SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Spring is on its way. The snow is rapidly melting in temps that daily reach 50 or more. The first crocus bloom. Spirits are lifted, and people are cheerful. But – don’t plant the garden yet. All danger of frost is not past.

Saturday (March 16) my P.E.O. Chapter held its annual rummage sale. The date was early, but shoppers came out in droves and stood in long lines to buy their used goods, just glad for the opportunity to get out of the house and go “yard saling.” It proved to be great timing. We netted more than $2300.

Our sisters bring wonderful things to the sale, and this year, I donated a few treasured keepsakes myself – those things that are carefully wrapped in tissue paper, stored in boxes, and will never see the light of day again. The way I look at it, for the price of my things and an additional monetary donation, I can cart away other things. As I explained this to one of the husband helpers, he suggested we forget the sale and just make the monetary donation. Yes, we’re a group of mostly seniors and working the sale is harder every year.

Anyway, here are some things I brought home:

·    Two mugs in Pfaltzgraff’s “Pistoulet” pattern, which I happen to be considering for the farmhouse. This is surely a sign and will give us a chance to assess the colors before making a decision.

·      Two salad bowls in a Gibson pattern – pretty but maybe not keepers.

·      Doll – a very well loved “My First Huggums” by Madame Alexander, 1977. This doll is another repair challenge. I just can’t pass up these orphans – or a Madame Alexander face.

·      Three books for Mike, including Grisham’s The Reckoning, which he has been waiting to read.

·      A copper pot – perhaps for small wood near the fireplace.

·      A bag of sewing trims and scraps – not great but left at the end of the sale.

·      A Corning “Cornflower” 6-cup casserole with lid

·      . . . and other odds and ends

An item overlooked for the listing is the ancient Mickey Mouse cookie cutter. At least, I think it's a cookie cutter. What else could it be?

 

And Mike’s personal find was an “Old Hickory” knife out of a box of kitchen utensils. The individual who donated it said it was the first knife her husband had given her after they were married. Mike wasted no time refurbishing both the handle and the blade, and it’s now at home in my knife block.

Casserole pieces in Corning’s “Cornflower” pattern disappear with the first wave of shoppers, but the “Spice of Life” pattern does not. Isn’t that interesting? A 6-cup casserole in “Spice of Life” was left at the end of the sale, so I brought it home, but again, perhaps not to keep.

In the end, clean-up seemed easier than usual. I don’t think we had as much stuff this year, especially in bedding and clothing, but a lot of stuff went out the door with the shoppers. I have yet to determine exactly what folks want, but perhaps our adopted slogan just fits: “Something for everyone.” KW

STAYCATION DAY 10 -- THURSDAY, MAY 18

Volunteer hollyhock in foreground

Mike called mid-morning to say he was in agony with a toothache. He had been unable to get through to our dentist so asked me to call for an antibiotic. He and Sam would stay the night with my brother Chuck in St. George, Utah, so have the prescription called to a pharmacy there. (We know the drill. He had a course of antibiotics a few months ago.) As it happened, I had an appointment for my annual cleaning this morning so agreed to discuss the problem with the person in charge there. (It’s not the dentist, you know. It’s the gal at the front desk.)

The first thing I did was to call Chuck and get contact info for his pharmacy. So, when I stated the problem at the dentist’s office, Peggy said, “I could do that, but how am I going to . . .” and then I handed her my slip of paper. She was going to say she wouldn’t know which pharmacy or how to contact them, but for once I had correctly anticipated the need.

Yellow iris and hollyhock

So, I took care of that, had my cleaning, and then went shopping for something new to wear to the P.E.O. convention this weekend. Lest you think I put this off till the last minute, let me assure you it was not my first attempt to find something new to wear. It used to be so important, you know – having something new to wear to special events. However, I found nothing better than what I already have in my closet. I do see a few people wearing lovely outfits, but I don’t know where they get them, and for the most part, we’re not wearing pretty clothes these days.

Arriving back at the house, I discovered a package at the door – some yarrow plants I ordered last month from High Country Gardens. I don’t call that a staycation gift. They will have to be planted, and that's work -- for another day.

Bess & Nellie

With Mike heading home and the convention coming up, I began to plan how I will juggle the care of the dogs against attending convention events and making the house presentable. In the end I finished up a machine embroidery project. It was fun – a whole lot more fun than cleaning the house.

 

And then it came to light that a deposit I made a few days ago went to the wrong account, and I would have pursue this to find out what happened. I am not the family pursuer -- Mike is. But he isn’t here, and it wasn’t his error anyway. So, tomorrow is the day. KW

ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE

Yard work time in town

My P.E.O. chapter holds a rummage sale as an annual fundraiser. The rationale is that by having the rummage sale, we only have to work hard this one weekend every year. This brings in money from the community and also does a service in offering better used goods at an affordable price. Another kind of fundraiser might involve selling something, such as nuts, daffodil bulbs, or wrapping paper, and of course, no one wants to do that! So, every spring we gather up rummage and head to the multi-purpose room of a local church where we spread it all out as appealingly as we can and then open the door to the public.

