Great App and Grapevine

I've got a new app.😉

Uploaded a free photo app to turn photos into black and white then add pops of color selectively.  Here's a few examples:

Also fiddled around with the editing tool on my trusty Photo Grid app.

One more weekend in the house as closing has been slow.  Fingers crossed for early next week.  I'm ready to be done! 

On a side note, heard a little rumor through the family grapevine that I had "lost" my house. Not true as I sold it and thankfully will be getting some equity to help me on my next adventure. Grapevines can be so cruel especially when they originate from one's family, who are supposed to be in your corner. So please think before you gossip as more than likely it's not the truth you are spreading.

Happy Labor Day and even happier three day weekend!

Slow Sales and Selfies

It took all day but wound up making $50 from the garage sale. Was a long hot day. Highlights were an old man who purchased all the women tops available. Had a blast from the past when one of stepson Dylan's childhood friends stopped by with his girlfriend. Caught up while his girlfriend looked over the sale items. She loved all my mixed media art and purchased quite a few things.  Another gal earlier poured on the compliments and said I should have my own shop. Nice validation for my craft work.

Felt great to shower following hours in the heat. Despite my gray roots, ended up taking selfies to update Facebook. Hair is getting so long!

Lynn picked me up for dinner and we headed over to Porky's Public House. Porky's used to be a union/mill workers bar but morphed into a unique beer house with tasty food. It was a fun evening catching up with the bestie.

And here it is counting down to Monday. I feel a nap coming on!

Garage Sale Chapter Two

Closing is taking it's time so figured why not have another garage sale?

Spent yesterday afternoon gathering up items to sell.  Cleaned out the coat closet -mind you there was much more than coats. It was kind of like the junk drawer but in closet format. Was the first time in years that the bottom of the closet was visible.

Still sleeping on the couch which has bloomed into a daily morning habit of two Tylenol for my neck. Have gotten the nightly wakeups down to two rather than every hour. Set my alarm for 5:30 am to organize sale; snoozed right through that and got up an hour later. Coffee first then began hauling the goods to the driveway. Big difference between today's sale and the Lexington community sale two weeks ago. Had already made $100 within the first hour of opening; today in the first hour the cash box is overflowing with a $5 sale. At least the weather is blue sky and sunny.

Started and finished last weekend Mindhunter on Netflix. Outstanding, creepy, and addictive series in the true crime detective vein. Have a nolso recently watched The Betty Broderick story, a Diane Downs movie, and today I'm finishing up a documentary on the Laci Perterson murder.  Yes, going through a murderous state of mind at the moment.

Just made fifty cents. It's like the community sale was Black Friday and today's sale is one during the last week in January when everyone is broke, on a budget, and you spend all your time dusting and organizing the racks. 

Once again, cross your fingers for this sale to ramp up into at least a $20 profit!

Moving Mayhem and Stuffed Storage Space

Arose early Saturday to finish packing of the house. The movers showed up at 11am sharp and began packing the huge U-Haul. Sam thankfully showed up about noon to haul items from the garage. There were tons of totes, garbage bags, and furniture to load. The two guys were friendly and efficient. 

About 2pm we made our way to the storage unit. It's only 10 x 12 so there was concern it wouldn't fit all the items. Even checked to see if there was another storage unit available but alas there was not. Logistics and strategy played a big part into stacking my household into the tiny space. Sam was a big help.  At one point we needed a brace for the bed frame. Sam thought he had wood in his truck. Next thing we hear is a saw and drill going. Yep, Sam crafted on site the perfect brace for the frame. The movers were so impressed by Sam they offered him a job for weekends.

It was a tight squeeze but everything fit in the storage unit. Yay! There are a couple of items at the house that were missed but I think we may be able to cram them in to a nook or cranny left in the unit.

Looking pretty sparse at the house. The bad news is the closing has been delayed due to a screw up by the title company. Ended up moving to a different title company on a rush basis so hopefully the closing will still occur this week.

Spent last night on the chaise portion of my couch which I will sell or leave behind. Was as comfortable as it could be but still did not fall asleep until after 1am simply due to my surroundings. Empty living room, no curtains, and a fidgety dog who missed the bed.

Now to do a walk through the house akin to leaving a hotel room.  Am I leaving anything behind? Is something special hidden in a cupboard where it will be forgotten and missed? I will always have my memories so pretty sure anything tangible left behind will be replaceable.

Here's to starting a new journey once the closing commences!

