DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Apr 25 - 10:36 PM

I didn't set up the new compost bin site but I did mow the front yard. I want it to look good - this is the time of year when it is truly beautiful - the irises are blooming in various colors in several beds around the yard and other things are blooming as a nice accent (Salvia greggi in particular). Bonus points: I found an ancient broom in the garage and swept out the parking area that was full of leaves and tracked in dirt. With all of this I got a good workout.

Tomorrow the compost stuff will be put in place in the back of the back yard and the rest of the spring garden activity can proceed. This extra bin piece was my last purchase for a while (it came via Amazon - the only place that had it locally was Walmart and I avoid them whenever possible.) In the US there is an economic boycott this week - April 18-20 - of any big stores. Small local establishments aren't included, and if people don't have any other options, they've been told not to beat up on themselves if they must shop in Target or Kroger, etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Apr 25 - 06:45 PM

The house is as grubby as ever. With all that "free" time on my hands today, somehow I just could not be arsed.

However, the new burglar alarm is up and running, and I ran three errands. With that, and a fresh supply of coffee beans and my refitted rings back from Konrad the Polish jeweller, I feel very bourgeoise.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Apr 25 - 05:33 PM

I've watched the oak leaves from neighborhood trees (I have no oaks in front) pile up and get compacted along the length of my front curb, and no convenient rain storm to wash them away. This afternoon I took a large scoop and a broom and loaded them into a trash can and made many trips to spread them around the yard (they'll get mulched in tomorrow when I mow). That was a workout. My lot is shaped like a slice of pie, and these are all along the crust edge of it. :)

After the next check on the cats (I'm worried about the little guy, he may be needing his blood glucose checked) if I have a chance this evening I'll stake out the new spot for the compost enclosure (the extra piece so I can double it in size arrives tomorrow) and start mowing and dumping grass clippings in the middle of that area. These things have to be done in a certain order. There's no point in tilling and weeding the new garden area until I have the place to drop all of the stuff that gets pulled out of the beds.

A basket of office paper recycling is ready to go to the bins on my way out, then it's time to clean out the SUV seats and set up the third row. There are at least four of us carpooling to a protest on Saturday. I'm driving since I have a parking permit for a nearby downtown lot. We're going to have to take rain gear, it looks like it might be a soggy march.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Apr 25 - 01:37 PM

The burglar alarm technician is on the ground. The current system is not 5G capable, so a whole new control panel and set of perimeter contacts must be installed. At least the batteries will be fresh, so I'll be long gone by the time they need replacing. Putting a new coin battery in an awkwardly placed contact is one of the most irritating household maintenance jobs I have -- up on a ladder, neck cricked, struggling to pry the cover off a tiny electronic doohickey while the control panel nags persistently.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Apr 25 - 06:13 PM

Big sweep through town today, from my discount grocery, a nice haul of produce, and then to Costco. They had leg of lamb in stock, but the supply is getting low. I think they bring it in every 6 - 10 weeks; the meat is packaged to be stable in the cooler for many weeks. If these tariffs are going to kick in, Australian lamb is going to jump, so I picked up more than one and will spend the evening cutting portions to freeze. I suspect I'm not the only person stocking up on import items that are in the store right now.

The house is a mess. I need to make a stab a picking up some of the stuff on horizontal surfaces, working small areas of the house (it's a busy week, small assignments might get done, big ones won't.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Apr 25 - 11:58 AM

Good old Ma Bell. We're most of us old enough to remember when it was the only phone company in town. I resisted going back to any of their service for a long time (I finally set up the Internet access a few months ago.)

The days of long distance bills are gone, but the monthly bill just to have a smart phone soars with those companies, so they're still getting their cash.

Shopping runs today, and waiting for a call from the doctor's office to see if I can stop taking the bone density monthly medication. I think it's beginning to cause a side effect (a low-level heartburn at times). Best to stop that before it becomes a bigger problem. A friend who took one of these meds for a while developed GERD that has caused her to drastically restrict her diet to avoid the symptoms. Another had the jaw problem of growing what her dentist calls "funny bone." The least time the better on this stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Apr 25 - 08:50 AM

Weather in southern New England:
we have had warm nights lately.
THis morning for the first time
it SMELLED like spring when I stepped outside.

Unfortunately, we are due for three freezing nights in a row,
starting tonight.
THen it will warm back up again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Apr 25 - 08:36 AM

More snow today, despite the daffodils in bud and the blue-eyed grass spangling the lawn. The basement is unchanged, if dry, and the realtor is coming to look at it on Thursday morning. Tony the carpenter has read my text messages but failed to reply.

