DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 25 - 06:19 PM

No word from Marco about painting. Grrr.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 25 - 02:11 PM

The dogs are clean and sweet smelling and the bathroom is cleaned up of all of the water and dog hair.

My refurbished antique sewing machine for sale on eBay had some interest yesterday. Several questions about "does it work" - it says so right in the description. What color - again, right there in the description with all of the photos (does it matter?) and then finally "this is what I want but out of my price range, will you drop your price by $50 and pay the $50 shipping and sell it to me that way?" Geez. I set it up so I wouldn't receive offers from people, but that's what they were leading up to. No. It can ride the sales page a while longer.

Busy week ahead, writing to, calling, and this time also visiting the offices of our federal elected officials.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 25 - 09:35 PM

Someone has already claimed the large old Foreman grill, picking it up tomorrow. Some Tupperware containers are cleaned, my daughter doesn't need them (she took one to use for chicken feed at her property, but no interest in these) and I have one of the VHS players cleaned and tested and ready to list on eBay. Got the remote control working (the batteries had crusted up in one spot) and it's ready to go. (This was a Goodwill purchase a while back.)

The dogs are in need of baths so I'm thinking tomorrow might be a good time for that. It'll be in the mid-70s.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Feb 25 - 09:11 AM

Sorry, keb, it’s not the church choir but the community chorus that’s in financial melt-down. But the same conductor was also the organist and choirmaster at my church, and abruptly now he’s not. With the community chorus gig collapsing around him, something happened with the rector and wardens of the church and that gig has now been yanked out from under him as well.

I have no idea what happened at the church except that it’s neither creepy nor criminal. The rector would say only “not a good fit”.

So that’s the last prop knocked out from under my life in Stratford.

The Brothers have agreed to help with the one part of the move that I have to handle myself and can’t do alone: moving the cats. The trip from Stratford to Ottawa takes at least seven hours by road (six hours of actual driving), and the cats can’t be left alone in the car while their human visits the loo. There’s an excellent “cat resort” near Ottawa where I intend to board them during the packing and the move, damn the expense.

Meanwhile, Marco the painter is still set to start work next week, which means it’s time for me to roll up the big rug and start shifting the furniture into the middle of that enormous room.

Stilly, you’re right about gut problems and low-carb eating. I have diverticulosis, a problem of 20 years’ standing, so I have to be very careful to eat enough but not too much of the right stuff, such as broccoli and red sweet peppers, while sternly avoiding the wrong stuff, such as beans. I’m just emerging from another seven-day belly-ache, this one caused by eating cheese without enough veg to help it along.

The fancy new electronic scale I got for Christmas tells me that excess body fat is not my problem these days, but my “bone mass” is verging on way too low. Better not fall down this winter, then!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 25 - 09:50 PM

That's a tough one, Keb. Will he do the work to learn to at least lip sync if he doesn't know all of the words but is standing there?

I changed my mind about the restaurant supply store and used one of my smaller acrylic jars with a gasketed lid for the flour and what didn't fit in it is bagged in the freezer. I went to Goodwill and stumbled upon a small George Foreman grill - the one I use is larger and hard to clean because of the spacing on the ridges on the grills. This is sized for one and the metal cook plates, while ridged, are better spaced and easier to clean. I don't think it had ever been used. I'll offer my old grill on the Freecycle page. While at Goodwill I was astonished at the number of high-end printers, coffee makers, computer monitors, televisions, and other devices in the housewares department.

Recycling dropped off this afternoon, laundry in, dishwasher will run next. I have my tablet charging and just added a couple of my gmail accounts to it (the ones that receive messages with links to podcasts and newsletters that are so important these days now that some of the big social media sites are less than reliable).

I made it to Jan. 31 in dry January, but the Friday night massacre at the FBI is just one too many assaults on my brain. I have a glass of red wine to help the supplements L-Tyrosine and GABA do their work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 31 Jan 25 - 02:57 PM

I sympathize with Charmion's difficult decision to de-clutter her life of the church choir.
It's hard when being a member of such a group determines whether one will stay or go.
I may be faced someday with a similar decision, for now I'm staying with my community chorus.

Charmion and I commiserated some time ago about the bass section in choirs and choruses.
I am putting up with a particularly noticeable bass singer in our chorus.
He is a holdover from when the chorus was with its previous director.
He has a big imposing bass voice and is a big imposing man.
And he admits, when pressed, that he cannot read a note of music.
What he does with the chorus, he does by reading the words, learning the music by ear, and following the other big imposing bass voice who IS a skilled and professional musician.
This was very difficult for him to do when faced with the Bruckner Mass in f minor, a work of symphonic complexity and length.
One time, during a rehearsal break when the director was out of the room, the illiterate bass sat down at the piano, stomping his big foot, and improvised something he called "the Bruckner blues," which sounded nothing like Bruckner.
We now are preparing a program of Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart in which the texts are entirely in German, not one of this bass's languages.
The director is pragmatic about the fact that this is a community chorus and it takes all kinds to build one of such.
I am not pragmatic, but I am resigned.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 25 - 12:39 PM

As a gift to myself this morning I finished all of the dishes in the sink last night and ran the dishwasher. Some days I'm so easy to please.

The weekend temperatures will be into the 70s and I plan to do some yard work. The garage needs tidying, easier to do in warm weather with the big door open. There is a long list of other things needing doing in the yard and I won't elaborate here but I've put them all down on the task list in my bullet journal for February.

