DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 06:54 PM

Two stops for errands this afternoon, and while I found the mortar mix I need to block holes into the attic near a soffit in back (and a hole between stones on the front of the house), I didn't find the cedar plank I need. I'll let my fingers do the walking on Google to hunt around for one. Chances are I'll have to find something larger and rip it to the right size, 1"x10"x36" to replace a spot of siding that came off (there are three panels on that area and I'll replace all so they're uniform).

Health-wise I turned a corner today; I woke up coughing and took the Rx but realized by mid-afternoon I didn't need more, though a dose at bedtime might prevent a tickle from creeping up on me if I remove the extra pillows. A good night's sleep would be most welcome after this horrible week. It's years since I've had a cold or flu. Nothing much since I retired. I'll keep wearing the masks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

Here I am thinking about my garden still and Dorothy is getting her firewood for the winter and all of you in those northern tiers are getting out the flannel and the comfy slippers.

I've decided to plant all of the cucumbers and zucchini in fairly close proximity in a bed next to the house, so when cold weather passes through (sometimes just an hour or two before dawn is cold enough to do damage) I can cover the plants with a tarp to keep them alive. When they're spread out around the yard it's a lot more work. Our first hard frost is probably more than a month away.

I'll use the tiller to turn over those planting areas today. The plants are more than ready to be transplanted, they're already putting out blooms.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:20 PM

Dupont:

Turned the corner yesterday: No more shock, no more concern for the "why" now that I realize MIT is working on it. Several sites for info have turned up; need to spend some time reading before my eyes/brain tire each day.

I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I do not want louder. Definitely do not! But not being able to discriminate words on TV/movies or with too much background noise is, I now realize, very common, even amongst people with no recognized brain disorder. Hence, I feel less alone and, while I would like answers, if MIT does not have answers yet, I will wait in hope - for myself and the thousands of others thus afflicted.

I will check with a friend in Bancroft who just might know if anyone else has had this not-understanding-anything problem with sound systems he knows.

I have decided I need more fun in my life so took myself back down to the bakery, where I encountered a wonderful older couple and we had a great conversation on this lovely fall day. I chose to take different routes from the usual and enjoyed an almost hour drive on empty tree lined roads, each way, thinking about other routes, and places I could visit another day.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to pass a kiln along to a new person. I will meet her at the mill and, we, including her husband, will hopefully, load kiln and its furniture into her vehicle. This is a big de-clutter. There are a couple really old kilns there that I need to offer on line - when I can clear enough space to get photos and other info. I will be down to taking anything needing to be fired to Beaver. Not making much so...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 06:32 PM

I gave up on movies in cinema theaters years ago,
largely because of the sound systems and how I couldn't understand anything I heard.

When a film is broadcast on television,
I have no problem understanding dialogue and speech.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 07:19 PM

Dorothy wrote - I have had my hearing "tested" 3 times in different places. The "audiologists" are in the business of selling hearing aids and each tells me "slight hearing loss". I hear quite adequately; can hear a whisper with no trouble in a quiet room. This business of not being able to discriminate words with background disturbance, is common. It sells lots of hearing aids and some people tell me it helps - in noisy venues.

I've lost some hearing in both ears, not enough to need hearing aids - yet. When I do need aids I'll be taking advice from a friend who is an advocate for a national Hearing organization, I won't be visiting shops that advertise "Free hearing tests" - they often have someone at the door touting!

I recently received junk mail (a letter!) from an old, long established Oz company recently taken over by an American multinational company (can't remember the names.) I don't like junk mail - so looked up the company name & found a site where everyone except one poster had horror stories. They buy address lists (hmmm, I wonder what list I was on) & according to every poster, except the one satisfied customer) push & push expensive products. My favourite post started "I'm an audiologist & accompanied my grandmother ... " Audiologist reported watching employees "testing" customers, while pushing the expensive products, & not pleased with the tests & "advice" their grandmother received, took her away without saying her/his occupation. Lucky grandmother to have an audiologist in the family. I sent the letter back with my usual inscription UNSOLICITED JUNK MAIL RETURN TO SENDER - such letters need to be paid for by the receiver, but I do wonder how many scammers (oops legit businesses - snigger, snigger) do pay.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

The last time I went to a cinema was in 1980/81. A group of 4 of us, all early 20s went to watch Dumbo at the cinema in Rhos on Sea. Going to the cinema just hasn’t interested me.

My hearing’s not that great and I sometime have to ask people to repeat things as I’ve not heard them properly. I usually have subtitles on when watching tv.

I believe that digital hearing aids can be quite good as they can raise/lower frequency bands to suit the hearing loss rather than just make everything louder. They also can have different settings for different environments.

As for our NHS which was mentioned a few posts back. I don’t believe they offer the latest and greateast but I think they offer the quite reasonable rather that the seriously outdated. I think the service was dropped but Comer Hospital at least once operated what I thought was a good idea. That was a monthly drop in clinic where people could have their hearing aids servoes//repaired and retuned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 01:07 AM

The law recently changed in the US; you don't need a doctor's prescription to get hearing aids now. People can shop around. My brother told me about going to an audiologist because people kept telling him he was missing too much and making noises he couldn't hear but they could - when the audiologist learned that he didn't plan to buy hearing aids from them they pretty much threw up their hands (he shops for just about everything at Costco).

