Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

… gradually, and then suddenly.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

In after Baud. Damn.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

We still have time to mess this up!

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Backyard Open Thread

Backyard Open Thread

by | 186 Comments

This post is in: 

It’s nice out and the heat is not unbearable, so I sat on the porch for a while and the critters roamed the yard:

I dunno if you can hear it, but the birds are bitching up a storm because the feeder is empty, but they just CRUISE through it and it’s the summer so they can get of their lazy asses and get food elsewhere. In a couple of days I will refill it just to make sure they still come by and visit.

I am going to have a BUMPER crop of tomatoes this year. Since I grew from seeds, I staggered the plantings, so I should have three waves of tomatoes. Round One is almost ready:

I bet I have around 50 or more that size. Peppers are doing well, too:

I’m a firm believer in jamming as many plants into a raised bed as possible. To the left of the peppers, you can see the watermelons. The phlox is vibrant:

About a month ago I threw planted a bunch of wildflowers in between the perennials, and they are coming up nicely. It’s my favorite kind of planting. You open a bag of a metric ton of seeds that cost virtually nothing, throw a handful on the ground, walk on it, and if they grow, they grow:

I pulled all the pea plants out and planted the pole beans and bush beans. Finally, the crew (Rosie was inside on her bed):

NOTICE ALL THE MOLD AND MILDEW IS GONE FROM THE HOUSE! Deck needs another coat of stain, though. The backyard is going to become a nice sanctuary once I can afford some deck furniture and shade sails. I’m really excited to see how things fill in next year. I just want plants and birds and hummingbirds and bees and butterflies everywhere I can fit them.

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  1. 1.

    stinger

    Backyard looks great, tomatoes look great, pups look great, house and deck look great, tomatoes look great (did I already say that?). You really are going to love it next year — much less work and the perennials and trees will be farther along.

  2. 2.

    TenguPhule

    NOTICE ALL THE MOLD AND MILDEW IS GONE FROM THE HOUSE!

    Come August: “SHUT UP ABOUT THE MOLD AND MILDEW”

  3. 3.

    raven

    Lil Bit has those shaved legs from her surgery but it’s much more pronounced because she’s such a furball!

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    Your yard looks nice, Cole ?
    All those green tomatoes…yum…
    Oh man, cook me up some bacon.
    Air fry me some green tomatoes…
    Good 12 grain bread..
    Sigh..now, that is a meal.
    The flowers looked lovely.?

  7. 7.

    TaMara (HFG)

    I envy your garden. I came home from a few days away and it’s clear my tomatoes, while producing a lot of tomatoes right now, are going to die soon – they took a beating with the hail, and their leaves are not going to recover, they put all their effort into the growing tomatoes. So now the plants are dying back rapidly. I’ll enjoy what tomatoes I’ll get.

  8. 8.

    Yarrow

    It all looks great! BTW, now is the time to shop for outdoor furniture. It’s all on sale.

    @raven: OT – I saw you were going to rent a car for your trip. If you are a Costco member, check their prices. You still rent and pick it up from a regular rental car company like Avis or whoever at the airport but you get Costco prices. It was half the price of anything else I found when I had to rent a car recently.

  11. 11.

    MomSense

    I love all the bird sounds in that video. We walked to the garden tonight and then came home right away because the mosquitos were feasting on us.

  12. 12.

    Yarrow

    For the grass, spend your money on good quality compost. Spread it over the grass. The soil will improve and the grass will fill in.

  13. 13.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    When blood runs in the streets, buy sod.

  14. 14.

    Yarrow

    My garden is dreary right now. It’s so fucking hot and humid and nothing but long beans are growing. I keep hoping I’ll get some cantaloupe but I think it’s not to be. We’ve had a lot of rain and everything is overgrown and it’s a zillion degrees and humid and I sweat just walking outside, so I’m not much interested in doing the cutting back I need to in preparation for fall gardening.

  17. 17.

    FlyingToaster

    Looks great!

    The local makerspace had a mitre box manual saw, so it took me 5 minutes to saw the piece of composite frame in half, which then fit into the space perfectly! So now I’m clearing out the first batch of overgrowth, and then getting out the sod cutter (it’s a little square shovel thang) and pulling the timbers back out of the corners and digging out the bed properly. Then putting down the fabric and loading it with a ton of topsoil, and planting the rest of the plants. And planning it out for next year — we’ll add the saffron crocuses in August and then strawberries next spring, so it’ll join the insane berry production (we’ve gotten ~3 liters of raspberries this week) back there above the wall.

