DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 25 - 04:59 PM

I made myself sit down and answer a question on Reddit to do with a digital long-distance photo that the OP felt wasn't clear as it could be. My first detailed answer took a while to assemble (and make sure I was putting the steps in order) only to have it not able to load. Maybe a rejected keyword (I named a different type of camera when referring to the film one I learned on). I trimmed it a lot and it did post. Now to see if it gets dissed or is considered helpful. Or just ignored. It was a good exercise.

The lawn was too wet to mow this morning and it's too warm right now; at about 6pm I'll go mow when it is shady in the front and cooling down. Before that I'll put the cucumbers in next to frameworks they can climb on.

An eBay box left the porch this morning. More soon, hopefully.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 16 Jun 25 - 02:00 PM

Working on health today, made some fridge salads etc. Eating 'right' can be time-consuming as heck. On the upside, the smoke is blowing away from us in general, and no power loss so far.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 11:21 PM

Where has all the yarrow gone, long time passing? 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥

I have a little yarrow in a front garden bed that leans over the edging and occasionally gets a flower or two knocked off. I just mowed around that bed this evening as I worked on the north side of the front yard. I realized I'd left it until too late and the mosquitoes were going to get me even if I was moving, so I stopped at a point where it didn't look too odd, and will finish tomorrow morning.

As I worked around the vegetable garden this afternoon I heard an odd noise coming from the heat pump fan, it sounded kind of off balance. Upon examination it looked like a leaf on the top grill, then I realized there was a sad wildlife story. A small deceased and somewhat desiccated lizard was dangling through the grate, hanging by it's armpits, and the tail was just long enough to be hit by the fan below every time it turned. Removing the lizard solved the noise problem. Would I have looked a fool calling the tech about a funny noise in the outside unit!   

keberoxu, why do you suppose you bought the shoes? Are they a style you won't wear? Or just extra? Maybe time to put the new shoes to use and retire an older pair?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 09:39 PM

Dupont:

Whatever this bug has been, We are both still recovering. After the little stint of weed whacking - I have been whacked ever since - mostly in bed trhying to recover. R has been doing better and managed to get his "new" riding mower off the truck, mow the lawn and THEN! the mower would not go back on so he found a place in the neighbourhood where he could put the truck lower and get the mower to go up the ramp! Unfortunately, I was too sick to ask him not to cut the daisies and yarrow. hope they come back soon. At least he left the milkweed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 06:42 PM

My apartment is ready for the bed delivery on Tuesday.
I continue to find stuff, as I unpack, that I want to let go of.
I opened one box to find another box with a pair of shoes
that I don't even remember buying, and have never worn,
and just reacted with, One more thing to get rid of.
So I decluttered the apartment of the box with the shoes,
which will be donated.

The room which I will surrender this week, on campus,
is being seriously de-cluttered as I move stuff to the apartment.
When I vacate the room, it will have the furniture,
the bedclothes, and the bathroom towels,
and the telephone, and that's all. Everything else will be gone.
There is very little left to remove, it will fit into an overnight bag.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 04:09 PM

I had so many things going on this spring, and two unexpected trips, just did not have a window to move 'sell the rig' to the front burner. My sister's health was more important, so was nephew's wedding.

Emptied it, 'decommissioned' it. Took the time in May to get 2 items fixed by a tech, but techs were useless in dealing with some pesky rattles and cosmetic issues. I just don't feel good about selling a major item that's not in as good a shape as possible, I want the new buyer to love it like I do.

So now I have someone who is actually getting the coach in top condition to list, while I work on having it squeaky clean. It's a tough time to sell, but hopefully it's unique enough in this area, and much cheaper than 'new', that it will find a home. We'll see.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 03:25 PM

Turns out today is drizzling so no mowing or sprinklers. I've been practicing with that little digital Kodak; I'd say 1/3 of the photos from yesterday were oddly blurry. I think, upon research, that the setting to recognize faces was the culprit. Faces were clear while things around them weren't. There were a lot of folks out with full-size SLR cameras yesterday, but they're bulky; while in a pinch you could swing one by the strap as a weapon, that's not a great reason for taking it to an event like a civil protest. I'll work with this some more and stick to my plan since there are a lot more protests coming. We are so spoiled by taking photos with our phones, they have so much software working in the background to keep them clear and focused, they really aren't like using a regular camera.

Work on eBay this week paid off, an item needs to be shipped tomorrow. I'll do more of that for now. With this drizzle the floors need to wait.

