Every now and then, Mrs. Paco and I go through the numerous boxes we have in the attic and the bonus room over the garage and see if there are some things we can give (or throw) away.
I regret to report that we failed to discard a single item after our survey this afternoon - although we did shift a few items out of storage into other areas of the house (recommissioning some "stuff" as "bric-a-brac").
It is simply amazing what one accumulates over a lifetime, and I felt that I was revisiting old friends that I hadn't seen in years: my Richard Petty bobblehead; a Woody Woodpecker doll (you can still squeeze it and it makes that famous cackle); a photograph of General Pinochet; an 8x10 glossy of Ronald Reagan; a paper hat from a Krispy Kreme donut shop; special edition postage stamps (American Civil War, Dinosaurs, Famous Hollywood Monsters, Prehistoric Mammals; Bugs Bunny); numerous old coins; my old ID card when I registered as a private investigator in Virginia; small boxes of polished stones; toys, books, consumer collectibles (need an Exxon Tiger keychain? I've got half a dozen). On and on and on.
To my delight, I also found a bunch of nice canvas bags that originally held peanuts, pistachios, rice, and - my personal favorite - several bags that once contained "Ass-Kickin' Chili Fixin's". Mrs. Paco made one of them into a small pillow.
Playing cards, all sizes; a really nice genuine fountain pen given to me by Ma Paco ages ago; a highly sarcastic journal I kept when I went to NYC 30 years ago for a week-long banking seminar; a small Arizona flag; a bottle of Avon men's cologne shaped liked a Plymouth Superbird; various Detroit Tiger action figures; a deluxe Marvin the Martian Pez dispenser. Just no end to the stuff.
At least our kids ought to be able to have a good yard sale when we're gone.
I've made chili with the Ass-Kickin' Fixin's before. My friends and family all know of my preferences for spice and I usually get something along those lines as gifts. They also make a variety of hot sauces.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my favorite hot sauce packaging is Professor Phardtpounder's Colon Cleaner. It's a mustard based habanero sauce that goes great with grilled meats. It comes in a hip flask shaped bottle with an old fashioned label like old patent medicines.
It's a mustard based habanero sauce that goes great with grilled meats. It comes in a hip flask shaped bottle with an old fashioned label like old patent medicines.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it ought to have a skull-and-crossbones label. I'll have to try that sometime.
The first time we made the Ass-Kickin' Chili, we accidentally used about twice the amount of habanero powder we were supposed to. Sort of a scorched earth recipe. Had to chase that stuff with a lot of milk.
We've made Ass-Kickin' cornbread, too. Delicious!
A better solution to over-the-top heat is sugar.
DeleteDuck sauce from Chinese restaurants is the best solution I know.
DeleteThe only way I downsize is to move.
My laziness overrides my packrattiness.
I've pretty much run out of storage space for all the 'stuff' I have, and if I were to go through it all with the intention of thinning the herd, it would probably end like your attempt. Not much would be culled.
ReplyDeleteSo I've started a "Don't buy it" policy to stop adding more stuff. We'll see how that works.
I hears ya, Paco. My recent move to Montana required sorting out keep/give away/toss stuff collected over 30 years. It's amazing what one accumulates, although I never did pick up any Ass Kickin' Chili materials.
ReplyDeleteGoing through the BOOKS was my real pain. I ended up donated about a third of them to a local book sale held annually, one organized by a women's group in a very liberal college. I'm fairly sure some of the titles caused the more sensitive members to scamper into their safe room....
At least you corraled them for a time, and contributed to the sale of coloring books, crayons, and colored pencils. Hope it happened.
DeleteJeffS: Maybe they still have sole old fainting couches tucked away somewhere!
ReplyDelete"Sole" = "some"
ReplyDeleteMeasure twice, cut once.
Paco, sounds like you could (should) head to the Antiques Road Show. Most of those things are collectibles.
ReplyDeleteWhat Veeshir said. You'd be surprised how much you can get rid of when you have to move and space is limited.
ReplyDelete