What the Hell?

The air is not on at the Peddlers Mall just yet.  The property management folks won't be cutting it on for a couple of weeks yet.  It's a good sized building, with pretty poor air circulation, so it's really warm in there, even though it hasn't gotten that hot here yet.

I would break out into a sweat while standing still in a snowstorm, so I was pretty drippy on Sinday while I was working, even though I was mainly sitting down and pricing things.

And then I look up and see this across the mall:

And I think to myself:

"Am I having heat stroke related visions 

or did someone really bring in a 

midget Santa during Derby?"

Weekend Haul

I finally decided to take a geographic approach to my sales quandary on Saturday.  I went to the furthest out sales first and then worked my way in.  That put me at the largest and best sale first, the senior center sale.

We took a wrong turn on the way there (totally my fault), so it had been open about 15 minutes when we got there.  That was enough for there to already be folks heading out with wonderful treasures.  I was still able to find several items for myself, so all was well.

The riding toy came from this first sale.  There's a story about the table too, but I'll get to it in a sec.

The Kleenex cover actually has a bottom and is designed to hang on the wall.  I think the design is really cool.  The honeycomb turkey is a Beistle, which is now patiently waiting for November.   I just can't resist kitschy Crucifix arrangements, like this shell scene!  The big conch shell is sitting on a vintage poker set.

Oodles of buttons!  The jars are pretty big and were only 50 cents each!  I'll be splitting them up into smaller jars to sell.  A woman and I were kind of competing to see who could clear the table with the buttons.  She got distracted by jars of beads, so I cleaned up on the buttons.  I made it up to her by pointing out some beads that she missed.  I got the black shelf everything is sitting on at the sale too.  Always on the hunt for display stuff.  The fly swatter looking things in front of the shelf are kind of cool.  The woman checking me out tried to convince me that they were antique beaters for small area rugs, but they're nowhere near sturdy enough for that, plus they're pretty obviously modern pieces.  One them even has a fake patch sewn on it!

There's another bag of things from this sale that I am somehow missing.  I wanted to show you the brass incense burner that they were trying to tell me was an antique pillow warmer!

My MO at this sale is to grab a box, fill it up, pay, take it to the car.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  There's just so much good stuff there!  So I come up one time to check out and the woman (who is the staff person at the center) starts fussing at me because I have a box with a lid!  "You can't have that!  No one can have a box with a lid!  We need those!  There weren't supposed to be any boxes with lids.  Who left a box with a lid out?"  Sheesh!  Just let me pay.  I felt kind of like this when it was all over. 

Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but really? You're going to act like that to a customer?

Sadly, one of the other check out women told me that this is the last year for the sale.  I'll miss it.

Then we head off to the super awesome church sale.  I bought some of my largest items here.

Padded bar stool

Wire baskets

Wicker storage cube

Small hamper

And then I also got some fun smalls.

This vintage metal tea set for children is way cool.  All the pieces are there!  I paid a bit more for it than I typically would, but I fell in love with it.

Bert and Ernie are hand-crocheted.  Bert was priced 50 cents and Ernie was priced a dollar.  I was teasing the woman checking me out about the "Bert discrimination." I told her that he was going to get a complex, being treated like that.  Without missing a beat, she looked at me and said (totally serious):  "I can always charge you two dollars each for them!"  The she winked.  I love it when the sale workers get me.  That little Disney statue sold as soon as I put it out on Sunday.  Mickey is always good to me, I tell you.

Heading closer to home, we hit the veterans sale, which was nothing special this year, to my great surprise.  We bought nothing but baked goods.  And, oh, what baked goods they were!  Someone had pressed peanut butter cookie dough into mini muffin tins and the result was chewy, crunchy little bites of peanut buttery awesomeness that were soooooooo good!

The last church sale is where I found the vintage kid's table and chair. I was surprised it was still there at nearly 11!  That may have been because it wasn't priced!  We asked about it and were told it was five bucks, so I really had no choice but to buy it.

I also bought a few smalls there.

The bizarre thing on the right is a homemade Kachina mask that I think is way cool.  It came from the other church sale.  Everything in this pic cost me less than 2 dollars.  I felt like I had gone to Arkansas for a moment!  (That's a joke for Shara!)

I also hit a couple of individual sales before calling it a day.  I totally racked up at one, where I got a ton of cool stuff.  Again, I was surprised to see this much good stuff left after 11.

