Back to reality

I always take the Christmas decorations down on New Year's day, and carefully pack seven large plastic tubs and assorted cardboard boxes.  This puts me in a crabby way for a few hours, instead of starting the new year with a joyous, thankful mood as every lucky person should, but at least I get it over with fast--  the job and the bad mood.  Then I take a long nap, and usually wake up ready to face whatever the new year brings.

John hides in the basement playing with his toys and sharpening knives until it's time to chop up the tree and hoist the boxes and tubs up the ladder into the attic space. Suddenly the house seems bigger, and the empty space is easy on the eye. I have to admit, this annual process is becoming a bit over-whelming for two senior citizens. A super nice roasted turkey breast dinner and a bottle of champagne revived us in the evening.

Speaking of things like turkey bones, starting yesterday it's against the law in the City of Seattle for home owners to throw paper towels, dirty tissues, napkins, crab shells, apple cores, potato peels, spoiled food, dirty pizza boxes, meat scraps, tea bags, etc. into their regular garbage can. All compostable materials (no matter how icky) must go in the yard waste bin along with the grass clippings and pulled weeds, where they become even ickier until picked up once a week.

The overworked trash men will police this new law by examining your garbage before they throw it on the truck. If they can see that more than 10 percent of your trash is stale bagels and paper towels, they attach a shame warning to your can for the neighbors to see.  Eventually, repeat offenders will be fined $1, added to their already enormous garbage bill.  (I don't know if that is a dollar per bagel, or per can.)

This is such a perfect example of the well-intentioned but basically unfair and unenforceable laws our city council likes to pass.  You can still go to any city park and legally throw a bucket full of Colonel Sanders chicken bones into the public trash can.  Go figure.