more easily carted away. Then I can move everything that's left in the library around to more convenient spots, such as sections of the floor where shims are not required to ensure that a bookcase stands straight against the wall.

I just heard a cat vomiting downstairs. Ah, nature.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Apr 23 - 04:30 PM

My path toward finishing a couple of projects has been interesting. I have a pair of crutches that need cutting down for a friend who has osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone) - children's crutches aren't sturdy enough and no one makes strong crutches for short adults. Her husband as a neurological degenerative disorder and is no longer able to cut-down crutches for her, so I'm making an effort to cobble a working pair. This involves the used crutches from Goodwill and the garage workbench, but it is piled with stuff that needs to be put away. So I've gone through some of the junk on nearby shelves to organize or toss or donate. I'm reducing the number of painting materials, tiling materials, hardware leftover from when I put fans in the house. And how on earth did I end up with so many wood chips for the smoker? Several things from the bench have moved to those shelves.

I also found the box I accidentally moved down here from Seattle, the collection of rocks my brother assembled in college working on his geology degree. One of these days if he drives down for a visit I'm going to slip them into the truck. I might keep the beautiful swirly piece of chert with opal he picked up in Eastern Washington.

The air conditioner I bought last summer has window parts and a large rolling part. They have to go somewhere better than "in the way." Since I still have a very old heat pump in the house I need to keep the backup AC for a while longer.

Once I get some of the trash out and other things moved I'll get back to work. Why am I in the house on the computer? Because out in the garage I found the flat storage box with a woman's name on it. It once held a lovely leather wall-hanging of American Indian design and it was going to be tossed when they were clearing a closet at my husband's office. Decades ago. Now I might be able to return it, though I have enjoyed it for all of these years on my own wall in the hall.

I do have stuff going in the trash today, and going onto the shelves. And into the donation box. And I will finish those crutches because I'll be near my friend's house on Wednesday and I want to deliver them to her.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Apr 23 - 10:42 PM

The garage isn't finished but the work area is tolerable. I finished the first crutch, it involved a small pipe cutter and using the drill and the vise part of the small Black & Decker workbench. Following the garage cleaning I have several small plastic bags with a few pieces of floor tile in each. The corner with all of the castoff bits of tile needs clearing but that stuff is too heavy to put in the trash at once. I'll do it piecemeal, a small bag at a time. A bag of trash is sitting in front of the workbench where I am carefully sweeping the slivers of aluminum that drilling produced. Those can be awful as splinters if they aren't discarded right away.

Several huge cardboard boxes are flattened to recycle but they won't go in the SUV until the village bins have been emptied mid-week. There was a box full of the old bedspread and sheet bedding I used to put in the dog houses in the corner of the garage, but they live in the house now and sleep on dog beds so it's all stuffed into a pillowcase to drop off at the Humane Society.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Apr 23 - 11:13 AM

And though I mentioned earlier about putting a box of rocks into my brother's truck, I have been known to mail rocks to people. Not such a heavy batch as that, but still, rocks. And I'm about to mail something almost as heavy, antique beach glass and potsherds picked up on the east coast. Weighs. A. Ton. Relatively speaking for the size it takes up. Good thing Priority Mail boxes are flat rate.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Apr 23 - 10:24 PM

Dupont:

The stuff at the mill MY stuff - is only there because the place is so impossibly disorganized that I have not been able to find the good stuff since it was moved there. I organized my section of the move perfectly, only to have it turned totally backwards and then all manner of stuff placed a round it so I could not find anything or even get near to where I thought things were. R is responsible - but not responsible IMO! "Someone else did it." His employees or tenants: "You are responsible for what they do!" Then. of course, there was the break-in when things were vandalized, tossed about... So Sunday, we actually found those few precious boxes - books and albums. I needed his help moving stuff and still ached fiercely after the 3 hour search. Exhausted by happy to find treasures.

R knows he has too much stuff... Right now there is a stack of boxes of books sitting in the back yard with a tarp over them! Some are moldy and he does not want to put them in the basement library. He pondered using the oxonater, if he had a container - "What about the old frig out there?" This may happen before rain comes.

Today, I went to the mill to get a bucket of glaze I could have brought back last trip... And dug up some dwarf purple iris and a couple other unknown perennials I planted several years ago. They will find new homes here. Then I went to buy a couple items at an organic store - but their electric was off and they, reasonably, were not opening the freezer.

So I started back but decided to check the bakery in St. Antoine - closed! but took Rita (very close by) some tall iris from here and a soap dish to sell with her beautiful soaps. Need to make her more.

Sent customer a video of current bowls; He declared them beautiful and will come by "later in the week" to choose. I spent some time on line looking at other CA potters pricing so I do not charge too little. Keeping in mind this is a bulk order but may lead to more, apparently snd I may be "retired" but do want to be fair to me!

Also researched innards to make the corner K cabinet more efficient. R brought a nice set of SS pots and I need storage space. As in one of those twirly things. Found one and will consult with he who must install. I know SRS could but my body no longer endures ...

Oh, I cleaned the first floor - much improved! And scrubbed the yucky dish drainer - Any water that sits becomes brownish. Ans sometimes stinks of chlorine - a major enemy!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Apr 23 - 10:36 AM

SRS, you deserve the pretty chert/opal as a storage fee over the years! Nice of you to not chuck them, they may be unusual/irreplaceable to him. There are a few I've had to leave along the way I wish I had back.

Visited the storage unit yesterday, swapped out a few summer and winter clothes and shoes, transferred the several flats of rocks to an empty shelf on an old microwave cart, they fit perfectly and I won't need them this summer, til I find a home base.   With my luck, I'll find the perfect home base next month and regret not having them onboard, but, who knows what the summer will bring?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Apr 23 - 11:10 AM

19 million people in the US suffer from hoarding disorders.
Spring cleaning began with the dining room and carport.
I'm using clever tapestries of bookcases etc. to enhance clutter-free areas with the look of real clutter :^/

On to the walk-in closet that I turned into an office I never used.
Back to a closet it goes. I get to use a sledgehammer, yaaa

I did hedging today but Lawn mowing tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 12 Apr 23 - 11:16 AM

Four pairs of new-to-me trousers went to the tailor to be shortened yesterday. Straight-legged jeans with the waistband in the right place are finally back in fashion, so I bought some on eBay for about half the price I would pay at the mall. No driving, either.

I put on about five pounds over the winter -- due, I'm sure, to walking far less than I do when the air doesn't hurt my face and the sidewalk isn't a slip-and-fall hazard. But now the ice has gone, the sun is shining and the daffs are on the brink of bloom, so the time has come to let the cats have the comfy chair.

Neil and Jane across the street put out their birdhouse this morning. Ready or not, it's Spring.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Apr 23 - 11:19 AM

Patty, my brother was a geology major, and I spent two years working as a Geology professor's lab assistant. We were both mountain climbers, and we picked up rocks along the way. If you find it on the way up you can't leave it hoping you'll find it on the way back down because you'll never see it again, so several rocks went up and back.

While seated on the summit of Glacier Peak (in the North Cascades) I randomly picked up a smallish piece of pumice and it rattled around in the top flap pocket of my day pack for ages before I set it aside at home. Maybe an inch across, it was quite airy and had some tiny black crystals - I think a hornblend. Later I happened to be talking to a climbing friend who described a display of the rocks he'd picked up on each climb, but he'd neglected to get one on Glacier Peak. He was considering climbing it again to get a rock so was thrilled when I offered the little piece I had (we were both in the climb that day.) I later saw the display and it was lovely.

Dorothy, good luck with getting Robin to organize his stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Apr 23 - 08:16 PM

Dupont:

I am not responsible for R's stuff! Except to have a hemorage
(sp) when it starts to creep out of control. The LR/DR - The west half of the 1st floor, it fairly sacred - the "Parlor"! IT is lovely - except for the cunningly stuck out of the way (mostly!) ceiling fixtures which may eventually find homes. There is hope for the Kitchen cabinet... Maybe. He approved my idea ...

NOW! the ice is - mostly- off the back deck and there is serious need for new decking... On my mind - how to get this done when he has already asserted "No time this year". And finding someone to do it - Even our friend who runs a superb reno business cannot hire competent workers. R has several major tasks needing immediate attention in his commercial buildings - And one of his two competent staff got tired of waiting and took work elsewhere. R offered to pay him just to keep him around but he needs to be doing! Desperately hoping he will come back soon! Tenants need to move in! (and pay rent)!! So, back porch...

I replanted some of the iris and the "whatever" in the front gardens here. And did some clean up in the small veggie bed out back. Crocuses blooming in front garden and in the "pasture" on the side yard - planted long ago. Coltsfoot also in bloom! And daffies getting there. I shall be delighted when it gets warm enough to put the canna out - after their winter in the hallway with minimal water which seems to have kept them small enough to handle. I could soon (as my energy arrives) put them in large pots in prep for their return to outdoors. A whole bunch of them! Bright yellow!

Looking on Marketplace for a bookshelf for my books - I have a spot in the corner of the den. There is one not too far off - if I can get approval from R for it before it is gone.

Spring!!! A great time for organizing!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Apr 23 - 12:17 PM

Periodically I've sold jeans on eBay, usually something I randomly discover at the thrift store that is in perfect condition and is a name brand, like 501 jeans. You can make a nice profit and still undersell the retail stores. It takes careful measuring to add to the listing or you're peppered with questions from prospective buyers.

The crutches were delivered yesterday and pronounced perfect. We struggled to take the heavy-duty rubber ferrules off of the pair she had been using and put them on the new-to-her crutches; I think that's how I ended up with a kink in my back last night. The microwave heat pad was deployed to good effect at bedtime.

Sounds like a cute little office Don. I know of lots of radio people who during COVID at home work recorded their pieces in closets so the garments could prevent the echo of a larger room sound.

Two friends handed me bags with canning jars yesterday so there are six pints and a jelly jar in the dishwasher that will go back into the empties later today. I give away a lot of glass each year and rely on people to occasionally stumble across a bunch of jars and think of me.

A friend in New York who sells lots of things online has found another source of income - he dug out his smut collection. Not the fungal disease on ears of corn smut, this is the Tom Lehrer usage of the word. I'll be curious to learn how he manages to sell it (when a scan to use for an ad can be just about as good as having the original).

Next month will be another no-spend month after March pretty much blew me out of the water with subscription renewals and human and pet medications and such all landing around the same time. I am still drawing down the 3/4 full freezer and I'm cooking more from scratch to reduce salt levels. My salt-free canned tomatoes will go for pasta sauce for a while. For regular activities, the gym is free to me (Silver Sneakers) and I have a good supply of self-care products and clothes that fit. Seeds for the garden instead of buying bedding plants, etc., they need to be deployed this year. I've started changing addresses so one necessary purchase is the new mailbox. I set my post office box renewal down to six months.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Apr 23 - 08:06 PM

Eight more boxes of books went down the road to the Goodwill bookstore in London today, and tomorrow one 80-cm bookcase will go to live with Serena the Fiddle, who has music all over her studio floor.

With any luck, a second bookcase will soon leave with Mary-Anne the Guitar, whose teenaged son is piling books on his bedroom floor.

Fortunately, the typical Mennonite family van — always black — is great for moving furniture or pretty well anything bigger than a breadbox and smaller than a Buick. I hope Serena is bringing at least her husband and, if I’m really lucky, another strong male person. Then I plan to wheedle them into moving all three bookcases to the garage.

But I’m done hauling boxes for quite a while. My back has had quite enough.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Apr 23 - 12:19 AM

In her teen years my daughter's bedroom reached a point where there wasn't a square foot of exposed floor with all of the paper, books, clothes, and junk. I went to work building a set of cubbies six tall, five across, 15 inches deep and they are each about 13" square. Made of plywood uprights and pegged holes to hold up the shelves, we managed to get her floor completely exposed. Many years later I packed up the contents of the shelves and use it now for my sewing stuff. I had to take one bedroom door off of its hinges to angle it into this room, so it isn't moving again soon.

Yesterday in the Halal grocery I was in the checkout line behind a couple who had loaded up on good ingredients for Ramadan dinners (jug of EV olive oil, lots of veggies, chick peas, lentils, etc.) including a large box of Medjool dates. I have a bunch of dates from one of those boxes now in jars in the fridge. He told me about a favorite snack of theirs - take a date and slice one side to remove the pit, then stuff in a couple of pecan halves. You can reshape the date around the nuts and it's like a nutty candy. I tried it, after warming the date in the microwave for a few seconds. What a wonderful sweet and crunchy snack! If you used salted pecans it would be even better, but I'm going low salt these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Apr 23 - 10:43 AM

My calendar shows several days without volunteer shifts scheduled, temperatures forecast in the 70s, so it looks like in addition to mowing and digging garden beds I'll be putting up the next fence panel, and once the current pickets are up off of the garage floor, shopping for the next set of pickets (and a gallon of wood preservative). I have to move this along because there are a few old pickets almost falling down off the existing fence. (I put that up in 2005, so it has had a good long run. I fixed the fences when my first dog, the charming and whip-smart pitbull Cinnamon, arrived and decided to stay. There is no such thing as a "free dog.") The old fence was Douglas fir or pine pickets, attached with nails. The next iteration of yard fence is treated cedar attached with screws. Hopefully to have an equally long life.

The garage can use more cleaning, and I have 20+ year old pump still in the box that takes up space and I should consider selling, because I don't think I'll ever get around to running a line into the creek to water the yard with it (though that was what the previous homeowners did - I bought a new model of the old rusted pump that was in the yard when I moved in.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Apr 23 - 07:43 PM

The bookcase move is done. One to a new family, two in the garage awaiting disposition.

Now I can clean that side of the library and start shifting stuff around into a more … shall we say … aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Also easier to clean — a non-negligible virtue.

Before too much more time passes, I want that room painted. At present, it is decorated in contrasting shades of aubergine and pale puce.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Apr 23 - 12:12 PM

I've enjoyed having the hall bathroom a bright yellow, but probably should tone it down with a new paint color one of these days. I think it startles people when they walk into it.

A pair of jeans is back in circulation after a patch was applied below a back pocket where a spot was too thin to wear in polite company. I know the trend is to wear holey pants, but I feel no need to advertise the color of my underwear.

Yesterday's run to the post office resulted in quite a haul of stuff that needs address changes, so today's big projects - after I put up the next fence panel I'll buy more pickets and pick up the new mailbox.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Apr 23 - 03:07 PM

Your jeans tale reminds me of an issue I have that I find completely inexplicable. I have two identical pairs of shorts that I bought from Mountain Warehouse at the same time several years ago. They're the only pants* I wear routinely, in rotation every washing interval. One pair is completely fine, but the zip on the other pair simply will not stay up. I've been caught out once in polite company and twice in public in the last week. As they refuse to wear out they have now been relegated to gardening use only (we have no neighbours).

*Pandering there to American usage of the word. I do not refer to my underwear on Mudcat...

:-)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Apr 23 - 07:09 PM

Steve, a safety pin will keep a non-compliant zipper in place for as long as you need to pop out to the shops and buy a replacement zipper. After next washday, take the shorts and the new zipper to your local clothing fixer-upper, who may be calling herself a tailor or an alterations specialist. Bob may not be your uncle, but you have options.

I have spent the entire day cleaning and moving books — that is, the books I intend to keep. The bathroom project left plaster dust throughout the house so it had to be done, but holy moly! According to my Fitbit, I logged 7,364 steps without even leaving the house, just back and forth across the library and up and down the stairs. I am now bushed, and drinking beer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Apr 23 - 08:17 PM

Well, as the shorts cost me twelve quid (special offer), on top of the fact that I bought a job lot at the time, I think I might forgo the expense of a zip repair! The safety pin notion appeals slightly more...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Apr 23 - 10:41 PM

I had a pair split completely down the back seam and was clueless until someone tapped my shoulder in Home Depot. :-( I grabbed one of the nail aprons they sell and wrapped it around behind me.

Another fence panel is up and looks good. It was too late today to make a run for more pickets because there are two places I want to visit in the area but one will be closed soon. A trip tomorrow will be soon enough. Start to finish the panel took probably 90 minutes.

I need to finish a job in the attic but that's tied to a larger rewiring of my home network in the closet. This needs to be finished before hot weather turns the attic into an oven.   

I have stuff from the garage loaded in the SUV for Goodwill, so tomorrow I'll take out the donation bin in the laundry room and make a thrift store run.

It's time to give the floors a good cleaning—sweep, vacuum, and mop. And the dogs will be shedding more soon, so I need to get ahead of it. If I were to hire a housecleaner, it would be to do the floors every couple of weeks. I had a housecleaner years ago who did a great job, mostly floors, but she died and I didn't have the heart to find someone else. Maybe it's time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Apr 23 - 07:20 AM

In Canada, we have yet another of our famous compromises for the pants issue.

“Pants”, as such, are the outer garment, paraded before the world. “Underpants” are the private, personal, intimate garment that no one but the wearer needs to know about.

Likewise, we wear “shirts” and “undershirts”.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Apr 23 - 09:24 AM

I'm a boxer-shorts man and all my boxers are multicoloured. If I ever have to change my trousers in a car park, after a wedding or funeral, say, then paradoxically my cheery boxers would attract far less disapproval from the observing masses than tight-fitting pure white budgie-smugglers, I suspect. One does still try to be discreet, of course.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Apr 23 - 10:46 AM

Martha Stewart Living has lots of ideas out there, not all of them aimed at my income category, but here's one that probably applies to anyone with a house. How to Deep Clean Your Home in a Single Day—Plus, the Hourly Schedule You Need to Get the Job Done. It does miss the office and the front room, but then, both of those rooms are dust repositories that are beyond even Martha.

If deep cleaning is something you need to motivate yourself to do, then getting this done in a day every few months is a good approach. (The cupboards can stay how they are - time saved there. That's one area I organized several years ago and keep tidy.)

For today's running I printed out the two prices for the mailbox and will see if Lowe's will meet the Home Depot price ($5 less). The tarp and gloves are ready for loading pickets, and a trip to the gym is on the list of things to do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Apr 23 - 02:11 PM

Never mind on the running. I compared boxes and narrowed down the "anti-fishing" boxes that prevent people pulling mail out of the slot—it really comes down to one manufacturer. Then to find the best price and size. SO, eBay has one that is $25 less, is new, is the style and color I want to buy, and fingers crossed there can't be much wrong with a steel box they ship. eBay has a money back policy even if the seller doesn't (I am also cautious about a generous return policy - I don't need to pay someone else's shipping so they can try on something and send it back.) Mailboxes are less problematic than vintage electronic items. And a cost-saving note: that CapitalOne Shopping app (a Chrome browser extension) pointed me to the eBay site and gave another $12 in a coupon they shared. So, it's a good deal.

Earworm alert: As I was scrolling through YouTube review and unpacking videos to get a better look at mailboxes, music videos were suggested alongside. Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" is looping through my head now. I love it, but now to shake it loose.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Apr 23 - 09:05 PM

Dupont:

Because life threw a curve. I had meant to go to BEaver on Friday. Had it all organized to pick up clay and keep on going... But the fellow who wants to pick up bowls has not yet appeared. Then the trip to get clay and come back took two harrowing hours. Had I gone straight on, it would have been less trafficky. I was exhausted still yesterday. The clay was meant for Beaver but I had ordered and paid and arranged pick up so the clay will sit in car, along with the unchanged summer tires! Need to get serious about getting that DONE!

While Charmion gets rid of book cases 5 hours away, I am looking for said on Marketplace, hopefully one to be picked up on Tuesday. A beautiful one with doors was deemed too far away... R et al went down to NYS yesterday am and I got a text from... the locale of said cupboard! It had not been arranged and they did not have a truck! Oh well. Hopefully, I can get my books onto shelves on Weds!

Got R to bring the small pottery wheel down to porch and finally got around to using it this afternoon - a few soap dishes and a few small bowls... And rain pending early tomorrow... Currently covered with tarp but if I get up before the rain, I may be able to finish them and get them to safety. The wheel is well covered. A work in progress - in more ways ... But it was nice to sit out on the porch with the birds and the rabbits and squirrels. Shady area.

As for "Deep Cleaning..." I suppose that could include the !@#$%^&* radiators. I have dreams of hiring someone. I look at those things and ... Hire someone! FB page "Chateauguay Chit Chat" might be an asking place. Some people seem to manage it. An "interesting" mix of people - from quite nice to off the wall foolish/silly/idiotic... Like most places.

Now, R's birthday is in 9 days do I am here until then.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:38 AM

Here are some talented folks and this video is engrossing. Building a small house - somewhere in Europe? This "short version" is 25 minutes (scroll down in the notes to find a link to a longer video).

Be mesmerized.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 11:28 AM

I just walked my jar of vanilla-flavored artificial sweetener out to the curb and dropped it in the trash—the first ingredient is a bad one. Darn! I only use it in my smoothies to give a little vanilla and sweetness because the yogurt is pretty tart and cancels out the sweet bananas. Strawberries can use a little sugar also (to my taste, mind you.) I don't use Aspartame (makes me sick) or other big-name artificial sweeteners like Splenda, but a story on NPR this morning talked about a new report regarding an additive called Erythritol, made from corn, that bulks up artificial sweeteners (used in conjunction with several I don't use and with stevia, that I do use. Saccharine seems to be unaffected by this - I use those pink packets in restaurant iced tea.) Used a lot in weight loss or Keto situations, it can cause heart problems. Great. And here's the problem:

Here’s where it gets really tricky. You could be eating foods that contain erythritol and not even know it.

Erythritol falls into the category of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That means long-term safety studies of erythritol aren’t required currently. It also means food companies don’t have to list erythritol on their nutrition labels.

The FDA considers erythritol safe because it’s a naturally occurring compound, Dr. Hazen explains. But the problem is that the quantities it’s used for in foods are much, much higher than what is natural and known to be safe for your body.

While your foods may not state specifically that they contain erythritol, Dr. Hazen adds that it’s commonly found in items like sugar-free varieties of ice cream, candy, gum, cookies, cakes, protein bars and fruit spreads.

I use straight powdered stevia, that's all that is supposedly in the jar. But I need to look into it, learn if they use anything they don't name.

In other news, my little camera sold on eBay. That goes a long way to recouping the cost of the new lens for the big camera. It's not a very big item leaving the house, and it's a wash since a new lens entered, but every little bit helps. There are a few items from the garage cleanup in the trash this morning and it is a delightful space to work in now, so that was the big winner in the last few days.

I still have to clear along the side of the garage and look for a misplaced watering tool since this morning I've realized that a pine in the front yard is dying. The "sick tree treatment" from my organic gardening guru has been known to help them, but I need the water auger to drill holes to aerate out there. It's around here somewhere.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:25 PM

I know Stevia should be fine, but I gurgle for England when I eat any. No Stevia for Steve!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 04:13 PM

Sometimes I wonder if I'm part goat.

My digestion doesn't much care what I run through it as long as I refrain from solid food until after ten o'clock in the morning, and I lay off munching at least two hours before going to bed. All the fake sugars -- aspartame, stevia, and all their friends and relations -- go down just like the real stuff, except that they don't rot my very expensively repaired teeth on the way.

I think I'll just sit here for a few minutes and count my blessings.

Last week was summer hot, and today it's cold and wet. How cold and wet? When I went to a choir board meeting this afternoon, I drove through clumps of actual sleet. On Saturday, I had the air-conditioning on. Today, the furnace is giving a boffo reprise performance of Heating The House.

The daffodils are okay with all of it. Tough guys, those daffs.

This morning's pool class finally ironed out the aches and strains I earned with my Stakhanovite stint of library maintenance on Saturday. I'm also a bit slimmer than I was last week -- some of last winter's flab has already departed.

But I do need to boost my water consumption. Unless I pretty well force myself, I can forget all about it until my throat turns Sahara dry. Should I accessorize every outfit with a water-bottle? Answers on a postcard ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 07:36 PM

this one?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 10:10 PM

The afternoon didn't go as planned, but it was productive. Over on FB Tamson asked if anyone had seen gnu around lately, and I realized I hadn't been peppered with memes for the last couple of weeks. It took digging in my notes from several years ago (his address is in there somewhere) and pulling up the content of our Messenger conversations. I got tired of scrolling so got to the end, highlighted and selected "all" and pasted it into a Word document then searched it. It seems all of our notes add up to a book-length conversation and I found the hospital where he stayed last time. I called and was so relieved when they told me he's there. Thank dog they don't have a HPPA rule that prevents saying he's there. I was prepared for a word game - like "if you can't tell me if he is there, perhaps you can tell me if I should call the police to do a welfare check. Or not."

The rest of the afternoon I looked through the garage for my hose-end aerator. It was right in plain sight - hanging on the peg board next to a second one I inherited from the friend whose greenhouse I bought. Gardening tools and metal fence posts were organized. I swept as I worked and wore a face mask because of all of the mouse droppings (no Hantavirus here that I know of, but still) and compressed stuff into a tidy row along one wall. I'm ready to paint more fence pickets, but first, the tree work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Apr 23 - 05:31 PM

The new mailbox arrived today; ironically, it was delivered by FedEx. I'll put it up this evening. Most mail theft is a speedy step up on the porch, grab the exposed mail, and move on. Anything that requires noise or energy is bound to repulse theft, so I'll use long screws to attach this to a stud behind the porch siding.

I'm going to give that "deep cleaning" from Martha Stewart a try, though only on the bathrooms to start with.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 19 Apr 23 - 06:31 PM

Dupont:

Reporting that I have done very little and may undo what I have actually done! I did manage to throw a few small pots and soap dishes - in the new style my friend wants - I don't like them but got the hang of making them - half a dozen for starters. THEN, I was working on back deck which was very nice on a warm dry day. The next day was not so warm and I managed to trim some of them before the drizzle began...

So, off to a building/home supply store for a roof of sorts. There was a dearth of Anglophones but, with time and perseverance I managed - You have to buy it first then pick it up and if it doesn't fit in your small car, you can return it!    OH, MY! I found the place to look at it, got a nice young fellow to find it and we determined together than it should fit. THEN, I managed to get back out by going toward the bar across the path with slow determination I saw someone do it! Went back and paid for it, came back around back and nice man put it in car. Oh, IT is a large umbrella on a stem off to the side that suspends it overhead.

It is in the house (in box) while I wait for a consult with R to decide if I can raise and lower it as needed. In the meantime, it is too cool, and due to rain for parts of the next 5 warmish days... The man has still not picked up his bowls. The tires cannot be changed here until 6 May. R's Birthday is Tuesday. Clay and tires are all in car - except I brought in one box of clay to warm up until I can work again. Hope ...

So: plan is to leave on Weds. Phone service station near Beaver to see if they have time to change tires. Consider the efficacy of this Umbrella or return it! Sit and do nothing in the meantime... - Almost. Did a grocery run yesterday, made the cauliflower cheddar soup - good for one more meal. If I go to K right now, I could put in a roast pork with potatoes and onions - in the toaster oven. Good for several meals.

This heavy weather does weigh me down. And too mach green tea makes me visit the washroom often. ... Did write a longish and careful email to a friend who weighs on me - and R. I feel badly not to be comfortable being a good support person and he has a similar problem; we cannot talk about it even. But cannot let it go completely; it has been several years... No wonder I am burying myself in the internet and THEN find, today, a dear FB friend's husband has stage 4 cancer; And she lost her adult daughter just 3-4 years ago and is still grieving seriously. ... Think I may need to fall back and re-group.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Apr 23 - 11:30 PM

My ex and I made a trip over to the local drop-off location for bulky trash and things like hazardous chemicals (I had some ancient weed killer from my pre-organic days). He has the water bill and address that allowed us to go in, and he had a big CRT old television that it took two of us to load and unload. Whew!

Not a lot else was accomplished. I didn't install the mailbox yet; I'll do it in the morning. I took a couple of naps today. This evening I made a pint of Italian style tomato sauce using my homegrown canned tomatoes and garlic and herbs from the yard. The kitchen smells wonderful!

I've set up in the hall bathroom to start the "deep cleaning" tomorrow; I won't try to do the whole house in one day.

The yard needs more mulch spread in the garden beds. We have a long growing season so I haven't been in a rush, but I need to block out weeds before they are big and robust. After cleaning the garage I located a stack of the black plastic bags I use for transporting the woodchips.

Good luck with those new-style pots, Dorothy, and with the long-distance connections with old friends. Your local friend is lucky you'll take the commission to try the new style since your own style of pots sound so remarkable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 07:46 AM

Yet another book run to London yesterday — my last. For now.

And Mary Anne the Guitar will pick up her bookcase today. That leaves me with one more full-sized bookcase to re-home.

My fancy new LED standing lamp has apparently died. The big drawback of this form of technology is that there’s no bulb to change. Now I don’t know what to do with it — except park it in the basement and find one of the old-fashioned kind. Heigh-ho, off to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. I’d like a tri-light, if I can find one.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 08:38 AM

Spring is a good time to declutter your car with new fluids.
If you think an electric car is in your future wait until 2025 when more choices, better prices, and chips will be available.

We donated a third of the living room and have recovered space from a defunct computer station.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 10:19 AM

LED "3-way bulbs" (what we knew as "tri-lights") are available from Home Depot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 10:24 AM

It'll be a frosty Friday in July when I buy a fully electric car -- they're not practical in this very large province with its cold climate, large expanses of thin population, and terrible public transit. When city people take them to the country, bad things can happen even within spitting distance of our southern border: Electric car owners stranded during Quebec storm power outage

All the commentators snarked that those folks should have known better and planned better -- but shit happens even to those who know better and plan well.

Spring is when I take my car to the vet for its spring check-up, including changing to summer tires and decluttering it of its layer of winter filth. Fresh fluids and filters are also on the menu. When a vehicle is so insanely expensive to buy and run, skimping on maintenance is the stupidest possible form of false economy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 10:30 AM

I have an LED tri-light bulb, Andrew, and very expensive it was. What I would like is a standing lamp with a bulb socket and a three-way switch.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 11:24 AM

I've tried some of the specialized LED bulbs (I had one to replace the 300W halogen bulb in the torchiere lamp and was underwhelmed). It didn't last long either. They have gotten the single brightness ones working, with the screw in base, but I won't buy more of the attempts to be other kinds of bulbs any time soon. I put a halogen bulb back in the torchiere and yes it burns moths if they are attracted to it, but it works.

It seems that my used Pathfinder can sell for almost exactly the same price today as I bought it three years ago. It would make a great downpayment on a new vehicle, but the new ones have gone through the roof. It's always something. I decided I need to clean it like I'm going to trade it in but then simply enjoy my newly clean vehicle a while longer. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Apr 23 - 11:56 AM

The new mailbox is installed, no electrocution in the process. The stud that was best placed to support it has an electrical outlet 12" up from the porch floor, so I made sure no screws went anywhere near that side of the stud. In all, there is only one screw that is in wood, the rest are in the exterior drywall and I used those plastic stabilizers to put the screws in. Everything but those came in the box—it's a well-designed, well-packed, and easily-assembled heavy steel box. Now I can continue working my way through the stack of post office mail that needs the address changed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Apr 23 - 07:53 AM

I'm currently suffering from my seventh dose of cellulitis since May 2020. Incredibly, my GP lets me keep a course of antibiotics in reserve at home, which is a life-saver. I can start taking them as soon as I get the earliest symptoms, and this time, touch wood, I seem to have reined it in to a mild attack. Unless I strike really early it turns severe very quickly and there's always the danger of sepsis. Vigilance is the watchword!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Apr 23 - 08:48 AM

Holy shit, Steve — that’s awful. Good luck that you have a doctor who knows you well enough that s/he trusts you to use your antibiotics correctly.

It took me twenty years to build that relationship with my doc in Ottawa. Then we moved to Stratford, and I was back among the poloi — reduced to begging for timely intervention when I caught a cold that would become bronchitis and then pneumonia.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Apr 23 - 05:19 PM

I'm back from a run to the e-waste collection event at my old campus, part of their annual Earth Day activities. About 20 pounds of small electronics, batteries, plus old house phone wire and coaxial cable (with copper wire inside) were dropped off. These had accumulated over a year in bags in the pantry. I also weeded out old not-very-good computer speakers that I'd kept because they still worked, but they were too low power. That clears a little space in the office shelving and I should reorganize in there.

Since I was already there, a visit to the U bookstore bagged a couple of university branded t-shirts in my current size. The others from years past are so big they're only worn to sleep in or for yard work. I'm especially happy to revive the logo as part of my personal brand now that the awful dean who made life a misery for so many people has departed. (There was no reception offered by campus and she didn't want one in the library - she had a cake delivered to her office for drop-in visitors and the report I heard said there was a lot of leftover cake. And even better - one of her flying monkeys announced her imminent departure for a new job soon. The rats are fleeing that ship as rational people once again take command.)

Now, into the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Apr 23 - 10:40 AM

The wheelbarrow is full of soil I have pulled away from the first of the trees I need to tend to this weekend. The premise understood by more and more landscapers and gardeners is that when trees are planted at nurseries, every time the small tree is moved to a bigger pot, more dirt is piled around the base of it, and so by the time a 5, 10, 15, or larger gallon pot is sold at the retail nursery, sometimes several inches has been piled on top of the root flare—the natural level the tree would have achieved if a seed grew on the ground, not in a pot. That flare should be above soil, and when it isn't trees tend to suffer. It might be all of the transmission of biological activity through bark that would normally be exposed. I have several trees that were planted before we knew about this problem that now need to have several inches of soil pulled back off of the flare. One I was warned about two years ago by a leading landscape architect in the region but didn't get out there promptly (bad knees was my main reason). Now I'm doing the work.

That soil can go to low spots in the yard or can be mixed with amendments and put into pots for this year's flowers and herbs and such. And darn! I just realized some of the weeds I pulled out of a couple of pots weren't weeds, they were the small Texas star hibiscus sprouts (the leaves on the small plants change from a grape-shape to a palmately lobed shape). I need to be careful and save any more that sprout, I had to move them all last year and none of the transplants survived to sprout this year, I have to start from seed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Apr 23 - 09:17 PM

Dupont:

What a dif a change of weather makes - for me. The last while - most of the time I have been back here, I have felt TIRED. Then a Thurs eve, I suddenly had chills and HAD to go to bad about 8:30. Took extra Pau d'Arco and woke up feeling my "normal". I had noted for a while that if I forget the four hour rule, I start getting a scratchy throat, which goes away in a few minutes. But the tiredness ...

Yesterday, I threw a few pots on the back porch. Today, I threw a lot more and trimmed all except the last few. The wind was blowing just enough and the negative ions drove me! Why I thrive by the sea, on mountain tops and on windy days. Of course, when I stopped - at a good stopping point and hungry - I ached something terrible.

THEN R came home with a larger book case it had taken him a week to fetch - re Marketplace. I was barely functional - pain and hunger! But he got it in the house and I had managed to move the small one out of the way. After he dashed away for dinner with cousin et al, I ate and then was able to start filling the new case. Decided to move the smaller one next to my chair, replacing a $2 table (but nice) which is piled high with books, etc. Not sure where the table will go but I will find a spot 'cause I really like it's antique look which is barely visible here. It will be nice to have books on shelves, and not a two foot high pile lurking over my shoulder! Tomorrow!

Every once in a while, a break from books cascading off every surface is a treat.

Took a hot bath with Epsom salt, which greatly diminished the aches.

Decided the Umbrella I bought is not adequate; I can return it. Found the canopy frame which had "disappeared" - right in plain sight - it happens! Tomorrow I will try it out but think it may be too large for the porch. Wayfair has a smaller one I am considering. It is SO nice to be able to work outside!

Googled, then phoned a woman who was a close friend in the 60s. She is 90,immediately called me by my old name, asked about respective kids. It was a good move. I sent her pics and Troy's concert youtube. I am glad she is OK.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Apr 23 - 10:34 AM

Down here we had a weather flip overnight; I was expecting a low chance of rain today but it seems to have decided to be generally drizzly and there is a large green splotch over my region on the weather map. Mowing will have to wait. Over a couple of days I dug out several inches of extra dirt around the base of two ailing pines, and while aeration will happen later I can take out a bag of granular organic fertilizer and cast it around them today so it will start soaking in. (The trees each have the appearance of standing in a shallow bowl now, but I'll scrape a thin layer of pine needles over the soil to disguise the digging work.) I toted the dirt from around the trees to the dip in the lawn left after the sewer replacement a few years ago. Over time I'll manage to raise the level of that spot.

It looks like a day of cleaning and eBay listings.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Apr 23 - 03:24 PM

Dupont:

cool and rainy! no neg ions. WE took the umbrella back and R had the opportunity to wander around a store he had no yet encountered - bought 5 gallon bucket of paint and some other things. WE used the journey - half hour each way- to talk about what I need to make potting more viable.

WE had planned to have BF first- there must be a place in B.! HAH! The place I had noticed had a line out the door into the drizzle! WE toured all of Beauharnois for a while, until R asked his phone and got directions --- A place we had passed on the edge of town, but there were so many parked vehicles we thought it was a used car dealer! Nice BF! The waitresses were stick-thin - run off their feet!

Too cool and wet for potting so this is a day to regain energy, and finish the book case changeover. R has gone to do stuff. I can only hope I will see him again before tomorrow morning. I still have a full-fledged pork roast dinner - planned overs.

How does one throw out the torn remnant of the camera case that came with the camera Dad bought in January 1937 - to take pics of the baby?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Apr 23 - 03:30 PM

The spring rummage sale is on again at church, so I’m rounding up housewares that I don’t need, want or love — a surprisingly large range of stuff. Silicone doohickeys for poaching eggs are remarkably prominent in the selection. Nowadays, I go to the diner if I want a poached egg. Likewise, I’m parting with the Instant Pot, the largest Römertopf clay baker, and a stainless-steel roasting pan big enough for a 20-pound turkey.

With every load of stuff that leaves the house, I feel just a bit better.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Apr 23 - 04:25 PM

I have a Römertopf clay baker that gets used a couple of times a year, but usually I find them at Goodwill and sell them on eBay. That generally only works if it was rarely or never used.

The plans for today were doused with the rain and I haven't seemed to get moving doing something else, just little stuff. Dishwasher, laundry, etc. There's still time to accomplish great housekeeping feats, and I predict those will have to do with the volume of stuff in tomorrow's trash. Several times today I've asked myself "why am I keeping this?"

I did step out after lunch to scatter some dry fertilizer for the trees and there was a plastic container with several schoolhouse lily bulbs that I poked into a small bed near the birdbath. Yesterday I "healed in" (forestry trick for keeping seedling trees alive until planting) some canna lilies near the driveway - they will bide their time there until the new bed is dug and they can be planted permanently. They weren't going to survive in the bucket where they were stashed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Apr 23 - 06:17 PM

Another carload gone, this time higgledy-piggledy housewares haphazardly stacked in boxes, a few framed pictures, and the aforementioned roasting pan and clay baker.

And the house is still full of stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Apr 23 - 10:02 PM

The trash went out early today and I made a couple of trips to add more to the can before it was collected. There is still a lot of stuff here also, but the kitchen counters are looking a little better and there's more room in the freezer.

The front lawn got mowed and I scooped a bunch of leaf litter and leaf compost out of the curb area to mulch into the lawn. As I was working the mower through some of the leaves a guy in a pickup with the classic yard work equipment trailer in back drove by slowly. I could see the mental wheels turning - should he stop and ask the middle aged woman if she would like to have the lawn mowed? I saw him look from me to the next door yard where my white-haired 80-year-old neighbor was out mowing his yard and the penny dropped. On this side of the village, we do our own yard work. He drove off.

I need to get out the keyboard and play, or clear the bench and play the (out of tune) piano. My typing has gotten pretty sloppy, and I find that if I take time to practice the piano my typing improves. (Alas, more typing doesn't make my piano playing improve.)

I'm planning to get my next COVID booster tomorrow; it sounds like the Moderna formula has a little more punch this time, so I'll ask for that. And in other health news, I've found one more source of sodium laureth sulfate to eliminate from my daily routine: I googled my dish detergent, and there it is, low on the list, but it's there. So I'll be using gloves now because I doubt there is any dish detergent in the world that doesn't have that stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Apr 23 - 12:23 PM

Filed my income tax return.

Before the end of the week, I must go to the bank and declutter my account of rather a lot of money that I apparently owe to the gummint.

Feh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Apr 23 - 10:35 PM

Several times a year organizations send me return address labels, and today I cut up most of the PO box labels. These live in a crowded little faux-Chippendale secretary and I was pleased to find mixed in a couple dozen for the house address, so those are stashed with the stamp assortment.

Following museum volunteering today I swung by the gym, but late in the afternoon the parking lot was crowded enough that I didn't want to go spend an hour exercising in a space packed full of unmasked people. I'm not an early riser, but on those occasions I get to the gym in the morning I meet more women who are my age and the place isn't packed. Getting to bed earlier is a goal I should set.

When I was going through the labels I found an enveloped tucked away with a note that it was receipts from a 2003 trip to New York City with my daughter. A mother-daughter trip we made when she turned 14. (I wish I'd managed a trip like that with my son, though our drives back and forth to the university 900 miles away were kind of the same as far as formative travel). Anyway, I've tucked that into my bag and when we go to lunch tomorrow we can take a look together. I'm curious to learn if she thinks she got out of that what I hoped she would - the desire to travel (she certainly has that) and to do interesting cultural things. We were poking around Chinatown and eating in Japanese restaurants right at the age when she started being interested in Anime and such. Lots of museums, some good shopping, and lots and lots of walking and eating. And now she works in an internationally respected art museum. I think I just answered my own question. The envelope has given me an opportunity to show my past self that it was a good idea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Apr 23 - 12:03 PM

There's a MidCentury Atomic Age Vintage Retro Culture and Ads site (long name, easy to find) on Facebook, and I was reminded this morning of the set of Russel Wright melamine that I pulled together a few years ago. Some of it is a spinoff from the company that did the pressing (after they ran the Wright "Residential" or other patterns they had to use the rest of the plastic emulsion so put out their own basic pattern with the same plastic mix. I got some of those also.) I should probably do something with these. Some of it came from my family, we used it when I was a kid.

A friend will arrive to stay in about 10 days so I've started Martha Stewart's deep cleaning routine, but so far just in the hall/guest bathroom and I'll work outward from there. That was an hour of remarkably sweaty work, scrubbing and polishing. The box of everything that came out for the cleaning will be assessed and tossed, rehomed, or washed before going back to the bathroom.

I hear the rain so will dress accordingly for my next cat feeding/lunch with child trip, and plan to finish all of my running today by mid-afternoon when heavy weather is forecast to clobber the area. I want to be parked in the garage in case there is big hail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Apr 23 - 10:07 PM

The hall bathroom looks really good, I'll move on to clean my bathroom and dressing room tomorrow. I'll save the kitchen until closer to the visit because it is most likely to be messed up again quickly.

I'm considering what the next stove in the kitchen will be like; I've avoided the glass stovetops because I do the heavy pots for canning, but I may be able to buy a single burner to use for that separate from the stove. Induction stoves are apparently pretty good these days. This is what happens when you watch science programs on PBS.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Apr 23 - 07:41 PM

Well I'm just about recovered from my latest bout of cellulitis (which I mentioned on the 21st). Because I was able to strike early with the antibiotics my doc had allowed me to keep at home, I've avoided the horrid swelling and blistering which I've endured in most of my other attacks, and I didn't have to go to hospital. We'd long had a trip planned to Bath, which Mrs Steve wanted to cancel, but I wasn't having that. I know I've not mentioned it on my new thread in which I mentioned Bath, but one of the main objects of the trip was to visit the graves of Mrs Steve's half-sister who died 12 years ago aged 41 in tragic circumstances and, in a completely different location, the grave of her mother and sister. There's no-one else left to do these visits. We could go to Bath, a city which means a lot to Mrs Steve and where our son went to university, and do both grave visits on the same day with a very roundabout drive (the weather was awful!), so we stuck to that and ended up having a couple of really nice days in Bath which included the gastronomy I mentioned in that other thread - and a visit to the William Herschel museum. What a place. It's the house he lived in in the late 1700s with his sister Caroline when he discovered the planet Uranus. It was the first discovery of a new planet since the dawn of mankind - all the others, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, were well known as they are all easy naked-eye objects. There are models of the telescopes he invented as well as lots of exhibits to do with his music - he was a superb classical composer as well as a brilliant astronomer, and his sister Caroline was no shrinking violet either!

You can go into the little back garden and stand on the exact spot from which he discovered Uranus. That is such an unbelievably wonderful thing to be able to do. And the odd thing was that we were the only people there!

I didn't feel great for a few days but one has to battle through! The whole thing was so well worth it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Apr 23 - 11:11 PM

I got the COVID bi-valent booster yesterday and am achy and tired today, but with Motrin I'm still moving.

I'm cat-sitting for a friend, and the house next door to her is being heavily remodeled by the new owner (she seems to be living in a 30' travel trailer in her backyard for the duration). It's interesting to watch the improvements big and small; today I noticed a new steel locking mailbox on the porch. It looks good, and is one of the models I considered before I settled on the one I put up. Anyway, I'm interested in who is doing the work versus who is contracting it. I have to replace the side door in the garage and I've considered going over to ask the guy doing the work if he does one-off jobs.

Charmion, is the new bathroom completely finished? How does it look?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Apr 23 - 12:38 PM

The bathroom is finished — except for a non-functioning plug receptacle — and it looks wonderful: bright, clean and mould-proof, with more than enough towel bars where previously were none.

The bill has yet to land, but I’m braced.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Apr 23 - 10:11 PM

That sounds good. And the cats approve?

I made a tiny improvement in the kitchen this week; through a series of changes (most recently not using dish soap with bare hands because there is coconut in it) I'm going to be wearing vinyl or the long rubber dishwashing gloves, and they need a place to dry. I had a small rusty swing arm towel rack (three 11" vinyl-coated arms that pivot from the side of a cupboard over the sink). A new chrome one was about $8 on Amazon and delivered in one day, put up in a minute, and I now have three 12" arms to dry my gloves (and face masks using clothes pins). One of the least expensive pieces of hardware in the house but used several times a day.

To complete the deep cleaning of the hall bathroom I should finish scraping up the old glue off of the exposed concrete and put down the vinyl tiles I got for in the meantime (once the foundation is fixed I may put non-skid porcelain tiles in there. But who knows when that expensive job will happen.) I have started in the far corner and am working on straightening the edge along the tub (removing lumpy grout). I think before I put down these vinyl tiles I need to put a straight bead of silicone grout down at the tub/floor intersection to keep water from getting under the tub. No tile now because it could crack with the shifting house during the leveling process.

I started scrubbing the corner after doing some scraping, and this is the kind of job that once you get started and see the progress you're motivated to keep going. I sure hope so, anyway! Finishing by the time guests arrive is the objective.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Apr 23 - 12:28 PM

I retrieved three different tubes of silicone caulking compound from the laundry room cupboard, all fairly elderly but possibly still pliable, if I can get any out of the tubes. I'll run that bead of caulk today before moving ahead with the vinyl squares in the bathroom.

Years ago I bought a lumbar backpack that I seem to have last used when walking the dogs, because I finally found it under a basket of dog related stuff on the bookcase in the den. It was expensive and little used but very dusty so I've soaked it in the kitchen sink and before I could hang it outside to dry I had to put the clothesline back up. One post is very close to where the large hackberry was taken out last month so I had removed the crossmember so it wouldn't get hit by falling branches. Now it is back in place, the lines up, and the black pack is hanging out there and hopefully won't be a mottled dusty color once it's dry.

I used pliers to start tightening the nuts of fence hardware on the clothesline crossmember, but needed a ratchet to finish the job, so stepped nearby into the garage to retrieve the right pieces. And I will note here that I think this set came from my dad's estate (I have 3 sets, this one has the nicest metal case). And every so often even after all of these years (he died in 1997) his household/estate items continue to surprise me. While cleaning up the garage a couple of weeks ago I organized stuff in the shelves and apparently uncovered a plastic blister pack of several drill bits, though what was in the pack didn't register until I went looking for drill bits. They are exactly what I needed from a long-gone Pacific NW hardware store. Thanks again, Dad!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Apr 23 - 04:42 PM

Dupont:

Still here. This time I was planning to leave on Weds...Then Thurs, but on Weds there was a post on FB from a musician friend/student of a special event at the U - some compositions of hers, and others, and a couple pieces in which she participated with voice and/or instrument. I went because I really like this young student; the one who was in the musical last March or April. We enjoyed it. I felt called to be supportive! She was highly involved in organizing the Yellow Door 50th a few years ago; very competent - and creative!

So pots that were thrown are not trimmed. Appt. to get tires changed is on 6 May - THEN I will go home to ON...

In the meantime: Cleared last year's Canna out of the hall where it had wintered over in front of a south-facing glass door. One piece actually bloomed in December! Nice yellow treat. The whole huge bunch is now in the ground or very large pots - lest they expand and break a good (plastic) pot. NOW, it is raining! Also cleared most of the grass out of the veg bed.

Tomorrow I will plant some seeds and the wonderful sweet potato plant that wintered in the second floor South window on the rad! It looks very healthy. Just hope the bunnies do not fancy it! Went to plant what were supposed to be colombine seeds but were empty, however, the area already has columbine seedlings so I guess I threw some on last year.

There are two rabbits that come and nibble in a certain area in the late aft. I try not to disturb them.

Nice to have the hall cleared and cleaned! Also nurturing some basil seedlings; those that survive to May will need to be potted. Geraniums are being moved outdoors. Need to find a good system so R can water easily, and rarely!

Drying pots are still in DR and need to be boxed for transport to Beaver; keep putting it off as I am not sure where I will stack boxes! And the man who was going to come and get bowls has not; I would have been at Beaver this two weeks. Lesson: Do what I need to do and do not wait for someone else...

Last night R brought home two large spanakopita from a Greek resto, just because he was there and knew I like them. I warmed them in the toaster oven this am for BF! YUM! It was a great BF with no trimmings. He can bring them home anytime! There are no goodies like this near here.

But I did go, on Thurs, to the good bakery an hour south, in the country, and picked up some good pastries for treats - nothing like that near here either. Then visited with Geri, and Sarah showed up! Then went to the good butcher for some unpolluted bacon and a large bag of sweet potato fries - which I do up in the toaster oven for a nice treat. Also unpolluted.

Did income tax and mailed it. Next year I will make sure I take it to volunteer helpers near Beaver. My brain quit. My eyes quit. I quit and gave them royal what for! Only a sadist would develop a form that convoluted.

R spent a few hours - until the rain started, trying to sort out myriad boxes (40--50!) of books that had been "under cover" in the back yard for a few weeks. Procrastination = a bunch of wet books. Some went in the trash and many are in the basement in hopes of resurrecting them. A little effort could have had them in a dry place. I try to be quiet about it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Apr 23 - 01:11 AM

Dorothy, your spanakopita breakfast sounds wonderful! I also love those Greek spinach pies. A savory breakfast is just fine with me.

I worked on replacing the soil in various pots beside the side door today, and what I couldn't use was tipped from the wheelbarrow into the garden that I'll start working tomorrow. Today I took the weedeater out to scalp the garden beds, and tomorrow I'll run the tiller through and do some planting with bedding plants I picked up a few days ago.

Calorie overload the last few days; I can't be trusted around chocolate or some kinds of cookies. I'll be at the gym working those off next week. I didn't buy many, at least I had the discipline to only buy a couple of each, but if you ever come across the chocolate bars from Western Australia called Darrell Lea with milk chocolate and peanut brittle - they are fabulous. (Why doesn't that word "calory" follow the spelling rules? Calory would be the singular, with calories the plural. Same with Cooky/cookies.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 30 Apr 23 - 01:40 AM

Ah, Stilly......many of us Ozzies grew up eating Darrell Lea......I love their marzipan bars.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Apr 23 - 12:14 PM

JennieG, I almost passed them up, never having heard of the brand. Probably just as well I only bought two, and the rest will be gone next time I'm at that store. :)

On Sunday mornings I putter around the house while I listen to a gardening radio program, and this morning I spent that time updating more mailing addresses. When going into a place like eBay they have such a complex scaffolding of data for listings, shipping, membership, and other details that you have to go to a half-dozen places to make the update. I keep track and have made 21 changes so far and am only up to "E" in my account book. My goal is to avoid having the post office mess up my mail forwarding in the future by taking care of address changes now. That fool DeJoy is still the postmaster (I thought they'd have kicked him out by now, but whatever.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Apr 23 - 06:14 PM

Since it rained last week it was a good time to take the tiller into the yard to both break up an old compost pile and till some rows in the raised gardens. I moved two wheelbarrows-full of compost to the front beds, mixed in some amendments (greensand and lavasand) and tipped it into the beds. It was getting warm so those things were put away and later I'll go out and get some seeds started in pots and get the bedding plants put in. Maybe even make a run to the neighbor's yard for some of her free mulch.

I'm doing a low-till bed this year - I dug along the paths for the plants and used the weed eater to scalp the rest. I'll mulch deeply around crops to smother the weeds I cut off at ground level. By the time crops are big and can hold their own above the weeds it isn't such an issue if the weeds are there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 May 23 - 01:58 PM

Filing papers, finishing small repairs, putting things away. Still filing address change (and realizing there are places that have my credit card that never mail me things but still need to know the card's new address or purchases may not go through).

In the yard, more planting, digging, mulching, mowing, and tree care.

There are a couple of deadlines this week. I really need to dust around here, and I'm considering rearranging the office again (so I can sit closer to the window to look out.)

I've got a little list (of chores, that is.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 May 23 - 02:53 PM

An eight-litre Instant Pot and all its accoutrements may have found a new home with the family of Serena the Fiddle. I sure hope so; it takes up lots of space, and it's much too big for just me. They come in smaller sizes, and I may eventually buy the three-litre version.

Likewise, the middle-sized Romertopf clay-baker (about right for a three-kilo chicken) will eventually go to Mark the bass (singer, not fish) from the church choir. He was searching the rummage sale to replace a much-mourned Romertopf that suffered a terminal crack, but demurred on accepting mine because he couldn't quite believe that I'm genuinely ready to let it go. "But I haven't used it since Edmund died," I wailed. He looked at me sideways and said, "I've heard of that ..." I gather that the Anglican norm is to hang on to everything forever "just in case". I persuaded him to take it at Christmas if I still haven't used it by then.

On Saturday I heard from my great-nephew Logan and his sister Faith, who have both completed their first-year final exams. Logan already has his results: a GPA more or less equivalent to an average of 85 percent (I don't grok the GPA system; it wasn't used in Canada when I was last a student). Faith's results won't be in for another week or so, but her work to date indicates that she should score in the same neighbourhood as Logan. So that investment is paying off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 May 23 - 03:23 PM

Speaking of dust ...

After a burst of activity about ten days ago, I have resumed procrastinating on floorwashing and dusting. I also have several pictures to rehang since the departure of six bookcases from the music room-cum-library, but whenever I think about hauling up the toolbox and spirit level, I just want to sit down until the idea goes away.

I might have had all the household change I can take for now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 May 23 - 03:26 PM

Props to Charmion. Graduating without student loan debt is the greatest gift you can offer those two. After graduation they will be able take jobs they want, not just something in order to pay the bills. They will be able to buy homes or start businesses without reference to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt that somehow never shrinks (and here in the US, can never be discharged through death or bankruptcy). They can save to go to graduate school later without loans. If Biden had been able to do the program he wanted to discharge massive amounts of student debt, that would have been the single largest boost the the US economy in decades (and the states that opposed it are the perfect example of cutting off their noses to spite their faces - they would have benefitted hugely also). Both of my kids worked, and their father made up the difference, for which I am eternally grateful. I did the running part - driving them to school and work and such, for my share (and more modest income.) They're moving forward, my son bought a house at age 28, my daughter travels a great deal. Your sibling and niece or nephew are very lucky that you're doing this for the grandkids.

Getting set to use the clothesline for the first time this year, and it's nice after the hackberry removal, no tree hanging over the top dropping bugs and leaves onto the laundry. Another lumbar pack (smaller, used a lot, from LLBean) from the same extra-dusty dog equipment storage shelf is soaking and will also dry on the line. I haven't worn this in years, since when my weight and health then were basically what they are now, so this pack will work for more dog walking or in lieu of a pocketbook.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 May 23 - 06:59 PM

Meanwhile in the Land of Oz - ‘It’s obscene’: ATO still chasing $2bn in student debt from controversial 1990s loan scheme The Australian government is still chasing $2bn of debt from more than 140,000 former low-income students who traded away their right to welfare under a loan scheme more than two decades ago.

The student financial supplement scheme, which operated for a decade from 1993, enticed tertiary students to take out “low-cost” loans by giving up benefits including youth allowance, Austudy or the pensioner education supplement.

Every dollar of welfare a student gave up entitled them to $2 in a SFSS loan, which could be used to help cover expenses while studying. Minors were also able to take out loans.

The Coalition dumped the scheme at the end of 2003, acknowledging it was saddling students with high levels of debt, was “administratively cumbersome and poorly targeted” and effectively hit people with hidden interest rate costs through forgone welfare.

It also conceded that many of the students would struggle to pay the money back. When the scheme was axed, the government actuary estimated about 50% of the loans would be recovered ... After two decades, a former student, Dennis, last year managed to pay off his Help loan, which was about $15,000, but he still has more than $36,000 owing on his SFSS loan.

When he initially took out the SFSS loan it was sitting just under $10,000. “It’s basically just accrued interest for years,” he said.

Dennis was from a low socioeconomic background and took out the debt at the start of his university studies to help pay for a move to Perth.

Th Coalition = right-wing parties, HELP (Higher Education Loan program) is the current scheme.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 May 23 - 11:43 PM

That sounds dreadful, Sandra! Is this legislation written by the banks? (That's what happened here. Congress accepted it as written and now this mess is law.)

Finished mowing, and a load of laundry is folded from the clothesline. The smaller lumbar pack cleaned up nicely. Kitchen is cleaner than it was.

I started looking for a repair kit for a 20-year-old oscillating sprinkler, one with a lifetime warranty. There is a yellow plastic lever to control the span of the watering that broke off. I came across reference to how to get the sprinkler fixed or replaced - I don't have the receipt but I did keep the package in a file where I put that kind of stuff. (Reminds me - I just bought a spade fork with a 15-year warranty - I have to file that receipt. Up until I'm 83 I'll be able to replace it if it fails.) Apparently if I had the sprinkler receipt I could send an email with a photo of the sprinkler and a scan of the receipt. Otherwise, I need to ship the sprinkler to them to look at to repair or replace. Main thing is that this sturdy metal sprinkler stays put - I don't want them sending me a cheap plastic sprinkler replacement. (The company is Melnor.)

Today was satisfactory with a lot of small chores being completed. No scolding myself for frittering away the time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 02 May 23 - 07:50 AM

The Surgeon General says we are a lonely nation. People feel ashamed about their loneliness as if they are unlikable but the despondency from loneliness has health risks. Hyperconnectivity is surprisingly a symptom of loneliness. In children, it has become a suicide risk.
There is a kid's online safety act law being introduced. Maintaining relationships is the only work that works.
Sure the pandemic was a big impact but the loneliness factor has always been around. I think we are seeing the results of loneliness in the type of crazy shootings lately.
I don't think Steve Jobs foresaw the iPhone as a factor in loneliness.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 May 23 - 12:06 PM

Don, you have put your finger on the reason for the volunteer work I space out through the week. The society at the museum and the botanic garden are therapeutic as well as personally satisfying from a contribution standpoint. Achieving a good balance of time spent at home puttering around while also getting out and doing social stuff is the goal.

This morning I got a photo of the line of pecan-shaped dog droppings left on the way out the door by the elderly Labrador retriever. He's 14, deaf, terribly arthritic in his hips, and incontinent poop-wise. If he hasn't been outside for a while and starts barking, chances are he's going to drop them right there, or if he's just getting up in the morning. I keep a dustpan and brush handy to scoop up a couple of times a day. We can sometimes go a week at a time without any. My goal is to keep him on a healthy diet to keep everything a good consistency for easily rolling onto the dustpan.

I loaned my "Weed Popper" to the neighbors next door, and while I stood in their backyard talking my dogs stood and stared at me through the chain link fence, clearly chuffed (in the displeased form) that I was visiting and hadn't taken them with me. I can walk the girls but Zeke needs a very careful tour around a very small area with his arthritis. He wants to go, but can't go far.

I remind myself of WYSIWYG's "Dog World" conversations. I wonder how Susan is doing?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 23 - 02:47 PM

Clearing out the laundry room because I was looking for something and realized I'd never find it without moving and tossing stuff. I need to tackle the potting bench inside the side door next. Guests walk through that area so it should look interesting, not heaped with stuff. While working on this I've tossed a number of things that "might be used later or fixed." Nope. Gotta move on.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 03 May 23 - 08:25 PM

Mowed, planted 16 blue Iris bulbs, hedged, solved an insulin snafu, and decorated the fence with more polyester tapestries. It was cold but pleasant. What I consider active is about 1/10th of what Stilly does. The Chinese forget-me-nots have germinated without any help.

I'm glad the world runs better than I do but new Walmart size 10 4E width shoes make jogging easy in the short run. Wearing the wrong size of anything makes life hard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 23 - 09:21 PM

The same shoe size from one company to another is so different that I rarely ever buy shoes online unless it is something I already have and and getting the exact same thing. Always pamper your feet.

Tomatoes and peppers planted, seeds in for chard and cucumber. I'll retrieve another batch of mulch before I plant more, the goal is to have really deep mulch around the plants to shade out weeds underneath.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 May 23 - 04:04 PM

I don't remember what I went looking for, but I ended up clearing out a lot of stuff in the top compartment of the little secretary in the hall. More address stickers, airline point cards, oddball notes, and uncovered way more ballpoint pens than I remembered having stashed. I don't need to buy any of those for a few years. There were previous eyeglass frames I thought about having remade with new Rxs, but since I don't need those now, and the optometrist's office won't send them out any more to be remade, might as well donate them all.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 May 23 - 11:20 AM

An archaeologist could do a dig through the contents of my sunroom potting bench and the rolling two-level cart beside it to discover many of my past attempts at solving some or other gardening problem. It took several passes but I finally found the box of sticky insect traps for the garden, though the one I pulled out today is on a nail over the kitchen waste bin to catch gnats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 May 23 - 05:54 PM

I have started sorting music CDs.

Not sure where this will end, but the smart money’s on “most of them gone”.

I will need more boxes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 May 23 - 06:24 PM

This cartoon has made the rounds. I'm glad to say that I still have my LPs, though I don't play them often.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 May 23 - 06:25 PM

The 'cat is still timing out, so here is paragraph 2: It turns out that emailing the sprinkler company a copy of the packaging and instructions is as good has having the receipt. They're sending me a replacement "equal or better" - so hopefully sturdy metal. Nice! Now I can have one going on each side of the driveway through the programmable watering system I set up every summer. I don't have a system in the whole yard, just a small device in the backyard on the faucet that is for the garden hoses. Also: the bead of caulk is now in place in the hall/guest bathroom. Vinyl tile goes down tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 23 - 09:36 PM

Two rugs through the washer today, and only had to open it and rearrange twice after the out-of-balance buzzer. Getting the bathroom floor ready for the first row of vinyl tiles; I washed it this afternoon but the weather is so humid that I'll wait till morning to start putting down the floor. More stuff in the trash that is never going to get fixed and isn't fair donating for someone else to discover it doesn't work. Thunder is rolling in over the area right now, hopefully bringing rain.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 May 23 - 02:40 PM

Dupont:

WELL!!! The search for the battery for the weed whacker becoming more and more desperate... I found the misplaced US credit card/cash... in a small drawer - the battery drawer! But for small batteries. Glad to find the US stuff; I was not worried as I was sure it was with me - somewhere but I wanted to know where it was. Good! but no battery.

Sorted out a good chunk of the hall closet - a very good move but no battery. Redid a couple small K drawers; no battery. Searched areas already searched a couple times ... One last go at the pantry - THERE it is!!! In a truly reasonable place! Now charging so I can go at the whacking in manageable chunks before I leave for Beaver.

I can only be active for short spurts - maybe 30 min to a couple hours depending on the task. Pottery - 2 hours max. Whacking - not sure about this year until I give it a try. 4-6 sessions a day with rests for most things.

Grocery run this am, a quickie to pick up a special HAgen Daz on sale for R - put 3 in big freezer, one in frig/fr. Then searching/computering/searching til YAY! Now lunch.Then pottery first, whacking when able.

Two good finds sure do improve one's state of mind!Oh, and my new "party tent" arrived last eve and is sitting in Den waiting for a post potting energy spurt to set up on back deck as summer potting place.
Gorgeous day does wonders as well. Green leaves! Flowers! Birkies!!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 23 - 06:38 PM

Dorothy, I knew I had a box of bungee cords I bought at Lowe's last fall, but couldn't find them anywhere, including several passes through the pantry. On several occasions. So I bought a new box of bungees from Lowe's and left them beside the back door. And guess what - this week I found the first box of bungees. In the pantry. Now both boxes are there, side by side. I climbed a ladder to replace a couple on the patio cover before storing them.

I pulled up a video for the peel and stick tiles and see there is a step I need to do first - paint on some latex sealer on the bare concrete. I picked that up today, but I was going to do the tiles piecemeal and I can't really do that if I have to paint something first (I have to finish scrubbing the floor and there is some old adhesive to scrape off.) Not sure when I'll finish this, but not in time for company this week.

I'll do some baking so I have plenty of breakfast and snack materials. I'll make zucchini bread into cupcakes (easier for portion control) and I picked up some cream to use to make rice pudding. I've been buying the little cups of the Mexican pudding and it's so good, but it's also expensive that way. Rice, custard, and cinnamon. Mmmmm.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 May 23 - 07:58 PM

https://www.nebraskamed.com/COVID/what-covid-19-variants-are-going-around

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 May 23 - 08:49 AM

This week will be a bit frantic for me, with a family visit, a choir concert with dress rehearsal, a children’s recital (I’m in the back-up band), and some serious grocery shopping and house-cleaning to prepare for it all.

And the garden is a mess: plants to prune, litter to rake, and downed branches to collect. It’s suddenly warm and sunny, so the starting gun has been fired.

Hark! It’s Georgia with the lawn mower!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 May 23 - 11:19 AM

In February 2021 when we had that horrible long freeze and the neighbor ran their generator he refilled all of his gas cans, but didn't add stabilizer. This morning I heard his mower running rough and asked if it was tuneup time and he said he's trying to use the old gas, but it messed up the carburetor. I need to look around and see if there is someplace he can safely offload some of that. It might be the Fort Worth site will take it if my ex goes along with his water bill and driver's license. I have paint to take over there anyway, so we can check first.

Company arriving today, kind of a hit-and-run operation as she does stuff with her son (for his birthday today) much of the day. Gives me more time to pick up before she lands for real in the evening (early on they'll drop off her luggage). I was afraid I was going to have to go retrieve her at the airport - long story - but it seems that isn't the case. There is still the departure to consider.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 May 23 - 10:50 PM

Dupont:

MAnaged to throw a few pots - I think that was Friday. Sunday I was getting around to the trimming when R came home about 4 and suggested we go to the Mill to try to collect some pottery stuff that I needed and also get a handle on clearing stuff and taking a better look at what I had - and have to deal with getting out of there to here if I ever manage an area to put it.

Happily found some things I need and put all the fabric stuffs in a plastic bag to wash and decide what to do with - towels and potting clothes. Also some stuff to go to Beaver for the thrift shops and the homeless. Loaded the car- R brought a few boxes of his books - The are everywhere! And got home before dark!

Really sick on Monday - prob from the toxic air at the mill -and pots still not trimmed, no weeds whacked, nothing planted. I DID get the tires changed today!!!! Put the winter tires in the back yard for R to place somewhere. Loaded most of what needs to go Beaver. And have decided to stay one more day to tend to some garden stuffs since I won't be back until June and it will be too late to plant veggies! Nice selection of plants available - I went to pick up something for an outdoor planter and was amazed at what is availble - hence plan to go back tomorrow for whatever I fancy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 May 23 - 02:18 PM

Brother Andrew and his wife arrive tomorrow from Ottawa, and by then I have to get the house more or less clean and stock the pantry and fridge for feeding people who don't live on frozen fish. They are staying at least a week -- at least that's the plan.

During that week, I have two performances on Saturday, a dress rehearsal on Friday, and a choir board meeting on Monday that includes managing a crisis over the conductor's contract, which he decided to rewrite last night. (I could just wring his neck, for his terrible timing if nothing else.) I'm also supposed to go to the theatre and have fun with the relatives.

The garden is still a wreck, but Georgia mowed the lawn so it's not obvious to the casual passer-by.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 May 23 - 06:01 PM

I've baked a couple of types of muffins this week for guests and in the process standardized my recipes; the zucchini bread baked as muffins comes out to 22 muffins for what would otherwise be 2 loaves of bread. I can weigh the muffins and know how many calories per that weight and do the math if later I make loaves and cut a slice. I also made blueberry muffins, standard measures (1/4C of batter per muffin). Both entered in MyFitnessPal with salt substitute and I'll be making and freezing some of these for my healthy snacks in the future.

Tonight my guest wants to buy dinner and I haven't persuaded her to let me cook instead, so we'll order from a Szechuan place, and after researching sodium on their menu, I'll eat at the edge of the menu - a couple of egg rolls and some crab rangoon. It feels a little decadent, eating appetizers for dinner. I'll have salad and steamed vegetables here also. I'll miss the hot and sour soup, but one bowl has a day's worth of sodium and I've been unhappy about it for ages anyway, they haven't been putting in the vinegar for the "sour" part.

I've set up to do more eBay stuff this week since rain is in the forecast. Dorothy sent me a link to an estate sale - thank goodness it's too far from either of us to attend - very organized house and an amazing amount of art supplies and good furniture. But those views of ever horizontal surface filled with china, glassware, and tchotchkes makes me think (again) I must thin out what I have here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 23 - 12:37 AM

I spent the evening decluttering my house guest's new bathrobe of 4 1/2" off the bottom. She's about 5' tall and the new robe was way too long, even after she cut off one of the two bottom ruffles. I tidied that raw line then made a big tuck and top stitched it so the remaining ruffle looks like it was originally attached at that point.

It rained all day so no yard work - the lawn is getting tall and the code enforcement guy put a note on my door yesterday. Thing is, the grass isn't too tall but the taller weeds in the garden never get mowed and I haven't pulled them yet. I called and left a message asking just what he takes issue with - haven't gotten an answer back yet. I have until the 19th so I suppose I could wait until the day before just to drive his little OCD self nuts. My yard never stays within in the lines or conforms to the yards around me. And that is on purpose.

This week I've started doing my two home exercise programs in the afternoon, something best done during daylight hours, not before bedtime. My back and knees feel better with the regular workouts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 May 23 - 06:43 AM

code enforcement guy ???? does your grass know it's not allowed to grow too long?

Today I downsized almost all of one of my smaller collections, 27 of my 28 LPs went to the Record Shop & I got lotsa' money as one is very valuable. Bloke didn't know it, it was released in 1971 & I bought a used copy some years later & played it for years till I started buying CDs in the late 90s. Fortunately it came out as a CD in 2003 a few years after I gave away my record player & I've now worn it out - the last track is very wobbly (sob!) fortunately it's on youtube It's been discussed on mudcat in the past

28th LP needs copying as it has never been released on cassette or CD.

only a zillion books & other stuff to downsize ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 12 May 23 - 09:45 AM

Good for you, Sandra!

I just got started on our massive accumulation of CDs, and I have already ground to a halt.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 23 - 01:19 PM

I hit a goldmine in classical music CDs at a garage sale a dozen years ago or more, when I found a bin full and the woman came up and said "We'll never sell those, they're all classical. You can have it for $20.) I scrambled to get to the corner gas station, get cash from their ATM, and handed my $20 over just as someone else was heading to the bin. I sorted it, over 300, no duplicates (except I had a few of them myself already) - I think it was from someone who taught music appreciation or something, there were in several cases different versions of the same thing, to examine how conductors interpret works. Anyway, my CDs are mostly contained. It's the ones I inherited from Dad that are kind of all over.

After a couple of days of drizzle I'm headed into the yard today to do some weeding. I picked up several bags of mulch yesterday and any weeds from front yard beds will be going into their own compost pile not in the Geobin in the back (it would fill up too quickly). I'm thinking it's time for a side yard compost area again.

My favorite thrift store is moving, and will have a sale this weekend. I need to head over briefly today and see where they are moving to: I hope they plan to stay in the neighborhood. I'm thinking there is a larger vacant grocery store they might be moving to (fingers crossed - I've always wished someone would use that space.)

Oops. Plans may have just changed. My recently-departed house guest has lost her wallet. I must go scour the house in anyplace she sat or set down her purse and see if it turns up. I'm sure it isn't here because she bought a train ticket after leaving my house - but I'll look anyway. Yesterday I found a pair of socks she left behind.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 May 23 - 05:58 PM

lost socks! gotta watch out for that Sock Bandit!!

Charmion - I had 600 CDs & was not playing them so sorted them ruthlessly & kept 2 shelves worth which I now play regularly. I gave 250 Oz CDs (including CDs from friends) to friend who has an Oz music show on community radio, Ozcatter GerryM got those of my Mudcatter CDs he didn't have for his community radio show + anything else he wanted, really not a great lot.

Some went to charity shops (6 per shop) & the rest (not too many) are with my folk club & used as lucky door prizes. The very theatrical draw by one of the performers is the highlight of the evening - drum rolls & air guitar etc - happy winners sit down with second hand CDs, someone once left early so the ticket holder who groaned they had the next number was told that was good enough ...

This was my largest downsizing - so much more needs rehoming ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 23 - 07:15 PM

The "lost" wallet was sitting out in plain sight and discovered this afternoon—whew!

I've started on the front beds, pulling out some of the grass tangles then digging up small trees, one of them about 3' tall and a bit of a struggle. They should survive and will be offered to anyone who needs a tree. I could just lop them off, as I usually do, but every now and then one of these squirrel-planted trees will have interesting leaves (oaks, generally) and I'll pot them. More tomorrow morning.

Charmion, you might slip some of those CDs into your family members' luggage. I hope your visit is going well.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 12 May 23 - 10:05 PM

This week is a cut-off to get the Omicron variant booster vaccine to be able to get the newest vaccine coming in August. They should remain at least 6 months apart. This would apply to the elderly with another immunity risk factor. Everyone else could just get the new booster with their August flu shot.

The N15H Bird flu has jumped to mammals which raises the risks to people, but so far so good.

source: Dr. Fauci

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 23 - 01:20 AM

The Moderna booster I got a couple of weeks ago is apparently part two of the booster I got last September. The previous immunizations were all from Pfizer, but I thought the Moderna formula this time sounded more robust.

As I change my address from the post office to the house I'm to the updating stationary part of the project: business cards, personal checks, etc. After I retired I needed new business cards so in 2019 I got them through Office Depot, but their system has changed. Either upload a finished design of your own or they want you to design it on their site using Canva. I don't need anything fancy, but I still want it to be attractive. Their Canva offerings are limited with fewer interesting templates now. I prefer Photoshop and Bridge for opening and working on files, and I have a good scanner, so I created a 600dpi file of my current card to tweak, change the text, then I'll upload and reprint. The background art (separate from the text, making this easy) has art that reminds me of the Truffula Trees in the Lorax.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 May 23 - 01:02 PM

I imagine I will keep two shelves of CDs, or about 20 percent of the music recordings stashed in the basement. Brother-in-law No. 3 has already weeded out the ones he likes, filling several large shopping bags, and thus freed me of Edmund’s Dylan collection and the works of John Prine. (A little of those gentlemen goes a long way with me.) If only he liked Motown, and folk-rock played with thumping drums and little subtlety, much of my work would be done by now.

Brother No. 2 and wife are ensconced in the guest room. All going well …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 May 23 - 09:49 PM

What I'm decluttering now, are books. The CDs will have to wait.
Thankfully there are book drops for charitable organizations that sccept donations of second-hand books. I'm haunting those book drops . . .

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 23 - 09:57 PM

The front lawn is mostly mowed, but I left one area where I sprayed a strong vinegar on some of the weeds - I'll mow it tomorrow after I look to see which plants were affected by this organic mixture. I can feel in my arms the exercise of mowing with the bag catching clippings to start a side-yard compost area(it gets really heavy when the grass is wet), plus I pulled a lot of the native sunflowers that were springing up all over. I left a few, but most are now tossed in with the compost clippings. This was a full-body workout.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 23 - 09:59 PM

We're back to one paragraph posts this evening or you get 505. It's time to launder lap quilts and blankets because we have suddenly switched to warm muggy nights. It's too muggy to dry laundry on the line, but after this wet spell passes I'll go back to drying sheets at least on the line. There is an under-bed zipper plastic bag I use to store these blankets when they aren't in use.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 14 May 23 - 12:52 PM

Yesterday’s agenda — violin school recital in the morning, demanding choir concert in the evening — left me quite whacked, and today I’m dragging my tail. I’ll do an hour or so of raking and sweeping in the garden but not much else.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 May 23 - 08:21 AM

They have to be short paragraphs too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 23 - 11:12 AM

The items taken at our recycling bin are pro forma - because they always took them they still take paper and plastic, but I think they only recycle metal, glass, and corrugated. So paper is being shredded here and going in my compost, plastic into the trash (an experiment to burn with trash reveals a melted plastic sludge & probably releases hydrocarbons). But - my organic pesticide test went well. Now to mow the area and see if the weeds are dead or just wounded.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 23 - 11:40 AM

Only #1 and #2 plastic are reliably recycled via the bin. Pop bottles and milk containers and many large jugs. The jugs my white 5% vinegar comes in are reused by me many times before they are so broken down they go in the trash. Other recycling this weekend: my favorite thrift store is closing to relocate, so on their last afternoon I found an unlined silk Talbot's Ike jacket and a Columbia Sports cotton flannel shirt (everything half price). That came out $7 each.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 May 23 - 04:57 PM

Beaver:
Things got planted. R put soaker hose in place. New tent will go up when I get back to Dupont. Now: Working on getting new order of pots ready - after my 3 days of recovery from drive. Two plates and two "larger" bowls - about 3 # of clay each - took about an hour and will require a rest period of ... Maybe 2 hours... Not sure yet. Went to chiro this am. Hope it helps!

That planting fit at Dupont certainly improved my belief in my ability to get the body working better. I even walked out to my little bridge through the area that is very rough - without any problem. And unearthed four tables - metal legs with plywood tops - that have been sitting out in the "back 40" for a few years wrapped in heavy plastic - Useable! Will get them up to deck as an alternate work area for glazing.

I did fire the greenware. Took two large plastic bags of flower pots to those who will use them to help community gardeners grow food. Visited at my fav org - it is working on food availability, drug problems, and low cost housing - with no cooperation from the town.

Still need to drop off stuff at thrift shop- Town is a MESS with the main street in process of... something??? I thought we went through this last year. All the businesses are suffering terribly - with plywood ramps from street to entrances! Traffic is backed up - my excuse for not going to thrift shop!

Narcissi(?) are in bloom in front garden and the mock orange starts to show green but looks like it had a rough winter. Have screen door on back
door but front one needs attention. Not to worry! It was just above freezing when I got up this morning! Small fire in wood stove last night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 23 - 11:13 PM

The vinegar seems to have worked on the area I tested; I've now mowed and will watch to see if they grow back from the roots or if killing the foliage killed the whole weed.

I have rue in a pot and today I found swallowtail caterpillars munching away. I'll get some more at the neighborhood nursery, they always eat themselves out of food before they're ready to pupate. With the number of lizards living nearby on the rock wall, I think it might be a good idea to move the pot (though the yard is full of lizards and toads - who love eating insects.)

This evening I made a batch of granola; last time I made it the cereal was so sweet that this time I doubled the oats but kept the original amount of honey and oil. And I added a lot more nuts (whatever I could find in the freezer - almonds, walnuts, and some pecans). And raisins. There is a little flavor from the honey but it's a much better mix. I'll enter it in MyFitnessPal and see what kind of nutrition information is revealed. (270 calories before milk is added.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 May 23 - 11:38 AM

This new batch of granola is much better, with just a hint of the honey flavor and not too sweet. I've bagged and frozen some, and I used the FoodSaver vacuum seal canister to bottle some more. The trick is to put a jar with whatever dry thing you want to seal into the vacuum canister with a sealing lid held lightly in place on top of the jar. Set up to seal the canister, and when the machine turns off, open the canister and you'll find that the lidded jar inside is now also vacuum sealed. It means you can use all of those old spaghetti sauce jars to seal in dry stuff and reuse one canister to seal those jars, not spend $20 or more per canister just to store dry things like herbs and cereal and other grains. I've also stored dehydrated vegetables this way.

My neighbor gave me a bottle of avocado oil at xmas and I've been looking for ways to use it; for the granola this one is perfect, it's much healthier than corn or canola but not a strong flavor like olive. It looks like I'm going to have a good crop of basil this year and I think making my own pesto with this kind of oil is a great way to control salt and have as fresh as can be at the same time. I've added pine nuts to my shopping list.

Last week I switched the house heat pumps over to the summer settings, and I see this week that two of the dogs are now choosing to sleep on the tile floor instead of the filled dog beds. It's time to wash the covers and put them away and stack the orthopedic foam and fiberfill beds out of the way (so Cookie doesn't tear them up to get at the stuffing. That's why there are covers on them.) I'll leave a couple of the orthopedic mats out. There is so much dog stuff around here.

Charmion, I hope the yard looks fabulous after your raking. Dorothy, those sound like some rather heavy plates and bowls you're working on now. I have a few of the real heavy ones around here from my Dad's house, they get used for serving food on special occasions. Hopefully that is the destination of your fine pottery!

How is everyone else doing? Any lurkers want to lower their shields and share their spring plans or progress reports of home renovation or decluttering? Jon? Keb? JennieG? Patty? Don? Steve? Sandra? To name just a few.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 May 23 - 07:36 PM

Well I'm behind with my gardening, mainly to do with poor weather (until this week, which is lovely) and a bout of ill-health last month. Last year the farmer whose fields surround us signed up to some wacky scheme to grow wild flowers for their seed crop, which could then be packeted up and sold. He sowed the four-acre field next to us last year, and guess what: not a wild flower of even a remotely desirable type in sight. I could have told him. Plenty of ribwort plantain (ok for his horses, I suppose) and thousands of prickly sow-thistles, all of which seeded and which covered my garden with their feathery flying propagules. So I have a magnificent crop of sow thistles up to six feet tall in every flower bed, veg bed and plant pot. They're very easy to pull out and I suppose they'll make good compost. I've even heard that you can eat them (they're related to lettuce). They're so tall and thick and fast-growing that they seem to have suppressed the other weeds, so I'll take that as a positive. One thing's for sure: if he tries the wild flower thing again, the millions of sow thistle seeds he produced last year are just waiting in his soil to thwart him!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 May 23 - 12:33 PM

I got paid for the fiddle school gig — a fuchsia plant, a chocolate bar and several fervent hugs. The fuchsia is out on the porch, easing into bloom and looking as if I always have the good taste to acquire porch flowers, which I of course don’t.

The flower beds still look awful, but I find that I just don’t care; when I do, conditions will improve.

The only flowers in my garden that the local rabbits don’t eat to the ground are daffodils, blue hyacinths, and hellebores. Maybe I should go out and buy a whole whack of hellebores and plant them everywhere that isn’t covered with periwinkle.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 17 May 23 - 06:23 PM

Beaver:

Had to phone R and beg frost protection on the new plants!! He sent me pics. Frost again tonight and, possibly, next week. Botheration!!!

Bowls and plates are getting made as energy permits; none yesterday, lots today. Feeling good about the progress. They will not, of course, be as heavy after the water leaves - in the firings!

Fire in stove last night again and all day as it did not warm. Brought in more wood.

Rain due on Saturday. Bummer as it is first Farm Market for this year. Also going an hour north for a gathering planned by friend of 45 years - since she was 6. Looking forward to seeing the folks up there. And check out the shop where my pottery sells. Hoping for good summer sales; it is en route to Algonquin Park, very touristy.

Have done some weeding in the raised beds here. Pulled some sorrel to add to sweet potatoes.

Long visit with friends at Timmy's; a long time since we did that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 May 23 - 06:26 PM

Washing dog beds. The washer is fairly smart and works based upon weight and the assumption that it is normal laundry; it will suss the volume of laundry on its own for water level, but these beds are light and bulky and don't slide down into the bottom of the tub. I set it manually to use lot of water on the gentlest cycle to let these things soak and do an extra rinse. It's a nice day so the first one will go on the clothesline when finished. The second one might fit in the dryer. The den already looks so much better without these two humongous beds in the way.

I moved a stack of dusty beading supplies from the top of a bookcase in my bedroom to the sewing studio. In the process I found a pair of amber apple-shaped earrings (the diameter of quarters and with darkly tarnished silver settings and French hooks). They arrived in a box of jewelry my sister sent when sorting our mother's estate. It was mostly costume, but there were some good pieces, and I decided that my daughter (who was probably 12 when the box arrived) should have the whole thing, not just getting the picked over stuff. It included a quite valuable long string of chunky amber (I've seen that necklace in photos when she goes to costume events - it gets used). The amber earrings I thought I might wear, but they needed repair. They were forgotten for 20 years until I moved this stuff.

I took them apart, polished the silver, reglued the settings, and when I tried them on realized that as light as amber is they were heavier than I like. I tucked them into a little box and remembered to hand it over when my daughter and I had lunch yesterday. There's nothing like the surprise of a tiny box. I reminded her about Mom's jewelry, and asked if she could use them or make them into something else. It seems lately she has been wearing more clunky earrings so as we talked she swapped out the small silver dangles she wore to work with these amber ones. Excellent outcome! There was an exchange - she had a couple of hand-me-down long-sleeved shirts for me. Not elegant, but they'll get more use than the earrings ever would have.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 May 23 - 02:18 AM

Dorothy, we cross posted. It's nice you have shops that you can send your pottery to. Good luck keeping the frost off of the tender garden. I'm setting up sprinklers here as it starts to heat up.

Once the bookcase top in the bedroom was bare I realized I could reclaim my dresser by relocating the TV to that spot. My exercise stuff is also there, all in front of the carpet where I use my yoga mat. Disturbing dust was part of this operation.

The messiest job today was the continuation of dog bed cleaning. When the second fluffy bed went in the washer I added the case from a flat egg crate dog mat (it's "orthopedic" for the old Lab.) Once the case was clean it was clear a lot of dirt had migrated into the foam so that needed a wash also. With dog shampoo in the tub I did a lot of gentle swishing and wringing then draped it over a couple of plastic trash bins in the bathtub so air can reach it to dry overnight. The amount of dog hair around the house right now is astonishing. My next project is to gag my vacuum with as much as I can round up. I've started brushing the dogs and though you'd think that would reduce the amount of shedding, I think it makes it worse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 May 23 - 10:42 PM

This afternoon I ran a small sprinkler in zones across the front of the house then was able to step into those moistened beds and pull out the Bermuda grass and spiderwort that was in amongst iris and lilies and taking over. Tomorrow I'll dig out a bed that is full of Carolina Snail Seed, a pretty yet horrible vine that strangles everything. I mowed last weekend but the grass is tall again - tomorrow is the day the code enforcement guy comes by to see if the lawn was mowed - it was, but can he tell? We've had a couple of days of rain to let it grow fast. I'm betting that without as much grass in the gardens, he won't complain.

I have some squash plants almost ready to plant and a tomato that was an extra straggler in a potted nursery bedding plant that I scooped out and put in its own pot to grow. I now have an extra plant to put in the garden. I know - silly - but if I can get a free tomato plant I will. The squash and okra are growing from seeds. I'm also trying to get some cucumbers, so far only one of about 8 seeds has sprouted in that mound (they are old seeds). I need to buy a couple of eggplant bedding plants to put in. Over in the butterfly host plant pot of rue one of the caterpillars has disappeared, probably due to predation by lizard.

Back in the house, every time I walk through my bedroom I'm pleased with how good it looks. As a follow-up tweak I've moved a few things off of the antique Mission Oak rocking chair and put two lap quilts away in an under bed zipper bag. (There is a meme about clothes worn once - you don't want to hang them up in the closet but they don't need to go into the laundry bin yet - so "hello, chair" - where they air until they're worn again. This is that chair.) My exercise area beside that rocker is inviting, and this is a good thing!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 May 23 - 04:06 AM

My mum always used to advise that you could wear a new shirt for two days before it needed washing (unlike older shirts that should be changed every day). I never did see the logic of that. But always remember the old adage (*puts on best Hyacinth Bucket voice...*) that 'undies worn twice are not quite nice...'

If in doubt, twenty minutes on the clothes line outside solves the problem. This also works a treat if your clothes have picked up cooking smells. As long as it isn't raining, of course...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 May 23 - 08:53 AM

SRS, that was a lovely outcome on the amber earrings, well done! That's the way to pass things on.   

Charmion, ridiculous that you find a perfect soul to take the Romertopf and he refuses! Sometimes people are too nice for their own good. As if you don't have better mementos to hang on to than a darn pot.

Steve, I don't know where that wear-shirts-twice thing came from out of the blue, but don't try it south of the 40th parallel, unless you have no sweat glands!

Doing fine out here on the road, had a nice stop at Reelfoot Lake TN, saw a lovely apple-blossom spring in Illinois, and bopped down to Georgia for a field trip. Househunting in Wisconsin was a big bust, so now I am taking a look at northwest Illinois towns. Today one will get the 'do they have a decent YMCA' test. A nearby town was promising, but had a hideously managed pool, so it fell off the short list.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 May 23 - 11:16 AM

I had one of those forehead slapping moments this morning; new plastic storage drawers have entered the sewing studio as I continue to find places to put things so they won't collect dust but I can still tell what's in the bins. I'm wrapping up work on masks (I make a few for people who still wear them, but not at the pace of 2020 or 2021). Looking around for a new project to work on, (I'm leaning towards quilted panels and corduroy tote bags) I put my hands on several projects I have materials and patterns for that have languished. I could start by making or finishing those projects. Duh.

When I was a kid one of the attractive and sturdy things my mother made were braided rugs. She shopped the Salvation Army for old wool pants and cut them into strips that were then fed through metal tips to shape the strands for braiding. They were then stitched together into oval rugs using heavy duty nylon thread. Mom kept everything and my sister sent me all of that stuff. I'd like to make some of those wool rugs, though the modern fabric that I've used for projects are old t-shirts; when you find the ones that don't have side seams or huge plastic printed art you can make a jersey fabric yarn that won't unravel. (It can be connected together for big projects.) I use it instead of elastic for masks. What else might I use it for? I have a lot of thrift store t-shirts I bought for the various colors to go with masks. I also have a lot of jeans denim to use for projects. Must start looking for patterns.

Out to the yard in a few minutes; yesterday was eaten up by a big web design project, so only a couple of hours in the yard. Today I should complete a lot more (since I watered yesterday to make weedy beds workable).

Good luck with the house search, Patty. My brother is doing the same thing to relocate to the New England states to be near his daughter's family, but about an hour away from Boston where prices are so high. He has a plan (staying at B&Bs in various areas to give himself time to look around) very similar to yours, but without a van or RV as his base of operation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 May 23 - 11:42 PM

Clearing out some old technology. When I updated to a newer model, I kept a small Amazon Fire tablet to use to connect with an Instagram account I manage (not my own). It was the only device I could use to edit typos, but times change and it works on the computer now. It won't bring much, but it works and factory reset is now churning through the apps and settings. There are a couple of other devices that have been reset and all need to go on eBay.

I did more digging and weeding in a light drizzle, spreading another bag of mulch, but when the thunder started I retreated indoors. I don't know if it is really true that if you can hear the thunder you can get hit by the lightning, but I usually choose not to put it to the test. I finished the heavy lifting needed in a front bed by digging out several weed trees that keep coming back. I mixed another batch of 20% vinegar with a little orange oil to use for spraying on weeds. It is best used on sunny warm days so the vinegar works faster.

Except for that thunder today I could have washed the last of the dog beds, but it was in use by the blue heeler who hates storms and was hunkered down in the closet, where this other bed stays. Tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 May 23 - 09:48 PM

Beaver:

Mostly social day today but I managed to throw two plates so they can be drying so I can use the bats for two more tomorrow. (only have two large enough!)

Went to farm market in the rain. Good visits and some helpful info. Managed to finish one of the most poorly concocted novels I have ever tried to complete. Getting to the end was... well... fund out who dun it but ARGHHH! Author goes on list of never again.

Then off to an event an hour north - great visits with old and new friends. A very new potter moving to the area! And a wonderful visit with a man telling me how much he enjoyed a program for which he worked - his first summer job as a HS student (circa 1985) - that our very new women's centre had initiated; apparently I was the supervisor (unpaid as chair of the board.) Good feeling to be remembered kindly all these years later! The Centre, founded by myself and a couple friends, is doing vital work almost 45 years later - feels to me like a kid who grew up wonderfully well!

10 good days here and two weeks more before I need to get back to QC.
Poured rain sporadically all day. Tomorrow to be nice and a bit warmer so back to potting work!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 May 23 - 11:06 PM

Dorothy, it's good to see projects you started move forward under their own steam. In college a friend and I started an outdoors center on our community college campus, to make equipment available to borrow (or rent? I don't remember) and to teach outdoor skills. About 20 years later I was on campus and that organization had taken over the whole upper floor of the building and was a busy hub of activity.

Loaded up on fruit and dog food today and did a little trimming in the garden, but mostly it was a lazy day. I did some laundry and ran another load of dishes with that dry detergent I've been trying to use up - it does such a poor job I'm going to throw out the rest and go with the pods that clean dishes and remove tea stains from cups. Why wash dishes AFTER they come out of the dishwasher?

Volunteer work tomorrow, and then I'll head to the gym. I have a new audiobook to listen to and mostly I use them at the gym (where there are TVs all around the room but it's a nuisance to go get a channel changer and they have cable with a gazillion channels to scroll through - I'm better off with a book).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 May 23 - 06:47 PM

A lovely Sunday in Perth County, after a cold, wet Saturday.

As I type, I’m sitting on the porch. With a beer. The truest Canadian way to mark the dear ol’ Queen’s birthday. (Victoria, that is.)

Tomorrow will be noisy, with firecrackers that sound like far-away small arms fire that is nevertheless closer than I like. But right now all I hear is the hooting of mourning doves and the grandchildren of Neil-across-the-street helling around on scooters.

The house is thick with cat hair (again) and the kitchen floor badly needs washing. The flower beds still need clearing of the winter’s debris. But I do not care. Right now, it is sufficient that the evening air is like velvet and the scent of lilac drifts on the breeze.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 May 23 - 01:19 PM

I see your cats and raise you two dogs (the third one has a short flat coat.) The dog hair here is incredible - sweep every other day and the dustpan looks like it has a bouffant wig being carried to the trash can.

Today I waded into the sewing studio's stack of rag and mending stuff and consigned a half-dozen knit tops to the donation bin, put a couple of t-shirts back into circulation (I couldn't wear them until I lost the weight.) Two have gone into the trash, because it's either I throw them away or the Goodwill would throw them away. I still have several to use for rags, no shortage there.

Mowing today, and when I put the fitness tracker into a band I wear around my ankle it adds up to a good number of steps, though it confuses the heck out of the Google Fit map as I walk back and forth in the same small area. (When I mow my hands are on the mower bar and the tracker isn't moving back and forth as when one walks with free hands, so the gyro or whatever is inside doesn't pick up steps.)

It was Susan's birthday a couple of days ago—if she reads these posts, I hope it was a good one, wherever she's living. And Dorothy and Charmion, have a great holiday today, not too noisy. Will there be some good food and music?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 May 23 - 10:35 PM

Two small tablets have been decommissioned, both now have gone through "factory reset." It took hunting in several places to find the bits and pieces that came with them. At the minimum the power supply (a charger pod and removable cable) and quick start instructions if possible. Another couple of devices need a similar treatment. Then to eBay.

My museum volunteer gig comes with logon credentials because I'm working on their big server to store scanned images—it's my extensive previous library training that got me this work and after three years I have about 5,000 discrete images scanned for them. But as a docent (part two of that gig) I don't need that email, and when they send docent stuff to the archives account, I can't see it since I've never been able to open those from home. I recently asked them to stop sending docent stuff to the museum email and the IT folks removed both of my addresses from the docent listserv. [sigh] Now I need to find a streaming lecture from the training session they did today that I just now learned about. There are too many cooks in that networking process. A couple of times I year I have to ask them to restore some access or other that they randomly remove. Not a great way to run an IT dept.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 23 May 23 - 11:58 AM

House-hunting has not gone well. I thought if I was free to not have to choose an area for employment, I would have good pickings. But, it's just a bad market for buyers, as investors send their tentacles out anywhere the least bit desirable or affordable. Not good for sellers either; so many are clinging to what they have in fear they won't want to finance the new place at high interest rates and higher prices.

Often the only affordable listings in any given town are the 'problem' homes, or junky cosmetic flips not worth the money. I hope SRS' brother has better luck in New England and a big pot of money to work with. On the up side, if you're in a home, that's paid for, or has a low payment, you're a winner!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 May 23 - 12:46 PM

Good luck with that search, Patty. I wonder if building is any better opportunity-wise for affordable housing? I've read that there are big contingency funds added as the prices of materials goes up. No news on the brother's search, but I believe he has invested well over the years and probably won't have to worry about financing, making purchase a little more straightforward.

A neighbor of mine (she worked for a big bank and helped the last refinance on this house) is an "investor" - she has been buying up local houses and renting to the Section 8 community. I am not opposed to this, but I wish she did a little better background check. There is a lot more foot traffic because many of these folks don't have cars; again, not a problem - it's the number of times each week police are called to a couple of these houses that is troubling. The reason why I bought a house and got away from apartment living was to avoid this (after the divorce we spent two years in a complex that was generally pretty good, but still, weekends were a bit rowdy with fights in the parking lot and there was vandalism to vehicles pretty regularly.)

I got up early today to start mowing only to find it was raining. Hmmm. Shift in plans. I did go out with a squirt bottle to spritz some Spinosad on the herbs that seem to be munched by garden critters (after the Sluggo didn't slow them down.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 May 23 - 03:18 PM

It seemed prudent to wrap up the digging and mulching in the front beds before I developed heat stroke; that part of the yard is sheltered by the porch so there isn't a breeze to make work a little easier. I'll mow after 6pm when it cools a bit.

A celebration will be in order soon—six weeks shy of the one-year anniversary of his retirement the feds finally calculated what the ex's pension will be. So they will have also calculated my portion. I stayed home for nine years raising kids, I earned it, but talk about deferred payment (I went back to work in 1997)! Now to watch out for the appliances getting wind of this, though I think the aging tires on the SUV are still at the front of that line.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 23 May 23 - 08:18 PM

Build? As in expensive house, architect, and 2 year build process? Lol. Just for fun, I looked up Jim Walter Homes which would be the only thing in my price range. They closed in 2009, victims of the last time the financial industry stomped on the USA.

It's just a bad time. I just read there is a 'shortfall' of 3.8 million homes, which they blame on millenial household formation while building didn't keep up, but really it's just a function of a ton of people buying more than one unit, whether for second home or investment or AirBnBs. And many homes being neglected into slum status and abandonment, that's not helping.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 May 23 - 09:20 PM

"Investors" swoop in with cash and lowball bids to senior citizens then slap on some paint and tile and a cheap roof and call it prime real estate. Buyers often have to undo what has been done later. I was lucky, I found this house that had been a rental for years and bought from the original owner; several I looked at already had the investor touch and that was 20 years ago. It's much worse now.

I hadn't thought about those Jim Walters homes in a long time; friends out in West Texas were considering having them build a prefab house on their lot because they couldn't find a regular contractor to do the job for them. Years ago now Mudcatter maeve had a house fire and replaced it with a prefab yurt (with modern building materials, not tanned hides.) The photos I saw of those houses were lovely; perhaps she'll drop in and report how that has worked out.

Trimming around the front yard was done with the gas trimmer; it's more powerful than the electric one, and alas, killed a rough earth snake that was under some grass I was scraping off of the driveway pavement. A second snake got a glancing blow but will be fine. Tomorrow I'll mow, possibly both front and back, a really good workout.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 May 23 - 11:38 AM

Another morning with plans to work in the yard, and another morning rainstorm. I'll let it dry before I mow. Then there is a new bed to start and to move some cannas to it before they get too established in their temporary site. My arms are feeling the effect of several days of digging.

I'm going to add an extra reinforcing long screw to the new mailbox - I've been meaning to finish that before I forget about it. If I have an angle iron to attach under the outside in the middle I can do that, otherwise on the inside compartment I'll drill through the back and into the wall stud and add a long screw with a washer. As of now there is only one long screw in the stud, the rest are perched in drywall.

Ex and I are taking some old cans of paint and garden chemicals to the municipal drop off. I checked with next door to see if they have anything to go - not this time. It takes a village sometimes to responsibly get rid of hazardous products. Six cans various sizes and a bottle of what might have been gasoline stabilizer - the label dropped off and it's time for this mystery product to go away.

The donation bin in the laundry room has slowly accumulated castoffs, and I typically lift the lid and drop things in without looking so I don't know how much is there now. Time to check.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 25 May 23 - 09:22 AM

A new fridge and combo convection oven replacement have kept me busy with transfer chores. I have 5 planting jobs which are complicated with dry compact soil but shoveling is always hard with roots and such.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 May 23 - 12:02 PM

Don, do you water the area ahead of your digging project? If you don't have a convenient rainstorm, watering the day before makes the soil friable for working. That's my go-to trick here. That, and using a mattock (with an adze for chopping through roots) when need be.

The paint disposal was easy yesterday - since the ex didn't have a lot he drove over here and since what I had wasn't a lot it all fit in his trunk so he drove it to the disposal site himself. Most times we need the extra cargo space of my SUV so I drive over there to get his stuff. (You should have seen the extremely heavy Queen-sized latex mattress we stuffed in there. Sad to take it to the dump, but we didn't think anyone else would want a splendid but hard to transport mattress.)

The donation bin still has space, so no trip yet. I added a gooseneck lamp I never use and will probably add more of my culled too-big garments soon.

Tidying in preparation for a group of friends here for lunch this weekend. I have a discussion starter on the table - a notebook of my mother's that I may have mentioned already - it is a Midcentury Modern time capsule of sorts, articles and ideas she clipped, and the methods are as interesting as the content. For example, in 1964 she didn't have access to something so universal today as a photocopier (let alone a scanner) so transcribed information she wanted from books by typing it out onto several sheets of paper to save in the binder. Probably from library books. These are all library folks, so I'm sure they'll see any number of other things about the collection that interests them. That said, I have to figure out what to DO with this thing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 23 - 11:48 PM

Today was spent running my own errands plus doing some shopping for a couple of friends. I found fruit on sale I couldn't resist - a box of 18 Ataulfo mangos for $4; even splitting the box with my ex that's a lot of mangoes to eat this week. I'm having friends over for lunch on Sunday so there will probably be fruit on the menu!

The garden is progressing, there are nice sized potatoes in that part of the garden (they pop out of the soil as they grow and you have to push soil or mulch over them to keep the sun off or they turn green, and that green part supposedly can make you ill.) The front yard is looking nice after all of the work, and tomorrow the back yard will get the same attention. I spent some time yesterday pulling out a type of grass called Foxtail Weed that has seed heads that can cause the dogs problems - several years ago Zeke needed surgery because he had a couple embedded in his foot. At the time I didn't know which type of grass was the culprit (there are lots of things growing wild in the back). Now I do and I noticed them so pulled them all out by hand and they're in the trash. No putting these in the compost where some might escape. I'll have to keep pulling these now that I know - there's a lot of it behind the back fence and will probably encroach from there.