I had a newer restaurant-quality plastic bin that I moved my regular flour into (I still use some of it for baking for other people, at least until I use this up). That empties a large round Tupperware bin. There is a smaller (nesting) Tupperware bin for my whole wheat flour, and that should also be moved. I've had the Tupperware for so long I have no idea how that plastic was made but it's time to stop using it for food. I'll look at the restaurant supply place and see what other options for food storage. They do sell some glass things, lots of stainless steel, and lots of acrylic.

I nearly dropped my salmon filet out of the skillet last night when transferring to the plate when the little silicone spatula sagged at the edge. The old hard black plastic wouldn't have done that. Neither would metal, and I think the answer is to use the metal utensils and not use non-stick pans so it doesn't matter that they're metal.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 25 - 02:34 PM

Congratulations, Charmion! I'm pretty sure things like the chicken skin contribute to the levels my doctor was looking at, so we agreed I'll remove that to adjust the protein amount upward and see if readings are closer to what she wants in three months. Too much protein can cause issues with the gut. (The Atkins diet is notorious for causing constipation.) Today was the dentist, and when scheduling my next six months check it bumped up against my (now) annual dermatologist check. In all I'm doing pretty well at this age with only three prescriptions; it could be two if I decided to not treat the ADHD.

On the way back from the dentist I passed one of my regular feed stores that had seed potatoes and onion sets in stock so I'm set to start work in the garden. It needs a couple of days to dry after last night's heavy rain. I may need to get a new spark plug for the tiller; it wouldn't start the last time I tried it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Jan 25 - 12:00 PM

I saw my doc last week to get a referral to a surgeon to remove a growth on my face. (No, it doesn't hurt, and it's most unlikely to be cancer but let's not take a chances.)

She looked me over and asked, "Are you still on that keto diet?" I said, "Sorta -- with a bit of a net carb boost to accommodate enough milk to deal with that osteopaenia you warned me about." She pages through a bunch of lab results on her computer. "Why do you have absolutely perfect blood lipid levels?" "I dunno. Just lucky I guess."

This may be the first time in my life I've ever been perfect at anything.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 08:33 PM

Thanks, I'm sure I will find what I need over time here in our thrifts. I was just making the point that tossing lots of kitchen stuff might not be desirable in the long run. Everything is 'always available cheap'; right up until it isn't.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 07:22 PM

Patty, if you have a list of things you need send me an email or PM here and I can look for them at Goodwill. You would be astonished the number of things people donate because they now have the newest device and discard all of the others (I see this because this is a huge urban area where so much more is donated). I always test electrical appliances and only buy those in mint condition. Things I see regularly include Pyrex and Anchor Hocking glass baking pans (various sizes), cast iron skillets, glass storage containers, stainless steel stock pots, and appliances like crock pots, George Foreman grills, toaster ovens (I also see glass bowl convection ovens as well as the metal oven ones; there was a great glass one at Goodwill last week I couldn't think of anyone who needed one or I'd have picked it up.) Shipping a few of these things will still come out less than trying to buy them new. I can also send photos to your cell phone via text if that is convenient when shopping. I think a lot of these things end up at Goodwill after they don't sell at estate sales.

A long and productive discussion with my GP today resulted in a plan that for the next three months I'll follow - the diet I'm on now, but higher protein, less fat. Otherwise the same, and we'll see if the cholesterol lowers. The HDL is at a great level but she doesn't like the LDL (this was expected). Triglycerides are great as is everything else, and I was most interested in that marker. She says there is an expensive medication for people who don't tolerate statins, but I'm not considering it unless I learn a lot more about it and am convinced it won't mess up my brain or anything else. And after three months to see where the levels are. There are also a couple of scans that can be done to see where some levels are as we move forward. She could see I am feeling much better. Family health history would be excellent except two of the three sisters in Mom's family were heavy smokers and that messed up their health. The one who didn't smoke passed away at 95.

The friend with the sick kitty says he's back to eating and is much better. She's now injecting him with insulin every morning and is learning how much testing will be required. She had never seen him in the state that I described when I took him over to the vet, so is glad the old common sense kicked in and I got him to a vet that afternoon instead of waiting till the next morning.

Another set of messages sent to the senators from my state. Don't vote for JFK, Jr., he's a menace (phrased more politely). I told my GP about dry January and realizing that it might have to last for the next four years; the thought of self-medicating to reduce the stress of Trump is otherwise a real but unhealthy possibility until 2029.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 12:21 PM

> I have a reporters notepad next to the desk

Ooooh, that takes me back, Stilly .... I used to carry a reporter's notebook with me everywhere in my coat pocket, since I got fed up with myself for thinking of fragments of filk which evaporated before I could write them down. Over the years, at least one coat pocket got all but torn off by the weight (of responsibility?).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 11:48 AM

In the Anza-Borrego desert now, enjoying a bit of electricity and Starlink before going back to dry camping for the weekend.

While we're on the subject of ditching pans, I started looking at getting a few baking pans for the house, and it's not cheap, and they are not the quality they used to be. And there are cheap versions the mart sells, guaranteed to not last, and now they have warnings on knives and peelers "Hand Wash Only", lol. If I had a cupboard full of baking pans I didn't use often, but were long since paid for, I'd be very slow to get rid of them.

Because they are going to make everything worse before it gets better. Every necessity of life is under the microscope for the greedy rentier class to squeeze us. I have no desire to grow and make all my own stuff. But I am fearful of deliberate or climate induced shortages, and prices being jacked up on everything. I don't bake much now, but I can foresee a time when the weight is off and I don't need to exclude carbs as much, and commercial breads are all manufactured by some hedge fund, full of garbage, and $10 a loaf. Maybe I can teach friends the mysteries of bread baking, or swap loaves for their tomatoes.

