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30 Sep 11 - 06:44 PM (#3231926) Subject: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oc From: Stilly River Sage It feels so good out there this evening that I'll start the thread a day early, to give everyone a run at the month of October! Here is the previous thread. SRS |
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30 Sep 11 - 06:54 PM (#3231941) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage For me September was a false start. It was hot and uncomfortable like the rest of the summer, difficult to get much done. But it is inevitable that we will eventually cool down (it was officially 101 yesterday here). Time to use the higher energy well, time to start thinking about the holidays. Cooking, planning indoor activities like crafts we let slide during the summer. And finding a place to set up and do those crafts comfortably. Looking forward to what people have to report. And as we get into fall, I hope maeve makes a stop in to report on how this year is looking compared to last. Is the yurt finished and was there a garden and a crop? Andrea is watching the builders slowly enclose space behind the old part of her house - will they have it far enough along that they can finish before the heavy winter weather sets in? I'm sure Michelle is working on building something around her place - how is it coming along? Maryanne, Alice, some of you must be hunkering down for cold by now. The first report of snow always seems way too early, but I suppose that is due if it hasn't already happened. I hope to have a warmer house this winter - I completely boxed in (with insulation board) my fireplace and have covered over the opening. A television sits on the hearth in front of it. No more cool wind slowly drifting into the room. SRS |
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30 Sep 11 - 11:03 PM (#3232023) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Altho I AM working on some upstairs reorganization, our cooktop just bit the dust; planning for the installation of the new one will take whatever time I can spare. Because the higher priority is wrapping up work stuff so I can get to Chicago, hopefully around Nov. 1, to spend some time with my sister-- who is terminally ill and who may need some care beyond just a brief visit. And then I may find myself organizing there, as there has been some consideration of her doing treatment and/or hospice in California, in which case she will need quite a lot of help closing her apartment in Chicago. ~Susan |
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30 Sep 11 - 11:27 PM (#3232027) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. The stove comes way down on a list that includes getting to see her. I hope you don't have to wait too long to make that trip. I did a little shopping this evening after dumping a bunch of recycling in the village collection bin. Stopped on my way home to pick up a gyro and it warmed my heart to see a few guys sitting with their beers in paper bags having a friendly conversation at the picnic table the owners of the gas station/restaurant put beside the parking area. It has been so hot all summer than no one used it; one wondered if it was simply not a good meeting place, or always the heat. In our modern rushed technology world, you sometimes need to see guys sitting around shooting the breeze to feel the human connection still works. When I was shopping I found a discounted package of beef short ribs. I've been wanting an excuse to do a pot of beef and veggies, so this is it. Tomorrow I'll braise the ribs and then add in carrots and potatoes. I can tell it is getting cooler because I want to start doing some real cooking again. SRS |
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01 Oct 11 - 11:49 AM (#3232193) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage This morning I discovered I'd accidentally mashed a Mediterranean house gecko (introduced in the area, they're cute as can be) in the security door on my back porch when I was preparing to walk the dogs. It wouldn't shut completely on this very cool morning (high 40s!) I realized I scrunched a chilly lizard unable to move out of harm's way. After rescue I warmed him in my hand but I could see it was crippled, losing it's back leg movement, so I squashed it to put it out of it's misery. Lizard triage slowed me enough that Susie and Zeke arrived before I got out of the yard. The dogs played out back and since she wanted to know how I streamed NetFlix I showed her and set up My Man Godfrey - she'd never seen it. We ended up having tea and blueberry muffins and watching a movie - nice start to the weekend! I've done some virtual organizing today - my friend who is losing his house called and said he thought it was time to rescue his email out of his current Internet provider's system. He uses their web interface and if his account closes, his email will go away. I talked him through downloading and setting up Thunderbird (Mozilla's resident email program) and then setting his email accounts to download into Thunderbird. He has an active online life moderating some discussion groups and to lose all of that if the account goes away then he'd lose a lot of contacts. Now to see if I can clear up my actual clutter around here! SRS |
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01 Oct 11 - 12:14 PM (#3232205) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. The stove comes way down on a list that includes getting to see her. I hope you don't have to wait too long to make that trip. This is a time to get things in order so that I CAN go and, if it is needful, stay.... she is not yet ready for that visit. So it's on me to use the time well, here, to be ready to go without any encumbrances from home to distract me from being totally there with her and for her. While I am waiting for the time to go, I'm focusing on what is right in front of me to do, which will involve wrapping up a lot of home and work stuff so it can be on hold for a period of time. And I will continue to track that here. "All things work together for good for they that love the Lord," so I am confident it will all come together. (There is no conflict of priorities, because they all dovetail.) ~Susan |
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01 Oct 11 - 09:11 PM (#3232402) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I just started the Secret Santa thread for this year. That's usually good for perking up the populace! Shopping this afternoon after paying bills. Cooking this evening to freeze garden stuff. Simple, busy, on my feet all day. I'll sleep tonight! SRS |
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01 Oct 11 - 09:56 PM (#3232421) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mg Anyone near enough to come to SC? MAG -- see my PM..would love to see you..mg |
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02 Oct 11 - 12:09 AM (#3232456) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I spent the evening cooking. Braised beef short ribs turned out great, and I have several for meals this week. Then I turned my hand to the bag of eggplant I picked a few days ago. I think there were 8 - peeled, salted, washed, and some of them cubed before sauteing, others were sliced then sauteed. All into the freezer for dishes this winter. The freezer has a lot of stuff in it from the summer that can come out soon - rice, beans, things that if they stayed warm (I wasn't cooling the house much below 85 all summer) could end up with weevils. This summer was so hot almost anything could end up with bugs - I know how before microbiology people believed in spontaneous generation, seeing how these buggers come out of no where. Must put my feet up. Might as well let my head to to sleep at the same time. SRS |
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02 Oct 11 - 06:17 AM (#3232522) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: ragdall Hi everyone, I've been trying to weed Creeping Bellflower out of another flower bed by removing all the plants. The plan is to replace the soil I removed when I discarded most of my plants with this year's finished compost. This should mostly empty the compost box ready to start filling, spring 2012. If time permits I will use the rest of the compost to tidy at least one other flower bed before snow and frozen ground prevent further gardening. We've had a light frost the past few nights. So far my geraniums, petunias and roses have survived. After my unsuccessful fight with aphids on indoor geraniums last winter I vowed that I'd leave the plants out to freeze this year. I suspect I will give in and bring at least 20 plants inside again if I have the time and enough low-pain days to pot them before they freeze. My husband's health was improving significantly but he has developed new medical problems which may actually be "complications" from the old medical problems. It looks as if our immediate future will hold lots of visits to doctors and labs again. rags |
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02 Oct 11 - 09:20 AM (#3232557) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage rags, I hope he continues to improve and the complications evaporate over time. I am going into this fall season with the new feature of a greenhouse. I have things that usually die off each year that I can dig up and keep going inside. The greenhouse could make a substantial shift in what I put in the yard - I usually never had things that needed to come in because it got too crowded in the sun room and it was too dark in the garage. I don't think that kind of plant will impact my vegetable garden, but it will make a difference in the ornamental plants in the bed near the front door. My gardens are full of grass and need to be weeded and mulched. If I want to plant potatoes again in January I need to have that soil well-worked to get a good crop. Listing magazines on eBay today. They're slick design-type magazines that my friend had to go in the trash at his house (too much stuff to sort and no time to sort it.) I'll look at completed listings and see what the best approach is - selling in batches, probably. I'd like to clear the magazines on a dresser in my sun room because I want to refinish that dresser. I also need to move more stuff in my garage to make space for the grill that my neighbors have set aside for me. They got a new one, and I volunteered to take the old one off their hands. It's a faster option for some outdoor cooking than my little charcoal grill. There's also a nap on my schedule today. Just because! :) SRS |
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02 Oct 11 - 05:59 PM (#3232762) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: ragdall SRS, Enjoy your nap! How is the greenhouse heated? When we built a greenhouse it wasn't much protection once the temperatures dropped below freezing. rags |
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02 Oct 11 - 08:14 PM (#3232810) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I am actively tracking, getting in more movement and found myself 3 new (on big time sale) DVDs for exercise at home. :) Meds are all nicely balanced, I'm starting to have more energy and life is good. :) I went grocery shopping today, did 2 loads of dishes, found the kitchen table, put everything away, picked up toys that were all over the downstairs (he follows me with his toys and leaves them when I leave the room). I have put together a list of things that I need to get ready for an upcoming trip that I am most excited about! Jeremiah is napping at the moment but I have the vacuum cleaner ready to go for when he wakes up. I know people who say they can run the vacuum under their sleeping child's crib but I'm not feeling like pushing my luck tonight. :) I've got some letters to write tonight too. Happy October Everybody! Michelle |
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02 Oct 11 - 11:10 PM (#3232866) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I finished weeding an area of a garden where I planted some broccoli and found a couple of onions I missed from last spring. Picked several large eggplant, delivered four to the Lebanese guy down at my favorite gyro stop. Between us my next door neighbor and I keep the okra picked; her 8-year-old granddaughter is coming for a birthday dinner on Thursday and loves fried okra, so we'll make sure there is a big batch of it. I have a compost bin that holds kitchen scraps until it's pretty soupy, and today I emptied that into the compost. I scooped the dog droppings first and soaked them in a bucket of water to pour over the compost to keep them out. And all of my new weeds went on top of that. In the house laundry is drying, kitchen is looking semi-tidy, frozen cooked eggplant are now bagged, a couple of bins I had in the freezer (oatmeal and rice) are now out at room temperature again. All in all, most of my organizing and exercise has been garden related, but come the winter months I'll be very glad I went to all of this work! SRS |
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03 Oct 11 - 03:52 PM (#3233222) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Michelle, did you finally get to vacuum? Does Jeremiah like to help? I need to discover my breakfast table. Several projects have been layered there lately. Getting in the holiday Secret Santa mood - burning a pine scented candle this afternoon. :-) SRS |
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03 Oct 11 - 05:38 PM (#3233300) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I sure did get to vacuum! I had it all plugged in and in the living room before the baby was even up!! Jeremiah does like to *help* but mostly it involves pushing around the vacuum cleaner AFTER it's been put away! It has wheels and is stored on a laminate floor so it's easy to push. I find it in the weirdest places sometimes!!! I did a lot of phone call work this morning and made a small crock pot of chili...enough for my lunch today, dinner tonight for the family and Pete's lunch tomorrow. Cornbread is on the menu too! I spent some time in our bedroom today as clean clothes have been piling up for all of us. It seems that is the last room to get any attention around here! I took everything off the bed, mattress cover included and am washing all of that at the moment. I am hoping I have the energy to dust and vacuum in there tonight...we'll see. I also gathered one bag of things to take to the local clothing bins in town. I have lots more but I'll settle for getting one done today. My adventure is getting closer and I'm getting more excited as time goes by. Gotta go. Michelle |
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03 Oct 11 - 06:15 PM (#3233328) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Got a call from Susie this afternoon, her husband has back problems that are very painful and he'd fallen. This on top of chemo - talk about insult added to injury. She couldn't get him up by herself (she wanted to get him to the car to take him to the emergency room). I drove right over, heard one of his wails as we tried to lift him and went out on the porch to call the fire department: "Can you come up and help us lift him, and if that doesn't work, which I don't think it will, THEN you can call the ambulance?" It's a small town, and they did come up and I thought they'd have better luck into talking him into the ambulance ride to the hospital downtown where she wanted to take him. They did talk him into letting them call an ambulance and I left before it arrived, bringing Zeke down here to stay so he wouldn't be underfoot and so she doesn't have to worry about him if she's gone for a while. I'm assuming she'll be at the hospital for many hours as they make him comfortable and decide on what needs to be done. I'll make a batch of blueberry muffins to take over tomorrow, her husband likes those. I took a big bag of recycling stuff to the bin this weekend - I think next I'm going to take a lot of boxes. I keep them in case I need them for eBay but I haven't used many of them over the time I've been listing there, so I'm going to flatten some and deliver them to the bin this evening. When I brought Zeke down I parked outside the garage - when he's here I don't open the garage door or he charges out of it. Some of what I want to recycle is in the garage, so I'll flatten it and open the door a couple of inches and slide them out underneath. :) SRS |
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04 Oct 11 - 11:17 AM (#3233686) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Looks like Zeke will be here for a day or two more, what with long days and hospital visits. This way Susie doesn't need to drive back down here to let him out and feed him. The weather is lovely so it's perfect play weather for that backyard pack. I fertilized and watered the vegetables this morning - now that everything is into growth spurts. I made room in my garage for the neighbor's old grill and my first project will be grilling some of my veggies - peppers and onions - to make salsa. I don't have any of my own tomatoes yet, still hoping for some, but I've discovered that when the veggies are grilled the smokey flavor in the salsa is fabulous. I need to get a tank, but a place has been recommended so I'll get it later this week. This is a welcome addition to my domestic operation! I've cleared my sewing area (a computer had sprawled on the far end of the table) and started on the mending that has piled up. When this is finished I have several new projects to work on. Kat, now that you have this Dragon speaking software going, are you going to do the NaNo(?) November novel? What a great way to both master the software and get another story down on paper. I heard an NPR interview last week with a woman whose novel that is out now (and optioned for a film) was written during one of those Novembers. SRS |
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04 Oct 11 - 11:53 AM (#3233705) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing traditionally, I've only done it on even numbered years, but I am toying with the idea of doing it this year. And yes, I will be using Dragon if I decide to do it. However, with the advent of book Brewer, I have been busy entering my books there as e-books, so I may make November more about that, instead. Sorry I haven't been around much. We've been doing the usual cleanup and decluttering on the weekends. Small things here and there, but they seem to add up. I don't have Morgan at all during the week now so Saturday mornings have become breakfast with Mama and Papa days for him and us. That and other things have piled up and I am starting back with the therapist tomorrow to head depression off at the pass, I hope. I did manage to get to one new exercise class last week at the hospital life center where the salt water pool is also. As I make appointments here and there with other things, I will build that class into my schedule. It will be Monday Wednesday and Friday and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I hope to get to the pool. That's about all I've want to share right now. I am reading along and glad to see some familiar faces, who have been away for a bit, returning. luvyakat |
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04 Oct 11 - 05:50 PM (#3233917) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy I wsa away down south this weekend for a Cancer UK charity lunch, and a catch up with old college days friends...all in 30C heat! I am back up north now in 14! The roof trussses are up, and I hope the roofers will be here in the next day or so to sort that out. Not sure when the rooflight will go in, as I haven't heard from the planners yet. (I daresay it may get put in anyway!) I need to find out when the interior structures will be done, so that I can time the cooker delivery. All of a sudden I can see most of my wreck of a lawn, and it looks like I might be able to salvage it. Needs a bloody good haircut, though. It's got to be 6 inches long at least. Once the builders have gone, i'll be straight at it! Andrea |
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04 Oct 11 - 06:24 PM (#3233943) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Your former kitchen was a very narrow space with counters all around. As I recall the photos from your previous house, you had a large open kitchen. Will the new house be more like the old house when you finish all of this? The rest of the house will feel wonderful once you get everything moved out of temporary spaces into the rooms it belongs. I guess for last week your car was ready in time so you didn't have to make other arrangements to get there and back? I find myself needing to head in to the dealer for a couple of little issues. Fingers crossed they're both quick fixes. Kat, a month of using that program so intensely would certainly acquaint you with the fine points of use. Maybe work on some short stories so you can quit when you have enough or think you've mastered the program. :) SRS |