    Last Saturday I took 2 bins and 6 bags of yard waste to the recycling center (also has the composting drop-off); we’d refilled the bins and put 4 bags at the curb Monday morning. This weekend I suspect I’ll be taking the 2 bins and probably 10 bags of yard waste. Which should get us to the halfway point of clearing every damn thing we don’t want out of here ?

  20. 20.

    Jude

    I have sun sails and heavy duty outdoor lighting all set up. Word of warning for next year: They create a crapton of torque and weight, so whatever you attach them to needs to be super solid.

    Great looking deck, John. Love to see your hard work paying off.

  21. 21.

    MagdaInBlack

    Youtube: Guy Clark “Home Grown Tomatoes”

    (I’d link but the aging iPad is giving me fits tonight)

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    A former Honolulu Ethics Commission investigator died in a freak accident last week when he was hit by a runaway dump truck in his own yard.

    William “Bill” Shanafelt, 64, who quit his job in Hawaii two years ago amid upheaval at the commission, had just checked his mailbox July 2 and was heading back into his Hamilton, Texas, home when the truck with no driver plowed into him from behind.

    Former Honolulu ethics investigator run over in his own yard by truck

    Freak Accident. Emphasis on freak.

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    @raven:

    A few ideas for your trip from my middle kid.

    RISD has a great museum that is either free or very inexpensive. Benefit Street is a nice walk with beautiful homes and the Cable Car Theater, which is a cool indie theater.

    Hike to Crook Point Bascule Bridge

    Roger Williams Park and Zoo

    What Cheer? is a brass pop and punk band that is like the unofficial mascot of Providence. They are playing at AS220 on Sunday night.

    AS220 is an arts space so if you aren’t there on Sunday night there may be something else fun on Saturday.

    He said there are great food choices and if you tell me what kind of food you like, he will give me some restaurant tips.

  26. 26.

    raven

    @Yarrow: The best deal I could get was Enterprise, even better than Hotwire so I did it. We aren’t Costco members because there isn’t one here.

  27. 27.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Yarrow: I love Lily’s bows. When this is over Cole had better find a way to keep the bows coming!

  28. 28.

    raven

    @MomSense: Oh cool, the last time I searched for “the best pizza” in Providence and ended up in a big place near Brown. It was really good.

  29. 29.

    Gemina13

    The garden looks terrific. So does Lily. :) Thurston’s doing good too.

    If I had a green thumb, I’d set up a pot for strawberries and a pot for tomatoes. Sadly, all I grow are vines and (eventually) dead plants. So I’ll just keep trucking to the market, and admire other people’s successful husbandry experiments.

  30. 30.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Aw, that’s too bad. I love Costco. I’ve used them to rent cars and it has been way cheaper. Enterprise is pretty good, though. Keep looking for deals up until you go because unless you’ve pre-paid you should be able to cancel and you might get a better deal.

    @Major Major Major Major: I know! She needs a new bow every week.

  31. 31.

    Gemina13

    . . . just had to add – the peppers are inciting my newfound desire for an immersion blender. Roasted sweet peppers, pureed and added to a marinara sauce with sausage . . . ::salivates::

  32. 32.

    Karen S.

    Open thread! In less than two weeks, my wife and I will accompany my elderly parents (both 90 years old) down to my mother’s hometown in Virginia to clean out my late uncle’s (Mom’s brother) house. He was a lifelong bachelor who lived alone since my grandma died in 1976. He died last year in March. He was a Korean War veteran and worked at the local VA hospital before retiring back in the late 1980s or early 1990s to farm and enjoy his collections of guns and pron. When we went down last year for his funeral, we made a stab at doing some cleaning, but it became sort of hazardous when we realized he didn’t keep his guns in a safe and some of them were loaded. My brother and I found one small pistol at the bottom of a leather satchel filled with ladies underwear. The X-rated pron stuff is amazing in quantity (at least 200 reels of 16mm films) and curiosity. There are some flip books of old comics characters, like Snuffy Smith, doing very risque things. He’s also got hundreds of LPs—jazz, blues, R&B and at least one LP of an orgy. So we’re going to pack what we want into a POD and have it moved back to my parents’ house in suburban Chicago. It’s going to be a challenging trip for a lot of reasons but also sort of fun, in a strange way.

