Monday, January 30th, 2023 – Safeway
Today was cancelled. Okay, not the day, but our walk. The temperature dropped to 22°F (-5.6°C), too cold for us to walk. We still awoke at 5 AM. What a waste.
We took the time to get our finances in order. We put all the money we find in a Hofbräuhaus beer mug we call our tip jar. And yes, we also found the beer mug a few years back. We periodically count the money and report the findings. The last six months we found a total of $29.55.
Early on, we were erratic in our counting periods, but we finally got our act together and count about every six months.
We had to determine where we found our income to prove we are not money laundering. These IRS audits are grueling.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 – Park-and-Ride
This morning warmed to 29°F (-1.7°C), right at our walking temperature limit. The walk was mostly uncomfortable, and our hands were cold even with our heated gloves. We even got a slight bit of snow near the end of the walk.
We found no money and removed no roadkill. All in all, we should have slept in.
Even the tool we found was not much.
We think it is a small paint roller but be we can’t be sure, and we can’t count this as a tool. The TrashWalking judges would ask what it was, and we wouldn’t know for sure. That would damage our fine reputation. Like we had one.
A rare wheel cover.
Rare because it is not a Toyota like we usually find. We left it in sight in case the owner might see it.
We found an unsmoked cigar.
It’s a bit soggy, but it can be dried out. Who knows, it may be a Cuban and we know someone who would smoke it.
We did collect three items of clothing.
A headband on the freeway offramp, a single glove in the park-and-ride and another headband on the freeway overpass. So, both items are headbands? No adjectives to distinguish them? Okay, toss this in the mix. There is also a Headband Band. So, if they wore one of these, it would be a Headband Band headband and we still wouldn’t know what they had on their heads.
Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 – Safeway and 100th Ave NE
We got another 5°F (2.8°C) increase in temperature to 34°F (1°C). It was a little more comfortable and there was no precipitation.
Janet found the first money of the week.
A penny at a service station. Nice to know we will not be shut out this week.
And we also found another tool. No, this time it’s a real tool.
A Stanley utility knife in excellent condition, and there were extra blades inside, score! We can add this to our inventory of nine utility knives we’ve found, not including the countless others that were damaged and recycled.
A rich mole.
It owns its own island. Then again, the journey to the mainland is a bit hazardous and we didn’t see any heliports.
We picked up a soggy book.
“Let the Games Begin!” by Maya Ajmera. It has photos of kids playing sports around the world with the U.S. well represented. Included are these two.
Ice-Skating in Russia and Tennis in the Ukraine. So, how’s that working out for you two? We can see a way to settle this if you guys would only listen. Tennis on Ice.
We didn’t see any entries for Iran or Afghanistan, but we suspect the sport would be Public Executions. No women allowed.
Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 – 160th to 124th Street
The weather today was about the same as yesterday. No roadkill but we did find money.
Two dimes at the park-and-ride. Janet keeps piling up the coin finds whereas, Chuck has found zilch. Just wait, he is planning a last-minute underdog win.
Today is our day to clean up the road that parallels the freeway offramp and we found the largest tool we have ever picked up.
A powered Craftsman miter saw and, yes, it was with a helmet. We are all for safety in the workshop, but a helmet while cutting wood is a bit much. The saw was old and rusty and ended up in our recycle bin. The helmet looked to be in good condition. We’ll clean the sawdust out of it and send it to Goodwill.
Other than that, the road was fairly clean.
Well, except for the 14Hands wine bottles, but only four. A weak week wine’s worth.
We found a piece of tossed trash.
It’s an image from a software manual. Idiot. It said to import the trash, not export it.
Friday, February 3rd, 2023 – 100th Ave NE
The weather continued to warm up today. It was 37°F (2.8°C). We still wore our bulky heated gloves. We did find more money today.
Janet continued mining her secret spots and came away with seventy-two cents. Most of these coins look like they’ve been there a while. Janet has been using more sophisticated mining methods employing newer, specialized tools. Chuck is worried she will begin excavation operations soon.
The Mercedes that had its wheels stolen got tagged.