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05 Oct 11 - 08:57 AM (#3234243) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy Yes, I got the car on Thursday morning. It has developed a squeaky steering wheel and a slightly noisier engine than I remember (sounds a bit more "dieselly"), but it is running fine, and although they said they'd have it in to check it out, I can live with it for now. At least it has a new clutch and cylinder. The new kitchen will only be about 3/5 the size of the last, and much darker. It will also be dominated by the cooker. I plan to have cream units with a wood effect worktop, and a fairly light coloured floor, to get as much light into the place as possible. I probably won't have room for a central table, but I hope I'll get a small one in under the side window... Andrea |
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05 Oct 11 - 09:37 AM (#3234258) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage That's unusual - remodeling to come up with a smaller kitchen! Will it be a different shaped room in the new space? Scrambling to get ready to head to work this morning, for a barbecue lunch to celebrate the ultimate in organizing - over the last year our university library conducted inventory. All hands on deck, working in shifts. We have about 1.3 million volumes and each one had to be touched and accounted for. As you can imagine, reading the shelves and reshelving to put everything where it belonged made everyone a little punch drunk after a while. This should be a good lunch. I made a batch of healthy rolls, adapting my favorite roll recipe. I'll post it if anyone is interested - I use 1 cup of white flour but the rest is spelt and whole wheat. It has carbs but a little healthier mix. Most of them went into the freezer but a couple went home with Susie. She picked up Zeke to spend the night at her house (I suspect that lucky pooch got to sleep on a bed!) and then brought him back this morning. SRS |
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05 Oct 11 - 11:13 AM (#3234266) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre So tomorrow my adventure begins. That means today is going to be spent running last minute errands and packing. Jeremiah was up several times last night so he's still sleeping and I'm taking a little bit to sit and soak up some of this glorious morning sunshine. :) Tomorrow I head to Vermont to visit my good friend Amy from my college days. We don't have any big plans..we're just going to hang out, have dinner, watch a movie and talk. I can't tell you how excited I am to just be seeing her!!! I'll stay overnight at her house and then on Friday, I'm headed to Camp Bravehearts where I will spend 4 days with other women who have had cancer. It's an oncology camp. Sounds creepy, right? The thing is, I'm excited about this. It will be a chance to be with other women who have been through the fire and I have a sneaking suspicion that these women are like me….wanting to let loose and have FUN and to ENJOY what's going on because we've all come uncomfortably close to losing our lives….not just a random floating thought, but a reality. I'm sure there will be poignant moments too and people will share their stories but I think that kind of sharing is good for the spirit. I'm not worried that I'm too fat or too ugly or not smart enough to hang out with these total strangers because I KNOW that we all KNOW what is important and that is that our bodies, no matter what they look like, were strong enough to carry us through and allow us to be here today & take part in life. I plan on having a giggly, heartfelt, let my freak flag fly, fantastically fun kind of time!!! Love to all, Michelle |
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05 Oct 11 - 12:46 PM (#3234325) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I've not been all that fit the last few weeks, with a complaining back, and now my right knee feeling sore, so I've had to miss the local walks for two weeks. Did give it a try today, but had to pull out as they were going down into the valley, which would have meant climbing up again. For a while I didn't feel like cooking, and that leads to a bit of a vicious circle of energy loss, but I'm back on that again. Yesterday was an overgrown courgette stuffed with lentils, bulghur wheat and cheese, with herbs together with grilled tomatoes from the garden. Today was runner beans sliced narrow and eaten like spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce (that was out of the larder). While I've been off cooking, there's the Chinese takeaway in the village (and the Indian and the kebab and pizza places, but I don't feel those are so healthy) and ready meals from the Co-op or Waitrose. I've also been decluttering the yarn stash by making stuff on circular knitting looms (did I mention that before?). I've made a child's hat, several scarves in fashion yarns, umpteen string bags, and am currently working on a lacy white scarf, and taken them all down to the charity shop. Also doing digital art work on photos to mount in cheap picture frames from the charity shop to return to them for sale at a higher price. Unfortunately, the slide and negative scanner has broken, so I am confined to photos from the digital camera, and not many of them are suitable for the treatment. We had a setback with selling my Dad's house. The one at the other end of the chain dropped out - poor person had a bipolar episode (we are wondering if the bid was made during a high), and everything stopped. Fortunately, the other family who wanted Dad's still does, and have offered us more, today. Sadly for the people whose house they were nearly ready to exchange on. And I've had two people interested in mine, one who can do it in 4 weeks. Penny |
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05 Oct 11 - 03:37 PM (#3234444) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing Wow, you've been busy, Penny. Michelle, have fun! I got a link from Kovel's today which I thought might be of interest to some of us: Trash to Cash - Queen of Auctions. I haven't listened to it, yet, but it sounds like fun and maybe inspiring. |
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05 Oct 11 - 05:30 PM (#3234521) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy I should have said that the new kitchen will be about 3/5 of the one in my last house! It's going to be about 11ftx9ft, and my last was about 13x11 (I think). It's been a while! My calves are killing me after zumba (Mon), morris (Tues) and clog dancing class tonight. My achilles tendon is a bit sore too. It has been for a couple of months, after the border morris workshops at Whitby. Luckily I am seeing my sports massage lady tomorrow. It's weigh-in tomorrow evening too. When it comes to me losing much weight, my gut feeling is that all bets should be off! Sounds like you are having a bit of a stressful time, Penny. Hope your back is mending. Everybody seems quite busy at the moment. Andrea |
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05 Oct 11 - 11:24 PM (#3234663) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage This is some heavy lifting folks are doing. No wonder we don't hear from some of you often! Today my accomplishment was small by comparison: I cleared off my kitchen table. :-/ Tomorrow morning I'll make some blueberry muffins and simply keep a supply on hand. Then I'm ready if anyone drops in. Susie stopped for a bit this evening; she's heading back to the hospital very early in the morning so Zeke is still with us. Sometimes a cup of tea and a muffin is just what is called for on those brief visits. Tomorrow I have a whole slew of stuff to finish for work, but I am thinking that what I need to do is establish a 4/3 work week, with 4 10-hour days and a long weekend. My work is flexible, it is allowed in most instances. Sometimes 8 hours just isn't enough to finish things I've started and don't want to turn off. And 3-day weekends sound so wonderful! SRS |
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06 Oct 11 - 01:11 PM (#3234886) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage This weekend there is a chance of rain. Fingers crossed - it would make the yard work I have planned easier (the garden soil is like concrete these days). Cleared off the kitchen table last night, but I put the stuff in other places so I need to go sort and toss or put away. But I was tired of moving things to sit down and eat. The gradual buildup is an old story we all know. I spoke to a company yesterday about getting a filled LP gas bottle for my new (recycled) grill. We discussed various maintenance aspects of them, and he's a pragmatist - the cheap ones work as well as the expensive ones, and when they wear out he buys another cheap one. This is probably a mid-priced one and I'll do some work to bring it up to speed. Clean the racks, wire brush on the burner to clear clogged vents, etc. Maybe this weekend (if it isn't raining) I'll cook outdoors again! I made room for it in the garage, in a spot where I can pull it out to use in the driveway or around the corner and into the back yard. SRS |
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06 Oct 11 - 09:37 PM (#3235119) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Dorothy Parshall so now it is October already and I have no idea where it all went. I managed to do most of what I meant to do to be ready for the pottery demo at Branches and Roots Festival on Saturday. I managed to totally mess up one glaze and need to regather energy to try again. So those pots did not make it. It was a fun day but I think I was verging on hypothermia. I gave up potting just after 3 and walked around, hugged a hot water heater for a bit, then started packing up. R had disappeared - at open mike - but I mentioned it to a couple people and he got the message and came back. He looked at me and disappeared again, returning with hot green tea and some tasty pastry fool of veggies and tofu. Then we packed and loaded the stuff, chatted with some folks and went up to the music hall. Brain dysfunction so bad that I could not think to take off wet socks and put on the dry ones a friend had brought me, until I sat for about 2 hours. Then my feet were so cold that instead of putting on the socks, I gave R my feet to put inside his cosy jacket and hug them for a while. Then I put on the wool socks but my feet were still cold. A friend went and warmed a bottle of water for my feet and that really helped! They were almost normal at midnight. Great music from about 6 til midnight. Plus, I had been able to hear the rehearsing most of the afternoon. I was delighted when Bruce Murdoch said "the emperor has no clothes" and refused to use the dreadful sound system. We only got to hear 3 of his songs and folks had to shut up and listen. They usually do - for him. It was a COLD and rainy day. but everyone - well those who ventured out - seemed to have a good time. The open mike, I heard, was terrific - in a different building. Today is the first day since that I had any energy. Taking extra chromium and, yesterday, zinc. I seem to have done myself out of them - the cold? I was really wrecked. Today, I put the finishing touches on a PR called Home for the Winter, about excluding animals from buildings so they won't use them for homes and have their families in them. I hope the paper will print it nicely as the one in the spring. I sent it to the SPCA for input and in hope they will translate them for French papers. They still have not upgraded their website but they do have a link on home page to wild animals. Tomorrow, I will go to the cabin and try to get some work done, then go to the cafe. Time to get ready for winter. We have a good pile of stove wood and the little wood stove in the cabin does a terrific job; I just about heated us out on Sunday! We'll see what it does at zero F or lower. I just realized I could have put out some raccoon PR too. We need to educate people about them and also find release sites for the rescued kits who need to go into the wild in relatively safe places, to have the best chance of survival. Next time. We have been enjoying apple/cinnamon buckwheat cakes for breakfast often. And some good peaches from Ontario - very rare to get good ones. And I made a very nice large pot of tomato/cauliflower soup on Tuesday to use the tomatoes that needed to be used NOW. Andrea's new kitchen sounds exciting as it nears completion! And SRS is busy as usual! |
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07 Oct 11 - 12:10 AM (#3235169) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Another region heard from! Dorothy, it seems like you just dug yourself out of winter not to long ago - and now you're already into cold and rainy weather? Better start wearing more wool socks - they're warm even when they're wet. I finished a bunch of work for work today so I can take the morning to do stuff for myself tomorrow. I'll dismantle the grill and see what the hose and fitting look like for the gas bottle, and I'll see about some replacement coals for the bottom to radiate heat. I have a late work day because the Friends of the Library meets in the evening. My library camera is acting up so I'll probably take my personal camera and drop my work Canon off at the camera shop. No buckwheat cakes, but I made both whole wheat rolls and blueberry muffins in the last couple of days. I want to be ready if my tired and dispirited friend comes by to pick up or drop off her dog; at least I can offer a hot cup of tea and a fresh muffin. Things haven't gone well from a diagnostic standpoint, so she's busy sorting it out. SRS |
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07 Oct 11 - 12:48 AM (#3235180) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,mg Eat your hearts out..we are having buckwheat pancakes with huckleberries and perhaps huckleberry syrup if someone knows how to make it..along with real maple syrup. MAG..still time to come..just show up. See Sunnycamp thread. |
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07 Oct 11 - 09:54 AM (#3235305) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Mary, make simple syrup and simmer your berries in it. 1 cup of water brought to a boil, add 2 cups of sugar, stir to dissolve and let it simmer a minute or two, then add as much fruit as you think looks good in it. Very simple process. And I envy you your huckleberries. I sometimes would make muffins with red and blue huckleberries for a great July 4th look. :) Zeke is back for doggie day camp and I sent Susie off to work and the hospital with a muffin in hand. Out to the garage to work on the new grill, and plan a trip to the store for a filled LP tank. I'd love to cook outside this weekend! BTW: did you know that those tank exchange stations outside of stores are only required to fill the tanks 3/4 and they can call them "full?" The guy at the LP business told me that. His company supplies a lot of the other suppliers in the area, and my friend who is being foreclosed upon told me about this place. He also said he'd give me a scale to measure the tank when I come back for my tank - then before I start some big project I can check to see if I have enough fuel. I still have some things to move to the greenhouse, but you know how it is - when you've looked at things in the same space for a long time they're almost invisible. Identifying the items that can be moved is half the challenge. SRS |
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07 Oct 11 - 11:10 PM (#3235653) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: maire-aine Hello, everybody. I'm still here, altho I took the summer off from posting. Haven't done much declutter/fitness stuff. Mostly just the usual-- cleaning & laundry, etc. We've had a few frosty nights, but for now we've been in the mid-70's, and it's supposed to last thru the weekend. Haven't pulled out the tomato plants yet. I've done more canning this summer that usual: bread & butter pickles, dilled green beans, & pickled peaches. I've also been working with a group in the area that's doing canning on a larger scale-- big cases of tomatoes, peaches, pears & plums-- making chutneys, sauces & even sauerkraut. From 2 to 6 people show up on Saturday mornings & the work goes pretty fast. That's about it from Michigan. Stay well. Maryanne PS: Watch out, Maggie. There are Tigers coming your way. |
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08 Oct 11 - 12:13 AM (#3235666) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I heard there are some ball games going on - is that what you're talking about? I don't follow sports at all, so it's lost on me. And this evening I was at a Friends of the Library meeting with a speaker who is a four-time All-Star player (with a couple of World Series wins, etc.) and not only had I not heard of him, I hadn't heard of most of the people he talked about. A few, certainly, the huge names. Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Yogi Bera. But I found it best to mostly acknowledge when someone address a sport remark that I don't follow baseball. And to not offer too many remarks myself. Got some good photos of people very happy to be at the meeting, though! Odd meeting. First one several of us did on our own since my former boss went back to teaching, but we learned a lot. Chance of rain this weekend. I hope so! I'll happily work indoors if rain will soothe my out-of-doors. SRS |
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08 Oct 11 - 02:16 PM (#3235871) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: MAG sorry sorry to miss SC -- next year I am happily settling into my new life in Portland OR -- joined 24 hr fitness and have 5 lb of the weight I regained over the last 2 years -- no place to garden at my new house (sob! and am on the lookout for a community garden somewhere In the garage I found an assemble-it-yourself greenhouse! one of those projects for a lull in winter weather -- but where to put it???? glad to be back |
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08 Oct 11 - 04:46 PM (#3235912) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage "It is written - MAG will garden somewhere" - the greenhouse tells her so! :-D I saw feet pass my office window a little while ago and my next door neighbor was bringing over a friend to see the garden. I walked out with a clippers and a bag and sent her home with a pound of okra. :-) Today I finished a little more work finished in the greenhouse. I took out some small bungee cords to hold some things up high and repaired some BB holes in the windows with some 3/4 inch round clear vinyl sticky discs (usually for avoiding scratching furniture). Inside and out, we'll see how well they stay in place. SRS |
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08 Oct 11 - 06:49 PM (#3235949) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: maire-aine Perfectly lovely autumn day! Farmers Market in the morning; bought tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries & Honey Crisp apples. Spent 1.5 hours peeling & chopping tomatoes with the canning folks; they're making chili sauce & then using part of the chili sauce to make HOT bbq sauce. I'll pick some up next week. Managed to squeeze in a few loads of laundry, too. Maryanne |
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08 Oct 11 - 08:07 PM (#3235979) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Lucky you, Maryanne! This is sheer torture - I had to buy cans of whole tomatoes today to make a pork/tomato/eggplant casserole. My Super Fantastic plants are making miniatures of themselves now, probably from shock from the heat. I've picked 3 pounds of okra in the last 24 hours, though. There may be rain headed this way. I have 2 good hours of TV tonight and I'd love to feel tucked in and enjoying this while it rains and is chilly outside. I'll be sorting playbills while I watch - though since it's the new season of Dr. Who I might be compelled to sit and watch that all of the way through. I've seen most of the New Tricks episodes, though we're due a new season soon. I am resolved to get these playbills out of here - it makes a big difference in my taxes if I do. They're worth real money if I donate them. SRS |
