Update on Ken

  Thanks to everyone for the good wishes for Ken. Please continue all the prayers, good wishes, positive vibes, or whatever else you believe in. He is doing well. He has been moved to a rehabilitation facility and is making progress. He is expected to be there for three weeks. I have been staying in the hospital with him, and I'll be staying at the rehab with him too. So you won't hear from me for a while.

Ken in Hospital

   Just to say that I don't know when I'll be back. Ken is stable and improving, but he is in the hospital after several strokes. Regular updates on the blog's Facebook page. 

Nature, Animals, (Including One Amazing Spot!), Bakery Goodies, and a Few Dolls

  Ken and I have been going off for our Fun Day lately, and trying to enjoy some nature.

  We visited this park a few weeks ago. 

  The idea was to let Ken cook out while enjoying the beauty of nature. Of course, by the time we got to the area where the park was, and stopped and grabbed some food for the picnic, as we were going from the store to the car, it began to POUR rain. So Ken couldn't cook out. Luckily I had bought things that didn't need cooling, like pasta salad, cheese, and cooked eggs with peppercinis, and Ken had bought potato salad. So we shared and survived, eating at the park from the relative dryness of our car. We had stopped at the Amish bakery that morning, so we even had dessert.

Finally got that nasty beard off Ken's face!

   The pictures above are from the gorge overlook. By the time we could look, Ken couldn't be bothered to get out of the car. I hobbled down myself and looked. 

  We went back last week to because we had seen some berries growing the week before. We wanted to see if they were ripe. We thought they were black raspberries, which Emma LOVES. And black raspberries are hard to find in stores and really expensive. The frozen ones I bought for Emma's bridal shower cake last summer cost $40! So we went to the park again, and a lot of them had ripened.

   It was really hot. The car air conditioner isn't working, so i wore my sun hat tightly on my head so we could have the windows down and I wouldn't be blinded by flying hair.

Tammy World wore her sun hat too.

My left arm got sunburned. (Don't ask me how I only sunburned one arm.) We had to beware of the poison ivy, which was everywhere, and the thorns, which were mostly in my arms.  But we picked a bunch of berries. More on that in a minute.

Tammy wanted to help. "But you didn't bring a basket."

"Not a problem."

   We still haven't taken the walk down to the other overlook point, because our leg/ankles/backs haven't been up to it! On this day my leg and feet were really bad by the time we finished picking berries and eating. Ken wasn't doing too great, but he did hobble over to the overlook point I had gone to the week before. Hopefully, if we go again, we'll both be in a fit state to walk down to the other point.  While we were in the park we saw a bunch of groundhogs, out eating in the grass. I saw a couple of chipmunks run across the road at different spots. Two little spotted fawns came out of the grass at the edge of the road through the park. They seemed to be alone. Then their mother stuck her head out and rounded them up and back into the bushes. Later, as we were leaving two more little fawns came out at a different spot, and then jumped back in. Probably the same misbehaving kids! As we were leaving, down the 2 mile road to the gorge overlook where we had been, I saw a deer up on the slope next to us. She started to run, and I was driving slowly, as the rules say. We traveled together until the deer, who had been going gradually higher and higher on the slope, disappeared over the top.  

  But the best thing happened on the way to Emma's to drop off the berries. Not only did we see a lot of deer, including this one that crossed the road ahead of us as we entered the edge of a tiny town. When we got up to where it had crossed, it was just standing in somebody's yard, eating.

But before that we saw the best thing ever. We were driving along on a country road. I saw something at the side of the road that looked strange. There were no cars behind me, so I slowed down. As we got very close I saw what it was, and started yelling, "Bald eagle! Bald eagle! Bald eagle! Bald eagle!" The bald eagle was at the edge of the road, eating a dead deer. It didn't take off until we were quite close. Then it lifted and flew off, across a field. I could see it's white tail very clearly. It flew across the field and landed on top of a dead tree. It was so cool!!! 

  I only had my phone, and it doesn't zoom in very well. It all happened so fast, I couldn't get a picture until it was on top of the tree. That made my day though!!

   So we dropped half of the berries off with Emma. She said they were blackberries. I have to admit, we tasted some as we were picking them, and some of them tasted like black raspberries, and some, the bigger ones, didn't. I assumed there were just two kinds of berries growing close together. 

