Tuesday Rambles

Shoulda been Monday Rambles, but you know how that goes sometimes.

Thank you all so very much for the kind notes and thoughts and encouragement and inspiration you've been sending over the cancer recurrence.  You have made me smile so many times over the past few days and I appreciate that so very much.

Here's the latest update/wrinkle in the saga:  I am not starting treatment today after all.  There's been a hang up with getting insurance approval for the treatments, so I have been pushed back to next Tuesday. As in November 4.  As in my 50th birthday.  I intend to make everyone at the cancer center sing for me.  Only in my life.....

I'll be posting updates about the whole treatment process here and on Facebook.  I will probably do Facebook first and in the moment and follow up with a longer post here the day after.  If you want to follow me on Facebook to get the fastest updates, you're more than welcome to.

Let's change the subject, okay?  How about some junk news?

I've gotten behind in my junking updates and sale tales lately with everything else going on.  Fortunately, I've also gotten behind in stocking lately.  I've had a hard time keeping up.  The Peddlers Mall finally got the sign put up so the world knows that we are open during construction.  Overall, the mall is still slow, but my sales have picked back up to summer levels, so I am really happy.  I have sold out of nearly all my Halloween stuff and can hardly wait to hit the clearance sales this weekend.

The second store remains problematic at the moment.  Part of the problem is me.  I still haven't worked a regular visit over there into my regular schedule, so there's no stocking and cleaning pattern going on.  Here lately, with everything else happening, I've been more irregular than normal.  I know this is part of the problem, because I spent Saturday and Sunday over there, and every day since has been really good sales-wise.  With the treatment coming, I may have an even harder time than normal working them into my schedule, but I am sure going to try really hard.

Another thing that's going to help that store out is that I am moving to a double spot in November.  Right now, I have two spaces that are not together, so having a double will give me more continuous space to work with and stage.  It's also several aisles closer to the store entrance, which will probably make a difference in a store that large.  I'm planning on keeping one of the single spaces through the holidays and turning it into a Christmas booth, as I have a TON of Christmas stuff this year.

One of the good things about the treatment delay is that it will give me a chance to do this booth move before it starts.  

Back to the finds.  I think what I am going to do is do a bunch of short posts of things as I come across them.  I've really had a good junking run lately.  There are now several vendors at both stores who do storage buy-outs and they have tons and tons of interesting items at rock bottom prices.  I pick up  a few things every time I come in.

I am trying to lay in a good stock, just in case the treatment goes roughly.  I am going to price it all, so that all I have to do is pull and box and put things out.  Or I can send Keith to do it, if need be.  I've got a lot to do, but I think being prepared for what may come is a good thing.

Before I sign off, let me share one little junking story from the weekend.  I was at an American Legion hall for their annual sale, which was being run by a group of older women.  We all know how great the old lady sales are, don't we?  I did find some good stuff, but this is about one of the things I did not buy.

I found this tin music box on the very last table in this very large hall.  It was shaped like a barn and had a little car that was supposed to drive around the shed as it played.  I tried to turn the crank for the music box, but it wouldn't budge.  Like a lot of old music boxes you find, it was completely stripped out, so I put it down and walked on.

I got across the hall and, all of a sudden, it started playing!  Not a song, but just notes.  Intermittent notes with long pauses in between.  DING! (pause of at least a minute)  DING! (another long pause)  DING!  It would not stop!  I was in there for at least another 20 minutes, and it just kept dinging and pausing!  Since the room was so big, I didn't think anyone would notice, but the ladies at the other end of the room started going bonkers trying to figure out what was going on!

DING!
"There it goes again."
"Sounds like a bell."
"Did we have anything that plays music here?"
"No.  Well, there was that one thing, but we sold it already."
"Did it stop?"
DING!
"I heard it!"
"What is it?"
"Where is it?"
"Is it in here or outside?"
"I heard it!"
DING!
"Maybe it's an ice cream truck."

It did not help matters that someone's car alarm started going off in the parking lot in the middle of all this.  That caused much consternation, especially when the alarm stopped and the dinging didn't.

"I tell you it's in here!"
"Well, I'm going to find it."
"Check every table!"
"I will!"
DING!

One of the women set off on her hunt, and I gathered my things and checked out.  I could have told them what it was, but why spoil their fun?  They were certainly going to have a story to tell after the sale.  I wonder if they ever found it?