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08 Oct 11 - 10:29 PM (#3236012) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: maire-aine I've been watching the DVD of Rizzoli & Isles #1, with a glass of inexpensive (I won't say "cheap") pinot grigio this evening. One more load of laundry in the washing machine. Really enjoying this warm autumn weather, because I know how cold it's going to get pretty soon. I've still got a few tomatoes ripening, because we haven't had a killing frost yet. Maryanne |
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09 Oct 11 - 12:45 PM (#3236262) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Sister is stable, mom has been and is still in hospital with serious bowel issues after a recent surgery-- she's in ICU, last night in restraints because she was unhooking tubes to go home. This is exactly what she most has not ever wanted, so.... my brother is there with her. The new cooktop will arrive at the store this week and then, soon, be installed. Till then we are using grill and a nice old Black and Decker two-burner mini-cooktop. The new cooktop is a good, expensive one but the landlord decided we'd been using the old one (only 2 of 4 burners worked these last 5 years) long enough to spring for the one that really made the most sense-- covered burners with downdraft. So it's on us to spring for a new dishwasher, and I almost have enough saved to do it. Not much else-- work stuff, getting some work admin declutzed to submit. Oh and PT-- MWF with Dr. Pain Tina (lower body, core) and T/Th with Dr. Pain Hardi (upper body). The bad med is now at 75% of the level that had been keeping me in the chair, YAY! ~S~ |
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09 Oct 11 - 08:46 PM (#3236454) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage When it rains it pours. I'm sorry you're fighting this three-pronged health battle, Susan. My Susan here has been struggling to get information, and finally they told her today that her husband's platelet count is dangerously low, so that's the thing they're hoping to bring back up, but transfusions aren't working. She's held together with static cling alone right now. Lots of garden good stuff today. I've picked and frozen more okra, I've sliced and frozen green peppers and in a little while I'll seed and slice jalapeno peppers. The frozen eggplant is bagged and I've been pulling grains and beans out of the freezer - after so long in there any weevil eggs should be gone. Makes more room for produce. I also made a loaf of bread and I'll freeze half. Yesterday I closed the extra "free-no-longer" checking account at Wells Fargo. It was kind of an odd little account anyway, and if they're going to charge $60 a year I don't need it. Laundry finished. I've been on my feet a lot today - I watched a movie while I was doing the kitchen stuff (a Maggie Smith version of Suddenly Last Summer - it was a very good performance) and am ready to sit down for a while. SRS |
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10 Oct 11 - 12:18 AM (#3236527) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage More progress this evening. Seeded and cut up a bunch of jalapeno peppers, everything else is put away. One last load of laundry will go in before I go to bed. The kitchen looks great - everything washed and put away. The dogs were in for a little while and they were so exuberant that they moved the furniture sideways when trying to climb up into my big leather chair. I think we're all feeling frisky now that the weather is cooler. :) Susie's husband is dying, there is no way around it. I'll try to feed her and offer support. Meanwhile, I think Zeke has heartworm, he has the cough, and I know she hasn't kept up with the monthly treatment. I'm going to have to get her to have him treated now so he's in shape to be a good companion when her husband passes. I had to run Poppy through the cure a couple of years ago - it isn't easy, but it is better than it used to be. I can help her with that, but we need to get the test soon and go from there. Wish me luck - that's my task in the next week or two. Once they get the heartworm treatment the dog has to be relatively quiet for a few weeks. When it rains, it pours. SRS |
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10 Oct 11 - 10:47 AM (#3236734) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Woke to a clean kitchen this morning, and the last of the laundry washed overnight is dry and waiting fold later on. Simple stuff. I feel good about all of the food processing, though I sure miss having tons of tomatoes to can and freeze; this is the second year of little or no crop. The rain we've had over the last 2 days is welcome and a little more today wouldn't go amiss. About the only way I can make myself stay indoors to work on house stuff when I have spare time is to have cold or wet weather. I noticed a report on facebook this morning that Claire Bear has gotten a lot of clothes out of her closet (75% she says!) and perhaps we can hear about what she's up to one of these days. Kat, how was the weekend with Morgan? He must be thinking about Halloween costumes by now - every child his ages counts the days until trick or treat. What will he go as? SRS |
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10 Oct 11 - 12:21 PM (#3236792) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: ClaireBear Hello, all! Yes, I've been a busy bear. I am contemplating some changes in lifestyle, and a good way to start seemed to be to lighten up, literally and figuratively! I got started on the literal slimming down about 6 weeks ago and have lost I'm not sure how much weight, but enough that I'm into what (for me, bear-shaped) are "skinny jeans." Maybe 15 or 20 pounds? (More walks, less food, using my muscl3es differently, and believing in myself for the first time in years all helped with this.) Now, on to the figurative. I have also become weighed down by STUFF. My bedroom has never really been my own. It started out my husband's room, shared with my son, then it was my room shared with my son...everybody's stuff was still in there, and none of it had ever been sorted. Also I've been a notorious thrift store junkie and had heaps of clothing in there -- which is one reason I've been sleeping in a tent or in our motor home for the last year and a half, avoiding the unwelcoming bedroom. This weekend I asked a dear friend (with excellent taste) to help me sort and declutter. We culled through the books all day Saturday and then went through my wardrobe piece by piece yesterday. She strove to be brutally honest with me about which of my clothes worked and which didn't. At the end of the weekend, I donated something like 30 each boxes of books and bags of clothing to charity. I am left with about 1/4 of the clothing I had before, it's probably still more than I need, and it's all "good stuff." I probably gave away 1/3 of my books. I still have more than I will ever have time to read, and now I know where they all are. And I have a ROOM, at least in progress. Not sleepable in yet, but still... This morning, for the first time since my marriage 17 years ago, I was able to walk across my very own room to the arts and crafts desk (adorned with a vase of roses and cozied up to an arts and crafts bookcase with most of my favorite books tucked into it) that I haven't used since I left the cottage I loved in Alameda; sit at an actual desk chair; and use my computer in comfort. I am so jazzed! Far to go, and yet to have achieved so much in so little time amazes me. Properly motivated, what can we not get done? |
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10 Oct 11 - 01:29 PM (#3236837) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Claire, you have arrived in the right location and that is a great accomplishment! We're all working on similar tasks - I inherited a lot of stuff from my parents and several great aunts - one problem was that I didn't know much about the extended east coast family and when I had the opportunity to have family heirlooms and stuff, I grabbed it, but I've been lugging it around ever since. My parents died in 1997 and 1998 and for a while stuff was in storage, but when I bought this house in 2002 I decided everything had to come out of storage. And for the past few years I've been whittling down the stuff. I have a lot more room here; my books went through a major organization a couple of years ago on the tile floor in the living room - the A tile, the B tile, etc with a couple of tiles for the letters that had more authors. I found duplicates and things I'd never read, took several good sized boxes down to sell to my local used book store (Half-Price Books). I've been selling a lot of smaller easy-to-ship things from these estates on eBay. That's a story in itself. You'll find our threads are usually linked back to the previous ones, if you want to read more. And you'll see a lot of living going on here also - Michelle (Lily Fester) started talking about her ovarian cancer here and spun off into a separate thread so more people would find it. She's cancer free and has an adopted son who came along just as she was finishing the chemo - it was an amazing ride, in the pages of these declutter threads. Welcome to the group! SRS |
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10 Oct 11 - 02:00 PM (#3236855) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing qi gong - 30 minutes with a nap in between? Arrghhh...in a funk, adjusting meds, more later. Goodonya Claire! SRS, all I know is his dog has a ninja costume!LOL |
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10 Oct 11 - 09:05 PM (#3237069) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I am home & happily exhausted. :) My car is still packed. Who cares about that when Jeremiah and Pete were waiting inside?!?!?!? It can wait until tomorrow. Sweet dreams everyone! Michelle |
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10 Oct 11 - 10:27 PM (#3237082) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct From: GUEST,.gargoyle Laf Kat ... throw away the meds.
Slowly, over the next 60 days Your replacement clone is "boring" there is nothing to "tweak....disturb....ruffle." I need you back.
Sincerely, --It took a mudelf to fix garg's typo |
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11 Oct 11 - 12:15 AM (#3237113) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Gargoyle visiting the declutter threads - that's a first! He has a point - if only an academic one - it would be nice if everyone could be weaned from these drugs and get back to "normal" lives. Michelle, you are sounding quite content these days! That is such a nice thing to see, given how things were a year or 18 months ago. I think my role in Susie's life, in addition to watching Zeke, is to try to feed her. I had dinner ready this evening when she came by to pick him up, and she ate. I think French toast tomorrow will be on the table right about 7am when she drops him off. This way I can at least know she gets a couple of meals. I told her I'd like to see more than static cling keeping her going. My friend who is soon out of his house has had bad news and good news - the new apartment folks were going to ask for a second month's rent as deposit, but then called to say it would only be $250. Such relief! But we're still going to see if we can make a push to leave a few dollars in his pocket by clearing out the house. This will be a very busy week, I think. I told him that all things considered, with my friends who are needing help, he's moving and the other one's husband is dying. In perspective, he'll be fine in a month or two. I think he actually appreciated that reminder. I bagged the peppers I cut up and froze last night, and bagged frozen whole okra. I picked another pound of okra - this is great - I am getting good edible stuff out of the yard. Scatter-shot reporting this evening. I'm bushed - and I didn't do nearly as much as some of you. Claire, you deserve a badge (virtual, so it doesn't clutter your house) - and keep moving forward. Have a plan. Start with the smallest room first and empty it, leaving only what needs to be there, and move on. Now that you have the momentum, you need to nurture it, because success breeds success. For all of us! SRS |
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11 Oct 11 - 08:55 AM (#3237130) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,Eliza Beating myself up yet again this Autumn - beautiful nerines in flower in everyone's garden but ours! Keep forgetting that you plant the bulbs in SPRING, but when Spring comes, I forget. Have managed however to put in loads of copper and orange-coloured selections of tulip bulbs, and the elegant white Thalia daffodils. Should look quite nice together. Have stuck bubble wrap onto the lower part of our sitting room window. Hope this helps to keep the heat in. Husband has promised to repaint the fascia boards before the winter arrives, but he was nearly blown off his ladder, so I made him stop! Thrilled to see Hallowe'en things in Tesco's. Bought a small box of 'treats' for the village children when they come. Must remember to get a pumpkin later for the front step. Actually, can't be too grumpy about the change of season, there are lots of delights in Autumn! |
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11 Oct 11 - 09:30 AM (#3237159) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I have a ceramic pumpkin that is meant to hold a candle - I don't do much more than set that out on my kitchen table these days. Too much pumpkin destruction around this area to leave pumpkins on the porch. The quality of the light these days is more autumnal, but with highs still in the low to mid-80s it doesn't quite feel like fall yet. But soon. What that burst of energy hits I'll see what project comes to hand. I think some of you have experienced it already. SRS |
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11 Oct 11 - 10:15 AM (#3237185) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I decided to make more opportunities for using my pedal exerciser, and the pedal assembly has decided to fall apart! Can't find a blacksmith, or a metalworking company. Can't find a replacement locally. And I took my Dad's to the charity shop. Oh dear. Penny |
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11 Oct 11 - 01:20 PM (#3237293) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre SRS, You are absolutely right....I am incredibly content!!! My life and my house are a work in progress and that's fine with me!!! I am healthy and so is my family..what more could I ask for? :) I've grown immeasurably, found a different perspective and my priorities have changed immensely. This past weekend was another opportunity for growth and I want to share that with you all but am still mulling the entire thing around in my head. There's so much...it might take a while. In the meantime, after hugging my family tight, tight, tight, spending the night having family time and a night of solid sleep in my own bed...I'm up and ready to go! Made breakfast, packed Pete's lunch, found the kitchen table, made a curried chicken casserole for dinner, have a load of laundry going, swept the floors, picked up toys, vacuumed the rug, played with the baby and when the sun goes down a bit, I'll finish cleaning out my car. :) Have a great day everybody!! Michelle |
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11 Oct 11 - 08:07 PM (#3237513) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg TBTG, as of this morning my Mom is much more alert, coherent, 90 percent back-- chatting away. ~S~ |
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11 Oct 11 - 10:55 PM (#3237566) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Things are coming to a climax for my friend in foreclosure - I think we have his ducks lined up now so he can move this weekend and still earn the payment for cleaning the house. He'll be able to pay people back and settle into the new digs. By this time next week it will all be finished with. Not so good for Susie, the aspiration test on the bone marrow shows the cancer there, so he'll be moving to hospice in a few days. They're fighters who have reached that insurmountable point. He's comfortable and that's the best they can hope for. I won't draw comparisons to W y s i w y G's mom, but he also had a lucid day when he was quite talkative and enjoyed family company. This is a gift, and she knows it - they'll give him enough platelets to get him through a few days of family coming in, and then I think they won't. Meanwhile, back in the village, I'm still planning a garage sale in 3 weeks if the weather cooperates, most likely sans Susie. I have household goods to move out, and we'll pool stuff from neighbors on this end of the block. It might be only one day, but if I publish enough photos of the items for sale I think some of it will go early. It's cooler but not fall weather cool yet. My garden is really active; I finally spotted one of the culprits who eats cantaloupe - it's a rat. I put a rat trap with meat in it next to the cantaloupe it has been eating. I'll have to catch them one at a time because I don't want to fill the place with toe crushers. I saw a path yesterday and I'll put it there next. Busy week and it's only Tuesday. SRS |
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12 Oct 11 - 02:21 PM (#3237919) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: SINSULL Just checked in to see how everyone is doing. WOW Claire, that is amazing progress. Good for you. Miss Kitty - sometimes meds are good for you. (Despite what Gargoyle says). How's my boy and what will he be on Halloween? SRS - take time out for yourself. Same to you, Susan. It is no good to anyopne when the caretakers need care. SINS, down five pounds...in five weeks (SIGH) |
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12 Oct 11 - 02:58 PM (#3237938) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing HeyaSins, a pound a week is reasonable and good. Congratulations! I did an hour of Sit and Fit at the hospital life center this morning and it went well. I am told Morgan is going to go as a ninja for Halloween and one of the dogs, either Dizzy or Numa will be going along in a karate doggie costume. I can't wait to see that. He'll be over this evening at six when he gets done with an enrichment class at school. So we only see him generally now on Saturdays when he has a standing breakfast invitation with us and sometimes on Wednesday evenings for an hour or two. We do talk on the phone every day. He's happy and doing well. There's more but I won't go into it just now. All is well. SRS, glad to hear things are going along well for your friend who has to move but sorry to hear of what Susie is having to go through along with the rest of her family. Isn't it wonderful for her how you came into their lives and have been of such great help. As Sins says, take good care of you first. Best to you all, kat |
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12 Oct 11 - 03:38 PM (#3237961) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre Five pounds in 5 weeks is perfect Sins!!! YAY!!!! I hope we get to see pictures of that ninja of yours Kat, doggy too! XOXOXOXO Michelle |
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13 Oct 11 - 01:46 AM (#3238211) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I think after this weekend I'll have a lot more time to myself, and for my friend who's moving, more opportunity to visit - he won't be scrambling to do with the house any more. This evening I used one of those huge zucchinis, a co-worker brought it to the library. It's the kind that you miss in the garden and grows to the size of a football before you find it - I had enough (four cups!) to make two batches of zucchini bread. I'll put a couple of them in the freezer, keep one for the house, and take 2 or 3 up to Susie's house. She'll have a lot of company in for a while. Her husband will be moved to hospice tomorrow. Taking a couple of days off to work on things - it'll be the kind of long weekend I need to rest up from at work next week. SRS |
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13 Oct 11 - 06:19 AM (#3238262) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,Eliza We call those huge things marrows. You can write words on them by cutting lightly with a knife, and the words get bigger and bigger as it swells. People have been known to sabotage marrow-growing competitors by creeping into their gardens at night and cutting rude words lightly on the skin of their prize specimens. Later it becomes only too apparent what's happened! I love the "Oh! What a Beauty!" song by Kenneth Williams, it always makes me shriek with laughter. You can find it on Youtube, the Marrow Song. Last Sunday, some exquisite chrysanthemums appeared in Church, a display on a stand. They were absolutely stunning, dozens of them, grown by a villager, and old boy of over eighty. Autumn flowers are nearly always vivid and brilliant in colour aren't they? These looked like sunbursts, and a ray of light shone on them from the stained glass windows. Glorious! |
