Pile Diving!

It's "pile week" in Santa Clara. Or as it's officially called by the city "Annual Clean-Up Campaign."
We've been saving up all our crap for a whole year for this big event! We had all kinds of stuff crammed on the side of our house: old mattress, stryofoam, palets, cardboard, nothing really all that great for people to pilage. However, other homes throw out little jewels and the rest of the city prowls around to snatch them up before the next mexi-van comes by.
It makes me feel more in touch with the community this weekend before the piles are carted away. Half the city is driving slowly through the neighborhoods scouting out what people are tossing away. Kevin and I were no exception! We walked the dogs yesterday and got some good pieces of wood to make a new crawlspace cover (yes random) and on the way back there was a lovely little coffee table that I thouught had already been gobbled up by a sinister tan Saturn earlier that day. But no! It was still there! So I sat on it while kevin took back the dogs (and the wood) and then came back for me and the table. I didn't care that I looked like a weirdo sitting on a coffee table in the street (especially since the people who threw it out were in their front yard), that was my table!
This morning after church we joined the tour-of-curbs once again. I was embarrassed to swipe yet another table (a side table that matched the one from the day before!) while the people were watching from their garage. But it's ours now!