DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 10:49 AM

Last night I reversed myself and gave the dog just 1 Tramadol for his second dose of the day, and he was much happier, up and around, not in a sleepy stupor. So reduce the hard stuff and keep him on the same amount of the non-loopy stuff.

I have an appointment this week to take donated items over to the project that collects them for teachers, so I need to tidy the containers and boxes and resend the email asking what they want and don't want. I've already deaccessioned the glitter, but there is still a matter of small beads that they may or may not want. And a file cabinet that counts as furniture so I should probably file the form they have for furniture. Getting that file out of the hall will make walking that space easier. I don't always turn on the light in the evenings and it's hard enough avoiding tripping on a dark dog, let alone a dark dog lying next to the bulk of a file cabinet.

I've been reading more books on my 10.1" Samsung tablet and note that it is using more power than before the whole syncing photos to OneDrive process started, so have tried to figure out what setting in causing the power drain. These things check in with the mothership way more often than they need to. I hope Jon has figured out the device he mentioned recently.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 07:21 PM

I've let my fingers do the walking through the Lowe's website to track down the manufactured cedar siding that I need to replace a rotten piece (after I remove the rain barrel that has created a splash zone causing the damage.) They also have a box of mortar mix to use to fill the gaps in the brickwork under the soffit. I'll pick up materials tomorrow and get going on this work before critters decide to move indoors.

As the old Lab continues to slow down, after breakfast I started him on the combination of pain pills recommended by the vet to help with his hip discomfort. So far he's slept even more of the day than usual. I think the recommended dose of Tramadol is too much, so I'll try halving it tomorrow (and won't give him the second dose tonight.) The non-steroidal osteoarthritis one he gets just in the morning. This decline adds a somber note to the season.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Oct 23 - 03:41 PM

Heading home from the Getaway. For tonight, I’m in an over-priced, hyper-decorated bed-and-breakfast in Gettysburg PA. The owners have so crammed every room with Victorian doo-dads that there’s nowhere to sit and the guitar has to share the bed.

Speaking of the bed, it’s much better than what I encountered at the Super 8 in Manassas, which was like concrete. With the constant slamming of car doors outside, I might as well have been sleeping in the parking lot.

When they invent the Star Trek transporter, I’ll be one of the first in line. Getting there (anywhere) is definitely NOT half the fun.

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

Looking at the calendar, we're a month out from Daylight Savings Time to switch over to Standard Time. We're four weeks from Halloween, and US Thanksgiving is on November 24th, pretty early (on the fourth Thursday each year the date can range from the 22nd to 28th). Those who make holiday fruit cake, or who sew or otherwise manufacture gifts will be getting started. (The craft supplies stores have xmas stuff in stock at least by July for the very organized customers.) eBay listings of gift-type items need to be put up from now on.

It's too soon (at least it is this far south) to move pots for the winter, and those I do move will be things I can live with in the house, since winters in the greenhouse haven't been successful lately. That hard long freeze in 2021 killed off several favorite plants; had they been in the house they'd have been cold, but not dead. In the garden it is time to start tidying for next year, mulching some beds for winter crops, strewing seeds for wildflowers.

This is the calendar telling me these things; the 94^o day says nothing of this.

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

and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - she's nuts, she's out of line, and she's practicing medicine without a license. You are fully entitled to ignore her bullshit.

Lunch with friends today with an eclectic menu. My autumnal pumpkin bread was baked this morning for dessert. With it we had lentil soup (Egyptian - very simple with water, onion, lentils, and a couple of spices) and the main course was macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Acting like it's autumn even if it was in the 90s today. Good conversation - our lunch usually lasts for about three hours. I cleaned the kitchen, swept a couple of rooms, cleaned in the bathroom, so when everyone leaves the house looks good.

With the arrival of October I need to set aside my lazy September ways and get back to the gym and to more consistent volunteering. It simply has to cool off now, and let normal activities resume.

One of the channels that plays lots of older detective mystery shows has restarted Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I turned it on today, and it dawns on me that I never realized what a depressed thread runs through that particular program. I suspect my viewing of police procedurals won't include this one as much this autumn.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 01:38 PM

Dupont:

Still having mental problems due to APD crisis. Brain is not happy. Composing, in my head, missives to the DR. and to the misguided woman who told me repeatedly that I needed a hearing aid and that hearing loss is a precursor of Alzheimers - just the right thing to tell someone who is already terrifically upset. Found another article on APD - NOT a hearing problem - but R has not yet read it and my brain loses the thread after a few minutes. The bottom line seems to be - no help for what happened to me. I still think about sound engineers - the way the sound waves affect my brain...? I still feel fragile with no idea how it could happen. Of course, the only "solution" is to accept ... Would it be worth a PET Scan to find out what is wrong in the brain?

Went to "the music" last night and really enjoyed it. Sound system worked fine. Just the usual APD issue of not understanding due to mixture of words and instruments. Nice to see people, after a while...

Making an effort to clear some of the first floor of books, etc. Mostly R's and he started off well this morning... The omelet is not yet made and he has disappeared. The day is ... still light!

I got tired of fighting with the sheet/quilt/weighted blanket so I left the sheet off last night. Spent the night fighting for a piece of the quilt - cold feet. ...???

R is back at it and things are going to the basement/cellar - somewhere else!! Out of sight!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 23 - 10:44 AM

Progress yesterday: the front was mowed and part of it was trimmed. I'm not good at taking out a broom to sweep grass off of the driveway at the same time (I hate blowers and it's a waste of water to hose it off). If it sits there for a day it dries and is much easier to sweep away. I'll go out this afternoon and take care of that. The glitter left the porch in the evening and I'm next looking at antique table cloths, runners, pillow covers, etc. The double damask tablecloths can sell on eBay but the rest is small linen and cotton pieces are fussy and there is a nominal return for the work to list them.

