DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 14 Oct 24 - 09:25 AM

Good food for thought on the manufacturing of excess 'stuff', but I guess I'm not as anxious about it. It is less of an issue down in the lower income brackets where homes are only so big and budgets only go so far. (Though we all know of many a heavily cluttered small dwelling).

As income inequality grows, I think a lot of stuff is getting recirculated as hand-me-downs, donations and garage sale material.

In my travels I am staggered by the amount of fuel we consume, and the sheer volume of food and goods that get shipped around. As the population grows, one wonders how we can outfit and feed 8+ billion people decently, including those in the third world who have rising standards of living, and need to have more and more goods.

The suburban 'aspirational' buyer is easy to sell to, and they are piling up hoards of extra stuff; Christmas china, a dozen bins of Halloween decor, always some new cute stuff to acquire, closets full of fast-fashion. This is the group which needs to experience some king of shaming about their excess, but if the 'minimalist' movement didn't work, what will?

On the thrift shop front: found a decent used furniture shop, got a great and very needed floor lamp and bookcase. At the thrift, got a $5 DVI monitor small enough to keep in the rig for use when traveling with my tiny PC, in lieu of ponying up for a new laptop. And lo and behold, not only does it still work great, the weighted base from the olden days means it will not fly around or tip over.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 14 Oct 24 - 08:07 AM

Mais certainement, ma chère sœur !

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 11:07 PM

My ridiculously expensive Breville toaster-oven began beeping at random last Thursday. The frequency of the beeping increased gradually until this morning, when it didn’t stop until I unplugged it. When I came back from church, I toted it downstairs to the basement.

A very, very long time ago — possibly in 1958 or ‘59 — my parents acquired our first toaster. I think Mum got it with Gold Bond stamps. It’s the flip-flop kind that must be tended, with no controls and no moving parts except the hinged doors. With its exposed heat source it was dangerous In a household with small children, but no one got hurt and the house did not burn down.

My brother has it, and it still works.

I wonder if he’d lend it to me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 03:27 PM

The next chapter starts with the Collyer brothers and I have several chapters left. We are in a planned obsolescence pickle (or downward spiral).

Food shopping today, and am continuing in my determination to buy things in either no wrapper (produce - and I have reusable light tulle bags for it) or in metal or glass for the best recycling options.

For the first time in ages I not only swept the kitchen and dining area, I mopped. The dishwasher is now running and later, laundry. I'm keeping up with things like this as I feel better. I looked at my records - the statins started in April of 2021, and it was an insidious cumulative effect. After a bit more than three months off of them kitchen cleaning is no big deal. It doesn't seem that it would normally be considered a sign of good health, but being able to do normal jobs without it feeling like it takes more focus or energy than I can muster is notable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 12:08 PM

Here is a link to Dr. Chip Colwell's So Much Stuff via Bookfinder. As I make progress through it this non-fiction research into human industry (my general term here to describe our business of making stuff) it feels more and more like a dystopian horror story. It's well worth the read, and if you ever needed a reason to declutter by sharing and selling existing materials, and to approach things in your household with a view to repairing before replacing, this is the book to set you on that path.

He illustrates the Industrial Revolution various parts as 1760 with mechanization with water and steam power and loom weaving; 1870 with assembly lines, mass production, and electrical power; 1914 with automation, plastics, and the vast scales of production. A fourth would be now - the computer revolution, AI, etc.

A paragraph on the bottom of page 189 makes the case for what came before and where we are now:

Up to World War I, factories in Europe and North America were producing more kinds of products, and more of each kind, each year. By one estimate, US industrial production increased by more than 1,000 percent between 1860 and 1914. Most people were having their basic needs met: food, water, clothing, shelter. A brief economic downturn in 1920 led companies to wonder if they were facing a crisis of overproduction. (They were.) Perhaps people simply did not need to consume more. So, companies turned to manufacturing not just goods but also the desire for them. . .

That is followed by a long quote from Edward Bernays in 1928 in Propaganda where he says a factory can't afford to wait till the public asks for its product, "it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda, with the vast public in order to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable."

How does one push back at such wasteful and extravagant behavior? This is Capitalism illustrated, but changing minds of the world means putting a halt to so much production and waste. To reuse and repair. To taking "fashion" out of our vocabulary. I have about 50 pages left of the book, but as I read I realize that I've fought this struggle all my life - wanting the antique, the vintage furniture and equipment because of their beauty and function, I am an organic gardener to keep the lifecycle of plants and compost and fertilizer within this little bit of the ecosystem. I buy parts to repair things. I make things instead of buying them.

But you can see there is a problem. So many people have no thoughts about buying and discarding vast amounts of manufactured materials.

We on this thread are methodically decluttering, but we also buy new things as needed. I try to get stuff at the thrift store (small appliances, good pots and pans, glassware, etc.) This is the biggest environmental challenge ahead of us - if we stop all of this big industry, we stop pumping CO₂ into the atmosphere, but this only happens if all of the people employed in all of those industries find useful and satisfactory local employment growing, repairing, and offering services.

Thinking out loud (or with pixels) here. Feeling a sudden bigger push to really get this going, and somehow spread the word. And it isn't lost on me that as I change my diet to remove the processed foods (mostly carbohydrates) that that is another huge part of the problem.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 07:11 AM

Last year I contacted my cousin who I hadn't seen since her wedding c.1991. She has 2 daughters who will take the family stuff, hooray cos my sister doesn't want anything, besides she cleaned out Mum's house & as far as I know she only took the 30+ unused touristy tea towels which went into hers & other kitchens! I had 2 unused teatowels which until recently covered my winter woolies, but replacing my 2 sets of sheets gave me 4 pillow cases which did a better job of storing woolies.

