DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Aug 26 - 08:52 AM

Wow, Sandra! Thanks a million! I will now go find it on YouTube and listen carefully. The scansion is tricky.

In fact, getting drunk isn’t fun any more, and I have to be very prudent at the elbow-bending. At some point in the last few years — since Edmund died, actually — I lost the capacity to metabolize more than two units of beverage alcohol in a day. The traditional menu of “apéritif before, wine with, and digestif after” now leaves me shit-faced at bedtime and miserable all the next day. Live and learn, overcome and adapt. “Moins mais mieux” — less, but better. Also, vacuum corks. They’re a good thing.

It’s raining gently this morning on Inverkip Avenue, and it’s bin day. When I took my recycling out, a man in a high-viz shirt approached carrying a garbage bag brimming with containers. I greeted him politely and asked him what he was collecting — pop cans and clear plastic bottles. He takes them across the river to Gatineau, where he can get ten cents each for them. I’d guess he works all night for a bare subsistence at that racket but, where he comes from — probably Haïti — that’s what one does. He’s a lot neater than the municipal bin men.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 19 Aug 26 - 09:38 AM

An expert translation into a Canadian idiom:"everybody with functioning olfactory senses pooh-poohed Canadian table wine, much of which had a bouquet like the inside of a teenager’s hockey bag." Brava, sorella!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Aug 26 - 10:28 AM

well said, Andrew!

We also have 10 cent refunds for bottles & I saw a collector at the Railway station today with gi-normous bags on a trolley.

Some folk are getting their bread & butter, others their jam, but they are all doing a great service, & deserve every bottle they take from the red rubbish bins. Not every recyclable bottle goes into yellow bins!

Once upon a long time ago I saw a man with a broom cleaning up around the giant skips put out by the railway station after he had removed the 10c bottles, some in recyclable skips, others in rubbish skips!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 26 - 10:21 PM

That description of Canadian wines was quite appetizing! (Some of those white German wines are favorites, with Gewürtztraminer particularly good in the summer.)

Pouring water on the yard this evening, both sides of the driveway and in back to keep some green for the dogs to enjoy. The far back is mostly a short groundcover that's pretty shriveled at the moment. Laundry is in and the delay is set so it will run at 5am when there's less demand for power. The dishwasher will start at bedtime when it is starting to cool (since it has no timer).

Cooking for others this evening; my squash casserole (with added tortellini this time) so I can take some to my ex and some across the street. There's also a fresh double batch of babaghanouj to keep some and share some.

The jigsaw puzzles will be thinned out soon because that is another category that can go over to Welman. Most of them are difficult to sell on eBay unless they're popular vintage ones so most are donated. I'm back to working one in the evenings (after I turn off my screens). I also take puzzles and games to the public library. The Welman appointment is next week, and since I know what the receiving area looks like I'll arrange things so they're easy to distribute to all of the category boxes there.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 20 Aug 26 - 11:42 AM

Back after a trip to the big city. Successfully saw a friend, attending a mineral meeting. Unsuccessfully old-car shopped, sometimes even after massive research the luck does not work in your favor. Oh well, I learned a lot and will be ready for another push soon.

While there I dashed into a Goodwill in search of a random clean CD to test in vehicles. Walked into a huge store, stunned to see dozens of people pawed through giant bins (maybe 20' x 10') of miscellaneous crap. There was no sorting or display of anything, except half the bins were clothing, the rest mixed crap. It was like a scene out of Mad Max. It just seems demeaning to me, to assume poor people deserve to have their time wasted by digging through mountains of stuff to find items they need.

And re: online searching. Came across this link, I knew some of the search 'tricks' but have never tried 'verbatim' and some of the others. Still don't prefer using Ggl for anything, but perhaps I will have better luck finding scholarly papers using some of these. Assume SRS already visits this substack, but if not here is a link, seems like a soul sister of hers writes it.

https://cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has-a-secret-reference-desk

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 26 - 12:32 PM

Interesting site, patty! Those are durable tips, many I've used for years. I dip into the Google Labs every so often to see what they've cooked up and some of it is pretty interesting. I have several of them bookmarked and use them periodically. Over the years Blob opera has gone from a cute parlor trick to something that I don't want to give permissions on my computer. (But the video is harmless, it just describes it.) There used to be a simple list of the projects, now you have to wade through a lot of AI formatting.

The big city - guessing Tucson? There is a Goodwill there that is the Last Chance stop before all of that is bundled and sold in huge lots for scrap and rag. I suspect you landed on that. We have one of those here in my side of town and I visited once. It's not a happy place, as you say, but there are people who (for example) buy denim jeans by the pound to turn into paper or disassemble for rugs, etc. (I have an extra copy of Adam Minter's Secondhand if you'd like it - it's an eye-opener to how those various sites work. It's a fascinating book.)

