Graceful Going

“Grace” was our watchword for Friday’s garaging adventure. Three women, one green convertible with  a small back seat – my companions took turns gracefully occupying the back! Then our first stop was a fundraiser for Grace House, a new shelter/program for homeless women. I don’t know about you, but I can imagine very few things that would be scarier than being homeless, and it sounds like they have a very solid plan in place. They had gotten quite a few donations for the place and decided to hold a sale to move out some things they had a surplus of in order to have some cash. “People don’t think of donating stuff like toilet paper,” the woman running the sale told us. I lucked out, finding a cute shirt in the most wonderful sky blue

and a pair of Keen shoes that look like they’d never been worn – and fit me perfectly. The shoelaces even stay tied!

If you like these, apparently you can still buy them in stores, where they will set you back ninety-five bucks. Sheesh.

Found a ‘grace’ connection at our next stop too, where the woman having the sale was fixing up her bicycle for the summer. None of us bought this book but it did start a conversation about how many dog stories have sad endings, and how none of us will read those. And we all agreed that Old Yeller was the worst kid’s movie ever.

I got a bit of a giggle over this doll.

She looked perfectly demented, possibly the antithesis of grace, lying on her back and making esoteric gestures with her hands. Started conversing with the lady minding that part of the sale (hi, Elaine!). One of her friends had dropped off some stuff to sell, including a couple of big baggies of buttons. You know I can never resist looking at buttons, but I could certainly resist buying these, since they were marked $20. I mean, my last big button buy (goodness, five years ago!) was a similar baggie full – for fifty cents. Elaine and I chatted about pricing (she assured me the buttons weren’t hers and her feelings wouldn’t be hurt). As my friend Marcia says, the button owner was just way too proud of her stuff. I truly believe that yard sales are for the purpose of moving stuff out of your life, creating a space where you can breathe. If you make a little cash, excellent. But you most likely will not recoup your expenditures by reselling on your driveway.

Okay, will step off my soapbox now!

I kept looking around Elaine & company’s sale (it was one of those multi-family sales, which I sometimes see advertised on Craigslist as mulit-family) and picked up this little sculpture.

When I got home I noticed it was signed on the bottom of the rock.

Original art for a buck, woo hoo! It will most likely end up in the yard somewhere. Then I spotted a blender jar and recognized it as matching my blender. Complete with lid, bottom assembly – perfect for a backup in case something happens to mine. Elaine told me it was hers and that the weirdest thing happened to her blender. As soon as she said that I knew where this story was going – because the exact same thing happened to my blender. The teeth on the black rubber thingie that the jar fits over and makes the blade spin (which is apparently called a coupling) broke off one day, rendering the blender useless. I was quite annoyed, as it was a pretty expensive blender and I had bought the thing new (and we know how unlike me that is!) and Elaine said the same thing. But you know the old saying: Don’t get mad, get to researching! (Okay, that’s the librarian’s version.) Turns out this is a very common problem, but you can repair it yourself and the part only costs about six bucks. So I told Elaine she should keep this jar and I’d send her the link for the part to repair it. And she started to dither – she had bought another blender, but this was a better one, but maybe the motor had suffered when the part shredded, but maybe it would be okay…It was like hearing myself talk. Do you ever do that, keep going back and forth on something, even something minor, until you drive yourself nuts feeling indecisive? I’ve come to feel that the only important thing is to decide, and either decision will be fine. So I handed her the blender jar and commanded her to keep it and fix her blender. I know, I can be pushy like that! Besides, I saved the two dollars I would have spent on something I might never have used. A win all around.

Friday’s yard sale pets included this sweet little kitty

and golden retriever Lizzie, whose nickname is “the Lizard of Odd.”

I did a double take when I saw the picture I’d taken of this cat

because it looks an awful lot like our Mrs. Wilberforce.

We also found hats for Judy to model. She was wearing her own green cap that day and it gives a really special look to a couple of things she tried on.

These two might keep her ears even warmer next winter.

Speaking of keeping warm, I love this handwoven shawl.

Thought at first it was knitted, but when I looked closely, it is indeed woven. Feels like wool and probably some mohair. The warp is a deep fuchsia and the weft a more strawberry pink. Absolutely yummy colors. And it was fifty cents!

On Saturday I had to take my husband up to the airport in Portland, and he timed his flight perfectly – I dropped him off just in time to get over to the annual neighborhood sale in a posh part of town. We went last year and I was really looking forward to it, but I have to admit to ending up just a bit disappointed. There weren’t nearly as many sales as advertised, and a whole bunch of them were just a card table with some kid stuff. But I did enjoy the huge gorgeous old houses and mature landscaping, and the pets that were hanging out. Like Dudley

and Ralph.

Ralph is actually a girl; she came home from the shelter with the name Rafaela, which they tried to change to just Ella. But it didn’t fit – and Ralph did.

