Tomorrow Never ... You Know

Well, the house isn't exactly clear, but our clothes closet is. Good start. Acid Trip spent Friday here, with Electric Kid. While I know I don't need to entertain them as if they're guests, I love spending time with them, and don't do enough of it. So while he surfed the web, sharing some very cool things in the world of computers (blogging, email, IM) with me, I sorted through every single piece of jewelry, bagging about a pound for donation and twice that for eBay (soon). I kept much less silver than I culled out, but I kept all the gold. Duh.

Speaking of which ... Saturday the Big Lug had to go to his tobacconist's (not his pipe maker's) so, since I knew there was a weekly flea market just outside town, I rousted him early - he dumped me into my kind of heaven then tooled off to his. Poor thing. He came back looonnnnnngggg before I was ready to go, but since I was almost out of money, it wasn't a tragedy. We both skimmed the second half of the crowded field (on 4th of July yet!), had dinner at an amazing Japanese steakhouse, and went home to sort (and clean) our treasures.

He had a pipe (truly lovely). I had two 14K rings ($33), one older and maybe gold ring ($2), a sterling pendant (to match a fabulous silver/malachite bracelet I have, $5), and three vintage ladies' watches ($25).

Yes, three! I am seriously addicted to those 40's and 50's timepieces - I may never wear new ones again! Well, okay, if I'm wrestling with the rototiller, or taking out my aggressions on quarry rocks, maybe I'll pull out my Timex. But even with jeans and t-shirts, even in a hardhat, those pretty bracelet-like things make me feel so glamorous, so dainty, so feminine. Kind of embarrassing, but true.

So, anyway, I pulled off the backs of all three; the Benrus has a 17-jewel Swiss movement and 10K GP bezel, the Gotham (never heard of the maker but it's cute) has 7 (seven) jewels and is 10K GP (with, possibly, 2 diamonds - they fluoresce that way but it's filthy), and the Bulova has a 21-jewel movement (the band and bezel aren't marked with anything but names, which is weird for that level of sophistication). Bulova's coding system includes letters for years, so I know it's from 1956, and its bracelet is original and gorgeous (as is the Gotham's). The Benrus has a Twist-o-Flex band (not original) but I have a sentimental thing with Benrus's. They need cleaning, too. I'm keeping an entire family of watch-cleaners in business up north.

As for the gold rings ... more on those later, once I've researched them.

Sunday I spent sick. Too much sun, too much pollen, too much of things that make even a Barbarian Bunny like me sneeze and cough and blow a lot of snot. I still feel a bit Weebly today (I wobble but I don't fall down) but I'll survive. Needless to say, we didn't get much done yesterday. The Big Lug is willing to keep going on the clear-out, though, at a more stretched-out pace. I'm okay with that because I can tell he's serious. We'll probably be done - really done, not a three-day blowout - by the end of the summer.

See? Even when things go wrong, they go right.

For now, though, no cleaning - just fluids, rest, and soup for dinner. I foolishly ran a few errands this morning, including one to my Monday-is-discount-day thrift store (six soon-to-be-stunning-after-I-clean-more-than-one silver plated goblets from Portugal for $4.50!); I'm too pooped to do more than I've already done. I'll watch TV and conserve my energy for class tomorrow.

That means no CNBC. I mean it!