This morning I spent time researching alligators in the Metroplex after reading yet another story about one that turned up downtown. I conclude that my creek, while charming, is probably not going to become part of alligator alley. This after looking up nutria, that is in our creek and two neighbors offer recent sightings. (Nutria is an introduced beaver-like rodent pest that chews down trees and clobbers lots of stream and yard vegetation.) Landowners can dispatch them year round (but if they want to sell the fur they have to go through a licensed trapper).

Tomorrow is a big declutter day for the ex. I told him about Welman and he has a lot of stuff stacked in the garage that can go there, so we'll load a couple of boxes for my appointment next week. I have to rebox the stuff on my sofa so it's easy to sort at the site when I deliver it.

Charmion, your backyard sounds like a venue for restful times on the new deck, with some of that good Canadian wine.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 26 - 10:42 AM

Three cases of canning jars are leaving the building this morning, headed to my daughter's house where the young folks are actively canning and making pickles.

I have a lovely LLBean backpack with my daughter's monogram on it that she used for travel when in high school and college, but she doesn't want now. I've decided to turn it into part of a new "go pack" with a list of items including medications and items that need to go. This along with the portable hanging files in the office closet. A recent Dallas Morning News article made a good case for having more ready than just the files. The pack will live in the dressing room where the medications and clothes can all be stuffed in at a moment's notice.

The ex's garage is full of donatable stuff so I'm taking a couple of boxes over in a few minutes and we'll pack them full then head into the air conditioned house to declutter his computer of junk email and take care of a couple of vehicle things. From there to lunch with our daughter who also has donation stuff to hand over. I may have to lower the middle row of seats for this next trip to Welman.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 21 Aug 26 - 01:22 PM

Ring tones: I vote someone hack His Execrence's poserphone to change its ring tone to Narcissus.

Extra points for using the version recorded by Joyce Grenfell and Norman Wisdom.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Aug 26 - 06:29 PM

Venue for restful times? Only after I do something about my mosquito problem. The little wretches drove me into house almost before I had finished my Friday cocktail, but not before I smacked several into the next world.

Time to move the sprinkler.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 26 - 08:06 PM

The Uline portable fan is one a friend recommends, but Uline happens to be a company run a lot like Hobby Lobby - very strict with the employees, rules about women's dress code, no birth control or other benefits in their health insurance. Finding something like it would be my recommendation.

There is a lot of stuff in the SUV to go to Welman next week. At the ex's house we loaded up some art stuff from the kids but when we got to the museum to pick up our daughter for lunch she fished out about 3/4 of that and put it in her car to reuse after showing them to her roommates. She had a big box to stow in the SUV and I'll sort it by category before taking this stuff to donate.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Aug 26 - 11:30 AM

Hmmm. To be effective on my deck, a fan would not have to be cordless — there’s an outlet on the back wall of the house. Looks like a good excuse for a trip to Canadian Tire!

After this morning’s political bombshell, we can expect prices to do strange things for the foreseeable future. (For those looking elsewhere, Mr Carney walked out on Donald Trump’s trade talks last night. Massive tariffs are to ensue on both sides of the border.) If I want an electric fan, I’d better buy it today. Fortunately, I’m old enough to regard raspberries in January as Gucci-level luxury.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 22 Aug 26 - 12:18 PM

I seldom see mosquitos any more, but agree that moving air with a fan is a good option for keeping them out of a small area. Many a water well and gas well would never have been drilled without the help of giant fans to keep the drillers from going insane.

Today I must dedicate to house stuff; I've been distracted by the car hunt, and by trying to find a good karaoke lyric editor software that does not use Windows. The Linux ones have turned out to be pretty ancient, obscure and hard to install.

Much as I dislike apps on phones, looks like I will have to go the route of a desktop online app. As long as I wind up with LRC files that reside on my hard drive not their proprietary cloud, it'll be fine. Can't blame the programmers, it would drive me nuts trying to keep an application going through incessant changes in various operating systems, and Linux has split into more flavors and versions than a church full of feuding factions.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 26 - 01:26 PM

Since I organized the 3-ring binder with account information I'm making another pass and deciding which need updated logon information. Big job, but I'm about 2/5 of the way through this morning. The logon changing for one device then changes for all, so not something to take lightly.

I was working on a tedious web project last night so decided to randomly let a movie play that I'd never seen before (there are so many!). Turns out Olympus Has Fallen is the most violent and goriest thing around, but rather ironic in the state in which it leaves the White House. In the modern day, the destruction is all an inside job. There appear to be sequels that I won't bother to watch.

Heat-wise we're no better off. 107^o today and climbing the triple digits by one each day with a possible peak of 109^o on Monday. Pepper this misery with tiny power outages, a minute or two, just long enough to turn off or reset everything, and you have another source of annoyance. My daughter has taken to buying window AC units for her house because "people were so cranky they started being mean to each other." They just installed the second one (in a house with central heat and air that can't keep up with the heat). She's lucky she could find a window unit to purchase at this point.

