Bag o' bling: Part 1 :)

Six pound bag of jewelry from Salvation Army :)

On Monday, I went out to thrift just a little bit, because I didn't want to leave the dog alone for long, and it was a holiday so not all of the stores were open. Salvation Army had a 50% off all clothing sale, but I didn't buy any clothing. I bought some art and this here bag of jewelry.

Now Salvation Army employees are my favorite. They work really hard, and so many of them have told me how much they appreciate their jobs. Sometimes they recognize me and are a little too friendly, but this is not the norm. So Monday, I got in the only line available. All of the employees were taking the day to clean the entire store, so the only line available was with someone who I'd never seen before, selling fifty hardcover books to a well-dressed woman who appeared to be purchasing books for a model home or something.

Now the cashier was slow with the books. All she really had to do was count them, but for some reason she was ringing them up one at a time. The customer was being super patient too. Off to the side was a man with a scraped-up face, who smelled like cigarettes and looked like he may have been drinking. But he was smiling and not bothering anyone, just patiently waiting to buy a new shirt. So I got behind book lady, and the cashier starts to have an anxiety surge of some kind. She turns to face scrape man and says, "The line is over there!" and points to me. She says it several times because he doesn't move very quickly. He doesn't want to crowd model home woman, so he stands off to the side. The cashier starts yelling at him, "That's not the line! This is the line!" and points to me (we're dealing with a very small space, there are carts involved, and clothing racks in the way). I tried to be calm and encouraging to her. The guy was doing his best and not being a nuisance, but she was clearly disturbed by his face and smell and couldn't get over her fear of him. They reached some sort of detente when he started to get frustrated by her ridiculous demands, and she went back to the books.

In the middle of all of this, and a line of three people behind model home woman, a manager came over to get something and said, "Let me know if you need any help, k hon?" The cashier is in so much distress at this point that she can't even respond, and the manager walks away. Face scrape man yells "She needs help!" He rushes over to the manager, points to the cashier, and repeats, "She needs help!"

All three of us in line moved across the store to the other register. When I left, the cashier was still ringing up the books.

Please take a moment to read the most recent news about Syria, and consider making a donation to MCC, currently providing direct aid to Syrian refugees.

Thrift Share Monday :)

Vintage New Kids On The Block sleeping bag :)

I've been thrifting like a fiend lately, thrifting good art, bad art, pants, dresses, vintage shoes, and everything in between. I have a big pile of packages in my front room, ready to be sent out today. I haven't been blogging because I've had nothing to say. I've been housesitting and reading good books, swimming and combing warehouses for new and interesting things for my shop. But I need to be back out on the blogging scene again. I need to write, and find reasons to write. I need to work on my novel that I began over the summer (maybe none of this will happen, but I will at least post pictures of my finds).

I would like to post daily over the next month or so, to increase visibility to the reality of Syria and the needs of Syrian refugees. Please take a moment to read up on the most recent news, and donate to Mennonite Central Committee. MCC works to supply the basic needs of Syrian refugees through food, shelter, and the education of children. They are currently working towards raising $1.5M.

Give to Syria Relief.

The Syrian war makes me feel so helpless, so small and insignificant. It reminds me of my own family, refugees who survived. I am reminded of how war changes people forever.

Today, there are over one million child refugees from Syria. They are living in Jordan and on the border of Syria itself, in refugee camps with hundreds of thousands of other people, displaced by a war that appears to have no end.

My goal is to raise $10,000 for Mennonite Central Committee, one of the only organizations providing direct aid to Syrian refugees. You can verify their business and accountability information here.

You can give as much as you are able directly through MCC's website here. Their minimum donation amount is $5.

Rummage Sale Planning - Part 2

This is possibly the most beautiful photograph I have ever taken.

So planning events is not something I am awesome at, not because I don't have experience. I have loads of experience. It's just the energy, and the neurotic stress I typically take upon myself. Stress makes me lose sleep at night, and then crash after the event for days, wishing I'd been more relaxed.

Now I have the opportunity to do that, to relax more, and stress less, to truly and fully adopt the persona I've been faking for so long: that I truly believe that everything will be okay, turn out well, etc. This involves not constantly thinking about said event, letting other people imagine things they would like to contribute, and not obsessing over the details. Because in the end, the purpose is to raise money, and that will happen. We will also add another life cycle to a piece of clothing or furniture.

Last but not least, we will raise awareness of a part of the world that has been largely forgotten (I mean, if we're not paying attention to our own wars, it makes sense that we wouldn't pay much attention to those we're only loosely affiliated with). So on that note, you can read here about what the sale will be supporting.

Love to all :)