Garage Sale Fun

And again I say, “another week is done? What happened to the last one??”

The parsonage was fitted with an underground sprinkler system this week! “Hip Hip Horray!” as Eden would say.

Ceme upstairs one day, looking for Eden. When I hit the top step, I heard her say, "Lars was poopy!" She'd made it this far and was having trouble with getting a clean one on.

Since Monday was Memorial Day observed, Eden did not go to daycare. Instead, she stayed home and helped me get ready for the grill out we were having that night with friends. The weather was yucky, rainy and cold and I was not at all impressed. Instead of putting up horseshoe pits and tables in the back yard, we set up toys in the basement and tables in the garage, closed the door and put on the portable heaters. Folks started coming with their food choices about 5:30 and Al grilled some burgers and dogs. We ate & drank, shivered and shared stories. All of our kids were having a great time, so we adults put several decks of cards to use in a rousing rendition of Peanuts. To all my Michigander friends, this immediately sounds fun and puts a smile on your face. To all my new friends here in the West, you have no idea how much fun you could be having.

"Peanuts!"

The rest of the week was busy getting ready for the weekend’s garage sale. I was well prepared, had many boxes in the basement of the church office, others in our storage unit, and yet others in my laundry room. Put the ad in the local paper (the only garage sale listed this week), and checked and rechecked the weather. I continued to clean out closets and cubbys, adding something to the ‘sell’ table every day. On Thursday, Eden went off to daycare and I dedicated the day to setting up tables and tagging. Nearly everything I had was .25 cents, mostly because I wanted to get it out of my sight.

Friday morning, I was up early and ready to go. A phone call came shortly before 0700 and I headed out the door, hoping I’d make it back in time to get stuff outside on to the driveway before 0900. I pulled back up to the house at 0830 and had to park across the street and down the block. My street was lined with cars, all full of people anxious to get to the first big garage sale of the season. At ten minutes till, I went out the side door and into the garage, hoping to get the stuff that was blocking the garage entry onto the driveway where I intended it to go. No luck. The people bolted from their vehicles and ran up the drive. One guy actually dove under the table to get INTO the garage, knocking several antique chairs over in the process. I yelled, “Everybody back for a minute!” and they looked like, “lady, your garage is our domain now. Everything is fair game”. I didn’t know how to say it in Spanish, so for that half, they just looked at me funny and continued to push their way in to shop. The camper sold immediately, and I had several more offers as the day went on. By 11:00 a.m., I was able to see past the person in front of me and find a chair to sit in for a moment. What a rush! Al ventured out briefly with the kids, but took them back inside when it looked like a mad house. I think he feared for their safety.

Most of Friday stayed that busy, and I quickly watched tables go from overflowing to full. Friday night, Al and I got a sitter and took off for Scottsbluff to see “A Dog’s Life” at the theatre. What a great production! I was laughing nearly the whole time. The play was about three dogs and their journey through life at the pound to life on the prairie. The subplot was, of course, their owners. It was a great way to end the evening. (And I finally fit into my red dress!)

Saturday, Laura came over to open the garage sale and the Strawn’s headed up town to get the rigs ready for the Camp Clarke Day parade. Since the fire department is the last entry of the parade, we pulled a blanket out and watched the parade, then got in and drove through it. Eden and Lars sat on daddy’s lap, Eden eating a sucker, Lars holding to his daddy’s arm on for dear life, and Al throwing candy to the kids. I was driving, watching for darting children, and working the siren. It was fun, per usual. We hung around after the parade for some festivities, then went home for naps. Laura was doing well getting rid of our stuff and I was already planning ways to fill up the empty spaces in my house!

By later afternoon, we started packing up boxes for donation and sorting what was left. By evening, we were all pooped. The Red Wings started at 6:00, so I made an early supper and we were all sat down on the couch, ready for the puck drop. After the game, Eden went peacefully to bed, I took left again, and Al went to work finalizing his sermon.

When one chair just isn't quite tall enough

Today was a beautiful day. After church, Eden and I worked outside in the camper, getting ready for our first camp of the summer next weekend. The camper was pretty dirty from being unused all last year, and I had boxes of camping stuff that needed sorting. I got everything packed up and ready to go. Since there was a threat of more hail late in the day, we decided to fold it down and take it to Mark and Laura’s barn. Just in time, too, as it began to hail when we got back into town. After that mess, the sun came back out and we continued to work outside. Al tilled up my vegetable garden and I got my tomato plants in the ground, as well as my peppers. He moved some sod to a dirt patch, Eden took a bath and now it’s bedtime for everybody.

So goes the week.