It Rained. It Snowed. We Came. We Glowed.

So, about last Saturday...

It was cold and windy all day long, and most of the time it either rained or snowed,  Everything was wet and slushy and just icky.  But we went anyway, because it was Bardstown Road Aglow, dude!  You gotta go!

The weather definitely kept the crowds down, which was a bummer for the stores, but not for us, since we could walk around in a lot of the smaller shops without much problem, for once.  So I spent a lot of time in some places that I usually avoid because of the crowds and came away with the eternal question on my mind:

"How many trendy, vintage boutiques can one part of town support?"

I'm all for small, local business.  I'm all for people following their dreams.  But, seriously, there are a half dozen of these shops in a five or six block area.  Sometimes, one will open, close after sic or eight months and be followed by another one.

I may be down on these stores in general because they're also the kind of places that take affordable vintage out of the secondhand market, which makes it harder for guys like me, who want to find it at affordable prices and sell it at equally affordable prices, to find good stuff at decent prices.

We got some amazing hot spiced chai at a tea shop we went in.  The owner told us they were thinking on closing soon, so we could have a cup for free to help empty the pot.  They had been selling it earlier.

Sometime in the past year, the messiest, most cluttered used bookstore in town apparently started to give a damn.  The place was not only clean, but everything was on clearly labeled shelves and easy to find.  I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone or something.  They still need to vacuum, though.

I went in one store and all the staff were seated around a table playing games.  No one even bothered to look up or acknowledge my presence in any whay whatsoever.  I admit that I'm not the kind of shopper who likes a hovering attendant shadowing his every move, but it is at least nice to be recognized as a human being.  I'm needing some supplies for the booth that I was hoping to get there.  I didn't see what I needed out, and there was no one at the register to ask because everyone was playing.  I left without asking anyone because I didn't think it would do any good based on what I saw.  The store?  it was a comic shop.  Of course.

Passed someone heading down the street to go in and overheard them say "It'll be just like" another local shop (the one I have frequented most regularly in the past).  I looked at Keith and said "No.  At that shop they actually have staff that are there to help you."

We didn't see much street entertainment, but we did hear the bagpipers behind us.  I guess the weather had something to do with that.  We also saw some kind of a firebreather person too.  At first I thought it was one of those outdoor space heaters exploding.

As usual, we saw the Eye of God.  It was kind of odd this year.  A friend of ours who went to this church passed away a few weeks ago.  There's been a lot of loss in 2010.  I'm totally ready for it to stop.

At one point, there were a group of kids running and playing through some of the snow that had accumulated during the day.  There was a group of adults following, and one of the women yelled to the kids:   "Remember what I told you about your feet.  When they get wet, they get cold.  And they'll never be warm again!"  Let me repeat that:  "They'll never be warm again!"  That's a little harsh, don't you think?

Because of the weather, we didn't do as much of the whole road this year, as in the past, but I did make it into the one of the few true used bookstores left in this town.  There used to be three in this one block, but one's been gone a while now.  The other one is the aforementioned messy one.  This one always has a great sale during December, so I try to go during Aglow and at least one more time throughout the month.

For the past five or six years, I've looked at a hardback collection of the Barbarella comic strip and put it back on the shelf.  Each year, I've said "This will be the year I will buy it."  And each year, I've gotten other things instead.  This year?  It was gone.  Ah well, I couldn't have afforded it now anyway.

Our big dilemma of the night was eating.  Our tradition has been to eat at a certain place before the event started, and then set off from there.  It made sense, as the restaurant was toward one end of the street and we could work our way down from there.  The placed burned out several months ago and moved down the road to a spot more in the middle of our route.  So we started out before eating, but when we got there, we didn't want to interrupt the flow and stop.  But, when we got to the end we didn't want to backtrack.  We're going to have to rethink this part of the equation.

Probably the best part of the night was stopping at Kizito Cookies.  Now, everyone in town knows the Cookie Lady and everyone loves her cookies.  She's an institution.  But, until last night, I had never had one fresh and warm out of the oven.  Omigod!  Imagine the best homemade chocolate chip cookie you've ever had, all warm and gooey and fresh-baked.  Now multiply that by about 300.  That might come close to what we had.  Maybe.

It wasn't the busiest Bardstown Road Aglow we've been too, but it was certainly fun.  And we're glad we went, freezing weather and all.

Your Vintage Christmas Card of the Day

I bought a huge box of Xmas cards at a thrift during my birthday thrifting expedition.  Only cost a buck.  Got home and started going through them and realized that all but a handful are vintage.

I love vintage graphics, so I pulled my faves to share her on the blog.  Look for a new one every day (as long as i remember to do it) until Christmas.

Special thanks to my friend Rick for assistance with the scans.

We'll start off with this cute little holly tree.

On the first Tuesday in December, Eddie-torial Comments gave to me...

Nanci Griffith singing "Fist City" with Loretta Lynn at the Grand Ole Opry! Don't get much better than that, particularly for Nanci! Can you imagine getting to perform at the quintessential country venue with one of your absolute idols?

Why, it'd be like Christmas!




Be sure to keep checking back. I've found some really special holiday treats this year!

And years from now, they'll all be in therapy talking about it...

Scary Gourd Santa Says:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Doesn't this thing just scream "Happy Holidays?"  

Okay, maybe not.

One of the things I have to live with as a dealer is carrying things that don't personally appeal to me.  I remember the frustration of not finding books I wanted to read in a comic shop because the owner didn't like them and didn't want to carry them.  Which, in the end, meant he lost the money he could have made from selling them to me.  It's a problem which still plagues the comics market--shop owners making their shops in their own image and driving away potential customers who have different tastes.

I don't want to do that with the booth.  While I try really hard to have a space that's distinct from the others around me, I don't want to be so tunnel-visioned that I pass up potential sales.  Even if it means carrying painted gourd Santas.  It's not something that I would buy or decorate my home with, but there are those who like that sort of thing.  And it will look good in my growing Christmas section.

I do like having a space that's somewhat different from others--one that reflects who I am as a seller.  I also like seeing that my instincts are right when I pick something for the booth.  I have some practical considerations--no clothing--and a few taste-driven ones--no unicorns.  And I never want to have so many things out that I bought just  because I knew they'd sell that I  overwhelm the character of my space, since it does have some fans who come by looking for things they know I have that no one else in my mall carries.  In the end, it's a careful balancing act, but one that you have to play to be a successful seller.

We'll see how gourd Santa works for me.

So, why do I call him "Scary Gourd Santa?"   Take a good look at his face:

Seriously, what's up with those eyes?  They look like he's wearing biker shades or something.  Not like any Santa I've ever seen before.  Kind of creepy, if you ask me.

Doesn't that make you want to come down and get him?  Look deep into his eyes.

SCARY GOURD SANTA SAYS:

"COME BUY ME!!!"

It's time to glow!

