Yard Saleing

Is that a word?

Whose bright idea was "Yard Sale?" How 'bout many feet for sale? or Lawn Sale? And then frequently you'll see Garage Sale and even Porch Sale. I wouldn't mind buying a Garage.

When I was a kid, we had Rummage Sales. Many times the stuff was from big cardboard barrels that came from some "church up north." That's an anonymous place. And I understand there are places in the country where they have Tag Sales.

Which brings to mind "Flea Market." In Hawaii, they had "Swap Meets." That sounds a lot better than "Flea Market." Who wants anything related to fleas?

The Swap Meet on Oahu in the late 70s was held at a Drive-In Theater. People would bring their things in early in the morning (I'm assuming, 'cause I never got there till afternoon) and then got everything out before evening. Then it was open for movie goers. Oh, yeah, they could drive their car/truck right up to their spaces, which were usually separated by the speakers. I once bought two really neat wooden chairs for $2 each. I had them until about 10 years ago.

John and I have been trying to combine our households which has been challenging at best. We went from our separated living spaces to one. He lived in our house in Manchester that had about 1500 square feet. And I lived here in this house which has less than 1000 square feet. So you can imagine.

We had a yard sale last weekend: Thur, Fri, & Sat. Then we did a repeat Fri. and Sat. this weekend. It took him about six months to talk me into doing a yard sale. When we sold the Manchester house, we packed as much as we could in here and rented a storage unit for the stuff we weren't sure about letting go of. We promised ourselves that we would only keep it six months. And we did. We feel great about that.

We've had some nice conversations with people. Met some great neighbors. Renewed some old acquaintances. So, all in all, we've had a pretty good experience. We were rained out Sat. last week and we had to cover everything up today cause it started to rain. And we haven't made as much as we hoped we would. But there is actually some space in the house that isn't covered in stuff. And we're not bringing much back into the house.

Not much. Really! not much. A wing-back chair that needs reupholstered, a rattan chair that was his mothers and is very comfortable. But I got rid of a lot of fabric and yarn, which is a lot more expensive than I remembered.

But I guess the most important thing for me, is I have been thinking a lot before I purchase anything. I make sure I really need or really want it. And I've realized how much my stuff has owned me. I buy it, then I have to store and maintain it. I went to a workshop several years ago that left me with one very nice quote:

"They're called stores, because that's where you store stuff 

until you need it."

Dear God, help me leave things in the store till I need them and can properly care for them.

Another one bites the dust!

Across town, one of the oldest factories is being torn down. It's been there as long as I can remember. I'm not sure what it was originally built for, but it's main use was manufacturing shoes. Genesco Shoe Factory. My sister-in-law's parents worked there when she was a kid. I've known other people who had family who worked there.

It has been unused as a factory for a couple years, now and I frequently thought it would be a great place to convert into loft apartments.

One of the neatest things is, it has it's own water tower. Sticks way up above all the closest building and is old. Guess that is the neatest things about the whole building. It's old. I googled Genesco and found out it was built by the city and rented to the General Shoe Company for $1 per year. It was completed in 1934. Almost 80 years old. And now it's mostly gone. Right after the 1929 depressions, it was the "Savior" of the town.

I took a picture a couple years ago of a sycamore tree that was growing out of the roof. I'd include that photograph, but it's on the hard drive of my old computer that crashed Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be able to upload that data to my new laptop very soon.

I took several pictures of the Genesco ruins last week and it has some great lines. Here are a couple of them along with the water tower.

Loved that sky, too.

And here are a couple I took today.

I have to say, this is the cleanest destruction site I've ever seen. See the first photo.

And oh, the reason I am so fascinated by this deconstruction? I should have been an architect. But that's another blog.

Got my data back so here's the sycamore growing on the roof of the old Genesco building.

Enjoy!

What do you wanna be when you grow up?

Every time I think about doing something to bring in some extra money, I remember my Aunt Annie, about 92, telling me, "I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up." So what do I want to do when I grow up?

I've always loved photography. I bought my first camera in Hawaii at the PX on Fort Shafter. I had checked out the cameras of everyone I saw with a camera and read everything I could get my hands on. So I decided on an Olympus OM1. They were 30% smaller, 30% quieter, and 30% something else I thought was important. I would go to the PX every couple weeks to check it out. Finally after saving up the $300 plus, I told them, "I'll take it."

I loved that camera. Even though I was in Hawaii, I took a ton of black & white photos, learned to use the darkroom, and started shooting "garbage." One of my favorites was of cars that had been pushed off into the sea. There was a strip of beach off Kamehameha Highway that was a cliff with huge boulders at the bottom. There had to have been at least 10 cars lying among the rocks.

Arizona State had just started a program about "garbage," and I thought it was a calling. I still photograph "garbage..." unusual things in common places or common things in unusual places. Commodes are one of my favorites.

Lately, I've been looking at photos on Google Earth and have found some very interesting ones in Tullahoma by a guy by the name of Maurice. Check out this one.

https://picasaweb.google.com/soraxtm

I've been inspired by his technique. Here are a couple of my endeavors.

I don't have the computer program to do what he is doing, but I'm enjoying it what I'm doing and having some fun. 

So maybe I don't have to "know" what I want to do when I grow up. Maybe I just do what I enjoy when I enjoy it. I'm also getting my needle into fabric art. It might not bring in money, but it's the best way I've found to spend my time not making money.

So what are you doing just because it's fun?

Middle of June

I heard someone say the other day, as you get older the days get longer but the weeks and months get shorter. Now, I know what they mean.

