Oakdale Ave – Candler Park “Yard Sale” I was more impressed with the signage at this sale than the contents. In front of this craftsman bungalow there is a long dilapidated Lincoln stretched limo, the unmoving vehicle has been sitting there for years gathering the accumulated debris of a city street. On top of the limo was a large sign proclaiming the sale created from a cardboard box. The sellers signage did not stop there as every box, and pile had a neatly lettered sign, “Artsy things”, “Christmas stuff”, “Everything in this bin $1.00”, “Free canisters”, “Coolest fruit bowl ever” all signs were well crafted and most were positioned on metal rods over the stuff for sale. Cindy came close buying several things here but sensibly refrained. She came very close to buying a large carpet but I fortunately convinced her it was too large for any room in our home. Among some stuff that neither of use even considered buying were a Chia Dinosaur, a wine rack, a decorative goose, teapots, tote bags and small pieces of oak furniture.
We bought nothing.
Hyperbole about bowl.
Sterling Ave. – Candler Park “Street sale” Most street-wide events like this feature smaller sales all within walking distance of one another. The lack of depth in merchandise may not give you insight into the individual lives of the sellers it but does provide a snap shot of what’s happening on this street. By the looks of today’s sales there’s been a baby boom on this somewhat dense urban avenue. Nearly every other home had a selection of toddler wear for sale. One neighbor was even discussing overcrowding at the local elementary school. Aside from the children’s apparel there was a wide range of plush toys, women’s clothing, some ugly Xmas ornaments, a selection of Manga books, a foosball table and some old furniture. Cindy bought a chair for a figure model to sit on for a class she starts teaching next week. The chair was $2.00.
I bought nothing.
Furnishings on display on Sterling St.
Ridley Ave. – Decatur “Yard Sales” I headed to Decatur to the noted intersection of Ridley at Scott (not far from the cross streets of Martin and Scorsese) to check out this street sale that had been canceled by rain last week. We were welcomed to the streets by a massive colorful sign. The sales in the neighborhood were mixed. The selection at the first home we stopped at was so meager the seller seemed almost apologetic and told us a much bigger sale was further down the street. The bigger sale was in the driveway of a ranch style home and the contents covered the pavement. Here we found an odd assortment of home décor including a large sculpture of a dark skinned man, a broken model of a clipper ship, a painting of an art history book, bingo markers, bags of popurie, an old one speed bike, a rusty bed frame and a multitude of small house wares. Other sales on the circular street included one estate sale of sorts. The seller was getting rid of the contents of a house they had purchased and was complaining that everything there was from the seventies. Among the decades old objects were baskets, ugly bedroom furniture, a large scale and a sculpture of a sniper made from a railroad spike. I could never get the lighting right in the glaring morning sun to get a good picture of the spike. The final home we visited here had a few old appliances in the driveway and a massively tall and heavy cat play condo. Cindy wanted to buy it but I told her I doubt I could lift it was it was constructed out of 4 x 4s.
We bought nothing.
Spike transformed into a sniper.
View of clutter in Decatur.
Massive and heavy cat playscape.
Artwork found on Ridley.
Oakdale Ave – Candler Park “Yard Sale” This sale was in the large back yard of one of Cindy’s poker buddies. Here a number of over the top new age folks had set up shop selling among other things buckets of crystals and a multitude of books on witchcraft and magick. Among a large selection of books spread out on the ground I noted the following titles “A Garden of Pomegranates”, “Liber Null and Psychonaut – an introduction to chaos magic”, “The Sorcerer’s Handbook”, ”Spell Crafts”, “The Bible Fraud”, “Magikal Dance”,” A Witch Alone”, “Witchcraft Today”, “An Outline of Occult Science”, “The Magical Household”, “The Power of Positive Thinking” and “Women Who Love too Much”. Other stuff scattered around the seller’s very lovely garden included a rack of costume clothing suitable of festivals of all types, several pairs of fairy wings and a painting of a nude woman with horns.
We bought nothing.
Box of doves among new age clutter.
book about another kind of magic
Paidiea School Garage SaleWe got here much too late and what we saw was grim and picked over. This is the third year I’ve written about this sale so there is not much more that I can say about this private upscale desirable inner city institution of learning. The pile of toys, the piles of books the lamps and coffee makers were little different than the ones I saw in years past. Cindy’s main remark was “You’d think rich people would have better junk than this”
We bought nothing.
Plastic serpents on sale to support a prep school.
Springdale Rd. Druid Hills “Estate Sale” Leaving Paidiea we decided to see if the Druid Hill home with the garden I have dubbed “Tuliptopia” was in bloom. It was not in full bloom yet but on the way there we spotted a sign for this sale. The sale had been going on for three days so when we arrived so there was not much stuff remaining. The stuff that was left was very picked though and left in an advanced state of disorder. Inside the home I descended some very steep stairs to a dark basement to find baskets, Xmas décor, old hardware supplies, broken furniture and old copies of National geographic heaped together in a teetering pile. Not to mention the boxes of ball jars that are de rigueur every octogenarian’s home.
In a kitchen I discovered an assortment of spices mixed with, spatulas, ladles, ceramic figures, baskets and dirty pots strewn across the counter.
Up stairs one bedroom was nearly empty except for a pile of bras and bra pads tossed onto a dirty shag carpet. Another bedroom was full of useless stuff but it looked as though the room had been turned upside down and violently shaken. Among the disorder was a Christmas tree, some blankets, a demolished lampshade, office supplies, women’s clothing, old greeting cards, religious tracks, tennis balls and lps or Broadway soundtracks.
The crown jewel of this sale was found in the living room next to were an exhausted looking seller sat at the cashier’s desk. Here was a hand made five-foot long Barbie Cruise boat. The estate owner had fashioned it while from a long illness. The gargantuan pink ship was crafted from plastic crochet material. Among its features were a grand piano, a swimming pool, a disco ball and a variety of furniture. The hull was emblazoned with jumping dolphins and waves. In the rear of the vessel was a bathroom (or more properly-head) with a sink shower and toilet with working lid. The seller was taking bids on the pink monstrosity but while we were there only one bid totaling $25 had been made.
We bought nothing but discussed if we should have bid on the Barbie boat for the remainder of the weekend.
Disorder in Druid Hills.
Pile of undergarments.
The incredible Barbie boat.
DeKalb Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale” Our final sale of the day was in the yard of a home on this busy city highway. Here stuff was put out in a tiny yard perched above the fast moving traffic. A lot of people were at this sale and I wondered if anyone had fallen from the yard into DeKalb Ave. earlier on. Here we found an overpriced collection of questionable art, clothing, toys, antique furniture, sporting goods and house wares. Most of the stuff was listed as vintage regardless of worth or value. Cindy wanted to buy a few yards of fabric for her class but found it prohibitively priced. We bought nothing but were entertained by the small dog wandering about in a pumpkin costume.
Costumed dog.At the end of the Cindy Cindy had refrained from buying anything she did not need but is still thinking about that Barbie boat.
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