I finally hit and then passed my monthly sales goal for the booth. In fact, even if I don't sell anything else this month, I'll now have set a sales record for this store. If I keep selling at the rate I have been (and who can predict such things), I'll have my second or third best month overall anywhere.
Suddenly, a wave of entrepreneurial energy has flooded over me!
Look out wanna-be presidential candidates!
The Donald is over!
It is now the era of The Edward!
Fun fact: The Edward has better (and more natural hair) than the Donald, even if he does still need a damn haircut.
Don't worry. I am not going to start referring to myself in the third person all of the time now. Just some of the time. When I'm feeling cocky flushed with victory.
Strong sales this time of year are not unusual. Fall is a good time for the vendor malls around here. What's weird is that this sales-run is entirely smalls driven. I've sold two pieces of furniture this month. Two. I've only sold a couple of larger-priced items besides that. Everything else has been small stuff that's ten bucks or less, with much of that being in the one-three buck range.
My biggest sellers have been Halloween and comic books. I'm going to have to reshuffle the Halloween again to try and fill in some major holes. I think I'm going to sneak the fall stuff in amongst the Halloween to see if some of it might sell by mistake.
I'm down to my last batch of already priced comics. I priced up everything I got last weekend, but I'm going to have to do some bagging and pricing this week. I'll also need to haul in a box of books.
Once I get the restocking done, I need to spend some time working on the Endcap Booth. It's become a little more disorganized than I like, so I'm going to try creating some sections and "zones." I'm also going to move pull all the furniture out and put it in new spots to try and jump start those sales.
In other good news, my scan was good. Really good, in fact. The docs are happy. I'm happy. Things are definitely moving in the right direction. The treatment will be continuing for some time now, but it's doing what it's supposed to be doing.
The whole visit went really smoothly last week, except that the lab got backed up, which delayed my treatment for a little while. I was out about 30 minutes later than normal, so it wasn't too bad. The Bingo volunteers were there this time. I didn't play, because I was really engrossed in my puzzle book, but there was a woman in my section who was intense about it. Made me realize that Bingo Halls are not places I want to be hanging out. People get cut-throat over their Bingo. Even though I didn't play, they let me pick a prize out of the prize basket at the end.
Still waiting for the arts and crafts lady with the macaroni art.
Celebratory Good News Mexican Food Lunch!
This weekend is the big Highway 60 sale, and I am psyched to go! We'll only go about an hour or two down the road, then turn around and come back. That's usually enough for a full van load. I'd love to make a killer vintage Christmas score. My Christmas stash feels so light this year that it worries me.
It's just going to be a short trip, but it's going to be fun and different and I think I would like that right about now.
Seriously, two ice cream cups is part of my ritual there, along with the heated blanket and a pillow. For some reason, I ended up not asking for the them yesterday. I never skip out on the ice cream.
The little red thing is the badge with my patient number on it. I'm supposed to wear it every time I go in, so they can ensure I get my treatments and not Hortense P Snodwaller's by mistake. Usually, I forget it. In fact, I think yesterday may be the first time I remembered it this year. I should have gotten an extra ice cream for that.
You can kind of see the IV tube snaking its way across to the Purple Power Port. (ENGAGE!)
Yesterday went about as smoothly as it's ever gone. In at eight, out by eleven. That's my motto! Hardly any wait time at all, except for my labs to get back, which is a necessary wait. If certain numbers are off, then I cannot have the treatment. Thankfully, that has never happened for me. I did hear one of the nurses trying to explain to another patient yesterday that her labs showed she was almost dehydrated, which is one of the things that can keep you from getting treated.
This is a very fast infusion. It only takes 30 minutes. Once the drug arrives, and they hook it up, it hardly takes any time at all. Quite a switch from my first treatment, which took 90 minutes, plus pre-meds.
By the way, I started that book I'm reading right after I got to the cancer center and finished it after I woke up from my nap. It's been a while since I read a book all the way through in a day.
Don't forget to leave a question for Ask Eddie Anything! I'd love to have a few questions from readers who have never commented before.
It's that hot. And humid. And icky. To top it off, we get these thundering downpours that last an hour or so several times a day, making everything even stickier and more humid afterwards. It's kind of like living in South Florida.
We went out for maybe two-three hours on Saturday, and I could not wait to get home. I'm kind of glad to have a moratorium right now. I certainly don't wanna be standing in some stranger's driveway, dripping in sweat.
I did go to a nerd herd sidewalk sale at the comic shop on Saturday, because those are not part of the moratorium and I need lots of comics for the booth these days. Instead of being 50 cents each, like they usually are at these sales, the comics were a quarter each, which is bargain city!
I was thinking that they would move the sale indoors, due to the heat. They have a side room that they have used in the past for sales, including three this year. However, everything was out on the sidewalk in the blazing heat. At one point, it was just me and one other guy there. He looks at me and says: "Either we like this stuff a lot or we're nuts." Or both. It was pretty miserable.
That song, by the way, is a John Prine classic, which has also been covered by my beloved Iris DeMent. I could not find a good video of either of them performing it, so I went with Josh Ritter, who is quite a fine singer-songwriter in his own right. (Still love my Americana music!)
Like I always say, you can't go wrong with a Prine song for a blog-opener. Well, maybe I don't always say that, but I do when the occasion calls for it. Like this one.
