Day 190 - Case for Battery Powered Drill (Throw)

I got to spend the evening being a Neighbor to my neighbor.  The house across the street had water gushing out of their kitchen faucet.  A good bit of the water was not going into the sink and down the drain; it was going onto the countertop and then down to the floor.  They couldn't seem to figure out how to turn the water off. 

We eventually got the water off and then I offered to help remove and replace the old faucet.  My neighbor's elderly father showed up with a new faucet, so I stuck around to help remove the old one.  (There was no way this man was going to be able to get down on the floor and get his head under the sink to work.  He was wheezing just getting up the 10 or 12 steps to the kitchen!)

It took us a couple of hours - literally - just to get the old faucet out.  And it came out in pieces! It had obviously been there MANY years.

Anyway, in the process, I made about twenty trips back and forth across the street to get various tools from my house.  I came across this case that used to house a battery-powered drill ... which I took to the recycling center about two years ago!  So it's just been taking up space on the shelf... feeling useless!

Day 189 - Postcards of Scotland (Give)

More Colin Baxter postcards from Scotland.  I used to have these arranged within a large frame.  I need to pass them along to my Scotland fan - he graduated last Friday and it would make a good graduation gift. 

Day 188 - Hard Rock Cafe Glasses (Give)

I put this pic on Facebook to see if I can find anyone who might appreciate them.  They belonged to Melissa.  I got a lead, but haven't had a chance to follow up on it yet...

Anyone out there want them?

Day 187 - Pencil Holder (Give)

This is another ceramic piece I made years ago (29 to be exact) in Gladys Brandenburger's basement shop.  It was my favorite pencil holder and graced my desk all through high school and college.  It got packed away at some point and hasn't seen the light of day for at least 10 years.

I took it to school and one of the eighth grade boys asked about it.  I told him what it was and that I was giving it away.  He took it to use as a cheap gift for his Mom (or Dad... he couldn't decide!). 

He asked if the pencils came with the holder.  I said, "Sure, take the pencils."  So he grabbed a handful, walked across the room to another student, shoved the pencils at his classmate and said, "Here ... now don't ask me for another pencil the rest of the school year!"


(Some other kid had earlier asked to have the pencil holder to use for target practice with his shotgun!  He got denied.)

Progress Update - Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Looks like we've got dates nailed down for this summer in Haiti!  And they are a couple of weeks earlier than we had anticipated!  July 2nd to 16th!  That's just over a month away!  Our last day of school is June 2!

Sorry to go overboard on exclamation points, but it's exciting - and the reality hasn't even quite sunk in yet.  We've got a lot to do before July 2nd!


(Meanwhile, I'm several days behind on writing about my Gives, Throws, and Sells, but I'll get caught up as soon as I get the majority of my research papers graded!)

Day 186 - Letter Opener (Throw)

Does anyone ever actually USE a letter opener anymore? 

Did people EVER use them?

I'm not sure what prompted me to buy this particular letter opener years ago in Saudi Arabia, but it wasn't out of practicality.  I thought about giving it away, but who would want it?  Besides, I would be afraid that if I took it to school it could  cause some misunderstanding since it looks like a weapon! 

Better to just toss it.

Day 184 - Bag of Boys' Clothes (Give) and Day 185 - Potpourri Bowl (Throw)

Wow.  I turn around and I'm a couple of days behind on writing about my "stuff".  We have just one full week of school left and then it will be summer and I'm not quite sure yet if that means things will get easier or tougher.  We still don't have confirmation of a date to take the kids to Haiti this summer.  Date! - We don't even have confirmation that the missionaries down there even want us this summer!  It's been a bit discouraging lately.  I try to relax and allow it to be God's worry and not my own.  That's the really tough part.

Melissa got cleaning out the boys' closet the other day and found an entire bag full of shorts and other summertime outfits that no longer fit either of the boys (and both our boys are pretty much the same size right now).  She's got someone in mind who can use them here locally.

Then the next day, The Princess made a Throw easy when she knocked this potpourri bowl off its perch, breaking as it hit the floor.  Melissa was sad because it was given to her by a very good friend many years ago.  But she sighed and admitted that it was going to have to go anyway...

Day 183 - Fan Fare Art Plate (Give)

I learned my lesson with giving away my 1970s era Cincinnati Reds Scorecard and THEN looking up its value on-line.  So I did some checking on this little beauty and found out it was worth ... maybe 12 dollars.  Oh well.

I found someone trying to sell two of them for $25 ... or best offer.  So it doesn't seem to be in high demand.  But I did find out that it was a popular sports-themed comic strip by Walt Ditzen and it ran from the 1940s until his death in 1976.  So the thing is at least 25 years old.

