My Winter Activities

I have two great loves - gardening and vintage clothing and accessories.




The above earrings and pin are on ETSY


I am fortunate to pay my bills through gardening and my business is at my house.The downside is that from April through September I have no privacy. A constant parade of people come into my house, which is almost eligible for the “Hoarders” TV Show.

Fortunately my customers are great and my “employees” are all good friends.

Whenever I shop during the summer, I try to visit thrift stores or yard sales as well. And some of my customers trade vintage items for gift certificates. So I am always on the hunt. During the winter I sell these items online using eBay, ETSY and Artfire. My goal is to sell enough to pay for the internet and associated services for the year.




The above 1970's velveteen jacket is on ArtFire.



And I recently sold the neat art deco 1930s necklace (above) on eBay. On Etsy and ArtFire my selling name is "VintagefromVermont."

On eBay I am AmandainVermont.


I am also an active member of the Vintage Fashion Guild, a great group of men and women who are extremely knowledgeable about vintage clothing and accessories. I have lots of enthusiasm, but not their education.

However ... There is a huge pile of seed catalogs waiting for my attention and it is time to start preparing the greenhouses for the next onslaught. My first job in the transition from vintage clothing to horticulture is to go through my seeds and check their dates, viability, etc. I will be planting begonia seeds very soon.

2010 Resolutions and Ramblings

People often ask me what I do during the winter. I burrow in here, keep the wood stove going and spend way too much time on the computer. To help with bills I sell vintage clothing and accessories on eBay and Etsy. This gives me an excuse to get out there and hunt for treasures, one of my favorite pastimes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintagefromVermont

When you are on the computer a lot you make a whole new community of friends. I am a member of the Vintage Fashion Guild and I spend lots of time “over there” learning from my colleagues and sharing information and discoveries.

I also have an online group of gardening friends and am on several lists including Freecycle, AHS members (American Hemerocallis Society) , and one for folks who share a health issue with me.

I don’t “tweet” and can barely understand Facebook. Ultimately it is my great “real life” friends here in central Vermont who mean the most to me and who come first.

I have made two new year’s resolutions which may seem counterintuitive. 1) Get back to this blog and 2) Stay away from the computer for at least one hour after I get up in the morning.



Of course I am also perusing seed and plant catalogs and most of my orders are placed.

I buy in quite a lot started of seedlings (plugs)



Often the cost of a plug is just pennies more than the cost of the seed. The uniformity, easy of transplant and savings in fuel makes the additional cost well worth it.

I also start a lot of my plants under lights in the living room. Writing this blog makes me realize just how soon that process will begin.