It is no secret by now that I am a HUGE Batman fan, I think. But over and above and beyond and before that I am a Wonder Woman fan.
So when I found this at a parking lot sale on Saturday, I took to skipping and singing and squealing all over the place, despite the heat.
BEHOLD!
You seriously have no earthly idea how long I have wanted one of these.
She's missing her tiara, bracelets and boots, but I don't freaking care. Her arms and legs have been glued back on, most likely because the band holding them on gave way with age, but I don't care about that either. She's absolutely, totally, perfect to me.
She's seen a lot of action, my little Amazon princess. Most likely, it was fighting evil gods and monsters, overthrowing dictators, and, of course, whaling the ever-loving shit out of her enemies with her Throwing Wheel.
According to the Wonder Woman collector site, this doll was produced in conjunction with the 70's TV show, but I have some questions about that.
For one thing, I am pretty sure I remember seeing these dolls advertised a few years before the show aired. For another, this part of a set that included Nubia, a character from the comics in the early 70's, who never appeared on the show. Finally, even on the WW collector site, they show a picture of this doll in the box WITHOUT the Lynda Carter image.
Personally, I think these were produced pre-TV show and, later on, a new box was produced with the Lynda Carter graphic to tie in with the show.
One of the things I love most about my Wonder Woman is her painted on top. A later version had a cloth top. Also, her blue eye shadow.
Speaking of the WW collector page, I was tickled to see some other things on there that I also have, like this mirror, and this beach towel, which I have had since I was in 7th or 8th grade. There's also this invisible plane toy, which I had when I was a kid, but don't own any longer, sadly. Also in the "former possessions" category is this album. I remember that the bullets bouncing off her bracelets were recorded as this odd tinkling sound.
And before you say anything, Shara. Yes, she is a doll. But she's NOT creepy. Wonder Woman is NEVER creepy. Only fabulous. ALWAYS fabulous.
Can you say "FIERCE"?
PS Dig those eyelashes. They are so stiff that her hair gets stuck in them. Awesome.
I'm not sure what happened earlier wit the blank post, but I deleted it. I had been working on this post last night and went to bed with the post still up on screen. I had treatment yesterday, so I usually spend the next day or so dropping in and out of projects to lay down. My computer was off when I woke up today, so it must have crashed overnight. How that led to a blank post getting uploaded, especially when the draft had some content in it, is beyond me.
I guess every so often I have to prove, however unwittingly, what a low-brow, amateur production this blog is. I can cross that off today's "to do" list.
How about we look at what was in Mazda? Most everybody got most of the major bits, but there were some surprises here and there. For instance, the rusty cash box in front was full of bits of hardware that are destined for a jar or two.
I thought I got a pic of that bag of thread, but I guess I didn't. Still, everyone who said it was thread was right. Even though, I sure do wish it was a bag of wheels (especially roller skate wheels), because that would be cool.
Otherwise, it was Pairs Day, because most everything came in twos. Not necessarily matching pairs, but they were found in pairs. Except for the industrial look chair on the end, which is a repro, but a well-made one. All heavy-duty metal. The window (which is part of a pair) was a curb find on the way home from the yard sale. I've sold all the windows from our set out, so I really needed those.
Like I said on Sunday, I wasn't really intending to go to any sales at all on Saturday. Keith was going camping and making really optimistic proclamations about leaving by noon, which never happens, yard sales or not.
Then Friday night, I saw a listing for a sale that was not to be missed, camping or not. There's a woman who lives on a street not far from here who has a garage, attic, shed, basement, and house full of wonderful junk. She at one point tried to be a vendor, but told me she never got around to actually taking stuff to her booth. She and her boyfriend would buy a big batch of stuff at auction, bring it home, store it, then a year later, sell it cut-rate at their yard sale to make room for more auction buys.
Not exactly the most effective re-selling plan, I admit, but it worked for me. And I made sure the stuff I bought got to the booth. Regardless of any other issues, she had good taste and a good eye for stuff. Things from her sales have always sold fast for me and made good money.
So, when I saw the listing that said she was having a moving sale, my first response was: "Gotta go!" My second responses was: "Oh no! She can't move!" The third response was: "Really gotta go!"
