DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 09:03 PM

Stilly, at what museum are you volunteering?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 11:59 AM

Testing the Malwarebytes VPN. My cookie is established at Mudcat; there was no difficulty being recognized. I'll have to try different sites. So far, so good. The plan lets me activate five devices. The phone connected easily, the operation seems straightforward. When I surveyed some reviews of this software the first one I listened to was from three years ago and was a video by a VPN user looking at what he considered a new program. He liked the background software called "WireGuard" as it's main protocol. At the time they had 245 servers around the world, now when I set it up they have 500. He talked about it not having some of the extra things other VPN providers offer (such as allowing streaming torrent), but I want a bare bones setup, I'm not doing fancy things with the connection. No torrent needed. Here is the Get Started page from Malwarebytes Privacy if anyone wants to look at it. I'm thinking Patty would be a classic user, with all of the networks you encounter in your travels. You may have beat me to this point a long time ago. Dorothy with her parking lot library WiFi browsing, also a good candidate for a VPN.

I used to use CISCO VPN from the university when I worked from home, and it was pretty straight forward but was only on the device I was using to telecommute and didn't offer any of the options or easy access that this does (10 years later - so - stone knives and bearskins compared to now.)

Of course, since I started this I found the Windows 10 VPN; it's a lot different and not as easy to figure out. Windows tells me that if I have a VPN I need a VPN profiles on my PC to get started. I think this is using the Windows setup (and I see when I click on more information it goes the Edge and Bing and thinks I'm connecting through my University account.) I'll have to make sure that Windows isn't interfering with the setup.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 12:13 AM

Today I cornered the Labrador retriever and started using the faux-Furminator to brush the coat he has blown. Tons of hair, I can only make one pass with the device before knocking a wad of hair off in the bag I have positioned for this work. His hindquarters are so weak that I hold him up under the abdomen with one arm as I brush (though when he's lying on the floor is best, because I can roll him around to reach more places). This will take several days of work because if I am too insistent about doing it all at once he'll start avoiding me. He is a happy old guy despite being deaf and arthritic. He loves eating, he adores getting fruit or vegetables in with his dry kibble, and loves the treats the nextdoor neighbor gives the dogs each morning. As long as he is enjoying life we will live with the other stuff.

This week I start a push to finish the fence, first by painting wood preservative on the pickets for the next panel. My friend's last trip out of town (and my cat sitting for her) paid for the rest of the fence project. When I bought the preservative I had an interesting conversation with a guy in Home Depot who was comparing brands - he has a wood floor in his house he wants to use wood preservative on. That sounds like a mistake, but I can't say for sure. He's trying to solve a problem, so he gets points for that.

On Weather Underground the 10-day forecast has six of those days at or over 100^o. This is early in the year for so many hot days. We take them one day at a time now, keeping things alive, keeping enough water on the foundation to prevent the house from crumbling, keeping the garden alive, and letting the toads enjoy a few spots of water. I put a couple of terracotta saucers under the sump pump outlet for the new AC, and with Bt chunks there I can keep the mosquitoes at bay while the toads enjoy a little garden spa.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 23 - 11:29 AM

Patty, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where, if you ever watched the popular program Northern Exposure, you would see that we specialize in layers. Long-sleeve shirts, some light (like the blue work shirts) and others a little heavier (acrylic or flannel), wool shirts, vests, and a windbreaker that is large enough that a long-sleeved shirt with a warm vest can go under, and layers adjusted with the day's temperature changes. I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know. Since the NW isn't as super cold as other parts of the upper Midwest and New England it isn't like you just go straight to the heavy down jacket and mukluks on your feet when the cold hits (though I have those also).

Went to a reception for retirees last night and saw quite a few friends. Dinner was nothing to brag about but I must confess, since my table wasn't completely surrounded by people I splurged and ate an extra cheese cake from a non-used place-setting. COVID has really affected how often some of us see each other, and now that we've reconnected I hope we can resume our lunches. One friend loves to garden but has moved to a senior living apartment - I should invite her down to putter in my yard, there's always something that needs weeding or repotting, etc. Time flies - I used to see her college-age daughter come by our office, and remember when she got married. Now the daughter's oldest child is 18!

I have tours at the museum today and then an hour at the gym, but once I get home there's enough time to repot a couple of the cucumber plants. (Gardening comes after the tours so I don't have the classic gardener's grimy fingernails in view.) I'm going to experiment with putting the pots where I can set up some chicken wire for them to climb away from the actual garden beds. Meanwhile I have a 3-gallon bucket in the sink to catch gray water (from rinsing dishes) that will be carried out several times a day for spot watering (to supplement the sprinkler schedule.)

Yesterday I reduced prices on several eBay listings to see if they will excite more interest. I always start with my offerings near the highest price someone else recently got with a comparable item, but often end up in the mid-range prices before they sell. The higher prices work best with scarcity, but there are tons of tablets for sale.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 17 Jun 23 - 02:50 PM

Pretty rough storms rolled through last night right at check-in time after a long day at the doc-in-the-box and truck repair place. Lots of branches down, winds, sideways rain, etc. Ridiculous situation at the gatehouse with no power--no computer, and the kiosk for passes was useless. Had to retreat to my rig and go online with a laptop and hotspot on battery power to go through a 20 minute process on Reservations.gov.   Instead of handing the nice lady $13 in cash and being done with it.   SO many things now heavily computerized that just don't need to be.   