One of my favorite events of the year is tonight:  Bardstown Road Aglow.  Many of the stores in the Bardstown Road business corridor stay open later, hold open houses, have free goodies, run specials, and sponsor entertainment.

It's a fun thing to do, even if you don't spend a lot of money, which I certainly don't have this year! The entertainers are fun.  There's always at least one Santa wandering around.  Several of the people who come out to shop and browse will also show up in costumes, which adds to the excitement.  There maybe a choir on one corner and a group of babpipers on the next one.

Of course, the goodies are always good too.  Plus, at a highly commercialized time of the year, it brings a focus to a part of twon that is home to a lot of small, locally-owned businesses, many with eclectic themes or unique niches.  The sluggish economy hits these kinds of places especially hard and they need the holiday dollars more than the big boxes.  There are too many empty storefronts in the area, so we need to remembers that this part of town can glow all year round if we support it.

And, since another holiday season kicked off this week, here's Hasidic rapper Matisyahu--dude's been around six or seven years now and it still seems like a contradiction in terms to say "Hasidic rapper"--with his recommend YouTube playlist for Hanukkah.  (Be sure to check out the new video for his own Hanukkah song--it's awesome!)



No, this one isn't on the list.

And we wonder why they consider us backward!

Kentucky's governor has given the rest of the world yet another reason to make fun of Kentucky.

It was bad enough the year (2004) the state legislature couldn't get its act together long enough to pass a budget, but could see to it that an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state constitution made it on the ballot.

And then, last month, the people of this state decided that this guy was the one they wanted to represent them in the Senate.

Now this.  Honestly, we've already got one of those crackpot museums in the state already, do we need to build another one using state tax incentives?

Geez....

The Circle of Junk

Vintage Rescue Squad had a post the other day that reminded me of a conversation I had with my uncle last year.  He's also a re-seller (sounds better than saying that he's a dealer), but at a much higher level than me.  For me, it's a hobby; for him, an income source.  He sells at flea markets, live auctions, and a booth in a vendor mall, plus eBay.  And his stuff ranges from the antiquey to the junky depending on the venue.  I've gone with him a few times to pick up what he refers to as "junk" to round out his load for the auction house.  By junk, he means perfectly usable, ordinary objects with a lot of use/life left in them, not the piles of broken down crap that the term conjures up.  There's nothing special about any of it, but it will sell for him and that's what matters.

Many of us re-sellers refer to ourselves as "junk dealers" in equal parts deprecation and endearment, but the reality is, even a penny ante guy like me wouldn't be caught dead actually selling real junk.  It's especially cute when someone like VRS, who deals in serious antiques, talks about "junk" and "junking."  You can tell by the pics of her stuff that her "junk" outclasses mine by the proverbial country mile.  (And check out the awesome display of religious statuary in the post I've linked to.  Makes me weak in the knees, truly.)

Anyway, when she writes in this post about buying things from dealers in other locales to sell at her booth, and vice versa, it reminded me of my uncle's theory, which he calls "The Circle of Junk."

It goes kind of like this:

1.  I buy something at a yard sale for 25 cents and put it my booth marked 50 cents.

2.  Someone comes along and buys it for 50 cents and puts it on sale in their establishment for a dollar.

3.  Someone else buys it for a dollar and puts it on sale for 1.50.

4.  This continues until someone gets it and prices it beyond what anyone will pay for it, so it sits for six months.

5.  The last buyer gets tired of seeing it taking up space in their booth, takes it home, and puts it in their yard sale, priced at 25 cents.

6.  Someone buys it, takes it to their booth, and prices it at 50 cents.

7.  And so on, and so on, and so on.

There's also an alternate ending, where it doesn't sell at the yard sale, gets donated to a thrift, priced at 50 cents and someone buys iy there to restart the cycle.

If you're not a reseller, you might think we're exaggerating, but it really can be like this.  Sometimes I wonder if anyone besides resellers is out there buying stuff.  You see the same people over and over at sales and auctions.  When I walk our mall looking for misplaced items of mine to return to my space (one of the drudgeries that has to be done in this business), I'm always seeing things that used to be in my booth that someone has bought and put in theirs.  I have other sellers in our mall telling me they like to shop my space for stuff.  Is there anyone out there who just buys stuff because they like it?

Okay, so I am exaggerating a wee bit.  Still, it does make you think sometimes.  It's almost like a closed, self-perpetuating economic cycle.  I find that fascinating.

Fun Finds: The Mystery Case

This one is a bit of a mystery, but it's also really cute! I couldn't resist it when I saw it and I was able to talk the seller down on it, which made it quite the bargain.

I've always had a thing for boxes and containers. I cannot imagine where it comes from, since I'm so horribly disorganized. It doesn't matter if it's a tin, an old cigar box, a picnic basket or a sewing kit. If it was designed to hold something and it looks kind of cool, I'm there.

And with its corner reinforcements, handle, and pink design, this one has cool down pat.

It's also interesting from a construction point of view, with a layer of light wood inside the tin.  There's a paper lining over the wood.

It's got a few bangs and dents, which speak to possible age, or at least a lot of use.

I'm at a total loss as to what its purpose would have been. It's sturdy enough to have been more than purely decorative. From the stain on the inside, it may have held other containers, I think. Maybe some sort of make up case? It seems a little small for that.

It looks for all the world like a small version of an old style suitcase. Maybe for a child or a doll?  It's no bigger than a large candy tin.

I'm also not totally sure on the age, either. It feels vintage to me because of the design and solid construction, but there are no dates or marks on it anywhere to confirm that.

I'm not having a lot of luck with my searches on eBay and Google, so I'm throwing this out so someone else might see it and fill in my blanks.

And then there was the time Roseanne Cash and Rodney Crowell sang "Seven Year Ache" and Emmylou Harris watched

Say it ain't so!

I'm somewhat of a conspiracy buff, especially when the evil forces of The Illuminati are involved. Thanks to the wonders of the internets, I now know who is under their malicious control, and, therefore, should be shunned and feared. Quite simply, everyone from the President to the Pope to Mickey Mouse to Beyonce is an agent for the Illuminati. (And if they've gone after Beyonce, that shows how desperate they must be getting!)

But...I do have to admit, I was stunned, shocked, and struck dumb with disbelief to find out that STAN LEE is on their side! Spidey an agent of the Illuminati? Say it ain't so, Stan! Say it ain't so!

But the proof is all right there for anyone to see:



If you see it on the internet, it's true, right? Especially if there's a video.

I guess now we know the real reason for the Lee-Kirby split all those years ago. Jack would never hang with an agent of the Illuminati! I wonder if Ditko knows about this?

Wow!

Black Friday sales this year were double last year's, but the real surprise came the next day when I had my second highest sales day ever.  What makes that so neat is that I also had my third highest day the week before.  So, I'm actually looking at November being my third or fourth highest month for the year (depending on the next two days).  Which is pretty cool and gives me hope for December as well.

