Oodles and oodles

Halfway

 

Thanks for the yard sale wishes. I wish you all would have been here. Then we could have stood in my garage together and watched it rain. And rain. And rain. As yard-sale weather goes, it could not have been worse, unless the rain had been accompanied by 40-mile-an-hour winds.
 
 

Nonetheless, a few hardy souls made their way to Day One of the sale. They're my kind of people. In my opinion, if you live in upstate New York, you don't cancel any event for weather unless the police close the interstates. These plucky folks also bought a fair amount of stuff, and no wonder: the merchandise was awesome, the prices were fabulous, and nobody else in their right mind went ahead with their sale today, so my customers had nowhere to go. The smartest person bought a vintage umbrella for $1. Someday I'll tell you why I was particularly happy to get rid of the umbrella, but I just can't talk about it yet. (How's that for foreshadowing?)

 

Had you been standing in the garage, this would have been your view (except for the sunlight on the leaves of the trumpet vine, because the sun didn't come out until the sale was over.) I had a lot of time to contemplate this view today. It's nice, especially when the hummingbirds visit.

Day Two tomorrow. I'm going to be so happy when it's over!

Wish you were here

 

The funny thing is that if I walked into this sale ...

 

I'd be tickled pink! I'd think, wow, this is all the stuff I love!

 

And so cheap!

 

Oddly enough, this is my sale. And this is the stuff I can't wait to get rid of.
 
 

There's a lesson in this somewhere, and once I get through this weekend, I hope I'll figure out what it is.

What I've been doing

    

I haven't blogged lately because I've been busy. Today, for example, I:

- worked on getting ready for our yard sale this weekend.

- worked on my son's health forms for college.

- met with somebody at the bank to sign a bunch of forms to pay for college.

- went to the town office to pick up forms to file in small claims court because our assessor believes our home has gone up in value 48 percent in three years, making it the only house in America to do so.

- showed appropriate and sincere sympathy when my poor husband, who is trying to arrange for nursing home care for his mother, found himself talking to a bureaucrat who explained that the bureaucrat with whom he met previously wasn't the right one and he'd have to start all over again with her.

- filled out aforementioned small claims court forms, which included such terms as "equalization rate" and "assessment ratio."

Indeed, it is hard to squeeze in this much fun in one day, unless you can schedule a dentist's appointment in there somewhere. So I could not have been happier when Julie showed how you can Mad Men yourself. Honestly, anything that is this entertaining after this day is entertainment at its finest. 

A rare visit to the kitchen

 

I apparently used up my last ounce of interest in cooking on graduation weekend, because I've gone from someone who thinks of herself as a pretty decent cook to someone who shrugs and mentions sandwiches when the subject of dinner comes up. My weekly visit to the farmers' market in our town has helped.

  

I was happy to see, after buying flour (not at the farmers' market, obviously) that one of my favorite little cookbooks is still available. I bought the Alpha-Bakery cookbook probably 10 years ago for my kids, and I still use it. The apple crisp and chocolate cake recipes are particularly good. The cookbook is a whopping $3.99 if you use the little form on the bag, or you can find out more about it here.

 

I bought honey at the farmers' market not so much to make cookies but because I heard somewhere (it must have been on NPR) that some states are passing laws to require that honey actually be, you know, honey, as opposed to some sticky sugar-like concoction that's simply labeled honey. Don't even get me started. I'll be getting my honey from the nice local beekeepers.

 

I didn't take a picture of the raspberries I bought because I was so eager to make the raspberry buttermilk cake that's in the June issue of Gourmet.

 

Mine is not quite as pretty, but it's one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. The only thing I'd suggest is to line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour it, because the raspberries can stick a little.
  
 

The blueberries got turned into breakfast - a big puffed pancake that's known, for reasons completely unclear to me, as a dutch baby. It's like a crepe in the middle and a popover on the edges, and even  someone who is Not a Morning Person can stumble through the recipe and get it in the oven. (Here's one recipe, also from Gourmet, although I wouldn't worry about making lemon sugar, and you can skip the cinnamon and nutmeg if you want.)

