A few weeks ago I was jostled to attention as I thought I heard the name of our apartment complex on the news. Too bad I'd missed the actual story.
The internet came to the rescue to help me verify that yes, indeed, our complex was in the news. And not exactly for a good thing.
Turns out someone was murdered in our complex back in 2002. The current buzz is because the woman's family is suing the complex with accusations of an unsafe environment in the complex making the murder possible.
Now, I admit, I don't know any more about the murder or the case than is in the news. But I read about some of the claims, and I know exactly what they're talking about--the poorly lit parking lots and courtyards; the dense shrubbery that obscures views and acts as a potential predator hiding place; the less than fabulous window locks. Yep, that's our complex.
I'm more glad than ever that we live on the second floor. I'm glad I've got Marty. And Razor (OK, I know she's not big, but she is a good alarm). I lock the door more regularly. I guess seeing our complex in the news is just a little close to home.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
My Multi-purpose Room
One of my projects for about the past six months has been to reclaim our second bedroom. Especially after we brought our stuff home from storage in Arizona that bedroom became our generic place to put stuff. And more stuff. And anything else we didn't want to deal with right away. It didn't help that I came home from Mom and Dad's at Christmas with 2 boxes of memorabilia from high school.
As I worked on going through things I assured Marty that it would get better some day. I don't think he believed me. Slow and steady I threw things away, put things in notebooks or totes, and found homes for all (or at least most) of the stuff. One Saturday a couple weeks ago I called Marty in to see. The floor was cleared enough to vaccuum. That was a huge step, but I still wasn't done.
Early last week I decided that I wanted a craft table in this room--for the crafty things I've been doing (I'll talk about them in a later post). Craigslist helped me out there. I found a free office desk. The guy I talked to warned me that it was heavy. He told me 250 pounds. I passed that information on to my work crew--Marty and our home teacher. No problem! Can't be worse than the sleeper-sofa that they moved up here back in September. If the guy had estimated the weight correctly. But the time they got to the apartment, they had already recruited more help to get it up the stairs and into our apartment. And then I was told not to call them when we move. Or that the desk would just stay put when we move. The final estimate was that the desk weighed more like 350 pounds. Amazingly, I actually had cleared up the space in this room to fit the 3 ft. by 6 ft. desk.
I really, really, really appreciate the hard labor that Marty and associates put into getting the desk in here, becuase I love it. All my sewing stuff and yarn and fabrics fit nicely in the drawers. It's big enough to have the sewing machine, an ironing station, a cd player, a lamp, and a tv on it all at once without feeling overly crowded.
Our second beroom with all the stuff in it is now our multi-purpose room. It still has our camping stuff (with sleeping bags hanging on the wall), our bicycles, a couch, our bookshelf with books, and extra bedding. It's functional now--multi-functional even. So much better than just overflow storage.
As I worked on going through things I assured Marty that it would get better some day. I don't think he believed me. Slow and steady I threw things away, put things in notebooks or totes, and found homes for all (or at least most) of the stuff. One Saturday a couple weeks ago I called Marty in to see. The floor was cleared enough to vaccuum. That was a huge step, but I still wasn't done.
Early last week I decided that I wanted a craft table in this room--for the crafty things I've been doing (I'll talk about them in a later post). Craigslist helped me out there. I found a free office desk. The guy I talked to warned me that it was heavy. He told me 250 pounds. I passed that information on to my work crew--Marty and our home teacher. No problem! Can't be worse than the sleeper-sofa that they moved up here back in September. If the guy had estimated the weight correctly. But the time they got to the apartment, they had already recruited more help to get it up the stairs and into our apartment. And then I was told not to call them when we move. Or that the desk would just stay put when we move. The final estimate was that the desk weighed more like 350 pounds. Amazingly, I actually had cleared up the space in this room to fit the 3 ft. by 6 ft. desk.
I really, really, really appreciate the hard labor that Marty and associates put into getting the desk in here, becuase I love it. All my sewing stuff and yarn and fabrics fit nicely in the drawers. It's big enough to have the sewing machine, an ironing station, a cd player, a lamp, and a tv on it all at once without feeling overly crowded.
Our second beroom with all the stuff in it is now our multi-purpose room. It still has our camping stuff (with sleeping bags hanging on the wall), our bicycles, a couch, our bookshelf with books, and extra bedding. It's functional now--multi-functional even. So much better than just overflow storage.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Thrift Store musings
I'm not sure what it is about thrift stores, but I have a strange atrraction to them. There's just something about the unique, and cheap things they have--especially the clothes--that makes thrift store shopping so satisfying.
Some favorite shops:
The City Rescue Mission in New Castle. I don't think I ever went there and left empty handed. That was where I got leather pants, tons of sweaters, and my cute. sparkly, light blue dress and jacket. Great stuff! And the prices were great--especially since we always seemed to go on 1/2 off days. Plus, there was that time when we were there at closing time, but didn't realize they were closing, and we had so much stuff, and the employees really just wanted to go and not debate what was 1/2 off and what wasn't, so after ringing up a bunch of stuff, they finally looked at the rest of the stack and gave it all to us for free.
