# Very small things that you are still very proud of doing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480 "2006-02-28T17:47:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/1 "2006-02-28T17:47:25Z")
[I’m a packrat. I keep lots and lots of stuff](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7143423&postcount=25). I’m not a hoarder, but it is hard for me to get rid of things. This is particularly true if these things are still useful, even if they aren’t useful to me. So you can imagine my joy when I learned that there is a small “freecycle” area in the basement of my apartment complex. Mostly it’s clothing, shoes and books, but there are also mugs, random dishes, etc. I’ve put things down there a couple of times, and I’m glad to have them gone. However, in the past, I’ve always returned from the freecycle area with things in my hands. Granted, it has always been fewer items than I took down there, but there’s always something irresistable. Adding to the problem is that the “irresistable” thing is often something lovely, but that I won’t use more than once annually, if that. The suede jacket I came back with comes to mind. This weekend I went down there with 4 shirts, one rain coat and two decorative towels, and came back with 2 skirts and a thermal bag. I was very pleased with myself for trying on the skirts right away, determining they didn’t fit, and so asking my husband to run them back downstairs for me. I even added a sweater I haven’t worn in ages because I hate it to the pile. Then I used the bag the next day, and have specific plans to use it once a week. So, I was proud of myself for being on the right track. However, today was it. See, my husband forgot to take the skirts and sweater downstairs. So when I came across them today, I marched them down there. I even added that suede coat that I realized I’d never wear. And I walked away with empty hands! I didn’t take a single article of clothing, or a single new book. The next step is to learn to not even look through the clothes or books. That might take awhile. Still, I’m very proud of myself. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/2 "2006-02-28T18:17:49Z")
My apartment backs onto a lot with some nice tall trees that are really pretty in the warm months. My patio looks out onto this area. When I moved in, the patio was nothing more than a concrete slab with an ugly iron balustrade around it. I added a couple chairs, wound a long fake ivy vine around the balustrade, put a fake ficus tree in one corner, and put out a small table with a couple bird feeders on top. I also set out a couple garden boxes in which I’ve planted daisies, lupines, forget-me-nots (and some other flowers I’ve forgotten…heh) In the summer I tie a bamboo torch in one corner. The once-ugly patio is now regularly visited by birds and squirrels (Including one fat, beat-up looking squirrel with tufty little ears that I’ve named Hairy-Eared-Bastard…he just comes to slump across the railing…I have no idea why). In the summer we have bats, and it’s great to sit out on the patio with a cuppa joe, bamboo torch lit, and watch the bat show. 🙂 It ain’t much, but I’m proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/3 "2006-02-28T18:22:06Z")
That sounds really pretty, **Amazon Floozy Goddess**. I’m really looking forward to the day when I have any sort of personal outdoor space. I did have some ginger growing inside, and hopefully still do, but one of our cats did some fairly serious damage to the main stem yesterday, so I’ll have to hope the tiny stem can make up for it. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/4 "2006-02-28T18:53:10Z")
I recently made my first-ever batch of homemade mac and cheese. I grew up detesting the stuff, probably because I never tried any that didn’t come out of a box. Not only did I make it for my husband (who loves it), I made it _really well_, so that even I have become a fan. It was not a big deal recipe, very easy actually, so I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. Yum. No recipe exists that you can’t improve with sharp white Vermont cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/5 "2006-02-28T23:30:43Z")
I made an excellent loaf of bread Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/6 "2006-02-28T23:42:01Z")
This one hotty with a really sexy tight little body. 🆒 What?.. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/7 "2006-02-28T23:46:57Z")
Argh! You! It’s all your fault. You made me fall in love with those shoes I could never afford! Also, I’m proud of the fact that I just managed to roast a chicken without setting off the smoke alarm, steam some asparagus to perfection and make the best mashed potatoes ever. Thanks **twickster** for the chicken advice! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/8 "2006-03-01T00:01:02Z")
To me it wasn’t small at all. It took me almost 3 years. When we moved into our house, the back yard was like Sleeping Beauty’s castle. There were blackberry brambles 30 feet tall, extending from the chainlink fence on three sides 10 feet into the yard. The first summer I put on my leather gloves and got out my shears, bought some paper yard bags and started cutting. My husband laughed at me. he kept saying he would put some killing chemical on them “pretty soon.” But, I thought, so what? they’d still be there, just dead. So, every change I got, I was out filling a garbage can or a lawn bag with briers. Hubby hardly noticed. He’d see me dragging a bag to the curb on trash day, and say something like. You’ll never really make a dent, I’ll spray them…" Well, one summer passed, then another. Finally, one day, my bags were 3/4 full, and I looked around, and…Dunt da da daaa the blackberries were _all gone_! I’d done it! I’d reclaimed our castle. Last week I overheard hubby describing the yard in the beginning. He was saying, “Yeah, The blackberries were as high as that tree, but, I sprayed 'em, and now look.