Catching Up

It has seemed like a long, dark winter. Mind you, I am fully aware of how blessed I am to live in California! Still, it's been very rainy - which we need - and cold. I would have weeks of just coming home after work, getting right into my pjs and bathrobe, and heading to bed.

Still cold today, but sunny. I have travel for work upcoming, and this week will be to a warmer place. Phoenix, here I come!

A couple weeks ago, I had 4 friends over for a brunch/swap. It was a blast! I have been clearing out, slowly. Had built up a pile in the second garage. Took the car out of the first garage, put a tarp down and piled all the stuff in there. Made a few quiches, a batch of muffins and coffee and tea. The ladies started showing up, with stuff to add to the pile. We ate & chatted then a couple of them started rearranging the stuff in the garage, so we could all see it.

Everyone thought they wouldn't take anything home but they scored big! Pam, who is a size zero/two (tall and very slim build!) said: "I didn't bring clothes because they wouldn't fit anyone, and I don't expect that anything here will fit me." I reached into the closet and fetched out an evening coat I'd been hanging on to, for years. From my Grandma Amoses second husbands daughter. I could button it, but it was tight, even at my lowest weight. Handed it to Pam, it fit her beautifully. Later in the afternoon, Pam saw the Born sandals - "What size are those?" Renee chimed in, "Size 7 - I don't know why Mom bought me those, I'm a size 9!" Of course, Pam is a 7. She scored! Carol F brought a lot of clothes - and it turns out that she and Renee are just about the same size. Renee scored big, with a new wardrobe! I dug into a box of stuff I had set aside to see on eBay in 2005 - before I moved to Germany - and came up with 4 Tonka toys. Carol said "I will be the best Mom ever, bringing these home!" Her son Marek would appreciate them. Kristen brought a few nice things that didn't fit anyone. But she left with 4 things, and was planning on taking nothing. After the frenzy of trying and looking through stuff was done, we packed all the remains in my car and I drove to Goodwill and dumped it. Yay!!

Swaps are so much fun - everyone gets to try on things that they wouldn't normally even see in the stores. And they take home stuff to see if it will work, and if it doesn't, it goes on the next Goodwill pile. Easy!

Now I have room to do the next level of purge, and will do that over the next few weeks. Time to plan the next swap!