Want To Play Barbies?

Recently someone donated a Barbie doll to us at Adopt-a-Family. We buy and give away dozens of Barbies every year so what makes this one remarkable?

She's a 1964 dark brunette swirl ponytail Barbie doll that appears never to have been out of her box. I took her out, certainly not to play with her, but to take pictures. I've got her for auction on eBay with a reserve price of several hundred dollars.

Crazy you say? Not necessarily. Recently a 1963 vintage Barbie sold for $601.99. I'm hopeful our doll will sell for nearly that much.

See the label on the end of the box? It says Sears, Roebuck and Company and shows a price of $2.19. With inflation that would be $15.79 in 2011 dollars.

If you're interested, check her out here. Or maybe you're heading to your closet to dig out your own dolls from your childhood. When this auction is over I know I am.

Looks Can Be So Deceiving

Is it possible to be OCD just about certain things in life? Or is OCD a condition that shows up everywhere?

Take a look in our closet:

Here's the other end. There are actually more shoes on the shelves to the right of those you can see:

I can't believe how much I have pared (not paired) down my shoes. I think there are about 75 pairs here. A couple years ago I sold 60 pairs on eBay. Sent my shoes all over the country. Hey, if I can't go, they might as well.

I'm not a compulsive shoe collector in the same sense as women with so-called shoe fetishes. You won't find any Prada, Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnick in my closet. (I wasn't even sure of the spelling of the last two) In fact, you won't find many with heels in there, certainly no high heels or pointy toes. I'm more into comfort: flats, clogs, boots, sandals. I do have a few pairs of heels in the requisite black for events that absolutely require them.

And unlike most women who buy a new outfit and then shop for a pair of shoes to match, I buy shoes and then find an outfit. What's my problem you ask? I have big feet. I am six feet tall and wear a size 12 shoe (quit snickering). At least I'm pretty certain I'll never blow over in the wind. And they are not easy to find.

When I was a kid we didn't have much money. I got the obligatory new pair of shoes for school annually. Back then finding shoes to fit was even more difficult, and when I did they often looked like something my Aunt Mabel would wear or maybe not. They could be that ugly.

My father was 6' 6" and as you'd expect also had big feet---14AA. He, too, had trouble finding shoes and clothes in his younger days. Consequently, he was the one who had the patience to take me shopping from store to store to find what I needed. I remember one year, I was maybe 12, when we actually found TWO affordable pairs. My father said that for a week every time he looked at me I had the other pair on. I kept going back into my room and changing. I was so excited to have TWO new pairs of shoes at the same time!

Consequently when I started buying my own I learned early to take care of them. Notice they are all in their original boxes? When I used to work in a more corporate atmosphere which required suits, dresses and heels, I had a 'driving shoe' in the car. As soon as I got in, I would slip my shoe off and put on the driving shoe so as not to scuff up the back of my right shoe.

So here comes the OCD....notice in the photos there are little pictures on the ends of the boxes? When I get a new pair, I take a photo and tape it to the end of the box. I used to just write a brief description on the box but tan sandals got a little confusing when it was written on six boxes. Which tan sandals?

My shoes seem to be one of the few places my OCD shows up. Otherwise, I'm a piler of books, magazines, mail, catalogs, bills, receipt, etc. Just take a look at my desk. I'm one of the most disorganized people I know accept when it comes to my shoe shelves!

Tales of a Pack Rat and a Collector of Shoes

Another rerun, after all, it is summer.

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It's not like I don't sit here at the computer enough between work (my site), blogging (two blogs at the moment) and general time-wasting......but this morning I decided to put a few items out on eBay for auction, too.

Let me say....I don't like to throw perfectly good things away. If it still fits or works, even if it hasn't been worn or used in years, it kills me to just pitch it. We used to have annual yard sales.....that got to be a huge pain in the butt as anyone who has ever done one knows and I quit. We donate to several organizations. Big Sisters picks up a couple times a year and Paul ships boxes to a Native American organization out west regularly. Those groups get clothing mostly.

When I retired from the 'corporate' world in 2000 I went through most of my business clothes and donated much to a local program that helps people getting back on their feet and into the job market prepare for job interviews, etc. But I couldn't part with my shoes! I know many of you ladies out there can relate.

My father used to call me Imelda, as in Imelda Marcos, the lady with the shoe collection. I wear a big shoe (I'll just keep the size to myself, thanks), and they are hard to buy and expensive! Even though I was pretty sure I'd never go back to suits & heels, I didn't dare get rid of my shoes. Every one of the nearly 100 pair was in its original box with a description on the end. I have since altered my system and now put a little digital photo on the box rather than a written description. Makes figuring out WHICH tan sandal is in there a little easier. I know, I'm weird about my shoes.

So when I retired I put dozens of boxes of heels into cartons and up into the attic, just in case. After a few years, I realized I wasn't going back to wearing heels on any regular basis and I pulled the cartons down and decided to try selling them.....on eBay!! Over the course of a few months I sold about 65 pairs of shoes, sandals & boots on eBay. My shoes went all over the country and Canada, some places I've never been. Hey, if I can't go, my shoes might as well! I didn't sell them for a lot of money but at least they weren't in the landfill and someone else was enjoying them. I got great feedback from all.

So this morning I put a pair of sandals that aren't comfortable up for Auction as well as an antique brass trivet and a wooden bowl. They're just sitting on a shelf in the basement getting dusty. As the saying goes.....One man's trash is another man's treasure!

Tales of a Pack Rat and a Collector of Shoes

It's not like I don't sit here at the computer enough between work (my site), blogging (two blogs at the moment) and general time-wasting......but this morning I decided to put a few items out on eBay for auction, too.

Let me say....I don't like to throw perfectly good things away. If it still fits or works, even if it hasn't been worn or used in years, it kills me to just pitch it. We used to have annual yard sales.....that got to be a huge pain in the butt as anyone who has ever done one knows and I quit. We donate to several organizations. Big Sisters picks up a couple times a year and Paul ships boxes to a Native American organization out west regularly. Those groups get clothing mostly.

When I retired from the 'corporate' world in 2000 I went through most of my business clothes and donated much to a local program that helps people getting back on their feet and into the job market prepare for job interviews, etc. But I couldn't part with my shoes! I know many of you ladies out there can relate.

My father used to call me Imelda, as in Imelda Marcos, the lady with the shoe collection. I wear a big shoe (I'll just keep the size to myself, thanks), and they are hard to buy and expensive! Even though I was pretty sure I'd never go back to suits & heels, I didn't dare get rid of my shoes. Every one of the nearly 100 pair was in its original box with a description on the end. I have since altered my system and now put a little digital photo on the box rather than a written description. Makes figuring out WHICH tan sandal is in there a little easier. I know, I'm weird about my shoes.

So when I retired I put dozens of boxes of heels into cartons and up into the attic, just in case. After a few years, I realized I wasn't going back to wearing heels on any regular basis and I pulled the cartons down and decided to try selling them.....on eBay!! Over the course of a few months I sold about 65 pairs of shoes, sandals & boots on eBay. My shoes went all over the country and Canada, some places I've never been. Hey, if I can't go, my shoes might as well! I didn't sell them for a lot of money but at least they weren't in the landfill and someone else was enjoying them. I got great feedback from all.

So this morning I put a pair of sandals that aren't comfortable up for Auction as well as an antique brass trivet and a wooden bowl. They're just sitting on a shelf in the basement getting dusty. As the saying goes.....One man's trash is another man's treasure!