PALOMINAS TRADING POST

When the economy slows, it's interesting to see what business are effected.

My brother, a full-time piano-tuner, can tell you when a whisper of economic distress is in the wind; other than professional musicians, most people can easily and without any pain put off paying $100 for getting their piano tuned.

Restaurants feel the punch, when people discover that, yes, they can eat cheaper at home and no, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is not just for college kids.

Even with us 'regulars' who frequented the Palominas Trading Post, some of us just weekly for Saturday morning breakfast, some every single morning (grumpy old men huddled over their coffee, reading the local newspaper and communicating only by grunts), the money simply wasn't enough to cover costs.

So Pam, one of my favorite people in the whole world, the owner/cook/manager, decided that she should clear out restaurant stuff and have a 'yard' sale (even though it's being held inside the empty restaurant).

Not a bad idea.

However, Pam also decided this would be a great time to get rid of all the extra stuff FROM HER HOME at the same time.

OMG.

You have to understand, those of you who have not had the honor of seeing the PTP, what the, er, interior design is like.

Popular in many restaurants is the antique, old-utensil decor, in a sharp, expensive Martha Stewart style.

At the PTP, there are many, many antique cooking utensils.

But here, they are USED.

It's not just a look - it's economical.

But it adds up to hundreds of coffee mugs, plate, salt and pepper shakers, napkin holders, bread pans, pots, pans, vases, glasses, syrup dispensers....
Add to this Pam's accumulation of STUFF over the past twenty-years - such a used watercolors, yarns, buttons, slide displays (remember slides? Little itty bitty photos than you needed a projector to look at?), dozens of old VHS videos, photo albums, cassette tape holders....

Then you get an idea of the upcoming yard sale on Saturday.

Please - stop by.

MY BLANKIE

I was slightly frustrated that none of my children ever developed an attachment to an object. It seemed customary for toddlers to want a certain blanket or doll or pacifier, but my kids were happy with just any regular toy, cover or binkie.

So perhaps that is why I have developed certain clinging idiosyncrasies. It is very important for me to have 'my' bowl, 'my' glass, and 'my' table.

Part of it may simply be because of living a sort of transient life with military assignments. We never knew exactly where we were going next, and certainly never when it was going to happen. For an Army family, we actually made very few moves, but the menace of a move hangs over you constantly.

And growing up, my family moved a lot - and suddenly. As a child, I may simply have not been aware of any planning, but it seemed that many moves were abrupt - unscheduled - hasty.

Plus the relationship between my parents was, even at the very best of time, tenuous. The possibility of one or the other not being there the next day was a reality that I learned to deal with.

But perhaps that why I became attached to certain things.

Which leads me to today's blog subject.

I have had a green, cotton blanket for… oh, for quite a while. I have purchased bought replacements - I mean, it's not as if it's been one particular blanket. But it's lightweight, it's perfect for naps (one of my primary reasons for existence), and it's MINE.

Unfortunately, the last blanket developed certain… flaws.

It's sort of like when you get a run in your nylons; one small fiber gets pulled on the wrong way, and yikes - slow but determined destruction is going to follow, no matter how much care or clear nail polish you may use.

So the last time I traveled to my daughter's, I 'left' this bungled blanket there, in the naïve conviction that it would be easy to replace.

Au contraire, mi amigo, nein!

(And how many people do you know that can combine French, Spanish and German and not even realize it)

Suddenly my trips into town were fraught with foreboding; no one seemed to have on stock my green blanket! Target, always my standard - no blanket. All our linen supply places - no blanket. I finally succumbed to sheer desperation - I went to WalMart.

Tonight, after thoroughly washing it, my new blankie and I are settling down for a cool spring evening's night.