Fly By Jing Noodle Kit

There are specialty YouTubers who do reviews on the Asian foods at Costco. With the large Asian population in the Bay Area, it's no surprise what you can find at Costco. My daughter is a big fan of Fly By Jing, so I wanted to give this a try. It's a wheat based noodle so it's not something I can eat all the time. I think it's a little on the expensive side but I grew up with cup of noodles. :) It broke down to $2.00 a packet. Overall it was very good. Add a little protein and it would make a nice side dish. Not enough for a full meal, at least for me. :)  

Now the debate is if I should keep it or ship it off to my son. Because of my gluten issues is the only reason I wouldn't keep it.  

Mini retreat

One of the things I miss about the Carmel house is the gas fireplace. Years ago when I remodeled my big house I decided not to add a fireplace. I knew having a wood burning fireplace would be banned at some point and I would rather have the wall space for art. Now gas fireplaces are a thing but I think I would still choose not to have one. 

I'm hanging out at my friend's house binge watching the Great British Baking show and doing some cooking. They have a lovely gas fireplace, something I think they just converted. Very cozy with the storm that's coming through right now.  Just need to find a good book to read. :)

1950"s Vintage Luggage Set

These 1950's vintage suitcases came into the store this weekend. It was an immediate YES when asked if we took old things like this. Not only are they very cool but the insides are in pristine condition. If I had to guess they never used the big suitcases. No funky odor either. I was so excited that I got them out on the floor asap. This is what makes the store stand out and what collectors are looking for. Because we have almost a complete set (there's a medium size one missing) in excellent condition it should sell fast. 
 

Blooming Chocolate A Thing?

Every morning I make a big mug of coffee. I use the pour over method because it takes a lot less room on my limited counter space. Love the smell of coffee but not so much the taste. Being lactose intolerant I use oat milk.  Trader's Joe chocolate oat milk was my go to but after they discontinued it, I had to make my own. Which is a healthier way to go.  I read that coco powder has to be activated with something warm to get the full flavor. I've been trying it so see if that method is true. I would like to think it's working as I think my coffee is a little more chocolatey tasting but it could be just wishful thinking. 
 

Craving for tofu

I haven't been to the Japanese grocery store in a while. I had a craving for fresh tofu and I was going to pick up some snacks for my son. I normally don't pay too much attention to food prices as I'm only shopping for one.

The sticker shock was no joke. What I would normally get for my son would be around $30 but now it would have easily gone over $100. I had to pass on getting the snacks. 

After the pandemic I've gotten into the habit of stocking up on shelf stable basics. I once cooked with only what I had to see how long I could go without buying anything. I think I went three solid weeks with no planning ahead of time. I now make a point to stay stocked up. 

I've been looking for some big artwork for my son and I liked this painting that came into the store. It would look good on his wall but the general vote was to pass on it. Guess I'll keep working on getting the snow boards rack made. It's a long story so when I get a photo I'll share. :)

 

Day in a life of a reseller

 Months ago this artwork came in. I was interested in it so put my name on it to have it priced. Then it just disappeared and no one in the art department knew where it went. It was gone for months, so I just guessed someone else brought it. Everyone at the store knows I resell and many feel that it's just wrong. So if I want anything priced they will double if not triple the price because I must know the full resell value. When this came back into the store it had gone somewhere (maybe the auction house) to be priced and of course priced high. I had a little chat with the art person about it and we came up with a price we were both happy with. 

I have very little wall space to hang art so if I add anything to my  space I have to really like it or be willing to take something down. I'm slowly moving into a black and white phase with just a splash of color right now so this may end up on my wall. 

Mini score on silver

I don't normally deal in gold and silver but it just seems to find me. While I was at the Goodwill bins in Salinas I went through the very picked over cutlery bin/table. I went through it because no one else was around it. I saw this butter knife and noticed it was monogramed. Very hard to see, but it's there. Thinking someone would only do that on the good stuff and with metal only being .99 a pound it wasn't going to cost me a lot. The gold and silver guys came in today, so I had them check it out. Turns out to be the real deal and I made $10 which covered the cost of my entire Goodwill haul. I know it doesn't sound like a lot but I only paid about .10 for the knife. That is a very good return on my investment. Now I'm wondering if I should have looked for more of that set. :) 

People waiting for the new stuff to come out

 