Interestingly enough, none of the potential gift items I've stocked the booth with have sold yet.  The sales are all based on holiday decor items (some new, some used, and some vintage) or on items that are not holiday-specific.

More to come, I'm sure.

UPDATE:  Based on yesterday's sales, November is now my third highest month for the year.  I don't think it'll take the number two slot, but I'm not ruling it out.

Ain't it good to be back home again?

Sometimes this old house feels like a long lost friend.

We spent the last few days in Arkansas, visiting Keith's family.  Now we're home to begin preparations for our own Thanksgiving feast.

The trip was long, but mostly uneventful.  I did sample a few thrifts in the area, but no major scores.  One that we went to is actually a major chain of thrifts, but it left me unimpressed.  I did finally get to meet Keith's favorite cousin.  We checked out one of the strangest bookstores I've ever been in.

All in all, it was a good trip.  Keith's family, especially his mom, are great people and I love spending time with them.  I wish the distance didn't make it so infrequent.

We also bought some awesome wine.

And now, we're home.  The cats are clingy like they always are when we've been gone several days.  I've got to go to the booth tomorrow.  I had the second biggest sales day I've ever had while we were gone, so I'm betting it's a mess.  Sales have been slow so far this week, as more folks concentrate on Thanksgiving prep.  I'm bringing a bunch of  new (as in not used) items in hopes of attracting some Black Friday weekend action.

Last year, my sales tanked in November and didn't really start picking up again until March.  I made my rent every month, and a little over, but it was like half what I was pulling in the the summer.  I hoping some better "gifty" things will keep things up for me right now.  Lots of people don't want to buy second hand items for gifts.

We'll see how it goes.

I don't care if it rains or freezes...

Stopped by my favorite thrift store a couple of weeks ago with a particular purchase in mind.

This:

I'd been watching it for ages, waiting for it to cross the half-price threshold. It had been in the half-price zone for almost a week, but the day the new half-price tag colors started at that store, I bought a bunch of other stuff and knew I wouldn't have been able to manage the picture, plus three bags of stuff on my bike. The three bags I could handle with no problem, but I thought it would be best to leave the pic.

So, as soon as I got the chance, I rushed back to the store and was overjoyed to find it was still there. It's a perfect fit for me. First, it's religiously-themed, which is one of the self-appointed niches for my booth. Secondly, it's done in a style that appeals to a lot of Hispanic Catholics, and there are large numbers of Latino families that shop in our location. To paraphrase the Pawn Stars dude: I want this thing for my booth.

I did buy a few other small things along with it, but only a few, so they didn't really pose a transport problem this time around. I decided that I would stop tempting fate, buy the thing before someone else did, and then figure out how to get it home on my bike. The problem came when the store didn't have any kind of bag that the pic would fit in.

First try: Hold under one arm, steer with one hand. Not real good at one-handed steering. FAIL

Second try: Hold with one hand while clutching the handle bar. Not nearly enough of a grip on the pic to hold it. FAIL

Third try: Loop finger through little hoop (very little hoop) for hanging pic on wall. Try to hold onto handle bar too. Little hoop nearly tears finger off. FAIL

In exasperation, I stop the bike and lay the pic across the handle bars to take a break and ponder this some more. Then, I realize that it lays nicely across my handle bars! With a little repositioning, I can lay it to where it doesn't interfere with my knees, steering, or braking, yet is held down by my palms. SUCCESS!

I was afraid the image might get scratched, so I laid it face up. After about a half a block, I realized I was getting some odd looks from passing cars. Obviously, these people have never traveled with Jesus before. It takes a commitment! No mere bumper sticker for me!

Honestly, it was a little like this:



All together now:

I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Layin' 'cross the handle bars of my bike!

Fun Finds: Vincent!

I've pretty much decided that I'm not cut out to do weekly run downs of my yard saling and thrifting adventures complete with pics and what not. There are plenty of folks out there who do this and do it very well, but it's just not my cup of tea.

I'd much rather focus on truly fun/unusual finds and interesting people/stories instead. Since I've been doing the latter with "True Tales of Yard Sales" from time to time, it's time to bring the former into play.

So, welcome to the inaugural edition of Fun Finds! Like "True Tales," this will be an occasional feature, which will pop up whenever I run across something that warrants the attention.

One of the things I love about the merch hunt for the booth is the oddball items that crop up from time to time. I'm immediately drawn to them, because I like to keep my space as unique and distinct as possible from the other 400+ ones in our building. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't, but it's the fun finds out there that help set me apart.

Another way to judge a fun find is the temptation factor. The more unusual something is, the more I tend to be tempted to hang on to it. Fortunately, being a dealer has tempered that urge considerably. Now, it seems, I get the same kind of kick I would have gotten out of buying something for myself from providing it for someone else.

And that brings us to.....Vincent!

A Van Gogh sliding tile puzzle! Who would have thought that such a wonderful thing could even exist? And yet there it was, sitting in the thrift store, waiting for me to claim it.

It's really quite cool. I'm betting that there were others made for other works of art as well. What a fun idea! I toyed around with working this one and getting the image perfectly aligned, but I decided against it, since when it hits the booth, people are going to play with it and mess it up. Besides, I kind of like the way its arranged right now. It's got a cubist feel to it, like Vincent as done by Pablo.

I'd been waiting for a while for the right item to start "Fun Finds" with, and when I saw him, I knew that he was the one.

And in his honor, here's some musical accompaniment:

Know what's creepy?

Marilyn Manson on a bed with a bunch of women in bunny heads! That's creepy!

Updates

I guess it’s time for some words and some thoughts about stuff that’s going on. I’m in the lull between my birthday celebrations and Thanksgiving madness. My brother is going to be here tonight to deal with some of Mom's stuff. We leave for Keith's mother's in a few days. I spent most of last week house sitting. It's not really been that much of a "lull."

One thing I learned from my mother is that your birthday really should stretch until the next weekend, which is the way I’ve always tried to do it. My typical birthday modus operandi of hitting every thrift in town, and then some, had a different twist this year. First off, I had no money. Secondly, my thrifting these days is all about finding stuff for the booth, not for me, although I still do pick up a few things here and there that are not intended for resale. Due to these factors, I opted to hit a selected group of thrifts, as opposed to all of them.

I also took a short, but special, trip last weekend. I’ll write more about that later.

Anyway, back to the updates. The bright, crisp days of Fall are upon us. So are the cool, overcast days of Fall. It’s time to break out the outer wear, test the heater, put the warm blanket on the bed, and buy the fixings for hot chocolate and chili.

This is my favorite time of year, and not just because of the old birthday. It’s the time to cram your last days of outdoor activities in before the cold weather starts driving us all indoors. The upcoming holiday season puts a feeling of anticipation and excitement in the air. Spices and baking are eminent. Get ready.

