... a fool online

I have been selling like a fool online. Well I am on the get rid of brigade. It is amazing how much has gone and how much still exists. I even had the kitchen sink, well actually the bathroom sink. Well it has been a long journey and plenty to do still. Shedding the burden of things. So this week I will continue on, at a profit. :)

Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys

And that is how I feel about the certain mountain people and certain mountain circumstances. A gal at the local beauty shop summed up so many weird mountain "things" by accepting it as such. 70% of the people come here because they cannot function elsewhere and then there is the 30% who moved for health, retirement, solitude to work or their children. I would be the later. But I do not get the way people function. It is a mystery to me. The few who are here and not hiding out from life, seem equally frustrated.

Anyhow not my circus, not my monkeys.

Today was a collection of getting things organized, cleaned, given away, fixed, etc... The workshop/garage will get sorted. Just trying to stay focused.

I was watching this 15 year old boy who wants to be a fashion designer talk about bullying and focusing his hurt, upset and anger into his art. I made Wes watch it as well, it was inspiring. The icing is when he said, he would go from changing his focus to putting gel in his hair, throw a pair of sun glasses on and go into the world with attitude. Amazing. Not everyone is capable as an adult never mind as a teen.

I wish that boy Oliver from Taft could have done the same thing. Now he will be bullied in jail and far worse.

The Bogged Down Blogger, That I Am

Oh, that would be me! I have been bogged down with things, people, projects, circumstance and the kitchen sink.
We have moved into Olde Town Antiques in Old Town San Dimas with the fabulous Cyndia. Done three million projects in the Labrecque garage or sorry "workshop". Changed out the shop in Bakersfield for our holiday extravaganza! Getting ready to put Cyndias in San Dimas in the holiday setting. Constructed over 120 ornaments upcycled from old clothes and textiles. Clearing out excess in my garage and workshop. Worked on projects pertaining to our humble abode, plus the usual things we have to do to keep on keepin' on.
In Ridge Route Antiques, in Lebec, Calif, I am having a 75% off sale to move some things down the road. So many mid century mayhem and other eclectic items available.
On the agenda for November/December:
The kids-seeing, conversing, hugging them
Shops-holiday activities, decorating, production
Home/hearth-Christmas!!, Anniversary!!
Business-
               Art-More production and 2 new series/lines
               Merchandise-stream line down and centralize the core of my vision
               Website-more development and add components
               Shop-one more place for installation and movement of existing
               Appraisal-develop that end of the business and work into estate sales
               March Show-streamline vision       
               B/L-keep developing with them and have fun!!

So there you have it, I am getting the wheels in gear for the next step in my businesses and cleaning up where I have lingered too long-moving on the dust bunnies.
VOILA!!

Blech

Yessss, I have been sick. Not sick of things but sick with a COLD! Blech, I say.
In the midst of all, we had the mountain wedding reception for Ian and Stefh, but I couldn't even deal with that. Linda and Bill handles everything including the decorating and cleanup.
It turned out beautiful, the kids were so humble and happy. It was the most diverse group of people, but they were such a lovely group of people and all managed to laugh, talk, etc... with one another.
The food was yummy, the kids were so well behaved, it was lovely.

But that effort of entertaining meant I pushed it and lapsed backwards a bit with being ill. But I am on the mend and have to now focus on the business again. A few sales are not doing it for me and I have to make a leap here somewhere.

So no more sickness etc...NEXT...!

LIMBO!!

LIMBO!!
That's what we are now. Nothing is doing amazing. Even online sales are eh.
But I am on to getting some things together for retail holiday. My friend Alice turned me on to some burlap in tan and greenish. Love it! So I had to come up with a plan for production. So I found some scarves that I kept that weren't really for selling but perfect for cannibalizing.
So here I am on a binge of creating holiday ornaments. Trees, stockings, gingerbread men and bears. Primitive and fun. I finally got my system down.

So I am sewing away. I am tithering and tathering.
So tonight my blog is about the whiling among the days where I am prone to find some niche this holiday that can carry the rent.
 So here I am going to make my inventory large and in charge for the retail landscape. :)

Honeymoon over? Nah.

Honeymoon over? Nah.
The wedding on August 22nd was wonderful. I didn't realize how significant it was for me. Chris K. minimized for me to be present at their ceremony and actually just didn't tell me. Now looking back I am upset and hurt for all. It was denied from Larry, the grandparents etc... it was as if they knew they were up to no good. But I hold the secret that one day will be a big breather for Chris.
The ceremony for Ian and Stefh was at the San Bernardino Hall of Records and actually was a nice place. They had two rooms appropriately decorated for a non-denominational, non-anything but it was nice. Everyone was able to attend and everyone was happy. Grandpa Jim and Grandma Nancy came with Aunt Bett and Uncle David. They were a breath of fresh air.

Yesterday the kids moved into their own place. It is a very cute apartment, one bedroom, walk in closet, bedroom as big as the livingroom. Perfect for a starter. Brought them a Danish modern credenza, large stuffed chair and a small entry table. But all I can say about the inland empire or the IE, is it is very very hot. I am so so not used to it. I was ready to pass out.

Anyhow the kids are on their way and next we will have their little reception on the 27th on the mountain.
Also picked up a new fridge at Lowes, but that was another story.

Gobsmacked!!

