UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

I usually cover the same territory on Saturday morning. I figure my car knows the way so I can keep an eye out for yard sale signs on street corners. But there were a couple of neighborhood sales advertised on Craigslist today, so I decided to get out of my rut and head in a different direction.

The first thing I realized is that early in the morning when you head east as the sun is rising, it’s a hard to see through the windshield. Especially if that windshield is none too clean. (Hey, if I washed that it wouldn’t match the rest of my poor dirty car!) At one point I drove around a curve into the full glare and for a moment really couldn’t see at all. Good thing I was the only one on the road at that point! But soon the sun rose high enough to remove this problem, about the time I got to that first neighborhood sale.

I did get a little excited on the way over there when I saw some people putting up a sign on a corner with some balloons. People who add balloons to their yard sale signs sometimes have good sales, so I turned into the tract, figuring there would be more signs to guide me. Nope. Nada. Gave up and headed back out, and when I got to the sign with the balloons I actually looked at it. “Castro Family Reunion.” Oops. Glad I didn’t gate crash thinking their reunion was a yard sale!

The area with the first neighborhood sale must do it the same weekend every year. And how do I know this? Because I remembered this dog.This is Dixie, who is now 13. I recalled her because last year she followed me down the sidewalk, barking nastily and sniffing my shoe with suspicion when I paused to take her picture. Her owner told me she’s been training her not to bark. It may be helping, since Dixie did not bark at me today. Maybe her obviously expensive silk scarf had a civilizing effect.

When I looked up my picture of Dixie from last year, I noticed some clothing I bought, and realized the first weekend in October must also be my annual ten-cent clothing time of year. Didn’t score as big as last year, but I did bring home a sweater I plan to felt,a cute casual shirt in my size,  and a brand new pair of Tommy Hilfiger golf shorts, that hopefully I can sell.The lady selling ten cent clothing told me she’s retiring next year and she and her husband are moving back to Oklahoma. She was delighted when I told her I grew up there, though not close to Pawhuska where they are headed. By the time we finished chatting I could hear that both of us had our Okie accents fully engaged!

She didn’t have a dog at her sale, but most of the others I stopped at did. Didn’t catch them all, but here is Cooperwho really was not happy about all these people wandering around on his driveway. He lives next door to Owenwho was much more mellow. He’s a therapy dog who goes to hospitals when he’s not busy making that toy at his feet squeak and squeak and squeak. Then there was Mooseor Moomoo as he is also known. You can’t really tell from this picture, but he is quite large, at least 80 pounds. His owner said he was rescued from someone out in the desert who is one of those people who hoard animals. She said the rescue group had given him the name Grizzly but he’s such a gentle giant this didn’t fit him at all. Her husband chimed in about then and said he is just the best dog, with this touching note of wonder in his voice, as though he was amazed at their luck in getting this great dog. Second time lucky for sweet Moose!

About the time I left Moose, it began to rain. It was the oddest thing—all around the sky was blue, except for over this tract where rain clouds hung. I made a few more stops but it really began to pour, so I decided to check that other neighborhood sale in case it wasn’t raining over there. And it wasn’t.

Of course, there also was no neighborhood sale either. Just two yard sales in the whole tract. Maybe I misread the Craigslist ad and got the wrong date or something. But I must have brought the rain with me, because it started to sprinkle over there too, so I gave up.

Spent a whole $1.80 today, beating last week’s two bucks by ten percent. Along with the ten cent clothing I brought home these very silly light-up-in-the-dark Halloween teeth to give to my children’s librarians at our October meeting. Wish there had been enough for all of them.Also found a bag of dried mosswhich I considered hideously expensive (i.e. a lot more than fifty cents!) when forced to buy it in a store. And from a free box I gleaned three twin size bedspreads,two in a medium blue, and one in brown. They’re from Ikea originally so weren’t terribly expensive, but they’re 100% cotton, all are in decent shape…and they were free. If I just use them for the dogs to sleep on, seemed worth bringing them home.

As I sat here writing this post, a noise finally penetrated my concentration, and I realized the rain had arrived at my house. I looked out, and saw framed in my back door these morning glories, shining through the rain. Green beans were planted here in the spring, but volunteer morning glories grew instead. We can get green beans at the farmer’s market. I think I like these better.

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