When A Man Runs A Garage Sale...

"If you're not barefoot, then you're overdressed." ...Unknown

And guess what...I'm barefoot...again! I'm going to be honest, I never used to be a big fan of walking around barefoot. Since I was a kid I wore gym shoes (sneakers) even in summer. I learned my lesson real fast trying to run in flip flops! Plus, the pool that we swam in as kids was in the middle of a park (which was across the street from our house) and we had to run through the grass that was actually an enormous field of clover full of honey bees so we DEFINITELY needed shoes. However, last year I read an article about how science has proven the benefits of walking barefoot in grass. I can't tell you the last time my feet have felt grass. Of course the spring season was the wettest season I think I've ever experienced so I took the challenge and started going outside barefoot. It was tricky at first because one must learn to dodge "doggie landmines", but I found myself enjoying it! I also read it takes an average of 66 days before a new behavior becomes automatic...and guess who's barefoot 99% of the time while at home? 🙋🏻‍♀️ The dogs and I will go out into the gardens to cut the flowers or check vegetables and the wet dewy grass feels amazing. I'm also constantly on the deck with the hose watering wilted flowers from the ungodly heat we've been having and it's just natural to walk out there barefoot and hose down everything, including my feet! Such a summer feeling...🌞

And speaking of summer feeling, for those here in the US, how was your 4th of July celebration. While our kids went in different directions to spend it with their friends, Bill and I spent the majority of the day anticipating the anxiety attack our eldest puppy was going to have.

Poor girl...We read that if you took an ACE bandage and wrapped the dog like this, it provides a sense of "restriction and confinement" and actually calms them. Of course we read this and tore up our house trying to find one of the many bandages we USED to have and couldn't find a one. Then I remembered this beautiful scarf my pen friend Lesley (Hi Lesley!!!) made for me and it's extra long and wonderful. It was a perfect fit and as you can see, it actually calmed her for a little while. To have her lying down and resting is unheard of during her anxiety attacks...all she does is pace 😞 And no, she isn't being choked. The picture just makes it look like it!

And then it started. As you can see, summer plays with your head and your clock. It was still daylight, but the clock said 9:36pm We decided to mosey up to our bedroom so the dog could hide in our closet and not feel alone. The little puppy was totally fine with the noise and calmly went into her crate for the evening. As much as I hate to say it, while our little freaked out pup was hiding I was standing at one of our bedroom windows with my handy dandy phone camera snapping pictures of the display right in our very own backyard. Removing the dying tree last fall gave us a clear shot of the cul-de-sac of street fireworks directly behind us.

Sorry the quality isn't the best! Doesn't help trying to take pictures out a second floor dirty window! It was pretty though and went on for quite a while as you can see by the sun going down in the pictures.

Of course it was back to reality the next day, for some anyway, but for others, the party continued for 4+ days! Complete mental anguish for the dog who would have preferred to poop in our house versus going out in the evening thanks to the non-stop nightly partiers. And through it all, our new backyard visitors didn't seem to mind all the activity in the sky.

Yes, this year, a little vixen found a lovely spot adjacent to our yard to raise her kits. We think this one with the beautiful black tail is momma. But her crew has finally come of age to venture out and hunt with her...

Bill's trail camera has come in handy here in our backyard. We love watching all the different wildlife come through at night. And another reason to be careful walking the yard barefoot!😬 Sometimes it's not just animals! Yes, we've caught teenagers and once we caught some adult man sneak through...creepy...😳

So, Saturday as I was putting one of my garage sale finds to use, it dawned on me that I haven't shared with you some of my garage sale treasures I found this summer. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get out and treasure hunt as much as I was hoping to, but I have had a few opportunities! This past Friday I was able to get out early and found these two cute black and white 4"x 4" plates with a little black ribbon strung through to hang them. They were perfect for the rooster hooks I had Bill hang on two separate kitchen cabinet side panels!🥰 ($1 for both plates) Then, at the same sale, I found this bread box/screened box I decided to use to house a plant or two. And Bill, being the crafty genius husband that he is, suggested using a pair of wooden kitchen spoons to hold the lid up👏🏼! Not a bad idea for a deal that cost me $2...😁

