Photo Catch Up

So, I stayed in and out of the snow for yesterday.   Sadly, I have to get out in the cold today, as there are booth things that have to be done.  I'd much prefer to stay in and out of it all again.  Oh well.

I managed to get quite a bit done during my mini-sojourn in the warmth, including sorting some photos on my phone.  I had a whole bunch of stuff taken throughout November and December, but never got around to posting.  Despite my best intentions and because of my somewhat less than best efforts, I managed to fall into my standard pattern of spending December overwhelmed and under-blogged.

Or at least, that's the story I'm telling the people.  The truth is far, far darker.

I was in jail for molesting a Wise Man in public at an outdoor church Nativity scene.  Oh, the shame!

Actually, that's a cover story concocted to conceal my activities as Spider-Ed from my enemies.

Or I could just be clowning around as usual.  Take your pick.  The Spider-Man mask is for sale at the booth.  I was testing to see if it really was one size fits all.  By the way, do not that the proper spelling of "Spider-Man" includes a hyphen.

As for the Wise Man incident, we were out at our favorite holiday activity, when I decided that I was finally going to see what those amazing Nativity figures were made out of.  Every year for as long as I have been in Louisville (30 years as of this fall), they've been placed in front of that church.  I imagine they're even older than that, since it would be kind of pretentious of me to assume that they just started using them in honor of my arrival in town.

Turns out, they're blow molds!  I've never seen any like that anywhere else.  They are so incredibly detailed and well made. 

Curb finds!  Some former neighbors of ours operated a restaurant not far from us that was a combination BBQ joint and (over-priced) junk store.  They closed the whole operation down recently and have been placing things out on the curb, bit by bit.  And I've been picking them up, bit by bit.  This was a recent batch.  Like I'm really gonna pass up a feather boa purse!

The little block is filled with craft supplies.  I gave some to another vendor and have been selling the rest.  I got so excited about all this stuff that I almost forgot to pick up a prescription!  Keith actually saw it all before I did and just automatically pulled the van over.  He used to ask if I wanted to check things out.  Now he just stops.

A little bit of my Christmas display.  I hit the vintage flocked reindeer jackpot this year.  Most of them came from one sale where a guy was selling things from his aunt's estate.  He said that she loved Christmas and had 8 trees in her house every year!  She must have used the same set up every year, because all the things I got from that sale were labelled as to where they were put for Christmas.  The white reindeer (love them!) went on the mantle, while all the red ones went on the TV.

I do not know why I'm sideways here, but I can't make myself stop doing it.  Maybe it's the Spider-Ed powers kicking in.  I just wanted to show how much my hair has grown out.  I plan to start rocking the most awesome ponytail you've ever seen soon.  I'm holding that brush because I was interrupted while doing my Rhianna lip sync routine performing my nightly brushing ritual.

Every now and then, I have two cancer treatments in one month.  December was like that.  Lily came to visit during the first one.  She always come right to us and spends the longest time with us. 

The second treatment was on December 27.  Since the center had been closed on the 26th, they had a huge amount of people to see that day.  Instead of going to the usual clinic floor for my infusion, I was sent to a kind of ad hoc treatment room they set up to accommodate the extra traffic.  It was cold and very noisy in there, but we got in and out faster than we ever had before.

If you follow me on Facebook you've seen this Christmas Eve pic, but it's one of the best selfies we've ever done, so here it is again.

And that is as good a note to end on as any!

New Year, New Ramble

Happy 2017, Everyone!  I hope you had your black eyed peas and cabbage and are looking forward to a prosperous and healthy new year.

I'm just going to a do a real quickie update here to talk about the holidays a bit and get back in the groove.  I have a lot of pics and stories to share, plus some finds, but I'll save those for another day.  I've gotten behind on my blog reading again, so I'm trying to carve out some time for that as well.

We're expecting snow tonight and tomorrow, so I plan on staying in if it happens.  I have some cartoons ready to watch, plus a couple of documentaries on YouTube.  I'll catch up on some reading, laundry, blogs, blogging, and pricing too.  Maybe a nap as well.  And hot chocolate.  And pie.  Maybe popcorn too.

Of course, now that I have all that planned, it'll be 76 tomorrow and brightly sunny.  Oh well.  If that happens, I guess I'll go to the booth.  I'm heading there as soon as I finish writing and posting this.  I haven't been over there since the Friday before Christmas.  I finished the bulk of my work and decided I wanted a holiday break.