The kitchen is clean and the table is set for lunch. I'm working on cooking/baking several things this morning to be ready by noon. One of the friends coming over is involved in a slow-motion declutter of his old electronic equipment. So far I've helped him move out towers, a CRT monitor, large TV, printers, hard drives, and other gadgets. Today he is bringing another batch that my ex (who resides in FW) will take over to the Fort Worth recycle station (it is on FW property adjacent to our village and named for our village, but we can't use it - go figure!). I cleaned the ancient stainless steel dutch oven that sits on the patio with dog water and will send them into the yard once company arrives (they love company but they could knock over one disabled friend). That pot washed up in the creek one day and while I haven't used it for cooking it works for the dogs.

This reminds me I haven't gone down to walk the creek for a long time; I usually go to find fossils.

This weekend I moved furniture in the sewing studio and am trying a new arrangement of the small table that has served to hold some of the regularly used small tools between the two sewing machines. Being able to find what I need when I need it is the key to this working.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 07:22 PM

I do absolutely everything on my iPad mini. I'm no techie and I don't need to do complex things on computers. My massive and ancient Sony Vaio laptop sits in the other room, lonely and redundant.

For years we've had a Canton soundbase for our telly. The telly sits on top and it's completely unobtrusive, unlike those long sound bars. The sound quality is impeccable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Sep 23 - 06:47 PM

I’ve taken a break from the plays with the laptop and don’t know what I want to do to pass some time next. My last attempt was a go at Breakout.

I suppose I could take a longer look at the iPad mini. It is a nice device but I’ve yet to work out what I want to use it for.. That said, I got a pen for it today. I’d gone onto Amazon to look for a slimmer stylus for my phone when I stumbled on a Staetdler pencil that interested me. I also noted it said it wasn’t compatible with Apple pencils which used their own system and became curious about that. I found a genuine one at about £100 but also cheaper clones in the £10-£20 range and I got one to try. I like in. It, with the Apple OCR, seems to do a pretty good job interpretation my handwritten scrawl and although it needs charging, this is done magnetically so no cables to mess with.

Another Amazon item received today was a remote for the Yamaha soundbase under the living room tv. The power button on the tv remote switches both units on/off but occasionally, things go out of sync. It just needs the power button on the Yamaha remote pressing to restore the sync but dad lost the Yamaha remote and had been without sound for a week. Bloody parents, I wish they would be more careful. Another thing dad lost recently was his bank card which was supposed to be   kept in his wallet. I ordered him a new card and asked a carer to ensure he signed it and put it in his wallet. Of course, dad has lost his wallet now.

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

We have an ozone action day today so they want less driving, no gas powered mowers, etc. I'll get out the electric weed whacker and get started, wearing a cloth mask while I work.

Another eBay parcel has sold, picked up this morning on the porch by the mail carrier. This one served as a cautionary listing - buying something on deep discount to sell on eBay doesn't always work. I will break even after fees are collected, so I didn't lose money. Meanwhile, the rest of the glitter will be collected via "porch pickup" by someone in the Buy Nothing group. Heaven help her with that much glitter in her house.

A note about my homemade granola: I decided this morning that I'm tired of having to floss sesame seeds out from between my teeth, but I like a robust mix of seeds and nuts, so I did some searching of other recipes and I'll switch to unsalted pepitas (small pumpkin seeds). They're small but still, 10x larger than sesame seed.

Cleaning day along with yard day. I'll pace myself since it's still high 90s out there. When I come in to cool off I'll pickup around here, sweep, etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 08:56 PM

I picked up the patterns, some really nice styles in there, all filed neatly in two boxes. She had blouses, skirts, pants, dresses, jackets, coats, and outfit sets; there must have been 50 patterns in there. When we met my daughter we transferred them to a bag for her to carry with her back into her museum after we all had lunch. I'll use the boxes to organize the craft donations I'll hand over next week. Nothing going to waste.

We discussed the scraps my daughter generates in her sewing; she has been tossing them but will now box them and give them to me. I know - sounds like more clutter - but I intend to pick out what I want and make the rest available to quilters. I'm a go-between on that.

This weekend I have to do yard work to get ahead of the tall grass and weeds in gardens. I have guests coming for lunch on Sunday so I'll spend the next couple of evenings cleaning and dusting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Sep 23 - 12:40 PM

Glitter sold loose, e.g. In small plastic vials, is banned in the EU from next month. Much of it is a mixture of plastic and aluminium and it takes over a thousand years to degrade in the environment. It comes under the category of microplastics once it gets into waterways, which it frequently does.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:49 PM

That was interesting. I listed the two vials of glitter and they sold within hours. I asked $12 for the two, because another sale of Woolworth glitter (last summer) had four containers for $20. eBay changed some forms and the post office changed some pricing, so I had to go in and double check my shipping form (eBay had added an extra zero to a measurement, making a 4" dimension 40", and a different price bracket). Fixed that. I asked her what she does with them - that won't change the sale, but I'm interested if there is a Woolworth ephemera collecting thing out there. I loved Woolworth when I was a kid, and I walked past one on my way to and from high school. (Kress was very similar - both of them had interesting basements and they always smelled like fresh popped popcorn.)

In the meantime, on the Buy Nothing page someone offered two large boxes of sewing patterns. Sizes are way too big for me, but not for my daughter and all of the costumes she makes (and she can adjust patterns up or down with tailoring skills, so a size 20 skirt can be adjusted to size 12 if you know what you're doing.) I got my dibs in and will pick up the hoard of commercial patterns (many apparently never used) that I'll hand off to her. Two office file drawer sized boxes. In this world of oddball sales and donation, it has been a good day. A plus - her dad will go with me because the pattern lady lives near our favorite discount grocery. So we'll pick up the boxes, go shop for produce, then see our daughter when the boxes are dropped off. For these these two retirees, that describes a pretty good day! (And maybe I should put all of the glitter together in one offer because someone else like me will have a use for all of it.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 08:08 PM

Yes and yes. I took a photo of the pincushion and glitter gets everywhere. That's why I confined it to a few projects and worked over a rimmed baking sheet and haven't done anything with it for years.