We've had so much rain that all our bushes and such are growing out of control. I keep thinking about working on that a little bit, but the heat keeps putting me off. If you drive past our house, turn your head. At least the neighbors haven't complained yet.
Tomorrow is a treatment day. Number six, I think. I'm scheduled early, early this time, so maybe I won't get caught by the delays we've had the past couple of times. Then I'll be home for my post-treatment nap.
I'm going to try to go the booth Wednesday and Thursday. It will need straightening and tweaking. I want to get some better pics too. I have not promoted the booths on Craigslist for a while, since i moved into this store, in fact. I need to get in gear again. I'll share pics with you all, of course.
My plan for the next few weeks is to keep the place tidy, but not to restock for a bit (except maybe for comics and replacing furniture that sells). I've got a bit too much in stock in the booth right now and need to sell it down to make room for new stuff.
One of the odd things that I often is experience is a slight sales drop after I do a lot of work on the booth. It's not a big one this time, but there is a difference between what was happening when the place was trashed and what's going on now, counter-intuitive as it sounds. Sometimes, I cannot figure this business out.
Finally, a new idea. Blog pal Roger dealt with last week's incredibly boring ramble by asking an excellent question. That gave me an idea: Why not see if anyone else has any questions they would like to ask?
Soooooo....introducing:
THE FIRST EVER ASK EDDIE ANYTHING!
If you've ever had a question(s) that you wanted to ask me, leave it in the comments, or drop me en email, or contact me on Facebook. I'll take those questions and answer them here in the blog in upcoming posts. Deadline for questions is this Friday! Get pondering and get asking! I'll answer Roger's question in a few days.
is for everyone who has taken the time to follow this blog, leave a comment, or think a good thought for me during this whole ordeal. One day, I hope to meet at least some of you face to face and give it to you in person.
I know more than a few of you expressed concern over my rather ambitious booth-moving plans for the week. Trust me, I have been pacing myself throughout. The only way I know how to go about things is to make "shoot for the moon" plans and then accomplish whatever I can. If I don't, then I end up sitting around, intimidated by everything that needs to be done and my somewhat limited abilities to get it all done.
I absolutely hate these forced periods of inactivity and rest breaks that I have to take all the time. It's not that I'm the most ambitious go-getter person alive. I'm actually pretty lazy. I just like to choose when I get to be lazy. You know?
Monday, I got to the Peddlers Mall at about 10:30 and worked until about 7:30 that evening. I took four half-hour long rest breaks during that time and managed to get done everything that I planned for that day.
Tuesday was treatment, so no Peddlers Mall for me.
Wednesday, I got there at about 1:00. An earlier arrival was not in the cards that day. I worked until about 6:30. I got done what I wanted to get done, so I went on home. I knew there wasn't going to be any extra work out of me last night.
Today, I stayed in. I could tell when I tried to get up that it wasn't going to happen, so I didn't force it. Despite what it may seem, I do listen to my body. It screams at me quite loudly, in fact. Today has been one long nap. Much needed. I think I have to pretty much go in "day on followed by day off" mode. At most, I can sometimes do two days "on," but that's about it.
Missing today's put me behind, but assuming that I do make it over tomorrow, and that I get as much done as I want to, then I'll still be 3/4 of the way done, and that's goof enough for the weekend. Then I can take the weekend off, and finish up on Monday or Tuesday next week, still be in good shape, and have everything where I want it to be.
Despite the chaos, I started of July with a very strong day yesterday. The chippy pink cabinet that wooed many of you is GONE! Someone else is loving it now, just the way I like it. The green chair is still there, largely because no one can get near it. About half my space is totally inaccessible.
Here is kind of what I am working with. I don't have pics of everything, but you get the idea.
This is what my space looked like after my drop off on Saturday. Last bit of accessibility gone. I still managed to sell nearly a hundred bucks worth of stuff that day. Somehow. My uncle and I have a joke that some people will crawl into a dumpster over dead rats and broken glass to get at good junk. An untidy booth doesn't phase 'em. To that, I say "God bless 'em!" \
But I do like to keep my space a little better than this. See all of those shelves in the back? They've been moved to the new book booth, along with the table of comic boxes on the left, so that's opened up some space to work with. It's still disheveled, but now it looks like someone is trying to work on it, instead of just storing crap there.
This is the start of the book booth, which is directly across from the other one. I did not get an after picture, but it has been completely done. I still have some little things to do, like get a few shelves for toys on the peg wall, but all the other merch is there.
If you can imagine the bookshelves above lining those tape lines, with the books on them and the comics on the table, you pretty much got it. It's a book booth, you know!
The other thing I've had to deal with was this.
I mentioned that I bought some shelves from a vendor who was leaving. Well, I also kinda-sorta bought the stuff on the shelves, too. FROM HERE ON OUT THE MORATORIUM IS TOTAL AND SERIOUS! I WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE ON SATURDAY! It was one of those decisions that was kinda dumb and kinda smart. Dumb because I didn't need the stuff and it's more work to do. Smart because it was good stuff at a total bargain price and I would be kicking myself if I didn't do it.
It's the sales from this stuff that's keeping me afloat right now. I had to get all of this out of where it was, because the space had been rented for July, so I just placed it all around the edges of my other space. It's been selling like crazy. I think people never knew it was in the previous booth. Those shelves hold a lot.