My sewing studio got more work today, with things grouped, logically (I hope) in drawers and labels added. Now I'm hunting for the extra label tape. It's somewhere around here (I thought it was in the drawer in the kitchen, but no, so I'm trying to figure what other logical places it might be.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 10:58 AM

Whew! "The Box" - a large corrugated box I've had sitting out to gather things that are going to my son was finally packed and closed for shipping next week. That'll free some table space in the den. 24 pounds of food, things from his room, and useful stuff we've talked about. Two more of the same size boxes should be arriving today or tomorrow from the company where I buy dog food. Lately the brick and mortar store itself has been out of the variety best for the girls so I had to subscribe and mail order two bags at a time to get free shipping. We'll be set for a couple of months and the boxes go to recycling.

Doing laundry today after the head cold has cleared, and this is a good occasion to open new toothbrushes. Trash day tomorrow will see some more stuff evicted from the sewing studio and I need to go through the den and clear out the forest floor the dogs have again created.

In the sewing studio I've created a place for oddball fabric and ribbons, small amounts of stuff that sometimes come in handy but where to put it? Small things too good to throw away, but only useful if you can find them again. I emptied my childhood sewing basket where a lot of this stuff used to live, and now it's in boxes in a drawer.

Talking to a friend I described the upcoming process of backing up the computer then upgrading to Windows 11, and we concluded that the amount of fuss to get everything back the way you like it in the new OS is the virtual equivalent of rearranging all of the furniture in the house. Big job ahead. I guess that would be a recluttering job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 05:55 PM

You've got nowt to lose with the free NHS hearing aids, Jon, honest. They are not bog-standard, you can connect them to your phone via Bluetooth, they are set up for your particular hearing loss, if they go bust they are replaced for free and the batteries and tubes are free forever. If you don't like 'em you can put 'em in a drawer and shop around for the private three-grand jobs, or just not bother. I've had free NHS aids now for eleven years. They're, well, not great maybe, but they're a massive improvement on not having them. Go for it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Oct 23 - 06:05 PM

Mrs Steve and I had our jabs yesterday. Flu in left arm, covid in right arm. Flu, nothing to report. Covid, slight shoulder ache for me (nothing to trouble me), slightly more achey for Mrs Steve. There's a lot of covid around here at the moment but I'm not worried. We've both had it just the once, both mildly, in July 2022. I find it odd that all our supermarkets have done away with their trolley and hand sterilisers at the entrances. I take my own. I'm still not going to be wearing a mask any time soon. Masks are rare hereabouts these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 09:31 AM

In Stratford (Ontario!), masks are still common at large venues most people can’t avoid, especially supermarkets and big-box stores. I also see them at church, where singing happens. All of this makes perfect sense to me.

The plexiglass shields recently disappeared from the cashiers’ stations at Zehr’s and Sobey’s, the supermarkets I patronise the most. They can’t have been cheap to install, so I would like to know the business case for scrapping them.

For years, I have resisted air travel because I typically get off the plane with a cold I did not have on boarding, which means suffering with bronchitis is a foreign country. Now that COVID is apparently with us for the long haul, I definitely won’t fly for any reason short of a dire emergency, even after the full slate of available jabs, and with every intention of keeping up with each new vaccine. If that means I never see Europe again, I’m cool with that. (Maybe I’d go by sea. If a money tree were to spring up in my back yard.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 23 - 11:29 AM

I'm with you on that, Charmion, though it means not seeing family for extended periods and they're doing the traveling. The recent cold was just a cold, something I haven't had in ages, but it was tough week (and still treating the aftereffects). Like you, I always seemed to come down with something after a flight. The cloth masks I still wear can hang around my neck when not on my face, so it's easy to keep track of if I'm out running errands, no losing it in the parking lot.

The large box was dropped off at the UPS store this morning and the spot where it sat all summer looks empty now. Outside I finished clearing an area in the side bed and planting the cucumbers and zucchinis I started from seed last month. They're mulched well and I need to finish clearing the rest of the bed, which if I do this every 6 to 12 months is pretty easy, but if I wait several years like the last time everything is a lot harder to clear. It felt good doing the work and I wish I hadn't lost a week of good weather. But whatever, it is taken care of now.

Next, filing the growing stack of usual mail announcements that I hold onto, then tackling mortar repairs and the side fence.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:11 AM

Keep in mind, Charmion, that ships can also challenge one's immune system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 10:39 AM

I've always figured that if I ever took a cruise I'd pack enough emergency granola bars and other durable snacks to get me through avoiding people at the point when visiting the dining room means coming down with some norovirus or other.

The other kid has a claim on the flattened very large empty boxes I've kept tucked away in the sunroom; they're preparing to move house (again). That's the kind of job when you're usually glad to see free boxes come your way.

