DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Mary G
Date: 12 Oct 25 - 08:03 PM

well, here is an update on my move. It was brutal because property manager would not give me a move in date and i had already given notice in old apt. She gave me about 2 days notice. It would not matter if I had a week or so off, but I tutor online and I needed to set up internet etc. So I got a week in a motel in Centralia. My car, which worried me and I had just dumped money into, is going to be donated. It just does not start reliably. I had stuff all over the place. Thanks to my sister and her grandson I think most of it is moved in now. Still is a move in mess - lots of storage but ten feet high. There is a nice thrift store a few blocks away. Likewise a KFC and my church. There is a nice school a few blocks away and I hope to get either some sub jobs Monday all day and mornings other days -- don't care what I do. The less the better as I will keep tutoring in afternoons. Great dial a ride service. Have not figured out regular bus. Anyway, I like it quite a lot. I like not being by ocean where sooner or later there will be a tsunami. Nice brick apartment building in lovely neighborhood and close to downtown. unfortunately not close to food source other than KFC but can bus to safeway etc.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 11:05 PM

I suspect there are still plenty of mementos, if not baggage. A good balance, one hopes.

With my cat-sitting comings and goings this week I find an overlap for my now carefully managed political activity; tomorrow morning en route to the house is a protest on a highway pedestrian bridge. I'll put on a message t-shirt and get out one of my signs and stop for a while before the late morning feeding. The setup for protestors is a large sign stretched out along a pedestrian bridge over the freeway, with a bunch of people behind it waving other signs. With as much traffic as passes under there, it gets a lot of attention for a couple of hours. I could even make a new sign, I have quite a collection now.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 09:06 PM

Keb, I had/have a small fracture in the lower part of my pinkie. I hadn't realised finger bones continue into the palm, I originally thought the fracture was at the top of my finger!

Charmion - Twelve boxes of books and a garage full of clag, but no baggage. nicely said!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 07:28 PM

Thanks for that thought, keb. And you’re right. This house is far from excellent, but it already feels easier — no baggage.

Twelve boxes of books and a garage full of clag, but no baggage.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 06:33 PM

I remember that Sandra had injured her hand, but
somehow I didn't know about the knuckle fracture.
That is serious and painful. Take good care of it!

Charmion, I'm no good at voicing condolences,
but you certainly have mine on this date.
It is well that you are out of that Stratford house on this year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 05:36 PM

Charmion, sounds like an excellent plan, and we're still offering condolences. Sandra, it sounds like you'll be rearranging the entire apartment by the time you get all of the cases and magnets moved. Good luck with the new appliance!

My knees have been a bit stiff and part of it has to do with the Prenisone. I'm 15 pounds over my ideal weight because of the steroids, and the weight makes a difference. My rheumatologist commiserates, and says it will get better as the tapering off continues. My high-protein and fat diet will take the weight off once the medication is finished.

Another eBay sale this afternoon, more Libbey glasses. I'll double check that package to be sure that every glass is armor-plated - the post office seems to have a special technique for drop-kicking parcels with padded glass that guarantees at least one doesn't survive the trip.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 05:13 PM

tomorrow afternoon I have to do some moving of stuff - my fridge died on Thursday afternoon (it's brekkie time on Saturday here) & I didn't notice when I put away some veggies, but I did at 9pm - freezer had no ice or cool - & thermometer in the fridge said 26C = 78F. So I put the floppy contents of the freezer - bread & cheese & butter into the chest freezer. New fridge will be delivered between 8 & 11 on Monday - specially fitted in cos I have a medical appointment on Monday afternoon. I was at a festival on the weekend & did a lot of knitting & my almost-mended fractured pinkie joint (knuckle) is swollen, & as always, it was uncomfortable & a friend noticed the swelling (oops)

I also froze all vegiburgers & falafels - just in their bags, I didn't separate them & freeze them properly! I checked google & decanted my yoghurt into small 1 serve pots & took my 3 (very) soft white cheeses & 2 or 3 packets of slices & 3 dips to my neighbour who fitted them into her well filled fridge, bless her little cotton socks!! Fruit & veggies were parked on the chest freezer & stove. Today I threw out the sliced beetroot & will be throwing out my Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon (radish) (reputable sites say they can't live outside the fridge!) I only made 3 portions a few weeks ago, & I could have re-frozen my Japanese seaweed salad (sob!) All off to landfill cos they are swimming in vinegar.

The only things in the fridge are chutneys etc, cos my bench tops are full!

On Monday a new slightly bigger fridge will arrive & to get it in my door I need the remove 2 small bookcases, one on my living room wall, the other on my kitchen wall, easy enough - they could even sit in our hallway, no one will see them. Then I need to remove all magnets on my fridge & the 2 serving bowls & 6" fan on the top ... & my sewing machine topped by a collection of craft folders & a small occasional table both opposite the small bookcase ...

At least I don't need to defrost & wipe out the fridge!

ps. Nagi's site is one of our most popular recipe sites - ditto her books

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 04:19 PM

I unpacked the last three 5-cu barrel boxes and finally found the sofa cushions, the iron, and the spirit level. And Tosh has almost finished the stairs; just quarter-round and balusters still to go.

