Junk of the Week #18

Four packs of poster board - $.25 each
Stuffed Pugs - $.50 each
Rain Forest scented candle - $.50
Nightmares & Dreamscapes paperback - $.25


Yard sales are getting scarce this late in the year, but the weather is so nice it's okay, I'm just happy to be out of the apartment.

The poster board is perfect because I'm having my own yard sale again next weekend and I needed some, since the signs for the last one were borrowed.

I love the two stuffed pugs. They're so cute and soft and huggable. I'm gonna have real pugs some day. When my sister and I were renting a house a few years back there was a stretch of about a month when I figured since we had a yard we could have a dog, and I was completely obsessed with finding a pug to adopt. Then we moved and it didn't happen, but I still want a pug. Someday.

Plus the candle and the book. Nothing to really say about them. Hopefully my own sale will go well this weekend. Last time I made about $17 but I didn't get rid of a lot of stuff. I'm more interested in getting it gone than making money. Anything that's left is going to the Salvation Army store afterwards, I swear.

Well, Junk of the Week is almost over, but there should be a few more through October, I've got some fairs and flea markets to attend. After that I'll probably be done. We'll see.

Junk of the Week #17

Creative Zen Vision:M (secondhand) - $52


Yard sales were rained out this week so I thought I would feature this eBay buy I managed to pull off. I bought this instead of paying my electric bill, but I don't feel the need to justify the purchase. Just because I don't get to work that often doesn't mean I don't work hard when I do, so dammit I'm gonna buy myself something nice once and a while.

Anyway, my older Creative Zen player has a short in the headphone jack, which makes it pretty useless for anything besides playing in the car and as a storage device. Which sucks because it's barely half full. To be fair, in the four years I had it I used the ever livin' hell out of the thing, at work, in the car, just around. I hate the radio. Radio sucks.

My brother has one of these Visions and it's pretty cool, so I got me one too. There's a little wear & tear one the surface, but the screen looks good and it works fine and I am very happy with it. It took forever for me to finally figure out a fast way to make a playlist with over two thousand tracks, but I finally got it.

It plays videos and shows pictures, too, which is great. It even came with a chord so that I can play it through the television, how wicked cool is that?! If I could just find a way to combine this thing with my digital camera and Gameboy Advance, it would be the most awesome thing ever. Like Cartman's trapper-keeper on that episode of South Park that assimilates everything and then tries to take over the world. That would rock so hard.

Junk of the Week #16

Acrylic Paint Set - $0.50
Prisma Brush Markers - $0.50
South Park Christmas Postcards 30 Pack - $1.00
Stephen King Paperback Box Sets
#2 - Christine, The Shining - $1.00
#3 - Different Seasons, The Stand - $1.00
#4 - Firestater, The Dead Zone, Thinner - $1.00
Eyes of the Dragon Hardcover Book Club Edition - $1.00
The Bachman Books Paperback - $1.00
Eyes of the Dragon Paperback - $0.50
Other Paperbacks:
Cabal by Clive Barker - $0.25
Books of Blood by Clive Barker - $0.25
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - $0.25
Winter Prey by John Stanford - $0.20
Guilty As Sin by Tami Hoag - $0.20
In Silence by Erica Spindler - $0.20
Prophet by Frank E. Peretti - $0.20
The Cradle Will Fall by Mary Higgins Clark - $0.20


I think I'm in danger of getting addicted to buying books. There's actually a word for it, Bibliomania, which is a type of hoarding behavior. And if you've ever seen one of these shows on hoarding, you know how out of control it can get. Seriously, damn. Some of these people need to be in group homes or something for their own protection.

Anyway, I really doubt I'm that bad. But I feel like I have the potential. That was one of the reasons for my huge book sort this past August. I got rid of a lot of books. Well, I'm in the process of getting rid of them. I have to have one more yard sale and all that are leftover will be donated. I just decided if I read a book I didn't like it could go (goodbye, James Elroy's BLACK DAHLIA, you totally sucked), or a book I did like but would never read again, and outside of the Stephen King and Joe Hill collections there is no reason to have both paperback and hardcover copies of books, which whittled down my Dean Koontz stash once I organized it. Now I just need to step up my reading so that I can weed out some more. I'm sure a lot of what I've been buying all summer will end up in next year's yard sale/donation box, but as long as I get one good read out of a book it's worth the twenty or twenty-five cents.

So anyway, yeah, more books. I probably shouldn't have bought that Eyes of the Dragon hardcover, it's a book club edition and I already have a first edition copy (actually I have two right now, anyone interested in one?), it's just that except for a slight tear that Mo's head is covering, it's in pretty new condition and looks better than my first edition, which has a pretty worn & torn dust jacket. So I got it. Whatever.

Those Stephen King gift sets are pretty neat, and all the paperbacks in them are editions I did not have. Set #4 is supposed to have Salem's Lot instead of Thinner, but I have a copy I can replace it with. They will look great on my shelf when I have room to set it up.

I need a bigger home. ::sigh::

Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, I guess.

Well, the season is winding down now. But eBay and flea market last all year long, so there will still probably be periodic Junk updates. Until my mountain of stuff eventually collapses and kills me.

That really happens, by the way.

Junk of the Week #15

*Everything this week paid for by my mom.*

"Song of Susannah" paperback by Stephen King - I don't know
Photo Album - $2.00
Three Decanter Bottles - $2.50 for all
26" GE Television - $15.00

Well, I said I was going to stick with this through the season, so dammit, here's another one.

Another book for my Stephen King library. Some unique decanter bottles for the bar I imagine myself having in my basement someday. A photo album. And a great television to replace my ancient 19" that had annoying white lines all along the top of the picture. Except now I have an extra television sitting on the living room floor.

South Park kicks ass.

Done.