Patty, you said you'd be detailing the RV. I remember you working on that before, but you didn't sell it yet? Charmion, how's the grass? Keb, is the apartment ready for the bed delivery? This week?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 11:16 AM

Patty, that whole setup of the Gila Wilderness was a great idea (from Aldo Leopold, it was the first established US wilderness area) but the USFS couldn't commit and in the end built a long road into the middle of it. Wimps. I'm not surprised there are utilities running along there. You sound like a good candidate for putting a solar array on the roof or on panels in the yard (maybe turn it into a parking structure).

I have to mow and set up the sprinklers. We've had a lot of rain but may be at the end of that episode. My garden has a couple of tomatoes (a lot of foliage, not so much fruit so far) and eggplants. Potatoes. The peppers are puny plants still (my daughter tells me hers look just the same. Something to do with the bedding plants we bought?) and cucumbers will be planted somewhere today.

If the daily rain is finished I'll get out the Ryobi rotating brush and attack the dirt on the den floor. It's dreadful right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 15 Jun 25 - 10:35 AM

Respect to SRS and all those who stood up to be heard yesterday, it was big enough even the corporate press could not sweep it under the rug. And apparently not enough parade fans showed up for them to brag about support for Trump.

We had made a huge start on little repairs and detailed cleaning of the motorhome this week. Amazing what can be done by a smart and motivated craftsman neighbor, after multiple techs just shrugged, declined to help, or did a poor job.

So yesterday was about getting fresh food in the house and getting on a program to drop the pizza pounds and then some. Literally halfway through the shopping, got a message from the power company saying they will cut power this weekend whenever they feel like it, likely the usual 12 hour nuisance. Why in the hell our power has to come across a mountain wilderness (the Gila) to get to our flat valley road, where we are much closer to a flat crossroads town, which has a power plant literally on the road to our area, I do not understand. It's crazy.

Anyway, there is a fire raging in the Gila right now, and the smoke blanket is pretty bad this morning, can't see any of the surrounding mountain ranges. So, I was advised to draw off water and be ready for pump failure. If the heat gets too awful during the day I'll just clear out for refuges in nearby towns, they aren't having their power cut.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 25 - 10:08 PM

In my goal to distract myself from the US political stage I chopped planting spots into the last of the garden beds beside the driveway, emptied several cans of past-their-use-by-date sardines into a bowl to break up, then scooped a spoonful into each hole for the okra plants. They're now mulched in and ready to grow.

Parts for my sign for tomorrow are printed and I'll put it together (a message on each side) this evening. I finished a blog post to make note of these events but also to acknowledge the health issues that can happen with too much focus on stressful subjects.

When houses are photographed by Realtors^R they always use a really wide-angle lens, at least a 28mm fisheye, making the rooms look huge. Don't be surprised if you don't recognize the space in the online photos.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Jun 25 - 05:47 PM

In re Stilly’s demo kit: Except for picket duty and demonstrations during two civil service strikes, I have never felt the need to take part in a street protest of any kind. I think I’ll just sit here and count my blessings yet again.

In lovely, leafy Stratford, I am literally watching the grass grow while Marco finishes painting the basement. The realtor wants to send in a “stager” to depersonalize the place and make it more photogenic, and that will happen next Friday. I guess that means the photographer will come next, and then this shit gets real.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 25 - 11:42 AM

The den feels like it has a mud floor at this point after all of the rain. Even with a double length of mats by the door they've tracked it all the way into my office.

I'm assembling my marching kit for tomorrow. The women's march is in matching costumes and I didn't buy one so I will walk on the sidewalk, but more importantly, I will photograph the event. That's from 11 to noon. I will be wearing my No Kings shirt and have my sign ready for the rally from noon-2pm. That isn't a march. I have my small camera ready and batteries charged and will have my phone tucked in a fanny pack with a backup charger if needed. From the optometrist's office one of their small glasses cleaning spray bottles, but with isopropyl alcohol and a bandana. Face masks. Little vials of eyewash. Bottle of water, a hat. Discretely tucked away, some TP. Governor Abbott is sending the National Guard out to many of the cities hosting these marches. It's beginning to look like I'll need the lumbar pack, the next size up from the fanny pack (the water bottle is the clincher in this - it'll be a hot June day in Texas).

Thinking about what else might be useful I decided having a whistle, the old fashioned metal or plastic kind on a lanyard, could make more noise longer than screaming if necessary. I know I've seen some around here (the dog whistles are too high pitched to be helpful). Kitchen drawer had none, but I realize I have an inordinate number of keyring bottle openers and box cutter devices. Moving to the desk in the den, that drawer yields lots of colored markers and rulers, but again, nothing. My son's room for sure! Nope. I did find a music stand, a harmonica, and a drum. If I go out today I'll stop by a dollar store and get a whistle.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 10:51 PM

Dupont:
So, after the the big trip, I was recovering nicely and feeling good about it - THEN! R brought a bug home. He is mostly over it; he stayed in the city with a fever and came home yesterday. I changed the sheets to get rid of some of the germs. I am coughing fiercely and the energy level sank considerably. I had managed to do a stint with the weed whacker before it hit. R keeps telling me he is bringing a riding mower to do the yard - now two feet tall in places!

