Whenever I’ve come across advertisements for refillable perfume bottles, I could never quite understand how that whole process worked. How could you transfer perfume from a big bottle to a small tube?
I found out the answer to that question when I bought a refillable dispenser after having trouble finding the travel size of my signature scent.
It was such a simple process to transfer the perfume and now I have a nifty, small container to put in my travel bag. It also saves money because buying small bottles of perfume is so much more expensive than buying a larger size. I’m a fan!
Steve and I were very grateful when two fellows showed up at our house at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Turns out they were founding members of the Smith & Smith Garage Cleaning Team.
Steve and I have gotten bogged down getting the basement sorted and organized, and we were so grateful for Nathan’s and Noah’s willingness to help.
They took one load to the dump and another load to Goodwill. Progress!
Steve and Noah said goodbye to the worn-out snow skis that Ken and Vernie had skied with since 1974.
Try not to be jealous of Steve’s shorts; I know they make quite the fashion statement.
The next step for Steve and me, now that some of the big stuff is out of the way, is to apply ourselves to going through the tough decision boxes. That would include his parents’ photographs, old letters, papers, and the awards and medals his dad got in the military. (We’ve done a lot already but there is so much more.) We have to be ruthless in purging things, but also decide which (few) things we really want to keep because of sentimental value.
We also still have way too many books, but they are a whole lot easier to sort than the sentimental items. It’s a long process, but the vision is to have the large space cleared out so that new flooring can be installed and the area can be used as a family room.
I have three older brothers; the middle brother’s name is Phil Campbell.
And why is that significant?
Well, there is a town in Alabama that is actually called Phil Campbell, and every year they have a big celebration that is attended by Phil Campbells from all over the world. (Can you imagine the poor hotels trying to take reservations for thousands of Phil Campbells?)
This year, Phil and Carol decided this was their year to join the party.
Wouldn’t it be so strange to drive into a town and see your name everywhere?
Now if someone would just name a town Becky Smith, I’d be all about it!
I so enjoy having my two daughters living thirty minutes from me. (Meagan to the north, Sarah to the south.) Sometimes I have dinner with Sarah, sometimes the three of us eat together, and sometimes it’s just Meagan and me. Last Saturday, Meagan and I had breakfast and then went to Goodwill afterward. We always have such good conversations and fun. I’m grateful for my daughters, especially daughters who are good listeners, fun, compassionate–and love thrifting as much as I do.
In the photo above, the lighting made me look like I was suffering some dread disease. I’m posting a picture from work so you know I am still in the land of the living.
One of my long-time readers is a young woman named Katrina from Denmark. She is collecting postcards from all different parts of the world. If you’d like to send something her way and make her day, email her at katrinashi5@outlook.com. She will give you the address to mail the cards to. (Or if not a postcard, just any sort of mail.) Thank you so much!
You know how it is when you get all settled in on the couch to watch a movie? You have the popcorn bowl and the glass perfectly situated, and the blanket tucked in around your legs just right. Just as you are about to let out a sigh of unadulterated bliss, you hear a “woof.” And you look down to see that one of your dogs has decided that this is the exact moment to be lifted to the couch. And then all of the perfectly arranged items become perfectly unarranged as you get up to lift the dog to the couch.
They want up. Then they want down. And then up. And then down.
Steve finally got the idea of getting a dog ramp, which arrived Wednesday night. He set it up and then showed each dog how it worked by setting them at the bottom of it and then gently guiding them up. Belle went up rather happily and then laid down on the couch for her mid-evening snooze.
Tinker, however, was a different story. He went bravely up the ramp one time, but then immediately leaped back down when our loud cheering alarmed him. He hurriedly disappeared down the hall, his plump bottom swaying, as he searched out his quiet spot to do his deep thinking about this new, scary addition to the house.
We weren’t sure how long it would take them to walk up on the ramp by themselves but it turns out it wasn’t long. I walked into the den on Thursday morning just in time to see Princess Belle sashay her way up to the top. When she got up to the couch, she sat and looked a little puzzled that she was up there. Like, “How in the world did that just happen?”
