Their last sale was confused with an eviction.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
This has not been a good week. I was plagued most of this week by a painful sprain to my knee. My knee pain began after a bicycle ride and several hours spent cleaning out Clare Butler’s basement on Sunday. The basement is a virtual metropolis of junk and clutter gathered over the last 20 years by Clare and her late husband Todd. In his last two years Todd was healthy enough to go out looking for and buying any strange or odd thing he might come across, but he was not healthy enough to store it in some orderly or thoughtful manner. So I may of sprained my knee moving a mountain of found art, a library of old medical books, piles of games based on 1970’s television programs or shifting through a forest of electronic children’s toys some of which had been altered to produce unusual sounds and constantly blared those sounds as I tried to stack them neatly. There is still much work to be done. One of the reasons I have chosen to write about yard sales rather than simply buying lots of stuff and hauling it home where we don’t even have a basement, is that Cindy has warned me that our home will end up like Clare and Todd’s basement. I have accommodated Cindy’s fears as I now go to sales with a note pad and pen instead of cash and a gunnysack. As for my health after several sleepless nights of pain, I visited my Bosnian doctor on Thursday. Today I am now a new man as my relief came though a combination crack Balkan medical expertise and a trip to Walgreen’s where I purchased a bottle of Aleve.
So today without any agonizing knee pain I set off to see what sales await. I spent nearly all the time in my own neighborhood where there are a number of sales with the Candler Park Arts Festival is going on in Candler Park this weekend.
Polifox Dr.- Lake Claire
There are three sales very close to one another on this block of Palifox. At the first house I find a box of children’s software, a treadmill, a large old Polaroid camera, two very big speakers of unknown make and an executive desktop basketball game.
Across the street are two sales one has just a few items of clothing on a small table. The home next to it has a lot more stuff but also a pack of barking dogs fenced up in the back yard. The dogs bark continuously the entire time I am there. This cannot be good for sales. Through the noise I find two framed prints of kittens one is staring at a wine glass and in the other print the kitten is peering over sheet music. Could these poor kittens stand to live in this house of dogs that won’t shut up. As the cacophony of canine noise continues I encounter, an electric rotisserie, some women’s shoes, four sets of golf clubs with bags and an entire case of safety glasses.
I buy nothing.
Tuxedo Dr.- Lake Claire
This is a small sale not far but out of earshot from the last sale. The seller who reveals to me that he is a real estate agent (who isn’t anymore) is pacing about holding a golf club. All he has for sale is a short clothesline full of men’s clothes, included is a camo jacket. In the yard are a sleeping bag and a lamp.
I buy a shirt for a dollar. I think it appropriate that I buy clothing on a street named after an article of clothing.
Mclendon Ave- Lake Claire.
At a home high atop a rise overlooking the new McLendon Ave roundabout a couple is selling a yard full of baby items. Among the baby items are several child safety seats and a breast milk pump. They also have three lawn mowers for sale, a case of auto-organizers (these let you sort things out in your car) and a box of mugs. One mug say “Super Jogger” another thanks gives thanks to day care workers. Above this sale is a sign proclaiming, “This is a Yard Sale”
I buy nothing.
Sterling Ave- Candler Park
There is a sign stapled to a sawhorse in front of a pile of waterlogged boxes indicating that the sale is in the rear.
At first I though that the pile of wet boxes was the sale. I was a little disappointed that it was a slightly more organized event-taking place behind the home. Going down the driveway I find the entire back yard filled with a lot of old junk spread out on tarps and wet grass. Under the deck is a clothesline full of mildewed men’s apparel. They are slightly damp to the touch and have a somewhat unpleasant odor, hinting of mold. To make it worse a few of the jackets are made of suede. On the ground I find a light labeled “disco ball”. It’s not really a disco ball but a multicolored light that throws patterns on the wall. Next to it are a strobe light and a black light. Other items include a Bart Simpson telephone, two ceiling fans that may or may not have all their pieces, two guitar stands, a very ugly brown sofa, five aquariums, a talking bottle opener, a set of golf clubs, flea spray and a tube of hair cream. Among the books I find a biography of Charles Bukoski, “Beers across America”, from the church of the sub genius “Tales of Bob” and a book of those magic eye 3D paintings.
There are also two computer monitors.
I buy nothing.
Elmira Ave- Candler Park
This old craftsman bungalow almost looks like a Norman Rockwell painting with its white picket fence and children standing over piles of toys they are selling. As I enter the yard I hear the Dad tell one of the kids “ No you can’t have the dollar until you sell the dump truck” Among the children’s things are a three ring binder of Pokemon cards and a Fun with your Cat Science Kit. The box asks “What happens when you put a magnet on your cat?” Among the adult items are a ceramic figure of a blacksmith hammering on some indiscernible object, poker chips, fan blades and candy molds (for candy making not moldy candy) with $ signs on them.
I buy nothing but do leave wondering what happens when I put magnets on my cat.
Candler Park Dr.- Candler Park
The seller here tells me everything on one side of the yard is a dollar. On the dollar side are boxes of popular paperback books, a twister game and a cake pan with the statue of liberty on it. He also has an old Soviet flag that he says was left over from the Goodwill Games. Best of all is a set of five mugs in the shape of cholesterol, on is HDL, one is liver and three are triglyerides. He is also selling a lava lamp but that that is on the higher priced side.
I buy nothing.
Oxford Rd.- Druid Hills Estate Sale
The sign for this estate sale has cartoon flames above it. Does this indicate that the person who died has been cremated?
Inside this Druid Hills ranch I find a number of interesting items but nothing too revealing on the life of the former occupant. In the bedrooms are lots of empty ornate picture frames; I wonder where the art went. Of the framed pieces remaining are a pair of bas-reliefs of composer’s heads. I assume they are composers as I can definitely make out a Bach but I am unsure of the other three. On a bed in one bedroom are four gray wigs, a box of lancets and a diabetes monitor that looks unused. In the dining room a boombox plays “Autumn in New York”, while I listen I notice a Florida novelty figure of an alligator with a black child’s head in its mouth, the seller’s are asking $30.00. In the kitchen I find a wall mounted electric knife as well as a commemorative plate from Natural Bridge in Virginia and a Jim Beam bottle saluting the St. Louis Arch. In a cabinet in the den I find a few books. One of the sellers tells me “there’s only cookbooks down there” as I should not even bother to look. I find a copy of “Italian Kosher Cooking” and “Love and Knishes” Also in the den are spoon rack that says Shalom, a Passover platter and poker chips. I notice then that in the den is a small second kitchen. The late owner had kept kosher. After this sale I doubt if it’s still kashrut since next to the refrigerator is a drawer full of leather belts and since the electric knife was in the other kitchen this leather ridden kitchen must have been dairy.
