DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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 - 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 - 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'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: 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 - 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: 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
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 13 Oct 23 - 12:17 PM

Agreed - bronchitis is horrible. Wednesday's appointment with the PA got the strong decongestant and so far there is mostly clear in the cough and sneeze; if by this afternoon things have gone pear-shaped she'll prescribe the antibiotic before the weekend. I've had bronchitis a time or two, it's terrible, but taking a course of antibiotics invariably results in a yeast infection, so I wait until it is really necessary to take them, they're not my early go-to treatment. The knee surgeries resulted in my system being awash with antibiotics and for the second one I had several doses of Fluconazole at the ready. Meanwhile, the neti pot has helped soothe and clear sinuses.

Errands have piled up this week; I have to go out today because the dog food is running low and I have to do laundry because I'm down to the last pair of underwear. The weather has been gorgeous and I really resent this cold for taking me out of commission for work I could have been doing outside. I know how I caught it, and I won't make that mistake again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Oct 23 - 08:14 AM

Stilly, that cough, and the need to sit up to get any sleep at all, mean you have bronchitis. Have you seen any kind of medic about it?

Check the colour of the stuff that comes up when you cough; if it’s yellow to green, there’s a bacterial infection cooking in your lungs, and an antibiotic drug is called for.

I’ve been there way too often.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 06:46 PM

Dorothy, it sounds like time to let some professionals start the hearing exams, and if you can schedule a specialist, get their input. Guessing and diagnosing it yourself can only go so far. And you can scare yourself.

Explosive coughs today, the kind that jolt you out of sleep. Drinking lots of fluids. A friend stopped by today and left me with a fresh box of Puff's super soft super strong tissues. They'll get put to use!

Still finding and removing interesting stuff in the sewing studio, and today I added one thing - a small electric bobbin winder. The winder on my oldest machine stops winding thread at about half-full on the bobbin so I have to change them more often than I like. I haven't been able to trick it into filling more without messing up the tension. This one should give me more thread while at the same time not overfilling because then they can jam. (For any lurkers who sew, the device is called a Sidewinder by Simplicity. There is a DeLuxe version that has a more involved setup, but the basic original does the job for me.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Oct 23 - 05:18 PM

Dupont:

With some help from friends, I am over the shock phase and re-joining life. I felt like getting up this am and cooked BF for R and self then went off to cross the bridge to the city! An email to the grocer from which I have been purchasing a particular choc bar/with almonds, elicited info that they were de-listing it! So I went to the nearest of their shops (no one else carries it) and found 4 bars.

Then went to customer Service to find if there were any more. The candy person came out and told me "no but they would get more tomorrow!" I, then, wandered around this large, well, arranged store to see if there was anything else I wanted - yep! real oat flakes! Bought one each of two brands! Looked for pumpernickel bread but none better than what I order... BUT - over there, on a shelf with non-related foods, were five more of the choc bars! So a few weeks supply came home. I shall keep foraging; Go back. on Friday for more. AND maybe they will keep stocking them!

It was fun exploring a well-stocked - kind of - store. So I went to a dept store (Hudson Bay) and looked at sale clothes. The only thing at a kind of reasonable price, still cost more than the total cost of my attire. (All from thrift shops.) I left without bags. thought: If you buy stuff do you need your own bag? I would, of course, refuse a bag and just roll it up and throw it in the car.

That was enough exploring so I came home for lunch and emails and mudcat and exploring sites re APD and the brain. MIT is doing some interesting work.

A musician friend responded to my concern with one of his own: "the entire process of music and hearing is a scary mystery. when I have my headphones on (to help me cocoon and sleep) and I play guitar (to learn the feel of the instrument and of the vibrations in my chest) I am aware that my pitch awareness is radically diminished. everything sounds higher (or is it lower) than it actually is. certain frequency ranges affected more than others. the brain is a fragile and magnificent thing. get your hearing checked!"

I am not concerned about my hearing; I am concerned about the brain waves - where they go or don't go; how they work or do not work. The work at MIT ... Lots of people have these problems and the neuro-scientists seem to be starting to get a handle on them. I look at how shut out I have felt for 20 years and - How many other people? And what this does to our social fabric? How much of the violence is by people who feel isolated???

