Jan. 22, 2010 Lists are Fuuun

The much-anticipated query arose last night during the nightly phone chat with Himself, "So, how much stuff did you take to Goodwill?" The question was slipped in among routine but always charming conversation and asked in a tone that belied his curiosity. Question mark hanging in the air, I responded in a similar tone that I hadn't yet dropped off anything at the shop because I was still adding to the pile.

Truthful response, yes, but I didn't admit that I was scared to drop off the flotsam on the same day I packed it all up. Out of the foggy recesses of my brain I can pull out a memory of packing up a few items of clothing and casually tossing in a small brass and black metal Grecian urn looking thing that was, undoubtedly, made in India. I dropped off the box before class, and while sitting through Gratuitous Transfers my semi-nimble mind landed on a memory of the odd little vase. As I thought about it the small stirs of panic began to set in. Wasn't that the vase that my dad had said was purchased by he and my mother? The same one I plucked out of a garage sale later held by my stepmother? She, ahem, most certainly didn't know the provenance of such a fine little oddity, but I could not claim such ignorance. How could I toss out something that my broke but in love parents had cherished during their brief romance? Was I so heartless?

I rushed back to the shop as soon as classes were over, frantically scouring the shelves topping the clothing racks for the distinctive little urn. I was scanning the last section, the one apparently reserved for misfit junk, when my eyes fell upon the vase. At least three green $4.99 stickers were randomly plastered on top of the metal, but I rushed it to the checkout counter without hesitation. Breathlessly I told the woman what had happened, and she said it was very lucky that I had found it, although the look on her face upon further appraisal of what she was wrapping said otherwise. In the eye of the beholder I guess...

So, to prove that I am letting go of a "few" things, may I present an inventory of our household's rejects to date, soon to grace several abodes near me:

2 A-Z silver bookends that vaguely reminded me of erector sets
1 wobbly Samsonite rolling bag that has flipped over in more domestic and international airports than I care to remember
1 silver-plated footed iced tea pitcher with awful proportions
1 antique glass frog with no base, used for arranging flowers
6 white odd Ikea ceramic shot glass looking things that cook your fingers if you use them as espresso cups
1 unused magazine rack
3 wall-mounted candle racks
1 vintage glass dish
2 unused weathered-wood picture frames
1 slightly scuffed millefiore bottle stopper I purchased in Italy
1 really horrible Fossil purse- brown and black should never be put together like THAT, yeck
3 pairs of lightly used flip-flops
1 pair of pleather boots styled for a dominitrix that I bought on eBay- oops
1 vintage straw and lace hat that time has not been kind to
1 green table lamp purchased in a small Florida town with my Gram's encouragement, then given to her, then returned to me shortly before she passed- except I have no place for it and won't unless I open a country themed bed-and-breakfast in 30 years
1 pair of are they brown, are they purple? suede heels
4 belts, 3 of which are mine and one of Himself's that is more appropriate on a scruffy frat boy than my hunky husband
2 chipped marble dishes
1 giant antique Atlas jar

Phew.