I buy nothing.
End of the day one shirt for one dollar.
So today without any agonizing knee pain I set off to see what sales await. I spent nearly all the time in my own neighborhood where there are a number of sales with the Candler Park Arts Festival is going on in Candler Park this weekend.
Polifox Dr.- Lake Claire
There are three sales very close to one another on this block of Palifox. At the first house I find a box of children’s software, a treadmill, a large old Polaroid camera, two very big speakers of unknown make and an executive desktop basketball game.
Across the street are two sales one has just a few items of clothing on a small table. The home next to it has a lot more stuff but also a pack of barking dogs fenced up in the back yard. The dogs bark continuously the entire time I am there. This cannot be good for sales. Through the noise I find two framed prints of kittens one is staring at a wine glass and in the other print the kitten is peering over sheet music. Could these poor kittens stand to live in this house of dogs that won’t shut up. As the cacophony of canine noise continues I encounter, an electric rotisserie, some women’s shoes, four sets of golf clubs with bags and an entire case of safety glasses.
I buy nothing.
Tuxedo Dr.- Lake Claire
This is a small sale not far but out of earshot from the last sale. The seller who reveals to me that he is a real estate agent (who isn’t anymore) is pacing about holding a golf club. All he has for sale is a short clothesline full of men’s clothes, included is a camo jacket. In the yard are a sleeping bag and a lamp.
I buy a shirt for a dollar. I think it appropriate that I buy clothing on a street named after an article of clothing.
Mclendon Ave- Lake Claire.
At a home high atop a rise overlooking the new McLendon Ave roundabout a couple is selling a yard full of baby items. Among the baby items are several child safety seats and a breast milk pump. They also have three lawn mowers for sale, a case of auto-organizers (these let you sort things out in your car) and a box of mugs. One mug say “Super Jogger” another thanks gives thanks to day care workers. Above this sale is a sign proclaiming, “This is a Yard Sale”
I buy nothing.
Sterling Ave- Candler Park
There is a sign stapled to a sawhorse in front of a pile of waterlogged boxes indicating that the sale is in the rear.
At first I though that the pile of wet boxes was the sale. I was a little disappointed that it was a slightly more organized event-taking place behind the home. Going down the driveway I find the entire back yard filled with a lot of old junk spread out on tarps and wet grass. Under the deck is a clothesline full of mildewed men’s apparel. They are slightly damp to the touch and have a somewhat unpleasant odor, hinting of mold. To make it worse a few of the jackets are made of suede. On the ground I find a light labeled “disco ball”. It’s not really a disco ball but a multicolored light that throws patterns on the wall. Next to it are a strobe light and a black light. Other items include a Bart Simpson telephone, two ceiling fans that may or may not have all their pieces, two guitar stands, a very ugly brown sofa, five aquariums, a talking bottle opener, a set of golf clubs, flea spray and a tube of hair cream. Among the books I find a biography of Charles Bukoski, “Beers across America”, from the church of the sub genius “Tales of Bob” and a book of those magic eye 3D paintings.
There are also two computer monitors.
I buy nothing.
Elmira Ave- Candler Park
This old craftsman bungalow almost looks like a Norman Rockwell painting with its white picket fence and children standing over piles of toys they are selling. As I enter the yard I hear the Dad tell one of the kids “ No you can’t have the dollar until you sell the dump truck” Among the children’s things are a three ring binder of Pokemon cards and a Fun with your Cat Science Kit. The box asks “What happens when you put a magnet on your cat?” Among the adult items are a ceramic figure of a blacksmith hammering on some indiscernible object, poker chips, fan blades and candy molds (for candy making not moldy candy) with $ signs on them.
I buy nothing but do leave wondering what happens when I put magnets on my cat.
Candler Park Dr.- Candler Park
The seller here tells me everything on one side of the yard is a dollar. On the dollar side are boxes of popular paperback books, a twister game and a cake pan with the statue of liberty on it. He also has an old Soviet flag that he says was left over from the Goodwill Games. Best of all is a set of five mugs in the shape of cholesterol, on is HDL, one is liver and three are triglyerides. He is also selling a lava lamp but that that is on the higher priced side.
I buy nothing.
Oxford Rd.- Druid Hills Estate Sale
The sign for this estate sale has cartoon flames above it. Does this indicate that the person who died has been cremated?
Inside this Druid Hills ranch I find a number of interesting items but nothing too revealing on the life of the former occupant. In the bedrooms are lots of empty ornate picture frames; I wonder where the art went. Of the framed pieces remaining are a pair of bas-reliefs of composer’s heads. I assume they are composers as I can definitely make out a Bach but I am unsure of the other three. On a bed in one bedroom are four gray wigs, a box of lancets and a diabetes monitor that looks unused. In the dining room a boombox plays “Autumn in New York”, while I listen I notice a Florida novelty figure of an alligator with a black child’s head in its mouth, the seller’s are asking $30.00. In the kitchen I find a wall mounted electric knife as well as a commemorative plate from Natural Bridge in Virginia and a Jim Beam bottle saluting the St. Louis Arch. In a cabinet in the den I find a few books. One of the sellers tells me “there’s only cookbooks down there” as I should not even bother to look. I find a copy of “Italian Kosher Cooking” and “Love and Knishes” Also in the den are spoon rack that says Shalom, a Passover platter and poker chips. I notice then that in the den is a small second kitchen. The late owner had kept kosher. After this sale I doubt if it’s still kashrut since next to the refrigerator is a drawer full of leather belts and since the electric knife was in the other kitchen this leather ridden kitchen must have been dairy.
I buy nothing.
End of the day one shirt for one dollar.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Another Saturday morning, today there are not as many signs in the neighborhood as last week. Perhaps the traffic delays that will be caused by the Little Five Points Halloween parade later in the day have made some not to want to have sales. The good thing is that I do not have any big impending errands that with conflict with my pilgrimages to these yards and driveways of assorted clutter. Cindy did tell me that I do need to take Tony my cat in to get his rabies shots. But that can wait another week, since those raccoons that hang around the back yard have not been looking rabid lately.
Harold Ave. -Lake Claire
A meager sale begins the day in this driveway close to my home. Among the few items is a zip drive, a wooden rocking horse; some baby items a wooden stool and a large water-conditioning tank.
I buy nothing.
Leonardo Ave. -Lake Claire.
The next street over yields two sales, if you can call a small table with some folded clothes and a hand held vacuum a sale. This is obviously just a parasitic sale feeding off of the one across the street. There I find no less than five of those old Italian cappuccino makers, several Amos and Andy audio cassettes, a framed photo of a bunch of cigarette butts, a bank in the shape of a Krispy Kreme truck, a egg poacher, a box of old potpourri and a flatbed scanner. There is also a mysterious very small pair of ancient looking Chinese shoes. Perhaps these people were experimenting with foot binding.
