Day 115/365 It’s time to go, jigsaw puzzle

     I finally finished this one. I’ve been working on it for months. It’s taken forever because at home I don’t have the same rhythm of time to work on jigsaw puzzles that I do here at the cottage. But we needed the dining room table for the holidays and I didn’t want to let it go without completing it. (Why is that I always am missing one piece?)

      This puzzle only had 500 pieces (minus one), but it was extremely time consuming. Sorting was simple: water and penguins. But then I had to match each piece to the picture, which took time, eye glasses and good lighting.

     My husband found it at the put-and-take, of course. If I can’t let it go to one of my puzzle friends, back he will take it in the spring.

Day 114/365 It’s time to go, Christmas decorations

     Wait, please don’t conclude that I’m letting go of all the decorations, that I’m letting go of Christmas. No, but I’m going through those Christmas boxes from the attic and asking myself what I can let go of. Not much, as it turns out, but at least the decorations are organized.  

      I am, however looking for a home for some of those huge stuffed animals and santas that we accumulated over the years. They would thrive at a home with little kids, but we don’t have any of those anymore. It time for them to go.













      This year it doesn’t make sense for us to put up a tree, so I’ve boxed the  stand, lights and ornaments in hopes that St. Nicholas will come another year. The crèche, however, is set up on it’s usual table, and the Christmas mugs are ready for coffee and hot chocolate.

Day 113/365 It’s time to go, put-and-take presents

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     This morning my husband organized all the toys, games, books, pictures, mugs, you name it, that he accumulated from the put-and-take and saved for Christmas presents. He’s organized them in piles according to child and grandchild. Sounds strange to say child when really I’m taking out our two grown children who, duh, are the parents of our grandchildren. 

 

   

 Later today he will wrap them in Christmas paper from the dump, box them, and they will be ready for distribution. 

    We haven’t bought one Christmas present this year. I don’t mean to brag. It just feels right for us at this time in our life, and it fits into my meager sustainability project. Plus, these are great presents; just what we would buy if our gift-buying budget were big enough and if we happened to like going to the mall. 

Day 112/365 It’s time to go, travel folders

    

 On vacation most of us have had the experience of going to the state tourist bureau and leaving with more brochures and maps than we will ever need. Life just doesn’t give us enough days to stay at every B&B, experience every fun park, golf course, and boating adventure, or climb every mountain. 

So, we either leave the enticing advertisements in a motel room, or they end up mauled on the car floor. Or, if we’re the conscientious type, they find their way back home, piled on the kitchen table before getting filed…You know the rest….Ten years later we throw them out. 

     Not this time, however. On my way home on Friday, I plan to leave them back at the Maine Tourist Center. Well, at least the ones that look like new, the ones that we haven’t torn any pages out of.

     Here’s my dilemma. Do I hand them to the green, eco-friendly attendant? Or do I sneak them back onto their proper place on the shelf? Letting go of stuff isn’t always easy.