Gratitude in the Dog Days of Summer

Yikes…on the news it seems that much of the U.S. and world is sweltering and some parts are burning. (Poor London.) Living in California we are no stranger to this. In fact two summers ago smoke from wild fires surrounding us made the air quality bad for months and turned the sky a startling orange for a day or two. But I feel so lucky that right now temps in my neck of the woods are perfect. It drops from the upper 70s (reached mid-afternoon) to the 50s (during the night) and with our windows open it makes sleeping easy and starts the next day off with a beautifully cool house. I am grateful.

On a different note I am thrilled that sales have been pretty good so far this month. Quelle surprise!! Honestly July sales tend to be stagnant and lackluster. Everyone is on vacation and out and about. So with each little cha-ching on my phone I am surprised…and grateful.

Here are the sold items from the last few days. Bits and pieces. Nothing wildly valuable. Still some good “bread and butter” sales that help keep the business ticking over. The beautiful dragonfly fabric was a 2019 Fabmo find for $20 that sold for $60 and the new owner left me a lovely review. Am so happy it found an appreciate new home.

The little sterling dog figurine above was purchased several years ago at a Junior League thrift store. They had three different little English silver dogs in a bag for $50 that I snapped up. I tried to sell them all together in my Etsy store for between $140 – $150, but had no takers so I decided to sell them individually. One sold for $60, this one for $50 (it had a slight bit of pitting) and I have another listed for $60.

In a “funny” moment, I received an offer for a painting I have on eBay. Now I have “Make Best Offer” turned on so I was happy to receive it, BUT, he offered $35 for what I have listed for $125. I declined with a laugh. I am willing to deal, but, oh boy, 72% off?! I don’t think so.

I haven’t bought much inventory this month. But I did find an unexpected thing at my neighborhood thrift store…a vintage (possibly antique) metronome by Maelzel made expressly for Montgomery Ward! It looks fabulous and seems to work fine. It was pricy for Goodwill ($21.29) but I couldn’t resist. I have it listed at $75.

And this little Victorian-era silver plate pair (cup and match striker) were finds from another Etsy store that I plan on keeping for myself..at least for awhile! Silver plate items from the 1800s tend to be well made, detailed and often delightfully quirky. I thought these chicks breaking out of their shells fit that perfectly.

Some of you know I saw Santana play recently at a large amphitheater. They were wonderful, but it was 100 degrees that day (we were soaked through), super crowded and I was too hemmed in to dance. Well this Saturday Carnaval, a Santana tribute band, will be playing at a local park. We have seen them play at least half a dozen times. They are good. Really good. And the weather will be cool. We’ll have room to spread out on our blanket (in the shade). We can bring our own food and wine. There will be plenty of room to dance. And bonus, it’s free. I daresay I will enjoy this concert more!

So even though I have no vacations planned. No big exciting events on the horizon. I am grateful for family and friends and simple pleasures.

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen