Trade in result

A couple weeks ago I heard about Abundatrade.com where I could get cash for cds/dvds. I went to the site and entered the ISBN number, whenever it was at least worth $1.50 I added it to the sell pile. Boxed up, shipped with Media Mail (the cheap way) and waited for the email. A few of the cds were in poor enough condition that they wouldn't take them, but I still got a value of $118 for the box. Today the check arrived!

So, if you're like me and all your music is on an mp3 player (and backed up on another hard drive) consider selling on some of those cds you never listen to anymore. If you happened to mention my name when they ask where you heard about them I'd get a referral bonus too. :)

On another topic: when you wait too long between cleanings, the guinea pig cages become a major project...and more than a little whiffy too. On the plus side, the mess that just got added to the compost pile is well on it's way to being decomposed already. Lol.

Julius, the alpha piggy, died of old age last week and left a hole in the leadership. Now Gus and Octavius are fussing at each other deciding who gets to be in charge. This, even though their cage is twice the recommended size for two males. Silly boys.

A gift!

What else can you call it when you're given a September-weather day at the end of November? Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, but still not bad. Days like these make a long weekend feel like a full holiday!

On the shopping front: I was interested to see my little solar array was going to be one of the special deals on Amazon so I checked back to see what the sale price was...an astounding $5 less than I paid! It looks rather more impressive since they show the original price as twice what they normally offer it for. Sneaky, very sneaky. Of course, it doesn't show well if they have to say "Check out this amazing 8% off Black Friday Lightening Deal!"

I now get to enjoy the proceeds of my trade-in videos with my new copy of Star Trek!!!

Live long and prosper, my friends.

Buy Nothing Day?

I have mixed feelings about setting aside one day as a token 'buy nothing' day. In my journey to be more frugal and green, it is natural to buy much less than I used to and there are many days when I don't need anything.

The timing of this observance seems futile. So many of the Americans this should be aimed at are in such a peak shopping mindset on Black Friday that this campaign won't even be worth a passing thought. I know people who will be getting up a couple hours from now to drive to the early sales.

I won't be buying, but not because it's a special day, just because.

Yeehaw!

I just sold my Highlander dvd set on Amazon marketplace. Yes! More money on the credit card I'm working on. I was on schedule to pay this one off in March, but if things keep going like this maybe I'll get it gone a month early. It would have been done already if Chase hadn't played their twisty games with the minimums. Meeting their higher demands cut into what I could pay extra elsewhere. No fear though, Chase is next on my target list.

No new debt!

My weekend

Saturday wasn't the most productive of days, though I did make butter and tried a recipe for cheese and onion bread. Most of the day was spent watching season 2 of True Blood. I've read all the books but the show deviated so far from the original storyline that it's fascinating to see where they'll go next. Oddly enough, the vampires and shapeshifters are just part of the background, what is really strange to me is the Louisiana setting. It's like a peek onto an alien world with a completely foreign culture. I suspect that, like my own part of the country, you'd have to grow up there to really appreciate it.

Today has been busy doing all the things that should have been done yesterday. Best of all I made a great start on setting up our go bags. I'm trying to duplicate most of the items for each of us in case we're separated. I still have a few more items to track down, but it's getting close to complete. A short work week ahead then a four day weekend!

Go bag

Before I start this topic I'd like to point out that I haven't seen the 2012 movie and do not believe anything special will be happening then.

That said; do you have a go bag? For those unfamiliar with the term, that would be a bag packed and ready to grab and run out the door with in case of sudden emergency. Examples would be flash flooding or wildfire, basically anything that makes it unsafe to stay home but strikes with minimal warning. Some people keep everything they could imagine needing including MREs, water, first aid kit, weapons...

Imagine for a moment; right now, as you're reading this, you get a phone call that in 5 minutes your house, your neighborhood, everything around you will be flattened. How fast can you get yourself and your family in the car and away? The go bag is supposed to take the pressure off of trying to grab things you will need when your adrenaline is up. One person said that after making a list of things to take, it took him five hours to find it all in his home.

Currently, I don't have one but since I've been reading the Posleen books again; well, let's just accept that this series makes me paranoid about alien invasions. :) I think this weekend would be a good time to work on my list.

Tempted

"Spend $55 on fragrances and receive this fabulous makeup kit worth $340!"

Oooooh, they sure know how to grab me. After 10 months of saying no, it's hard to resist everything shiny, colorful, and so very feminine. But I don't need new makeup and certainly not more perfume so the email got deleted.

I think part of the urge to pamper myself is the mad rush to spend that grips the country during the holiday season. I'm going to indulge in a little pity party here because I'm human and I feel sad knowing there won't be any gifts for me.

No wonder people get depressed this time of year. We get our hopes up that this time it will be different but it never quite reaches the happy ending.

plantar fasciitis

I can't talk about gardening because it's November and there is nothing to report. There will continue to be nothing until early spring and seed starting. Sigh.

Instead, I'll talk about feet. (I can just imagine the shivers of anticipation now!) For the last year and a half I've had plantar fasciitis in both my feet. Basically, the muscles that cross the heel are injured. Walking any distance or standing for a long time hurts. At night the muscle tightens, so walking first thing in the morning is agony. The cats have learned to stay clear because I tend to stagger. I thought it was getting better because I wasn't having the morning pain and it only bothered me if I overdid the walking, but it's come back full force.

My doctor's advice was to stay off my feet. Not really an option. I tried the night splint but found it too uncomfortable to sleep in. Different shoe inserts, heel pads; don't help. What does seem to make a difference: stretching frequently, never going barefoot and foot rubs. I hope that weight loss will be my most effective long term tool. I've also accepted that spending the extra money on quality shoes is worth it to avoid some of the pain so I ordered a new pair for work.

That's pretty much it for what's on my mind tonight. I will try to get back to posting regularly.

Glgh

Uhhh, I always feel weird when I'm so tired that I fall asleep early (7:30) and wake up at bedtime.

You are getting sleeeeeeeepy....

And it's all gone....brown

My world has been painted over in all the varying shades of brown lately. From the deep, rich black-brown of disced fields to the palest beiges of ripened corn stalks, brown is the predominant color. Although I miss the vibrant greens of spring and summer, I'm grateful we haven't swung straight into glaring whites. The sad part is that we seem to have skipped right over the wondrous array of fall foliage. Somehow, the trees went from green to dead brown or bare branches without the normal displays of golds, oranges, yellows, and reds.