Monday, January 31, 2011

Everyone was There

Update: I attended the auction on Saturday, along with everyone else in Minnesota. Way too many buyers chasing the good pieces. The multi-drawer cabinet that is pictured below turned out to be almost new. I didn't even consider bidding on it. It sold for more than I estimated I could sell it for. The auction was fun. I got a few strange little items and a crystal chandelier. The chandelier is great but there isn't much room over what I paid for it. Gypsy has been whining that she really needs a crystal chandelier to POP in the shop. I guess this will be my loss leader contribution to the "look" of the February sale.

Mr. Flannery

Friday, January 28, 2011

TGIFFFF

Thank God its Finally Full-Time Freedom Friday. The hearing is over. Only 14 hours today. Idiotic, inarticulate testimony by people who appear to be mostly a waste of oxygen. Now I only have to write a closing brief based upon the mish mash of testimony, evidence and the stupidest attorney that I've faced in years.

I got home much later than expected. Babe was standing crossed-leg wondering where the hell I was. Well at least there were no deer parts tonight. And tomorrow I get to attend an auction and avoid all vestiges of my real job.

A piece from tomorrow's auction.


Mr. Flannery

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I'm Having a Terrible Day

This posting is going to be quite disjointed. I have two completely unrelated issues that I want to discuss.

The first issue relates to my real job. I am preparing for a hearing later this week. I started reading a transcript of testimony of two of the witnesses in my hearing that they gave at an earlier trial. Now reading transcripts is death defyingly boring even when the examination is well conducted. However, this testimony is terrible. The witnesses are almost unintelligible and the attorneys almost incomprehensible.

Answer: "Like, you know, like I think that ......... ummm, umm. Mary, ummm .......... no I mean Jane, umm .... like you know Jane said ......... ummm, uhhhh no it was Mary, I think, said ....uhhhhh like we need to get our asses out of here 'cause, ummmm you know, uhh we could get in trouble."

And I have 87 pages of that crap to try to decipher.

So I am sitting at my desk, retching at the absolute idiocy of these people. Babe has been in and out only 23-24 times. (He abuses his doorman rights whenever I am distracted). Babe is gone for much longer than his normal in and out to see if he can con a treat. Then he arrives on the deck.

Damn, he has a stick and he is going to want me to toss it for him. I ignore him and he doesn't insist on coming into the house. That's unusual. So I focus on the stick. DAMN its the leg bone of a deer. And Babe is proud as punch that he has it. Now he didn't hunt the deer but I assume that he found it near a road kill out here in the country.

Now I need to get this thing away from him. I open the door, he runs away. I close the door, he comes back on the deck. I've got work to do. I only have slippers on. It is cold outside here on the tundra.

After much haranguing he finally drops the leg and comes into the house. Now he is whining at the door wanting to go back outside for his bone. I will have to either kill the dog or trudge through the snow to get the bone so I can get it out of his sight.


Damn, I hate this day and my real work that I have to do.

Mr. Flannery

BTW - I would never harm Babe, he is my bestest friend. And I am reasonably certain that his testimony would be more coherent than the drivel these two witnesses provided.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

It was a Good Sale at Gypsy Lea's

We had our monthly four day sale at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids last weekend. And, for January, we had a pretty good sale. It only snowed one day (and part of another) and it only went below zero overnight on the other two days. We really emptied out the shop, by Sunday when I worked, there was space enough to hold a dance, even though I had brought in a truck full of fresh auction purchases on Saturday evening. Big things are going to happen at the shop before next month's sale, so stay tuned for more information.

The one trend that I have noticed in my sales is that there seems to be an appetite for industrial chic pieces. Even in far from the cutting edge St. Cloud area. Over the past few months I have sold steel open mesh lockers, large wood farm power take off wheel, rusty and bright red metal file drawers, large wood parts bin, giant steel legged butcher block prep table and, this month, my cast iron wheeled railway freight cart (now coffee table).

I have some other carts and cabinets in my inventory. I can't wait for the weather to warm enough to get to work on them. I am going to move more into the industrial and steampunk area as soon as I can.

Mr. Flannery

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Problems with Command Center II

As many of you know I am obsessed with televisions and establishing a multi-venue command center. I have been playing with TVs, computer monitors, home theater receivers and other electronic elements for the past 6 months. I think that the command center in my office is pretty close to "THERE". (3 HD TVs, 2 CRT TVs, 4 flat screen computer monitors, 2 computers, 2 printers all connected to 6 satellite receivers, surround sound and digital antenna).