I stopped at two Goodwill stores in search of sturdy arm chairs, the old library or courthouse type that are wooden and well-built. A friend's husband needs a chair that will let him stand by pushing himself up with the chair arms; he has a degenerative neurological disorder that is like Alzheimers but not, and he can't just stand up like one would do normally. I found no chairs, but there were a few other things that caught my eye, such as the perfect griddle for lefse and tortillas, a newer version of one I bought at Goodwill a few years ago, with a better non-stick finish. The old pan is in the donation bin.

Memorial Day weekend. Friends over on Sunday, but other than that, a quiet time spent at home (with a few trips to a neighborhood north of me, where I am feeding a friend's cats now through Sunday.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 May 23 - 03:40 PM

A hot, sunny Sunday, and I just made the season’s first jug of salted lemonade. Next time, the mint will be up enough to add a couple of sprigs.

Does anyone know how to nurse a potted cyclamen through the summer? Mine has been blooming consistently since Christmas, when it was given to me, but it’s down to two blossoms and some of the leaves are yellowing. According to Mr Google, that means I should let it dry out and go dormant.

Now, cyclamens like cool conditions. I wonder whether my very chilly basement would be a good spot for it to spend the summer. Thoughts?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 May 23 - 04:59 PM

Exactly what you said. In my experience, they survive but are never quite as good next time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 May 23 - 05:45 PM

That also comports with the slim amount of info on my gardening guru's site. Cyclamen.

Guests were over for lunch and it happens one had a birthday today. I made a cake unaware of that, but because it was a holiday weekend. This was a picnic-like meal with with tuna sandwiches on homemade bread (custom mixed tuna depending on the amendments people wanted - pickles, celery, onion, lettuce, etc.) Fruit and corn on the cob on the side. I made a batch of my green tea with some of the lemon balm snipped from the back yard. I'm not drinking green tea these days but one of the guests went through the entire quart as iced tea.

In the process of decluttering there were some door prizes - things I've taken out of circulation as I reduce the amount of coconut sodium laureth sulfate (there are a number of these ingredients the pharmacist refers to as "the SLS group") in my daily routine. This time, unopened containers of toothpaste and shampoo. I like the Tom's of Maine toothpaste, but realized it had a fairly high amount of SLS. It has come off of my Amazon subscription list. I can still donate this stuff to the community fridge and pantry, but they relocated and I have to figure out what spot is closest to me now.

I make facemasks for this group still, and in particular the pride rainbow masks are the favorite of one gay man who finds they telegraph so much very well in some of his favorite shopping venues. We also talked about quilts and embroidery and trapunto projects. Health, gardening, shopping, jury duty (how difficult it is for disabled people to get into courthouses to serve on juries). These meals are happier and healthier now that we aren't rehashing how awful the dean was at the place were we all used to work—a good sign that we've moved on. That angst was definitely worth decluttering!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 23 - 07:41 PM

Sorting out my backup photos that load from my phone camera to OneDrive; I have inadvertently ended up with two Microsoft accounts and am hoping to stop paying for one and not have stuff I want go away, but trying to tell what is where isn't easy. So I'm filing my photos from the camera roll by year and will see if I can see the updated results from both "accounts." If so, one can just go away at the end of it's subscription. You can't rush these processes or they crash.

OneDrive is cheaper than a similar amount of paid space on Dropbox, but it isn't as easy to use as Dropbox. My Dropbox account is a free one and as long as I don't get too close to the space limit they don't keep pestering me to pay for the account. If I can get the OneDrive sorted out then I'll empty Dropbox and go back to using it for daily stuff and anything more than a few months old will be retrieved from OneDrive. I stopped backing up to Dropbox in March, but I miss it.

Probably as clear as mud, but the short reason for this is that if I want to find anything in OneDrive using a phone or tablet it eats up the battery and takes a long time to scroll back years in the Camera Roll. This way I can aim at where I think things are and search more easily. I'm moving 2018 now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 May 23 - 09:12 PM

Finally, I defrosted and cleaned out the freezer. There’s enough vacuum-sealed lamb in there to last me to Christmas.

I have also finally got around to posting on Kijiji the summer tires (and their rims) from the blue Golf that I wrecked in January 22. They’ve been stacked up in the garage beside the freezer for more than a year.

Tomorrow, I’m taking the last unneeded bookcase to Habitat for Humanity. It’s small enough to fit into the boot of my car, and I can slide it in on an old Army poncho liner.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 23 - 11:32 AM

I have a 6'x8' tarp I bought cheap at Harbor Freight that lives in the back of the SUV for spreading out to cover the cargo area, but your poncho does double duty to wear in an emergency, so good choice! (My emergency plastic rain poncho was a buck at Home Depot and is in a box in the back.)

Going a bit nuts waiting on a federal agency to mail paperwork. Like the IRS, OPM is extremely understaffed and underfunded (the House took a swipe at the IRS with the debt ceiling hostage taking, but they don't mention the OPM, that I'm sure wasn't recently given adequate funding.) And paperwork comes via the US Post Office where DeJoy is still postmaster general. Problems brought on by Trump that Biden hasn't had time to fix yet, or his fixes have been attacked. One has to be patient to work for the government.

I'm making incremental progress in the garden, but today I have two volunteer gigs, pushing digging of beds to tomorrow. I'm ready with four trash bags of mulch picked up this weekend (using that above-mentioned tarp to cover the SUV cargo area.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 23 - 12:36 PM

No, Stilly; that olive-drab quilted thing in the back of my car is not a poncho — it’s a poncho *liner*. You can wrap it around yourself like a blanket, but it’s not a garment; it’s for insulation when you and your buddy make a hoochie (rudimentary shelter) out of two Army-issue ponchos and a tree. Since the Vietnam era, the lighter and snugglier US Army version, popularly known as a “woobie”, has been hugely popular with troops who use it as a security blanket. It’s wonderful for enduring a drafty house, but it’s not what I would call sturdy.

The Canadian version is not cosy, but it’s moisture- and abrasion-resistant. When moving something heavy and awkward, such as a bookcase, I spread the poncho liner over the floor of the car boot so it hangs well over the back bumper. This allows me to slide the bookcase on its back over the bottom lip of the boot and into the car, never taking its full weight.

In case of rain, I keep a scarlet golf umbrella on the cargo cover of the car. If I’m lucky, I’ll never again find myself struggling into the driver’s seat while wearing a drenched poncho.

BTW, you have a genius for making me grateful for Canada Post and the various organs of our provincial and federal governments: all you have to do is describe any interaction with officialdom. Y’know, that debt-ceiling thing your Congress does — that can’t happen here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 23 - 01:03 PM

Interesting about that liner. I did an image search and found both the Canadian and US versions. I used to have a huge coated nylon tarp that I could use for a quick tent or to double up to use for other things - but the "coated" part should give you a clue - it never wore out but that lining aged and peeled and took on the typical vomit-smell that I finally couldn't stand to have around any more.

My cousin in Calgary came to the US last year for knee surgery because on the Canadian system that would have taken another couple of years to happen, but on other things, it sounds like an excellent setup. The GOP here take a swing at it because they don't want folks in the US getting any ideas about making medical care available to all. Your postal arrangement was a little puzzling, last time I was thee I had to go to a store in a mall to mail a package home, but it was an interesting conversation with the clerk. As I was paying I pulled out my coin purse and it turns out he collects American quarters, so was able to "sell" him several that he didn't have. (Back then it was just state quarters, now there are lots of people on the backside as well.)

That debt ceiling thing shouldn't happen here either. I think Biden should explore that part of Fourteenth Amendment and just dispense with the Congressional nonsense. It's there for a reason.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 23 - 06:05 PM

Yes, in Canada you have to wait ages for your knee replacement, but at least it doesn’t cost the earth and eventually they do get around to you. Things are iffier if you're one of the multitudes without a family doctor — or primary care provider, if that’s the correct term these days. I still say general practitioner, and people still know what I mean. But get hauled to hospital by ambulance and you’ll find out that urgent care is far more efficient, even if you have to do time on a gurney in a hallway.

When I travel south of the border, I’m struck by how many apparently middle-class people I see with medical issues that would either have been corrected or at least significantly improved if they lived in urban Canada. The best way of picking poor folks out of the crowd here is missing and broken teeth; dentists aren’t covered by provincial health plans. With doctor fees and hospital expenses largely off the table, middle-class families can afford all the routine dental maintenance and often extensive orthodonty. My crossed eye and snaggly front teeth mark me as a member of the pre-socialized medicine generation.

Canadian coin change can run as high as 15 percent American, depending on where you live and whether it’s a tourist-rich environment. Don’t try using US coins in Canadian vending machines and parking meters, though; odds are better than negligible that the machine will eat your money and give you nothing in return. Laundromat dryers used to be particularly sensitive that way.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 23 - 08:21 PM

Usually when I leave Canada I've used most of the cash I had and if (like the last trip) I take a cab to the airport then the cabbie gets an odd tip with lots of change (and probably a bit higher than usual.) In the 1980s I made many trips into Mexico and had some cash I held onto for future trips, then in 1994 they devalued and changed their currency and I don't think it's worth anything. So don't keep it if you can spend it before leaving the country. (When I worked at Organ Pipe Cactus Natl. Monument in Arizona my aunt and uncle from Calgary visited, and I rounded up all of the spare change and bills that we had collected in our various donation boxes and they bought it from us to take it off of our hands, because the bank wouldn't take it.)

Interesting interview on the NPR program Fresh Air today, looking into allergies and how gut and skin health are part of it (how we eat foods now that don't resemble the foods our gut flora evolved digesting.) Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. I think it was released today. Dr. Theresa MacPhail is the author.

Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a beesting, set out to understand why. In pursuit of answers, MacPhail studied the dangerous experiments of early immunologists as well as the mind-bending recent development of biologics and immunotherapies that are giving the most severely impacted patients hope. She scaled a roof with an air-quality controller who diligently counts pollen by hand for hours every day; met a mother who struggled to use WIC benefits for her daughter with severe food allergies; spoke with doctors at some of the finest allergy clinics in the world; and discussed the intersecting problems of climate change, pollution, and pollen with biologists who study seasonal respiratory allergies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 23 - 12:18 PM

I didn't say in the last post, but I thought that book might be of particular interest to Dorothy.

New checks arrived, and with no parchment copy pages included they're slim, two books of checks attached side-by-side on a piece of paperboard and in a flat plastic envelope. Not the classic box of checks I've seen all my life. Apparently many people don't recognize what they are because the parcel says "Do not discard. Your order is enclosed." I thought I ordered 200, but it is 100. Still, at the rate I write checks, a lifetime supply. So many things one orders these days end up not being what you expected, even with vigilance when making the purchase.

There is a lot to do around here, I hope to cross a couple of things off of the list in the kitchen. One of the things to do today is make a batch of yogurt that I will in turn drain (fill cheesecloth and hang over kitchen sink for several hours) to use as yogurt cheese (it comes out more like cream cheese than lebne).

Nearly halfway through the year, one more month and it's the downhill slide. Were there things we wanted to do by now that we've finished (or have we forgotten what our plans were and just moved through space and time in a haphazard fashion?)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 May 23 - 06:07 PM

Beaver:

I pretty much missed most of the last week. Having gotten lots done, last Monday was a strange day and I ate oddly with no recollection of WHAT! Tuesday, I was wobbly, lacking equilibrium and commuting from bed to washroom ALL day! Today(Monday) I finally feel back to my normal and managed to get a glaze firing going. Essential test of newly mixed glaze in this firing; if it is OK, tomorrow will be another firing using it - TEAl.

Nice not to be walking wobbly today!

After several years of blown fuses and having to re-start glaze firings, I finally realized it could be the water pump that puts the electric load over the limit. So far... But I must be prepared and not run ANY water after the kiln is on high! I hope!

With the outdoor heat in the TOO HOT range, my outdoor time is limited. The studio gets hot from all that wonderful solar gain of the big bow window - even with a heavy white drape and a fan blowing outward in the small west window. So I got out there and did some glazing then brought the baker's rack into the LR to do the sponge ware - so I could sit, bug-free and cool. Loaded by 12:30!

I managed to go to the Hort. Club mtng on Thurs: Dandelions - jelly, salve... Mostly from on-line presentations and a member who had made this stuff and brought samples. My Auditory Processing difficulty: throughout most of it the only words I recognized were "dandelion flowers"! They posted the links on FB so I could find them and use closed captions - which she neglected to do. The high point was a new member who is new to the community, about my age and an experienced potter. Hoping we can get together soon.

Friday's Open Mike was better than usual but I still felt wobbly and queasy and left early. Saturday at the farmer's market I was asking for herb tea suggestions, to no avail; bought 4 lavender plugs and put them in lg yogurt containers with good soil until I can plant them somewhere. Waiting with great hope for the Dragon Flies now the weather is warm enough! I find I have a very few safe minutes to pull weeds before the biting bugs find me. This is ok because my shoulders complain if I do too much!

Chiropractor has actually helped a great deal!

Sunday: went to lunch at the Trust- big community event, chance to talk with wonderful friends. Volunteers have been developing a huge garden on the back parking lot to raise food for those who need it. Mulch and soil mountains were donated. I loaned my wheel barrow - best I could do.

Guess I forgot to send this. Now it is Thurs - two glaze firings, a visit from a special friend and too much heat for much else!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 23 - 08:44 PM

Dorothy, the summers down here are hotter longer but when you're not acclimated to it the summers in the north can be just as hard to get through. Today I finished weeding the rock patio extension in front of the porch (lots of grass and vines through the gravel now) and set up a couple of pots to grow flowers, others already had things growing. I paced myself with an hour around midday and an hour in early evening. With these beds I'm working my way around the house and am about 2/3 of the way across the front at this point.

Shredding finished and in the trash; the cross-cut shredder has a small capacity catcher and can get hot, so I went through the old checks over the course of the afternoon.

Fireflies in the yard these evenings at dusk and into the night; it makes the yard look magical.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:06 AM

Ah, shredding. I have a couple of over-ripe tax files that are more than ready to go.

Recently, I was reminded of a nasty right-wing agitator by the name of Grover Norquist, noted for saying he wanted to see the US government so small and weak that it could be drowned in a bathtub. That’s how I feel about the excess stuff in my house.

Tasks completed recently?

The horrible mouldy bathroom, an embarrassment from the day we moved in, is now sleekly beautiful, allergen-free, and fitted with an exhaust fan and enough towel rails.

The library is now manageable: seven loosely packed full-height bookcases. Another full-height bookcase, in the basement, is full of CDs, and one half-height bookcase in the study holds the household strategic reserve of stationery and computer-related doohickeys. This winter’s cull was the third phase of a process that began a few months after Edmund died; on 10 October 2020, this house contained seventeen full-height and four half-height bookcases, all of them crammed tight with books. Five excess bookcases were also successfully rehomed this spring.

Several large boxes of household gadgets, most related to cooking, went to the church rummage sale in April. My inventory of wooden spoons is down to the two I actually use. Edmund used to buy them at random, always choosing the ones with awkward handles, and I must have had more than a dozen. I no longer possess a roasting pan big enough for a twenty-pound turkey.

I defrosted and scrubbed out the freezer, a job that has needed doing for two years.

I think I have sold the set of VW Golf wheels that has been stacked in the garage since February 2022.

Next, I want to reduce that accumulation of CDs to music I actually listen to, and move them, and the bookcase in which they live, from the basement up two flights of stairs to the library. I’ll need help with that; a six-foot bookcase is way more than I can handle on my own.

I also want to rid the library windows of their heavy curtains and have them fitted with light-adjustable blinds. With the curtain tracks gone, I will finally be able to get that room painted.

That’s enough for now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:10 AM

This year’s fireflies have yet to make their début on my lawn. I’m waiting …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:49 AM

Wow, Charmion, what a lot of accomplishments!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:57 AM

Charmion is an inspiration. SRS sounds like a superhero.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 10:49 AM

I recently got rid of almost all of one collection (crow! crow!)

Admittedly it was one of my smallest - 27 of my 28 LPs went to The Record Shop, run by a bloke who loves LPs, the 28th needs copying before it can go & I just asked a couple of friends if they could do so. I got lotsa' money which I gave to my favourite charity!! It was also invisible (hidden in a cupboard) but all the other stuff that needs new homes is very visible (sigh)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 11:57 AM

The stacks of paper that seem to organically grow here sit back and laugh heartily when Don remarks on my progress. :) It's a running battle. There are notes I need to write down somewhere, then the scrap of paper can go . . .

I'm whittling down the food containers in the fridge; my freezers are both frost free now (though the little bar fridge that holds the overflow I think has a small glacier in the top I might take a look at.) Until a few years ago I had a huge midcentury Harvest Gold freezer that needed defrosting at least once a year. It always looked so new and amazing when I finished. When it died (or when the coils got so clogged with dog hair that I never thought to vacuum out) at about age 50 I replaced it. It was time, I did worry about it failing.

This week I picked up a new brand and type of tuna, this one a solid white albacore from Costco; I'm so accustomed to the shredded salty cheap stuff (Starkist, etc.) that this is a surprise. It's dense and you can actually tell it's part of a fish. Plus - I need to add some of my Nu Salt to the sandwich filling because the tuna I've eaten all of my life was apparently pretty salty. The diet adjustments are proceeding.

I need to offer a couple of plants to friends on Facebook, and if no one speaks up I'll put them on the freecycle or the FB buy nothing page. I dig up a few vitex trees each year (that sprouted in the flower beds) because someone usually wants one, and I also have some scarlet-blooming Salvia greggii that was extra.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 12:06 PM

I have 15 giant bins of clutter to take away. Some have value but I Might take a loss to have someone take it all and shorten the process.
Free recycling is attractive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:41 PM

The tires and rims have gone to a VW fan in Woodstock, a town forty clicks south of Stratford. He paid the asking price, no low-balling or haggling. I’m very happy, not only with the nice lump of money, but also with the nice big empty spot on the garage floor.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 04:58 AM

Good onya!

Some time back to I reported to my Craft group that I'd found a home (or homes) for something - Can you see a space, said my wise friend

no ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 08:35 AM

Your friend is, indeed, wise. It doesn’t count until you have cleared space.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 10:11 AM

sniff ...

the LPs left a space in the cupboard, unfortunately I can't leave the door open to admire it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 11:14 AM

A cubic foot cleared off the dining table is noticeable. A cubic foot of stuff out of my sewing studio would go unremarked. Tires have gotten very expensive, new ones for my SUV about $250 each, and that's just tires, not extra rims (I've read that in the US these inflated prices - pardon the pun - are not to do with scarcity). Nissan stopped fooling with inflating with Nitrogen like that was a special thing for tires, no one is popping for the extra service when tires are priced like luxury items.

I picked up a battery trimmer to try in the garden. I didn't till everything this year, so I have to contend with grass getting watered along with the crops and it grows tall fast. Ryobi costs about twice as much as the brands turning up in the initial search, but I like their tools and I already have two batteries. (The others seemed to have built-in batteries that, once they fail, may not be replaceable, and they need a recharge every time it runs down. I swap out batteries and keep working with Ryobi tools.)

Time to make more granola. That last batch was good and I was mixing it half and half with my raisin bran to give it more fibre and last longer. I used ziplock baggies to freeze it last time, this batch I'll look for a larger reusable container.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 01:16 PM

My mail usually arrives before 11am, but yesterday the alternate carrier didn't arrive until 2pm. The dogs barked when they heard her on the porch so I had to hurry to the truck to ask for my package because she hadn't knocked to get my signature. "Package?" Yes, the reason my plans for lunch and scanning were cancelled. She dug around and found it and I signed for it. Who knows when it would have made it back to the house if I hadn't caught her. Grumble grumble grumble. . . the post office needs to be treated better so their employees aren't stretched so thin. She'd never driven this route before.

The newest batch of granola is ok, but the last batch was better. I've kept notes on what went into each recipe. This time I lined the baking pan in the portable roaster oven with parchment but I realized it wasn't heating evenly and one corner was going to scorch so the whole paper was lifted onto a rimmed baking sheet and finished in the oven.

This morning I poked through jewelry drawers and boxes to cull things I never wear and find pieces I've forgotten about. Some items can go back into rotation - after last year's weight loss they fit better. And there is a set of 3 scarabs: I wore one on a chain but I didn't have pierced ears for the other two (ears were pierced 30 years, so you see how long ago that came into my collection). I filled a little bag with pieces that are missing pairs or parts because my daughter uses stuff like this in costumes.

I will note that there were a few pieces that went into the trash. Things that are turning green, an old watch that needed the battery changed way too often. And that tiny pair of turquoise earrings - probably the cheapest pair on display at the time the gift was purchased by someone who really should have known better - they have bad karma. Gone. Still hunting for a couple of specific pieces that must have been put someplace really "safe" that I can't think of right now. There are two newer watches with 10-year batteries that need to go on Freecycle since I wear the fitness tracker as my timepiece now.

Meanwhile out in the yard the new battery trimmer works well, much easier than grass shears. I'll get the rest of the garden planted and leave enough space between plants to trim the grass as needed. And figure out what configuration of sprinklers to set up on the timer this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 02:17 PM

Now that my three great-nieces are growing up, it’s time for me to pick over my jewellery for pieces that would suit them. In particular, I’m thinking of two gold pendants on very fine chains. Due to peripheral nerve damage, the thumb and first two fingers of my right hand can’t manage the clasps any more, so I haven’t worn them in years.

Brooches are currently unfashionable, according to the doyennes of the internet, so items that belonged to my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother can sit and marinate for a decade or two until the pendulum swings back.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 10:47 PM

One of the necklaces I put back into rotation is crystals on a velvet-covered wire, and it closes with a magnetic clasp. Strong enough for a few pieces of crystal. I hate to think you're not wearing favorites because they're difficult to fasten.

On Amazon I read reviews of some of the add-on magnetic clasps that aren't very strong (tiny magnets) but this one sounds good - 14K Gold Magnetic Necklace Clasps and Closures Double Lobster Clasp. One reviewer said long earrings were attracted to it, so she wears shorter earrings with it. Any of these attach once to each end of your necklace then the magnets do the work.

This one is smaller but it has more reviews. Neither of those is very expensive, they're plated or colored.

These two sold by different small businesses, but they look and sound identical. They are more expensive and with more gold. Small business 1:14K Yellow Gold Magnetic Clasp Converter 15.5mm Spring Ring by CRAFT WIRE. Small business 2: 79% of the reviews of this one are good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Jun 23 - 08:21 AM

Stilly, I had no idea such things exist. Thanks!

Nevertheless, the fact remains that I have a drawer full of jewellery that I don’t wear, and a bevy of young relatives who might enjoy it. The middle great-niece is approaching her sixteenth birthday, an excellent occasion for such gifts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 23 - 08:13 PM

There was productivity in the garden today, starting with digging about 10 pounds of potatoes, in addition to five pounds I dug yesterday. I spent .69 cents for the five small seed potatoes that were planted in March, so this was a gardening win. I planted the rest of the squash started from seed and at the neighborhood nursery picked up two eggplant and a sweet banana pepper that are now tucked into the beds. A few of my plants from seed remain in pots until they're larger. I finished by moving sprinklers - always the last thing because I get a drenching in the process. I have two sprinklers in place but think one will take care of the area since it is on a tripod and can go over the top of the heat pump. These will soon be set up on the Orbit battery operated timer on the back yard faucet.

I came in because it looks like rain, but radar shows it forming just to the southwest of here and drifting southwest. Unless it starts backing up I fear no rain on my parched yard tonight. I'll run a sprinkler on the beds I just planted.

A silicone flap for the dog door is on order; they really knock the heck out of them (now that Cookie isn't a puppy and has stopped chewing on them). Too many flies are getting in lately past the crooked sides of the current one.

Garbage pickup tomorrow, and another bouffant pile of dog hair will travel by dustpan to the trashcan. #ExcitingWeekend

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 01:15 PM

Hurry up and wait from the federal government: my ex finally got his pension and everything owed from when he retired; the answer I got back to an email query is that it typically takes 3 months for the adjacent accounts to be set up. Really? They have all of the information in front of them right now. Just do it.

Dog door flap is on order. The back patio is looking good and I've been keeping a large pan of water filled for the dogs - I should say, for the critters. Toads like to soak in it at night, but one of them has been so rude this week, twice leaving a big toad poop (full of undigested parts of Junebug wings) in the water when they depart.

The front porch lizards have taken umbrage at the weeding I did recently and they're not hanging out on the stack of concrete blocks that is usually a favorite sunning spot. Hopefully once the shrubs fill in again they'll be back—I do miss their inquiring gazes when I go out to check the mail.

In addition to digging potatoes this weekend I brought in most of the onions. I need to spread out the Swiss chard sprouts and give the advancing cucumber plants plenty of places to climb.

There is also a bit of attic work to finish, something best done in the morning before the sun has had time to turn it into an Easybake Oven.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 10:34 PM

Two Timex watches were claimed on the FB Buy Nothing page for my area. My porch lizards will have a box to guard overnight - since I have appointments tomorrow I asked if she could come by before 11am. She asked about 7:30. I'm not an early riser, but I can put the box on the porch so it's there when she comes by. That frees up about a cubic inch in my dresser drawer. :)

eBay listings are getting posted, though one small tablet box needs to be reopened to see what the storage capacity is (there were two in this model, my money is on the lower capacity - it came as part of a fitness program box and had their app pre-installed.) These are bundled with all of the accoutrements such as screen protectors, cases, chargers, even the original boxes (I usually stash the boxes because I anticipate selling them after I upgrade down the line.) I'm testing reading my Kindle books on the new Samsung; the app tells me I can't buy Kindle products in the app but I never do anyway. If it works out well enough I might sell the newer Fire tablet. Trouble with those Amazon devices is that they limit what you can do with software and browsing, though they are great for reading on. Clearing out a few square inches of stuff today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 11:49 PM

My success with the tires has me considering another sale: the Kamado Joe barbecue that was Edmund’s last extravagance. It’s designed for slow-cooking big food — brisket, whole birds, pork shoulder, stuff like that — and, if I ever cook like that again, it won’t be over charcoal.

I will have to do a full-dress photo session to get ready to market the kamado with all its gadgets. It's worth a lot of money — certainly enough to replace it with a modest grill that runs on natural gas. (I had an outside gas tap installed as part of the kitchen renovation five years ago.) A gas grill is just fine for the most ambitious cooking I get up to these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jun 23 - 11:35 AM

I just registered and paid for the Getaway, an event by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington that used to attract significant numbers of Mudcats. I hope to meet PattyClink there, if she can make it.

The choir's annual general meeting was last night, so I now have two batches of minutes to write and a large stack of music to sort, count and log in. I'll be busy for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 23 - 11:57 AM

One of these years I'll make it to the Getaway. After I retired I was lining up my ducks, then COVID happened.

That big grill is a lot of work and you end up cooking way too much meat for one person, though charcoal cooking is delicious. I have a tiny tabletop clay brazier that was $10 at an estate sale. An image search shows Moroccan and Mexican versions that are great for one or two chicken breasts or steaks. There is also an LP grill the neighbors were going to discard that only needed new gas grill guts ($40 kit at your local Ace Hardware store). Last winter I replaced the gas line that Cookie chewed to pieces (another $40 at Lowe's). I use it maybe once a month in the summer for spatchcocked chickens. Anything else big goes in some kind of closed or open pan in the oven. The Romertopf clay baker, for example. (Do you still have yours?)

Watches have left the porch, and a lizard was sighted on the wall next to the water spigot. They're pouting.

This week it's back to the gym with better-timed activities (that put me in the right locale for the gym).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 07:49 AM

I had a bunch of ideas about decorating our fence. I have been mounting similar colored polyester tapestries as the least labor-intensive method. So far... a cabin in the woods, Florence at yellow sunset, an impressionist painting, a bookcase tapestry in the carport, and a garden of delights painting. It's whimsical but not as tacky as it sounds, although I do use tacks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 07:58 AM

Oh, and an undersea scene on the cover of the hot tub.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 06:28 PM

Don, the background fence in the photos on this gardening page show how the owner painted metal panels with whatever color he liked. The neighbors only see bare metal unless they painted their sides.

Counting coups from shopping at Goodwill today - a nice Kenmore serger sewing machine. I'll test it and if it works then either use it myself or sell it on eBay. I've always wanted to play with one, to see how I would use it. I'll have to look up the manual and go to YouTube for how-to instructions.

A new declutter project ahead; in my office two 2-drawer file cabinets are placed about 18" apart with a 3x5 piece of good birch plywood on top serving as a desk. They hold files with mostly old college papers but also some of the legal stuff one holds onto forever. In the closet is a 2-drawer cabinet with files I should send to the kids. I'm going sort all of them then compress the materials into the two in the office. There is a welded rolling framework that the closet file sits on that I've offered to my ex. It was a hand-me-down from a friend who welded it for a deeper cabinet than I have. I think will work perfectly for the 4-drawer Hon I found last fall for the ex and being able to move these things is helpful.

I see shredding, burning, and donating in the future, though any burning waits until air quality is back to good. Even down here in North Texas the air is rather dense and an Orange Ozone day. I don't want to hear about any of you doing yard work or out walking around until these fires are out. Singers like Charmion and Keberoxu - wear your K-95 masks outside to keep your throats and lungs in good shape for upcoming performances.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 06:47 PM

I'm not projecting images to the neighbors. They are inside the fence with vegetation in front of the tapestries.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 08:50 PM

Dupont:

Ran out of internet at Beaver so I went to the library a few times but found they now turn it off soon after they close because a neighbour complained about people sitting in vehicles using it!

Then I went to Toronto on an adventure: Thinking I would go to hear a friend at the Tranzac club on Sunday aft, then go to my friend an hour away overnight and back to the pottery supplies and home. I left for To about 9:30 and somehow it took LONG to get there but I was still in plenty of time and found a parking lot but brain was so wrecked that I had to ask a couple women for help with the paying thing. Found a decent lunch, I thought. and went to the club.

Not having been connected to the outside world, I had no knowledge of the smoke problem; it was mild enough going down that I had car windows open and did not realize it was affecting me. A I sat, I started feeling like I could hardly breathe and went outside for a few minutes. Went back in and started to feel as though I was going to stop breathing. Left in distress and a woman came out with me, found a bench for me to sit, went back in and came out with dampened paper towels for the back of my neck. I went back inside feeling better and moistened a napkin and put it over nose and mouth - it helped greatly and I got through the rest of the event.

Left as soon as it was over, thanking the nice younger woman but not saying good by to my musician friend because I wanted to get to my friend for supper... Took forever to get out of To; supper was at 7. In the morning, I had to sit on edge of bed uptil the room stopped spinning - that's a first. But with very good directions from my friend - she is so pragmatic! - It was less than an hour to pottery supplier where we agreed the discrepancy in new bucket of glaze was a need for better sieve which had been rendered inoperable by my foolishness. One of the staff finally got it - just as I was saying -OK, enough of that! I managed to get lost getting home ----HOW many times have I done that route???? Forgot I had the book of maps in the car.... Stopped for help and a local lumber yard staff printed out directions. I got home!

Used the A/c all the way due to the smoke which was now pretty obvious and as soon as I got in the house I turned the air cleaner on full tilt. Picked up a 12" subway which sufficed for lunch and supper - LOTS of lettuce! Then I holed up with a book, and then another one until Weds am when I loaded the car and left, assured by friend Hannah that it was better in Chateauguay. Very light rain is now helping lower the smoke. Tues R reported not being able to see Mount Royal - that is the large hill in the middle of the city!

I remembered to put netting over the strawberry bed so I might have some when I go back - next week I hope. Did not net the blueberries but they are still a ways off I think. I hope this rain reaches Beaver as there has been none for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 11:05 PM

Too bad about those library neighbors complaining. Having access to WiFi is a necessity, not a luxury.

Dorothy, stay safe out there. Wear the K or N-95 mask when you go out. I have a friend in NY City who has COPD - I reminded him to do the same thing. The whole east coast appears to be sepia toned.

I didn't mow here today because it was an Ozone Action day, as it will be tomorrow. Maybe this will blow over by the weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 08:25 AM

Stratford still smells alternately of lilacs and pig manure. According to Environment Canada, the thickest part of a major smoke plume is wafting south to the east of the Waterloo-Kitchener-Cambridge conurbation, so the bulk of it is passing over Toronto, Burlington and Hamilton. Nevertheless, my eyes are stinging today.

My brother reports that the haze is heavy in Ottawa and everything smells like ashtrays.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 08:45 AM

It smells more like a camp fire to me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 12:29 PM

The smell of an ashtray - that brings back immediate memories of battles with my chain-smoking mother over who had to clean the ashtrays in the kitchen sink. Wet cigarette ash is foul smelling and if she was going to use the trays, she should have to clean them. She disagreed. If she came into my bedroom carrying a cigarette I'd ask her to take it out, and her answer was that "its my house." The final straw for me was a drive 90 miles north in my little truck. She asked if she could smoke and I said "no, I'll stop so you can get out to smoke." Her response was "I know how to vent it" and she promptly lit up. The first time I said anything she closed that window so she could hear me. Then when we arrived at the elderly friend's house she asked if it was ok to smoke. If that friend had said no, she would have taken it outside. She was a smart woman but wore huge blinders when it came to that addiction, and each of us moved out the moment we could when we went to college and never stayed in her musty smokey house after that. One sibling went with mom to counseling because their arguments as adults about it were so fraught. So if the town smelled like an ashtray I'd have to move to another country. Sorry, this is a decluttering thread, not an excess-baggage thread . . .

Don, I didn't think you were projecting those images outward, I was just giving you another idea for how to brighten that area of fence you're apparently upholstering.

Today is the day to finish positioning sprinklers and to program the timer. I have one I must keep pointed away from the house - there is a spot where a piece of wood has rotted and I'm going to have to replace and probably repair inside the bottom of the bay window. I don't need to hasten that repair by routinely watering the spot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 09:01 PM

I had something I was going to do today but just couldn't get around to going out to do it; I seem to have instead buckled down to listing the eBay stuff. Two tablets up so far, the most recent past smartphone next, and quite possibly the newer Fire tablet. I've compared that with the Samsung, and the Samsung is more versatile.

I'll blame today's reluctance to go out on the bad air. Ours isn't as awful as further north and west, but it still isn't healthy. With our typical Ozone days weather in North Texas the Federal Air Now site says we're at an air quality index of 150. We had an explosive thunderstorm pass over the area in late afternoon that may have helped clear things a bit.

This evening the thinned contents of two file cabinet drawers have yielded several inches deep of paper for the recycle bin and some to the shredder. Also revealed are documents and photos I couldn't find in the past that I can use now, and a number of keepsakes I made myself toss; they have meaning but won't ever be useful again. I have a growing stack of now-empty hanging file folders and expandable file folders.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 23 - 06:20 PM

I can report that Massachusetts has suffered less than other places,
with regard to the smoke from the fires.
We had a couple of uncomfortable, distressing days.
Then the jetstream sent the smoke down to
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and the Philadelphia area,
I guess DC has a bad case of it as well.
Up here we have thunderstorms and a cool breeze,
and between the two, things are clearing up.
It is still very cool for the 9th of June, though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 23 - 09:53 PM

My poor little cross-cut shredder has nearly gagged several times today; I've filled one trash bag and because this shredder puffs the paper it doesn't take many sheets to fill it. (Think of unpopped then popped popcorn.) I am pacing myself so it doesn't overheat. With the rain I could use the burning barrel, but the we're still under an ozone warning.

My ex and I had lunch with our daughter, and delivered, along with a bag of rice I from the Halal market (her request) and a lamp she wants (so not going to Goodwill), things that we were clearing out at our houses. He had a bag of stuff from his garage, including old art projects of hers. I had a handful of small broken or non-fitting jewelry that isn't worth taking in to have resized (to wear or use for costumes). And some things I simply never wear. I also gave her a few potatoes from my garden. :)

This is the second time at that Wendy's when I fed a stranger. Last week I bought an extra sandwich to hand over to a panhandler on my way out. Today an incredibly thin young woman sat down at a table in order to charge her phone and sat writing in a book, possibly to look busy so no one would interrupt (or chase her out). I bought an extra burger and delivered it with a cup of water, saying I thought she looked hungry, then went back to my table.

A week of cat sitting starts tomorrow morning. It's good in that I organize my own activities around those kitty trips and I'll get to the gym several times this week, and it makes the extra gas used less conspicuous. There is also plant watering with this gig, and watching over some caterpillars in her butterfly garden.

Enjoy the cool nights, Keb. It's in the high-60s low-70s here now at night, and this is only the beginning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 12:32 AM

The closet filing cabinet contents compressed into 3/4 of the bottom drawer once everything else was thinned or culled, some moved already to another cabinet file. There is a 14" deep bin for recycling that is now full to the brim with pages (that weren't going in the shredder beside it) and a second kitchen trash bag is half full with shreds. Next I'm pulling file contents to package and send to the kids. I haven't done more than peruse the contents of the two drawers of the legal width cabinet—wading through those death and divorce records comes last.

The drawers have provided a trip down memory lane, with doctors visits, kids' activities, my activities, kid art, cartoons and articles saved because they spoke to me. Many of them still do.

My 17-year-old laser printer seems to have died. Perhaps it knows the windfall is within the next couple of months—the devices are lining up to fail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 09:40 AM

Good for you, Stilly. Clearing your filing cabinet(s) is one of the biggest favours you can do for your heirs and assigns. I still shudder at the memory of my parents’ papers, stashed and crammed into the strangest as well as all the obvious places in a large Edwardian-style house, and full of personal information I emphatically did not need or want to know.

The nearest smoke plume is passing well to the east of Perth County, so Stratford is as summer-lovely as ever. The theatres are doing boffo business to rave reviews, and the fine-dining restaurants are packin’ ‘em in. Every prospect pleases, and reminds me of all the reasons Edmund and I had for moving here in the first place. Now, if only I could convince myself to vacuum up the cat hair before it becomes an embarrassment, the inside of the house would be as delightful as the outside.

I finally hauled my toolbox up to the library-cum-music room and hung the large pictures in the wall space vacated by the departed bookcases. As usual, one change led to another until half the upstairs art had moved at least twice, most of it ending up back where it started, and the sofa had swapped spots with the library work table to allow sprawled reading with one’s back to the windows.

Now I really have to see about getting light-adjustable blinds for those windows, and having the room painted. That pale puce and aubergine purple colour scheme looks worse every time I look at it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 01:26 PM

Your picture-hanging adventures motivated me to put a mirror on the wall in my bedroom. Anyone not knowing that my exercise area is at the foot of the bed may wonder why a 2' x 3' mirror is next to bookshelves with a TV and placed low enough to cut off one's head, but it's there so I can be sure I'm aligned correctly in some of the standing exercises. It was on a trunk leaning against the wall and any time I exercised I had to move stuff from in front of it. A cheval or simple closet door mirror would be better, but this was the best one at Goodwill when I went mirror hunting.

The stack of recycle-bin-bound paper is heaped above the bin rim now as I've started thinning my portable file box on the closet shelf. I planned this file to grab if I can take just one if the house ever floods. It needs to have essential files so older stuff can be compressed, moved, or culled.

Laundry day is dictated when I get to the last pair of favorite undies in my dresser. Now that it's warm the laundry basket doesn't fill as fast because clothes aren't bulky. Perhaps I should buy more of the favorite lingerie (aka Fruit of the Loom) and not use the washer as often. My Victoria's Secret days are behind me. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 23 - 09:03 PM

Hoses dragged and arranged for sprinkling, but the sky is looking ominous and it is 99% humid and about 95^o right now, so dreadful outside. (I just looked: the weather says it is 97^o and feels like 111^o. It really does.) The thunder has started and though there isn't much rain, it really sounds impressive. Pepper is hunkered down in my office closet.

A new laser printer cartridge will arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping this workhorse of a printer will stay in service. It's a big ugly box that holds a lot of paper and though the individual sheet feeder doesn't work any more, the rest has been great.

More files purged this afternoon, the recycle bin is now heaped with paper. Part of the process has also been to identify pages that should be scanned and saved electronically so there is a pile of folders that need attention at the scanner.

I had a good video sent by gnu this afternoon recommending a VPN. I used to use one from work, and have put off getting another, but I should. Do any of you use one, and if so, why did you choose it?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stanron
Date: 12 Jun 23 - 04:08 AM

I just checked my system, which is Linux Mint, and I have something called 'Openvpn. I know didn't I install this myself so it must have been installed by the system itself. I've no idea what it does though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 23 - 11:12 AM

There is tell of VPN built into the Windows environment, but I don't know how easy it is to deploy. I pay for Malwarebytes for viruses and such and they offer VPN. I get their software package for several devices so might build onto that. Gary's video talked about "Private Internet Access VPN" and in a review of various qualities of VPN software, PC Magazine says that is "Best for Customizers." Others are recommended for "privacy on a budget," "travelers," "bargain hunters," and (groan) "Global Location Spoofers." Strange bedfellows: trolls and those hoping to avoid corrupt political regimes (or who want another country's Netflix stream).

We had a noisy thunderstorm with rain last night so my neighbor mowing the lawn at 9am is jumping the gun - that's a way to rust out the undercarriage of your mower. I'll wait till the grass is dry, but the yard is in need of a mow front and back. Late in the week our temperatures are forecast to be up to the triple digits. Ugg. At least there is less grass mowing once it is that warm. More storms in the forecast tonight (the option of with or without rain is a real thing - more often than not we feel wind from an outflow boundary and hear the thunder or see lightning in the area but don't actually get the rain.)

Printer issues resolved: Amazon has sussed that when printer cartridges fail they need rapid replacement. Yesterday afternoon I ordered the high-capacity cartridge for my old HP and it was delivered by 9am, was deployed and it works fine, so that was the problem. I'm sad to report there is no longer an option to recycle the old cartridge.

It was excellent use of a weekend to go through the file cabinets and have so much paper rousted from the drawers. There is more still, but this morning the trashcan at the curb is heaped with bags of shredded documents. (Now what I should do is switch gears and take the long pole with the limb saw to cut out dead wood to be taken away since this is our bulky waste month.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 23 - 11:23 AM

I didn't have gloves when I went by the recycle bin so I pulled a few empty boxes out of a bin (many people don't break them down flat like they're supposed to) and at the SUV tailgate I carefully filled each with discarded paper, then tossed them to the back of the bin. No paper cuts! (I have been known in the past to retrieve good boxes when I needed a specific size for shipping or other projects. And I sometimes use it in as a "lasagna" layer under mulch to keep down weeds in the garden.)

In early spring a friend sent some fabric that he wanted made into COVID masks; this project is about three years too late but I made some and sent them back. End of that enterprise. There were several yards of fabric left so yesterday at his request I mailed it to a family member of his who will see about making some quilted projects that feature the pattern printed on this fabric. I paid to ship it, but it still counts as a declutter.

Early this morning on my drive to the friend's house to feed her cats I noticed some traffic cones on the boulevard next to a church. A sign said something about a "new pantry location." When I drove back past there 30 minutes later a line of cars standing in the curb lane stretched south for three blocks, all waiting their turn to pull into that parking lot to pick up food pantry donations. Since March when the emergency SNAP allotments ended (and the GOP House refused to consider extending food security legislation) the problem has become increasingly apparent: people don't have enough to eat. Those who can pick up their food in their own vehicles presumably have a way to fix what they pick up. Many more homeless need food that can be eaten as is, and cans that can be opened with a pull-tab. I'll be picking up those kinds of foods on each trip to Town Talk from now on to donate at the local community fridge (I haven't been back for a while, but I think they got the fridge up and running again at the location nearest me). And dry goods and personal essentials. And I will continue my purchase of an extra sandwich to offer if there is someone panhandling near a restaurant I'm in. I keep a few $5 bills in the console in my SUV to hand out of the window at red lights when someone is working the median for donations. And when the garden produces more than I can use and give away here, the excess will go to the community fridge. It takes a village; I can't feed everyone but maybe I can keep one or two people alive for another day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 23 - 05:11 PM

Planning outdoor activities this afternoon is difficult as a tumultuous weather front seems to be taking shape over the area. Softball-sized hail is in our forecast. Staying home with the SUV in the garage seems most prudent. The weekend weather has extended into the week with bursts of wind and rain, and as a result my 8' tall native sunflowers are all leaning at drunken angles. Cat dinner feeding will happen after consulting the radar and determining I have enough time for the round trip.

I picked up branches in the back yard that wind blew out of the tree next door. They apparently got some of them out of my yard by reaching over the fence with their rake (so polite!) I'm sure the dogs were a huge help (enjoying the company.) We're talking fences again - I'm going to finish mine and they're thinking about redoing the front-facing portion of theirs that connects to the corner of mine. The least I can do is assist, if they want help, since I have all of the tools.

How is weather everywhere else? This is the time when I worry about Patty in her RV - finding a safe place to park and hopefully not get pounded by hail is a gift. (When hail threatens the large open spaces beside the roads of the Interstate highway underpasses here in Fort Worth look like parking lots as everyone without a garage pulls in there for the duration.) Around here Spring doesn't leave the area in a lamb-like fashion.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 08:31 AM

The nights, in western Massachusetts, remain cool enough to need
the heat on and an extra blanket or coverlet.
And the days are more like warm spring days, with brief showers.

It will be hot when summer finally settles in,
so I for one am enjoying the coolness, especially at night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 09:25 AM

I use one but not the way you are looking, SRS. VPNs can be used in 2 directions in the home.

In my case, I just run it on my router as a server. Its purpose is to let me connect to my home LAN from away. The built in client on my Android phone works well with this.

Others may be using VPN clients at home, eg. to connect to a remote office when working from home or, I believe, for a layer of security when using the Internet.

OpenVPN is quite a common VPN package but I don’t think its protocol is supported by the built in Android client. It is available on my router but I haven’t set it up. I just (the router can provide multiple VPNs), have an IPSec one set up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 05:53 PM

The humidity this week is dreadful, making outdoor work risky without frequent breaks. I popped weeds in advance of mowing, but mowing isn't happening until it's cooler near sunset.

The next fence panel pieces are in the yard. I have to paint the pickets with wood preservative, top/bottom, edges, and both faces, so once it's up it's completely protected. If you paint preservative on after building the fence you miss spots. I did myself a favor and pulled the gazillion staples and tags as they came out of the back of the SUV, so they're ready to treat.

Tomorrow's trash will again be filled with dog hair (the bouffant was particularly large this morning) but I'm also going through canisters in the kitchen, dumping dry goods that are way too old. Quinoa shouldn't be that old in anyone's kitchen, and some of the faux-flour ingredients I bought when I was trying to reduce gluten in my diet are way past their prime. I have fresh stuff to put in these emptied canisters.

One Freecycle offer and one eBay item were each taken off of their listings, they took too long to be claimed and will now go to Goodwill. I have decided to list the last of the Amazon tablets, clearing what was an embarrassment of riches as far as tablets and phones.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 10:33 AM

SRS, you are clairvoyant, I did indeed get a little hail last night from one of the many storms rolling through the south. Was panicking, having never been in a vehicle in a hailstorm, but blessedly it was mostly pea-size and only went on for a few minutes.

Humid, yes. I am looking forward to rolling west late next week to get to a Utah raft trip in July, with the air drying out as I go.

No great news from this end, been dealing with little illnesses, doctor appointments, traveling too far to get this engine serviced, etc. The upcoming week will hold re-organizing rig and storage units again, in miserable heat, humidity, and rain. Oh well, we had some lovely fair days, and now we don't!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 02:07 PM

Patty, you're to the east of me, so it's a sound assumption that whatever blows over me today is going to blow over you tomorrow—stay safe! I'd be interested to hear just how you go about choosing the gear to take and to leave when you reorganize your rig. Do you go to the storage locker twice a year to change out heavy jackets for shorts and flip flops?

Jon, I'm thinking I'll try the Malwarebytes VPN, and will report back.

Still fooling with the sprinkler setup. The first attempt turned out to be ineffective, and while I can't avoid a little water going onto pavement, this was hitting almost everything except the garden. The high heat is here, so the schedule will be set in the battery-operated device in the back yard. I used to have to keep a black bucket over the top of it to keep the sun from beating down on the face with the programming panel, but my Mexican plum tree has grown tall enough now to shade it perfectly (and it means a bit less sun coming into the single-glazed back bathroom window as well.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 02:10 PM

Counting my blessings today.

I had a long conversation over coffee this morning with a woman I met at choir practice. She’s about 20 years younger than I am, and her life is a mess — marriage kablowie, estranged from an alcoholic sister, worried about an ailing mother, mixed up with the wrong man. On the plus side, she knows she’s in a hole and is doing her best to stop digging.

My role was to listen and make occasional remarks to suggest that her ideas are valid, her thoughts are logical, and life is full of situations that resist understanding.

Time well spent, but not the easiest morning I’ve ever had.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 23 - 04:20 PM

In a nutshell that sounds like something many women have encountered at some point. It all piles up at once (of course it doesn't pace itself.) Walking away from a lot of stuff like that is really difficult - having a few witnesses along the way who can share the story if need be is as much an insurance policy as it is support (not letting bad guys isolate her from friends and family).

Yesterday I rearranged sprinklers for a better watering result next to the house. My goal is to water just the garden and foundation, not the house's brick siding and upper composition trim. There is one spot of trim I already have to repair (water was the culprit), I don't want to add any more.

"Office casual" for an annual retiree dinner tomorrow. Since I spent the first 16 years of my career there working from home, our definitions of "casual" may diverge. I'll make sure the jeans are clean and will wear a knit top that doesn't have any slogans on the front. And I have a small bet with myself that it will be the ubiquitous chicken and rice dinner the university is famous for. It usually has wild rice in the mix, so it isn't bad, it's just unimaginative. ;-)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 23 - 10:28 PM

This afternoon as I walked up to the pharmacy window I paused to pick up an envelope on the floor - and had a suspicion the moment I saw it. Pulling back one corner of the flap was a $100 bill, and the envelope must have have 10-20 of them. I handed it to the pharmacist, their eyes opened wide, and they tried to remember the last few customers at their window. They said they can go back through the video of the security camera outside the department, and possibly see who dropped it. Someone is going to miss that envelope pretty soon - and hopefully backtrack and be glad that it was picked up and turned in. That's the outcome I would hope for.

I have sent a query to the Malwarebytes folks - they sent an offer in an email (I pay for the real-time protection so have an established account) that offers a bundle of apps with the Privacy VPN - I am interested in one in particular. But I don't know if this is a special offer or if it comes with a regular subscription if I click to expand my services on my existing account. I hope they'll respond in a timely fashion.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 23 - 12:16 PM

I decided not to wait for the answer from the Malwarebytes folks, I took the offer to get the bundle of software I wanted (free for a year, we'll see how it goes after that.) Now to learn how to use it. Does it fry cookies? Do I logon every time I use it? I'll be testing it to learn these things.

Yesterday I cleaned up a used bread machine (from my sales stash) for a friend who knew I listed these on eBay and who will get the low low friends and family price of whatever I paid for it at Goodwill. She's wanting to start baking bread to help out her daughter who goes through a loaf a day. We've made an appointment here so there is time for me to set up my bread machine (same model) and run her through some of the tips and tricks. I've used one of these very regularly for the last 30 years. Time flies since my dad sent the first one! I'm guessing they're making instead of buying for cost savings and ingredients, I didn't ask. In the 1950s to mid-60s my mother made bread, 8 loaves every eight days because that was how many bread pans would fit in the oven and bake satisfactorily. For a family of six we used a loaf a day and usually six of the loaves went into the freezer after baking day. Sometimes we could talk her into letting us devour a hot loaf right out of the oven, meaning she'd have to make the next batch a day earlier. The big yellow plastic tub the dough rose in and the bread pans lived on top of the fridge.

This week I took my post office key (the largest on the ring) off of my set of keys and put it on a fob in the SUV console. I don't go to the PO often, it can live in the car, and that key has always gouged me through the jeans pocket. I should have done this a long time ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 17 Jun 23 - 02:50 PM

Pretty rough storms rolled through last night right at check-in time after a long day at the doc-in-the-box and truck repair place. Lots of branches down, winds, sideways rain, etc. Ridiculous situation at the gatehouse with no power--no computer, and the kiosk for passes was useless. Had to retreat to my rig and go online with a laptop and hotspot on battery power to go through a 20 minute process on Reservations.gov.   Instead of handing the nice lady $13 in cash and being done with it.   SO many things now heavily computerized that just don't need to be.   

I had been so impressed earlier in the week when I saw that by noon after a bad storm, the National Park Service had gotten all the downed trees removed from the Natchez Trace, and neatly stacked. Amazing what well-organized people can do, and I'll bet computers played no part whatsoever.

Charmion, glad you could step up and be a good friend that way. Listening and reassuring can be all the difference to someone in trouble.

Seasonal clothes: yes, at the storage place I've got bins for sweaters and jackets, a couple of cheap dressers where i can switch out shirts etc., shelves for my treasures, some boxes of travel books that get swapped out, etc. Lots of cookware type items and tools that were in the way on the road have been stored for use at a home base some day.   I move things in and out as needed in the upcoming months.

Strangely, one does have to keep quite a variety of clothes on hand because I’m out in the elements a lot. Even in summer, if you go to northern latitudes or mountains you still need some days worth of warm layers. (Not like you can have 1 or two warm outfits and launder every day).   I tried leaving boots in storage this spring and got snowed on May 1 in Wisconsin. Luckily they have a vast array of ladies' boots in Kenosha and it was time for a new pair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 23 - 11:29 AM

Patty, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where, if you ever watched the popular program Northern Exposure, you would see that we specialize in layers. Long-sleeve shirts, some light (like the blue work shirts) and others a little heavier (acrylic or flannel), wool shirts, vests, and a windbreaker that is large enough that a long-sleeved shirt with a warm vest can go under, and layers adjusted with the day's temperature changes. I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know. Since the NW isn't as super cold as other parts of the upper Midwest and New England it isn't like you just go straight to the heavy down jacket and mukluks on your feet when the cold hits (though I have those also).

Went to a reception for retirees last night and saw quite a few friends. Dinner was nothing to brag about but I must confess, since my table wasn't completely surrounded by people I splurged and ate an extra cheese cake from a non-used place-setting. COVID has really affected how often some of us see each other, and now that we've reconnected I hope we can resume our lunches. One friend loves to garden but has moved to a senior living apartment - I should invite her down to putter in my yard, there's always something that needs weeding or repotting, etc. Time flies - I used to see her college-age daughter come by our office, and remember when she got married. Now the daughter's oldest child is 18!

I have tours at the museum today and then an hour at the gym, but once I get home there's enough time to repot a couple of the cucumber plants. (Gardening comes after the tours so I don't have the classic gardener's grimy fingernails in view.) I'm going to experiment with putting the pots where I can set up some chicken wire for them to climb away from the actual garden beds. Meanwhile I have a 3-gallon bucket in the sink to catch gray water (from rinsing dishes) that will be carried out several times a day for spot watering (to supplement the sprinkler schedule.)

Yesterday I reduced prices on several eBay listings to see if they will excite more interest. I always start with my offerings near the highest price someone else recently got with a comparable item, but often end up in the mid-range prices before they sell. The higher prices work best with scarcity, but there are tons of tablets for sale.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 12:13 AM

Today I cornered the Labrador retriever and started using the faux-Furminator to brush the coat he has blown. Tons of hair, I can only make one pass with the device before knocking a wad of hair off in the bag I have positioned for this work. His hindquarters are so weak that I hold him up under the abdomen with one arm as I brush (though when he's lying on the floor is best, because I can roll him around to reach more places). This will take several days of work because if I am too insistent about doing it all at once he'll start avoiding me. He is a happy old guy despite being deaf and arthritic. He loves eating, he adores getting fruit or vegetables in with his dry kibble, and loves the treats the nextdoor neighbor gives the dogs each morning. As long as he is enjoying life we will live with the other stuff.

This week I start a push to finish the fence, first by painting wood preservative on the pickets for the next panel. My friend's last trip out of town (and my cat sitting for her) paid for the rest of the fence project. When I bought the preservative I had an interesting conversation with a guy in Home Depot who was comparing brands - he has a wood floor in his house he wants to use wood preservative on. That sounds like a mistake, but I can't say for sure. He's trying to solve a problem, so he gets points for that.

On Weather Underground the 10-day forecast has six of those days at or over 100^o. This is early in the year for so many hot days. We take them one day at a time now, keeping things alive, keeping enough water on the foundation to prevent the house from crumbling, keeping the garden alive, and letting the toads enjoy a few spots of water. I put a couple of terracotta saucers under the sump pump outlet for the new AC, and with Bt chunks there I can keep the mosquitoes at bay while the toads enjoy a little garden spa.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 11:59 AM

Testing the Malwarebytes VPN. My cookie is established at Mudcat; there was no difficulty being recognized. I'll have to try different sites. So far, so good. The plan lets me activate five devices. The phone connected easily, the operation seems straightforward. When I surveyed some reviews of this software the first one I listened to was from three years ago and was a video by a VPN user looking at what he considered a new program. He liked the background software called "WireGuard" as it's main protocol. At the time they had 245 servers around the world, now when I set it up they have 500. He talked about it not having some of the extra things other VPN providers offer (such as allowing streaming torrent), but I want a bare bones setup, I'm not doing fancy things with the connection. No torrent needed. Here is the Get Started page from Malwarebytes Privacy if anyone wants to look at it. I'm thinking Patty would be a classic user, with all of the networks you encounter in your travels. You may have beat me to this point a long time ago. Dorothy with her parking lot library WiFi browsing, also a good candidate for a VPN.

I used to use CISCO VPN from the university when I worked from home, and it was pretty straight forward but was only on the device I was using to telecommute and didn't offer any of the options or easy access that this does (10 years later - so - stone knives and bearskins compared to now.)

Of course, since I started this I found the Windows 10 VPN; it's a lot different and not as easy to figure out. Windows tells me that if I have a VPN I need a VPN profiles on my PC to get started. I think this is using the Windows setup (and I see when I click on more information it goes the Edge and Bing and thinks I'm connecting through my University account.) I'll have to make sure that Windows isn't interfering with the setup.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 09:03 PM

Stilly, at what museum are you volunteering?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 12:08 AM

Patty, I sent you a PM.

Two days before summer starts and the temperature today was 101^o. I waited till near sunset to mow a swath of the back yard. I'm to that point of the summer where I place a bucket in the kitchen sink to catch rinse water and several times a day head out to pour gray water around plants in the garden and in the pots that dry out so quickly.

I'm watching the squash and tomato plants now as they begin producing, and the eggplants that were put in late are finally putting out new leaves. At the nursery there was only one remaining tray of eggplant bedding plants that were all dry and puny. But the two I brought home are recovering now. Okra are almost big enough to put in the garden (I started them from seed). They need hot weather to really thrive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 01:36 PM

I'm finally sorting out the music CDs.

A friend dropped over the visit yesterday evening. Before I so much as asked if she had a mouth, I conscripted her to help me carry the last basement bookcase up to the library-cum-music room, thus completing the row of Ikea Billy bookcases on the east wall. I have six shelf inserts that permit a six-shelf 60-cm Billy to accommodate 7.2 shelf-metres of CDs. When the six double shelves for CDs are full, that's my limit.

Edmund's younger brother has already relieved me of a significant quantity -- most notably everything by Bob Dylan, John Prine and Johnny Cash -- so the task is not as daunting as it was two years ago, but it's no bagatelle. When the sheep and goats have been separated, I'll box up the goats for the music booth at the next parish rummage sale, which has been known to feature tactical shoving.

With the last bookcase in place, last night's visit was great. We sat on the porch and killed a bottle of wine while we watched the neighbours walk their dogs.

Speaking of wildlife, I got clobbered the other day by Dive-Bomber Dave, a terrifically territorial red-wing blackbird who lives in a tree overhanging the path beside the Avon River. He nailed me a good one, probably with both feet as well as his pointy little beak, and I have three minor lacerations on my pate and bloodstains down the back of my shirt to remember him by. Brave little blighter!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 01:41 PM

Internet testing day two: the Internet service itself was off for a while today. When it came back the VPN wasn't connecting to Mudcat properly, partly because Mudcat is rarely a secure site and because I need to look into the IP vs Cookie tracking. A Spectrum tech is coming out today to check the system. Oy. The last guy was very new to the job and so slow it was agonizing (plus I had to keep the dogs in the hall bathroom because he kept going back and forth from the house to the yard.)

This morning I harvested a few of the garlic bulbs from the new location in the garden next to the kitchen door; I left others in the ground because over the course of the year they'll grow from the single ping pong ball-sized bulbs into the many-cloved version of elephant garlic. I'm still digging garlic sprouts from the old location around the heat pump to put into this part of the garden. The oregano and basil also need harvesting and drying (the house will smell like an Italian restaurant for the next week at least.)

Recycling and Goodwill donations need to be dropped off this week. Dog food needs ordering or (if they no longer have free delivery over $50) pick up at the store. A friend has a case of canning jars for me, but that is part of a cycle, it isn't re-cluttering, considering how many jars I give away (or loan to the neighbors).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 01:52 PM

Beaver:

It has been a rough couple weeks: I had a spell of vertigo at Marg's and then it continued, off and on, until a few days ago when I remembered that Apple cider Vinegar in my water could help. It has and today I was able to get up feeling good at 8am and washed the not correct glaze off the unfired bowls. Thinking after I got started that it might have been better to just throw new bowls but they are done and drying on this beautiful dry-so-far day.

Other days I was able to get an hour or two of work done in the late afternoon/early eve. So I still have time to get the new stuff dry to be bisqued and then two glaze firings OR I Could do a glaze firing tomorrow while things are still drying and after I re-sieve the essential glaze. YES!

Yesterday I decided that going outside is still not healthy so bought an N95 mask to wear outdoors with the thought that my respiratory system does not like bad air. The clerk as the store said the smoke was gone; I walked outside and could smell it and commented to an older man "This does not smell the way air in North Hastings is supposed to!" He agreed. Most people may not notice but, for me, getting home to Beaver is largely about the air - getting out of the car and deep breaths of fresh clean air! There is none for this last couple weeks so I have stayed indoors with the air cleaner except for shopping. RAIN!!! is needed.

The strawberries are progressing - a number of green berries.There was some good rain here before I got back. Hope for a good bunch to take to QC next week. R has a big presentation to the City next Weds and I am asked to attend. To wear???? Only one dress that fits and bro hates it. Tough! Beats shorts and a T!

Might be some rhubarb - it does not seem to be happy this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 05:16 PM

Unhappy dogs as we wait for the cable guy to arrive. One dog is in the hall bathroom and one in the kennel, with the old lab asleep on his bed as usual. I'll make sure no gates are left open that would allow the deaf old guy to wander out. As I wait I have been picking up around the house and cleaning the kitchen. I'm at my computer now where I can see the street. Still no Spectrum truck.

Coffee grounds are good for repelling snails and slugs and I had a several-years-old jar of ground coffee in the freezer to discard so the contents are now sprinkled around in the veggie garden. (I picked up fresh coffee yesterday for the freezer.) The few visitors who drink coffee are infrequent enough that it would go stale between visits otherwise. I sprinkled some over the area where the garlic came out - I'm going to fill that spot with a pepper that grew from seed so keeping snails away from a tender young plant is helpful.

The temperature is 100^o and the weather station says it feels like 115^o. I believe it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 06:10 PM

Charmion, in Oz we don't have your red-winged blackbirds - but we have magpies. In late winter/early spring they are quite territorial in defending their nests, and many places have signs saying "Caution - Magpie Swooping". They don't like cyclists, and they have a good memory for anyone who has ever chased them (usually small boys) to exact revenge because they can recognise faces.

Ozzie magpies are different to magpies in other countries - one of the most joyous sounds of Oz is magpies carolling.

I have just finished de-cluttering some of my quilting fabric into quilt blocks. When they are sewn together, and it is layered and stitched together, it will be a proper quilt, and those fabrics will be done.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 11:18 PM

Jennie, I hope you post a photo of your quilt blocks someplace where we can find them.

I have seen bluejays do the same kind of dive-bombing as Charmion and Jennie describe; my experience of red-winged blackbirds is more benign.

The cable tech today was efficient (if awkward when moving a long ladder - he nearly hooked the power line to the house) and reports that the problem isn't here, it is in the line that feeds to my house and to nextdoor, and someone else will check out the lines and we're back where we started. I handed him a much-appreciated bottle of water as he was leaving. The girls didn't appreciate being locked in but Zeke was out in the yard with me and the tech and the sweet old galoot played fetch with one of his bumpers (meant for this game - we haven't had them out for ages because Cookie grabs them and runs off). I kept him in the shade and he didn't go more than a dozen feet in any direction to retrieve it, but he enjoyed the game. Old dogs are so sweet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 06:13 PM

It's an out-of-sorts day; though overcast, the weather is still hot and muggy, and indoors I've battled with the Office Depot software to load a designed card onto their site. (I may have to redo the art and add a lot of "bleed" on two sides because they can't seem to offer an accurately trimmed card.) And that submersible is still missing - regardless of who is on board, that is a wretched way to die. Banging noises are reported today. (How did the search area end up the size of Connecticut when it was lowered off of a ship above the Titanic?)

In the kitchen there is progress. The freezer had most of the ingredients for my nacho mix: beef, peppers and tomatoes. I need to make room so this summer's stuff can go in there. I'm trying a ground chipotle that is smoky enough to be noticable. Badia brand (lots of stores have it) will probably have some heat (it's cooking now, I haven't tasted it yet).

A good sign out my kitchen window this afternoon was a gray cat prowling through my vegetable garden. Some years the rodents burrow in and attack potatoes and veggies near the ground. I have a bag of hair brushed off of the dogs to poke around the plants as a repellent. The cat who lived two doors up used to come hunt here regularly, I don't know whose this one is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 06:55 PM

Search area? Drift, Stilly. That submersible is literally rolling in the deep.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 07:57 PM

That seems like what would happen if no controls were on board, or if no cable were attached - but who in their right mind would get into that thing if it wasn't operable to the extent needed to descend and ascend safely? Or have small buoys to launch to signal with?

One way to avoid bringing extra stuff into the house is to simply not go out. My shopping list is growing, but nothing has completely run out (dog food, for example). Tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 08:57 PM

Evidently, the submersible lost power. That means no propulsion, no steering, no ability to surface. Controls don’t matter without power.

Submarines are strictly for experts. That means graduates of HMS Dolphin and similar naval establishments.

Who in their right mind? Good question.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 09:54 PM

Who in their right mind indeed. Just so they could say "guess where we've been, nyah nyah nyah!"?

SRS, a pic of my blocks laid out can be found here. They will soon be pinned to the sheet underneath so they can stay in place while being moved; that's our spare bed, and we will have someone sleeping in it next week.

That's also where I waffle on about life in general, and I always finish with a quote from my 1885 etiquette book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 11:30 PM

Jennie, very nice! Charmion, I was reading about submarine communication; they seemed to excluded the most basic method that might have had them rescued by now (small buoys on light cable). I'm not going to delve further into the mechanics of it, it's too depressing. Foolhardy. And sad that they built this thing down the hill from where I grew up.

I walked out toward the greenhouse this evening and into a strong spider web. Accckkk! When I shine the flashlight out there I know about the spiders, I just forgot to look first and with the porch light on didn't have a flashlight. The spiders build webs above any dog pathway, but not to avoid people who rarely head out at night. (I say "toward" because I backed out of the web and went into the house to see if I had any spiders on me.)

The kitchen is looking good this evening considering how messy it was this afternoon. We were supposed to conserve energy through this evening, but afternoon thunderstorms cooled the area. This will be the practice all summer (and this weekend is forecast to hit 105^o). The dishwasher is running after sunset and I'll program the washer to run at 5am.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jun 23 - 03:37 PM

I picked spider web out of my hair off and on for several minutes, but the spider stayed outside.

Fragments from the submersible seem to answer one big question - now the post mortem of the craft begins (has already begun, actually).

Shopping today - dog food, people food, and we are shifting from cara cara orange season to fresh peach and nectarine season. Boxes of them at Costco are usually pretty good.

Soon my daughter and I will celebrate summer with our annual BLT sandwiches. The tomatoes are ripe and there are enough for sandwich making. I'll make bread tomorrow and hopefully this will be soon. (My allotted sodium for the day will be in that sandwich!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jun 23 - 06:53 PM

I have finished sorting CDs, and the excess are packed up and ready to leave the house.

I am quite pleased with myself.

Before I get too arrogant, however, the parlour rug needs vacuuming and the laundry must be done — one is running low on clean underpants.

But first, a beer on the porch, supper, and an evening of telly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Jun 23 - 09:25 PM

Beaver:

Note to self: Netting on Bluberries tomorrow!! Alert on phone!

82F in the house. But cooler outside. We are being told there is no smoke today so I have opened two windows, with small fan pulling hot air across and out a window. And turned off the air cleaner - ahhh! quiet!

One more firing, possibly two, and I can pack up for leaving on Tuesday - after one more flu shot - 5th I think. Hope for energy to glaze the new lot of bisque in the morning. Really want to be finished! There will be a good number of smaller bowls and other items for the August show and the Carriage House in Maynooth.

The bisque firing was only about half full - with the heat, smoke and vertigo, everything I did was "get out and push". And there was not much "push"!

Washing machine: does not connect properly to faucet; one hose leaks a constant drip; cannot get it to run water into washer even though willing to deal with drip.... Too tired and wobbly to seek halp. Maybe tomorrow. Can barely breathe ... Cooler in K! Opened drape - between K and LR - and that helped! As soon as the sun goes behind hill I shall open the west window and hope the screen is tight enough!

Phoned Whidbey Telecom yesterday to check on account - No did not owe anything. A bill in today's mail! Phoned and the recording said I did not owe anything. Try to call tomorrow!

Went to Service Ontario for clarity re driver's license got the nice young woman to help me get an appointment because I find calling offices ... YOU KNOW! Two women working; the other is married to a man I have known since '89. He and his dad had a hunt camp next door, then built a nice cottage in their woods. Great neighbours! The very sweet Dad died and Grace is happily married to Ron. Nice things do happen. Showed me pic of grandson (from first marriage) real sweet 3 year old.

Looked up from computer to see a humming bird at big window! By the Big comfrey starting to bloom! There now, window open -and hope for few bugs! Bed made and How I wish the shower worked! OR RAIN!!! Dragon Flies are very busy but fewer than other years. A couple lightning bugs the other night; they,too, are endangered.

Strawberries making nice progress. I dumped lots of wood ash on them last fall. They must love it! This is the healthiest they have been. Maybe I can get back on the Friday ----Holiday weekend... ARGHHHH! Cooler

Temp is dropping in house. I feel better. Possible rain on weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 23 - 12:05 AM

Dorothy, you write about your life like it feels like I conduct mine. I try to edit to make shorter paragraphs, but it feels the same.

Why are you dealing with Whidbey folks? Is that where you have a phone account? I spent a lot of time on the north end of the island at Deception Pass and on Mt. Erie that is north of the pass (we used to go there for rock climbing). I often would go home by driving the length of Whidbey then taking the ferry across to Mukilteo.

A series of errands were run today so I don't need to go out for a while. I still need to figure out the watering setup, there is one watering station that has me flummoxed: I may have to go buy the particular sprinkler I have in mind. I can't find the two that I know should be here at the house. In the FWIW category, I crossed the 3,500 threshold today on the slides I'm scanning at the museum. That means I've described the contents of three thousand five-hundred slides, and this is about 10% of the collection. Oy. There is job security here, if it was for pay.

The kitchen counter is loaded with fruit and I look forward to eating ripe peaches, pears, and oranges and when needed, cooking or preserving the ones that are a bit too ripe. My garden is producing tomatoes and I'm about to start harvesting squash. I have potatoes that were harvested last week. Today I picked up some "last day" steaks. I freeze, then grind these steaks to use in casseroles, soups, and sauces. Oh - and while I'm thinking about it - I need to look for a good pesto recipe. I want to use my basil before it is too far gone, and I'd like to freeze or can (process) pesto. No humans or canines are starving in this house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 23 Jun 23 - 06:59 PM

Beaver:

HEAVY Day. Decided this am that I could not cope with it. Unloaded kiln, waxed bottoms and moved pots to glazing area - QUIT! Lunch of delicious veg soup at a local cafe. Visit with Jane re improving use of consensus at Community Trust. Using libbry internet which will go off in two minutes!

Whidbey: lived there. Love my email address!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jun 23 - 12:11 AM

A series of storms moved through this afternoon, blinking the lights out a couple of times and at one point with a wind so fierce it looked like trees might drop large limbs. So far I've only seen some smaller limbs dangling from above.

While it was a heavily overcast afternoon, once the storm passed the sky brightened and a friend arrived to pick up a bread machine (one of my eBay stash). I conducted a master class on bread machine baking (I used my machine), going through the steps to set it up, how to load the ingredients, what to look for along the way. She left once the dough was made (on the manual setting) and I had shaped rolls. Now my batch of rolls have cooled and some will go into the freezer.

The dry ingredients for granola are mixed and tomorrow I'll whisk the oil and honey, combine it all, and bake. I also have a batch of hummus to finish.

Summer is officially here, I have a lot of yard work to do (great exercise), and I want to drop five pounds to stay at my target weight after losing so much last year. Today I had a "welcome to summer" pint of ice cream as the last splurge for a while; all of the fruit bought this week is so tempting that it makes healthy eating easy. Add to that my garden produce (tomatoes, squash, peppers, chard) and it is the season of grazing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jun 23 - 12:30 PM

I think I've got the hang of making granola now, it's no longer a major operation. The batch is doubled from the recipes I compared and picked ingredients from. It has about equal parts oats and nuts (various), and I use a mix of avocado oil and honey for the toasting and sweetness. Parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet and this batch fills it but isn't too much. Bake an hour, turn every 20 minutes, and add raisins after it finishes baking. This batch of 1/2 cup servings lasts about 3 weeks. It meets my goal of getting fiber and of eating more nuts (as a healthy snack or regular part of the diet.) It costs less than buying it at the store and doesn't have sodium and preservatives. A major objective was to have a mix that isn't too sticky or sweet, and I've reached that by doubling everything except the oil and honey.

Cat sitting this week, with a new obstacle to surmount. There was a glass storm door installed outside the main back door onto the screened-in porch. The regular door and the storm door each have installed a pet door at the same level. This was yesterday, she left today, and the cats haven't figured out how to push through both pet doors (frankly, I think the doors are so close together they're going to have to crawl under rather than just push through.) Can we have the cats accustomed to using two doors by the time she returns, or will they get stuck out on the porch in the heat? I can only handle one cat regularly, a second one I can give a few pats when his food bowl is down, the third cat I've only touched once in four years and it surprised both of us. So no picking up a cat and stuffing them through the door a few times to give the idea. (Dogs are easier to train. My pitbull Cinnamon figured out the garage door flap the first try and each time she came in I gave her a treat. She went in and out until she got all of the treats. Poppy sat in the yard unhappily, and that night she sat barking at the door until I saw Cinnamon walk out, walk around her, and back in the flap so Poppy could draft in behind her. It took Poppy four days to figure out the door. All dogs since then have seen others use it and had no problems.)

First world issues.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jun 23 - 10:00 PM

Today for the museum tour I dressed in a vintage pair of dark Capri pants and knit top, and while choosing shoes I realized that I'm less likely to wear sandals now than I am to wear comfortable walking shoes (keeping in mind a description of someone falling recently, as I have also done.) My socks for walking shoes are mostly ankle length or they're short athletic socks with a brand name around the top. I stopped by DSW on my way home for some short socks that show a neutral band at the ankle.

In the closet I pulled out seasonal beach shoes and tossed several into the trash. A surgical boot also got the boot. They are too old to donate. A pair of shower flip flops are next to the back door and today I put up the portable shower head on the patio cover support by the door. I use that shower during the summer once the tap water has warmed.

Also this evening in the closet I culled the handbags that are too small to hold both the phone and wallet. The bags I use now are "office casual," keeping only a couple of small black bags for fancy events. I also weeded out some of the shoulder packs and fanny packs and will either put them on Freecycle or take them to Goodwill. The handbags I pick up to sell need to get listed, though one I have up right now hasn't excited much interest. (Finding a clearance price and then selling for half of the original price often gives a nice profit, but the one up right now may be in the wrong season. I don't pay much attention to that but perhaps shoppers do.) I'm thinking after these bags are gone I won't keep looking for more to sell.

This morning I woke around 4:45 when there was barking and a thud on the roof. The dogs cornered a raccoon and he/she spent an hour or so up there. I shone a light and aimed a hose at it to see if it could move - yes - and I covered the dog door to keep them in and left the kitchen hood fan running to scare it away (at one point it seemed to consider ripping the hood cover off the roof and heading down that way). Early to bed tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 23 - 04:51 PM

As Dorothy nets her blueberries, I prop up my tomatoes. The bushes are all leaning because with a good crop the green tomatoes are quite heavy. So many things threaten to melt away if they wilt too much, so my bucket brigade of kitchen gray water continues.

More purses and shoes out of the closet, and this evening on my cat feeding run I'll swing by Goodwill to drop off stuff. I didn't mention yesterday that DSW has gone bagless. This is a good move, though I didn't expect it and stuffed my new socks into my purse. Those big black and white bags meant for many shoe boxes were perfect for the Goodwill stuff because I could empty the whole bin into one. I'll have to keep the bags I have for reuse after depositing stuff in the donation center canvas laundry cart.

The house is 80^o and the yard is 105^o. My mother never came to visit from April through October because she doesn't like the weather much over 80 outside.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jun 23 - 07:10 AM

I’m with your mother, Stilly. When the thermometer crawls above, say, 27°C, I hunker down and avoid the great outdoors until things get sensible again.

The house looks pleasantly rational, with all stuff corralled in appropriate places and nothing in the gangways. Dust and cat hair levels are approaching unsociable, but I’m not expecting company so I’m not too bothered.

I signed up and paid for a week of music camp in the first week of August. It’s in Goderich, 80 km up Highway 8, so it will be a fair stretch to drive to and from each day, but I’d rather commute and sleep in my own bed than spend the week in a crappy motel — Goderich lodgings are typically booked years in advance for this event. But I need to play tunes, and learn a new song or two, and meet new people, so I’ll be on the road each day.

My other major adventure for this year will be at the end of September, when I will pack up the car and head south to the FSGW Getaway on the Maryland shore for the first time since before the pandemic. I’ll be gone about a week, maybe 10 days, as my SIL in Windsor wants a visit as well, and I want to avoid interstate highways as much as I can. Road-tripping on my own again after so many years — it’s a bit daunting, but the all-day lunge across Ontario to Ottawa is almost routine now, so I know I can do it.

Why not fly? Because sleeping bag, mandolin, guitar and special pillow, that’s why. (You know you’re old when a special pillow becomes a life essential.) And because I loathe modern air travel, with its constant security theatre and atmosphere of suspicion. It’s stressful in a way that I can hardly tolerate any more, far worse than hours and hours of road, keeping the car between the ditches and not getting lost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jun 23 - 10:34 AM

Air travel sounds horrible now, and you don't want to contribute to the body of destroyed instrument videos on YouTube (where I don't see any destroyed mandolins, but there is this).

Despite the heat I'm planting the rest of the bedding plants (started from seed) today after a discreet soak of the gardens last night (a small sprinkler running 20 minutes each in about 8 different spots; the timer beeped much of the evening.) Monday isn't a watering day, but I wasn't wasting it on turf, it was just for the veggies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:06 AM

Any outdoor work happens in the morning or evening. Half of the fence pickets are treated, I'll do the rest after dinner. I have web work that will be best performed in a darkened room with the ceiling fan on during the heat of the day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 28 Jun 23 - 11:45 AM

Dupont:

Arrived back before 6 pm to find R at home - had been all day as he had lacked the go-power to ...go to work! We went out for a decent meal and come home again. Shortly after which I went to bed - opened the window and there was a slightly coolish breeze.

The trip included a stop for Covid shot #5, a fill up with gas and returning books to library. Then an hour+ visit with a friend at his hilltop home, conversation, a lovely breeze, a busy chipmunk or 2 or 3, and resident bluejays. Traffic on the 401 was light but the squall warning was real and I would have pulled off if I had thought that safer. Just as I approached an En Route and had started to exit, the sky totally cleared!

It has rained enough here to keep outside plants alive. R has left the soaker hose dribbling on the Veggies. I DID remember to pick the few ripe strawberries at Beaver; did not get to netting the blueberries. If we do not get back soon, I will encourage neighbour Sue to check the strawberries as she goes by. The ones I picked are delicious!

I have mild hope, perhaps vain, that R will be able to go to Beaver for this long weekend. A friend is playing there on Friday night. He seemed a bit disappointed that I felt called to be supportive of R's BIG presentation to the City on Thurs rather than ... Today R is meeting with a presentation coach. He has only 10 minutes to get his huge message across to the bureaucrats. They already had AI shorten it! But AI left out some important aspects. 10 min? and 10 min for questions? ...!

So, now to find a decent outfit - after I recover a bit more. Still heavy weather, dark with mist or rain periodically. ---IT"S pouring out there! I ain't goin' nowhere for a while.

Thinking of Charmion's success with her home; she has accomplished so much! Marvellous! ...And I come back to bags and boxes of books - lucky I could get in the door! But R did do a laundry (can work the machine!!). I will fold and distribute ...soon.

Charmion's trip to Maryland will be beautiful for the most part. I lived much of my life in that part of PA that touches on MD.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jun 23 - 04:40 PM

I’m sick, dammit.

It’s some kind of gastro, and my entire belly feels as if I got kicked. Plus I’m weak and dizzy. It’s not COVID — I checked.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Jun 23 - 06:44 PM

Feel better very, very soon, Charmion!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 10:19 AM

Dupont:

Presentation went very well; the chair let him finish even though he was a couple minutes over. His support team, and others, applauded with enthusiasm - he was actually in tears at the end so they had to applaud? I am waiting with almost bated breath for Eph to send the video!

Now back to the usual stresses - cannot find his glasses this am and cannot legally drive without them! Some sort of beeper might help?

Holiday traffic was already blocking highway before 4 pm and I found an alternate route - wending my way through dreadful traffic to a road that took me to the bridge. Took over an hour rather than 25 minutes. I went to bed at 7 pm, exhausted.

Nice morning, dry and mildly smoky. I did get an air cleaner yesterday for friend Geri and will take it down today. She could not see the mountains - Adirondacks - yesterday.

Well, the glasses were on the bedside table! And R is off to work and I shall go see Geri. Maybe get some fruit at the good orchard down there.

When I have a gut problem, apple cider vinegar often helps.

Hope for not too many fireworks on this holiday weekend and may everyone have a safe and enjoyable whichever holiday you may be having.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 10:48 AM

Better today, but not fully recovered. Belly is still sore and I have zero interest in food.

At least the dizzyness has ebbed enough that I can take a shower.

More old ladies get broken falling in the shower ...

I am enjoying "Faits divers" ("News items"), a French-language TV show about a provincial police squad in the townships north of Montreal. The dialogue is totally authentic -- machine-gun rapid, salted with English, and barely comprehensible except to native (i.e., Montrealais) speakers. It's very dead-pan -- funny in a not-really-funny-why-am-I-laughing way.

The only good thing about being too sick to go out is that you will keep flipping the channels until you find something worth watching, however unlikely.

Television before noon is not something I do -- kinda like fruitcake for breakfast -- but it's not even eleven o'clock and I can hardly wait to polish off Season 1.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 11:12 AM

I've spent the last couple of weeks of June weaning myself off of some of the snacks that have crept into my diet. July is for repositioning - for losing the five pounds that came with the snacks. I agree with Dorothy - vinegar is great for a number of things that ail you (also helpful if you have restless legs or heartburn.) Or instead of straight vinegar, eat a pickle.

The fruit I planned to use to improve the diet has been a disaster - two boxes of peaches and a bag of pears from Costco are all rubber imitations of fruit. The peaches smell ripe but are hard and rubbery, and the pears aren't ripening, they just go from hard to rotten. Good thing I can just complain with the receipt and they'll refund it, I don't have to carry the fruit back to the store; chances are they've had lots of complaints. I'll cook the peaches and am cutting up hard pears for the dogs as their mealtime vegetable.

The high forecast here is only 99^o today. A friend needs help connecting his computer to the world (dead ethernet port, it'll be replaced with a small and inexpensive USB to Ethernet adapter), so once Amazon delivers the part I'll head over, and have other errands to run near his house. The caterpillars (at the cat sitting house) are now enclosed in a butterfly house thing to keep them from being eaten by birds or parasitized by wasps, but she needs organic parsley because they're eating hers down to the roots (her schedule isn't letting her visit the organic farm stand). And another friend has canning jars (it's time to start processing tomatoes soon.)

Dog hair has reached explosive proportions, even as I declutter handsful per pass with the furminator. Decluttering of more solid items includes winnowing down the eBay listings - things that haven't attracted interest in a couple of months are unwrapped and go into the Goodwill bin.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jun 23 - 11:14 PM

I fixed a friend's computer this afternoon - the AT&T tech replaced his modem/router, but that wasn't the problem. He said it was probably the Ethernet port, so I ordered a USB Ethernet adapter and was able to set it up today. Work like this is nerve-wracking for my high-functioning brain injured friend; it was one thing to add a new cable, but his computer needs the BIOS adjusted (it tries to boot to the A drive so requires some extra steps to start it.) That was too much for him for yesterday, so next visit. While on that side of the county I stopped at another friend's house for a grocery sack full of canning jars she saved for me.

My computer friend has some incredible early American antiques and also a lot of old technology around his apartment, so I offered to let him know the next time I'm going to go by the city e-waste disposal place and I'll stop by and pick up old printers, computer, CRT monitor, etc. Decluttering for friends can be tricky. He doesn't hoard this stuff, he's just very disorganized (high functioning brain injury).

Are you feeling better, Charmion?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 12:29 PM

I must be on the mend, Stilly, because I just finished vacuuming the parlour carpet. I have also de-furred the hardwood in the dining room and the ceramic tile in the rest of the ground floor. The clouds of cat hair rose like mini-thunderheads. No, I haven’t expunged the coffee stains in the kitchen or scrubbed the loo, but gimme a break. It’s Dominion Day.

Well, it’s still Dominion Day for me. Dunno what was wrong with it, no need to change it just because the Constitution Act finally got passed — fer petesake we still celebrate the Queen Victoria’s birthday on 24 May and the dear old soul kicked off in 1901!

Ah, fuckit. I’m evidently in a mood.

The weather is hot and sticky with thunderstorms in the forecast. The first firecracker of the holiday has yet to go off on Glendon Road, but the windows are shut and they will stay that way — not for the cats’ sake, but for me. No, I’ve never been shot at, but I did enough range time to be acutely sensitive to certain sounds and smells that don’t belong anywhere else.

BTW — Furminator? Is that your word for the silicone broom that actually separates even the finest of cat hair from textured ceramic floor tile? I have needed that word for so long. Thanks a million!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jul 23 - 02:17 PM

The Furminator™ is the brand name for a tool that pulls out the loose undercoat, but when Susie tried brushing Zeke (the chocolate Lab who has lived here since 2012) with one it broke, so she got the tool I have now. This more durable product by Oster is a ShedMonster™ De-shedding tool for long coats. It's reinforced steel to go through that coat. The squeegee broom thing is the "FURemover pet hair remover carpet rake." Except I use it on the tile floors. With the Oster tool I get one good pull through Zeke's coat then I knock the wad off on the edge of a bucket beside us, it's one-handed because I have to grip his collar so he'll stay put.

It's lovely and cooler today but I have had a background headache that takes the pleasure and the initiative to do anything out of the day. Allergies? Thoughts still dash to COVID as a possibility when anything is off, but a mild headache doesn't merit a test.

Eagle shits status updated; as of June he is getting his full amount, minus my portion, but my paperwork is back in line to be processed. They told him a year ago it takes 3 months to process retirement accounts, and they told me this week that it takes three months to process court ordered accounts. #ReadBetweenTheLines

Fireworks so far have been the performance variety, accompanying concerts held at a stadium a few miles east of me. Knock wood they haven't started yet in the neighborhood.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 10:11 AM

Yesterday's headache seems to have passed. I've been off of caffeine for a few months and don't miss it (except for the stronger flavor of my morning tea), and have one less source of occasional morning headaches (waiting too long to drink the first cup.) I suppose that is a form of decluttering.

Adulting first thing this morning by taking my favorite pair of gardening jeans into the sewing studio and putting a patch on under the back left pocket where there was a three inch breezy worn spot. I fear I've gone to the store several times with skin or undies showing through. Cheeky me.

The cedar pickets are dried after the preservative was painted on so this morning I'll put up the next fence panel, and later pick up more pickets and crossmembers. It's a straight level run so should take under an hour to assemble in place.

This morning to the dogs' dismay I vacuumed drifts of dog hair before feeding them. (They would prefer I make a beeline to their bowls first thing.) I'll continue brushing the dogs and add in nail trimming. I proposed a lunch date to my library retiree friends so in preparation there is a lot of clutter around that needs removal along with staying on top of the dust puppies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 01:28 PM

Hot and raining hard in Stratford. Random pops and thuds outside ended fairly early last night and have not resumed — fireworks are no fun on a wet Sunday morning in Ontario.

The stomach ailment of last week (and this week, damn it) is apparently a new virus in town. One of the priests at church also had it — the kicked-in-the-belly feeling at onset is very distinctive — and has needed two weeks of recuperation to feel fully himself again. Also widowed and on his own at home, he was scared enough to go the hospital, where they tested him for all manner of weird shit and came up blank, except that he was obviously sick as a very sick thing. So, a virus.

But not *just* a virus — I think we know better than that by now. Smallpox is a virus. COVID is a virus.

I’m a bit weak (good thing no vocal acrobatics were required today at church) and I can’t eat much, not that I want to. Lunch has been a plate of carefully poached asparagus and a single small cookie. I might consider a small serving of oatmeal around tea time. There’s a chicken cutlet in the fridge that I had originally intended to eat last week, and that will be supper. More would be foolhardy.

The rain gives me all the excuse I need to spend the afternoon with an audiobook and the cats, if they choose to join me in the comfy chair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 09:19 AM

That sounds like a norovirus, Charmion.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 09:59 AM

Thanks, Andrew.

I read the page at your link. It says norovirus is a reportable disease (in Canada), so I pinged the priest to ask if he was tested for it when he went to the hospital.

Still raining in Stratford. A good thing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 01:56 PM

It turns out that morning is not the best time to perform fence work; the sun beats down into that area between fence and garage during those early hours. Panel construction now pushed to afternoon, once the sun is behind the garage. I hung some laundry on the line and it's so hot that by the time you get to the end of the line you can go back to the beginning and take it down completely dry.

Lots of fireworks in the surrounding neighborhoods last night. They aren't as percussive as when I lived in New York City years ago; there the buildings allowed incredible reverberation of the explosions. Here I have a dog who doesn't like them and I live along a greenbelt filled with trees and dry grass as fuel.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 23 - 05:25 PM

I'm about to deploy the tractor travelling lawn sprinkler that I bought at a neighborhood estate sale. A hard plastic part was missing (I didn't know at the time - the replacement arrived yesterday from Amazon) that goes over the hose at the point where you want to stop the motion and water. Going through YouTube videos seems a better option than downloading a manual - more often lately some of those manuals download sites have iffy-looking choices.

The hose is laid out in the route you want the sprinkler to travel and you set it on low or high depending on the feet per hour it travels. My goal is to keep the foundation watered this year and keep enough of the back yard watered that the dogs aren't running around on dry packed dirt. The way back part of the yard can dry out but they need some lawn to be comfortable.

Hummus for lunch today and my squash casserole tonight for dinner. Then I'll start looking for ways to use the cucumbers that are coming along fairly quickly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jul 23 - 12:36 PM

The cast iron traveling tractor sprinkler works well, but the ancient plastic hose cart has a leaky connection. When the sprinkler turns itself off the cart connector spews water. Time to replace it, and knowing that when there is 150 feet of hose on the cart makes it almost too heavy for one person to move by herself, I won't aim for anything bigger than the 175' capacity I have now. (There's water in the hose, making it so heavy.) I find one on sale at Lowe's, so off I go. I might get away with letting this thing run a circuit near the house every couple of weeks and keep enough grass alive for the dogs and the foundation watered so the house doesn't shift as much as last year. I can use the current hose caddy in the front yard just to store the hose so it's off the ground, and it's so old no one will bother stealing it.

The new fence panel looks good, with four to go. I'll do the next one this week (the materials are in the garage.) I may require help on the last panel where the end post has been pushed crooked by the tree I took out this spring. That's a triple job - digging out the old post, cutting out the tree root, and putting in a new post.

Building a series of cucumber trellises with materials from the old fence this afternoon. Might as well get a little more use from that wood. Also - I need to research making pickles with potassium salt. It looks like a good year for pickles.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 01:56 PM

I suppose I might as well mention my health. No further on this please. Although I had a good spell after my cancer op in 2000, the op didn’t rid me of cancer and things I’ve been able to do have been reducing for quite some time. After a spell in hospital starting in May, I was allowed home in June and put on palliative care. As things stand, I can walk a short distance with a frame but spend most of my time in bed and am often very tired.

Coming home was “fun”. They had to clean and clear my cluttered bed/living room and make room for a hospital bed. In doing my desk area, they managed to disconnect some Internet things and I can neither get under the desk to fix everything or think of anyone I’d trust to help me. I managed to restore my Internet and LAN by buying a new Ethernet PoE smart switch, plugging it into an accessible power socket, configuring and using that instead of the one I’ve no power to. Then there were a few more hassles with other things…

I’ve mostly been playing with laptop the last few days. No real need for me doing this but as a something to do, I decided to set up postfix/dovecot on my server box. I got in quite a muddle with postfix and relaying to my ISP’s mail servers and decided some sort of test server would be handy. I failed to find anything free I liked on my short search so I’ve tried to write my own usin python aiosmtpd. Here’s a run with me sending an email to it from kmail.

(aiosmtpd) jon@jonlaptop:~/PycharmProjects/aiosmtpdtest> python main.py -a -t -d INFO --ssl tls /pi4/certs/cert.pem /pi4/certs/key.pem    
  
  Server Started 
  Listening on 0.0.0.0 8025 
  Authentication is on 
  Use tls is on 
  Debug Level is INFO 
  Using starttls: certfile: /pi4/certs/cert.pem keyfile: /pi4/certs/key.pem 
  Press Return to quit. 
  
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,272 INFO] Peer: ('172.23.41.192', 60984) 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,272 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) handling connection 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,272 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'EHLO jonlaptop.localnet' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,273 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'STARTTLS' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,279 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'EHLO jonlaptop.localnet' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,280 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'AUTH PLAIN ********' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,313 WARNING] Session.login_data is deprecated and will be removed in version 2.0 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,315 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'MAIL FROM:' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,316 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) sender: [e-mail] 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,316 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'RCPT TO:' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,316 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) recip: [e-mail] 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,316 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'DATA' 
  Message from [e-mail] 
  Message for ['[e-mail]'] 
  Message data: 
  
  > From: Jon Freeman  
  > To: Jon Freeman  
  > Subject: starttls test 
  > Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:25:33 +0100 
  > Message-ID: <12239959.O9o76ZdvQC@jonlaptop> 
  > MIME-Version: 1.0 
  > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit 
  > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" 
  > 
  > Message sent to test server 
  > 
  > 
  
  End of message 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,317 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) >> b'QUIT' 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,317 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) Connection lost during _handle_client() 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,317 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) EOF received 
  [2023-07-06 17:25:33,317 INFO] ('172.23.41.192', 60984) connection lost

Oh well, gives me something to meddle with I suppose and I’ll have to think of something else now...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 03:31 PM

Dupont:

I got sick! After delivering the air cleaner and having lunch with Geri at local restaurant in southern QC... THE local, in fact, as there is not much down her way.

I don't know when it started but I must have "caught" it as it seems similar to Charmion's - unlike anything I have had. Just stayed in bed for two days, with minimal forays for minimal food. Feeling as though the end were near...

Heat all but did me in; the A/C in BR is inadequate. Tues I felt rather OK with no energy. Weds less OK but moderately functional - that means SOME dishes got washed! Spent most of the day trying to find someone to mow the knee high grass before we are fined!

Chateauguay Chit Chat (FB) is a mixture of helpful folks and clowns. Although I was preferring to give my money to a person, in the end, I have chosen to SOS a local company suggested by the woman who does their PR. There were no rude remarks on line re this suggestion and the nice man phoned this am saying he would get back to me in a day or so! HOPE!

THEN, feeling some better and more cheerful, I spent a fortune on new filters for the two air cleaners here; next week I will spend half a fortune on the same for the cleaner at Beaver. And while I was spending, I ordered 24 loaves of bread - enough to make the shipping charge not hurt as much. But careful that I would really like the choices this time! I think there is room in the freezer now - but it would be a good idea to empty it and start fresh!?? I hope I will feel up to this "good idea"! And a new supply of the Pau d'Arco.

The "yard man" said they charge "by the minute for residential work"! He could not, however, tell me the minute rate! I really do not care! I cannot do it! Oh! R? Maybe in his sleep!

R did follow my directive, last night, to open the attic door - had to climb an iffy ladder to do so - with me hanging on to it! This 1902 house has a hot air outlet in attic, a mini chimney so the hot air can go up and out. I believe this is a Very Good Thing! He argues with me every year... It will stay open until I suggest - perhaps in late September - that it might be better to keep the warm air in the house! Maybe by then we will have a safer ladder... It was cool enough last night - at 11pm - to open the window and turn of the noisy a/c! Nice breeze even!! Closed up at 8 am.

Right now, the only thing I "know for sure" is that the world is too hot. And it is scary.

I did go to the produce store first thing this AM - back by 8:10 to beat the heat - and stocked up with veggies. A good accomplishment. May go to reg supermarket as it starts to cool in the eve.

Laundry is up to date, dishes mostly there, floors in sore need of cleaning... And I need the pottery customer to come and pick what he/she wants. Hoping to go back to Beaver by end of next week - after all the orders have arrived! Did not net the blueberries but neighbour has been enjoying the delicious strawberries.

Now, I look around and wonder what else can I manage - without moving much! I did realize this am that a cup of green tea was helping me deal better with the climate.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 10:02 PM

Jon, I'm sorry to read your account of this spring and your health, and thank you for trusting us with the news. I sent you a PM with contact information if it would be helpful. The programming is not something I know how to write, but as I read through at the bottom it says "connection lost." Does that mean it didn't work on your first try, or is it simply noting that the device was turned off after it ran?

Dorothy, there seems to be something going around, though this week my daughter who was ill apparently was laid low by food poisoning.

Today was a major push in the garden, with the scattering of an organic fertilizer and the application of an organic pesticide (Spinosad) in the tomatoes (they are pollinated by wind, not insects, so the only bugs I hope to kill are the leaffooted bugs - a type of stink bug - that pierce the fruit and make the tomatoes look weird and the plants less healthy.) The heat has hastened their damage. Tomorrow I'll mix up some Surround WP (it's kaolin clay that, when sprayed on, looks like you've whitewashed the plants.) It is to repel the grasshoppers I'm seeing a lot of and also hopefully slow down the LF bugs.

I'm going to try Thread, but since I have only 178 followers and follow only 370 people, it isn't going to be the whole world like on Twitter. But I'll take a look. If you know me on Facebook you should be able to find my Instagram account and that address will be the same on Thread. I just can't find a way right now to view Thread on the computer and I refuse to use it on my phone. I'll try the tablet and dumb down all of the notifications those things try to send.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 01:40 AM

Ah, it looks a bit odd but the disconnect messages after QUIT is normal operation. Email sending is a sort of one shot operation. The client (in this case kmail) connects to the SMTP server, attempts to send the message and then issues QUIT to disconnect from the server. This would happen with both successful and failed email attempts. In the example I posted, we can see the email I sent so we can see things went OK.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 04:03 AM

I'd always thought tomatoes were insect pollinated... Looking it up now I find that tomatoes are self pollinating. Apparently both bumblebees and wind can transfer the pollen to the stigma. Shaking the plants may also work. See here for example.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 09:58 AM

Nice to see you back on the board, Jon Freeman.

I think I might be burning off some bad karma. Yesterday, I tripped, then slipped, and fell sideways, striking my head on the frame of a steel-clad door and ending up in a heap. It was raining hard, and the surface underfoot was the wet deck of a friend’s front stoop.

I scrambled/lurched upright and practically ran away — my friend is a fusser, which I cannot endure. But I had a huge lump on my head and I felt progressively weirder and weirder. So I went to the hospital to get my head examined.

Fortunately, the ER was having a lull. I was triaged in no time flat and seen by the duty doc, who ordered a CT scan. All normal. I could go home, so I did. Today I’m sore but okay.

The duty doc looked familiar. Sure enough, he had the shift when Edmund died; he delivered the bad news. Recalling that night was kinda the last straw. I tottered out into the parking lot — still raining — and wept. Just howled.

Then I drove home very carefully and fed the cats.

So, another tale of small-town life.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 11:24 AM

Jon, my organic gardening guru friend says he used to take his morning newspaper (rolled up) and whack the tomato cages a few times on the side to stir up the pollen. With the advent of digital media I imagine he keeps his tennis racket handy for the same thing now, no point in ruining a good tablet by swinging at plants in the garden.

Charmion, what a way to get that reminder. You can't declutter the ER doctor, but perhaps that cry in the parking lot achieved much the same thing.

And does this also mean you're going to take a look at the shoes you were wearing? I've had to change how I approach steps after falling a couple of times, though it was the dog that tripped me up. I used to step across a gap at the corner in the den where there is a step down into the room, from the front hall to the bedroom hall at that corner. Pepper in her herding ways would try to scoot through as I made that corner and she knocked me off of my feet twice. I resolved to not let her put me in that position again so I now step completely down to the den level, then back up to the next hall, and when I am aware that Pepper is doing her herding thing I flex my leg back at the knee and sometimes make contact, letting her know she's doing it again. (This is separate from the time I hit the edge of the step up into the kitchen when wearing some thick-soled clogs and decided then and there to donate both of my pair to Goodwill.)

This time of year I dislike when it comes to bathing. Not that I dislike bathing, but that when it's so damned hot out any time you go outside you come back in soaked in sweat. If you shower in the morning then do anything around the yard before going somewhere polite where you might meet other people, the shower has long since lost its effect. Shower again or just change clothes? I generally shower at bedtime for more comfortable sleep and wing it through the day. I end up dressing in the morning in the clothes I know I'm going to change out of before I go do anything away from home. It does mean more laundry. The other thing I do is wash my face with just a wet washcloth (no soap) a couple of times a day (good thing I never wear cosmetics or this wouldn't work.) Otherwise your skin is more salty and the sweat stings in your eyes.

Dorothy, I love the attic vent you describe. My house used to have an attic fan to do the same thing, but when it died I didn't replace it, I had the spot covered when I put on a new roof and installed a ridge vent. What they do is cut a slim long slit into plywood layer under the shingles at the top of the house along the roof peak and put on special vents that let the heat rise out passively. Looks like this and a single line of shingles is applied over that vent to cover the plastic. The insulation on the attic floor is what keeps the house warm in the winter, the ridge vent is for letting excess heat from the sun shining down escape.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 06:48 PM

The pickets for the next fence panel are ready, the preservative applied this afternoon. I can get a little over two panels per can of wood preservative, and it's about $40 a can now, so factoring that into the project, the panels are about $80 each. The next picket run will be to Lowe's for the lumber and Home Depot for the preservative. I only shop at HD for things I can't get at Lowe's - HD has a political leaning that I'm not fond of, and I don't appreciate the open carry that occurs in there. I'm okay until I get to the end of the wood fence, when I'll need a couple of bags of concrete along with everything else.