Garage Sale A Success

Jordan and Candy stopped by Friday to dig out some shelves from the garage for the Lexington community sale on Saturday.  Then Sam and his buds Cody and Tyler came to my rescue Friday night. They hauled all the heavy items out of the house and helped me set up for the sale on Saturday. Was a real blessing and it was nice to catch up with the boys.

Saturday morning I awoke early, cleaned up, then began finishing the set up in the driveway. Thankfully we had covered the outside items with sheets so they avoided most of the rain that fell the previous night.  Of course a few Lookie Lou's showed up at 7:30 sniffing around. At least I made a $50 sale from one of them.

Surprisingly, my first sell of the day was a piece of driftwood I had crafted into a raven-haired mermaid. The guy who bought it was so impressed it gave me a warm fuzzy.

The rest of the day is a blur. Tons of people and a lot of my items went quickly. Both my painted sewing machine tables went to the same lady. Trunks, older dressers, and lots of my craft items were snatched up quickly. Even ceramic platters I painted back in 2005 were big hits.

A few of my co-workers stopped by, some in perfect timing as more coffee and a bathroom break were on my mind. No more rain but it was hot and muggy throughout the day.

Just when my supply of merchandise was dwindling down Sam, Kaitlyn, and her daughter Chloe showed up about noon with tons of inventory.  Men's, juniors, and little girl clothing along with toys and decor rallied up the items for sale.

Good friends Stan and Susan came over and stayed for quite awhile to visit and do some people watching. Highlights included a young gal browsing while she had a snake wrapped around her neck. Shortly after she left a man showed up carrying his pet rabbit.

Finally began cleaning up the garage sale about 6pm. It was a long hot but productive day. That night shared pizza with Sam, Kaitlyn and Chloe and finished off the bottle of tropical Moscato wine received from my team outing a couple of weeks ago. Really hit the spot!

Now on to this week's chore - packing up my essential items for storage. Have sold the house and the movers will be here Saturday to take my items to storage. Closing will occur on Monday.  Will be staying with friend Marie until I figure out my next steps and find a place to purchase which will definitely be much smaller.  Will be a big change for Stubbs and me but we are ready for our next adventure!

Lexington Sale Making Me Loco

The eve before the Lexington garage sale is upon me. Took the last two days off from work to organize and price a multitude of items for immediate sale.  I'm rather fried at the moment. Have some larger items that need to be moved to the driveway and am currently on pins and needles waiting for Sam and perhaps his buddies to haul it outside. Bottom line - I have a lot of crap! Unable to reach a few items in the garage so they may not be put for sale.

Here's what the house looked like yesterday:

What a mess!!  Moved majority to the garage to get it closer to driveway. So now do I set up tonight and throw sheets over it all or set up early in the morning before 8am start time?  Haven't decided yet. Keep your fingers crossed that big money comes my way yet not at the expense of my sanity!

Team Bonding with a Splash of Cocktails, Heat, and Retail Therapy

Didn't have to work on Saturday but did spend a fabulous afternoon with my co-workers!

Carpooled with team member Anthony about 10:45 to downtown Portland to meet up with everyone.  Weather was gorgeous - blue skies and sunshine! We were the first ones at Mother's Bistro so we relaxed in the adjoining hotel lobby while waiting for the other four members of our team. Pam and Deb arrived so we finagled our way to the table. Policy was no seating without a full party so Anthony said they were "in the bathroom."  Unfortunately they were running late due to their commute from Tacoma. To bide our time we ordered peach Bellinis and appetizers - calamari, toasted ravioli, and hummus.

Finally the remaining two appeared and we settled in to break bread. And order another drink, this time an Italian Aperol Spritz. What is that you say? Here's the recipe. It was a light, yummy glass of sparkling delight. It also reminds me that I have a bottle of Prosecco in my fridge so homemade Aperol spritzes may be in my near future!  And for those who don't know (like me yesterday) Aperol has a "strong orange and mandarin orange flavor with a nice balance between a cinchona and gentian bitterness and an easy sugary sweetness."  Thank you Google.

Aperol Spritzer

Ingredients

• 3 parts prosecco
• 2 parts Aperol
• 1 part soda water
• Slice of orange

Method

1. Pour the Aperol into the glass first, over ice (we like to serve ours in a large bowl-style wine glass).
2. Add the prosecco.
3. Add the soda water.
4. Top with a slice of orange and enjoy!