I had been so impressed earlier in the week when I saw that by noon after a bad storm, the National Park Service had gotten all the downed trees removed from the Natchez Trace, and neatly stacked. Amazing what well-organized people can do, and I'll bet computers played no part whatsoever.

Charmion, glad you could step up and be a good friend that way. Listening and reassuring can be all the difference to someone in trouble.

Seasonal clothes: yes, at the storage place I've got bins for sweaters and jackets, a couple of cheap dressers where i can switch out shirts etc., shelves for my treasures, some boxes of travel books that get swapped out, etc. Lots of cookware type items and tools that were in the way on the road have been stored for use at a home base some day.   I move things in and out as needed in the upcoming months.

Strangely, one does have to keep quite a variety of clothes on hand because I’m out in the elements a lot. Even in summer, if you go to northern latitudes or mountains you still need some days worth of warm layers. (Not like you can have 1 or two warm outfits and launder every day).   I tried leaving boots in storage this spring and got snowed on May 1 in Wisconsin. Luckily they have a vast array of ladies' boots in Kenosha and it was time for a new pair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 23 - 12:16 PM

I decided not to wait for the answer from the Malwarebytes folks, I took the offer to get the bundle of software I wanted (free for a year, we'll see how it goes after that.) Now to learn how to use it. Does it fry cookies? Do I logon every time I use it? I'll be testing it to learn these things.

Yesterday I cleaned up a used bread machine (from my sales stash) for a friend who knew I listed these on eBay and who will get the low low friends and family price of whatever I paid for it at Goodwill. She's wanting to start baking bread to help out her daughter who goes through a loaf a day. We've made an appointment here so there is time for me to set up my bread machine (same model) and run her through some of the tips and tricks. I've used one of these very regularly for the last 30 years. Time flies since my dad sent the first one! I'm guessing they're making instead of buying for cost savings and ingredients, I didn't ask. In the 1950s to mid-60s my mother made bread, 8 loaves every eight days because that was how many bread pans would fit in the oven and bake satisfactorily. For a family of six we used a loaf a day and usually six of the loaves went into the freezer after baking day. Sometimes we could talk her into letting us devour a hot loaf right out of the oven, meaning she'd have to make the next batch a day earlier. The big yellow plastic tub the dough rose in and the bread pans lived on top of the fridge.

This week I took my post office key (the largest on the ring) off of my set of keys and put it on a fob in the SUV console. I don't go to the PO often, it can live in the car, and that key has always gouged me through the jeans pocket. I should have done this a long time ago.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 23 - 10:28 PM

This afternoon as I walked up to the pharmacy window I paused to pick up an envelope on the floor - and had a suspicion the moment I saw it. Pulling back one corner of the flap was a $100 bill, and the envelope must have have 10-20 of them. I handed it to the pharmacist, their eyes opened wide, and they tried to remember the last few customers at their window. They said they can go back through the video of the security camera outside the department, and possibly see who dropped it. Someone is going to miss that envelope pretty soon - and hopefully backtrack and be glad that it was picked up and turned in. That's the outcome I would hope for.

I have sent a query to the Malwarebytes folks - they sent an offer in an email (I pay for the real-time protection so have an established account) that offers a bundle of apps with the Privacy VPN - I am interested in one in particular. But I don't know if this is a special offer or if it comes with a regular subscription if I click to expand my services on my existing account. I hope they'll respond in a timely fashion.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 23 - 04:20 PM

In a nutshell that sounds like something many women have encountered at some point. It all piles up at once (of course it doesn't pace itself.) Walking away from a lot of stuff like that is really difficult - having a few witnesses along the way who can share the story if need be is as much an insurance policy as it is support (not letting bad guys isolate her from friends and family).

Yesterday I rearranged sprinklers for a better watering result next to the house. My goal is to water just the garden and foundation, not the house's brick siding and upper composition trim. There is one spot of trim I already have to repair (water was the culprit), I don't want to add any more.

"Office casual" for an annual retiree dinner tomorrow. Since I spent the first 16 years of my career there working from home, our definitions of "casual" may diverge. I'll make sure the jeans are clean and will wear a knit top that doesn't have any slogans on the front. And I have a small bet with myself that it will be the ubiquitous chicken and rice dinner the university is famous for. It usually has wild rice in the mix, so it isn't bad, it's just unimaginative. ;-)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 02:10 PM

Counting my blessings today.

I had a long conversation over coffee this morning with a woman I met at choir practice. She’s about 20 years younger than I am, and her life is a mess — marriage kablowie, estranged from an alcoholic sister, worried about an ailing mother, mixed up with the wrong man. On the plus side, she knows she’s in a hole and is doing her best to stop digging.

My role was to listen and make occasional remarks to suggest that her ideas are valid, her thoughts are logical, and life is full of situations that resist understanding.

Time well spent, but not the easiest morning I’ve ever had.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 02:07 PM

Patty, you're to the east of me, so it's a sound assumption that whatever blows over me today is going to blow over you tomorrow—stay safe! I'd be interested to hear just how you go about choosing the gear to take and to leave when you reorganize your rig. Do you go to the storage locker twice a year to change out heavy jackets for shorts and flip flops?