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13 Oct 11 - 08:21 AM (#3238313) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre SRS, You are a wonderful friend. Michelle |
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13 Oct 11 - 10:06 AM (#3238368) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing Here's a neat little PBS Arts video on ETSY where Alice has her shop. I have one, too, but have done nothing with it...maybe next year.:-) It's a good way of showing how folks are making money by recycling/re-purposing old stuff and doing what they love. |
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13 Oct 11 - 10:22 AM (#3238372) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage What a hoot - carving words into squash. Marrow, eh? I'll look it up. I have some happy acorn squash out in the garden right now. They struggled with the heat but are perking up with cooler temperatures and finally some good rain. I think they'd have been happier if I'd planted them later, considering the heat they had to endure. Sometimes you have an intersection of activity that makes for a tough time for others - I'm glad I'm able to help - and all if this is culminating in the next few days and days will be luxuriously calm. One hopes. I have a couple of pairs of gloves, a change of socks, my wheelbarrow, shovel, spade fork, and a big water bottle and will head into the abyss of my friend's garage. This is the ultimate declutter project, into a 30-yard dumpster, the largest size he could rent. It is moved on the back of a truck and raised from and lowered to the bed with a winch that pulls it along the slanted truck bed; it moves on embedded rollers so once on the ground is almost level with the ground, has a beveled edge for rolling stuff and easy to load everything into, through gates that swing open at the back end. SRS |
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13 Oct 11 - 11:41 PM (#3238710) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I worked hard in that garage today, got a lot done, and when my friend and his roommate got home from work they carried a lot of the big stuff I couldn't get by myself. We filled about 2/3 of a 30-yard dumpster today. I picked up a few things, and I did sort enough that I pulled a few valuable items out of the mix they'd gotten into accidentally. A few hours more and we are finished, and it will be moving day! I'm off to bed and I'll sleep well tonight - with help from 2 Motrin. :) SRS |
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14 Oct 11 - 09:49 PM (#3239170) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I thought I posted earlier; probably eaten by the lazy browser window. I didn't spend as much time working on the dumpster stuff today; Poppy and Cinnamon had a tiff at ~ 4am and I had one slightly punctured pooch on my hands (Poppy this time). I'd used peroxide and ointment, and she went with me over there, staying in the truck, but after a while I saw her leg was swollen so I took her home and cleaned and soaked it in a veterinary solution. Several dollars for a little 4 ounce bottle from the vet; it's diluted and used to wash or soak in. Turns out that same thing is in high-dollar human cleansers and in other vet things like teat soak for dairy cows. Anyway, I bought a bottle of the concentrated version like I have in the little bottle for $22 and that includes shipping. Chlorhexidine Solution is in a lot of human and vet products. Hibiclens is one brand/product that uses it. I wonder if it is also in the non-alcohol mouth washes? Tomorrow is the last big push with the dumpster. My friend is in the apartment as of today, has moved most of the big stuff and now we finish cleaning the house and moving a few things he doesn't have room for. We'll probably take them to a consignment shop in the morning. Susie is in a holding pattern, going back and forth to hospice and has friends and family coming to town for their goodbyes. I was going to go to a concert, but ended up spending the evening in. I'd have enjoyed the concert, but it was another thing I was doing for someone else - taking photos to send to the newspaper - and I haven't managed to get my work photos sent in yet. It's a quiet evening in instead with the gentle snore of sleeping dogs behind me. SRS |
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15 Oct 11 - 10:54 AM (#3239385) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Keeping up that cleared-up downstairs is a funny thing. I see a mess begin and my mind goes right to "impossible, overwhelmed." But then I find that in about 5 minutes it's all done. The other day a friend we seldom see in person called to say she needed to drop something by, and by the time she (and her cute dog) arrived an hour later, I was all set-- could have taken the dust sheets off the pretty furniture too and would have if she had not been planning to bring in doggeh (who blessed my hitherto un-blessed rug). It's the dust sheets that give the room the "I'm a mess" effect, it turns out. I happened to have a set of old white sheets no good for anything else, so that's what we used. The next round of yard sale prep may net me some prettier ones to use instead, or at least scarves to lay over them decoratively!!! The idea is a layer that can be whipped off for company/washing in between catching the dust and cathair-- one load of wash and no more. None to fold and find storage space for! I cobbled up a little shelf to use a few extra square inches of bathroom storage-- a narrow spot between vanity and wall. A whole shelf in the large closet in there (which I use for undies, nighties, etc.) was emptied once I got THAT in. It's cardboard construction till Ade can build it in wood for me. I got tired of having to put on clothes to go look in another closet every time I was naked after a shower and wanted a nightgown! After the big washing of linens I did in September, and the camper-unpack we finally almost finished last week, I had a few large items left. A sleeping bag whose mate is in use, which we do not need but might want to match back up with its mate later... and a kingsize comforter whose padding is good but the stitching is shot, from the camper. A lightbulb finally went on-- that new mattress pad I know we need but can't get right now.... The bag and comforter fit under old pad perfectly, old pad holds it on, bed now not only protected by a cushy comforter that can be thrown to the dogs if and when it is further worn (or we get that new pad). It means we are now sleeping on top of the last 5-6 years' vacations! :~) Also unpacked from camper, "smellegrams" for a wolf friend from vacation. To mail next week... along with a GORGEOUS quilt we won from the church's Quilters, headed to sister to wrap her in prayer and stunning fall colors. The friend I had hoped would come and help, just a leetle, with that yard sale is indeed coming, with partner, end of the month. Their young legs will bring down boxes-- stuff I will already have sorted that is now sitting "out of the way" in "their" room, and then we'll sit out on the front porch and price it all for a sale to be scheduled the weekend after their visit. The trip to Chicago to explore sister's current and future caregiver needs is tentatively planned for late November-- a week with Hardi's mom first and then a week with sister-- and then back home before the worst of snow season, unless sister needs me to stay, as in STAY. Son and DIL are on the route back and forth for overnight sleepage. Hm. I had felt that I wasn't doing much around here-- PT is so hard that altho I can now change a kingbed by myself including mattress flip, I'm in the chair as much as ever after some of these sessions. I guess I have gotten more done that I thought, TBTG. Hopefully by the time I hit Chicago I can do stairs-- sister has a lot of them. ~Susan |
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15 Oct 11 - 01:03 PM (#3239440) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: ClaireBear Time to make some more progress. Today, I will start bringing all the crap I've been leaving elsewhere in the house, because I didn't have my own room to leave it in, into "my" room. (Not a bedroom, just "my" room.) I will not be responsible for helping to mess up the community space any more! Whether it not the community space gets any neater, at least it will not be messy due to me. Coming out of a decade-long depression is a wonderful, powerful thing. Oh, and I bought a scale yesterday. Yup, 20 pounds at least. Last week's roses are withered. I think I deserve fresh flowers on my desk today. |
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15 Oct 11 - 08:13 PM (#3239642) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I spent time in the baby's nursery today going through his dresser and removing clothes that are now too small or not good for this season. I unpacked all the washed clothing I've picked up at various yard sales over the summer and am finding that Jeremiah is will be well dressed and warm this winter! YAY!! I made a big crock pot of black bean chili yesterday and we are having it again tonight. There is a pan of cornbread in the oven as I type. Perfect for a rainy, wet evening. We had some time to relax and hang out this afternoon so Pete made some popcorn and we all read with a bowl of popcorn and a book (Jeremiah included!). The baby has had his bath, I have laundry going and am calling it a day. Tomorrow we are having family portraits taken and I'm still trying to decide what to wear. Down .4 pounds this week...not much but it is in the right direction! Goodnight Everybody! Michelle |
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16 Oct 11 - 10:14 AM (#3239835) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Claire, congratulations on the room and the weight! You'll note that these handy declutter threads are also for keeping track of "accountability" items (use sometimes fit that in the subject line) for reporting weight loss and exercise. Success breeds success, so keep us posted and pamper yourself with those new flowers. Andrea, we are on the edge of our seats awaiting photos of the roof and the new stove! Michelle, kids grow so fast - I would sometimes find clothes I'd bought for a season were missed and had been completely out-grown before I discovered them again. Susie was late bringing Zeke today - I was ready to go check on her to see if she'd had a stroke or something when she rolled up. Overslept - but that is a good thing, because she hasn't gotten much sleep at all lately. And now I'm off to my last couple of hours of helping my friend empty his house. I've been wearing the same set of clothes every day, putting them in a heavy duty wash cycle overnight, and yesterday was so foul with the garden stuff that I threw both my gloves and my shoes into the dumpster. I'll pull out a different pair of sneakers and get myself a new pair of the Reebok "Princess" black walking shoes this afternoon. They're an inexpensive pair that work well for gardening, dog walking, and for dumpster filling (no diving this time!) Maryanne, I see that the Dallas crowd is sending the Tigers back home today, and I was near the stadium at one point yesterday afternoon, but for a restaurant, not the game. I was asleep before the game was over. This heavy lifting is a good whole-body workout but I'm glad to be finished with it. Kat, are you going to set up more on Etsy, or are you going to list on eBay? Once all of this other activity is through I have a backlog of eBay listings and a garage sale to arrange for in a couple of weeks. SRS |
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16 Oct 11 - 11:33 AM (#3239859) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Fam health stuff-- I'm not going to get too specific here about the exact health situations in the following, for various reasons.... Friends are welcome to ask me more via PM. My brother reports steady physical progress for our Mom (Californy). He went to a "transitional" facility yesterday and liked it. Mom will probably go there next, don't know when, and then after that probably some home health care will spupplement what my brother, who is now her roommate, can do for her in addition to his more-than-fulltime self-employment "scxhedule." My sister's third round of treatment was yesterday, at the world-class facility just 2 blocks from her apartment (Chicago). She says she is feeling OK so far, and so it looks like my now-mid-Novemeber visit it going to be just about right-- a good opportunity to spend some "goodtime" with her. (Some fam member has to scope out the local support system and caregiving logistics she will need family to work with, in time; as the only one of us who does not punch a timeclock, so to speak, I'm "it." I have done this for other fam members in the past. Not quite under such tricky constraints.) In the meantime I am sending prezzies. She isn't talking yet about how far the most-hoped remission is supposed to help the other areas that had already been affected before she discovered all this. And some of those are pretty scary areas; as far as I know she is not yet tapping into local or online peer support. We have not been close for some time, tho for a long time we had been; so I'm not in a position to encourage her to join a support group but have passed word about that along, to other fam members, who can and, hopefully, will. (None of them AFAIK have had a close touch with any terminal illness, so as we all redefine relationships in light of her current need for support I hope to be able to add a gentle hint of reality when I go see her and her closest friends.) I WANT to go NOW. But I trust that now is not the time. ~Susan |
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16 Oct 11 - 12:23 PM (#3239875) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre For patients, caregivers and family: www.cancer.org www.livestrong.org/Get-Help Both are excellent organizations that can provide information for all involved as well as resources, even local resources. They can help with financial things too but require contact with the doctor...for things like travel (if necessary), wigs (if desired), etc. Her oncology department would have information about resources specific to her cancer. There are also a lot of great books out there with information bits about how to get through chemo a bit more comfortable. If anyone would like specifics, I am more than happy to share that info in a PM. Today is family portrait day...4 generations of us!!! :) I'm looking forward to it!!! We decided to go casual and be ourselves...no fussy, mussy dress up stuff happening here! I want photos of US not of people who are trying to impress anyone...just not our style! Bundling up...baby it's COLD outside!!! Michelle |
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16 Oct 11 - 02:50 PM (#3239897) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage It may be cold in PA but we're going to hit the high 80s again today. I'm home on a run to drop off stuff that I'll stash in the garage for an upcoming garage sale. Then back to move one last large item to my friend's storage locker. We've swept, checked, photographed, and oh, yes, called the police because someone came into the back yard and stole some expensive yard maintenance items (that were to be picked up today) after plowing through the trash out front. No one is at the house overnight now, and the cretins who come by at 2am have no sense of at least taking a neat look and moving on. They tear open and dump contents of trash bags. Makes one want to hide behind the dumpster with a can of pepper spray or mace . . . The bottom line is, this is the end of all of this. Tomorrow the bank gets the keys, he gets the form that signs off his responsibility for anything else, and he faxes a copy to code enforcement so they stop pestering him if the place gets messed up after he leaves. An empty house is an invitation to vandals. He doesn't need to keep getting tickets if the house still shows in his name in the tax records until it is formally sold by the bank. I've certainly had many days of exercise with all of this cleaning! SRS |
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16 Oct 11 - 10:19 PM (#3240010) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage We finished. My friend can have his life back once the keys are handed over to the bank rep tomorrow. They'll give him the money for cleaning up, he'll take whatever paperwork they have and get code enforcement off his back. And he'll move on, getting unpacked, settling in, cooking, doing computer stuff, selling on eBay, but not in thrall to the house that was spiraling downward faster and faster. I have a lot more stuff here for a garage sale; Susie mentioned it again today when she picked up Zeke. I have as much as will come from my friend's house, now I need to round up my stuff, arrange it in the garage and get ready to move it out into the driveway. That's my next big thing here, and it will be nice to clear out some of this stuff. This week, I'll catch up at work and here at the house. I need the break. SRS |
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17 Oct 11 - 03:23 PM (#3240385) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg PT good today. Nice surprise was that when I reached for the good ole shorts to dress to go, out came instead the same-color jeans. "Nah," I thought, "never fit..." but no other shorts came to hand so..... the jeans fit, YAY! Almost as well as they used to! Got the van cleaned out, mostly, as I start working twds Chicago (mid-Nov. departure). A bulging trash can in the van had gotten knocked over, yyyych. Mailed a prezzie to Chicago, post office dude SO Helpful, TBTG. This may be the last warm, sunny day till June (hope not), so tdy is the day to put the last of the camping stuff back in the camper-- and THAT means one more trip upstrs on a PT day that I would not other wise do (ouchies), so get that one last item, and then it's on to Yard Sale sorting (tomorrow, the day already designated). Mom out of ICU so I'm off to get cards, ~Susan |
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17 Oct 11 - 09:45 PM (#3240571) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Today may have also been our last warm day for a little while, though I expect it to warm up periodically between now and April when it begins to warm considerably. I mowed the front yard for the first time in months and I need to mow the back sometime in the next week or two. I like to mow late enough in the season that when the grass goes dormant it had a trimmed look - it'll stay that way through most of our short winter. So, the mowing for the exercise (took about 45 minutes) and around the house I got the kitchen cleaned up. Zeke is still spending the days here and Susie is picking him up in the evening. We'll stick with this routine until she doesn't need to be away from home so long every day. SRS |
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17 Oct 11 - 11:03 PM (#3240592) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage It was just starting to blow outside when I was working on that last post. I ran out in the drive, collected a few things I'd left outside that didn't need to be rained on, put the box of truck extras (bottle of oil, washer fluid, etc) back in the truck (removed for moving large stuff) and pulled into the garage just as the heavens opened. Rain isn't a problem but I wanted to be inside in case of hail. I don't think there was any, but my yard has been nicely watered and I don't need to worry about going out to the curb at first light to sweep away any grass clippings that blew into the street when I mowed. The girls dashed through the rain into the house when I opened the back door. We're getting a little soft in our old age. They used to wait out thunderstorms in their stall in the garage. They're snoring gently on the rug behind me right now. :) Rain once a week - what a lovely arrangement! Let's keep it up! SRS |
