This is not just any old stainless steel coffee mug.

It is unique, and it has a history.

My wife, Lois, and I had a paint horse ranch for a number of years.  It was really my wife’s passion.  My involvement was mainly menial labor.  I was active duty military at the time.

Through sheer talent, will, and determination, Lois went from a total unknown at ground zero to a force to be reckoned with in the paint horse industry in a very few years.  What she accomplished in a very short time is remarkable, and I am incredibly proud of her.

Just as the business was really starting to take off, Lois was struck by multiple debilitating illnesses.  In a period of about 18 months she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, and type I diabetes.

We hired some help and two of our kids, Jeannie and Dustin, worked their asses off to keep the ranch going.  As Lois’ health deteriorated, I tried to convince her to give up the ranch, but she refused.

In 2003 I was alerted for deployment to OIF.

Lois still refused to give up the ranch, but after I left things quickly fell apart.  By the time I flew home for R&R over Thanksgiving 2004 Lois had sold off all the horses for cheap and let the property go on a short sale.  I was just in time to help move the big stuff into a rented duplex.  With some help from the kids she had everything else moved into storage after I returned to the Gulf to finish my tour.

The focus of the business was our breeding program.  Most of what we did focused on promoting our stallion, Just Obviously Cool.  He, of course, was sold with the rest of the horses when Lois liquidated the ranch.  My understanding is he died a year or so ago, but if you do a search on his name you’ll find a lot of pictures of his get.

This brings me (finally) to the stainless steel coffee mug.

For three or four years Lois had some promotional items made for clients who bred their mares to Just Obviously Cool.  The last year she had some stainless steel coffee mugs imprinted with a picture of the stallion, his name, and the ranch name (Cedar Creek Ranch).  I don’t remember exactly how many she had made.  I’m certain it was no more than 30.

When I returned home from deployment, there were two of the coffee mugs remaining.  Our oldest son took one to work with him one day, and it never returned.  The one remaining stainless steel coffee mug is what I’m offering for trade.

It’s not new.  I used it occasionally when I was still commuting.  But the imprint is still clearly visible on the mug.

It’s about 6-1/2″ tall and 3-1/2″ in diameter, holds about 16 oz, and still has the lid.

If you have something you would like to trade, please post a comment with a detailed description of your trade item, and I will contact you.

The winning trade will be documented here, with your name, a picture of you if you wish, and a link to your website or blog if you have one.

After some discussion, I bit the bullet and said worse case scenario, we would have one by next spring.

That would give me some time to pay down enough debt that taking on another bill wouldn’t make us any worse off than we are now, and would also provide the opportunity to bargain hunt during the winter months when the boat prices are down.

Then I saw something that reminded me of the one red paperclip story.  If you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s about Kyle MacDonald who traded his way from one red paper clip to a house in one year.

Hey, if he traded his way from a paper clip to a house in a year, I certainly should be able to trade my way to a boat in eight months (March 2010).

So, the one red paper clip served as my inspiration.  Next question: what do I trade?

After wandering the house a bit I found my answer.

The Stainless Steel Coffee Mug.

It’s as simple as that really. 

I’m not saying I wouldn’t like a boat myself, but my wife is really on me about getting a boat before she’s too old to enjoy it.

On July 11th she spotted a 21 foot open bow Bayliner on the side of the road with a for sale sign on it, and made me go look at it.

So, I guess she’s serious.

Her thing is she’s 50 years old and not in good health.  Both of her parents died relatively young and she’s afraid she doesn’t have a whole lot of years left.  She wants a multi-purpose boat to take our adult children and grandchildren out in for cruising, ski tube riding, and fishing.  Basically she wants to have good family fun, and wants the kids to have some good memories of times with her after she’s gone.

I don’t disagree.  Actually, I can’t think of a better motivation.

My thing is I just retired from the military, am still trying to find my financial sea legs, and want to pay off some debt before I start sinking money into a boat.

And that, dear readers, is how this began.