This time of year Saturdays are for thrifting. Yard (or garage) and estate sales are where all junkers want to be come Saturday mornings, and with the stay-home mandate that isn't happening.
Yes, we still have good ol' Craig and his list, as well as Facebook Marketplace and any number of other junk groups on Facebook. Sadly, picking up one lonely item on the corner of the driveway of somebody's home and leaving your payment under a flowerpot on the porch is not remotely the same as Saturday saling. Navigating around town with your coffee and a MC-whatever-breakfast-sandwich, conducting drive bys past an open garage as you follow several homemade signs drawn on neon green Dollar Tree poster board to see if it's worth a stop or not pure heaven on earth for a Junker.
**Side note here- My personal theory on yard sale signage is this: The more elaborate the signs, (and if there are more than five of them) typically the more disappointing the sale will be. People who spend way too much time on their signs are clearly trying too hard to get you to stop by for a look-see, and there is usually a reason. That reason is almost always one of two things; that have a grand total of 13 items laid out neatly on the driveway, or they want full blown buy-it-new retail prices. (No Karen, no one wants your barely used thighmaster that your daughter stuck Frozen stickers on. Especially not for $25.)
Aaaaaaaah, how I miss those springtime early Saturday mornings, spent hoping the dew will disappear sooner than later, and the sun will warm things up just a bit. Digging through miles of piles of endless potential diamonds-in-the-rough, or buried treasures worthy of Antiques Roadshow, that the guy before you missed. Oh, those are the moments that make for great thrift stories later with friends!
But right now, it is like we are living in an episode of the Twilight Zone. (If you do not remember the Twilight Zone, you are much younger than me, and need to ask your Mom about it.) I cannot tell you if it is Saturday or Tuesday without consulting my iphone. When I do check and realize Saturday has arrived, I feel a sad little tug at my heart, and I become more than a little bit melancholy. (I then tend to end up wandering into the kitchen to console myself with some sort of usually-cheese-involved snack.)
I know.
We are flattening the curve, and we need to continue doing so. I'm here, at home, and I am hoping you are too. Happy Saturday, my friends!
