Change

I have changed the name of my blog.  

I started a "Soaring Sun Studio" blog in 2009, back when I still lived in Washington State and was first starting to have some success as a professional artist.  Later, my personal life was unsettled and I had difficulty doing artwork and writing about it in a blog.  

In 2011, after getting a divorce, I hit the road in my motorhome.  As I was getting ready to leave, I started my second blog, "The eBay/RV Life."  Throughout my travels, I gathered readers and friends.

Now, well into 2012, I am back to being settled in one place, at least for a while, and I'm doing a lot of creative things.  It's time to focus on my artwork again, hence the name change for the blog.  

I may lose some readers who were primarily interested in the travel aspect of my life.  That's okay.  I will probably eventually gain some readers who are interested in my art journey.

Current mosaic projects

And a journey it is!  A few years ago, if you'd asked me to define myself as an artist, I would have said simply that I'm a mosaic artist.  Now my media and interests have broadened.  I still like to glue things to other things, but I've also been drawing nearly every day for many months, and I paint frequently, too.  Collage, papier-mache, and sculpture have all been calling me.  Seriously, calling me.  I have dreams about doing artwork and then I get up and do it.  Sometimes I don't wait until morning.  
 
I still sell vintage designer scarves and funky Western wear on eBay, and I still use my RV to travel.  But now I also have an apartment and job in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

In fact, I am in the process of changing jobs.  I've worked at a lovely hot springs motel for the past two summers, but I've just been offered work by my friend January who is expanding her art and antiques gallery.  I'll have the freedom to do artwork and sell on eBay during the down times between customers.  Yay!   

I also sell antiques, vintage clothing, and my own artwork at January's.  Recently I framed and hung 10 colored pencil pictures there, mostly mandalas.

Here are some shots of a sculpture called "Better Living" that I recently completed.  It's in response to a Call for Artists that my friend James Gasowski made for his Gallery Niche.  There will be a show at Niche during the September Second Saturday Art Hop that is dedicated to National Literacy Month.  All of the works must be related to books in some way.

 
For my sculpture, I started with an interesting hardcover book called "Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Processes and Trade Secrets."  This book is packed with about 10,000 recipes for how to make everything from absinthe to zinc plates.  Whatever the problem...chemistry to the rescue!  


The book is fascinating.  I had thought perhaps I could use it to make some "natural" products at home such as cosmetics or cleaning products, but I found myself rather appalled by the ingredients used in the early part of the 20th Century.  A cough syrup recipe calls for heroin, and other formulas call for chemicals I wouldn't put in or on my body.  


The base of "Better Living" is recycled wood with paintings and fabric motifs related to natural earth elements and species...water, dirt, fish, birds, plants.  The book cover is flattened on top of these pictures, and the bust arises up out of the book.  Her face, head, and horn-like appendages are covered with formulas and swirly fabric designs, as if her head is spinning with too much information and is under even more pressure from the carriage bolts driven into the ends of the horns.  Poor gal!  Yet the bright colors, the unexpectedness of the horns and the sculpture's name indicate that it's not all that serious.  

My next project is going to be a table top for Passion Pie Cafe, where they have local artists paint tables that are used and sold, creating a constant flow of new artwork nearly as tantalizing as the fabulous pastries made on site.  

So...this is my new blog, and I hope you like it.

Many things change, but some stay the same.  Sonja loves boxes.

 

Vacationing Along the Jemez Mountain Trail

Ahhh, it feels good to be on the road again.  Steve and I are on a vacation in northern New Mexico.  As one of my friends observed, I really NEED a break from the stress of working one day a week at a spa.  Yeah, whatever.  I know I need to get out of town sometimes or I get a bit cranky and maybe even boring.

This trip has been anything but boring.  We hardly planned it.  We're going with the flow, taking things as they come, playing it by ear.  

On Wednesday, our first day out, we thought we'd get north of Albuquerque, but the brakes on the Guppy were mushy, so we added brake fluid.  When that didn't help very much, we overnighted at Kiva RV Park and Horse Motel, where I'd spent several nights last year before I first went to Truth or Consequences, and then had the brake lines bled in Belen by a mechanic whom we've gotten to know all too well on trips between TorC and Albuquerque.  Fifty dollars and a great breakfast later, we were back on the road.  If YOU ever break down south of Albuquerque, check out Mike's Auto Detailing (he's actually full-service) and Frances' Restaurant (menudo every day, but, no thanks, I'll pass on the tripe).  They're on Main Street, you can't miss 'em.