Robin took our guest to the Laurentiens yesterday thinking he would check on a property up there but he did not have the right key so he had a great day visiting Paul's friend who lives off the grid in a very impressive manner. All that fresh air brought him home early and asleep early!

Tomorrow we are going to the Yellow Door. I did not realize that Paul has been hearing about it 45 years but never been. Hope there are enough people in attendance...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 23 - 11:52 PM

Like Charmion's bruises have bloomed since she fell - this cold has continued to grow since I caught it. I may have to sleep in the recliner tonight to stay upright enough to breathe.

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

I'm to the point when this cold could manifest a sinus infection or bronchitis, so will see my GP's nurse practitioner today. Call from your car when you arrive, they send someone out to swab for COVID and flu tests and when they're sure it isn't one of those you can go in. Efficiencies like this might have seemed rude before COVID. In addition to possible antibiotics, I'll ask for a cough syrup Rx. Last night when I dug around the pantry looking for a bottle I decluttered two - one was 9 years old, the other, 11. I don't catch colds often.

Meanwhile I finished the first sort of a bin of scrap fabric, but there are more containers and bags with scraps so I'll round them up to see what's inside. To offload what I don't need I looked at the scraps offered on eBay—I bypassed the ones selling individual fat quarters or by X number of pieces, I'll mimic the sellers who list by the pound. Keywords in the title will be something along the lines of "Quilt fabric lot scraps, squares, strips, string, crumb." It's time for another eBay adventure.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 05:02 PM

I don't bounce as i did in my youth, that's for sure, and my lack of depth perception (only one eye that works) can get me into trouble in dim light. The restaurant was one of those burger places with booths that you step up into, and -- not seeing the difference in floor level -- I forgot to step down when scrambling out. Then my heel caught the edge of the invisible step, and over I went. Not fun; the bruises hurt for days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 02:39 PM

I'm sorry you fell - though I'd have paid money to see that roll, Charmion! It sounds impressive. I'm glad someone saw the bruise just to be sure it isn't anything more.

My haircut tomorrow has been postponed so my quiet week at home continues. I missed a docent training today, but I can get caught up next week. The neti pot is deployed a couple of times a day to sooth the sinuses. It sometimes used to smart to use table salt in the water; I switched to using pickling salt and it feels great (Pickling salt doesn't have additives to keep it from clumping and no iodine, etc.)

This afternoon I'll poke around in the garden to work the soil for planting my zucchini and cucumbers started from seed. It won't be too vigorous because this soil was worked once in the spring and will be pliable after the big rain last week. I hate to miss taking advantage of good weather, but the fence will wait another week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 01:45 PM

Having almost rested up from my American odyssey of last week, on Sunday I took off to Windsor for Thanksgiving dinner with SIL 2 and her family, including three grandsons who are still in the feral cat phase of childhood. Windsor is three hours’ drive from Stratford, so today I’m resting up from the road trip encore.

Autumnal weather has finally arrived. It took long enough; last Wednesday, when I crossed the border at Queenston Heights, southwestern Ontario was sweltering under a heat wave that had hovered around 30°C for a week. Conditions like that after the equinox are very unusual. We should have had our first frost by now, but the dreary rain phase — normal in mid-September — has only just begun.

Two weeks ago I fell in a poorly-lit restaurant, acquiring a couple of huge bruises that are just beginning to heal. At the allergist’s office this morning, I revealed one of them when I pulled up my sleeve for the needle and then had to spend ten minutes reassuring the nurse that I’m okay etc, etc, etc. Good thing she didn’t see the saucer-sized purple blotch on my thigh, where I hit the floor first! The damage would have been a lot worse if I hadn’t done a paratrooper’s tuck-and-roll landing to avoid the furniture.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 12:00 PM

Since Saturday I have had symptoms of a head cold; COVID tests on successive days are negative, and in hindsight I caught it from the friend I met last Thursday. I assumed the cough was because he quit smoking recently, and I don't think he'd had many other symptoms himself at that point.

I pulled a box of herbal tea bags out of the tea cart; it's a "throat coat" variety with slippery elm and it does feel good. Celestial Seasonings used to make one, but this is from Traditional Medicinals. Years ago I gave some of this to a friend whose husband was a music producer and they loved it enough to keep it in stock in the house for when performers came through the studio. I can claim responsibility for Dionne Warwick falling for this stuff. (He worked with Burt Bacharach and his ilk for years.) Turning this into a musical thread.

