Thoughts from a Closing

There were many things running through my head during the mall closing.  Not all of them were happy memories or near panic attacks about all the work I had to do.  Some were just my usual odd ruminations and rambling thoughts.

PEOPLE!

It is amazing to me how many people simply don't read signs, don't pay attention to things, make unfounded assumptions (then get angry when they're not correct), and just in general seem content to wander through life in a daze, hoping they don't get hit by a bus.

First, you have the vendors who, despite having the closing letter stapled to their statements, weren't aware that we were closing or had all the information totally wrong, especially the date we had to be out.  One guy was insisting that he had ten more days than we really had.  Nothing in writing ever said that.  Then you had the vendors who owed money and got upset that they had to pay it before they could move their stuff out, just like it said in the letter.  (And in our contracts for that matter.)

And then there are the customers.  Oh, the customers.  The ones who walk in the door assuming everything  everywhere is 75% off.  I got so tired of putting stuff back in my booth that should have been purchased, but wasn't.  $1.99 items that got put back because they weren't 50% off.  Really?  The damn thing was a bargain to begin with!  The worst ones were the ones who saw a 75% off sign in a booth somewhere and decided that it was for everything and would not be dissuaded from that.  I overheard a woman leaving complaining about "all those 50% off signs in front of the store and nothing is 50% off."  (There was one sign on the door for one booth.  Every other sign was about the closing date.)  Even better was the one who told me I was committing "false advertising" because a sign in the booth next to mine had 75% off and my stuff wasn't discounted.  I finally had to move that sign so that it could not be seen by people in my booth.  You'd think that they would just compare the booth number on the sign with the booth number on the tag, but no.

I hope they have better luck with the buses.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS STILL IMPORTANT

I told the cashiers more than once how much I admired them for their restraint and self-control and professionalism during the last days.  I'm not sure I could have done it.  There was some rude, uncalled for behavior going on at times.

At the same time, though, I am always glad to help out when I can.  I do hang out at the register a lot when I'm having a rest break, so customers sometimes think I work there.  I directed customers to the exit, showed them things they were looking for (if I could), gave them negotiating tips for dealing with a vendor, even helped them load things.  (I got a $5 tip for that!  I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted.)  I also helped wrap and bag large orders, which I like doing because I can see if there are things I might like in a booth I've been missing that way.

WHY DIDN'T YOU?

So why didn't I run a discount?  Well, the main reason is that it's my booth, my business and I don't have to if I don't want to.  So there.

The more complicated reason has to do with profits and motives.  Most folks running discounts were the type who had nowhere else to take stuff and didn't want it going to their houses.  That's not my situation.  There were also a few (like me) who had tons of stuff  and didn't want to do the work of moving it all out.  That's also not my situation.  Since I don't know what my personal health is going to be like over the next few months, I am really terrified of not being able to go out and get stuff.  This way, I have a stash that is all priced up, boxed up, and ready to go.  Just in case.

My goal for the month was to have the largest check of my reselling history.  Since rent was not coming out of it, there was no reason not to shoot for the moon.  I could get a big check with markdowns, but not without writing off most of my profit.  Since my one remaining store is currently an underperformer, I didn't think I could afford to do that.

The funny thing is that even with no discounts, my stuff was still cheaper than several of the sellers who were 50% off!  Often on the same items!  Yet mine got put back!  PEOPLE!

LIVING IN THE WILD WEST

Since the mall wasn't fully rented, several vendors took advantage of the last weeks and spread their stuff into some of the empty spots.  I did this with the things from the storage room that I bought.  I also held on to that room as well, since no one was going to be renting it out again. It made the place look fuller and got more of my stuff in front of folks.

NOTHING BEATS FREE!

Hang around a all that's closing and you'll get offered all the cheap/free stuff you can stand.  And then some.  Everyone has something they don't want to move or fool with any more.  I got a half dozen or so new (to me) shelves that way.  There were enough, in fact, that I am now able to dedicate my plastic utility shelves totally to my shed and storage.  I had been wanting to get away from using them for display.  I was also given a drop-leaf table, a loveseat, and a very nice upholstered chair.  All that, and a box of nice candles in jars to boot!

SHOPPER'S PARADISE

Of course, at 50 and 75% off, you can find some goodies!  I would lay in a stash for a couple of days until I had a cartful, then check out.  I got to where I would call the item info out to the cashier and give them the discounted price to speed things along.  I always tried to avoid high traffic times when I did this, since I did tie up a cashier for a little while.  It was fun, for sure.

I used to say that my goal as a junker was to walk out of a store with a receipt as tall as I am.  I did it a couple of times.

I need a new goal now.

Sadly, my excursions in search of discounts led me to several booths I had never visited before because they were outside of my usual mall route, which pretty much just led to my booth and back.  I found at least a couple where the prices were so good before the discounts that I should have been shopping there all along.

PICKER'S PARADISE

There's the free that's handed to you.  Then there's the free you find.  During the clean up after the closing, there are always items that get left behind as people movie out.  Since I planned to do most of my packing up after the last day to maximize sales, I had the opportunity to scavenge a few things that otherwise would have ended up in the trash.  There was a person who was allotted to have first pick at the leftovers, in exchange for cleaning the place up and taking down all the walls, so I made sure that I wasn't impinging upon anything he wanted, before I swooped on something.  It was simple.  You go:  "Hey is that cart trash?"  If they say it is, then ask to grab a couple of things off the top.  Never dig through since everyone is busy.  If they say that they are keeping it, then compliment them on their good taste in items.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Of course, I got rid of a few things too.  I gave away stuff that had outlived its usefulness, mostly old display and shelving stuff.  A lot went to folks who also scrap, since there wasn't much other use for it.  I also gave away some small stuff and tossed a few things.  I try to limit what I just flat out toss, because I hate to see things get thrown away that might still have life in them, but when a shelf blew over while we were loading up and smashed to bits, it was an easy call to toss.  The store rented one of those huge commercial dumpsters, and several times it ended up looking like this:

Lots of good things got tossed, which killed me.  I had to keep telling myself that I cannot have all the things, save all the things, or sell all the things.  But I really, really wanted to try.  I just have to content myself with the thought that I tossed stuff out sparingly and tried my darnedest to get things where they would be the most use for others.

FUCK THIS DAMN CANCER ANYWAY!