We still had plenty of time on Thursday after the brake repair to head up to Coronado State Monument in Bernalillo.  This is one of the pueblos that was probably visited in the mid-1500s by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado on his famous trek to find the Seven Cities of Gold.  All he found were Indians, but they were living an abundant, usually peaceful life.  Unfortunately, Coronado and his 1000+ followers stuck around long enough to change this pretty drastically.  (They wiped out at least two pueblos that got tired of feeding the entourage, and many more people died of illnesses to which they had no immunity.)  

The Coronado State Monument was established after WPA workers accidentally dug into a beautiful, rare, painted kiva in the 1930s.  Painted kivas were not so unusual a few hundred years ago, but they're rare today because they are so difficult to preserve.  

The paintings are done in a kind of fresco with natural dyes, and they are painted over and over many times.  It's thought that the process of painting pictures in a kiva was a sort of meditation or prayer.  So, in the one we saw, there were probably six inches of paintings that had been done over several hundred years.  Most of the preservation was done by an anthropology graduate student, who tried to isolate some of the most complete drawings and preserve a single layer.  

The paintings we saw inside the kiva were reproductions done by an Indian in the 1930s who got thrown out of his tribe for being willing to share something so sacred with the rest of the world.  You can still see some of the original paintings, dating from the 14th to 16th centuries, in another building where they are preserved.  

All very cool.  But the Coronado Campground just outside the Memorial was not so cool--they wanted $18 for us to park on a bit of gravel right next to a really big rig.  So we took a chance on what we'd find up the road, and it paid off!

We headed north up to Highway 4, a winding road through the Jemez Mountains that offers lots to see and do.   We got to see people still living in the old Jemez Pueblo, and we stopped at their visitor center, where they also provided information on National Forest Service campgrounds in the area.  So we ended up at a really nice little campground that cost us only $5 (Steve has the Golden Age pass).  We were surrounded by red rock mesas and we were close enough to Jemez Creek to hear a little waterfall.

After spending most of this summer in southern New Mexico, the cool evenings in the north are very welcome, as are the sights and scents of different vegetation.   We slept among the junipers on Thursday night, and then among pines last night (Friday).

Yesterday morning, we headed into the town of Jemez Springs.  It is a spa town, sort of like TorC, but smaller and up in the mountains.  It has some great little collectively-run art galleries, where I bought a couple fun things and learned lots about a top secret newly-invented media that I'll try working with once I get home.  We stopped for coffee at Hwy4 Coffee, which had free wifi.  That was great, because I hadn't had phone or Internet access for a while. 

 
We did not go sit in the mineral springs--we can go for free when we're home, and also the ones up here have a distinct sulfur odor, which we don't have in TorC.  In fact, when we were driving by that stretch of Jemez Creek, I sniffed and looked askance at Steve, because I was pretty sure the odor was his fault; but then we stopped to look at a natural dam that is the result of many years of mineral deposits caking up in one place, and that's when I realized, "Oh, it's the creek that smells."

We drove up mountains on scary roads yesterday to see about staying at Fenton Lake State Park, but the campground was full, so we just ate lunch and headed back to Highway 4.  Then we found another nice NFS campground where we slept last night.  Steve heard wild turkeys and had brought along his turkey call, so he tried to attract them closer, but there were too many people in the campground for these skittish birds to come visit us.  We did see a few other smaller critters, though, and we heard lots of barking dogs. 

I was ready for a different sort of campsite tonight, after being woken by the dogs this morning, and we have found it.  We spent part of today at Bandelier National Monument (which was, disappointingly, mostly closed due to rocks on the road), and the rest of the day at the science museum in Los Alamos (owned and run by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, just so you know what to expect if you go there yourself--very informative, but don't expect to hear ANY criticism of nuclear weaponry or energy).  Even though we weren't really thrilled by the attractions in this area, the drive itself was amazing.  Lots of switchbacks and scary mountain roads.  I love that sort of thing!  

When it came time to find a campground, we were near Espanola, and the only "RV park" in town is one of those places where people tend to live full-time.  Really run down and right in town.  So, after driving around north of town and asking some questions, we found ourselves at a fishing lake at the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.  We don't have hook-ups or showers, and it is way overpriced, but we are also the only ones staying here overnight (so far), I'm writing this about 10 feet from the lake, and there are no dogs.  There's a nice breeze and the evening promises to be pleasantly quiet and cool.  


