Princess T had her Surgery yesterday Morning and everything went well. The Nurses even suited up her fav Teddy Bear she brought with her in Scrubs! *Smiles* We had exceptional Care at John C. Lincoln Hospital and they made the day and a half we stayed there so much less stressful for us both.
This is her right after getting out of Surgery... she is now Home recovering, it will take about two weeks for her to fully recover and I'm Hopeful the pathology comes back okay on what was removed. For some reason Blogger Image Download has added an un-natural Yellowed Tint Wash to all the Images I took in the Hospital that even trying to Photoshop won't remove??!?? It didn't show up in the actual Images or the Facebook loads... very odd... but I didn't want you thinking I'd dyed and hi-lited her hair Blonde or that she looks this washed out and sallow now, she still has her lovely swarthy Olive complexion! *LOL*
They had very nice meals... so it was a shame that she could barely swallow any of it... tho' while she still had the effects of the anesthesia dulling her pain she managed to polish off half of this first meal. So our biggest obstacle will still be keeping her hydrated and fed at Home sufficiently as she recovers. And getting this new CPS Insurance to cover her pain meds, since for some strange reason they only want to approve and pay for half of what the Surgeon ordered!?! WTF!?! So we only have five days worth instead of ten, even the Pharmacist was shocked they refused to Approve the rest of the Medication!!!
This replacement Insurance CPS mandated is allegedly superior to our previous Insurance, which never refused to approve, cover or provide anything the Children's Doctor's ordered as necessary and we never had any problems with all these years. So I'm not convinced the Foster Care System's Insurance IS better and not happy we had no say-so in keeping our old Insurance for them. So, now I have to battle them Monday morning to cover the other half of the painkillers she'll need so that she can swallow, have her pain managed, stay sufficiently hydrated and not have excess swelling that could send her back into the Hospital!!! *Grrrrrrr!!! May I say it yet again, The System sucks!*
But enuf of the Negs... back to the Positives of the Story. The Hospital Staff presented her with a departure Gift for being such an Exceptional Patient. She really was a little Trooper, but then we always knew she was and would be since she's Endured so much all her life Health and Pain wise. And when the Staff saw that I'd brought my Diabetic Supplies, they Insisted on covering my Meals during our stay so that I wouldn't have to even leave the room or her bedside, or risk having Medical Issues of my own during our stay!
That was such an unexpected Blessing, I had been concerned about that since I'm still not feeling 100%, didn't want to have to leave her side to go eat, and was in an unfamiliar part of Town, we even got lost getting to the Hospital since I didn't know where I was going and it was still the wee hours of the Morning! *LOL* Their Diabetic Meals were exceptional, I felt like I was in a five-star Resort, I'm not kidding!!! My compliments to their Chef and Dietician! And Thank You for your Generosity and going over and above in accommodating us!
And today, when we finally got Home from the Hospital this Afternoon and I got her settled in and down for a Nap, I was able to make a quick pitstop at our Antique Mall to foof my Showrooms and see how the Big Sale Celebrating the Second Anniversary of our location was going. And I Won one of the ten free T-Shirts an Hour they were having in the Give-Away Drawings throughout the day! *Whoo Hoo!* It's actually more a Violet hue than the weird download color Blogger is making it today... I sure Hope this Blogger download odd coloration situation gets fixed soon... its making my Images look like crap compared to the Originals! *Le Sigh* They were also serving up a Free Lunch for everyone and the Sale continues thru Tomorrow... so come on down and 'Score' 15% off your entire Purchase and get in the Drawing to Win your Free T-Shirt too!!!
Yes, I bought a few small Treasures since they were on Sale... this Vintage Ocelot Wrap from a New Dealer's Booth that has loads of Retro Fashions... and two 1960's Horse Show Ribbons, from my Friend Shelly's Showroom.
And this Adorable Home-Made Vintage Pincushion. Fabric Artists can never have enough of those conveniently located around the Studio!
And Thankfully... before having to have Yul put down... and go into the Hospital for Princess T's Surgery, I had managed to re-stock my Showrooms in preparation for the Big Sale, so that they wouldn't look spartan since a lot of Inventory had turned in the preceeding weeks prior to the Sale.
Not that I don't still have mounds of Inventory in the Storage Cottage to get Priced and into Inventory mind you... but I was proud of myself for at least getting some Fresh Inventory into the Showrooms in spite of all the Personal Dramas playing out in our Lives right now that have put my little Hobby on the back burner and sorely neglected in recent weeks. So its been Inspiring and Uplifting that Sales have still been so strong in spite of my inability to put time and effort into my Passion.