My fitness tracker must think I've been sleeping all day; I used my right arm for the painting and the tracker is on my left. When I go to the gym I put on it in a band and wear it on my ankle so it keeps track of my cycling on the recumbent bike. I should probably go over this evening and exercise the rest of the body. :)

I loaded Threads into my tablet, and this afternoon I pulled up Twitter on the computer and looked at the accounts I follow to see who is on the new app. I don't know that it will amount to anything, but it has been interesting to be part of a huge migration of accounts. This is made possible by the connection to Instagram, but also because we are now so accustomed to social media accounts in general. I don't use most of the other trendy apps, but I added this because what has happened to Twitter is frustrating. It IS/was the place where a lot of breaking news appears. Threads doesn't have a trending list now and they supposedly don't do hashtags (but everyone is still putting them in - I think this is something that the users know that Meta will have to come around to. Hashtags have a role in all of this.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 04:15 PM

I had a big computer problem today. Mum’s been complaining she can’t get into her PC and I can’t go over to the study to sort her out. I had an idea that mum could use the spare laptop which she could take to me when stuck. I started to prepare for that today by downloading the latest kubuntu and burning it to a flash drive.

I then tried to boot from the drive using my laptop and things went wrong. Instead of getting a menu, I was just taken to a grub command line which is a bit like a dos command prompt and has its own list of commands. I then tried to boot my laptop into its installed OpenSuse and the same happened. I got a grub command prompt instead of a menu.

The problem turned out to be a corrupted EFI partition and I think it took me about 5 hours to get things working properly. I suppose it wouldn’t have been that bad if I knew what I was doing but looking things up and finding the right answers takes time.

I don’t know how I’ll feel tomorrow but I’ll aim to install to the spare laptop then. With luck, one of the carers will be able to log on to mum’s desktop to get me a connection to the LAN so I can copy some files over. Mum’s problems usually are the battery in the mouse needs changing and that she’s forgotten how to log in. Or if she is logged in, she’s forgotten or lost the desktop shortcut she has to start Chromium and take her to the jigsaw site she enjoys.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 04:56 PM

Stilly, so wish you didn't have to deal with this long siege of awful temperatures! I do know that feeling of 'wasting a bath' when sweat starts up shortly after you get spotless. Lots of men in the South slip into a 2-showers-a-day routine in this weather, and you can't blame them.

Holing up inside today doing chores while the temps reach for 98 in Utah. Tomorrow will do the last push north, supposedly I'll lose 10-15 degrees. The raft trip forecast was for night temps in high 40s, but now it's more like 58s, with 90-100 daily highs. Wasted the purchase of a cheap sleeping bag, looks like. Oh well. it'll do as a mattress.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 11:15 PM

Patty, you have a standing invitation to stop by my place in Fort Worth when you're coming and going, and I hope that invitation is enough to inspire a detour from the shortest route between points one of these days. I have three dogs who love company, so I'll offer that heads-up. I promise to give you a tour of the area and we can even make a couple of day trips to spots you might not have thought about. Where are you headed that it will be that much cooler?

Jon, it sounds like you need to start making some lists and spelling out how you've set up systems around the house. I'm willing to bet that in the process of describing the systems you've put in place you'll have ideas about how to change or simplify things from this point forward. It should help you, your parents, and whoever comes in to help.

I set up the materials and tools for the fence panel, but it was still so hot at 6pm that I postponed until tomorrow early. And if I get out early enough, the neighbors would enjoy a visit from my Labrador retriever who loves them and enjoyed going through the fence last time I cut down a panel (earlier this week). They head to church by about 8:30, so I'll plan to be out an hour earlier to cut down the panel and make the opening. That way Cecil, who is 80, can have an in-his-yard visit with Zeke, who is at least 100 in people years. They meet every morning at the fence for treats, but this is the next step, this is Zeke checking out their yard. It's silly and sweet, the things people look forward to (his wife told me that Cecil is really looking forward to this.) :) I set my alarm already this evening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 09 Jul 23 - 05:10 AM

You are right SRS in that it is something I'm aware I need to think about. When an inevitable break down occurs, I doubt they would find anyone to come in and fix things. I'm hoping I'll be able to talk this (and some other things) over with 2 of my brothers who I think should be visiting next weekend.

One perhaps fortunate thing here though is nearly all the lights can be operated manually. When I was in hospital, homeseer automation and the Alexa bits were lost because of the network disconnection under my desk and the only problem light was the study one. A carer tried fiddling with the switch and we had a colour changing study until I was able to fix things.

I suspect that the living room computer will have to go with the loss of cameras amongst other things and the LAN be simplified.

Maybe even the Honeywell Evohome heating system would be better changed to an older type set up as batteries in sensors need changing and mum doesn't understand it. It's quite simple really, each radiator has a controller on the valve which is programmed to set to the required temperature for the time of day and will open/close the valve and fire the boiler up as needed but mum, thinking something is wrong, will come and tell me, it's a cold day and that radiator is cold. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to explain to her the temperature in that room is 18C and the room is set for 18C so the radiator should be off...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 09 Jul 23 - 09:17 AM

We've had a change of plan re the spare laptop. Mum is getting a new 17" HP Win 11 pro one that I think might be better for her.

As for the spare which despite not being Win 11 capable is a pretty decent machine... I asked my lunchtime carer if she knew of anyone that I could pass it on to. She said the school her kids go to were often looking for laptops for pupils who can't afford them, that she also knew a place for women escaping domestic violence that could be grateful for it and that she would ask around.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 23 - 11:09 AM

I was all set up for the fence work and as I was pulling on socks and shoes this morning I realized the noise I was hearing outside was rain! I hurried out to rescue the wet bucket of tools beside the old fence. It's now wet and humid, but this afternoon perhaps I'll do the work after the neighbors get back home from church, so Zeke can still have the visit through the gap. The initial plan was to do it early so the visit could happen before they had to leave.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 09 Jul 23 - 07:14 PM

One thing I noticed with the HP laptop I ordered for mum is that it doesn’t have an Ethernet port. Perhaps that is common now but it’s the first time I’ve noticed that. I’ve ordered a combined Ethernet/USB adapter for it just in case (perhaps unlikely with mum but…) there is ever a need for a wired connection or for more USB ports.

A big change for me and this is it will be the first computer in the household in ages that is purely Windows rather having it, if present, as an occasionally used dual boot option. This is not because I’ve lost faith in Linux which has been very stable and served us well for many years or believe that Windows is easier than her OpenSuse/KDE set up for her daily bits of usage but in case mum does need 3rd party support. It’s easy to find a repair person doing Windows round here for example but I think you would struggle to find one familiar with Linux. I’ll probably do the same with dad’s laptop...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 23 - 10:09 PM

Jon, that looks like the device I ordered for my kitchen Sony laptop. It has always been WiFi, I bought it for travel and wanted it small, so got one without the Ethernet option and no DVD drive, etc. After fixing my friend's computer (dead Ethernet port) I decided to do the same thing for myself. I've spent time picking up in the kitchen, tossing things that I just won't use and don't want to try to donate, and put a few items in the box for my son. He is very fond of Tupperware and I have pieces here I never use any more.

Still no new fence panel, the afternoon is very muggy out there. I'll try again in the morning. I spoke with the neighbors, it turns out that tomorrow is his birthday and he was looking forward to my dog's visit today, so we'll do it tomorrow without the need to hurry and the old guys can have a good chat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 03:20 AM

I've been getting more and more fed up with our huge Bramley apple tree. Due to the long drought here in Norfolk, it's dropping 'windfall' apples all over the lawn. It's far too big for our little back garden, so I've asked our professional handyman/gardener neighbour to cut it down and remove the stump. He quoted me £200 (gulp!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 05:43 AM

As far as I can remember, the last tree job here cost around £1000. That wasn’t felling a tree but for the removal of tree limbs that the guy we’d called for advice had said ought to come off to avoid possible problems with the house (he said the trees themselves were safe).

The job only took around an hour and my first thought was “wow, £1000 for that time”. But then I thought there were at least 3 people on the job, equipment included a chipper and a cherry picker and they left the garden tidy. I concluded that the cost was probably quite reasonable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 08:03 AM

I have had several trees taken off my small property. The big ones had to be dismembered from the top down, a task that required a hydraulic lift (cherry-picker) so a man with a chainsaw could take the upper limbs off. They could not be allowed to drop free — this is the city, not the lumbering woods — so each section to be cut was secured with guy-lines and, once free of the tree, lowered gently by the ground crew.

Not cheap, but the neighbour’s roof was safe. Also mine.

In other news, Thursday’s wallop to the head has left me with a spectacular black eye. The point of impact was at the hairline northeast (as it were) of my right eye, so I did not expect this development at all. The cognoscenti can tell that I was not punched in the face — no damage to the eye itself — but the look of the thing is so dramatic that people can’t help but stare.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 11:08 AM

I had a tree removed in March, it was $1000 for two men who climbed and removed from the top down; large pieces were dropped, but very strategically and the dogs were kept in the house to avoid that nuisance or hazard to them. They dragged trunk and limbs to a trailer that was fully-packed by the time they finished and they hauled the wood about five blocks to the nearby composting and wood chip recycling area where they had to offload by hand (some trailers have a system with a chain at the back so the company can clip into it and drag everything out at once. My friend doesn't have that setup). They paid the plant to take the wood (that will be chipped and he'll probably buy some next time he buys their chips) but the drop there is much cheaper and closer than taking the wood to the dump. They were finished in about 3 hours.

Senoufou, I hate to think the whole tree is going - could you reduce it in size so you get some apples just not the whole bunch you're getting right now?

Charmion, hopefully that shiner will at least clear up faster than if you'd actually taken a punch to the eye socket.

Jon, good luck with the new computers. Do you network them so they can share information? I used to do that but every time I change a router I seem to have to change the setup, so I haven't networked the stuff. I used to be able to play videos from my computer on the various smart TVs around the house. (It involved adding apps to the Fire stick but now a couple of the TVs are smart enough they could be seen by the network themselves.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 11:45 AM

several years ago I fell over & ended up with a black eye that surely would have terrified unwary kids! I couldn't get up on my own so the bloke nearby said move onto my back & to raise my arms & he pulled me up & supported me to a nearby bench & called my friends who drove me home.

Speaking of downsizing as we are, I found homes for 3 major collections in the past 2 weeks. A month ago at the DanceFest I finally had the opportunity to talk to a dancer who I thought might like my library of Historic costume books & she did! She is sharing it with other dancers & musicians as she already has many of the books. These dancers & musos are always impeccably dressed at Colonial & Jane Austin balls.

The books left a huge hole in my 2 tall & wide bookcases! & a fair amount of my craft projects & supplies that sat on the floor & on a coffee table in front of the doll cabinet are now on those shelves. As several shelves are still empty more will be shelved & I do have some other empty or under-utilised shelves.

One of the musos who helped with the book moving admired my dolls in period costume & will take them!! And her adult daughter loves bears, so the mohair bears I made have a home, the dolls & bears are not going yet.

Only a few more collections to find homes for! Plus lotsa' individual items ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 01:46 PM

Way to go, Sandra! Three cheers and a tiger!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 02:55 PM

Everything is on the LAN. I’ve got nfs and samba shares on the living room PC. Things shared include our pictures, tv recordings and a bit of user home space for each of us.

With Linux, I can use the Dolphin file manager to create a network folder to access files on another PC. I could also use rsync which is good for copying lots of files. I’m less sure abot Windows...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 03:37 PM

Jon, I just opened the Windows network and sharing center and see that I now have a choice to allow media streaming and when I open that the two smart TVs show up. So I've allowed it and will give it a test later. The home network is hidden to the public (always has been). This is Windows 10; I haven't bothered to update to Win11; I tend to skip the OS offerings so maybe when Win12 comes out I'll make the move.

Sandra, good job finding new homes for so many things that were in your collection!

Amazon Prime day is approaching and I'm looking at replacing the Fire Stick in my office that spends way too much time twirling and reconnecting and often dropping programs. I see a Roku device on sale - does anyone use one of those? It's just a stick. What I want is a way to view a few apps, not worry about another new account for some device I'm using. (I see it lets me stream Essentrics, my stretching program, but it says I have to download from the Roku Channel store - so it looks like another account if I get one.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 05:58 PM

Well, Charmion and Sandra, I can top your black eye stories.

Back in the year 2000 I was attending a friend's 50th birthday ball (at Bundanoon, Sandra - she lived in Canberra, so it was convenient for her south coast, Sydney and Canberra friends) and one of the dances on the program was 'Postie's Jig'. Being a Scottish dance it ended with a Scottish swing - left arm around partner's waist, right arm held curved in the air while swinging. As one of the women in our set flung up her arm she connected with the bridge of my nose.

I saw stars, let me tell you. Didn't fall down, but....oh geez, it hurt.

The result was two black eyes. Yes, two. At the same time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 07:20 PM

That makes my eyes water and my nose run just to think about it, Jennie! And I think there really is such an injury that has you "seeing stars" - maybe it's the brain deciding whether to pass out or not? My chocolate Lab ran full-tilt through the back door into my knee a few years back - I didn't fall down, but damn, my vision just about shut down with the impact. Stars indeed!

I offered a small hand vacuum with a long cord on the local Buy Nothing FB page and it was gone within the hour. I need to list several plants to give away, but it's so hot it isn't the best time for planting anything. I'll probably have to keep them for now and maybe offer them later in the fall.

Heading to the gym this evening, it has been way too long since I've gotten any sustained exercise. I'll load a new audiobook before I go.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 07:31 PM

I show mythtv, jellyfin media server, hdhomerun dvbt2 network tuner, vbox satellite network tuner in the sharing at the moment but I've looked no further.

I use home and guest vLANs too. There is a chromecast plugged into the living room tv on the guest LAN.

I think I've gone as far as I want with mum's laptop for now. I've done all the Windows updates, removed some unwanted sotware and put LibreOffice, Firefox, Thuderbird and VLC player on it. I've also put a copy of our photos on it. I'm not sure mum needs any more software but it can be added later if required. I'll copy any files she wants from her desktop PC when someone gets me a log in on it.

Next task sometime will be to get mum using it and I'm not looking forward to that... One perhaps fortnate thing though is that the kde plasma desktop she's been using isn't that dissimilar to the Win 11 one (and I've moved the task bar to the left and made Win single click to make things closer).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 08:32 PM

We have a super pair of blokes who will spend all day reducing/removing trees to our specification, for a flat rate of £350 per day. They swing around up there like Tarzan. They'll even cut some of the wood small enough for firewood if they have time. They'll either leave or take away stuff for free, whatever we decide, and they chip all the tops. We've had to have them two or three times over the last few years as we've lost some big trees to Dutch Elm disease. They deeply understand trees are are full of good advice.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 12:27 AM

That sounds like a great deal, and there is probably job security for them if they do that particular kind of work all of the time. The reputation keeps them busy. My friend who took out the tree (with his wife's brother) does a variety of work, and he prefers the tree stuff before they've all leafed out. He also hires a separate subcontractor to do stump grinding if people want that. It's a small network of friends and family who parse out the work amongst themselves.

Jon, your mother is lucky that you've set all of this up, and the photos are more precious as time passes. I've done something like that, but in a Google Drive folder that is shared with my ex and our children, since we're scattered all over the place.

I checked in with my brother today after hearing about flooding in Vermont; it turns out he's back in California with his ex (he and his ex are friends, something our generation managed that our parents never did apres divorce; I think we learned from their mistakes.) The place he is leasing is above the damaging water, and the new house is on a ridge, away from the wet. For our New England lurkers, stay safe! Take an extra pair of socks and shoes if you have to go out so you don't have to spend the day with wet feet. (I'm looking at you, Keb.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 08:06 AM

I went to the bank yesterday. My usual way out from the parking lot was so badly flooded, from poor drainage, that I had to snake my way around the water to take the exit.
Today, fortunately, the sun is out, and will be for a day or two.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 08:21 AM

Job security but I’d think it gets hard when you get older.

I’ve got 2 brothers who worked with ropes but that was in difficult access. Both were keen rock climbers (and Tim at one time was amongst the best in the UK) so I suppose it was a natural job choice for them.

Tim went on to being a director in a difficult access company before moving out to Australia. I think he does still climb at a little bit at his daughters place. She inherited her fathers taste for climbing and, together with her partner opened up a bouldering gym in Queensland.

Paul works at an oil refinery now. He started off on ropes, etc. on the inspection side but he now has an office job in safety/inspection. Before that, one of the biggest jobs Paul worked on was the repair of the Nat West Tower after it was bombed. I think they used a platform the went round the whole building for that one.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 12:28 PM

BLT sandwiches are best when freshly toasted bread and fried bacon are added to the mayo and lettuce, but I'm going to try a picnic with all of the cooked and wet parts kept separate and we'll assemble sandwiches when we meet. Since my daughter's tomato plants have all green fruit I'll also give her some of my ripe tomatoes (in exchange for some peppery sausage that she picked up on her way back from Austin this weekend - there's a little BBQ joint along I-35 that has the best sausage around and we have a standing order to buy a couple of pounds any time someone goes past the place.)

Allergies are starting to become more active, and nowadays I'm trying to treat them without Sudafed, just using Flonase and Claritin generics. When it gets worse I take a Benadryl at bedtime to boost the 24-hour Claritin. (On a related note, I find that the Aldi facial tissues that used to be pretty good are a handful of pulp after one blow.) It's not like years ago when I didn't accept that I had allergies and it used to progress to horrible sinus infections. This week I was reading up about air purifiers or filters (Honeywell is on sale on Amazon Prime this week.) Dorothy, do you use something like that, and does it help?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jul 23 - 10:36 PM

All of the ingredients arrived intact and we assembled our sandwiches in the student union cafeteria at the university across the street from my daughter's museum. We were off in a corner of the room, it was sparsely populated, and when my ex and I set down the bags I said "I think we're okay with outside food here, aren't we?" and a guy sitting a couple of tables away turned and said "yes." As we assembled these sandwiches with gorgeous slices of tomato a guy moving to sit nearby watched; I was tempted to tell him that these weren't on the menu, but he settled in and the thought passed. It worked out well, and we exchanged fresh tomatoes (large ones and cherry tomatoes) for some sausage she picked up for us when she was on her way back from a conference and passed by the little BBQ joint that makes the best links of sausage (lots of coarse black pepper in it). A town where she was born and we gladly moved away when she was 15-months old. Not a nice place to live or send children to school, but great BBQ.

The next batch of cedar pickets and cross-members are in the garage and I picked up a can of wood preservative so I can paint it on before putting up the panel. Maybe by the weekend I'll be within two panels of finishing this job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 12 Jul 23 - 02:48 AM

Stilly, that tree has been trimmed by our handy neighbour quite a few times, but it zooms up again in no time. Also, in autumn the lawn is covered in dead leaves. I emailed my husband in Africa yesterday, and he agrees to its being entirely removed.
We have a beautiful birdbath which could be placed where the tree used to be, in the middle of the garden.
A neighbour across the road always has the Bramley apples off that tree, plus the rhubarb from our vegetable plot and the pears (I planted a pear tree on the little cemetery where three of our cats are buried).
She'll be miffed, but it is our garden after all!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Jul 23 - 05:22 AM

A fine video on the benefits of decluttering is called 'The Minimalists' on Netflix. People over stuff and decluttering techniques are their themes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 23 - 03:14 PM

Today is supposed to be a scorcher, so this morning I had the timer on and dragged the sprinkler to keep the squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers going. The rest of it can get hot and dry.

A couple of years ago after our prolonged power outage my sister recommended a portable power pack that is enough to run a lamp and a radio and charge her phone. Then a few weeks ago a library coworker on FB complained that her car battery needed a jump and the retired IT dept head from our library recommended to a portable power pack to start the car. Research shows it does that plus everything my sister's device does, and I found it on Prime Day. Sometimes being prepared means you'll never need to use the device, but if a $90 purchase means the power won't go out or the car need a jump, that's a good investment.

My newest titanium knee gets it's one-year checkup today. These prosthetic knees have certainly improved my ability to do what I want in the last couple of years. It's a tough surgery and when I was getting ready for the second one I would occasionally ask myself if I was really going to go through with it, knowing how tough the next six weeks are after, but I did and I'm glad I stuck to the plan.

Is everyone feeling better today? I'm still treating the allergy symptoms, and have times during the day when the congestion catches up with me. Charmion, do you have a fashionable pair of sunglasses you can wear to cover the shiner? Dorothy, how's your energy level? Jon, I hope you're comfortable and feeling productive.

Senoufou, it's good you have a source of apples! That was the main thing. I'm glad you have neighbors to help with both the pruning and the sharing of fruit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 12:40 AM

Thanks, SRS. I’m reasonably comfortable.

I’m not feeling productive but am finding little things to keep me occupied some of the time. I have put kodi on mum’s laptop and installed the plugin for the hdhomerun which I think will remain on the network. This will give her live tv and I thin the ability to record. I’ve also set up Windows Workgroup and nfs file sharing on it. This isn’t really needed at the moment but both services are at least ready to go if anyone did want to map a network drive to another computer here.

I’ve also set the shares up on the Windows partition on my laptop. And added the Android and Linux virtual environments. I might have a play with them sometime. One thing I don’t think I’ve noticed before is that the Windows (at least 11) Terminal has a built in ssh client. That’s handy for Linux users where a lot of admin on remote computers is performed over ssh. I used it today when setting up the Windows Workgroup as I needed to check the Samba server settings on the living room PC.

Back to mum’s laptop. I’m wondering if one of the carers can do the hand over for me. Me doing it would be awkward for me as I’d have to do in bed and mum would have difficulty getting in a suitable position with her wheelchair. There is one of my carers* I’ll ask when I see her next. I just want mum taken through startup/log on, see a couple of apps opened and closed, and then laptop shut down. I’ve printed some instructions for mum and this but I think she needs to be shown too.

Well I say my carers but (and this might my make my request easier) they are now both mum’s and my carers (dad’s carers are a different company). Someone from Social services called a few days ago and spoke to dad, mum and I. She felt that mum needed a bit of practical help and arranged that my care company give mum ½ hr twice a day while they are visiting me. Mum’s a bit unsure of this at the moment but I hope she will come round to finding it useful and I do think she could do with some extra help.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 03:45 AM

Tiny Forests ??? Tiny Forests are densely packed patches of native bushland the size of a tennis court, right in the heart of our cities. These urban wildlife oases are a unique nature-based solution, reconnecting people with nature and helping to mitigate our urban climate and biodiversity challenges. Using an established planting method (called the Miyawaki method) that includes soil enrichment, diverse indigenous plant selection, and a dense planting structure; Tiny Forests are supercharged, growing up to 10 times faster than traditional forests, and becoming up to 100 times more biodiverse than monoculture forests ....


Tiny forests are springing up in urban areas to combat climate change. This one measures just 10m x 10mAs the race to discover new ways of sequestering carbon dioxide from trees quickens, creating tiny forests is something the Wollongong City Council is spearheading.
Wollongong's Botanic Garden curator Felicity Skoberne says they are following the lead of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki by planting tiny forests.
"The Miyawaki method was about putting forests in urban areas, and that's what a tiny forest can do," Ms Skoberne says.
She says growing a tiny forest does not take long, with the Wollongong Botanic Garden's taking just 10 months to grow from 30 centimetres to more than 3 metres high ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 10:12 AM

There is a really dense form of Permaculture that I've seen documentaries, about how it can be used in very dry areas, I think in Israel or Palestine, maybe Lebanon, where both the density of the plants and the multiple heights of the plants involved creates its own microclimate. I suppose my back of the back yard is my little microforest; I'm working on letting some of the better native trees (that live longer and grow larger) get established and slowly remove the invasive "trash trees" that compete with them.

107^o forecast today. It's a surreal morning, overcast, like the heat is waiting to pounce on us. My thermostat is set at 80^o during the day and 82^o overnight. Trying to not run any big appliances during the day. I have enough power strips around, I should turn off the power to all of the "vampire" devices that drain power unseen with their ready lights and quick start modes.

So much to do. I need to make a list and even if I don't prioritize, just cross stuff off as it is finished. Remind myself that I am moving forward. (I did toss a bunch of stuff in this morning's trash that I am never going to use and is too old to donate, so I am still decluttering, if not also upcycling at every turn.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 11:02 AM

I have a bad case of sciatica, against which paracetamol is useless but which can be tamed a little by ibuprofen, which I'm not supposed to take. So I'm taking ibuprofen, dammit. And I'm now on my eighth dose of cellulitis in three years. It comes on extremely quickly but I'm getting nifty at recognising the onset symptoms and, because of my cooperative GP, I always have a little stash of antibiotics to hand - time is absolutely of the essence. Apart from that and my perennial bad back, I'm completely hunkydory, guys! And we did have a lovely week in Taormina in Sicily. I'm glad we're not going in the coming week as the temperature is forecast to be in the "high forties..."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 01:27 PM

"Trash trees", I love it!
Does that include various types of "scrub"?

That latter word appears in Regency romance novels as an insult,
particularly towards men who fall short of being
ready, willing, and able to do an honorable thing.
"he is just a scrub!"

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 03:18 PM

There's a subset of trees and shrubs in the greenbelt behind the house that isn't native, it is escaped stuff like ligustrum, also called privet. Spreads everywhere (it does smell nice and birds love the berries) and crowds out more durable native plants before they're big enough to grow over the top of it.

Then there are native trees like hackberry that are weeds everywhere around the yard and garden and when allowed to grow large are usually full of mistletoe and are always clobbered by web worms in the summer or fall. I need the bank to stay intact so most big things are staying, but as the oaks back there grow, I'll trim out the limbs on nearby hackberries that are slowing them down.

Today I decluttered myself of one of the MOST ANNOYING things that MS Word has done for ages. I think it was a default setting, that if you let it automatically select a whole word (when you mouse over) it grabs a lot more than you want. They used to have a "smart selection" thing where you could click and grab a word and click again and grab a sentence or paragraph, but I think that went away (or it has to be set somewhere else). Anyway, I fixed it. It will save me all of the wasted time many times of day of trying to get just what I want and not everything else in the table or paragraph.

Granola is in the oven. Dishes are washed. Hell's Front Porch is right outside my door, so I'm not doing much in the yard till near dark. I seem to be responding to weather extremes by staying home. Too cold? Too hot? Too wet? Don't go anywhere. In the summer it's what I mentioned before - I go walk from the heat to the museum to scan, and their air conditioning is set to frigid, so I'm sweaty and I need a sweater (which I keep forgetting). I guess this is my retiree brain saying "you went out when you had to go to work for 40+ years, now you don't have to."

Steve, do you have anyone telling you that maybe there is some underlying condition that is allowing the cellulitis to come back so often? I'd be asking my doctors about that after as many times as you've had it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 03:26 PM

Mum's laptop has been handed over to her and Claire had a run through things with her this morning. It wasn't that successful as mum has lost her glasses but I've got some more reading glasses on order for her from Amazon and Claire says she will go through things with mum a few times to help her get started.

I've got another laptop due tomorrow as dad has decided he'd like to do the same as mum. He didn't want a 17" one so his will be 15.4" model. I think he's right on this. The smaller size probably is more suitable for his workspace on the living room table and whereas I considered eyesight when selecting a 17" for mum, it's not an issue for dad.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 05:38 PM

Yes I've discussed it with quite a few doctors, two GPs in Bude and several doctors at our regional hospital. The received wisdom is that once you've had it, you're far more prone to reinfection, and this is the upshot of the lymphatic system in the affected part of the body being damaged and less resistant to further bacterial incursions. My instincts cause me to dispute this, as my second attack was in a different leg. I can't help thinking that a residual infection stays quiescent in the body after the first attack. It's possible for people who suffer repeat infections to be prescribed long-term low-dose prophylactic antibiotics, but I've yet to find a doctor who'll do that for me. As long as I have a full course of antibiotics in reserve plus an extra strip, I can cope quite well.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 09:23 PM

Fashionable sunglasses, Stilly? Hell, no! I wear those jeezly great black goggles that fit over one’s normal walking-out spectacles. They have the great virtue of being both cheap and ubiquitous — every drugstore sells them — and they do, indeed hide the shiner. That, by the way, is slowly improving; after attaining peak purple on Monday, it is now a broad ring around the eye, with the white lids almost shining in the middle. Strange.

The stomach ailment I had is now formally identified as Norwalk virus; outbreaks have been popping up around Perth County and the Kitchener-Waterloo area all summer. My innards are still a bit wonky, but nothing to fret over as long as I drink enough water.

I’m ready for this summer to start being pleasant. Any time now will do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 01:14 PM

Those goggles you describe are my favorites; I've used them for years, they are big enough to fit over everyday glasses. I like the way the earpiece is wide but has a tinted window so I have more peripheral vision while still blocking the glare. That's the worst part about regular sunglasses, the brightness on the side.

How does your Norwalk virus spread?

We still hear occasional fireworks exploding this far out from the fourth, but while they tend to be loud, they're infrequent. The days are pretty quiet, too hot for most yard work and not even as many people out driving around.

In the front yard I set up a child's wading pool with bricks in the middle to keep the solar fountain from drifting to the edge and draining the pool. I'll add a few more stones for bird perches. I'm thinking about rearranging my office desk so I can see out the window more easily to watch the birds. I rearrange the office every 12-18 months, and in the process I clean up a lot of dust puppies.

Time to start making some pickles and canning tomatoes. Maybe after dark when there is less demand on the power grid. And after I find some fresh dill.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 01:56 PM

Under the heading Health, Aspertame was a sweetener that Monsanto invented and sold the patent 15 years ago. Its not that it causes cancer but if exposed to heat over 100F it turns into formaldehyde.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 05:09 PM

Aspartame Is a Possible Cause of Cancer in Humans, a W.H.O. Agency Says
The F.D.A. and the powerful beverage industry protested the new findings, and a second W.H.O. group stood by its standard that the sweetener is generally safe.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, or I.A.R.C., said it based its conclusion that aspartame was a possible carcinogen on limited evidence from three observational studies of humans that the agency said linked consumption of artificially sweetened beverages to an increase in cases of liver cancer — at levels far below a dozen cans a day. It cautioned that the results could potentially be skewed toward the profile of people who drink higher amounts of diet drinks and called for further study.

Still, people who consume high amounts of aspartame should consider switching to water or other unsweetened drinks, said Dr. Francesco Branca, director of the W.H.O. Department of Nutrition and Food Safety.

But, he added: “Our results do not indicate that occasional consumption should pose a risk to most.”

Nutrasweet hits my gut hard and it has the same effect as that gallon of prep they give you prior to a colonoscopy. I've avoided it for years and when I accidentally was given some I figured it out a couple of hours later.

Decluttering paper-wise, I have reduced the final contents of the hall filing cabinet into two thick envelopes of papers for the kids, childhood records of all sorts that now should be with them. I will suggest to them that they go through and for documents they might want to keep, make a scan and file it somewhere safely as backup.

Now, do I want to move that black 2-drawer cabinet next to the other black file and let it be a matching part of the support for that computer desk (a sheet of furniture grade plywood), or do I want to keep the bright orange file because it is already in place and it locks? I have a key around here somewhere.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 05:20 PM

Please don't scaremonger. Formaldehyde is produced naturally in the body by a number of metabolic processes not involving aspartame, and the amount produced by the metabolism of aspartame is trivial. In any case, formaldehyde does not enter the blood circulation and is rapidly broken down. Personally, I try to avoid artificial sweeteners (stevia turns my gut into a cement mixer), but the evidence for aspartame and cancer is so slight as to be negligible.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 05:29 PM

It is not negligible. It's dreadful stuff, go look up the history of some of these artificial sweeteners.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 06:48 PM

Wikipedia has an excellent article on Norovirus that will tell you more than you really want to know about Norwalk and its relatives. I think my adventure with it might have been the result of eating unwashed strawberries. They smelled so ambrosial I popped a couple off the top of the punnet in the car on the way home. I won’t do that again any time soon.

As for Aspartame, I’ll go with the experts’ advice — typically found in the last para of any news story — that you have to eat a hell of a lot of it to put yourself into a danger zone. I seem to remember them saying the same thing about cyclamate.

If it doesn’t agree with you, don’t use it. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. If someone you know has a dozen-a-day Diet Coke habit, that person has worse problems than the cancer threat from Aspartame.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 07:10 PM

"It is not negligible. It's dreadful stuff, go look up the history of some of these artificial sweeteners."

Sorry, Stilly, but Charmion (as ever) has it exactly right. I totally agree with you about artificial sweeteners and wish they'd never been invented. If I ever eat those ghastly sugar-free mints you can buy in supermarkets, I get the farts and bellyaches worthy of awards. And I've told you about my stevia misfortunes. If I buy cordials to get me through summer gardening heat, I look for the full sugar versions (which are getting harder to get). But the plain fact is that there are dozens of things which are far more harmful than aspartame, and in far less quantities than the bucketloads of aspartame you'd need to do you any harm. Once again we are being subjected to tabloidistic, sensationalist nonsense. Twitching antennae are crucial.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 11:00 PM

Dad's laptop came this afternoon and is just about ready to give to him. The missing bit for now is that I need to add a printer. I'll have to do the same with mum's as I forgot about it. Getting any wanted files from the old machines transferred to follow sometime.

Thinking printers. My Epson photo inkjet got moved out into a shed during the clear up of my room and I'm wondering if it can be accommodated indoors somehow. I hope it's still OK as in my experience, the inkjets get clogged up beyond nozzle cleaning if they don't do any printing. My policy became to send a print job through once a fortnight if the printer had been idle. I have it as a recurring task on my computer list.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 11:17 PM

We will have to agree to disagree on this topic. Saccharine has been around longer than any of the others and has been shown to be generally benign (you'd have to feed lab rats so much of it to make them ill that it doesn't reflect any consumption in the real world) but some of these other non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) came along when some less savory chemicals were being invented.

The problem with many of the "generally assumed to be safe" chemicals and products is that while they test them in mammals, whether rats, rabbits, dogs, or humans, that research totally overlooks the gut flora that is impacted. Studies show that remote tribal populations living in non-westernised areas without processed food have a huge diversity in their gut flora; ours is greatly diminished. It's why Roundup (glyphosate) is so obnoxious - farmers literally drench their wheat fields with the stuff to kill the grain so it will dry on the stalk before it is harvested, but the residual chemical comes through our food. Artificial sweeteners are much the same way.

Effect of sucralose and aspartame on glucose metabolism and gut hormones is a scholarly journal article from 2020.

Don was cherry-picking with his formaldehyde remark, though his accuracy is under debate:

In the small intestine, digestive enzymes break aspartame down into methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. These metabolites are further broken down into formaldehyde and formic acid,19 each of which follows a natural metabolic pathway to be metabolized just as they would from other dietary sources.

I've skimmed quickly through this article, but it's one I plan to look at more carefully this weekend. They review the possible impact points of these NNS and look at studies and literature. A good starting point for more research.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 12:41 AM

Jon, you've reminded me that I haven't used my inkjet for a while. I printed a couple of email receipts with color logos to use the various jets. No weird lines, so it seems to be in good shape.

My garden is producing tomatoes and cucumbers so I picked up feta cheese this evening to make my tomato/cucumber/feta (more or less equal parts) salad. Tomorrow I'll slaughter the water bill by dragging the hose around the six stations it takes to water the produce part of the yard. We can (legally) water here on Wednesdays and Saturdays; any other times are by hand with a hose or after dark with a discrete sprinkler when people can't see the watering happening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 09:08 PM

Dupont:

But only a few more days! I ordered, received and R installed new filters for both the air cleaners here. Also ordered and received replenishment of the Pau d'Arco. I know I need more every four hours when my throat starts to feel iffy. Ordered and received 24 loaves of bread!! Yep, Fed up with trying to get to a store that has the sorts we like... I have half in the freezer here and will take the other half to Beaver where there is room for them!

AND the lawn care team showed up Friday and did a number on the yard! Mohawks from a few minutes away, they listened to what I wanted and did a great job, leaving me patches of yarrow and made the place look very middle class in spite of me. Some nifty machine cleared the nice stone walk in the back yard totally! and the concrete demarcation in the parking area as well. Hadn't seen them for a while. The local rabbit was enjoying some nibbling this morning and there seem to be more birds than usual - able to get at the under-story?

I can get to the veg bed more easily. The soaker hose which has been at a slow drip since early June has kept everything healthy and the cherry tomatoes are producing, also the couple wax bean plants. Squash flowers are beautiful and hopeful! Lots of buckwheat volunteers; I wonder what I shall do when it is ripe - to harvest and figure out a way to shell it???

Such a relief to have that done. I did not want R to be fined by the City.

This malaise is finally almost gone. Each day a bit better; today I actually packed up the remaining pottery and mopped the K floor, went out and pulled some weeds and admired the garden. Like have a haircut when it had gotten quite out of hand!

The gut is not 100% yet. And I seem to have a new version of cough which MAY be caused by certain foods; now trying to solve that mystery. Some of the coughing fits border on frightening as I gag ... Well what next!

Dishes are done, laundry is done. Yard is done and I can go home - Maybe Monday or Tuesday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 11:38 PM

Dorothy, are you keeping a basic food diary? My food record for years has been via the MyFitnessPal app on my phone, as I track the amount of calcium and sodium each day. A simple calendar with the foods and notations on the days you have symptoms may help you identify any culprits. I hope you're completely better very soon.

Your yard sounds great; it's so hot here that it's difficult to get out to do much of anything. Tonight I've dragged the hose and sprinkler around the vegetable garden and before watering I treated everything in general but the cucumbers in particular with some soap and Neem to knock out aphids, then put up some chicken wire and wire garden edging pieces for the cukes to climb on.

I am wondering about this bread that you love so much you buy a case at a time. How would you describe it? Does the bakery have a description you can share?

Charmion, your experience with unwashed fruit is depressing - but probably too often the case with how far produce has to travel. I have a couple of types of "eco soap" products here for spraying on and washing off, but am most likely to simply run a soapy dish scrubber with Dawn over the surface of fruit or veggies before eating. I'll keep it up. And I have never before seen or heard the word "punnet." The online dictionary says we mostly use "berry basket" here in the US. I don't think I've even called them that, just fruit basket or clamshell (if it has an attached cover).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 04:38 AM

Punnet is in common usage in the UK. Lots of punnets of strawberries will have been sold at Wimbledon over the last fortnight. Their website suggests 38.4 tons of the fruit are sold during the tournament each year. There must be a fair number of gallons of cream sold to go with them too.

I’ve struggled with bread recently because of the Co-Op online shopping I’ve been using. They have been out of stock of all 30 bread items at least once and I’ve also had the situation where all I can find are loaves sliced too thick for us.

I’m not quite sure what to think about using Co-Op. I don’t think they are among the cheapest for the products they sell, their range is quite limited and there are a few “out of stock” problems. On the other hand, they have a low (£15) minimum order, low (£1.99 for us) delivery charge, I can get a delivery within 1 or 2 (they don’t deliver Thursdays) days and their drivers will just walk into the kitchen and place the bags there. This probably makes them the best option.

Part of the problem here is that I can’t get around well enough to check what is needed and I can’t persuade mum with her dementia to write down items that we are running low on to make an order with. The result is that I make a best guess weekly order but am likely to have to make one or more extra orders when I’m told “Jon, we are out of this…”. Thinking about it now. Perhaps it’s something I could speak to mum’s/my carers about. They might be willing during one of mum’s ½ hour sessions to help mum compile a shopping list for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 05:01 AM

We buy fruit in punnets in Oz, too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 07:39 AM

"Aspertame was a sweetener that Monsanto invented"

Aspartame as a possible sweetener was an accidental discovery in 1965 by an employee of GD Searle. Monsanto didn't buy GD Searle and form the Nutrasweet company until 1985.

From Wikpedia

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist working for G.D. Searle & Company. Schlatter had synthesized aspartame as an intermediate step in generating a tetrapeptide of the hormone gastrin, for use in assessing an anti-ulcer drug candidate. He discovered its sweet taste when he licked his finger, which had become contaminated with aspartame, to lift up a piece of paper. Torunn Atteraas Garin participated in the development of aspartame as an artificial sweetener.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 08:11 AM

I wash all bought fruit and veg in running water before we use them, including oranges. The only exception is mushrooms, which washing can spoil. Just brush off any residual growing medium with the thumb. I never eat them raw because I don't like them raw. I don't bother washing lettuces, rocket, tomatoes and beans that I've grown myself as I don't use pesticides and life's too short to worry about whether some minibeast or other might have peed/pooed on them. In fact, I have a penchant for munching them fresh-picked as I do the gardening. I'll pick a bunch of rocket and give it a gentle bash with my other hand to dislodge those pesky flea beetles that make tiny shot holes in the leaves, and scrutinise the innards of lettuces for slug babies, and that's it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 08:45 AM

Nutrasweet was neither nutritious or good for you. I am glad Jimmy Shattler, a human, was involved :^/ There are worse things.
I remind folks that Monsanto also manufactured Frankenseeds.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jul 23 - 10:52 AM

I use organic pest control (Bt, Neem, soaps, and Spinosad, primarily) so I do rinse off my vegetables before using, but usually a swish through the dishwater in the kitchen sink is sufficient. It's raining right now - setting up the rest of the day to be cooler but very humid. And it's the day I'm going to finally start processing some of my tomatoes. I don't have a huge crop, but I like to can a few just because I can't eat or use them all right now. Foods engineered to be drenched in Glyphosate during growth are best avoided, but at this point, almost impossible to even identify (especially grains). One must assume most of them are tainted and try for organic products with less contamination.

My goal this summer is to power wash the bird baths and the wading pool (with bricks, a rock, and a solar fountain) every other day to keep the algae down. I have a nozzle that works to peel that off of concrete and plastic surfaces. I put mosquito dunks in them also. The garden needs weeding but the turf area is fairly dormant; I need to occasionally water the tree areas but one thing I can do is move the wading pool with the fountain to different parts of the yard and when emptied, water another tree or shrub zone.

In the house I have unpacked my new Stanley Jump Starter with Compressor that is also a portable power supply for general household use in power outages. I have a small portable air compressor in the car for emergencies (that runs off of the old-style auto lighter port - now a days you never see the actual hot thing to light cigarettes, but I must have eight power ports through the length of the car for powering various passenger devices.) I've found those little compressors at estate sales over the years and made sure the kids had them in their cars. I'll have to consider if this new device would go with the car (maybe in cold weather - the time of year most likely to confound the battery). At any rate, I'll read the booklet then charge the device.

I also have a couple of new power supply/surge suppressors (I meant to order one, saw a second on the order and removed it, but that apparently didn't stick.) I'll offer some of my older power strips on Freecycle; they work but aren't as handy (these have USB type A and C charging ports). I had the guest room in mind for this, with people who arrive with everything from O₂ machines to run at night and phones, tablets, and computers. I'll be able to put a couple of USB cables in the room and lessen the deployment of wall wart chargers. (Apple/Mac users will have to figure out if this setup works for them.)

The dishwasher is set to run with a bunch of canning jars in preparation for this afternoon's canning. I have a large oscillating fan on a stand that comes out from behind the Kitchen Queen this time of year to help cool the stove area. Meanwhile, I don't do as much cooking for myself this time of year and was happy to find some of my favorite Aldi crackers in single type sleeves (not just the assortment box I usually find). Crackers with cheese or hummus is a nice summer lunch or dinner.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 23 - 12:35 AM

First canning session of the summer today, tomatoes in a small batch of just four pint jars. These are the really ripe perfect ones that get blanched, cored, peeled, and cut in half or left whole. For 20+ years I've diced my tomatoes and canned them, but when I tried to talk about it on one of the Official Facebook Canning groups last year I got blocked. It seems they frown on dicing. Oh, well. Less work to do them whole, but less density of tomatoes also (which is, I think the issue they have with dice - but sauce and other things are even more dense.) I might end up with a case of tomatoes canned this year; others will be made into sauce and I'll freeze them. I use more sauce than anything, so I might as well make most of them that way.

The heat has truncated the garden production; some years I have an entire kitchen counter covered with huge tomatoes by now. We had a nice rain today, but more high heat in the forecast means fruit won't set (it has to be under 80^o overnight for most tomatoes to set fruit.) That said, I'm enjoying the garden again this year and have used a lot of the produce. Cooking, canning, and salads. If I can get my hands on some fresh dill I'll make refrigerator pickles. I should find a recipe for pesto (the pine nuts were $25 a pound at my bulk grocer, so a recipe with a different nut is called for.)

More cat sitting coming up in a week, and plant sitting for next door. We've talked about putting a gate through between our back yards, making visits for the dogs (for Cecil) and watering easier (for me), and as I work on the fence, now is the time to figure one out if we're going to do it. Only three panels left. I'm thinking a Hobbit sized gate set in the middle of a panel. YouTube must have some suggestions to offer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 23 - 12:09 PM

Canning is a messy process and there are lots of pots and bowls in play. I was considering smaller pans for processing a smaller batch, but it is the height of the pan that is important (you need 1-2" of water over the top of the jars being processed.) I managed to use a smaller stockpot (the one that comes with the colander for easy blanching) and washed and put away several others. Next comes the steam juicer (which reminds me that I probably completely missed picking grapes again this year - another thing I run through the juicer). I'll make sauce because this system allows the easy removal of skin and seeds in one move, after the juice is drained off. Still, lots of tools and bowls and pans to wash when it's over. (When I do a single jar at a time I use the asparagus steamer, but tomatoes process for 40 minutes per pint, meaning you have to keep an eye on that pot and keep topping it off.) Canning is a gift to my future self. It's such a pleasure in mid-winter to open a jar of the sauce from the summer before.

Zoom meeting today, I may not make it, I have things to do in the garden that can't wait till later when everything is wilted. Gardening takes precedence over docenting.

The kitchen table is stacked with papers needing managing, filing, or shredding. Something to do after it is too hot to work outside. I put two bottles of water in a cooler on the porch and every morning I top it off with fresh ice and new bottles if they were taken. In the past a couple of regular delivery folks have stopped to get water even when they didn't have deliveries here, because they know about that cooler, and that is just fine (they've told me about it later when we meet on the porch). The mail carrier has a cooler in his truck, but needs to keep restocking. It's a brutal time of year to work outside and the Texas Lege just approved removing required water breaks for outdoor workers. Makes no sense at all.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jul 23 - 04:26 PM

I just got home from a meeting and sat down with a cold drink. Both cats were aboard before I had time to put both feet up. I think they missed me.

The black eye is still improving, now reduced to about half the extent it had achieved last Monday. Everywhere I go, people want to know what the other guy looks like.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 23 - 07:14 PM

There is quite a YouTube rabbit hole to descend when one is formulating the method to build something. As hot as it is today, this is a better use of my time than baking my brains in the yard, though I did spend a few minutes replacing a washer on the hose stand in the front (it stopped leaking at that point, but it is now always on). Water is turned on/off at a regular faucet, this is a free-standing hose stand that is connected by hose and is where I hang a big length of hose to drag over to the garden. Must shop around for the proper washer to restore that fixture.

I was reading an article in today's local paper about the number of unhomed folks who are living rough in the wooded areas over near where I go to my vet's office. If you know where to look you can see the tent and awning encampments. I just pulled it up on Google maps - easy to find when you know what you're looking for. It's a rough business, the employees at the Homeless Coalition are mostly social workers and health care administrators. They do accept donations.

This afternoon I made another batch of my cubed tomato, cucumber, and feta salad. Dish it up and add a couple of tablespoons of Italian dressing and it is a great start to dinner. I also have chickpeas soaking to make hummus tomorrow. Cool food for hot weather.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jul 23 - 12:10 PM

Ah, Stilly, you're being disingenuous again.

"It's a brutal time of year to work outside and the Texas [legislature] just approved removing required water breaks for outdoor workers. Makes no sense at all."

Sure it makes sense, when seen through the "shrink government" lens preferred by today's rightest of right-wingers. The Texas legislature is currently committed to getting government out of the way of private enterprise, which to them apparently means cutting any and all regulations that don't directly benefit the people who give large sums to the Republican Party.

Oh, did I say that with my outside voice?

Sorry, not sorry. But maybe I should take a break from American news media.

Stratford is not large enough to attract homeless folks from outside the Huron-Perth region, so we don't -- yet -- have tent camps or shanty towns in this area. I'm always shocked by the prevalence of homeless people on the downtown streets of Toronto, where certain major parks have effectively become semi-permanent refugee camps. Because of the way taxation power is allocated in Ontario, Toronto can't afford the measures required to tackle the problem effectively; that would take a major infusion of provincial and even federal funding that just ain't forthcoming. I wonder sometimes if widespread rioting, or maybe a general strike, might get those levels of government to stop pretending that, like pandemic disease, homelessness is everybody's problem.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jul 23 - 02:23 PM

Sorry, I miswrote myself in my rant above. Reloading …

I wonder sometimes if widespread rioting, or maybe a general strike, might get those levels of government to *realize* that, like pandemic disease, homelessness is everybody’s problem.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 23 - 04:00 PM

This afternoon I had a reminder that I really do need to pick up around here more often. The nextdoor neighbor called; her visiting granddaughter had some gardening questions. This is the granddaughter who was one-year-old when I moved in here in 2002. She is now married and putting in her own garden. They came over, we looked around the beds, and I brought them in to retrieve a few small bottles of things to send her home with. Duplicates I haven't used up yet, but good for this year at least for a beginner. I guess this means I did some decluttering with that tour. I also gave her one of those spray nozzles with the long tube for any sized container you want to use it with. At one point I realized (and said) that this is what a gardening bag lady house looks like. You have trouble throwing out containers because you can use them for something in the garden. After they left I dished up a bowl of my homegrown cucumber and tomato with feta salad for lunch. I'll be making some Italian style tomato sauce with my homegrown tomatoes, onions, peppers, herbs, and garlic this afternoon. All of the flavors of my yard.

I was sorting out stuff from the file cabinet when the call came and I'll return to that for now. It's 109^o right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 01:13 AM

Much of the evening was spent reducing several pounds of homegrown tomatoes into juice and sauce, with a sink full of dirty bowls and pans, and a batch of skin and seeds that will go to the compost. In the past I've dried the skin and seeds to pulverize for seasoning (and a great source of lycopene), but it's time consuming and I still have a bunch in the freezer from a couple of years ago.

This is one of those things that is difficult to describe to the layperson. If I were being paid, the hours I spent doing this would add up to enough cash to buy a whole bunch of canned tomatoes or sauce. I have three quarts of juice and just over a quart of finished tomato sauce (I added onion, green pepper, garlic, garden herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make an Italian tomato sauce). But considering the hours spent maintaining the garden, it is all part of the whole enterprise. Consider this a gift to my future self. I have two and a half pint jars of sauce cooling in the fridge and I'll freeze them tomorrow. After all of that it's too hot to process jars in boiling water (40 minutes for pint jars). Homegrown tomatoes have so much flavor and nutrition and this sauce, when thawed in the fall or next winter, will be used for something wonderful. Never mind the huge water bill for the garden.

Meanwhile, this morning I sprayed the garden with Surround WP (Kaolin clay, finely ground) so the grasshoppers will be repelled. It makes the leaves look like they were whitewashed and reflects the sun off of them, so they withstand the heat a bit better.

The dishwasher is loaded with bowls and materials from this evening. I've spent time cleaning the steam juicer and other large objects, the rest will soak and finish in the morning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 01:49 PM

Charmion, there are cities in Texas that have rules about things like water breaks, but last legislature also passed a law (or was it a constitutional amendment? They tinker a lot with the state constitution) saying the cities and counties can't make rules like that for their own areas. They really are pulling the whole state into the dark ages.

The extra two-drawer file has been sitting in the hall for a couple of days to see if I think of anyplace else where I might use it. Nothing is coming to me. Nor has the key for the orange locking two-drawer cabinet turned up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jul 23 - 12:46 PM

Yesterday only short posts were going through - I wasn't able to share a remark about the garden and the freezer - I'm using a lot of the garden stuff and being careful to draw down freezer contents that went in before I started watching sodium. I'm pacing myself with a few processed foods and I won't be buying as many things like tortillas; the few I use I can make myself and be sure they're low salt.

This morning I cleared the counters and scrubbed Formica and backsplashes on the stove side of the kitchen, to start a cleanup that is overdue. I'll clear an obstacle in the back hall later - since no family members are interested in the filing cabinet I could put it on one of the free sites, but then I have to wait for someone to approve the post and it will be faster to take it to Goodwill. In another declutter move, one of my magazine subscriptions expired and I'm going to call in and ask to take advantage of one of the "digital only" offers. I never read the paper version, but it has come to the house every week.

This weekend we have a "weak cold front" coming through, meaning it will lower the temperatures by about ten degrees during the day. Then back up again. Ugg.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jul 23 - 11:28 AM

I've given myself the assignment to solve the office desk question this afternoon - part 1, will I swap the orange cabinet for the black, and part 2, will I move other pieces of furniture around just for a change (and a better look out the window.)

Starting this weekend I'll be watering plants next door while they're taking a grandchild on a road trip, and she said it would be easier for them if I just put a hole through the fence and came in that way and don't have to fool with the padlock on the gate on the other side of the house. I love that we're so comfortable that a hole in the fence is the preferred transit mode. I'm still thinking about a gate that could go in there for as long as we're both in these houses. I might have to turn that stretch back into fence if one or the other parties moves. YouTube has many videos that show how to make them, and I'm almost there.

An interesting note on the New Yorker subscription - when I called she said she didn't have any offers as low as I was asking for, so I should just renew using the web page I'd found that offered it. "Really? It'll let me do it that way?" Yes - so I clicked through, paid my money, and got it for $50 instead of $99 or the print and digital "deep discount" of $169. It opens new possibilities for some of these publications. (Don't forget to turn off automatic renewal or it will charge you the larger amount next year.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jul 23 - 12:07 PM

It's a beautiful, sunny day in Perth County, Ontario, after a cool night tinged with the whiff of woodsmoke that has become the signature scent of this summer. The Canadian Armed Forces are now involved in the wild-fire effort, in the form of airlift to move people and supplies in Quebec and British Columbia, and two companies of infantry deployed to the fire front in BC.

To a large extent, Canada's public response to major natural disasters hasn't changed much over a century -- when it gets bad enough, call out the Militia.

If this year is a sign of things to come, that unwritten policy has been overcome by events. If the Fantasians still want to invade us, they now have two golden opportunities per year: flood season and fire season.

On the home front, with respect to digital subscriptions: I'm all for them. After Edmund died, I changed all the news media to the on-line versions and decided to stop buying novels on paper. After more than two years, this choice has allowed me to cut back the contents of my recycle boxes by about three quarters, so they now go out to the curb only about once a month. Over the same period, I have reduced the fiction section of the real-life library from five 80-cm six-shelf bookcases to two 60-cm six-shelf bookcases. I still chug through three newspapers per day and consume prodigious quantities of fiction, but I have ceased to stuff my living space with the evidence of my habit.

Now, if only I could give up Perrier water ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jul 23 - 01:21 PM

I am contemplating travel to the States, which means getting a COVID booster. Sigh.

Huron-Perth Public Health would like everyone to put off their next booster until the autumn, so it's still at maximum effectiveness when the COVID and flu seasons set in. I must be needled and tested before crossing the border at the end of September.

That means phoning up the Public Health Unit and convincing the gate-keepers that I am sufficiently special to be needled early. I hate that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 06:02 AM

I’m still just messing around with the laptop. My brother told me of a couple of programs he’s been using so I had a look at VS Code and JupyterLabs. I thought I’d have a play at putting some simple charts in Jupyter notebooks. These little plays can eat up hours as I struggle to find out how to do things. I managed (there’s little in the way of code but it still took me ages to get the animation working properly) to do this and this and I think that will do me with this.

On to other things... Mark and family are supposed to be visiting this week. I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to this or not but there are things I want to discuss with Mark (and Paul when I seem him). Plus there a few tasks he may be able/willing to do.

It's mum's birthday on Monday. I ordered her this slate clock with the Welsh lettering on the face but it hasn't arrived. It may just make Monday's post but I've just ordered a box of chocolates on Amazons to try to ensure I've got something to give her on the day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 02:57 PM

I've added more books to my tablet, though I keep reminding myself that it will be a one-time use because I can't give them to anyone else to read. Books I think I might want to share I still buy on paper.

Jon, those are clear animations - how are they put to use on websites? Stored elsewhere and linked from the host, or is there something you can load and host it yourself? Is your jonbanjo site on your computer as server, or is it from an Internet provider somewhere?

I've shifted and nudged and come to the conclusion that the only way to approach an office furniture reorg is to do a full shutdown and unplug everything. There are too many moving parts (to be knocked over and broken.) Sometimes things can come and go without much fuss, but this isn't one of those times. And if I move the computer desk, I'll have to move the TV, though the radio can stay where it is. If I got really ambitious and tried shifting the old computer and it's file cabinet desk 90 degrees I could even start having to move stuff on the walls - perhaps a bit too much. Whatever is done, this will give me a chance to once again mop the floor, see if there are things hidden in plain sight to toss, and to curate the books that appear behind me in Zoom meetings, etc. Dusters and vacuum cleaner will need to be at the ready for this operation.   

Working on the fence some today, it's mostly too hot for that, but I may finish this latest panel tomorrow morning. I started chiseling out a tree root in the way of the end post (it can either be straightened or it needs digging out and replaced.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 05:10 PM

SRS, Jupyter, matlibplot, numby and other related packages are pretty good software. They are quite widely used by scientists and others doing work such as data analysis and presentation.

My simple charts were written in python and put in a Jupyter notebook. A package called matplotlib produces the charts. As an example, I’ve changes the data a bit since posting the link but this is pretty much the code I used for the rotating pie chart.

  %matplotlib agg
  import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
  from matplotlib.animation import FuncAnimation
  from IPython.display import HTML
  
  labels = ['R', 'V', 'I', 'B', ' G', 'Y', 'O']
  explode = (0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01)
  colors = ['red', 'violet', 'indigo', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow', 'orange']
  nums = [10, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12]
  plt.rcParams["animation.html"] = "jshtml"
  fig, ax = plt.subplots()
   
  def update(num):
      ax.clear()
      ax.axis('equal')
      ax.pie(nums, explode=explode, labels=labels, colors=colors, autopct='%1.1f%%', shadow=True, startangle=434 - num * 2)
      
  ani = FuncAnimation(fig, update, frames=range(179), interval=50, repeat=False)
  HTML(ani.to_jshtml())

The Jupyter notebooks provide code cells (various languages supported) and markdown cells. Markdown provide something similar to HTML. So you can have a mixture in a document. The next thing for me was to export the notebook to html. I used nbconvert for this:

jon@jonlaptop:~/pyjupyter> jupyter nbconvert --no-input pies1.ipynb --to html

--no-input tells the program not to include the code in the html.

That done, I just uploaded the html pages to jonbanjo.com which is hosted by Web Hosting UK.

For a little play today, I decided to have a quick look at getting data from spreadsheets and databases. For the database one, I used a mariadb I’d created a few years ago for the King James Bible. The task was to find our how many times the word “Jesus” occurred in the 4 gospels. Here is my attempt. Again, html produced by converting a Jupyter notebook, this time leaving the code in place.
--
I used to host folkinfo from home mainly because of the requirements of the abc routines I used. Mandolintab.net managed to host the abcconverter part on what I think was shared hosting but it couldn’t be done with my current web hosts. Without the folkinfo need, I’ve avoided having any home hosted stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 06:19 PM

Jon, I've had just enough exposure to coding that I recognise you have to set up lines with spaces, brackets, parenthesis, symbols, etc. and do it in the right order. Beyond that, I wouldn't know how to set it up, so, just enough information to know this isn't likely to be something I would attempt. But thank you for showing us!

Charmion, good luck getting the COVID jab. It seems to be dropping of of the general radar, but come fall when flu season rolls around I'll be asking for the new flu vaccine and about any COVID updates. I think that is what the CDC has planned, update it the same as flu.

The next set of pickets are treated with wood preservative and leaning against the back fence beside where they'll go soon. After this panel I must figure out the whole gate or no-gate thing. I was in the shade of the garage with the door open and a fan running, but I'm staying in for an hour to completely cool down before I head next door to water.

I finally found a sprinkler I started searching for weeks ago (it fell off of the stone wall into the irises) and will use it to direct water into the cucumbers and chard this evening.

Trash goes out tomorrow, and with it goes a ceramic pitcher (kind of like that) I've used for years to hold various wooden spoons and other utensils. I knocked it over a couple of times, breaking off the handle and cracking it. Time for a replacement, so I picked up a small restaurant supply stainless steel bin. I was in to buy sausages and spotted the bins, otherwise I'd still be living with the chipped pitcher.

Two immature blue jays just visited the bird bath outside my office window. I need to work with the ceiling light off so they can't see me move when I lean to look out at them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 23 - 11:39 PM

I deployed a new power strip with USB ports in the sewing studio, and in the process liberated a couple of small charger blocks (the ones that come with phones and tablets). And because I was checking out power strips in other rooms, I found two more chargers in the office. They're now in the basket labeled for spare headphones and adapters. Funny, I couldn't find any of these a couple of months ago when I was trying to match up tablets with their chargers. Two power strips were accidentally ordered on Prime Day, but I have so many of these around the house I need to see if there are any more old ones I can retire.

A friend just offered to send mail to my post office box and sent it out before telling me he was going to do it (to do with getting recent first class mail to take in when I renew my library card - if you use mail to prove your address, it has to be recent). He sent it to a post office box address that I got rid of 20 years ago. Whoever has that box has never returned mail that was misdelivered there (it has happened before). But - the box number he used was wrong, one digit short, so there is a chance it could be returned. Slim, but a chance. Good intentions gone awry. [slaps forehead]

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 23 - 11:58 PM

The kitchen table is almost clear, the peninsula is looking better, and the tall table has less clutter. Not finished, but better. I'm thinking about having a friend over for some caprese salad and a bottle of reisling. I think I owe her a couple of meals by now. We may also make a pie, because she has struggled with making crusts.

I've signed off of the 10" Amazon Fire tablet and spent time this evening moving files to the Samsung tablet, including setting up the Adobe Digital editions permissions. (Years ago @BatGoddess told us about the free digital books from the University of Chicago every month. I don't often read the whole book, but I try to download each, they always sound interesting.) See if this gets you to this month's free book. Adobe Digital Editions is free to set up, and it is an authorization platform for downloading and reading these books. It works great on a tablet or smartphone. I should have gotten the non-Amazon tablet a long time ago - they look great but are really limited in what they can do other than offer Amazon products.

In the garage today I dug around for the existing fence hardware that I kept after dismantling the old gate that was here when I moved in (we took the fence apart to build the new garage behind it.) I have the brackets for a new post (if I put up a gate) and I have heavy duty hinges for the gate. The latch isn't the best one to use in this spot, so that might have to be new.

Plugging along.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 25 Jul 23 - 11:46 AM

Have you used SQL, SRS? I used one statement in the bible count example and wondered if you had with Access (although that has GUI methods for most things) or other database. In case you haven’t: There are a few differences depending on the database used but it is the standard for querying and manipulating relational databases and if say, you knew how to query an Access database, you’d pretty much know how to do the same with MySQL, Oracle, MS SQL server, etc. The Mudcat forum will use a fair bit of SQL behind the scenes.

Dad is hospital again. I can't remember if I posted this but he was taken in and sent home on Sun 16th. He has been up and down since then with occasional slurred speech, confused speech and problems with one arm. We had been in touch with his GP and were waiting for a home visit but problems led to an ambulance call out yesterday evening. He had got himself in a position in his chair where he was leaning so far to the left, he looked in danger of falling out of it. His carers managed to get him straight but couldn't get him on his Ross Return and were worried about his arms.

I hope the hospital do get to the bottom of what's going wrong this time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 23 - 05:40 PM

I took a 15-minute trip into the midday yard and transplanted some cannas to a new area, then turned on the soaker hose and accidentally created a bog. When I went out to check an hour later I stepped on the mulched area and submerged my shoe and sock, up to the bottom of my jeans, in the resulting slurry. No more water there for a while. I'll leave the cannas and tomorrow I can lift them out if it doesn't dry enough by then. They prefer getting more water and being well-drained at the same time, but these plants were quite parched and might benefit from a good soak.

Jon, emergency responders are trained in techniques to help lift people, and to shift people who have fallen or can't get up completely on their own. I called the local fire department (Volunteer) when my friend Susie's husband was on his knees leaning against their bed and couldn't stand. She called me first, we couldn't lift him. I asked them to not use sirens, that we hoped it was a simple matter of someone helping him up, but we'd let them evaluate as far as if he needed more than help to their car (she was trying to take him to the doctor.) He ended up in the hospital - but the thing is - they picked him up without causing pain that Susie and I were causing when we tried.

The Amazon Fire stick in my office (installed in 2020) was always glitchy, updating, twirling, turning itself off. Drove me nuts. I bought a Roku stick during Prime Days and just installed it. The Fire didn't work well even when I had it on the Ethernet, using the house WiFi this Roku is fast and I can see replacing a couple more of these Fire sticks that don't work very well. They have a trade in program that doesn't offer much, but they pay the shipping and I'll get a few dollars off my next purchase.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 12:46 AM

Between points earned and a credit toward a trade in I ordered another Roku stick with a good discount. Color me converted: this summer I've decommissioned both of my Fire tablets and two of the TV Fire sticks.

One of the 2x4s for the fence was so warped that there was no fastening the pickets to it this evening; at present it's a placeholder on the bottom tier of the new panel to keep Zeke from drifting into the neighbors' yard overnight and in the morning I'll get a replacement plus the next panel's worth of pickets and cross-members. The pickets I did put up are fastened only to the top and middle supports. I'm surprised with myself that I brought home a plank in that shape, but I don't think it could have warped that badly in just a few days in the yard.

I left a gap when putting up the pickets so I can get through to water again tomorrow. Next comes the new post and the gate. I'll be measuring and putting that together before I put up the next panel.

Considering this is the age of air conditioning, ceiling fans, and insulation, I have to wonder at how people in past times in North Texas (or the American Southwest in general) managed to sleep at night with the heat that builds up in houses. Here in Texas the "hip roof" was designed to pull heat from the house, and dog trots - an open air passage through the middle of a structure - helped with ventilation. Novels set in the mid-late 1800s do a good job of portraying the heat (Cormac McCarthy, among others) and it's clear that the only thing that made this area livable was the invention of air conditioning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 05:23 AM

SRS we told only to use the 999 emergency service for a life threatening emergency. There is a Norfolk County Council run service called Swift who have teams who will get people up from a simple fall where there are no medical concerns. Their teams carry an air cushion thing they can insert under the casualty and pump up. Their service often has all teams out and no one available though. When this happens, Swift’s own advice is to call 999 as there is no other service who’d do the lifting.

In dad’s case this time round, there were medical concerns as well as the need to get him up and out of the chair. On the medical side, sometimes you may not be sure whether or not to call 999. In this case, you can call 111. They will ask questions, assess the situation and get an ambulance if they feel it is needed.

Dad’s coming home this morning. They gave him blood tests, a brain CT scan and possibly other tests? but found nothing wrong. It’s an odd one. Slurred speech, confused speech, difficult getting the right words out and loss of or decrease in usage of an arm, the symptoms dad has been having on and off do make you wonder about possible small strokes.

And the ambulance taking dad home can’t find us. I don’t know what goes wrong sometimes. We can be difficult to find as going by road signs, the bungalow is out of the village for our address and it is a bit tucked away, set back from the big semi. Over the years, I’ve had several people thst they have been on our road many times and never knew our building existed. On the other hand, the instructions to find us should be easy to follow. Most people find us straight away with them but the odd one gets in a mess.

Ah, he’s home and now they are struggling to get him into bed. I do wonder about ERS (a private company that handles non medical transport for the health service) and the training their drivers get. When I first saw them struggling, I told one of the drivers about the equipment we have and the Ross return is the usual method for transferring dad. I was told that they are not allowed to use them. And it gets worse. The drivers have said they can’t move him and the only thing they can do is take him back to hospital. We’ve got Mike from Elite coming in now and we hope he can help… Ah Mike’s here and dad's in bed. In don’t know where we go from here...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 09:38 AM

It sounds like having several levels of assistance has been helpful (and not helpful at the same time!) - we have a volunteer fire department here, and mutual assistance agreements with surrounding communities for fires and big accidents. There are commercial ambulances through the whole region that are called when the fire department/EMS folks deem it necessary, our EMS folks don't do any transport. They do first aid and EMS stuff and the lifting I mentioned.

I've rescued my mud-caked shoe (my favorite pair for yard work). A stiff bristled brush was all that was needed and I'll be looking for more shoes like this (it has a few more weeks wear, but they're showing their age.) They don't lace, just have a sturdy loop at the back of the heel to pull them on.

Off to get lumber and plan out the gate part. I may have a bag of concrete in the garage and I have the posts and the hardware, just not the latch part. I'll arrange it so the gate can lock/unlock from either side and place a key nearby.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 10:20 AM

Air conditioning is grand, and we had it running in our hotel room in Sicily for the whole week on our recent holiday. But there's no such thing as a free lunch: aircon is a massive contributor to global heating on account of its power-hungry nature.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 11:20 AM

Which is why I have installed very efficient heat pumps and keep the thermostat set high.

The materials for the gate are stacked and ready to use, now to buy the parts I don't have, mainly, two 2x4s, some corner braces (the technique in this video) and a few extra heavy-duty lag bolts. I'm glad to say that this project will declutter leftover stuff from past projects (deck screws, bag of concrete) or parts from things I've dismantled (galvanized fence post, crossmember supports, hinges).

A friend is coming for a late dinner so I'll stop working on the fence at some point (either at a good stopping point or before heat exhaustion sets in) and shower, vacuum, and get ready for dinner. Too bad there isn't time to wash the dogs, I'm used to them but realized this morning that everyone could use a quick scrub. Maybe if there's time before I shower? I use a squirt bottle of vet shampoo and a hose in the backyard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 04:30 PM

Our government is talking about banning gas boilers and making us all have heat pumps. That's great, except that a boiler might cost three or four grand to install whereas a heat pump comes in at about eighteen grand. As an aside, they are also banning new petrol/diesel cars from 2030, even though electric cars cost a fortune, they have limited range, there is nowhere near enough charging infrastructure (and it's getting worse) and that the nation doesn't generate anywhere near enough electricity to support the policy. Apart from that, fine!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 04:36 PM

I had my pickets and all but the last board loaded in the SUV when the beefy guy whose pickup was parked next to me arrived back at his vehicle and he offered to load the bag of concrete. I was happy to let him - I do so much of this stuff myself, but I have begun to draw the line at these bags of sand, gravel, concrete - they are so dense it seems easier to hurt yourself trying to lift them than equally heavy bags of things like potting soil or dog food. I have no science behind this suspicion. I bought a bag of rapid set (the stuff in the garage is the regular 24-hour type) so when I decide where to put the next post and get the hole dug it'll be set and ready to work on within about 30 minutes. You don't dawdle when you work with this stuff.

Shopping on the way home I picked up a rotisserie chicken to use for the rest of the week. The friend here for dinner tonight will get a salad and my zucchini and pork casserole. I blanched a dozen smallish tomatoes that are overripe but still edible; they'll be the tomato part of that casserole. So far my garden ingredients in our dinner will be zucchini, onion, poblano, garlic, basil, oregano, and tomato. I bought the pork sirloin, olive oil, fresh mushrooms, and the cheese that go in it. I still have a lot of potatoes, I might think about adding one of them to the mix (they're the waxy red lasoda, it wouldn't fall apart like a Russett.)

I did enough fence and gate work today just bringing home the materials. I'll take a nap, wash a dog, shower, then vacuum before starting dinner. I'm looking forward to figuring out this gate, but I'll do it tomorrow morning when it's cooler out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Jul 23 - 05:32 PM

Beaver:

Came last Tuesday and finally recovering. It seems to have taken more out of me this time and causes me to be concerned about how much longer I can keep doing this. Malaise that started 1 July took two weeks before I felt safe to travel. I do believe it was a virus as Charmion described, so I attacked with Pau d'Arco (herbal antibiotic) successfully. Lost 10 pounds and now trying to keep it off.

SRS: no hope of me keeping a food diary; I have tried and failed so many times. The only thing I manage to keep any record of is pottery firings - They have been essential to my life and relative peace of mind!! I keep finding food ones that I started and gave up on - as recently as two years ago.

The bread: Dimpflmeiers - mostly organic loaves but some just pumpernickel made with spring water and no additives. Heavy, thin sliced ones with sunflower seeds or sandwich types - not so dense! Not easy to find in grocery stores so I just get fed up and order it and pay the shipping for the convenience of knowing it is in the freezer. I tried two new-to-us sorts this time - heavy with flax seeds, and plain but sandwich shaped which I have, curiously, been using for my one slice toasted with almond butter for BF. Very tasty. The half round type I use for grilled cheese sandwiches; last night's was cheddar, green pepper and apple slices.

The water here is not potable and that at Dupont is disgusting so I do not buy anything that needs much washing - use distilled water with vinegar for fruits, esp soft ones. I was in a bar/restaurant on Friday and the water (in town) was undrinkable; I could smell it. Had left water bottle in car and did not want to leave to get it.

The good part was that a very fine musician of my acquaintance, Noah Zacharin, was playing with a friend of his; I was able to sit with two of his neighbours - nice folks. Major social event for me. I ordered nachos with chicken - one of two things on the menu I would tolerate. Had nachos for lunch on Sat and Sunday! Not bad for $40 - food, large tip and tax. This place is 5 minutes from here and, in the 3 hours I was there, I did not see anyone I know.

Got a nice handful of blueberries the other day. Need to feed those guys! Meant to ask Larry when he and Abbie (dog) visited. We were able to sit on the back deck - no rain or mosquitoes!!! I think he said peat moss - all I need is enough energy to fetch some. Home Hardware I think; they will put it in car for me. And I need a sweep for the bottom of the back screen door; a garter snake seems to lie in wait along the bottom edge - catching the aft sun? I prefer not to have it in the house.

Did manage to throw half a dozen butter dish tops and bottoms and trim them. With any luck they may fit each other - or the previous ones that need tops of bottoms that fit! Does the law of something mean that someday I will manage to match all.... ??? I measure! This time I made the bottoms smaller than the tops. The bowl shaped lid pulls in as it dries; the plate does not shrink as much.

Weather has been quite decent and good rain. I can keep the house ok by closing east drapes in the am and west ones in the pm; the aft sun can raise the indoor temp several degrees - nice in the winter!

The new Beaver pond across the road is causing the stream to rise. Steve cannot mow as close to the stream. I am delighted to have the beaver; though I have not seen any, they have been enlarging their pond! And a large brood of wild turkeys, with mom have been enjoying the area. Also, resident woodchuck, who was sitting in one of the raised beds the other day - posing!

There were lots of cherry tomatoes coming along at Dupont - for Robin to pick and enjoy. It does look better with the grass cut. The perennials have enlarged in the front garden and the canna are blooming, and the wonderful Roxanne greets me at the front steps, reminder of friend Tina.

Steve came to cut here again - without invitation! I guess it is easier for him. He also told me he would deal with the new woodpile - move last year's to the front and stack the new behind. He is a good worker, takes care of his tools, organized ... One might say he is hyper-active - And I may be starting to understand his speech impediment!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 10:45 AM

Dorothy, both the bread you buy and the weather you're experiencing sound nice! Here, I buy the multi-grain bread at Aldi and keep it in the freezer to use as needed, or put pita or tortillas or my own dinner rolls into the freezer for the same reason.

I have a whole bunch of pre-gate steps to do today but I am prepared to construct a gate. I have to dig a hole where I want the gate hinge to go and put another post in, then shift the existing panel crossmembers onto that post and cut off the rest, leaving the gap for the gate. And before I put up the gate I have to put up the next panel beside it so it has a new panel end to close against. So of course the allergies are acting up this morning, and air quality is moderate (no Ozone alert today, but I won't be surprised if there is one tomorrow.) I'll be in and out all day as the heat dictates, and will actually construct the gate in the shade of the garage.

Trash day today has several things that have needed getting rid of that aren't donatable or reusable, and aren't eWaste (that goes to a different collection place). And I've decided that the only way anything is going to break down when it's at the dump is if there is SOME organic material in each bag, so I try to add the paper shreds and will occasionally dump something that is too large for my countertop kitchen waste bin (yesterday, an overlooked cucumber). Not enough to create a huge source of methane, just enough to let future dump miners (because you know that's were all of this is headed) know that the organic stuff helped the old ceramic thing break down into elemental kaolin clay. I'm sure this is trash science on my part, but I do wonder what scientists think about the state of American trash (someone must be thinking about this?)

Dinner went well and Cookie sat under the dining table the whole time getting head scratches from my friend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jul 23 - 06:39 PM

I have acquired a new bedstead — well, new to me. It’s a single (all the bed I need), Mission-style, built of quarter-sawn oak by a Mennonite firm. New, it would have cost close to a thousand bucks *without* a mattress, but I found it on Facebook Marketplace for two hundred. I offered another fifty bucks if the sellers would deliver, and they eagerly complied.

So now it’s time to re-home the queen-sized bed I shared with Edmund, which is much too large for me and the cats, and somewhat oversized for this modestly proportioned house. I’m not sure yet how to do it, but I’ll figure it out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 11:34 AM

I've considered downsizing to a double to use the antique bed frame I have in my room, but I suspect it would creak like an old wooden bedframe, so I simply have the headboard leaning against the wall at the head of my queen-sized bed. I rarely let dogs sleep on the bed, but when I do, they're notorious bed hogs, and larger helps give me a little space.

Sticker shock hits when you price nice sheets. Do you have a guest room with a bed?

Cat and caterpillar sitting this weekend. I helped her create this monster by spotting a half-dozen caterpillars in the parsley last month. Most of those have pupated and then turned to butterflies, but there is a straggler from that batch plus some new ones that have come along. If someone tells you you'll "rue the day" they might mean if you have a pot of rue the butterflies and caterpillars will keep you busy. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 12:45 PM

Yes, I also have a double bed, a late-Victorian piece inherited from my father’s family. It’s what I’m sleeping on now, and thrashing around on. It will stay in the larger bedroom, on the windward side of the house, and I will move back into the smaller bedroom on the leeward side.

Sheets for twin or single beds are often marked down at the end of the season when the much more popular queen-sized sheets are sold out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 01:07 PM

Let us know how it goes! Buying twin sheets in August can be difficult if you live in a college town. Every dorm room in America seems to have twin bunk beds. My son had a standard twin the first year but managed to get a room with a long twin the second (and final) year he spent in a dorm. So more sheets. (Even though they're big and heading off to college, I made a point when helping both kids move into their first dorm room of making their beds for them. There's an element of homesickness even in the most exciting new activity and I thought that perhaps knowing Mom made the bed would be a nice transitional gesture.)

I'll get to the gym this week because of the cat sitting that is on the way there. I may also get some burritos on my way back home since I'll be driving past several restaurants and a number of food trucks. More exercise will be good because yesterday I made a small batch of hand pies. Apple with raisins and walnuts and cinnamon sugar. One cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of butter for the crust, plus the rest - it comes out about 500 calories per pie. Maybe I can make them smaller next time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 03:02 PM

Alpha-gal syndrome from a tick bite is affecting half a million and growing in the mid-Atlatic to Southern states. It makes you allergic to red meat with stomach problems, hives, joint pain, etc.
Don't diagnose yourself. Even doctors don't know much about it.

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic condition. AGS is also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy. AGS is not caused by an infection. AGS symptoms occur after people eat red meat or are exposed to other products containing alpha-gal.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 03:37 PM

I’ve been looking at the Met Office DataPoint service today. I’m not sure if I’ll do anything with it but I can get text forecasts for regions and other areas such as national parks for it. eg. here’s a bit for East of England from this evening on.

createdOn="2023-07-28T13:40:24" issuedAt="2023-07-28T16:00:00" regionId="ee”
day1to2
Headline: Dry to begin with locally heavy and showery rain overnight.
This Evening and Tonight: A predominately dry evening across the region with isolated showers possible. Cloud increasing through the night as a band of locally heavy and showery rain pushes up from the southwest, affecting most areas through the early hours. Remaining mild. Minimum Temperature 16C.
Saturday: Overnight rain will clear quickly eastwards through early morning, followed by a mixture of sunshine and showers. Turning drier and brighter later in the afternoon and through the evening. Mild. Maximum Temperature 23C.

I can get daily and 3 hourly forecasts from it as well as hourly observations for a 24hr period. These come in xml and json formats I’ve written some php code to get the json output into something readable. eg. Here’s a snippet from a 3hrly forecast for Cromer:

Forecast for CROMER dated 2023-07-28T18:00:00Z
2023-07-28Z
21:00
Wind Direction: S
Feels Like Temperature: 19C
Wind Gust: 18mph
Screen Relative Humidity: 78%
Precipitation Probability: 6%
Wind Speed: 9mph
Temperature: 19C
Visibility: Good - Between 10-20 km
Weather Type: Cloudy
Max UV Index: 0

There are some 500x500 overlay images for things like rainfall and pressure but I can’t see what to do with them. I suppose it might help if I could find a base map to try to put them on.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 06:05 PM

We've been hearing about that meat allergy condition for a couple of years now, but it seems to have hit a growth spurt lately. So when Jon travels to parks with good weather, careful in the weeds and woods, don't get into the ticks. I try to avoid the woods across the road from me each summer because we've always had a tick problem there.

I've spent the afternoon helping a Freecycle acquaintance figure out how to set up a TV antenna outside her apartment on the patio to get some kind of signal that she can't get with an indoor antenna. We're discussing how to camouflage the base of a spring-loaded pole that she'll attach a small TV antenna to. A couple of buckets of potting soil with flowers should do the trick. I hope some of the problem solving we've been doing on this have been instructive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Jul 23 - 01:54 PM

Beaver:

Finally threw a few small pots this am but not very well done. Seem to have lost the knack for my usual mug shape. Rather disconcerting as I once threw 40 in an hour. Will try again later today.

We are having a cool spell!!! Overcast and squall warning. At library now - for the internet - but will try again a bit later, after a cup of green tea.

Nice fresh veggies at Farm Market this am! And folks with whom to visit. Had terrific 7-11 Cafe last night - lots of good musicians and good potato soup. And on Thurs, the annual BBQ of the horticultural society was very well attended; I spent the time visiting with a new-to-community potter about my age, and her husband, who live a few minutes from me. A visit in our future.

R needs a key to the studio door at the Mill; I have one but I am here. I remembered giving one to a woman who was using it a few years ago and -LO! - she could still find it and took it next door to our friend Geri (close to Mill) so R can obtain it when/if.

Light rain falling. Time to go home for lunch and another try in the mug department.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 23 - 03:03 PM

Amazing she could find the key! I do try to put tags on keys around here but there are still a lot that end up loose in the junk drawer in the kitchen.

Air quality is poor today and the heat interminable. I have a low-grade headache as a result. I'm making a more efficient run this afternoon to feed cats and go to the gym (assuming Motrin works soon) - feed cats medical stuff for "lunch" then after the gym swing by and give them dinner. Lunch time just needs to be an hour before or after a regular meal with other medications.

I'm loving the nectarines I can get at Costco, and a neighborhood grocery still has good peaches. I've made more jars of fresh pickles and if I can get another piece of feta I'll make more cucumber tomato and feta salad. I'm getting to the end of tomato season for now. And I have to make hummus this evening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Jul 23 - 06:14 PM

Beaver:

Beautiful day, bit of rain - drizzle. And folks had the audacity to complain that it was just above freezing this morning! It sure is unusual or the end of July but a clear warning to prepare for a winter that may also be unique.

I was delighted that Ann could find that key. She gets full points!

I had a social couple hours today with nifty people and then went home with no energy at all. The few pots I threw yest4erday morning, which were not up to snuff, might get trimmed tomorrow. Do wish I would find a bit more energy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 23 - 11:09 PM

I finished closing up the next panel on the fence after replacing the warped 2x4, and it was plenty hot after 30 minutes. Next I hung sheets on the line, but didn't want to turn on the dryer for the rest of the stuff in the wash (clothes end up stiff as a plank on the clothesline). A spare piece of woven clothesline now spans the covered patio between two high-up plant hooks. It is looped every few inches so the garments from the laundry were put on hangers and spaced apart by the loops. This way I don't need to bake my brains in the sun at the clothesline. Who knew that it would get too hot out for drying clothes on the line?

Dorothy, have you had any blood work to tell if you're low on thyroid or iron or some other thing that we tend to run low on as we get older?

Today at my friend's house (cat sitting) I released an eastern swallowtail butterfly that just this morning was still a pupa, but was fluttering around the delicate enclosure when I arrived to feed the cats dinner. There are caterpillars and pupas several in various states and I'm hoping nothing else decides to transition before she gets back home tomorrow. It was a nice surprise to find the butterfly. There is a lot to know about all of the stages.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Jul 23 - 09:41 AM

Beaver:

SRS: Visit to Dr last month elicited him trying to figure out if anything could be done... It is up to me to figure out the ways of my body. The dietician helped and I am trying to figure out how to make things better -at 86! This morning is propitious. I am hoping to get some decent work done today- just an hour before the studio gets hot - it is currently at 60! So I am taking a warmer bag of clay out from the LR which is 68! Feeling like it is possible. I think about iron but hope it is in veggies, chicken, nuts. I have always heard too much iron is not good either.

Opened Internet to pay bills and now off to pottery. A beautiful, breezy, sunny day. The studio will get too hot in a couple hours!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 31 Jul 23 - 04:52 PM

Sorry it’s all computer from me but I’m not doing much else… I’ve had another look at the met office site and found some climate data to play with. I’m not sure what I’m doing with it but here is a view of a spreadsheet I’ve made. The data in the downloads are per year but I’ve been grouping it for charts (I’ve used 5 yearly grouping for that spreadsheet). I wrote a program that does this pretty quickly but does anyone know how to do this in LibreOffice Calc or other spreadsheet without a lot of editing?

  Year    jan   feb   mar   apr   may
  1900   4.20   3.10  3.8   8.2   10.5
  1901   3.30   1.7   4.1   8.4   11.2
  1902   4.70   1.5   6.8   7.6   9
  1903   4.30   6.6   7.3   6.5   11.3
  1904   3.50   3.7   4.4   8.9   11.2
  1900   4.00   3.32  5.28  7.9   10.64

eg. instead of the first 5 data rows here, I want the row in bold.

Mum’s been having a bad patch and I’ve had another go at finding her things to do. I bought her Lorna Doone to read, Calamity Jane to watch and Prosperous, Christy Moore to listen to. The last 2 of these led my to by an external dvd drive as my laptop and my parent’s new ones don’t have a built in drive. I’m not giving that to mum but will use it to get the dvd and cd on mum’s laptop.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 31 Jul 23 - 04:53 PM

According to the UK wide data I downloaded (or my attempts with it), going from 1900 till the end of June 2023:

Our hottest month was July 2006: , 23.3C
Coldest month: January 1963: -4.5C
Wettest month: October 1903: 219.8mm rain
Driest month: February 1932: 9.6mm rain
Most sunshine: May, 2020: 266.9hrs
Least sunshine: December 1912: 19.4hrs

It looks like there is some averaging going on. I've done the Max Temp for all regions the met office supplies and I get:

UK: Jul 2006: 23.3C
England: Jul 2006: 25.2C
Wales: Aug 1995: 23.5C
Scotland: Aug 1947: 20.7C
Northern Ireland: Aug 1995: 22.1C
England and Wales: Jul 2006: 24.9C
England N: Jul 2006: 24.1C
England S: Jul 2006: 25.8C
Scotland N: Aug 1947: 20.1C
Scotland E: Jul 2006: 21.4C
Scotland W: Aug 1947: 21.6C
England E and NE: Jul 2006: 24.4C
England NW Wales N: Jul 2006: 23.3C
Midlands: Jul 2006: 25.7C
East Anglia: Jul 2006: 26.7C
England SW Wales S: Aug 1995: 24.3C
England SE Central S: Jul 2006: 26.1C Jul 2018: 26.1C

I’m pretty sure I’ll leave it at that. In the unlikely event I do have another go and get somewhere with it, I’ll start a new thread.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Jul 23 - 04:56 PM

Beaver:

NOT getting hot today! Thinking of those who are suffering! Threw well today and now need to go back and trim previous ones. Today's might be ready tomorrow.

No idea where my energy was hiding but today is good! Cooked up a pot of mixed veggies and a pot of carrots which got missed in the first round. Threw in some fresh dried oregano, stripped from stems I brought in a few days ago. Had sweet potato/apple/cinnamon/chicken for lunch. Nibbling at hydroponic lettuce from Farm market - on counter in a large cup of water.

Cool, crisp day is clearly my kind of day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jul 23 - 11:14 PM

Dorothy, I'm guessing that it is a lot harder to get too much iron than it is to get too little. My doctor said to eat more meat, but I also take a low dose iron supplement. Meat is typically a small part of the diet, a couple of ounces of chicken in a sandwich or mixed in with cheese ravioli this week, for example. I rarely eat a whole chicken breast or a steak, it is usually part of a dish with vegetables, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.

Jon, if it is a simple matter of coding and you're wanting to automate it a little bit, I have in the past used MS Word tables. For example, if you make want to show a sequence of characters but don't want to type it all the way down the page, you can put the parts of each line in a cell, and leave some cells blank between the elements.

<b> (rendered using html character entities so you can see the code here) is three characters that can each be placed in a column. Leave the next column empty, then do your next sequence, maybe <i>, another three characters. When you have figured out how to space these things, and you can add &nbsp; (non-breaking space code to keep the line together). With Word, if the whole column is going to be <, for example, then select the column and type in that symbol to enter it on each row. Enter the content of each identical column as you work across the page and then type in the variable data in the columns you've left empty.

When this is all assembled, then select the row or the table and choose to combine columns; that leaves all of your symbols and characters in each line in place where you want them. (You may want a column <br> so they don't all run together on one line.)

I'm guessing that this might be what you were asking about. I think I was making columns of names and years when I used this in the past, or something comparable. For documents we put online in html using an editor like Dreamweaver or Frontpage (versus a PDF that looked just like a print document.)

This heat certainly saps energy. 106^o today, and all week. I have to get out early to do some work in the yard (code enforcement wants my trees next to the street trimmed and I didn't get to it over the weekend).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 07:04 AM

SRS, I don’t think I’d be functioning at all in your heat!

Thanks for the idea. It isn’t quite what I was thinking of but it was only a curiosity question from me.

As for my solution I mentioned, it took me a while to write but I thought that if I was to do all the 119 met office files was probably worth it (plus it gave me something to do). After doing a few input files (which took under 1 second each to process), I realised that would land me with with loads of csv files and database tables so. I revised my thinking so I'd just put all the met data into one table. It’s easy enough for me to extract what I want from there. Eg if I wanted all max temp data for UK region from 2000 on, I could use (I wouldn't type it every time I’d save this for reuse and modification or alternatively write it as a stored procedure so I'd just need to supply Dataset and Region names and year):

SELECT `year`, jan, feb, mar, apr, may, jun, jul, aug, sep, oct, nov, `dec`
FROM Hot JOIN Dataset ON Dataset.DatasetID = Hot.DatasetID JOIN Region ON Region.RegionID = Hot.regionid
WHERE DatasetName = 'Max Temp' AND RegionName = 'UK'
AND `year` >= 2000

Using dbeaver, exporting a csv for a spreadsheet to open is only a couple of clicks away. dbeaver also exports html and I’ve put the output of that query here.

Mid posting, I decided to write a stored procedure so I'd now just need:
CALL selectdata("UK", "Max Temp", 2000, 2023)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 09:48 AM

Jon, that table you posted a link to was a thing of beauty, and it was clear with the chart what we were seeing. You and Bill D both have a great set of free and easy to use tools that are out there that I'd never hear of except to read your posts. (Most of them, anyway. I occasionally go out looking for the answers to illustration or html questions and have to spend a lot of time research and reading reviews before I'm willing to download and try them. Such as how old is it, how often are they updated, do they carry a massive Trojan spyware payload, that sort of thing. . . )

I went out at 7am and trimmed the low-hanging branches over the street, but have one larger limb I'll need the saw on the pole for and I'll wait till this evening. I finished my pruning and was hand-watering when the village code enforcement truck rolled past. I have until Friday to finish pruning. Now the bird baths are full I'm working in the office, ceiling light off so any birds that land in the filled birdbath outside the window are less likely to see me.

Yesterday the next door front-facing fence that abutted mine was replaced with an attractive and sturdy fence composed of recycled plastic planks. They trimmed at the corner where they met and they aren't actually connected but are so tidily set up that no one would know, and there is no gap to worry about. And when the old fence came down they saved the galvanized poles for me, so two more in my small collection (last year I gave a half-dozen fence posts to another friend who used them when he installed a fence across the street - these don't travel far!)

Today I have errands to run, but I must wait until the mail arrives since a package must be signed for.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 12:07 PM

There’s some good stuff out there, SRS.

I thought I’d stop with the met data stuff but I’ve just written a web page that tries to give totals for the met data by region and within a year range. Max Temp is the only dataset with any data in.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 12:44 PM

Beaver:

SRS: I eat about as much chicken as you do. Many years ago we were warned off too much iron. ...

Not full of energy today but pulled handles for the new mugs and moved stuff around, measured butter dish lids that still have no bottoms - 6 @ about 13 cm. Maybe I will try throwing some today. After lunch.

Very grateful for this cool week!! Bought a watermelon and it may be helping me feel better. So going home now - from library - to close drapes on west windows and have lunch, starting with melon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 02 Aug 23 - 10:51 AM

And have had a go at a chart from the data here. The chart can do up to 3 months. The max temp series is still the only one I've added to the db.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Aug 23 - 01:10 PM

Much to my surprise, I find that I sleep much better -- even in summer -- with the bedroom window shut and the curtains drawn tight. Who knew?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Aug 23 - 02:25 PM

Errands to run, with a shopping list in hand to be most efficient about each stop and finish quickly. Too bad several of these stores don't open until 10am (anyone else remember when they were all open at 7 or 8am? COVID was the final blow to those early hours.)

I put the old hose caddy at the curb last night and as of this morning the hose storage (with a leaky connection) has gone to a new home. Other things are headed for tomorrow's trash.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Aug 23 - 06:52 PM

There's just no way to get out to stores when the temperatures are reasonable, so I've worked out a route and a list - since I ended up not going this morning I have to go this evening (or the pharmacy is going to keep texting me three times a day that I have an Rx to pick up). It hit 111 this afternoon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 11:49 AM

Shopping after dark isn't something I usually do, but I got part of my list taken care of. And I parked near the entrance under a parking lot light.

For declutter, it's difficult to see your house through someone else's eyes, but this morning I gazed at the kitchen and ended up taking an old magnetic dry erase board off of the fridge. A start. I haven't used it since the kids graduated, it kept track of a few events we all needed to know about. Onto the buy-nothing page it will go just in time for back-to-school.

At the same time I noticed a list from 2020 that I asked a friend to send; he was going through cancer surgery and I wanted to know how to reach someone local if I didn't hear from him for a while. Either to get an update, or to alert them to go check on him. I'll update that list with my nearest neighbor also. I used to have them for neighbors on each side and across the street, now the new folks on the uphill side have a sibling up the block and the folks across the street have children coming regularly, but for them I should probably get that updated info.

I've been seeing walled-sized cards in Instagram ads - "if something happens to me, my pet is home alone." I guess I should have something in my wallet with that and refresh the feeding instructions and list of vets, etc., for just in case.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 10:28 AM

Still jumping through hoops for the library card renewal. One more attempt later today (after a parcel was delivered for me at my ex's house. Not everyone who has a library card owns the house where they live, but they need to show they get deliveries or mail there.) Since I did the math and realized Pepper is nine now I'm giving her the glucosamine supplement Zeke gets. No point in ordering something I don't need just to get the package label, and both of our names are on the label. Pro tip: if you send a package to someone else and want to know that it has arrived with the photo of the delivery, put your name on the package also.

The thermometer is creeping up every day. Just as winter 2021 was fiercely cold, this summer is dreadfully hot (though the cold lasted for under a week; we're going on two months for the excess heat.) In my attempt to use less water I'm going to start showering at the gym (I usually just change and shower at home at the end of the day.) When I wash my hair it takes a bit longer so there will be a water savings. Driving there means burning gas, but I'll make several stops to be an efficient run.

More stuff in the trash this week, and thinning out stuff brought home from the knee surgeries. I don't need duplicates of the device they want you to blow into to test your breathing or all of the huge ace bandages. I already gave away the first set of ice packs (the 2020 surgery) but last week an "ah ha!" moment, realizing I could use the large ice packs in my grocery cooler, so they're in the freezer awaiting any shopping trip. (I used to have a Mudcat Memorial large blue ice pack in the freezer that Amos Jessup left behind when he and the family spent the night on the drive from California to North Carolina, but I gifted it to someone else so it has moved on. I don't remember if it was to Joe Offer or someone else.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 10:41 AM

Well, I carried on with the met stuff… Still no more data added but I’ve been playing with the charts. For the php jonbanjo.com uses (no python there), I’d started with the free version of jpgraph but I had a couple of problems with it and it wouldn’t do what I wanted so I had another search for a php graph package and found php-libplot. I thought I’d give it a whirl. It only handles line type graphs, has a few bugs and limited features so I’d not recommend it. I stuck with it though, modifying and adding code to suit me. Now that I've added tooltips to display values when the mouse is held over a point,I’ll settle for what I have here and here

Mark and Paul and their wives came yesterday evening. It doesn't look as if I’m going to get my missing bits I’d like from the shed but I hope to talk a few things over with my brothers before they leave which I guess will be Sunday afternoon. Their priority at the moment is sorting dad’s bedroom out.

Dad has been stuck in bed since his discharge from hospital mainly because the carers can’t get him up. An OT called on Thursday and said a hospital bed would make that easier as well as enabling him to get in better positions, eg. for meals when he is in bed. The OT has ordered a bed but the room needs clearing out to take it. It’s a small room which currently has 2 single beds and an aisle less than 1m wide between them. Both will have to come out for the hospital bed but as dad is in one, my bothers can only take one out today I don’t know how shifting the bed dad is occupying will be arranged.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 12:55 PM

I'm glad family is there to help, Jon. Do you store the furniture somewhere or will you donate or send it off with family? It sounds like a convoluted property with many smallish rooms (and some out-buildings? I know I've seen photos).

Laundry is finished; the washer ran overnight and the dryer ran with just a few things (the rest is hanging to dry) so I now have clean underwear to change into after my shower at the gym. The volume of laundry in the summer is so much less, with t-shirts and shorter pants that it doesn't look like I need to do laundry when in fact I'm running out of undies or my favorite type of socks.

The ex had another of the home-services trades at his house yesterday, this time to seal all of the cracks and crevices that mice, rats, raccoons, whatever, might have been using to get into the attic. Now there is an exit available for anything still up there but they can't get back in. Not sure if it's a Hav-a-heart trap or just a one-way flap of some sort. These workers are having to get into his attic when the outside temperature is 110. They need hazardous duty pay.

Waiting for the allergy medications to kick in before starting my rounds. The house is so stuffy because the doors and windows haven't been open for weeks, maybe house dust is getting me. Or from my few garden and birdbath excursions ragweed drifting up from the creek.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 01:40 PM

I’m afraid there hasn’t been much help for me today. Paul and Cheryl have gone back to wherever they are staying and are only popping in tomorrow morning just to say goodbye before they go back to Sheffield. I’m not sue what Mark and Karen are doing tomorrow but I think they are away for tonight soon.

There’s not much to the bungalow. Starting my end, there is my room then the kitchen. Next there is a corridor and on the right of this are the bathroom and study. At the end, it’s straight on to dads bedroom and left for the living room. The living room is a later extension to the building and makes the L shape.

There are 3 sheds in the front. One small one, one big one and the one I used as my workshop. In the rented part of the field, there are the old pigsties of which 3 are usable (2 x wood stores and the BBQ one) and a brick building we call the Wendy House which holds most of the gardening equipment.

There is a lot of stuff to dispose of. And I don’t know what will happen there...

Thinking washing machines, mum can’t use ours (since getting a new washer drier a couple of years back, she left the laundry to me) and I can’t help her. Mum’s carers are doing the washing now. The app for the machine has been handy as a carer has sometimes been uncertain how to use the machine. I can see the settings they have made on my phone and confirm what they’ve done is right before they set it going.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 01:43 PM

Wendy House? I can operate a few lightbulbs and TVs with my phone, but intentionally haven't set up other "smart" devices.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 01:51 PM

In the UK, a Wendy House is a kid's play house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 10:48 PM

It was a mildly productive weekend, keeping in mind that anything that takes one outside deserves consideration: can it be postponed until fall? I have my renewed library card and I picked up a few spools of thread for a new indoor project with the new to me sewing machine serger.

A few items were added to the donation bin, one listed on the buy nothing FB page, and a couple of items added to the box that will go to my son when I have enough to seal it up and mail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Aug 23 - 05:26 AM

I had a notice pop up on my laptop yesterday saying that /home was running out of space. I checked and found I’d 1GB of my 118GB free. It turned out a log file for the display manager was using 58GB! I deleted that, emptied the downloads folder and a couple of other bits and I now have 75GB free.

Both sets of relatives left fairy early Sunday morning so I didn’t get the chance to get anything done I’d hoped for. Maybe next time and both brothers have indicated that they will try to come back “fairly soon” and said that they are freer now than they had been. They did sort a couple of things out with mum though and they’ve done a good with dad’s bedroom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Aug 23 - 10:51 AM

Getting your dad's room set up is an excellent start, Jon, and virtual decluttering is as satisfying as the physical removal of too much stuff. I'm getting set to do a full backup on a new external HDD and then will install Win11. It's not my preference but I keep stumbling over it, though I will do some reading first and figure out what days will be best for reinstalling all of my software. And if there are programs that will misbehave with the new OS. An upgrade like this can tie up a lot of time so I may have to use the little laptop in the kitchen until everything is in place in the desktop.

The tractor sprinkler is making a slow pass along the back of the house and I'll put down a soaker hose about 18" away from the back wall to run more often; indoors the cracks showing on the back wall are increasing again as the dry weather shifts the foundation. This is watering despite a slight chance of rain today, but rain in this high heat means gawdawful humidity and instant evaporation. It'll feel like a wet sauna without any of the benefits we'd get from a good soaking rain.

I'm continuing my contact list updates today with the neighbors on both sides and across the street. I'll print out my list for them in case they don't see me for a while or something happens and they need to contact family. It would help to have that for them also. I should bake some muffins to take across the street, I haven't seen her in ages. With COPD she rarely ventures outside.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Aug 23 - 02:54 PM

I was lucky to know Katlaughing and her inviting kindness.

I too feel a total brain shift going from music to visual arts.

After nearly 3 weeks of non activity the lazy days of summer are at a close.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Aug 23 - 08:05 PM

The lazy days of summer feel enforced upon us here - try to do much and you risk your life in the heat.

When Jon mentioned clearing out log files it reminded me of layers of old desktop files that I've dropped into folders and moved into the next computer with each replacement, intending to pull the files out and put them to use. Sometimes I did, but often I made a desktop shortcut to the folder and never really unpacked it. I ended up with a lot of duplicate files and convoluted storage. So this afternoon I have stayed in my office chair and sorted through and reorganized a lot of that.

I try to not use the computer default desktop because it lives on the C: drive; I use a small SSC for all of the programs for speed and keep data on the older HDD drives. I move the Desktop file to the D: drive, but still stuff builds up so I also will check the status of the SSD space.

