WHERE THE HELL IS LOONEYVILLE ?

 

    I sell and ship all over the world. Belarus, Israel , Brazil you name it. For the last 5 years we have talked about getting a world map and putting a pin in each location. This one however takes the cake. This label I printed out is from our record store Rock_O_Bilia. Yup its from "LOONEYVILLE". The fact that there is in fact a Looneyville is amazing but what amazed me most is that I can send something to Looneyville and it will be delivered. NO address.  What kind of place is this ? I know there are still small towns out there but really?

    Like always I started to daydream about Looneyville. How great to live in a town where you don't need an address. What does downtown Looneyville look like? Do they drive around in clown cars? I don't know why but Disneys Toontown keeps coming to mind. Then again do I really want to live in a town where everyone knows where I live. I'm sure they don't have a Starbucks or Sprouts Grocery ? No Target or Plant Nursery!!! No thank you. I do have my limits.

  I do know that I have now become aware of the state of West Virginia. The local weather man mentioned that it snowed there . I immediately thought of those poor souls in Looneyville. I even worried of the effects of hurricane Sandy on my poor little Toontown. Live in Looneyville ? Eh  , maybe.



WHAT I GOT AT THE AUCTION...

 This is my latest haul. Just in time for the holidays ! Tons of vintage jewelry and a rather substantial Salt and Pepper Shaker collection. I love selling big collections as it really signifies the meat and potatoes of Ebay. Being an Ebayer for some 12 years now I have grown along with them. It sure has changed but the real core of the business is collectibles.

   Taking a life's work of collecting and allowing the pieces to breathe new life into someone Else's collection has a great feeling. I know that sounds strange but I know it makes people happy. We all have those things that are special to us. Make us feel good.

   Personally I love working with the jewelry. I don't wear it but I love to look at it. Take pictures of it and sell it. I couldn't ask for a better occupation. No its not glamorous and it certainly isn't popular, try telling someone you sell crap on on Ebay , then watch their face. But I do love it.

   I have recently listed 200+ pieces of jewelry with more to come. You are welcome to check out the store Dageland_Curios. woohoo I can still link!! Click on the blue letters to go there!!!

  This however is my pride and joy. As some of you know I have letters from many WWII soldiers. I will eventually be writing a book using characters drawn from these letters. This find was fantastic!!! 3 years of letters from 1943 to 1945. Plus photo album to boot.

   Yup 1943 from "Somewhere in Italy". All week long this box has taunted me, quietly called my name..Lisa come read us...... I think they need to go in the closet in the house. I know once I crack those letters I'm lost. Facebook has nothing on wartime love letters.

THIS SUMMER WAS FOR THE BIRDS !!

Yes this summer was for the birds !! As I am self employed I spend most of my time at home. Fortunately I have a small chunk of land and birds. LOTS of birds. Having  a small herd of terribly inbred chickens I also have local birds that appreciate the free food and ample water .
  
  The most amazing thing happened this summer. Yes that's a hummingbird nest and Yes it is on an extension cord and Yes this happened right outside my kitchen window.

  It was fascinating watching the process. It seemed like she built nest , layed eggs, and hatched them in about a week.  Three weeks later this was the result . It made doing the dishes bearable.

 One day there was only one little bird left. He sat on the cord for at least 3 days. I was sure the other one was a kitty snack. It broke my heart. I can honestly say I felt a bit of loss . For a couple weeks I would stare at the poor broken little nest wondering what happened to the babies.

  Early one morning I went out to water and out of the corner of my eye I saw something dart by. Then another something. It was 2 hummingbirds playing a game of chase. They would fly way above the house and dive to about 5 feet above the ground. There was no doubt in my mind who these birds were.

    

 I had less chicks this year. We culled alot of the flock  last year so that didn't surprise me. What was surprising is that out of a clutch of 5 chicks to hatch all 5 survived. My evil nemesis the Red Tailed Hawk has moved out of his tree because  the old Farm House across the street burned down.

 One day I looked out my magic kitchen window and saw this. The most amazing part of this picture is that is not the mama chicken. It is a rooster. Yes a rooster. At about this size Mama chicken dumps the teenage babies and starts laying all over again. Well I have never seen this before but Papa took over. Believe it or not he has a least 4 chicks under him. He took care of those chicks for weeks afterward. And for this loving kind act he has spared himself from the Rooster culling soon to occur.



