Monday Rambles

All right.  Time to face another week, while we lay last week to rest.  Or something like that.  This is going to be an interminable week for me, since next week is Spring Break and I cannot wait for a little time off.  I will have a couple of sessions throughout the week, but I will have next Thursday and Friday totally off, which I am looking forward too.  I think I might even take in a matinee one of those days.

In the meantime, I have to get through this week, which includes deciding whether or not to have a yard sale this coming Saturday or not.  If I decide to have it, then I'll have to spend the week getting ready for it.  I don't mind doing that, but the long-range forecast is for rain on Saturday.  I guess I could do all the prep work and then just postpone it until the nest weekend, but I'm still on the fence.  What would you do?

Speaking of yard sales, Saturday was a real mixed bag.  I ended up with a vanload, but it was sure looking doubtful for a while.  A church sale that's been pretty good in the past simply wasn't.  It was held in a big, non-crowded basement that smelled like the previous night's fish fry.  (Blech!)  THere really weren't that many people there, so I oculd not for the life of me figure out why I got bumped into several times.  Really people?  The selection stinks.  The basement stinks.  And now you want to run into me?

I also had one of the oddest conversations I've ever had with a fellow shopper.  I was looking at a figure from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame when this woman says:  "Are you a toy collector or do you just like the Hunchback?"  What?  I'm not one for small talk with strangers under the best of conditions, but that was just plain weird.  At least she wasn't bumping into me.

Then at checkout, the cashier mis-totalled my items and then shorted me on change!  I was never more glad to get out of a sale in my life.

We went to another church sale that has always been lame in the past, but flush from last week's experience, I went in determined to give it a chance.  I found three things and a line to check out that was stretching all the way down the length of the gym.  I could not figure out why the line was so long, since there were three cashiers, then I realized that all three of them were involved in checking out each seller!  Since when does it take three people to check out a person with two or three items?  No wonder it was taking so long.  I think they needed all the extra fingers and toes to add up the totals!   I looked at that line and my three so-so items and left them lying on a table.

Time was kind of tight, since Kosh had a vet appointment at noon, but with two loser sales in a row, all of a sudden  I had time to spare for the second day estate sale in a picked over house, a sale with a box of Beanie Babies for $150 (really!), and another second day estate sale where all of the furniture was still in the house because it was priced so high. (And they were entertaining no offers or thoughts of markdowns.)

I was really discouraged by the time we got to the sale I had saved for last because it was near the house and we could scoop Kosh up and head to his appointment when we were finished.  Thankfully, It was awesome.  I should have gone there first.  (I would have planned on going there first if we hadn't had the vet appointment.  I hate backtracking, so I try to plan kind of smooth routes.)

We picked up a ton of stuff there, including this custom built bookshelf with a drawer in it.

I love the use of the beadboard in the back!

Totally solid wood--no pressboard here.

And this cute little table.  Another custom piece.  The artisan's label is stuck on the underside.

The apron is off-kilter on all sides.  It's a fun look!

Not the best image, but I love this flower detail!

I also snagged an awesome piece at another sale that I'll save for a later post, since I don't have a pic yet and it's at the booth.

Kosh checked out okay at the vet.  He was a little cranky and hissed a couple of times, but overall he behaved fairly well.  He's my sweet grumpy old man!

Booth sales are strong this month.  I've sold everything from my curb picking except for two chairs.  I sold the school desk I bought from the Deliverance people on my birthday.  I've already sold the school desk I bought last week and the fringey party umbrella from a couple of weeks ago.  I went through my sales emails last night and 30% of my total sales this month is coming from furniture!  I've never been a big fan of selling furniture, but now I need to rethink that.  Having the space to sell it right helps and having the van to haul it helps keep the supply coming in.  In the past, I've had to pass great pieces up because I had no way to haul them.  Now, I'm finding and bringing stuff in every weekend and that keeps the flow going.  I'm still not a fan of selling furniture, but at least now it's because of bad experiences with other furniture sellers and not because of furniture itself.

I plan to spend this week catching up on my blog reading and commenting. I owe quite a few of you all comments, so don't be surprised if a big bunch of comment from me start popping up on your blogs.  Also, thanks for all the kind words on my biopsy results.  I appreciate each of you.