A couple of weeks ago I stopped by an estate sale. It wasn't some ginormous house estate sale, which I'm not fond of because of crowds and careless somewhat heartless people; it was a little apartment estate sale. I just happened to be one of three other people there which was wonderful. As I was browsing I got to know a little about the lady the passed away from her daughter who was running the sale. Her mom was actually going to be a nun and was a postulant. She was also raised by nuns. She ended up choosing a different life path and got married. I ended up purchasing a few cookbooks, one being a czechoslovakian cookbook. I've never had czechoslovakian food, but it looked very interesting! The others were soups and stews, Pennsylvania Dutch (which runs on my grandmother's side of the family) and a new Pioneer Woman cookbook! I swear, reading cookbooks is so incredibly interesting to me!

I also found some fun kitchen items that I needed like a hole in the head, but when things are a quarter or a dollar, you would be crazy to pass up some of these essentials!

The pitcher was $5. That was the most expensive item. I just had to have it. It was one of those things that as soon as you make eye contact you RUN to it, check out the price, care less about the price, hold it like it's your first born as you browse the rest of the sale, and basically give no regard if you don't find anything else the rest of the day...😌 Yea, that's how I felt when I picked it up. Even the seller (daughter) was happy I was buying it as she debated keeping it since it was one of her mom's favorites. So, of course I had to put some beautiful homegrown flowers in it right away!

After the estate sale I headed to garage sale and found a few other items. One just happened to be a picture. I have been searching for a picture to put on our foyer wall that's one of those massive big walls where a little 16x16 picture won't cut it. To top it off, the picture happened to be a "french" theme!!!!! (hence my love of frenchcountry) I was beyond excited...so excited that after I paid for it, I couldn't get it in my car...🤦🏻‍♀️ Fortunately, after trying 121 unsuccessful ways of loading it in the car/trunk, the seller (a man around my age) offered to drop it off at our house when he finished up with the sale for the day...and before Bill got home. (He also offered me a job! Seriously! lol) The plan was, if Bill got home before he delivered it, I was going to yell, "Oh my God, I won!!!"as he was taking it out of his SUV so it didn't look like I bought anything!👍🏼😂 Obviously Bill wouldn't have believed it, as he knows his wife quite well lol. However, it was delivered right before Bill got home and I gave the seller a few squares of homemade brownies to thank him for his kindness. In the same breath I had to tell him that they were sugar free so he really needed to be careful and not plan anything too exciting for the evening as he may experience gastrointestinal activity! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Oh, and another great deal I found happened about a month ago. I just "happened" to see a homemade garage sale sign one Friday morning, pointing to a little road no one travels unless your house is on this road. So of course I had to take the road less traveled! The best part was the sale was again being run by a man around my age with the same mentality Bill has when it comes to having a garage sale...'I just want this $h*t gone!'...and I was there to make his dream come true lol. I found this food processor, and according to him, was 'only used twice since my wife discovered chic-fa-la is much faster', for $5! And these adorable multi-colored mason jars with a carrier for $1 because again according to him, 'we don't preserve anything but dust'...😂 I've come to believe the best sales are run by 50 year old men!

And yes, the processor works great and comes with all kinds of blades stored in the bottom compartment in front there! And those jars...I couldn't wait to put our garden flowers in them!

And for those wanting to go on an adventure, the ANNUAL LONGEST YARDSALE is about to take place soon! This year it's August 1-4 and it runs along US 127 from Addison, Michigan all the way down to Gadsden, Alabama! I seriously can't imagine driving that, especially getting caught in all the traffic in certain areas, but I know people do it, I've seen first hand trucks pulling trailers as well as all the different license plates. If you head out, enjoy and I hope you find some good pickins! Honk when passing through Union, Kentucky! You may just see me trying to shove something in my car that obviously won't fit!

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