Monday Rambles

Oh boy......

One more rush-rush week and then I'll have a bit of a break, which is good.  I've got a lot of projects that have been on hold for a bit that I would like to get moving again.  Plus, I'd like to get a little rest and do some reading and some plan-ahead blogging.

We're getting close to Fall and that means the holidays are fast on its heels.  I was making a few notes about some displays I want to do at the booth and realized that it's just about time to start getting the Halloween stuff out and organized, followed shortly after by the Christmas stuff.

Speaking of Christmas stuff, I realized the other day that I had not had much luck finding it this yard sale season.  I'm speaking about vintage and cool stuff here.  I've got enough new stuff to put out from my clearance shopping last year.  Other than my AnnaLee find earlier in the year, I've simply not seen any vintage Christmas.  It's kind of odd.  I'm wondering if anyone else is having any luck in this area?

I did do a "Christmas in July" thing at one of the booths, trying to move out some old holiday stuff that I had marked down.  I think I sold maybe two things.  I probably won't try that again.  I've taken that out and started a "Back to School" table.

I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but I crossed the threshold!  I equaled 2008's 122 posts and passed it!  Yay me!  From here on out, every post sets a new record for me.  My new goal is to get to 200 for the year.  I'm about 75 away now, so we'll see.  I seem to be managing about 20 posts a month, and there are about four months left in the year, so I should be able to make it.

I had to take Windy to the shop the other day.  Somehow, I had broken a couple of spokes on my back wheel, so it wasn't turning straight.  It was rubbing against one of the back brakes and not smoothly rolling.  It only took about twenty minutes for the guy to fix it, and it didn't cost that much, so it was a relief.  It was kind of cool to watch the guy work on it, though.  So many interesting-looking tools!

Well, that's about all from here, folks.  See you in a bit.

Eddie-ted to add:  I forgot to mention this earlier, but we have tix to see Kris Kristofferson on Thursday!  Should be a great show too.  It's in an amphitheater in one of the local parks.  How cool is that?

Meet Windy!

This is Windy!

He's my new (to me) bike!

Isn't he cool?  I love the lines.  He's so sleek and awesome looking.  Even the built-for-people-with-smaller-asses-than-mine seat is awesome.

He is taking a bit of getting used to, though.  He's taller than my old bike, but his 17 inch frame is more appropriate for my height than the 15.5 inch frame of the old bike.  It's just an adjustment to get used to sitting so high up.  Right now, I'm having a little trouble getting started back up from a dead stop because pushing off from that height is a little awkward for me.  I think I'll get the hang of it, though.

Windy rides really smooth.  He's lightweight, so it's easy to build up some speed.  And he takes hills really well.  I'm enjoying the ride a lot.

I also like that he's got space on the back for carrying stuff, plus more than enough room for a couple of baskets, which will be coming soon.  Windy's going to be an awesome thrifting and yard saling bike!  I'm not sure if I can fit a basket on the front, but I am going to try.  Another thing I really like about Windy is the kickstand.  I haven't had a bike with one since I was a kid.  It's so convenient!

Now, about the name.  Keith's bike is called "Townie" because, well, it's a Townie.  My old bike was a mountain bike, so I called it "Mountie."  Windy is a Windstream.  You get the idea.  (If I had gotten another mountain bike, I would have called it "Re-Mountie.")

I'm betting that some of you (I'm looking at you, Roger!) immediately thought of this when you saw the name:



I have to admit that it makes a catchy riding tune to have playing in your head as you cruise along.  However, I get other images, because I'm weird like that.  (Besides, Windy looks a little creepy in that video.  Sometimes she seems more menacing than carefree.)

This is my vision:



It's from CardCaptor Sakura, one of my favorite anime from days gone by.  Did you catch that the first card is called "The Windy,"  I have a deck of those Clow Cards around here somewhere. Anyway, in the anime, they say "Windy" with a heavy phonetic Japanese pronunciation, so it comes out as "oooindee" which I just love.   I could not find a clip of her using the card with the original sound intact, so you all could hear it.  Seems everyone wants to mess around with their anime clips on the YouTubes.

Anyway, that's what I think about when it comes to the name "Windy."

Yes, I know.  I'm strange.

And even though both of those Windy prototypes are female, my bike is male.  It just seems more fitting, somehow.