GET OUTTA HERE

Well, it's been a month since my last post and things have really progressed.

February was a terrible month on ebay and March started out bad but has greatly improved in the last two weeks. About time.

Everyone says to start listing Spring things. Well, I have listed a few Spring things and I have listed a few Winter things. Every down comforter that I have listed I have sold within a week. And that was just in March. So don't give up on Winter stuff. Some folks are still going to have cold nights and some cold days until the end of April. I haven't listed toys in forever, since October. I could open my own toy store. Need to get off of my butt and get going. Plush coming out of my ears and Little People and playmobil pieces and Polly Pocket and LPS and books and, well you get the idea.

But the big thing around here is that we have almost moved SmartA** to her own house. I say almost, because she still has some stuff at home. We moved most stuff on Saturday with the help of  the rest of the family. Sunday it was pouring rain, so just a few things. Like her cats and clothes. Just the essentials. And there is only a little bit more to do at her house that she needs help with.

NOW, I will finally have time to blog, shop and list.

WAIT, I still need to finish cleaning the two rooms and bathroom that SmartA** used and paint and get them set up as guest rooms so the two Princess have a place to sleep when they are tracked out.

ARGGGGH, does it ever end?

TABLESPOON vs TEASPOON

Whew!!! Been busy with listing and helping my daughter remodel her house before she moves in. Busy as a bee...

We have been working every Saturday and Sunday since after Christmas on SmartA** house. Pulling up carpet, painting, ripping out cabinets putting new floor tile down and just about anything else that needs doing. The two bedrooms are done, the walls are done and some of the trim is done. The floor in the main living room, dining room combination is the biggest and most challenging. She wanted each tile cut in half and a random pattern on the floor. First problem is cutting each tile. It is impossible to get each and every one the same. Even with a jig that I made, we still get a slight variation. But all in all it has been pretty good. But it is crunch time and we need to get the floor finished so she can move. Everyone needs to pull their weight every weekend. Except when racing season starts!!!

Sunday was the first NASCAR race of the season. Daytona. SweetiePie wanted to watch the race and we needed to get more floor done. So......he stayed home to watch the race AND he volunteered to make dinner. Now, you have to know SweetiePie to know that he does not cook. Period. Not even to heat a can of soup. He decided to make chili. I set out all of the ingredients before I left and wrote down the spices and stuff to go in the chili. Everything went fine. The smell of chili greeted us when we came in the door. Yum...

I have only one comment on the chili. If you don't know the difference between a TEAspoon and a TABLEspoon then don't put any cayenne pepper in the chili. That's all I'm saying.......

WHY I CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE....

I had good intentions. I needed to get some pictures taken so I could list some stuff on ebay. I have been pretty slack lately after the big Christmas crunch and busy January. But February has been a bust and I have had a hard time getting motivated to take pictures and get things listed.

I had already taken a hundred pictures and then....here comes Simon. He just wanted some loving. Simon almost never wants lovin'. He is kinda a leave me alone cat. More so than other cats. So when he wants attention he gets it.

And I really did need a little break....and he is so cute....and he will be moving soon....

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!

A PIG IN A POKE?

How were things in January in your neck of the woods?

Here in NC things were hopping. Ebay sales were excellent after Christmas right up until the end of January. Just about the time that February credit card statements hit th mailbox things came to a screeching halt. I mean, dead in the water with 10,000 crickets singing in the background.

I can't remember the last time I had a week as bad as the end of January. 5 total sales all week. Only one sale last weekend and that has turned into a non payer. One sale this Monday, $5. It's a good thing that I am a squirrel. I tend to save my ready cash because you never know with sales on ebay. Feast or famine is putting it mildly.

So with the slow sales you would thing that I could get things listed. Well, I finally felt better by the end of the week so I got some pics taken and some things listed. Still very slow.

Slow sales mean no shopping. It's killing meeeeeeee.  I did get to GW a few times but nothing big. I picked up several swim suits that are promising and a perfume cat light that is killer.

In perfect condition, but no light or cord. I can replace that. From the 50's and so cute.

I also found a lost baby. No, the doll kind. I just had to rescue her. Turns out she is a Effanbee Lovums from the late 1920's. I think she is precious. SmartA** thinks otherwise, so here is how she is sitting in the family room.

Now, I think she is in great shape for her age. She is about 85 to 90 years old. But SmartA** thinks her eyes are creepy, soooooo I took care of that. Let's see how SmartA** looks at 85!!