Just a few blossoms cling to the cherry tree

The sale was last weekend. I’m one of our best customers. This year I came home with “Cornflower” casserole dishes, a serving bowl, a Dritz sleeve board (ironing board for shirt sleeves), “like new” cushions for my dining chairs, as well as other odds and ends. And of course, I make a nice monetary donation for these things. But when it comes to donating things for the sale, most of what I take doesn’t sell. I’m not sure most of what anyone donates sells. And yet, once again, we had a successful sale.

We always have a lot of rummage left over. Dishes, china, and crystal typically don’t sell. This year we were fortunate in that someone purchased a set of 36 cut glass goblets at $2.50 each -- $90, a fraction of their original value but money we were glad to have. However, a pretty set of dishes and two punch bowls were left.

Then there are the knick-knacks and decorative items. They cost a bit when you buy them new, but at a rummage sale, it’s disheartening to see that they are mostly unwanted. “I spent how much to buy that new?” I ask myself, “and there it sits.” On the other hand, jewelry sells well.

Cherry tree is mostly past

I donated Hallie’s handmade doll, a gift from Mike's aunt when she was a little girl. Unfortunately she didn't like it -- and I guess no one else does either because it didn’t sell, which leads me to wonder if anyone ever cares about these things. I follow bloggers who do creative things with new as well as recycled items, and I admire their creativity, but are they really successful? Is there a demand for these things?

Of course, one can argue that at a rummage sale you don’t see a broad segment of the population, and that may be true. On the other hand, I think we see those who buy to collect or re-sell. And after all, we did take in over $2,000, so something must have sold. It’s just that when I look around at the end of the sale, it seems like we didn’t sell anything. Then the stuff has to be packed up and carted off to some other thrift venue. KW

[I didn't take pictures of the rummage sale or the rummage. We'll just have to content ourselves with springtime pictures.]

IMA STAR

Watch for a new post -- coming soon!

P.E.O. CONVENTION DELEGATE

As president of my P.E.O. chapter in Lewiston, I was a delegate to the 95^th Convention of the Idaho State Chapter P.E.O. Sisterhood in Boise over the weekend. Mike drove me to the convention center and then he visited with Milo and family while I attended the convention sessions. The camera went with Mike, so available photos have more to do with travel and grandsons than the convention venue.

Most of us like food, so let's talk about the banquet menus.

Friday night banquet: leaf lettuce salad; variety rolls; salmon steak with sauce; plain white rice; steamed vegetables (baby carrots and two slender broccoli spears). Dessert was alternated by place setting at the table – a small piece of plain cheesecake or a huge slice of some decadent cake involving four layers of chocolate – dark chocolate, sweet chocolate, a dry cake layer, and a soft frosting. I got the chocolate cake. This was altogether the best meal we had. The salmon was delicious, though some diners grumbled about having fish.

Saturday lunch: spinach salad with a few toasted walnuts and a dressing I wished I hadn't applied; variety rolls; chicken breast (very plain, as in microwaved); white rice mixed with some wild rice; steamed veggies (two baby carrots and two slender broccoli spears); and a lemon tart (the kind in a store-bought shell).

Saturday dress banquet (husbands invited): leaf lettuce salad with two weird olives and two small mozzarella cheese balls, strange dressing; variety rolls (yes, the same variety); prime rib; twice-baked potatoes (at least twice!); steamed vegetables (two baby carrots and two slender broccoli spears); alternating desserts (lemon tarts and dry chocolate cake). I got the lemon tart. The prime rib at our table was in varying stages of rareness. Mine was so rare as to be inedible in my opinion. I took one bite and deemed that entrée a lost cause. Besides, I didn't like the way the fat looked – raw – and there was plenty of fat. Another person at my table asked the waiter if he could zap her portion in the microwave, and he said there was no microwave on that level of the hotel and carrying it to the kitchen was not feasible. From there she inquired about the recurring steamed vegetables, and he said broccoli and carrots were the only vegetables they ever serve and suggested she complain.

Questioning other diners about the Saturday dinner, I learned that there was great variation with the prime rib. One said hers was so overdone she couldn't slice it. Another said hers was done to perfection and delicious.

So, that's the way the food was – prepared elsewhere, frozen, and delivered for mass preparation. Gone is the pride in providing a culinary experience – at least at that venue. By the way, as a convention delegate, I was not aware of the monetary value placed on my meals, but had Mike attended, the cost would have been $48 for his. I was sorry not to have had him at my side, but we agreed that we made the right decision. Mike said, however, that the lasagna I fixed for him to take to Milo's was very good and that Milo made delicious hamburgers Saturday night. And my grandsons thanked me for the home-baked cookies as soon as they saw me.

We were home by 7:45 Sunday night. Nellie was waiting in her kennel and glad to see us, though her eyes demanded an explanation for being thus separated from her pack. Ken took care of her food and exercise and the neighbors played with her in our absence. KW

[Photo 1: From a point on the Old White Bird Grade overlooking the Nez Perce Battlefield; part of the Seven Devils also visible in the distance. Photo 2: Mike retrieving a geocache, this one placed as part of a Boy Scout educational project. Photo 3: Son Milo with grandsons Mason, 9, and Gage, 6, on a geocaching excursion with Grandpa Mike. Photo 4: Mason mowing the lawn. Photo 5: Gage in a tree.]