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...