Other preparations continue. Tomorrow’s pool class is a no-go for me because a burglar alarm technician is booked and the company won’t set a time of arrival more specific than “between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm”. So I guess that’s my cue to clean the house.

I have a new iPhone, the result of visiting the cellular service kiosk at the supermarket to update my data plan. The sales guy made a valiant effort to make sense of Bell Canada’s various service offers while his colleague wrestled with the billing woes of a Czech immigrant whose only government-issued identification is a passport with the wrong birth date, thanks to an administrative error in Soviet-ruled Prague. After a group effort to explain the existence and location of the nearest Passport Office, I found myself with three new friends and a complicated gadget that I have yet to master fully.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Apr 25 - 08:19 PM

The compost digging is moving along and there will soon be a good spot to set up the newly emptied bin. I've ordered a second one (called GeoBin - they are a durable flexible plastic that can be linked together) to give a large area so I can turn the compost from one side of the bin to the other. I prop it up with tall steel fence posts pounded in around the inside (they're made to hold up chicken wire fencing). That's to keep the dogs out.

Cat sitting is also underway for a few days and is more complicated with each trip she takes. I'll make today's last run in an hour. Meanwhile I have cooked carrots ready to add to my dog's dishes for their dinner (as soon as a Zoom meeting I'm listening to ends).

I was looking at my friend's house today and realize she has a gazillion hobbies and projects going - just like me. We both need to declutter. It's easier to see it in someone else's house than your own.

How's the Northern Tier weather coming along? Has everything thawed? Is the leak into Charmion's basement being fixed now? What is going on in Dorothy's yard (any of them?)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Apr 25 - 07:44 PM

Follow-up from PattyClink - I heard on the news today that people are noticing thrift stores as a source of clothes now that tariffs are in place. It's where I always get my jeans, and some of my dressier blouses and sweaters. Those of us who regularly shop there may have some competition. And yes, keeping the good fabric makes sense.

A friend buys cashmere sweaters and does any repairs and sells them. The cashmere we get today is not nearly as good as the older stuff because of the marketplace and the way it is managed (in Mongolia).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Apr 25 - 07:39 PM

More compost shifted from the old piles to the front beds and the decision must be made about where the portable bin will be set up this year. A lot of tall grass awaits mowing that will be tipped into it for a good start on the process. (Tomorrow.) I also need to trim some of the raised beds along the edges (the blocks holding the planks in place have shifted and need to be reset. I should also get some pieces or rebar or other long metal objects and pound them through the middle hole of the blocks so they stay put.)

The dogs killed a young male squirrel today and left him neatly arranged in the middle of the kennel in the den. Sweet. Like they'd brought home a friend and put it to bed. It is now swimming with the fishes in the pond behind the house (a wide spot in the creek), and I'm sure the birds, fish, and turtles will process that protein quickly. Nothing goes to waste.

Several days of intensive cat sitting started today, and I'll use those trips out as the springboard to other activities in the vicinity. I downloaded an audio book I haven't finished to listen to at the gym and I have a friend with plants to dig so put buckets and a shovel in the SUV.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 13 Apr 25 - 07:23 PM

Impressive efforts, keboroxu and SRS!

In an effort to round up anything worth donating, I wound up doing a big seasonal sort of clothing and bedding today. If I don't do this in both spring and fall, things get out of hand. This time I was more ruthless than usual and threw some things out. And a few things I thought would fit from earlier thrift shop buys are going right back to where they came from. Happy surprises were the usual 'oh, that still looks good' items coming out of boxes and onto hangers and into drawers. Unhappy ones were the jeans and blouses which almost fit last year but are now 'no way'. That's okay. Passing a few on, keeping a few for goal inspiration to do better.

I may regret it, but I have enough clothes that have 'had it' but are made of great and durable material, I am just starting a tub of 'fabric' to be used in some future way. With new fabric being both cheesy and outrageously priced, why not keep the great poplin or black watch wool or terrycloth items, to cut up for projects?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Apr 25 - 07:50 PM

Keb, did you always have enough room there or are you having to create paths as you work? (A question that comes to mind when you mention cartons cluttering the floor).

The finished compost piles (2 and 3 years old) in the back have had the tiller treatment and two large wheelbarrows-full so far have been shoveled into the beds in front. Once I get the compost moved I'll till those front beds and work in the compost. I have a sieve to shovel the compost into and then sift it into the wheelbarrow to remove roots, big chunks, plastic, anything not needed in the garden.

There is tons of weeding to do in the front, and I can put compost in those beds also before I mulch them.