I wore a mask to pick up the veggies from the Jardin de Resistance.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 09:48 PM

Wow! Those are some good examples of weird nests! Some of these birds will fail in these nests because they made bad choices (Darwin) but some will get away with it because humans assist - possibly enabling less-smart birds to keep going until they can't (making fatal mistakes).

Last night's storm broke a limb in the baldcypress in the back yard, so with a handsaw and a lopper I got it out of the tree. It's cut up and in the trash can for next week (though those branches are straight enough I could run them through the small electric chipper).

I took the trimmer around inside the edges of the vegetable beds (not too close to garden plants) to start the work I'll finish tomorrow with the mower. I've picked a couple dozen more tennis ball sized potatoes and some a bit smaller (came out by accident). The plants are still looking good so I'll let them keep producing. Usually the plants end up looking so wilted I pull them and pick up the potatoes from underneath. This is more just prodding around the outer edges of the plant.

The boxes around the house have been compressed into a smaller area and a couple are ready for things I'm listing on eBay this evening.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 06:02 PM

And for those who enjoy ill-advised bird nests, there is a subreddit for that: https://www.reddit.com/r/stupiddovenests/

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 03:06 PM

Wow! Good call on that rotted pole! There is a wooden pole in the next door neighbor's yard right at our fenceline that was kind of leaning in his yard's direction. I came home one day to find one of those thick cables with a heavy yellow guy guard cover attached from 3/4 up the pole to a long eyebolt drilled into my yard about 10' in from the fence. I had three dogs in the yard at the time and though they are friendly dogs, the idea that these folks were over the fence to do the work that probably took a little while was a bit disconcerting. (It was probably like having three toddlers trying to help. If they had treats, the gig was up as far as my dogs being the "security" patrol!)

Anyway, next time you can threaten to call the supervisor on a utility worker on behalf of yourself and your neighbors. Chances are the opportunity will come along.

Charmion, I had to look up Canada Day, close enough to the US Independence Day I should be able to remember that. If your yard was down here that grass seed might have been washed away this week. Hopefully it is sprouting for you up there.

Today's rainstorm was over early so we were able to make our rescheduled shopping expedition then go for lunch with our daughter. Dropped her off at her museum parking lot so she could tuck my old Coleman cooler into her car (to take home to craft a cooling station for her chickens.)

She told an amusing story at lunch, about being at an SCA event with friends, and one of them put his hard plastic helmet on the ground next to his chair. A small enterprising bird spotted it right away and started bringing over sticks and grass and after a couple of hours had made good progress toward a nest. They figured the idea of an armor-plated nest was irresistible and were sorry to dislodge the hopeful tenant. I've had them build nests in hanging baskets and one time in a plastic bag that was full of dried flower seeds that I'd left hanging on the decorative grate over my back door. I've been seeing some interesting birds in the neighborhood, and the oddest thing - a yellow-crowned night heron standing on my front yard, tipping its head. It suddenly darted that long hard beak into the turf and came up with something - large insect, toad, lizard, not sure what. But it looked more like a robin move than a heron move. That's it for the Naturalist's Corner report.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 12:26 PM

Thanks all for encouragement before I set out on the trip, it was much needed and appreciated. I am home, exhausted. It turned out to be 4000 miles in 12 days, 90% by rail. Glad I made the effort, got to see many family members I needed to see, and some great western scenery on the way. The wedding was a good one, though the kindergarten graduation was probably more fun to witness.

Lots of to-dos to start in on around here; my windshield suddenly has a crack, the tankhouse is done and I have to help design the interior arrangements, urge the well contractor to come out and rework the top of the well, get some groceries and a wheelbarrow asap, yada yada for two pages.

On the plus side, two kind neighbors called the power company, which I called last November about a leaning rotted pole, because the leaning got worse after a recent storm. They had sent a fellow out back then, he said they would get to it as soon as possible, never happened. They are so difficult to reach I failed to do follow up calls.

