"Paying Yard Sale Prices for Each Golden Memory....."*

*"Yard Sale" - lyrics by Kathleen Wilhoite

Disclaimer - I am not a hard-core yard sale fan.   I look forward to sleeping in on the weekends, and have no desire to rise at the crack of dawn to root through piles of discarded children's toys, knick-knacks, old tools, and mismatched dishes.   Also, I have so much stuff crammed into my little apartment there's barely room for me and Fred.  However, that being said, when there's over a hundred yard sales taking place within a four block radius of your house, it seems silly not to have a bit of a browse....

This past weekend was the Old East Village Community Yard Sale (Old East Village is the name of my neighbourhood).   According to the map that was created for the event, there were 109 yard sales and I thought with that many households participating there might be something worth buying, and if not, it was a perfect excuse to explore the neighbourhood.  

 My first stop was one of my neighbourhood's best-known gardens - the owner of the house started it 11 years ago, and has put every square inch of his small front yard to good use.

Reid, shown above in his garden, has squash, strawberries, peas, tomatoes, and I'm not sure what else growing in his garden, which takes an lot of work to maintain, but pays off in the amount of food he is able to harvest.

A couple of blocks over, I met Ronnie, a very independent (and gorgeous) cat, and her people

A deity lounged in someone's front yard

local birds have a choice of traditional or modern design in housing

Depending on the number of yard sales on a particular street, some were hopping with folks looking for bargains, while others were extremely quiet.

It was the busiest I had seen my 'hood in a long time; parking on the street was at a premium

Most of the houses in Old East have small front years, and many folks have chosen to fill this space with wild flowers or perennials

I couldn't tell if this was someone's front yard or back yard

Another front yard-turned-garden

These enterprising folks had cold drinks, hot dogs, and muffins for sale

The neighbourhood is about 130 years old, and most of the houses in the area are brick with small front porches that are well-used by the residents.

I made it to about half the sales, and while the goods on offer were pretty standard yard sale fare, I did pick up a couple of things for a couple of bucks a piece.

Clockwise from top left - Italian made platter, clay figure made in Eastern Europe (judging by the language on the label inside), and "Angel Resonator Bells" which come in their own little case, but are missing the "balls on sticks" that you use to strike the keys, so I will have to improvise.

Despite my initial claim that I don't go out of my way to attend yard sales, this was in fact the second weekend in a row that I had come home with someone else's discards.  Two weeks ago my friend Heather and I came across a yard sale after our usual Saturday morning coffee get-together, and we were surprised by the quality and variety of things for sale.  I got....

Clockwise from left - woven basket purse from Thailand, 1960's plaster wall ornament, one of two decorative tea light holders (the other one needs the hanging chain replaced)

The purse matched what I was wearing, so it seemed it was meant to come home with me.  The woman having the sale gave me the black sun hat because she thought it completed the outfit.

Black and gold wrap skirt, gold bracelet, ceramic guard cat - thrifted from store in my 'hood
Thai woven bag, plaster wall ornament and hat - yard sale
necklace - gift from the lovely Curtise
gold slippers - thrifted
ceramic guard cat - thrifted