I also have a niece but I haven't seen her for years, she lives near my sister & they are close, so maybe she got some teatowels & other stuff!

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 05:27 AM

Sadly, Sandra, I have no female family members. Never had a sister, had two sons, have one grandson.

I have two nieces, but we aren't close.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 04:50 AM

my friend has a lot of stock & recently sold all her large damask tablecloths (20? 30?) to a woman who runs a wedding venue.

She & her daughter-in-law do a lot of work for & at for their markets so I don't mind giving my stuff to her.

We've also talked about my extensive collection of antique & vintage needlework tools (baskets, boxes, kits, & smaller things like needles, pins, scissors etc etc) which I'd like to sell to a dealer, not bit by bit to people I know who collect, but she doesn't know of one in Sydney so she will take an item or 2 with her to see if she attracts attention from a someone who wants to branch out. Last major retailer of tools died a few years before covid, & smaller market sellers are no longer around.

So much to downsize & I don't want leave it all to my lovely sister, who has always lived with little stuff - maybe one painting & 1 lovely vase? - but then they did spend 17 years as expats in 4 or 5 countries & moved 15 times, so naturally came back with even less that they took!

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 02:25 AM

Well done, Sandra!

I have some pieces from my mother's family, and also from Himself's family. The pieces I really treasure, tough, were made by my mother's Aunty Laura who made beautiful tatting; one piece is a tablecloth with a heavy cream linen centre and a very wide border of tatted lace all round. Laura died when I was just a baby, but my middle name is Grace after her daughter, who died as a teenager.

Once I am no more I will neither know nor care what happens to them but they are exquisite, so I will enjoy them for now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 11:45 PM

Good job, Sandra! I have a lot of that stuff in trunks here, from the great aunt in Connecticut. And that reminds me that I have some fancy old tablecloths I could sell. Doilies. Antimacassars. Lots of crochet items.

This evening I made the middle eastern pork and eggplant (with tomatoes and onions) casserole from stuff in the freezer and pantry. It made a bit more than usual so I'll probably share some to my ex, who loves it. Since I won't be eating it over mashed potatoes (or will only eat it that way if I have no other carbs the whole day) I could treat it like a stew and have a larger single portion like a stew. The house smells amazing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 11:31 PM

Last week I downsized (gave away) my entire collection of vintage embroideries, doilies, hand towels, placemats, table cloths etc. - except for one piece, a Willow pattern doiley where every stitch is over one thread of a fine linen, not ultra-fine handkerchief linen. Craft friends praise my small stitches, but they are uneven & rarely over 1 thread, so I need this beautiful piece to see, but not aspire to, small even stitches! My eyes are not up to such fine work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Embroidery Linen comes in various thread “counts” which are simply an indication of the number of threads per inch in either direction. A low count Embroidery Linen would be a 20 count linen. High count is a little more difficult to define with exact numbers however in general, a 36 or a 40-count Embroidery Linen for counted handwork is considered fairly high count. A 50-count linen would be suitable for very fine work as the counted stitches are worked over one thread of fabric.

My eyes, computer glasses & desk lamp bought from a needlework supplier might not be able to count the threads! Another site says handkerchief linen is 60 count!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

normal service will now resume ... My friend sells vintage linens & other lovely items at vintage/antique fairs. My collection was housed in a fabric covered photocopy paper box that had held 10 packets of paper, pieces were in oven bags, box was about 3/4 full. The collection included vintage doiley holders - usually cardboard either painted or embroidered. Now I just need to find a home for the box, I'll take a photo & show it to my favourite Op Shop, it's pink so some little girl might like to keep her treasures in it!

I also need to find homes for lots more lovely and/or interesting stuff.

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 07:38 PM

The biggest collection (my Dad's) is on cassette tapes, reel-to-reel, CDs, DVDs, etc. And paper. It's an archival project on a fairly large scale. I need to buckle down like Art Thieme did and just get it done. I'll be donating it to a university.

I started a list and there are three of those big projects that I've let slide for a while. Perhaps a good start this fall and then try to finish some of it in 2025? This project has me looking at some of the equipment I'm using versus what is available that will do the job better or faster. The scanner I use at the museum has been discontinued and I find a few on eBay for a fraction of the cost. That would speed a lot of work. To be continued. . .

For years I loaded photos from my phone to my computer with Dropbox, but they kept pushing the paid version at me, so I turned it off. I tested it again this summer but today have decided to stop since it doesn't work like it did in the old days. I get better results with Outlook (paid - not bad, about $75 a year). That'll virtual declutter means one less phone and computer app.

This afternoon I spent time trimming in the back yard then took clippers into the kennel and behind the back fence to cut out all of the hackberry seedlings popping up along those wire fence lines. And that was enough, it's still too hot to spend hours working outside. I'll mow tomorrow morning.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 05:50 PM

Which is why I still hang on to my CDs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 03:30 PM

Take a lesson from me, Stilly: I had lots of DVDs and copied them all to a hard drive and gave the originals to charity shops.
Then the hard drive crashed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 11:25 AM

The Amazon ads crept up on me; now they're nipped in the bud. I just opened a couple of my several Gmail accounts (they each have a different function that more or less works the way I intended) and deleted hundreds of promotions. This is inundation season from political causes and candidates. (And ironic that on the day I went in to quiet the Alexa pitch machine, a printed holiday catalog arrived in the mail from Amazon. That is a first.)