Some birds need to be discouraged. This would be Pierre's job.

One Saturday morning I looked out to see

20 crows in the neighbors backyard. One by one they would fly over the yard and circle the garden. It then occurred  to me that Pierre was hard at work. Those crows were just waiting for him to leave the yard. When I told my husband he said in a surprised voice, "Oh!!! Thats why they call them scarecrows! What a city boy he is!



Im Baaaaack!

 Yes I have decided to come back to the blog. At least try to. These things are so easy to put aside.

 I have come to the conclusion that someday I will write that book. In the meantime I need to practice writing. Plus with my daughter at college it is a good way to keep up with her and of course family and friends far away.  it is a wonderful way to journal.

  The picture above is of my garden. It has been an excellent  summer hobby. For some reason this year it has taken on a new life. I have experimented with a variety of garden techniques . Every time I try a new one I have been motivated to blog but alas I have not. Today I promised myself I would Kick off with a short blog .

   I went out today to prepare for my winter garden. Something that has never worked for me in the past but quitters never win and winners never quit or something like that. Maybe this will be my year. Anyways my garden has slowed but still popping out food. Looks like Pierre the Scarecrow is still working hard.

  Just a note to my newly emptynester friends , gardening is a wonderful way to funnel all of that maternal instinct. As my daughter has been away for 3 years now  I find myself fighting the over parenting from afar. Now is the time for her to learn to be an adult and yes my pepper plants appreciate the extra love. Actually my green bean and cucumber tee pee was my crowning joy. Yes Erin , you are in competition with my plants. You are still in first place but who knows ?

  This is what happens when your sister makes you buy a 6 pack of Jalapeno plants in March. What the hell do you do with a Jalapeno  pepper? My experience with Jalapenos consists of those squishy little round things that go on Nachos and maybe a hot dog if you are feeling adventurous. Fortunately my Jalapenos did very well . This is my attempt at Jalapeno Jelly. I burned 2 fingers , cut three and  my stove screamed  in pain when it over boiled all over the burners . Note to self and other adventurous souls who attempt jelly, use a pot way bigger than the ingredients.    

  Well everyone is welcome to join me on my life journey. I definitely need to address my Smashed Pennies, just acquired quite a few on our recent Canada cruise, travels and of course my Ebay adventures. Shout out to Gloria Dee.  You are on the adventure  of a lifetime . I want to see some blogging. You are a personal hero and ! hope to do what you are doing some day.

OF LUCKY PENNIES AND NEW BLOGS!!!

Something wonderful happened yesterday!!! Yes I added a new Lucky Penny to the smashed penny collection. Granted it is not smashed but it is LUCKY and we could all use some of that. I do believe this is the oldest penny in my collection. It is an Indian Head 1901 penny from The Pan American Expo in Buffalo NY 1901. Last week I bought a lot of Military Patches and medals at auction and this was inside. Wonderful find. I know have 2 aluminum lucky pennies in the collection.

In other news we have started a blog for our record store Rock_o_bilia. I'm learning to link and Erin is helping me set up graphics etc. We started it not only for the store but my daughter Erin is a Journalism major at San Fransisco State University and most internships require blogging background. She has had a personal blog but we set this up to make it professional and of course less personal. please join us for the fun and frivolity's!!!!

OF LANYARDS , BEACHES , BOATS AND BEER!!!

Well this is a case of better late than never!!! In October My husband and I took my sister Laura (green purse) and her daughter Melissa (the cute one!!) on a Galveston Caribbean Cruise. This particular cruise was in honor of my 50th birthday and Laura's graduation from Beauty School. No Beauty school drop out here!!!! I'm proud of her. At 57 she went back to school to do something she loves. Truly an inspiration and proof that you are never too old for change!!!

We had a wonderful time!! The destinations were Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel Mexico. Loved them all. I do believe I had 3 of the best beach days ever. The waters were beyond blue and swimming in Jamaican waters was like taking a bath!!!

