I watch WAY too much CSI...

OK, so yesterday morning I went out to my car to get in and go to work and this is what I found:

Notice anything missing??  During the night someone knocked off the driver side mirror.  All that was left was the base and 3 little wires sticking up!! 

The housing for the mirror was found about 30 feet from my Jeep and the mirror part was laying somewhere in between.  That meant that whoever did this was going at a pretty good clip down our little cul-de-sac.  I couldn't believe that they didn't knock on the door and say they had had an accident (ok maybe it was the middle of the night) or at least leave a note - they just hit my Jeep and took off!!! Morons!!  It particularly pissies me off because in October there had been an incident over our extra car.  (Refresh your memory by reading this post)  To please the neighbors I parked the extra car in the driveway and have been parking my Jeep in the street.  Now the neighbors who had complained about my car have a little truck parked on the street, it hasn't been moved in 2 weeks.  And my Jeep is the one that got hit.  But I just decided to cut my losses and call al local junk yard to see if I could get a mirror and have C put it on for me.

When I got home from work I was walking in the street where my mirror had been laying earlier.  I noticed a couple of pieces of white plastic and THIS little gem: 

Do you see what I see????  There is writing on that piece of mirror. That's not from my mirror. I took the little piece of glass in the house and showed it to C.  After thinking about it for a while I threw on my coat and told C I was going to take a little walk and see if any of our neighbors had a broken mirror. (He looked at me like I was crazy). At first I didn't see anything but then as I was heading back home - I saw a white Jeep sitting in a neighbor's driveway.  I walked up to it and noticed the passenger side mirror was broken.  I pulled out my little piece of glass and BINGO!?!?  It fit into their mirror like a puzzle piece!!! So I went up and knocked on the door. A lady answered the door and the following conversation took place:

Me:  Hi! I am LeeAnn I live down the street.  Is that white Jeep out there yours?

Lady: Yes,why?

Me (with just a tad bit of cockiness to my voice): Well your Jeep was involved in an accident last night. My driver side mirror was knocked completely off my Jeep. And your Jeep did it.

Lady:  Huh?? Well, my (moron) son drives it - let me get him.

Me:  Did you have an accident in that white Jeep last night?

Moron Son: No (did I really expect another answer)

Me:  Well you have a broken passenger side mirror.  It got broken when it hit  my mirror last night.

Moron Son: (as we were walking out to the white Jeep - him in his bare feet) Oh, that mirror has been like that for a long time. (he didn't know about the little jewel in my pocket)

Me: Oh really?  (taking the piece of glass out of my pocket and holding it up in place) Then, can you explain why this piece of mirror that fits in this spot on your mirror was laying in front of my house today???  

Oh, the look on that poor moron's face - you're BUSTED pal!!!!!

Moron Son:  Huh!  What do you know, it sure does.  My girl must have done  it and not told me - she was driving it.

Me:  Well, as I see it you owe me a mirror.

Moron Son:  I'll gladly pay for it. (Could that be because you don't want me to call the police? Can you spell "hit and run"?)  When you know how much just let me know. (I bet he thought I'd go away and forget about it)

Me:  Ok - I got one from the junk yard- it was $64.05. Would you like stop by my house and drop off a check  - I'll show you the bill.

Moron Son: No,that's OK.  I'll pay you now. 

He went back in the house and brought out $70 cash and gave it to me for my mirror. 

I was floored!  But I was also very, very proud of myself for finding that glass and being determined to go find who it belonged to!!! Sometimes I have a temper - but I was diplomatic and calm about it.  But then, I did have have the upper hand and I knew it, so there was no need for me to make a big scene. If the Moron Son wanted to take issue or debate it - all I needed to do was let the police sort it out.  I did a happy dance all the way down the street. C was shocked too when I went back in the house and laid the $70 down. I honestly can't believe it was that easy.  I knew watching all those police shows on TV would pay off sometime.  Just call me CSI LeeAnn.

And the Winner is......

I am so excited to have taken part in my first One World One Heart Blog Event!  The event attracted around 1100 bloggers from all over the world.  This was the 4th year for this event, and I think it is a popular one.  I hope so because I would love to participate in it again next year.  It was so much fun traveling around, visiting so many wonderful blogs and meeting so many wonderful people.  I'm worn out, but it was SO worth it!!  Thanks to Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian  for organizing this event.  It must be an undertaking of monumental proportions - but oh my! It was fantastic.

OK on to business at hand...  The winner of the spoon bracelet is.....Britt from Stitchety Grub.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thank you to everyone for visiting my blog, commenting (I had OVER 300), and entering my drawing.  Now it will be back to regular programming!!

Comfort Zones and A Love Story...

Heeeeeyyyyyyyy!  I saw that title on another blog!!!  Oh wait - I know...That's because I am guest-blogging  at my very good friend Julie's blog over at "47 and Starting Over" . Please click on the link back there or on her cute button to the right and read what I have to say over there.

Don't forget to register for the One World One Heart Event!  It ends February 15th.

One World One Heart Giveaway Blog Event!!!

I am so excited to participate in the One World One Heart Blog Event. I found out about it by wandering around another favorite blog the other day.  I'm just sorry that I didn't know about it sooner- I almost missed it.  Anyway -  it was started by A Whimisical Bohemian in 2007 (thanks Lisa for coordinating all of this!!).  For a full description of the event, you can check out her blog post by clicking the button to the right.  This event is intended to bring bloggers from all over the world together and make new friends.  But there is more.... each blogger that is participating in the blog hop is offering a giveaway of some kind.  Many of them are handmade (you know how much I love that!!) Hundreds (last count I had was 1025) of bloggers from all over the world are participating. So, hop on this magc carpet and go for a blog ride and who knows, you just may meet a new friend or two!

