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Time to start warming up the engines...
Jun. 8th, 2007 09:59 pmIt's been a strangely quiet day, even to the point of not getting what has come to be a weekly phone call summarizing next week's assignments, which has put the fear of Providence in the bank account. Work-related activity today has so far been limited to a review of the translation and its subsequent delivery to the client.
I walked to the bank to deposit a couple of checks, but the heat made the trek really uncomfortable. As Galina was out and about in the car - and nearby - I called to have her swing by and pick me up.
We spent an hour or two driving around, looking at garage sales. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a few generalities about garage sales that probably hold outside of Houston.
First, people in upscale neighborhoods tend to put upscale prices on their junk, thus satisfying the basic needs of (a) doing something proactive to rid oneself of crap and (b) justifying to oneself the silly high price originally paid for an item. Regrettably, the two are not compatible, generally speaking: a gurgling fountain that originally cost $60 is not likely to be hauled off if your price tag for it is $50.
As a bibliophile, I've also noticed that generally, sellers either (a) have disposed of their good books via some other means (because it often seems the only tomes that are left were published by Reader's Digest or a book club), or (b) have never acquired good books to begin with. For that matter, I've also never, ever, seen a decent chess set, i.e., wooden, weighted, Staunton, with a king at least 3-1/2" high, on sale.
Estate sales - especially the ones run professionally - make me wonder about the people whose debris we are pawing through. One place we stopped at today had a lot of stuff in the kitchen, and little else. Oh, and the prices were just completely out of sight! (The visit wasn't a waste, however: one of the other browsers had a dachshund under her arm, and we chatted pleasantly for a few minutes.)
Over the course of our wanderings, Galina bought a little wire basket for reasons best known to herself (and is calling it her "birthday present"), and I bought a set of kitchen canisters because they remind me of the canisters my late brother Carlos had in his kitchen, from which he scooped marvelously strong coffee that we brewed and drank as we caught up on life, the universe, etc. so many years ago. (Has it really been a dozen?)
I need to get going and ready myself for tonight's shift.
Cheers...
I walked to the bank to deposit a couple of checks, but the heat made the trek really uncomfortable. As Galina was out and about in the car - and nearby - I called to have her swing by and pick me up.
We spent an hour or two driving around, looking at garage sales. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a few generalities about garage sales that probably hold outside of Houston.
First, people in upscale neighborhoods tend to put upscale prices on their junk, thus satisfying the basic needs of (a) doing something proactive to rid oneself of crap and (b) justifying to oneself the silly high price originally paid for an item. Regrettably, the two are not compatible, generally speaking: a gurgling fountain that originally cost $60 is not likely to be hauled off if your price tag for it is $50.
As a bibliophile, I've also noticed that generally, sellers either (a) have disposed of their good books via some other means (because it often seems the only tomes that are left were published by Reader's Digest or a book club), or (b) have never acquired good books to begin with. For that matter, I've also never, ever, seen a decent chess set, i.e., wooden, weighted, Staunton, with a king at least 3-1/2" high, on sale.
Estate sales - especially the ones run professionally - make me wonder about the people whose debris we are pawing through. One place we stopped at today had a lot of stuff in the kitchen, and little else. Oh, and the prices were just completely out of sight! (The visit wasn't a waste, however: one of the other browsers had a dachshund under her arm, and we chatted pleasantly for a few minutes.)
Over the course of our wanderings, Galina bought a little wire basket for reasons best known to herself (and is calling it her "birthday present"), and I bought a set of kitchen canisters because they remind me of the canisters my late brother Carlos had in his kitchen, from which he scooped marvelously strong coffee that we brewed and drank as we caught up on life, the universe, etc. so many years ago. (Has it really been a dozen?)
I need to get going and ready myself for tonight's shift.
Cheers...