Where do I start, a rollercoaster of definite weird stuff with a sprinkling of wonderful wedding in between.
Thursday was just suppose to be Ventura Flea Market day, we set up got comfortable and just doing our thing. Linda usually goes of and connects with others. Sandy and Stan were there so we were back and forth. Linda came rushing back after awhile and said we need to talk to this dealer she met. I went over and the beans were spilled on Nipomo. A gal from Lompoc essentially said that why haven't we picked up our belongings yet?
I went back sat down and started researching "Dan the Man". Well he filed for bankruptcy on the 12th and apparently he had filed before but under him not his daughter. So things started to come to light. But this became a big distraction for us and we weren't on our game.
Decisions were made, we were going to Nipomo , but not without a funky call from Dan. He called with a lowball offer of 550 for the 925 tables. I didn't take it but I was fearful he would sell them and I wouldn't see the dinero. I assured him we would be there on our work day on Monday. I was shaking, what I really wanted to do was slam the phone on a counter, well not my phone. We finished our gig with great distraction and went home and unloaded.
Thursday morning had to pick up a photo cube and deliver to Amy Labrecque in Castaic and then we were off to Santa Maria to pick up a UHaul and drive to Nipomo. We get there and Bill and I are ready to load. Linda on hte other hand had the worst job dealing with Dan at the main store.
One of the first things Bill and I notice is that we were one of three dealers still left at the 8000 sq feet shop. We chatted about it and acted like nothing happened. Linda returned and said that Dan wasn't ready to see her. We gave her the run down on who is left. She returned to deal with the Grifter we know as Dan. Bill and I continued.
Halfway through Peter, owners 17 year old son, came over to Bill and I because his dad wants to know why we were moving out. Perplexed and knowing Linda is over there waiting, I told him that his dad should try to talk to Linda who is WAITING. Peter conveyed and then we were back to packing.
Linda did return and Dan was just full of jargon and bs. We are supposedly making a mistake, blah, blah, blah. She needed a break from the asshole. He wouldn't come from behind the counter and wanted to show her some jewelry he had purchased, probably stolen. We told her to return and Bill and I were almost done. While with us a gal in the shop had a call from Dan that her phone was over there still and that the nude pictures of Bill.....yadda, yadda, yadda. Weird.
Bill and I finished and she returned to dealing with him. but this time about money. His deal, no 30 day notice no deposit. Plus he said that he cut our rents in half- so what there is nobody left and rent is paid forward it doesn't even matter. And oh, I Barbara owe him money but that is ok it doesn't matter-whatever.
I looked at the books and there hasn't been hardly any sales and one day was one item a $3 pool ball from me-wow!! While he is over telling Linda that we have had $3000 days in the Mary street store-not! Linda had a check and cashed it to pay a layaway that he threatened to put back in stock but no receipts.
When we were done we drover to Panera in Arroya and had a bite to eat and reminisced. Sad but very relieved we had made the push to get out. Exhausted we caravaned home through the 166. We are dumbfounded.
So we returned home unloaded, took some pictures of the amoire and went home. This was followed by knowing that Chris and I would have to pick up the moving truck and move the credenza into Paulas in Lebec again. So we did but this was a joyous day, Ian and Stefh were getting married in San Bernardina in at Hall off Records.
Tired, emotionally beaten Wesley, Linda, Bill and I saddled up and drove out. But while Linda and I sat in the back we made numerous calls. One I pretented that I was interested in the property at Mary street so I talked to the lead commercial broker, john Rossetti of Rossetti. He said it will be available October 1st and Linda called the other broker through the Chamber of Commerce and he had a ton to say.
Mary street 6 months behind in rent, Tefft main store 4 months behind, Old Town Tefft not only had trouble with historical society and thumbed his nose at them he was evicted for no rent as well. And one of the rmaining dealers at Mary Street was blocked from getting her belongings and had to have a police escort and Dan tried to run the brokers wife over in a parking lot.
You couldn't make these stories up they are too weird. Well I created a site for people to go to in case they do not know all the facts which is basically a place where links are given to official sites. Just the facts babe. Well someone notified me that he was arrested on the 23rd at the shop for petty theft but this is the first of many things that is to come. Another is a reporter who wants to do a story on him and his downfall also contacted. What I did find out is that the dba is in his daughters name who is 24 since he had a bankruptcy in 2012. He also hides behind his faith, LDS, his children, his adoption of them and his service mutt. Of coarse.
I would have loved to see him arrested! But people who are out money and Nipomo as a community are out a great deal more then most.
My next entry will be about the amazing wedding. Which was fun, emotional and beautiful. I so missed out by Chris and Steph not doing anything that the family could come to. Plus his brother really wanted him to be present.
Don't get me started!!!

Screaming....

Oh please screaming is just part of my wants and desires at the moment. This is the week of stuff....not productive stuff but stuff.
Paula announced that she can't afford to have employers any longer, so I am downsizing to half a space.
Nipomo? I have no idea what is going on in Nipomo. I am perplexed and I am very very worried.
At least my medical stuff came back good , but I have to have a low cal diet and more vitamin D.
Tomorrow we are going to do the Ventura Flea Market, up at 3 gone by 4. A long hard day working it.
But at least it is coastal. I have some good things ahead, Ian and Stefs wedding and some pay out on long overdue items.
Got to sleep.....hard when you have a weird schedule like mine. Stay up really late and then get up at 4:30 and the nap at 3pm and then up till whenever. please screaming is just part of my wants and desires at the moment.

