Three 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!”