I had a very good month in December, booth-wise, which was most welcome after a weak fall.  I had more $100+ days in December than I had in the months of September, October and November.  It seems to be holding for the first few days of January, but I'm going to work some magic to keep that going.  Mazda is packed to the gills with new stuff to go over.

One of the things I have to do today is pack up the Christmas, which will free up about five shelving units for new stuff.   I'll leave the vintage Christmas in the booth, but make a new section for it.  It will sell throughout the year.  I'll probably make a shelf for Christmas books and music too, just to keep from lugging that heavy stuff out.

I also need to make room for some more furniture.  I have a load ready to come off the Hillock, but just need a spot for it.  I've sold several larger items recently,  so I just need to reconfigure things to make the space.  Our next junk set out happens in a month, so I need to get ready for that by moving more large items.

Christmas sales always confound me.  After two years of low sales on wrapping paper and Christmas cards, I sold all I had this year.  Wreaths and small trees usually sell very well for me.  I sold one of each this time around.  Last year, I sold no ornament sets.  This year, I sold 3/4's of my stock.  It's always a riddle.  The only things I know I can count on are blow molds and vintage flocked deer.  I sold every blow mold I had except for one, and all the reindeer.  That was almost ten blow molds and about a dozen deer.

Speaking of Christmas, ours was really low key.  We decided not to get each other any gifts, in lieu of buying a new mattress, which we really needed.  We didn't even cook.  We had lunch at Waffle House and dinner at a Chinese restaurant.  In an odd way, that was, for us, kind of traditional.  Waffle House was a my father's favorite restaurant and the place where he would have his own holiday meals.  In the days before we bought the house, Keith and I would take a vacation over Christmas, usually to San Francisco or New York or Chicago.  That always meant we ended up eating out at either an Indian or Chinese place on Christmas Day, since they were the places most likely to be open.  When we got married in Chicago two years ago, we revived the tradition of the Chinese food Christmas meal.

By the way, we celebrated our anniversary Christmas Eve with Mexican food and then watched the wonderful Christmas concert recorded at Berea College (my alma mater) on CBS.  Like I said, it was low key, but wonderful.  I had been working at the booth practically every day all month long, so it was a nice to have a simple holiday.

New Years was celebrated with the traditional visit to the Big Flea.  More on that later.

And now the holidays are over.  Time to get back to work.  And blogging.

Here's to a good 2017 for all of us.  Big, wonderful, sloppy, happy hugs!

PS Don't forget to go to the thrifts this week!  They're still awash with year-end last minute donations!  And Christmas clearances should be up to 75% or even 90% off now.

Retro Y'all! (Christmas Eve Edition)

I'm pretty sure that I have used this one in the blog before, but not as Retro Y'all.  It's such a classic that it definitely warrants a re-post, regardless.

It's also a timeless message that's more appropriate this year than ever, especially since we lost David Bowie in 2016.



Wishing you and yours peace and love.

I hope the fat guy coming down your chimney leaves lots of goodies.  I know a couple of crazy kids who are celebrating their anniversary tonight.

Happy holidays from Eddie-torial Comments, me, Keith, and Chiquito!

PS I'm sending everyone a big, virtual hug.  If you lean in waaaaaay close to the monitor or your phone, then you'll feel it.

Remember, Kids!

Retro Y'all (Holiday Edition)

Well, it's still Saturday, but just barely.  I've been working every day at the booth this week, which is why there's been no updates lately.  There will be a post tomorrow (Sunday) and a Ramble for Monday.

I'm having trouble finding original performance clips for some of the songs I want to use this year, including this one. I finally went with a photo montage and lyric video, because this song has to be included this year.  Sadly, it's as fitting right now as it was when it was originally recorded, nearly 50 (!) years ago.

Someday...

Remember, Kids!

Poor Johnny!

So you see, Johnny.

The North Pole was attacked this week by a bunch of half-crazed, holiday-hating, sword-wielding ninja warriors.  The elves and the reindeer fought back valiantly, but the outcome was never really in doubt.  When you spend your life teaching folks to be good all the time, your self-defense skills aren't always up to par.

CHRISTMAS IS CANCELLED THIS YEAR!!!!

 

Remember, Kids!