This weekend I'll organize the donation stuff so it's ready to go on the day itself. A lot of dust needs to be removed. That and other things will happen early in the morning. I'll make a point of going to bed earlier and getting up at dawn to do outdoor stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Aug 26 - 10:19 AM

God is watering the garden today, and probably tomorrow, too. My back just let out a little sigh of relief. However, off-fall from the roof is demonstrating next spring’s capital project: new eavestroughs on the east side of the house, and better drainpipes. What’s up there now is probably the original equipment and therefore well past its best-before date. It’s certainly splattering dramatically enough.

Mr Carney made a significant speech yesterday, coherent and polite as always but also unmistakably firm. One line in particular — “We are masters in our own home” — was chosen to imbue the audience with resolve. In French — “Nous sommes maîtres chez nous” — it was the slogan of the Quiet Revolution, which launched the Québec sovereignty movement as we know it today. The domestic political commentariat is having a field day, filling the air with YouTube videos and interviewing each other on their podcasts. But for the rest of us, I think it’s just “same shit, different day”, and continuing to check those country-of-origin labels at the grocery store.

I was a tiny bit shocked to hear one of the pub regulars regaling the bar with tales of his vacation in Tennessee. Nobody asked him what he was doing on that side of the border, but maybe they were just being polite. If the political situation gets much tenser, I wonder how long that tolerance will last.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 26 - 01:00 PM

Tennessee is one of the states that is off-the-rails as far as protecting human rights; they're going after a lot of groups and as far as I can tell they eat their own young. It's a beautiful eastern hardwood forested area but the attitudes suck. That one and Florida.

Yesterday as I was grousing to myself about having to go to the museum in the heat I then reminded myself "but there are people there!" - I need to get out, and since I don't have a local pub, giving tours is a good social outlet. And that one went particularly well since I started with a dozen and ended with at least 16 as people in the galleries we visited decided to tag along and listen. That's always a nice boost to an interpreter's mood.

It's saying something about the weather here when shopping in 96^o feels so much better than 106^o. I got out this morning to pick up stuff for two of us and almost everyone else in Aldi was also shopping off of multiple lists. The Instacart folks avoid the pain of afternoon shopping when they can, and everyone was pleasant and happy to chat - it's a social occasion when people aren't cranky yet.

patty, do you try to read text on a phone screen for karaoke? And what is involved in the car hunt? Replacing the fairly recently purchased car? How old a car are you looking for? Have you ever used Edmund's Car Guide? It's one I've used in the past to find good used vehicles a few years old (and they used to offer great reviews of each model, if they have kept all of that information available). I just looked at the site - there is (not surprisingly today) an AI component you may have to dumb down. I just ran a sample search (for a used hybrid minivan) and found several listings in the county. (Now my browser ads are probably going to offer cars for sale. Everything is connected.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 26 - 06:35 PM

Packrat tendencies are exposed as I work on this batch of Welman donations. In their gift shop I noted a bowl of cornstarch packing peanuts and remembered the several large boxes stashed in my garage (used to ship tiles for the ex's bathroom; each modest-sized tile case came in a large box of peanuts). I've just emptied three into trash bags so the peanuts can be donated and the boxes can be used to transport other donations. Ten minutes out there and I was drenched with sweat. More in the morning. I have an oscillating fan on the workbench but moving air that hot wouldn't feel much better.

Charmion, I need to have gutters put on my house in a few strategic areas (over the doorways and the back door of the garage). Is "eavestroughs" a common word up there for what we call a rain gutter? What a great word to build up in Scrabble.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 23 Aug 26 - 09:00 PM

Glad to see Canada's leader standing up to our bully president, and 75% of us are so very sorry that things have gone this far. Just imagine the idiocy, of angering and punishing the best neighbor country in the world! I am heartened to see even many of the remaining 'magats' are starting to realize they have been conned, and have high hopes this awful episode will be over soon.

I've been using all the online tools for car searches; Edmunds is good, cars.com, etc. Looking for something 2015-2019 thus pre-nanny-state electronics and pre-streaming audio, high ground clearance, tows >4000, white exterior and light interior, and not an overpriced 4Runner. Few models fit the bill, so it takes a large enough 'market' that I can locate ones that will make the short list.   It'll just take a little more patience and luck, it's out there.

Not trying to read lyrics on a phone, that way lies madness. We have gatherings with karaoke deejays and large screens. But many good songs have no 'karaoke file' built for them, and I would like to take some favorites and build some, by stripping out vocals, pulling in lyrics and timing them. So there is niche software for that, and I'm trying to find the right one(s) to do that work, while staying off Windows and iOS.

Which is ever so much more absorbing than working on house, yard and health, but today I focused on health and home, cooked some fish and cooked/prepped lots of veg for a few days.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 26 - 10:10 PM

My 2017 Pathfinder is meant for passengers but it can be used for towing. It took some digging to find that the Maximum towing capacity is 6,000lbs, maximum tongue load 600lbs. It came with SiriusXM, but a lot of vehicles did. It has a number of safety features but not what you call the "nanny state" stuff. The clearance is higher than something like a minivan or a sedan, not as high as a pickup. I've read that the transitions could be better (the Nissan trucks have that). If you're towing, you might want to avoid this one.

