Gnome House 2.0

The gnome house is still a popular activity here at the beach house. I was surprised the boys remembered it from last year. 

The gnomes went with a pre-fab

house this year. The wooden moss covered one couldn't handle the wet weather. It was relocated to the gnome village down the street.  

This one spins around to show two rooms which works out prefect for the boys. Not a lot of room but it will hold up a whole lot longer than  the original version.

Problem solving

I've spent the last three days getting the beach house ready for the boys. Several car loads of boxes have been coming down to the house for months. 

This has been a vacation home for many, many years, so it's not stocked with too many things. One of the things that did get replaced was the dinner plates.  These new oversized plates (round ones) are so big they don't fit in the dishwasher. The arrow points to the chip on the edge. The other down size is people still load the dishwasher up with them. The spinning thingy, doesn't really spin so the dishes don't really get clean. 

This is year with all the guests we have coming down, I can't see having to hand wash all the dinner plates. If I had thought of it sooner, I would have picked up a set at the Happy Dragon but instead I went to the Branches thrift store here in Monterey. I really didn't want to pay a lot, even at $1.50 each (set of 9) killed me. The new set is only a 1/4 smaller but their more a square shape so fit better in the dishwasher. 

I did bring down a set of my cow glasses since the boys no longer want to use baby type cups anymore. These have a thicker rim than the ones here at the beach house, which tend to break easily.  I've had these for years (cows were my mom's lucky charm) but I don't really need a set of 12 anymore. I'm donating them to the house since the owners were going to have to replace the missing juice glasses anyways. Win Win!

The eaglets have landed 2024

The eaglets have landed! It's almost show time. They will spend Halloween up in Seattle before heading down to Carmel. I have just  three days to get the beach house ready and stocked for their visit. This will be their last time being here for the holidays as they both will be in school next year. 

I'm still looking for a place to move to in January but that's taking a back burner now. I was hoping to be moving out before the kids got here but still no luck finding a new place. Boxes are stacked everywhere and just a little depressing. I may have to give up finding an in laws unit and go with an apartment. I really really don't want to do that so I'm not giving up hope yet.

 

Budding Artist?

It was so cute that my 3 year old grandson Henkie is into painting. His name sake (great grandfather Hank) was also an artist. 

Henkie during one of our FaceTime chat said he wants me to have the small black and white painting. Asked his mom to make sure to pack it for their upcoming visit. 

His favorite colors are purple, yellow and red. Mees said his are rainbow colors.

Most of my art supplies have been packed up for my move which is a bummer. I know I have a ton of blank canvases packed somewhere. I do plan to go out and get kid grade paint as I don't think the boys are ready for the professional paints I use. 

Milk Street CookBook Score

$3 score

Do I need another cookbook? No I don't but when I see Chris on the cover it just draws me in. When I saw this cookbook at Happy Dragon, I thought it was an American Test Kitchen book. Thinking it was one of the last cookbook Chris did before leaving ATK because he looks older. It was busy at the store so I didn't pay much attention to it after I tagged it that I wanted it. 

When things calmed down at the store,(it was intake day) I got a good look at it. I realized it was a Milk Street cookbook! It's a $$$ book, so I knew I would have to wait to find it at the thrift store. Just did a quick flip through as I'm still packing and also getting ready for the family visit next week. 

I also listened to Ina Garten's new bio book from the library this week. There was a long list of people waiting for the audio book, so I was surprised it showed up so fast.  I'm glad I went with the audio book and not the actual book. If you're a foodie, it's nice to listen to (she has a great calming voice) but I don't think it's worth sitting down and reading. She's had great success in her life which is inspiring. I've always liked her videos as her food always looks like what a real home cook would make and actually eat. :) 

Mornings

I sort of keep a morning schedule but nothing like when I had school age kids at home or when I worked. In the morning while I have my big cup of coffee the squirrels come by. 

2005 Mervyn's Mug

The gray squirrel aka Fat Boy who has a nest in the tree in my backyard, makes a point to stop and give me a look over. I sure Fat Boy is hoping I will start leaving out snacks. When I first moved here I did the whole bird feeder thing. That was a totally failure as the Fat Boys made sure to empty the feeders as fast as I could fill them. 

The only success I've had with birds is the bird baths. The same pair of birds stop by around 10:00 am and take dip. They are so use to me now that if I walk by they don't fly away. When we had the really hot days and the water was still semi warm in the morning, they would just take a really long soak. It's so cute to just see them relaxing, no fluttering of wings, just floating along. 

Why the pic? This is my favorite mug I got at Mervyn's in 2005. Does anyone remember the Mervyn's stores?  I have two left (I'm sure I started out with more) that have survived the many purges I've had to do. These will be the last things I pack this week. 

Crafty Sunday

There are a few crafting projects I want to get done before the grandkids arrive next month. It's been challenging since all of my craft supplies have been boxed up. 