Thanks to the LanyardLady of Etsy we had "THE BEST" Lanyards on the boat!!! Erik thought something special was in order so I ordered 3 Lanyards to carry our room cards. When I received them I was stunned!!! Did not expect the quality and beauty. This lady knows her beads and creates a beautiful item. We were the belles of the boat. There were many inquiries on where we got them, plus a few jealous stares . My lanyard went into the passport pouch and I will be using it on future cruises.

Our special table on the boat. Many meals,beers, cups of tea, Uno and Yahtzee games were enjoyed here! Plus we had beautiful lanyards.


Of course we golfed with our lanyards!! I am still the queen of mini-golf. I have no idea why I'm so good at it. Even at 50 go figure.



Sampled the local "Caybrew" beer in Grand Cayman with of course our lanyards!
We even got swallowed by a shark in Mexico. We tickled his belly with our lanyards and he spit us out!!! We were saved by the Lanyard Lady's lanyards!!!

MAMA MIA !!!! SHES AT IT AGAIN!!!!!

I have been beyond busy lately. In my workaholic haze I decided to open ANOTHER Internet store on Etsy. Why you ask? "Just because " is my reply. Actually it is a fantastic market for many items I can no longer sell on Ebay. Believe it or not the smaller customer base and lack of intense competition from importers have allowed me to sell specialty items. Plus its kind of fun. A new challenge. I also have Charla, my record lister extraordinaire and sounding post. Every Wednesday like clockwork she comes in to help list the thousands of records we have recently acquired and listen to me bitch!!

It is definitely tomato season here!!!! Last year I planted 3 tomato plants and got a grand total of 5 tomatoes. This year I moved their spot and planted about 7 plants. I love tomatoes . I have tomatoes. Hundreds of tomatoes. All at once!!! I am not much of a cannier and have gotten food poisoning from tomato sauce so the thought of putting them up is not too enticing. I got a wild hair and decided to make homemade Marinara . I definitely needed a small break from work and it sounded fun!

I started out with the ingredients of this tote plus a small eggplant I picked yesterday. I am proud of my garden this year. Lots of yummy vegetables. Bag on desk I hopped on the computer to find a Marinara recipe. What a joke!!! Most of the fresh tomato homemade recipes included a can of tomato paste. Now why would I need that ? You must know that until I was 30 years old all I knew about cooking was making broiled chicken and Minute Rice. I was a career girl. I printed out what I could find and went inside to consult the ladies.
Yes these ladies. Betty Crocker and Julia Childs. This is the sum total of my cookbooks. I have had the Betty Crocker book for 30 years .My Mom gave it to me when I got my first place. Betty has been my cooking mentor for years. I did not clean her up for the picture. The loose pages and filthy cover is what makes her my old friend. You should see my Mothers. Julia I got in a box of books at an auction. I kept her in hopes I might make gourmet food some day . I haven't.

Imagine my surprise when I could not find a Marinara recipe in either one!!!! My stress level began to build. I decided to tackle the one project I knew needed to be done . Peeling the tomatoes. The thought of peeling tomatoes did overwhelm me. Yes I have peeled Green Chiles, but tomatoes ? I dove right in. I was amazed. Tomato peeling proved to be extremely easy and lots of fun. I do need to get a life. I missed you Erin you would have loved peeling tomatoes too.

Then came time to deseed the tomatoes. Can we say Ragu? At this point I was having a grand old time but an understanding of why people buy Ragu started to grow. I was beginning to make peace with my lack of perfect Marinara recipe. Maybe it was so simple you kind of needed to wing it. Wing it I did.

As I was chopping my wonderful bounty I began to fantasize about being self sustaining. The process of making my way in a modern world on my little 1/2 acre was enticing. I could Blog about all that I had learned and endured. My husband loves End of the world Sci Fi fantasy books . Maybe he could join in and we could do this life changing process together. I fantasize alot. I guess that's why I like to blog. Sometimes the thoughts just need to leave my head. It gets crowded in there. Anyways back to my Marinara.

So I stuck it all in a pot together and just let it simmer, and simmer, and simmer. Cant you just smell it thru the computer? I can. My house had the most delicious smell .

Viola!!! Marinara and Penne Pasta!!!! I will say it was the best marinara I have ever tasted. I was beyond proud of my self. Even have enough to freeze some for later. Hmmm maybe this self sustaining thing could be done..... That's when my Husband came home with a surprise for my homemade Marinara dinner....

Screw self sustainability !!!!