The shelves I had to cram into my other set of booths. I do not have a picture of that, so if you can just imagine higgledy-piggledy, then you have it.
I have a set of shelves I need to move from one undone booth to the other once, then some rearranging in both spots, and restocking, and I'll be done. I know it seems like a lot, but I'd rather be out and busy than sitting at home all the time. I'll sit at home when I have to, but I have to get out when I can.
I'll have pics of the entire new set up when it's done next week.
Survey Says: "We are moving in the right direction!"
That's a direct quote from the doc. The tumor is responding and has shrunk a bit. We've still got a ways to go, as the tumor has to (of course) go all the way away and my immune system needs to develop to the point that it will fight off future recurrences on its own. That's the part that takes so long, which is while I'll still be on this drug for months and months to come.
For the first time in a long time, I feel optimistic, but cautiously so. There is always the chance the drug could stop working. The doc says that "rarely happens," but I am nothing if not the exception to a lot of rules already. There is also the possibility that my immune system won't respond as expected and there will be a recurrence on down the line. But those are all thoughts for the future. Right now, the damn thing has shrunk a little.
I'll take it. And the damn fatigue that goes along with all this.
Also, your Chiquito of the Month for July. He only takes second billing to treatment updates.
Well, so much for my moratorium on yard sales. I didn't violate it by much, I promise. It was only three sales. Seriously. In my mind, it was only going to be a few things and an hour or two. Then I was going home and back to bed.
Shortly after I made my declaration, I found out that a church in our neighborhood was having a sale. Oh dear. Church sale. In the neighborhood. In a church that always has good sales. A church that is also rumored to be closing. I felt like I had to go, just in case they do close and there are no more sales. Oh well, it's only one.
I found an estate sale on Friday that advertised lots of vintage Fisher Price toys and older Star Wars toys. I'm expanding my vintage toy selection and the sale was run by a company I like that usually has good prices. I was the last customer in on Friday, but there were still lots of the FP toys left and the prices were pretty good. The Star Wars stuff was out of reach, but that was okay. Since it was the end of the last day, I got a little bit of a deal.
I also got something I've been wanting for a while.
Vintage Our Lady of Lourdes figurine with St Bernadette in the Grotto. It's safely ensconced in my religious collection!
As I was leaving, the workers called out and said "Be sure to come back tomorrow for half price day." Half price? Shit! That makes two. There were a few toys that were just a hair too high for me at their original prices. I'd be sticking my head back in to see what was left for half price day.
Finally, I saw a listing for a sale that was going to be just down the street from the church sale. Well, I was going to be passing it anyway. That made three.
I figured three was pretty true to the spirit of a moratorium. It would only take a couple of hours. I'd only pick up a few things and that would be that. I wasn't counting on lots of well-priced larger items. Take a look.
I got two of these crafting cubby/organizer things and a small black bookcase at the church sale. Cannot have too much display and storage. The cubbies will be good for small toys and such.
Chippy pink cabinet with orange interior. I need to brush it out a little. It looks like it's been out in the barn for thirty years. My favorite part is that sticker on the right hand door.
This brings back memories! When I was a small town Kentucky boy, Burger Queen was the only "fast food" place in our little town. They changed their name to Druthers in the 80's, but went out of business ages ago. When I moved to Louisville, their corporate HQ was not very far from where I lived. I was kind of tickled to find this. My father used to say that my mother would make him drive a half hour away so they could get BQ after they were married. This was before my little town got one. My mother always claimed she did not remember doing this. I do remember eating with each of my parents at both the one in our town and the one a half hour away.
Coolest find of the day. This portable ironing board with storage baskets! When you're through with that pesky ironing, just fold the sides down and roll it back into a corner!
There's chippy and then there's almost scary. This chair kind of delicately treads the line between the two. It's not child-sized. Take a closer look. The bottom of the legs have worn away! I can see this one on a front porch, holding a large fern!
I like to use plant stands like this to hold small toys or bottles or other junk for display. They're great for small books too.
I did buy some smalls, but those will have to wait until later. We had to do a smalls drop off at the house so that I could fit some of the stuff in the van. As for the tragically decapitated lady from yesterday, I'm going to try and save her. The accident was totally my fault. I should have laid the lamp down. I had room for that, but I got lazy. It's such a gaudily cool piece too.
This week is going to be totally insane! Except for Tuesday, I'll be spending all day every day at the Peddlers Mall. I'm completely redoing everything! The manager finally decided which vendors get the new spots she opened up across from me in front of the store.
She was going to do a drawing, but she decided that she wanted to go with known quantities and good vendors, for those spots, which makes good retail sense. They're the first things people will see as they come in the store. There's going to be a certain standard look for these spaces too. Walls and shelving will be a little more regulated than in other booths. She wants vendors who will work with that. Think you know anyone who meets all that criteria?
Well, I do! And I got one of those coveted spots. So it's all getting upended! I'm moving all my books, comics, reading materials, ephemera, modern games, jigsaw puzzles, music and movie media, and nerd toys into the new spot.
The end of the row spot will become furniture, home decor, art, vintage, primitive, rustic, classic, and vintage toys and games. The spaces on the aisle will house the religious items, modern toys and stuffed animals, housewares, appliances and kitchenware, barware, glasses and dishes, and all that oddball stuff I like to pick up.
