That’s no lady, just a dress form

The big dog and I see a lot of interesting things on our walks. Late Thursday night, we passed by a home that has recently had interesting items on the curb for trash pickup.

I almost didn’t notice it. But my dog stopped to sniff something we don’t see everyday: a dress form. I chuckled and took a picture. I haven’t seen one of those for a long time.

My mom actually had one. She did a lot of sewing at home. I remember her laying paper patterns out on the floor and pinning fabric to them. She made a lot of clothes for herself and my sister. Apparently, dresses were easy; men’s clothes were more difficult. When she died, we found a whole dresser in the basement full of paper patterns she had used and saved over the years.

Anyway, on Friday morning, my wife texted me, “There’s a dress form out for the trash. Can you go get it?” She wanted to use it to display some clothes she wanted to sell online. So, we (the big dog and I) walked up the street and grabbed it. It was surprisingly light, not more than a few pounds.

Everytime I walked through the garage on Friday and Saturday, I was startled by what looked like a person standing there! It was spooky until I moved it into one of the bedrooms.

A few nights before I picked up a guitar from their trash. It wasn’t a quality guitar. Just a cheap one made in China you might find in Walmart. But it was in nearly new condition except for a broken string. I might restring it and give it away or donate it to Goodwill. Or I could teach a grandchild to play.

Today, I saw the U-Haul van in their driveway. The family is moving out of the rental. These are the same folks who have a living room lamp on their front porch, Christmas lights in the shape of a heart in the front window, and five or six free shopping newspapers in their driveway.

I wonder who we’ll get next in the neighborhood?