This week's fellow came out, put his hand against it and pronounced it 'fine for now'. Dear neighbor went off on him and threatened a personal lawsuit. They were just leaving it until it crashed in my yard taking out power and possibly starting a fire. Suddenly the supervisor was called in and they suddenly had the one hour to spend replacing the pole. And lo, it snapped off just below ground where it had rotted completely through. So now I can add 'enforcer' to my neighbor's list of skills.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jun 25 - 05:23 PM

Marco the painter has finished priming the new drywall in the basement and patched and sanded the many holes down there, and yesterday he painted the ceiling. On Friday, he’ll be back to start putting colour on the walls. The damaged area of the lawn still looks like the wrath of God, but I keep watering it in hope that at least a bare scrim of new grass will soon appear. And I have hoed out the last refuge of clutter, the space under the basement stairs, where I had stashed some old suitcases. At the deep end, Isobel (Cat 2) had established a bunker in an old toy box … Evidently, I must find a way to provide a similar bolt-hole in my new place.

Once the basement is painted, it will be time to call in a crew of professional cleaners for a complete scrub-down, including windows. Then I can list the house. Let’s see if I can get it done by Canada Day.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Jun 25 - 03:55 PM

There isn't room by the door to have a box to put things in. That box has to remain in the living room, and yes, there are things going in the box that I don't need after all.

And I put a combination lock on the storage bin reserved for my apartment, so I can start decluttering the apartment of stuff that I don't have space for but want to keep (in boxes, of course).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 25 - 01:21 PM

Shopping outing yesterday was postponed - will try again tomorrow. This week is forecast to be quite rainy and we don't have to lug bags of groceries through sodden parking lots.

I picked up a book I saw referenced in a review of something else over on Reddit; turns out it's mostly crap but there are a few gems buried in it. So I'm skimming through The War of Art. No surprise to realize as he describes what he has named "Resistance" is that Procrastination is a wide-ranging skill set. Handmaiden to procrastination is Rationalization, the process of deciding that you're doing something that needs doing, even if it isn't the thing you want and need to do. And pulling the trigger - do the work to set up a project then never getting started. Something akin to fear of success. All of these are old companions. When this is the water we swim in, if we see what we've been doing can we now defeat or at least reduce the effect?

How's the yard, the foundation, and the basement looking, Charmion? How is the unpacking progressing, Keb? Do you have a box near the door to put things you moved but decided you don't need after all? Dorothy, how are you feeling after the big trip? Patty, I'm guessing you're somewhere mid-trip, I hope it is going well and the wedding was as lovely as we always hope they will be.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 25 - 08:47 PM

Keb, congratulations on accomplishing the move! That's a big deal!

Bedding plants are almost large enough to transplant into the garden. Cucumbers and okra, and one odd small plant I have no idea what it is, it looks like a mutant cotyledon of some sort. I'll leave it in the pot and watch it, possibly a volunteer of some sort.

At the cat sitting gig one of the cats peed on the tile bathroom floor at the edge of a washable carpet that has a rubber pad it sticks to. It took me a couple of days to figure out where the smell was coming from since it wasn't in view - but flip back the rug and whoosh! So I escorted both parts into the back yard, checked with my friend, and the rug is in the laundry and the mat hanging on a fence. And my clothes go in the laundry tonight because there's a hint of eau-de-cat-pee on my jeans (or I was around enough of it that it is stuck in my nose?)

Several things stacked in the car to drop off for my daughter soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Jun 25 - 07:18 PM

YAH to the end of one decluttering, welcome to the new apartment & the sorting of possessions into their proper homes.

Subject: RE: Convicted felon US 47 Pres /Musk coup 2
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 25 - 03:06 PM

My old apartment has been decluttered of my possessions, and
I surrendered the keys before I left.
It's a big declutter.
I now have a new apartment full of boxes to unpack,
so that declutter is going to take a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 25 - 09:43 AM

Not a great night's sleep as thunderstorms pounded the area for what seemed like several hours. It's the jolt awake by thunder that is the worst, I can sleep through lightning flashes, though the blue heeler can't so her fussing also woke me. At one point I escorted her to the hall bathtub that has a sleeping mat in it for times like this.

Saves time today, though. No need to water and too wet to mow. I need to get the heat pumps serviced, and the hall sump pump fixed. There's a condensation problem that the pump itself has created and on muggy days like this I have to empty a little bowl I placed under it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jun 25 - 12:55 AM

As I pulled this up a weather alert shone on the phone - thunderstorm warning. No sirens going off, so it's a general announcement for the region. I put out fertilizer this afternoon so the rain could soak it in, as is happening now. I think pots are positioned to get rain but not catch rain off the edges of the roof (no gutters).

This week coming up is our quarterly bulky waste pickup (Charmion's branches would be eligible - pile them at the curb and a truck picks them up.) I don't know if I have much to go now, I've been cutting things up and stuffing into the trash can for weeks instead of waiting for all at once.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 25 - 07:54 PM

Today I burned the garden rubbish and set myself coughing again, but it had to be done; the heap of dead branches and dug-up tree roots was reaching for the sky. The damaged parts of the lawn are showing signs of life after two days of careful watering. Next week promises rain, so watering will continue for free.

