Close to Home

Don’t you love it when you only go to two sales, they’re both less than a mile from home, they both start early, and you find good stuff – stuff that’s been on your “look for” list – at both? AND it’s a gorgeous sunny weekend with spring blooms busting out all over the place? I say woo hoo!

Sales around here generally start at 9 in the morning, and they’re tetchy if you show up early. (As they have every right to be.) Since I go to the dog park every morning, I have to keep an eye on the time on weekends so I don’t miss too much good stuff. Of course I rarely have to keep an eye on the time the rest of the week, so no need for pity. (Yes, I know perfectly well just how good I have it.) But both Friday and Saturday this week there were sales at 8:00, close to home. So I could swoop by on my way to the park. Thus I arrive before all the good stuff (if any) has been carried off, and the neighborhood gets to enjoy my dogs barking in the car. (Guess I win on that one.) I thought at first that Friday’s sale was all kid stuff, but right away I picked up two terrific bath mats for a buck each. The green stripe looks great in our master bath.

However, there’s a downside. First you have to know that my husband and I absolutely detest scented laundry products. Dryer sheets especially. I know, I know, a lot of you swear by them. To each her own; all my nose detects is chemicals, and really strong ones at that. I just can’t bring myself to believe they’re good for people. And the other factor in play here is that I have a cold – and can’t smell a darned thing. Which I didn’t even realize until I got these mats home and Steven immediately threw them in the washer to get rid of the dryer sheet smell.

Except it hasn’t come out. Two wash cycles later and he says they are as strong as ever. So my question is: how does one neutralize a scent like this? I’m reluctant to use bleach in case it takes out the color. Borax? Oxyclean? Vinegar? Bury them in peat for a few months? Help!

Swirling around in the washing machine with them is a cute kid’s pajama top. A friend recently pointed out to me that if Zoe had something to wear at night she might not insist on crawling under the covers with us, and then hogging the center of the bed. It’s amazing how much room a 30 pound dog can take up. (Of course MY dogs are NOT spoiled.) Her saying that caused me to have a ‘duh’ moment, because our first Springer mix, Kate, also got cold at night and wore jammies.

So now the Zoester has some too…except (you knew it) hers smells like dryer sheets.

I’m pleased at how well her PJs match her new ten-cent collar from a couple of weeks ago. Such a stylish girl.

Fortunately, I did find something there – that I’ve been looking for – without dryer sheet smell. You see lots and lots of picture frames on driveways, but it’s rare to find a bunch of matching ones. Score! Nine for three bucks. Really a score.

So that took care of Friday…one sale, dog park, laundry. On Saturday I spotted another 8 a.m. sale and thought the address sounded vaguely familiar. This would be because the street is 6 blocks down the hill from my house and we pass it all the time. Thought at first there wasn’t anything here but it turned out there was more in the house, where the dad and 8 year old son were moving an armoire into the living room. They had moved out some time ago and the house has been on the market, so it was pretty empty. But in one corner I saw a rolled up rug standing on end, and I liked the design, what I could see of it, so I asked the price. Ten dollars, the dad said. I wasn’t sure I liked it ten dollars worth so I said let me think about it. Without hardly drawing breath he said, “How about five?” When I didn’t immediately say yes he threw in, “And I’ll carry it to your car for you.” By now I’m laughing and agreeing to five if the whole thing looks good, so we unrolled it. Yup, all good. About then his wife came in and he told her he’d sold the rug for five. “But I thought we were asking ten,” she said. “This woman drives a really hard bargain,” he claimed. His wife just laughed so I think she knows him pretty well.

When he stuffed the rerolled rug into the passenger seat of the car (the dogs were in the back) he said, “Your dogs will really like this rug.” You know what? He was right!