“Good morning! How is everyone’s Monday going? I bet it’s going great! You woke up on time. Y’all probably didn’t have any homework last night. You got a full night of sleep. The people that went to Stagecoach are just super excited to be back at school. Family life is probably great, you did all your chores. You’re not in any way stressed and Monday is the best day of the week, hands down. Right? Right? No? Yeah, no. Monday is probably the least favorite day of the week, at least for high schoolers, am I right xaviertins?

Sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Indiana Wilson and I’m a freshman at Xavier. You guys probably have recognized me because I’m always making a fool of myself.

So today is not the greatest day so far, I bet. And a lot of times it seems like there’s nothing to be grateful for. Like, “Wow God thanks man, I just woke up late.” or “Wow God thanks man, I’ve got like 20 hours of homework tonight.” and even, “Wow God thanks man I just want to break down and cry.” I think a lot of times, it’s easy to look at an ugly situation and say, “Wow God thanks man, this sucks.” However, I believe that God shines even brighter in those ugly times.

Throwback to a year ago, when I was still in 8th grade, just a cute little middle schooler. I was on my way to school one day, my brother was dropping me off and it was really early (shout out to Houston). I slowly got out of the car, said goodbye to my brother, and suddenly I stopped short. Staring straight back at me was this disgusting crow in the middle of the parking lot.

Boy, was it ugly! It was the fattest crow I had ever seen, it looked like it ate it’s brother or something. But then, something strange happened. I saw the crow in a different light. A thought popped into my head, “Hey that’s pretty cool that the nasty crow there is fat, because God’s feeding it.” And BAM! I could see clearly now the rain was gone.

As I began my walk to the front of the school, I started noticing very specific parts of my normal everyday morning that I would usually toss aside.

“Wow God, thanks man, the birds sound really pretty today.”

“Wow God, thanks man, I’m glad I brought a jacket it’s chilly outside.”

“Wow God, thanks man, I woke up late so you could rest me for my game today.”

“Wow God, thanks man, my car not starting this morning prevented me from getting into an accident.”

“Wow God, thanks man, the situations and people and crows that have cracked my life have actually made it easier for light to shine through.”

So my friends, there are millions of things to be grateful for. You don’t need to be in a bad situation to be grateful, you don’t need to be in a good situation to be grateful. All you need… is to open your eyes. Look around! What do you see? I see a kaleidoscope of beautiful faces and wonderful blessings!

So I hope y’all aren’t too stressed on this fine Monday, but just remember: Thanksgiving brings us right next to God. If you’ve been feeling stressed lately, or negative, or just icky, try to open your eyes to all that’s in store for you.

Here’s a little verse. Psalm 30:11-12 (New Living Translation).

“(11) You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, (12) that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”

So yeah, LIFE IS AWESOME! MONDAYS ARE AWESOME! Even though it doesn’t seem like it. Each ugly situation we face and each disgusting crow we see are invitations from God to be thankful and to potentially see the world as God sees it: Beautiful.

Pretty amazing for a 14-year old, huh?  I think we can all learn something from that Reflection.  Thank you, Indy!  I am humbled.

OK, let check out what has been going on at the store.  Peggy has been coming in for a few hours here and there to paint those projects I showed you all in last week’s ezine.  Here she is with her mask on and the progress she has made.  Her favorite colors are Chateau Grey and Versailles…so guess what she chose?  LOL!

One thing I have learned from watching Peggy paint (which is brilliant) is that instead of doing an entire undercoat so that she can sand back to show a different color, she only paints where she plans to sand!  So on the left-hand side, you can see that she has just done the edges etc.  The piece on the right-hand side has been completely painted with the minimal undercoat and then the full topcoat.   LOVE this!

Let’s check out eBay for some more good news.  That “make offer” tool is still working like CRAZY for us.  I am so grateful for our eBay sales during this time of closure for the store.  I sent an offer on this little flashed Ruby piece today and they bought it for over $70.  Yowza!

https://tinyurl.com/OKCrubyred

Couldn’t resist….had to sneak this photo of Carlos in because it is too long until we get to his special section…Carlos’ Corner.  Here he is looking like a King on the PAAS egg box while we decorate those eggs.

On Monday, Wayne moved out all of the furniture from the two garages and started to paint the ceiling a “dry brush” white and the floor Annie Sloan Firle.  OMG….Is all this furniture not crazy?  We need y’all to come back and shop real soon!

