watching paint dry

We've decided to start some serious sorting and packing, even though we don't have a buyer for the house, or a moving date. We figure maybe the Universe will catch up if we get a jump on all this. Maybe... we got a call this afternoon. After a long no-show spell, we have Lookers coming tomorrow afternoon. As always, we'll see...

After only seven years in this house, we're finding an astonishing amount of useless crap tucked away for safe keeping. Some of it is merely silly and annoying, and some of it is Dangerous Useless Crap that needs to be disposed of properly. Aside from sorting out many "old" beads, which by the way, do not go stale, and will be sold soon, we also dealt with things like p-nuts. Oh, dear me, how I hate these things. Because we can't buy it at any of the three grocery stores in Taos, we ordered a case of unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk. It arrived today in a very large box, filled with dissolve-o p-nuts. When I took the small box out of the big box, I discovered yet another smaller box. How absurd. Good thing we need boxes right now. And we thought we'd do a little experiment. Rather than throw those dang p-nuts in the trash can, we took them out to the dirt part of the yard (most of it is dirt, actually) and hosed those suckers down until they went away. Didn't take long! So no Water Guilt either.




Next we tackled the awful silver-smithing chemicals. I'm not going to do all that soldering and stuff. Pretty as it is, it's just not my thing. Give me fine silver that knows how to stick to itself! And who wants a crusty old crock-pot full of murky, used pickle? Even in Taos, probably nobody. So we spread out some old nasty plastic, and newspaper on top of that, and poured the skanky chems on the paper so they could dry in the sun. Now, of course, they have to go to the landfill. I'm so over this metal and chemicals thing.



I'm saving the best for last. It's almost like art! Old paint... it's not a horse, it's actual paint that's been frozen and thawed for several years. (Yes, we have those colors in our house. So?) No good, and nobody wants it. The solution to dropping gloppy cans of the stuff at the dump? Pour it out on the unused lids of long-gone plastic boxes, stir it up to make it psychedelic, and wait for it to dry in the hot New Mexico sun. I'm tellin' you - this is a fun little art project.



Man, it's been like a long hot day at Girl Scout Day Camp here. One cool project after another. But if you're feeling like you want something a little more soul-soothing, I hear you, loud and clear. Check out Kate McKinnon's trip to France. Sniff, sniff... I was going to go on this trip with her, but things said no, so here I am. But you know... I'm enjoying her fun a whole lot. Honest. Maybe you will too.