This morning I attacked the forest floor in the den. I swept, and the next stage is the battery-powered brush to start scrubbing the dried muddy path across the room now that the rainy season has passed. I also need to work my way through the house with the duster. #SpringCleaning

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Apr 25 - 07:39 PM

Also got a haircut on Thursday, long over due,
so I have decluttered a fair amount of unneeded hair.
It was getting downright shaggy.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Apr 25 - 07:19 PM

Another trip to the high-school-student-employing bookstore
with a carload of books . . . it never seems to end, but it's getting done.
Also some more clothing donations put in a drop box.
And moved some cardboard cartons so they didn't clutter up the floor.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Apr 25 - 05:29 PM

Last year a friend gave me a boxed raised garden bed kit that is I think a 4'x4' square with corner supports, 6" tall on the sides. I never found a place to use it so today I handed the box over to my daughter who has to relocate her raised bed because the current spot gets so much sun last year's garden was burned to a crisp. This kit will I think get that relocation started. She can set it up in the new spot and then start moving the raised bed from the old location and have two beds to use this spring/summer/fall growing season. Spacing them apart by 3 - 4 feet gives a path between and it begins to look like a real garden. I have built raised beds down the side of my driveway and at this point have four of them and a separate stone-walled bed I'm reworking into a fifth. (Today she told me about having tree frogs in her yard and on the house. They're like my toads and lizards here, at night the frogs cling to the screens over the windows and catch bugs attracted to the light. Yards full of reptiles are healthy places to garden.)

Sometimes I wonder what kinds of things my kids learned from me that they're using in their lives now. My son went to a protest march last weekend and my daughter is working on her garden, so I can see that some of it got through (will work on finding good protests for her to go to also, like at the Tesla store near her workplace - she lives in a rural conservative area now). She is raising chickens and dealing with a bully in the flock (giving "time out" to a chicken!); he is doing an amazing amount of cooking because I always cooked from scratch and rarely brought home processed foods. Being self-contained and resourceful in this political environment is probably a good thing for all of us.

Time to stop playing, turn off the computer, unplug stuff, and put in the new WiFi card.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Apr 25 - 12:29 PM

Around here "investors" buy up homes and rent them out, so it's difficult for everyone else to find good houses to buy. (Alongside that problem, the private equity market is something that should be disabled - that's another part of our financial issues here - they buy businesses, take them apart, then leave the wounded operation now having to pay rent for the property they once owned.)

The wheelbarrow has been emptied into the 45-gallon Smart Pot (I'll add compost to it also before I'm ready to plant sweet potatoes). I have a small raised bed kit given me last year that I can't figure out where I'd use it so am handing it over to my daughter at lunch (along with a burlap bag of wood chips).

Computer work will await till this afternoon. For now the nano plug is out and I'm using a regular wired mouse. Once I get started on a project like this I want to completely finish it, hence not starting this morning when I would have to stop for lunch. The work will be in removing then reinstalling the Bluetooth drivers. I'll only resort to the company's drivers if MS or Intel don't have something to do the job.

What I do have time for now is to wash the SUV, then climb into the shower for myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Apr 25 - 11:17 AM

& Stilly, to answer your recent enquiry - Sandra, are you still donating or gifting craft stuff or did you finish that work? What is the end goal, to simply clear where you're living now, or are you eventually moving also?

hmmmm. I live in a small apartment block (20 apartments over 4 floors)- 38 stairs to climb, with an extra 10 when I leave by the back door to take out my recycling & rubbish & I have chronic back & leg pain. I'm still finding homes for stuff, & I do need to move one day, but the effort is too hard. Real estate prices are crazy, we have a housing crisis, but my renovator's dream would be worth a fortune if it was empty & could be painted etc.

Today at Craft I made a little felt bunny & gave it to a knitter friend who likes rabbits! I have a lot of craft material & unfinished projects etc that need sorting & distributing.

I've been working on unfinished craft projects - one was from 2008, according to a photo I took at the time, oops! - including other felt toys which will soon leave for a hospital gift shop where a friend volunteers.

But there is still a lot more needing sorting

One big job is sorting the stuff on the floor - I do have unoccupied shelves that can take the floor stuff, then I could vacuum .... sigh

sandra

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 11 Apr 25 - 11:15 AM

Big Huzzah for Dorothy!! Let us savor life and this lovely spring!


Regrouping today, after my trip got scrubbed as I was enroute to airport. Kind ticket ladies there allowed me to reschedule for next week. I'll spare you the details about doctors and insurance jerking people around.

Made the most of the long otherwise-wasted trip by pursuing stops in Las Cruces, so the day turned out fairly fruitful in a couple of ways. When in doubt, stop at a Whataburger and ponder one's options.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Apr 25 - 03:36 AM

yah Dorothy, onwards & upwards!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Apr 25 - 11:29 PM

Great report, Dorothy! Congratulations on the medical progress. It sounds like you're ready for spring and moving forward!

