DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:04 PM

After some research about adapters and an evening trip to Home Depot I ended up talking to a guy in the plumbing aisle who suggested cutting off the old valve and putting on a compression fitting. The store plumbing guy said that will work just fine. I've finally got all of the necessary parts but will again wait until daylight to turn of the water at the curb and begin this next stage. I didn't have to make any extra trips for the guts of the tank, it's this old valve that has caused all of the chaos in the project.

Not much else got done today.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:15 PM

Dupont:

Total nothing day while waiting for the rain to start... Make that snow!!! And SRS has an iris in bloom! And I am perfectly happy to use a bucket to flush the toilet and spend my time on other things - including nothing at all... Never have gotten use to civilized living after years off the grid with an outhouse!

R dealt with our neighbour who needed a place to put some furniture - temporarily! Alan and Michel, and R moved the two pieces into the cellar, then - reciprocity! - they helped him get a defunct frig out - now sitting in the snow! I was really tired of Alan's problem and twisted R's arm. Well, I really cared about his problem and wanted a solution. We have a big cellar. R says it is really ugly furniture but no disputandum... and Alan is trying to keep it until his daughter can afford a home. I wonder if his daughter wants it???

R also managed to get most of the remaining firewood in from the back deck which has as much as two feet of snow in places - depending on the amount of sun that hits - or none at all. And I put a fire in the stove - using the dry wood that has been inside a while. Cosy on a snowy day!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 10:17 PM

PS: No word from Mike re kiln. No notice re power outage at Beaver!! Hoping to go back on Tuesday, in any case.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 09:02 AM

Yes, it snowed again last night. Fortunately not much, but enough to show the sprouting daffodils who’s still in charge. Having lived some forty years in the Ottawa Valley, I’ve seen snow on apple blossom more times than enough.

The concert choir survived last night’s performance without inappropriate drama, thank God. We all sang our heads off and nailed most, if not all, the entries in the frankly challenging Requiem by Maurice Duruflé; then whipped off the rousing final number, a late-Latin hymn with all the organ stops out. The audience looked a bit stunned when it was over, and then clapped and clapped and clapped.

I went home to a stiff whisky and an hour of cats-on-lap time before bed.

The house is not at its best, in the shank of that “enduring construction” phase of ubiquitous plaster dust, pictures off the wall, and random extension cords snaking around corners. The library-cum-music room is in disorder, with three half-empty bookcases and boxes of books stacked on the floor awaiting the trip down the highway to the Goodwill bookstore in London. But I’m not doing anything about it until I finish the grant application. The deadline on that is noon Tuesday.

I have almost all the supporting documents I need — pdf versions of posters, programs and cvs — but I’m waiting on the operating budget and an audio clip from our last Messiah performance. Must pester the Maestro …

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 11:00 AM

At the big box stores if I go through the gardening entrance I frequently find myself answering questions. People are usually talking outloud to others, asking questions, so it's easy to offer unobtrusive help. How durable are the various plants, what spacing, how big they'll grow, etc. Recommending organic methods for pest control issues means one less toxic yard on the planet. On Friday I passed a woman with an interesting array of herbs and woody edible plants in her cart and remarked "your yard must be delicious!" That was enough for an interesting conversation about how we cook and the flavors we have in our gardens. I think this is like what Dorothy does so well - social interactions with strangers are good for all of us.

It seems only fair that in the same store another customer offered me advice that I could use when shopping plumbing parts. He said "you can bring it up on YouTube, there are lots of videos." My response - "I'm good with taking plumbing advice from a total stranger in the plumbing aisle." You can usually tell who is at sea working on their home project and who is there for a specific piece they know they need. He knew what he was looking for. Today should be the final day of my plumbing project.

Dorothy, I'm still researching and eliminating any coconut products, and I was saddened to learn that the "vegetable glycerin" in my Tincture of Green Soap is coconut based. I'm giving these away, and my ex yesterday took home the 1/2 gallon of green soap. He'll use it as a soap, but remarked that back in the day when he was doing ceramics he used green soap to brush into the molds so the pots would release. Do you do this? This was using a slip instead of hand shaping harder clay, maybe a totally different process.

What are our lurkers up to now that Spring is officially here? Jon with his cameras and safety alerts for the parents, Patty in her RV somewhere in the American West, and many others who work quietly on their decluttering projects. Any eBay sellers? There are so many marketplaces now, Facebook offers local competition, but eBay with all of it's rules still tries to stay the gold standard for online selling.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 10:43 PM

Mission accomplished, toilet tank has all new apparatus and the bidet I received at xmas has been installed. Now to read the directions. All of this extra work isn't the bidet's fault, it's because the old apparatus in the tank was leaking and the old flare valve on the water line - its time had come.

