My first order from Sellpy: Dresses

Sellpy is a Swedish online store that sells used products, the lowest price of which is only 3.50 euros per item. When the product does not sell, the price drops and eventually reaches 3.50. Normally, when buying used products, you have to pay shipping costs to each seller separately, but Sellpy is a "real" online store in the sense that there is only one shipping cost.

I ordered nine clothes, the price of which was 3.15 euros per item thanks to the 10% discount for first-time customers. When I ordered, I wondered if it would be worth paying the extra three euros for a home delivery. I regretted not doing so when I carried the package home from the local store. It wasn't heavy, but it was still bigger than I feared, and my arms didn't really like it.

I ordered three black dresses, I was still dreaming of a sheath dress. I hoped that at least one of them would be the right size and fit. One of the dresses is a disappointment, there are details in it that I didn't notice in the pictures, although you can zoom in and brighten them nicely with Sellpy. And this is the one that is too big for me, the other two dresses are luckily a perfect fit.

 

 

 

Some might say that I already had enough dresses, but how many of them are really usable? At least not the black one I tried on the morning of the order, too tight and the neckline is such that the straps of the bra are visible.

A gray cat-themed dress, or maybe that's officially a shirt. Really stylish for someone this old. The cat's ears are "up", which I didn't realize when I ordered it.

 

Since I've been wanting a longer winter jacket for a long time, I ordered a Finnish Flare Collection winter jacket from Sellpy, which according to the product description was unused. I don't know if it has enough padding, so is it warm enough or is it just a light padded jacket. Most of the winter jackets in the lowest price range were somehow defective or dirty, the one I ordered seemed to be in the best condition. Well, spring came just in time, so this jacket has yet to be tested outside.

 

 

2 polo shirts, one black and one grey. My current polo shirts are too short, and are decades old anyway, and one of my favorites even has holes in it.

Two black short-sleeved t-shirts, one of which is a cat-themed one. I want one of these as my summer track shirt. I don't really want to wear my old track shirt because it smells like onions. I like onions, but onions don't like me. It's not enough that I smell of onions, they also ruin shirts with their stink.

 

 

The sad thing is, of course, that one or more of those clothes that I ordered had been washed with a perfumed substance, and after washing, all laundry smells. People don't know or care about what carcinogens and hormone disruptors those perfumes are.

And what's worse, now other clothes, washed separately from these clothes, also smell of perfume, meaning that the smell stuck to the washing machine.

 

 

My first order from Temu

I wanted custom jewelry in memory of my cats, and I was about to pay multiple times the price to middlemen. Just one piece of jewelry like that would have cost more than the entire contents of this Temu order, 8 products, if ordered from elsewhere.

Cotton shirt with my own print

The shirt is cotton as promised, but the quality of the print is such that I don't predict it will last very long. I ordered an Asian size XL, because I often wear size L in t-shirts available in Finland. I want a looser and longer shirt. Well, the shirt is indeed too big for me. That should correspond to a Euro size 38, but it is quite a lot bigger. A shirt with my own print cost 4.24 euros at Temu. The picture shows the shirt after the first wash.

 

 

Two custom cat necklaces

I was worried beforehand that there would be mistakes in the cats' names, but there aren't any. At first I thought the chains' locks weren't in the middle of the chain, but then I realized they had an extension piece. So you can choose how long the chain should be, which is convenient. The price of a cat-themed necklace with three cats at Temu is 3.15 euros. The pictures are of poor quality, sorry about that.

 

 

In an online store that looks Finnish (but isn't actually Finnish) with its name and website address, the price of a three-paw necklace would have been 39 euros (and that's supposedly a 50% discount), in an English-language store it would have been 27 euros, and in Temu it is 4.29 euros. But you have to pay ten times the price to middlemen, right?

 

 

 

Keychain in memory of cats

"I loved you your whole life, I'll miss you for the rest of mine." Unfortunately, the text on this keychain is dimmer than in the Temu product image.

 

 

Heat socks

How are the copycat socks compared to the real Heat Holders? The price at Temu is 4.38e, so you could get three of these for the price that Heat Holders cost in Finland. Let's see how long they last.

Two foldable travel ballerinas

One pair with cat theme, other similar to the ones that fell apart on the last cruise. I gave up ordering the Hello Kitty ones, there would have been more options for those too. Temu has a really wide selection of Hello Kitty products, it's rare to find them in Finland, especially clothes intended for adults.

It feels bad that I had to place an order without any discount code. All the codes I found were only valid in the app. I'm losing money because I don't have a smartphone.

I would never order electrical appliances or cosmetics from Temu. I also want cotton and not polyester in clothes. It's a different matter whether the clothes are actually cotton, even if they promise to be.