The sunny days are bright enough to make you happy and active, the briskness is such a nice change from heat and humidity, and the overcast days are gloomy enough to bring on some melancholy, but not real sadness. It's like a seasonal respite between the miserable, sticky last days of summer and the upcoming cold and achiness of the winter.

I'm enjoying it immensely.

We went camping last weekend in October. It'll probably be my last trip for the year. I'm not a cold weather camper. Keith will go in the winter, but I'll opt to stay indoors where the warm things are.

We had a good time. Finally getting some rain in the area means that we're finally getting some bursts of fall color. It was cool enough that our pot of chili and spiced wine made the perfect evening combo. It was just a lot of fun.

I've discovered a new use for the blog: dropping hints for gifts! Both the Old 97's CD and the Belinda Carlisle memoir made it my way for my birthday. Pretty cool. Thanks, Keith. I wasn't intending for it to work that way, but it's a nice surprise.

The Old 97's are excellent as always. Saving the book for trip reading. Will have more to say on both later.

The election here was a nail-biter. We returned a strong, unabashedly liberal Democrat to the House, lost the chance to reclaim a Senate seat, and chose the first mayor in decades whose last name doesn't begin with an "A." I have some thoughts about the mayoral stuff for later, but I will say that it's so nice to know that the good people of my state chose to honor Jim Bunning by filling his congressional seat with someone equally as out of touch.

Got tons and tons to do around here before we leave. Hell, make that: before Danny gets here. It's going to be a wild week. I'm taking my laptop with me on the trip and I'll be making some updates from the road. I've got a lot planned for the rest of the year.

The one hard thing about Fall this year is not seeing Mom. We tended to see each other more at the end of the year than any other time due to the holidays. Keith and I always have a Thanksgiving for us here on Thanksgiving Day and another one a couple of days after for us and my mom. It was kind of weird planning only one feast the other day.

it was also strange not calling her on my birthday. Since I turned 40, I'd been calling her and telling her that she was now old enough to have a son who was whatever age I just turned. Couldn't do that this year. It's those little traditions that are all out of whack.

I'm still fighting the urge just about every day to pick up the phone and tell her that Bennie died. It's not right that she doesn't know. We've talked each other through pet deaths for years. She knew Bennie since her kitten days.

We got Bennie's ashes back from the vet and they did them up right. They are using a different company than before, so she came back in a small black velvet bag that had been placed in a nice red wooden box. I've always wanted to do something like that with Basil and Brianna's ashes, but have never been able to bear opening the cardboard boxes we got them back in. I'm glad Bennie was able to get the special treatment.

After fifteen or so years, ATT and I have parted ways on the email front. ATT was my first ISP in the early days. When we went to DSL, they weren't offering it in town yet, so Keith and I both switched to another company that did. I kept the ATT email going through a deal they have where you pay a smaller fee and all you have with them is an email address. I just didn't want to go through the hassle of changing it, given the number of places I used it.

Well, Thursday my email account was suspended because I forgot to update my billing card with them. I called the number they provided on their site to reinstate it and was told that I couldn't reinstate just an email account. I had to order full service. I explained that I didn't need service, just the email address. Person on the phone said they had never heard of that kind of arrangement and that there was no record of an account with my email on it in their system. That pissed me off, given that I'd been paying for almost ten years to keep that address.

So, I decided "to heck with them." It's time for a change. Which means that, on top of everything else, I'm also trying to notify folks and services with my new email address. I lost a lot of my info when the account was suspended, so if you're a correspondent of mine, leave me a note in the comments and I'll send you the new address.

And then there was the time John Denver and Julie Andrews sang Eidelweiss

The Cosmic Balance Must Be Preserved!

Eddie-tor's note: I had this post prepped and scheduled several weeks ago, well before Bennie got sick and passed away. I thought about deleting it, but just couldn't. I edited the post a bit, but I want to let it stand as a tribute to her.

The Lords of Chaos and Order must stand in balance. If there is a Mean Kitty Song for Chiquito, then, lo, there must be a Sweet Kitty Song for Bennie. In her memory, at least.



Honestly, throughout her whole life, the only thing she ever did that she wasn't supposed to was pick on Brianna, our Himalayan. (And it was Basil, her sister, who always instigated that.) She was the most perfect kitty that ever existed.*

*except that she never learned how to cover her poop.

This one is for Chiquito!

Seriously, I'm crushed that somebody else came up with the idea first! There never, ever in the whole world was a combination of sweetness and total trouble, cutie pie and bad-ass, holy terror and adorable beyond measure like Chiquito. We keep waiting for the kitten to grow its way out of him, but it's been three years, and he shows no sign of letting up.

And the resemblance between him and the kitty in the video is uncanny!

The sweetest birthday treat of all!

So sweet, in fact, that it'll give you a toothache!



And today, I am 46, even if you really can't tell it by this post.

I'll be off doing some nom-nom-ing myself. I told Keith all I wanted for my birthday was Nutella crepes from IHOP. (Although, I might sneak some thrifting in as well.)

Happy day, all!

Another Serving of Birthday Treat!

Only John Prine could come up with a line like:

You come home late and you copme home early.
You come home big when you're feeling small.
You come home straight and you come home curly.
Sometimes you don't come home at all.

The man is pure songwriting genius.

The thing that really gets me abo;ut this clip is how shy Nanci Griffith seems to be. You can see the hero worship for Prine written all over her face. It gives the whole thing a kind of gentle sweetness.

By the way, this was made several years before she recorded the song with him on her Other Voices, Other Rooms CD.




Tomorrow is the big day!

Have another Birthday Treat!

If there's one thing that's always welcome at any impending birthday of mine, it's more Emmylou Harris. Here she's doing "Hello Stranger" a great traditional tune, with her old acoustic band, The Nash Ramblers.

Birthday Treats

Thursday is my birthday, so you all get the presents! Best gift I can think of to give you all is some Emmylou (of course!) singing with Johnny Cash, from his old TV show.

Enjoy some good old-fashioned Southern gospel from the Man in Black and the Goddess of Music!



I'll be back tomorrow with another birthday treat!

And then there were two...

The Sweetest Kitty in the World is gone. She died this afternoon at home. Keith found her when he came home for lunch.

Mu mind can't comprehend it enough to even begin to write about it. I'm going black for a couple of days. I'll be back with more info after that.

The year my dad died (in the spring), her sister Basil died that fall. This year, my mother dies in the spring, and Bennie dies in the fall. That's a creepy pattern.

Mom died in May. Lost my job in July. Now, this in October. If bad luck really does come in threes, then it's time for someone else to be the recipient. I'm full up.

I'm almost numb at this point. Kosh just started crying for her.

I do hope Bert and Ernie don't get probed!

Apparently, Martians like oatmeal. Who knew?

For no particular reason...

..how about some Jesus and Mary Chain?