Busy week ahead, and cat sitting for a friend again starting next weekend. She was over here yesterday and I pointed out the new fence and gate on the side of the garage - told her that her cat sitting payments were set aside for these kinds of projects. It's a way to pace myself and be sure that those projects DO get done, even if it's over considerable time. It's not something I really plan to turn into a business, it's more a small word of mouth side gig.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 09:38 AM

It may seem tacky to some but if you have a cinder block wall or an unsightly wall you don't want to paint for hours; on Amazon they have what they call tapestries that come in bookcase, landscape or unique scenes made of printed polyester that hangs nicely with carpet tacks or miracle tape.
No fuss or adhesive from 11 to 23 dollars.
Just search Amazon for tapestries and a desired scene be it interior or exterior.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 09:41 AM

They also make nice backgrounds for zoom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 10:13 AM

Good idea about Zoom. I have a well-curated bookshelf behind me for my Zoom meetings. You've reminded me that I needed to reposition a frame with a typed signed poem by Calvin Trillin, a gift from a friend. (It appeared in The New Yorker, you can probably Google it - from the Bush/Cheney era, it's called "I Can't Appear Without My Nanny Dick."

Don, there are lots of large fabric prints out there now. A few years ago I discovered Amazon's photo print shower curtains and have two of them, deployed over a standard clear vinyl waterproof liner. One is a lovely Douglas fir forest, the other is a Greek beach and ocean scene.

With this weekend's haul at the discount grocery I've decided to up the veggies on top of dry dog food; I usually do it for dinner but I'm also adding it on their breakfast. I'm convinced that the fresh food moisture is what keeps them all healthier than dry food alone. The same goes for me, though in my case I'm trying to lower the percentage of carbs that come from wheat flour.

If any of you are considering knee or hip replacement, I have to say that this spring is the first in many years when I felt like my old self - able to move around the house or garden comfortably, and having lost the weight gained over time (combination of stress at work cortisol and slowing down from knee pain), back to a level of dexterity that is a gift. My mother (and one of my aunts) at this age were truly acting elderly. I don't see myself that way - my plan has always been to take after the other aunt who took good care of herself (she lived until about 94). We're talking another 25 years.

Charmion, now that the success of the weekend chorus has buoyed you, I hope the work crew is able to contribute to your well-being by working neatly, quickly, and without dust or chaos.

Dorothy, that furniture stored in your basement sounds interesting. Post a photo on FB if you think of it. I'd love to see what it looks like. :)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 02:29 PM

Construction resumes on Thursday.

The concert stress has been replaced by grant application stress. I effing well hate the Ontario Arts Council.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Mar 23 - 10:21 AM

The grant application has been submitted. Cue the second-guessing, speculation and criticism.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, I might do a little light housekeeping today -- perhaps even vacuum the plaster dust out of the carpets and damp-mop the human and feline footy-prints off the hardwood floors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Mar 23 - 11:10 AM

Charmion, good luck with the dust. Here at the house the dust comes with a large dog-hair component, making dust puppies the size of fluffy slippers. We're not out of the wet season yet so the muddy footprints would instantly reappear if I tried to mop them now.

Out in the yard there is a bizarre kind of clutter - a wind storm we had a couple of weeks ago loosened the contents of some old squirrel nests in one of the back yard trees. They drag an array of fluffy things scavenged from the yard (lots of old dacron filling from when I had dog beds in the garage) and pieces of the cover and filling from outdoor cushions that used to be on a back porch bench. I blamed the dogs for tearing it up, but I think the squirrels started it. And now it's all slow-motion raining down out of the trees. There are lot of shreds of plastic shopping bags, and where they got them I can't say. Perhaps they blew into the yard and I didn't see them before the squirrels did?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Mar 23 - 07:07 AM

I have now packed five 1.5-cubic-foot boxes of books and hauled two of them to the Goodwill bookstore in London.

But now I’m down to the heavy stuff: reference books, music, and sundry big fat tomes. That means another trip to the U-Haul store in Kitchener for one-cubic-foot book boxes.

I’ll have this job done by the end of next week.

The builders are due back today with the cabinets and the sink, so I’ll leave them to it and take my mandolin to Serena the Fiddle’s house for a dose of tunes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Mar 23 - 08:59 PM

All of the fruit and veggies picked up earlier in the week are being drawn down; one pineapple cored and in the fridge, the second one still ripening. Zucchini and squash are for both the dogs and me; other fruit eaten fresh or, with some of the apples, I'll make applesauce to bottle and process because I use it in baking (usually to reduce the amount of oil used in some soda breads like the pumpkin or zucchini breads I love). It's always a race to use these while they're still in good shape.

Tomorrow I have the whole day at home so will make a short list and see if I can knock off a few of a few chores in the house before I get out in the garden to start digging and planting. The garden is always more appealing than housework.