We left Sonja at home in this little tiny basket (and arranged for daily visits by our friend Kelly, who is a great pet sitter!):

We plan to continue our vacation for another five or six days, so I think there will be another blog post about this trip.  We're thinking of heading east next, through some of the mountains south of Taos,  catching up with our friend Bridget at her ranch or somewhere nearby, and then circling back to Santa Fe where we know a few nice folks.

Cool Times in a Hot Town

Sonja Staying Cool

It's been hot in Truth or Consequences, in the high 90s or low 100s most days lately.  I try to get out on my bike and spend time socializing with friends over coffee fairly early in the day, then run whatever errands I need to, before I close myself up in the apartment with the air conditioning running in the afternoon.  That's when I do my eBay work and art work.  In the evening, we can open up the windows again, the time depending on whether there's any breeze.  

Some new things (cool things!) have been happening here for me lately.  So many I think I'll make a list:

1.  I'm back working at La Paloma Hot Springs and Spa one day a week, plus a few hours here and there, subbing for co-workers when they take a lunch break or go to the dentist or whatever.  

La Paloma was beautiful last year when I worked there and became even more beautiful while I was gone for the winter.  There are more gardens, some bird feeders, and lucky bamboo plants in every room.  All of the bath house rooms have been replastered and repainted, and a well-known New Mexico artist, Tracy Turner Sheppard, is painting mimbres and mandalas on the walls of each tub room.  Tracy is in town working on this project this week, and I'm delighting in getting to know her.

Another improvement, for employees, is that we now get to use the spa's laundry for just $1 per load, which is a great time and money saver.  Yesterday I did my laundry early in the morning before the housekeepers needed to start doing bedding, towels and robes used by the spa guests.

   Watercolor mandala embellished with metallic thread

2.  I'm volunteering at the Community Health Foundation (CHF) Thrift Store that is practically next-door to my apartment.  I spend a few hours each week inside the store, usually rolling up pieces of sewing fabric and pricing them.  

I also watch the loading dock at the back of the store during the hours they're closed.  I try to make sure that the donations make it into the store when they're open again, rather than being stolen by passers-by, which happens a lot.  So I stuff bags and boxes and pieces of furniture that have just been left out on the dock into the big donation drop-box, where things are harder to steal.  Sometimes I bring stuff to my house over the weekend and then take them back to the store on Monday morning.   

Of course, this means I sometimes get first pick of stuff that's donated, so I've been able to buy some pretty cool things for resale on eBay or at January's Gallery, an art and antiques store that is right across the street from my apartment.

CHF volunteers get a small discount on purchases ($1) for each hour of work.   It's a great little thrift store, and I always find something to buy for my own use or for resale.  So I always end up leaving my shift owing more hours than when I arrived!  

 Oil pastel mandala on heavy cardstock

3.  I'm trying different art media.  For the past few years, my emphasis has been on mosaics.  A few months ago, I started drawing mandalas with markers, colored pencils, and crayons.  Now I'm starting to do mandalas with watercolors and oil pastels, and I'm doing some collage and papier-mache.   It's like being a kid again, where you try all sorts of things in elementary school art.

I've also started attending a monthly art salon, where local artists get together and talk about what they're working on, what inspires them, what issues they run into, etc.  
  

I've made some mandala notecards, each one an original piece of art, that are on sale at January's and at La Paloma.  I also crafted some Scrabble tile refrigerator magnets that are available at January's.
 

4.  I've increased my coolness factor a whole lot technologically lately.  My old laptop was being kept on life support by Dave the Computer Guy, but once it got to where nothing would help anymore (not even mouse-to-mouse resuscitation), I needed to replace it.  So I got another Lenovo Thinkpad, at about half what the first one cost me about five years ago.  It's taken me a few weeks to get savvy with a newer version of Windows.  I also had to find a new way of editing my photos for eBay because I no longer had PhotoShop, which a friend had put on my old machine.  But I've grown to love PicMonkey, and now I am back up to speed with my eBay selling.

I decided that since I was on such a high learning curve with technology, anyway, I might as well go ahead and upgrade to a Smartphone, too.  My two-year contract with Verizon was near its end, so they gave me a free Droid Pro.  

