No Ramble Today!

Sorry, everyone, but I won't be rambling this week due to EXTREME busy-ness.  Due to partly to circumstances I could not control and partly to my own poor planning skills, I am smack dab in the middle of Junk Set Out AND a massive booth re-do.  I barely even know what my name is right now.

I'll get some first looks at the booth re-do and the first finds of the set out later this week.

In the meantime, enjoy this little bit of booth staging humor:

Also, here's the latest odd couple to cross my path:

When I bought the bird hatching figurine, the cashier told me that I would never sell something that ugly.  In one of those wonderful twists of fate and junking, she was the cashier who rang it out a week later to a customer who was totally tickled to find it!

I guess I can also give you all some music for Monday:



Hope your week is filled with happy teddy bears, decorated wig heads, and--of course--the right shoes!

See ya!

PS Lok at it this way:  It may not be rambly, but it is on Monday!  Woo hoo!

No Ramble Today

Kinda busy right now.

And there's still at least two days to go!

Monday Mini-Ramble!

Not much time to chat this week.  Sorry about that.  Got a lot on the old plate at this moment, but I did want to give you all a couple of updates.

First, the good news.  At my treatment last week, the doctor told me that there is a meeting planned for May that will discuss the process for ending immunotherapy treatment for long term patients like me who are doing well and not having any problems.  One possibility is moving to bimonthly or quarterly treatments from the current every three week schedule.  Another is just ending treatment all together and monitoring with scans.  Exciting times.  Also, my nest scan is in a couple of weeks.

Now the bad.  Keith's brother passed away last week.  His mother is taking this really hard.  He had not been doing well for some time, but this was still kind of sudden.  We're heading to Oklahoma for the memorial service on Thursday, which puts me on a really tight schedule this week, especially since the booth is a wreck right now.

I had two items left to share from the freebie haul from the secondhand/vintage store.  Here they are.

These two caused me the most grief getting them in the van.  It was already quite full and they just would not go in the available space.  I was determined not to unload it all and repack, while Keith kept insisting that I would have to leave one behind.  Showed him!

So last week, I headed back over there and did it all again.

What was I supposed to do?  It was the last day, and they had a whole room full of free stuff! 

Concert Night!

Okay, so I'm going out of my mind right now trying to get way too much done in way too little time.  We leave tomorrow for Keith's mother's house in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. I still have to do laundry and pack.  I still have to pick up prescriptions at Kroger.  I still have to finish putting Christmas out at the booths.

And we have tickets to see this guy tonight.



Keith used to sing that song and dance with our still much-loved and much-missed kitty Basil.  He was the big old goofy man and she was the big old goofy girl.  He'd change the part about the big old goofy world from "Ooo Baby" to "Ooo Basil."

The legendary John Prine is a longtime favorite of this household. 

Here's a more recent clip doing another old favorite.



I plan on posting some from the road, so if you're bored next week, you can check out my besotted ravings.  Okay, maybe not totally besotted, but at least slightly sotty.

Monday Rambles

This little fellow is a bit nonplussed right now.

Please ignore the mess.  We're in the junk room.  It's junky.

We're in the middle of our annual house invasion by the ants, but we finally seem to be winning the battle, thanks to generous applications of what I call "Demetrious Earth."  However, before the tide turned, they made it into the bin where we keep the cat food for the first time ever.

Thankfully, it was almost empty, so we didn't have to toss much.  The problem is that we haven't had time to replenish the regular cat food.  I grabbed a bag of another kind at the grocery so we could make it through the weekend.  He's eating it, but is also taking great pains to tell me that it's not his "real" food.  Poor guy.

It doesn't help that I've been keeping it in the fridge, just to make sure that any surviving ants don't get into it.  We don't have any air tight containers large enough for all of it.  He's definitely nonplussed by it all.

(If you're nonplussed at times, does that mean that you can be plussed at other times?  Wouldn't being nonplussed mean that you were being subtracted?  But from what?  Oh, the quandaries!)

We'll pick up some more of the regular food when Keith gets me at the mall tonight.

I saw these lovely flowers when I was on a walk last week.

The fortune cookie recently gave me some sage advice.

I never got to talk about Derby week sales, thanks to our internet outage.  I ran a 20% off sale at the booths, which kept my sales totals up to regular levels, and even surpassed that on a coupe of days, but killed me to do so.  I can handle doing a one day sale, but a week or more is just too much for me.  I hate to see that much money not being made.  Things have been dismally slow ever since.  We're in the doldrums here and will be until people decide that it's too hot to be doing things outside and that the flea market is a much better deal. It helps that they have finally got all the air units in the building working.

The internet outage led to an impromptu oddball film festival for several days, as I was desperate for something to watch.  Since it was also during my treatment time, I had some rest and down time with not a lot going on.  I got so deep into my stash of strange DVD's that I had to hit a couple of dealers in the mall looking for some more.  The secondhand store down the street helped too.

Remember back when DVD's were just getting widespread exposure and all kinds of stuff would show up in bins for a dollar or two at stores like Target and Walgreens?  This was one of those DVD's.  Because they were so cheap and plentiful, they can still be found at yard sales and thrifts all over the place.  If the topic interests me (and the price is right), I'll usually pick them up.  Often, they're quite good.

This is one of the good ones.  Produced in Australia in the 80's, the character designs have a retro Hanna-Barbera vibe to them that hearkens back to their early 60's heyday.  The animation is far better than HB ever was, making for an enjoyable watching experience.

The company that distributed this one also released a ton of others.  I've seen a couple.  The Odyssey was quite good.  Hercules, not so much.  While I was searching for the cover image to use, I discovered that this exists.  I must find it!

Bob and Penny Lord were EWTN mainstays for years and years.  They produced 30 minute videos about various saints, miracles, and Catholic shrines.  I've seen many of their productions and love them to pieces.  From time to time, I can find one of their DVD's at a thrift and I always snatch it up.

Their productions have a lack of polish that is endearing.  They're not totally amateurish, but it's pretty obvious they're not a professional production crew by any means.  It's also pretty obvious that Penny loves to be in front of the camera, perhaps a bit too much.  During some of their films, they'll be interviewing a priest or a nun, and Penny will do all the talking to the point where the interviewee never gets to say anything!  It's kind of a hoot to watch.

Still, you can tell that this is a couple that sincerely believes everything that they cover.  They genuinely love their faith and want to share it.  In the end, whether or not you share their belief, you cannot help but love their shows a little bit, just because of who they are.  Sadly, they have both passed on, but the media ministry they started continues.

I also read a few more graphic novels than usual.  This one was the best of the lot.

Set in the early days of the Batman/Robin partnership, this collection shows how that partnership impacted each of the heroes and how a shocking incident of violence changes it forever, planting the seeds that will eventually lead to its demise.  The art is sharp and stylish.  The writing is insightful and clever--playful at times, disturbing at others.  It's an engaging read that manages to remember for a far too brief moment that Batman comics used to be fun.  Even though that more light-hearted atmosphere is totally destroyed by the end of the story, the way everything unfolds left me feeling both nostalgic and a little disturbed.  Unfortunately, it seems that Batman must always be marred by violence these days.

All product images were taken from Amazon and are copyright by their respective holders.