I have plenty of boxes here, what I need to do with them is pack eBay items and have them ready to ship once they're listed and sold.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 09:38 AM

A powerful new sci-fi feminist movie is on Prime Video called The Power.
It's a three-parter right now but part 3 is good enough in a pinch.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 09:47 AM

Beaver:

Arrived on Tuesday. Just about feeling recovered. Took myself to BF yesterday and again today - today because I left my hat there yesterday... and one more treat -a BF I did not need to cook. A neighbour was there with a friend so nice chat. And he introduced me to the waitress; I had a nice chat with her as the place cleared for a few minutes before I left.

Now, check a couple things on Internet then, mix a couple glazes to test before I reload the kiln that Michael so kindly fixed. Then off to The Trust to pay him for the parts - hoping he will be there since his wife is doing a group thingy this aft.

Mostly I have read and brought in fire wood, went to chiropractor who might be OK. Not much else. Driveway is clear but snow is still deep everywhere. We are to have a few days above freezing - HOPE! I just looked up to see snow flakes coming down...!!!! JUST A FEW>>>

I have never used molds. No use for green soap...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 10:39 AM

My siblings and I are very close in age, so when one has a medical development, we all perk up. This week I learned that my brother is watching his blood pressure and is pretty sure it was the salty snacks that pushed it up in a recent episode. Out of curiosity I started reading the labels on the various snack foods around here, and it appears to be time to change some snack choices. I always read the ingredient lists looking for coconut derivatives, but it's time to pay more attention to the sodium part of the labels. He also tells me that now he has cut out most of the salt, the little bit he does use is really noticeable. In addition to eliminating smokehouse almonds, it appears the days of dark chocolate with sea salt are over. Must investigate the other dark chocolate offerings. (I'm making this adjustment now because I'm 10 months older than he is ("Irish twins"), putting me in the cross-hairs also.)

Today a trip to the recycle bin (if people flattened their boxes there would be more room for everyone; nowadays I have to go the day after the bins are emptied in order to find room for my flat boxes.) Time to put away some of the materials used in recent projects, and it wouldn't hurt to organize the shelves in the garage where a lot of these boxes of screws and hand tools live.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 01:15 PM

Looking at labels for sodium opens a very large can of worms. I anticipate a clearing out of some of the short-cut ingredients in the cupboard - in particular, my favorite flavor-enhancing things like bouillon. Also reading the labels on salad dressing, cheese, and so much more. Soy sauce. Good thing wine is very low sodium. [sigh]

A quart of applesauce has been processed. Houseplants watered - and I had a thought yesterday about setting up a shelf in front of the bedroom window and moving some in there. Now that the trunk that used to sit there is in the closet, there's a spot opened up. Cardboard loaded and ready to drop off soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 11:05 PM

Executive decision: I have a good older Canon EOS camera, and I have a little Canon Powershot that I won in a raffle. The little one takes a decent video but it is hard to focus for photos (no viewfinder). I worked on eBay stuff today and compared the two. My conclusion - it's time to list the Powershot on eBay with all of the bits and pieces and use the cash to buy a new lens for the EOS. My current favorite lens needs a repair (they are complex machines in their own right and repairs take time and are expensive). A less-robust lens will do for my eBay work and I need to see if the guy I know who fixes camera lenses is still in business. I might get the other one up and running again. (I've read that film cameras are coming back into vogue, like vinyl records—what's old is new again. I should pull out the old Olympus film camera and see if anyone is interested in buying it.)

There's a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera I have my eye on, but it's out of reach for now. When looking at photos from the Powershot, I can take better photos with my phone camera, but I have to jump through hoops to get the photos out of the phone into the computer. Someone who wants a dedicated pocket-sized camera will get a good little camera with the Powershot, but I like the bigger camera better.

It was good to get started on eBay stuff again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 08:30 AM

Today I must visit Canadian Tire to buy a wet-dry vacuum cleaner. I must do it before the puddle on the basement floor laps up against the furnace and inundates the bottom row of wine.

It’s a very wet spring in Perth County — March went out like a beaver.

Apart from that, nothing new on the home-improvement front.

Uninvited water in the basement just makes me feel tired.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 10:17 AM

There aren't many houses in Texas with basements, and those that have them usually have a sump pump in place because they do get wet. I have no basement but the setup for my air conditioning means the drain line runs up to the attic before out the side wall and down to the garden near the dryer vent. (We didn't want to break the foundation to put in a drain for this new unit.) The sump is small and very quiet; in a basement it would need a recess (put the pump in the lowest wet spot) and a power supply. I'd think one could be rigged up (you would have to chip away concrete for a more pronounced low spot than you have now). Oh look - I found a plumber in Toronto. I just searched on "sump pump setup in basement" without a location so it appears you're in good company. Their diagram is also helpful to see how they are set up.