Updates and Linkages

No time for much right now, just a couple of notes:

My uncle and I cleaned out the storage unit where I was keeping Mom's stuff last week. We donated the clothes to a thrift store (of course!), then loaded the rest on his van. Now it's crammed into my backyard shed with all my stuff. I've been chipping away at it all weekend, getting it organized. My goal has always been to have the she turned into the place where I keep my booth merch. I've just been putting off getting it cleaned out and organized. Not any more! I've got to get Mom's stuff stashed until my brother can get up here and we can sort through it all, but I need to keep it out of the way of the rest of the crap in the shed. I'll be getting back to the mines in a bit.

With a little bit of rain and some cooler temps, the Louisville funk is subsiding a bit. We've still not had enough rain to make it all go away, though. We had a pretty severe drought this year, and those storm drains still need a real good washing out. But it's not as bad as it has been.

The booth is still struggling this month, and I cannot figure out why. After two bang up months, October has sucked royally. I just (finally) made the rent a couple of days ago. On the bright side, I have had at least one sale every day, but a lot of them have been pretty tiny. The past two days have been up to the level that they should, so I'll clear a little money this month, if the trend holds. Just wish I knew what the devil was going on.

My uncle said he's had slow sales at his place across the river this month as well. Maybe it's a Halloween curse of some sort? Or maybe such is the life of a junk dealer?

My Vintage Soul mourns the loss of a local landmark for secondhand shoppers.

Speaking of links and such, you may have noticed that my blogroll has gone missing. Fear not, it will return. Dummy me didn't realize I would lose it all when I started twiddling with new templates. The whole thing needs to be redone and updated, so it's probably a good thing it's gone for the moment. Several sites have changed addresses, while others--comics news sites, for instance--I never visit any more. My goal is to have a new look for the blog ready to roll for the beginning of the year.

Gotta run! Time to finish the dishes and head to the back yard again!

Think your job sucks?

You could always be this guy!

And then there was the time that The Cowboy Junkies paid tribute to Townes Van Zant

Eddies in Music: Love at the Five and Dime

I've always liked my name. I have known people who hated their names when they were kids, but grew to appreciate them later. I never had that problem. I always liked mine, but it seemed like I could never find it anywhere.

At first glance "Eddie" might not seem to be that unusual of a name, but check out the rack of personalized keychains or coffee cups next time you have a chance. You'll probably find an "Edward," and maybe an "Edwin," and possibly an "Ed." What you won't find is an "Eddie."

Now my name may be short for Edward, but that's not what people call me. And the only two people in my life who ever called me "Ed" are both dead. And if you do find anything printed with a name that sounds like mine, it's usually spelled with a "y." (Which is odd. I've know other Eddie's, but we've all been "ie" people.)

I've owned exactly one thing in my life that as personalized with my name on it, a Wonder Woman beach towel, and it was a special order. I got it when I was in sixth grade and I still have it, since it does have my name on it--and. duh, because it's Wonder Woman!

You also never see that many references to Eddie in popular culture, either. There was "Eddie and the Cruisers" and Eddie Van Halen, and that's about it. Okay, there's also that "Ed, Edd, and Eddy" cartoon on Cartoon Network, but the less said about it, the better. They didn't even spell it right!

So, I'm officially embarking on the Eddie-torial Comments "Eddie Quest." As I find them, I'll be posting Eddie's from the worlds of comics, music, movies, etc. here for our mutual eddie-ficiation. (Sorry about that.)

And here with my first entry is Nanci Griffith with a classic, sweet tale of love, music, and retail therapy.



I just love her sweet introduction. I'm off to search for unnecessary plastic objects. Woolworth's closed here a few years ago, so it's going to take a while. Maybe one of them will say "Eddie" on it. I'll keep it next to my Wonder Woman towel.

Hanging Out at the Hospital

I'm spending a lot of time at the hospital these days. Not because I or anyone I care about is sick, mid you, but because it's convenient.

When my dad had his first heart attacks in 1997, he was sent to a cardiologist in Louisville. We spent the next several years doing appointments and such at the hospital where the doctor was attached. At one point in time, Dad needed some dental work done, and they actually had to admit him into the CCU here for monitoring because of the amount of blood thinners he was taking to prevent stroke.

Years later, when he had his heart/brain incidents that incapacitated and ultimately killed him, he was sent back to the hospital, where he stayed for almost a month before being released to the facility where he died.

The oncology unit that my mother was referred to for her chemo is in this same hospital. I've spent a lot of time there in the past decade or so. And I've actually grown a little fond of their cafeteria. The food is decent and reasonably priced. And the space itself is large enough to allow for some privacy while eating, which is kind of important to me.

My own doctor's office is right down the street, so the hospital became a regular stop for me on appointment days. When I had physicals, I would break the mandatory fast with a breakfast there. If I didn't have to fast, I would eat there before my appointment. Sounds weird, I know, but it was right on the way, and since I usually bike or walk or take the bus, I don't have to worry about parking fees.

My favorite thrift store in also just down the street, which makes the hospital a good place to hit afterward for coffee. My mother taught me the value of taking a break for coffee in the middle of the day, so I try to do that as often as I can.

I may be losing the thrift store as a reason to pop by the hospital cafe. They've got a for sale sign in front of the store. According to one of the cashiers, if the sales at this store don't pick up, then they're looking to move it to a new location to the east. I don't know if she means to the east part of downtown, which would be okay or to the east end of the city, which wouldn't be quite so nice. If they leave the downtown area, there will be only one thrift left in the downtown area, which is kind of sad. Louisville is on the verge of becoming thrift-poor.

Salvation Army closed their stores a couple of years ago, which left a big hole in the local thriftosphere. The official story was that the stores weren't making enough money, which is really kind of odd. After all, the merchandise is donated, which means that most of what they make on each item is profit. In a down economy, an agency dedicated to working with the poor closing an affordable retail outlet seems nuts to me. Having shopped at the Salv. stores, I think they could have been retooled, rather than closed. They were messy. The selection was poor. The prices were high, given the quality of the goods. All of those issues could have been easily fixed and the stores could have stayed open.

As far as my favorite downtown store goes, I'm hoping they'll turn around and be able to stay. Honestly, they dealt with their biggest problem recently by getting rid of two of the most unfriendly, unhelpful staff people I've ever seen anywhere. Who wants to shop in a place where the staff are always loudly complaining about each other, about the store, and about the customers?

It's only been a couple of weeks, but I already find it to be a much nicer place to shop now. I'm also seeing the manager there take a more active role out on the floor, instead of hiding away in the back. They've still got a way to go, but I think they may be on the right track. I hope so. I do like the place and would miss it if it moved.

Anyway, back to the hospital. Taking my new part-time gig has actually led to spending a bit more time there. It's got a nice covered bike rack area that is really secure and out of the rain. In the morning, I ride my bike there and then catch a bus across town to the NPTG. It works well for me, as I just don't feel like wrestling the bike on the rack on the bus in the middle of downtown traffic. And the bike stays nice and safe waiting for me to come back.

