Newt

Usually when I try to write for this blog, I want to talk about the clothes and Heffy's Collections and keep it light. It's not always possible (especially when one's sense of humor may be a bit stifled). Today's won't be the opposite though, either, because there really is happiness in the story.

Becky and I started taking care of my dad December 2006 after he had a "TIA". I put it in quotes since the doctors termed it a mini-stroke. Saturday night, as was his habit, he drove to Wilson to pick up Eleanor, took her to dinner in Olcott, then back to Wilson and home. Wilson and Olcott are small towns on Lake Ontario. Sunday morning, he got up and dressed, got as far as the top of the stairs and then couldn't move. The guy who had been totally independent up to then was rendered dependent in almost every aspect of life. There was nothing "mini" about it. We brought him home Feb. 16, the beginning of a year that changed our lives. We started the eBay business and subsequently our website as a way to try to stay home and continue to take care of him. As he failed and required more time, we hung in there. We had days of screaming at each other. We had days we didn't think we'd make it any farther. We'd talk, try for solutions (hard to come by), and move to the next plateau. In September, he stopped walking and standing (except with a bear hug). A couple of weeks ago, he stopped even that. It took 2 to do everything. At the same time, he could no longer hold a fork or spoon, so we fed him. Slowly, we watched him fade. Becky and I used each other to get through the day, making our work goals as well as our tasks for Newt. This week, we knew he didn't have much longer. Tuesday, his eyes didn't open at all. He was talking a lot (not to us). I talked to him off and on and he seemed to know I was there. He even said something once. I left to go home, telling him I'd be back in a bit. Becky checked on him, made some hot cocoa, and when she went back to talk to him, he was gone.

We called him Newt. I don't know why, it was one of my mother's little things. He didn't mind. His family (the Tysons), called him Dix-he was the 10th child of 12. His friends called him Tex. a man of as many names as there were aspects to him. He loved people, reading, being active, his family. He would take me and later Becky on road trips to "teach" us. We learned how to farm, all about animals, crops, farm machinery. We learned about construction. Every place we went, there was another opportunity for him to teach us something because he had such a wide range of interests. He taught us to always be curious and learn, there is never enough time to get it all. He told stories. He joked. And he taught us family is most important of all. He would take us on trips on the spur of the moment and we'd have a ball. He read obsessively. Before he retired, he loved his job at the Red Cross-it combined people, teaching, learning, and people. It was great for him. He could and did engage people in conversation everywhere he went. It's what he did.

There would never be enough space to give tribute to his life and the man. I'm just trying to fill the space and hours in the day that were spent taking care of him over the last year. The house seems empty, though it certainly isn't. If we get it cleared out in less than 6 months, it's going to be a miracle. Thank you Newt for letting us see you through the only time in your life you were ever sick. I'm trying to invoke his spirit to tell Becky how much her devotion and care toward him made the difference in this last journey. She lived with him and carried the burden most of all. She was rarely away from it in the entire year. And it has hit her hardest of all. It was her beloved grandpa and it showed every day. I wish I shared their depth of feeling for one another, but it was theirs. I hope she can remember the good parts, like him asking her to play the piano and the two of them sharing show tunes to classical to jazz. There are so many, that's just one they both cherished.

One year and ten days out of our lives that have changed us, probably for the better. I hope it makes you smile, Newt. You're back with mom and your family. I love you.

Paul Tyson
5/6/16-2/26/08

Until Spring Comes...

When I decided to talk about floral prints the last time, I hadn't really thought about the quantity and diversity of the prints we have in stock. I had a few in mind to put in, but when I started to choose, the array was amazing! Even to me, the "handler of the clothes". After I finished, Becky said you didn't put in this one, or that one and I knew I had to do it again. I'll leave the flowers after this (at least for awhile), I promise. I said it already, they find us, like a port in the storm. We're the lighthouse. Some of them are truly unique, some are beautiful. Enjoy!

The colorful sweater dress on the right by Cristina, has brilliant beaded flowers on the front and left sleeve. The next dress we call the "fireworks" dress-the print looks like exploding fireworks or abstract flowers.


























This is a '60's dress by Alfred Shaheen in a subtle silkscreen print.


















These are two of our true Springtime beauties. A silk Lilhi and a striking vintage halter dress in yellow with very different designs.





















I saved Becky's favorite for last. She has a thing for iris, and this outfit is a perfect rendition of her flower. It's a long tunic top and pants. A perfect ending for a sweet tale. Or maybe it's a beginning for you!














Check them all out at Heffy's Collections!

Flowers

Ends today on eBay


I wanted to talk about floral prints and this is the blouse that started it. We seem to attract a lot of florals and I haven't been able to figure out why. I think they find us. I don't know if there are just that many out there (I hadn't noticed before) or if we have some kind of sign on our foreheads directing these items to us. I've always had the Social Worker sign on my forehead (Charlie says it comes with the jumpers SWs tend to wear), but I wasn't aware of this one. If we get a lot of clothes, invariably there are many, many floral prints among the clothes. Now I like them. Not all, but I can usually find something about a print I like-color, pattern, something. I'm not sure Becky shares my attraction, but every once in awhile, one will reach out and grab her. Take the one above. It's pure white with jet black and deep brown, an usual mix of dark and light and it is striking. Then there are added butterflies in full color. It is just amazing.

