12 Oakdale

 Welcome, 2025 Another year to pare down our belongings, either by not buying something or by moving things along. In another post, I’ll list our 1/week cleaning of drawers, shelves, or box. In: 01/03: 2 copper mule mugs. (Also 1 mini vase & 2 tea candle holders used as vases for hospice flowers, a Windermere Garden Club project.) All from Central Hope Thrift Shop. $6.66  01/06: Watercolor brush: #2 round, kolinsky sable, from Amazon. $29.82 01/07: SD card reader for trail camera, from Amazon. $10.64 01/08: Watercolor brushes: flat, mop, rigger, & filbert, from Amazon. $46.51 02/23: 3 shelves to display my paintings, from Wayfair. $44.72 03/ 03/25: 2 tshirts for HGB from RSMAS grad student sale. $42.80 + $14.88 UPS shipping 03/29: Grab bars for the shower and next to toilets, anti-slip mat for rug, plus shower mat returned, from Amazon and installed by Patten and Ryan. $99.88 05/24: Hose for pool, to replace old one Bath mat Stihl 3” chainsaw Pole for Stihl chainsaw...

 A list of what I moved out of our house; stuff I let in; the things I considered, fondled, thought about, yet didn’t allow to join our household, at least so far; and items replaced. OUT: 01/5: Returned Trtl travel pillow to Amazon. Just didn’t quite fit, and why do I need something I’ll likely leave on an airplane like all the others I’ve bought? I sleep just fine without it. $51.11 back. 01/06: Christmas decorations. Although they are in cardboard boxes sitting on shelves in the garage for donation in October, I culled a whole big tote of decorations we haven’t used since we left Fort Lauderdale. 01/07: Red exercise bands left from PT that have sat, unused, on my nightstand for a year. To the trash. I’ll get new if ever needed. 01/23: Returned small messenger bag. Cute, however I couldn’t get my hand easily into the zippered opening. $89.90-$6 USPS return shipping. 01/28: Eight IKEA chairs out of our garage to Stephanie’s. New Year’s Eve tiara missing the “New”, found when we li...

I keep claiming I want to move stuff out. This morning, when I started putting out our Christmas decorations, I’ve had a chance to see if that’s true. I guess a box got set down too hard, because the bottom of my “Wee fish ewe a mare egret moose…”  mug, the edge of a crystal snowball candle holder, and the base of my ceramic Christmas tree were broken. The mug is gone, the candle holder is good enough to use, but what to do about my tree?  Steve and I made it in 1970 or there about for my father. It has the little plastic ornaments that are lit up from a large bulb in the base. Stephanie inherited the one we made for his mother. We sold others for a little income. Now, what to do? I already had one, well, I was going to say, disaster this morning, but does buttercream icing that failed, really count as a disaster? Not when I think about the Ukrainians suffering this winter. I’ll change it to disappointment that can be remedied. Grant has gone to the store for more butter. I ha...