Lows at night in the high 40s this week which is fairly normal, but the afternoon highs are expected in the high 80s. It isn't a typical October. Even though it isn't as dreadful as July, August, or September, it is bound to be another record-breaking month in the scheme of Climate Change.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:09 PM

Stilly, from the donor's point of view, you're often happy to see them off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:37 PM

We both had our jabs on Saturday, flu in left arm, covid-19 in right arm. No problem with the flu but the covid gave us both a slightly tender upper arm but nothing else. Masks are rare hereabouts. Oddly, all the big shops have now removed their hand/trolley sanitation points at the entrance. I think that's a shame, as that cleaning protects us from a lot more than just covid-19. I always have a little tube of sanitiser about my person and I smear some of it on the trolley handle too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 07:42 PM

I have a new gadget that is definitely adding pizzazz to my quality of life. It’s a sealing cork for fizzy wine! So I can have, like, a single glass of prosecco. Like anyone has a single glass of prosecco, but I could, if I want.

At some point in the last six or seven years, I acquired a dozen bottles of champagne, real champagne, from France and everything, but from a maker I had never heard of. As fizzy white wine goes it’s tasty and refreshing, but it lacks the yeasty fresh-bread flavour that I like in a champagne. (Will ya look at her, the champagne snob!) Edmund and I would crack a bottle and drink it on the porch, or in front of the goggle box. There were still at least half a dozen bottles in the cellar when Edmund died.

When you’re on your own, fizzy wine is for company and for gifts. Because it’s like slaughtering a steer for one damned steak! But with this new gadget, I can open a bottle and have a glass, and then cork up the bottle and put it in the fridge and do it again tomorrow.

And that no-name champagne makes a killer Aperol spritz, and is amazing in a champagne cocktail or a French 75.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:07 PM

We "had to finish off" a bottle of Aperol that was "cluttering up the fridge" on Sunday, so we used it with a somewhat bog-standard bottle of Prosecco that someone had given us to make a very large Aperol spritz each in some oversize wine glasses that I'd foolishly bought (for the purpose to hand) a few months ago. It was very nice. There wasn't much Prosecco left in the bottle. It's a shame that half-bottles of Prosecco are such bad value, but a little while ago I found some 20cl bottles in Tesco ("Tesco Finest") at 4 for 3 which cost nine quid for the four, not the cheapest of cheap but pretty good for such a nice drop.

Aperol spritz is so damned tasty...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 08:33 PM

A bottle with four ounces in the bottom does look like clutter, don’t it? Good excuse for a wee tipple, if one needs an excuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 09:04 PM

Mrs Steve won't let me drink wine on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (I make do with two small cans of Peroni - any more and I'm bloated!), otherwise no excuses needed for a tipple...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 23 - 11:25 PM

I found the Resealer Beer Bottle Opener a couple of years ago that is helpful when opening bottles of sparkling cider or wine that you may want to consume over a couple of days. The rubber underside and graduated rim let you slide it over a bottle top and keep the sparkle in place.

You're welcome!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 03:40 AM

We've just noticed that a nearby village holds a big car-boot sale every single Sunday afternoon on a small field. This seems to me a very good idea. Because it's now well-known, they get lots of customers, and people can dispose of their surplus stuff without having to 'dump' it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 04:35 AM

A bottle resealer would be redundant in our household-of-two for reasons I won't go into ;-) though I can definitely see its merits ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 10:51 AM

That sounds like a good way to hand off stuff you can't use, Senoufou. On the few occasions I've held garage sales I realized that success depends on who passes by in the street and pulls over to walk up your driveway; that would be a much smaller number than at your community boot sale. It's why eBay ends up a better place for smaller obscure stuff than garage sales. A wider audience and they pay for shipping.

I had several very large boxes and several merely big boxes flattened in the SUV yesterday, and my daughter claimed the largest of the batch. The rest will go into the garage until possibly needed for shipping. In exchange, she handed over an ancient ink jet printer that I handed to her father last night, and he in turn will drop it at the city recycle center. We're an efficient small family.

After the dry heat of the summer the fall is cooler and things are coming back to life, but there is a feeling of churn in the air as the seasons change. It's time to start setting up for cold weather, move things in advance of whenever the first frost may come (it has been as early as Halloween and as late as early December.) I've secured one door in the greenhouse that had hung open much of the summer and need to clear shelves for anything I attempt to overwinter. There is still a lot of growth so it's too soon for harvests unless it is things like eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes that are picked as they grow large or ripen. Sweet potatoes stay put until after the frost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Oct 23 - 02:21 PM

I put the light duvet on the bed today. Still no overnight frost, though; we should have had that before Thanksgiving.

This is my new gadget: Trudeau Sparkling Wine Stopper. Unlike most of the gadgets I have acquired over the last few years, I actually bought it in a local shop.

The collection of cardboard boxes in my garage has reached peak, so I will have to spend an hour I will never get back breaking them down for the recycle collection on Monday. I'm shocked -- shocked, I say! -- at how much stuff I buy on line these days, every single item painstakingly packed up, usually in a cardboard box. If the garage is full of boxes, I have been letting my fingers do too much walking through eBay and Amazon.

And then I run out of filters for the cats' water fountain. Guess where they come from? Yep -- Amazon.

