Okay, this is a tough one.

I’ve had this shirt for about 6 or 7 years, but it still fits and is oh so soft.  I don’t think it cost me more than $10, but man, have I worn every penny of it.

I used to wear this as my favorite shirt when watching Jets away games on TV.  That was before I became a bigger dork and started wearing my (Hall of Fame running back) Curtis Martin jersey.

I’ve worn this shirt at the beach, on hikes, at concerts… I’ve slept in it, driven hundreds of miles in it, painted in it, played music in it…..  It’s not quite a second skin, but it makes me smile to see it in my drawer.  Probably not the same smile Linus gets from his blanket, but in the ballpark.

But it’s time to start saying goodbye to the sentimental “things” little by little.

Adios old pal.

On May 16th Deana found a dog tick on Anabelle’s head.  This was the second tick in two weeks, the first being a deer tick I found on her neck on May 3rd.  I know ticks are par for the course in the Hudson Valley, but both incidents were unnerving and definitely challenged my sense of safety and comfort.  I removed each tick (calmly and skillfully), despite Anabelle’s anxiety and fear.  She was so brave.  My anger with the first tick led me to destroy it by fire.  With this dog tick, I felt it better to hold on to it in case Anabelle got sick.  This way we could send it off for testing in hopes of diagnosing whatever she had.   If you enlarge the photo you can see a little brown spot in the jar.  That’s the tick.

This little bastard survived almost 2 months in this jar living off of air and a little bit of water.  It died a couple of days ago (at least I think it’s dead).  Anabelle hasn’t shown any symptoms so far, so I think we’re in the clear (at least I hope).

So it’s time to get rid of this dog tick, but I have plans for it beyond just tossing the jar in the trash. More to come on that….

For those of you unfamiliar with old technology, this is a Palm Treo.  They were useful back in 2005.  The SD card…64MB.  Sigh….

On this morning’s #6amhike I had a great conversation with my friend Scott Tillitt about this project.  It got me thinking again about why I’m doing this, and what it means.  Am I just throwing away junk?  Is the project connected to Buddhism?  Why the purge?  All good questions.  I’m still not certain of all the answers, but I can say that this project really makes me think.  And it holds me accountable to something I started.  I have a duty to continue.  I’m grateful for the letting go.  I feel lighter already.

Now, I still have over 300 things to go, so I anticipate some really challenging moments ahead.  I’m excited.  And nervous.

Glad to have you along for the journey.

Nothing quite like a comfortable pair of pants, especially ones to sleep in.  However, these are ages old and have done their time.  I don’t see much need for these for the next few months, so okay, out they go.

Man, I used to really love Esquivel.  But these days I’d rather fill my space age pop craving with Stereolab.  I’ve had really great times listening to this album, especially with a cocktail in hand.  And I really dig the cover art.  However, this will become digital and then out it goes.

P.S.- Happy 5th Birthday Noa!