...grape crush

WHAT A WEEK!!

Traditions... like all good things... come with a LOT of hard work, but the payoffs are BIG!

Next week is our annual garage sale ~ Yes, the 'Catch-and-Release Program' set in motion once again. Tradition in that, my Mom and Dad always make the 100 mile journey to our house to join in on the 'fun'!! Each year, I think that I 'really' don't have the time or the energy to put into doing this a.g.a.i.n., but THEY really enjoy it, AND we always do it on the weekend of Dad's birthday, AND they are pushing eighty, AND hard telling how many more years THEY will be around and able to do to do this, so...

To add to it this year, Brother #2 and his wife have sold their Lake Camp ( I'm bummed... this is where we have always stayed for Warrensburg!!) and have a bunch of 'junk' they want to get rid of. Yes, this is the same brother that bestowed the Shiny Brites on me at Christmas from his inlaws (and who filled the infamous DUMPSTERS!!). When they heard of the garage sale... "Mind if we come out?" No that's fine. (We have one guest room, M/D will bring their RV... we can handle 6.)

Brother #2's daughter (niece #3) is away at college, and will be studying abroad from July - Dec. . When she heard of the 'happening'... Well, I want to go see everybody before I leave - 'Sure, come on out if you don't mind a couch!"

So, needless to say, this week hasn't been the usual garage sale prep week of 'just' sorting/cleaning/ pricing everything I can part with from the attic, basement and everything in between. It has ALSO been a week of cleaning up flower beds, getting the porch 'summer~guest ready', meal planning, grocery shopping, baking, cleaning the house top to bottom, laundering guest bedding/towels, etc.., etc...

OH, and there is a Holiday in here, isn't there?? The town in which I work is the 'Birthplace of Memorial Day', so there is much 'to-do', and it has been a FULL work week there as well. Oh yeh... must bake and prep for a picnic at inlaws on Sunday.

I didn't have the least bit of interest in saling on Friday morning - tired, too much to do, no time, other things on my mind... I had glimpsed at the ads quickly Thursday night... well, okay ~ just one looked intriguing.

That one was pretty good - scored a croquet set, not old for $1.50 and a pair of my beloved chalkware fish (oops, forgot to photo!) for .50¢!

Okay, my garage sale mojo was getting stoked... I pushed my luck on my way home and pulled over when I saw another sign by the road for a sale. It was an 'Antique Dealer' posing as a garage sale. ~Bought Nothing~ Proceeded toward home. Another sign pulled me in it's direction. WHAT POSESSED ME?? It was 'Scarey' folks!! Yes, that is with a capital 'S'. When I got there, I realized it was the sale that I had seen on Craigslist:

"saterday 8:00 intill 5:00 and sunday 8:00 intill 1:00" . Does that about sum it up folks?? ~Bought Nothing~ On the same road, there was one consolation sale where I did find a concrete stepping stone for the garden ($1.50). Oh this saling bit. Some days, you do have to kiss a lot of Frogs along the way!

Then when I got home I realized that the croquet set didn't have any wickets... ((sigh))... should I try to make some? or just use the mallets as fun stakes for holding up plants in the garden? ... and I'm sure the balls would make some kind of funky table-scape!!

No saling on Saturday! The day was spent sorting the attic, and hauling boxfuls down for release!

I had a couple of quick 'phone breaks' from my ATTIC DUTIES: ~ I got word that Niece #1 had heard of the 'Garage Sale Festivities', and her and her husband may stop out on Sat. - ... "Sure, two more for dinner would be Great!!". ~Talked to a bestest friend/crew member to let her know that my family was going to be in town if she wanted to stop over for dinner Sat. "That sounds like FUN!". What's the count up to now? Is anybody keeping track? TEN??

Basically the day was spent in the attic, or going up and downstairs, until I could take NO MORE!! Then we grabbed subs and made our getaway to a nearby town (home of MacKenzie-Childs) to see how the 'other-half' were spending the Holiday, have a picnic at the park and do a little seaglass picking 8-) !! As we were driving through town, and I was drooling over all of the H.U.G.E. 'camps' on the Lake and admiring their gorgeous lawns and gardens, I was amazed at all of them that appeared to be empty on a Holiday weekend. DH and I began speculating on this... I began daydreaming...

S: 'You know, if we had a place like one of these, everybody could come AND have their OWN room to stay in!!'

DH: "Yeh, but nobody comes to these places."

That made me think. I guess he's right. I'd rather have my Family & Friends, small house, silly traditions over a huge house on a lake any day.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

'REBECCA OF THE GARDEN' has been freshly painted and planted with New Guinea Impatience 'GRAPE CRUSH' this year - just waiting for Company & Friends - Stop on by!! When 'the fountain' is ready, THAT is the official start of Summer at our Home!!!