My mom had the idea to move and be in an easier place to manage after she retired, but she ended up in a more complicated house just as full of stuff. My father had a small house but it was crammed to the gills with stuff. My great aunts on both sides of Dad's family kept an awful lot of stuff. I've thinned out a lot of what arrived here thirty and forty years ago, but there is a lot more to do. As I made the drive to the ex's house this week to see if it was just his phone on the blink or if he had suddenly expired, I had an intense 10-minute reality check before I knocked on the door. At the top of that list was "so much stuff" and how to be sure the kids know how to find the important documents. And realizing a move is inevitable.

Charmion, based upon your reports it sounds like you've done an amazing job of clearing up the extras, as have Sandra and Jennie who occasionally report in. It sounds like Dorothy has a big job of just taking stock of the various locations where pottery materials are stored, and Patty is operating on a slim number of items that fit in small cargo trailer (for a couple of trips). We haven't heard from Jon in a long time - I wonder about his health - his whole family is in that sprawling house and I imagine the work will be left to siblings.

I have a couple of collections I need to start addressing seriously now, if I want anything to happen with them. I have stuff for my convenience, and family antiques that I thought would go to the kids, but who knows what they might want. My nextdoor neighbor did an estate sale before she downsized and moved and perhaps that is what I should do at some point.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 10:50 AM

I never let Amazon send me notifications in the first place, or indeed any other on-line retailer, and I routinely — and frequently — unsubscribe myself from their email distribution lists. I can’t stand the constant nagging, which I find almost as infuriating as the advertising on commercial radio and network television. If I could find a way to turn off advertising on Facebook, even at a price, I’d do it.

Perhaps the biggest reason for my persistent decluttering efforts is the feeling of oppression, bordering on fear, that hits me whenever I think about what I must do when I can’t manage this house any more. When Edmund was alive, I could count on him to take on more than his share of planning and executing any major project, and I believed that I would never have to move again. What a fool I was!

That line about the Tea Party’s ideal government — “so small you could drown it in a bath-tub” — aptly describes the house move task I want to face when the time comes. So the decluttering will continue.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 24 - 09:37 PM

They had moved the locomotive from the downtown location since the event ended (it doesn't leave Ft Worth until Sunday, so there may be news of another place to view it tomorrow.) The tracks are next to the historic post office so I mailed a parcel (more decluttering) to the friend who was here visiting before walking through the building and looking for the train out behind it (instead of paying to park somewhere else).

This evening I finally thrashed through the seven veils of Amazon to reach the core of Alexa to get it to stop offering me sales on previous purchases. The yellow glowing ring of notifications sometimes tells me of weather conditions, other times of deliveries, and those are ok, but I'm tired of it telling me something I bought in the past is now cheaper, or some book I've never heard of is on sale. Despite the access via computer to most of it, #FYI some of these settings must be done on the phone app.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 24 - 02:03 PM

The battery for the big Canon camera is charging - after which I'll head downtown and take photos of the Union Pacific's Big Boy #4014 - a huge old steam locomotive that is in town and on public view yesterday and today. I could use the phone camera, but this is enough of an occasion that the larger photos will be a plus. I missed the event that is associated with its appearance, but I'll be able to see it from a side road. I don't need to climb on it, just get a clear view.

Other items on the list of things to do—my orthopedic surgeon changed practices so records are transferred and I made an appointment at the new place. In case of emergency I'll already be in their system. Shopping. Watering (because it's still hot and hasn't rained in a couple of weeks). Sewing project. eBay. Plenty on that list to keep me busy!

Even though I'm not a 9-5 employee any more, I still enjoy getting to the Weekend.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 12:28 PM

I third that, Charmion. You've kept yourself busy for more than just decluttering purposes, my guess, and generating those endorphins is a huge help.

You're right about every one of those furniture observations, Patty. But if you decide you want to do all of your shopping in one swoop, drive over with your trailer and I'll take you on the rounds of my favorite Goodwill stores here in the county. I guarantee you would return home with all of the furniture you need. And there is one store over in North Arlington that reliably has nice antiques. When my son was looking for furniture for his house we had recommended he try estate sales - they found a lot of the shelving they wanted that way. The good stuff is bought at the house, it doesn't end up at the thrift store after the sale is over.

My ex came over and had breakfast with our friend and me, and they were guinea pigs for a brand of pancake mix (I've always made it from scratch, but when I'm not using wheat flour I have to try the mixes.) Bob's Red Mill is always reliable and these were very good. Then as she packed up we found all of the bits and pieces around the house that she brought in last Friday (almost missed the oxygen machine power cord! That would have meant an extra drive today) and her oldest daughter has transported her to the youngest daughter for the next stop on this visit to the Metroplex. Is it too early in the day for a drink?

I usually volunteer on Thursdays but I'll push all of that till tomorrow. I may have lunch here on Saturday for a few friends in my university retiree group - since the house is clean I might as well get more use of it this way!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 11:35 AM

Charmion, we're here for you and we support you. Carry on, indeed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 09:59 AM

Glad the book printer arrangement is going to work out!

I did check out some of the sources you mention SRS, thanks for the reminder; not a hotbed of Freecycle here, but I should start monitoring Craigslist. And I may have to get with a friend who uses Facebook and make up a list of garage sales, perhaps I could handle forays on alternate Saturdays.

Yes, it would be nice if we could ship excess 'stuff' to Florida for someone who needs it. I wonder if the national Goodwill network already has plans to relocate truckloads of stuff, seems like plenty of donors would step up to help.

