State of Dreams

I found myself dreaming last night of furiously packing supplies for the resistance fighters in Iran. Big boxes of food and clothing, all this media coverage must be getting to me. I was even on the hunt for cell phone batteries and rechargers. I never thought I would see such a revolution in an Islamic country over a democratic election, and I can't imagine how it will end at this point. So here we all sit on our duffs "hoping" we will get health care, and it's not looking too promising. Such a topsy turvy world we live in. I would never have thought Americans would be so docile in the face of real crisis. Nary a peep when Bush stole his first election. I am ashamed, really.

Saw a program last night on a new form of Health care, the "Concierge Doctor". You pay an enormous yearly retainer for 24/7 health care catering to your every whim. The doctor who practices this was a terrible example of how this worked, as she couldn't really describe it to another doctor without sounding snarky and elitist. "If you can afford to pay for the best in individualized health care then you will seek out my services." This is what we have come to in America? A retainer to insure basic health care? It is time to take to the streets.

HBO's Bill Maher Takes On President Obama

This message from Bill Maher is from the birdcage Mr. President. Do what you promised you would do for us, or all the happy media in the world will not save your popularity. You were given a mandate, use it. If we can not trust you to do so, what option is really left to us but revolution?

Another Interesting Ebay Adventure

In the world of Ebay reseller it is always something. This week it was truly something, as my sister found a box of old junk jewelry at an auction. Same as she does almost weekly, where I take the contents, categorize them, and prepare pieces for sale. Who knew my interest in costume jewelry would ever be called upon in this way, just goes to show education is a great thing. But this weeks jewelry, even though it looked rather mundane at first glance ended up being a true treasure trove. These two small odd looking pieces are actually Victorian Mourning Jewelry fashioned out of woven hair. Yes it seems morbid, but the Edwardians had a completely different view of death than we do, since most often it was right in their parlour. They didn't have photographs to remember the deceased as we do, so this craft was born. This set is exceedingly rare, as it is formed into heart shapes, and the earrings are very long for the period. The entire box of jewelry pieces cost Patty $40.00, and she didn't even know these were in there, and wouldn't have recognized their value in any case since they are the first we've ever found. I knew immediately what they were, and was surprised at their pristine condition. Amazing what you can find in Illinois still. As of this minute this set is bringing $480.00 on Ebay, and the auctions will finish this evening. Pretty good return for a dollar.

This wasn't even the reason she was bidding on this box. She was actually bidding on it for the glass bead necklaces that I used for my bracelets. There were several for me, and a big group of plastic necklaces as well. I pulled what I wanted, and ended up with 35 jewelry lots to sell on Ebay later. But the big surprise was when I returned home, and started cutting up the necklaces for the beads, I discovered those two big chunky amber colored necklaces were actually real amber and not plastic. It it sometimes hard to tell because amber is so light. So somebody is really going to love this beautiful real amber chunky bracelet currently in production on my desk. It was a good auction week :)

UPDATE: The Mourning Jewelry sold for $619.00 WooHoo!

Mona Lisa

Ah-Chooooooo

Gad, another head cold. I always get them whenever the season turns, but this one has been particularly nasty. Add a little step throat, and as you can imagine I've been laying around in and out of consciousness and begging for death over the last few days. My poor little dog can't imagine what is wrong with me, he just sits at my side looking really puzzled. But today I am about 60% power, so I am updating my blog and hoping for better health soon.

I missed my niece's actual graduation this weekend, I was much to sick to take my fever and constant phelm into a group of innocent bystanders. Especially with swine flew jitters, I could have cleared the room for sure (LOL) Would have been good for seating I guess. There is always an upside.

Been working on a long serious post about my recent "ah-ha" moment about animals, but it will have to wait until I can type with fewer coughing fits. Happy Birthday Mr. Cook...I hope it was a good one. Will call soon.

Otherwise, I am still alive. This is the good news :)