We are tired little noodles

To continue on...

We brought our new video camera with us to document this Herculean effort and we've been having a lot of fun with it...taping all kinds of weird gadgets and items that we find along the way. I mean- what do you DO with a bag FULL of Sweet and Lo packets? Or a big box FULL to the bursting point with...rubber gloves!? Or JAWBONES AND SKULLS of COWS...which, by the way, I thought were Extremely Cool but Brad chucked them into the dumpster! Or tins and tins and TINS ( the big kind you get filled with popcorn at Christmas) of plastic eggs- used to make Charli-doll heads...We are realizing that we have bitten off a LARGE amount and are now struggling to chew it. But it's been fun...and we've found some treasures along the way. One of my favorite things so far has been a large, colorfully illustrated certificate presented to Grandpa Pass when he was in the Navy in WWII upon the occasion of crossing the Equator. Apparently, when you cross the equator for the first time in the Navy, it's a big deal...I'll have to post a picture. Also- Grandpa had all these rocks that he had broken open to reveal FOSSILS inside! I don't know why I get SO EXCITED when I see fossils...it's just thrilling to me. I chose a couple to keep...and so if you meet me at the airport and help me with my luggage and ask, " What are you carrying in this? Rocks?" I'll have to say, " Yep!"

It's really interesting going through a lifetime of accumulated possessions. If nothing else, it gives you an idea of what a person is like...For instance- if I had never met Grandpa, I think I would have gotten somewhat aquainted by doing this whole clean-out thing. For instance: I can tell that he was a gardener on a big scale, he was in the Navy, he was an engineer, an architect, an organist, an accordion player, devoted to church and family, maker of dolls, hospitable, a movie enthusiast, a collector, a photographer...and a SAVER OF MANY LETTERS. Wow. Let me tell you about the Christmas cards from WAY BACK WHEN...On second thoughts, Nah.

Well, the big yardsale went off pretty well but we still have a lot of stuff left over. Having no time to put an ad in the paper, we were reduced to trusting in signs ( and God!) to guide the bargain hunters to our driveway...Pen and I drove around last night and this morning putting signs and balloons up...and I guess it worked b/c we had a fair amount of people drop by - mostly in the morning. Holding a yardsale is a lot of work- but also a lot of fun. We had some friends drop by- Rick and Jenny May Matthews, the Rickerds...Poor Nate twisted his ankle helping load the couch onto a truck...and it's swelling up. He's putting ice on it as I write. And the decades of accumulated dust seems to have gotten to Brad. He suddenly developed a horrid case of allergies and is pretty miserable...either that or a bad cold descended like Sennacherib on the something or other. Yes- you can tell, I'm pretty tired. Pen's not feeling so hot either. It's a good thing we all love each other and get along so well...It's kind of fun being exhausted together. Penny and I laugh hysterically about NOTHING. But what's new?

So you can pray for us...We're feeling our limitations.