  So, since Emma didn't approve the berries, we went this week to another park, where some ladies had told me years ago that that is where they pick black raspberries. But first we stopped at the bakery and got our cream filled thingies again. They are filled with real cream, which you don't get any more. Then we went to the Amish bin store for 25 cent day. It's a weird place for a bin store. It's in the country, back a gravel road. This is what was right behind where I parked.

  My phone camera didn't capture it, but the light hit that section of the field where the curved furrows are, making it lighter than the rest of the field, and all the colour was so bright and crisp.. All it needed was a yellow brick road.

  After that we went to the other park, and Ken cooked out in the light rain that kept coming and going. There were berries. We both tasted them, and agreed they tasted like black raspberries. Of course, we delivered them to Emma, and she later sent me a message and said they were also blackberries.

  After we left Emma's we went to a nearby town and had ice cream at the Indian ice cream place. (So, I guess we had kulfi, not ice cream.)

Ken had pistachio and mango, with something else in between. I forget what it was.

Falooda and another one I had almost eaten all of by this point.

   From there we went to a small antique mall. I was determined to keep walking and get some exercise, because lately I have had so much pain and problem with my leg, knee, back, and feet, that I feel like I am fading away. When I'm home I do very little most of the time, because the pain is too much. I mowed the grass and spent the next two days letting my leg stop hurting beyond belief and start working properly again. If I'm home and I start hurting, I give in, and sit down, or lay down, depending on how bad my back hurts. I have been actually getting a little scared lately that I'll soon not be able to do anything. As I told Ken, in the antique place, the anticipation of what might be around the corner helps keep me going longer than I might otherwise. So I hobbled around the small antique mall.    After leaving there we went back through Emma's town on the way home, and stopped at another small antique mall. I did see a couple of things that might interest all of you. One was this doll.

  The tag says it's a 1966 Cintage P.M. Sales Peter Pan doll. The doll looks right, from what I see online, but not that outfit. I think that's homemade. The doll also reminds me of  a couple of dolls I posted a few years ago. That eye make-up is familiar. 

  I liked this doll, but I was good and left he there.

  In case you're wondering, she was $10/

  When we got home I was hurting so badly that I didn't know if I was going to make it through my shower. I took the next day to let the pain subside. I can't keep doing this though. I hope this leg thing changes soon. It's been on and off for years now, and it's only becoming more of a problem. The thing is, it can disappear just as quickly as it came.

  See you soon.

  

  

My 2000th post! Notes on Why to, (and Not To) Collect, and Happy 4th!

   Happy 4th of July!

   Yes. This is my 2000th post! I can't believe I've done that many, but then, it has been a little over 11 years since I started this blog. The original reason I started it was to have contact with other people who might share my excitement over a particularly good find, because nobody around here did. I found that it was fun because I got to write, which I've always done, do some photography, which I've also done for ages, and generally be creative. I keep getting suggestions that I should start a YouTube channel for the blog too, but my answer to that is always the same: I don't want to be looked at! Of course, there's always the method that people like My Froggy Stuff use, where just the hands are shown. I bite my fingernails, so that is pretty much off the table too.

  In any case, let's talk about collecting.

  Why collect? 

1. "I need it." 

  Are we talking about dolls here, or something else? Because if you 'need' it or not almost depends on what you're collecting. If you're collecting dolls, no you don't. Get over it. You don't 'need' them. If there's a disaster, you can't eat them, use them for shelter, or wear them. Then why collect them? We'll get to that. Most things that are 'collected', as in, rounded up and kept, aren't collected because you need them. I do have to say that when people 'collect' various bits and pieces for some future use, that's more of a 'need'. If I find a particular piece of discount art supply, found item, or interesting thrown away item, and I think I can use that later, and save myself having to buy something then, I 'needed' that. It will be useful, and save me money later. That's not collecting though. That's stocking.

2. I am a completist.

  You start by buying something you love. But then, there are other editions of that thing, or other things that go with it. You don't really care for them, but you have to have everything connected with the original thing. Well don't. That is sort of connected with the Number 1 listed below. Also, it can lead to number two under the second heading. Only buy what you love, and leave it at that. I was that way as a kid. If I bought one thing in a series, I had to get it all, because I am obsessive compulsive. Not having everything bothered me. It went together, so I should get all the things. I try to be better about that now. Again, see below.

3. "I want it."

