Item 59: A computer version of Scrabble

I think this was a gift from Dave. We have the board game version of it. We used to play fairly regularly but we haven't played much in recent years. It's my fault we don't play anymore. I'm not competitive. I see the game as a diversion, a challenge to the mind and a way to spend time together. I don't care who wins and I don't have the patience to sit for minutes (that feel like hours)while others ponder a move. I have trouble sitting still.

Item 58: Another sign

This is the last sign. This one was a birthday gift from my parents quite a few years ago. This gift meant a lot to me because Mom and Dad had been sending gift cards as birthday gifts for quite a few years. I presume during a visit to our house she noticed my beach decor and all of my other beachy signs and when Mom saw this she thought of me and my room.

Item 57: A decorative wine rack

This is a wrought iron, decorative, hanging wine rack. It was a birthday gift from my older sister. At the time I received it we were in the process of making plans to remodel our kitchen. I put it away with the thought I'd hang it once construction was complete. The kitchen remodel was finished nearly four years ago. During that period of time I've scanned the kitchen and pondered a place to hang this. Having not found a place for it in the kitchen, I've thought about using it with pots as a planter of some sort outdoors near my herb garden.

Je ne sais pas quoi faire avec cette objet. I came up with that sentence in French on my own. No French/English dictionary was used. The grammar may not be correct but the vocabulary bubbled up to the surface of my brain so I put it to use. C'est magnifique!
(Translation of that first sentence in french: I don't know what to do with this object.)

Item 56: A portable makeup mirror

I don't remember buying this mirror. Maybe one of the girls bought it?

Do you see the image reflected in the mirror? That's one of the fishnet floats that belonged to my ex in-laws. The roping for it was gone; Meghan made the macrame holder so I could hang it. I'm putting the float in storage for Meghan.

Item 55: Detritus from the ocean

Detritus. That word makes me think of Flounder from The Little Mermaid.
Also, I just used our World Book Dictionary to double check my spelling of detritus. Confused? Re-read yesterday's post. :-)

I found these items on the beach: sinkers for a fishing line, a shell and a leather, beaded bracelet. They're all tangled together; perhaps the result of a fierce storm.

Item 54: A DVD for the Little Brown Handbook

I love language, research, writing and reading. I enjoy using books to check on facts. I have several old grammar textbooks one of which I found at the curb left over from a garage sale. It was free! It's a teacher's edition of a freshman english textbook from Lancaster Catholic High School. Copyright 1962.

Dave and I have an old (vintage 1980's) set of World Book Encyclopedias in the house which we still use. We have the internet at our fingertips. We could Google (conjugating to google: I google, you google, he/she it googles...)any topic and have answers within seconds. But we like books. Quite often, typically while we're preparing or eating a meal, our conversation takes a turn and a question arises. We need info so one of us walks into the family room, pulls a book off the shelf and finds the answer.

It's quite enjoyable to hold a book. To skim through it, catch a whiff of the aroma from the paper and find other tidbits of information as you look for the fact you need or want. I remember an old Andy Rooney essay on 60 minutes from long ago. The title of his piece was: 'Things I learned while looking up other things'. That resonates with me because I too have learned many things while looking up other things. I remember sprawling out on the floor in the stacks of the library, books spread around me, reading all sorts of interesting information about things that didn't have anything to do with my research. I'd get so engrossed in those other topics I'd have to remind myself to get back on track.

When you use Google or Wikipedia, you typically don't learn other things while looking up that one thing you need. If you type in a word, you're given the definition of that word. You don't stumble upon other interesting words while looking (in actuality waiting) for your word.

Kids these days (I love to say that) rely upon technology for everything. I think they're missing out on some of life's most simple pleasures. Using a book is one of them. If you have to conduct the research yourself, using your brain as the search engine, you're forced to use critical thinking skills. If someone or something else does the research for you, what have you learned?

I use search engines. I use computers everyday for work and for pleasure. I use podcasts to re-learn the beautiful French language I learned long ago. I have an eBook reader. Actually I have two: a Kindle and an iPad. But I still love books and paper. Hence the giving away of this DVD. I have the Little Brown Handbook in book form and am not interested in the digital version.

Item 53: The top to a wine bottle stopper.

This is the top of a wine bottle stopper. The bottom part came off and we tried multiple times to glue it back together but didn't have any luck. I saved it because it's pretty and it's glass and I thought we might eventually find a use for it.

Do you see all of the dust on that shelf? This book case is in my office so I rationalize that I am the only one who sees it so who cares if it's dusty? I care but obviously not enough to do something about it!

PS: I used to have many more items on this shelf but I've moved them to a new location or they're on the list of 100 in 100.

