DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Feb 26 - 04:51 PM

This week I reached the 1mg/day dose for tapering Prednisone for four weeks and am finally losing weight gained from the steroid munchies in the earlier part of the treatment, with 10 pounds to go. It's helpful that this spring there will be a lot of physical activity in the yard.

If my washer repair goes as planned Wednesday I still have spare undies before I need to do laundry. The laundry basket isn't too full yet, but with some things, like jeans, I have favorites and right now two of those favorites are in the laundry basket so I'm visiting some of the lesser-used pairs in my closet.

This federal holiday is so minor on our municipal calendar that it won't effect our trash pickup. The big ones - July 4, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years are the only days that bump the schedule. Banners are making the social media rounds that say "Presidents Day is Canceled until we get a real one." No one closes but the post office and banks.

Longer days and lots of sunshine are wonderful for my mood. I was out in the back with the dogs earlier, checking the view now that the next door tree has been removed (their yard looks naked), and checking the state of some of my plantings. Weedy grass is starting to grow so I'll be mowing soon.

Lately I'm back to wearing my hair up, twisted and in a big clip, since realizing that it is thicker after taking the biotin and the dry gelatin for at least a year. The pony tail was my usual style for a few years because it didn't stay put with the clip.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Feb 26 - 09:07 AM

Today is a statutory holiday in Ontario — “Family Day” because nobody could think of a better reason to celebrate in the dead heart of winter — so every official routine event takes place 24 hours later than usual this week. That includes garbage and recycling pick-up. The weather looks deeply unpromising, with a colourless sky and snow in the forecast, so I’ve no idea what fun and games families are likely to enjoy except maybe Dungeons & Dragons in a nice cosy house.

As for me, I shall change the bed linen, which has achieved peak cat hair, and do the laundry. Hydro rates are lowest on Sundays and stat holidays, and yesterday I just didn’t wanna.

The weekend was comparatively mild, so I hoofed around the neighbourhood, staying in the long park as much as possible. The people who clear the delightfully walkable paths in the park evidently work to a much higher performance standard than the contractors who plow the city sidewalks, which are consistently mucky and potentially lethal in places due to great lumpy slabs of refrozen slush.

Roll on Spring.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Feb 26 - 12:02 PM

Organizing myself this weekend. The US stock market has taken another hit (ah, politics) and the last time it dropped like this I added to my ROTH IRA. Now I'm so close to paying off the house that I invested in myself by making an extra large mortgage payment. This was done on impulse; they require a call to them before the final payout and Monday is a bank holiday, so I paid half of it and will make that call in the next few weeks. (Since there is escrow they may subtract that from my final payment instead of me paying them and them refunding it to me.)

My passport needs renewal so I took some photos last week that I wasn't happy with. Yesterday I tried again after using cosmetics to make my eyebrows visible and added lip gloss. The hair was left down because when it's in a ponytail strands of hair stick out in all directions around my face and I look a little crazy. Otherwise I never wear makeup (for a combination of laziness and allergy reasons).

On the "stay afloat" thread I described an SD card that was still in a used Nikon Coolpix that arrived yesterday. I had an identical camera that was given to my daughter for her travel to Japan several years ago. I've asked her about it, it's packed somewhere after their move to the new property. There's no point in waiting for her to find it again, so I shopped around and found a used one on eBay. I cleaned the battery compartment (white vinegar for evidence of a leaking battery), wiped it down in general (isopropyl alcohol), washed the case and strap to remove a slight perfume, and popped the old SD card into the computer card reader to find photos from 2010-11. I ordered a replacement lens cap and added my larger SD card. This camera is so much easier to use than the little one I bought last year (for use at protests while I keep my phone safely tucked away). Phones have largely replaced "bridge" and smaller cameras so companies stopped producing most small cameras. Unless you want to drop $1000+ for a super high end one, used is the way to go.

Next: start the income taxes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Feb 26 - 05:08 PM

A beautiful mild and sunny day today, so I went out for a long walk. It’s been a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Feb 26 - 03:00 PM

Noisy morning here with an early phone call followed by a thunderstorm. I'm now in the repairman arrival window, so lots of churn in the house. The dogs might stay in the garage if I put them out in the back yard, but Pepper hates the thunder and it would be much louder out there.   

Surprising how much stuff is stored around the washer. Washing products and battery tools, a short ladder and mops and brooms. I used a small transfer pump for about 20 gallons of the water and what remains will allow for testing and is little enough so we can move the machine.

Ongoing over the weekend the new gardening website is under repair. The gardening guru's daughter set up this GoDaddy site for him and they were both confused about the continual site down codes, but every time we put out a podcast that brings more traffic, it made the problem worse. I spelled it out in a Simple English email with easy descriptions and bold quotes from the guy who set up the site (he discussed a couple of higher-traffic plans they could convert to). After that she called to change the plan and migrate to a more robust system (will take a couple of days). I'm taking that time off.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Feb 26 - 10:54 PM

The elections in March are party primaries to winnow down the number of candidates for each race the November general election. Who knows, there could be May runoffs if no one gets 50% in the primaries. Ranked choice voting sounds like a rational approach to save time and money so it will never happen here in Texas.

