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Day 45 – Weird Carved Black … Thing (Give)
This is going to be a Christmas gift for my younger brother and his fiancee and it’s something I was always supposed to give away. Of all the things I have given away (and all the things yet to be given) this has to be one of the most “mystical”. For all I know it could be decades old and already passed through dozens of hands. I don’t think my brother has seen this blog yet (at least he’s never mentioned it), so hopefully I’m not spoiling any surprise. I have to tell you a bit about my brother because he is living a fairly miraculous existence…
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Day 44 – German Tin and Random Buttons (Give)
A student came up to me at school today (our last day for the semester… yay!) and said, “You still got that Coke box? I’d like to buy it for my mom for Christmas – she collects Coke memorabilia and she was born in Chattanooga.” So he gave me $30 for it… and that goes into a fund to get us to Haiti this summer. Tonight I found an octagonal tin from Germany (which came filled with “Nurnberger Oblatenlebkuchen”). For the last ten or fifteen years, though, it’s been filled with random buttons (the campaign-style buttons, not the zipper-alternative-type buttons). …
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Day 43 – Coke Box (Give… maybe Sell?)
As I write, this particular Give (maybe Sell!) is still in process. I think I might have found a new avenue for my project to Give, Throw or Sell at least one item each day: Facebook. All the junk that I threw away yesterday (Day 42 – which I will get caught up on tomorrow perhaps) was contained in an old, flat Coca-Cola box. It’s a wooden box – the kind they used to carry 24 bottles in. This one has markings on the inside which read “Chattanooga 1970”. I guess I need to check on line to see if…
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Day 41 – Eye Glasses from Saudi Arabia (Throw)
I continue to be amused by the goofy things I hold onto. I was getting the clippers to cut Caleb’s hair when I realized there was a clear plastic tub of items on the laudry room shelf just below the clippers that I had not opened in years – items which obviously belonged to me. So I pulled it off the shelf and sat on the living room floor and sorted through it… and tossed most of it. Old eyeglasses (broken!) I had purchased in Saudi Arabia, a half-used bottle of Grecian Formula (from way back when my gray hair was just…
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Day 40 – Christmas Box (Give)
Yesterday was kind of busy and the day got away from me and there was only one thing given away … but it counts. The three oldest kids and myself are in the local production of the Nutcracker ballet. No… I don’t wear tights OR prance around on stage. We are in the party scene at the beginning of the show. Anyway, last night was dress rehearsal and we had to be on site by 6:00 (the Drama Queen (age 8) didn’t finish practicing her part until 10:30 PM!). In between the end of school and the start of dress…
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Day 39 – Christmas China (Give)
Years ago, Melissa bought four place settings of some Christmas china. It’s “country” and we’ve never really lived in a house where “country” fits. To do “country” right, you have to live in a big old farmhouse (preferably) … not some bi-level from the 60’s. Melissa may correct me, but I don’t remember ever using this particular china. I do remember carrying that heavy box from one place to another. Our neighbor and small group leader, Keri, is the proud new owner of the Christmas china. I hope she enjoys it more than I did!
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Day 38 – The “Dazzle” (Throw)
When I was in seminary I took a class that introduced me to video editing. This was around 15 years ago and the school had one computer in a large closet hooked up to what was called a “video toaster”. It was a complex bit of machinery that was incredibly slow, but you could edit video tapes with professional looking transitions. Plus you could speed the action up or slow it down or run it backwards, which was a lot of fun when working with footage from youth events. I would lose track of time in that little room. So…
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Day 37 – PVC Cross (Throw)
I think I’ve been carrying this cross around for at least ten years. (And I’m talking about a literal cross, not some figurative, spiritual cross … it’s been in a box.) It’s made of PVC pipe and it is designed to hold grape juice. It was a prop for a mime skit that I used to perform in my youth ministry days. It was a pretty cool skit and I would tell you all about it if I could remember how it went! I do remember that one actor played the role of Mary and another plays Joseph and they open a gift box labeled “From…
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Day 36 – Kermit Clein Poster (Throw)
Yeah, this thing is obnoxious. I’m a big Kermit the Frog fan, but I have my limits. I don’t remember now if this poster was something I bought or something someone gave me, but … what the Dickens?? This poster was first produced in 1994, but you can still get one on Amazon.com for $8.99! (“Only three left in stock – order soon!”) When I rediscovered this poster the other day, my first thought was that I would take it to my classroom and hang it on the wall for a while instead of just throwing it in the trash and “wasting…
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Day 35 – Bill Cosby Tape (Give) and Day 36 – Goodwill Trip
I’m a day behind in writing and a head cold is dragging me down, so I’m getting caught up and then heading for bed. Not much to report for Day 36 … Melissa put together a couple of boxes of donations for Goodwill today, mostly Christmas decorations. We’ve got more than enough decorations around the house and it’s good to get a few to Goodwill with a couple of weeks yet before Christmas. Yesterday (Day 35) my Give was next to nothing, but it still counts. My family and I went to watch a play in Shelbyville. My younger brother, Russ,…