While I'm not really wild about the rent expense for the new spot, I do need to make this move. My biggest sources of customer mess are books and comics, so getting them their own spot will make for easier maintenance. The space gained by moving them out will allow me to move a bunch of my stash out and into the booths. And I'm reshuffling all my shelving to new spots, so everything will look different. I'll get some pics up as soon as it's all done.
I think that this is the step that will eventually move me up to the level I want. It's just going to take a lot of work to get there. Which is why this is an all week work thing. I have to allow time for my breaks when I need them. Keith is afraid that I'm pushing it a bit too much. Honestly, I probably am, but I don't want this to take forever. If things sit half-done for too long, then sales are going to suffer, so I want to get it wrapped up quickly.
My new spot will not be available for move in until Wednesday, which complicates things a bit. There is some work that needs to be done for the new spaces that will not be finished before the first. I picked up some nice industrial sized shelves from a vendor who is leaving, and they need to be out of her old spot before Wednesday, since that spot is already rented again. I'm going to try and park them in another empty booth, but if I can't then I'll cram them in my space for a day.
Tuesday is treatments day (and also scan results day), which also means I'll be moving pretty slow the rest of the week. If I can just get the bulk of it done by Friday, I'll rest over the weekend.
And from here on out, for reals, honest to goodness, NO MORE YARD SALES until further notice. I anticipate spending most of next week moving a lot of the stash over to fill in holes created by the new booth scheme. After that, I'm going to start planning for my own yard sale at the end of the month. I'm going on a cleaning/decluttering tear in the kitchen, the backyard shed, and the back porch with one mission: toss, sell, donate. Some will end up in the booth, but there's a lot of things I want to go quickly, so a yard sale is the better route, I think.
Come August, I'll reassess the moratorium. If I can greatly bring the stash level down, I'll start thinking about laying in a winter stash.
Someone please remind me that I've said all of this in a public forum. Thank you.
The problem with doing a mid-week update post, like I did last Thursday, is the potential to take the wind out of the sails of the Monday Rambles post, which is supposed to be my regular weekly update post. Not that I'm trying to be some kind of kind of strict literalist when it comes to my posting schedule, but I did start doing certain posts on certain days so that readers might have a idea about what was coming up. Assuming, of course, that I actually do post regularly.
I purposefully kept Thursday's post a little sparse, so that I would for sure have some things to ramble on about today. Now it is time to expound a bit.
By the way, I am aware that it's Tuesday. In the afternoon. Late afternoon.
Bad blogger. TREATMENT UPDATE
Last Tuesday was treatment number four, so it's time for me to have another scan to see if this immunotherapy thing is working. I'll do that a week from this Wednesday, then get the results the following Tuesday when I go for treatment number five.
At this point, I seem to be tolerating the drug fairly well. I'm not having any of the nausea/diarrhea issues, except on infrequent occasions. The same for the other main side effects. I'm still having to watch my blood sugar closely, but that's really it. I do get fatigued, but that is worst on the day of the infusion and the day after. Otherwise, I really only have fatigue issues when I go too hard too long without rest breaks. And those can carry over to the next day, usually resulting in a day in.
All in all, if this has to be my condition and status for a while, I can tolerate and live with it.
At this point, the treatment is so new that the docs still don't know how long it will last. They honestly don't know when to end the protocol. The first people to receive this drug are still receiving it every three weeks, two and a half years later. This makes me a little uneasy, mainly from a payment point of view. What if insurance gets tired of covering a never-ending treatment?
The current line of thinking seems to be that they'll be able to make that call soon, based on the experiences of those earlier patients, but that I should be prepared for at least two years of treatments. I guess this makes me "cutting edge" or something.
And that makes me think I should dye my hair pink, pierce my nose with a safety pin, and form a punk band called the Gall Bladders. I've never been "cutting edge" before.
I'm not trying to make any predictions or get any hopes up until I have that scan.
On a related note, I seem to be mostly over that damn cold now. Thank goodness. I agree with everyone who said that summer colds are the worst. Because they are.
BOOTH UPDATE
May was a struggle. I finally ended the month with an okay total. Not great, but okay and totally acceptable. Since last June, I have managed to top a thousand in gross sales every month. Sometimes, it's waaaaaaay over and others it's just barely over. My goal this year has been to get things to a consistent level every month. I want that thousand to be my net.
So far, June has been good to me. Sales have been consistently high and I am way ahead of where I was last month at this time. Furniture has started moving again, something that wasn't happening last month. Also, comic books are flying out of the booth in large amounts on an almost daily basis. I'm cautiously optimistic.
The most surprising part of my sales this month is that my booth has been totally trashed for weeks. After ten days in SF, plus several days of cold and other distractions, calling the place a "wreck" is an understatement. I spent today pulling everything out of the end booth and completely rearranging it. Now, I'll need to get a load of stuff ready to go over, so I can restock and do the big rearrange on the aisle booth.
The mall moved a bunch of showcases that used to be across the aisle from my endcap booth across the store, with the intention of creating more booth spaces. I requested three of them, hoping to move my aisle booths up closer to my other ones, plus pick up a space to move the books and comics into and expand my selection. Turns out they're only making six new booths and they've had multiple requests for those spaces. To be fair, they're going to hold a lottery for the spaces, one per vendor who gets drawn. I guess we'll see what happens.
