Holiday Swap: October 2017

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WE ASKED ATTENDEES, "WHAT DID YOU FIND AT THE SWAP?"

  • I’m a glass artist. I found this jeweled ribbon, and I’m going to cut it up and make a pattern. Then I’ll take a photo of that and use it to make a screen so I can screen print it onto glass. -Sherry
  • I have a place for this -- these blinking Christmas lights – over the door going into the living room. And my wife has me holding this holiday tray for her. -Ray
  • I got two sets of red glass bird ornaments. I love birds. I also got this ribbon. I do baskets for family, and I like to change the ribbon out. -Wendy
  • I teach art to kids and always need multiples of stuff. So I was glad to find several packages of these glitter pom-poms. -Bertie
  • We got lights and wrapping paper and stickers, and a lion mask – and look at this Alice in Wonderland costume! -Karl
  • This Christmas sweater! -Ellie
  • Look at this. I can’t decide if this is hideous or cute. I like it. -Kathy
  • I major in Christmas, and I minor in Easter. So I just can’t start in on Halloween. I have to put this ghost back. -Wendy
  • I found these pink flamingo Christmas ornaments. I’m a Floridian, so it feels like home. -Karen
  • I got this tiny pair of Valentine’s underwear. I’ll put a magnet on it and put it on the fridge. -Tanya

Thank you to The Nora School for hosting the swap. All leftover items went to the National Children's Center.

Member Spotlight: Building Community

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The Silver Spring Timebank involves getting to know people, not just using their services, member says.

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By the logic of modern society, in which time is money, the notion of a timebank doesn’t make a lot of sense, necessarily.

After all, which is easier, if your favorite pair of pants springs a hole in the pocket: to drop it off at the tailor on the way to work and pick it up that evening at a cost of, say, $20? Or to search through the Timebank for someone who claims to do sewing, send them an email through the anonymous system and hope they write back and then, if they do, find out where they live and when you might be able to swing by?

It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve, according to Bob Kirk, a Silver Spring Timebank member, fiddler with things that can go wrong around the house and connoisseur of social structures from around the world.

“Depending on the thing you’re providing, it naturally happens, like when I’m teaching people handyman stuff,” said Bob, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Gambia, worked in international development in Ecuador and Guatemala and plied his skills as an IT geek for the State Department in four different embassies.

For example, he said, he once responded to a request from Timebank member Carrie Noel-Nosbaum, who had some blinds that needed fixing, among other household repairs.

Before leaving, he gave Carrie a list of tools that would be good to acquire to maintain her apartment, and so the two got to chat.

In contrast, he said, there was relatively little interaction when he provided services to another Timebank member.

“I was chopping wood for somebody and went over there several times,” he said. “One time, she was in another part of the yard doing some stuff, and the second time, she was just inside, so I’m just doing work in her yard. So aside from saying hello, it’s not a shared activity.”

And so if he had his druthers, Bob would institute an informal requirement that each Timebank exchange include some, well, informality.

“What I would like is maybe that you put something into it that part of the exchange is the sit-down-and-get-to-know-you part, like, each hour, do a 20-minute— give the person tea or coffee … so like when I’m dropping off someone’s sewing or picking up my sewing, that I have to make a connection— they have to be there, we have to invite each other in.

“I thought that was happening more, but there’s two types of exchanges, the ones that don’t have that built in and the ones that do,” he continued. “But having it out there …  like, you should bank on an hour exchange that includes the 20 minutes of socializing. …  That’s certainly my model, that I want to try and include that personal exchange, at least a little bit of who I am or what I’m doing and what your background is too.”

To some extent, Bob says, the Timebank recognizes this non-formal aspect— hence the quarterly social events where people can simply hang out and talk.

“[People are] trying to go from the formal to the informal, but how do you make that transition, how do you not keep track of hours?” he said.

Carrie, the recipient of Bob’s tools-to-buy list, is grateful for Bob’s services, including fixing an oven drawer that had come off its rails.

“He kind of figured it out while I was watching and then showed me, so if it happened again, I would know how to fix it,” she said.

In fact, he suggested she get her air ducts cleaned before he left— something Carrie said would not have occurred to her.

‘It wasn’t like, ‘Just come in and do the job,’” she said. “It was, ‘How can I help make sure you’re taking care of your place the best that you can with the knowledge I can give you?’”

But for Bob, there’s something larger at stake—something that goes beyond sharing skills and imparting knowledge, important as those are. 

For example, the Timebank has a Community Time Chest for people with personal emergencies— in fact, Bob was the first beneficiary.

“I gave a kidney to a woman in California,” said Bob, who lives with his wife and three children in East Silver Spring. “So I was home for six weeks afterwards— it’s an abdominal wound, so you’re not supposed to lift things, and so I had people come by and bring meals, was the main thing.”

In addition, Bob said, timebanks can help restore something that has been lost in the definition of friendship.

“When you build that next level, of doing things for each other,” he said, “it’s a deeper friendship than, ‘We just enjoy each other’s company, and I would never ask you for help, and you would never ask me for help.”

In short, Bob said, a timebank is more than a credit-exchange mechanism— it’s a way to get to know people even if the services those people offer also could be obtained simply by picking up the phone and calling a plumber, for example.

“I think that’s part of the challenge, is we’ve got to get used to … this older concept of friendship,” he said. “You have to accept some inefficiencies but realize those inefficiencies are part of the benefit you get.”

Thank you to SSTB member Mark Sherman for writing this Member Spotlight article.

Office, Art and School Supply Swap: August 2017

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WE ASKED ATTENDEES, "WHAT DID YOU FIND AT THE SWAP?"