Retro Y'all! (Holiday Edition)

On the one hand, it's kind of hard to think about Christmas this year, in light of everything that's been happening.  At the same time, we can't let all the joy be sucked out of the world.  Regardless of what we believe, there is always something at this time of year that can make us feel at least a little bit of hope, if we look for it.  Maybe even if we work for it.

It's with that in mind that I picked this year's "Retro Y'all" and "Music for Mondays" holiday selections.  In some way, they brought me some comfort or at least made me think that we might get through this.   I hope they can do the same for you.

Remember, even silly songs can bring peace.

Monday Rambles (Back Home Edition)

ALL HEED THE WISDOM!

That's the nicest thing a fortune cookie has ever said to me!

Well, it worked for Trump......

True that!


HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN

We got back at about 11:30-ish Thursday evening and were very happy to be off the road.  We made excellent time coming back too.  The trip is about a 13 hour drive, give or take.  We made it in 11.  We were worn out, but it was worth it to be back home.

FAMILIAR FACE

We were greeting enthusiastically and vociferously by this little guy.

Okay, so he's not quite so enthusiastic here, but trust me, he was.

He even slept in between our pillows that night, something he never ever does.  He was super, super clingy for a few days after.  He definitely doesn't like it when we go away.

We've finally figured out that he's not a very social kitty.  Kind of like his people, he's just not that into interacting with most people.  We're all just anti-socialites here.  We told our cat-checker to just make sure that he was okay when she stopped in, but not to try and pet him or play with him.  Even at that, he still growled at her every time she came over.  He's a two-man cat, our boy.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Since we still had our rental car for an extra day, we decided to make this year's long overdue cemetery trip.  Mazda just ain't up to long interstate journeys any more, so we rent a car to go to Arkansas.  Things have been too crazy of late to head to the country, so snubbing Black Friday seemed like a good idea.

My mother now has her new winter hat.

I also averted a crisis at my grandparents' grave.

I'm pretty sure Grammie wasn't happy about this.

All better!  I picked up the stray flowers after I took this pic.

THE VISITATION

We had a real good visit in Arkansas.  Even with the extra time we had, it still seemed way too rushed and way too short.  I guess it will always be that way.  Still, we did cover a lot of ground and had wonderful times with as much of his family as we could.  One of his aunts had been going through her mother's papers and pictures and gave him an envelope filled with his old school pics, family pics, and lots of pictures of his father as a boy.  It was great!

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

I did manage to get some junking in during the trip.  More on that tomorrow.  I found a Salvation Army that I had never seen before and revisited a cute little vendor mall that I was last at a couple of years ago.  I also stopped at a couple of flea markets during the cemetery trip as well.  I didn't find a lot, but there were some cool things.

REARRANGING THE DECK CHAIRS

Booth sales are still down in the dumps.  I had a little bounce in November, but not enough of one.  I'm still due for a really low check.  It seems that consumer confidence didn't rise with the election results. 

I've got Mazda loaded down with holiday stuff to put out this week.  We'll see if that helps at all.  I desperately need a really good end to this year.

MUSIC FOR MONDAY (HOLIDAY EDITION)

I guess I'll wrap it up with this and see you all later.

Retro Y'all! Holiday Traditions Edition

It's that time again! 

Since we are now post-Thanksgiving, it's time to crank out the holiday music.

In case you didn't know, one of the holiday traditions at this here little blog is starting the season off with these two very special songs.

First up, Santa's three helpers:



Followed by a little lady that some would prefer not appear, actually:

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....You Know.

Not meaning to work anyone's nerves or anything like that, but the hustle/bustle is upon us!

Here are a couple of pics of unseen finds that might help get you in the mood.

These guys were a curb find.  They were part of a larger decoration that would have included all the reindeer and the fat guy in the sleigh.  This was all I found, but they're still awesome!

I've never seen a sweet little angel blow mold/choir girl like this one before.  Isn't she a doll?  She's dated 1972.  Wouldn't it be something to have a whole bunch of them?

What holiday treasures have you found recently?

Retro Y'all! Holiday Edition!

I had to bend the rules for this one, but there was no way in heck that I was not going to include it.



I always try to find a period performance video by the original artist to go with my selections, but there just wasn't one this time.  There were lots of vids using the original recording in the video, but this is the one I really, really liked, even though I'm pretty sure it's a cover.  Those guys are having too much fun.  So I'm using this one in the spirit of the holiday.

Out of all the Christmas novelty songs that have ever been recorded, this one is certainly a front-runner for the oddest, which is why I love it so.

