garage sale scores

saturday morning i left the house at 7am, stopped at winn-dixie to get cash, stopped at mcdonalds to get 2 egg mcmuffins, and hit the garage sales about 7:30. On my list were an mp3 player, a bike, and weights. i asked god to help me know where to go.

it started out slow, not finding much i was interested in. then i pulled up to a place that had a barbell set prominently displayed. i asked how much they were. "oh they're free to whoever wants them." they went promptly into my back seat (after much huffing and puffing).

then there was an air popper (for popcorn). i had been interested in those ever since i read about how to roast your own coffee beans. apparently these poppers are just the ticket for doing that. $1.50.

i then came across a guy with a gazillion boxes of books, neatly categorized. cheap books! a great find. i looked over all of them and didn't see anything significant. upon closer inspection, however, i came up with 3 goodies. $1.50

• dilbert: still pumped from using the mouse
• What's my type? A system of 9 personality types
• God drives a flying saucer: astounding biblical revelations that prove the existence of ufo's and explain their spiritual signficance to mankind

the dude said he sold books on ebay under the name jacksonvillebooksandmusic. i asked if i could save on shipping if i just drove over and got something i was interested. he was quite hesitant. "i don't like to meet strangers from the internet. but since we've met, just remind me it's you."

On to the next place. A bike! A Cambridge Roadmaster. Since it doesn't have a bar across the top it must be a girl's bike. so? what's the difference? it had 21 speeds and looked in good condition. a little shorter than i would prefer. I would really like a 27 inch. i asked if i could take it for a spin. "If i don't come back you can have my car," i quipped. it didn't ride very well because the tires were pretty flat. and because the seat was low it was difficult to pedal. when i got back i asked if they could get a wrench to lift the seat up. the woman acted annoyed. "the seat goes up as high as you want!" the man went to find a wrench and was unsuccessful. they asked $20. i offered $15 of course. They took it and off i went with a bike, finally. it's been several months since i had one. now that i think of it, i think the last bike i had was a cambridge roadmaster. but it was a boy's bike. and it was $20! on the way home i filled the tires with air and when i got home i jacked up the seat, and presto... new bike! life is worth living again.

i came upon a goodwill, and because it was getting too late for garage sales (10:30) i decided to drop in to see what treasures i could snag.

i went to the record section first, but the selection was much smaller than usual. i did find 4 i was interested in, but couldn't remember if i already had them or not. decided to get them just to be sure. $4

• captain & tennille: love will keep us together
• the carpenters: the singles, 1969-1973
• barbara streisand: memories
• john denver: greatest hits

i found a veggietales vhs tape and got it for my girls who love veggie tales. (frankly, i never saw the attraction in that series.) larry-boy! & the fib from outer space $2

i also picked up a computer progam called galaxy of games: arcade action. when i got it home i realized it was built for windows 95 so it's way old, and works kind of klunky. also, much of it is shareware, so you end up having to buy it if you want to keep playing it anyway. i did find one decent pinball game which i decided to download and keep. $1

So... if this were a tv commercial i would say...

• weights for bulking up: free
• popcorn popper to roast coffee: $1.50
• books for stimulation and humor: $1.50
• bike for health and fun: $15
• records to bring back memories: $4
• video to keep the girls entertained for a half hour: $2
• computer games to waste untold hours: $1
• a fun expedition on an otherwise boring saturday morning picking up lots of cool stuff for $25: priceless