Monday Rambles

Call this one the "Oh Boy!" Monday Rambles!  Go pour yourself another cup of coffee before you start this one. You are gonna need it, for sure.

I had to get X-rays on Friday for my next cancer follow up, which is tomorrow.  After  I was done, I hit a nearby thrift.  Hadn't been in a while due to lack of time, so it was nice to get in there.  I got a few things, incuding this cobalt blue (I know it looks black in the pic) Bybee coffee mug.  It's one of the older ones too.  I love Bybee and grab it whenever I can!

I spent some time talking to the cashier, who is getting ready to retire and move to the Southwest.  I shared some stories of my time in El Paso as a kid.  She's looking forward to her next big adventure, and I hope she finds it!

Since my summer hours started last week, which means that I'm free every day after noon, I spent most of the week at the Peddlers Mall working.  My goal was to get a bunch of stuff priced and out of storage, then work on my booth arrangement and layout.  Some of my recent small furniture purchases aren't quite fitting in the way I want them to.  For me, the only thing to do is pull all of it out of the booth and carefully reintroduce it one piece at a time, until I get it right.

I did get a lot priced and out:  five carts worth.  I did not get to the other issue, so that will be this week's booth agenda, along with getting all my stock in order in the booth.  I kind of emptied the aforementioned five carts by just putting stuff anywhere it would fit, without much planning.  I kind of ran out of time.  At least, there were new items out there.

It was kind of important that I get some storage space cleared out, because Saturday was one of the biggest sales of the year for me:  A huge church sale with literally rooms of stuff and the nearby neighborhood.  I always have to make 3-4 passes through the church sale, filling at least one box every time.  I knew I would be coming in with stuff to drop off, so I knew I needed to make room for it.

As you can tell from yesterday's Mazda post, I did have quite a lot.  Sadly, I was not able to get shots of most of the things as they were coming out of the van.  I'll explain why in a minute.  In the meantime, here are some (but only some) of the larger items that were in Mazda on Saturday.

A round bamboo basket with attached lid

A Spider-Man pinball game

A purple Christmas tree

  That is supposed to be my "smugly holding a purple Christmas tree" face.  It came off more like my "I'm holding in a bodily function" face.  Maybe I shouldn't try to make faces?

The tree is kind of smushed, because I needed to fold up the branches in order to make more room in the van.  It doesn't have a stand, although there were pieces of a stand with it.  The lady in tahe room at the church told me that stand didn't work for that tree, but I think I can either get it to work or can jerry-rig something passable or thrift a small stand.  Either way, purple tree will walk again!  THIS I DO SWEAR!

Sorry about that.  Marvel Comics moment again.

That pinball game also has legs, but we had to take them off to get it into the van.  We decided that our new rule is that the van is not full until I have to hold something in my lap.  I didn't have to do that this time, so we didn't totally fill it up!

When we got to the Peddlers Mall, we started to unload, but it got pretty chaotic there.  See for yourself. Keith and I ended up helping the staff deal with the situation.  We didn't really do that much, but we were glad to be able to help a little.  I watched the register area while the staff were busy and Keith managed traffic at the front door as the store was closing.  It was a scary situation, and I felt really sorry for both the woman involved and the manager having to handle the crisis, which I felt she did very well.  Anyway, that's why I didn't have time to get many more pics of what was in Mazda.  I'll make that up later in the week.

Sunday, I went to the library book sale for box day.  My intentions were to get one box, maybe two, depending on what was there.  I was focused on three areas:  manga/graphic novels, religious books/Bibles, and media/CD/DVD.  There ended up being very little of the first category and none of the last, so I ended up branching out a little.  I did get some nice religious books and Bibles, though.

We then went to my uncle's to get his yard sale leftovers, which gave me another Mazda load to deal with this weekend!  Since there's no room in my storage at the mall until later in the week, we ended up bringing it home.  I went through everything and set about 2/3 of it back for the Peddlers Mall outdoor sale in two weeks.  I'll have a nice full area with lots of awesome stuff cheap!  The other third went back in the van to go over to the Peddlers Mall tomorrow.

