We pre-empt the regularly scheduled "Retro Y'all" post for a special announcement!

THIS

IS NOW A LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLE,

EVERYWHERE IN THESE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

WOO HOO!

Retro Y'all will return next week at its regularly scheduled time!

Is anyone still out there?

If any of you bailed on me after yesterday's pity party, I wouldn't blame you.  I haven't been that self-indulgent on the blog in a long time.  I'd take the post down, but that feels almost dishonest to me.  Sometimes, I do selfish things, even on my blog.

Anyway, please accept my apologies.  I was on a real downer over my booth sales, plus I hadn't slept well the night before, and kind of put my common sense on hold. Never blog when you're cranky.

The worst part about that post is that there were quite a few non-miserable things that I was planning to write about in that post, but I let the negativity overwhelm me.

We finally got the official copy of the wedding license last week.  Unfortunately, there's an error on it.  See if you can tell what it is.

No.  It's not that they didn't use my full name.  Although I wish they had.

Did you catch that?

I'm not sure if one can be one of the people getting married AND the judge officiating the ceremony.  I'm also really sure that there was a judge in the room that day.  A female judge.  Without a beard.

I'm going to have to call and get that fixed.  Only us.....

Speaking of the wedding, I need to send some public thank you's to Heidi in Denver and Janet in Pennsylvania for the very sweet wedding acknowledgements they sent me.  It really touched both me and Keith that you all thought enough to do that.  When I told Keith that I had gotten mail from a couple of blog readers, he said that I had some pretty cool people reading my blog.  He doesn't know the half of it.

I threw myself into book sorting yesterday and brightened my mood considerably.  I'm planning on having a yard sale/book sale on Saturday in an effort to downsize my library.  There's too much of it to try and run through the booth as is without creating a HUGE backlog in my already crowded storage.  My plan is to use the sale to thin it out, then split the leftovers between the booth and donations and Half-Price Books.

I got two of the book shelves in my junk room condensed down to about 3/4 of one of them.  I still have two more to go.  One of the remaining shelf is going to become my main tchotchke display shelf, so I can try to reign that hoard in a bit.  There's just too much stuff around here!

I'm debating whether or not I want to tackle the two shelves in the living room, which I thinned down a couple of years ago.  I think I might leave them, since I have about a dozen (!) tubs in the backyard shed to go through.  My name is Eddie Mitchell and I am a book hoarder lover.  If you are in the area and want to browse through an eclectic range of books this weekend, come on by.  Nothing vintage in this sale.  No comic books or graphic novels, but PLENTY of just about anything else you can imagine, including books about comics and cartooning.  I hope I have enough tables for this mess.  Prices are going to be cheap too.  Cheap, I tell you.

Sales are on a temporary pick up again, at least until Louisville (Thursday) and Kentucky (Sunday) play again.  This store has been such a struggle for me from the beginning as far as sales go.  I just didn't handle it very well when my first real momentum got derailed.  Then I dragged you all along with me.

Sorry about that.  Here's a little something to make up for it:



One last note, I love all your comments and notes and have gotten better at replying like a polite blogger should.  For some reason, I've stopped getting email notices when a couple of you comment.  I'm not sure what's going on, but please know that I'm not ignoring you.  Also, there's a good handful of regular commenters without an email attached to your profile, which means I can't respond directly.  I appreciate your comments too!  Thanks for hanging with me!

PS to Sandy in PA:  You did make me chuckle yesterday!

Snowed In Monday Rambles

Well, this is the view outside my kitchen door today.

That's Keith shoveling snow.  Silly man.  Doesn't he know it's still snowing?  And this is the view outside the back door.

It's supposed to keep doing this. All.  Day.  Long.

So, all things considered, I don't think I'll be going to Goodwill as planned.  Instead, I shall stay in and blog, eat apple pie, drink hot chocolate, price and photograph cool finds, make popcorn, do laundry, listen to music, and take a nap.

Of course, it's 3:30 in the afternoon as I'm typing this, so the work is proceeding, well, slowly.  I have gotten the nap out of the way (of course), and am currently listening to music, so it's picking up a little.  I'm being kind of lazy because I have already found out that I won't be working tomorrow. Actually, the rest of the week looks pretty doubtful.  I do need to get to that laundry, or else I'll be going to Goodwill anyway.  To find clean undies.  (TMI?)