Kudos for cooking ahead for yourself. Today I could hardly bring myself to cook anything I'm so tired of being hot. The Foreman grill cooked a steak and I had a tomato on the side as a vegetable. Lunch was nibbling pieces of cheese and a serving of pickled herring, and fruit with yogurt and granola.

I hope Charmion is thoroughly enjoying that rain.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Aug 26 - 08:42 AM

Yes, Stilly, “eavestrough” is what Canadians say when referring to the thing you call a “rain gutter”. The digital version of Scrabble does not have a Canadian dictionary (certainly mine doesn’t), so you could play “eavestroughs” only in real life. It’s the sort of move Edmund’s mother would make — the shark!

After more showers overnight, the world this morning is damp, shiny and fresh; I am scheduled for a much-needed haircut; and it’s the peak of peach season. When my bones are aching in January’s bitter chill, I will remember this day as a dream.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 26 - 10:37 AM

Heaven! Fresh peaches and a clean rain-washed new day.

Eave/s/trough/s are the stages the word could grow. I've never played a digital version of Scrabble. I played a lot with the kids, a good game to promote literacy. To promote their cooperation with each other I set them opposite me on the table and in our rules they could combine their 14 letters and simply take turns being the one to put them on the board. The best part of that was seeing their heads together as they laughed and rearranged letters for themselves (we allowed proper nouns and rude words and they could spell off of the edge of the board.) I paid for points and extra credit (getting everyone a glass of water, etc.) Something I learned from my cousin and her girls; when they are allies in the game and playing against a parent it isn't the same as playing against each other and sometimes going away with a grudge for losing.

There are plenty of occasions in children's lives when they learn about winning and losing, in this instance, it was learning to be an ally with a sibling and is something we treasure now.

Ice water on the porch, rounding up trash for tomorrow's curbside collection, general picking up around here. Time to fill the trashcan with old Styrofoam chunks from the front room, where there is more floor exposed all the time as I clear out stuff, containers, and empty boxes. Laundry dried early after overnight wash to avoid the heat of the day. It's too hot to go into the yard to hang on the clothesline (and it needs work, it was knocked crooked a couple of years ago by a tree limb falling and I haven't dug around the base to reinforce and straighten it yet.)

With the ice for the cooler and through the day for my Stanley tumbler the ice maker gets a workout and started having trouble delivering ice to the chute. I took it apart and found a buildup of ice on top of the lower gear that turns the arm in the bin. Cleaned off buildup all around, chipped out the ice on the gear, and I'm back in operation.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 26 - 05:51 PM

Yesterday I noticed a sore throat starting and today it is more pronounced. In the last week I've been to three discrete crowded indoor events with no mask. If it sticks around till tomorrow I'll go get the battery of tests at the doctor's office (they have you wait in the car and a nurse comes out with the swabs.) Ragweed season begins in late August and lasts until the first frost (around here that can be in November). With similar symptoms.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 24 Aug 26 - 06:53 PM

Best of luck (and/or medicine) with your throat, Stilly. As a lifetime asthmatic, I sympathise.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 26 - 11:14 AM

Last night I poked around the plants in the sunroom where I work my puzzles and realized one container with a plant started in water is full of an ugly black mold. It's outside now. Shifting to working puzzles in that room may have had me in contact with spores.

The plus side of working puzzles before bedtime again is that my sleep scores on the tracker have gone up a few more points. The down side is that it's easy to say "just finish one more face" and keep going longer than planned.

Overcast this morning and it's a remarkable 84 degrees at 10am. It won't last, but it's nice for the moment.

The big push today to finish sorting items into boxes for donation tomorrow, with dust rags and a squirt bottle to remove dust one way or the other. I signed up to bring a few boxes - they'll just be very large boxes. Binders, storage, art stuff, kitchen stuff, small scales, leftover tiles, and whatever my daughter bagged (I'll sort that today also). I'll clean the SUV middle row and lower them, or at least one part of them. I may have two passengers with me tomorrow to work at the donation site. If the ex and daughter can see what they take that should help all of us speed up our decluttering and benefit this group.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 26 - 12:16 PM

It’s raining on Inverkip Avenue while skies farther north are blue and clear. Maybe I’ll see a rainbow today!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Aug 26 - 04:16 PM

No rain but just enough overcast to have kept it under 100 so far today. There's about 25% chance of rain tomorrow, so whatever dome has kept the heat in seems to be cracking apart.

It's work to categorize the donations but I've made a lot of progress and this afternoon started pulling out old and duplicate cables, headphones, earbuds, computer peripherals, chargers, car travel electronics, and computer adapters and bagged them to go in the box for electronics in the receiving area. Lots of binders and storage boxes, lots of costume stuff. Some clothing in my daughter's bag will go to Goodwill. One of the items she decluttered is Marie Kondo's book. :-)

A little storage cabinet has been emptied and will be repurposed for stuff that ends up cluttering my desktop around the computer.

I am feeling better but there is a nagging sore throat (hopefully on its way out) so I'll do a home Covid test this evening.