Meanwhile, the garage is full of bundled packing paper and flattened boxes, and the deck out back is stacked with broken-down picture crates and flooring boxes. Tosh has promised to return tomorrow with a one-ton truck to take the debris to the dump, and the three leftover boxes of flooring back to Home Depot. By Monday, I might be able to get on to the next thing — finding a design-build kitchen and bathroom contractor. I would like to get kitchen cabinets and drawers that work, a bathtub deep enough to wallow in, and stowage for the toiletries and first aid supplies stashed in a box in the linen closet.

Thanksgiving is upon us up here in the suddenly chillier North, and with it the fifth anniversary of Edmund’s death. I think I’ll go to the pub for supper tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 25 - 03:59 PM

Be disciplined and don't overdo so you can enjoy the move!

While we aren't at the highs of summer, we are about 10^o above normal all of October so far. It doesn't feel like autumn so when it cools into the 60s overnight the mornings are nice.

A trip to the town where I used to work today included a stop at the thrift store that usually has a good array of jigsaw puzzles. Four for $15. I have a stack of complete (no missing pieces) completed puzzles—I'll sell some in small lots on eBay and donate others. A stop at Aldi for a few groceries and I succumbed to the point-of-purchase pots of mums; the one I picked has potential to bloom a lot but was a little wilted. I picked up a plastic bag on the ground in the parking lot and opened it to put the pot in, and there was a trash water bottle in the lot near my car that I poured over it (I took a sniff to be sure it was water). Sounds odd, but the plant perked up and will be lovely on the porch.

The cookie press ordered from eBay arrived with all of those duplicate discs, so this weekend I'll sort and list the one I had and then put part of this up in a new listing. The gift portion will be set aside.

My daughter told me she finally opened the pickled okra I gave her and was blown away "it's soooo good!", an indication that she would like some more. I'll make another batch this weekend (must get a hot pepper, I have everything else). I still have some that I intend for gifts for friends, so this is the family batch.

Cat sitting is offering up challenges; the one who is usually the feline insinkerator - he'll eat anything - is being picky, and has decided to stay under the furniture. The calico that bit me is eating ok, but since she's deaf, if she's startled she abandons her plate. When I was tucking a plate under the credenza for the now-fussy eater at noon I startled her. Tomorrow is a day of complex stuff - a chemo treatment and bi-weekly subcutaneous fluids for the little guy. (My friend included a very generous bonus and thank you note in the pay envelope this time, it seems the cat that bit me had a health thing going on that needed diagnosis to save her life.) That makes two fragile kitties and one who is being fussy. I had cats for a lot of years, none quite so complex as this. These days, dogs are easier.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Oct 25 - 04:19 PM

Ottawa finally has a frost warning for tonight. This usually comes in mid-September -- or should I say that it used to come in mid-September? The high on Monday was 30C and stifling.

Weird weather.

Elder Brother and SIL No. 2 came over this afternoon to help me uncrate the pictures that were stacked up in the bunker. Now I have to figure out how to hang them.

My back is better, definitely benefitting from less bending and toting,

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 09 Oct 25 - 11:49 AM

Worked on mending quite a bit the last 2 days, and organizing what odd assortment of sewing supplies I have. I'm glad I have a few notions I'm not going to have to overpay for. And it's strange how my late Mom seems to live again when I am rummaging through her button collection.

Mending and little sewing projects are good for patience because they take as long as they take, time seems to go into low gear for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 25 - 11:14 AM

This morning I spent an hour going through the Instagram account on my phone to unfollow a lot of the political types I liked and appreciate for their helpful and wise words but who are there way too much for my good health. As I also dismissed ads that the algorithm was pushing forward I saw a shift, and have now seen accounts that haven't turned up in ages. Decluttering of virtual toxicity and political urgency felt good. (If it had just been my followed accounts in the feed, it wouldn't have been so bad, but Meta amplifies everything with the algorithms). I'm going to try to push it back toward science topics and nature photos.

The last of the tall straggly sunflowers were carted off in the morning trash. Trimming and mowing await my attention. It's another week of cat stuff so many of my chores will be fragmented into "as time allows."

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 25 - 04:54 PM

How are the stairs looking?

Interesting story: when we moved to Fort Worth in 1989 (!) the movers damaged a number of antiques. The company contracted with a father and son duo who specialize in restoring furniture and replacing bits lost in transit. They spent a couple of days working at the house, and it turned out that they were hired to do repairs when Van Cliburn moved to town and his damaged stuff needed work. The stories they told! I spent the whole time with them, not in the way, but asking questions. Meeting them was the best outcome from the entire move. (Weeks and months later they would get calls from Van, asking if they knew where some such item might have been put away. He had them on speed dial.)

The bad-back move that gets me EVERY TIME is to bend forward, reach out, and lift. Sproing! goes the back. Sounds like you have your own personal injury that steps up all of a sudden. I know how the original injury happened, a similar move from picking up a toddler while kneeling and leaning forward. I'll never forget that diaper change as long as I have that back injury to keep coming back if I move wrong. A minor emergency clinic DO doctor was able to pop things back into place, but they are always going to be weak.

Today at lunch I handed over the marvelous black silk chiffon velvet that Mom bought in Japan in about 1946 (she was a WAC who spent 18 months there after WWII). My daughter knows better than most just how precious that fabric is, and will keep all scraps. I told her I'd like a small piece at some point to turn into a something-or-other as a memento of this fabric that spanned three generations. Nothing will go to waste, they'll be bagged for other uses. One of the things that I really wish my mother had lived to see is just how talented her grandchildren are. How the utilitarian sewing that she did (making clothes for us), and that I did (I made most of my clothes in high school and into college, then making clothes for my kids) has gone from that to high art with my daughter.