  37. 37.

    MomSense

    @raven:

    Just got some Restaurant tips

    Fancy: mills tavern or new rivers

    Casual and great: red stripe or harry’s Burger bar (if you like burgers this is a must)

    Best cupcakes: duck & bunny (and a nice place to hang out in the garden)
    Best big sandwiches: Geoff’s
    Best cake: Pastiche on federal hill where all the good Italian places are
    Best vegetarian: the grange

  38. 38.

    debbie

    The tomatoes at the farmers market have been unbelievable, far better than in previous years. Tomato sandwiches every night!

  40. 40.

    Karen S.

    @Major Major Major Major: Indeed. My uncle really was quite a character. I wished I’d known him better. I remember visiting him before going off to grad school in the late ’80s. I hadn’t come out to him, but he must have sensed something because the night before my parents and I left his house to make the drive up to UMass-Amherst for grad school, he warned me about lesbians because “they have them up there, too, you know.” I felt like laughing out loud but I didn’t. He had more to say! “They’ll come over, smiling at you, offering to buy you a house. Don’t go near them,” he said. I think I stammered something like, “Okay, Uncle Jimmy. I’ll remember that.” So off I go to grad school and I met many lesbians there. Did any of them offer to buy me a house? Not a one of them! I felt cheated.

  42. 42.

    debbie

    @Karen S.:

    I have no secret life, but I don’t feel comfortable knowing that people will be going through my stuff after I’m dead.

  43. 43.

    ant

    john, make sure you pull your oil dip stick every once in a while, and add oil when needed.

    our crv (same as yours) ended up with a stretched timing chain from running low on oil. That maintenance minder will have you go 12-20k miles between changes. you cant go that long without adding oil.

  47. 47.

    Teddys Person

    john, make sure you pull your oil dip stick every once in a while, and add oil when needed.

    After reading about Karen S’s late uncle, this sounds pretty dirty.

  52. 52.

    Urlhix

    @Karen S.: Depending on condition, the LP’s could be worth some serious scratch, no pun intended. The comics and films probably are too, but records are my bag.

  55. 55.

    raven

    @Urlhix: And who know what kind of artillery is there! I just sold three weapons my buddy’s widow had under her bed for over 10 years.

  56. 56.

    Teddys Person

    Nothing to see here, move along

    Facts Do Matter
    @WilDonnelly

    In 2016, Kavanaugh reported $60,000-$200,000 in debt accrued on 3 credit cards and a personal loan. Suddenly, in 2017, they were all paid off despite being in the same job and reporting no additional income. What happened? Inquiring minds want to know.

    4:00 PM – Jul 11, 2018

    Source: WaPo

  57. 57.

    p.a.

    backyard is going to become a nice sanctuary once I can afford some deck furniture

    Just drive around at 2am and steal some from a house with a trump sign.

  59. 59.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: I had a friend from law school who asked me to remove the stuff from his second dresser drawer before his parents showed up. Well, if something happened to him of course.

  63. 63.

    Urlhix

    @raven: I can see that being the case too. And even if one doesn’t want to keep the money for themselves, it can be donated or used in their name for something really cool.

  65. 65.

    Karen S.

    @Urlhix: I doubt we’ll have much time to examine the records closely before packing them up, but the ones that are obviously unplayable will be thrown away. My uncle has a hi-fi (never been called a stereo), but I don’t know if it works anymore. I can only hope that when we open it up we don’t find more guns. And I did I mention he has a basement? He has a basement that’s filled with old farming implements and tools—rusty pitchforks, saws of various kinds, axes, hatchets, hammers, etc. Some it’s real old stuff he inherited from my great grandfather.

  70. 70.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    No kidding. And to think I was bitching about having to type “SiubhanDuinne” every damn time.

  74. 74.

    raven

    @Karen S.: Sounds like my BIL’s dad. He died and my BIL was disabled so I went out to LA and spent a week going through every pocket, drawer , nook and cranny looking for a will. He didn’t have a will but he had the most incredible collection of tools and antique firearms. No one wanted the guns so I ended up bringing them back here. I sold a beautiful Winchester 44-40 for $3000 and gave the dough to my sis. I now have an english muzzle loader that was made in 1861 hanging on the wall.