By the way, Santa's donkey was really named Nestor.  I think I would wanna be called Dominick too, if my name were Nestor.

No offense meant to any Nestors out there.  Really.

Monday Rambles

So, I broke a mirror yesterday.  There goes the rest of the decade for me!

Also, I bought some stuff on Saturday, so I have a teeny Mazda shot.

What's in Mazda?

Sales are getting fewer and farther between here, but I did scrape a couple up for Saturday.  We had to hop across the river for them.  We went to a church that was having a Christmas yard sale fund raiser.  I was hoping to find some more vintage stuff, but no such luck.  I did pick up a few small things, including a Hulk ornament.  Nothing special.  The cashier spent all this time carefully wrapping these candle holders that were mostly cast iron, then tossed the ceramic figurines in the bag unwrapped.  Sometimes, I feel like I live in Bizarro World.

That church also runs a thrift store, which is only open about six hours a week.  I love it, but I never get to go there because of their schedule.  It epitomizes the one thing Louisville lacks--the little church-affiliated thrift run by little old ladies with tons of stuff at super cheap prices.  I wasn't sure if they would be open because of the church sale, but they were.

Their Christmas was all half off.  I gathered up a box of stuff, both Christmas and non, including a complete vintage Yahtzee game.  Prices ranged from 5 cents to 2 dollars.  The older lady doing the check out decided she needed to sort the Christmas out so she could do all the half price at once.  Good plan.  Then she declares that three ornaments aren't Christmas.  In fairness, they were little houses and buildings, so they didn't look like typical ornaments.  They were only a quarter, so I let it go.

Then she declares that the religious articles--crosses, Jesus pictures, etc--are Christmas because "You can use them for that if you want."  So, I got more of a discount overall than I would have if she had left those ornaments in.  I always throw in a small donation at fund-raisers and church sales, so I kind of made up a little of that difference for them. 

She grabs this roll of bubble wrap for the glass stuff I bought and this little older man, who I assumed was her husband, moved to the counter to help. Or at least I thought.  He grabbed the end of the bubble wrap and started popping the bubbles!  It was too funny.  She fussed at him and he stopped.

The other big sale I went to was a library book sale.  One of the libraries across the river holds a book sale twice a month.  I had been wanting to go, as I had heard good things about it.  Oh my gosh!  It was so organized, that it was nearly mind-boggling.  Everything was on shelves, instead of tables, with clearly labelled sections.  Prices were super-reasonable.  All around, it was impressive.

I ran into blog reader Elizabeth while I was there.  From time to time, she pops up at the booth, usually when it looks the worst, but she always says nice things about it anyway.  I've been meaning to mention her here and keep forgetting.

Anyway, I got a nice box of books there, plus a large stack of cookbooks out of the FREE boxes out front.  Love me those free boxes.  I sell a lot of cookbooks.  It was nice to be at a sizeable book sale.  The Louisville library has discontinued its large sales, much to my consternation.

We grabbed lunch at our usual Asian Buffet, and I made a stop at the Thrift Store that's in the same little mini-mall, since it was having a sale. I ran in the library branch in the mall to use the bathroom, then saw a dude with a bunch of tables in the middle of the mall selling comic books!  Seriously.  I'll leave it to you all to fill in the result of this discovery.

Saturday night, we went to one of our favorite holiday events.  It's been three or four years since I've gone, due to health stuff.  I was so glad to be able to do it again.  We wandered the streets, popped in and out of shops, enjoyed hot cider, shopped a bit, then finished off with a wonderful dinner.

I didn't get many photos, but I did get a few.

Santa's VW van sleigh

Always gotta get a Kizito cookie.  Fresh and hot!

The Eye of God is watching you!

Blow molds!

There was a rep from the business guild that sponsors the event driving around with a bunch of lights and blow molds on a truck, all lit up.  I could never get my phone out in time for a pic.  I also failed to get a pic of the girl in half a banana costume doing sidewalk karaoke.  I did get some short video of the laser light show.

I hope this works.  I've never done video on the blog before.  Well, like this anyway.  That Eye of God pic comes from the neighborhood Catholic Church, by the way.  There are more pics of the amazing decor in the church at their web site.  Doesn't Keith look all ruggedy and mountain manny with his walking stick and beard?  Believe it or not, he was wearing shorts!

So much goes on at this event.  Past years have included Elvis impersonators, bagpipes, Dickensian carolers, and concerts.  I look forward to it every year, and was so glad to be able to do it again.