It can kill ur Mudda

As I continue my journey of putting the family timelines down and Ian's 22nd day with Stef, I am forced to deal with things that just frustrate me. Forgiveness is the seed to change. In placing the family and names with where they go, you think about the stupid reasons people stopped talking to each other and why years go by. 
For myself it is a direct link to my mom and her abuse, but I always find in my heart a way to every so often try to connect with her in hopes of change. I can forgive, if I feel safe with her. Unfortunately alcoholism always wins out and then I am sad. But the side story to that is that I do not know my brother and my kids do not have a grandmother. It is the trickle down of stupidity. So I tried again this week, I sent a letter with little hope. The worst that can happen is she tears it up and sends it back to me, anything different is a step up. But there I go again the amiable child at work. Can't change that about me.
In the older boys family their dad managed to separate everyone. My reconnect with Pablo, my father in law, a couple of years ago was a very emotional experience. I think think Chris K was surprised how emotional it was. I sobbed from a very deep place. This was someone who taught me to drive, work on my car, look at the bright side of things, help me when the boys were tiny, help me move and just an overall feeling of warmth and parental goodness. What happened? Felipe just manipulated everyone against each other and we all got busy with living/surviving in the process. So here for 20 years we were estranged. He didn't attend his grandmother and mothers funeral, Ian and Chris' cousin Keifer, has never meant them, we never were in touch with Uncle Lito, it just goes on and on. In the meantime we have all reconnected and left Felipe in the dust. 
It was very frustrating when Chris K went to visit his father Felipe, instead of embracing his sin and just having a great time with him, he slammed on the poor kid. Chris K called crying, his emotions were so raw. I would have gotten on the next plane and rescued him if I thought it did him some good. Instead my friends were in the next state and they were on standby in case they had to pick him up. This is the stupid stuff that goes on, but he can be forgiven as well. Now family is talking to each other, but even so there are hints of stupid. Disapproving of a remarriage, but I choose to ignore and embrace everyone. 
In the Wes family again stupid gaps of time, but that had to be something I had to bridge since it was directly me. Stupid especially when I like these people and I missed them. Conversation was as though no time had gone by, a long lost friend. Just in the nick of time since this father in law is no fairing well. I let my ex dictate the interactions that should never have been disrupted. 
So now I have my fourth thing to see through, two siblings not speaking when they clearly do miss each other. I can hear both hurt. I can hear the yearning for spending time together. I want to knock both their heads together so they can start over. Anger derived from hurt. Ian being protective of me, I just want to fix things and Chris wanting people to meat him at the "mountain". Forgive Forgive Forgive, before children are born, nephews, deices, cousins etc... don't know each other and there is this one person who just wants everyone to just stop and forgive. To be in a family is a forgiving process, heed what Maya Angelou says. Time has eaten away so many things-sigh....AND it is Killing your mother.

Mini size freakout today.

Mini size freakout today. In Nipomo there has been some weird meltdown drama that transpired the last few weeks that I normally wouldn't care about because I am two hours away, BUT it has effected the business, mainly my business. The meltdown went from one person to spread to a bunch of people. Most of the dealers are newbies and that was scary in itself but the owner isn't, so he filled the spaces with his experience and the few that are too.. The last trip to Nipomo brought us face to face with a partially empty store that Bill and I had to rework after we dealt with our booth.

I think Dan the owner needs to help me understand what is going on and where do the three of us fit in. I really can't take a hit because of a few loose screws and a bunch of newbie divas. I am not going in for another ten days but today is the last day in this pay period and the last bit of info was nothing has sold either for Linda/Bill and I. If by Monday morning things are at status quo then I am driving out on Tuesday. I need to get to the bottom of this.

At Ridge Route there is some juvenile bullshit with an "employee" who thinks she is the owner. Besides acing out people who clearly know what they are doing, she brings crapola to a new height and meaning, but worse she hung up on me the other day when she called. So how do you conduct business when people are children about their business? This is a problem for an owner to handle if she handles it.
The boys at the Merry Go Round are fine and so is Alices, so two out of four is great.

Projects for this week is to wire the Art Nouveau bird cage with new fixture and fun Edison bulb. Measure glass round for funky yellow metal table base. Look for old awning for exhaust hood for kitchen. I want to take picture of awning idea in town. Work on listings, work domestic things, do some research, meet Alice for shopping and dinner and that would be it today. Hopefully:)

Lake Elsinore- Motto: "Dream Extreme"

Tuesday the trio went to the "Dream Extreme" (Wikipedia) or Lake Elsinore to you and I. We had antique shops on historic Main Street as our goal. Linda had Mora's in mind as our first stop.
Moras Antique is a a great collective of salvage, antique, architectural, Day of the Dead folk art, etc...A great experience in an unlikely place. I loved how it was put together. I could transport this shop to my place:) Mora is the last name of the owner. I bought some trinket and a piece of folk art from her son Chad Mora, a self-taught folk artist. Sacred heart with a bottle cap and antique nails imbedded. http://www.chadmoraart.com Worth checking out.

We visited other places but they were pretty unmemorable and HOT! I decided we are not having aheatwave since that would mean it would come and then go like a wave. We are just stuck in this hot rut. One shop was so hot I went in looked at Bill and said I am out of here. The sweat was rolling down my back.
I am a die hard shopper but not to the point of dying.

So I decided Lake Elsinore is this wacky place where houses are so weird situated and of every era. Palm trees line absolutely nothing, fencing areas of dead grass of maybe once what was there . It is a haphazard view into our recent past. People are varied, many storefronts are empty, historical stark buildings. Why haven't I been here? I can't see it as "dream" at the moment but I am sure it was a destination at one point.

You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.-R. Williams

Who do you go to when you are that someone that people go to in desperate bleak times? I wondered about that this morning. There were plenty of times throughout my childhood and adulthood where I have turned to humor and movies with Robin. He was the only person I could watch and laugh out loud in my most desperate moments. Shaking me out of depression, making me take a look at myself in a less serious way.  He also has set markers in my life with poignant films for my children and myself. 