Two of the glitter vials were so old they don't even have zip codes on the addresses, they're pre-1963 and my mom must have picked them up for 29 cents each at Woolworth, "America's Christmas Store." Those kinds of things sell on eBay, so those were set aside. The others will be offered soon on the buy nothing page.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:59 PM

I have read that glitter is the herpes of the craft world.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 05:00 PM

I hope you took a photo of the pincushion beforehand! What a little treasure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 23 - 11:41 AM

This morning I took apart a clunky pin cushion, the Mother's Day gift I remember making in 1st or 2nd grade. Mom sent the can (standard tuna-sized) from home, and I don't remember if she had to supply anything else. It was filled with sand topped with some kind of spongy padding fiber (to catch pins) topped with red acetate and "MOM" written in black marker. A can-height band of wide masking tape anchored the red edges, itself carefully hidden by fat yarn wrapped around the can over a layer of paste. (Elementary school paste was delicious and not like the Elmer's milk glue). A blue protective felt base went last (my teacher really did think of everything!) The can has a permanent painted label for Pacific Pearl Fancy Dungeness crab, packed by a company belonging to Ivar Haglund. How appropriate. I thought it would be a tuna can, but this is even better. All other materials tossed, the can is a postcard from my mother in 1960. It is possible to waste a lot of time looking into how that label is painted on the can, but I think they printed the flat steel then assembled the cans.

With this small token from the Eisenhower or Kennedy-era stowed on view beside other kitchen antiques, I have moved on to deaccessioned craft items and assembled three sets of glitter to list on the Buy Nothing page. A little glitter goes a long way and with duplicates of several colors it's my prerogative to parcel it into smaller sets.

It's muggy today and there is ragweed in the air. With no rain in sight I'm struggling with the allergies and the heat. Bleh. Will we get a fall, or go straight to cold? Fall here is usually only about a week at the most; in my youth I was spoiled in the Pacific Northwest with autumn lasting most of September and October. And fancy crab in a can that cost 33 cents.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 08:13 PM

Good luck with the ficus, Dorothy. In their native environment they grow quite large.

This afternoon I sat down at the sewing machine to cobble together more kitchen scrub rags (a sandwich of one part old terry cloth washcloth and two layers of old t-shirt). It is stitched around the outer edge, turned right-side out, then zigzagged around the outside edge and stitched across to turn it into a more solid absorbent rag for cleaning. I also mended the armpit of a favorite t-shirt and did some machine darning on holes in dish towels that Cookie tore up in her puppy days. All is now in the laundry waiting to be put back into service.

Finally getting to bake my autumnal loaves of pumpkin bread. I've rounded up the ingredients and will have it ready for lunch for friends here this weekend. It's still pretty warm for baking, but I'm tired of not doing much for so long.

I haven't been to the gym in ages, not feeling motivated. I have several things to do tomorrow that take me in that direction so I will make a point to stop in. I have started looking around for other smaller gyms that are close to the house, and I'll save the distant one for when I want to swim.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 01:47 PM

Dupont:

Robin read the comprehensive treatise I found on APD and was impressed by it - very professional with about 15 pages of references. And no solutions for the loss of comprehension due to exposure to toxins. Yes, people have trouble when there is background noise. I accept that problem. But to fail to comprehend 6 or 8 people, speaking one at a time, whom I know I can understand usually, with no background noise at all and an excellent sound system ??? The only other time this sort of thing happened, I totally understood one speaker and only understood "the" as spoken by the second one. This is not a hearing loss! This might be to do with distortion of sound waves in my brain? I shall continue to check it out with musician/sound engineer friends. I am only gradually recovering from the shock and certainly am not going to pay for a hearing aid on the off chance that this might happen again. !!!! Maybe if I had moved to a different part of the room I would have received the sound waves differently. ???

In the meantime, I am trying to recover a semblance of order in the house and yard. The Mohawk team will be along to rescue the yard!! YAY! The house is inch by inch. R has been kind about coming home earlier in the eve (before 9 pm!) so we have time to talk before sleep.

The ficus tree in the den has reached the top of the window so a lower cabinet will be moved to that window and the table it is on can go to that emptied spot. A few cobwebs may be disturbed! More plant movement will be taking place as those on the back porch need to come indoors and a few that did not survive neglect will be removed to the place of dead plants/empty pots...

Bring in the pumpkin, see if there are any sweet potatoes in the garden. And look at improving gardening methods for next year. R prefers the yellow cherry tomatoes to those tomatoes that produced prolifically (black/red which our friends loved). The two large plants I bought did little and died early on: Lots of rain but I believe it hit the profuse leaves and went on the porch rather than into the pot so the plants suffered from lack of water! And I guess the critters ate all the squash flowers - they were beautiful but were gone before having a chance to produce!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 23 - 12:03 PM

I did some shopping for friends yesterday and brought home relatively little for myself (fresh veggies). Yesterday when I went through the sewing studio to for yardage I found a blouse tossed in there when I couldn't fit into it. Now it fits, so it's in the laundry awaiting freshening up.