Auction Adventures 2025

I made the drive down to Salinas this weekend which is over an hour away. I was a little nervous as it was hard to find the house on Google maps. There are two streets reasonable close to each other with the same name. The address numbers were almost the same too. I bid on several Eldreth Santas so had a lot of money invested not to go. It was in a neighborhood of big custom homes up in the hills that surround Salinas. The home looked like it was built in the early 70's (very stylish) with beautiful views of the mountains. I was sad that I didn't get the whole collection of Santas but two pieces went way over the resell value. I was disappointed that the one piece I really wanted was the wrong size. That is one down side to online auctions as you don't get to see anything in person. Would I have bid on the collection if I had known the true sizes, probably not. But it was my fault for not doing a deep dive in researching what sizes these Santas came in. 

Since I was there, I went to the Goodwill bin outlet. There you pay per pound. Books are .75 per pound, metal and glass are .99 per pound. Not sure what the clothes sell for as I didn't get any. It was a slow day at the bins and not a lot of people there. Not sure if it was because it was Sunday and most resellers are selling at the flea markets or because of the fear of ICE raids. I was one of the few who did not speak Spanish. 

I picked up an American Test Kitchen cookbook (2001-2015) that weighs almost 7 pounds. No, I do not need another cookbook but this one was in perfect condition and I don't have it in my collection. The other things I picked up were't super special. I'm hoping the butter knife is silver but the whole lot came to $6. I think because the vintage glass pitcher was heavy.

 

No King Day

No King Day 10/18/25

When I dumpster dive I save the used canvas the art department throws out. Yes I saved a lot of them to make protest signs. I was planning on making very professional looking signs using my Circut machine but then I thought this is a grass roots movement.  I would have loved to do the frog but my free hand drawing is very limited. I did make extra is case your in my area and need a sign. 
 

Creative Play Time

I'm a night owl and it's really kicking in now that I don't have to get up at any certain time. My body still wakes up at 7:00 am no matter what time I've fallen asleep but my most creative time is after midnight. 

I went dumpster diving Wednesday as I prepped the bins for the Hope truck pick up. I like to the have things in boxes or bag (as they requested) so the loading of the Hope truck is easier on the guys. I found a big basket to cards by Theresa Robinson that were on their way out. Her original artwork was done in pen and ink. They were turned into greeting cards that I can only guess didn't sell well. At first I thought maybe my friend who does collage would like them but she passed on them. I had to think of something else to do with them as I didn't want them throw away. I first separated out the envelopes that I can use for my workshops at some point. Then I decided to practice my using my color pencils and gamsol to color in the images. Using the images like a coloring book and a jumping off point to make alter art. I can also practice using my ink pens to alter her images as the ink doesn't bleed on her cards. At some point I will break out my water colors pencils and paints.  

This morning plan is to make a few No Kings Day signs for this weekend. It's been on my list of things to get done before this weekend. 

Eldreth Pottery Santa

Eldreth Santa

I use to collect Santas years ago when I had a big house to decorated every Christmas. Now I just have the ones that are super special to me. Twenty plus years ago I saw this Santa at a small store in town. The woman in front of me picked it up and I waited to see if she would put it down. Yes, I followed her around the store. She didn't so I've been on the hunt for it all this time. Took me many years to figure out who made the Santa, way before Google or even eBay. Someone (on MaxSold) collection is up for auction. So now I have to decide if I should buy the whole collection to make it worth the long drive. It's way out of my normal driving zone.  Sell off the ones I don't want to cover my costs? Is there still a good secondary market for these Santas? 

Ink Pen Nib Storage 2025

I think crafters fall into two categories, those who do and those who collect. I lean more toward collecting and organizing. :) Yes, most of the time I know what to do with my "stuff" and now know where it is but do I actually use it? 

I've been on the search for a way to store all my pen nibs. That's a big part of my hobby,  craft storage. Do I know how to use all the nibs and inks I have? No, I do not but I did find out there aren't as many sizes as I thought. After sorting them out by size, finding a storage system was easy. I picked up some pill boxes at the thrift store, which are donated all the time so super cheap. One of my "when I'm bored" tasks is to try out each nib size and practice. Some inks flow better than others but it could be because of the age of the inks. The pricier inks seem to hold up better than what I can only guess are the cheaper brands. Since I got all my inks at estate sales, I have no real idea what's good.