Going, going ......Gone

We made our first pass at some items that will be up for grabs at our Moving Sale next Saturday.

And some outside items.

Packing Up, Moving On; Remembering the Past--The First Box

Cindy's Finally Home....

For just over a week, and then she's off to Atlanta to start yet another movie shooting in Georgia. This time Skye and I are going to join her. We've had more than our share of separation over the last few years.

Packing and Purging

Over the years we've acquired a lot of stuff and since we don't know where we're going to end up when or for how long we are getting rid of a lot of the aforementioned stuff. Of course, we're not getting rid of everything. What to keep gets pretty tricky. For instance what makes a keepsake, a keeper? Or memorabilia, memorable enough to hang on to?

The First Box

For no other reason than it was the first bit of stuff that could grouped together, this little hodge-podge of knickknacks has the title of First Box Packed.



There's a little or sometimes not so little story behind each of these, obviously too many and too much to go into but...



I coached a few of Skye's organized sports teams.

The Medals

Packing up the medals were more about having empty space in a box that needed to be filled and they fit.

I can't believe how long I've been running in races, pretty weird for a non-runner.




Most races don't give out finishing medals, they hand out T-shirts and other swag. Only two of the medals are for actually "placing" in an event.





Nike sponsored events tend to give out medals




All of the stair climbing events have handed out medals. My favorite medal to date is the one for the Sears Tower climb, purely based on aesthetic reasons.




The LA Marathon--The simple star dates back to 1991, my first and I thought last marathon, this year I'll be running my 7th LA Marathon, 20 years later. If you think I miscounted because there are only 5 medals, I didn't. One went missing but that's a story I've promised not to go public.

Box number 1, many more to go...

Don't worry I won't go in this detail for the rest of them. You know how the first one/time always is special....

Every Shot Glass Tells a Story-- Who was the OG?

Every Shot Glass Tells a Story 2-- Who was the OG?

OG as in Original Glass

I decided to host a second ESGTS the night Cindy returned from Atlanta. If no one else showed we would at least have a nice meal for the 3 of us.

As it turned out this time around it did become a party with new friends and old and family to boot. Our nephew, or to Skye, cousin Adam showed up which was a wonderful surprise. Unfortunately as typical I wasn't taking pictures at the party. But I have pics of the aftermath which are almost as good. OK not really but its all I got.



We ate and drank well. Mussels over an open fire and lots of goodies from the farmers market.



The place was still a construction zone as you can see if you look at the background.



It was a great bit of fun.

So which shot glass is the OG? And by shot glass at this point we mean themed-shot.

The contenders

This is one my oldest and bestest friends gave me after he came back from a trip in Hawaii. It is one of the first and could be OG but I think not.



This one Cindy gave me on one of our first trips to Cleavland to meet her family. Again I don't think this was the one, definitely a OG but not the OG.



I picked this one up on one of my many road trips across the country. At the time it was too kitsch to believe and I didn't think I would be in Iowa again or at least not any time to soon. Keep in mind I was in a truck stop in the middle of nowhere and had probably been driving for many hours on not too much sleep. It's purchase made sense at the time.

From these lowly beginnings started a shot glass collection that continues to grow.

January Re-Cap

January in February

I started blogging when I was traveling about and wanted for family and friends to have an idea where I was in the very literal sense. It has evolved to be a way for me to recall where I've and what I've been up to both literally and figuratively.

With the arrival of Facebook, I've realized I post more and blog less. So here it is at the tail end of February and I was trying to figure out what was going on. The little notebook that I carry around was of little help, my memory even less helpful.

So I end up checking out old Facebook posts to figure out what my life was like in January. There were still glaring gaps and when I look at the posts, it makes a goodly amount of sense:

Cindy back to Atlanta--Jan 2

Hermosa Beach Farmers Market Jan 4

Jan 5--Jon Danniells Jujitsu training, run by Home Depot to return some stuff and rent a jackhammer to demo kitchen floor, demo floor, call for a dumpster, return jackhammer, get ready for tonight's "Every Shotglass Tells a Story" maybe need to make more Red Bull...

Jon Danniells

off to the SM Farmer's Market, then to drop off some red wigglers at a garden workshop, back home to finish jack-hammering(hopefully), major clean-up, start cooking and prepping for "Every Shot-glass tells a Story-pt.2), photo and organize stuff for the Craig's list, Ebay, LETS barter-network, Freecycle phase of downsizing. Some friends will be helping(right guys) Cindy home. Party, relax, tell stories

January 8 at 7:02am · Friends Only · ·

Jon Danniells

Is on his way to Power Plant's first 6 am Kick, Fly, Breath class

January 11

Jon Danniells

after twisting my ankle during the Spartan Race around a month ago, I was well on the road to recovery until last week when I accidentally smashed it against a stone bench, felt like I'd been hit by a ball-peen hammer. Now am quite concerned about upcoming Super Sparta(Feb 26th) and LA Marathon(March 20). Going to move into aggressive rehab and post-haste.

January 18

Jon Danniells

house officially on the market, floors just about done(thanks Corey and support crew, Cindy/Skye), tons of work to be done but the light at the end of the tunnel is bright and really close, can almost touch it. Times are a changin'....The road beckons.

January 23

Jon Danniells

Is about to attend an Environmental Safety class, can barely contain my excitement

January 28

Jon Danniells

Is hanging out at the Crenshaw Farmer's market, enjoying a Cajun link, the localest of my local farmers markets.

January 29

Jon Danniells

Just dropped off a bunch of stuff at the DWP S.A.F.E. Center, now off to the farmers market.

January 30

Jon Danniells

just finished an 8-mile trail run, slow but the ankle survived.

January 31


I realize it's a bit chopped up and well, you get the picture. I could not remember when exactly Cindy was home. I knew she got in on the 8th but couldn't recall when she headed up to San Francisco.

So I called here to clear up the matter. After 30 minutes of conferencing we realized that she had flown up to San Francisco on the 19th and was back a couple of days later for the weekend and then back the following weekend.

January was mostly about getting the house ready to try to sell. And me trying to get in shape to survive some crazy race I signed up for.


I will try to comment, clarify and decipher what some of that all means, but first I need to write about what happened in February before I forget.

Farmers Market

Farmers Market Series--Manhattan Beach

Nice Sign

It was a small quiet market.



Pretty idyllic, not the strollers in the foreground, there were more prepared food vendors than farmers and more children than prepared food vendors.



I was surprised at how much they were charging, but more surprised by how crowded the train was.



Choo-choo



They had nice informative cards, could to love that.

Overall not too many farmer stalls, got some nice sausage and links but....

More Stuff to Get Rid Of

So much to blog so little time and so I have for you the most banal and boring, stuff we are parting with

Contact me and get a better deal before it goes on Ebay or Craig's list or where ever...




We've got three of these. Very heavy and good quality bases





7 ft. x 7 ft.

I loved these rugs, because they are thick and heavy, very good quality, so tempting to keep them, but....




10 ft. 8 in. x 7 ft. 8 in.

We've had these for over fifteen years and they look just about the same as the day we bought them.