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18 Oct 11 - 05:34 AM (#3240652) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Rain once a week - what a lovely arrangement! Let's keep it up! Oh, we've had the reverse-- sun once a week. Locals now joke, "Say, can ya tell me: what's that blue stuff up there, sonny?" ("Sonny" cracks up) I could send ya's some rain if you'd like a little more.... Very frustrated here: The ill fam members have been hidden behind a toxic barrier. We've had to get a tad creative. Ydy a lovely job of help was done at the local post office-- big, strong, manly man delaying his lunch break to help me cram (lovingly, very reverently) a large item into a Priority Mail box. With friend's encouragement (a peer with one foot planted solidly in the helping world), today another box goes. The next box is in prep at home already. Flea season has apparently attacked the county with a vengeance; the vet's office has settled into a patient "script" of What to Do (that peeps may not already be doing). "Yes, even people doing all we have taught them to do, before, are overrun. Some people are calling exterminators! What to add is....." So TBTG we had changed the dust cover plan for the LR from comforters to sheets, and over top of those I'm adding towels long allocated to MudDorm and now back in the dnstrs rotation-- with daily change and hot-wash. I'm reluctantly adding more chemical helps (and I already know and use all the Green ones), but still doing all we can, chem-free, with what we have at our disposal. One of the cats (quite elderly) may not get thru this one. But there is a new-to-us dog med (it supplements Frontline) which I know Faulkner is eager to try out! The new cooktop is late. The stellar clng job in the kitchen has worn off, and it cluttered up while I dealt with the toxic/fam issues; so I'm up early to whip it because, as I went to bed last night and took a last look, I was SURE the landlord would call today to say the installer is due in 5 minutes, and if so-- he's gonna need room to work! ~S~ |
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18 Oct 11 - 09:14 AM (#3240739) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy Well, you are all putting me to shame!. Pics of the now-finished roof, and progress will be posted when i can remember where my camera is, and take the pictures! Thye cooker is under wraps up against the wall in the dining room, and the inside of the build is full of joiners and plumbers putting up room divisions and "first fixing" pipework. The electricians are coming later this week, when they can get room to move! I think I have found a floor covering I like for the ground floor, and have chosen a (pearwood effect) kitchen. Once the cooker is in situ, I can plan it out better and order it. The bathroom suite got ordered by me today, and the plumber's going to get the shower room bits and bobs. Unfortunately the windows still aren't in, as the scaffold is still up. Couple that with an open door all day, and a sudden drop in temperature from mid teens celsius last week to about 8 or 9 at midday today... I am spending a lot of time huddled by the fire in the living room! Andrea |
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18 Oct 11 - 09:50 AM (#3240755) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage chosen a (pearwood effect) kitchen The kitchen, in my house, is the room that holds the refrigerator, stove, sink, dishwasher, countertops, cupboards and drawers. It's the room. What is a "kitchen" in the UK? Are you referring to the floor, or something that goes furniture- or appliance-wise into the room? Two big projects concluded today. I got a call from Susie this morning - her husband passed away last night. So Zeke gets home TLC now and we'll go back to a walking schedule when Susie gets to that point. And, on the other front, the realtors have misplaced the check they're supposed to give my friend. So careless - and at a time when he has borrowed money to earn that check, it's all the more irritating for him. The dumpster was picked up yesterday, he has met all of their qualifications, and their office opens at 8:30am today so I hope I hear from him soon that they have exchanged keys for the check. Wow. All of the energy helping people can now be turned back into this household. I have a few things that have been on hold. SRS |
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18 Oct 11 - 12:38 PM (#3240822) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing SRS, you have done a wondrous job as a friend and support to both Susie and your moving friend. Thanks for your Shining example. My condolences to Susie and "Zeke." |
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18 Oct 11 - 02:46 PM (#3240890) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Thanks, Kat. It's a tough situation - you don't want your loved one to die, but you don't want them to suffer either. With cancer, you get both. I'll play it by ear, we'll maintain a routine and hope that helps. This is that crisp fall day I have been waiting for. It's cool and I wore layers to work today. Since we had the rain last night I'll spend a little time in the garden this evening doing some strategic weed pulling and I'll trim one bush that has completely died and have it ready for the trash. Fall and spring are the times of year my yard looks better - in spring the weeds haven't had a head start yet, and in the fall once they're pulled they tend to stay away for a while. If I can weed before winter the front will look okay for a couple of months. I'm back to putting things on eBay, there's a stack to describe and weigh in my office now for the evenings this week. Listing items in time for holidays. One thing about having Zeke around, that guy is smart to most things I my dogs do, but he didn't catch on that my dogs know better than to be in the main part of the garage when the door is open. If they were, when they see the door start up they scoot out (not wanting to get caught in there because there is a gate that was closed that they snuck past). Zeke just noses his way past and races out to greet you - if you're driving it's not easy to snag him by the collar to keep him right there. I parked in front of the garage when he stayed with me to avoid that, and now I can once again park inside. I still need to redo that gate. By now Alice is probably up to her kneecaps in snow and our Detroit New Hampshire and Maine folks are hunkered down close to their wood-burning stoves. Andrea, will your cooker be put in place in time to start cooking some good hot meals pretty soon? In whatever you call that space? :) SRS |
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18 Oct 11 - 03:21 PM (#3240913) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre "It's a tough situation - you don't want your loved one to die, but you don't want them to suffer either. With cancer, you get both." :( :( :( |
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18 Oct 11 - 06:19 PM (#3240985) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing SRS, it's still good of you to be there for Susie. Michelle, you are the living proof that sometimes, you don't get both, you get life! :-) I did something radical today, I made an appointment for a haircut and had 8 inches taken off. I had been growing my hair long in order to wear it in long braids and/or up in a ponytail, but the ends were getting scraggly and it just didn't look good around my face. So I found a really fun website that lets you upload a photo and try on different hairstyles. I printed out a few and showed them to my hairdresser and I think she did a great job. It feels light and airy and fluffy. If I keep it this short, which is shoulder length, I may go ahead and get it dyed red which is what I grew up with and just keep it trimmed. I put a photo up on MYOPERA, if you want take a gander. We spent about four hours on Saturday cleaning the house, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, dusting, cleaning out the car and doing several loads of laundry. Morgan came over for breakfast Saturday and Sunday and had a good time. Sunday, we did more laundry, the litterbox, and a few other things. Later that day, while we were watching Netflix, we both noticed an awful burning rubber type smell. After investigating, we found the relay box on our furnace had shorted out. It scared me because we'd had a house fire in a furnace in a rented place in Connecticut years ago. If we hadn't been awake the fire chief said we would've all died of smoke inhalation. Just the thought of us not being here when the relay box shorted out scared the dickens out of me. But, master that he is, my Rog was able to disable it and the next day went to work half day then came home and fixed it. Fortunately it didn't get too cold that night. On Monday we also had to take our car in in the morning to have a new water pump put in. Driving it to the shop and then home again is the first driving I've really done since injuring my arm in, what was it, September or August? I did okay except I had a tough time turning over the key and undoing the seatbelt. Until they get injured, one never thinks about how much they might use their index finger and thumb. I think we've figured out a way for me to be more independent again and start driving myself around. I think I'm going use vise grips on the key which will give me a grip that I can use and use something like a screwdriver to poke at the seatbelt to undo it. It's an old car so things are funky and one must adapt. Laugh out loud! Book Brewer has a little bit of a glitch which they're trying to work out. As soon as they get it straightened out I am ready to publish WindWords of Wyoming as an e-book. I've also finished uploading Prairie Child, but still have to read it over to make sure the paragraph formatting etc. is correct and design a cover. It's pretty exciting what an author can do these days in reaching out to readers directly. I put two links to a couple of really good articles in the writers resources thread which show just how traditional publishing is getting trounced, in some ways, by electronic media i.e. e-books. I've been going to an hour long session of exercise at the Life Center at least twice sometimes three times per week. One of my doctors messed up with a diuretic which caused some edema but, we're back on track with that. So as of today, I've dropped 8 ounces! Woo hoo! I anticipate it being better as I go along. Not sure if I'm going to do NaNoWriMo this year but I do know I'm going to be busy with my e-books which is good; if I'm not busy the old depression tries to creep back in. My docs and I are taking measures to make sure that doesn't happen. For one, I'm actually getting some decent sleep now. That helps a bunch. I may not post much but I am reading along and I wish you all well. Thanks for listening and sharing, kat |
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18 Oct 11 - 09:37 PM (#3241055) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage That was a great entry, Kat - did you write it or speak it? Are you finding the Dragon software helpful after a trial period? Quiet day at work, but while I was there I climbed the stairs (I work on the sixth floor) a couple of times. I used to climb them all of the time, I need to get into the habit again. That's my exercise report for today. SRS |
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18 Oct 11 - 11:10 PM (#3241080) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Dorothy Parshall Another long hiatus. Time just flies so fast! Since my attack of near hypothermia, I have dug out the winter clothes, especially the wool socks! And put away a container of summer clothes. I have corrected my glaze problem and made lots of pots but they are not fired yet. I usually manage two extra days in the country during the week to work. On the weekend, we usually do other things: two weeks ago on a fantastically marvellous Saturday, we walked through the woods, on private property, to The Gorge!! What a treat! We had seen it online and thought we could only get to it from New York State but a friend informed us and set it up so we go go in from near the cabin. The folks do accompanied us the whole way in and made sure we got out OK too. What a great dog! I have manaed to get to three International Folk Dance sessions in two weeks. So good to be dancing after a months long hiatus! Totally in French which I totally do not understand. I just watch and copy. I could never understand the instructions in English either because of my auditory processing disorder. I know many of the dances and can usually predict others. 8 years of mostly 2/week really has paid off. Our buckwheat cakes are becoming more creative. Sometimes half wheat and half buckwheat or rye and three apples to one cup of flour or some pineapple and apple or, today, cranberry sauce (home made)/apple and the last of the pineapple. We were going to try peaches when we got some good ones! But they were too yummy plain! Lots of good music at the cafe and this Saturday a concert of David Ross MacDonald from Australia. Halloween weekend a bluegrass band Saturday afternoon and a Halloween Party at the cafe. The first weekend in November we are off to Lake George, New York to a wildlife conference and the following weekend, I go to a Quaker Committee meeting in Ottawa. Lest you not hear from me for a while. I wrote a letter to the editor re---wildlife and rabies, of course, after they published a really dumb column. I have not lost a single pound, or gained any either! My strategies are clearly not working. Maybe the dancing will help???? In any case, thanks to the Magnesium, I feel better than I have in months. Still get signs that I need it but the pain is gone and only slight twinges to remind me to take more. No mood swings, a more clear brain, most of the time and an incredible feeling of wellness!!! I feel like a new person - or really like my own true self. Which is really good because I am more able to fill my chosen role of giving R mucho support as he goes trough these constant pop-ups of rough patches in the multi-faceted business endeavours. Good to see others happenings - well some of them good and others - well. life. Y'all take care! |
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19 Oct 11 - 12:21 AM (#3241096) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre Lots of housework done today. Mostly just catching up on daily stuff that seems to have fallen a little bit behind. A preview of our family photo shoot is up on Facebook if anyone is interested. :) The rest of the week has me running. Later Gators! Michelle |
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19 Oct 11 - 10:36 AM (#3241316) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Yesterday, OMG, what a wack-job day. Out of it came a boatload of VERY interesting stuff, one item of which I'm just awash in tears of gratitude over. (All things really DO work together for good.) A HS friend (best friend) came out of the woodwork at JUST the right moment in my sister's illness. She is located not too far away, they have always been on a great same-page basis (I used to refer to this woman as my stunt double), she has seen other family members thru their illnesses, she knows Recovery stuff, and she has a spare room to put me up when I go there in November. I also re-discovered a great Gospel song that arrowed into my awareness a few months ago, which is now installed in the car for prayerful driving. I had enough $$ for flea chems yesterday and have begun adding them to our anti-flea program. (Faulkner liked and just ate the chewable, YAY! [He will not always chew.]) === TBTG for all those. Now, fun-- did anyone see the puma/housecat video yet? They meet thru a glass door? Kitteh smartly does not look Puma in the eye (submission). Off to PT! Oh the lovely PAIN! :~) ~S~ |
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19 Oct 11 - 02:07 PM (#3241427) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Anyone near Zanesville, Ohio needs to worry about more than pumas at the door. Not sure what happened (an assault?) but the owner of a wildlife park was found dead and many of the animal cages were open. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh yes! Cool fall day here and we got back to a dog walk routine, though with a twist. Susie was ready for work and drove here then we walked around several blocks. Zeke is here and she's gone to work - I suspect she is using hard work to get through this time, so I expect to see her around 7, and I suspect I'll have something tempting to eat on hand. I have a couple of extra zucchinis also (from work) so I'll copy the recipe I have and send her home with it. I used a dredge (for flour) yesterday and sprinkled a bunch of baking powder on the upholstery in my truck. When I worked on filling the dumpster I got too close to some Ortho products and irony of ironies, the truck of this organic gardener smells like orthene. I need to get that out, so the first step is to vacuum. I'll take out all of the contents and sweep and clean the mats also, but I'm pretty sure the powder got on my clothes and onto the seat. Now, out with the vacuum. SRS |
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20 Oct 11 - 04:34 AM (#3241728) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I went to see the GP practice nurse for a check up last week. Blood pressure and pulse OK, weight not. I've had a blood test for cholesterol this week, and am going off for a pneumonia jab this morning. I've taken up doing a daily walk, and have hauled my scales out for a daily use, in the morning, when I'm "empty". Monday and Tuesday, I lost a pound each day! Yesterday with a much longer walk, I didn't, and very odd things appear to have happened to my water, fat and muscle percentages (it's one of those sets of scales that calculate such things). I cannot possibly have lost 2% of my muscle mass! I vert carefully avoided fatty foods and took a cholesterol reducing drink in the intervening time before the test. The nurse wants me to go to WeightWatchers, but I don't want to. I want to do the reductions myself, using the food I have in store. Must get up now to go to the surgery. |
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20 Oct 11 - 11:43 AM (#3241946) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage It's looking like fall cleaning time. Sweeping and mopping, vacuuming, and getting out the throws for the chairs and couches now that the weather is cooling. I put a thermal blanket on the bed last night - as the weather cools more covers go on, until it gets really cold and I get out the down comforter and use that with the thermal blanket. I love this time of year! Sleeping in a cool house, hot baths, cooking again - heavenly! Part of the upcoming garage sale will involve at least one large television with a converter box. So often people want to buy just the converter box, but it was a particularly nice flat CRT-TV so I'll try to sell the package. Keeping the price modest, certainly. There's a huge TV in my son's room that we were given that he uses with video games. Since that one may have more use, I'll leave it alone. I also need to move a double-size bed set (mattress and box spring). I think it's time to hook up with Freecycle again also. SRS |
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20 Oct 11 - 02:23 PM (#3242031) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: MAG I love Portland -- the tomato I have had growing in a pot is still thriving -- having someone come over to give me an estimate on building large planting boxes in my yard -- i am sad to think the buyer of my old house is probably plowing up my roses, but I dug one up and it just about did in my back -- haven't lost any more weight, but my clothes are looser happy beginning of the shadow half of the year, all. love, me |
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20 Oct 11 - 05:19 PM (#3242125) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing Yes, SRS, I did use Dragon for that earlier posting. I had to edit it a tiny bit, but it's getting more used to my voice and pronunciations and I am pleased with its accuracy so far. I went to exercise class yesterday and lasted the whole hour again. That felt good. I also had a 40 min. session with the hand therapist and I drove myself there and home. That's a first in about two months. I did have to have Roger meet me at home to unload the oxygen and stuff. It was heavy and I was pretty wiped out. Morgan came over for supper last night. He was all excited to tell me about science class and how he learned to make bridges using rubber bands and straws. He also took the role of teacher and demonstrated to me how he'd learned to draw 3-D images including a box which I showed him how to do a long time ago. I think he was too young at the time and didn't remember. He'll be eight years old in about three weeks and is growing to be so mature. It's hard to believe it's been that long already. The pulmonologist who saved my life earlier this year sent me a letter that he is closing his practice here and moving to the front Range of Colorado as of November 30. I have a follow-up visit with him on Friday and shall tell him as far as I'm concerned he cannot go! I knew his wife was unhappy here but I'm really sorry to see them go. He's my kind of doctor: brilliant, caring, completely accessible, directly, and one of the best of the medical professionals I've ever known. Not much else to report around here, except I love my new haircut. Still reading along and applaud you all. kat |