I should start a dropshipping business myself. I just need to come up with good products to order from Temu (affiliate link) and sell at a higher price.

Ps. I would have liked to order these Hello Kitty panties, but all the sellers only have one size available, which is not suitable for me. Are these definitely licensed and approved by Sanrio...?

 

 

 

Memorial jewelry in memory of cats

Facebook often advertises products that are right for me. Now I came across personalized jewelry in memory of pets. You can engrave names on these.

A cat-themed one would be a nice idea, of course, but I thought it would be somehow too big and clumsy for me, at least for everyday use. I appreciate lightness and elegance in jewelry.

 

 

There are many other options, such as paws and hearts.

 

 

I also started to wonder if those paws would be better on a bracelet.

I would also be interested in the eternity symbol and angel wings.

 

 

There would be some nice options in silver, but I'm into yellow gold, or its colors, against the fashion.

And so it happened that I found these same jewelry many times cheaper in Temu. Many businesses are based on buying cheaply from China and selling more expensively.

So I made my first order from Temu! (affiliate link)

 

Autumn dress mania

Autumn came with a bang. It was literally the last moment to go on a cruise if you wanted to go on a summer vacation. Even a day later, it wouldn't have worked.

And exactly the same thing with my own health. I wondered about the swelling in my stomach after the trip, and a day or two later severe endometriosis pain began.

My computer screen has started to scare me. Sometimes it goes dark unexpectedly, and only comes back on when I close it and open it again.

Dresses

I bought dresses from online second hand store. Two dresses from the same seller saved on postage, the dresses themselves only cost one and two euros. These were on sale for a long time but nobody bought them. A black party dress (size 38) and a violet-gray sheath dress (38).

 

But then when I tried to buy the third dress (a black sheath dress, size 36), the online store wouldn't let me do that. Every time I got the message "Your bid failed. Please check the information you entered and try again." The product in question was on sale with supposedly safer service. It's really safe to buy when you can't buy at all. I then corresponded with their customer service, and finally I was able to buy the dress.

 

 

Then I was sad to find out that all these dresses are too big for me. The usual story, lots of clothes but nothing to wear. Too small, too big, see-through, too short, ill-fitting. I still don't know what to wear to my grandma's funeral.

Movies

This fall I would like to do many things, but they all cost (too much).

The book The Long Walk is one of my favorite works of Stephen King. I've been waiting for decades for it to be made into a movie. And now it's premiering on the day of my grandma's funeral. It's been many years since I last went to the movies, can you still buy tickets the same way you used to? I mean buy online and pick them up at the box office? But I hear that movie tickets cost 20 euros these days...

The last Downton Abbey movie is also premiering on the same day. But I hate a certain DA character so much that I can't stand it. Killed Sybil, fu.

 

 

Friday 12.9.: my grandmother's funeral, the premieres of The Long Walk and Downton Abbey, the release date of the Borderlands 4 game, the start of the World Athletics Championships.

The play Murder on the Orient Express will be performed at the local theatre this autumn, which I am always interested in. But the tickets cost over 40 euros. It's a bit of a shame that I don't have a student card, I could get a discount on many things.

It would also be nice to go bowling. I've never been to the new bowling alley here.

 

A frighteningly depressing experience

I have been depressed. I don't know if it's because of perimenopause, when it's always said that depression and low mood are among the symptoms.

But when I wrote excitedly for weeks, and then I'm not interested in anything anymore, too bad. Finally, I forced myself to finish one short story last week. There's also a certain problem with this, that it's hard to choose which short story to work on next. When you can't choose, you don't do anything. And of course, I started writing a new short story again.

 

 

I miss my cats. I just can't accept the loss of them, nor stand it. I always cry when I stop to think about it.

And I miss Friday. It really hit me for the first time around Valentine's Day. I guess I'll have to dare to try the private server at some point, even though they say (of course) there are only assholes left in the players, and no perks. So, playing with assholes without perks?

 

 

Should I order from Temu?

I admit it. For the first time ever I checket out Temu's (affiliate link) selection. I was really disappointed when I noticed that in honor of buying more Heat Holders thermal socks, the older ones started to fall apart. So I don't have enough socks again, I guess I never will. I didn't bother buying more since they are so expensive, almost 15 euros a pair. Well, I found a Heat Holders copycat brand, Heat Control, from Temu. Yes, that would do.

Temu is pretty annoying because it always does everything it can to prevent you from buying anything. The page jumps everywhere and back to the beginning when you have scrolled down for a long time. It required registration all the time. And when the settings were changed to Finnish, the one I had used disappeared from the selection options. How could I just look for acrylic socks when apparently that kind of material is not known at all in Finland? I had to change back to English.