I got it (I think) from my Grandfather's house after his death, along with a few other odds and ends.  (I think that's also where I got the walnut-shaped nutcracker, come to think of it.)  But I never knew my Grandfather to be a golfer and it doesn't particularly remind me of him, so it's just another item that can be let go.

AFTER I discovered that it's not some rare, valuable antique, I have decided to give it to one of my students.  This young man is really into golfing.  In fact, he recently wrote a 4 page research paper on why golf balls have dimples.  (I haven't graded it yet, so I can't pass on the reason why golf balls have dimples at this time.)  He'll probably appreciate it.

Day 182 - Slinky (Give)

Another good object to take to my classroom - I'll just hand it over to the first person who picks it up and "slinks" with it.

And with that, I am caught up on my blogging for the week.  We have two crazy weeks (and two days) of school and then it's sweet, sweet summertime.  Maybe I can be a bit more creative then on my Gives and Sells. 

Maybe the house will sell and the whole process will speed up.  Time will tell.

(I so want to tell you a story about Dats (age 10) and a tearful "confession" he made to Melissa tonight, but Melissa has forbidden me to put it on the world wide web... and I can see why.  So I will leave you to wonder.  All I can say is that I hope my conscience will someday be as sensitive as his.  Well ... maybe not THAT sensitive, but definitely more sensitive than it tends to be.)

Day 181 - Ceramic Duck (Give)

This is another one of those ceramic pieces I made as a kid.  This one has the year 1982 scratched on the bottom of it.  I would have been 13 or 14 years old.  This can be another object to take to school and hand out to some student (likely a junior higher - they love free stuff!) who asks for it.

Or maybe I'll try something different.  Maybe I'll leave it somewhere - like the teacher's lounge - and see how long it stays put. 

Or perhaps I could sneak it into somebody else's house and place it amongst other knick-knacks.

Or smuggle it into a department store and leave it on a shelf- what would you call the reverse of shop-lifting?

This could be fun...

Day 180 - Clock Picture Frame (Graduation Give)

This was one of those gifts the groom gives to the guys who are directly involved in the wedding as groomsmen or ushers or whatnot.  I won't say who gave it to me because he might be reading this!  (I appreciated it, but now it's time to regift.)  It's a nice little clock with a space for a picture beside it. 

I'm going to start making a pile of Gives that would be appropriate for graduation gifts, because I might be needing some this year.  And this would be perfect for that purpose, so it can be the first into the pile.

Day 179 - Walnut-Shaped Nutcracker (Give)

See ... it's a large, silver walnut ...

Not much to say about this. 

It is what it is.

I think I'll take it to school and give it to the first person who asks about it.





And a nutcracker!!



Day 178 - Stained Glass Wabash Sign (Throw)

My parents gave this stained glass creation to me many years ago.  Wabash is the college from which I graduated ... way back in 1990!  I'm sure they paid good money for it.

Unfortunately, I had it hanging in my classroom and last summer, while all the various construction projects were going on all over the school, it got broken somehow.

I came in one day to find it smashed and thrown on top of a filing cabinet.  No note.  No explanation.  No "Sorry about that". 

That sort of behavior irritates me.

So it's been stashed away in my classroom for nearly a year now and I had in mind that "someday" I would try to repair it. 

It wasn't a complete pipe dream.  I actually do have the means to repair stained glass, but it's a difficult process and it never looks "good as new".

I can't really hold onto it anyway, but it would have been nice to pass it along to one of my Wabash friends instead of throwing it out...

Day 177 - Tamarind Nectar (Throw)

I don't even know what a "tamarind" is exactly, so I'm not sure why I have its nectar, except that it was apparently a cheap souvenir from my mission trip to Mexico years ago.  I poured the contents of the can down the sink and it looked disgusting - all brown and chunky.  I don't know if I'll ever be able to enjoy tamarind nectar now!

Day 176 - Oil Painting Book (Give)

Real quick as I try to catch up:

I walked past the artroom at school a few days ago and saw one of my students creating a beautiful picture with oil paints.  I knew she was an artist, but I'd never seen any of her oil painting talent.  I found this book on oil painting landscapes, and thought she'd maybe get some use out of it.

Day 175 - LeMars Bulldog Pom Pom (Throw)

This is one of those things I dig up and throw away late at night before my 4 year old gets a chance to see it and latch onto it.  If I'm not careful, it will become one more item on top of the junk pile of toys which is her room.  We avoided spreading Easter grass everywhere this year, so why risk finding strands of this pom pom strewn about for the next two months.  It goes into the trash can at 11:30 PM so it doesn't get sidetracked on its way to the dump.