As I tick off each task on the preparation checklist, I feel the tension crank up. I hope I never have to do this again.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 25 - 05:28 PM

Try orange oil instead (also called D-Limonene. Expensive but very concentrated and lasts for quite a while). There is food-grade diatomaceous earth (it's used in livestock feed) that is safe to use (still wear a mask, you don't want to breathe it or in your eyes) and there is "pool grade" for pool filters that is an imperfect and not particularly refined form. That's the nasty stuff to avoid.

New garden hose stretched out more, other old hose moved. A very large toad trying to look invisible in the deep recess of a cinder block next to the faucet.

Almost 100^o today. Summer is here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 08 Jun 25 - 12:54 PM

> diatomaceous earth

Not something I've heard of before, but (grep grep) I can see why ants might not like it underfoot. Our neighbour suggested using peppermint oil as an ant-repellant, and that seems to have been successful; Herself even permits (nay, requests and requires) its use in the kitchen. My problem with it is that I can't stand the taste or smell of peppermint, a disability which I believe I inherited from my grandmother.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 25 - 11:12 AM

One of the dog toys, a multi-color thick rope with a few knots, has been so chewed and tugged that the strands are shedding rapidly, a condition that can be dangerous if they start eating the cotton strands (though the old Lab ate lots of cloth items and survived it all). I looked on top of the freezer where the spare toys live and found another one. (There are also two squeaky toys up there that drive the blue heeler out of her merle mind so they stay out of sight.) There was some interesting territorial posturing with the new rope toy, the blue heeler in charge at first, but it didn't take the pit-boxer mix long to appear to lose interest only to sneak back around the front hall and grab it. The old one is in the trash.

The kitchen is looking better and I've scrubbed the countertop where I brew (and sometimes slosh) my morning tea. As clean as it all is I'm still seeing a few ants, so it's time for another spritz of diatomaceous earth along the back edge of the counter. (Too bad I can't train the wasps to eat the ants!)

The new long garden hose is in a relaxing stage - I've stretched it out to diminish the curl of being wrapped up tight. As I lay it across the patio (in front of the door, so close to the edge that it isn't trod upon) I'll sweep and rearrange around the area. I need to do a little watering today, and mostly I need to put out fertilizer in advance of what is forecast to be another wet week. And getting a few bags of the free mulch for the areas where the last of the seedling vegetables will be planted soon. The house gets short shrift when the garden is in full gear. I bought this house because of the yard.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jun 25 - 06:49 PM

Dupont:

Machinery is what Robin and his bro buy and sell, collect, take to the recycling depot... And are hoping to put together a museum of the history of Quebec machinery. He had a great time at the museum, talking with those running it - about machinery! AND !!! amazingly, was not late for the wedding!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jun 25 - 01:45 PM

Sounds like a nice dinner - and I'd go for the halibut and asparagus. Though I grew up literally at the beach I never developed a taste for oysters. There's too much going on in there that seems like it should be cleaned out, but people eat the whole thing. I enjoyed other seafood; I used to dig clams and wade at low tide for Dungeness crabs, and did a lot of fishing. (On a trip on Hood Canal my childhood family was camping next to a family with a Labrador retriever who had been taught to retrieve oyster shells. They would throw empties into the water and he brought shells back - usually living oysters they would eat later.)

Taking each day as they come, I can feel the prednisone kicking in. I think this lower dose will be enough to do the job; it takes days (or weeks if it is more serious) to remove pain, then the rest of the month to be sure it stays away, then tapering.

The portable pet steps fold into a compact 18" x 30" x 6" format and slid easily into the back seat to go with my friend to her house and elderly dog.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jun 25 - 10:48 AM

The garden looks convalescent, especially with the sprinkler deployed. The landscapers assured me that, after last winter’s stellar snow-pack and our wet spring, grass is practically leaping out of the ground. They spread the seed very thickly in the hope of achieving at least scanty growth by the time the realtor decides to have pictures taken.

After my drastic week, I went out for dinner last night at the Prune, one of this ritzy town’s ritzier restaurants. For the first time since Edmund died, I enjoyed myself at a table for one in a snazzy joint. I had oysters, and a dish of white asparagus, and a lovely piece of halibut. Entirely within the parameters of a low-carb diet, and delicious to die for.

One of the many nice things about the 21st century — not quite up to laser eye surgery but close — is the availability of excellent oysters even in months without an R in them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 11:22 PM

You buried the lede on that post, Dorothy! Congratulations on the tumor report! That's funny that Robin went to a machinery museum, the definition of a "busman's holiday."

