Three Ducks

As you know, I'm a purger. If we haven't used things around our house, I get rid of them. Sometimes I get money for the items; many times I just list them for free. Nothing collects dust at our house. This is why Larry makes certain he's constantly in a state of perpetual movement.

Our office is moving in 10 days so many things have been hitting the garbage cans. Since I'm also an avid recycler, I try and keep as many things out of landfills that I can. So I've been listing more items than usual. And getting even more bizarre people come to my door.

This week, I listed three rubber ducks. Staff were given these to get excited about our conference last summer in Hawaii. (ummm, it's Hawaii...trust me, I'm already excited!) But the conference is over and I don't want them any longer. But Marie did.

Marie picked up the ducks last night. As I opened the door, she did these baby claps and bounced a little as she said, "Oh, more ducks; more ducks." It was rather disturbing to watch. She then proceeded to explain that she had an entire bathroom devoted to rubber ducks called her 'Rubber Duck bathroom' (if you could imagine that) which featured five shelves of these guys.

I'm realizing the world is full of collectors; some collecting more low-end items than others. For the most part, we aren't collectors. Larry & I each have one thing I'd consider collections. He collects depression glass wine glasses and I collect nativity sets from different countries. Each has a special meaning to us, however we don't go overboard trying to complete the collections. It we find one we like, we buy it. But we don't purchase every item we see.

Duck lady made me realize the obsessive nature of collections; sometimes you just don't know when enough is enough. Or when you sound like an absolute lunatic.

What do you or your spouse collect? Are you obsessive about it or is it just a fun hobby?

Full of Hot Air

Crap. The dryer broke yesterday. Well, it didn't break completely. It will spin the wet clothes and blow cold air on them. As we hit 36 degrees this morning, that will only get us so far.

So yesterday in the spirit of friendship, we begged the neighbors to let us dry our sheets at their house. Then we began small wash loads and have them drying on the elliptical machine. It's a good thing we weren't planning on using exercise equipment this week month year.

I'll share something with you here that may surprise you; I'm not a man who likes appliances to break. Truthfully, I don't feel there are many of you who celebrate this, but I just can't stand the idea of having to shop and then waiting a week for things to be installed. Plus, we always have to negoiate to see who will stay home to receive the new appliance.

I've been a person who touts the benefits of Craiglist to everyone. I sell everything on CL. So I decided, why not try to buy something there. Heck, I'm a reputable dealer, let's just assume the best of everyone.

You'll be happy to know there are two gas dryers in a ten-mile radius of our house that are each $50. Both are are 6 years old and still working fine. (The people just moved in and brought their own laundry machines.) I'm in negotiations with one person who lives a mile away.

Here's my question for you, knowing some of you are much better handy men and women than I. Is a mere mortal like myself able to hook up a gas dryer or do I need a professional? (My dad could do it but he lives 600 miles away.) Have any of you ever done this yourself? I'm not completely helpless; I installed a toilet in the basement, but Larry's got me all panicked with the gas line connection.