I buy nothing.
Callan Cir. -Candler Park
From the conversations I over hear this couple is moving to New York, among the items not going north are strangely enough four pairs of ski gloves. They have a number of books including "The History of Freemasonry" and "Sad Mac Bombs". Also being sold are two espresso makers, a disco ball, a hot tub cover, a bowling ball with bag, boxes of photo paper, a pair of inline skates, a wrestling trophy and a tile cutter.
I buy nothing.
Josephine St. -Candler Park
This very tiny yard is filled with a lot of old dusty and mildewed objects. There I find several old Libframilch bottles, skis and old Easter decorations. There are quite a few books many quite musty including "Plants are Like People", "Bonsai for Americans", "Rob McKeun’s New Ballads", "Three days to a powerful vocabulary", "Leaves of Gold" (an anthology from the Atlanta writers club), "What happens after death" and an autographed copy of "Traipsin Woman". Other items include an old blowtorch, a pig shaped mug and a license plate that says, “Take time to laugh”
I buy nothing.
Boulevard -Cabbage Town
In the side yard of one of the quad mill homes I find, the Candy land game, a small TV, some framed photos, a laptop computer for $20 that needs, according to a note attached, an operating system and some Christmas wrapping paper.
I buy nothing.
Rosalia St, Grant Park
Just as I am about to give up I come to this small sale on a side street. They mostly have women’s clothes but I find two boxes of large format printer photo paper. I buy both boxes for $1.00 each.
Harold Ave. -Lake Claire
A meager sale begins the day in this driveway close to my home. Among the few items is a zip drive, a wooden rocking horse; some baby items a wooden stool and a large water-conditioning tank.
I buy nothing.
Leonardo Ave. -Lake Claire.
The next street over yields two sales, if you can call a small table with some folded clothes and a hand held vacuum a sale. This is obviously just a parasitic sale feeding off of the one across the street. There I find no less than five of those old Italian cappuccino makers, several Amos and Andy audio cassettes, a framed photo of a bunch of cigarette butts, a bank in the shape of a Krispy Kreme truck, a egg poacher, a box of old potpourri and a flatbed scanner. There is also a mysterious very small pair of ancient looking Chinese shoes. Perhaps these people were experimenting with foot binding.
I buy nothing.
Callan Cir. -Candler Park
From the conversations I over hear this couple is moving to New York, among the items not going north are strangely enough four pairs of ski gloves. They have a number of books including "The History of Freemasonry" and "Sad Mac Bombs". Also being sold are two espresso makers, a disco ball, a hot tub cover, a bowling ball with bag, boxes of photo paper, a pair of inline skates, a wrestling trophy and a tile cutter.
I buy nothing.
Josephine St. -Candler Park
This very tiny yard is filled with a lot of old dusty and mildewed objects. There I find several old Libframilch bottles, skis and old Easter decorations. There are quite a few books many quite musty including "Plants are Like People", "Bonsai for Americans", "Rob McKeun’s New Ballads", "Three days to a powerful vocabulary", "Leaves of Gold" (an anthology from the Atlanta writers club), "What happens after death" and an autographed copy of "Traipsin Woman". Other items include an old blowtorch, a pig shaped mug and a license plate that says, “Take time to laugh”
I buy nothing.
Boulevard -Cabbage Town
In the side yard of one of the quad mill homes I find, the Candy land game, a small TV, some framed photos, a laptop computer for $20 that needs, according to a note attached, an operating system and some Christmas wrapping paper.
I buy nothing.
Rosalia St, Grant Park
Just as I am about to give up I come to this small sale on a side street. They mostly have women’s clothes but I find two boxes of large format printer photo paper. I buy both boxes for $1.00 each.
Friday October 22, 2004
Friday October 22, 2004
I have been having unsettling dreams. I know this has nothing to do with yard sales. But they are worth mentioning. On Friday I was reading Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant to some third graders. I read the part where the giant is labeling the dreams he has captured and the descriptions of each dream, so perhaps this made me want to write about my own dreams of the following two nights. On Friday night I dreamed the presidential election was held that day and the returns were in and Kerry had lost 30 to 70%. I was very disturbed at the amount he had lost by. I think I had fallen asleep with the TV on and some commentator was talking about the election. On Saturday afternoon I went to The Contemporary to see the retrospective of Chris Verene’s photographs. That night Verene was in my dream. He was standing on a large metal scaffold erecting some large installation for some show he was doing. The scaffold was under high power wires and an electrical storm started. Lightning then struck the scaffold and the artist on it. Latter after I told a number of people he knew that he was dead he turned up alive and thought it was funny.
I have had dreams about yard and estate sales in the past. In times long ago when I had little money I had dreams of finding things of great value only to have them vanish or disintegrate after I purchased them or when I went to pay for them.
Laurel Way, Rehoboth, Dekalb Co.
I find out about this sale from an ad in Friday’s AJC. The estate is that of a 20 plus year employee or Rich’s Downtown book department. Rich’s book department on the sixth floor of the store for homes was once regarded as the literary epicenter of this city, Georgia and the south. I think Rich’s stopped carrying books sometime in the 80’s when it started dropping a lot of other departments like toys, records and pet supplies. Like most department stores it became a shadow of its former self. Rich’s to the best of my knowledge never had a live pet department that was best left to Kress or Grant’s. The combined smells of hamsters and popcorn is something I still associate with a good shopping experience. It is so hard to find anymore.
Anyway this is an actual estate sale not some trumped up event, here someone has died or been put in a nursing home. The house is a medium sized ranch home located near Lawrenceville Highway. I call the neighborhood Rehoboth because that’s what it says on older maps (and I have lots of older maps) But I have never heard of anyone using that term for this area in over 20 years. Inside there is ample evidence that there was a bookseller at this home. There are a lot of books but the majority of them are cookbooks. There are also a few reminders of the old life in Atlanta as I find a pair of matching mugs from Pittypats Porch. Near the mugs is a teapot shaped like a penguin. I am pleased to find in the kitchen a fair number of food products for sale including plastic bags of almonds and pecans. Not in the original packaging but just freezer bags of nuts and they are not in the freezer. There is no indication of their age. I also find a large bottle of sorghum molasses it does not appear to have been opened. Near it is a small bottle of Liquid Smoke. A friend tells me later that Liquid Smoke was taken off the market because it was carcinogenic. Perhaps estates sales or over the border sources such as Canada are the only place one can score some of this delightful smoky flavoring today. (I later regret that I did not buy the bottle). Stranger is a half filled bottle of Taylor Port that is selling for $3.00 there is no indication of when it was opened. Other foodstuffs include 5 six packs of commemorative bottles of Coca cola (6 oz of course) from the 1996 Olympic Games.