I forgot to take a full van pic, but here's some of it all spread out:

Held back bunch

Going to the booth bunch

Those two boxes on the lower right are from the book sale.

To top everything off, it's also junk set out in our neighborhood, and we've had no time to really go hunting!  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess we'll be out of luck.  You win some, you miss some, I guess.

Of course, junk on the curbs means pickers in the 'hood.  I had some tables set up out back as I was unloading the van and going through stuff this afternoon.  These two doofuses gentlemen pulled up and hollered out the truck window:

"You havin' a yard sale?"  (At six-thirty on a Sunday?  For real?)  I gave them my most annoyed eyeroll and said:  "No."  Then they said:  "Is that junk?"  I gave them my driest, most withering "Don't be an idiot" stare and said: "No."  Then they said:  "Can we have those Coke bottles?"  I finally pulled out my "Stop fucking with me.  Can't you see I'm busy?" tone and said:  "NO!"  And they finally got the message and left.

Then came the woman who slowed her car like she was about to hop out and start grabbing stuff, until she saw me standing there and drove off.  Really people!  No one sets out curb junk on tables!  Get real!  No wonder junkers and pickers get such a bad rap.

Well, it's time to start my week.  I'll have more to share later.

What's in Mazda!

Yesterday was packed full of madness, chaos, emergencies, and more yard sales than you could shake a stick at!  I'll have all the story tomorrow for Monday Rambles.  We're getting ready to tun to the library book sale, my uncle's to get his yard sale leftovers and roam the neighborhood looking ofr junk.

In the meantime, you can try and figure out what's in Mazda this week.

Some answers tomorrow!

Yet More Finds

This one should wrap up my catch up of recent finds.  Whew!  Remind me not to get behind again!  Bad junk blogger!

I still have a post about some keepers for tomorrow.  I also have one or two special things that are already in the booth that need to be shown off a bit.  I should have all of those little bits and pieces out of the way this weekend.

Once again, posted pics with minimal comments.  The colored dots on some items are from the sale where I got them, which used color-coded stickers to price most stuff.  I left them on so I could re-use them to price everything for the booth.

See the original Wiffle bat peeking out there? 

 That Human Fly comic is no great shakes, other than the fact that it was a fun read when I was a kid.  It's in pretty tough shape too.  But, I was making a pile at this sale, and I have sworn to leave no comic behind.  I'll put it in my 50 cent box for the next sidewalk sale.

That lunchbox kind of tickles me.  It would have been cooler if the thermos said "Thermos" on it.  That L&N thing is a stapler I turned on its side to show the monogram.  L&N stuff is pretty popular around these here parts.

Everybody called my dad's father "Pappy" so I had to get that sign.

 

That thing with the black handle is a torque wrench.  (I didn't know either and had to ask someone.)  I got two tubs of those Xmas cookie cutters.  I sell lots of cookie cutters over the holidays.  The menorah came in a box that said "Contemporary Menorah" on it.  I decided that sounded kind of catchy and have been singing it as a jingle all afternoon.  I finally added "She's fab!" to the end of it and the jingle is complete!  Now I just need a sitcom to add it to.

I felt like Shara when I found a whole tub of vintage ornaments for 25 and 50 cents a box!  I stacked that whole tub on top of the two other boxes full of stuff that I was carrying around the sale.  I think I made quite a sight!

 Some sets are older than others.  The first box on the left even has a picture of the ornaments being made!

I asked this guy about his job and he told me that it kinda blows!  (Sorry!)  The box on the far right has this cute Santa on it.

The middle box is a vintage Shiny Brite box, but all the blue ornaments have been mixed up in the boxes.  I'll have to straighten them out before the holidays.