With that settled, let's move on to other things.  We got our "wedding rings" on Saturday!  It seemed like the thing to do on Valentines Day, plus we had a Groupon.  I think they came out really well.

I mean, if you're going to wait until your fifties to get your first tattoo, it might as well be your husband's initial.  Seriously, we are so not jewelry people, and I would be the first one to lose a ring.  It just didn't seem worth the expense.  I think we can keep up with our fingers pretty well.  (Unless one of us takes up meat carving as a hobby.)

The original idea was to use all three of our initials, plus I wanted the wedding date as well.  Turns out that there's a limit to what you can put on one finger.  Glad I found that out before I asked for the Constitution on my other hand.  To keep it legible and prevent everything fading into an unreadable mush, we went with just first initials.  That actually solved a bit of a dilemma regarding my initials, which happen to be the same as a former boss I had who was, well, psycho.  She also insisted on going by those initials as her name, further complicating the issue.  Truth be told, I had them first, but she ranks very high on my list of people I never want to interact with under any circumstances again EVER.  Seriously, she could be standing outside my door with one of those big-ass Publishers Clearinghouse checks, and I would refuse to open it.  It was that bad.  Definitely not something either of us want to have associated with our marriage.

I like the way they turned out.  It's bold. Kind of quirky.  And really so very Keith and Eddie.  We had the spot of color added to keep it from looking too biker or prison-ish.  Quirky? Yes, yes we are.  Bad-ass mofo?  So very much not.

That shine on the tats (I can say that now.  We got tats!) is from the ointment we have to put on them for the first few days.  In case you were wondering, it didn't hurt at all.  Seriously.  I've been in more pain at the cancer center in the pre-port days.  (Engage!)  The only real feeling I had was like a mild sunburn, and that was right after he finished the tattoo.

Overall, it was a very cool experience.  The guy who did it for us (Smithers) was way cool and loved the idea that this was our wedding rings.  We went to Triumph Tattoos.  If you're ever in Louisville and need a tattoo, I recommend them.  (I guess you can "need" a tattoo?)  Somewhere in the back of our heads, we're both contemplating another one.  I can see why people get into tats.

On Friday, I went out to the booths for the first time since the move.  The manager looked at me and said:  "Are you all rested up from the move?"  I said I was and she added:  "Good.  Because your booths look like crap."

She's right.

Gaze in terror and flee!  AIIEEE!

I want to put up a sign that says "Pardon our mess, until we figure out what the hell we're doing."

During the move, I just told folks to drop stuff off at that store and "stick it wherever it will fit."  The goal was moving, not pretty.  Now I have to go back and make all that pretty again.  I didn't take a pic of the other booth, which was waaaaaaay worse. I worked on it several hours on Friday and got it to the point of being "passable."  As in it might pass for being a booth and not a junk pile, but not much more.

Surprisingly, sales have been pretty decent since the move.  A few of the large pieces I brought over have sold already.   My theory is that they were the ones people could get to.  I did move all of the large ticket items around to where they were accessible, in hopes of continuing that trend.

Also on Friday, I picked up some surplus equipment for free, including some old transcription/dictation recorders.  You know, the ones with the foot pedals?  That one prompted the old "Just because it's free, you don't have to take it" lecture from Keith.  I hear that every so often.  It makes him feel better or something.  Well, I sold every one of those suckers on Saturday.  Not that I'm gloating or anything.

It was so good this weekend to have normal errands and stuff to do, instead of booth moving.  It was just so relaxing and fun!

I was planning on going over to the booths to finish up the straightening on Wednesday, then do a super-major restock on Saturday.  However, I think the weather has scrambled those plans.  I'm not able to get into shed or storage to get stuff ready right now.  Plus, I just found out that the town where this store is located has declared a weather-related state of emergency and closed the streets to everyone except emergency personnel.  So much for sales today.  (And maybe the rest of the week.)  Dang.  At least I know that I'll be in for a good day once it clears up.  Nothing makes for crowds of eager shoppers like cabin fever.

As bad as all this snow is, I do know it pales in comparison to what the Northeast has been enduring this winter.  I do hope that everyone's friends and loved ones in that part of the world are safe and warm.

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.

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!)