...introducing

 Let me introduce you to...

 HONEY, The Headless, fat-bottomed Bunny!

One frigid morning, while doing a 'quik-dive' for packing supplies (bubble-wrap!!), I spotted this sweet clothed-styrofoam form amongst the plethora of packing foam...  

Okay, so her head was nowhere to be found, she still won my heart & willingly road shotgun, safely belted into the passenger seat of the Subaru for the rest of the morning's journey!!

I visited her 'Home', with hopes of discovering a bit of her ancestry...  Store Display?  Merch?  I met up with a few friends of hers, and one really SAD, Lonely Beau!

I've been searching out some suitable 'Donor-Heads' for HONEY...

 but just nothing has struck my Fancy or seems to live up to her affluent lineage!?!!

 ANY IDEAS???

enJOY

&

be well!

...when passions meet in April SUNSHINE

 This is what I'm talking about...

The sun has been shining in CNY, and the days are warming a bit.  EVERYONE wants to be outside!  Garage/Yard Sales are still sparse, I spend my 'down' time snooping through dumpsters and Gardening! 

 This past week I had a MAJOR 'Dive' SCORE of SIX (6!) pots of Easter Mini-Daffodils.  While they are past their 'BEST BY:' for this year, the bulbs planted in our garden will flourish in the future!!

Since I had been 'bit' by the Spring Gardening Bug, I gathered up a batch of seed packets (flower, herb & veggie!) that I had rescued from a discarded display last Fall (2020).  I am still trying to decide what to do with the stack of New Gathering Buckets I recently dove.  Tall, Skinny, WaterTight...  Any Ideas?? 

I then ventured to our basement & garage to gather an array of 'Potting Vessels', which will later be divested around our gardens!  While doing this I came across a 20# bag of potting soil that I had forgotten about (or should I say a Large grey tote, holding the contents of a 20# bag of potting soil)...  Isn't it silly that a Bag of Dirt 'has' to be tossed if it gets a little slit in the bag??! 

~FOUR pots of Canna Lily bulbs.  As a general rule, I plant NO bulbs that require attention EVERY change of season (gladiolus, dahlias, etc...)!  However, every rule has it's exceptions!  My Father had an affinity for Canna Lilies.  He left a LARGE legacy of Canna Lily bulbs!  Several members of our family are now trying to learn the art of growing these fickle plants.  We've potted them - it's up to you now Dad!

~ My 'growing plants from seeds' ability isn't exactly stellar, but in the Spring it always 'Sparks JOY' (lol!!).  So, amongst the pots are 'CILANTRO', 'BASIL', 'ROSEMARY', 'CHILI PEPPERS" and 'PANSIES"

~AND~

The Easter Daffodils are all tucked in their new homes, trying to give us a little love by opening a fresh new blossom or two before they call it quits for 2021!

enJOY

& 

be well!

... SO.MUCH.WASTE.

Monday, 3-22-21 ~ Picture Perfect Spring Day in Central NY!

Went out to do a few errands, and of course I HAD to take a peak to see what was in the local dumpsters...  After ONE (1!) dive, this is what the back of my car look like!!

Such waste.

Can you see the 'BEST BEFORE' dates?!!

2 boxes cereal

12 32oz bottles Tampico Juice

3 bags Animal Crackers

11 packages Oatmeal Cookies

14 pkgs Chocolate covered Grahams

23 boxes of Mini Muffin packets

17 boxes crackers

12 boxes Fruit Snacks

...and this is only what I rescued - there was MUCH MORE!!

All this, from 1 day, at 1 store, in one relatively small town, in New York State.  

I can't even begin to imagine how much USEFUL stuff, that could REALLY be helping people, is tossed across our Country - every day, week, YEAR!

 

Well, this is one diverted boxful, being packed and delivered to people who will appreciate.

baby steps... baby steps... baby steps...

enjoy

&

be well

...the JOY of a 'Mystery Goody Bag'

 

Setting: March, in Central NY State, a balmy 30°, no wind, and even a bit of that 'bright thing in the sky'...

It's Monday, no saleing in sight.

Ahhh, but PERFECT for Diving!

Lo and Behold, I even came home with TWO (2!) Mystery/Goody Bags/Boxes (from here on out refered to as 'MGB')!!

For those of you not 'up' on your Diving Lingo...

MGB (aka 'Blind', 'Mystery', 'Goody'). (N): a contained bag / box that is full of shelf pulls or product.  No debris or 'trash'.  Generally rescued by a diver intact, and the contents are not examined/sorted until a later time.

and what did my MGB contain, you ask?!

MGB box:

Valentine leftovers! 