Tomorrow a little computer surgery to replace the WiFi/Bluetooth card. I'm also ready to start tilling and planting the garden after bringing home several burlap bags of free city mulch.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Apr 25 - 10:34 PM

Dupont:

OK! the very good news is that I do not need to see Dr for 6 months!!! The blood tests (yesterday) were GOOD! Once again needed to get Security to find my car in the 3 level of Hell but, I had taken a pic - it did not show the necessary numbers and I was very late so did not spend time looking for more = late because getting parking took forever! They quickly found the car and guided me to the paying thingy. And I came back across the bridge feeling somewhat lighter!

It, not too slowly, dawned on me that I could regain my life - started cleaning up the potting room. messaged my son who requested some plates! And sent me a pic of a bowl with the desired colour - I don't remember making that!! but it must be in a bucket at Beaver!(All the glazes are) I feel all things are possible - last week, I felt nothing was! It has been a rough year! A year I doubted I would have - I was quite pessimistic about it and just wanted to be done with it.

Hope the trip to Beaver will be helpful for Robin; my new outlook did not even seem to cheer him up. Maybe spring will come...

So, yes we are going to Beaver next week!!! I have been SO homesick! I checked with two dif friends today and assured Pat I would bring back some pots for the shop.

Over a year since I threw a pot so will start slowly with some smaller pieces before making plates - I find them challenging!

Enjoy Spring!!

I am still struggling with the hearing aids -connected to my phone - between them, they seem to have trouble keeping it together. But I manage most of the time so it is tolerable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Apr 25 - 11:37 AM

Some of today's garden chores have to happen in a specific order. The wheelbarrow has soil in it from a project that I'll finish eventually, but for now, it will go into the large-capacity soft-sided "Smart pot" for this year's crop of sweet potatoes. But where to put that pot? Then with the wheelbarrow empty I can start moving compost from an old pile into the gardens in front and till it in. And I have to mow in the back so will catch those clippings and put them in the newly-relocated compost bin (that currently sits around the finished pile from two years ago.)

When I head out to run errands I'll take recycling to the village bins then stop and get a load of mulch, though the sequence will be more along the lines of drop recycling, see a friend, lunch with my daughter, then stop for the mulch.

The Duratuff glasses are about ready to photograph and list (after many trips through the dishwasher). The friend I'll see today is the source of the well-padded boxes for mailing glassware (her frozen cat food is delivered in them.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 12:16 PM

This morning I got under the hood in the Dell; the GForce graphics card is using up the PCI-Express x16 card and blocking one of the x1 slots; at most I have is the x4 slot if I want to add more USB ports. The wireless card is tiny but probably the easiest to change. There are extra DIMM slots if I want to build out RAM. There is dust everywhere.

I may have to work out something with Sandra regarding my vet meds that I buy from her neck of the woods. I'm sure when the company pays for shipping to here it is a deeply discounted business setup, but the boxes are small and lightweight. Who knows what the Trump crap is going to be doing in the next month or two when I need to buy more. Of course we'd be mailing gifts. The reciprocal offer is extended to declutterers who may need something from around here. Let's hope our Congress decides to step up and take back it's control of the marketplace.

More garden work today and setting up a sprinkler. Gotta pick up a bunch of mulch and the front and back yards both need mowing. I'll bag some of the clippings and use them to start this year's compost pile. This may not all happen in one day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 09:13 PM

I would be sure to cook the Mexican cheese; it can be a source of gastrointestinal discomfort (I learned from experience when I lived at the border). It can go in the freezer in the meantime. Maybe if you cook up a storm before you leave you'll have a gift to yourself of many prepared meals. I hope all goes well with your sister.

Today I got the tiller to run (the last attempt was probably the usual problem - the "on" switch wasn't in the right position). I worked two of the four beds beside the driveway. I put in red potatoes in the bed closest to the street and tomorrow will work on the one closest to the garage for tomatoes (I'll pick up tomorrow morning at the nearby nursery). I plan to put in some okra seeds around the potatoes (so the okra doesn't shade the potatoes while they're producing but by the time they're dug out the okra will be big and producing on its own.)

A bunch of boxes (offered by a friend to use for my eBay shipping) in the garage were stacked out of the way. There were burlap bags of mulch out there and I used most of it, with one bag left. Tomorrow I'll go get more mulch (the free stuff at the nearby city site).

Meanwhile, I called my representatives today to ask them to act responsibly. Not gonna happen, but I made the calls anyway.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 08:12 PM

Busy week around here. I got a chance to do '4WD Driver's Ed' in the nearby mountain range with an experienced fellow. Had a great day learning how to navigate 2-track roads without falling off or high-centering, visited some old mines, collected a few goodies. Then had another great day doing my first live open-mic, went well if not perfect.

