three yard sales.

Saturday morning, we yard saled (saled yards?) for only two hours. We had to be at a wedding in Statesville. Most people would probably just call it a lost day and take the opportunity to sleep in. No, wait, most people don't think about yard sales at all. I wrote down eight sales, and we made it to four. Here are three things about our day.

Thing 1: Wedding gifts
Due to laziness and a general dislike of bridal registries, we did not have a present to take to the wedding as of last Thursday. By Friday night, we had a set of vintage glasses and a small stockpile of Japanese candy. The glasses were actually the same as a set I bought months ago at an estate sale - the ones that said "on the rocks" and had real, live rocks in a compartment in the base of the glass. How many sets of these glasses exist in the Raleigh area, and what is the likelihood of me finding two of them? And, if I do find additional sets, will I be able to not buy them? As for the candy, that was an idea I had for the last wedding we attended. It went over pretty well last time, because everyone loves Japanese candy.

But candy and Goodwill glasses are not enough. We figured if we didn't find anything good and giftable at the yard sales, we'd just stop at Target on the way and get a gift card. Luckily, we did find some yard sale goodies, and I don't think it's even obvious that the gifts were bought in a church basement. We found a nice, blue vase that matched the color of pretty much everything on the registry and a Mozart action figure still in the packaging. According to Josh, the groom is really into action figures. Stick those in with the glasses and the candy, write a nice card and you have yourself a lovely gift package. Maybe. I don't know the people all that well, so maybe they'll be confused, offended, or both. Or maybe they'll think we're amazingly cool people. I know I would.

Thing 2: Cheering section
We pulled up to a yard sale put on by a youth swim team. About a dozen kids were all standing on the sidewalk, screaming various non-sequiturs ("Every time you don't go to a yard sale, a puppy dies"), trying to lure people into the sale. This is a common form of yard sale advertising. It gets the kids out of the way while the adults run the sale. Anyway, after we parked, we had to walk past the kids. They clapped, they cheered, they jumped up and down and hollered at us like we were completing a marathon. It was surreal. I don't usually like being the center of attention, but it's nice to be appreciated, and we are very good yard salers. When we came back through after the sale, Josh carrying a large and cumbersome full-length standing mirror, they yelled again. Some of them cheered for us, while others told us to go to the yard sale. Maybe they mistook us for movers or really vain homeless people.

Thing 3: Sale in the Rain
I was a little glad that it was raining Saturday, because it meant that at least I wasn't missing a lot of good sales. Some sales will still happen, even in the rain, but most of them will close up. It didn't start raining until about a quarter until ten, which is when we hit our last sale of the day. It was an outdoor sale, but the people were prepared. Most of the tables were covered with lightweight blue tarps, while a few teenagers ran around covering the rest. I got out an umbrella and went from table to table, gently lifting the tarp to peek at the damp items beneath. It felt a little illicit, as if I were looking in my stocking before Christmas or watching someone undress.

I ended up buying a jigsaw puzzle of an Intel chip. If you've been paying attention, then you'll know that this will be my second one (it's actually a different picture). Josh bought a bunch of books, including one from the 1890s by Winston Churchill. The one from St. Louis.