THE JUNK DRAWER

Everyone should have at least one junk drawer. Within mine are the small tools one seldom uses, like the glue gun; and the small "De-fuzzit" - like a razor - that takes the piling off sweaters and blankets, even the cheap flannel sheets (we should have paid the difference at LL Bean). It's also a battery drawer as well as a craft drawer (...I guess we could call it the latter). There's everything from paper clips to crayons; rubber bands to florist wire...buttons...beads...bottle caps...corks of all kinds.

The last time I looked for something in the drawer was for repairing a homemade skimmer for skimming the pond algae. With some fragments of fine wire, I laced it together again.

Just before that I found two of those modern rubber-like wine corks for Tom to convert to tips for his trekking poles. He had already made tips for mine from those corks, and it's working well. I hate walking and picking up leaves at the same time like someone cleaning up a park with one of those picks that pick up paper. I had previously looked through the furniture department of several stores to see if they had something for the metal chairs... but the tips were too broad and the holes for attaching to the pole were also too big. I think we hit upon something. I'd patent it if I thought it would sell well. The companies who make the poles should take note. Their poles come with hard plastic ends that come off too easily... I lost mine while my expensive LL Bean Mountain Trek poles were still new. When the poles are jammed into the hard rubber of those corks-- a drilled hole smaller than the tip of the pole, it is not going to slip off even if you stick it into the sucking mud of a cow pasture.

There's packaging tape; springs from click type ball point pens (want to save those for making those woodpecker like birds that move down a skinny pole to a base). There's electrical tape; screws; nuts; and other small stuff kept in small hard plastic boxes. And there are more empty boxes to spare for more small stuff to be stored. There are florist vials--those things in bouquets that keep some of the flowers fresh. I put an ounce of water in and take those along on country rides in case I see an unusual wildflower.

There are the extra vacuum belts; empty spools; golf tees and many other things too many to list, but if you need a what-cha-ma-call-it, for a thing-a-ma-jig...look in the junk drawer. There's a good chance you'll can find something that would do the job.