He Finally Got His Sleigh

First off, you have to understand.... George has always wanted a sleigh.

It comes up every Christmas. And throughout the year.
In antique shops and estate sales.
Around the dinner table, and riding in the car.

He has admired many, but sleighs, REAL sleighs are expensive.

So, he has just dreamed.

A couple days ago, I saw this picture on a local auctioneer's Facebook page.

I texted the picture to George, with the comment, "Boy, she's rough."

He agreed, but said he was interested.
Hmmm...

I went to the auction, and he stopped in for a few minutes on his way to an appointment to get the tires rotated on our car. He looked the sled over, then came over to me with a very excited look on his face.

"Don't let it go for less than $150."

My response? "BOY, SHE'S ROUGH.'

"She's fine, I can work with her".
Hmmm....

So, he left for the car appointment, and I stayed at the auction, rather hoping that the sleigh would go for $160. Don't get me wrong, I want George to have a sleigh. And a fixer upper is fine. But, BOY, SHE'S ROUGH.

The sleigh finally came up on the auction block. The auctioneer tried to start the bidding at $100.
Silence.

$75.
$50
$40
$30
$20
$10

I held up my bidders card.
And no one else did.

SOLD!!!

When George got back to the auction, he sat down beside me. I looked at him and said, "don't ever think I don't love you", and he broke out in a grin.

"You got the sleigh?"

"Yep"

"How much?"

"10 bucks."

"WHAT? Only 10 bucks?"

Apparently he is the only one that didn't notice that BOY, SHE'S ROUGH.

"Yes, she's rough, but she's perfect. That makes her easier to take apart and fix." he said with a huge smile on his face.

He looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

Wish him luck!

A Box Trailer Would Have Been Nice

Our October event has now come and gone.

Thanks so much to all who came and supported us!

Whew! We're tired! But, we are already preparing for the next one.

In fact, we bought a truckload for the November one a week ago.

We went to the special Saturday flea at Roger's Ohio. They usually are on Friday, and we don't get to go because of George's work schedule. But every so often, they hold one on Saturday, and we took advantage. 

We did put a couple things in the October event: the tea cart and the tall primitive cupboard. 

And they both have already sold.

We didn't take the trailer. It was a drizzly day, and we figured we wouldn't find much.

We figured wrong.

It took some serious stacking skills to get everything loaded in the truck. 

By the time we were done, we started thinking more seriously about buying a box trailer. We have a couple trailers, but always have to use tarps.

By the time we were home a couple hours later, and had driven through a couple SERIOUS DOWNPOURS, we were looking box trailers up online.

The rain didn't hurt anything. As soon as we got home, we got everything dried off. It had all needed a bath anyway, and Mother Nature gave us a helping hand. But honestly, we would rather do it ourselves.

And yeah, we are looking for a box trailer. 

Our next open date is November 23 & 24, which is Black Friday & Small Business Saturday. 

It's going to be a busy month getting ready. No rest for the weary! 😊

October Open Weekend

We are on day 2 of our October open weekend, and day 1 served up another example of this important tip for our shop:

It happened again. 2 people wanting the same thing at the same exact time. If the one who missed out had pulled the tag, she would have got it. As shoppers, we tend to look at something, then wander around looking at other things before we go back to get what we came in for. But with our one of a kind pieces being promoted on our Facebook page, chances are good that more than one person will be coming in for the same thing... at the same time.

So, if you are sure you want something, pull the tag and bring it to either me or George at the counter, and it will be yours to buy.

What was the piece that both wanted so badly this time?
This:

This old primitive cupboard. So prim, so sturdy, so cool.

We set several things outside before we open, and the lesson applies there too. If you are one of the folks who come early and stand in line waiting on us to open, and you see something you want outside, pull the tag.

See that plow leaning against the corner on the right? The customer who wanted it was waiting in line to get in, but didn't pull the tag. She told me as soon as she came in that she wanted it, and I told her to hurry and pull the tag. She was just lucky that no one else pulled it ahead of her, or she would have missed out, even as she stood there in line.

This is the only downside to the unique pieces we work hard to find. Only one person can buy them!

Some of our other cool pieces this month...

A metal dental cabinet. It sold as soon as we opened.

Barn gates, straight out of a sheep barn in Ohio. The corn sheller was from the same barn. The sheller and some of the gates are still available today.

The blanket box is still available. Love it's dovetailed corners!

Some of the ladders have sold, but we are actually bringing more in today.

Still have the iron wheels. This set is in great shape. We have more that are in a bit more used condition.

These chairs are screwed together, making a bench.

The large whiskey barrel with the green bands sold yesterday, but the shorter one is still available today. It still has it's wooden spigot.

We have lots more... old windows, lots of enamelware, signs, wooden boxes, old chairs, kitchenware, goats milk soap, WV decor, the list goes on and on.

Open today (Friday, October 13) from 10-5. Our next open weekend will be November 23 & 24, which is Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. After that, we will be open each Friday and Saturday until Christmas.

Hope you can come! 318 Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville, WV.