Mom, Dad, and I went to an auction today. It wasn't very well publicized--there were maybe 40 people there, tops, but they didn't even get past 30 on the numbers.
It was one of those auctions that you feel compelled to bid because the stuff is going so cheap that you almost feel embarrassed bidding that low. Or winning a bid that low. There was one dealer present that we knew of, and of course he ended up getting the good stuff furniture-wise (well, not all of it--he was actually outbid once, but not by me) but we managed to fill up *cough* Dad's old van, Dad's new van, and my car. Yes, really. Three vehicles.
The most expensive thing I bought was a not-old curved front china cabinet for $45. Since my other china cabinet is full, this one now houses my dragonware collection and some other stuff. Which is nice. I also bought a "Whitney" cedar chest for $15--it looks like it is brand new on the inside.
My favorite thing, however, was the typewriter desk for $25. I have never seen one like it. Okay, I have now, since I found one on ebay, but it is really cool. And since I have a plethora of typewriters, it will be a nice way to display one. I just have to figure out where it's going to go, because I'm kind of out of room.
The rest of the stuff were cheap-o purchases, anywhere from a box full of mostly new towels for $8 (which is the price of one towel) to one of those spinny composters for a whole $1. Oh, and also one of those plastic garden workcarts/potting tables for $1. I couldn't believe it!
I had to buy a whole table worth of stuff to get another one of my velvet bedspreads for the craft show, as well as a box full of blankets (that ended up being wool blankets, a really nice heavy flannel blanket, and some oddments of other stuff)--also for $1. Well, really it was free, because a guy bought the old blender that was on my table for $1, which was fine with me.
I got a box of cookbooks for $1, a bunch of crafting leather and assorted leather stuff for $1 (I have to go through the pile and see what's really there; I may sell some of it if it's worth it) and 2 ironstone pitchers for $1 too. I got a big box full of cigar boxes for $2--someone bid against me on that--and a huge cast iron ladle for $4. A cute teapot for $4, a trash can for $1, a folding drying rack for $5, and I liberated some cast iron stuff and some glassware from Mom and Dad's boxlots as well. It was a haul.
Dad got some nice stuff too, like a really old Monopoly game, a nice stained glass window that would have gone for a lot more at any other auction, loads of depression glass, bunches of other glassware, a clock or two or three or four, a big wooden ship's wheel type thingy, some cast iron stuff, and lots more that I can't remember, since there was just so much stuff.
And then, after they dropped all my stuff off, they ended up with a vanload of gingerbread from the porch that my neighbor had just dismantled.
Whew!
Obviously, we didn't get the beans canned today. However, I did get my part of the mowing done, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Which is good. I can cross that off my list. Although the honey locust that cracked after the wind the other week did a number on my index finger when I went to toss it in the brush pile in the back, and I didn't get the zucchini picked. Argh!
It was one of those auctions that you feel compelled to bid because the stuff is going so cheap that you almost feel embarrassed bidding that low. Or winning a bid that low. There was one dealer present that we knew of, and of course he ended up getting the good stuff furniture-wise (well, not all of it--he was actually outbid once, but not by me) but we managed to fill up *cough* Dad's old van, Dad's new van, and my car. Yes, really. Three vehicles.
The most expensive thing I bought was a not-old curved front china cabinet for $45. Since my other china cabinet is full, this one now houses my dragonware collection and some other stuff. Which is nice. I also bought a "Whitney" cedar chest for $15--it looks like it is brand new on the inside.
My favorite thing, however, was the typewriter desk for $25. I have never seen one like it. Okay, I have now, since I found one on ebay, but it is really cool. And since I have a plethora of typewriters, it will be a nice way to display one. I just have to figure out where it's going to go, because I'm kind of out of room.
The rest of the stuff were cheap-o purchases, anywhere from a box full of mostly new towels for $8 (which is the price of one towel) to one of those spinny composters for a whole $1. Oh, and also one of those plastic garden workcarts/potting tables for $1. I couldn't believe it!
I had to buy a whole table worth of stuff to get another one of my velvet bedspreads for the craft show, as well as a box full of blankets (that ended up being wool blankets, a really nice heavy flannel blanket, and some oddments of other stuff)--also for $1. Well, really it was free, because a guy bought the old blender that was on my table for $1, which was fine with me.
I got a box of cookbooks for $1, a bunch of crafting leather and assorted leather stuff for $1 (I have to go through the pile and see what's really there; I may sell some of it if it's worth it) and 2 ironstone pitchers for $1 too. I got a big box full of cigar boxes for $2--someone bid against me on that--and a huge cast iron ladle for $4. A cute teapot for $4, a trash can for $1, a folding drying rack for $5, and I liberated some cast iron stuff and some glassware from Mom and Dad's boxlots as well. It was a haul.
Dad got some nice stuff too, like a really old Monopoly game, a nice stained glass window that would have gone for a lot more at any other auction, loads of depression glass, bunches of other glassware, a clock or two or three or four, a big wooden ship's wheel type thingy, some cast iron stuff, and lots more that I can't remember, since there was just so much stuff.
And then, after they dropped all my stuff off, they ended up with a vanload of gingerbread from the porch that my neighbor had just dismantled.
Whew!
Obviously, we didn't get the beans canned today. However, I did get my part of the mowing done, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Which is good. I can cross that off my list. Although the honey locust that cracked after the wind the other week did a number on my index finger when I went to toss it in the brush pile in the back, and I didn't get the zucchini picked. Argh!
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