Today will be my only booth day this week.  I have a lot to do around the house to get ready for this weekend's junk set out in our area.  (I know you all are sick of hearing about this, but it's a big deal for me.)  By Wednesday, there should already be a dozen or so good stashes of stuff popping up on the curbs.  I've already discovered that the folks that have alleys behind their houses have begun building their piles.  I got me some hunting to do!

Not to mention some crap to haul out here.  My aim is to get a good clean out at the house in prep for my yard sale in early June and as part of the work on razing Sorrow Mountain.  To get that stuff done, I'm going to have to put the booth on autopilot for a little while.  (Unless, of course everything sells in one day.  I'll come in and restock then.  That would also take care of a big hunk of my backlog.)

I'll check back in this week with pics of recent finds.  In the meantime, here's some Music for Monday.



If that doesn't put you in a mood to have a good week, I don't know what will.

Wouldja believe Friday Rambles?

Let's begin with a thought from a classic:

 

That's kind of the way I'm feeling these days.  Too much to do and not enough time to do it.  Every time I get started on something, I find three things that need to be done first before I can do what I started on.  Aiiieeeeee!

We leave Tuesday for Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with Keith's mother.  I'm looking forward to the visit, but it's a long drive.  I also have treatment on Tuesday.  Seems like we did it that way last year too.  I wanted to see about re-scheduling the treatment, so we could leave earlier, but she kind of insisted I stick to my schedule.  She's had kind of a rough year, so I'm looking forward to seeing her.

So what all do I still need to do?

LAUNDRY!!  I'm not sure about Arkansas, but Kentucky frowns on nude Thanksgiving visits.

SHOPPING!  I got some road snacks at the Peddlers Mall last night, but we still need a few more things.

PACKING!  I'm not sure where the suitcases went after we got back from San Francisco.  I'd hate to have to carry those clean clothes in grocery bags.  Keith already calls me a bag lady because I carry a reuseable grocery bag with a bunch of stuff in it wherever I go.  I need to pick out my trip reading and find the laptop.

BLOGGING!  (and commenting and answering emails)  This is going to have to do for this week's (late) ramble and next week's (early) ramble.  At least it will replace Bo Donaldson's face that's been hanging around a bit too long.  I'm hoping to get a few posts scheduled to carry us through the holiday and our trip.  Expect some long overdue posts for your reading pleasure.

CHIQUITO!  I need to get things ready for the person who'll be taking care of him while we're gone, so she knows the drill. We stocked up on cat treats last week and have enough food to get through until we get back.

WINTERIZING!  I still need to put away some yard things before the cold weather hits.  We've also got to take the A/C out of the window before we leave.

BOOTHING!  Sales have stunk most of the month.  Last night as the first good weekday report I've gotten since the first.  Weekends have been really good, but that all dries up come Monday.  People just ain't shopping.  Or if they are, they ain't buying much.  Interestingly, I am now selling some small furniture in dribs and drabs, but the smalls trade, which is my bread and butter, has dried up considerably.  Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I am hoping that this is just the lull before Thanksgiving.

On the upside, that has made for an easy booth upkeep for the last couple of weeks.  I've got 90% of the Christmas out now.  Sunday and Monday, I'm going to spend the day there, doing a super-duper tidy and rearrange and stock, since it will be the last chance to get ready for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.  I'm pulling the last of the Thanksgiving stuff and putting the rest of the Christmas in its place.

I also need to finish the current tidy session on my junk room, which is about halfway done.  I want to have a load priced up to take when we get back.  I have an idea that should let me put four (!) new shelves in and a ton of new smalls, but that is going to have to wait until we're home.  Of course, putting in shelves means that the elevation of Sorrow Mountain drops a bit, which is always a good thing.  I am hoping to terraform the Mountain and the Hillock together by the end of the year.

CLEANING!  Week before last, I cleaned off my desk by dumping everything into a large tub, which has been sitting in front of my dresser ever since.  I want that to go away before we leave. Also, the fridge needs to be cleaned out before we go.

THIS AND THAT!  I need to get prescriptions refilled.  I need to pay the water bill.  I need to go see if the metal lawn chairs listed as freebies on Craigslist last night that are two streets over from us are still there.  (Probably not.)  I need to call my brother.  I need to cash in my change jar.  I need to clean all the tubs and boxes out of Mazda.  I need to do the dishes.  I need to ponder where the magic elves that are supposed to help with all this shit have hied themselves off to.  (That's the thing about magic elves that few people know.  You have to talk to them in Shakespearean, or at least King James, English.  They don't understand modern.  So they haven't run away.  They have hied themselves hither.)

COMIC BOOKS!  The second annual Cavalcade of Comics is tomorrow, and none of the list above is going to make me miss it.  It's a great show, not really a con, since there are no panels or costume contests.  There will probably be a few cosplayers though.  Everyone loves an excuse to dress up as Batman.  It's retail focused, so there will be lots for sale, which is why I'm going.  Last year, I got some great bargains on some great stuff.  I've been looking forward to this one all year.  It will be the last major shopping spurt for me until the New Year Big Flea.  Besides, how often do you get to use the word "cavalcade" in conversation??

So, yeah.  I got lots to do.  I guess I better get started.  But first, I've got to get another cup of coffee.  And pet the kitty.  He never gets any attention--to hear him tell it anyway.  You all, however, can enjoy some awesome super-hero Lego art.

This is most likely the only post for this week, so read it carefully and treasure it always

Happy...uhm...Thursday!

It's been a bit of a hectic and busy week or so around these parts, hence the lack of posts.  My brother was here last week, and I've been spending this week getting ready for something special.  More on that in a minute.

Before I get into the post, I do want to assure everyone that I am okay and things are going pretty well.  I didn't mean to worry anyone with the lack of content here.

I had a wonderful visit with my brother last week.  We just kind of hung out and ate and talked and stuff we never really get to do any more.  It was so nice to see him and just sit and talk for hours.  I am planning on making a visit down to see him in the fall.

We did a little junking together.  He's an eBay seller, so he's always on the hint.  I took him to the Peddlers Mall, plus the Goodwill and the Saint Vincent de Paul that are across the road.  He loved the thrift stores and made several good buys there.  The Peddlers Mall overwhelmed him with its size, complexity and selection, but he really liked it too.  There's nothing to compare with it where he lives, except for a couple of antique malls that never get a lot of traffic.

He also said that he liked my booths, which meant a lot to me.

Keith took some pics, but has not had time to download them off his camera yet.  He's getting ready for the special thing too.  When the pics are downloaded, I'll post one or two here.  In the meantime, just imagine two devastatingly handsome dudes with a family resemblance.

We also exchanged junk gift boxes.  Mine had a Hummel Madonna in it, which is something I have always wanted for my collection. 

Our Lady of the Dusty Knick Knack Shelf

We spent a lot of time talking about how to kick our respective endeavors up to the next level.  I think we need to move to the same city and throw our lots in together.

Saturday was about beating the rain for the yard sales.  We didn't do very well at it, because we got started very late that morning.  It was already sprinkling at the first sale we went too.  We managed to fill Mazda with the first three sales, so we had to unload at the house.