On Sunday I decided not to leave the house until I got them started. I first finished the XL advent calendar I picked up at the store. It was used so all the inside parts were gone. I made new envelopes and filled the one I could with what I had, mainly stickers.  Now on the hunt of some more fun things the boys would like. 

The second project was to make enough mitten to make a banner. I going for the old fashion handmade look so I'm hand stitching all of them. I'm thinking I'll hide little surprises in them for the boys if I get my act together. 

Another Good Score.

Living once again with moving boxes stacked everywhere it does get a little depressing. It's always a pick me up when I find something rare. This is a very common pattern = low resale value, but finding the mustard jar was a major score. The resale value is much higher than the very common sugar and creamer. Now I just have to find a little spoon to go with it. I know I have one but it's been packed away so I will have to find one out in the wild. 

As I'm getting ready for the grandkids visit, I signed up to get my shots. Being around walking Petri dishes is no joke. :)

Another Good Score - Phomemo Label Maker

$3.00 score Phomemo

If you've been following my blog, you know I really like the new label maker (Phomemo) I got a few months back. It's been a total game changer, making it super fast to price everything. 

It was a very busy day at the store as I'm getting things cleaned up for the big clearance sale next week. I didn't get to my department until late in the afternoon. As I was sorting through all the random stuff left on my desk I found another label maker! I didn't hesitate if I should buy it!  It did have four label rolls, which that alone was worth it. It didn't have its charger cord but because I have already have one that was no problem. A super good score because now I can leave one at the store for the days when I just pop in with new stuff. 

Now I have to decided if I should get a carry case. :)

Kelley Kookies

This past weekend I did something I haven't done before. I handed out Kelley Kookies samples at Zanotto's. The store does something like this 3 times a year. A dozen vendors handing out samples. One of my cousins works for KK, keeping the local stores stocked. I was the sub for the sub as everyone else was busy this weekend. 

It's a very boring job, so I made the best of it by people watching. I was right next to the cheese, turkey and salami table, which got a lot of visitors. It was funny how many older men would just graze around the meat table. When the demo person had to walk away to slice more salami, these guys would belly up like it was a free buffet. I was also next to the fancy soda (very $$$$) and beer table. I was very surprised that you pretty much got a whole bottle of beer which they put in a cup. Considering they didn't check anyone's ID not  many people asked for a sample. 

KK is a shortbread type of cookie and has a pretty good following. They do use real butter, which for a few customers is a really big deal. Yes, I was asked and had long discussions about it. :)

Artwork Darma

Art By Artist Anne Laidam 

I buy art that "speaks" to me. Can't say why but when I get that feeling and I can afford it, I pick it up. I like black and white brush stroke paintings. This painting was done by Anne Laidam, a speed painting artist from Portugal. I can only guess she paints for tourists. I liked this piece because it reminded me of San Francisco and the cable cars. Didn't know it would cause all this drama at the store. 

I had it propped up on my work station at the store so I wouldn't forget it. A rather strange customer (her behavior was just a little off) came in asking about frames for an upcoming art show. I told her she had to talk to the manager as I couldn't do any of the pricing on the frames or artwork that was in the back. When the door to the backroom opened, she saw my painting and asked about it. I told her I was getting it so it wasn't for sale. She got a little obsessive about it and the next time I went out front said she would pay $25 for it. She said selling it for $25 was good for the store and since I was here all the time, I could always get another piece of artwork. I thought it was a bit strange she wasn't taking no for an answer and just a little entitled. I finally told her, I was going to keep it because I don't see this type of artwork very often and it fits in well into my current collection. 

When I got home I checked the comps on the artist. These paintings  don't sell for very much maybe $5 - $10. It was probably purchased in Portugal from the artist in 2016 . I didn't get it because I thought it had any great value, I just like the feel of it. It isn't even a painting of San Francisco but I still like it. :)

Just another day in a reseller's life

It's been a slow process of packing up as I hopefully find a new place to call home. Finding stuff I know I have to get rid off is part of it. 

When I sell online, it's for local pick up only. I meet the buyer at the post office because the location is good. Public place, close to the freeway and plenty of parking. The buyer is usually always late but I still show up on time. Today was just a little weird. I always park away from the front doors of the post office. I sit in the back of my car with the tail gate open.  A car pulled in right next to me and the person didn't get out of their car. I knew it wasn't my buyer because he had just left a message he was 10 minutes away. I thought it was weird someone would park that close as there was plenty of  empty spaces. I thought it was even weirder they didn't get out of their car. After several minutes, she finally gets out of her car and opens the back of her car. I finally asked her if she was selling something too and she said yes. It's the first time I've seen another reseller at the post office doing what I was doing!

I asked the guy who was buying the binoculars why they were so popular because I got at least a dozen requests. Guess it's vintage, a high power they don't make anymore and I was selling them for only $30.00. His pair got stolen years ago when he was on vacation in Hawaii. I said he was lucky he was the first person in a long list of requests. I always go down the line based on the time stamp. He is a teacher and had a zoom meeting, which he did while he was driving because he didn't want to be late. Happy the binoculars found a good home.