Trip Down to Monterey

 My long time dentist in Monterey is retiring after 42 years. I don't know why I'm so surprised that he's been my dentist for that long. It's still sad and a little scary that I will have to find someone I trust as much as I trust him. It's worth making the drive to Monterey to visit his office. Of course it was much easier when I was spending a lot of time at the beach house. 

After my appointment I went to Goodwill in Pacific Grove that isn't very good. I was driving by it and found parking so I stopped in. It's still very sad and I always wondering where all the donations they get in go, because it's not ending up in the store. Then I stopped by Branches (supports the local catholic school) and was shocked on how much they raised their prices. On my way out of Monterey I stopped at Last Chance, which is right next to the dump. Prices there have always been way to high and they really don't have a lot of anything good. The one thing I do look for is art. Original artwork is hard to Google or find on eBay. I some times can score something unique or at least a cool frame. They did have these tiles out in the yard that I really wished I had a project for. It's sold by the pound but even at $1 per pound, I just couldn't bring myself to buy any. :(

Always a good sign

I always like it when my morning coffee does this! I think of it as a good sign. 

I'm a night owl by nature but there are some things that just have to get done in the morning before it gets too hot. To keep myself on track, I set a timer for an hour. It keeps me focused on getting that task done. After each hour I can take a 15 minute break for something fun or eat a snack. There still are boxes of stuff I still need to tag even after four hours. The general house cleaning and laundry took an hour and organizing my crafting dies took another hour. There are some new crafting projects that use dies I think I have in my stash, so I had to round them all up and put them in one place. Yes, I have that many, it took an hour. :) 

There still are big totes of stuff that need to be sorted out before the estate sale I'm helping out with this weekend. I'm guessing I'll be bringing more stuff home to refresh my booth. 

Late at night I work on my crafting ideas, which is a quiet activity. So far the two ideas I found online didn't work out at all! I'll post those later as it's way down on my task list. :)
 

Creative Dilemma

I'm working on Henk's birthday present. I know he would prefer Legos or some other toy but this is what he's going to get. :)  These are the photos I like from our vacation but I'm not sure if I like the captions. Should I keep them? I will clean up the  frames and add some embellishment but can't decide which one to use or should I just send both?

Update:  I did one of the photos. The cement curb was throwing me off in the photo. During my clean up of my craft supplies I found a scrapbooking kit. No idea where I got it but it was in my stash. The little adventure banner helped break it up the line. The rocks are ones we picked up camping and when we went to the lake. Gluing everything down was a challenge as my Gorilla glue was semi dry. Fingers crossed it still works. 

 

Life Of A Reseller - Hand Made Sashiko Bag

This past week I've been processing two car loads of stuff. One was used vases that came from a estate clean out. This required A LOT of cleaning and washing because of all the dirt and dust. Having hurt my back, it was slow moving for a few days. Even with a dishwasher, it took all week to get through most of the boxes and I'm still not done.

The second car load was from my cousin and that got sorted out into what was being donated away (clothes went to the unicorn thrift store) and what could be resold. Overall there wasn't much for me to resell, so most went to the Salvation Army truck behind Cottage Crafts. 

My cousin is a retired home economics teacher and she sews really well. I'm guessing she made this sashiko purse. It's a little too short for me to use as an everyday tote but I'm thinking it would make a cute bag to hold my stitching supplies when I go to a meet up of crafters at the library. 
 

Vintage Lace Found!

 I've been in search of lace types of fabric big enough to cover a shirt. It's not been easy as this type of fabric isn't really a thing any more. I was at Cottage Crafts talking about this when Tami (the owner) said there was some in the ZZ booth. When they took over the store years ago, the previous owners where into buying up old lace. All of it was left at the store!

Now the very slow process of washing everything, prepping the clothing and mixing up the bleach and cyanotype ingredients. Everything is done in stages and needs to be prepped ahead of time. You even have to check the weather to make sure there will be enough strong sun light. I also have to clear off my work station in the garage. Getting ready for the boys visit, things just got stacked on the table. I'm excited to see how things turn out!

