Category Archives: Something About Nothing Column

Do You Have A Junk Drawer or Two?

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jiunkEvery household has a junk drawer — don’t they? My house holds furniture that has many drawers. I would have to say that most of those drawers probably hold a little junk. My husband would say they hold a lot of junk.

Because I had to conveniently rearrange some of my furniture this week I decided perhaps I could do without a small stand by my bed that is comprised of three drawers. I converted part of an old vanity to a nightstand, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted in my bedroom/office.

I have a hodgepodge of furniture moved from other houses, inherited from family and kept by me during remodeling because it was too good to throw away. The bedside table is in the last category.

I took out the first drawer and began muddling through all the tiny pieces of this n’ that residing in the drawer. I had my “to keep” pile, my “to toss” pile and my “giveaway” pile. In the keep pile were items I didn’t know I had, and of course, they were valuable, and I certainly would use them now that I found them.

The toss pile remained empty as I sorted items, deciding that some items were too good to throw and someone could use them. They landed in the giveaway pile.

Did I need all the different types of glue that were in one drawer? You never know when you need super glue or just sticky-it-up-for-a-little-while glue. Did I need my old glasses from eighth grade? I didn’t know I still had them, but I now like the frames. Perhaps I should keep them and take them along when I get new glasses so I can match frames — they are back in style.

I finally found the snowman hanger I had been looking for at Christmas. I should put it with the Christmas decorations. How many nightlights do I need? The grandkids don’t need them anymore.

I would toss something in the giveaway pile only to pick it back up. Those pieces seemed to stick to my fingers and I didn’t even need all the glue that had been in the bottom drawer for the items to stick. I had sticky fingers caused by a sticky mind. Memories stuck in my mind kept items stuck to my fingers.

Finally I picked everything up and neatly organized it back in the drawers, put the old vanity-nightstand back in my bedroom/office and decorated it with a green piece of cloth that gave my room a more finished look. I could not part with any of it.

I have more junk drawers I must tackle, but if it is like the nightstand drawers, I won’t get rid of anything. I have too much sentimentality in me along with the you-might-need-that-someday emotion.

On another note — I did tackle all the old cleaning supplies under my basement steps. The plan was to take them to the recycling and waste day. I thought most of the cans were empty and old and out dated. What I found was they were full and in date, and because we didn’t take the time to look for them, we bought more. We probably won’t need cleaning supplies for years. The key is to organize them and put them in a place where we know where they are.

I live a scatterbrained life. I toss things in drawers instead of having a place for everything and putting everything in its place. I waste time looking for things I can’t find but know I have. I always vow to do better, but I get busy and stressed and because I multi-task, I toss things where it is convenient. It drives my other half crazy, but he does the same thing on a smaller scale in that what he tosses isn’t needed for another year or so.

Will I ever change? I don’t know. I want to, but to accomplish that I have to be able to let go of the junk in the drawer. It is hard work. Not only physical but at times emotional.

It is the same with the junk in our lives that isn’t material junk. How often do we hold on to hurts, anger, resentment, sadness and hatred that get in the way of living our lives, and affect the quality of our life and our relationships? We think we let go and then we pull it back to save it for another day.

Will the tug of war ever end? Only we can decide.

Junk is the ideal product — the ultimate merchandise. No sales talk necessary. The client will crawl through a sewer and beg to buy. — William S. Burroughs

 

The Good Old Days? Are They Gone?

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lemonadeI can’t believe I am still here after growing up in the ’50s and ’60s. I can’t believe my children made it through their childhood.

After all, we had lemonade stands, drank from neighborhood lemonade stands, had many meals at church and community potlucks, ate pie from church pie stands at celebrations, stayed out after dark, were left home alone starting at age 10 or 12, played with tin toys, didn’t have car seats or seat belts and I probably could name many more things we did that you can’t do today without getting in trouble. Although, if we did get in trouble the people who saw our actions probably called our parents, and that was more trouble than a policeman being called.

The news the past few weeks has baffled me. First was the lemonade stand in a large city. The kids had to shut down their neighborhood lemonade stand because they didn’t have a permit. The permit cost $150. Really — a kid’s lemonade stand needs a permit like that? I don’t believe my community got on the bandwagon for lemonade stand permits. At least, I hope not.

Then there was the case of the family building a new house and camping out in tents on their land for the summer, who had their kids taken away from them because they did not have running water or bathrooms or electricity. I visited my grandmother when I was small and they didn’t have running water or bathrooms or electricity. I guess they were neglecting me too. They seemed to survive pretty good and so did I, I learned about Outhouses. There are camping grounds that don’t have water or electricity. What about those families who vacation at a campground for a couple of weeks? Are they neglecting their kids?

What about the 11-year-old whose parents also got in trouble because they weren’t home when their son came home?  The son, locked  out of the house for 90 minutes,  decided to wait for his parents and shoot a few hoops in the backyard. The authorities said he was without emergency services, food and water because of being  out of the house. Really?

In the back ages, my growing time, kids were babysitting at the age of 11, and it wasn’t unusual for kids to stay home by themselves. Other parents have left their kids to play alone at the park, and that apparently isn’t done now either.