P.S. It's late Friday night (May 13, 2011) as I post this.  I'm several days behind in writing my blog posts, but I have continued my giving and throwing.  It was a crazy week and it was all I could do to keep my head above water.  But tomorrow morning there is NOTHING on the schedule - so we get to sleep in!  Yahoo!

Day 173 and Day 174 - Hats and Shirts (Give - to the Ginormous Clothing Drive)

I must confess that I was none too happy when Melissa informed me that she had signed our family up to help sort clothes during the "Ginormous Clothing Drive" that our church sponsored last Saturday.  The only upside I saw was the opportunity to get rid of some more clothing out of our closet.  Mainly I was irritated about the time commitment:  8:30 to noon.  We already had Dats' soccer game at 9:30 and I didn't want to "kill the rest of the morning".  Ha!  Shows you how mission minded I am!

Most of our small group families also showed up and, from what I understood, my older brother's small group was the one that got the ball rolling on this project and then organized it.

And it was quite the production, too!  Bags and bags of clothes had to first be sorted:  first, the unworthy clothes got tossed out, then the remaining clothes got sorted between Kosovo-bound and Honduras-bound trucks. 

Here are some pics from the day:



View of Dats from inside the truck.





Soccer break!  Unfortunately, Dats' team lost 4 - 0.





My niece Lauren ... looking a bit confused about
where to send a scarf.




The Princess takes a doughnut break.




My other niece, Kiersten, (aka "The Skunk") shows some shoes that were deemed fit for neither Kosovo nor Honduras.




My brother, Spencer, acting as jungle gym for Ida and loving every minute of it.




My sister-in-law, Kristine, a bit unsure about some of the clothing.



Keri seems to truly be having a good time. 
Or is she faking it? Hard to tell...



Melissa was somewhat upset that I didn't have any good photos of her to post on Facebook when I had everyone else.  Maybe it's because I didn't want to use my flash, so in order to get a good photo, my subject had to hold still for a few seconds - and Melissa was in constant motion. 




"Hot Pickle/Jelly Bean" looks thrilled to help out!



The truck with the shipping container in front of the church.



Day 172 - Birthday Card (Give Back) and 1975 Cincinnati Reds Program (Give)

I embarassed my niece by returning this birthday card in front of a class of her peers.  Fortunately, she's got a good sense of humor AND she's come a long way as an artist, so she was able to laugh about it - along with everyone else. 

But she wasn't able to tell me if those things were supposed to be hearts or flowers.

I don't have a picture, but my second Give was a Cincinnati Reds "Scorecard" program from 1975!  Pete Rose was on the cover! 

Apparently, my packratting started early.  In '75, I would have been 7 years old!  My brothers and I went to a few Reds games with Dad when we were kids.  I always enjoyed the atmosphere more than the game itself.  I remember one game where a drunk fan kept yelling random, slurred "insults" at Pete Rose like "Pete Rose is a hamburger!"

I gave the 1975 scorecard to a co-worker who I know is a big Reds fan because I always see him commenting on the Reds on Facebook.

Then I looked it up on-line and found it could have been sold for 30 to 40 dollars.  It didn't occur to me that anyone would pay for it. 

C'est la vie!  (I believe that's French for @#$%!!!)

Day 171 - Scottish Map and Postcards (Give)

Gave my map from Scotland and some Colin Baxter postcards to my little Scottish enthusiast student.  No pics to show.  I wanted to pull a picture by Baxter to place here, but he's apparently pretty particular about copyrighting and has figured out how to protect his photos on-line.  So I'll just give a link.  He's one of the most famous photographers in Scotland. Some Scots love his work and others think his images are overworked and overly romanticized.

Personally, I like 'em.

His pictures are about as close as any camera can come to capturing the stunning beauty of Scotland.

Day 170 - Shopping Bag Collection and Assorted Papers (Throw)

Sorted through a whole bunch of old papers to put in recycling...

Among the papers:
Numerous Brochures -
     Epcot Center
     Kennedy Space Center (1984)
     Wall Drug
     Mammoth Cave
     Badlands
     Faneuil Hall (Summer 1987)
     Coca-Cola Museum
     Various Summer Camp brochures from  
             camps I worked  
Also:

Flight Itineraries (Saudi Arabia and Scotland)
Easter cards from Grandma Gross
Various Photos
Thank You Cards
Newspaper Clippings
Wedding Announcements and Programs
Church Bulletins
Obituaries
Cats Playbill
A Kwanzaa Card ... from Luke and Gavin

And just to show that my pack-rat tendencies also have a romantic side, here are some of the hearts I found on the floor of my house on Valentine's Day of 2000, when Melissa and I were dating.  She let herself into my house (I left it unlocked - she didn't have a key.  Just sayin'.) and spread hearts all over. 

