The Collection

My ballot arrived on Friday. First item on my to-do list Saturday morning, was to mail in my completed ballot. Only, I didn’t trust the postal service; instead, drove to the University, dropped it off in the Official Ballot Drop-off box.

From there, I drove to Sprouts, picked up specialty gluten-free items not available in this area, after which I drove back to the complex, and the fun began.

Not to get ahead of myself, count my chickens before they hatch, but hoping that by placing my ballot in the drop off location, I’d single handedly voted 45 off the island, I began thinking I’d better dig my champagne glass out of storage.

Problem with that was the glass was buried in one of the many containers stored in the patio storage area, behind cosplay costumes, holiday decorations, et al.

Nothing else to do but what I’d been wanting to do for some time — move everything out of the way, dig out those containers, begin the laborious task of going through every item, in every container, to see what exactly I’ve been holding onto for so many years.

It was an all-day task, wore my poor body out, but a rewarding process because, in the end, I’d not only found my champagne glass ……

…… I also found memorabilia I’d forgotten I had — like old costume tutus, that I dumped in the trash; miscellaneous costume accessories, also trashed.

I outgrew this old Brooks & Dunn poster a long time ago, was going to trash it, but decided to put back in storage, as I wasn’t yet ready to let go of.

It actually isn’t a poster, but a cereal box cover I’d framed and displayed until putting into a storage container, during one of my moves, then forgot all about.

Same with these old license plates from my heyday …… eons ago, when I was feeling myself as a Brown Babe. I’d forgotten they were in storage, set them aside to toss, then decided to put back in storage for a while.

This Billikin was a gift from a coworker back in ‘98.

The Billikin is a little creature, carved from whale teeth and walrus tusks, adopted by the Eskimos as a symbol of good luck and happiness.

"As a blues chaser, I'm a honey — To bring good luck, just rub my tummy".

I can always use more good chi, so I put the Billikin back in circulation on a shelf.

Rocks from the Mediterranean Sea were also a gift from a coworker who travelled to Spain. Put those back in circulation as well.

Back in the day, Blessing Bottles — that I purchased at a craft fair, were what I’d gift on special occasions. Darn if I didn’t come across two Happy Birthday bottles, a Happy Boss Day bottle, and a Peace and Simplicity bottle.

I won’t be needing to bless any bosses again, thought I, so I tossed that one.

I would have liked to have given the birthday blessing bottle to someone with an upcoming birthday, but the cork on one was broken, and the tags on both were old and stained from age, as was the tag on the boss bottle.

The tag on Peace and Simplicity has also seen better days, but I don't mind the aged tag, live for Peace and Simplicity, so I put that bottle back in circulation, on a shelf along with Billikin and the rocks.

Peace and Serenity Ingredients

Then I unwrapped an item that turned out to be a Starbucks mug, then another and another and another, so on and so forth — fourteen mugs in total that I have no space for in the kitchen.

Besides, I already have two Starbucks mugs and four special occasion mugs on the kitchen shelf, that I tradeoff drinking from, so I set the mugs aside to drop off at Goodwill.

I didn't even know I had that cool Halloween Mug on the left.

At any rate, after putting the collection of mugs in a box to donate to Goodwill, I pulled them out — decided to keep a while longer. However, not wanting to clog up the patio storage area again, I moved some things around on a bookshelf and squeezed in a home for the mugs.

After reading Dawn the Bohemian's post this morning, about how Goodwill overprices and employees manhandle donated merchandise, I was glad I’d decided to keep the mugs for the time being.

All in all, I cleared out seven containers — stuff my family will not have to deal with when I pass away.

I set the empty containers out by the dumpster for the taking (they disappeared almost as quickly as I dropped them off).

Very little went back into the patio storage area — only a few costumes I might yet wear again, the Brooks and Dunn cereal box poster and the license plates.

Also, out of storage and shelved are little China teacups from Tea Rooms, Twin 2 had taken me to celebrate past Mother’s Days.

A little box from Africa, gifted to me by one of the attorneys from a law firm I worked for in the mid to late ’70s.

Opened

Closed

Miniature cowboy boots and a Hispanic Cowboy I picked up years ago.

My little country/western tape dispenser, that's been missing for years. Thought had been lost in a move.

And lastly, his and her mugs from the famous Warehouse Restaurant, where I was wined, dined and tricked into a relationship by that married man who passed himself off as single.

As for why I’d find those in storage, put them in circulation in the kitchen cupboard, rather than smash to pieces, toss in the trash — though I still feel duped and used by that guy, would like an apology before he leaves this parenthesis in eternity — if he hasn’t already died, I'm not bitter. I still have some fond memories of my time with him, don’t mind the mugs as a reminder I should not have been so trusting.

All in all, a productive weekend.