My church used to have a pie stand at our local community celebration. Ladies from the church baked pies and everyone devoured them. The pies are now prepared in a commercially licensed kitchen or made by a commercial company.  Many communities and churches have also stopped potlucks because of regulations.

My granddaughter, living in a larger city, wanted to have a lemonade and cupcake stand this summer. They too ran up against permit fees.

Homeowners back in the old ages didn’t have to check to see if what they planted or built on their lawns met code or was up to HOA standards. Next-door neighbors talked to each other, and most of the time it was live or let live.

Every day I read of something that boggles my mind.  Today it was the patio of a restaurant in a nearby community, closed down for a time, because it didn’t have enough live plants. The business broke the rules of the city. Of course we want a safe world, but are we carrying things a little too far?

I am  thankful I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s when summer months meant lemonade stands and long bike rides, playing kick the can after dark, and camping out in the yard where we could meander to others yards to meet with those friends that were camping out too.

I am thankful for all the potlucks and good food I was able to eat at community and church dinners and picnics in the park.

I am thankful for the freedom to stay at home by myself in my younger years. I am thankful  I could explore barns and feed the chickens on our place that was on the edge of town. The place is still there but no one would be allowed to raise chickens, let alone have a pony in the barns that close to town.

I am thankful  the church doors were open day and night allowing us to visit when needing comfort. I am thankful for school doors always being open during the day and the fact we didn’t have to fear violence in school.

I am thankful we could write our own plays and talent shows and perform in garages and charge admission and serve cupcakes.

I am thankful I was a child of the ’50s and the ’60s when life was less restricted and we could experience life with less restrictions, life our children and grandchildren will never know today. Life wasn’t always easy but it was simpler. Yes, the good old days — when kids would be kids, parents could parent and city governments weren’t worried about regulating lemonade stands

Remember Mikey? Try It, You Might Like It? Life Cereal.

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SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING – published week of April 20, 2015 in the Albert Lea Tribune

Do you remember your parents telling you to eat your vegetables? They might have said, “You will like it. You just need to try it.” Or they might have told you that you will learn to like the taste.

I didn’t buy that theory until recently. Scrolling through Facebook and reading the alternative health magazines, I have contemplated joining the cider vinegar, honey and lemon craze. When I have a sore throat or a cold, my mom’s go-to remedy was lemon, honey and hot water. It seemed to do the trick if I was coughing. I wasn’t quite sure about adding cider vinegar to the mix.

I have a friend who uses essential oils along with the vinegar, honey and lemon. She swears by the warm drink in the morning. I was going to try the drink too but have been too lazy to do the mix.

One day I was browsing the health food section of the grocery store, and I came upon an already mixed cider vinegar and honey drink. It appears that all that is in the drink is cider vinegar and honey. I decided to try it. How easy was that? I just had to pull the bottle out of the fridge and pour a little into my glass, no mixing needed.

I let the bottle of vinegar and honey cool off in the refrigerator before trying it. Later in the day I took out a glass and poured the drink into the glass, only using a fourth of the glass. I didn’t want to overdo it the first time by sloshing down an entire glass of the liquid. I took a sip. My lip curled. I made a face. Those watching asked me what was wrong. I answered, “Nothing.” I took another sip. This time I didn’t breathe thinking that would help with taste. It didn’t.

I put the bottle back in the refrigerator wondering if this was something I wanted to do. It was supposed to make me healthier. I persevered day after day. I would wrinkle my nose, hold my breath and drink the concoction. And then, something amazing happened.

After two weeks of holding my nose and breath and making funny faces while drinking the concoction, I took a drink one day and my brain immediately relayed to me, “Um that was good.” I checked the bottle to make sure I was drinking the same stuff. Yup, the bottle and the drink inside hadn’t changed but my taste buds must have.

I thought about all those vegetables I didn’t like in my childhood — Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli — that are now my favorite vegetables over the corn, the carrots and the peas. In fact, now I lean more toward those I didn’t like and forgo those that I used to eat in my childhood.

Do our taste buds just adapt or do our bodies change, or what? I did some searching but didn’t come up with any scientific theory. I am sure there is one out there but I don’t hang out on the websites that actually teach you something of value. You know I am the fun and fluff person.

Why should it surprise me that something I thought was terrible actually became something good in my life? It happens all the time. It also happens with people. We form an impression and that impression stays with us. Our impression of someone might be formed by someone else’s observations or something we observe in a split moment. Because of that we don’t take the time to delve deeper and we write people off and out of our lives. Perhaps if we took a little time to try the flavor of a person’s personality we might actually like the taste.

Remember Mikey from the Life cereal commercials? “Try it, you might like it.” He was referring to cereal. Beyond liking my vinegar and honey, I have tasted friendships with people I might have turned away from after the first impression if I wouldn’t have taken another taste of their friendship. I might have missed the flavor in their personalities and how those flavors have enriched my life. So remember: try it, you might like it.

“Variety’s the very spice of life that gives it all its flavor.” — William Cowper