TELEPHONE BOOKS KEPT ME WARM.

It was cold all day yesterday. The night-time temperature sunk to 36* Brrrr!  I have wood, but I was too busy with inside projects to venture out into the cold and breezy weather to haul in an armload of wood. I read about a guy who rolled up magazines and kept his house warm with them and cardboard and junk mail. Hmm!  I grabbed four old phone books and twigs from the back deck, some cereal boxes from the recycle, lit a fire that did warm up the house enough to keep the chill off, along with papers that were meant to be shredded. The propane heater went on once. Passive solar worked well by mid afternoon.

You know that collectiholics are incurable. And, if we have two of something, a little spring goes off in the brain and...whatta ya know? A catalog collection. I have an explanation of how this can happen. We lived off the land in a remote location when I was young and catalogs were the most appealing thing we had in our old log cabin. They were paper dolls, color, tracing material, cut and paste, reading material and the wish books of Christmas were the stuff of childhood dreams. Then, as an adult I'd read with humor excerpts from even older catalogs.  Dr J. Hostetters Stomach Bitters. Ida Wheelers Ladies corsets, guaranteed to give you a 20 inch waistline. Benjamins Rheumatism Cure. The pictures were hilarious and the cures such obvious shams. Catalogs had funny parts and tools and implements and inventions we never knew existed.

Then, I coveted various "little" mail order catalogs. Don't ask me why. These I'm tossing. The big ones I'm offering free on Craigslist before tossing. Downsizing is turning into a lot of fun. This morning, I got an email from someone who wants my first day covers stamp collection that I placed in the free section 16 days ago. Yay!

This morning, I gathered wood and brought it in. The last papers I put into the stove last night were still smoldering, but I won't be burning catalogs.

OH FOR YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

Yesterday, I started on my mail.  Here it is stacked in neat little piles. Paring it down by doing much of my correspondence on-line, subscribing to less magazines and periodicals has resulted in a huge reduction from last year at this time. That said, when it all came out of the packaging and envelopes, I had two sacks of paper for the recycling and a mess on the table.

On the sideboard, my taxes started. Emptying out the old files from last year, and discarding what isn't needed. Oh, for yesteryear!

Instead of chugging away at home, I was at the visitors center in Lafayette, LA. enjoying this beautiful pond,

from a mosaic bench, one of several  to sit on in the shade..

Near the driveway is this attractive sculpture of Rosie's Bar.

Then, later in the day, we went to a museum where we viewed the faces of cajun life in the area. These are all pictures of pictures from the museum about Cajun Culture.

Such a beautiful face.

Simpler times.

Full of belly laughs.

And joy as they "let the good times roll."

The groom does look a little nervous.
Its wonderful to have my pictures to look back on and remember the fun of yesterday in Southern Louisiana. Many people ask me what was my favorite place to visit on the road. Southern Louisiana was high on the list.We blogged  that area at this time in 2010.

CATCHING UP WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS

Being home for a stretch, reconnecting with family and friends takes some adjusting. Going through pounds of mail, remembering where things are in the cupboards and attending to details that are of no consequence on the road is confusing at first. The last five days I met with three old "bay area"  friends, visited my daughter's "new" cabin in the woods, and worked two days at my favorite volunteer project, the Alameda County Sheriffs Archives.

The cabin sits atop a hill looking over acres of rolling hills and woodlands in every direction. A creek and part of the Eel river run through it. No electricity yet, since the solar has yet to be installed, but the place is comfortable and livable with a flush toilet and running water. Solitude is an endearing feature.

 The misty mornings were magical and remind you what life must have been like before people penetrated every inch of the forest primeval.

We hiked, explored the river bed for pretty rocks, (too cold to swim) found a couple of different frogs, watched the birds, especially the raptors floating about the valley below the cabin, and enjoyed a wienie roast and s'mores around the fire.

 
 Visiting a remote cabin requires you to travel over one of those Omigod bridges, since the property sits about five miles off a main road. But, we saved a turtle from extinction by moving him off the roadway and transporting him to the deep canyon under the bridge.

This bridge used to have boards that rose about three feet into the air when the back tires hit the end of the board, requiring a following car to keep its distance. A nice fix this year.
Noticeable to me is the strain on working families to balance work and play. And a getaway such as this helps renew energy and gives something to look forward to in retirement. State and National Parks serve the same function but this is more private.  We live in a marvelous country even if you consider the current disorder we live in and these laws:

A woman can't dance on a table in a saloon in Helena, MT unless she is wearing at least 3 pounds of clothes.
In Michigan it is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant.
Eating ice cream in public with a fork is strictly forbidden in Rosemead, CA.

I've lived in all three of those states. I hope this made you smile.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED RIGHT HERE!

I thought I signed onto a National Do Not Mail List. I've been getting solicitations for everything from penis enlargers to hot trading tips. The unsolicited catalogs are rife with the most superfluous junk, such as a flamingo clock where one leg swings in time to the ticking, gosh, and only $29.95.
Or how about a 5 inch ceramic jar labeled Cruise Fund. The teaser for this magnificent jar at $14.95 is: Its A Start.
You'd be better off buying 15 lottery tickets. We all know they get you nowhere but at least they aren't hanging around the house collecting dust. It stuns me at the lack of imagination on some of these "great gift ideas." Like this leather bracelet that proclaims It Is What It Is. Only the clasp and etched bar are steel. Such a bargain at 19.95.
Or this cutsie pooh, can't live without, Chi WOW a, 3 and 1/2 inches by 4 inches, with pink espadrilles, sunglasses, hoop earrings and bracelets. Made of resin for $17.95.


Enough is enough, so, I decided to look up the Do Not Mail National Registry. Imagine my surprise when my net search revealed any number of organizations designed to help stop the flow of junk mail, but you pay for the privilege. One company touts, Now Free. It claims that mail marketing companies don't want you on their list if they know you won't buy. It saves them paper and postage. Yeah, right! Why don't I believe that a stop the junk mail company called otteroticist isn't going to send me sexy junk mail. Many of them are flagrantly fake. My internet search showed several efforts to get bills passed to prevent email junk, but, under the Do Not Mail National Registry? It apparently doesn't exist. A do not call registry does exist. I must have pared down my junk mail by phoning and asking to be removed from particular mailings. Since then I've gotten a new credit card and bought a used RV, and wham! I'm on everyone's big time sucker list.
If anybody out there knows the secret code to find a national do not mail registry, if I've missed it, please let me know.