Oops.  There goes the language again.  I just get so tired of being tired all the time.  It was very frustrating for me during the closing weeks.  I would just be getting started on something and need to take a break.  Quite a few things that I wanted to do didn't get done the way I wanted because of that, like markdowns, which happened kind of haphazardly and not in the lovely organized fashion I had envisioned.  It dawned on me a couple of days after we finished that the reason the storage unit is fuller than I thought it would be is from the items (most of which were large) that I anticipated would sell with markdowns.  Oh well.  More for later, I suppose.

BIG BUMMERS

The whole thing was such a time-eater.  I know I had to do it, but, dude!  I missed out on some other opportunities and things I usually do.  My brother emailed me a couple of days ago, just to make sure I hadn't been sick(er).  He was worried because he hadn't heard from me.  Thrifting?  No time!  Blogging?  No time.  You all are going to be reading January topics in February and March.  I missed a closing sale at Toys R Us and two good estate sales to deal with this madness.  I keep telling myself that I cannot go to all the sales, but still.  I also didn't really get to do my Christmas clearance shopping this year.  I would have just been starting that when we got the closing notice.  There just wasn't time.  Thankfully my discount booth shopping yielded lots of Christmas, since most booths still had theirs out and left it out through the closing.  I don't have a stash like I usually do, but I'll get through.

STOP THIEF!

The biggest bummer of all was the very nice piece that was stolen from me during the chaos of the closing.  It was the first major loss I've ever had.  I've lost smalls here and there, which is usually no biggie.  That's the kind of stuff that happens.  This was a nice, pricey (for me) piece.  I'm still bummed about it.  It's the kind of thing I'll never find again.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Finally, some last looks.  Before we left for the last time, I took some pics.  People always used to talk about how big the store was.  It never felt big to me with all the booths and stuff in it.  Empty?  The place is cavernous!

Also, soulless.

Lifeless.

Barren.

Have you ever seen the ending episode to a TV series where they keep pulling the camera back and suddenly you see the sets and the lights and stuff?  And there are people walking off the set and cleaning up and turning out the lights and then that's all?  That's the way things felt for me right then. 

Retro Y'all! Muppet Edition

This one has been stuck in my head all week.  Out of all the many Muppet songs, this is probably my favorite.



Happy Valentines Day!  I hope you find your place to go back to someday.  And someone to go with you.

Dedicated to my sweet husband, Keith!

One Last Look

This is the space where my booths were.  The floor spots, anyway.  Half of my eight booths were wall spaces.  The worn masking tape shows the original outlines laid out when the store opened.

The rectangle closest to the camera was the first booth I took.  The store had been open a week at that location.  I had been to the grand opening and decided to take the plunge.  I was wanting a wall space, but by the time I talked it over with Keith and headed back the next weekend, all the wall spots were rented out.  This one floor space was just about all that was left.

Most of the floor spaces are 8 x 10, but this one is 8 x 11, so I had to pay a little bit more rent.  Eddie's Attic was born!  Over the years, I've seen a lot of people come and go in the spaces around me, but I was a stable presence in this little back corner of the mall. Eventually, I would have regulars coming in to find me in this regular spot.

After about six months, the people in the booth  diagonally across from mine left, and I rented that spot.  This is the spot with the column in the corner.  I was noticing that my comics, books, CD's and DVD's were selling very well for me. I wanted to expand that into a whole booth.  This one had the advantage of being close to my current spot (easier to stock and tidy), plus it had walls and shelves already installed.  Shelves are good for books, you know.  I had to buy those from the previous vendor, but it was worth it.

I had become friendly with the guy in the space in between my spaces (where the tote lids are).  I started kidding him that I was going to squeeze him out, take over his spot and call my three booth empire "Ed-Mart"!  He had his booth on this side of the mall, and his wife had one on the opposite side.  Eventually, one or the other of them took a new job and had less time for the booths, so they incorporated them together into her booth.  Before he cleared out of his space, he recommended to the manager that she offer me first dibs at the booth.  It was a gesture I will always appreciate.  Of course, I jumped at the chance.  It was also at this point that the manager and I started to get to know each other better.

We had always spoken and been nice to each other, but I am, honestly, kind of shy in person.  It's hard for me to get to know others and vice-versa.  I started making time to hang at the register a little bit and chat with people.  I learned a lot by doing that and made several good friends.  It was also about this time that I started to get to know a few other vendors a little better.

I left the walls up in the book corner because of the shelves, so my space was kind of cut up.  Eventually, I started thinking about ways to unite my spaces.  One option that seemed out of reach was the taking the fourth space in that block, the one where the box of trash is in the picture.   The vendor there gave up the space, but had a ton of walls and shelves built in there.  If I took the space, I would have had to buy them and I didn't want to do that.  For one thing, they were expensive.  For another, I was moving towards ditching my walls entirely.

Then, right after I had my cancer surgery, something major happened.  A mall down the road closed, meaning that there would be a lot of vendors heading our way looking for new booths.  If I didn't hop on that empty spot, I might not be able to get it for a while.  Plus, the store informed me that they could just move the walls out if I didn't want them.  And they offered to buy my walls and shelves from me, so that I could create one big spot!  I was fresh out of surgery, extremely tired and could barely stand.  So, of course, I said yes!

Keith helped me out (i.e. did most of the work) and my four-square dream was realized!  And that big old square remained the heart of my booth for the next two years, with various wall spaces rotating in and out of the picture.  It was a very good fit for me.

Last summer, the rumors started to fly that our closure was imminent.  As in, could happen any minute.  As in, grab your stuff and run!  Flee!  The barbarians are at the gate and they have a wrecking ball!  There was a lot of behind the scenes this and that going on, but that's not mine to comment on publicly.  (I do have some opinions that involve lots of swear words, if you want to ask privately.)  All of that stuff started happening right around the time I started having my best sales ever!  (Isn't that the way it always goes?)

I decided the best route to go was to sit tight, keep having good sales, and wait for definite word.  And the apocalypse didn't happen.  I actually had a thought in the back of my head that it might not happen until this June when the store lease was supposed to be up.  At the very least, I was hoping that we would have until April and get through tax season.  And the hammer fell on January 2.  Happy New Year.