The sewing room clear out has progressed well. To test the storage system for starting this quilting project I spent 30 minutes last night sorting the big bin of scraps from the last couple of years of mask making. They were three layer masks, a colorful front, a light color liner and a flannel inside, so a bin for each. I also cut up a lot of t-shirts to make the stretchy non-raveling yarn for the ties, and I dropped all of the seam edges and such in the bin. They're beautiful colors but I think I'll see if there are fiber artists who can use them.

Handling the scraps from masks has been like visiting old friends because I chose a lot of patterns to reflect interests and ideas. In the early days of COVID before we could go out I dug into my stash and even took apart some garments I never wore to make into masks. Small patterns so a number of them would be recognizable on the face of each mask will also be effective in crumb quilts.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:55 AM

Dupont:

Brain fog!!

Thinking of Charmion and her stop in Gettysburg! (blech!) Paul will be stopping in Harrisburg on way to NC. He may find a couch; he is connected with at least one of those sorts of sites for traveling from home to home/ couch to couch? - I guess it is. He drove here from BC, stopping to visit on the way. I suspect he has developed a network of possibles over the years. R and I have used airbnb a few times with good results.

Books are mostly in the basement Library now. Hallway still has a surfeit of objects that need to be re-homed. BUT R spent the weekend closing holes in the attic to, hopefully, keep out bats and squirrels, and closed the hatch to keep in our heat! Not turning on furnace yet but keeping minimal heat in the areas we use - Den, BR and the Kitchen- use helps provide part of that.

Made a huge Thanksgiving dinner (on Sunday) for the 3 of us. And we enjoyed it - for two days so far! 16 pound turkey was overkill but a big chunk will go into freezer after Paul leaves; he puts away a great deal of food!! - Long, lean and only 71. In the meantime - every day is Thanksgiving!

We have had lovely pastries from the bakery in southern QC. I boo-booed and went down on Weds - "only Thurs, Fri, Sat" declared the lovely young clerk! So I went back on Friday, bought lots of yummies, had lunch with Geri, and took photos of the kiln I am selling - she says "yes" and we need to arrange a pick up time. SOON! With the weather in mind.

And yesterday!!!!! R spent most of the day removing offensive floor boards in den - they had buckled and were a hazard. Removed and all crud removed, tediously!, from each one, they now lay flat - only need to be battened down. I will suggest glue. These are 100 years old - maple, I think. R seemed to go into a meditative state doing this - to most people - tedious task! A terrific sense of accomplishment. And I can cross the room (the buckle was right in the middle!) without fearing a fall.

NOW, I would like a load of firewood! Before heavy winter!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Oct 23 - 11:05 AM

Dupont:

house guest from BC for a few days as he visits with QC friends. Then hs is off to NC - near Raleigh for a longer visit to his "home turf" A war resistor, he has lived in Canada for 45 years but likes to go back to the known weather and accents of his childhood. A quiet guest but needy re how to get places. R took him to the city today and we can only hope he will find his way, via the bus system, back this aft. Or I can fetch him from a bus stop not to far away. Surely he will make it across the River! Tomorrow he goes away for a couple days; back to attend at Yellow Door Friday eve. He has heard about - through me - for 45 years but never been there. I alerted Marc, who now keeps it open on Friday eves. Hope a few people show up! His FB page is not very helpful, starting out with something about August!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 23 - 10:32 AM

While clearing in the sewing studio I found Mom's favorite tablecloth used for special meals during my childhood. It has a white field with a red rose print and spent several days soaking in non-chlorine bleach but a few stains had set over the years. My next move is to carefully treat the spots.

The pulled muscle is still tender but much improved. I must resist the impulse to overdo for the time being so I don't aggravate it before it heals completely.

The forest floor is on full display in my den. The proliferation of tree limbs knocked down through the yard contributed a lot of chew material for the dogs and I've evicted several branches dragged in through the dog door. Tomorrow is trash day so I'll sweep and vacuum to send a lot of it out (for the time being.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 23 - 11:06 AM

Craft donations dropped, and calf muscle pulled in the process. Hoping it isn't a tear. My heel was wedged against the parking bumper behind my SUV when I leaned into the compartment and Zing! went something in my calf. Now I'm limping and hoping it will heal. I still need to exercise, but will be very cautious about what moves I do.