After that, we stuck with the indoor church sales on the list.  There were three of those.  By the time we got to the second one, it was pouring.  The rain and the rush kind of killed the Mazda shot potential for the day.  Many of the large items have already sold, but here's a shot of the smalls.  See if you can find Waldo. 

Just kidding.  He's not there.  But you might find Jack Kennedy and Jar Jar Binks instead.  The spirit of my grandmother took that pic, which explains why the top row is cut off.  I grew up believing that my grandfather didn't really have a head, since it was always cut off in photos.

This has been the most frustrating month for booth sales.  I'm selling every day, including some large items, but just not enough.  I've kind of structured myself price-wise to sell lots of small, under five buck, flea market style items every day.  The furniture, large stuff, and higher-priced smalls are the gravy that pushes a day from good to fantastic when the totals come in.  Since the higher-priced stuff doesn't always sell, that still gives me a chance at a good day on the smaller, cheaper stuff every day.

Except that here lately, the smaller, cheaper stuff has not been selling as well.  That almost never happens!  I've been selling shelves like mad again, but I only sell about half the typical cheap stuff, which drives my total down.  It's an odd kind of doldrum.  I am so far off target for the month, I don't know if I will ever catch up.  At least, I am still selling something every day. 

Tuesday was treatment number three.  I was scheduled early, so I was in and out before noon, which was nice.  It's getting to where the longest part of the day is waiting for the labs so the clinic can order the drug from the pharmacy.  The infusion takes no time at all.  After my next infusion, I'll have a scan, so we can finally see if this is working or not.

I've been rushing around a lot this week trying to get things done because we are going on vacation Saturday.  We're flying to San Francisco until June 1!  I'm pretty excited, as we've not been to SF in over ten years.  We used to go all the time, so I'm interested to see how things have changed.

We've got someone to take care of Chiquito and make sure that the bathroom faucet gets turned on for him.  We don't leave until 4:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, so I am trying to convince Keith that there's enough time for a yard sale or two, if there are any in our neighborhood.

I still have a lot to do before we leave.  Laundry and packing for one.  Or is that two?  I also need to get a prescription refilled before we leave.  I am trying really hard to get everything in the house that needs to be priced taken care of, so I don't have to deal with it when I get back.  Doing the comic books just about wore Chiquito out.

Tomorrow is booth day.  I'm gonna cram it full of stuff and pray that it holds until I get back.  I'm also going to try and sweet talk the manager into making sure that stuff isn't sitting on the floor while I'm gone.

I'd like to clean off this desk, as it is giving me a nervous break down, but I don't know that I'll get to it.  I also have to convince Keith that going to thrift stores is a thing real people do when they are on vacation.  He's afraid that I'll buy an armoire and  try to sneak it in my carry on bag.  Silly man.  Doesn't he know that's what UPS is for?  I'll just price it and have that sucker shipped right to the store!

On that note, I gotta run.  I need to get more price tags and Goodwill has been calling my name all week long.  I need to see what that's about.  I'm planning some short, silly posts while I'm gone.  And maybe one long one.  I might do a Monday Rambles, but I'm not sure about that.  I'll be posting pics to Facebook, so you can check out what I've been up to there, if you want.

Just so you don't forget what I look like:

Tired-Ass Monday Rambles

I am one whooped little puppy!  But the end has come and gone.  Now for....the aftermath!

I had my best sales day ever on the last day.  Set a new one day record for me that will stand for a while, I think.  I also topped $2,000 in sales for the last month.  (I usually don't like to mention numbers, but I'm kind of stoked by the total.  Forgive me if I crow for a sec.)  My check won't be quite that large.  I still have to pay the 6% commission, even if there is no rent coming out.  When I started running ahead of my goal for the month, I charged some purchases against my account instead of paying cash.  I had never done that before, but it enables me to snag some great stuff at great prices.  I figure that, when the dust settles, I've got enough stock for the next 2-3 months in both big and small items.  That also means lots of posts of fabulous finds too!

About that settling dust, however.  Yesterday, I packed and consolidated stuff most of the afternoon.  I got quite a bit done in a short period, so I have big hopes for today.  I need to pull everything out of my storage and get it ready.  Thankfully, about 80% of it is already in boxes.  I'll need to rearrange some things so that the boxes will close, but there won't be a lot of packing there. 

Then there's the booth proper.  There will be a lot of packing there, although it's only about 1/4 full after all the sales.  I left everything on the sales floor, except for my books and some small furniture, which I moved to the other store early.  I wanted to get rid of as much as I could, so I held off on both the packing and the restocking.  I just hope I have enough boxes and paper.  I've been squirreling away boxes for weeks now.  Every time I saw one laying around the store, I snagged it.  I've got a pretty good horde, but I'm taking some more from home today.  You cannot be over-prepared at a time like this.

One of my college roommates hit me up on Facebook Friday and offered his truck to help with some moving on Saturday.  Between his truck and Mazda we got five good loads of furniture out and over to the other store.  My booths there look like a hot mess right now.  They're just crammed with crap.  Prettying that up will have to wait until the weekend.  My sales there really picked up the last couple of weeks.  My books started selling like crazy once I got them over there.  Despite the current mess, my furniture is moving too.  This makes me happy.  I am looking forward to growing this one into what I want it to be.  It's the flagship Peddlers Mall, dammit!  I ought to be rocking the house soon!  Eddie's Attic Style!  Cue the music!

Tomorrow is the move out for everything else.  We're getting a U-Haul to try and get it in one or two fell swoops.  Since I've crammed about as much of my eight booths as I can into the four at the other store, I also had to take a storage place.  I got one with a first month free deal and paid for the second month in advance.  My hope is not to need it after three months.  It is good to have a "home base" for the moment to work and organize.

Wednesday and Thursday will be clean up days.  I might also help a few of my friends there with some of the stuff they have to do, just for old time's sake.  I'll probably also scavenge up a few more goodies if I can.  This is junk set out week in our neighborhood and I've been able to give it no attention whatsoever.  I've been making up for it during the move out from people offering stuff they didn't want to move.  The rainy, cold weather is also putting a damper on the junk set out, so it's all good.  I need to keep telling myself that I cannot have all the things.  (But I can try.)

I am looking forward to Friday, when the frantic pace drops off entirely and I am back to working at my own leisurely amble.  I scored a couple of comfy vintage folding chairs that are going to be my work seats at the storage.

Honestly, I am feeling okay.  I've been drinking lots of water and resting often.  I've just been coming home and going right to bed at the end of the day.  I took this week off from work to lessen the stress a bit.  I am starting to lag and I know that I cannot keep this pace up for too much longer, but I think I ought to be able to see it through and survive.  Thanks for your well wishes and concerns.  I've been taking everything to heart and am well aware of my blog angels watching over me. 

It's almost over.  I'll have some pics when I remember to take them.  Have a good week.

Monday Rambles

Subtitle this one as one of the following:

A)  Exhausted Monday Rambles

or

B) Medical Monday Rambles

There's a whole lot of both going on in here today.

I've spent most of the last three days working on booths, trying to get caught up and ready for Christmas.  All of my Christmas stuff was in the very back corner of my storage room, so I had to move a ton of shit to get to it all.  Then, I had to tidy and clean all my spots.  Then I had to assemble the trees.  Then I had to re-tidy everything because people kept coming through and messing things up.  Then I had to put it all out.  Along the way, I also closed one spot at the new store and moved everything out of it.  Plus, I finally got all the Halloween packed up and put away.  (I am so ashamed.  It's never been out for this long before.  I look like a rank amateur.)