  78. 78.

    Anne Laurie

    @Pogonip:

    Cole, how do you protect your tomatoes from squirrels?

    If your squirrels are like the ones out here — pull the fat green / almost ripe tomatoes, take one bite out of them, leave the corpses scattered — they’re not hungry, they’re thirsty. Solution: Find some kind of low basin (I use a 16″ plastic pot saucer), put it next to your ‘maters, and keep it filled with water; the mammals won’t bother your plants if there’s a better source of moisture where they can reach it.

    Accidental bonus, in my case: Turns out my saucer is a quick do-I-have-to-water-the-tomato-pouches-yet indicator. Since I empty it & top it up whenever I water, if it’s dry, I have to get out the hose; if it’s still got some water in it, I can risk waiting until the next day.

  79. 79.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @Baud:
    Don’t people know that they can save that info in their browser and never have to type it in ?

    Why play life on the stupid setting?

  81. 81.

    TenguPhule

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, which sits in Philadelphia, held that TSA officers enjoy sovereign immunity because, despite their badges and titles as “officers,” they do not qualify as “investigative or law enforcement officers” who could be held legally responsible for abuses under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

    The court also revisited the question of when a search should trigger Fourth Amendment protections and found that TSA screeners are more like federal meat inspectors than police officers.

    “[W]e are sympathetic to the concerns this may raise as a matter of policy, particularly given the nature and frequency of TSOs’ contact with the flying public,” the opinion says, using an abbreviation for “transportation security officer.”

    Have fun traveling folks! //

  83. 83.

    Gvg

    Dogs will steal your tomatoes just before they are ripe. My golden retriever grinned at me with her mouth full of a tomato which is how I found out. It’s not good for them to eat to many. I had been blaming squirrels for the disappearing tomatoes.
    They will also eat strawberries which gives them diarrhea. Had to move mine.

  84. 84.

    p.a.

    @MomSense: @raven:

    Cable Car Cinema and Cafe is set to close its South Main Street location in late May after 42 years in business, the art-house owners announced Thursday.

    Prospect Park is a nice 10 minute stop for a good *ahem* prospect of Providence and some photos of the Roger Williams statue. Is his pose protective, or threatening? You decide.

    I’m reluctant to recommend restaurants; tastes vary and it’s a reach to call me middlebrow, but Hemenway’s is a good seafood place.

  85. 85.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Okay, open thread. I’m an auntie yet again! And this time, it’s my sibling so now my parents have a grandchild!

  89. 89.

    Urlhix

    @Karen S.: You might be surprised at what folks will pay for old farm implements, too. Crosscut saws, scythes, hay rakes, etc. all that stuff is very collectible right now.

    For the vinyl, discogs.org and eBay will tell you value. I grade to the Goldmine visual standard, which you can check out online. Old jazz, r&b, and soul records can go for a pretty penny these days. Especially the more outre stuff.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Plural ought to be emojii.

    No no no.

    One emojus, two emoji.

    (Channeling Shelley Berman: One sheriff, two sheriffim. One Kleenex, two Kleeneces.)

  93. 93.

    Gin & Tonic

    @MomSense: New Rivers is indeed excellent. Very highly recommended. Might be tough without a reservation on a weekend. Not so much a fan of Mill’s. I’m also a big fan of Nick’s on Broadway, out in the West End; brunch there is renowned, but usually a long wait. Pastiche is also excellent for dessert.

    As p.a. points out, Cable Car has closed.

  94. 94.

    Aleta

    How did you get the mold/mildew off the house? Pressure washer or scrubbing? Or brush something on? I have a lot of it it this year on some outside shingles. A 3-sided corner.
    I have to do something.

  95. 95.

    Mnemosyne

    @Karen S.:

    As other people have mentioned, the pron flipbooks with familiar characters may be worth some money if they’re in good condition.

    You’re pretty much having to deal with G’s greatest fear, which is having to clear his aunt’s house of all of her accumulated “collectibles” at some point in the (hopefully distant) future. A lot of it is junk, but there may be enough worthwhile stuff to require sifting through everything.

