Pups and Parsley and Neighborhood Fun

Now, I don’t expect everyone to like me. Okay, I sort of do, I’m pretty likeable, really. But I realized on Friday that I do expect most dogs to like me. This is based on years and years of empirical evidence, plus the fact that I nearly always have dog treats in my pocket (side effect of puppy training). But I don’t think this guy would have given me the time of day.

He may have been taking his cue from his owner, who was equally cold. That’s okay, their garage was full of overpriced crap that I wouldn’t have wanted even if they’d been nice. And any hurt I might have felt was instantly dispelled when I reached the sale at Ruhmer’s house. He greeted me by walking up and laying his muzzle on my stomach.

Yes, a tall dog! Probably a Weimaraner/Great Dane mix.

His owner kept trying to get him to leave me alone, and I kept calling him back so I could pet him some more. One of those dogs you’d gladly take home, in spite of how much he probably eats. Perhaps he looked underfed to some of the other garagers. One old lady said she had a couple of Chihuahuas at home he could eat, and another old guy offered his wife for a snack. I don’t make this stuff up. Fortunately he said it in a good natured joshing sort of way. Though we all know that relationships can be complicated. At another sale on Friday, two guys noticed some wooden skis in the garage and asked if they were for sale. The woman having the sale replied, “No, my husband said he wants to keep them.” Then with hardly a pause she added, “But if you gave me twenty bucks they’re yours.” Those guys couldn’t get a twenty out fast enough. These were very cool vintage wooden skis. I think she must have been mad at her husband!

Didn’t buy anything on Friday, just brought home a few magazines from a free box

and some parsley plants that they kindly let me dig up. One of the ladies in the garage had a handful of greenery that she said she wasn’t sure if it was cilantro or parsley. I pinched off a leaf and sniffed and gave my opinion that it was Italian parsley (the flat leaved kind) and the lady at the cash box exclaimed, “That’s it! He said he planted Italian parsley.” I mentioned I needed to go buy some parsley plants (actually written on the list in my pocket!) and they took me around the side of the house, put a trowel in my hand, and said dig. I dug!

But on Saturday I scored right off. My husband came along, and at the first sale I noticed a small three-drawer cabinet that looked very midcentury. “Hey, this would work to put that speaker on,” I said, referring to the subwoofer or whatever it is that’s part of our home theatre. Then I noticed some shelves that seemed to match, so I asked the guy if they went together. He said they did, and showed us the rest of the set up, and I knew immediately this thing was going home with me. You’ve probably seen the modular wall-hung shelving that was popular back in the Fifties and Sixties. I had read an article about it on Retro Renovation not long ago so I knew this was a desirable item! I believe the set we got is by Bruksbo, since the pieces are stamped ‘Made in Norway.’ It will probably be a while before we get it all hung on a wall somewhere, so meanwhile, here are the pieces.

And of course now I have a new name in MCM furniture to watch out for. Garaging is SO educational.

From that sale we headed to the first neighborhood sale of the summer. Talked for a bit to the woman who organized the sale; guess the real estate agents in this neck of the wood don’t take that on. She told me that participants each kicked in five bucks to pay for advertising, and that it was a lot of work to organize everything. My advice was to forget about paid advertising and just go with Craigslist and maybe gsalr.com. I don’t think paying for an ad in the local paper makes sense any more. But I’m curious…where do you mainly look for the sales you go to, assuming that you do?

Anyway, it was a fun neighborhood sale, one of those events where everyone seemed to be having a good time. From one couple we picked up a black leather fanny pack for fifty cents, to keep puppy training treats handy. Then we found some glasses

some movies

some CDs

and a pair of pruners. There always something that needs pruning.

This kitty looks very much like one we had many years ago.

And next door to her lives another rather tall dog. Even taller than Ruhmer.

And yes – this dog liked me!