Also today at lunch I asked the restaurant owner if he eats okra - and a 20 minute conversation on methods to cook it ensued. Later I mentioned eggplant, and we could have gone another 20 minutes. I'll take a bag of fresh okra down later this week since I'll be in the area doing the cat feeding. When it's gone, it's gone, but for now I'll share it with people who love it.

The eBay work is yielding results so I need to keep moving on that. The Goodwill bin in the laundry room has a bit more room before I make a run over there, but all told, I'm moving more stuff out of the house than I'm bringing in.

A sad note to end on, the big Argiope spider out at the end of the porch disappeared two days ago and no sign of her since. The web is undisturbed, so either she went walkabout after a successful season of eating, breeding, and egg sacs, or something ate her. The original Argiope on the porch corner gets really excited when I open the door, making the web bounce up and down trampoline-like. Is she trying to tell me that Timmy fell in the well and I can rescue the other spider if I look around for her? Or is she trying to chase off whatever ate her friend? Mixed metaphors there, Lassie and Charlotte's Web.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Oct 25 - 04:21 PM

Charmion's Great Upheaval includes a physical upheaval as well.
What a shame. What a pain.
Do what you have to do to nurse yourself back to well-being.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Oct 25 - 02:36 PM

The moving company has disavowed all responsibility for the teetering pile of bagged packing paper and significant stack of flattened boxes in my garage. I am so done with Sheffield Moving & Storage; if I had the skills to hex them, I’d do it with glee.

My back is on strike again after I picked up the cross-cut shredder to move it upstairs on Monday. Yes, I performed a proper squat and lifted correctly; no, my efforts did not make a whit of difference, except maybe that I didn’t displace a disc. Five steps up, as I turned on the landing (box-stepping), I felt that old, familiar feeling — CLUNG! — as the web of muscle across my back at the L5-L6 level went into spasm. I put down the shredder right there and left it until Tosh turned up this morning, apparently recovered from the plague.

The furniture repair people sent a brace of real bruisers to take the four pieces damaged by the movers off to rehab. I enjoyed watching them not bang or break anything on the way down and out, working their way through Tosh’s tools and pieces of stair.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 25 - 11:49 PM

Ideally you can get the plants you want in the area started in the perimeter of the goatheads, and they will encroach into the space as the burs die out.

Cardboard is gone. A whole bunch more of the dried sunflowers are stuffed into the trash can for later this week. I have a second smaller can that I may deploy tomorrow and cut the rest down just to finish that job.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 07 Oct 25 - 10:30 PM

Thanks for the input on the weed issue. I was considering soil amendments before next season, make the soil richer, if even just with lime, to be more inhospitable for them. But I kind of hate to thwart all the other 'good' desert plants I am getting attached to. Ideally i guess I would like to acidize the young growth next year while encouraging more friendly groundcovers. I can see where certain things tend to compete and crowd out the goatheads, where other things happily coexist with it. It is a learning curve. Nice to have a research librarian with lots of answers and ideas handy!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 25 - 11:29 AM

Patty, there was quite a long and detailed discussion about goatheads and grassburs on the facebook page of the organic gardening site I moderate. Along with pulling, digging, etc., because they thrive in poor soil another thing that is liable to drive them off faster is healthier soil. Spreading organic fertilizer and compost, or in lieu of that, spraying liquid humate or spreading humate (bagged carbon leftovers from industry) will jumpstart the biology in the soil and the goatheads are less likely to germinate. (Apply these a couple of times a year and probably for multiple years to see continual improvement.) There are also tricks for dragging shag carpet through the area to snag whole bunches at a time, and one guy posted a photo of a device called Sticker Burr Roller. Way expensive, but maybe a business in the area has some for rent? Amazon even sells them (I put a link to that because I see similar less expensive products promoted on the same page.) Other people suggested that goats or donkeys and even chickens will eat them when they're green. Rent a herd of goats? I see bagged humate for sale at Walmart and online (heavy to ship). Ask your local feed store, and maybe even Tractor Supply. For liquid or solids Medina and Fertilome are good organic brands; never ever buy anything with "Scotts" or "MiracleGro" or "Ortho" on the lable. Black Kow is a good commercial compost. Don't pick up any of the biosolids (rendered from sewage treatment plants) - the PFAS problem is huge yet untreated there. I would include Milorganite in the off-bounds list.

Even as the postal carrier picked up the box from yesterday's sale, there was a bit of backslide on eBay. I have a vintage cookie press, they don't make them any more, and it had only a few of the shape discs. Looking for comparable prices I found a larger one for sale with a double set of all of the discs and a smaller frosting decorating tube with its tips. When it arrives some of these will add to the current device, the decorating tube and shapes will go as an xmas gift to my son's partner who is fond of that kind of baking activity, and the remainder will be another sale on eBay, so I'll make more than I paid. For right now I'm working on clearing out the stuff sitting right there at the table then pulling out more from the front room, and I've been looking at a box with this cookie press for ages.

