A house near our Clover Hill home was selling the long-grown daughter's collection of stuff - 70's style houses, cars, clothes, dolls and accessories. Dad actually came home, picked us up and took us over there to let us "shop". The yard sale was closing and he basically gave us free reign to pick whatever we would like. Even sweeter, he went back the day after and bought most of the remaining stuff for us as well. When my parents finished our basement, dad included a 12 foot by 12 foot room with lights and plush carpet that was dubbed "The Barbie Room". Finishing the basement ruined our large in-house roller skating track loop, but we definitely needed the converted space to play in. I'm sure my parents envisioned this as our playroom, but Emily and I had no intention for it other than Barbies (and the occasional My Little Pony play session).
Dad never really went yard-sale-ing for us personally though. Most often, it was for his antiques business, with the occasional find for him or mom for their classrooms. Dad's business plan works like a charm. Buy an item that needs cleaning, repair or is ready to sell at a low price, spiff it up and resell it for a higher price. Fairly simple, he makes sure not to max the price out, giving others the chance to roll-over the item as well, with the result being his inventory is constantly changing. Our family even had our own store across from the C. Burr Arts library on Patrick Street when I was a teenager. He now rents booth space in a co-op situation at an antique mall in Frederick.
Over the years, Dad has come home with some amazing stuff as well as some bizarre stuff. Of course, the bizarre stuff is what made the greatest impression on me. In no particular order, here are some of the oddities that have found their way to our home: a 3 foot long alligator skull, a taxidermy bear rug, lots and lots of old records, Civil war re-enactor uniforms, mannequins, estate jewelry, tools that my sister I had never heard of, odd furniture (ceremonial gothic-style chairs from a church, Mid-Century Modern pieces, an electronic quack-medicine thing, a collection of hand-decorated eggs from around the world, a tanned skunk pelt, and even a glass eye! All of this leads me to conclude that for every thing that exists in the world, there is probably someone who collects it!
Things were always interesting at our house on Saturdays as we ran around on major sugar highs from the donuts, playing with whatever Dad had found. By all accounts, I have handled things that most other people have never touched and will never touch (i.e. a Civil War Battle Flag) and it has all colored my life in one way or another.
George and I go to Yard Sales (I capitalize because for us, they are an Event!) for entertainment. We find things for our house as well as things for my job. I cannot begin to describe how much of our home has come from Yard Sales, but I would guess at least fifty percent. The hard part is that some days I have gone for four hours and come home with nothing; defeat is disheartening. Other days, we have to call my mom to bring the truck because we found "a big one".
We have even stopped at Yard Sales on family vacations. Usually, west coast and mid-west Yard Sales are not as great because I truly believe that on the East Coast we buy unnecessarily and are quick to get rid of things. There is a lot of product turnover to get the newest "it" thing. Out west, you buy one of something and make it last. There aren't enough stores around to do things any differently! I do remember one good one though: we were driving up the west coast when my sister and I were in our early twenties and stopped at a Yard Sale. I had to buy a second suitcase at the thrift store later that day so I could get 16 inch tall Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore home from CA! The lady who sold them to me for $5 each used them to decorate her son's nursery. They now live at my school and I remember that trip every time I look at them. Dad is much the same way.
If you visit my parents' home and remark that you like something or think it is neat, Dad will tell you all about what it is, where he found and even how much he paid for it, even with things from decades ago. He has SUCH a memory. So, we have had a plethora of oddities in our house, more than enough to restock the Hall of Curiosities at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, at least twice over.
None of my friends' parents are like this, just mine. (My extended family members will probably stone me to death for my involvement in this next part...) About two years ago, I was watching the Palin family reality show and the family took a trip with the Gosselin kids, who had come for a visit, to see Sarah's Dad, a retired schoolteacher, I was on the floor howling with laughter. I watched the show for the travel and adventure aspects (not political), but I nearly peed my pants. Sarah's dad is a retired science teacher. He was showing the Gosselin kids all the stuff in his garage, including some porcupine quills. He took one out and jabbed it in his hand and tugged on it to show the kids how the ends are barbed. Sarah was grossed out, embarrassed and telling her dad, "Oh, no! Stop, Dad. Stop that!" This, very possibly, could have been us. No joke.
Today was a huge day; many neighborhoods had their fall sales. We had a ton of places to choose from: Mt. Airy carnival grounds, Worman's Mill neighborhood, Gettysburg Antique Sidewalk Sales, Keys' Stadium Flea Market, and on and on. We left our house at 6:45 AM and finished well after lunchtime with a full car. Of course, we stopped at my parents to check out their haul and to show off ours. Here is some of what we came home with...
Paddington Bear $5, Rainbow Magic Sun Fairy $4
Two sets of 4 napkin rings, $2 each (I collect napkin rings!)
Worn once Birkenstocks IN MY SIZE $10
Necklace $1, Silpada posts $10, Hammered Silver Hoops $2
Brand New Router in Packaging $10, Set of Eight Lightbulbs $4
Picture Frame $5, Trivet, signed $3 (I collect Native American pottery)
Puzzles $0.50 each (I only pick the really hard ones, minimum 1000 pieces)
Tin fish $3 (going in my bathroom on the wall)
Old postcards of places we've been (we have an album going) $3 for all 4 (Redwood Highway CA, Fire Tower Allegheny National Forest PA, Court House Warren PA, Grizzly Giant Tree on Road of a Thousand Wonders CA)
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