Monday Rambles

Let me just say right off the top that I am so ready for winter to be over.  So ready.  We haven't had a bad winter at all, mind you.  I'm just tired of the cold and the dreariness.  There are things I want to do outside!  Shoo, winter!

We had another four inches or so of snow yesterday.  Shoo, winter!  It's supposed to start warming up this week, so it won't last long.  I hope.  Shoo, winter!

This is kind of another quickie, mini-ramble.  There's just not much to say right now, for real.  I'm pretty sure that you all honestly don't want to read about me sitting around in my robe, drinking hot chocolate and petting the cat.  Shoo, winter!

Last week was all about getting the big junk from the set out pick to the booth.  This week will be about getting the small stuff over.  I made a super score on some wrestling action figures, so I'll also be getting those ready to go.  And probably bagging some comics.  In my robe.  While drinking hot chocolate.  And petting the cat.  Shoo, winter!

My, what a lot of wrestling action figures!

A competing vendor mall has opened up across the street from the Peddlers Mall.  I might head over there to check it out later in the week.  I've heard it's not very impressive, as it's less than half-rented out and most of the vendors over there have either left our mall or also have booths in our mall.  I have to confess that I do not understand paying to compete against yourself like that.  It's not like two malls that close to each other are going to draw significantly different crowds of shoppers.  In fact, reports have most shoppers leaving there empty-handed and coming over and spending money with us.

Honestly, I'm not worried about competition.  Nobody anywhere does this thing the way I do it, if I can say so myself.  I've never been that impressed with the other malls that the owners of this new one operate.  The staff are unfriendly and none of their stores is ever fully rented it seems.  On the other hand, I have found really good bargains in some of them, so it's worth checking out to see if maybe a new close source for stuff has opened up.  We'll see.

Speaking of booths and such, February is rolling long well.  I had a bit of a glitch last week for a couple of days, but the tax money is now getting to people and they are coming in and filling their carts.  Seriously.  I see more people walking by my space with huge mounds of stuff in their buggies and think:  "Tax refunds."

What's really wild is that there are a bunch of them that have never been in a Peddlers Mall (or a flea market, for that matter) before.  You can tell by listening to the conversations.  They're the ones that are either amazed at how much stuff there is here or they're appalled that so much of it is secondhand.  I really don't know exactly what that last group was expecting when they came in.

As someone who does not sell anything remotely resembling a necessity, I am very grateful for the tax refund folks, since for some of them, this is the only extra money they get all year.  The sales boost is always appreciated.

The real issue sales-wise right now is the weather.  All of my off days have also been snow days.  Shoo, winter!

Tomorrow, it's back to the cancer center.  This is treatment number 16, so I'll be scheduling another scan as well.  Those come every four treatments.  Wednesday will be a day of rest. I keep forgetting to do that, but it makes such a difference when I do it.

If I'm feeling up to it on Thursday, I need to take some stuff from the Hillock to the booth.  I still have a hunk of my religious books in storage, because I didn't have room for them.  I figured out how to rearrange some things at the booth and make more room, so I need to get them.  I have some empty shelves sitting and waiting for them.

Also, I need to take the Valentine's stuff out and replace it with St Pat's and Easter stuff.  I really don't ever sell much for any of those holidays, so I never have much to put out.  I barely sold anything for Valentine's Day this year.  I think I only have about a half-dozen St Patrick's items, but they should go out.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day full of hearts and flowers and chocolate and whatnot.  We stayed in, and I made dinner for us--the kind of big cooking with side dishes and fresh veggies and chopping and peeling and dessert that we hardly ever do any more.  It was fun.

This is a post "dig in" pic.

Then I realized that kind of cooking makes dishes to be washed.  Lots of them.  And I understood why we don't do that kind of thing very often.  Oh well. 

If you need a little Monday giggle, try this collection of Popes in sombreros.  Fashion-forward Pontiffs for the Win!

All together now:

SHOO, WINTER!