59^o this morning when I walked into the back with the dogs before their breakfast (I find this short trip before meals saves me some of the droppings cleanup behind the old Labrador retriever.) Highs in the low-70s today, low-80's tomorrow, before next week heats up to mid-80s. It still doesn't feel very fall-like.

Before heading to the donation appointment yesterday I did one more dive into my mother's craft stuff in a couple of drawers and pulled out a handful of items I will never use (or didn't know what they are for). In a couple of instances I split the difference, keeping one or two items I might use and sending the rest to their next jobs. I had a specialized sewing measurement curved ruler that I hadn't used in 50 years, I'm not likely to now. If I need help adjusting a pattern, I can ask my daughter to do it. :)

Today I need to spend time in the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 11:12 AM

After several of us picked up pieces of the next door exploded box elder, it seems that just a (long) block away there was much more drama. We can count ourselves lucky that messed up tree crown was the worst of it. A line of tree service trucks were lined up on the other side of the creek to shred downed trees as they were removed, and in the block beyond that the sagging power lines were fortunately intact at the intersection where they were boring to install a new wooden telephone pole after the previous one snapped.

The UPSP's Informed Delivery tells me that the long-awaited letter regarding the retirement pension has finally landed at the post office. Once I have that in hand I'll file the official change of address and declutter myself of that $250 a year expense. They misspelled my name on the address, so I'm hoping I don't have to jump through hoops to fix that.

In a less pleasant decluttering, my gastroenterologist's office sent a text saying five years is up. Enough about that (but if you're of an age, do it. It can save your life - my cousin's husband put it off way too long and ended up with an involved surgery that did save his life.)

Now to load the SUV with craft donations then into the sewing studio to see if there is anything more to evict before this afternoon's appointment.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 23 - 12:00 AM

It is eight or nine years since I made a long drive anywhere, and when I roadtrip I am a user of paper maps. Google maps is in my phone and I consult it for traffic in town, but I'm not a fan of bossy navigation devices. That said, it's good that you made the trip however you chose to navigate; the synergy of trips to events like the Getaway end up being greater than the sum of their parts. Cliche, yes, but there is a lot to think about after a trip, and that is the value of it.

This evening a friend and I went to hear a talk by LeVar Burton, actor/writer/host/podcaster/activist who fortuitously happens to be here during Banned Books Week. That led to some interesting parts of his remarks. Dinner before the lecture was at a New Jersey style deli and probably two days worth of sodium, but so good! My friend took the most beautiful photo of his half of the sandwich (we shared the full-size hoagy) and the light was perfect when he took photographed his sandwich. I'll put it on Instagram later. :)

Late tomorrow afternoon is my appointment to drop off craft stuff at the donation place, so before I head out I have time to add to the boxes. As it is I'm offloading the filing cabinet, clearing several cubic feet of space in my hall. This was a busy week with a few unexpected twists, but in general very productive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 10:22 PM

I am so happy to be back at home.

The Getaway is objectively wonderful, and I love the people I see there. But getting there, and getting home again, is most definitely not even half the fun. Or any of the fun, come to think of it.

When I made the trip with Edmund, I had the pleasure of his company, of course, but I also benefited from his efforts to read maps and road signs, watch for over-caffeinated Porsches, enter data in the SATNAV, keep me supplied with Altoids, and find eating establishments that would do better than provide mere calories. He would also carry the guitar despite the military rule of “one man, one kit”. On my own, I was bossed around by the SATNAV and seemed unable to locate a McDonald’s with an operational milkshake machine.

Next year, I’ll fly.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 23 - 11:25 AM

The huge box elder next door is smaller by several good sized upper limbs after last night's heavy rain, hail, and wind gusts. The one hitting the clothesline also put a deep bend in a top rail of the dog kennel. They feel bad about the mess, but my old hackberry nearly took out their garden shed one year, so these things happen. I've stuffed the trash can at the curb full of a few of the big old sunflowers that all toppled last night. The wood will probably wait until December to go to bulky waste, though Abby ZurSchmiede on Facebook (Harpgirl on Mudcat) has been experimenting with hugulkulture beds and now would be a good time to try it with all of this extra around. The premise is to construct a raised bed over a bottom layer of cut up limbs and rotting wood. She has a galvanized frame around hers, but you could also simply bevel the sides. Keep it to a size so you can reach into it without having to step in it.