  Well why do you want it?  Is it because everybody is buying it? Is it because it's a status symbol? Is it because it's fashionable, but not really your thing? Or is it because you really love it? That last answer is the only reason to have anything. I have watched things on YouTube recently where somebody is decorating their house or room, or, as it's referred to these days, their 'space'. (I swear, if I hear one more person talk about their 'space', and not their house, or their 'window treatments', and not their curtains, my head is going to explode.) They just go out and buy a bunch of random things because they are fashionable 'decor', or because they fit their 'colour palette'. The worst thing they do this with, is BOOKS. They have no intention of ever reading the books. They may not even know what books they bought. They just buy them to decorate with! They buy them for the colour, because it matches the rest of the random crap they're decorating with, or the general look of the spine. Try reading the books for a change. I may have a lot of unrelated stuff on shelves throughout my house, but it all means something to me. Fuzz made that clay monster mug in art class. Those are my and Ken's baby cups. Ken bought me those Smiskis. Ivy made that ceramic box. Emma bought me that planter. I've had that glow in the dark lion, a gift from my cousin,  most of my life.  I got that ceramic pig lady on my first trip to England. My grandma gave me that antique picture in the metal frame when I was a kid. Mom bought me that carousel music box. Unsentimental Niece bought me that water globe. My sister painted that picture. They may not all match a colour scheme, but when I look at them, they bring back happy memories, or make me think of people I love. My books are ones I love, on subjects I'm interested in. And I read the books.

  4. I love it.

  Okay. Now we're talking. This is the only good reason for people to 'collect'. If you love something, and you want it around, that's a reason. Things that make you happy, or, as Marie Kondo would say, 'bring you joy', are things worth having around, or collecting. That's a short, simple explanation, but it doesn't need to be any longer. This goes with what I was saying in number 1. If it makes you happy, gives you pleasure to have around, it's worth it.

Why not collect?

1. You are only doing it because it's the in thing.

  I remember when Beanie Babies were the thing. I knew people who didn't really like them, but bought them for an 'investment'. I knew people whose kids weren't really into them, but bought them for their kids because they were the toy of the moment. Here's the thing: Don't buy things for investment unless you like them too, because you might just get stuck with them. At the height of Beanie Baby mania, Ken and I, as doll and toy dealers at the time, couldn't understand why anybody thought they would hold their value. To hold value, a thing must stay, or become scarce. Examples include toys that break, or have small parts or accessories that can get lost or broken, and toys that are produced in small numbers. Beanie Babies had no breakable parts. They had no accessories, which due to their size are often easily lost or broken, and often, worth more than the toys they went to. And lastly, Beanies were produced in the skadrillions. I guess there were a few that were produced in small quantities, but not many. I've been to yard sales where people have tubs and tubs full of Beanie Babies they are trying to get rid of. Some people still think they are going to get big money for them, even at yard sales. Some people put a dollar each on them and still can't get rid of them. Thrift stores have the same problem.  So if you're buying something, make sure you love it.

2. Because you have enough now.

  Collecting is fine, as long as you know when to stop. I probably don't. I need to get rid of things, but I'm starting with things I didn't want in the first place. The sales page is getting a makeover. Please stop by when I get it back up, and buy something. Make it something you love! Remember the rules! But buy something, will you? Help me unload. I have too much stuff.

3. Because you have no one to leave it to.

  Sorry. Not a good enough reason. Especially if you are all alone. I have talked to people who are stopping collecting the things they love, or are getting rid of them, because they are getting old, and  their family has no interest in what they collect, or because they have no one to leave the stuff to. Some people say they are getting rid of their things before they die, because their family will just throw the stuff away. Not good reasons. Keep it. Enjoy it while you are here. Just make sure that you have made provisions in your will for what will happen to your things when you are gone. Leave them to a museum that houses that type of thing, but make sure you specify which things are to go to the museum. Leave instructions for your things to be auctioned, specifying which things are to be auctioned, and who or what gets the profits, (your kids, a charity you have chosen, etc.), and provide information as to who is to auction them. Some people say they are getting rid of the things now so the things aren't a burden on their family when they are gone. That's a better reason. But if you specify in your will for an auction company to come in and take care of that for them, then you should still be able to enjoy your things as long as you can. Once again, specify which things are to be auctioned, and which things you are leaving to specific people.

  Nobody can say why some people collect one thing and some people collect another. Everybody has their thing, as I always say, that thing that for some unknown reason hit them just right, and makes .them happy. And when that thing hits you, whatever it is, you might start collecting it.  