A few hours later, Steve texted me at work to report on Tinker. It seems that Tink had thought through all the existential, philosophical, and psychological aspects of the ramp and eventually decided he would throw his (considerable) weight behind the concept. He came out to the den and walked himself right up to the couch with a slight air of injured triumph, no doubt offended that his sister had made the journey before he did. (Belle has taken to racing up the ramp behind Tinker and then actually leaping over him to get to Steve first.)
Here are the brave utilizers of The Ramp.
Yesterday we had a visit from our good friends, Buddy and Cheryl Denton. They were driving home from out of state and made time to stop and spend a couple of hours, even though they still had quite a way to go.
It was so good to sit and talk with people with whom we have history. They are former pastors and missionaries and now travel mostly in the United States, with much of their ministry done at Russian-speaking churches.
So grateful for the Dentons’ friendship and their ministry all over the world.
I want to share with you a post written by one of my favorite bloggers/authors, Sean Deitrich. He puts into words my feelings about the tragedy in Texas better than I ever could; things I didn’t know I was feeling, he wrote down so beautifully.
Steve and I are adding our prayers to Sean’s prayers for everyone who has been affected.
What about you?
Did you do anything fun for the Fourth?
Have you ever had a ramp for one of your pets?
What are your tricks for deciding what special things to keep and which to discard?
Do you know anyone affected the flooding in TX? have you ever been through a flood?
I do NOT envy you the difficult task of sorting through items of sentimental value. To me that is so very difficult…So glad you had help in organizing your basement…How neat for your brother to share his name with a town and for the town to celebrate all who share it’s name…We just grilled out for Independence day…While visiting family in Arkansas my sisters-in-law and I were able to scour some yard & estate sales and find a few treasures! And while I don’t personally know anyone directly affeted by the devastating floods, I do know people who know people affected.
Sue Ellen,
It’s always fun to scour yard and estate sales with sisters-in-law! (Or any fun friend.) Glad you found some treasures. The best part about those kinds of sales is that you never know what you are going to find.
Yes, sorting sentimental stuff is definitely difficult. We are wading our way through!
Thank you Becky for including Phil in your post. He is honored! We had a great trip to Phil Campbell, AL. It was all quite interesting! And very hot!!
Tinker and Belle are so adorable! I’m so glad they learned to use that ramp. I could use one to my basement. Lol.
WTG on going through more stuff. I intend to start doing that again! I really need to.
I’m so happy you have your daughters near you. There is nothing better!!!!
I’m replying to myself on your questions.
We had a picnic at Jeff and Kristen’s on the 3rd with Jeff’s family. Then walked to fireworks in the park. They are the best around, and we go every year.
As far as getting rid of things, I’ve heard to take a picture and let it go. Well that picture may make me wish I had kept it. So, maybe I don’t have any good advice.
As for floods. Haven’t been in one, but we were in Missouri when they had bad floods years ago. We were on our way home and got to a river with a very long bridge, and the bridge just disappeared into the water. No GPS back then. Got out the map and had to go north till we found one that we could cross. Kinda eerie. I still see it in my memory.
Carol,
How nice that you were able to walk to fireworks rather than drive and have to deal with parking. It’s nice you have that family tradition.
Yeah, I’ve heard of taking a picture of things too but, as you said, it could work both ways, making you miss the item more. One thing I have started doing though, is taking photos of words written inside of cards. That way I can remember the sentiment but don’t have to store the card. I have an album on my iPhone for those.
When I first read your comment I thought you were saying you had driven over the bridge and it disappeared while you were on it! Yikes! Isn’t it funny to remember back in the day when there we ddin’t have GPS and had to actually pull out paper maps? Oh my. We are old! 🙂
Carol,
It was fun getting to feature a family member. I was going to add a picture of you but couldn’t remember where I had stored it when it came time to post. I’m so glad you and Phil got to have that adventure.
Tinker and Belle certainly bring us a lot of smiles. Love our doggies! 🙂
We met up with our group of friends and golfed on the 4th. It was so much fun and great to be together again! Then came home and watched all of our neighbor shoot off their fireworks. What a show!! It was like a war zone. So noisy but so beautiful!
