Gifts

[brighty18]

Charles and Leah come home tomorrow (or the next day), so we need to get the house back into shape. We've been using it as a staging area for sorting/culling/packing, but now need it to be spotless. It feels like all we've been doing is working. Meh!

However, last night we took a break and went to Cleveland to see friends. It was good to get out and

Comments

[ladibug21]

Ritz, crackers and carrots sounds like a fine snack to me!

[brighty18]

Oh, me, too, but I've been eating that since early childhood. LOL.

[aries11]

Cleveland gets kind of a bad rap sometimes, but it has its good parts. The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is pretty cool, as it Jacobs Field. My mom and I took a few trips up to Cleveland before I moved to Chicago.

[brighty18]

Oh, I like Cleveland. It was fun living there. But things DO close early on Sundays.

[woldy]

Yeah, I really like the idea of gift & exchange cultures, and it works particularly well for people with low incomes. I've been a few great clothing swaps, some organised by friends & some by community organisations, and I wish they happened more often. There are also events for swapping bikes, outdoor gear etc, although usually you still have to buy the stuff, just for a lot less than normal, plus a donation goes to an organization.

Time banks sound like fantastic idea, & I seem to remember reading an article about how they turned out to build great social networks for older people who might otherwise be pretty isolated. It's sad that we've ended up with cultures that value officially measured economic growth above everything else.

[brighty18]

It's sad that we've ended up with cultures that value officially measured economic growth above everything else.

How true! I am a big fan of bartering and being creative with what we have. In fact, I'd like to work on the Time Bank idea in Taos. It's the sort of community that might really go for that.

Swapping bikes, clothes, and outdoor gear is a great idea. I mean, gawd knows people constantly replace stuff and have old things sitting around. For example, I really want snow shoes and am willing to bet that tons of people around here have them sitting unused in their garages.

[woldy]

Do you use Freecycle? That could be a great way to get hold of some snowshoes.

[brighty18]

Good idea! We're going to be getting rid of a bunch of stuff on Freecycle, actually, so I should check!