Then a note appeared on the dashboard. This is the type of drama we face every day at TrashWalking. We can’t wait for the next chapter. Will it get towed or get fixed?
Another male enhancement drink.
We have not seen this brand before, but this one is special. According to the FDA, some contain the active ingredient used in Viagra and some contain the active ingredient in Cialis. This one contains both. Another FDA endorsement.
It’s Friday, time to check out Chuck’s pocket.
Two pencils. There is a song with the line “two pencils from a pear tree” or something like that. We may be misremembering. And we don’t know what kind of wood the pencils are made of, but “two pencils from a cedar tree” doesn’t have the same tree-ring to it.
A ticket to the Cupid’s Shuffle dance at a local school. Admit one? Are you ready for this? Don’t they know it takes two to tango?
Part of a Costco credit card. The name is gone, but the lady must be a porno star. Just kidding, we put the black over the eyes to guard her identity. She is very photogenic. We bet even her driver’s license picture is good too.
Then there was a partial sticker in a strange alphabet. OTAO? Beats us.
Is Minnie Mouse playing coy for Mickey? Minnie was born in 1928. However, this article states, “Though they were never technically married, in 1933, Walt Disney released the statement that In private life, Mickey is married to Minnie.” Wow, that would make Minnie five years old when they married. More Disney dirt to sweep under the Magic Carpet Ride.
An unopened piece of Kapa Kym candy sold at Walmart as “Premium Ukrainian Assorted Candy.” However, the trademark for Kapa Kym is owned by an address in Moscow. It looks like Walmart is bypassing the sanctions on Russia.
The working voice box of a horn, but we don’t know what it was celebrating. A “Hello Winter” Scratch-and-Lose card. We will look for a Scratch-and-Lose “Good Riddance Winter” one. By the way, the card was a loser.
A flowery decoration that looked much more impressive in the dark, a leash for a very small dog and half of a kid’s two-way radio set. Call it a Walkie No Talkie.
Going back to the sticker, we flipped it around and it looks more familiar now.
Saturday, February 4th, 2023 – Riverside Drive
Today the temperature was a whopping 42°F (5.6°C) and we didn’t need to use our heated gloves. We didn’t find any more money and removed two roadkill opossums from the road. This is only the second time we’ve removed two opossums on the same day. Technically, we found three one time, but it was a mother and two babies, so we didn’t count that as three.
We did find a tool.
Another used, dull Sawzall blade. Recycled.
An abandoned bicycle across from the apartments on Woodinville Drive, near the large motorhome.
This might be the bike that the motorhome had stored under it, so we left it alone. We know from experience that the guy in the motorhome is paranoid about people stealing his stuff. Besides, it’s a Centurion Sport DLX that, according to this site, makes the bike forty year old and we already have a couple of bikes nearly that old.
Do you notice any difference between these bottles?
Yes, we know they are different sizes, but check the label. One is labeled “CINNAMON” and the other “CINNAMON WHISKY.” The one on the left is nonalcoholic but looks just like the alcoholic one. “I dunno, Zeke. You’d think after eight bottles we’d feel some kind of buzz.”
We found some yoga instructions.
It’s called Yoga Nidra and you basically lie on your back and relax your body. Heck, we’ve been practicing Yoga Nidra for years.
Another urine bottle?
That’s debatable. It’s an unopened bottle of Gatorade.
Three LifeStyles banana-flavored condom wrappers.
These were still attached to each other but opened and empty. They’re pretty cheap at twenty-two bucks for a hundred at Walmart. Maybe the guy is eating them.
With that thought, we wrap up another walking week. Our highlights and lowlights this week,
- 93 Cents, the most in a single week since last August.
- 16 Mike’s Hard Lemonade cans.
- 4 14Hands wine bottles.
- 2 Opossums.
- 3 Tools, one electrically operated.
- 3 Condom wrappers, banana flavored.
- 1 Mole, rich.
- 1 Ball.
- 1 Dance ticket for one.
- 1 Piece of candy, sanctioned.
- 1 Fireball bottle, fake.
Have a great week and remember, don’t eat condoms unless you are trafficking drugs.
Trash Walking 