Still More Finds

Here are some of the smaller finds of the past few weeks.  I think I'm going to dump the pics in here with minimal content and let you all pick what you want to talk about in the comments.

All the wooden trains are handcrafted.

Big ducks to eat the big bugs.

I went to the bathroom after I took this pic.  When I came back, someone had bought Mickey!

The older rosary draped over a massive made in China tank is my attempt to be ironic.  Or something.

A big pill to take to help deal with the chaos of big ducks chasing big bugs.

 Stud. Heh!

All of those Bibles were free.  Some are slipcased.

Can't figure out what the red tray is for.  I thought it was silverware are first, but it's too deep and the small compartments are odd.  It's made by Goody. Any thoughts?  Those other things look like lap desks the way I have them propped there, but they are really handmade tabletop stands for large books.

Can't resist a metal box.

More tomorrow!  Soon, I'll be all caught up!  Just in time for the weekend!  It's a never-ending cycle of junk on junk on junk!

Some Finds

I guess I'll start with some of the bigger stuff.  I need to get these items on Craigslist, so maybe putting them here will get me inspired.

We'll start with the bookcases.  Nothing special here.  Just ordinary pressboard shelving.  You know that kind that's everywhere and that you need so much of in a large space like mine.  There were three of them upstairs at an estate sale.  They were loaded with books.  The seller kept dropping the price until it got low enough that it was worth unloading the things, hauling them down the stairs and cramming them in Mazda--which took the tiny seller woman getting inside to help guide them in.  I bought two of them because that's all we had room for.  If the sale hadn't been out in the middle of nowhere, I would have paid for the other one and come back for it.  The price wasn't low enough for that.  I took both of them and added them to my religious item section and moved all the Bibles, hymnals, and other religious books out of my book booth and into this section. 

Then there's this beauty of a cabinet, found in the basement of another estate sale on half-price day, which made it a bargain.  Keith wanted it for our house, but after we wrestled it up and out of the basement (it weighs a TON), he looked at me and said:  "It's yours."

It's got a couple of flaws to it, but is still pretty groovy.  Unfortunately, we majorly eff'd it up getting it into the van.  We've taken one of the seats out of Mazda to have more hauling room, and the metal clamps that hold it in place are exposed.  They scratched the hell out of one side.  I never even thought to check for that and am still kicking myself over it.  Those are some deep-ass scratches, too!

The estate owner had a dog.

Makes me sick every time I see it.

I can't pass up a cheap school desk, especially when it is a nice shade of sky blue.  Awww...

I always used to get sent home with notes about how messy my book cubby was!

I got this vintage kids' library table from my uncle.  It's just crying for someone to pretty it up and put it to use.

I bought a side table at a yard sale where a woman had been looking at it and taking her time about deciding.  I finally had to start making it really obvious that I was interested too.  If she had made a real move on it, I would have backed off, but when she stepped away without saying anything, I waited precisely no seconds before buying it.  She turned around and I was already taking it to the car.  I won't buy something out from under something while they are still looking at it, but I'm not going to wait while they wander the sale and decide either. 

The thing is heavy as hell, too.  While I was struggling across the street with it, the seller called out that she had another one inside for the same price, if I wouldn't mind carrying it out.  I took a look back at the two story house and meekly said:  "It's not upstairs, is it?"

They're stacked to save room in the booth.

Finally, these awesome vintage wooden folding chairs with leather covered seats have already sold while they were waiting for their blog debut.  I couldn't leave them out though.  I have a thing for chairs, especially when they are this awesome!

More to come!  I've got, like, three weeks to catch up on.  Since a lot of it is also going on CL, I'll get double duty out of the pictures!  I think there's one more large item post to come, then at least one of the coolest smalls, followed by my comic treasures for me.  Fun times!

Monday Rambles

"LO!  THERE SHALL BE A BLOG RESURRECTION!"