We have all been exhorted to declutter as much as possible in the past few decades, and yes, we need to have less crap in our homes. But I'm starting to have to rebuy stuff I should have kept, at ridiculous prices, and I'm starting to wonder how much of the declutter movement was just a way to get us all to buy again further down the line. I'm not ditching stuff just to have a clean-looking living room, or to delete anything that isn't tied to my immediate areas of interest.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 11:23 AM

Changing the diet does affect the use of cooking equipment. I've collected lots of small baking pans for fancy bread but I still bake at the holidays so I haven't thinned them (they go as gifts to people who still eat flour - a move I am considering changing - can soda breads work with gluten free?) It is apparently possible to make yeast bread with non-wheat flour, but again, it's the carbs not just the wheat. I'm at that target weight I registered in MyFitnessPal and need to get enough carbs to stay here, I drifted down 10 pounds since last summer because of the diet change but don't want to keep losing. It's about staying healthy. (Also headed for the shower, then the doctor's office to discuss this big change seven months out from stopping statins, now that she will have blood work in hand.)

Between Charmion painting and an old high school friend putting new windows in his house I see, through others' eyes, a lot of work that should be done so this place is ready if I decide the time has come. At this point in time, there is probably no place safe from the current administration and I at least have a lot of room for a garden here.

MaJoC, I have a reporters notepad next to the desk (long narrow thing that easily slips into a shirt or back pants pocket), a remnant of my old days as a journalist. It seems the most appropriate reminder of what I need to do now - write. Today's task for myself is to write to Cruz and Cornyn to oppose Kennedy. "Would you want him dictating your family's health routine?" I think after the attempted Federal employee masacre that Musk has fingerprints all over they see this clown car is off the rails. Even the GOP senators have to get serious and block his choices. Impeach Hegseth while they're at it.

The friend with the plants I've been digging posted a request on the Freecycle group for an embroidery hoop. I just sent a dozen in various sizes to my son's partner but still have several and will take her one next week when I go to dig again. It was purchased years ago, and has the price written on the side - 69¢ - not a huge giveaway.

Back to scanning this afternoon, and maybe the gym.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 10:06 AM

I find that I am, indeed, weeding the books again, though I'm not yet sure exactly what I'll do with this batch of cast-aways. Of all my possessions, it's the books that Marie Kondo's approach works best on, though it's not a spark of joy I'm looking for but a pique of renewed interest. Since the pandemic, I have lost any inclination to read military history, especially the conventional accounts of policy, campaigns and battles. I'm even ready to part with my copy of Clausewitz.

On the music front, the Stratford Concert Choir is in the process of self-destruction. Three weeks ago, the Board voted to dismiss our conductor, an excellent musician and choir trainer, because the choir is losing money. There were two dissenting votes on the motion: mine, and one other that I assume came from the Alto section leader, a serious musician. The conductor has seen this coming for months because the board executive have fought him on every suggestion he has made to improve the financial picture. Now the other shoe -- the announcement to the membership -- has dropped and the fall-out is beginning.

This whole business is a major component of my decision to move back to Ottawa. The choir was the main anchor keeping me here, and now it's failing. I'm just tired of the resistance to change and the refusal to work toward improvement. So I resigned from the Board at its last meeting. I wasn't the first rat overboard; our lead bass, a Lutheran pastor with decades or experience in non-profit organizations, beat me to it by 24 hours.

On the home front, Marco the painter can't start this week and proposed next week. Okay, especially as the scope of work is changing -- now I want him to paint the bathroom, not the box room, because the bathroom is butt-ugly and must look as attractive as possible when the house goes public, and the box room is just kinda tired. And I won't take the curtain rods down. Changing the curtains would cost a bomb, and I'm not doing it since I won't be here to enjoy the result.

I still feel very stressed, but I'm managing it better. One task at a time, baby steps. The basement work table is again covered with kitchen stuff to go to Goodwill -- muffins are permanently off the home menu, so why do I have two muffin pans? Likewise loaf pans, of which I have six. If I ever make bread again, I have some round earthenware cocottes that do the job just fine.

It snowed yet again overnight, and the wind is blowing it all over the place. At noon I will pick up my friend Ruth to take her to Woodstock (40 km to the south on narrow county roads) to see the opthalmologist who did her cataract surgery, so I'm watching the weather radar map with intense interest. One of its screens shows wind direction -- very important in these parts.

Time to take a shower. My hair looks like a barley-stack bewitched.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 29 Jan 25 - 09:30 AM

--- Ah: "composing". My eyes did a mischievous tyop and rendered it as "composting" (presumably because of the context).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 25 - 06:50 PM

The afternoon went to composing a letter to both US Senators and the US Representative of my district. A folder is set up with templates for future letters and printed mailing labels along with brightly colored envelopes. I mailed the first batch, and will see about the online message system for each of these folks later. When I tried in the past they didn't let formatting or even paragraph breaks show up so reading a message isn't easy, hence the printed mailed letters. I also mailed my request for all of this year's absentee ballots. Addressing the impulsive illegal acts of 47 is going to waste a lot of time, but we can't ignore this crap.

Other things this week: the potted plants put in the garage for the week of hard freezes are out now and will get rained on tomorrow. I need to set up pots with soil and start veggie seeds for the garden this spring. Doctor and dentist check-ups this week. And soon I'll go back to the friend's house and dig up the almond verbena to transplant here (they're a glorious smelling shrub and attract loads of bees).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 27 Jan 25 - 08:56 PM

Dupont:

The bros do very little self care. R has me kicking and screaming - take your supplements; Did you drink water today? clean clothes would help! -Bro, I ignore; only see him on rare family occasions. He actually behaves reasonably at the cousin's home. They are the "headquarters". I will not have him in our house; R agrees. He is over 80 now but he has always been a horror.   