The back of the SUV is filling with flattened cardboard and will add more all day; I plan to head over to the village bins this evening after they are emptied.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 07 Oct 25 - 10:23 AM

I don't know about vinegar and rust, pipes rust more if in an acid environment. If I have to neutralize a cleaner after use, I'd rather use a different cleaner.

Spent some hours organizing the rocks and minerals. The new ones I have been washing, splitting, and examining, and ones which have been sitting out instead of stowed away. Also re-mounted a dozen micros which had come loose from their moorings, and put the micromount drawers back in order. Unfortunately one cleaned up mess seems to lead to a new one; rediscovered more things that need to be split and looked at.

Meanwhile the goatheads have established quite a beachhead in the 'back 40', enmeshed with other viny plants and an anthill, while I concentrated on higher traffic areas. So, time spent on that, and nervous that as it gets drier and drier, the goatheads are more prone to pop off the plant when it gets yanked up.

And yes it's all way behind. But I went to some online sings regardless of the chore backlog, and worked on some mending projects that got put off too long.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 02:47 PM

I've put off purchasing more cleaning alcohol until I have a long enough shopping list to merit a trip. Probably tomorrow. Since I'm cleaning bars over outside windows, ventilation isn't an issue. I think the vinegar is probably also a viable option, just one that the painter didn't know about. Vinegar is used to remove rust, though these are aluminum so not a problem.

A device listed on eBay yesterday sold this morning so will leave the house tomorrow. I'll get out the next one and do the photos and description. I don't think the price was too low, I think it has to do with the trouble I take to test and clean and describe, and include a printed manual and extra equipment (since this is a VHS player I include an RCA cable and a tip sheet on how to keep them running for a long time.) The value added component.

This afternoon I stepped next door to deliver some fresh okra and they are babysitting the great grandson. We had a brief visit and though I didn't pick him up I gave him a pat on the cheek and got a sniff of his head - there is something magical about how a baby's hair smells.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 01:05 PM

> water and white vinegar

That sounds like the most aggressive recipe the BBC dares to use when cleaning LPs: a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. Learn from my mistake: cleaning records with that in a confined space is distinctly contraindicated.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 11:46 AM

Sounds like you've picked up where you left off a few short weeks ago, and now have more family partners in musical crime. Good work! (I hope you weren't exposed to the stair-guy's COVID!)

This weekend I started work on the next batch of cardboard to recycle. One of my habits is to keep the box that electronic items came in; at one time if something went wrong manufacturers (or stores) wanted you to return them in the original box. Those days are long gone; in more recent times having the original box for something you're selling on eBay gave it more cachet and the ability to ask a higher price. The boxes I'm finding now won't add value, just dust. It occurs to me that I have some boxes in the attic that can join this growing stack; I'll head up one day this week early in the morning to avoid the heat up there.

That doesn't mean all cardboard is ejected from the house, on the contrary. I ordered two more jigsaw puzzles from the Exploding Kitten (The Oatmeal) artist, and I have several boxes of worked (and complete) puzzles I may put on eBay. I had been donating them and will probably still do that with some. A friend works at a library where they keep one going on a table and anyone can stop by and work it. For me jigsaw puzzles and audiobooks go well together to distract from politics of the day and I've doubled down on that activity lately. When I pick them up in thrift stores there are some artists I see regularly (Wysocki work is attractive but his depth of field is off, making it difficult to place pieces), those featuring collections of things (books, record albums, cheeses, etc.) give the most challenge but also a chance to meditate on the subject matter. I did a great one of the Cinque Terre (alas, Cookie ate a few of the pieces off of the table) that was nice and I see a different puzzle view of the same on Amazon). Never ever Kinkade cross my threshold, I find his work nauseating.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 09:48 AM

Yesterday I went to church and recce’d the choir. They’re not bad; they fell apart right where most choirs do in the Tallis motet “If ye love me”, but recombobulated on the fly and finished well. I’ll investigate further at rehearsal on Thursday. I surprised myself by singing competently in the congregation after not uttering a note for weeks. Such a relief.

Tosh the stairs guy has COVID, so I have at least one more day of lounging around and maybe unpacking a box. Not two. SIL No. 2 is performing in a story-telling show tonight, so I will attend along with the rest of the family to stiffen the crowd and clap loudly. SIL is very good; the others on the bill maybe not so much but we’ll see — and clap just as loudly.

Nephew Patrick (flute player) tells me that one of his favourite sessions is on this week, so it’s time to get out the mandolin and practise. Calluses don’t maintain themselves.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 25 - 04:56 PM

After a modest workout this afternoon the first trashcan full of trimmings is at the curb. I also disassembled the short fence posts, tomato cages, wire trellises, and a few other items that grew into the framework of support for the cucumbers.

The limbs I trashed today were from the huge Maximillian sunflowers instead of the pine tree; they've dried up so much they're pretty ratty looking (the wildlife would love it if I left it right there, but that isn't going to happen.) For now I took a lot off the sides so it isn't crowding my driveway as much and not leaning over the neighbor's yard so much. Next trash day will probably see the rest of it fit in that can.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 25 - 11:21 AM

Sounds like you had a good trip and great visit, Dorothy!

The last few days have been a flurry of activity, such as refilling the spools for my battery-operated string trimmer (after researching string design to use one that cuts better.) Also rooting around in the front room for things packed and ready to describe and sell on eBay, especially seasonal cooking and baking items.