Scattered about the house are other artifacts such as a trio of ceramic rabbits, a 1955 Statesville NC phone book, and a Cyprus knee. Downstairs is where the mother lode of books are located as well as a lot of other stuff. In the finished basement I find two early computers a TI99 and a Commodore Plus4, which was just a Commodore 64 with some built in programs. A box of lps has Ferrante and Teicher’s “You asked for it”. There is a framed chart of the course of the SS Rhapsody and it’s voyage through the Caribbean on April 9-16, 1983. Other items in the basement include a drainage calculator and a bicentennial calendar of the American Revolution. But the books the main draw of this sale titles include: "The $25,000 Mardi gras cake and other prize winning recipes", "You can do the Rubik’s Cube" "Easy Icing", "Mein Kampf", "Recipes from Old Virginia", "I love being a cardio cook", and "The Mike Douglas Cookbook". Deeper in the basement I find a framed certificate from the Water Pollution Control Association and a book from 1936 entitled "Sewage and Sewer Treatment". So in the end the main outcome of having worked in the south’s premier book department for over 20 years is that one has an excellent assortment of small press cook books and the secret of solving a Rubik’s cube.
I buy a copy of a 1966 Delta Airlines in-flight magazine for 25 cents.
I have been having unsettling dreams. I know this has nothing to do with yard sales. But they are worth mentioning. On Friday I was reading Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant to some third graders. I read the part where the giant is labeling the dreams he has captured and the descriptions of each dream, so perhaps this made me want to write about my own dreams of the following two nights. On Friday night I dreamed the presidential election was held that day and the returns were in and Kerry had lost 30 to 70%. I was very disturbed at the amount he had lost by. I think I had fallen asleep with the TV on and some commentator was talking about the election. On Saturday afternoon I went to The Contemporary to see the retrospective of Chris Verene’s photographs. That night Verene was in my dream. He was standing on a large metal scaffold erecting some large installation for some show he was doing. The scaffold was under high power wires and an electrical storm started. Lightning then struck the scaffold and the artist on it. Latter after I told a number of people he knew that he was dead he turned up alive and thought it was funny.
I have had dreams about yard and estate sales in the past. In times long ago when I had little money I had dreams of finding things of great value only to have them vanish or disintegrate after I purchased them or when I went to pay for them.
Laurel Way, Rehoboth, Dekalb Co.
I find out about this sale from an ad in Friday’s AJC. The estate is that of a 20 plus year employee or Rich’s Downtown book department. Rich’s book department on the sixth floor of the store for homes was once regarded as the literary epicenter of this city, Georgia and the south. I think Rich’s stopped carrying books sometime in the 80’s when it started dropping a lot of other departments like toys, records and pet supplies. Like most department stores it became a shadow of its former self. Rich’s to the best of my knowledge never had a live pet department that was best left to Kress or Grant’s. The combined smells of hamsters and popcorn is something I still associate with a good shopping experience. It is so hard to find anymore.
Anyway this is an actual estate sale not some trumped up event, here someone has died or been put in a nursing home. The house is a medium sized ranch home located near Lawrenceville Highway. I call the neighborhood Rehoboth because that’s what it says on older maps (and I have lots of older maps) But I have never heard of anyone using that term for this area in over 20 years. Inside there is ample evidence that there was a bookseller at this home. There are a lot of books but the majority of them are cookbooks. There are also a few reminders of the old life in Atlanta as I find a pair of matching mugs from Pittypats Porch. Near the mugs is a teapot shaped like a penguin. I am pleased to find in the kitchen a fair number of food products for sale including plastic bags of almonds and pecans. Not in the original packaging but just freezer bags of nuts and they are not in the freezer. There is no indication of their age. I also find a large bottle of sorghum molasses it does not appear to have been opened. Near it is a small bottle of Liquid Smoke. A friend tells me later that Liquid Smoke was taken off the market because it was carcinogenic. Perhaps estates sales or over the border sources such as Canada are the only place one can score some of this delightful smoky flavoring today. (I later regret that I did not buy the bottle). Stranger is a half filled bottle of Taylor Port that is selling for $3.00 there is no indication of when it was opened. Other foodstuffs include 5 six packs of commemorative bottles of Coca cola (6 oz of course) from the 1996 Olympic Games.
Scattered about the house are other artifacts such as a trio of ceramic rabbits, a 1955 Statesville NC phone book, and a Cyprus knee. Downstairs is where the mother lode of books are located as well as a lot of other stuff. In the finished basement I find two early computers a TI99 and a Commodore Plus4, which was just a Commodore 64 with some built in programs. A box of lps has Ferrante and Teicher’s “You asked for it”. There is a framed chart of the course of the SS Rhapsody and it’s voyage through the Caribbean on April 9-16, 1983. Other items in the basement include a drainage calculator and a bicentennial calendar of the American Revolution. But the books the main draw of this sale titles include: "The $25,000 Mardi gras cake and other prize winning recipes", "You can do the Rubik’s Cube" "Easy Icing", "Mein Kampf", "Recipes from Old Virginia", "I love being a cardio cook", and "The Mike Douglas Cookbook". Deeper in the basement I find a framed certificate from the Water Pollution Control Association and a book from 1936 entitled "Sewage and Sewer Treatment". So in the end the main outcome of having worked in the south’s premier book department for over 20 years is that one has an excellent assortment of small press cook books and the secret of solving a Rubik’s cube.
I buy a copy of a 1966 Delta Airlines in-flight magazine for 25 cents.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Saturday October 16, 2004
Fall has arrived and this morning is considerably colder than last Saturday. This seems to create a different experience as the rays of bright sun radiate through the thin cold air on to random piles of flotsam and jetsam of peoples lives placed in yards and driveways. The sellers are more fidgety and less relaxed in the early morning chill, as they stand in jackets and coats looking over their piles of items of no use to them any more. Are people more willing to get rid of things as the seasons turn cold or do they react to their nesting instincts and keep useless things in their homes? Do they ponder that odd shaped soaps, out of date travel books and attempts at art may help them through the winter months?
The newspaper shows a long listing of sales, but most of these are outside the perimeter. Perhaps that region follows a different cycle than the neighborhoods surrounding my home.
Sadly, today I have several things I need to do in addition to feeding my yard sale habit. The main chore of the day is trying to protect Cindy’s fishpond from attack by predators. A few nights ago some unknown creature came and ate our fish Splash, Splish and Dick leaving only Moby to fend for him self. So my main job today is to erect some sort of barrier over the small pond to keep out this unknown carnivorous intruder, be it cat, raccoon or wandering schizophrenic from the shelter down the street.
