Iowa

Iowa

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Saturday afternoon

We have been having some wonderful weather on the weekends here in the 'burgh.  Today there are clear blue skies, warm sun and a few fluffy while clouds.  Sitting by my window reading my book as the street takes on a carnival atmosphere with a street sale.  There will be one here at this house in July with one of the neighbors.  I just couldn't get things together yet.
Odd how when you mention a garage sale to people they become interested in what you have to sell.  Lots.  And lots.  Dishes, linens, odds and ends, bookcases, clocks, radios, cd players (does anyone even use cd players anymore?), exercise tapes (does anyone even have a tape player besides me?) and various other "junk".  Oh, yes, tires and a lawnmower.  I haven't even begun in the attic or basement. 
Interesting people come to shop at Macy's.  There are the older women with all their coupons.  And I do mean all.  They sift through them, looking for the best bargain, wait for all the sales.  I like these women.  They are interesting, as they talk about their "bargains".  There are the women who drag their husbands or young children.  The husbands lie and say they look wonderful, just so they can get home to their ballgames/beer/golf games or whatever interests them, which shopping does not.
Babies are cute.  I love making them laugh.  Their chubby faces and toothless grins.  Mom can shop till she drops and these kids are so much fun for me.
I recently had a man come in with his wife and 20 something daughter.  HE enjoyed shopping.  They all had armloads of clothes and after the mom and daughter went in to try things on, he continued picking things up for them to try.  They ended up spending over $500, and he made use of every single coupon he had.  And they still spent that much.  His name was Mark and he was a delight to help.
I spilled the secret of the road trip to the kids and they are delighted.  Matt, who has never been big on amusement parks, is tremendously excited about Cedar Point.  And all are looking forward to the farm and seeing the Millers again.  Such a peaceful place to be, even with the scary pictures in the bedrooms.  The gathering of eggs, the daily hay ride, the goat on the slide.  Ahhh, good times with wonderful food.  The breakfast is prepared in part the night before and the rest in the wee hours of the morning.  Everyone gathers around two large tables and plans for the day.  People from all over the country.  And many from Canada also.  At night we all sit on the porch and talk about our day past and day coming.  It's a wonderful tradition and everyone at the farm is amazed that Katie, Matt and Alyssa still enjoy it.
Well, back to my book and the sounds of a Saturday afternoon with children playing, lawnmowers going and the aroma of freshly cut grass.  Life is good.

10 comments:

Jen said...

I love the goat on the slide. Sounds peaceful, Mia. Nice post.

Elizabeth said...

I just happened to log into your blog and saw you are posting again...so glad!
Love your stories, especially about the road trips.

Lori said...

Sounds like a pretty good day, Mia! Don't you love good weather after the awful winter we had?
We have a garage sale every two years. Have to or we would be living on the street! I don't like them, but it is a way to clear the house.

Cathy said...

Sounds like a fun time at Macy's.
And the road trip is all planned already? You are organized. Your description of a wonderful summer afternoon is so peaceful. Funny about CD players. We have several of them around the house and we never use them, although we have loads of CD's. We put everything on our iPods! Technology.

Shelly said...

I don't like garage sales. I don't like to go to them and feel even more strongly about having them. We had one. We fought about what to sell, my husband ended up sneaking things back into the house, the kids bought their own toys and it was way too much work for the $24.50 we got....$4.25 of which the kids spent to get their toys back.

Ben said...

The season of garage sales! I love them, they are all over the burbs and my Saturday mornings are spent searching for finds. Nice way to learn about people and sometimes you really can find something worth something.
Weather has been wonderful on the weekends, which is really great after the rotten winter and spring.

ginger said...

I loved Shelly's rendition of her garage sale. Very funny!

We have had a few and enjoyed meeting and talking with the people. It's a lot of work to get ready but sometimes it pays off well.
Your job at Macy's sounds just as exciting, Mia.

Bill said...

We just call GoodWill to come and pick up our discarded items.
The weather here has been up and down. Had some really bad storms followed by sunshine and rainbows.
Glad to hear your job is going well, Mia. And yes, I agree, babies are cute, as long as they aren't ours!

Mark said...

Shelly, we had the same experience that you did, only it was my wife who brought things back into the house. She put them out, and when someone admired them, she decided she wanted to keep them. So when the person offered her a price, she became indignant and marched into the house asking...."do you believe the nerve of them?" This for a teapot priced at $6.00 in which $4.50 was offered.

Angela said...

Hey, Mia, welcome back! I worked retail and loved it for the most part. I hated the cranky rich women who came in and demanded that they be waited on before anyone else...why should they have to wait?
Amusement parks are the best. I love the coasters and the thrill rides. I am with Matt on that!