A cursory look through the office closet finds the box for the EOS camera body (the one I'm keeping) but so far not the smaller Canon box. I typically keep them flattened and I probably organized them to someplace I'll have to find later. Maybe even the attic. I've always had in mind the little camera could be sold on eBay so I'm sure I kept the box.

Cat sitting begins today and it means I try to figure what other chores can be run while I'm out. There's a mutual aid food donation pantry near her house, so unopened food items can be donated there. (Later in the year that's where I'll donate extra garden produce.) Her house is half-way to my gym, so I'll work out more often (my titanium knees always feel better with more trips to the gym.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 12:34 PM

To help limit salt intake I found simply reminding myself what salt does really helps.
What salt does is make your entire cardiovascular system become less pliant and elastic and literally hardens and stiffens every artery and vein.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 02:25 PM

Installing a sump pump in the wet part of my basement would require a much more aggressive approach than mere chipping, Stilly. A jack-hammer might work.

And I’m not sure I want to get that tough on a problem that appears only once in five years (so far). Shop-vac first.

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

Yeah, "chipping" was an understatement. Years ago I was watching the old ABC Home Show, based in Los Angeles, and during water shortages they talked about these little transfer pumps people could set in the street at the curb to capture shallow water running down the street if someone else ran enough water for it to go into the street. I don't know what they're called, but something like that could round up your wet spot also.

Don, your description of the cardiovascular system is certainly clear. Something to look into.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 04:34 PM

Hi SRS, I did see your call for lurkers to report, and was on my way across Texas, and had to reroute from my usual paths. So, I thought, great, I'll get close to Fort Worth, and try to find a place to meet up with SRS!

Which last-minute, half-baked plan promptly blew up. I booked in at Kimball Bend Park, immediately started to look up meet up spots and connect with SRS, and found absolutely no Verizon service whatsoever, though in the shadow of an enormous megalopolis. What the heck? And I was sick to my stomach for most of the time, so did not hit the road trying to find a place where I could get a signal, til I had to leave for a reservation at San Angelo, where I got to hook up in an electrical storm in order to try to catch the Mudcat zoom. I think karma was telling me I will have to plan ahead much better. I would like 1 brownie point for trying and will accept 2 demerits for failing.

It has been a weird couple of months, for every great experience there was a letdown. Meanwhile another 'it's not usually this cold' freezing month in New Mexico wore on my patience. Worse wind and dust storms than usual, too many 25 degree nights.

In pursuing mineral-hunting, I acquired several flats worth of rough, and a rock splitter, etc. So clutter is mounting, and I cannot wait to get to my storage unit to get winter things out of the coach. Cannot wait to go find a home base to give collection-and-hobby clutter a home, and stop rolling for a while.

Meanwhile, I can catch a meeting of the N.O. Quarter Shanty Krewe this week, sing some shanties with them, if I can get to New Orleans tomorrow, so that's the immediate plan. Today I am filling the fresh water tank, washing lots of stuff, oiling the splitter, and enjoying a spring day in Louisiana, green trees as far as the eye can see. Was a little startled to wake to a chorus of many different birds this morning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 04:37 PM

Whoops the San Angelo disaster was the previous day, had to leave Kimball Bend for Toledo Bend, 300 mile jump. Just made it in time to register, too. They now have it where if you show up in time you can get a senior discount, but if you have to pay your balance online it's full fare. Another 'gotcha' the camping 'system' seems to be filling up with.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 08:21 PM

"What salt does is make your entire cardiovascular system become less pliant and elastic and literally hardens and stiffens every artery and vein."

I'd like to see the evidence for this. The big deal on salt in the diet is as follows, and I'm fully aware that this is not quite in the spirit of the thread, though I do think that broad-brush and potentially misleading statements deserve to be addressed:

Lots of foods contain added salt. Stuff such as bacon, sausages, burgers and cheese, even bread, can be high in salt. Processed foods and ready meals are prime culprits, as salt is used to mask the fact that low-quality, cheap ingredients are used.

I'm a big fan of Italian cookery, and that means using high-quality ingredients that have plenty of intrinsic flavour. There's a world of difference, for example, between cheap hothouse tomatoes and the very best that the best growers can produce, and the price difference can be quite small. You just have to be savvy about what you're looking for, that's all. If you use good ingredients, you need use far less salt. Most of my cooking is very simple with fresh, unprocessed ingredients. I know what salt I'm adding but I don't delude myself. I made a risotto last night that contained about 50g pancetta (for three people) and a good dose of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Two salty ingredients. The vegetables therein, nil salt. The extra salt added, nil. No-one was complaining!