Going through shelves in the bathroom I pulled a bottle of Tyrolean pine oil that smells wonderful but makes a deadly slippery bath if used that way so I haven't finished the very old bottle. The smell is still strong so I looked up uses. It seems setting it in a room (how?) works as an air freshener. I take the lids off of jar candles and use them that way (they don't need to burn to smell good), but an oil? I suppose there are small bottles I can use to mix it with some water? Any ideas? I also have some really concentrated mint my neighbor gave me that might be used that way. She puts it on her neck to help with headaches, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Sep 23 - 04:21 PM

The yard is overgrown where the lawn isn't dead, and I was going to start some work this morning—that is, I was until I found the code enforcement tag on my door saying I needed to mow the lawn. These guys try my patience. He gave me until Oct. 6 to mow, so I'm not going to mow for a while, I'm going to let him stew. And when I do work out there, it will be evenings and weekends so he doesn't get the satisfaction of seeing me do the work. #FirstWorldAggravation

I've pulled two large vintage fabric items out of the sewing studio that will never be used. A futon cover and something that might have been used as a tree skirt around a xmas tree are headed to Goodwill. Pieces usable by me are being organized by type, and some need attention first (one in the laundry now).

Finally getting a few eBay listings up.

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

It's finally cool enough to start walking the dogs in the mornings (I am not an early riser, so we're talking about mid-morning). Walking is considered a weight-bearing exercise and my poor fitness tracker is feeling neglected this summer; these walks will help with bone density and tracker steps.

I started raking pine needles at the curb today and need to keep it up—I want to leave an area around the base of at least one tree that is bare except for needles. And elsewhere I'll mow the tallest weeds to tidy the front. The weeds in the garden will come out via hand tools and newly-cleared areas covered with some of the bagged mulch I picked up a while back. In the house it is still a broom and vacuum operation to control the dog hair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 08:35 PM

I've had hearing aids for eleven years. I didn't know I had hearing loss though I had struggled in noisy places to hear anyone talking to me. I'd gone to the audiologist to discuss my tinnitus, which is when I found out about the loss of my high frequencies. Fair to say, they're not perfect and they limit my ability to zone in on what I want to listen to and sideline the other stuff. I had to give up playing music in sessions because I lost the ability to latch on and focus on other musicians and often found myself all at sea. My hearing aids are free on the NHS, as are the batteries for them and replacements when things go wrong, as they do. You can elect to pay for hearing aids and that gives you choices. The received wisdom is that the free NHS aids are "last year's models" but they work a treat for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 03:14 PM

Allergies are kicking my backside today, and it has me thinking of trying the pill splitter to take a small dose of Sudafed (I'm avoiding it in general because of the BP rise from it).

Another item, this time a phone from the ex's house, offered in the buy-nothing group. Someone is picking it up soon.

I took a quick survey of the front yard this afternoon; there's a lot of yard work to be done out there, and several modest repairs. Another week in the mid-90s then I should be able to get out there and do the jobs without heat stroke.

My mom had hearing aids, and when she was in the hospital near the end didn't wear them because she was afraid they'd both be broken. One fell on the floor and was crushed under a nurse's shoe and after that she never used the other one. They can be a nuisance because they are so small and so expensive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Sep 23 - 10:15 AM

I'm getting ready to be away from home for a week and a bit. Very twitchy -- clearly tense about the prospect of crossing the border and travelling so far alone for the first time since (holy Dinah!) the mid-1980s.

The itinerary is very relaxed, with lots of time to rest, find a loo, get lost, and otherwise make retrograde progress. I have only one deadline: arrive at the West River Retreat Center (sic) by supper-time on Friday. The cats will be fine, with an experienced cat-visitor coming in every day. I have plenty of money. What in blazes is my problem?

My last major task before leaving is finishing the minutes from the last choir board meeting. Surely I'll settle down when that's done.

Dorothy, the hearing loss you describe is common in my family, and I fully expect to develop it myself over the next fifteen years if I live that long. The only coping method we have found is to avoid large groups and noisy places -- even church if the organ will be played -- and get a one-on-one briefing after public meetings and other gatherings for information. Yes, it's limiting, but my elders managed it by organizing the younger generation to provide those briefings and by writing a hell of a lot of letters. Without children and grandchildren to depend on, I'll have to find other means when it happens to me.

My elder brother -- an ex-artillery officer -- also suffers from the kind of deafness that comes from exposure to loud noise and explosions. His hearing aids meet about half his needs, and I'm impressed by his efforts to hide his frustration. One of my brothers-in-law is a retired plumber who worked in a Chrysler assembly plant for decades. He manages his hearing loss, now nearly total, with hearing aids (again, only partially effective) and by using headphones to listen to radio, podcasts and audiobooks.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 07:52 PM

Dorothy, down here in the states now you can buy hearing aids without going through a doctor or getting a prescription. They cost a lot less than the ones the doctors push as well. My mom had certain frequencies she couldn't hear (she is convinced it was due to some flying during WWII in very noisy troop transport airplanes). It wasn't the volume of what she was hearing, it was the ability to distinguish what it means.

The noise of a nearby thunderstorm has upset one of the dogs, but no rain so far and it has moved east into the next county. I did a little yard work, trimming small limbs into the trash can and lopping the Mexican plum branch that was tangled with the Internet line from the pole behind the house. When this house was built the only line back there was the phone, but that is long gone. Same wooden pole though.

More sorting in the sewing studio, and I can see that some of the fabric in there was grabbed at work during an office purge but I'll never use it. I think one rayon piece might have served as a tree skirt one year. I have a half-dozen large lidded bins empty right now, but they'll be given a task soon enough. The dresser in there is also empty.

I washed all of the bedding today, down to the stretchy sided mattress pad, the light blanket, and the pillows. The dog hair is accumulating in the den so I'll sweep and vacuum this evening before sending it out in tomorrow's trash. And tomorrow I must take the mower to the front yard before the code enforcement guy comes by complaining about a few tall weeds (most of the lawn is still brown.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 04:41 PM

Beaver:

Still not getting much done. And, since a meeting last Thurs, mostly fits of depression and tears. Of course, we all know the difficulties in obtaining health care so I went to the meeting for "seniors" on health care. There were speakers from a number of different "health care" providers. The room seemed to be non-toxic; the sound system was.. strong ... I did not understand one word of any speaker. That is not an exaggeration- not even "the". The only answer I get is - a hearing aid! But I heard the blah blah blah quite well.