But finally it's done.

This is just a part of the second store.  I was too tired to take any more pics when we got through yesterday.  I totally forgot to take pics at the other place.  Sigh.

In the middle of all this work, I had one of those moments that only seem to happen when I have made plans for an item.  The desk I was planning to put my trees on sold.  No problem.  I just put another desk in its place.  Then that desk sold.  (Two desks in two days!  Why can't this happen all the time?)  Problem.  Got no other desk or large flat surface to use foe those trees and they're table top size, so they can't go on the floor.  Had to do a quick run through the mall looking for another cheap desk.  Found a nice one for eight bucks and was back in business.

I did find time on Saturday to attend the "Cavalcade of Comics" put on by the Derby City Comicon.  A huge room full of cheap comics!  I was in a wee bit of heaven.  I got another huge batch to sell and a few (well more than a few) for me too.  I've got some winter reading!

We spent most of last week (during the cold, snowy days) with no heat.  The igniter on the furnace went out.  While the dude was fixing that, he found that our flue pipe was rusted all the way through, meaning we were in danger of carbon monoxide.  Everything is taken care of and we're all toasty again.  Chiquito was enjoying the electric blanket we were leaving on all day for him.  I think he might be missing it just a bit.

I go get my port today!  Yay!  No eating this morning.  Boo!  Not even coffee!  Double boo!  They'll have to give me an IV for the procedure, which means that the thing I am having done to avoid the crappy vein ordeal will require me to have one more crappy vein ordeal.  The irony.  It burns.  Oh, wait.  That's the crappy vein ordeal.

I have my next treatment tomorrow.  I do my last belly shot (BLAM!) for this cycle tonight.  I get a week off from those, which is good, since we are leaving for Arkansas as soon as I get up from the chair, and I didn't want to lug all that stuff with me.  Still have to do laundry and pack tonight.

I am kind of adamant about this  trip.  Keith is worried about me having side effects, but we need to see his mother.  She's getting pretty old now and this is the only time we get to visit.  I know he won't go if I don't, so I am going to soldier through (if that's what it takes).  It's important to me that he sees her right now.  I can rest in the hotel, if need be.

Keith got a makeover for the trip:

I'll set some silly little posts up before I go, then do some kind of update from the road on Thursday or Friday.  Hope everyone has a wonderful, wonderful holiday and feast!

It is time....

Time to pull the trigger and get it in gear, or as my mother would say "time to poop or get off the pot!"  (Eddie-torial Comments:  Your source for earthy humor in the morning!)

Thanksgiving is a week from yesterday.  I am not sure how that happened, since the last time I checked there were still three weeks to go!  I still do not have all my Xmas out at the booth!  Ack!  (As Chiquito would say.)  I am losing sales all the dang time.  In fact, my sales have all but stagnated.  If they were any slower, I'd have a zombie booth.  Sigh!

I have this weekend to get both stores in order for Black Friday, and that's it!  Monday is port day and Tuesday is Treatment #2.  Right after I get up from the chair, we are headed to Arkansas.  I am kind of adamant about seeing Keith's mother this year.  She's not getting any younger and not doing really well right now.  I may spend part of the trip in bed at the hotel, but I am insisting that we go.

It's a make it work moment!  (As Tim Gunn would say.)

Monday Rambles

Where the craziness never ends!

Ever.

Seriously.

Last week was a whirlwind of activity and this one seems sure to be more of the same.  I have to go to Lexington for training on Thursday and Friday.  It's sure to be a good training and I love Lexington.  Thing is, I want to go thrifting and junking in Lexington, not sit in a class all day!  It's so hard to do the things you gotts do all the time when you can practically here the junk crying out for you!  Am I right?

The good part is that I will get out of a day of work.  The bad part is that my pay rate for training is half of my regular rate, so I'll barely make up for missing that day of work with the two days of training!  Sigh.

I spent a couple of days last week trying to get the new booths up and running.  It's proving to be quite a challenge.  Nothing is photo-worthy yet.  There's not enough stuff in the spaces for a pic.  I've started selling at a good pace though. 

I only have two spaces in the new store, as opposed to the eight I have at the other one.  I'm actually finding it kind of hard to work in a smaller space now.  I am so used to my big ole four-plex.  It's easy to forget that I started small, back in the day.  To make it even more challenging, my two spaces are across the aisle from each other, so I don't even have a duplex.  The smaller space will be easier to stock and keep clean, but I find I'm constantly over-compensating for the size by not bringing enough stuff.

It's still going to be a while before I get it to that just right stage, especially at the rate things are selling.  I am a little worried about keeping up the pace.  Since it is across the river, I cannot get over there as often as I do the other store.  However, blank spots and disorder show up more easier in smaller spaces than they do in my big ole booth.  I'm still trying to figure out the balance.  It might take me through the holidays to get it right.

Speaking of the holidays, I put the Halloween stuff in the new spaces and will be putting it out in the old booths this afternoon.  It's already selling well across the river.  Even my harvest stuff is selling better than it usually does.  This time of year it really pays to think like a regular retailer and do what they do.  All of your customers are seeing this stuff go up in Wal-Mart or wherever, so they are tuned into that cycle whether or not they realize it.  Vendors that can play along with that will benefit.  I'll have some Christmas out by the end of the month.

This was the most interesting yard sale week I've ever had.  We went to a church sale that did not exist, a community sale that was a bust, and by 11 had only bought a bird cage.  We were heading to large neighborhood sale, when we saw a pile of furniture in front of a house with a "FREE" sign on it.  That filled the van, with really nice stuff, so we called it a day.

Sorry no pics of that haul.  It was a busy road and there was no place to pull off safely, so we were too busy trying not to get killed as we loaded the van.

I did go over to a store I used to be in for a carport sale on Sunday.  Everything was a dollar, so I cleaned up on that.  Got some nice larger smalls for the new space.  Here is Chiquito inspecting that haul:

Beware the photo-bombing kitty!

I sort of had an interesting proposal tossed my way while I was shopping there.  The timing right now is really bad for me, so I said I would think about it.

I need to give a "thanks" to one of my blogging heroes and all around good dude Mike Sterling for featuring my wonky Magneto on his blog the other day.  If there is ever anything you need to know about comics, Mike is the guy to ask.  He's hilarious too!

I got to know Mike several years ago, when a group of bloggers would exchange music CD's through the mail.  Another one of my blogging heroes, Roger Green, reminisced about those days recently.  It's kind of like "old home week" on the blog today!

Well, I've got laundry to finish and dishes to do before getting ready for work, so I better scoot. More later, if I don't totally lose my mind!

Would you believe a Wednesday Rambles?

And then, Eddie went crazy and was never heard from again.

The end.

Okay, so it may not be time to come visit me at Mother Hood's Senility Complex with gifts of old comic books and brownies, but I'm feeling like it might not be too far off.  I've put the "crazy" in "crazy busy" lately.

