Redwood Country Flea Market

I've been hitting this little gem since I was a little gem myself. Located just about two miles from my mother's house in Connecticut, Redwood should be filled with antiques and treasures, but each year it seems to be in steady decline from the days of my childhood in the 1980s (think of the old Dick and Ellie's in Mashpee, which is now a shopping plaza, or Elephant Trunk's in New Milford). Back then, I think I was shopping for jelly bracelets and plastic charms. Now Redwood seems to be filled with knock-off Sharpies from China (who needs that?), potted plants, and boxes of cheap shampoo. I don't even think there are any fake designer purses to be had anymore since the raid. I knew not even to bother to wake my husband up when my sister, her boyfriend, my brother, and I decided to head down the road to look for records.

I didn't even bring money.

And it was exactly what I expected, but the more I think about it, the more I think I am starting to love the junk as much as the gems. I won't even bother to tell you much about the legitimately cool stuff that one might consider buying, like Fat Albert comics; a hook rug picturing Bobby Kennedy, JFK, and MLK; Star Wars figures; Match Box Cars; Garbage Pail Kids; record albums; matchbooks and swizzle sticks; and UFO and Citizens' Band (CB Radio) magazines from the '60s! Instead, feast your eyes on these goodies, and try to tell me you don't love it:

The nostalgia for things really not that great, in the form of trading cards (gum, anyone?):




The mundane (until you realize that somebody must buy these things at a hot, dusty summer flea market, and then they become incredible):



The toys that I never had:



The soft, supple, and strange:


I did make one purchase, however, and I had to borrow a dollar from my sister to do so. Unfortunately, I think I forgot it at my mom's house in Connecticut.


One dollar! What a deal!

How Could I Forget This?

This was, hands down, my favorite thing I saw in Bermuda. I may even bring this look to the 'Bo.

Public Announcement to Motivate Me to Unload: No Need to Read

I am a pack rat. I don't think I am anywhere near hoarder status, but I keep a lot of unnecessary things, some cherished, some crap, in my home. I have all the letters and cards I've received since middle school, including Christmas cards. I have a box or two of my late grandmother's belongings, including something as seemingly mundane as a drawer from her jewelry box. I have a dress I bought at a vintage sale in college which has never fit me since. I have more winter coats, gloves, scarves, and hats than are necessary, even for living in Minnesota. I have two dish sets and could seat a dinner party for 30. I have movie tickets, bus passes, travel brochures, Hideki's first stuffed toy, 31 photo albums, drawers full of quilting fabrics, and files from a tutoring job I had 10 years ago.

I've worked on trimming my storage and my clutter piles, but the progress I've made has come from my commitment to limiting my purchasing more than my ability to get rid of things. Last year, I wrote about our attempts to cull our possessions. See, I don't like to create extra trash, so I'm always reluctant to throw things away that I might use, that I could sell at a yard sale, or that I could donate. But that all takes a lot of work and motivation.

So, I announce this here in writing, in hopes that I will follow through with sorting two things over the next two months: my clothing and my papers, filed and unfiled.

Clothes first.

I swear.

2010 Maple Syrup Run

In case you are wondering, it's been a year since I first starting tracking my 5K times. In 2009, I ran 4 5Ks, and this year, I'm hoping to at least pass that by one. My training hasn't been perfect, but I've made some good strides.

Last April, I ran the Maple Syrup Run at River Bend Nature Center in 36:14. Yesterday, I ran it in 31:02, which is almost exactly a 10 minute mile pace. This year, my time did feel like a major milestone. I accomplished goal, and for someone who often thinks of herself as indecisive and lacking self-discipline, that's pretty damn good!

Kudos to my husband, who shaved a good seven minutes off his time, too!

Out of My Comfort Zone

Today I tried something I never thought I would ever ever try.

I went to a water aerobics class. Deep water aerobics.

A friend of mine at work approached me a little sheepishly one day, and said, "Hey, Courtney... You've been wanting to start exercising a little more, right?"

And then I found myself in the deep end of the pool at the F-bo rec center, with a "weight" belt around my waist and a pair of "dumbbells" at the pool's edge.

It was fun, and I found myself laughing throughout the whole thing... and breathing hard. And I think I'll go back.

Coming Home

When I was young, my mom always made us clean up our rooms before we left for a trip. It used to annoy me, but I've fallen into the same habit as an adult. Today, after three weeks of traveling and with unpacked boxes from the move left to tackle, I found a happy surprise: a clean bedroom, with a made bed and clean sheets. Simple pleasures, eh?

Our Honda

Thank you, Honda CRV, for all the road trips over the years! Here's to many more years together!

Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Austin, Four Corners, Big Bend, San Antonio, Guadalupe, Florida Everglades, Miami, Key West, Kansas City, Wallingford, Faribault, Twin Cities, Cape Cod, Boston, Amenia, NYC, Syracuse, Lake George, Maine, Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, St. Louis, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Moab, Denver, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisville, Savannah... not too mention just back and forth, around the corner, and down the street over and over again....