Today I met with friends and then spent the afternoon gathering food from various places; got some cheese in Mexico direct from the producer, visited a farm market I had never bothered to go to before, stopped at the small produce stand, went to the meat market (closed) and then the local grocery.   Was looking forward to doing some cooking, ditching some of the processed foods.

The moment I was all stocked up, got a call that it's time to go help sister in Florida by Friday, thought it would be in a couple of weeks. Glad to go but mighty peeved about the groceries! Will freeze some and pass the fresh stuff on to the neighbors.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 11:48 AM

Yesterday garden work was underway when a friend called; he'd emailed to say he wanted to call - his printer wasn't working. When the call finally happened I was wrapping up my test area work (strong vinegar sprayed on different weeds to see the effect). Leaving digging for later I put the tools away and walked to my office open his email to look up his printer, a new WiFi or cable Canon.

I was ready for a long haul. He dismissed my suggestion that he climb under his desk to check the plug at the wall - "the light is on." He still wasn't ready to simply turn it all off and back on ("handshake" - are the devices talking to each other?) so I had him check the cables. "Oh, this one was loose." Document printed because the computer could now see the printer. Plug and play. This was easier than reinstalling drivers, etc., problem solved. But since I'd put garden stuff away I didn't go back out. I'll do that today.

This week I'll get under the hood of my computer and look at the size/placement of the WiFi/Bluetooth card (Bluetooth stopped working). Turns out a replacement is cheap and would free up a USB port on the front (where a nano USB thing does the Bluetooth work now, but it keeps losing track of the mouse.) I'll also check for a free PCI express slot to add extra USB ports. With more ports I could retire the bulky USB hub on my desktop.

Charmion, how's the painting and the wall repair going? Are you on schedule to list the house after Easter?

Dorothy, will you be heading up to Beaver soon (between appointments?) And I hope all went well with those doctors this week.

Patty, how did the RV cleanout go? Are they easy to sell there (For Sale By Owner, or will you take it to a dealer?)

Keb, how's the apartment clearing progressing? Are you buying boxes or do you have a source? Using trash bags? Listing things for free or sale?

Sandra, are you still donating or gifting craft stuff or did you finish that work? What is the end goal, to simply clear where you're living now, or are you eventually moving also?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Apr 25 - 12:17 PM

We were close to a freeze last night, odd for April. But then the weather report was wrong (the databases were disconnected last week when the NOAA contracts for cloud storage were cancelled.) So - your guess is as good as mine. It is cool, though should warm into the 60s by midday. I plan to work in the yard then, before cleaning up and running a couple of errands I've let stack up.

Yesterday was one of those cleaning days when stuff around the house that usually just sits got the annual trip through the washer or dishwasher. Today I'm making a list for the electrician and looking at a couple of other temporary repairs around here that should be made permanently.

I also have the next batch of glassware in the top of the dishwasher to go through each time it runs for a few days. Like the water problem Charmion mentioned (limestone) it gradually accumulates, making these cloudy. Running through through the washer with vinegar gradually removes it, better than simply soaking in water with vinegar might.

The friend who is moving back to town with her kids found a house - but the inspection late last week showed some expensive repairs (like mine, it needs foundation work). So they've cancelled the closing and their realtor is continuing to look around.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 06 Apr 25 - 05:16 AM

Re Sandra's Theory of Lost Stuff: Thanks: that's a rather better version than my father's (roughly "The best way of finding something is to buy another one"). My personal meta-theory is that, once I've given in and bought the replacement, I cease looking for the offending item in all the same wrong places, and happenstance can get a look-in.

An alternative is to inadvertently goad Herself into looking for said item as well,* and resign myself to being called an idiot. That was the basis of a subplot in one of the Upstart Crow episodes.

* She will have a different set of wrong places, and one of them may well be right. It's analogous to profredding for tyops.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Apr 25 - 01:27 AM

Exactly! I knew once I got a new one the other would finally show itself. I was tired of looking and knew this would happen.

Our protest event went well today. It was cool, blustery, with a hint of drizzle, but we stayed for about 90 minutes. One of the friends along had surgery fairly recently and we didn't want her getting too tired before we called it an afternoon (the event was scheduled for three hours total). I've posted a few photos and short videos on various accounts. As I drove back to my house we talked about what comfort food would be good for dinner - and all concluded that tomato soup and grilled cheese were perfect. They headed home to make their soup and I made a batch here (I actually use Steve Shaw's tomato soup recipe, though I don't use a bit of fancy ham to flavor it, I just add a dollop of bacon grease when the onions are sauteing).