Item 52: A Picture frame

I used this frame to hold the Certificate I received for completing a series of Supervisory courses. There were three courses that I took on a self-study basis. The material was helpful to me in my job and I referred to it quite often.

I'm no longer in a supervisory position so I took the certificate down, took it out of the frame and I'm fairly certain I threw it away. Heaven help me if I'm ever in management again. It's not my cup of tea. The salary wasn't worth the extended hours (aka being a workaholic) necessary to perform well in the role.

Item 51: A PA Red Clay Sunflower

I bought this at a local craft show a few years ago. It only cost a couple of dollars. I've had it hanging on a window and then my bulletin board in my office. It spoke to me the day I bought it (it doesn't speak to me anymore).

Item 50: Another glass ball

This is a momentous day; we're halfway through the list!

I felt a bit of pressure to make this item significant. It's not a large item but I think it's representative of my process. Until I started this search, I hadn't looked at or used some items in quite awhile but I kept them anyway. This 100 in 100 activity has already had an impact on me. Sorting through and thinking about my possessions has forced me to look at what's important to me and why. I hope I've changed my behavior and won't make impulse purchases (craft projects, clothing, knick knacks) quite as often in the future.

Drum roll please.....here's Item 50: A glass ball.

I've had this glass ball for nearly 20 years. It was a birthday gift from a friend of mine. I like this glass ball, but I've never hung it up. I have no real explanation for why. I looked around the house on and off over the years pondering where to put it. But I never hung it. It has been in the back of one my dresser drawers long enough.

Item 49: Glass balls

I think these were a gift from Meghan.
Sorry Meghan but my mind isn't what it used to be. I blame you: I gave birth to brain cells when I gave birth to you. I guess I can only use that excuse for so long. Pretty soon I'll have to admit it's due to my age. Haha!

Item 48: A 35 mm camera, flash unit and camera bag

I bought this camera and equipment from a friend. The camera was used when she bought it. She used it for a couple of years but had gained some experience, moved up to a better camera and was getting rid of this one. I forget how much I paid for all of it but I know it wasn't much.

Here's the flash unit.

Here's the bag.

I took a class at the local community college to learn how to use this 35 mm camera. The class met once a week in the evening for 8 weeks. We also met a couple of Saturday mornings. I enjoyed the class but as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not much of an "artist". I haven't worked on getting more proficient at using my cameras. I'd rather spend my time on other things (knitting, re-learning the french language). I'm a point and shoot camera user. I've accepted this about myself and now use a digital camera with an auto focus feature for my picture-taking escapades.

By the way: grouping these items together as one 'item' is starting to stress me out because I'm concerned about having 100 items. Probably not a legitimate concern considering how many possessions I have around the house and at work but it's a concern nonetheless.

Item 47: A book

The origin of this book eludes me. Perhaps an 'inspirational' gift from work? I'm not a fan of these how to live books. Who are "they" to tell me how to live? LOL.

Item 46: A Sea Glass Collector Sign

I bought this sign a few years ago at a shop on Arnold Ave in Point Pleasant Beach. I was shopping with my two sisters. We like to hit the shops on Arnold and Bay Avenues. We're typically not looking for anything in particular. Just looking for little treasures. There's an 'antique' emporium in the old Woolworth's store. They frequently have old Christmas ornaments at the emporium. I've bought quite a few ornaments there over the years and now have a collection of ornaments that remind me of those my parents had on the tree when we were kids.

Which reminds me: when we were kids (junior high school) we used to go into Woolworths to look around. I don't recall making many purchases but it was on our route on the way home from school so we'd occassionally stop in for a few minutes. We were probably the kids least likely to steal or do any damage (we lived in fear of our father) but one of the ladies (Freida) would follow us around and watch our every move. We'd let her follow us around for awhile and then we'd leave. I suppose it gave her something to do; it entertained us. Everyone benefited!

Item 45: Another glass angel fish

I apologize for the blurry photo. Not sure what happened there.
This is another small, glass angel fish. I don't remember where I bought him. I remember it was relatively inexpensive though. As was the other glass angel fish. I'm not into dusting. This is a dust collector.

Item 44: A bag that held Sea Glass

My old boss, with whom I had a strained relationship at the time, found sea glass for me while she was in Italy. Italy. She thought of me while she was in Italy and brought sea glass back to me. That's the type of kind gesture she performs that makes me like her. But there were other actions that were so very difficult to experience. Those other actions occurred in the workplace. I witnessed them for years and finally couldn't take it any longer so I left the company.

It took me over a year to reach out to her. It has been nearly three years and we're slowly putting our relationship back together. I kept the glass but don't have a use for this bag.

