I've done some back-to-school shopping on eBay. In the past month, I've picked up three Lilly Pulitzer dresses for under $25 each (including a cute circus print one for Laurel) and a Lilly cardigan to supplement my wardrobe staples. Now I'm sitting on an auction closing tomorrow for a CD of mid-century circus photos from a seller I've talked to several times before about my interest in specific circuses' ephemera. If I win, the disc includes several dozen Campa Brothers photos I can add to my family collection. It takes a little of the edge off the loss of Tio Alfonso's circus memorabilia several years ago.

(Tio Alfonso and Tia Bonnie rented a few storage units that went delinquent on payments when their health declined. By the time we heard about the storage situation, the contents had already been sold. In the time since, I've been picking up copies of photos, posters and other ephemera to supplement the notes and tapes I have of relatives talking about the circus.)

I've been really tired this week, so after returning from dropping the kiddo off at school in the morning, I take a nap. I have really bizarre dreams when I nap on the couch -- one sent such physical signals to my head I fell off the couch and when I mentioned the dream I had Thursday morning to Vogon at lunch, he joked that the couch was doing it. I Febrezed the heck out of it yesterday and took today's nap in bed.

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Laurel loves the red-clawed crabs (Sesarma bidens) that live in the tank in our master bedroom. We were down to two and she was concerned that 'Mister Crabby' (they are collectively named, just as orange goldfish are all 'Dorothy') was lonely, so we bought several more today. Now the two males have some girls to fight over, which should curb their occasional fighting with one another and, sadly, decimate the chances I'll have to yell "Bum fight!" when I see them fighting.

Our plan was to get those and a set of nail clippers at PetsMart, but we got cheerfully distracted -- Laurel met a standard poodle as excited as she was to make a new friend and a tiny chihuahua that ran in circles in the cart it was riding in -- and picked up some things we hadn't planned on: a LitterLocker, which seems to be the feline equivalent of a Diaper Genie, a Barbie grooming set that Laurel liked, and a slicker brush. Vogon also got some more mollies for the big tank and a blue betta for a tank that's been sitting unused since I've been here.

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After mentioning to Vogon that McAuliflower of Brownie Points, a food blog I read regularly, had won an eBay auction on a pound of 5-6" long beans for $14.25 plus shipping from a seller that deals in organically grown Tahitian vanilla beans, he asked me to put a bid in on a pound. The seller had two one-pound lots closing tonight; I sat on one and won it for $25 (less $10 after redeeming an eBay gift certificate I had) plus shipping. Considering that single vanilla beans start at $4 locally and the aforementioned food blogger got 176 beans in her pound, there's gonna be some hot food pr0n around here.

We ultimately didn't see Blondie because we were tired and there was cooking distracting us. Remember the comment thread where I told vogonpoet not to tease me with tamales? He started Sunday with occasional help from me -- mostly cleaning, because I like it. There's a few dozen ready to eat (packed the steamer too tight yesterday, d'oh) and numbers I'm purposely Not Thinking About ready to assemble and steam. The finished ones are, according to Vogon, the best tamales he's ever had. If you're in the Dallas area and want some chicken and tomatillo or spinach and cheese tamales (medium spiciness by our gauge; may be spicier to you), give one of us a ring.

We're looking at pressure cooker/canners and sitting on a few on eBay; hopefully we'll have one by the end of the week. Nothing like a good All American no-gasket canner to bring back memories of my maternal grandmother. (: Actually, he has Plans for it. I'm not sure what kind of Plans, but it's important enough to capitalize. Can't go too wrong planning with someone I can carry on a good conversation about sustainable design with.

There's an arrangement with a half dozen roses in the kitchen. It's fetching and smells pretty good (I haven't met a cut rose that smells as lovely as the climbing rose we had at Shady J), but I'm still wrapping my brain around having fresh flowers in the house for no reason other than he felt like it.

Photos to my family are on their way today as I finally got off my butt and picked up a card to mail them in. Patterns and cloth to dervish are in limbo awaiting me (a) packing them into a box, (b) not buying any more cloth to overstuff said box, and (c)actually shipping it.

And before I forget, happy birthday saarlander! I hope you get lucky with the missus. (:

...if you know anyone who fits into dress sizes 2 or 4, I've got some nice pieces I'm thinking about selling. Highlights incude a c. 1950 eyelet wedding gown, a 1970s Yves Saint Laurent evening set in silver panne velvet, a 1960s Jay Herbert cocktail dress, and vintage Mexican folkwear.

