We stumbled upon a full-blown medieval dining set on the sidewalk—six regal chairs, a table fit for a king, and a sign that simply said “FREE (but there’s no free lunch, is there?).” Not a bad deal, but we’ll negotiate.
Then, a few blocks later, a chair with a carpet artistically draped over it. Okay, we’ll take the rug, but the chair doesn’t match. It’ll just need to sit this one out.
We are halfway through the year, and it’s time to count the pop tabs we collected.
We don’t really count them, we weigh them. The total weight was 20.09 ounces, or about 2100 pop tabs based on the weight.
Checking out the updated poptab page, we have collected over 31,000 pop tabs, meaning that many cans we’ve removed the pop tab from. So, we have indirectly donated $11.77 to charity. Now, if we saved the cans and travelled to a state like California that has a ten-cent redemption, we could make about three thousand dollars, but we could also land in jail. We’ll stick to pop tabs.
We found another Toyota wheel cover.
We keep finding wheel covers that are scraped up and broken, which we put in a recycling bin. It was really tempting because there was a bin right across the street, but this cover was in excellent condition, so we left it by the fence. Next week, when we come by here again, we will either walk it across to recycle or pick up crushed pieces from the middle of the street.
A needle.
Early in our walks, we used to find a lot of needles, but with the introduction of fentanyl, the needles have become sparse. We usually have a bottle of some sort to stash the needle in until we get home and place it into our official QFC sharps container. We purchased the container from QFC because they will take the full one back for disposal. Of course, that means we will need to buy a replacement for another thirty bucks. So it sounds like we are paying them thirty dollars for a free service.
Well, now, furnishing our bachelor’s pad is really coming together. We have the dining room with tables and chairs, a sitting room with a rug and a chair, and now, the living room.
The living room and bedroom are now handled because the sofa can double as a bed for a bachelor. All we need now are a big-screen TV for the ball games and a fridge for the beer. It’s only when marriage occurs that extras are required, like bedrooms and kitchens with stoves.
These would never be needed for a bachelor pad.
Aromatherapy Shower Steamers. This is definitely not a bachelor pad thing. And scented candles are out too.
We found Raul’s Visa card.
It’s in perfect condition and doesn’t expire for another year. We’ve tried reporting it to the bank. After navigating the phone tree maze and convincing the robot we weren’t trying to open a new account, they told us to shred it.
This one says, “Metal. Do Not Shred.” So… tin snips? Maybe a hacksaw. Or we’ll just wait until it naturally biodegrades in a few centuries.
A lost disc golf frisbee.
The nearest disc golf course is about a mile away. You can’t say much for the guy’s accuracy, but what an arm!
We found where someone dumped a $1,200 electric bike in the bushes.
It was most likely stolen and abandoned. We’ll report it to the police.
Here’s something you don’t see every day.
A pirate ship drove by with a bunch of pirates aboard. It was the Seafair Pirates getting ready for the Bothell Fourth of July Parade. They stopped, abandoned ship, and went around the corner for a beer.
Happy Independence Day!
And the day after Independence Day.
The remains of fireworks. There was little trash from the fireworks because they have been banned for a few years. It used to be bad when every city in the area except for Bothell had banned fireworks, and folks came to Bothell to light them off.
This was the state of the Bothell parking lot this morning.
Four restaurants and two other businesses share four recycling bins and one small garbage bin. As a result, by the end of the week, garbage bags are stacked high in and around the garbage bin. Then the crows have a field day ripping into and scattering the trash. We usually clean it up, but this was unusually bad, and we decided to see how they handle it. The businesses, not the crows.
We picked up a lost business card holder and the cards scattered on the freeway overpass.
We would like to get it back to the person. If only we had their phone number…
This spoon finally struck out on its own.
But it never found the fork in the road and just kept stirring in circles.
This sign fell off a machine travelling down the road.
We didn’t know what it meant, but after some research, LOTO means Locked Out/Tagged Out. It means the machine needs repair, so do not operate it. Guess the guy who drove it away also didn’t know what LOTO meant.
That wraps up another week of TrashWalking. Our inventory:
Money.
Ninety cents, worse than last week, and mostly found by Janet.
Tools
A drill socket, a 1/4-inch drill bit, a 3/4-inch drill bit, and a 9/32-inch socket, all in very good condition.
Clothing
A smelly and stained t-shirt, a nice sweatshirt, a multifunction cover, and a very dirty balaclava. We found the multifunction on Amazon for ten bucks. Our first guess was a costume skirt left over from the parade. But they claim there are six functions for this:
- Baby car seat cover.
- Stroller car seat canopy.
- Breastfeeding cover.
- Shopping cart cover.
- Safety car seat cover.
- High feeding chair cover. [Translation: highchair cover]
The fabric is quite stretchy, but we think they are stretching its usefulness a bit.
Condoms
Both were found on roadways, not parking areas. The agility of some folks still amazes us.
Urine Containers.
Three standard urine bottles. When we emptied them, the first and third reeked, and both had been there a while. Notice the colors. Does urine age?
- 90 cents, 13 found by Chuck, and 77 by Janet.
- 2127 Pop tabs.
- 22 Aromatic steamers, pods, not the clams.
- 9 Roadkill, including two squirrels, rats, rabbits, and crows, and one bird.
- 7 Balls, mostly tossed back over fences.
- 4 Items of apparel including a combination skirt and breast cover.
- 3 Urine containers, two well-aged.
- 2 Agile condoms.
- 1 Partially furnished bachelor pad.
- 1 Indestructible credit card.
- 1 Almost furnished bachelor pad.
- 1 Needle.
- 1 Breast cover/parade costume.
- 1 Abandoned e-Bike.
- 1 Stirring spoon.
- 1 Pirate ship.
Have a great week, and keep your eye out for a big screen TV and a beer fridge.
Trash Walking 