Stuck in the Middle (#BOTB)

       Here I am in the middle of the #AtoZChallenge on an off day of letter posting.   So what am I going to do?   


Battle of the Bands!

Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on the 1st of the month.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Stuck in the Middle

         Instead of using a theme that I connect to a song, I'm just going with the obvious.  This post will only be at the top of the page for a day since it's stuck in the middle of thirty days of posting so I hope I get enough voters.  For me the Stealer's Wheel song "Stuck in the Middle" immediately jumped into my head when I was looking at the current Battle positioning.

        This song has been stuck in my blog queue for a very long time and this seemed like a good time to use it.   I know this song has been used in at least one previous Battle on another blog, but I don't think anyone has yet used these versions linked below.   So nuff said about that.  Let's just get started...


Jodi Pederson   "Stuck in the Middle"  (2011)

        This young singer comes from Vernon, British Columbia.   What do call this style?  Folk-pop maybe?








Frantic Flintstones   "Stuck in the Middle"  (1999)

         Here's a British Psychobilly band that's put out a whole bunch of albums since 1986.  Get ready to bop...





Time to Vote!

        Which way are you gonna vote in this contest?  Are you kind of stuck between--wavering in your choice.   Please vote. What's your preference between these two choices? Which song version do you like best? You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

Please vote on your favorites by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside 


Winner of this Battle Announced on Sunday April 22nd

         There will be plenty of daily activity on Tossing It Out between now and then as I continue my posts for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  Throughout the month I've been cluttering my blog with posts as I ponder the concept of clutter.  Let's face it--clutter never really ceases.


        Have you been following any of the A to Z Challenge posts on my blog or any other?  When do you feel stuck in the middle?    Did you finish your income taxes?

Money ( #AtoZChallenge )

I had a dream where I found a lot of money in my house.    Then I woke up.  All day I was trying to think where that money was and how it got there in the first place...

Money Places

            One clutter problem that I wouldn't mind having more of is the money that gets strewn about a house.  Most of you probably have a similar situation of change thrown in drawers or other places.  Since I don't typically accumulate much change in my pockets, I don't have too many places where money ends up.  Most of my loose change is in a drawer where I toss it or in my van by the driver's seat. 

            A friend in Tennessee was telling me how he throws all of his change in coffee cans that he keeps in the kitchen.   He uses cash for everything and consequently always ends up with change.  He told me that once a year he empties the cans to take the change to the bank.   His last visit reaped him over $300 he said.   Maybe that isn't that bad of a way to save money

            If I could say that I had too much money laying around then apparently I'd be far wealthier than I am now.  Maybe it would have been a good idea to clutter my life with more pocket change and stray dollar bills.  I keep hoping that someday I'll find that secret stash of cash that I had forgotten about.   I don't think I'm going to find it, but if I do find it then I'll be a pretty happy fellow.   That is until I've spent it all and then I guess I'll still be happy just as though I had never found that forgotten treasure.

           Have you ever found a cache of money that you or someone else had hidden and forgotten?   Where do you tend to throw your loose change?    What is the most amount of change that you've ever cashed in at a bank or coin machine?  

Limits of Accumulation ( #AtoZChallenge )

        If we could play a good game of hide seek in my house based on the amount of stuff stored in it then I'll deem that a limit of accumulation has been reached.   Likewise if my stuff is piled so high that I fear one day being buried in it...

Out of bookshelf space for books and out of house space for more bookshelves.

Limits of Accumulation

          In 1980 I took most of the year off from traveling with a touring show.   A divorce situation had come up in my life so I was working a regular job in the same city where my ex was settling with our son.  My situation at work was such that I could take off time when I wanted to work short show biz gigs.   Almost a year in one place meant that I accumulated furniture (mostly purchased from yard sales), stuff that I brought along with me, and the stuff that my new girlfriend brought with her.

          At the beginning of 1981 I secured jobs for myself and my girlfriend with the show with which I had previously toured.  Before leaving for the road life, we moved all of the stuff in our apartment to a storage unit.  At the end of that tour year we decided that since what we had spent on storage probably exceeded the actual cash value of what we were storing, we should get rid of most of it and store what little must-have keepsakes at each of our parents' houses.  We had reached our limit of accumulation. 

            Now, after being off the road for over 25 years, I have a houseful of space to store possessions.  As much as I like warehouses (I've worked in various warehouse situations), our house is not a warehouse.   This is a place to live and not a giant storage unit.  Fortunately I am nowhere near capacity stage other than a few corners and closets.  My books runneth over as the overflow goes into piles and boxes.  But they are books and by my estimation books deserve special consideration.

          Oftentimes, good organization masks a hint of over-accumulation.  That's been one of my main focuses:  I've been tackling potential trouble spots where amassing great quantities poses a threat.  I've been sorting, boxing, labeling and re-stacking wherever this has seemed appropriate.  My garage is far neater with everything more compact.   My office closets come next.

         Do you have things that you rarely see, stored in closets that you rarely open?   Have you ever rented (or do you now) a storage unit?    What would you deem worth storing in a space that you rented?