It's not realistic to order from Temu anyway, since there is a minimum order limit. I would only be interested in ordering if I could get those little things in the mail at home, I don't want to pick up a package from some far away place. And I wouldn't be interested in paying the postal processing fee. Do I have to pay that even if I order just one product from China that costs less than 1 euro?

 

 

Scary bout

In honor of the opening day of the skiing World Championships, I had a seizure. First, I noticed that I couldn't see the text properly. Then I started having pain in my eyes, head, and neck. Then my left arm went numb first, and then the left side of my face. It's not the first time I've had a seizure like this, but it's been a long time since the last one. I always suspect a TIA, but they claim that it's not accompanied by pain. A few hours later, I started to really feel my neck, so much so that I tried to cry and desperately took several painkillers. I didn't know that my neck was so bad. I thought that doing dumbbell exercises every other day would have kept it in shape. So, neck stiffness + eye strain, this is the end result.

 

 

Well, that's why I went on "sick leave". No reading, no writing. No schoolwork. Especially not finishing an essay, when my body felt like it had had enough of it already on the day before. Well, yeah, I've still read, way too much.

 

Poor person bought expensive socks, and dreams of toothpaste

Clothes just dare to fall apart. I'm talking about the clothes I wear at home. Socks, underwear, t-shirts, pajama pants, leggings, sweatpants. The problem with pajama pants is that they are only available in stores once a year at a certain time of year. The same thing with fluffy socks, of course.

My shoes also fell apart. My only "better" (=non-sneakers) "winter" shoes, ankle boots. The heel started to come off. Luckily, it stayed partially on until I got home. Other similar ones fell apart during the last move. Now I only have sneakers.

The 46-year-old towels are also showing signs of falling apart. Can't you trust anything in this world anymore?

 

 

 

Heat Holders-socks

 

I made a daring move, and bought socks. I only had three pairs of Heat Holders socks (affiliate link), and I need more. I now ordered three new pairs, from the same online store as last time. The socks cost almost 15 euros a pair.

I am against plastic in clothes, and that is why it is sad that the only socks that are warm enough for my feet are made of acrylic, i.e. plastic. I can't even wear acrylic clothes on other parts of my body, they itch and cause red marks on my skin. And of course, I always wear knee-high wool socks over my Heat Holders socks.

 

I also dream of a longer winter jacket. My current one was given to me for free by relatives as a poor relief fund about 15 years ago, and it's otherwise good but too short. Padded trousers could also be nice in the coldest weather. Of course, I do have a pair. It was a good idea to steal them from my aunt, since I've never worn them because they're too short for me.

Durable underwear?

And what would be good underwear? The last time I bought a multipack of Sloggi (years ago), they fell apart in the first wash.

And now, most recently, I bought a multipack of Pierre Roberts. I broke the first one in my anxiety on the day my cat Tabitha died, and I thought it was my fault. But no. The others have also broken in the same place, i.e. the seam. So, not gonna buy again.

So soon (now?) I won't be able to find any panties for me in the supermarkets, for example. They have to be made of cotton, durable and not have itchy lace in them, for example.

Parodontax toothpaste

I have been completely addicted to Parodontax toothpaste for decades. Without it, my gums start to bleed. A few years ago, a big bad company bought Parodontax and ruined it completely. They removed all the active ingredients, so it no longer keeps your gums healthy.

The original Parodontax toothpaste is almost impossible to find anywhere anymore. Only in Holland. It may be that they are running out of stock there too. I ordered "a few" tubes of it through Amazon Germany a couple of years ago. And I had been wondering if I should order it again now, when/if they still have it.

But now I found out that, for example, on Amazon Germany you can get a toothpaste called Paromed, which has the same ingredients as the original Parodontax! Is this what I have been waiting for? A copycat product to save me.

I've been dreaming of a cheaper phone subscription for a long time, and now I found out about a company called Globetel. The cheapest monthly fee is 5.90e. Let's see if it's a scam company. To change the subscription, you should know how to change the SIM card in your cell phone... where are the instructions for my 25-year-old Nokia cell phone? Yeah, I'm just so helpless. I'm afraid that if I open that ancient cell phone, it will break forever.

Best products for cat's chronic kidney disease

Believe me, I have tested them all. Two of my three senior cats have renal failure. When my youngest cat Olivia was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease I tried all the CKD products I could get my hands on. So much wasted money!

Most vets only recommend renal diet foods to cats with CKD, but it's even more important to use products which bind phosphate and reduce its absorption from the intestines. If you want the easy way and not to force-feed your cat it's crucial to find renal products that your cat will take willingly, preferably mixed with food. Usually these products need to be given twice a day.

