Well. Looks like I'll be huffing paint for the next few weeks. This morning was an 80's wood extravaganza! Have no fear.....primer's here! Shabby Girrrrl.............to the rescue!!!My first stop was right around the corner. I've been to his sales before and although he has good stuff, he knows it. I planned to just do a run through to see if there was anything I just couldn't live without and leave quickly but low and behold there it was! An Atlas Mason jar which blah, blah blah, right? Wrong! This one's got a part metal, part glass lid which has 'Tasted and Approved by the Good Housekeeping Institute' written on it! It's called a Presto Jar and is marked series #637. I never done heard of that one! I LOVE it!!! What a swell addition to my jar collection! What ever will I put in it??! Any suggestions?
My next sale was only a block away. (Love when the Yard Sale Gods plan it like that!) Unfortunately all I got was a Scrabble game. She wanted $5 for it but I talked her down to $2. Even that was a bit steep for me but I sell each Scrabble saying for $5.50 a piece so I couldn't walk away without it.
Next up, the Gods giveth me another sale a block from the other one. I'd always disliked this house because it's a new, vinyl clad box in the middle of Craftsmen bungalows but the sale was inside and I got see beyond it's walls and what do you know.....it's fantastic inside! Whoever built it used old materials for charm but designed it with today's needs like an open floor plan and a large kitchen island. Just beautiful! I could barely concentrate on the sale with all of my snooping. I could have left with nothing and still thought it a great stop but lucky for me I scored a cheesy kid's bench/toy box complete with hearts and a wooden bow (surprisingly, shabbitized, it will be fantastic!) and a bookshelf. [I also thought long and hard about a bike for my daughter that was $25 but I liked it more for $10 so I passed and wouldn't you know I went back before I came home and it was gone! Now I'm convinced it was the greatest bike ever and I made a huge mistake. Ugh!]
The next sale was straight out of a Stephen King novel. There was a sign for a yard sale on a tree by the street but all you could see was a house set back off the road and a creepy van parked beside it. Normally I would have walked around but I'm getting cautious in my old age and I pulled away. I'm half proud of myself and half pissed that there could very well have been something truly terrific there! Maybe the last girl he tied up in the basement had some really nice jewelry! Such a missed opportunity:(
On a lighter note, at the sale that followed, I bought a cool, large hourglass (that my daughter has fallen in love with) and a hideous needlepoint that I bought for it's frame but the woman called her mom out of the house who made it and was so glad I liked it. I feel just awful but at least I made her day. Seriously, guys! It's a frigging tiger cub frolicking in the grass! Of all the things to spend hours on end sewing! Who knows. Maybe she made fun of me when I left for buying her god awful feline art. Not nice, Gert!
I left that sale en route to the big Elk's indoor yard sale at 8:00 but I stumbled on a freestyle and found a great old printer's drawer. It even still has '14 point Piranesi Italic' printed on the pull! What a find! Next up.........The Elk's Lodge!
I pulled up fifteen minutes early and sure enough there was a huge line. Some smart vendors set up outside but these weren't any vendors. These were 'professional' vendors. You know, the greasy haired flea market types. Needless to say, they were overpriced so I got on line with the rest of the herd. Amazingly, they let us in five minutes early but inside, it was complete pandemonium. I can't stress to you enough just how much I hate crowds. I don't think I made any friends in there because I was running people down but honestly, I just wanted out! My first purchase was the amazing book, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've been looking for this for weeks because my husband and I are going on a catamaran through the British Virgin Islands next month for our anniversary (eleven blissful years) and I need to keep him busy so he doesn't decide to snorkel right into the bottle of rum only to resurface when it's time to debark. Might turn out to be the best dollar I'll even spend! I also got an old clamming basket which the old lady said she used when she was a girl. Was she fibbing? I don't know but I bought the story and the basket. After that I bought two metal fish which fit in the basket but was becoming difficult to lug around. It only got worse when I bought a large (heavy) Christmas sleigh, a vintage M&M dispenser and a nice striped shower curtain. At that point I felt like Godzilla crushing the city of Tokyo but without Mothra to stop me, I made it to the exit. Of course, right at the door I noticed an ugly coffee table with a lot of shabbitization possibilities so I had to go to my van for a drop off. When I went back to the table, it said to find booth #23 to purchase but the booths were numbered like houses on an old country road so it took a good amount of time to locate it. When I did, the gal sensed my evil reptilian powers and was smart to take my offer of half her asking price. She was very wise to bow down and protect the safety of her village.
So, there ya have it. I survived the Elk's Lodge of horrors and probably will make a buck or two on my finds. Not to mention I get to get high all week on paint fumes and I'm able to write to you now without being shackled to a wall somewhere and forced to be a sex slave! I say, a damn good day for The Yard Sale Mama!!!! Damn good!!!! Happy saling!!
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