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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2016 20:20:49 GMT
Not even a keepsake to remind you of your (former) neighbor? I didn't need to as he graciously came over and gave us two large oil paintings, beautifully framed that his deceased brother who was quite talented had painted and we were acquainted with before his untimely death some years back. T. and I were very moved at this gesture, and they will most assuredly find a place somewhere in our home. Also, his mother, who was a true "grande dame and who lived to the ripe age of 96 years had many years ago given me some very lovely and precious Limoges pill boxes and some demi-tasse fine bone china cups. (her stories of having danced at a young age under Martha Graham were gifts unto themselves.) A real class act. I expect that at some point I will give him a holler down the road as he settles in to his new abode, a much smaller space, what is referred to here as a" Mother in law" or in this case "father in law" apartment/small building on the premises where his daughter, husband and grandchild reside.
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Post by chexbres on Dec 2, 2016 22:10:04 GMT
I'm proud to say that all my plastic containers have kept their lids Last week, I started bringing them around to the open air market for things I normally buy, saying that "There must be a serious problem. These are empty!" The vendors looked shocked for a minute, then had a good laugh at the fact that I had gone to so much trouble just to save them about 12 centimes. I re-use the few plastic bags I've hoarded, too. There was a recent documentary on Midway Island that really got to me. Albatrosses are filled with about 7 lbs of undigested plastic in their bellies when they die. In a few years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than there will be fish to eat.
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Post by bjd on Dec 3, 2016 6:53:13 GMT
In principle, those thin plastic bags are forbidden now, but I still see some vendors at the market using them. I see lots of people (including myself) reusing them, taking them back with me to fill with countable items.
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Post by chexbres on Dec 3, 2016 7:11:48 GMT
Yes, the vendors are allowed to finish out their stock, then must purchase re-usable bags made from corn or potato starch or something, which degrade more rapidly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2016 8:27:16 GMT
I saw that in Wallonia, plastic bags were forbidden just starting on December 1st. Brussels follows in September 2017 and Flanders not until 2018.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 3, 2016 17:09:23 GMT
For many, it will be difficult to imagine how people shopped before thin plastic bags existed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2016 17:13:52 GMT
When the plastic bags disappeared in France, Monoprix immediately went to brown paper bags for the produce, but not the other supermarkets. At Monoprix, it is just a tiny bit annoying for both the customers and the cashiers, who have to look in each bag as they weigh them. It is a small annoyance with which I can live.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 5, 2016 12:29:33 GMT
We had a big thing on plastic bags over 10 years ago and we are still using them as much as ever. Only difference is they charge you for each one. I pack customers fabric and haberdashery in thin plastic bags we get from the factory - who in turn is churning them out as much as ever. Now I am curious to know if the factory is using bio stuff to make them....bet not.
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Post by chexbres on Dec 6, 2016 8:03:17 GMT
There are always people who don't realize that they have to pay for bags, don't want to spend 5 centimes, and are forced to walk out of the store juggling the too many things they bought. I wonder how the security guards will have to deal with that, since the receipt is probably stuck in a pocket and unavailable.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 3:46:46 GMT
Back to hoarding pennies... The plastic jug that was "pilfered" for lack of a better word, took us back to 1980 and, we both recalled what a "bitch" it was to transport here. One attempted burglar abandoned it and left it on the middle of the living room floor back in "82.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 13:49:49 GMT
I realize that I have far more articles of clothing than I need.
I plan to go through them this weekend again and find homes for them as many are quite nice.
Bottom line: just how many linen shirts and blazers can one possibly accommodate let alone wear even a couple of times a year?
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Hoarding
Jan 14, 2017 15:29:06 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Jan 14, 2017 15:29:06 GMT
Retirement has simplified OUR wardrobe needs... So far, it hasn't much reduced the cramped condition of my clothes closet(s), though. Despite hauling 5 big bags to the local thrift shops. Can they be reproducing while I'm not looking?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 17:06:18 GMT
At least you have closet(s).
We only have ONE in this whole house.
Maddening to have to see all this stuff whereas with closet(s), one can just close the door and voila, out of sight they all become.
I have wooden hat trees with virtual layers, one item on top of another, and every hook in the house, the same thing.
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Hoarding
Jan 14, 2017 17:42:07 GMT
via mobile
Post by Kimby on Jan 14, 2017 17:42:07 GMT
You need to purchase some antique wardrobes, to store your collection, Casi.
One place we were able to offload some of the really unusable stuff from my family home was a university theatre program's costume shop. My prom dresses from the early 70's and a bridesmaid dress (worn only once) were taken, as well as tailored suits and fashions from the 40's that my parents wore when THEY were in college were all welcomed there. Nice to think they might have another go-round.