Life of a reseller - Working Thru the Pain

I threw out my back picking up this car load of stuff from my cousin. Everything was on the floor so all that bending over just did me in. I sorted the boxes and bags while at her house instead of just loading everything into my car, which is what I normally do. Sorting out from my car is much easier on my back. 

Since I've been away from my booth for over a month, I also have to restock and get things cleaned up there too. It's almost time to switch things up for the big holiday season so going up into the attic is also on the to do list. Moving super slow but things are getting done. :) 

New old jacket

Super find for $8

One of the very first things I did when I got home from vacation was try on this jacket. It was super hot (high 90's) and I was really tired from driving back from Tahoe. Still just had to see if this jacket fit. One of the down sides to MaxSold is you can't see anything in person so I had my fingers crossed.

Well it fits great and the best parts are the pockets. There are pockets under the pockets you can't see in the first photo.  Plus it's 100% cotton and made to get that old denim look. 
 

Vacation Time Coming To And End 2026

I haven't done a pano shot in a long time. Really I haven't been anywhere it would be worth doing. We're getting things cleaned up and packed as we're getting ready to head home. As fun as everything has been, I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet at my own place. We're not sure what we will be doing as a family next year so looking a various options and places.

As I was sitting in my favorite spot at my cousin in laws place I decided to open the front door. I did think about the young brown bear that likes to walks around the neighborhood. I thought it was safe enough as I was sitting on the foyer steps waiting for the clothes in dryer to finish. Much to my surprise and shock a chipmunk ran right in. The door hadn't even been open that long. Just for a split second I thought about taking a picture but didn't want to risk it getting pass me and into the main part of the house, that would have been really bad. 

LIfe of a reseller

Buying and selling up here in Incline Village is very different. Most of the big homes are vacation homes. When it's time to sell or remodel people basically give everything away or ask a crazy amount.  My son isn't one to spend any money on furniture, so if I want something a little more comfortable or nicer while I'm here, I have to source it myself. Plus I have a car big enough to pick up everything.  It's also been helpful that my SIL is here to help with the heavy lifting and getting everything up stairs, I've been looking for a side table all month but just missing out on all the ones that were the perfect size for the space. You have to be quick when things are listed for free, like within minutes of them being posted.  With only a few more days here, I went with this one. It's little bit too wide for the space but still a nice cabinet. A lot more storage for the kitchen equipment that rarely gets used. He wasn't too happy about it but when he went to pick it up, the seller threw in a set of wooden TV trays. This was something my son wanted so he said it was worth the trip. :) 

Henk's Christmas Stocking

It's taken close to 5 years to get Henk's handmade quilted Christmas stocking. My good friend Patty has made all the Christmas stocking for my daughter's family. Life happens so there were many delays. Major events happening in Patty's life (happy and sad) so things got put on the back burn. It's in the mail now but will not arrive in time before everyone heads back to Holland this week. Luckily my SIL will be coming back out for a wedding in September so he can pick it up. Big thank you to Patty for making something so special for my grandsons and hopeful many happy memories. 
 

Palisades Gondola Ride 2026

The girls leading the pack

Took the gondola at Palisades (formerly known as Squaw Valley) up to the top of the mountain. The light breeze made for a very comfortable hike being it was a warm and sunny day. Lost track on how big this place is and can't even imagine what it's like during ski season! 

Henk going rouge

Life of a reseller 2026

My son's place up here in Incline Village is small, great for when it's just him. He's either at work or golfing, so it's just a place to sleep. Luckily there are some cousin-in-laws who have a beautiful home here with extra guest rooms. They travel a lot during the summer, so I'm the only one here. One of my favorite parts of the house is the entry steps by the front door. As with all big homes here, they have extra large picturesque windows. But for some reason sitting on these steps just feeling right. I'm just sleeping and there is one primary suite on the ground floor so no climbing up and down stairs. :)

I don't deal in clothes as a reseller as a rule but the few things I have sold, I've done well on. While here I still check the online auctions as it's part of my morning routine. I liked this farmer's jacket on MaxSold. It looks like a Japanese workman jacket, (that's trending right now) plus it's denim, which is my favorite. It's a man medium so it may or may not fit me. One of the down sides to Maxsold is you can't see anything in person. If it doesn't fit, (not that I need another jacket) I'll resell it. 

MaxSold $8.11