It is what it is. It was what it was.  (And what it was, was wonderful!)  The deed has been done.  Now that I have everything out and a few days of good sleep under my belt, I'm looking forward to finally getting this new store up to snuff.  I took those spots originally to have a place to land when/if the hammer did fall.  I held on to them, even though they weren't performing the way I wanted.  I knew I was going to need them.  I have to admit that at least part of the fault is mine for letting the better selling store eat all my attention.  That issue has been resolved for me, so now it's time to rock and roll.

Look out world.  Eddie's Attic/Booth 62 still has a hell of a lot to do, say, and sell!

Woo hoo!  

Wednesday Rambles!

Cue theme music!

BAUM! BUM! BAUM! BUM! BAAAAAUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!

He lives!

I live!

EDDIE LIVES!

BAUM! BUM! BAUM! BUM! BAAAAAUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!

(For the best effect here, think of this melded with this.  Sort of.  For the real effect, you kind of have to be inside my head.  Trust me.  You do not want to go there.)

I have seriously slept for nearly three days straight, waking only to go pee and get something to eat.  I had no idea that a person could be that tired and actually still count as a living being.  If "Walking Dead" weren't already a thing, I probably could have invented it.

It is done.  I am out.  Thankfully, I was not the last one out, but watching a couple of other vendors--the least organized ones--leave before me was kind of rough.

I started out really organized in the beginning, but by the end it was "cram it where it will fit" mode.  My storage unit is full to the door!  So is the shed in my yard.  (And I had that one half emptied.)

Now comes the hard part.  Getting it all back together.  My priorities right now are four:

1.  Cleaning up and organizing the booths I have left.  We were in "drop it off mode" there for a couple of weeks, so they're kind of a wreck right now.

2. and 3.  Getting my comic books and religious section set up at the new store.  (It's still the "new store" to me.)  Those are my top selling sections, I need them to be operational quick.

4.  Moving several new-to-me large pieces over and getting them priced.  I was given several nice pieces of furniture by vendors who did not want to fool with them during them move.  It's time to turn that generosity into profit!

If I can do all of that relatively quickly, then it will ease the strain in my storage situation, and help that get organized much faster.  I think Keith said it best on Sunday:  "We're finished, but your work is just starting."  I'll get onto some of that this weekend for sure, but there will also be some other things happening.

A long delayed haircut for one.  7,234 loads of laundry.  A well-deserved massage on Sunday.  And I think we're going to get our wedding ring tattoos on Saturday, since it's Valentines Day.  I know that there's a special dinner in there too.

I'll probably get the hair cut today.  I have to go look at some stuff that someone wants to give me to sell.  I really don't need anything, but this is high dollar stuff and it's just going to get tossed otherwise.  I'm appraising it today for possible pick up on Friday.  I might even go to a thrift.  Not to shop, but just to look.  I haven't been in one in ages.  Ages, I tell you!

I need to get as much done today, since we've got a brief warm spell happening.  So brief that it ends tonight.

I have a couple more posts to do about the move out and some thoughts it has generated, but I should have that all out of my system by the weekend.  Yes, I tend to dwell on things forever.  I'm an over-thinker.  It's what we do!  After that, well, it's back to the weirdness.  Thanks for being a part of this journey.  Your encouragement and concerns helped me keep it together through a couple of weeks of near hellish stress.

Pardon the Service Interruption

Today's scheduled installment of Monday Rambles has been postponed until tomorrow, due to the need for a certain junking blogger to catch up on his sleep.  A certain kitty cat is requesting, nay, demanding lots of sleepy time snuggles.

We regret the inconvenience and ask that you please join us tomorrow for our next installment.

Thanks for your understanding.

Chiquito thanks you too!

All Good Things

It's empty.

There's nothing left.

Eddie's Attic/Booth 62 at the Dixie Peddlers Mall is no more.

One more truckload today and I will be completely out. Gone.  Like I was never there. I may cry.  I did on the last day of sales.  It feels so strange to get only one sales report email a night.  I feel kind of like I did when I graduated high school.  Everyone is heading off in their own direction.  You know you'll see each other again, but it will never be the same.  But it was good while it lasted.

I still have some thoughts to share and stories to tell from the last days.  I've had precious little time to write lately (naturally).  I also have a whole ton of things that I had planned to write about in January, until the store closing bomb dropped.  My brain is overly full and needs to be emptied. 

Good-bye to my beloved Dixie Peddlers Mall.  I will miss you.  Thanks for such a good run.  The page has turned, and it's time to write a new chapter in my junking journey.

Still chugging

Most big stuff is out.  My storage room is empty and packed up.  Some things have been given away.  A few have been acquired.  Lots of boxes moved.  Lots more boxes to move.  About three-fourths of the smalls have been boxed and wrapped.

Questions of the moment:

Lordy, where did all this stuff come from?

What is that?

Did I buy that?

How much did I pay for that?

That's still here?

What was I thinking?

Do I want to keep this?

I really thought this would sell?

Why didn't someone buy this?

Am I crazy?

Why is Blogger's spell checker treating the first paragraph of this post like one big, long misspelled word?

I am becoming cautiously optimistic that I just might survive this madness.  I've been over there every day since, well, forever ago at 10-ish.  I decided to go in at noon today and get a little more sleep.  Sweet, sweet sleep. 

I am about half convinced that other vendors are sneaking stuff into my pile so they won't have to move it themselves.

What have I wrought?

It's moving day!

Dear Lord!

And this is merely the tip of the iceberg! I ran out of time to take any more pics. I had not yet picked my word for 2015, but I think I have it now:

DE-STASH!

There's a lot of money that ain't being made in those boxes and tubs.  I was worried about being able to do the whole yard sale drill this summer.  I don't think I'll need to.

Tired-Ass Monday Rambles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Closing Day

Let's have one more round for Dixie!
Diet Doctor Pepper
Mountain Dew

Let's sit around the cashier's desk
on that red leather loveseat and swap
stories about
crazy customers
crazy vendors
our crazy lives

Let's remember the place where
everyone knew your name
and we all celebrated good sales
good times
good news
each other

Let's remember the times when we could not
celebrate
because we were sad
and we helped each other out instead

Let's have one more round for Dixie!
Then order lunch
one last time
(Taco Bell again!)

Let's toast the memories of a store that would not quit
no matter what anyone else said about it

Let's drink to each other
to friends
to family

Let's have one more round for Dixie!
Diet Doctor Pepper
Mountain Dew

Michael Edward Mitchell
January 31, 2015

The Final Countdown

For the Peddlers Mall.  Not for anything else.  (I feel like I have to be so careful what I say now, since I don't want anyone to worry about me unnecessarily.)