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20 Oct 11 - 09:47 PM (#3242239) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I meant to mention your haircut Kat - mine has gradually crept shorter over the years and I really like being able to wash it in the shower and have it air dry in a few minutes. I had very long hair for a long time, and ironically, both of my kids are at a longhair stage right now! :) SRS |
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20 Oct 11 - 09:59 PM (#3242243) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre Speaking of hair....I had my first hair cut yesterday!!!!! I was so excited and just about giddy!!!!!! SQUEAK!!!!! Michelle |
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21 Oct 11 - 06:23 PM (#3242697) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage You know how sometimes you see something that is so bogus, but if you comment on it you know those who think it SHOULD be true will protest and call you names for shattering their image? A guy posted early 20th century photo of a man in full plains Indian regalia standing on a cliff juxtaposed so Mt. Rainier (yes, in Washington State) is full in the background. I told them that Curtis and others sometimes took garments along and had people pose in them, that this is not an authentic garment worn in that area. The guy who posted it came along and suggested that the cultures had "bumped into" each other with the crowding by railroad and such - no, it didn't. Not like this. So I gave him a little bit of information and now he's being all defensive and of course a little "me too" crowd is coming along. I just finally nailed them - if you say it's so often enough, does that make it true? No. Enjoy your photo, but it's bogus, and trying to dismiss my argument by calling me an arguer is a weak defense of the photo. Idiots, but sometimes you just get tired of going along and letting the wrong information lead the way. There's a little vinegar in the air with this fall weather! :) Okay. It's my weekend, and after an assignment this evening I'm coming home and going to enjoy a couple of days of working around my house on my projects. It will be delightful! SRS |
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21 Oct 11 - 06:53 PM (#3242717) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I had my port flushed today and it worked like a charm! YAY!! Afterwards, I met up with a new friend from the camp I attended last week and we had lunch. We also explored a new yarn shop that was WONDERFUL!!! Next it was off to the foot doctor. I've had this pain in my foot for a few months now (I've had it looked at 3 times locally) and as it turns out, I have tendinitis in one of the few muscles in the foot that is not connected to the calf. It has a LONG technical name but basically, it's tendinitis. He gave me some meds to counter the inflammation..that's our first step. If that doesn't work within the month, I'll be having PT and a walking cast. I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a ridiculously busy week and I'm looking forward to some quiet time at home. :) Michelle |
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21 Oct 11 - 11:22 PM (#3242836) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage When I've encountered tendinitis the answer was usually to stay on an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen round-the clock for at least two weeks, and probably more. And be careful. I have decided that part of this weekend will be for moving garage sale things out of the house, though it means parking outside for the next week or two. I suppose I ought to try to leave enough space to pull in on Halloween, just on general principals. If I make enough on the garage sale, part of the proceeds will go toward a roof antenna so I can get rid of all of these stupid-looking rabbit ear antennas around the house (and for better reception, they all have sheets of aluminum foil on the ends). That would be a great declutter project! I suppose I should sell some of the antennas to earn the cash for a new one, because after a big one is up these will be useless. It's the old chicken/egg argument - which needs to come first? :) SRS |
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22 Oct 11 - 05:09 AM (#3242915) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Somehow we managed to add a hockey game an hour away to ydy's prep for final assault (this year) on fleas. And TBTG the "strangest" thing has happened to me-- I've lost my fear of the possible health results of the flea chemicals. Oh, I have not forgotten them nor stopped exercising reasonable care for self (and those in my charge), but the FEAR is gone. I woke up one day recently, realizing that I "should" have "died" years ago from "X" and years ago from "Y" and years ago from "Z." And I am not only alive but feel great most of the time, except for the occasional knee twinge or momentary inconvenience. I truly do have all that I need, and it's enough. Nothing I did "got" me that feeling. It's just there by Grace. And if these chemicals have a health consequence for me-- I can think of several that might result-- then TOUGH BEANS! Bring it ON! I've been wondering if some inner stress is waking me up every night at 3 or 4 AM. LOL-- it's not a worry, it's the peace, staring me in the face! It's not the impending doom-- it's blessings demanding to be counted! It's not the nightmares (very weird of late)-- I sleep right thru THOSE. It's the safe feeling when I wake up! It's not being hungry, tho TBTG I am-- it's Life coursing thru me so strongly that I have to notice how abundantly is the provision for it! Off to air out the room that got last night's flea bomb-- Blessings, ~Susan |
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22 Oct 11 - 10:24 AM (#3243028) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage If you can get beneficial nematodes and spray them around the outside of the house, dog areas, etc, they'll control the outdoor flea population. They'll also help with some other pests as well, and you don't need to fear (or get over the fear) of their impact. I have some barrels for making rain barrels, and if I get the kits to make them (the faucet that goes near the bottom) then I can list them for a higher price at the garage sale coming up. I'll have different categories of items - the usual cheap garage sale stuff, and a few things I list on Craig's List with information about the sale. It's lovely out today, so I'll tend the garden a bit before I tackle the garage sale stuff. We need more rain or I'll have to water later. For now, I'll mix up buckets of my compost tea and pour it around the crops producing right now, to keep them happy. SRS |
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22 Oct 11 - 11:52 AM (#3243064) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre It's a wonderful family Saturday at HOME!!! YAY!!! I did the dishes, am working on the laundry, the baby has had a bath and his crib has been stripped, I found the table, went through a pile of mail, cleaned out the fridge and a smorgasboard of leftovers are in the oven for lunch. Chili. Soup. Swedish meatballs & egg noodles. Pot roast. Broccoli. Lots of little bits. I've got an exercise DVD to try later today. Michelle |
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22 Oct 11 - 04:22 PM (#3243184) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I love those kinds of meals, Michelle! I'm making chicken soup this evening to use up some stock. I can have that for lunch during the week, or bulk it up with pasta or stuff on the side and have it with dinner. Shipped one small eBay package (some costume jewelry) and now have a heavy one listed (a lot of 10 old Metropolitan Home magazines. Very classy in their day. Some seem to sell for high dollar, I figure I'll lump a few together, offer a photo of ALL of them (so many don't when they sell several) and see what happens. I have probably 2 dozen more to list, but I'll do that later this evening or tomorrow. Lugging stuff to the garage today, heading out shopping (when I was working at my friend's house I literally threw that pair of shoes into the dumpster, I'd been in some really stinky stuff in his back yard. So now I must replace them.) I'll also look for some likely cut of meat to test on my grill (I'm going to clean that this evening). It's gorgeous out - a beautiful fall day. SRS |
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22 Oct 11 - 10:03 PM (#3243289) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Shopping seemed a bit haphazard today, but I did get a bit done in the end. I need to dismantle the grill burner and find a replacement at the hardware store. I took the thing apart this evening and the heart of it is corroded, but the rest looks good. The grilled dinner will have to wait at least a day. SRS |
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23 Oct 11 - 05:22 AM (#3243400) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I had a deeply disappointing meal yesterday. My car has a coolant problem which can't e sorted until tomorrow, and I had to use public transport and shank's pony to get to the swimming lesson I take for the school I used to teach at. This involved walking past the really good butcher's shop, where I saw a sign announcing that they had wild rabbit. So, after the lesson, I popped in and bought one. I have a very simple recipe for stew which my mother had from her mother, and which really reminds me of home, so yesterday I cooked it. And, for the first time in my life, I had a tough bunny. Instead of the meat falling off the bones, it stuck and needed a steak knife to cut it. And it had very little flavour. I now have one hind leg, two front legs, the fillets and the rest of very tough meat, and no idea how to make it more easy to deal with. It is just possible that it was my fault by putting the meat into the hot water I had defrosted the bacon hock in instead of starting from cold before it had the usual eight hours in the slow cooker, but I doubt it. The hock was nice and tender. The offal is OK. While I was washing the rabbit and cutting it up, the meat seemed to feel normal. But it was so disappointing. |
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23 Oct 11 - 11:24 AM (#3243529) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I think you need to tell the butcher about this problem. Do you suppose it wasn't what was advertised? What conditions would make the meat tough and tasteless? Cleaning today. The dust bunnies are getting out of control around here. SRS |
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23 Oct 11 - 10:56 PM (#3243754) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I spent an hour slowly assembling a new burner unit for the barbecue the neighbors gave me. It's the kind of project that, though you can see it clearly the instructions, you have to back up and visualize how this is going to work in the place you want to put it. I've done all but attach the small safety springs on the gas venturi tubes. The grates are heavy-duty and in good condition; I'll wash them off, clean off the ceramic "coals" and give this thing a test in the next day or two. If the cost of the new burner ($30) gets me a new lovely barbecue, it's worth it! I quit because I would have had to get down on the floor to attach the springs and I've had enough dog kisses for the time being. All three have been past to see if there is any food involved and to stick their noses in my neck, ears, or face (they're so sweet!) Dishes are all finished, laundry is done. I vacuumed the "carpet cleaner" I sprayed on the truck driver-side upholstery. Don't know if it will work - what a predicament - an organic gardener with the chemical garden smell in the vehicle. No interest whatsoever on my eBay listing, so I gave it a boost by pushing it out to my twitter account, and mentioning design guru Nate Berkus (as in - these are good for ideas like he might do). SRS |
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23 Oct 11 - 11:14 PM (#3243758) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg I actually took a day off and took a nap after finding and setting up originals for three new songs. I did do my evening workout tho. Tomorrow Adrian and I will de-fog the room we bombed yesterday. And that means I get my office back!!! ~S~ |
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24 Oct 11 - 08:14 AM (#3243871) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I will certainly tell the butcher. The tastelessness may be me - I noticed the parsley leaves a bit bland when I chewed them. I gather fear may affect the texture. This rabbit has no shot in it, so it may have been caught in a way which frightened it. I can only think of snaring, which is illegal, live trapping, or ferret and nets, as methods, all of which would cause release of adrenaline and cortisone. Or it was so fresh that rigor had not fully worn off, and it needed a bit of hanging, but not fresh enough that it hadn't started. I reheated one part in the pressure cooker, and it was better - but it was the fillet, which would be tenderer anyway. Penny |
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24 Oct 11 - 11:04 AM (#3243949) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg I always forget when I plan a workday that other people work at a different pace than I do. Adrian, for example, who is here today, is so much stronger than MY puny self that what would take me a painful hour to move is about a 5-minute job for him. Thus while the office airs out, the guest room is once again already guest ready, and the office build is all sketched out-- the storage furniture to hold and hide all the boxed stuff that is, actually, well organized (bulky) work material but looks like hoarding and makes me nuts to paw thru each time I need an item. And I'll be treating the house to a cornice box in there. One window has one (between upper cabinets), like you'd see over a kitchen sink where there used to BE a dry sink. The other window would look so much better with a matching cornice box!!! And we had a good long planning session to decide on the exact dimensions, support members, etc. Lovely! Now on to the yard-sale-sorting out front. To most peeps it will seem odd to pay someone to sort stuff that will go so cheap-- but it's all ministry bucks, the out-pay and the in-come, for a travel fund. Most of the stuff will go to FreeCycle, in the end, but I need the help and Ade can help, and it's a pleasure to have a few extra bucks to direct his way-- which I have because other folks blessed us with some surprise produce this fall. And just when I thought my knees were gonna be dead from working with Ade PLUS PT sched. for tdy-- PT called to cancel for today, YAY! It all goes around. Been mailing an awful lot of stuff of late, and today I get to mail the Smellegram to a timber-wolf we met over the summer. ~S~ |
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24 Oct 11 - 07:05 PM (#3244182) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Moonglow came by today and left with some yardage that came from my friend's house (that we emptied two weekends ago). And she liked a 2-drawer metal file that I bought with her in mind a year ago but then found a use for myself. It has side-by-side drawers that should easily hold 200-300 envelopes of patterns. When I asked her about the sewing patterns she has, she described them as scattered in several places, so I pulled my few items out of it and sent it with her to rescue her patterns. Since this is an art but also a job for her, she needs to have them organized and safe. I'll find another container for mine, or put them back in a dresser drawer. SRS |
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25 Oct 11 - 12:06 AM (#3244319) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage KP this evening: I had a bunch of produce on the counter and most of it has been dealt with. I made guacamole and froze it. I haven't finished the grill burner attachment, I'll wait till Zeke goes home tomorrow; any time I'm on the ground working on it he's there for kisses and (more probably) to see if there is any food that might drop out of it. :) SRS |
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25 Oct 11 - 01:44 PM (#3244618) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg NT studies are this year's bulky reading in front of the sunshine window. NT's curriculum relies on having already done the thorough job I did last year on OT, and I am, if anything, even more grateful to have had the time last year to spend plunging deep and broad in there. Last year I did not have the resources to have any help in this house or with PT or training, so I studied with my glasses that let me READ for the first time in 10 years or so. The doc thinks I should have spent less time reading, but in my heart I know I did the right stuff last year. (He's a young fella. He'll learn.) But NT cannot be inhaled in big gulps. It has to be sipped. So a chapter of the parallel curriculum, per day, is more than enough. I got ydy's in while Ade vacuumed around me; today's I got before chores, during the AM's unforecast sunshine. But after today's Adrian-blitz-help today I'm on my own very slow pace, so today's "PT" segment was upper/lower body movements as prescribed by PT but devoted to the continuing improvement of the upstairs. In 2+ hours of continuous work with very short breaks, I got quite a lot done in the office, guest room, and connecting hall-- which are now cleaner and neater than they have been in years and which will welcome not only Dick & Susan for their next visit but the pending weekend guests (ministry colleagues/friends)-- and perhaps the housemate's overnight guests of whom there are presently a young mom and her two wee ones bunking up in the old Mudcat Dorm with her, for a short stretch of time. I surprised myself last night emptying and cleaning up the portapotti leftover from camping, so they'd have extra loo options for the teensy one who is now totally off overnight diapers-- as Dorm visitors will recall, it can seem like a long way to the loo from up there! I spent some of that 2 hours focusing on returning the flea-kilt office to functional use. And I put Ade's sketch of the office build and lumber estimate on a bulletin board so I do not lose it while saving up the lumber money; it's next to Giac's photo of encouragement. I think it was shortly after our housefire that Giac emailed me a Mighty Mouse cartoon with her face photo-shopped in, "Here I come to save the day..." If it warn't the housefire, it was in some other very low period. When I set up this office it was pretty stark in there till I got it going, and I could not find that photo to print. But I did have another photo of her-- so I cut out her face one day and pasted it into a "Icanhazcheezburger" photo: a husky peering down thru open ice, captioned, "Helloa, you down there...." From my desk it looks just like smiling Giac-- peering down at me thru clouds above. And yes I remembered to have lunch. I hate stopping to EAT! Hardi insists. ~Susan |
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25 Oct 11 - 01:54 PM (#3244626) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Hoping to get a new camera today. That'll clutter up my free space in the computer- it is an 18mpx Canon. Tonight I need to clean the fridge and cook a few things to freeze or eat. I want to have less stuff in the fridge for a while, I loose track of things in there the way it is now. I'll also see about finishing the barbecue grill, then need to decide where it is going to live (the LP tank isn't supposed to be stored indoors, but I don't want to keep attaching/unattaching it if I can avoid it. It may go in the greenhouse, a not-quiet building). Michelle, I love the description of the foodstuffs and crock pot going in your kitchen (mentioned in facebook). That is such a nice sensation! SRS |
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25 Oct 11 - 03:18 PM (#3244675) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: MAG Playing in the ocean at Rockaway Beach, I managed to wrenc h my knee -- slows down a lot of things; reassembling my furniture, raking the yard, not being able to do the gym -- I just need to remember, you don't need to eat; you don't need to eat; you don't need to ... |