    If you have time, it may be worth calling a local antiques dealer or two and letting them sift through and make you an offer.

  96. 96.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    Since OT: Boots Riley did a very interesting interview on Maron’s WTF podcast. Had some really informed observations about how the American Left retreated into the arts, academia, and spectacle after they abandoned their class consciousness.

    My summary doesn’t do him justice, of course.

    I had no interest in seeing “Sorry to Bother You” before but now it’s definitely on the list.

  98. 98.

    Pogonip

    Omnes, we’re in town. Only the cops and the robbers are allowed to fire guns in town.

    Thanks, Anne!

  99. 99.

    raven

    @p.a.: Nah, Crown Plaza. I really don’t know why I’m doing this. They keep saying this is at at 50 years so I guess that’s it.

  101. 101.

    Anne Laurie

    @debbie: Talking with my fellow Boomers, I have a pretty good idea why The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning has become a best-seller. Basic idea is to get rid of all those ‘non-essentials’ *before* your heirs — or, worse, total strangers — face the embarrassment of dealing with them.

    And it’s not just the “embarrassing” stuff… too often, people leave behind artifacts that are valuable, if only to their family and/or the local historical society, that get dumped in the immediate aftermath because nobody’s got the time or energy to sort the heirlooms from the ‘time to do laundry’ rump-sprung undies & the cabinets full of empty food-storage containers…

  102. 102.

    Shell

    Damn it, Cole. Im unable to have any kind of a garden these days, so these posts are driving me kind of
    crazy

  103. 103.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    eeze, the packaging on a two-pack of hummus I picked up at Costco seals it up tighter than Fort Knox.

    One hummus, two hummi….

  104. 104.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Option A: save info in browser

    Option B: rely on a glitchy, unreliable platform to save info and then spend time whinging about it – and even sending emails! – when it fails.

    “If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?”

  105. 105.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    TSA screeners are more like federal meat inspectors than police officers.

    I’ve sometimes felt like a piece of meat. This makes it official.

  112. 112.

    Karen S.

    @raven: I know one of my uncle’s rifles is a Winchester with an octagon shaped barrel, which could be worth something or so I’ve heard. I think that type of Winchester rifle is supposed to be rare … maybe? I know so little about guns. A gun dealer down there who my uncle bought guns from is going to meet with us while we’re down there. I hope he’ll do right by my mom. I’m thinking I’d like to bring back one of the pistols with me. He has a military/police service revolver that I liked the look of when I saw it last year. I’d like to learn how to shoot.

  114. 114.

    eefgolodman

    @raven: I infer from comments you’re coming up my way again. Unfortunately I am wheelchair and house-bound post foot surgery (and the news at the surgeons office today was much more optimistic than we expected)

  117. 117.

    Karen S.

    @Mnemosyne: My uncle was a hoarder, no doubt about that. He kept keys. We found piles of keys in ashtrays and in Ziploc baggies. We don’t know what they open. There are also hundreds of family photos. They ended up at his house after the deaths of various aunts, cousins, my grandparents, uncles and other relatives. A lot are duplicates, but my mother has outlived everyone so she’s the only left alive who can identify a lot of the people in the photos. That’s one thing I’m going to do when we come back. Sit down with her and go through the photos with her to identify whoever she can.

  119. 119.

    Shell

    @Pogonip: I always made sure there was water available ( bird bath) and other tastier snack choices. Id toss peanuts, in the shell, around the garden. In the shell would slow them down even more.

  120. 120.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You seem nice. Well-adjusted and normal, too.

  121. 121.

    Karen S.

    @Urlhix: I think my mother is more inclined to junk the farming implements and tools than to try to sell them. Whatever she wants to do, we’ll do.

  123. 123.

    Urlhix

    @Karen S.: Ain’t my business, but if y’all are up for it, get at least three local gun buyer guys to look at the collection and make an offer. Anyone who is serious won’t mind.

  125. 125.

    FlyingToaster

    @p.a.: Cheap made-in-China crap. Purchased from either Walmart or Ocean State Job Lot. They can’t be bothered to shop online at Overstock or Wayfair or Hayneedle, let alone buy it from a local joint.

    Pfeh!

  127. 127.

