Oodles and oodles

Trip to the flea market

 

I'm back from my quick trip, with some vacation photos for you. Nope, this isn't what I bought, although I'm kind of kicking myself for not bringing back that set of glasses in the holder on the left. This is a table at the Hartville, Ohio, flea market, which I've heard about from some of you. Turns out it's a little more than an hour from my parents' house, which is just about perfect for a field trip with my dad. The flea market is huge, with a range of merchandise - some good, some bad - and a range of prices. The glasses I wish I'd have bought were $10. I also saw a four-piece set of Jadeite - two canisters and the salt and pepper shakers - for $325. No second thoughts there.

 

There was some live fiddle music.

 

And snacks.

 

So here's what I came home with: a 10-cent Shiny Brite, a tiny bottle-brush tree, and about 30 tiny ledgers, which will be coming soon to an Etsy store near you. I'm still in my post yard-sale, not accumulating too much mode.



 

Traveling

 

I know what this is a picture of, so it seems obvious to me. Can you tell?

 

 

 

 

Does this help?

 

Every once in a while during the summer, hot-air balloons take off across the road from our house. And even though I've seen them take off about a hundred times, I always have to watch.
 
 

Although this won't be our means of travel, I'm off to visit family for a few days, which may or may not be followed by a little blogging break.

 

Back soon!

Done, over, through

 

It's official. I am no longer enjoying the yard sale season. I even found a few things today and I was not enjoying the process. I cannot bear to look at one more pile of stuffed animals, one more box of tattered paperbacks, one more chair with upholstery that looks like it could give you a contagious disease. Am I the only person who thinks all of the good junk is gone? Also, am I the only person finding things that are ridiculously overpriced? Not just a dollar or two overpriced, but $20 and $30 overpriced? None of it is stuff I've wanted (mostly furniture, mostly 1960s maple finish fake colonial) but I don't know what people are thinking.

 

OK, I'll try to move on. I found a tablecloth for $1.

 

You might question my judgment, buying orange glass candlesticks, but I think they could be fabulous  come Halloween.

 

Also, a little enameled flower pin - my third this season, so I guess it's an official collection.

 

A couple of sweet patterns - doll clothes on the left, a little girls' robe on the right.

 

This looks a little lumpish here, but it's probably my favorite find today - a sewing caddy.

 

Lots of little drawers for this and that.

 

 

The center section lifts open. Finding the little pincushion inside was a bonus.

Yard-sale wrap-up

 

Do you think anyone, having just had a yard sale, immediately says, "That was great! I can't wait to have another yard sale!" The only thing I've ever heard people say after a sale is that they're never having another one, which is pretty much how I feel. We are officially done as of today. My husband took the leftovers to the thrift store, and some people dropped by to pick up a huge piece of furniture which had been sitting in the middle of the front yard covered by a blue tarp. (Yes, it was almost as attractive as I'm making it sound.)
 
 

So here are my random post-sale thoughts:

1. It is really fun to meet people who read your blog! Lori (no blog yet) saw my yard-sale pictures and lives close enough by to track me down - and as it turns out, we recognized each other right away from estate sales.

2. I did not think this could happen, but it is possible to have a sale and not encounter a single rude or obnoxious person. Everybody followed the rules (cash only, no early sales), and nobody was a pain in the neck haggling over prices. One sweet older man who lives in the general neighborhood was so happy to find a practically new foot locker at a good price that he brought us a jar of his homemade maple syrup.

3. If it's getting late and you're starting to worry about having too much stuff left, make some new signs that say "Half price until 2 p.m.!" and stick them on your original signs. I think it really helped clear out some of the less-attractive merchandise at the end.

4. Things I was surprised that sold: a ghastly 60s-era end table that had been painted red and a wheezy old electric keyboard. Thing I was surprised didn't sell: my daughter's practically new but too-small North Face jacket. Somebody's about to get a deal on a winter coat at the Salvation Army. 

5. If you're very lucky, your dear friends will invite you to dinner the night after your sale. If you're truly blessed, they will feed you with steak and corn and homemade cherry pie.

 

6. If you want to make a lot of money, buy a bunch of these rooster breadboxes and resell them, because a lot of you were going crazy over it. (A friend bought it for her daughter, who's going with a vintage theme in her kitchen, so it went to an excellent home.) Also, buy and sell gate-leg tables. My dear little porch table wasn't for sale, but about a hundred people asked if it was.
 
I think that's all I have to say on the subject of sales. Did I mention that I'm never having one again?