When I get off in the afternoon, I stop off and get a cup of coffee at the cafeteria before heading home. Gives me a chance to decompress and read a bit before coming home to do booth work.

It's not the strangest thing I do, I guess. But neither is it the most normal, according to some people. Nevertheless, I'm spending a lot of time at the hospital these days.

It's the oddest little things that get to me

I had one of those odd moments on Saturday, the kind that hit you right out of the blue and leave you wiped out for a few minutes. One of those odd little grief moments that remind you how much things have changed. This one was brought on by Chex mix, of all things.

I was at a church sale that ended up being pretty dismal. The selection was bad and the prices were worse. I did find a mystery by one of my favorite authors and a couple of small items, but nothing major. As I'm checking out, I glance over the baked goods they're also selling and see a bag of homemade Chex mix, which I also bought.

My mother had made huge batches of Chex mix (the original) every year for Christmas for as long as I could remember. I always got a tub of it with my presents, and so did my brother. Seeing that little baggy of the stuff at this sale reminded me of that. It also reminded me that there wouldn't be any tubs of Chex mix any more.

By the time I got back in the car, I was a mess. We had to sit there for a few minutes before moving on. Thinking about the Chex mix also reminded me that my mother was the last person who could make my grandmother's fudge right. I try to make it every year and always screw it up. I knew that the holidays would be different this year, but I hadn't realized just how different until then.

And the Chex mix I bought was nowhere near as good as my mother's.

True Tales of Yard Sales: Go Get That Cross!

Actually, this is a true tale of an estate sale, but I think it all works out about the same. This is a slightly older tale, from back when I didn't totally have my blogging shit together. But, it's still a good story, and there's no statute of limitations on those.

This one took place about a year and a half or two years ago, during the usually sale-less months of winter. I wasn't doing the booth yet, so we were out shopping for the fun of it.

The sale was in a grand old house in a neighborhood near ours. There were three stories, tons of rooms, an awesome attic, and decor that had not been touched since 1945, at least. Every room was just chock full of all kinds of antiques and goodies, many way out of my price range.

At one point, when I was walking into a bedroom, I got pushed out of the way by a woman coming out of the same room. Pushed out of the way, as in rudely shouldered out of the way with no "excuse me" or any kind of acknowledgment of my presence whatsoever. I would have just ignored her--there are no shortage of rude people to be found at these sales, after all--except that she was carrying the largest statue of St Joseph I have ever seen in someone's home. It was easily 3.5 feet tall.

Image 'borrowed' from Knit and Pray blog.

We're talking classic, pre-Vatican II, Catholic home devotional statuary, complete with the Child Jesus and the lily of purity and everything. Just the kind of thing that makes me go totally weak in the knees, and it's in the arms of one of the rudest bitches I've come across in a while.

I was consoling myself with the thought that it was probably way out of my price range, when I stepped through the bedroom door and saw a sick call crucifix laying on the dresser.

Image from reigninggifts.com.

Sick call sets were staples in Catholic homes in the pre-Vatican II era, and are still in use today, just not as much. They were kept in homes in case a priest needed to make a visit to a sick person.

The face of the crucifix would slide off and stand up. The inside held a cloth, a bottle of holy water and a couple of candles. The priest would have many of the tools he needed to do his work when he got to the home.

I find them at sales from time to time, usually empty. I've only found one or two over the years that still had all the contents in them. This one was not only empty, it was in pretty rough shape to boot. The corpus was loose from the cross and the wood had swollen so that it wouldn't slide easily open. It had some nice inlay work on the cross, but that was about all it had to recommend it.

It didn't have a price tag on it, either. Since a lot of what I saw in the house was priced way beyond my pitiful little range, I figured that, even in this condition, I probably couldn't afford it. I was just about to put it down when I heard this hiss from the door "Go get that cross. That man has it. Get it from him."

Well, being the only person in the room at the time and holding the only thing that even slightly resembled a cross, it was pretty obvious who the whisperer was talking about. But, seriously, "get it from him"? As in, "grab it out of his hands and run?" Really?

So I turn around and who is standing in the doorway (of the room she just left, mind you), pointing at me? It's Ms Bulldozer with St Joseph, and she's ordering a young boy of about 12 to come take something out of my hands. The poor kid is staring at the floor, clearly embarrassed by the whole thing. And I'm thinking "Seriously, honey? You've got the nicest item in the whole damn house and you're trying to get your kid to snatch this puny little thing from me? It's on, babe. It's so on."

So instead of putting it down, I held on to it, turned, looked her right in the eye, and walked out the door. I had no idea at this point if I would actually buy the thing or not, but I sure wasn't going to let her have it. I carried it from room to room, frequently followed by Ms St Joseph and her brood (which actually included three kids). From time to time, she would actually point at me and say "There he is!" or "That's my cross." or some such nonsense. It was actually quite deranged.

After my second or third such encounter with Mama Dearest, my evil side kicked in. I'd wait until I knew she had seen me, and I'd set the cross down, but never quite take my hand off of it. A couple of times, I actually just caressed it with my fingertips, like I was considering leaving it. She'd really start whispering orders to her kids then, and I'd snatch it up again and walk on.

Finally, I got to the point that I folded my arms, cradled the cross in them and walked around the place like an ersatz St Therese.

Image from DrStandley.com

I was kind of hoping to wait her out and then just leave the thing there, but my patience was wearing thin. So, I decided to go ahead and see what they were charging for it and then go. Sure enough, soon as I got in line to pay, she was right behind me, St Joseph and the kids in tow. I told the woman running the sale that it wasn't priced, and she looked it over thoroughly, then told me: "It really could be a nice piece, but it's in such rough shape. How about five dollars?"

That sounded good to me, so I paid her, crossed my arms again, cradled the cross in them, turned around to the crazy woman, nodded at her and left. As I was leaving, she was demanding that the woman running the sale tell her how much I had paid.

Honestly, everything about that sick call set just paled in comparison to the statue she had, but she hounded me through the house for it. If I hadn't been so fed up with her, I would have waited for her on the porch and told her she could have it for twenty bucks. Or else offered to trade it for St Joe.

There are obsessions, and then there are obsessions. That bitch was obsessed.

Nemesis!

Batman has the Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor. Rachel Maddow has the Republican Party. Phyllis Schlafly has feminists. And, now, I, too, have a Nemesis.

The community of secondhand stuff geeks and resellers in any area is typically small enough that, after a while, you start to see some of the same people around at sales. And after a few encounters, you start to learn who to avoid and who's fun to strike up a conversation with. I ran into a woman last weekend who was so much fun to look through a box of junk with that I hope we meet again. She even started handing me things she thought I would like!

