This is me ...when I've just been to a sale. Friday mornings are the best. Watch out for garage sale drivers....they don't watch what they are doing behind the wheel....their eyes are on the prize.
Garage sales will be starting soon in our area. This little town is not as good as my "old" town for the sales. My other town had so many older residents and there would be garage sales, estate sales, and auctions all the time. These older residents had the most wonderful things to sell. I was painting to supplement our income at that time, so it was like part of my job to "hit" the sales on Friday morning. My husband had Friday's off work, so he would go with me. He loved to find old fishing gear, pocket knives, WW ll memorabilia, old books etc. He was my partner in my business at that time. We would drive up to the house and park...walk up the driveway looking at the things on the outside of the garage. He would ask before we left home, "What are we looking for today?" He did more talking to the people than I did. I had an eagle eye for old tinware, coffee pots, tea kettles, saws, old tools and wooden things. I could paint my country scenes on these items and take them to 4 or 5 shops to sell. I painted on anything. He always said, "Don't stand still too long....she'll paint on you." I painted bed pans, canes, flowers on walkers, mailboxes, spools, thimbles, kitchen things, you name it. It turned out to be quite a nice business. I would take these things home... and between the two of us we would sand, prime, paint and then decorate. I have painted hundreds of saws. Hand saws, round saws, two man saws...In our town many a farmer has a saw hanging in their home, with my painting of his farm on a saw. One day I had car trouble, and I stopped to ask for help. I went into the farmer's kitchen and all across the soffet were my saws...probably twenty of them. The farmer's wife gave me a ride home and wouldn't take any money for helping. Christmas came and she had a new saw to hang up.. a gift from me. Now,since I am older, I am no longer selling my painted things. When I remarried, I boxed up everything that I had in the stores and donated it all to a school sale, and a garden club sale.The organizations appreciated it and it made me feel good to do it. I paint now for fun and just things for family and friends. The reason that I love garage sales now is, people throw away things that can be used in the garden. Lots of things can be recycled and used again. You can find sales that have plants that they have started especially for the sale. My neighbor divides her perennials and has a sale every year. It will be coming up soon. Another neighbor sells garden statuary. They sell to big stores and sell some of their things at a reduced price at their home. One of my favorite things to buy now are books. Garden books are a real find. You never know what you will find....that's the fun of it. I can go with $5 in my pocket and come home with a treasure.
Balisha