It started for me with Mork & Mindy when I was young at home, 22 minutes of escape from my mother and her alcoholic rants/abuse. Then as a young adult and before the boys, I was enamored by his rendition of Popeye of which I was a fan from the Popeye Show with Tom Hatten. I felt he had hit it on the mark with Popeyes ramblings and stature. Popeye as a three dimensional character leaped out at me and Shelly Duvall as Olive Oyl was perfect.

Good Morning Vietnam was funny, sentimental, outrageous, a different look at a horrible war. It brought an interest around for me on a time and place I hadn't really looked at. It was a small thing, but nonetheless left me impacted. The mix of hard and soft although subtle was there for me as war is that. Hard with violence, soft with communication/relationships.

For the boys he had done a voiceover for Pecos Bill, again maybe nothing that significant on the surface but it brought a recorded tall tale to life for us when everything was so in your face. We had to listen to the voices, the tale and where the adventure was taking us. It created an interest in radio as a visual as it had been in our tv-less past. thus the boys went to record a show at the TV Radio Museum in Beverly Hills. I still have that recording. This bridge from a voiceover created a world for Chris in recorded funny renderings for us, crazy narratives, etc... Again I still have these, his little voice is so commanding in its intent and Ian in contrast could be heard annoyed by his brothers profound abilities to entertain. Much like my brothers and I's small MGM musical productions for my Mom and Stepdad. I wanted to be Gene Kelly in our livingroom. 
Dead Poets Society, I loved this movie. I have fondness for films about boarding schools that are transitional, struggling with tradition vs progress, angst, etc... I still reference "O Captain, My Captain", Whitmans great poem. Not everyone knows what the reference it and nor do I expect them to, but it has stance that I do uphold. In my amiability I wanted to be that student who stood on their seat and declared "O Captain, My Captain". I wanted to have that wherewithal, that strength. It also renewed my love of Whitman and other poets and how it can be incorporated into my everyday. Profound.

Awakenings was just a great film that was availble during my bought with depression and would frequently go to the movies alone. It catapulted me away from my mundane, sad existence only broken up by the boys and personalities. I followed with Fisher King, fantasy and its ability to maintain itself on the streets in your darkest hours. Finding a way to be when it was a moment you could have chosen not to be and how that transforms and touches lives. 

This followed immediately with the clever, fantasy of Hook.I live in fantasy and the need for it. Thanks to my Omi, she showed me the strength and wisdom of it, I in turn took that to the boys. This would pull me through my harsh childhood. So when Hook came out it had all the bells and whistles I desired for myself and the boys. It is something we watched over and over. Maggie Smith as Wendy, Hoffman as Hook, Robin as Peter. The loosing and finding of the marbles, the tale of a boy catapulted to adulthood and its trials. I know we had bought action figures for this. Surprisingly this was an important movie for me and my family, I still find myself watching it looking for the clever subtle references to the literary version. Peter as an adult still findings his happy place and believing, I found that for me.

This didn't miss a heartbeat with the underrated Toys, Joan Cusak, MIchael Gambon and Robin. The power of toys, fantasy and the need for children to have these in the ever changing world presenting itself to children. The meaning was so overlooked and although it faded away quickly, I watched this repeatedly. Whether for Bettleheims clarity on play as important for adulthood, a moment of Magritte in a music video or Robins fight to maintain a philosophy and aesthetic. It transformed and thrust you somewhere else. 

Aladdin, we saw this at the El Capitan on the Blvd. Ian was 7, Chris was 6 and we had our fosterchild Everett who was 1.5. This was a great spectacle with Robin larger then life as the Genie. The boys were speechless, entertained, transformed, laughing hysterically, singing the musical numbers, making references to Robins lines, it was all things wonderful. Everett was Aladdin for Halloween, enough said. 

The boys continued their fondness with Jumanji which continued their inspiration for gaming which they had been doing since before they could read with Dungeon and Dragons and now were avid Sega players, including me. Jumanji brought that passion they had to springboard the game and characters to life with a twist. Robin made the unexpected possible.

The Birdcage, it was a pure sense of entertainment. Having seen La Cage, this managed to bring it forward to a new generation but in a fresh individual manner. Again another film I watch over and over. His character is priceless and peerless. Against Nathan Lane and Hank Azaria, you wanted to be their friends, work for and with them and come to the club. I don't know how many times we have imitated lines from this movie with all their "Guatamalanness", Martha Graham etc... This was a happy movie that just made my day on some of my bleakest. Chris does this movie pricelessly, he can be Azaria and Robin with a drop of the hat. He is superb.

One Hour Photo, not my usual ride with Robin but it made me realize he had diversity. He could play the psychological thriller. He shared the ever-growing solitary lives that we lead and our fantasy to interject ourselves in scenes, scenarios and with others. This was coupled later with a very clever Law & Order: SVU that showed his range as the psychological criminal that appears benign. Just mind bending in the most clever manner and I so appreciate that.

Robots and the two Night at the Museums are fun and continue the legacy that has been set in place as well as standard I have grown to love and expect. But my most favorite Robin was an interview with Charlie Rose, who started his interview stating that he loved interviewing Robin but found he had to just let Robin go throwing out the structure of his show. An hour and a half where I drown out my daily dealings and just joined the ride. I have since purchased a DVD and when I need to be "removed", I pop it in, block out everything and just LOL!!!

So to my question above, Who do you go to when you are that someone that people go to in desperate bleak times? I don't know. It is a profound thought. 