Meanwhile outside of a big metro, what I saw at auction and thrifts last week were stuffed furniture you better get a bedbug inspection on, and giant 'beds' and entertainment walls that were oversized arrangements of shelves, lights, etc., perhaps 400 pounds of excess. Nobody wants these. Nor the dark Victorian monstrosities they apparently descended from. Then there's some aging-badly laminate stuff. I think whenever decent small pieces come up, they get snapped up by entrepreneurs who paint and sell them in cute shops.   

When I visited High Point NC, the showrooms still exist, but darn few local manufacturers. Our overlords shipped 95% of production to Asia many years ago. That area is down in the Piedmont rolling hills area, not the mountainy places that got socked so very hard by Helene. But I imagine Helene still hit some local artisan makers in Asheville and NC hard. Those areas dependent on tourist traffic were just getting back on their feet after covid, and now this.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 09:45 AM

Good onya, Charmion

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 08:55 AM

I had a fascinating half-hour yesterday with a nutritionist connected to my doctor’s group practice. She intensely interested in my experience with ketogenic eating, and immediately focussed on my reasons for consulting her, namely cholesterol, calcium and electrolyte levels, and long-term sustainability. She promised to do some research on populations (such as epilepsy patients) that stick to keto regimes for years at a stretch, and to refer me for more blood work.

Today I have passed the weight goal I set for myself six months ago, having shed 15.1 Kg, or a hair over 33 pounds. That’s two shirt sizes and more than that in trousers. Best of all, I still enjoy freedom from the constant yammer of carb cravings.

Since there’s no such thing as an unmixed blessing, instead of a double chin I now have a substantial turkey wattle. Sigh.

A bit more decluttering, too: a basic Wedgwood tea set (pot and two cups) and a French press coffee pot with two Royal Worcester mugs set aside for the choir’s silent auction fund-raiser. They will be out of the house by the end of next week.

This is the fourth anniversary of my husband’s death. I have busy day planned, with pool class in the morning, followed by lunch with a fellow Aquafitter, an afternoon of music library maintenance, and church choir practice in the evening. I had a good talk with Edmund’s favourite sister yesterday, and firmed up plans for Christmas. And so we soldier on.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 12:05 AM

Dorothy, I'm so glad to hear from you! The car parking episode is something we all fear - I also take a photo of where the car is parked in new situations. (In the days before smart phones we just had to park in known spots and hope to find them again, like outside the Sears entrance at the mall, etc.)

Tell R you can scare yourself shitless diagnosing your own health on the Internet. That said, if something is diagnosed, on several occasions I have gone into databases at the university and done keyword searches on the topic and forwarded the research articles. In case it comes to that. (Most recently, for late Mudcatter Richard Bridge, who was concerned about the painkilling aspects of different medications. I searched EU medical research sources and sent him several papers. I never heard if they helped or not. I hope they did.)

After visiting the print shop today I spent the evening correcting one item and created a new poster to be placed on the counter at her son's bakery with a QR code link to Amazon. The plan B printer was very helpful, and by the end of our visit, he and his wife were totally charmed by my 90-year-old friend, who was talking about storytelling and doing a presentation for adults - whereupon she did an impromptu version of that story there in the office and they were in stitches. The printer looked at me and asked "can we keep her?" He'll work on her order and ship them to her home, and she has a face and voice to put to that business, so I think she'll be ordering books and more promotional items through them. I told him if he needs any clarification, just tell her to call me and I'll sort it out. She's making the decisions, I'm just the helper.

I know it felt like a slow start, but I spent a day or more picking the book file apart for all of the pieces I used to make the other items. Now they're finished, I can make more if she needs them. She has a TV interview next week on Friday, and will be talking to various groups and the library, so will at least sell some locally. Of course her age is the novelty here, and she's enjoying this, and that's what counts.

Tomorrow breakfast here for us with my ex who was supposed to have dinner with us tonight. We couldn't get him on the phone (so I drove over to check on him this evening - when he answered the door I said "well that's good, you're not dead on the floor, but your phone is messed up." And we worked on that, finally restarting it to get a connection.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 09:59 PM

Dupont:

Hoping that some of the fog is lifting in my life ---then R reports a concern for the blip on his eyelid. He researched and thinks it could be cancer so became - after how long??? - aggressive about finding healthcare! Appointment at 2 pm Sunday afternoon (!!!) with a Dr. from the Jewish General!

I have one tomorrow with the oncologist. A mystery but scheduled some time ago. R will come with me! Last week, it was only blood tests so I went alone. First time and in my inexperience with parking in an abyss, I had no idea where I left my care other than I "kept going around and around..." It took security 2 hours to find it - I showed them pictures! How many cream/yellow/tan? cars could be down there?? I feared I would not have the energy to look and look; if I tired there was no place to sit! OK! Next time take a photo of the sign on the wall! I thought there would be cameras down there --but they were inadequate!

The upshot is that I sat and listened to 3 people chatting. Toward the end, I told them that I had no idea what they were talking about but appreciated their spirit. (my discrimination problem - even with the hearing aids finally working well!!! WE chatted a bit longer and found we live close together here in Chateauguay. We had met first thing in the oncology blood test dept that morning. May be some chance of sharing transport, esp since two had none.   

I have finally come out of the woods sufficiently to figure out how to wrest a change of Driver's license (appt 29 October), phoned re car insurance - a company I used before- and the nice man thought I could do the car registration at the same time. And my health card still has not arrived but is promised - maybe we can check at the hospital tomorrow. I miss my home but will be happy to be all in one place again - legally anyway! I hope to still be able to get home for a few days now and again.

R brought some firewood so I am having a small fire in the evenings, warming the den a bit for reading. Today, the heat had come on in the rest of the house; it is set fairly low for now. WE live mainly in the den, K and BR - which only requires a light quilt for now.