There are now 1,246 items in the Recycle Bin, soon to be emptied. And I need to take a break to do some Essentrics stretches because my back is going to complain about the sedentary day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 08:09 AM

We live at a tipping point and a brutal Russian war but it's good to realize how things are gloriously better now than in 2020 on a human level.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 10:50 AM

A few weeks ago I brought home two large bags of roasted unsalted peanuts in the shell, a regular dog treat, and this morning decided to top off the dogs' canister with some. Out flew a fully-formed weevil. Ugg. Top quickly put on the canister (Tupperware, so it will seal) and the bags and the canister all into the freezer. And a sticky trap that was near the kitchen compost bin for gnats is now sitting on the table just in case that one weevil wants to give itself up quietly. I hate those things. Out of an abundance of caution I'll open one of the pantry moth traps I have stored away; I hope they keep, I've had these for a while. If not, they're cheap enough at Lowe's.

COVID is rising again, I have plenty of tests here for the time being. They are still available free from various places (libraries, some pharmacies, insurance providers will mail them, etc.) My hall pantry shelves store a mix of large kitchen utensils, canning jars, canned and bottled food, baking goods (flour, sugars, powdered milk, etc.) and as of 2020, a section with COVID supplies—Gloves, masks, and tests.

The mail carrier is driving past; I keep the cooler on the porch with bottles of water and this morning brought it in to give it a good scrub just because. The rest of August looks like a scorcher and I'm ready to open the next case of bottled water (from Costco - inexpensive, and two of their bottles can be squeezed into the cooler with ice.)

I've pulled out some old soaker hoses that will be arranged under some of the front yard trees that are ailing in this heat. I'll coil them over the roots out to the drip line and see if I can save the one that looks most likely on its last legs. My water bill this summer is quite high for me, even though I'm not watering turf, just around the foundation, the vegetable garden (what's left of it) and the trees. The neighbors with green lawns and sprinkler systems have bills probably double mine. The backyard looks better than years past because I've let a little native groundcover take over about the back 1/3 of the area. They're small and tough and it isn't as dusty as it has been with just dead turf grass.

The Swedes know the secret to happiness: You are not your stuff

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 11:18 AM

Lifehacker sometimes has some interesting tips, but this time it gets a firm "Hell, no!" Who would intentionally put this monstrosity in their kitchen over the sink?

/rant off

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 01:14 PM

All the laptops here are SSD and I think the system drives on the desktop PCs are too. Any other drive in the desktops is probably HDD. My laptop has a 500GB drive with the main big partitions: Windows 11 (combined system and users) 250GB, Linux system 80GB, Linux users 118GB. On the off chance I did find one day that I wanted to store a lot of big files, I got a 2TB external SSD to use with it.

I think the only thing I’ve done since my last post is tidy up my Cromer text weather forecast pages (eg. here and make another page for some of our mountain regions. It’s something to do, I suppose.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 05:43 PM

Wish I could send you our rain, Stilly.
We have flash flood warnings in some places tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 09:42 PM

Stay safe up there, Keb. It was a little cooler here today, only hit 104. That's because of some storms that blew past to the north and now are in the east. We didn't get any of it, just a little overcast. :-/

This afternoon I cleared out some of the ripe tomatoes that had accumulated in the fridge, and now have two pint jars of Italian tomato sauce frozen, a pint of juice, and a half-pint of peeled but just frozen cherry tomatoes. I used my homegrown onions, garlic, and herbs in the sauce, the only purchased part was the green pepper and a dollop of red wine. The fridge is easier to navigate now.

I'm still working on the computer files, and have to note that the way the file directory is arranged has always had duplicate listings for one set of folders, so I need to be careful that what I'm removing is truly a duplicate. Next OS installation maybe I'll do a better job of that. To save my data I don't want the drives as part of the upgrade to Win 11, so I have to connect them later and map the drives.

I'm covered with tomato sauce splashes and seeds so some of my laundry may get a pre-soak before going into the washer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Aug 23 - 11:31 AM

This morning I moved a pothos plant from the corner in the sun room to the windowsill in my bedroom. It's on a deep enough saucer to avoid water dribbling onto the sill. In the sunroom it was out of sight because of the trailing vines from another pothos above it on the same multi-shelf plant stand. I'm reminded that I used to have two sturdy three-legged iron stands that would work in front of the bedroom window instead of putting it on the sill, but I think I must have given them away. (Too risky to use with dogs threatening to topple.) Now I could use it, but I'm not going to buy another, I'll just look around to see if I stashed any somewhere.

There's a beautiful green male anole outside on my office windowsill, chirping to the ladies with his expanding orange sac or wattle. Morning is the time to see more activity around the bird baths and garden in general. I have water in the bird baths and water in a cooler on the porch for delivery people. It's the least I can do this summer. There were robins and doves jockeying for position in the bird bath when I arrived in the office this morning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Aug 23 - 09:32 PM

This week, I’m spending the days in Goderich at the annual Celtic College, learning new tunes. In the past, Edmund and I always found a hotel or a B&B, but this year I decided to sleep at home in Stratford, a mere 75 km down Highway 8 from the locus in quo. Bad idea. Too much driving when I’m learning a lot, and I get very, very tired.

Again, I am reminded how much more fun everything used to be. When Edmund died, my life got turned down to five, sometimes three.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Aug 23 - 09:48 PM

Something we all fear, the loss of a spouse or close loved one. You've moved forward and kept busy and kept your cards close to your vest. Thanks with trusting us with this glimpse into your inner life, and if we can help, we're here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 12:19 PM

A friend recently described the struggle to find a more suitable dessert for her 92-year-old diabetic husband who loves premium ice cream. I described my awfully-addictive sliced white nectarine topped with cinnamon and vanilla-flavored yogurt and homemade nutty granola. I hope she can manage a low-sugar version to temp him. (I didn't mention the custardy batch of bread pudding in my fridge; I used up a bunch of ends of loaves from the freezer.) I'm still pulling things out of the freezer but this year there is very little garden produce going in.

It's August 11 and this morning it was already 89^o when I rolled out of bed. The lawn is burned to a crisp and I've begun dragging the soaker hose to wrap around large trees (around the drip line at the outer edge of the crown) and running for a few hours. I have a lot of trees, and some are doing better than others. Fire danger in the state is at the next to the top rung of that ladder of dangerous conditions. (When I worked for the Forest Service our district office had a clever large painted Smokey Bear whose arm could be moved up or down to point at the thermometer-style fire danger chart. Once fire danger was in the mid-range someone always perched a brown beer bottle on his hand. Kind of like this, only better looking with a tall thermometer beside him.) I have a plan for how to prop an oscillating sprinkler on my roof and run a hose up to soak the shingles if fire becomes a problem here; I also need to have a go-bag ready just because. Tornado season is usually more of a threat, but this year all bets are off. (A friend in Maui says she is safe, she lives on the "wet side" of the island, but is pulling out things to donate to the shelter that will pop up near her soon.)

This is one ugly summer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 03:00 PM

A 'sweet treat for diabetics' would be a small book that could net you a fortune.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 03:20 PM

Years ago I enjoyed conversations with Mudcatter Tannywheeler, and though she stopped posting here a couple of years before she passed away, when I realized why she wasn't posting a lot of time had passed, so I didn't write about it (that I can find, at any rate.) I did something this afternoon I promised myself I would do before I forgot about it again. I put up an obituary thread for her.

Last night I pulled up our conversations and some of her posts, and assembled a list of things to include in a longish obituary. Bittersweet stuff, reading these posts. The list of links isn't comprehensive, but if someone stumbles upon that post while researching her life, they have some places to start.

This was good use of my time inside while it's so hot (something we both complained about - heat and tornadoes here in Texas). She was a hidden gem - equally as interesting and funny and opinionated as her father, John Henry Faulk, or as other notable Texans like Molly Ivins and Ann Richards. I wonder where her papers are?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 05:46 PM

It turns out to have been a more comprehensive version of what I wrote seven years ago. Keberoxu found the old obit (that I had contributed to) so I've combined them. I searched Mudcat and couldn't get it before I started that project. If I win the Lotto one of these days, Mudcat is on the top of my donate list, to fix things like search.

More indoor declutter work has presented itself - I have some files to scan and then I can toss the papers. Laundry finished, clothes on hangers out on that new line under the patio cover. I'm also playing catchup, trying to maintain a level of tidiness. One of the dogs decided to fasttrack the forest floor look in the den; this morning a large stick was reduced to many pieces in what looks like an all-nighter of chewing. Best to sweep that, the chunks clog the vacuum.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 08:26 PM

My health has been a bit rotten for a good few weeks. Since we got back from our lovely holiday in Sicily in early July I've had two bouts of cellulitis, a really nasty attack of sciatica affecting one leg, very sore feet and an attack of sinusitis. I'm just about over all of it now but I suppose it takes its toll at my age. My garden has been a bit of a write-off, what with me getting all poorly and the horrible weather we've had for six weeks. Still my flowery patches look great and I have a load of rocket that's gone a bit berserk. We have it on burgers, in prawn sauce with lemon and chilli and even in soup.

And yes, my medical woes are under investigation!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 23 - 10:34 PM

Good luck with that investigation, Steve. I've always considered summer a particularly healthy season, but not this year. I've been doing more of the fitness programs - online, and on my phone, because I haven't been to the gym. I have to start moving since this heat has me doing so little all of the time. To get to the gym I'll see if I can get my butt out of bed way early, then on the way back stop by the museum where I volunteer. If I arrive right at opening time I'll be out by mid-morning. I was always scheduled to scan at midday, but haven't gone because of the heat. We're now under a "red flag warning" for fire danger, because there will be more wind than usual on Saturday.

This week I noticed some patterned sheer curtains on the Martha Stewart feed in my Instagram, so I went looking online and found a very good price. (I never shop on Instagram.) I have been looking at the 20-year-old long flowing muslin curtains in my bedroom and thinking they need a pick-me-up. I made them back when curtains so long they pooled on the floor was popular, and the new ones would do that but I want them just to the floor this time. They'll need the hems taken up (the shorter pair cost $30 more, so I'll do the hem myself). This is the same bedroom window that had a plant placed on the sill earlier in the week.

I've made curtains in the past, but when you look at the price per yard for fabric, the ready-made curtains are often more affordable than homemade. Volume buying and all of that.

How are our lurkers doing? Where is Patty Clink this month? Have you moved up to the Yukon to avoid the heat?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 03:01 AM

I’m still playing with php on the laptop. I’ve had a go at writing my own pie chart. I’m having a bit of a problem with the alignment of labels and sometimes it gives a gap in the pie chart (which I think is a bug in gd and jpgraph does this too) but I think it’s ok otherwise. An example is here. I’ve also extended the weather forecast pages to do all sites/regions, eg. here.

Poor dad is still stuck in bed but we at leat have a date for the new bed. It should be coming on Thursday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 11:45 AM

Is that where you live, Jon, in Bude? I didn't realize you are so close to the coast.

No coast here to cool us, and the usual weather continues. Triage in the yard to keep a few plants that are still alive.

Still decluttering the computer desktop of files no longer needed and putting others in folders where they belong. Finding occasional gems along the way, a photo of a meme about words to cut from your writing: (just, sort of, I think, basically, very) - I wish! Notes to myself, links to keep, etc.

Must go refill birdbaths and drag a soaker hose.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 12:16 PM

If he lives in Bude he hasn't told me! We're just three miles out of town...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 01:00 PM

No, SRS, I live near Cromer which is on the east cost and Bude is on the west coast. The towns are nearly 400 miles apart. I'm about 3 miles from the coast.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 01:22 PM

So you chose Bude for your chart. Steve sussed where I was going with this - if you were neighbors, you should get acquainted. I thought you were in the East, but I also remember that you made a big move some years ago.

Booklet printed for the Kenmore serger, now to pull up YouTube videos because reading that manual with the grayscale images isn't inviting. If I find any helpful videos I'll make notes in the instruction booklet as they discuss the machine operation. This is a bigger project than I've taken on for a while, so I think clearing the kitchen table to set it up is in order. I can use the tablet or the kitchen laptop for videos if I want to watch and pause it while actually seated at the machine. The sewing studio isn't set up yet for another machine. (If I decide this is too much fuss I can always use this time to determine if it works and then sell it on eBay.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 01:52 PM

The move was from West Coast to East coast but it was from a village called Bryn Pydew in North Wales.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 23 - 10:00 PM

A friend with a washer on the fritz brought over a load of laundry and stayed to dinner while it washed. I cleared the table before the meal and I got the sinkful of dishes all moved into the dishwasher after, so I'm ahead as far as cleaning up the kitchen.

112 today, and after recently posting a couple of photos of my indoor/outdoor thermometer on Instagram and Facebook, I've had queries about the make and model. A hot topic these days, having accurate thermometers. And finding ways to not superheat in the summer sun. My driveway is completely exposed but there's a tree in the front yard that casts some late afternoon shade. I've considered moving one of the bird baths and repositioning a small flower garden under that vitex tree so that I can create a spot on the grass under the tree that is shaded most of the day for any car that arrives in this heat. Kind of half-on and half-off the concrete, but not running over anything in the way. While it is a setup that would be nice to have now, it isn't a project one would do right away, it's too darned hot out. Something to consider for fall.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 05:21 PM

Painting wood preservative on the pickets is finished, though the work of putting up the next section will wait till it's cooler. That *might* happen on Tuesday, when a "cold front" is euphemistically blowing through, lowering the daytime high to about 98.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 05:23 PM

Short messages only today. Working in the office closet I found a boxed Amazon Fire Stick that I never actually used anywhere. Amazon gives $3 if you return it. Some weeks ago I was helping the local Buy Nothing moderator with a support for a new TV antenna (she lives in slightly submerged ground-floor apartment so has little local OTA signal). I've sent her a note offering this stick, and to make a run to Goodwill. She offers some pretty small stuff, not worth a drive over there, as she's compressing the contents of what was a larger apartment into where she is now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 23 - 11:44 AM

I decided against peanuts (roasted, no salt) in the creek. Last night a dad and his daughters were fishing off of the bridge. Not likely to catch anything (though with bologna as bait, it is possible to attract aquatic attention) but they don't need to wonder about all of the peanuts floating on the surface of the little pool in the creek. Time to go add water to the birdbaths and clean out the blue wading pool.

Tomorrow morning is supposed to have a low of 69. It looks like a good time to put up a fence panel.

I'll take that Fire Stick over to the Buy Nothing moderator this week, along with flattened boxes she needs for packing up books she's giving away. I've realized I don't go in the front room much now because of the piled up boxes, so it's just as well to thin the supply. And while I'm in there, play the piano. I haven't done that in ages. A Chopin prelude I've always loved on the radio this morning had my fingers twitching to play along.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 01:08 PM

Beaver:

High of 98! ARGHHHH! Thankful we are not getting that - and no longer getting even up to 80! Cool nights and days are more like September. A warning to get prepared. The next time I leave here, it will be in cold weather mode - just in case.

Neighbour/LArry is buying other kiln - and getting prepared to move from making trailers for garden tractors to being a potter- as well as helping with community activities. So that is a de-clutter for me and a few dollars more to contribute to NH Community Trust - trying to help our low income population survive. In addition to community gardens and a warming centre and wood share program...

When I boo-booed big time on friday, I went there for someone to tend to the burn on my back. I have no mirror that is not affixed to a wall so no way of seeing the back of my neck. I felt the burn and went for help. Ice and Aloe Vera and TLC. And a pic of the burn.

Not everyone can figure out how to make a brush full of hot wax fly up out of the pan, fly over my head and land on the back on my T-shirt. It blistered some by the time I got help but was considered "ok". They checked it again during the Sunday lunch and yesterday Larry said it looked fine and I could wash my hair. I didn't and last night it oozed so I went to my fav pharmacist for a covering which I took to ... and Michelle put on Polysporin and a large covering bandage. Tomorrow Jane is visiting and will check it. I could have spent several hours in the ER!!! Thankful for good folks!

Pottery came to a screeching halt. In the meantime, R cleaned a couple areas without using a mask and has a serious lung infection and a script for a serious anti-biotic - "Don't come home!" He may make it here tomorrow so we can go hear one of his fav groups; they are living in Nova Scotia and this is a special tour. Hope he makes it! He is bringing shelves for kiln and a book to loan a friend - Trauma Cafe.

I am trying to rid myself of my own life traumas by writing. I hope it helps.

Now to find a couple books to help improve my mood

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 23 - 03:33 PM

Dorothy, it sounds like a dramatic week! I hope you and R are over the burn and the infection soon! (Always wear a mask for that kind of work!)

Today was cool enough to put up the next panel of fence. One more to go, but the most complicated because there are tree roots in the way of digging a new post and pushing the existing end post crooked. I'll wait until cooler weather for that work. While the old panel was down Zeke headed through the fence for a visit next door and I took over the fetching toy so he and Cecil could play (a few short dashes for the toy and he was tired.) Zeke's world has compressed as he gets older but he still enjoys himself.

I've seen photos of a couple of our Mudcatters with cats in their laps - in places with weather cool enough where cats want to sit in laps. Meanwhile I need to let the hose run long enough that I don't scald a dog if I use the hose to give them baths in the yard. The standing water in the hose is painfully hot. Enjoy your cooler weather!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 23 - 11:09 AM

Shopping today to purchase the last of the pickets, lumber, and wood preservative to have everything I need to finish the fence project. After that I'll clean out the SUV and put everything back in the preferred positions (I left the middle seat row down and a tarp in place for the last month.)

I examined the area in the front where I'll shift the birdbath and garden, it's not a complex job. I've added taking down some deadwood from the tree above to the list, but knock-wood hopefully this is a quick job to do after the fence. Or to do for procrastination until I get to the rest of the fence.

The only grass growing in the front yard is where I've run soaker hoses to try to deep water trees to save them. I might take a trimmer out to go over a few areas where grass is tall, it isn't worth pushing the mower out for as little as there is.

There are a couple of pots of parsley and dill starting in the house and I need to set up pots on my planting table (under a shade cloth) to start more cucumbers and squash. The last hurrah this year will hopefully be some produce. For now, I surrender and am buying canned tomatoes and fresh produce to replace what I would normally get from the garden.

Decluttering - I need to arrange the empty boxes in my front room. I promised some flattened boxes to my Buy Nothing moderator friend, and while I'm at it, I'll organize some of the rest. I told her I'd be by one evening this week, so I guess that gives me until Saturday to tackle that job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 23 - 11:20 AM

After a week of trad music in Goderich, I'm back to "work" in Stratford: pool exercise in the morning, and the rest of the day spent on preparations for the new choir season. The weather is delightful when it isn't raining stair-rods, but the ragweed is in bloom so I have a more or less constant sinus headache unless I dope myself with Advil and a steroid nasal spray. One day of utter misery was enough to remind me that this regime must be followed religiously.

The cats have caught up on missed lap time and have returned to their pre-Goderich routine: ignoring me unless their dish is empty or they are bored and/or in need of connection. Isobel in particular can be downright infestuous, clambering all over me when I'm doing any sitting-down task, especially at the computer. Watson just occupies the comfy chair like Hitler's army in France, on top of me if necessary.

I have ditched yet another unsatisfactory dish-drainer, this one made of metal that left rust spots on the Wedgwood. Since Rubbermaid seem to have stopped making the bomb-proof plastic-coated wire model that I remember from the '60s and '70s, maybe a towel spread on the drainboard will do for the items that don't go in the dish-washer -- cats' dishes, coffee-filter holder, non-stick omelette pan. But I regret the passing of yet another useful household gadget displaced by fancier versions that do the job less well.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 23 - 12:07 PM

I sometimes see the dish drainers you describe at Goodwill. The problem with going in to look for something you actually need is that you'll find a lot of nifty stuff that is cheap and functional but adds to the clutter. Occasionally you'll find things you didn't know you needed, such as the case with the $20 tall narrow table in my kitchen that serves as an island - what did I ever do without it?

Years ago I found an odd little drainer at the Container Store that of course they don't carry any more. It's a hard rubber surface with a slot for silverware, a few inches of area for setting cups or large stuff that doesn't fit into the final few dish slots. It sits on a towel, and every so often I stuff it into the dishwasher to freshen it up. I took a look online just now - the designs are innovative and the prices eye-watering.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 23 - 11:30 PM

The final pickets and planks have been purchased for the final fence panel. They're laid out in the garage, awaiting wood preservative (another can was picked up today). The middle row seats are back in place and tomorrow I'll sweep and vacuum the insides and restore the usual items that ride around in the back. The next few days are going to be hotter than ever, so the work will wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Aug 23 - 11:09 PM

Today's trip east in the county for my haircut was the start of the large loop I drive to visit several stores and fulfill shopping list requests and a visit with a friend. I'll be back in town next Monday when I take him to the airport for a possibly extended stay with his twin brother. This is a dreadful summer in their family - his brother's wife is dying of metastasized breast cancer in Colorado and his sister is in southern California to be with their father as he passes away from something that is imminently fatal (I didn't ask - poor guy!) The ride to the airport is the least I can do. With heat as my only problem I'm doing well.

My trash contribution at the curb this morning was fairly light, but I'll drag more trimmed branches to the curb for Monday. They'll be gone soon. I may knock apart some of the fence panels and leave shorter pieces at the curb (great kindling for a much colder time of year), and if I get tired of looking at the weathered pickets I can pull the offers on buy-nothing and freecycle and cut them up for the curb.

A friend sent a link to an estate sale today that had a remarkable number of pieces that line up with what I have here from various great aunts' estates. Food for thought - they weren't going for high prices, even though they were in good shape. So what was the point? Time to ask the kids what they really want, and go from there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 23 - 10:39 PM

A general request from ERCOT (the agency over power companies here) requested everyone reduce the amount of electricity used, so it means pushing the thermostat up (83) and using the most efficient lights only. The house is efficient with all LED lights. Hand-in-hand with less electric use is reduced water usage and being careful how water is used. I have soaker hoses around the house foundation to avoid spraying water that would otherwise evaporate. Hurricane Hilary that is bearing down on the Pacific coast and southwest won't affect the middle of the country.

Decluttering included stuffing more of the cut branches into the trash can to reduce the fuel on the yard. The vacuum ready to take to the garage for cleaning out the SUV in the morning when it's cooler.

Birdbaths are full and I've watched a lot of different types of birds visit. They don't have a lot of places to go unless they head down to the creek bank in the back of the back yard. I should head back there with the binoculars in the morning and look for activity.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 19 Aug 23 - 06:55 AM

I’m still playing with my graph code. This page shows how far I’ve got with it. I’ll probably do a bit of tidying up and leave it at that. I took the code to generate spline curves from github It’s beyond my basic (O level plus a couple of bits) maths.

Dad’s profiling bed was installed on Thursday. It looks good and should make things easier for him although I don’t know whether anyone is planning on getting him out of it to sit in the living room. I’ve been told that Cavel are taking over the contract for dad’s care from Elite so we will all have the same carers soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 23 - 01:58 PM

Jon, having the same carers coming to help the whole family will give continuity to things you request for all of you, instead of piecemeal getting things done depending on whose assignment is being considered. Congratulations on making that change.

Freecycle came through with an answer to my offer of fence pickets, so I'll drag the chunks of panel down to the driveway by Monday night for her to pick up Tuesday morning. That's a lot of old wood out of the way.

The washer ran during the wee hours and shirts and pants are now hanging under the patio cover to dry. I'll take down the old curtains in my bedroom and run them through the wash before deciding if there is anything that can be done with them. I suspect that much yardage might appeal to my costume making daughter for one of her projects. Lots of costumes need linings or reinforcements where it doesn't matter what that material looks like.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Aug 23 - 02:02 PM

Beaver:

Robin is on heavy antibiotic and sounds terrible. My burn is totally healed but today, opening a lawn chair took out my right thumb - about a two inch bloody mess but will heal - eventually. Did manage glaze firing today. And got some terrific home made soup at Farm market!

Beautiful day... No potting ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 23 - 12:19 AM

Dorothy - I scrolled back to your report - six days later and it's still bad for R - would he consider going to an emergency room and getting checked out? It sounds like the antibiotic isn't enough.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 23 - 12:23 AM

Yesterday morning I was startled to have a friend (B) banging on my side window - he had misplaced his cellphone in his house and while outside, his key got stuck in the door lock and he couldn't open it or unlock it. With only his car keys and wallet on him he drove 25 miles to my house to get help getting a locksmith. We found one who met him at the apartment 45 minutes later after he drove back home. Today I picked up B for a drive to show him where the nearby homes are of two other friends. Less than 2 miles to each one.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 23 Aug 23 - 06:31 PM

And its just been more charts for me. I took a break from my stuff to look at Google Charts which offers a vast array of charts and options. I struggled to work out what to put for the rows and columns for the JSON format I wanted to try for a couple of line charts but found it straightforward otherwise. Back to my stuff, I’ve produced a svg version of what I had (except the pie with a shadow to give a bit of a 3d look) as I thought scalable graphics would be nicer than the pngs. I found svg easy for the lines, circles and rectangles I wanted but producing paths for the pie slices was a bit tricky. A nice surprise for me was that you can embed <A> links in them. I’ve used that with the help of Bootstrap (when I finally got it to work…) to produce much quicker responses when the mouse hovers over a point or area on a chart. In the svg, for example for a rectangle on bar chart, all I need is:

<a title="[data to display] data-toggle="tooltip">
    <rect x="[start x]" y="[start y] width="[rect width] height="[rect height]" stroke = "black" fill="[bar color] ></a>

On to other things. I’ve developed a couple of pressure sores and the nurses have ordered a new mattress for me that should make getting pressure sores less likely. Dad is due some new equipment tomorrow or Friday but I don’t know what he’s getting or whether there are any plans to get him out of bed to sit in the living room. They are also supposed to be collecting the Sara Stedy. This was unsuitable for the space we have to manoeuvre in and, much to mum’s annoyance, has been a big unwanted item of clutter in the living room for months.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Aug 23 - 07:11 PM

They may combine a Covid booster with the flu shot. Then there is the new RSV Vaccine.
I won't hedge with short sleeves again. Bug bites!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 23 - 07:30 PM

Good job moving the clutter soon, Jon, and interesting about your work with charts. I had never seen the Google Charts utility before - I'll take some time with it later (it has been duly bookmarked with my other productivity programs).

I shared a couple of useful tools with a Facebook acquaintance this week; I think I've mentioned Capital One Shopping, a browser extension and phone app that automatically looks for lower prices for the exact item you're shopping for, and will also look for discounts and coupons. First time I used it I was shopping for an LLBean windbreaker (ages since it was cool enough to wear it!) and it automatically found a $17-off coupon and applied it. The other is a website that has been around for a long time - I think I've been using this for 20 years. It is GotFreeFax and it works in the US and Canada. From their FAQs:

Q: Do you support fax to international or off-shore destinations?

A: GotFreeFax.com free fax service and US/Canada premium service support sending faxes to the US Continental 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada only (off-shore and other international destinations are not supported).

GotFreeFax.com international fax service supports sending faxes to over 200 countries and regions.

You don't need a fax machine, you upload your document or PDF or jpg to the site, give them the fax number of the recipient, and they check your email to be sure it works then send the document. Three pages and a cover sheet are free, or you can enter content into a text box on the site; lots of ways of using it and there two free a day. If you need to send longer or more of them the costs are reasonable.

The ex and I had lunch with our daughter, and my decluttering today was to take the freshly-laundered muslin curtains to her and as expected, she can use it. Often there are layers within costumes where things are stabilized or attached to give them the right hang or drape, and while in good condition, the color is probably irregular from years in the window so wouldn't be used for outerwear (unless she's making a costume meant to look aged.)

The woman who wants the fence pickets collected part of the stack today, but couldn't get them all. She's returning on Saturday morning for the rest, so that's one more thing I don't have to fool with for bulky waste.

I start cat sitting tomorrow, for a week this time, so I'll plan a few trips to the gym after my midday trips to her house. I haven't been to the gym for the last two weeks and I've missed the book I'm currently listening to. It's set during a Montreal winter, so quite a mental change of venue from Texas in August!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Aug 23 - 08:33 PM

Bug bites? I won't go outdoors at this time of year unless I'm plastered in 50% DEET. It's harmless and it's 100% effective. It will dissolve the colour off your plastic carrier bags, however.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:12 AM

Google Charts is more of a programmer/web developer thing but it could be quite handy if you wanted a chart on a web page. Here are some pie charts for you: my gd png version, my svg version and a much fancier google version. For the Google one, I used:

var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([
    ['Book',       'Count'], 
    ['Matthew',    34], 
    ['Mark',       18], 
    ['Luke',       22], 
    ['John',       15], 
    ]); 
  
  var options = { 
    title: 'Word Count', 
    pieSliceText: 'value', 
    height: '400', 
    width: '500', 
    slices: { 
              3: {offset: 0.1}, 
          }, 
  }; 

Putting stuff in the JavaScript code probably looks a bit odd to you but it’s OK if you keep the brackets and commas as they are in the examples and a lot of what you might want to change is quite clear.

I’ve never used a FAX machine but back when we were on dial up Internet and I had a Fax Modem, I used to have a program which could do Fax and act as an answer phone. Reading of Faxes got me racking my brains trying to remember what the machine in our offices at Hotpoint was. Then I remembered it was a Telex machine.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 10:01 AM

What's your Montreal-based book, Stilly?

It's foggy and damp in Stratford today, with wind and rain in the forecast. Not chilly, though; the overnight low is supposed to be 19 degrees Celsius. That means an unpleasantly sticky day with no relief at night despite the rain. Crap.

My basement smells musty -- diagnostic sign of a damp summer. Not a lot I can do about that.

With September approaching like the noon freight, I'm neck-deep in preparations for the onset of choir season. The library-cum-music room is cluttered with file boxes full of carefully sorted sheet music and the study is crowded with copies of the Mass In Time of War by Joseph Haydn that need bar numbers inserted. Each score is 76 pages long, and each page has three staves of music ... I can finish a score in 15 minutes flat, but I've had practice. The five people to whom I farmed out 10 copies each will have to work up to that speed.

Elder Brother phoned this morning to ask what I want for my birthday. "Nothing," I said; at this point in my life, any material item that enters the house, however beautiful or lovingly chosen, is more of a problem than a solution. Such a First World privilege situation to find myself in! But it's madness -- and wasteful madness, at that -- to declutter with one hand while hauling in stuff with the other.

I wish I could declutter my compulsive habit of looking at real estate advertisements. I'm pretty sure I do it because I don't know how long I can or should stay in this house, and because I don't feel rooted in Stratford. Due to daily perusal of on-line listings, I can tell you almost precisely what a two-bedroom condo flat or a three-bedroom condo row house costs in Ottawa or London (Ontario), plus or minus ten percent. Clearly, my subconscious mind is heavily preoccupied with my housing situation, like a squirrel that can't stop chewing on wiring in the attic.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 10:51 AM

For birthday and Christmas presents, I tried asking my parents just to get a goat or something for a charity a couple of times. It never really worked out as they insisted I must have something although I suppose a charity did benefit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 12:13 PM

The book is number six in the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series Bury Your Dead. I'm posting a link to it on the UK site called Fantastic Fiction - that's where I go to see what order books were published in (and to see if the name changed from one country to another or from one print run to another).

I wish I had a basement, but they rarely build them in this part of the country. As it is I have a foundation riddled with cracks that expand in the summer heat, so I water around the outsides of the house to try to keep the soil fairly stable. It is again failing, but I keep trying.

Gift giving - something people would like, would use, that won't collect dust or need to be returned. For years now I've alternated making a couple of Puerto Rican dishes and every year it is delivered to my ex. A consumable item that goes in the freezer in meal-size portions. To make it more interesting the whole family sometimes gets together to make these dishes, though we have more than once concluded that there were too many cooks in the kitchen, and one year they burned rice to the bottom of my lovely enamel cast iron pan and there are still marks all of these years later. Three years ago after one particularly messy home-cooking session I added a notation in my calendar for the next year "no cooking. Order takeout this year" and we got Chinese and Italian food for the family meal.

For the kids I shop off of the list they provide (and sometimes nagging happens before I get the list) and I try to also send consumable things that are not gag gifts, but silly. A few reams of printer paper; 10 pounds of a good Basmati rice. A pie or cake handed over in a nice pie or cake pan to take home with them. And I have found some really great things in Thrift stores. One year I found a rolled up entire tanned and dyed cowhide at Goodwill for $17. I didn't know for sure it was intact until my daughter opened it and rolled it out. She and her housemates do a lot of costume making (Anime and SCA, in particular, but for various conventions) and they fell on that like the prize that it was. Sometimes buying different types of zip ties and velcro straps for stocking stuffers has them giddy at the prospect of projects ahead. My son and his partner bought a house a couple of years ago so for the first year it was cash to buy some of the furnishings they needed (and shopped mostly estate sales for those.)

For me, I try to not buy things I need for myself and just add a couple to my list. I've gotten drill bits, a vacuum cleaner, a food processor, things I needed (replacing an old one, never adding to a collection). Mostly the holidays are about our getting together and the gifts are an entertaining part of the day. It's the meal that really counts with us.

Now I'm headed out to deliver a bottle of ancient but still usable achiote seed and a chunk of copper with lots of patina to my daughter for different projects at her house this week. She is making a pre-Columbian batch of tamales for an SCA session (turkey was in the new world, so the meat isn't the usual beef or chicken or pork in modern tamales) and is trying to do most of it. She didn't grow or grind the corn, she does have limits to the verisimilitude she will achieve. (The copper is for someone trying to create an ancient turquoise paint color.) With the varied interests of my kids and their partners, gift giving is a way to participate in and support those interests.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 12:31 PM

SCA = Society for Creative Anachronism

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 01:02 PM

A large subset of my extended family is in the Eastern Townships, including my last surviving aunt (my mother's sister), who lives with one of her daughters in Knowlton, the village widely believed to be the prototype of Three Pines.

I"m not sure how Penny gets around the fact that the Quebec government does its utmost to abolish English-language place names. In real life, that village would have a French or indigenous name by now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 23 - 10:38 PM

I finished hemming the second panel of the new pair of "rod pocket" curtains I bought for my bedroom window. The first drapes about 1/4" above the floor, but by hemming the second one at an identical length, it drags on the floor by about 1/4". Darn. However, I'm not rehemming that drape, I just stuck a 1/2" shim under the thick wooden rod in its support on the long side. It isn't noticeable and saves me a lot of work.

I also washed the window and after taking down the mini-blind I spread it out on the patio and hosed off the dust. The tile floor was mopped and I've rearranged the Mission Oak rocker near the window. With a healthy pothos plant on the windowsill visible through the sheer panels it has a fresh look.

After this weekend we have a mild "cold front" coming through and are expecting 3-4 days in the high 90s. It's so hot out there that every day I put out two bottles of water in a cooler on the front porch for the mail carrier or any other delivery person. There wasn't any mail or parcels today but both bottles of water were gone, so he must have needed some extra to finish the route. (That's fine - I want him to stay healthy!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 23 - 11:32 PM

A friend spent the afternoon here as we discussed options on computers as he shopped for a new one. I think another friend will be able to help set it up (no point in paying Dell to do it). The whole time he was here Cookie kept trying to sneak in for cuddles and scratches, and he loved it. I think he likes to come here as much to play with the dogs as to visit with me.

For the next three days we have a warning from the ERCOT folks (in the news, especially since the freeze in 2021) that they will be particularly hot, so don't use major appliances during the day. If not, rolling brown-outs. We're in late August, this will end eventually, but this summer isn't going down without a struggle.

I've ordered dog food because my trip to the store today (the day after they always get their weekly dog food order) was a bust and I left empty-handed. Tonight I ordered it online and they'll deliver to the store where I'll pick it up in a couple of days (no shipping charges this way). This, along with computer shopping and other stuff today let me work my way through a short list of tasks, so I managed to tackle four of the six. The "Ivy Lee Method" is an experiment these days (a list of six things, and move those incomplete to the next day's list). It isn't working quite the way Mr. Lee intended.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 05:09 AM

Progress has been made with dad at last. The carers got him out of bed this morning and he's sitting in his wheelchair in the living room as I type this.

I ought to sort mum's care payments out today. The council sent a letter addressed to both of us. That surprised me as I wasn't involved in her assessment and haven't (at least not that I remember) agreed to be involved but I guess they know mum's mental capacity isn't that good. The easy part is that the council just want bank statements. The hard parts will be explaining to mum that the free period they give when the care starts has come to an end and she now has to pay a contribution and that I think the figures on her assessment are wrong and she's likely to have to pay more than the letter says.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 10:19 AM

As I was leaving to feed cats a small SUV pulled up at the curb and I spoke briefly to the woman who was here to collect the rest of the fence pickets. The spot is now clear and I hope her feet and ankles aren't too scratchy - the nearby pine tree is dropping lots of long sharp needles this summer. I need to rake them to use for mulch later on. Mostly today I need to run the soaker hose around the foundation again. Regular yard work can wait until fall.

The friend who visited yesterday delivered a couple of dead electronics (a large TV and average sized printer) that are in the garage until a weekday when my ex comes by and can take them to the recycle drop off center. When I made the call requesting he pick these up he commented that he's found a couple of more old small CRT portable TV/Radio things in his garage to recycle. Back in the day those AC/battery operated devices were helpful during tornado season when you hunkered in the hall in the middle of the house and wanted to watch the weather. Now it's all on our phones. The recycling center is very close and is annoying because they named that center for our village but our village residents can't use it. You have to show Fort Worth residency. Staging recycling this way is a more convoluted form of decluttering than usual, but whatever works.

A friend sent a recipe for mango bread that I'll try today. I have several very ripe ones in the fridge and this would be perfect. It does mean taking a healthy fruit and putting it in a more carb-filled form, but it's that or toss them because I can't eat them all right now. (I should try freezing them.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 03:07 PM

And I’m still plodding on with my charts. I’ve added exploding slices and a border when a user hovers over a slice on the pie chart. The first was easy. The second shouldn’t have been too bad but I spent a day wrestling with examples I found on Google before finding one that worked for me. It broke the tooltips on Firefox though so more searching and dead ends before reaching a solution, and one I like as it doesn’t need 3rd party scripts. I think it’s OK now.

I didn’t get round to doing mum’s council stuff today. Maybe tomorrow… Mum’s happy today btw. I think I mentioned getting her a slate clock with the numbers printed in Welsh for her birthday. She decided where she wanted it today. It’s replaced a cheap plastic clock that hung on a kitchen wall so it was a simple job which Lisa(cleaner) did for her.

Dad was taken back to his bed at about 3:45. I don’t know if that is going to be a regular(ish – carers times vary…) bed time or not but I think he’d probably have been feeling quite tired by then after all the time he’s been stuck in bed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 10:15 PM

Jon, do whatever is comfortable. Palliative care will give you a lot of options (my understanding from what I've read about it.) It sounds like you have your parents set up for help.

The friend shopping computers sent some questions (via email) that I've answered this evening - it is remarkable how much electronics have come down in price as they've also gone up in quality. My recommendation for a monitor and advice about a printer he bought a while back but hasn't installed have been sent (after researching specs at Dell.com.)

It's so hot. 107^o. Still. The tractor sprinkler is crawling along the turf in front of the house this evening after running the oscillating sprinkler on the driveway side (all of this hoping to help the foundation and keep a few trees alive). I'll run soaker hoses on the back and the other side tomorrow. The next few days are supposed to be cooler, around 98^o before the next heat up in early September. The summer that keeps on giving.

Interesting - this evening I was flipping through channels on Sling and landed on a documentary about a rock band called Triumph. I actually know nothing about them, but I have a story. In 1981-82 I was leading tours at a commercial cave in Kentucky; they had the best formations in the Mammoth Cave area, and were close to the highway. This group pulled their tour bus off of the Interstate and ended up going through on my tour. The fact that I had no clue who they were wasn't a big deal to them, because we had other things in common. I'd worked in New York City as an Urban Park Ranger at various big events in the parks in each borough. They had performed there, and the local crew that did the stage set up for them was the same one I'd run into for Pavarotti and Simon and Garfunkel, and a couple of others. One man in particular, a very tall handsome man who looked just like the actor Ted Lynch - we'd made friends and would hang out at those concerts. He always made lemonade that he brought in a thermos, and shared with me. What blew my high-school-age co-workers away, those who knew the group and had all wanted to take that tour, was that the band and I were laughing and comparing notes about this guy on the setup crew we all knew. I never would have used the name, but the band called him Lurch. And we all knew exactly who we meant. #SmallWorld I recognise the folks in the documentary from all of those years ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 02:34 AM

Our village is having an event on 9th September called The Lyng Fling. (Village is called Lyng). It includes several activities including selling your unwanted 'clutter', which interests me. (A bit like a car-boot sale, but on the Village Hall field, with tables provided)
We have some stuff we could sell, including lots of clothes that no longer fit. Husband is fatter now, and I've lost weight. We have a portable clothes rail to display the clothes on, so we could probably sell the lot. Or maybe we could swap our clothes hee hee! I could wear all his sporty football tops and he could wear my capacious flowery summer trousers.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 11:54 AM

With more virtual decluttering it has been the Clash of the Titans this weekend - Microsoft versus Samsung. A couple of weeks ago I told the tablet to store images from the tablet to my Microsoft OneDrive account, and after that my phone stopped uploading my phone photos to OneDrive. It seems Samsung set up its own nested files in OneDrive and wants to park things there. I spent time earlier this year sorting out my Camera Roll in OneDrive so the current year is loading there and past years are in their own files. So a new three-tier Samsung file is a pain in the backside.

After research I disconnected the two accounts then reinstalled, and in the end I left a Samsung folder on the OneDrive that I labeled "Samsung - Don't Use" and have turned off Samsung's sync ability to OneDrive. I also turned it off in the tablet where this started. For now I'll manually move photos from the phone to Camera Roll. I pay for OneDrive so there is no point in shifting to Google or DropBox for phone photo backup. But damn, that Samsung software is pushy. What is frustrating is that until now, the Samsung phone automatically updated the photos in the Camera Roll file.

The library app "returned" the audiobook I was listening to; with fewer trips to the gym it's taking longer to read. There's a wait list so I'll get it back in a couple of weeks. I'm at the gym more this week and with so much foundation watering at the house I'm changing my routine at the gym and showering there. Might as well use a little less water at the house. This morning I dug around for some flip flops to wear in the shower—is athlete's foot a thing any more in public showers?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 02:06 PM

Oh, do wear those flip-flops in the shower, athlete's foot is still a thing! Keep a grocery or other bag in your gear bag so you can switch out pool/shower flipflops with your street shoes, keep dirt off everything else.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 23 - 12:19 PM

Trouble with most flip flops is that they're slippery. It looks like aquasocks are on clearance this time of year (at Academy Sports). Part of this is also me edging closer to using the pool. With each part of the gym I use it means more stuff in the gym bag.

Dorothy - how is Robin doing? Has he finally cleared out the lung congestion? For those of you in northern areas, are you getting out sweaters or changing the bedding yet? We're entering hurricane season in the south, so far hitting way south Texas and parts of Florida. No sweaters yet. And in the fall tornadoes can be more active.

Time to research a new dryer - it tumbles and blows but there is not heat. The old one was purchased in 2002 and I've done some repairs but the heating element is a bigger deal. If the thermostats weren't working it would get too hot, but with no heat it's the element (my rudimentary diagnostic information). A new element costs $180, plus the installation service call, but I looked at my most recent Consumer Reports PDF about dryers (from 2017) and even then new dryers were costing a lot. Maybe a repair is worthwhile. Home Warranty folks will be consulted before I call the repair guy. I'm fine with keeping the old one in service for as long as possible.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Aug 23 - 04:15 PM

I turned off the bedroom fan last night, but that’s as close as I’ve come to changing seasonal gear.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 12:39 AM

Three loaves of mango bread are cooling; this soda bread is one of those wet ones, lots of oil (even though I reduced it and used applesauce for half of it), and more cake- than bread-like. Too hot to try now.

As hot as it has been outside I keep the thermostat in the house pretty warm (80), so baking that bread was enough to bring up a sweat because I didn't push the air conditioning down to compensate for the oven. Not a great time of year for baking.

Laundry is drying on hangers and a few pieces are on the clothesline outside; must call to see about the dryer repair. It isn't just that the dryer needs repair, it means in preparation I have to empty everything on that side of the room around it. Shelves, donation bin, and a bonus: on the other side of the doorway into the laundry room is where my gardening cart sits, next to the potting bench, both in the way of an appliance being moved in and out of the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 09:53 AM

My volunteer job as choir librarian is perilously close to full-time this week, with preparations for the onset of the singing season. Just for shits and giggles, we are also auditioning pianists for the job of choir accompanist, so I have to prepare repertoire packages for them. Because of various human frailties, the new music for this season was not ordered until only a couple of weeks ago, so I'll be numbering and sorting copies right up to H-Hour. I am not best pleased, but things could be worse and I decline to get wound around my axle. Yet.

Today I will visit the library's basement quarters to get two file boxes full of "Messiah" scores and 80 copies of "Now Is the Month of Maying" by Thomas Morley. That'll be a bit of an upper-body workout plus plenty of stairs. Tomorrow, one of my Board colleagues will drive all the way from London to bring me three more batches of new music, 80 copies each. A fourth batch proved to have a printing error and will be delivered late -- sometime next week. First rehearsal is 11 September.

Stratford is enjoying a classic late-summer week of golden sunshine without steamy heat. The humidity is still way high -- the basement doors are too swollen to shut properly -- but night-time low temperatures are now dropping below 10 degrees Celsius, so the end is in sight. The downtown streets are still full of tourists and theatre-goers -- God forbid that a townie should wish to dine out on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday -- but we're all grateful for the money they spew around town. The theatre festival and the restaurants are why Stratford has nice things.

On Monday, I will be sixty-nine years old. It will be Labour Day, a statutory holiday, so most of the shops will be shut. Monday is also the day when the theatres are dark, so the restaurants also take their day off. Consequently, whatever celebrating gets done will take place on Saturday, when my theatre buddy Alden proposed we go out for dinner. Our reservations are depressingly early, as the rest of the diners will have tickets for something with an eight-o'clock curtain, but that's life in a tourist town in the season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 10:46 AM

Dupont:

Came back here on Tuesday, with a stop for muffins at the Hidden Gold Mine. Trying to bring the house back to a Dorothy state from the chaos of the Robin state. Every single piece of cutlery was in the sink and had to be washed, washed again harder! and then again. We agreed this would not happen again! The dishes were in a controlled state. I guess a month is too long to stay away!

Robin was still coughing badly - I washed bedding twice to avoid re-distributing whatever germs... Then decided things were improved sufficiently. His bro is also coughing and has been to clinic but no meds? R finished his anti-biotic, is coughing less but still exhausted. His cough is similar to the one I still have after ?? years from the mold at the Mill - not surprising as he got it from cleaning a dreadful building. It is in the lungs and, I believe, may never go away completely. Sometimes I do not cough for a few hours or a day or two and think all is well, then it starts again - the plague of my life. A part of me is glad he now realizes what I have gone through.

So! Basically, I came back for the Chateauguay Valley Antique Association (event). Spent a wonderful weekend of visits with people, sold enough pots to make it a "success", listened to live Country music, had a tent for the first time and... It POURED rain on Sat - a couple times! Rita (next door) and I provided shelter for all who could fit! Met a whole bunch of Rita and Dan's family - they were having a family event later. Interesting genetics! Terrific positive energy!

This is my fav event of the year - Such a wonderful community of people volunteering and selling stuff/junk/treasures. The auction took 2 days this year and R was there for most of it! Came away with a whole bunch of stuff - some for re-sale and some just because he was "helping the auctioneer" get a bid and ended up being the only bid! A beautiful Victorian love seat and chair that I am trying to figure a place for them - if only he would get rid of the UGLY ones ...

Wore a jacket all day Sunday! I never put that warm layer away! Was glad I thought to grab this light jacket on the way out the door from Beaver! This weather is just fine for me - cool, damp, sometimes sunny.

So, inch by inch, I regain energy, find us food, cook very little, weeded the gardens a little, watched a squirrel sit on the porch railing to groom then went into the large pot of cherry tomato plants to eat one and left the rest... Last eve, I opened back door to go pick in the garden and startled to two rabbits, apologized and went out later to pick the few new cherry tomatoes. We had about a quart each of Sat and Sunday, took them to event and gave most of them to Rita and family, who declared them delicious. (I do not eat raw tomatoes.) We have a pumpkin (not watermelon) slowly turning orange; guess I will make pumpkin pies.

Got a new credit card, sent to local bank after someone got the number and tried to buy stuff where I NEVER would. I got two phone calls which I immediately hung up and phoned VISA to tell them and was told everything was fine. An hour later, card was declined at two separate stores. Phoned VISA and... All is well.

Big happening was a young woman stopping to look at pottery and mentioning that her... was a potter - Kingsport, Newfoundland! "You are related to Ruth... !!!!???" (My friend who died suddenly in October - a total trauma.) We both started to cry and share our pain of loss, and I was able to find out how the widower and son are doing! Then, the "cousin" of one of Canada's top potters bought a bowl!

Then I sat and dealt with renewed grief. Ruth choked (I did not ask) a few hours after I saw her, and Fred, vibrantly alive at a folk music event. I was so elated to see her and thinking how wonderful it would be to visit now that we were "post Covid). BOOM!

I have a small pic of her on my bureau to which I say, "Good morning, Ruth!". Erin has it on her wall to greet in the morning. A more beautiful human than Ruth - equal perhaps but not more... She was the epitome of loving, sharing, giving, helping, caring...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 12:38 AM

Dorothy, I like the idea of you and others with a photo of Ruth - a mentor and friend.

Charmion, I am amazed by the amount of work that goes into your choir program and its rehearsals. I don't suppose any of them have asked for PDF copies they can load on their tablets? It would mean a lot less paper. (About 20 years ago we had the tech reviewer and now CBS Sunday Morning presenter David Pogue at my university - for his talk he requested a Steinway piano - I was prepared to read music and turn pages for him, but he had his music on a tablet he set on the music stand and didn't need any help.)

Watering plants and feeding cats for a friend over the last week has involved trying to keep plants alive under horribly hot conditions last week on Thursday through Saturday. She gets back in town tomorrow and I expect to hear questions about the curled brown edges on a few large plants - and I'll point out that they're still alive and that's about all I could manage.

Checked the mail in the post office box today. Fourteen months out from the ex's retirement and I'm still not getting a portion of the pension. The OPM folks are not just slow, they're glacial. There will be a lot of decluttering once they finally let the eagle shit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:02 AM

Well I think I’ve gone as far as I want with the svg charts now. I’ve changed the co-ordinates from using margins to position a plot (it can handle multiple plots of different types in a chart as well as multiple charts per html page) to X1,Y1,X2, Y2 areas as I found the former difficult to handle as a user. I’ve sorted out (particularly with the pie labels) text alignment/positioning and made things a bit more user friendly. This would create a basic pie chart.

  require('pie.php');                                     //include file needed for pie charts
  $chart = new ChartBase(350, 300);                       //create new chart 350w, 300h
  $chart->setBackground(220, 255, 255);                   //chart bacground color rgb
  $pie = new Pie();                                       //create new pie plot
  $pie->setValues(array(50,10,40,25));                    //add values for slices
  $pie->setLegend(array("Red","Green","Blue","Orange"));  //add legend
  $pie->setTitle("Testing pie chart");                    //add title
  $chart->addPlot($pie);                                  //add pie plot to chart
  echo $chart->plot();                                    //draw chart, output to browser

I’m not sure what I’ll try next. I suppose I could see how I get on with a Javascript/ canvas version of the charts but maybe it’s time to try to think of something else.

Dad has taken well to his return to spending his daytime out of bed. He’s just come through on his wheelchair to say good morning to me. I don’t think we’ve any extra visitors today but it can get confusing just with the regulars. Cavel (care company) see me 4 times a day, mum twice a day and I think it’s 3 times for dad. They may send one or two person teams out. They always combine visits for mum with one for me but may or may not make a separate visit for dad. Then there are the district nurses who change a dressing on my back.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 07:30 AM

Stilly, there are two reasons why choirs still use music printed on paper.

The first is copyright — PDFs circulate and reproduce faster than bunny-rabbits, and the copyright owner doesn’t get paid. Ever.

The second is singers’ notes — the conductor wants the crescendo to begin precisely here and the ritardando to end precisely there, and he doesn’t like the forte marked for that passage so please change that to mezzo-forte. And don’t you dare breathe before bar 78. Tablet technology has yet to evolve to that level of subtlety, but every chorister has a pencil (never a pen!) tucked behind an ear.

The musicians who use tablets are soloists, like your piano guy, or people who don’t require a tight ensemble to make their performance work. Without a very tight ensemble, a 70-voice choir is a braying mob.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 04:10 PM

Just my own observation:
I recently attended a concert including a string quartet,
which means chamber music.
All four players had tablets, not scores,
on their music stands,
and they had those little things you click with one foot
in order to turn the page.
This was a thing I had not before seen in chamber music.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 04:52 PM

I hadn't considered it, but I can see how if a conductor is making adjustments on the text for the performance that would need paper. It is possible to mark up PDF files, but that would require every performer have a level of familiarity with the software (and everyone having a similar version and device).

Today's batch of stuff to the e-waste collection station has left the garage, added to what my ex had in the trunk already, including a boxed old keyboard that announced it was "Internet Ready!"

Tomorrow is predicted to be only 99 (after that it goes up again). Just as well because the dogs will be in the backyard for a while when the dryer repair person is here. This evening I need to clear stuff out of the way to be ready.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:02 PM

I bet the players in Keb's string quartet use paper scores for rehearsal, marking them up liberally, and then scan the marked-up scores and transfer the PDFs to tablets for the performance so they can turn their pages with a tap of their toes.

If I could eliminate the sound of flapping pages from our concerts, I'd do it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:04 PM

Another thing: my iPad cost more than a thousand bucks (Canadian, admittedly) several years ago. Ain"t no way a concert choir that does classical music can afford to outfit all its singers with tablets, even devices that aren't iPads.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 12:19 AM

My and everyone having a similar version and device was a nod to that problem - working affordable devices with comparable software and charged batteries. No batteries with paper. :)

My cat-sitting assignment was to end this evening, but after feeding the cats dinner I texted her saying they were taken care of and please let me know when she gets home. The answer was that she's returning late tomorrow. Not what her document calendar shows and not what she paid, but I can't let the cats starve for a day so I'll juggle my dryer repair appointment and cat feeding (means I have to get up really early, because the A&E—used to be Sears—folks make you block the entire day and they'll arrive at some point between 8am and 5pm.) Not even a four hour block like the cable company insists upon. I scheduled this for Thursday instead of earlier to not tangle with the three-runs a day for cats. But I'm back in the car anyway (nod to Jurassic Park).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 11:09 AM

Three runs a day to feed cats? That's a needy cat-household! I hope your compensation covers fuel, at least, if not time. And I'll bet you're washing dishes as well as clearing the litter-box.

I don't expect my cat-visitor to come more than once a day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 12:51 PM

Health issues dictate so many trips. It used to be 2 trips. The littlest guy was in pretty bad shape for a while, but now gets a midday medication that can't be given with the other meds in the morning and evening meals (has to be an hour before or after those meds). Sometimes when I have errands I stop by for that medication then swing back an hour later for the dinner meal without having made an extra trip to and from my house. Every third day there is an injection of a steroid that seems to have made a big difference for him. They are her children.

I'm still struggling to get the phone to upload any photos now. Damn Samsung, I never should have let the tablet upload screenshots, it messed up the phone settings also. Now there are stray files in my OneDrive account and it's backing up old stuff that is already in the system. I don't want to delete photos from my phone to get the phone to stop uploading, but that seems about the only way to do it. If you delete things from the "synced" Samsung folders it will by default delete them from the source folder, so you have to manage to tell it not to do that.

Dryer repair person has been and gone, my wallet is decluttered by $500 and change, and the home warranty will cover $350 of that. Sears will lower the price if I buy their year warranty for various appliances, but that would be a warranty on a warranty and the Sears one would be used before the Home Warranty (I asked). It is too much to have duplicates, and the Home one covers more things. Nothing completely covered, but takes a chunk out of the bill. It doesn't matter what type of appliance you have, though, it depends on if a new one can be bought cheap, so their replacement cost would cover the cheapest dryer at Lowe's, not the Consumer Reports best buy at Lowes. I'm having this dryer fixed and costing myself about $200 instead of taking their $350 and spending $400 more to get the better dryer at Lowe's. It's all a matter of logic and math. There is no new feature in a new dryer that is an improvement on how the old one works. It's a box of hot air, it has a moisture sensor that works, end of story.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 09:04 PM

Dupont:

Would be a peculiar day that such a sum would be spent on a repair in this home! Remember my fancy stove: I would happily have paid a repair person to come but NO! R took it apart to see if he could fix it. Then "borrowed" a new stove from his cousin and trashed our wonderful stove. (This is his house; I have no rights. Beaver is mine to cherish.)

Our matched set of Maytag dryer/washer (RED!) was purchased at a home auction- no doubt for a very low price. If one needs repairs, I would have to have a conniption fit to get it repaired or ...get a new one! R would prob come home with one he found in the trash! My plea that "I will pay for a new one!!!" would be disregarded as a whisper on the breeze.

Said cousin is moving this week. I wonder if he has a stove??? ???Will R pay him for the one we have so they can buy a new one????

I thought I had done well to get through that very tiring weekend but yesterday I slept all day; and last night also. Save for two meals of veggie stew and some time on internet. Today
I started cleaning up the plants on back deck: re-potting some and clearing up stuff. The plastic "shed" is not waterproof. Useless for the job of storing garden stuffs on the deck. I shall try to empty it and request it be moved to garage where it will stay dry!

Also weeded in the back garden and checked our one lovely pumpkin which I think is ready to come in. The squash plants have been blooming beautifully but it seems that someone has been eating the blossoms!

The front yard is blooming nicely and I think we can get through to winter without another lawn care visit! It will be challenging to bring in the Canna which have, of course, grown more roots. Fall has definitely arrived. I could just compost some but it is not in my nature to so that ---- as I repot more geraniums than I might have house room! The red flowers are so cheery! And we have, somehow, managed to kill all the Af violets save one!

This week's "chuckle": R brought home some fabric to be washed - which I did ...Then realized I washed it a couple months ago and gave it to him: "take it to town and give it to someone." This time the set of sheets is going to a thrift shop!

Lest you think our life lacks interest: He came home on Tuesday with the wonderful news that the police had taken his pick up truck off the road permanently! They would not even let him drive it two hundred yards to his property (city). It is scrapped - with a fresh tank of gas $60! The scrapper will get it. R was prepared - has another old truck on hand! I am glad and sad: I remember the evening we drove out into rural QC to look at a it and came back with that lovely clean truck. It was beautiful! And the wonderful old farm house and the nifty people we met! It has seen hard times and we cannot blame the police at all!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 10:45 PM

Dorothy, that truck must have had a lot of moving violations to be stopped the way it was. The tank of gas may be a short-term annoyance, but it sounds like it might have been a good move. Down here in Texas older vehicles get a special protected status and license plate to go with it. My daughter-in-law has a vehicle she imported from Japan that doesn't meet modern emission and safety standards, but it is registered as an antique. She takes it to shows where people with similar cars meet. Trucks in Texas are king - too bad R didn't send it down here.

I'm following the practice that BatGoddess started ages ago and celebrating the birth week and month - I'm a couple of days younger than Charmion (I was born on Labor Day in 1954; her birthday lands on Labor Day this year). I had a small windfall after a job went a day longer than expected so I bought some last-chance ribeye steaks and will pick up a bottle of my favorite single malt Scotch to extend the celebration over several days or a couple of weeks. During my life I never imagined what it would be like to be this old, but this age in my lifetime isn't the same as this age in my parents' lifetime. I'm not sure that I can describe the difference, but I can feel it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 10:44 AM

My aunt in the Townships was married to a very interesting man (my Uncle Tom) who insisted on repairing expensive machinery himself, despite the mediocre-at-best results. He firmly believed that, if the device would run at all, it was okay.

Including the family car, after a roll-over on black ice that stove in the roof and bent the frame, among other bad things. Tom managed to get the vehicle back on the road, but declined to spend any money on it. The non-functioning windscreen wipers were a major problem as Montreal has winter, and rain all year round, but that did not move Tom to consult a garage. Finally, Aunt Pat took to driving slowly past police stations and patrol cars in the hope that a cop would look twice, react appropriately, and order the poor old crate off the road.

I don't know if her plan worked, but eventually (i.e., not nearly soon enough) the rolled car was retired to a scrapyard and a replacement was found. It was just as small and nearly as rickety as its predecessor, but at least its windscreen wipers worked.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 10:47 AM

My across-the-street neighbor is in his 80s; he's out puttering in the yard this morning. We've waited out this heat and finally the mornings are tolerable these days though the afternoons are still over 100^o. September is so welcome.

And I realized that for the math on the dryer I left out a charge - if I hadn't had the dryer fixed, had opted for cash to buy a new dryer, I'd have been out the $100+tax service charge to come to the house for the diagnosis. The home warranty participation would have been shrunk by that much. #HigherMath

Shirts are on hangers on the line on the porch and the sheets and towels and small stuff are on the clothesline behind the garage. For any other appliance failure I'd have someone out right away; for the dryer this time of year, it wasn't urgent.

A big declutter planned for today - I've set up to give the dogs baths. I use a hose in the back yard with a leash fastened to the patio cover post to keep them in place. Loop one end around the neck and they know not to pull. They don't love the bath but they're so frisky when it's finished.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 12:44 PM

The phone is connected by cable to the computer and I'm copying phone images into a file where many years of phone photos reside. A jumble together (filed by phone, and most of them by now broken into yearly folders for each phone). If I put folders of photos onto OneDrive from the computer it is of no interest to Samsung, it isn't part of their filing architecture, though it will open those files if I navigate there in the app.

The time has come to clean the kitchen. Too much stuff spread around so the horizontal surfaces are again almost unusable.

No luck at Academy Sports as far as aqua socks (at the end of the season they're out of most sizes), and I looked online to see if several other places might have them locally. Nope. I don't usually buy shoes online unless they are exactly the same make and model as something I already own, but this time I had to go to Amazon. Even sizes only and no widths, but it should work. I bought a brand I recognize the name brand of; many of their offerings come from startup or off-brand places. These are by Body Glove, a company I've bought from before for other products.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 09:55 PM

Dupont:

No moving violations at all but it was one dreadful mess - just looked like it was due to fall apart but kept on running- with lots of repair time by the gang and, once in a while, Canadian Tire. So glad to see it gone. R knew it would happen but squeezed the last possible bit out of it. Some people can have a car for 20 years and it still looks almost new... It was a 1986 Ranger. People (men) thought it was amazing. I refused to travel in it. My 15 year old Scion looked 100% better when the engine died.

Today - Major de-clutter. We went to the Mill - R, Joe in Big truck and myself in car. One heavy pottery wheel had a ride to the back yard here. And the guys helped me clear a large section of former pottery. I was totally unable to conceive of where/how to begin. Most went into a nearby section of the building. The trash/myriad broken and flawed pots will be trashed. Kind of traumatic; I did make a lot of pots there before the mold got me. Tomorrow R and I are going down to do the next part - moving buckets of glaze and bags of glaze materials And kiln furniture, scales........

Then we lunched at Subway and I went off to an orchard - good strawberries and apples, and then the bakery for goodies and a Greek salad for R; it was to be repeated - Excellent!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 06:56 AM

Woof its envigorating sweater weather this morning. Our dog loved the shower probably because of the water temp. At 7 AM there is enough light to get out and about. No more 5 AM first light.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 12:42 PM

Happy Birthday, Stilly and Charmion!!

SRS, we are blowing on virtual candles and wishing you a cool and pleasant autumn.   For Charmion, safe and happy travel to the Getaway.

I have to report that I cannot get to the Getaway this year. The skin cancer saga drags on, and I will be having staples removed from my scalp that week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 02:29 PM

Patty, we missed hearing about the skin cancer. Reminds me I've been meaning to see a dermatologist "just because," and at my age, hopefully head off anything they might see that I don't detect yet. I hope the one excision gets the whole thing! Are you in Utah now?

Dog baths postponed until today, I'll begin soon. Materials accumulated for the activity (towels, leash, squirt bottle with dilute shampoo) haven't caused alarm so far. Not that they are alarmed, but none of them are fond of that first squirt with the hose. I have to get everyone into the yard and cover the dog door or they'll dash into the house soaking wet and shake off in there. I'll take a bag of treats out with me, to lessen their unhappiness.

This morning I awoke thinking I needed to start trimming in the corner of the yard where my outdoor potting bench sits; as a result, I've worked on cleaning the kitchen. Oh, well. I may still get to that corner, the day is young.

Oh, and Patty, my pool shoes arrived today, they fit, and are in my gym bag. Thanks for that tip!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 04:13 PM

I usually just get small basal cell cancers that are quickly handled in the dermatologist's office, but lately have 3 that require the "Moh's Procedure" where it's rounds of cutting/checking under the scope.

I perhaps need to move to a twice-a-year checkup from the annual one I had been getting by with.

If you or family are prone to skin cancers, then a regular checkup is a great thing, but I'm not sure you need to get one unless you have some spots you're concerned about.

Am now in Mississippi where my doctor(s) are, not the greatest time of year to be here weather-wise, hoping the 'dome' breaks down soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 06:33 PM

When I was a teen I had several large moles that the dermatologist removed just on general principles. Over the years I've had a couple more removed, but I haven't had that type of mole so much as the usual age spots that still probably need a check. Mississippi is probably as miserable as Texas is this time of year. We're not much closer than Maryland, but if you feel the urge to get out of town and want to drive over for a few days, let me know, you'd be welcome (I have three dogs who are friendly but hairy, so there is an allergy warning to issue.)

I did get to the corner to trim the grass and worked my way down the driveway as far as the extension cord would let me move. The swept up trimmings and some old tomato limbs that had been stacked out front have been tipped into the compost. When I finish my glass of iced tea the dogs are next on my list of things-to-do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 07:06 PM

I'm reminded of a school friend washing her dogs. One was a Great Dane & stood patiently in the wheelbarrow, lifting it's leg up as required. It's amazing what images emerge from the depths - & I can't even remember her name, or her other dog!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 10:33 PM

The dogs are washed and there is a pleasant scent of fresh damp dog in the house this evening. I washed Cookie first because though small and the easiest coat to clean, I knew she'd be hard to catch later. Pepper loves the continual banter about how pretty she is and how shiny she'll be and what a good girl she is - and offers kisses any time I get my cheek close. Zeke is now deaf, so he can't hear the talk, so I had to keep getting his attention and offering pats and kisses next to his ear. Maybe he can hear me a little bit if I tell him he's a good dog right into his ear canal.

I offered treats every time I finished washing someone (so I could grab the next collar for another bath) and they love to be bribed. I used to wash the dogs more often until the vet said they really don't need it. My pitbull would hop into the tub when I asked her to.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 09:11 AM

I complete my sixty-ninth trip around the sun today, and Environment Canada has a heat warning up for Perth County. Gag me.

It’s a stat holiday, however, so energy prices are as low as they ever get in Ontario. So I guess I’ll do the wash, which takes place in the nice, cool (in fact, rather chilly) basement.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 10:08 AM

happy actual birth-day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 11:16 AM

Welcome to the week of overheated birthdays. The triple-digits are dug-in here and despite a tease of "rain" that was actually a visual representation of humidity for today, there are good reasons world-wide for not actually lighting that many candles.

As hot as the afternoons still are, the quality of light changes noticeably this time of year and the mornings are cooler and after dusk becomes tolerable. I've started a several-day job of trimming the tall mostly-dead grass around the front yard and piling bulky waste, with a head start in today's trash by stuffing the can with a couple of clunky metal items (trash pickup is only deferred for Thanksgiving and xmas holidays.)

I hope in a couple of weeks to have small plants to transplant into beds and then in October harvest a few squash and cucumbers. I waited too long, but I may still get something. I've enjoyed fresh pickles all summer made from early summer cucumbers.

Sears has sent me a reminder every day that tomorrow they will arrive to fix my dryer. Clearly they're as excited about the prospect as I am! And a reminder myself to pay the home warranty bill. This year I will have recouped about half the cost of it with the dryer repair, better than the usual no-participation from other insurance policies (no claims means another year of pure profit for those companies. Legalized gambling in all of its complexity.)

Jon, if you've finished with your svg charts, what is your next project? Do you have a record of where all of your files and accounts are? Passwords? I keep meaning to tidy my records and discard the documents from old accounts that no longer exist. My daughter knows where all of this is kept, but knowing where and sorting are two huge different things.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 12:40 PM

I didn’t stop with the charts although I thought I would...s I’ve added horizontal bar charts. The latest example page is here. I also had a look at 3d pie charts and stumbled on this site where the chap really has gone to town with his php generated svg charts. I looked at the xml in one of his svg pie charts and that gave me an idea to try although I’m not that pleased with my result.

I don’t know what I’ll try next. I downloaded loads of weather data files from CEDA using “bulk download” link but the files don’t contain much data and I don’t think I’ll bother with it.

I doubt there’s anything anyone would want on my computers but a brother could look through the files if he wished. The photos were an exception that I have dealt with.

I kept my passwords in a book that got lost when I was in hospital . I’m just noting passwords, PIN      numbers, etc. in a text file on my laptop now and I’ll give brothers a print out when I next see them.

I’m feeling too hot today but the temps wont be closet to yours. According to the ”extremes page I made using the met data, the hottest in the UK yesteday was St James Park at 27.8C

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 04:14 PM

Small password books can too easily go missing. I helped a friend replace hers in the past - tedious! I have printouts from new sites that are usually screenshots of the account with the information to logon in place (from the screen shot or handwritten) and those are kept in two 3-ring binders. I can go back and easily update passwords and add notes without running out of space on the alphabet page in a little book. Big, but hard to lose. Not taking them anywhere either.

Today has been one for puttering and researching. I've identified the replacement LED light for my upright freezer (it simply shows that it is on and plugged in) and downloaded the manual and schematic. I also browsed through some sewing videos on YouTube, things I'm thinking about trying. And the kitchen is on its way to being much cleaner, with a goal to clear the counters, the peninsula, and the breakfast table.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 12:43 PM

Dupont:

Suffering from excess heat -only on its way to high 80s but, for me ... I am barely functional. Will soon give up and go upstairs to the BR and turn on A/C. Then go for some groceries while the room cools. SO grateful for A/C in car!

Yesterday, I drove to the orchard for more strawberries ARGHHH The season is over. Pears will be ready in a few days but I am going back to Beaver; might be back in time for some pears. Which reminds me that I have not noticed my little pear tree in a long while! I will look when I go out to shop; I hope it has survived; I started it from seed from one the their pears 3 years ago. (The slight inclination to jump up and go look does not survive the way I feel.) Yesterday's trip of 2 hours in the country netted two tomatoes!

R informs that our beautiful laundry equipment set was $800 at the auction. Everything in that home was top quality. He installed them.

Further to the truck: it looked rather like it had survived - just barely - a demolition derby. Very few spots lacked a dent of some size!

Oh yeah, Hope both SRS and Charmion had fine birthdays!

I have managed to pull a few weeds each day. I brought the pumpkin onto the porch as the stem had dried out. Yesterday I sorted the pottery stuff that was in car, put some in plastic bins which I could leave outside until next trip which made room to re-load the pottery left from last week - quite a bit - to take back to Beaver for the Carriage House/shop. There is more to go in the car for the trip, on leaving day, as yet undetermined.

A'shopping I must go. And check for pear tree...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 01:58 PM

Today I got the flu and RSV shot. The FDA will approve the Covid variant vaccine next week so getting the shot will be up in the air for weeks.

I was wondering, What if artificial intelligence had a conscience?
Would it be ashamed of its creator for the bias and prejudice over meaningless things like melanin and gender?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 02:06 PM

Dupont:

Little pear tree is about a foot tall, has nice green leaves, and is protected by a "tomato cage"!!!

Produce store is only about 15 min away. We shall see how good their Quebec strawberries are; they do not look as shiny. Supper will be 100% Quebec produce and chicken breasts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 02:45 PM

Thanks, Dorothy!

I am held hostage by the Sears scheduling system. The tech told me last week that he is not able to see his full day's appointments in the morning so it isn't until midday (coming up soon) that he can notify customers when he will be there. So I have waited here this morning when I could have been out at my volunteer gig.

The kitchen is looking better and I've been clearing around the little dining table. In the corner beside the table is a bin for paper recycling, but I've stopped putting mail in it, I'll stick with paperboard and corrugated cardboard. Those seem to be what interest the recyclers the most. I have some jars to fill with things that have been in the freezer (to kill any eggs that might have come along from the store) - beans, flour, pasta, dog biscuits, it all goes in there for a while. All of this happens because there is storage in the Hoosier Kitchen next to the small dining table, as well as my upright freezer. If I ever redesigned this kitchen I'd move the peninsula and extend the cabinets and counters, etc. For now, I use a piece of antique furniture for a lot of useful storage.

I'm waiting till later in the month to get the flu and COVID boosters. And don't confuse this thread for MOAB. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 03:42 PM

All Dorothy's pear tree needs now, is a partridge . . .

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 04:40 PM

Dupont:

Little pear tree is not yet as large as a partridge!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 06:29 PM

The Sears tech texted at 3:30 to say he was overbooked, and would come tomorrow. I. Don't. Think. So. He already killed one day. Put me down for Friday.

No pear trees, but I have some little oaks and a redbud tree in pots here that I've struggled to keep alive this summer. I lost a couple, and all are crisp around the edges. Two are destined to go to other yards but they didn't want to try to keep them alive until a good time to plant.

More progress in the kitchen but the six things I put on my little list today went totally undone because of the cancellation (and subsequent trip out - that I cancelled). I've changed the date to tomorrow to try again. Saves a postit note.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 09:24 PM

Yesterday I identified a spot on the soffit where mice or squirrels or anything else can get in through a gap on top of the brick wall (due to settling of the house as the foundation shifts). I'll mix some mortar and drag the stepladder over and fill those crevices to keep them out, but far enough up and back so that when we've had some rain the mortar won't mess up the soffit as the house shifts again. I've also started using a battery-operated transfer pump to empty water out of a rain barrel that I've never completely set up the way it needs to be—it sits in front of a bay window where the splash off of it has rotted a bottom piece of wood. That needs replacing and a repair under the window casing. These are two of a lot of small repairs to perform this fall, but I will wait until the daytime temperatures are better. It looks like next week we'll be closer to "normal."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 09:07 AM

Nothing of particular interest happening here except the last day of the current heat-wave, which no Texan would consider particularly warm but hey, this is Ontario. I have kept to home since church on Sunday in the interest of not melting into the sidewalk.

Consequently, I have had time to do the laundry and actually put it away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 11:00 AM

Well I’ve had a go at a Firefox/Chrome extension to replace the Mudcat reply text area with a ( trumbowyg) wyswig editor. After some struggles, I managed to get the box in (see this png image but it won’t post or preview although the output the editor produces look fine. I think there’s some conflict between the extension code and the Mudcat code. I think I’ll just count this as one of my failures.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 10:04 PM

Do you use any of DaveRo's Mudcat tools? There are threads about them.

I made batch of birthday cinnamon rolls this morning and took some for dessert at lunch with my daughter and ex; sent some home with the ex and took some to neighbors. Giving most of them away means I won't eat them all by myself, but most of my calories today did come from rolls.

This evening I pulled a couple of painted tin bread boxes from the top of cabinets to dust and clean (the one over the top stove needed more work, it has been there for years.) I'll send photos to the kids to see if they're interested in one or both. I have to keep doing this to involve the kids in the decluttering of family antiques.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Sep 23 - 10:41 AM

I did have a look at why the editor wouldn’t post. The cause is Mudcat’s sloppy html. The post form      is part in and part out of a table for starters. It works somehow for normal posting but when the extension does its bit, the box we put the replies in doesn’t get sent with the rest of the data. I probably could work round that but I think it would take more effort than I want for what’s only a one off experiment.

I’ve got Dave’s browser tools installed on Firefox.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 23 - 12:31 PM

We're at the last of the "heat dome" this week, the forecast from the weekend on includes a chance of precipitation and much cooler temperatures. But yesterday and today ERCOT asks us to not use as much power in the afternoon and early evening, so helping a friend set up a new computer in the second floor of his townhouse was a sweaty job.

Before setup we decluttered a couple of towers and some small devices that were in the kneehole of his desk (in my SUV now, headed to the city recycle center soon). The most recent computer and monitor are set aside for "just in case," the rest can go. We bailed out paper and a gazillion old plugs and extension cords (a couple of cords I should have cut in two right there - they are fire hazards). I made a list and back home last night rounded up a new mouse pad, a couple of newer power strips, and a headphone and mic thing I bought for my laptop but never used. And since during yesterday's setup we misplaced the cable and power cord for his external hard drive, I have the same model here so found a spare power supply (12V - 1.5Amp) and a USB cable - mini-B plug Type-A receptacle - from the stash in my closet. He came over this morning to pick them up since I have the dryer repair this morning. I think you could say we have both decluttered. The power strips would have gone on Freecycle or Facebook. (I've updated 2 of my power strips to have USB charging ports, retiring the others.)

There are clunks and tinny bumps coming from the laundry room as the service tech reassembles the dryer, rounding out a busy week of appointments. The dogs are in the yard and it's in the mid-90s, so they're ok. It's this afternoon's 108 that no one needs to be outside for. This afternoon we'll stay home and putter. I want to do some sewing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Sep 23 - 02:18 PM

I have a new-to-me library table. It’s teak, and the clever Danes who built it circa 1960 had dining in mind but so what — it will be great for sorting music. The six-foot folding work table has retired to the garage. It can go outside for messy jobs and patio dinners, but only if it’s at ground level — too heavy for me to move downstairs by myself.

The shipment of freshly reprinted sheet music that was supposed to arrive on Wednesday is now two days late. I am highly displeased.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 10:11 AM

The Cochran report still finds the efficacy of masks inconclusive in slowing the spread of Covid.
For myself there is a scenario where masks are beneficial. It is your or someone else's violent sneeze.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 12:21 PM

Wearing a mask is a constant reminder of the threat -- not a bad thing in itself. People convalescing with COVID, or who have merely been in contact with the bug, should wear masks if only to remind them to wash their hands often and keep away from others until they are fully recovered, or they have tested negative throughout the incubation period.

More than a century of clinical experience has shown that masks inhibit the spread of all kinds of diseases, which is why medical personnel wear them when working over open wounds. As an asthmatic of long standing, I appreciate any effort or measure that reduces my exposure to the flipping COMMON COLD, which can reduce me to a quivering, barking wreck in two days flat.

So I'm on Team Mask.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 03:48 PM

I'm just getting better after a bout of Covid. I'm basically staying home, with my meals handed in the door of my room to me as I lie there with windows wide open. Today for the first time I made my own breakfast and our dinner, and fed the dog.
The second test, after a week - to be sure to be sure - had a very faint line, so I sighed and confined myself for a few days further. On Monday I'll try another test, and if that's clear I'll return to polite society. I've only been out for one very brief saunter with the dog in the last fortnight or so - been weak as water, and any walk would require a certain amount of crossing back and forth across the road to avoid breathing near other, vulnerable people.
I'd forgotten what a nasty dose it is. I was lucky only to be seriously ill - with a fever pushing 40C and feeling really miserable - for two, maybe three days, but the weakness that followed went on and on. And I was dopey; normally I can scoot through Wordle, but while Covid-ridden I failed it a few days running.
Keep safe out there…

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 04:55 PM

Thompson, sorry to read about the recent COVID infection. It hasn't gone away. I made a lot of masks for friends and family during 2020 and 2021, and as a general thing I wear a mask in public places like the grocery store, the post office, etc. I try to dine in areas with few people and manage that by going in for a later lunch (haven't had dinner out since I can remember.) I also wear masks when I work in the yard if I'm kicking up dust (mowing, etc.). Might as well spare myself the sneezing that comes with the work.

Yesterday's high was very high for September (108^o), it broke records, but the day ended with a powerful thunderstorm passing through and between 1/4 and 1/2 inch falling. What a finale to the heat wave!

We had an impromptu bulky waste deposit happen this morning after that wind storm took out limbs in the box elder tree next door and they fell in my yard. The neighbors and I dragged them out to the curb, then we dragged a limb that fell on the very back of my yard last month, that probably accountable to "sudden limb drop" from the prolonged heat stressing trees so much. I'll take a saw out front later and cut shorter lengths and neaten the stack. The village will pick up bulky materials in our part of the village next week. Excellent timing for a storm.

My ex came by yesterday so I pulled the hard drives from those old towers and everything went into his trunk and off to the city recycle center. The disks will be disposed of next time someone collects that more sensitive data for destruction, probably Earth Day on my old campus (I take stuff to them every year.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 05:07 PM

Thanks, Stilly.
A thunderstorm warning has just dropped here too, for tonight and tomorrow. I'm thirsting for a nice bit of cool rain!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 05:11 PM

By the way, may I highly recommend the Norwegian meteorological body Yr? Much more accurate than most weather predictors - I gather they have access to more weather satellites, and you can set it to a nearby place.
There used to be a great forecaster called DarkSky, but Apple bought it and ruined it, damn them.
The other one I look at is windy.com, which is mostly, yes, winds.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 06:37 PM

Earth is much like Windy, and I use both of them occasionally. The Norwegian one is in C not F, and the graphic is pretty simple - I think more trouble that it is worth. Perhaps for users north of the border who won't have to convert the predictions! But thanks for the suggestion! It's always interesting to poke around on those sites.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 07:45 PM

I’m quite happy with Environment Canada, thank you.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 10:40 AM

I accomplished very little yesterday and was feeling blah about it so did a few standard chores before bed (ran the dishwasher, set up the clothes washer to run this morning). And the maiden voyage of the dryer this morning - so far it didn't heat when I set it on medium with "timed dry." And it wobbles. So must test different settings and figure out which corner has the leveling foot. I probably have 30 to 90 days to report any problems - must print out the warranty (for the warranty). Today is still hot, up to the high 90s, but starting Monday our week forecast shows all mid to high 80s. The plan with the dryer this morning is to run it long enough to be sure it works then pull the t-shirts out to put on hangers and finish drying outside. The towels and pants can stay in the dryer. With it set to use the drying sensors it is heating as it should; all settings may not be connected properly in the repair.

The big old chocolate Labrador has an appointment tomorrow at the vet. He is staggering around more than ever but he still loves his food and his life. He will get a much-needed nail trim and we'll see if it is time for pain meds to help with the arthritis. I'll need to stack boxes as steps to get him into the SUV and they say they'll help me with getting him out and putting him back in down at the office.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 01:32 PM

Thompson, I use the UK Met Office DataPoint for my weather forecasts and observations. It just supplies data in json and xml formats so some coding is needed to make it readable. I added a chart to the UK previous day’s regional extremes page today.

Tim got me an iPad Mini for my birthday (7th). I never expected to be an owner of an Apple product          (or expected a present like that). I spent much of yesterday getting it to share data with my other devices. Google help searches led me to believe the iPad probably wasn’ t going to sync calendars with baikal so I decided to try nextcloud which I thought might work with everything. Loads of hassle with nextcloud until I stumbled on something that prompted me to take another look at baikal. I found the error, fixed it and the ipads now sharing contacts, calenders and tasks with the rest.

Annoying though. If I’d found that last page first, things would have been fixed in 15 minutes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 01:56 PM

I *think* you might be able to tweak yr.no to use f not c, but since we always use metric here I prefer it.
I just like it because it tends to be very, very accurate, much more than any other meteorology app I know.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 07:07 PM

As the heat dissipates from our unwelcome intense heat dome I think energy will return. It's not that I felt unenergetic during the heat, it's that now that things are cooler I realize how much more I feel like can accomplish when it's possible to go outside and do things, not just duck back in as quickly as possible.

I've started making lists of things to round up or put on a wish list if I seriously take up quilting. I remember when Michelle (LilyFestre) started, maybe 10 years ago, by buying precut strips, then fat quarters, and going from there. I have tons of fabric in my stash and lots of scraps to approach from the use-up-what-I-already-have angle for crazy quilts, just to get the hang of it. But even when starting with scraps decisions must be made about the size of blocks, the batting to use, etc. So I'm watching videos and occasionally heading into the sewing studio to see if I already have the items under discussion and realizing I'll need to rearrange materials for a new use. This is a creative form of decluttering, putting extra fabric to a new use, and it's interesting to plan for.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 09:22 AM

My mother's last three paintings were self-portraits that were identical except they became progressively more blurry. That indicated to me that she like Monet and myself had Fuchs syndrome which presents with corneal fluid bubbles that make vision foggy with rainbows around light sources. Every morning around 6 to 7 AM the rainbows start, BUT because I was prompted by caters to get checked I have curative ointments that dry the eyes out back to clarity in ten minutes. It's too bad mom assumed it was just old age. Today transplants as small as 3 millimeters of fluid pump cells can cure Fuchs. I carry eye salt drops at all times just in case. I still need 250 mag glasses for close work and reading. While vision varies with fluid it does have moments where I don't need glasses or a remarkable telescopic quality appears.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:47 AM

First choir practice tonight, so seven file boxes of music are stacked near the garage door for an efficient exit. God forbid the house should catch fire while the gangway is so thoroughly blocked.

The swimming pool at the YMCA was supposed to open today, but no -- tomorrow at the earliest. Consequently, no pool class until Wednesday.


My hips feel stiff these days, so I downloaded a walking-challenge program to my phone yesterday in the hope that I will get off my butt more often. Summer is waning, so I don't have the excuse/reason of steamy heat to justify logging extra hours in the comfy chair.

The app is one of those couch-to-10K (steps, not kilometres) things. If it does what it says on the tin, and my rickety feet don't give trouble, I'll "do" Hadrian's Wall (145 km) on a treadmill at the Y gym over the winter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:48 AM

Funny you should mention magnification glasses - here they are OTC readers. My everyday glasses have no Rx on the top thanks to the cataract surgery, they have a bifocal bottom for everyday looking at things close. I didn't pay the really big bucks for cataract replacement lenses that are for near and distance.

With bifocals at the computer I'd be tipping my head back and getting a stiff neck. Years ago I learned that was what was happening at work and I got "office glasses" that gave me mid-range and close only, for the computer screen and the desktop. Now I can just use readers and I bought a couple of packs of them at Costco. I don't carry a pair everywhere, I trade glasses in places were I work around the house. I have a pair of readers in my handbag. The entire lens is a magnifier, you don't have to keep moving your head to see out of the bottom of the lens.

It rained this morning and is now 71 degrees. I'll still use ceiling fans for a while, but the heat pumps will finally get a break. I moved a couple of pots of seedlings outside—that were started indoors they but haven't thrived in window light. On the outside potting bench I have a dozen pots with cucumber and squash cotyledons on view and the shade cloth pulled back so they'll get full sun.

The plastic step stool is on the ground next to the SUV and I'm wearing gardening clothes for the prospect of picking up and rolling the Lab into through the liftback. We'd get too tangled up if I put him on a back passenger seat. I'll take the step stool with us, and lots of treats, just because. Every morning as I head into the den I wonder if he chose to follow Poppy's example, passing away in his favorite place to sleep, but he's hanging in there. He's eating and he seems to be a happy guy, so I need to keep him comfortable. (He's quite frisky this morning with the cooler temperatures.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 01:19 PM

The old lab is in great shape for a dog that is 15 years eight months. He lost 10 pounds since last year (intentionally, I knew it would help his hips a bit; he's now down to his old "normal" weight) so loading him into the SUV wasn't as hard this time as last. There are a couple of ironic elements to the visit (of course!) - last week I tossed the contents of a 2-pound jar of brewer's yeast into the compost because it was about four years old and I hadn't used it much (to keep flies off - if they get it in their diets it helps repel pests). But it turns out he's a little anemic and the B vitamins would be beneficial, so I've ordered a new tub of it. And with all of this is the classic hit to the wallet - the refund check from the Home Warranty folks for fixing the dryer arrived today and it was $4 more than the vet bill.

Good luck with the steps, Charmion. I have an exercise app that I've set up to remind (nag) me every day that I should use it. I should probably set it to a different time, the one I've set so far hasn't been very effective because I'm usually in the middle of something when it goes off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 02:01 PM

Beaver:

Boy, am I way behind but right now it is hot and I am in the sun. I stopped at library to check out an email from somthinbg called "shop" Finally figured out the source and phone Vita-save and let the sweet young woman have it with both barrels. Sent them a $500 order as I have shopped there for years... Then an email from "Shop" telling me to confirm it within 24 hours??? NEVER heard of "Shop"! Finally realized it was CONNECTED TO MY V-S ORDER, and phoned them. WHY!!!! In this day of scams, the last thing anyone needs is some ... MYSTERIOUS, UNKNOWN NONSENSE. After several scam sorts of phone calls, my credit card actually being scammed and having to get a new one.... I will go home and recover!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:54 PM

Dorothy, I have an email that looks like it is legitimately from the US Post Office, telling me that the payment method saved for autopay (for my post office box) is about to expire and I should logon and change it. Except it has more than a year before it expires. I logged on directly to USPS (never follow an email link) and looked. There was an already expired debit card in there and the current credit card. This has me scratching my head - has the USPS been hacked? It's probably an error, but I'm not following their link.

It was lovely today, a high of 93. So much better than 103 or 110. There is rain in the forecast this week, with the suggestion that while the storms may not move over everyone at the same time, by the time they all pass through, everyone should get at least an inch of rain. Bring it on!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 23 - 11:57 AM

More rain overnight and normal September temperatures this week. The yard is muddy because of the rain that is still soaking into the super dry soil, so lots of dog footprints through the den. I will be able to make the last push on removing the large root and finishing the fence. I might even be able to go into the attic in the mornings (I'll have to go take a look and see if I've found all of the holes at the edge of the soffit to fill with mortar to keep out mice and squirrels.)

I meant to do something productive last night but ended up watching YouTube videos by a guy who goes to sit with dogs in shelters and help get them adopted. They're always nice stories, though some of the dogs come in pretty rough.

There are more okra in the garden now and we could have six to eight weeks before a frost, or longer, so I hope to get some crops. The stuff that survived the heat is ready to produce now, if I give them a little space (pull out some of the weeds crowding them) and some organic fertilizer as a boost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 23 - 09:45 PM

The quilting tutorials I'm watching have come around to the organization of the sewing room - having the three most important stations in good proximity (sewing machine, cutting table, ironing board) and for everything else - it can involve a major declutter before deciding how to organize it. Will this be my project that finally evicts all of the storage containers that hold my mother's unfinished projects? There are a couple I thought about trying, but some I have no interest in. I think Freecycle will be the avenue out of the house for those (and I should have done this anyway.)

Meanwhile, I chipped away more of the huge tree root that blocks construction of my last fence panel, stopping when the reciprocating saw battery ran out. And the last of the pickets have been painted with wood preservative. I have a whole gallon and only needed to paint four pickets, but it is clear so can be used for other wood projects in the future and it keeps well.

With the weather shift coolers are put away (one was on the porch with water for the mail carrier, another next to the side door to take shopping for bringing home cold groceries). We're more closely duplicating the conditions people on the east coast have complained about - our temperatures are lower finally but the humidity shot up. I don't need the coolers but I still need the ceiling fan and the air conditioner to pull the moisture out of the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 05:43 PM

Beaver:

A gloriously beautiful day- breezy, sunny but ...sometimes it is sunny! And prob about 70F! and dropping. My idea of perfect!

Another cup of green tea seems to be needed so not quite perfect! I fact, it has been an sun then cloudy, then sun... More green tea needed.

I have been here a week and only just recovering from the drive. The car is unloaded and now most things have found temp homes until I feel up to sorting out the glaze materials I brought and those already here and make order of chaos.

De-cluttered a bag of small flower pots from Dupont to the Trust for seedlings.

My recent bread order from Dimpflemeiers included a 10 pound loaf of rye bread - I did not read carefully!!! I took it over to Community Trust and we decided it would be great for Sunday brunch - Diane could make French toast. I thought of D making French toast in the diddly elec frying pan and went to Canadian Tire for a real griddle.

On Sunday, arriving with bread and griddle: The back shed had burned in the night. No one was injured but the homeless sleeping in it were displaced and Diane went home in a state! Brunch was cancelled. Bread went in freezer with hope for next week.

I went back to 700 page novel.

Today, met with my two sister friends. Brenda wants to know who really wrote the Bible and ... WOW! Solid Irish Catholics and this left field Quaker bouncing around questions and ideas I never thought I would hear from them. I could view this as a really unique sort of de-cluttering?

Maybe tomorrow I can do some work in the studio.

May need a fire tonight. Steve did get this year's wood beautifully stacked in the shed while I was away. Pat picked up some pottery for the Carriage House.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 10:31 PM

So many things coming and going between Dupont and Beaver - and the communities where each of those houses are!

I hope all of Charmion's boxes were moved satisfactorily - no strains in the lifting or cramming into the car.

This afternoon I pulled from my craft storage a bin my sister sent me from my Mom's house and craft stuff from when the kids were younger. Mom had rug backing kits and crochet hook tools (for knotted yarn rugs). I met my daughter today and had her shop through the stuff. She took the more ornate large beads (they were originally hers) and some lovely crystals we bought in Arkansas many years ago, plus a few other items. And she gave me a tip - there is a local organization that accepts all sorts of donations that can be used by teachers for art projects and for building sets for theater programs. I can let them look at what my daughter doesn't need and what they don't want goes to Facebook or Freecycle.

I kept the bin with Mom's braided rug stuff - I watched her make those when I was a kid and always wanted to try, and it is another place where scrap fabric can go. There's a partial rug in there I can practice on.

This evening I went back to the craft storage shelves and pulled out old crayons, colored pencils, watercolor paints, and some ancient art pastel chalk that still works. Some of the chalk I had when I was a child! More for the Welman folks to consider. I'll take it over at one time, not piecemeal—I'll work on these shelves for the rest of the week. With this stuff the "keeping it for grandchildren" argument doesn't win when considering how old and how messy some of it is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 02:33 AM

I did some wild spending the other week, buying a beautiful white glass and black steel Art Deco lampshade. The charity shop man gave it to me for €5 because there was a crack radiating through one of the panels. So I'm going to try the Japanese art of kintsugi - it doesn't need to be food safe, so I'll be using the simpler method of cleaning it, trailing glue along the seams and then scattering on gold mica powder. With any luck, this will look very nice with the light shining on it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 11:24 AM

Thompson (is that what you prefer we call you?), I watched a video of the process recently - so many steps! Good luck with that project!

Yesterday I attended a retirement reception that was held in a normally good-sized room but with so many people the ventilation wasn't up to the event and no one was wearing a mask. I consider this the bonafide first super-spreader event I've been to. The retiree usually wears masks in groups and if meeting someone else in a mask he pops one on, but he wasn't wearing a mask, so I stood back but I didn't put on my mask. The room contained a fair percentage of rich conservative white folks who may not have been vaccinated.

I've looked up the rug and crochet-like materials - that hobby is called latch hook, and it appears kits are still sold and people still do it, so I won't toss it as obsolete. I have bins full of tiny beads and glitter and I wonder if glitter is even allowed at schools now, it gets into everything. Something to ask about. The kids and I produced a lot of decorative egg holiday ornaments for the tree, made with glitter and beads and ribbon, but that ship has sailed as far as my interest in it. Those items are in another bin or two.

It's a lovely rainy morning and I can wear my new rain slicker (last used in May?) Soon I'll be able to turn over soil and weed parts of the garden where I want to put in cucumber and zucchini for fall crops. You can water with a bucket or a sprinkler all summer, but until it rains, the soil just isn't as easy to work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 04:41 PM

I’ve had a play with maps since my last post here. I was going to try Google Maps but I managed to get my bank card locked during the sign up so I tried Leaflet. I’ve added some location maps to some of my weather forecast pages. I’ve also had a play around with a couple of the forecast pages. The hourly forecast one has changed quite a bit.

Nothing really to report from home but Tim’s daughter and partner in oz have had a disaster. Their house has burnt down. I believe it happened quickly and that they were fortunate to get out unscathed together with their two dogs. Their cat is thought to have perished in the blaze though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 08:55 PM

Jon, that's terrible news. Tim is a sibling? And why would your credit card be involved with Google maps? It's free AFAIK. Or have you found some special goodies they offer for a fee?

Patty, check in if you feel like it, or send an email and let us know how you're doing. Hopefully your weather is cooler and nice now, as it is here, not contributing to your discomfort.

Lifting a box of glass bottles (Topo Chico) today I pulled some stomach muscles, something I seem to do every year or two if I'm not careful. Goes back to a gymnastics injury in junior high school. I microwaved the sock-like bag of rice to apply heat and that has helped, but it means being careful for a little while to let things heal.

A bin today in the sewing studio revealed a BeDazzler (as seen on TV) for fastening beads with teeth onto garments. Kind of like using a tool to fasten grommets. Now most things are glued, but there might still be an application for this (pardon the pun!) I still have pearls and gemstone beads and materials for jewelry making that I plan to return to. I also still use beads in the context of sewing. I put a lot of bling on a red felt xmas stocking for my daughter-in-law that matches the one I had from childhood. My mom made them from a kit and I knew I had the felt and the sparkly stuff and it had to be made in a hurry. My daughter did the cutting out and sewing and I added the decor. I have another stocking to make for my son's partner who one of these days will be here for the holiday.

Cat sitting for the next few days, but nothing else on my calendar, so I plan to dig into the studio shelves more and see what else I can evict. I might also do some sewing machine rearrangement. The room used to be a bedroom and still has a double bed and a matching dresser pushed back into corners. I'd love to move those out, but we occasionally use the bed. I'll have to think about this.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 10:51 PM

Yes, Tim is one of my three brothers.

Google offer services for people to use their map system. I think their only free one is the static api which will allow you to embed maps with plain html. They want your card on sign up regardless of your intended usage. I thought my usage would be free but after a second look, I’m not so sure. The static api allows you to place tags on maps but it wasn’t clear to me that these tags could be used as clickable links. If I had to resort to their JavaScript api, their starting point is $5 per month. Also, I found I can’t resolve all the place names that turn up on my regional extremes page to lat/long coordinates through the met office data. I found a free service that meets my needs but, if I wanted to use Google’s geolocation api, prices start at $7 per month.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 09:59 AM

Stilly, yes, Thompson is a handy handle that keeps me reasonably private.
Nah, I'm not going to do all that, because it's not something that has to be food safe (except perhaps for any lost bats that might wander in to dangle from the lampshade); I'll just trail glue down the cracks, wipe it a bit then scatter goldy powder on it.
For the later turn of the conversation, I've never given a card to Google - why would I, I'm just using it for basic map information. When that "sign up" dialogue box comes up I press the Feck-Off button (it may be called something else or be a red blob); I do *sign in*, so I can use 3D etc, but that doesn't require a credit or debit card.
The only people I know who use a paid version (not dear, something like €200 a year, I think, and it's a professional tool so you could probably claim that off your tax) are bus drivers, truckers and delivery drivers, who use a version that warns them of the presence of low bridges. The bus driver who told me about this said it had saved him money because a lot of these are not well signposted. Before he'd signed up for it he once had to back a full-size coach slowly along for 3km (I think it was) along a narrow, twisty country road with one of these bridges, with a raging local car driver behind him.
There are other mapping apps; there are open-source ones like Brouter, which is useful for cycling because it'll map a quiet route away from cars; Apple Maps has a nice satellite and street view, though not as up-to-date as Google's - but I think maybe Google's is particularly regularly mapped in Ireland because their EU headquarters is here, so they might test out new methods.
I'm waiting for any of them to start using 360-degree cameras so it'd be possible to scoot around on video and see what's behind, to the side, etc. But maybe that's not technically possible or webbily feasible for a map app.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 12:26 PM

Thompson, I contributed some local photos to Panoramio ages ago, then it was purchased by Google and incorporated as a layer, but that layer disappeared (2017). I am part of the local guides but haven't put photos up again. I visited bridges that cross Sycamore Creek in Fort Worth to post upstream and downstream photos from each bridge, down to the Trinity River. A couple of people using the maps emailed offering suggestions of more access points. I use G. Maps to navigate past traffic congestion and find new places, but so many times I drive past a wooded area or a large berm or wall and think "I'll have to look that up on Google Maps when I get home." I mostly forget until I sit down for some binge snooping. Now much of the Earth and Maps content is merged so either one works for the curious folks of the world. What do you have in YOUR backyard? ;-)

Rain again this morning; such a relief from a week ago today when we hit the last cringe-worthy high temperature of the season. I'm back from cat feeding and a productive trip along the boulevard I travel from my house to hers. Dollar Store shampoo without the SLS (a coconut allergen), a different Dollar Store clearance gardening gloves with a latex sticky hand surface (recommended for quilting when you're doing the machine quilting and pushing a lot of fabric through the domestic machine - better traction), and a fresh batch of Louisiana Fish Fry in a 12 ounce bag; the current 2-3 pound plastic jug expired a year ago Wednesday and while it tastes ok, there is more than half left. The new bag goes into a jar and the jug contents sprinkled into the garden. The recipe has 99.5% corn meal which is an excellent fertilizer. The garden will smell a little more Cajun than usual.

Another dive into the sewing studio; I'm finding this rediscovery of old projects fascinating—some I wanted to finish but forgot, many I'm completely over, etc. Lots of gifts that were never used - scarves, etc., that might see new life now. And gobs of batting and polyfill. When I finally put it all together it should add up to enough for several projects ahead. Must sort the iron-on sticky pieces from the regular old interfacing and all of the variations in between. I will also be moving furniture, I'm not sure how much or where yet. What I really need is to have my daughter clear the contents of the closet; it is packed with her long-forgotten stuff. I have a plan for that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 06:16 PM

Vaccination research shows that the COVID shot will be available here at the end of the month and I need to look into RSV - the shot is $350 out of pocket if my insurance doesn't pay. So I got the flu shot today.

This afternoon I opened a shoebox full of small cross-stitch kits and partially stitched projects and I found a stitching diagram of a larger project in my ex's handwriting, so I'll see if it is something he remembers or wants. He used to sew and do carpentry and and leatherwork when we first met. The rest is donatable, or since there are some uncompleted ones, maybe to Freecycle.

There continues to be a chance of rain this evening and tomorrow, and this afternoon my informal rain gauge, the trash can beside the driveway, had at least 1.5" of water in the bottom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 10:44 AM

The Getaway organizers want everyone in attendance to prove inoculation and to test negative before and during the event.I emailed my Province of Ontario vaccination certificate to the registrar with a question: Are five anti-COVID jabs good enough, although the most recent was almost a year ago, or must I get jabbed again before attending? I ask this because the Ministry of Health has a new vaccine, developed to target the latest variant, and it won't be distributed until late October. I don't fancy getting jabbed twice if I don't have to.

Beautiful weather in Perth County this week, markedly less hot and definitely chilly at night. I switched the thermostat from Cool to Heat on Thursday, when I arose to personal gooseflesh and an indoor temperature of 17.5C. Within half an hour, both cats were ensconced in meatloaf position on top of floor vents.

My personal fitness program is going well so far -- extended walks every day, greatly encouraged by conditions outside. Also, my annual bout of autumnal hay-fever has subsided, so I can huff all that delicious fresh air without wheezing and sneezing. The tourists are still in town, however, supporting the theory that man remains vile even when every prospect pleases.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:17 AM

"Meatloaf position"! I love it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:38 AM

It is cool enough here to start walking the dogs again but Zeke will be staying home unless I decide to try to drag him in the wagon. I suspect he wouldn't stay down in the wagon and too high a center of gravity would make even a trip around the longish block near me precarious. We are weeks away from switching from cool to heat, but I'm almost to turning off the ceiling fan in the bedroom overnight. Or I need to get another light covering; it will be a negotiation for a few days before the fan is turned off.