Item 43: A glass angel fish and float

Small things call out to me. I like glass. This fits both categories. I don't remember where I bought it. I think at a shop at the beach. It's adorable isn't it?

Item 42: An old purse

This is a purse that I loved. It's a nice, soft leather, it has the right amount of space in it. I used it for years. But alas, the magnetic snap tore so it didn't stay closed any longer. In an attempt to "use it up, wear it out, make it due or do without" I conferred with Dave to see if it could be salvaged. We decided to take it to our local shoe repairman to see if he could help. He said of course he could! So we left the purse with him to work his magic.

Yikes, some magic. It's hideous. Do you see what he did? Click on the photo to enlarge it. Now do you see what he did? He took a piece of stiff leather (perhaps belt leather) and sewed it onto the purse. It looks ridiculous. No, it looks ugly. I don't remember if we paid him for his work. Probably. I never used this purse again and it has been hanging in the basement near Dave's workbench for years. I don't remember why. It's not as though this item can be salvaged.

Item 41: A Reebok Stepper

I bought this to use as a bench for lifting weights. I thought I could extend the feet so that it would be as high off the floor as possible and use it with my free weights. It was a good idea but it didn't work. The bench wasn't high enough from the floor to properly complete the weight routine. When this failed I looked around our basement and spotted the footstools from our deck patio set. I set them side by side lengthwise, put my yoga mat on them for padding and they worked perfectly! Note to self: try to use what I have at home before buying something else.

Item 40: A Christmas Plate

A Christopher Radko Christmas plate. This was a gift from my sister but I haven't used it (sorry Sue). It's a beautiful little plate and would be great to use each Christmas Eve to put cookies and carrots on for Santa and his reindeer. Meghan shall I wrap it for you and put it in storage with your other items?

Item 39: A bag of Sea Glass and a bag of Shells

Here's all of my sea glass and shells. I sorted through and found the pieces I wanted to keep. The bag of sea glass has already found a new home. The shells are still available.

Item 38: Bottles, jars and bowls

These are some of the containers in which I stored my sea glass and shells.

Here are some more:

I've decided to keep only my favorite sea glass and shells. The glass I've kept is blue, turquoise, purple, green, brown, white, beige and pink. The shapes and sizes vary but all are beautiful specimens of 'well-done' sea glass that I found in NJ, DE, MD, FL or HI. All of my sea glass was tumbled by the sea and found by me except for a few pieces from Italy that were given to me. More on that later. The shells are from NJ, DE, MD, FL, HI or St. Maarten.

Item 37: Sunglasses

No not Pooh Bear! Just the shades. Haha! I was in the basement trying to figure out how best to display the sunglasses when I spotted Pooh sitting on a pile of stuff in our basement. He's quite the model eh? He belongs to Meghan but is residing in our basement for now. Someday his princess will come for him.

These glasses are like new; hardly ever worn. Why? Because although they're cute they don't work very well. They don't cover the side of my eyes so the sun shines into the corner of my eyes. That's not cool.

Items 35 and 36: Suction cups and a plastic container

I haven't grouped two items together in one post until now. I don't know why I took the photo of these together but I did so here you go. Two items in one post. No post tomorrow.

I have no memory of why I bought either of these items. I only remember they didn't suit the purpose for which I bought them and they got stuck in my desk drawer with the thought they may come in handy in the future. They haven't come in handy yet.

Item 34: A trainer

This is a bike trainer. You take a regular bike, attach it to this this gadget and voila you have a stationary bike!

I bought this trainer eight years ago so that during the winter months I could train for the 2003 Bike New York event. This event is a 40 mile bike ride through the five boroughs of New York. It's held the first Sunday in May. It begins in lower Manhattan near Battery Park and ends on Staten Island. In between are 40 miles of traffic-free bike riding and a chance to see NYC from a unique perspective.

I used this trainer for several years during the winter months when it was too cold and/or icy to go out for a run or walk. I used Meghan's bike with this trainer. Using her bike allowed me to keep my bike out in the garage ready for use if the weather permitted. Meghan's bike isn't here anymore. I ride my bike to the Lititz Rec Center once a week to take a Zumba class. It would be a pain to drag my bike up and down the basement steps every week. I haven't use the trainer in years and don't see myself using it at any point in the future. I'd rather use my Zumba or Yoga DVDs in the basement for two reasons. 1. They're more fun than sitting on a bike. 2. When I'm doing Yoga or Zumba I'm not looking at all of the crap in our basement!

A collection of pins/buttons

While canvassing the house looking in various nooks and crannies for things I haven't thought about for quite some time, I came upon my collection of pins/buttons. Most of the pins were in a small basket on my dresser. Others have been stuck to the bulletin board in my office.