This is a better picture. Her glassine eyes have crazed and gotten cloudy. She has damage to one finger, damage to one toe, her wig is missing and has normal cracking and crazing to the composition. She has her original body and had on a one piece undergarment that was original. Oh, and she is 30" tall, which is kinda hard to find. At least I didn't find many listed on ebay.

She really is pretty. I just don't see creepy.....well, maybe just a little.

I found smaller dolls like this in much worse condition for around $200, with clothes, on ebay. So all is not lost. Oh, and she had a vintage infants gold bangle bracelet on her arm. Doll, clothes, shoes, original underwear and gold bracelet, $5.

Now, back in the poke young lady!!

DOWN BUT NOT OUT!!

I wouldn't wish an abscessed tooth on my worst enemy. Pain and swelling and just generally feeling cruddy.

I have a crown that came off several years ago, just after I lost my job. I just got it re-glued and went on with life. Well, I knew that the glue wouldn't hold up forever and eventually I would have to deal with it. Now is the time to deal with it.

Over the past holiday weekend I developed a toothache. That little toothache quickly developed into full blown trouble. Swollen face and sore mouth and just generally feeling cruddy. Don't bend over because your head will explode!!

Went to my dentist to get started on antibiotics so the tooth issue could be resolved. Great news, two teeth may be involved!  Monster abscess!! Can it get any better?  Tooth 12 and 13 may need root canals and crowns. May? When was the last time your dentist said you may need a root canal and you didn't get it?

My dentist couldn't handle the root canal so I called for an appointment for a consultation to maybe get seen by the endodontist for work on the teeth and they are full until February. My dentist was nice enough to give me a referral to the UNC dental school for the work on my teeth. At least I can afford to go there since the work is done by students and much cheaper. But the wait is longer.

Well, the good news is that I can see out of my left eye better and the swelling is going down and I am feeling just a little less cruddy and I may be able to bend over by this weekend to help lay more tile at SmartA** house. And also with the toothache I tend to eat less and eat softer foods, so there is a slim chance that I may loose weight. So I am down but not out!!

Today is SmartA** birthday and it is the first time in forever that I just don't feel like making a cake. She may just have to settle for cupcakes or an Edwards Hershey chocolate pie. I'm voting for the pie.

BOXES FROM HELL

These little boxes may not look like much to the untrained eye but they truly are boxes from hell. There are 25 boxes of floor tile in that stack of boxes. Each box weighs 50 lbs.50 LBS!!!!

My daughter, SmartA**, is painting and replacing the flooring in her new house before she moves in. Those boxes are enough to cover the floor in her family room, entry hall, other hall, bedroom and studio. She ordered them from the home improvement store and they were going to charge $80 to deliver. That's money she could use to purchase enough tile to do the two bathrooms. So when they came in we took our little Toyota pick-up to get them. The home improvement store is only about a mile from her house. Easy peasy. Or so you would think.

First of all, the flat of boxes were too heavy for the truck. 1250 lbs bottomed out the bed of the truck.  We could make two trips? Then the nice service manager said we could use their rental truck, free of charge, to take them to her house. Yeah!!

But once we got them there we had to unload them. Funny thing, they forgot to include that nice forklift with the truck. SweetiePie took them off of the flat and put them on the tailgate and SmartA** and I carried them inside. One.By.One. 50.Pounds.Each. That just about wiped me out even though I only carried 13 of them. When the flat was empty, SmartA** said, "I'm keeping the free wood. I've earned it"

And then after we got all of the boxes in, we put the first coat of paint on both bathrooms. We almost had to crawl home.

Cabinets are next!!

Anyone care to help remove these cabinets and build cabinets that open on both sides so we can use vintage windows for doors? Easy Peasy? Right? Please say yes!!! 

GET BACK IN THE LAUNDRY BASKET, YOUNG MAN

I can't believe it finally happened. My baby grandson has grown up.

He can't be 16 years old today, he just can't. I haven't gotten any older, so he couldn't possibly have aged either.

The prince, and the two princess

When he was born and ready to come home, the apartment that his Mom and Dad lived in decided that it would be a good time to fumigate for bugs. You can't bring a baby home when they are fumigating. So, he gets to come to Grandma's house.!!! Where to sleep? No crib at Grandma's yet. No dresser drawer. Where? How about a laundry basket? Works for me. Worked for him.

Now I wish he was still able to fit in that basket. He is now taller than most of the family and he is catching up to his dad really fast. His braces are off and he is a handsome young man. He has been driving for a while now and was brave enough to drive my car, a 5-speed, and did really good. Even went through a license check with flying colors.

But it would be nice if they could stay little forever!!

Happy Birthday Basket Boy!!!