Cut Ups

Another small step in the tidying.

In the cleaning of the "Receipts for Major Purchases" folder, I found terms and conditions for credit cards. That's a misfiling but it caused me to pull out the drawer where I have cards and actually look through them. Since the 5th 3rd debacle, I have canceled or let expire a whole bunch of cards that I had but didn't use. I hung onto my 5th 3rd cards until this whole mess was cleaned up, which it was at the end of May. So, I spent some delicious minutes carving those credit cards into shards over the garbage can.

But then there are these. Sears gave me my first card, back in 1977 when I was a college junior. I felt so powerful but had no idea exactly what credit was. Still, I had, and used, that white card until they began issuing standard size cards in the 1990's, I think. Marshall Fields (defunct) and Nieman Marcus also used the small card format. I used to have an NM card. I thought I saved it for nostalgia but it wasn't in the stash.

Sears and Field's issued new cards which I, obviously, never activated. I know they pre-date the banking fiasco or maybe came at the time of the fiasco and I felt, for my good, not having the credit was a good step in righting my financial ship.

Ah Disney. I got this way back in the late 1980's, when Disney stores in malls were exploding like pop rocks. I spent so much money at those stores and through their catalogues. When we took our first vacation to Walt Disney World, we got all sorts of discounts using the Disney card. I think they discontinued it or we canceled it, I don't remember.

And finally, Montgomery Ward. My ex worked for a trucking company affiliated with Wards. We got a 25% discount on goods and services purchased through the store. As mentioned in a previous post, my oven is a Montgomery Ward branded appliance. We got a fantastic deal on it. I have a blue sweater that I got at Wards for $12. I'm pretty sure it's close to the same age as Carole and one of the elbows needs some love, but it has worn like cast iron. I kind of liked Wards and was sad to seem them go bankrupt and close.

But they have arisen from those ashes and are online only now. Scanning through their offerings, they aren't all that unique in what they have for sale. I don't need much but there are a few things which would be fun. They have a compact computer desk. I'd love to replace the behemoth I have in my home office with something more compact. Wards is a distributor for the company that sells the desk. Comparing prices, they aren't cheaper. I think I'd be buying nostalgia more than anything else and I have to be leery about tossing money at something for nostalgia sake. I have a lot of that as it is.

I cut up the big Sears and Fields cards. The rest I put back in the drawer. I'm not ready to take a scissors to them just yet. The act of tidying has always been about being ready to let go, being critical about what I save. There is no use to these. They are saved purely because of warm memories attached to them. At some point the scissors will come out and they will be gone, but that's not now. I did reduce the stack by 3/4ths, however and that is a good feeling.

Beverage:  Coca-Cola

Deb

Best days for going topless.

Pam's car was hit over the weekend. It was parked in front of the house and a neighbor, backing out, didn't see it. As her hubby works for Sears in Hoffman Estates and she works for Wheaton College, he needs a car more than she does to get to work. But she does need to get to work. Time to ask a favor.

"Oh sure, I'll come get you at lunch," was my response. How can I say, "No" when we are rather flexible about hours? Just get your work done and you get paid for 40 hours. And besides, Pam has fed my cats for at least 9 years. For that reason alone, I can take an hour at lunch to go get her and take her home for her dog.

Kacey has arthritis and needs medication. They have just started a new drug which has to be given 4 times a day which means Pam needs to go home at lunch. We swung by Wendy's for a quick lunch for ourselves and then to Pam's for Kacey.

The top is down. It has been down for over a week although there is a rumor of rain this afternoon and tomorrow. The weather has been beautiful. It was easy to pick up the girls last Thursday because I could put them into the back of the Jeep and buckle in the carriers without having to climb in. Ever been in the back seat of a Jeep Wrangler? A mailbox has more room.

It's been in the 70's during the day with upper 50's to low 60's at night. Other than needing a light shirt on some mornings, it's shirt-sleeves and blue sky and sunshine. I didn't go anywhere over the weekend because I was bonding so the Jeep sat topless, except for 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when a rainstorm rolled through. I thought about just letting the inside get wet. It's a Jeep, after all, but when the rain seemed to intensify after 10 minutes, I decided I'd get out of bed and just put up the top, not latch it. Once it dried, the next day, I put it back down.

On these kinds of days, I have to leave the house a wee bit early as the dew settles all over the interior. I have to wipe down where I'm going to sit. The inside of the windshield gets dew covered as does the rear view mirror. There's always a dishtowel with me on these kinds of days.

Pam laughed when she climbed into the Jeep. She had sort of forgotten that it's up rather than over to get in. I'm the same height as the seat so it's just a slide over for me. I always joke that a topless ride will mess up your hair. On the way back to the office, I had to plop on my visor which then gives me that "ring" around my hair.

Yet, I wished that I didn't have to go back to the confines of the box, the office, the phone, the desk. Would that I could just drive. I have no idea where I'd end up but I would have driven around for a couple hours, just drove. Fall is coming. I can smell it in the air. It may be an old Jeep, but days like this are balm for my weary soul.

Beverage: Mr. Pibb

Deb