What's happening? Part 3

[agate]

<sup>Thanks for the update, Chris! That knee situation sounds miserable. Good luck with the knee replacement--I have the impression many people have had that surgery, and maybe you can find some of them and learn more about what to expect.

Getting back into woodworking sounds like a really good idea and something you might be able to make progress on without having to use your knees, or no?
Is that good about the weight loss? Were you trying to lose weight? I'm usually happy when I drop a few pounds even now, when I'm at 104 because I keep getting shorter, and the shorter you are, the less weight you can carry.

I'd like to keep this in mind as a motto for myself:</sup>

I dont' want to dust this stuff for the rest of my life

^{It's the kind of attitude I definitely need.}

[houghchrst]

Morning Agate, The woodworking is something I can do but the snafu is that I had been in the middle of cleaning the basement and the garage so now in order to get to work I have stuff that needs to be moved. It's like I have things in every room that need to go somewhere else but can't until I move the stuff in the other room to where it needs to go. Right now I am trying to get my yard in order. I was injured and we had a lot of rain so I am trying to get that down to manageable levels. I can still ride the mower.

When I belonged to the minimizing group Dana used the phrase 'do I want to have to manage this stuff for the rest of my life'. It really struck me because I don't want to manage it now so I surely dont' want to manage it for the next 20 years LOL. It's hard parting with things I have had for 30-40 years. I am considering selling off some of my egg collection. I looked up some of the eggs I got at the $1 store and they are selling for $15-$25 which I found humorous.

I have some one of a kind stuff I would like to sell but don't know where or even how much to ask. I have hand painted stuff from my grandma, how the heck do I sell that?

Yes I still have weight I would like to lose. Maybe at least another 30 pounds but hey any is a good thing. I wish I could afford to eat just meat and veggies. Groceries here are terrible. It's cheaper to eat trash food here than healthy. I have really cut back on the bread. Especially since I discovered that our store-bought bread isn't even considered a food. It's just a bunch of non-nutritional contents and toxins. That's why we can't sell it in many other countries. And then I found out that almost all fruit is a man made creation. It should be treated as a dessert. The only fruits closest to their original form are berries, most stone fruits and some apples and pears. I love bananas but they weren't even edible in their original form. I have been following The Glucose Goddess in a few places and have been following her recommendations for keeping my sugar down.

[agate]

It's been a while since I tried selling stuff but I tried craigslist with success a few times. It looks as if Nextdoor might be a way to find people to buy things too but I haven't tried it.

When I got rid of my futon and microwave and a chair recently by donating them, I might have been able to sell them but I just wanted them out of here without the hassle of dealing with strangers, waiting around for appointments with people who might not show up. None of the items would have brought much as all were quite old. But it sounds as if you have a treasure-trove in that egg collection. Are they sort of like Faberge eggs?

Maybe a listing on eBay? It would be good if you could take photos of them to post wherever you decide to put them up for sale but you know that, I'm sure.

As for the hand-painted items from your grandma, if there are a lot of them, maybe you could settle on a few of them that you'd really like to keep. Or keep all of them. Is there a relative who might like to have them and who would take good care of them?

[jingle]

About one year ago when I decided to sell my condo and move into a much smaller apartment I had loads of stuff to get rid of. I called a local auctioneer, and he came, inspected and appraised everything. A couple days later a small team of his employees came and removed everything (I had a load of stuff to sell). This was in July and he asked if he could delay selling because most would sell better near Christmas. He sold my collection all by internet because it would reach more people than a local auction. Everything worked and I received payment.

[houghchrst]

I do have a few things that I plan to keep. I dont' have anyone to give them to in the family because they don't want to manage it either LOL. I thought about waiting and having a garage sale in the fall but I don't really have enough and all of my things are kind of unique. To me they are worth something but I have to think if other people will even pay for things. I have a lot of craft stuff that I am going to sell in lots. I have too much crafting stuff and it is a huge range of things. Everything from knitting to beading. I have a small vintage suitcase that is full of knitting supplies worth probably about $200 at least. I have two very large bins in the closet full of stuff for quilting and there is a snowflake mobile that my grandmother tatted that needs repair so I can hang it back up. Maybe I will clean it, fix it and sell it.

[agate]

I've been noticing what a blow to the ego it is to look around among my things and realize that most things I own wouldn't mean much to anyone else. And yet I hang onto them.

They still mean something to me. I had a stash of quilting supplies that I hung onto for years. It was tough to realize that a whole carton full of fabric for quilts hadn't been used for years but I did manage to part with that eventually. Got rid of a supply of knitting needles too but afater creating all of that space, I went on to fill it up with yarn for crocheting.

[houghchrst]

Hey guys, quick check-in. Soooo, I am currently recovering from a total knee replacement done on the 12th. This is the first time since then that I have been able to get on an actual computer. Jared built me a new computer for mother's day and after a couple of roadblocks, we finally got it fixed. My other one was so slow that I couldn't even run Google Earth. Today my leg feels well enough to do a bit of propping in the computer room and getting out of that dang 'sickroom'. I took a fall in early May that was the result of a comedy of errors and due to that had to have imaging. My ACL reconstruction I had in 2006 had deteriorated and was destroyed, torn meniscus, lots of damage. Doc told my son my knee was a hot mess. Not surprised. Been dealing with knee issues since I blew out my knee in the mid 90s for the first time.

My knee surgery was supposed to be same day but they couldn't manage my pain so they kept me overnight. I knew I could do a better job at pain management at home so I told them I had ways to manage it and wanted to go home. I lied like a dog about my benzo and despite it being in my pharma records they took my word for it. Only way I could have gotten pain meds. I haven't even hardly been taking them. I am taking such a low benzo dose that it isn't even showing up in my bloodwork.

I recently had some trouble with a new med manufacturer and now I am embroiled in a conversation between TEVA, the FDA and Walgreens Corportate office.

I am going to start video documentation of my self deprescribing. There is very little information out there on how to safely get off of psych meds. I have been researching for a year and am comfortable enough with the information I have that I am going to use the methods I have found. It's been rough. I never fully recovered from the 6 weeks they cut me off of my klonopin last year. I still have oral dyskinesia from my stopping my Latuda a few years back. I have started microdosing here and there to combat the symptoms.

Just wanted to check in and say hi. Hope everyone is well.

[agate]

What an ordeal you've been having. Knees must become really severe problems sometimes as I keep hearing about people needing knee replacements and somehow the recovery period always turns out to be long. Must be only 8 days since your surgery and it sounds as if you're getting along somehow in spite of everything. Hope that trend continues!

Sometimes a person has to say No to a hospital, and it sounds as if you made the right call. There are times when you know better than the experts.

I left a hospital against medical advice when I had surgery years ago. I couldn't sleep in the bed that was provided, and no alternative was offered. I was tired of spending nights trying to sleep while sitting in my wheelchair. I do believe that getting enough sleep is important if a person is to recover.

[Virginia]

Sorry this has happened to you. I have two friends who have gone through this lately but neither of them were corresponding with anyone as quickly as you. They both had help at home. I guess you do too because I certainly don't think you would be able to cook and take care of yourself this early. One person was my sister-in-law and she did do very well. She was walking and doing a lot within a couple of weeks. Another was a neighbor and she had hers done in April. She says she still isn't 100 percent. Her daughter stayed with her.

I hope you have an easy recovery and heal very fast. Keep us updated as to how you are.