Jon, I'm thinking I'll try the Malwarebytes VPN, and will report back.

Still fooling with the sprinkler setup. The first attempt turned out to be ineffective, and while I can't avoid a little water going onto pavement, this was hitting almost everything except the garden. The high heat is here, so the schedule will be set in the battery-operated device in the back yard. I used to have to keep a black bucket over the top of it to keep the sun from beating down on the face with the programming panel, but my Mexican plum tree has grown tall enough now to shade it perfectly (and it means a bit less sun coming into the single-glazed back bathroom window as well.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Jun 23 - 10:33 AM

SRS, you are clairvoyant, I did indeed get a little hail last night from one of the many storms rolling through the south. Was panicking, having never been in a vehicle in a hailstorm, but blessedly it was mostly pea-size and only went on for a few minutes.

Humid, yes. I am looking forward to rolling west late next week to get to a Utah raft trip in July, with the air drying out as I go.

No great news from this end, been dealing with little illnesses, doctor appointments, traveling too far to get this engine serviced, etc. The upcoming week will hold re-organizing rig and storage units again, in miserable heat, humidity, and rain. Oh well, we had some lovely fair days, and now we don't!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 05:53 PM

The humidity this week is dreadful, making outdoor work risky without frequent breaks. I popped weeds in advance of mowing, but mowing isn't happening until it's cooler near sunset.

The next fence panel pieces are in the yard. I have to paint the pickets with wood preservative, top/bottom, edges, and both faces, so once it's up it's completely protected. If you paint preservative on after building the fence you miss spots. I did myself a favor and pulled the gazillion staples and tags as they came out of the back of the SUV, so they're ready to treat.

Tomorrow's trash will again be filled with dog hair (the bouffant was particularly large this morning) but I'm also going through canisters in the kitchen, dumping dry goods that are way too old. Quinoa shouldn't be that old in anyone's kitchen, and some of the faux-flour ingredients I bought when I was trying to reduce gluten in my diet are way past their prime. I have fresh stuff to put in these emptied canisters.

One Freecycle offer and one eBay item were each taken off of their listings, they took too long to be claimed and will now go to Goodwill. I have decided to list the last of the Amazon tablets, clearing what was an embarrassment of riches as far as tablets and phones.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 09:25 AM

I use one but not the way you are looking, SRS. VPNs can be used in 2 directions in the home.

In my case, I just run it on my router as a server. Its purpose is to let me connect to my home LAN from away. The built in client on my Android phone works well with this.

Others may be using VPN clients at home, eg. to connect to a remote office when working from home or, I believe, for a layer of security when using the Internet.

OpenVPN is quite a common VPN package but I don’t think its protocol is supported by the built in Android client. It is available on my router but I haven’t set it up. I just (the router can provide multiple VPNs), have an IPSec one set up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 08:31 AM

The nights, in western Massachusetts, remain cool enough to need
the heat on and an extra blanket or coverlet.
And the days are more like warm spring days, with brief showers.

It will be hot when summer finally settles in,
so I for one am enjoying the coolness, especially at night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 23 - 05:11 PM

Planning outdoor activities this afternoon is difficult as a tumultuous weather front seems to be taking shape over the area. Softball-sized hail is in our forecast. Staying home with the SUV in the garage seems most prudent. The weekend weather has extended into the week with bursts of wind and rain, and as a result my 8' tall native sunflowers are all leaning at drunken angles. Cat dinner feeding will happen after consulting the radar and determining I have enough time for the round trip.

I picked up branches in the back yard that wind blew out of the tree next door. They apparently got some of them out of my yard by reaching over the fence with their rake (so polite!) I'm sure the dogs were a huge help (enjoying the company.) We're talking fences again - I'm going to finish mine and they're thinking about redoing the front-facing portion of theirs that connects to the corner of mine. The least I can do is assist, if they want help, since I have all of the tools.

How is weather everywhere else? This is the time when I worry about Patty in her RV - finding a safe place to park and hopefully not get pounded by hail is a gift. (When hail threatens the large open spaces beside the roads of the Interstate highway underpasses here in Fort Worth look like parking lots as everyone without a garage pulls in there for the duration.) Around here Spring doesn't leave the area in a lamb-like fashion.

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

I didn't have gloves when I went by the recycle bin so I pulled a few empty boxes out of a bin (many people don't break them down flat like they're supposed to) and at the SUV tailgate I carefully filled each with discarded paper, then tossed them to the back of the bin. No paper cuts! (I have been known in the past to retrieve good boxes when I needed a specific size for shipping or other projects. And I sometimes use it in as a "lasagna" layer under mulch to keep down weeds in the garden.)

In early spring a friend sent some fabric that he wanted made into COVID masks; this project is about three years too late but I made some and sent them back. End of that enterprise. There were several yards of fabric left so yesterday at his request I mailed it to a family member of his who will see about making some quilted projects that feature the pattern printed on this fabric. I paid to ship it, but it still counts as a declutter.