The plates in the second pic have Picasso images on them.  The vintage album has a leather cover.  And the four tiles all have these cool art designs on them.  I also got a vintage GE toaster there.

Shiny!

Another sale was put on by this vintage collector who is divesting himself of stuff.  He's had three sales so far this year.  I only got two things there, but they make such a fun pair.

I carried them both out of the sale and felt like I had a kicky purse in each hand.  The purse even has a wooden bottom, which ties it to the shoeshine box!  I like to think of that purse as something my great-grandmother Gladys would have carried.  I really did have a great grandmother named Gladys.  She was my grandfather's mother.  I don't know for sure that she had a purse like this, but I like to imagine that she did.

Finally, a purchase I could not pass up, for sure:

Yes, more big bugs.  These suckers are HUGE!  They are easily three times as large as the last ones I got.  Like I was gonna leave them behind?

When I was working at the booth on Sunday, a little boy about two-ish took a look at the ant and called it a "spider."  I asked him if he liked it and he shook his head and said "Noooooooooo!"  So I said, "It is kind of scary looking, isn't it?"  And he nodded really big and said "YEEEEEES!"  Then he started crying for his mom to buy him some Legos from the booth next to mine.  Kids.

This, my friends, was the haul that was.  Hope you enjoyed!

Monday Rambles

Oh my!  I overslept today!  I've still got plenty of time to get to work, but not so much for the coffee and blogging time.  Oh my!  I need my coffee and blogging time!  Yes, I do.

I guess I'm still worn out from the adventure that was the weekend. 

I spent yesterday at the booth, pricing and putting stuff out from the haul.  It took all afternoon, but I got it all done, plus a little extra.

When sales slow down, I like to slack off on my restocking just a hair.  I'll put out only large objects or only a few new ones to keep everything looking fresh, but  concentrate on shifting the older stuff around to get to move.  After a few days of this, I'll  condense what's left onto a few shelves and slam out an abundance of new stuff.  It's an instant facelift for the booth and can often reinvigorate slow sales periods, like right now.

Last week was slow death, as far as sales were concerned.  I finally dipped into the single digits and could not get out!  It culminated in a day where my total was $1.99, and I took to my fainting couch with the vapors.  Actually, it was more the swoons than the vapors.  And I don't actually have a fainting couch, so I kind of just collapsed in a heap in the floor.  (Note to self:  Find a fainting couch.  It's so much more dignified.)

The weekend, however, turned out to be pretty good sales-wise.  My totals were where I like them to be and I sold some large items.  

Now it's Derby Week, which is the kiss of death for booth sales.  Wednesday, is the Great Steamboat Race, so everyone will crowd to the river to watch and no one will shop.  What steamboats have to do with horse racing, I don't quite understand.  Maybe they put the horses on the boats or something.

Thursday is the Derby Parade, so everyone will go downtown and no one will shop.  At least I get the day off, but I will not be downtown.  I'm not one for huge crowds.  More on my plans in a sec.

Friday is Oaks Day, so everyone will go to the Downs and no one will shop.  Except for those folks preparing for their Derby Parties.  Too bad I don't sell hot dogs and charcoal.

Saturday is (finally) Derby Day, so everyone will be at the Downs or at a arty somewhere, and no one will shop.  I shall console myself at the one annual yard sale that will happen and Free Comic Book Day.

And then it is over.  All I have to do is survive until Mother's Day, and hope sales pick up a tic after that.

As for me, this is what I have going on:

MONDAY:  Work.  Then go to closing store to check on booth and see if anyone has a killer markdown sale going on.  Go to main booth and prep storage room for what is to come.

WEDNESDAY:  Work.  Then go to Peddlers Mall.  Take down my uncle's booth and store his stuff in my room.  He's been sick for a while, but is getting better.  I've tended his space for him since the first of the year, but he has decided to take a break.  I'll take his tables and things to him next week.

THURSDAY:  Spend the day at the closed store breaking down booth and moving everything out.

FRIDAY:   Spend the day at the Peddlers Mall, working on the new set up and taking care of everything that got moved over.

SATURDAY:  FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!

SUNDAY:  Probably back to the Peddlers Mall to finish up.

Tomorrow, I'll regale you with the tale(s) of the sales from Saturday and put up some pics of the finds.  In the meantime, here's a preview:

See ya!

Well.....?

So, you're probably wondering if I got my dilemma worked out or not.

See for yourself:

Unloading at the booth

Yeah, I think I did pretty good.