The bit of wood I moved yesterday was enough! Back is complaining slightly but I dredged up enough energy to make a pot of chick/veggie stew for a couple days. Later in the week, I will go to the bakery and Little Green Library (books due), visit Geri, maybe a couple other friends down near the border. Between snows!

Signed up for friend Jessie's farm thingie for this summer. I do not envision being able to spend much time at Beaver (sadly).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 25 - 04:28 PM

I pulled up a draft blog essay from last fall and after editing I dropped it into my Wordpress account, just to see how it works now. I think a lot of people will be going back to blogs instead of sharing everything on Facebook. The place I used to host photos messed up a lot of my images so if I want to revive this seriously I need to restore what went missing. And probably pay for the blog to have more functionality.

Still kind of feeling the effects of lifting heavy boxes on Saturday. To save your back when lifting it helps to clench the abs, but I seem to have been over-exuberant with the compensation.   

The den is back to full-strength forest floor after mud, hair, and chewed sticks have built up in the last couple of weeks. The kitchen was looking great for guests yesterday, but I left the lights off and the curtains closed in the den.

Keeping track of simple things (harking back to the essay I linked to on the 24th) I find will be helpful in improving my mood. I subscribed to Snopes.com yesterday after being a user for years. And I used it in one of the fact check activities I pledged to do more of. For today I will remind friends around Texas who like to vote absentee that they need to send in the request form every year now (because the GOP Lege wants to make it more difficult to vote.) These are things I can do.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 25 - 01:09 AM

Funny you should notice that folding bookshelf, Dorothy (I had looked at the whisky wistfully, I'm off of it for at least January, but didn't look at the room). I have several of those collapsible bookshelves around here. They're practical.

I'm glad to read R's brother is better. Those brothers do seem to neglect their health at times, don't they?

Lunch with friends today was great. A lot of pent-up stuff added to the animated conversations. (Lunch was homemade mac and cheese, fruit, and chocolate. Hot tea to wash it down.) One had a signal on the dash that a tire was low so I got out the portable compressor from the car and added air. I could have used the fancy Stanley one I keep inside the sunroom door but realized I didn't know how to run the compressor part of it (power supply, car battery cables/jumper, and compressor). Must get out the instructions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Jan 25 - 08:34 PM

Dupont:

Charmion! The path ahead is fraught with many mini-obstacles. You have made the big decision and made yourself and others happy! When I think of all the stuff you have moved in the last few years - this looks like a piece of cake! Of course the impending election is ... interesting? I hope we can get someone who is not a DT clone this time. Moving books one more time is a big job but not insurmountable.

That nice pic on FB, depicts - a foldable bookcase over by the window? I have the twin next to my chair! And that rocking chair! - mine is a memory. Too many moves...too much panic of divesting too much stuff!

Bro is a bit better; he did one of those incredibly stupid things - ignoring a pain in his toe, resulting in a day or two in hospital as the swelling was reduced so he can stand. Walking is still almost impossible. It seems that friends are taking turns helping out but R was not home for two days.

But, today, he brought in the rest of the winter's wood after I moved the dry wood from hallway into Den, near wood stove - which was pouring out welcome heat while the outside door was open to bring in cold wood! The temp was just about freezing and the sun bright!   

Hoping for a bit more energy tomorrow. Going to be about freezing - with light snow - yuck!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 25 - 11:19 AM

Yesterday I bought three cases of sparkling water at Costco, and was careful as I loaded them into the cart, into the SUV, and then into the garage. They're heavy enough that I was feeling it this morning in the abdominal muscles. Tylenol to the rescue. I'm preparing for friends over for lunch so don't need to be struggling with everything I need to do.

One of the eBay items listed on Friday sold on Saturday so will leave the house on Monday. Nice!

Last week was freeze, this week is rain, so more indoor activities.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 25 - 12:24 PM

Charmion, you made a big decision that isn't set in stone yet, and I imagine you're viewing a bunch of related parts of the move as one whole huge task. There is a drill - start making lists and put the discrete parts of it in such a way that you don't have to do all of it at once. Feel good about each accomplishment. So what is the first step? Getting this house ready? Starting the house search in Ottawa or nearby? I imagine your family is going to be a big help during the relocation.

Meanwhile, lift with your legs and get a good workout moving all of those books. Bonus - squats are good for the pelvic floor.

Anxiety here in the US is through the roof - it's dry January and probably needs to stay a dry four years because it would be too tempting to self-medicate the entire time. Better to let the anxiety push us toward resistance. I found Dr. Amen's chapter 10 (Happy Nutraceuticals) in You, Happier to be helpful, and have added GABA and L-Tyrosine to my supplements, as needed. L-Tyrosine is found in green tea, so simply drinking more of that can help your mood. I heard this morning that there is an early election of some sort scheduled in Ontario because of the tariff issues threatened by Trump. Green tea for everyone.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Jan 25 - 11:27 AM

Sitting here in snowy Stratford, doing my best to stop stressing and get on with life.

Marco the painter will start work next week, so I have been preoccupied with planning his access to the walls of the music room. I have to shift six full-height bookcases — and their contents — into the middle of the room. I think the neatest way to accomplish this task is to unload each bookcase onto the work table, move the empty bookcase, then load the books back in. When Marco has finished, I will simply — but not without considerable effort! — reverse the process.

Yes, labour-intensive. But that’s what I have to do if I am to get that room redecorated without spreading stacks of books all over the house, which would take just as much work and make the place unlivable for a week. And no, I’m not prepared to “just get rid of” the books, as many people would advise. Not people who hang out here, I hasten to add.

