Good morning everyone
thanks for the early pot of mud, John. Sorry you were sleepless but I feel your pain: I, too, was awake for an extended period when the sandman failed to do his thing. I resisted for over an hour but finally gave up and got up, not quite an hour ago.
It's 27°F and allegedly partly cloudy in Rockville. I can confirm that it's dark but the rest is mere hearsay and unverified allegation. Mostly sunny skies and a high of 38 are expected.
the frost is thick and lush. Which reminds me, I need a hair cut.
Gosh I love your rapid-fire changes of direction and subtle connections. This one made me laugh out loud.
I sorted out a thousand no longer used old Dyson attachments yesterday, OK not thousands but more than I can count on my fingers and toes; they'll be going on ebay later, maybe, maybe not.
On this side of the world there's a thing called "FreeCycle". No, they don't distribute motorbikes at no cost, so don't everyone get your hopes up.
It's a loose network centered around a clearinghouse-style messaging system: anyone with items they're willing to give away (the rules explicitly forbid sales or swaps or any expectation of a quid pro quo for what's being offered) or looking for (again, on a no-strings basis) can post to the board. The posts are available online and also go out to participants as emails. Interested parties can respond, and it's then up to the giver and requester(s) to work out whether, when, and how the handover will occur.
It may be a nationwide or even international network but it's subdivided into local hubs. There's a "FreeCycle Rockville" hub, for example, that serves participants in my area only; I don't see the FreeCycle postings from other areas and they don't see mine.
Using that medium, I spent Friday afternoon and much of yesterday handing out items that have been cluttering up our living space for far too long. The most gratifying was a (too big) collection of four boxes of winter coats and other clothing that someone picked up on behalf of a local women's / homeless shelter.
What really surprised me was the level of interest in some quite common items (a toaster, and a water filter / pitcher, neither used and each in its original packaging). I must've had ten people wanting each of them. Also given away: a big bag of reusable tote bags (mostly swag from meetings), a wireless keyboard and mouse, our old red wall phone (retro style- looked like a dial phone but was actually a modern touch tone unit), etc. I'll post more items today, as we still have a bunch of kitchen utensils that we no longer use or never used.
That'll account for most of the time I spend today that doesn't go to uke practice or getting beaten at dominos by Mrs. Fun.
Stay safe and well everyone and tell your dear ones you love them.