Lunch arrived and we conversed, and ate, and laughed, and ate, and chatted and ate some more. Even shared three types of dessert! Folded in half in the booth it wasn't until I extricated myself that all that food goodness - appetizers, turkey ruben, two drinks and dessert - lowered itself into my gut and I was full. Okay, not just full but stomach bloating, belly bursting akin to the poor starving children with tummies extended due to malnutrition and gastric inflammation. But in an abundance of fries, hummus, and cheesecake way.

After three hours celebrating how much we enjoyed each other's company, we all departed but not before MJ bestowed us each with a bottle of wine, each specific to our tastes. Mine was Tropical Moscato - light and fruity sweetness.

After lunch Pam and I ventured out to partake in retail therapy and walk off our bloat.  The weather had become quite warm so as we trekked through downtown P-Town the sweat came shining through. In honor of Keep Portland Weird I had worn shorts, tank top, and a tie-dye lightweight cotton cardigan. One finds out how lightweight it isn't once you've walked in high eighty degree weather. Confirmation that bloating, heat and sweat does not a pretty picture make.  

My goal was to pick up a few items for my secret pal at work. She's in the Seattle office so we've never met but I do have a list of her favorite things. Dinosaurs, unicorns, biology, and her dog.  Hmmm an interesting mix so the challenge was on to round up an eclectic assortment of items.

Pam is a Portland born and raised gal so she took the lead on our shopping adventure. Hit Ross then on to Pioneer Place. At one point grabbed an iced coffee to give ourselves a very much needed boost. 

It was probably around 6:30pm that we conceded defeat in our retail excursion. Wound up with several unicorn, dog and  dinosaur gifts for my secret pal so the goal was met.  Bags in hand and swelling in feet we made our way to the car.  The heat may have affected Pam's brain cells as there was a bit of a hiccup in finding the car ala "It's on floor 8 of the garage, no it's on 7, no I think it's on 8."  We were wandering the empty parking garage as if we were in a Twilight Zone episode of The Walking Dead. Did take a moment to record for prosperity the view from floor 8.

Found the car then made our way out of Portland and hit the freeway for home. Thank you Pam for being the driver on our Saturday adventure!

Today after coffee my plan is to begin organizing for next weekend's garage sale. Not looking forward to it as there is a lot, no, a tremendous amount of items to price for purging.  Looking forward with fear and trepidation to having Thursday and Friday off to complete the organization for Diva's Rock Bottom Yard Sale Extravaganza!

Fuck Cancer, Fair Farm Animals, and Friday

Let's see....lots of activities happening and a few I will share here.

Younger sis Erin was diagnosed and is now battling cancer. So sad yet she is a strong warrior and cancer doesn't know who it's up against. She started radiation and chemo this week so she's in our prayers. The main thing is she is keeping her sense of humor, as you can see below  during her first chemo session.

Sister Julie surprised us by mailing everyone Twirp Strong bracelets. Twirp is Erin's nickname so it's apropos.

Last weekend went to the County Fair with friend Marie. Mainly wandered the animal stalls, cruised the main community building, snacked on a huge ice cream cone, and snuggled with the sugar gliders. Ran into a few friendly faces from work and high school. Weather was warm and not only did I wind up sweaty but it seems my pores opened up just enough to soak in the chicken, pig, and cow odor.  It was just lovely in a Eau d'Manure No. 5 sort of way.

One of the animals enclosed with minature cows just did not resemble Bessie Jr.  Is it actually a deer?

Still enjoying my hummingbirds, which have begun to grow in number

This coming Saturday my work team from Tacoma to Eugene are all meeting in Portland for lunch. There's only 6 of us but it will be nice to have a group bonding experience, especially since we all get along. We'll be eating at Mother's Bistro & Bar downtown which apparently has a good reputation.

After lunch whoever wants to can join co-worker Pam and I while we explore the weird, unusual yet bargain priced stores. Perhaps even stroll through the Portland Saturday Market, which is entertaining even if it is heavily doused with Rastafarian Bob Marley accoutrements, patchouli,  tie-dye fashion, and chopped mango in a to-go plastic cup. Hmmmm, maybe it's time to relieve the nineties and get a beaded rat-tail braid in my hair to celebrate the summer? Saturday will definitely be an adventure waiting to happen!!

Sunday and this coming week will be hitting it into high gear to prepare for the annual Lexington garage sale on Saturday August 10th. Even took off next Thursday and Friday to prepare. Will definitely be performing an epic purge! Priced to sell!

And Friday, my most favorite, arrives tomorrow!! Enjoy!!!