VHS Tapes!

I had already been trying to winnow down our collection of VHS tapes before my mother-in-law passed away in 2013. After a session of helping his dad clean out their house, Louie came home with four BOXES of VHS tapes! I was pretty stressed about it. He let me throw away some of the older taped-off-televsion tapes we had. The rest of those boxes sat for a long time.

In August 2020, I determined to tackle the videotape issue. I laid them all out on the pool table. We had 170 VHS tapes on August 4th. I waited until Louie was in a receptive mood to go through them. One at a time, I held them up and asked if he wanted to keep it. The rest went into a donation pile or one of the categories listed below. On August 12th, we had 85 tapes left. Here are some that I donated (I didn't orient the photos properly for reading titles - sorry!):

Now, I love October Sky, Braveheart, and others, but we can always borrow the DVDs from the public library if we want to watch them again! If he was willing to let it go, I had to be okay with it, too! I was so glad to learn that Goodwill takes these tapes. Dumping them in the garbage would have bummed me out a bit. But I wasn't interested in trying to sell them myself!

We ended up with 33 that he wanted to keep and ten that I decided to keep. That left me with 42 to deal with. Slowly over the fall, I would see what was on a tape and then either toss it or put it in the "to digitize" pile. By October 24th, I had the 43 "keepers" in a bin and 28 "TBD." 

My categories were "Save," "Louie decide," "Jeanne decide," "Watch & decide," and "Digitize." I did throw some tapes into the garbage . . . as much as I dislike landfills, they are a fact of our lives. Within the digitize category, I sorted them by high, medium, and low priority.

Louie's mom loved musicals (me, too!) so we watched "Carousel," which I had never seen before. (It was horrid!) Then we watched "State Fair," which wasn't much better. (I had seen a stage version once, but never the movie.) These are the four we have left to watch and then I'm confident my husband will let me donate them as well:

 

Last week, he set up a computer for me to digitize the VHS tapes that I want to keep. I did one from when Pepper was a puppy and Nick's twelfth birthday party with all his buddies over. There's one with Morgan as a baby and a few of Alex's birthday parties. I'm eager to make progress on this project! I may or may not have a follow-up blog entry, but it feels good to have gotten this far!

Christian Movies

 Louie and I started watching Breakthrough a few weeks ago, but the first thirty minutes are kind of painful. I just wasn't in the mood for it. But since I'd had it from the library for several renewals and knew it was based on a true story, I finished watching it myself. 

Simply amazing. I love the story. I'm curious now to read the book which Joyce Smith wrote after her son went through the ice and wasn't expected to survive. Our God is awesome!

Back of DVD blurb: "When Joyce Smith's (Chrissy Metz) adopted son John (Marcel Ruiz) falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost as John lies lifeless. In the face of every bleak medical case history and dire scientific prediction, Joyce's unwavering belief inspires her community to pray for John's recovery. Based on the incredible true story, Breakthrough is an enthralling reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle."

Those first thirty minutes though . . . ouch. She's being horrible to the new pastor. The angry adoptee lashes out. It made me think of watching Fireproof with friends after it had been highly recommended. The first chunk of the movie was husband and wife fighting. Loudly. Not an awesome cinematic experience.

Watching this made me curious to know more about the real people. I'm especially curious about the one rescue diver who heard a voice telling him to go back. Did he become a believer? I may need to get the book to read more! Or spend more time here.

Goofy Alarm Clocks

I don't know why I find things like this so amusing! These alarm clocks are ones I was tempted to buy the boys many, many years ago. I didn't, but hung on to these ads for some strange reason. I kind of wish I had just purchased them as a silly novelty; I think they would have enjoyed using them as tweens or teens. Perhaps in a decade, I can get something like this for Joshua . . . or myself!

Buildings and Ideas

Louie and I enjoy watching two Saturday morning shows on PBS: Woodsmith Shop and American Woodshop. We drink coffee, watch, and talk about projects. (One of the things I'm anticipating in Louie's retirement is him being able to make some of the things he's talked about making!)

One episode of American Woodshop had them making a barn workshop. I *love* that episode! The directions are theoretically online on their Facebook page, but I haven't taken the time to locate them.

I've been having fun working on plans for a garage at the lake. It's easily two years out (financially), so I'm just enjoying myself by thinking of possibilities. I'm not very good at construction "stuff," so I've been asking for input from others (Mike LaMoore, Nick, . . . )

Nick recommended a Netflix show called Grand Designs. For some reason, Netflix only has seasons 10 and 15 . . . We watched episode one together and I watched episode 2. Interesting stuff! We definitely aren't working with the kind of budgets those people are!