I managed to damp mop the floors, thinking of how to get the house clean enough for my son who may come in November. His grade 7 best friend is coming to Montreal (he grew up here) with his partner (I doubt he will stay with us!) but Taun likes a clean house. Jeff does also! I do too!

My energy has up and downs but I was able to go for a walk with a friend last week, along the river, and I feel better for having done it. Need to try harder to do it more often.

I still have not been inclined to make a pot and am giving serious consideration to divesting myself of all that; still have a full studio at Beaver which I am basically giving to my neighbour, along with minimal guidance (lack of energy).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 03:26 PM

Re: furniture,
thinking back to Hurricane Helene,
it's ironic that North Carolina is a hub of furniture manufacturers.
I wonder how many of those got wiped out.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 01:50 PM

Decluttering a tiny amount - my visiting friend likes one of the many pillows that are in the guest room, it was part of a set of flannel sheets that were used on that bed when it was my son's room. (I can still use them if she decides to visit in cold weather). Anyway, it's a perfect size and amount of stuffing to use between her knees when she sleeps so I've offered it as something to take with her tomorrow when her daughter picks her up.

Our plans for the printer have shifted to Plan B: the place I planned to go today had a suspiciously empty look in the Google street view so I called - they have the same number but moved to a new town and for now are outsourcing jobs. She recommended a printer nearby the old location who can help.

The TV is on, watching the storm progress slowly toward the west coast of Florida. It dawned on me that rather than building all new furniture and appliances to replace what is going to be destroyed, if the thrift shops across the country could be involved in a transport of used materials to there, it would mean less waste and the big manufacturers don't need to use new resources to make new furniture and appliances when many good looking serviceable ones are already around. It would also help clear out the glut of used stuff in other communities. And people in manufacturing can start learning how to repair items and put them back into service. #WishfulThinking

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 24 - 11:58 AM

Charmion, the parent in me felt a little shudder at your description of the bag of cash. Advising discretion and offering an opaque zipper pouch at the next chore might not go amiss.

Patty, it sounds like you'll be hunting for a while. Do you have Freecycle in your area? If you were on Facebook you could look at their Marketplace (though I never do, partly because there is very little I need to buy, and I'm leery of an unregulated marketplace like that.) There is furniture sold on eBay (I'd go for any "local pickup" within a broad mileage of your area - who knows what shipping would cost). Amazon even sells furniture. (I just pulled up my Freecycle page and there are two antique bed frames being offered on the north side of town.)

Still working on promotional items for my friend so that's two of us hunched over the computer on this Tuesday. I think we'll have enough to make a run to the print shop this afternoon or tomorrow. I just heard the mail carrier plop closed the front of the steel mailbox (it has a strong magnet) and realized I haven't seen Informed Delivery in my email for ages. I was getting it twice, so of course if I canceled it one place both went away. I've hopefully restored it to one email address only. (I had two accounts when I had the PO Box and the House with each getting their own reports, the PO seems to have transferred the PO Box account to the forwarded address, but they waited a year after the forwarding order expired to do it. Odd.)

Watching the evacuation of low-lying parts of Florida today as Milton approaches has me doing my own mental calculations about where are the documents and emergency items I would load, along with dog food and gear, to get out of our little stream-side low spot, if the need arises here. Everyone needs a plan, because there is always something bad that can happen to your house or neighborhood wherever you are, whether fire or flood or tornado or hurricane, or as in the Pacific Northwest, volcanoes and earthquakes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Oct 24 - 10:46 AM

Yesterday I packed up the Wedgwood dinner and tea services for their journey to Ottawa. The task required four 1.5-cubic-foot boxes and about half a bale of clean newsprint. The only piece I could not somehow fit in was the coffee pot. It’s the tall kind that people just don’t use for coffee any more, so I don’t think Nephew 1’s family will miss it. I use it for mulled wine, and I think it might also work for a large batch of chai.

Tuesday used to be the day I kept clear of obligations so I could do occasional stuff like doctors’ appointments, but the choir has taken another bite out of my “free” time. Now the weekly newsletter must go out on Tuesday, so my butt must be parked in front of the computer by four o’clock in the afternoon. Geez, anyone would think I had a job with a boss and everything — well, everything except a paycheque.

Young Logan stopped by yesterday while I was working in the garage with the door open. He proudly asked me to guess how much money he had saved, brandishing a baggie full of loonies and twonies, with my two blue fivers riding on top. I wanted to warn him about tempting unscrupulous persons who might rip him off, but refrained. Instead, I introduced him to the notion of getting a tradesman’s estimate on the brake job his bike needs. He surveyed my lawn with dollar signs in his eyes, asking if it was time for more raking. I replied that he should wait until we could see a lot more daylight through the huge Norway maple. Satisfied, he wished me a good day and pedalled off.

It’s entirely possible that Logan has identified my property maintenance needs as a significant funding source.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Oct 24 - 10:11 AM

We used to enjoy a good brand of marmalade back in the day. Can hardly imagine how good it must be if it is hand-crafted at home!

I continue trying to juggle my assorted cans of worms, and failing a lot. Sofa shopping and auction previewing were both fruitless, didn't even bother attending the auction. Gosh I don't want to spend my life haunting stores and garage sales!

Laptop computer died last week. Angry about the junky swelling batteries they all come with.   Decided to pull out the old peripherals and get a new tiny desktop. Nice young fellow at the shop set it up and told me how to put a Linux Mint partition on it so it will be dual-boot.   Have not plugged it in yet, I guess I have too many memories of teeth-gnashing sessions wrassling with Windows, even if set up, it won't be quick to get functional.