When I was thinking about writing this post, I was just thinking about that blouse. As I went through the pictures of what we have up now, I realized that we have a lot of really outstanding flowers right now, each very unique. Since Spring is around the corner and we seem to wish more often it would just get here, it's kind of nice to gaze at the floral prints and dream of warmer weather. Each of these speaks for itself in its own way, and you might even find something you like. You too could become a floral print person and may not even know it!


Also on eBay






Link to eBay



Soon on our website

That's life

We've been trying to make a go of eBay and the website for about 7 months now. We've had ups and downs like anyone would, but the last few weeks have really tried us a lot. First the camera came down with a strange ailment. The display screen wouldn't display, an interesting phenomenon when one is trying to take pictures of clothes and such. Becky is obsessive and may take 20 shots of one item to be sure she gets the "right" pictures. This isn't wrong by any means. But it's kind of important to be able to see what she's doing. The camera couldn't see them either. Suspecting it may be terminal, Becky scoped out the problem and discovered it's an issue with this particular model and Canon had a fix. The downside...the camera had to go back. This is another version of ET calling home, only this time he had to go home. Estimated 3 weeks for return to taking pictures. Yikes!

She borrowed a camera for a full day of pictures, hoping we'd get enough to last until the camera came back. We managed. Our listings got low, but still okay. Then the eBay announcements came out about how they intended to shake up everyone's life by lowering listing fees, raising final value fees, changing the default search mechanism, and eventually, not allowing sellers to leave neutral or negative feedback for a buyer. I don't know how any of this will affect us yet, but I'm hoping it will not be a killer. The default search favors low prices, high volume sellers, especially power sellers, and those with high "star" ratings. I'm trying to figure out where the vintage clothing sellers come out in this change. Searching vintage dress for instance might pit a designer 1920's flapper dress in mint condition against an '80's something or other that would obviously be priced way lower. Now someone looking for that flapper dress might actually put in "flapper dress '20's", but if they don't, it might be hard to find. We'll have to see. I have always been in favor of paradigm shifts even though I don't like change. I think if it's time for major change and it has to be considerable, then everyone bites the bullet and makes it happen. In this case though, eBay orders the change, says here you go kids, have fun and the shift is on the way. So people protest. Talk about boycotts. Say they're leaving for greener pastures. I wanna be one of them, but whew. Not sure. In the meantime, I'm perfecting my ability to leave "positive" feedback for non-paying bidders and general boneheads who may have done something other sellers should be warned about. It HAS to be positive feedback. So we hit the positive button (I'm guessing that's the only option we'll have at that point) and leave a comment. Positive: Worst buyer on ebay. Should be shot at close range. Do not sell to him. Or possibly: Lousy buyer, scumbag never paid. Lol. I will say though, we have not left any negative feedback and hope with the changes, we still won't have to for anybody. But you never know. I need to track down Dilbert to help me hone my skills.

A week or so ago, Becky's computer started acting up. Every little while, it would restart itself and say it had a major problem. She has the pictures, editing tools, templates-you name it, she has it on her computer. Everything she needs to run an online business. It's like my purse-her whole life is in there! Every time it had a major GERD episode, I thought Becky was going to have a heart attack. She cleaned it up, ran every diagnostic she and Charlie could think of, and the thing just kept restarting. She would get it to stop for a day and it would start doing it every hour again. She used my computer when she had to, leaving me to find other things to do. It's okay, I'm easily amused. She was not. She hates my computer! It doesn't have the stuff on it she needs. But she kept editing and listing and taking pics all the same. Grumbling, but working hard. Finally she and Charlie came to the conclusion that it had thrown a shoe and it was probably not long before it would throw another one. He got on craigslist and-wow! He found a computer right here in Lockport and it would fit the bill. 24 hours later, Becky was moving data from her old computer to her new one. It seems to be working fine and it doesn't restart at the oddest times. Hopefully, it will stay healthy.

It has been an entertaining little while in a morose way. The "Devil went down to Georgia" and man, I hope he stays there!

I haven't posted any clothes lately, so I'll add one that's up now.




Check it out on eBay

Fur Therapy

Letting Mac pick out the "Sweetheart Deals" we have the other day reminded me of how important our fur therapy is to what we do. I think everyone has read how beneficial fur therapy is to our well-being (hey, I'm a Social Worker, don't hit me). It lowers our blood pressure, reduces stress, helps us live longer-heck, it's better than any medicine or "lifestyle" strategy. We love our fur therapy, but there are days when I wonder if we've taken it too far. I really don't want to live to be 200!

