So today I saw this couple at the County Garage Sale. Once a long time ago, I don't remember when , I did a yahoo search for Sedro Woolley and found a public photo album they had posted. Now a photo album on Flickr a celebrity does not make but I felt weird that I knew something about them and they didn't know me. Then I got to thinking, I put myself out there heart and soul for all the world to see and I don't even know if anyone but my husband reads my blog. I know I read several and never leave comments.
Anyway my point is, when I showed the pictures to Doug, long ago (some were very interested) I said to him I bet if we ever met them we could really be friends. Well, I met them and Doug spoke to them and I didn't say a thing. I didn't want to come off as creepy. I guess being silent may be creepy and he was only talking to Doug but I could have been brave and invited her to a LLL meeting.
Ok, get this. I check my sources all the time, I hate to misinform so I searched Flickr for Sedro Woolley and again I found there or now I see "his" page. How weird is this. We both live int he same town, already knew that one but we live 70 miles away from Seattle. All last week I drove Doug to work in Seattle and randomly picked what we would do for the day once I was there. On Tuesday I took the boys to Seattle Center to see the Pacific Science Center and walk around Seattle Center. I pull up his Flickr page and he has photo's labeled taken on April 2nd (Tuesday) of the Seattle Center and Science Center. Now how small is this world really? That's almost creepy don't you think?
Anyhow we were at the garage sale at the fairgrounds and I saw this instrument a Melodica. Sunny Jim of Captain Bogg and Salty plays one in a couple of songs and I thought it looked like a cool instrument to play with. It was the first of 5-6 buildings of the sale and we only had $40 with us, the price on it was $35. The booth was too small to take the stroller into and so not remembering what the thing is called I gave Doug rough directions to it. Previously mentioned persons picked it up, according to Doug "Because I didn't tell him what it was" but the man set it back down and Doug went over to look at it and left it there. I was really bummed and told him so. I looked back and the man was back at the booth looking at it again. I was sure we had lost it. Doug said he didn't want to spend all the money on the first thing we saw. I said if you come across a piece of gold you don't leave it behind because you might find something better later down the road. He agreed with my logic and went back to see if the man had bought it or not. He left it behind. We bought it and the man only charged us $30 and we didn't even try to haggle.
Thank you brettbigb and Darcy Rae. If it's meant to be perhaps we will meet again one day.
Speaking of meant to be, it was a strange day indeed. We didn't even know there was a garage sale today. This morning we got up and got dressed up in our best suits to attend the funeral of Richard "Dick" Sjogren. The kids were asleep when we loaded them into the car, jammies and all and when we arrived, late to boot we had to dress them. It was really probably better that we were so late since Robin was in no mood to be quiet and serious.
I have to say Grandpa Dick was a great man, very welcoming and you never met a friendlier soul. His wife Laura might be the exception, they were both always so kind to us and our kids. Dick was exactly the kind of Grandpa I always imagined my Grandpa could have been when I was a kid had I seen him. He knew what was up with the neighbors and how all the grandkids were doing. He could tell you what the weather was going to be like and his smile when he saw babies always made you smile. We never turned down an invite to go to Grandma and Grandpa Sjogren's house with David and Lara.
After the funeral before the reception if that's what you call it, we went to the co-op to grab some food. It went very smoothly and usually something happens: Robin runs away in the store, they are out of what we have come to buy, Robin won't eat and wants to smell candles and ring the chimes instead...you get it I'm sure, well everything went fine. It was nice.
We left to find the fire hall that the reception was to be held at and got lost. When we did find it the boys had a while to run/crawl around and blow of some steam. When we were about ready to leave Lara mentioned going to the garage sale that we didn't even know was going on. We had some time to waste before the family swim so figured why not.
After a quick stop to the feed store for oats and cash back we went to the sale and paid our $4 for entry. I hate having to pay to buy things. I know they charge for those booths, it seems like extortion that I should pay to go in as a customer too. It's only $4 and I let it go.
When we got there well you read the fourth paragraph. (Are you still with me?) The next thing we saw that we wanted to buy was a grain mill but they wanted $27 for it, and it was worth it but we only had $10 left. We browsed some more and I spent that remaining $10 on a beautiful enameled cast iron pot shaped like a garlic bulb.
We met a man who's wife can find our property lines at a reasonable price. We have needed that for 5 yrs now. He said she could do it for a fraction of what a surveyor will charge, like in the hundreds rather than thousands. She had a booth inside so we went to seek her out.While looking for her I bought a corn bread pan that fits in the toaster oven with $2.50 I had in my wallet for the bus. Next I saw a red poncho I really wanted for $20 so that would have to wait until we got cash from the grocery store. We decided to leave for the store and get cash, run back and make our planned purchases.
The store would only let us get $40 and we needed $55 so Doug had to run in for a second $20, leaving $5 to spare. We headed back and on the way in we saw a building we had not seen before so went into check it out. There was a booth in the back that we have bought from in the past, We couldn't spend too much money, we only had $5 over what we needed for the purchases to be made. I bought a tea pot for $0.50. We ran on to buy the grain mill and poncho.
When I got to the booth with the grain mill, they had already sold it. They said they thought we didn't want it and would have held it, I thought we told them we would come back for it. It's ok, we'll buy another. I was bummed but that was the bulk of our cash, next on to the ponch.
The poncho guy in a fair sale regular and was gone. He closed up early just like Doug said he would. There were three other poncho sellers, but they didn't have the exact one I wanted but I found a good one, lighter weight than the one I already own and that was the important part. Instead of $20 she wanted $30, I offered $25 but she couldn't go lower than $28. I only had $27 available. She said ok and off we went to go back and see that building we had missed and to purchase another cast iron biscuit pan, hearts that will also fit in the toaster oven, for $2 now that the grain mill wasn't there and could spare the money.
We bought the biscuit pan and tried to see the second half of the building, but there was a man closing the door, they were done for the day. When going back down the ramp it lead through the booth where the tea pot and biscuit pan had been sold, there was a cast iron kettle sitting there. It's where the the biscuit pan was found, inside. I had not really seen the kettle before. The price on it was $49. It was an honest price of a kettle of it's size and I would have paid that much for it too. I pulled out all the cash I had left, $33. I thought for just a minute, what's the worst that could happen if I asked to buy it for all I had and they said no? I guess then it wasn't meant to be, just like the grain mill. I asked the woman if she would accept $33, it was all I had. She thought a long, long time. Her partner asked her well who is going to offer you more? She hemmed and hawed over it and asked me what I was going to do with it. That question confused me, it's a pot what else do you do with it but cook? I told her cook stews, brown meat cook just about everything in it. It didn't occur to me she was probably worried that I would sell it or let it collect dust as a decoration. She was thinking hard about it and I told her please, I will cherish it for ever and I will pass it down to my children someday. She said ok. That's what got her. She had lost her son and to know that I would pass it on is what she needed. She told me that she had bought it second hand when she was about my age. We hugged and I was so delighted, I think this pot deserves it's
own blog. I'm at least going to take pictures for a year of it's uses because I think it will be fun to keep a chronicle on it.
If the day had not unfolded exactly as it did I would not have found this amazing kettle. It's my most prized kitchen tool. It has a lid that locks in place by the handle which it could hang from. The handle on the lid is cast with the lid, all one piece. It's a true piece of craftsmanship. It's old and sturdy. It is beautiful.