I did some cooking to freeze in single portions, my nacho mix so far. This time of year the freezer is already pretty full from all of the packaged or jarred garden produce. Tomatoes, eggplant, and this year I'm freezing a bunch of okra (since roasting it results in a consistency similar to having been frozen, it might not make a difference to the outcome.) In that past I usually only ate it fried, and from frozen to fried isn't a great consistency.

I fixed my office radio today, where I work while listening to one weekly AM program (from the gardening site I work for). I successfully swapped in an antenna from a different radio. I had been streaming it on the computer and that channel carries awful far right programs the rest of the time. The streaming ads are worse than the ads they broadcast on the radio, for some reason. Who knows what the Google algorithm made of that regular site.

I missed putting out tree limbs during last month's quarterly bulky waste pickup so am going to resort to taking them down one at a time, cutting into pieces, and stuffing into the trash can. We are entering the best time of year for pruning trees (when they start to shut down for winter).

All of this plus more dog walking. Fall is a great time of year.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 07:42 PM

Dupont:
recovering from trip back from Beaver and getting ready for visit from PA friend; Yes, her 69 yr old energy reminds me of my 88 years as I tried to muster enough energy not to be a drone. She was So helpful! I did use up energy that I still do not have back. But it was wonderful to spend a couple days with this dear person. Two days in bed recovering is fine!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 01:31 PM

Your home will feel more normal once the rug is in place. Good luck finding the sofa cushions.

Energy levels and general fitness for some work is impacted by so many things. Thyroid, vitamins, iron - when was your last physical and bloodwork? Time for a tune-up?

The steroids, even low-dose, have impacted me, causing their own level of stress along with the creeping weight gain. I don't want to stay on them so need to stop worrying about staying on them. Hopefully no residual memory stuff once I'm finished with them.

I found a few partial bottles of isopropyl alcohol; if hydrogen peroxide was the proper liquid for cleaning I'd be set. There are several bottles of that plus a big jug of hand sanitizer (with the alcohol, but too much other stuff to be helpful) around here. The peroxide is used in gardening.

Decluttering the computer setup yesterday hit a glitch. I moved a long-standing device plugged in on the front of the old computer to a recently freed-up USB plug, and it refused to completely boot, apparently treating that new location like a boot drive (that device is just a transfer cable). Set to rights this morning. Oh, well, it was time to dust back there anyway. I was able to get the new Bluetooth mouse to operate on both computers so I could unplug the wired mouse from the back.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 11:53 AM

I've just realized that I'm trying to do at 71 what I could easily do at 51, and that I made an unsustainable plan to achieve an unrealistic objective. Somewhere in the back of my mind is a nasty little nag accusing me of laziness. Meanwhile, my body has limits and is enforcing them.

SIL No. 2 has excellent advice for my current slightly wobbly state: First, stop doing stuff. Next, drink a glass of water. Then take a walk. If possible, take a nap. Rinse and repeat. I did all of that except the nap yesterday, then went to bed at nine o'clock. I finally rolled out of the pit this morning at seven-thirty, when both cats started tromping back and forth across my legs in unmistakeable indignation. I'm still a little trembly, so another round of water, walk, and not much else is on the agenda until late this afternoon. Oddly, I'm most energetic in the hours just before supper.

I have only the three remaining 5-cu barrels to unpack in the basement, and I can tackle those in stages next week when it's raining. (I'm still looking for the sofa cushions and the wicker laundry basket, but now I'm pretty sure I know where they are.) Also, I should call the carpet cleaners and ask about pick-up and delivery services, as my current car is not big enough to take a rolled-up eight- by eleven-foot Persian rug. Come to think of it, I'm not strong enough any more to load it by myself, so I really should not try.

Summer is having its last hurrah in Ottawa this weekend, with forecast highs in the upper 20s Celsius under a relentless blue and sunny sky. It's a good thing that I have not packed away my summer dresses; I'll need one if I am to avoid melt-down.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Oct 25 - 10:36 AM

Charmion's Great Upheaval makes me tired just to read about it!
Definitely cut yourself some slack now that you are there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 11:15 PM

Patty you're correct, and I had a sentence in there that I might use isopropyl alcohol, but shortened the post and that went away. I should see how much of it is around the house in the bathrooms and stashed in the pantry.

This evening was a robust cooking event. A batch of babaghanouj, then a double batch of the nacho mix I portion into jars for future meals. Most of the utensils are in the dishwasher. Tomorrow morning I'll spoon the chilled mix into smaller jars to freeze.

A small eBay item listed this morning sold this evening, so into the mail it goes tomorrow. This was priced to go quickly, something I need to do more of.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 07:08 PM

Denatured alcohol is just alcohol with chemicals added so people won't drink it. So I'd use rubbing alcohol or maybe cheap vodka.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 06:51 PM

I heard this tip today: the "Ask This Old House" episode had homeowners painting metal patio furniture. The painter said the best cleaner for the metal is denatured alcohol. I was using water and white vinegar. Ace Hardware sells a five-gallon barrel, way too much. Looks like I'm stuck with Walmart, so an expedition to WallyWorld tomorrow. My theory is there is a dumbing-down filter at those stores, that anyone who enters that parking lot or premises loses 20 IQ points. I'd go to Lowes except there is something else I also need from Walmart.