Now on to my giveaway!

I am going to giveaway a bracelet.  I made is bracelet from 2 vintage silver spoons. It has a heart charm with 3 Swaroski crystals and a toggle fastner.  I love old things and I think this bracelet is great and hope you do too!!

If you would like a chance to win the drawing for this bracelet please leave me a comment on THIS post along with your blog address (& email address) so I can visit you too and I know how to contact you to let you know you have won. 

If you become a follower of my blog - I will enter you twice!!

The event ends on February 15 and I will be drawing for the winner then.  If you enter that day, please make your comments by 6:00pm EST. I will announce a winner that evening!  GOOD LUCK!!!

So, come "travel" blogland with me as we take this magic carpet ride. Maybe we can make some new friends together!

Love of Old Things

I know I have mentioned before that I really love old things - I'm not talking about C (he's a bit younger than me anyway).  But I love antiques.  I think I got that from my grandma, she loved antiques and had a house full of them (many of which are now in *my* house).  One item that I have that I think is particularly interesting is my living room "end table".  When people visit I find them spending time looking at this table and its contents.

My "table" began its life as a trunk.  This trunk was part of the furniture that came with my stepfather when my mother married him - he had used it for years as a table (so unfortunately, I can't claim this idea).  I always marveled at it and thought it was so pretty.  After my stepfather passed away, I acquired the trunk (that was back into service as a trunk) and recommissioned it as a table.

It's just an old trunk with the tray in it - we haven't modified it or painted it.  The trunk is covered with leather and has the original leather straps on it.  It's a bit worn, but that adds to its charm.  The tray inside is made of fabric and after years of wear it has become flimsy.  So C reinforced it so it wouldn't break or rip when we put stuff on it.  We have a piece of safety glass cut to fit the opening and when placed on it - makes the table top.  It makes a WONDERFUL area to display things.  See, isn't that a really cool idea!?!

  

I have lots of things down inside it. The tray is wrapped with a quilt - you know how I love them!  But the quilt in the trunk is special - it was made by my great-great grandfather (yup, you read that right - grandFATHER).  We have lots of other special items in it - there's an old Bible that my mom got when she graduated from high school, 2 pairs of baby shoes - a bronzed pair that were my mom's and a pair that belonged to C's dad, we have a china-faced doll, my stepfather's Mickey Mouse watch, C's first eye glasses and case, some old keys, an old light bulb, an electric insulator, an old tape meaure and some old scissors, just to mention some things.

I really love this table, it has so much potential.  It can be changed to match the seasons, though I have not been so ambitious. I do put forth some effort during the holidays. At Christmas, we cover the quilt with that white cottony, sparkly stuff and place some antique Christmas items in it.

I just felt the need to share this with you.

You Should Visit

One of my favorite blogs is Geta's Quilting Studio

I found Geta when I was wanting to figure out how to do a kalidescope quilt. Her blog is loaded with tutorials, patterns and fun information about her passion - quilting.  She does amazing shadow trapunto work.  Geta is a very talented artist.

Each month Geta has a give away.  This month two lucky winners will each receive a copy of her "Pockets with Love Pattern"

You can find Geta here: 
http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-giveaway.html

Or just click the button to the right!

How Long is Long Enough???

I don't talk all that much anymore about the fact that I had an awful marriage.  Just when I start to feel better, sleep better at night and not look over my shoulder, something from the past comes back to irritate me. 

Most recently I got a call from the ex - he wanted to know about 'his stuff' that he left at the house.  Oh Crap! 

Here's a little background:  We were married for 10 years and finally decided to put the marriage out of its misery.  That was in November of '06.  I wound up having to give him a settlement.  He left with barely the clothes on his back, went on a New England "vacation", spent the settlement money and was back on my door step before the ink was dry on the divorce papers; broke and needing a place to stay.  I took him in and he stayed with me until March of '07.  This time he left and this was to be more permanent, as he went to a relative's - he took a lot of his possessions, then subsequently came back a few times to get more.  I had told him that as long as I was there, the big stuff he left was OK until he found a place he could put it.  Things didn't work out with the relative and he started bouncing around the US.  I e-mailed him a few times that year that he was going to need to consider getting his stuff, as I was cleaning out and thinking about moving.  In January '08 I decided I was going to move.  Since my house was for sale and I was actively looking for a new place - I emailed him and told him he was going to have to make arrangements for the stuff, as I was going to move.  I moved in May '08 - another email that I was moving and he REALLY needed to deal with the stuff.  In June '08 I had a taker for my old house, since I hadn't heard anything from the ex about his stuff I got rid of a lot of it and made a deal with the guy moving into my house to put the remainder of it in the coal room of the basement for a while.  I have had one or two phone conversations with the ex with very little discussion about his stuff. 

So last week I get a phone call from him - the sole purpose was to ask about his stuff and when he could get it.  I answered with "what stuff?" and he rattled off a list of things he had left behind.  It seems that in the ALMOST 3 YEARS since he left he was under the understanding that his stuff had been put in storage and was just waiting for him.  Who was going to pay for that all that time I wondered out loud?  Well, he assured me that he would have paid me for it.  Yeah I'm sure!

So at some point in the near future he is wanting to come get his stuff - though he is going to have to do it in more than one trip (just great!).  Now I am considering how the best way to handle the situation.  I know he was expecting me to not sell the house and have everthing just as he left it so when he made up his mind to come get it it would be right there OR neatly pack it up and store it away until he was good and ready to get it.  He hasn't  inquired about it in almost 3 years - how long was I obligated to keep it?  I haven't handled any of this matter as good as I should have, that I know. 

But I can't get out of my head - just how long is long enough to keep this crap?