Today and tomorrow are the last two days that the Dixie Peddlers Mall will be in existence.  I am sad beyond belief over this.  Out of all the stores I have been in, this is the one that feels like home.  This is the one where I learned how to do this.  This is the one where I learned how much I loved doing this.  I have made really good friends here.  I'll be seeing a lot of them around in other PM's and other stores, but it's never going to be the same again. I feel like the old gang is breaking up.

But life goes on, I guess.  I still have boxes to pack and move.  I've taken several loads out, but still have lots more to go.  Even though the time is much shorter now, I'm still planning to move most of my stuff after the store is closed.  It makes more sense to me to give stuff the most chances to sell.  With no rent coming out of this check, I want it to be as big as I can make it. 

Saturday, we'll get the last of the big and small furniture out, except for the shelves that are in use right now holding stuff.  They'll probably be the last to go.  Sunday and Monday, I'll pack up stuff on the floor and in my storage.  Thankfully, most of my stuff in the storage is still boxed up. 

I have a few items that I am leaving for the clean up crew, but not many.  I've already made arrangements for someone to take care of my one wall.  It's not going with me.  I have a shelf and a chair that I am not keen on taking with me.  I'm slashing them way on down today to try and get them re-homed.  If not, they'll be gifts for the cleaning up dudes. 

I've been taking advantage of other folks' leaving sales and such to score everything I can.  I've had a lot given to me.  I've also made offers on several items--mostly furniture and shelving.  I am going to be able to completely re-do the look of my spaces with new shelving.  I have a lot of plastic utility shelves that I no longer want to use for the booths.  They're coming home to the shed to organize my merch storage there.  I've picked up enough (much) nicer looking shelves to give my new spaces a look that better reflects my identity as a re-seller.  I'm excited about the possibilities.

I didn't really have much of an identity when  I started doing this.  I was one of countless others who wanted to sell crap.  Now I am much more knowledgeable, much more secure in who I am and what I sell.  I have a regular customer base.  I have good sales.  I've found something that I love doing and am somewhat good at.

It's all thanks to the Dixie Peddlers Mall.  I'm going to miss the hell out of this place.

Can You Hold Please?

To misappropriate Charles Dickens:  These are not the best of times, nor are they the worst of times.  These are simply, well, times.

On the one hand, the tumor in my spleen is a little bigger.  About 10% bigger.

On the other hand, the one in my liver appears to be benign.

(We have to pretend that we're aliens or octopi for this one, because we need a few more hands.)

On the next other hand, Yeravoy, the drug I just finished, does some of its work after the treatments are done, so we don't have a full picture yet.

On the other hand after that, we could just not wait for the full picture and start the next treatment.

On the newest other hand, the docs want to wait two months, do a re-scan, and then decide next steps.

On the other hand sitting over there in the corner, I won't have to do any treatments or belly shots (BLAM!) during those two months.  Just wait.

On the other hand that's in grandma's trunk in the attic, waiting is hard.

On the other hand that's in the dirty clothes basket because it's got ketchup all over it, waiting gives us the most accurate picture about what's actually going on with Tumie, as I have now named him.  I am all for making the best, most informed decisions.

So, we're waiting for two months.  I hope that's the right decision.  I told Keith I just have to choose a course of action and then let it go.  I cannot start second-guessing myself right now or I'll go crazy.  But still…

And then they called tonight to tell us that we only have until the 5th of February to be out of the Peddlers Mall, not the 10th as originally promised.  Supposedly, there was a misunderstanding.  Supposedly.  Given the way the property owners have been acting over the last six months, I have my doubts.

Anyone wanna trade lives?  I'll throw in the extra hands, if you need them.  After I get through packing up, of course.  In fact, I'm searching right now for my set of spares.  And calling my cousin Sid the Squid.

Monday Rambles

Actual conversation we had the other day:

Me:  I miss the days when I could poop in the mornings.

Keith:  I miss the days when we didn't have to talk about your poop all the time.

I know I said that this was not going to become a regular topic here, but that was too funny not to mention.

I did have a bad swing the other way (if you know what I mean) a few nights ago.  I was up for quite a while and it was rough.  A lot rougher than anything I've ever been through.  It felt like someone was yanking my innards out with a fork!  (Ewww!) I thought I was going to pass out.  Seriously.  I don't know for sure that it was treatment related, since it hasn't happened again.  I am so glad for that.  An extended run like that is  not something I want to go through.  It left me wiped out the next day!

Most of the small furniture is out of my closing booth and moved over to the other store.  All of my books (except for the religious ones) have been moved.  I do have a few large furniture pieces left and a couple of end tables, chairs and desks.  Most of them have been way marked down, as I don't plan on taking them with me.  If I can't sell them, there's a clean up guy who has made arrangements to take care of anything that gets left.  He's a big time vendor, so I know what he's going to do.  I'll be leaving him a few "presents."

If I have to go that route, it will be karmic payback for the benefits I've reaped from other vendors as they've been moving.  I've gotten several gifts of mirrors, dish sets, chairs, books, etc over the last few weeks.  Many of them I've been turning around and flipping quickly at bargain prices, adding to my bottom line for the last month.  I have just about made my sales goal for the month, so I'm looking to go way over it.  Not having any rent come out in the last month will sure help this be a big check.

I still have tons of smalls to wrap, box, and move.  I love my smalls, but I am so dreading this.  I am up to my neck in empty boxes, totes, and tubs at the house and at the store, but I know it's still not nearly enough.

I'm taking a load of smalls to the new store this afternoon, after I get done with my scan.  I'm in my pre-scan fast period, counting the minutes until I go in.  In other words, I AM STARVING!!!!  Oh well.  The price we pay for scientific inquiry.

I'll get the results tomorrow, along with treatment options, if any are needed. Of course, I'll be updating here as soon as I know anything.

Not too much else in the way of happenings here right now.  Sorry about that.

Lowering the boom....

It all started with one very badly written letter.

Kind of an inauspicious way to announce the end of an era, huh?  I still cringe* when I look at it.

I'll have a somewhat lengthy reminiscing post a little closer to the last day.  After all, I have a lot of memories in this place.  I'll miss it terribly.