Barbara the real estate agent will return from her holiday next week. She suggested looking at the house in the first week of February. With any luck, I’ll have the music room back to rights by then.

Meanwhile, my level of anxiety bobs about the threshold of intolerable, which is very distracting.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 25 Jan 25 - 09:51 AM

Keb, I am so glad there was a way to slide over to a new firm.

My fervent hope is that some day a lot of business will move over from the giant chains back to real people running small businesses. We can't afford the overhead and excessive profits of these big chains. Only reason they can often charge less is they are allowed to bully suppliers into sweetheart deals. That policy, once illegal, was up for review by the government recently, I forget if it's FTC or Justice.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 25 - 11:13 PM

Keb, that worked out rather well! I've only had my taxes prepared professionally a couple of times, when estates were involved. I still manage to make a few mistakes and it gets rejected by the IRS free file software until I fix it. I never use the commercial products; those companies use well-paid lobbyists to pester the government to keep the income tax code so complicated that no one can do them easily so they can stay in business.

This evening listing easy to describe and ship eBay things. Small and non-breakable like Tupperware and sewing stuff, to build up the inventory. The weekend is fully subscribed; cat sitting will finish Saturday evening and I need to clear the kitchen counters and table for our university group lunch on Sunday.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Jan 25 - 06:44 PM

A most unexpected form of de-clutter in the last day or two.
My taxes are prepared by an accountant, a very nice one, who is part of a large nationwide firm.
The firm in question just informed its people that all accounts below a certain dollar figure are going to be terminated.
That includes me, and according to the accountant, about fourteen clients of hers.
She fortunately thought of a remedy.
I've been with this firm long enough to have gone through a series of accountants there.
One of them left the firm to become a partner in a smaller business,
and he is accepting clients as lowly as myself.
So today he and I agreed to resume our accountant/client relationship at his newer, smaller firm.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 25 - 12:30 AM

That's a nice looking little park, Patty. I've been through the area a number of times but never made it to that one.

A recommendation came through on a good tutoring program so I'll investigate their options. This is will build on the number of things I'm doing to help others but also make myself feel better. It's clear that federal money to schools is probably going to drop, and in this state the legislature plans to divert dollars to vouchers, further harming public schools. This is my small thing to help. There was an essay published that is making the rounds on Facebook (lots of copy paste, but here is the original: Do I Dare Disturb My Doomscrolling?)
"You can’t identify what needs to be done next if you aren’t doing the simple things that can be done now."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 23 Jan 25 - 09:45 PM

Hi from the road, wishing everyone well with their changes and upheavals. SRS, glad your devotion to the friend's cat had a happy ending!

Worked very hard to get everything loaded for travel, and still managed to pack 5 hairbrushes but no hand lenses, but whaddya gonna do. Did use several well-thought-out lists but just too many moving pieces to juggle. Drained all the pipes, winterized, with questionable help from a well guy. I gotta find a decent water well driller, maybe there's one in Silver City.

Had a great visit with the micro collectors in ABQ, then pressed on, stopping overnight at Homolovi State Park, which was a serene little place not far from the interstate. Got in a hike and learned a few things from the ruins and exhibits.

Stopped a night in the wide spot in the road called Wikieup, Arizona, at a true oasis of an rv park-cum-pie-cafe. Lovely, and much warmer than the high country was, while hitting 8-10 at night.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 25 - 01:02 PM

Dorothy, I hope Robin's brother recovers quickly. And it sounds like the "treatise" you sent the sons needed writing. Getting it out of your system, making clear to others who needed to know your side of the story, that lets it be set aside. (I had a particularly toxic friend like that once - I wrote it out then burned the pages and buried them in the garden, and remarkably, that let me put it behind me.)

Still darned cold here, and the faucets have been dripping every night for a week. Tomorrow it looks like things finally warm, and then we're into a rainy spell. All week has been one for layers and chapstick.

I am working to maintain forward momentum these days despite retrograde developments in the US. Progress on eBay listings, and setting aside more household craft things for the next donation for city teachers. I'm also getting back to after-school tutoring; I tutored for a couple of years in the town where I was working until I retired (it was long drive for a couple of hours a week.) I'll find a program here; I sent a note to the friend at the university who works with groups that do tutoring and teacher service-learning to get a recommendation of where to start.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 22 Jan 25 - 10:00 PM

Dupont:

Finally back to feeling reasonably good. Whatever that was, was a doozy! At least R did not need to deal with it or with me having it; I just mostly stayed in bed with book and computer.

Now R's bro (80) was in hospital yesterday with something nasty wrong. I am hoping R will be home tonight or let me know. They are partners in the business and the load is already too much for R; if bro cannot help, I fear for R's mental health.

I sent off a treatise of the 66 years of my so called "marriage" to #2 son. Sent it to #1 a few months ago after he browbeat me and triggered PTSD. I decided they are old enough to have a clue what I have been through with their "DT clone" of a father. DTclone is the most polite way I can refer to him.

Had a wonderful visit this week with a woman I met at the grief group. My first friend in this burg!

Charmion! Sounds like a great decision! Wonderful to have family happy to have you back!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jan 25 - 12:41 PM

Still cold, and today it's windy enough to make it feel even worse. Overnight tonight will also be frigid, but then it's supposed to move out of the area.

Day three this week of medical stuff. Monday the vet, last night my ex called, he'd somehow bit his tongue (eating salad!) and it wouldn't stop bleeding. He might need a ride to an emergency clinic. He never had the icemaker plumbed to his fridge and doesn't keep an ice cube tray so my first move was to get a bunch of my ice and take it over. After about 20 minutes of a cube wrapped in gauze (and dampened so it didn't stick) the bleeding stopped. It actually became kind of funny - I snapped a photo of him with the gauze in his mouth and sent it to the kids in a group conversation.

