Garage Sales

I am having a garage sale today!!! After 30 minutes of sitting around....blogging...I finally had my first customer. A older gentleman who was driving his hotrod around town and wanted to buy a gallon of water from me!!! He gave $1.00!!! If nothing else, I can say that the day will not be a total loss :-) This is why I have mixed feelings about garage sales.

On one hand...you can find some really good deals on stuff that you need or want. 

On the other hand.....you can see all the crap people have be hanging onto for decades!!!!!

On the third hand.........I hate HAVING garage sales because I price things astronomically low, knowing what I actually paid for the item and then have people dicker me .25 here and .05 there!

I have used a popular website to buy and sell several things recently and I like think I prefer that method. There is huge appeal in getting rid of a large number if things all at once!!!!

Anything that doesn't sell....GOODWILL....because the process of putting it all away and then taking it all back out again.......I would rather go to the dentist!!!!!!!

Road Trip

Have you ever travelled out-of-the-state? Well I just drove from Texarkana, Arkansas to Merced, California with my brother. He is relocating to California and I just happened to be in Arkansas visiting my family. 

ROAD TRIP! 

Car packed to the brim, full tank of gas, ipod, gps, Monster energy drinks.....we're set!!!!! It was great to spend some quality time with my brother. We have always gotten along very well and share a similar sense of humor so there was lots of laughing :-) We also had an opportunity to share about some really deep ideas.....politics, love, relationships, religion. 

When it was all said and done, my brother had this to say, "Hey sis, thank you so much for helping me come back to California. I miss you and hope to see you soon." 

Can it get any better then that???? I think not!!!!

Mother Nature

In the 11 days that I have been in Arkansas, I have survived two severe storms! I guess it's not called Tornado Alley for nothing. I am generally a fan of storms...especially thunder/lightning storms. There is just something magical about how Mother Nature can be so delicate and yet so powerful at the same time.  

I'm here at my family's bakery, Merfeld's Bread Co, for Open Mic Night and instead I watch the storm blow in. The beating rain causes the windows to flex back and forth, the flooded parking lot quickly invites itself in, the lightning & thunder work in perfect unison and the storm sirens pierce the darkness. We hear the shatter of glass from the store a few doors down. Huddled around the ham radio that my-always-prepared-dad has brought along, we listen to the weather report. 

"SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL!"

The silver lining in all this is that we are seeking shelter at a bakery that is stocked with lots of goodies, restrooms and a bunch of musicians!

I have decided to put together an emergency kit of supplies that I'll keep in my car for just such an occasion. Non-parishable food, water, flashlight with batteries, candles & matches, blanket, radio.....that sort of stuff. You ask, "But you live in Oregon. How many storms will you really experience?" I have no idea.....but if one comes.......I'll be prepared :-)