RIP

It was Resonating for me

OMG, I have spent the better part of my day working on our family tree. It isn't as simple as I thought. First you get organized from one of the family and then you realize that there are others and steps, etc... Plus then you need photos and maybe some more info and go further back. On and on... There is a lot of things that I don't know, but there is a lot of things that I do know. More then I thought.

The most frustrating thing is that I know nothing about my father. I really do not have a name that I am confident with. I think that as amiable as a child I was, I have stopped being that as an adult. I have three children and I want them to know who their grandfather is. My mother is a different animal. I feel every so often I try to find out what she is up to and reevaluate who she is. But my hopes are usually dashed by 
her lack of truth and alcoholism.

We lost a family due to her personal selfish wants, desires and alcoholism. I became the dumping ground for horrible tasks, confidences, drunken midnight rants, physical confrontations, etc... But I know that there is something for me to know and hang on to. I don't need to talk to him, I don't need any sort of one on one, but I do want to know who he is, what he has done in his life and where he is going.

It is strange to be out there and want to know. In addition she is an only child so the rest of the family has been always a scarce thing for me. I never really knew my grandfather and my grandmother was the center of my life until the Alzheimer. I have pictures, letters and cassette tapes from my grandmother and thank you for that. I always loved listening to her tales with the birds in the background and music playing. She would tell a story about me growing up or other family members. Then she would break into a song with something on the radio. Some German leider and maybe even yodel.

I think she was very purposeful about telling me these things and being consistent. Being through two world wars centered in Germany many things were lost or forgotten. The one thing is a verbal history of US. It is my job to get these things together for my own children.

I saw a documentary this morning called, The Flat. It was about this Isreali family who has to clear their grandmothers flat out. Her and her husband were refugees from Germany before they could be exterminated. The second generation was not interested in the history of the family. It was the third generation Arnon that was compelled by the family history. An adult and with children of his own he begins to investigate the letters and pictures that are there. He finds out that his parents were friends before and after the war with a higher up official in the SS. Even when they knew that members of their own family had been slaughtered. I was very moved by this.

He discovers how emotionless and unsentimental his mother is, but how important it is to the family. His looks at his mother with question, dumbfound and a little disgust. I felt sad for his discovery of his mother but thrilled that he rescued his past.

Anyhow, I am very inspired, because even his story is my story. The German Jew is my history as much as my grandfathers involvement in the war. Then I followed it up with a documentary called Hitlers Children about the children and grandchildren of Goebbels, Eichmann, etc... and their feelings. It was quite the emotional morning.

So here I am organizing and thinking about the next step. I had started memoirs of the family and I think I am ready to move forward on these. So this isn't about my business today or mountain exploration, but it was truly resonating for me.

Tejon or Bust

Went to check out the Tejon Outlets about 15 minutes from our house yesterday with Bill and Linda.Not being a pessimist but there were serious issues with it. I am not a mall person to begin with, but I will gear up for them if I have to go. It is like going to the dentist.

Tejon Outlet complex is designed on an oval. It is an open air shopping experience, but intermittently there is a slatted roof thing with a "Big Ass Fan". The fan appears to do nothing.

Yesterday was extremely hot as most days are in Bakersfield. The oval runway of shops were clearly exposed to the elements. So we were hot and so was the vast majority. The only seating was metal benches sitting in the sun. So sitting was not an option. Suggestion, the intermittent slatted roof configuration should have run the length of the shopping oval and they should have been outfitted with solar panels. This should have been a show piece, it is a complex in one of the largest oldest ranches in California/US. They pride themselves being the gateway to forward thinking. hmmm!

In addition, there were only two places to eat/drink, so be prepared with your own libation. The food court is a large beige hall much like a military mess hall. Note Dewars is there and that was a plus. It was overwhelming noise and mess which is indicative to food courts. More food places will be added, so you have to watch for them.

Also a few shops are not open or there is suppose to be other phases. Nevertheless, Le Creuset wasn't open yet so I have to watch for that. There are repeats in stores and that was a turnoff. Rack Room Shoes was just like Famous Footwear. But if you didn't find your shoes there Cons, Adidas, Nike, Sketchers, Merrells, etc.... all have their own stores too. It was redundant.

I did purchase at Pottery Barn a new Duvet. Retiring mine after 10 years. Bought a couple things at the Gap. Chris bought something at Ralph Lauren, Gap, Kitchen shop and that was it.  So it was an easy 15 minutes from our house but it was exhausting. Not to mention we lost Linda, but that is another story-lol

Right Hand Fabulous or Hibernation

Okay I am not going shopping at Stella McCartney's like Edwina is or how she hoped, but the trio is making their way down to Bako to hit a bunch of thrift shops to find that dazzling something. Can you find that dazzling something in Bakersfield?

Yesterday was a long exhausting day in Nipomo and I compounded it with not eating/drinking right. Bad food combining at its best. So I was a hot mess coming home. At one point I was doubled over in the kitchen, exclaiming that I was going to make dinner for Wes and Chris-right! Chris relieved me of that duty, thank god. He saw my plight.

I slept all night woke up at 2:30 am had a bottle of water and slept til 4:30am. I was on a water detox perhaps. But this afternoon we will be on another adventure. Well, I will have to shower, spruce up and become the right hand fabulous to Linda and Bill although I would just like to hibernate for a moment-LOL. No rest for the weary.

Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to. ~Author Unknown

It is this girls work day! I am doing the furniture shuffle this week. An item from one place shifting to another. Movement from there to be at another and so on. Of coarse nothing is easy and nothing is less awkward then another. Thus we have "the furniture shuffle".