The Return of the Doll Book of the Month Club! A Question of Time

   I know. The Doll Book of the Month Club has been on hiatus for a while. But it's back! I found a book to do, so we're back in business. 

  The book in question is, "A Question of Time" by Dina Anastasio. It was first published in 1978,  That's handy to know, considering the timeline of the story. The illustrations are by Dale Payson.

  Apparently the author's daughter's doll collection inspired the book.

  As the book opens, Syd Stowe is told that she and her parents will be moving from New York City, to a small town in Minnesota, leaving behind her great grandfather, Jake. 

  Jake left the same small town in 1910, as an 18 year old, to pursue his dream of acting in New York City. He only returned once, and he's in his 90's now. Syd hates leaving her beloved New York City, and her best friend, Jill. And she's determined to hate her new home town.

  Syd is finally persuaded to have a look around her new town. She visits a store, where there are some very interesting dolls on display. They are very detailed, hand carved wooden dolls. On one visit to the store, an old man arrives and delivers a new one. The shop lady tells Syd that his name is Mr. Stowe, (Syd's last name!), and that he makes the dolls. He wants them to all be sold together, and he still has one to make, so she isn't selling them yet.

  Of course, Syd is curious: about Mr. Stowe, (Is he related to her somehow?), about the dolls. (Supposedly they are based on real people. What is the doll made in a reaching position supposed to be doing?) She finds the exact people the dolls seem to be based on, in an old book about the town that she finds in the library. But then the book disappears. Mr. Stowe gives his address to the lady in the shop, but the only house there has been deserted for years, after the family who lived there died.

  Syd writes to her friend Jill often. As time passes though, she becomes caught up in unraveling the mystery surrounding the dolls. She meets a girl named Laura, who plays marbles on the sidewalk in front of a store, while waiting for her grandfather. Oddly, she looks just like one of the dolls. Even the bag of marbles looks like the one the doll carries. Syd becomes friends with the shy and depressed looking Laura.

  Does Syd solve the mystery? Why is a kid in the late 70's playing marbles? Is Syd related to the doll maker?

  Okay, I'm not going to discuss the ending completely. I'll just say that the book wasn't bad, but there were some plot holes. I would have liked it when I was a kid, because I loved this sort of thing: mystery, ghostly stuff, time travely things. There are some spoilers below you can check out after reading the book. My opinions on those plot holes.. 

  The book doesn't quite make sense. The house has been deserted and everybody in the town thinks Jake was murdered, because one night there was an argument, heard by passing locals, where someone threatened to kill someone. Then he disappeared, (to New York.). Okay. This is a small town, where everybody seems to know about everybody. Surely the whole town would have known that Syd's great grampa left town to become an actor. Maybe the family didn't like to talk about it, but wouldn't someone have asked where he was? If he left town, it was probably on a train, so wouldn't someone have seen him? And if there was suspicion of a murder, wouldn't the police have questioned his family?  And if the rest of the family died in a boating accident, everybody must have known about that too. After all, Syd finds it in the old newspapers. So why do they think the house is haunted by a murdered family?  Didn't anybody try to contact Jake when his family died? Okay, maybe they didn't know where to get in touch with him. Or, maybe they still thought his dad murdered him. But when he came back and his whole family was gone, didn't he ask anybody in town if they knew what happened? Surely somebody would have known. And they would have known he wasn't murdered if he came back. I have an issue with Jake leaving for New York to become an actor. In 1910, wouldn't he have gone into vaudeville or something? Was New York where people started an acting career in 1910?  And one thing, just personal, but if this guy is almost 100 years old, wouldn't you wait a couple more years before moving away and leaving him? Are you going to:

 A. Miss the last couple of years you might have with him. 

and B. Leave when he might need you the most? Suppose he needs help at his age? What are you, a monster?

  I thought it was going to be a time travel book of sorts. I thought that way into the book. Instead, it turned out to be a weird ghost story/magic sort of book. Why did Syd's family come back as ghosts at that particular time? Why didn't they just talk to her? What was the purpose any way? And didn't she think it might make her Great Gramps feel better to know what happened to his family? Why didn't she tell him they found out? One final thing, if you don't want to read the book, but you're wondering what happens to the dolls, the shop keeper says Mr. Stowe said to give them to Syd.

  That's it for this month's Doll Book of the Month Club. See you soon.

