It's Official!

It's official! We yardsalers are to become yardsellers on Saturday, October 17!

Laura went before the Signal Hill Neighborhood Association board tonight to... to what? Ask permission? Ask advice? Recruit shoppers? Anyway, she has been advised to change the advertising to "Multi-Family Yard Sale" and then list her address on Signal Hill Blvd. This is slightly different from advertising as "Signal Hill Neighborhood Yard Sale" and a vast improvement from the highly illegal "Signal Hill Neighborhood Association Yard Sale". I am afraid that if she advertised as the latter she would be slapped with a court ordered injunction.

It was a fascinating hour at the SHNA board meeting. We did not actually get to vote on anything, but I think we may get a few new blog followers. (Hi, Donna!)

Let us turn our attention to tomorrow:

Tomorrow is Friday, therefore we have a long list of sales to hit. Laura has done the research, printed out the addresses, and assures me we have a lot of work ahead of us.

But there is no school tomorrow! We will be yardsaling with two seven year olds, a five year old, and a three year old. (This is not all of our combined eight children, thankfully) This is not the ideal yardsaling situation, obviously. Here are the three major problems, as I see them:

1. The kids all need a seat in the van. What with boosters, car seats, and seat belts, we can't fudge the seating arrangements and put anyone on someone else's lap. This will severely limit our available payload.
2. Children generally exit the car leisurely. They need help unbuckling. They have to climb laboriously down from their seats. On a busy Friday, where minutes count, this could mean success or failure at a desirable yard sale.
3. Children have unpredictable digestive requirements. Food goes in and potty comes out. Each of these needs becomes urgent within seconds of the child acknowledging it. This will cause untold deviations in our course.

We can only try to do our best under the circumstances. Wish us luck.

My personal shopping list for tomorrow includes:

• Sweaters
• Small crafts and prizes for Brownie troop
• Owl figurines (to photograph for future blog entitled "Owls for Sale: the decorations no one wants anymore.")
• Weird and hilarious presents for Kit, whose birthday is tomorrow
• Costume jewelry for art projects
• Underpriced items for resale at next week's neighborhood yard sale. I mean, multi-family yard sale which happens to coincidentally be taking place in my neighborhood.

Items we are still seeking on behalf of other people:

• Stainless steel sink with side drain so Matt can clean fish
• Temporary dresser (for use until Kris's good furniture is delivered)
• Queen sized headboard and matching dresser for a high level administrator we happen to know
• Patio furniture so Paul can bribe somebody at work
• Soul and jazz records for my cool brother

Tune in tomorrow!

debrief, part 2

Here is a picture of the deer we saw on our way to pick up Samantha. Hard to see. But I suck at taking pictures.



Here is Nancy's Big Van O' Dreams. This sucker can take it all. Tables, kids' wheelbarrows, lamps, iron circular art, kids' chairs, etc.

Here is the kind yard seller who let Nancy buy her chandelier. This light was original to her house, was absolutely beautiful, and she let Nancy buy it for $5.

Thanks to all the yard sellers who sold me their warm blankets yesterday. My kids were toasty warm in this chilly midwest weather. (We moved here from Alabama, and our linens are simply not adequate).

One of the wonderful things about yard saling, to me, is my personality is not a hindrance. I am, as discussed before, really energetic and enthusiastic. Sometimes, this is not appropriate. Say, for example, a solemn church service. (I used to get in big trouble with my mom). Or a library. Or a doctor's office. Or someplace where squealing and jumping isn't appreciated. But yard sellers love it! They love seeing you excited over their stuff! It makes them happy, and it makes you happy that you made them happy! They like seeing their stuff go to a home where there is happiness. The nice lady who sold me her table was ambivalent about selling it. As I was leaving, though, she said, "I am glad to see it going to a good home." I promised her my boys would use it well and love it well. And we do. It is like Christmas in our house every Friday and Saturday.

Nancy brought up a good point yesterday to Samantha. She said that yard saling is the greenest shopping there is. You park and walk to places. Lots of places, in the case of yesterday. Nothing is being used to make your treasure, it was already made, many times years ago, with less plastic (many things, though not all). You may argue that internet shopping is also green, and it is, except for the fact that a lot of times, things on the internet are new, so resources are being consumed. Many of the goods available today have plastic as a main component, either in the product itself or in the packaging. Many years ago, this was not the case. For example, I purchased, for fifty cents, a storage bin made out of heavy duty cardboard/paper with an aluminum top. No plastic! Also, you have to ship your item when you purchase online, which uses not only jet fuel, but regular gasoline. Yuck!

debrief, Laura's version

Here is the sad puzzle with Vermont missing. I love how honest yard sellers are.

Here are wonderfully friendly, and chilly, yard sellers. They were just as excited as us! Look! She even has a tool belt! This is a girl who knows how to yard sell.

