The big picture.

I'm so in love with this painting :)

I've sold a lot of stuff in the past few days, so I'm feeling really good. For a long time, I've had a goal of selling 50 things a month for at least $20 profit/item, and that hasn't been working the way I've expected it to. My new goal is $50/day, and it's working a lot better. I'm less concerned with individual item sales and more concerned with daily sales. It makes me more conscious of the bigger picture instead of being bogged down in the little things. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's working for me, so I'm happy.

I tend to get really anxious about little things, and pulled down into things that may not matter in the long term. I'm convinced that little things are the most important things, like how my thrifting impacts the world, and how my riding the train keeps Amtrak sustainable. I don't think this is working for me the way I want it to. I think it's keeping me from bigger things, from having a bigger impact. I dunno. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

I am surrounded by helping professionals. I'm a seminary graduate. I have a lot of friends who are pastors, theologians, professors, non-profit peeps. I love this. I love being surrounded by people whose mission every day is to make a difference in the world, in the community. This keeps me motivated and inspired to keep going, even when I'm having an off day. I think a lot of these people vacillate between two extremes, the big picture and the small details. I'm realizing, as I write this, how limited I've allowed my life to be, by getting so caught up in little things. Thought for my day, I suppose :)

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.

Bag o' bling: Part 2

A selection of pieces from the jewelry bag

I don't think I'm going to do anything today. In the past three hours, I have already stepped into a sinkhole, plugged up a dog-dug hole in the fence with bricks, and ended a dog fight with a hose. Yeah, I'm a bad ass. I know. Also, I cooked and ate a stack of pancakes.

I'm still thinking about the jewelry bag I bought last week. It was so much fun to go through the thing after I brought it home. I spent most of the day going through it, examining each piece, selecting the ones I wanted to keep for myself. I can't wait to do it again. I unwittingly discovered another thrifting thing I absolutely love. I don't know why I chose that particular day to do it. I'd seen jewelry lots before. I guess I never felt the need to treasure hunt before. It was a blast :)

My new goal is for $50 a day in sales. My ultimate goal is $100/day, but I figured I needed some middle ground before that time. I'm trying to avoid low value items as much as possible, though occasionally I find something that I have to share. Anyhoo, I am at my goal right now for the month, so I'm feeling like a really good reseller. I'm also feeling like a really tired reseller, trying to work as much as possible when I'm able, housesitting all over town, and making sure the dog gets walked and I get exercise. I'm getting it all done, but I'm feeling worn down in general.

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.

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.

Goooood morning!

Art Nouveau Cast Iron Frame - Daydreaming Woman

It's 10:45am, and I'm just starting to feel awake. All my life, I have forced myself to be an early-riser, and now as an adult, I'm finding that that may not actually be who I am. I've just started watching this eBay shop for what they're selling, and have been enjoying looking over the art that they sell. I need to get a bunch of things together to ship this morning, and then I'm going to do some thrifting, see my Salvation Army pals.

I left pancake batter out for a couple days after I didn't use it all. After one day, it made good pancakes. After two days (i.e. just now, this morning), it was disgusting. Lesson learned. I may eat a lot of pancakes for a normal person who does not live in a diner. I'm okay with that. I decided a long time ago that if I want to eat pancakes, I will make them whole wheat/buckwheat, and I won't feel guilty. I will feel awesome for taking care of myself so well.

Someone confronted me about reselling over the weekend, and I responded without ire (very proud of myself for this). "Is that even legitimate?" "Yup", I responded, "without question". This is, at its essence, what all wholesalers do. Office Depot does not make all of its products. Junk warehouses make money from people digging through their wares. This is part of the economy. If you pay attention, it's happening all around you. Farmers sell their produce through stores. I'm all about buying direct, giving business to the little guy, and I'd like to remain in that role. I'd like to be the little guy who collects cool stuff to offer to people who happen to be looking for it, but don't have the time and energy to thrift constantly. I'd like to offer a service to people who love the hunt, but want to hunt on a larger scale (not everyone has thrift stores on every corner). Anyhoo, I was reinvigorated for my task at hand, and will enjoy the hunt that much more today (when I get off my butt and get down to it, of course).

I attend an amazing church that talks about refugees, and yesterday we talked about the Old Testament, the book of Jeremiah, and the realities of war refugees then and now. 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.

Rambling.

Vintage Wood Plaque - De Grazia - A Happy Day

So I think my new Friday afternoon activity will be spent combing through a humongous warehouse of old yard sale lots, cobbled together by a brilliant thrifter and vintage shop owner. I went in yesterday. They said they hadn't seen me in a while (I love it when this happens). I don't even think there's a ton of turnover in the areas I'm looking in, so it may not be worth my time to do this weekly, but it's soothing and therapeutic. There was an oldies station on, and I sang and danced my way through dirt-soaked aisles of junk. Ah, bliss.

I ended up not buying anything, because I only had a couple dollars worth of stuff, and I've been feeling a bit sick to my stomach for the past few days, and haven't been motivated to buy anything. Also, I got yelled at whilst purchasing a bottle of water and banana pre-warehouse digging that made me laugh, but also made me feel icky. "Rich white lady in your fancy car!"

