Owls and dogs
I am doomed when I make a comment like “sometimes the blog writes itself,” and in the case of this day, it really does. With that said … one of us still needs to actually write it. Sometimes that can take a while, especially when it’s still the dead of winter and three sales in a day is about as good as it gets.
The first sale had this cartoon taped to the front door.
Little did we know how true that was going be.
Right away I made a comment about how there were tons of owls.
The woman running the sale sort of rolled her eyes and said “yeah, keeping looking around” — THE ENTIRE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH OWLS.
I guess there had been over 2,500 owls, some had been sold already as this was the second day of the sale.
What can you really say? I have collections of stuff. I collect records, bakelite bangles, purses, vintage clothing, old group photos, bottle cap men, books. But someone stop me if I only collect one thing and it’s OWLS.
The next sale was an estate sale that we turned up way too early for, so we hit a new bakery for treats and then joined a line up to enter an enclosed back porch. For the record: Hoarding is bad.
Seriously.
You don’t need to own 2 vintage donut makers. How often are you making donuts?
The house was huge, but they hadn’t been able to even get into the house yet, since she collected so much stuff. This was to be the first of many sales. The items so far had been just what they could pull out from the kitchen. Tang, anyone?
Or maybe lemonade is more your speed …
When I went to ask a question the woman working the sale took a phone call and started talking about how someone needed to come and get the garbage out, since she had 10 bags of it. I turned my head to the left and WOW — in the hallway was a ton of huge filled-up black lawn bags. I couldn’t work out how to take a photo without seeming like a complete ass.
Karl texted us the address of another sale, saying we should hit it for the wackiness factor. Of course we circled around for awhile looking for this sale that didn’t even exist (or he had the wrong address). I had remembered seeing a sign for a sale that started on Friday. We weren’t planning to hit that, but since it was only five blocks away we popped in … and discovered it was another collector.
Oh yes. DOGS.
I have a dog. I like dogs. But there is just no need for this sort of collection. It was just sad.
At this point we just went home. Enough!
Wanda @ Just Vintage said,
March 1, 2011 @ 11:54 am
As usual, you’ve made me laugh. Surely, somewhere in those collections, was the $50 item, but after the first table or two they all start to look the same, don’t they? And could the garbage have been worse than the things on “display” at the second sale? Yuck! But…. now I know what that plastic kitchen doodad I’ve had lying around for a couple of years is. A donut maker!!! Kept it mainly because I didn’t know what it was. Now I can trash it in peace. Thanks!
Abbie Grotke said,
March 1, 2011 @ 3:53 pm
Owls and Dogs = ridiculous. Hilarious that they were on the same day and nearby. Maybe they were shopping buddies.
Donut makers = uh, I think I would probably buy those if I saw them, for the packaging alone! I have seen a glimpse of the future, after my demise: someone is going to walk into my house and say, “Why would you possibly need 8 vintage ice crushers!
Denise said,
March 1, 2011 @ 7:55 pm
I love reading these entries and looking at the pics! I would have totally snagged the potato/french fry cutter just for the cool box. A friend has been forcing an owl collection on me for years. She sneakily hides them around my house when she visits, and I’ve found them hanging from trees in the yard, in the milk box on the porch, etc. It makes me laugh really hard when I discover them–and it’s often been at the end of a bad day, so it’s nice to get the giggles upon arriving home from a cranky day at work. I’m trying to contain the owls in a small shelf in the basement and am worried what will happen when the collection outgrows it. (She’d notice if I tossed one and would get mad.) And it all started because I once remarked that I can’t stand owl-themed things–seriously, they’re really creepy! I hope like hell she didn’t go to that sale.
Sue said,
March 1, 2011 @ 8:39 pm
You are far braver than I would’ve been. About 15 years ago, some friends and I rented a mountain cabin for a bachelorette weekend. When we arrived, it was EXACTLY like that owl sale. We were TRAPPED for 3 whole days. We needed a LOT of liquor in order to be able to sleep in that house.