The backyard shower is set up but in the process I realized that the "overcast" is in fact a low layer of smoke from wildfires blasting through several counties in North Texas. (Not sure the map coordinates link will work - if you're curious, search for Ross Fire in Palo Pinto County, Texas).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 26 - 11:01 AM

All three members of the family extant in North Texas will be on the expedition to the Welman Foundation today. I hope to show them the options for donations and that much of what they've been sending to Goodwill can go here instead. The stuff will still leave the houses but now head to a targeted audience. The part that makes this work for Welman is the donation by appointment and having people help distribute it to the correct categories or they'd soon be swamped. Asking people to donate things in the condition they'd like to receive them, and by asking them to help sort it gives donors an idea of how to organize the donation. (And even if you're going to the gift shop and following their "one box donation" allowed without an appointment, it needs to be a size and weight that works at that point.)

The backyard shower was great. There are three phases of starting it up: the water in the 100' hose itself is always quite warm, followed by a couple of minutes of cool water because it has been standing in pipes under the air conditioned house. And once that has washed through bathwater temperature of the city water lines comes through and it's a perfect temperature. I'll be able to use this for several more weeks.

The air outside is frightful because of the wildfires and I think part of the reason for the sore throat. The weather app declares that there is no ragweed pollen right now. The Covid test was negative. Gargling salt water continues.

My desk is tidier after the reduction in the number of cables and other bits sitting around. Postit notes and glasses cleaning cloths, etc., are in that repurposed little cabinet now on the shelf beside the desk.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Aug 26 - 08:50 PM

Drop-off went very well, all parties present got an idea of what can go over to Welman and what can go to Goodwill. A couple of the boxes were so well sorted that the guy receiving all of this said they could go directly to the warehouse. We sorted and put things in the named box categories and then walked through the facility to the Curiosity Shop. More ideas. Also as we walked around our daughter expressed interest in some of the things that I would have donated but will instead leave for her to go through here at the house.

Humidity is up with a couple of small monsoon storms passing through the area (all substantial rain missed me). The world is so hot and cranky that I blocked two different parties on Facebook today for their snotty attitudes. I think I'll take at least a day sabbatical from social media just for the break from snapping people.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 27 Aug 26 - 12:46 PM

Feeling pretty guilty for not doing more and better work lately on house and clutter. But, I decided to focus on health and fat loss this week, and tell myself it is worth dwelling on too much if it will get me headed in the right direction. Working hard to get into better habits, a better morning routine, and cooking whole foods, and dealing with various little health issues before they become big ones.

This morning's health podcast preached the importance of not starting the day with doom-scrolling the news, and I've heard this in different words from SRS. Bad news is a bad way to get the day going, and sometimes we do need to step away and/or compartmentalize how much time goes into keeping up with news.   

Docs also recommend getting your face in the sun early in the morning, so I am trying that, but my gosh it's bright when the sun is low.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 27 Aug 26 - 02:37 PM

Don't feel guilty, Patty: you're decluttering your body :-) , which is at least as valuable.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Aug 26 - 09:58 AM

Something wild and omnivorous — probably a raccoon — has taken to crapping on my lovely new deck. Today’s deposit is the second, and it’s in exactly the same place as the first.

Well, shit.

So, today’s first task (after coffee) is turd removal, followed by a dose of chlorine bleach.

I so don’t need this, but I admit it’s simpler to handle than the Stratford rabbits that ate everything in my garden down to the dirt, except daffodils and yew bushes.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 26 - 11:14 AM

Charmion, repelling it with something like hot pepper (buy a large bottle of the hot pepper flakes, it might cost $5) and give a light sprinkle around the area. A snoot full of that will likely chase off whoever the visitor is. And see if there are other spots in the yard being traversed en route to the deck and sprinkle there also.

patty, I have to catch myself every day if the online newspaper links head into the Drumpf topics. (Bless her heart, Dolly Parton managed to drive him off of the front page for a few days.) Turn them off and look for a couple of positive stories (all of this after checking the postal email about today's deliveries and checking the weather.) In 2025 I literally made myself sick, so can serve as the cautionary tale of what to avoid. Good luck on the health front, it's a "self-care" thing you need to do to put yourself first.

Yesterday was less online and more jigsaw puzzle. The outside 1/3 of the thing is going to be the slowest going, lots of leaves and tile and brick, but most of the center is complete enough that big chunks of it have been connected to each other.

