DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

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.