Congratulations on finding someone who wants to work with wood for your cabinets!

Getting an appointment for the Sears-affiliated repair guy to came out was quick this time but my whole afternoon tomorrow is dedicated to waiting for him to arrive in the 1-5pm window. That will be just the beginning, because chances are the part won't be in the service van (or a new washer will have to be ordered if the repair is too high and he totals my machine).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Feb 26 - 09:45 PM

You’re having yet another election? How do you keep track?

Here in my corner of suburban Ottawa, I’m still sitting out the winter. It’s a bit warmer, but walking around is still a challenge due to the frozen slush on the streets and sidewalks. Today I actually finished putting up pictures so I could put away the tool box, but other changes are due to start soon — Marc the contractor found a cabinetmaker who likes wood as much as I do. He’s a Syrian named Waseem who seems deeply curious about whatever he sees — kinda like me.

Lent begins next week, which means Spring ain’t far behind. i can hardly wait.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Feb 26 - 11:57 AM

The most recent video sent to post for the gardening guru was somewhat out of focus and I've run copies of it through a couple of unsharp masks to try to fix it. He's not going to be happy with this one. I need to make a preset in the Handbrake program to process these in one step. I went looking for the handbook for robust Adobe Premiere Pro - it's 500 pages, so not something I'm going to get to right away. I need to look into the Lynda training software, if I still have access through the university.

The washer has finally quit draining altogether. It was on the spin cycle so items are being wrung out to hang dry and I'll call the repair guy this afternoon. It begins - the decision to repair or replace? I have a home warranty that will cover part of it whichever way the tech names.

This Friday the 13th I'm feeling out of sorts. No triskaidekaphobia, just the feeling like things are more rapidly spinning out of control here in the US and this date might be a good excuse for something awful to happen.

On a positive note, I made another batch of yogurt overnight and the daffodils are starting to bloom. I moved a planter of thriving green onions from the garage back to the potting bench to snip for my salads. Progress on the spring cleaning with the bedroom finished and now moving into the halls and bathrooms. And I mailed my ballot at the post office.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 26 - 10:42 PM

Finished the cat gig and have a few days before the next thing that might take me out of the house. I think an early start on spring cleaning is in order, so tomorrow should be spent dusting and vacuuming. Let's see if I can make myself act on my good intentions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 26 - 11:04 AM

Over the weekend I pulled up to an estate sale in the historic section of town. Walking in it looked like a hoarder's stash finally being thinned out. The condition of everything was dirty and disheveled, and a short conversation with the man running it convinced me that he views the importance of the things beyond what most people would. Thinning out and selling might be a sign of recovery, if not a complete one.

Yesterday I drove over to the lecture on campus, and while I spotted only a couple of acquaintances (from the library) it was good to be out amongst people. Yes, I wore a mask, and I saw quite a few others being prudent that way. I didn't have time to do the eWaste run also, that will be for another day.

Next door they're taking down the huge tree that has nurtured a shade garden but also drops huge branches in windstorms. The dynamic back there is going to change while the tall slim red oak in the back of my back yard now has an opportunity to fill out and hopefully replace some of that shade.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Feb 26 - 01:33 PM

.... The Discworld website (wiki.lspace.org) is silent on whether the actual imspiration might have been a Roundworld postie I remember hearing of on the news. He got chronically overloaded, and stuffed his house over several years with the overflow. How *that* was decluttered, I know not.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 26 - 01:25 PM

A computer scan on the main desktop came up with some "PUPs" that are potentially unwanted files. Unusual, but Malwarebytes quarantined all. Now that the old desktop is online again I decided to extend the full-octane antivirus/threat monitoring program over there. Turns out it was only a few dollars and my account allows up to five at this level so the home networked devices are completely subscribed.

This morning I stepped on the scale to see how much damage the prednisone has done. It has leveled off and next week I taper down a milligram and am almost off of it. Even though the carbs I was getting weren't as bad as sugar or wheat, they still had an effect, so I'm going closer to keto for a while to drop back to the weight I was at last year at this time.

Another non-moving eBay listing is down and those parts or repair devices go into the SUV for a trip to the eWaste bin. Time to take that new utility buggy for a spin.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Feb 26 - 01:15 PM

> Fibber McGee's Closet

Hm: Might this be a possible source for the state of the Anck-Morpork Post Office at the start of Going Postal?

.... OK, OK, mea maxima culpa: I've just glanced round the bookshelves in the study, where putting back a book often requires a mallet.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Feb 26 - 12:30 PM

The athlete who knows when to quit is a rare bird indeed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 10 Feb 26 - 10:59 AM

She could have gracefully stepped aside and let someone else pursue their Olympic dreams. Very selfish of someone to put their own ego first. And frankly, the coach should have stepped in and made the decision.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Feb 26 - 11:59 PM

Running running running this week. Cat care is somewhat of a moving target as the return home from the vet boarding date for the little guy seems to have advanced a day, meaning I have to be there more often to feed him the last day. It may also interfere with my lecture plans tomorrow evening. I'll see if I can fob them off with an earlier than usual dinner.