Early this morning on my drive to the friend's house to feed her cats I noticed some traffic cones on the boulevard next to a church. A sign said something about a "new pantry location." When I drove back past there 30 minutes later a line of cars standing in the curb lane stretched south for three blocks, all waiting their turn to pull into that parking lot to pick up food pantry donations. Since March when the emergency SNAP allotments ended (and the GOP House refused to consider extending food security legislation) the problem has become increasingly apparent: people don't have enough to eat. Those who can pick up their food in their own vehicles presumably have a way to fix what they pick up. Many more homeless need food that can be eaten as is, and cans that can be opened with a pull-tab. I'll be picking up those kinds of foods on each trip to Town Talk from now on to donate at the local community fridge (I haven't been back for a while, but I think they got the fridge up and running again at the location nearest me). And dry goods and personal essentials. And I will continue my purchase of an extra sandwich to offer if there is someone panhandling near a restaurant I'm in. I keep a few $5 bills in the console in my SUV to hand out of the window at red lights when someone is working the median for donations. And when the garden produces more than I can use and give away here, the excess will go to the community fridge. It takes a village; I can't feed everyone but maybe I can keep one or two people alive for another day.

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

There is tell of VPN built into the Windows environment, but I don't know how easy it is to deploy. I pay for Malwarebytes for viruses and such and they offer VPN. I get their software package for several devices so might build onto that. Gary's video talked about "Private Internet Access VPN" and in a review of various qualities of VPN software, PC Magazine says that is "Best for Customizers." Others are recommended for "privacy on a budget," "travelers," "bargain hunters," and (groan) "Global Location Spoofers." Strange bedfellows: trolls and those hoping to avoid corrupt political regimes (or who want another country's Netflix stream).

We had a noisy thunderstorm with rain last night so my neighbor mowing the lawn at 9am is jumping the gun - that's a way to rust out the undercarriage of your mower. I'll wait till the grass is dry, but the yard is in need of a mow front and back. Late in the week our temperatures are forecast to be up to the triple digits. Ugg. At least there is less grass mowing once it is that warm. More storms in the forecast tonight (the option of with or without rain is a real thing - more often than not we feel wind from an outflow boundary and hear the thunder or see lightning in the area but don't actually get the rain.)

Printer issues resolved: Amazon has sussed that when printer cartridges fail they need rapid replacement. Yesterday afternoon I ordered the high-capacity cartridge for my old HP and it was delivered by 9am, was deployed and it works fine, so that was the problem. I'm sad to report there is no longer an option to recycle the old cartridge.

It was excellent use of a weekend to go through the file cabinets and have so much paper rousted from the drawers. There is more still, but this morning the trashcan at the curb is heaped with bags of shredded documents. (Now what I should do is switch gears and take the long pole with the limb saw to cut out dead wood to be taken away since this is our bulky waste month.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stanron
Date: 12 Jun 23 - 04:08 AM

I just checked my system, which is Linux Mint, and I have something called 'Openvpn. I know didn't I install this myself so it must have been installed by the system itself. I've no idea what it does though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 23 - 09:03 PM

Hoses dragged and arranged for sprinkling, but the sky is looking ominous and it is 99% humid and about 95^o right now, so dreadful outside. (I just looked: the weather says it is 97^o and feels like 111^o. It really does.) The thunder has started and though there isn't much rain, it really sounds impressive. Pepper is hunkered down in my office closet.

A new laser printer cartridge will arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping this workhorse of a printer will stay in service. It's a big ugly box that holds a lot of paper and though the individual sheet feeder doesn't work any more, the rest has been great.

More files purged this afternoon, the recycle bin is now heaped with paper. Part of the process has also been to identify pages that should be scanned and saved electronically so there is a pile of folders that need attention at the scanner.

I had a good video sent by gnu this afternoon recommending a VPN. I used to use one from work, and have put off getting another, but I should. Do any of you use one, and if so, why did you choose it?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 01:26 PM

Your picture-hanging adventures motivated me to put a mirror on the wall in my bedroom. Anyone not knowing that my exercise area is at the foot of the bed may wonder why a 2' x 3' mirror is next to bookshelves with a TV and placed low enough to cut off one's head, but it's there so I can be sure I'm aligned correctly in some of the standing exercises. It was on a trunk leaning against the wall and any time I exercised I had to move stuff from in front of it. A cheval or simple closet door mirror would be better, but this was the best one at Goodwill when I went mirror hunting.

The stack of recycle-bin-bound paper is heaped above the bin rim now as I've started thinning my portable file box on the closet shelf. I planned this file to grab if I can take just one if the house ever floods. It needs to have essential files so older stuff can be compressed, moved, or culled.

Laundry day is dictated when I get to the last pair of favorite undies in my dresser. Now that it's warm the laundry basket doesn't fill as fast because clothes aren't bulky. Perhaps I should buy more of the favorite lingerie (aka Fruit of the Loom) and not use the washer as often. My Victoria's Secret days are behind me. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 09:40 AM

Good for you, Stilly. Clearing your filing cabinet(s) is one of the biggest favours you can do for your heirs and assigns. I still shudder at the memory of my parents’ papers, stashed and crammed into the strangest as well as all the obvious places in a large Edwardian-style house, and full of personal information I emphatically did not need or want to know.

The nearest smoke plume is passing well to the east of Perth County, so Stratford is as summer-lovely as ever. The theatres are doing boffo business to rave reviews, and the fine-dining restaurants are packin’ ‘em in. Every prospect pleases, and reminds me of all the reasons Edmund and I had for moving here in the first place. Now, if only I could convince myself to vacuum up the cat hair before it becomes an embarrassment, the inside of the house would be as delightful as the outside.