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/9 "2006-03-01T00:06:45Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > To me it wasn’t small at all. It took me almost 3 years. > When we moved into our house, the back yard was like Sleeping Beauty’s castle. There were blackberry brambles 30 feet tall, extending from the chainlink fence on three sides 10 feet into the yard. > The first summer I put on my leather gloves and got out my shears, bought some paper yard bags and started cutting. > My husband laughed at me. he kept saying he would put some killing chemical on them “pretty soon.” But, I thought, so what? they’d still be there, just dead. > So, every change I got, I was out filling a garbage can or a lawn bag with briers. > Hubby hardly noticed. He’d see me dragging a bag to the curb on trash day, and say something like. You’ll never really make a dent, I’ll spray them…" > Well, one summer passed, then another. Finally, one day, my bags were 3/4 full, and I looked around, and…Dunt da da daaa the blackberries were _all gone_! I’d done it! I’d reclaimed our castle. > Last week I overheard hubby describing the yard in the beginning. He was saying, “Yeah, The blackberries were as high as that tree, but, I sprayed 'em, and now look.” > :rolleyes: Bwa-hahaha, that sound just like something my husband would do and say. That being said, good for you **picunurse** , those damn blackberry brambles are a pain. Back when we had our first house, we had two patios on the back of the house. Between them was a tiny patch of grass that just looked stupid. So, I tore out all the sod, amended the soil, pulled out the overgrown lilac bush, and planted all kinds of pretty flowers and stuff in there. It looked really nice. I felt really good about doing that all on my own. In addition, I tore out all the sod in anothe area of my yard, amended the soil and planted a vegetable garden. Neither are huge accomplishments, but I did them on my own. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/10 "2006-03-01T00:38:05Z")
Wow, **picunurse** , that doesn’t at all sound small. Congratulations. **Taters** has achieved my next hope. I really want a small vegetable garden. Probably sometime next year. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/11 "2006-03-01T02:55:51Z")
> [@BlueKangaroo](#): > > I really want a small vegetable garden. Probably sometime next year. **Next** year for a garden? What happened to this year? (And “you’re welcome” on the chicken – glad it turned out.) ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/12 "2006-03-01T03:00:17Z")
I hung all the pictures in my apartment all by myself! I used a level to make them all…well, level, and a tape measure to make them evenly spaced. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/13 "2006-03-01T03:02:44Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **Next** year for a garden? What happened to this year? Stupid friend got a stupid girlfriend that lives a stupid 2h away from his stupid self. And he, for some stupid reason, wants to spend a stupid lot of time with her. Stupid-head. I’ll be doing indoors-y things, and I’ve asked my engineer FiL if there’s an inexpensive way to make [one of these](http://www.burpee.com/jump.jsp?itemID=3301&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C1711%2C11&KickerID=634&KICKER). He basically said yes, but not so inexpensive as to justify the probable distraction from my degree. So he thinks I should buy one, or at least look in to it. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/14 "2006-03-01T03:06:07Z")
I just created a website and it is mostly filled with small things I am proud of doing. [Things I have Built](https://home.comcast.net/~jrfranchi/new_page_3.htm) I couldn’t resist, sorry. Jim ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/15 "2006-03-01T03:12:21Z")
Wow. I’m glad you didn’t resist. That cat puzzle is beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/16 "2006-03-01T03:35:26Z")
I adopted a rescued kitty (6 years ago August) I am the webmeister for [my chorus](http://www.twincounty.org) I loaned money to a friend in need and have not asked for it back (but friend is paying me back in small increments) ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/17 "2006-03-01T03:49:26Z")
Years ago I taught preschool… Kid started to cough at lunch, put his hands to his 4 year old neck and just kept coughing. Every adult in the room was hovering and one woman desperately wanted to Hemlich him. I had to keep her off him almost physically. His coughs were strong and effective—he coughed up half a penutbutter on white. If a choking person is coughing, let them cough it up. When you hear that high-pitched whine or they turn blue, then risk breaking ribs, not before. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/18 "2006-03-01T03:52:56Z")
> [@Cyn](#): > > Years ago I taught preschool… > Kid started to cough at lunch, put his hands to his 4 year old neck and just kept coughing. Every adult in the room was hovering and one woman desperately wanted to Hemlich him. I had to keep her off him almost physically. His coughs were strong and effective—he coughed up half a penutbutter on white. > If a choking person is coughing, let them cough it up. When you hear that high-pitched whine or they turn blue, then risk breaking ribs, not before. That does not sound like a very small thing to me. It sounds like a pretty big thing. Very Cool. Jim ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/19 "2006-03-01T04:00:02Z")
I completely agree. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480/20 "2006-03-01T04:07:50Z")
**Cyn** , you’re a hero. I can still remember the flush of pride I felt–all day long–when one of my stories was published in the newspaper. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-small-things-that-you-are-still-very-proud-of-doing/346480.md?page=2)