Monday Rambles

HAVE WE MET?

Well, hello again, friends!  I've not had many opportunities for blogging lately, but I have missed you.  There's lots to share, so let's get started.

EDDIE UPDATE

I haven't talked a lot about the cancer stuff lately, because there really isn't anything changing.  I get my treatments every three weeks, and things continue to go well.  I had another scan at the end of last month, and everything still looks good.  I qualified for an assistance program from the drug company, so my co-pays are now taken care of, which is nice.

I seem to finally have all the steroid withdrawal over with, so things are returning to normal on that front.  The blood sugar is lots better, and I've dropped a few pounds.  Not many.  Just a few.

I had a sinus thing going on last week that kept me out of action for a few days.  It seems to be clearing up, although I still have a head full of yucky stuff.  I feel like all I do is blow my nose.  And cough. A lot.  I'm afraid that I may accidentally blow one of my lungs out my nose when I get on a coughing jag.  Hate it when that happens.

I've always been prone to stuff settling in my chest, which then takes forever to clear out.  I've actually coughed so hard before that strangers have come up to me and told me I need to stop smoking!  And I don't smoke!

The sinus thing started last Tuesday, which was also a treatment day.  Since I was already planning a stay-at-home low key week, I was in a great spot to just stay in bed and rest. Things really worked out well, and Chiquito liked it too.

BOOTH UPDATE

Well, sales are a little better this month, but not by much.  It's very fits and starts right now.  I did HUGE over the July 4th weekend, but then took the rest of the month up to this past weekend to double that amount.  The crying of the blues will continue until further notice.  I'm moving lots of stuff, but it's nearly all small, lower priced items right now.

It seems like on the days when I do sell a larger, higher-priced piece or two, that's all I sell.  The mix is off in my sales totals.  Still, they are higher than last month, for the most part.  

I moved out of the booth with the pole smack dab in the middle of the entrance to a space right next to may other spaces.  Less walking for me.  I like having all my spaces together.

At the same time, one of my college roommates, who also had a booth in our mall, got a new job and had to give up his booth due to time issues.  He gave me and another vendor about 75% of what was in his booth--FOR FREE!  I've been kind of awash in stuff from that.  Really nice stuff to boot.  He does a lot of woodworking and repurposing kinds of stuff, and some of his projects were included in the items he gave us.

Slow sales are causing a lot of vendors to leave, but there's also been an influx of new folks.  Open spaces in out store get snapped up pretty quickly, often by existing vendors.  The manager told me at the beginning of the month that there wer so many vendors swapping out spaces that it was almost like a jigsaw puzzle. 

This was one booth's closing sign.

I had been intending forever to get a pic of the "Buy from the BUNNY" sign to put in the blog, because I just love it.  I never got around to it, until it was time to say "Bye Bye Bunny."  Sad.

Of course, since I was out all last week, I'm planning on spending all this week at the booth trying to pull things back together.  I'm hoping to take new pics, since an update post is long overdue.  I just need to remember.  That's the hard part.

DVD OF THE WEEK

This is a favorite movie of mine and I like to pull it out and watch it from time to time.  Martin Sheen and Trevor Howard work so well together and their scenes just shine throughout the whole film.

Religious politics and inner working fascinate me, especially with the Catholic Church.  I am constantly reading up on various aspects of the way the church operates.  One of my favorite subjects is the tension that exists between the newer course the church has taken since Vatican II and Catholics of a more traditional/conservative bent. 

This 1973 TV (!) movie (based on a novel by Bryan Moore) examines that tension with Sheen playing a young priest sent to get a recalcitrant Howard and the monks of his monastery to update and move along with the times.  The story is set in a fictional time after two more church councils have brought even more changes, and the monks have become steadfast and reactionary.

Like I said, the acting is exemplary and the story avoids any easy answers as the men strive to understand each other and seek a resolution.  The ending is haunting.

Given the current tension that exists between the current, very progressive, Pope and many more conservative bishops and cardinals, this 40 year old movie is surprisingly timely.  Well worth hunting down. 

STUFF UPDATE

Since sales have been so slow lately cutting back on going to yard sales and such.  I'm in "clear out the backlog" mode instead.  I did buy a bunch of manga over the weekend, but I was really low on it.  That was the first major purchase I've made all month.

Since that means I won't have any new things to share here, I'm taking a different approach to doing finds posts.  Check in tomorrow for the first installment.

MUSIC FOR MONDAYS

Have a tune for the first of the week.



Since the FBI officially closed the DB Cooper case last week, I thought this was an appropriate way to mark the occasion. 

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Now we're all caught up!  Thanks for stopping by!