General

Cashing in Trash

Did you know … that we go through people’s trash?

And by “we” I mean, Kevin and LeRoy.

Did you know … that we live in a throw away society?

It never ceases to amaze me the kind of stuff Kevin finds on his “treasure hunts.”

He and LeRoy go out several times a week and hit garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, even the trash people leave by the side of the road with “FREE” signs on it, looking for treasures to either fix up, our personal use, decorate our house(s), (remember we have the rental house across the street), or, put in one of Kevin’s booths.

He has three of them.

Booths, not houses.

He started this “hobby” about five years ago. He started small, just some shelves but he quickly upgraded to a booth when he started to consistently find some pretty great finds for dirt cheap. His hobby soon turned into a business.

And more booths.

All of these booths are in the same building; he’s vendor 5150.

He not only enjoys the hunt, he makes some decent money as well. Sure, he has to pay booth rental but he still makes a nice profit every month. It’s a lot of work but he truly enjoys it. I also think it’s a great outlet for his creativity because Kevin is very creative he’s creative with his hands, I’m creative with my words. He sticks most of his stuff in his booth, as is, though he does fix up a few things and ups the price for his labor of love, but for the most part, what you see is what you get.

I don’t go with him. This is something that he and LeRoy enjoy doing together but I have gone with him a few times when we’re out-of-town and I have to admit, it’s sort of fun. Instead of seeing a piece of junk, I’m learning to view it as potential. Just because it’s used doesn’t mean it’s trash, right? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right?

And honestly, it’s more like an act of service for the community – who has time to scour all of these outlets to find treasures? Kevin does the work for you and literally displays his wares in his booths for people to sort through and (hopefully) buy.

He talked me into going to a Goodwill with him one night after one of our dinners out and I found a NICE leather jacket for $25.00 and a blazer for $10.00 and I was hooked. I definitely don’t go as often as him but I no longer turn my nose up at the thought of shopping at Goodwill.

Yes. I was one of THOSE people.

He’s constantly arranging, re-arranging his inventory. He says he “layers” his inventory so when the first layer is bought he can just pull out the second layer and so forth.

Speaking of “inventory,” Oh Lord. I’m constantly coming home to new items either lying on the table for him to take on his next trip to the booths, or new pictures on the walls, or little knick-knacks he finds and puts on my desk. It’s like treasure hunting in my own home. And apparently, I haven’t seen it with my own eyes but I can just imagine, the basement at the rental house is wall-to-wall “inventory”. (I hate to call it junk but …). It’s starting to look like those nightmare houses on the show “Hoarders.” He calls this inventory his “savings account.” I’m still not sure what that means even after he has explained it to me like a 100 times, but … whatever makes the man happy, right?

I think he will continue to do this even after he retires – which he plans on doing in about a year. He thoroughly enjoys it and when he finds a true treasure and he tells me about the “hunt” with sparkling eyes, I can tell he truly loves the process. It keeps him busy and active and who am I to stand in his way?

Happy husband, happy wife, right?

General

Still Here. Still Alive.

This is an old picture but whatever. I’ll update my profile picture – one of these days.

Hi.

Still here. Still alive.

I would never say that I post regularly on this blog, but when I’m absent, that usually means something happened. And something has happened. Nothing bad, there’s been yet another career shift, a pivot, if you will, to my working life. I’m adjusting. And this change is requiring all of my energy, focus and mult-tasking skills.

Of which I must say, are pretty darn good, if I say so myself.

But things are settling down. I have sorted through the mess and am getting organized. I’m settling in and am figuring out – I quite like this change. I think it will be better for me in the long run and I’m quite excited to see where it goes. Providing of course, I still have a job after flu vaccination season this Fall. That thought is a constant black cloud that follows me everywhere. I try not to think about it, but it does block my peace of mind.

A visual representation of my future as a healthcare worker

I’m spending this Independence day writing my heart out. I FEEL the need to write again. (I go through spurts). I want to document this crazy thing I call life and share it – I hope you find it interesting enough to read about it. Here are some things coming up:

Monthly reflection posts – both for May and June.

Two camping trips – and another one happening soon. This latest one is a doozy and the one I’m most excited about.

An update on the cargo trailer conversion. Kevin and I put a video together – I’ll post it soon.

I cut my hair off. Seriously – chopped six inches off and I have a bob – sort of. And I love it. (I would take a picture of it and post it but it’s a no-makeup day and I don’t want to make you nauseous. You’re welcome).

Our boys are moving into the rental house across the street in February of 2023 when their lease is up. I’m excited they will be so close.

My thoughts about the crazy political stuff happening right now. (Spoiler alert: I’m a conservative [libertarian?] so if you can’t stomach those viewpoints, this is not the blog for you – though I do try my best to be fair to all points of view).

I feel like there’s more but that’s all I can think of right now. Anyway, just know I’m typing posts as you read this and thanks for sticking around for as long as you have.

(Also – I just changed my banner on my blog and it’s a cute kitten – come see).

General

Writer’s Block? Here is a Great Method to Generate Story Ideas

If you’re not a subscriber to Abbie Emmons’ channel, why not?? She is young, but she has a lot of great writing ideas and advice. I like how she approaches writing from a more practical standpoint and a lot of what she says makes sense to me.

When I saw her latest video about generating story ideas, it was like a light bulb went off in my brain and suddenly, I had so many ideas!

Anyway, I think it’s definitely worth a watch and with July’s Camp NaNoWriMo happening in less than a month, I thought it might help any writers out there struggling for ideas. (Like me).

So for me – my three story ideas are:

  1. Serendipity
  2. Alias
  3. Verity

Let me stew on these a bit and break down why they resonate with me and I’ll follow this post up with my ideas, like Abbie does in her examples, in another post.

I really like Abbie’s ideas and I feel inspired every time I watch her videos. Her ideas make me excited about writing fiction again.

In the meantime, what three story ideas would you like to mash together?

General

Be Less Stupid

I just don’t understand people’s NEED to be judgmental. Yes. Be kind, be courteous, be a good human being but don’t apologize for who you are. Own it. And to hell with the people who get offended.

You’re entitled to your feelings about something – I’m entitled to not care.

General

Defining Conservatism – Part Deux

I honestly don’t think a lot of people even know what conservatism is. What the values are. Why I’m 110% behind it. I explained it over here but I thought I would post this lovely lady and her definition here because she NAILS it.

Also, she’s beautiful and I LOVE HER HAIR.

Also, this may have restored a bit of hope I have for our young people today.

General

Happy New Year!

Thanks for visiting my inch of cyber space. I have big plans for this blog this year and lots to come. I hope you decide to stick around and live it with me.

I know, once again, 2020 holidays suck but don’t let that get you down. This too shall pass and before long, we’ll be looking back on this time period and shaking out heads thinking, “Wow. We REALLY overreacted didn’t we?”

Be safe, be responsible and chin up – it’s a brand new year!

XOXO

Me