Agent Wanted 

I need a new eBay agent. I had someone very good, but she and her husband decided to close their store for reasons I didn’t quite understand (and that my original connection to them didn’t understand either but didn’t want to push). That’s good for them. But where does it leave me? 

The hubby and I know that eventually we’ll move out of the house and into a much smaller space. That means I’ll be looking to sell a piano, a couple of couches, bookcases (although those I might put on—now, don’t mention this to that other group—Craigslist) and some other items. In fact, the more I can downsize, the less expensive the move will be, and I don't expect that to be cheap.

How to Sell

Anyone out there know how to sell the big stuff? Locally? I’ve found several eBay agents in my area, but they only want small items—and things they can look up first to make sure they can sell them. One shop said their minimum sale was $40. But I’m talking big stuff, like a couch and a piano. I'm still deciding how much of the small stuff to get rid of--lamps, side tables--but I suspect I'll take those and if necessary, get rid of them at the other end. And I also know I'll donate a pile of stuff that I don't want to deal with on sales.

Plus, I don’t have a PayPal account, although yes, I know I can get one. But, a friend just told me her boyfriend opened his account one morning and discovered he was missing a really large amount of money. Fortunately, he found out about it fairly quickly, was able to contacted those in charge, and the transaction was stopped. Stories like that make me crazy because I do plan to sell larger items, and I really don’t want to worry about how fast I move the money. This kind of thing always makes me edgier than I already am about the whole issue.

Reading Up

I’ve been downloading articles from the Internet on how to sell on eBay. I’m totally confused because most sellers seems to have have real “stores” and are selling small items, like cosmetics or kitchen appliances. I have a friend whose daughter routinely buys her children’s clothes there—and then sells them again—because she’s found a really good broker who deals with that type of item. But I’m getting confused on how to do it, and no one I know has actually sold anything on the site; they normally are only buyers, and I haven’t even done that. Then again, all of the articles say the best way to learn to sell is by buying some items. The problem is that I really don’t need anything.

And I know I can sell larger items because I have a friend who has already done so, but through the same agent who's no longer in the business. I just worry that big items are not really a good place to start if I want to try to sell my belongings. 

Yes, I'm Whining

Do I sound whiny about this? I know I do. I like to just hire someone I know I can trust to do stuff like this—I’ve had all the workmen for my house for years because they’re good. But I guess now I’ll have to do it myself…something I really don’t want to deal with. If anyone knows of a good source for learning how to sell “big” items, feel free to send them over.  

Now, back to sales lists, of which I have many.

Work . . . Life . . . Blog?

Yes, I know, my blogging has gotten a big erratic. But I promise there’s a good reason . . . really, I mean that.

When I started the blog I did it with every intention of big things. Three times a week I’d post something. Of course, then work and life stepped in. I had more than 20 blogs in my files, with lots of others planned.  I had a digital calendar that included what would go up when. And I never expected that to not work out.

Enter reality. I work; and I have other things in my life. Like, my daughter had a baby. I could visit her. So what do I say? Sorry, kid, I can’t play with you. I need to blog.

I am as a freelance editor, which means I have to look for work; it doesn't always drop into my lap. Income can be problematic. Most of my work is by referral, and I truly thank anyone who has ever recommended me to their contacts (feel free to send them my way). I take pride in never missing a deadline—and never turning down an assignment. Would you believe that I had a client call begging for help while I was babysitting? And she couldn’t wait—because her client was on her back. I ended up with the baby using one leg to bounce on while she played, and the laptop open on the other leg so I could look up the answer to her question. (By the way, whoever designed that play table that sings, counts, does the alphabet and teaches Spanish, along with other interactive corners, please contact me; I have a few words I'd like to say to you--that shouldn't be said in public.)