You and Charmion both stay healthy and stay indoors with that smoky air.

Cat sitting gig came up this weekend, but good news is it's short (won't conflict with the June 14 protest/march - I'd have to do a lot of scrambling to meet her schedule and mine.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 08:38 PM

Dupont:

Sitting in Den with air cleaner going full tilt. Smoke level "high health risk" today. Deleting hundreds of emails that built up while I was away; unsubscribed to lots! Fed Up! Also fed up with the state of North America.

WE broke the boycott of USA by going down on Thursday to PA. My grandson's wedding took priority. Also got to have great visits with each son, and wife, and smaller visits with two grand daughters whom I had not seen in 5-10 years. The great grands were also nearby but not invited to wedding and we did not have time to go to where they were.   

Beautiful area down there - Bucks County; The Pearl S. Buck Estate was a terrific wedding venue, as well as a museum. Robin went to a machinery Museum where he was well-received; His "reward" for giving me 6 days that he needed to be working.

In total exhaustion, I wore shoes that hurt like ... I did not realize it was just the darn shoes until I put my Birkies back on and was able to walk around again. Something to remember! It never occurred to me that it was "just" the shoes. Kind of spoiled That day!

A biggie for me was finally getting to Bauman's Apple Butter shop. I had a jar of it years ago and have missed it. The shop was enroute - sort of- coming back north and we chose other sorts - peach, cranberry, etc - all sugar free and No refrigeration needed- ever! YAY!

I'm too tired to go back and check history - hope I mentioned the "main tumour" is shrinking and I am likely to live forever -(HO HO!) Sure has changed my attitude about how to go on with life!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 04:22 PM

Nests within reach are long gone; others are far enough away not to be a problem. I've seen "fake nests" crocheted to hang under eaves to try to discourage new nests, I don't know if they really work. It would give a crafty person a project that could keep them very busy, making scarecrow wasp nests for everyone they know.

Next door house is looking at a new roof, and my handyman friend has a roofer cousin doing appraisals, so I will let him tell me what he thinks about the condition of this roof. No way a cold caller is stepping foot in the yard (too often they are scammers of various sorts). I hope the heavy duty roof I put on (hurricane strength cost more but my insurance rates dropped) is still doing it's storm-proof thing. The co-pay on these is a killer. Next door told me their co-pay would be $12,000At With the rate that Trump is trying to deport immigrants, I'm sure that's forcing up the cost of labor. There is a lot less around right now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 12:16 PM

Don't remove the nest, Stilly. When we had a waspectomy in our previous house, we were advised to leave the dead nest in place to deter (or displace?) possible repeat offenders.

Cat news: Ptolemy seems to slowly be recovering his nerve: last night, he wanted into the study where the dishes are, and finished off his tea; then he wanted out of the front door. Him having a snack before going out, erm, hunting used to be his MO of an evening, so we're hopeful for the short-to-medium term at least. Then he gets picky again this morning. *Sigh*.

Oh, and Herself does buy tuna in water, as that (unlike oil) can go down the sink.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 11:48 AM

The foundation repair people deny all responsibility for the torn-up state of my lawn, so the patio crew (landscapers by trade) have agreed to top-dress and re-seed the extensive damaged areas. Right now, even as I type, Jordan and his partner are levelling sand and hauling stone.

Wildfire smoke from thousands of kilometres away has brought air-quality warnings to Perth County. Summer already doesn’t look good.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 11:46 AM

Turns out the hail storm on Monday has generated lots of interest in the neighborhood by roofers. I've hung up on a dozen cold calls from folks who will "be in the neighborhood" - but I see a roofing sign in the yard next door. She said theirs is 20 years old (I remember watching the installation, I hadn't been here long.) Mine is 18 years old. I suppose I should have the insurance company take a look. The storm that really clobbered things was about five years ago, with tennis-ball-sized hail, but perhaps golf-ball-sized hail this time finished the job. I paid for a hurricane-resistant shingle to get some extra savings on my insurance. No insurance companies are going to stick around in the state if they have to replace roofs too often.

Wasps hovering around the front porch appear to be free agents, drifting from soffit to speck of paint on the wall, looking for anyone to offer them a place to anchor and start building.