This is going to be a pretty busy week.  Today, I'm heading back to the booth.  It was busy there yesterday, that I didn't get everything done that I needed to.  I have a cartful of stuff in the break room that I need to get put out.  The store is having its vendor party and open house on Saturday, and they need the room for that.  Sales are remaining strong so far.  I'd like to have a couple of $100+ days in the mix, but otherwise I can't complain.  I still cannot seem to get all my Christmas out.

Tomorrow is my next scan.  Results will be next week.  After that is done, I'll be headed to Mount Sorrow.  Thanks to being sick, I am a week behind on the work I wanted to do there.  I also just remembered that I have two sleds buried in the back (!) of that mess and they should have been at the booth two weeks ago.  I'll probably pull a small load out of there while I'm at it.  Since I'm going to have to pull a lot out to get to them, I'm planning to get it all back a little more organized.

Wednesday, I'm planning on working at home.  I need to go on an orgy (not like that!) of pricing and packing.  I am going to get any stray little bits of holiday stuff I might have missed.  I keep feeling like there are a couple bags of stuff still kicking around here.  I also have a new stack of comics to bag and price.  (Heh!)

Thursday, it's back to the booth.  Friday, I'm sneaking out to finish getting Keith's presents.  This weekend, I'll be at the Peddlers Mall vendor get-together, and maybe going to a holiday gift show.  It's run by the same people that do the Big Flea, and I've been wanting to check it out for a while.  I'm not planning to buy anything, but I would love to check out the displays.

Retro Y'all! Holiday Edition!

Last Sunday's Hardrock/Suzy post was supposed to be a Retro Y'all! post on Saturday, but it didn't work out that way.  I am dedicating Retro Y'all! this month to those undeservedly forgotten or overlooked Christmas novelty classics.  Some things are too good to be allowed to slide into obscurity.

Like this little jingle.



Fun fact:  She actually got the hippo.  Take a look at the other people who've recorded this, including two Captains:  Kangaroo and Toni Tennille's then-husband.  The video is actually from the Ed Sullivan Show.  Gayla Peevey's website has the full version from the show with Sullivan introducing her.

Catch Up Updates

After several days of anti-biotics, I have arisen from the sick bed!  And taken a shower!

And there was much rejoicing.

I still have the damn cough, but I'm bouncing back and on the mend.  Thanks to everyone for your get well wishes and patience.  It's been a bit too long since I've blogged.  So, let's catch up, shall we?

Except for being sick, Thanksgiving was really nice for us.  We never really seem to have enough time to spend in Arkansas, but that (and being sick) was really the only downside.  We were actually going to stay longer this time around, but that would have required rescheduling my treatment last Tuesday, and Keith's mother would not entertain that idea in the least.

Keith's mother and I have both been hinting at a summer visit, when we could stay a little longer and not have so long between visits.  Keith thinks that it would be too expensive to do that, but I think I have a plan that might make it possible.  We'll see....

I've always felt kind of bad that we spent so much more time over the years with my mother than we have been able to with his, simply because of the distance.  He and his mother are as close as I was with mine, and I would do just about anything to have them see each other more often while that's still possible.  

Any chance to see Keith's mom is worth it because she is such a jewel.  We tried beforehand to convince her that there was no need for a huge spread for Thanksgiving.  We were happy just to be with her.  When we got there, however, she kept pulling out dish after dish after dish and setting them on the table.  Her one compromise was that she bought the potato salad, instead of making it!

It was a good thing we had plenty of food, because Keith's brother came to dinner as well.  To be honest, Keith's relationship with his brother is, well, a bit strained.  This isn't the place to really go into the reasons, but we were surprised to learn he was coming.  The meal was cordial enough.  Everyone behaved and we all had good conversation.  They all even continued visiting after I went back to the hotel to rest.  We still have no idea why he decided to make the trip, but Keith's mother was ecstatic to have all of us there at once, and that's all that matters.   Oh yeah, everything was delicious!   

Since I was sick, I didn't get to visit with Keith's elderly aunt, whom I adore.  She's in her 90's, and I didn't want to pass anything on to her.  She's another sweetheart.I think everyone in town knows her.

Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving, aka "Black Friday"), we set out for the mall in the nearest big city.  Yes, the mall.  On Black Friday.  I had to go.  It's tradition.  Several years ago when we were visiting, Keith's mom decided that she didn't like the look of Keith's shoes and that he needed new ones.  Not willing to take "no" for an answer, she swept us off to the mall and the shoe section of Sears.  Once we were there, she decided that it was only fair that I got a new pair of shoes as well.  I really protested this, but to no avail.  It's been our Thanksgiving tradition ever since. 

The shopping trip doesn't always fall on Black Friday.  Usually, it's a couple of days before Thanksgiving, but our trip schedule was different this year.  Honestly, I'm not wild about this tradition.  It's terribly sweet of her, but shoes aren't cheap.  I hate her spending that much money on us, especially when we don't often actually need the shoes.  Right now, I am wearing a pair I bought two years ago at the JC Penney Outlet that closed here.  I wear shoes until they have no life left in them before getting rid of them.  I still have pairs from the last two years to get to before wearing the pair we got this trip.  It feels like a wasteful use of her money to me.

Still, it's her money, her choice.  She is being sweet, and I don't want to hurt her feelings.  I thought we weren't going to do it this year.  I had Keith talked into finding an alternative--I had suggested going to a different town, doing some fun shopping, having coffee, and just hanging out for a while.  He's not any more of a fan of the mall than I am, but she would not hear of not getting shoes.

So I have shoes.

I already had Batman boxers.

And Batman socks.  Because Batman socks. And clearance. These were free by the way.  I used Keith's Sears points to pay for them.

Oh, yeah.  I may have gotten a bit of thrifting in.  Just maybe.  Hee hee hee!  Tune in later for that.

So, today, I am wandering out for the first time since we got back.  I have got to get over to the booth, which I know has to be a total wreck at this point.  It's been nearly two weeks since I have been there. True to booth logic, however, the longer I go without coming over, the stronger sales get.  Seriously.  December is young, but it's strong.

Which is good because November never really caught on.  I was having a mini-rally right before Thanksgiving, which had me thinking I could still pull a good month out, as long as Black Friday weekend was strong--which it wasn't.  It was just average, and so November became average as well.  Average is better than below average, but I was really wanting to build a fall streak of super-duper months.  Color my hopes dashed.

I do need to get out there, as most of my big ticket Christmas stuff has sold, and I need to put more out.  I also need to get caught up on everyone's blogs and emails.  I'll do that this weekend.  There's an indoor all Christmas yard sale at a church that I'm planning to hit, plus a library book sale.  Our favorite holiday event is Saturday night, and I am looking forward to that as well.

I think I still have time to pull off all the holiday surprises I had planned for the blog, so keep checking back.  A little vintage.  A little oddity.  A little cheer.  Just the way I like to celebrate. 

Stay warm and stay well..

Let's Get This Holiday Season Started!

We are back!  I'll have more to say about all that in tomorrow's ramble.  In the meantime, we've got to start rolling out the holiday cheer.  For this blog, there's only one way to do that.



If you've been around here for a while, you know that Hardrock and friends are the traditional Eddie-torial opening to the holiday season.  They've been featured in a post every year at this time for five or six years, at least.  I got so busy with the wedding and such last year that I actually forgot them, but Roger made up for my goof on Facebook.

Anyway, they're back!  Enjoy!

Of course, when those elves come passing by, Suzy is sure to follow.



I'm planning a lot of fun, musical surprises for December, so please stay tuned. 

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!)

Monday Rambles

All right folks, I guess it's time to crawl back up in the saddle.  I've gotten several sweet notes recently from many of you, so I need to let you know that I'm all right, for the most part.  Thanks so much for your concern, everyone.  I'm sorry to have made you worry.

I came back from Thanksgiving with a nasty cold, which has really only cleared up in the last three or four days.  I don't understand how I can be doing all these immune-boosting drugs and still get a cold, but I managed it.  That really slowed me down for a while, as I was only venturing out to do what had to be done, then coming home to my NyQuil coma.

The cold was bad enough, but I've also been going through some really hard bouts of fatigue.  This isn't at all like the bricks.  I could function with the bricks, albeit very slowly.  I'm going through periods now where I have no energy whatsoever.  Sometimes, I'll be in the middle of something and will just run out of steam all of a sudden.  Sometimes, I'm down for the count, but usually I can recover if I sit down for a while.  I kept getting swamped this way all through our visit to Arkansas. I spent most of the trip sleeping on one couch or another.