We used to have this for breakfast every Sunday morning during the summer, while we listened to classical music and read the New York Times and sat out on our porch, which at the time overlooked a bay on the St. Lawrence River.

And then we had kids. I think this is the first dutch baby breakfast we've had in maybe 15 years. 

Sorry

 

I apologize in advance.

 

Unlike all of you quilters,

 

or you Midwesterners who seem to find a new quilt every time you go to the flea market (you know who you are),

 

I have relatively few quilts. The ones I find are either overpriced, or badly damaged, or just not pretty.

 

And so when I find one that's none of those things, I can't help but take too many pictures of it. And admire its pretty little squares that don't seem like they would go together but they do. And take it around and introduce it to various flowers.
 
 

Somehow I knew you'd understand.

Vases and flowers

 

Coneflowers from the garden, vase from the thrift store, chenille from an estate sale.

 

A tin comb and brush holder.

 

Daisies from the garden, tiny glass vases that are an exact match for Jadite.

Just some things I've picked up here and there the last few days.

A paper mache pumpkin and such

 

As requested, here's the Halloween haul from a Saturday yard sale. Almost enough to make me forget about the horror show that Friday's sales represented.

 

The pumpkin is what caught my eye. He's big, as paper mache pumpkins go - almost a foot wide.

 

Far from perfect though, but for $1, I'm not complaining. I'm going to attempt a restoration of that lower eye section. If it works, you'll see the finished result. If not, you'll see a pumpkin artfully tucked behind something larger come Halloween.

 

After snatching up the pumpkin and telling the lady having the sale how much I loved it, she hurried down to the basement and found a bag with more decorations. I was thrilled to see these noisemakers.
 
 

And the hat, big enough to fit a real-life witch.

 

The beauty of vintage Halloween is how simple it is: just black shapes on orange.

 

I believe there was a request for the hat to be modeled?

 

I think he likes it.

Monday thoughts

 

These ties came from an estate sale I went to Sunday. I used to work for someone who wore a bow tie every day. You'd probably think that somebody who wears a bow tie every day is an old fusspot.

 

In this case, you'd be absolutely right. I could devote a blog just to his eccentricities, but I'll tell you just one story: Once upon a time, he was interviewed on television. Later, someone who saw the interview complimented him on his blue shirt. He was stunned. "How did you know it was blue?" he asked. He was unaware of the exciting new technology known as "color television." This occurred less than 10 years ago.



I don't work for him any more, so I can buy bow ties without shuddering. My husband continues to resist the temptation to wear bow ties himself, so I'll sell these. I'm secretly hoping my old boss buys them, and I can tack on a hefty pain and suffering charge.

 

I bought a fair amount of stuff at the sale, the most boring of which (I don't know why I took this picture) are these two highly practical items. Am I the only person who a) cannot resist any gummed label produced by Dennison and b) feels a decent stapler hasn't been produced in 25 years?
 
 

Also from the sale, and just in time for the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon: a very cool astronaut Christmas ornament.
 
I have so much stuff to find a home for from this weekend's shopping, but if you look at the comments from yesterday, you'll see I'm under orders to produce photos of vintage Halloween goods. ASAP!

Twittering

 

I have no interest in twittering, or receiving twitters. But if I had twittered today, here's what it would have looked like.

8 am first sale. couple of doll patterns. yawn.

8:20 am street sale. hate street sales. hey is that a paper mache pumpkin?

8:25 am lady says more old halloween stuff in basement would i like to see it?

8:27 am loving my vintage witch hat so much might wear it all day. JK!

8:45 am estate sale line. I'm #5. nemesis nowhere in sight. vintage textile lady way behind me in line  hahaha!

9:15 am i got to chenille first hahaha! cute purse, sewing basket, 3 suitcases, chippy chalkware figurine.

9:16 am also bought plastic laundry basket full of linens. Linens look so-so. But cheap.

10:15 am auction.  Ton of jadeite and fireking tulip pattern.

10:20 am Seriously outbid on jadite salt and pepper. $55? yikes.

10:22 am Tin cabinet just like mine sold for $95. Mental note: sell tin cabinet.

10:33 am Set of 4 jadite bowls just sold for $95. Time to leave.