And so I broke my "no sale" vow. But it was only for one. That turned into two, because we found another sale on the same street and went to it first thinking we were at her sale, but we weren't. That's where I got the metal chair.
In case you're wondering why I'm only showing one of each item when it was Pairs Day, I was trying to get the car cleaned out in a hurry, so Keith could load up and leave. This was my favorite of the two metal cabinets. I love the detail on the front. They were both shop/garage cabinets, so I did have some greasy grime to scrub off.
Now, on to the two items that perplexed nearly everyone. I actually bought these on Friday, while I was on my way to meet Keith for coffee. Because of their size, I had to leave them until Saturday, when Mazda was available.
It's an old metal file organizer thing for a wall. It's all one piece, instead of several joined together. Plus, a swinging door, but only one half of it. I loved the color though. It's more orangey in person.
Have I really only done less than a dozen posts this month? Odd's Bodkins!
I shall have to do something to rectify that. Jinkies!
I've decided that I'm going to divide Monday Rambles posts with headers from here on out. On weeks when I really ramble, the posts seem to be really disparate and jarring to read, so hopefully this will smooth things out a bit.
Now, if you don't want to read me babbling about toenails, comic books, Komodo dragons, or making mashed potatoes while dancing the Mashed Potato, you can skip those sections. Or at least you could if the headers made any sense. Chances are they're not going to. Not at this blog. But, hopefully, maybe, they'll at least be entertaining.
Now someone remember to email me on Sunday to remind me to have headers next Monday.
BELATED HAPPIES!
No, not "belated hippies" although that does sound kind of interesting. Belated Happy Father's Day to all the Dads, Grandpas, and people with Dads out there. I hope you all got to do something fun together yesterday. If, like me, your father has passed on, then I hope you had some happy memories to look back on.
HE WAS THE GREATEST!
Muhammad Ali's funeral was one of the biggest things to ever happen in Louisville. Outside of the Derby each year and visits by the President or candidates for President, I can't recall another event that stirred up this much attention for our fair city. The Queen came through once, but that was for the Derby. Usually, the only way to garner excitement around here is to either be a horse or dress up like one.
Anyway, along the procession route, people were given sidewalk chalk to express their feelings about Ali's passing. I was walking downtown a couple of days later and saw this one and thought it was cool.
HEALTH WOES
I'm having some issues right now, but I'm hoping they will pass in a while. It may take a few weeks, though. I've stopped taking the steroids. Between the effects on my blood sugar (sky high), my blood pressure (getting that way) and my weight (approaching aircraft carrier status), I decided that I couldn't take them any longer. I refuse to be known as "Fat Cancer Guy." (Although that could be an interesting super-hero concept.) Or, as I told Keith, "I'm beating cancer. I will not be taken down by Diabetes aggravated by the drugs given to me to help make the treatments more tolerable."
Of course, being me (and also my mother's child), I just stopped taking the damn thing. I never took the full prescribed dosage, so I though that one little milligram would be easy to step away from. Oh my galoshes! I've had muscle and joint aches like you would not believe ever since! At least the headaches have stopped. And the joint and muscle pain only flares up now when I've been busy for a while. At first, I would just sit there and throb and moan. (Yes, I did moan. I'm a man. That's how we deal with illness.)
Ibuprofen seems to keep things under control. I know some of this is from my body adjusting to life without Mother's Little Helper, but some of it is all the little aches and pains I've always had, but was not noticing thanks to the steroid. I'm also experiencing periods of weakness and major fatigue and seem to move awfully slow these days. Some of that last comes from being as large as a parade float. You never see one of those suckers tearing around like an Indy car either.
Of course, being me, I only did research about coming off steroids when the effects started getting really bad. It was then that I found out about tapering the dosage. Keith thought I should go back on them and then start taking them every other day or something, but I'm soldiering ahead cold turkey. My mother was a Campbell and this is the way that Campbells go about doing things. At least in my branch. Well, except none of the others would have bothered to research anything. I'm counting on mine being after the fact to help keep me in the clan. True to my family, I did not consult with my doctor either. (I'm not saying you have to do it my way, in fact, you probably shouldn't, but some things are genetically predisposed to happen.)