Another Project: Pumpkin Cowboy

 You might have noticed by now that I make stuff occasionally. Usually I make stuff for my kids. I have made stuff to sell. This time around it was a gift for daughter Emma. 

  Emma likes a song/video about a pumpkin cowboy, conveniently called, "Pumpkin Cowboy". It's a quirky thing, with a strange star: a cowboy made from one of those ceramic shelf sitter pumpkins with a face, and pipe cleaner arms and legs. You can watch the video HERE. (Warning, it will get stuck in your head.) 

  Apparently the star of the song was auctioned off for charity, and Emma said she wished she had gotten him. Well, she didn't. And this isn't the real thing. But I can try to get close. He'll still be fun to have sitting around her house. 

  Let me say, I started this project last year. It just took a while. I started by trying to find the right shelf sitter pumpkin. They were originally sold unfinished and ready for painting and assembling. Then I suppose they were sold by the 'crafters' who made them. I think they're from the 90's. They're for sale online, and come with various expressions. Somehow I bought the wrong pumpkin...twice. When I did find the right one he was always being sold in lots of three or four pumpkins, and so was more expensive. I didn't want to pay that much, especially after buying the wrong one twice already. The right one was hardest to find, and only once in a while sold by himself. And when he did show up alone, he was always more expensive than any of the other guys. The search continued.  

  Before finding the right pumpkin I had also been searching for the other things I'd need. The first two wrong pumpkins had pipe cleaner arms and legs, with ceramic hands and feet attached. So I was able to steal the hands from one of them. The feet on both, however, were tennis shoes, and I needed cowboy boots. I couldn't find ceramic cowboy boots anywhere. I started looking at other possibilities. Ken and I were in a toy shop one day last year, when I found a Barbie accessory pack that contained a pair of cowboy boots. Other than having a different design on the sides, they were perfect: the right size, the right height, the right heels. They were metallic gold though! 

I thought it would be no problem, because there are paints that work on plastic. Well...we'll get to that.

  I had some pipe cleaners the right colour, from a kit to make pipe cleaner reindeer. (I was just going to steal the parts to make other stuff anyway. I only paid $1 for the kit at a bin store.) I had a red bandana to cut his bandana from. I got that at a bin store too. But I still needed a cowboy hat. As you might note, in the picture Pumpkin Cowboy has something of a ten gallon hat. I was having trouble finding any cowboy hats at all, let alone ten gallon ones. So when Ken popped up at a bin store with a box of tiny cowboy hats, I was flabbergasted that, after showing them to me, he said, "But we aren't going to buy them." "Oh yes we are! That's just what I need to complete Pumpkin Cowboy! And why would I not buy a bunch of tiny cowboy hats?!" They weren't ten gallon hats, but they were cowboy hats, and beggars can't be choosers. Of course, when I said it was what I needed to complete PC, I meant other than the pumpkin himself. That was the last thing I still had to get.

  I finally found someone who would sell me the one I wanted out of a lot, for a fair price. He was the right pumpkin, but there were slight differences. 

The one I bought.

The real Pumpkin Cowboy.
"Life is tough for a gourd out on the range."

  One eye was perfect, but the other eye wasn't looking quite the right direction, and the shine dot was in the wrong place. So to make it right I had to repaint both eyes so they would match. His eyelashes weren't quite right either, so I had to remove them and paint new ones. To do that, I had to scrape them off, since the whole thing had been painted and fired in a kiln. And of course, scraping off the eyelashes meant scraping off the orange paint underneath in the process. So I had to repaint that. But I couldn't just repaint that. It showed, no matter how well I matched the colour. So I had to mix up the appropriate orange paint colour and repaint the whole thing. Then I had to paint the new eyelashes. I also had to add the darker colour back into the pumpkin creases, (What do you call those?), and his mouth. Then I had to seal the whole thing with something so it wouldn't scrape off.  I used Mod Podge, which was maybe a little too shiny.

  The next problem was, I had to paint the brown hat and gold boots. I also gave the white ceramic hands a coat of paint. The hands were the easy part. The hat wasn't too bad either. I had to spray it and hand paint the hat band with acrylic paint. But those boots were a pain in the butt. The paint was supposed to work on plastic, but I guess slightly soft vinyl was a different matter. The paint just wouldn't dry! I left the boots for two days, and they were still sticky. I figured maybe I had just sprayed too many coats of paint too close together. Finally I gave in. I decided the only thing to do would be to scrape off the paint and paint them again. I debated on just using acrylic paint. In the end I scraped them bare and sprayed them lightly again with the plastic safe paint. They seemed a little less sticky than the first time, but they were taking too long to lose their stickiness. I had Emma's birthday the next day. What was I going to do? 

