For most people, the most wonderful time of the year is the holiday season. Okay, I love it, too, but my second favorite season is Yard Sale season, which in these parts is from May until early October.
Weeee! What a lot of fun it is to go on a treasure hunt.
Last weekend was the BIG Browncroft bi-annual sale. I haven't been to it in many years and felt the need to treat myself. Of course, the last time I went, I was still a vender in an antiques arcade, so I was shopping for bargains I could turn around to resell. These days, I have to be a lot more discerning.
In the old days, I could buy what I wanted, live with it for a while, and then sell it on a kind of catch-and-release basis. Today, I had better have a specific purpose in mind. Okay, I'm still buying pretty teacups and square plates, but I'm also being practical.
I needed a new egg timer. I keep one in my office to remind me to let the cats in on a cold day. (Or to remind me to get off my duff and go do my exercise or GET OFF THE INTERNET.) I found a super-duper one that not only goes for an hour (on the right side), but has a 20-hour timer on the left. Well, I HAD to have that! (And for the bargain price of only $2.)
I have NEVER seen my (good) china pattern at a yard sale before, so when I saw the Royal Albert Silver Maple sugar bowl (again for the bargain price of only $2), I bought it in a heartbeat. I asked the woman collecting the money if she had any more pieces and she said her daughter "got it at a yard sale." (Obviously another catch-and-release item.) Of course, I already
have a Royal Albert Silver Maple sugar bowl and oddly enough, I don't take sugar in my tea, so it doesn't get a lot of use. But hey, I
might one day, right?
The square plate is from Germany. It's just pretty.
The little elephant has a broken tusk. (He's showing his "good" side in the picture at right.) The person at that sale wanted 50 cents. I said, "But he's wounded." Okay, then a quarter. (Hey, I'm into saving elephants,
whether they are alive, or tiny orphans like that little guy. I have a whole herd of wounded orphaned elephants. I love them. (Somebody has to.)
The pansy picture under glass with copper tape holding it together is a Christmas tree ornament. I'm a sucker for pansies, so ...
I also bought a couple of bangles. Hey, bling is quite fine. I particularly love the one of the left with all the little hearts and the tiny rhinestones. The woman selling them said she was doing a whole-house purge and was selling a big box of jewelery for 50 cents each. I wish I'd taken more time to go through it. She had some really nice "chunky" necklaces, too.
And I bought my very first painting. It's an original watercolor (I just love watercolors). I'm in the process of redecorating my enclosed porch, and I'm doing it in BEACH style, so this picture should work out nicely. I also bought a rug for the porch, and a heater for my office.
In all I spent $26. Not a bad haul for my first yard sale foray of the year.
What do you look for when you go to yard sales?
BTW, this is my inspiration picture for the next book, which I've tentatively called Dead, Bath, and Beyond. (But don't count on that being the actual title.)