Last night I did a COVID test since I'd been in a group of unmasked people on Wednesday. There are no symptoms, this was for an early warning since I'm giving a tour at the museum today. Negative, as expected.

My seedlings are looking good so it's time to start clearing the spots where they'll be planted for the fall, and I may put one or two each in large pots (I put in seeds for six cucumber and six calabash zucchini). It's also time to take the mower and the weedwacker out to trim around the scruffy front yard and bring in the wading pool with the little floating solar-powered fountain. The birdbaths are always out there, but the pool takes a little more maintenance.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 10:40 PM

The day started out kind of glum, probably the approaching autumn. It has that effect sometimes, but I managed to get enough things finished today to generate some endorphins. The biggest accomplishment was the transfer of my ex's house landline to Google Voice. A couple of weeks ago we went to T-Mobile to port his AT&T phone and last week the house dial tone stopped. Google Voice won't port landlines, only cell phone lines, so T-Mobile was our chosen go-between.

Logging onto T-Mobile the first time is via their authentication activity in a cell phone, so today we used my retired cell phone with the new SIM card and were able to logon to generate the port-out-code to move the phone number over to Google Voice.

He paid $20 to Google, a one-time charge for the transfer, and in a couple of days all calls going to the house phone number will hit the Google spam filter that's pretty good. And because he shared his current phone's contact list with Google Voice (when he installed the app on the Samsung phone), Voice will only forward calls from people on his list. Whew.

A huge bouffant pile of dog hair went into the trash tonight. Tomorrow I turn my attention from the house to the yard and start trimming around the ragged edges of lawn and gardens. The pile of branches at the curb is still waiting pickup (bulky waste) so I'll add to the pile until it goes away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 08:18 AM

Endomorphins ;^/ The sore person's friend

If you don't have a smallpox vaccination scar you are not one of my peers. A Florida public health official announced that the Covid booster is not safe. Florida is now the nation's hotbed of diseases including leprosy, Covid, Dengue, malaria and Florida man insanity.

I have personally seen only one case of leprosy. It's not pretty

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 11:32 AM

The scar from my smallpox vaccination is no longer visible, but I remember getting it. We were all lined up in the hall at my elementary school in Seattle and it was administered to each of us in that efficient and public setting. The school also ran occasional TB tests; possibly to do with it still being in the population in the 1960s and someone in the school testing positive. The world has changed since then. There is a small bruise from my flu shot where he hit a capillary with the tiny needle.

This morning was the last of the cat sitting runs, and the drive was marked by passing a couple of odd vehicular incidents. One car stalled perpendicular across the right lane and up on the sidewalk on a viaduct; it looked like a broken axle. The other was people standing in the turn lane arguing with one crumpled vehicle behind another that appeared unmarked. This is often the case when small unibody plastic cars rear-end heavy metal pickup trucks.

It is time to start decluttering the yard. Long pants and work shoes and safety glasses and a hat are ready to go. Trimming, mowing, sweeping. Putting away the wading pool that graced the front yard during the heat (for birds and bugs). I have a lot of pine needles to rake and use as mulch, but raking them takes finesse since they're long and pokey and get into my shoes and socks.

A box was just taped together and will go into the SUV to hold all of the ejected craft stuff. This week I'll let my daughter shop it first, then take it to the teacher-use donation site. I think she's getting ready to move house, so may not be wanting to add more to her stash (though I can offer her some big boxes that might be very welcome.)

Autumn starts Saturday after a long difficult summer. My mood is better just looking at that date on the calendar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:41 PM

I started photographing an eBay listing and intended to plug the camera into the older computer with the newer Adobe software, but the file cabinet from the closet was sitting in the chair spot at that desk. So I wrestled cabinets for a while (without emptying the contents of the plywood plank desktop), transferred the files, and replugged equipment. Now I'll turn to the eBay stuff and I have a file cabinet ready to list on Freecycle.

Rugs are thudding around in the dryer after a slow ultra-handwash trip through the washer. This includes a braided rug I pulled from the craft room shelves. Mom made it decades ago and it may need to be re-stitched to reinforce it, but it's in good shape.

The high is 93^o today, so the summer heat hasn't completely drained from our atmosphere and the next few nights won't go below the mid-70s. That said, morning work in the yard in the 70s isn't bad.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 12:42 PM

Yarn! I never use it, why do I have a bin of it? I kept a few partial skeins for those times I need it for a knot or two on something, I don't knit or crochet (though I know how to do both - at this point they don't interest me.) Paper - ancient - someone else can use it so it's all going into the daughter-shopping/donate box in the SUV. On the keep side, I found the rest of the braided yarn kit along with instructions. Low tech, high rewards with those.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 01:15 PM

I still have a couple of silk dress lengths -- large pieces of fabric from which to make dresses -- dating from the 1980s, and a swath of blue Chinese damask from the '50s that would once have made a wonderful jacket lining. Not so sure about that now -- its pattern (coolies and pagodas) would not please the modern taste.

But I don't wear dresses much any more, let alone dresses expensively tailored from fabric that must not go in the washing machine. What's more, I have no idea where I would find a dressmaker willing to take on such a project now. So the fabric remains at the bottom of the barrack box full of clothing that I have yet to face parting with, such as two wedding dresses (both mine) and my father's dressing gown.

Someone should draw up some Rules of Decluttering, starting with the Law of Tenure, to wit: The longer an item has been in your possession, the harder it is to part with.

Charmion's Corollary to the Law of Tenure: If an item is inherited, the difficulty of parting with it increases geometrically with every generation through which it has passed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 02:04 PM

In re: Smallpox vaccination scars.

Like most southern Canadians of my age, I was vaccinated against smallpox as a toddler. At the age of 17, I was vaccinated again because I was going to France and had no documentary record of the original dose. In those days, a Canadian had to prove inoculation against smallpox after most foreign travel; only the United States, the United Kingdom and maybe the Nordic countries were exempt. Definitely not France.

Then I joined the armed forces and got vaccinated yet again, despite my fresh scar and the official record booklet that went with it. Each recruit was assumed to be an immunological tabula rasa, and we were inoculated against almost everything from mumps to yellow fever. Not cholera or plague, however, because the shots then available for those diseases gave only about six months of protection ( yellow fever was good for 10 years). Any deployment to a notorious hotbed (e.g., Congo) was always preceded by an extended visit to the warrant officer in the Preventive Medicine section.

So I once had three of those little round scars, two on the left shoulder and one on the right. Only the most recent, from 1974, is barely discernible now; the others have faded out of existence.

As for needle parades at school -- every year, from Grade One to Grade Six, with the entire school lined up for the village doctor and a nurse from the Carleton County public health office. It was a combined dose of typhoid, paratyphoid, tetanus and diphtheria (TABTD) and a separate needle for polio -- no oral vaccines on sugar cubes for us! The MMR vaccine -- targeting measles, mumps and rubella -- appeared well after I had survived all three diseases and left school. I've heard that, in Ontario, inoculation campaigns have even whooping cough and chicken pox on the run.

At age eight, when I was In Grade Four, I had whooping cough, rubella, and a full-blown case of red measles, all within a span of about eight months. No wonder I never really learned how to calculate with vulgar fractions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 06:07 PM

The Scottish wool lengths have left my SUV, but the old notions stayed (they're probably brittle). A bag of yarn was claimed along with the Bedazzler, scissors, needles (straight and sewing machine), paint brushes, and probably a few other gadgets. Back at home I realized I still had a part that is supposed to go in the Bedazzler box, so sent a note and will deliver it later in the week.

I have several garments like you describe, probably made in shops by seamstresses in the 1940s for mom, no labels. Probably from Japan or Hong Kong when she was over there as a WAC. Silk is hard to sew with (I think it unravels?) but I'll look into what can be done with it. I won't toss them (it is exactly as Charmion's Corollary describes).

This afternoon I took another dive - this time into felt. Why did I have so much? What was I doing with it? There are no artifacts here to remind me. I think there was a bunch given away at the university library when departments were having to clear out for life-safety construction projects (asbestos removal, fire sprinklers installed, etc. Everything was emptied out). Surplus items without barcodes could be discarded so were put out for anyone to claim, and I would have grabbed the fabric.

The last bin I touched had a length of velvet from Mom's house - I'll never use it. That might be one to sell, it's enough to make something nice for a small to medium-sized person (when the nap is directional it doesn't go as far). In our family that would be me, but I won't make anything for me like that. I think it also came from Hong Kong. Mom had some department store catalogs that she used for orders when she came back to the states.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 09:39 PM

I just pitched a great stack of Ordnance Survey maps of Wales and Michelin maps of France and Germany into the recycle box. The battlefield map of the Ypres salient is somehow still in the box …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 05:44 AM

she who dies with the most (insert type of craft materials) wins!!

I recently found homes for 3 collections - books on historic costume (dancers who make & wear elaborate, historically accurate 19th century gowns), 18" dolls dressed using the books (musician who plays for the dancers), & teddy bears I made (her daughter - both do a lot of craft & have lotsa' stashes!) Books filled most of 2 large bookshelves which now contain almost all of my (un-filed) craft stuff!

Much of it was on a long heavy coffee table I'd found in the back lane years ago (it was fun getting it up the back stairs, fortunately a neighbour came along & she took one end!) more of it was under said table & in front of said table, almost blocking the view of the dolls in their cabinet. Half of what is left on the table is 5 big bags of yarn I bought for a friend who knits for charity, the rest will fit on an empty shelf!!!! Then I'll be able to see the dolls before they are eventually taken away. Unfortunately the cabinet will not be going with the dolls, but I know a charity that will take it.

One of my boxes of craft stuff is full of felt as I used to make & teach felt toys, I'll be using a piece or 2 in an embroidery project, but haven't used it for a long time (oops - do I really need a whole box?) Another stash is a wooden trunk full of yarn & padded coathangers. I knit covers for them for a charity shop ...

We have a charity that runs craft shops, where we take our unwanted stuff & buy someone else's unwanted stuff. Sometimes I take back stuff I've bought & when I pop off the twig my poor sister will take my stash there after my crafty friends take what they want to add to their stashes!

So many projects, so much to start or complete, then keep or gift, but I've recently made stuff for others (4 banners for Sydney Folk Festival) & some contributions to a 3 metre wallhanging - all the fun of creating something then it goes on it's way!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 11:42 AM

Good work, Sandra!

The donation program for teachers art materials has a calendar that is booked out several weeks. As I was setting up an appointment and checking my own calendar the time I wanted closed, so I had to grab the next half-hour slot in early October. I sent an email listing some of the things that I have to be sure they accept them. The file cabinet may be one of those items, so I can package my donation materials and store them in the drawers. I just noticed the welded steel file cabinet rolling base a friend gave me - I'll add that to the donation stack. The program is looking for volunteers, so depending on how the drop-off goes, it might be a place to spend time. They're located next door (perilously close) to one of the best European bakeries in town, so I would have to be careful about the calorie intake in that neighborhood.

My short list for today has one item crossed off immediately - I don't need to water the garden. Last night around midnight storms rolled through and it looks like about 1.5" of rain. Nice!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 07:37 PM

Scored a nice set of portable pet stairs at Goodwill today, and I'll see about setting up the recliner so Zeke can get into it again. I'll cover it with something waterproof and place it so the casters don't roll the chair while he moves in and out (I may have to remove them for the time being).

Several years ago I planted a Mexican plum tree in the backyard and this year it has decided to produce a crop. I've wondered about how to collect them without spending a lot of time picking them up individually, and today I chanced upon an ad for a device that rolls and the objects (nuts, acorns, balls, whatever, depending on the size you buy) are scooped up through the wires of the ball-shaped roller. I've ordered a Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer that arrives tomorrow. If I don't collect these they will sprout - I've had a few sprout in years past, but this year it's a big crop (relative to the small tree). I need to figure out what to do with the fruit. I was thinking this was one of those fruitless fruit trees, but it isn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 07:09 AM

I got the new booster at a grocery store. It's a zinger but not bad.

T have 6 crates of art supplies but I'm reluctant to donate them yet.
The 50 canvasses and framed pictures I saved to paint over, can go.
Procrastination won. That will clear a quarter of the basement.
My back is so much better, this fall will see a mass donation of tools and sundry junk. YAY

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 10:59 AM

An environmentalist artist friend makes a point of picking up discarded canvases and useful-sized pieces of discarded plywood and MDF (usually out at the curb on trash day in his neighborhood) to use for his paintings. Your old canvases, used or not, can be put to use.

Lunch at a favorite Szechuan restaurant yesterday revealed that I can get lower-salt dishes if I ask. The flavor isn't as pronounced, but now that I'm used to not so much salt, it still tastes good. I suppose I could carry some of the Nu Salt with me if I want a bit more. I'm sure there is still plenty in the food just because of how ingredients are prepared, but it takes it out of the stratosphere. And this doubles the number of places we have on our very short list. I still have to skip the iced tea with the meal because caffeine picks up where salt leaves off on BP.

Some sewing kits (cross stitch) were picked up by a member of the local Buy Nothing FB group. For her nieces. I could have sold them on eBay but it wasn't worth the work to list them. It is depressing to see the gobs of notions, old thread spools, zippers, hooks and eyes, small devices, bric-a-brac, all from estates that are offered in lots on eBay. (They should throw out the thread and elastic, they're too brittle to use, and there can only be a small number prop departments looking for ancient sewing stuff for films and TV shows.) People are buying them so they aren't going to waste but I think I can discard a lot of that now and not have it featured in photos of an estate sale here. (People do estate sales now when they're downsizing to move to smaller houses or apartments, so it isn't just because people are deceased that these sales happen.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 03:12 PM

I'm debating about moving an antique dresser from the sewing studio; it's part of a matching set with a bed and side table. When I look on eBay for Victorian wooden dressers there are a lot of them listed, but when looking at the completed sales the only thing moving out there are the doll furniture dressers and the salesman samples of big pieces. On the FB Marketplace there are quite a few local listings and the prices are modest. I emptied the upper drawers but the largest bottom drawer is a cache of stuff that the previous room user may want to look through. I'll box it up later. The closet in that room is packed with stuff in storage for that same tenant and also needs to go away.

Coming from one of those drawers is a clunky silver dresser set (mirror, brush, comb) given us by our pediatrician when the first child was born. It was never used and I see they sell on eBay, but do I want to bother? Possibly. One photo and it's listed. There is no emotional tie to this like there are to some other relics of babyhood.

Last evening and this morning I made two runs up to my friend's house to feed her cats during a quick trip out of town, and more of her butterfly chrysalises decided it was time to become butterflies. I released one at sunset yesterday and this morning the two in the enclosure were still drying and firming the wings, so she let them out at noon when she got home. The entertainment value of this is right up there with picking your first tomato of the season or the first big squash in the spring.

Going through my sewing supplies I've decided to discard the small rotary cutter inherited from my Mom's craft stuff. This one is a little scary to use, too easy to get fingers close to the blade when the guard retracts but doesn't completely keep you from contact. I'm replacing with a $10 Dritz cutter that reviewers say has a great pressure sensitive guard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 03:35 PM

Yesterday I got the COVID vaccination and am feeling a bit achy and moody today. But the mood could be because the calendar says Autumn and the thermostat says 98^o. The high is supposed to be 103. The next 10 days will be back in the low to mid 90s.

Some of our members are headed to the Getaway this week (it happens next weekend) - have a good time, all who attend! I hope there are a few fall colors along the way to add to the enjoyment of the trip.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 04:41 PM

Beaver:

Still not getting much done. And, since a meeting last Thurs, mostly fits of depression and tears. Of course, we all know the difficulties in obtaining health care so I went to the meeting for "seniors" on health care. There were speakers from a number of different "health care" providers. The room seemed to be non-toxic; the sound system was.. strong ... I did not understand one word of any speaker. That is not an exaggeration- not even "the". The only answer I get is - a hearing aid! But I heard the blah blah blah quite well.

This has happened before - I understood one speaker and not the other. But... NONE! Each person was known to me and in a conversation I would have no problem understanding. I am totally traumatized, trying to convince myself it doesn't matter. But, to be told I need a hearing aid when I can hear quite adequately --- AND do not want MORE noise!

Google: material on APD, caused in my case by chemical exposure in 2000. And person after person telling me ...hearing aid. The local "Dr of Audiology" virtually pushed me out of her office when she realized I would not buy a hearing aid. The best article is specific to professional audiologists - long! So far I see causes but have not gotten to "cures" ...

Still pots to be glazed and fired, pots to be trimmed; but I need to get out of bed and into the studio before the solar gain makes it unbearable. Frost a few nights last week. Planning to go back to QC on Sat - Thanksgiving and a visitor from BC. Yard work needs to be done there - by the Mohawks - if I can get the energy to phone. I am managing to eat well - good soups from the local soup makers!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 07:52 PM

Dorothy, down here in the states now you can buy hearing aids without going through a doctor or getting a prescription. They cost a lot less than the ones the doctors push as well. My mom had certain frequencies she couldn't hear (she is convinced it was due to some flying during WWII in very noisy troop transport airplanes). It wasn't the volume of what she was hearing, it was the ability to distinguish what it means.

The noise of a nearby thunderstorm has upset one of the dogs, but no rain so far and it has moved east into the next county. I did a little yard work, trimming small limbs into the trash can and lopping the Mexican plum branch that was tangled with the Internet line from the pole behind the house. When this house was built the only line back there was the phone, but that is long gone. Same wooden pole though.

More sorting in the sewing studio, and I can see that some of the fabric in there was grabbed at work during an office purge but I'll never use it. I think one rayon piece might have served as a tree skirt one year. I have a half-dozen large lidded bins empty right now, but they'll be given a task soon enough. The dresser in there is also empty.

I washed all of the bedding today, down to the stretchy sided mattress pad, the light blanket, and the pillows. The dog hair is accumulating in the den so I'll sweep and vacuum this evening before sending it out in tomorrow's trash. And tomorrow I must take the mower to the front yard before the code enforcement guy comes by complaining about a few tall weeds (most of the lawn is still brown.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 10:15 AM

I'm getting ready to be away from home for a week and a bit. Very twitchy -- clearly tense about the prospect of crossing the border and travelling so far alone for the first time since (holy Dinah!) the mid-1980s.

The itinerary is very relaxed, with lots of time to rest, find a loo, get lost, and otherwise make retrograde progress. I have only one deadline: arrive at the West River Retreat Center (sic) by supper-time on Friday. The cats will be fine, with an experienced cat-visitor coming in every day. I have plenty of money. What in blazes is my problem?

My last major task before leaving is finishing the minutes from the last choir board meeting. Surely I'll settle down when that's done.

Dorothy, the hearing loss you describe is common in my family, and I fully expect to develop it myself over the next fifteen years if I live that long. The only coping method we have found is to avoid large groups and noisy places -- even church if the organ will be played -- and get a one-on-one briefing after public meetings and other gatherings for information. Yes, it's limiting, but my elders managed it by organizing the younger generation to provide those briefings and by writing a hell of a lot of letters. Without children and grandchildren to depend on, I'll have to find other means when it happens to me.

My elder brother -- an ex-artillery officer -- also suffers from the kind of deafness that comes from exposure to loud noise and explosions. His hearing aids meet about half his needs, and I'm impressed by his efforts to hide his frustration. One of my brothers-in-law is a retired plumber who worked in a Chrysler assembly plant for decades. He manages his hearing loss, now nearly total, with hearing aids (again, only partially effective) and by using headphones to listen to radio, podcasts and audiobooks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 03:14 PM

Allergies are kicking my backside today, and it has me thinking of trying the pill splitter to take a small dose of Sudafed (I'm avoiding it in general because of the BP rise from it).

Another item, this time a phone from the ex's house, offered in the buy-nothing group. Someone is picking it up soon.

I took a quick survey of the front yard this afternoon; there's a lot of yard work to be done out there, and several modest repairs. Another week in the mid-90s then I should be able to get out there and do the jobs without heat stroke.

My mom had hearing aids, and when she was in the hospital near the end didn't wear them because she was afraid they'd both be broken. One fell on the floor and was crushed under a nurse's shoe and after that she never used the other one. They can be a nuisance because they are so small and so expensive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 08:35 PM

I've had hearing aids for eleven years. I didn't know I had hearing loss though I had struggled in noisy places to hear anyone talking to me. I'd gone to the audiologist to discuss my tinnitus, which is when I found out about the loss of my high frequencies. Fair to say, they're not perfect and they limit my ability to zone in on what I want to listen to and sideline the other stuff. I had to give up playing music in sessions because I lost the ability to latch on and focus on other musicians and often found myself all at sea. My hearing aids are free on the NHS, as are the batteries for them and replacements when things go wrong, as they do. You can elect to pay for hearing aids and that gives you choices. The received wisdom is that the free NHS aids are "last year's models" but they work a treat for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 10:23 PM

It's finally cool enough to start walking the dogs in the mornings (I am not an early riser, so we're talking about mid-morning). Walking is considered a weight-bearing exercise and my poor fitness tracker is feeling neglected this summer; these walks will help with bone density and tracker steps.

I started raking pine needles at the curb today and need to keep it up—I want to leave an area around the base of at least one tree that is bare except for needles. And elsewhere I'll mow the tallest weeds to tidy the front. The weeds in the garden will come out via hand tools and newly-cleared areas covered with some of the bagged mulch I picked up a while back. In the house it is still a broom and vacuum operation to control the dog hair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 23 - 04:21 PM

The yard is overgrown where the lawn isn't dead, and I was going to start some work this morning—that is, I was until I found the code enforcement tag on my door saying I needed to mow the lawn. These guys try my patience. He gave me until Oct. 6 to mow, so I'm not going to mow for a while, I'm going to let him stew. And when I do work out there, it will be evenings and weekends so he doesn't get the satisfaction of seeing me do the work. #FirstWorldAggravation

I've pulled two large vintage fabric items out of the sewing studio that will never be used. A futon cover and something that might have been used as a tree skirt around a xmas tree are headed to Goodwill. Pieces usable by me are being organized by type, and some need attention first (one in the laundry now).

Finally getting a few eBay listings up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 12:03 PM

I did some shopping for friends yesterday and brought home relatively little for myself (fresh veggies). Yesterday when I went through the sewing studio to for yardage I found a blouse tossed in there when I couldn't fit into it. Now it fits, so it's in the laundry awaiting freshening up.

Going through shelves in the bathroom I pulled a bottle of Tyrolean pine oil that smells wonderful but makes a deadly slippery bath if used that way so I haven't finished the very old bottle. The smell is still strong so I looked up uses. It seems setting it in a room (how?) works as an air freshener. I take the lids off of jar candles and use them that way (they don't need to burn to smell good), but an oil? I suppose there are small bottles I can use to mix it with some water? Any ideas? I also have some really concentrated mint my neighbor gave me that might be used that way. She puts it on her neck to help with headaches, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 01:47 PM

Dupont:

Robin read the comprehensive treatise I found on APD and was impressed by it - very professional with about 15 pages of references. And no solutions for the loss of comprehension due to exposure to toxins. Yes, people have trouble when there is background noise. I accept that problem. But to fail to comprehend 6 or 8 people, speaking one at a time, whom I know I can understand usually, with no background noise at all and an excellent sound system ??? The only other time this sort of thing happened, I totally understood one speaker and only understood "the" as spoken by the second one. This is not a hearing loss! This might be to do with distortion of sound waves in my brain? I shall continue to check it out with musician/sound engineer friends. I am only gradually recovering from the shock and certainly am not going to pay for a hearing aid on the off chance that this might happen again. !!!! Maybe if I had moved to a different part of the room I would have received the sound waves differently. ???

In the meantime, I am trying to recover a semblance of order in the house and yard. The Mohawk team will be along to rescue the yard!! YAY! The house is inch by inch. R has been kind about coming home earlier in the eve (before 9 pm!) so we have time to talk before sleep.

The ficus tree in the den has reached the top of the window so a lower cabinet will be moved to that window and the table it is on can go to that emptied spot. A few cobwebs may be disturbed! More plant movement will be taking place as those on the back porch need to come indoors and a few that did not survive neglect will be removed to the place of dead plants/empty pots...

Bring in the pumpkin, see if there are any sweet potatoes in the garden. And look at improving gardening methods for next year. R prefers the yellow cherry tomatoes to those tomatoes that produced prolifically (black/red which our friends loved). The two large plants I bought did little and died early on: Lots of rain but I believe it hit the profuse leaves and went on the porch rather than into the pot so the plants suffered from lack of water! And I guess the critters ate all the squash flowers - they were beautiful but were gone before having a chance to produce!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 08:13 PM

Good luck with the ficus, Dorothy. In their native environment they grow quite large.

This afternoon I sat down at the sewing machine to cobble together more kitchen scrub rags (a sandwich of one part old terry cloth washcloth and two layers of old t-shirt). It is stitched around the outer edge, turned right-side out, then zigzagged around the outside edge and stitched across to turn it into a more solid absorbent rag for cleaning. I also mended the armpit of a favorite t-shirt and did some machine darning on holes in dish towels that Cookie tore up in her puppy days. All is now in the laundry waiting to be put back into service.

Finally getting to bake my autumnal loaves of pumpkin bread. I've rounded up the ingredients and will have it ready for lunch for friends here this weekend. It's still pretty warm for baking, but I'm tired of not doing much for so long.

I haven't been to the gym in ages, not feeling motivated. I have several things to do tomorrow that take me in that direction so I will make a point to stop in. I have started looking around for other smaller gyms that are close to the house, and I'll save the distant one for when I want to swim.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:41 AM

This morning I took apart a clunky pin cushion, the Mother's Day gift I remember making in 1st or 2nd grade. Mom sent the can (standard tuna-sized) from home, and I don't remember if she had to supply anything else. It was filled with sand topped with some kind of spongy padding fiber (to catch pins) topped with red acetate and "MOM" written in black marker. A can-height band of wide masking tape anchored the red edges, itself carefully hidden by fat yarn wrapped around the can over a layer of paste. (Elementary school paste was delicious and not like the Elmer's milk glue). A blue protective felt base went last (my teacher really did think of everything!) The can has a permanent painted label for Pacific Pearl Fancy Dungeness crab, packed by a company belonging to Ivar Haglund. How appropriate. I thought it would be a tuna can, but this is even better. All other materials tossed, the can is a postcard from my mother in 1960. It is possible to waste a lot of time looking into how that label is painted on the can, but I think they printed the flat steel then assembled the cans.

With this small token from the Eisenhower or Kennedy-era stowed on view beside other kitchen antiques, I have moved on to deaccessioned craft items and assembled three sets of glitter to list on the Buy Nothing page. A little glitter goes a long way and with duplicates of several colors it's my prerogative to parcel it into smaller sets.

It's muggy today and there is ragweed in the air. With no rain in sight I'm struggling with the allergies and the heat. Bleh. Will we get a fall, or go straight to cold? Fall here is usually only about a week at the most; in my youth I was spoiled in the Pacific Northwest with autumn lasting most of September and October. And fancy crab in a can that cost 33 cents.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:00 PM

I hope you took a photo of the pincushion beforehand! What a little treasure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:59 PM

I have read that glitter is the herpes of the craft world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 08:08 PM

Yes and yes. I took a photo of the pincushion and glitter gets everywhere. That's why I confined it to a few projects and worked over a rimmed baking sheet and haven't done anything with it for years.

Two of the glitter vials were so old they don't even have zip codes on the addresses, they're pre-1963 and my mom must have picked them up for 29 cents each at Woolworth, "America's Christmas Store." Those kinds of things sell on eBay, so those were set aside. The others will be offered soon on the buy nothing page.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:49 PM

That was interesting. I listed the two vials of glitter and they sold within hours. I asked $12 for the two, because another sale of Woolworth glitter (last summer) had four containers for $20. eBay changed some forms and the post office changed some pricing, so I had to go in and double check my shipping form (eBay had added an extra zero to a measurement, making a 4" dimension 40", and a different price bracket). Fixed that. I asked her what she does with them - that won't change the sale, but I'm interested if there is a Woolworth ephemera collecting thing out there. I loved Woolworth when I was a kid, and I walked past one on my way to and from high school. (Kress was very similar - both of them had interesting basements and they always smelled like fresh popped popcorn.)

In the meantime, on the Buy Nothing page someone offered two large boxes of sewing patterns. Sizes are way too big for me, but not for my daughter and all of the costumes she makes (and she can adjust patterns up or down with tailoring skills, so a size 20 skirt can be adjusted to size 12 if you know what you're doing.) I got my dibs in and will pick up the hoard of commercial patterns (many apparently never used) that I'll hand off to her. Two office file drawer sized boxes. In this world of oddball sales and donation, it has been a good day. A plus - her dad will go with me because the pattern lady lives near our favorite discount grocery. So we'll pick up the boxes, go shop for produce, then see our daughter when the boxes are dropped off. For these these two retirees, that describes a pretty good day! (And maybe I should put all of the glitter together in one offer because someone else like me will have a use for all of it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 12:40 PM

Glitter sold loose, e.g. In small plastic vials, is banned in the EU from next month. Much of it is a mixture of plastic and aluminium and it takes over a thousand years to degrade in the environment. It comes under the category of microplastics once it gets into waterways, which it frequently does.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 08:56 PM

I picked up the patterns, some really nice styles in there, all filed neatly in two boxes. She had blouses, skirts, pants, dresses, jackets, coats, and outfit sets; there must have been 50 patterns in there. When we met my daughter we transferred them to a bag for her to carry with her back into her museum after we all had lunch. I'll use the boxes to organize the craft donations I'll hand over next week. Nothing going to waste.

We discussed the scraps my daughter generates in her sewing; she has been tossing them but will now box them and give them to me. I know - sounds like more clutter - but I intend to pick out what I want and make the rest available to quilters. I'm a go-between on that.

This weekend I have to do yard work to get ahead of the tall grass and weeds in gardens. I have guests coming for lunch on Sunday so I'll spend the next couple of evenings cleaning and dusting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 11:30 AM

We have an ozone action day today so they want less driving, no gas powered mowers, etc. I'll get out the electric weed whacker and get started, wearing a cloth mask while I work.

Another eBay parcel has sold, picked up this morning on the porch by the mail carrier. This one served as a cautionary listing - buying something on deep discount to sell on eBay doesn't always work. I will break even after fees are collected, so I didn't lose money. Meanwhile, the rest of the glitter will be collected via "porch pickup" by someone in the Buy Nothing group. Heaven help her with that much glitter in her house.

A note about my homemade granola: I decided this morning that I'm tired of having to floss sesame seeds out from between my teeth, but I like a robust mix of seeds and nuts, so I did some searching of other recipes and I'll switch to unsalted pepitas (small pumpkin seeds). They're small but still, 10x larger than sesame seed.

Cleaning day along with yard day. I'll pace myself since it's still high 90s out there. When I come in to cool off I'll pickup around here, sweep, etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 06:47 PM

I’ve taken a break from the plays with the laptop and don’t know what I want to do to pass some time next. My last attempt was a go at Breakout.

I suppose I could take a longer look at the iPad mini. It is a nice device but I’ve yet to work out what I want to use it for.. That said, I got a pen for it today. I’d gone onto Amazon to look for a slimmer stylus for my phone when I stumbled on a Staetdler pencil that interested me. I also noted it said it wasn’t compatible with Apple pencils which used their own system and became curious about that. I found a genuine one at about £100 but also cheaper clones in the £10-£20 range and I got one to try. I like in. It, with the Apple OCR, seems to do a pretty good job interpretation my handwritten scrawl and although it needs charging, this is done magnetically so no cables to mess with.

Another Amazon item received today was a remote for the Yamaha soundbase under the living room tv. The power button on the tv remote switches both units on/off but occasionally, things go out of sync. It just needs the power button on the Yamaha remote pressing to restore the sync but dad lost the Yamaha remote and had been without sound for a week. Bloody parents, I wish they would be more careful. Another thing dad lost recently was his bank card which was supposed to be   kept in his wallet. I ordered him a new card and asked a carer to ensure he signed it and put it in his wallet. Of course, dad has lost his wallet now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 07:22 PM

I do absolutely everything on my iPad mini. I'm no techie and I don't need to do complex things on computers. My massive and ancient Sony Vaio laptop sits in the other room, lonely and redundant.

For years we've had a Canton soundbase for our telly. The telly sits on top and it's completely unobtrusive, unlike those long sound bars. The sound quality is impeccable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 10:44 AM

Progress yesterday: the front was mowed and part of it was trimmed. I'm not good at taking out a broom to sweep grass off of the driveway at the same time (I hate blowers and it's a waste of water to hose it off). If it sits there for a day it dries and is much easier to sweep away. I'll go out this afternoon and take care of that. The glitter left the porch in the evening and I'm next looking at antique table cloths, runners, pillow covers, etc. The double damask tablecloths can sell on eBay but the rest is small linen and cotton pieces are fussy and there is a nominal return for the work to list them.

The kitchen is clean and the table is set for lunch. I'm working on cooking/baking several things this morning to be ready by noon. One of the friends coming over is involved in a slow-motion declutter of his old electronic equipment. So far I've helped him move out towers, a CRT monitor, large TV, printers, hard drives, and other gadgets. Today he is bringing another batch that my ex (who resides in FW) will take over to the Fort Worth recycle station (it is on FW property adjacent to our village and named for our village, but we can't use it - go figure!). I cleaned the ancient stainless steel dutch oven that sits on the patio with dog water and will send them into the yard once company arrives (they love company but they could knock over one disabled friend). That pot washed up in the creek one day and while I haven't used it for cooking it works for the dogs.

This reminds me I haven't gone down to walk the creek for a long time; I usually go to find fossils.

This weekend I moved furniture in the sewing studio and am trying a new arrangement of the small table that has served to hold some of the regularly used small tools between the two sewing machines. Being able to find what I need when I need it is the key to this working.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 01:38 PM

Dupont:

Still having mental problems due to APD crisis. Brain is not happy. Composing, in my head, missives to the DR. and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - just the right thing to tell someone who is already terrifically upset. Found another article on APD - NOT a hearing problem - but R has not yet read it and my brain loses the thread after a few minutes. The bottom line seems to be - no help for what happened to me. I still think about sound engineers - the way the sound waves affect my brain...? I still feel fragile with no idea how it could happen. Of course, the only "solution" is to accept ... Would it be worth a PET Scan to find out what is wrong in the brain?

Went to "the music" last night and really enjoyed it. Sound system worked fine. Just the usual APD issue of not understanding due to mixture of words and instruments. Nice to see people, after a while...

Making an effort to clear some of the first floor of books, etc. Mostly R's and he started off well this morning... The omelet is not yet made and he has disappeared. The day is ... still light!

I got tired of fighting with the sheet/quilt/weighted blanket so I left the sheet off last night. Spent the night fighting for a piece of the quilt - cold feet. ...???

R is back at it and things are going to the basement/cellar - somewhere else!! Out of sight!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 10:26 PM

and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - she's nuts, she's out of line, and she's practicing medicine without a license. You are fully entitled to ignore her bullshit.

Lunch with friends today with an eclectic menu. My autumnal pumpkin bread was baked this morning for dessert. With it we had lentil soup (Egyptian - very simple with water, onion, lentils, and a couple of spices) and the main course was macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Acting like it's autumn even if it was in the 90s today. Good conversation - our lunch usually lasts for about three hours. I cleaned the kitchen, swept a couple of rooms, cleaned in the bathroom, so when everyone leaves the house looks good.

With the arrival of October I need to set aside my lazy September ways and get back to the gym and to more consistent volunteering. It simply has to cool off now, and let normal activities resume.

One of the channels that plays lots of older detective mystery shows has restarted Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I turned it on today, and it dawns on me that I never realized what a depressed thread runs through that particular program. I suspect my viewing of police procedurals won't include this one as much this autumn.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 02:02 PM

Looking at the calendar, we're a month out from Daylight Savings Time to switch over to Standard Time. We're four weeks from Halloween, and US Thanksgiving is on November 24th, pretty early (on the fourth Thursday each year the date can range from the 22nd to 28th). Those who make holiday fruit cake, or who sew or otherwise manufacture gifts will be getting started. (The craft supplies stores have xmas stuff in stock at least by July for the very organized customers.) eBay listings of gift-type items need to be put up from now on.

It's too soon (at least it is this far south) to move pots for the winter, and those I do move will be things I can live with in the house, since winters in the greenhouse haven't been successful lately. That hard long freeze in 2021 killed off several favorite plants; had they been in the house they'd have been cold, but not dead. In the garden it is time to start tidying for next year, mulching some beds for winter crops, strewing seeds for wildflowers.

This is the calendar telling me these things; the 94^o day says nothing of this.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 03:41 PM

Heading home from the Getaway. For tonight, I’m in an over-priced, hyper-decorated bed-and-breakfast in Gettysburg PA. The owners have so crammed every room with Victorian doo-dads that there’s nowhere to sit and the guitar has to share the bed.

Speaking of the bed, it’s much better than what I encountered at the Super 8 in Manassas, which was like concrete. With the constant slamming of car doors outside, I might as well have been sleeping in the parking lot.

When they invent the Star Trek transporter, I’ll be one of the first in line. Getting there (anywhere) is definitely NOT half the fun.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 07:21 PM

I've let my fingers do the walking through the Lowe's website to track down the manufactured cedar siding that I need to replace a rotten piece (after I remove the rain barrel that has created a splash zone causing the damage.) They also have a box of mortar mix to use to fill the gaps in the brickwork under the soffit. I'll pick up materials tomorrow and get going on this work before critters decide to move indoors.

As the old Lab continues to slow down, after breakfast I started him on the combination of pain pills recommended by the vet to help with his hip discomfort. So far he's slept even more of the day than usual. I think the recommended dose of Tramadol is too much, so I'll try halving it tomorrow (and won't give him the second dose tonight.) The non-steroidal osteoarthritis one he gets just in the morning. This decline adds a somber note to the season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 10:49 AM

Last night I reversed myself and gave the dog just 1 Tramadol for his second dose of the day, and he was much happier, up and around, not in a sleepy stupor. So reduce the hard stuff and keep him on the same amount of the non-loopy stuff.

I have an appointment this week to take donated items over to the project that collects them for teachers, so I need to tidy the containers and boxes and resend the email asking what they want and don't want. I've already deaccessioned the glitter, but there is still a matter of small beads that they may or may not want. And a file cabinet that counts as furniture so I should probably file the form they have for furniture. Getting that file out of the hall will make walking that space easier. I don't always turn on the light in the evenings and it's hard enough avoiding tripping on a dark dog, let alone a dark dog lying next to the bulk of a file cabinet.

I've been reading more books on my 10.1" Samsung tablet and note that it is using more power than before the whole syncing photos to OneDrive process started, so have tried to figure out what setting in causing the power drain. These things check in with the mothership way more often than they need to. I hope Jon has figured out the device he mentioned recently.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:17 PM

Diving into the sewing studio this afternoon has resulted in a growing stack of school project stuff that was tucked away between the bed and the wall. This includes lots of sheets of heavy duty poster board, some pieces of matte board brought home from the university library (rescued from the recycle bin following the end of exhibits when it was all tossed). Also, my shelves are now clear of some yardage purchased years ago for projects that were never made and that will never be made. I can't imagine using that fabric for anything else now.

My ex came by and picked up an old computer tower and monitor to take to the recycle center (a friend brought them when he was here Sunday). Already in the trunk of the car was an old Packard Bell tower—so old that he didn't bother to remove the hard drive. I asked why - turns out it was a DOS machine, didn't even use Windows. Really really old and really heavy. (Probably should have asked if a computer museum wanted it.) Will we make enough progress with this decluttering that our children will thank us? It's certainly more than either of my parents ever did in their retirement years.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:43 PM

The only recent device I can think of, SRS, is the very unexpected birthday present of the iPad mini from brother in oz. I’ve yet to do much with that yet except having it sit happily on my network and setting up the email accounts so its sort of ready as and when I want to play more with it. I think it will end up replacing my Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. It’s smaller size feels better suited to my current needs and it is the better machine. It’s display seems crisper to me and it feels a touch more responsive.

It is the first Apple product I’ve owned. I’ve avoided them partly because of price (and even now, don’t think I’d invest more than double say the cost of my Samsung for an iPad) and possible hardware ties as well as software ones.

Tim apparently got himself one about a month ago. He had used a Microsoft Surface Pro for a few years but he became frustrated with its handling of midi and with high end VST plugins. I gather that the iPad just did all he’d wanted straight off with no hassles. I also gather that him being so impressed with his and wanting to get me something he knew I wouldn’t normally consider buying were reasons for him getting me one.

Oh, and I did get a clone of the Apple pen for it the other day and quite like it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 06:14 PM

It's perfectly possible to hate Apple yet love your iPhone and iPad. In fact, that's me to a tee.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 11:21 PM

I have resisted Apple products for years. At work there were some Apple workstations but it was always a matter of learning where to click to make things work. They were contrary to the Windows setup. It didn't seem to be worth the trouble.

As far as tablets go, stepping up from the Amazon Fire tablet to the Samsung tablet has been a huge improvement in my ability to load the kind of content I want to see. And now that I have Samsung equipment in place with the accompanying Samsung accounts, any future new equipment should be easier to deploy.

In the sewing studio furniture has been moved enough to create a space to move easily from either sewing machine to the ironing board. Endorphins have been generated. :-) The shelves in the 5x6 cubby are reachable, as are the drawers in the two dressers in the room. It may not get much better.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:53 AM

The former setup in the sewing studio allowed me to reach a small table equidistant from both machines. The new setup still needs a small table between them to hold tools. I have books filling one of the cubbies that I can move into a little antique side table where the weight would stabilize it some. Until this week it stood under the window with a radio and potted plant (and it looks like the "before" version). On top a black rectangular heavy duty disposable tray will corral presser feet, seam ripper, bodkin, bobbins, etc.

I'll note here that every time there were receptions in the university library the caterers dumped all of the heavy duty black plastic trays into a large trash can in our little service kitchen. We'd rescue those platters to use some to use for our own in-house department events and the rest were taken home. I have several under potted plants on the sunroom plant stands. A couple are stored for use during larger family meals and at least this one is in use in the sewing studio. It has always bothered me that the way to keep university events more affordable was to throw away so much plastic instead of using durable materials they would wash and reuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:39 PM

The next door neighbor's tree dropped branches tonight in a huge thunderstorm. So much rain that when looking out the front door I couldn't see past the curb about 25' away. The limbs took down my clothesline and on one end pulled the newly installed galvanized fence post crooked. Fixable, no insurance needed, but it was a lot of wood that blew over the fence. It's a big box elder that has lived much longer than they normally do around here.

It's a busy day tomorrow and it looks like I'll be starting early - the neighbors will be here to collect the branches.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 11:25 AM

The huge box elder next door is smaller by several good sized upper limbs after last night's heavy rain, hail, and wind gusts. The one hitting the clothesline also put a deep bend in a top rail of the dog kennel. They feel bad about the mess, but my old hackberry nearly took out their garden shed one year, so these things happen. I've stuffed the trash can at the curb full of a few of the big old sunflowers that all toppled last night. The wood will probably wait until December to go to bulky waste, though Abby ZurSchmiede on Facebook (Harpgirl on Mudcat) has been experimenting with hugulkulture beds and now would be a good time to try it with all of this extra around. The premise is to construct a raised bed over a bottom layer of cut up limbs and rotting wood. She has a galvanized frame around hers, but you could also simply bevel the sides. Keep it to a size so you can reach into it without having to step in it.

Temperatures are cooler, humidity is close to 100%. After 3-4" of rain the yard is gumbo. My plans for the day have changed somewhat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 10:22 PM

I am so happy to be back at home.

The Getaway is objectively wonderful, and I love the people I see there. But getting there, and getting home again, is most definitely not even half the fun. Or any of the fun, come to think of it.

When I made the trip with Edmund, I had the pleasure of his company, of course, but I also benefited from his efforts to read maps and road signs, watch for over-caffeinated Porsches, enter data in the SATNAV, keep me supplied with Altoids, and find eating establishments that would do better than provide mere calories. He would also carry the guitar despite the military rule of “one man, one kit”. On my own, I was bossed around by the SATNAV and seemed unable to locate a McDonald’s with an operational milkshake machine.

Next year, I’ll fly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 12:00 AM

It is eight or nine years since I made a long drive anywhere, and when I roadtrip I am a user of paper maps. Google maps is in my phone and I consult it for traffic in town, but I'm not a fan of bossy navigation devices. That said, it's good that you made the trip however you chose to navigate; the synergy of trips to events like the Getaway end up being greater than the sum of their parts. Cliche, yes, but there is a lot to think about after a trip, and that is the value of it.

This evening a friend and I went to hear a talk by LeVar Burton, actor/writer/host/podcaster/activist who fortuitously happens to be here during Banned Books Week. That led to some interesting parts of his remarks. Dinner before the lecture was at a New Jersey style deli and probably two days worth of sodium, but so good! My friend took the most beautiful photo of his half of the sandwich (we shared the full-size hoagy) and the light was perfect when he took photographed his sandwich. I'll put it on Instagram later. :)

Late tomorrow afternoon is my appointment to drop off craft stuff at the donation place, so before I head out I have time to add to the boxes. As it is I'm offloading the filing cabinet, clearing several cubic feet of space in my hall. This was a busy week with a few unexpected twists, but in general very productive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 11:12 AM

After several of us picked up pieces of the next door exploded box elder, it seems that just a (long) block away there was much more drama. We can count ourselves lucky that messed up tree crown was the worst of it. A line of tree service trucks were lined up on the other side of the creek to shred downed trees as they were removed, and in the block beyond that the sagging power lines were fortunately intact at the intersection where they were boring to install a new wooden telephone pole after the previous one snapped.

The UPSP's Informed Delivery tells me that the long-awaited letter regarding the retirement pension has finally landed at the post office. Once I have that in hand I'll file the official change of address and declutter myself of that $250 a year expense. They misspelled my name on the address, so I'm hoping I don't have to jump through hoops to fix that.

In a less pleasant decluttering, my gastroenterologist's office sent a text saying five years is up. Enough about that (but if you're of an age, do it. It can save your life - my cousin's husband put it off way too long and ended up with an involved surgery that did save his life.)

Now to load the SUV with craft donations then into the sewing studio to see if there is anything more to evict before this afternoon's appointment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 23 - 11:06 AM

Craft donations dropped, and calf muscle pulled in the process. Hoping it isn't a tear. My heel was wedged against the parking bumper behind my SUV when I leaned into the compartment and Zing! went something in my calf. Now I'm limping and hoping it will heal. I still need to exercise, but will be very cautious about what moves I do.

59^o this morning when I walked into the back with the dogs before their breakfast (I find this short trip before meals saves me some of the droppings cleanup behind the old Labrador retriever.) Highs in the low-70s today, low-80's tomorrow, before next week heats up to mid-80s. It still doesn't feel very fall-like.

Before heading to the donation appointment yesterday I did one more dive into my mother's craft stuff in a couple of drawers and pulled out a handful of items I will never use (or didn't know what they are for). In a couple of instances I split the difference, keeping one or two items I might use and sending the rest to their next jobs. I had a specialized sewing measurement curved ruler that I hadn't used in 50 years, I'm not likely to now. If I need help adjusting a pattern, I can ask my daughter to do it. :)

Today I need to spend time in the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 23 - 10:32 AM

While clearing in the sewing studio I found Mom's favorite tablecloth used for special meals during my childhood. It has a white field with a red rose print and spent several days soaking in non-chlorine bleach but a few stains had set over the years. My next move is to carefully treat the spots.

The pulled muscle is still tender but much improved. I must resist the impulse to overdo for the time being so I don't aggravate it before it heals completely.

The forest floor is on full display in my den. The proliferation of tree limbs knocked down through the yard contributed a lot of chew material for the dogs and I've evicted several branches dragged in through the dog door. Tomorrow is trash day so I'll sweep and vacuum to send a lot of it out (for the time being.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:05 AM

Dupont:

house guest from BC for a few days as he visits with QC friends. Then hs is off to NC - near Raleigh for a longer visit to his "home turf" A war resistor, he has lived in Canada for 45 years but likes to go back to the known weather and accents of his childhood. A quiet guest but needy re how to get places. R took him to the city today and we can only hope he will find his way, via the bus system, back this aft. Or I can fetch him from a bus stop not to far away. Surely he will make it across the River! Tomorrow he goes away for a couple days; back to attend at Yellow Door Friday eve. He has heard about - through me - for 45 years but never been there. I alerted Marc, who now keeps it open on Friday eves. Hope a few people show up! His FB page is not very helpful, starting out with something about August!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:55 AM

Dupont:

Brain fog!!

Thinking of Charmion and her stop in Gettysburg! (blech!) Paul will be stopping in Harrisburg on way to NC. He may find a couch; he is connected with at least one of those sorts of sites for traveling from home to home/ couch to couch? - I guess it is. He drove here from BC, stopping to visit on the way. I suspect he has developed a network of possibles over the years. R and I have used airbnb a few times with good results.

Books are mostly in the basement Library now. Hallway still has a surfeit of objects that need to be re-homed. BUT R spent the weekend closing holes in the attic to, hopefully, keep out bats and squirrels, and closed the hatch to keep in our heat! Not turning on furnace yet but keeping minimal heat in the areas we use - Den, BR and the Kitchen- use helps provide part of that.

Made a huge Thanksgiving dinner (on Sunday) for the 3 of us. And we enjoyed it - for two days so far! 16 pound turkey was overkill but a big chunk will go into freezer after Paul leaves; he puts away a great deal of food!! - Long, lean and only 71. In the meantime - every day is Thanksgiving!

We have had lovely pastries from the bakery in southern QC. I boo-booed and went down on Weds - "only Thurs, Fri, Sat" declared the lovely young clerk! So I went back on Friday, bought lots of yummies, had lunch with Geri, and took photos of the kiln I am selling - she says "yes" and we need to arrange a pick up time. SOON! With the weather in mind.

And yesterday!!!!! R spent most of the day removing offensive floor boards in den - they had buckled and were a hazard. Removed and all crud removed, tediously!, from each one, they now lay flat - only need to be battened down. I will suggest glue. These are 100 years old - maple, I think. R seemed to go into a meditative state doing this - to most people - tedious task! A terrific sense of accomplishment. And I can cross the room (the buckle was right in the middle!) without fearing a fall.

NOW, I would like a load of firewood! Before heavy winter!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 12:00 PM

Since Saturday I have had symptoms of a head cold; COVID tests on successive days are negative, and in hindsight I caught it from the friend I met last Thursday. I assumed the cough was because he quit smoking recently, and I don't think he'd had many other symptoms himself at that point.

I pulled a box of herbal tea bags out of the tea cart; it's a "throat coat" variety with slippery elm and it does feel good. Celestial Seasonings used to make one, but this is from Traditional Medicinals. Years ago I gave some of this to a friend whose husband was a music producer and they loved it enough to keep it in stock in the house for when performers came through the studio. I can claim responsibility for Dionne Warwick falling for this stuff. (He worked with Burt Bacharach and his ilk for years.) Turning this into a musical thread.

The sewing room clear out has progressed well. To test the storage system for starting this quilting project I spent 30 minutes last night sorting the big bin of scraps from the last couple of years of mask making. They were three layer masks, a colorful front, a light color liner and a flannel inside, so a bin for each. I also cut up a lot of t-shirts to make the stretchy non-raveling yarn for the ties, and I dropped all of the seam edges and such in the bin. They're beautiful colors but I think I'll see if there are fiber artists who can use them.

Handling the scraps from masks has been like visiting old friends because I chose a lot of patterns to reflect interests and ideas. In the early days of COVID before we could go out I dug into my stash and even took apart some garments I never wore to make into masks. Small patterns so a number of them would be recognizable on the face of each mask will also be effective in crumb quilts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 01:45 PM

Having almost rested up from my American odyssey of last week, on Sunday I took off to Windsor for Thanksgiving dinner with SIL 2 and her family, including three grandsons who are still in the feral cat phase of childhood. Windsor is three hours’ drive from Stratford, so today I’m resting up from the road trip encore.

Autumnal weather has finally arrived. It took long enough; last Wednesday, when I crossed the border at Queenston Heights, southwestern Ontario was sweltering under a heat wave that had hovered around 30°C for a week. Conditions like that after the equinox are very unusual. We should have had our first frost by now, but the dreary rain phase — normal in mid-September — has only just begun.

Two weeks ago I fell in a poorly-lit restaurant, acquiring a couple of huge bruises that are just beginning to heal. At the allergist’s office this morning, I revealed one of them when I pulled up my sleeve for the needle and then had to spend ten minutes reassuring the nurse that I’m okay etc, etc, etc. Good thing she didn’t see the saucer-sized purple blotch on my thigh, where I hit the floor first! The damage would have been a lot worse if I hadn’t done a paratrooper’s tuck-and-roll landing to avoid the furniture.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 02:39 PM

I'm sorry you fell - though I'd have paid money to see that roll, Charmion! It sounds impressive. I'm glad someone saw the bruise just to be sure it isn't anything more.

My haircut tomorrow has been postponed so my quiet week at home continues. I missed a docent training today, but I can get caught up next week. The neti pot is deployed a couple of times a day to sooth the sinuses. It sometimes used to smart to use table salt in the water; I switched to using pickling salt and it feels great (Pickling salt doesn't have additives to keep it from clumping and no iodine, etc.)

This afternoon I'll poke around in the garden to work the soil for planting my zucchini and cucumbers started from seed. It won't be too vigorous because this soil was worked once in the spring and will be pliable after the big rain last week. I hate to miss taking advantage of good weather, but the fence will wait another week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 05:02 PM

I don't bounce as i did in my youth, that's for sure, and my lack of depth perception (only one eye that works) can get me into trouble in dim light. The restaurant was one of those burger places with booths that you step up into, and -- not seeing the difference in floor level -- I forgot to step down when scrambling out. Then my heel caught the edge of the invisible step, and over I went. Not fun; the bruises hurt for days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 11:43 AM

I'm to the point when this cold could manifest a sinus infection or bronchitis, so will see my GP's nurse practitioner today. Call from your car when you arrive, they send someone out to swab for COVID and flu tests and when they're sure it isn't one of those you can go in. Efficiencies like this might have seemed rude before COVID. In addition to possible antibiotics, I'll ask for a cough syrup Rx. Last night when I dug around the pantry looking for a bottle I decluttered two - one was 9 years old, the other, 11. I don't catch colds often.

Meanwhile I finished the first sort of a bin of scrap fabric, but there are more containers and bags with scraps so I'll round them up to see what's inside. To offload what I don't need I looked at the scraps offered on eBay—I bypassed the ones selling individual fat quarters or by X number of pieces, I'll mimic the sellers who list by the pound. Keywords in the title will be something along the lines of "Quilt fabric lot scraps, squares, strips, string, crumb." It's time for another eBay adventure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 11:52 PM

Like Charmion's bruises have bloomed since she fell - this cold has continued to grow since I caught it. I may have to sleep in the recliner tonight to stay upright enough to breathe.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 05:18 PM

Dupont:

With some help from friends, I am over the shock phase and re-joining life. I felt like getting up this am and cooked BF for R and self then went off to cross the bridge to the city! An email to the grocer from which I have been purchasing a particular choc bar/with almonds, elicited info that they were de-listing it! So I went to the nearest of their shops (no one else carries it) and found 4 bars.

Then went to customer Service to find if there were any more. The candy person came out and told me "no but they would get more tomorrow!" I, then, wandered around this large, well, arranged store to see if there was anything else I wanted - yep! real oat flakes! Bought one each of two brands! Looked for pumpernickel bread but none better than what I order... BUT - over there, on a shelf with non-related foods, were five more of the choc bars! So a few weeks supply came home. I shall keep foraging; Go back. on Friday for more. AND maybe they will keep stocking them!

It was fun exploring a well-stocked - kind of - store. So I went to a dept store (Hudson Bay) and looked at sale clothes. The only thing at a kind of reasonable price, still cost more than the total cost of my attire. (All from thrift shops.) I left without bags. thought: If you buy stuff do you need your own bag? I would, of course, refuse a bag and just roll it up and throw it in the car.

That was enough exploring so I came home for lunch and emails and mudcat and exploring sites re APD and the brain. MIT is doing some interesting work.

A musician friend responded to my concern with one of his own: "the entire process of music and hearing is a scary mystery. when I have my headphones on (to help me cocoon and sleep) and I play guitar (to learn the feel of the instrument and of the vibrations in my chest) I am aware that my pitch awareness is radically diminished. everything sounds higher (or is it lower) than it actually is. certain frequency ranges affected more than others. the brain is a fragile and magnificent thing. get your hearing checked!"

I am not concerned about my hearing; I am concerned about the brain waves - where they go or don't go; how they work or do not work. The work at MIT ... Lots of people have these problems and the neuro-scientists seem to be starting to get a handle on them. I look at how shut out I have felt for 20 years and - How many other people? And what this does to our social fabric? How much of the violence is by people who feel isolated???

Robin took our guest to the Laurentiens yesterday thinking he would check on a property up there but he did not have the right key so he had a great day visiting Paul's friend who lives off the grid in a very impressive manner. All that fresh air brought him home early and asleep early!

Tomorrow we are going to the Yellow Door. I did not realize that Paul has been hearing about it 45 years but never been. Hope there are enough people in attendance...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 06:46 PM

Dorothy, it sounds like time to let some professionals start the hearing exams, and if you can schedule a specialist, get their input. Guessing and diagnosing it yourself can only go so far. And you can scare yourself.

Explosive coughs today, the kind that jolt you out of sleep. Drinking lots of fluids. A friend stopped by today and left me with a fresh box of Puff's super soft super strong tissues. They'll get put to use!

Still finding and removing interesting stuff in the sewing studio, and today I added one thing - a small electric bobbin winder. The winder on my oldest machine stops winding thread at about half-full on the bobbin so I have to change them more often than I like. I haven't been able to trick it into filling more without messing up the tension. This one should give me more thread while at the same time not overfilling because then they can jam. (For any lurkers who sew, the device is called a Sidewinder by Simplicity. There is a DeLuxe version that has a more involved setup, but the basic original does the job for me.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 08:14 AM

Stilly, that cough, and the need to sit up to get any sleep at all, mean you have bronchitis. Have you seen any kind of medic about it?

Check the colour of the stuff that comes up when you cough; if it’s yellow to green, there’s a bacterial infection cooking in your lungs, and an antibiotic drug is called for.

I’ve been there way too often.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 12:17 PM

Agreed - bronchitis is horrible. Wednesday's appointment with the PA got the strong decongestant and so far there is mostly clear in the cough and sneeze; if by this afternoon things have gone pear-shaped she'll prescribe the antibiotic before the weekend. I've had bronchitis a time or two, it's terrible, but taking a course of antibiotics invariably results in a yeast infection, so I wait until it is really necessary to take them, they're not my early go-to treatment. The knee surgeries resulted in my system being awash with antibiotics and for the second one I had several doses of Fluconazole at the ready. Meanwhile, the neti pot has helped soothe and clear sinuses.

Errands have piled up this week; I have to go out today because the dog food is running low and I have to do laundry because I'm down to the last pair of underwear. The weather has been gorgeous and I really resent this cold for taking me out of commission for work I could have been doing outside. I know how I caught it, and I won't make that mistake again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 06:54 PM

Two stops for errands this afternoon, and while I found the mortar mix I need to block holes into the attic near a soffit in back (and a hole between stones on the front of the house), I didn't find the cedar plank I need. I'll let my fingers do the walking on Google to hunt around for one. Chances are I'll have to find something larger and rip it to the right size, 1"x10"x36" to replace a spot of siding that came off (there are three panels on that area and I'll replace all so they're uniform).

Health-wise I turned a corner today; I woke up coughing and took the Rx but realized by mid-afternoon I didn't need more, though a dose at bedtime might prevent a tickle from creeping up on me if I remove the extra pillows. A good night's sleep would be most welcome after this horrible week. It's years since I've had a cold or flu. Nothing much since I retired. I'll keep wearing the masks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

Here I am thinking about my garden still and Dorothy is getting her firewood for the winter and all of you in those northern tiers are getting out the flannel and the comfy slippers.

I've decided to plant all of the cucumbers and zucchini in fairly close proximity in a bed next to the house, so when cold weather passes through (sometimes just an hour or two before dawn is cold enough to do damage) I can cover the plants with a tarp to keep them alive. When they're spread out around the yard it's a lot more work. Our first hard frost is probably more than a month away.

I'll use the tiller to turn over those planting areas today. The plants are more than ready to be transplanted, they're already putting out blooms.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:20 PM

Dupont:

Turned the corner yesterday: No more shock, no more concern for the "why" now that I realize MIT is working on it. Several sites for info have turned up; need to spend some time reading before my eyes/brain tire each day.

I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I do not want louder. Definitely do not! But not being able to discriminate words on TV/movies or with too much background noise is, I now realize, very common, even amongst people with no recognized brain disorder. Hence, I feel less alone and, while I would like answers, if MIT does not have answers yet, I will wait in hope - for myself and the thousands of others thus afflicted.

I will check with a friend in Bancroft who just might know if anyone else has had this not-understanding-anything problem with sound systems he knows.

I have decided I need more fun in my life so took myself back down to the bakery, where I encountered a wonderful older couple and we had a great conversation on this lovely fall day. I chose to take different routes from the usual and enjoyed an almost hour drive on empty tree lined roads, each way, thinking about other routes, and places I could visit another day.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to pass a kiln along to a new person. I will meet her at the mill and, we, including her husband, will hopefully, load kiln and its furniture into her vehicle. This is a big de-clutter. There are a couple really old kilns there that I need to offer on line - when I can clear enough space to get photos and other info. I will be down to taking anything needing to be fired to Beaver. Not making much so...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:32 PM

I gave up on movies in cinema theaters years ago,
largely because of the sound systems and how I couldn't understand anything I heard.

When a film is broadcast on television,
I have no problem understanding dialogue and speech.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 07:19 PM

Dorothy wrote - I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I've lost some hearing in both ears, not enough to need hearing aids - yet. When I do need aids I'll be taking advice from a friend who is an advocate for a national Hearing organization, I won't be visiting shops that advertise "Free hearing tests" - they often have someone at the door touting!

I recently received junk mail (a letter!) from an old, long established Oz company recently taken over by an American multinational company (can't remember the names.) I don't like junk mail - so looked up the company name & found a site where everyone except one poster had horror stories. They buy address lists (hmmm, I wonder what list I was on) & according to every poster, except the one satisfied customer) push & push expensive products. My favourite post started "I'm an audiologist & accompanied my grandmother ... " Audiologist reported watching employees "testing" customers, while pushing the expensive products, & not pleased with the tests & "advice" their grandmother received, took her away without saying her/his occupation. Lucky grandmother to have an audiologist in the family. I sent the letter back with my usual inscription UNSOLICITED JUNK MAIL RETURN TO SENDER - such letters need to be paid for by the receiver, but I do wonder how many scammers (oops legit businesses - snigger, snigger) do pay.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

The last time I went to a cinema was in 1980/81. A group of 4 of us, all early 20s went to watch Dumbo at the cinema in Rhos on Sea. Going to the cinema just hasn’t interested me.

My hearing’s not that great and I sometime have to ask people to repeat things as I’ve not heard them properly. I usually have subtitles on when watching tv.

I believe that digital hearing aids can be quite good as they can raise/lower frequency bands to suit the hearing loss rather than just make everything louder. They also can have different settings for different environments.

As for our NHS which was mentioned a few posts back. I don’t believe they offer the latest and greateast but I think they offer the quite reasonable rather that the seriously outdated. I think the service was dropped but Comer Hospital at least once operated what I thought was a good idea. That was a monthly drop in clinic where people could have their hearing aids servoes//repaired and retuned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 01:07 AM

The law recently changed in the US; you don't need a doctor's prescription to get hearing aids now. People can shop around. My brother told me about going to an audiologist because people kept telling him he was missing too much and making noises he couldn't hear but they could - when the audiologist learned that he didn't plan to buy hearing aids from them they pretty much threw up their hands (he shops for just about everything at Costco).

My sewing studio got more work today, with things grouped, logically (I hope) in drawers and labels added. Now I'm hunting for the extra label tape. It's somewhere around here (I thought it was in the drawer in the kitchen, but no, so I'm trying to figure what other logical places it might be.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 10:58 AM

Whew! "The Box" - a large corrugated box I've had sitting out to gather things that are going to my son was finally packed and closed for shipping next week. That'll free some table space in the den. 24 pounds of food, things from his room, and useful stuff we've talked about. Two more of the same size boxes should be arriving today or tomorrow from the company where I buy dog food. Lately the brick and mortar store itself has been out of the variety best for the girls so I had to subscribe and mail order two bags at a time to get free shipping. We'll be set for a couple of months and the boxes go to recycling.

Doing laundry today after the head cold has cleared, and this is a good occasion to open new toothbrushes. Trash day tomorrow will see some more stuff evicted from the sewing studio and I need to go through the den and clear out the forest floor the dogs have again created.

In the sewing studio I've created a place for oddball fabric and ribbons, small amounts of stuff that sometimes come in handy but where to put it? Small things too good to throw away, but only useful if you can find them again. I emptied my childhood sewing basket where a lot of this stuff used to live, and now it's in boxes in a drawer.

Talking to a friend I described the upcoming process of backing up the computer then upgrading to Windows 11, and we concluded that the amount of fuss to get everything back the way you like it in the new OS is the virtual equivalent of rearranging all of the furniture in the house. Big job ahead. I guess that would be a recluttering job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 05:55 PM

You've got nowt to lose with the free NHS hearing aids, Jon, honest. They are not bog-standard, you can connect them to your phone via Bluetooth, they are set up for your particular hearing loss, if they go bust they are replaced for free and the batteries and tubes are free forever. If you don't like 'em you can put 'em in a drawer and shop around for the private three-grand jobs, or just not bother. I've had free NHS aids now for eleven years. They're, well, not great maybe, but they're a massive improvement on not having them. Go for it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 06:05 PM

Mrs Steve and I had our jabs yesterday. Flu in left arm, covid in right arm. Flu, nothing to report. Covid, slight shoulder ache for me (nothing to trouble me), slightly more achey for Mrs Steve. There's a lot of covid around here at the moment but I'm not worried. We've both had it just the once, both mildly, in July 2022. I find it odd that all our supermarkets have done away with their trolley and hand sterilisers at the entrances. I take my own. I'm still not going to be wearing a mask any time soon. Masks are rare hereabouts these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 09:31 AM

In Stratford (Ontario!), masks are still common at large venues most people can’t avoid, especially supermarkets and big-box stores. I also see them at church, where singing happens. All of this makes perfect sense to me.

The plexiglass shields recently disappeared from the cashiers’ stations at Zehr’s and Sobey’s, the supermarkets I patronise the most. They can’t have been cheap to install, so I would like to know the business case for scrapping them.

For years, I have resisted air travel because I typically get off the plane with a cold I did not have on boarding, which means suffering with bronchitis is a foreign country. Now that COVID is apparently with us for the long haul, I definitely won’t fly for any reason short of a dire emergency, even after the full slate of available jabs, and with every intention of keeping up with each new vaccine. If that means I never see Europe again, I’m cool with that. (Maybe I’d go by sea. If a money tree were to spring up in my back yard.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 11:29 AM

I'm with you on that, Charmion, though it means not seeing family for extended periods and they're doing the traveling. The recent cold was just a cold, something I haven't had in ages, but it was tough week (and still treating the aftereffects). Like you, I always seemed to come down with something after a flight. The cloth masks I still wear can hang around my neck when not on my face, so it's easy to keep track of if I'm out running errands, no losing it in the parking lot.

The large box was dropped off at the UPS store this morning and the spot where it sat all summer looks empty now. Outside I finished clearing an area in the side bed and planting the cucumbers and zucchinis I started from seed last month. They're mulched well and I need to finish clearing the rest of the bed, which if I do this every 6 to 12 months is pretty easy, but if I wait several years like the last time everything is a lot harder to clear. It felt good doing the work and I wish I hadn't lost a week of good weather. But whatever, it is taken care of now.

Next, filing the growing stack of usual mail announcements that I hold onto, then tackling mortar repairs and the side fence.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:11 AM

Keep in mind, Charmion, that ships can also challenge one's immune system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 10:39 AM

I've always figured that if I ever took a cruise I'd pack enough emergency granola bars and other durable snacks to get me through avoiding people at the point when visiting the dining room means coming down with some norovirus or other.

The other kid has a claim on the flattened very large empty boxes I've kept tucked away in the sunroom; they're preparing to move house (again). That's the kind of job when you're usually glad to see free boxes come your way.

Lows at night in the high 40s this week which is fairly normal, but the afternoon highs are expected in the high 80s. It isn't a typical October. Even though it isn't as dreadful as July, August, or September, it is bound to be another record-breaking month in the scheme of Climate Change.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:09 PM

Stilly, from the donor's point of view, you're often happy to see them off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:37 PM

We both had our jabs on Saturday, flu in left arm, covid-19 in right arm. No problem with the flu but the covid gave us both a slightly tender upper arm but nothing else. Masks are rare hereabouts. Oddly, all the big shops have now removed their hand/trolley sanitation points at the entrance. I think that's a shame, as that cleaning protects us from a lot more than just covid-19. I always have a little tube of sanitiser about my person and I smear some of it on the trolley handle too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:42 PM

I have a new gadget that is definitely adding pizzazz to my quality of life. It’s a sealing cork for fizzy wine! So I can have, like, a single glass of prosecco. Like anyone has a single glass of prosecco, but I could, if I want.

At some point in the last six or seven years, I acquired a dozen bottles of champagne, real champagne, from France and everything, but from a maker I had never heard of. As fizzy white wine goes it’s tasty and refreshing, but it lacks the yeasty fresh-bread flavour that I like in a champagne. (Will ya look at her, the champagne snob!) Edmund and I would crack a bottle and drink it on the porch, or in front of the goggle box. There were still at least half a dozen bottles in the cellar when Edmund died.

When you’re on your own, fizzy wine is for company and for gifts. Because it’s like slaughtering a steer for one damned steak! But with this new gadget, I can open a bottle and have a glass, and then cork up the bottle and put it in the fridge and do it again tomorrow.

And that no-name champagne makes a killer Aperol spritz, and is amazing in a champagne cocktail or a French 75.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:07 PM

We "had to finish off" a bottle of Aperol that was "cluttering up the fridge" on Sunday, so we used it with a somewhat bog-standard bottle of Prosecco that someone had given us to make a very large Aperol spritz each in some oversize wine glasses that I'd foolishly bought (for the purpose to hand) a few months ago. It was very nice. There wasn't much Prosecco left in the bottle. It's a shame that half-bottles of Prosecco are such bad value, but a little while ago I found some 20cl bottles in Tesco ("Tesco Finest") at 4 for 3 which cost nine quid for the four, not the cheapest of cheap but pretty good for such a nice drop.

Aperol spritz is so damned tasty...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:33 PM

A bottle with four ounces in the bottom does look like clutter, don’t it? Good excuse for a wee tipple, if one needs an excuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:04 PM

Mrs Steve won't let me drink wine on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (I make do with two small cans of Peroni - any more and I'm bloated!), otherwise no excuses needed for a tipple...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 11:25 PM

I found the Resealer Beer Bottle Opener a couple of years ago that is helpful when opening bottles of sparkling cider or wine that you may want to consume over a couple of days. The rubber underside and graduated rim let you slide it over a bottle top and keep the sparkle in place.

You're welcome!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 03:40 AM

We've just noticed that a nearby village holds a big car-boot sale every single Sunday afternoon on a small field. This seems to me a very good idea. Because it's now well-known, they get lots of customers, and people can dispose of their surplus stuff without having to 'dump' it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 04:35 AM

A bottle resealer would be redundant in our household-of-two for reasons I won't go into ;-) though I can definitely see its merits ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 10:51 AM

That sounds like a good way to hand off stuff you can't use, Senoufou. On the few occasions I've held garage sales I realized that success depends on who passes by in the street and pulls over to walk up your driveway; that would be a much smaller number than at your community boot sale. It's why eBay ends up a better place for smaller obscure stuff than garage sales. A wider audience and they pay for shipping.

I had several very large boxes and several merely big boxes flattened in the SUV yesterday, and my daughter claimed the largest of the batch. The rest will go into the garage until possibly needed for shipping. In exchange, she handed over an ancient ink jet printer that I handed to her father last night, and he in turn will drop it at the city recycle center. We're an efficient small family.

After the dry heat of the summer the fall is cooler and things are coming back to life, but there is a feeling of churn in the air as the seasons change. It's time to start setting up for cold weather, move things in advance of whenever the first frost may come (it has been as early as Halloween and as late as early December.) I've secured one door in the greenhouse that had hung open much of the summer and need to clear shelves for anything I attempt to overwinter. There is still a lot of growth so it's too soon for harvests unless it is things like eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes that are picked as they grow large or ripen. Sweet potatoes stay put until after the frost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 02:21 PM

I put the light duvet on the bed today. Still no overnight frost, though; we should have had that before Thanksgiving.

This is my new gadget: Trudeau Sparkling Wine Stopper. Unlike most of the gadgets I have acquired over the last few years, I actually bought it in a local shop.

The collection of cardboard boxes in my garage has reached peak, so I will have to spend an hour I will never get back breaking them down for the recycle collection on Monday. I'm shocked -- shocked, I say! -- at how much stuff I buy on line these days, every single item painstakingly packed up, usually in a cardboard box. If the garage is full of boxes, I have been letting my fingers do too much walking through eBay and Amazon.

And then I run out of filters for the cats' water fountain. Guess where they come from? Yep -- Amazon.

Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 12:26 AM

A tour of some of my usual shopping stops after my bi-monthly haircut today had me at Goodwill looking at a variety of antique sewing machines. A woman asked a question about some of those being appropriate for a child learning to sew - I think they need work before they're going to be usable. I wasn't moving through like I usually do and I was *that* close to snagging a high end Janome sewing machine with lots of fancy computer stitches, but that woman got there first. I hope she bought it - for $26 it was a great buy. Like I need more sewing machines . . . but that one - what a huge step up from my old rotary and cam machines. That one needed a lot of cleaning up, but I think it was possible. Moving on.

I cleaned the kitchen this evening, with a lot of stuff run through the dishwasher. Sink mats, plates that hold sponges and soap pump bottles, the small dish drainer, etc. It'll be nice to enter the kitchen tomorrow morning and have it all looking shiny and neat as I fix my morning cuppa tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:01 PM

Dupont:

Nice to hear that I am in good company! Surprising to find that lots of people only cope with closed captions. Now if I could just get R to realize he needs to "look at me when you talk to me!"

R saw a friend with a $7000 "hearing device" changing settings on it; it can change all sorts of things - may even wash the dishes! I have enough trouble with my non-smart phone! Character in current novel commented that "the sound system was garbled". Amazing the comments we notice when they suddenly have relevance.

I am still processing what I would like to say to "that woman"; seem to have left her card in my jacket that I left at Beaver. I do want to make the effort to explain the difference between "hearing loss" and APD, as well as the extreme un-helpfulness of insisting to someone who is terrifically upset that they have a hearing loss which could lead to Alzheimer's! Reviewing tha manner in which she spoke to me - details - I wonder if I might have written something in the newspaper (in the 90's) which annoyed her; her attitude was more punitive than helpful.

I have been getting out more though mostly just exploratory shopping expeditions: found some nice socks down the road a ways (two towns down) and went into a drug store never visited - even though it is immediately adjacent to oft visited supermarket! Needed eye drops and found a much wanted pair of slippers on sale.

Taking extra MSM/GS to de-clutter pain in shoulders. Definitely works - when I remember! Cannot find the eye drops I bought yesterday but choc helps reduce the sporadic blurring. I'll look again tomorrow.

Also need to re-organize hall closet in hopes of finding N-95 masks; need to wear to go to mill. Woman for kiln cancelled last Sunday as both young sons had flu. Hoping we will meet this Sunday. This is a big de-clutter event!

Organizing the hall closet will also be prep for trip back to Beaver on 28th. The laundry I bring here, and etc.

Appointment to get tires changed on 1 November. Ordered a choc pie from bakery for tomorrow - a nice trip and possible visit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:10 PM

A friend and I made the shopping rounds this afternoon, in particular loading up on frozen fish at Costco. We're finally into cooking season and fish is on the menu. I have my eyes open for stuff leading up to Thanksgiving, and am keeping in mind that last year's fresh turkey was so large that the oven air didn't circulate well and it took forever. I'll do turkey again, but it will be smaller. Much of the rest of the stuff can be accumulated in the next few weeks - root vegetables, pumpkin, etc.

I have no idea who will be in town over the holidays so I will proceed as if there will be guests so I don't have so much last minute stuff to do.

Dorothy, today at Costco as I walked through the lobby to rejoin my friend (after a trip to the loo) a woman pushing another in a wheelchair sneezed - she didn't sneeze into the crook of her elbow, she just let it fly into the open air beside her. I was so glad to be wearing my 3-layer mask. If I'd given it a thought I'd have told her to cover her sneezes in the future.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Oct 23 - 01:10 PM

My cat sitting gig this week is ending a day early - just as well because I have things to do that are easier when I don't have to stop what I'm doing and head out three times a day to feed and medicate cats.

One of the dogs is annoyingly persistent in barking at the mail carrier's truck each time it passes the house in the course of delivering to this neighborhood. It was helpful today because on the first pass I received no mail so she didn't see the package I wanted her to take. The dog barked when she was parked at the corner across the street for that last stop in the neighborhood and I carried my box over to her. I think I'll make a magnetic red flag I can stick to the front of the mailbox for those times I have something for them to pick up. The box on the porch wall came with an attached tiny little plastic flag on the upper right side that is barely visible from the street.

Mowing today, digging, and sewing. And more kitchen cleaning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 11:26 AM

Dupont:

Raining and very gray! Computering and trying to get to something useful - --- Actually a good day for a hot bath and back to bed with a book seems like a good plan. Seriously. The ones taken have used huge amounts of time but also helped the energy and achy body.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 12:08 PM

I sat down with cloth scraps last night to see how it goes to piece things together, and it looks like I tossed some of the smaller ones that would have worked, but will still manage with what I have because the new blocks can be cut and reassembled. So I'm learning.

This morning has been a push to clear fridge contents into smaller containers and process stuff waiting for attention. The beets were simmered until soft several days ago and have finally been peeled and diced. All of the tomatoes I blanched, peeled, and simmered yesterday were run through the food mill and now await the step of making Italian-style sauce. All year I've been using sauce I made and froze last fall but I'm down to the last jar, so this is a combination of purchased fruits and a few overripe small ones from the garden (not enough to do much with by themselves and too weird to slice for salads.)

The aftereffects of that cold are still with me, but I'm carefully managing them with the neti pot and decongestants. My taste and smell are still a bit reduced because of it. This seems to be a fairly aggressive head cold making the rounds, according to my hairdresser, who because she talks to so many people in the course of a week has a pretty good sense of what is going on in the surrounding community. Seriously, it's the same as the barbershop conversations. Lots of anecdotal information is shared. :)

Garden work today (watering this morning) and some chopping/prying/sawing to finish removing the big root in the way of finishing the fence in the backyard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 10:55 AM

Three and a half pints of Italian style tomato sauce are in the freezer and the house still smells good from all of that cooking.

It got too hot too early to do the yard work, but I'll head out in a few minutes for some of that. Next week is forecast to be cooler and rainy. There's something about washing the car and bringing on rain, (if I worked I'd wash it weekly), but I do need to wash it (especially to wash the windows inside). I also need to take it in to have the oil changed and they will run it through the car wash free, so win/win if I make an appointment this week. Recycling needs to be dropped off recycling at the village bins and then I should vacuum the SUV insides. I'm considering swapping for a truck later this year, but only if this is clean and ready so I can get top dollar. And if I find a used truck with only a few miles so it has a long life. At this point it is a question of if an extended cab truck has enough bed room to make it worth the swap or if I can fit more long stuff in the SUV.

Before heading out to work I have a favorite pair of jeans with a rip under the back pocket that needs mending. I bought them used at a thrift store so I don't know where they were before, but it is unusual that mending under both back pockets has been needed. They're my yard pants, but in case I need to go somewhere during the course of a project, the holes need fixing. I've already had the experience of ripped pants in Home Depot; not something I wish to repeat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

Neil-across-the-street gave me some home-made sauerkraut the other day, so supper was that, with a large pork sausage. Urp.

Funny; only a few years ago, I would have eaten two of those sausages without hardly drawing breath, but tonight one was more than enough. The sauerkraut was excellent. I hope Neil includes me in next year’s distribution!

We should finally get our first frost tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 23 - 02:40 PM

As we get older the size of meals we eat has to shrink unless we are content to expand. I've been tracking my calcium intake for years using MyFitnessPal and have my daily calorie intake set at 1200. It doesn't take much to meet that level.

Drizzle today, and when it lets up I plan to dig an area to plant garlic for next year (it is planted in the fall for harvest around April-May). I'll be using the mattock to clear off the weeds on the surface since it was all dug very efficiently last year and again for planting in the spring. Garlic kept in a cool dry place can last for a really long time so some of these bulbs to plant go back two or three years and are still viable.

The fridge is more orderly as I continue to downsize some containers and finish the contents of others. I'm not sure how I manage to occasionally end up with the fridge stuffed full of mostly produce but it had happened recently. My eyes are larger than my crisper bins when I shop bargains at the discount grocery.

I've learned a lot in the last few days as I practice sewing scraps together for assembling a "crumb block" for quilting. I'm figuring out how to make sure there aren't gaps or overly large pieces in the blocks. There's a lot of trimming and reattaching. This is the getting-my-feet-wet part of learning a new activity. As I work I've listened to a 1961 murder mystery by Lawrence Block; I find myself second guessing what were legitimate clues in 1961 compared to what I know about forensics today (as much as the viewer of police procedurals and dramadeys like Bones can reasonably assume is accurate - even if it all happens in "TV time.") I'm mulling a red herring as I get to the last 90 minutes of the book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:49 AM

Over on Facebook we're reading about Bat Goddess's struggle to replace a dead refrigerator/freezer, emptying the old one and preparing for the removal and new delivery later this week. That means a removal of things in the path to the door. It was a relief to finally get my new upright freezer when the old one (50 years) started to fail; it may have been my fault because I hadn't vacuumed under it and the compressor may simply have needed the dog hair removed, but at that age I always worried it might fail.

After a wonderful rainy night I'll let the grass dry enough to mow the back. Meanwhile, I'm killing time waiting till the recycle bins behind city hall are emptied today after driving past on Sunday and finding them stuffed full. Then I'll clean the SUV and stuff the any back seat cloth shopping bags into a couple of the largest bags and move out some of the summer survival materials (extra bottles of water, mostly). It may be time to take the folding chairs out of the vehicle as well, I haven't needed them for a long time, but they bring back memories of enabling tailgate visits with my daughter and friends during the 2020 COVID shutdown.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:22 PM

A day of mostly rain, and a reminder that the next clear day I have to finish a few outdoor repairs while the temperatures are mild.

The buildup of papers needing filing has been cut in half, and I think it's time to start a spreadsheet to keep track of some of these donation requests. Donate once a year and they send out reminders for your renewal way before that year is up. The running list in a bullet journal isn't enough for keeping track.

This afternoon I got the RSV vaccination and was reminded that there are others I should look up. I don't remember when my last tetanus shot was, meaning it is probably due again. The pharmacist says 7 to 10 years. While at the pharmacy I disposed of the decade-old bottle of Rx cough syrup in their handy disposal bin.

I'm not drinking caffeine any more so the cup of decaf tea in the morning is just habit, but once it is in hand I sit down at the computer to check in on the world. I need to shift my morning routine and after feeding the dogs do my exercises, then get the tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 05:03 PM

Some peaches purchased recently weren't ripening well as they aged so after using the apple peeler on them they were cut up and simmered with peach cobbler stuff and are now in the oven. It'll be good that way, if not the way I've eaten peaches and nectarines all summer (with yogurt and granola on top).

Filing has continued and a lot has gone through the shredder. Since getting rid of the extra filing cabinet it all goes in the large plastic hanging file (the one to grab if the house is flooding or burning down), but some of that can be shifted over to one of the remaining files. Or I'll just stop saving statements (I get a few bills via email, but not all of them. I want paper copies of some things.)

Outside I'm preparing to move a rain barrel that I haven't used much and is in the way of a siding repair. I started emptying it with a little battery operated transfer pump and when it's low enough then I can tip it on it's side and empty the rest. A 55-gallon barrel is too heavy to tip full without smashing things around it or hurting myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 09:08 PM

Dupont:

Rain and more rain with occasional dry for a while days. Have managed to get most of fall work done. Still some large bits for R to do; nothing frost will harm but make room on deck before we get fire wood, which is beginning to feel like a myth. I shall insist we bring a small amount back from Beaver on the weekend. The cold is coming.

Lengthy conversation with engineer son, Sunday, elicited: He has APD as well and always had - "Why do you think I didn't go to classes?" I didn't know he didn't! So an I-phone is in my future, possibility of Airpods if needed. But, I do not think eliminating noise is safe - we need to be aware of what and who is nearby.

Long conversation with Apple help on Mon, trip to Apple store on Tues where the woman "helping" never understood my problem/concern/need... Another call to Apple help today to try to connect Mac to TV. Nice person tried hard but finally realized an upgrade was needed - Call back when it is done! BUT - before he got away he answered some questions about Iphone; I clarified with son by text and we agreed I will go tomorrow for a phone. Apparently it can listen and convert speech to text. That would work if I am talking to someone in a noisy place. I suppose it would have limitations - perhaps less than I have? A rather expensive "we'll see how it works" but I can return it after the weekend if the help is not adequate.

Looking forward to the long weekend with lots of travel for the sake of two separate music events, kind of en route- performers I once hung out with and have not seen in 40 years. We will get to Beaver Sat night and leave Monday - hopefully getting a couple errands done, maybe even a Covid booster.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 10:46 PM

It sounds like a good choice, Dorothy. That conversation to text feature or app was demonstrated recently by Senator Fetterman of Pennsylvania; since his stroke he has trouble with hearing in certain spaces or with background noise.

John Fetterman addresses using closed captioning on campaign trail after stroke

John Fetterman is using 'assistive technology' in the Senate as he continues to struggle with auditory processing issues after his stroke - the Daily Mail also has "REVEALED" in the headline, as if this is a shocking detail. It makes perfect sense he would do this.

I saw something within the last week about this but I'm not finding that recent story right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 05:15 AM

Dorothy Parshall, two tips with Apple helplines:
1) Find the time when the best techies for your purpose are online. Here in Ireland that's around 9am to 10am our time, when the helpers tend to be Irish or Scottish and reliably tech but (usually) able to explain without patronising. I've had some spectacular good luck with Arabs and Indians too, mind!
2) Always give the agent your phone number first thing, so they can call you back if the call drops.

And in general talking to helplines, I find it's better if I ask the person their name and write it down - doesn't matter whether they're using their real name or not - and use it in conversation the way I would with anyone else I'm talking to. "So, John, I need to press the little button at the bottom - the 'home' button, is it?" sounds much better, and makes both sides feel human. If apps are restarting or anything and there's a bit of a pause, it's nice to say "Where are you? Oh, X place? What's the weather like there today?" etc - human conversation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 11:39 AM

Good tips, John. I get their name, but it doesn't always occur to me to give them my number right away. I don't talk to Apple tech support (I'm an Android and Windows user) but there are enough times I have to call for appointments, etc., that those are just good things to do when calling a help line.

Rain rain rain last night; the creek stayed in its banks but someone up the street apparently lost a tree over power lines. I'm sitting at my kitchen table with a power line from the next door generator (they bought one a while back and didn't realize how much capacity it had until the big freeze of 2021, so now if the power is expected to be out for more than a few hours, they have me run my long power cable over.) The electric kettle and the small fridge next to kitchen table are plugged in. I opened the big fridge once and will leave it closed the rest of the day, and won't touch the big freezer. Since the computer and Wifi are all off I'm for the first time using my phone to be a tethered (Bluetooth) device to my tablet. I have a little Anker Bluetooth keyboard also in use and can reach the outside world. Data will be higher on the phone plan this month. (The tablet doesn't have adblock so Mudcat is a busy place with all of the Google ads - I will research this when the power is back and see if I can add something to this tablet browser.) We expect power to be restored by dinnertime. If not, I'll move things around and plug in the big fridge and the freezer.

Many people upgraded their emergency setup after that outage and freeze. I have a propane stove I can use (or I can plug the microwave into the power strip) for dinner, and I have a portable power device the size of a modest toaster oven for everything from jumping the SUV battery to running a lamp, radio, and charging USB devices. The phone is plugged into that as I work. I carry a 6700 mAh power pack in my handbag, good for several phone or tablet charges. I've always tried to be prepared for emergencies (years ago I took a mountaineering class and they taught about the 10 essentials - the gear that would keep you safe in an emergency. I still apply those skills to life in general). When I lived in NY City I carried a pack back and forth to work so if the power went out in the subway I had a book to read, a water bottle, and a flashlight; I made use of them several times. These days it depends on charging small computers everywhere. I'm leaving in a little while and will have to disconnect the garage door opener so I can lift the door by myself, then reconnect it for when the power returns. I guess the test when I get back home is if the door opens or not when I push the button on the remote control.

With the power distractions this morning I missed getting trash to the curb in time; it is full of the shreds from sorting and filing that I finished yesterday. I fear my rain barrel has refilled itself with the several inches of rain overnight, but my work clearing the area in the side bed where I'll plant garlic won't have been undone by the weather. I'm not opening the fridge again, that delicious peach cobbler will have to wait until dinner (it can be a great breakfast). Tonight I start a long weekend of cat sitting for my friend and at least I won't have to worry about watering her potted plants. She has caterpillars in an enclosure on her porch and I have rue and dill growing here if I need to replenish their food supply. Word salad to finish this post (where there is an autocorrect setting I have to adjust in my MS SwiftKey app - it's being bossy this morning.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 04:51 PM

I am finally recovering from the sinus affliction that has been bothering me since ragweed season opened in August. It's really quite shocking how a persistent discomfort in the head that renders me dizzy, queasy and tired, can erode my general joie de vivre. For the last week, I have been dizzy and queasy enough that just looking at the computer is miserable and God forbid I should do anything more challenging than washing the dishes.

The up side? Lots of time in the comfy chair, providing lap accommodation for both cats.

Getting to see the doctor on short notice is something of a trial these days. The practice does not advertise it, but it runs a so-called after-hours clinic, essentially sick parade for clients of the practice who should not wait two weeks for an appointment but also should not clutter up the emergency ward at the hospital. Each day, one of the doctors in the practice works that extra shift. Patients with an urgent-ish problem -- defined by me as an illness that requires prescription medication today, not two weeks from now -- must book, of course; God forbid one should just, y'know, walk in with one's miserable hacking cough. The after-hours clinic phone number is not posted anywhere in the office; if the receptionist takes pity on you, she might let it drop when you have been sufficiently reduced to desperate pleading for an appointment. Of course, you must wait until five o'clock to call for a clinic spot ... It's enough to make one slam down the phone in tears of frustration.

Once nose to nose with the doctor, all goes well. She listens carefully, takes notes, asks intelligent questions, briskly proposes an appropriate treatment, and then offers me a buckshee flu shot. The hard part is the obstacle course that always comes first.

It's raining in Stratford this week and looking more and more pre-winter-ish, but it's still oddly warm. We had one touch of frost on Monday, but today's high was 20C -- more like Germany than Ontario.

The hydro power fails here frequently, but rarely for more than a minute or two. I'll find the clock on the stove flashing 00:00 in the morning when I put the kettle on. It happens often enough that I don't bother resetting the clock on the microwave, which works just fine without it. The stove is less cooperative.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 08:39 PM

Dupont:
Spent early part of day planning weekend. Then off to Apple -Hi ho hi ho!! In the middle of transferring data from phone and computer to new phone...! Needed the password for the computer; I never use it so it did not make it onto the wonderful new list of passwords I made last week. Have to go back tomorrow - but now I have the password but the whole computer is topsy turvy. I have an appointment with a tech - and Hope! Really want it done for the weekend as there will be many opps to try it out.

Otherwise there is food to eat and all is well - as long as I remember to take Pau d'Arco, and eat choc and keep face hydrated so eyes are happy.

Robin brought last of plants in this am!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 23 - 11:43 PM

Dorothy, I hope you were able to conclude your data transfer issues and get a phone set up at Apple. I have a friend who visits regularly (she's planning her 90th birthday party for next May and may stay here or do a party at my house) who has on occasion needed to be taken to the Apple Store for some technical problem. There is a Jack In the Box restaurant nearby where I go wait while they tussle with her phone and tablet.

As an Android user, I think I found enough things to turn off in my Samsung tablet to stop the battery from draining too quickly. When I first started using it the battery strength was stunning, and I'm sure the various apps and Samsung proprietary programs as they were turned on became too active for my taste. I don't need it to check in with the Mothership as often as it has been doing.

The backyard lawn nearest the house got a mow today, so the rain in the next couple of days won't make going out a problem for the oldest dog. He's a Lab, he doesn't really care, what he likes is to be towel dried when he comes back in, but I want that area to be inviting and easy to walk through. We're already getting weather alerts about rain passing through the region tonight.

Today I received an email from the congressman who represents my district, and it included a letter that was never actually mailed to me on Sept. 25. It offers answers to everything I've had questions about a pension I get a portion of. Who knows how long I would have waited for this answer if I didn't ask for help. #MischiefManaged

Today I've made appointments for various things; my mammogram, the SUV oil change, and for the girls to get their shots and checkups at the vet. The dogs all got their heartworm medication (once a month) today. I inspected the garden today and am ready to protect it if we get cold weather (possibly on Monday through Wednesday in the overnight hours). My tarps are ready.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 11:40 AM

There was rain overnight and it's forecast for much of the day. Three nights next week may possibly offer a frost or freeze. That is so unfair, after all of the heat that pushed gardeners to try for a fall crop! I'll be putting out floating row covers over several areas (it's a gauzy tarp that helps keep the stuff under a few degrees warmer than the air).

Since I was out early to feed the cats I took my soggy self over to the local grocery with a great bulk section and with my favorite variety of raisin bran cereal. The pie pumpkins were tiny - 2 pounds each - that is something I'm going to have to grow for myself next year. There are cranberries in the freezer and in the next few weeks I'll load up on the root vegetables I bake instead of making stuffing for the turkey. And this year, a smaller bird so the air circulates in the oven well around it. I could possibly choose to do a turkey breast or two instead.

I haven't decluttered my calendar of a holiday, but I don't do much to decorate for Halloween and I'm not home to trick or treaters, it's just too hard on the dogs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 12:15 PM

I just booked my next COVID booster.

The house is grubby and I have yet to finish the minutes of the last choir board meeting. Outside is chilly and wet, so there's a good chance that I’ll actually achieve some improvement in both conditions. My sinus infection made a bit of a comeback yesterday, but it has ebbed again, much to my relief.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 09:21 PM

When I do the cat sitting one of the runs is simply to give a cat medication that must be taken at least an hour before or after food with his other medications. So today I went up late and gave him the medication then spent an hour doing my Essentrics exercises before feeding all of them dinner. Having a set time and nothing else to do does help me stay on task for the exercises.

We have a couple of days of rain ahead, so after tomorrow's cat run I'll be at home and perhaps I'll finally start doing some of the projects in the sewing studio. I may do another hour of exercises - I find them helpful for increased flexibility.

My daughter and her wife and their roommates are finishing a move to a new property, and if I play my cards right, I can give them any number of things from here that will be helpful in their new rural home. Not just plants for the garden, but extra gardening tools (and if it were helpful, at some point they could dismantle and move the greenhouse - especially if I ever think about moving from here).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Oct 23 - 07:57 PM

Essential shopping today on a cold damp day that followed a day that was very warm and humid. The heat is on/the heat is off. That's autumn in Texas. When I made the bed today I added a quilt to the sheet and thermal blanket. The layering begins.

In the yard this week I'll put down the floating row cover that keeps the plants underneath a few degrees warmer on those nights that just dip to freezing. Tuesday and Wednesday look like the nights that could clobber my garden.

Vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, and laundry today. Making the indoors more welcoming as the outside becomes surly. Rain is forecast for all night so I'll wait till morning and leave the trash bag at the curb. The bag out overnight could be torn by dogs or raccoons.

Time to start getting out the warmer dog beds, but also time to once again try to keep Cookie from tearing them to pieces.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 11:33 AM

Today I'll shift contents of the greenhouse, get the water barrel filled and the heater in place and seal the doorway on the north end, then move in two volunteer tomato plants and my small Texas Star Hibiscus in pots. The hibiscus is usually grown in the ground but with the heat this summer I started some in pots. They didn't grow huge or bloom but they did grow. I may also see if I can pot a couple of smaller things for the winter. Peppers. In the front yard it is usually sufficient to pull pots from that patio onto the porch to protect them. I'll take the battery trimmer out to the veggie garden and get the grass out of the way of some of the other crops then put down the floating row cover for the overnight hours for Tuesday and Wednesday nights (holding it down with a combination of pegs and bricks.)

My across the street neighbor has been taken to the hospital in an ambulance this morning. I was going to take over some fried eggplant for her soon (I just picked one and have a couple more almost ready to pick.) Her husband is at home so I'll make the whole eggplant parmesan dish and take it (I'm careful adding too many ingredients for her because of the past episodes of diverticulitis.)

I haven't turned on the heat yet but we're close to that event. The quilt on the bed and the ceiling heater in the bathroom for my shower last night are enough so far. Can I make it to November 1? That would probably be a new record.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

What the heck. Beat our post counters. 1000.

I've just scrolled through the Mudcat dropdown menus looking to any that are defunct due to the current disk error problems Max is working on. It was an interesting look at the early days of Mudcat, if anyone has a few minutes to take a look.

Making headway around the house this morning with laundry washed and dried and veggies steamed for the dogs and me for the next couple of days (broccoli). The Lab turned his nose up at raw zucchini, but I have a bet with myself that he'll still eat it cooked, so I'll steam some of that later today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 04:07 PM

First forecast of flurries today, but so far only rain. It's chilly and raw, and the trees have dropped more than half their leaves. After so much unseasonably warm weather, it's a bit of a surprise but oddly reassuring to be putting on a warmth layer under the waterproofs.

No more decluttering here at the moment except for another outward bound bag of clothing that I will never wear again. I'm considering the purchase of blinds for the music room and adapting the heavy curtains that I bought for it when it was a bedroom so they can hang from a sturdy wooden or metal rod, leaving the top of the centre windows -- a big ornamental transom -- uncovered. I suspect that project will cost a whack, but then so did the curtains. That room also still needs painting; it's the one with the puce-and-aubergine colour scheme.

A friend came over for supper last night. Watson the cat put on a tremendous display of lap-lolling and shoulder-climbing between courses, purring loudly and generally making the occasion all about *him*. My friend (a dog person) was impressed by this behaviour, unaware that most of it was designed to persuade me to undertake our usual evening routine in the comfy chair in front of the telly. Cats are so normative.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 01:23 PM

Today is the official last day of my PO box rental; this post office building was constructed in 2000 and I was probably one of the earliest customers. I'll miss having to run over every so often and pry contents out of the next-to-smallest box - NOT. When the annual rent increased to $248I began the already described transition to the mail at home in a locking box. The PO address mail will now forward for 18 months (I paid for an extra 6 months just for the heck of it.) I'll think of a suitable ceremony. Maybe I'll apply the sticky numbers that came with it to the box, but it is mounted under the house numbers in view on the porch.

The heat is officially on in the house. This morning was just too chilly to sit in my office when it showed 62^o in here. I'm puttering around, swapping sandals for slippers, setting out a few lap quilts, and turning off switches for dusk-to-dawn lights that would possibly invite trick-or-treaters to the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 05:19 PM

Dupont:

Arrived home about 3:30 am this morning, having learned a hard lesson: Decide ahead of time and make arrangements where/when you are sleeping. Tired after the concert and a long day exploring very rural Ontario, the phone was no help at all and we wandered for about two hours until I found an energy reserve, about 2:15 and said, "OK, it is only an hour home; I can do that." I did. R slept. We happily crawled into bed. There were still two items on the to-do list -- some other time!

If we had driven straight home after the concert, we could have been home by 1 am! These things happen when one/two is/are way over tired! If is had not been so cold, we could have slept in the car.

We woke up to a couple inches of snow on Monday! BUT the road was clear!!! Mostly R did a whole bunch of getting ready for winter tasks before we left AND we loaded some of our good dry firewood into the car - since R has not yet gotten any for Dupont. We backed up to the woodshed,onto the snow covered yard - almost level but not quite! Then - Hey - this car is front wheel drive! (I was thinking of that.) That load on the rear took some pushing, maneuvering, and gravel - some of what washed into the yard in the spring run off! BUT ---WE did it!!

Well, the 30th of October will be remembered! Not least for the concert by a friend of over 40 years - but not seen in almost 40 years. We had a good chat, partly about his lifelong "bestie" whom we had seen on Saturday night - on a better organized trip! We drove from Dupont to the fascinating venue via more rural explorations. The site, near Picton is a very retired - in places falling down - air force base. Efforts are being made to turn it into a cultural centre; the concert venue was very beautifully restored - "Sergeant's Mess".

My recovery from the event of 14 Sept is complete - with very good info from a knowledgeable sound person: "Yes P.A. systems can be set in such a way as to be difficult to understand. There are settings of frequencies that can be altered to make comprehension easier, but if not set correctly, can make voices sound off." I do wonder if anyone else had a problem with that day.(And if some fool told them they had a haring loss!) R found the sound systems in the Sergeant's Mess a bit "muddy". But the combo of lyrics and instrument make it virtually impossible for me, tho I enjoy the instruments - generally... depending...!!

Tomorrow snow tires and general maintenance!

The phone has been close to an ordeal and is not completely set up. But I am hanging in - hoping for the "listen live" feature to be helpful. The vibration is stronger and the ring and other notification sounds are a definite improvement. Still lots to figure out.

Supper tonight... Still a figment of my imagination!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 06:45 PM

Charmion, a good way of shifting a recurring sinus infection that isn't bad enough for antibiotics is NeilMed (not sure about the studylycaps, maybe it's Neilmed). This is a squashy plastic bottle and a collection of sachets of saline powder. You fill the bottle with warm water up to the mark indicated, pour in a sachet of saline powder and give it a shake with your thumb over the hole in the top, then you squirt the warm water into each nostril alternately. It just washes out the sinuses and the saline shrinks back the mucous membranes.
Very relieving, and better than most of the spray bottles because it's warm, and because there's more of it. You have to keep doing it every day - part of the morning routine preferably, because if you do it at night, the remaining liquid drools out onto the pillow. If you do it for long enough - nearly a month, usually - the sinus demon says "Curses, this is too rainy for me" and gets out. It's a big help at hayfever time.
Another help at hayfever time is to find the most local honey you can get, and take a teaspoon of it every day. Local is best, they say, because the local bees will have fed on the weeds whose pollen your sinus demon loves, and by some magic of transference, eating the honey nourished on these weeds helps to quieten down the allergies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 07:20 PM

The pot Thompson describes is a product from a company that also produces the Neti pots. This is the one I use. I usually do use tap water, but I see from WebMD that I should be using the water that was already boiled and cooled from my electric kettle. Warm in the microwave if it needs it. They're easy to wash, and easy to use once you are accustomed to it. I use about 1 teaspoon of a mix of Pickling salt (no additives) and baking soda. A bit more salt to soda in that mix, maybe 60/40%.

This is a post for reflecting on the controlled movement of water. I also finally emptied the rain barrel (it has two holes in the top, nowhere else) by taking a 10' hose, pushing it all the way to the bottom, then a bucket of water and a pitcher to pour water into the other end held high enough to build up good suction when it was laid down on the lawn. The siphon got down to the last couple of inches in a 55 gallon barrel. For tonight it is lying on its side in an inconspicuous area and tomorrow I'll put it in the backyard. It's close enough to twilight that parents with tiny trick or treaters will be hitting the street on this mild clear evening. I don't want to be out front in view, having to decline offering treats. That said, I've always liked this particular cartoon, being another Margaret. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 08:59 PM

I'm very prone to sinus attacks, always on the right side. It's been my misfortune for the last three years to have suffered from frequent bouts of cellulitis, so I've been on big doses of antibiotics a lot (I'm now on a prophylactic low dose of Penicillin V for a whole year!). I can tell you that the antibiotics do not stave off, nor cure, sinus attacks. I suppose that means that they're caused by viruses.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 10:59 PM

Different antibiotics are used for various treatments so your low dose for cellulitis isn't what would be used if a sinus infection took hold. Infections aren't caused by viruses, they are bacterial, or are a bacterial side effect of a virus. What treats bronchitis probably isn't what will treat cellulitis.

I fought off sinus infection and bronchitis for a week or more after the recent head cold by using guaifenesin and the neti pot to keep the congestion from building up too much and causing an infection.

After the work to put the floating row cover over my plants I don't think it actually froze last night. It did the night before, enough to knock out really tender stuff, so what I covered were the larger plants (eggplant, pepper, tomato) that I want to harvest later this fall. The hit or miss effect of the almost-freeze two nights ago is kind of interesting, what got hit and what didn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 01:49 AM

Ah, rain barrels: why has no one invented a hose connector that can be used by the standard water butt tap? Or why don't the butts have a tap that will fit the standare hose connector?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 05:09 AM

this afternoon friends collected 2 large unwanted craft collections.

I used to make mohair bears (a collection already downsized, but not yet moved out!) & naturally had more mohair than anyone who is not a professional bear maker could ever use. I also used to make beaded earrings & necklaces & had a similar sized collection of beads & fittings etc, both collections have gone! Most of the mohair was in a gi-normous zipped plastic bag that had contained a large quilt/doona, the rest in a large gift box, half that size. Half the beading stuff was in a small shopping trolley, the other in a large reusable bag from my local supermarket, I didn't realise they came from Bulgaria!.

well done me (pats self on shoulder) & well done to my friends.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 10:57 AM

Those beads and findings will be the last to go, but they haven't had much use for a while. Good move with the bear materials!

The barrels I have here came from a friend's house; he worked at a place that did general magnaplate work on restoring industrial equipment (redoing finishes and sending back - I went on a tour, and the most interesting was a huge chrome-plated disk that was a proprietary tool for extruding Cherrios cereal. No photos and non-disclosure form signed.) The barrels had the non-dangerous materials like baking soda and other everyday products in huge volume. Black barrels and blue barrels (a little different, but also plastic with bung holes only on the top).

One barrel in the greenhouse has an old fashioned Lever pump handle, and I use a battery operated pump on the one that was just emptied. And I have two that are squared on the sides that lie on top of cinder blocks and are stacked and I use those to water my outdoor potting table where I start seeds. I envision my daughter catching on to the usefulness of these and getting a couple. I had more, and gave them to a friend who lives out in the West Texas desert.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 11:19 PM

I spent ~3 hours this evening at my daughter's almost ex-house, helping with some of the nitty gritty cleaning before they are completely moved out. Two of the four bathrooms in the house are now in shiny clean shape, and I tackled some of the grime in the kitchen (the area where the fridge stood took several passes with various cleaners, and the stove and microwave had built up splatters that are gone). They've been in the house for almost seven years, so the landlord should be painting and putting in new toilet seats and replacing or refreshing the carpets.

I brought back a small desk that I'll put on the Buy Nothing page for my part of town; one less thing they need to move. Their Ikea bookshelves were too large for any to slide into the SUV.

There is an account of my trip to the Nissan dealer on my Facebook page; I went in for an oil change and tire rotation and they were making a concerted effort to convince me to sell my used vehicle to them. After the planned on work and the free inspection stuff I got a text with the quote on various things that need doing (thousands of dollars) - this is based upon mileage and not based on actual problems. As I was scrolling through that list and declining all of the expensive stuff, the phone rang and it was the sales department at Nissan offering a lowball price for my SUV (because they now know it's in good shape) and I should buy a new vehicle. Except out of curiosity I ran a query through Edmunds Car Guide a few weeks ago and a local Auto Nation dealer offered $8000 more. I wouldn't use it as a trade-in for their terrible offer.

I told this sales woman that I thought their approach stunk and take me off the list for soliciting purchasing my vehicle. But round two was paying the bill for the oil change - when the Service department representative started to go through a litany of things I need to do regarding the current status (based upon what I had already declined). So many places do this - you can't just pay and go, you have to fight off the sales folks. After the first couple of visual aids (the tools to measure brake health and tire tread depth) I told her to let me pay and give me the printout and stop the sales pitch. My statement to end the BS: "I have to pee and I have somewhere else to be." I'm really tired of businesses that think they see you coming, and you'll roll over and let them have their way. I'm looking for a mechanic to do some of this work as needed, not the dealer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Nov 23 - 05:14 PM

Insult added to injury - I headed out to my morning volunteer gardening gig and was a few blocks from the house, ready to head onto the freeway, when I saw the low tire pressure warning. I circled back to the house and used the little battery compressor to fill them. The Nissan folks neglected to check and properly inflate my tires, and the cold weather often is when it shows up as low pressure. I am so disappointed with that whole experience.

Three hours planting a seasonal bed at the Botanic Garden was a good start to the day, followed by two hours of scanning at the museum. When I'm scanning I'm way past where visitors are allowed, but the Botanic Garden episode was an opportunity to observe the visitors. Kids all noticed the three of us planting, and their teachers paused to ask questions. But there was a lot of older adult foot traffic, and aside from one "thank you for everything you do" (so common it is meaningless, but it works as a "hello") most strolled past and didn't try to make eye contact. I wasn't out there to talk to them, but I tend to look up as they pass, and an occasional "good morning!" is always a nice acknowledgement of the work. As a visitor I always look to see if the landscapers, maintenance people, etc., are making eye contact and offer a greeting.

Just now Nissan made the mistake of texting and asking me to answer a survey about yesterday's visit. I told them I was disappointed at the stunts they pulled.

The busy part of my week is over, now to do some puttering around the house until next Tuesday's volunteering. I will probably head over to a party at friends' in Arlington tomorrow evening because it will be several hours after the Texas Ranger's World Series celebration parade a few miles away. Driving there earlier in the day will be gridlock.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Nov 23 - 11:08 PM

I spent possibly the last shirtsleeves day of the year raking and bagging leaves, and cutting back perennials. Except the rose bush, which decided to start blooming again just before Thanksgiving. Gorgeous day, but by late afternoon the wind was accelerating and the sky had gone grey. The next week is supposed to be wet and chilly.

Stilly, you’ve reminded me that it’s time to have the wheels changed on the car. I’ve been remembering and forgetting to do that for at least a month now, but it’s time — we had our first sprinkle of snow on Wednesday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 10:37 AM

Good on you Maggie. Jiffy Oil Change has the same BS rigamarole.
I'm back from the market and now I will mulch mow the rest of the leaves and do other yard projects today. I don't use any barrels anymore since it drowned a chipmunk.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 11:02 AM

Yes, Don, I'm remembering now - a couple of commercial oil change places would come in with some other suggested repair or update. I rarely bit, except if it seemed incredibly practical. This reminds me I need to top off the coolant and change the air filter.

It must be fall now, I'm feeling the full impulse needed to do the furniture and equipment moving in the office - the willingness to take the art off of the walls and move things that require dismantling and reassembly. Laundry is in and I've been decanting various containers in the kitchen. I'm ready to till and plant garlic (taking some of the really old kraft bags out of the pantry clears a fair amount of space.) The work at the Botanic Garden was part of the inspiration; they pulled out a little tiller just like mine to work the bed before we planted a seasonal garden. Something I've been doing more in the last year.

It's too early here for leaves down, and the lawn is still growing. I did some digging in the sweet potato pots, there was one very large potato between the two pots. Next I'll dig around in the garden and see if anything from last summer is harvestable. I've pulled out the bonsai okra and some of the peppers that were hit by frost. If this year represents a new norm then I have to be prepared to plant really early, harvest what I can by early July, then write off the garden until September. I started too late to get a fall crop on some things, others are still producing.

I'm watching the mail to see if things are forwarded as requested. So far nothing has arrived with the conspicuous yellow forwarding tag, and I haven't seen anything in my Informed Delivery messages to show me redirected mail coming to the house. It's my one small rebellion this year, taking an expensive annual bill off of the balance sheet. Now to see if it worked as planned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 06:57 PM

A trip to the discount grocery has us loaded up with produce for now (for me and the dogs) and produce that keeps for later (onions, potatoes, carrots, beets). Some to cut up and freeze (bell peppers). And they have skinless boneless chicken thighs in stock again at half-price. I love those for making teriyaki chicken.

Zeke proved to be consistent in refusing calabash squash; he didn't want it raw last week, so I steamed some this morning but after giving him a bite after one chew he spit it out. Broccoli for him while the girls finish off the rest of the squash.

Cleaning this evening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Nov 23 - 02:02 PM

The COVID resurgence for vintage sewing machines has passed; since new machines were unavailable in the volume needed to supply everyone who wanted to make PPE, the vintage machines saw a resurgence. But I've been looking at replacing one of my older machines with a newly manufactured one and see that the used market has subsided. I need to move out a couple of the older ones before I consider bringing in a new one. I didn't pay much for them but I won't make anything selling them (especially as heavy as they are - the shipping is the killer on these transactions). They will be sold for parts or repair.

I also need to identify projects I've planned to do that haven't been done and either get them going or clear out the stuff I'm not using. I was looking for sewing machines on estate sale listings this week and what I see are people with way too much stuff that their families have to sort later.

Beautiful weather this week. I've done some work on the yard and need to cross a few more outdoor projects off the list before it's cold again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Nov 23 - 07:40 PM

Dupont:

I seem to be in a holding pattern this week: Recovery from weekend, groceries, minimal cooking, final outdoor bit and pieces -almost! Trip for more pastries on Friday, then about five hours in resto with Geri, chatting and trying out the "live listen" feature; it wrote out what we were each saying but some of the words were way off!

I tried out Face Time with #1 son who them shouted at me about my "hearing loss" and frequencies and on and on. Most unpleasant encounter I recall having with him. He is adamant that I need a hearing aid. Geri is also - I found out Fri! But this was the first time I found her voice dim. R listens to me without much feedback.

Hearing vs comprehending - very different. I detest loud noise so do not want anything louder. Still looking at APD and its effects and not yet sure about anything. Not wanting to spend more money on sound altering equipment! Frequencies and the fact that a sound system may be altered ... and if people do not speak directly into the mike... These all make a difference. Most of the time I have no problem hearing at all. A conundrum and the jury is still out - regardless of being browbeaten by my son. I thought he would be delighted that I Face Timed him.

Anyway, the dishes are up to date and there is cooked food in the frig and R might be home tonight --- or not. I have a small struggling fire in the wood stove - the wood we brought is not really dry enough. I need to bring in some kindling from the brush pile. Manana.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 08:41 AM

I had my sixth anti-COVID shot yesterday at the drug store, and I have to say that hypodermic injection technique has really improved around here over the last few years. The pharmacist who did the honours sneaked that needle into and out of my skin with such skill that I felt only the faint sting of the serum as it elbowed its way into the muscle tissue.

Practice makes perfect, I guess.

All Souls’ Day is 2 November, and St James’s had its annual memorial service last night. The congregation was unusually focussed, and for the first time I saw a bunch of Anglicans enter into that special Zen state that develops from fully united, and invested, group singing. The hymn was “Abide With Me”. In the throes of the last stanza, I saw why hymn-singing is so critical to Christian worship — they were experiencing genuine uplift.

Meanwhile, I was carrying the alto line and concentrating on not coughing. It’s leaf-mould season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 11:26 AM

As an elementary-school-aged kid I managed to ditch the Sunday morning church stuff (when we convinced Mom that we didn't need Sunday school to do arts and crafts). A friend used to complain if I mentioned mowing the lawn on Sunday mornings (the noise) but I figure if people are religious they're in church and won't hear my mower. It works for me to get out into the park and museum world during the week for my contemplative moments.

Yesterday I did a lot of cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, resulting in meals for the week and much less clutter in the fridge. Finally admitting that the jar of pickles or relish or salsa is too old to use and tossing into the compost helps clear out the jars.

This morning was the first conversation with my handyman about replacing the patio cover behind the house. It will probably be a simple framework, with 4x4 posts sunk in concrete all around the patio (the current one stands on the patio and reinforcements for the posts were sunk into the concrete.) Coming up with something custom to fit the house. The current one is crumbling and only marginally safe; I fear a big windstorm taking out one side and collapsing the whole thing.

Moving office furniture today. More dog walking. Digging in the garden to plant garlic, and making a quick pass through the dead crop plants to lop them off and tote them (via wheelbarrow) to the compost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 10:06 PM

I worked up a sweat weeding and then planting garlic (to be harvested next May), and I took out the dead big stuff in the garden (tomatoes and peppers). And damned if the code enforcement guy didn't put another caution tag on my door saying to mow the grass. What is it with this guy, that he figures he'll beat me to the yard work I have planned? But the grass isn't too tall, so perhaps he has confused the weeds in the garden with tall grass in the lawn. I need to speak to him face-to-face one of these days. Figure out what the heck he thinks he's doing. This yard is never going to conform to the standard monoculture turf and tidy edge gardens. How dull.

Dinner was wonderful this evening, a piece of tilapia (floured and sauteed in butter) with two sides, one of a plate of the babaghanouj I made yesterday and pita, and a bowl of the chicken stew I also made yesterday. The stew was the little bit that didn't fit into the large container for the rest.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 09:53 AM

A craft epiphany this morning - something I daresay neither of my parents encountered (there was no evidence): I have too many things going on at once, with the setup for projects I need to work on for a while. Before I start another one (quilting) I need to wrap up a few other things. When I think back to the archaeological digs one reads about, when a slim metal shard reminds us that women had just a few scarce needles for their thread and sewing, when every trade bead was precious, I know we are well beyond those days. The problem is too much, not too little. Organizing the sewing studio was an excellent start. Now I need to expand the organizing to the rest of the house. As I research the heavy duty sewing machines out there I realize that this is enough of a commitment that I need to use this as a reward for myself for finishing or donating stuff I'm not using any more. And it gives me a lot to look forward to for motivation purposes.

I decluttered stuff in the pantry shelves yesterday as I moved garlic that is too pulpy to cook with into the garden to see if it will grow. Chances are it will, and the transformation from old clove to new bulb will happen in the soil over the winter and spring. And if it doesn't, no big deal. I'll have plenty that was already sprouting (because I didn't harvest all of it in the spring, I left it to grow much larger after another year.)

The next garden task is to use the trimmer to scalp the grass from beds and prepare for planting some winter crops. Some are cold hardy (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, etc.) if you put the floating row cover over the top in particularly cold weather. And because I have that stuff now I need to keep in mind the placement of crops so covering them is easy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 04:40 PM

I have an undecorated 7-foot-tall Christmas tree in the living room, but its a sword fern topped by a Boston fern. Maybe the real Christmas tree will go in the kitchen this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 04:57 PM

I am big on chicken stews. I add a bit of vinegar, lots of Mumbo sauce and a couple of tablespoons of diced pineapple. Instant spicy sweet and sour. Plus egg noodles for the carb addicts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 12:33 AM

I finished rearranging the older computer and equipment that I use with it this evening, but am not satisfied with the setup. Plus the printers are lumps on relatively short cables and on a stand that is in the way. But that stand can be lowered by about 5" so I'll move the printers and lower the stand tomorrow. (I picked it up at the curb a dozen years ago, it has been very handy for a freebee). Too bad the fitness tracker doesn't register the extent of this kind of movement, I feel like I just spent three hours in the gym. A lot of dust was removed and the floor in the corner was mopped.

A large tree dropped into the creek two lots downstream from mine, and the city folks are going to try to get it out before rain starts later this week to avoid flooding (it could wash up against the bridge and form a dam). The next door neighbor spoke to the city folks, they say the city owns the creek so tend to trees that fall in it. If that one hadn't just fallen in I wouldn't be as worried about my tree ready to fall in.

I finished trimming the tall grass in the gardens where I had tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplant. Now just the eggplant stands on that side of the driveway. Between that and the computer I got a great upper body workout today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 12:00 PM

Yesterday, it took about 8 gremlins to get me through: two women at the local library helped me print my ballot (to vote on-line in the state of Washington); one stayed on after the end of her shift to meet the goal! Then - my new phone not working at all like the old one - a call to a nice woman in Louisiana (Apple Help - I should have it on speed dial!) enabled me to get pics of said ballot onto an email. Soon, a new email informed that ballot had been received!! YAY! I voted!!
After lunch -at 4PM - I set out to go to a tribute to Leonard Cohen: Totally lost in Montreal, I stopped at a mall where two young fellows managed to pull up a map on that darn phone. This helped me head in a more correct direction but the map disappeared and I was closer but still lost.
I pulled into a side street, stopped the car and got out, intending to go to a shop for help...BUT a young man wearing a motorcycle helmet offered help: looked at his phone, told me to wait while he fetched his cycle, came back and led me to my destination!!!!! "There it is, right across the street. park here! You're welcome!" And he was gone.
It was a great eve! A great day! (It took 34 minutes to get home! I was lost for about 2 hours due to failing to write down explicit directions at home.) All we need are gremlins! Lots of them!!

So, I need more help with this Iphone which is currently more of a hazard than a help. Other than that, preparing -mentally- to deal with snow tomorrow. Hoping my energy level this afternoon will allow trip to produce store. And damp mop the floors (no carpets). The sewing room and pottery (here) are closed indefinitely - until I feel the right spurt of energy.

The woman I sat next to last night told me she loves her hearing aids, "get them, you'll love them!" I suspect they were a new part of her life. She gave me the name and location of her provider; in the same building as the CNIB- so opthamology (sp?) as well, a recently evolving concern. There was very little down time so I never found out why she was so enthusiastic. "Get them; You'll love them!" R commented -to me only - that he doubted that. Also wonder why he said that. She gave me the name of her brother who lives here in Chateauguay. But not her own! I will check out her bro, a reporter for the local paper.

At the end of the evening as the device came along to accept our payments, she passed it to the man across from her, commenting on how handy husbands are! At about the same time I was offering my card to R! (R paid.) Last weekend, I paid the tickets, he the meals; about even. I was surprised by her remark.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 03:24 PM

It’s sleeting in Stratford — winter’s first blast. Nasty.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 05:24 PM

I fought off shards of sunshine this morning at the Botanic Garden where I spent three hours repotting trees into larger deeper containers. Also (alas) fought off bits of grit in my eyes (one at a time, but one each) from the fine compost/mulch we were using. After that I shifted tasks and used a shovel to shift soil instead of getting close with a scoop. I retrieved eyedrops from the SUV for relief, and made a note to myself: in addition to gloves and a bottle of water I'll add safety glasses to my growing BG volunteer kit. This afternoon I'm feeling the exercise in my arms and shoulders.

In daylight I can see the shifts needed to make the office flow better. I previously used a 3-shelf folding bookcase sitting on the desk next to the wall to stack equipment that is attached to the computer (scanners and VHS players for converting old videos). Taking it up instead of spreading it out. I tried to add another (missing it's lower shelf) but that is too much. Instead, the one without the lower shelf is best for the job and the first one will now sit in front of the window and should be the answer to keeping the smallest dog away from the windowsill if I open the blinds occasionally. I don't want them in here scratching the sill and barking, but I do like to let in the light sometimes. I couldn't keep cats out of any window now matter how much I tried, but I can block the dogs.

The next 2 1/2 weeks have lots and lots of cat sitting runs. I'll be going to the gym again, including checking out a new gym that opened nearby - I like the one I go to and when I'm in that part of town will still head over. It seems that Silver Sneakers will let me join more than one gym, so I'm going to give the new one a try. My goal is not to have a lot of classes or personal trainers, but for no fuss to use the equipment I prefer when I want to use it. I like access to a pool but I think the pool at the nearby place is quite small, so probably stick to my regular gym for that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 10:43 PM

Thunder and lightning now. A Perth County Particular with ice rain. So glad I’m tucked up under two cats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 10:36 AM

We now have the rain but without the cold of Perth County. The Tarrant County version has very slick roads (road grime) after a couple of dry weeks.

It took elbow grease and WD-40 to shorten the legs on that metal stand, considering it was only eight screws, but it is short enough now that I can tuck the printers (one on the shelf and one on top) under the most active computer desk. And by rearranging the equipment for the older computer I can now work on that desktop and open either of the files under it, if needed. (I'd forgotten that the legal file has a locking upper drawer. I suppose I should empty it enough so if I have something to lock away there is free space.)

The last step was putting art back on the walls, now accomplished, and I'm looking at the empty portable shelves in front of the window. I may move the contents of a small end table onto the top shelf and move the end table out of here. It ends up an even swap - the new book shelf for this piece, and the result is better use of floor space AND access to the window sans a dog problem.

Also a note, when I turned the files and plywood desktop 90^o to the original position I brought in the level and needed to shim the side closest to the front wall. There is one 5-gallon paint stick on the file cabinet under the plywood to level the desktop. The space isn't equally lopsided, it took five 1-gallon paint sticks under the tall bookcase on the other side of the room (again by the front wall) to level it. Thank dawg for Home Depot and Lowe's free paint stir sticks!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 04:41 PM

The paint stick is my favourite bookcase shim, Stilly. My library/music room contains seven bookcases, all but one shimmed with a paint stick (the four-litre length) in the middle of the front bottom edge. I'm not sure it's possible to keep house without a basket of shims and a bouquet of paint sticks.

I can't imagine housing and maintaining so much legacy computer hardware, but then I'm not only a neat freak but also allergic to extra anything except, perhaps, Wedgwood bone china. Instead of several printers, I have a plethora of coffee cups and no fewer than six teapots.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 04:53 PM

The older workhorse quad core stopped communicating with the Internet but had a whole bunch of really good free-standing expensive software. Worth more than the computer itself at that point, so I replaced the computer instead of reinstalling Windows and destroying all of the software (I had no disks for it, it came from work when we could have personal copies at home also.) It works well for things that also don't need an Internet connection, like scanning. I have a transfer cable to move contents from that to the new computer.

For years there was just one printer, the black toner laser jet, but with the addition of a high-rez photo scanner, the ink jet photo-quality printer came along. There is logic to the accumulation! (There is also a 10-year-old small WiFi laptop in the kitchen that is the emergency backup computer.)

I may also move an extra computer chair out of the office, though where it will live I'm not sure. There are times when someone joins me in there so it won't go away completely.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Nov 23 - 02:45 PM

I assembled an unranked list of sewing machines that do the things I need for regular sewing and additional features for some quilting activity, with links to each company and prices (some are on Amazon at deep discounts - making me wonder why there is such a difference and if there is any support if you buy off of the Big A.) A friend who has quilted for years recommended a couple of them and others I stumbled upon via reviews. Some were left off the list as way too expensive and fancy. I don't need a machine so complex that it's difficult to simply sit down and sew after going through basic tutorials. She's going to look at my list and offer suggestions as to why some features are better than others. After using an 80-year-old straight stitch machine for years any of these features are going to be magical, so the super-high end stuff of the eye-wateringly-priced machines will never be missed.

I've also found a place that I would trust as far as getting work done on the old rotary machine. I've done a lot of basic stuff, but even with manuals can only go so far when replacement parts haven't been fabricated for 50 years or more.

This weekend should be good for work on the fence, giving the area a little time to dry after yesterday's rain. We are finally in fall temperatures in the mid-60s and low-70s for the next 10 days. With the cooler weather I've gotten out a couple of the cushy dog beds and given Cookie a strict scold about not shredding them. I doubt she'll cooperate, I'll have to figure ways to cover them to keep them intact. Trouble is, you go for a week or two and think you're home free, then she goes on a tear and eviscerates and scatters bed stuffing around the den.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 23 - 11:07 PM

One dog bed already back in the front room out of circulation after Cookie tore out stuffing twice. Damn predictable dog. Perhaps I'll find a cover to protect the fuzzy material the bed is made of and try again.

My quilting friend offered helpful insight and my list is now shorter. I'll check in at the sewing machine business next week and see what they have that I can touch and test.

The front lawn got mowed this afternoon and I'll do the back tomorrow. Usually by now the weather is so cool that the turf is dormant, but not this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 23 - 10:03 AM

This morning saw the removal of the summer programmable watering system (for up to four hoses) off of the back yard spigot and replaced with a simple splitter for running one or the other or both. The final shift before a heavy freeze is to remove that and put a styrofoam faucet cover and some other insulating stuff over the spigot (that is probably weeks away). And before heading out I took the new can of WD-40 with its much more convenient spray setup (I guarded and used that little red tube on the old can forever; I should have ditched it ages ago!) and got the rollers under the back sliding glass door loosened up and flowing. A friend commented last week that all I needed to do for a full-body workout was open and close that door a couple of times a day.

Yesterday the old heavy White Series 77 rotary sewing machine went into the shop for a tune up and two small repairs. And I spent a couple of hours comparing the new machines. I'm not ready to buy one yet, I have things to do here to be ready for that big change (because once that device is in the house I'll ignore everything else!) Machines have come a long way in the last 82 years. I have an even older White in a table that has a knee operation instead of foot; later I'll take it in for rewiring and a new foot and then list it on eBay. I think I can adapt the table to fit the machine I'm keeping.

I've decided it is time to remove the mess in the front corner of the house that was at one time intended to be an asparagus bed. The weedy Carolina snailseed vines have overrun it and I haven't been able to harvest any of the asparagus in a couple of years. It's a green tangle that needs to be completely dug up. Doing it this time of year means any asparagus roots I find I might be able to transplant for use next year. To someplace less compromised by the intense native vine. This job will require the spade fork and full-size mattock (and the wheelbarrow to catch all of the vines and roots).

Family have been slow to offer up their dates for our movable feast known as Thanksgiving. The long weekend has four days, we don't need to do it on Thursday, but I do need to load up on some of the basics. Must gently prod again today for an answer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 23 - 07:06 PM

There was a lot more asparagus in that bed than I thought (covered over with vines and grass), but it is all dug up and awaiting transplant to someplace easier to tend; I have a couple of spots in mind. I put some crinum lilies in the old spot; they're easier to weed than huge asparagus ferns are. They've been in a bucket all summer awaiting a time when I could get out and work and plant them without overheating. I have some light pink crinum lilies in a different bed, these are a more orange color, if I recall correctly the description from the friend who gave them to me.

The fridge is cleaned out, all shelves and drawers washed. (I didn't organize the freezer side.) I emptied a half-dozen or more old jars of pickles and preserves and tossed a bunch in the compost. And I picked up a 13.5 pound frozen turkey with no additional brine injected. I was going to do breasts, but when I was in a grocery store today I stumbled upon these and it will work. Now to load up on the root vegetables and other ingredients that go in a Thanksgiving dinner. This year I'll make more breads and veggies, less meat.

Tomorrow I have a tour at the museum where I volunteer, and maybe after a trip to the gym. With the gardening I get good exercise, primarily upper-body, so the gym offers a chance to keep the knees limber.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Nov 23 - 04:44 PM

We're back!
THis thread didn't like it when I clicked on the number of posts,
but it responded the right way
when I clicked on the "d" next to the number of posts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 23 - 08:10 PM

Sometimes I think the way those links fail has to do with how the backup populates the server it's running on when it starts up. But Mudcat is limping right now, we do need to help Max do something about it.

In the days we've been offline I decided which sewing machine I want and I'll go buy it before Thanksgiving. I'm using this weekend to finish some things I need to do before I have the full distraction of that machine in the house.

I've finished the food shopping for the holiday meal (we'll probably cook it on Sunday instead of Thursday due to family schedules) and the back lawn was mowed today. My nextdoor neighbors usually have family over and are in their yard and mine won't be a distraction of tall grass next to their well-trimmed area. I have to go with the bucket and scoop to remove walking hazards if anyone wants to go outside while they're here.

Yesterday I started dusting in my bedroom and then the den, and I'll work my way through the house tomorrow so that is all finished. The next job is to wash dog beds and small rugs before sweeping and mopping. I'm putting things away and tossing stuff into the recycle bin. By the time cooking begins I hope to stage it better, not all cooked on the one day. The meal itself will be less meat and more other stuff this year, since there will be two vegetarians (out of the probably five or six of us here).

How are our lurkers doing? Jon? Jennie? Sandra? Patty?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 23 - 10:49 AM

Feeling virtuous this morning after finishing cleaning the fridge door. Last week I did the shelves, but this morning realized the molded plastic shelves on the door (with raised front edges) were a disarray and needing a scrub, so they're done now. Years-old items tossed, and I put all of the bottled sauces on one shelf, etc. Also shifted two up into slightly better positions. I may yet tackle the freezer just to say that job is completed.

A small table will be offered on the Buy Nothing page today and I'm continuing to clean. First up this morning comes washing the throws that are draped over the couch. They're very dusty.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 23 - 09:40 PM

Plugging along this week, not making as much progress as I'd like, but I'm still moving forward. I picked up the new sewing machine today but it's not likely to be opened until tomorrow or the next day.

The SUV key fob has been AWOL a couple of times this week, giving a misaligned signal (not starting the car until I get out and get back in) and not always unlocking the car. I have a sleeve of inexpensive button style batteries that seem to be underperforming (the fob wasn't responding when I changed to one of these batteries) so I put the old battery back in with enough juice to get to Lowe's and buy some name brand batteries. The cheap ones have their use, but this isn't one of them.

Planning for the holiday meal and I'm going to set up a couple of crock pots around the kitchen so I don't have to juggle so much on the stovetop. Is anyone else doing a Thanksgiving meal this week?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Aug 23 - 04:15 PM

I turned off the bedroom fan last night, but that’s as close as I’ve come to changing seasonal gear.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 09:53 AM

My volunteer job as choir librarian is perilously close to full-time this week, with preparations for the onset of the singing season. Just for shits and giggles, we are also auditioning pianists for the job of choir accompanist, so I have to prepare repertoire packages for them. Because of various human frailties, the new music for this season was not ordered until only a couple of weeks ago, so I'll be numbering and sorting copies right up to H-Hour. I am not best pleased, but things could be worse and I decline to get wound around my axle. Yet.

Today I will visit the library's basement quarters to get two file boxes full of "Messiah" scores and 80 copies of "Now Is the Month of Maying" by Thomas Morley. That'll be a bit of an upper-body workout plus plenty of stairs. Tomorrow, one of my Board colleagues will drive all the way from London to bring me three more batches of new music, 80 copies each. A fourth batch proved to have a printing error and will be delivered late -- sometime next week. First rehearsal is 11 September.

Stratford is enjoying a classic late-summer week of golden sunshine without steamy heat. The humidity is still way high -- the basement doors are too swollen to shut properly -- but night-time low temperatures are now dropping below 10 degrees Celsius, so the end is in sight. The downtown streets are still full of tourists and theatre-goers -- God forbid that a townie should wish to dine out on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday -- but we're all grateful for the money they spew around town. The theatre festival and the restaurants are why Stratford has nice things.

On Monday, I will be sixty-nine years old. It will be Labour Day, a statutory holiday, so most of the shops will be shut. Monday is also the day when the theatres are dark, so the restaurants also take their day off. Consequently, whatever celebrating gets done will take place on Saturday, when my theatre buddy Alden proposed we go out for dinner. Our reservations are depressingly early, as the rest of the diners will have tickets for something with an eight-o'clock curtain, but that's life in a tourist town in the season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 07:30 AM

Stilly, there are two reasons why choirs still use music printed on paper.

The first is copyright — PDFs circulate and reproduce faster than bunny-rabbits, and the copyright owner doesn’t get paid. Ever.

The second is singers’ notes — the conductor wants the crescendo to begin precisely here and the ritardando to end precisely there, and he doesn’t like the forte marked for that passage so please change that to mezzo-forte. And don’t you dare breathe before bar 78. Tablet technology has yet to evolve to that level of subtlety, but every chorister has a pencil (never a pen!) tucked behind an ear.

The musicians who use tablets are soloists, like your piano guy, or people who don’t require a tight ensemble to make their performance work. Without a very tight ensemble, a 70-voice choir is a braying mob.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:02 PM

I bet the players in Keb's string quartet use paper scores for rehearsal, marking them up liberally, and then scan the marked-up scores and transfer the PDFs to tablets for the performance so they can turn their pages with a tap of their toes.

If I could eliminate the sound of flapping pages from our concerts, I'd do it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:04 PM

Another thing: my iPad cost more than a thousand bucks (Canadian, admittedly) several years ago. Ain"t no way a concert choir that does classical music can afford to outfit all its singers with tablets, even devices that aren't iPads.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 11:09 AM

Three runs a day to feed cats? That's a needy cat-household! I hope your compensation covers fuel, at least, if not time. And I'll bet you're washing dishes as well as clearing the litter-box.

I don't expect my cat-visitor to come more than once a day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 10:44 AM

My aunt in the Townships was married to a very interesting man (my Uncle Tom) who insisted on repairing expensive machinery himself, despite the mediocre-at-best results. He firmly believed that, if the device would run at all, it was okay.

Including the family car, after a roll-over on black ice that stove in the roof and bent the frame, among other bad things. Tom managed to get the vehicle back on the road, but declined to spend any money on it. The non-functioning windscreen wipers were a major problem as Montreal has winter, and rain all year round, but that did not move Tom to consult a garage. Finally, Aunt Pat took to driving slowly past police stations and patrol cars in the hope that a cop would look twice, react appropriately, and order the poor old crate off the road.

I don't know if her plan worked, but eventually (i.e., not nearly soon enough) the rolled car was retired to a scrapyard and a replacement was found. It was just as small and nearly as rickety as its predecessor, but at least its windscreen wipers worked.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 09:11 AM

I complete my sixty-ninth trip around the sun today, and Environment Canada has a heat warning up for Perth County. Gag me.

It’s a stat holiday, however, so energy prices are as low as they ever get in Ontario. So I guess I’ll do the wash, which takes place in the nice, cool (in fact, rather chilly) basement.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 09:07 AM

Nothing of particular interest happening here except the last day of the current heat-wave, which no Texan would consider particularly warm but hey, this is Ontario. I have kept to home since church on Sunday in the interest of not melting into the sidewalk.

Consequently, I have had time to do the laundry and actually put it away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Sep 23 - 02:18 PM

I have a new-to-me library table. It’s teak, and the clever Danes who built it circa 1960 had dining in mind but so what — it will be great for sorting music. The six-foot folding work table has retired to the garage. It can go outside for messy jobs and patio dinners, but only if it’s at ground level — too heavy for me to move downstairs by myself.

The shipment of freshly reprinted sheet music that was supposed to arrive on Wednesday is now two days late. I am highly displeased.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 12:21 PM

Wearing a mask is a constant reminder of the threat -- not a bad thing in itself. People convalescing with COVID, or who have merely been in contact with the bug, should wear masks if only to remind them to wash their hands often and keep away from others until they are fully recovered, or they have tested negative throughout the incubation period.

More than a century of clinical experience has shown that masks inhibit the spread of all kinds of diseases, which is why medical personnel wear them when working over open wounds. As an asthmatic of long standing, I appreciate any effort or measure that reduces my exposure to the flipping COMMON COLD, which can reduce me to a quivering, barking wreck in two days flat.

So I'm on Team Mask.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 07:45 PM

I’m quite happy with Environment Canada, thank you.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:47 AM

First choir practice tonight, so seven file boxes of music are stacked near the garage door for an efficient exit. God forbid the house should catch fire while the gangway is so thoroughly blocked.

The swimming pool at the YMCA was supposed to open today, but no -- tomorrow at the earliest. Consequently, no pool class until Wednesday.


My hips feel stiff these days, so I downloaded a walking-challenge program to my phone yesterday in the hope that I will get off my butt more often. Summer is waning, so I don't have the excuse/reason of steamy heat to justify logging extra hours in the comfy chair.

The app is one of those couch-to-10K (steps, not kilometres) things. If it does what it says on the tin, and my rickety feet don't give trouble, I'll "do" Hadrian's Wall (145 km) on a treadmill at the Y gym over the winter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 10:44 AM

The Getaway organizers want everyone in attendance to prove inoculation and to test negative before and during the event.I emailed my Province of Ontario vaccination certificate to the registrar with a question: Are five anti-COVID jabs good enough, although the most recent was almost a year ago, or must I get jabbed again before attending? I ask this because the Ministry of Health has a new vaccine, developed to target the latest variant, and it won't be distributed until late October. I don't fancy getting jabbed twice if I don't have to.

Beautiful weather in Perth County this week, markedly less hot and definitely chilly at night. I switched the thermostat from Cool to Heat on Thursday, when I arose to personal gooseflesh and an indoor temperature of 17.5C. Within half an hour, both cats were ensconced in meatloaf position on top of floor vents.

My personal fitness program is going well so far -- extended walks every day, greatly encouraged by conditions outside. Also, my annual bout of autumnal hay-fever has subsided, so I can huff all that delicious fresh air without wheezing and sneezing. The tourists are still in town, however, supporting the theory that man remains vile even when every prospect pleases.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 01:15 PM

I still have a couple of silk dress lengths -- large pieces of fabric from which to make dresses -- dating from the 1980s, and a swath of blue Chinese damask from the '50s that would once have made a wonderful jacket lining. Not so sure about that now -- its pattern (coolies and pagodas) would not please the modern taste.

But I don't wear dresses much any more, let alone dresses expensively tailored from fabric that must not go in the washing machine. What's more, I have no idea where I would find a dressmaker willing to take on such a project now. So the fabric remains at the bottom of the barrack box full of clothing that I have yet to face parting with, such as two wedding dresses (both mine) and my father's dressing gown.

Someone should draw up some Rules of Decluttering, starting with the Law of Tenure, to wit: The longer an item has been in your possession, the harder it is to part with.

Charmion's Corollary to the Law of Tenure: If an item is inherited, the difficulty of parting with it increases geometrically with every generation through which it has passed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 02:04 PM

In re: Smallpox vaccination scars.

Like most southern Canadians of my age, I was vaccinated against smallpox as a toddler. At the age of 17, I was vaccinated again because I was going to France and had no documentary record of the original dose. In those days, a Canadian had to prove inoculation against smallpox after most foreign travel; only the United States, the United Kingdom and maybe the Nordic countries were exempt. Definitely not France.

Then I joined the armed forces and got vaccinated yet again, despite my fresh scar and the official record booklet that went with it. Each recruit was assumed to be an immunological tabula rasa, and we were inoculated against almost everything from mumps to yellow fever. Not cholera or plague, however, because the shots then available for those diseases gave only about six months of protection ( yellow fever was good for 10 years). Any deployment to a notorious hotbed (e.g., Congo) was always preceded by an extended visit to the warrant officer in the Preventive Medicine section.

So I once had three of those little round scars, two on the left shoulder and one on the right. Only the most recent, from 1974, is barely discernible now; the others have faded out of existence.

As for needle parades at school -- every year, from Grade One to Grade Six, with the entire school lined up for the village doctor and a nurse from the Carleton County public health office. It was a combined dose of typhoid, paratyphoid, tetanus and diphtheria (TABTD) and a separate needle for polio -- no oral vaccines on sugar cubes for us! The MMR vaccine -- targeting measles, mumps and rubella -- appeared well after I had survived all three diseases and left school. I've heard that, in Ontario, inoculation campaigns have even whooping cough and chicken pox on the run.

At age eight, when I was In Grade Four, I had whooping cough, rubella, and a full-blown case of red measles, all within a span of about eight months. No wonder I never really learned how to calculate with vulgar fractions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 09:39 PM

I just pitched a great stack of Ordnance Survey maps of Wales and Michelin maps of France and Germany into the recycle box. The battlefield map of the Ypres salient is somehow still in the box …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 10:15 AM

I'm getting ready to be away from home for a week and a bit. Very twitchy -- clearly tense about the prospect of crossing the border and travelling so far alone for the first time since (holy Dinah!) the mid-1980s.

The itinerary is very relaxed, with lots of time to rest, find a loo, get lost, and otherwise make retrograde progress. I have only one deadline: arrive at the West River Retreat Center (sic) by supper-time on Friday. The cats will be fine, with an experienced cat-visitor coming in every day. I have plenty of money. What in blazes is my problem?

My last major task before leaving is finishing the minutes from the last choir board meeting. Surely I'll settle down when that's done.

Dorothy, the hearing loss you describe is common in my family, and I fully expect to develop it myself over the next fifteen years if I live that long. The only coping method we have found is to avoid large groups and noisy places -- even church if the organ will be played -- and get a one-on-one briefing after public meetings and other gatherings for information. Yes, it's limiting, but my elders managed it by organizing the younger generation to provide those briefings and by writing a hell of a lot of letters. Without children and grandchildren to depend on, I'll have to find other means when it happens to me.

My elder brother -- an ex-artillery officer -- also suffers from the kind of deafness that comes from exposure to loud noise and explosions. His hearing aids meet about half his needs, and I'm impressed by his efforts to hide his frustration. One of my brothers-in-law is a retired plumber who worked in a Chrysler assembly plant for decades. He manages his hearing loss, now nearly total, with hearing aids (again, only partially effective) and by using headphones to listen to radio, podcasts and audiobooks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 03:41 PM

Heading home from the Getaway. For tonight, I’m in an over-priced, hyper-decorated bed-and-breakfast in Gettysburg PA. The owners have so crammed every room with Victorian doo-dads that there’s nowhere to sit and the guitar has to share the bed.

Speaking of the bed, it’s much better than what I encountered at the Super 8 in Manassas, which was like concrete. With the constant slamming of car doors outside, I might as well have been sleeping in the parking lot.

When they invent the Star Trek transporter, I’ll be one of the first in line. Getting there (anywhere) is definitely NOT half the fun.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 10:22 PM

I am so happy to be back at home.

The Getaway is objectively wonderful, and I love the people I see there. But getting there, and getting home again, is most definitely not even half the fun. Or any of the fun, come to think of it.

When I made the trip with Edmund, I had the pleasure of his company, of course, but I also benefited from his efforts to read maps and road signs, watch for over-caffeinated Porsches, enter data in the SATNAV, keep me supplied with Altoids, and find eating establishments that would do better than provide mere calories. He would also carry the guitar despite the military rule of “one man, one kit”. On my own, I was bossed around by the SATNAV and seemed unable to locate a McDonald’s with an operational milkshake machine.

Next year, I’ll fly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 01:45 PM

Having almost rested up from my American odyssey of last week, on Sunday I took off to Windsor for Thanksgiving dinner with SIL 2 and her family, including three grandsons who are still in the feral cat phase of childhood. Windsor is three hours’ drive from Stratford, so today I’m resting up from the road trip encore.

Autumnal weather has finally arrived. It took long enough; last Wednesday, when I crossed the border at Queenston Heights, southwestern Ontario was sweltering under a heat wave that had hovered around 30°C for a week. Conditions like that after the equinox are very unusual. We should have had our first frost by now, but the dreary rain phase — normal in mid-September — has only just begun.

Two weeks ago I fell in a poorly-lit restaurant, acquiring a couple of huge bruises that are just beginning to heal. At the allergist’s office this morning, I revealed one of them when I pulled up my sleeve for the needle and then had to spend ten minutes reassuring the nurse that I’m okay etc, etc, etc. Good thing she didn’t see the saucer-sized purple blotch on my thigh, where I hit the floor first! The damage would have been a lot worse if I hadn’t done a paratrooper’s tuck-and-roll landing to avoid the furniture.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 05:02 PM

I don't bounce as i did in my youth, that's for sure, and my lack of depth perception (only one eye that works) can get me into trouble in dim light. The restaurant was one of those burger places with booths that you step up into, and -- not seeing the difference in floor level -- I forgot to step down when scrambling out. Then my heel caught the edge of the invisible step, and over I went. Not fun; the bruises hurt for days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 08:14 AM

Stilly, that cough, and the need to sit up to get any sleep at all, mean you have bronchitis. Have you seen any kind of medic about it?

Check the colour of the stuff that comes up when you cough; if it’s yellow to green, there’s a bacterial infection cooking in your lungs, and an antibiotic drug is called for.

I’ve been there way too often.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 09:31 AM

In Stratford (Ontario!), masks are still common at large venues most people can’t avoid, especially supermarkets and big-box stores. I also see them at church, where singing happens. All of this makes perfect sense to me.

The plexiglass shields recently disappeared from the cashiers’ stations at Zehr’s and Sobey’s, the supermarkets I patronise the most. They can’t have been cheap to install, so I would like to know the business case for scrapping them.

For years, I have resisted air travel because I typically get off the plane with a cold I did not have on boarding, which means suffering with bronchitis is a foreign country. Now that COVID is apparently with us for the long haul, I definitely won’t fly for any reason short of a dire emergency, even after the full slate of available jabs, and with every intention of keeping up with each new vaccine. If that means I never see Europe again, I’m cool with that. (Maybe I’d go by sea. If a money tree were to spring up in my back yard.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:42 PM

I have a new gadget that is definitely adding pizzazz to my quality of life. It’s a sealing cork for fizzy wine! So I can have, like, a single glass of prosecco. Like anyone has a single glass of prosecco, but I could, if I want.

At some point in the last six or seven years, I acquired a dozen bottles of champagne, real champagne, from France and everything, but from a maker I had never heard of. As fizzy white wine goes it’s tasty and refreshing, but it lacks the yeasty fresh-bread flavour that I like in a champagne. (Will ya look at her, the champagne snob!) Edmund and I would crack a bottle and drink it on the porch, or in front of the goggle box. There were still at least half a dozen bottles in the cellar when Edmund died.

When you’re on your own, fizzy wine is for company and for gifts. Because it’s like slaughtering a steer for one damned steak! But with this new gadget, I can open a bottle and have a glass, and then cork up the bottle and put it in the fridge and do it again tomorrow.

And that no-name champagne makes a killer Aperol spritz, and is amazing in a champagne cocktail or a French 75.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:33 PM

A bottle with four ounces in the bottom does look like clutter, don’t it? Good excuse for a wee tipple, if one needs an excuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 02:21 PM

I put the light duvet on the bed today. Still no overnight frost, though; we should have had that before Thanksgiving.

This is my new gadget: Trudeau Sparkling Wine Stopper. Unlike most of the gadgets I have acquired over the last few years, I actually bought it in a local shop.

The collection of cardboard boxes in my garage has reached peak, so I will have to spend an hour I will never get back breaking them down for the recycle collection on Monday. I'm shocked -- shocked, I say! -- at how much stuff I buy on line these days, every single item painstakingly packed up, usually in a cardboard box. If the garage is full of boxes, I have been letting my fingers do too much walking through eBay and Amazon.

And then I run out of filters for the cats' water fountain. Guess where they come from? Yep -- Amazon.

Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 03:07 PM

And I’m still plodding on with my charts. I’ve added exploding slices and a border when a user hovers over a slice on the pie chart. The first was easy. The second shouldn’t have been too bad but I spent a day wrestling with examples I found on Google before finding one that worked for me. It broke the tooltips on Firefox though so more searching and dead ends before reaching a solution, and one I like as it doesn’t need 3rd party scripts. I think it’s OK now.

I didn’t get round to doing mum’s council stuff today. Maybe tomorrow… Mum’s happy today btw. I think I mentioned getting her a slate clock with the numbers printed in Welsh for her birthday. She decided where she wanted it today. It’s replaced a cheap plastic clock that hung on a kitchen wall so it was a simple job which Lisa(cleaner) did for her.

Dad was taken back to his bed at about 3:45. I don’t know if that is going to be a regular(ish – carers times vary…) bed time or not but I think he’d probably have been feeling quite tired by then after all the time he’s been stuck in bed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 05:02 AM

Well I think I’ve gone as far as I want with the svg charts now. I’ve changed the co-ordinates from using margins to position a plot (it can handle multiple plots of different types in a chart as well as multiple charts per html page) to X1,Y1,X2, Y2 areas as I found the former difficult to handle as a user. I’ve sorted out (particularly with the pie labels) text alignment/positioning and made things a bit more user friendly. This would create a basic pie chart.

  require('pie.php');                                     //include file needed for pie charts
  $chart = new ChartBase(350, 300);                       //create new chart 350w, 300h
  $chart->setBackground(220, 255, 255);                   //chart bacground color rgb
  $pie = new Pie();                                       //create new pie plot
  $pie->setValues(array(50,10,40,25));                    //add values for slices
  $pie->setLegend(array("Red","Green","Blue","Orange"));  //add legend
  $pie->setTitle("Testing pie chart");                    //add title
  $chart->addPlot($pie);                                  //add pie plot to chart
  echo $chart->plot();                                    //draw chart, output to browser

I’m not sure what I’ll try next. I suppose I could see how I get on with a Javascript/ canvas version of the charts but maybe it’s time to try to think of something else.

Dad has taken well to his return to spending his daytime out of bed. He’s just come through on his wheelchair to say good morning to me. I don’t think we’ve any extra visitors today but it can get confusing just with the regulars. Cavel (care company) see me 4 times a day, mum twice a day and I think it’s 3 times for dad. They may send one or two person teams out. They always combine visits for mum with one for me but may or may not make a separate visit for dad. Then there are the district nurses who change a dressing on my back.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 12:40 PM

I didn’t stop with the charts although I thought I would...s I’ve added horizontal bar charts. The latest example page is here. I also had a look at 3d pie charts and stumbled on this site where the chap really has gone to town with his php generated svg charts. I looked at the xml in one of his svg pie charts and that gave me an idea to try although I’m not that pleased with my result.

I don’t know what I’ll try next. I downloaded loads of weather data files from CEDA using “bulk download” link but the files don’t contain much data and I don’t think I’ll bother with it.

I doubt there’s anything anyone would want on my computers but a brother could look through the files if he wished. The photos were an exception that I have dealt with.

I kept my passwords in a book that got lost when I was in hospital . I’m just noting passwords, PIN      numbers, etc. in a text file on my laptop now and I’ll give brothers a print out when I next see them.

I’m feeling too hot today but the temps wont be closet to yours. According to the ”extremes page I made using the met data, the hottest in the UK yesteday was St James Park at 27.8C

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 11:00 AM

Well I’ve had a go at a Firefox/Chrome extension to replace the Mudcat reply text area with a ( trumbowyg) wyswig editor. After some struggles, I managed to get the box in (see this png image but it won’t post or preview although the output the editor produces look fine. I think there’s some conflict between the extension code and the Mudcat code. I think I’ll just count this as one of my failures.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Sep 23 - 10:41 AM

I did have a look at why the editor wouldn’t post. The cause is Mudcat’s sloppy html. The post form      is part in and part out of a table for starters. It works somehow for normal posting but when the extension does its bit, the box we put the replies in doesn’t get sent with the rest of the data. I probably could work round that but I think it would take more effort than I want for what’s only a one off experiment.

I’ve got Dave’s browser tools installed on Firefox.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 01:32 PM

Thompson, I use the UK Met Office DataPoint for my weather forecasts and observations. It just supplies data in json and xml formats so some coding is needed to make it readable. I added a chart to the UK previous day’s regional extremes page today.

Tim got me an iPad Mini for my birthday (7th). I never expected to be an owner of an Apple product          (or expected a present like that). I spent much of yesterday getting it to share data with my other devices. Google help searches led me to believe the iPad probably wasn’ t going to sync calendars with baikal so I decided to try nextcloud which I thought might work with everything. Loads of hassle with nextcloud until I stumbled on something that prompted me to take another look at baikal. I found the error, fixed it and the ipads now sharing contacts, calenders and tasks with the rest.

Annoying though. If I’d found that last page first, things would have been fixed in 15 minutes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 04:41 PM

I’ve had a play with maps since my last post here. I was going to try Google Maps but I managed to get my bank card locked during the sign up so I tried Leaflet. I’ve added some location maps to some of my weather forecast pages. I’ve also had a play around with a couple of the forecast pages. The hourly forecast one has changed quite a bit.

Nothing really to report from home but Tim’s daughter and partner in oz have had a disaster. Their house has burnt down. I believe it happened quickly and that they were fortunate to get out unscathed together with their two dogs. Their cat is thought to have perished in the blaze though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 10:51 PM

Yes, Tim is one of my three brothers.

Google offer services for people to use their map system. I think their only free one is the static api which will allow you to embed maps with plain html. They want your card on sign up regardless of your intended usage. I thought my usage would be free but after a second look, I’m not so sure. The static api allows you to place tags on maps but it wasn’t clear to me that these tags could be used as clickable links. If I had to resort to their JavaScript api, their starting point is $5 per month. Also, I found I can’t resolve all the place names that turn up on my regional extremes page to lat/long coordinates through the met office data. I found a free service that meets my needs but, if I wanted to use Google’s geolocation api, prices start at $7 per month.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 06:47 PM

I’ve taken a break from the plays with the laptop and don’t know what I want to do to pass some time next. My last attempt was a go at Breakout.

I suppose I could take a longer look at the iPad mini. It is a nice device but I’ve yet to work out what I want to use it for.. That said, I got a pen for it today. I’d gone onto Amazon to look for a slimmer stylus for my phone when I stumbled on a Staetdler pencil that interested me. I also noted it said it wasn’t compatible with Apple pencils which used their own system and became curious about that. I found a genuine one at about £100 but also cheaper clones in the £10-£20 range and I got one to try. I like in. It, with the Apple OCR, seems to do a pretty good job interpretation my handwritten scrawl and although it needs charging, this is done magnetically so no cables to mess with.

Another Amazon item received today was a remote for the Yamaha soundbase under the living room tv. The power button on the tv remote switches both units on/off but occasionally, things go out of sync. It just needs the power button on the Yamaha remote pressing to restore the sync but dad lost the Yamaha remote and had been without sound for a week. Bloody parents, I wish they would be more careful. Another thing dad lost recently was his bank card which was supposed to be   kept in his wallet. I ordered him a new card and asked a carer to ensure he signed it and put it in his wallet. Of course, dad has lost his wallet now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:43 PM

The only recent device I can think of, SRS, is the very unexpected birthday present of the iPad mini from brother in oz. I’ve yet to do much with that yet except having it sit happily on my network and setting up the email accounts so its sort of ready as and when I want to play more with it. I think it will end up replacing my Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. It’s smaller size feels better suited to my current needs and it is the better machine. It’s display seems crisper to me and it feels a touch more responsive.

It is the first Apple product I’ve owned. I’ve avoided them partly because of price (and even now, don’t think I’d invest more than double say the cost of my Samsung for an iPad) and possible hardware ties as well as software ones.

Tim apparently got himself one about a month ago. He had used a Microsoft Surface Pro for a few years but he became frustrated with its handling of midi and with high end VST plugins. I gather that the iPad just did all he’d wanted straight off with no hassles. I also gather that him being so impressed with his and wanting to get me something he knew I wouldn’t normally consider buying were reasons for him getting me one.

Oh, and I did get a clone of the Apple pen for it the other day and quite like it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

The last time I went to a cinema was in 1980/81. A group of 4 of us, all early 20s went to watch Dumbo at the cinema in Rhos on Sea. Going to the cinema just hasn’t interested me.

My hearing’s not that great and I sometime have to ask people to repeat things as I’ve not heard them properly. I usually have subtitles on when watching tv.

I believe that digital hearing aids can be quite good as they can raise/lower frequency bands to suit the hearing loss rather than just make everything louder. They also can have different settings for different environments.

As for our NHS which was mentioned a few posts back. I don’t believe they offer the latest and greateast but I think they offer the quite reasonable rather that the seriously outdated. I think the service was dropped but Comer Hospital at least once operated what I thought was a good idea. That was a monthly drop in clinic where people could have their hearing aids servoes//repaired and retuned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:59 PM

I have read that glitter is the herpes of the craft world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 02:06 PM

Oh, do wear those flip-flops in the shower, athlete's foot is still a thing! Keep a grocery or other bag in your gear bag so you can switch out pool/shower flipflops with your street shoes, keep dirt off everything else.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 12:42 PM

Happy Birthday, Stilly and Charmion!!

SRS, we are blowing on virtual candles and wishing you a cool and pleasant autumn.   For Charmion, safe and happy travel to the Getaway.

I have to report that I cannot get to the Getaway this year. The skin cancer saga drags on, and I will be having staples removed from my scalp that week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 04:13 PM

I usually just get small basal cell cancers that are quickly handled in the dermatologist's office, but lately have 3 that require the "Moh's Procedure" where it's rounds of cutting/checking under the scope.

I perhaps need to move to a twice-a-year checkup from the annual one I had been getting by with.

If you or family are prone to skin cancers, then a regular checkup is a great thing, but I'm not sure you need to get one unless you have some spots you're concerned about.

Am now in Mississippi where my doctor(s) are, not the greatest time of year to be here weather-wise, hoping the 'dome' breaks down soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 06:56 AM

Woof its envigorating sweater weather this morning. Our dog loved the shower probably because of the water temp. At 7 AM there is enough light to get out and about. No more 5 AM first light.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 01:58 PM

Today I got the flu and RSV shot. The FDA will approve the Covid variant vaccine next week so getting the shot will be up in the air for weeks.

I was wondering, What if artificial intelligence had a conscience?
Would it be ashamed of its creator for the bias and prejudice over meaningless things like melanin and gender?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 10:11 AM

The Cochran report still finds the efficacy of masks inconclusive in slowing the spread of Covid.
For myself there is a scenario where masks are beneficial. It is your or someone else's violent sneeze.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 09:22 AM

My mother's last three paintings were self-portraits that were identical except they became progressively more blurry. That indicated to me that she like Monet and myself had Fuchs syndrome which presents with corneal fluid bubbles that make vision foggy with rainbows around light sources. Every morning around 6 to 7 AM the rainbows start, BUT because I was prompted by caters to get checked I have curative ointments that dry the eyes out back to clarity in ten minutes. It's too bad mom assumed it was just old age. Today transplants as small as 3 millimeters of fluid pump cells can cure Fuchs. I carry eye salt drops at all times just in case. I still need 250 mag glasses for close work and reading. While vision varies with fluid it does have moments where I don't need glasses or a remarkable telescopic quality appears.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 08:18 AM

Endomorphins ;^/ The sore person's friend

If you don't have a smallpox vaccination scar you are not one of my peers. A Florida public health official announced that the Covid booster is not safe. Florida is now the nation's hotbed of diseases including leprosy, Covid, Dengue, malaria and Florida man insanity.

I have personally seen only one case of leprosy. It's not pretty

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 07:09 AM

I got the new booster at a grocery store. It's a zinger but not bad.

T have 6 crates of art supplies but I'm reluctant to donate them yet.
The 50 canvasses and framed pictures I saved to paint over, can go.
Procrastination won. That will clear a quarter of the basement.
My back is so much better, this fall will see a mass donation of tools and sundry junk. YAY

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 10:19 AM

As I was leaving to feed cats a small SUV pulled up at the curb and I spoke briefly to the woman who was here to collect the rest of the fence pickets. The spot is now clear and I hope her feet and ankles aren't too scratchy - the nearby pine tree is dropping lots of long sharp needles this summer. I need to rake them to use for mulch later on. Mostly today I need to run the soaker hose around the foundation again. Regular yard work can wait until fall.

The friend who visited yesterday delivered a couple of dead electronics (a large TV and average sized printer) that are in the garage until a weekday when my ex comes by and can take them to the recycle drop off center. When I made the call requesting he pick these up he commented that he's found a couple of more old small CRT portable TV/Radio things in his garage to recycle. Back in the day those AC/battery operated devices were helpful during tornado season when you hunkered in the hall in the middle of the house and wanted to watch the weather. Now it's all on our phones. The recycling center is very close and is annoying because they named that center for our village but our village residents can't use it. You have to show Fort Worth residency. Staging recycling this way is a more convoluted form of decluttering than usual, but whatever works.

A friend sent a recipe for mango bread that I'll try today. I have several very ripe ones in the fridge and this would be perfect. It does mean taking a healthy fruit and putting it in a more carb-filled form, but it's that or toss them because I can't eat them all right now. (I should try freezing them.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 23 - 10:15 PM

Jon, do whatever is comfortable. Palliative care will give you a lot of options (my understanding from what I've read about it.) It sounds like you have your parents set up for help.

The friend shopping computers sent some questions (via email) that I've answered this evening - it is remarkable how much electronics have come down in price as they've also gone up in quality. My recommendation for a monitor and advice about a printer he bought a while back but hasn't installed have been sent (after researching specs at Dell.com.)

It's so hot. 107^o. Still. The tractor sprinkler is crawling along the turf in front of the house this evening after running the oscillating sprinkler on the driveway side (all of this hoping to help the foundation and keep a few trees alive). I'll run soaker hoses on the back and the other side tomorrow. The next few days are supposed to be cooler, around 98^o before the next heat up in early September. The summer that keeps on giving.

Interesting - this evening I was flipping through channels on Sling and landed on a documentary about a rock band called Triumph. I actually know nothing about them, but I have a story. In 1981-82 I was leading tours at a commercial cave in Kentucky; they had the best formations in the Mammoth Cave area, and were close to the highway. This group pulled their tour bus off of the Interstate and ended up going through on my tour. The fact that I had no clue who they were wasn't a big deal to them, because we had other things in common. I'd worked in New York City as an Urban Park Ranger at various big events in the parks in each borough. They had performed there, and the local crew that did the stage set up for them was the same one I'd run into for Pavarotti and Simon and Garfunkel, and a couple of others. One man in particular, a very tall handsome man who looked just like the actor Ted Lynch - we'd made friends and would hang out at those concerts. He always made lemonade that he brought in a thermos, and shared with me. What blew my high-school-age co-workers away, those who knew the group and had all wanted to take that tour, was that the band and I were laughing and comparing notes about this guy on the setup crew we all knew. I never would have used the name, but the band called him Lurch. And we all knew exactly who we meant. #SmallWorld I recognise the folks in the documentary from all of those years ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 11:54 AM

With more virtual decluttering it has been the Clash of the Titans this weekend - Microsoft versus Samsung. A couple of weeks ago I told the tablet to store images from the tablet to my Microsoft OneDrive account, and after that my phone stopped uploading my phone photos to OneDrive. It seems Samsung set up its own nested files in OneDrive and wants to park things there. I spent time earlier this year sorting out my Camera Roll in OneDrive so the current year is loading there and past years are in their own files. So a new three-tier Samsung file is a pain in the backside.

After research I disconnected the two accounts then reinstalled, and in the end I left a Samsung folder on the OneDrive that I labeled "Samsung - Don't Use" and have turned off Samsung's sync ability to OneDrive. I also turned it off in the tablet where this started. For now I'll manually move photos from the phone to Camera Roll. I pay for OneDrive so there is no point in shifting to Google or DropBox for phone photo backup. But damn, that Samsung software is pushy. What is frustrating is that until now, the Samsung phone automatically updated the photos in the Camera Roll file.

The library app "returned" the audiobook I was listening to; with fewer trips to the gym it's taking longer to read. There's a wait list so I'll get it back in a couple of weeks. I'm at the gym more this week and with so much foundation watering at the house I'm changing my routine at the gym and showering there. Might as well use a little less water at the house. This morning I dug around for some flip flops to wear in the shower—is athlete's foot a thing any more in public showers?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 23 - 12:19 PM

Trouble with most flip flops is that they're slippery. It looks like aquasocks are on clearance this time of year (at Academy Sports). Part of this is also me edging closer to using the pool. With each part of the gym I use it means more stuff in the gym bag.

Dorothy - how is Robin doing? Has he finally cleared out the lung congestion? For those of you in northern areas, are you getting out sweaters or changing the bedding yet? We're entering hurricane season in the south, so far hitting way south Texas and parts of Florida. No sweaters yet. And in the fall tornadoes can be more active.

Time to research a new dryer - it tumbles and blows but there is not heat. The old one was purchased in 2002 and I've done some repairs but the heating element is a bigger deal. If the thermostats weren't working it would get too hot, but with no heat it's the element (my rudimentary diagnostic information). A new element costs $180, plus the installation service call, but I looked at my most recent Consumer Reports PDF about dryers (from 2017) and even then new dryers were costing a lot. Maybe a repair is worthwhile. Home Warranty folks will be consulted before I call the repair guy. I'm fine with keeping the old one in service for as long as possible.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 12:39 AM

Three loaves of mango bread are cooling; this soda bread is one of those wet ones, lots of oil (even though I reduced it and used applesauce for half of it), and more cake- than bread-like. Too hot to try now.

As hot as it has been outside I keep the thermostat in the house pretty warm (80), so baking that bread was enough to bring up a sweat because I didn't push the air conditioning down to compensate for the oven. Not a great time of year for baking.

Laundry is drying on hangers and a few pieces are on the clothesline outside; must call to see about the dryer repair. It isn't just that the dryer needs repair, it means in preparation I have to empty everything on that side of the room around it. Shelves, donation bin, and a bonus: on the other side of the doorway into the laundry room is where my gardening cart sits, next to the potting bench, both in the way of an appliance being moved in and out of the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 12:38 AM

Dorothy, I like the idea of you and others with a photo of Ruth - a mentor and friend.

Charmion, I am amazed by the amount of work that goes into your choir program and its rehearsals. I don't suppose any of them have asked for PDF copies they can load on their tablets? It would mean a lot less paper. (About 20 years ago we had the tech reviewer and now CBS Sunday Morning presenter David Pogue at my university - for his talk he requested a Steinway piano - I was prepared to read music and turn pages for him, but he had his music on a tablet he set on the music stand and didn't need any help.)

Watering plants and feeding cats for a friend over the last week has involved trying to keep plants alive under horribly hot conditions last week on Thursday through Saturday. She gets back in town tomorrow and I expect to hear questions about the curled brown edges on a few large plants - and I'll point out that they're still alive and that's about all I could manage.

Checked the mail in the post office box today. Fourteen months out from the ex's retirement and I'm still not getting a portion of the pension. The OPM folks are not just slow, they're glacial. There will be a lot of decluttering once they finally let the eagle shit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 04:52 PM

I hadn't considered it, but I can see how if a conductor is making adjustments on the text for the performance that would need paper. It is possible to mark up PDF files, but that would require every performer have a level of familiarity with the software (and everyone having a similar version and device).

Today's batch of stuff to the e-waste collection station has left the garage, added to what my ex had in the trunk already, including a boxed old keyboard that announced it was "Internet Ready!"

Tomorrow is predicted to be only 99 (after that it goes up again). Just as well because the dogs will be in the backyard for a while when the dryer repair person is here. This evening I need to clear stuff out of the way to be ready.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 12:19 AM

My and everyone having a similar version and device was a nod to that problem - working affordable devices with comparable software and charged batteries. No batteries with paper. :)

My cat-sitting assignment was to end this evening, but after feeding the cats dinner I texted her saying they were taken care of and please let me know when she gets home. The answer was that she's returning late tomorrow. Not what her document calendar shows and not what she paid, but I can't let the cats starve for a day so I'll juggle my dryer repair appointment and cat feeding (means I have to get up really early, because the A&E—used to be Sears—folks make you block the entire day and they'll arrive at some point between 8am and 5pm.) Not even a four hour block like the cable company insists upon. I scheduled this for Thursday instead of earlier to not tangle with the three-runs a day for cats. But I'm back in the car anyway (nod to Jurassic Park).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 12:51 PM

Health issues dictate so many trips. It used to be 2 trips. The littlest guy was in pretty bad shape for a while, but now gets a midday medication that can't be given with the other meds in the morning and evening meals (has to be an hour before or after those meds). Sometimes when I have errands I stop by for that medication then swing back an hour later for the dinner meal without having made an extra trip to and from my house. Every third day there is an injection of a steroid that seems to have made a big difference for him. They are her children.

I'm still struggling to get the phone to upload any photos now. Damn Samsung, I never should have let the tablet upload screenshots, it messed up the phone settings also. Now there are stray files in my OneDrive account and it's backing up old stuff that is already in the system. I don't want to delete photos from my phone to get the phone to stop uploading, but that seems about the only way to do it. If you delete things from the "synced" Samsung folders it will by default delete them from the source folder, so you have to manage to tell it not to do that.

Dryer repair person has been and gone, my wallet is decluttered by $500 and change, and the home warranty will cover $350 of that. Sears will lower the price if I buy their year warranty for various appliances, but that would be a warranty on a warranty and the Sears one would be used before the Home Warranty (I asked). It is too much to have duplicates, and the Home one covers more things. Nothing completely covered, but takes a chunk out of the bill. It doesn't matter what type of appliance you have, though, it depends on if a new one can be bought cheap, so their replacement cost would cover the cheapest dryer at Lowe's, not the Consumer Reports best buy at Lowes. I'm having this dryer fixed and costing myself about $200 instead of taking their $350 and spending $400 more to get the better dryer at Lowe's. It's all a matter of logic and math. There is no new feature in a new dryer that is an improvement on how the old one works. It's a box of hot air, it has a moisture sensor that works, end of story.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 10:45 PM

Dorothy, that truck must have had a lot of moving violations to be stopped the way it was. The tank of gas may be a short-term annoyance, but it sounds like it might have been a good move. Down here in Texas older vehicles get a special protected status and license plate to go with it. My daughter-in-law has a vehicle she imported from Japan that doesn't meet modern emission and safety standards, but it is registered as an antique. She takes it to shows where people with similar cars meet. Trucks in Texas are king - too bad R didn't send it down here.

I'm following the practice that BatGoddess started ages ago and celebrating the birth week and month - I'm a couple of days younger than Charmion (I was born on Labor Day in 1954; her birthday lands on Labor Day this year). I had a small windfall after a job went a day longer than expected so I bought some last-chance ribeye steaks and will pick up a bottle of my favorite single malt Scotch to extend the celebration over several days or a couple of weeks. During my life I never imagined what it would be like to be this old, but this age in my lifetime isn't the same as this age in my parents' lifetime. I'm not sure that I can describe the difference, but I can feel it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 10:47 AM

My across-the-street neighbor is in his 80s; he's out puttering in the yard this morning. We've waited out this heat and finally the mornings are tolerable these days though the afternoons are still over 100^o. September is so welcome.

And I realized that for the math on the dryer I left out a charge - if I hadn't had the dryer fixed, had opted for cash to buy a new dryer, I'd have been out the $100+tax service charge to come to the house for the diagnosis. The home warranty participation would have been shrunk by that much. #HigherMath

Shirts are on hangers on the line on the porch and the sheets and towels and small stuff are on the clothesline behind the garage. For any other appliance failure I'd have someone out right away; for the dryer this time of year, it wasn't urgent.

A big declutter planned for today - I've set up to give the dogs baths. I use a hose in the back yard with a leash fastened to the patio cover post to keep them in place. Loop one end around the neck and they know not to pull. They don't love the bath but they're so frisky when it's finished.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 12:44 PM

The phone is connected by cable to the computer and I'm copying phone images into a file where many years of phone photos reside. A jumble together (filed by phone, and most of them by now broken into yearly folders for each phone). If I put folders of photos onto OneDrive from the computer it is of no interest to Samsung, it isn't part of their filing architecture, though it will open those files if I navigate there in the app.

The time has come to clean the kitchen. Too much stuff spread around so the horizontal surfaces are again almost unusable.

No luck at Academy Sports as far as aqua socks (at the end of the season they're out of most sizes), and I looked online to see if several other places might have them locally. Nope. I don't usually buy shoes online unless they are exactly the same make and model as something I already own, but this time I had to go to Amazon. Even sizes only and no widths, but it should work. I bought a brand I recognize the name brand of; many of their offerings come from startup or off-brand places. These are by Body Glove, a company I've bought from before for other products.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 02:29 PM

Patty, we missed hearing about the skin cancer. Reminds me I've been meaning to see a dermatologist "just because," and at my age, hopefully head off anything they might see that I don't detect yet. I hope the one excision gets the whole thing! Are you in Utah now?

Dog baths postponed until today, I'll begin soon. Materials accumulated for the activity (towels, leash, squirt bottle with dilute shampoo) haven't caused alarm so far. Not that they are alarmed, but none of them are fond of that first squirt with the hose. I have to get everyone into the yard and cover the dog door or they'll dash into the house soaking wet and shake off in there. I'll take a bag of treats out with me, to lessen their unhappiness.

This morning I awoke thinking I needed to start trimming in the corner of the yard where my outdoor potting bench sits; as a result, I've worked on cleaning the kitchen. Oh, well. I may still get to that corner, the day is young.

Oh, and Patty, my pool shoes arrived today, they fit, and are in my gym bag. Thanks for that tip!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 06:33 PM

When I was a teen I had several large moles that the dermatologist removed just on general principles. Over the years I've had a couple more removed, but I haven't had that type of mole so much as the usual age spots that still probably need a check. Mississippi is probably as miserable as Texas is this time of year. We're not much closer than Maryland, but if you feel the urge to get out of town and want to drive over for a few days, let me know, you'd be welcome (I have three dogs who are friendly but hairy, so there is an allergy warning to issue.)

I did get to the corner to trim the grass and worked my way down the driveway as far as the extension cord would let me move. The swept up trimmings and some old tomato limbs that had been stacked out front have been tipped into the compost. When I finish my glass of iced tea the dogs are next on my list of things-to-do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 10:33 PM

The dogs are washed and there is a pleasant scent of fresh damp dog in the house this evening. I washed Cookie first because though small and the easiest coat to clean, I knew she'd be hard to catch later. Pepper loves the continual banter about how pretty she is and how shiny she'll be and what a good girl she is - and offers kisses any time I get my cheek close. Zeke is now deaf, so he can't hear the talk, so I had to keep getting his attention and offering pats and kisses next to his ear. Maybe he can hear me a little bit if I tell him he's a good dog right into his ear canal.

I offered treats every time I finished washing someone (so I could grab the next collar for another bath) and they love to be bribed. I used to wash the dogs more often until the vet said they really don't need it. My pitbull would hop into the tub when I asked her to.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 11:16 AM

Welcome to the week of overheated birthdays. The triple-digits are dug-in here and despite a tease of "rain" that was actually a visual representation of humidity for today, there are good reasons world-wide for not actually lighting that many candles.

As hot as the afternoons still are, the quality of light changes noticeably this time of year and the mornings are cooler and after dusk becomes tolerable. I've started a several-day job of trimming the tall mostly-dead grass around the front yard and piling bulky waste, with a head start in today's trash by stuffing the can with a couple of clunky metal items (trash pickup is only deferred for Thanksgiving and xmas holidays.)

I hope in a couple of weeks to have small plants to transplant into beds and then in October harvest a few squash and cucumbers. I waited too long, but I may still get something. I've enjoyed fresh pickles all summer made from early summer cucumbers.

Sears has sent me a reminder every day that tomorrow they will arrive to fix my dryer. Clearly they're as excited about the prospect as I am! And a reminder myself to pay the home warranty bill. This year I will have recouped about half the cost of it with the dryer repair, better than the usual no-participation from other insurance policies (no claims means another year of pure profit for those companies. Legalized gambling in all of its complexity.)

Jon, if you've finished with your svg charts, what is your next project? Do you have a record of where all of your files and accounts are? Passwords? I keep meaning to tidy my records and discard the documents from old accounts that no longer exist. My daughter knows where all of this is kept, but knowing where and sorting are two huge different things.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 04:14 PM

Small password books can too easily go missing. I helped a friend replace hers in the past - tedious! I have printouts from new sites that are usually screenshots of the account with the information to logon in place (from the screen shot or handwritten) and those are kept in two 3-ring binders. I can go back and easily update passwords and add notes without running out of space on the alphabet page in a little book. Big, but hard to lose. Not taking them anywhere either.

Today has been one for puttering and researching. I've identified the replacement LED light for my upright freezer (it simply shows that it is on and plugged in) and downloaded the manual and schematic. I also browsed through some sewing videos on YouTube, things I'm thinking about trying. And the kitchen is on its way to being much cleaner, with a goal to clear the counters, the peninsula, and the breakfast table.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 02:45 PM

Thanks, Dorothy!

I am held hostage by the Sears scheduling system. The tech told me last week that he is not able to see his full day's appointments in the morning so it isn't until midday (coming up soon) that he can notify customers when he will be there. So I have waited here this morning when I could have been out at my volunteer gig.

The kitchen is looking better and I've been clearing around the little dining table. In the corner beside the table is a bin for paper recycling, but I've stopped putting mail in it, I'll stick with paperboard and corrugated cardboard. Those seem to be what interest the recyclers the most. I have some jars to fill with things that have been in the freezer (to kill any eggs that might have come along from the store) - beans, flour, pasta, dog biscuits, it all goes in there for a while. All of this happens because there is storage in the Hoosier Kitchen next to the small dining table, as well as my upright freezer. If I ever redesigned this kitchen I'd move the peninsula and extend the cabinets and counters, etc. For now, I use a piece of antique furniture for a lot of useful storage.

I'm waiting till later in the month to get the flu and COVID boosters. And don't confuse this thread for MOAB. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 06:29 PM

The Sears tech texted at 3:30 to say he was overbooked, and would come tomorrow. I. Don't. Think. So. He already killed one day. Put me down for Friday.

No pear trees, but I have some little oaks and a redbud tree in pots here that I've struggled to keep alive this summer. I lost a couple, and all are crisp around the edges. Two are destined to go to other yards but they didn't want to try to keep them alive until a good time to plant.

More progress in the kitchen but the six things I put on my little list today went totally undone because of the cancellation (and subsequent trip out - that I cancelled). I've changed the date to tomorrow to try again. Saves a postit note.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 09:24 PM

Yesterday I identified a spot on the soffit where mice or squirrels or anything else can get in through a gap on top of the brick wall (due to settling of the house as the foundation shifts). I'll mix some mortar and drag the stepladder over and fill those crevices to keep them out, but far enough up and back so that when we've had some rain the mortar won't mess up the soffit as the house shifts again. I've also started using a battery-operated transfer pump to empty water out of a rain barrel that I've never completely set up the way it needs to be—it sits in front of a bay window where the splash off of it has rotted a bottom piece of wood. That needs replacing and a repair under the window casing. These are two of a lot of small repairs to perform this fall, but I will wait until the daytime temperatures are better. It looks like next week we'll be closer to "normal."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 23 - 10:04 PM

Do you use any of DaveRo's Mudcat tools? There are threads about them.

I made batch of birthday cinnamon rolls this morning and took some for dessert at lunch with my daughter and ex; sent some home with the ex and took some to neighbors. Giving most of them away means I won't eat them all by myself, but most of my calories today did come from rolls.

This evening I pulled a couple of painted tin bread boxes from the top of cabinets to dust and clean (the one over the top stove needed more work, it has been there for years.) I'll send photos to the kids to see if they're interested in one or both. I have to keep doing this to involve the kids in the decluttering of family antiques.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 23 - 12:31 PM

We're at the last of the "heat dome" this week, the forecast from the weekend on includes a chance of precipitation and much cooler temperatures. But yesterday and today ERCOT asks us to not use as much power in the afternoon and early evening, so helping a friend set up a new computer in the second floor of his townhouse was a sweaty job.

Before setup we decluttered a couple of towers and some small devices that were in the kneehole of his desk (in my SUV now, headed to the city recycle center soon). The most recent computer and monitor are set aside for "just in case," the rest can go. We bailed out paper and a gazillion old plugs and extension cords (a couple of cords I should have cut in two right there - they are fire hazards). I made a list and back home last night rounded up a new mouse pad, a couple of newer power strips, and a headphone and mic thing I bought for my laptop but never used. And since during yesterday's setup we misplaced the cable and power cord for his external hard drive, I have the same model here so found a spare power supply (12V - 1.5Amp) and a USB cable - mini-B plug Type-A receptacle - from the stash in my closet. He came over this morning to pick them up since I have the dryer repair this morning. I think you could say we have both decluttered. The power strips would have gone on Freecycle or Facebook. (I've updated 2 of my power strips to have USB charging ports, retiring the others.)

There are clunks and tinny bumps coming from the laundry room as the service tech reassembles the dryer, rounding out a busy week of appointments. The dogs are in the yard and it's in the mid-90s, so they're ok. It's this afternoon's 108 that no one needs to be outside for. This afternoon we'll stay home and putter. I want to do some sewing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 04:55 PM

Thompson, sorry to read about the recent COVID infection. It hasn't gone away. I made a lot of masks for friends and family during 2020 and 2021, and as a general thing I wear a mask in public places like the grocery store, the post office, etc. I try to dine in areas with few people and manage that by going in for a later lunch (haven't had dinner out since I can remember.) I also wear masks when I work in the yard if I'm kicking up dust (mowing, etc.). Might as well spare myself the sneezing that comes with the work.

Yesterday's high was very high for September (108^o), it broke records, but the day ended with a powerful thunderstorm passing through and between 1/4 and 1/2 inch falling. What a finale to the heat wave!

We had an impromptu bulky waste deposit happen this morning after that wind storm took out limbs in the box elder tree next door and they fell in my yard. The neighbors and I dragged them out to the curb, then we dragged a limb that fell on the very back of my yard last month, that probably accountable to "sudden limb drop" from the prolonged heat stressing trees so much. I'll take a saw out front later and cut shorter lengths and neaten the stack. The village will pick up bulky materials in our part of the village next week. Excellent timing for a storm.

My ex came by yesterday so I pulled the hard drives from those old towers and everything went into his trunk and off to the city recycle center. The disks will be disposed of next time someone collects that more sensitive data for destruction, probably Earth Day on my old campus (I take stuff to them every year.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 06:37 PM

Earth is much like Windy, and I use both of them occasionally. The Norwegian one is in C not F, and the graphic is pretty simple - I think more trouble that it is worth. Perhaps for users north of the border who won't have to convert the predictions! But thanks for the suggestion! It's always interesting to poke around on those sites.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 10:40 AM

I accomplished very little yesterday and was feeling blah about it so did a few standard chores before bed (ran the dishwasher, set up the clothes washer to run this morning). And the maiden voyage of the dryer this morning - so far it didn't heat when I set it on medium with "timed dry." And it wobbles. So must test different settings and figure out which corner has the leveling foot. I probably have 30 to 90 days to report any problems - must print out the warranty (for the warranty). Today is still hot, up to the high 90s, but starting Monday our week forecast shows all mid to high 80s. The plan with the dryer this morning is to run it long enough to be sure it works then pull the t-shirts out to put on hangers and finish drying outside. The towels and pants can stay in the dryer. With it set to use the drying sensors it is heating as it should; all settings may not be connected properly in the repair.

The big old chocolate Labrador has an appointment tomorrow at the vet. He is staggering around more than ever but he still loves his food and his life. He will get a much-needed nail trim and we'll see if it is time for pain meds to help with the arthritis. I'll need to stack boxes as steps to get him into the SUV and they say they'll help me with getting him out and putting him back in down at the office.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 07:07 PM

As the heat dissipates from our unwelcome intense heat dome I think energy will return. It's not that I felt unenergetic during the heat, it's that now that things are cooler I realize how much more I feel like can accomplish when it's possible to go outside and do things, not just duck back in as quickly as possible.

I've started making lists of things to round up or put on a wish list if I seriously take up quilting. I remember when Michelle (LilyFestre) started, maybe 10 years ago, by buying precut strips, then fat quarters, and going from there. I have tons of fabric in my stash and lots of scraps to approach from the use-up-what-I-already-have angle for crazy quilts, just to get the hang of it. But even when starting with scraps decisions must be made about the size of blocks, the batting to use, etc. So I'm watching videos and occasionally heading into the sewing studio to see if I already have the items under discussion and realizing I'll need to rearrange materials for a new use. This is a creative form of decluttering, putting extra fabric to a new use, and it's interesting to plan for.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:48 AM

Funny you should mention magnification glasses - here they are OTC readers. My everyday glasses have no Rx on the top thanks to the cataract surgery, they have a bifocal bottom for everyday looking at things close. I didn't pay the really big bucks for cataract replacement lenses that are for near and distance.

With bifocals at the computer I'd be tipping my head back and getting a stiff neck. Years ago I learned that was what was happening at work and I got "office glasses" that gave me mid-range and close only, for the computer screen and the desktop. Now I can just use readers and I bought a couple of packs of them at Costco. I don't carry a pair everywhere, I trade glasses in places were I work around the house. I have a pair of readers in my handbag. The entire lens is a magnifier, you don't have to keep moving your head to see out of the bottom of the lens.

It rained this morning and is now 71 degrees. I'll still use ceiling fans for a while, but the heat pumps will finally get a break. I moved a couple of pots of seedlings outside—that were started indoors they but haven't thrived in window light. On the outside potting bench I have a dozen pots with cucumber and squash cotyledons on view and the shade cloth pulled back so they'll get full sun.

The plastic step stool is on the ground next to the SUV and I'm wearing gardening clothes for the prospect of picking up and rolling the Lab into through the liftback. We'd get too tangled up if I put him on a back passenger seat. I'll take the step stool with us, and lots of treats, just because. Every morning as I head into the den I wonder if he chose to follow Poppy's example, passing away in his favorite place to sleep, but he's hanging in there. He's eating and he seems to be a happy guy, so I need to keep him comfortable. (He's quite frisky this morning with the cooler temperatures.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 01:19 PM

The old lab is in great shape for a dog that is 15 years eight months. He lost 10 pounds since last year (intentionally, I knew it would help his hips a bit; he's now down to his old "normal" weight) so loading him into the SUV wasn't as hard this time as last. There are a couple of ironic elements to the visit (of course!) - last week I tossed the contents of a 2-pound jar of brewer's yeast into the compost because it was about four years old and I hadn't used it much (to keep flies off - if they get it in their diets it helps repel pests). But it turns out he's a little anemic and the B vitamins would be beneficial, so I've ordered a new tub of it. And with all of this is the classic hit to the wallet - the refund check from the Home Warranty folks for fixing the dryer arrived today and it was $4 more than the vet bill.

Good luck with the steps, Charmion. I have an exercise app that I've set up to remind (nag) me every day that I should use it. I should probably set it to a different time, the one I've set so far hasn't been very effective because I'm usually in the middle of something when it goes off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 10:54 PM

Dorothy, I have an email that looks like it is legitimately from the US Post Office, telling me that the payment method saved for autopay (for my post office box) is about to expire and I should logon and change it. Except it has more than a year before it expires. I logged on directly to USPS (never follow an email link) and looked. There was an already expired debit card in there and the current credit card. This has me scratching my head - has the USPS been hacked? It's probably an error, but I'm not following their link.

It was lovely today, a high of 93. So much better than 103 or 110. There is rain in the forecast this week, with the suggestion that while the storms may not move over everyone at the same time, by the time they all pass through, everyone should get at least an inch of rain. Bring it on!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 23 - 11:57 AM

More rain overnight and normal September temperatures this week. The yard is muddy because of the rain that is still soaking into the super dry soil, so lots of dog footprints through the den. I will be able to make the last push on removing the large root and finishing the fence. I might even be able to go into the attic in the mornings (I'll have to go take a look and see if I've found all of the holes at the edge of the soffit to fill with mortar to keep out mice and squirrels.)

I meant to do something productive last night but ended up watching YouTube videos by a guy who goes to sit with dogs in shelters and help get them adopted. They're always nice stories, though some of the dogs come in pretty rough.

There are more okra in the garden now and we could have six to eight weeks before a frost, or longer, so I hope to get some crops. The stuff that survived the heat is ready to produce now, if I give them a little space (pull out some of the weeds crowding them) and some organic fertilizer as a boost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Sep 23 - 09:45 PM

The quilting tutorials I'm watching have come around to the organization of the sewing room - having the three most important stations in good proximity (sewing machine, cutting table, ironing board) and for everything else - it can involve a major declutter before deciding how to organize it. Will this be my project that finally evicts all of the storage containers that hold my mother's unfinished projects? There are a couple I thought about trying, but some I have no interest in. I think Freecycle will be the avenue out of the house for those (and I should have done this anyway.)

Meanwhile, I chipped away more of the huge tree root that blocks construction of my last fence panel, stopping when the reciprocating saw battery ran out. And the last of the pickets have been painted with wood preservative. I have a whole gallon and only needed to paint four pickets, but it is clear so can be used for other wood projects in the future and it keeps well.

With the weather shift coolers are put away (one was on the porch with water for the mail carrier, another next to the side door to take shopping for bringing home cold groceries). We're more closely duplicating the conditions people on the east coast have complained about - our temperatures are lower finally but the humidity shot up. I don't need the coolers but I still need the ceiling fan and the air conditioner to pull the moisture out of the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 10:31 PM

So many things coming and going between Dupont and Beaver - and the communities where each of those houses are!

I hope all of Charmion's boxes were moved satisfactorily - no strains in the lifting or cramming into the car.

This afternoon I pulled from my craft storage a bin my sister sent me from my Mom's house and craft stuff from when the kids were younger. Mom had rug backing kits and crochet hook tools (for knotted yarn rugs). I met my daughter today and had her shop through the stuff. She took the more ornate large beads (they were originally hers) and some lovely crystals we bought in Arkansas many years ago, plus a few other items. And she gave me a tip - there is a local organization that accepts all sorts of donations that can be used by teachers for art projects and for building sets for theater programs. I can let them look at what my daughter doesn't need and what they don't want goes to Facebook or Freecycle.

I kept the bin with Mom's braided rug stuff - I watched her make those when I was a kid and always wanted to try, and it is another place where scrap fabric can go. There's a partial rug in there I can practice on.

This evening I went back to the craft storage shelves and pulled out old crayons, colored pencils, watercolor paints, and some ancient art pastel chalk that still works. Some of the chalk I had when I was a child! More for the Welman folks to consider. I'll take it over at one time, not piecemeal—I'll work on these shelves for the rest of the week. With this stuff the "keeping it for grandchildren" argument doesn't win when considering how old and how messy some of it is.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 11:24 AM

Thompson (is that what you prefer we call you?), I watched a video of the process recently - so many steps! Good luck with that project!

Yesterday I attended a retirement reception that was held in a normally good-sized room but with so many people the ventilation wasn't up to the event and no one was wearing a mask. I consider this the bonafide first super-spreader event I've been to. The retiree usually wears masks in groups and if meeting someone else in a mask he pops one on, but he wasn't wearing a mask, so I stood back but I didn't put on my mask. The room contained a fair percentage of rich conservative white folks who may not have been vaccinated.

I've looked up the rug and crochet-like materials - that hobby is called latch hook, and it appears kits are still sold and people still do it, so I won't toss it as obsolete. I have bins full of tiny beads and glitter and I wonder if glitter is even allowed at schools now, it gets into everything. Something to ask about. The kids and I produced a lot of decorative egg holiday ornaments for the tree, made with glitter and beads and ribbon, but that ship has sailed as far as my interest in it. Those items are in another bin or two.

It's a lovely rainy morning and I can wear my new rain slicker (last used in May?) Soon I'll be able to turn over soil and weed parts of the garden where I want to put in cucumber and zucchini for fall crops. You can water with a bucket or a sprinkler all summer, but until it rains, the soil just isn't as easy to work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 08:55 PM

Jon, that's terrible news. Tim is a sibling? And why would your credit card be involved with Google maps? It's free AFAIK. Or have you found some special goodies they offer for a fee?

Patty, check in if you feel like it, or send an email and let us know how you're doing. Hopefully your weather is cooler and nice now, as it is here, not contributing to your discomfort.

Lifting a box of glass bottles (Topo Chico) today I pulled some stomach muscles, something I seem to do every year or two if I'm not careful. Goes back to a gymnastics injury in junior high school. I microwaved the sock-like bag of rice to apply heat and that has helped, but it means being careful for a little while to let things heal.

A bin today in the sewing studio revealed a BeDazzler (as seen on TV) for fastening beads with teeth onto garments. Kind of like using a tool to fasten grommets. Now most things are glued, but there might still be an application for this (pardon the pun!) I still have pearls and gemstone beads and materials for jewelry making that I plan to return to. I also still use beads in the context of sewing. I put a lot of bling on a red felt xmas stocking for my daughter-in-law that matches the one I had from childhood. My mom made them from a kit and I knew I had the felt and the sparkly stuff and it had to be made in a hurry. My daughter did the cutting out and sewing and I added the decor. I have another stocking to make for my son's partner who one of these days will be here for the holiday.

Cat sitting for the next few days, but nothing else on my calendar, so I plan to dig into the studio shelves more and see what else I can evict. I might also do some sewing machine rearrangement. The room used to be a bedroom and still has a double bed and a matching dresser pushed back into corners. I'd love to move those out, but we occasionally use the bed. I'll have to think about this.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 12:26 PM

Thompson, I contributed some local photos to Panoramio ages ago, then it was purchased by Google and incorporated as a layer, but that layer disappeared (2017). I am part of the local guides but haven't put photos up again. I visited bridges that cross Sycamore Creek in Fort Worth to post upstream and downstream photos from each bridge, down to the Trinity River. A couple of people using the maps emailed offering suggestions of more access points. I use G. Maps to navigate past traffic congestion and find new places, but so many times I drive past a wooded area or a large berm or wall and think "I'll have to look that up on Google Maps when I get home." I mostly forget until I sit down for some binge snooping. Now much of the Earth and Maps content is merged so either one works for the curious folks of the world. What do you have in YOUR backyard? ;-)

Rain again this morning; such a relief from a week ago today when we hit the last cringe-worthy high temperature of the season. I'm back from cat feeding and a productive trip along the boulevard I travel from my house to hers. Dollar Store shampoo without the SLS (a coconut allergen), a different Dollar Store clearance gardening gloves with a latex sticky hand surface (recommended for quilting when you're doing the machine quilting and pushing a lot of fabric through the domestic machine - better traction), and a fresh batch of Louisiana Fish Fry in a 12 ounce bag; the current 2-3 pound plastic jug expired a year ago Wednesday and while it tastes ok, there is more than half left. The new bag goes into a jar and the jug contents sprinkled into the garden. The recipe has 99.5% corn meal which is an excellent fertilizer. The garden will smell a little more Cajun than usual.

Another dive into the sewing studio; I'm finding this rediscovery of old projects fascinating—some I wanted to finish but forgot, many I'm completely over, etc. Lots of gifts that were never used - scarves, etc., that might see new life now. And gobs of batting and polyfill. When I finally put it all together it should add up to enough for several projects ahead. Must sort the iron-on sticky pieces from the regular old interfacing and all of the variations in between. I will also be moving furniture, I'm not sure how much or where yet. What I really need is to have my daughter clear the contents of the closet; it is packed with her long-forgotten stuff. I have a plan for that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 06:16 PM

Vaccination research shows that the COVID shot will be available here at the end of the month and I need to look into RSV - the shot is $350 out of pocket if my insurance doesn't pay. So I got the flu shot today.

This afternoon I opened a shoebox full of small cross-stitch kits and partially stitched projects and I found a stitching diagram of a larger project in my ex's handwriting, so I'll see if it is something he remembers or wants. He used to sew and do carpentry and and leatherwork when we first met. The rest is donatable, or since there are some uncompleted ones, maybe to Freecycle.

There continues to be a chance of rain this evening and tomorrow, and this afternoon my informal rain gauge, the trash can beside the driveway, had at least 1.5" of water in the bottom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:38 AM

It is cool enough here to start walking the dogs again but Zeke will be staying home unless I decide to try to drag him in the wagon. I suspect he wouldn't stay down in the wagon and too high a center of gravity would make even a trip around the longish block near me precarious. We are weeks away from switching from cool to heat, but I'm almost to turning off the ceiling fan in the bedroom overnight. Or I need to get another light covering; it will be a negotiation for a few days before the fan is turned off.

Last night I did a COVID test since I'd been in a group of unmasked people on Wednesday. There are no symptoms, this was for an early warning since I'm giving a tour at the museum today. Negative, as expected.

My seedlings are looking good so it's time to start clearing the spots where they'll be planted for the fall, and I may put one or two each in large pots (I put in seeds for six cucumber and six calabash zucchini). It's also time to take the mower and the weedwacker out to trim around the scruffy front yard and bring in the wading pool with the little floating solar-powered fountain. The birdbaths are always out there, but the pool takes a little more maintenance.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 10:40 PM

The day started out kind of glum, probably the approaching autumn. It has that effect sometimes, but I managed to get enough things finished today to generate some endorphins. The biggest accomplishment was the transfer of my ex's house landline to Google Voice. A couple of weeks ago we went to T-Mobile to port his AT&T phone and last week the house dial tone stopped. Google Voice won't port landlines, only cell phone lines, so T-Mobile was our chosen go-between.

Logging onto T-Mobile the first time is via their authentication activity in a cell phone, so today we used my retired cell phone with the new SIM card and were able to logon to generate the port-out-code to move the phone number over to Google Voice.

He paid $20 to Google, a one-time charge for the transfer, and in a couple of days all calls going to the house phone number will hit the Google spam filter that's pretty good. And because he shared his current phone's contact list with Google Voice (when he installed the app on the Samsung phone), Voice will only forward calls from people on his list. Whew.

A huge bouffant pile of dog hair went into the trash tonight. Tomorrow I turn my attention from the house to the yard and start trimming around the ragged edges of lawn and gardens. The pile of branches at the curb is still waiting pickup (bulky waste) so I'll add to the pile until it goes away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 11:32 AM

The scar from my smallpox vaccination is no longer visible, but I remember getting it. We were all lined up in the hall at my elementary school in Seattle and it was administered to each of us in that efficient and public setting. The school also ran occasional TB tests; possibly to do with it still being in the population in the 1960s and someone in the school testing positive. The world has changed since then. There is a small bruise from my flu shot where he hit a capillary with the tiny needle.

This morning was the last of the cat sitting runs, and the drive was marked by passing a couple of odd vehicular incidents. One car stalled perpendicular across the right lane and up on the sidewalk on a viaduct; it looked like a broken axle. The other was people standing in the turn lane arguing with one crumpled vehicle behind another that appeared unmarked. This is often the case when small unibody plastic cars rear-end heavy metal pickup trucks.

It is time to start decluttering the yard. Long pants and work shoes and safety glasses and a hat are ready to go. Trimming, mowing, sweeping. Putting away the wading pool that graced the front yard during the heat (for birds and bugs). I have a lot of pine needles to rake and use as mulch, but raking them takes finesse since they're long and pokey and get into my shoes and socks.

A box was just taped together and will go into the SUV to hold all of the ejected craft stuff. This week I'll let my daughter shop it first, then take it to the teacher-use donation site. I think she's getting ready to move house, so may not be wanting to add more to her stash (though I can offer her some big boxes that might be very welcome.)

Autumn starts Saturday after a long difficult summer. My mood is better just looking at that date on the calendar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:41 PM

I started photographing an eBay listing and intended to plug the camera into the older computer with the newer Adobe software, but the file cabinet from the closet was sitting in the chair spot at that desk. So I wrestled cabinets for a while (without emptying the contents of the plywood plank desktop), transferred the files, and replugged equipment. Now I'll turn to the eBay stuff and I have a file cabinet ready to list on Freecycle.

Rugs are thudding around in the dryer after a slow ultra-handwash trip through the washer. This includes a braided rug I pulled from the craft room shelves. Mom made it decades ago and it may need to be re-stitched to reinforce it, but it's in good shape.

The high is 93^o today, so the summer heat hasn't completely drained from our atmosphere and the next few nights won't go below the mid-70s. That said, morning work in the yard in the 70s isn't bad.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 12:42 PM

Yarn! I never use it, why do I have a bin of it? I kept a few partial skeins for those times I need it for a knot or two on something, I don't knit or crochet (though I know how to do both - at this point they don't interest me.) Paper - ancient - someone else can use it so it's all going into the daughter-shopping/donate box in the SUV. On the keep side, I found the rest of the braided yarn kit along with instructions. Low tech, high rewards with those.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 06:07 PM

The Scottish wool lengths have left my SUV, but the old notions stayed (they're probably brittle). A bag of yarn was claimed along with the Bedazzler, scissors, needles (straight and sewing machine), paint brushes, and probably a few other gadgets. Back at home I realized I still had a part that is supposed to go in the Bedazzler box, so sent a note and will deliver it later in the week.

I have several garments like you describe, probably made in shops by seamstresses in the 1940s for mom, no labels. Probably from Japan or Hong Kong when she was over there as a WAC. Silk is hard to sew with (I think it unravels?) but I'll look into what can be done with it. I won't toss them (it is exactly as Charmion's Corollary describes).

This afternoon I took another dive - this time into felt. Why did I have so much? What was I doing with it? There are no artifacts here to remind me. I think there was a bunch given away at the university library when departments were having to clear out for life-safety construction projects (asbestos removal, fire sprinklers installed, etc. Everything was emptied out). Surplus items without barcodes could be discarded so were put out for anyone to claim, and I would have grabbed the fabric.

The last bin I touched had a length of velvet from Mom's house - I'll never use it. That might be one to sell, it's enough to make something nice for a small to medium-sized person (when the nap is directional it doesn't go as far). In our family that would be me, but I won't make anything for me like that. I think it also came from Hong Kong. Mom had some department store catalogs that she used for orders when she came back to the states.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 11:42 AM

Good work, Sandra!

The donation program for teachers art materials has a calendar that is booked out several weeks. As I was setting up an appointment and checking my own calendar the time I wanted closed, so I had to grab the next half-hour slot in early October. I sent an email listing some of the things that I have to be sure they accept them. The file cabinet may be one of those items, so I can package my donation materials and store them in the drawers. I just noticed the welded steel file cabinet rolling base a friend gave me - I'll add that to the donation stack. The program is looking for volunteers, so depending on how the drop-off goes, it might be a place to spend time. They're located next door (perilously close) to one of the best European bakeries in town, so I would have to be careful about the calorie intake in that neighborhood.

My short list for today has one item crossed off immediately - I don't need to water the garden. Last night around midnight storms rolled through and it looks like about 1.5" of rain. Nice!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 07:37 PM

Scored a nice set of portable pet stairs at Goodwill today, and I'll see about setting up the recliner so Zeke can get into it again. I'll cover it with something waterproof and place it so the casters don't roll the chair while he moves in and out (I may have to remove them for the time being).

Several years ago I planted a Mexican plum tree in the backyard and this year it has decided to produce a crop. I've wondered about how to collect them without spending a lot of time picking them up individually, and today I chanced upon an ad for a device that rolls and the objects (nuts, acorns, balls, whatever, depending on the size you buy) are scooped up through the wires of the ball-shaped roller. I've ordered a Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer that arrives tomorrow. If I don't collect these they will sprout - I've had a few sprout in years past, but this year it's a big crop (relative to the small tree). I need to figure out what to do with the fruit. I was thinking this was one of those fruitless fruit trees, but it isn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 10:59 AM

An environmentalist artist friend makes a point of picking up discarded canvases and useful-sized pieces of discarded plywood and MDF (usually out at the curb on trash day in his neighborhood) to use for his paintings. Your old canvases, used or not, can be put to use.

Lunch at a favorite Szechuan restaurant yesterday revealed that I can get lower-salt dishes if I ask. The flavor isn't as pronounced, but now that I'm used to not so much salt, it still tastes good. I suppose I could carry some of the Nu Salt with me if I want a bit more. I'm sure there is still plenty in the food just because of how ingredients are prepared, but it takes it out of the stratosphere. And this doubles the number of places we have on our very short list. I still have to skip the iced tea with the meal because caffeine picks up where salt leaves off on BP.