I have a set of pet steps I picked up at Goodwill to use for Zeke to get into his chair, but we never deployed them. My friend who is in town this week has an elderly Schnauzer who might be able to use them, so on her way out of town this afternoon they'll hopefully stop by and stuff them into her daughter's car. No way I'm letting either of the two dogs here now sleep on my bed so I won't use it. (The rule is "if you're going to sleep on the bed you stay put and sleep" but these guys think they're guard dogs and get up and race out into the yard to bark, then want to come back onto the bed. Nope.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jun 25 - 03:27 PM

This morning I took the telescoping microfiber duster around to each room with a ceiling fan (seven total) and gave them a quick cleaning. Tis the season to have them running and it's always best to remove that dust before flinging it around the room when first turning them on. I should work my way through the house and dust everything else also, it needs it.

Time again to give the dogs baths. I got out some of the brushes and nail trimmers this morning and both dogs examined the stack of stuff with interest. Trimming nails - it involves a monumental struggle and is something I'll probably pay the vet to do soon, but I may once again give it a try.

Spritzed a new tiny nest and a couple of spots the wasps are showing interest in. #DailyStruggle

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 25 - 08:31 PM

They're still hovering around out there, I'm going to add some orange oil to a little soapy water and see if that makes those surfaces less desirable for nest placement once the spray dries.

A long afternoon spent setting up web sites for the 91-year-old friend to promote her book. On places she is already familiar with so she will manage to update on her own. We hope. She has Mac equipment and I use Windows; there are hurdles for both of us.

My ex came over for a while to visit and the two of them remarked on how much stuff there is to clear out around the house. Yup. Part of what they were seeing is the empty boxes than need flattening and recycling (or filling and shipping out). But there's still a lot.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 04 Jun 25 - 12:12 PM

Cat news: Yesterday we tried half a tin of tuna with oil, and Ptol ate it up. Taken to the vets' today: over a hundred quid to tell us that he's got suspected lymphoma, and (not being on the pet-insurance treadmill) we can't afford the two grand to check whether it's the slow or aggressive sort (resp, years or weeks).* Not something to hear when we've a cruise booked in a month or so. And surprise: the little offender ate all the kidney that Herself gave him, but ate round the half-tablet of medicine she'd buried in it.

Good luck with the wasps, Stilly.

* It's at times like this that we're grateful for the NHS.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jun 25 - 11:05 AM

My kids are both in the same town this week and had dinner with their partners over at my sister's house. They called via Messenger video during dessert. I commented on the bowl of vivid red in the middle of the dining table - it looked like sliced beets. My son's partner tipped it toward the camera to give me a better view of the potpourri and out tipped some of the water. It was laughter and a scramble to wipe up, then decide to pick up plates and slide the cloth off and dry the wood under it. My sister doesn't have kids, but now she has had the official event christening - there's rarely a meal with all of them here when something doesn't get spilled on the tablecloth. The novelty is always in what method of delivery (and if it stains or not.) And those can be the durable stories people laugh at later.

Here at home I took a glance up at my office bookshelves this morning and realized I already had a copy of the book that I recently purchased. This seems to be the year of redundant volumes. They're good books so will become gifts.

It's 97% humidity this morning after storms last night, so though it isn't overly warm it's still very sticky. This is the time of year when the heat pump to runs to dry the air.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Jun 25 - 07:25 AM

Since moving into this house with its generous double garage, I have given myself permission to accumulate empty cardboard boxes. That habit must stop! Whatever house I find in Ottawa, I can pretty well guarantee that it won’t have a double garage or any other space where I can stockpile boxes “just in case”.

Tony is due back in about half an hour to sand the fresh plaster downstairs and put the baseboards on. The landscapers should be back to re-assemble the patio, but I haven’t heard from them and there’s rain in the forecast for today — 60% chance, with donner und blitzen. So much fun.

I did not start the day with an attempt to cough up a lung, so I’m going to pool class. Wish me luck.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 25 - 09:18 PM

Sounds like it was an exciting day around there, Charmion! And more helpful than a pop-up rugby game in the yard.

Down here it is warm and muggy and rain likely again overnight; I did some weeding around the potato plants, brought in six sub-tennis ball sized red lasoda taters, and stabilized the new almond verbena shrub. Telemedicine talk, drove to a blood draw and the pharmacy. All is in motion to send this PMR on the run. From now on my political response needs to be brief and efficient and make much more time available for relaxed activities.

My friend who's in town will be here tomorrow to work on computer stuff for promoting her holiday book (last year when it came out she didn't have a lot of time to plan, now she does.) I'll pick her up, and before that, I'll race around to flatten and store some of the empty boxes sitting around, they're the worst of the clutter.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 25 - 04:01 PM

Peace at last!

Tony just pulled out of the driveway, bound for the dump with a load of wrecked drywall, and the foundation crew finished at lunch-time. The grass looks like the aftermath of a rugby tournament, all churned up by the tracks of the digger, and of course the patio stone is still stacked on pallets at the bottom of the garden, but otherwise the place looks as if the Forces of Chaos had never dropped by.

