You Never Know When It Will Hit

 Three trips to the dump today (and can pack a lot into my car).  Then more going through shelves and sorting stuff for at least one more trip this weekend.  Tomorrow morning (hopefully) someone is coming by to pick up scrap metal - some of the big pieces are too heavy for me to heft into the car, and there's buckets and buckets of random scrap, which I could haul to the dump myself but I don't mind someone else doing it.

I got a "gotcha" this afternoon.  I was working through a set of shelves - and found yet *more* reloading stuff, bullets and brass and equipment.  All heavy. This stuff goes to Rik, and he said he'd come by next week and get it so I don't have to haul.  There are more ammo boxes of stuff on top of the top shelf; maybe he'll pull those down too.  On top of those was a large plastic storage bin.  I went up on the ladder, and found it was lightweight so I pulled it down.  I suspected it would be full of empty cat treat containers or small cardboard ammo boxes.  I was prepared for that.

But it held a few smaller plastic boxes, like shoe boxes.  They were lined with thin styrofoam, some of it with carved hollows, and there was bubble wrap and other padding.

Boxes to carry his models.  Bob had a lifetime love of building scale models, and once or twice a year he would go off to conventions, taking few of his models for competition, usually coming home with medals.  Sometimes he would road trip with his modelling buddies.  If none of them were going, then I would go with him, just to keep him company.  Most of the conventions were 3-4 hours away.  That can be a boring drive, both ways, to do on your own.  With someone else, it's fun.  And he knew I could carry my knitting or a book and find a corner to keep myself occupied for a day.  I thought it was funny if I saw him talking to a vendor and would walk over to see what he was looking at.  Sometimes he would be debating between two models, and I'd say "why not just get them both" and he'd get looks from the other modelers of "where on earth did you find her??"

We'd have a lunch date.  One trip it took us three times around the block to find our hotel, but we also spotted a tiny hole-in-the-wall Thai place that had excellent food.  So even though scale models are not my thing, I enjoyed those trips.  Getting to watch him in his element, having a chance to share modelling tips with other modelers, finding obscure tools or after-market parts.  Sharing his excitement, his pleasure.  Conversations on the way home.  Just being together.

All those memories flooding in, just from looking at shoebox, foam, and bubble wrap.