Junk of the Week #14

Picture Frame - $0.25
"20th Century Ghosts" Hardcover by Joe Hill - $3.00
"Heart-Shaped Box" Hardcover by Joe Hill - $1.00


Not much in the way of yard sales this week, it looked like rain all day. All I bought was the pop-out picture frame for a quarter. I bought it at an "estate sale" that was really just an indoor yard sale but was really starting to run out of stuff. It was this older house in town in Mechanicsburg, but it was kind of creepy in a weird way I can't quite describe. Maybe just because it was older. Like it had a fireplace in the kitchen kind of old. I went upstairs to see the bed they had for sale, mostly as an excuse to look around. The place didn't look like it was broken into apartments, but there was a whole separate kitchen upstairs, and that really freaked me out, again for some reason I can't quite explain.

Anyway, somehow this experience led me to realize I never included these books by Joe Hill I bought on eBay about two weeks ago, so I thought I'd add them here to make this entry a little more interesting. To me, anyway, and since I'm probably the only one who reads this stuff my interest is all that matters.

I already had these books in paperback, but after organizing my shelves I decided I wanted them in hardback for my horror library, and I found them both on eBay for very reasonable prices, even including the shipping. Both ended up costing less than their paperback editions did new at Borders.

For anyone who doesn't know, Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and a fantastic horror author. "Twentieth Century Ghosts" is a very nicely mixed short story compilation, and his first novel, "Heart-Shaped Box" is a great read, creepy and chilling with great pacing and very strong characterization. I believe his next novel, "Horns" is to be released in February of next year. Can't wait. Check out his website... www.joehillfiction.com

There is a back issue sale coming up at Comix Connection next month where I'm hoping I can pick up some issues of his comic series, "Lock & Key" which is supposed to be very good.

So I guess I have a Joe Hill collection now, too. I hope it has as many books as my collection of his dad's work someday, he's pretty awesome.

That's really all I've got this week.

Junk of the Week #13

Ceramic Christmas Candle Holder - Free
Bamboo Patio Lights - Free
Blue Sketch Book - Free
Stamp Brush Markers - Free
Glue Stick - Free
Mardi Gras Mask - Free
Marvin the Martian Frame - Free
Red Glass Candle Plate - Free
Vintage Baron Poker Chips - Free
Poker Bucket and Accessories - Free
Coke Tin w. Two Playing Card Decks - Free
Jack Daniels Flask - Free

"Dark Hollow" Paperback by Brian Keene - $0.25
Plate Holder - $0.75
Camp Blanket - $0.25

Find of the Week:
1957 Polaroid 800 Land Camera with Original Case and Accessories - $4.00


Hell yeah, now that's more like it. I was starting to think about not going out this week but I'm definitely glad that I did. What a nice haul.

Came across a great batch of free boxes early on, obviously. It looks like stuff that didn't move at a previous sale. A lot still has price tags on. A lot of neat little stuff. That's a really nice sketch book, I don't think it was used at all, there are a lot of pages left. I'm not sure where the patio lights are going to go, but they're so neat. I was gonna buy some of these new at Target last summer but then didn't. I'm not sure why I picked up the poker stuff, I don't play, don't care to play, but it's neat stuff. Maybe I'll find someone to give it to at Christmas time.

The blanket and plate holder I bought from a lady with a pet chicken who gave me both for a dollar. I had just said three days ago I needed another camp blanket for, well, camping. In the meantime it will cover up the ugly office chair at my craft table in the office quite nicely.

"Dark Hollow" is an excellent horror novel (originally published as "The Rutting Season" I believe) by Brian Keene, a local author that my cousin is a huge fan of. I borrowed her copy of the book back at Christmas time and really liked it, though it has a bit more sex and gore than I'm used to. Anyway, for a quarter I now have my own copy for my library. Next time he's at Comix Connection I have something to get signed.

And finally, holy crap. Look at that Polaroid camera. That thing is huge. And unbelievably awesome. I think somebody bought this camera in the late 1950's, messed with it a little, and than never touched it again. The books are all there, the registration card is there and was never completed, plus two rolls of film and other stuff. I just cannot believe I only paid $4 for this. If this had been at flea market it would've been $50 at least. I have a Polaroid Highlander camera that is smaller than this that I paid $25 for at an antiques shop in Reno, and while it's a more attractive camera it's barely half the size of this one. Four damn dollars. It boggles the mind.

I can't wait till I have a large enough home to better display my cameras. This one is really too big to go anywhere I have available now, but at least I have the case to keep it safe.

Well, that's it. I feel much better after this week's haul, I guess I'll stick it out the rest of the season.

Junk of the Week #12

$1.00 Rummage Sale Bag (that my uncle paid for):
Sunflower Shelf Paper
Sunflower Wallpaper Border
Mini Picture Frame
Stand-up Plastic Page Holder
Christmas Mouse Stoking Holder
Mini Whisk
"Firestarter" Paperback by Stephen King
"The New Good Housekeeping Cook Book"
Vintage 1960's Diana-F "Toy" Camera w. Box


Blah. Another sad, slow week. If not for the rummage sale on the way home I wouldn't have ended up with anything at all. Though there's some good stuff here. That's one big ass cookbook, and when I can afford to buy food again I'm gonna take it on. That's my fourth copy of "Firestarter" if anyone was wondering. I just picked the Diana camera up on a whim, it's not particularly attractive but, you know, I've got a collection. Turns out after doing some research on eBay these so-called "toy" cameras have a cult following and tend to sell for $40 to $50 or so. Which means that I got a really good deal and that makes me happy.

Besides the books, everything else is just stuff I thought I might be able to use at some point. It was basically free, so whatever. There really wasn't much left, we happened by about half an hour before they were shutting down.

Not much else to say about this.