Monday Rambles

It's been a long time since I had to recover physically from a holiday weekend, but the 4th of July kind of did me in.  We went camping in a nearby forest.  For me, it was the first camping trip since before my surgery and chemo.  Keith goes frequently during the summer, but I can't usually go due to yard sales and such. I decided to go for one night this weekend, since there weren't many sales on tap for the holiday weekend.  Keith gave up most of his camping trips while I was sick, so I thought I should put in at least one night for him.

It was fun and very peaceful in the woods, but I got very little sleep that night.  Our air mattress started leaking!  One minute everything is fine, and the next, I'm thinking "My butt is touching the ground.  Now my back is touching the ground.  Now I'm on the freaking ground."

I couldn't deal with sleeping on the ground, so I tried to sleep in the van, with no luck.  Both situations just exacerbated the sleeping issues I was already having from not using my CPAP machine in the woods. 

I was going home after one night anyway, so I stayed up for most of the evening.  When I got home, I totally crashed out for hours!  I am such a wimp.

I'm heading back to work today for three days this week and thee days next week.  The week after that, my full regular schedule starts back, which is good.  I'm not used to being this tight on funds in the middle of yard sale season.  I am just about out of furniture at the booth and need to restock desperately.  I want another record month!  (I think this is how capitalist greed gets started.)

I went to the last day at the thrift store that was closing and was really disappointed.  They had been regularly putting out new stuff all this time, and then stopped for the last week.  It was all dregs and crap.  I did find a few things, but not as much as I really expected. 

I went to the big flea on Sunday.  To avoid the parking fee, I used a free Lyft ride to get there, then Keith picked me up at the end.  Usually Keith picks me up and drops me off, but he was still in the woods.  It screws with the prices of things too much when you start factoring in the parking costs, so I try to avoid it if I can.

The big buy there was a huge box of old religious books and pamphlets for seven bucks.  There is a regular dealer who sells the leftovers from his storage unit buy-outs for a buck a pop.  After the furniture and appliances and the like are sold off, there's almost always tons of small stuff left in a locker.  Most folks who buy lockers will sell that stuff cheap, knowing that they'll make a ton of money on sheer volume.  They've made their profit on the big stuff, and the little crap is just gravy.

There are a couple of locker buyers at the Peddlers Mall, and I shop from them all the time.  They have good stuff cheap, and I have plenty of room to turn it over and turn a profit.  So, I like this kind of deal.  You just have to be careful and inspect everything carefully. Most of it has not been packed really well, so there are lots of chips and cracks.

Anyway, I was not about to pay a buck a piece for the stuff in this box.  There was over 100 items in there!  So I asked him what his best price would be.  I was expecting him to say ten bucks and was planning to counter with five, so that we could end up at seven.  I kind of think he was thinking along the same lines, because he just said:  "How about seven bucks?"  I like it when we can cut the bullshit and get right to a price we can both live with!  I still need to go through the box all the way, but there are a few things I'm going to scan for the blog.

I also had a long talk with another dealer about the ins and outs of reading condition comics vs. collectible condition comics and made a nice score on some small items that might show up here this week, if I get a chance to take some pics/

I sold a table over the weekend at the booth, so that means it's time for a rearrange this afternoon.  This weekend is another sidewalk sale at the Peddlers Mall, in celebration of the store's 5th anniversary at its current location.  I've not decided what I'm going to do yet, but I'm leaning towards blowing out some old stock at 25 and 50 cents a throw.

I'm having a bit of a writer's block when it comes to larger posts right now.  I can throw together some things pretty quickly, but I have some ideas brewing for several longer posts that just can't seem to get off the starting point.  Everything is fine in my head, but when I sit down to put words on screen, nothing comes out.  I hope it's temporary.

Monday Rambles

Hope everyone had a safe holiday and was able to stay relatively cool and collected.  I'm guessing there were not a lot of fireworks shows out there due to the weather.  I was kind of worried that folks in the neighborhood were going to burn everything down with the stuff they went across the river to buy.

I'm well into the triple digits with posts, and by the end of next week, I should be cruising to totals unseen on this blog.  Indeed, every post shall become the new record!  (Sometimes, I think reading all of those Marvel comics as a kid really heightened my flair for the over-dramatic.)

We beat the heat by heading to the woods for the weekend.  Between the trees, the breeze and a couple of battery powered fans, we made out okay.  It was very, very nice and relaxing.  I'm not nearly as heavily into camping as Keith is, but a getaway every now and then is okay with me.

Last Friday would have been Mom's 71st birthday.  Coincidentally, earlier in the week, I was working in our shed and found yet more boxes of her stuff that apparently we had overlooked when my brother was here last.  Sigh!

We made the hour and a half trip down to put flowers on her grave for her birthday.  I wish I lived closer, so we could do it more often, but then we get there and I never really know what to do with myself.  It's kind of awkward.  I bought two small arrangements and put one on Mom's grave and the other on my grandmother's.  I picked up a small American flag for Dad's grave.

While we were out in the country, we did hit a couple of yard sales.  I got a nice stash of cobalt blue glass and some religious articles.  I also went to a vendor mall near the camp site we stayed at.  There weren't too many sales around this area over the weekend.  I think between the heat and the holiday, it was just a slow one.  I did manage to stop at a few of them on my way in, though.

I had an awesome sales spike at the booths from the fourth on.  One was consistently strong from the holiday on, the other was less so, but there were some nice days at both.  Got some major work planned at both sites this week.  Going to try to remember to get some pics.

The beat, it does go on.  Eh?

