Garage Sale Treasures

It is sizzling down here in Texas. Eighty-one degrees when I went for my morning walk, and it is predicted to go up to 103. I hope it is a bit cooler where you are. 

No matter the temperature, summertime is always a good time for some great cool drinks, so help yourself to a frozen watermelon smoothie.

Or if you’re like me and prefer your watermelon neat, help yourself to a nice cool slice.

Photos courtesty of Minamalist Baker, where you can find the recipe for the watermelon smoothie if you care to make more.

Now here is today’s Wednesday’s Guest, Slim Randles with a story about finding treasures at garage sales.

The hassled, red-faced man cruising the neighborhood Saturday morning in the pickup truck is good ol’ Bert, of course. It’s a warm Saturday, which means only one thing in our part of the country – yard sales. That’s why the charming lady riding next to him, his wife, Maizie, was wearing a big grin.

“There’s one Bert,” she said. “On the right. Pull over and park.”

It took Maizie almost 20 minutes to work her way up the driveway. There were three boxes of paperback books to go through first, then a shelf full of various knobs.

“I’ll ask them what these knobs are for,” Maizie said.

“Don’t do it,” replied Bert. “If you have to ask, we don’t need any.”

What Bert forgot to say was that he didn’t want to admit to the Johnsons, whose yard sale this was, that he didn’t know what those knobs of theirs actually did.

After two paperback books, there was a little stack of doilies to go through.

“We don’t need doilies,” Bert said.

“Hush!” said Maizie. “People will think you aren’t friendly.”

Then she spotted the lamp.

It was only five bucks, and it was a golden brown like a big fat vase and had a nice amber shade on it.

“Oh Bert,” Maizie said. “It’s a lot like the one we used to have. Remember that one? It used to sit on the end table closest to the door to your den. I really miss that lamp.

Let’s get this one, Bert. It’ll remind us of the one we used to have, OK?”

“It is kinda nice,” Bert said.

Maizie bought it and Bert loaded it in the pickup, along with the new ironing board, game cartridge for the grandkids, plant pots for the geraniums, dishes for Maizie’s dish collection, a serving spoon holder from Niagara Falls, and a five-gallon milk can to put magazines on.

When they got home and were unloading, Bert noticed Maizie’s initials on the bottom of the new table lamp. Didn’t the Johnson’s buy this from them in their yard sale about 10 years ago?

Oh well, nothing shines like a new lamp, and Bert might be tired of yard saling, but he is still gentleman enough not to spoil it for Maizie.

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Windy Wilson fans can listen to his philosophies on Home Country with Slim Randles on your local country music station.

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Slim Randles writes a nationally syndicated column, “Home Country” and is the author of a number of books including  Saddle Up: A Cowboy Guide to Writing. That title, and others, are published by  LPD Press.  If you enjoy his columns here, you might want to check out the book Home Country. It has some of the best of his offerings through the years he has been writing columns.