Archaeology

On Friday, I went to work on what might have been the iciest day of the winter so far. I was making the long, slow trek across the parking lot and shiny sidewalk very, very slowly when I started to think, "Man, my bag is really heavy." And there, as I just barely missed falling on my behind, in my dress clothes, and in full view of most of the windows into the building where I worked, I had a sinking feeling. "Of course, it was the bag of baby carrots that I bought yesterday and shoved into my purse... and then left sitting out at room temperature overnight in my apartment." As soon as I got to my desk, I grabbed the offending baby carrots and shoved them into the little refrigerator near my cubicle. By the time I left work, the ice (mercifully) had melted, but still, I spent my walk thinking my bag was too heavy.

Over the weekend, I decided to clean it out. And that's when things really got interesting. Of course, at the top were my wallet and phone and book, which all came straight out of the bag first thing when I got home. Then I started digging. This is what I found:

Empty travel coffee mug that I had used that morning.

Sunglasses, MP3 player, traveling make-up bag. 

 Cases containing medicines and cough drops. 

Crumpled old receipts for prescriptions. 

Okay, none of that was too surprising. I also found a hairbrush stuck to a winter hat, both of which are normal and necessary during a Minnesota winter. And I came upon a little notebook I occasionally use to make lists or jot down other notes - again, normal. The receipts were garbage, the usual crud that rides along in a purse, so I tossed them. But, there was still stuff in the bag! 

Yeah, these have been in here since sometime in January. I was thinking of hanging them up on an interior window at work, but that was back before winter was basically over. 

Special hand cream I was using to treat some dry spots on my hands when I first went back to work...

at the beginning of January! 

A collection of empty plastic bags, whose purpose is elusive. 

An old JoAnn's ad, which I was probably carrying to use the coupon. It's probably been in there since sometime in October! 

Socks, just in case - of something, I guess! 

A tax form. Good thing I discovered this before sitting down to actually work on my taxes...

A collection of stickers, one of which recently became adhered to the cover of a library book. Eek! With diligent effort, I've been able to remove all of the adhesive from the plastic covering on the hardback, but yikes anyways!

 Apparently, the cough drops in the case weren't enough and TWO additional bags were required?

The grocery list I made when I was preparing to host book club and offer my guests a sampling of old fashioned candy - in JULY! 

These are some truly ancient JoAnn's ads - they're from LAST spring! 

And the most ridiculous find of all? This summons for jury duty. As you can see, it included some important information I needed during my term of service. It turned out that I was very lucky and never even had to report, so that was cool. But seriously? The two week term of service started just less than A YEAR AGO! 

Okay, so if you're still reading this post at this point, you're probably wondering why on earth I carry all of this crap around with me. I really have no idea. I guess it was just easier to haul it than to clean out the bag, which is just silly! The only real response I have to that question is, "I don't anymore!" Dug anything good out of your bag lately?