CuttingThroughChaos

Spooktacular Yard Sale - hallowe'en is just around the corner....

Perhaps you are familiar with the Extraordinary Yard Sale back in June...perhaps not...but it was a fine time!

Many "Starter Pumpkin Patches" went home with shoppers, either as a dollar purchase, or "GWP" gift with purchase... and a few even traveled with me to my OC Bikram Studio at the Camp in Costa Mesa...word is that several pumpkins are almost ready to harvest for the holidays! I myself grew one gorgeous pumpkin that I plan on expertly carving, for the upcoming Hallowe'en and Dios De Los Muertos, celebrations.

Well, the signs are going up again (slightly reconfigured) - keeping the overall look, just updating the info...

Only this time, it's the "Spooktacular Yard Sale Huntington Beach"

Basically, I am selling off more, much more of the collection...

Hallowe'en costumes... more like just my freaky sense of style and the fact that ANY excuse to "costume"... I have been "styling" friends and family for years!!

And people... it's all about the vintage and obscure clothing and accessories...

AND some sweet winter gear will be in the driveway...

For Sale Cheap!!

Patagonia, Helly Hansen, Carhartt, Columbia, Sorell...

Jackets, boots, maybe a snowboard or two...

Scarves, hats, jeans, sweatshirts...

AND... The best part... some seriously talented and visionary Hallowe'en stylists and my very good friends, will be on site Saturday to assist in bringing out your inner ghoul or goddess...

I myself, can't wait till the weekend!

I guess it's time to eBay again!

But first: I am headed off to pirateville this weekend!
Destination; Lake Casitas - Ojai, CA.

I hope to be meeting up with the ultra-fabulous Rum Runners.
What a camp they have; like a Hollywood movie set!
It will be my pleasure to help with "tear down" on Monday morning.

I find myself, once again without work.
eBay is calling! And come mid-October, I shall answer that call.

Getting Down on Grandma's Rug


Long Beach Blues Festival Sunday, September 3rd 2006. Joe Cocker was tearing it up on stage and our crew was cutting a serious rug, Cheryl's Grandmas rug. Okay, so this has taken me 5 months to finally upload it to the www, I figure it is about time. A "shout-out" to all of you who enjoyed the tunes, the sunshine and the good vibe! Oh, and of course, GRANDMAS RUG!!

Pirates and Piratesses at the Gold Coast Pirate Fair

Yeo-ho, yeo-ho a pyrate's life for me!
An excellent few weeks, with more on the way. There is nothing more satisfying than being surrounded by pirates and piratesses! From Pirate invasion weekend at the Nor Cal RenFaire, to the Gold Coast Pirate Fair in Ojai. Friends and family alike, bedecked and decked out in pirate gear. Many pints of goodly ale drank. Many pirate jokes told and hearty laughs heard.
Pictured here The Pyrate Josephine and sweet Lizette - looking so demure (don't let looks fool ya...)

Neat place to stay, great folks and llamas!

Sunday Sept 17, 2006
I flew from Las Vegas to SanJose. Drove with me mum to Hollister, CA for "Pirate Invasion" weekend at NorCal Ren Faire. The next day would find me and my mum in Palm Springs...we needed a neat place to stay in between...we found the perfect spot; Circle Star Ranch in Lindsay, California. A great little bed and breakfast, off the beaten path and surrounded by orange groves. Pictured here; Jeff Wolff and llama Pallo (who, along with llama Mabelline -pictured peeking around the barn - as well as llama Misty, provided much good company and photo ops.) Jeff's wife Dorita made us a wonderful breakfast pastry and fresh squeezed OJ Monday morning. After a nice hot tub, mum and I said good-bye to the Circle Star Ranch and headed south.