But I wish I was as glamourous as this gal, having from my stylish coffee thermos and a sandwich from my vintage domed lunch box. How cute is she with her rolled up sleeve. I have my uniform, leggings and a tired t-shirt. We joke about having a uniform, but Linda has diverted from hers. How dare she:) 

First I will be stopping at the Name Your Price Thrift Shop to pick up a couch that should have gone to the dump Saturday with the LaBrecques. But that is another story with heated words and raised voices. Middle aged women who think they are better then most really should take a look at their social footprint on society. What do they bring to their surroundings? 
Remaining nameless, it almost warrants sympathy/empathy and whatever else I can muster up. But then again why? They wouldn't give that same consideration to others. I already had my reservations whenever she would spew hateful diatribe about her "man-child"  boyfriend, but it is the same fellow that gives the lifestyle she really enjoys with boats and such. But he walked away recently. So what is left? No offspring, no real connection to anything but being a busy body. Part of the social pollution I hate.
So one busy body connects with another and then voila. It is like a bunch of high schoolers in their clique ostracizing one from another. Caty, vindictive etc....BUT the difference here is that we are not in high school and I personally never subscribed to such bullshit when I was. My "clique" was not mean spirited social butterflies. As my friend Niki can verify, we were a unspecified subculture of everything and everyone accepted. We weren't spewers of garbage and we thought about what we brought to the table. Thus the oddball grouping of Zoo Magnets Alumnis who originated from all over LAUSD Los Angeles, Watts to San Fernando Valley.
Our home base was the "Valley" school depicted in so many MTV videos of the 80's, but we escaped that somewhat accurate rendering and found a place between the zoo and NOHO high that was about everyone culminating in a two room bungalow in the parking lot at the  LA ZOO. We were the odd ones:) We didn't have the latest greatest, we weren't the right shapes and colors but we had the best fun. 
So in my own personal diatribe today, I am protesting that I wasn't willing to put up with crap like that in childhood and neither am I today. The pacifity that is so inherently me in my youth, has taken a back seat. It would occasionally do so as I advocated for my children but now it is back in my own midlife period. Today on all accounts it can become a legal matter since it involves my ability to do business and that is another matter. 
OMG I surely an bothered and have digressed!


Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to. ~Author Unknown

Rain Rain you can stay, I will lounge the day away!

Rain Rain you can stay, I will lounge the day away!

 

Having bacon, eggs and potato pancakes with apple sauce at noon. Stayed up watching ten episodes of Hell on Wheels most of the night, The entire first season essentially. So I am having a lazy day today. 

 

Going to work on the new quilt I am making for Ian and Stef. Fix a couple of things, just a lot of sewing I guess. Nevermind the usual Sunday domestic stuff getting ready for the work week. Galaske watching the races, I am going to check if there is any open wheel racing, more specifically Formula 1.  He is a stock car kind of person.

 

Somewhere along the line I am going to pack all the new acquisitions from last week and have it ready for Nipomo and other places. I am now such a big vendor. Four different store venues. Wish one would be amazing, but that is this business climate now.

www.facebook.com/NipomoAntiqueEmporium

www.facebook.com/MGRAntiquemall

www.facebook.com/alice.assaly                 (Alices Attic)

www.facebook.com/paula.clevenger         (Ridge Route Antiques)

Merry go round

Today we moved into the Merry-go-Round in Bakersfield. It was a perfect 105 degrees.
We started the morning or I started the morning watering at 5:30am and care of our outside chores. Wes joined me walking Annabelle and feeding the chickens and larger dogs. Did some laundry, dishes, online work, packages for shipping and then a shower. Made a great sale on some Clarice Cliff Bizarre commemorative tea set I had bought at Treasures and Junk in Ontario. All done by 8am.
Linda and Bill picked me up at 9:15. Apparently they had had a flat tire last night and Linda had a mini meltdown. I would have had one too. Then we stopped for gas in Lebec and post.

By 9:40 we were well on our way, but the temp outside really started to escalate. Even with the air blasting it was fighting the ever hot windows. But we continued till we were on Wall St, an alley way that runs behind the shop in which we can unload things.With a big American Flag painted on the door we knew we were in the right place. It was somewhat like a speakeasy. You press a button and someone comes to the door.

In this case it was Bruce of Paul and Bruce the owners. As I got out of the truck, I noticed the back of the trucks window was dangling. Easily I lifted it and I yelled to Bill, "I think you need to come see something Bill. It is important". Bill did come over and we all had to laugh. The ghetto mobile is now more ghetto.

Moving in was easy and with the usual shenanigans we got the booth together. Well in the end Bill and I threw it together. It is our thing, a decorating collaboration. we ventured the upper and lower floors and then moved on to the baking truck. We had foam to buy for a project and then lunch at the Sequoia Sandwich shop in downtown Bakersfield. This place gets packed and they are only open till 2:30.

But our day doesn't end there, the flat tire was a result of a front end issue with the truck, so we had to go to a mechanic in Lamont. This is a predominantly Latin community but here we are finding a middle aged white guy doing wheel related things. It was odd but he seemed nice and honest. With some looking he gave them an estimate and we were on our way back along the center of town down through fields til we reached Laval road in Grapevine.

Worn out we got a drink at Jacks and then stopped at Alices to visit with her and Ann. But the heat was relentless. It wiped the smile right off your face but we shared an ice cream and then stopped at the thrift store and market. It felt forever to get home finally, but the heat can do that. I found that I needed to nap and then focus on taking care of dinner.

The house just couldn't get cool enough for me. I suffered through making meatloaf and steamed broccoli. What I really wanted to do is veg veg veg....

All the best people are

We were mad to drive out to Lancaster and rummage in 100 degree weather at the Barn but that wasn't completely it. We then decided to got to Lancaster proper and run around as well. There it was 106.

