57°f/about 14°C, cloudy and warm all day, with occasional bouts of sun and strong breezes.
Yesterday I wrote about our Saturday, going to the rally, a walk in the woods, etc, but I managed to skip over Friday, which was quite a day in itself.
Well, actually it started on Thursday. We decided to get more mulch since the weather was nice, and mulch was on sale for $2 a bag. We picked up 30 bags, got home and got it spread. Talk about sore muscles! It's coming along though.
Then we loaded the truck with stuff we were taking to the Ravenswood High School FFA farm auction (Future Farmer's of America, a high school agricultural group). We had a bunch of extra garden hand tools, along with some antique tools that had been in our booth a good while: corn shellers, sausage stuffers, etc. That stuff used to sell like hotcakes, but I guess the age group that even knew what they were has passed on, so we decided to donate them to the auction. We get a percentage of the sale, which will probably cover what we paid for this stuff, at least.
While we were loading up, I took photos of all Larry's broken down mowers and parts and listed them on Facebook Marketplace. I got responses immediately! Who knew so many guys wanted old broken down mowers?
Friday morning it was pouring rain, and as we drove to the auction site, one of the windshield wipers broke. Of course it did, 🙄 and Larry had to get out right there in the pouring rain and take it off so it didn't scratch the glass. The rain let up some just then luckily! I felt sorry for the teens who were running the sale because it was really a cold rain. This sale is pretty large, with 3 rings going at once, and it's a big income generator for that school's FFA, which they use to pay for trips to state and national conventions, contests, and the like. Here's a photo from a sale a few years back, of just one of the auction rings.
We picked up 30 more bags of mulch, bringing our total to 80 bags so far, out of the 120 or so we will need. So saving that 47 cents a bag really adds up. We intended to spread it when we got home as the rain had stopped, but granddaughter Haley called to say she was coming over for a visit, and that was a real treat---something that doesn't happen as often as we would like, as she lives 3 hours away, and works full time in the WV National Guard. We had coffee, then Haley and Larry went off to hunt for molly moochers (morel mushrooms), while I made sandwiches for lunch, and fresh coffee. The rain had started again and all they got for their trouble was a good soaking. But they did find one tiny mushroom, so the moochers were definitely starting to come up.
After Haley left we hopped in the van for the drive to Ohio to pick up our auction winnings. We stopped in Parkersburg to pick up some nice Asian ceramics from a lady who lived in the coolest old apartment building.
A few of the things we bought from her. There were 7 pieces in all and she only wanted $10 for the whole lot.
The woodwork in her building was gorgeous, and the high ceilings, plaster walls and oak floors were really something. If I had to live in a city, that's the kind of place I would choose...although third floor walk up would be a challenge!
Auction pickup was fun as usual. These people, the Beardsleys, are just great to do business with, snf it's a pleasure to see them every time we go up there to their auction house in tiny Lowell, Ohio. We got some neat stuff, which I have been cleaning and pricing today. That is the least favorite part of this business for me, but it has to be done.
Still researching these: they are English and made by the Newport Pottery, but are they made by Clarice Cliff? Because if so, they are worth a nice bit.
Back in Ripley we spotted our friend Suzy's car in front of a downtown restaurant, so we stopped in for a visit and a bite to eat. Then home to feed the critters and get ready for Saturday.
As I write, the mulch is still in the truck, but maybe tomorrow we can get it down. Yesterday we took it easy. The guy came to pick up the junk mowers, and I waved a happy farewell to Larry's "I'm gonna fix it and sell it" death pile that he never had time to deal with. I mostly just caught up on laundry and packed ebay sales while Larry worked in the garage.
Today I cooked: Denise's oat cakes for breakfast, mincemeat tarts as I continue to try to use up the mincemeat in the cellar; I made yogurt and sweet tea, too. Larry had gone mushroom hunting again this morning and came in with a nice mess, so I cleaned them up and made a rice dish with them, broiled some salmon and made a salad for dinner. Larry wanted tartar sauce so I mixed some up quickly with my pickle relish and mayo. Besides cooking, I cleaned and priced two more totes of the auction finds, did a couple ebay listings, did a little garden cleanup and some housecleaning too. Larry did some weedeating, plowed "his" garden, and fixed the electric fence around my garden. And that was it for today.
I think that now I am all caught up with myself. Time to read and relax a bit!
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