The poster materials I bought around the time of the inauguration were just what we needed, though I'll look for a few more ink colors and wider marker tips for future signs. They were 20"x30" and sometimes a bit tough to hold up in the wind, and we could have cut them down to half-size and still had enough space for important messages (and easier to hold onto). After the afternoon my throat is a bit sore from the cool wind and the shouting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Apr 25 - 05:04 PM

Sandra's Theory of Lost Stuff - when you finally replace the item, the lost one comes out of it's hiding spot, sniggering, & waits inside the door for you to trip over it ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Apr 25 - 01:30 PM

For weeks I looked high and low around the house for the box of disposable face masks and couldn't find them anywhere. I ordered another box of the same, they took a while to get here and arrived yesterday. The box was inexpensive and shipping was $5.

I found the previous box this morning.

My inkjet printer wasn't printing today until I reinstalled it (to the new WiFi system) and now I have several examples of signs I like for today's march (found in photos from previous marches). At least two friends are coming over to join me and we'll drive to the small town south of here for a march this afternoon. I have the poster boards and markers and a few printed pieces to tape onto the signs to start with.

Before installing the printer I had to go flip the circuit breaker for my office. We had a heavy thunderstorm pre-dawn that causes the breaker to turn off. I need to call the electrician to replace that breaker. This situation is annoying.

The temperature won't be above about 50^o today. I'll wear layers, with rain gear available as the outer. Must get my shower.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Apr 25 - 06:18 PM

Charmion, I'm so sorry about your vision tribulations.

And I know what you mean about Girl Scout Cookies,
they aren't what they used to be.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 25 - 01:07 PM

As the US economy goes kerflooey I'm sure my reaction to be frugal is not uncommon. I went back through statements today and was able to find the tax payment (I missed the email alert sent any time a purchase of over .99 is made). I didn't make many other purchases so the credit card bill wasn't as big as it might have been.

The one big purchase this month was the router, which is finally installed in the back of the pantry and will let me use another purchase from a while back, a large capacity external drive, for the computer backup. (And when I switch to Win11 it will be with the existing computer but will feel and misbehave like a new computer.) While I'm in the pantry where that equipment lives on two back shelves I'm going to sort out what else is in there. The way it's set up now there are shelves in the back (wooden) and on the left (Rubbermaid wire style bracket system). There is a rolling wire cart with four shelves that holds the remainder of the pantry items and I roll it into the open space and am able to close the door behind it. No food in there, that all lives on the six-shelf wire rolling cart in the hall beside the cupboard. More stuff for either eBay or Goodwill or the free offerings from my porch.

More rain overnight and that poor rug on the line was again soaked. I have another in the same size and style so put both of them in the washer and they balanced each other out to finish without the mechanical trauma of the uL blinking at me.

I was going to go run errands but it looks like rain over the next 24-36 hours so perhaps a day in instead.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 25 - 11:34 AM

Patty, the funny thing about the IRS here is that they only show you the status of your taxes if you have a refund coming. I can't tell it I had to pay and they'll say anything. The paperwork was accepted but the payment (on a credit card) is in limbo.

Dorothy, I hope you don't spend too much time reading about the US news, that can make anyone feel sick.

We had a classic spring thunderstorm roll through here early this morning. I don't set an alarm most days and when I woke I thought it must be early because it was so dark, but it was just the overcast remaining after the rain. (Yesterday's dog bed washing resulted in the washer on permanent unbalance, so to relieve it I removed the heaviest rug and hung it on the line on the porch. It is more soaked now than it was when I first put it out.)

I missed getting the trash to the curb in time today (not much) but I did get the eBay box onto the porch in time to be picked up. I might have broken even on that Goodwill item, but at least it's now out of the house. And I agree, a trend in sales would be nice!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Apr 25 - 10:57 AM

Yesterday’s wild weather — lots of sleet followed by even more rain — left wet basements all over Stratford, including mine. Tony the carpenter came to assess the mess, immediately cancelling all plans to close the open section of wall until the concrete is dry and another wet-basement expert has opined on it. His favoured expert says he’s swamped with calls — as is Tony — but will try to “swing by” tomorrow. So there’s tomorrow’s agenda gone poof.

I’m less and less confident that the house will be ready for the market by Easter.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, it’s tax time in Canada, too.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Apr 25 - 08:58 AM

Dorothy, I hope the news gets better and so does the weather, and your health too. We will all be glad to see this winter in the rearview mirror.

SRS, glad your ebay items are moving. It may be part of a trend. There are rumblings among the youngsters online about wanting to stop feeding the oligarchy beast, and people are starting to tell others to cancel Amazon and use other online outlets as alternatives, such as Ebay.

