Well, Now, You See… I knew it was just a matter of time and bound to happen. No matter how careful someone is, and how hard you try. You cannot think of, or prepare for every possible variable. Admittedly, I was half looking forward to the day and half hoping the day would take longer to arrive. Nonetheless, I got BUSTED! That’s right. The kids and I had good run, but my wife found out about my little project here. 😊
How did she find out you ask? Etsy…. It never even crossed my mind to hide it. The kids and I had snuck her phone and blocked her from the Facebook and Instagram pages. I don’t know why I did not think about Etsy. I have had a small Etsy store for years. When I started this venture, I was able to seamlessly integrate products into my Etsy store. Everything ran fine for months. Until, my other habit caught up with me.
I love auctions and flea markets. I especially love old tools and related items. At an auction a few months ago I bought a bookshelf full of repair manuals. There were around 100 repair manuals for different cars, trucks, machinery, etc. There were also quite a few other books that were not of interest to me. Specifically, some yearbooks dating back to the 1920’s. I could not read any titles in the grainy online picture and bid based on the two-word description “repair manuals.” Even without titles I have worked on things long enough to recognize the branding on a Chilton’s manual. The description did not list the annuals, or the ridiculously heavy safe next to the bookshelf.
I had no connection to the Universities and decided to list them on my Etsy store thinking someone would like them. Sure enough, after a week I sold two. I guess my wife was curious and looked up my Etsy store. She called and asked about the other products in the store. I told her it was something I had decided to try a while back. She took the answer without much question, and asked if anything had sold. I started to make something up, but decided to tell her. I sent her a link to these blog post and told her this would explain everything.
I guess I could have kept it going, but I had been wanting to tell her for the longest time. Also, discussing much more would have required lying to her, and I did not want to lie. I have a rule that I hold very strongly to. “I don’t lie to you, and you don’t lie to me.” I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be when she found out. All I was worried about was seeing her smile I love so much, and I did. In my head I had always thought I would end up telling her in person. I’m not sure why other than I wanted to see her reaction first hand.
The good news is now that my wife now knows. She and I can sort out so many finer details. Such as what pictures to use or not use, who can be in them, and do we discuss our full-time careers? I can also expand several items in the store I have wanted to add but could not because of the logistics. I may can talk her into taking over the blog part of this. She is extremely smart, a much better writer than I am, and funny. Maybe we will swap out writing. We will just have to see. Regardless, we will continue improving the store and farm.
In case you are wondering. Sadly, the safe was empty. It had been opened by its previous owner with a cutting torch. While it was cool, it was far too heavy to move so I left it with the estate. I also want to say Thank you for following along to those that read these posts. It is fun to write these little pieces, and I enjoy it.
Image: Its winter time and cold so why not a spring picture. These are some of or baby guineas from the spring. It is funny to me how cute they start out, but they look nothing like this when they grow up.