This morning I watered the potted plants and targeted the base of plants in the vegetable garden, sprayed up into the trees to give them a little foliar slurp and filled the bird baths plus a couple of terracotta plant trays set out for birds. I've noticed Mourning doves on the driveway eating seeds under the large Maximilian sunflowers so am boosting the attractiveness of the spot for them. A quick survey of the tree seedlings coming up in lawn and gardens, limbs needing lopping and toss into the trash, mowing, etc., are all on hold until this heat breaks. I have a busy autumn ahead if it ever arrives.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 28 Aug 26 - 01:23 PM

Thanks MaJoC, SRS. Hopefully today I can balance health stuff and tidying stuff.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Aug 26 - 04:17 PM

I had an old rolling Sunmate sprinkler with one of those pulsing spray heads that I couldn't repair. And I had a telescoping 3-arm sprinkler with a base that was funky (the bottom point broke off) but worked until the hose connector snapped off this week. Today I MacGyvered the two and got the best of both devices: a telescoping twirling sprinkler that is unable to tip over (like the old one did if the ground got muddy under it). And the price was right. I'd much rather cobble together stuff I already have than go shopping for a new item. Win/win.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Aug 26 - 06:32 PM

The back yard is crispy except for an area under the trees near the house where I run a sprinkler often enough to keep some of the native groundcover growing for the dogs. The garden is limping along until cooler temperatures give it a burst of energy. There are new cracks in the concrete driveway and the step into my garage back door is crumbling. The house is shifting as the soil dries. With such a long sequence of bright sunny days it seems it would be easy to have a good mood, but that isn't the case. We're at the end of August and the 10 day forecast is still every day at least 100.

A bright spot in this is the newly refurbished sprinkler that isn't terribly efficient (as much water evaporates from all of the spray as actually hits plants and soil) but it looks lovely. And that wonky design actually is efficient if I set it under the parched trees where it throws lovely spirals of water up into their branches to drip, helping soak the soil below.

It's time to work on mood adjustment and get out around people, and there's nothing I need from a store, so I've brought my gym bag in from the SUV where it has been unused all summer and refreshed the garments. The headphones are charging and I'll check out a couple of audiobooks on my newly renewed city library card. Even if I listen to a book most of the time I'm there I usually end up talking with a few people coming and going. My knees really need the exercise, staying indoors so much is too sedentary. And I have to learn more about the newest exhibit at the museum where I volunteer, so a trip there would be helpful (it's near the gym).

Birthday season is coming up so we'll plan a lunch or dinner soon, or maybe I'll do something here at the house and have people over. That would force me to finish a few of the projects I have started and others I have ready to go. Making plans, crossing items off of a list, looking forward, those are the tools I've always used to pull myself out of a funk. (I'm also rebounding after eating several Moser Roth dark chocolate pieces yesterday - sugar really is bad for us and if you don't eat it often you can really feel the result of a chocolate binge. Or, to be honest, the email from a friend who speculates he has cancer.)

I sent food across the street yesterday, with garlic bread to go along with the casserole and that turns out to be a favorite. I have ingredients for a rice dish to make for the ex to get more calories in him. Moving forward, one sink, one painted room, one casserole, one workout at a time. October can't get here soon enough.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 26 - 04:34 PM

Today's self-conducted therapy started with morning reading - a deep dive into various New York Times stories about women astronomers and physicists who were involved with the space program and studying deep space. Observatories and space telescopes have been named for them.

For self care I decided to work through all of the things that I left out in the kitchen central table to "do later." This followed by tomatoes into the freezer, peppers ready to be sliced and frozen followed by a couple of eggplants. All of the cilantro leaves are stripped and bagged, frozen for future use. Junk mail sorted for recycling, dishwasher emptied. There are food containers in the fridge that need to be discarded. I'm cleaning counters as I go and will finish with sweeping and mopping. A clean and clear kitchen and dining table are a great gift to myself.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Aug 26 - 09:34 PM

Well done!

To Me, From Me, pressies are the best, there's none of this tooth gritted thank-you-very-much-it-was-just-what-I-needed!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Aug 26 - 09:44 PM

Still trying to sort out how Mudcat works on the changed configuration of this computer. I am beginning to "get" it. So catching up: Tomorrow I have an appointment with a Dr. R and I saw her a few weeks/months? ago and found her impossible. If my brain were more functional I might have called 811 after that visit and requested a DDr that actually does speak comprehensible English . But then, I never expected to have my driver's license suspended. Tomorrow is an attempt to get divested of a diagnosis of Dementia which appeared out of ???? I took a road test. The examiner said I drove OK; she basically passed me, saying she had no trouble with my driving But, for an unknown reasSo, let's see what tomorrow brings on, "we have to call Quebec" Quebec said no! I would get a letter. The letter was addressed to a Mr. Wilkinson _Not me! I sent it back twice. Told them it was irrelevant. They responded, "It is relevant"
I only had 60 days to protest and time was passing so I made the appointment with "My Dr." Frantic as R is too busy to help. I phoned a volunteer org nearby and they came to visit me, found someone to drive me to the appointment and another person to mentor me during the appointment. And the nice young woman who visited took my books back to the library - they were due!   So. Stay tuned! I am furious that no one bothered to inform me of this diagnosis. And NOT before I went for the road test. I could have gone to the doctor ahead of time. Being a prisoner in my home has been a nightmare! Hope tomorrow helps and we can manage to understand this Dr. !! Now I am tired, going to bed so I am well rested for this new ordeal.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Aug 26 - 11:41 PM

Dorothy, it should be easier to go through all of this driving stuff with those volunteers giving you a hand. Good luck with that.