11:08 am Something odd happening in opposite lane of traffic. Slowing down.

11:09 am Nice young guy trying to persuade big turtle to get off highway. Should I stop?

11:10 am Checking out turtle. He's adorab OMG! IT'S SNARLING AT US. THINK IT HAS TEETH!

11:11 am Reconsider strategy. Guy's technique of prodding with large stick not working.

11:12 am Traffic whizzing by. Turtle irritable. Picturing headline: TWO DEAD IN TURTLE RESCUE ATTEMPT ON ROUTE 31

11:12 am Sub-head: Turtle survives.

11:13 am EUREKA! Dump linens out of plastic laundry basket. Put basket over turtle and slide!

11:15 am Freaking turtle moves one inch a minute. Snarls, snaps. Bites hole in basket.

(the next 15 twitters concern turtle not sufficiently appreciative of our lifesaving attempts)

11:30 am Success! Turtle on grass berm. Basket covered with swamp slime & turtle saliva. OK to leave it on roadside?

11:31 am Basket on front seat of car. Must find dumpster ASAP.

 

12:02 Swamp smell dissipates. Somewhat. Go to flea market.

12:30 Metal comb and brush holder, 2 vases, 2 grain sacks, funny stuffed doll, Flinch cards.

12:31 Left car unlocked. Sadly, laundry basket not stolen.

1 pm Home sweet home.



1:01 p.m. More pix later. Bye.

A virtual tour of today's yard sales

   

If you've ever left a comment that said something along the lines of "Can I come to a garage sale with you?" or "Boy, you sure have great sales where you live!" this post is for you! Today I'm inviting you to travel the route I did this morning - minus the crowds, the travel time and the wear and tear on your car! Ready?
 
Our adventure actually began Thursday night, with a careful reading of the classifieds from two newspapers and a weekly publication. I'll provide the actual advertisement, occasionally edited for space, and with correct spelling, followed by the actual sale experience. 
 
Sale #1: "Large antiques, collectibles ... books, craft goods, knick knacks ... 25 years of stuff."
Among the items we found for sale: A set of six used placemats for $8, out-of-fashion ladies' suits for $25, a nightstand in need of refinishing for $80, unidentifiable knick knacks $5.
What we bought: Nothing.
Lesson: Junk that comes from upscale neighborhoods apparently is worth much more than we'd think.

Sale #2: "5 family sale. No early birds. Antiques, baby stuff, tools, couch, microwave, TV, electronics, too much to list."
Among the items we found for sale: Nothing but toys. Toys, toys, toys. Oh, wait: does a used Pack-n-Play qualify as an antique?
What we bought: Nothing.
Lesson: 'Too much to list' is always, always, always a bad sign.

 

Sale #3: Estate/moving sale. Cash only. Something for everyone.
Among the items we found: A very large collection of swords. Did not stay long enough to see what else might have been there. Tip-off that this was a bad sale: Tyvek instead of siding, particleboard porch, heavy equipment and what appeared to be an asphalt dump in the yard.
What we bought: Nothing.
Lesson: "Something for everyone" always a bad sign, though not nearly as bad a sign as an asphalt dump.

Sale #4: Fishing equipment, porcelain dolls, furniture, new and used clothes, curtains, knick knacks and lots more.
Among the items we found: None, because some people who might have been extras in the movie "Deliverance" were sprawled on the front steps. A drive-by.

Sale #5: Storage unit ... plenty of antiques, pottery, dishes, art work, remnants of dealer shop.
Among the items we found: A "Roseville" vase with a $42 price tag and the words "Might be repro."
What we bought: Nothing.
Lesson: First experience with sale at storage unit facility. A little scary, since the place seemed largely abandoned. Probably final experience with storage unit sale.

   

We went to four other sales, too. They were so bad there was nothing interesting to complain about.

The pictures are pages from a children's songbook. I'm trying to set up another Etsy shop to sell some of the paper I accumulated last year for no apparent reason ... I'll let you know how that goes. Meanwhile, it's time to map out Saturday's route, and it is pretty difficult to work up the proper enthusiasm for that.