Here is a photo so that you can see the ceiling and the floor.  I think it is turning out great!  The floor still needs one more coat and then once it is dry, I am going to start making outdoor vignettes.  I am soooooo looking forward to this!  For any of you out and about, if you time it right you may be able to drive by and take a peek from your car.

Actually, you can’t see the ceiling that well, so here is a close up.  Pretty cool techinque.  Way to go Wayne!

Don’t forget that you can always order your paint supplies on our website, by text at 760-880-3535 or by phone at 805-628-3289. We are offering curbside pickup and free delivery in Ventura. You have no excuse to not start that project! LOL! Thank you to all of you who have placed orders! I really appreciate it!

Shop Annie Sloan Here
https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/store/category/Annie%20Sloan?sort=HL

We are fully stocked….just got in an Annie Sloan order last week. For those of you who haven’t tried her gilding waxes, I highly encourage you to give them a shot. They are incredible and the small tube goes a long way!

Sandy has been zhuzhing (adding style/fashion…but so many ways to spell) the store like crazy.  Here is a photo of one of the vignettes all fixed up!  Lovely cream large sectional on the left-hand side is only $1295!

Let’s get back to eBay.  Seriously, that “send offer” tool has changed my eBay business for the better.  It is doing what “markdown manager” used to do for us in the old days.   We are up 40.8% over last year this time.  Here is another look at my daily sales graph since last week, the arrow shows the day I started using the feature.  Cindy has been shipping out upwards of 20 packages a day about 4 days a week.  Yipppppeeee!

Speaking of Cindy, her son David (who buys on eBay), had a great suggestion for his mom.  He recommended that on the note we include with each package (it is a copied note) that she adds a nice handwritten note that says something like “Thanks for your business and stay safe!”.

Here is some recent feedback we got about that special note.  Way to go David!

Let’s get back to Easter.  What a special day!  Houston and Emma got up early to watch the Notre Dame Mass Livestream.  And, the kids were honestly shocked and very happy about their Easter baskets.

Here they are all dressed up for Easter Dinner.  I had picked up Honey Baked Ham earlier that week and it is always soooooo good!  Don’t remember who’s idea it was to put on the oven mitts, but whatever!  Houston is wearing a Tuxedo that my mom had bought him when Belle Bridal in Bellingham went out of business.  Pretty sharp!

Speaking of my mom and Easter Dinner, things didn’t go as planned.  Since she was going to be alone in Bellingham, she arranged to pick up a Ham dinner from the Bellingham Co-op.  On Easter morning she drove in to pick it up curbside.  Didn’t happen.

When we face-timed her later that same morning to watch her open her Easter Basket (that I had shipped up there), she told us what had gone down.  She drove into town and called the Co-op from her car and they couldn’t find her order.  She waited patiently and no one came out.  She is in the high-risk group so did not want to have to go inside.  She called after waiting 10 minutes and someone proceeded to hang up 7 times.

She finally went into the store and the girl said she would look into it.  My mom took that time to drive to the car wash (and it was closed), came back, and called again.  They couldn’t find her order.  She went in one more time and asked them to please just give her someone else’s order because she wouldn’t be able to drive the 30 minutes back into town (she lives out on the water across from Lummi Island).  They said they couldn’t do that.  She left in tears.

Here is a recent photo of my mom and me when she wasn’t in tears.

After our face time call, I was so upset for my mom that I decided to call the Coop and try and get my mom some dinner.  I figured it wasn’t anyone’s fault, just a huge mixup and I approached it that way.  I also thought that my mom must not have placed the order online correctly and that is why they couldn’t find it.  When I called, I got a gal that was mortified that this had not been resolved.  She put my call over to the Deli and I spoke with Walter.

I was almost in tears asking them if they could do anything to help my mom get some dinner.  I told him how helpless I felt being so far away and I offered to pay for the order and for someone to deliver it.  Walter was amazing and said, “Let me talk to the chef and see what we can do.”  He called me back in 20 minutes and had figured out a way to get her the dinner meal and had found Sarah to deliver it.

At 3:30 pm on Easter Sunday, Sarah delivered dinner to my mom’s porch.  My mom texts me this photo.