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25 Oct 11 - 11:27 PM (#3244882) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Did you know that camera lenses now have their own CPU? I didn't. And after speaking to someone else at my favorite camera store, I compared how my lenses were working and realized the one I used most of the time was bonkers. So instead of getting a new camera body, I was able to replace the (somehwat) less expensive lens. Cooking up a storm this evening. My stew-like braised short ribs are finishing up, I have diced and sauteed eggplant that is now in the freezer, and I've cleared out a few things that were too old to use. Thursday we're supposed to get cool rainy weather, so I'll be ready! I also have removed some of the pasta that I stored in the freezer this summer. It's now bagged with cooking instructions - it was so hot here for so long that things seemed to perpetually be generating or attractive weevils. They're history and the stuff has been frozen so long that I doubt any more could rise from the products, but getting them out of non-airtight cardboard boxes helps. Garage sale preparations are coming along. Susie delivered five large boxes of spoiled or advertising seconds (t-shirts are intact but the name wasn't printed on or art wasn't right, etc, in the printing process). She has more, and fortunately, she also has some tables to use to display this stuff. SRS |
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26 Oct 11 - 05:20 AM (#3244946) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I've had to clear out the cupboard under the sink where it turns out that under certain circumstances (I don't know which) the hot tap leaks. The shelf has been damaged and needs replacing. Fortunately it was where I stored my plastic boxes, so no serious harm done, though some need soaking in vinegar to get rid of the carbonate deposits (hard water). I can't get anyone in to sort out the plumbing until the money from house sales comes in. Stacks of boxes loom in awkward spots after being run through the dish washer. Another fault in this place - DIY plumbing of low quality. For some reason the hole where pipes come into the unit has been stuffed loosely with a plastic bag! Things that have stacked up to be done, that should have been done before the sale. 1. The wardrobe doors in my room. Obscured by a poster before the move, a scrawled graffito "Dad is the man", with failed removal attempt, and deeply cut into by what appears to have been a thrown knife! I thought of rehanging inside out, but the inside is pitted with drawing pin holes. These are original wood doors, though during painting the room, the edges were painted over. I have hidden the graffito by hanging scarves on hooks over it. 2. The shower. This has one control which switches on both water flow and heat. The temperature is supposedly controlled by the rate the water passes through. On the Low setting, and full flow, it can be too hot, and therefore unusable. I can wash my hair with it, bending over the bath, because the shower head is low down, and thus the flow is greater. I'm going to get a shower which has a pump, but uses the hot water from the tank. (I have a flat roof, so there isn't a good head of water for the flow.) 3. The sink unit, as above. 4. The downstairs loo, where the plumbing defies description, involving flexible piping with kinks which almost close it off. This isn't as urgent as the other three. Today I have to clean out the loo at the other place, which has been discoloured during the plumber's work there. Maybe I need a different plumber. |
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26 Oct 11 - 10:17 AM (#3245044) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Penny - these problems are in the place where you moved in (the sink leak) and the gouged door is at the house you're selling? WD-40 is good for getting rid of a lot of ink, as is nail polish remover. There's a product here by "Mr. Clean" that is some kind of eraser bar that is supposed to get that kind of thing, if you have it over there. The same kind of leaky plumbing in the kitchen damaged the cabinet bottom in my house also. It was a crumbling plank of MDF by the time I pulled out all of the under sink stuff, pulled out the bits of wood, and called a plumber. My problem dated from replacing the counter tops. The plumber looked at the mess of twisted PVC, looked at me, I said "a carpenter put it in." That's all the explanation that was required. After that I was visited by a friend who sometimes stops on his way from New Mexico to Virginia, and he (an English Professor!) cut and put in the new plank. Also helped mount a humongous mirror in the bathroom. I think it is a point of pride for Liberal Arts professors to prove they can do things around the house and not just read books. :) The plastic bag stuffed in the hole should probably be replaced by steel wool. It's probably there to keep mice out from under the sink. SRS |
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26 Oct 11 - 01:03 PM (#3245131) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I tried the Mr. Clean eraser things for getting off burned soup and stuff (???) from underneath the grates on my gas stove. No luck. They absolutely crumbled. I can't speak as to how they work on ink. Anybody have any ideas how to get that burned on stuff OFF? ARG. I've had a busy morning...laundry, dishes, kitchen floor swept, living room rug vacuumed (sucked up a square Lego...not good), found the kitchen table which seems to be our throw-all place all weekend long. Pete had the day off yesterday so add that extra day to the mess and you can imagine how big that pile was! We had breakfast at the table but kinda shoved stuff around and made a BIG pile in the middle. It's now gone. The toys have been picked up (but for how long I can't say). Jeremiah is entertaining himself with a toy I had a box to go with the other yard sale stuff. I guess he's still enjoying it so it will stay here!!! He's been quietly playing with it for well over an hour now. I also cleaned out the playpen which has been holding some clean, folded laundry. The wee one is needing a time out spot these days and that's his spot....at least until he learns how to sit in a chair and stay put. I've got a crock pot full of chili simmering away, several potatoes (fresh from the garden) washed and ready to roast for dinner tonight. Hamburger patties already made and ready for the grill too. The only thing left to do in that regard is cleaning lettuce, tomatoes, etc for a salad. The chili is not for dinner...that's for lunches during the week. I also broke down 3 large packs of meat and got them labeled and in the freezer. I love to write little love notes on the bags for my husband to find. *G* I made some business calls too. I found out when the off-peak hours are for electricity usage so I can work on lowering that bill. Laundry is going to become a night activity for sure. The dryer is such an energy hog and since it's getting colder, I'm not hanging as much on the line. Ok. I haven't been hanging anything on the line for awhile since the dryer finally came!!!! I love to hang stuff but I really prefer softer clothes (unless it's sheets) that come from the dryer...not to mention it's been raining so much or threatening to rain much of the time. There are predictions for snow tomorrow. We took Jeremiah to a pumpkin patch over the weekend and celebrated my Mom's birthday too. I got some nice shots with the big camera and am hoping to get them up on Facebook soon. What kind of camera do you have SRS? I've got a Canon EOS Rebel Xsi...it's a beast and I'm having fun learning how to use it!!! Ok, break time is over. Time to get back to work. Have a great day everybody! Michelle |
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26 Oct 11 - 01:55 PM (#3245150) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Got back upstairs last night and did a little more. It was so nice to start to return this AM to my wake-up routine, prayer and reflection up there. More done this AM before coming down, then off to PT, where PT and I discussed transitioning from aquatics to land-- gradually. Very gradually. WITH her. New cooktop is in, YAY! Now to arrange the install date.... ~S~ |
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26 Oct 11 - 03:00 PM (#3245185) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Michelle, I use the next size up, the Canon EOS 30D. They don't make them any more, now they're finishing their 50D models and shifting to 60D with 18 megapixels. Huge images. I'm content to stay with the 30D for now. If stove parts can come out of the appliance then try what my Mom used to do - put them in a big pan of boiling water with a few tablespoons of baking soda and let it simmer for a while on the stove. Otherwise I suppose you can use oven cleaner. I'm glad to get a report of that cleaner bar thing. I'm ever the skeptic about big claims. :-/ As far as Jeremiah's toys, have you tried the old trick of putting 1/2 to 2/3 of them away for weeks at a time, then trading them out with the current toys and putting the most recent ones back out of sight? There's less to pick up at any given time and out of sight is out of mind and they're a treat when they reappear. I've been clearing off my office desktop. It needed a good going over. Some paper to the shredder, some to the files. SRS |
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26 Oct 11 - 06:46 PM (#3245288) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy Thought it was about time I dropped by again. To answer your question, SRS, the pear wood "kitchen" I am referring to is the cupboards etc. Yes, it also refers to the room itself, but it's a bit of a colloquialism, I suppose. I am a little warmer in the house this evening, as the wind is negligible, and I have dropped a blanket over the still unfilled stair hole. The joiners are busy finishing off the framing and boarding of the partition walls ans ceiling (just about done now). As the plasterer is due tomorrow, I hope they can make a start on building the stairs. There are only 5 of them! I am going to ring a guy who spray paints rooms, tomorrow. It's cheaper and quicker, and also quite good on new plaster. Part of the living room floor had to come up today, as the plumber decided to turn up and put the new gas pipe in now, rather than when the boiler was due to be fitted. All it now needs is coupling onto the meter. The hallway is stacked up with plasterboard, and a lot of the stuff that was stacked in the hall has now been distributed to other rooms, so the place is even more chaotic! Managed to get a good wash tonight next to the fire, and soak my feet for a while too. I wonder how many kettles of water I have boiled since this job started? Andrea |
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26 Oct 11 - 08:17 PM (#3245326) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,IRNS I am a piker compared to you who frequently post here. But perhaps this is the right place to ask this. What it the best way to take off stubborn toilet stains? Is there some chemical? Is the solution some kind of mechanical thing? Thanks. |
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26 Oct 11 - 08:37 PM (#3245343) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre For nasty rusty toilet stain kinds of stains, try The Works, available at the local dollar store. |
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26 Oct 11 - 08:38 PM (#3245344) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre Stress levels are going up far too fast this evening. 1. A teal sister has died (ovarian cancer) 2. My uncle is not expected to live through the end of the month. Michelle |
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26 Oct 11 - 08:49 PM (#3245349) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,IRNS So sorry to hear this, Michelle. Thoughts and prayers. |
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26 Oct 11 - 09:27 PM (#3245360) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Michelle, I'm sorry. It has been a rough month. IRNS, where are you? When I lived in Kentucky the porcelain toilets were positively stained red from iron in the water unless you used Lime Away on it or one of the caustic dry toilet cleaners like Vanish or SaniFlush. If you're not in the US you'd need to look for something like what this company offers: Lime Away FAQs. On to more appealing topics: The barbecue grill was finished this evening and a trial run of chicken breasts was good. Now to cover it against the coming rain and park it on the side of the patio. The wheels are a bit wobbly and may need replacing. I'm slowly making more room in the freezer, organizing shelves with similar items and taking out the bulky flour and pasta boxes and bags. SRS |
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26 Oct 11 - 10:38 PM (#3245376) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: GUEST,mg Pumice stones work great on many stains. |
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27 Oct 11 - 04:25 AM (#3245404) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy I've heard that coca cola works....In the UK there are many lime busting gels in the market. All depends on whether it's due to lime or stains. How old is the pan? Is the glaze damaged at all? Head count today: 2 builders, making a doorstep 2 joiners, finishing the plaster board. Intermittently, 3-4 labourers, doing what's necessary. Plasterer still to arrive. It's 9.20 am, and they've all been here over an hour. Rang a guy who spray paints onto new plaster, and he's coming for a look sometime tomorrow. I am picking up the mixer shower for over the bath, and I am under orders from the boss to choose tiles for the bathrooms. I can't believe I am onto choosing colour schemes when there are not even any doors yet! Andrea |
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27 Oct 11 - 04:42 AM (#3245407) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. The doors are in the new place - I am sleeping in what was the teenage son's room. It used to have a sticker from the Royal Netherlands Air force on the outside of the window. It took me some time to identify it, and Sticky Stuff Remover and a ceramic hob scraper to get rid of it. He also spent time shooting the back gate with an air gun - I assume it was him, but anyway, it's full of pellets. I can leave that until I need to replace the fences. His Dad remark was painted on, and has penetrated the grain of the wood. The places he has painted are really badly finished, light switches etc with paint splashes over them. His mother had been much more careful with her decorations. Downstairs she has cut out motifs from an Indian (sub-continent) style border and placed them around light switches, door features and so on. I could wish she had spent less time on that and more on cleaning the paint jobs. The doors in my bedroom are original architect features, and I'm not sure how good the replacements can be, but they are not in a fit state to recover. (Here's a site about the architecture history. History of area.) In the old place, I have to get a backing on the sink unit facing the window, omitted by the fitter. I did ring up to ask it be done, but no response. I need to get someone to cut some hardboard into strips and then apply this and the edging strip, in an awkward position. I have been working to reduce my weight, by cutting out some of the fringe things I've been eating, and doing more exercise. I'm trying to take a walk each day, though I missed yesterday. Anyway, I started recording my weight a week ago Monday, and I have lost four pounds! And that's without getting on the scales several times until I get a result I like. I need to lose about 13% of my body fat, apparently. According to my fancy scales. Penny |
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27 Oct 11 - 11:27 AM (#3245580) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Now that the weather is finally acting like fall - cool, overcast, rain in the forecast, I see a lot of things to do in the house. There are still things to do outside, but I'll be less tempted out into cold and blowing weather. Penny, under "prototype houses," which is yours? Which neighborhood? The site looks like these are the equivalent of townhouses here - do they have separate yards? SRS |
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27 Oct 11 - 12:53 PM (#3245632) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg IRNS, removing stains depends on what they are made of and what they are on. Some stuff that will remove them will also remove/damage the finish of the material under them. Acid for instance does not harm plastic, so I used an acid-based cleaner to get off years of soap scum from a plastic shower surround, to which new soap scum was only to happy to bond. I used a urea-based cleaner to get stuff safely off ancient porcelain that had lost its glaze. And so forth. When you look at potential cleaners, then, look not at the claims on the front in large-"ad"colored letters-- look at the cautions and active ingredients on the back, and try things whenever possible on a small, not-prominent area before going at it like an army assault. And you might want to think about being proactive with barrier protection so YOU do not get damaged by the cleaner. Some folks are really sensitive to environmental chemicals, and you may not know you are one of them til you get a nasty reaction. Lots of tips in the old months' threads, BTW, sometimes with subject line TIP (Use Old Adv Search to find). Welcome to the gang! ~S~ |
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27 Oct 11 - 02:59 PM (#3245722) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: MAG ooh, home fixups: I now have a crawl space attached to my (400 sq ft) basement, where I do the laundry and have the cat box -- some kind of gritty dust is constantly in the air, and will be worse when I finish drilling holes in the cement wall to attach chicken wire so my cat will stop exploring the crawlspace ( hasn'rt used it for a box,yet, thank goodness) chipped cement around the windows and lots of other places -- anyone know a good sealant that will lower the dust rate? (I laready got a large, powerful air purifier) |
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27 Oct 11 - 03:56 PM (#3245765) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: mouldy Well it turns out that one of the "labourers" is also a plasterer! He's almost finished with putting the boards upstairs, and has just edges of the windows to do. However he is away now till Monday. The joiners are busy with architraves, and I have a new back doorstep. Hopefully they will make my stairs soon! Have just ordered 2 specialist rhubarbs (one I had before at the last house). I will try and get them into some bit of the garden so that they can over-winter in the ground. First 7lbs now off at WW. They recommend only weighing once a week, as weight can fluctuate a bit from day to day. Just as well, as I can't get at my scales - can't even remember where I've put 'em! Andrea |
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27 Oct 11 - 04:13 PM (#3245778) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg It's PLOOPING (AKA variety of sleet) here, but (yyych, snow) I don't care! I had the energy to move a few lightweight lawn chairs while I was out back in my nightie grabbing ydy's wet suit (PT) from the car, and I needed to set those chairs (Chicago reserved-parking-space style) in some mud ruts we don't want the 4 cars to deepen. In the spring mudseason: ruts, no biggie; drive/walk 'em out as they dry out. But now when they are about to freeze and make snowplowing harder.... nononono..... :~( I just had to tell our much-anticipated weekend guests that they can't come if they're contagious. :~( So they may not be able to come. :~( Or they might be able to. But the cooktop is going in MONDAY, YAY! ~S~ |
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27 Oct 11 - 04:44 PM (#3245813) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage All of these new cooktops! I envy those of you doing work on kitchens now. I have my funky stove that came with the house for the time being. Rain is slow to move into this area, but still seems to be on the way. I'm so looking forward to another good soak in the garden. I'll go use some compost tea and liquid fertilizer out there for a last push of fall growth. This is the first year I've grown acorn squash and I harvested three beauties this afternoon. This site says I don't need to "cure" the squash, so unless any of you has different information, I'll bake one of these for dinner tonight. :) SRS |
