MOVING - Want anything? Yours with a modest donation to WATCH

Friends, as you might have heard we have a purchase and sale on our Lexington home of 23 years, and are moving to a 1 bedroom condo in Somerville at 60 Tufts St #17.  This is a lot of changes in a few short weeks AND we are very excited.

For local peeps, we are running a virtual yard sale.  We have some BIG items we would like to pass on to friends, rather than strangers / free cycle or Craigslist.  We have already sold our roof rake to dear friends and they got a bargain for this next winter if you believe the Farmer's Almanac.

SO here is what we have available.  We don't want to make any money, rather we ask that you make a donation to WATCH which is a non-profit in a neighboring town, Waltham, that both Rodney and I support through barn raising activities and tutoring a Guatemalan woman who has become a friend.    Below are pictures of the items:

Here is how it will work.  Call or email me which item you would like.  We can discuss a donation amount, you can ask any questions and we settle on a deal.  I will note in the comment area below which items are taken.  First come, first settle on a deal and pick up item!  Leave a comment below if you do not have my cell phone or email and I will get in touch with you!

Wooden desk, painted orange, good for child or teen

small TV with built in VHS player

Plastic carrier box for top of car 

Computer desk and book shelves

Second side of computer desk

Electric oil filled space heater

2 fluorescent reading floor lamps -

HD TV

The Mini was stolen

If anyone has been following our lives on Facebook for the last month it has been very very very full.  I cannot tell you for sure but I think today we reached the brink of craziness.

We were called by our real estate agent at 12:30 that there was a loft unit in Somerville we needed to see. I was bathing in anticipation of our 3pm departure to the airport with our nephew,for his trip back home to Newcastle and our trip to Colorado for a wedding.

Yes, we told him we can get there by 1:15 to see the unit.  We made it by 1:20, spent 20 minutes walking the unit asking quite a few questions, etc.  When the listing agent left, we asked what we would need to get the unit.  He guided us to an offer, we electronically signed it and drove to get a drink to quench our thirst in Winchester on our way home.

I parked right in front of an ice cream shop (this is important to the story) and we walked around the corner to a Starbucks. 20 minutes later at 2:40, we walked out of Starbucks and walked across the street.  Both of us panicked because the Mini was not in front of the Ice Cream shop. There was a fire hydrant and I was pretty sure I had not parked in front of it, but what other reason could there be for its absence?  Someone stole the Mini!

I ordered an Uber to drive me home to get Spencer to drive him to the airport and Rod called 911 and talked to the Winchester Police department.  He described what he was wearing so they would recognize him when they drove us and I waited for the Uber.  At the exact same time we said to each other "This is where we parked the car right?"  In that split second I remembered walking around the corner to Starbucks, versus parking right across the street. I hurried to the adjacent street and indeed there was the Mini, in front of THAT ice cream shop.  We cleared it up with the police, or rather they accompanied Rod to the car and looked at his license and the registration.  I cancelled the Uber and we got in the Mini.

We both laughed all the way home, at ourselves, at our level of stress and the situation. This is why we belong together and why we have stayed together for 28+ years of marriage. So this caused us to slow down a bit and be ready to get to the airport, sign more documents electronically, run reports to prove funds, photocopy a check and wait to hear that we got the unit, which happened exactly 5 hours later at 5:45.  This day will always be known as "The day the Mini was stolen".

My tactic for visiting Art Museums - MFA yesterday

One aspect of being retired is that we are able to visit more art museums.  We belong to the ICA in Boston and the MFA.  Contrary to what my English brother-in-law says, there is wonderful art at the ICA, go visit it.

When Bethany was 7 or 8 and Christopher was 16 or 17, we visited my brother George and his wife Judy in Paris over Christmas.  We visited the Louvre one day and Christopher asked if he could go back for a second day which he did by himself.  I had achieved success with him for having brought him to museums at an early age.