I can happily report a few things:

First, I set another sales record in August.  I moved from a four digit gross to a four digit net!  This is the largest check I have ever gotten as a vendor!  And that was in the summer slow season!  Even the fair didn't really put a hurt on me.  Now that we're into the fall, which is traditionally a sales pick up time, I am really excited about what is to come!  My Halloween stuff will be out by next week, and I always sell Halloween like crazy.

One of the more interesting things about my sales is that my booth has looked like a hot mess for several weeks.  I've had a real hard time getting ahead of these sales and have been just throwing things in shelves and not paying much attention to anything else.  Apparently, people will step over dead bodies to get into my booth.  The messier it got, the more I sold.

After spending four solid days working, I finally have it under control again.  For the moment anyway.  It looks really good again.  It's not fully stocked.  I have a lot of egregious holes in shelves, but it's neat again.  (Now watch this kill my sales.)  I'll have some pics up here in the next couple of days.

The big stress point I've alluded to off and on since the beginning of August appears to have been resolved, somewhat favorably.  It's led to a new batch of stress, since I have taken booths in a second store as a result.  I don't feel like I can go into anything publicly, but would be glad to discuss any of this in private.

I am not leaving my first store.  I am very happy there, in fact.  I even took another wall space there over the weekend and might be picking another up at the end of the month.  Still, picking up a new store was kind of in the cards for me, even if the timing isn't great.  I hope it will go okay. 

Right now, I am kind of rushing trying to get the new spaces open.  I only have two 8x10's there, so it's a struggle dealing with much less space.  I am also having to rework my boothing schedule and have yet to come up with a satisfactory way to accommodate my job, home, and two stores.  The fact that the new one is across the river in Southern Indiana doesn't help.  I think it will all settle down in a bit, but right now it's all just chaotic.

On the other hand, the store I'm moving into is very very busy and most folks do well there.  It's managed by the woman who used to manage the store I started in and I love her to death.  There are positives to this whole thing, just a lot of uncertainty as well.

If I drop out of sight here and there, you'll know why.  Speaking of which, I'm picking up a lot of new readers these days, so I guess I might as well explain myself a bit. I am not one of those bloggers who responds to every comment.  I just don't have the time and sometimes I honestly don't know what to say.  Sometimes, it will be three or four days before I can respond and then I binge-reply.  Please don't be offended if you don't hear from me.  I have read your comment and do appreciate it.

Likewise, I tend to drop in on blogs once or twice a week and binge-read posts.  If you're wondering why you sometimes get several comments from me on posts that are several days old, now you know.  I love checking in and seeing what everyone has been up to.  Sometimes, it's just hard to work things in.  (You would not believe how far behind I am on Days of our Lives!)

Thanks for being here and thanks for reading and replying and thanks for letting me just be crazy junker Eddie!  Most of all, thanks for being you!

Tomorrow, I'll have pics of the flea market finds.  Friday, I'll have booth pics.

Overwhelming

How did it get to be August already?  I seriously have so much to do before the year is out.  Seriously.

I have to:

Do my regular work stuff
Do my regular booth stuff
Have two more cancer center follow ups
Turn 50
Celebrate turning 50
Go camping with Keith
Go to the big flea market on Labor Day
Read comics
Clean out the shed
Clean out the storage
Clean out the junk room
Have lunch with the Hulk
Get the fall/harvest stuff ready to sell
Get the Thanksgiving stuff ready
Get the Halloween stuff ready
Get the Christmas stuff ready
Put all that stuff out at the appropriate times
Go to special training for work
Do a bunch of regular trainings for work
Rearrange the booth
Make more Craigslists
Play poker with Batman and Wonder Woman
Watch Batman carefully, because he cheats
Hope that my class on reselling gets enough people to happen
Prep for that class if it does
Go to some boring-ass meetings
Finish this book
Get ready for the next junk set out
Write blog posts
Keep Facebook up to date
Get back to work on my top secret booth project
Have a yard sale
Have a book sale
Do the Highway 60 sale
Scan stuff
Crochet doileys for the pixies, who are always soiling their doileys
Eat Mexican food
Clean off this damn desk
Ride out the yard sale season
Buy stuff
Sell stuff
Thrift
Buy a new belt
Figure out Thanksgiving plans
Have tea with the Hobbits
Make a doctor's appointment
Make a dermatologist appointment
Find out what you have to do to get married in Chicago
Get married in Chicago
Read blogs
Comment on blogs
Take pictures
Get my bike fixed
And so on
Learn to juggle elves
Or is it elephants?  I forget...
And so forth
And etc etc etc
AIEEEEE!

There's only one thing to do.  I have to take a nap.  Then I'll figure out how to get all this done.

Monday Rambles

Drumroll, please!



We have a new record!  I had my total highest booth sales ever in June, 2014!  Despite the summer doldrums, somehow I managed to sell into the

LOW FOUR DIGITS

for the first time ever!

I've gotten into the upper threes quite a bit over the years, but have never broken that four digit mark, until now.  I'm still shaking over it, honestly.

Now this is gross sales, before the rent and commission comes out.  My check will be considerably less, but will still be one of the biggest I have gotten.  I've always felt that I needed to grow my gross sales to a certain level, then work on the net, which is really just growing the gross some more, but don't spoil my convoluted business theories.

Actually, one of my goals for my sales was to be in four digit gross by the end of 2014.  Since I had to take additional space to accommodate a store closing, I figured that I needed to make it pay.  I just didn't expect it would start so soon.  I've only been operating at my current level for two months, after all.

The challenge now is sustainability.  It doesn't do me any good if this is a one time event.  No resting on the laurels here!  I have to start working on my next goal:  the four digit net.  I've set a deadline for that one of December 2015.  We'll see.

I just can't believe I wasted all that time trying to have booths in other stores where it clearly wasn't working.  I thought that was the only way to grow my sales totals.  If I had spent the two years I wasted doing that on growing my base at the Peddlers Mall, I could have hit this level a long time ago!

Ah, hindsight!

Moving on to other topics:

I am off work this week.  Today is a stay at home and play day.  Or rather rest a bit.  Clean a bit.  Organize the shed a bit.  And maybe read some comics a bit.  Tomorrow is junking with my uncle and work on the booth day.  Wednesday is more booth day.  And Thursday will be about organizing my storage at the booth.  Friday, I'll probably chill and eat chili dogs.  (See what I did there?)  Saturday is closing day at the thrift downstairs from the booth, so I'll make a stop there.  Won't be much yard sale action, anyway.  Sunday, I'll go the big flea.

And then next Monday, I'll return to work, so I can get a little rest!

Actually, my work hours are weird right now.  Even though summer has officially just begun, our summer session is over.  When I go back to work, it will be on severely reduced hours--about half my usual total.  That goes on for two weeks and then we start back on regular sessions (ie the "fall schedule") on July 21.  

No Mazda shot this week.  Wasn't really that full.  No drama in a piddly Mazda load.  I'll have some finds picks later in the week.  My main stop was an estate sale run by my favorite company.  I would have been there regardless, but they also had comics!  Yay!

