Paint the town

5/14/10 Remaining drops of latex paint, consumed

Tonight's downsize is a great example of why it's a good idea to hold onto stuff.

If that sounds oxymoronic, it is.

In a desperate attempt to get rid of a whole lot of stuff fast, we are having an impromptu MOVING SALE this Sunday. Dear Readers, if you are in the area of 34 Lukes Rd., Casco, I implore you to come by the sale. This is perhaps your finest opportunity to get into the blog. Immortality could be yours!

I decided I better put up a few signs, lest we throw a party and nobody comes. (Sounds like a flashback to my childhood, but let's not dwell on that...)

I had plenty of scrap lumber in desperate need of use, so I ventured into the Dreaded Basement to find some old paint.

And there it was: a gallon of old white paint that was sitting right there when we moved into the house seven years ago. Over the years, I had used most of it for various little projects here and there, leaving only about a quarter inch of skim on the bottom. Naturally, I saved it.

Foolish, you say? Not so fast. That little bit of paint was the precise amount I needed this evening as I made my signs. The can is ready to be recycled, I have the warm glow of not wasting a drop, and my signage is ready to summon the masses.

Bring on the buyers!

Pawned off

5/13/10 Television, sold for $10

Ever since I began the Downsizing Challenge, I've been dying to sell something at the pawn shop. I actually tried to sell them our food processor earlier in the year, but they wouldn't take it.

Today, I had an offer they couldn't refuse.

When I walked in with the T.V., the first thing the guy said was, "Ah, I don't really need another T.V."

"Oh, yes you do!" I said. "Price it cheap, sell it quick."

"What do you want for it?" he asked.

"Make me an offer," I replied, "And I bet I won't refuse it."

I had a tense moment when he plugged it in and pushed the power button. The T.V. has always worked fine, but sometimes it takes four or five pushes of the power button to kick it to life. The Pawn Gods were smiling on me, since it jumped to life with the first push.

I walked out with $10 in my pocket (five dollars more than I would have happily accepted) and the warm satisfaction of another goal accomplished.

Birthday books

5/12/10 Two books, given away

Today didn't start off well, but it sure ended on a high note.

I hardly slept last night, as I continued dealing with a night-time cough that roared to life every time I approached a prone position. My 5:15 AM alarm wasn't necessary, and I dragged myself to the bathroom feeling sick and tired. Literally.

I then made the best decision of the week, which was to call in sick to work. Joanna got up with Chase and I finally fell asleep, waking up nearly five hours later. Guess I was rather tired.

By afternoon I was feeling better, certainly well enough to travel over to Winthrop for my baby sister's surprise birthday party. Yep, little Katie is turning thirty, so naturally we needed to be in on the celebration.

The party also served another purpose since Katie's husband Jean also just got a new job, as a Budget Director at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Those of you, Dear Readers, who are from the New York area will recognize the WCS as the organization that runs all five of the major zoos in the city. Very cool.

While the job is right up Jean's alley and there are a lot of advantages to raising a family in the New York area, it does mean that Katie, Jean, and their kids will have to leave Maine and our parents.

Of course, Joanna, Chase and I are about to do the same thing, so who am I to talk?

To help grapple with the implications of trading the wilds of Maine for the urban landscape of The Big Apple, one book I downsized to Katie was The Last Child in the Woods, which had been given to me by my cousin Chad. The book, subtitled Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder, makes some interesting points about the need for children to interact with the natural world and to engage in playful explorations of both the outdoors and social situations. (As opposed to living a life of regimented soccer leagues and piano practices.)

Despite birthday parties and new jobs, Katie and Jean's lives revolve completely around their children, so I know James and Estelle will have it good wherever their family ends up. Indeed, I may be eight year's Katie's senior, but she's my role model when it comes to parenting.

Yep, spending the evening with two great parents like that would bring anyone's bad day to a pleasant conclusion.

Happy Birthday, Kate.

Congratulations, Jean.

Blazing new trails

5/11/10 Backpacking manual & other hiking related papers, recycled

Here's a downsizing tip: get rid of your bookcases.

When a bookcases goes out the door, you are immediately forced to deal with everything that was on it. Trust me, there's a lot of stuff on it.

Auntie Karen and Cousin Maryjean took two of our bookcases yesterday, leaving me with a pile of books and other assorted items. It just so happened that one of the shelves was my designated Sports and Hiking Books area.

