Selling Off My Excess Inventory

Be honest with me--Does this chair make me look fat?

Two blog posts in two days! It must be spring! I must be getting invigorated. Maybe it's that big nearly full moon.

Last night I was on the phone with Steve, who is visiting family in Tucson, and I had to put down the phone and close the door because my cat Sonja was trying her darnedest to get out the screen door and play in the moonlight with the coyotes and other creatures of the night.


I spent most of today putting box lots of 50 scarves each out on the kitchen table so I could photograph them. I got the photos all taken, uploaded, and cropped, and then I wrote up the auction descriptions and launched them. I'm offering a total of 400 scarves (8 lots of 50 each) on eBay at bargain prices. My hope is to have less stuff to take back to New Mexico, as well as having a little traveling money.


Normally I list scarves individually. But sometimes they don't sell right away and I have to decide whether to re-list them individually or save them up and sell them in lots like I'm doing today. I also include scarves in these lots that I chose not to list for one reason or another--maybe a minor condition problem or maybe I just am not that impressed with the scarf and I'm not sure it's worth selling on its own.


I am always glad to get some return on my investment when I sell these lots. I am probably going to sell these scarves at a loss, when you consider what I paid for them and how much it costs me to list them online. Then there's the value of my time--huh! Sometimes it's best not to think about that! I had a couple of self-employed friends over last weekend, and we all agreed we probably work for 35 cents an hour. But, regardless, I'll be glad to get something for these scarves, rather than having to just give them back to a charity thrift store.

I'm one day closer to getting back to TorC, and getting these scarves listed felt great. Hurrah!

The Dog Ate My Homework

Wild burros just over the fence from our place in Why, Arizona

Okay, I don't actually have a dog, and blogging isn't homework. But I feel a little adrift when time passes and I haven't been using my blog to sum up what's been happening in my life. Not only are there several people who actually care about what I'm up to, but writing this blog also helps me hone in on where I stand with my goals and issues.


I've been busy. For most of the month of March, eBay offered free listings for eBay store owners. So I've been working hard, getting lots of scarves ironed, photographed, listed and sold. I've also made some progress on my book on successful eBay selling strategies for full-time RVers, and I've been asked to write some articles for the collectibles page on About.com.

What?! We have to travel...again?!!!

The weather has warmed up a lot in recent weeks. We often have afternoon temps in the 90s. Soon it's going to get uncomfortably hot, and with solar power, we can't run an air conditioner. Steve and I are planning to go back to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in mid-April. So I'm working on a mental list of things I'd like to get done before we go. I had a full physical a few days ago, and I'm going to get my taxes filed this week. I'm trying to use up food, and make decisions about what clothing, art supplies, and such to take with me and what to leave here.

Tailgating at Darby Wells

Life has been routine lately, but one highlight was a picnic out on Darby Wells Road one warm Sunday afternoon. This is an area that several travelers I know have talked about in their blogs, and for good reason. It's one of the most beautiful parts of the Senoran Desert I've seen so far, and it's BLM land where you can camp for two weeks (although I heard recently that, practically speaking, the two weeks starts when an official stops by to check on you--and that rarely happens on Darby Road, where there are far more Border Patrols than BLM rangers).


We also took a nice trip to Tucson last week to spend time with one of Steve's cousins who was visiting from Oregon. Going to Tucson usually means eating too much and spending more money than we do out here where there is hardly anything to buy. I visited the Tucson Mall and found some really practical, comfortable chinos and walking shoes at reasonable prices. Score!


Our six months in Why is almost over and I never produced the artwork I'd planned. I had anticipated going back to TorC with a gallery show ready to hang. I had an idea and most of the materials I needed to do it, but I did not have the creative energy. This was largely due to my concerns over my kid, who has had lots of ups and downs with mental illness since last fall. I guess my biggest accomplishments this winter have been to sustain a happy, loving relationship with my new partner, to live in a new place where I am always meeting new people and have no old friends, and to come to peace, albeit sometimes a fragile one, with my son's life situation.

These curtains are lovely silk scarves that didn't sell on eBay

These things are enough. The art will happen when it's supposed to. In the meantime, I have made a daily habit of drawing mandalas while taking an afternoon coffee break, and that has rekindled some of my creative energy. I've also gotten some more redecorating done around Steve's 5th wheel. There are colorful curtains on all of the windows, some made from my scarf inventory and others from vintage fabrics I'd collected. It is definitely more enjoyable being in Steve's place now that not everything is brown!


I'm looking forward to getting back home to Truth or Consequences, where I have more friends and there is a good coffee shop/bookstore, a movie theater, and lots of 12-Step meetings. I understand there is also now really good bakery bread to be had from the Bountiful Kitchen--I'm looking forward to trying it and seeing what else has happened in my absence. With that, I'm off to do some packing.