I've moved more items into the SUV to take to the eWaste bin, and may add a couple more tomorrow. A big basket of junk mail made it to the city recycling bins today and I have the impression that they empty them more frequently than the last vendor, making it easier to take stuff down when I want to and not wait until chances are they're empty (or at least there's room without cramming piece by piece into the recycling version of Fibber McGee's Closet.

I saw some nice ice dancing pairs this evening on the Olympics, but turned it off when they were back out at the slopes. How many times must we hear the story of Lindsay Vaughn and her ill-fated final attempt at a comeback? The knee injury was the clue that she should stop while she was ahead. I don't think she modeled perseverance, I think she wasn't paying attention to what her body was telling her and acted foolishly. The knee may not have been the "cause" of her crash, but it was a harbinger named Cassandra. My two cents.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Feb 26 - 11:41 PM

MaJoC, I learned about sulfites around the time I learned about coconut in many products, and both give me skin issues. Sulfites make my ears itch and cause some breaking out around the back of my neck (sounds odd, and so localized, doesn't it?) before they get my hands. Coconut on the menu (or use anything with sodium laureth sulfate or cocamide this or laureth that), my hands and scalp really take a hit. Soaps, shampoo, lotions, foods with the oil, so many products have it. I have a PDF list of the FDA Guide to foods and drugs with sulfites, if you'd like a copy. PM me your email and I'll send it.

Keeping my interest in the Olympics is simple: offer solid blocks of figure skating instead of switching out to other events that I have less interest in every 20-30 minutes. They bait-and-switch, hoping I'll stick around for what I want and watch the ads.

Today as I climbed the sturdy step-ladder to change a lightbulb in a hall fixture I realized I couldn't remember the last time a bulb needed replacing. Over a few years I replaced incandescent with LED and they last a long time. The dead bulb was an old fluorescent curly one I didn't know was still in the house.

This weekend was busy but I managed a number of self-care chores and cooking. I've just put away a baked chicken breast (I wonder at the full size of the bird - this is enough for two or three meals) and a bowl of pumpkin pie filling (no crust).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 08 Feb 26 - 12:17 PM

That ice performance was lovely to watch, thanks for sharing it. I used to enjoy the figure skating also, but gave up when they started plastering the backboards with various ads, it took away so much of the beauty I would just get frustrated. That clip had a lot of the performance against white backboards, and how wonderful that neither was there any babbling by the announcer.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 08 Feb 26 - 12:03 PM

Charmion's comment about Watson reminded me that one of our previous feline tenants tended to, erm, Use the bath when caught short. Curiously, he used to score a bullseye on the plug'ole, which was most convenient of him.

Stilly, re sulphites in wine: Thanks for the tip. There was me blaming the new pills (for gout) for my fingers starting to fray, which is particuarly annoying when the plasters get in the way of fretting chords.

Wood furniture: Physics in the University of Nottingham was built post-WW2, and kitted out with wooden lab benches. It was Decided that said benches weren't good enough, as they'd only lasted half a century of (ab)use; rumour was that Someone Important had banged his knee on a table leg when spinning round on a computer swivel chair. The metal replacements, which lacked front legs, were found to last all of six months before they started sagging under the weight. The engineering team were asked to fix them, and got roundly laughed at for buying tat. Were we going to give them the old tables back? were we buggery: they didn't want them, so we found them good homes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 07:57 PM

In the southern US tulip trees (also called yellow poplar) were at one time used as timbers in mines (in the South was primarily coal mines). The story is that while the wood is strong, if it begins to fail in the mine it makes loud cracking noises (moreso that other wood) and gives people time to escape. That's a bit of my park ranger lore collected when working in the Smoky Mountains, and is pretty much the extent of my mine architecture knowledge. I'm more conversant with the contents of tailings of western gold, silver, and copper mines.

Executive decision today when I went looking for a couple of new silicone mats for the kitchen sink and decided not to shop Amazon. The Container Store had a sale going, so I found mats plus a modest sized new trash can, an upgrade from the bag in the unlidded Rubbermaid bin. As if I didn't already have two surplus large trash cans now I have this smaller one to find a new use for or give away. How many am I going to drill holes and fill with soil for gardening?

Lentil soup and a pork chop for dinner tonight, with a salad on the side. I'm finally shaking some of the side effects (munchies) of the Prednisone and should be losing the weight it packed on over the summer and fall. I'm realizing my memory is better, the Prednisone effects synapses that have to do with short term memory, but it seems to be temporary.