DI in Provo/Orem. Green turtle sandbox. 'Nuf said.
Salvation Army in Rochester. Who would have thought I'd find a leather coat that matched those leather pants perfectly? And yet I did--for only $7. Score! Also, a great place to find Wranglers, cowboy boots, and Western top for a night out at the cowboy tavern.
Wise Owl thrift shop in Rochester. I didn't frequent this store too often, but when I walked to and from the lab, it was on my way. When I saw the lime green suit in the window, I knew I needed it. But that first day it was still too expensive for what I'd decided was an acceptable price. I waited it out and got it a few weeks later 1/2 off. I still have that suit, and I still love it.
The various thrift stores in Iowa City, and that one in Waterloo (pronounced with emphasis on the "loo"). I like these stores mostly for the fun memories of making them part of our excursions when I was visited Boss, and co.
What I don't like about thrift stores is when they try to come off as "upscale", but really all that seems to mean is that they have the same quality stuff with better organization so they charge more money. I laughed when I saw a pair of jeans at one such thrift store on sale for $5. Now, maybe that doesn't sound like all that much, but what was so funny is that I had purchased an identical (same brand, color, size, style) pair at Wal-Mart months earlier for $1. Yep, four quarters, new.
I ike the Goodwill stores around here generally because the prices are quite reasonable. $3.39 per pair of adult jeans. $4.59 for jackets. $2.59 for shirts. $3.39 for shoes. And then there's the bags and coats. I admit, I have absolutely no need for more tote bags or coats, but I can't resist. I love them. Must look. Just. in. case. Unlike other items, totes and coats are "individually priced." On my way home one night this week I stopped at a Goodwill. I found a great suede coat. It fit perfectly. I wanted it. But I couldn't see a price tag on it. I took a moment and decided it was worth $10 to me. Maybe, maybe $15. I asked one lady, she classified it as a jacket and told me $4.59. But the lady at checkout found a price--$30. ! I bid goodbye to that coat. I've had the same thing happen with tote bags at that store. Everything else is so cheap, why do they do that to me when it comes to coats and tote bags? Oh well, I didn't really need that coat.
Some favorite shops:
The City Rescue Mission in New Castle. I don't think I ever went there and left empty handed. That was where I got leather pants, tons of sweaters, and my cute. sparkly, light blue dress and jacket. Great stuff! And the prices were great--especially since we always seemed to go on 1/2 off days. Plus, there was that time when we were there at closing time, but didn't realize they were closing, and we had so much stuff, and the employees really just wanted to go and not debate what was 1/2 off and what wasn't, so after ringing up a bunch of stuff, they finally looked at the rest of the stack and gave it all to us for free.
DI in Provo/Orem. Green turtle sandbox. 'Nuf said.
Salvation Army in Rochester. Who would have thought I'd find a leather coat that matched those leather pants perfectly? And yet I did--for only $7. Score! Also, a great place to find Wranglers, cowboy boots, and Western top for a night out at the cowboy tavern.
Wise Owl thrift shop in Rochester. I didn't frequent this store too often, but when I walked to and from the lab, it was on my way. When I saw the lime green suit in the window, I knew I needed it. But that first day it was still too expensive for what I'd decided was an acceptable price. I waited it out and got it a few weeks later 1/2 off. I still have that suit, and I still love it.
The various thrift stores in Iowa City, and that one in Waterloo (pronounced with emphasis on the "loo"). I like these stores mostly for the fun memories of making them part of our excursions when I was visited Boss, and co.
What I don't like about thrift stores is when they try to come off as "upscale", but really all that seems to mean is that they have the same quality stuff with better organization so they charge more money. I laughed when I saw a pair of jeans at one such thrift store on sale for $5. Now, maybe that doesn't sound like all that much, but what was so funny is that I had purchased an identical (same brand, color, size, style) pair at Wal-Mart months earlier for $1. Yep, four quarters, new.
I ike the Goodwill stores around here generally because the prices are quite reasonable. $3.39 per pair of adult jeans. $4.59 for jackets. $2.59 for shirts. $3.39 for shoes. And then there's the bags and coats. I admit, I have absolutely no need for more tote bags or coats, but I can't resist. I love them. Must look. Just. in. case. Unlike other items, totes and coats are "individually priced." On my way home one night this week I stopped at a Goodwill. I found a great suede coat. It fit perfectly. I wanted it. But I couldn't see a price tag on it. I took a moment and decided it was worth $10 to me. Maybe, maybe $15. I asked one lady, she classified it as a jacket and told me $4.59. But the lady at checkout found a price--$30. ! I bid goodbye to that coat. I've had the same thing happen with tote bags at that store. Everything else is so cheap, why do they do that to me when it comes to coats and tote bags? Oh well, I didn't really need that coat.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
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