posted by Evi on Feb 8
One thing I like about this time of year in Florida is the proliferation of yard sales and rummage sales. You can find quite a few around the area on a Friday and Saturday. This weekend I hit several; Friday with my Mom and Saturday with Bill. Some of these sales were held at mobile home parks, including the one Bill works at. My Mom and I also hit a church sale.
The first table I rush to at a sale is the one with the books. I love books and will knock anybody out of my way to get at them. First I search for cookbooks, not that I really cook or anything. Bill does more of the cooking than I do. (Although, I did make an attempt at a chicken pot pie recipe I found in the newspaper the other day which didn‘t turn out too badly.) I add these books to the collection of hundreds of cookbooks I’ve accumulated since I was a little girl. I started this collection because I liked looking at pictures of food when I was hungry. I guess I liked to hear my stomach growl. It’s probably time to start putting some of them on E-Bay.
After checking out the cookbooks, I look for novels – preferably paperbacks because they’re easier to read in bed. Many a time I’ve bought a novel only to realize halfway through the book that I’d already read it years ago. That’s what happens when you’re an avid reader. But I’m not going to cry over a spent quarter.
Maybe in my travels I’ll find a cute cat figure to add to my rapidly multiplying collection or some kind of kitchen doodad which will be relegated to a drawer never to be found again. I also have a thing about tote bags, so if I see a good one I’ll add that to my plastic container full of bags. Okay, okay, so maybe I’m a bit of a pack rat but I’m not the only one. Bill has such an overwhelming collection of ceramic teapots that he even brought some to Goodwill (where he probably got them from in the first place.)
It’s not like we need any more junk around the house. We just like to accumulate things, then try to figure out how to get rid of them at a later date. Don’t ask me why; it‘s a sickness.
When Bill and I lived on Long Island, we used to schedule our Saturdays around yard sales. I would circle all the sales in the newspaper and Pennysaver and plan out the route to hit each and every one within a 30 mile radius. First we’d stop at the deli and pick up breakfast sandwiches and coffee to go, then head out for our first stop. Finally by late afternoon we’d reach our last stop and head home. I couldn’t wait for the following Saturday to do it all over again.
I said to my husband this morning we ought to get that crew from the TV show “Clean House” to help us muck out some of this crap. But they’d have to remove me from the premises because I’d be fighting them tooth and nail to keep all my “stuff”, not to mention all the wailing and gnashing of teeth. This could prove to be embarrassing on national TV. (For the record, my house really isn’t that bad.)
My Mom and I are anxiously awaiting the rummage sale at the church down the road. That one’s always good for more additions to my collections. In the meantime, I’ve already signed up for an E-Bay account. Nothing like being prepared.
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