Right now it's all playing higgeldy piggledy with my life, but I think once it settles down, I'll be able to manage. I told Keith that once I'm down to just dealing with the fatigue from the cancer drug (which is the major side effect), I'll take it slower if I have to or add in extra days for rest or add in more naps. You'll never ever hear me complain about more naps.
OH THE HEAT!
Something else contributing to the sluggishness around here is the HEAT and its bff HUMIDITY. This one is not just hitting me, but everyone. Full blown Ohio Valley Summer is here. Staying in and taking more naps doesn't sound so bad.
OH THE KITTIES!
Especially when you can do it with these two.
This is Lacy.
Of course I'm his sitter! He's named after a Hobbit!
And this is Frodo who wouldn't sit still for a picture, so this is the best I could do. He did manage to photo-bomb Lacy's pic.
They're the two little friends I was pet-sitting most of last week and part of the week before. I've been sitting for Frodo nearly ten years now, whenever his Mommy goes away on vacation. The other pets that were part of the family when I started have all gone on. The year after my mother died, I spent the better part of two months over there while she was tending to her father in his final days.
Lacy's the new girl. She still hasn't figured out if it's okay for me to be staying there, but she did figure out that I give good head and belly rubs.
YARD SALES
So anyway, the reason that I didn't have a Mazda shot the other Saturday was that I had started having one of my weak and achy spells during the middle of the day. It was too bad too. This was the sale at the last gold standard church, plus the surrounding community. It's always good.
The church sale lived up to its reputation. They fill just about every room but the sanctuary with stuff, all organized by category. It's the same every year too, so if you're a regular, you know what is going to be where. They set a rule this year that nothing would be priced less than 50 cents, which kind of bummed me out. I imagine it bummed out a few of the old lady pricers too, because I still found 25 and 10 cent stuff. I think if i were an eighty year old chruch lady volunteer who had been doing this for years, I would go ahead and price it how I always did it. Silly rules!
The community sale was great too. We went to grab some eats at McDonald's first, so we went into this city from the opposite end we usually do. It's a pretty good-sized little community, full of all kinds of twisty little streets and cul-de-sacs. We do this every year and we've never been through all of it.
I met some sellers who were selling all their sushi dishes, because they finally realized that they love sushi a lot more than they love the idea of making it themselves. We laughed about that and I told them about the sushi making kit I bought with the same plan in mind and never used. I have no idea what they thought about me buying the sushi dishes. We just all kind of acted like it was natural.
At another house there were four or five different people set up selling stuff. The owners got the cool spot inside the garage, of course. They told me that their yard was "just like a mini-mall." I bought a vintage Bingo set from them and they threw in a stack of old game boards for free. One of the women in the yard was selling her mother's old books and magazines from the 40's. We talked for a long time about our love for old graphics and designs and she showed me a portfolio she had made of the ads from some of the magazines that had fallen apart. It was cool, but way too pricey for me.
My favorite spot was the one where two little boys--"going into third grade" they told me--were running the show, under the watchful eye of dad, who stayed at the top of the driveway. He let them do everything, and most of the stuff was theirs, but he was also close at hand to supervise and answer questions if needed. They also took the money to him and he kept it out of sight of any wandering hands and eyes. I bought a nice Wolverine race car from them, so of course we had to talk about Wolverine for a bit. Then Spider-man. Then Batman. I finally asked if they were brothers, and one of them said they were just friends, but he was helping so he could earn enough money to buy something there that he wanted.
Anyway, we don't have any pics, because we cut things short when I started feeling bad and I went back to nap with Frodo and Lacy. We just kind of unloaded in a hurry and I forgot to take any pics.
But I do have pics to go with the stuff from yesterday's Mazda shot, so check back tomorrow for the reveal.
LISTEN TO THE VENDOR MOAN
And this is the part where we (or rather I) wail about how bad June's booth sales have been. This past weekend was probably the worst one I have ever had. Wednesday was the strongest day last week, and it was a really good day. But it was bookended by one day that was less than five (!) dollars and one that wasn't much over that.