There are surprisingly many CKD products available, but at first I only knew about Pronefra's existence. It's in liquid form, so it's probably the best option for those owners who have to force feed their cat. But since I wanted to avoid that I kept trying others.

 

My cat Olivia is a fussy eater, but she gladly took Ipakitine mixed with her wet food. Unfortunately Ipakitine has lactose as a filler, and that makes absolutely no sense at all because most cats are lactose intolerant. So is my Olivia, and Ipakitine caused her diarrhea. So in conclusion Ipakitine is tasteless and odourless, and most cats will eat it willingly. But it is not suitable for those who can't digest lactose.

 

My oldest cat Kali is now 18 years old, and she was recenly diagnosed with chronic kidney disease aswell. She takes Wepharm's WeNefro voluntarily, mixed with soup wet food. Wenefro seems to be a good product, it has many ingredients which fight against complications renal insuffiency can cause to cats. Where to buy WeNefro? I'm sorry, I haven't been able to find international webstores which would sell it.

 

I give Olivia Porus One, mixed with wet food once a day, and she eats it willingly most of the time. Porus One is different from many other CKD products. It's black powder, and it looks like gun powder. It's actually activated carbon. It's important to mix it really well with wet food, so the cat won't notice it.

 

Renata is also a powder in single use packets. It smells bad, and neither of my CKD cats wanted to eat food if Renata was mixed in it.

Direne tablets Olivia refused to take, even if I crushed the tablets and hid the powder in her food.

 

What are the symptoms of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats? The most scary thing is that there might be no symptoms at all, so it's crucial to take senior cats to annual vet check ups and take the blood tests. A cat with renal failure might pee and/or drink a lot.

My advent calendars 2023

These days there are a surprisingly large number of tea advent calendars available. I tried to order a Moomin tea advent calendar with the food order from Prisma, but it was out of stock.

In Citymarket, on the other hand, there was an abundance of options, and my choices ended up with three different advent tea calendars. It was difficult to choose the number one, the remaining two ended up as replacement options. Well, in the end I didn't get the first option, but it was replaced by Forsman's tea Christmas calendar. Exciting to see a if I'll like any of them.

 

 

For the cats, I ordered probably the cheapest possible option from Zooplus, the Cosma advent calendar. Of course, it is also grain-free.

 

 

 

But a good week before the beginning of December, I noticed that Karppaamo would have a advent calendar with sugar-free chocolate... How many years have I dreamed of such a thing? I think I once had one when my spouse managed to buy one in Manchester. Now I would have gotten a 10% discount from Karppaamo because of Black Friday. But I decided that in my current income situation, it makes more sense to leave the vanities unordered.

 

 

 

Veikkaus scratch card advent calendar, which has become a tradition, I do not have now and probably never will again. How much will the sales of scratch cards drop when you can no longer buy them as a gifts?

Foldable exercise bike

After my job ended in a short run, I've been thinking about my physical condition even more than money. My work was physically demanding and thanks to that I have stayed in some kind of (muscular) condition. I wouldn't want to get into the same mess I was in 20 years ago, but I'm really lazy to move voluntarily.

 

 

I've been dreaming of an exercise bike, but this apartment can't fit one. So I dreamed of a collapsible exercise bike, but I thought there were no such things. But yes, there are. For less than a hundred euros, you could get a folding exercise bike that still weighs less than 10 kilos, so I could almost manage to move it myself.

I was looking at a folding exercise bike from Hobby Hall. But now there have been real difficulties with the Hobby hall shopping Basket because it is constantly emptying. Actually, for example, the item added to the shopping cart just half an hour ago disappeared from it. It hasn't even been many years since I ordered from Hobby hall, and I don't remember that there was such a problem back then. I even tried with two different browsers, and in both the items from the Hobby Hall shopping cart disappeared. It's a shame, because you can get a lot of other nice things from Hobby Hall, such as lovely animal-themed duvet covers (I already have this guinea pig version) and Orijen for cats for less than many other stores.

 

 

I read in the reviews of the exercise bike I'm planning to buy that it doesn't have enough resistance. That's what I was a little afraid of. Actually, I would prefer a cross trainer, but they are not collapsible, they cost more and weigh too much.

But the problem is, of course, that I want muscle fitness (legs), not aerobic exercise, which is not even possible for me anymore because of diaphragm/lung endometriosis. So anyway, an exercise bike is not necessarily the most suitable device for me. Maybe a stepper would suit me better, I don't know.

There's a bit of a rush with this thing, because winter has brutally arrived again and I wouldn't be interested in going out into life-threatening slippery conditions and snow.