I finally hauled my toolbox up to the library-cum-music room and hung the large pictures in the wall space vacated by the departed bookcases. As usual, one change led to another until half the upstairs art had moved at least twice, most of it ending up back where it started, and the sofa had swapped spots with the library work table to allow sprawled reading with one’s back to the windows.

Now I really have to see about getting light-adjustable blinds for those windows, and having the room painted. That pale puce and aubergine purple colour scheme looks worse every time I look at it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jun 23 - 12:32 AM

The closet filing cabinet contents compressed into 3/4 of the bottom drawer once everything else was thinned or culled, some moved already to another cabinet file. There is a 14" deep bin for recycling that is now full to the brim with pages (that weren't going in the shredder beside it) and a second kitchen trash bag is half full with shreds. Next I'm pulling file contents to package and send to the kids. I haven't done more than peruse the contents of the two drawers of the legal width cabinet—wading through those death and divorce records comes last.

The drawers have provided a trip down memory lane, with doctors visits, kids' activities, my activities, kid art, cartoons and articles saved because they spoke to me. Many of them still do.

My 17-year-old laser printer seems to have died. Perhaps it knows the windfall is within the next couple of months—the devices are lining up to fail.

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

My poor little cross-cut shredder has nearly gagged several times today; I've filled one trash bag and because this shredder puffs the paper it doesn't take many sheets to fill it. (Think of unpopped then popped popcorn.) I am pacing myself so it doesn't overheat. With the rain I could use the burning barrel, but the we're still under an ozone warning.

My ex and I had lunch with our daughter, and delivered, along with a bag of rice I from the Halal market (her request) and a lamp she wants (so not going to Goodwill), things that we were clearing out at our houses. He had a bag of stuff from his garage, including old art projects of hers. I had a handful of small broken or non-fitting jewelry that isn't worth taking in to have resized (to wear or use for costumes). And some things I simply never wear. I also gave her a few potatoes from my garden. :)

This is the second time at that Wendy's when I fed a stranger. Last week I bought an extra sandwich to hand over to a panhandler on my way out. Today an incredibly thin young woman sat down at a table in order to charge her phone and sat writing in a book, possibly to look busy so no one would interrupt (or chase her out). I bought an extra burger and delivered it with a cup of water, saying I thought she looked hungry, then went back to my table.

A week of cat sitting starts tomorrow morning. It's good in that I organize my own activities around those kitty trips and I'll get to the gym several times this week, and it makes the extra gas used less conspicuous. There is also plant watering with this gig, and watching over some caterpillars in her butterfly garden.

Enjoy the cool nights, Keb. It's in the high-60s low-70s here now at night, and this is only the beginning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 23 - 06:20 PM

I can report that Massachusetts has suffered less than other places,
with regard to the smoke from the fires.
We had a couple of uncomfortable, distressing days.
Then the jetstream sent the smoke down to
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and the Philadelphia area,
I guess DC has a bad case of it as well.
Up here we have thunderstorms and a cool breeze,
and between the two, things are clearing up.
It is still very cool for the 9th of June, though.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 09:01 PM

I had something I was going to do today but just couldn't get around to going out to do it; I seem to have instead buckled down to listing the eBay stuff. Two tablets up so far, the most recent past smartphone next, and quite possibly the newer Fire tablet. I've compared that with the Samsung, and the Samsung is more versatile.

I'll blame today's reluctance to go out on the bad air. Ours isn't as awful as further north and west, but it still isn't healthy. With our typical Ozone days weather in North Texas the Federal Air Now site says we're at an air quality index of 150. We had an explosive thunderstorm pass over the area in late afternoon that may have helped clear things a bit.

This evening the thinned contents of two file cabinet drawers have yielded several inches deep of paper for the recycle bin and some to the shredder. Also revealed are documents and photos I couldn't find in the past that I can use now, and a number of keepsakes I made myself toss; they have meaning but won't ever be useful again. I have a growing stack of now-empty hanging file folders and expandable file folders.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 12:29 PM

The smell of an ashtray - that brings back immediate memories of battles with my chain-smoking mother over who had to clean the ashtrays in the kitchen sink. Wet cigarette ash is foul smelling and if she was going to use the trays, she should have to clean them. She disagreed. If she came into my bedroom carrying a cigarette I'd ask her to take it out, and her answer was that "its my house." The final straw for me was a drive 90 miles north in my little truck. She asked if she could smoke and I said "no, I'll stop so you can get out to smoke." Her response was "I know how to vent it" and she promptly lit up. The first time I said anything she closed that window so she could hear me. Then when we arrived at the elderly friend's house she asked if it was ok to smoke. If that friend had said no, she would have taken it outside. She was a smart woman but wore huge blinders when it came to that addiction, and each of us moved out the moment we could when we went to college and never stayed in her musty smokey house after that. One sibling went with mom to counseling because their arguments as adults about it were so fraught. So if the town smelled like an ashtray I'd have to move to another country. Sorry, this is a decluttering thread, not an excess-baggage thread . . .

Don, I didn't think you were projecting those images outward, I was just giving you another idea for how to brighten that area of fence you're apparently upholstering.