Was leery of sending in a paper tax return this year, and was recommended an online prep place FreeTaxUSA . com   Was pleasantly surprised, it went well, free for even a complex return, $15 for a state one. Got an email saying each was 'accepted' by the agencies. Fingers crossed that the republic survives long enough for my little refund to land.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 10:16 PM

Dupont:

Not doing much other than the computer - I get up in the morning to see if Mahmoud has been released. Then get hooked into computer to see what else is happening - hoping for something good. Just in last couple days, I go on discussions and find people speaking my mind- finally! I hope we can make some progress toward sanity...

As for decluttering - I beed to start in again as the house has gone down hill a bit. I have had some good days and then a bunch of not so good. What I eat makes a difference - if only I could remember before energy level drops too far. My eyes start bothering me - burning and hard to read. The dark choc helps ... but then too much is not helpful either!!

Trouble standing up from the loo - bum knee was getting worse until I feared - literally - that I would not be able to manage. When knee started to ache, I remembered the Chiropractor in Bancroft suggesting Arnica. I had bought a bunch and !!! remembered where I stashed it - started getting better after the first dose!! So, after two days - no problem!

Fear of crossing the border is rational - one Canadian woman had an ICE experience; fortunately just a couple days. Louise Penny cancelled her new book tour of the USA and just told her fans "Don't" and promised a US tour when things sort out. I was trying to get enough strength to attend wedding of Grandson in PA on 1 June... Things will have to get an awful lot better ... maybe but it scares the stuffing out of me.

I do hope to get to Bancroft on third Saturday for the big community event - music, people! And a bit of time at Beaver, depending on how many days Robin can spare. I have med appointments on 7th, 9th and 24th; none since January so this will be a new round, possibly new med. I just want to feel moderately OK - sometimes I do. Sometimes I just sit with computer all day - looking for something better, forgetting to listen to good music...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 10:00 PM

The computer and LAN devices are working and some of the WiFi ones, but this new router wants to control things on frequencies and at more robust settings than are of interest to some old devices. Tomorrow morning after I've slept on it I'll look up the devices that aren't responding and see if I can reinstall them.

Time to stop and read a book.

Lunch with friends and family tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I turned in my taxes over a week ago and I filed the payment with the system, but it hasn't gone through. I'm waiting to see if and when it does, to make sure the amount is what I approved.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 06:07 PM

The front lawn has been mowed. Mosquitoes are out in force. Paper wasps have attempted several nests around the front porch again this spring; last year they were impossible to drive off. Yesterday I knocked down three or four small nests around the porch and this afternoon when I opened the door there was a new one in the top of the doorway between the wood door and the security door. Game on.

And to make the day one to remember I'm putting in the new router. The goal is to have its footprint identical to the current one so none of the 18 connected devices need to be reset for passwords. This one won't hang on the wall so I've cleared shelf space in the pantry and am finding more things to donate or sell. And has me thinking about how I might reconfigure the shelves in that small space.

Another item sold on eBay this afternoon, one I was ready to take down and give away because it had been listed for so long. That's nice.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 04:37 PM

Ottawa is considerably colder than Stratford in winter, and just as hot in summer. Spectacular thunderstorms are a feature of summer in Ottawa, but very rare at other times of the year. The “lake effect” gives this area uniquely dramatic weather; we get line squalls here that would be respectable in the North Atlantic.

I’ll miss Stratford’s lake-effect storms about as much as I miss the nor'easters of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Great fodder for anecdotes, but a damnable nuisance when you have somewhere to go and limited time to get there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 03:40 PM

Thunder snow, unusual but not unheard of here. The weather radar showed that the few drops of rain I felt this morning were the very tail end of a band of weather that is, at its top, offering freezing precipitation in your area and all the way over towards Ottawa. Will your weather in general improve if you move further east and north (away from the lakes?)

A small nagging headache is the only leftover from the vaccination on Monday and a nap mostly took care of it. I still have to mow, and I'll wear a mask or the pollen will do more than give a headache.

Dog bedding is starting the annual trip through the wash before being put away for the warm season. There are still beds around, but not as many.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 03:16 PM

And now we’re having thunder and lightning. What’s next — frogs? Blood?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 01:44 PM

We’re having “wintry mix” in southwestern Ontario today, so nobody’s roof is getting done. The wind is strong enough to rattle the icy trees, and the heavy precipitation — hard to tell if it’s snow or ice — is coming down at a 45° angle. A good day to lay low and say nuffin’.