    Mike J

    NOTICE ALL THE MOLD AND MILDEW IS GONE FROM THE HOUSE!

    Ugh. I’ve been working on sails. Can’t use solution that’s too strong or you’ll damage them. Can’t scrub them, you’ll damage them. Pretty much the most you can do is soak in <1% bleach then rinse and that will kill the mildew, but the stains will stay behind. And of course this is just for the dacron sails. You can't be that aggressive with the mylar main.

    So now I'm setting up a schedule to get lysol on the jibs on the regular.

  128. 128.

    Urlhix

    @Karen S.: I feel ya. I’m in the process of moving and putting a ton of “valuable” stuff at the curb. Lawd knows that’s where a lot of it came from ;)

  129. 129.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    Don’t noticed your nym here before the last two weeks or so.

    I can see why typing e f g o l d m a n is a challenge for you.

  137. 137.

    rikyrah

    A FrontPager really needs to get their hands on this nightmare article.

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

    Ronald Klain
    ‏Verified account @RonaldKlain

    IMPORTANT: Tonight, Trump issued an order replacing non-partisan career Administrative Judges — who decide on benefits cases & regulations — with his own political appointees. A HUGE POWER GRAB. I warned about this in a column I wrote last November:

    twitter.com/RonaldKlain/status/1016833767900631040

  141. 141.

    CaseyL

    I really like your back yard, John. Lots of room, not full of fussy yard stuff, with plants around the edges. It looks “comfy.”

    Next time you get a monsoon and the yard floods, mark where the water gathers and, when things dry out again, build a round, high-walled tile basin there. Then, after the next rain fills the basin, tell people you have a fountain. Easy!

  147. 147.

    Aleta

    @rikyrah: Did he already name the political appointees, or is there a time period or process before the order takes effect?

  149. 149.

    NotMax

    @Karen S.

    When Mom moved out of the big house after 50 years, there was still, in the garage, a well-wrapped vintage Stromberg-Carlson solid mahogany console hi-fi (mono) and radio I’d snagged from a friends’ parents’ discards. Still working and in like new condition.

    Had intended to ‘one of these days’ strip out the innards and convert it into a bar/liquor cabinet. Never found the time to get started on the project.

    Made a special point, in my rusty Spanish, to be sure the people she hired to haul stuff away were aware it was complete and original, functioning and had some value. A couple of days later, the head of the work crew came by to say thanks for that and slipped me a bottle of booze.

  151. 151.

    Mary G

    @Karen S.: Once you know you have found all the guns, maybe hire an estate agent who has expertise in selling stuff and will do it for a percentage of the take?

  152. 152.

    Mnemosyne

    @Karen S.:

    Stop by your local craft store and get an archival-quality marker (or a few) so you can write the information on the back of the photo on the spot. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble later by doing it that way.

  157. 157.

    Aleta

    @Mike J: One thing I read is that bleach kills mildew on the surface but not if it has penetrated into the wood or fabric. Boric acid or/and vinegar in water was recommended. It’s the same style box as powdered laundry soap, in the same aisle, called 20 Mule Team Borax. I know it works great in the washing machine to get mildew out of towels, etc.

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: For the6 months when my dad was sick and dying, it got so I dreaded when the phone would ring. That’s how it feels now with the Trump and the news. Awfulness everywhere.

  161. 161.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Sun is currently shining, breezes currently puffing, bread dough currently breadening.

    Enough to make it a good day in this little alcove. Will take uplift where can find it.

  162. 162.

    efgoldman

    @NotMax:

    a well-wrapped vintage Stromberg-Carlson solid mahogany console hi-fi (mono) and radio I’d snagged from a friends’ parents’ discards.

    I would have paid you real ca$h money for it.

  163. 163.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @A Ghost To Most:
    I am obligated to spread the words of the greatest work of pseudo memoir ever written in English.

  166. 166.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @Gin & Tonic:

    If the worst I do in this life is piss off the kind of person who is so reprehensible and childish as to manage to conjure up some reason to be a dick to Kay, I am doing just fine.

    Some pathetic sad-sack actually had the time to post not once, but twice about my screen name in this thread. Apparently it caused them such distress that they need to find a way to block long names. I assume that the infirmary was out of cold compresses …

  167. 167.

    At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Bob Mueller will be covered in grade school history books someday as someone who saved the republic.