This is the friendly and charming owner of the 3 labs Nancy posted 2 posts ago. This is her awesome backyard! Yard sellers are such a nice lot that they even show you their kick-butt lanscaping! I bought the wooden and rustic table made from an antique bed from her, which of course I have forgotten to take picture of. Next blog.

Here I am, hyped up on caffeine, riding the world's largest rocking horse. This is (obviously) adult-sized. It was a sight to behold. A note to those who don't know me well: I am naturally hyper and enthusiastic. I used to be called Bubbles when I was little. I rarely drink coffee, because this would be unkind to those around me, as I tend to get a teensy bit crazed with energy. For example, I am without Sam and Nan in this picture because I had so much energy I couldn't wait for them. I had to run to all the yard sales and couldn't possibly walk.

Here is Nancy, still sleepy from her night before and enjoying someone's hammock for sale. This is the yard sale where I bought the vintage Star Wars figures.

More to come.

Like Craig's List -- but Better!

This is yet another attempt to explain the pleasure of yardsaling.

You know how fun it is to surf Craig's List or Ebay? You could (you do, you know it) spend hours clicking around, marveling at the many weird things people have for sale, wondering who these people are, where they got this stuff in the first place, and why they want to part with it.

Yardsaling is just like that! But yardsaling is a richer and more robust human experience. It includes all the joys of second-hand internet shopping plus:

• fresh air,
• coffee,
• bake sales,
• face-to-face interaction with weird, wonderful people,
• erratic driving,
• practice in the reading of maps,
• exposure to various types of residential architecture,
• occasional charitable giving if the sale is at a church or something,
• instant shopping gratification,
• no shipping costs,
• and a constant quest for a clean public toilet.

Tri-City Garage Sale Extravaganza!

Oh.

My.

God.

We left my house at 6AM. In early October, in the northern hemisphere, it is still very dark at 6AM. On the way to Sam's house we saw two deer, a gorgeous full moon, and almost ran over a raccoon. We experienced a lengthy delay while Sam Mapquested the sale address. It was really an excruciatingly long delay, Sam, since we were so excited.

The sale had a centralized starting point at some sort of civic center in Brentwood. They had clear signs marking the entrance. They had free coffee and donuts. Some very cheerful ladies were handing out maps of the many participating sellers.

Here is a friendly man handing out the free food:

And here is a pleasant lady (left) showing Samantha (right) the maps.

In the parking lot, adjacent to the building, sections were available for people who live in apartments and therefore have no garage or yard in which to sell. These folks had some good treasure. Some notables were: metal bike rack (Nancy), warm blankets (Laura), smart-kid-toys (Sam).

With coffee in hand, we headed for the neighborhoods. Samantha is a genius of maps and directions so she told us where to go. I was the driver, a little groggy from last night's outing and sore on the face where I smashed into a screen door. Don't ask. Seriously. Laura offered enthusiasm. She is always peppy and energetic. But the free coffee made her positively hyper active. I have never seen her on coffee and it was a scene I will not soon forget.

We skivved all morning. You will remember from previous blogs that skivving is the act of wheeling around in your car, looking for garage sale signs, and veering wildly off course to attend the sales. Today was a skivvers' paradise! There were sales everywhere. We would find a street with a bunch of signs, park the Van O' Dreams, and walk (run!) to every sale within sight. When our arms were full we would make a drop at the van and head out again. Once the sales in that neighborhood had been milked dry, we headed to the next stop.

Here is an incomplete list of today's finds:

• Megablocks
• Vintage Star Wars figures and war ships
• 4 foot water-filled bubbling aquarium light full of plastic fish
• 4 small vintage school chairs
• Pampered Chef products
• Soup tureen
• Wool peacoat
• Industrial garbage can
• Kid clothes
• Girl's bike to replace the one I ran over last week
• Excellent old table
• Rainbow afro wig
• Patent leather suitcase
• Weird cardboard container that defies description

There is too much to list. And simply listing the items we bought doesn't do justice to the experience we had. The people we met were kind, generous, and funny. They were quick to come down on any price just to see their garage cleaned out. They were happy to share their treasures with women who so clearly loved the hunt. I'd like to extend special thanks to the following vendors:

• the couple with the three well-behaved labs and the beautiful backyard garden
• the lady with the soup tureen and the beautiful old light fixture, original to her house
• the lady who crochets snowflakes and was knitting a scarf as we shopped her yard
• the lady who gave Laura the card catalog drawer for free
• the free food people who were wide awake and perky at 6:50AM
• the lady who sold me the Chinese jumprope and warned me not to be a Brownie leader-- ever!
• the fellow shopper who let me have the exquisite Eddie Bauer leather man-bag even though I know he wanted it

Special recognition goes to the man who dressed up in full Santa costume, presumably to attract more shoppers.