Now I'm beginning to understand why so many people constantly have their phones in their hands.  I'm using my phone as a mini-computer throughout the day.  I can check on my eBay sales without having to be at home with my computer booted up, and I'm looking forward to using my eBay app while I'm out shopping the thrift stores in Las Cruces next week, to decide whether things are worth buying before I spend the money on them.  

    So true...but at my house, I'm the one tethered to the phone.  Steve will probably never need or want a Smartphone.

5.  There's a new coffee shop in TorC!  Passion Pie is a cafe owned by several local women who turn out fabulous baked goods every day of the week.  I understand they also offer actual meals, but so far I've never been able to get past the pastry case to look at the menu.  I am still a Black Cat Books & Coffee devotee and I go to the Black Cat every day it's open.  But there are days it's not!

So that's my story of domesticity in TorC.  I'm happy and productive.  I always find plenty of interesting things to do, and the heat isn't getting me down.  I am, however, going to see about trading a few workdays with a coworker in July so Steve and I can spend a week or two in some cooler weather up in Santa Fe and Taos.  We'll need to restock the Guppy with a few things, since we moved the mattress and other items into our apartment.  

All is well with me, and I hope it is with you, too.  I'm off to the Black Cat to read the Sunday New York Times and soak up the local gossip.  

My Award-Winning Blog...And Yours, Too

Nearly two months ago, my friend Bridget passed the Liebster Award on to me and four other bloggers.  I hadn't heard of this award before, but now that I'm familiar with it, I love the concept.  "Liebster" is a German word that translates loosely to "beloved" or "dearest," and the Liebster Award showcases blogs that have a following of no more than 200 subscribers.  Recipients who accept the award then pass it on to five of their favorite blogs with small readerships.

It was hard to pick!  If I had my druthers, I'd re-award the Liebster to Bridget, whose blog, "The Nickel and Dime Ranch," inspires me to pieces.  Often, literally, to quilt pieces!  

Bridget is a very talented writer and quilter, and she and her husband have "retired" from teaching to a ranch in northern New Mexico.  Bridget also ran a college placement business in California, and she's incredibly smart about how to get kids into great higher ed opportunities, among other things.  Many other things.

I think Bridget and Tom are probably busier than they have ever been in their lives, what with the cattle getting into the growing dome and all the new projects that need to be started ato make their ranch begin to pay for itself.  Bridget writes about a multitude of aspects of her life, including projects, travels, and recipes.  Occasionally she writes a feature that she calls "Quilty Pleasures."  I love it!  

I met Bridget several years ago online through a weight loss social network called SparkPeople.  Last fall, I got to meet her in person on a short visit up to Taos.  Up close and in person, she's even more wonderful than her blog.  Thank you, Bridget, for your friendship and for the Liebster Award.

And now for the winners that I got to choose:

1.  "How to Love Where You Are and Eat Where the Locals Eat!!  Bob & Jo's Full-Time RV'ng Travel Adventures" always entertains me.  

Although I haven't met Bob and Jo in person, I love them and look forward to the day when our paths cross.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happens soon, because they are pretty fast travelers and they cover a lot of territory.  They have been full-timing, or at least blogging about their full-time RV travels, since 2008, and they've been pretty much all over the West, the Southwest, and the Midwest, several times.  

Bob and Jo record not only their travels, but also where they've found the best barbecue, best burgers, best pancakes, and so on.  They seem to be always up for an adventure, gastronomic or otherwise, and they take great photos of their site-seeing trips.  Jo has interesting takes on the restaurants and foods they try, and Bob isn't afraid to add new widgets to the blog, so there are always new maps and other features.  I learn a lot from them!  Congrats and bon appetit, Bob and Jo!

2.  "Life in a Volkswagen Bus:  The Good Life in a Small Home on Wheels" is written by my friend John Rogers, whom I first met online through the VanDwellers group on yahoo.  

Even if we hadn't met and become friends in person last year here in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, I would have picked John's blog.  It's good reading because it's such good writing.  

John has the advantage of being a real journalist who retired from a lifetime of work for newspapers.  As such, he's not afraid to take on real issues.  His most recent blog post about which spa owners have rights to the local mineral water flow got him into hot water (I'm sorry, it had to be said), and he decided to pull the piece.  

