Note to self: No matter how much I want to get rid of stuff, wait until it’s cooler. Holy moley was it hot!
Despite the lack of traffic, we made a good chunk of change. Like last time, we’re still getting calls for some of the big items we were selling.
The only big thing that didn’t sell was the gas stove, but I put it on Craigslist so hopefully we can get it out of the way soon. The most popular items were tools and farm stuff. I sold all my antique canning jars. Somewhere in the future I’ll probably see them at an antique stall at 1000% markup but I was never going to use them so let someone else make a profit on them.
The big sellers were afterthoughts. Greg had a lot of chain he no longer needed. Men hovered around them like ants to a picnic. I thought Greg priced them too high, but obviously not.
I hauled out an extra egg incubator that had been gathering dust. We had two cabinet models plus a chick hatcher I used when we raised emu and rhea. I put a price tag of $100 firm and people were fighting over it. New, they cost nearly $600 but I didn’t anticipate that much interest. Again, I was happily wrong.
All in all, successful, but way more work than last time because of the heat. The heat was definitely keeping people indoors.
My friends think we should try again in the fall to get rid of the rest, but I think I’d rather get a charity to come and pick up the leftovers. There’s still some good stuff left.
I did meet a neighbor who was Chinese. She teaches Mandarin at a nearby school. She bought every bit of Chinese artwork I had and even taught me what some of the symbols meant.
Someone else bought all the Maran chickens plus the chicken tractor. I think I have one of my antique sideboards sold too. We’re trying to work out a time for her to come out here.
We earned a little spending money for a lot of sweat equity, but at least my house and yard are neater now.
We are babysitting Ozzy (my dog godchild) until after the holidays. We also have friends spending a few days with us next weekend. I’m going to have to mind my culinary Ps and Qs while they’re here. Beth is a phenomenal cook and baker, and I pale by comparison.
July 6 is Greg’s birthday so I plan a special feast for him.
For now, I’m going to rest and stay indoors. Lots of sandwiches this week, a marathon of Netflix movies, and air conditioning day and night. We’ve earned it!
Is anyone (in the US) planning anything special for the Fourth? I heard Independence Day: Resurgence was a flop. Has anyone seen it yet? What can you tell me?
We asked our vet to prescribe anti-anxiety medication for Iko for the upcoming fireworks. My poor big guy is terrified of loud noises. It breaks our hearts to see him quivering like jelly. I’ll let you know if it works. Our vet said it doesn’t work on all dogs, but she wants to try this drug first.
***
To my British friends: Hang in there. Sure, things will be messy at first. Disruption is a natural consequence of big moves, but it always balances out–always. I remember when Britain joined the EU. I was surprised they stuck it out as long as they did.
I’d read the line was clearly split between age demographics. At this, I’m not surprised. All I can say is Britain did just fine before the EU. They know how to handle hard times and can do it better (and with more grace) than most other countries.
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All original content copyrighted by Maria Zannini 2016.
A fine looking sideboard, Maria. Quite envious, but then I’m cursed with the acquisitive gene. Thanks for the good wishes, but I have the feeling the game is not over
Mike: There will be a lot of whining and berating for a while.
I really feel the reason we have so much unrest is twofold. Too many people and the unrealistic expectation of instant gratification.
Glad to hear the garage sale went so well! You deserve a rest and some cool A/C and good movies/TV shows/books. Hmm, sounds like a good idea for the holiday weekend…. 🙂
Madeline: The heat really sucks all the life out of you. We plan to rehydrate and recuperate until our guests arrive.
Yeah, June was probably not the right month to have the yard sale. I would think October would be such a better month. But hey, what do I know? Nothing, that’s what! 🙂
Our plans for the 4th include driving to Columbus, picking up our friend, and heading to the zoo. We’ve never been to that one. Friend said she’d cook dinner after. She’s a GREAT friend! 🙂
Stacy: Good friends are a blessing–especially when they can cook. 🙂
Congrats on making some dough! We haven’t had a yard sale in a long time because my hubby hates to haggle. Now we mostly donate, but we don’t have antiques and such.
Good luck with your visitors. I’ll be hiding indoors with my scaredy pets. 🙂
Oh Barbara, it hurts my heart so much to see him so scared. He’s a 115 pounds of jelly. You can’t control him when he’s that nervous.
I took a look at the drugs the vet prescribed. It’s a high dose of Xanax. She says dogs process it differently than people and it takes a bigger dose to take the edge off their anxiety.
If that doesn’t work, she wants to try a paste they use on horses.
With all the new fireworks stands that have popped up in my area, it looks like it’ll be a noisy couple of days.