One other thing, with regard to the broad-brush statement I started this post with: the evidence for harm caused by salt intake above the recommended level (it's 6g per day in the UK) is very conflicting. It's possible that you as an individual might be aware of specific adverse effects on you, apropos of high blood pressure, for example. Two things there: other factors may be contributing to that, and salt may not be the worst of them and you wouldn't know. Second, lots of people tolerate inadvisably high salt levels very well. I read a study many years ago (don't ask me where, because I can't remember) that concluded that four out of five people handle excess salt very well. Of course, who knows whether you're one of them, and Russian Roulette could be not necessarily the best way forward.

I'm not arguing against the precautionary principle here. In fact, I'm extremely vigilant about my own salt intake as my blood pressure tends to the high side of normal. But, as ever, broad-brush doesn't cut it with me. I tend always to look for the real science.

I bought a blood pressure machine a year ago that came highly recommended for its accuracy. I'm not exactly over the moon about my readings but I won't worry as long as they don't skyrocket.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: JennieG
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:12 PM

I won't be doing much lurking for a few weeks, but will pop in if I can.

Tomorrow morning we are off in our little caravan - travel trailer - for three weeks to Canberra, about 700 kms south. I don't know what that is in miles, you will have to look it up. Lots, anyway. Our older son lives there as does The One And Only Grandkid so we will spend some time with them, but the main reason for a trip at this time of year is to attend the National Folk Festival. There are other musical happenings to take in during our trip - it will be a lot of fun!

Once I finish the coffee currently being slurped I will start thinking about packing important Stuff. Ukulele.....knitting for in the car (Himself will be driving).....hand sewing for the TV-less evenings, no TV in our van.....tablet with lots of books.....and some clothes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:46 PM

Hi, Steve! Nice to see you in these parts again.

As we age, our olfactory senses change and foods we liked when we were younger lose their appeal. Many people try to fix this problem with salt and sugar, but primarily salt. Hence, salt consumption tends to increase with age, along with all kinds of health problems that may or may not be related to sodium intake. It’s notoriously difficult to tease out the various lifestyle factors that give rise to particular ailments, so salt gets the blame for lots of highly complex ailments. Sure, it may well contribute to high blood pressure, but how much? And what about all the other contributing factors? In any circulatory or cardiac issue, there are lots and lots, and more than a few are still mysterious.

Me, I like to eat different things now I’m officially old. Hot sauce, for example. I never liked it when I was younger, but I do now. A touch (or more) of vinegar in a stew or a soup lifts the flavour much more effectively than yet more salt. Likewise, a squeeze of lemon juice livens up a chicken cutlet or a pork chop.

The basement puddle is less bad, but not yet conquered — the rain continues and the ground water is still rising. I have now vacuumed up about four filthy litres.

I drove to London today with another load of books for Goodwill (6.5 cubic feet this time), and made a point of checking out the state of the countryside on the way. Soggy, in a word. Downright water-logged, in fact. Acres and acres with great expanses of last year’s stubble poking up through the water looked more like rice paddies than cornfields.

Ah, well, it’s only the beginning of April. No point in worrying until it still looks like that on Victoria Day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 23 - 09:51 PM

Darn, Patty! You were nearby. I have a couple of close friends in San Angelo, but haven't been there in years. I'm sorry to read that the weather has not cooperated with your setup. Where did you do your mineral hunting? Is this rockhound activity at places like Rockhound State Park, or is it purchasing at the gem and mineral shows in Arizona - is it in Yuma? Quartzite? Tucson?

Steve, I'm anticipating being told that I need to watch my salt intake. Time passes and the blood pressure seems to be more vulnerable to the excess sodium. Medication choices can be made if you're willing to follow guidelines that make choice possible. My brother encountered this already so I'm not surprised. I also realized recently that I had an array of particularly salty snacks around here that were adding up to a pretty hefty dose each week.

Charmion, I agree about the vinegar and lemon. More often than not when making soup or bean dishes I'll add a little vinegar. Hot sauce - I love it on so many things, in particular omelettes and scrambled eggs, and many types of Mexican food. Foods I really like now that I tended to avoid as a kid and young adult are things like bell peppers and hot peppers. I can't get enough of them now.

Garden work tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 04:29 AM

I dislike an overtly salty taste in food. I made some of Marcella's winter meatballs for last night (though we didn't have it with her roasted cabbage, just some tangy tomato sauce and home-made bread). The meatballs contain a small amount of pancetta and some Parmesan, both salty ingredients. She adds salt, but I was very judicious about that. With good minced (ground?) steak you hardly need to add extra salt as there's plenty of good beefy flavour in there. If I make home-made burgers for the barbie I just make the patties out of pure beef, nothing at all added. My bread contains 5g salt in a 500g loaf. There was a piece in a consumer magazine here last week which informed us that some bread, even from reputable sources, contains as much as a gram of salt per slice. The equivalent in my home-made loaf to that would be around three times as much as I use. A hearty ham sandwich with mayo made with shop bread would easily reach or even exceed that daily 6g limit, and that's just lunch...