That's not all of it, either.  This doesn't include the furniture/large items.

It wasn't easy.  Another perennial favorite church sale popped up to compound the quandary.  I swear, I think they do this stuff to me on purpose. 

There will be more photos.  And stories, of course.  There are always stories!

For now, though, it's off to bed.  I'm beat!  Gotta a lot of work ahead of me at the booth tomorrow. 

Look for the lowdown on Monday and Tuesday.

Good night!

More Quandries!

Oh dear!  Oh dear!  What to do?  What to do?

Checking over the yard sale listings for the weekend has left me in a super-duper quandry.

Three of my favorite sales are taking place on Saturday!  All of them have yielded super duper finds in the past.  They're all located on opposite ends of town.  And they all start at the same time!

First, you've got the senior center sale, which is basically one huge room filled to the brim with stuff at unbelievable prices.  I always end up making two-three trips through the place.  Previous awesome finds have included a box of cast iron mini salesman samples of bath tubs and a truckload of furniture.

At the same time, you've also got the huge church sale, which is inside and outside all over wonderment.  Past finds have included marvelously over-stuffed boxes from the "five buck box" deal at the end and all kinds of vintage goodies.

Finally, you have the benefit sale for the VA hospital put on by a social group.  It's smaller in scale, but the stuff is no less awesome.  Previous finds have included a carload of Christmas blow molds, a box full of Pyrex, and a super-nice vintage drink cart.

I'm not so much worried about missing finds at one sale while I'm shopping the others.  As far as I'm concerned, that way lies madness.  There will always be more stuff out there.  If I miss something, I miss something.  Tomorrow is another day and all that stuff.

No, my dilemma is a little different.  I want to get the most bang for my buck.  On their own, any of these sales would be the starting sale for the day.  The opportunity would be too great to miss.  When they're all on the same day, I don't know what to do!

Which one should I hit first?

If only every Saturday could be like this!

Tuesday Rambles

And we're back!

Not sure where to start.  There's a lot going on right now.

Work is a little crazy. I am longing for summer break and it's still weeks away!  Ack!  I've got spring fever so bad it's not even funny. Sigh!

Sales are abysmal right now.  Last week, everything just flat out died.  I've got the April blues!  I'm selling little bits every day, which helps, but not as much as I need to sell.  I'll be paying rent next month for the first time ever at the Peddlers Mall.  Sigh!

I'm just glad that it's more of a reflection of the amount of people shopping right now (very few) as opposed to a reflection on my booth itself.  The place has just been dead lately.  I was there on Saturday during peak hours and there weren't ten shoppers in the place!  April blues.

I will admit I need to do a bit of work on the booth this week.  Maybe that will help, but I doubt it.  I'm going to have a busy Friday, for sure.

Speaking of booths and such, I've (sort of) resolved my quandry, for the moment, at least.  The wall space by my booths that used to hold my religion wall is still open.  I gave it up to take the storage space.  I've rented it again and the one next to it, for the time being.  That will give me a space to park the stuff coming from the other store until it sells down enough that I don't need the extra space any more.  This is not the best time to take extra spaces, but I don't have many other options.  Maybe it will boost my sales during the summer doldrums.  We'll see.

There weren't any yard sales to speak of Saturday, so I slept in.  That was nice.  When we did set out, someone across the street from us set up a small sale, so I bought two small tables.  I still got my fix.

This weekend is my favorite sale of the year. (Or one of them, at least.)  It's one of the few that I will insist on being there right when the door opens.  Tons of stuff.  Excellent prices.  Last year, I bought so much that the organizers brought out a cart for me to push around and put things on!  I think that's a good thing.

Final thought for the week:

I was talking to another vendor on Saturday while he was unloading a truckload he had bought from a house.  It was an interesting mix of stuff and we were commenting on that.  He wheels this granny cart out from the back of the truck.  It's full of half full bags of mulch, potting soil and the like.  He starts pulling the bags out and setting them aside.  I notice one of them and say:  "Dude, is that manure?"  He says: "No it's mulch."  I point out that's not what the bag with the big pic of the cow on it says.

He takes another look, then says:

"Oh man!  I bought shit!"     

No Blog Today...

I'll ramble tomorrow!

It's Keith's birthday, so I'm taking a break.

In honor of the occasion:

Stations of the Cross

Since it's Good Friday, I've got three to share with you this time.  First is another Liguori Stations, this time with a brilliant red cover.