Sigh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 12:26 AM

A tour of some of my usual shopping stops after my bi-monthly haircut today had me at Goodwill looking at a variety of antique sewing machines. A woman asked a question about some of those being appropriate for a child learning to sew - I think they need work before they're going to be usable. I wasn't moving through like I usually do and I was *that* close to snagging a high end Janome sewing machine with lots of fancy computer stitches, but that woman got there first. I hope she bought it - for $26 it was a great buy. Like I need more sewing machines . . . but that one - what a huge step up from my old rotary and cam machines. That one needed a lot of cleaning up, but I think it was possible. Moving on.

I cleaned the kitchen this evening, with a lot of stuff run through the dishwasher. Sink mats, plates that hold sponges and soap pump bottles, the small dish drainer, etc. It'll be nice to enter the kitchen tomorrow morning and have it all looking shiny and neat as I fix my morning cuppa tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:01 PM

Dupont:

Nice to hear that I am in good company! Surprising to find that lots of people only cope with closed captions. Now if I could just get R to realize he needs to "look at me when you talk to me!"

R saw a friend with a $7000 "hearing device" changing settings on it; it can change all sorts of things - may even wash the dishes! I have enough trouble with my non-smart phone! Character in current novel commented that "the sound system was garbled". Amazing the comments we notice when they suddenly have relevance.

I am still processing what I would like to say to "that woman"; seem to have left her card in my jacket that I left at Beaver. I do want to make the effort to explain the difference between "hearing loss" and APD, as well as the extreme un-helpfulness of insisting to someone who is terrifically upset that they have a hearing loss which could lead to Alzheimer's! Reviewing tha manner in which she spoke to me - details - I wonder if I might have written something in the newspaper (in the 90's) which annoyed her; her attitude was more punitive than helpful.

I have been getting out more though mostly just exploratory shopping expeditions: found some nice socks down the road a ways (two towns down) and went into a drug store never visited - even though it is immediately adjacent to oft visited supermarket! Needed eye drops and found a much wanted pair of slippers on sale.

Taking extra MSM/GS to de-clutter pain in shoulders. Definitely works - when I remember! Cannot find the eye drops I bought yesterday but choc helps reduce the sporadic blurring. I'll look again tomorrow.

Also need to re-organize hall closet in hopes of finding N-95 masks; need to wear to go to mill. Woman for kiln cancelled last Sunday as both young sons had flu. Hoping we will meet this Sunday. This is a big de-clutter event!

Organizing the hall closet will also be prep for trip back to Beaver on 28th. The laundry I bring here, and etc.

Appointment to get tires changed on 1 November. Ordered a choc pie from bakery for tomorrow - a nice trip and possible visit.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Oct 23 - 11:10 PM

A friend and I made the shopping rounds this afternoon, in particular loading up on frozen fish at Costco. We're finally into cooking season and fish is on the menu. I have my eyes open for stuff leading up to Thanksgiving, and am keeping in mind that last year's fresh turkey was so large that the oven air didn't circulate well and it took forever. I'll do turkey again, but it will be smaller. Much of the rest of the stuff can be accumulated in the next few weeks - root vegetables, pumpkin, etc.

I have no idea who will be in town over the holidays so I will proceed as if there will be guests so I don't have so much last minute stuff to do.

Dorothy, today at Costco as I walked through the lobby to rejoin my friend (after a trip to the loo) a woman pushing another in a wheelchair sneezed - she didn't sneeze into the crook of her elbow, she just let it fly into the open air beside her. I was so glad to be wearing my 3-layer mask. If I'd given it a thought I'd have told her to cover her sneezes in the future.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Oct 23 - 01:10 PM

My cat sitting gig this week is ending a day early - just as well because I have things to do that are easier when I don't have to stop what I'm doing and head out three times a day to feed and medicate cats.

One of the dogs is annoyingly persistent in barking at the mail carrier's truck each time it passes the house in the course of delivering to this neighborhood. It was helpful today because on the first pass I received no mail so she didn't see the package I wanted her to take. The dog barked when she was parked at the corner across the street for that last stop in the neighborhood and I carried my box over to her. I think I'll make a magnetic red flag I can stick to the front of the mailbox for those times I have something for them to pick up. The box on the porch wall came with an attached tiny little plastic flag on the upper right side that is barely visible from the street.

Mowing today, digging, and sewing. And more kitchen cleaning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 11:26 AM

Dupont:

Raining and very gray! Computering and trying to get to something useful - --- Actually a good day for a hot bath and back to bed with a book seems like a good plan. Seriously. The ones taken have used huge amounts of time but also helped the energy and achy body.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Oct 23 - 12:08 PM

I sat down with cloth scraps last night to see how it goes to piece things together, and it looks like I tossed some of the smaller ones that would have worked, but will still manage with what I have because the new blocks can be cut and reassembled. So I'm learning.

This morning has been a push to clear fridge contents into smaller containers and process stuff waiting for attention. The beets were simmered until soft several days ago and have finally been peeled and diced. All of the tomatoes I blanched, peeled, and simmered yesterday were run through the food mill and now await the step of making Italian-style sauce. All year I've been using sauce I made and froze last fall but I'm down to the last jar, so this is a combination of purchased fruits and a few overripe small ones from the garden (not enough to do much with by themselves and too weird to slice for salads.)