I'm getting a lot of art supplies for my four-year-old daughter -- so much
that she may need to become an artist. -Olga

A person we serve at SEEC sews by hand. I just found a handheld sewing
machine here, and she may like to try it. -Kathy

This is just the sort of thing our community needs. -Edgar

I got some paints for a class I'm teaching. -Heather

I am so happy to find something as simple as a ream of paper. It was on
my list to go to Staples for paper, so I have saved myself a trip. -Suzy

I got special paper for making tattoos to share with my nieces who love
them. I also got stickers of Frida Kahlo quotes for a friend who loves her.
-Boosaba

I found a few things for making posters and banners by hand -- a hobby of
mine. I work in the school system and with homeschool kids, and this is
something nice for them. -Latoya

I'm taking more than I brought, and I wanted it to go the other way
around. -Songbae

I've never used watercolors from tubes before. I'm so excited to find them
here and try them. -Christy

This is like being in a candy store. An Art Supply candy store. I wish
my girls were here! -Yasmine

i'm here with my mom, helping her get stuff that she needs for her job.
-Miles

I'm from the Create Arts Center, and I'm so excited. I'm finding scissors,
pencils, and a whole assortment of art supplies. -Lauren

All I can say is, this is amazing! I'm getting index cards and notebooks
and dividers -- and other things. I'm... amazed by this. -Wendy

I'm finding pens, pencils, and pretty much everything else I need. -Keisy

I found some miniature vegetables in the craft section that I like a lot.
i'm teaching a woman English, and these will help her learn
vocabulary. -Tanya

I found cardstock, pretty paper, markers, and a huge backpack. I don't
have big plans for them... yet. -Julia

I'm an amateur watercolor artist. I've been looking for an easel I can lie
flat for watercolors and stand up for other things. This one is perfect!
-Nancy

I'm getting datebooks and folders and glue sticks, and I donated all my
glass-painting materials. So I brought a lot, and I'm taking some other
things back. -Diane

Thank you to Third Space Wellness for hosting the swap.  All remaining items were donated to Silver Spring Creative Reuse.  

Antique book restoration

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"I repaired several books for Laura -- four volumes of a mid-18th century collection of English poetry edited by Samuel Johnson, and two volumes of an early 19th century French natural history encyclopedia. They weren’t in bad shape for books that old, just some detached or loose covers and damage to the leather. I reattached or strengthened the covers with Japanese kozo paper and wheat starch, and tried to arrest the leather deterioration with a cellulose ether. Those are both pretty quick processes, gentle to the books, completely reversible (important for books that have value), and not very visible. It was a fun project."  Simon Mauck 7/11/17

"We have such a variety of talents in the timebank.  It was great to discover Simon who used to work at the Harvard Rare Books Archive.  I have a few very old books from my grandparents, and I'm happy that they have gotten some expert attention."  Laura 7/11/17

Patio pillows are a hit

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I attended the timebank's Kitchen Swap in April and found a set of napkins and placemats from World Market.  I grabbed them, thinking they looked like the same size as my outdoor pillows which have faded from the sun.  I put the Request on hOurworld to have someone re-cover my pillows with this new fabric.  Connie answered my request.  She sized them exactly, and they were much nicer than they would have been if I had done them myself.   In fact, one of her friends saw them and tried to buy them from her!  I'm so happy with my "new" pillows, and I love that I got to upcycle items from the Kitchen Swap.   -- Kathy J., 6/27/17

Kitchen Swap: April 2017

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WE ASKED ATTENDEES, "WHAT DID YOU FIND TODAY?"

  • When you have an icemaker, you don’t tend to hold onto ice cube trays. But I found a great one here with smaller compartments which will be good for freezing herbs and herbal concentrates. –David
  • I was thrilled to find this asparagus cooker! My girlfriend has one, and she swears by it. –Robin
  • I came here hoping to find a few things, and I found most of what I wanted: a pressure cooker, a trivet, a wine opener. –Mary
  • I’m always on the lookout for good reusable water bottles, and I found a set today. I fill them with tap water and keep them in the fridge so the kids will always have cold water available. –Karen
  • My toaster just broke. It’s fortuitous that I found a toaster here today to replace it. –Marjie
  • I found these adorable turquoise cactus-shaped salt and pepper shakers that I’m going to send to my son and daughter-in-law in Austin. –Naomi
  • I made out like a bandit! I got this opener, some ice tongs, and a swiffer. And I took back the sushi wrapper I brought because I might use it after all. –Eugenia
  • I couldn’t believe my eyes! I found Revereware and grabbed it. It’s amazing to find it here. Some of mine is older, and now I can switch it out. –Wendy
  • Some old housemates moved out, and they took some kitchen things with them that I was able to replace today. But my real find is this book on growing and cooking vegetables. One of those who moved out was in charge of the garden, and this will help the rest of us bring it back. –Rebecca
  • We live in such an African area, and I don’t know the first thing about African cooking. So I’m glad I found this cookbook. –Rita
  • I’m excited because I found a set of plates in the shade of blue that I’m currently obsessed with. –Christy
  • I got a pan with a cover that will be good for frying my gallo pinto – rice and beans. –Oswaldo
  • I picked up some useful odds and ends for the kitchen that I wouldn’t bother going out to buy. My son Xavier is shopping for shiny things. –Beth
  • I got a few things here, but I’m even more excited about all the stuff I brought today – and got out of my kitchen! –Dana
  • We found these coasters that make us happy. –Nancy
  • In our various moves, we lost track of our cheese slicer. I found one here, and I’m so very happy. Sometimes, you just want to slice some cheese, for cheese melts on sandwiches and other things. –Andrei
  • I live by myself, but somebody – I don’t know if it’s a ghost or what – keeps stealing my spoons! I can’t find them. I don’t know where they go. Now I have some spoons to bring home. –Saunya

The SSTB was happy to donate any remaining swap items to A Wider Circle.