My goal for the day was to clear the kitchen and fridges and I made great progress. All of the fresh garden produce is processed and into the freezer. Counters are clear, junk mail and sundry items parked on the center table dealt with. There are a few things waiting in the fridge till Monday night to the curb for Tuesday pickup. Laundry is programmed to run before dawn. I took a bag of okra to the next door neighbor because while the plants aren't producing a lot, it's more than I can eat by myself.

This evening I printed out several copies of a state-produced Disaster Supply Kit list. With the heat and fires, it pays to have some of this rounded up. I'll put the list in a couple of places where a lot of this stuff is located and where I have packs and storage boxes ready to go if needed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Aug 26 - 11:16 AM

Yesterday I bought a doohickey to prevent the toes of my warped right foot from overlapping, which causes painful friction when I walk more than a couple of kilometres. The doohickey is a little silicone pad to be tucked between the great toe and its neighbour, and dammit but the silly thing works! I will probably have to buy new shoes that are a bit wider at the front end, an unwelcome challenge as Canadian shoe manufacturers are few and far between, and I don’t expect the Trump trade war to end anytime soon.

It looks like a rainy week in the Ottawa Valley. Oh, well; it’s good for the garden.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Aug 26 - 11:50 AM

This morning the rotisserie chicken carcass was simmered to make stock, the dishwasher emptied, and the laundry dried, finishing yesterdays work in the kitchen vicinity. The peninsula counter is clear and the tall table much better.

Today's weather forecast reflects a change in that heat dome (my term, I don't know what the weather folks call it) - with forecast temperatures during the week in the high 90s and possibility of rain on Thursday. There are still a lot of 100s further down the line, but this is a welcome shift. There is a protest march in downtown on the morning of the second, doable with a lot of water and a parasol.

Sandra, I have a few things sitting off to the side in the kitchen that were given to me that periodically I try to send home with someone else. After a while they go into the Goodwill bin to disappear discreetly. One of those was out recently when the giver was present and I let her assume I was planning to use the item (though I don't know how they're used, so if she'd said anything I'd have been stumped).

Cat gig rescheduled to this week with a couple more on the horizon, so making the most of each run by doing other things while I'm out is the goal. Gym and museum here I come. Toward that end I thinned out the gym clothes and sent some knee-length workout pants to the Goodwill bin. The longer pants are more flattering and have side pockets for the phone or keys.

How is everyone doing (regular participants and long-time lurkers) as we head into September? This season is particularly charged in the US with midterms in November and all of the voter suppression stuff going on right now (the reason for Tuesday's march). What are you doing to make good trouble in your part of the planet?

Charmion, if you know exactly the size and style of shoe you want, it is possible for someone here in the US to mail a gift and any PayPal transactions don't require tariffs. There is a Sketchers store near me.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 31 Aug 26 - 08:23 PM

Hi Charmion,
I would highly reommend the LL BEAN shoes that I bought, at their outlet in Kingston a couple years ago to replace the identical ones that I purchased at a thrift shop in Quebec at least five years ago. They would surely have an outlet in Ottawa!.

I found the old shoes (not the new ones ( might be in Bancroft)I& can send a pic of the old pair on FB . Cn no longer read the model #. They might not suit you at all but they are roomy enough. I was able to call the store with the model # and size and pick them on my way to Montreal.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Aug 26 - 09:17 PM

Dear friends, our present political situation has come to a pretty pass! It is now a matter of principle to find shoes made by a Canadian company, however inconvenient the search.

Thank God for Google.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 26 - 12:47 AM

I spent the afternoon working on a couple of eBay listings to bring more life to my account since most everything else had sold. Listed two tonight and one has already sold. I cleared empty boxes out of the rack in the front hall where eBay parcels live and am ready to fill it up again. There are a few things that will be unboxed (sales I canceled because they got no views) that will find new usefulness at the Welman Project.

Skechers is sold in the US but (according to DuckDuckGo) are manufactured mostly in China and Vietnam with 20% of them from Brazil, Indonesia, and "a small number of other countries." (They are designed and marketed from California, that is at least for now, still part of the US.) I suppose if Drumpf declared Canada the 51st state all of those tariffs would go away? (Did I mention that I had a $20 tariff on top of the price, tax, and shipping for my vet meds I order from Australia? Still cheaper than buying from a vet here.)

Garden produce at dinner tonight: fried okra and a mid-sized tomato beside a piece of sockeye salmon. Kitchen still clean. Several quarts of tea ready for tomorrow (the big tumblers hold a quart at a time plus a fair amount of ice.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Sep 26 - 10:28 AM

The tariffs imposed by the Mango-Hued Menace have no basis in economic logic, so there’s no point in trying to think our way through or around them.

I believe that Mr Carney’s current tactic of disengagement is designed to leave Trump & Co. with nothing to work with, in the hope (expectation?) that Trump will eventually provoke an emergency out of sheer pique. I think Mr Carney expects the powers behind the American throne to take over at that point to get the country back into cooperation with the rest of the world. Fingers crossed he’s right.

