In which I steal from Wendy

Badger and Blackbird are doing this thing where they ask their readers for questions, and it's a great idea that I'd love to copy. It would give my creativity a big goose, and foster that dialogue that is so important to the blogging community. (Buzz words in italics).

Unfortunately, the way my hits are heading, if I asked my readers for questions, it would be met with an embarrassing silence. To save myself from total humiliation, I'd have to invent about five or six Blogger sock puppets and use them to ask myself questions. And who has the time for that?

So I'm stealing an idea for a post from my pal Wendy. She has a semi-regular Thrifty Thursday post, where she plays show and tell with her latest thrift shop scores. In doing so, Wendy inspires her readers with bone-deep, bitter envy. Naturally, I thought, "What fun!" Because now I might be able to inspire some envy myself.

Recently I invited Wendy to join me at one of Newtopia's legendary rummage sales, and she went home with so much loot, she posted about it not once, but six different times.

Here's Wendy, just getting started in the sewing/crafts room. The blurriness is partly the fault of my iPhone, and partly the result of her lightning-fast reflexes. What camera shutter could keep up?


My church runs this sale every year. People come to it from miles around. The sale uses the entire parish building, a nearby storage facility, and a nearby women's club. In addition, tents pop up all over the place. Volunteers hand out floor plans of the buildings. And after paying expenses, the net proceeds of the sale are awarded to local charities. This year we raised $235,000.

My friends, that is a lot of buttons.

I've explained to my children the greatness of the Christ Church rummage sale, so let me outline it here:

1. Rummage accepts donations all year long. So it's a great place to get rid of old junk.
2. Rummage prices their items very competitively. So it's a great place to acquire new junk.
3. Several area churches bus their parishioners in for the sale, which gives people who couldn't drive to the area the chance to buy some of our fabulous cheap junk.
4. The money raised doesn't go to the church; it goes to charities that really need the revenue.
5. It's green.

The local public schools are doing their best to turn my kids into tree-hugging socialists, so they're big rummage fans. And this is great, not only because it's teaching them to think about other people, but because it's much easier to take their junk away from them. I'm now welcome to declutter their rooms to my heart's content, as long as poor people and/or baby polar bears are the beneficiaries.

Anyway, back to the sale. Wendy spotted this beauty and said "That would be perfect for the master bedroom at the condo." And she was right:


It's a little armchair upholstered in a Brunschwig et Fils Chinoiserie print. With leopard! Sort of.


It's in showroom condition. Came with arm covers, a little pillow, and some extra fabric.

It cost $75, which is high for this sale. But isn't it fabulous?

Wendy and I have already marked our calendars for next year's sale.