Thousands of Dollars in Tupperware

I wrote about going through JB's Tupperware and the smell getting to me.

Now, I am realizing more. There were six bags of Tupperware plus the "hostess kit" which had all kinds of strange gadgets. As I was searching the web for what some of these gadgets might be, I was coming across some of the items and how much they originally cost.

There is at least enough in each bag to have cost $1000 new. And the stuff in the bags is a drop in the bucket compared to what this woman had in Tupperware. She didn't have all the various kinds of eating plates in there. None of the oven stuff or microwave stuff. Really, none of the stuff that I remember seeing. If it was made by Tupperware in the 1980s and 1990s, she had at least one of them. WHY???? Why, for example, did she have not one, but two dill pickle holders in the stuff that hubbie brought home? And how many more did she have.

I can really think of lots of things that she had that would have filled those bags several times over. There were canister sets, baby toys, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos. I would bet there was $50k in Tupperware in that house, not in value, but in what she spent on it. She had to pay for what she had herself. She also had to pay for the stuff that she had in her kit. Guess that's why she had at least two of a lot of stuff. She had some to take to parties and just as much again to use. Then there is the Tupperware that she gave away during her lifetime.

She also had to pay for all supplies used to sell Tupperware. Including a per item price for the order forms and catalogs. She also had to pay for the "hostess gifts" and door prizes given away at the parties. She had to eat the price herself of Tupperware that did not get paid for by customers.

Most months, she sent them money.

It would not make me mad if this had just been in her estate and she had squandered away hubbie's and SIL's inheritances on it. But during the time she was at the peak of being involved with Tupperware was also the time that hubbie was at the peak of supporting her.
I had once figured over $100K that he gave spent on them for things like the mortgage, cars, major appliances, etc. Now we can add half as much again for it. All the money that she spent on Tupperware, whether her own or hubbie's could have gone towards paying her living expenses and other expenses that she expected my hubbie to pay for her.

Ohhh that smell

There are two things covered in this post. Part of this was posted on the MIL support board, but I have added some information to this, including what comes first, also removed some changes in fact. Sometimes when posting on the support board, I change minor facts that do not change the gist of the story just for disguise. In this case, on the support board, I was talking about boxes and left what was in the boxes kind of generic. The true story is it was Six Large garbage bags full of Tupperware.


But first some back story that will seem totally unrelated until I get to the end of the posting.

I love strawberries and making strawberry pies. Last year when eating strawberries, I noticed I was itching some. I made two strawberry pies yesterday -- one for Mom and one for us. After eating a small piece, I was itching all over. Last year, it was only around my mouth and wrists that I was itching. I ended up taking some benedryl, but it didn't help. I really hope it isn't strawberries.

When hubbie went to help his sister clean his Mom's house out, he called and wanted to know if I knew anyone having any yard sales. There was a lot of extra tupperware that they did not know what to do with. I told him that I did know of a couple charity groups having some. So he came home with SIX large garbage bags full.

My Mom and sister found out about it and they wanted to go through it. I didn't want anything from JB's around because I didn't want anything to remind me. I decided to look through it and see if there was anything that I wanted myself. I had gotten rid of everything that comes from her house because it only reminded me of her, but it seems that not having the stuff doesn't get her off the mind, so what the heck? My friend was coming over yesterday to look through it and see if there was anything I wanted.

I mentioned in a blog post yesterday that when I started going it I smelled the smell of her house. I can't really say what the smell is, but it is it's own. I never thought much of her house having a smell before, until smelling it out of place. Friend, Mom, and sis did not notice any smell when going through the stuff yesterday and today. And when friend was over yesterday going through it, I did not smell anything during that time.

OK, so last night I am itching, thinking that unfortunately it was from the pie.

The hard part came when t I bags in my van today to take to Mom's for Mom and sis to look through. When I left home, the smell hit me again, quickly and unexpectedly. I had sort of forgotten it was back there. But the smell just hit me so that I could not ignore it. The smell emanated the van so much that I didn't think I could get out of the neighborhood. And it even hit me in the stomach to almost making me nauseous. I thought I was going to have to turn around. Luckily, it is a nice day. I opened the passenger side window, the sun roof and the back vents and ran the outside air fans on full blast and got away from most of it. When I got back home, the bags of stuff that they didn't take went out of the van and into the yard immediately. Hubbie got home right after I did and carried them back to his workshop. I left both sliding doors, the sunroof and the hatch open in the yard for a while to air it out. In the garage, I left the side doors and sunroof open a while longer. Smelling it made me feel kind of nauseous. I also started itching again when I was smelling the smell, so I wondered if the itching was because of smelling that tupperware/garbage bag/JB smell instead of the strawberries.