Balancing act

Where do I find work/life balance? November was crazy. I edited a book, went onsite with a client—and had another client sending me work for whenever I could get to it. Plus, the granddaughter came to stay for a week. Forget balance, I just wanted to be able to keep my head on straight while I did everything, including house cleaning, baby setup, and meal planning. You think I could blog through that? I’m not that good. The best I could do was set up a bridge table in the bedroom to hold my laptop so I could work while she was in town—and sleeping. (Her parents were sleeping in her mother’s former room, now known as my “office,” if no one else actually needs it.) Still meeting all deadlines, and apparently not causing havoc in my clients’ lives. Phew! And it continued into

I’m not sure we can ever truly get balance in work and life, with or without a blog on the side. Just today I had lunch out with the hubby, went to the supermarket for the weekly shopping, finished fact checking a large job and started the editing. Oh, and then I started to write this blog? I had to; I'm at least making an effort to post more regularly. Don't know if it will work, but consider it a good effort.

Life is always a balancing act, with or without anything we hadn’t planned for—and we all know we can't plan for everything. The victory for me is just in getting up and getting it all done. If I can cross off most of what’s on my list to do in a day, I figure I’m ahead. As for the rest . . . well, I guess it’s time for me to go clean something out, or just work on more blogs – or maybe not. .

Regularly Scheduled Dinner--Maybe      

I do Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, I’ve done it 35 times so I’ve been preparing it regularly since before my children were born. Supposedly, it’s “my” holiday. The only two I missed were when my great-aunt invited my family to join hers (and to bring my in-laws), and last year, when it came out 6 weeks after my granddaughter was born—she was deemed a little young to travel.

But back to my dinner. It’s a blend of traditional turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce (the usual) with traditional Jewish foods. Potato latkes are a staple and I’ve also been known to serve derma—a stuffing of meat and some form of grain that’s part of a sausage—although that has kind of stopped since we don’t seem to have a decent kosher delicatessen in the area. In the last few years, my older daughter has become the fastest potato peeler anywhere, which makes the latkes a lot easier to do, and my younger daughter consults on the desserts. Everyone offers suggestions for sides. And I improved the turkey when I heard Bobby Flay recommend adding chicken stock to the bottom of the pan. I do that twice—at beginning of cooking and in the last hour—and my husband is singing its praises. Who knew it could be that easy?

The strength in Pyrex

This past Thanksgiving, I had another mission. My granddaughter was past 13 months old and I decided it was time for her to walk. Total success. She arrived here crawling 80% of the time—we reversed that and she left walking 80% of the time. Now she’s almost up to running. Plus, there’s a step down from the kitchen to the family room. She figured that out on her own—although after managing to go down head first and hitting herself. She’s a quick study. She also moves around with a twinkle in her eye that says, “I know you don’t want me to do this but I’m going to try anyway; going to stop me?” Usually, unless it’s dangerous, we don’t because even falling down is a learning experience. The best one came when she realized she could open two cabinet doors at once—walking gave her a new level of reach—and bang them together. She loved it. But, when she managed to pull most of a set of Pyrex bowls out and let them fall onto the floor, even she scared herself. However, it seems that Pyrex when dropped 6 inches is pretty indestructible. Fortunately, it didn’t fall on her very small foot. Once she realized she was fine and there were no terrible repercussions, it was back to door banging. She loved that. Unfortunately, she had to leave, so we’re back to Facetime every weekend, and sometimes during the week. Now that walking was so successful, when we go out in February I'm going to work on getting her talking more. It's time.

Small explosion

On Thanksgiving night, though, after the food was eaten, and leftovers put away, and while the baby was playing with everyone – did I mention that she knew within 15 minutes who her great-aunt was in the room, and who her great-grandmother was? If you asked her, she knew who to look at, which we thought was, was usual, brilliant—I dropped a small grenade into the room. Not even the hubby knew it was coming. It was my last Thanksgiving. It’s not an easy meal to plan, or put together –making the latkes alone, which is done same day, usually takes at least an hour and a half. Plus, I think it needs new blood. I’m happy to buy the food for whatever menu others want, but I’m not getting up so early again to cook it. And my arthritis is really not happy with me that weekend. After 35 dinners, it’s time for me to hang up my potholders and let someone else take it on. I’d even be happy to cater it, if I know what people want; or to go to a restaurant and let them serve it. We won’t discuss the whole set up and clean up issue. I’ll know the verdict on what we do in August, because plans still have to be made. Otherwise, it’s going to be a really small dinner for hubby and I. I'll be able to watch the entire parade.