Today is the day to finish positioning sprinklers and to program the timer. I have one I must keep pointed away from the house - there is a spot where a piece of wood has rotted and I'm going to have to replace and probably repair inside the bottom of the bay window. I don't need to hasten that repair by routinely watering the spot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 08 Jun 23 - 08:45 AM

It smells more like a camp fire to me.

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

Stratford still smells alternately of lilacs and pig manure. According to Environment Canada, the thickest part of a major smoke plume is wafting south to the east of the Waterloo-Kitchener-Cambridge conurbation, so the bulk of it is passing over Toronto, Burlington and Hamilton. Nevertheless, my eyes are stinging today.

My brother reports that the haze is heavy in Ottawa and everything smells like ashtrays.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 11:05 PM

Too bad about those library neighbors complaining. Having access to WiFi is a necessity, not a luxury.

Dorothy, stay safe out there. Wear the K or N-95 mask when you go out. I have a friend in NY City who has COPD - I reminded him to do the same thing. The whole east coast appears to be sepia toned.

I didn't mow here today because it was an Ozone Action day, as it will be tomorrow. Maybe this will blow over by the weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 08:50 PM

Dupont:

Ran out of internet at Beaver so I went to the library a few times but found they now turn it off soon after they close because a neighbour complained about people sitting in vehicles using it!

Then I went to Toronto on an adventure: Thinking I would go to hear a friend at the Tranzac club on Sunday aft, then go to my friend an hour away overnight and back to the pottery supplies and home. I left for To about 9:30 and somehow it took LONG to get there but I was still in plenty of time and found a parking lot but brain was so wrecked that I had to ask a couple women for help with the paying thing. Found a decent lunch, I thought. and went to the club.

Not having been connected to the outside world, I had no knowledge of the smoke problem; it was mild enough going down that I had car windows open and did not realize it was affecting me. A I sat, I started feeling like I could hardly breathe and went outside for a few minutes. Went back in and started to feel as though I was going to stop breathing. Left in distress and a woman came out with me, found a bench for me to sit, went back in and came out with dampened paper towels for the back of my neck. I went back inside feeling better and moistened a napkin and put it over nose and mouth - it helped greatly and I got through the rest of the event.

Left as soon as it was over, thanking the nice younger woman but not saying good by to my musician friend because I wanted to get to my friend for supper... Took forever to get out of To; supper was at 7. In the morning, I had to sit on edge of bed uptil the room stopped spinning - that's a first. But with very good directions from my friend - she is so pragmatic! - It was less than an hour to pottery supplier where we agreed the discrepancy in new bucket of glaze was a need for better sieve which had been rendered inoperable by my foolishness. One of the staff finally got it - just as I was saying -OK, enough of that! I managed to get lost getting home ----HOW many times have I done that route???? Forgot I had the book of maps in the car.... Stopped for help and a local lumber yard staff printed out directions. I got home!

Used the A/c all the way due to the smoke which was now pretty obvious and as soon as I got in the house I turned the air cleaner on full tilt. Picked up a 12" subway which sufficed for lunch and supper - LOTS of lettuce! Then I holed up with a book, and then another one until Weds am when I loaded the car and left, assured by friend Hannah that it was better in Chateauguay. Very light rain is now helping lower the smoke. Tues R reported not being able to see Mount Royal - that is the large hill in the middle of the city!

I remembered to put netting over the strawberry bed so I might have some when I go back - next week I hope. Did not net the blueberries but they are still a ways off I think. I hope this rain reaches Beaver as there has been none for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 06:47 PM

I'm not projecting images to the neighbors. They are inside the fence with vegetation in front of the tapestries.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 06:28 PM

Don, the background fence in the photos on this gardening page show how the owner painted metal panels with whatever color he liked. The neighbors only see bare metal unless they painted their sides.

Counting coups from shopping at Goodwill today - a nice Kenmore serger sewing machine. I'll test it and if it works then either use it myself or sell it on eBay. I've always wanted to play with one, to see how I would use it. I'll have to look up the manual and go to YouTube for how-to instructions.

A new declutter project ahead; in my office two 2-drawer file cabinets are placed about 18" apart with a 3x5 piece of good birch plywood on top serving as a desk. They hold files with mostly old college papers but also some of the legal stuff one holds onto forever. In the closet is a 2-drawer cabinet with files I should send to the kids. I'm going sort all of them then compress the materials into the two in the office. There is a welded rolling framework that the closet file sits on that I've offered to my ex. It was a hand-me-down from a friend who welded it for a deeper cabinet than I have. I think will work perfectly for the 4-drawer Hon I found last fall for the ex and being able to move these things is helpful.

I see shredding, burning, and donating in the future, though any burning waits until air quality is back to good. Even down here in North Texas the air is rather dense and an Orange Ozone day. I don't want to hear about any of you doing yard work or out walking around until these fires are out. Singers like Charmion and Keberoxu - wear your K-95 masks outside to keep your throats and lungs in good shape for upcoming performances.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 07:58 AM

Oh, and an undersea scene on the cover of the hot tub.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jun 23 - 07:49 AM

I had a bunch of ideas about decorating our fence. I have been mounting similar colored polyester tapestries as the least labor-intensive method. So far... a cabin in the woods, Florence at yellow sunset, an impressionist painting, a bookcase tapestry in the carport, and a garden of delights painting. It's whimsical but not as tacky as it sounds, although I do use tacks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 23 - 11:57 AM

One of these years I'll make it to the Getaway. After I retired I was lining up my ducks, then COVID happened.