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27 Oct 11 - 05:14 PM (#3245825) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: LilyFestre I never heard of having to cure squash...not even sure what that means! We love acorn, butternut, buttercup (my favorite), etc in this house!! YUM-O! How are you going to cook your squash SRS? I've spent the day tending to the wee one, working with the phone company to fix our phone which works but has some issues and trying to iron out plans to see my uncle. Leftover chili is in the crockpot, there's a load of clothes in the dryer and the pellet stove is on....it's cozy in here...just the way I like it!!!! I was up late last night and put all the other laundry away, did the dishes, picked up toys (and SRS, yes, about a third of the toys are in a box in my office...I'm seriously considering taking more and tucking them away. He has so many that sometimes I think he doesn't know what the heck he wants to play with. Today he was having fun playing in his hamper...a blue, collapsible elephant hamper made of fabric.) Speaking of the little man, I hear him stirring. Gotta go. Michelle |
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27 Oct 11 - 08:42 PM (#3245921) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I read that sweet potatoes have to sit for 2 or 3 weeks before you start using them, so I looked to see if it applied to anything else. It sounds like some squash do benefit from aging, apparently. Not needed for acorn. I love the acorn squash baked. I was out running around this evening and passed my favorite Chinese restaurant, so I picked up some soup and added it to chicken already in the fridge. I'll bake the squash tomorrow - I cut them in half and place a half open-side down on an oiled piece of foil on a pan and bake it until it soft and then scoop the pulp from the skin with a spoon. It's wonderful without anything else, though if I added one thing it would be a little butter. SRS |
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28 Oct 11 - 05:44 AM (#3246014) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. None of the pictured homes match mine, which is what we call a town house, three floors, the bottom one including a garage. I can't find one on any other site, either. The ground in front of the property belongs to the neighbourhood, but I have a private garden behind, which has a gate onto an enclosed shared lawn with trees. I have a flat roof, which I hope to put solar panels on. Penny |
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28 Oct 11 - 05:54 AM (#3246016) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I know about that advice about weekly weighings only, but the fluctuations are interesting. More carbs and less exercise the day befoe the lowest reading. Less food and more exercise before it went up again this morning! |
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28 Oct 11 - 09:59 AM (#3246085) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage This weekend I need to organize the garage for next week's garage sale. And I need to move a bookcase to get one of the items out of my bedroom (mentioned before). The place where I'm putting the bookcase needs grout first, so I'll do that this evening. I'll make this a small station in the front hall - the bookcase can have a mirror on top and I'll use it as a place to set keys, mail, etc. Leave a comb there for a quick check before answering the door. The top of the antique lawyer's bookcase will be like having a shelf instead of a slim table there. SRS |
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28 Oct 11 - 10:16 AM (#3246093) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage P.S. - Yesterday I found a 14" cast iron griddle yesterday that I'll use for tortillas and lefse. It's larger than the burner so I know it won't heat all of the way out to the edge, but it eliminates the problem of cooking on a griddle the size of the burner. This was at Academy sports and I thought it was very reasonably priced at $11. I looked at several to be sure I had one that was smoothly cast. A few had a couple of small raised bumps that would cause problems with a flat bread snagging on it. It's not a really fine cast, but once it is better seasoned that won't matter. SRS |
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28 Oct 11 - 06:55 PM (#3246352) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg TheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAYTheHouseguestsAreComingYAY ... despite snow over the nastybad mountains intervening. PT next week begins a mix of aquatic and dry-clinic YAY all with same PT YAY and to see which machines my particular body can work on YAY so that when I go to Chicago the following week YAY I will know what PT I can do with the friend I will stay with YAY who also goes to PT in the evenings YAY so my trip to see sis need not stop my own March to Wellness YAY and the mechanic can fix my cruise control next week when he does the oil change YAY and we dumped my old, dead recliner in the dump's transfer station today YAY and my front porch is clean and neat YAY..... there's more but TBTG for all of it! ~Susan |
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29 Oct 11 - 10:11 AM (#3246656) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Though it would have been lovely to sleep in on this chilly morning (I haven't turned on the heat yet) I was up and walked the dogs at dawn. Then Susie and Zeke came back to the house and I made oatmeal. Mmmmm! Lots to do getting ready for next week's garage sale. I'll report as it happens rather than predict what I'd like to do because so often I start out intending to do one thing only to realize something else must be done first. Or am just plain distracted to do something more interesting. :) Next week comes the Secret Santa assignments. I used this little symbol over on that thread and thought it looked so cheerful I'd share it here also. There are some great little symbols you can cut and paste (I have a couple of links, to Twitter Symbols and Twitter Keys (I think the second one has more symbols, but they're on three different tabs) that are great to cut and paste in more than just twitter. They just got pulled into one place when twitter came along. SRS ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ |
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30 Oct 11 - 12:26 AM (#3246823) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I had been planning to cut up and freeze some green bell peppers from the garden but with the advent of the grill, and since this evening I had a nice steak, I skewered some big chunks of homegrown onions and bell peppers and cooked them along side the steak (brushed them with olive oil.) I've suddenly gone from having a surplus of peppers to a bare minimum - grilled vegetables are so delicious, I could eat them with meals every day! I picked up a couple of hardware items for the house and when I got back home I seasoned a new griddle by sauteing some eggplants before freezing them. I'm gradually preserving all of these items from the garden, trying to avoid discarding produce I didn't freeze or can in time. SRS |
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30 Oct 11 - 12:38 PM (#3247081) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Cutting and cleaning basil branches this morning and I'm going to hang them to dry in the greenhouse. I'll string a piece of clothesline from a shelf across the top of the back door and dedicate some clothespins to greenhouse use. I need to get a better radio out there - the very old one is past it's truly functional days (I bought it in 1975 - I guess I've gotten my money's worth!) Laundry is in, kitchen sink is empty and dishwasher empty. Bagged eggplant I froze overnight, I'll do another batch today. I'm sauteing what I can on the new griddle, getting it ready to use for tortillas later in the week. And lefse. :-) The garage sale looms, so I have to move more stuff for that. Will report on (hopeful) progress later. SRS |
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30 Oct 11 - 02:51 PM (#3247133) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg The old house hain't seen any weekend guests since PT and housemate times began; it has stood up well but OOPIES we need more towel racks! I forgot the guest towel hooks were allocated t housemate and HER guests! It's lovely tho how the big ole place swallows up so many people and vehicles without batting an eyelash. Almost worth the heating bill. Guests will change sheets before they leave-- SO helpful. (Young guys-- been quite a help with a few little stairclimbing thingies. Cooktop tomorrow! As soon as the installer arrives (and not before!) I can start putting away the crockpots, hot plate, rice cooker...... and get my counters back. Just in time, too--- Hardi had begun to worry-- the temps for grilling have gotten a wee bit chilly. Strokebrain: WHY did I not think to ask Ade to clean the ovens when he was here last week and wanting more hours???? ~S~ |
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30 Oct 11 - 09:48 PM (#3247387) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Dorothy Parshall Cold weather has set in for now. Had to find another heater. The baseboard heat no working. But we are keeping warm. Spent the whole of last weekend in the country where the woodstove keeps it cosy. Lovely weekend of music and country - trees, clean air and quiet. This weekend R had to work. I spent all of Friday with a friend from Victoria, BC. Took her around the city and to the west island where it was beautiful to see the lake and spend time in the thrift shop. And we sat and talked and talked. She and the friend with whom she is staying went with me to the cafe to hear Harmonica Zeke who was fantastic. Then we went to the "slice of the past" at the Brysonville school. An incredible group of old time musicians jamming and open mike. I san "my" song - the Frozen Logger and my friend was coerced into also singing a song which she did beautifully. My friends were entranced by this old time music event - very few people under 70. We stopped by the cabin on the way home so they could see it and the studio. Well after midnight when we parted. So, come Saturday, I had to push myself to go down again - further south to a Bluegrass concert. I had told Jeannie I would so I did. It was in an old church - so rural I had trouble finding it! Four hours of music and the leader of the band had been at the school the night before and saw me in the furthest back corner of the room - away from the women with perfume - and added me to the open mike folks, one of whom was 90 and very good! Instead of going to the Halloween party at the Cafe, I came home and fed us and went to bed at 9:30. Potluck at Quaker Meeting today to talk with the editor of The Canadian Friend about her hopes and our wishes for the journal "of Quaker news and thoughts". As former editor, I had some remarks about how to support the editor - write letters, articles, send news of the meeting... Guess I need to think about doing some of that myself! Wrote a couple letters this week - to the newspaper about yet another dumb wildlife article; offering something better and a very angry one to the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario regarding their attack on a rehab center and the totally irrational murder of two healthy raccoons who had all their shots. The woman has been charged with unlawful possession for trying to save lives; I hope to get to Ottawa on 10 November for her hearing - along with a bunch of other folks. This Friday, R and I go to Lake George, NY for a wildlife conference. First I will get the snow tires on! No snow here but plenty in New England. I am finding one day a week to do some pottery, and folk dancing 2/week the last couple weeks and that feels really good. A good thing is that the group is so small that I would feel guilty if I did not go. I really feel better when I dance. I neglected it since December and I feel the worse for it. It is not just the physical exercise but also the lovely music in my head the rest of the week. I would like to get around to learning a couple more songs but people do enjoy the Frozen Logger. I was in the grocery store last week and I heard: "The Frozen Logger!" One of my "fans" encouraging me to "come to Wheel Club on monday; it's our Halloween party!" I'll try to go to another folk dance group 'til 10 and then to the Club 'til 11:30 or so. But I will "have" to sing the Logger again! And that after Jeannie complained Saturday about people singing "the same songs"! She is the guiding light of the Wheel Club -a delight! The laundry is done, the house has not changed. No light at the end of the tunnel. I am grateful for the cabin which is so much nicer even though there is still lots of organizing that can be done. It is clean, cosy and comfortable. Happy Halloween! |
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31 Oct 11 - 12:02 AM (#3247417) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: katlaughing SRS, you sound so bountiful with your produce, etc. in between all you've done for friends and work. It's amazing! Dorothy, I'd love to hear you singing that song; it's so funny! You have been incredibly busy, too. Goodonya! My Rog actually took two days off for a total of five with regular days off, but we didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. I think he needs 2-3 days OFF to just relax and do nothing before getting into it. We went to a lot of appts., he put on a new soft commode seat, fixed the gate latch for real, this time, and cleaned up his office area in the kitchen as well as did the dishes. There's more, but that'll do for now. Morgan came over this morning. He and I cut out two pumpkins. He's fast and loves doing it; gave his four faces...all the way round! Mine has two. He's so excited, not only about Halloween, but also his birthday which is only two weeks away. He's very jealous that Papa's b-day is also Halloween!:-) I will be releasing WindWords as an ebook this week. I think they've finally answered all of my questions. It can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks for it to be accepted and made available on the big websites, but I think it will become instantly available on BookBrewer's site. Take care, kat |
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31 Oct 11 - 04:34 AM (#3247455) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. I have a rat in the garden! Not in the house, though I will have to make sure it can't use the old tumble drier vent. I spent yesterday trying to get a live capture trap, but could only find poison, poison stations and snap traps. (Why do they insist on calling the stuff bait?) And the stations and bait are horribly expensive - over £12 for a single use one. I don't want to use poison because of the mouse and the frogs, and having to track down the dead bodies, and I can't use it without a station because of the birds. I intend to take the offending thing off to some farflung wood away from habitation to release. (I'm assuming it isn't covered by the same laws as squirrels, which may not be released.) Off again today to try different suppliers - if that fails I know they are available in south London. I've warned the neighbours - who have a terrier. |
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31 Oct 11 - 10:53 AM (#3247631) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Penny, I also have a rat in the garden. Not the big ugly Norway rat, more what they call a wood rat or a roof rat here. Like a big mouse, and it is really hard on my cantaloupe and dug down and ate a big chunk of sweet potato. I was looking at traps yesterday. I think the have-a-heart trap is what I'll have to try, but they're around $60. I don't want any poison, I have dogs and the last thing I need is a dog catching a disoriented poisoned rat. Plus there are lots of other critters in the garden that I don't want exposed to toxins. I also have a dryer vent I need to keep an eye on. My tomatoes are growing beautifully now that it is cool and has rained a few times. The drought is still officially here, but the tomatoes can function under these conditions. Here is the basil drying in the greenhouse. I can run cords in any number of directions in there to dry this so I'll be drying more this week. For accountability I'm walking the dogs every morning again, I mowed one lawn yesterday but had to stop when I realized the trimmer had died (I got the grass at the curb by hand with a lopper). I'll mow next door today, that's good exercise. I'm starting a modified version of the Atkins again (paying way more attention to roughage this time). SRS |
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31 Oct 11 - 01:53 PM (#3247772) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: MAG I strongly recommend not using poison on the rats, as many many pets fall victim. Is there a have-a-heart trap small enough for rats? I have one for possums, but it would not work on rats. I know there are critter lovers out there, but the world really does not needcare and preservation of rats. Ther will find their ways back to "civilization," as they flourish there. I have given out quarters for Halloween for years; the kids love it, and I don't have to have candy in the house, which I WILL get into ... MAG |
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31 Oct 11 - 02:28 PM (#3247791) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I would use a havaheart trap because I wouldn't smash my fingers and I could put a big piece of cantaloupe in it. I suppose submerging the trap in the creek for a while would take care of the rat. I'd rather it be faster but I don't have a firearm and if I turned it loose for the dogs to kill that would be kind of bizarre. I did see a trap with a battery setup to shock them, but I'm afraid I'd knock off my lizards or birds. This rat is about the volume of a tennis ball. I've been out to put cages under some of the long branches of my tomato plants - the cages are too tall to prop them on top of but if I lay them on their sides it at least keeps them a few inches off of the ground. Lots of tomatoes under the vines. SRS |
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31 Oct 11 - 09:52 PM (#3248055) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage I had some credit card points that were going to expire this month, so I looked at the offerings and picked up a hollow silver bangle bracelet. It's one of those free-trade molded/hammered ones that will look great with any number of garments. And it is a reminder to me that there are pieces of jewelry I don't wear because I don't feel comfortable in the clothes that would set them off best. I'm looking for all of the reasons to motivate myself to keep working on losing weight. Since last spring I have lost ten pounds, but I've been at a plateau for a while. Now that the weather is cooler and I can get out and work more. I mowed the next door neighbor's yard this evening and that was about 25 minutes of pushing hard (he fertilizes and waters his yard so the turf is pretty dense.) Tomorrow I should mow my back yard. That'll take about 45 minutes. Has anyone else been watching the PBS series America In Primetime? Lots of interesting topics in that first issue "Independent Women." There is a sliding scale when you work and have a family. It's shifting for me now that the kids are about grown - this program reminds me of that. Maybe it's time to set some more goals. Not just weight loss, but the next thing that is beyond being a mom and working. SRS |
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31 Oct 11 - 10:40 PM (#3248080) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: wysiwyg Major walking today (way too much) to set barricades in driveway toi prevent total Rut World Domination. New cooktop in-- makes the rest of my kitchen look dirty! ~S~ |
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01 Nov 11 - 04:22 AM (#3248161) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Penny S. Still no luck finding a cage trap, but I should be able to get one next time I go over to Sarf Lun'non. Interesting that they should be available in a conurbation, but not out here in the semi-sticks. No pets in my garden - I seem to have succeeded in keeping the cats out - which may explain something! But there are other things around that I don't want to kill. It's a brown rat, but not at it's biggest (classically described as "as big as cats") Today I search for an agricultural supplier. |
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01 Nov 11 - 12:13 PM (#3248505) Subject: RE: BS: Fitness & Declutter - ready for fall! Oct 2011 From: Stilly River Sage Here is the Nov thread. |