In March of 2018 my boyfriend had some serious dizziness and vertigo issues that had been going on for months. Finally we brought him in the day after Mother's Day to the E.R after he couldn't take it anymore.
They found a large mass on his brainstem and immediately referred him to a local hospital for further testing. About a week went by of testing, biopsies, waiting...it seemed to be no end. Then we got the news that they were referring us out to another hospital two hours away that is the best in the country; they weren't equipped to handle a complicated case like his.
We had just been talking of getting engaged and the future and he had remarked to me that he couldn't exactly go ring shopping for me from a hospital bed.
On a break from the hospital I was at my grandma's house and mentioned it to her. She looked me with a smile and told me to go into her jewelry box in the bedroom and take whichever one my heart desired; she couldn't wear them anymore and they deserved a second chance instead of languishing in a box gathering dust.
Ring in hand, we rushed back to the hospital. He asked me to marry him with a smile in his eyes and heart and I tearfully agreed.
This fairy tale does not have a happy ending though.
We lost him two and a half weeks later to that brain cancer. Before he passed away, we had a small wedding ceremony with as many friends and family we could muster on very short notice. We said our vows and he slipped my ring back on my finger. There was no time for anything else. No marriage license. No bridesmaids. No music or wedding cake.
I had his heart and he had mine. This ring symbolizes the vows we said and even though death has parted us, just like the flower that the cluster of diamonds on the ring portrays my love for him will always bloom eternal.

So today I went to pick my brother up for lunch. Tobias has schizophrenia, and lives in a group facility. He had just gone out to lunch and eaten a huge meal, so we went thrifting before going out for coffee instead. He was having a pretty lucid day, as sometimes he thinks he is speaking another language that sounds to most just as "duhh duhh duhh" repeated quickly. I found a coin-bank which he referred to as "DogCatBear". I told about this group as I took a picture of it on the shelf. He then offered to model the piece, taking a first photo he deemed as too serious, then decided to have me take a "happy" one. When I debated bringing it home he asked if I had a piggybank and when I said "no" he responded "then you need one." DogCatBear came home with me from The Eureka Rescue Mission Thrift Store in Eureka CA.

It is a first edition
I'm honestly super stoke to share this with you guys! I've never shared this with anyone.
A couple years ago, roughly 3 years ago, I went to our local church garage sale. It's a huge rummage sale, with things of all sorts. You never know what you'll find.
We were close to ending our venture there and I made my way to the books, wondering what I could add to my library for my new place. I found a bunch of Stephen King books and some Dean Koontz. I grabbed all the Stephen King and Koontz, they were all together in a bundle, all I saw was their spine. I just grabbed them. Heck, for 25 cents each, why not, even if they werent in great condition, I only wasted a quarter. The lady ended up giving me a deal and sold them to me for a nickel each. Score!
I got home, put them by the bookshelf and didnt get a chance to put them away. I forgot about them for a month, and when I came across it, I realized I needed to put them away. As I was going through them, I saw this book, and saw what the cover said. I honestly didnt think it was legit until I opened it up.
AN ACTUAL STEPHEN KING AUTOGRAPH!
One of the coolest finds I ever got! I couldn't believe someone gave it to the church to sell in a garage sale, let alone no one noticed it!
Any other Stephen King fans out there? Anyone else got any cool finds like this?

Last week, I got a text from my mom telling me that she had found Little Guy.
Who’s Little Guy, you may ask? Well, when I was younger, about 4, I went to the dentist. He had this awesome toy box in the waiting area. After you were done, you got to pick out a toy. For some reason, I felt compelled to grab this “little guy”. He has popsicle stick-like arms that allow him to hold on to anything that you position him on. I believe he’s probably made to go around a pencil.
Around that time, my dad was being deployed to Kuwait. He took Little Guy with him, and sent us back photos of him doing things at the base (3rd photo). This was special to me as a child who missed dad so much while he was gone. I was so happy to have them both back when he came home! In the second photo, my dad has just gotten back. I went into his room and put his uniform on to be funny. You can see me holding Little Guy, after he too, had made it back from Kuwait.
I had a lot of special toys growing up, but this is my favorite one. I thought he was long gone, so having him back in my possession is very special. He will hang somewhere in my apartment, I’m not sure where yet!


40k

Want to hear a great story? Today one of our customers told me he had a boring story to tell me. It was not boring btw!! He said we had a clock that he thought looked so familiar, he had seen it many times and a few weeks ago he looked inside the clock and saw his mother’s note. It was her handwritten note on how to wind the clock. He took the note and thought of buying it but let it go. He thought about how he had looked at this clock in his childhood home growing up and when he came in today he didn’t see it hanging. He told me the story and that he was glad it went to a good home. I thought...hmmm wait a minute let me look in one spot...I looked behind some mirrors and it was still there. I handed it to him and said you should take this home and treasure it! It found its was home to its rightful owner. He said this was donated or sold back in the 50’s in Boston and how it ended up here is a mystery!! It was one of his parents wedding gifts. What a beautiful story and it’s journey back to his family!! This is truly a treasure!!!

We recently adopted a 23-year old naked scarlet macaw from a bird rescue organization called palm beach parrot & bird rescue/sanctuary of south Florida. According to the woman who runs the organization, sweet pea plucked her feathers when her previous owners were going through a nasty divorce

Flappers carried these and it was just big enough for their cigarettes, lipstick and money. Someone donated granny's things and didn't realize that granny used to carry this purse to speakeasies! So I'll take care of it for her.