The Weather

The weather here has been, mercifully, much kinder than in the rest of the country: just rain, and lots of it. Normally I wouldn’t object to the rain - I’ve been doing most of the heavy lifting in the "lawn and garden department" this week - but it has put a bit of a crimp on the flea marketing. I haven’t been able to do a lick of it since the season started two weeks ago - and this weekend is looking a little iffy, too.

Unlike normal people, who set up a savings account or set aside part of their tax refunds to fund their yearly pilgrimages to Kentucky, I bank my pony-crack money in other ponies. I’ll take down a bit of cash to cover basic expenses - food, gas, emergency underwear runs - but if I want to splurge on something at the hotel, it has to come out of what I sell.

It doesn’t always keep me completely honest or on budget, but it does help temper some of the crazier urges the hotel’s shopping mall ambiance tends to spawn.

I may be coming into a small amount of money this year - enough to cover the cost of the trip, with a little bit to spare - but I’d still like to beef up my inventory a bit. One of my better customers almost completely cleaned me out of my remaining stock just before the holidays, and I haven’t bought a whole lot since then.

I’ve picked up a few things on eBay recently - some cheap gambles that didn’t quite pay off, and a pile of reference materials I haven’t sifted through yet - but nothing substantial.

I enjoy the social aspect of horse trading at BreyerFest as much, if not more, than any money it might bring in. I love getting into random conversations with almost-complete strangers about subtle color variations on the Sorrel Five-Gaiter, the merits of various dappling methods, or some juicy gossip about some alleged BNP.

(As many of my friends can attest, I hear some of the craziest stuff. I don’t know if it’s that I have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, or if there’s something to my temperament that makes people spontaneously dish up the best dirt.)

I’ve been just desperate enough to start eyeing group lots on eBay to "piece out," but I haven’t found anything in my price range just yet. (Not necessarily cheap, but worth the effort.) Since I am not inclined to do another collection cull, I guess my only other option is to wait the weather out.

That’s it for today. It’s my birthday and I’m going to spend the rest of it gorging on leftover Easter candy and chocolate cake.