salute street.

We had a good yard sale day last Saturday. A good yard sale day means a very different thing in January than it does in, say, June. Most people see yard sales as a summer thing, or at least a warmer-than-freezing thing. There are very few sales in the winter, though that doesn't stop me from checking out CraigsList every Friday to see if there is anything worth going to. Remember, I am devoted.

While I am thankful that someone decided to have a sale in the bleak midwinter, I don't really understand their reasoning. Surely they could not have made much money, as most folks are not as devoted as I am. They would rather stay inside, with some hot chocolate, a roaring fire, and a book than go stand in someone's driveway wearing a wool coat, hat, and gloves. I couldn't ever remember wearing gloves at a yard sale before, but they were necessary to keep my fingers from falling off into the box of fifty-cent t-shirts.

The sale was a church benefit sale, which is not the same as a church sale. A church sale is held at a church (or church-owned building) and members of the congregation donate goods to sell. A church benefit sale is held at someone's house and they give the money to the church (or they say they do). Maybe a couple of other families chip in, too, but it's more like a multi-family sale than a church sale. However, you take what you can get in January.

Google told us how to get to Salute Street, which I thought was a pretty odd name. To get to Salute Street, you take Scouting Drive to Hiking Trail. You'll pass by Cheerful Avenue, Loyal Street, Tenderfoot Trail, and Compass Lane. You'll also pass Philmont Drive, but I don't think it's related. I think the naming scheme is adorable. More neighborhoods should have themes other than trees. For instance, here's a free idea to all you developers out there - bones in the human body. Now, go. Build a house on Phalange Avenue!

Once on Salute Street (if you hit Courage Court, you've gone too far), the sale was spread out in the driveway. It may have been just a benefit sale, but it was a good one. We got halfway through before we asked if maybe they had a box where we could put our purchases. Naturally, they were prepared for such a request. When we finally decided we had done enough damage for the day, we presented our full box for totalling. The woman added up the books and a couple of other things before seeming to get sort of frustrated with the math of it all and tellig us $5 for the box. Ah, yes, Negotiation By Fear of Math.

I would normally take pictures of our haul to show to you, but I didn't. I was going to do it, but once I got to looking at what we brought home, they didn't seem like much. And yet I had climbed into the car with the heady rush that comes from great yard saling. But it was just due to deprivation, like the sun coming out after days of rain. If I ever used the term "addict" to describe my feelings about yard sales, I did it in jest, but I left Salute Street feeling like I had just gotten a much-needed hit. Thank goodness used stationery is cheaper than heroin.

What we got: seven books, a wire rack for baking, basket of greeting cards (mostly Christmas), two small storage baskets, a blank journal, and a Peter Max Superposter book. Nothing all that fancy or crazy, just a nice solid haul to warm our yard saling hearts in this cold winter.