And unpacking. Set up utility shelves, unpacked 7 boxes of books, and glad to see them all. Also glad to have stored old computer screen, keyboard, mouse, speakers. Higher quality and didn't need to be trashed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Thompson
Date: 08 Oct 24 - 05:22 AM

If you could start a Marmalade Makers Meeting, Charmion, you might be able to persuade a local grocer to bring in a supply of Sevilles for the seven or ten of you, as a guaranteed group of buyers?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 24 - 11:45 PM

The day was spent hunched over the computer keyboard as I pulled together pieces I snipped from the finished book page PDFs to use as elements for promotional materials. It's a reminder of the work I did for the university library, now on a friend's behalf. So far we have a couple of versions of a promotional postcard, bookmarks, and a business card. All are made with InDesign so there are bleeds (the art goes past the edge so when the printer trims them the color goes all the way to the edge.) Even with the older versions on my computer we can get a lot done. (Adobe rents their software by the month now - I still have the installed software and own the original disks.) I've been meaning to redo my own business card (since I got rid of the PO Box) - now that I've created the template for my friend I'll use it to update my own card another day.

A day or two more this week of our concentrated work, then I hand her off to her daughter for the rest of the visit. Before this is finished the sewing machine will also be involved - when you're 5' tall and buy a pre-made Halloween costume the hem must be adjusted. She has lots of costumes, but they're all in storage, so we work on a new one. (Storytellers live for the costumes at Halloween—any excuse to get into character!)

My absentee ballot arrived today and I went through the Vote411 page to see all of the information about the candidates and measures on my ballot (it lets you compare them based upon what they file about themselves—if they don't take advantage of this site connected to the non-partisan League of Women Voters, that's a clue about their worthiness for office), and will mail this back tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Oct 24 - 11:23 AM

Marmalade today.

I haven't seen a genuine Seville orange in years, and even then I had to be on deck in the fruit & veg section of the supermarket on the one day in February or March when they were in stock or I would get none. People who make their own marmalade are getting scarce, however, so the grocers don't bring them in any more. Sigh.

For those of us who can't give up the habit, there's canned Seville orange pulp and rind from Robertson's, one of the big British marmalade makers. So that's what I use these days. If I don't count my time, and I buy the sugar on special, and especially if I put it up in re-used Mason jars, it's still less expensive than what you find in the jam and jelly section at the typical grocery store. My in-laws love the stuff, and it sells very well at the church bazaar.

So that's the plan.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 24 - 04:51 PM

A crustless quiche Lorraine was made for today's lunch. Classic recipe but with some small pieces of broccoli added for a lovely color. Friend has gone out for the afternoon with her daughter and they'll have dinner.

Mowing and putting up my signs this evening, then some document design for my friend. I have a box of glasses for eBay that have been on the verge of being listed for ages - maybe I can do that tonight?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 24 - 08:46 PM

That is a relationship to cultivate! I love it when kids step up like that, and when adults respond by taking them seriously, it's good for them. Good for you.

Picking apart book completed (saving a PDF as photo files of each page spread, then cropping bits that can be used for promotional files). I use the old computer for the newer software and now it is all back on the new computer and can be done with the previous version of Adobe.

Going back and forth between friend stuff and my stuff this weekend. I hope to finish listing some Libbey Duratuff glasses while my friend is out visiting with her daughter tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: JennieG
Date: 05 Oct 24 - 08:02 PM

Young Logan sounds like a very enterprising feller, Charmion. Good for him!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 24 - 07:09 PM

Lovely sunny weather in Stratford, and I actually did some yard work.

Not on my own initiative, of course — that’s so not me. But last night, just before full dark, a small boy knocked at my door and offered to rake my leaves for a dollar. With four huge maples and a birch on the property, my raking requirements are worth way more than a dollar, so this offer was the lowest low-ball bid in history. But the young lad had a very determined look about him, so I told him to come back in daylight, and I would pay him ten bucks.

At two o’clock, there he was again.

So we worked together and got the job done in about an hour and a half. My back does not tolerate much stooping, so my new friend did most of the scooping up of leaves off the ground and packing them into yard waste bags. He earned his ten bucks.

His name is Logan, he’s nine years old, and he lives across the street. He needs money to fix the rear brake on his beloved bike. I expect to see him again when the trees have dumped more of their leaves — they’ve only just started.

An interesting day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 24 - 06:17 PM

I'm creating digital content today as I work on picking apart the PDF file of a friend's children's book. She went with a vanity press and they're slow to promote it so I'm helping her with some parts of that. (She's 90, she has always wanted to put this story in a book, there are lots of issues with the process but she's 90 and is working on the book she has always wanted to do. The publisher has been doing a lot of foot-dragging but finally produced the art the way she wanted and now charges for extra stuff. So I'm working on some of that.) First things first is to get the art into a usable form. This is digital clutter at this point, creating a lot of files before deciding the few we'll use. Then the rest can be parked somewhere if she wants to do more.

It's hot and we have an air quality warning (orange) so I didn't mow. Tomorrow morning, then the signs go up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 24 - 10:01 PM

However it happened, today it fits, and that's what counts! Nice to be in furnace weather, we have the air conditioner running this evening.

The odometer tells me that today's round-trip was of 521 miles to pick up a friend who will spend a couple of weeks in the area; a few days with me then the rest with family. When the average speed is between 75 and 85, the trip goes pretty quickly. And I got several hours of a new audiobook in. The big thing is that I finally figured out to work the phone and the bluetooth through the car. It used to startle me when it rang - well, it still does - but I know how to decline spam calls now so it's not nerve-racking. The dogs were ok with my absence since I left after I fed them breakfast and dinner happened right when I got home.