This morning was my blood draw in advance of next week's checkup and after six months of no statins but the changed diet I am curious to see what shows up. I'm going to take Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories with me to the exam.

Patty, were you able to get everything worked on early in the week in time to do the travel you were packing for? I do apologize if my remarks were inappropriate regarding the work you're doing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 25 - 05:08 PM

WOW! And congratulations on making the decision. You've done so much downsizing hopefully it is easier moving out of the house than moving in was. (You also did a lot of remodeling, as I recall.) Does this mean you'll be doing more painting or repairs now getting ready to list?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jan 25 - 04:38 PM

This year's "Where to live?" crisis has resolved into a decision to move back to Ottawa this year. What's more, I have told the family and tonight I tell the choir. And I contacted the real estate agent who sold us the house back in 2017. When she gets back from Mexico, this shit gets real.

The Brothers (and sisters-in-law) are thrilled. The choir won't be. So it goes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 25 - 11:25 AM

I've made progress on the personal web page, looking up sites I want to include (meaning I don't need to keep a bunch of bookmarks). Still super cold today, and I get my haircut midday. I don't do anything fussy, no drying or combout or anything, but she usually does that if it's this cold. I'll take along a bag of my crispy pecans as a thank you.

The little cat has much perked up, my friend spoke to the doctor on the next shift. She's grateful I acted yesterday, I think the little guy would have died overnight otherwise. I'll be taking a box of his preferred food over to the vet this afternoon, a kitty care package. Who knew pet sitting could be so dramatic. (She's going to be poking his ear and taking daily blood sugar readings after this, plus twice a day insulin shots - so life did just get more complicated.)

Another cuppa tea then hit the road.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 25 - 10:28 PM

Long afternoon at the vet with cat - it seems he is having a bad reaction to diabetes medication. He was such a mess, I was sure he was sliding toward the rainbow bridge. He'll be there for several days and feeding cats at her house just became a lot easier.

I'm working on a new web page (it will be a file that lives on my desktop but opens in any browser) with the links to places I want access to as far as writing to representatives about votes they are considering.

Today I wore the LL Bean flannel-lined jeans and they felt great. I found a kleenex in the pocket so know I wore these before and aired then put them back in the closet. After this wearing they will go in the wash, as will my hoodie jacket - even with a veterinary waterproof pad under him, I had the cat in my lap at the vet and he was a stinky little guy. My friend asked if he was in my lap and I described his state - he was getting petted but was on the exam table. "There's worse than cat urine on your clothes" was the answer. And if it had been his last trip to the vet, a cuddle was needed, so I scooped up all of it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jan 25 - 12:57 PM

No, I wasn't saying you did something wrong, and I understood about the broken prong. But those cubes are kind of counter-intuitive, so it was more just of a "triple check to see if it's really set up the way you think you set it up" before some guy comes along and points out a snag in the setup. Including the outlet you have the extension cord plugged into. You're ready for the guy who might suggest something was done wrong. (I hope that helps!) I've been on the receiving end of that repair guy smugness a time or two - it's not so bad with the conversation in person when I explained the problem, but a few minutes later when I look over at the truck they arrived in and the guys are sitting there laughing.

Running around this week, making the cat trips the bookends around other stuff to save driving. This morning's bookend trip was back to Town Talk, where I found a really good type of dark chocolate on Saturday so bought a whole bunch today, and it was marked way down below what I thought it would be. I may go back for more tomorrow, and truly have a lifetime supply. It's the low amount of sugar per serving that works for me; dark chocolate from places like Aldi's still have more sugar than I want.

I may have to take the little cat to the vet. He's not eating much at all today, and has had the trots. This morning I gave him the medication she indicated. Yesterday he got into a small jar of babyfood I accidentally left out on the counter, and must have eaten most of the jar. That may be what is upsetting his system (she uses it in small dabs to give various medications to the cats.) So letting it clear out and see how things progress. It's not like she's somewhere else in the state and can drive back home early to deal with this, she's scuba diving off the coast of Honduras for a week. If he's dying at this point I'll sit with him if I need to. This cat has used all 9 and several spare lives at this point.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 20 Jan 25 - 09:40 AM

Wow, was not expecting 'you probably did something wrong'. For the record, I tested outdoors, with the knob turned to lo then hi heat, at 26 degrees. Then I tested at another connection, where it failed, and upon removing it, broke a prong off my extension cord because the receptacle holes are too tight. It is a brilliant idea and I was glad to find it. I'm not accusing the product line of being bad, I'm saying I got a bad one and there are bad ones out there. Perhaps whoever was in charge of quality control retired and was not replaced, or was replaced by an incompetent.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Jan 25 - 08:05 AM

Another full-height bookcase, this one equipped with shelf inserts for CD storage, has left the building, given away on Facebook Marketplace.

I definitely need to stop moving large furniture up and down stairs.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 25 - 01:00 PM

I have both the white thermocube and a yellow Frost King cube, but they were purchased at least a dozen years ago. The yellow one is from HD. They both work. The air in the space does need to be below a certain threshold before they kick in, so you're sure it was below about 37^o when you tested? Using those devices you have to be careful that everything is in the On position even though it only comes on intermittently, and usually when you're asleep. (My friend with the cats set up the Freeze Miser on her faucet and on her last trip I checked it and the water was turned off. It only works if the faucet is on so it can drip when the temperature reaches 37 or lower.)