I have a weakness for strong mints when I'm driving any distance, so I buy those little tins of tiny extra-strong ones, perky enough to make you sneeze. That way the sugar-calorie damage is limited. We don't eat desserts unless we have people staying. Unlike some people round here I don't have a chocolate fetish, though a binge three or four times a year isn't impossible...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 04:40 AM

...And artificial sweeteners can play havoc with my guts, especially Stevia, which converts my stomach into a cement mixer, so no sugar-free sweeties for me!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 07:50 AM

I love those “curiously strong” mints, too. My husband introduced me to them; easily sedated by long-haul driving, he used them to shock himself back to awareness, and we always had a couple of tins in the glove box.

I don’t doze on the road like Edmund, but the mints are still a fixture.

Sunshine in Stratford this morning, but the puddle around the furnace is reaching for pond-like proportions. I know what I’m doing after church.

More rain in the forecast all the way to Thursday. My back gets tired just thinking about it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 08:28 AM

Did lots of low-sodium cooking during hubby's illness.   Bread definitely is a culprit, and classic foods which rely on salt for flavor. Had to start making our own bread, and focus on flavorful things which don't rely on salt so much. It also helped to get plenty of potassium in the diet.

But, if you're 'normal' I can't see making a big deal out of it, except the usual need to be careful around over-processed, over-salted foods. Seems to me that an attempt to 'eat clean' will often take care of the excess sodium problem in itself.

SRS, this year I did some field collecting in the Chocolate Mountains near Yuma, and some near Deming but not at Rockhound Park; one can almost never get a site there any more since online reservations are a thing. But also acquired quite a few pieces at meetings and conferences of micro-mineral collectors. There is a lot of free and $1 stuff to be had by simply showing up and participating.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 09:59 AM

I like homemade bread, but mostly these days I buy loaves of multi-grain bread at Aldi and Trader Joe's that go into the freezer so I can use a slice or two at a time. I'll put my homemade bread recipe through the MyFitnessPal app and compare sodium. I agree with those who caution about processed foods - by eliminating the salty processed foods and snacks I'll probably be at a good level without jumping through any more hoops. This is about weighing my options - reduce sodium to keep blood pressure normal so I can take the ADHD meds. I like the quieter world the new Rx brings - and am willing to work to keep it. In the process, it's healthier in the long run.

Patty, what do you do with the minerals? Do you have a type you collect? (And you know that for someone with limited space in the RV, rocks are one the heavier hobby items to pick accumulate. Have you ever read Steinbeck's Travels With Charley? He had way too many books in that pickup camper.) I worked for a geologist in college who had an impressive collection of selenite (related to gypsum). I spent a couple of years in that geology lab with a big part of the job to organize the student sample trays. Drawers contained 3 trays - igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic. I kept extra samples on top of the cabinet because the more pretty pieces tended to go walkabout - I found I could sit at the drawer level and reach to the top and simply feel the minerals and know I had the right one by shape and weight. Pop it into the tray and move on. I have a lot of beads here to eventually get back to making jewelry.

Cat sitting this week has me out early in the morning. I like the idea of being a morning person but I rarely achieve it without work-type responsibilities making me get up earlier.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 10:29 AM

I can devour mounds of cheese in a sitting. Not great for salt avoidance... I mitigate the issue by devouring cheese with Matzo crackers. They are a blank canvas for cheese, they contain no salt or added fat and each cracker is 18 calories. And, most importantly, they are my favourite thing to go with any cheese.

We use only unsalted butter these days too. Normal salted butter can contain 2g of salt in 100 g. Wow. I suppose that those butter-substitute spreads are similar. I wouldn't know. They are strictly banned from our house, as is anything that says low-fat or reduced fat.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 12:18 AM

I pulled up some of my favorite cheeses on MyFitnessPal - there will be days when I exceed my planned sodium level. I hope that removing the snacks is enough, and the occasional sausage or cheese won't send me into a tailspin.

Another item listed on eBay. It seems my little 10-year-old digital camera has held its value pretty well, and I'm including extra stuff (batteries, a memory card, a cable and case). eBay has over the years stopped forcing people to relist things and simply automates the process, so it's possible to list and forget. Sometimes it's a surprise when something sells after ages of being overlooked. I hope this goes much faster than that.