The aftereffects of that cold are still with me, but I'm carefully managing them with the neti pot and decongestants. My taste and smell are still a bit reduced because of it. This seems to be a fairly aggressive head cold making the rounds, according to my hairdresser, who because she talks to so many people in the course of a week has a pretty good sense of what is going on in the surrounding community. Seriously, it's the same as the barbershop conversations. Lots of anecdotal information is shared. :)

Garden work today (watering this morning) and some chopping/prying/sawing to finish removing the big root in the way of finishing the fence in the backyard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 10:55 AM

Three and a half pints of Italian style tomato sauce are in the freezer and the house still smells good from all of that cooking.

It got too hot too early to do the yard work, but I'll head out in a few minutes for some of that. Next week is forecast to be cooler and rainy. There's something about washing the car and bringing on rain, (if I worked I'd wash it weekly), but I do need to wash it (especially to wash the windows inside). I also need to take it in to have the oil changed and they will run it through the car wash free, so win/win if I make an appointment this week. Recycling needs to be dropped off recycling at the village bins and then I should vacuum the SUV insides. I'm considering swapping for a truck later this year, but only if this is clean and ready so I can get top dollar. And if I find a used truck with only a few miles so it has a long life. At this point it is a question of if an extended cab truck has enough bed room to make it worth the swap or if I can fit more long stuff in the SUV.

Before heading out to work I have a favorite pair of jeans with a rip under the back pocket that needs mending. I bought them used at a thrift store so I don't know where they were before, but it is unusual that mending under both back pockets has been needed. They're my yard pants, but in case I need to go somewhere during the course of a project, the holes need fixing. I've already had the experience of ripped pants in Home Depot; not something I wish to repeat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Oct 23 - 08:45 PM

Neil-across-the-street gave me some home-made sauerkraut the other day, so supper was that, with a large pork sausage. Urp.

Funny; only a few years ago, I would have eaten two of those sausages without hardly drawing breath, but tonight one was more than enough. The sauerkraut was excellent. I hope Neil includes me in next year’s distribution!

We should finally get our first frost tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 23 - 02:40 PM

As we get older the size of meals we eat has to shrink unless we are content to expand. I've been tracking my calcium intake for years using MyFitnessPal and have my daily calorie intake set at 1200. It doesn't take much to meet that level.

Drizzle today, and when it lets up I plan to dig an area to plant garlic for next year (it is planted in the fall for harvest around April-May). I'll be using the mattock to clear off the weeds on the surface since it was all dug very efficiently last year and again for planting in the spring. Garlic kept in a cool dry place can last for a really long time so some of these bulbs to plant go back two or three years and are still viable.

The fridge is more orderly as I continue to downsize some containers and finish the contents of others. I'm not sure how I manage to occasionally end up with the fridge stuffed full of mostly produce but it had happened recently. My eyes are larger than my crisper bins when I shop bargains at the discount grocery.

I've learned a lot in the last few days as I practice sewing scraps together for assembling a "crumb block" for quilting. I'm figuring out how to make sure there aren't gaps or overly large pieces in the blocks. There's a lot of trimming and reattaching. This is the getting-my-feet-wet part of learning a new activity. As I work I've listened to a 1961 murder mystery by Lawrence Block; I find myself second guessing what were legitimate clues in 1961 compared to what I know about forensics today (as much as the viewer of police procedurals and dramadeys like Bones can reasonably assume is accurate - even if it all happens in "TV time.") I'm mulling a red herring as I get to the last 90 minutes of the book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:49 AM

Over on Facebook we're reading about Bat Goddess's struggle to replace a dead refrigerator/freezer, emptying the old one and preparing for the removal and new delivery later this week. That means a removal of things in the path to the door. It was a relief to finally get my new upright freezer when the old one (50 years) started to fail; it may have been my fault because I hadn't vacuumed under it and the compressor may simply have needed the dog hair removed, but at that age I always worried it might fail.

After a wonderful rainy night I'll let the grass dry enough to mow the back. Meanwhile, I'm killing time waiting till the recycle bins behind city hall are emptied today after driving past on Sunday and finding them stuffed full. Then I'll clean the SUV and stuff the any back seat cloth shopping bags into a couple of the largest bags and move out some of the summer survival materials (extra bottles of water, mostly). It may be time to take the folding chairs out of the vehicle as well, I haven't needed them for a long time, but they bring back memories of enabling tailgate visits with my daughter and friends during the 2020 COVID shutdown.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 11:22 PM

A day of mostly rain, and a reminder that the next clear day I have to finish a few outdoor repairs while the temperatures are mild.

The buildup of papers needing filing has been cut in half, and I think it's time to start a spreadsheet to keep track of some of these donation requests. Donate once a year and they send out reminders for your renewal way before that year is up. The running list in a bullet journal isn't enough for keeping track.

