My Aunt Joan, Linda and my son Evan (that's the top of his head in his British flag hat in the picture below) all decided to get an early start to the day and headed to a church having a fund raising sale. We arrived 10-minutes before they opened to find a line that stretched clear across the parking lot.
At exactly 8:00AM the doors opened and............ahhhhhh!
Now I'm not saying there wasn't some good old stuff there - there was -- or that I haven't been jostled around at a sale before - I have -- but this was a bit crazy. I really had trouble even focusing there were so many tables of things and people elbowing their way around the floor.
Linda was able to gather her whits and focus on the task at hand - finding cool old stuff -- and did well, scoring a vintage set of Raggedy-Ann and Andy lamps, some beautiful tea-towels and a hand-carved owl.
As I squeezed my way closer to some tables, I watched a woman by the furniture area. I envied her, she was composed enough in all the chaos to grab a volunteer working at the sale and buy some really beautiful pieces before I'd even picked up my first piece of pottery and turned it over.
Finally, I was able to get my hands on a couple cute things, and one really stunning old bible. This sold the next day in my etsy.com shop.
Linda and I left the sale to continue on with our day, each running some errands, but by lunchtime both of us wanted to take another stab at it after the crowds had died down. So we picked up her mom and headed back. We found only a few people milling around and were able to poke around at a more leisurely pace, and each of us actually did find several nice things even after the crowds had scoured the tables.
Plus, we each enjoyed a hot dog with saukraut...that was worth the trip back in itself.
Yesterday, these two parts of my life even overlapped when I had a convo with an etsy customer - he was interested in possibly buying a typewriter I have for sale -- and in the course of our communication found out he is a freelance writer and journalist. He suggested I look into e-books. This is something another friend of mine had mentioned only the day before, and when something like that is mentioned two-days in a row, I listen. I did some research and have found the world of e-publishing to be an exciting prospect , giving me whole new outlet to look at for my writing.
Now I'm not saying there wasn't some good old stuff there - there was -- or that I haven't been jostled around at a sale before - I have -- but this was a bit crazy. I really had trouble even focusing there were so many tables of things and people elbowing their way around the floor.
As I squeezed my way closer to some tables, I watched a woman by the furniture area. I envied her, she was composed enough in all the chaos to grab a volunteer working at the sale and buy some really beautiful pieces before I'd even picked up my first piece of pottery and turned it over.
Linda and I left the sale to continue on with our day, each running some errands, but by lunchtime both of us wanted to take another stab at it after the crowds had died down. So we picked up her mom and headed back. We found only a few people milling around and were able to poke around at a more leisurely pace, and each of us actually did find several nice things even after the crowds had scoured the tables.
Now I'm left wondering if my yard sale find will be part of a murder scene...will the victim be beaten with a mallet, jugular vein sawed, or bonked on the head with the level (that one does seem pretty far fetched).
Peach and brown piggies with flowers...awww.
So why spend hundred of dollars to take your family to Sea World or the Zoo when you can browse your local thrift store shelves for free?!
wasn't all owls, I found
My favorite find was perfect timing for Easter, this vintage Easter Egg dish, the little chick will watch over your beautiful eggs.
One of the best parts of a good church sale is not even the great things unearthed from people's attics they contribute for the church fundraiser, but the baked goods and chicken-corn-soup they sell in the kitchen. Yum!
Somebody bring this kid in from the cold, he's getting horrible frost-bite on his nose, cheeks and lips. Makes you want to light that candle he's holding just to warm him up.
I have never been to this particular corner of south-eastern Pennsylvania before and found a town with a prosperous past - its main source of income was from mining slate -- beautiful Victorian style homes stand side-by-side down Main Street.
