Birthday Rambles

And today, I am the big 5-0!  Half century!  Woo hoo!  I keep waiting for someone to give me the golden birthday crown.  I thought it would be waiting on the porch for me this morning, but no.

We'll be trotting off to vote this morning in just a few.  I hope the line isn't too long, since I have to make it to the cancer center after that.  Birthday election days make me nervous.  There have been a few in my life, and they don't always go the way I would like.  You'd think being the birthday boy would mean I would get to choose the winner, but the system doesn't seem to work that way.  Still, there's a certain senior Senator from Kentucky that I would love to see get the boot today.  If that were to happen, this would be a happy birthday indeed.

Please remember to do your civic duty and go vote.  Do it as a birthday observance, if nothing else.  Cheaper than a card, after all.  Even if all your votes cancel all mine out, please vote.

I spent the weekend starting the annual birthday thrifting run.  In case you're newer around here, every year, starting the weekend before my birthday and running through the weekend after, we have a massive orgy of thrift store runs, Halloween clearance shopping, flea market raids, and any yard sales we can find.  It's my grand stock up for winter spree.

Saturday was FREEZING, but we did hit two yard sales.  Due to the temps, we didn't head out until about ten (and it was still COLD), but we got some great deals, because the sellers were giving up and packing it in.  We also went to one store that I know goes to 75% off on their Halloween on November 1, only to find that this year they did not.  Then we started thrifting.

I needed to go move into my new booth set up in the new store, so I planned the thrift route to go right over the bridge and across the river.  I had hoped to do some shopping while I was in the mall, but did not have time.  It took five solid hours of work to get everything moved and set up.  I also decided to price and put out the majority of the day's purchases right then.  It was exhausting, but worth it.  My sales picked up right away and for the past two days have been at the same level as the other store.  Woo hoo!

It's not perfect just yet, but it's workable for the moment.  The previous vendor left all this really crappy beat up shit in the booth that she had used for displays.  I'm talking really crappy, crappy stuff:  a computer desk with none of the parts attached, a china hutch with no drawers, an entertainment stand with no shelves.  And all of it had really badly done swatches of maroon :accent" painting that was supposed to tie it all together--a shelf here, a drawer front there, one piece of trim out of seven pieces, etc.  I think it was supposed to look shabby and eclectic, but it really just looks like someone watched HGTV while on a pot binge.

The mall said the vendor didn't want to move all that crap out and that I could have it if I wanted.  I'm still needing some more fixtures for display, so I kept most of it.  I did however throw away the Rubbermaid storage drawer tower that did not have any drawers in it.  It had been used as a shelf!  Can you believe it?  I think I can sue HGTV over that one.  The rest of it I have priced real cheap.  I have no reason to keep it for too long, but most of it is huge and heavy and I am not too inclined to try and haul it out.  I sold one of the shelves while I was setting the space up.  The customer hated the maroon paint on the trim, but loved my five dollar price.

If it's still there after the holidays, I'll take a chainsaw and wood chipper to it, but for right now I can live with it.  I'll have some pics as soon as I can remember to take them.  I forgot on Saturday.

Well, today is also big treatment day #1.  I will make everyone at the cancer center sing to me.  I think they should also let me be in charge for the day, but I would probably order free pain killers for everyone, so maybe that's not the best idea.  I want a special hat though.

I'll update you all tomorrow with all the details on the treatment.  I'm just hoping that my veins decide to cooperate this time around.  Tonight, if I am up to it, we are going to my favorite local restaurant to eat.  I intend to be up to it.  Cancer meds or no, I only get to eat at Zen Garden a couple of times a year.  No damn melanoma on my freaking spleen is going to make me miss this one.