Since it's only possible to maybe get one of those spaces, I'll use it for the books and comics if I get it. That will pull the rest of my book stock out of storage, plus I'll also need a bunch of the shelves I'm storing. Moving the books and comics out will let me move new shelves into the end booths and get more boxes out of storage, plus a few more pieces of small furniture. It would be nice to make a dent in that stash.
In case I don't get picked, I went ahead and told the manager that I would like to pick up a space for the books and comics for July. I think it's a move I need to make, even if I can't get one right near my current booths. For all the sales, it is really hard to keep the comics and books neat. They need a space away from my "curated" furniture spot.
WEEKEND UPDATE
Joy posted recently about the advantage of a church sale: lots of good loot in one place. Usually. For the first time ever, the largest and best church sale of the year let me down. Miserably. Part of the issue was a couple that had somehow managed to snap up all the best furniture within minutes of the sale opening. Seriously, we got there about ten minutes after it opened and most of the furniture had sold signs on it. There weren't even that many people there yet! I watched the buyers loading up as we were leaving. The furniture that was left was either unsuitable for my needs or overpriced.
As far as the other stuff goes, the volume was way down. This is the place that usually has about six rooms full to the brim with stuff for sale. There were still six rooms, but they were only about half full. It was still a lot of stuff, but not in comparison to previous years. The quality was way down too. There just wasn't that much to be excited about. The toy room in particular was a huge letdown. Last year, I made four trips through this one room alone, buying armloads each time. This year I didn't buy anything there! You read that right. I left a toy room empty-handed. Me. Really.
One of the shoppers remarked to one of the church volunteers about the drop in the amount of items for sale. The volunteer kind of looked over her shoulder, lowered her voice, and said:
"I hate to put it this way, but it kind of depends on how many people in the church have died recently. Or moved into assisted living."
Talk about killing your shopping buzz. Now I'm feeling guilty about all the good years of shopping I've enjoyed at this church! Welcome to the Dark Side of Resale!
Somebody leaving the sale told Keith about another church sale nearby that had lots of stuff, so we decided to hop over to that church, then hop back for the rest of the neighborhood sale around the church. Yes, Mazda can hop. Mazda's talents are limitless.
That sale turned out to be a bust--lots of stuff, but way overpriced. They weren't open to bargaining either, since they were raising money to build a well in Africa.
On the way back to the other neighborhood, we detoured for a different neighborhood sale and ended up spending the day there. The majority of what was in Mazda came from this neighborhood. By the time we were through there, the van was full, so we called it a day. Sometimes, serendipity is good for the soul. And the inventory.
Most of you all called the green chairs in Mazda. There were four of them. They are heavy and quite sturdy.
I didn't realize that this pic of these cool MCM tables came out so badly until it was too late. Somehow I didn't notice the chair legs flying across the front of the camera when I was taking the picture. It was hot and I was sweaty.
The tables are the round things.
We got the tables as part of a package deal with two small cabinets that were nothing special, but the price was right. I didn't get pics of them. I also didn't get the two directors chairs and the small book case I bought the funniest little woman. When Keith walked up to the sale, she grabbed a mirror and shoved it in his face. "You need to buy this mirror!" I hope she wasn't trying to make a comment about his beard.
Coming up, I'll show the smalls. Later in the week, the San Francisco finds. Finally. And the junk set out stuff. And the San Francisco pics. And some other stuff. And the path to world peace and inner contentment. Maybe.
REST OF THE WEEK UPDATE
This is booth week. Most everything I'm working in is related to getting my booths back in order. I'm planning in wrapping that up by Wednesday evening, so I can rest on Thursday. We have tickets to see Todd Snider play Thursday night, so I want to take it easy that day. Friday, I can see some thrifting happening. This weekend is Louisville's big annual nerdfestthe Derby City Comicon. I got half price tickets through Groupon. I'm pretty excited, as one of my favorite cartoonists is going to be a guest.
Of course, I'll be getting my shop on, but I'll be looking for stuff for me and the collection, instead of resale. Still, if an unbelievable deal pops up...
SHOUT OUTS UPDATE
I forgot to mention that the wonderful Lorraine of Clamco celebrated her fifth blogiversary right before we went on our trip. That's a lot of good reading! She offers plenty of good information about re-selling along with entertaining stories about daily life.
Super blog friend Linda celebrated a milestone birthday last week! Happy Belated Birthday wishes to her! Woo hoo!
Last week, my most beloved and admired Emmylou Harris received what is considered to be the most prestigious music award in the world, Sweden's Polar Prize. This award is considered the Nobel Prize of music. Personally, I think this is entirely deserved. There is simply no one else like her in music. Watch her acceptance speech here to see what I mean. One of the coolest things about the award ceremony is that First Aid Kit, an amazing duo from Sweden, got to perform their sublime song "Emmylou" for her. Awesome. There are lots of great clips from the ceremony available featuring a variety of artists performing Emmylou's music. Well worth checking out.
In fact:
Can't think of a better note to sign off on. Got to go load the van.
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.
Had treatment #2 on this new drug yesterday. Infusion went smoothly.
I'm still in love with my Purple Power Port. (ENGAGE!)