I know all the drill about slower sales in the summer, but I swear this is the worst summer I've had in seven years as a vendor.
Oh well. I'm heading over today with a Mazda load of crap lovely merchandise in hopes of turning this big ole ship away from the iceberg. I finally made next month's rent, but it's a good thing that I've done some bulk buys cheaply, plus snagging a lot of freebies lately, because I'm not looking at a big check for the other expenses.
If you happen to know a wealthy person named Penelope or Duke--you know the type, diamond-studded sunglasses and a Chihuahua with a designer collar--who's looking to drop several hundred on quality secondhand flea market merchandise, send 'em my way. If they buy enough, I'll even cut you in on the action.
Apparently, the elephants in these parts are quite prodigious.
I don't care how skilled they are, though. No elephant is getting near the parts of my anatomy associated with fertility with sharp needles. I'd end up having to get the treatment for stress after that, for sure!
NERDS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year coming up--DERBY CITY COMICON!!!!!! I got my pass the other day.
It has been a real pleasure to see this one grow and improve year after year. Homegrown cons by local folk are the best.
Of course, I go mainly for the shopping, but I've not had a lot of luck with the comic hunting this year. I've gotten small batches here and there, but not the big scores of great stuff that I'm used to finding. Hopefully, this will be a good con for that. I've already checked out the list of vendors and seen several that should be pretty good, including several of my regulars.
Failing that, maybe I can find another Batman shirt. Do they make them in blimpo size?
DVDS OF THE WEEK
Since I was pet-sitting in a house with no WiFi and none nearby to surf on, I had the world's longest and cheesiest bizarro film festival. I seriously must have watched at least two dozen DVD's. Me and Frodo had a ball. Lacy's not much for movies.
It was two hard to pick one favorite, so I ended up choosing two. First, from legendary Hammer Films, starring equally legendary Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing:
You seriously cannot have a cheesy film festival with that many movies and not include at least one Hammer Dracula film. This one is a total ball. Sure there are plot holes galore and a truckload of unanswered questions at the end, but it's a ton of fun to watch. Lee and Cushing are actor's actors and they give it their all, no matter how silly things get. And they do get a bit silly. Dracula has a bevy of vampiric women in matching outfits chained up in coffins in his basement for starters. Why? Because he's Dracula! They actually get nearly as much screen time as the big guy himself and all they do is writhe around and squeal and hiss.
It doesn't get much better than this. I am now hunting through my stash to see if I have any more films from Hammer.
My other choice was a cartoon show I had never heard of before.
Image from good old Amazon!
This show is kind of a mix between X-Files, Men in Black, and one of my fave animated shows ever: Ben Ten Alien Force. The basic premise is that aliens have been visiting Earth for centuries, giving rise to most of our myths and legends and monsters. Most of their purposes are less than benevolent.
An alliance of government agencies created the Roswell incident as a hoax in the 40's, to try and convince the world that aliens don't exist. Ever since, they've been fighting the evil creatures, while denying they exist. The plot definitely takes some twists and turns, and like most shows of this nature, you're never quite sure who to trust. The Wikipedia page for the show does a good job of breaking it down. (SPOILER ALERT!)
Plus, one of the characters is a Banshee! I am now on a quest to track down more of this fun show.
THIS MEANS YOU
WRAPPING UP!
Well, this was a rambly ramble. I had a lot stored up since last week. Have some Music for Monday to help it all go down.
Finally! A real Mazda shot. I know that I promised one last week full of awesome hauls, but we actually ended up cutting things short as I started feeling sick. I'll explain more about that tomorrow. It's actually got a little to do with why I didn't post as much as planned last week too. Don't worry. It's not serious and it's not the cancer, although it is treatment related. I'll be okay. I promise.
Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Mazda, not me. Here you go.
This was supposed to be a no sales weekend! In fact, We had Mazda empty so that Keith could go camping, hence the blue cooler in the lower right. Actually, this is still mostly from one sale, with one item from a sale we went to by mistake. (Yes, I can "accidentally" go to sales.)
So, what do you see?