And for all my Loyal Customers I Promise there is more to come... I just have to get to it now that we have some of the Personal Drama behind us and can finally move forward with a bit less to have concerns about and keep me from Living the Dream! *Smiles*
Showroom #133 still has whatever Weird and Wonderful I can Source... the Goth and Rocker Youths seem to Love that Room best...
So any Oddities, Gothic Antiquities and Vintage Rock Memorabilia always sells out fast! This Kinder Goth Doll Sold within hours of being put up for Sale...
And Vintage Ouija Boards sell out as fast as I can Source them even without the Planchettes so I'm almost always Sold Out... I've got requests for more from some of my Regulars so I never pass one up when I can locate them. And even incomplete Planchettes still Sell quickly.
And since the Weird and the Wonderful just happens to be more 'Full On Me' than most other Inventory, I'm SLOWLY morphing that Showroom into what I REALLY want it to be and see how that Vibe will be received? My Vision would be for it to one day resemble an Oddities Of Phoenix with a Hippie Gypsy Twist that would give my Generation a Flashback to the Sixties. *Winks*
But for now I mostly Source what the Local Demographic Desires and turns fast because I want to keep things moving and Fresh, keeping my Customers Happy and making some extra Cash. No matter how much I Love something, if it's not Selling, I'm not buying it for Re-Sale purposes to fill my Showrooms with. My Retail Spaces aren't Warehouses to store my Stuff that won't fit into my Home. *LOL* Believe me, I've seen some Vendors who are still very in Love with their Stuff and it's obvious they really aren't ready to part with it and probably don't care if they ever Sell any of it.
Now... that said, I gotta still Love it to some degree or I won't Source or Sell it and Display it in my Showrooms, it has to Enhance my Spaces in some way... something about it has to Appeal to me at some level, I'm really anal like that. *Winks* There has to be some Cohesiveness to it all even if it's Eclectic in Nature.
But I often do Sell what I'm not really all that 'into' myself if it looks real Cool to me. Example: I am NOT a Doll Collector or even a Doll Person per se... though I do like and have a Collection of Creepy Antique Doll Parts at Home... but Hand Crafted OOAK Dolls, especially those with a Rustic Vibe and Tea Stained or Vintage Textiles Wardrobe do Sell very well in my Showrooms, so they've now become a staple, especially in Showroom #114 since my Customers are totally diggin' em. And certain Collector Limited Edition Dolls also do very well.
This one looked Boheme' enough to go with Showroom #114's Vibe, Loving her Cut Velvet Gown and Bling in fact! *LOL*
One thing I've learned Selling at an Antique Mall, what Sells even ten miles down the road and is Hot with that Demographic or totally On-Trend Worldwide, might just languish in some Locales. Every Area seems to have their specific Preferences and if you're Selling in that Locale you better have your finger on the pulse of what they Desire there. Some Demographics follow Trends, some are more Traditional, some more Nostalgic, some more Experimental and ahead of the Curve Visionary-Wise... it just depends. And if they tell me what they're diggin', that's what I'll keep my peepers peeled for when on the Thrill Of The Hunt! It's kinda like being a Personal Shopper in a way, once you get a good Following that frequent your Spaces regularly and are Eager to see what you've Found for them now.
For some reason Faux Foods Sell exceedingly well and initially I just bought it for Display Purposes 'til my Customers insisted on buying any of it I could Source... who knew? But it makes sense if someone has a nice Collection of Antique, Retro or Vintage China or Kitchenware and wants a more Realistic Vignette or is 'into' Still Life Photography. In a fiercely Hot Climate like the Arizona Desert, Real Food just doesn't hold up that well for Photo Shoots! *LOL*
Some Clever person Created this Faux Cake out of Rubberized Foam and Plastic Shavings... and I must say, it looks very Realistic! I liked that it was sliced into individual servings so that you could price the Cake as Separates in case someone didn't want to purchase the entire thing.
And I Confess that I kept one Faux Cake for my own Home Display and some Fabulous Faux Candy that looks so Realistic I Hope that none of the G-Kid Force or The Man takes a bite out of any of it?!? *LOL* {Sorry not pictured... yet!}
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Where we have some Dramas now behind us and continue to move forward... Dawn... The Bohemian