My Husband, The Packrat

Is anyone else's husband out there a total and complete packrat? And does it drive you as crazy as it does me?

Today, my husband decided to clean out the garage. This is a job that he could do over and over again, continuously because of all the SHIT he has and continues to accumulate. My new dilemma: With our neighbors moving out, he is "raiding" their houses for anything he feels may be of use to him. Now by useful, I'm talking about (for example) a picture of an old southern house in Charleston (a place he has never been) that will not go on any wall in my house because it isn't a nice picture and so will either stay where he has currently placed it (behind the desk in the garage) or on the wall in the garage with all the other crap he has hung up there.

Now, you may be asking yourself: "Muir, why don't you go out there and help him so some of this stuff can get thrown away?" A good idea except that the last time I did this, we got into a huge fight because he wouldn't let me throw anything away. Not even my own stuff that I NEVER USE (roller blades that are no good to him - books that I don't want and will never read and he will never read). Also, by throwing stuff away, we donate much of this crap. Now, what right does he have to tell me what I can and can't throw away? None, idealistically. Realistically, it is easier for me to walk away and ditch some of this crap on the sly. Now, you may say to yourself, "Muir, doesn't Jim read this?" Not usually but even if he does, once the shit is in the shit pile, what's he going to do?

I'm getting more and more annoyed by his craziness so I best stop thinking about it before I go off the deep end.

By the way, I just "harvested" some of my first green beans of the summer and Jim and I will be eating them tonight. I can't wait.

Dinner: Grilled chicken (with a rub made of cayenne, paprika, brown sugar, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper), broccoli salad and green beans with bread. Delicious.

Later.