If you're new here, feel free to play along! If you're unsure what to do, just watch Linda. She's a pro! (But no fair just commenting: "What Linda said." You have to use your own words.)
I hope you all had a good time checking out the posts from last Friday's group blog. I know I had more views than I think I have ever had, plus a whole lot of really nice comments. Thanks to everyone who participated and visited this here blog.
When I originally started working on the post, I was going to make two lists--one as a re-seller and one from a more personal point of view. I ended up leaving the second list off, because I felt the post was getting rather long. I didn't want to not use that material, so I decided to do a follow up post and include it.
That's what today is all about.
Before I get into this particular list, I do need to say something important.
I REALLY DID HAVE THIS IDEA LAST WEEK WAY BEFORE I READ SHARA'S POST AND I AM NOT COPYING HER IDEA NO WAY NO HOW! SO THERE!
NANNY NANNY BOO BOO!
It just so happens that great minds think alike. That's all.
Now, onto to the list.
TOP FIVE THINGS THAT I AM LOOKING FOR PERSONALLY AT YARD SALES THIS SUMMER
CLOTHES
We'll start with the most boring one first. I need new (to me) clothes pretty badly. Most of my old stuff is either shot or seems to have....well.....shrunk....just like that....while hanging in the closet. I don't want to go buy new stuff or pay new prices, so I am on the hunt this year to stave off impending nakedity. (And the world is very, very grateful.)
RELIGIOUS MEDALS
While I'll always be on the look out for all kinds of religious articles for my collection, it seems like I have had a lot of luck recently finding cool religious medals that I don't already have. I think it's worth keeping my eyes peeled (ouch!) for more.
Comic books are something that I always look for (of course), but my interest in these two eras and genres just keeps growing. These are seriously some of the most wonderful, cheesy classics you can find. And I want to find more.
SUPPLIES
Another boring one. Like Shara (STILL NOT COPYING), I like to get my office supplies, labels, etc. at yard sales. It's just so much cheaper that way. This also includes stuff like jars, lids, screws and nails, finials, handles, etc. And cleaning stuff. And can openers. Keith is obsessed with can openers. Any time we find a Swing A Way can opener, we have to buy it.
ODDBALL DVD'S
One of my favorite movies. Image from Amazon.
Obscure animation. Little known bands. Strange foreign films. Cult classics. Mexican soap operas. Cheesy old movies. Fondly-remembered stuff from my childhood. When Keith goes camping, I like to have my own private oddball film festivals. I have to hunt to find the stuff I want to watch, but I can usually find a few good ones over the course of the summer. It's also usually cheap, since there may only be six people in the city who actually want this stuff.
I resisted the urge to do runners-up on my other list, because I knew that once I got started I would find it hard to stop, but this list is different. So here's a runner-up!
PUZZLE BOOKS/MAGAZINES
I typically go through at least one puzzle magazine a week or so. I am always on the look out for more. I'll take one that's just crosswords, although I prefer a mix of puzzles. I don't like Sudoku.
And, finally, the top item on my Junker Want List.
I've had want lists as long as I've been a comic collector. It's part and partial of collecting, this keeping of records of what you've got and what you need to fill holes in your collection. They've become less important to me in recent years, as I've been down-sizing my collection and focusing my efforts a little more.
As a junker, my list doesn't represent things I would like to own, but instead things I would like to have to sell. One of the things I like about being a re-seller is that I get to temporarily own cool things, but then pass them on to good homes. I'm kind of like a temporary guardian of stuff, which I quite like. I simply don't need more stuff of my own in my life.
So, I keep this little list of things that I would like to be able to provide someone else. Every year, a few more items get crossed off. Last year was a really good year for that. One day, I might do a post about my whole Junker Want List, but for today, I'm settling for my top item.
I've wanted one of these in my booth as long as I can, but I can never seem to find one at the right price. Maybe this will be the year. There's just something about them that is so cool.
Okay, so that's the first addendum. First addendum? Yep. There's another one coming. Tune in tomorrow, when I set the whole idea of list-making on its head and spin it around until it burps purple jelly beans.
