3.28.2012

"Death and Life," by Gustav Klimt


This piece was mentioned in the Peter Saul TEDx Newy talk I referenced in the last post. I haven't looked at it in years but I see much more now that I've been at the deathbed:


3.12.2012

Schedule A: The Anal Retentive Widow

Look what I found while hunting for this year's tax information.... Notes from the anal-retentive widow, who used to do her taxes herself. Wait, I'm talking about myself in the third person again... which, I suppose, is only appropriate? It sure feels that someone else prepared this spreadsheet....was I this organized once? On the other hand, this remained buried the past five plus years. (On the other other hand, that's what we DO with yesteryear's tax schedules, isn't it?)

Whew. Don't ever tell me that I underthink anything.

Category Type Description Condition Value Quan Ext. Action
clothing pants linen or linen-blend v. good $6 4 $24 Value Village, July 2006
clothing pants lightweight, dress good $8 2 $16 Value Village, July 2006
clothing pants lightweight, casual good $6 9 $54 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirts dress, l.s. good $6 7 $42 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirts dress, l.s. okay $4 5 $20 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirts casual, s.s. good $5 5 $25 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirts linen or linen-blend v. good $6 5 $30 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes brown leather good $5 2 $10 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes athletic good $5 2 $10 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes sandal good $5 1 $5 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes white canvas okay $3 1 $3 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes black plastic sandals okay $3 1 $2 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes black leather velcro okay $3 2 $6 Value Village, July 2006
clothing coat khaki windbreakers v. good $10 2 $20 Value Village, July 2006
clothing coat black wool almost new $4 3 $40 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirt black hoodie good $5 1 $15 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shirt sleeveless gray hoodie almost new $5 1 $5 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes black high boots good $15 1 $15 Value Village, July 2006
clothing shoes brown ankle shoes ll bean good $20 1 $20 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing shoes painty black shoes bad
2
tossed
clothing jacket wool tweed blazer v. good $18 3 $36 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. wool hats good $5 8 $10 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. wool scarves good $5 2 $15 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. warm cotton socks good $1 2 $8 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. wool socks good $2 1 $4 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. sets thermal underwear good $10 1 $20 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing pants ll bean flannel lined chinos v. good $12 1 $12 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. set high tech thermals okay $5 1 $5 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing shirt flannel shirts v. good $7 4 $28 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing pants wool dress pants v. good $10 3 $30 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. red wool skirt (Supa's) excellent $10 1 $10 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. gray synthetic tunic excellent $10 1 $10 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing shirt lt blue velour shirt (Supa's) excellent $5 1 $5 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing pants green khaki pants excellent $3 2 $6 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing shoes ll bean loafers okay $5 1 $5 Value Village, Aug. 2006
clothing misc. leather belts okay $3 5 $15 Value Village, Aug. 2006
Total 40



$445

So there is your answer to what I did all those lonely nights... a piece of my bureaucratic trash, and one even ABOUT what I threw away... Somehow I have a feeling this will resonate with some others, too, as one of my most popular posts (which I also thought was a throwaway) did.

It does make it easier, as housekeeping guru Don Aslett says, sometimes, to write it down before you say goodbye. I'm a born pack rat: this stuff is hard work. I read his books, including Clutter's Last Stand, multiple times to gain the strength (and techniques) to get rid of hundreds of pounds of stuff, and I'm still awful. (I'm fine, of course, with other people's stuff... which you might THINK this was... but no.)

The feelings I must have had as I put these items down in rows and columns... so much of that is left now as I review this. I am surprised to see that I really did give away so much of his clothing within a month or two (he died 6/2). The spreadsheet makes it seem "verified."

The brief descriptions are so evocative... some of the items reappear in my mind as I skim the list. I remember in vivid color, for example, the day we bought the "gray sleeveless hoodie" at H&M after a long search (it was from the women's department). Others are like-Gavin by their non-specificity: 9 pairs of "lightweight, casual" pants. I always teased him about his affection for his khakis, he was a little obsessed with finding ones made of really thin, sharp cloth. One year I'm sure I gave him a pair of chinos for Valentine's Day. What a picture of the two of us that tells, eh?

I'm shocked I had the pride to itemize socks at $1 a pair and at the same time, the disregard to throw away precious "painting shoes." I can still see their shape in a white plastic trash bag, like everything that leaves the house. Well, nearly everything.

This stuff talks. It really does.

And I only have about 40 boxes (and 200+ drawings) left...

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