Ah, This is the Life!

Hi there,
I am reporting from beautiful Lancaster, Pennsylvania tonight.

Norb had a huge auction to go to today, so we came in yesterday, giving him a chance to preview things more thoroughly than usual, and the two boys and I were at this resort hotel, having a great time while Norb was at the auction.

We worked our way to a corn maze, which surprised me, thinking that corn mazes were autumn events, but this hotel has one ready for the guests, all green and growing. Somehow or another, we managed to make it out without helicopters overhead dropping rescue workers down to us.

And of course, we spent hours at the pool, which is always a favorite for when we are at a hotel.

For once, I was not plugged into a radio or trying to get pictures taken for eBay, or packing things to ship, also for eBay. (Don't worry if you are waiting for something, I tried to get everything out before we left, and will be right back at it when we return.) I just hung out with my boys today.

So what do you all know about bingo? There was a family bingo night here at the hotel, and once again, we didn't win anything, even though one of us actually got a bingo, it was at the same time as two other people, and we did not prevail in the tie breaker. :-( Do some people have good bingo luck and win frequently, or is it always as dismal as every experience I have ever had, which is not very often, but I think the best I ever did was win a water glass one time many years ago.
It was all in fun, and a nice time with the family and that was enough for me.

The Gift Show

Monday was a day on the road!
A friend and I (Hi Becky!) went to the Philadelphia Gift Show. We got up early, and trust me, five years after the murder of our alarm clock, early is not something I do well these days, and hit the road to Reading. I don't know why the Philadelphia Gift Show is in Reading, but that's the way it is.

My friend Becky was just a hoot at this show. She amused many of the vendors with her happy laugh that brought other buyers in to see what was so funny. If you are ever in a hospital gift shop somewhere and see a certain funny calendar,* you can blame Becky.

My goal in going to this show is to be able to expand our offerings on eBay, hoping to find things that we can put up that won't need new descriptions and pictures for each thing. I have some thoughts, but taking the big leap is scary to me.
Now I guess it is time to grit my teeth and act.


*The calendar is called "Life is Crap' which sounds indelicate, but the illustrations are all of funny situations that are not going according to plan, such as a parachutist about to land in a field of tall cactus, or a cat in a litter box with its bottom extended over the edge and outside of the drop zone.
Becky was laughing at it, drawing in another buyer. Becky mentioned that this would be a funny calendar for someplace like a hospital gift shop and then we saw that the new person was there on behalf of a hospital gift shop!

Family Passages

Friday we received the sad news that one of Norb's uncles had passed away. We always enjoyed the few times we were able to be in his company during our marriage. Regrettably, the times were much too infrequent. Apparently, although he was ill, he wasn't in pain or needing pain meds, and he was talking with his wife of over 50 years as he passed away. We don't often hear of such a gentle way of taking leave of this world.
Uncle Ron, you will be missed.

This past week we sent our oldest son and his bride off to Europe for the next year or so. It will be exciting for them to spend their first year of marriage so far from home and we hope that it will be possible to visit them at some point. So we will be back to listing, listing and more listing, and maybe tossing spare change into a cracked cup for our "Visit Andy and Sara Fund." I have always wanted travel to be a part of my life, and would love to do more than I have so far. Now we have a good reason to make some extraordinary travel plans transition from 'unlikely' to 'worth putting on the agenda.'

Here's to bringing back the dreams of youth!

Controversial eBay Fun

Most weeks seem to go by with a normal routine of schoolwork and eBay work and all of the regular tasks of regular folk. However, there are a couple of extraordinary items in the line up that have had our attention this past week.

Norb spent much of this past week, not to mention several weeks before, on a very unusual bit of paper. Blueprints for Three Mile Island. They have been consigned to him to sell on eBay, but you must admit that they fall outside of the normal collectibles or antique piece.

He has spent hours on the phone with the NRC, TMI, and with eBay trying to do the due diligence ahead of time and get clearance before offering them up for auction.

Well, you will never guess where the roadblock is! It is eBay! Gotta love those California types, don'tcha? The NRC gave its permission, but eBay won't. Argh!

Another thing that has been in the works is a chance for someone to get their hands on something that will have a DNA sample and fingerprints from that great guy who was running for first lady, the former President Bill Clinton! Consigned to us was the bottle of water that he drank from at his podium at a speaking engagement a few weeks back. The person in charge of the event carefully removed the water bottle to preserve the fingerprints, and had included a newspaper which had an article covering the event, with a picture of the bottle sitting next to him. He also sent along a letter attesting to the events and what it is.

Maybe we are about 10 years too late, but it seems that there was a time when lots of people were interested in a DNA sample from this man. Who knows, maybe there are one or two people out there who would love to compare with their own privately collected samples.

Even with all of these dramatic consignments, there are still some fun, although less controversial, things that Norb could list without loads of red tape.

"QUIRKY - ECLECTIC "99 Cents" ESTATE SALE ON EBAY"

Local Birds

I love living in an area where there is such a variety of birds to watch.

Both of these photos are mine, taken as the opportunity presents itself.

The eagle was in the field across the street from our home in late March, and the birds in the nest were on our porch this past April.

There are two swallows nests on our porch and we normally have 2 to 3 families of swallows in residence each summer. The second photo is not the normal swallow family. I think they might be pine grosbeak, judging from Mac's Field Guide. At any rate, we love the swallow families and the natural mosquito control they provide, as well as the chance to view nature from our windows.

Bugs

This bug was found in great quantities this week in our yard, and I haven't a clue of what sort of bug it is, or if it is a menace or a benefit.

Does anyone know what this is? It was found in southern Delaware.

Gratitudes

One of my innate talents seems to be complaining, but for once I would like to be thankful.

My husband works very hard to support our family. He loves us deeply and always tries to live up to the example set by our loving heavenly father. He is kind and funny and so very smart that I automatically follow him wherever he leads because he seems to know that right thing to do in any given situation. It is an extraordinary privilege to have a long term marriage and to truly be partners.


My parents are still alive and married. My dear dad has had some health issues in the past year, and they represent a new reality for him and my mother. They are a tremendous example to us of doing the right thing. Thank, Mom and Dad, for your quiet forbearance for so many years.

I am astonished by my sons, and now a beautiful daughter in law. I think that having a child is like having a present that you open a little each day.

We have been blessed in that we have not had terrible times in hospitals fighting for life. There have been difficult times through the years, but luckily in other areas.

This is getting pretty sappy. But sometimes the ordinary things of life don't get our attention when it is so easy to focus on the drama of disaster, but what is it that we want to return to when we are in the middle of a crisis? It is the ordinary good things of every day life.

Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings.