has some holes in it, so it only cost a couple of bucks. “I
actually like to mend,” I confided to the lady having the sale. She smiled. “I
remember the first thing I had to mend,” she told me. “When I was five I had
the measles, and I was so bored laying there in bed all by myself. So my busy
little fingers started untying all the knots in the hand-tied quilt my grandma
had made me. I took out every single one. My mom was so mad when she found out,
but all she did was put the quilt away for a couple of years until she thought I
was old enough, and then I had to tie all those knots back again.”
She went on to tell me how she got the measles. “I was not
allowed to go play with the little girl next door because she had the measles,
so I did not go to her house. But we played dress up by throwing clothes to
each other across the driveway.”
Don’t you love that image, two little girls tossing garments
to each other across the driveway? I do wonder what the one who already had the
measles was doing outside though!
A good measles story would have been enough to make my day,
but a couple of stops later was an even better scene. My picture does NOT do it
justice.
That small dark object on the floor was a realistic-looking
plastic turtle that walked while singing a song about slow down, you’re moving
too fast. A woman had just bought it (how
I wish I'd gotten to it first! Yes, I would totally buy a singing turtle) and
was showing it off, and everyone in the garage gathered around to watch. I'm not
sure what was funnier, the turtle or the sight of eight or ten women of various
ages laughing as we all watched it.
Garaging just does not get any better than that!
After a measles story and a singing turtle, buying stuff was
a bit anticlimactic. I did bring home a large-leaved hosta
a “summer dress” for
Fannie
and a cute Peter Rabbit 3-D shadowbox.
And our last stop just happened to be at the house across
the street from a giant chicken.
It's coming! It's almost here! At long last, book four in my
Willow Falls Mystery Series will be published in a few weeks. Why yes, I am
excited! And I'm here to ask for your help.
Bay in the Dark
needs a launch team! A what? It’s a
group of nice folks who help get a book off to a good start by reading an
advance copy and then posting a short review on Amazon, on or shortly after publication
day. Sometimes they are extra nice and also post about the book on Facebook,
their blogs, Twitter etc.
Reviews are an enormous help to an author, they
really do encourage people to buy a book. So this is a BIG favor I'm asking…but
since I already know you like to read I'm hoping not too big.
What’s the book about, you ask? Here’s the blurb from the
back cover:
Bay in the Dark is
part of a series, and I'm hoping to find launch team members who have read one
or more of the others—but I also need members who are coming in fresh with this
book. Authors always hope readers will start with book one but that’s not
always the case. My dream is that people who start with book four will be
inspired to read the others!
Interested? All you have to do is copy-and-paste the little
application form below into an email, answer the questions, and send it to
mrsdog [at] hotmail.com. Deadline to apply is a week from Friday, 6/23/17. (Please send an email rather than leaving your info in a comment, for your own privacy.) We’ll take a look at the apps
and get back to everyone as quickly as we can. Those who are selected for the
launch team will be emailed a pdf of the book which you’ll be able to read on
your computer or transfer to a tablet for reading. (Sorry, there are no print
copies available yet.) As publication date gets near (most likely in early- to mid-July)
I'll keep you informed so you’ll be able to post your review when the book goes
live.
And that’s it! Easy peasy. You want to do it, you know you
do!
So. Here’s the application information I need from you:
Name
Email
Are you eligible to write reviews for Amazon? (Their guidelines say you must have spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card.)
Have you written any customer reviews before on Amazon? On any other sites?
Have you read any of the other books in the Willow Falls series (Sleeping Dogs Lie, In Dogs We Trust, or The Dog Prince)? If yes, which?
Would you be willing to mention the book on your Facebook page, blog, Twitter or other social media sites, as well as post a review on Amazon?
Anything else you'd like me to know?
That's it! Deadline to apply: Friday, June 23, 2017
Thanks so much for applying! We’ll let you know soon if
you’ve been selected!
One of the characters in the series is a dog named Jack—a
Basset/Lab mix just like my Fannie. I'm still amazed that I put her lookalike
in books years before she came to live with me!
Friday was damp and chilly, but this guy looked
pretty cozy in his box under a table.
A prime kitty indeed. He reminded me of this poem by
Eleanor Farjeon.
Cats
Cats sleep
Anywhere,
Any table,
Any chair,
Top of piano,
Window-ledge,
In the middle,
On the edge,
Open drawer,
Empty shoe,
Anybody's
Lap will do,
Fitted in a Cardboard box,
In the cupboard
With your frocks--
Anywhere! They don't care!