That big grill is a lot of work and you end up cooking way too much meat for one person, though charcoal cooking is delicious. I have a tiny tabletop clay brazier that was $10 at an estate sale. An image search shows Moroccan and Mexican versions that are great for one or two chicken breasts or steaks. There is also an LP grill the neighbors were going to discard that only needed new gas grill guts ($40 kit at your local Ace Hardware store). Last winter I replaced the gas line that Cookie chewed to pieces (another $40 at Lowe's). I use it maybe once a month in the summer for spatchcocked chickens. Anything else big goes in some kind of closed or open pan in the oven. The Romertopf clay baker, for example. (Do you still have yours?)

Watches have left the porch, and a lizard was sighted on the wall next to the water spigot. They're pouting.

This week it's back to the gym with better-timed activities (that put me in the right locale for the gym).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jun 23 - 11:35 AM

I just registered and paid for the Getaway, an event by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington that used to attract significant numbers of Mudcats. I hope to meet PattyClink there, if she can make it.

The choir's annual general meeting was last night, so I now have two batches of minutes to write and a large stack of music to sort, count and log in. I'll be busy for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 11:49 PM

My success with the tires has me considering another sale: the Kamado Joe barbecue that was Edmund’s last extravagance. It’s designed for slow-cooking big food — brisket, whole birds, pork shoulder, stuff like that — and, if I ever cook like that again, it won’t be over charcoal.

I will have to do a full-dress photo session to get ready to market the kamado with all its gadgets. It's worth a lot of money — certainly enough to replace it with a modest grill that runs on natural gas. (I had an outside gas tap installed as part of the kitchen renovation five years ago.) A gas grill is just fine for the most ambitious cooking I get up to these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 10:34 PM

Two Timex watches were claimed on the FB Buy Nothing page for my area. My porch lizards will have a box to guard overnight - since I have appointments tomorrow I asked if she could come by before 11am. She asked about 7:30. I'm not an early riser, but I can put the box on the porch so it's there when she comes by. That frees up about a cubic inch in my dresser drawer. :)

eBay listings are getting posted, though one small tablet box needs to be reopened to see what the storage capacity is (there were two in this model, my money is on the lower capacity - it came as part of a fitness program box and had their app pre-installed.) These are bundled with all of the accoutrements such as screen protectors, cases, chargers, even the original boxes (I usually stash the boxes because I anticipate selling them after I upgrade down the line.) I'm testing reading my Kindle books on the new Samsung; the app tells me I can't buy Kindle products in the app but I never do anyway. If it works out well enough I might sell the newer Fire tablet. Trouble with those Amazon devices is that they limit what you can do with software and browsing, though they are great for reading on. Clearing out a few square inches of stuff today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 01:15 PM

Hurry up and wait from the federal government: my ex finally got his pension and everything owed from when he retired; the answer I got back to an email query is that it typically takes 3 months for the adjacent accounts to be set up. Really? They have all of the information in front of them right now. Just do it.

Dog door flap is on order. The back patio is looking good and I've been keeping a large pan of water filled for the dogs - I should say, for the critters. Toads like to soak in it at night, but one of them has been so rude this week, twice leaving a big toad poop (full of undigested parts of Junebug wings) in the water when they depart.

The front porch lizards have taken umbrage at the weeding I did recently and they're not hanging out on the stack of concrete blocks that is usually a favorite sunning spot. Hopefully once the shrubs fill in again they'll be back—I do miss their inquiring gazes when I go out to check the mail.

In addition to digging potatoes this weekend I brought in most of the onions. I need to spread out the Swiss chard sprouts and give the advancing cucumber plants plenty of places to climb.

There is also a bit of attic work to finish, something best done in the morning before the sun has had time to turn it into an Easybake Oven.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 23 - 08:13 PM

There was productivity in the garden today, starting with digging about 10 pounds of potatoes, in addition to five pounds I dug yesterday. I spent .69 cents for the five small seed potatoes that were planted in March, so this was a gardening win. I planted the rest of the squash started from seed and at the neighborhood nursery picked up two eggplant and a sweet banana pepper that are now tucked into the beds. A few of my plants from seed remain in pots until they're larger. I finished by moving sprinklers - always the last thing because I get a drenching in the process. I have two sprinklers in place but think one will take care of the area since it is on a tripod and can go over the top of the heat pump. These will soon be set up on the Orbit battery operated timer on the back yard faucet.

I came in because it looks like rain, but radar shows it forming just to the southwest of here and drifting southwest. Unless it starts backing up I fear no rain on my parched yard tonight. I'll run a sprinkler on the beds I just planted.

A silicone flap for the dog door is on order; they really knock the heck out of them (now that Cookie isn't a puppy and has stopped chewing on them). Too many flies are getting in lately past the crooked sides of the current one.

Garbage pickup tomorrow, and another bouffant pile of dog hair will travel by dustpan to the trashcan. #ExcitingWeekend

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Jun 23 - 08:21 AM

Stilly, I had no idea such things exist. Thanks!