The illustrations in both the first and second booklets remind me a lot of the style of art used in vintage Protestant religious materials I've seen.  When I was a kid, it was still pretty common to have posters and pictures from the 40's and 50's still in use in Sunday School.

I spent a summer in college working at a church in Miami with a couple of retired missionaries.  They had been retired by their agency, but insisted on continuing their work on their own.  It was a trip, let me tell you.  They had been there over 40 years, by that point.  One day, they asked me to take some stuff to their storage closet, which was actually a large room.  It was stuffed to the brim with every picture, book, Bible, hymnal, poster, magazine, flyer, leaflet and booklet they had ever used.  These ladies threw nothing away.

I ended up spending a half hour up there.  They thought I had left for the day, but I had to check stuff out.  The graphics and things were so amazing!  I slipped a couple of old church fans out to take with me.  (Shhh!)  I think about all of that stuff there days and wish for just one more chance to visit that room.

But I digress.  Back to the Stations of the Cross.

The cover to this second booklet is my favorite of the bunch.  I love the somber, moody feel.  The image is almost ethereal, like it's being projected by that little flame on the "W" in the word "Way."  Cool effect, that.

 This last booklet is not really a Way of the Cross, but rather a devotion for Good Friday itself.  There are no illustrations aside from the cover, but I wanted to include it, since the service may also include the Stations.  The church name stamped on the front is a local church that is still in operation.  I always love finding things with local connections, even if it's just a name stamp.

This series wraps up tomorrow!

Yard Sale Wrap Up

So I owe you all a wrap up of my yard sale experience.  You might want to get a cup of coffee or beverage of choice for this one. I think it will be a little long.  I'm going to steal a trick from the always awesome We Are Clamco and separate this into sections with titles.  I think that will make it a little more bearable.

GENERAL STUFF

Thunder over Louisville day is not the best day for having a sale.  I knew that going in, but I didn't want to wait any further into the season, after getting stymied so much by the weather in previous weeks.  Since people don't tend to head out until the afternoon for Thunder, I thought that if I just ended early, I would have a decent sale and get lots of people by.

I did get lots of people by, but nowhere near what I'm used to.  There was no steady flow, only spurts and ebbs.  Believe it or not, I had no early birds, which kind of freaked me out.  I did have a fair share of dealers coming buy.  Most of them bought the best of Mom's books, but little else.  There were also those people who just like going to yard sales, and I was happy about that.

I kept my expectations modest, like I said in my prep post.  I was mainly looking to make some space in the shed and get rid of stuff.  The lowest amount I would have been happy with was a hundred bucks and I made about 120, including dropping off the last of the books to Half-Price Books.

On another day, I probably would have at least doubled that, but I got some extra cash for junk hunting (always nice), cleared out some room, took several large items to the booth (a couple of which have already sold) and made a small donation to Goodwill.  I also held the last of the anime and Batman stuff to take to the booth at another time.  I'm really happy with all that.

There was less stuff at the end than there was at the beginning.  That's what matters.  There will be more time to do it again and bring in some more cash in the future.

CONFUSION REIGNS

Since I do my sales in back of the house and not in the front, describing where they are is a bit challenging.  Our house faces one street and backs on another, but of course, there is no number for the street in the rear.  I have taken to advertising sales using the block number and street name in the back:  #### block of BLANK street.  I also throw in the intersecting street across from our backyard and the convenience store as landmarks.  Usually, there's no problem, but this time around I had a couple of doozies pass through.

The mildest was the grumpy lady who told me she thought this was supposed to be a block sale, even though nothing I wrote or posted said anything remotely close, except for the use of the word "block."  At least she bought something.

The real winner was the guy who actually asked me how to find my own sale!  "I've seen the signs, but I cannot find it."  I told him he was at the sale, and he told me that "couldn't be right."  Since the #### block of BLANK street starts down a little hill from us, he told me that the top of the hill couldn't still be that same block.  This was after I showed him the street sign across from my sale, which clearly indicates what block we were in.  He actually proceeded to try and argue with me about where my own house is located!  He kept telling me "It didn't make sense" for this to be that block.  I finally told him to take it up with the city.  He also didn't buy anything.

I FELL FOR IT!

So as the annoying guy above was leaving, I turned to sit down in my chair.  The chair in question was a lawn chair that we had bought at a recent yard sale for a buck.  We figured that for a buck, even if we got a little use out of it, it would be okay.  Earlier in the day, I had already sat in one of the chairs we got at the sale and the bottom gave way.