A grocery shopping trip today in the bulk aisle looking for healthy snacks. I'll see if smoked almonds are any less of a carb hit as my crispy pecans. (It's a lot less work to buy them than to make the pecans.) For other snacks I looked at the packages of string cheese, convenient but expensive small plastic-wrapped pieces. I'll cut a sharp cheddar block into cubes to keep in a container. I take medication in the morning with food, so aim for high protein.

More eBay work this evening, taking photos of an item on the table where I do my puzzles. I use a tablecloth over the top then remove it and am back to puzzling. I sent out a sold item a few days ago and have a couple more to list today. It will take a lot more of this to clear out the backlog, but every sale helps.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 11:23 AM

Charmion, is there any environmental stuff that might be impacting how you feel? The type of paint used, any glue used in the floor installation, etc? Do the air ducts in the house needing a cleaning? Dust or mold in the attic? After all of the work you have gone through, to feel puny now might mean more than just more work has made you tired. Also, please don't catch COVID.

Yesterday I worked on painting two sets of window bars, and on each window I had to shoo away a lizard that was hanging out on the screen over the lower part of the window itself. I didn't want them getting into the paint and harming themselves. It's always something!

Trying to avoid the stress of a government shutdown and keeping the PMR at bay is what I'm struggling with right now. Avoiding the hyper-focus of earlier this year has been manageable, but the news is impossible to completely ignore, and I don't want to. I am working on making my words and actions count the most then moving on to other stuff. So, this weekend I'll write another letter to my representatives before shifting gears to more painting, or maybe finally finishing the fence repair in the back yard. Working outside and listening to the world around is healthy (though last night as I painted the ice cream truck drove by - I'm glad I live in a neighborhood the ice cream truck is willing to visit, but one wonders about a mindless repetition of a tune about a cockroach to sell a dessert item.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Oct 25 - 08:28 AM

All this week I have been feeling weak and unsteady, wobbly on my feet and unfocussed. At first I thought I was taking rather a long time to recover from too much booze after dinner at Elder Brother’s house, but today I’m still dragging my tail and that can’t be why. Maybe — just maybe — I just ran out of metaphorical gas? Exhausted myself? Of course, the series of little glasses (after the wine) did its own share of the damage, but I’m beginning to think it was actually a last straw.

So I’ve been going to bed early and getting up when the cats insist, and avoiding tasks that require sustained effort. Keeping out of Tosh the stair guy’s way is my main occupation, while sorting out the heap of neglected papers (done at last), paying the bills, and picking at the boxes in the basement storage. I have three china barrels (not full of china) and two 4-cu boxes to go.

So far, from the boxes, one wineglass and one Mason jar have turned up smashed. Four pieces of furniture were wounded in transit from Stratford, and I have made arrangements for appropriate repairs.

The bookcase problem remains unsolved, and the twelve 2-cu boxes of books sit untouched in the dining room. I haven’t cracked any of the picture crates in the bunker, either. Next week. Maybe.

Today, the plan is to reconnoitre the community centre with the swimming pool, and sign up for aquafit if I can. I shall also plot the best route through the road construction to the nearest Anglican church, and replenish my veg supply.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 25 - 12:31 PM

Charmion, you've accomplished so much in the last few months that giving a little break before setting up your study is the least you can do. Dorothy, that's the perfect outcome for all of that fabric!

Yesterday's haircut decluttered about 5" so I can still pull it back in a pony tail or do a very short braid, but it comes to just below my shoulders. I think the last time it was this short was after our long confinement due to COVID and I had a bunch cut off to remove the previous highlights I'd been putting in (that grew out during COVID).

The entire week is above normal temperatures and has air quality issues, and next week is forecast to be almost as warm. Work is postponed accordingly. Bleh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 06:42 PM

YAH!! to finding the right owner for cherished items!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 01:48 PM

Dupont:
A Great couple days! A friend from PA made the extra couple hours from the Contra Dance event of Lake George, to our house. A wonderful guest on a day I was feeling lower'n a snake's belly. She helped with everything - her beautiful cheery, encouraging self. Now I have learned a new meal for us, had a wonderful companion for two days, learned a better way of using the big water jug for our distilled water, took her to Isle St. Bernard on a gorgeous day, picked up the veggies at the CLSC - with her advising my choices - then she cooked!!

She went home with two large plastic bags of fabrics that I had unwisely collected over many years and no longer have the energy for, including all the pieces of patterns that had ended up stuffed into the drawers - some pinned to a fabric and cut out.... We were both thrilled - I have a few large empty drawers and she has innumerable projects planned for the winter - when it is too cold to work outdoors. We have similar tastes in colours, etc and she has wonderfully creative ideas. Wonderful that fabrics I have cherished are going to a new home. She also collected some brand new, unworn but outgrown outfits! I might have found more but got tired. I generally only wear T shirts, sweat shirts and very comfortable pants of a highly leisure sort!

I was also glad to pass on a sweat shirt for which she has one similar - from the Quaker Meeting we once attended. AND three of those fancy plates depicting three Quaker Meeting houses down where she still lives! She can pass them on! A treasure trove of the best kind of decluttering! I am elated!

Now I have room in those empty drawers for organizing other stuff!

A retired music teacher who is broadening her music horizons, I suggested she join Mudcat and check the FB page. She has gone to Mardi Gras a couple times and delights in turning her violin into a fiddle!

