What a find!

There's a large year round flea market here in town. The main building has permanent shops, including a coin shop - our usual reason for going. It's an odd building, the front part is somewhat ok, but the further back you go the scarier it gets - the outer edge shops are made of plywood and chicken wire. Out back is the main flea market full of random tables of junk and treasures. It also has an incredibly diverse Hispanic food section with fresh produce I didn't know you could get outside of a border state. There's also an antiques area - still a mix of junk and oddities, but worth a visit to see what's there. I've always loved skeleton keys and recently started collecting them, and sometimes find some for a good deal out there.

But what we found last week was definitely unusual. As soon as we walked in the garage we saw a dusty Victorian sofa pushed up against the wall. We both were intrigued, but knew it could have all sorts of problems. We looked it over in detail - I even bent down to smell the fabric, which got odd looks from D and the booth owner. It was in remarkably good condition, still supportive and comfortable, just in need of a good vacuuming and oiling.

We walked around the other tables, trying to decide why we should buy it. It's pretty and we have a place for it, but seriously - are we really going to randomly buy a Victorian sofa? There's no good reason to do it. Then D said we should look at it from another angle - why shouldn't we buy it? We both grinned at each other and hurried back to start haggling.

I don't believe in resolutions

Resolutions usually seem to be set up not to succeed. I think the best ones are achievable with small changes in attitude or lifestyle, not these drastic ones touted by the January Marketing Devils. I didn't actively think of a list, but some popped up during conversations with people over the last couple weeks. So here goes, things I'd like to stick to in 2011:

Post to my blog (with photos!) at least once a month.

Visit with certain friends at least once per quarter.

Get back to working out or doing yoga at least 3 times per week.  Try to build up to a barefoot 5k.

Stop wasting so much time.


Yeah, I think that sounds like a good reasonable list. I hope I can keep with it. And in that vein, since I still don't have a cable for my camera, here's some photos I found online. The funny thing is I would totally buy both of them.  Hell, I  may try and make the loafers myself.

Looking at them again, and thinking that I do need a pair of brown shoes, I really wish those giraffe shoes were real.

A childhood dream realized

I remember being a kid and seeing Badge-A-Minit ads on TV. Oh, did I want one! I knew it would be the most awesome thing ever if only I could get one. But they were stupidly expensive for a kid, and I didn't get one. When I was in high school I again thought it would be great fun to have, but even with my own money they were still stupidly expensive and I did without. Now that I'm an adult, I again wished I had a B-A-M, decided to buy one, and went to the website. Wow. They're still stupidly expensive. Sure I'd pay 30 bucks now, but 70?? No wonder I never bought one in all the decades I've wanted it. I was telling a friend about my lifelong Badge-A-Minit dream and she opened the website on a whim. Damn if they weren't having a sale on them - the same price they were in 1988! Finally within my justification price range! I ordered it right then and there.

It's a bunch of rainbow color-coded rings and a hand press made out of a sturdy fiberglass-like plastic that reminds me of these weird chunky alphabet blocks we had as kids. The blocks were about twice as big as the classic wooden letter blocks, and hurt like hell if you threw one at someone. I have a imprinted memory of what it feels like to be clipped on the side of the head by one. I think it was yellow.
Anyway, in honor of the 2010 blizzard, I made a pin using my new B-A-M. It's a snowman sledding and he's completely filled with joy. Arms outstretched, heart lifted, smile literally ringing his face. I'm wearing it to work tomorrow.

A dash of cosmic unfairness

I would really like an iphone or a blackberry. I have no true need for one, and can't justify the added monthly expense for something not really necessary. But it would be nice to have internet access, and my calendar handy. My husband hates blackberrys & iphones. He mocks them and people who use them, and often teases me about my desires for one. So imagine my chagrin yesterday when he comes home from work with a brand new 3G blackberry paid for by his company. He's really dismayed and doesn't want it at all - it was stuffed in his lunchbox when he got home. I thought it was really cool, and wish it was mine. But I still can't justify getting one myself. Dang!