Do I want to watch the Olympics? Not much, but I usually get sucked into the individual and pairs figure skating if I come across it. The best routine ever was Torvill and Dean in 1984 dancing to Bolero.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 06:04 PM

Stilly, our grandfather was head-hunted out of North America by the UK's Ministry of Industry to work in their timber mechanics laboratory designing mine support systems (that's pit props for those who are not in on the game). He got involved in the use of wood in aircraft structures in de Havilland's DH.91 Albatros and DH.98 Mosquito aircraft. Among other things, he wound up shooting holes in Mosquitos to find out how readily repairable they were as combat aircraft.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 04:55 PM

Several years ago I read an article about a regional company which collected all the flood-damaged items people put out after one of our many 1-in-a-hundred-year floods. They recycled more than half of it - can't remember the details now, some for reuse, some for materials so "only" 40% went to landfill.

sandra

just as a PS - many people including 2 loud but relatively minor very right wing parties say there is no climate change. The oldest party used to be called the Country Party when it supported farmers & other people who lived on the land.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 11:06 AM

I hope there is a resurgent interest in darker antique furniture in my lifetime so the pieces I've lugged around for decades get some respect. That's an interesting historical tidbit Andrew shared. What line of work was he in? Private timber or construction, or military engineering, or perhaps academic? Or a combination of those?

I have tickets to hear the noted journalist Bob Schieffer speaking at my university campus next week, so I'll leave early enough to lug a bunch of eWaste to the library first. Items listed on eBay for many weeks that don't sell (for parts or repair) have no other use but scrap. They're going into the SUV, then on campus into my new utility cart to lug them to the library bin. I typically get an extra ticket in case someone else wants to go with me for the program and doesn't mind tagging along for my other errands. If not, I'll turn it in at the door for someone else (they're free, so it isn't hard on my pocketbook).

The garden work can start any time now but we haven't had rain in a couple of weeks. I may have to do some watering before I start tilling. Since I have a new city-supplied huge trash bin I now have two large plastic bins with no other use. I may cut one of them down to use the bottom 30 inches for planting sweet potatoes. The top part can go in the recycle bins at the village; I suspect quite a few may end up there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 10:27 AM

Sandra, the fashion for not-brown furniture is beginning to ebb if I am to believe what I see in American videos and articles about home décor. The fixation on all-grey interiors has definitely relaxed, and I’m seeing more and more blather about “warm” interiors that doesn’t cover draft exclusion and central heating. We’re heading back to hygge, and not before time.

What I dislike most is fake anything. I don’t want laminate or plastic-coated pressboard that “looks just like” or “is just as good as” wood; I want wood. What’s more, after a lifetime of financial prudence, I am finally in a position to insist on getting what I ask for.

After yet another “snow event” — not a storm, just enough new snowfall to gum up residential streets and drift dangerously across arterials — the forecast high today is -17°C with an unspeakable wind chill. The church choir is having a potluck supper that will require me to assemble a cheese tray and actually leave the house, so I devoutly hope I will have a good enough time to repay the effort.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 07 Feb 26 - 10:17 AM

Charmion, you are the granddaughter of a cabinetmaking timber mechanics engineer whose deathless prose on /Utility Stubs/ still guides standards agencies and power and telecommunications companies some 90 years after he wrote it. I am certain that Granddad and Dad would agree with your insistence on real wood.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Feb 26 - 04:45 PM

I pass a carpenter who works in real wood once a week. He is set up in a 1-car garage under a very small block of apartments. He looks busy every time I pass.

We have a new generation of people who hate brown wood furniture! They are renowned for leaving all their modern crap on the side of the street when they move! Some piles of stuff have a Council reference number as they await collection for destruction! Most are just dumped.

A few years back a friend watched in horror as a valuable 1950s/60s classic Australian table was pulled into the jaws of a compactor truck, had she seen it earlier she could have sent her son or husband over to put it in their front yard for later collection by a well known charity that renovates furniture for sale or donation to people needing it.

I love my grandmother's dressing table & wardrobe but wonder if my niece will do so, tho as she & her partner are set up ... I also have a lovely 1920s kitchen dresser with beautiful stained glass doors I bought decade ago. Anyway, the details of the afore mentioned organiation are on the list my sister has for when I pop off the twig.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Feb 26 - 12:12 PM

80°F — yikes. It’s -12°C (11°F) here, and not getting any warmer for probably a week.

Marc the contractor arrived this morning with an estimator from a cabinetry company, who measured up and chatted politely about needs and wants until I asked, “Can you do all this in clear-coat maple?” There was an uncomfortable few seconds while the cabinets guy looked uncertain, and then he said, “We don’t do anything in wood.” Cue the drop of Charmion’s jaw.

Nothing? Nothing. It’s all variations on MDF, particleboard and melamine. “Why is wood so important?” asked the cabinets guy. “I like wood!” I said with a splutter, indicating my handsome old (wooden) furniture and the red oak flooring. “It’s beautiful! It’s the real thing!” And, to be blunt, this renovation will cost a helluva lot of money from which I intend to get a result that pleases me.

So that was a bit of a bust. Marc promised to shake the bushes for cabinetmakers who work with actual wood.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Feb 26 - 10:12 AM

I'm swapping the types of carbs as I taper further off of Prednisone and the munchies subside, for more "slow carbs" versus the sugary ones. Nuts versus grains, etc. And finally off the dark chocolate (I meant to drop it weeks ago but couldn't resist another case of the bars; I'm out and they didn't have any more when I was there yesterday, so that's just as well.)