I took Bethany to the Musée D'Orsay one day by ourselves.  It is not always so obvious to a 7 or 8 year old why anyone would visit an art museum, but my Mom took us at a young age and I credit that with my love of museums now.  Bethany was asking if we could go back to the apartment after the second salon.  "Oh, boy this is going to be a long day!" I thought to myself.  I had taken her here to give George and Judy a break from company for a few hours.

In a last minute ditch effort to get to see some more art myself I said to her as we entered the next salon "Find your favorite picture in this salon."  She came back 30 seconds later with her favorite one.  I thought it would take a bit longer than 30 seconds, but hey, that bought me a bit of time to look at a few pictures.  I continued this in the next few salons and then said, "OK, now find the ugliest picture in this next salon."  This diversionary tactic bought me 30 more minutes before this very tolerant 7 year old decided she had had enough.

As a follow up to this story, when she was 15, she gave me an art book of all of the paintings of the Musée D'Orsay.  SUCCESS!

What I realized yesterday as we visited the MFA for 45 minutes before we headed off to Fenway, is that this is how I visit art museums.  I walk into a room, glance around and walk over to the picture which captures my eye.  The pictures in this post are what caught my eye yesterday in my 45 minutes.

As an aside, Bethany does not have a very good sense of direction.  When we ask her which way to go, we usually go the opposite way.  After we left the Musée D'Orsay, in an effort to buy more time away from the apartment so George and Judy could get some more quiet time I said "OK, you get us back to the apartment."  She went straight back the fastest way possible, for the first time in her life.  At 26 she is still this determined when she wants to be, and she loves art galleries.  

Donating leftover wedding food to the Homeless Shelter in Waltham

OK, been gone for a pretty long time from posting blogs.  Mostly because Facebook has become my venue for sharing my life.  Today while driving back from Bristol Lodge in Waltham I decided that I want to get back to blogging.

The wedding of the year was held at Friendly Crossways over this past weekend.  That will be the topic of another blog post.  We had quite a bit of food leftover that we transported back in 4 of our cars and 3 others dropped stuff by our house.

I am in general a very thrifty person so I sat and tried to figure out what I could return to stores.  I did return some things to Wegman's and did not realize that they could not use some of the things again.  It broke my heart to watch them pour a gallon of orange juice down the drain.  I learned my lesson there.  I may have gotten some money back because Wegman's has such good customer service, but the waste was discouraging.  I may approach Wegman's to change this rule and at least donate it to some needy place that would take it.

At First Parish in Lexington we often take leftover food to a homeless shelter called Bristol Lodge in Waltham.  I loaded up dozens of bagels, full boxes of snacks, cream cheeses, plastic cups, and a bag of 20 oranges.  As I climbed down the stairs to the shelter, I was greeted very warmly by the man in charge, Tony.  I asked if he would take these items, and he jumped at the opportunity.  By the time I returned to my car to get the rest of the items, there were two men already waiting to help me carry things down the stairs.  Curtis and John, I think are homeless men who help out at the shelter.  Tony was so personable, friendly, welcoming and in the end we talked for a few minutes about my daughter's wedding.

It was so heart warming to see the space they were creating for men down on their luck.  I asked if I could make a big pot of soup and bring it over and he said yes.  I asked him what were the times that he really needs help and it is at 5pm in the afternoon when men start arriving.  I cannot help tomorrow, but I will be there starting next week on a regular basis.  I am taking 3 dozen eggs we have leftover from the wedding over tomorrow and the unused chocolate bars from the s'mores adventure.  I was reluctant to bring some things today since I was unsure about what they take, because of the Wegman's experience.

Coming back from the UU General Assembly I was determined to get more active and not just talk about social action and justice.  Bristol Lodge will be on my calendar on a regular basis.

If you have extra food from events, they accept donations of all kinds from 2:30-4:30 every afternoon.  They also could use help to serve at 5pm, and Tony said the hardest thing to do is keep the kitchen clean so I would imagine they could use help cleaning up.  Anybody want to join me throwing some energy at Bristol Lodge?  Let me know!