Sadly, though, there are enough obnoxious dealers out there, that someone is bound to cross the line from being merely annoying to becoming someone whose very presence at a sale actually causes it to be less enjoyable. From there, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump until they are a full-fledged nemesis. Yard Sale Bloodbath has Annoying Jewelry Guy. I have (Smelly) Book Woman.*

I used to see her from time to time before I started selling, usually at major book sales. She would corral every decent book in the place and sit in the middle of the floor with stacks all around her sorting through them at a snail's pace, snapping at anyone who got too close to her or one of her piles. Honestly, her whole set up is pretty hard to avoid. When I say "middle of the floor," I mean the literal middle of the floor, blocking traffic, yet getting annoyed at anyone daring to invade her space.

After keeping all her selections tied up for usually over an hour, she'd pick maybe a third of them (or less) and walk away, leaving everything else stacked in everyone's way.

It was bad enough when I was just out buying for fun. I'm not sure what tipped me off, but eventually I realized that she was a dealer. So when I started selling, she became not only annoying, she became competition. Now, I honestly try very hard not to be one of those resellers everyone hates to see coming because they are so rude and grabby. Seriously, if someone else gets something I would have wanted, I can live with that. I stood behind a woman one time who cleaned all the good titles out of a box of 25-cent DVD's. I just didn't see the need to get in a grabbing war with her.There will be something else down the line. There always is. In the end, it's just other people's junk. But this woman rubs me the wrong way entirely. Just to be classified with her makes my skin crawl. I would die if anyone ever associated me with behavior like hers.

This year, it seems like I can't turn around without running into her(or smelling her). And to make matters worse, she's gotten one of those bar code scanners that lets her look up what things are selling for online. So now, she tries to corral every book in the place and not let anyone near them until she scans them.

For the record, I hate the scanners with a passion. I work by my gut and my own knowledge base. I treat books like I do everything else: I look for things that strike me as unique or unusual or that I know will sell well from past experience. I can maybe see myself having a scanner to confirm a hunch, but to have one as the sum total of my knowledge base? No way in hell. That's lazy and demeaning to those of us who try to take what we do seriously.

Back to the Nemesis, I ran into her leaving a sale at a church library last weekend. She had maybe five or six books with her. The folks working the place opened the back door to air it out after she left. I'd been in there a few minutes, when one of the workers said to someone who just came in: "Did you see that woman at the books a while ago?" I knew exactly who they were talking about. The rest of the conversation was not positive.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the booth to do my weekly updating, and who do I see sitting in the middle of my book space? YES! It was HER! Now, I'm wheeling a cart full of merch to put out and she's sitting in the spot where I usually set up to start working. Figures.

I'm feeling a tad violated, like she's made her way into my Sanctum Sanctorum, when I realize that, hey, she wants to spend money on my stuff. That's not a bad thing, per se. And I don't have to interact with her while she's there, which is definitely not a bad thing. So, I discreetly park my cart in the aisle and go to get my second load.

By the time I get back, she's gone. She ended up not buying anything. And she left piles of books all over the floor of my booth. I felt like Snoopy as the WWI Flying Ace standing on his Sopwith Camel, shaking his fist at the Red Baron.

Curse you, (Smelly) Book Woman!

*I added "Smelly" in parentheses because that's a relatively new development. I used to think she just sweat a lot, but here lately, it's been pretty hardcore funk. I mean the kind that lingers in the room for a while after she leaves. It's like being at an anime con.

Likewise!

A couple of weeks ago, the half-price tag colors changed at my favorite thrift store, which meant I had to make the rounds to all three of the branches. They use three different colors of price tags at this store: white, green, and yellow. Each month, one of the colors is the half-price color, and items with that tag are half off. I've never been able to figure out what day the change happens, though. It seems to be different every month. But, when it happens, it sets off a second-hand retail pilgrimage.

One of the stores is downtown and the other is right near the house. I usually hit them in the same afternoon. The other is across town, not too far from our favorite Mexican place. Of course, this means a stop for yummy food after the bargain hunt is over.

We're regulars there, so we get pretty conversational with the staff. This particular visit our server was Maria, who is one of the best servers there. She hadn't waited on us in a while, so we spent a few minutes catching up. She told us it was good to see us again, and Keith said "Likewise," which is one of his standard replies to things like that.

She stopped for a minute, but quickly went to wait on another table. On her way back past us, she asked Keith to say the word again. When he did, she got a big smile on her face and said "I've never heard that before. I like that. Likewise." A few minutes later I went to the bathroom. When I got back, Keith told me that she had asked how to say it again and had asked what it means. Keith had told her it kind of means "I agree." or "It's good to see you too." She told him that she liked it because it sounded so polite. She was really happy to have learned a new word.

Keith and I talked a little bit about the incident on the way home. I think it had been a while since we'd been a part of a demonstration of cultural differences like that. It was kind of cool to be a part of someone's learning process with just a simple word. Ages ago (I can't remember where) I read that you should try to learn something new every day. For that one day, I guess we helped Maria meet that go

The Evolution of Man(a)

This is another of my favorite Muppet sketches. I'm known to break out into a chrus of "manha manha!" from time to time. (It's kind of amazing the things that end up having that kind of impact on you, isn't it?)

Come along with me and trace the progression!

It started like this:



The early Muppet designs were so primitive and obviously puppet-like compared to what they would become. I always liked the way they would show frustration by clenching their whole face up. It's a cute little touch they lost along the way, although Kermit would still do it from time to time.

And, now, on to this:



I think this one may be the funniest. The phone call at the end still cracks me up. I always loved the idea of Kermit as the host/producer of this wacky crew of performers, trying to hold things together long enough to put a show together each week.

Add a touch more sophistication, and you get this:



The best bit here, is when he stares into their mouths.

And finally, take away the Muppets, and this is what you get.

And thus ends Muppet Week at Eddie-torial Comments!

When Irish Eyes are...Swedish?

Thought about saving this one for St Patrick's Day, but realized I might forget I was saving it, so here it is. Besides, I'm Irish on my maternal grandmother's side all year round! So why not acknowledge it in true Muppet style?



This song always makes me think of my brother, whose name is Herman Reginald Fernando Danny. The vid is nutty enough that he would really like it, so I'm dedicating this to him.

This was my favorite Muppet sketch from Sesame Street.

I loved the two little Martian dudes and their "Yep yep yep yep" noises. They don't look like any other Muppet in use at the time, which is a part of their charm. They're almost kind of ethereal in their shapelessness. I love the way that their big chins snap upright when they're surprised or scared. Still too funny after all these years.




When I was looking for this sketch on YouTube, I was surprised at how many times these guys have been used. I remembered a few of them, but there were a lot that I was unaware of. It was a fun video search to do. The telephone bit is far away my favorite one, but I like this next one a lot too. It reminds me a little bit of the old fable about the blind men and the elephant, but with a fun twist. They can see the clock, but are trying to identify it using a book that is giving them ambiguous ideas. What fun.

Still striving for a modicum of class, this time from chickens!