Today my cat schedule includes visiting the littlest guy over at the vet (her request - we negotiated to every other day - he's there for a medical issue so new that she hasn't worked out the meds yet). When I'm at the house and have to wait until it's time for his insulin (usually 45 minutes to an hour after he eats) I often sit down with a book and he typically hops into my lap. So I'll take my current book over and simply sit with him in my lap for a while. It's on my way to Costco where I'll get gas, so works out for both of us.

Up to 80 today, so time to start working in the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 05 Feb 26 - 11:16 AM

The mini-split system is working fine this winter. The one is sometimes noisy but works, and being up to my ass in other alligators right now, service will have to wait for another time, perhaps when it quits working. I did jot down the name of an efficient-looking HVAC service truck in town, so maybe I'll be ready. In a smallish town so many of these guys don't have 'offices' to call, and I don't want to end up with the one who doesn't quite know what he's doing.

Wasted multiple days this week on 2 tech problems. One got solved at last, and the other one just can't be resolved right now.

It's a lot easier to keep chores and to-do lists under control when your prime objective for the day doesn't involve going down ratholes for hours at the keyboard.

Made some real homemade baked goods, and my stomach and mind are happier and less prone to overdo. I think I've been hurting myself by leaning on purchased cookies etc., they are probably right about all the additives being bad for us. I pretty much gave up baking when we decide to cut back on carbs, but it's time to compromise and bake here and there when it is helpful.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Feb 26 - 10:06 AM

My cat-sitting gig is in a historic part of town where many homes were built without central heating and air, so a lot of these 1900's era houses have air conditioners poking out of windows (renovating to put in the central climate control is a huge expense). It got me to wondering if Patty's slim wall units are both heating and air conditioning? And how are they working this winter?

This is another one-day-at-a-time week with so many things on my calendar that it's easiest to just focus on today. Cats, dentist, picking up ex and shopping. I'm going to try for some trips to the gym since I haven't been there in ages.

Frosty mornings lead into warm afternoons in the 60s and 70s. Gardening weather is almost upon us; this afternoon I'll see if I have time to take the string trimmer out to knock down dry grass in the gardens (I'll also run the tiller, but I'll leave that to tomorrow.)

This morning I was looking presentable enough that I used a bare white wall in the hall and took a few selfies. It's time to renew my passport and my daughter tells me they'll take your own photos if the background is plain. (I used to get that kind of photo at the drug store in the camera department - I wonder if they even have those any more? Developing film is almost obsolete these days.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 02:31 PM

Paper declutter today, after answering a question for a friend about a windfall she received (back pay on a disability account that was approved) and how to go about some future purchases. First things first, give a little time after her bills are all paid off to let her credit score rise and establish a pattern. I was looking for past credit reports of mine to show how soon a windfall affected my score and trying to give her a timeline. Wading through those records revealed a number of old loan documents to shred (they went out in the trash this morning).

I've been here for 20+ years and occasionally change utilities (power, internet, cable, etc.) so leaving bread crumbs helps. Every two years I change my electric company to get a new customer discount, and the best rate comes with auto pay. I spent the morning going through records to put a few sheets in the file so I can see when I changed and to what, and made sure that the old account was no longer going to send any more bills.

It's a warm sunny day, time to step away from the computer and get outside.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 11:47 AM

The house where I cat sit is full of cat gear, including a cordless hand vac in each bathroom where the boxes sit. I prefer a counter brush with a dust pan, much less noisy and more efficient (at my house that brush will never be used on a counter). That gig starts tomorrow.

Knock wood: I seem to have found one of the washer settings that runs the whole cycle without hitting the "not draining" code partway through. Running a second rinse was habit, but isn't really necessary and it seemed to be the source of strain on whatever pump part stalling out. For now it's easier to adjust my usage than it is to call in a tech and go through the fu$$ of a repair (I try to not replace these things if they can be repaired.)

Three eBay boxes out of the house in the last week, but to further empty it there are some things that need recycling (when selling for "parts or repair" doesn't find a taker). On the "staying afloat" thread I mentioned getting a new folding utility cart (fabric over a frame and with silent wheels). When things don't sell they are recycled, but carrying this stuff across campus in tote bags to the eWaste bin can be heavy, hence the cart. It will have other uses but that is the one that floats to the top of the list.

Hoping for no more snow or ice, I have many trips out in the next 10 days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 26 - 10:29 AM

A second litter box in the bathroom would require daily scooping and careful sweeping as the litter gets tracked everywhere within six feet of the box. That makes it more of a maintenance issue than the occasional pool of cat pee in the bathtub that I can rinse down the drain with a 30-second blast from the shower head, which is the hand-held kind on a long hose.