Cats sleep
Anywhere.
Neither KK or I expected it to be as chilly as it was, so
one of my first purchases was a couple of pashmina shawls, which we wore the
rest of the morning. At fifty cents each, no need to be cold!
Both dogs thought laying them on the floor for
picture taking was a great idea. Doesn’t Zoë look like she’s ready for a magic carpet ride?
Fannie was just ready for a belly rub.
The rainy morning discouraged all but the more intrepid
sellers, but there were a couple of estate sales. At the one in my
neighborhood, I picked up this MCM piece.
It was filthy, but seemed to be printed on Masonite so I gambled
a dollar that it could be cleaned.
And it could!
An old toothbrush, glass cleaner, a couple of rags and about
ten minutes was all it took. What an improvement. I'm glad I saved it.
From the other estate sale I snagged this too-cute
embroidery.
Took it out of its oxy soak this morning. All the spots are
gone!
A moving sale netted a new iron, still in its box, for ten
bucks. Next to a Rowenta, this is my favorite brand, and I figure if I go ahead
and get a backup, then the one I'm currently using will never die. Such is the perversity
of the universe.
The one thing I kept trying to remember to look for was
black sewing thread. I ran out the other day, which is amazing because I have
dozens of spools of threads. Evidently I use black more than anything. Even though
several sales had sewing stuff, there was no black thread.
Our last stop of the day was the one with this Craigslist ad:
FABRIC. Did I sat
FABRIC? Quilter's you need to stop by. Bernina Serger 2000. Don't stay away
just because you aren't into fabric. Tools. Did I say TOOLS? Radial Arm saw.
Oscillating Sander. Tool Dock. If you don't see what you want, ask. It can
probably be found.
The lady running the sale was delightful, funny and warm. Her
fabric and yarns were in lidded plastic totes, which were all closed when we
got there because it was sprinkling (again). “Wait ten minutes,” she said. “The
sun will be back out.” (She was
right.) We didn’t wait to start looking though. KK found a couple of pieces of fun fabric for me right away.
We talked about our fabric and yarn stashes and how they can run away with you. She had never heard the acronym SABLE (Stash
Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) and loved it. Turns out she quilts
professionally. She has a long-arm machine and says she does a couple a month
for other people. I was enjoying our conversation so much I almost forgot to
inquire about thread. I didn’t see any, but when I mentioned needing black
thread she rummaged around in a box and handed me this.
Not just black thread, but really good quality black thread –
thousands of yards of it! And when I asked what she wanted for it, she said to
just take it, that us stashers have to stick together!
I've never bought any thread on a cone before, not being
sure how I could use it with my sewing machine, which has a horizontal spindle to hold the spool. But I tried just setting the cone in front and a little to the side of my machine and threading it, and it works
great. So now I don’t have to pass up any thread bargains that might come my
way.
I wanted to try out the thread when I got home, so I played
with a bit of her fabric and made a little pin to wear. That's a vintage button for his nose.
The backside fabric is from the bag of free stuff I picked
up last week
and the nonsense word was made from the little letter-beads I
found Memorial Day weekend.
Maybe you think I'm referring to last weekend, the one with a Monday holiday. Nope, I'm talking
about this weekend, the one that
started with an estate sale on Thursday, continued with full-blown garaging on
Friday, and finished with one more sale on Saturday. That’s my idea of a three
day weekend!
The Thursday sale was on a century farm east of town, which was
a good enough excuse for KK and me to take a ride in the country. The old farm
house was chock full of interesting stuff and not very many folks were there
looking. Unfortunately, the sale was being run by the local estate sale company
that prices things the highest of any I've seen. Some pieces had prices marked,
but many didn’t, and the woman running around giving prices was…how shall I put
this? Probably the rudest person I have encountered in quite a long time. I recognize
that I am not everyone’s cup of tea, but most people I meet manage not to lose
their tempers when speaking to me. We had quite an unpleasant exchange, which
fortunately will never be repeated, because I will never go to another sale run
by that company.
Ever.
But it caused a bit of a dilemma for me. It is my practice
not to buy things from obnoxious people – and there were a couple of things I wanted.
But I do think it's okay to buy in
that situation if you can convince yourself you are RESCUING the item! Which I was.
The things being sold had belonged to people who were witty, humorous and had
wide interests (judging by their possessions). Also, another very nice lady was
taking money, so I did not have to hand over any cash to Ms. Nasty. I’ve
decided whatever commission they got from my purchases went to the crew and not
her. So there, nyah nyah nyah.
