Re-styled clock

OK, to tell this one I'm going to have to go waaaay back...around 7 years back....

There we were, still living in Waikiki, still diving...you know, back in the day. Rogers' old kitchen clock gave up and we needed a new one. I got lucky at Pricebusters and found a kitchen clock for a buck fifty....I can't even buy a quartz mechanism for that money. Of course I bought it. It looked kinda like this

We enjoyed the clock for a few years, until IT gave up. So I was looking for a new clock. On eBay I came across a seller that will personalize your kitchen clock. I picked one out and had it personalized.

The tops of the hands were originally black and they didn't pop off the face of the clock so it was hard to see the time. I took it apart and painted the tips red...there, that's better. Another thing, the clock was kinda small.

But wait, I'm crafty. I still had the other clock and the black clock fit EXACTLY into the middle of the frame from the other clock, so I glued it in place. To match the faceplate I painted the silver trim gold and the outer rim a tan color. It looked great and really fit in our kitchen.

I was looking forward to hanging it up in our new kitchen. So I packed it up and shipped it over.

Now I have some good news and some bad news. The good news it made it from Hawaii. Bad news is  that even though I packed it very well, the plexiglass had a small crack...but I think I can live with it.

ANYway, looking at it next to the cabs - the colors didn't work. That meant I could go to the craft store - which can always be a dangerous thing - and buy some paint. Which I did, along with some other craft items...of course.

This is how it turned out. I think it goes well with the colors in the kitchen and fits perfectly over the new archway.

I love that we have things that are uniquely ours.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Going, going, GONE

So, as I mentioned, I'm selling things on eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, ScubaBoard....basically anywhere I can sell - I'm selling.

I've learned:

• that being nice means that people can be mean
• that you can't write it plain enough for everyone to understand
• there is always going to be someone that thinks they're special and NO exceptions doesn't apply to them
• Weigh and measure two or three times to make sure you're not going to wind up paying someone to take your stuff.
• that if someone doesn't read your post right, it's your fault
• some people will pay a ton of money for something you think is worthless and no one will bid on your treasures

I've been buying and selling on eBay for 10 years now and I don't know what it is, but it seems that people aren't as nice as they used to be. They won't respond to messages and will wait for days and days till they pay (this is on ebay).

Urge to purge

We don't know when we are going to take the big step, but I don't want to wait until the last minute to go thru everything and figure out what we plan to keep and what has to go. So for the past couple of months I've been going thru my things - nothing is safe. So far I've had a couple of yard sales, donated items and am selling on eBay and Craigslist.

I missed decorating and celebrating Halloween SO much when I was living in Germany. When I moved here I was in hog heaven. Building up my stash, creating things. I had so much fun, but when it comes down to it, it was too much stuff to ship all the way over to Idaho. I had to let it go and letting it go at the right time - just before Halloween. Once I made the decision to sell and posted it on Craigslist, it went really fast. I sold most of my beloved Halloween decorations, and I'll tell you, it wasn't easy.

This was Halloween 2010. I wasn't here for Halloween 08 or 09 so I was really excited to decorate the side yard.

Some of it went to strangers, most of it went to someone I know. At least I know my treasures will be enjoyed.

Roger is also busy reducing his scuba collection. We've removed several tubs from our storage locker and every week I post a few items on ebay. We've sold masks, harnesses, spear guns, wet suits, regs, Some buyers have been great. Others not so much.

Today I'll be taking photos to list some more stuff and Roger will write them up (because I have no idea what I'm selling). For now, our biggest challenge is finding boxes to ship what we sell. But it's all about purging, so we will find boxes, take pictures and list.....onward we go.

The gear we wore for our wedding is gone, gone, gone.

Aloha Hui Hou!