Last day of the month for eBay sales! It's been a good month. At this moment, I've grossed $1165, and for me, that's a good month. I've been focusing on eBay time-wise and I'm glad that it's been paying off.

I turned on NPR this morning to listen to Car Talk, and ended up listening to an hour of pre- and post- coverage of Obama's speech on Syria (along with the speech, of course). 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.

Be your own advocate.

John Singer Sargent: Mrs. Edward L. Davis & son Livingston (1890)

I'm a big fan of personal growth and development. I think it's important to create a welcoming environment inside yourself to self-awareness, and to work on continually becoming the person you want to be. I'm always amazed at how wonderful personal therapy can be.

Sometimes I talk to people who have seen a therapist for various reasons and found it so incredibly helpful, and then sometimes I talk to people who say that it wasn't so great. I have the same philosophy of therapy that I do about medical doctors: it is what you make it. There are lots of terrible doctors in the world, people who don't really care. But there are loads of wonderful doctors too, people who really want to help, who have expertise, and will do whatever they are able to help. My physical health changed almost overnight when I started speaking up for myself, when I started saying, "Hey this is who I am, and I need help."

Be your own advocate. Dig down into the depths of yourself, be brave, and say what you need. If that doesn't work, let me know, and we can commiserate :)

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.

Mountain fire.

John Singer Sargent Calendar - Mountain Fire (1903-8)

The Rim Fire is still burning in Yosemite, and containment is expected in the next two weeks. Fires have been a part of my life for my whole life. I grew up in Central California. The Sierras are always burning. It's a part of life, the destruction.

I read over the summer that in other states, people burn their dry grass in their lawns and then the grass grows back better. We don't do that on the West Coast. We have bad air, and we're constantly trying to make it better, ride bikes! get a hybrid! commute! These are important things. These things help our children's asthma not be so bad. It's a mess.

Fire is important. It clears up overgrowth. It gets rid of stuff that's in the way. Now I'm thinking metaphorically, not like the crazy boss lady from 30 Rock who kills all of her employees in a "cleansing fire" (sorry, couldn't find a clip). Anyhoo, sometimes it's good to clean up the overgrowth.

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.

No money to burn.

Hmong Embroidered Wall Hanging - I've seen them framed :)

One of my frequented stores has reorganized lately. I was disoriented for a brief moment when the shoes weren't in their usual spot, but I got over it. I found a lovely vintage blue lace dress. It had a matching jacket sold separately, but the jacket had some food on it, so I didn't buy it.

It's a beautiful dress - I might just wear it if I have a nice event to attend :)

This particular store calls their employees/volunteers "disciples", and when they call them for lunch they say, "All disciples, it's time for lunch. Disciples, it's time for lunch." over the loudspeaker, and I smile whenever I hear it. Whenever I'm at the Salvation Army, if I ask any employee how they're doing, they say "blessed". I've heard it so often, I've stopped believing it and started saying, "really?"

I found three beautiful dresses yesterday at another store, and only ended up buying one, a lime green linen dress from Talbots. I'll wear it to work. I've accumulated a whole set of colored linen dresses for work. It's quite lovely to see them hung on my wall (I don't have a closet). I didn't buy the other two, because I didn't have anywhere to wear them, and it seemed inappropriate and decadent to buy dresses I didn't need. Also, I don't have money to burn, so it's really about that more than anything else.

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.

Weekend camping :)

Lovely original vintage oil painting - I like it more the more I look at it :)

I spent last weekend up at the lake, a yearly tradition with my church wherein we all drive up on Friday evening, spend two days hanging out and doing whatever we want, and appreciate the time 'away from it all'. I was worried about all of the socializing I would inevitably be required to do, but then found myself loving 99% of it. I got to catch up with people I see all the time, but don't often have hour-long conversations with. I got to eat baked oatmeal and watch with interest at how much coffee all of the adults drank each morning. I got to kayak on a clear blue lake with a friend, and feel outdoorsy for the first time in ages. It was a lovely weekend.

Yesterday was spent recovering from all of the human contact by cleaning up my apartment, and listing stuff on eBay. I love my job, this whole reselling thing I do. I love the rhythm of it, the flexibility of it. I love that it is always changing, always shifting. It's been a good month.

Please take a moment to read the latest from the war in Syria and consider making a donation to Mennonite Central Committee, one of the few organizations 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 :)

In the Name of the Father

Today, we are told that the killings in Syria have again crossed the lines of the imagination. People are being killed execution-style in their homes and safe houses, and government officials say that each and every person was killed as a part of a terrorist sweep.

War changes people. I've seen it in my own life. It creates mental illness in numbers too large to imagine, and it's so ugly, all most of us can do is turn our eyes away so we don't have to see the ugliness. People who are tortured, people who see their friends murdered - these people are forever changed. This is why soldiers returning from the Middle East commit crazy crimes, and kill themselves. They are terribly wounded by what they've seen, and what they've done. War brings out the worst in all of us, and we pass the worst parts of ourselves on to our children, and our children's children.

Peace is difficult. It is painful and sacrificial. But it is the only way we can survive without killing our own souls. It's the only way we can create a world that is worth living in, a world that is fit to give to our children.

That's all I have for today folks. You can help Syrian refugees in tangible, practical ways by giving to Mennonite Central Committee, who provides material resources to refugees in Jordan.