Every week I have been getting excited to hit Friday sales, but then it always seems to start raining. It’s not good when you might have a better time sitting at home doing nothing, right? It’s almost July and we are having the coldest spring/summer on record.

But last Friday there was an estate sale run by Flotsam & Jetsam that looked like it could be cool. Even if I didn’t buy anything, at least the house might be interesting.

I only planned on hitting this one sale. The house was a big rambler near the water and there were about 12 people in line when I arrived. Then a woman comes up behind me and starts complaining. “I am cold. Maybe they will let us in early. It’s raining” — SHE HAS NO COAT ON.

She keeps mumbling and I am trying to not pay her much attention, since it’s going to make the next 10 minutes that I am in line seem even longer. Since I haven’t been giving her any attention, she is now talking to the woman behind her in line. And the line is getting longer, I look back and there are 40+ people waiting to get into the sale.

Then the owner of Flotsam comes outside, takes down her signage, and goes back into the house. And the same woman starts talking …

LADY: “If she comes out here one more time and doesn’t let us in, I am going to slap her.”
ME: “Um, I know her and she is very nice. Saying you are going to slap her isn’t cool.”
LADY: “Well, I am cold and it’s almost 10:00. And her sales are always priced so high.”
ME: “No one made you come here. You don’t have to come to her sales if you think she has items priced too high. That isn’t really a reason to talk about slapping someone.”
LADY: “Well, I was just joking. And you are weird.”
ME: “I would rather have someone think I’m weird, than threaten to slap someone because you can’t get into a sale two minutes early.”

As if calling me weird could be considered an insult.

The house was wonderful, but the sale didn’t have a ton of stuff. People swarmed the books. They did have nine pairs of Frye boots, sadly all were two sizes too big for me. There was great kitchen stuff and I picked up a really cool french bowl and a Descoware Frying pan.

When I went to do one last pass before getting rung up, I spotted this guy that comes off as some pro book seller, crouched on the floor with his scanner. Ehg. Get me out of here!

Then as I was driving home, I pulled onto my street and saw a sign for an estate sale. Why wasn’t this listed on Craig’s? So, I doubled back and hit this sale that had the feel of a perma-sale, but also seemed like an estate sale full of stuff that should just be sent to the Goodwill. I went into a small room off the garage filled with sheets, shoes, toys and stuffed animals. Then I spotted a Captain and Tennille poster on one wall for $4. Did you love the song “Love Will Keep Us Together” so much that you kept this horrible poster?

As I started to take a photo of it, I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye — definitely not something you want to have happen at a sale. I turned to see if it was a rat, then saw a kitty getting comfortable on a stack of old blankets. Why would you have an estate sale and keep the animals in the house with you?

OMG. Why did I even leave the house?!?!