Now that I've demonstrated my maturity level for you, want
to see what I got? Well, the brand-new linen dish towel was a must.
After all, there are relatives of our Millie on it!
And I fell instantly in love with this piece – three blown-glass
hens mounted on a pedestal plate.
Meet Hattie,
Phoebe,
and Nell.
They badly needed some love. Quite a lot of dirt was
involved
but we got them cleaned up. Nell’s hat-feathers got a bit wet, but feathers
dry again.
I love them a ridiculous amount. Look how the plate has
feather-like lines and dots that match their plumes.
I had already paid for The Girls when I noticed a case with
some vintage jewelry, and I fell in love with, well, Santa Claus.
There is no maker’s mark on him but he is so nicely made I think
he must have been a pretty pricey piece. See how his pink cheek rhinestones are
a different shade from his nose rhinestone?
Best of all, he’s articulated. Santa can mo-o-o-ve!
I think the Yard Sale Gods must have felt bad about the
unpleasantness though, because on Friday they went all-out to give us
absolutely the nicest set of folks you could ever want to meet on a driveway. KK
and I went to about 10 sales, and every single one was fun. Cheerful conversations
everywhere we went. We both bought a few things, but it was the niceness
we really appreciated!
Didn’t find anything at our first stop, but we learned that
the sale was to make money for a family backpacking trip…to Seattle. Two parents,
four kids ranging from 8 to 13, and part of the mom’s goal is to teach her kids
how to handle money. On Saturday the kids were to have a snack booth at the
yard sale to earn their spending money. They are taking the train up, using public
transportation, etc. Each kid will carry their own pack so they have to be
mindful of what they take. I bet it will be one of the most memorable events of
their childhoods.
Our next stop was an older couple with a midcentury modern
house and a great view. When I mentioned my MCM house, we found out they used
to live a few blocks from me. KK was the one who spotted one of my best finds
of the day – a wrought iron stand
for the glass gazing ball I got a few weeks
ago. I love it!
We laughed and chatted our way through South Salem, meeting
enjoyable folks at every stop. I may even have picked up a new reader or two,
for a couple of ladies promised they would look up my books on Amazon.
Our last stop was a sale that had planned to start late, so they were still setting up when we got there. Another great conversation, and we got
to hear all about the crazy neighbor across the street who is addicted to the
use of his leaf blower – one pine needle on his grass and he’s out there,
blowing it to smithereens. He also has a surveillance camera set up; given the
peaceful nature of that neighborhood this is definitely overkill. Which is why
he was so thrilled when the ladies had a car stolen from their driveway, and he
HAD IT ALL ON FILM! I bet he dined out on that for weeks.
Besides the gazing ball stand, I came home with a pendant to
use in some kind of upcycle – maybe a jacket fastener?
These oversize rings are now clipped to a wire hanger in my
closet and holding scarves. I may finally have found the perfect system.
Yarn, destined to be socks. A noble destiny!
Some garden tools.
And a great big bag o' fabric scraps from a free pile.
I had a ball going through it Friday night. How often do you
get to go through someone else’s scrap bag?
Now if you remember (pages ago) I said this was a three day
weekend. Had no intention of garaging on Saturday, but there was one sale right
in my neighborhood and it started just about the time I headed home from the
dog park. All I found to buy was (I know, I'm out of control) another bunny.
A painted rock bunny.
When I paid for her, I asked if they knew who had painted
it. “Oh yes, that was my Aunt Imo,” said the gentleman. He launched into the
story of Aunt Imo, his mother’s sister, who evidently would put paint on
anything that didn’t move fast enough to avoid it. The two sisters grew up in
East Texas on a dairy farm, where they milked the cows every morning before
school, and delivered the milk cans on their way to town. During World War 2
they went to Oakland to help build Liberty Ships, and Imo learned the trade of
lens grinding there, which became her profession. I heard how she met her
husband, who was a salesman of lens-grinding supplies, and how they came to
live in Oregon. I love it when something like a painted rock opens up these
floodgates of memories.
As I left, we talked for a minute about retirement. He had
just retired from his work (hence the many, many long sleeved button front
shirts for sale). I told him how much he’s going to love it, based on my own
experience, and asked if he had any special plans. His face lit up with his
smile, and he said, “I bought a pickup, and a boat. I’m going fishing!”
Novelist. Publisher. Retired librarian. And on weekends... tireless searcher for the finest deals from the driveways of Salem and the Willamette Valley.
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