The SUV battery replacement a couple of weeks ago has thrown the fuel estimate gauge for a loop. It keeps adding to existing miles instead of resetting to the standard miles to be expected when I fill the tank. I'll query the blogosphere about resetting myself before I take my problem to the Nissan dealer. I'm avoiding them these days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Oct 24 - 08:59 PM

Better to say I can wear that jacket *again*. For many years I was way too fat.

In other news, it’s finally cold enough in Perth County to start the furnace, though we have yet to see our first frost.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 11:03 PM

Charmion, I saw your jacket in a FB photo - props for being able to still wear it all of these years later!

Getting ready to drive to pick up a friend so tonight I'll go and and link the phone to the SUV via bluetooth to listen to my audiobook for part of the drive. We'll see if I can stand the phone nonsense that comes with that connection. With spam calls as a distraction I have in the past disconnected the whole setup.

To maintain a keto-centric diet I'm going to take along a cooler with a couple of prepared things that can be eaten cold (tuna salad without bread part of a sandwich - use a spoon) or is shelf-stable (jerky). Non-wheat crackers and cheese. It's only a few hours, but I don't want to fool with trying to figure out where to pull over to eat lunch before I get there and I'm pretty sure that the woman who lives with a son who is the owner of a bakery isn't going to have keto in her fridge. I have a jar of tea that will go in a cooler of ice for - voilà! - iced tea (and two cups with lids and straws, so my friend can have tea on the drive back.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 12:05 PM

Congratulations, Charmion. My University of Ottawa jacket still fits, but Deb bought it for me in my 40s so no real achievement there on my part.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 11:17 AM

I have always kept track of my calcium through My Fitness Pal (since about 2016) - and use supplements to bring my daily intake to 100%. Now is not the time to be light on calcium! I aim at 1200mg per day (and am doing bone density stuff as a member of the osteopenia club.)

Guest arrives tomorrow, so I have to finish picking up and dusting around here. The flu shot arm ache disappeared after a day and there were no side effects other than that first sleepless night. One family member doesn't have a spleen (which filters out a lot of stuff that could otherwise make you sick) and a 90-year-old house guest, plus generally an older pool of friends makes it all the more important for me to get it every year.

Busy day today, including baking some regular bread to have here for my guest (and give some to neighbors across the street). For now that is a skill set that mostly goes unused.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 10:26 AM

While rummaging in the box room today, I came up with my undergraduate jacket. Designed and made 45 years ago for a teenage boy with hips like a trout, it's a bit stiff now and makes creaky noises when I move around, but by George it fits! Well, better to say that it fits as well as it did in 1979: I can zip it up and close all the snap fasteners. The sleeves are a tad long and there's room inside it for a heavy sweater -- but, in this climate, that's a feature, not a bug.

I'm told that Queen's University makes these in women's sizes now. In my day (class of 1983), it was somewhat transgressive for women to wear them. So of course I acquired one and wore it, and might as well wear it again!

The ketogenic diet has had me running low on calcium for six months, so it's time to adjust to a less restrictive low-carbohydrate regimen that allows me to eat yogurt more often, and drink milk at all. I felt positively gleeful yeterday as I nipped out for a two-litre carton of what we in Ontario call "homo" -- i.e., homogenized milk with 3.5% butterfat. A mug of cocoa has never been such a luxury.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 24 - 10:59 AM

There is the classic kitchen "junk drawer" that holds everything from screwdrivers, measuring tapes and extra lanyards to the box cutter and a cup of all of the old dog rabies and name tags, and then there is the "small kitchen tools" drawer. Skewers, knife sharpener, cheese slicer, a few spatulas, and I keep a few clothes pins to serve as bag clips and extra jar lids. Except today I realized that the clothespins and the jar lids were having family reunions in that drawer.

The spare rings for canning jars and a few used lids are there to top jars that are going in the fridge or freezer, and there are some solid plastic and metal jar lids also (the classic "spaghetti sauce lid" type). But the canning rings had gotten out of control along with enough clothespins to hang an entire row on the outside clothesline. I've reallocated most of them back to their original canning and clothes management positions and the drawer opens without having to rearrange the contents.

In the "no good deed goes unpunished" online chat this morning, my young friend who is selling on eBay encountered her first setback - a return request. The item sold looked in good shape but in fact she didn't test it so didn't know it didn't work. She can do a refund and learn from this (I'll send her a file of the boilerplate conditions I put in all of my eBay sales.) We were going to have that conversation soon, I just didn't realize it would be this soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:28 PM

Happy Birthday, Keberoxu! Only 67? You're a young'un around here. :)

Roma and a few other tomatoes are blanched, peeled, and in a bowl so I can chop them up tomorrow then make a batch of marinara sauce. The kitchen is looking better but there is more to move as I prepare for company late this week. I have a pound of ground lamb thawing in the fridge for tomorrow (not for the sauce), and finished up the rotisserie chicken at breakfast today before putting the bones into a pan with water and making a small batch of broth.

Though I thought I was making an improvement as far as plastic consumption in the world, it seems that the laundry sheets I've been using have their own form of dissolving plastic that are harmful as they go through the water system. Same with the dishwasher pods covers. Polyvinyl alcohol is the thing that holds the detergent sheets together and is the exterior of the pods. Once the current supply is finished I'll go back to buying cardboard boxes of regular detergent for both machines. I'll use the bin the current dishwasher pods are in to store powder and put in a scoop (easier than pouring powder out of the heavy box), and find a similar way to manage the laundry detergent. What's old is new again. I have a recipe for making a dry laundry detergent with washing soda so can consider making some of that. Trouble is it uses a grated bar of Fels Naptha and that is made with coconut oil (I'm allergic to coconut.) I'll look around for other comparable soaps to use.