This afternoon I got the RSV vaccination and was reminded that there are others I should look up. I don't remember when my last tetanus shot was, meaning it is probably due again. The pharmacist says 7 to 10 years. While at the pharmacy I disposed of the decade-old bottle of Rx cough syrup in their handy disposal bin.

I'm not drinking caffeine any more so the cup of decaf tea in the morning is just habit, but once it is in hand I sit down at the computer to check in on the world. I need to shift my morning routine and after feeding the dogs do my exercises, then get the tea.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 05:03 PM

Some peaches purchased recently weren't ripening well as they aged so after using the apple peeler on them they were cut up and simmered with peach cobbler stuff and are now in the oven. It'll be good that way, if not the way I've eaten peaches and nectarines all summer (with yogurt and granola on top).

Filing has continued and a lot has gone through the shredder. Since getting rid of the extra filing cabinet it all goes in the large plastic hanging file (the one to grab if the house is flooding or burning down), but some of that can be shifted over to one of the remaining files. Or I'll just stop saving statements (I get a few bills via email, but not all of them. I want paper copies of some things.)

Outside I'm preparing to move a rain barrel that I haven't used much and is in the way of a siding repair. I started emptying it with a little battery operated transfer pump and when it's low enough then I can tip it on it's side and empty the rest. A 55-gallon barrel is too heavy to tip full without smashing things around it or hurting myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 09:08 PM

Dupont:

Rain and more rain with occasional dry for a while days. Have managed to get most of fall work done. Still some large bits for R to do; nothing frost will harm but make room on deck before we get fire wood, which is beginning to feel like a myth. I shall insist we bring a small amount back from Beaver on the weekend. The cold is coming.

Lengthy conversation with engineer son, Sunday, elicited: He has APD as well and always had - "Why do you think I didn't go to classes?" I didn't know he didn't! So an I-phone is in my future, possibility of Airpods if needed. But, I do not think eliminating noise is safe - we need to be aware of what and who is nearby.

Long conversation with Apple help on Mon, trip to Apple store on Tues where the woman "helping" never understood my problem/concern/need... Another call to Apple help today to try to connect Mac to TV. Nice person tried hard but finally realized an upgrade was needed - Call back when it is done! BUT - before he got away he answered some questions about Iphone; I clarified with son by text and we agreed I will go tomorrow for a phone. Apparently it can listen and convert speech to text. That would work if I am talking to someone in a noisy place. I suppose it would have limitations - perhaps less than I have? A rather expensive "we'll see how it works" but I can return it after the weekend if the help is not adequate.

Looking forward to the long weekend with lots of travel for the sake of two separate music events, kind of en route- performers I once hung out with and have not seen in 40 years. We will get to Beaver Sat night and leave Monday - hopefully getting a couple errands done, maybe even a Covid booster.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 10:46 PM

It sounds like a good choice, Dorothy. That conversation to text feature or app was demonstrated recently by Senator Fetterman of Pennsylvania; since his stroke he has trouble with hearing in certain spaces or with background noise.

John Fetterman addresses using closed captioning on campaign trail after stroke

John Fetterman is using 'assistive technology' in the Senate as he continues to struggle with auditory processing issues after his stroke - the Daily Mail also has "REVEALED" in the headline, as if this is a shocking detail. It makes perfect sense he would do this.

I saw something within the last week about this but I'm not finding that recent story right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 05:15 AM

Dorothy Parshall, two tips with Apple helplines:
1) Find the time when the best techies for your purpose are online. Here in Ireland that's around 9am to 10am our time, when the helpers tend to be Irish or Scottish and reliably tech but (usually) able to explain without patronising. I've had some spectacular good luck with Arabs and Indians too, mind!
2) Always give the agent your phone number first thing, so they can call you back if the call drops.

And in general talking to helplines, I find it's better if I ask the person their name and write it down - doesn't matter whether they're using their real name or not - and use it in conversation the way I would with anyone else I'm talking to. "So, John, I need to press the little button at the bottom - the 'home' button, is it?" sounds much better, and makes both sides feel human. If apps are restarting or anything and there's a bit of a pause, it's nice to say "Where are you? Oh, X place? What's the weather like there today?" etc - human conversation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 11:39 AM

Good tips, John. I get their name, but it doesn't always occur to me to give them my number right away. I don't talk to Apple tech support (I'm an Android and Windows user) but there are enough times I have to call for appointments, etc., that those are just good things to do when calling a help line.

Rain rain rain last night; the creek stayed in its banks but someone up the street apparently lost a tree over power lines. I'm sitting at my kitchen table with a power line from the next door generator (they bought one a while back and didn't realize how much capacity it had until the big freeze of 2021, so now if the power is expected to be out for more than a few hours, they have me run my long power cable over.) The electric kettle and the small fridge next to kitchen table are plugged in. I opened the big fridge once and will leave it closed the rest of the day, and won't touch the big freezer. Since the computer and Wifi are all off I'm for the first time using my phone to be a tethered (Bluetooth) device to my tablet. I have a little Anker Bluetooth keyboard also in use and can reach the outside world. Data will be higher on the phone plan this month. (The tablet doesn't have adblock so Mudcat is a busy place with all of the Google ads - I will research this when the power is back and see if I can add something to this tablet browser.) We expect power to be restored by dinnertime. If not, I'll move things around and plug in the big fridge and the freezer.

