Thoughts for Mid-May

1. Almost everywhere I drive right now, I pass by corn fields.  The plants are in various degrees of growth.  Some are just a few inches high, and others are almost a foot high.  Looking forward to having lots of corn this summer, possibly grown just down the street! Elaina said last summer she ate fresh corn practically every day and considered it "dessert." 

2. You know you live in a military town when...
Shopping for a few items in Food Lion this morning when I saw a young couple (30-35ish) shopping together.  The wife was pushing the cart and the husband was walking close behind with his white cane.  He was proudly wearing a T-shirt with the Marine Corps logo on the back.  No question in my mind who he is. 

3.  March was my best Etsy month for sales.  April was a little slow, and so far only two orders in May.  The nice thing is one of the May orders was my biggest sale ever.  I wrote about this earlier this month, but here's a re-cap:  I had found an antique silver tatting shuttle at a yard sale for $5.00.  I knew it had to be worth more than that so I did some research.  I sold it for my asking price of $120.00 within the first week of listing it for sale!  It was made by a jewelry maker/silversmith in the 1920's.  I had previous offers on it that I wasn't willing to accept.  So glad I didn't cave and sell it for $50 or put it on "lay-away" for one customer.  I actually hated to part with it, it was a beautiful item.  I need to find more of this kind!

The other item I sold this month: an aluminum calling card case with vintage calling cards inside. (Thank you Patty Purcell, you may remember this). I wasn't even sure I should list it, but I did anyway.  It just goes to show you never know what people are interested in.  It sold for $5 and the mailing cost!  It has a picture of Pikes Peak on the cover and was probably a souvenir from Pikes Peak, Colorado.  I wrote to the Pikes Peak tourist office to see what they knew about it.  I had two very nice emails from a woman who works in the office there.  She actually went to the trouble of asking long-time employees if they knew what year/s this was available as a souvenir.  They didn't come up with anything, but it was worth a try.  

4.  On another subject, I have at least 5 mosquito bites right now.  I have to find some natural way of keeping them away from me in the evenings.  I hate to use the chemical kind with Deet in it.  Mine tend to swell up and spread red all around the bite.  (I know, too much information).  I read that some people have an allergic reaction to the bites causing more redness and hive-like spots.  I think that's what I had.  The good news is, the more you've been bitten, the more you become de-sensitized. Next summer should be a breeze!