This has happened before - I understood one speaker and not the other. But... NONE! Each person was known to me and in a conversation I would have no problem understanding. I am totally traumatized, trying to convince myself it doesn't matter. But, to be told I need a hearing aid when I can hear quite adequately --- AND do not want MORE noise!

Google: material on APD, caused in my case by chemical exposure in 2000. And person after person telling me ...hearing aid. The local "Dr of Audiology" virtually pushed me out of her office when she realized I would not buy a hearing aid. The best article is specific to professional audiologists - long! So far I see causes but have not gotten to "cures" ...

Still pots to be glazed and fired, pots to be trimmed; but I need to get out of bed and into the studio before the solar gain makes it unbearable. Frost a few nights last week. Planning to go back to QC on Sat - Thanksgiving and a visitor from BC. Yard work needs to be done there - by the Mohawks - if I can get the energy to phone. I am managing to eat well - good soups from the local soup makers!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Sep 23 - 03:35 PM

Yesterday I got the COVID vaccination and am feeling a bit achy and moody today. But the mood could be because the calendar says Autumn and the thermostat says 98^o. The high is supposed to be 103. The next 10 days will be back in the low to mid 90s.

Some of our members are headed to the Getaway this week (it happens next weekend) - have a good time, all who attend! I hope there are a few fall colors along the way to add to the enjoyment of the trip.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 03:12 PM

I'm debating about moving an antique dresser from the sewing studio; it's part of a matching set with a bed and side table. When I look on eBay for Victorian wooden dressers there are a lot of them listed, but when looking at the completed sales the only thing moving out there are the doll furniture dressers and the salesman samples of big pieces. On the FB Marketplace there are quite a few local listings and the prices are modest. I emptied the upper drawers but the largest bottom drawer is a cache of stuff that the previous room user may want to look through. I'll box it up later. The closet in that room is packed with stuff in storage for that same tenant and also needs to go away.

Coming from one of those drawers is a clunky silver dresser set (mirror, brush, comb) given us by our pediatrician when the first child was born. It was never used and I see they sell on eBay, but do I want to bother? Possibly. One photo and it's listed. There is no emotional tie to this like there are to some other relics of babyhood.

Last evening and this morning I made two runs up to my friend's house to feed her cats during a quick trip out of town, and more of her butterfly chrysalises decided it was time to become butterflies. I released one at sunset yesterday and this morning the two in the enclosure were still drying and firming the wings, so she let them out at noon when she got home. The entertainment value of this is right up there with picking your first tomato of the season or the first big squash in the spring.

Going through my sewing supplies I've decided to discard the small rotary cutter inherited from my Mom's craft stuff. This one is a little scary to use, too easy to get fingers close to the blade when the guard retracts but doesn't completely keep you from contact. I'm replacing with a $10 Dritz cutter that reviewers say has a great pressure sensitive guard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 10:59 AM

An environmentalist artist friend makes a point of picking up discarded canvases and useful-sized pieces of discarded plywood and MDF (usually out at the curb on trash day in his neighborhood) to use for his paintings. Your old canvases, used or not, can be put to use.

Lunch at a favorite Szechuan restaurant yesterday revealed that I can get lower-salt dishes if I ask. The flavor isn't as pronounced, but now that I'm used to not so much salt, it still tastes good. I suppose I could carry some of the Nu Salt with me if I want a bit more. I'm sure there is still plenty in the food just because of how ingredients are prepared, but it takes it out of the stratosphere. And this doubles the number of places we have on our very short list. I still have to skip the iced tea with the meal because caffeine picks up where salt leaves off on BP.

Some sewing kits (cross stitch) were picked up by a member of the local Buy Nothing FB group. For her nieces. I could have sold them on eBay but it wasn't worth the work to list them. It is depressing to see the gobs of notions, old thread spools, zippers, hooks and eyes, small devices, bric-a-brac, all from estates that are offered in lots on eBay. (They should throw out the thread and elastic, they're too brittle to use, and there can only be a small number prop departments looking for ancient sewing stuff for films and TV shows.) People are buying them so they aren't going to waste but I think I can discard a lot of that now and not have it featured in photos of an estate sale here. (People do estate sales now when they're downsizing to move to smaller houses or apartments, so it isn't just because people are deceased that these sales happen.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Sep 23 - 07:09 AM

I got the new booster at a grocery store. It's a zinger but not bad.

T have 6 crates of art supplies but I'm reluctant to donate them yet.
The 50 canvasses and framed pictures I saved to paint over, can go.
Procrastination won. That will clear a quarter of the basement.
My back is so much better, this fall will see a mass donation of tools and sundry junk. YAY

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 07:37 PM

Scored a nice set of portable pet stairs at Goodwill today, and I'll see about setting up the recliner so Zeke can get into it again. I'll cover it with something waterproof and place it so the casters don't roll the chair while he moves in and out (I may have to remove them for the time being).

Several years ago I planted a Mexican plum tree in the backyard and this year it has decided to produce a crop. I've wondered about how to collect them without spending a lot of time picking them up individually, and today I chanced upon an ad for a device that rolls and the objects (nuts, acorns, balls, whatever, depending on the size you buy) are scooped up through the wires of the ball-shaped roller. I've ordered a Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer that arrives tomorrow. If I don't collect these they will sprout - I've had a few sprout in years past, but this year it's a big crop (relative to the small tree). I need to figure out what to do with the fruit. I was thinking this was one of those fruitless fruit trees, but it isn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 11:42 AM

Good work, Sandra!