I didn't sleep well last night, it might have been a result of the flu shot I got earlier in the day. Hoping for a more typical night tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 04:40 PM

The covered dish with the un-knobbed lid can be repaired, and I will know better than to put it in the dish-washer; I'm not sure Nephew 1's wife will. The set has two, and with cats in the house, I can use a nice-looking covered dish. As for the worn and stained coffee cup -- dunno. It's not the only such item in the china cabinet, but I admit the walking wounded items total fewer than five.

There's a business in Toronto that mends broken porcelain and bone china. A few years ago, they fixed a teapot lid for me; I just mailed the lid and its detached knob to them, and a few weeks later it came back looking as if nothing had ever happened to it. That job was too fiddly for me to do myself -- very small parts -- and this one involves traces of old glue that must be removed before anything new is applied, and I have no idea how to do that. Besides, they will do a good job and I wouldn't.

I have an ancient willow-pattern platter that dates from probably the 1880s. It's huge, so large that it was probably used only a few times a year its entire life (e.g., Christmas turkey), and it would seem that none of its previous owners was in the habit of warming it in the oven, so the glaze is still in surprisingly good condition. Edmund loved it; all his most dearly held notions of hospitality could be expressed with it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 11:54 AM

Charmion, it seems that unless you yourself are going to throw away the less than perfect Wedgwood, then your nephew should be given that opportunity. They may have alternative uses for the incompletely-covered dish in the background around the rest of the collection (sitting on the counter holding pencils, pad of paper, scissors, glasses cases with spare readers, etc.) I sold the lion's share of my great grandmother's semi-vitreous Mercer Waldorf antique china because as semi-vitreous it was badly crazed and would let food stains through the tiny cracks. Not a good material for food, it's the same as subway tile, and I didn't want to soak them in bleach after every use. But there was one platter that remarkably had no crazing at all. So I kept that and it is displayed much as this one is. It's enough for me to tell my kids or other family members the story of working through the huge house that was my great aunt's when she left the contents to me and two of my father's first cousins. What a lot of work that was (and it turns out that antiques these days aren't the goldmine that we thought they would be 40 years ago.)

Patty, our conversation reminds me that there are termites in the pine stump in the front yard and I should check around to see if any of the roots reached the house. There is a water spigot in the front wall straight back that could be attractive to termites if they follow the root. Ugg. If I dig a small trench a few feet out in front of that part of the house I should be able to see if there are roots there.

I'm about 20% of the way through Chip Colwell's So Much Stuff and I can see the outcome is going to be stuff-gluttony for the human race. Here is a small section in the early part of the book bridging his description of human ancestors learning to make stone tools and Ötzi the iceman, who died more than 5,000 years ago with a cargo of stuff in his backpack:

With him, Ötzi carried a longbow and 14 arrows in a quiver, two birchbark containers (with one carrying fire), tinder fungus, a scraper, a boring tool, a bone awl, a retouching tool to make stone flakes, a stone flake, a stone dagger with an ash-wood handle and sheath made of leather, and a copper ax. He carried all this—and likely more that was lost to time—in a backpack made with an upside-down U-shaped frame with slats and netting. All told, Ötzi carried 400 things, made from stones, minerals, 21 plant species, and the remains of a variety of wild and domesticated animals. "It's a lot of things," Aldegani said. He estimates that all of it would have weighed more than half of Ötzi's own weight.

Because so much organic material typically degrades at an archaeological site, Ötzi offers a stunning view into the material world more than 5,000 years ago. He shows how far our ancestors had traveled from those first few stone tools Lucy's species had invented millions of years ago. Everything Ötzi possessed are things recognizable to us today—things not very different from what you likely are wearing right now (underwear, shoes) or have at home (matches, knives).

At some point between the rough stone tools Lucy's kind used and the iceman's overflowing backpack came the foundation for every thing in our modern world. [63-64]

Ötzi was about 5'2" and weighed 110. Keep sorting and selling. The more used things people adopt, the fewer new things manufactured (in theory.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:47 AM

Thanks so much for the info! From the tube/tunnels I've seen around here, even way out on the road, and the sawdust coatings, it looks like they are Subterranean. Good idea, I can at least drag the logs out to the fenceline for now. (neighboring land is vacant scrub).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 08:50 AM

I spent a good part of yesterday marshalling all the Wedgwood china promised to Nephew 1 on the basement work table. A couple of pieces are too beat-up to pass on, such as a coffee cup with an immovable brown stain and a covered dish that shed its lid knob (fortunately the knob itself is not lost). But Lord, what a lot of crockery! Unless Nephew 1’s car is far larger than I think it is, I think I’ll end up hauling at least half of it to Ottawa myself.

With the Wedgwood bound elsewhere, my crockery accumulation is sufficiently reduced that I can stop fretting about it. Everything that remains has a place to be that isn’t a cardboard box on a basement shelf, and I understand why I’m keeping it. My granny's ancient teacups aren’t what I’d call exactly “useful”, but they evoke such powerful memories that I can’t let them go. Yet. Ask me again in 20 years.

Summer may be waning, but in Perth County it’s still verging on hot at mid-day and not what I’d call properly cool at night. Rain is expected today, the first in a week, in a season that’s supposed to be bone-achingly damp. The trees are only just beginning to turn colour. I’m not eager for winter, but I wish autumn would get a wiggle on.