Connecticut Ave- Lake Claire
Two adjacent homes have sales in parallel driveways. One woman is selling several books- “Smart Women, Foolish Choices” and “From PMS to Menopause”. She is also parting with a selection of unused rattraps, boxes of insect fogger and an unused inflatable bed. The other driveway has cans of sterno and a very ugly portrait of a clown.
I buy nothing.
Rosedale Rd.- Virginia Highlands
I head to Va-Hi since there is an estate sale in this neighborhood. But I am starting to have second thoughts of spending my Saturday mornings in this overpriced section of the city. This sale with relatively large signs is quite meager. Among the items is a copy of Sim Golf, a scary looking child’s mobile, a book –“The strong willed child” some kids clothing and a monitor for $10.
I buy nothing.
Amsterdam Ave.-Virginia Highlands –Estate Sale
This is a real estate sale inside a brick home that looks small from the outside. Inside it’s a peculiar labyrinth of split-levels and short staircases. The interior is illuminated by shadeless lamps with bright bare bulbs that cause an annoying blindness when you encounter them. A chair full of framed family ortraits gives an indication of who formerly resided here. In one room is women’s clothing from the 1970’s including a trunk full of belts and a large pile of gloves. On a table is a soup tureen shaped like a bass. In a corner is a small black and white TV tuned to PBS for which the sellers are asking $5. In a closet I find two sets of matching luggage, one has a tag from the Pagoda Hotel and Floating Restaurant. A small closest is filled with old telephones. I examine some books- “Arthritis and Common Sense”, “Day by Day with Billy Graham”. I pull out a first edition of Masters and Johnson’s “Human Sexual Response” (17th printing) to find the stamp of the Unitarian Universalist School on the inside cover. Was this book secretly purloined from a church library? On one of the lower levels past a table full of bottles and boxes of cleaning products are more books. One is a 40 year old self help tome entitled “You don’t have to exercise”. The most remarkable work is “Nurses Verses” an anthology of poetry by America’s nurses. Some of the poems include “Hospital Dawn” and “Endocrinology”
I consider buying these two books but leave empty handed.
Orme Cir- Morningside
A large house with a small and disappointing sale with two framed Kandinsky posters and a clothesline full of women’s clothes.
I buy nothing.
Cresthill St.- Morningside- Street sale.
Street sales always seem promising but seem to always disappoint. As I have said before that since the sellers are not having a full-blown sale where they are moving, combining a household, desperately needing space or money or just trying to clean house, these sales lack intensity. In an upscale area like Morningside, sometimes I think people just haul stuff out to impress their neighbors about what they don’t need. As in “I’m so well off I no longer need this food processor” or “My children don’t even need these books or clothes anymore”
In addition it is very hard to get a feeling about anyone’s life when each household is only putting out a dozen or so items. On this street of about eight sales nearly every home has a computer monitor they were getting rid of. Among other items of note are an Easter Tree still in the box, Prince Andrew’s Royal Wedding on VHS, a Precious Hands hand molding kit,(never opened) and a lot of baby items. One woman had a bag full of paperback books. I pulled out a copy of Isabel Allende’s “Portrait in Sepia” and ask the price. She says the books are $5. Startled I reply, that I never pay over 50 cents for a paperback at a yard sale. She then remarks to someone next to her in that almost all books on Half Bay are $5 or more. I turn and say “But this is a yard sale”. She then gets this fearful look in her eye as though I am about to cause some sort of yard sale riot. But I leave saying nothing more to this poor disturbed individual who will have these books she no longer needs sitting in her den taking up space for possibly the rest of her life. While this out of touch pricing disturbs me it also entertains me. I am equally bemused by someone who terribly under prices items as someone who overprices or even by someone trying to sell something that no one anywhere (at least in this country) would want, such as used shoe insoles. Curious about what she though the prices should be, I later examine both Amazon and Half-Bay for this same title. Amazon has the book for 98 cents and Half Bay, whom she said was selling books for $5 has this title for $1.01. Oh the delusions of those who buy overpriced in-town housing.
On Cresthill I buy nothing.
St. Augustine Ave- Virginia Highlands
Fleeing Va-Hi and the delusional prices of Morningside, I stop at this sale being held by a local photographer. She is selling a lot of matted prints of her work but most buyers are not even looking at them. Among the items of interests are a audio book by Zsa Zsa Gabor, a component 8 track player, women’s clothing some old LPs that she said came from the attic (I guess that where people keep LPs now) some include “Tubular Bells” and “Isaac Hayes live at the Sahara, Tahoe” There are also three caller ID devices.
I buy nothing
At the end of the day I have purchased nothing. But I do go to the Home Depot and buy some chicken wire for to protect the fish pond. After that I go to the adjoining Petsmart (isn’t it great to now have suburban shopping centers in-town) and buy five new fish for only 24 cent each.
The newspaper shows a long listing of sales, but most of these are outside the perimeter. Perhaps that region follows a different cycle than the neighborhoods surrounding my home.
Sadly, today I have several things I need to do in addition to feeding my yard sale habit. The main chore of the day is trying to protect Cindy’s fishpond from attack by predators. A few nights ago some unknown creature came and ate our fish Splash, Splish and Dick leaving only Moby to fend for him self. So my main job today is to erect some sort of barrier over the small pond to keep out this unknown carnivorous intruder, be it cat, raccoon or wandering schizophrenic from the shelter down the street.
Connecticut Ave- Lake Claire
Two adjacent homes have sales in parallel driveways. One woman is selling several books- “Smart Women, Foolish Choices” and “From PMS to Menopause”. She is also parting with a selection of unused rattraps, boxes of insect fogger and an unused inflatable bed. The other driveway has cans of sterno and a very ugly portrait of a clown.
I buy nothing.
Rosedale Rd.- Virginia Highlands
I head to Va-Hi since there is an estate sale in this neighborhood. But I am starting to have second thoughts of spending my Saturday mornings in this overpriced section of the city. This sale with relatively large signs is quite meager. Among the items is a copy of Sim Golf, a scary looking child’s mobile, a book –“The strong willed child” some kids clothing and a monitor for $10.
I buy nothing.
