It didn't rain!

The garage sale was advertised to start at 8 and fby 6:30 folks were cruising up and down the street. I arrived at 7 and started divesting my car of load number three . The boxes hit the driveway and the bargain hunters attacked.

The top sellers? All those wretched mugs! Granted they were only 25 cents each, but I can't imagine anyone needing any more mugs! Crap sells!

I'd advertised that we had many boxes of books and kitchenware and that attracted a diverse crowd indeed. We had the usual groups of Hispanic families in vans, all of whom snapped up the skillets and baking dishes. We didn't have nearly as many children as I have seen at other sales, but then we hadn't any toys nor children's clothes.

We also attracted a group I always dub "the aging hippies". Men, who are on the other side of 50 with gray hair, beards, sandals and baggy shorts. They went directly to the books and bought them by the armload. Two dealers showed up, one is a friend and once she realized whose books they were, she didn't give them a second glance. The other dealer Scoutpaled a couple of titles and left in disgust.

We also had a visit from one of the traveling Tamale vendors. A couple pulled up with a cooler full of homemade tamales which they peddled to us (I declined, My Beloved is having tummy trouble) and our other customers. They had several takers and then shopped our sale and bought a few items themselves. Then it was off to the next sale. They are a Houston institution and they certainly have come up with a way to make going to garage sales profitable!
After it was all over I was left with 1 box of Harley Davidson clothes and 4 Pampered Chef items I decided to E-bay , plus 2 boxes of leftover stuff and 7 boxes of books & videos . Not bad considering I took 3 car loads of junk over to my friendÂ’s house.

I loaded up the leftovers, abandoned the STUFF at the nearest thrift shop and took the books to Half Price. I'd thought about taking the books in a box or two at a time, since the more books you bring in, the less they give you. It was hot so I figured the hell with it and took it all in , just to get rid of it. They gave me $30 for the bunch.

After subtracting the cost of the ad and adding in the $30 that HPB gave me I made $226.25. Not bad for a mornings work , or given the heat, a mornings baking.

The best benefit? Empty spaces in the cabinets!