 Including:

 (35) bags of lollipops

(10) heart-shaped boxes of chocolates

(9) bags of individually wrapped chocolates

(48+) boxes of valentines

...and more!

and the MGB bag:

Shelf pulls (at 'Sell By' date, or slightly damaged)! 

 Including:

 (5) bags pretzel sticks

(24) Cheesecake / dip mix boxes

(2) boxes ccrackers

canned olives, stew, spaghettios, a candle and a sealed spice with a cracked lid. 

That's all 'fine' you say, but what do I do with it??

First, I take what we can use,

Then I invite our sweet neighbors to go shopping!!

The remainder is then divided up between family , local soup kitchen, Church surplus food pantry, and a friend who makes gift baskets for nursing homes / shut-ins!  There are so many people out there that TRULY appreciate all this 'waste'.

...only a small amount diverted from the landfill, but this is where it begins - right?

enJOY!

& 

be well

...IRONIC (long lost lyric)

Ironic

Alanis Morissette

An old man turned 98
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down, he thought
"Well, isn't this nice?"
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
A little too ironic
And, yeah, I really do think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

And, yeah, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

EVERYONE remembers this 2005 classic - right??!

Well, this past week, while out Diving (DD, Dumpster!), I discovered the long lost lyric to this song!...

 "IT'S LIKE DIVING A CASE OFF 55 BAGS SIXLETS, WHEN YOU'VE GONE CARB-FREE"

enJOY

&

be well!

...LIFE IN A SNOW-GLOBE

This is what it looks like outside, today FEBRUARY 22, 2021, in The FingerLakes region of NY State..

...about 20°

which is NOT enough degrees (in my book) for much of anything,

NO GARDENING.

NO YARD SALES.

NO SHORTS & FLIP FLOPS.

(you get the idea!)

~BUT~

I really SHOULDN'T complain, because FEBRUARY 21,2021 looked like this...

PERFECT BLUE SKIES!

SUNSHINE!

NO WIND!

an AWESOME DAY, that we enjoyed by walking some waterfall trails!

We should have KNOWN there would be an EBOR!!

OH WELL, we must enjoy it when we can!!

When the weather allows, I have been out Diving for Treasures...

GOODIES for the local soup kitchen...

...and MORE Goodies for the local soup kitchen

scratch post for neighbor furballs...

Greeting Cards GALORE!

GOTTA stay hydrated in these cold months!

.... even some Goodies for the Grand(?)-fur babies (LOL)

enJOY
& 
be well!

 

...BLUE MONDAY?

Jumping on the Bandwagon with creations for the recent uprise in 'Aroma Therapy' jewelry

BLUE MONDAY.

'THEY' say it's a thing... I am going to choose to ignore the commercialized version of it, and rather focus on the 'other side':

"to inspire people to take action and make bold life decisions".

 (Click on the link and decide for yourself!)

My 'intentions' (much friendlier than 'RESOLUTIONS') for 2020 are along the same lines as they have been for the last decade or so...

~Be more present

~Create every day

~Purge. Purge. Purge.

~Learn something new every day

~...yada, yada, yada...

Easier said as 'enjoy Life'!

And how has this been working for me? (Why, Thank you for asking!)  ...

Sentimental costume jewelry added to a frame and mirror

~I have Really been enjoying participating in 'joint' creative endeavors.

FRIENDSHIP + GLUE GUN = WIN*WIN!

~EXPANDING upon my minimal crochet 'talents'... WRISTLETS for Everyone!

DD YARN DESTASH + LONG WINTER NIGHTS= WIN*WIN!

~I'm finding YouTube to be an explosion of inspiration! J and I love combing beaches for 'treasures', and now I have been inspired by a lovely vlogger on Prince Edward Island to create mosaics!   A recent DD mirror is revived into a SeaGlass Mosaic.
LANDFILL RESCUE + EXCUSE FOR HOARDING SEAGLASS = WIN*WIN!

How has the first month of 2020 been treating you?  

 I have been missing all of my peeps in Blogland - please say 'hi' in the comments!!
  Until next time....

BE WELL

and

en JOY!

...'G' is for GARBAGE and GUMDROP Trees

'ONE PERSONS "GARBAGE" IS ANOTHER PERSON'S TREASURE"... (or something like that!)

"G" Is for...

GARBAGE!

DISCLAIMER: Retail names have been edited to protect my sourcing!!

'DUMPSTER DIVING MERIT BADGE' by SPOOFBADGES

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/683632418415209160/

  Okay, dear svelteSTUFF readers (all two of you - LOL)... this may not be 'news' to you, but by putting it out into BlogLand- it's kind of like 'coming out of the closet'...  I have become an addicted Dumpster Diver! (MUCH to J's chagrin...)  Yes.  ANOTHER 'aquatic activity' joins my regiment- first 'saleing', now 'diving'.