They had added fresh strawberries and two bunches of daffodils to the meal delivery and wouldn’t let me pay.  My mom tried to tip Sarah for bringing it out and she insisted that it was not necessary.  My mom text me this photo of her Easter meal and when I called her she was so grateful that she was in tears.  I soon followed suit.

We were overcome with the generosity, grace, and kindness that the Bellingham Cordata Co-op showed to our family that day. Quite the Easter message!   I immediately left this review on Yelp.  BTW, it is the first review I have ever written.

I am working on a gift package to send to Sarah and Walter as a Thank You.  I am going to include some of my books, some cash, and a few baggus.  Because who wouldn’t want a Baggu?

Speaking of which, check out my kiddos getting ready for their Easter Egg Hunt with Baggus in hand.  The Easter Egg hunt this year was better than other years because I offered a cash prize of $20 to whoever found the most chocolate eggs.  Houston (my 23-year-old) was racing around and said “This is low-key exhilarating”  LOL!  But, Indiana took the cash prize!

Don’t forget you can purchase Baggus on our website for curbside pick up or free shipping in the US!

https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/store/category/Baggu

Wayne Vargo, the Australian, who won our contest to name my newsletter emailed me to see if he could use his prize money to ship some Baggus to his grandkids in San Diego? Of course! I even gift-wrapped them for him. Check them out.

Let’s share another eBay score, because, why not?  I just took an offer of $115 on these Breakfast Cup and Saucer Sets.  A Breakfast set typically has a huge cup/mug to go with the oversized saucer.  I guess you need more coffee in the AM than in the PM?

https://tinyurl.com/jarscsebay

OK, more good news!  Do you remember that play that Indy auditioned for by video last week?  Well, she got the female lead!!!!!  Congrats to Indiana!  The play is “Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids”.  She got the role of Molly.  The play will (fingers crossed) take place on the Pepperdine Malibu Campus in late September.

This photo shows her being filmed in her room by Emma for the video audition.

Since Indiana’s Spring play, “The Cherry Orchard”, was canceled (along with many other wonderful performances), Pepperdine is putting together a FREE Live Stream of select acts for tomorrow night.  AND Indiana will be Performing a monologue!  I am so excited.  Please tune in.  Here is more info!

In a special performance hosted in collaboration with the Pepperdine University Office of the President, students, faculty, and staff of the Seaver College Fine Arts Division will unite Waves around the world for an evening of art, music, and fellowship. For one night only, the Pepperdine community is invited to come together to enjoy dynamic presentations of art history, theatre, guitar, and the vocal arts led by a lineup of Pepperdine’s best and brightest performers. We hope you will join Waves near and far for this exceptional and unforgettable evening.

But you MUST register. Thanks for watching Indiana! Her performance will be on sometime between 6:40 pm and 7:00 pm tomorrow night!

REGISTER HERE

Don’t forget that we are still working on getting most of the store’s furniture up on the website.  This way you can shop from home!  It is looking awesome and when you click on an item it will tell you how many are available, and sometimes even the dimensions….check it out here.

https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/

Here is what came up when I searched by “stool”.

With all this somewhat “free” time I have decided to list all the ephemera that is boxed up in our barn.  I have loads of it!  Ephemera (for those of you who don’t know) is defined as “items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity”.

I consider any collectible paper item “ephemera”.  Instead of taking the time to photograph it all, I decided to finally learn how to use our home scanner that sits right next to my desk.  I downloaded the software and figured it out all on my own!  So proud of myself!

It is so easy to list on eBay with just a simple scan.  I figure that I really have no money invested and that if I can list 10-15 items per hour and they sell for at least $10 each, that makes my time worth $100 to $150 per hour.  AND, keep in mind for me, listing on eBay is relaxing!  It’s a win-win!

Here is a current listing that I hope turns into somewhat of a score.

https://tinyurl.com/raindropsebay

Yes, I have a graphic for his corner!  One of my long-time ezine readers (since 2008), Robin Sweeney from North Carolina made it for us.  Thank you, Robin!

Here is Carlos chilling on my Passion Planner.  It is his favorite place to sleep and he appears to be saying, “Leave me alone”.

My friend Kimberly Wallace told me about the Passion Planner and I bought them as gifts for many people on my Christmas list this year.  They are super awesome.  Here is a link to their website to check them out. Passion Planner.