Now I have to figure out how much money to liberate from my investment accounts to pay for it all.

Marco the painter has gladly accepted a return engagement to paint the crime scene.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 25 - 01:09 PM

MaJoC, here we can buy either tuna in oil or tuna in water. I've always bought the tuna in water, but come to think of it, with the keto leanings I should try the fish in oil. (Tuna in water ends up being very dry when drained, needing a lot of mayonnaise for a good consistency when making sandwiches.)

Charmion, there are weather maps showing smoke from your mid-provincial wildfires and weather maps showing huge swaths of Saharan desert dust - all blowing this way. I think the Earth is speaking to those in the US who should be listening and continuing climate change abatement practices.

Dorothy should be back from the wedding soon, I hope all went well!

Yesterday I mixed up batches of smoked gouda/pecan spread and of the crispy pecans (guest coming this week), and this morning my granola is in a cool oven finishing baking. A friend tells me he cooks his in a crock pot, and I should ask for more information; the oven process is fussy. The honey was a bit crystalized so it may have a different taste (sweet spots instead of more evenly distributed). I didn't have the patience to melt it all down before mixing with avocado oil and whisking to an emulsion. Honey doesn't get old or spoil, but it does become harder to work with.

This week wasps on the front porch are fighting the good fight to build their paper nests in that high-traffic area. Their stings hurt like hell so I'm trying to shoo them along so no one excites their wrath at the mailbox.

I started digging out the side bed (under my kitchen window) where I put the almond verbena. It has been a combination herb and vegetable garden for years (right now it has rosemary, oregano, bay, sage, and garlic), and in the middle I put in something like cucumber or peppers, though right now it's full of weedy grass. I'll clear it enough to put a bird bath in (that sits on the edge of the driveway right now) and hope to have a great butterfly garden. If I put in dill or fennel the place would be crawling with butterflies and their caterpillars, but since I have a lot of toads and lizards out there I'd be providing high-end food for them.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 25 - 08:36 AM

After weeks of no action, suddenly everything is happening at once. The masons took up half the patio yesterday, and now Tony the carpenter is hard at work in the basement and the foundation crew are unloading their power digger. The street is full of large vehicles, every one with its engine running, and my garage door is wide open. The cats have gone to ground until peace breaks out.

My voice is gradually coming back, though I'm still coughing and croaking. This morning's air quality is not great -- smoke from the wildfires out West -- so I woke up wheezing, but at a reasonable hour!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 03 Jun 25 - 08:09 AM

Thanks for the idea, Stilly, but the fluid in Right-Pondian tuna tins is fish oil. Is that what you mean?

Anyhoo, Ptolemy finished off his last night's tea this morning, then pestered me till he got a pouch of standard moggie-meat-in-jelly, which he ate most of straight away (and finished later). Herself thinks he tends to lose his appetite in hot weather, and we've had a cool spell with lot of rain recently.

The next trial change would be to try him with in-gravy moggie meat. (Curiously, Sainsbury's doesn't market any under their "taste the difference" branding.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 25 - 11:57 AM

Excellent! The way you wrote it, though, I was wondering if your ghost was writing that post! ;-) Here's hoping the patio stone lifting is quick and easy.

Call made, telehealth appointment this week. Moving forward.

Trash is out and after a hail storm (up to golf ball size) last night I looked for damage. So far, only one of the small okra seedlings was beheaded. There were two together in another small pot so I transplanted one to a different pot and will have as many to go in the ground (those two growing that close much longer would mean one would be plucked out of the way of the other before planting in the garden.)

Yesterday I roughed out the spot and placed the almond verbena shrub, but it needs a little more work today before I put mulch around it. And one other smaller shrub needs a home soon. Both attract butterflies, so putting them where they can get full sun and be seen by me (or passers-by, depending on the planting spot) is part of the planning process.

The days are still growing longer, and knock wood, not too hot yet.

Safe travels, Patty! Enjoy the wedding. And MaJoC, you may need to up the quality of the kibble if you are competing with neighbors for your cat's attention. Have you tried offering the water from a can of tuna?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2025
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 25 - 08:03 AM

At half-past six this morning, I woke up to a quiet airway: no bronchial rumble, nothing rattling in the trachea. The last thing I remember from yesterday is turning out the lamp and Watson settling down behind my knees circa 2300 hours. Good heavens — I slept through the night, without coughing fits in the small hours!

So I’m getting better, at last.

Today Jordan the landscaper and his crew are coming to lift the patio stone in preparation for tomorrow’s trenching operation. Can it be … progress? Only time will tell.