Monday, December 13 – Sunday, December 19, 2021
The Week in Collecting Crap: As noted in many previous posts here, I collect miniatures. I have been collecting since I was a kid and I have plenty of them. I don’t NEED more, but every now and then I feel the pull to check out Ebay just to see what’s happening in the world of miniature crap that no one needs. My preference is to look for pre-owned lots (collections) of miniature figurines. Most times I look around for a bit but I don’t bid or buy anything. Just looking at the stuff somehow dampens my urge to add to the collection.
Last week I was on one of my jags and I clicked on “watch” on one of the sales, indicating I was interested. I was, at best, mildly interested. I also didn’t know that “watch” sent a message to the seller (I mean, of course it does, but I wasn’t thinking). I found that out when the seller contacted me with a counter offer, lower then the original asking price. Hmm. I countered with an even lower offer. The seller agreed and this week I got my goods. A couple of the pieces are pretty good, a couple are fine, a couple went into my “second tier” box (minis that are fine, but do not make the cut to the display case), and the rest went into the Goodwill box where they will go back into the universe.
I’ll have to remember that the “watch” option is a trick!
The Week in Shopping and Gifting: I thought I was finished shopping for the holiday, but no. One gift that I ordered over a week ago is still processing. Obviously, not going to make it in time for the holiday. That sent me to TJ Maxx, where I shopped at the store I work at because I know it. I needed a pine scented candle. I honestly hope fir is close enough to pine, ’cause that’s all that was left in tree scents the week before Christmas.
Also, it was fun to see how much of the crap I’d put on the sales floor on my shift the day before had already been purchased. The Saturday before Christmas is the traditionally biggest shopping day of the year for TJs. As an experienced retailer, I knew this. On Saturday I dug through the boxes of merchandise and found a sure-fire winner. I put out 24 coffee mugs decorated with pictures of dogs wearing Christmas hats, and…AND…the mug included a matching pair of socks (for the human) for $7.99. When I returned to the store the very next day, only 4 were left. Christmas shopping is something to behold!
Anyway…
Second, I had bought my bought my boss a nice box of green tea and some local honey to go with some scones that I would bake. Wouldn’t you know it, the day before I was to give my boss my gift, someone else gifted her local honey from the exact same place?!?!?!? BOO! Back to the semi-drawing board. I knew I was going to stick with the tea and scones but I wanted a third item. I could have bought jam, it would have made sense, but then I found bee earrings. I thought bee earrings and an explanation about bees for honey would be better. It was. Whew. Gift-giving Save!
The Week in Whiskey: As both Omicron and Dry January loom large in my very near future, I decided I had to prepare for one tract or the other. I’ve done Dry January, 31 days of not drinking every non-Pandemic year for the last 7 years. This is holistic exercise that I’m kind of into. However, if it’s going to be an Omicron winter and I’m stuck inside, I’m not going to double down on miserableness by depriving myself of alcohol. There will be no such thing as a dry Omicron January.
This week I bought a nice rye whisky for sipping, and a mediocre whisky for mixing. Whether I drink it in January or February remains to be seen. But I’m ready.
The Week in Chex Season: Last week I bought Rice, Wheat, and Corn Chex cereal for what I think will be the lowest price of the season, $1.47 per box (with digital coupon). This week the Chexes were “on sale” for $1.77. Ha, ha, ha, rookie shoppers! Now the boxes sit in my apartment awaiting the sign from my Mom that it’s time to make our yearly batch of spicy Chex Mix. My Mom has a lot of power over family snacks!
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 