Some sewing kits (cross stitch) were picked up by a member of the local Buy Nothing FB group. For her nieces. I could have sold them on eBay but it wasn't worth the work to list them. It is depressing to see the gobs of notions, old thread spools, zippers, hooks and eyes, small devices, bric-a-brac, all from estates that are offered in lots on eBay. (They should throw out the thread and elastic, they're too brittle to use, and there can only be a small number prop departments looking for ancient sewing stuff for films and TV shows.) People are buying them so they aren't going to waste but I think I can discard a lot of that now and not have it featured in photos of an estate sale here. (People do estate sales now when they're downsizing to move to smaller houses or apartments, so it isn't just because people are deceased that these sales happen.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 03:12 PM

I'm debating about moving an antique dresser from the sewing studio; it's part of a matching set with a bed and side table. When I look on eBay for Victorian wooden dressers there are a lot of them listed, but when looking at the completed sales the only thing moving out there are the doll furniture dressers and the salesman samples of big pieces. On the FB Marketplace there are quite a few local listings and the prices are modest. I emptied the upper drawers but the largest bottom drawer is a cache of stuff that the previous room user may want to look through. I'll box it up later. The closet in that room is packed with stuff in storage for that same tenant and also needs to go away.

Coming from one of those drawers is a clunky silver dresser set (mirror, brush, comb) given us by our pediatrician when the first child was born. It was never used and I see they sell on eBay, but do I want to bother? Possibly. One photo and it's listed. There is no emotional tie to this like there are to some other relics of babyhood.

Last evening and this morning I made two runs up to my friend's house to feed her cats during a quick trip out of town, and more of her butterfly chrysalises decided it was time to become butterflies. I released one at sunset yesterday and this morning the two in the enclosure were still drying and firming the wings, so she let them out at noon when she got home. The entertainment value of this is right up there with picking your first tomato of the season or the first big squash in the spring.

Going through my sewing supplies I've decided to discard the small rotary cutter inherited from my Mom's craft stuff. This one is a little scary to use, too easy to get fingers close to the blade when the guard retracts but doesn't completely keep you from contact. I'm replacing with a $10 Dritz cutter that reviewers say has a great pressure sensitive guard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 03:35 PM

Yesterday I got the COVID vaccination and am feeling a bit achy and moody today. But the mood could be because the calendar says Autumn and the thermostat says 98^o. The high is supposed to be 103. The next 10 days will be back in the low to mid 90s.

Some of our members are headed to the Getaway this week (it happens next weekend) - have a good time, all who attend! I hope there are a few fall colors along the way to add to the enjoyment of the trip.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 07:52 PM

Dorothy, down here in the states now you can buy hearing aids without going through a doctor or getting a prescription. They cost a lot less than the ones the doctors push as well. My mom had certain frequencies she couldn't hear (she is convinced it was due to some flying during WWII in very noisy troop transport airplanes). It wasn't the volume of what she was hearing, it was the ability to distinguish what it means.

The noise of a nearby thunderstorm has upset one of the dogs, but no rain so far and it has moved east into the next county. I did a little yard work, trimming small limbs into the trash can and lopping the Mexican plum branch that was tangled with the Internet line from the pole behind the house. When this house was built the only line back there was the phone, but that is long gone. Same wooden pole though.

More sorting in the sewing studio, and I can see that some of the fabric in there was grabbed at work during an office purge but I'll never use it. I think one rayon piece might have served as a tree skirt one year. I have a half-dozen large lidded bins empty right now, but they'll be given a task soon enough. The dresser in there is also empty.

I washed all of the bedding today, down to the stretchy sided mattress pad, the light blanket, and the pillows. The dog hair is accumulating in the den so I'll sweep and vacuum this evening before sending it out in tomorrow's trash. And tomorrow I must take the mower to the front yard before the code enforcement guy comes by complaining about a few tall weeds (most of the lawn is still brown.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 03:14 PM

Allergies are kicking my backside today, and it has me thinking of trying the pill splitter to take a small dose of Sudafed (I'm avoiding it in general because of the BP rise from it).

Another item, this time a phone from the ex's house, offered in the buy-nothing group. Someone is picking it up soon.

I took a quick survey of the front yard this afternoon; there's a lot of yard work to be done out there, and several modest repairs. Another week in the mid-90s then I should be able to get out there and do the jobs without heat stroke.

My mom had hearing aids, and when she was in the hospital near the end didn't wear them because she was afraid they'd both be broken. One fell on the floor and was crushed under a nurse's shoe and after that she never used the other one. They can be a nuisance because they are so small and so expensive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 10:23 PM

It's finally cool enough to start walking the dogs in the mornings (I am not an early riser, so we're talking about mid-morning). Walking is considered a weight-bearing exercise and my poor fitness tracker is feeling neglected this summer; these walks will help with bone density and tracker steps.

I started raking pine needles at the curb today and need to keep it up—I want to leave an area around the base of at least one tree that is bare except for needles. And elsewhere I'll mow the tallest weeds to tidy the front. The weeds in the garden will come out via hand tools and newly-cleared areas covered with some of the bagged mulch I picked up a while back. In the house it is still a broom and vacuum operation to control the dog hair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 23 - 04:21 PM

The yard is overgrown where the lawn isn't dead, and I was going to start some work this morning—that is, I was until I found the code enforcement tag on my door saying I needed to mow the lawn. These guys try my patience. He gave me until Oct. 6 to mow, so I'm not going to mow for a while, I'm going to let him stew. And when I do work out there, it will be evenings and weekends so he doesn't get the satisfaction of seeing me do the work. #FirstWorldAggravation

I've pulled two large vintage fabric items out of the sewing studio that will never be used. A futon cover and something that might have been used as a tree skirt around a xmas tree are headed to Goodwill. Pieces usable by me are being organized by type, and some need attention first (one in the laundry now).

Finally getting a few eBay listings up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 12:03 PM

I did some shopping for friends yesterday and brought home relatively little for myself (fresh veggies). Yesterday when I went through the sewing studio to for yardage I found a blouse tossed in there when I couldn't fit into it. Now it fits, so it's in the laundry awaiting freshening up.

Going through shelves in the bathroom I pulled a bottle of Tyrolean pine oil that smells wonderful but makes a deadly slippery bath if used that way so I haven't finished the very old bottle. The smell is still strong so I looked up uses. It seems setting it in a room (how?) works as an air freshener. I take the lids off of jar candles and use them that way (they don't need to burn to smell good), but an oil? I suppose there are small bottles I can use to mix it with some water? Any ideas? I also have some really concentrated mint my neighbor gave me that might be used that way. She puts it on her neck to help with headaches, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 08:13 PM

Good luck with the ficus, Dorothy. In their native environment they grow quite large.

This afternoon I sat down at the sewing machine to cobble together more kitchen scrub rags (a sandwich of one part old terry cloth washcloth and two layers of old t-shirt). It is stitched around the outer edge, turned right-side out, then zigzagged around the outside edge and stitched across to turn it into a more solid absorbent rag for cleaning. I also mended the armpit of a favorite t-shirt and did some machine darning on holes in dish towels that Cookie tore up in her puppy days. All is now in the laundry waiting to be put back into service.

Finally getting to bake my autumnal loaves of pumpkin bread. I've rounded up the ingredients and will have it ready for lunch for friends here this weekend. It's still pretty warm for baking, but I'm tired of not doing much for so long.

I haven't been to the gym in ages, not feeling motivated. I have several things to do tomorrow that take me in that direction so I will make a point to stop in. I have started looking around for other smaller gyms that are close to the house, and I'll save the distant one for when I want to swim.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:41 AM

This morning I took apart a clunky pin cushion, the Mother's Day gift I remember making in 1st or 2nd grade. Mom sent the can (standard tuna-sized) from home, and I don't remember if she had to supply anything else. It was filled with sand topped with some kind of spongy padding fiber (to catch pins) topped with red acetate and "MOM" written in black marker. A can-height band of wide masking tape anchored the red edges, itself carefully hidden by fat yarn wrapped around the can over a layer of paste. (Elementary school paste was delicious and not like the Elmer's milk glue). A blue protective felt base went last (my teacher really did think of everything!) The can has a permanent painted label for Pacific Pearl Fancy Dungeness crab, packed by a company belonging to Ivar Haglund. How appropriate. I thought it would be a tuna can, but this is even better. All other materials tossed, the can is a postcard from my mother in 1960. It is possible to waste a lot of time looking into how that label is painted on the can, but I think they printed the flat steel then assembled the cans.

With this small token from the Eisenhower or Kennedy-era stowed on view beside other kitchen antiques, I have moved on to deaccessioned craft items and assembled three sets of glitter to list on the Buy Nothing page. A little glitter goes a long way and with duplicates of several colors it's my prerogative to parcel it into smaller sets.

It's muggy today and there is ragweed in the air. With no rain in sight I'm struggling with the allergies and the heat. Bleh. Will we get a fall, or go straight to cold? Fall here is usually only about a week at the most; in my youth I was spoiled in the Pacific Northwest with autumn lasting most of September and October. And fancy crab in a can that cost 33 cents.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 08:08 PM

Yes and yes. I took a photo of the pincushion and glitter gets everywhere. That's why I confined it to a few projects and worked over a rimmed baking sheet and haven't done anything with it for years.

Two of the glitter vials were so old they don't even have zip codes on the addresses, they're pre-1963 and my mom must have picked them up for 29 cents each at Woolworth, "America's Christmas Store." Those kinds of things sell on eBay, so those were set aside. The others will be offered soon on the buy nothing page.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:49 PM

That was interesting. I listed the two vials of glitter and they sold within hours. I asked $12 for the two, because another sale of Woolworth glitter (last summer) had four containers for $20. eBay changed some forms and the post office changed some pricing, so I had to go in and double check my shipping form (eBay had added an extra zero to a measurement, making a 4" dimension 40", and a different price bracket). Fixed that. I asked her what she does with them - that won't change the sale, but I'm interested if there is a Woolworth ephemera collecting thing out there. I loved Woolworth when I was a kid, and I walked past one on my way to and from high school. (Kress was very similar - both of them had interesting basements and they always smelled like fresh popped popcorn.)

In the meantime, on the Buy Nothing page someone offered two large boxes of sewing patterns. Sizes are way too big for me, but not for my daughter and all of the costumes she makes (and she can adjust patterns up or down with tailoring skills, so a size 20 skirt can be adjusted to size 12 if you know what you're doing.) I got my dibs in and will pick up the hoard of commercial patterns (many apparently never used) that I'll hand off to her. Two office file drawer sized boxes. In this world of oddball sales and donation, it has been a good day. A plus - her dad will go with me because the pattern lady lives near our favorite discount grocery. So we'll pick up the boxes, go shop for produce, then see our daughter when the boxes are dropped off. For these these two retirees, that describes a pretty good day! (And maybe I should put all of the glitter together in one offer because someone else like me will have a use for all of it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 08:56 PM

I picked up the patterns, some really nice styles in there, all filed neatly in two boxes. She had blouses, skirts, pants, dresses, jackets, coats, and outfit sets; there must have been 50 patterns in there. When we met my daughter we transferred them to a bag for her to carry with her back into her museum after we all had lunch. I'll use the boxes to organize the craft donations I'll hand over next week. Nothing going to waste.

We discussed the scraps my daughter generates in her sewing; she has been tossing them but will now box them and give them to me. I know - sounds like more clutter - but I intend to pick out what I want and make the rest available to quilters. I'm a go-between on that.

This weekend I have to do yard work to get ahead of the tall grass and weeds in gardens. I have guests coming for lunch on Sunday so I'll spend the next couple of evenings cleaning and dusting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 11:30 AM

We have an ozone action day today so they want less driving, no gas powered mowers, etc. I'll get out the electric weed whacker and get started, wearing a cloth mask while I work.

Another eBay parcel has sold, picked up this morning on the porch by the mail carrier. This one served as a cautionary listing - buying something on deep discount to sell on eBay doesn't always work. I will break even after fees are collected, so I didn't lose money. Meanwhile, the rest of the glitter will be collected via "porch pickup" by someone in the Buy Nothing group. Heaven help her with that much glitter in her house.

A note about my homemade granola: I decided this morning that I'm tired of having to floss sesame seeds out from between my teeth, but I like a robust mix of seeds and nuts, so I did some searching of other recipes and I'll switch to unsalted pepitas (small pumpkin seeds). They're small but still, 10x larger than sesame seed.

Cleaning day along with yard day. I'll pace myself since it's still high 90s out there. When I come in to cool off I'll pickup around here, sweep, etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 10:44 AM

Progress yesterday: the front was mowed and part of it was trimmed. I'm not good at taking out a broom to sweep grass off of the driveway at the same time (I hate blowers and it's a waste of water to hose it off). If it sits there for a day it dries and is much easier to sweep away. I'll go out this afternoon and take care of that. The glitter left the porch in the evening and I'm next looking at antique table cloths, runners, pillow covers, etc. The double damask tablecloths can sell on eBay but the rest is small linen and cotton pieces are fussy and there is a nominal return for the work to list them.

The kitchen is clean and the table is set for lunch. I'm working on cooking/baking several things this morning to be ready by noon. One of the friends coming over is involved in a slow-motion declutter of his old electronic equipment. So far I've helped him move out towers, a CRT monitor, large TV, printers, hard drives, and other gadgets. Today he is bringing another batch that my ex (who resides in FW) will take over to the Fort Worth recycle station (it is on FW property adjacent to our village and named for our village, but we can't use it - go figure!). I cleaned the ancient stainless steel dutch oven that sits on the patio with dog water and will send them into the yard once company arrives (they love company but they could knock over one disabled friend). That pot washed up in the creek one day and while I haven't used it for cooking it works for the dogs.

This reminds me I haven't gone down to walk the creek for a long time; I usually go to find fossils.

This weekend I moved furniture in the sewing studio and am trying a new arrangement of the small table that has served to hold some of the regularly used small tools between the two sewing machines. Being able to find what I need when I need it is the key to this working.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 10:26 PM

and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - she's nuts, she's out of line, and she's practicing medicine without a license. You are fully entitled to ignore her bullshit.

Lunch with friends today with an eclectic menu. My autumnal pumpkin bread was baked this morning for dessert. With it we had lentil soup (Egyptian - very simple with water, onion, lentils, and a couple of spices) and the main course was macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Acting like it's autumn even if it was in the 90s today. Good conversation - our lunch usually lasts for about three hours. I cleaned the kitchen, swept a couple of rooms, cleaned in the bathroom, so when everyone leaves the house looks good.

With the arrival of October I need to set aside my lazy September ways and get back to the gym and to more consistent volunteering. It simply has to cool off now, and let normal activities resume.

One of the channels that plays lots of older detective mystery shows has restarted Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I turned it on today, and it dawns on me that I never realized what a depressed thread runs through that particular program. I suspect my viewing of police procedurals won't include this one as much this autumn.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 02:02 PM

Looking at the calendar, we're a month out from Daylight Savings Time to switch over to Standard Time. We're four weeks from Halloween, and US Thanksgiving is on November 24th, pretty early (on the fourth Thursday each year the date can range from the 22nd to 28th). Those who make holiday fruit cake, or who sew or otherwise manufacture gifts will be getting started. (The craft supplies stores have xmas stuff in stock at least by July for the very organized customers.) eBay listings of gift-type items need to be put up from now on.

It's too soon (at least it is this far south) to move pots for the winter, and those I do move will be things I can live with in the house, since winters in the greenhouse haven't been successful lately. That hard long freeze in 2021 killed off several favorite plants; had they been in the house they'd have been cold, but not dead. In the garden it is time to start tidying for next year, mulching some beds for winter crops, strewing seeds for wildflowers.

This is the calendar telling me these things; the 94^o day says nothing of this.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 07:21 PM

I've let my fingers do the walking through the Lowe's website to track down the manufactured cedar siding that I need to replace a rotten piece (after I remove the rain barrel that has created a splash zone causing the damage.) They also have a box of mortar mix to use to fill the gaps in the brickwork under the soffit. I'll pick up materials tomorrow and get going on this work before critters decide to move indoors.

As the old Lab continues to slow down, after breakfast I started him on the combination of pain pills recommended by the vet to help with his hip discomfort. So far he's slept even more of the day than usual. I think the recommended dose of Tramadol is too much, so I'll try halving it tomorrow (and won't give him the second dose tonight.) The non-steroidal osteoarthritis one he gets just in the morning. This decline adds a somber note to the season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 10:49 AM

Last night I reversed myself and gave the dog just 1 Tramadol for his second dose of the day, and he was much happier, up and around, not in a sleepy stupor. So reduce the hard stuff and keep him on the same amount of the non-loopy stuff.

I have an appointment this week to take donated items over to the project that collects them for teachers, so I need to tidy the containers and boxes and resend the email asking what they want and don't want. I've already deaccessioned the glitter, but there is still a matter of small beads that they may or may not want. And a file cabinet that counts as furniture so I should probably file the form they have for furniture. Getting that file out of the hall will make walking that space easier. I don't always turn on the light in the evenings and it's hard enough avoiding tripping on a dark dog, let alone a dark dog lying next to the bulk of a file cabinet.

I've been reading more books on my 10.1" Samsung tablet and note that it is using more power than before the whole syncing photos to OneDrive process started, so have tried to figure out what setting in causing the power drain. These things check in with the mothership way more often than they need to. I hope Jon has figured out the device he mentioned recently.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:17 PM

Diving into the sewing studio this afternoon has resulted in a growing stack of school project stuff that was tucked away between the bed and the wall. This includes lots of sheets of heavy duty poster board, some pieces of matte board brought home from the university library (rescued from the recycle bin following the end of exhibits when it was all tossed). Also, my shelves are now clear of some yardage purchased years ago for projects that were never made and that will never be made. I can't imagine using that fabric for anything else now.

My ex came by and picked up an old computer tower and monitor to take to the recycle center (a friend brought them when he was here Sunday). Already in the trunk of the car was an old Packard Bell tower—so old that he didn't bother to remove the hard drive. I asked why - turns out it was a DOS machine, didn't even use Windows. Really really old and really heavy. (Probably should have asked if a computer museum wanted it.) Will we make enough progress with this decluttering that our children will thank us? It's certainly more than either of my parents ever did in their retirement years.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 11:21 PM

I have resisted Apple products for years. At work there were some Apple workstations but it was always a matter of learning where to click to make things work. They were contrary to the Windows setup. It didn't seem to be worth the trouble.

As far as tablets go, stepping up from the Amazon Fire tablet to the Samsung tablet has been a huge improvement in my ability to load the kind of content I want to see. And now that I have Samsung equipment in place with the accompanying Samsung accounts, any future new equipment should be easier to deploy.

In the sewing studio furniture has been moved enough to create a space to move easily from either sewing machine to the ironing board. Endorphins have been generated. :-) The shelves in the 5x6 cubby are reachable, as are the drawers in the two dressers in the room. It may not get much better.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:53 AM

The former setup in the sewing studio allowed me to reach a small table equidistant from both machines. The new setup still needs a small table between them to hold tools. I have books filling one of the cubbies that I can move into a little antique side table where the weight would stabilize it some. Until this week it stood under the window with a radio and potted plant (and it looks like the "before" version). On top a black rectangular heavy duty disposable tray will corral presser feet, seam ripper, bodkin, bobbins, etc.

I'll note here that every time there were receptions in the university library the caterers dumped all of the heavy duty black plastic trays into a large trash can in our little service kitchen. We'd rescue those platters to use some to use for our own in-house department events and the rest were taken home. I have several under potted plants on the sunroom plant stands. A couple are stored for use during larger family meals and at least this one is in use in the sewing studio. It has always bothered me that the way to keep university events more affordable was to throw away so much plastic instead of using durable materials they would wash and reuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:39 PM

The next door neighbor's tree dropped branches tonight in a huge thunderstorm. So much rain that when looking out the front door I couldn't see past the curb about 25' away. The limbs took down my clothesline and on one end pulled the newly installed galvanized fence post crooked. Fixable, no insurance needed, but it was a lot of wood that blew over the fence. It's a big box elder that has lived much longer than they normally do around here.

It's a busy day tomorrow and it looks like I'll be starting early - the neighbors will be here to collect the branches.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 11:25 AM

The huge box elder next door is smaller by several good sized upper limbs after last night's heavy rain, hail, and wind gusts. The one hitting the clothesline also put a deep bend in a top rail of the dog kennel. They feel bad about the mess, but my old hackberry nearly took out their garden shed one year, so these things happen. I've stuffed the trash can at the curb full of a few of the big old sunflowers that all toppled last night. The wood will probably wait until December to go to bulky waste, though Abby ZurSchmiede on Facebook (Harpgirl on Mudcat) has been experimenting with hugulkulture beds and now would be a good time to try it with all of this extra around. The premise is to construct a raised bed over a bottom layer of cut up limbs and rotting wood. She has a galvanized frame around hers, but you could also simply bevel the sides. Keep it to a size so you can reach into it without having to step in it.

Temperatures are cooler, humidity is close to 100%. After 3-4" of rain the yard is gumbo. My plans for the day have changed somewhat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 12:00 AM

It is eight or nine years since I made a long drive anywhere, and when I roadtrip I am a user of paper maps. Google maps is in my phone and I consult it for traffic in town, but I'm not a fan of bossy navigation devices. That said, it's good that you made the trip however you chose to navigate; the synergy of trips to events like the Getaway end up being greater than the sum of their parts. Cliche, yes, but there is a lot to think about after a trip, and that is the value of it.

This evening a friend and I went to hear a talk by LeVar Burton, actor/writer/host/podcaster/activist who fortuitously happens to be here during Banned Books Week. That led to some interesting parts of his remarks. Dinner before the lecture was at a New Jersey style deli and probably two days worth of sodium, but so good! My friend took the most beautiful photo of his half of the sandwich (we shared the full-size hoagy) and the light was perfect when he took photographed his sandwich. I'll put it on Instagram later. :)

Late tomorrow afternoon is my appointment to drop off craft stuff at the donation place, so before I head out I have time to add to the boxes. As it is I'm offloading the filing cabinet, clearing several cubic feet of space in my hall. This was a busy week with a few unexpected twists, but in general very productive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 11:12 AM

After several of us picked up pieces of the next door exploded box elder, it seems that just a (long) block away there was much more drama. We can count ourselves lucky that messed up tree crown was the worst of it. A line of tree service trucks were lined up on the other side of the creek to shred downed trees as they were removed, and in the block beyond that the sagging power lines were fortunately intact at the intersection where they were boring to install a new wooden telephone pole after the previous one snapped.

The UPSP's Informed Delivery tells me that the long-awaited letter regarding the retirement pension has finally landed at the post office. Once I have that in hand I'll file the official change of address and declutter myself of that $250 a year expense. They misspelled my name on the address, so I'm hoping I don't have to jump through hoops to fix that.

In a less pleasant decluttering, my gastroenterologist's office sent a text saying five years is up. Enough about that (but if you're of an age, do it. It can save your life - my cousin's husband put it off way too long and ended up with an involved surgery that did save his life.)

Now to load the SUV with craft donations then into the sewing studio to see if there is anything more to evict before this afternoon's appointment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 23 - 11:06 AM

Craft donations dropped, and calf muscle pulled in the process. Hoping it isn't a tear. My heel was wedged against the parking bumper behind my SUV when I leaned into the compartment and Zing! went something in my calf. Now I'm limping and hoping it will heal. I still need to exercise, but will be very cautious about what moves I do.

59^o this morning when I walked into the back with the dogs before their breakfast (I find this short trip before meals saves me some of the droppings cleanup behind the old Labrador retriever.) Highs in the low-70s today, low-80's tomorrow, before next week heats up to mid-80s. It still doesn't feel very fall-like.

Before heading to the donation appointment yesterday I did one more dive into my mother's craft stuff in a couple of drawers and pulled out a handful of items I will never use (or didn't know what they are for). In a couple of instances I split the difference, keeping one or two items I might use and sending the rest to their next jobs. I had a specialized sewing measurement curved ruler that I hadn't used in 50 years, I'm not likely to now. If I need help adjusting a pattern, I can ask my daughter to do it. :)

Today I need to spend time in the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 23 - 10:32 AM

While clearing in the sewing studio I found Mom's favorite tablecloth used for special meals during my childhood. It has a white field with a red rose print and spent several days soaking in non-chlorine bleach but a few stains had set over the years. My next move is to carefully treat the spots.

The pulled muscle is still tender but much improved. I must resist the impulse to overdo for the time being so I don't aggravate it before it heals completely.

The forest floor is on full display in my den. The proliferation of tree limbs knocked down through the yard contributed a lot of chew material for the dogs and I've evicted several branches dragged in through the dog door. Tomorrow is trash day so I'll sweep and vacuum to send a lot of it out (for the time being.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 12:00 PM

Since Saturday I have had symptoms of a head cold; COVID tests on successive days are negative, and in hindsight I caught it from the friend I met last Thursday. I assumed the cough was because he quit smoking recently, and I don't think he'd had many other symptoms himself at that point.

I pulled a box of herbal tea bags out of the tea cart; it's a "throat coat" variety with slippery elm and it does feel good. Celestial Seasonings used to make one, but this is from Traditional Medicinals. Years ago I gave some of this to a friend whose husband was a music producer and they loved it enough to keep it in stock in the house for when performers came through the studio. I can claim responsibility for Dionne Warwick falling for this stuff. (He worked with Burt Bacharach and his ilk for years.) Turning this into a musical thread.

The sewing room clear out has progressed well. To test the storage system for starting this quilting project I spent 30 minutes last night sorting the big bin of scraps from the last couple of years of mask making. They were three layer masks, a colorful front, a light color liner and a flannel inside, so a bin for each. I also cut up a lot of t-shirts to make the stretchy non-raveling yarn for the ties, and I dropped all of the seam edges and such in the bin. They're beautiful colors but I think I'll see if there are fiber artists who can use them.

Handling the scraps from masks has been like visiting old friends because I chose a lot of patterns to reflect interests and ideas. In the early days of COVID before we could go out I dug into my stash and even took apart some garments I never wore to make into masks. Small patterns so a number of them would be recognizable on the face of each mask will also be effective in crumb quilts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 02:39 PM

I'm sorry you fell - though I'd have paid money to see that roll, Charmion! It sounds impressive. I'm glad someone saw the bruise just to be sure it isn't anything more.

My haircut tomorrow has been postponed so my quiet week at home continues. I missed a docent training today, but I can get caught up next week. The neti pot is deployed a couple of times a day to sooth the sinuses. It sometimes used to smart to use table salt in the water; I switched to using pickling salt and it feels great (Pickling salt doesn't have additives to keep it from clumping and no iodine, etc.)

This afternoon I'll poke around in the garden to work the soil for planting my zucchini and cucumbers started from seed. It won't be too vigorous because this soil was worked once in the spring and will be pliable after the big rain last week. I hate to miss taking advantage of good weather, but the fence will wait another week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 11:43 AM

I'm to the point when this cold could manifest a sinus infection or bronchitis, so will see my GP's nurse practitioner today. Call from your car when you arrive, they send someone out to swab for COVID and flu tests and when they're sure it isn't one of those you can go in. Efficiencies like this might have seemed rude before COVID. In addition to possible antibiotics, I'll ask for a cough syrup Rx. Last night when I dug around the pantry looking for a bottle I decluttered two - one was 9 years old, the other, 11. I don't catch colds often.

Meanwhile I finished the first sort of a bin of scrap fabric, but there are more containers and bags with scraps so I'll round them up to see what's inside. To offload what I don't need I looked at the scraps offered on eBay—I bypassed the ones selling individual fat quarters or by X number of pieces, I'll mimic the sellers who list by the pound. Keywords in the title will be something along the lines of "Quilt fabric lot scraps, squares, strips, string, crumb." It's time for another eBay adventure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 11:52 PM

Like Charmion's bruises have bloomed since she fell - this cold has continued to grow since I caught it. I may have to sleep in the recliner tonight to stay upright enough to breathe.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 06:46 PM

Dorothy, it sounds like time to let some professionals start the hearing exams, and if you can schedule a specialist, get their input. Guessing and diagnosing it yourself can only go so far. And you can scare yourself.

Explosive coughs today, the kind that jolt you out of sleep. Drinking lots of fluids. A friend stopped by today and left me with a fresh box of Puff's super soft super strong tissues. They'll get put to use!

Still finding and removing interesting stuff in the sewing studio, and today I added one thing - a small electric bobbin winder. The winder on my oldest machine stops winding thread at about half-full on the bobbin so I have to change them more often than I like. I haven't been able to trick it into filling more without messing up the tension. This one should give me more thread while at the same time not overfilling because then they can jam. (For any lurkers who sew, the device is called a Sidewinder by Simplicity. There is a DeLuxe version that has a more involved setup, but the basic original does the job for me.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 12:17 PM

Agreed - bronchitis is horrible. Wednesday's appointment with the PA got the strong decongestant and so far there is mostly clear in the cough and sneeze; if by this afternoon things have gone pear-shaped she'll prescribe the antibiotic before the weekend. I've had bronchitis a time or two, it's terrible, but taking a course of antibiotics invariably results in a yeast infection, so I wait until it is really necessary to take them, they're not my early go-to treatment. The knee surgeries resulted in my system being awash with antibiotics and for the second one I had several doses of Fluconazole at the ready. Meanwhile, the neti pot has helped soothe and clear sinuses.

Errands have piled up this week; I have to go out today because the dog food is running low and I have to do laundry because I'm down to the last pair of underwear. The weather has been gorgeous and I really resent this cold for taking me out of commission for work I could have been doing outside. I know how I caught it, and I won't make that mistake again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 06:54 PM

Two stops for errands this afternoon, and while I found the mortar mix I need to block holes into the attic near a soffit in back (and a hole between stones on the front of the house), I didn't find the cedar plank I need. I'll let my fingers do the walking on Google to hunt around for one. Chances are I'll have to find something larger and rip it to the right size, 1"x10"x36" to replace a spot of siding that came off (there are three panels on that area and I'll replace all so they're uniform).

Health-wise I turned a corner today; I woke up coughing and took the Rx but realized by mid-afternoon I didn't need more, though a dose at bedtime might prevent a tickle from creeping up on me if I remove the extra pillows. A good night's sleep would be most welcome after this horrible week. It's years since I've had a cold or flu. Nothing much since I retired. I'll keep wearing the masks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

Here I am thinking about my garden still and Dorothy is getting her firewood for the winter and all of you in those northern tiers are getting out the flannel and the comfy slippers.

I've decided to plant all of the cucumbers and zucchini in fairly close proximity in a bed next to the house, so when cold weather passes through (sometimes just an hour or two before dawn is cold enough to do damage) I can cover the plants with a tarp to keep them alive. When they're spread out around the yard it's a lot more work. Our first hard frost is probably more than a month away.

I'll use the tiller to turn over those planting areas today. The plants are more than ready to be transplanted, they're already putting out blooms.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 01:07 AM

The law recently changed in the US; you don't need a doctor's prescription to get hearing aids now. People can shop around. My brother told me about going to an audiologist because people kept telling him he was missing too much and making noises he couldn't hear but they could - when the audiologist learned that he didn't plan to buy hearing aids from them they pretty much threw up their hands (he shops for just about everything at Costco).

My sewing studio got more work today, with things grouped, logically (I hope) in drawers and labels added. Now I'm hunting for the extra label tape. It's somewhere around here (I thought it was in the drawer in the kitchen, but no, so I'm trying to figure what other logical places it might be.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 10:58 AM

Whew! "The Box" - a large corrugated box I've had sitting out to gather things that are going to my son was finally packed and closed for shipping next week. That'll free some table space in the den. 24 pounds of food, things from his room, and useful stuff we've talked about. Two more of the same size boxes should be arriving today or tomorrow from the company where I buy dog food. Lately the brick and mortar store itself has been out of the variety best for the girls so I had to subscribe and mail order two bags at a time to get free shipping. We'll be set for a couple of months and the boxes go to recycling.

Doing laundry today after the head cold has cleared, and this is a good occasion to open new toothbrushes. Trash day tomorrow will see some more stuff evicted from the sewing studio and I need to go through the den and clear out the forest floor the dogs have again created.

In the sewing studio I've created a place for oddball fabric and ribbons, small amounts of stuff that sometimes come in handy but where to put it? Small things too good to throw away, but only useful if you can find them again. I emptied my childhood sewing basket where a lot of this stuff used to live, and now it's in boxes in a drawer.

Talking to a friend I described the upcoming process of backing up the computer then upgrading to Windows 11, and we concluded that the amount of fuss to get everything back the way you like it in the new OS is the virtual equivalent of rearranging all of the furniture in the house. Big job ahead. I guess that would be a recluttering job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 11:29 AM

I'm with you on that, Charmion, though it means not seeing family for extended periods and they're doing the traveling. The recent cold was just a cold, something I haven't had in ages, but it was tough week (and still treating the aftereffects). Like you, I always seemed to come down with something after a flight. The cloth masks I still wear can hang around my neck when not on my face, so it's easy to keep track of if I'm out running errands, no losing it in the parking lot.

The large box was dropped off at the UPS store this morning and the spot where it sat all summer looks empty now. Outside I finished clearing an area in the side bed and planting the cucumbers and zucchinis I started from seed last month. They're mulched well and I need to finish clearing the rest of the bed, which if I do this every 6 to 12 months is pretty easy, but if I wait several years like the last time everything is a lot harder to clear. It felt good doing the work and I wish I hadn't lost a week of good weather. But whatever, it is taken care of now.

Next, filing the growing stack of usual mail announcements that I hold onto, then tackling mortar repairs and the side fence.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 10:39 AM

I've always figured that if I ever took a cruise I'd pack enough emergency granola bars and other durable snacks to get me through avoiding people at the point when visiting the dining room means coming down with some norovirus or other.

The other kid has a claim on the flattened very large empty boxes I've kept tucked away in the sunroom; they're preparing to move house (again). That's the kind of job when you're usually glad to see free boxes come your way.

Lows at night in the high 40s this week which is fairly normal, but the afternoon highs are expected in the high 80s. It isn't a typical October. Even though it isn't as dreadful as July, August, or September, it is bound to be another record-breaking month in the scheme of Climate Change.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 11:25 PM

I found the Resealer Beer Bottle Opener a couple of years ago that is helpful when opening bottles of sparkling cider or wine that you may want to consume over a couple of days. The rubber underside and graduated rim let you slide it over a bottle top and keep the sparkle in place.

You're welcome!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 10:51 AM

That sounds like a good way to hand off stuff you can't use, Senoufou. On the few occasions I've held garage sales I realized that success depends on who passes by in the street and pulls over to walk up your driveway; that would be a much smaller number than at your community boot sale. It's why eBay ends up a better place for smaller obscure stuff than garage sales. A wider audience and they pay for shipping.

I had several very large boxes and several merely big boxes flattened in the SUV yesterday, and my daughter claimed the largest of the batch. The rest will go into the garage until possibly needed for shipping. In exchange, she handed over an ancient ink jet printer that I handed to her father last night, and he in turn will drop it at the city recycle center. We're an efficient small family.

After the dry heat of the summer the fall is cooler and things are coming back to life, but there is a feeling of churn in the air as the seasons change. It's time to start setting up for cold weather, move things in advance of whenever the first frost may come (it has been as early as Halloween and as late as early December.) I've secured one door in the greenhouse that had hung open much of the summer and need to clear shelves for anything I attempt to overwinter. There is still a lot of growth so it's too soon for harvests unless it is things like eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes that are picked as they grow large or ripen. Sweet potatoes stay put until after the frost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 12:26 AM

A tour of some of my usual shopping stops after my bi-monthly haircut today had me at Goodwill looking at a variety of antique sewing machines. A woman asked a question about some of those being appropriate for a child learning to sew - I think they need work before they're going to be usable. I wasn't moving through like I usually do and I was *that* close to snagging a high end Janome sewing machine with lots of fancy computer stitches, but that woman got there first. I hope she bought it - for $26 it was a great buy. Like I need more sewing machines . . . but that one - what a huge step up from my old rotary and cam machines. That one needed a lot of cleaning up, but I think it was possible. Moving on.

I cleaned the kitchen this evening, with a lot of stuff run through the dishwasher. Sink mats, plates that hold sponges and soap pump bottles, the small dish drainer, etc. It'll be nice to enter the kitchen tomorrow morning and have it all looking shiny and neat as I fix my morning cuppa tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:10 PM

A friend and I made the shopping rounds this afternoon, in particular loading up on frozen fish at Costco. We're finally into cooking season and fish is on the menu. I have my eyes open for stuff leading up to Thanksgiving, and am keeping in mind that last year's fresh turkey was so large that the oven air didn't circulate well and it took forever. I'll do turkey again, but it will be smaller. Much of the rest of the stuff can be accumulated in the next few weeks - root vegetables, pumpkin, etc.

I have no idea who will be in town over the holidays so I will proceed as if there will be guests so I don't have so much last minute stuff to do.

Dorothy, today at Costco as I walked through the lobby to rejoin my friend (after a trip to the loo) a woman pushing another in a wheelchair sneezed - she didn't sneeze into the crook of her elbow, she just let it fly into the open air beside her. I was so glad to be wearing my 3-layer mask. If I'd given it a thought I'd have told her to cover her sneezes in the future.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Oct 23 - 01:10 PM

My cat sitting gig this week is ending a day early - just as well because I have things to do that are easier when I don't have to stop what I'm doing and head out three times a day to feed and medicate cats.

One of the dogs is annoyingly persistent in barking at the mail carrier's truck each time it passes the house in the course of delivering to this neighborhood. It was helpful today because on the first pass I received no mail so she didn't see the package I wanted her to take. The dog barked when she was parked at the corner across the street for that last stop in the neighborhood and I carried my box over to her. I think I'll make a magnetic red flag I can stick to the front of the mailbox for those times I have something for them to pick up. The box on the porch wall came with an attached tiny little plastic flag on the upper right side that is barely visible from the street.

Mowing today, digging, and sewing. And more kitchen cleaning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 12:08 PM

I sat down with cloth scraps last night to see how it goes to piece things together, and it looks like I tossed some of the smaller ones that would have worked, but will still manage with what I have because the new blocks can be cut and reassembled. So I'm learning.

This morning has been a push to clear fridge contents into smaller containers and process stuff waiting for attention. The beets were simmered until soft several days ago and have finally been peeled and diced. All of the tomatoes I blanched, peeled, and simmered yesterday were run through the food mill and now await the step of making Italian-style sauce. All year I've been using sauce I made and froze last fall but I'm down to the last jar, so this is a combination of purchased fruits and a few overripe small ones from the garden (not enough to do much with by themselves and too weird to slice for salads.)

The aftereffects of that cold are still with me, but I'm carefully managing them with the neti pot and decongestants. My taste and smell are still a bit reduced because of it. This seems to be a fairly aggressive head cold making the rounds, according to my hairdresser, who because she talks to so many people in the course of a week has a pretty good sense of what is going on in the surrounding community. Seriously, it's the same as the barbershop conversations. Lots of anecdotal information is shared. :)

Garden work today (watering this morning) and some chopping/prying/sawing to finish removing the big root in the way of finishing the fence in the backyard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Sep 23 - 07:06 PM

I'm reminded of a school friend washing her dogs. One was a Great Dane & stood patiently in the wheelbarrow, lifting it's leg up as required. It's amazing what images emerge from the depths - & I can't even remember her name, or her other dog!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Sep 23 - 10:08 AM

happy actual birth-day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 05:44 AM

she who dies with the most (insert type of craft materials) wins!!

I recently found homes for 3 collections - books on historic costume (dancers who make & wear elaborate, historically accurate 19th century gowns), 18" dolls dressed using the books (musician who plays for the dancers), & teddy bears I made (her daughter - both do a lot of craft & have lotsa' stashes!) Books filled most of 2 large bookshelves which now contain almost all of my (un-filed) craft stuff!

Much of it was on a long heavy coffee table I'd found in the back lane years ago (it was fun getting it up the back stairs, fortunately a neighbour came along & she took one end!) more of it was under said table & in front of said table, almost blocking the view of the dolls in their cabinet. Half of what is left on the table is 5 big bags of yarn I bought for a friend who knits for charity, the rest will fit on an empty shelf!!!! Then I'll be able to see the dolls before they are eventually taken away. Unfortunately the cabinet will not be going with the dolls, but I know a charity that will take it.

One of my boxes of craft stuff is full of felt as I used to make & teach felt toys, I'll be using a piece or 2 in an embroidery project, but haven't used it for a long time (oops - do I really need a whole box?) Another stash is a wooden trunk full of yarn & padded coathangers. I knit covers for them for a charity shop ...

We have a charity that runs craft shops, where we take our unwanted stuff & buy someone else's unwanted stuff. Sometimes I take back stuff I've bought & when I pop off the twig my poor sister will take my stash there after my crafty friends take what they want to add to their stashes!

So many projects, so much to start or complete, then keep or gift, but I've recently made stuff for others (4 banners for Sydney Folk Festival) & some contributions to a 3 metre wallhanging - all the fun of creating something then it goes on it's way!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:00 PM

I hope you took a photo of the pincushion beforehand! What a little treasure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 07:19 PM

Dorothy wrote - I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I've lost some hearing in both ears, not enough to need hearing aids - yet. When I do need aids I'll be taking advice from a friend who is an advocate for a national Hearing organization, I won't be visiting shops that advertise "Free hearing tests" - they often have someone at the door touting!

I recently received junk mail (a letter!) from an old, long established Oz company recently taken over by an American multinational company (can't remember the names.) I don't like junk mail - so looked up the company name & found a site where everyone except one poster had horror stories. They buy address lists (hmmm, I wonder what list I was on) & according to every poster, except the one satisfied customer) push & push expensive products. My favourite post started "I'm an audiologist & accompanied my grandmother ... " Audiologist reported watching employees "testing" customers, while pushing the expensive products, & not pleased with the tests & "advice" their grandmother received, took her away without saying her/his occupation. Lucky grandmother to have an audiologist in the family. I sent the letter back with my usual inscription UNSOLICITED JUNK MAIL RETURN TO SENDER - such letters need to be paid for by the receiver, but I do wonder how many scammers (oops legit businesses - snigger, snigger) do pay.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 03:48 PM

I'm just getting better after a bout of Covid. I'm basically staying home, with my meals handed in the door of my room to me as I lie there with windows wide open. Today for the first time I made my own breakfast and our dinner, and fed the dog.
The second test, after a week - to be sure to be sure - had a very faint line, so I sighed and confined myself for a few days further. On Monday I'll try another test, and if that's clear I'll return to polite society. I've only been out for one very brief saunter with the dog in the last fortnight or so - been weak as water, and any walk would require a certain amount of crossing back and forth across the road to avoid breathing near other, vulnerable people.
I'd forgotten what a nasty dose it is. I was lucky only to be seriously ill - with a fever pushing 40C and feeling really miserable - for two, maybe three days, but the weakness that followed went on and on. And I was dopey; normally I can scoot through Wordle, but while Covid-ridden I failed it a few days running.
Keep safe out there…

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 05:07 PM

Thanks, Stilly.
A thunderstorm warning has just dropped here too, for tonight and tomorrow. I'm thirsting for a nice bit of cool rain!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Sep 23 - 05:11 PM

By the way, may I highly recommend the Norwegian meteorological body Yr? Much more accurate than most weather predictors - I gather they have access to more weather satellites, and you can set it to a nearby place.
There used to be a great forecaster called DarkSky, but Apple bought it and ruined it, damn them.
The other one I look at is windy.com, which is mostly, yes, winds.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 10 Sep 23 - 01:56 PM

I *think* you might be able to tweak yr.no to use f not c, but since we always use metric here I prefer it.
I just like it because it tends to be very, very accurate, much more than any other meteorology app I know.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 02:33 AM

I did some wild spending the other week, buying a beautiful white glass and black steel Art Deco lampshade. The charity shop man gave it to me for €5 because there was a crack radiating through one of the panels. So I'm going to try the Japanese art of kintsugi - it doesn't need to be food safe, so I'll be using the simpler method of cleaning it, trailing glue along the seams and then scattering on gold mica powder. With any luck, this will look very nice with the light shining on it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 09:59 AM

Stilly, yes, Thompson is a handy handle that keeps me reasonably private.
Nah, I'm not going to do all that, because it's not something that has to be food safe (except perhaps for any lost bats that might wander in to dangle from the lampshade); I'll just trail glue down the cracks, wipe it a bit then scatter goldy powder on it.
For the later turn of the conversation, I've never given a card to Google - why would I, I'm just using it for basic map information. When that "sign up" dialogue box comes up I press the Feck-Off button (it may be called something else or be a red blob); I do *sign in*, so I can use 3D etc, but that doesn't require a credit or debit card.
The only people I know who use a paid version (not dear, something like €200 a year, I think, and it's a professional tool so you could probably claim that off your tax) are bus drivers, truckers and delivery drivers, who use a version that warns them of the presence of low bridges. The bus driver who told me about this said it had saved him money because a lot of these are not well signposted. Before he'd signed up for it he once had to back a full-size coach slowly along for 3km (I think it was) along a narrow, twisty country road with one of these bridges, with a raging local car driver behind him.
There are other mapping apps; there are open-source ones like Brouter, which is useful for cycling because it'll map a quiet route away from cars; Apple Maps has a nice satellite and street view, though not as up-to-date as Google's - but I think maybe Google's is particularly regularly mapped in Ireland because their EU headquarters is here, so they might test out new methods.
I'm waiting for any of them to start using 360-degree cameras so it'd be possible to scoot around on video and see what's behind, to the side, etc. But maybe that's not technically possible or webbily feasible for a map app.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 08:35 PM

I've had hearing aids for eleven years. I didn't know I had hearing loss though I had struggled in noisy places to hear anyone talking to me. I'd gone to the audiologist to discuss my tinnitus, which is when I found out about the loss of my high frequencies. Fair to say, they're not perfect and they limit my ability to zone in on what I want to listen to and sideline the other stuff. I had to give up playing music in sessions because I lost the ability to latch on and focus on other musicians and often found myself all at sea. My hearing aids are free on the NHS, as are the batteries for them and replacements when things go wrong, as they do. You can elect to pay for hearing aids and that gives you choices. The received wisdom is that the free NHS aids are "last year's models" but they work a treat for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 12:40 PM

Glitter sold loose, e.g. In small plastic vials, is banned in the EU from next month. Much of it is a mixture of plastic and aluminium and it takes over a thousand years to degrade in the environment. It comes under the category of microplastics once it gets into waterways, which it frequently does.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 07:22 PM

I do absolutely everything on my iPad mini. I'm no techie and I don't need to do complex things on computers. My massive and ancient Sony Vaio laptop sits in the other room, lonely and redundant.

For years we've had a Canton soundbase for our telly. The telly sits on top and it's completely unobtrusive, unlike those long sound bars. The sound quality is impeccable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 06:14 PM

It's perfectly possible to hate Apple yet love your iPhone and iPad. In fact, that's me to a tee.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 05:55 PM

You've got nowt to lose with the free NHS hearing aids, Jon, honest. They are not bog-standard, you can connect them to your phone via Bluetooth, they are set up for your particular hearing loss, if they go bust they are replaced for free and the batteries and tubes are free forever. If you don't like 'em you can put 'em in a drawer and shop around for the private three-grand jobs, or just not bother. I've had free NHS aids now for eleven years. They're, well, not great maybe, but they're a massive improvement on not having them. Go for it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 06:05 PM

Mrs Steve and I had our jabs yesterday. Flu in left arm, covid in right arm. Flu, nothing to report. Covid, slight shoulder ache for me (nothing to trouble me), slightly more achey for Mrs Steve. There's a lot of covid around here at the moment but I'm not worried. We've both had it just the once, both mildly, in July 2022. I find it odd that all our supermarkets have done away with their trolley and hand sterilisers at the entrances. I take my own. I'm still not going to be wearing a mask any time soon. Masks are rare hereabouts these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:37 PM

We both had our jabs on Saturday, flu in left arm, covid-19 in right arm. No problem with the flu but the covid gave us both a slightly tender upper arm but nothing else. Masks are rare hereabouts. Oddly, all the big shops have now removed their hand/trolley sanitation points at the entrance. I think that's a shame, as that cleaning protects us from a lot more than just covid-19. I always have a little tube of sanitiser about my person and I smear some of it on the trolley handle too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:07 PM

We "had to finish off" a bottle of Aperol that was "cluttering up the fridge" on Sunday, so we used it with a somewhat bog-standard bottle of Prosecco that someone had given us to make a very large Aperol spritz each in some oversize wine glasses that I'd foolishly bought (for the purpose to hand) a few months ago. It was very nice. There wasn't much Prosecco left in the bottle. It's a shame that half-bottles of Prosecco are such bad value, but a little while ago I found some 20cl bottles in Tesco ("Tesco Finest") at 4 for 3 which cost nine quid for the four, not the cheapest of cheap but pretty good for such a nice drop.

Aperol spritz is so damned tasty...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:04 PM

Mrs Steve won't let me drink wine on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (I make do with two small cans of Peroni - any more and I'm bloated!), otherwise no excuses needed for a tipple...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 04:35 AM

A bottle resealer would be redundant in our household-of-two for reasons I won't go into ;-) though I can definitely see its merits ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Aug 23 - 10:46 AM

Dupont:

Came back here on Tuesday, with a stop for muffins at the Hidden Gold Mine. Trying to bring the house back to a Dorothy state from the chaos of the Robin state. Every single piece of cutlery was in the sink and had to be washed, washed again harder! and then again. We agreed this would not happen again! The dishes were in a controlled state. I guess a month is too long to stay away!

Robin was still coughing badly - I washed bedding twice to avoid re-distributing whatever germs... Then decided things were improved sufficiently. His bro is also coughing and has been to clinic but no meds? R finished his anti-biotic, is coughing less but still exhausted. His cough is similar to the one I still have after ?? years from the mold at the Mill - not surprising as he got it from cleaning a dreadful building. It is in the lungs and, I believe, may never go away completely. Sometimes I do not cough for a few hours or a day or two and think all is well, then it starts again - the plague of my life. A part of me is glad he now realizes what I have gone through.

So! Basically, I came back for the Chateauguay Valley Antique Association (event). Spent a wonderful weekend of visits with people, sold enough pots to make it a "success", listened to live Country music, had a tent for the first time and... It POURED rain on Sat - a couple times! Rita (next door) and I provided shelter for all who could fit! Met a whole bunch of Rita and Dan's family - they were having a family event later. Interesting genetics! Terrific positive energy!

This is my fav event of the year - Such a wonderful community of people volunteering and selling stuff/junk/treasures. The auction took 2 days this year and R was there for most of it! Came away with a whole bunch of stuff - some for re-sale and some just because he was "helping the auctioneer" get a bid and ended up being the only bid! A beautiful Victorian love seat and chair that I am trying to figure a place for them - if only he would get rid of the UGLY ones ...

Wore a jacket all day Sunday! I never put that warm layer away! Was glad I thought to grab this light jacket on the way out the door from Beaver! This weather is just fine for me - cool, damp, sometimes sunny.

So, inch by inch, I regain energy, find us food, cook very little, weeded the gardens a little, watched a squirrel sit on the porch railing to groom then went into the large pot of cherry tomato plants to eat one and left the rest... Last eve, I opened back door to go pick in the garden and startled to two rabbits, apologized and went out later to pick the few new cherry tomatoes. We had about a quart each of Sat and Sunday, took them to event and gave most of them to Rita and family, who declared them delicious. (I do not eat raw tomatoes.) We have a pumpkin (not watermelon) slowly turning orange; guess I will make pumpkin pies.

Got a new credit card, sent to local bank after someone got the number and tried to buy stuff where I NEVER would. I got two phone calls which I immediately hung up and phoned VISA to tell them and was told everything was fine. An hour later, card was declined at two separate stores. Phoned VISA and... All is well.

Big happening was a young woman stopping to look at pottery and mentioning that her... was a potter - Kingsport, Newfoundland! "You are related to Ruth... !!!!???" (My friend who died suddenly in October - a total trauma.) We both started to cry and share our pain of loss, and I was able to find out how the widower and son are doing! Then, the "cousin" of one of Canada's top potters bought a bowl!

Then I sat and dealt with renewed grief. Ruth choked (I did not ask) a few hours after I saw her, and Fred, vibrantly alive at a folk music event. I was so elated to see her and thinking how wonderful it would be to visit now that we were "post Covid). BOOM!

I have a small pic of her on my bureau to which I say, "Good morning, Ruth!". Erin has it on her wall to greet in the morning. A more beautiful human than Ruth - equal perhaps but not more... She was the epitome of loving, sharing, giving, helping, caring...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Aug 23 - 09:04 PM

Dupont:

Would be a peculiar day that such a sum would be spent on a repair in this home! Remember my fancy stove: I would happily have paid a repair person to come but NO! R took it apart to see if he could fix it. Then "borrowed" a new stove from his cousin and trashed our wonderful stove. (This is his house; I have no rights. Beaver is mine to cherish.)

Our matched set of Maytag dryer/washer (RED!) was purchased at a home auction- no doubt for a very low price. If one needs repairs, I would have to have a conniption fit to get it repaired or ...get a new one! R would prob come home with one he found in the trash! My plea that "I will pay for a new one!!!" would be disregarded as a whisper on the breeze.

Said cousin is moving this week. I wonder if he has a stove??? ???Will R pay him for the one we have so they can buy a new one????

I thought I had done well to get through that very tiring weekend but yesterday I slept all day; and last night also. Save for two meals of veggie stew and some time on internet. Today
I started cleaning up the plants on back deck: re-potting some and clearing up stuff. The plastic "shed" is not waterproof. Useless for the job of storing garden stuffs on the deck. I shall try to empty it and request it be moved to garage where it will stay dry!

Also weeded in the back garden and checked our one lovely pumpkin which I think is ready to come in. The squash plants have been blooming beautifully but it seems that someone has been eating the blossoms!

The front yard is blooming nicely and I think we can get through to winter without another lawn care visit! It will be challenging to bring in the Canna which have, of course, grown more roots. Fall has definitely arrived. I could just compost some but it is not in my nature to so that ---- as I repot more geraniums than I might have house room! The red flowers are so cheery! And we have, somehow, managed to kill all the Af violets save one!

This week's "chuckle": R brought home some fabric to be washed - which I did ...Then realized I washed it a couple months ago and gave it to him: "take it to town and give it to someone." This time the set of sheets is going to a thrift shop!

Lest you think our life lacks interest: He came home on Tuesday with the wonderful news that the police had taken his pick up truck off the road permanently! They would not even let him drive it two hundred yards to his property (city). It is scrapped - with a fresh tank of gas $60! The scrapper will get it. R was prepared - has another old truck on hand! I am glad and sad: I remember the evening we drove out into rural QC to look at a it and came back with that lovely clean truck. It was beautiful! And the wonderful old farm house and the nifty people we met! It has seen hard times and we cannot blame the police at all!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Sep 23 - 09:55 PM

Dupont:

No moving violations at all but it was one dreadful mess - just looked like it was due to fall apart but kept on running- with lots of repair time by the gang and, once in a while, Canadian Tire. So glad to see it gone. R knew it would happen but squeezed the last possible bit out of it. Some people can have a car for 20 years and it still looks almost new... It was a 1986 Ranger. People (men) thought it was amazing. I refused to travel in it. My 15 year old Scion looked 100% better when the engine died.

Today - Major de-clutter. We went to the Mill - R, Joe in Big truck and myself in car. One heavy pottery wheel had a ride to the back yard here. And the guys helped me clear a large section of former pottery. I was totally unable to conceive of where/how to begin. Most went into a nearby section of the building. The trash/myriad broken and flawed pots will be trashed. Kind of traumatic; I did make a lot of pots there before the mold got me. Tomorrow R and I are going down to do the next part - moving buckets of glaze and bags of glaze materials And kiln furniture, scales........

Then we lunched at Subway and I went off to an orchard - good strawberries and apples, and then the bakery for goodies and a Greek salad for R; it was to be repeated - Excellent!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 12:43 PM

Dupont:

Suffering from excess heat -only on its way to high 80s but, for me ... I am barely functional. Will soon give up and go upstairs to the BR and turn on A/C. Then go for some groceries while the room cools. SO grateful for A/C in car!

Yesterday, I drove to the orchard for more strawberries ARGHHH The season is over. Pears will be ready in a few days but I am going back to Beaver; might be back in time for some pears. Which reminds me that I have not noticed my little pear tree in a long while! I will look when I go out to shop; I hope it has survived; I started it from seed from one the their pears 3 years ago. (The slight inclination to jump up and go look does not survive the way I feel.) Yesterday's trip of 2 hours in the country netted two tomatoes!

R informs that our beautiful laundry equipment set was $800 at the auction. Everything in that home was top quality. He installed them.

Further to the truck: it looked rather like it had survived - just barely - a demolition derby. Very few spots lacked a dent of some size!

Oh yeah, Hope both SRS and Charmion had fine birthdays!

I have managed to pull a few weeds each day. I brought the pumpkin onto the porch as the stem had dried out. Yesterday I sorted the pottery stuff that was in car, put some in plastic bins which I could leave outside until next trip which made room to re-load the pottery left from last week - quite a bit - to take back to Beaver for the Carriage House/shop. There is more to go in the car for the trip, on leaving day, as yet undetermined.

A'shopping I must go. And check for pear tree...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 02:06 PM

Dupont:

Little pear tree is about a foot tall, has nice green leaves, and is protected by a "tomato cage"!!!

Produce store is only about 15 min away. We shall see how good their Quebec strawberries are; they do not look as shiny. Supper will be 100% Quebec produce and chicken breasts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 04:40 PM

Dupont:

Little pear tree is not yet as large as a partridge!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Sep 23 - 02:01 PM

Beaver:

Boy, am I way behind but right now it is hot and I am in the sun. I stopped at library to check out an email from somthinbg called "shop" Finally figured out the source and phone Vita-save and let the sweet young woman have it with both barrels. Sent them a $500 order as I have shopped there for years... Then an email from "Shop" telling me to confirm it within 24 hours??? NEVER heard of "Shop"! Finally realized it was CONNECTED TO MY V-S ORDER, and phoned them. WHY!!!! In this day of scams, the last thing anyone needs is some ... MYSTERIOUS, UNKNOWN NONSENSE. After several scam sorts of phone calls, my credit card actually being scammed and having to get a new one.... I will go home and recover!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Sep 23 - 05:43 PM

Beaver:

A gloriously beautiful day- breezy, sunny but ...sometimes it is sunny! And prob about 70F! and dropping. My idea of perfect!

Another cup of green tea seems to be needed so not quite perfect! I fact, it has been an sun then cloudy, then sun... More green tea needed.

I have been here a week and only just recovering from the drive. The car is unloaded and now most things have found temp homes until I feel up to sorting out the glaze materials I brought and those already here and make order of chaos.

De-cluttered a bag of small flower pots from Dupont to the Trust for seedlings.

My recent bread order from Dimpflemeiers included a 10 pound loaf of rye bread - I did not read carefully!!! I took it over to Community Trust and we decided it would be great for Sunday brunch - Diane could make French toast. I thought of D making French toast in the diddly elec frying pan and went to Canadian Tire for a real griddle.

On Sunday, arriving with bread and griddle: The back shed had burned in the night. No one was injured but the homeless sleeping in it were displaced and Diane went home in a state! Brunch was cancelled. Bread went in freezer with hope for next week.

I went back to 700 page novel.

Today, met with my two sister friends. Brenda wants to know who really wrote the Bible and ... WOW! Solid Irish Catholics and this left field Quaker bouncing around questions and ideas I never thought I would hear from them. I could view this as a really unique sort of de-cluttering?

Maybe tomorrow I can do some work in the studio.

May need a fire tonight. Steve did get this year's wood beautifully stacked in the shed while I was away. Pat picked up some pottery for the Carriage House.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 04:41 PM

Beaver:

Still not getting much done. And, since a meeting last Thurs, mostly fits of depression and tears. Of course, we all know the difficulties in obtaining health care so I went to the meeting for "seniors" on health care. There were speakers from a number of different "health care" providers. The room seemed to be non-toxic; the sound system was.. strong ... I did not understand one word of any speaker. That is not an exaggeration- not even "the". The only answer I get is - a hearing aid! But I heard the blah blah blah quite well.

This has happened before - I understood one speaker and not the other. But... NONE! Each person was known to me and in a conversation I would have no problem understanding. I am totally traumatized, trying to convince myself it doesn't matter. But, to be told I need a hearing aid when I can hear quite adequately --- AND do not want MORE noise!

Google: material on APD, caused in my case by chemical exposure in 2000. And person after person telling me ...hearing aid. The local "Dr of Audiology" virtually pushed me out of her office when she realized I would not buy a hearing aid. The best article is specific to professional audiologists - long! So far I see causes but have not gotten to "cures" ...

Still pots to be glazed and fired, pots to be trimmed; but I need to get out of bed and into the studio before the solar gain makes it unbearable. Frost a few nights last week. Planning to go back to QC on Sat - Thanksgiving and a visitor from BC. Yard work needs to be done there - by the Mohawks - if I can get the energy to phone. I am managing to eat well - good soups from the local soup makers!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 01:47 PM

Dupont:

Robin read the comprehensive treatise I found on APD and was impressed by it - very professional with about 15 pages of references. And no solutions for the loss of comprehension due to exposure to toxins. Yes, people have trouble when there is background noise. I accept that problem. But to fail to comprehend 6 or 8 people, speaking one at a time, whom I know I can understand usually, with no background noise at all and an excellent sound system ??? The only other time this sort of thing happened, I totally understood one speaker and only understood "the" as spoken by the second one. This is not a hearing loss! This might be to do with distortion of sound waves in my brain? I shall continue to check it out with musician/sound engineer friends. I am only gradually recovering from the shock and certainly am not going to pay for a hearing aid on the off chance that this might happen again. !!!! Maybe if I had moved to a different part of the room I would have received the sound waves differently. ???

In the meantime, I am trying to recover a semblance of order in the house and yard. The Mohawk team will be along to rescue the yard!! YAY! The house is inch by inch. R has been kind about coming home earlier in the eve (before 9 pm!) so we have time to talk before sleep.

The ficus tree in the den has reached the top of the window so a lower cabinet will be moved to that window and the table it is on can go to that emptied spot. A few cobwebs may be disturbed! More plant movement will be taking place as those on the back porch need to come indoors and a few that did not survive neglect will be removed to the place of dead plants/empty pots...

Bring in the pumpkin, see if there are any sweet potatoes in the garden. And look at improving gardening methods for next year. R prefers the yellow cherry tomatoes to those tomatoes that produced prolifically (black/red which our friends loved). The two large plants I bought did little and died early on: Lots of rain but I believe it hit the profuse leaves and went on the porch rather than into the pot so the plants suffered from lack of water! And I guess the critters ate all the squash flowers - they were beautiful but were gone before having a chance to produce!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 01:38 PM

Dupont:

Still having mental problems due to APD crisis. Brain is not happy. Composing, in my head, missives to the DR. and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - just the right thing to tell someone who is already terrifically upset. Found another article on APD - NOT a hearing problem - but R has not yet read it and my brain loses the thread after a few minutes. The bottom line seems to be - no help for what happened to me. I still think about sound engineers - the way the sound waves affect my brain...? I still feel fragile with no idea how it could happen. Of course, the only "solution" is to accept ... Would it be worth a PET Scan to find out what is wrong in the brain?

Went to "the music" last night and really enjoyed it. Sound system worked fine. Just the usual APD issue of not understanding due to mixture of words and instruments. Nice to see people, after a while...

Making an effort to clear some of the first floor of books, etc. Mostly R's and he started off well this morning... The omelet is not yet made and he has disappeared. The day is ... still light!

I got tired of fighting with the sheet/quilt/weighted blanket so I left the sheet off last night. Spent the night fighting for a piece of the quilt - cold feet. ...???

R is back at it and things are going to the basement/cellar - somewhere else!! Out of sight!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:05 AM

Dupont:

house guest from BC for a few days as he visits with QC friends. Then hs is off to NC - near Raleigh for a longer visit to his "home turf" A war resistor, he has lived in Canada for 45 years but likes to go back to the known weather and accents of his childhood. A quiet guest but needy re how to get places. R took him to the city today and we can only hope he will find his way, via the bus system, back this aft. Or I can fetch him from a bus stop not to far away. Surely he will make it across the River! Tomorrow he goes away for a couple days; back to attend at Yellow Door Friday eve. He has heard about - through me - for 45 years but never been there. I alerted Marc, who now keeps it open on Friday eves. Hope a few people show up! His FB page is not very helpful, starting out with something about August!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:55 AM

Dupont:

Brain fog!!

Thinking of Charmion and her stop in Gettysburg! (blech!) Paul will be stopping in Harrisburg on way to NC. He may find a couch; he is connected with at least one of those sorts of sites for traveling from home to home/ couch to couch? - I guess it is. He drove here from BC, stopping to visit on the way. I suspect he has developed a network of possibles over the years. R and I have used airbnb a few times with good results.

Books are mostly in the basement Library now. Hallway still has a surfeit of objects that need to be re-homed. BUT R spent the weekend closing holes in the attic to, hopefully, keep out bats and squirrels, and closed the hatch to keep in our heat! Not turning on furnace yet but keeping minimal heat in the areas we use - Den, BR and the Kitchen- use helps provide part of that.

Made a huge Thanksgiving dinner (on Sunday) for the 3 of us. And we enjoyed it - for two days so far! 16 pound turkey was overkill but a big chunk will go into freezer after Paul leaves; he puts away a great deal of food!! - Long, lean and only 71. In the meantime - every day is Thanksgiving!

We have had lovely pastries from the bakery in southern QC. I boo-booed and went down on Weds - "only Thurs, Fri, Sat" declared the lovely young clerk! So I went back on Friday, bought lots of yummies, had lunch with Geri, and took photos of the kiln I am selling - she says "yes" and we need to arrange a pick up time. SOON! With the weather in mind.

And yesterday!!!!! R spent most of the day removing offensive floor boards in den - they had buckled and were a hazard. Removed and all crud removed, tediously!, from each one, they now lay flat - only need to be battened down. I will suggest glue. These are 100 years old - maple, I think. R seemed to go into a meditative state doing this - to most people - tedious task! A terrific sense of accomplishment. And I can cross the room (the buckle was right in the middle!) without fearing a fall.

NOW, I would like a load of firewood! Before heavy winter!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 05:18 PM

Dupont:

With some help from friends, I am over the shock phase and re-joining life. I felt like getting up this am and cooked BF for R and self then went off to cross the bridge to the city! An email to the grocer from which I have been purchasing a particular choc bar/with almonds, elicited info that they were de-listing it! So I went to the nearest of their shops (no one else carries it) and found 4 bars.

Then went to customer Service to find if there were any more. The candy person came out and told me "no but they would get more tomorrow!" I, then, wandered around this large, well, arranged store to see if there was anything else I wanted - yep! real oat flakes! Bought one each of two brands! Looked for pumpernickel bread but none better than what I order... BUT - over there, on a shelf with non-related foods, were five more of the choc bars! So a few weeks supply came home. I shall keep foraging; Go back. on Friday for more. AND maybe they will keep stocking them!

It was fun exploring a well-stocked - kind of - store. So I went to a dept store (Hudson Bay) and looked at sale clothes. The only thing at a kind of reasonable price, still cost more than the total cost of my attire. (All from thrift shops.) I left without bags. thought: If you buy stuff do you need your own bag? I would, of course, refuse a bag and just roll it up and throw it in the car.

That was enough exploring so I came home for lunch and emails and mudcat and exploring sites re APD and the brain. MIT is doing some interesting work.

A musician friend responded to my concern with one of his own: "the entire process of music and hearing is a scary mystery. when I have my headphones on (to help me cocoon and sleep) and I play guitar (to learn the feel of the instrument and of the vibrations in my chest) I am aware that my pitch awareness is radically diminished. everything sounds higher (or is it lower) than it actually is. certain frequency ranges affected more than others. the brain is a fragile and magnificent thing. get your hearing checked!"

I am not concerned about my hearing; I am concerned about the brain waves - where they go or don't go; how they work or do not work. The work at MIT ... Lots of people have these problems and the neuro-scientists seem to be starting to get a handle on them. I look at how shut out I have felt for 20 years and - How many other people? And what this does to our social fabric? How much of the violence is by people who feel isolated???

Robin took our guest to the Laurentiens yesterday thinking he would check on a property up there but he did not have the right key so he had a great day visiting Paul's friend who lives off the grid in a very impressive manner. All that fresh air brought him home early and asleep early!

Tomorrow we are going to the Yellow Door. I did not realize that Paul has been hearing about it 45 years but never been. Hope there are enough people in attendance...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:20 PM

Dupont:

Turned the corner yesterday: No more shock, no more concern for the "why" now that I realize MIT is working on it. Several sites for info have turned up; need to spend some time reading before my eyes/brain tire each day.

I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I do not want louder. Definitely do not! But not being able to discriminate words on TV/movies or with too much background noise is, I now realize, very common, even amongst people with no recognized brain disorder. Hence, I feel less alone and, while I would like answers, if MIT does not have answers yet, I will wait in hope - for myself and the thousands of others thus afflicted.

I will check with a friend in Bancroft who just might know if anyone else has had this not-understanding-anything problem with sound systems he knows.

I have decided I need more fun in my life so took myself back down to the bakery, where I encountered a wonderful older couple and we had a great conversation on this lovely fall day. I chose to take different routes from the usual and enjoyed an almost hour drive on empty tree lined roads, each way, thinking about other routes, and places I could visit another day.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to pass a kiln along to a new person. I will meet her at the mill and, we, including her husband, will hopefully, load kiln and its furniture into her vehicle. This is a big de-clutter. There are a couple really old kilns there that I need to offer on line - when I can clear enough space to get photos and other info. I will be down to taking anything needing to be fired to Beaver. Not making much so...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:01 PM

Dupont:

Nice to hear that I am in good company! Surprising to find that lots of people only cope with closed captions. Now if I could just get R to realize he needs to "look at me when you talk to me!"

R saw a friend with a $7000 "hearing device" changing settings on it; it can change all sorts of things - may even wash the dishes! I have enough trouble with my non-smart phone! Character in current novel commented that "the sound system was garbled". Amazing the comments we notice when they suddenly have relevance.

I am still processing what I would like to say to "that woman"; seem to have left her card in my jacket that I left at Beaver. I do want to make the effort to explain the difference between "hearing loss" and APD, as well as the extreme un-helpfulness of insisting to someone who is terrifically upset that they have a hearing loss which could lead to Alzheimer's! Reviewing tha manner in which she spoke to me - details - I wonder if I might have written something in the newspaper (in the 90's) which annoyed her; her attitude was more punitive than helpful.

I have been getting out more though mostly just exploratory shopping expeditions: found some nice socks down the road a ways (two towns down) and went into a drug store never visited - even though it is immediately adjacent to oft visited supermarket! Needed eye drops and found a much wanted pair of slippers on sale.

Taking extra MSM/GS to de-clutter pain in shoulders. Definitely works - when I remember! Cannot find the eye drops I bought yesterday but choc helps reduce the sporadic blurring. I'll look again tomorrow.

Also need to re-organize hall closet in hopes of finding N-95 masks; need to wear to go to mill. Woman for kiln cancelled last Sunday as both young sons had flu. Hoping we will meet this Sunday. This is a big de-clutter event!

Organizing the hall closet will also be prep for trip back to Beaver on 28th. The laundry I bring here, and etc.

Appointment to get tires changed on 1 November. Ordered a choc pie from bakery for tomorrow - a nice trip and possible visit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 11:26 AM

Dupont:

Raining and very gray! Computering and trying to get to something useful - --- Actually a good day for a hot bath and back to bed with a book seems like a good plan. Seriously. The ones taken have used huge amounts of time but also helped the energy and achy body.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Aug 23 - 04:10 PM

Just my own observation:
I recently attended a concert including a string quartet,
which means chamber music.
All four players had tablets, not scores,
on their music stands,
and they had those little things you click with one foot
in order to turn the page.
This was a thing I had not before seen in chamber music.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Sep 23 - 03:42 PM

All Dorothy's pear tree needs now, is a partridge . . .

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:17 AM

"Meatloaf position"! I love it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:32 PM

I gave up on movies in cinema theaters years ago,
largely because of the sound systems and how I couldn't understand anything I heard.

When a film is broadcast on television,
I have no problem understanding dialogue and speech.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Aug 23 - 02:34 AM

Our village is having an event on 9th September called The Lyng Fling. (Village is called Lyng). It includes several activities including selling your unwanted 'clutter', which interests me. (A bit like a car-boot sale, but on the Village Hall field, with tables provided)
We have some stuff we could sell, including lots of clothes that no longer fit. Husband is fatter now, and I've lost weight. We have a portable clothes rail to display the clothes on, so we could probably sell the lot. Or maybe we could swap our clothes hee hee! I could wear all his sporty football tops and he could wear my capacious flowery summer trousers.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 03:40 AM

We've just noticed that a nearby village holds a big car-boot sale every single Sunday afternoon on a small field. This seems to me a very good idea. Because it's now well-known, they get lots of customers, and people can dispose of their surplus stuff without having to 'dump' it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:11 AM

Keep in mind, Charmion, that ships can also challenge one's immune system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:09 PM

Stilly, from the donor's point of view, you're often happy to see them off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

Neil-across-the-street gave me some home-made sauerkraut the other day, so supper was that, with a large pork sausage. Urp.

Funny; only a few years ago, I would have eaten two of those sausages without hardly drawing breath, but tonight one was more than enough. The sauerkraut was excellent. I hope Neil includes me in next year’s distribution!

We should finally get our first frost tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 04:51 PM

I am finally recovering from the sinus affliction that has been bothering me since ragweed season opened in August. It's really quite shocking how a persistent discomfort in the head that renders me dizzy, queasy and tired, can erode my general joie de vivre. For the last week, I have been dizzy and queasy enough that just looking at the computer is miserable and God forbid I should do anything more challenging than washing the dishes.

The up side? Lots of time in the comfy chair, providing lap accommodation for both cats.

Getting to see the doctor on short notice is something of a trial these days. The practice does not advertise it, but it runs a so-called after-hours clinic, essentially sick parade for clients of the practice who should not wait two weeks for an appointment but also should not clutter up the emergency ward at the hospital. Each day, one of the doctors in the practice works that extra shift. Patients with an urgent-ish problem -- defined by me as an illness that requires prescription medication today, not two weeks from now -- must book, of course; God forbid one should just, y'know, walk in with one's miserable hacking cough. The after-hours clinic phone number is not posted anywhere in the office; if the receptionist takes pity on you, she might let it drop when you have been sufficiently reduced to desperate pleading for an appointment. Of course, you must wait until five o'clock to call for a clinic spot ... It's enough to make one slam down the phone in tears of frustration.

Once nose to nose with the doctor, all goes well. She listens carefully, takes notes, asks intelligent questions, briskly proposes an appropriate treatment, and then offers me a buckshee flu shot. The hard part is the obstacle course that always comes first.

It's raining in Stratford this week and looking more and more pre-winter-ish, but it's still oddly warm. We had one touch of frost on Monday, but today's high was 20C -- more like Germany than Ontario.

The hydro power fails here frequently, but rarely for more than a minute or two. I'll find the clock on the stove flashing 00:00 in the morning when I put the kettle on. It happens often enough that I don't bother resetting the clock on the microwave, which works just fine without it. The stove is less cooperative.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 04:07 PM

First forecast of flurries today, but so far only rain. It's chilly and raw, and the trees have dropped more than half their leaves. After so much unseasonably warm weather, it's a bit of a surprise but oddly reassuring to be putting on a warmth layer under the waterproofs.

No more decluttering here at the moment except for another outward bound bag of clothing that I will never wear again. I'm considering the purchase of blinds for the music room and adapting the heavy curtains that I bought for it when it was a bedroom so they can hang from a sturdy wooden or metal rod, leaving the top of the centre windows -- a big ornamental transom -- uncovered. I suspect that project will cost a whack, but then so did the curtains. That room also still needs painting; it's the one with the puce-and-aubergine colour scheme.

A friend came over for supper last night. Watson the cat put on a tremendous display of lap-lolling and shoulder-climbing between courses, purring loudly and generally making the occasion all about *him*. My friend (a dog person) was impressed by this behaviour, unaware that most of it was designed to persuade me to undertake our usual evening routine in the comfy chair in front of the telly. Cats are so normative.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Nov 23 - 11:08 PM

I spent possibly the last shirtsleeves day of the year raking and bagging leaves, and cutting back perennials. Except the rose bush, which decided to start blooming again just before Thanksgiving. Gorgeous day, but by late afternoon the wind was accelerating and the sky had gone grey. The next week is supposed to be wet and chilly.

Stilly, you’ve reminded me that it’s time to have the wheels changed on the car. I’ve been remembering and forgetting to do that for at least a month now, but it’s time — we had our first sprinkle of snow on Wednesday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 08:41 AM

I had my sixth anti-COVID shot yesterday at the drug store, and I have to say that hypodermic injection technique has really improved around here over the last few years. The pharmacist who did the honours sneaked that needle into and out of my skin with such skill that I felt only the faint sting of the serum as it elbowed its way into the muscle tissue.

Practice makes perfect, I guess.

All Souls’ Day is 2 November, and St James’s had its annual memorial service last night. The congregation was unusually focussed, and for the first time I saw a bunch of Anglicans enter into that special Zen state that develops from fully united, and invested, group singing. The hymn was “Abide With Me”. In the throes of the last stanza, I saw why hymn-singing is so critical to Christian worship — they were experiencing genuine uplift.

Meanwhile, I was carrying the alto line and concentrating on not coughing. It’s leaf-mould season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 03:24 PM

It’s sleeting in Stratford — winter’s first blast. Nasty.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 10:43 PM

Thunder and lightning now. A Perth County Particular with ice rain. So glad I’m tucked up under two cats.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 04:41 PM

The paint stick is my favourite bookcase shim, Stilly. My library/music room contains seven bookcases, all but one shimmed with a paint stick (the four-litre length) in the middle of the front bottom edge. I'm not sure it's possible to keep house without a basket of shims and a bouquet of paint sticks.

I can't imagine housing and maintaining so much legacy computer hardware, but then I'm not only a neat freak but also allergic to extra anything except, perhaps, Wedgwood bone china. Instead of several printers, I have a plethora of coffee cups and no fewer than six teapots.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 10:37 AM

Good on you Maggie. Jiffy Oil Change has the same BS rigamarole.
I'm back from the market and now I will mulch mow the rest of the leaves and do other yard projects today. I don't use any barrels anymore since it drowned a chipmunk.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 04:40 PM

I have an undecorated 7-foot-tall Christmas tree in the living room, but its a sword fern topped by a Boston fern. Maybe the real Christmas tree will go in the kitchen this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 04:57 PM

I am big on chicken stews. I add a bit of vinegar, lots of Mumbo sauce and a couple of tablespoons of diced pineapple. Instant spicy sweet and sour. Plus egg noodles for the carb addicts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 10:55 AM

Three and a half pints of Italian style tomato sauce are in the freezer and the house still smells good from all of that cooking.

It got too hot too early to do the yard work, but I'll head out in a few minutes for some of that. Next week is forecast to be cooler and rainy. There's something about washing the car and bringing on rain, (if I worked I'd wash it weekly), but I do need to wash it (especially to wash the windows inside). I also need to take it in to have the oil changed and they will run it through the car wash free, so win/win if I make an appointment this week. Recycling needs to be dropped off recycling at the village bins and then I should vacuum the SUV insides. I'm considering swapping for a truck later this year, but only if this is clean and ready so I can get top dollar. And if I find a used truck with only a few miles so it has a long life. At this point it is a question of if an extended cab truck has enough bed room to make it worth the swap or if I can fit more long stuff in the SUV.

Before heading out to work I have a favorite pair of jeans with a rip under the back pocket that needs mending. I bought them used at a thrift store so I don't know where they were before, but it is unusual that mending under both back pockets has been needed. They're my yard pants, but in case I need to go somewhere during the course of a project, the holes need fixing. I've already had the experience of ripped pants in Home Depot; not something I wish to repeat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 23 - 02:40 PM

As we get older the size of meals we eat has to shrink unless we are content to expand. I've been tracking my calcium intake for years using MyFitnessPal and have my daily calorie intake set at 1200. It doesn't take much to meet that level.

Drizzle today, and when it lets up I plan to dig an area to plant garlic for next year (it is planted in the fall for harvest around April-May). I'll be using the mattock to clear off the weeds on the surface since it was all dug very efficiently last year and again for planting in the spring. Garlic kept in a cool dry place can last for a really long time so some of these bulbs to plant go back two or three years and are still viable.

The fridge is more orderly as I continue to downsize some containers and finish the contents of others. I'm not sure how I manage to occasionally end up with the fridge stuffed full of mostly produce but it had happened recently. My eyes are larger than my crisper bins when I shop bargains at the discount grocery.

I've learned a lot in the last few days as I practice sewing scraps together for assembling a "crumb block" for quilting. I'm figuring out how to make sure there aren't gaps or overly large pieces in the blocks. There's a lot of trimming and reattaching. This is the getting-my-feet-wet part of learning a new activity. As I work I've listened to a 1961 murder mystery by Lawrence Block; I find myself second guessing what were legitimate clues in 1961 compared to what I know about forensics today (as much as the viewer of police procedurals and dramadeys like Bones can reasonably assume is accurate - even if it all happens in "TV time.") I'm mulling a red herring as I get to the last 90 minutes of the book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:49 AM

Over on Facebook we're reading about Bat Goddess's struggle to replace a dead refrigerator/freezer, emptying the old one and preparing for the removal and new delivery later this week. That means a removal of things in the path to the door. It was a relief to finally get my new upright freezer when the old one (50 years) started to fail; it may have been my fault because I hadn't vacuumed under it and the compressor may simply have needed the dog hair removed, but at that age I always worried it might fail.

After a wonderful rainy night I'll let the grass dry enough to mow the back. Meanwhile, I'm killing time waiting till the recycle bins behind city hall are emptied today after driving past on Sunday and finding them stuffed full. Then I'll clean the SUV and stuff the any back seat cloth shopping bags into a couple of the largest bags and move out some of the summer survival materials (extra bottles of water, mostly). It may be time to take the folding chairs out of the vehicle as well, I haven't needed them for a long time, but they bring back memories of enabling tailgate visits with my daughter and friends during the 2020 COVID shutdown.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:22 PM

A day of mostly rain, and a reminder that the next clear day I have to finish a few outdoor repairs while the temperatures are mild.

The buildup of papers needing filing has been cut in half, and I think it's time to start a spreadsheet to keep track of some of these donation requests. Donate once a year and they send out reminders for your renewal way before that year is up. The running list in a bullet journal isn't enough for keeping track.

This afternoon I got the RSV vaccination and was reminded that there are others I should look up. I don't remember when my last tetanus shot was, meaning it is probably due again. The pharmacist says 7 to 10 years. While at the pharmacy I disposed of the decade-old bottle of Rx cough syrup in their handy disposal bin.

I'm not drinking caffeine any more so the cup of decaf tea in the morning is just habit, but once it is in hand I sit down at the computer to check in on the world. I need to shift my morning routine and after feeding the dogs do my exercises, then get the tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 05:03 PM

Some peaches purchased recently weren't ripening well as they aged so after using the apple peeler on them they were cut up and simmered with peach cobbler stuff and are now in the oven. It'll be good that way, if not the way I've eaten peaches and nectarines all summer (with yogurt and granola on top).

Filing has continued and a lot has gone through the shredder. Since getting rid of the extra filing cabinet it all goes in the large plastic hanging file (the one to grab if the house is flooding or burning down), but some of that can be shifted over to one of the remaining files. Or I'll just stop saving statements (I get a few bills via email, but not all of them. I want paper copies of some things.)

Outside I'm preparing to move a rain barrel that I haven't used much and is in the way of a siding repair. I started emptying it with a little battery operated transfer pump and when it's low enough then I can tip it on it's side and empty the rest. A 55-gallon barrel is too heavy to tip full without smashing things around it or hurting myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 10:46 PM

It sounds like a good choice, Dorothy. That conversation to text feature or app was demonstrated recently by Senator Fetterman of Pennsylvania; since his stroke he has trouble with hearing in certain spaces or with background noise.

John Fetterman addresses using closed captioning on campaign trail after stroke

John Fetterman is using 'assistive technology' in the Senate as he continues to struggle with auditory processing issues after his stroke - the Daily Mail also has "REVEALED" in the headline, as if this is a shocking detail. It makes perfect sense he would do this.

I saw something within the last week about this but I'm not finding that recent story right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 11:39 AM

Good tips, John. I get their name, but it doesn't always occur to me to give them my number right away. I don't talk to Apple tech support (I'm an Android and Windows user) but there are enough times I have to call for appointments, etc., that those are just good things to do when calling a help line.

Rain rain rain last night; the creek stayed in its banks but someone up the street apparently lost a tree over power lines. I'm sitting at my kitchen table with a power line from the next door generator (they bought one a while back and didn't realize how much capacity it had until the big freeze of 2021, so now if the power is expected to be out for more than a few hours, they have me run my long power cable over.) The electric kettle and the small fridge next to kitchen table are plugged in. I opened the big fridge once and will leave it closed the rest of the day, and won't touch the big freezer. Since the computer and Wifi are all off I'm for the first time using my phone to be a tethered (Bluetooth) device to my tablet. I have a little Anker Bluetooth keyboard also in use and can reach the outside world. Data will be higher on the phone plan this month. (The tablet doesn't have adblock so Mudcat is a busy place with all of the Google ads - I will research this when the power is back and see if I can add something to this tablet browser.) We expect power to be restored by dinnertime. If not, I'll move things around and plug in the big fridge and the freezer.

Many people upgraded their emergency setup after that outage and freeze. I have a propane stove I can use (or I can plug the microwave into the power strip) for dinner, and I have a portable power device the size of a modest toaster oven for everything from jumping the SUV battery to running a lamp, radio, and charging USB devices. The phone is plugged into that as I work. I carry a 6700 mAh power pack in my handbag, good for several phone or tablet charges. I've always tried to be prepared for emergencies (years ago I took a mountaineering class and they taught about the 10 essentials - the gear that would keep you safe in an emergency. I still apply those skills to life in general). When I lived in NY City I carried a pack back and forth to work so if the power went out in the subway I had a book to read, a water bottle, and a flashlight; I made use of them several times. These days it depends on charging small computers everywhere. I'm leaving in a little while and will have to disconnect the garage door opener so I can lift the door by myself, then reconnect it for when the power returns. I guess the test when I get back home is if the door opens or not when I push the button on the remote control.

With the power distractions this morning I missed getting trash to the curb in time; it is full of the shreds from sorting and filing that I finished yesterday. I fear my rain barrel has refilled itself with the several inches of rain overnight, but my work clearing the area in the side bed where I'll plant garlic won't have been undone by the weather. I'm not opening the fridge again, that delicious peach cobbler will have to wait until dinner (it can be a great breakfast). Tonight I start a long weekend of cat sitting for my friend and at least I won't have to worry about watering her potted plants. She has caterpillars in an enclosure on her porch and I have rue and dill growing here if I need to replenish their food supply. Word salad to finish this post (where there is an autocorrect setting I have to adjust in my MS SwiftKey app - it's being bossy this morning.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 23 - 11:43 PM

Dorothy, I hope you were able to conclude your data transfer issues and get a phone set up at Apple. I have a friend who visits regularly (she's planning her 90th birthday party for next May and may stay here or do a party at my house) who has on occasion needed to be taken to the Apple Store for some technical problem. There is a Jack In the Box restaurant nearby where I go wait while they tussle with her phone and tablet.

As an Android user, I think I found enough things to turn off in my Samsung tablet to stop the battery from draining too quickly. When I first started using it the battery strength was stunning, and I'm sure the various apps and Samsung proprietary programs as they were turned on became too active for my taste. I don't need it to check in with the Mothership as often as it has been doing.

The backyard lawn nearest the house got a mow today, so the rain in the next couple of days won't make going out a problem for the oldest dog. He's a Lab, he doesn't really care, what he likes is to be towel dried when he comes back in, but I want that area to be inviting and easy to walk through. We're already getting weather alerts about rain passing through the region tonight.

Today I received an email from the congressman who represents my district, and it included a letter that was never actually mailed to me on Sept. 25. It offers answers to everything I've had questions about a pension I get a portion of. Who knows how long I would have waited for this answer if I didn't ask for help. #MischiefManaged

Today I've made appointments for various things; my mammogram, the SUV oil change, and for the girls to get their shots and checkups at the vet. The dogs all got their heartworm medication (once a month) today. I inspected the garden today and am ready to protect it if we get cold weather (possibly on Monday through Wednesday in the overnight hours). My tarps are ready.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 09:21 PM

When I do the cat sitting one of the runs is simply to give a cat medication that must be taken at least an hour before or after food with his other medications. So today I went up late and gave him the medication then spent an hour doing my Essentrics exercises before feeding all of them dinner. Having a set time and nothing else to do does help me stay on task for the exercises.

We have a couple of days of rain ahead, so after tomorrow's cat run I'll be at home and perhaps I'll finally start doing some of the projects in the sewing studio. I may do another hour of exercises - I find them helpful for increased flexibility.

My daughter and her wife and their roommates are finishing a move to a new property, and if I play my cards right, I can give them any number of things from here that will be helpful in their new rural home. Not just plants for the garden, but extra gardening tools (and if it were helpful, at some point they could dismantle and move the greenhouse - especially if I ever think about moving from here).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Oct 23 - 07:57 PM

Essential shopping today on a cold damp day that followed a day that was very warm and humid. The heat is on/the heat is off. That's autumn in Texas. When I made the bed today I added a quilt to the sheet and thermal blanket. The layering begins.

In the yard this week I'll put down the floating row cover that keeps the plants underneath a few degrees warmer on those nights that just dip to freezing. Tuesday and Wednesday look like the nights that could clobber my garden.

Vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, and laundry today. Making the indoors more welcoming as the outside becomes surly. Rain is forecast for all night so I'll wait till morning and leave the trash bag at the curb. The bag out overnight could be torn by dogs or raccoons.

Time to start getting out the warmer dog beds, but also time to once again try to keep Cookie from tearing them to pieces.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 11:33 AM

Today I'll shift contents of the greenhouse, get the water barrel filled and the heater in place and seal the doorway on the north end, then move in two volunteer tomato plants and my small Texas Star Hibiscus in pots. The hibiscus is usually grown in the ground but with the heat this summer I started some in pots. They didn't grow huge or bloom but they did grow. I may also see if I can pot a couple of smaller things for the winter. Peppers. In the front yard it is usually sufficient to pull pots from that patio onto the porch to protect them. I'll take the battery trimmer out to the veggie garden and get the grass out of the way of some of the other crops then put down the floating row cover for the overnight hours for Tuesday and Wednesday nights (holding it down with a combination of pegs and bricks.)

My across the street neighbor has been taken to the hospital in an ambulance this morning. I was going to take over some fried eggplant for her soon (I just picked one and have a couple more almost ready to pick.) Her husband is at home so I'll make the whole eggplant parmesan dish and take it (I'm careful adding too many ingredients for her because of the past episodes of diverticulitis.)

I haven't turned on the heat yet but we're close to that event. The quilt on the bed and the ceiling heater in the bathroom for my shower last night are enough so far. Can I make it to November 1? That would probably be a new record.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

What the heck. Beat our post counters. 1000.

I've just scrolled through the Mudcat dropdown menus looking to any that are defunct due to the current disk error problems Max is working on. It was an interesting look at the early days of Mudcat, if anyone has a few minutes to take a look.

Making headway around the house this morning with laundry washed and dried and veggies steamed for the dogs and me for the next couple of days (broccoli). The Lab turned his nose up at raw zucchini, but I have a bet with myself that he'll still eat it cooked, so I'll steam some of that later today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 01:23 PM

Today is the official last day of my PO box rental; this post office building was constructed in 2000 and I was probably one of the earliest customers. I'll miss having to run over every so often and pry contents out of the next-to-smallest box - NOT. When the annual rent increased to $248I began the already described transition to the mail at home in a locking box. The PO address mail will now forward for 18 months (I paid for an extra 6 months just for the heck of it.) I'll think of a suitable ceremony. Maybe I'll apply the sticky numbers that came with it to the box, but it is mounted under the house numbers in view on the porch.

The heat is officially on in the house. This morning was just too chilly to sit in my office when it showed 62^o in here. I'm puttering around, swapping sandals for slippers, setting out a few lap quilts, and turning off switches for dusk-to-dawn lights that would possibly invite trick-or-treaters to the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 07:20 PM

The pot Thompson describes is a product from a company that also produces the Neti pots. This is the one I use. I usually do use tap water, but I see from WebMD that I should be using the water that was already boiled and cooled from my electric kettle. Warm in the microwave if it needs it. They're easy to wash, and easy to use once you are accustomed to it. I use about 1 teaspoon of a mix of Pickling salt (no additives) and baking soda. A bit more salt to soda in that mix, maybe 60/40%.

This is a post for reflecting on the controlled movement of water. I also finally emptied the rain barrel (it has two holes in the top, nowhere else) by taking a 10' hose, pushing it all the way to the bottom, then a bucket of water and a pitcher to pour water into the other end held high enough to build up good suction when it was laid down on the lawn. The siphon got down to the last couple of inches in a 55 gallon barrel. For tonight it is lying on its side in an inconspicuous area and tomorrow I'll put it in the backyard. It's close enough to twilight that parents with tiny trick or treaters will be hitting the street on this mild clear evening. I don't want to be out front in view, having to decline offering treats. That said, I've always liked this particular cartoon, being another Margaret. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 10:59 PM

Different antibiotics are used for various treatments so your low dose for cellulitis isn't what would be used if a sinus infection took hold. Infections aren't caused by viruses, they are bacterial, or are a bacterial side effect of a virus. What treats bronchitis probably isn't what will treat cellulitis.

I fought off sinus infection and bronchitis for a week or more after the recent head cold by using guaifenesin and the neti pot to keep the congestion from building up too much and causing an infection.

After the work to put the floating row cover over my plants I don't think it actually froze last night. It did the night before, enough to knock out really tender stuff, so what I covered were the larger plants (eggplant, pepper, tomato) that I want to harvest later this fall. The hit or miss effect of the almost-freeze two nights ago is kind of interesting, what got hit and what didn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 10:57 AM

Those beads and findings will be the last to go, but they haven't had much use for a while. Good move with the bear materials!

The barrels I have here came from a friend's house; he worked at a place that did general magnaplate work on restoring industrial equipment (redoing finishes and sending back - I went on a tour, and the most interesting was a huge chrome-plated disk that was a proprietary tool for extruding Cherrios cereal. No photos and non-disclosure form signed.) The barrels had the non-dangerous materials like baking soda and other everyday products in huge volume. Black barrels and blue barrels (a little different, but also plastic with bung holes only on the top).

One barrel in the greenhouse has an old fashioned Lever pump handle, and I use a battery operated pump on the one that was just emptied. And I have two that are squared on the sides that lie on top of cinder blocks and are stacked and I use those to water my outdoor potting table where I start seeds. I envision my daughter catching on to the usefulness of these and getting a couple. I had more, and gave them to a friend who lives out in the West Texas desert.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 11:19 PM

I spent ~3 hours this evening at my daughter's almost ex-house, helping with some of the nitty gritty cleaning before they are completely moved out. Two of the four bathrooms in the house are now in shiny clean shape, and I tackled some of the grime in the kitchen (the area where the fridge stood took several passes with various cleaners, and the stove and microwave had built up splatters that are gone). They've been in the house for almost seven years, so the landlord should be painting and putting in new toilet seats and replacing or refreshing the carpets.

I brought back a small desk that I'll put on the Buy Nothing page for my part of town; one less thing they need to move. Their Ikea bookshelves were too large for any to slide into the SUV.

There is an account of my trip to the Nissan dealer on my Facebook page; I went in for an oil change and tire rotation and they were making a concerted effort to convince me to sell my used vehicle to them. After the planned on work and the free inspection stuff I got a text with the quote on various things that need doing (thousands of dollars) - this is based upon mileage and not based on actual problems. As I was scrolling through that list and declining all of the expensive stuff, the phone rang and it was the sales department at Nissan offering a lowball price for my SUV (because they now know it's in good shape) and I should buy a new vehicle. Except out of curiosity I ran a query through Edmunds Car Guide a few weeks ago and a local Auto Nation dealer offered $8000 more. I wouldn't use it as a trade-in for their terrible offer.

I told this sales woman that I thought their approach stunk and take me off the list for soliciting purchasing my vehicle. But round two was paying the bill for the oil change - when the Service department representative started to go through a litany of things I need to do regarding the current status (based upon what I had already declined). So many places do this - you can't just pay and go, you have to fight off the sales folks. After the first couple of visual aids (the tools to measure brake health and tire tread depth) I told her to let me pay and give me the printout and stop the sales pitch. My statement to end the BS: "I have to pee and I have somewhere else to be." I'm really tired of businesses that think they see you coming, and you'll roll over and let them have their way. I'm looking for a mechanic to do some of this work as needed, not the dealer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Nov 23 - 05:14 PM

Insult added to injury - I headed out to my morning volunteer gardening gig and was a few blocks from the house, ready to head onto the freeway, when I saw the low tire pressure warning. I circled back to the house and used the little battery compressor to fill them. The Nissan folks neglected to check and properly inflate my tires, and the cold weather often is when it shows up as low pressure. I am so disappointed with that whole experience.

Three hours planting a seasonal bed at the Botanic Garden was a good start to the day, followed by two hours of scanning at the museum. When I'm scanning I'm way past where visitors are allowed, but the Botanic Garden episode was an opportunity to observe the visitors. Kids all noticed the three of us planting, and their teachers paused to ask questions. But there was a lot of older adult foot traffic, and aside from one "thank you for everything you do" (so common it is meaningless, but it works as a "hello") most strolled past and didn't try to make eye contact. I wasn't out there to talk to them, but I tend to look up as they pass, and an occasional "good morning!" is always a nice acknowledgement of the work. As a visitor I always look to see if the landscapers, maintenance people, etc., are making eye contact and offer a greeting.

Just now Nissan made the mistake of texting and asking me to answer a survey about yesterday's visit. I told them I was disappointed at the stunts they pulled.

The busy part of my week is over, now to do some puttering around the house until next Tuesday's volunteering. I will probably head over to a party at friends' in Arlington tomorrow evening because it will be several hours after the Texas Ranger's World Series celebration parade a few miles away. Driving there earlier in the day will be gridlock.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 11:02 AM

Yes, Don, I'm remembering now - a couple of commercial oil change places would come in with some other suggested repair or update. I rarely bit, except if it seemed incredibly practical. This reminds me I need to top off the coolant and change the air filter.

It must be fall now, I'm feeling the full impulse needed to do the furniture and equipment moving in the office - the willingness to take the art off of the walls and move things that require dismantling and reassembly. Laundry is in and I've been decanting various containers in the kitchen. I'm ready to till and plant garlic (taking some of the really old kraft bags out of the pantry clears a fair amount of space.) The work at the Botanic Garden was part of the inspiration; they pulled out a little tiller just like mine to work the bed before we planted a seasonal garden. Something I've been doing more in the last year.

It's too early here for leaves down, and the lawn is still growing. I did some digging in the sweet potato pots, there was one very large potato between the two pots. Next I'll dig around in the garden and see if anything from last summer is harvestable. I've pulled out the bonsai okra and some of the peppers that were hit by frost. If this year represents a new norm then I have to be prepared to plant really early, harvest what I can by early July, then write off the garden until September. I started too late to get a fall crop on some things, others are still producing.

I'm watching the mail to see if things are forwarded as requested. So far nothing has arrived with the conspicuous yellow forwarding tag, and I haven't seen anything in my Informed Delivery messages to show me redirected mail coming to the house. It's my one small rebellion this year, taking an expensive annual bill off of the balance sheet. Now to see if it worked as planned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Nov 23 - 06:57 PM

A trip to the discount grocery has us loaded up with produce for now (for me and the dogs) and produce that keeps for later (onions, potatoes, carrots, beets). Some to cut up and freeze (bell peppers). And they have skinless boneless chicken thighs in stock again at half-price. I love those for making teriyaki chicken.

Zeke proved to be consistent in refusing calabash squash; he didn't want it raw last week, so I steamed some this morning but after giving him a bite after one chew he spit it out. Broccoli for him while the girls finish off the rest of the squash.

Cleaning this evening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Nov 23 - 02:02 PM

The COVID resurgence for vintage sewing machines has passed; since new machines were unavailable in the volume needed to supply everyone who wanted to make PPE, the vintage machines saw a resurgence. But I've been looking at replacing one of my older machines with a newly manufactured one and see that the used market has subsided. I need to move out a couple of the older ones before I consider bringing in a new one. I didn't pay much for them but I won't make anything selling them (especially as heavy as they are - the shipping is the killer on these transactions). They will be sold for parts or repair.

I also need to identify projects I've planned to do that haven't been done and either get them going or clear out the stuff I'm not using. I was looking for sewing machines on estate sale listings this week and what I see are people with way too much stuff that their families have to sort later.

Beautiful weather this week. I've done some work on the yard and need to cross a few more outdoor projects off the list before it's cold again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 11:26 AM

As an elementary-school-aged kid I managed to ditch the Sunday morning church stuff (when we convinced Mom that we didn't need Sunday school to do arts and crafts). A friend used to complain if I mentioned mowing the lawn on Sunday mornings (the noise) but I figure if people are religious they're in church and won't hear my mower. It works for me to get out into the park and museum world during the week for my contemplative moments.

Yesterday I did a lot of cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, resulting in meals for the week and much less clutter in the fridge. Finally admitting that the jar of pickles or relish or salsa is too old to use and tossing into the compost helps clear out the jars.

This morning was the first conversation with my handyman about replacing the patio cover behind the house. It will probably be a simple framework, with 4x4 posts sunk in concrete all around the patio (the current one stands on the patio and reinforcements for the posts were sunk into the concrete.) Coming up with something custom to fit the house. The current one is crumbling and only marginally safe; I fear a big windstorm taking out one side and collapsing the whole thing.

Moving office furniture today. More dog walking. Digging in the garden to plant garlic, and making a quick pass through the dead crop plants to lop them off and tote them (via wheelbarrow) to the compost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 23 - 10:06 PM

I worked up a sweat weeding and then planting garlic (to be harvested next May), and I took out the dead big stuff in the garden (tomatoes and peppers). And damned if the code enforcement guy didn't put another caution tag on my door saying to mow the grass. What is it with this guy, that he figures he'll beat me to the yard work I have planned? But the grass isn't too tall, so perhaps he has confused the weeds in the garden with tall grass in the lawn. I need to speak to him face-to-face one of these days. Figure out what the heck he thinks he's doing. This yard is never going to conform to the standard monoculture turf and tidy edge gardens. How dull.

Dinner was wonderful this evening, a piece of tilapia (floured and sauteed in butter) with two sides, one of a plate of the babaghanouj I made yesterday and pita, and a bowl of the chicken stew I also made yesterday. The stew was the little bit that didn't fit into the large container for the rest.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 23 - 09:53 AM

A craft epiphany this morning - something I daresay neither of my parents encountered (there was no evidence): I have too many things going on at once, with the setup for projects I need to work on for a while. Before I start another one (quilting) I need to wrap up a few other things. When I think back to the archaeological digs one reads about, when a slim metal shard reminds us that women had just a few scarce needles for their thread and sewing, when every trade bead was precious, I know we are well beyond those days. The problem is too much, not too little. Organizing the sewing studio was an excellent start. Now I need to expand the organizing to the rest of the house. As I research the heavy duty sewing machines out there I realize that this is enough of a commitment that I need to use this as a reward for myself for finishing or donating stuff I'm not using any more. And it gives me a lot to look forward to for motivation purposes.