Last time we were at the lake, Louie was cutting some boards. The smell made me think of my dad's woodworking days and it made me happy / sad. Nostalgic, for sure.

I love seeing what Louie (and other woodworkers) create!

My Salvation Story!

I don't know why I've been putting this off . . . because it is extremely important for me. I guess I've been worried that my words / experience won't be compelling enough. God is good! His grace and mercy cover my weakness. He is more than enough!

Before I experienced a personal relationship with Jesus, I  was lost in selfishness, self-pity, and self-indulgence. I was trying to BE someone worthwhile on my own strength and not succeeding. I never felt good about myself or content with my life.

In high school, a lot of my friends talked about life as a question of biology and chemistry - you live, you die, you rot. I remember thinking, "That can't be all there is. There has to be more. Why do we dream, imagine, seek? There has to be more."

Coming to know Jesus as my savior has satisfied that desire for more. I experienced good preaching, praise and worship, Christ-centered fellowship, and the presence of God.

I finally let go of my own control and unforgiveness and accepted the gift of salvation.

It was not a single sudden moment as much as a process of questioning, seeking, and learning. I did go to a retreat where I realized that even though I don't and can't deserve God's love and forgiveness, God Loves Me! The God who created the universe loves me. Amazing!

With Jesus, I'm now saved and filled. I still struggle with life's challenges, but I am confident that God is with me always.

When I think about life after death, I am so glad to anticipate living for eternity instead of just for this short time on earth.

The more time I spend with the Lord in prayer and reading the Bible, the more my calm and peace grow. Even though I don't always show the fruits of the Spirit in my life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), I know that God is still working on me and I am glad that He is!

I welcome comments, questions, or observations. I am striving to obey God's direction for my life. I want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. You can have life and have it abundantly!

Vacation 1997 - South Dakota

More decluttering. I can't believe I saved these! We had such an amazing trip, but I have photographs and my journal. This was the first time Louie and I took a TWO week vacation. We had all three boys plus Jude Hines. Nick brought his "white kitty" Beanie Baby. We joked that by the end of the trip, it was a grey kitty. Good times, good memories. These are just a few of the places we went to - not sure why I don't have brochures for Mount Rushmore, the weird "magnetic" house on a slant, the hydropower plant, etc.

We especially enjoyed the cave tours - very cool! And seeing Devil's Tower. We watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind at night in a nearby campground. What a good time!

(Added 7.17.2020)
I put the brochures in the bathroom to read before recycling. It's been fun! The science geek in me loves reading about the caves, the trees, etc. On the map of Wind Cave National Park I had written "north of Custer-Needles Hwy (87) - Sylvan Lake!" So of course I had to look up Sylvan Lake online. I really should check my journal - I probably wrote about why I enjoyed it so much. Here's the link to the lake which upon reading, perhaps I was excited that it is part of the National Treasure 2 movie . . . I really liked those movies.  

Awards I Used to Care About

I don't mean the blog post title in a depressive manner. Not at all! When a box of random stuff came out of our garage rafters and I saw that it was full of my awards from high school, I laughed. I thought I had already gotten rid of these! Back in my teen years, these were very, very important to me. Now they're irrelevant in my life. I took photographs and am blogging them because that's part of what I do to declutter my life - keep a digital "copy" and get rid of the originals.

One favorite memory of these awards is from thinking of my mom. When Louie and I decided to buy a house in Jordan, my mom was so mad at me that she boxed up all my awards (the only thing I had left at her house besides my wedding dress). It's not terribly logical, but that's what she did. (Both my sisters had a LOT more of their old possessions still at the Aldrich house . . . )

 Top left - I added this to the pile. I got it in District 112 within the last decade, but don't want to keep it.

McDonalds - hard to believe I got these for being a good crew member! The 1980s were different.

Kennedy H.S. - not sure what these were about, but I pried off the metal and plan to sand and re-use the wood forms for other projects.

Voice of Democracy - I competed each year that I knew about the contest and got some bling from the VFW. One year, I won first prize and some money!

Various Speech and Theatre trophies - these were the ones I really cared about as a teenager. The time I spent rehearsing, performing, and competing . . . rivaled time I spent on school work!

Now I'm just ready for them to go away. I hope someone can re-purpose them. I hate sending junk to the landfill if I can avoid it.