Clutter and Strife

The end of the school year is never an easy time in the blacko household. It's not the fact that both the youngo's are now off school or that it's hot enough to melt your eyeballs. No, the problem is, that come the end of the year, many of the diplomatic families that we share a school with, go back home or out into the diaspora on a new mission. This means they have goodies to get rid of. Now we all know blackwifeo cannot pass up a bargain. So I was not altogether surprised when she told me that Mary had "a few" items we needed. I was surprised when I walked into the house a few days back to see the triangular table pictured above placed in our kitchen. Now my life is a constant battle against clutter. I fight day by day to try keep passageways clear and doorways unblocked. I took one look at that table and burst into tears. The years of carefree cooking, with uninterrupted access to the bowls and dishes had come to an end. I pleaded "please, please", I begged, "I'll even put a TV in the bedroom. Just get rid of that dreadful table". No way. It's here to stay. How have we lived without it.

Talking about TVs. We also acquired a new TV from Mary. Not bad considering we don't watch TV at all. I was first told not to worry as it's a small, teensy-weensy little TV. No problem. I wouldn't have to move it or anything. Blackwifeo and son set out last Thursday for the pick up, and came back with a car filled with 250 cowboy hats, a dreadful triangular kitchen table, two Medusa like lamps (the third is broken and can only be used for parts), 50 Southern Living Magazines (we were from Texas you know), various receptacles and bowls, and a lot of board games (we much prefer board games to computers???). But, no TV. I gingerly asked of it's whereabouts, and I was duly informed that it was too big and heavy for them to carry. Oh, and I was to go pick it up on the weekend. So Saturday rolled around. Not miserable enough over our unsuccessful archaeological trip, I was forced to go out in the midday sun and get the TV. The thing is enormous and heavy. It not enough we have the largest TV known to man in our living room (it's a whole 'nother story, not even the thieves wanted it), we now have it's just sightly smaller brother. Ram, Mary's husband, and I struggled to carry it up from the basement and into the car. It's huge and did I mention heavy. I plan on leaving it in the car and inviting the neighbors to bring some lawn chairs and take in an ol' Steve Reeves movie, but I suspect I'll come home soon and find it in my bedroom. Serves me right for dissing the triangular table.