Now that I think about it, it's a good thing I was head over heals in love with her already (we'd only been together for a month and a half) or I probably would have thought, "PSYCHO!!"  Ha!


And then there was my shopping bag collection.  I actually used to collect bags from various places I visited.  You might be thinking, "Psycho!!", but they are truly the perfect souvenir for tight wads!  On some of them, I thought ahead and recorded the year right on the bag and I have included some of those dates here.

Bags:

Cactus Jack's, Keystone, S.D.
Conner Prairie
Epcot Center
World's Only Corn Palace (June 1988)
Norman Rockwell Museum
Brookfield Zoo of Chicago (1983)
Orange Ring of Florida (1980)
Major Hospital (Probably the clothing bag from my hernia operation over spring break of my sophomore year at Wabash!)
Urbana Missions Conference of 1987
Sea World
King's Island
Mt. Rushmore
The Big Apple (in Al-khobar, Saudi Arabia!)
Golden Gate Bridge
Georgia's Stone Mountain Park
The Luxor Hotel of Las Vegas
Warner Bros.

Day 169 - Last Century's Jeans and Tie-Dye Pants (Throw)

I've been exploring one of the boxes I pulled from the back of the storage shed as we prepared for last weekend's garage sale...

Bizarre stuff.

Like these jeans from pre-2000.  They were signed by several youth and adults - some from Indiana and some from Iowa.  I must have worn them last on a joint mission trip between my LeMars (Iowa) group and my Shelbyville (Indiana) youth. 

Melissa was jealous because I still fit in these jeans. 

In fact, I had a bit of extra room!

Just sayin'.







But here are the pants I was really tempted to keep:

But Melissa wouldn't let me!



(I went through a tie-dye phase that lasted a few years... but I'm over it now.)

Seriously, though, I don't want you thinking that I actually wore these thing out in public - it was more of a summer camp gag outfit.

Really.


Sadly, they are on their way to the landfill.

Other Bloggers in the Family...

I just found out that I'm not the only one in my family who is blogging (but I was THE FIRST).  I've mentioned my "little" brother Russ a few times here.  He's the one who has had quite the physical and spiritual transformation over the past two years or so.  Russ is learning bunches about God right now - and he's learning it the best way possible:  firsthand. 

I have to admit to being a bit jealous of his most recent post:  Russ wrote about how he and his fiancee won a raffle over the weekend...

... to the tune of $10,000!!

That's awesome.

But why can't I write about winning ten thousand dollars sometime, God?

Day 168 - LeMars Bulldog Mug, Saudi Arabian Necktie and Dead Seahorses (Throw ... though Melissa may take the seahorses to school to do who-knows-what with)

Here's an oddball assortment of treasures I uncovered as I brought tubs out of the storage barn for this weekend's garage sale (and, believe me, I am just getting started on the oddball treasures here).

The seahorses were from my summers in Saudi Arabia ... I think (darn lousy memory!).  I found them scattered up and down a beach one morning.  Thousands upon thousands of them drying in the sun.  They are perfectly preserved little exoskeletons.  And you know what?  Surprisingly, they don't smell bad.

The necktie is obviously from Saudi Arabia - no memory skills needed for that one.  It's the same pattern as the "headscarves" worn by the Saudi men. (Ummmm... don't remember what they really call those headscarves, but I have one of those too, out in the garage.)

(OK... just googled it and that "headscarf" is called a "shumagg" and I feel a bit better about my memory because I never knew that in the first place.)

And the mug was from my time as youth pastor is LeMars, Iowa.  That was my first youth ministry position after my training with Tentmakers (which was just after graduating from Wabash College).  Yup, I was a LeMartian for about 3 and a half years!  I loved LeMars.  And I loved the LeMartians.  But I have no need for another plastic cup...

Day 167 - Five Tubs of STUFF (Sell)

Today was the garage sale and Steve and Keri's house. 

They made over $500!  YAY!

We made $80.30!

BOOOOOOOO!

Oh, well.  On the bright side, we got rid of 5 tubs of stuff.  (I will spare you an itemized list - but just this once!)  That lightens the load.  And improves the appearance of the garage.

Hopefully this week we will be listing our house with our realtor friend, Robyn.

Here's how it plays out ideally:  The house sells mid-May.  The prospective owners offer several thousand over the asking price.  Once school ends, we take a week and clear everything out and move in with my mother-in-law.  We have a giant moving sale and make a couple more thousand dollars.  Now we've got enough cash on hand to pay for our exploratory trip to Haiti this summer with the kids. 

Perfect.

I have already informed God of this plan and our timeline... just in case He doesn't have a better plan.