Sunrise and Cats

My cat Noll likes to make sure that all the other boy cats around know who the green convertible belongs to. (Him.) He was quite chuffed when I showed him this photographic evidence that his methods are working. I was glad this handsome kitty did not try to lay any claim himself to my front bumper. One co-owner is enough.

The morning began with a beautiful sunrise. It was especially appreciated because the first sale I stopped at, just before I shot this picture, was presided over by a young woman just seething with hostility. I tried to tell myself she’s simply not a morning person, but I couldn’t leave fast enough. Of course I’m glad I did—who wouldn’t rather see a glorious sunrise than an angry face.

Fortunately most people who have yard sales are able to at least pretend to be having fun. One woman gave me a lengthy testimonial about the wonders of decluttering. She said she just took eleven huge bags of discarded clothing to a thrift store—and that was before she had her sale, where there was still a lot of clothing. Evidently she saw something on TV recently that talked about how clutter is depressing, and she realized this was true for her. “I’ve even wished sometimes my house would burn to the ground so I wouldn’t have to deal with all this stuff,” she told me. I applauded her newfound peace-through-decluttering, while privately vowing never to live next door to her if she has arsonist tendencies.

These cute doggies belong to a couple who were also serious about decluttering. Their sale was not huge, but the ten and twenty-five cent prices told me they really wanted to get rid of stuff. Both cockers were barking their little heads off, but not at this guy, because I didn’t encounter him until later in the morning.

This is Mr. Mischief, reportedly an apt name. He was quite outgoing, and about the time I left he decided to be going out. There was another sale across the street, and he went over to check on it. As I drove away I heard his owner telling her husband he’d better go get the cat, and the guy calling, “Mister, come here right now!”

Mr. M did not even turn his head.

I managed to beat last week’s spending, lashing out a whole $2.25. Which procured this cute lapel pin(I’ll have to remember to wear it next spring when our yard is on the garden tour) and a pair of earrings (dark green enamel). Also found a couple pair of purse handles, and since I’ve been thinking about making some kind of bags with some of my felted sweaters, I thought they may come in handy. Scored a few free magazinesand an adorable little cart, just right for a toddler. I’ll give it to my library that’s working on a grant for toddler services. (Yes, Cathy G, this one’s for you!) I had to ask the price twice, because I doubted my hearing when she said fifty cents. Even better, that price included three baggies of magnetic letters.My favorite overheard conversation this morning was about a DVD player. “Where’s the DVD player? Did it get sold?” “It got sold at the last sale, remember? We didn’t have to bring it out this time. Why do you want to know?” “Because I left a DVD in it, and I wanted to get it out.”