Now back to real life! Tires to be changed tomorrow and fall servicing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 25 - 01:43 PM

The house is a construction zone again. Antosh the stair guy is about half-way through making and installing the stringers and treads. Risers and the landing are down the road a ways. The sitting room is not a fun zone, and the staircase is an obstacle course. The project will probably take the rest of this week.

This house was built with broadloom in the bedrooms and the hall, and on the stairs. When the carpet was ripped up (cue the great cloud of dust), there was nothing but three-quarter-inch plywood subfloor under it. “Nice flooring” is not found under broadloom in a house like this, built as cheaply as possible and on spec for the working-class and lower middle-class market.

I have been piddling away at sorting out my study, making little progress since I unpacked the last box and loaded the filing cabinet. The heap of tattered papers ranging in importance from critical (house deed) to garbage (sales slips from the gas station) makes my heart sink whenever I look at it. I know I will eventually get my shit together and deal with it but, until I do, it radiates guilt and worry at me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 11:28 PM

It was a late start, but I began painting the bars over one of the full-sized windows this evening. Those over bedroom windows are hinged and lock and this was one of those, so it was opened and the inside painted first. I moved from there to paint front and back the curly ornamental work that runs down the middle bar. Tomorrow I'll paint the rest of the front. It gave me a chance to figure out how much paint per window (I have one quart, and will probably need two to finish the whole house.) Timing-wise it was getting toward sunset, getting into mosquito activity.

Charmion, how do the stairs look? Was there nice flooring under the carpet on the stairs, or do they need new wood?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 05:49 PM

Sometimes I wonder if the family stuff I've held onto for years is of any interest to my kids. The antique furniture, not so much. But we have figured out that my daughter's early xmas present this year will be 6+ yards of silk chiffon velvet my mother bought decades ago.

When I started researching it I realized that to sell it online the price would be huge, and I'd sell it as one piece, and have to be careful that someone didn't pull a stunt like sending it back (swapping the wrong material) or claiming it was wrong. Too many scams out there on some of the high-dollar stuff, so I didn't sell it. Today at lunch she talked about the hats she has been making (reproductions of hats from the 1500s seen in art portraits) and how she needs some silk velvet. I told her about what Mom bought when she was stationed in Japan right after WWII, ca. 1946. Silk chiffon velvet.

Since lunch I sent her my notes and photos from researching the fabric, and she has a more information from reddit: "99% of silk velvet sold these days is silk backing (in the form of a drapey thin chiffon) and rayon pile. To be frank, if your silk velvet costs less than $300/yd, you are getting silk/rayon."

She has been making historic costumes for years, but found the response to hats to be just as enthusiastic and they don't take as long to make. Hats are also more likely to fit more people than the garments designed for various body types. The rayon/silk fabric is good for testing, for samples and bulk stuff, the velvet from Japan is for special work.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 11:11 AM

ICE overreach

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 10:56 AM

Ottawa is having an unusually warm autumn; here we are at the end of September and no sign of frost yet. Yesterday's high was 27C, which is just wrong.

The phone menu misery Stilly describes is one of my new bugbears, too. I have to contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre to tell the minions there that I have moved, but I can't get beyond the first hurdle without my Pension Number, which is, of course, in a document that is still in a filebox that is still in a stack in the half-organized study.

That can wait until tomorrow. Or next week.

Antosh the stair guy is hard at work, but taking long breaks on the porch to manage some kind of divorced-parent crisis by phone. I am so glad that bullet never came for me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 10:34 AM

Decluttering the savings ended up requiring a phone call; I paid a big chunk toward the mortgage principal but it was credited as the October payment plus extra. Nope. I wound through the maze of the phone system prompts to finally reach a person (and their website also sucks, in case they wonder what I think). Will be credited properly (I used bill pay from my credit union and they no longer have a line for an added note, so I need to reproach them on that failure).

Shopping and lunch today, and a haircut tomorrow. What a busy week socially! I've signed up to go to a lecture on my old campus next week.

We have had a number of air quality warnings lately, and yesterday's expired in early evening so I took the dogs for a walk before sunset. We need to do a lot more of that now that the weather is cooler (and the pavement isn't dangerously hot for them to walk on.) Even as low as this dose of steroids is I'm feeling it and need to not just watch the calories, but also get more exercise. Same ol' same ol' - when the low-carb high protein diet doesn't work as well because a medication is causing the munchies.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Sep 25 - 09:54 AM

Have not been stopped on back roads. Have crossed the border on foot a hundred times, and inside-the-border-checkpoints in vehicles another hundred. Once in a while I'll have them peer in the windows, only one ever asked to look in the RV which could have carried a dozen people.

But usually I get the wave through, or a quick hello to see if I have an accent. I often feel like June Cleaver, sailing through above reproach, because of light skin and blue eyes. It is a very bizarre system and a colossal waste of money, since people and commerce have been crossing the border for hundreds of years. Imagine your people living in an area for a dozen generations, and you still get stopped for driving while brown.

Our part of the border has occasional violence and drama, but usually is very low key. So far I think the ICE goon squads concentrate their efforts where population is dense.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 10:35 PM

Patty, years ago I was pulled over at Van Horn on I-10 because I was driving a Chevy Silverado with a camper shell on the back. Bogus speeding stop (I was 3 miles over) - it turns out it was "probable cause" - people can be moved inside the shells of pickups like that and he wanted to take a look. My 18-year-old son was impressed at my pushback about the stop ("really? Three miles over?" Really?") That was during the Obama administration. Now with all of the ICE/Border Patrol emboldenment, have you been stopped when you're driving around on those back roads? You're within 100 miles of the border. Stay safe, friend, and if you have to deploy the rock hammer, make the first blow count. I suggest using the pointy end.