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Post by bjd on Jan 14, 2017 18:56:12 GMT
Too bad you are not in France, Casi. There are tons of wardrobes for sale second-hand, especially in the countryside. Many are quite nice but builders here are finally discovering that closets can be useful. Also, new houses rarely have high ceilings, so some of the really old wardrobes are too high to fit in modern houses and apartments.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 19:03:19 GMT
We do have two armoires but they don't hold very much I'm afraid. At least not enough presently. I doubt I'm even going to get to this today or tomorrow for that matter as half the day is gone and we are off to the French Quarter for lunch. Another procrastination. I'll find another for tomorrow too... Ah, but what to wear? Hmmmm.... Let's go see...
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Post by rikita on Jan 15, 2017 7:52:06 GMT
closet means like a small room to store things? does it have to have a door? we have a corner in our hallway with a curtain in front, where we store many things ... but no extra room - we'd probably need to use it as a room, if we had one ...
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Post by bjd on Jan 15, 2017 10:12:24 GMT
Rikita, a closet is usually a closed-off space within a room where you can store things. (Schrank, Wandschrank, Anbauwand according to word reference). A curtain can be in front too.
Our house was built in the 1960s and there are no closets. There was one biggish one between 2 bedrooms which my husband converted into 2, so that each room has one, but the original architect obviously didn't think they were necessary.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 13:59:12 GMT
I was able to dispose of my previous printer/scanner yesterday because when I passed by the market, I saw that it was electrical/electronic collection day by the city. They set up a tent in front of the market one day a month and get a remarkable collection of stuff each time.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 15, 2017 14:24:15 GMT
And you just so happened to be carrying it around with you? Just like Linus and his blankie?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 14:48:57 GMT
No, I noticed that as I was walking home with my bag of groceries from the Chinese supermarket. So I went home and immediately turned around with the damned thing in my arms. Luckily the market is only about 300 metres away.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 15, 2017 19:21:26 GMT
Good. I was worried for minute. Thinking of you trying to take photos of Paris whilst clutching a printer.
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Post by rikita on Jan 15, 2017 20:16:50 GMT
hm well because a "schrank" would be of course common, but not build into the house, you'd buy it seperately - same for wandschrank (and an anbauwand or schrankwand would be like that but bigger and combining several elements to cover a whole wall): none of these would be built into a house, they'd always be bought and put up, and can be moved when you move house (though you might have to take them apart and put them back together) ...
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Post by bjd on Jan 16, 2017 6:06:11 GMT
The word reference site gives the same translation for wardrobe and closet: schrank. The wardrobe is a piece of furniture, although not usually like what you show, more like what the US is now calling an armoir (from the French "armoire"!). A closet is built in:
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Post by rikita on Jan 16, 2017 8:29:26 GMT
ah, okay ... those exist here too, but aren't that common i think ... my dad kind of has one, though in that case as it takes up the whole end of his hallway, it wasn't built into the wall, either (basically someone just put shelves on the end of hte hallway and then a door, to section off the whole final 50 cm of the hallway ...
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 16, 2017 13:45:39 GMT
The way I understand German as opposed to English is that in English we would give different names to different things, e.g. wardrobe and closet, but often the English word will do double or triple duty depending on the context, thus the same word in English can mean many different things more often than in German. Even more confusing are words spelt differently but sounding the same, which can be called 'false friends'. However, the German language seems to have fewer (and I can't think of any at the moment but Rikita will help I hope) words with multiple meanings or false friends as the language often uses a base word, e.g. in this case 'schrank' and as they do, add on to it, thus you get Kleiderschrank, Einbaushrank, Schrankkoffer, Trockenshranck, Wäscheschrank and Wandschrank etc depending on what the object is.
An instance of where a single word, I seem to remember, having multiple uses, is Garderobe. Adding on to a base word is what I found often confusing about German as you can end up with some seriously long words that I would have to parse to see what they were on about. Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister, Sozialversicherungsfachangestelltenauszubildender, Zivildienstvertrauensmanngesetz, Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung for example.
Does that make sense rikita?
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Post by bjd on Jan 16, 2017 14:52:56 GMT
What you say about all the different schranks is in fact why I think German is a very nuanced and interesting language. The base word, schrank, lets you know it's a cupboard/wardrobe whatever, but then the add-ons give you a more precise meaning.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 14:57:01 GMT
Those wall units, which have completely disappeared in France after being nearly obligatory in the 70's and 80's were called livings in French.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 16, 2017 16:02:24 GMT
...... but then the add-ons give you a more precise meaning. Precision is Germany's middle name, no?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 16:09:26 GMT
Wow, I am in admiration pf how tidy and organized your closet is BJD. Something to aspire to.
Here in NOLA, closets were considered to be a room and therefore extra taxes were to be paid for the number of" rooms" one had in their home. Enter the armoire which was referred to them as such because of the great number of French persons living here and then became part of the vernacular. Other parts of the country use the term wardrobe.
In NY, growing up, every single room, with the exception of the dining and living room, had a closet. Some were roomier than others and (were referred to as "walk ins") made for great spaces to hide during hide and seek games. (wrap oneself cleverly in a large wool coat).
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