A Tale of a Yard Sale

This weekend my trip to Lancaster Pennsylvania wasn't to do all the touristy things, but to participate in a favorite American (??) event, a yard sale! Carl has been bugging me for quite some time to do something about all the things I have packed up in boxes in our garage--So, when our friend Sid said she was going to have one, I thought the time had come to part with the treasures I haven't laid eyes on since we put our last house on the market nearly 3 years ago.

I've only done one yard-sale in my life. It was prior to our leaving Alaska. I sold enough to pay for our plane tickets to Seattle and pay our expenses for coming to Virginia. I didn't have this kind of expectation going into this one because I know from others experiences that it's really hit or miss, and I didn't have that much to sell. But things that you think will sell right away don't, and things that you think you will have forever are gone right away. My friend Sid did pretty well. But me...Well, here's a rundown on how the day went and my profits:

To start the day, from our barn, I opened a box of two never used camp-chairs and found where mice had made a home...I was once again reassured that our barn is indeed a "mouse-free zone." Of course I threw everything away--Profit...zero-dollars

I did not a single nibble on an entire basket of vintage cookie cutters that I had priced at 50 cents each--I would have even taken a quarter for one. Profit...zero dollars

A buyer of a "Precious Moments Collectable" who also finagled a lower price on a couple of table cloths was caught by my friend and I trying to take a few things that she didn't pay for. Profit...$4.00 and skinned up shins and black-eye from when I tackled and wrestled the 80 pound elderly lady to the ground--Just kidding, I didn't tackle her! ;-)

Miscellaneous knick-knacks, cat related items, and an unused wedding present bought by non-descript buyers...Profit $15.00

Questions from several people if we were selling jewelry...Response: No--But wait a minute, where's that bracelet and the kleptomaniac senior citizen from earlier in the day? Profit...zero-dollars

Inquiry by various people who asked how much I was selling Hamlet for. Response: He's priceless...Profit...beyond measure.