Slacked off here today -- did dispose of things, but probably not 27. Yesterday's disposal trove went to Value Village today.

Discard items of note: decade-plus bottle of Tinactin. We got foot fungus after staying in a motel in Oregon after a Scrabble tournament. Also a 1979 Woman's Day magazine. I saved "Miss Craig's Abdomen and Thigh Spot-Reducing" article (Miss Craig! I'm surprised there weren't ads for Lydia Pinkham!) but had no problem tossing out the magazine I'd kept as a reminder of my mom. You don't have to read anything into that --- when looking for books to cull I pulled out one paperback on how to use guttural Japanese slang and an envelope of photos of my parents' first Christmas together was found. I kept those. And my kid looks like my mom in the eyes.

I actually have a Lydia Pinkham booklet but am not giving that up -- it is too entertaining. Lydia Pinkham had an herbal remedy, a patented Vegetable Compound, to handle feminine complaints. It sold particularly well during Prohibition, if you know what I mean. "I was feeling rundown and not-so-fresh at that certain time of the month, and then I took a 'vigorous swallow' of the fortifying Vegetable Compound. Renewed, I went for a run around Central Park, besting several horse-and-buggy carriages, and then KO'd Max Baer in the fourth round before racing off to rehearsal for George White's Scandals at the Lux Theatre and my post-show date with Jimmie Walker. At least that's what the nice police detective tells me. Thank you Mrs. Pinkham!"