It's not the first time John has written about things that are so sensitive, either from a personal or political standpoint, that he's later decided to pull a blog posting.  I like that about John.  He thinks hard and writes about hard stuff, and he's not afraid to change his mind about whether to put his work out there.  When John puts his work online for us to read, it's always thought-provoking and interesting, and his photography is outstanding.  

John has also been sharing the books he is writing, as he writes them.  That's another brave thing to do.  Congrats, John, and keep up the good work!

3.  "Maria Gets Real: Living Authentically as I Prepare to Travel North America" is written by Maria Meiners, whom I know only online (so far!) from her comments on my blog.  Maria is an intuitive who gives psychic readings and does life coaching.  Her insightful and understanding comments on my own blog led me to begin reading hers, which I love.  

Maria writes about anything and everything--personal growth, places she's been, books she's read, things she sees, her work, her ideas, her feelings, her opinions.  Nothing is off-limits, and it's all very real.  When I read Maria's blog, I am happy that she is finding out how to live authentically at a much younger age than I did and that she finds such joy in openly sharing her journey and her insights with others.  

I can't WAIT to see what happens when Maria hits the road!  Congratulations, Maria, and bon voyage when the time is right!

4.   GypsyCzech is Dix's blog. I can't remember whether I started reading it because Dix is a fellow woman traveler or because she's a multi-media artist like me or what.  But we obviously have a lot in common.  She's always writing about something that resonates with me, whether it's a trip to some fabulous junk-pickin' venue, her latest artwork, or some delicious meal she's prepared.   

Two especially great features of Dix's blog are her outstanding photography and the reviews she does of other people's blogs and websites.  Reading GypsyCzech has often led me to other wonderful resources.  

I also love the overall "artsy" feel of Dix's blog.  It's always nice to look at and listen to, as well. 


I noticed that Dix has already received a Liebster recently.  Congrats, Dix!   You deserve to get this award more than once.


5.  Cruzin2Some is one of my favorite blogs because I've been able to follow Dawn and Denise's travels from the very beginning.  They started full-timing just a little while after I did last  year.  They started slow, sticking to their home turf in Texas for quite a while, but now they've hit 15 states.  It's been fun to share the adventure, from the earliest days of figuring out how to get rid of their stuff so they could hit the road to now, when they've become old pros.  I like the down-home, accessible style of this blog.  These gals talk about all of the little unexpected things that can come up when you're traveling, and they also take great photos and know where to find a great meal.  Congrats, Dawn and Denise, and safe travels!

Phew!  That was a lot of work, picking my favorite blogs and telling you all why you should love them, too.  If you want to find more excellent blogs with small readership, just google "Liebster award."  You won't be disappointed. 
 

My Trip to Seattle

The view from my Truth or Consequences apartment at Oh-Dark-Thirty on the day I left for Seattle

I've been in Seattle for almost two weeks.  My best friend, Helen, is recovering from knee surgery.  I knew her dad would be staying with her when she first got out of the hospital, but I thought she might still need a cook/chauffeur for a while.  It's been working out pretty great.  Helen wasn't driving until just a few days ago, so I took her to a few medical appointments and did the grocery shopping.  

Sly--the blue was brand-new on the day I took this photo!

 

 

I've also had use of Helen's car throughout my visit, and this has facilitated being able to spend time with my son Sly and also do a lot of thrift store shopping to lay in some eBay inventory.  I've gotten to see the transitional housing residence where Sly is staying, the FareStart cafe where he's in a barista training program, and the Recovery Cafe where he enjoys hanging out.   For a young person who became homeless a few months ago, Sly is doing very, very well.  He's keeping busy with productive things and has a good start at being clean and sober.  

This elephant is a Seattle icon, and if you look closely, you will see he occupies Wall Street

I've shopped thrift stores from Renton, the town south of Seattle where Boeing has a huge facility, all the way up to Lynnwood, north of Seattle.  I've been very careful to buy small things that I can take back home with me, plus I've purchased some luggage to get the stuff home.  I've found some pretty great stuff and could have bought a heck of a lot more if there weren't airplanes involved in this buying trip.  Seattle is a fabulous town for thrift store shopping.

 

Me, at a differently-abled street crossing

 I got to spend Mother's Day with Sly.  We drove to a county park on Camano Island and had a picnic.  We'll probably do something similar tomorrow, depending on the weather.  Clouds and rain are predicted, so we may not see the big solar eclipse.  