And kudos to the old geezer who had the balls to offer these magazines for sale:

Come back soon for a special YardSaleAdventures report:

"Owls for Sale -- the decorations no one wants anymore."

prebrief

Tomorrow is it. The one we have been waiting for. My tool belt is packed. The cooler is waiting by the fridge for various unhealthy foods to be packed into it at o'dark thirty. My plan is to be waiting by Nancy's Big Van O' Dreams by 5:55am tomorrow morning. It will be cold. A future blog post might need to be written which entails proper yard saling gear. (Layering is key; and ponchos are bad ideas). I may have to fall asleep in the van on the way back.
We have some requests from our friends. They include:
1. khaki uniform boys' pants, sizes 7 and 10
2. metal/iron outdoor furniture
3. stainless steel fish cleaning sink
4. dresser
5. I need some warm things; warm blankets, sheets, pajamas, anything that will make me warm-it's freezing here already!
I also need to stop by Junque to get burlap sacks for the sack races the 2nd graders will have soon. Reegan has them for $2 each. Additionally, I am trying to convince Nan and Sam to drive to a 100 year old barn/farmhouse estate sale in Chesterfield. I have discovered I love anything wooden and rustic, and this is sure to fit the bill. Can you imagine?
The excitement is starting to build. I may have trouble falling asleep. 500 plus sales! Apartment sales! Nowhere (as far as we know) to use a potty! Don't you want to join us?
A side note: please, yard sale propreiters and propreiteresses, please don't light up a cigarette the minute we walk into your garage. You have every right to do so, it is true, but you might be losing customers.

Friday, October 2

Today was low-key. It was just Laura and me, with Hudson in tow. I should note that Hudson cooperates for a small fee: any Dora book or anything yellow.

There were only 6 or 7 sales on Laura's prep sheet. She checks the Belleville News Democrat and Craigs' List every Thursday night and prints out the relevant sales. She checks Belleville, for sure, and maybe surrounding towns. Sales that start on Friday are always highlighted in blue so my navigation is as easy as possible. We really need a new map, though. Laura, can you take a pic of that nasty map?

Our first destination was the sale advertising "Two mounted large mouth bass and lots and lots of wigs!"

Take a minute to let that sink in, please.

Did you feel it sink into your bones? Did you sense the excitement we felt? WHO sells lots of wigs and fishing trophies? If this is what they advertise, what ELSE will they sell?! These are the questions that keep us going, even after we have spent all our cash and are dead-tired and very thirsty and facing marital conflict. It is the unknown -- the what-ifs around every corner -- the possibilities that await us -- that keep us driving forward, toward the next sale.

So we get there.

Here is the largemouth bass. This is the proprietor of the sale.

The bass was forty bucks, I think. But apparently it is very expensive to mount a fish. This one cost $200 back in the day. Some other shopper told us it now costs $15 per inch to taxidermy a fish. This explains the $200 beaver mentioned earlier on the blog! Taxidermy is the big money-maker of the economy. I'm rethinking my kids' career paths.

Something that caught my eye was this lovely

collection of lures.

I was thinking of my dad. Would he love to get these pretty lures for Christmas? How would I ship them to California? The proprietor said they were $5 each, but for the whole shebang, including the corkboard, he'd charge (long pause while mental math is performed) $40. That is all my fellow shoppers needed to hear. Just as I was saying "No, thanks." This guy here whips out two twenties and says it will put a smile on his dad's face when he has his birthday next week. (That's Laura and Hudson, too.)

Then we spied the wigs. There were 9 wigs, still in their boxes. A few were brand new and still had the netting and paper and stuff on them. They were a dollar each. I offered $5 for the whole box and she agreed. For the rest of the day I had conflicting emotions: I felt elation and joy at having scored such a wacky and random purchase, but I felt shame that someone who really needed them might not have the chance to buy them, and I felt fear that I was messing up my karma by buying wigs that I might need someday if I have to fight my way through some terrible chemo.

Anywho... we had a blast when I got the wigs home. Here are some of my kids and some neighbor kids enjoying the wigs. This is easily $5 worth of fun! (Readers of the Chase Family Blog should note the infamous Devin between Louie and Donny.) In fairness to children, I have included a picture of me wearing a wig. I think it makes my eyes look more blue, honestly.

So... our next stop of note was the PSOP on Church St. We spent about 10 minutes guessing what PSOP meant. We finally learned it means "Programs and Services for Older Persons". This was advertised as a "Girly Girl Sale". It is an annual event, apparently, held the first Friday of every October. At this sale I scored a lovely gray leather Liz Claiborne purse, a Smurf TV tray, and some excellent costume jewelry. In fact, I have started a collection of ridiculous costume jewelry, for use in a future art project. Here is the Boss Lady who tricked me into paying $5 for a container of "odds and ends". She would not let me rummage through the container. I had to make her an offer on the lot. A wily opponent, that one.

The PSOP had an excellent bake sale. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the fine slice of lemon bundt cake I procured for a mere 25 cents. Thank you, Ladies of the PSOP, for delicious sustenance just when I needed it most.

It was downhill from there. We were tired. We needed to rest up for tomorrow's Grand Adventure. Tune in tomorrow, Folks, for the highlights of the Greatest Garage Sale on Earth!