I've culled a lot of books this year, but I remain devoted to my fine hiking collection, so I knew there wouldn't be much in the pile that I wanted to get rid of. However, I did find a number of hiking articles, old maps, and freebie booklets that were foolish to save in the first place. I also realized I still had my old college outing club manual, even though I also had a newer edition on the same shelf.

As an added bonus, I also began the process of packing up all those outdoor books I want to keep for the trek out west. Despite all the downsizing, I better keep most of those books -- I hear there's some good hiking out in Colorado.

Give your family a little credit

5/10/10 Two Star Wars photo-mosaics & two book shelves, sold, price TBD (Editor's Note, 8/8/10: I'm fuzzy on what we ended up charging for this stuff, but I think it was $40)

My Aunt Karen, Cousin Maryjean, and first cousins, once removed (look it up, I know how the whole "once-removed" thing works) Maddie and Bella came over to meet Chase and visit with Joanna today. After a trip to the local playground and a picnic, they took a few items off of our hands, with promises to return soon to get more.

While I wasn't home, Joanna said she brokered a deal where we'd decide upon a final price later.

Oh, Maryjean, that was a mistake.

Those Darth Vader and Yoda photo-mosaics? Truly treasured possessions of the highest value.

Hope you've been saving your pennies; this is going to be one heck of a bill...

Fire & Brimstone

5/9/10 Half cord of firewood, sold on craigslist for $50

As I've written on this blog many times before, the best thing about doing business on craigslist is the conversations I have with the people to whom I sell and give things. Today, I met one of the most interesting people of the downsizing year.

Because of the relatively light winter we had up here in Maine and the distractions caused by a certain Brilliant Boy, I burned less firewood this year than during any other winter since we moved to Casco. As a result, I ended the season with a fair amount left over.

With no need of the wood once we relocate to Denver, I threw it up on craigslist for sale and quickly had an appointment with a friendly fellow named Bill to get it today. Bill arrived in his white pick-up and we loaded about half of the pile. Since he lived about twenty minutes away, I told him he could feel free to come back on another day to get the rest, at his convenience.

I'd estimate that he was in his seventies, and he quickly accepted that offer, saying "I tire easily!"

Then he handed me fifty bucks and a little Bible tract, courtesy of the Fellowship Tract League. (I looked them up -- you can check them out here.) We naturally started talking about religion and the Bible -- hey, don't forget that I read the entire book of Genesis earlier this year -- and I actually enjoyed listening to him.

What I liked about Bill was that he was a bit of a renegade Born-Again Christian. He had no time for churches, pastors, or blind followers. Here was a man who was perfectly happy with his own interpretation of the Good Book, and he wasn't trying to push it on me. Just a Believer and an atheist chatting it up.

Bill's worldview is about as far from mine as they come, but that's okay. The problem in America today seems to be that those of us with opposing viewpoints can't seem to make room for each other. I liked Bill. I don't begrudge him his beliefs, nor would I ever ask him to change.

Plus, we have one very important belief in common. We both know, for absolute certain, that we won't be meeting up in Heaven. Amen.

Red Sox Nation

5/8/10 Red Sox PEZ Dispenser, given away

When I've told people that I'm moving to Denver, one question I've been asked many times is "Are you going to change your sports allegiances?"

What a ridiculous question.

Dear Readers, I lived in New Jersey & New York for thirteen years and came back a BIGGER Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins fan. Denver's certainly not going to change that.

However, no matter how strongly Boston blood flows through my veins, I'm willing to admit that my friend and fellow Literacy Coach Jenn Felt is an even prouder member of Red Sox Nation. She's also a tremendously generous member of The Nation.

When she got four tickets to today's Sox/Yanks game, she offered two to me. This is my kind of woman. I invited my Dad along -- Joanna and Mom hung out with Chase at her sister's apartment in Charlestown -- and we had a grand time of it. (Don't ask about the final score or the rain delay or my soaked jeans.) We were at Fenway; all is good.

Wanting the transaction to be equal, I accepted the tickets from Jenn and gave her a Red Sox PEZ dispenser in return.

No, it wasn't exactly a fair swap, but Jenn accepted it with a smile.

Hey, to be a Red Sox fan, you've got to be able to take setbacks with a sense of humor.