I won't lie - while there are important things I'm waiting for (such as if my tax return is accepted), what I really am waiting for is Tuesday afternoon, like everyone else who despises Trump. I'll be working on things around here, but when it gets close to his arrest, I'm gonna watch, hoping news cameras are close-by to catch all of the details. It will be an exciting week this week.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 05:42 AM

I seem to be using my iPhone to take most photos these days (I recently upgraded - rare for me! - to an iPhone 13 mini) but I also have a little Canon Ixus 285HS (in lurid purple!) which I can use for anything that needs me to optically zoom in and and out, including videos, and it's very good (for me anyway - I'm not up for lugging heavy gear around with me). It has wifi and I can transfer photos easily and losslessly to my iPad, thence Cloud, via Canon's Camera Connect app. The app is a bit clunky but it does the trick.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 08:42 AM

The little Canon uses a cable (or the card itself inserted into the card reader slot on the computer). There are reasons why using an actual camera instead of a phone for photos and video is much easier. The lens, to start with. It actually has one that moves.

Hoping the wet weather has passed for a few days because the lawn is again tall and moist and must be mowed this afternoon. And more garden work. And . . . so much. Must make a list to prioritize.

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

I did a little decluttering over to the MOAB thread - really off topic stuff here always fits in perfectly there. :)

The SUV annual inspection was this morning, it passed, but soon I'm going to need new tires. Gone are the days when you can have the car reshod for $100 a tire. As I wait for the tax refund it feels like the devices and appliances are beginning to stir - which one is going to need to be replaced once the refund hits the bank? The SUV appears to be the front-runner.

An unusual mix of stuff went to the curb for trash pickup today, including the ancient phone connectors pulled off of the back of the house last month. Now I need to burn some trash in the backyard - more papers I don't want to fool with shredding.

At the gym this morning I was listening to Gaiman & Pratchett's Good Omens for what must be the third or fourth time, and I always hear new things each time I go through it. I think good books are what keep me on the recumbent bike or the treadmill for a full hour. There are TVs all over the place but it's too much trouble to try to find a channel you can watch and then get the sound into headphones. Though I'm not really a morning person, it is clear that there are more women my age at the gym mid-morning, so for a more social experience I should plan to start going in at this earlier time. Talking to people while I'm there shouldn't be a novelty; older women tend to be invisible to much of the world, but we see each other.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 08:01 PM

I filled and started the hot tub and replaced our street light bulb today. I did a car full delivery of bolts of cloth for the Linus Project. ho hum

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 23 - 09:19 PM

That's on topic. A car full of bolts of fabric? What brought them all to your house? Sounds like there is a story of a hobby or business there.

Today was warm enough (up to 92^o) that the ceiling fans can start running; must get out the long duster thing and go over the blades of all of them (there are seven fans throughout the house).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 05:40 AM

I had to dismantle the metal skeleton of an old garden gazebo yesterday. Dozens of little bolts to undo, and every bolt removed risked a heap of scrap metal collapsing on to me. I managed it unscathed, so now I have to take the stack of scrap metal to the tip. I'm sitting here wondering whether it'll fit in my car. Have faith...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:13 AM

Sounds like a good project. Did you originally install the gazebo? Was this a chance to revisit your earlier self?

I took the weed wacker to the edges of the raised bed garden yesterday and today will do more work to dig around the perimeter (and reposition the corner bricks so the boards stay in place). And I still have to work on the potted plants - some will come back automatically, others need assistance.

Not as warm today, only into the low 80s. I pulled a couple of blankets off of the bed last night so it's time to give them a run through the laundry then put them away for the season. And as a recent New Yorker cartoon showed, spring cleaning means moving the heavier garments off of the chair in the bedroom and piling on a few lighter garments instead. :)

I am so looking forward to the new lens - today or tomorrow - it is feeling like getting a new camera to have the big one back in full operation.

There are several small sets of tools and gear sitting out on the kitchen counter. Perhaps today I'll finish the tasks they're associated with and put the tools back where they belong.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:30 AM

Torrential rain in Stratford last night = an hour’s work with the Shop Vac this morning, and again tonight before bed.

Anecdote from coffee hour at church: A middle-aged couple from Toronto are house-hunting in Perth County. “Is this a dry basement?” asks the husband as he explores the furnace room. “Oh, yes, very dry. Never a problem,” replies the selling agent. Husband shines his flashlight on the access to the furnace filter. “Soooo … Why is the furnace up on legs?” Selling agent has no idea, none at all.

The young lad in the hardware section at Canadian Tire told me that they’ve sold out of wet-dry vacuums twice already this spring.

It’s Holy Week, which means lots of work for the Catholic and Anglican church musicians. I’m already tired, and we haven’t even started the drive from foot-washing on Maundy Thursday through Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday to the blast of allelulias on Sunday. I can hold pitch while chanting psalms and I’m a fast learner who doesn’t fuss, so I’m the cantor. Here’s hoping I don’t cough at exactly the wrong moment, as is my wont.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 09:30 AM

It was one of those that we were supposed to put up only when needed, but in practice we just put it up at the start of each summer and left it there until maybe late September. I made sure it couldn't blow away in a gale by improvising all manner of hefty metal pegging-down at the corners. That worked well, but when we started to take it down last autumn we found that most of the fabric was getting past its best. I took all the fabric to the tip but have only just got round to shifting the frame. It was lovely to sit in there of a summer's evening after the barbie with a glass or two, listening to Joanie or Carly on my UE Boom 2 speakers (we have no neighbours), so we've replaced it with what should be a much easier beast to handle, a Berghaus air shelter that has four corner "posts" that you blow up with a single pumping point (pump provided) and which can be let down in a trice. We haven't tried it yet. I'm filled with trepidation.