When I sat back down in this one, everything gave way.  Totally.  As in each leg went a different direction.  As in I went flat down to the ground.  As in pratfall.  As in this.  I wasn't hurt, but I was extremely embarrassed.  Seriously, two chairs in one day???  Diet starts right now!

That's not even the worst part.  After I got up, I took a look at my coffee cup, which had been behind the chair.  It seemed to be okay and intact, with just some coffee splashed out, so I picked it up and took a drink, only to have it dribble all over my shirt.  The damn cup was riddled with cracks, yet somehow holding it's shape.  I've had that cup for nearly 20 years!  It's been my morning companion all that time, and now it's gone, felled by the rickety yard sale lawn chair.  Curse you, rickety yard sale lawn chair!

I guess you get what you pay for sometimes.  Caveat emptor, and all that. 

SHE IS THE ONE NAMED SAILOR MOON

I sold a batch of my Sailor Moon stuff to one young couple who came specifically for it.  They told me that her six year old sister is autistic and is really, really into Sailor Moon.  She knows all the songs and all the characters and makes up stories about them and draws them and stuff.  I was kind of amazed about all of that, given that, at six years old, she wasn't even born in the 90's when the show was on TV.  They said they look for stuff for her all the time and hopped in the car when they saw my CL ad.  They bought a big batch of stuff, and then I threw in some extra for her because...well....you know me.  I'm all about the kids, especially when they're fans.  I honestly have never seen anyone more excited about a yard sale purchase than these two were.  They were debating whether to give it to the little girl right away or wait until her birthday. Nearly made me cry.

KIDS R US

Speaking of kids, one little boy bought three clocks from me.  One was a wind up alarm and I had to show him how it worked.  He had been going in the convenience store across the street, and ran across the street when he saw my sale.  He told me he was going to have a yard sale of his own and sell his old toys and books, as soon as his grandmother said it was warm enough.  He also said he was coming back with more money, because I had some other things he wanted.  I wasn't surprised when he didn't make it back.  I'm guessing his grandmother confined him to the house when he came home with three clocks.  Not everyone appreciates a junker.

I gave a little gourd to another boy who was walking his dog, because he was kind of fascinated with them.  Why not?  After all, I am trying to get rid of them.  One way is as good as another some times.

I'VE GOTTA HAVE IT!

I found a really big purse made out of a burlap-type of material with some fun stitching on it when I was going through my mother's last bits of stuff.  It was big enough that she would use it as an overnight bag when she came to visit. It went with her to the hospital a couple of times as well.  I don't really need it, so I priced it for a couple of bucks and threw it in the sale.

People kind of walked past it all day, until this one guy saw it, picked it up, clutched it to his chest like Shara with a Redmon basket, and literally dashed over to me to pay for it.  It's really odd to see some stranger do that to some totally ordinary something that used to belong to my mother.  Are burlappy bags the new Coach?  Who knew?

Afterwards, I pondered if that's the way I look to some people running sales.  If it is, then at least I'm entertaining.

GETTING IT OFF MY CHEST

The chest I had sold later in the day to a guy who just fell in love with it, despite the loose hinge.  He kept walking around it and looking at it, going away and coming back, but would not open it and look.  Finally, I opened it for him and that got him.  It was a love connection for sure.  I offered to help him get it into his truck, he just hefted it up and he was gone!  I like it when I can bring something together with someone who appreciates it.  I hope that I look that way to at least a few people running sales.

DRIVE BY STARING

There was a lot of traffic passing by, especially later in the day.  We had the usual "slow down and gawk, then speed away" type of people who drive me nuts at yard sales.  We also had one case of the "almost cause an accident by stopping in the street to decide if you want to get out or keep going" type. Annoying as these types are, every sale has them.

I discovered a new type during my sale:  "Drive right by because you are going to Thunder and not looking for yard sales at all, but slow down and gawk with an open mouth like you've never seen a yard sale before."   Seriously, car after car drifting by with everyone staring with their mouths hanging open.  I felt like I had two heads or something.  Uncouth, to say the least.

ALL IN ALL

I'm really glad I did the sale. I got rid of stuff and had a good time.  People are so fascinating, even when they're being annoying.  I think I'm going to do a book sale towards September, with one last yard sale in October.  Louisville lets you have three per year, so I'm going for it.  Still got a shedful!  There are a couple of community sales I'm thinking about setting up at too.  That way, I can sell and still shop!