The donation program for teachers art materials has a calendar that is booked out several weeks. As I was setting up an appointment and checking my own calendar the time I wanted closed, so I had to grab the next half-hour slot in early October. I sent an email listing some of the things that I have to be sure they accept them. The file cabinet may be one of those items, so I can package my donation materials and store them in the drawers. I just noticed the welded steel file cabinet rolling base a friend gave me - I'll add that to the donation stack. The program is looking for volunteers, so depending on how the drop-off goes, it might be a place to spend time. They're located next door (perilously close) to one of the best European bakeries in town, so I would have to be careful about the calorie intake in that neighborhood.

My short list for today has one item crossed off immediately - I don't need to water the garden. Last night around midnight storms rolled through and it looks like about 1.5" of rain. Nice!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Sep 23 - 05:44 AM

she who dies with the most (insert type of craft materials) wins!!

I recently found homes for 3 collections - books on historic costume (dancers who make & wear elaborate, historically accurate 19th century gowns), 18" dolls dressed using the books (musician who plays for the dancers), & teddy bears I made (her daughter - both do a lot of craft & have lotsa' stashes!) Books filled most of 2 large bookshelves which now contain almost all of my (un-filed) craft stuff!

Much of it was on a long heavy coffee table I'd found in the back lane years ago (it was fun getting it up the back stairs, fortunately a neighbour came along & she took one end!) more of it was under said table & in front of said table, almost blocking the view of the dolls in their cabinet. Half of what is left on the table is 5 big bags of yarn I bought for a friend who knits for charity, the rest will fit on an empty shelf!!!! Then I'll be able to see the dolls before they are eventually taken away. Unfortunately the cabinet will not be going with the dolls, but I know a charity that will take it.

One of my boxes of craft stuff is full of felt as I used to make & teach felt toys, I'll be using a piece or 2 in an embroidery project, but haven't used it for a long time (oops - do I really need a whole box?) Another stash is a wooden trunk full of yarn & padded coathangers. I knit covers for them for a charity shop ...

We have a charity that runs craft shops, where we take our unwanted stuff & buy someone else's unwanted stuff. Sometimes I take back stuff I've bought & when I pop off the twig my poor sister will take my stash there after my crafty friends take what they want to add to their stashes!

So many projects, so much to start or complete, then keep or gift, but I've recently made stuff for others (4 banners for Sydney Folk Festival) & some contributions to a 3 metre wallhanging - all the fun of creating something then it goes on it's way!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 09:39 PM

I just pitched a great stack of Ordnance Survey maps of Wales and Michelin maps of France and Germany into the recycle box. The battlefield map of the Ypres salient is somehow still in the box …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 06:07 PM

The Scottish wool lengths have left my SUV, but the old notions stayed (they're probably brittle). A bag of yarn was claimed along with the Bedazzler, scissors, needles (straight and sewing machine), paint brushes, and probably a few other gadgets. Back at home I realized I still had a part that is supposed to go in the Bedazzler box, so sent a note and will deliver it later in the week.

I have several garments like you describe, probably made in shops by seamstresses in the 1940s for mom, no labels. Probably from Japan or Hong Kong when she was over there as a WAC. Silk is hard to sew with (I think it unravels?) but I'll look into what can be done with it. I won't toss them (it is exactly as Charmion's Corollary describes).

This afternoon I took another dive - this time into felt. Why did I have so much? What was I doing with it? There are no artifacts here to remind me. I think there was a bunch given away at the university library when departments were having to clear out for life-safety construction projects (asbestos removal, fire sprinklers installed, etc. Everything was emptied out). Surplus items without barcodes could be discarded so were put out for anyone to claim, and I would have grabbed the fabric.

The last bin I touched had a length of velvet from Mom's house - I'll never use it. That might be one to sell, it's enough to make something nice for a small to medium-sized person (when the nap is directional it doesn't go as far). In our family that would be me, but I won't make anything for me like that. I think it also came from Hong Kong. Mom had some department store catalogs that she used for orders when she came back to the states.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 02:04 PM

In re: Smallpox vaccination scars.

Like most southern Canadians of my age, I was vaccinated against smallpox as a toddler. At the age of 17, I was vaccinated again because I was going to France and had no documentary record of the original dose. In those days, a Canadian had to prove inoculation against smallpox after most foreign travel; only the United States, the United Kingdom and maybe the Nordic countries were exempt. Definitely not France.

Then I joined the armed forces and got vaccinated yet again, despite my fresh scar and the official record booklet that went with it. Each recruit was assumed to be an immunological tabula rasa, and we were inoculated against almost everything from mumps to yellow fever. Not cholera or plague, however, because the shots then available for those diseases gave only about six months of protection ( yellow fever was good for 10 years). Any deployment to a notorious hotbed (e.g., Congo) was always preceded by an extended visit to the warrant officer in the Preventive Medicine section.

So I once had three of those little round scars, two on the left shoulder and one on the right. Only the most recent, from 1974, is barely discernible now; the others have faded out of existence.

As for needle parades at school -- every year, from Grade One to Grade Six, with the entire school lined up for the village doctor and a nurse from the Carleton County public health office. It was a combined dose of typhoid, paratyphoid, tetanus and diphtheria (TABTD) and a separate needle for polio -- no oral vaccines on sugar cubes for us! The MMR vaccine -- targeting measles, mumps and rubella -- appeared well after I had survived all three diseases and left school. I've heard that, in Ontario, inoculation campaigns have even whooping cough and chicken pox on the run.

At age eight, when I was In Grade Four, I had whooping cough, rubella, and a full-blown case of red measles, all within a span of about eight months. No wonder I never really learned how to calculate with vulgar fractions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 01:15 PM

I still have a couple of silk dress lengths -- large pieces of fabric from which to make dresses -- dating from the 1980s, and a swath of blue Chinese damask from the '50s that would once have made a wonderful jacket lining. Not so sure about that now -- its pattern (coolies and pagodas) would not please the modern taste.

But I don't wear dresses much any more, let alone dresses expensively tailored from fabric that must not go in the washing machine. What's more, I have no idea where I would find a dressmaker willing to take on such a project now. So the fabric remains at the bottom of the barrack box full of clothing that I have yet to face parting with, such as two wedding dresses (both mine) and my father's dressing gown.

Someone should draw up some Rules of Decluttering, starting with the Law of Tenure, to wit: The longer an item has been in your possession, the harder it is to part with.

Charmion's Corollary to the Law of Tenure: If an item is inherited, the difficulty of parting with it increases geometrically with every generation through which it has passed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 12:42 PM

Yarn! I never use it, why do I have a bin of it? I kept a few partial skeins for those times I need it for a knot or two on something, I don't knit or crochet (though I know how to do both - at this point they don't interest me.) Paper - ancient - someone else can use it so it's all going into the daughter-shopping/donate box in the SUV. On the keep side, I found the rest of the braided yarn kit along with instructions. Low tech, high rewards with those.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 06:41 PM

I started photographing an eBay listing and intended to plug the camera into the older computer with the newer Adobe software, but the file cabinet from the closet was sitting in the chair spot at that desk. So I wrestled cabinets for a while (without emptying the contents of the plywood plank desktop), transferred the files, and replugged equipment. Now I'll turn to the eBay stuff and I have a file cabinet ready to list on Freecycle.

Rugs are thudding around in the dryer after a slow ultra-handwash trip through the washer. This includes a braided rug I pulled from the craft room shelves. Mom made it decades ago and it may need to be re-stitched to reinforce it, but it's in good shape.

The high is 93^o today, so the summer heat hasn't completely drained from our atmosphere and the next few nights won't go below the mid-70s. That said, morning work in the yard in the 70s isn't bad.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 11:32 AM

The scar from my smallpox vaccination is no longer visible, but I remember getting it. We were all lined up in the hall at my elementary school in Seattle and it was administered to each of us in that efficient and public setting. The school also ran occasional TB tests; possibly to do with it still being in the population in the 1960s and someone in the school testing positive. The world has changed since then. There is a small bruise from my flu shot where he hit a capillary with the tiny needle.

This morning was the last of the cat sitting runs, and the drive was marked by passing a couple of odd vehicular incidents. One car stalled perpendicular across the right lane and up on the sidewalk on a viaduct; it looked like a broken axle. The other was people standing in the turn lane arguing with one crumpled vehicle behind another that appeared unmarked. This is often the case when small unibody plastic cars rear-end heavy metal pickup trucks.

It is time to start decluttering the yard. Long pants and work shoes and safety glasses and a hat are ready to go. Trimming, mowing, sweeping. Putting away the wading pool that graced the front yard during the heat (for birds and bugs). I have a lot of pine needles to rake and use as mulch, but raking them takes finesse since they're long and pokey and get into my shoes and socks.

A box was just taped together and will go into the SUV to hold all of the ejected craft stuff. This week I'll let my daughter shop it first, then take it to the teacher-use donation site. I think she's getting ready to move house, so may not be wanting to add more to her stash (though I can offer her some big boxes that might be very welcome.)

Autumn starts Saturday after a long difficult summer. My mood is better just looking at that date on the calendar.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Sep 23 - 08:18 AM

Endomorphins ;^/ The sore person's friend

If you don't have a smallpox vaccination scar you are not one of my peers. A Florida public health official announced that the Covid booster is not safe. Florida is now the nation's hotbed of diseases including leprosy, Covid, Dengue, malaria and Florida man insanity.

I have personally seen only one case of leprosy. It's not pretty

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 10:40 PM

The day started out kind of glum, probably the approaching autumn. It has that effect sometimes, but I managed to get enough things finished today to generate some endorphins. The biggest accomplishment was the transfer of my ex's house landline to Google Voice. A couple of weeks ago we went to T-Mobile to port his AT&T phone and last week the house dial tone stopped. Google Voice won't port landlines, only cell phone lines, so T-Mobile was our chosen go-between.

Logging onto T-Mobile the first time is via their authentication activity in a cell phone, so today we used my retired cell phone with the new SIM card and were able to logon to generate the port-out-code to move the phone number over to Google Voice.

He paid $20 to Google, a one-time charge for the transfer, and in a couple of days all calls going to the house phone number will hit the Google spam filter that's pretty good. And because he shared his current phone's contact list with Google Voice (when he installed the app on the Samsung phone), Voice will only forward calls from people on his list. Whew.

A huge bouffant pile of dog hair went into the trash tonight. Tomorrow I turn my attention from the house to the yard and start trimming around the ragged edges of lawn and gardens. The pile of branches at the curb is still waiting pickup (bulky waste) so I'll add to the pile until it goes away.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:38 AM

It is cool enough here to start walking the dogs again but Zeke will be staying home unless I decide to try to drag him in the wagon. I suspect he wouldn't stay down in the wagon and too high a center of gravity would make even a trip around the longish block near me precarious. We are weeks away from switching from cool to heat, but I'm almost to turning off the ceiling fan in the bedroom overnight. Or I need to get another light covering; it will be a negotiation for a few days before the fan is turned off.

Last night I did a COVID test since I'd been in a group of unmasked people on Wednesday. There are no symptoms, this was for an early warning since I'm giving a tour at the museum today. Negative, as expected.

My seedlings are looking good so it's time to start clearing the spots where they'll be planted for the fall, and I may put one or two each in large pots (I put in seeds for six cucumber and six calabash zucchini). It's also time to take the mower and the weedwacker out to trim around the scruffy front yard and bring in the wading pool with the little floating solar-powered fountain. The birdbaths are always out there, but the pool takes a little more maintenance.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 11:17 AM

"Meatloaf position"! I love it!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 10:44 AM

The Getaway organizers want everyone in attendance to prove inoculation and to test negative before and during the event.I emailed my Province of Ontario vaccination certificate to the registrar with a question: Are five anti-COVID jabs good enough, although the most recent was almost a year ago, or must I get jabbed again before attending? I ask this because the Ministry of Health has a new vaccine, developed to target the latest variant, and it won't be distributed until late October. I don't fancy getting jabbed twice if I don't have to.

Beautiful weather in Perth County this week, markedly less hot and definitely chilly at night. I switched the thermostat from Cool to Heat on Thursday, when I arose to personal gooseflesh and an indoor temperature of 17.5C. Within half an hour, both cats were ensconced in meatloaf position on top of floor vents.

My personal fitness program is going well so far -- extended walks every day, greatly encouraged by conditions outside. Also, my annual bout of autumnal hay-fever has subsided, so I can huff all that delicious fresh air without wheezing and sneezing. The tourists are still in town, however, supporting the theory that man remains vile even when every prospect pleases.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 06:16 PM

Vaccination research shows that the COVID shot will be available here at the end of the month and I need to look into RSV - the shot is $350 out of pocket if my insurance doesn't pay. So I got the flu shot today.

This afternoon I opened a shoebox full of small cross-stitch kits and partially stitched projects and I found a stitching diagram of a larger project in my ex's handwriting, so I'll see if it is something he remembers or wants. He used to sew and do carpentry and and leatherwork when we first met. The rest is donatable, or since there are some uncompleted ones, maybe to Freecycle.

There continues to be a chance of rain this evening and tomorrow, and this afternoon my informal rain gauge, the trash can beside the driveway, had at least 1.5" of water in the bottom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 12:26 PM

Thompson, I contributed some local photos to Panoramio ages ago, then it was purchased by Google and incorporated as a layer, but that layer disappeared (2017). I am part of the local guides but haven't put photos up again. I visited bridges that cross Sycamore Creek in Fort Worth to post upstream and downstream photos from each bridge, down to the Trinity River. A couple of people using the maps emailed offering suggestions of more access points. I use G. Maps to navigate past traffic congestion and find new places, but so many times I drive past a wooded area or a large berm or wall and think "I'll have to look that up on Google Maps when I get home." I mostly forget until I sit down for some binge snooping. Now much of the Earth and Maps content is merged so either one works for the curious folks of the world. What do you have in YOUR backyard? ;-)

Rain again this morning; such a relief from a week ago today when we hit the last cringe-worthy high temperature of the season. I'm back from cat feeding and a productive trip along the boulevard I travel from my house to hers. Dollar Store shampoo without the SLS (a coconut allergen), a different Dollar Store clearance gardening gloves with a latex sticky hand surface (recommended for quilting when you're doing the machine quilting and pushing a lot of fabric through the domestic machine - better traction), and a fresh batch of Louisiana Fish Fry in a 12 ounce bag; the current 2-3 pound plastic jug expired a year ago Wednesday and while it tastes ok, there is more than half left. The new bag goes into a jar and the jug contents sprinkled into the garden. The recipe has 99.5% corn meal which is an excellent fertilizer. The garden will smell a little more Cajun than usual.

Another dive into the sewing studio; I'm finding this rediscovery of old projects fascinating—some I wanted to finish but forgot, many I'm completely over, etc. Lots of gifts that were never used - scarves, etc., that might see new life now. And gobs of batting and polyfill. When I finally put it all together it should add up to enough for several projects ahead. Must sort the iron-on sticky pieces from the regular old interfacing and all of the variations in between. I will also be moving furniture, I'm not sure how much or where yet. What I really need is to have my daughter clear the contents of the closet; it is packed with her long-forgotten stuff. I have a plan for that.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Thompson
Date: 15 Sep 23 - 09:59 AM

Stilly, yes, Thompson is a handy handle that keeps me reasonably private.
Nah, I'm not going to do all that, because it's not something that has to be food safe (except perhaps for any lost bats that might wander in to dangle from the lampshade); I'll just trail glue down the cracks, wipe it a bit then scatter goldy powder on it.
For the later turn of the conversation, I've never given a card to Google - why would I, I'm just using it for basic map information. When that "sign up" dialogue box comes up I press the Feck-Off button (it may be called something else or be a red blob); I do *sign in*, so I can use 3D etc, but that doesn't require a credit or debit card.
The only people I know who use a paid version (not dear, something like €200 a year, I think, and it's a professional tool so you could probably claim that off your tax) are bus drivers, truckers and delivery drivers, who use a version that warns them of the presence of low bridges. The bus driver who told me about this said it had saved him money because a lot of these are not well signposted. Before he'd signed up for it he once had to back a full-size coach slowly along for 3km (I think it was) along a narrow, twisty country road with one of these bridges, with a raging local car driver behind him.
There are other mapping apps; there are open-source ones like Brouter, which is useful for cycling because it'll map a quiet route away from cars; Apple Maps has a nice satellite and street view, though not as up-to-date as Google's - but I think maybe Google's is particularly regularly mapped in Ireland because their EU headquarters is here, so they might test out new methods.
I'm waiting for any of them to start using 360-degree cameras so it'd be possible to scoot around on video and see what's behind, to the side, etc. But maybe that's not technically possible or webbily feasible for a map app.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Sep 23 - 10:51 PM

Yes, Tim is one of my three brothers.

Google offer services for people to use their map system. I think their only free one is the static api which will allow you to embed maps with plain html. They want your card on sign up regardless of your intended usage. I thought my usage would be free but after a second look, I’m not so sure. The static api allows you to place tags on maps but it wasn’t clear to me that these tags could be used as clickable links. If I had to resort to their JavaScript api, their starting point is $5 per month. Also, I found I can’t resolve all the place names that turn up on my regional extremes page to lat/long coordinates through the met office data. I found a free service that meets my needs but, if I wanted to use Google’s geolocation api, prices start at $7 per month.