John and I have been unemployed/retired for a year now. I was laid off on June 10, 2010. I continue to look for a job, but either I'm not qualified, or I'm too qualified (read: too old). I've done a little work on Elance, but basically I've just "rested." I can still draw unemployment for a while, but decided it was time to start the social security. Got my first check today. No one could live on what I get. With my unemployment, I can pay my bills, but not on the social security. Sure wouldn't make me socially secure.

I'm doing a lot of volunteer work, ie: escorting my mom to Wash. DC. I've got some more pictures to share. Another indication that something really special was happening that day, was our entrance to the Baltimore/Wash Airport. We had what is called a Water Gun Salute. A fire truck sat on either side of the path our plane was taking and sprayed water over us as we went by. Of course a photo inside would have only shown the plane's window with water running down it. But I found a pic online of it happening to another flight. Very dramatic and beautiful.

Our first destination was the World War II Memorial. Our bus let us out nearby and we did our group photograph. Mom and I rolled around to the entrance to get the full effect. There are two large monuments with World War II on them and you walk between them, down a slope to the middle. On either side of that stroll, there are bas-relief panels set into the walls. They are beautiful. And I didn't photograph them but you can see them listed as Bas-Relief Panels (duh) at http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=facts.asp&subpage=factsheets. 

There is a beautiful oval pool in the middle surrounded by columns with the name of each state on them. One either side there is a large column that rises above it all. On the left you'll see Pacific and on the right Atlantic for the two theatres. Also, on the walls around the outside there are quotes carved into the stone. Another visitor volunteered to photograph Mom and I in front of the one about women soldiers:

"WOMEN WHO STEPPED UP WERE MEASURED AS CITIZENS OF THE NATION, NOT AS WOMEN…THIS WAS A PEOPLE’S WAR, AND EVERYONE WAS IN IT." Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby.

You can look her up. Powerful woman.

Mom hates everyone seeing her in a wheelchair. And we only used one because there was so much to see and so much walking to see it all. So please ignore the wheelchair. She does not own one herself.

 

"Two Old Veterans"

Ask Mom to show you the brag book I made for her.

April 2011

Can't believe it's been so long since I wrote something.

This past weekend, Saturday, April 30, 2011, I escorted my mom on the Southern Middle Tennessee Honor Flight. This is a trip for World War II veterans to see the WWII Memorial. My mom is 87 years old and is doing fantastic, but walking very long is a chore for her. We flew in and out of Huntsville.

We left Winchester WalMart at 4:15 a.m. and returned at around 11 p.m. Same Day! Long Day.

The first hint that this was going to be something special was the police escort of the bus from Manchester and Tullahoma to Winchester. Didn't realize it was an escort till they headed out before us with lights flashing. They led us all the way to the Alabama state line. The world was so dark in Huntsville because of the electrical outage. As we left the Huntsville Airport, an employee said, "Enjoy the electricity in Washington." And did we ever.

The local organization provided wheelchairs, so Mom was in one whenever we weren't riding or sitting otherwise. The pat down and search at Huntsville was pretty thorough but everyone was very well behaved.

Once the flight was underway, the pilot announced that the Honor Flight was on board, and everyone broke out into applause. I was very surprised, one of the many of the day. The Air Tran plane was full. I think people were leaving because the electricity was down.

When we landed at the Baltimore/Washington DC airport, there were 20 or so military in uniform applauding and thanking all the WWII veterans. Tears were falling off my nose. I couldn't dab them cause I was pushing the wheelchair up the ramp.

All the way through the airport, people would stop, grab my mom's hand and thank her for her service. It was most touching and even now, I am tearing up.

Leaving BWI

This is the first installment of the day's events. After all it was nearly 20 hours. I've got a lot to tell you.

Love all,

Carrie

2011

Happy New Year, everyone!

I feel like I've been out of the loop for a couple months. First, we had Thanksgiving. Remember that almost 2 months ago? I cooked Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time in probably 12 years for seven. And it's one of my favorite holidays.

Then there was Christmas, and we thought we'd go to a local buffet, but didn't find out till Christmas Day, it was closed. So we did the second most popular thing: ate Chinese on Christmas Day. We, includes myself, my husband, John, and my mom. She lives about 20 miles away and we usually have Sunday lunch with her.

Oh, yeah, we had the first White Christmas in like 30 years ±. Not statistics I'm worried about. So our Christmas Story on 2010 included Chinese Buffet, but not because we lost our turkey. Actually, John and Mom both said it was the best Christmas dinner they’d ever had. No preparation, no cleaning up. We went in, ordered a drink, and started gathering our food.

After Christmas, Mom and I drove to visit my sister and her family in Wiggins, Mississippi. And I have to admit there were a couple trips to the casino, specifically "Island View." Best Buffet of the year, according to Carrie.

As we came back from Mississippi, we stopped in Birmingham for lunch with my cousin and her husband, neither of whom have we seen in probably 10 years. Maybe less, but, too many.

Once we returned home, I had to get ready for surgery to remove a portion of a bulging disk in lower back. That was certainly eventful. You’ll have to ask to get the details. I don’t want to bore everyone to death. I also started physical therapy on my left shoulder that was injured when I was hit by a car in 1986. OMG, that’s so long ago. But it finally started bothering me. The PT has been terrific. Love you, Amy!

So here I am months since my last note. I hope it was worth it.

Let me give you a short run down of all the illnesses of my friends. Three of them had knee replacement surgery in 2010, cousin has to have hearing aids in both ears, I’m having back surgery and physical therapy on my shoulder, two friends have cancer, and another one had an elbow replacement surgery last week. When I needed to go to pt Monday, I called one of the friends who had the knee replacement. She has just completed her pt. It was so strange to have a handicapped friend, take me to have my handicap worked on. Blind leading the blind?

I have realized, “Don’t expect to have a big funeral, if you live long enough to get old.”