I picked up some things. At the Barn, I found some New Zealand Sascha Brastoff plates, as well as a Sascha creamer. I also accrued an orange hanging phone. The market makes oddly colored phones a hot ticket. I prefer the black phone, that is my collection. Bought a couple of pieces of McCoy, one for me and one for resale. 3 Great! McDonald's vintage serving trays. One for us and 2 for resale. Fun stuff.

But the worst thing is as sweat was pouring down our brow, the poor elderly fellow with fingers full of large turquoise rings and colorful bandana on ( I think he had pink eye), tried to write a receipt about at least 3 times. Then he was distracted with a phone call. Then he was distracted by technology. Then he moved locations with the receipt writing. Anyhow, the three of us diehards with still a faint amount of politeness left, started to wrap items and Bill scurried them to the truck. I think Linda nearly passed out next to me. She talked about crossing over to the dark side more then once.

After about 20 minutes, we were on our way. He had written the receipt so many times that he forgot to total some items. I walked away with 25 in "stuff". But I felt I had earned it at that point. We clamored into the truck and blasted the AC, putting the Barn in our rear view mirror.

We continued on to Lancaster proper. Stopped at Nancy's Yard Sale.  Acquired a Sheffield Silver Tray and a Stag Bavarian Creamer I have been wanting. Next we found our way to the first of two Goodwills on J Street. Outside of some things for Wes to lounge around in (and he is a lounger this summer), I picked up a Marcello Fantoni leather backed pipe rest from the 1960's.Italian of coarse baby!

Our second Goodwill was epic. I bought so much great stuff I can't even begin to list them. Plus I bought some nifty tops for Wes, Chris and I. I was very pleased and soooooo ready to go home. Outside of stopping at a upholsterer who lacked any sort of personality and business decorum, we got our Starbux and headed back across the great 138 divide.

Haven't really unpacked the truck completely yet, but today is another day!!!!

A loaded gun and a flavorful cigarette

Yes, definitely!! I have posted this elsewhere before but sometimes you have to revisit the obvious. I just need a loaded gun and a really flavorful cigarette!!! I could say more but I would be in trouble as I always am anyhow. There is another great quote for that but I digress.

Bill and Linda moved out of Ridge Route to start a new adventure with old friends Bruce and Paul. I will be joining them but in a diminished capacity. I am the accessorizer. Sounds like a supervillian. Sad empty front space. Definitely brought a lot to the table the two LaBrecques. Onward and upward.

Tomorrow we have scheduled some shopping insanity out in the desert. Antiques at the Barn off the 138 and I mean way off the 138. They aren't super friendly, it isn't very clean, hint of cats in one room, dusty, windy, hot hot hot! BUT this is what we do, find treasures and they are there to be had. I generally find my own sort of funk and Linda and Bill find a jewel that Bill works his magic on.

Last time I was there I really wanted these pink lockers but they just didn't have enough going for them except that they were pink. But I have my locker door and that will be one of the many artifacts that will find their way to Nipomo. It was a gem, stickers, writing, obnoxious political remarks, offensive language and three million layers of paint, but I LOVE IT!! Although you would love to keep so many things, because I buy things I love, I have to send them on their way. It sounds so ethereal....

bmoritzdesign.com

b. moritz accessories & design

So It is complete, the website that is. Getting the legaleeze for the appraising and estate sale components was really the hitch.
The next leg of our enterprise is to get things at the Ridge Route sorted out and then we are on our way at the Merry go Round. No that is not a metaphor for our crazy ways in business but a shop in glamorous downtown Bakersfield. There I am being facetious now. 
Getting the dynamics of all the parts together in sales, buying, researching, etc... is daunting in that the parts are time consuming initially but in the end it can be very streamlined. It becomes a matter of plugging in info. 
 So today outside of dinner with Daisy and Don, I am going to just expound on the existing and set goals for the week. 
 

E adesso, shopping!

 Been an exhausting few days and part of it was spent off the hill.

To begin I found that our work day at Nipomo was perplexing. Bill and I did our usual revamp of the space especially with that new amazing sideboard. It is a show stopper. Not my thing but beautiful. So that was a very important addition that needed a great spot with just the right items on board.

The frustrating or perplexing thing was the shop itself. It seems in disarray. Granted individuals have their dilemma, but that is separate. The thing for me were the common areas that belong to Dan itself. The head guru for the shop. Apparently the shop is to be managed and moved by his children. Scary...  So our livelihood is dependent on the children. Anyhow, the store seems chaotic.

We have come up with a solution in that Bill, Linda and I help with the areas that are "Dan" designated. Most are in front of the windows of the shop. So Linda posed it but not sure if Dan thinks it is a great idea. We hope we can do this since we would like to earn a day to play or really a day to shop on the coast."E adesso, shopping!!"

On another note, I worked on my web page for hours. Since I have to add the appraising component, it has to be a more serious site and thus I had to move on to a better hosting company with more dynamics for the design end of it. Hours went by in a flash. It is interesting how that happens. All of a sudden it was time to make dinner and do some domestic related things.

BUT it is near completion.

I Miss My Son

 

I Miss My Son (for Chris)

I miss my son
who use to be
who cared 
about his family

One to show his
feelings openly
He was always there
When I needed him to be

We have been through
so much over the years
Anger, joy and so many
tears

I know I didn't always
do the right thing
and
was not always good
at mothering

I knew that I could never
go back, and
fix all the wrongs
So I worked very hard
to set a new track

I tried to show you
the sunshine
and hope
and how great life can be
When you take it on so
earnestly

But when it came your
turn to choose
You chose the path of 

different tales which didn't
include me

But always remember
You can still come
HOME (this is metaphorical)

And so I am sad today.....and I know, I have to wait but I am crying and sad.