Thanks for the laugh!
Kaijsa said,
March 1, 2011 @ 10:37 pm
I love owls, but don’t collect them. Still, I spied a couple in those photos that looked like things I would not have been able to resist. They’re actually kind of trendy now, so I bet the sale was successful. Laugh if you will, but I stand by the fact that owls are awesome (in moderation).
Linda H. said,
March 2, 2011 @ 7:32 am
I have a friend who I so would have picked up some tacky owl jewelry for. The bigger and gaudier the better. Old ladies can really rock the owl necklace. Some of the owls were at least interesting. The dog collection was just wrong. $5.00 for an old can of TANG!? Please tell me the can was empty. I bet it wasn’t…
Mary Jo Cartledgehayes said,
March 2, 2011 @ 2:35 pm
Would you mind running back and getting that Villa french fry cutter for me? We had one exactly like that when I was a teenager, and it cut perfect fries that were delicious. xo Mary Jo
Pinky said,
March 2, 2011 @ 4:04 pm
Horrible but very sad. I imagine some older lady, after have raised her kids and having the life force sucked out of her by everybody and everything else in our culture having these collections to fill her days and ways…because she’s not needed or wanted any more and collecting this stuff occupies the time between NOW and her assisted living facility/funeral. I imagine her kids/grandkids and friends finding them for her and sending them to her and that she talks to them (the owl and dog figurines) because everybody’s working during the day and there is NOBODY around. They give her this stuff in lieu of human contact. This stuff, for all it’s tacky implications always makes me sad. I’ve seen cat stuff and doll stuff collections at garage sales, too. UGH! You just know another member of the “Greatest Generation” has ceased to be viable.
Linda H., how old do old ladies have to be to rock the owl necklaces?
Leah - moxiethrift on etsy said,
March 4, 2011 @ 1:49 pm
i think i have to use cap letters here: WAS THAT $5 AND $4 ON THE TANG AND LEMONADE? maybe maybe maybe it was 5 cents and 4 cents. please let it be cents. WHO WOULD PAY $5 for that can of TANG?
ok. better.
oh, and WHOOOO would collect that many owls thingys. eesh.
Budd said,
March 6, 2011 @ 4:46 pm
Was that chalk dog in the last pic an older one? 50′s- 60′s ?
chris at yardsalequeen.com said,
March 6, 2011 @ 7:18 pm
I only see one donut maker. The other is a pancake maker – totally different item so that’s how i know the person wasn’t a hoarder
And the dog with the whiskers/freckles in 3rd dog pic looks like an eyeglasses holder, so it was a *functional* item and had a job to do, so it wasn’t just a collector. I know cuz I have a few of those doggy eyeglass holders, not that I’m a hoarder or anything.
When you went to the owl yardsale did you do your best Jim Carrey impression and say “nice hooters”??
chris at yardsalequeen.com said,
March 6, 2011 @ 7:19 pm
oops….meant to say “so it was a *functional* item and had a job to do, so it wasn’t just a DUST collector.
Meghan said,
March 6, 2011 @ 7:27 pm
@ Bud, no clue — we didn’t purchase any dogs from this sale.
@ Chris – Har…. She had multiples of many items and more tupperwear than you could shake a stick at. It is a glasses dog, but a really bad one — my glasses fell off of it.
Yard Sale Bloodbath » Patio cats and basement babes said,
March 7, 2011 @ 1:39 pm
[...] week we were all emailing to figure out if we wanted to hit part two of the hoarder-ish patio sale. It started on Friday and all of us had time to check it out, but we weren’t sure we wanted [...]
grace said,
March 17, 2011 @ 12:13 am
My dad had dog figurines as a child because he was allergic and that was the closest he could get to having a dog. I’ve heard of others doing this too, buying stuffed animals or figurines in lieu of a real animal due to allergies/asthma.