LUCKY Zippo Windproof Lighter with State Seal of Alaska

Pictured here is an authentic Zippo Windproof Lighter engraved with the State Seal of Alaska. An all brass Zippo lighter, manufactured in the USA, March of 1998. It is currently up for auction on my ebay account (check out my links) CuttingThroughChaos. Part of the collection from my Room of Chaos - it has traveled from Alaska to California and now to Nevada. It's history is quite unusual, and for the lucky bidder, I will certainly reveal how it came into my possession.
Being that I am a non-smoker, it is like new on the inside, just signs of being in my pocket as a lucky charm.

A lesson in what really sells on ebay

Will this little piggy stay home?

Auction ending soon.

Too cute!

Don't let him go to the thrift store!

...well, I managed to get one bid on this vintage piggy/penny bank from posting this on my ebay blog. Then, I started surfing what was selling for over $100 dollars on ebay - amazing!!

I learned you can actually sell a "traveling toilet paper roll" or if you are a hunk/airline attendant; you can sell advertising on your rolley bag. Or you can even sell "paranormal"- rings, vases..heck, you name it paranormal and apparently it sells!

So, I am going to try to change it up a bit this week - I believe I have a few items that could have a "wild" auction. Hard to find, bizarre, off the charts, freaky stuff - and the pictures to back it up!

Wish me luck!

Laughing Dogs and second languages

***Laughing Dog !***
****note cards!!****
Last night, I completed the first of what I intend to be many items, offering my original photography in the form of note cards and some framed prints, for sale on ebay. I think the listing turned out pretty nice actually. I am starting to get the hang of the tools, and between ebay listings, the blog and my pet photography website; feeling more and more comfortable with reading and writing html code. Still, as a second language, it is fairly dry...

Speaking of second languages...

There is a chance I could be traveling to France in a few months, so in preparation, I am attempting to learn the language. I say attempt, because is seems like a Herculean task to learn any new language - French being an incredibly tough one. Much like English, in that there are many words that sound the same and mean something different, words that are spelled differently than they sound and sound different than they look like they sound. It is a beautiful language to hear a native speaker speak, I hope I am able to do it justice.
What will I do in France, you ask? Well, work on the book of course!

La Luna Bella! Ah, The Full Moon, she's a beauty!

I managed to get out of the city and into the desert this week, for a good look at the Full Moon. Quite nice.

Also met this really cool pooch at the Booky Joint in Mammoth Lakes, California. Her name is Tang - she's the book store dawg. Gave the clerk my card for www.pawsitiveimagery.com my pet photography website. I wish I could be taking pictures of people's pets 20 hours a day. There is nothing more truth-full and soulful, than a dog, looking you straight in the eyes.

Meanwhile, as far as the web commerce goe, I barely managed to list 2 items on my ebay today. It is really difficult to keep the flow going strong, but I think is it essential to make a better attempt. I feel like if I get some momentum going, more people will keep an eye on my listings. If I let it drop, so will the amount of avid ebay watchers...just a theory, but it sounds good doesn't it? So, my big plans for listing everything this Sunday, today, went out the door. Maybe I will just have to count on the work crowd- wanting to play "hookey" at their desks on a Monday afternoon!

August Already! Where does the time go?

Yes, yes, yes..it is August !
Time to quit napping and get outside.
'Course if you are living in some place like...
Vegas, well, that can be a challenge. Most days we're looking at 100*F by the time the sun is just getting up. I am finding it is better to get up before the sun, to do any work out in my yarden.
Trying to convince people to do a photo shoot with their animals at such an early start time has been tricky. Here's the thing, animals are really much smarter than people when it comes to common sense things like, "Why the heck are we out here taking pictures in the midday sun?" Even the most cooperative hound, is seeking the cool respite of (under the porch) shade, once the sun is high.
I have found it fairly easy to be inside working on my eBay stuff in the afternoon, heading to the post office early in the morning. If the mercury falls bellow 95*F in the evenings, a little walk to get some watermelon gelato is always a welcome treat.

Herds Traveling eBay LiVe 2006 Fuzzies seen across the US!