It is goofy that those things aren't in the store. I looked at my local HD - they could ship one to the house by Wednesday or I could pick one up in the store starting Feb. 3. Really?

Porch pickup was a zero this morning, she forgot to leave it on the porch. I texted, it's there now and I'll go by before my next cat/museum run in a little while. She has a great landmark in the front yard, one of those Little Library boxes on a post. I have a book to add to it, A Return to Common Sense by Leigh McGowan. I read the first few chapters and found it to be clear an accurate description of how US government is set up and how the amendments work, etc., but it's stuff I already learned in school (and should still be taught now). I've wondered what to do with it. Putting it "out there" to do some heavy lifting seems appropriate.

It's cold and clear, very bright today. Fingers crossed it stays this way, no snow because I have too much coming and going to do to fuss with slithery side roads. I'm halfway through freezing those organic blueberries. There are 12 avocados ripening on the kitchen counter to be made into guacamole and frozen. Yesterday Town Talk was particularly full, even as late in the day as we usually go over, and I think everyone had the same thing in mind - getting produce to freeze or can, and other stuff to stockpile in case things go pear-shaped in a hurry after tomorrow. We had to queue in line to reach the checkout for about twenty minutes and had a good conversation with the guy behind us, an inspector with the local office of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He is concerned about the threat to downsize the federal workforce.

I'm working my way through those crispy pecans I made a couple of weeks ago (I've also gifted a bunch of them). I weigh out a ounce at a time and find that the sharp flavor of the crunchy nuts is just what I need for a healthy snack. I also found another good very dark chocolate bar yesterday, that I'll pick up more of tomorrow (because it will go away fast, waiting a week or two doesn't work at that store.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Jan 25 - 11:44 AM

There is no defense against Norovirus by means of cleanliness or hygiene. For example Lysol is effective to kill 99.99% of viruses and bacteria but Norovirus is in the 100th of 1% that is immune to Lysol.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 19 Jan 25 - 10:25 AM

This morning while it was still freezing, dashed out in my jammies and robe to test the Thermo Cube thermostatic outlet. I had made a trip into town last night to exchange the wobbly junky walmart heater for a name brand. Plugged it in, nothing happens. Come inside to test the heater inside, works fine.   

Try it again out at the pumphouse; unplugged the extension and tried the cube and heater combo out there. Not only didn't work, the connection is so tight on these things, it broke off the prong from my heavy duty extension cord, rendering it useless.

So now I'm panicking, because now there's no heat out there. Couldn't get the rig close enough to help position power close enough. Finally added a shorter extension cord from the house, was able to get enough distance and keep some heat out there. Glad the other cord on hand was a 40', I debated on what length to get.

Looked up reviews online, on Tractor Supply site they have 62 reviews, and 6 of them are 'just doesn't work'. So apparently the company is fine with shipping stuff that maybe 10% of the plugs don't actually work, but it seems like if a store has one bad plug, they have a batch of them. Couple guys report exchanging and trying multiple ones, all failed. If there was ever a product that needs testing at the factory, this one is it.

Home Depot of course has an alternate brand, with 100 they can ship, but not a one actually in a local store in the winter. Not that I have time to make a long buying trip today.

I guess I'm back to the drain-everything plan instead of keeping some heat going in house and pumphouse, though I'm not sure there won't be water trapped if I do that. Hope the guy coming tomorrow morning is knowledgeable and helpful.

Well, back to packing, and getting ready for the online Burns Night at noon here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 25 - 10:37 PM

Aww, Dorothy, that sounds so miserable. Isn't the Norovirus making the rounds? That sounds a lot like how it has been described. Though I've only experienced that kind of virus a couple of times in my life, it was memorable, in all the worst ways.

As to the politics down here I wouldn't say it is ok, just less bad for now.

The cold is descending, and my last trip to feed cats tonight was in a down vest. Tomorrow I'll be out in the full-on winter parka and gear. I have another museum tour, though chances are it won't make with the weather.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Jan 25 - 09:35 PM

Dupont:

Did not fall asleep on purpose! Never did that before! I had burners turned down very low and one set to go off automatically. But still!!

That rotten piece of wood! reminds me of when our family cottage was built - 60 years ago! Old Mr. Heller cut oak trees on our side of the mountain, took the logs over the hill to his sawmill and made rough planks which were then used (green) to build! Dad asked the govt bureau what sort of preservative??? They wrote back- nothing! That will outlast you!

So I lost this last week: on Monday, I got up about 4 am because I couldn't sleep so might as well. Made delicious blueberry buckwheat cakes and ate two. Made a phone call to find a doctor to fill out a form for Driver's Licence. YAY!

THEN:   I was hit with the worst GI disturbance of my life - sitting on toilet with plastic bucket on lap, I wretched and screamed... The vomiting was excruciating and went on forever - scary!

When R found me, still in the bathroom, he had already eaten two of the cakes! NO effect on him so it wasn't them. But I have done nothing but lie in bed with the hots and colds all week - until this morning. I finally feel OK - barely. Mystery bug, I guess. I stayed home from Chateaugrass today. freezing rain was part of decision.

I did do a carrot soup and porridge. And clocked hours on computer! Someone scientifically minded (SRS?) might check out this woman on internet. Dr. Beata Halassy, ---VERY interesting and sounds sensible.

A woman from the grief group, whom I really like, is coming by on Monday - I'm skipping the group; looking forward to a real visit with Valerie. Would like to find out what she thinks about the group --and life in general!

And just finished The Choice by Edith Eva Eger- Holocaust survivor/psycholgist- PTSD and more- VERY Good!

Nice to hear there is something OK politically in Texas!!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 25 - 07:43 PM

Everything is gone via the donation route except the halogen lights. And I scored a case of a dozen heat pump air filters that I'll pick up tomorrow. That's a nice cost savings.