Temperatures are cooler, humidity is close to 100%. After 3-4" of rain the yard is gumbo. My plans for the day have changed somewhat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:39 PM

The next door neighbor's tree dropped branches tonight in a huge thunderstorm. So much rain that when looking out the front door I couldn't see past the curb about 25' away. The limbs took down my clothesline and on one end pulled the newly installed galvanized fence post crooked. Fixable, no insurance needed, but it was a lot of wood that blew over the fence. It's a big box elder that has lived much longer than they normally do around here.

It's a busy day tomorrow and it looks like I'll be starting early - the neighbors will be here to collect the branches.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 23 - 11:53 AM

The former setup in the sewing studio allowed me to reach a small table equidistant from both machines. The new setup still needs a small table between them to hold tools. I have books filling one of the cubbies that I can move into a little antique side table where the weight would stabilize it some. Until this week it stood under the window with a radio and potted plant (and it looks like the "before" version). On top a black rectangular heavy duty disposable tray will corral presser feet, seam ripper, bodkin, bobbins, etc.

I'll note here that every time there were receptions in the university library the caterers dumped all of the heavy duty black plastic trays into a large trash can in our little service kitchen. We'd rescue those platters to use some to use for our own in-house department events and the rest were taken home. I have several under potted plants on the sunroom plant stands. A couple are stored for use during larger family meals and at least this one is in use in the sewing studio. It has always bothered me that the way to keep university events more affordable was to throw away so much plastic instead of using durable materials they would wash and reuse.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 11:21 PM

I have resisted Apple products for years. At work there were some Apple workstations but it was always a matter of learning where to click to make things work. They were contrary to the Windows setup. It didn't seem to be worth the trouble.

As far as tablets go, stepping up from the Amazon Fire tablet to the Samsung tablet has been a huge improvement in my ability to load the kind of content I want to see. And now that I have Samsung equipment in place with the accompanying Samsung accounts, any future new equipment should be easier to deploy.

In the sewing studio furniture has been moved enough to create a space to move easily from either sewing machine to the ironing board. Endorphins have been generated. :-) The shelves in the 5x6 cubby are reachable, as are the drawers in the two dressers in the room. It may not get much better.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 06:14 PM

It's perfectly possible to hate Apple yet love your iPhone and iPad. In fact, that's me to a tee.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:43 PM

The only recent device I can think of, SRS, is the very unexpected birthday present of the iPad mini from brother in oz. I’ve yet to do much with that yet except having it sit happily on my network and setting up the email accounts so its sort of ready as and when I want to play more with it. I think it will end up replacing my Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. It’s smaller size feels better suited to my current needs and it is the better machine. It’s display seems crisper to me and it feels a touch more responsive.

It is the first Apple product I’ve owned. I’ve avoided them partly because of price (and even now, don’t think I’d invest more than double say the cost of my Samsung for an iPad) and possible hardware ties as well as software ones.

Tim apparently got himself one about a month ago. He had used a Microsoft Surface Pro for a few years but he became frustrated with its handling of midi and with high end VST plugins. I gather that the iPad just did all he’d wanted straight off with no hassles. I also gather that him being so impressed with his and wanting to get me something he knew I wouldn’t normally consider buying were reasons for him getting me one.

Oh, and I did get a clone of the Apple pen for it the other day and quite like it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 23 - 03:17 PM

Diving into the sewing studio this afternoon has resulted in a growing stack of school project stuff that was tucked away between the bed and the wall. This includes lots of sheets of heavy duty poster board, some pieces of matte board brought home from the university library (rescued from the recycle bin following the end of exhibits when it was all tossed). Also, my shelves are now clear of some yardage purchased years ago for projects that were never made and that will never be made. I can't imagine using that fabric for anything else now.

My ex came by and picked up an old computer tower and monitor to take to the recycle center (a friend brought them when he was here Sunday). Already in the trunk of the car was an old Packard Bell tower—so old that he didn't bother to remove the hard drive. I asked why - turns out it was a DOS machine, didn't even use Windows. Really really old and really heavy. (Probably should have asked if a computer museum wanted it.) Will we make enough progress with this decluttering that our children will thank us? It's certainly more than either of my parents ever did in their retirement years.