They are leaving in boxes of treasures won on eBay by any lucky bidders going to my site this week and winning a bid.

http://blogs.ebay.com/cuttingthroughchaos/entry/Im-giving-away-eBay-LiVe-Fuzzies-with-my-orders/_W0QQidZ4435018

You also might want to check out a "Slightly Unusual" item up for bid.
(*cat not included) The Giant Wilson US Open Tennis Ball *

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270011250057

Canadian Coin Week at My eBay-CuttingThroughChaos !

Today was an real eye opener. Like Sheryl Crow says, "It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got".
I have been enjoying looking closely at my old coin collection. So much so, that one of the coins I had planned on listing today, well I did not.
I was busy photographing 4 coins to auction as a lot and wanted to really get the detail of this Canadian silver 50 cent piece. I just kept looking at this coin, readjusting it so the light would shine on it just so. Well check it out.
The thing is really cool! So it looks like my fans at eBay-CuttingThroughChaos will have to wait for this one.
Other news, I got my pet photography website published. What a task! So wonder people hire web designers! PawsitiveImagery.com check it out.
Thanks for visiting, feel free to comment!

The coins are off and running

With more research to be completed on the cribbage board, I decided to go with ebaying the coin collection first. The Canadian coins being the first to be sent to the auction block. Yesterday a 1751-1951, large 5 cent commemorative coin and today a lot of 4 silver nickels 1902-1919. (Tiny little things, I imagine they would fall through the cracks in the couch and be lost for all time if you were not careful.) Starting to get the gist of photographing and listing the items. The coins are tricky though, as far as photograpy goes. Very tiny and shiny. Pet photography is much easier and a lot more fun.

On a personal note, I spoke with my girl Tirzah today, she took her boards! "Nurse Wrench" to be loosed upon an unsuspecting public.
It really is a wonderful world! So, this is a shout out to Tirzah-"CONGRATULATIONS WOMAN!! I am really proud of you."

Pictured here, graduating from Nursing College in California.

The Cribbage Board from the USS Sierra - 1944

Hunting through the room of chaos, I have come across a more than a few things of interest. I continue to angst over what to list on ebay, though I realize is totally unnecessary, yet angst I do. I just keep thinking about marketing and communications and how to make the best go of it. I think I have decided to either whittle away at a bag of coins, all in little paper envelopes that I have been carting around for over 20 years, or this cribbage board that I bought at a yard sale in Southern California when I was a teenager. It is engraved

C.B. Mallonee C.M.M.
U.S.S. Sierra
1944

I have been research/surfing all morning and am growing frustrated with the lack of information out there, at least so far. Might have to actually hit the library! The books, the stacks, the Dewey Decimal System, yikes!

The cribbage board is quite heavy, not sure what the material is that it is made of - something quite industrial strength. It is 11" long by about 2.75" wide, all black, with 4 brass pegs and two brass caps on the end of the peg storage holes.

The USS Sierra (AD-18) was commissioned March 20, 1944. I know the Sierra was famous for it's shop, perhaps the cribbage board was manufactured on board the ship?

Still hoping to find out more about C.B.Mallonee C.M.M.

If anyone reading this post has any information or can pass the post on to someone who might, it would be greatly appreciated.

Multi-tasking

OK, last night I finished the website for my pet photography business, Pawsitive Imagery. I see why people hire web designers, what a Herculean task. To sit in front of the same screen, looking at the same code, for a long, long, time.... Having said that, well, I am glad I did it and look forward to improving and updating it, now that I have the gist.
www.pawsitiveimagery.com

So, the next task is to flesh out my cuttingthroughchaos eBay sellers account. Get some things up for auction and start making a little money to finance the Pawsitive Imagery endeavors. I just spoke with a friend of mine, who has got his eBay sellers account, up and running. He is doing well and having fun; 911dealer and is lighting a fire under my butt, telling me, "--just pick something and go for it!"

Ya, got to love good advise.