I don't plan to get rid of any of these pins but I wanted to share them with you because there's quite a diverse little collection of pins and memories.

Here's a brief history of each pin:
Route 66: I bought this in Winslow, AZ. I stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ, quite a fine sight to see... Seriously. In Winslow, there's a Standin' on the Corner Park created in honor of the Eagles song Take It Easy. Across the street from the park is a Route 66 store. I bought this pin and a t-shirt in that store. Also in Winslow, AZ is a beautiful old hotel called La Posada. It was designed by architect Mary Colter. Quite a few of her buildings are in or near the Grand Canyon. There's not much in Winslow these days (anyone who has seen Disney's Cars movie can relate) but if you're ever at the Grand Canyon I think it's a nice side trip you should seriously consider. La Posada is open for tours. All they ask for is a donation to help them continue their renovation of the building. see www.laposada.org for info on it and the architect. Quite a little gem.

Relax and Get into the Stress: While one of my previous employers was in its death throes and we were all stressed out, Dave gave me this button. Need I say more?

Gulls: Go Beach. Garnet Gulls. Caw! Caw! I attended high school in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. Our mascot was the Garnet Gull. The fighting gulls. LOL. One of our cheers ended in Caw! Caw! What a hoot.

Countdown Lancaster 2008: a button that allowed the wearer entry into various venues that were open on New Year's Eve. More than likely I had a killer sore throat the night I wore this button. I typically have a sore throat on New Year's Eve.

Book It!: Meghan's button from her elementary school days. They read a certain number of books, got a star, filled the button with stars and then got a gift certificate for a Pizza Hut personal pizza. Not only did this encourage her to read but it inflated Pizza Hut's revenues because of course an elementary student can't go to dinner by herself. Ah capitalism. Gotta love it.

I used up all my sick days so I have to call in dead: if you're a working mother you know what I mean.

Happy face: enough said.

Mommy You're Cool: I know. :-) This was a mother's day gift from Meghan. Not sure what year.

Countdown Lancaster 2002: See note above for 2008. Same venues. Same sore throat.

Y Settle: exactly. Why settle?

If All Else Fails Lower Your Standards: This one competes with Y Settle. Haha! I mean should I lower my standards or not?

Hard Rock Cafe London: Obtained at the Hard Rock Cafe in....London (in 1997)! The girls insisted on going there so of course we went. Not where we would have chosen to go but that's what parents do for their children.

LaGuardia Corner Gardens Greenwich Village: this was in a basket at the garden. A little fundraiser for their community garden which was beautiful. The same day we bought this button we entered a little consignment shop in the neighborhood. Nicole and Meghan were startled by the shopowners little dog that came out from behind a rack of clothes with one of those lampshade things around his neck. It was hilarious!

Lititz 2000: from the New Year's Eve celebration for the turn of the century. Y2k. Remember...all the computers were going to crash and the world was going to end. It didn't. In Lititz they lowered a large pretzel from something. I don't remember what. See the pretzel on the button?

Meghan: at age 2. This is actually a mirror not a button but I keep it with my buttons. This was a freebie when you bought the set of school pictures from the daycare. This little plaid jumper and pink turtleneck was one of my favorite outfits for her at that age. She had little pink tights and cute little maryjane shoes. It's so much fun dressing a little girl.

1.20.09: The day the sun came out, the sky was blue and all of the birds were singing after the eight long years of darkness.

Item 33: A Gateway Computer

This is Meghan's old computer. If I recall correctly we bought it in the summer of 2001. That was the summer between her Junior and Senior year of high school. We bought it so she could get used to working with it before she went away to college the following year. This was a very exciting purchase because at the time flat screen monitors were fairly new. This Gateway computer ran Windows 98. Meghan purchased a Macbook a few years ago and this monster has been in our basement since. Dave took the guts out of the tower to use in one of (yes one of!) his computers. I'll be taking the tower over to the Lancaster County Solid Waste Disposal site sometime in the near future. I'll try to sell the monitor at our garage sale. If it doesn't sell it too will go to the Waste Disposal site.

A thought: we've purchased quite a few electronic items in the last ten years. It's not exactly an earth friendly thing we're doing but it seems computers become dinosaurs in less than five years. I'm sure we're not alone. I hope recycling of these gadgets is taken seriously by most folks.

Item 32: A sample size of Clinique blush

Years ago I used to purchase Clinique makeup and usually made my purchases when they had the semi-annual "free" makeup bag with sample sizes of their product. I haven't purchased their makeup in years but I had this blush sample in my makeup basket. I've never used it and never will because I don't like the color. Why have I kept it? I don't know!