DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Donuel
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 09:41 AM

They also make nice backgrounds for zoom.

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Charmion
Date: 18 Mar 23 - 01:50 PM

Okay, okay. But not now.

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: 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
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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.