23 Things I’ve Left Behind
Welcome to my random musings about the world, on a weekly-to-occasional basis.
Where we are: We dropped off our second visitor at the airport today, and have just a handful of days left in Austria. We have a few more mountains to climb.
23 Things I’ve Left Behind
Our apartment in Austria doesn’t have a microwave. It has most everything else—toaster, electric kettle, drip coffee maker, pots and pans, and so on. What it didn’t have when we arrived was a normal oatmeal-for-breakfast sized bowl.
I solved that problem. Hopefully the next guest will enjoy their oatmeal in this pretty blue and white bowl. I know I have been.
Our apartment in Tokyo, on the other hand, had a microwave. It also had a toaster and an electric kettle, but nothing else. As in, no kitchen. We had a sort of side table with a couple of drawers, enough tableware for two people (including a great oatmeal bowl), and … that was the kitchen. I ate oatmeal for breakfast, drank many cups of tea, then washed my dishes in the tiny bathroom sink, and left them to air dry on a rack over the washing machine. I didn’t buy anything to improve that ‘kitchen,’ because it had everything I needed.
In the last eight years, I have bought and left behind/donated/abandoned many items. The following is a (probably incomplete) list I composed a few days ago, while I was slogging up the steep hill to our current apartment.
Yoga mats
Jigsaw puzzles
Mugs
Bowls
Blankets
Fans
Vegetable peelers
Bread knives
Paring knives
Teaspoons (nowadays I keep one in my suitcase)
Pitchers
Washcloths
Hair dryers
Electric kettles
Toasters
Vases
Pool noodles
Swim goggles
Kitchen towels
Ice cube trays
Scissors
Pillows
Diffuser with essential oil
I don’t mind buying these things—while I don’t have terribly complicated daily needs, I sort of rely on being able to make breakfast, eat some fruit, and generally be comfortable. Besides, it’s an excuse to suss out the local shops.
But by the same token, I don’t mind leaving them behind. It’s the nature of this lifestyle—sometimes you just really need a bowl.
From my writer’s notebook:
A senior curator at the British Museum has been accused of stealing more than 1500 items from the museum, over a period of years. Apparently he has been selling the items on eBay, often for a pittance. One example I read said an item that sold for $50 was probably worth closer to $65,000.
To be clear, this is NOT what one should do when one needs a bowl, no matter how badly one needs it.
Take care,
Lisa
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