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!!!

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING....OR NOT?

I've had an ebay store now since August 2010. It took several months to get the hang of how to list, categories and just the feel of everything going. Of course, once you get a idea of how things go ebay changes the rules. I guess that's just how it goes.

When I signed up for my store I didn't choose to do international shipping. I had shipped international in the past and it was a hassle. Customs forms and such. I thought it was a waste of time. BIG mistake.

Beginning in September 2012 I decided to change to international shipping. I had shipped a few things international, but on an item by item basis. Printing shipping tags for international shipments is no harder than an ordinary shipping label. Punch it in, print the tag, sign the label and you are done.

Sales wise it has been a boost. In November and December I did lots of international shipping. Four pair of boots went to Canada, some snow clothing and sweaters. Sweaters to Norway, stitch kit to Russia, puzzle to South Korea, Vogue patterns to France and more that I can't remember.

It was a bit of a hassle changing my listings to international shipping as they came up for renewal. You have to know the weight of everything. I pretty much guessed at most items. You handle all this stuff a dozen times before you store it away and you get a feel for the weight. The only thing so far that I was under weight on was the puzzle to South Korea. I still made money, maybe a dollar. At least it was not a loss.

So, if you aren't doing International First Class Shipping you should be. Why not get some of the money back that we've been sending overseas all these years?

Works for me!!!

MOVING ON.....

I'll miss her when she moves.

My daughter, Smarta**, bought a house. My baby! So she is moving out, again. She moved out several years ago and lived on her own in a 5th wheel camper. I think she learned rather quickly that the space in a camper is very limited and it is hard to heat and cool. But when it started to leak, it was either spend a bunch to fix it or move on. She chose to sell it as it was and move back home to save enough to afford something without wheels. Good move. During that time she was able to pay off the mortgage on a piece of property and buy and pay off a car. Good girl!!

She purchased an older home about 18 miles from us. It is in a nice neighborhood and was in pretty good shape. Needed painting and the floors needed to be updated.

She isn't married and doesn't have a boy friend. So guess who gets to help paint and rip up carpet and all that good stuff? Yep, good ole' Mom and Dad. My poor arms and legs are killing me!! Up and down the ladder and down on the floor and all sorts of good things.

She closed on the 27th of Dec and immediately started to renovate. All of the carpet is up and we finished painting the last room this weekend. Now all we need to do are the paint bathrooms and change out some cabinets that she wants to update.

Thanks goodness the painting is done. She has cathedral ceilings in her kitchen, dining and family room. No one wants to climb the ladder to do the very top of the ceilings. SweetiePie has a bad knee and can't get up on the ladder for too long. SmartA** has a bad knee and vertigo issues and will not get up on a ladder or even a step stool unless she absolutely has no other choice. So guess who gets to climb the tall ladder? But, it's done and we can move on.

The two princess came to "help" change orange
sherbert into blue

Now to remove the kitchen cabinets over the bar and put in a cabinet with glass doors on both sides. Its going to be so cool. If we don't screw it up. We are hoping to find some old windows to use for the glass doors and we will just have to build a frame for them. Habitat for Humanity here we come!!