This wasn't an entirely unexpected turn of events.  We all knew that the store's lease was up in June and not likely to be renewed.  I've written before about the massive construction on the building that has been screwing with sales for months.  That made it pretty obvious how the property owners felt about us.**

There was a period in the spring/summer when I kept vaguely talking about a stressful situation that was bringing me down, but said that I really couldn't say any more about it at the time, largely because things were so uncertain and indefinite.  The store came very close to closing at that time.  That's the real reason I took the space in the second store, in order to have a place to land when/if the boom dropped.  It's also the reason I have hung on there, even though I wasn't doing as well as I wanted.  Space there is so much in demand that I was afraid to give it up in case I needed it.

I did decide at that time that, no matter what happened, I was staying at the store until the very end, no matter what.  Lots of vendors were bailing based on rumors, and that just didn't seem like a good business decision to me.  I started having the best sales of my tenure right around that time, so it seemed foolish to just walk away.  Besides, I am an intensely loyal person.  This store, its staff, and management have been very good to me.  I intend to return the favor as long as I am able.

For me, it became business as usual--buy stuff, price stuff, sell stuff.  After all, I'm still going to need merch, no matter what store I'm in.

When the summer passed, along with the danger of closure, I kind of breathed a little easier.  When I got rediagnosed with the cancer, I was incredibly relieved that I wasn't having to deal with closing/moving the booths at the same time I was starting treatment again.

At least I wasn't until I got the letter and, all of a sudden, I was.  That's life, I guess.  It is what it is.  That's business.  And a whole bunch of equally philosophical (and only mildly comforting) aphorisms.  Of course, it's my kind of luck, that the news breaks right when I am looking at a storage room stuffed with goodies that I just bought.

And now you know why I was not very active on the blog for the first couple weeks of 2015.  I would work at the store until I just couldn't any more and come home and collapse.  I had no energy for you all.  Sorry.  I did think happy thoughts about you, if that's any consolation.  I'm good at happy thoughts.

I started moving stuff over to the other store this last weekend.  As soon as the news broke, I called over there and picked up two more spaces.  I'm still going from eight space, plus a storage, down to four, but it will help.  I've been kind of carefully planning my move, trying to keep my sales momentum up and conserve my energy for the big push at the end.  A lot of the work for me will happen in those first ten days of February, when the store will be open for us to move our stuff out.

There are a lot of lemons to be made out of this lemonade, if you look for them.  Sales are through the roof right now as customers get the word and come looking for bargains.  Lots of vendors are doing huge markdowns, which is what the people are hunting for.  I'm not going to do a booth-wide sale, but I am picking up a lot of extra sales anyway.  My goal for the month is a minimum 16-1800 buck check.  I'm closing in on that every day by leaps and bounds.

Vendors having markdowns also means lots of cheap merch out there for me as well.  I've been doing my own share of shopping as I go along.  Much of that shopping has comprised my restocking for the other store, allowing me to leave what I have in storage packed up for move out.  There's also the giveaways.  I've usually got open arms for stuff people don't want to move out, either before or after it hits the dumpster.

I'm not going nuts by any means, but trying to carefully plan ahead for the summer.  The possibility that I may end up laid up due to my treatments is never far from my mind.  I'm trying to assemble a nice stash of stuff that I've pre-priced, so that all I (or someone else) have to do is grab a tote and put the stuff out.  Even if I'm not laid up, I'll lessen the need to go out every weekend during the summer.  Hopefully, I can target the proven, time-tested good sales and have a little more "us" time this summer.

I'm going through a massive grieving process over this closure.  I will have much more to write about it over the next few weeks.  I'm just trying to muddle through and look for the bright sides to the situation.  Having more time to work the other store will definitely be to my benefit. I'm looking forward to finally growing it to its full potential.

Honestly, it's not the way I wanted to start the new year.  There's not a helluva lot I can do about that now.  It seems like I'm always rolling with the punches.  This is just a new twist on that.

*Mainly from how terribly it's written.  For goodness' sake, if you're going to dump me, at least have the decency to get a proofreader!

**All opinions expressed in this and future posts are purely my own and do not reflect or represent the thoughts of Peddlers Mall, its staff, or management in any way, shape or form.  I should also add that all of my opinions have been formed solely by my own observation of the situation.

I do crazy things sometimes...

What is the most insane thing you can think of that someone undergoing cancer treatment that keeps him tired all the time and exhausted at least part of the time can do?  Enter a marathon?  Take up weightlifting?  Become an Avenger of the Night?  Start tap dancing?

Well maybe for other people in cancer treatment, but this Melanoma Boy (Hmmmm.....that's kinda catchy.  *Makes note to start on a costume.*)  seems to make major booth moves during treatments.  Last time, on my first trip out after surgery, I rented a new booth, which required completely redoing my set up and moving everything.  I had to do it.  The timing sucked, but it was an opportunity that I knew would pay off.  To make it work, I sat on a sofa and told Keith where to move the big stuff and then sat on a stool to put the small things in.

This time was even more major.  I know that's pretty hard to top, but I managed.  Not that I set out to deliberately do something crazy, but it was another opportunity I could not pass up, one which doesn't come along all the time.  Another one that I knew would pay off.

I bought a storage unit.

Not like this, mind you.

It wasn't even actually a unit, per se.  It was a room at the Peddlers Mall being used for storage by a vendor that had been evicted for non-payment of rent.  When that happens, the vendor forfeits any merchandise that may be left in the mall.  The mall resells it to try and recover the amount owed.  A lot of times, there isn't much for the mall to work with.  The vendor usually never had a good booth or sellable stuff to begin with and what had been there has dwindled down to the detritus, because the vendor hasn't been in for weeks to work the booth.

This time was different.  There were five booths, plus the storage unit, all with a reasonable amount of stuff left in them.  The little storage room was jammed full of stuff!  It was way too much for the store staff to deal with.  They would have been pricing items for days!  So, the manager decided to take sealed bids on the spaces.  Three other dealers and I were invited to bid, based both the interest we had shown in the stuff and on our ability to deal with it all.  All of us have multiple spaces and do fairly well.  Track records and communication pay off.

I thought about it a long time and talked it over with Keith.  I decided to go for it for several reasons:

1.  It was a chance to get a lot of stuff at a good price
2. Winter is here and there are no sales
3. Building a good stock now can carry me if later on in the year, I am not able to get out as much as I need to.
4.  Two stores = need more stuff all the time
5. I can take this at my own pace.  There was no deadline to have everything cleared out.  In fact, I bought the room right before we left for Chicago, but did not start to work on it until after we got back.