We had a dog named Sam, a true Heinz 57 in every sense of the word. Even the vets couldn't agree on what breeds there were so many. Sam was REALLY tall and skinny. Becky decided she wanted a cat and she and Charlie headed off to find one. They got into an argument with a woman over a gray striped tabby and the default cat was a quiet skinny little tortoiseshell. She came home. She was dubbed Xenophon. We decided she should meet Sam since everything had gone okay so far. Becky held Sam, and Charlie brought Xen in. Xen hissed and with one swipe hit Sam's and Becky's nose. Becky yowled, Sam barked, Xen ran, and she was officially a member of the household. I don't know if it was Sam's presence, Xen's disposition, or whatever, but she never became a lap cat and at best, has always only tolerated all of us. According to her, we are her butlers, and if we'd just do that quietly and at her discretion, life would be good.

I'm not sure why, but we hadn't quite learned our lesson yet. I don't think of us as slow learners, but man...we must be. Becky wanted to bring home a gray and white barn cat from Equistar. She begged and pleaded for the plight of this poor cat. So he came home. Gained the name Haephestas, or Heffy. Heffy couldn't climb. He'd get 2 feet up a tree and spend minutes trying to figure out whether to go up or down. He couldn't climb a fence. He regularly ran smack dab into the bottom of the couch, causing us to roar every time. He was a riot. He watched Xen, a graceful, easily moving feline. She got up on the garage the first week she was with us, so she was a good teacher. I got a ladder and got up on the garage to try to talk her down-or better yet, grab her and take her down, but no luck. After 15 minutes of listening to her cry and getting myself into positions I had no business being in, I gave up. Charlie has this thing about explaining to people how his (at that time 40-something) wife managed to-pick one-fall off a ladder, fall off the roof-or whatever it may have been I did to break my neck. After we went back in the house, she came down on her own.

We settled into a routine for several years. When Charlie's 50th birthday was coming up, I decided to try to find his dream. It was something about a boy and his dog, and the dog was a black lab. I think he'd had one in his younger days and he dearly wanted to do it again. What better way to bring in 50? I had talked for a long time about wanting a big yellow dog. I found a breeder, she had puppies, and I visited so she could see if I was a fit parent. I loved the kennel, and the dogs! Black, chocolate, and yellow were everywhere! I fell in love with Jody, a chocolate, then Mamie, a black, and then Ben stole my heart completely. Big yellow dog. Oh my. But the clincher was coming. The litter was all yellow. So a boy and his dog would have to be somewhat amended. I don't think it mattered. Charlie picked out a dog. He became Captain McLeod, or Mac. His picture is in the last blog entry.

Sam died along the way, but we still have the three, Xen, Heffy, and Mac. Mac is a Leo, along with Charlie and me. Becky says it gets very crowded when the 3 Leos are all trying to grab the spotlight. Mac is sure the world revolves around him. Some nights, we end up with Mac and Heffy in bed with us. Now imagine 2 adults, not small ones mind you, a 100 pound dog, and a cat with claws. It wouldn't matter if we had a custom-made Super King bed, it isn't big enough. During happy hour, Mac will bring his Kong or a toy to play. Heffy settles in on Charlie's lap. Xen hisses at them all from the next room. They make us laugh, they warm our hearts, they drive us crazy. Sometimes Becky's cat, Gus (Gustav Mahler-Miller-Mueller-Holst) comes to visit and then the circus really comes alive. He chases Hef, Mac tries to steal center stage from the visitor, and Xen does everything she can to hide. I tell myself that when they start to leave us, which will happen some day, I will NEVER get another cat. We'd have to move into an apartment so we can't have a dog because that would be the only way to keep from getting another one. We would have to find a lower maintenance pet. Lower maintenance though, doesn't come with fur. It might not make us laugh. I have to think on it. Not sure my stress levels and blood pressure could take the absence of the richness these goofballs bring us. Even if I didn't have to get up at 2 AM to let one of them out. Well, maybe...

Mac's a Sweetheart

Heffy has allowed his big brother Mac to add his editorial opinion on Valentine's Day. Mac, being a dog, and a Lab at that, is more of a people-person and is just delighted at the opportunity to do some more people-pleasing. Mac has been waiting for a chance to get involved with Heffy's Collections, but he has trouble getting Heffy out of the limelight, despite the difference in size. It's doubly hard on Mac because he's a Leo and fully believes center stage is his, all the time. So Mac has chosen some items for your sweetheart, hoping she will be thrilled! He didn't forget the guys either-take a look!

Mac's first pick is a "floating" necklace, sure to delight anyone!





See it in our eBay store




Mac loves winter and snow (being from up North), but keeping warm is important for people. Mac knows we don't have built-in fur coats.







Take a look at this at Heffy's Collections









And if your sweetheart is a guy and you want to keep him warm, try this gorgeous suede and knit number:






Heffy's Collections Menswear











Now, Mac has been thinking real hard about how to delight that special someone. How about inviting her dancing in a truly unique way?


Heffy's Collections eBay












Mac has one more. He thinks everyone is a sweetheart, so he had to choose some real hearts to show it.











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Mac is pleased with his selections and hopes you are too. He's headed off to join Heffy in a nap!