Discovery

I learned this weekend what an "estate sale" is.

What a glorious concept.

On Saturday D and I made a list of chores we had to do. Then he ran out to get a haircut. When he returned, he announced, "It's gorgeous out. I feel like garage-saling it." (Ah the annoyance of modern English... changing a noun to a verb in common usage. How do I spell that word? E or no e? That is the question.) I heard opportunity knocking. "Ok. Get on Craigslist and see what big sales are happening in the area." (75 degrees, gorgeous blue sky, sun. Who wants to clean the basement? Not me.)

On Craigslist he immediately found a "High End Estate Sale in Town-Next-to-Us". It had started only two hours earlier. There were photos posted. Lots of lovely antiques that appeared to be in excellent shape. D saw an old an old wooden trunk and I saw a headboard. We jumped in the car. In my head I was chanting, "Don't get your hopes up. There's probably nothing there. Don't get your hopes up..."

We pulled up to a sprawling, yellow brick home sitting atop a small hill. The architecture was probably 1920s. The chant in my head got louder. "There's probably nothing there..."

The trunk was gone and the headboard was too small. But there was something there. There was a dining room set.

I gasped a little when I saw it. Dark wood, six chairs. Lovely, shining condition. I ducked my head under the table. The sticker said Pottery Barn. I gasped again. I glanced at the sticker price. And then I swooned. I tugged on D's arm. "Look at how pretty!" I gushed. And then on impulse I blurted, "And look at the rug under our feet!"

D and I talked it over a while. I stood possessively over the set, as shoppers one after another checked the price tag and commented on how lovely it was. D talked to the director of the sale. She bartered just a bit, and then marked them sold (We got the rug, too. Win!). We raced back home to get the checkbook and find a truck. In just a few hours, our new table was in our dining room, and our second bedroom had a new (old) rug.

And I think I have a new hobby.