Keberoxu, it's a classic situation with a man getting his way even though he can't meet the qualifications of the group. Someone should tutor him on the side so he can at least read the music (but let that be another man - less pushback).

Charmion, enjoy watching the hardwood stairs guy at work. A small bonus in the midst of all of this churn.

High drama looms with the possible government shutdown here, so I intentionally spent the day away from the news and screens, instead spending a couple of hours on a new jigsaw. I'll be damned if Trump is going to keep me on steroids. I'll listen to my audiobook for a while this evening (I am watching the two programs each Monday that give a lot of information, but then I turn it off again.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 08:33 PM

keb, I hope you have a great time with the Christmas music, it's so good to celebrate the season that way, it helps it not all be about gifting.

Well, today I prioritized getting out in the field with a couple of non-collector friends, goathead weeds be damned. It was rocky going at times, but turned out a lovely day, and one buddy turned out to be a great offroad driver. The initial mines in the low Victorio Mtns that I targeted were hard to get to, and the local rock uninspiring.

But we left via a different route, and stumbled on a lovely alternate site and found some goodies. It's accessible enough I can go back, perhaps with a collector who won't mind pawing around for longer.

Then I explored a few other local roads closer to home, and learned which roads on the maps and GPS are in fact no longer there. Lots of notes to make while the info is fresh.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 06:24 PM

I'll be off to chorus rehearsal for the week in a few minutes.
Just reflecting on this month's rehearsals so far.
A bunch of choristers, I am told, who were out for a year or two have returned.
I know of one member who is de-cluttered from the chorus, just for the fall semester.
We spend the fall semester preparing Christmas Concerts for December.
In the bass section, I have mentioned that bass who does not read music and
does everything by ear, and has the deepest, lowest, loudest bass voice in his section.
He works hard, but he can be a little hard to work with sometimes.
He'll be back for the big spring concert.
But he is de-cluttered from the fall semester (absent)
because he is an observant Jew and objects to singing in Christmas concerts.
At least, that's what the conductor told me
when I remarked on the man's absence.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Sep 25 - 09:18 AM

No chutney this year; I still have most of last year’s batch. I don’t have a church bazaar to support (yet), and these days my various relatives don’t go through it at speed. Several jars of marmalade and chutney are packed in a wine box stashed in Brother Andrew’s basement.

The hardwood stairs guy starts work tomorrow, which means the last of the awful broadloom will be gone by Wednesday. It looks worse every day, so I can hardly wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 25 - 04:57 PM

Two more pints of fresh pickles are cooling on the kitchen counter before refrigeration. Since it's only September I can start a new batch of plants - cucumbers, squash, and things like broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I don't usually grow broccoli or cauliflower - it's slow growing - but did have luck with broccoli years ago. The tomatoes are at this point a large hedge that is still growing - I didn't cut down the existing batch and I see a few fruits forming now. I threw out all of the old seeds so as not to waste time with non-viable stock, so will see what looks good at the neighborhood nursery and plant from seed or bedding plants. It's liberating to be free of the old seed packs that I always thought I ought to give a try, but when they didn't grow, or not many, it was a waste of the growing season.

At bedtime last night I messed myself up with my reading material. Since I had moved over to audiobook versions of a couple of books I've been reading I picked up another, Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale. He wrote Junkyard Planet that I know I talked about several times in the past. Anyway, just reading about all of the stuff in the homes of older folks and how it is being handled as they move to senior living or after they die got my brain to spinning about all of my projects here and I just wasn't getting to sleep. During the wee hours I drank a cup of chamomile tea and worked on the new jigsaw before trying again. Reading about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge would have been relaxing, but as an audiobook I didn't want to fall asleep with the headphones on and have to go back over however much I slept through later.

Charmion, I bragged about your rapid-fire move and progress on the new house to a friend of mine who is doing something similar right now. Mainly about going ahead and painting as you first move in. She has furniture that was in a house with a different color and is debating about reupholstering, but it seems it would be easier, faster, and much cheaper to simply paint the rooms that furniture will be in. She's worried about painting in rooms with carpet. (Alas, she's in an HOA and they've already heard through the grapevine that a neighbor has complained about over-tall shrubs in the back yard and mosquitoes in a fountain in the front yard. Note to self: send her information about Summit Mosquito Dunks. I will never, ever, buy in an HOA situation.)

Edited note: Did you have some of last year's chutney or other preserves to pack and bring to the new house? Now that you're in place, will you plan to make a modest batch just to break in the new/old kitchen?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - '25-26
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Sep 25 - 04:49 PM

I am drinking beer in the bunker in front of an interesting video on YouTube. The kitchen sink is showing signs of distress, but right now I don’t care: sufficient unto Monday is the household problem that must wait for a plumber’s availability. Tonight, I’m off to the home of Brother No. 1 for dinner, armed with two bottles of pinot noir. Oh, luxury — I will not be driving!

I think this is the first year in decades in which I have not made any kind of preserves at all, not even chutney.