Stations of the Cross

Today we have a children's Way of the Cross booklet from the 40's.  They use silhouettes to tell the story, maybe because the traditional images might be too intense for kids.  I don't know whether these are cut-outs or drawings, but they remind me a lot of the cut-outs of Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, who frequently illustrated children's books, often stories of the saints. She wrote many of the books she illustrated. I've always liked her work, because it has a kind of ethereal quality to it. These images don't quite have the gracefulness of her stuff, but they do have a power of their own that ius quite captivating.  Enjoy.

Kind of a gruesome image for children. huh?

The sixth station is my favorite.

The thirteenth and fourteenth stations are the most dramatic.

Yard Sale Photo Parade!

I've decided to split my yard sale run down into two posts, one with pics and one with the stories.  I think it all would be too long for one post, plus it gives me an extra post for the week.

You have to get up pretty early to set up your yard sale!

Where the hell is the sun?

I have our yard sales in back of the house, because the parking is better and there is more room to set stuff up.  Plus, there's a busy convenience store across the street, so we get a lot of passers-by.  Of course, that requires making sure the sidewalk is neat and tidy.

Keith sweeping up in the background.

Getting everything set up, organized, and clearly priced is a must.  I used a lot of "one price" tables with signs.

Always lots of books!

And here are all the individually-priced items.  The blue bits are the painter's tape I used as price tags.

Nerd stuff

The chest and some other stuff.

 It was a very interesting day, to be sure.  I have a lot of stories about shoppers, lookers, and even my own antics!  You'll have to come back tomorrow for those.  (Yes, I'm a tease!)

Stations of the Cross

This is probably the oldest one out of my set.  I love the illustrations.

Awesome front cover!

Inside front cover.

The heading illustrations for the stations themselves look kind of like medieval wood-cuts.

Quandries!

The yard sale post scheduled for today has been delayed due to circumstances which I will now explain.  I need to vent/ponder a bit, so I'm doing it here.  Please feel free to chime in if you have any words of wisdom to offer.

I got an email yesterday from the owner of the store where my second booth is.  He has decided to retire and is closing the store at the end of the month!  As in two weeks from now!  I've got until May 5 to get all my crap out of there, but the last day of business is April 30.  I'm really peeved about the totally unprofessional short notice, but I guess that's junking for you.

Rumors have been circulating for a couple of weeks that this was coming.  Supposedly, he's sold the building.  I don't know.  Junkers are a gossipy bunch.  A lot of things you have to let go in one ear and out the other.  Some of the same folks have been saying that the Peddlers Mall is also closing, and I know that ain't happening.

Already the rush has begun for space in the Peddlers Mall.  The two stores are only a couple of miles apart and have always been rivals.  Ironically, some of the vendors who have dissed PM for years and said they'd never rent there may find themselves in the position of calling for space.  I don't know.  Like I said, junkers are a gossipy bunch.  They're also pretty cantankerous.  I try to stay out of all that.  Still, vendors from the closing store started calling PM as soon as they got the email.  The next few days are going to be really chaotic.

As far as the closing goes, I really have no feelings one way or another, except for the short notice.  I have not done well there and won't be financially impacted that much.  I was giving it until the end of June to turn around and was planning to leave if I couldn't make it work by then.  This just moves my plan up a few weeks.

I do have some thinking to do, and it has to be done quickly.  Since I closed out of another store last fall, I've had too much extra stuff sitting around.  That was the whole point of this second store.  I'm not sure whether to just wait it out and run stuff through my current booth set-up (however long it may take) or grab another space in the Peddlers Mall, even if only for a short time.  I really don't need to sit on this much inventory.

April is a bad time to be expanding.  I could be looking at increased expenses with decreased revenue through the summer.  I don't know what to do.  On the other hand, having more stock out during those slow months may help increase the income.

What would you do?  If I don't put in a claim on some space in the next couple of days, I won't have the chance.

One thing is for sure.  The Peddlers Mall is going to be fuller with vendors than it has been in a while.  Hopefully the existing customer base will transfer too.

Give me your thoughts, please.  I'd appreciate it.

Stations of the Cross

This is a popular version of the Stations.  I actually have two or three different editions of the Liguori Stations.  I liked the images in this one a lot.  You can tell from the cover the use that this particular booklet has received throughout the years.

Traditional symbols of the Crucifixion from the back cover.