Keith already had Mazda pretty much full of camping stuff, so there is no Mazda shot today. I did get to a church sale and a nerd herd special sale at the comic shop. I was kind of surprised that they had a sale just a week before Free Comic Book Day, when they'll be having another big sale, but I am so desperate for new comic stock that I dove right in. It does seem odd to potentially risk running your customer base out of extra cash right before one of the biggest events of the year, but I'm not a comic book retailer, so what do I know?
Wait a minute, I am a sort of comic book retailer! I guess. Or something.
Anyway, here are yesterday's finds. Also, the return of the front stoop photos! Woo hoo!
Small haul, but then again, I don't really need anything right now. There was a lot of furniture at the church sale, but it was too expensive for my tastes.
The vintage wood box (containers!!) has a greeting card decoupaged on the front.
FEED US!
These red lamps are Ikea. Don't they look like aliens?
The little stool still has the original price tag on it!
The comic haul was a little larger--several for me, a lot for the booth. Like I said, I need the stock. here are some highlights.
This 1950 Disney giveaway booklet is a keeper.
Star Wars sells, man!
There were about a dozen of these 50's-era Dell comics in my haul. I'll be keeping about half of them, I think. The condition is not the greatest for any of them, but they're complete. That's really all I ask when I can find them for a dollar each.
I've been tracking down these Marvel newspaper insert giveaways for years. Advertising comics and premiums are one type of comic I am most interested in. This one is full of ads from a now defunct department store.
This vintage Disney comic is in really nice shape. There are always a few surprises like this at the special comic store sales. Makes it well worth the time to go.
Believe it or not, this is probably my find of the day. They had all three issues. I've been hunting this one since it came out, back in my college days. It was only sold through comic shops, which were still kind of a new thing in those days. I didn't have regular access to a shop until I graduated and moved to Louisville in the late 80's.
I got several fondly remembered books from my youth, like this one.
I always pick this particular book up when I find it. It sells just about as soon as I out it out.
Also, on Friday, I finally finished the great booth re-do and got the aisle booth in order. Sort of. If by "in order" you mean "got everything out of tubs and on shelves" and not "made it all pretty." There's fine-tuning a-plenty to do this week, but since I'll also be setting up the new booth (#7!), some of that will take care of itself.
Before I let you see the pics, you have to take a vision test. Repeat after me: "Gee, Eddie. We don't see anything just thrown on a shelf all willy nilly. There aren't any piles of things about to cascade off shelves. It all looks lovely." If you can get all that out and keep a straight face, then you pass the test and can look at the pics.
So here we go:
This is the view coming down the aisle. This is actually three spaces put together and there is this damned inconvenient column right in middle as you come down the aisle. I cropped that bit out.
The right side is my ode to drinking, smoking, gambling and other vices. The left is a shelf of miscellany. This is the catchall booth, where things that don't fit in the other booths end up. Although, my vintage/primitive/etc booth is so overly full right now that some of that stuff has made its way down to this one.
View from the inside across the booth. The gray shelf in the foreground is going into the new booth, which is going to become a catchall for the catchall. My booths are getting meta on me. On the other side of the brown shelf on the left is my table of Happy Meal toys and other small playthings. It's pretty popular and pretty much stays a mess, even though I try to straighten it out every week. I sell lots of those suckers.
The best thing about small toys like that is that they are so easy to find in large bags and batches for only a buck or two. I can either re-bag them into smaller lots or price them individually for a buck or two. It's pretty easy to pull someone in when they find out they can get a whole bunch of Smurfs for a couple bucks each. I may not be getting rich with this stuff, but it really shores up the bottom line nicely.
Shelves on the aisle. You can also see my baskets of bagged toys. I keep my nicest Disney stuff, plus a few other characters, on this shelf. It's a little disheveled right now.
Blurry pic. Sorry. Inside toy shelves and the start of my religion section. You can see how badly piled up the self on the right is. I desperately need another shelf for toys. It's odd, but at Dixie I was known for having lots of toys, but here, it's taken me a year to get that stock built back up.
I think I have a plan to move the religious articles on the left and let all three of the white shelves be for toys. That should ease the crunch for the moment. Most of those things on the floor are destined either for the new space or for a spot currently occupied by something going to the new space. I find that I have to do a lot of thinking three moves ahead to keep things working right.