We forgot to get pics this time. Later on, Keith asked if I thought that meant we were getting to used to this whole deal.
Docs think everything is going fine. They disagree with my PCP about my thyroid levels. Blood sugar is slowly coming under control.
After two more treatments, I'll be scanned again.
Nurse who drew blood from the port for labs dripped saline all over my arm and didn't even notice.
Center was backed up yesterday---bad. Waited over two hours to get seen by docs before treatment.
Worst part of wait was listening to folks gripe. Wanted to lean to woman next to me and say "Patient waiting is best done quietly." This is what books and puzzle magazines are for.
Glad Keith was with me.
Talked to a young dude (20's) and his mom. He started treatment with the chemo I did way back when. Kind of gave him heads up on stuff.
Feel okay--just a little tired.
Weekend yard sales look good for Derby day. Several cancelled sales from last week rescheduled. Bring it!
Free Comic Book Day will only be two days at favorite shop instead of a week as in past. Bummer. Sale they are running those two days kind of makes up for it. Kinda.
I wish that damn horse race would hurry up and get here so I can go back to selling shit. I'm freaking dying here! Sheesh!
At least, Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday. I am planning to go to four different comic shops. Yay!
I made the mistake the other day of turning on the bathroom faucet a little so that Chiquito could play in the water and I could have some peace while I did my business meditated on world affairs. Now he expects it every time some one goes in the bathroom. Sigh!
Apparently, this is the day I end every short little thought or paragraph with an exclamation of some type. Oh Boy!
That last one was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell. Really?
That was more of a question than an exclamation. Oops!
Okay, I'll stop now. This might be a good time to remind everyone that these posts are called "Monday Rambles" for a reason.
I go back tomorrow for treatment #2. I still have a few rashy patches, so I'll ask about a cream for them. (Thanks, Joy for that good idea!) The biggest problem I'm having is this drug is playing havoc with my blood sugar. My primary care doctor and I are trying to get that back under control, but it's tough. My thyroid levels are also low, which is another effect of this medicine. I guess I'll be going on something for that.
It rained most of Saturday morning, but there were a good handful of indoor sales, so we pressed on. I even remembered the Mazda shot. I spent Sunday trying to pull my booths back from the brink of disaster. I'm probably going back today to finish up. I might light one of my Saint Jude candles when I am there. Couldn't hurt. I wonder who the patron saint of re-sellers is?
Seriously, I've had one good sales day in the past week. I'm still selling stuff every day, so that's something. It also looks like I'll at least make the low end of my monthly goals, although it was doubtful for a moment. I just hate to see all this good stuff and treasures sitting around unpurchased. Well, Derby is Saturday, so maybe things will pick up after that.
Also, I had a good day at Goodwill last week:
Hey Bay-bee!
I've never found one of those mouse banks in such good shape before. You can hardly tell for that mess of red hair, but he even still has his hat. Usually, they're naked and beat up and the seller wants one of your kidneys for them.
I'm becoming rather fond of the Southern Indiana Goodwills. They rotate the colors of their tags, which means there's always a color that's half-off. Small furniture is usually well-priced. (There are exceptions to this.) Plus, they have a frequent buyer program which allows you to get your card stamped for every ten dollars you purchase. After ten stamps, you get ten dollars off! The Kentucky stores could take a few lessons here, I think. The Saint Vincent de Paul stores here do the rotating color discount thing, and I think the Goodwills might lose out on some business because of it. I know I prefer the SVDP stores over the GW's on this side of the river.
I'm planning on taking it easy this week after my treatment. The weather is supposed to be lovely all week, so I think I'll do some sitting out back with a book or two. That sounds nice to me. If I remember, I'll let you know what I'm reading.
that things might move along a little faster at the cancer center.
Turns out, they see that kind of stuff all the time. Oh well.
Actually, treatment-wise, this was the fastest infusion ever. It was over so quickly that I couldn't believe it. The consult beforehand? That took for-freaking-ever.
As usual for these things, I'm tired and dizzy. I took a long nap when we got home. But I did manage to get a Goodwill trip in across town. It looks like the price-reassessing at the downtown store is happening at some of the others as well. I have never seen so many fifty-cent items at this particular store. I bought a soft-sided toy box, a retro hamper, a vintage men's valet, and a thing to hold fireplace logs, and the most expensive item was six bucks. Sorry, but no pics. Everything is in the van and it is POURING!
We had Asian buffet for lunch. This was my fortune.
I think it means I'm going to be an astronaut when I grow up. Or something. Huh?
Tumie, the spleen tumor, is still there and still growing. Slowly, rather than by leaps and bounds, but growing nonetheless.
So, it's on to the next treatment. If you don't count the surgery and the radiation, then this is my third treatment for melanoma, which means that I now have an odd sort of collection.
This next one is called Keytruda, and it is an immunotherapy, much like the last drug I was given. The catch with this one is that the treatment can go on indefinitely. It's new enough that they don't know what the cycle should be yet. Ack! Side effects are supposed to be about the same, which means I'll go on being tired and dizzy and queasy, but I probably won't have any serious weight or hair loss. Looks like I lucked into the kind of cancer drugs that keep you fat and hairy.
I start this next, seemingly never-ending, journey on Tuesday. I got the Purple Power Port (ENGAGE!) unclogged, so I'm all ready to go. Woo hoo! (I guess.)
