My second trombone gone to auction

I knew what was happening, but it was still a shock to see my personal items on an auction site so we could move. I need to remind myself they are just things. It wasn't even my original trombone--that had been sold in 1967 when we moved from Champaign to Columbus. I think Bob surprised me with this one on my 50th birthday, which means I had it a lot longer than the one I played in high school band. Some lucky kid will get to use it for learning and practice before she moves up to a good one. I did try it a few years ago at in a summer class at Lakeside. I couldn't even play Twinkle twinkle little star, as I recall. Collecting My Thoughts: Trombone review I rechecked my blog and see that in January 2019 I made a New Year's resolution to play it and then crossed it off the list.

More from the archives--love stories

 I used to write short, short love stories about people in the coffee shop. Reread a few today.  It was fun.  I stopped going out for coffee in 2015.  Saved a lot of money.

Collecting My Thoughts: Love stories from my coffee blog

I never intended to be a writer, but have been doing it since I was a child. In college I "majored" in other things, although nothing that pays well, like library science. In a blog in 2008 I was writing about two of my favorite topics--food and money.

"In the early 1980s I was writing about food budgets, coupons, sweepstakes, and other ways to play with your food, just as I do today in my blog, but using an electric typewriter, a bottle of white-out, research in the OSU Agriculture Library, and a photocopy machine to issue my own newsletter, "No Free Lunch." I was interviewed on a local TV talk show, spoke to women's book clubs, a faculty lunch group at OSU, and I was featured in the local suburban newspaper. However, because my theme was in some ways anti-business and chiding the consumer for poor planning, I was not in great demand as a speaker or writer. You can't tell business that their methods are suspect and consumers that they are not behaving rationally and expect to be popular!

I was just as opinionated then as a liberal Democrat as I am today as a conservative Republican. I wrote a lot about how government and food conglomerates worked together to confuse or hurt the consumer and put the local food companies at a disadvantage (and I hadn't heard of a Wal-Mart). I was really hard on "food writers" in the magazines who always encouraged coupons and prepared foods. Actually, I still feel that way, but now wonder why Democrats continue to lull voters into thinking even more government control of their lives and wallets is beneficial. And I see how increased regulation of business hurts the little guy, and especially the poor."

Based on Biden's fuel policies, we'll probably be lucky to have food on the shelves to buy, but if you're concerned about inflation, you can still save a bundle by contributing your own labor, just as I wrote in 1981. These days, you'd also save a lot by discontinuing take-outs or eating out with your family. Even for us as a couple eliminating our Friday night date as we did during the Covid lockdowns saved us about $200 a month.

 
That said, if I thought my kids needed baked snacks (they were deprived and got raw sliced veggies and fruits) that weren't full of chemicals, sugar and salt, I'd keep an eye on this lady. Food Babe. She's very pretty and Hawaiian.  Homemade Goldfish Crackers With Organic Ingredients (foodbabe.com)  She must be OK because there are other web sites set up to attack her.