Today was one of those days in which my ex has had technological issues all day long. I tried calling last night and today, no answer. No response to texts. Finally got a call and he came over for our shopping trip, and realized he'd put his phone on Do Not Disturb yesterday. We got back to my house after shopping and he couldn't find his phone. I found it slipped down beside his seat in my SUV (ringing, since I called it.) And then when he got ready to leave realized he'd locked his keys in the trunk of his car. So I drove him to his house and let him in (with the copy of his housekey on my keyring) and he got his spare car key and we returned to my driveway. I told him that getting all of those goofs over with in one day was one way to do it.

Today's trip let me get organic blueberries at $3.99 a pint; at Aldi's this week they had 6oz clamshell packs of organic blueberries for $4.26. I picked up a case of 12 and they'll go into the freezer. They're one of the fruits that have a lot of residual stuff on them if they aren't organic.

The Arctic blast arrives overnight. I think we're set.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 25 - 11:27 AM

That "where to live" inner dialogue is a constant companion here as well. Complicated by one brother moving to the east coast and one estranged, the remainder of family are six, three elsewhere and three here. But here is gawdawful hot in the summer and horrible politics. There it's about 3X as expensive to buy a home in. Tornadoes and hurricanes here, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions there.

It's insurance policy renewal time. Rates are calculated by state, and Texas hasn't had a disaster for a few years so it shouldn't go up too much. I'd hate to live in California in the next few years.

I've solved the dishwasher pod problem. It turns out those pod covers are dissolvable plastic and end up polluting the water and the treatment plant has trouble with it. I stopped using the Platinum pods with liquid contents because they don't clean any better than the less expensive stuff. The ones I'm using now are a powder in the pod, so I cut the cover off and threw it away. Dishes washed just fine. When the laundry detergent runs out I'll switch over to powder in a cardboard box (the current laundry sheets are embedded with dissolving plastic to hold their shape). First world problems.

I'm getting requests for the spider lily bulbs I put on the free places, but not for the rest of the stuff so far.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jan 25 - 04:53 PM

I'm having my annual "How long to stay in Stratford?" crisis. Part winter blues, part post-Christmas slump, but mostly awareness of how much I miss my brothers and sisters-in-law, and my old friends. Not that I don't have friends here, but they are new friends, nice folks but they didn't know me back in the day, and they never knew Edmund.

So I did some housework. That usually perks me up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jan 25 - 12:37 PM

The dining table is set up in the den now with one leaf and the photo cube and lights in place. After the holiday move of equipment into the front room I decided I wasn't going to try to photograph and work on eBay items in there, it's too cramped.

Success breeds success - selling a number of items in the last two weeks inspires me to get more listed. I'll start with small and easily described items to build back the inventory.

The next cat sitting gig happens while an Arctic front is moving through, and though the chance of precipitation is low, it's not nil. I have a route I can drive that involves no bridges in snow or ice. Last year at this time I had new tires put on because I'd be cat sitting in similar weather; this afternoon I've scheduled a free tire rotation since I'm sure I've gone the 6-8000 miles they suggest is a good interval.

I'm also looking at what I have on hand here, regarding events of the 45 administration. I ordered a box of KN95 masks to go along with my home-sewn 3-layer cloth masks. My garden will be going in gradually in the next couple of months, and I don't think there's anything I need there. The import things I use are generally food items like avocados and fruit, and I'll have to keep shopping at the discount gourmet grocery and hope we're not hit too hard over there. If immigrants who work in the meat packing plants are in fear of deportation then meat costs will rise. Buying larger pieces, whole chickens or turkeys, may be part of the answer. That's all I have in my crystal ball* for now.

I'm getting a lot of mail from non-profits and charitable organizations as everyone scrambles to try to bolster their operations against what is ahead. The spreadsheet helps keep track of what I'm already supporting or subscriptions to renew. I need to look into the postal list to reduce junk mail, if there still is one.




*One glimmer of hope in our Texas government - the MAGA supported candidate for the Speaker of the House in the Texas legislature that meets again this year lost to a Republican member who challenged him and was supported by Democrats. He doesn't roll over and do what MAGA wants. The house, senate, and governor are all GOP, but there are still a few rational people out there. No knowing where all of this will go, but there will be some pushback.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jan 25 - 12:24 AM

You were previously MG on the 'cat, correct? Are you in a city now? Last I remember you were moving from a small town on the coast, but I don't remember where you were headed.

There are lots of job scams out there these days, sites with offers but that suck people in for various nefarious reasons. That said, be careful about uploading your resume, but at some point you're going to have to have one ready to go. Indeed.com seems to be the winner in online job searches, if you enter your keywords. There were a couple of others I used a few years ago, when I was seriously looking, but this one rises to the top now. Linked-in works for networking and you can use it free or for a fee. Getting the connections in place so you can look at their workplaces or use them as references takes a bit of work. Your university connections would be a great place to start. Sometimes the site can't see the linkages you know exist and won't let you request a connection. Do you have particular jobs in mind? Freelance? Contract work? Regular part-time hours?

All packages mailed and other things delivered in person. Several items listed on Freecycle. Trying to stay busy as the world prepares to implode.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Mary G
Date: 16 Jan 25 - 09:45 PM

hope this is not too far off topic, but i am not working quite enough hours right now. I need to work from home or in nearby community.. I have a car but it is unreliable and mechanics can not figure it out, so it has to either be on bus route or walking distance, two miles or so.

Are there any reliable places to start looking for online at least? Any recommendations? High wages are not expected. Thanks.