I'm kind of glad I did some advance thinking as far as the booth goes. My merch backlog may come in handy over the next few months.
I'll keep everyone updated as things progress. I guess we'll just keep plugging along. Not much other choice. I'm a little bummed by this, so please excuse my tone right now. I am happy to have options. I just wish I didn't have to exercise them quite so frequently, you know?
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
And now, for some photo fun:
This is what happens when you're bored at the cancer center waiting for the port de-clogger to kick in.
Also, today is Emmylou Harris' birthday. That's good news, at least.
I just realized that I haven't done a major treatment since the second infusion, which was my first with the Purple Power Port. (Engage!) When I got that infusion, you could actually hear the nurses whispering to each other in the clinic: "He's got a port now." "Oh, he's got a port?" "Did you hear he's got a port?" Seriously, the nurse that was handling my infusion almost ran to tell the head nurse about it. I think I had a reputation.
To use the port, it first has to be accessed, when they put the IV in. They also draw out a tube of what they call "waste blood" which probably fascinates me more than it should. Everyone has to wear a mask for this part, including me.
I do think it's a good look for me. I would have been an awesome super-hero! Or, if that didn't work out, a train robber.
One of the things that always strikes me when I get a treatment is how boring it really is. You hear the words "chemo" and "infusion" and you get all these images of glowing, humming chemicals and labs and people's hair falling out immediately as they turn green and huge and go on a rampage. (Oh wait. That's the Hulk.)
You basically just sit and watch your IV drip away, wondering what that stuff is going to do to your insides. The issues and side effects usually happen later. My infusions this time around take 90 minutes. I think they took about that last time, but they had to slow the drip sometimes because it burned. Add in the wait for the bloodwork labs to come back, so they can see if you're clear for the injection, plus the time for the hospital pharmacy to mix and deliver the drugs (which is never done in advance due to the expense of the meds), and that's a lot of sitting around.
I bring my big puzzle book to pass the time.
Yes, I'm a lefty! (In more ways than one.)
My shirt says "World's Greatest Teacher." My class got it for me.
Or sleep.
In that first pic, I haven't even been hooked up yet! The lab and the pharmacy were both backed up that day. It took forever!
Keith? Well, he takes pictures. I've noticed that we seem to be the only ones doing that in the clinic. I guess no one else has a blog. There are TV's, of course, but I'm not much of a TV person these days.
As of this writing, I've had the last of the four infusions for this drug. I started the last round of belly shots (BLAM!) last night. I have a scan scheduled for the 26th to see what this treatment has done and a consult on the 27th to discuss next steps, if any. We'll just have to wait and see.
I'm doing okay with the side effects, mostly. The fatigue is different this time. Last go-around, it was constant, like a huge weight I was dragging around. This time it comes on sudden. I can be okay for a day or even just a few hours, then WHOMP! I try to take advantage of the time I have, but even then, I have to take a lot of rest breaks.
As far as my internals go, I haven't had an issue with the dread diarrhea. My problems there are on the other end of the spectrum. I'll let you figure the rest out. It's bad enough that I have to fill out a survey about my poop habits at each treatment. I won't turn this blog into "Eddie Poops."
I do have a lot of dizziness, usually when I get up or have to stand. It can also be a precursor to the fatigue. Usually, it's how I know I need to take a break. It's not an all out dizzy, whirling around, get the smelling salts, where's the fainting couch, oh wait we sold it to a junker, I guess I'll have to swoon on the floor, call 911, but only let the hunky EMT do the mouth to mouth, kind of spell. It's more like a lot of lightheadedness, what my grandmother used to call being "swimmy headed." I used that phrase to describe it during the last consult and the LPN who works with my doctor cracked up. She is originally from India, so she'd never heard the expression before. She kept referring to it as "swimming head."
"Besides the swimming head, anything else you need to tell me?" Then it was my turn to giggle a little. My grandmother would have loved it. Except for the part where I have cancer, of course. She died from breast cancer. My mother died from lung cancer. I'm not going to make it a trifecta.
That's where things stand right now. The fatigue may not sound like much, but when I share some of the other things going on right now, you're going to see why it's really interfering with things. I take it as easy as I can. I rest a lot. I nap a lot. (Chiquito loves this part.) I let others help and do stuff, but there are some things that I'm the only one who can do right now. I keep chugging along, because I have to, thankful that I'm not having any worse effects.
I'll keep you all updated. Thanks for all your thoughts and hugs. I feel them every day.
All right folks, I guess it's time to crawl back up in the saddle. I've gotten several sweet notes recently from many of you, so I need to let you know that I'm all right, for the most part. Thanks so much for your concern, everyone. I'm sorry to have made you worry.
I came back from Thanksgiving with a nasty cold, which has really only cleared up in the last three or four days. I don't understand how I can be doing all these immune-boosting drugs and still get a cold, but I managed it. That really slowed me down for a while, as I was only venturing out to do what had to be done, then coming home to my NyQuil coma.
The cold was bad enough, but I've also been going through some really hard bouts of fatigue. This isn't at all like the bricks. I could function with the bricks, albeit very slowly. I'm going through periods now where I have no energy whatsoever. Sometimes, I'll be in the middle of something and will just run out of steam all of a sudden. Sometimes, I'm down for the count, but usually I can recover if I sit down for a while. I kept getting swamped this way all through our visit to Arkansas. I spent most of the trip sleeping on one couch or another.