I did have some misgivings.  After all, I was swooping in to take advantage of someone else's failure.  I had moments of feeling oddly like a vulture.  But this is a business.  Everyone signs a contract that spells out what we have to do to sell in the mall.  This vendor had not responded to repeated requests to come and settle up.  Those requests clearly spelled out the consequences.  Plus, I had watched this vendor since he came in the mall.  He made a lot of mistakes.  Walking away without any contact was only one of them.  I may write more about that later.

When I got the room, this is what it looked like:

Scary, huh?  I did the only reasonable thing I could do.  I pulled out a cart load of easily reachable stuff.

Then I boarded up the room and got married.  Priorities, you know?

When I started to work on it...whooo boy!  What a colossal mess!  For real.  It took over a week to get the room cleaned out and sorted.  I hauled eight or nine cartloads and three flatbed loads of trash out to the store dumpster.  This vendor was in the habit of going to auctions and buying anything and everything in sight without any regard to what it was or whether it was sellable.  Then he would get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff he had, dump a lot of it in his booths without prices, and shove the rest in this little room.  He eventually got himself up to 14 booths (two that were being used as storage), plus two storage spaces.  He over-reached badly and in the end it got him.  I always tell people who are interested in trying a booth to start out small to see if they like it, then grow out from there if they are doing well.

But I found some wonderful things:

That doesn't even scratch the surface.  A short list of things I did not take a pic of includes:  2 computers, 2 printers (one new in box), two air conditioners, a vintage vanity (no mirror), three TV's (one big screen), boxes and boxes of toys (as yet unsorted), a smidge of vintage Christmas, several sets of dishes, more glassware than you can shake a stick at, and so on and so on and so on.  It was truly a sight to see.

I donated about a jillion bags of clothes to Goodwill as well.  And put a whole lot of stuff in a cart labeled "Free Stuff" and watched customers swarm it like vultures.

This is without a doubt, the largest buy I have ever made.  Certainly, it's the one I've spent the most time working on.  I made my initial money back within a few days.  A few days after that, I doubled my investment.  And stuff keeps selling every day.  From that point of view, it's been worth it.

There are a few vendors in the mall that primarily sell stuff from storage units they've bought at auction.  In fact, two of them were also involved in the bidding for these booths.  I've always wondered why they do things the way they do, particularly their pricing, which is always quite low.  In fact, I shop from them a lot, frequently making a lot of money from reselling their stuff.  Once I was confronted with a room full of stuff I totally understood.  When you have that much volume of merch, with a limited amount of booth space, you have to sell it cheap.  Otherwise, you're going to be totally backed up the next time you buy a unit.  And you can still make good money selling stuff cheaply.  It comes from the volume of sales.  It's the old "quick nickels" vs "slow dimes" thing.

I've also learned that I could never flip units full of stuff on a regular basis.  I am simply too slow to get a unit cleaned out in a set amount of time.  I have to go through every box and look at every single piece.  The speed at which these guys have to move amazes me!

In short, I'll probably never do something this crazy again, but it was a wonderful learning experience.  I don't regret doing it at all.

Of course, right after I bought this room, we got a horrible shock.  More on that in a day or two.

The Wedding of the Century!

Move over Charles and Diana!  Watch out William and Kate!  This is the true wedding of the century!  The ages in fact!  An event 25 years in the making! Presenting.....

EDDIE AND KEITH!

And if you've seen this shot, well, you've seen most of them.  Seriously.

That's my jacket piled on a chair in the corner.  Classy.

To be honest, civil marriages conducted at the courthouse don't have a lot of pageantry or glamour.  Our photographer was Keith's camera on a tripod set to snap every five seconds, so there's not a lot of movement or drama.  The biggest change from shot to shot seems to be my facial expressions, which get frownier the more I'm trying to keep from crying.  And the frownier I get, the more I look like my mother.  Creepy.  Keith told me to delete any pic I didn't like, but I left them all in.  I told him that I started to take out all the pics where I looked fat, had a goofy expression on my face, or looked too much like my mother, but then I realized we'd have no pics whatsoever.  I guess if you're gonna make goofy faces at your wedding, you gotta live with the results.

I started tearing up the moment we entered the judge's chambers and was on the verge of losing it the whole time.  I'm going to write more about this later, but it boils down to this:  after being together half my life, we finally achieved something that other couples have taken for granted for years.  Our relationship finally has some recognized validity under the law which entitles it to certain rights and protections.  It's an overwhelming, powerful moment.  Don't ever take it for granted.  I know I won't.

It was an experience to remember, for sure.  There were moments of pure sweetness, moments that seem to come out of a bad movie and moments that were purely Keith and Eddie.

We got to Chicago on Monday (Dec 22) evening, then got lost trying to find one of the suburban offices where we could get a license.  We ended up getting there about fifteen minutes too late.  Between some ridiculous road construction hold ups, the rainy weather, and getting lost, we didn't stand a chance.  That was kind of okay with me, because I really wanted to do it all downtown anyway, so we could look at all the cool architecture.

The next day (Dec 23), we headed out bright and early to get the license.  We ended up in the County Clerk's office, in the basement of the Richard Daley building.  I was kind of surprised that there was no line at all.  I always thought the Christmas Eve was one of those "romantic" times to get married and all.  We ended up with kind of nasally, slightly brusque, totally stereotypically bureaucratic licensing clerk who took our information.  Seriously, it was all "Name", typey-typey-typey, "Address" typey-typey-typey, very mechanical kind of thing.  It was kind of funny.

The other thing that cracked me up was some of the questioning.  I mean do they really have to know where my mother is buried?  They actually asked that!

And then there were the answers.  I told Keith that I sounded like quite a colorful person compared to him.

Robot Woman:  Place of Birth?
Keith:  Arkansas
Me:  West Germany

RW: Mother's Place of Birth?
Him: Arkansas
Me: Kentucky

RW: Father's Place of Birth?
Him:  Arkansas
Me: Pennsylvania

I halfway expected her to look at me and tell me to stop making things up.