Somebody told me that Joanie has ditched Spotify...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 06:31 PM

The front lawn has been mowed and I used the weed popper to remove a bunch of tough thistles, dandelions, dandelion-type plants (all in the Aster/Compositae family), and some Queen Anne's Lace. I have a sprayer on order to test with my new stronger vinegar mix on the rest of the tender weeds in the dormant lawn.

Apparently Tatume squash (aka calabasa/calabash, or gray squash) is less impacted by squash bugs, so I picked up a seed pack of that one today. I'll plant several varieties and see how they do. I've set up soil-filled pots the potting table and need to get several things started now.

The backyard will get mowed tomorrow; it is tall again and quite moist, so it's a struggle to push the mower through it. Before I mow again I'll clean out the mower air filter, carburetor, etc. because it's running a little rough.

I've restocked a few containers with unsalted nuts and dried fruits. There are still things to weed out and give away or just use sparingly. Most of the butter has salt but it can stay in the freezer for baking uses and I'll get some unsalted. It takes some getting used to, but I don't want to give up butter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: pattyClink
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 06:44 PM

Enjoying the lovely cordiality of people in Louisiana, you can't beat it, even when it's not carnival season. Had a great chantey sing with the Krewe.

However, was petrified not only of driving and parking near the Quarter, but of coming out unscathed. Took quite a while to find a long stretch of curb to park the motorhome on narrow one-way streets, then hiked over to the great music shop, stopped back to drop off CDs and go to the sing. In that time, someone had smashed out the window in the high-end jeep right across the street. Yikes. Glad I had the steering wheel lock to use, and hoping my window was just too high to fool with. It's a shame when you have to risk life and property to go to a sing.

Yes, I do realize rocks are heavy! That's why I collect micromounts, tiny mounted samples which let you see the crystal structure under the    microscope. There's another category "thumbnails" which are fine to see with the naked eye, slightly larger, have a few of those.

I think my favorites are the copper minerals, so many of them and so beautiful; dioptase, brochantite, etc. But, they're all good! Snagged a little gypsum from a roadcut near Roswell, but haven't 'scoped it out' yet. Usually if there are no vugs, there are no micros.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 23 - 10:08 PM

Interesting! I have a friend here who collects something similar, micro slices of meteorites, and within that category there is a specific type that he goes for. He also has some very tiny pieces; all of it would fit in a shoe box, but he keeps it in a pretty antique glass-front cabinet. I'm aware about the shape of crystals being unaffected by size; years ago I led tours in the Mammoth Cave area in one of the formation caves just outside the park boundary. In particular I learned a lot about crystals when I was researching helictites, but there were lots of other shapes and mineral variations.

Regarding the proportional shapes of minerals, it was apparent in the cave, and every so often I'd have someone with vision problems on the tour.

One boy I remember in particular, he had a form of near-sightedness that apparently wasn't corrected by glasses and he brought a dim flashlight and was trying to look at the big formations; once I knew his situation I handed him my little bright spare flashlight and told him I'd point out some of my favorite tiny formations on the walls close by our path, that they are proportionately identical to the big ones 30 feet up on the ceiling. I was a trained NPS Interpretive Naturalist working in a commercial cave, so my tours were entertaining but also factual, and with each group it could change according to their interests. When you work in a private cave like that, you earn tips. The college-age kids who worked there would give a story at the end about working their way through college to get tips. My approach was to be conspicuously good at my job, and frankly, any tour that had someone with special needs was great for me. Without being obvious, but still the group knew, I would keep them beside me so I could seamlessly build in extra stops for those people, or use some trick or other to get them past any difficult spots (fear of heights, etc.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER * Health/Home Ecologic-Innovation *2023
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Apr 23 - 12:36 PM

Back to the mundane:

My plan to go out for groceries has collided with reality: a massive thunderstorm just rolled into town. No, I wouldn’t melt if rained on in the supermarket parking lot, but on the whole — since I can — I think I’ll just wait it out here at home. The freezer offers a fine array of comestibles and I can get along till tomorrow without milk, eggs and oranges.

The carpenter will soon arrive to install the new shower curtain rod. If he also brings those little peg things cupboard shelves sit on, I can put the refurbished bathroom back into commission today.