A Roadtrip Saga by Brenda Whiteside

Riding in the car, on the way to Colorado, and realized the date...I should be checking comments for a post I didn't post. But I can explain. This has been one of those hell weeks.

On Wednesday, the 19th, my husband and I went to Prescott (2 1/2 hour drive) with the purpose of picking up my now fixed laptop from Best Buy then on to the storage facility to retrieve our yard sale items stored from the summer. We were bound for Phoenix to a four family yard sale. But when we tried to leave Best Buy, the truck wouldn't go into reverse. After pushing it out of the parking space, we headed to Aamco only to find out that yes, the transmission was broken, but that we had to have it fixed by the dealer in Phoenix where we had it fixed last time.

We finally got to the storage, spent the night in Prescott, and headed to the valley the next morning...making sure to not put ourselves in any position that required backing up. They were not sure we could get it fixed by Saturday. I did my panic act. We were supposed to leave for Colorado on Sunday to help son and family move to Arizona. And the days were time sensitive as my daughter in law has a must have medical treatment on the 28th.

Shortening this whole saga: the yard sale came off and we broke even on the hotel room, the truck got fixed but son and DIL decided we should not put all those miles on our truck and they rented us a car. We couldn't get the car until Monday morning so we lost a day. Now, we're on our way.

In the hubbub, I forgot about the blog. How about a short travel log? After leaving picturesque Flagstaff, Arizona, we are now close to the New Mexico border. The land is fairly flat with a few scrub brush and ugly billboards. There are a few mesas ahead, streaked with red and tan. Gallup, New Mexico is the next largest town.

Seven more hours of driving, a sleep, a day of packing and loading, and we'll be turning around to head back to Arizona. Tired? Yes. Looking forward to my own bed next week? Yes. But I am sooo glad they are moving back!

August is the Month for Hot Stuff at Yard Sales!

By Glenys O'Connell, @GlenysOConnell

I have to confess that I’m an addict – there’s no such thing as a garage or yard sale where I can’t hunt down something that I didn’t know I needed until I saw it there….
 August, frankly, is yard sale addict heaven. Lots of people buy homes with the idea of moving in for September, before the weather turns bad or in time for the start of the school year. And moving, for most people, means shucking off all the junk and unused or unloved items that have accumulated since the last move.

That means fine pickings that for people like me, who have Magpie somewhere in their genetic history.

Unfortunately, the let’s-sell-it-rather-than-move-it logic doesn’t apply to us yard sale addicts. Picking up treasures (sometimes highly questionable ones) is fine, but when it comes to parting with them…well, you can hear our screams for miles around.

How do you recognise a yard sale being held at a yard sale addict’s home? Watch her play tug of war with would-be customers over those cracked dishes, or weep as that odd looking piece of machinery or kitchen gadget (she never did know what it was intended for) is carried away triumphantly, probably by another addict.

I have had some great finds – the set of Captain’s Chairs that I refinished and sold for six times what I paid for them – oh, did I ever feel self-righteous about that! Pity that I then took the money and – you’ve guessed it – went yard sale-ing again…

Then there’s this lovely antique nursing rocker that I got for so little I felt guilty about it. Good finds, yes?

But this made-in-Kashmir brass and enamelled Item – not only does it not fit in with anything else in the house, but I haven’t got a clue what it was intended to be used as. Let me know if you have any ideas!

And the quilts – oh, I love hand stitched quilts. I guess it would be more ethical to make my own, but why bother when someone else is willing to part with their family heirlooms for just a few dollars?

Yard sales are also great places to stock up on books – yeah, 5 for $1! Who can just take five? Of course, some writers say it’s wrong to buy second-hand books because the authors don’t get a royalty. Well, I can honestly say that I’ve found some great authors I might never have read if it hadn’t been for a cheap yard sale pick up – and I’ve gone on to buy their all their back lists and new releases, so book-buying at yard sales is guilt free!

I’ve donated a few of my own treasures (yes, it hurt to part with them!) to the upcoming annual auction and yard sale fundraiser at our church. I heard a rumour the other day that they’ve a nice little sideline fundraiser on bets as to how many of my donations I’ll try to buy back…..

Oh, the shame of it…..

Glenys O'Connell is planning to finish her next romantic suspense novel, Dark Revenge, just as soon as she can find her laptop among the latest yard sale clutter..... You can read first chapters of her other books at http://www.glenysoconnell.com/firstchapters.htm