This has got to be the most fun you can have with a bunch of chickens and not get arrested. Be sure to watch the bottom row of chickens after Gonzo steps out front!



"Not enough to kill it." Ha!

It's time to raise the bar here and bring some class to this here joint

Welcome to Muppet Week. How can you not love poor, unfortunate Beaker, especially doing Beethoven? Especially love Statler and Waldorf at the end. Play it again, indeed. Over and over and over and over....

Couple more links and couple more musings

Queen of Fifty Cents has come up with a novel spin in the yard sale report back blog post. She turned it into a video! Now, there are lots of voiceover, blah blah, YouTube vids out there where people pan and scan their yard sale finds as they wax (sort of) eloquent about them. Queen Fifty has gone those shows several better with this fun montage of several weeks of finds arranged by price. Check it out.

I'm linking to her blog post rather than embedding the video in hopes that you'll also check the whole blog out. I just found her and it's pretty neat. In addition to the usual talk about her shopping adventures, she takes pics of the dogs at the houses where she stops. It's awfully sweet and worth scrolling down to see.

I'm really psyched that the Old 97's have a new release coming out. There's a sample mp3 here and a promo video here. Rhett Miller just gets sexier all the time! The song sounds great, so I'm plotting how I can scrape together enough for the CD. They're one of my favorite bands, so I'd really like to get this one.

Image from the Old 97s website.

Speaking of music, Emmylou Harris is putting the final touches on a new album, due out next year. Of course, I am beyond psyched about this one. I'll donate plasma to get the money for it if I have to. She talks about it a little here. I'm surprised after all this time that she's still having to defend Wrecking Ball. Besides being one of the most amazing albums of her career, it's hardly the left turn that so many folks seem to think it is. I find it impossible to listen to just about any of the albums that came before it and not hear germs of the seeds that led to WB. Her entire career led to that album at the moment. I think her last release, All I Intended To Be, was kind of the culmination of the phase of the journey that began with Wrecking Ball, so it will be interesting to see where the new one leads. I know I'll be along for the ride for s

Louisville stinks these days, literally. Especially in our 'hood and the downtown area. We've had so little rain lately that the drains haven't been cleaned out in a while and the urban area is taking on that open sewer smell as a result. It's really disgusting, but there's nothing one can do but hope for a good downpour.

I think this is going to be a good month for the booth, but it will be a long crawl to get to the end. Last month, nearly every day was at least a 20-dollar sale day, sometimes a lot more. It was the best month I've ever had. This month, I'm back to the up and down path I'm more used to--20 bucks one day and 3 the next. It's going to be a long road to the end of the month at this rate. I'm bracing for the long haul.

The double space across the aisle from me has opened up. I'm thinking of consolidating my two single spots into it. I'll need to talk to the manager next time I'm in there.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy days for yard sales. Two church sales, plus a block sale in the "cool" part of town. I'll be hopping for sure, on the hunt for merchandise and hopefully a treasure or two.

Linkages and musing

October is always a fun month in the blogosphere (Does anyone use that term any more?) as various bloggers start their spooky celebrations. I've got something planned for a little later, when I've got time to fire up the scanner, but here are a couple for your reading pleasure right now.

Bully is revealing the awful truth about Archie's hometown. And it's shocking. And apparently all the evidence has been staring everyone in the face for years, but no one ever put it together before. Leave it to the little stuffed bull to put it all together.

Meanwhile, at Postmodern Barney, Dorian has started his annual celebration of horror movies with a long-forgotten "gem" from the 80's and the early days of the video revolution.

On the yard sale front, Yard Sale Bloodbath shows us how Berkeley a yard sale can be. In case you're wondering, it's pretty Berkeley. That may not qualify as an October horror--unless you're a rabid tea-partier, that is--but it's certainly something to see. I'm kinda jealous I wasn't there.

October or any time of year, Thrift Shop Horrors is always the best stop for things that should not have been sold the first time, much less resold.

Continuing my Nanci Griffith kick of the past few days, here's a very nice overview of her career and its ups and downs, album by album. No vids this time, but I do have a couple set aside for a special occasion.

October has started off extremely slow for the booth. Last month I set a sales record; this month I've only broken five dollars in sales on two days, so far. It's going ot be a long, slow, up and down month, I fear. I'm taking another load of Halloween and fall-themed merch over today, including a couple of cute vintage straw cowboy hats. Hopefully, that will help. I may add some fall-colored decorations to the booth to make it stand out a bit.

When You Can't Find a Friend, You've Still Got the Radio

I wonder sometimes whether young people today have the same kind of relationship to music, particularly to the radio, that I did in my teens. I was a smart, non-athletic, bookworm, comic nerd, who didn't have a lot of friends. My parents divorced, which scandalized some people in our small town, and resulted in us moving away for a while to a bigger town where I really didn't fit in. On top of all that, I was gay and couldn't even begin to admit it, although there certainly were more than enough signs that only I could see.

For a lot of that period of time, my main companions were reading and music. I know for sure that's why I can't begin to imagine getting an e-reader of some kind. It would be like rejecting one of my best friends. Part of the comfort of having a book with me has to do with the spine and the pages and the paper. It may be why the mp3 player has never totally caught on with me as well. There's something about buying and having music in a physical form (at least as "physical" as a CD can be) that is really crucial to the whole process for me.

Back to the initial conjecture, with so many avenues to obtain music these days and with so many huge media conglomerates setting the agendas, is the radio as important to lonely teens these days? On the one had, I think the increased means of access to an ever wider variety of music is a great thing, but does that make it harder to find the stuff that really touches you in the way that only music can sometimes. Is it possible any more for music to be more than background nose to our lives? With a hundred different avenues clamoring for your attention, can you find the one that can be your friend?

I'm not sure what the answers are. I'm not even sure if it matters, but every time I listen to this song, I think about this. I was really wanting to use the version of "Wall of Death" that included Nanci Griffith yesterday, but couldn't find it on YouTube. However, I did set off down a wonderful lost hour of watching Nanci sing. There may be a million ways to acquire music these days, but it is good to know that some of them can still have meaning for me, if no one else. Enjoy.

Back from the Wilderness!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

I'm not in at the moment...

Keith and I have headed to the wild, wild north to go camping for the weekend. I'm looking forward to hanging out and relaxing. I've got a small stack of books to read. I'm such a bore when I camp. While I might get out and take a brief hike, I'm pretty much content to sit around by the tent and read. Uninterrupted reading time is such a luxury these days. Even when I'm the only one at home, I have a hard time just sitting and reading when I can see everything around me that needs doing instead.

So, I've got a couple of whodunnits packed up and a couple of graphic novels, so I'll see you when I get back.

In the meantime, enjoy The Chills enjoying their leather jackets:

Here, let me ruin the rest of the day for you...

Now, try getting that out of your head.

Don't hate me. Please?

I promise not to ever do it again.

And it could have been worse, you know.

It could have been this:



Ooops!