A Few of my Favorite Things

My New Year's resolution is to go through my house and pick out some nice things to give to charity. I've started thinking about what I might be able to give to Goodwill, and as I was wandering around the house, I realized how lucky I am to have so much nice stuff. So many people have given me things they didn't need anymore, and I'm really grateful to them. A lot of my favorite things were something someone else no longer needed. I hope the items I give to Goodwill are great shopping finds for others.

Martha Stewart always writes about her favorite things in her "Is Martha Stewart Living" magazine. I find a bit of hubris in this practice, but I'm going to go ahead and adopt it just for the sake of this blog entry. So here are a few of my favorite things . . .

• Ricoh Copier
  A local church gave it to me because they received a nice new copier and this one was broken. The door on the side of the copier was missing a magnet to hold it shut, and for some reason, this caused a paper jam every time a user attempted to make a copy. I fixed the door. Now I'm using the copier for various volunteer activities and making copies of my newspaper column for my grandma.
  
  
• Zenith Console TV
  I found it by the side of the road, with a free sign and the original instruction booklet taped to it. I painted it black to match my pleather couch. I like watching the channel 9 news with Jeff Passolt on my awesome TV.
  
  
• Toshiba Laptop
  My friend gave it to me in exchange for helping her fix a newer computer that was broken. I use the laptop (also known as the Pillowtop) for writing my column for the Farmington Independent.
  
  
• Palm Pilot IIIc
  Another nice gift from someone who thought my paper planner that I bought on clearance on K-Mart was pitiful. One of my co-workers saw my Palm Pilot and decided it was such an unusual antique that he took a digital picture of it for his website.
  
  
• Really Big Monitor
  I won a really big monitor when my employer raffled off their old equipment to employees. Since I like the Pillowtop better than the desktop, I passed the really big monitor along to the nice couple who bought my desktop computer. They were great. They even took the old computer desk off of my hands. Now I use an ergonomically adjustable tray table for the laptop. The tray table was featured in my column today in the Farmington Independent.
  
  
• Honeywell Thermostat
  This electronic thermostat is the Cadillac of thermostats. I won it from Dakota Electric when I entered a contest at the Dakota County Fair.
  
  
• Pocket PC
  I won it from Microsoft at a Microsoft Project seminar. Since I already had my paper planner from K-Mart, I sold the Pocket PC to my dad. He uses it to play Bejeweled and read e-books while my mom is shopping at the fabric store.
  
  
• Beige Sectional Couch
  A wonderful gift from a pal who couldn't fit the huge sectional couch and an upright piano in her living room at the same time. The piano won out and the couch came to live with me for a couple of years. Eventually I found a black pleather couch at the Goodwill with two matching chairs for $75. I passed the sectional along to a really nice lawyer who works for almost nothing representing battered women in her county. County employees rule!
  
  
• '86 Dodge Omni
  This was actually not quite free. I paid $50 for my Omni. It was a great car. I fixed the leaking roof and painted it black, with white pinstriping and scroll work. Wow, was it beautiful. My grandma was really impressed with my paint job. A really nice computer scientist sold me this car. What a lesson in frugality! Here is a guy who has a great job, and he buys a car brand-new for cash, then drives it for 200,000 miles and still gets $50 for it.
  
  
• Weber Grill
  I found it next to the neighbor's trash when I was out for a walk. I wheeled it home several blocks. I like the Weber's round shape. It grills veggie burgers evenly.
  
  
• 1983 Sears "Portable" Television
  I found this electronic artifact on the curb during last spring's Farmington Clean-Up Day. This little TV scrubbed up nicely and gives my kitchen retro touch.