Garage Sale Weekend

It was a lot of work getting ready for this, but boy, was it worth it! It's amazing what people will buy - and amazing that I had it there, ready for them! I kept finding stuff in the the storage cupboards in the garage that Chris had left - bags and bags of steel wool, sandpaper of every different grit, hand tools and boxes and bottles of nuts, bolts and screws. And things like come-alongs - five of them. Cables and fasteners and just stuff. And people loved it. Of course, there was other stuff, typical garage sale things like excess kitchen tools, mugs and things.

Yesterday was the main day and lucky for me it dawned clear and sunny. I planned to open up at 9, so at about 8 ran the sign to the top of the road near the highway. A woman stopped, and said. "Can I follow you?" and there I was, hardly any coffee, no breakfast already open for business. I am so grateful to Janet and Susan who helped me out. Janet was there at 8 yesterday and I don't think I could have done it without her. She kept everything organized and as things sold, moved things around, staged stuff and generally was amazing. By 2pm, I was ready to close up shop, but people kept showing up, so I kept taking their money, and finally closed up around 3:30.

One of my neighbors bought one of the crab traps, and joking, I said, "Part of the deal is that you have to bring me a crab." Well, there I was across the street with a glass of wine, and he drove up and said, "I have your crab, two of them." How wonderful was that? So I rushed home and got the water on to boil, took the crab in the bucket down onto the dock, grabbed a back leg and slammed him against the dock (I learned that trick from an old fisherman years ago) then peeled off the carapace and cleaned it out. Then dispatched the second one. Popped them in the pot and 8 minutes later was on the deck with a nice chilled Chardonnay, drawn butter and a whole Dungeness crab. My kind of heaven.

Today I woke up to pouring rain and a howling gale, and thought how lucky I was to have started the sale yesterday. It began slowly, but the weather cleared and people came out. So though it wasn't as busy, Susan, who came down to help, and I did well. It is so helpful to have someone else there, and more fun too as we could laugh and joke about what was going on.

I met people, neighbors, who I had never seen before and we have been there for five years! Everyone wants to know where I am going, and most want to know if Hinckley if going too! As if I would leave my boys behind, but he is such the community cat, people are going to miss him.

With business much slower, Susan and I decided to take in a movie, so I drove up to Port Townsend and we went to the matinee of Julie and Julia! What fun that was. So lighthearted and funny, just what the doctor ordered. It also made me inspired again to cook. But I find it very boring to just cook for myself. I love to cook for others, to share the joys of a successful creation and even the flops, resorting to a tuna sandwich when the chef's results are dismal.

The house feels different...furniture gone or moved out to the garage. The boys know something is up and are staying close to home. It's time for me to move on, and I know the person who is just the right renter is just around the corner.

When it rains, it pours

Yesterday was a sad day...my laptop crashed and burned, with not hope of resuscitation. The fan had been working very hard, so thought I had better have it checked out. I got a call that it needed to be replaced but was going to be expensive, and that the laptop didn't warrant spending a lot on it. Get a laptop cooler, they said. $30 should keep it running for a while. Half an hour later, they called and said they had tried to restart but it appeared the hard drive was fried, and couldn't see anything. Fortunately, I had taken all my photos off and loaded then on external drives. I did that the day I took it in - so at least they are safe.

So now I am reduced to using an ancient G4 Mac that has no graphics programs, no word processing for goodness sake, no sound and is as slow as molasses. But the checkbook has no room for a new computer and Ryan says he has one down there that I can use. So will make do.

I've spent the last few days getting ready for a garage sale - Chris left so much "stuff" it's ridiculous. So sorting through and figuring out what to charge is taking a long time but I think (hope) it will be worth it. There are going to be a couple of other sales on the street so we hope for a good turnout. Especially if the weather cooperates. The last weekend before I leave here, I will have another sale and hopefully get rid of everything else here and what's left will go to the Goodwill or on freecycle.

Hinckley and I went for a "spin" this evening - it is so calm out there and super high tide. Buddy sat on the dock and watched, but wouldn't set foot in the kayak. Weather is still holding though I have had to have the heater on in the morning. Trees are turning so it's very pretty. But it is a sign of what's to come. And I don't want to be here when that happens.

I have found a couple of guest houses for rent down in N. County San Diego and will go to see them next week when I head south for Oliver's first birthday. The one in particular looks really nice and in quite a rural area near where Cody used to live. Both are freestanding units and the guys I talked to about them seem very nice. I hope there will be a couple more properties to look at too.

Anyway, tomorrow I will go through the house and put price stickers on everything. Chris wants Bill to have "the chair" as I am not towing a trailer or taking any furniture with me. He says it is "keeping it in the family." Bill fell off a ladder last night - and it makes me even more cautious of doing things like that on my own. He is OK, just bruised badly, but it could have been a lot worse. So now, when I go kayaking, I call Susan and tell her I am heading out and then check in when I get back. I feel a bit silly doing it, but we are so remote down here - if I didn't come back in no one would probably notice for days!