What Am I Bid?

If you want a couple of hours of free entertainment, just come to one of the local country auctions. It's great for my favourite hobby of "people watching" and you might score a bargain at the same time.

The auctions are held in the local Community Centre, usually on a long holiday weekend, like Easter or Thanksgiving. Notice goes out in the newspaper, and interested buyers come long distances to take a risk and spend their money.

I occasionally find something I really want, and bid on it, not always successfully I admit, but this time everyone was outbid by a couple of  buyers who were intent on clearing all the tables, and other bidders just didn't get a chance. I watched one of the men make notes in his notebook after each successful bid.... in Arabic. I was amazed at the different items they bought.... furniture, pictures, books, antiques, junk. Perhaps they were opening a store???

See anything you might have bid on? Too late, it's all gone.... sorry. See you at the next auction.

This 'n' That 'n' t'Other

I think Canadian Spring might be just around the corner here in the Great White North. We actually had two back-to-back sunny days, but it's back to cold weather again today.
I took TessaDog for a run in the forest last weekend, but it was too icy to go far. I'm afraid of falling and nobody finding me for a week. I'd have to eat the dog to survive! YoungerSon wouldn't like that.

Just a few more of those glorious sunny days and this view will change to green instead of white.

Auction Sale season has started. Every year there's an interesting Good Friday sale at the local Community Hall, so I went along to do some people watching (always a good sport) and to see what was on offer. I bid on a few things, but didn't actually part with any money, prices were too high, and there was nothing that I really needed.

A carved totem or symbolic mask from the West coast, possibly Haida. It sold for $750.00.

The auctioneer has a contact in the Persian carpet business, and always has a large number of carpets and rugs on offer at the auctions. The large ones go quite cheaply, as nobody has room for a 30' x 20' rug, and carpets with a big pattern aren't fashionable any more.

This one sold for just over $200.00. Listed price was over $1500.00. A bargain for someone.

These sweet little 1950s Dutch dolls sold for only $12.50. I was tempted, but do I really need dolls? After they were sold, I wished I had bid on them..... but then I saw sense and was happy I didn't. Indecision, indecision. 

Browsing at the local Care and Share junk charity shop, I noticed this shoe box up on a high shelf. Chandler is one of my family names (my mother's maiden name) so I was instantly interested. I wonder if these Chandlers are long lost relatives? And do their shoe shops still exist? According to the box lid they had addresses and stores all across the USA.

The town of Ilfracombe in North Devon (England) is where I spent some of my school days, and two new state of the art web cams have been installed looking at the harbour. I can spend quite some time just watching the people and the boats. If you see a large blue and white boat tied up at the dock, it's the MS Oldenburg, the ferry to the island of Lundy. The web cam is here, well worth a look. You'll also see a view on Cam2 of Rapparee Beach, the site of a disastrous shipwreck in 1796 and also a fistfight in 1878 with the Crown Prince of Germany who apparently was a bit of a twerp.

I've been painting again. The colours haven't photographed well in this photo. A bit fuzzy.

That's all folks..... until next time!     Happy Easter.

An Auction and Spaghetti

Well.... so much for my resolution of blog posting every couple of days through January. I only made it to 13 posts, and my record for February has been even worse so far.

I've been spending money again.... well, not very much money. I went to an auction sale and came home with this lovely little child's rocking chair. The cushion isn't very exciting, so I'll be making a nice new one, now that my faithful Singer sewing machine (purchased in 1967)  has been repaired. Oh, I didn't tell you that it was broken? It was making very unhappy noises, and suddenly produced a loud "Clunk!" and seized up. Well, after working diligently for 45 years without any major maintenance, I'm not really surprised.

Another Family Spaghetti Dinner took place in the local Community Hall this week. A couple of young families band together every few weeks and produce a magnificent spaghetti dinner for the amazing price of $1.00 per person. This is the fifth time they have done this.

On the menu: Spaghetti with tomato & meat sauce, mixed salad and a choice of salad dressing, buttered bread, lots of different desserts including cupcakes, rice krispie squares, brownies, cookies, and then coffee, tea or lemonade to wash it all down.

And if that's not enough to fill you up, you're welcome to go for a second helping!

Just put your money in the donation box, nobody checks the amount you're putting in. I should think most people put in more than $1.00, I certainly do. Long tables are set up and you just sit down next to whoever's already there and start chatting. There might be a neighbour sitting there, or a newcomer to town, it's a great way to make new friends. The money goes to the local Food Bank, with just enough left over to buy the ingredients for the next Family Spaghetti Dinner!

What am I Bid?

I spent today in a local Community Hall at an auction.

I wasn't aiming to buy anything in particular. You don't really have to spend money to have fun at an auction. You just have to sit there and if you see something you'd like to take home, wave your card at the auctioneer. It's that easy.

It's a great place to do some people watching. The scruffy guy who spent $500 on a piece of Inuit art... is he a dealer, or will that painting grace his wall at home? And that lady in the fur coat.... what will she do with that "thingummijig" that she bought?

And those three burly chaps in the back row..... one with green hair curling under his ball cap, one with arms covered in tattoos and the other one's face adorned with threatening looking spikes either side of his mouth.... what are they going to do with that huge box of WW1 books and encyclopedias?

I had my eye on a 1920's glass fronted bookcase, but it went too expensive for me.
So this time, I walked away from the sale emptyhanded, but just wait until next time.

D is for Doll

This lovely antique Doll was offered for sale at an auction I went to last week. She sold for $55.00. But not to me.

She looked a bit bedraggled, as if nobody had cared for her for quite a while. Her hair needed combing and her dress could do with a wash and a few stitches. I wondered what her name was, and who was the little girl who had loved her.

She has such a sweet expression on her face. I hope she went to a good home.

SOLD! to the lady in the back row....

There's no better entertainment than spending a few hours at an auction sale. Sometimes there are bargains to be found, and sometimes prices soar out of reach. Every Saturday, and occasionally on Sundays, you can find crowds of hopeful bidders at a local Community Hall. It's too dangerous to scratch your nose, or wave at a friend you haven't seen for a while.... you may find you've bought something you didn't really want.

This Saturday was no different. The contents of a Century Home were offered for sale. The sale started at 10:30a.m. and continued until 3:30p.m. .... lots of nicknacks, glass and crockery...

... furniture and fur coats...

.... assorted linens and quilts....

Of course, I can't resist bidding, and this is my prize for today. My old large place mats are starting to peel and disintegrate so 2 boxes of almost new Pimpernel mats for $30.... a bargain in my opinion.

BTW, Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! We're all a bit Irish on March 17 aren't we?