With all three kids + Carlos stuck in the house, it is starting to feel like Spring break around here.  For everyone, but me that is!  I have ordered a slip-n-slide on eBay for the yard, I have a blow-up Coleman spa that they (hopefully) will put together and we are making it into an outdoor playground.

Until that happens, the kids go out every day to do some form of exercise and start taking Carlos with them (on his harness of course).  Now, when they go out without him, he meows in a terrible voice until he eventually gets his way.

Here he is chilling under our swing while they work out.

Here is a close-up so that you can see his expression. Priceless!

Finally, here he is helping us to play the game Trouble on one of our many game nights.  He actually was able to hit the bubble and roll the dice.  LOL!  I think Indiana won that night.

Enough about King Carlos!  I am so excited that Emma is working on the website and getting so many of our unique products listed.  You will soon see most of this outdoor furniture artfully staged in our new garage “she shed”….but you can still buy it from the website before that.  Here is a link to our outdoor furniture category.

https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/store/category/Outdoor%20Furniture

We will be uploading more photos of mirrors, desks, outdoor furniture, paintings, artwork, throw pillows, and many more things. Please keep checking the website. https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/

Before I forget, I took this photo of my two kids doing their schoolwork the other morning. I got a kick out of it. The new “normal”. Indiana attending class on Zoom and Houston teaching his class by videotaping lessons.

One last POTENTIAL eBay score!  All of this “at home” time is getting me to go through boxes and boxes of stuff that should have been listed on eBay ages ago.  Oh well, it is getting listed now.

I was going through some of the boxes of Patagonia that I have been collecting.  If you have any Patagonia to sell, please let me know.  I want to eventually have a vintage Patagonia clothing rack in the store.  Wouldn’t that be fun?  However, until I have enough Patagonia to put in the store, I finally got this purple pullover listed on eBay at auction.  Fingers crossed it sells.  Still has about 6 days to go til the auction ends.

https://tinyurl.com/patpurpleebay

Here is another cool vignette from the store that Sandy straightened up.  That padded headboard behind the velvet sectional is a Queen by Heyman and is gorgeous.  Brand new with no footboard and priced at $295.

Actually, that headboard paired with this amazing linen bench at the foot would certainly tie a room together beautifully.

 

I am hoping that we get the all-clear to open in the near future. The impact of being closed on our cash flows and the morale of my employees, consignors, and family has been devastating. If we can open soon, we can survive this financially! The store is definitely big enough to continue social distancing so fingers crossed!

My prayers go out to every small business, entrepreneur, service provider, and everyone who has been impacted by this financially and emotionally. I also send huge thank yous and prayers to all of the front-line workers who are keeping it all going to keep us all safe. These are unique times, but just know that we are all in this together and we will survive and THRIVE!

OK! One last photo of some face masks that our customer and consignor, Carol Coltrin, made for us. How sweet is this?

OK!  I lied.  One last photo collage of what my mom, my nephews (Zach and Kai), and I were doing a year ago this week.  We were in Pismo Beach and at the Heart Castle having the time of our lives!  We will be at it again soon.  Keep the faith!

Again…..A Happy New Decade from Lynn’s Consignments team to you and your family!   Just so you know, this will get better.  This too shall pass.  God has got this.  We hope to see you soon!

Pictured…Sandy, Peggy, me and Val! I Miss These Gals!

OK! Before I forget. I showed Indiana the photo of her wearing the Corona Slowdown T-shirt and asked her “What in the World” did that mean? She said, laughing out loud, “Mom it says Showdown and it was for a Cross Country meet! But if you read, Corona Slowdown, so be it.”

What will it be for you, a slowdown or a showdown? In many ways, it is both for me. I am enjoying the slowdown to reconnect with family, friends, nature, and God. I also see it as a showdown with the virus and we are going to win!

My dad used to say “What in the World?” all the time in his big booming voice. I miss him a lot. To honor him, I am going to end this ezine with a photo of my dad. This photo is of him and Houston back in about 2008 cleaning out my garage on Tudor Lane in Palm Desert. I bet a lot of you have been cleaning out your garages during this “slow down” so I thought you might appreciate this photo!

Thanks for reading my ezines!  I appreciate it….as always!

eBay with Heart & Design with Heart……Lynn

P.P.P.S  For those of you who don’t live close to Ventura…don’t forget you can shop our store online!
https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/