#418 What I Found on my Walk, and While Cleaning the Bathroom

I went to the deli this afternoon to pick up some fried chicken, and it was so nice out I decided to walk.  With all the rain we'd had lately, I hadn't been out in ages.  Walking from the deli around the mile+ circle is nice because I can visit the deli restroom and get something to eat or drink at the end.

I found several interesting things along the road - four tires, two with rims; one newly dead cat; one brown leather high-top man's shoe in brand new condition, without laces; one long dead opossum; one toppled tree, 4-feet in diameter, that looked like it had just crumpled; the same rubber snake that had startled me a few weeks ago; several huge pieces of bubble wrap; and two tanker trucks rusting into the ground - one for gasoline and one for fuel oil.  The trucks didn't look drivable, but I swear they weren't there last time I walked past that spot.

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I keep telling people how bad my house is right now, and they don't believe me.  I spent more than six hours yesterday and today clearing off the counter in the master bath.  Just the counter top.  Not the drawers, cabinet, or medicine chest.  The counter was covered with bits of jewelry, some in various stages of repair, items like hair clips and bindis, henna kits, perfumes, creams, cold remedies, hair care products.  There were also various medical supplies like surgical masks and gloves, potions and tubes, syringes and pads, things I used with Jay near the end, but which now are useful for various household tasks, but which had never found a proper nook elsewhere in the house.  Heaps of stuff, all of which had to be sorted and stored or discarded. 

Discarding is hard for me, probably because I grew up deprived, but I think I've found a way.  Instead of thinking "What is this good for, what future use might I find for it?", now I think "Would I rather keep this, or have company?"  It makes it real easy to pitch stuff.

Which reminds me - remember when I sorted shoes and discarded more than half?  I also decided then to cycle through the remainder, instead of wearing the same favorites all the time.  The past week, I had been wearing a pair of slingbacks with 1 inch wedge heels.  They were comfortable and looked nice.  As I was putting them away Friday night, I noticed what looked like mud on the heels, so I took them into the bathroom to clean them.  It wasn't mud.  The fronts of the shoes were leather, but it was fake leather on the heels.  What looked like mud was where the fake leather had dried out and cracked and was now peeling off the heels.  Told you most of those shoes were old!  So there's another pair out.  Eventually I'll get down to a core shoe collection that looks good and feels good, and is not too old to hold up to wear.

At the bottom of the pile on the bathroom counter I found five good Turkoman tribal pendants.  I bought them because they are beautiful, I got a real deal on them, and they will increase in value.  Silver with fire-gilding, and studded with carnelian and lapis.  But they are huge pieces (the two largest are 9" wide and 5" deep, with an additional 4" of dangles on the bottom) and even more outrageous than is usual for me.  So I strung the five of them on cords, and I've hung them in a grouping on the bathroom wall, next to the window.  They look stunning!

~~Silk