I decluttered stuff in the pantry shelves yesterday as I moved garlic that is too pulpy to cook with into the garden to see if it will grow. Chances are it will, and the transformation from old clove to new bulb will happen in the soil over the winter and spring. And if it doesn't, no big deal. I'll have plenty that was already sprouting (because I didn't harvest all of it in the spring, I left it to grow much larger after another year.)

The next garden task is to use the trimmer to scalp the grass from beds and prepare for planting some winter crops. Some are cold hardy (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, etc.) if you put the floating row cover over the top in particularly cold weather. And because I have that stuff now I need to keep in mind the placement of crops so covering them is easy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 12:33 AM

I finished rearranging the older computer and equipment that I use with it this evening, but am not satisfied with the setup. Plus the printers are lumps on relatively short cables and on a stand that is in the way. But that stand can be lowered by about 5" so I'll move the printers and lower the stand tomorrow. (I picked it up at the curb a dozen years ago, it has been very handy for a freebee). Too bad the fitness tracker doesn't register the extent of this kind of movement, I feel like I just spent three hours in the gym. A lot of dust was removed and the floor in the corner was mopped.

A large tree dropped into the creek two lots downstream from mine, and the city folks are going to try to get it out before rain starts later this week to avoid flooding (it could wash up against the bridge and form a dam). The next door neighbor spoke to the city folks, they say the city owns the creek so tend to trees that fall in it. If that one hadn't just fallen in I wouldn't be as worried about my tree ready to fall in.

I finished trimming the tall grass in the gardens where I had tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplant. Now just the eggplant stands on that side of the driveway. Between that and the computer I got a great upper body workout today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 05:24 PM

I fought off shards of sunshine this morning at the Botanic Garden where I spent three hours repotting trees into larger deeper containers. Also (alas) fought off bits of grit in my eyes (one at a time, but one each) from the fine compost/mulch we were using. After that I shifted tasks and used a shovel to shift soil instead of getting close with a scoop. I retrieved eyedrops from the SUV for relief, and made a note to myself: in addition to gloves and a bottle of water I'll add safety glasses to my growing BG volunteer kit. This afternoon I'm feeling the exercise in my arms and shoulders.

In daylight I can see the shifts needed to make the office flow better. I previously used a 3-shelf folding bookcase sitting on the desk next to the wall to stack equipment that is attached to the computer (scanners and VHS players for converting old videos). Taking it up instead of spreading it out. I tried to add another (missing it's lower shelf) but that is too much. Instead, the one without the lower shelf is best for the job and the first one will now sit in front of the window and should be the answer to keeping the smallest dog away from the windowsill if I open the blinds occasionally. I don't want them in here scratching the sill and barking, but I do like to let in the light sometimes. I couldn't keep cats out of any window now matter how much I tried, but I can block the dogs.

The next 2 1/2 weeks have lots and lots of cat sitting runs. I'll be going to the gym again, including checking out a new gym that opened nearby - I like the one I go to and when I'm in that part of town will still head over. It seems that Silver Sneakers will let me join more than one gym, so I'm going to give the new one a try. My goal is not to have a lot of classes or personal trainers, but for no fuss to use the equipment I prefer when I want to use it. I like access to a pool but I think the pool at the nearby place is quite small, so probably stick to my regular gym for that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 10:36 AM

We now have the rain but without the cold of Perth County. The Tarrant County version has very slick roads (road grime) after a couple of dry weeks.

It took elbow grease and WD-40 to shorten the legs on that metal stand, considering it was only eight screws, but it is short enough now that I can tuck the printers (one on the shelf and one on top) under the most active computer desk. And by rearranging the equipment for the older computer I can now work on that desktop and open either of the files under it, if needed. (I'd forgotten that the legal file has a locking upper drawer. I suppose I should empty it enough so if I have something to lock away there is free space.)

The last step was putting art back on the walls, now accomplished, and I'm looking at the empty portable shelves in front of the window. I may move the contents of a small end table onto the top shelf and move the end table out of here. It ends up an even swap - the new book shelf for this piece, and the result is better use of floor space AND access to the window sans a dog problem.

Also a note, when I turned the files and plywood desktop 90^o to the original position I brought in the level and needed to shim the side closest to the front wall. There is one 5-gallon paint stick on the file cabinet under the plywood to level the desktop. The space isn't equally lopsided, it took five 1-gallon paint sticks under the tall bookcase on the other side of the room (again by the front wall) to level it. Thank dawg for Home Depot and Lowe's free paint stir sticks!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Nov 23 - 04:53 PM

The older workhorse quad core stopped communicating with the Internet but had a whole bunch of really good free-standing expensive software. Worth more than the computer itself at that point, so I replaced the computer instead of reinstalling Windows and destroying all of the software (I had no disks for it, it came from work when we could have personal copies at home also.) It works well for things that also don't need an Internet connection, like scanning. I have a transfer cable to move contents from that to the new computer.

For years there was just one printer, the black toner laser jet, but with the addition of a high-rez photo scanner, the ink jet photo-quality printer came along. There is logic to the accumulation! (There is also a 10-year-old small WiFi laptop in the kitchen that is the emergency backup computer.)

I may also move an extra computer chair out of the office, though where it will live I'm not sure. There are times when someone joins me in there so it won't go away completely.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Nov 23 - 02:45 PM

I assembled an unranked list of sewing machines that do the things I need for regular sewing and additional features for some quilting activity, with links to each company and prices (some are on Amazon at deep discounts - making me wonder why there is such a difference and if there is any support if you buy off of the Big A.) A friend who has quilted for years recommended a couple of them and others I stumbled upon via reviews. Some were left off the list as way too expensive and fancy. I don't need a machine so complex that it's difficult to simply sit down and sew after going through basic tutorials. She's going to look at my list and offer suggestions as to why some features are better than others. After using an 80-year-old straight stitch machine for years any of these features are going to be magical, so the super-high end stuff of the eye-wateringly-priced machines will never be missed.

I've also found a place that I would trust as far as getting work done on the old rotary machine. I've done a lot of basic stuff, but even with manuals can only go so far when replacement parts haven't been fabricated for 50 years or more.

This weekend should be good for work on the fence, giving the area a little time to dry after yesterday's rain. We are finally in fall temperatures in the mid-60s and low-70s for the next 10 days. With the cooler weather I've gotten out a couple of the cushy dog beds and given Cookie a strict scold about not shredding them. I doubt she'll cooperate, I'll have to figure ways to cover them to keep them intact. Trouble is, you go for a week or two and think you're home free, then she goes on a tear and eviscerates and scatters bed stuffing around the den.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 23 - 11:07 PM

One dog bed already back in the front room out of circulation after Cookie tore out stuffing twice. Damn predictable dog. Perhaps I'll find a cover to protect the fuzzy material the bed is made of and try again.

My quilting friend offered helpful insight and my list is now shorter. I'll check in at the sewing machine business next week and see what they have that I can touch and test.

The front lawn got mowed this afternoon and I'll do the back tomorrow. Usually by now the weather is so cool that the turf is dormant, but not this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 23 - 10:03 AM

This morning saw the removal of the summer programmable watering system (for up to four hoses) off of the back yard spigot and replaced with a simple splitter for running one or the other or both. The final shift before a heavy freeze is to remove that and put a styrofoam faucet cover and some other insulating stuff over the spigot (that is probably weeks away). And before heading out I took the new can of WD-40 with its much more convenient spray setup (I guarded and used that little red tube on the old can forever; I should have ditched it ages ago!) and got the rollers under the back sliding glass door loosened up and flowing. A friend commented last week that all I needed to do for a full-body workout was open and close that door a couple of times a day.

Yesterday the old heavy White Series 77 rotary sewing machine went into the shop for a tune up and two small repairs. And I spent a couple of hours comparing the new machines. I'm not ready to buy one yet, I have things to do here to be ready for that big change (because once that device is in the house I'll ignore everything else!) Machines have come a long way in the last 82 years. I have an even older White in a table that has a knee operation instead of foot; later I'll take it in for rewiring and a new foot and then list it on eBay. I think I can adapt the table to fit the machine I'm keeping.

I've decided it is time to remove the mess in the front corner of the house that was at one time intended to be an asparagus bed. The weedy Carolina snailseed vines have overrun it and I haven't been able to harvest any of the asparagus in a couple of years. It's a green tangle that needs to be completely dug up. Doing it this time of year means any asparagus roots I find I might be able to transplant for use next year. To someplace less compromised by the intense native vine. This job will require the spade fork and full-size mattock (and the wheelbarrow to catch all of the vines and roots).

Family have been slow to offer up their dates for our movable feast known as Thanksgiving. The long weekend has four days, we don't need to do it on Thursday, but I do need to load up on some of the basics. Must gently prod again today for an answer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 23 - 07:06 PM

There was a lot more asparagus in that bed than I thought (covered over with vines and grass), but it is all dug up and awaiting transplant to someplace easier to tend; I have a couple of spots in mind. I put some crinum lilies in the old spot; they're easier to weed than huge asparagus ferns are. They've been in a bucket all summer awaiting a time when I could get out and work and plant them without overheating. I have some light pink crinum lilies in a different bed, these are a more orange color, if I recall correctly the description from the friend who gave them to me.

The fridge is cleaned out, all shelves and drawers washed. (I didn't organize the freezer side.) I emptied a half-dozen or more old jars of pickles and preserves and tossed a bunch in the compost. And I picked up a 13.5 pound frozen turkey with no additional brine injected. I was going to do breasts, but when I was in a grocery store today I stumbled upon these and it will work. Now to load up on the root vegetables and other ingredients that go in a Thanksgiving dinner. This year I'll make more breads and veggies, less meat.

Tomorrow I have a tour at the museum where I volunteer, and maybe after a trip to the gym. With the gardening I get good exercise, primarily upper-body, so the gym offers a chance to keep the knees limber.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 23 - 08:10 PM

Sometimes I think the way those links fail has to do with how the backup populates the server it's running on when it starts up. But Mudcat is limping right now, we do need to help Max do something about it.

In the days we've been offline I decided which sewing machine I want and I'll go buy it before Thanksgiving. I'm using this weekend to finish some things I need to do before I have the full distraction of that machine in the house.

I've finished the food shopping for the holiday meal (we'll probably cook it on Sunday instead of Thursday due to family schedules) and the back lawn was mowed today. My nextdoor neighbors usually have family over and are in their yard and mine won't be a distraction of tall grass next to their well-trimmed area. I have to go with the bucket and scoop to remove walking hazards if anyone wants to go outside while they're here.

Yesterday I started dusting in my bedroom and then the den, and I'll work my way through the house tomorrow so that is all finished. The next job is to wash dog beds and small rugs before sweeping and mopping. I'm putting things away and tossing stuff into the recycle bin. By the time cooking begins I hope to stage it better, not all cooked on the one day. The meal itself will be less meat and more other stuff this year, since there will be two vegetarians (out of the probably five or six of us here).

How are our lurkers doing? Jon? Jennie? Sandra? Patty?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 23 - 10:49 AM

Feeling virtuous this morning after finishing cleaning the fridge door. Last week I did the shelves, but this morning realized the molded plastic shelves on the door (with raised front edges) were a disarray and needing a scrub, so they're done now. Years-old items tossed, and I put all of the bottled sauces on one shelf, etc. Also shifted two up into slightly better positions. I may yet tackle the freezer just to say that job is completed.

A small table will be offered on the Buy Nothing page today and I'm continuing to clean. First up this morning comes washing the throws that are draped over the couch. They're very dusty.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 23 - 09:40 PM

Plugging along this week, not making as much progress as I'd like, but I'm still moving forward. I picked up the new sewing machine today but it's not likely to be opened until tomorrow or the next day.

The SUV key fob has been AWOL a couple of times this week, giving a misaligned signal (not starting the car until I get out and get back in) and not always unlocking the car. I have a sleeve of inexpensive button style batteries that seem to be underperforming (the fob wasn't responding when I changed to one of these batteries) so I put the old battery back in with enough juice to get to Lowe's and buy some name brand batteries. The cheap ones have their use, but this isn't one of them.

Planning for the holiday meal and I'm going to set up a couple of crock pots around the kitchen so I don't have to juggle so much on the stovetop. Is anyone else doing a Thanksgiving meal this week?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 05:09 AM

this afternoon friends collected 2 large unwanted craft collections.

I used to make mohair bears (a collection already downsized, but not yet moved out!) & naturally had more mohair than anyone who is not a professional bear maker could ever use. I also used to make beaded earrings & necklaces & had a similar sized collection of beads & fittings etc, both collections have gone! Most of the mohair was in a gi-normous zipped plastic bag that had contained a large quilt/doona, the rest in a large gift box, half that size. Half the beading stuff was in a small shopping trolley, the other in a large reusable bag from my local supermarket, I didn't realise they came from Bulgaria!.

well done me (pats self on shoulder) & well done to my friends.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 05:15 AM

Dorothy Parshall, two tips with Apple helplines:
1) Find the time when the best techies for your purpose are online. Here in Ireland that's around 9am to 10am our time, when the helpers tend to be Irish or Scottish and reliably tech but (usually) able to explain without patronising. I've had some spectacular good luck with Arabs and Indians too, mind!
2) Always give the agent your phone number first thing, so they can call you back if the call drops.

And in general talking to helplines, I find it's better if I ask the person their name and write it down - doesn't matter whether they're using their real name or not - and use it in conversation the way I would with anyone else I'm talking to. "So, John, I need to press the little button at the bottom - the 'home' button, is it?" sounds much better, and makes both sides feel human. If apps are restarting or anything and there's a bit of a pause, it's nice to say "Where are you? Oh, X place? What's the weather like there today?" etc - human conversation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 06:45 PM

Charmion, a good way of shifting a recurring sinus infection that isn't bad enough for antibiotics is NeilMed (not sure about the studylycaps, maybe it's Neilmed). This is a squashy plastic bottle and a collection of sachets of saline powder. You fill the bottle with warm water up to the mark indicated, pour in a sachet of saline powder and give it a shake with your thumb over the hole in the top, then you squirt the warm water into each nostril alternately. It just washes out the sinuses and the saline shrinks back the mucous membranes.
Very relieving, and better than most of the spray bottles because it's warm, and because there's more of it. You have to keep doing it every day - part of the morning routine preferably, because if you do it at night, the remaining liquid drools out onto the pillow. If you do it for long enough - nearly a month, usually - the sinus demon says "Curses, this is too rainy for me" and gets out. It's a big help at hayfever time.
Another help at hayfever time is to find the most local honey you can get, and take a teaspoon of it every day. Local is best, they say, because the local bees will have fed on the weeds whose pollen your sinus demon loves, and by some magic of transference, eating the honey nourished on these weeds helps to quieten down the allergies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 01 Nov 23 - 01:49 AM

Ah, rain barrels: why has no one invented a hose connector that can be used by the standard water butt tap? Or why don't the butts have a tap that will fit the standare hose connector?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 08:59 PM

I'm very prone to sinus attacks, always on the right side. It's been my misfortune for the last three years to have suffered from frequent bouts of cellulitis, so I've been on big doses of antibiotics a lot (I'm now on a prophylactic low dose of Penicillin V for a whole year!). I can tell you that the antibiotics do not stave off, nor cure, sinus attacks. I suppose that means that they're caused by viruses.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 09:08 PM

Dupont:

Rain and more rain with occasional dry for a while days. Have managed to get most of fall work done. Still some large bits for R to do; nothing frost will harm but make room on deck before we get fire wood, which is beginning to feel like a myth. I shall insist we bring a small amount back from Beaver on the weekend. The cold is coming.

Lengthy conversation with engineer son, Sunday, elicited: He has APD as well and always had - "Why do you think I didn't go to classes?" I didn't know he didn't! So an I-phone is in my future, possibility of Airpods if needed. But, I do not think eliminating noise is safe - we need to be aware of what and who is nearby.

Long conversation with Apple help on Mon, trip to Apple store on Tues where the woman "helping" never understood my problem/concern/need... Another call to Apple help today to try to connect Mac to TV. Nice person tried hard but finally realized an upgrade was needed - Call back when it is done! BUT - before he got away he answered some questions about Iphone; I clarified with son by text and we agreed I will go tomorrow for a phone. Apparently it can listen and convert speech to text. That would work if I am talking to someone in a noisy place. I suppose it would have limitations - perhaps less than I have? A rather expensive "we'll see how it works" but I can return it after the weekend if the help is not adequate.

Looking forward to the long weekend with lots of travel for the sake of two separate music events, kind of en route- performers I once hung out with and have not seen in 40 years. We will get to Beaver Sat night and leave Monday - hopefully getting a couple errands done, maybe even a Covid booster.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 08:39 PM

Dupont:
Spent early part of day planning weekend. Then off to Apple -Hi ho hi ho!! In the middle of transferring data from phone and computer to new phone...! Needed the password for the computer; I never use it so it did not make it onto the wonderful new list of passwords I made last week. Have to go back tomorrow - but now I have the password but the whole computer is topsy turvy. I have an appointment with a tech - and Hope! Really want it done for the weekend as there will be many opps to try it out.

Otherwise there is food to eat and all is well - as long as I remember to take Pau d'Arco, and eat choc and keep face hydrated so eyes are happy.

Robin brought last of plants in this am!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Oct 23 - 05:19 PM

Dupont:

Arrived home about 3:30 am this morning, having learned a hard lesson: Decide ahead of time and make arrangements where/when you are sleeping. Tired after the concert and a long day exploring very rural Ontario, the phone was no help at all and we wandered for about two hours until I found an energy reserve, about 2:15 and said, "OK, it is only an hour home; I can do that." I did. R slept. We happily crawled into bed. There were still two items on the to-do list -- some other time!

If we had driven straight home after the concert, we could have been home by 1 am! These things happen when one/two is/are way over tired! If is had not been so cold, we could have slept in the car.

We woke up to a couple inches of snow on Monday! BUT the road was clear!!! Mostly R did a whole bunch of getting ready for winter tasks before we left AND we loaded some of our good dry firewood into the car - since R has not yet gotten any for Dupont. We backed up to the woodshed,onto the snow covered yard - almost level but not quite! Then - Hey - this car is front wheel drive! (I was thinking of that.) That load on the rear took some pushing, maneuvering, and gravel - some of what washed into the yard in the spring run off! BUT ---WE did it!!

Well, the 30th of October will be remembered! Not least for the concert by a friend of over 40 years - but not seen in almost 40 years. We had a good chat, partly about his lifelong "bestie" whom we had seen on Saturday night - on a better organized trip! We drove from Dupont to the fascinating venue via more rural explorations. The site, near Picton is a very retired - in places falling down - air force base. Efforts are being made to turn it into a cultural centre; the concert venue was very beautifully restored - "Sergeant's Mess".

My recovery from the event of 14 Sept is complete - with very good info from a knowledgeable sound person: "Yes P.A. systems can be set in such a way as to be difficult to understand. There are settings of frequencies that can be altered to make comprehension easier, but if not set correctly, can make voices sound off." I do wonder if anyone else had a problem with that day.(And if some fool told them they had a haring loss!) R found the sound systems in the Sergeant's Mess a bit "muddy". But the combo of lyrics and instrument make it virtually impossible for me, tho I enjoy the instruments - generally... depending...!!

Tomorrow snow tires and general maintenance!

The phone has been close to an ordeal and is not completely set up. But I am hanging in - hoping for the "listen live" feature to be helpful. The vibration is stronger and the ring and other notification sounds are a definite improvement. Still lots to figure out.

Supper tonight... Still a figment of my imagination!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Nov 23 - 07:40 PM

Dupont:

I seem to be in a holding pattern this week: Recovery from weekend, groceries, minimal cooking, final outdoor bit and pieces -almost! Trip for more pastries on Friday, then about five hours in resto with Geri, chatting and trying out the "live listen" feature; it wrote out what we were each saying but some of the words were way off!

I tried out Face Time with #1 son who them shouted at me about my "hearing loss" and frequencies and on and on. Most unpleasant encounter I recall having with him. He is adamant that I need a hearing aid. Geri is also - I found out Fri! But this was the first time I found her voice dim. R listens to me without much feedback.

Hearing vs comprehending - very different. I detest loud noise so do not want anything louder. Still looking at APD and its effects and not yet sure about anything. Not wanting to spend more money on sound altering equipment! Frequencies and the fact that a sound system may be altered ... and if people do not speak directly into the mike... These all make a difference. Most of the time I have no problem hearing at all. A conundrum and the jury is still out - regardless of being browbeaten by my son. I thought he would be delighted that I Face Timed him.

Anyway, the dishes are up to date and there is cooked food in the frig and R might be home tonight --- or not. I have a small struggling fire in the wood stove - the wood we brought is not really dry enough. I need to bring in some kindling from the brush pile. Manana.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Nov 23 - 12:00 PM

Yesterday, it took about 8 gremlins to get me through: two women at the local library helped me print my ballot (to vote on-line in the state of Washington); one stayed on after the end of her shift to meet the goal! Then - my new phone not working at all like the old one - a call to a nice woman in Louisiana (Apple Help - I should have it on speed dial!) enabled me to get pics of said ballot onto an email. Soon, a new email informed that ballot had been received!! YAY! I voted!!
After lunch -at 4PM - I set out to go to a tribute to Leonard Cohen: Totally lost in Montreal, I stopped at a mall where two young fellows managed to pull up a map on that darn phone. This helped me head in a more correct direction but the map disappeared and I was closer but still lost.
I pulled into a side street, stopped the car and got out, intending to go to a shop for help...BUT a young man wearing a motorcycle helmet offered help: looked at his phone, told me to wait while he fetched his cycle, came back and led me to my destination!!!!! "There it is, right across the street. park here! You're welcome!" And he was gone.
It was a great eve! A great day! (It took 34 minutes to get home! I was lost for about 2 hours due to failing to write down explicit directions at home.) All we need are gremlins! Lots of them!!

So, I need more help with this Iphone which is currently more of a hazard than a help. Other than that, preparing -mentally- to deal with snow tomorrow. Hoping my energy level this afternoon will allow trip to produce store. And damp mop the floors (no carpets). The sewing room and pottery (here) are closed indefinitely - until I feel the right spurt of energy.

The woman I sat next to last night told me she loves her hearing aids, "get them, you'll love them!" I suspect they were a new part of her life. She gave me the name and location of her provider; in the same building as the CNIB- so opthamology (sp?) as well, a recently evolving concern. There was very little down time so I never found out why she was so enthusiastic. "Get them; You'll love them!" R commented -to me only - that he doubted that. Also wonder why he said that. She gave me the name of her brother who lives here in Chateauguay. But not her own! I will check out her bro, a reporter for the local paper.

At the end of the evening as the device came along to accept our payments, she passed it to the man across from her, commenting on how handy husbands are! At about the same time I was offering my card to R! (R paid.) Last weekend, I paid the tickets, he the meals; about even. I was surprised by her remark.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Nov 23 - 04:44 PM

We're back!
THis thread didn't like it when I clicked on the number of posts,
but it responded the right way
when I clicked on the "d" next to the number of posts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Nov 23 - 11:27 AM

The threads seem to be rearranged by who posted right now; if you open the whole thing from the title on the left, it's in order. Otherwise, the appearance is unusual.

Sweeping and mopping today and I'll gradually replace clean rugs on the scrubbed floors. Meanwhile I'm drying rugs a couple at a time; they clog up the lint filter fast, despite shaking them out before putting in the washer.

The morning is cool and Zeke is having trouble standing on his own. Once he's up, he hobbles around like usual. I fear his legs will give out before his heart or goofy Lab attitude. It's always difficult losing them at the holidays, but it's also hard on them to keep them around longer than they're happy. So far, he's happy, but rough days ahead. I can boost him up several times a day if he needs help for the time being. As a 70-pound dog I can't carry him more than just the lifting distance from the ground into the back of the SUV.

The afternoon is for taking a friend to a colonoscopy. Best to have it before Thanksgiving because they restrict your diet for a few days prior to the procedure (and the awful prep). Think of the misery of not being able to eat Thanksgiving because of the upcoming exam!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 23 - 12:46 AM

The cleaning continues and has gone much deeper than originally intended. I looked at the shelves behind the trunk with dog food and realized there is a lot of dog stuff there I no longer use and don't need to keep. I ended up moving what I'll keep to boxes under a table (with a shelf between the legs) and removed the small bookshelf. Clears out the doorway and I've had better access to the tile floor that needs a good scrub on that side of the room. Muddy dog feet go in and out of the dog door many times a day.

I still have to clear the dining table and put in the leaves.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Nov 23 - 10:09 AM

Glum, chilly and wet in Stratford — bog-standard for November. I am spending way too much time at my desk working on a grant application for the choir, but the outside world is not at all tempting anyway.

The dominance of American content in the news and entertainment media makes this time of the year particularly bleak in Ontario. It’s just the inevitable slide into winter; get your snow tires on and clean the furnace. The most festive thing on this month’s agenda was detailing the car, which looks and smells brand new all over again.

I have decided to visit the Ottawa-based wing of the kin group at Christmas, and to spare myself the strain and risk of driving (a full day of highway — no mere bagatelle). So I’m booked on the train, where I expect to spend Christmas Day in a post-Midnight Mass doze. The cheapest possible fares are still available on both the 25th and 1 January — who knew? For the record, I am compulsively stingy about fares, always booking the cheapest possible seats by rail or air. In first class the toilets are no better than in steerage, and I would be just as cramped and bored. We all get there at the same time.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 23 - 11:04 AM

Charmion, I pulled up Google maps to look at your holiday trip - at that time of year that's a long drive - the train looks like a great answer. Is there a train station in Stratford or do you have to travel to the depot elsewhere? When I look at this map and see how you and Dorothy are situated I find it astonishing that you two found a way to meet in the middle at one point. (Dorothy has been quiet for a couple of days on Facebook - I hope all is well!) While on the map examining that part of Canada I tried searching for the approximate location of Three Pines. Google has no sense of whimsy or humor.

When traveling by train or plane I always make sure to have a few durable snacks in my bag. My mom took an Amtrak trip across the US and one memorable part was when she had to break her trip and stay in a hotel for a couple of days to get over food poisoning from something served on the train. I'm real picky about the food I eat on trains for that reason. Get by with something you brought yourself if need be.

Recycling, Goodwill, there will be runs today to discharge unwanted materials to the world. It's clear and bright so by this afternoon the lawn will be dry and it will be a good time to mow the front (being careful to avoid the electric cord that runs to the holiday lights down at the bottom of the driveway). The turkey is in the fridge to defrost. Preparations are proceeding.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 23 - 08:39 PM

All runs completed successfully, with a bonus of lunch with my daughter. Books taken to Half Price Books added up to more than the one I bought, so that's a win. Goodwill has one more box to go with a bunch already stacked at the donation door, and village recycling drove me nuts as usual - the bins fill too fast when thoughtless people drop their large boxes into the bins without flattening them.

I unplugged the cord to the holiday lights down by the driveway in order to mow the front yard, then set them back up. I'm hoping that is the last mow of the season, but as warm as it has been I might be mowing into December.

No Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, that's for Saturday, but the ex is coming over for brunch just to acknowledge the date. I'm still working around here cleaning; this evening I'll be moving the electronics and after that can rearrange the sofa and a bookshelf and start a sequence of cleaning then moving things into the space. That'll give me the opportunity to turn the dining table and put in the leaves and start getting it ready to set.

Zeke is 15 today, so I'll give the dogs a treat with peanut butter later to have their own little party. Maybe smear it on some apple slices.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 23 - 11:27 AM

Guerilla decluttering tactics this week: I've shifted the dresser from in front of the closet door in the sewing studio and pulled out some of my daughter's stored stuff (this was her room, then the guest room, so personal things were packed up). It needs to be emptied enough so I can at least walk into the space. This long narrow closet is packed full. She'll be here for our family dinner tomorrow and I found a couple of things she asked about but she is also going to get to poke through a few other boxes and say yes or no to keeping them (and if she wants to keep them, to take them with her after the meal.) When you have a costume designer in the family everything can be a possible part of something else, so all of this stuff has been waiting for it's 15 minutes of fame in some convention, contest, or historically-based event.

This was a break from the cleaning in the den; there is plenty more to do in there. It was trash day today so a lot of the dust and dog hair I've swept up this week exited the building. The Goodwill bin contents were donated so is ready to accept any of the still usable stuff my daughter decides to part with. It's about a 30 gallon capacity (to visualize the volume) so if I could get that much out of the closet I could walk in a couple of feet. Yup. It's that full.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Nov 23 - 04:15 PM

I'm procrastinating on the minutes of the choir board meeting, which I can barely look at without going all grey in the head. There's also an executive meeting to document, and the weekly newsletter to write, and I don't wanna do any of it.

But I will. Sigh.

It snowed this morning, so this is the day when I really must put the snow-brush in the car. The buttons are coming off my boiled wool coat, just in time for winter, so I took it to the tailor shop. Sure, anyone else would just do the job herself, but my fingertips have lost so much sensation that handling a needle is really difficult; also, I can barely see to thread it. Plus I just plain hate sewing, which I think I'm allowed. If not now, when?

Stilly, there is, indeed, a train station in Stratford; we're on the main line from Toronto to Windsor. This town used to be a support hub for the Grand Trunk Railway, and the wreckage of the locomotive shop is still cluttering about two acres of prime commercial land.

Since you like poring over Ontario travel routes on Google Maps, take a look at the stretch of Highway 7 that connects the city of Peterborough and the town of Perth. Near the half-way point, you'll see the village of Madoc, lying south of Highway 7 and north of Moira Lake, bisected by Highway 62. Where 7 and 62 meet, just a tick north of Madoc, Tim Horton's sits on the northwest corner and McDonald's on the northeast corner.

Take a look at what else is there -- not much, right? An Ultramar gas station and an Ontario Provincial Police station. The rest is nuttin' but rocks, trees, bush, and highway.

So if someone wants to meet you at the Tim's by Madoc, there's not much chance of confusion. And Dorothy's car was probably the only Prius in Hastings County that day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 23 - 05:49 PM

I remember looking up Madoc when you two were planning to meet. I also like looking at the map at a scale so I can see all of the tarns/lakes formed by the glacial moraines during various ice ages. We had some places like that in the Western Washington area that were visited by glaciers, but nothing like north of the border. Damn, but Canada is BIG.

I've moved a large mirror and am about to move the television. I have a lot of wires to reposition, and it seems I don't have any long pieces of coaxial cable here (to run to the TV from the antenna outlet on the wall). Hmmmm. I might have left a piece up in the attic after that work last spring. After that I can move the low table the TV was on, a bookshelf, and the sofa (revealing more dust as I go. I'm wearing a COVID mask as I work.)

Cranberry sauce will be made this evening and I'll peel and cut some of the root vegetables for baking tomorrow. Crock pots will be deployed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Nov 23 - 09:26 AM

“Damn, but Canada is BIG.”

That’s a central fact of our lives.

Perhaps the greatest social divide in this country is the difference in world view between people who grew up in cities, with all their conveniences and problems, and those accustomed to life in the sparsely settled — or unsettled — regions north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It’s hard for a Torontonian, for example, to grasp the sheer rage of a guy from the bush when he’s told that his pickup truck is a luxury the planet can’t afford.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 23 - 11:44 AM

And even as indigenous areas are carved out, they are so far removed from those cities they might as well be on Mars.

It would, of course, be the morning of the big meal when I picked up a dog bed and realized it has quite a puddle in the middle of it. Of you know what. [sigh] Covers quick in the washer, foam "memory pads" in the tub to soak in the shampoo I use when bathing the dogs. And I'll squeeze them out enough and move them somewhere else to dry before people start arriving. And mop that spot in the den, again.

At least the friend I've been cat sitting for has decided to come home mid-afternoon today, no dinner run to cut into our dinner. Usually it's three trips a day, but I compressed two this morning. One cat gets a medicine that must be administered an hour before or after meals (when other medications are mixed in). So he gets the first med, then while waiting for time to pass I do some of my exercise videos I can stream on the phone. Win/win. When the fitness app asks what other exercise I've gotten in the past 24 hours I have to choose "Other" since housework and moving bookcases aren't on the list they offer. Case in point: I relocated the shelf with four linear feet of old vinyl albums from the kitchen to the den. Meaning I had to shift all of those albums from that bottom shelf to stacks in the other room and then move the shelf, then put them back on the shelf; there's no moving the shelf with that dead weight. So - picking up vinyl albums 2X counts as a workout!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 23 - 08:41 PM

The annual Thanksgiving workout has concluded and there are leftovers but I managed to send quite a bit home with guests. The dishwasher is running and the laundry basket has a heap of napkins, dust cloths and dish towels. No one seemed to notice all of the changes as far as furniture placement, but I've had things in these positions before so I suppose it isn't anything to remark on. I'm glad to have so much dust out of here.

Tomorrow - the new sewing machine awaits!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 23 - 12:18 PM

Dog beds, part two. They soaked and kind of rinsed in the tub, but are still wet and heavy. Transferring them to the washer was a bit drippy and took a couple of tries to equally distribute them—they're now running on ultra hand wash with the most amount of water in the tub and I'm hoping the spin cycle simply dries them and doesn't shred them.

The day after a big event is so nice in the house, when surfaces are clear and floors are swept and mopped and rooms are tidy. Not all rooms, but some rooms. My daughter brought stuff to me to redistribute; some to the village recycling and some to Goodwill (in a closed box - should I look or just hand it over?) I didn't get to cooking the roasted vegetables yesterday, so now have a bin full of stuff I'll be using in the next weeks. I bought Brussels sprouts for my daughter, but I'm not a huge fan. My best bet is to meet her for lunch this week and hand them over.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Nov 23 - 02:30 PM

Hand it over, Stilly. You know you should.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Nov 23 - 09:32 PM

Beaver:

I have resigned myself to the fact that my life is now owned and run by Apple. The Live Listen worked nicely during our Thanksgiving Facetime session - two sons, one grandson and respective partners at Troy's home. I asserted: "I will call you at 10 and YOU can figure out how to turn it on (answer it?)!" All engineers except Julie, who is a smart cookie, had a great laugh over my struggle with Apple. Actually Troy is not an engineer but a retired Air traffic controller- close enough!

But telling them about my recent trip to Madoc -- yep - that Madoc! I considered gas before I left; there is no gas between B-croft and Madoc. I overestimated the gas in the tank; underestimated the distance, and realized I was not going to make it - even to Eldorado, just a bit north of Madoc! I made it through the zillion km of "nowhere at all" and every time I saw signs of life I thought -I should stop there... Finally, I did.

"Do you have any gas I can buy?" He checked 3 cans - Empty! He thought a moment and said - just leave your car here and we'll take a can to MADOC! - 15 km.

I was concerned about the woman who was waiting in Eldorado to sell me a bunch of her "Table Soups"(on FB)- my way of trying to eat well. I had told her I would be there in half an hour--- I now realize that although I can get to Madoc in 50 minutes it was now near an hour! She phoned while we were acquiring gas. And Sir Galahad said - well we can stop in Eldorado on the way back!

We did that. Michelle met a neighbour- Jeff, who makes his own soup! I got my dozen packets of soups and Jeff deposited me back at my car - "Just do something nice for someone and have a Merry Christmas!"

As for "the only Prius": There was a Tesla charging at the gas station!

I once had a poster: "I'm TIRED of these learning experience!!!"

Did I mention that I DID manage to change the time on the Prius - good youtube!

I bring in firewood and not much else, groceries, visits, bought R two nice flannel shirts and a pair of jeans at a thrift shop and a nice Land's End jacket for me and a winter coat at two more Tshops. It was so nice the day I left Dupont, I left my winter coat behind! Thankful for thrift shops!

Had Covid shot #6 on Weds and my shoulder/upper arm still uncomfortable - disconcerting but I can bring in wood. House is toasty; snow expected tonight; had one day of freezing rain- a go nowhere day!

Yep! An inch or so of snow on back deck, then "drizzle" expected tonight and temp hovering at freezing all day tomorrow. A go nowhere day. Books to read and plenty of good soup - and other healthy foods. Not breaking anything - in my bod- is what matters!

Charmion's trip to Ottawa is wisely done! Enough energy to enjoy being there, in addition to not dealing with inclement weather. I watch the weather to plan trips back and forth. May stay here until mid December - already renewed books from QC library that were due on 2.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Nov 23 - 08:35 AM

First snow accumulation in Stratford. Game on!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 23 - 12:24 PM

No snow here, but I didn't cover the tomato, pepper, and eggplant last night so the light freeze ended this growing season. I picked a flat of tomatoes and eggplant and a few peppers this morning and they'll get used (the tomatoes will still ripen, none of the produce froze, it just killed the foliage.)

I have a plan to share a generous plate of leftovers with a new friend who probably didn't go anywhere for the holiday; I'll check with her first than pack up a cross-section of our meal to deliver. Since we cooked on Saturday these are still very fresh.

Lots of errands, and I meant to add a couple of things to my list; why is it that I clearly think of a thing to do when I get up in the morning but by the time I'm in the office I can't think of what I wanted to write down on my list?

There may have been previous mention of finding the kids' sleeping bags in my son's closet; he wants his extra-long LLBean bag but the older White Stag bag that was my daughter's is apparently the same vintage she already has, so it is staying here. Instead of donation, it will visit the commercial laundromat for a wash and dry (the instructions say not to wash in top-loading agitator machines - that would be mine.) I'll keep it in case of another power outage when it would be easier to set up in the closet on a sleeping pad pallet than the mummy bag I used last time (down-filled and narrow) from my mountaineering days. I'm not worried about a used bag, no cooties from the kids, but it hasn't been used for many years so does need laundering. (In Feb. 2021 when I slept three nights in the closet with the dogs my low thyroid hadn't been diagnosed so moving around was difficult. Were I to do that today, with thyroid topped off and 45 pounds lighter, it would be much easier, whatever the sleeping bag.)

Must get moving, and I think this thread needs some attention, there are a lot of duplicate posts that confuse reading down the list of contributors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Nov 23 - 02:09 PM

Beaver:

Snow, Snow, Glorious Snow! So beautiful coming down and flying around ... Not goin' nowhere today. But enjoying looking out the window. Cleared the back deck and brought in only two large chunks of wood as there is no room for more.

I am realizing/thinking that both eyes and hearing are fading. Back to wearing drug store glasses for some of reading. ... Maybe the clutter will "disappear"! (As I look around to see what else I can un-home!)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 23 - 06:36 PM

On a hunch I messaged a woman I met through our local buy nothing FB group; she isn't very mobile and ended up not going anywhere for Thanksgiving. I asked if I could take over some leftovers from Saturday and she happily agreed. I just returned from dropping off several restaurant takeout containers (we keep them for this kind of use) with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, pie, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Pie and ice cream for dessert. Even sending over generous portions I still have a lot of leftovers.

I need to go to Costco but by the time I was returning from that run it was too advanced into the afternoon - that place gets crowded as people stop in after school or work. I need to go right before closing or right when they open, maybe tomorrow. (Costco sells the big bags of baking soda that I use in the laundry - who knew that I'd ever use a 13 pound bag, but I did, so I'm back for more.) Plus, I tend to avoid shopping on these big shopping days just out of contrariness.

Looking at the first paragraph - the reason for the trip was not to get rid of extra leftovers. I hoped to offer an array of foods to a new friend who doesn't cook these days (inability to stand for extended periods - not because she can't cook). And to express the annual surprise at the excess of food that happens over this holiday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 27 Nov 23 - 06:45 PM

Charmion, I doubt that it will last long.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 11:18 AM

Ever since bunion surgery ~20 years ago I have been very careful when buying new shoes, and every so often I find a winner that I then look for duplicates of. Since I mostly shop the clearance rack at DSW I often have to scrounge to find more of the exact models because I already bought them at the end of their design season.

More about the company (you in Canada may get a great clearance section also):

Our primary concept, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, offers brand name and designer dress, casual and athletic footwear and accessories. The first store opened in 1991 in Dublin, Ohio. Today, DSW operates more than 600 stores in 44 states.

Designer Brands also operates The Shoe Company in Canada, which provides a convenient footwear solution for the whole family, as well as DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse – nearly 150 locations in all.

A few years ago I bought some extremely comfortable orthopedic shoes by Propét (they are sold at Walmart and are very reasonably priced and I probably recommended them here). Then a year ago I bought a pair of Puma running shoes that were slip on or pull on - with no laces, just a big loop at the top of the back of the shoe. I was in need of a cheap pair for gardening (since I had just thrown out the previous garden shoes - even yard shoes reach a point of no return). As has happened in the past, the cheap shoes I got for the yard were so comfortable I immediately regretted getting them so grassy and stained that I couldn't wear them for other uses. I found a lace-up pair with the pull-on loop, but they are harder to get into even if I leave the laces tied all of the time. So today I got the codes out of the favorite shoe and searched the Interwebs. Ebay has the shoe or very close - PUMA Women's Prowl Slip On Training Shoes. They're from previous seasons so are probably clearance priced. In case anyone here is looking for really comfortable shoes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 12:31 PM

Years ago, I resigned myself to full-price shoes, and expensive ones at that. My feet think I’m rich — and European.

The Shoe Company has outlets in Ottawa, Kitchener and London, and I have even visited them a few times. Never have I ever found shoes there to fit my feet, never mind my orthotics or my life-style. They don’t sell the brands I like best: Mephisto and Beautifeel.

It’s been years since I wore shoes that weren’t basically sneakers except for the occasional funeral or concert performance. For those unavoidable occasions, I have a pair of carefully kept black leather Beautifeel pumps with low, broad heels. I can tolerate them for about two hours, maybe three. I bought them about 15 years ago, and they’ll do me for a while yet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 02:41 PM

Sisyphus is alive and well and living in Perth County, Ontario.

For the second time today, and most certainly not the last time today, Neighbour Neil is hard at work clearing his driveway and the sidewalk in front of his house, while snow continues to pour from the sky without letting up even a little bit.

He makes me think there’s nothing good on TV.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 06:18 PM

beautifully said, Charmion.

shoes! My fist physio described me as 'Badly put together, an accident waiting to happen' when I saw her in 1983. I was pigeon toed, flat footed & knock kneed (cute in a toddler, but not so cute at 31.) I heard a Podiatry teacher from our local Technical College talking on the radio & was wearing my first orthotics, & have numerous sets since. I still see the same Physios, tho not the same one as she bought the practice when the founder retired some years back & handed me on to one of her colleagues!

My latest orthotics don't fit in my purple floral sandals so I wore my new leather nurses shoes at a wet festival last weekend - dry feet, but ouch! My right shin bone is waaaay out of place (it's trying to escape over my inner foot!) & as my phyiso said the pain comes from my displaced shin bone (which of course I knew, but it still hurt & I needed to whinge & moan.) A shoe repairer cut the orthotic down a bit so they fit into the sandals, but the right one needs a bit more work as it slides up after a short walk.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 08:14 PM

Those are pretty sandals, Sandra. I like me a pretty sandal, and it will be sandal weather for many months yet.

A year ago I bought a pair of if-they-had-been-lightly-worn-once-that-was-all sandals at an op shop for only $8.50. My podiatrist said it was a great bargain and that they are excellent for my feet, including the twice-fractured right foot. I can't find a pic online as the style is a few years old but they are a metallic finish and are adjustable, a must because summer's heat makes my feet swell.

Oh, the joys of getting older.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Nov 23 - 10:02 PM

We are Offical Olde Phartes as we have passed our (cough, cough) birthdays

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Nov 23 - 08:11 AM

How old is an Official Olde Pharte in Australia?

Canadians still cross the line at 65, but there’s considerable pressure to push that threshold by a few years.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 23 - 11:42 AM

It goes from too hot to chilly very quickly here in my part of Texas, generally without a drawn-out autumn, though this year the heat of summer dissipated slowly enough that we kind of got fall. But now we're into the colder weather it's time to pull out the various lap quilts (several family antique Irish and Scottish wool comforters that are going strong.) When I have these things hanging over the back of chairs and the sofa ready to wrap around shoulders I'm less likely to turn up the heat.

We get snow here every couple of years, enough to bring traffic to a stop (a half-inch will do that). There were two occasions in the last 25 years when we had upwards of 12-18" and I put on the full head-to-toe mountaineering gear (climbing boots with double wool socks, insulated pants, layers under the heavy parka, neck-warmer and wool hat along with warm gloves). I still have all of that here, and a pair of snowshoes from days gone by. In Texas they're a novelty that I should hang on the wall along with my ice axe and crampons. :)

I started using the new sewing machine last night. There is a lot to learn about how to operate the computer settings and which settings I will adjust and save to my preferences. My sewing table has a recessed working area of about 18" x 10" that is 1 3/4" deep, where the sewing machine sits. I find that depression makes it difficult to remove part of the machine working surface that has the accessories tucked inside. In the garage I found a piece of lumber exactly the right length that needs 3/4" sawed off the side and will use the jigsaw to do the trimming. I need two pieces to bring that work area level with the surrounding table but what goes under this piece doesn't need to be perfect or quite as large. For now I used a kitchen cutting board to elevate the machine partway. The sewing table also has a lever that allows the machine, were it to be bolted TO the table, to be lowered into the knee hole and the table wings folded closed over the top. Since deploying that without the machine attached would be a catastrophic drop, I'm also going to bring in a piece of wood shaped to wedge into the lever to prevent shifting it by accident. There are some clever sewing tables out there and new ones cost hundreds of dollars. This lovely thing was $40 at Goodwill and after adjustments it will be perfect.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Nov 23 - 01:16 PM

Snow continues today. I don't see anything particularly menacing on the Environment Canada radar map, but it's snowing anyway.

My 2021 VW Golf GTI has many lovable bells and whistles, but there's one I don't love: the "parking assist", a short-range radar system that detects things one may not wish to bump into or scrape. Yes, it's handy while backing into a spot in a crowded parking lot to get a beep that tells me that I'm cutting too close to a very expensive SUV that the back-up camera can't see. At low speeds, however, the radar can't tell the difference between an SUV and thickly falling snow! So, as I pick my way around snow-choked downtown Stratford, the car beeps and whistles at me incessantly.

There's an old joke about a student pilot who pancaked his aircraft on the runway because his cockpit warning systems and the flares fired by the tower crew were so distracting that he forgot to lower his landing gear. In the right wrong conditions, I could be that guy!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 12:58 AM

I cut down the piece of scrap wood (from the stash in the garage) to fit in the recess in the sewing table and found some little furniture sliders to act as feet that were just the right height so when placed into the space the board is level with the rest of the table. I crawled around on the floor working on the underside of the table and screwed on a couple of braces under that movable plank so it now is immovable. And finished one of the masks that has been waiting for attention for ages.

Rain forecast for tomorrow, then warming to a lovely weekend. Mountain cedar pollen instead of snow in the air. The winter allergy season is almost here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 04:17 AM

Charmion - pension age in the land of Oz was 65 for decades & is now gradually increasing to 66 & 67 as we live longer & stay in better health.

When I started in the public service in 1970 I was working with men who had joined during WW2 - they had lived thru the Depression & the War & often didn't live far past 70, now we are statistically likely to pop off the twig in our later 80s ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 06:39 AM

My 2020 Ford Focus Titanium has all those bleeps too. My old one had just a polite reverse sensor which was very useful for parking, but this damn thing bleeps at me all the time, front and rear, even if I'm stuck in traffic next to roadside bushes. It even turns the radio down while it's bleeping. It also has a collision-assist warning sound with a dashboard red flashing light that occasionally goes off when there's nothing going on in front of me. After 15 months and a lot of bleeps and flashes it's yet to give me a genuine warning that I'm about to crash. And my "intelligent wipers" are anything but. Progress, eh! End of mini-rant...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 09:42 AM

Steve Shaw — so it’s not just me and my wheels.

The first time the bleeping beep problem arose, I was in a white-out on Highway 401, the trunk road of southern Ontario. Now, a white-out is quite unnerving enough for any motorist, but it’s a true sphincter test in three lanes of near bumper-to-bumper traffic on an autoroute with a speed limit of 100 kph. And then the warning beeps started. If I had not understood how that proximity alarm works, I would have been utterly terrified.

Germany has snow — I’ve seen it and driven the autobahn in it. How could VW’s designers make such a stupid mistake?

Likewise Ford.

Maybe they’re following the fashion industry example and designing only for an ideal client — and she lives in California.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 11:47 AM

Vehicles have exceptions - I know I've had a button to push when I'm towing to set the transmission in the proper frame of mind. It seems there should be a "snow button" to touch when you're in those conditions. If someone invents it maybe you'll make some money (once you fight with the automakers to prove it was your invention in the first place - I used to go mountain climbing with the guy who invented the intermittent windshield setting - who fought automakers for years before he got some cash.) Meanwhile, consult the owners' manual and see if there is a way to change the settings or disable it easily.

The house was spic n' span for Saturday's dinner and now the dogs have the den close to forest floor status again. [sigh] They got the last of the mashed potatoes as the vege part of the breakfast this morning, topped with a lovely asparagus accent.

Work in the garage was easy, saw and drill put away again, but reminded me that I need to finish organizing all of the boxes of screws and nails - they're now in order on the workbench and need transfer back to the shelves. I forget what I was working on when I pulled them out (maybe the attic work last spring?) They're blocking the workspace at the moment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 12:31 PM

Stilly, after the 401 incident, I spent literal hours trying to figure out how to lose the beeping proximity alarm without also turning off the other driver-assist features, including cruise control and the back-up camera. The short answer is “Invent a snow button”.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Nov 23 - 01:13 PM

There you go - a project for your retirement years!

While waiting for my cuppa tea to brew I thought "how long can it take to clear the workbench?" The answer is, not long, and the tea was good. I arranged the screws by their indoor or outdoor use and then by size, along with the nails. They were already set up by diameter (6, 8, 10) and the shifting was easy. The workbench looks so good now and the stuff for the lawnmower tune up are in place for one of these days (they were buried by the screw boxes).

It's a rainy day and I'm going to treat myself as a fair-weather driver. Since we haven't had rain for a couple of weeks the grime on the road is slick, so if I go out I won't go far. Recycle bin and Goodwill seem reasonable, and nothing more than a mile away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 23 - 01:31 AM

December 1. This year flew past quickly (especially in comparison to 2020, which crawled at a glacial pace).

A new dog bed was ordered today, a large and expensive one with a cover that Tractor Supply suggests might not be ripped up by the dog who rips up dog beds. This will complement the ones here already and possibly outlast several of those. There are a couple that need to go away once a new one arrives.

Laundry, dishes, and sweeping are finished and I hope to maintain the current tidy level for a while. Can I keep the dust and clutter at a minimum during the holidays? It's a personal challenge.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 01 Dec 23 - 06:51 PM

Charmion, the idea of a "snow" mode for the driver assist systems is good and you should communicate it to VW Canada.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 23 - 01:13 AM

I love the idea that a conversation here on Mudcat to do with the racket of a misfiring safety system should lead to actual improvements in the functioning of that system (if you go ahead and contact the manufacturers).

After a pleasant hour visiting with friends from the university English Department (and the gift of a pricey museum exhibit guide to a retired friend who specialized in the topic of the book - it was taking up space at my house) I returned home and called a couple of friends. One conversation convinced me that time travel is possible - because we were comparing notes on a lakeside community that we knew 60+ years ago that no longer exists, but I know we both had fully-formed images of that landscape in our minds eye as we talked and laughed. And the startling realization that she, who is 11 years older than me, knew my grandfather (who died before I was born). The idea that there is anyone on the planet still who knew him, who can share any information about him had simply never occurred to me. And she has an older sister who will remember even more. A door to the past opens. . .

The funniest part of the conversation - and I fear my friend thought I was choking - but was the memory of living with her mother for a couple of years while I was in college. Her mother spent most of the time with her 90 miles away, caring for the grandchildren while she was in graduate school. And upon return to the house (where I fed the pets and kept things it working order), we were both working at the dining table on our writing. On her side of the table was her typewriter surrounded by the research for her history of that area around the lake, and as she finished typing a page it was dropped into a cake pan. She called it her "half-baked book." And on my side of the table were my school papers and my typewriter. My laughter erupted when I described dinnertime; all of our stuff stacked on the table but we each kept our typewriters on placemats, so at mealtime we could scoop up the typewriters and move them over on top of the papers, making a space large enough for a plate and silverware.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 23 - 06:17 PM

Today I mailed a letter to myself, with my ex's address as the return. I told him to let me know if it ends up over there, but mostly I'm interested to see what happens these days when a letter is forwarded. In the last five weeks there hasn't been a single mailpiece with an indication that it was forwarded. "Electronic notification requested" on any piece of commercial mail means the USPS lets the sender know the new address, and it may also mean they toss the mail piece and a new one is generated by the sender. But that is just a theory. For everything else, like holiday cards from individuals, does it get the old yellow forwarding sticker or has it changed?

Quiet day in general. The wreath is on the front door and a box of lights are out for consideration for stringing on the front porch in a stylized tree-shape (triangle) after blown out bulbs are replaced and if I can find the light-sensor timer plug (I set at dusk to dawn). The nursery at the end of my street becomes a holiday store this time of year and has spare bulbs by the case or small box, mix or match, etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Dec 23 - 10:33 AM

Heading out to run errands, including the sleeping bag to the laundromat. Taking along reading material and a gob of quarters. Assuming those are still the payment of choice and the businesses aren't using bill machines on the washers and dryers now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Dec 23 - 11:15 AM

Chores and relocation of tools and devices today. The 1941 sewing machine is coming home and I'll see if I can measure and do a little work with a coping saw to fit it into the table of an older White. This will allow me to step down the machine from that table and also another newer one (for a friend or eBay). But as far as tools go, there is still the huge tree root to remove.

I suppose everyone here has had some task that needs a specialized tool, then either inventing that tool or figuring out what tool has already been invented to tackle the job. Prior to yesterday's power nap I was considering this 12" to 14" root removal and thought perhaps a sharp chisel that could be hammered down across the face of it (after digging to expose it). What to call that chisel and how wide should it be? I have several hammers already (and a chisel for breaking concrete but it is too dull for this.)

Not only did I find chisels that will work, there are many fine woodworking tools and it would be an offense to the woodworking community to misuse their beautiful tools. And as an aside, this site with more specialized hammers than I ever imagined.

The Big Box stores have several chisels that will work and have a solid rod through the handle to withstand hammering. But then I strayed into what looks like it would work except for the skinny rod (handle) and realized these are "scaling" chisels and go into electric rotary hammers and are for removing old thinset. Oy. A huge job I have contemplated for years - how to remove the old tile and the adhesive under it. The is an answer before I had asked that question. There are tiles I put down that have cracked over time from the shifting foundation. After I get the foundation repaired, that may be a job I'll tackle, twenty-plus years after first putting down the floors. But back to the root. I think Harbor Freight has a chisel and punch set that will work and they're meant to be hammered (with a protective handle).

Follow-up: what a busy afternoon, but the sewing machine was picked up. They lost my sturdy box and found a case to replace it; I think I can use that case (it's actually a piece of luggage!) to transport one of the machines I plan to sell or ship. The dog bed was shipped to the store free because I expected a big-honker box, but it turns out they do a vacuum pack system that compressed it down to about the size of a lopsided basketball. I opened the package at the store to be sure it was what I ordered.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Dec 23 - 06:00 PM

Five days and still no sign of the letter I mailed to myself at my old post office box address. I'll give it until next week on Monday then ask them to go look in the old PO box and see if stuff is in there, nothing appears to be forwarding properly.

I have a lamp that needs a new shade and the weighted base has crumbled. It's a pole lamp that otherwise works fine. I'm torn between offering it up as something that can be fixed (technically it works, it is just wobbly and ugly). Maybe the split the difference answer is to stand it beside the garbage can tonight and see if anyone picks it up before trash pickup in the morning.

Charmion, are you making fruitcakes this time of year? What else are people cooking for the holidays? I'll be baking breads and cookies soon to put on plates and share around the neighborhood and a few regular volunteer places I go.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Dec 23 - 06:39 PM

Yes, Stilly, I have undertaken to make at least one batch of fruitcake (three loaves). But every time I think I’ll hit the Bulk Barn for the ingredients, I realize I have to do something else first and somehow never go shopping. Each batch takes two pounds of currants and two pounds of other dried fruits, so it’s not the kind of thing to be whipped up from pantry staples.

After the Messiah concert. I’ll get to it then.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Dec 23 - 10:59 AM

Beaver:

Monday, I woke up feeling "good" - rather than get out and push - who cares - for the first time in weeks. I did a bit of sorting in the studio - where I have not ventured in weeks. And again on Tuesday. Both were short stints due to 1. A friend of R's phoned to talk about hearing devices and the brain/ear connection - the frequencies we can lose for various reasons, which could have caused that dreadful event. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Then neighbour Larry visited for a while. Always nice.

Tuesday, I phoned #2 Son to wish him a happy 64th! He spent considerable time giving me a pep talk re Iphone - You just need to know which button to push!!!! It was helpful, tho not much progress was made - except in my head. A little progress in studio.

Today it has been colder and trips to the studio were brief in spite of turning up the heat. I only managed to "melt" a few small lids while trying to moisten them enough to trim - back into the scrap bucket they went! I spent time at the library on the computer and a long visit with friends - at Timmy's. I gave them boxes and bubble wrap I had saved for them.

I have thrown two pairs of pants and a t-shirt in the wood stove - HAH! And sorted my collection of t-shirts and other clothes - making things easier to find.

The Laprinol (lymph tonic) I started taking a couple weeks ago has helped greatly. I am hoping the Spirulina, which I had quite forgotten for a few years will energize me - I think it already is. Must take both very first thing in am. I remember that the spirulina was capable of keeping me awake if taken late in day. Hoping for a better new year - if I can figure out which button to push!

Going up to freezing tomorrow - maybe I can get some work done.

My best everyday shoes came from a thrift shop several years ago; they need help. Maybe the shoe repair man - en route between here and QC... But I may need to acquire a new pair; they seemed to be stock at the expensive online store in New England (#2 son will know!). They are by far the most comfortable of winter shoes - at par with my Birkies for summer.

There is a foot or so of snow in the yard and drive - car just plows through! It may rain on Sat/Sun which will diminish the snow but make everything messier! Then it will freeze... Tuesday is predicted to be an OK drving day.

I have offered rides on this trip east - part way or all the way. A passenger would be a nice change... (maybe?) I will also stop to pick up a supply of raisin/carrot muffins at the Gold Mine, cheese at the factory and peanut butter cookies at a dif cheese factory. R said they were the best he ever had.

R was having a problem with the furnace at Dupont but says it is fine now "and all the plants are watered"!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Dec 23 - 11:02 AM

SRS: hope you put that out last night! Get tough with clutter!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Dec 23 - 01:35 PM

Dorothy, the trash went out last night sans the lamp, but I put a long piece of painters tape on it with information that it works but needs a new base and shade. I may put it out at the curb on Sunday and if it isn't taken by Monday morning I'll unscrew the post and drop it into the bin.

I volunteered to work with the Freecycle folks because they are so slow to approve posts I've given up trying over there. I'm hoping I won't regret this; I've read through their dos and don'ts and am going to learn soon if the reason there is so little posted here is because the group is fairly inactive, or if they post lots of nonsense that never sees light of day.

The combination house warming and holiday gift for my daughter is a new good-sized steel locking mailbox. It will be mounted on a 4x4 post that gets a steel sheath dropped over the top of that before the box is attached (and the post sheath is screwed onto the wood post to keep it all in place.) A determined thief with a lot of time could unscrew things and carry off the very heavy box, but the goal is to have a sturdy box where the several roommates at the new place can all receive their mail. The current standard sized box is a bit small and is vulnerable on a quiet county road. After reading lots of reviews the parts were ordered and are wending their way to her new property. I asked Amazon pretty please to drive the parcels all the way up to the house (they have a very long driveway on some acreage). It's the USPS that won't drive up the driveway. She agreed that they can buy the wood post and get the concrete for the footer, and they will do the installation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Dec 23 - 08:33 PM

Another sleeping bag out of the house; this is an almost unused extra tall LLBean bag. I got smart and took it out of the bag and folded it into a large box and tucked in other stuff (great padding!) The money I spent on postage is a lot less than buying a new bag so it's a good way to handle it.

Recycling dropped off at the village bins and the stuff brought over by my daughter was (ironically) in a box that the sleeping bag in its case would have fit in, but it was kind of light-weight corrugated. It went into the bin (flattened).

I was reading a FB post about a past member of this group having trouble getting out of the house, and it dawned on me that my putting off various things and staying home may be also a low-grade anxiety. Not wanting to deal with the issues that are out there, or dress appropriately for the places (dress for the occasion instead of my usual jeans and t-shirt), etc. Something to consider. I do feel good once I return home and have accomplished something; it's looking forward to that success that may be needed to get one out of the house some days.

On an environmental note, after clearing out the weeds in the front bed next to the porch last spring the resident lizards moved away. They loved to hang out in all of that brush and would come up on the porch and bricks there to hang out in the sun, but with the beds clear and mulched I didn't see many on the porch all summer. I've let some of the undergrowth return and this morning there were two lizards out there, one a Texas Spiny and the other an anole. Welcome back!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Dec 23 - 09:38 AM

Freecycle here is voluminous with many posts.
fyi
For muscular skeletal problems I use what I call hydrotherapy.
A hot, on the verge of feeling cold, throbbing handheld shower spray is directed at the area of concern. After a week of treating a shoulder with an 8 or 9 nauseating pain, a small click was heard and now the shoulder only feels slightly sore without pain. Three minutes is a short treatment and 15 minutes is a long treatment once or twice a day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 08 Dec 23 - 10:19 AM

We need a national/international declutter day where friends and neighbours mobilise to help people whose clutter is getting on top of them.

Any ideas of how to mobilise people, get donations of cleaning and storage supply from the corporates and, probably requiring the most tact, convince people that they need one off help to improve their living environment?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Dec 23 - 11:46 AM

The process of decluttering a home that is in good repair and is simply a bit too full is one thing; houses of hoarders that are health and safety hazards are something else entirely. And both are so subjective that I suspect a neighborhood effort might go awry. That said, I completely understand the impulse. In my town I can drive through pretty little streets with charming small homes that are in need of repairs that are probably unaffordable by the owners. Even to repair and paint the outsides of homes would be a boost to the residents, but how to go about such a program?

There is a home of a friend that I entered a year or two ago and realized they have a real problem. But they are two grown adults with grown children so I'm not going to offer to help. This is me who realized this week that if I go dust now, after dusting just a couple of weeks ago, that the microfilament duster thing will be very effective and get most of this. I wait until things are so dusty that it means frequent trips outside the shake out the contents.

Don, a friend of mine swears by a small portable sauna for aches and pains though it sounds like you're using more pressure on that spot. I'm not a fan of chiropractic but that also sounds like something people go to them for. (Osteopaths used to get the "manipulation" training along with their medical training - and I had a dislocation fixed by a DO once).

Things suddenly got busy here, and that can help elevate the mood during short overcast days, but I'm reminded to not beat up on myself if I don't get everything done at once. Pacing myself this holiday season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Dec 23 - 06:22 PM

Sewing machine sizes and tables and hinges were not standardized, even when made by one company (White). This is my conclusion after comparing three of their machines and two of their tables. I have realized that if I want an interesting carpentry project I could take the top off of the table I want to keep and make a new hole and reuse the existing hinges and supports for the machine I want to keep. It does mean I would finally have to learn to use the router I bought years ago on sale at Sears when I first moved in here.

There are also many different ways to store that model machine (I did a quick survey of the machines and cases on eBay), and one version involves a simple box base that the lid snapped onto. Heaviest carrying case around, but whatever. My goal is to have a machine that doesn't require a lot of setup to use it and set in such a way that I don't need to put it on a table that I'd then worry about scratching.

In the meantime, I have removed the oldest machine from the table I want to keep and will take it in to be cleaned and fitted with a foot pedal instead of a knee lever. I'm not going to test it until then (and the shop will test it for me. There is a receipt in the drawer that shows this 1927 machine was serviced in 2002 so it isn't a total goner.) This will probably go on eBay at some point.

Winter weather is approaching this weekend. I need to do any of my outdoor stuff right now or tomorrow ahead of it. Maybe I can finally put the mower away for a couple of months (until I need to mulch the neighbors' leaves that land in my yard.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 23 - 12:44 PM

Yesterday when walking the dogs I forgot to put my fitness tracker in the holder (hollow band) I made for it (that I tie around my ankle). I tucked it in my sock, but was afraid I'd drop it out and not hear, so we didn't walk as much as planned. I've now tucked a band into the pack I always wear for our walks (with treats and bags for any cleanup). Why tie the tracker to my ankle? Because when I walk the dogs my hands are relatively still holding each leash, they don't swing back and forth in the normal way when walking, and that movement is what the tracker detects.

I have one in my gym bag and one on the kitchen counter to use when mowing, walking dogs, etc. I make them out of t-shirt jersey remnants from making t-shirt yarn on the COVID 3D masks. There is still a lot of that in my scrap basket and it seems to be a good time to make several. This is my own invention and I don't know if anyone else bothers with this kind of thing, so not exactly an ideal holiday gift.

Pint containers of mashed banana, frozen pumpkin, and cranberry pulp (after steaming juicing) are all thawing so I can start making holiday gift bread later today. I'm loaded up with the ingredients and there is room in the freezer so I can store them till I need them. Of course I'm doing this when what I really should be doing is finishing and addressing my holiday letters. My mailing list has shrunk so much I need to keep mailing a few to hear back from the friends who are still alive and can be located.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Dec 23 - 06:32 PM

Beaver:

Two things no longer on my mind: Trying to remember the name LLBean so I can look for something specific there! And the tracker thingy: I have looked for one for my foot as I cannot tolerate anything around my wrist. Now I know it can be done! TY, SRS.

Other than that, had another pep talk today about the business of hearing ad frequencies! Very helpful.

Took a bunch of pottery up to our shop today. Hoping for some sales by Christmas. Went to a church rummage sale and bought a better toaster oven - not sure if it is too large; tomorrow I will bring in the house and try it out. Also bought 4 small bowls; will take them to Dupont and replace some I don't like as well - take to a thrift shop. Also left a very nice redundant coat at the sale.

Feeling better and wondering what was wrong with me, in addition to the trauma of failing to understand 3 hours. Another visit to the church; the pastor said the first 3 rows were iffy! WHY would they do that! He was not interested in being helpful.

The snow is melting and expected rain will reduce the pile. Cleared the back deck in hopes it will get cleaned by the rain. Going back to QC on Weds by way of a few errands.

Managed to find sources for Arnica - coming by purolater and Lymph Tonic which has been a huge help can be picked up in Montreal on Thursday. Apparently, the govt is trying to pass rules about supplements so people are forced to go to non-existent doctors for prescriptions for toxic and expensive pharmaceuticals. Suppliers are holding off on producing in case the govt prevails. Petition is being signed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 23 - 07:39 PM

Dorothy, I would be happy to put a few of these ankle things in the mail for you, if you'll tell me how large your fitness tracker is. (Size of a quarter, size of a half-dollar, size of a modern dollar coin, US coins of course.) Or I could just make some that are a little large but will still tie and stay put on your ankle. I'll share a photo of them over on FB or via Messenger (FB is out of whack right now, but I'll post when it stops being glitchy). Meanwhile, I'm so glad to read that you've been waking up feeling good!

I've figured out a solution to the sewing machine table problem, and solving the difference between two machine sizes will start with a template made to match the machine and it's attachment points (two hinges set into the machine itself). I won't need to take the top apart, I'll fit new pieces of wood in (glue and screw into place) with a couple of supports along the side when putting in a piece to fill the existing hole that is too large. It won't happen right now, but soon.

Frozen fruit and vege have thawed but I need to start this baking project earlier in the day so the loaves can cool and be put away soon after baking instead of staying out on the counter overnight. I'll do this tomorrow starting around midday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Dec 23 - 01:44 PM

The Stratford Concert Choir’s 2023 performance of Handel’s “Messiah” went down-range last night. We tried something new this year: a sing-along, with the audience joining the choir in the choruses. The hall was packed, and the concert was boffo.

I’m utterly beat, and not alone in that. Half the church choir also sings in the concert choir, and of those who do both only three of us managed both gigs. The concert choir conductor is also the church organist, so we had a sub this morning at St James’s.

Properly done, “Messiah” knocks the stuffing out of a singer.

My house is full of cat hair, and I just don’t care.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Dec 23 - 03:00 PM

Beaver:

Shoes are at the cash desk at LLBean in Kingston to be picked up on Weds! Of course, if I had looked carefully, there is still a legible label in the old shoes telling size and origin! YAY!!

I have never even looked at fitness thingies due to belief it had to be on arm. I had to stop wearing a watch about 1982 due to pain in wrist - it is still there but only painful if I touch it with minimal pressure. Now I shall look for a fitness thing.

Today!!!! I threw pots for first time since September!!! Soup cups to be will be trimmed tomorrow and handles added. So great!

A pot of soup is on the stove cooking as I am at library (outdoors), computering. No solar gain but just 32F. Cloudy predicted ALL week and flurries on Weds. I hope the flurries keep to just that!

Found some nice yarn in the cabinet for hat or two? Maybe, if I can find crochet hooks!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 10 Dec 23 - 05:10 PM

Well done, Charmion!

On Saturday evening our ukulele group played for a Christmas carols concert at a small village 15 minutes from town, a mix of fun Christmas songs (although we did throw in one of the https://abcalumni.net/2022/12/10/the-abc-of-australian-christmas-carols/, as did the choir also). It went well, the audience had a good time and so did the performers, but it was a struggle given that we are currently in the throes of a heatwave which started over a week ago and looks like continuing for at least another week. Our ukes didn't like the 38 deg C heat, and I can't say that we were thrilled about it either.

But....it was a fun night!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Dec 23 - 11:11 AM

Jennie and Charmion remind me that I need to sign up for a few shifts at the big light display going on at the local botanic garden. We are essentially human road signs and I offer regularly to take photos of the whole group when there is one photographer clearly going to be missing from their family photos.

A stop at the nearby garden center yesterday bagged two boxes of mixed-color replacement holiday lights for the strings for my front porch (a few burn out every year). And rolls of garden cloth (also called floating row cover) for my daughter the gardener with a new place to put in crops. It helps when you realize the temperature will dip below freezing for a few hours and your tender plants won't survive. This stuff does a good job and is reusable (I'll be relying on it in the spring since the trick these days seems to be to plant the garden as early as possible so you get a crop before the killing summer heat sets in.)

Did I mention that I'm thinking of buying my daughter a clothing rack that I will load with stuff from her closet here and she has to take it all to take the rack home? (That page has some pricey pieces; I'm looking at the affordable commercial folding rack that has a pretty good capacity.)

I hope the shoes are the perfect fit, Dorothy! I've never known of any brick and mortar store or cash desk for LLBean; having lived most of my life in the West it has always been mail order only for us.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Dec 23 - 10:52 AM

I pulled up the URL for a message texted to me by the Nissan dealer last month during the oil change and have noted all of the easy fixes I can do from the recommended list - change filters and top fluid levels. For the rest, I'll find a local mechanic who will do things as I wait and work through them one at a time. I had several places recommended after I complained about the dealer scare tactics. (It was easier when I took vehicles to the Chevy dealer six blocks from here, I walked home to wait and back when the work was finished. But I don't need to start taking my Nissan to Chevy, though in theory I can because they sell lots of models on their used lot. The price at both is a killer.)

This year I have been slow to put up holiday decorations; I usually focus on the mantle, garland resting on the top around the edge then objects set behind it. The TV was moved to the hearth during the latest reorganization of furniture so I may shift my garland to a doorway. Since we never do our gifts and meal on the xmas date itself this stuff would possibly be out into the new year before we meet. (Nothing to do with 12 days, we're all atheists, it's just working around kid schedules. We enjoy the gift giving and the meal together without the religious pomp.)

Got trash out to the curb with five minutes to spare this morning, and included a really ratty pair of yard shoes that I can't imagine sticking my feet into any more. "Yard shoes" is the designation for any pair that is so worn and dirty that their only reasonable use is to slip them on to go out into the garden or yard or sometimes walk dogs. I have a routine now so I don't forget and wear them someplace like work or even to the store, they are placed by a bench by the door where I sit to change into them and out again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Dec 23 - 05:52 PM

Because it's still under warranty, I have to get my car serviced at the VW dealer in Kitchener, 40 km away. That means about spending anywhere from an hour to half the day in the waiting area of their service department. The dealership is on a pedestrian-hostile street with nowhere to go and nothing to do. I always take a book and settle in for the duration.

No holiday decorations for me this year; I just can't be arsed. I'm doing my bit by singing seasonal repertoire wherever and whenever I'm asked, which keeps me quite busy enough. The neighbours have overdone themselves to such an extent that the dark spot on the street that is my house comes as something of a relief.

I have been suffering with sinus headaches again. As a last resort, I bought myself a Neti-Pot at the pharmacy, and I've been using it since Monday. I hate to say so for fear of tempting fate, but I think it's working.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Dec 23 - 10:37 PM

The neti pot trick for me was getting the right amount of salt and baking soda; I mix 2 parts salt to 1 part soda and of that put about 3/4 of a teaspoon into a cup of warm water that is poured into the pot half at a time. It was a lifesaver during that last head cold, soothing and washing out the usual cold kind of gunk.

Walking the dogs this afternoon was a nice stroll around the neighborhood and a loop of the park; the only person we saw was the jerk who came through a gate in the fence at the side of the park and he proceeded to let his dog take a dump, that he didn't scoop. There's another small wild spot on our walk that has similar evidence of similar disregard of the polite thing to do when walking one's dogs. In a state with no rules about who can carry a gun, it just doesn't pay to shout over to the guy to scoop the poop. Get your brains blown out.

This evening I tackled a job I've put off for ages. Months. Possibly years. The little fridge that came from a friend's house (he lost the house to the bank, we moved out a lot of stuff to empty it when the bank offered to pay him to do that) and has sat as the overflow fridge in my kitchen since then. I shift shelves every year and use it for brining the Thanksgiving turkey in a large stock pot. It's an old fashioned type with the little freezer compartment on top and the fridge below, and ice was built up in the freezer and at the top of the fridge area. About 30 minutes of pointing the hair dryer at the small glaciers finally dislodged three very large chunks (and a half-gallon of melt water). I had a large mid-century upright freezer I used to defrost once a year, it was a huge project (it has been replaced with a new frost-free unit). This job wasn't so bad, I only use the fridge part and all of those contents fit into the regular kitchen fridge for the duration. When I look at this little fridge I remember the life that my friend had with his (late) partner and how much fun it was to visit them over there (I took my kids over one Christmas to see the huge decorated Victorian dollhouse on the dining room table - it was magical!) Before his partner became ill and then died, they had a really had a wonderful life, and this little fridge that sat in the interesting bar in their living room is a reminder of those charming days. Who knew; a fridge as memento.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 15 Dec 23 - 09:34 AM

Stilly, if you have the sort of vacuum cleaner with a hose that can be plugged into its exhaust and a crevice tool, you can use the warm air blown out of the crevice tool to cut through the built-up ice and then remove large chunks of it before they melt.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Dec 23 - 11:23 AM

Blowing dusty air from the vacuum (I know the type you mean, though it isn't the type I have) sounds iffy for a food storage unit. The hair dryer does much the same thing with cleaner and warmer air. Directing the hot air to the crevices between the freezer compartment and the larger box is enough that the large pieces of ice eventually fall off. The goal wasn't to melt it all in place, it was to dislodge the chunks. And to be patient. If you try prying ice chunks loose with anything too sturdy (screw driver, etc.) you can pierce the aluminum and kill the fridge. We're talking a vintage handheld Vidal Sassoon Quiet Styler, not a bouffant cap or something less directed. :)

Continuing with baking fancy breads this morning, baking in small pans so I have several small loaves instead of cutting slices from a large loaf.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Dec 23 - 02:45 PM

The weather for the US east coast and north into Montreal sounds like it will be very sloppy over about a 12-hour period sometime this weekend. Dorothy, please don't find yourself on one of your long or convoluted drives during that period! And have R stay home and safe as well!

Two types of bread are finished (soda breads); the next one is the more involved yeast bread called Julekaka. Last year I had trouble getting it to rise properly after running it through the bread machine cycles (on manual then removing dough to shape), so I'll be more hands-on and use the Kitchenaid stand mixer instead. It's a sweet fruit bread (versus a fruitcake) that is more bread than fruit. When I was a kid my mother didn't make this one, but a number of Norwegian relatives did. Mom got a taste of a central European bread called Poteca (pronounced po-teez-ah) that involved clearing a large table in the kitchen and rolling out a humongous flat dough that is then smeared with a crushed walnut mix and carefully rolled from one side to the other (think huge cinnamon roll) then that roll is twisted around itself to create a large crusty bread that when sliced through has beautiful layers of bread and nuts. I like it and will eat it if it is around, but I'm not interested in THAT much work. Julekaka is plenty involved on its own (getting it to rise in the right shape on a flat baking sheet, not in a pan, then ending up with a glossy surface that is drizzled with icing).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 23 - 09:39 AM

Fruitcake finally got made yesterday.

The Kitchenaid stand mixer came out for the occasion, but was not actually as helpful as I thought it should be. This recipe produces the stiffest, heaviest batter in my entire culinary repertoire, and I find it more challenging every year since Edmund died — he used to do the grunt work. For people who genuinely like fruitcake, however, the results are worth the effort.

I do not give fruitcake to anyone who has not said that fruitcake is eagerly anticipated. That would be stupid.

I’ll wrap it for travel this morning.

At noon, I have to be on deck for the Stratford Festival’s community Christmas concert. The soloists are all members of the acting company, backed by the amateur rabble of the Stratford Concert Choir. When it’s done, I’m off the musical hook until Christmas Eve.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 23 - 12:19 PM

I love fruitcake - too much. I can go through a small one pretty quickly, so I rarely ever buy it for myself. There's no "off" switch.

I'm using the last eggplant from this year's garden to make fried breaded slices to take to across the street to the neighbor who loves it. I picked four of them at right before the last frost and have a fresh batch of babaghanouj in the fridge that I made with the other three.

Parcels have been arriving at destinations ahead of whenever our family decides to get together to eat and open gifts. A trick my son taught me - when I use Amazon he's in my address book there and is listed as His Name/My Name on the label, and that means they send me a photo of the delivery. When I had the mailbox delivered to my daughter I did that and was glad to see they honored my request to drive all the way up to the house and leave it on the porch. Their driveway is the equivalent of a couple of city blocks long, and I wanted to be sure it wasn't left at the road where it could be grabbed by a passerby.

Last week I put the new big orthopedic dog bed in the heavy-duty almost waterproof cover on the floor. It turns out the dogs seem to be surfing the tile floor with it. I come into the den in the morning and it has slid up against some or other piece of furniture. I may have to get one of the rubber mats that goes under a carpet runner to keep it a bit more stable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 16 Dec 23 - 10:07 PM

Dupont:

Still feeling good! Left my happy home on Weds morning; stopped at bakery for wonderful muffins, scones and a quart of their wonderful quinoa salad for R; then to the cheese factory, a few miles away, for two 5kg loaves of extra old, white; Then to the shop, a few miles off the highway, that has the "best peanut butter cookies ever" and bought 4 packages for R; then into Kingston to find the LLBean store - with minimal difficulty, to purchase my new shoes after a try-on to be sure the new ones are, indeed, as wonderful as the old ones - They are!! -I wore them all day today and they are as comfy as my slippers! Like walking on air!

After the shoes, it was a straight run for 3 hours to walk into Dupont at 4:02! And unload car, and eat and a short lie down, then start organizing.

Thurs, a trip into an obscure part of the city to pick up lymph tonic - with the help of my phone which had readable directions but refused to speak to me - haven't figured that out yet though today we used it to go about an hour south to look at an interesting property and go to the Farmer's Market - close to each other. The Market venue is an incredible old church in Byzantine style! - so I just spent some time googling it! BUT, the market is tomorrow! I may go back... It is an hour each way...

Trip to the Bakery for desserts and visit with Geri. Will be offering to help her get car repaired - it is far for her and she will need to get home and then back to repair shop - when it can be arranged. No public transport down there.

Laundry is done, kitchen is under control. I managed to get all the goodies into the freezer. Tomorrow is yet to come! We are getting a couple above freezing days and then it drops again, but not a great deal.

At a small craft sale this am, a woman had hats, mittens and more out of recycled wool. Amazingly delightful designs. She gets wool garments at thrift shops and processes it. Her work is beyond "craft" towards art with her use of colours and designs. I got her card and be on the lookout for anything I can give her to recycle.

And I re-connected with an anglophone support group which may offer some interesting socializing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Dec 23 - 09:01 PM

In the doldrums of this season I'm figuring out how to improve my mood. Part of that is that my brain needs new stimulus when it comes to listening and viewing habits. I've switched around radio stations because of an NPR pledge drive this week (and too much xmas music on another favorite station) and I need to do the same thing with the TV.

I have resolved to stop with repeats of favorite programs - for all that they're well-written and acted, they're known to me. I watched a couple of the Jurassic Park movies last night that I hadn't seen before and as gruesome as they are, I find myself thinking back about what I saw and realize part of the funk this winter is that I need new material to think about. So this week I'll pointedly tune in programs I haven't watched before, and catch up on episodes I've missed on others. I also have a few DVD movies to watch that I've set aside for someday and this may be that time. I can also do some of this concurrent with sewing projects.

This week I need to finish any local shopping in preparation for a holiday event with family. And a houseguest who will arrive sometime after the 26th.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 02:08 PM

It's beginning to look like a lot of people will be here on the day when family can come for the holidays, with the overlap of the annual visit by an elderly house guest (who is like family and knows everyone). Enough that I may have to dismantle a major portion of the working setup in my sewing studio to make access to that bed for the smaller old person who will be here for several days. (It has a wooden frame with wood slats holding up the springs and mattress. She gave me the mattress when she moved out of town years ago.) This would leave the steel-frame queen-sized bed in the regular guest room for two larger adults to stay one night in there. Maybe if I pile things on a table and cover it with something there will be less discussion of all of the projects going on in there (and the large amount of stuff that really does need to be donated someplace else one of these days.)

It also means I have to get busy and put out a few decorations for the holidays so they don't think they're visiting the Grinch (before his conversion).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 06:04 PM

I am decluttering myself of a case of COVID-19.
I asked for it, you might say, by singing with a chorus.

The chorus had three Christmas concerts. I sang in two of them.
Two days later, the chorister standing next to me e-mailed me to tell me
that she had just tested positive for COVID-19.
By then I had a cough that was keeping me awake at night.

By the time the vomiting kicked in,
I had tested positive already.

I am fortunate to be in a medical institution where
for a considerable extra amount of money,
I have been put in a room near the nurses' station.
The medication Paxlovid was immediately forthcoming.
Meals came from the dining room.
IN other words, my care could not be better.

In the meantime, my chorister friend who stood next to me sings in
Boston's Tanglewood Festival Chorus, where she says her fellow singers are
"dropping like flies" -- surely she means dropping out, not dropping dead -- with COVID-19.
That's probably where she contracted the virus in the first place.

Choral singins and performing had long been known as a
super-spreader event, and how true it is.

I'm feeling a lot better now, and will be tested again tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 06:12 PM

So sorry, keb. Last year, I caught COVID during Handel’s “Messiah”, and ailed all through December. This year, I have sung in two large concerts (plus, of course, all the rehearsals) and so far dodged the bullet.

For my next trick, I’ll take the train to Ottawa for Christmas and back again. Let’s see if the virus takes VIA Rail.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 08:59 PM

Awww. But good thing you got Paxlovid. My daughter caught COVID last year at a big museum event and the Paxlovid Rx came quick enough that she felt much better quickly. And Charmion, at least you can wear a mask on the train, not something very practical for choral singing.

Keb, what did you sing this year, and are there videos?

I headed over to the gym this afternoon and stayed for my usual full hour workout. Sometimes I've gone in for shorter sessions, telling myself that I'll work up to the long one, but I needed to jump in and keep going. It feels good after, and that's the important part.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Dec 23 - 09:49 AM

Of late, I have developed another irrevocable sign of encroaching geezerdom: this winter, I wear socks in bed.

Full geezerdom is still a ways off, however. If I'm still wearing socks in bed by summer, call me a gone goose.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 23 - 01:25 PM

Charmion, have you discovered the joys of flannel or fleece sleep pants? Year-round I wear various long t-shirts to sleep in, and in winter add the flannel.

My Eddie Bauer heavy terry cloth robe finally wore out and I should have grabbed one of the heavy hotel ones at Tuesday Morning before they went out of business. Terry cloth is hard to sew on with any kind of machine, but I find a couple of colors in stock at Joanns. Searching for a pattern online should be easy at Joanns, they've carried them for years, but it isn't. A random Google search is better, and I see a Butterick one that would work. That I would still buy at Joanns. For now I found a robe on Amazon that seems to be cotton terry cloth and added that to my wish list shared with the family. Making a heavy bathrobe is kind of like making your own shoes or heavy wool coat - best left to someone who does it all of the time with the right equipment. (Fleece and various lighter polyester robes abound out there, but I like the heavy cotton for this, like for bath towels.)

I pulled a couple of pairs of shoes that I rarely wear from the closet this morning. Sneakers I thought I'd use at the gym, but rarely do. Loafers with no cushioned sole, etc. They will go on the Freecycle site. I should try on some of the others that I save for cool weather, to see if they are still comfortable. The hall closet also needs to be visited; any of these things could go to Goodwill also, but I might as well offer them free first.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Dec 23 - 01:31 PM

I, too, wear socks in bed, but not in the summer.

The Christmas program was a long one, I get tired just thinking about everything we sang.
Several works by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, for instance:
A Spotless Rose
Serenity
The Holly and the Ivy
Ecce Novum (with string quartet)

Then there was
Morten Lauridson's O Magnum Mysterium
Hans Leo Hassler's Verbum Caro Factum Est

and arrangements of
Silent Night ("Still, Still Night")
I'll be Home for Christmas
There's No Place like Home for the HOlidays
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Peanuts)

That's all I can retrieve out of the post-COVID memory recall.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Dec 23 - 11:20 AM

Executive decisions help this time of year - figure out how to get something done efficiently and go with that plan. I was perilously close to being swamped with cooking on the day we do our family holiday get together, so I'm going to make one part of it (the holiday gift I make every year for my ex) ahead of time and deliver it so it is out of the way. And the meal for that day won't be takeout (we order it then the ex runs to the places to pick up and it takes a while), but it also won't be the big messy Puerto Rican rice dish we often make. I found a small boneless leg of lamb that I will cube and marinade overnight and put on skewers and grill the day of our family lunch. And with it will be some rice with orzo and spanakopita (I found some frozen at Costco and am hoping they're decent). There will be vegetable sides. If I get to the Halal grocery between now and then I'll pick up some baklava. Now I just have to get a handle on everything else to do with that event. Cleaning and decorating.

I hope Charmion's fruitcakes are well received! I've started delivering baked goods to the usual recipients. This afternoon or tomorrow I'll tackle the julekaka (stollen). I have the fruit I prefer, but I may need a few more sliced almonds, so they're on today's shopping list.

Stay healthy, everyone! COVID is rearing its head and there's a nasty cold still making the rounds. I wasn't the only one wearing a mask in Costco yesterday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Dec 23 - 07:40 PM

Dupont:

R spent the weekend at home! He cleared the current boxes of books from the hallway to the "library". And helped me de-clutter - moral support is good!!! getting rid of boxes and jars!!! I feel lighter! And the hallway is easier to navigate. And no boxes of bottles under the DR chairs! I also did some organizing of the hall closet and took some things out to the garage.

Geri will not be getting the car repaired until after the NY so that is off my mind. R has not yet made a decision about whether we can go to beaver for a few days over Christmas to NY... I shall just go along as though nothing will happen.

Today I went to a "cookie exchange" - totally foreign to me. I put on one of my Christmas sweaters and dangly earrings - stars - found a nice star shaped plate (I hoped someone would love it and could get rid of it!) and bought cookies at an Italian deli.

I was overdressed! But it was a nice couple hours of social interaction, getting to know a bit about the 7 attenders. A very unique experience for me. For them too, no doubt, as I tried to answer their questions concisely! As in "where do you live?"...

Otherwise, mostly on the computer, reading and doing small tasks around the house as I think of them - and feel like doing whatever...

We are celebrating the solstice at the open mike at Mariposa Cafe tomorrow night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Dec 23 - 11:09 AM

Counting down to departure, I'm mentally listing Things To Not Forget. My Ottawa bus pass is already in my handbag because it's easily left behind. A load of laundry done today will ensure that clean underpants are available when I come home. I must -- repeat must -- buy cat food. The cat visitor has been paid.

The big variable is weather. Ottawa is considerably colder than Stratford at this time of year, but how much colder will it be during the specific week when I will be there? Will I need boots suitable for getting about in deep snow? How 'bout the serious mittens and the windproof hat? When I make the trip by car, I can put all that stuff in a just-in-case box that stays in the car if not needed, but going by train I must guess and roll the dice. I'm taking the down-filled coat that has room inside for an extra warmth layer, but should I pack the thick wool socks and the silk long-johns?

Decisions, decisions. Note that fashion and elegance are not on the list of criteria. This is an important part of age privilege.

A major crisis in the family of another member of the church choir leaves me as the only cantor for all the Christmas Eve services. That means packing on Sunday afternoon and an early supper, and getting to bed sometime around two in the morning. VIA Rail's schedule gives me only 39 minutes to change trains in Toronto, so I must also pack a lunch for the trip -- train food is both nasty and expensive, especially in steerage, where I prefer to travel. Another thing not to forget: my Kobo reader (electric book). Also earphones.

Speaking of gadgets, I have given up on my wireless earphones, the Apple kind branded as "AirPods". They never held more than about three hours' worth of juice, and then one decided that it didn't want to recharge any more. They were hideously expensive, and I'm fairly sure that I didn't get even a year's worth of use out of them. Back to the wired kind, despite the cat's delight in capturing and gnawing on the earpieces. He probably thinks he's decapitating a snake.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Dec 23 - 12:04 PM

The mantle is decorated, not with the sparkling red and gold garland twined with faux-evergreen that I've done for several years. This time I put up smaller pieces that have a history and would be lost behind garland. I think there is a string of lights I can add to make it show up better. I've moved a panel of leaded glass (found years ago at a garage sale) that usually hangs near the back door. It is now propped on the sill of a double window and looks really good so I may leave it there. The hook it was previously suspended from is where my basket on a macrame support hangs every year. Small gifts fill it and it is essentially a faux tree (shape-wise). Must find a place to park the Nissetroll to guard it (she is hidden but with a view of whatever serves as the tree).

While pulling out ornaments I decided to deaccession two larger pieces I rarely use; a large glitter globe from the 1990s (I'm always afraid I'll drop it and have glass and water and the broken resin figures everywhere). Also a large but fairly recent and inexpensive nutcracker. I think I used it once. Someone has spoken up on Freecycle and will retrieve them at midday from the porch. Next, list some of the shoes and the light-weight trench coat I never wear (too big).

Meanwhile, I've had an idea for some re-usable gift bags. I'll pick up some holiday fabric today and make a few bags in various sizes. The fabric will have to have enough white or light color so I can use one of the erasable markers to write the recipient's name. They can be ironed after the holiday to remove the names. This occurred to me yesterday when I was over at the sewing machine store for the two-hour tutorial to follow up after the machine purchase last month. It was very helpful! I can use a fancy stitch in a contrasting thread to attach a ribbon tie to each bag, etc.

Safe travels, everyone!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Dec 23 - 01:03 PM

Cleaning the kitchen and I got a new little restaurant checkered tablecloth and rearranging some of the antiques that sit up on to top of cupboards in the kitchen. I'll work out from here; gifts to be wrapped have been moved to the bedroom so they won't be stumbled upon by any recipients here before the holiday. And I've taken bread and cookies to the neighbors on each side of me.

Shoes on the FB page were claimed and one left to be retrieved any minute now. Clearing out a little at a time. I won't list any more till after the holiday, but I have a stash of things growing that will go that route.

Cooking this afternoon. Gift for the ex (a dish his mother used to make), and preparing for the family dinner on Tuesday. More cookies, mostly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Dec 23 - 08:46 PM

Finished the meat part of the empanadillas for the ex, only to realize I'd forgotten to purchase the Spanish olives (pitted, stuffed with pimento). Those were picked up this evening on my way home from cat-sitting, and the dough for the crust part of the Puerto Rican meat hand pies will be made tomorrow. Assembling them involves rolling out golf ball size pieces of dough, spooning some of the meat on half, adding a couple of the olives and some extra pimento, then wetting the edge, sealing with a fork, and placing in shallow oil to fry. I was tired enough after all of the work to produce about a quart of the meat filling today that we're ok with leaving the rest till tomorrow. He'll come back for them or I'll drive them over to his house.

I'm still picking up around here, and more of the same tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Dec 23 - 09:27 AM

Adulting today; showered early, headed out to feed cats (after posting the last of the social media for a couple of days on a job site) and going to the gym between morning feeding and separate medication stops at the cat house. Once I get home, it's nose to the grindstone to finish clearing up for the family event on Tuesday so on Monday I can work on preparing parts of the meal ahead. The mantle is looking good and there is a pretty library table to hold lots of gifts under a long holiday windsock that I put up on a high hook (it would probably blow away if I tried to use it outside).

It is pouring rain and is in the 60s today with the forecast for the rest of the week is high-50s. It is officially a strange winter. The end of the El Niño.

Safe travels to Charmion and Dorothy and the lurkers who drop in. We haven't heard from Jon it a while - how are things at the house with your parents? I hope the siblings have come by to visit and help out. (Now to drop in the Mudcat Tavern and see what ducks and cats and ghosts and squids and all are up to.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Dec 23 - 11:57 AM

Dupont:

Went to "Saturday BF" yesterday. Sat across from two Leons; the one with a fancy hearing aid showed me how it works and encouraged me to get a hearing device. The other kept saying, "You don't need a ..." I could hear him perfectly but not the other one very well - same distance, same background noise... Some people I hear perfectly, others... I will check it out in the New Year. Frequencies!!!

We are having Christmas supper with Cousin Doug and family. I asked R to ask Anne if we could bring dessert - so I would have something I like to eat! I doubt he has done so.

But this am he informs me he has a turkey! I guess I will cook it on Tuesday? "It's in the car - frozen" With the outdoor temp on the cusp of freezing ... Oh, yeah, the car is in the city... I did not yet ask where he got this turkey... He is having a quiet Sunday in bed. He needs it.

When he came home last night, his clothes looked as though he had been rolling in a dump. "Sawdust" "Sawdust is toxic too! ...Take them off and put them in the washing machine.... NOW!" "I want to eat." I blew a stack - "You do not go in the kitchen with those clothes"... and he took off the outer layer, agreeing to take a bath after he ate. I got up about 6 am and turned on the machine, and back to bed and put them in dryer about 8, took them up and dumped them on bed about 10. He said TY for each effort!

His Mom and Dad were both environmentally sensitive; He knows but refuses to behave accordingly -for me. Gotta get tough! ...tougher!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Dec 23 - 10:24 PM

Two afternoon's worth of cooking are finished and two dozen Puerto Rican pork empanadillas were handed over to the ex this evening. Filling made yesterday, dough and made into meat pies today. They are good (we each ate a couple in the process). That was the biggest cooking project for the holidays, and doing it now means our family event on Tuesday will be easier, just the meals for that day and nothing else.

Thunderstorms overnight and lightning in the distance tonight - this is more fall than winter weather. Driving around this morning was in pouring rain; the sun came out this afternoon. It was clear this evening when I went out to feed cats dinner. On the way there most stores were closed but a Family Dollar was open and I was able to get five pounds of flour. Good save - I ran out this afternoon and need it for our pancakes (or maybe cinnamon rolls) for our holiday breakfast.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Dec 23 - 12:17 PM

This morning I unboxed an indoor/outdoor laser decorative light thing I bought years ago on sale and never used. Turns out I can set it up on a table and it will do nice things light-wise on the ceiling. It's set up for our get together tomorrow.

Scrubbing kitchen counters after yesterday's dough-rolling, preparing to make one more batch of cookies, and to do a lot of wrapping (including sewing gift bags). Meanwhile, dog beds in the wash have brought up the "uL" light (unbalanced load) and several attempts still haven't got it spinning right. These beds will have had a lot of rinses by the time they're out. I'll mop the den before putting them back. (We're about to the point where the Lab gets to wear diapers - because he's deaf he sleeps so soundly he sometimes doesn't wake up to head out when he should.)

Bright as can be today, and cold. That's as close to xmas weather as we usually get.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Dec 23 - 09:51 PM

Taking the holiday meal in a new direction was a success - everyone enjoyed the grilled lamb souvlaki along with related Mediterranean items - rice with orzo, spanakopita, yogurt sauce, etc. The most work for this meal was last night when I cut up the lamb and made the marinade. In the past we've made one of several Puerto Rican dishes or ordered takeout.

Not all gifts have arrived yet so will be delivered later in the week. Tis the case these days - but it means that when I meet my daughter for lunch with the book for her partner she will return the pie pan that she took with her this evening. Our history of pie pans is storied, and quite a few have disappeared into the abyss of her house. I keep several extra pyrex pie pans just for these swaps, though today she transported the leftover pie home in her father's pie pan.

Houseguest arrives on Thursday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Dec 23 - 09:31 AM

Yesterday during our holiday dinner a friend picked up a cookbook of "knockoff" recipes and read out one that is kind of depressing: you can make your own "decaff tea" by using any caffeinated tea in the following manner: when the water is on the boil, pour it over the tea and let it steep for 30 seconds. Pour away that water and then use more boiling water to brew a cup. What remains is the decaff part, and it is what I always feared - it is where the flavor went as well.

Lovely bright day today and is my gap between festivities; yesterday's family event means the house is tidy for the next arrival tomorrow, but I have to distribute a few extra xmas cookies so we don't eat them all ourselves. Last day of cat sitting so I'll leave a bag at her house, for starters.

This month I've been back at the gym more consistently (and my knees are happy about that!) but the library book I was listening to ran out before I could finish it and there was a hold so I couldn't renew it. I think the best thing now is to check out the digital text and simply read the last few chapters since that one is available right now. I started another one in the meantime but I can already tell it is going to be a long slog, and possibly a bit depressing. #FirstWorldProblems

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Dec 23 - 11:31 AM

OMG you're gonna be like Dick Van Dyke one day. You will dance the night away.
"If you stop moving you are done for" said the octogenarian.
Longevity is not the goal but quality of life energy. After all even a thoroughly melted lump of Henry Kissinger still hit 100.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Dec 23 - 12:32 AM

Yesterday and today were the calm days between storms; the family gift giving and meals were Tuesday and this evening a guest arrived for several days. I haven't had a chance to do some of the more recreational things that would have been part of the holiday (making cloth gift bags) and I still have to finish my holiday letters—now New Year's letters.

The spectre of the accumulation of thrift-store items in the front room is looming - the boxes and envelopes and packing materials that should be managed are bulging into the front hall. It will be my big chore in 2024 to restart listing those items in an efficient and frequent manner. (eBay is reporting sales as income over about $400, so I need to keep track of what I paid for things before I sell them. Paperwork.)

Meanwhile, or adjacent to that work, I had an interesting conversation at a holiday party this week with a woman who works at an estate sale business. There is so much that goes into pricing - and whether the items are in prime condition or need work - selling them at wholesale or retail prices accordingly. It's the same on eBay, where scarcity is a factor. Too bad bread machines are passe (I read that in Martha Stewart Living this week) - I have several to list, but eBay is stuffed full of them. But other things I have that they aren't overstocked with. (I played with the sentence and couldn't get past ending with a preposition. It isn't really a problem, but the English major rules die hard . . . )

My guest is snugged in the front bedroom (she loves that firm mattress and all of the pillows) and I'm wrapping up my day. And year. I seem to have at least one resolution (but in the continuity of activity here it is just another day, not another year.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Dec 23 - 02:39 PM

When you have a few hours to yourself in a busy week the computer isn't the best place to spend that time, but I had a couple of things to look up this afternoon. Mudcat in general is pretty quiet this week, so that people being busy doing other things seems to be the norm.

My friend who is staying has been looking for some real cloth handkerchiefs to keep in her pocket to dab her nose. I have some linen that is the right weight so if I can find it I will get out the old White Rotary 1941 machine with all of its wonderful hemming feet and other fancy attachments and do a rolled edge hem on at least a couple of hankies, then I can do some fancy stitching for initials with the new machine. It may have a rolled hem foot, I'll look, but I have used the old one so often over the years it's the best technology for this job.

It's a super bright cold day again, that seems as close to winter as we will get this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Dec 23 - 04:15 PM

Turns out in my sewing room I had several cotton men's handkerchiefs (I had a dozen or more at one time but used them to line some of the earliest COVID masks I was making - they went to a good cause!) The three I'm giving her will suit better than the lightweight linen I was thinking of using, but I wanted to use the new machine to embroider on her initials and there is a learning curve. I also needed to stabilize the fabric (after looking up homemade starch I found a folder of Solvy water-soluble stabilizer) but then still had to practice setting the machine up for embroidery and do some test stitches on scraps.

Doing this as a surprise is not easy when you have a curious house guest, so I sent her out with my ex to visit the museums (they do this every visit) and I have just finished the hankies and put them in the wash to remove the stabilizer and any of the disappearing ink I used to mark the position to sew.

The sewing machine tutorial from a couple of weeks ago was helpful, though I still have one part of it to figure out. I have the old White Rotary that I bought at Goodwill to take in for a new foot pedal and to be tuned up, so I'll ask her at the same time.

It's about time for a new declutter thread. It's going to be a tough year politically, getting on all of our nerves, so turning inward and working on self-improvement and creative projects will be a good distraction and contribute to better mental health.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Dec 23 - 10:04 PM

Handkerchiefs happily received!

Making dinner I had my usual things on the counter (I've kept a cutting board and ceramic knife handy for cutting up fruit and vege to encourage me to eat it more) but my friend kept looking for a knife to do things that were liable to break the ceramic so I finally took that and another one away from her and gave her a very sharp steel knife. Oy. She must think I'm paranoid - but I am - when you read the reviews those knives have their proper use and they don't get used on plates or to pry things or cut frozen stuff, etc.

I hope everyone is having a great last weekend of 2023!

Dorothy, how is Montreal? Charmion, how is Ottawa? Everyone else, especially our lurkers, how are your homes and environs?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 Dec 23 - 02:06 AM

It's 6pm on New Year's eve & I'm battened down. I popped into the supermarket earlier as I'd run out of eggs & a few other things - $51 later I leave. Lotsa' folk were buying ice & other stuff to bring in the New Year - I'm sure the sellers of alcohol were also busy!

My neighbour works in suburbia (we live near the harbour) & reported trains into the city were packed, everyone is heading to a good spot in our little piece of paradise to watch the 9pm & midnight fireworks, & rain is expected!

But we are in our apartments, I'll be working on the archives of Australia's oldest folk club which turns 70 in October & will of course hear both sets of fireworks & the roar of the crowd(s) & will be sipping on my favourite drink, vanilla malted milk & might even have a buttered crumpet!

Happy New Year!

referring to the topic of this thread - as I've pulled out lotsa' archives & piled them around the scanner, I have to step carefully!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 Dec 23 - 08:02 AM

the 2024 New Year fireworks are booming! so too are the crowds ...

Happy New Year

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Dec 23 - 03:54 PM

Thanks, Sandra! Here in time for the New Year in the US:

DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024