But disengagement means just that — no more participation because the trading relationship has been perverted to malign ends.

It’s easiest to do in the grocery store (especially in summer) because our regulations require food labels to identify each item’s country of origin. Canada has been a branch-plant economy since colonial times, however, so practically everything else, from hand cream to car parts, is more complicated. At present, I don’t need anything badly enough to do the research; for example, that foot, with the toe gadget, fits into two pairs of walking shoes and my winter boots, so I’m actually fine for footwear. For the rest, self-restraint is the ticket.

I must get moving. Five kilometres is today’s goal, and I must get some groceries in.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Sep 26 - 11:29 AM

Today is a "save the vote" protest downtown and I have a small sign (8.5" x 10") made to fold in half so fits into my march-gear fanny pack. And I have a raging sinus attack going, sneezing, nose running, and headache. I signed up and added my remarks for the Commissioners meeting, so am at least on the record. Those meetings run on an agenda and the item that interests me (early voting and election day voting site lists) is last on the agenda. If the drugs kick in I could drive down later this morning. It's going to be a really long meeting. They're calling people who asked to speak but then when the topic they address isn't the correct agenda item they're excused until that part of the meeting. They're doing a good job of wasting the court's time.

An eBay box just left the porch. I can blow my nose and work on more of those for a while.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 26 - 08:29 AM

That was a marathon day for people who spoke at the commissioners meeting, the vast majority of hundreds of speakers were opposed to reducing polling places. The jerks still voted along party lines to reduce them by about 30% in a county that has grown considerably in the last four years. The act of doing this has super-charged their opponents so hopefully they're voted out soon.

The highs are finally in the 90s, not the low 100s, though the threat of more heat is still in the forecast. Edouard (looked like a hurricane but I think it's a tropical storm again now) is pushing clouds our direction.

I'm back to my one-a-day goal for eBay listings, though I'm finding as many items I no longer want to list so will donate. The front room continues to look better as I pull out stuff to list and put in the hall rack.

Any more poo on the porch, Charmion?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Sep 26 - 09:23 AM

The deck is poop-free — for now. With raccoons, you just never know.

I think I have achieved peak house plant. If I acquire even one more, the sunny windowsill will be too crowded to accommodate Isobel when she wishes to bask.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 26 - 12:48 PM

I couldn't believe that let's-cut-polling-places decision. It's like they don't understand the majority of people can see through their corruption. Still living in the past and looking through Fox-colored glasses I guess. Well, the infamous school board in Sarasota got booted out and so will these eejits.

Spotted a good older SUV for sale in Phoenix, so did a sudden road trip, and it did turn out to be 'the one'. Great young car salesman worked with me to get it bought, and the old car sold to another dealer next day, then a long haul home. Very happy with it; it's been well cared for, has peak useful technology (2017) sans useless later 'innovations'.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 26 - 03:50 PM

There were some overwrought speakers, a few so nervous they could hardly get through their one-minute statement, but there were mostly really sound remarks about the loss of those polling places and what statistically it means to people who are extremely low income and to the ability of sites to handle the numbers now that the county has gained several hundred thousand people (!) in the last four years. There were several candidates for local and state offices there as well, and the woman running for Lieutenant Governor stressed "vote early."

And on the SUV - there you go! 2017 was a good year. When you make that drive do you take I-10 and stop to admire the rocks in Texas Canyon? That is my favorite rest stop anywhere in the US, just because the rocks are so amazing. (I feel like the Lone Ranger will come riding around one of those boulders, "HiYo, Silver!") Near Dragoon, AZ. I have photos of rocks, and also the harvester ant mounds that are scattered around the grounds. (I wonder how much they blasted in there to build a wide spot for rest areas?)

For navigation purposes I've always planned routes ahead and printed my instructions, and I still have paper maps in the car. Sometimes I have to pull over to bring up Google Maps to figure out the final few turns, etc. (I use Google maps most often to look up businesses to see what their hours are.) I read this week that MapQuest spiked to number 1 in navigation apps because they're not changing any of the names affected by Executive Order. I may download the app and compare the two. G-maps has a lot more stuff, it is the 800 pound gorilla, but for many years before it came along I used MapQuest. Now if I can figure out how to get the annoying left panel to stop covering so much of the browser window.

So much for increasing my listings on eBay, the two I put up on Monday have sold already. Must add some more.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER: *Health *Progress - 2026**
From: pattyClink
Date: 02 Sep 26 - 04:21 PM

Yes, the Dragoons are a great scenic little range, love the rounded boulders of monzonite with their fat feldspars. I stayed at an odd little resort up in there two nights, parked hard by giant boulders, delightful.

The nice thing about the Gilbert/Mesa part of Phoenix is you can sneak in from the east on US 70 and 60, through copper mining country, instead of dealing with interstates through Tucson and Phoenix. Delightful drive. And particularly easy coming back, with the nice built in GPS.