My Scanner - Never Leave Home Without It

We’re in Fort Worth for the weekend – My Beloved is playing in a golf tournament. My Book Selling Buddy is is coming up from Waco tomorrow and we’re going to go book scouting.

We came up todayon Friday so she could practice and we also wanted to see a new art exhibit at the Kimball Art Museum.

We were browsing in the gift shop and I came across a pile of sale books – some reduced as much as 75%.

Did I have my scanner with me? Nooooooooo!

I mean who takes a scanner to the art museum?????

I sorted out the 75% off books, eliminated the obvious duds (Dover press and such) and pulled out my trusty iPhone. Thank goodness I still have ScoutPal.

I found not one but copies of this: Michael Sweerts 1618-1664

I paid $12 for each of them. I have once again justified my ScoutPal subscription for another year.

And I will never, ever go to the art museum without my scanner again!

I Guess I Don't Get It My Way

I realize I live in a diverse section of a very diverse city. When I wander into the local Taqueria I fully expect to ask for “Dos tacos con pollo y un tea frio, por favor”. The owners of my favorite Vietnamese dive are a bit shaky when it comes to English so I point to what I want. Actually, I got them to teach how to ask for a bowl of noodles and a Vietnamese iced coffee in Vietnamese.

But it really bothers me have to order “Dos hamberqueos solomante’ catsup y un Coca Cola pequeno” at Burger King.

Doesn’t “Having It My Way” mean I get to order my food in English?

Houston, We Have a Dress!

The Fashionista & Nordstrom Came Through!
She suggested a couple of dresses available on Nordstrom On-line.
One proved to be a winner!
Major problem solved! Happy Dance!
Three Cheers for Nordstrom!

I took the dress to Nordstrom yesterday for alterations and shoes.

Oh the shoes!



Now that was an adventure. I do love me my Birkes but they just don’t go with a formal dress. High heels pinch a nerve on the sole of my feet and I topple over. The Fashionist and I looked at just about every shoe in the shoe department. I nixed the silver flip flops with rhinestones in the heels (to glitzy), she nixed the silver matte flats (to dowdy). We then spotted “Gentle Souls”. I have never, ever paid so much for a pair of shoes but they work. They go with the dress and I can actually walk in them.

The Fashionista strongly recommended that I wear them around the house to “break them in”.
Just like June Cleaver I’m keeping house in high heels.

All I need now are the pearls.

Coupons Save You $$$

Given state of grocery prices these days I've started using coupons again. I keep mine housed in plastic baseball card holders which are in a zippered 3 ring binder. I seem to be a master at never getting said binder into my car once I finish - so far I've misplaced 2 of them. They are constructed from binders I find at the thrift store so I'm never out much money but it is annoying none the less.

Monday I misplaced it again & some honest soul (there really are some left in this world) turned it in. I went to Kroger retrieve it. Half Price Books is right next door so of course I had to stop in.

On my Monday stop I trolled a fishing book that listed for $120. I paid $7 and much to my amazement it sold yesterday. Today a little voice told me to go check out the fishing books again.
To my great joy, I found not 1 but 2 more copies.

I knew coupons saved me money but didn't realize it could be this much money!

Thursday Thirteen - My New Laptop

Thirteen Things I Love and Don't Love about My New Laptop

1. It’s pink! It’s confusing people because they don’t think of me as likeing pink. Little do they know I have a thing for flamingos. That’s Good.

2. I now have a working back up computer (my old one). That’s Good.

3. It has Vista. I like it. I thought I wouldn’t. So what was Bad is actually Good

4. It is blazing fast. That is very, very , very good.

5. It’s a Dell. Tech. Services is in India. That’s Bad.

6. Microsolf Outlook Home & Student 2007 Edition no longer comes with Outlook. That’s Bad.

7. I spent 2 hours talking to India trying to solve that particular problem. That’s Bad.

8. It was finally solved. That’s Good.

9. It took me threating to return the computer to be allowed to buy Outlook. That’s Bad.

10. It’s possible to transfer data from the old comptuer to the new one. That’s Good.

11. It requries a $40 Data Transfer Cable which isn’t mentioned in the ordering specs. That’s Bad.
12. Radio Shack sells them. That’s Good.

13. I’ve already sold enough books in July to recoup half the cost. That’s Very Good Indeed.

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Even the Fashionesta

Find a dress for my role as Mother of the Bride. .

The Bride’s Requirments:
Colors : red and ivory
Bride in a long dress, bridesmaids in short frocks
5pm Outdoor ceremony – in Miami Beach – in August
Indoor reception, sit down dinner

My Requirements:
Knee length skirt (did the mini skirt thing in my youth)
No spaghetti straps or low cut necks
No pale pastels, no sofa cover size flowers and no sequins or bugle beads
The Mother of the Bride really should not wear black. We are thrilled about the groom, black might send the wrong message

No more than 3 numbers to the left of the decimal point of the price

Prior to my arrival the Head Fashionesta at Nordstrom pulled 4 outfits.
I tried them all on. She rejected them all. . One thing I love about the Fashionestas at Nordstrom, they won’t sell you something just for the sake of their commissions.

We commenced to walk the store. Twice. From top to bottom. And bottom to top.

2 hours later: Big Sigh. Well, I’ll keep my eyes open, hopefully I’ll find something when the things come in for our big Anniversary Sale next month. "

Stay tuned.

Fleas for Fun & Profit

We had a mild winter, a short spring and then summer arrived with a vengeance. We are now experiencing 90 % humidity a 105 heat index and fleas. They appear to have an immunity to Advantage and FrontLine so it was time to lock up the cats and bring out the flea bombs.

Sunday morning appeared to be the optimum since My Beloved had a golf game. My Beloved is Fragile Flower, who is allergic to everything, including residual flea bomb scent.

I locked the cats on the upstairs balcony, turned off the Air Conditioner, sprung the bombs and fled the house. The plan was to hole up at Waldo’s Coffee House and linger over a latte and their Whi-Fi.

On the way I spotted a garage sale sign (I don’t normally go garage sailing on Sundays). Of course I had to check it out. It was a bust but on the way back I passed another, newly opened sale.

It yielded 4 textbooks, 2 other books with decent prices and ranks, 3 vintage calculators (very ebayable) and a Melissa & Doug wooden floor puzzle.

$200 in book inventory + E-bay stock! Wish that fleas were always so profitable!