Enough With the Rain!

It continued to rain on Sunday. Ted was texting all morning trying to get a consensus from his buddies on whether it would stop at some time so they could shoot.  He finally left and they did get in half a round.  I just putzed around and made beef stew in my Instant Pot in 47 minutes start to finish when he came home.  And that was using raw beef and fresh vegetables.  Delicious!

Monday was more rain and I did my minimalist Christmas decorating.  I put our manger on the sideboard, a centerpiece and place mats/napkins on the table and my Texas Christmas tree on the counter.  Friday I will take 5 minutes to do the front porch and door so the neighbors won't know Scrooge lives here!

I was tired of staying in with the cool weather and rain so I went to work at the thrift shop.  I had to try on several pairs of my navy pants before I found one that fit.  The Paralyzed Veterans collection bag continues to get refilled.  Three brand new pairs of Chico's khakis came in the store and that is another color I am allowed to work in, so I bought one of them.  I also bought a small Christmas arrangement for my sunflower table on the porch.  Grand total $12 for both.  I spent the whole shift putting clothes out on the floor.  

Initially the clothes are pulled from bags, looked over and kept or tossed.  Tossed ones are sold to recycle firms that do bundles to be shipped to third world countries or even sold for the fibers to be used in fine papers and probably lots of other things in between.  That's why you will see a child in a photo in Ethiopia wearing an Astros T shirt!  

Second inspection is done looking for tears, stains, dirt, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc.  Third inspection is one more look when the neck labels are given a colored plastic tag to help with moving inventory.  Once a month, everything with a colored tag from two months ago is put on the bag sale rack.  Fill a bag, pay one price.

Fourth inspection is right before they go on the floor.  Once they are OKd by store personnel they are moved to racks by type, sex, size, sleeve length, athletic wear, holiday wear, etc. and then by color.  That was my job Tuesday.  

Housewares is another area but there are other people that do that.  We do have a Forum member who comes in regularly and stages the store showcasing available merchandise.  Right now it is holiday wear and Christmas decorations.  This is my favorite place to work.  Second is the senior lunches at the Episcopalian church where I am as old as, or older, than the attendees.  Ted calls it "being on the right side of the bingo card."  I consider it a blessing to be able to serve these folks.  

I got my hair cut really short on Wednesday and didn't do much else.  I did make the cranberry jello salad to take to Irene's on Thursday.

Thanksgiving morning Ted and I peeled a bag of sweet potatoes and I made the sauce that goes in the baking dish with them.  I told Alexa to set an alarm so I wouldn't forget to put them in at the right time! We took our two dishes and a bottle of wine to Irene's where we had dinner with her son and his family and his mother-in-law, all in from Dallas.  The food was delicious and the company great.  

All but two of Irene's newly upholstered chairs had been delivered and her new rugs were down.  It looked amazing.  Her big tree in the foyer was all decorated in blue and silver and set off the new colors we had chosen.  We did good!