More than Enough

Since I have no posts for December, I thought I'd better chime in with something . . .

Hm. . . . no pics, but I did give some Christmas ornaments (inherited from my grandmother) to my cousin.  As soon as we opened the box (actually, a large tin, which also did not come home with me!), one of the child-types of small cousins immediately pulled out some angel ornaments and started playing with them, essentially "playing dolls," making up little stories, having fun.  I'm calling it a win.

Of course, I promptly lost points by driving to an outlet center to buy a Le Crueset frying pan.  But, see, I need this pan because I have finally figured out how to cook salmon that is cooked all the way, but not overcooked.  My cast iron pan is too big to mess with for 4 oz of fish, and my non stick pans are disintegrating and also of course probably killing me. 

The shopping trip added just enough time for me to hit chain controls on the way home, so what should have been a three hour trip took nearly seven.  Fortunately, I was carrying chains.  I haven't put on chains in over a decade, so I was very lucky to pull off the road near one of the few installers who was taking credit cards.  I was able to get them off myself, at Truckee.  I mention this because when I moved here, I had exactly three months' driving experience when I found myself in a similar situation, but was mistaken in my belief that I could get the chains off myself, and furthermore, locked myself out of my car - with the engine running - in the process of finding this out.  So this trip was a lot more bearable.  It also helped that I was carrying a sleeping bag and driving a car with fold-down seats, meaning I could have slept in the car had I wanted to. 

Another improvement was that instead of nothing but a Philco AM radio (the only entertainment option in my 1976 Pinto), this time I had the luxury of a smartphone and loaded iPod, which I wound up not listening to at all, because I was tuned in to the unfolding radio coverage of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

So I figured I had the "stuff" I needed to keep me safe and healthy, and that in the scheme of things losing $40 and four hours of my time was really, really, a perfectly good way to spend my day.

Out the Door

Just what it looks like, a pile of random stuff.  It's been accumulating for a while, awaiting a trip to the thrift store. 
A few items of note: 

•     Aqua globes - as seen on TV! 
•     plastic food storage containers whose functions are being replaced by glass (and I'm not counting these on my 1000 things list, because they were more or less replaced one-to-one
•     a wooden tray, which I like in concept but have never successfully deployed in the real world.  It is not comfortable, for the way I sit, to eat off this tray, or even to have my laptop on it
•     a cheap manicure kit, a gift from the very sweet security guard at my office
•     a because-it-looks-cool coin purse, another item I like in concept but not in actual function.  I was using it to hold business cards for awhile, but that wasn't working out either
•     blue vases sent to me by my godmother, having supposedly been my brother's.  More stuff I don't actually remember myself, and of less importance than many many other items of his that I still have
  

Christmas is a Time for Giving

Specifically, for giving away holiday stuff I will never use again. Here is how it appears in my spreadsheet (where I am tracking my attempt to get rid of 1000 Things)

Christmas-small rugs	2
Christmas-boxes of glass ornaments	5
Christmas-individual ornaments	12
Christmas-tapestry stockings	2
Christmas-mugs	4
Christmas-gift bags	6
Christmas-decorative tins	3
Christmas-pkg gift decorations	1

Even with this lot, and another pile of my grandmother's Christmas things I will give to my cousin, I still have 3 bins of stuff, probably too much for a person who isn't really into decorating for Christmas.  But the things I am keeping are 1) sentimental and/or 2) small scale for the type of small scale display I might theoretically muster.  The only toughie in the to-go pile is the mugs - bought about a decade ago at a thrift shop, I've actually used them quite a bit - they are a good size, attractive, and dishwasher-safe.  But I really have way too many mugs* to justify having holiday-specific ones.

*And my uncle recently gave me two more, one of which was allegedly my grandfather's, aaugh.

Christmas is a Time for Giving

Specifically, for giving away holiday stuff I will never use again. Here is how it appears in my spreadsheet (where I am tracking my attempt to get rid of 1000 Things)

Christmas-small rugs	2
Christmas-boxes of glass ornaments	5
Christmas-individual ornaments	12
Christmas-tapestry stockings	2
Christmas-mugs	4
Christmas-gift bags	6
Christmas-decorative tins	3
Christmas-pkg gift decorations	1

Even with this lot, and another pile of my grandmother's Christmas things I will give to my cousin, I still have 3 bins of stuff, probably too much for a person who isn't really into decorating for Christmas.  But the things I am keeping are 1) sentimental and/or 2) small scale for the type of small scale display I might theoretically muster.  The only toughie in the to-go pile is the mugs - bought about a decade ago at a thrift shop, I've actually used them quite a bit - they are a good size, attractive, and dishwasher-safe.  But I really have way too many mugs* to justify having holiday-specific ones.

*And my uncle recently gave me two more, one of which was allegedly my grandfather's, aaugh.

Well. I'm back.

Been busy, then out of town, so not much posting lately.  but I have been filling boxes and making piles of things to go away.  More on that later.  As for these bits of random stuff - top pic, clockwise from 12 o'clock: 1) another eyeglass case.  I have discussed in a previous post why I do not use these.  Toss. 2) a spindle meant to hold receipts, purchased years ago at an antique store.   I actually used this for a long time, as I would use it's intended purpose prior to entering the data into MS Money or Quicken.  But I don't let receipts accumulate that much now, and the thing is kind of a hazard.  Donate.  3) a DVD recorded off VHS of my friend's yoga guru of choice.  Friend no longer does yoga, and I never managed to get into it.  Recycle. 4) Book I thought might have value on eBay, but then I realized I'd smacked a personalized bookplate into it, greatly reducing potential value.  Donate.  5) 2 bits of miscellaneous plastic, function unknown, and a lone earring.  Toss. Bottom pic:  Holiday address labels, from my previous address. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Making a Production out of It ((omg-I-have-too-much-stuff, recycle))

Programs from school shows.  The ones on the left are from middle school - I was in sewing class, of all things, and we put on fashion shows of our projects.  I'd like to think what I see here are programs from three differeent shows, but really those are all from the same show, just with different covers.  There are no pictures, just lists of the participants, and special thanks to parent to helped out.  My dad got mention in this one.  I have no idea what for.  Maybe paper we used for set decoration?  Anyway, I have no serious extra special memories regarding middle school sewing class, so bye-bye.

The other program is for some high school show I wasn't even in.  It doesn't even look like any of my best friends were in it.  What the hell?

Just b/c it's called a Trapper Keeper . . .

Doesn't mean I have to keep it.  These folders contained a lot of paperwork (which is now in the recycling pile) from high school.  As always, I did keep a little bit - but really, I can't justify holding on to my Latin homework, given that I can no longer even read it.