Amsterdam Ave.-Virginia Highlands –Estate Sale
This is a real estate sale inside a brick home that looks small from the outside. Inside it’s a peculiar labyrinth of split-levels and short staircases. The interior is illuminated by shadeless lamps with bright bare bulbs that cause an annoying blindness when you encounter them. A chair full of framed family ortraits gives an indication of who formerly resided here. In one room is women’s clothing from the 1970’s including a trunk full of belts and a large pile of gloves. On a table is a soup tureen shaped like a bass. In a corner is a small black and white TV tuned to PBS for which the sellers are asking $5. In a closet I find two sets of matching luggage, one has a tag from the Pagoda Hotel and Floating Restaurant. A small closest is filled with old telephones. I examine some books- “Arthritis and Common Sense”, “Day by Day with Billy Graham”. I pull out a first edition of Masters and Johnson’s “Human Sexual Response” (17th printing) to find the stamp of the Unitarian Universalist School on the inside cover. Was this book secretly purloined from a church library? On one of the lower levels past a table full of bottles and boxes of cleaning products are more books. One is a 40 year old self help tome entitled “You don’t have to exercise”. The most remarkable work is “Nurses Verses” an anthology of poetry by America’s nurses. Some of the poems include “Hospital Dawn” and “Endocrinology”
I consider buying these two books but leave empty handed.
Orme Cir- Morningside
A large house with a small and disappointing sale with two framed Kandinsky posters and a clothesline full of women’s clothes.
I buy nothing.
Cresthill St.- Morningside- Street sale.
Street sales always seem promising but seem to always disappoint. As I have said before that since the sellers are not having a full-blown sale where they are moving, combining a household, desperately needing space or money or just trying to clean house, these sales lack intensity. In an upscale area like Morningside, sometimes I think people just haul stuff out to impress their neighbors about what they don’t need. As in “I’m so well off I no longer need this food processor” or “My children don’t even need these books or clothes anymore”
In addition it is very hard to get a feeling about anyone’s life when each household is only putting out a dozen or so items. On this street of about eight sales nearly every home has a computer monitor they were getting rid of. Among other items of note are an Easter Tree still in the box, Prince Andrew’s Royal Wedding on VHS, a Precious Hands hand molding kit,(never opened) and a lot of baby items. One woman had a bag full of paperback books. I pulled out a copy of Isabel Allende’s “Portrait in Sepia” and ask the price. She says the books are $5. Startled I reply, that I never pay over 50 cents for a paperback at a yard sale. She then remarks to someone next to her in that almost all books on Half Bay are $5 or more. I turn and say “But this is a yard sale”. She then gets this fearful look in her eye as though I am about to cause some sort of yard sale riot. But I leave saying nothing more to this poor disturbed individual who will have these books she no longer needs sitting in her den taking up space for possibly the rest of her life. While this out of touch pricing disturbs me it also entertains me. I am equally bemused by someone who terribly under prices items as someone who overprices or even by someone trying to sell something that no one anywhere (at least in this country) would want, such as used shoe insoles. Curious about what she though the prices should be, I later examine both Amazon and Half-Bay for this same title. Amazon has the book for 98 cents and Half Bay, whom she said was selling books for $5 has this title for $1.01. Oh the delusions of those who buy overpriced in-town housing.
On Cresthill I buy nothing.
St. Augustine Ave- Virginia Highlands
Fleeing Va-Hi and the delusional prices of Morningside, I stop at this sale being held by a local photographer. She is selling a lot of matted prints of her work but most buyers are not even looking at them. Among the items of interests are a audio book by Zsa Zsa Gabor, a component 8 track player, women’s clothing some old LPs that she said came from the attic (I guess that where people keep LPs now) some include “Tubular Bells” and “Isaac Hayes live at the Sahara, Tahoe” There are also three caller ID devices.
I buy nothing
At the end of the day I have purchased nothing. But I do go to the Home Depot and buy some chicken wire for to protect the fish pond. After that I go to the adjoining Petsmart (isn’t it great to now have suburban shopping centers in-town) and buy five new fish for only 24 cent each.
Monday, October 11, 2004
October 9, 2004
Harold Ave,-Lake Claire
This is a small sale in a driveway. I find an old Technicolor format video recorder; I had not seen one on over 20 years. I don’t know how it got here. Among the items are a Paula Abdul dance VHS tape and kung fu workout tape, a pack of playing cards from Mount Rushmore, A Mac G3 without a hard drive, that is being sold for $100. The package includes a massive scanner and printer. There is also a bag of toy plastic food that includes a fried egg and an ear of corn.
I buy nothing.
Claire Dr, -Lake Claire- Multiple sales
The Lake Claire tour of homes is today so this street has more than a half dozen sales. Whenever I encounter sales like this I find I am disappointed. Perhaps its because the sellers really don’t have to have a full blown sales for one reason or another but just haul out a half drive way or table full of items in hope of making a little money. They really are not good indicators of what is happening with these people’s lives. Among the items I find are a Three Dog Night songbook, rolls of yarn, a wet suit, a book “The gift of fear” a video tape from a Romanian Airline, a prodigy CD, a cap that says “Dream” and some old looking prints of an English fox hunt.
I buy a Bossa Nova CD.
Mathews St.-Lake Claire
This house had started the sale yesterday so I don’t know what I’ve missed, Among the items are a book-“Guidelines for Safe drinking”, A leather bra, a cow skull, a 1966 copy of Playboy, some old canned peppers, yarn and several Nine Inch Nails CDs.
I buy a Clyde McPhatter CD, but return later to buy a bed frame for Todd Butler’s daughter, Kitty.
Ferguson St,-Candler Park
This is a rather boring sale that includes a VHS copy of “Waterworld”, a plastic shark, a shark mask, a old child’s microscope kit, a very ugly abstract painting and a monitor for $20.
I buy nothing.
Lakeshore Ave, -Lake Claire
Most of the stuff is picked through, but there is a book entitled “ Everything I know in life I learned growing up in Florida”
I buy a pair of Ray Bans for 25 cents.
Howard Circle, -Lake Claire
This home has a lot of stuff in the yard including a Bush Cheney sign. Among the items are a pair of camo pants, a motor for a bass boat, golf clubs, a tie with a hammer and cycle, a pack of cards entitled “52 Relaxing Rituals” a candle shaped like a cinnamon bun and a Sigma Kappa sweatshirt.
I buy nothing.
8th-St, Midtown
This is a somewhat strange sale as the seller has a cake and a pie from a local supermarket for sale. Maybe he was supposed to go to a potluck dinner on Friday but decided to have a sale instead. He is also selling an old bottle of Mexican Sherry. The original price tag says 61 cents. There is a table with home recorded VHS tapes with carefully caligragraphed labels indicating title like Silverado, World Cup 94 and Mad Max, a feather boa, a set of Marlboro BBQ cooking tools and a surf board.
I buy nothing but do consider the bottle of Sherry.