Many people upgraded their emergency setup after that outage and freeze. I have a propane stove I can use (or I can plug the microwave into the power strip) for dinner, and I have a portable power device the size of a modest toaster oven for everything from jumping the SUV battery to running a lamp, radio, and charging USB devices. The phone is plugged into that as I work. I carry a 6700 mAh power pack in my handbag, good for several phone or tablet charges. I've always tried to be prepared for emergencies (years ago I took a mountaineering class and they taught about the 10 essentials - the gear that would keep you safe in an emergency. I still apply those skills to life in general). When I lived in NY City I carried a pack back and forth to work so if the power went out in the subway I had a book to read, a water bottle, and a flashlight; I made use of them several times. These days it depends on charging small computers everywhere. I'm leaving in a little while and will have to disconnect the garage door opener so I can lift the door by myself, then reconnect it for when the power returns. I guess the test when I get back home is if the door opens or not when I push the button on the remote control.

With the power distractions this morning I missed getting trash to the curb in time; it is full of the shreds from sorting and filing that I finished yesterday. I fear my rain barrel has refilled itself with the several inches of rain overnight, but my work clearing the area in the side bed where I'll plant garlic won't have been undone by the weather. I'm not opening the fridge again, that delicious peach cobbler will have to wait until dinner (it can be a great breakfast). Tonight I start a long weekend of cat sitting for my friend and at least I won't have to worry about watering her potted plants. She has caterpillars in an enclosure on her porch and I have rue and dill growing here if I need to replenish their food supply. Word salad to finish this post (where there is an autocorrect setting I have to adjust in my MS SwiftKey app - it's being bossy this morning.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 04:51 PM

I am finally recovering from the sinus affliction that has been bothering me since ragweed season opened in August. It's really quite shocking how a persistent discomfort in the head that renders me dizzy, queasy and tired, can erode my general joie de vivre. For the last week, I have been dizzy and queasy enough that just looking at the computer is miserable and God forbid I should do anything more challenging than washing the dishes.

The up side? Lots of time in the comfy chair, providing lap accommodation for both cats.

Getting to see the doctor on short notice is something of a trial these days. The practice does not advertise it, but it runs a so-called after-hours clinic, essentially sick parade for clients of the practice who should not wait two weeks for an appointment but also should not clutter up the emergency ward at the hospital. Each day, one of the doctors in the practice works that extra shift. Patients with an urgent-ish problem -- defined by me as an illness that requires prescription medication today, not two weeks from now -- must book, of course; God forbid one should just, y'know, walk in with one's miserable hacking cough. The after-hours clinic phone number is not posted anywhere in the office; if the receptionist takes pity on you, she might let it drop when you have been sufficiently reduced to desperate pleading for an appointment. Of course, you must wait until five o'clock to call for a clinic spot ... It's enough to make one slam down the phone in tears of frustration.

Once nose to nose with the doctor, all goes well. She listens carefully, takes notes, asks intelligent questions, briskly proposes an appropriate treatment, and then offers me a buckshee flu shot. The hard part is the obstacle course that always comes first.

It's raining in Stratford this week and looking more and more pre-winter-ish, but it's still oddly warm. We had one touch of frost on Monday, but today's high was 20C -- more like Germany than Ontario.

The hydro power fails here frequently, but rarely for more than a minute or two. I'll find the clock on the stove flashing 00:00 in the morning when I put the kettle on. It happens often enough that I don't bother resetting the clock on the microwave, which works just fine without it. The stove is less cooperative.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 08:39 PM

Dupont:
Spent early part of day planning weekend. Then off to Apple -Hi ho hi ho!! In the middle of transferring data from phone and computer to new phone...! Needed the password for the computer; I never use it so it did not make it onto the wonderful new list of passwords I made last week. Have to go back tomorrow - but now I have the password but the whole computer is topsy turvy. I have an appointment with a tech - and Hope! Really want it done for the weekend as there will be many opps to try it out.

Otherwise there is food to eat and all is well - as long as I remember to take Pau d'Arco, and eat choc and keep face hydrated so eyes are happy.

Robin brought last of plants in this am!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 23 - 11:43 PM

Dorothy, I hope you were able to conclude your data transfer issues and get a phone set up at Apple. I have a friend who visits regularly (she's planning her 90th birthday party for next May and may stay here or do a party at my house) who has on occasion needed to be taken to the Apple Store for some technical problem. There is a Jack In the Box restaurant nearby where I go wait while they tussle with her phone and tablet.

As an Android user, I think I found enough things to turn off in my Samsung tablet to stop the battery from draining too quickly. When I first started using it the battery strength was stunning, and I'm sure the various apps and Samsung proprietary programs as they were turned on became too active for my taste. I don't need it to check in with the Mothership as often as it has been doing.

The backyard lawn nearest the house got a mow today, so the rain in the next couple of days won't make going out a problem for the oldest dog. He's a Lab, he doesn't really care, what he likes is to be towel dried when he comes back in, but I want that area to be inviting and easy to walk through. We're already getting weather alerts about rain passing through the region tonight.

