Things seem to be finally settling down now. And I can finally take a few deep breathes and relax. At least until life slaps me upside the head again, or we sell the property and have to downsize Mom into a smaller home (her choice as she no longer wants to be burdened with a larger home or lot to take care of), which ever comes first.

But hopefully I will be better able to keep up with whats going on and actually keep the blog current.

Wishing all a happy, healthy, sane 2010.

I have received no less than three packages this week alone in which the boxes were turned inside out and shipped parcel post.  Luckily I was not charged extra for these.  But only because I refused the one that came postage due, and the others were not caught.

People it doesn’t matter if the priority mail material is used or new.  It can only be used for priority mail shipments.  Any of the following can happen if you use the priority supplies to ship another method:

1.  The package is inspected and returned to sender postage due.

2.  The package is inspected and sent on to your customer postage due.

3.  The package is inspected, either sent back you, or on to your customer, postage due, AND the post office you ship from is instructed to hold all packages you ship and inspect them to make sure your shipping legally.

And don’t think, the post office can’t check your packages.  From what I’ve been told, the only packages immune from checking without a court order are priority mail, and express mail.

So please, before you ship your next item in an inside out priority mail box, make sure you aren’t violating the law.  These mailing supplies will only remain free as long as we don’t abuse the rules.  Just think, it was abuse of the rules than ended the free priority tape we used to be able to order from the post office by the case.

I can remember a time when Christmas decorations didn’t even hit the store shelves until the first week of December.  Now, they are up in July.  Maybe thats why so much of the magic has left the season.  Its become way too commercialized.

I am not complaining so much, as wondering where the insanity will stop, if at all.  Next thing you know, you’ll be able to buy that inflatable Christmas Tree when you buy the cupid decorations for Valentines Day.

Regardless, here’s wishing you and yours a safe, happy, healthy, and SANE holiday season.

Its so nice to be able to log on to the internet at 3 in the morning when I can’t sleep, and to spend more than a few minutes deleting all but the most important emails that need to be answered.  It’s even better to be able to catch up on the ebooks I haven’t read yet. (I still haven’t yet found an eReader that I am happy enough with to spend the money on, so I’m still reading on the computer.)

Thank god I’m anal about making backups and backups of backups.  That was the only thing keeping me sane during the days without my trusty computer.

Oh you want to know what happened.  Simple really, my hard drive crashed. Which may have been a blessing in disguise.  I was able to add the additional memory I wanted at the same time, and add a larger hard drive.  While checking out the computer, the friend who was fixing it for me (can you say bartering for homemade Christmas gifts for his Mom and Girlfriend), discovered a couple of other minor problems that would have led to major problems if not taken care of.

As I sit here and type this all I can say is  “It’s great to be back!”

Hope everyone has a great rest of the summer, and I will see you next week.

Antiques on Bonanzle

Of course I think the single item links would probably be easier to work with. We shall see.

He was and Easter baby, having been born 84 years ago on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1925.

He served in WWII in both the Army and Air Force. He had signed up with the Air Force, was drafted by the Army, then called up by the Air Force after completing basic training, and just before he was due to be shipped out.

He taught school for a few years in the late 50′s. He also farmed, worked in construction, followed the fruit harvests, and late opened his own business.

He was the youngest of 8 children with 20 years separating him from his oldest sister. He has two brothers still living.

He and my mother were married for 53 years. I cannot, recall them ever having a single fight. They survived the loss of two children (one miscarriage, and one still birth), a bankruptcy in the 1970′s, and the stress and fear that goes along with open heart surgery in 2001.

My father was a generous man. Sometimes too generous. He would give every dime in his pocket to someone who asked for a loan. He was repaid maybe 1% of the time.

He never complained, or spoke bad about a person. If he did not like someome, he tried to stay away from them. If he couldn’t, he held his tongue and “killed” them with kindness.

Although raised in a location and at a time when those who were not white were discriminated against, my father did not have those same feelings. He treated everyone the same regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or political beliefs.

I can only hope to be half the person my father was.

I miss you Daddy.

So for those of you interested in affiliate marketing, this may be something you might be interested in. Its created quite a stir among the sellers on bonanzle. You can read more about it, here.

If it works the way everyone is hoping it does, it will be a win-win for all concerned.