I also have a new full-length mandarin-collar dress that's a little larger (Chinese import, size 38) that's looking for a good home since I listened to the salesperson instead of my gut instinct (my post-kid waist is a good size or so larger than my bust).

In the recent de-cluttering around here, Mom decided it was time to get her less-used Wilton cake pans out of the house. She's kept them because she didn't think anyone would want them, but I think we could get at least a few dollars each for them on eBay and put it into my sister's wedding fund. (Amy's getting married next summer and a tiered cake requires a few larger pans than what Mom already has. I'm just volunteering my mad fondant skills.) In case any of you want one or more (yours for the cost of shipping) before I list them for sale, I'm posting a list of the pans for anyone interested.

( 23 Wilton character pans issued between 1973-1995, with description and Wilton yearbook page number of first appearance )

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Wilton is well-known for making cake, cookie and candy-making products. If you still have no idea after visiting the Wilton site, both craft stores (e.g., Michael's) and discount chains (Wal-Mart, Home Bazaar, etc.) carry a limited selection of Wilton pans, books, and accessories.

One of the things that's come up every year that Himself would like for birthday/Father's Day/Christmas/other gift-giving holiday is Arise!, the Subgenius video. While I could get a homemade copy of it for nominal price off a friend, it's never seemed quite right. This apparently has been because it's now on DVD, which I just scored on eBay.

Unfortunately, it won't arrive in time for his birthday (Saturday), but it will arrive in plenty of time for Father's Day. Muahahaha...

Remember that 1982 Sesame Street cross-stitch pattern book that I can't seem to get on eBay due to snipers? Got one thanks to Buy It Now, and for less than the ones I've missed out on go for.

Also found one of the two 1983 McCall's Sesame Street puppet patterns and placed the opening bid, but I expect not to win it since I don't want it enough to offer more than $10 for such a small pattern.

Those of new to reading me: I love classic (prior to a certain red Muppet becoming obscenely popular) Sesame Street. If this skeeves you out, you might want to bow out before I disturb you. On the other hand, if you have 1984 or earlier Sesame stuff and want to sell/trade, drop me a line.

I've been looking to buy a plush Domo-kun for some time with little luck; they're hard to find in the States (there were 6" plushes at Urban Outfitters a few summers ago, but it was never available on their website and, like Hot Topic, it's not a store I'd go in if I can avoid it) and I'm too cheap to spend $30 or more for an 8" plush on eBay when they're 1500 yen (~USD$12) in Tokyo. I did find a 12" Domo-kun plush for $28 from a store in California, but it lacks the nubbly texture as seen in the shorts...

So I'm buying some nubbly fake fur and making my own darn Domo-kun and currently estimate material costs to be around $15 for a 16" Domo-kun. If anyone else wants me to make them one, drop me a line in a few weeks and we'll talk.

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I'm going to quit buying on eBay unless I'm absolutely sure to be online at the end of any auction. Sniping has become the purchase strategy of so many it's pointless to bid early unless you're using Buy It Now. The winner will inevitably not bid until the last 2 minutes of the auction, so regardless of how ridiculous your maximum bid is, they'll sit there and bid up until they get it. On the bright side, I've caused someone to pay $14 for two Playskool dollhouse figurines worth $3 and someone else to pay $20 for a book worth $5. If I had a little bit of a cushion -- guess it's time to sell more of my random crap, eh? -- to play with, this could become a really amusing pastime. Muahahaha... I like the idea of making people pay through the nose for sniping.

It helps if you have a passing knowledge of the SubGenius to appreciate this, but what the heck. It's not often you win with the absolute minimum bid. w00t!

Cherry Comics No. 8 signed by Rev. Ivan Stang

(Gentle readers might want to note there is comic nudity. Either way, the comic book has a Dobbshead shown on a screen in one panel. The following inscription is in the page margin: "Dan - Where's my royalties? Rev. Ivan StangTM")

In further proof our movie collection is sending us to hell, I just spent $6.50 (including shipping) for a sealed regionless DVD copy of Robo Vampire on eBay.

I am mildly concerned that he intends to acquire the entirety of Martial Arts Theater/Eden entertainment films, but if we pay $3-5 per on eBay, I'll live with it.

On an unrelated note, throwing 1/3 cup (80 ml) of cocoa into no-bake cheesecake mix makes a very satisfying chocolatey cheesy puddle that's not overly sweet. (It set decently but I forgot to grease the pie pan before making the crumb crust, so it didn't come out of the pan neatly.)