I'm also having these dizzy spells all the time. Mostly, it's just a constant light-headed feeling. What my grandmother used to call "swimmy-headed." I can deal with that, but sometimes it's really head-spinning dizzy, often with queasiness.
I have yet to have any of the digestive/intestinal issues, which concerns me a little. These effects have been talked up so much that I am actually worried that the treatment isn't working because I don't have them. I know that sounds really weird, but it kind of nags at me. The other night I told Keith that I would feel so much better if I would throw up just one time. That look you all most likely have right now after reading that is exactly the same one he gave me.
The booths are running okay, but I am behind on what I wanted to have dome this month. I keep making plans like a healthy person, forgetting that it takes me twice as long to do everything right now. I do have most of my Christmas out, and it is selling steadily. I am almost at my sales total for last December, and I still have half the month to go! One thing I've been happy about is that I've kept my four digit sales total going, despite the diagnosis and everything.
The new store is doing a lot better too. I made rent this month faster than I have before, which is a good sign. My Christmas is grooving there as well. My biggest problem there right now is getting it together to go work that booth. The other store demands more time because it's a lot more space. Everything would still be doable if I were operating at full steam. As it is, I'm having to constantly reschedule store #2 in order to finish up the work for store #1. All of a sudden, two-three weeks have gone by and I haven't been over there. That's no way to grow a booth.
I've had to cut way back on my work hours, I am down to five hours a week, which has bummed me out a bit. I really miss everyone there. Some people I don't get to see at all ,because my hours are all in the evening now and they're gone by the time I get there. This is really a life-altering thing. I'm not totally sure that I was fully aware of everything I was slogging through last time. I have no idea how I kept going. I have to stop by work this morning and drop something off. It will be nice to visit a bit.
A long-time vendor has also been battling cancer. It's been an on-again,off-again fight for years, and it just came back this year. He's just been told that there may not be anything else they can do about it. At the same time, a friend where I used to work just lost her husband to cancer. When I left there four years ago, he was in remission and doing fine. It's all done such a number on my head. I don't know where I am emotionally sometimes. I've had long talks about it with my brother and with Keith. Some days I am fine, while others I can't string a coherent thought together.
I had a lot of plans for blogging this December, but I think I'm going to put them on hold for next year. Some days I really want to, but the words just aren't there. Other times, the words are there, but the energy isn't. Hell, even reading takes too much effort some days. Been watching a lot of cartoons on YouTube instead. Some things even cancer can't take away.
I was afraid that this post would go downhill fast. Sorry about that. If it's all too much of a downer, you don't have to finish it. I realize that my depression is also coming on hard and fast right now.
Treatment number three is tomorrow. A week from today, we are leaving for Chicago. By the end of next week, we'll be married! Come hell, high water, or cancer, we are getting married. I don't care if I am in a wheel chair.
I'll try to get some pics from Thanksgiving up this week, plus some more overdue junk finds. It's going to depend on how I feel. Here lately, when I start tiring, I start lopping things off the to do list. Taking pics for the blog is always one of the first to go. Sorry about that.
My favorite part about these little hospital sojourns is the drugs. Really.
They told me that I was going to be getting a "Purple Power Port." Seriously. Ever since it went in, I've been shouting "Purple Power Port Engage!" in hopes of transforming into some sort of gigantic, mechanical dinosaur, but nothing so far. I think I'm not doing something right with my hands. When it heals more, I'm going to try smacking the port and shouting. That seems to work for the Power Rangers.
Yesterday was the cancer center follow up for all these scans and things I have had lately. Here's the skinny:
1. No cancer in the brain! Or as the doctor put it, "You brain is normal," which is the first time in my life anyone has ever said that to me. If only they knew. Turns out the brain is an even bigger deal than I thought. Besdies being, you know, the brain and all. The doc said that the immunotherapies I am on do not work as well in the brain or spinal column.
2. On the other hand, the spot on my liver is cancer. I've now metastasized to two organs. One more and I have a collection. I do not want a collection. At least I do not have to have this one biopsied.
3. I got the port approved! I could not get it scheduled until the day before the next treatment due to work, but I am shifting my hours around to better deal with my treatments, so I am going to call and see if I can get it moved up. I was all prepared to roll up my sleeves and show them my collection (and yes, I have more than enough for a collection) of bruises from the last week. One of them extends down the back of my hand and around to the palm! All I had to do was ask, and they said, "Eh. Why not? We'll schedule it for you." That was easy.
4. I got the clinical trial meds and all the stuff to do the belly shots. BLAM! It's these little bitty vials of powder that I have to mix with sterile water every time I do a shot. I feel like some kind of junkie. I had the first one this afternoon. This is the one that is supposed to cause the most serious diarrhea, plus a rash. So far, no sign of either. Just a little lightheadedness. Surprisingly, there are also none of the immune reactions that I was dreading. (So far, anyway.)
"The Works"
Now, I just have to shoot myself in the belly (BLAM!) every night for the next two weeks, then it will be time for the next infusion. I guess I'm taking kind of an active role in my own treatment, or something. It sure beats having to go to the clinic every day for two weeks to get them.
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