Monday Rambles

It would seem that I have not yet adjusted to my new schedule, even after a couple of weeks.  I promise that I will get into the groove of doing more than an abbreviated Monday Rambles soon!

In the meantime, here are some highlights:

Saturday was Keith's birthday.  To celebrate, we went camping.  Passed two church rummage sales that I could only wave at, because we had no room in the car for anything.  Sigh!  We had a good time, though.  It was a little on the cool side, but relaxing.  We actually had to chase wildlife out of the tent, which was a first for me.  A field mouse and a chipmunk both decided that they fancied our digs.

Saturday was also the kick-off to the Derby festival, which means that were are now in the two weeks of madness where everyone would rather do all kinds of activities instead of buying secondhand junk.  I ask you, where are people's priorities these days??

I'm going to finish out the month okay at Peddlers Mall--which means rent was made a while ago, and I'll get something over that.  Not a spectacular record-breaking month, but I'll make some money and that's okay by me.   Still working on the rent at the other place.  It's been a long slow climb there.  I've never been this close to the end of a month without rent made.  It's freaking me the hell out.

I'm needing to score some cheap comics in a hurry.  I've about sold through my stock and they keep selling.  The hunt is on!

Last week, I got into a grabbing match with another dealer at Goodwill.  They had this rack of vintage salt and pepper shakers and planters for a buck or less.  I was there first checking them out, when he just pops up and starts grabbing everything in sight.  Having no choice, I started grabbing too.  I prefer to conduct myself in a slightly more genteel fashion, but he started it!!!  I checked out right behind him, too.  It's a good thing I did, because I could tell that I got all the best ones. 

And, another week has begun.  I'll work on getting some more up here soon.

Bits and Pieces

My, what a lot of catching up to do....

The weather has taken a turn for the better here.  The trend started over the weekend and is supposed to last a few days.  It's been nice to have a reprieve.  The last couple of major storm fronts missed this area too, which was a welcome change.  I do feel for the folks in the northeastern US.  Still, as nice as it is, it's way too early to get accustomed to this kind of thing.  I know that winter still has a last blast or two up its sleeve for us.  Problem is, that if it gets too nice right now, the fall back into winter will be that much harder to take.  Sigh!

We went camping over the weekend with some friends.  Well, cabin camping, anyway.  Too cold for tent camping, even with the Saturday warm up.  In fact, the evenings were still too cold for me, period.  They enjoyed the campfire outside, but I preferred the heater in the cabin!  (They call me "anti-social."  I prefer to be known as "the man with the warm buns and feet.")

We hit a local flea market on Saturday, as well.  The warmer weather meant vendors were setting up outside again, and that's where the real bargains are.  The outdoor sellers pay for a day spot, so they don't have as much overhead a the folks with permanent spots in the building.  Their prices are lower and they're more willing to negotiate.  I didn't buy a lot, because I'm maxed out on inventory right now, but there were a couple of things I could not pass up.

Let's see....what else is going on?  Well, there have been some major changes at the booth, but I'm going to write about them in a separate post.

I had the pleasure of meeting an online friend in person as she passed through town on her way to parts south a few days ago.  Kathleen is a fellow member of the Yard Sale Queen forum, and we had a wonderful dinner together.  She also gave me some very nice gifts, which were much appreciated.  The next day, she went by the booth on her way out of town and had some very nice things to say about it, which I appreciated very much.

Other than that, I guess things are about the same here.  I'm working on a ton of updates and stuff for the blog, so keep checking back.  I'm working hard on building up my backlog and getting some things scheduled.

Back from the Wilderness!

I didn't have time last week to get any drafts finished up and ready to post, so I ran out of content yesterday. I'm about to hit a lull in the part-time gig, so I'll be able to get more stuff ready and scheduled and such.

We had a ball this weekend. one of the best times we've ever had camping, in fact. Keith loves (make that LOVES) to camp and goes nearly every weekend in the spring and summer. I like it, but am not that enamored with it. Besides, once yard sale season gets rolling, I've gotta stay in town and go on the merchandise hunt.

So, anyway, we just kind of sat around and did nothing together all weekend. And it was glorious. I didn't read a thing, which is odd for me. We talked. We ate. We talked some more. We ate some more. Keith made a pot of the best chili Saturday. We laid un the tent and listened to the rain on Saturday and napped. We had a bottle of wine and sat in the camp hot tub. It was just a lot of agenda-less fun.

It's been a rough summer between my mom dying and me getting fired. I'm still fighting that on several fronts. Keith has his own work stresses. Another friend of ours passed a few weeks ago. We've got the financial stuff to worry about being down one income. I had a ton of vacation time I got paid for, plus Mom's insurance, so we've been okay, but that's running down and my savings are dwindling. The part-time gig pays well, but not until completion and I've got two more weeks to go on that. We'll be okay through the end of the year, but something has to open up for me before then. I feel really guilty that all this chaos is because of me, but he keeps reminding me that it really isn't.

So anyway, it was a lovely, lovely break. We did hit a couple of yard sales, too, but nothing fancy came out of it. It was nice to get home to our own bed and the kitties too, although now I'm confronted with a house full of stuff that needs doing. Being unemployed was supposed to grant me some time to take care of some things, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Oh well.

I guess I'll get started on the dishes now and the laundry. Got some booth stuff to do too. When I started thinking about everything I had to do at the house over the weekend, for some reason, "Wall of Death" kept coming into my head. I guess catching up on the housework around this place is kind of like riding the Wall of Death, so it does fit.

So, while, I'm climbing one Wall of Death, you can enjoy the musical one, courtesy of guitar great Richard Thompson:



Oh yeah, last thought: I broke 600 last month with the booth. I am so psyched!