Hopefully for the new year!

I know I've been slacking in posting on my blog! I've been on the road a lot this month and I'm still trying to settle into my new place. Working on the front yard and getting it ready for this spring is on the top of my list. It's more time sensitive than where I've going to put all my boxes of stuff.  Getting back into the routine of doing my WhatNot auctions has been a slow process. Still not happy with how I have my auction studio set up, that's a work in process! While I was down in Carmel for Christmas, I did stop by all the thrift stores. I picked up this Lalique reproduction decanter which to me is the size of a perfume bottle. Originally it came with four little glasses but those are long gone. The mold to this was sold a while back, so this isn't a true Lalique piece but it is made from the same mold. It was one of the first things sold in my WhatNot auction this week. 

I'm hopefully 2023 will be a calm and boring year for me. No plans to travels or do anything adventurous but those things just seem to find me. :) Wishing everything a wonderful new year and thank -you for stopping by my blog.  

 

High Tech World

Living now in a world of high tech gadgets, it's great until they don't work.

At the house with Woody and Buzz, it's nice that's there's no forgetting to turn off the lights as you just have to ask Google to do it.

This month my Rollo shipping printer (high end printer) went on the blink. After going through two customer support techs, it still not working correctly. That's even with a live on camera tech looking at my printer and laptop. I finally ask to return it but that was a no go, they were going to get it working if it means keeping me on the line for days. It's a great printer when it works but when it doesn't and you have a shipping deadline, it's bad. I finally told since they won't let me return it, I'll have to call in my own IT people to see if they can figure out what the problem is. It's been narrowed down to a software problem. 

Then my laptop wasn't charging. With my Apple IT guy now living in Holland, I was on my own. I'm getting ready to go down to the beach house for Christmas so not having my laptop working would be bad. Decided to go into the Apple store in Los Gatos and it was packed! Guess Santa will be bringing a lot of high end toys to people for Christmas! I was very surprised that I could get an appointment quickly and they trouble shooted my problem in minutes. It took longer to find a parking space! It wasn't a serious problem, just a hard reset and I was go to go.

Christmas 2022

Spending Christmas at the beach house this year. With COVID still being an issue and everyone living in far flung  places it will just be me. 

Being here at the Carmel house has always felt like home.

My favorite time at the beach is during low tide, when it's easier to walk and still be very close to the water. It's a super low tide in the afternoon, so makes it a perfect time to walk the beach. Couldn't ask for a nicer holiday present!

Great auction find!

This week I added to my persimmon collection. My mother left me a persimmon jam jar (lower right hand corner) she got many years ago in Japan. She said the man who made it basically burned down his house to keep his kilns going as he tried to find the perfect color and glaze for his pottery. 

It's not a very common item to find here in the states so I'm always thrilled when I find them up for auction. I think this is the first time I've actually have seen more than one at any auction. 

It was interesting that this auction through Maxsold, was only a few blocks away from my family home. Most of the items in the lot (auction term for a grouping of items) were damaged but I plan to keep the persimmons ones chips and all as finding them in the wild is so rare. 

While I was waiting to get permission to pick up my items there was a Louis Vuitton wallet at the check in table for $200.00. In my time running a thrift store and working with a consignment person, I've learned a lot about high end luxury goods. So I gave it a quick inspection to see if it was the really thing. I spotted three things that made me guess it was a knock off. Really, I only had to be sure of one thing. I had a nice chat with the auction person and she said the owner had purchased at a store (not sure what store or where) but didn't have the receipt. I said it didn't matter where she brought from, it's a fake with or without a receipt because I'm sure it didn't come from a LV store. So I'm guessing that's why it wasn't in the online catalog, selling fakes is illegal and LV will shut you down in a heart beat as well as empty your bank account in lawsuits. 

Still missing my fur baby

Today would have been Annie's 13 birthday. There isn't a day that goes by I don't miss her. 

I'm babysitting the Woody and Buzz again this week and it helps with lifting my spirits. It also doesn't hurt that their house is so comfortable and has all the latest gadgets. Nice music, perfect coffee made at a touch of a button and my bagel toasted just right. Last night I soaked in the hot tub for the first time in many many years. Doesn't matter where I go, the dogs will follow me just like Annie. :(

I'm still working on getting my studio set up and cleaning up the front garden area. I pulled out a dead apricot tree which was close to my front door. With all the rain, the ground was soaked so knocking it over was the easy part. Now getting rid of it will be the challenge! My goal is to clean up what I can while the ground is still workable. Once it dries out, I'll be working with very hard clay soil.