The rest of the religion section and the end of this particular set of spaces. The two small shelves in the foreground are going to be replaced by a much larger, longer shelf that will enable me to put all the non-book religious items together and make room for more toys as described above. I'm also relocating my bins of religious booklets to enable me to reduce the piling and stacking on the bookshelves. This is becoming a popular section for me.
Finally, this is where the new booth is going. I'll be having to deal with another damn column. All those clothes are the vacating vendor's. I was hoping she would have been out already, but she decided to wait until the last minute to move out. This stuff had better all be gone by the time I get there tomorrow. I got a lot more shuffling to do.
Thanks for taking this little tour with me. I hope it didn't offend your aesthetic sensibilities too much. If so, just grab a cocktail and lay down for a couple of hours. I promise that the headache and the ghastly after-visions do fade away in time.
If you missed your chance to see my other spaces in their current form, you can find them here.
Buckle your seat belts, friends. This is going to be a long and bumpy ride. Remember to keep your hands inside the vehicle and stay seated at all times. Proceed with caution. There's rambling ahead!
The silly season is definitely not over. Look for it to return sporadically throughout the weeks to come. For some reason, I'm running into a lot of stuff that's just tickling my fancy of late and begging to be turned into weird little posts. Of course, I am more than happy to oblige. It's what I do.
I'm still working on the booth this week. (More on that later.) I took a ton of pics of the spaces I finished last week, and only the one I shared on Friday was usable. I'll try again this week. That damned florescent lighting bouncing off the white tile floor washes everything out so much that it's really hard to get a good shot.
We had a new local commenter join the fun last week. Welcome Alisa! I love to hear from local folks. I tried to send her a message, but she's a "no reply" person, so I thought I would answer her question here, since there may be others who want to know.
My booths are in the Clarksville Peddlers Mall, which is located in Clarksville, Indiana. It's just off I-65, right by Greentree Mall. All the details, including a Google map, are at this link. Just ask at the front where my booths are and they can tell you.
If you should happen to show up, there are two things you have to promise. 1. You will never tell anyone how messy my spaces really are. 2. If I am there, you can never tell anyone how much I actually curse in real life, especially when I think no one is listening. Deal?
So, I rode the bus with a celebrity the other day.
COUSIN ITT!
Either that or I watched an alien devour some poor woman's head and didn't realize it.
I've mentioned that I'm finding a lot of stuff in the contractor's dumpsters in the neighborhood right now. The other day, I drug something home that convinced Keith that I had finally lost my mind.
It's an old, rusty heating duct. I liked the way it looks and the lines on it. I can see it filled with dirt and some kind of flowering, trailing vine. However, for the first time, Keith's skepticism about something is making me second guess myself. Is this one just a bit too far out or not? What would Donna do?
On the other hand, I have not a single doubt about the old boiler tank from the same house. It's just plain cool.
I also got a couple of rusty heating vents. They remind me of the big floor vent in my grandmother's house. It was between the living room and the kitchen, and we all used to stand on it to warm up in the winter.
Everything has decades of dust bunnies and pet hair in and on it, so it's all the yard, getting a good rinse from today's downpour.
One of the dumpsters across the street got replaced by one that is way too tall to look into, much less reach stuff. For the past couple of days, there's been this lacy thing barely visible over the edge. For a while, I thought it was either a wedding dress or some sort of curtain. Somehow it got shifted yesterday, and I was able to see legs.
And a tuft of blonde hair.
It's a big, freaking, scary-ass doll! RUN AWAY!
Speaking of those dumpsters, they've been the scene of a tagging war recently. Our neighborhood has been besieged by "2Buck" graffiti like this.
Turns out that 2Buck recently died, and his friends are paying tribute. Well, a "2Buck" tag popped up on one of the dumpsters, and someone took issue.
Someone else tried to eradicate it, but I think you can read the "2 Buck is my Bitch." line. Cracked me up. The funniest part is that this particular dumpster moved on from the neighborhood, because it was replaced by the larger one mentioned earlier. A couple of days later, it popped back up in front of another house--right across the street from where it was before!