  168. 168.

    Chetan Murthy

    @At sunset the tiercel flew above the marsh, pursuing a wisp of snipe. They drummed away down wind, like stone skidding across ice.: He sure will. Dr. Maddow says we should watch Strzok (the lead agent on rolling up one of the Russian moles on whom was based _The Americans_, later headed FBI counterintelligence) tomorrow: all-day (starts 10am ET) hearings before Congress. She’s pretty convinced it’ll make for *compelling* TV. I suspect she might be right.

    I remember back when Ollie North and Richard Secord were before … Henry Gonzalez(?) we would have it on in the background while were hackin’ away at this startup I was at. Compelling shit.

  172. 172.

    J R in WV

    @eefgolodman:

    The news was optimistic? Great!!! I’m so glad for you. Keep on hanging on there.

    In other news, a friend was trimming trees to enable a dump-truck to get in with a load of gravel and fell out of a tree the other day. Was in ICU at first, now in a regular hospital room, several cracked bones in his back, appears to be no severe damage to his nervous system. So could be a lot worse. At least he didn’t fall onto the running chainsaw!!!

  174. 174.

    J R in WV

    @Mnemosyne:

    We put each photo in a baggie and wrote the ID on the bag. So far maybe 200 out of thousands… oh well. There was a commercial darkroom at the family business, so photography was way easier…

    I have no idea who most of the folks are… and there’s no one left to ask.

  176. 176.

    chopper

    “her thought floated carelessly over the soft meadows of france as the stool effortlessly eased out, sliding past her bunched up hospital gown, landing with a wet ‘thut’ in the metal bedpan. the sphygmomanometer beeped.”

  179. 179.

    Steeplejack

    @debbie:

    I’ll second Anne Laurie’s recommendation for The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. If you don’t want to splurge on the book, just Google the phrase. There are a lot of articles.

    Jessica Lee Mattern, Country Living:

    Döstädning, which means “death cleaning” in English, is a new method of downsizing and organizing from the Swedish author and artist Margareta Magnusson. The approach is designed as an easy way for folks over 50 to purge their homes and organize their possessions in hopes that their children won’t be overburdened by their belongings once they pass away, according to The Chronicle. Sure, it sounds morbid, but it’s actually a pretty smart idea.

    Death cleaning isn’t about getting rid of all your stuff, but rather streamlining your life so you’re only holding onto what makes you happy. “Death cleaning is not about dusting or mopping up,” Magnusson told The Chronicle. “It is about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly.”

    [. . .]

    It’s not just for people over 50. Magnusson says every person should begin death cleaning after 50, but the idea can work for all ages—truly, the approach is helpful for anyone who wants to simplify and organize their life.

    I think it’s a good bookend to Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. (Again, hit the Google for articles if you don’t want the book.) Kondo is the kick-your-ass squad sergeant; Magnusson takes a longer, more “strategic” view. Both have useful insights if you feel like you’re drowning in too much stuff.

    I got interested in “death cleaning” after seeing an article in the New York Times. It sort of hit me not because I’m about to die (I hope!) but because I had been feeling like I needed to “clear the decks”—both physically and mentally—to cope with the rolling Trump disaster. So I have been doing an ongoing process combining both approaches with something liked old-fashioned “spring cleaning.” It has helped.

    It also ties in with a calming feeling that I have been having that crystalized around something I read last week: “Don’t ask, ‘What is the purpose of my life?’ Instead ask, ‘What is the purpose of my life today?’” Don’t worry about the big, cosmic stuff; just do what needs to be done right now.

  180. 180.

    opiejeanne

    @Anne Laurie: Took us months to clear out my in-laws’ house after we found family photographs stored under the bathroom sink, or at the bottom of a large box of packing peanuts. We went through EVERYTHING and we found a lot of photos my husband had never seen before, and we learned some things.
    No one wants Fostoria glass so unless you live near a bunch of crazed very elderly women who suddenly decide to collect it you can’t sell it at a garage sale. It’s hard to give away because the generation who collected it is just about gone. The Salvation Army got so they didn’t want to take our stuff and we had to take it to Goodwill.

    ETA: it was the medicine cabinets full of meds from the 1950s, and this was in 2003. That really startled us.

Comments are closed.