  Well, in the meantime, I had another problem to solve. The wrong pumpkins I bought had at least had  holes for the pipe cleaner arms and legs. The right guy had just come as a sitting head, with no holes for arms and legs even if he had wanted some. I thought I was going to drill holes in him for the arms and legs. I was afraid he would break though. I consulted our family ceramics expert, Ivy, and she confirmed what I thought: I'd have to drill with water on him, and maybe submerge him. Uh...I don't think I want to try it. In the end I decided I could just glue his legs in the hole in the very bottom of him, and glue his arms underneath the neckerchief. So here he is, waiting for his hat, hands and feet.

His neckerchief still needed trimmed too. "With a smile wide and a kerchief tied around his neck/waist..."

 I even remembered that he needed his lasso, and I had the right twine in my art stuff. 

  The morning of Emma's birthday his boots were still sticky. I painted the bottoms with acrylic paint anyway, and hoped he'd dry quickly. Finally I made an executive decision and sprayed him with matte fixative anyway. I thought maybe it would seal the sticky in. A couple of coats later, and I was proven right. So his boots were glued on, and he was boxed up for gift giving.

  Luckily, Emma liked him. He now lives on the window sill in her entryway.

The type of hands he has are actually reversed from the real one. That one has the open hand on the other side, and he holds the tail of his lariat in the  more fisted hand, like mine has on the left here.

When he's held the right way, he can even spin his lariat.

Their cat Arthur is in the background, top right.

  So that's the tale of Pumpkin Cowboy. I have several projects to work on now. Christmas isn't that far away!

We're Having a Heat Wave!

   Yes, it is VERY hot in Ohio. We have been promised rain, and then had the promise revoked for a couple of weeks now, at least. Supposedly, rain tomorrow. Let's hope it happens this time. Ken and I were out of town Wednesday, and there was thunder, and a few half hearted sprinkles. But it did make a major difference, and the wind got stronger, and turned cool. I was hoping it would follow us home, but the closer we got to home, the farther the rain clouds receded, and the hotter it got.

   We headed out of town in the first place to get out of our hot house. Unfortunately, the air conditioning in our car isn't working. 

Tammy World could barely stand it. That's birch beer in the cup holder, by the way. It's like root beer, but awful.

   At least having the windows down threw some air at us. It did mean I had  hair hitting me in the face all day, which drove me crazy.

  My decision on where to go for the day was based on my Google results for 'best ice cream parlors in Ohio.' We ended up in Findley, at Dietsch Brothers. It was cool inside, and they had lots of ice cream flavours. They also make their own hot fudge and chocolates. Tammy World was in Heaven.

  The ice cream was good. I had peanut butter ice cream with their hot fudge. The hot fudge was good, but not the best I've ever had. but I'm pretty picky about hot fudge and chocolate sauce.

  Ken had a two scoop cone of Rum Raisin and Coffee, two flavours he doesn't usually get at home, because I hate them both.

As our friend Cheryl noted, his face was enjoying that ice cream. As I noted, and his nose.

  You might notice that Ken is CLEAN SHAVEN, except for the mustache, which I admit he doesn't look like himself without. I have been begging for him to shave off his old man beard for ages. I finally convinced him last week that he would be SO much cooler without the beard. That finally did it. That's how hot it's been. It got the beard off his face, when nothing else could!

  We stopped at the ice cream place first. We hadn't eaten anything all day, but the ice cream seemed very important at that point! 

  We drove around, getting some air, and noting the overcast, but rainless skies. We went to a couple of small towns, where we popped in a couple of little stores. We went in a very friendly and cool little shop in a tiny town called McComb, where Ken sat in a comfy chair, enjoying the coolness while I gave the place a once over. The lady there was very nice, and prices were good. I can't remember the name of the shop though! It was NOT this antique store, but it was catty corner across the street.

  I thought at first it was an old Coke sign, but then I noticed the antique store is in the sign. Unless it was added later, I don't think the sign is that old.

  I grabbed a couple of small things that day that I'll show you sometime, but mostly CDs.

  How are all of you doing? Is it hot where you are? What are you doing in this weather?