Another highlight of my trip was spending time with my friend Chris, who picked me up from the airport on my arrival.  I also got to see her for dinner a few nights ago.  I reconnected with lots of old friends at Freedom, which had been my AA home group for nearly 20 years before I left this area, and I visited with Janet Still, my former pottery and sculpture teacher. 
 
I head back to New Mexico "at the buttcrack of dawn," as Helen says, on Tuesday.  She'll be able to drive me to the airport!  It's been a relaxing trip, and I'm ready to get back to work at my various ventures in New Mexico.

Kinda scary, eh?  I think he still wants to be a T-Rex when he grows up

Back in Truth or Consequences

VW Bus John, Many Wheels Brian and Blogless Steve

It's been a month since I blogged, and what a month it's been!  I spent the beginning of April getting ready to leave Why, Arizona, and head back to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  Because I could leave some things in storage at Steve's place, I didn't have to carry everything I own with me in The Guppy, for the first time since I left Oregon about 15 months go.  So I made a lot of little decisions about which clothes and art supplies and so on to bring with me and which to leave.  It was nice to be able to travel lighter.


Steve and I spent a night at an RV park in Willcox, Arizona, en route to TorC, and then we lived in The Guppy at the Artesian Bath House & Trailer Court in downtown TorC for about two weeks.  We weren't sure whether we wanted to rent an apartment this year or not.  Last year we both paid a lot of rent and it seemed like it might be a good idea to just stay in my little motorhome and spend our money on gas money to travel around instead of getting tied down with an apartment.


But, after two weeks of close quarters, we were ready to rent a place.  We got along great, and we'll definitely use The Guppy for some future travels, but for every day living, we need more space.  I like to spread out to to my eBay work and my artwork.  Steve likes to have a little space where he can watch a movie, read, or take a nap.  

 My good friend Gretchen

I was visiting my friend January the other day at her gallery while delivering my first batch of mandala greeting cards, and she mentioned there was an apartment across the street over another store.  We checked it out and loved it, so we rented it immediately and moved in the next day.  Yesterday we already had our first little coffee party here.  Several friends joined us to watch the Fiesta Parade, since we live right on Broadway, the main drag through TorC.  It was a blast!  We hung out of the windows and stood on the roof next-door and enjoyed a bird's eye view of the parade and of the other people watching the parade.


The apartment is great--two bedrooms, hardwood floors, and tons of old-fashioned character.  We have windows and doors that open to a false balcony over Broadway, so we get lots of breeze and can watch the town wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.  I love it!  

 Sonja is right at home in the new place

I feel really energized here.  I've been drawing mandalas like crazy and have gotten the first dozen greeting cards into January's gallery with another dozen almost ready to go.  Since getting back to town, I've already joined the local artists' salon and volunteered to help find sponsors for the yearly artists' directory.   I've returned to work just a little bit at La Paloma Spa.  I have some writing commitments and a couple of business ideas, including making a Truth or Consequences coloring book!

Before I get very settled into my business endeavors here in TorC, I'm heading off to Seattle to visit family and friends for a couple of weeks.  Air fares have been a bargain recently, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to go visit my friend Helen who had knee replacement surgery last week, as well as my son Sly.  Helen has been working out at the gym for the past couple of years, and she's in such good shape physically that she probably won't really need much help from me in her recovery, but hopefully I can at least drive her to doctor's appointments and physical therapy until she's ready to drive herself.   Sly will be busy with a barista job training program most of the time I'm there, but I'm sure we'll get to hang out a few evenings and on weekends.  I'll get to see a few other friends while in Seattle, but I'm mostly going to concentrate on Helen, Sly, and my eBay business.  Seattle has fabulous thrift stores!  And I'll have time while hanging with Helen to iron and photograph scarves and get them listed online.  I'll probably write my next blog entry in Seattle.

 Andrea, Lynn, Judi and Chris

I can't quit this one until I mention what a great time I had meeting some of the members of my WomenGoSolo RVing group that were all staying out at Elephant Butte State Park, about five miles from TorC.   I'm so glad we had the opportunity to get together.  Not shown in this picture is my friend Metta, who has been living in her Class A in and around TorC for the past eight months or so and who recently joined the WGS group.  Both Metta and Judi are now working as camp hosts at Elephant Butte, so I'll be seeing lots more of them.  


And, finally, the real reason I haven't blogged in a while:

"It's not your turn yet.  Meow!"

 

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!