Finally, I word about that double post on Saturday.  I was trying to save that glamour shot for this Tuesday and thought I was scheduling it for then.  Instead, I accidentally set it up for last Tuesday.  (Does senility start at 49?)   I didn't realize it until your comments started showing up in my email.  Since it had already hit your feeds, the surprise was spoiled, so I didn't want to take it down and re-post it on Tuesday, so I just moved it to Saturday, for the sake of smooth posting continuity.  I was also afraid that someone might think it was an old post if I left it on the 24th and not see it.  What is the point of getting dressed up in your tropical finery if people don't get to see it because of a silly techno-user glitch?

Have a good week!

Monday Rambles

I'm still pretty wiped out from the weekend, so this will be more of a short run-down bullet type list than an actual post. I hope you'll forgive me.  More substantial content coming in a few days.

Spent most of last week at the Peddlers Mall--every afternoon and all day on Friday--getting the booth cleaned and stocked and ready for the big sale day.

Did not get everything I wanted done, but I got a lot done.

Had way more empty spaces in my booth that I realized.  Fixed that.

Still need to fix the comic area.  The layout there is problematic.

Managed to totally screw up my storage even more than it already was.  Need to fix that.

Got most of my layout issues worked out.  Booth has better flow now.

Pulled many items from booth for the outdoor sale.  Marked them way the hell down.

Brought over a van load from the shed at home for outdoor sale, mostly stuff from my uncle.

Planned to set up nine tables outside, but ended up with only seven after deciding not to pull two tables from the booth.

 Made and posted signs for my 20% off sale.

Arrived at 7 on Saturday to start setting up outside.  Sale officially started at 10.  Was ready by 8:30 to greet early birds, who all turned out to be really jerky flea market dealers.

Sold. Sold. Sold. Sold. Sold. Sold. Sold.

Had a really good day outside.  Did better than any previous outdoor sale.

Have a couple of stories to share from sale.  That will come later.

Sold a ton of stuff.  Had two tons to begin with.  Still had ton left.  Did get rid of large booth clunkers.  Happy dance.

Sold half of leftover ton to another dealer in bulk lot.  Left with just half ton of stuff to deal with.  happier dance.

Leftover half ton will be this week's restock at booth.

Set one day sales record for booth inside.  Nearly passed out when I saw the total!  Happiest dance.

Think I may have sold every Bible in the booth.  Need to find more Bibles.

Very very happy with indoor and outdoor sales on Saturday.  More happy dancing.

Also very tired.  Stumbled home and crashed.

Woke up Sunday with sinus headache.  Took meds and crashed.

Not going to booth today.  Mini-break. Will start back tomorrow.

Going to thrift after work instead.

And eat Mexican food.

This is last week of work for summer.  After Thursday, will be off until July 7.

No sales email for Sunday = no sales on Sunday.  Sad dance.
UPDATE:  Sales email went to Spam folder for some reason.  Never happened before.  Strong sales Sunday = Close to record month to date = more happy dancing!  

Monday Rambles

I forgot to get a "What's in Mazda?" shot on Saturday.  We were busy trying to get unloaded fast, because Keith was supposed to go camping.  He needed to make his own Mazda load!  I did get some pics of the large items after I got them put out.

I can now cross one of these tables off my hunting wish list.

Never met a school desk I did not want.

Ignore the background. Admire the foreground.

Something about kids' furniture.

More school desk love.

Most of the above came from a pre-school that is closing.  They were having a "pick what you want and make an offer" sale.  The school was run by one of the older churches near downtown, and the older pieces came from the basement.  They wanted me to look at the riding toys down there, but it was the table and desk that caught my eye.

I also got boxes and tubs of games and toys, but I haven't had time to go through them, so no pics yet.  Great combination of educational games and toy cars, though.  Good, good stuff.  Interestingly, I was the only one there for a long time and we got there just after they opened.  Some dude did come by and made them an offer of a hundred bucks for everything in the building.  They said they'd need to have a little more than that, so he left.

I did go to a couple of other sales, including a church sale with old lady ten-cent pricing and vintage Christmas!  I've been having a vintage Xmas drought for the past couple of years, but it really seems to have lifted this year.

As you can see from the above pictures, I'm having a little bit of a space layout issue.  I've spent so much time worrying about having enough items (and larger items) in the space, but the layout has taken back seat.  Now I feel satisfied with what I have in the space, so I need to work on how it's placed.  I've pretty much just been putting things in empty spaces up to now.  I have an idea, but I'm not sure how it will work.  We'll see, I guess.

I'm holding off on putting any new smalls out, because I'm having a 20% off sale this weekend.  Since I'm not going to be focusing on restocking, I'll be looking more at arrangement.   I have to confess that I have an unhealthy admiration for the old junk shop owner with stuff crammed into every nook and cranny with no rhyme or reason.  I have to find a way to modify that with a little customer friendliness.  I never had these issues when all I had was an 8x10 booth!

My other task this week is to get ready for our next sidewalk sale at the Peddlers Mall on Saturday.  A lot of what I got from my uncle last week is going into the sidewalk sale--old tools, tons of vintage smalls,  jars, bottles, and a bunch of fun stuff.  I'm also going to have comics and manga, small furniture, and a ton of books.  I'm planning on having eight tables worth of stuff.  Go big or go home baby! 

If I remember, I'll get some pics throughout the week and of the sale.  Content will be pre-planned and somewhat light this week (think bad jokes) due to all the activity.  Have a good week.

Way Long Overdue Whatever Day Rambles!

We interrupt your visit to a formerly lively, but recently very dead, blog with an important announcement!  Though he vanished unexpectedly, the long, lost Eddie-tor has at last been found!  He was discovered in the company of a Yeti and a Sasquatch visiting a thrift store in the fabled lost city of Shangri-La!  The trio was burdened with junk purchases made in locales such as Lemuria, Atlantis, and the Savage Land.  When asked for comment, the ersatz blogger had this to say:  "Can't talk now.  Gotta get back to the UFO.  The aliens just saw on Craigslist that Elvis is having a yard sale inside the hollow core of the Earth!" 

When conveyed this information, friends and loved ones began a plan to spread rumors of a rummage sale at the Bat Cave in hopes of luring the wandering soul back home.  More on this story as it develops.     

I am so sorry to all of you to be out of touch for so long without any kind of notice whatsoever.  To say that things have been crazy is an understatement of maximum proportions.  Between closing booths, opening booths, buying large heavy things, filling the van over and over with stuff, wrapping up the school year, and trying to get a handle on my booth, my storage area, and the junk room at the house, I have been pretty wiped out most of the time.

Here's a summary:

LAST WEEK OF APRIL INTO DERBY

Closed my uncle's booth at the Peddlers Mall on April 30.  He's been having some health issues, but is doing lots better.  I'm glad about that, since he is the last member of any direct generation of my mother's family ahead of me.  I'd kind of like to keep him around for a wile.

He's closing up shop for a while to have some time to continue getting better without the continual scramble to find new stuff to sell.  I've been tending his space for the last several months, so I closed it up for him.  He gave me his leftover stock and his booth walls, which I sold to the mall.  He just outright gave them to me, but I split the money from the sale with him.  I also paid him a little for his stock.  Getting him to take the money was a bit of a struggle, but I told him I had made an "executive decision."

Right after that, I had to move out of the store that closed.  I waited until the day after it closed, so I could do my work in peace.  I'm very glad to be out of there.  I saw and heard some things while I was closing up that didn't sit well with me.  The staff were very rude to a friend of mine who came to help his mother close her booth.  Plus, the management was putting a lot of pressure on vendors to move into a new mall where they had gotten jobs.  When I told them I was staying put at the Peddlers Mall, I got strange looks from them.

However, I did get some good stuff from vendors who marked down their stuff in advance of closing, including a marble top side table for five bucks!

Derby Week was good for me sales wise at the Peddlers Mall.  Honestly better than any Derby Week I've ever had before, even on Parade Day (Thursday).  Friday (Oaks) and Saturday (Derby) were dead, of course, but the rest of the week wasn't bad.

I've been working ever since to get the stuff I moved from the closed store worked into my space.  I'm now carrying more rent than I like, due to the space I had to pick up to accommodate everything.  I'm planning to give that up as soon as I don't need it.  Until then, I'll just do the best I can.  I've been rearranging as I've gone along, so it's been a slow process, complicated by a couple of recent large purchases.  (More on that in another post.)

Derby Saturday wasn't much for the yard sales, of course, but I did go to the one I consider to be the "season opener."  I got some fun small things there, so the day wasn't a total bust.  I also dropped in on a couple of comic shops for Free Comic Book Day and ended up with a good sampling of the available books. 

FIRST WEEK OF MAY (POST-DERBY)

Very slow sales, but I did move some large items.  I spent the week trying to get the booth up to snuff.  I moved closer to that goal, but never hit it exactly.  It will always be a work in progress, I guess.  I'm trying to get it rearranged to the point where I can accommodate a sofa or a dining room set, if the opportunity presents itself.

My brother turned 45 on the 8th.  In true family fashion, I haven't mailed his gift yet.  The card ended up in my storage room at the booth somehow and I keep forgetting to get it.  Oh well.  It's kind of a family tradition that we're late with the birthday acknowledgements, so I know he's not too surprised.

His hitting 45 has me pondering my upcoming 50th.  I think I'd like to have some sort of family get-together with his family, my uncle and his wife and a couple of my cousins.  I'm getting tired of only running into folks at funerals.  We'll see if we can get this together.

On Friday, I taught a class on having a successful yard sale.  Seriously.  Sometimes, I love the things I get paid to do!  There were four people registered, but only one showed.  I think that was due to the weather.

The weekend was rainy and cool, so a lot of the sales did not happen.  Bummer.  That includes the comic shop sidewalk sale that I was so looking forward too.  Double bummer.  I've been selling TONS of comics and am almost out of them!  Really.  Keith says he can't imagine that happening to me, but it's true.  Ack!

We did get to a couple of estate sales and a sale in a nice dry garage, so a van full was forthcoming.  I'm planning a catch up finds post this week, so I'll spill the details then.  Let's just say it involved a lot of huffing, puffing and carrying and further complicated the booth situation.

I also visited my uncle and took him his tables and booth check.  He's planning a yard sale and let me shop early.  He let me have first shot at the furniture and I got some cool pieces!  Plus, a ton of smalls.  He said he was tired of pricing the small stuff, so he let me make a pile and an offer. 

I spent Sunday working the never-ending booth.

LAST WEEK

More of the same.  Work.  Booth.  Work.  Booth.  My night sessions ended until July, which gives me a little more time.  Yay to that!

I started a new class on becoming a reseller, which had a good first session.

We hit a killer estate sale on Saturday and ended up going back for half price day on Saturday.  I don't normally do that, but this one was in the neighborhood and they had awesome stuff.  It was one of the best run estate sales I have ever been to:  well-organized, lots of help, good prices, and every single little thing was priced--down to the smallest thing!  Seriously.  I started picking little shit up just to see if it had a price.  And everything did.  That's a lot of work!  And the staff were super-friendly.  I'll definitely be looking for more of their sales.  An Eclectic Collector.  I recommend them highly.

Saturday night, we went to see Lyle Lovett give an awesome show that I will write more about later.

THIS WEEK

 More of the same.  My day time session ends on Thursday.  Tons of work to do at the booth on Monday and Wednesday.  I start house sitting on Thursday for a week.  Tuesday is an off day, due to the primary.  I kind of need it.  Saturday the Peddlers Mall is having a Sidewalk Sale, so I am also gearing up for that.  I'm taking over a couple of tubs of books from the house, my yard sale leftovers, and am pulling a bunch of booth duds, stuff from my uncle, and other items.  I'm planning to do six tables.  I may be mad.  We'll see.

 Thanks for dropping back by.  I'll try to start being more active again.

We interrupt this broadcast with another update.  Should you see our itinerant Eddie-tor, please do not attempt to subdue him yourself.  We are unsure what frame of mind his recent adventures have left him in.  Under any circumstances, do not attempt to help him with his parcels!  You know how junkers are about their purchases, even under ordinary situations.   Place a call to the local Peddlers Mall with his whereabouts.  They can take it from there.  Trained personnel will lay a trail of Wonder Woman comic books and Emmylou Harris CD's to the nearest Mexican restaurant where they will keep him occupied with chips and salsa, Diet Dr Pepper, and re-runs of Days of Our Lives.

Monday Rambles

Oh my!  I overslept today!  I've still got plenty of time to get to work, but not so much for the coffee and blogging time.  Oh my!  I need my coffee and blogging time!  Yes, I do.

I guess I'm still worn out from the adventure that was the weekend. 

I spent yesterday at the booth, pricing and putting stuff out from the haul.  It took all afternoon, but I got it all done, plus a little extra.

When sales slow down, I like to slack off on my restocking just a hair.  I'll put out only large objects or only a few new ones to keep everything looking fresh, but  concentrate on shifting the older stuff around to get to move.  After a few days of this, I'll  condense what's left onto a few shelves and slam out an abundance of new stuff.  It's an instant facelift for the booth and can often reinvigorate slow sales periods, like right now.

Last week was slow death, as far as sales were concerned.  I finally dipped into the single digits and could not get out!  It culminated in a day where my total was $1.99, and I took to my fainting couch with the vapors.  Actually, it was more the swoons than the vapors.  And I don't actually have a fainting couch, so I kind of just collapsed in a heap in the floor.  (Note to self:  Find a fainting couch.  It's so much more dignified.)

The weekend, however, turned out to be pretty good sales-wise.  My totals were where I like them to be and I sold some large items.  

Now it's Derby Week, which is the kiss of death for booth sales.  Wednesday, is the Great Steamboat Race, so everyone will crowd to the river to watch and no one will shop.  What steamboats have to do with horse racing, I don't quite understand.  Maybe they put the horses on the boats or something.

Thursday is the Derby Parade, so everyone will go downtown and no one will shop.  At least I get the day off, but I will not be downtown.  I'm not one for huge crowds.  More on my plans in a sec.

Friday is Oaks Day, so everyone will go to the Downs and no one will shop.  Except for those folks preparing for their Derby Parties.  Too bad I don't sell hot dogs and charcoal.

Saturday is (finally) Derby Day, so everyone will be at the Downs or at a arty somewhere, and no one will shop.  I shall console myself at the one annual yard sale that will happen and Free Comic Book Day.

And then it is over.  All I have to do is survive until Mother's Day, and hope sales pick up a tic after that.

As for me, this is what I have going on:

MONDAY:  Work.  Then go to closing store to check on booth and see if anyone has a killer markdown sale going on.  Go to main booth and prep storage room for what is to come.

WEDNESDAY:  Work.  Then go to Peddlers Mall.  Take down my uncle's booth and store his stuff in my room.  He's been sick for a while, but is getting better.  I've tended his space for him since the first of the year, but he has decided to take a break.  I'll take his tables and things to him next week.

THURSDAY:  Spend the day at the closed store breaking down booth and moving everything out.

FRIDAY:   Spend the day at the Peddlers Mall, working on the new set up and taking care of everything that got moved over.

SATURDAY:  FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!

SUNDAY:  Probably back to the Peddlers Mall to finish up.

Tomorrow, I'll regale you with the tale(s) of the sales from Saturday and put up some pics of the finds.  In the meantime, here's a preview:

See ya!

Friday Rambles

This has been one crazy-ass week, let me tell you!  I left some space in my blogging schedule for some writing, including my normal Monday Rambles post, and then watched it all fall away from me.

My head is kind of spinning from everything going on, so let me put a few points out there for you all to bring you up to date and confirm that I do, indeed, still exist and that I can do something besides post about religious booklets.

First and foremost, the biopsy came back negative!  They'll keep monitoring that spot, but it is not cancerous.  I cannot tell you what a relief that is for me!  I'm back on the regular cycle of three month scans and follow ups.  Thanks so much for all the kinds notes and thoughts.  I really appreciated it.  After we got the news, Keith made me waffles for supper to celebrate!

Last weekend's sales were pretty good.  The van continues to prove its usefulness by hauling lots of stuff.   We're still very early in the season, which means that I can get by with less than fifty bucks, because there aren't that many sales.

I had a rare and mystifying experience on Saturday:

I found myself waiting in line to get into a church sale.  I'm not one for lines to get into sales, especially when I can tell that there are several other dealers also in the line.  For one, I just don't have the patience for it.  You'll never catch me signing up for a number at an estate sale, unless that estate sale features an Emmylou Harris concert in the living room (and they're selling good comic books).

For another, I hate with the passion of a thousand white hot suns the shoving and grabbing games that some dealers like to play.  I know that one of these days I'm going to end up telling one of these assholes off for trying to push past me, and I'll be the one that gets booted from the sale.  There are a lot less frustrating ways to get stuff.

Besides that, I hit this sale every year, but it's never really that good.  I only put it on my list because it happens at the time of year where there aren't that many sales available to choose from. (Got another one of those coming up tomorrow.)  So I found myself kind of baffled that this particular sale had a line.  Really?

Then it dawned on me that I had never been to this sale as it opened.  I always get there after it's been going a while.  Maybe it's a little better come opening time.  So, I bade my time and waited in line and pondered which one of these dudes was going to be the one to piss me off.

The sale finally opened and I went right to the stuff I was looking for, which is furniture these days.  They had the most adorable kids' school desk for a couple bucks.  I could feel the other guys lining up behind me to stare at it, so I took my time going over it.  Then, while a couple of them were glaring at me, I took out my dollars and paid for it.  I got dirty looks for the rest of the sale and a couple of comments about what a steal I got as I was leaving with it.  You can't always judge a sale by the past, I guess.

Buying a cute school desk:  wonderful.  Pissing off a bunch of obnoxious dealers in the proces:  PRICELESS!

Sorry no pics.  I rushed everything to the booth last Saturday and totally forgot to snap any.  And i also picked up the most awesome set of wicker chairs to boot. They're purple!

I've got more to babble about, but I've got to head out the doo to grab a bus for work.  I'll throw it all into Monday's Rambles.  Have a good weekend and happy yard sales!

Monday Rambles

Welcome Home!  Welcome Home!

That's what the boys said when we got back.  Or, at least, what they would have said if they could talk.  Instead it was more like "Myah!"  (Kosh, who has just one word for everything) and "Myaroo!"
(Chiquito, who has dozens of words).

Seriously, we were bombarded for petting and loving for a long time after we got in.  And followed everywhere.  And sat on every time we sat down or slowed down.  I think we were missed.

Just in case there was any doubt, this is what happened when I got into bed:

He slept either on me or right beside me all night long, purring the whole time.  (Please ignore that stack of books and messy bookshelves.  I live my life surrounded by them.  I'm kind of like the guy in this classic Twilight Zone episode.  But I guess that's better than being the guy from this classic Batman episode.

 We're still unpacking and settling in, and trying to tackle everything else.  Even the return home had several detours, starting in Jackson, TN, where I snuck in a small bit of thrifting, adding to the already overstuffed car!  When we hit Louisville, we went right to the Peddlers Mall, to put the boxes from Keith's mother and my thrift purchases in my storage room.  (I'll sort them all out tomorrow.)  Since we had to get milk, I also perused some Christmas clearance items, but the markdowns aren't enough yet.  (I did get some markdown stuff at an awesome grocery store in Arkansas, though.)

Yesterday, we had our holiday get-together with some friends.  Every year we go to brunch at their house.  Keith volunteered us to make a breakfast casserole, so I whipped one up and it was a hit!  I had looked at some recipes online, but I didn't want one made with bread, because they require too much advance work and need to sit overnight.  I also didn't want one with potatoes, since our friend makes an awesome potato dish every year.  In the end, I just threw some veggie sausage, bell peppers, onion and mushrooms in a casserole dish, then beat some eggs with a little milk and sour cream and black pepper and poured it over the whole thing.  It went into the 350 degree oven for about an hour and voila!  Keith had me worried that the eggs weren't going to set up and cook and it would be all soupy, but it came out nice.

Tomorrow, I'm going to the booth to take down the Christmas and restock and re-do everything.  I've got some ideas for a couple of displays I want to do, plus an old metal cabinet sold, so I need to do some rearranging.  It's so convenient having almost everything in storage there.  I can just whip it out and throw it one the shelves.  I think I'm going to do a markdown table of some things that need to leave for a couple of weeks, then take the leftovers to the thrift downstairs from us.  I want to start the new year with as much new stuff as possible in the booth.

I usually leave the Christmas stuff up until after New Years, but I haven't sold a bit of it since Christmas and I have all this time off.  Why not put it to good use?  This has turned into my top sales month for the year, so I want to push it a bit more in the time that's left.  I also want to set the stage for a good new year.  I'll probably end up working there from open to close.

Tuesday is the New Year's big flea market with the antique wing.  It's the last day, so the antique dealers will have their dollar tables set up.  I'm also looking for more comic books.  They're selling pretty quickly.  In large batches.  I have some in storage to bring out, but I'll need to bag them first.  If I can buy some that are already bagged, that will save me some time on Monday.  Plus, I'll need more backstock regardless.

Wednesday is the kick-off for the secret project I've talked about here and there.  I'll try to remember to take pictures.  I'm still trying to get everything arranged for that.

I'll probably spend the rest of the week doing things around the house.  I've got a lot of catching up to do.  I also need to work on some blog posts for the new year.  And that pesky stack of comics is just crying out to be read!

Well, Kosh just jumped up between me and the keyboard, so I guess that's my cue to get out of here!