So I decided that it was time to address my bedroom TVs. I attended the Black Friday Sale at Walmart. (Except I didn't fight with anyone and I got there about 8 AM). I bought 2 42" LCD TVs and I purposely bought two different brands so they could be next to each other without remote control interference.

This is what the bedroom set up looked like before the command center revamp.

When I got around to doing the bedroom I had abandoned the 2 42" plan and instead had decided that I would put a 20" HD TV next to a 42" HD TV over an older 27" TV. I also put a 22" HD monitor connected to the media player under the 20" HD TV. The 20" TV is a Vizio and the 42" is an Emerson. I set up the cables I connected the wires and I levitated the mounting arms from the wire shelves.

This is the bedroom with a nearly final configuration retaining the old entertainment center.

I tried using the Metro wire shelves for the set up, but decided I liked the entertainment center look better.

Well, after plugging and wiring and lifting I plopped onto the bed, remotes in my hand, ready to enjoy the picture next to a picture over a picture set up. DAMN! The remote for the Emerson also turned on the Vizio, and changed channels etc. whenever I tried either remote. Crap, the Emerson used the same remote codes as the Vizio, what to do?

I have the 2nd 42" LG HD TV from Black Friday. I'll just switch that out for the Emerson. So I hauled the 2nd TV upstairs and started to unpack it. I am struck by an inspiration. If I unpack the LG remote and try it on the Vizio TV I will know whether there is a problem without the substantial work of rewiring, plugging and lifting.

That was a good idea. The damn LG TV uses the same remote codes that Emerson and Vizio use. I saved some work, but now needed a different solution to the problem. I disassembled the Vizio from the bedroom and switched it out with a Sanyo from the office. That involved unplugging, rewiring and lifting and of course, because nothing is simple, I had to rearrange the office set up to avoid putting the bedroom Vizio next to the 32" Vizio that is already in my office.

I have revamped my bedroom set-up, rearranged 5 TVs after having them in place, and rejected a plan to use two older (2004) 32" heavy CRT TVs that are on the wire shelving. And I am not finished. The wire shelves on top of the entertainment center just barely fit on top of the old entertainment center. The steel upright poles are secured, partially, in place using 1/2 of an old wooden clothespin. Oh my, I'm glad I don't live in earthquake country. More work, plugging, lifting and rewiring will happen, but I am close to final design of the bedroom command center.

Mr. Flannery

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Yellow Ware Bowls

I attended my first farm estate auction when I was 19 years old. (About 20 or so years ago). The first thing that I bought was a 2 gallon Red Wing crock. I have been enthralled by crocks ever since. I have 100's of them. My favorite sub-category is the yellow ware (really stoneware, but then you got to go with what eBay sells) mixing bowls. I have 100's and still buy them when they are interesting or cheap.

This is a big (12 inch) blue banded Red Wing mixing bowl.
And this is an even bigger (13 inch) Red Wing bowl.

This bowl with chevron embossing is from Illinois.

And this little bowl with a rounded bottom inside, called a beater jar, is used for making mayonnaise.

They come in many designs, some even with advertising.

There is a lot of variety in the small bowls too.

And the small sponge decorated are very desirable.

Even modern productions come with interesting designs and colors.

And it is fair to say that I have a lot to choose from.

Mr. Flannery

Monday, January 3, 2011

Gypsy Lea's Version 2011.01(beta)

We are starting to get the shop set up for the January sale. Gypsy and Katie spent the morning and afternoon taking down and packing away Christmas. Kris and Linda, with Gypsy, then started the preliminary shuffling of stuff into position. I had real work to do in nearby Foley, so I stopped in to offer sage advice. Of course, because I was appropriately dressed in coat and tie, I was assigned dusting and oiling pieces with an Old English scratch cover soaked rag. We only got a few vignettes outlined, but the place is going to look good (again) for the January sale.

Of course it was snowing. After all this is January on the tundra.


My input involved the cow skull overlooking the Victorian settee. The chances of this remaining in the final set-up are -- ZERO.

Kris and Mike's incubator now coffee table, fills this black table in the window.

I bought a bunch of interesting signs, this one old and in metal, at an on line auction of restaurant items. The signs were decor in a 40 year old English pub style restaurant in the Twin Cities.



This slightly bruised but large loving cup is another hog for the January sale.

Mr. Flannery