I wanted her to put my whole name on the license, but she said she had to go with what was on my ID.  Then I got to wondering how Keith got his whole name on his, when they wouldn't let me put my whole name on mine.  They actually told me that they couldn't do it.  I'm going to have to check on that again at the next renewal.  We both use our middle names and I really wanted out license to say "Keith and Eddie" or at least "Keith and Edward" or "Ronald Keith and Michael Edward" (ooo classy!) instead of "Ronald Keith" and "Michael E."  It feels kind of incomplete to me.  When I introduced myself to the judge,  I was kind of afraid that she might object because I said "Eddie" so I quickly explained, but she was cool with it.

After getting the license, the Robot Woman wished us congratulations in the most heartfelt way she could muster, which I thought was kind of sweet.  We went out in the hall and took the first of many pics of the license.

Since we had a day to kill before we could get married, we got some coffee, then went thrifting!  (Well, he asked what I wanted to do.)  It was pretty disappointing overall.  We got lost a couple of times.  Most of the prices were way, way high.  I did find a few things though.  Forgot to get pics. Sorry.

The next day (Dec 24) we got up bright and early to head to the Marriage Court.  We hadbeen told that they might close in the early afternoon, so we didn't take any chances.  The clerk there filled in the rest of the license, except for the judge's signature, and verified our ID's.  The judge called us right away.

I've done a lot of public service jobs over the years.  I know how hard it is to deal with person after person on issues that are important to them, but not necessarily to you, and maintain an air of courtesy and concern without turning into Robot Woman or into Total Phony.  I was very impressed with how warm, welcoming and sincere our judge was.  Even though the ceremony was very brief, she let us take the time to set up Keith's cameras (one video, one still), then take them down at the end.  She never rushed us and seemed genuinely excited to be there on Christmas Eve to be part of what she called our "special day."  She even thanked us for "allowing her to be a part of" it.

Keith told her that she had the neatest job and she smiled and said:  "Yeah, I do."  She even asked him for photography advice.  It was such a remarkable experience.  It may have been a dull, bland bureaucratic room, but she helped make it our wedding chapel.

And then, we're standing in front of her--me desperately trying not to cry--making our pledge to each other.  I kept thinking about how very right it all was.  Christmas Eve had always been a special date for us because we moved into the house on Christmas Eve 2001.  This is the man I have made my life with.  Even more astounding, this is the man who chose to make his life with me.  I still marvel at that--our little messy house, all of the kitties that have passed through, all the wrecked cars, lost jobs, crazy junking ventures, dying parents, this stupid fucking cancer--and he's been there through all of it.  He's the only one that could have gotten me through it all in one piece.  He's my rock, my constant.  The one person who always manages to make my life and--by extension--me better each and every day.  I cannot imagine life without him.  I am the luckiest man in the world because he is my husband and I love him.

And I'm still trying not to cry while I'm typing this.

Finally, she pronounces us "spouses for life" (YES!) and then comes the moment you've all been waiting for:

FAT GUY PORN!

Then more pics of the license, which is now signed.  (Which reminds me.  We still need to send for the certified copy.)

We got papers now!

This is the point where I finally lose the battle to hold it all in.  And find that there is no tissue in the room!  (Really?  People do cry at weddings.)

I cry at soap opera weddings.  I'm going to remain dry-eyed at mine?

On the way out of the offices, the lines that I had been expecting had started to form.  There was a rush to get married on Christmas Eve.  We just barely managed to miss it.  In the crowd were these two Latino guys who must have been in their twenties.  As we passed  them, one said to the other:  "Estas listo, amor?" (Are you ready, my love?)  My heart melted.  I can't say what our lives would have been like if we had been able to so that when we were that age.  I can say that we both know that this was a moment to be treasured forever.

At the top of the escalator going down to the Marriage Court, we got one more pic:

Not crying here!

We hailed a cab back to our hotel.  When we go in the driver asked how we were doing.  We said we were great because we just got married.  When we got to the hotel, she wouldn't let us pay.  She said it was a wedding gift.  More heart melting.  My dad was a cab driver for years.  I know what it means to give up a fare.

And now we are married.  And still waking around with goofy grins any time someone brings it up.  One of the clinical trial nurses at the cancer center is planning on getting married at the courthouse in Chicago in the summer, so she wanted all the details.  One of the other nurses came in to start talking about the treatment and such, and the first nurse said:  "How can you talk business?  They just got married!"

I have a couple more posts planned about being married and what it means.  Those will be up in a few days.  I can say this.  We've been together just a few days short of forever.  We honestly thought that things would not feel any different.  We were wrong about that.  I didn't think it was possible, but we're even happier than before.  And closer.  I have a husband.  I never knew I wanted one, but I'm never going to let this one go.

Let's have one more look at that license:

FANCY!

And that kiss:

Awwwwww!

The video was wildly out of synch, so Keith edited the audio into a slide show using the still photos.  I'm going to put it up on YouTube in a bit.  I'll embed it here after that.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and supports and such.  One of these days we might do another ceremony here in Kentucky, so that family and friends can attend.  I'll make sure that you all get word.  I want to wait until it's legal in Kentucky to do that.  The only bummer to the whole experience is to come back to one of the handful of states where we're not recognized.  That time will come.  I hope it's soon.

Cancer Updates

I just realized that I haven't done a major treatment since the second infusion, which was my first with the Purple Power Port.  (Engage!)  When I got that infusion, you could actually hear the nurses whispering to each other in the clinic:  "He's got a port now."  "Oh, he's got a port?"  "Did you hear he's got a port?"  Seriously, the nurse that was handling my infusion almost ran to tell the head nurse about it.  I think I had a reputation.

To use the port, it first has to be accessed, when they put the IV in.  They also draw out a tube of what they call "waste blood" which probably fascinates me more than it should.  Everyone has to wear a mask for this part, including me.

I do think it's a good look for me.  I would have been an awesome super-hero!  Or, if that didn't work out, a train robber.

One of the things that always strikes me when I get a treatment is how boring it really is.  You hear the words "chemo" and "infusion" and you get all these images of glowing, humming chemicals and labs and people's hair falling out immediately as they turn green and huge and go on a rampage.  (Oh wait.  That's the Hulk.)

You basically just sit and watch your IV drip away, wondering what that stuff is going to do to your insides.  The issues and side effects usually happen later.  My infusions this time around take 90 minutes.  I think they took about that last time, but they had to slow the drip sometimes because it burned.  Add in the wait for the bloodwork labs to come back, so they can see if you're clear for the injection, plus the time for the hospital pharmacy to mix and deliver the drugs (which is never done in advance due to the expense of the meds), and that's a lot of sitting around.