I also have a nauseous feeling and still kind of smell that smell. Now I wonder why I feel nauseous. I used to feel nauseous at her house all the time and I sort of thought it was the stress of being around her. Now I wonder, was the nausea from the stress or from some kind of fumes from the stuff in her house? Or did smelling that smell bring back the feeling and make me feel nauseous again -- was it in my mind?

I ate more strawberries and I am also itching again. Is the itching from the strawberries, from the Tupperware, or from the MIL-related stress? The benedryl didn't work last night. I am getting ready to go take some more.

And now the memory of that smell is ingrained in me and I am smelling it right now, even though the stuff has been taken back to hubbie's workshop until a charity yard sale he is taking the leftovers to.

I am also grinding my teeth again. My physician had recommended that I get counseling because teeth-grinding is often MIL-related. I did not get counseling then, but got counseling later on account of MIL.

Oh and when it goes to the yard sale -- it is going in the bed of the pickup truck. I don't know if I will be transporting it or if hubbie will be. But, if it is me, hubbie will le me drive his precious truck. It's not going back inside my van again.

First MIL-free Mother's Day - NOT!

My first "MIL-free" Mother's day was far from MIL-free. This is because I took some thing from JB's house that my Mom and Sister were interested in to them. And my Mom had to keep talking about her and her family. Mom is way too interested in what is going on with getting rid of JB's house, who is going to do what with it, etc. She also wanted to know all about the grandchildren and great-grandchildren and what they are up to.

I guess I should have told her that I don't want to talk about the in-laws, but maybe it got it out of her system for a while.

Lesson learned today: Cut Mom off at the beginning of any conversation that has anything to do with the in-laws. I had made it a forbidden subject in the past because she always took up for them. But, the things that I am telling her now, there is not even another side to them. She is acting like she has shocked and that she is hearing these things for the first time. (I have been with DH for 23 years!)

The Tupperware

JB was a tupperware dealer at one time. She was obsessed with the stuff.

After giving all away that she could get rid of, Hubbie's sister sent the rest home with him to dontate to our church yard sale for missions. For years, she gave everyone tupperware and her relatives already had lots. A friend of mine wants to look through it before I donate it to see if there is anything she wants.

I long ago got rid of a bunch of my tupperware to keep from having things around that remind me of her. As it turns out, it didn't get her off of my mind. So I was thinking, maybe I should look through it first to see if there is anything in there that I can use. There are SIX LARGE SIZE garbage bags full. I opened the first and started looking through it. It turns out that when I opened it, it smelled like MIL's house. Smelling that smell brought back horrible feelings. So I decided not to try to get any out. I am supposed to let my friend look through it tomorrow and my Mom and sister look through it on Sunday. I am not sure how I will handle it.

That was the first time I have gotten that pit in my stomach since she died.

Mothers Day is Coming

I can say Ahhhh as I remember past Mother's Day horrors and realize that won't be happening this year. I know that I shouldn't have tried to keep hubbie from seeing his Mother. But to me, him seeing his Mother meant (1) She was going to guilt him into buying her stuff and/or giving her money. Expensive stuff. (2) He always came home in a bad mood.

I do feel bad for hubbie this weekend at the same time. My beloved next door neighbor died last December. She had kids my age. Her family was a close one -- one that anyone would wish to be a member of or marry into. I saw her daughter tonight -- also a good friend. She said that this week was going to be the hardest for her with Mother's day coming. Her saying that made me sad for hubbie and what this weekend might mean for him.

Anniversary Date

Today is the 6 year anniversary of being 1/2 in-law free -- free of JB's hubbie.

Hubbie finished a class tonight that was one he had an attitude about and did not like or want to be in.

We celebrated with cake. He was celebrating the end of his class. I was celebrating....