YARD SALE!!!!

Yesterday, a very foggy Friday, daughter Pat and I went to Crescent City to visit Sylvia's Attic, a place we used to frequent often as it is a store the size of a warehouse and it is filled with some of the delights of yesteryear. The owner, a woman in her mid seventies, has an eye for 'stuff' and she attends every yard sale she can get to . . . and has for years. Her shop has always been a delight to visit and browse through as she has pictures, furniture, lamps and every conceivable piece of beautiful glass ware that you can imagine. About four years ago she decided to add books to her collections and now there is not one space that is not covered in books. The front of the store is all books now and that was good as we knew where to find a book we wanted for our own collection, but like everything else, it has gotten out of hand and there is no where in the store that is not covered with books of all sizes and shapes, very old with the smell of mildew, and the best seller read once and thrown away. It seems Sylvia has created a library of her very own and her 'store' has lost some of its charm. I did find a book I was not aware existed as it is a sequel to a book I read called "The Settlers" and this one is called "The Second Generation", my neighbor Jim will be pleased to see it as he read the first book and thought it was the best book on immigration that he had ever read. Now, I am sorry I got rid of it in a yard sale as it has been years and I no longer remember the characters in the story. Maybe this book will bring them back to mind.

Pat is the 'yard sale queen' as she has a very good eye and the huge marble you see is a German handmade swirl, circa 1800-1900, a two inch glass marble valued anywhere from three hundred to three thousand dollars. Oh to find a buyer for that little beauty. The story Pat tells is that an old man sold it to her, the 'glassie' or marble collector of this century, for three dollars. He told her he used to tell his grandchildren that they could have the peppermint in the center if they could break it open and needless to say they did a good job of trying. The marble was pitted with small chips. Somewhere Pat heard of a man who worked on glass marbles bringing them back to their original beauty and she sent her marble away and just received it back looking like it was new. There is a tiny pit here and there but so minute that you can hardly see them. He did a terrific job and she is very pleased. Now as to whether it gets a new owner or not will depend on if she puts it up on e-bay for sale. There has to be a collector out there that would love to own it.

So after listening to Pat's tale of the marble and seeing all of the beautiful pieces in Sylvia's Attic, I came home and looked around at my yard sale items to see if I had a treasure or two . . . I do, a Limoges vase that is beautiful, a shell dish that is over a hundred years old and is in a cook book I have that is at least a hundred and thirteen years old. On page 146 there is a picture of my yard sale bowl. Wonder what it is worth? Must be worth something to someone out there but I would find it hard to part with as it is lovely just to look at. The tin cans are on top of the kitchen cupboards and are fun to look at, although I do have to take them down and wash them. The one I found yesterday was a tribute to the Boy Scouts One Hundred Year celebration. It will be worth something someday . . .right? Oh yeah!!!!

So it is Saturday and Saturday is always a yard sale day. There were not many listed in the paper this week. I guess it is too soon after the big city wide yard sale of September and folks are not up to another so soon. Maybe you will be lucky and find a few sales to attend in your neighborhood today. Don't just sit there.....go.....you may find the treasure of a life time, or at least a new book to read. You are bound to meet some very nice people and strike up a conversation about treasures. Go! Have fun it will make you smile all day. Hugs to all.