Yes, I read way too many Marvel comics as a kid.  Why do you ask?

I am waaaaaaaaay overdue for a finds post, so look for at least one, but more likely two or three this week.  The "Mazda" posts from the weekend were just the start of it.  There's stuff inside those boxes too, you know.  I even actually recently bought some things that are just for me to keep!  (They're comics, don't you know!  But, oh what comics!  Aging Nerd Heaven, Baby!)

I might actually end up with extra time to post this week.  Turns out I'm in trouble at work for not completing some online training things.  I was informed Friday that there was to be a meeting to discuss the issue and that "There would be consequences!"  Fortunately, it's not just me.  One of my colleagues is also in the hot seat.

My boss tends toward the dramatic, so I have no way of knowing what's hyperbole and what's not.  Here's what I do know:  Said colleague and I are the most effective staff at our center.  We are well-liked and we get the desired results.  We meet our target goals over and over.  We are also the only two people there who work at multiple economic angles to make ends meet.  She has three regular jobs.  I have tons of little side efforts, plus the booths.  It's not that either one of us is being deliberately petulant about doing trainings.  It's that we both usually forget to do the durn things.

There's a lot about this system that I could gripe about (like the fact that these trainings are important enough for "consequences" but not important enough to pay our full hourly rate to do) but I won't.  I do know that they're not going to be able to have a summer morning session starting tomorrow without my tubby butt.

We'll see.  I guess.

How about some more pleasant thoughts?  I've done this booth thing long enough to know that May is a hard month for sales.  I've gone over that here quite a bit recently, so I'm not going to rehash it again.

Last night, however, my email yielded the wonderful news that:

1.  I had the best May ever in terms of total sales.

Not only that, but:

2.  I had my best month this year (so far) for total sales.

And, if that were not enough:

3.  I had my second-highest monthly total ever!

Due to my recent rent increase, it won't be my largest take home check ever, but I have a feeling that's coming.  My sales really did expand to fill my new expense void, and much more quickly than I ever would have thought possible.  Now I'm sure that the struggle I had last year to grow my sales with my expansion then was largley due to being sick and not able to keep up.

This small furniture groove is really working for me, as is my turn to more items in a higher price range than I've traditionally done.  Now, I just need to keep that momentum up.  Since I'm (hopefully still) only working half days in the June and July, I'll have a lot more time to spend at the Peddlers Mall.  I'm still not as stocked on the shelves as I would like to be, so that is the next big goal.  (Along with reorganizing my storage space and completely restocking my comic books.)

It's an exciting time to be reselling!  Yay!

Best of all, this Saturday is the hands-down largest church sale in town!  And the entire neighborhood surrounding it also has its annual sale.  This is the big ritzy house part of town, where the people have names like "Vandella" and "Davenport" and their house staff actually run the sales while they're off to the club with their kids, who are named "Skip" and Mitzi."

Okay, not really, but it would make a fun play, wouldn't it?

A couple of years ago, we got lost in one part of this neighborhood that had some serious, serious houses in it.  I kept telling Keith that there was undoubtedly some woman inside one of them looking out the window at us and screaming for her husband:

"Davenport!  Come quickly!  There are two strange men in a...a...a...Hyundai full of....USED ITEMS...driving past the house! Call security!" 

As if that weren't enough, junk set out starts again in this area on Friday!  Time to get out and battle the scrappers and the pickers and the cowboy angels!  (Bonus points if you get that last reference.  Here's a hint.)

It's a living, ya know?

And what a living it is!

See ya!

So, what was in Mazda?

Well, here's some pics to show you.  (At least some of the larger items anyway!)

A handmade bench!

A plastic step stool!

A child's play ironing board!

A handmade table!

An office chair!

An adorable ladybug chair!

A doll high chair!

A pair of retro dining chairs!

That were made in Louisville!

I'll have some pics of the smalls later in the week!  It was a good day.  And I only made it to six of the sales on my list!