43 Things

Matt and I have committed to reducing our possessions in three ways: by not buying unnecessary stuff, by asking our family not to buy us unnecessary stuff, and by culling our current possessions. Like most everyone, we (especially me) hold on to too many things that are really trash or could be used better by someone else. We love to collect books, and I have a soft spot for mementos. I'm holding on to closets, drawers, and bins full of clothes that I think I will wear someday. I have thousands of printed photographs, notebooks and papers from high school and college, and every letter or card I've ever received dating back to middle school.

Knowing the move was a possibility, this past spring we brought 10 kitchen-sized garbage bags of clothes to the local goodwill. Now that the move has passed, as we unpack our boxes, we decided to identify 100 things that we could give away, throw away, or sell at a yard sale. Before we left for vacation, we had only made it to 43...

1 of a pair of red lamps, with a broken glass base
1 mildewed yellow bathroom rug
1 box for our first GPS (kept box for current GPS)
1 Yankees brick door stop (decorative mouse long gone to the dogs)
1 disassembled fan with missing bolts (taken apart to be cleaned, but never reassembled)
4 disposable plastic potting pots (have too many ceramic ones)
1 chair with no cushions (cushions necessary) (formerly a dog bed for my dogs)
1 dust-vac with a chewed through cord (blame the dogs)
2 old brooms
1 yard stick
1 glass chip and dip serving tray that belonged to my grandmother and was missing a piece
1 tea set from China
1 purple vase from the florist
1 glass vase from the florist (they should give you a couple bucks back for returning them)
1 cast iron fajita skillet (regift from someone else who didn't use it)
2 candle plates (never used; didn't understand the trend)
1 orange soap or sponge holder
1 chipped oversized black coffee mug
4 Asian-inspired black coffee mugs from JC Penney
2 Asian-inspired sushi platters
1 Minnesota Gophers hoodie
1 lovingly painted but terribly constructed black bench that cost 35 dollars in 2004
1 milk bottle
1 dog themed book mark
1 orange plastic canister (the rest of the set will go whenever we find the box they are in)
1 beloved, well-worn, lime green Shattuck-St. Mary's polo (school colors: maroon and black)
1 paint-splattered team t-shirt from the 1st annual 2009 24 hour walk/run-athon
1 disappointing Diane Ackerman book
3 books, procured from a friend's pile of give away books, never read
1 red polo, too small for a woman with a 36C bra size, purchased from a store designed for teens
1 camisole
1 worn-out green bathing suit (I own 4 others)

43 down, 57 more to go....

The Maple Syrup Run

This morning I woke up to a cold, gray, rainy day, which was not exactly what I wanted to see after a long winter in Minnesota and right before I was heading out for my 5K. I put on a pot of coffee and then took my dogs out for a walk to wake up a little bit.

5Ks (not that I have that much experience) are fun in the small town I live in. Matt and I have lived in Faribault for five years now, and many of our friends, students, and colleagues show up to run, volunteer, or cheer each other on. Today's run was at the River Bend Nature Center, and the route passed through a prairie, up several small hills, by the banks of the Straight River, and over a turtle pond (oh, and by the Minnesota Correctional Facility).

I followed Matt's advice and started out slowly, and I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I felt. There really weren't any mile markers, so I didn't have any idea how far along I was. I kept count of the number of songs I listened to, thinking that would give me an idea of how far from the end I was... and before I knew it, I could see the end. "Shake It" by Metro Station came on (thanks, Timberwolves Dancers), and I started running faster toward the finish line.

And that was it: 36 minutes and 14 seconds*. No seeing God, no stomach cramps like I remember when we ran the mile at Hyman Fine Elementary School back in Attleboro, no major personal journey milestone. Just another step forward as I try and take back this terrible creep of pounds.



* Only 22 minutes and 3 seconds off world record pace (Tirunesh Dibaba, 2008). Of course, that wasn't cross-country.

5K and Pancakes, Maybe

On Sunday, I'll be jogging my first 5K since 2006. Back on that day, I literally ran the race cold, having not run anything longer than a mile since I was about 19.

This time, I'm in good shape, but I still haven't run 3.1 miles on the road in a long time... Um, since September 2006, the aforementioned 5K.

So, I've been running a mile or a mile and a half every couple days. Today, I sort of ran 3 miles on the treadmill (sort of = walked a little bit every now and then).

I don't have much to say, but if I put this in writing now, than I have to follow through and show up on Sunday. Then maybe I'll have some nonsense about a personal journey and a post-5K pancake breakfast to blog about.

Adventures with Hair Dye

After being talked out of it for years, I finally had my hair dyed red!

William Carlos Williams Was Right

I don't care if being included in every high school literature textbook makes it trite, but William Carlos Williams is right. Plum is a wonderful word. Thick, round, hollow but full; strong, but inviting. It belongs on the page of the dictionary where succotash, succuba, succulent, and succumb live, but it can't. It's own page isn't too bad... pluck, plump, and plunge follow it (but then there is plug-ugly and and plumb bob).

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the ice box

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

- William Carlos Williams, 1962
(http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535)