I also managed to come home with a couple more things on my “look for” list. The first was actually the latest addition to the list. Steven mentioned a couple of days earlier that we need more small spatulas. I think he was trying to get something out of a smallish jar at the time. And at my first stop I found a nice one of red silicone.

I also got to cross off “brown belt for purse strap.” My old (I’m talking from the Sixties) Coach bag is doing great, but the strap was getting beyond tatty.

I know that Coach supposedly will replace parts, but I doubt they keep any straps for vintage Bonnie Cashin designs laying around. So I was happy to see this belt for sale.

It’s a little darker than the bag, but that won’t bother me a bit. This little old bag is good to go for a long time now. With any luck, we can ride that trail from ‘vintage’ to ‘antique’ together. Gracefully!

Dogs and Cups and Festive Eggplants

I’ve been a tad frustrated since I moved to Salem that I see way fewer pets when I’m out garaging. But I think I may have discovered the secret: you have to go garaging with at least two friends you made at the dog park for all the dogs to appear! Yup, piled into the car with Edward and Zoe’s Aunty Judy and Aunty Toni (your pets have aunties, don’t they??) and off we went, meeting dogs all along the way. Alas, some of my pictures didn’t turn out to be usable, like the lovely huge hound at our first stop and his little brother, some kind of poodly mix who had been rescued from a bad place and weighed only five pounds when he arrived. He’s still wary of strangers but up to a much healthier 17 pounds, and agreed he was a very lucky boy. I spent fifty cents at their sale on a Fisher Price Humpty Dumpty pull toy for my children’s literature room. He was quite, quite dirty

but nothing a little soap and water couldn’t cure.  I thought he looked quite relieved to get his face washed.

Then we ran across Josie

who is another dog park aficionado. Didn’t get the names of these sweeties

but the first two had a lot to say for themselves. Then in keeping with the dog theme of the day, we ran across a hotdog hat, which Judy kindly modeled (being our hat specialist).

The lady having the sale (yes, the one laughing in the background) said it was odd – everyone was picking up that hat but for some reason no one was buying it.

Can’t imagine why.

I did buy some Christmas ornaments there though. Really like the colors.

Though…don’t the purple ones look just like little eggplants? Such a festive vegie!

Toni and her dog Xanny have been doing quite a bit of hiking lately, and I got to give them a little backpack we found that’s perfect for carrying water and a handful of dog food. This is Xanny at the park.

She’s waiting for Zoe to drop her ball and give her a chance at it.

As if.

The backpack sale also yielded a cup and saucer that match a coffee pot bought I bought back in 2009. Winfield China, Dragon Flower pattern.

I ended up spending a whole three bucks for about $40 worth of merchandise. As far as I’m concerned, that’s more like winning a lottery than winning a lottery! And the time with friends? Yup…priceless!

Rocks and Socks and Rockers

Friday was Cute Little Kid Day on the yard sale trail.

Picked up Judy and we headed for the ATM. Her credit union is a ways off, so she was going to see about using my bank’s machine and just pay the fee…but it was a whole two dollars. “Stop,” I said. “We’ll be going by yours later, and I’ll spot you until then. Two bucks is eight cashmere sweaters!” Back in the car she counted the handful of change in her purse – just about a dollar. We were good to go. At our second stop we had to admire the adorable baby girl standing on a lady’s lap and talking up a storm…in her own private language. Yes, she was at that stage where it sounds like a baby is really talking, but it’s just the sounds and not real words yet. This little one is going to be quite verbal! I told her to make sure mommy and daddy read lots of books to her, and her mom just beamed as she told me the baby is always bringing them books to read. “Good job,” I told the little girl. “It’s good to be cute, but it’s even better to be smart.” She babbled in agreement. Wise child!

We noticed this rack of…metal thingies for sale.

What are these? we inquired. They said they didn’t know either, and were hoping someone would come along and tell them. Are they router bits? (Not that I’m all that clear on what one does with router bits.) Here’s your chance to enlighten me. What are these – and should I have bought them?

We pressed on. Another couple we chatted with were glad to be clearing out some stuff, but said they couldn’t wait to get back to going to sales next weekend. We all agreed that it’s just fun to poke through other people’s stuff!

And speaking of fun…one reason it’s so much fun to go garaging with Judy is, she is game to try on anything – and let me take a picture! I think these cat ears are awfully becoming, don’t you?

There were a couple of pairs of shoes at this sale that she liked the look of, and the lady having the sale noticed she was wearing sandals and offered a pair of socks from the ones they were selling, since shoes often slip on more easily with a sock. She grabbed a pair. Alas, the shoes were a bit small, but she loved the socks and bought those! I glanced at the socks for sale at a quarter a pair, and as soon as I picked these up, knew they were mine.

I’m pretty sure they are cashmere, or at least a cashmere blend!

