Day 76

Part 3 of 4 part Vacation Series* in which I explain how I have actually simplified things.

When I moved to Utah about 13 years ago, I basically had a loaded U-haul trailer, my dog and  Harley (kind of sounds like a country song).   I moved from a city that I had lived in for 30 years where I had friends and family to a city where I knew no one.  When I first arrived it was around the holidays and I was a bit lonely so I was particularly vulnerable to a very nice woman that struck up a conversation with me in line at the grocery store.  I told her I was new to town…blah, blah, blah.  At that time, she invited me to come over the next night to “get together” with a group of friends the next night at her home in the nearby trendy Sugar House neighborhood.

I was really looking forward to meeting a new group of people.

When I arrived, I should have sensed trouble when I walked in and she had about 30 candles of varying shapes and sizes burning.  And the “group” of friends she had mentioned was a group of two others.  No, it wasn’t a seance, it was one of those home  based business candle parties.  And you know, I could have forgiven her if I had at least gotten a glass of wine out of the deal.  But, she offered me PUNCH, and not the kind of punch with rum in it.

Now, during the Simple Year, I don’t have to go to any more home based business parties.  It is not that I don’t like the products or the people hosting the parties, it is that I am not a savvy consumer at these things.    I like supporting my friend’s business ventures.   But,  I always come home with at least $100 worth of things I didn’t even know existed before the party.  Plus, the  hostess  generally serves wine which ratchets up my need to buy bamboo serving tongs and three wicked candles.

I have often thought I should just start writing the hostess a check for $20 instead of going to the party and then we would all come out money ahead.

* By Vacation Series I mean that the kids and I are currently on vacation and I am currently trying to keep from buying glasses in Texas, a hat in New Orleans…Baby, you can sleep while I drive.