. . . and visions of junque danced through my head . . .

We had a real estate agent take a walk through the house yesterday to give us an idea of what else we need to do before putting the house on the market. I was expecting one of those bashings like you see on "Designed to Sell", or "Secrets That Sell". Other than the few cosmetic things we had already planned on, he was actually very kind - Christmas clutter and all! He also suggested that we wait until mid January or early February to actually put the house on the market (thankyouthankyouthankyou!). He recited a mountain of statistics and strategic reasons - but I didn't hear a single one because I was so overcome with the relief flooding over me. Instead of visions of sugar plums, I've had visions of paint brushes and rollers dancing through my head at night. I could actually picture myself on a ladder Christmas morning, paint brush in one hand, spackle and putty knife in the other, rushing to get everything done. Thank you Coach (don't know his first name - or maybe it is his first name, but he introduced himself as Coach and his official ID badge concurred) for putting my mind at ease and allowing me a little bit of room for visions of sugar plums.

I had a doctor's appointment in Kissimmee after our appointment with Coach. I couldn't wait to get there. Excited about a doctor's appointment? Well, not exactly. I was really excited about the fact that when I was finished with my appointment I'd have time to do some junquin' at the big Salvation Army store and the Goodwill store. To a junquaholic, there's hardly anything better. I hadn't been to the Salvation Army in weeks - since my last doctor's appointment. I just knew I would come out of there loaded with treasures. Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe my feellings when I left that store empty handed. I just knew I was going through a junque slump. I almost bypassed the Kissimmee Goodwill, but decided at the last minute to give it a try. And WHAT A DECISION IT WAS! I found a whole cartload of goodies including three Christmas cookie molds that I shared with Sharron and Joleigh, a small Christmas tree for my son's room, a wonderful new light fixture for the "office" bathroom (brand new, never out of the box Hampton Bay for less than $10). But, my best deal of the day was an absolutely beautiful hand painted gourd. Gourd? Yes, gourd! It is huge - standing about 18 inches tall and at least that big around. My descriptions won't do it justice, so feast your eyes on THIS . . . Just look at the detail! There must have been countless hours of work put into this!

And I can't believe anyone would have sent it to Goodwill! And, to top it off I only paid $2.99 for it! He is sitting in front of the fireplace right now - a place of honor for all to see. After Christmas is over, he will be lovingly wrapped in bubble wrap and packed gently away with the rest of the decorations, more than likely to be unwrapped and proudly displayed next year in the mountains of Kentucky!