East to West

I have an excellent excuse reason for not posting last week. Nope, didn’t fall down again and break my arm or anything. I went to Washington, DC! My SIL Linda had a board meeting to attend, and we decided months ago that I’d go along and when her meeting was over we’d play tourists. Her daughter who lives on a farm in Maryland joined us and we had a ball. Linda and I are both completely pooped (Kim went right back to work on the farm without missing a beat) but we’re already making plans to head somewhere else within the year. We probably would anyway, but we got bumped from our first flight and they sweetened the deal with $200 flight credits for both of us. Ironically, we ended up on the nonstop flight we originally wanted to take…but that was too expensive!

As much as I enjoyed being out of my usual routine, I admit I’m awfully glad to slide back into it. We returned on Friday night, so after a blessed night’s sleep in MY OWN BED (ahhhhhh) you know exactly what I did on Saturday morning.

I went garaging!

First stop was a few blocks from home, and beautiful Tess was there to greet me.

 It didn’t take her long to realize that I had dog treats in my pocket. (I usually do.)

Permission granted from her owners, she was happy to crunch down a morsel. Then she donned her leash and went for a walk.

Had so much fun at this sale! Two nice ladies about my age with really fun and interesting stuff. One of them used to live on my street and went to the grade school on the corner. Perhaps since I didn’t get to do any thrifting last week I had to really restrain myself from buying a lot more than I did. This rooster just jumped into my hands. He might end up in the yard somewhere, but for now he’s on top of the coat closet in the front hall. (Wonder if my hubs will notice him there…)

I’m planning to use these hair picks to secure shawls or a scarf.

If these Nufoot slippers had been anything other than a Mary Jane – a POLKA DOTTED Mary Jane! – I might have resisted. But some things are too much to ask, right?

They are teensy until you put them on, but they really do stretch!

When I looked through the box of LPs I knew I was dealing with kindred spirits. They were selling several albums that I used to own! I resisted most of them, but did pick up this somewhat esoteric number.

Plus a couple of others I’m looking forward to hearing.

Found a few nice cards for those times that an e-card just won’t do.

And from the free stuff I brought home half a box of organic candles that actually smell good, and some magazines from the 90s.

When I’m done with them I’ll take them to the free table at the library and make someone else happy.

Finally tore myself away and headed to the next sale. At then end of the driveway a patio umbrella was set up, and the price was only $6. And my $5 market umbrella won’t go up and down now, the cord inside is broken. I figured replacing it my be better than figuring out how to fix it. Only trouble is I completely spaced out on the fact that I’ve been re-covering all our outside chairs…and the fabric totally clashes with the new umbrella!

So I may be finding a new home for this one and fixing the other after all. I hope my buying a giant umbrella isn’t the reason it’s been raining all day.

At the same sale I picked up this wonderful pot, and this is definitely a keeper!

She seems to have been made by Deborah Wolf of River Stone Pottery, a bit south of us.

I just love her. Can’t wait to get something planted. The lady having the sale said she bought her in Lincoln City several years ago, and that she planted something different every year for her ‘hair.’ You might be wondering how she could part with this lovely pot, but there’s a good reason. She and her husband are both retiring in a few months, and thinking it would take some time for their house to sell they went ahead and put it on the market. And then it sold in a week! So they’ll be living in an RV for a while, and it’s time to let go of some possessions.

I told her how much she is going to love being retired, that it’s scary ahead of time but just wonderful when you take the plunge. And she threw her arms around me in a hug, saying she’s been worried about the whole thing and it really helped to hear everything will be fine. I just know it will be!

At another sale in the same neighborhood I spotted this large planter. Figured from the size and appearance it would be a) heavy and b) expensive. But a) it’s made of foam and hardly weighs a thing, and b) I got it for a buck. Sometimes I love to be wrong.

My next purchase came from the sale where I was admiring some hand-carved printing blocks, and it turned out the lady I was talking to is an artist and these were from her print-making days. We talked about creativity and the fun of upcycling and reuse, and I bought this adorable vintage runner.

She told me this great story from when she used to buy and resell antiques. She was loading a set of books into a box at an estate sale, and this greedy guy reached over her shoulder and snatched Volume Two. She told him she was buying the set and he said so what and took that book. (She said it was that kind of rudeness that made her quit being a dealer – too embarrassing to be numbered among them.) She bought the rest of the set anyway and has been looking for Volume Two for over 20 years…and last week she found it!

I was starting to run out of steam (a single night in my own bed was not enough to restore full vigor), but one more stop was on my list. Turned out to be a block sale, but I only bought one thing. A hat for Judy!

Yes, after all those hats she’s modeled for me, I bought her one. It’s very similar to one that was tempting at the Methodist rummage sale a few weeks ago, but the price was a little high there.

Hand knitted of wool and then felted. Very cozy. And it was fifty cents! The young woman having the sale said it has never been worn, and yes, it was a gift. I think she wanted it gone before her mom, who gave it to her, stopped by and saw it.

I was happy to oblige.