More snow today, so I’m not in any hurry to leave the house.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 01:16 PM

Are you going to put a litter box in that upstairs bathroom? (I saw a short video this weekend of a wire rack set over the porcelain of a toilet and a set of steps to the side that an elderly pug climbed then peed through the rack.) I had a lovely hand-me-down rug under my dining table that Poppy (the old catahoula/blue heeler) loved to sleep on, but as deaf as she was nothing disturbed her during the night to go out in the yard and she sometimes left a puddle. When I finally decided that cleaning that rug wasn't enough and rolled it up for the trash, I wrote clearly across the roll "No, you don't want this rug. Dog pee" or something like that, so it did indeed go into the trash truck.

The sky is blue here also, and it is supposed to reach 60. It's time to start digging the garden beds and get the red (Irish) potatoes planted. I can get the tiller out after trimming the area and prepare spots for planting them. I won't be planting sweet potatoes in the garden this year or for a while, there were weevils in that crop last year. I may go ahead and put them in smart pots or buckets, but keeping those cool enough and with enough water is always difficult.

Extending dry January into February, and my skin is gradually clearing after the effect of sulfites in the wine I consumed in the last few weeks of 2025. It takes a while. I remembered I have a tube of hydrocortisone cream to apply once a day and that will speed healing.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 09:57 AM

The sun is bright and the sky is blue in Ottawa this morning, which in February means that it’s freakin’ cold. The snowbanks are as high as an elephant’s eye, and frozen slush makes a hazard zone of every parking lot. The car is filthy, due to said slush thrown up by the wheels of every vehicle on the road, and there’s absolutely no point in washing it for a while yet. My lined jeans were in the wash yesterday, so I had to wear longjohns to church for the first time in ten years. Crows and chickadees are the only birds I see on a given day. Tracks in the snow on my porch indicate reconnaissance by the local raccoons. My next-door neighbour’s never-driven car nestles in snow up to its windows, with a foot more piled on the roof.

The forecast for today indicates a high of — gasp! — -8°C this afternoon, so I shall go for a walk in the park. Cabin fever is real, and it’s all too easy to frowst in the house for weeks while waiting for conditions to improve. At New Year I vowed to get outside on foot whenever the thermometer crawled above -10°C, and today looks like my first chance in way too long.

But first, I must put away the laundry and vacuum the Persian carpets in the sitting room and the bunker.

Watson (aging tomcat) has decided that trudging to the litter box is too much to ask if the urge for a piss hits him when he’s upstairs, so he uses the bathtub. I have decided that he’s doing me a favour; we’ve had the alternative and it was expensive.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Feb 26 - 12:03 AM

More cleaning, kitchen and elsewhere, and cooking for today and leftovers. Vacuuming the den was picking up the mix of dog hair, chewed sticks and dry grass the dogs picked up when rolling in the yard. When the yard isn't wet, producing mud, the ground is dry and the dogs have spots they like to roll that now have dead grass.

I've seen Dorothy post on Facebook finally, but she hasn't turned up here for a while. I hope all is well and she's in the house that serves them best in winter and dicey weather. This is the time of year when our old friend Gary (gnu) used to talk about the snow piled up to the roof at his house, or post snowbank photos from his security cam on FB. How many of our regular participants are snowed in right now?

Over the last week I've heard the local pack of coyotes singing across the road, and last night, outside my back fence. I made sure the dogs were in (they heard and didn't seem inclined to race out like some of my previous dogs would have, to join in song). Huge flocks of crows seemed to be arguing amongst themselves, like a couple of gangs squaring off churning through the air and then in the trees of the neighborhood. Our wildlife is beginning to seem a bit dystopian, kind of like our country.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 26 - 12:19 AM

I should have known who would have the answer about the mud. :)

Another super cold day here today, but I got out of the house to give a tour at the museum. Perfect weather for big soft neck wraps (most of them loops rather than simple scarves) on top of the winter jacket and hat. I didn't always wear them, but I use them religiously in cold weather now.

This evening the kitchen got scoured and I even vacuumed the coils under the fridge. It's not like I had that on my list for today, though I do have a chart on the fridge that suggests a strategy for cleaning the entire house in one day (the chart has been there for years; I don't believe I could manage that job in one day). This was just three hours when mysteries played on PBS to follow along as I worked.

I'm relearning how to use some of the software in the old computer for producing podcasts for the gardening site. I should probably learn to use the most robust of the programs (an Adobe product) and do all of my changes in one place instead of farming tasks out to different pieces of software. Thank dog for Handbrake and Audacity (both up to date) and the really old Windows Movie Maker.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Jan 26 - 02:46 PM

Lol, that would be 'high relative compaction'. When doing grading and earthwork, you'll never get soils or clays to pack down densely as possible in a dry state. So you use a water truck and put some water in the system.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 26 - 11:30 AM

It's a sweatpants kind of day, freezing morning and into the 50s this afternoon as we prepare for another deep freeze over the weekend (but no snow or ice).

The winter mud season has started, the dog footprints are clearly defined across the den floor - is there a scientific name for the consistency or viscosity of mud after a wet freeze? The molecules have aligned in such a way during the freeze that they are more dense and pasty.