Keith sent me this article about "toxic" things you shouldn't buy at yard sales. His comment was "You'd buy some of that." Damn straight! I dare anyone to walk up to a vintage Fiestaware collector and tell them it's not worth it!
A much better bit of reading is this nice piece from Adirondack Girl @ Heart about spatterware. She frequently posts informative articles like this one. Since I don't know a lot about ceramics and dishes, I appreciate them.
Speaking of yard sale finds, here are some of the things from yesterday's Mazda shot. We hit a major book sale (more on that tomorrow), a church sale, an estate sale, and two small sales.
I always pick up lids when they're cheap. It's easier to find the pots and pans than the lids, so having a few for sale can help a customer complete a set.
Horse head mugs for Derby! Also, small wicker hamper as the photo stage.
A pair of cups from a small box of Homer Loughlin dishes I bought. There were only six or seven pieces left from the set, but I loved the sweet flower pattern. Every piece has the chips and nicks of a lifetime of daily use. In other words, character.
This hamster cage is not old, but I loved the color.
Bright yellow vintage water cooler jug.
Assorted finds from an estate sale.
Vintage TV trays with rolling caddy. The third of my four gold standard church sales was Saturday. They always get praise from me for the large variety of stuff, their organization (they use several large rooms to display and organize their items), and wonderful prices. This TV tray set was a dollar!
There is seriously stuff everywhere at this sale. It starts outside the church on the patio, spreads across the yard, and over (and into) a small farmhouse that sits on their property. On the inside, there's a large room of clothes, a special antique section, another large room of housewares and knick knacks and the like, and a hallway of books. You'd be surprised what a difference it makes to have the clothes in a separate section away from everything else.
One of the small sales we went to was a continuation of the sale I went to during the last Big Flea. They remembered me, but did not have anything new. The other sale advertised that the husband was "reluctantly" selling his graphic novels. That kind of phrasing tells me that the prices won't be anything I can work with for resale, but there might be something I might like for me.
I was really surprised at how close this guy's tastes were to mine. His selection was fabulous and hos prices, while not practical for resale, were really good. I ended up only getting the Basil Wolverton book above. It was too early for me to spend all my money on me!
I adore Wolverton's work, which is classic, bizarre, and totally wonderful. I am looking forward to spending an afternoon with this baby. Now, I just need to find a reasonably priced copy of the collection of illustrations he did for the Bible. I've been wanting that one for a while now. Unfortunately, it's out of print and very pricey.
We also stopped at a new Goodwill by the church sale. This big duck followed me home.
I also picked up a nice copy of the Quran. I have to admit that, given the climate these days, I am a little nervous about selling it. I'm actually afraid that someone will try to vandalize the book.
It's another busy week here. I still have a massive ton of work to do on one of the booths, which is going to take a while. Saturday is the first sidewalk sale of the year at the Peddlers Mall, so I also have to get ready for that. I'm planning a HUGE blow out to clear off lots of booth shelves and make way for the run of stuff to some from Mt Sorrow. Stop by for a visit or a bargain or two!
Everything that doesn't sell at the sidewalk sale is coming home for my yard sale, which is tentatively planned for the Saturday after Derby. I'm planning on a having a huge sale to clean out the shed.
March ended as my very best month ever! My highest sales total ever! So far, April is continuing the trend. Spring Break week didn't phase my sales, so we'll see what happens once Derby madness gets started. We've just recently gained the ability to have percent off sales in our booths, so I am planning on doing that during Derby Week, just to boost things a bit.
I pulled the last two boxes of unpriced comics I have off the Mountain the other day. I immediately had a volunteer to help me bag and price them.
Ignore the stack of canned goods. One of our pantry cabinets collapsed and we haven't replaced it yet. Of course, the comic boxes are sitting in the kitchen. Don't you have boxes of comics in your kitchen?
Well, that's enough rambling for one post. Have some music for a Tuesday. Stay well, and I'll see you later! Tomorrow we'll look at some of the book finds.
PS If part of this post is showing up as blue, I have fixed that three times now and it won't take. I've got no clue what's up, but I blame Blogger.
