Garage Sale-ing

After the fun we had at the auction in Raton, (and the parts bin debacle) we decided to go garage sailing on Saturday mornings.  (Now, is it Garage Sale-ing?  Or Garage Sailing?)  Les has been lamenting the loss of his parts bin for the past 2 months.  (See my 7/29/12 blog. )  I told him that the only place he'd find another one was at a garage sale.  So off we went!

I have been trying to get Les to go to garage sales with me for years.  Ever since my friend, Fred, found an antique cloisonne smoking tray for a few dollars at a garage sale, I've been wanting to find treasures at them. But I would always have to go by myself, and where's the fun in that?

Finally, Les decided to go with me and we've gone every Saturday ever since.

We've discovered that the sales in town are generally clothes, kids' things, kitchen items, knick-knacks, etc.  But if you go even just a little bit out of town, we've found some real treasures.

This is similar to what our new bed looks like.

Two weeks ago, I found a king size head & foot board bed frame for a cedar post bed.  It had been hand made by the Mennonites on the other side of the Rockies.  It was a nice, comfortable king size and it was only $100.  When I asked the owner how much it was and she said $100, another woman standing next to me said, "$100??"  I told her I'd take it because these beds can go for over $1500.  What a find!  It's beautiful.  It will need a little cleaning and some wood oil, but will be absolutely gorgeous in our new home.  Of course, we will outfit it with a new mattress and box spring.  I'd never even consider buying a mattress at a garage sale... yuck!

Then, last Saturday, we went out to a little town called Cokedale.  It's about 7 miles west of Trinidad and was home to the miners working in the coal mines in the early 1900's.  Now, it's an eclectic little community with a town hall and a post office and a church.

But we arrived first at a garage sale held by an older couple.  He was obviously a woodworker and just seemed like he was ready to hang up his tools and move to Florida someplace.  She was a crafter, but was selling all of her craft materials because her eyesight had diminished to the point where she could no longer see to create the things she loved.  They were a really kind, old couple and we took to them immediately.

I saw an aluminum step stool and made a nice deal on it.  It's wider and higher than usual so when we start working on our house, it will come in handy.  While I went back to the car to get my money, Les went into his parts bin story, which we have a lot of fun telling.  But when I got back into the garage, Les was looking at an old, green parts bin.  It didn't have a sale sticker on it, but when we asked, we were given a price of $15.  What a steal!

Look at the grin on his face.

 So, Les is finally the proud owner of a parts bin.  Yesterday he sanded it and re-painted it and it now sits safely on a shelf in his shop.  No chance of a forklift driving over the top of this one!