Our next stop was nearly finished, and there was a good reason – it was a free garage sale. I’d noticed their ad on Craigslist that morning, that everything would be free. “We were nearly wiped out in the first half hour,” the lady told us.”I wanted my kids to experience how much fun giving can be.” Judy found something she could use, a couple of boxes of baby wipes that she’ll use to clean off puppy paws after Buddy the Springer has been out in the dirt. We chatted for a few minutes, and I admired the landscaping, including the blooming day lilies. Her little boy, age seven, walked right over to the Stella d’Oros, picked a blossom, and presented it to me.

What a charmer! About then another couple arrived, and the man noticed a baseball helmet. “Is this for T-ball?” he asked. “My daughter is seven and she’s starting to play.” So the resident seven-year-old modeled it for him, and he happily went off with it. “My daughter’s team only has a couple of helmets between them. This is great!”

At our last stop, the young woman having the sale was wearing one of those front baby carriers…with no baby in it. But he was nearby, watching everyone from a baby seat in the shade of the garage. Another charmer! He cooed and smiled and giggled. One of those babies you just can’t imagine ever crying. Kind of wanted to send the mom over to the baby girl’s house we’d been to earlier. It just seemed like those two tots would have a ball together.

Saturday I got a pretty early start because there was a neighborhood sale not far from home. It promised 15 homes, but I think a few had changed their minds. Or maybe I missed a street, which is perfectly possible. I chatted for a few minutes with a lady I remember talking to last year, when she was the sale’s organizer. Since then she’s gone through 6 rounds of chemo and gotten rid of cancer! She pulled off her hat to show off her cute very short hair. “I admit I was really upset about losing it at first, but then I realized that was the least of my worries,” she told me. I said that maybe it’s good to have something like that to focus on for a while, so  you don’t get overwhelmed by the medical stuff. She told me she’d gone to a support group, but everyone there was moaning and groaning. “When it was my turn to introduce myself, I said my name is Carol and I USED to have cancer! I never went back, they were just too gloomy.” She said the worst part these days is having big holes in her memory; it takes quite a while to get all those drugs gone from your system. So I told her my friend Marcia’s idea about memory. She says she can remember anything until she takes a step, and then it’s all gone. So clearly, it is our feet that are the problem, not our heads!

Around the corner I found this.

 

These starburst clocks are so popular these days, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one for sale on a driveway. I’m sure the dollar price was because of the missing piece, though the lady said she had it somewhere in the house and promised to call me when she finds it. (My fingers are crossed.) One just like it, with the same missing piece, sold a while back on Etsy for something like $30!

I left the neighborhood sale and set the GPS for the others I’d charted. Didn’t care so much for the guy who described to me the horrible death I can expect via my convertible. Of course it’s possible. I intend to just focus on all the fun I’ll have along the way! The two ladies at his sale were rather nicer, and I bought ten balls of lovely New Zealand wool yard. Now I just have to decide what to make and see how rusty my knitting skills are.

Across the street, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of their neighbor’s yard art. Is this fun or what?

I got to another sale as someone was leaving, and the family was chuckling about their oldest little boy (probably another seven-year-old) selling a rock. There were a couple of younger kids, and the middle one, about four, said he wanted to sell a rock too. I noticed there was lots of gravel by the drive, so I pulled out a penny and asked him to pick out a rock for me. He took quite a while selecting one, but the youngest kept handing me pebbles. I ended up with a whole handful of quartz!

I drove past the next sale and had to turn around, and as I headed for a parking spot I noticed a woman standing by the curb. That woman looks just like Judy, I thought. And that’s who it was! She had been to the neighborhood sale, then spotted this one on her way home. Right away she picked up a very nice Woolrich sweater that fit perfectly.

The price was fifty cents, so what could I do but buy it for her? We checked out everything, and soon she was trying out being an angel.

When we left that sale, I talked her into coming with me to the last two on my list and we’d come back for her car. I’m awfully glad she came along because she was the one who spotted these weights, which were on my list. (Can you tell which one I’ve cleaned up?)

And at our last stop she modeled another hat!

My goodness, I just realized I left out my big buy of the day. I think it was the stop before I encountered Judy. Walked up the drive and noticed a chair that looks to be from the Fifties. Certainly that Early American fabric was popular then!

 

It’s a rocker, and very comfortable. But what I really fell in love with was the feet.

They remind me of that iconic Noguchi coffee table.

The price was marked ten bucks, I offered five, and we settled on seven. I figured when I arrived home that the hubs would be asking me where I plan to put it, but he surprised me by falling in love with it right off. It definitely needs a new bottom cushion; the foam has ossified. I thought for a moment it might be stuffed with straw, it’s so crackly. And the fabric is definitely not us. I’m thinking perhaps a beige linen with darker brown piping. Will keep you posted!