Our first day of new bin pickup (instead of bags at the curb) - with instructions to place the bin precisely - only to see the truck come by and people roll the bin to the back of the truck where an arm lifted it to dump. The instructions regarding precise placement at the curb, not under trees, etc., so far is nonsense. I await the arrival of a truck that does all of the work on its own, with the driver operating the arm, otherwise it goes back under the pine tree as before.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 26 - 11:40 AM

Yogurt came out great, and is a reminder to me it's easy and for the batch I made it came out much less expensive than the good store yogurt (made without pectin or guar gum thickening agents). Whole milk was ~ $1.20 for six cups and the 3/4 cup of powdered milk might have added another 50 cents. I used 1/4C of my existing commercial yogurt, and while the homemade variety shouldn't be a starter after more than three days, alternating making my own with buying it isn't so much to save money but just because I love making it and it turns out well. Kitchen magic. :)

This morning I took a small flat ended shovel and cleared a path to the front door from the curb and a path from the side door over to the driveway. (No regular snow shovels here.) The street is clear but any shady areas still have up to an inch of crust.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 26 - 12:11 AM

That's a nice idea, saving audio of people's voices. I have lots of my Dad because he was recording all of the song circle events, but I wonder if I have any tapes of my mother?

Ice finally retreated into slush and after the post office I picked up the ex for shopping, and finished our expedition at Panda Express. I used to regularly eat there (less now as I avoid sodium). On a whim last November I stopped in to pick up a meal to get some calories into him. The next trip out I took him inside to see the choices, and he's a big fan now. The restaurant is only 4 blocks from his house so food is still hot when he gets it home. He's a Puerto Rican who grew up eating a lot of rice so always gets enough for leftovers.

My food adventure this evening is of a different sort; I pulled out my Middle Eastern cookbook for the basic no-special-equipment yogurt recipe. It's in a large covered bowl wrapped in towels overnight, and will be ready in the morning. If I want Greek yogurt I can strain it a little, and if I wanted yogurt cheese I'd strain it a lot (to the consistency of cream cheese).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: pattyClink
Date: 28 Jan 26 - 05:28 PM

Bright but cold here, good days to stay indoors and try to get my stuff in order. Soup, muffin, and hot cocoa days.

Took the time to record little phone messages left by relatives the last few years. One just died and it seems like a good time to 'get around to it'. My horrible phone and company make this as difficult as possible, but I got a recording of the whole mess and then saved clips of important voices in Audacity.   Before I erase them from the phone, I'll back them up to external.

It's a good time for backups too, so I'll do a round of that, and fish for recovery of photo files that didn't make the last transfer properly.

THEN, fully backed up, I will ditch this awful phone and company, already have the new phone ready to go. I'll probably stay busy with this sort of thing through strike-and-buy-nothing-day on Friday. Just in time for the useless library to close for 2.7 days as per usual.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 26 - 10:28 AM

We must be close enough to another full moon to be affecting eBay world. I always list a price, I don't accept offers (though eBay sets that as a default so I always have to uncheck it. I lower prices myself as time passes, if needed.) "65% of eBay sellers accept offers" it says when you turn it off. Well, yes, perhaps 65% of the folks don't drop down that extra menu to find it and uncheck it. But in the last two days I've had messages from people asking if I'll lower the price. One an international buyer and I don't ship outside of the US or Canada. OY.

I'm still iced in here (we have an unusual "freezing fog" this morning that just makes it all the more charming. Today is supposed to warm to near 50, so I hope that puts an end to this. Overnights not so cold now and up to 60 tomorrow.

Fire, ambulance, and sheriff all pulled up at the house across the street (where all of the work has been happening). There was a worker there yesterday, I don't see him today. I wasn't at the door when the gurney left so didn't see which of them was transported, but I'll check because whoever is there will need help.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 10:06 PM

Even though I thinned out a lot of my sewing studio it built back up during COVID and after. Today I tried to sign up to donate stuff only to find that the project is moving to a new building and will be closed until April. The good news is that it's a building I'm very familiar with and it's much closer and easier to get to.

A sale on eBay this afternoon was for a sump pump that ran on my AC until the new unit was put in three years ago. The guy who bought it is replacing a pump at his house that failed; I sold it as-is but it was working fine. Thing is, I don't have any extra parts but I did find spec sheets and instructions when researching it so I emailed those to him now. When the box arrives on (fingers crossed) Friday or Saturday he'll hopefully have any adapters or parts to use to connect this pump to that system (and he may have stuff in place already that will work fine if he's replacing an identical model.) The post office may not deliver again in the morning (to pick up the box) but by afternoon I should be able to drive the short distance from the driveway to the larger road on the other side of the bridge, where it should be clear. The post office is a mile away.

The washer is still acting up. I've found that sometimes when I run a shorter cycle and without the extra rinse it finishes ok, but tonight it gave the code again so I got photos and a short video and will have to call a repair person soon. I'll scan back up the thread for MaJoC's remarks about what the problem might be to also share with the tech. (He sent "* Briefly: Too much current, and it gets hot and goes nearly open-circuit. Remove the mains to let it cool down again, and service is restored. End of blethers.)

