The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[RosieCotton]

Good morning, especially to you East Coast folks! It's FRIDAY!!!

Well, saw The Movie for the third and last time in the theater last night. We were supposed to have our second music night of the week, but my sister and I figured out that this was the last night that TTT would be showing, and ditched. Since we arrived at ten after and our theater doesn't have many previews (the one time I was upset by that!), we missed a few minutes, but not too bad. When we came out, they'd already taken "Lord of the Rings" (as they have it billed) off the marquee. All done, that's that! But it lasted at least a week and maybe two weeks longer than FOTR, so I guess that's positive.

I should have taken my little brother, too, though...so I'm on a self-inflicted guilt trip today. :-(

[ksen]

Since I'm here anyways..........funkle.

[ksen]

Well look on the bright side Rosie, you saved me from a funkle! ;^)

[RosieCotton]

Congrats on your Sam being recognized by the President. ;^)

Very cool, isn't it? Seriously, Sean Astin DOES have some Sam-like attributes, and that's a good thing!

[Sam Cree]

Hi, Lil'freeper. I amar prestar aen

What is the translation to that?

[ksen]

What is the translation to that?

"Where is the nearest restroom?"

[RosieCotton]

I am going to be putting a 4/4 violin up for auction over at E-bay. We paid about $700 for the violin and about $200 for the case and extras. What do you think a realistic starting bid should be?

Hmm...well, first of all...

< Dad Mode > WHY are you selling a violin??? This had BETTER be because you have a better one and not because someone is quitting! Don't you know it's the best instrument every invented? All other instruments pale in comparison! < /Dad Mode >

OK, my first question would be what you're hoping to get for it. Then I would set the starting bid at maybe half that and a reserve for the lowest price you'd be willing to take. But 2J is the eBay expert here, I guess. ;-)

What kind of violin is it? Where did you get it originally? What sort of bow does it have? Just curious...

[Sam Cree]

Oh thanks, ksen.

[Lil'freeper]

I had a bit of insight yesterday and a bit of a confession to share. We are trying to get a new house built because our current little condo is bursting at the seams- we need more room. Well, yesterday the assessor (sp?) came by to look at the place. We had been cleaning and tidying up- which is difficult when you have no room- and I was very anxious about a gum-smacking twit (I determined this, like, from the, you know, phone conversation?) coming over to pass "judgement".

Well, it was worse than I thought. I was at work, but Big_ol' showed her around. She chewed her gum, scribbled on her clipboard, and hardly said a word. She was armed with a tape measure, pretty standard fare I hear, and prowled about outside and in. What gets me is, she went through my cabinets- all of them. The closets, too, although that is a little more understandable. SHE WENT THROUGH MY CABINETS!! including the bathroom cabinets. What the heck?!? No one else I've spoken to here about assessments has ever had that happen to them.

This really wigged me out. My home is my fortress and I felt like it had been violated or even burglarized. Don't get me wrong, folks are welcome at our house. We'll feed you and give you a pillow for your head, but guests don't go pilfering through every cabinet in the house, rummaging through unmentionables "looking for damage."

I was explaining my anger to Big_ol' when he turned and said, "That's a rather hobbity reaction, don't you think?" I had to laugh. I've got a hobbity streak!

I feel a little better now that I've confessed.

[Lil'freeper]

"The world is changed"

Every news day is crazier than the day before, I think it's kind of fitting.

[2Jedismom]

If it's a good violin with a good name that can be easily searched on Ebay, you should do ok...but with this much money, I would put a "reserve" on it...a price it won't sell for less than. For example...I put a set of video taped homeschool curriculum on ebay, started out the bidding at $9.99 (worth $50 new), but put a reserve of $25 on it...which means they wouldn't sell and all bids would be off if no one reached the reserve price. I ended up getting $45 for the set!

Also, advertising helps if you can get it advertised...on a violin thread or something...Rosie, maybe you could mention it on a violin thread, if you frequent it...like say "Look at this on ebay" and of course not mention it's a friend of yours that's selling it.

You recall the Copeland whistle that sold a week or so ago? Worth almost $300 new, the seller started the bidding at $9.99. The minute I brought it to the attention of the guys on Chiff and Fipple, the bidding went nuts! It really doesn't matter what your beginning bid is, if you have something in demand....it'll sell.

But with this much money, I'd still have a reserve. Be sure and put the violin name in the title...

[RosieCotton]

Ugh...this could very well be something a lot of places do, I dunno. But it would bother me, too.

Guess what I had happen to me, though? Before I bought my house, I was renting an apartment near here. My landlord would fairly frequently come in while I was at work. If he had let me know ahead of time, I would have no problem, but to just come in??? And then he'd leave notes saying "make sure you clean up blah-blah-blah", or "winter is coming...don't forget to turn on the heat", etc. Like I wasn't an adult. He wasn't someone that made me fear for my safety or anything, but I'm a pretty private kinda gal, and that really, REALLY bothered me.

Now I have my own house and have to tell MYSELF that I'm a slob. ;-) I much prefer that!

[Sam Cree]

"The world is changed"

Yes, it's very appropriate.

Well, I am hiding in my office again, from the relatives. I feel like Bilbo hiding from the Sackville Bagginses.

It wouldn't be so bad if Michelle (Michael) wasn't such a complete know it all, on every subject in the world. And if he didn't go flitting, skipping and chirping around the house non stop. And he then makes catty little feminine digs at my wife whenever he can think of one.

Put that way, it seems funny. Well, I will hold out until Tuesday. Hope the door won't hit their butts on the way out. :-D

[Lil'freeper]

I hope to heavens my untidy cabinets don't reflect poorly on the place's appraisal.

As that guinea pig from Dr. Dolittle sez:

I have just been violated!!

[Lil'freeper]

Do they make your ears twitch?

[RosieCotton]

I hope to heavens my untidy cabinets don't reflect poorly on the place's appraisal.

I would imagine she was checking for condition, not tidiness. If that makes you feel better.

Hmm...I really SHOULD spend some time soon organizing cabinets. Though I suppose I should get the rest of the house neat first. Sigh! I'm ALWAYS wayyyy behind on my house cleaning. As for the closets, it doesn't help that I tend to do the company's-coming-stuff-everything-in-the-closet-to-make-it-LOOK-neat thing...

[Overtaxed]

Sorry I'm late. Some fool had the nerve to wreck on my this morning I'm running behind right now.

[Overtaxed]

Who's Jason Connery? Any relation to Sean?

His son.

[2Jedismom]

I ran out of my Aldis coffee...was standing in the kitchen pretend crying. Matthew came in and said "Get ahold of yourself, Toots!" (I have no idea where that came from!)

I had some carribean beans that my brother gave me, so I got out the old grinder and ground them up. Now this very loud process sent my kids into rigors and much hysteria insued.

What a morning!

[300winmag]

Anybody who's serious about buying or selling on eBay should consider signing up with PayPal. As a seller, it lets me handle credit card transactions at a reasonable fee. As a buyer, it lets me pay instantly, and avoid the drudgery of producing a check/money order, letter, envelope, stamp, etc. (I'm basically lazy).

My only real concern about PayPal is that it will be turned politically correct, now that eBay owns it. On eBay, everything must be California-legal, even if it never goes to California. No martial arts stuff, no hi-cap magazines, no knives of certain kinds, etc.. I'm just afraid eBay will put those same restrictions on PayPal done outside of eBay, too. so far they haven't, but the site is owned by a California liberal.

Some people utterly despise PayPal, but I feel the added convenience gets me more bids, and higher prices, than without it.