Elmwood Ave, -Morningside
Two houses next to one another have a number of items in their yards. One has more antique like stuff. One item is a vintage 1972 answering machine still in the box; it’s a bit of a behemoth compared to today’s compact machines. The seller also has a set of green telephones that looked like they were pulled out of an insurance office in 1974, there is also an old floor model radio and a very large picture of a hippie-looking girl, the painting has spirals of rope winding around the figure.
I buy nothing.
Courtney St, -Virginia Highlands
I drive out of my way following the signs to this small sale. In the yard a few things are on display. In front of a woman in a wheelchair is a pile of old Life Magazines. Holding one up she remarks “Why here’s Liz Taylor when she turned 40”
I buy nothing.
Middlesex, -Morningside Massive Sale
Another Bush Cheney Sign is at the Massive Sale. But I find no evidence of massive stuff at this sale in the driveway behind the house. There are CNN and Headline news mugs, a pink Barbie convertible, a toy Meile oven, a bobbing head Tiger Woods figure, a monitor for $10. Mostly it’s kid’s stuff. There is a sign that says “ask me about the treadmill”. In the center of it all is a large pile of Beanie Babies in perfect condition. The market has obviously collapsed on those once popular collectibles.
I buy nothing.
End of the Day- 2 CDs and a pair of Ray Bans- $2.25
This is a small sale in a driveway. I find an old Technicolor format video recorder; I had not seen one on over 20 years. I don’t know how it got here. Among the items are a Paula Abdul dance VHS tape and kung fu workout tape, a pack of playing cards from Mount Rushmore, A Mac G3 without a hard drive, that is being sold for $100. The package includes a massive scanner and printer. There is also a bag of toy plastic food that includes a fried egg and an ear of corn.
I buy nothing.
Claire Dr, -Lake Claire- Multiple sales
The Lake Claire tour of homes is today so this street has more than a half dozen sales. Whenever I encounter sales like this I find I am disappointed. Perhaps its because the sellers really don’t have to have a full blown sales for one reason or another but just haul out a half drive way or table full of items in hope of making a little money. They really are not good indicators of what is happening with these people’s lives. Among the items I find are a Three Dog Night songbook, rolls of yarn, a wet suit, a book “The gift of fear” a video tape from a Romanian Airline, a prodigy CD, a cap that says “Dream” and some old looking prints of an English fox hunt.
I buy a Bossa Nova CD.
Mathews St.-Lake Claire
This house had started the sale yesterday so I don’t know what I’ve missed, Among the items are a book-“Guidelines for Safe drinking”, A leather bra, a cow skull, a 1966 copy of Playboy, some old canned peppers, yarn and several Nine Inch Nails CDs.
I buy a Clyde McPhatter CD, but return later to buy a bed frame for Todd Butler’s daughter, Kitty.
Ferguson St,-Candler Park
This is a rather boring sale that includes a VHS copy of “Waterworld”, a plastic shark, a shark mask, a old child’s microscope kit, a very ugly abstract painting and a monitor for $20.
I buy nothing.
Lakeshore Ave, -Lake Claire
Most of the stuff is picked through, but there is a book entitled “ Everything I know in life I learned growing up in Florida”
I buy a pair of Ray Bans for 25 cents.
Howard Circle, -Lake Claire
This home has a lot of stuff in the yard including a Bush Cheney sign. Among the items are a pair of camo pants, a motor for a bass boat, golf clubs, a tie with a hammer and cycle, a pack of cards entitled “52 Relaxing Rituals” a candle shaped like a cinnamon bun and a Sigma Kappa sweatshirt.
I buy nothing.
8th-St, Midtown
This is a somewhat strange sale as the seller has a cake and a pie from a local supermarket for sale. Maybe he was supposed to go to a potluck dinner on Friday but decided to have a sale instead. He is also selling an old bottle of Mexican Sherry. The original price tag says 61 cents. There is a table with home recorded VHS tapes with carefully caligragraphed labels indicating title like Silverado, World Cup 94 and Mad Max, a feather boa, a set of Marlboro BBQ cooking tools and a surf board.
I buy nothing but do consider the bottle of Sherry.
Elmwood Ave, -Morningside
Two houses next to one another have a number of items in their yards. One has more antique like stuff. One item is a vintage 1972 answering machine still in the box; it’s a bit of a behemoth compared to today’s compact machines. The seller also has a set of green telephones that looked like they were pulled out of an insurance office in 1974, there is also an old floor model radio and a very large picture of a hippie-looking girl, the painting has spirals of rope winding around the figure.
I buy nothing.
Courtney St, -Virginia Highlands
I drive out of my way following the signs to this small sale. In the yard a few things are on display. In front of a woman in a wheelchair is a pile of old Life Magazines. Holding one up she remarks “Why here’s Liz Taylor when she turned 40”
I buy nothing.
Middlesex, -Morningside Massive Sale
Another Bush Cheney Sign is at the Massive Sale. But I find no evidence of massive stuff at this sale in the driveway behind the house. There are CNN and Headline news mugs, a pink Barbie convertible, a toy Meile oven, a bobbing head Tiger Woods figure, a monitor for $10. Mostly it’s kid’s stuff. There is a sign that says “ask me about the treadmill”. In the center of it all is a large pile of Beanie Babies in perfect condition. The market has obviously collapsed on those once popular collectibles.
I buy nothing.
End of the Day- 2 CDs and a pair of Ray Bans- $2.25
October 3, 2004
On of the greatest lovers and collectors of found objects passed away today my friend, Todd Butler died at the age of 39. Todd spent a good of his life in thrift stores, yard sales or anyplace where the unusual might be found. He was quite adept at pulling the most remarkable items out of dumpsters or just finding things beside the road. He delighted in the strange, the unusual, the obscure and the banal. His collection included everything from found audio tapes of personal conversations to Kirby vacuums abandoned in the street. He was most proud of having found a 1920’s era enema bag, unused and in its original box, which he sold for a tidy sum on ebay.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
October 7, 2004
I am a bit worn out by the death of Todd Butler, but do manage at attend a sale on Thursday after picking up my car from the bar where I left it after the Todd’s wake.
Adams St,-Decatur.
I did not take notes on this fairly large estate sale since I was did not expect it driving home. Todd’s widow Clare told me I was led here by Todd’s spirit. Among the items I recall was a souvenir wall hanging from Mecca and some empty Billy Beer cans. I found several items there that I did purchase, including an autographed Lester Maddox Lp, a commemorative plate from Cristus Gardens in Gatlinburg, a 1968 copy of Atlanta Magazine featuring Julian Bond in a fashion spread, and a 1932 book called “How to Speak Good English”
The book offers the following advice, “don’t say tellya for tell you” and “not chet for not yet”.
