mayday, mayday

I’m playing Compactor Fun at my house today even though it’s raining and I can’t hang out laundry. I had a bunch of herbs hanging to dry in the sun but they got rained on and now are perfuming my compost pile. How annoying and wasteful. I also have a bit of the creeping crud, cough, etc, that isn’t enough to be terrible or go away. So inside I stay.

I’ve been refilling soap dispensers and lotion pumps from various other sources — I have so many half-finished tubes and bottles of lotion that I have been squeezing them into one pump (a decorative one that matches some of my china). It doesn’t really matter that they are different scents, I guess — the purpose is to soften skin. So that’s a reuse.

We had a roasted chicken earlier in the week,. and it’s now becoming chicken soup for our dinner.

Recent online talk of T-shirt “yarn” sent me to the scrap bin/rag bag, where there were several perfectly cut-up-able T-shirts. Daughter #2 and I are cutting them into strips, and I will make a knitted bathroom rug. Then I notice the cutting hurts my wrist, so I will put this in the TV room and have family cut strips while they watch TV. Must keep idle hands busy!

We continue to sort through our clothes and hand them around to others in the house. I think I’ve mentioned before that we’re mostly all the same size. When one of us gets tired of a shirt or jeans or belt or purse, it goes next to the giveaway pile — then instantly gets snapped up by another. This happens over and over again. I was cutting up a pair of pj pants this morning for T-shirt yarn that were once Daughter #1’s, then mine, then D #4, the D#2, then got cut into sleep-shorts (I have leg bits in the scrap bag. Someone is still sleeping in them and I think it is D#3). This process also works with the Boy, because super-small shirts are the rage for your emo-punk-rockr-teen — so the Boy’s tiny shirts fit D#4 perfectly. He loves her R&R T-shirts and may be seen in them. D#2 and the boyfriend of D#3 often switched jeans. Because skinny boy jeans are in for girls, and skinny girl jeans are in for the skinny emo guy.

See? Everybody wins.

This morning I offloaded a pretty item that was too small but hardly worn to D#3, and picked up 5 scarves from D#2 — for tying up my ponytail, tying on purse, etc — not woolen scarves. These are so pretty, and are probably right from Goodwill. Another good purchase, well used.

We watched the Kentucky Derby at 3, and everyone got to pick a horse or two. If our horse wins, we get $10. Mr Husband is a big fan of the Derby, since he used to work in gaming and racing. BTW, I will now share with you my sister Nancy’s mnemonic for remembering the order of winners of horse races: Wear Plaid Shoes = win, place, show. I know — it’s genius. Stupid but effective. No charge, friends.

There ended up just four of us at home at the time of the race, so we each took 6 names and Mr Husband took one. I set 2 of mine aside, so that if they won, I would donate their money to the Food Bank. Otherwise, right into savings. But my best shot was Papa Clem, and he came in 4th. Daughter #2 and the Boy split win, place and show. Alas. It was fun to watch the winner, though. 50-1 odds! Major KD upset!

(LOL — as I sit here typing, D#4 just passed the giveaway pile, picked up a sweater, looked at it, tucked it under her arm, and moseyed away. Free shopping!)

I then spent the next few hours sorting yarn from various sources, into boxes and baskets, odds and ends, sock yarn, acrylic, wool, etc, so it’s easier to find when I want it. Ideas dancing in my head, only no time, no time…

OK, I think I’ve done enough damage for one evening. Everyone go about your business. There’s nothing to see here.