OMG What is this wet stuff?

“I woke to the sound of rain.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Yes it rained for about 45 minutes. It was such an event that neighbors came out and voiced their happiness. The dogs milled around catching it on their fur, happily going to and fro. I found myself outside back and forth to the garage working on this and that enjoying that wet happy smell. 

Everything seemed to perk up a bit. The trampoline got a little washing. No need to do a second watering! The hideous neighbors eternally moving, now have three wet mattresses in the front yard-delightful. But this happiness did not end here, it was contagious in this drought ridden mountain community. Customers at the local mini mart were giddy with happiness and had a spring in their step. They might not even been aware of this.

We went to the LaBrecques for dinner for a belated birthday celebration. Galaske wasn't aware that he was the central focus until gifts began to appear. I think he was touched. He said noone has done such a fuss for him beyond me. This is when you need your mother and his has been gone since 2001. So it was a great evening all around. Alice did join us and it all came together with burgers on the grill. 
Conversation always reverts to mountain crazies and their happenings. I think we covered the man who just kind of stands, jiggles and poop falls out of his pants. Twerking among grandparents, bed bug invested donated mattresses, BB and her eviction plight, parents who died of syphilis, parasites in raspberries and it can go on. Yes we managed to eat anyhow.


 

WWPD - What Would Pipi Do?

“I have noticed several times that people don't think I know how to behave even when I'm trying as hard as I can.”
― Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

Well maybe...

Today was a quiet day on our little mountain. No sirens, SWAT teams, prescription drug roundups, etc... Not that I know of at least . Most of my neighbors were tooling around acting responsibly. I am still waiting for the backwood tards to clean up the property two doors down.

We estimated between adults and kids that there were 15 people living there, plus a number of dogs. I am talking about a 2 bedroom house! I held my breath as they for months lived like the quintessential white trash renters. I thought the family that owned the property were bad with their trash piles blowing down to my property or the mangled screen that lay out front for 8 months until I could bare it no more. Gods little joke on me, so they rented to the entire cast of Hoarders without the Psych or professional organizers.

These people have been moving for a month, now the pile of mattresses have migrated to another part of the yard and the fridge has vacated. Car parts and unknown hazardous waste are pillars to the eventual haz mat situation.  I heard they were nice people, but to who? The matriarch would wave at me as she drove by and I would just turn my back. Save the wave and pick up a piece of trash on your way in. 

I would see her online trying to find out ways to steal the sage from our forest without getting caught. OK idiot-don't post illegal wants, desires, actions on social media. AND take that energy and clean up that property. I would walk the dog and sneak throwing items away like anti-freeze and such. Clearly if it is on the public side of the fence it is fair game. Calling code compliance crossed my mind more then a dozen times. 

Maybe I am unrealistic but my theory no matter how poor, destitute, depressed, etc... you can be considerate to your neighbors and yourself. What would Pipi Do?

Six impossible things before breakfast

Yes, yes, yes and then some. I would hope!

Working solo today on items that have been sitting in boxes. Forgot some of this inventory. Photo, measure, write description, clean, tag and release to shop. Daunting, tedious but would not have it any other way. That is the business of the business.
We will be looking at a third space to share in Bakersfield and at a newer shop, Merry go Round. Long time friends of Bill and Lindas. I will go on Saturday to scope out digs and the traffic. The traffic is the crux. No traffic means not worth it. So another chapter.

As for the home life, Ian called and he is on his way to getting Stef and his life in a great place. Stef has her new car and independence. They are both chugging along, but the best thing is that he includes me. Not directly, but in the way a mom wants to be. These days are so important when something like that happens. Eventually Chris will come around and want to be a part of his own family or for at least a moment. Still sad about that one but I am working through it-for the most part. I still have bad nights. Sometimes children do not see what they do until they have their own unfortunately.
Galaske has a Friday for him today! Short week. Being 55 now I think he will feel halfway through his life plight. Wait let me put the back of my hand across my forehead as I say that. But I have heard with my own ears that he told his father he is in great shape and will live to 150. I heard it so he can't do the dire life age etc... plight with me.
Wesley is my moral center these days. A lot of discussion about the Malaysian commercial airliner shot down by Russian separatists in Ukraine space. He is such an old soul. He is very interested not only in the event but also interested in the coverage of this news. Running between CNN and Al Gazeera, interesting way to get a balance. Anyhow I am doing the "Let me guide you" moment for my kid:) Life.....

Eddy says it all

EDDY: You only work in a shop, you know. You can drop the attitude. 

 Edwina's quote is just and true.



Today in Barney Fifeville, I have been on communication silence, just working around the abode on things I have truly neglected. Nothing major but lots of bits that up to a large bit. In addition it was Galaske's 55th  birthday. Got him a Dolce de Leche cake and of coarse his fav pizza. But the great simple productivity was broken up with a quick jaunt into town to post, drop off a desk, Ace hardware and the grocery. Plenty of exposure when you are trying to live the life of a hermit for a bit. 
Of coarse I had my usual malady and now do not own one solitary dryer sheets. The container of 150 bit the dust in a vat of water I was grey watering outside. So much for that. But that seemed to be the worst of it so alas I could end my day with some success. 

As for work, some sales did accrue considering how slow the business is lately. I haven't the foggiest what to do to the desk. It truly is a real lackluster. I had some notion of painting it.

 It resembles this dresser, to the left.

But it could look like this snazzy piece to the right. What to do. Hmmm.