I bring my big puzzle book to pass the time.

Yes, I'm a lefty! (In more ways than one.)

My shirt says "World's Greatest Teacher."  My class got it for me.

 Or sleep.

In that first pic, I haven't even been hooked up yet!  The lab and the pharmacy were both backed up that day.  It took forever!

Keith?  Well, he takes pictures.  I've noticed that we seem to be the only ones doing that in the clinic.  I guess no one else has a blog.  There are TV's, of course, but I'm not much of a TV person these days.

As of this writing, I've had the last of the four infusions for this drug.  I started the last round of belly shots (BLAM!) last night.  I have a scan scheduled for the 26th to see what this treatment has done and a consult on the 27th to discuss next steps, if any.  We'll just have to wait and see.

I'm doing okay with the side effects, mostly.  The fatigue is different this time.  Last go-around, it was constant, like a huge weight I was dragging around.  This time it comes on sudden.  I can be okay for a day or even just a few hours, then WHOMP!  I try to take advantage of the time I have, but even then, I have to take a lot of rest breaks.

As far as my internals go, I haven't had an issue with the dread diarrhea.  My problems there are on the other end of the spectrum.  I'll let you figure the rest out.  It's bad enough that I have to fill out a survey about my poop habits at each treatment.  I won't turn this blog into "Eddie Poops."

I do have a lot of dizziness, usually when I get up or have to stand.  It can also be a precursor to the fatigue.  Usually, it's how I know I need to take a break.  It's not an all out dizzy, whirling around, get the smelling salts, where's the fainting couch, oh wait we sold it to a junker, I guess I'll have to swoon on the floor, call 911, but only let the hunky EMT do the mouth to mouth, kind of spell.  It's more like a lot of lightheadedness, what my grandmother used to call being "swimmy headed."  I used that phrase to describe it during the last consult and the LPN who works with my doctor cracked up.  She is originally from India, so she'd never heard the expression before.  She kept referring to it as "swimming head."

"Besides the swimming head, anything else you need to tell me?"  Then it was my turn to giggle a little.  My grandmother would have loved it.  Except for the part where I have cancer, of course.  She died from breast cancer.  My mother died from lung cancer.  I'm not going to make it a trifecta.

That's where things stand right now.  The fatigue may not sound like much, but when I share some of the other things going on right now, you're going to see why it's really interfering with things.  I take it as easy as I can.  I rest a lot.  I nap a lot. (Chiquito loves this part.) I let others help and do stuff, but there are some things that I'm the only one who can do right now.  I keep chugging along, because I have to, thankful that I'm not having any worse effects.

I'll keep you all updated.  Thanks for all your thoughts and hugs.  I feel them every day.

TOMORROW:  The Wedding!

Stalling for time....

The title says it all, folks.  I need a little more time to finish writing up the wedding story and the booth adventures.  So, for today, you get cat pictures!  Because, who doesn't love cat pictures??

Chiquito has been quite the busy boy lately.  He and I are bonding in a way that's different from any other cat we've ever had.  Of course, he's different from any cat we've ever had, so there's a reason.

He's been giving me lots of Feline Lap Therapy when I need it.

He's helped with the laundry.

He woke up from a sound sleep to run and jump in the dryer when I opened it, but was clearly miffed when I insisted on piling wet clothes in there with him. It's the easiest way to get him out of there.  Toss enough wet stuff at him, and he'll leave of his own accord.  No fuss.  No drama.

He welcomed us home from Chicago.  He's happy that his parents are now married, so he's now legitimate!  He's no longer a bastard kitty!  It was really bothering him.

In fact, he welcomes us home most every night.

It's the favorite part of both our days.  And, lordy, but I need a haircut!

That's enough of the cat for now.  It's treat time for him anyway.  Hope you enjoyed this little tour of my little boy's world.

Tomorrow:  Cancer Updates and Pics!

New Year Monday Rambles

Happy New Year to all my friends and followers and family and cats and junkers and on like that!

I know the year started almost (gulp!) two weeks ago, but I still get to say it to you if I haven't said it so far.  And I haven't...because...well...I've been a baaaad blogger again!  And I was on such a roll too.  Sigh!

I do hope that 2015 so far is being good to you and your family and that lots of good things come your way this year.  I've got to catch up on my blog-reading too, so I am out of the loop on your exploits at the moment.  Expect a flurry of comments to come from me by the end of the week.

I've had a plethora of problems, some technological, some physical, some boothological, that have kept me off the blog for a while.  I've been updating Facebook regularly, since I can do that from the phone, so you can always follow me there for pithy little doses of me.  Let me also say that none of the physical problems are serious--just more of the damn fatigue that brings me down.

Since we haven't touched base since the holidays, I hope that you all had a good Christmas and that Santa brought you lots of good junk.  I hope your family times together were happy and healthy.

Here's some brief updates for me, to bring everyone up to speed.  I'll be writing more about a lot of these in the days to come:

We had a wonderful Christmas in Chicago!

I GOT MARRIED!  (Pictures to come.  I promise.)

My PC died.  Then my laptop apparently decided to do the same.

I finished my last round of this cancer treatment on January 6.  I get a scan on the 26th, and then back to the docs on the 27th to review and discuss next steps.  I have to pick up the stuff for my last round of belly shots (BAM!) tomorrow.

I had a major booth triumph!

And am in the midst of a major booth tragedy!  (much, much more on this to come)

I got told by a customer that the reason I have cancer is because my books are priced too high.  (Yes, I will be sharing that whole story.)

And I had a miserable estate sale experience over the weekend in a house full of the most awesome things.

I'm working on the new PC right now, which still has some setting up to do yet.  I have not added Dropbox yet, so I can't get to the majority of my pics, including the wedding pics.  I also have some wonderful shots of that cat that, of course, I'm going to be sharing.

So that's the nutshell!  I am alive and somewhat hale and hearty (if you don't count the cancer).  Thanks so much to those of you who have dropped me such sweet emails to check on me.  And special thanks to Shara and Janet for the unexpected and extra-nice Christmas cards they sent.  I got them out of the mail right before we left for Chicago and they really made my week!

See you all again very soon!  (Promise!)