Today I received an email from the congressman who represents my district, and it included a letter that was never actually mailed to me on Sept. 25. It offers answers to everything I've had questions about a pension I get a portion of. Who knows how long I would have waited for this answer if I didn't ask for help. #MischiefManaged

Today I've made appointments for various things; my mammogram, the SUV oil change, and for the girls to get their shots and checkups at the vet. The dogs all got their heartworm medication (once a month) today. I inspected the garden today and am ready to protect it if we get cold weather (possibly on Monday through Wednesday in the overnight hours). My tarps are ready.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 11:40 AM

There was rain overnight and it's forecast for much of the day. Three nights next week may possibly offer a frost or freeze. That is so unfair, after all of the heat that pushed gardeners to try for a fall crop! I'll be putting out floating row covers over several areas (it's a gauzy tarp that helps keep the stuff under a few degrees warmer than the air).

Since I was out early to feed the cats I took my soggy self over to the local grocery with a great bulk section and with my favorite variety of raisin bran cereal. The pie pumpkins were tiny - 2 pounds each - that is something I'm going to have to grow for myself next year. There are cranberries in the freezer and in the next few weeks I'll load up on the root vegetables I bake instead of making stuffing for the turkey. And this year, a smaller bird so the air circulates in the oven well around it. I could possibly choose to do a turkey breast or two instead.

I haven't decluttered my calendar of a holiday, but I don't do much to decorate for Halloween and I'm not home to trick or treaters, it's just too hard on the dogs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 12:15 PM

I just booked my next COVID booster.

The house is grubby and I have yet to finish the minutes of the last choir board meeting. Outside is chilly and wet, so there's a good chance that I’ll actually achieve some improvement in both conditions. My sinus infection made a bit of a comeback yesterday, but it has ebbed again, much to my relief.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 23 - 09:21 PM

When I do the cat sitting one of the runs is simply to give a cat medication that must be taken at least an hour before or after food with his other medications. So today I went up late and gave him the medication then spent an hour doing my Essentrics exercises before feeding all of them dinner. Having a set time and nothing else to do does help me stay on task for the exercises.

We have a couple of days of rain ahead, so after tomorrow's cat run I'll be at home and perhaps I'll finally start doing some of the projects in the sewing studio. I may do another hour of exercises - I find them helpful for increased flexibility.

My daughter and her wife and their roommates are finishing a move to a new property, and if I play my cards right, I can give them any number of things from here that will be helpful in their new rural home. Not just plants for the garden, but extra gardening tools (and if it were helpful, at some point they could dismantle and move the greenhouse - especially if I ever think about moving from here).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Oct 23 - 07:57 PM

Essential shopping today on a cold damp day that followed a day that was very warm and humid. The heat is on/the heat is off. That's autumn in Texas. When I made the bed today I added a quilt to the sheet and thermal blanket. The layering begins.

In the yard this week I'll put down the floating row cover that keeps the plants underneath a few degrees warmer on those nights that just dip to freezing. Tuesday and Wednesday look like the nights that could clobber my garden.

Vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, and laundry today. Making the indoors more welcoming as the outside becomes surly. Rain is forecast for all night so I'll wait till morning and leave the trash bag at the curb. The bag out overnight could be torn by dogs or raccoons.

Time to start getting out the warmer dog beds, but also time to once again try to keep Cookie from tearing them to pieces.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 11:33 AM

Today I'll shift contents of the greenhouse, get the water barrel filled and the heater in place and seal the doorway on the north end, then move in two volunteer tomato plants and my small Texas Star Hibiscus in pots. The hibiscus is usually grown in the ground but with the heat this summer I started some in pots. They didn't grow huge or bloom but they did grow. I may also see if I can pot a couple of smaller things for the winter. Peppers. In the front yard it is usually sufficient to pull pots from that patio onto the porch to protect them. I'll take the battery trimmer out to the veggie garden and get the grass out of the way of some of the other crops then put down the floating row cover for the overnight hours for Tuesday and Wednesday nights (holding it down with a combination of pegs and bricks.)

My across the street neighbor has been taken to the hospital in an ambulance this morning. I was going to take over some fried eggplant for her soon (I just picked one and have a couple more almost ready to pick.) Her husband is at home so I'll make the whole eggplant parmesan dish and take it (I'm careful adding too many ingredients for her because of the past episodes of diverticulitis.)

I haven't turned on the heat yet but we're close to that event. The quilt on the bed and the ceiling heater in the bathroom for my shower last night are enough so far. Can I make it to November 1? That would probably be a new record.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Oct 23 - 12:05 PM

What the heck. Beat our post counters. 1000.

I've just scrolled through the Mudcat dropdown menus looking to any that are defunct due to the current disk error problems Max is working on. It was an interesting look at the early days of Mudcat, if anyone has a few minutes to take a look.

Making headway around the house this morning with laundry washed and dried and veggies steamed for the dogs and me for the next couple of days (broccoli). The Lab turned his nose up at raw zucchini, but I have a bet with myself that he'll still eat it cooked, so I'll steam some of that later today.