Thursday, May 28, 2015

A Giraffe Arrives!

When last we left our elephants, they were waiting for the elephant parade to begin.  It's been a long wait, and although they are well fed, well rested, and keeping entertained by each other's company, they are getting impatient.  Where are the rest of the animals that will be in the parade?

They were expecting an adult giraffe to join them, and were going to give him a stern lecture about keeping other people waiting, but what they saw instead stumbling across the savanna was a little wonky baby giraffe. Nobody knows what happened to her parents, but all the animals vowed to take care of the giraffe and let her join their family.


Hopefully the giraffe will keep them busy and entertained as they wait for the rest of the animals to arrive.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Power of Generosity


It started out pretty simply:  I had a large entertainment stand in my family room.  It took up a lot of space, because it had to be placed diagonally to avoid covering up the windows.  It worked well for many, many years.

Then, my daughter recommended that I replace the entertainment stand with a smaller TV stand, and I thought it was a really good idea. I didn't know what to do with the old stand, so I decided to give it away.  I have a lot of downsizing to do, and I have decided that trying to figure out the right places to sell things will make it harder for me to downsize.  The local charity does not want furniture that large.  So I went back to trusty Freecycle to see if anyone wanted it.

Freecycle, if you don't know, is a newsgroup where people in your local area post things they want or are offering for free.  It is a great way to avoid putting so much in our landfills.  In the past, I have given away empty jars to someone who sold soy candles, magazines to a church group for crafts projects, etc.

I posted my ad, and while I was there, I decided to look at the other postings.  I saw a posting for free quilt magazines, and jumped on that offer.  The lady gave me three huge boxes of quilt magazines spanning many years.  I have gone through a very small amount, and am waiting for the opportunity to go through even more.

To pay it forward, I looked for the wanted ads.  I saw a post where someone wanted some perennial plants, namely peonies.  Well, I am trying to reduce my gardening space, so I happened to have them available.  It turns out that the lady who was getting the peonies was also a quilter, and gave me this big box of fat quarters.

The moral of the story is this: The more I try to give away, the more things that I want come back to me.