Nevertheless, the fact remains that I have a drawer full of jewellery that I don’t wear, and a bevy of young relatives who might enjoy it. The middle great-niece is approaching her sixteenth birthday, an excellent occasion for such gifts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 10:47 PM

One of the necklaces I put back into rotation is crystals on a velvet-covered wire, and it closes with a magnetic clasp. Strong enough for a few pieces of crystal. I hate to think you're not wearing favorites because they're difficult to fasten.

On Amazon I read reviews of some of the add-on magnetic clasps that aren't very strong (tiny magnets) but this one sounds good - 14K Gold Magnetic Necklace Clasps and Closures Double Lobster Clasp. One reviewer said long earrings were attracted to it, so she wears shorter earrings with it. Any of these attach once to each end of your necklace then the magnets do the work.

This one is smaller but it has more reviews. Neither of those is very expensive, they're plated or colored.

These two sold by different small businesses, but they look and sound identical. They are more expensive and with more gold. Small business 1:14K Yellow Gold Magnetic Clasp Converter 15.5mm Spring Ring by CRAFT WIRE. Small business 2: 79% of the reviews of this one are good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 02:17 PM

Now that my three great-nieces are growing up, it’s time for me to pick over my jewellery for pieces that would suit them. In particular, I’m thinking of two gold pendants on very fine chains. Due to peripheral nerve damage, the thumb and first two fingers of my right hand can’t manage the clasps any more, so I haven’t worn them in years.

Brooches are currently unfashionable, according to the doyennes of the internet, so items that belonged to my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother can sit and marinate for a decade or two until the pendulum swings back.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 01:16 PM

My mail usually arrives before 11am, but yesterday the alternate carrier didn't arrive until 2pm. The dogs barked when they heard her on the porch so I had to hurry to the truck to ask for my package because she hadn't knocked to get my signature. "Package?" Yes, the reason my plans for lunch and scanning were cancelled. She dug around and found it and I signed for it. Who knows when it would have made it back to the house if I hadn't caught her. Grumble grumble grumble. . . the post office needs to be treated better so their employees aren't stretched so thin. She'd never driven this route before.

The newest batch of granola is ok, but the last batch was better. I've kept notes on what went into each recipe. This time I lined the baking pan in the portable roaster oven with parchment but I realized it wasn't heating evenly and one corner was going to scorch so the whole paper was lifted onto a rimmed baking sheet and finished in the oven.

This morning I poked through jewelry drawers and boxes to cull things I never wear and find pieces I've forgotten about. Some items can go back into rotation - after last year's weight loss they fit better. And there is a set of 3 scarabs: I wore one on a chain but I didn't have pierced ears for the other two (ears were pierced 30 years, so you see how long ago that came into my collection). I filled a little bag with pieces that are missing pairs or parts because my daughter uses stuff like this in costumes.

I will note that there were a few pieces that went into the trash. Things that are turning green, an old watch that needed the battery changed way too often. And that tiny pair of turquoise earrings - probably the cheapest pair on display at the time the gift was purchased by someone who really should have known better - they have bad karma. Gone. Still hunting for a couple of specific pieces that must have been put someplace really "safe" that I can't think of right now. There are two newer watches with 10-year batteries that need to go on Freecycle since I wear the fitness tracker as my timepiece now.

Meanwhile out in the yard the new battery trimmer works well, much easier than grass shears. I'll get the rest of the garden planted and leave enough space between plants to trim the grass as needed. And figure out what configuration of sprinklers to set up on the timer this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 11:14 AM

A cubic foot cleared off the dining table is noticeable. A cubic foot of stuff out of my sewing studio would go unremarked. Tires have gotten very expensive, new ones for my SUV about $250 each, and that's just tires, not extra rims (I've read that in the US these inflated prices - pardon the pun - are not to do with scarcity). Nissan stopped fooling with inflating with Nitrogen like that was a special thing for tires, no one is popping for the extra service when tires are priced like luxury items.

I picked up a battery trimmer to try in the garden. I didn't till everything this year, so I have to contend with grass getting watered along with the crops and it grows tall fast. Ryobi costs about twice as much as the brands turning up in the initial search, but I like their tools and I already have two batteries. (The others seemed to have built-in batteries that, once they fail, may not be replaceable, and they need a recharge every time it runs down. I swap out batteries and keep working with Ryobi tools.)

Time to make more granola. That last batch was good and I was mixing it half and half with my raisin bran to give it more fibre and last longer. I used ziplock baggies to freeze it last time, this batch I'll look for a larger reusable container.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 10:11 AM

sniff ...

the LPs left a space in the cupboard, unfortunately I can't leave the door open to admire it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 08:35 AM

Your friend is, indeed, wise. It doesn’t count until you have cleared space.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jun 23 - 04:58 AM

Good onya!

Some time back to I reported to my Craft group that I'd found a home (or homes) for something - Can you see a space, said my wise friend

no ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 08:41 PM

The tires and rims have gone to a VW fan in Woodstock, a town forty clicks south of Stratford. He paid the asking price, no low-balling or haggling. I’m very happy, not only with the nice lump of money, but also with the nice big empty spot on the garage floor.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 12:06 PM

I have 15 giant bins of clutter to take away. Some have value but I Might take a loss to have someone take it all and shorten the process.
Free recycling is attractive.