Doris, an absolutely priceless list.
I used a strategy that *almost* worked many years ago. It did for over a
year until a singular fatal error. My other half has a hypersensitive "new
gadget detector." She inherently knows something, no matter how small, has
been added to the mass of the household.
A friend of mine, also named John, was hopelessly hooked on computer
hardware, software and programming as was I at the time. He too had a
spouse who could sniff out new gadgetry. John and I would spend an
afternoon every other weekend or so at his home or mine. When something
"new" entered the house and was discovered, each of us claimed it was
"borrowed from John." Funding for these acquisitions followed Doris'
suggestion of a private slush fund which each of us had.
This worked quite well until John's wife suggested we have brunch together
one Sunday morning. During brunch one of them (and I don't remember which
one now) remarked to the other about all the "borrowed" stuff that never
got returned and was amazed how it never seemed to bother either of us.
It was the liveliest brunch I've ever had. Our spouses had quite a
conversation. There was a lesson in this: When claiming something is
"borrowed from a friend" don't *ever* let your spouse meet the other's to
compare notes!
-- John
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