Adams St,-Decatur.
I did not take notes on this fairly large estate sale since I was did not expect it driving home. Todd’s widow Clare told me I was led here by Todd’s spirit. Among the items I recall was a souvenir wall hanging from Mecca and some empty Billy Beer cans. I found several items there that I did purchase, including an autographed Lester Maddox Lp, a commemorative plate from Cristus Gardens in Gatlinburg, a 1968 copy of Atlanta Magazine featuring Julian Bond in a fashion spread, and a 1932 book called “How to Speak Good English”
The book offers the following advice, “don’t say tellya for tell you” and “not chet for not yet”.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Saturday October 2, 2004
Hurricane Jeanne has come and gone. My sump pump project ended up as a disaster. The guy at Home Depot told me to put the pump in a plastic container in the dug out hole in the basement so I would not have to line the hole with concrete. When the rains began my basement filled up again with water. The water went into the hole, lifted container, which with the pump, floated like a listing ship around the water filled basement. So this weekend I need to re do the sump pump in some other fashion so this does not happen again.
Because of the events of this week I was not able to post my findings from last week until Oct. 11 So my memory may be a bit foggy on what I encountered at these yard sales.
Oakdale St.-Candler Park
In the driveway of this home I find a matching pair of pogo sticks, a Stratego game, a bread maker for $15. Another price drop from Atkins dieting. There is a box of dried apple headed Christmas angels looking a bit scary. There is a flat bed scanner for $15 (non USB of course), a selection of books includes Borges’ “Dream Tigers”, and a box of old Better Homes and Gardens from 1956.
I buy nothing.
La France St.-Edgewood
In the front yard of this Victorian home is a lot of stuff that looks like its been in a damp basement for too many years. There is a strange costume that may be either a cat or an octopus head. There is a suitcase with old Playboys; an 8 track entitled “Polka Party” some copies of Ferret Magazine, a Mr. Potato head, books –“Know Your Fish” and “ Freud for Everyone” LPs by Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Procol Harum.
I buy nothing.
Estoria St.-Cabbagetown
I haven’t been to many sales in neighborhood so I don’t know what to expect. A small sale in a front yard here has a used bicycle, some very big bike tires, an espresso machine and a wicker bed.
I buy nothing.
Powell St, -Cabbagetown.
This is a larger sale billed as an estate sale, but its does not seem to be a real one. There is a lot of stuff on the seller’s porch and side yard. The fence approaching the house is lined with old windows for sale some with broken panes. On the porch I find a Republican National Convention scarf, which seems very out of place here. In addition I find a confederate flag, the Big Thumb game, a Japanese mother and child ceramic figure. There is also soap shaped like fish, an empty 16mm film can from the US Navy with the title “Under the Influence” on it. There is also a lot of knitting supplies.
I buy nothing.
Argonne Ave, -Midtown
In a driveway I find a Tae Bo WHS tape, a Cat in the Hat hat, a set of golf clubs, a Spice Girls CD, and a small pile of old cell phones.
I buy nothing.
8th St.-Midtown
Here I find three boom boxes, a love seat with a stain and a strange water sprinkler that has a head that looks like a bug.
I buy nothing
Glendale Ave, -Midtown
This sale is very small and it’s in one room of a man’s apartment. There is a juicer, a book-“Finding true love, in a man eat man world” an Atkins diet book and corn holders.
I buy nothing.
St. Charles, -Virginia Highlands
Books on management, some old cell phones a monitor for $40, a graduation gown, a book by Chic-fil-a founder Truett Cathy-“ Its Easier to Succeed than to fail” “ and a slinky.
I buy nothing.
St. Charles, -Virginia Highlands
The front yard is covered with bight yellow Fisher Price toys. There are also two old vacuum cleaners.
I buy nothing.
As I indicated I am writing this over a week latter and I may of lost some of my notes. It seems like I did buy something but I can’t recall at this time what it was.
Because of the events of this week I was not able to post my findings from last week until Oct. 11 So my memory may be a bit foggy on what I encountered at these yard sales.
Oakdale St.-Candler Park
In the driveway of this home I find a matching pair of pogo sticks, a Stratego game, a bread maker for $15. Another price drop from Atkins dieting. There is a box of dried apple headed Christmas angels looking a bit scary. There is a flat bed scanner for $15 (non USB of course), a selection of books includes Borges’ “Dream Tigers”, and a box of old Better Homes and Gardens from 1956.
I buy nothing.
La France St.-Edgewood
In the front yard of this Victorian home is a lot of stuff that looks like its been in a damp basement for too many years. There is a strange costume that may be either a cat or an octopus head. There is a suitcase with old Playboys; an 8 track entitled “Polka Party” some copies of Ferret Magazine, a Mr. Potato head, books –“Know Your Fish” and “ Freud for Everyone” LPs by Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Procol Harum.
I buy nothing.
Estoria St.-Cabbagetown
I haven’t been to many sales in neighborhood so I don’t know what to expect. A small sale in a front yard here has a used bicycle, some very big bike tires, an espresso machine and a wicker bed.
I buy nothing.
Powell St, -Cabbagetown.
This is a larger sale billed as an estate sale, but its does not seem to be a real one. There is a lot of stuff on the seller’s porch and side yard. The fence approaching the house is lined with old windows for sale some with broken panes. On the porch I find a Republican National Convention scarf, which seems very out of place here. In addition I find a confederate flag, the Big Thumb game, a Japanese mother and child ceramic figure. There is also soap shaped like fish, an empty 16mm film can from the US Navy with the title “Under the Influence” on it. There is also a lot of knitting supplies.
I buy nothing.
Argonne Ave, -Midtown
In a driveway I find a Tae Bo WHS tape, a Cat in the Hat hat, a set of golf clubs, a Spice Girls CD, and a small pile of old cell phones.
I buy nothing.
8th St.-Midtown
Here I find three boom boxes, a love seat with a stain and a strange water sprinkler that has a head that looks like a bug.
I buy nothing
Glendale Ave, -Midtown
This sale is very small and it’s in one room of a man’s apartment. There is a juicer, a book-“Finding true love, in a man eat man world” an Atkins diet book and corn holders.
I buy nothing.
St. Charles, -Virginia Highlands
Books on management, some old cell phones a monitor for $40, a graduation gown, a book by Chic-fil-a founder Truett Cathy-“ Its Easier to Succeed than to fail” “ and a slinky.
I buy nothing.
St. Charles, -Virginia Highlands
The front yard is covered with bight yellow Fisher Price toys. There are also two old vacuum cleaners.
I buy nothing.
As I indicated I am writing this over a week latter and I may of lost some of my notes. It seems like I did buy something but I can’t recall at this time what it was.
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