WHEN TWO STRONG WOMEN GO GARAGING

My resolve to buy only things I will use right away seems to be getting stronger! I passed up any number of items at today’s yard sales, buying only 6 items. And four of them are to give away! I feel so strong.

The hardest thing to resist was all the vintage hankies. I saw wonderful examples at so many sales. At one house, the hankies had been embroidered by the lady’s grandma, and finished with fine tatted or crocheted edging. She said she has inherited so much stuff, she can't keep it all. She and her husband have ended up with a large amount of family correspondence as well, including the letters his father wrote to his mother when he was in Okinawa during WWII. I suggested they’d make a wonderful addition to family holidays and events. If they were mine, I'd sort them by date, and at Christmas or whenever I would read aloud one or two of the letters from fifty years ago.

Actually, it's just as well my spending was light. We had a humungo vet bill this week. Our sweet Lizzie went in for a little surgery, getting one of those large old-dog lumps removed. They cleaned her teeth as well, and that’s when they found a growth by her tongue. Vet thinks it's benign (though I'll breathe easier when the biopsy results are back) but getting it out required removing a tooth and some bone. She’s feeling a bit punky. (I had similar dental surgery once and she’s being a far better patient than I was!) But she’s an eager eater at mealtime so I think she’s doing well.

My friend Marcia went with me today. We got around two neighborhood sales before we pooped out and went for breakfast. Her favorite deal was a box of Agatha Christie books for five bucks. Plus she bought a book for me—thanks, Marsh! But really, the best deal of all was just meandering from sale to sale, chatting with folks. This fellow might have been the highlight of the morning:
George is eleven years old and quite a character. We both got to hold him, which Marcia especially needed, because she is currently without any kitties at her house. She needed some fur therapy. George was happy to oblige.
These cute older guys were at the first house in the first neighborhood sale.

We petted and chatted. When we finished in that tract and drove by again, the young lady looked up and gave us a big wave. She looked delighted to see us once more. This is why I like yard sales so much more than retail shopping!

Charlie the Cocker Spaniel thoroughly enjoyed the butt scratch I gave him. So much that when I stopped, he plopped himself down on my foot so that a) I couldn’t move and b) I could conveniently keep scratching!
This handsome pair are Sasha and Doc, two Swiss Mountain Dogs. Their owner was thrilled that I knew the breed, and they’re so rare around here I was thrilled to see some in person. Like the Bernese Mountain Dog, they are used in Switzerland to pull dairy carts. Over here they mainly dispense affection.

I spent all of $4 today, and brought home:

A couple of fun things for my children’s librarians…bunny ears
and a handmade armadillo. Surely someone will be doing an armadillo-themed storytime one of these days, right?

This nice box will be a prize for one of the participants in the Summer Reading Program I run for our administrative staff. They get an entry in the raffle drawing for every book read during the summer. In August we’ll have a potluck breakfast and draw for the prizes—most of which come from you know where!

I'm not sure if this item will be a reading prize, or a gift for our friends with dachshunds, or be resold. Still in their box with the $29 sticker on them.
How could I resist a set of crystal dachshund knife rests--no matter how strong I'm feeling?

Must have been a gift, for as the Queen of Fifty Cents always says, if there were no gifts there would be no garage sales!

Marcia paid for this Jasper Fforde book when she was buying others for herself. She’d been laughing over one called Born to Kvetch, so it had to go home with her.
This little frog has magnets in his feet. I just liked the way he can cling to a finger
and I think he’ll be happy with the other frogs in our house.
Okay, maybe I wasn't so strong after all, but he was a dime--and he needed a good home!

Lastly, I found this nice clock, new in its box.
I still need one out by the pool. The one I bought in early May turned out not to work, dang it. I know that yard sale goods are definitely a buyer beware situation, but shoot, if it doesn’t work, either don’t sell it or mark it as not working. I wasted two whole dollars on the other one. And you know what I can do with two whole dollars!

Anyone have a spare Roomba battery? I'm still crazy about my Roomba from last week, but the battery is pretty tired. It's not holding much of a charge, and I think that’s just age. So I'll have to bite the bullet and replace that soon. Then Noll kitty better be on his toes!