A long video call this evening answered a lot of questions to do with the new website and got me in with a working email (it wasn't allowing a certification of our email address.) Big improvement.

Finally, I pampered myself today. I was tired of the cold weather gear I'd been wearing most of the weekend, so ran the ceiling heater and turned the bathroom toasty before taking a shower and then changed the bed linens and put my stack of books back on the bed (and I'm headed there in a few minutes to read.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 04:31 PM

I have lotsa' unfinished sewing projects gathering dust!! Ditto lotsa' unstarted projects

back in the 70s I saw a crossstitch kit SHE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST (x) WINS - fill in appropriate word - fabric/yarn/unfinished projects/ etc ...

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 26 - 11:21 AM

I spoke too soon. After dusk the temperature plummeted to 21^o so the accumulation is now case-hardened ice and worse than before to walk or drive on.

It has only been a few days but cabin fever is setting in. I'm ready to head out and drop off stuff at the library and get some more fresh produce, but it isn't safe driving now, so I'll dive into the freezer for a bag of green beans and the library DVDs will wait a day or two to be dropped off (they don't charge fines but they do so many automatic renewals that there isn't really a good excuse to not return stuff eventually).

The gardening business stuff is all a jumble right now as I wait for the new site to work properly and let me get fully logged in. It fails to send the email authentication (and I check the spam filter regularly).

I have a book for the docent book club to finish in the next three weeks and can spend some time with that as a good distraction, and my sewing studio beckons. I have a project sitting on the table in there that I started over the holidays and should finish before it collects dust.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 26 - 04:09 PM

Day three of the hard freeze. Our new automated truck-and-bins trash pickup should be tomorrow but chances are since today's part of the village won't be collected, ours won't be collected tomorrow. I don't have much trash, but there are some meat wrappers making their presence known. That means I'll have to dress for the expedition across the driveway (today has been flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers day around the house).

Next week another cat sitting gig starts, and somehow even these "quick trips" she plans end up stretching out. Eight days this time, and one planned for next summer (taking nieces to Europe) that will be two and a half weeks. Interspersed next week are a dentist trip, a couple of medical appointments, and resuming the museum scanning. Busy days ahead (I hope the weather cooperates).

Back from the trash run (swapped slippers for shoes and went around through the garage to avoid the expanse of slippery concrete). It's starting to melt this afternoon, so this should all be gone by tomorrow.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 09:20 PM

I think Cookie is getting the hang of this, but I've put the leash on her a couple of times for a quick tour of the front to see if she needs to pee, and mostly she doesn't. I've also looked in a few corners to see if anyone decided to pee indoors; again, so far, no.

Today was a combo activity; eBay listings and a double feature, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, having seen neither before. And realizing pretty early on that the plot is simple and it is mostly running around and fighting and special effects. Entertaining on a cold afternoon as I worked on listings.

Finally got the logon and editing tutorial for the new website for the gardening guru; I'll start going through the instructions in the morning when I'm fresh. Start it now and it's liable to have me up later than I want and make it hard to sleep if I'm churning the details in my head. Tonight I'm going to read a book.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 02:17 PM

Cookie vs the dog flap: Herself's family had a minitature Daschund called Lisa. One winter, when her poor little legs were shorter than the depth of snow, she was sent out to Do Her Business, but it was discovered (the hard way) that she hadn't. Herself's mother carefully watched her when she was put outside the next time: Lisa proceeded to trot round from the back door to the front-door porch, hide herself in the porch for a while, out of the snow, then trot back unemptied.

How this was resolved is not recorded. Better luck with Cookie.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Sorting *Health *Progress - 2026
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 26 - 10:22 AM

The wool for mountaineering was not because we planned to climb in super cold weather, but for in case a storm blew in en route. This was also back in the day when the local weather guy drew cartoons to represent what they thought might be coming.

I've cycled through several kitchen waste (for the compost bin) containers lately and each has been discarded as some aspect failed. Putting in the freezer, nope, old yogurt container, nope. It has to do with the handling and messy lids, so yesterday I deployed a stainless steel 2 quart kettle that was retired to occasional dog water pan after it warped (steaming and forgot to put water under the basket). Lid lifts easily and the whole thing can go in the dishwasher regularly.

It's 14^o (-10C) this morning and I have my jacket and gear ready for taking Cookie into the yard. Even wearing her dog jacket she refuses to go on her own and last night when I realized and took her out on a leash she peed and peed. Now I have to take her out a side door because the back yard sliding glass door has frozen shut. It's that or shove her through the dog flap and cover it until she takes care of business, but she'll just cower by the door refusing to budge. There's no husky or malamute in this dog! Pepper is fine going in and out all day. (There's an inch of accumulation over ice.)

I have a couple of DVDs to watch, due at the library soon. Chicken soup was made last night and I'll make another crock pot of spice tea to drink and make the house smell great.