Working title: "Our Garage," or "Another World"

Hey Bill, this one's for you: Do you remember this character? It's some kind of groovy bird puppet, and I think it was yours. Didn't you add ears to make it a wolf? I think it was for an Abraxas puppet show in Spanish class...Poor guy's beak is shredded. I showed it to Max and he callously said, "You are going to throw that away, right?" It takes tremendous resolve and a tender heart to preserve as much as I do.

Geoff brought down the Little Tykes rocking horse from the rafters in the garage. Okay, this one doesn't go back as far as the "Freak Beak," but it's still sentimental. I bought the blue horse from a great resale shop in Richfield, Minnesota. $11. It's lasted for 12 year, or more since it was second hand. Now it's wiped down and clean, and Max and Alex have been riders in the rodeo, racing jockeys.

They insisted I try too. "Come on! It's fun, " they begged.

What else have we got...Geoff's beer can collection, gathered from the finest establishments west of the Great Lakes, three sets of Smash Ball racquets, 4 jump ropes, a vial of green beach sand from Hawaii, three mouse pads, a sled, one cracked maraca, a bag of yellow tent stakes, my 45's, including The Car's "Shake it Up" and Los Tigres del Norte's "Un Dia a la Vez." We also came across Janice's cooler from the day she came with a carrot cake. I guess she left it behind, and once it made its way to the garage there was no telling when it would reappear. We are still finding things of Grandma and Grandpa's. Geoff sampled a bottle of merlot we found in a dark corner. When he asked what I thought of it I gracelessly spit my sip back in to the glass. Nasty. Or maybe "really good" and I just don't know any better.

We aren't ready for final inspection. We won't be giving tours any time soon, but we are beginning to see a difference, and the floor. Geoff brought home a shop vac; that's guy talk for a "honkin' big Hoover." Last night I pulled weeds and dead flowers, while Geoff assembled the new vacuum, and we agreed that we are on the right track. We got rid of fabric and light bulbs, hinges, wire, books, papers, kitchen ware, and clothes...and on and on. We kept the blue rocking horse. We're keeping the kids and the chickens, and our resolve to "use or lose it."