Neighbour Brad said something about next week for his roof. Here’s hoping the current relapse into February will have passed by then.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 12:27 PM

Yesterday the dogs enjoyed a walk in the park and I tried the Google FIT one more time; the compromise is that it counts steps but doesn't show where I walked on the map, just a single dense squiggle at the house. I can get the step count from my Withings watch, so there's not much point in the app. FIT and the post office's Informed Delivery app (they stopped supporting it) are both decluttered from the phone.

Another eBay sale this morning and the box was handed over to the postal carrier. Now out to finish mowing the front yard; last night I started and it was late enough that I finished one side by streetlight. Now to do the rest.

Has the roofing job finished? It's surprising how fast they can do that work. When my roof was last done they had to replace several pieces of the underlayment plywood, and the job still took only one day. It is a lot of pounding to listen to while it's underway (and terrible to be IN the house during the work). The whole immigration nonsense in the US right now is going to make our roofing work more expensive and slow. When my roof was done it was by a friend Angel who used a Mexican crew. The next door neighbors had a roof put on by a group of English speaking White guys and and the same surface area took them two days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 12:14 PM

Silver maples make some unusual pretty line patterns for violins and cellos. They are big enough to make one-piece backs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 02 Apr 25 - 11:39 AM

It's not just libraries that's getting trashed, Stilly:

Genetic data repo OpenSNP to self-destruct before authoritarians weaponize it

.... read for yourself, and shudder. I couldn't copy/paste and do it justice, and I don't want the 'Cat to faint under the weight, so the headline will have to do for now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 25 - 02:34 PM

If you need any mulch for the yard, snag some of that chipped up silver maple. Ground native tree trimmings are great for compost and mulching.

One of my side-gigs is managing the local Freecycle page, and scant posts from one member lately will say "OFFER: Odds & Ends Craft Items" - nothing listed, no photos. I pushed back, asking her to please name what she is offering or at least share a photo. It seems she is in such a hurry that that takes too much time but if I want her to send it to the dump just let her know . . . I explained that while her time is valuable, so is the time of people picking up items and if they arrive to find that the "craft items" are nothing they can use, it is rude to them. We all want this material to stay out of the dump, so a little more effort is required.

We have that limestone water here in this part of Texas also, meaning I clean the tea kettle with vinegar every couple of weeks and run vinegar through the dishwasher with every wash. I'm sure the inside of the hot water tank is deeply layered with it now. It was worse in Kentucky, where there was limestone but also a lot of iron in one level of the soil and after a rain the water ran reddish brown. You didn't dare do laundry until the water cleared up, and it took heavy duty acid products to clean the red crust from sinks and toilets.

The weather acts like it wants to rain but it doesn't line up with the forecast. I think all of these firings are already affecting the accuracy of the NOAA reports. This week they're trashing libraries.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Apr 25 - 01:46 PM

My back-door neighbour is having work done on the huge silver maples that grow on my side of the fence and overhang his roof on the other side of the fence. This project means falling branches and roaring machinery, to wit: chainsaws and a wood chipper. Next week, he’s having his roof done very thoroughly, replacing not only the shingles but also the underlying plywood. So things will be noisy.

On my side of the fence, important progress has been made toward getting the house ready for sale. Marco the painter came yesterday to do the upstairs hall and touch-ups in the bedrooms and study. Tony the carpenter promised to come tomorrow with drywall, flashing and caulk, and the mason who built the patio will coordinate with him about moving the back steps (great hunks of manufactured stone) to give him access. Then Marco will return to paint the basement, which looked like the wrath of God even before the leak.

And I had the tankless water heater flushed and descaled this morning. I’ll be glad to leave Stratford’s liquid limestone water behind when I leave.

And I already have a date with the ophthalmologist — 28 April.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Apr 25 - 12:40 PM

The day is off to an slow start after a COVID booster yesterday. It usually only lasts for one day. Add to that very high pollen and I'm sneezing and achy, without having a cold or flu.

I'm into the next book in the stack, this one about the history of the business and production of sugar (Sweetness and Power) and am finding interesting parallels to today from the 1650-1850 period of colonial plantations that were protected and subsidized by governments. They operated in a way that the "capitalist slaveholders were quasi-aristocratic.(57)" Written in 1985 about stuff he was thinking about in the 1960s and 70s, he used lots of Marx and Adam Smith types as sources. Having read a fair amount of theory and philosophy in graduate school, it seems a bit ironic to be a postmodernist scholar reading a modernist work about that industry through the lens of what is becoming a Plutocratic era of rich technocrats. Modern industry is supported by the very things that Musk wants to privatize. Where have we seen this before . . .

I haven't started dusting and cleaning yet for company, but I'd best get to it. And mowing and gardening. And my friend sent home a bunch more boxes for packing my fragile eBay stuff. Time for a cuppa tea and decide what to do next.