  DON'T shudder and get skeeved out!  It's REALLY not like that!!  I don't 'NEED' to do this for financial reasons!  It all started 'harmless' enough - searching out economical (FREE!) packing supplies in clothing/homegoods retailers dumpsters (nothing spoiled or smelly in there!!).  I don't actually 'go in' the dumpsters!   At 6'-0", with my trusty 'grabber' in hand, I can pretty much reach anything of interest.  Yes. I do wear gloves.

Mug by REAL PEOPLE GOODS

https://www.etsy.com/listing/658996185/dumpster-diving-travel-mug-funny

  My eyes were soon opened to Just.How.MUCH. good~useable 'stuff' is sent to our landfills!  Quite sad actually.  I won't get my 'soapbox' out and start lecturing about Corporate America's Policies!  I am going to show you a few examples though...

  

**MY size - worn all winter and kept my feet warm and DRY!!

THANKS 'TreeLumber-Land'

USEABLE!

Quality, very slightly imperfect items.  Jeans, Clothings, Purses...  Yes, Retailers spend their time trying to prevent 're-use' by destroying discards (ie: Cutting to shreds or SHARPIE scribbles all over leather).  Wouldn't this time be better spent donating to a shelter or Not-For-Profit Organization??
Thanks to the wonder of the Web, I have learned that High SPF, aerosol sunscreen cleans leather Beautifully.

Neighbor's cat 'GUMBALL' snuggling in her 'new' bed!

FOUR-LEGGED PAMPERING!

~POUNDS and POUNDS of bags of dry food!

~CASES of canned food

~Pet Beds 

~TREATS, Greenies, Toys and MORE!!

  Local Animal Shelter, Friends and strays have all been reaping the benefits!  Only sealed food is taken.  Recalls were checked.  This 'waste' resulted in 'BestBy:' dates within the month, or a dent to one can in a case, or a 'mark' on the fabric.  Animals REALLY don't mind dented cans, and we even discovered our NE wild birds will eat 'Tropical Bird Seed' in the middle of Winter (LOL!).  Now, if only this Chain Store would stop 'slashing' bags to deter use, a LOT more animals could benefit...  Luckily they manage to miss some! 

Card Store rotating rack which held Last Season's "Very Best", but this chain care enough to send this 'outdated' display to the dumpster.

DISPLAYS!

~ HANGERS!!!

~CLOTHING RACKS of all shapes and styles!!

  You know what I'm talking about here - those Heavy-duty, commercial quality, wheeled and swivel Beauties that we all dream of and drool over...  Stores change layouts, replacements are made, the 'old' are discarded to the dumpster out back.

Extended life of rotating card rack, as a JEWELRY DISPLAY for TREMORS CREATIONS!

  We have actually acquired SO MANY of these that I have been passing them onto neighbors and friends!!

MANNEQUINS!

~ Need I say more?

just go to my post for 'D'.

UPDATES:

'Miss Crane' (R) now has a head, and is grooving into Summer with Sesame Shimmer (L)

~AND~

 Her twin 'Miss Tommi' has moved out of town and taken on a new identity as 'Lorraine', in charge of Marketing!

TREATS!

~ HOLIDAY CANDIES!

~CHIPS, COOKIES & CANDIES!

~HEALTH & BEAUTY AIDS!

  Before you go into the 'EEEWWW' mode, ALL items were CLEAN, DRY, Factory SEALED and in a clean, dry bag without 'garbage' items!  Directly pulled from shelves for coming close to 'BestBy:' date.

  Many, Many boxes of Cereal, Pasta, Crackers, Chips and candy have been donated to FREE Food Shelves at local thrifts.

*Of course the SUNSCREEN & STARBUCKS coffee are staying with us!!

THANKS Sea Vee Es!!

So, maybe I'm not making a huge dent in the big scheme of things, but Every little bit helps - right?  

...and the smiles that I have received from the beneficiaries of some of these 'treasures' is enough to fuel my passion!

Just in case 'GARBAGE PICKINGS' aren't a 'true' collection, I will recap one of our other 'G's"

"G" Is for...

GUMDROP TREES!

An 'oldie, but Goodie', that never gets 'OLD' in our house.  Check out past posts:
~https://ssveltestuff.blogspot.com/2014/02/they-are-magically-valentine.html
~https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2611406560113541885#editor/target=post;postID=4725827149284258834;onPublishedMenu=template;onClosedMenu=template;postNum=1;src=postname

BE WELL

and

en JOY!