No pets here but our good friends have the ramp for their dogs to help get them to the sofa. It took them a while to get used to it but now they are pros at it. 🙂
I have no tricks for deciding what to get rid of. I STILL have some of my mother’s things and she died in 1996. Things I just cannot seem to part with because I know how much they meant to HER. I remember the joy on her face when she got them. Maybe silly but hey, they aren’t taking up valuable space and they still give me a connection to my momma.
The Texas floods (and now New Mexico) are just heart breaking. Praying for everyone! No connections, thankfully. I have never been in a big flood but have been caught in a flash flood while driving in a rain storm and the car floated through an intersection when we were trying to get home. The streets in our neighborhood flooded but our house was ok!
Leanne,
Sounds like you’ve kept just the right thing to remember your mom–they don’t take up space, and they make you feel connected to her. What more could you want?
I love how you said you kept those things not necessarily because they mean so much to you, but because of the joy they brought to your mom. And remembering her joy brings you joy.
How scary to float through an intersection in your car! I know you were glad to land on solid ground again.
Your Phil Campbell story reminds me of something similar that I experienced. My family and I were on a road trip and just happened to stop at a random hotel in Ohio for the night. While checking in we noticed a set of adult twins dressed exactly alike in the lobby. Cute, but not overly noteworthy. While finding our room, we noticed another set…. And then another. Soon we realized we were surrounded by sets of twins of identical all ages. It was quite surreal! My dad finally asked a twin set what was up and was told the biggest twin convention in the world was in full swing!! The town we had happened to be in? Twinsville, Ohio, of course!
Ellen,
How funny is that? A convention of twins in Twinsville, OH!
Kudos to the town’s leaders for being creative and putting together this event. Think of all the business they brought in by capitalizing on their name. I bet it was cool for your family to see all those matching people.
We have been praying for those in Texas and sent a donation. My sister-in-law lives in Texas and has had a lot of wetness, but is not in the flood area.
Steve, you wear your modern shorts well. Fourth of July was just my husband and myself. Went to a meat market and they were cooking brats outside, so that was our Fourth of July meal. Still haven’t had any smores yet.
Very difficult to clean out parents homes because of all the stuff. Had to do that when they moved to a single level home and then to a nursing home. Yes, the thrift store did get quite a bit from us.
Love your “work” picture. If you got anything interesting from the thrift store – hope you’ll show us.
Sharyn,
I can tell you are from the Midwest when you wrote “brats.” Even though we have those in the south, just seeing the word makes me think of Wisconsin and Minnesota. 🙂 (Steve always like to say, “Who brought the brats?”)
I miss poking around in thrift stores the way I used to. But if I do find something fabulous, I’ll be sure to put it in a Thing Post. 🙂
On the fourth I literally sewed most of the day trying to finish 3 small quilts for a granddaughter and her 2 friends who are coming to visit. Husband was sick so I alternated sewing with checking on him.
I haven’t used a ramp for pets but I know several who have.
I had boxes of photos and memorabilia from my parents also. It is had for me to discard anything. I first went thru and tossed out any scenery photos, unless really good ones, most were distant shots that weren’t very good-think old instamatic cameras! Then I got 4 big tubs and just divided up all their photos, and memorabilia from trips and my dad’s military photos, etc. I gave a box to each of their 4 grandkids and said this is stuff that your grandparents felt they wanted to keep, you can do as you wish with it. I am not sure what they did, or if they just put it in storage somewhere.
I don’t know anyone effected by the flood, but what a sad thing. Prayers for all effected
Patti,
How fun for your granddaughter and friends to have personally-made quilts. Quite the treasure!
I like your idea of doing one quick pass on photos and throwing out anything that is very obviously a non-keeper. And then dividing them up and giving them away is great; it shares the responsibility of what to keep and what to toss. It’s a lot to have to make all those decisions yourself.
I would say keep his parent’s photography. Photos tells such a story 😇
I hope I hear from your readers
Katrina,
Yes, photos really do tell stories! That’s why I love them!