I'm also having these dizzy spells all the time.  Mostly, it's just a constant light-headed feeling. What my grandmother used to call "swimmy-headed."  I can deal with that, but sometimes it's really head-spinning dizzy, often with queasiness.

I have yet to have any of the digestive/intestinal issues, which concerns me a little.  These effects have been talked up so much that I am actually worried that the treatment isn't working because I don't have them.  I know that sounds really weird, but it kind of nags at me.  The other night I told Keith that I would feel so much better if I would throw up just one time.  That look you all most likely have right now after reading that is exactly the same one he gave me.

The booths are running okay, but I am behind on what I wanted to have dome this month.  I keep making plans like a healthy person, forgetting that it takes me twice as long to do everything right now.  I do have most of my Christmas out, and it is selling steadily.  I am almost at my sales total for last December, and I still have half the month to go! One thing I've been happy about is that I've kept my four digit sales total going, despite the diagnosis and everything.

The new store is doing a lot better too.  I made rent this month faster than I have before, which is a good sign.  My Christmas is grooving there as well.  My biggest problem there right now is getting it together to go work that booth.  The other store demands more time because it's a lot more space.  Everything would still be doable if I were operating at full steam.  As it is, I'm having to constantly reschedule store #2 in order to finish up the work for store #1.  All of a sudden, two-three weeks have gone by and I haven't been over there.  That's no way to grow a booth.

I've had to cut way back on my work hours,  I am down to five hours a week, which has bummed me out a bit. I really miss everyone there.  Some people I don't get to see at all ,because my hours are all in the evening now and they're gone by the time I get there.  This is really a life-altering thing. I'm not totally sure that I was fully aware of everything I was slogging through last time.  I have no idea how I kept going.  I have to stop by work this morning and drop something off.  It will be nice to visit a bit.

A long-time vendor has also been battling cancer.  It's been an on-again,off-again fight for years, and it just came back this year.  He's just been told that there may not be anything else they can do about it.  At the same time, a friend where I used to work just lost her husband to cancer.  When I left there four years ago, he was in remission and doing fine.  It's all done such a number on my head.  I don't know where I am emotionally sometimes.  I've had long talks about it with my brother and with Keith.  Some days I am fine,  while others I can't string a coherent thought together.

I had a lot of plans for blogging this December, but I think I'm going to put them on hold for next year.  Some days I really want to, but the words just aren't there.  Other times, the words are there, but the energy isn't.  Hell, even reading takes too much effort some days.  Been watching a lot of cartoons on YouTube instead.  Some things even cancer can't take away.

I was afraid that this post would go downhill fast.  Sorry about that.  If it's all too much of a downer, you don't have to finish it.  I realize that my depression is also coming on hard and fast right now.

Treatment number three is tomorrow.  A week from today, we are leaving for Chicago.  By the end of next week, we'll be married!  Come hell, high water, or cancer, we are getting married. I don't care if I am in a wheel chair.

I'll try to get some pics from Thanksgiving up this week, plus some more overdue junk finds.  It's going to depend on how I feel.  Here lately, when I start tiring, I start lopping things off the to do list.  Taking pics for the blog is always one of the first to go.  Sorry about that.

Underground

Louisville is home to a giant cave system, with the most fascinating story.  I'll let you all read the details at the link, rather than summarizing it here.  I've always thought the whole deal was way cool.

There's a lot that goes on there, including underground zip lines and an underground BMX park that is in the planning stages.  During the holiday season, it becomes the home for Lights Under Louisville.

I've been wanting to go for several years, but always balked at the admission price, which is pretty steep in my book.  This year, Keith found a Groupon, so we set off to celebrate my port on Monday night.

It was a lot of fun.  Going on a weekday night meant that there was no traffic to speak of, so it flat like we were getting a private tour. Many of the displays are quite clever.  The first batch is a tribute to local sights and events, including a dump truck and bulldozer to commemorate all the road construction that we're going to be experiencing for the next several years!

This would have been appropriate for last week!

Santa riding down a pyramid.

I wish the dreidl was spinning!

My hometown.

I wanna live here!

5 Gold Rings, Baby!

I loved the 12 Days of Christams displays!

This one was our favorite.

It's under Louisville.  Who knew?

Well worth the (Groupon) price.  Still not sure about the regular rate.  At that price, I expect Brad Pitt to come drive the car through for us.  Still, lotsa fun.

What fun holiday stuff do they do in your area?