Winter Is Making Itself at Home

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It seems we're in for some real winter weather this week. Today it has not gotten about 14 degrees, with a little drift of snow on the ground. The sun is brilliant, the sky that impossible blue of very cold weather. It's been a day to stay inside.

We started slow this morning, after a busy day yesterday. Our first stop was a visit with a local seller to pick up a few items: a small washboard, some wire baskets, an old scale and a spice rack. All are decent sellers in our booths. Then we shared breakfast with our granddaughter and her friend at a new local restaurant called Granny's Grill. We've not been really happy with the new ownership of our usual go-to grill in town, so we were ready to try a new place. Well, actually it's been open over a year now, but we're creatures of habit and kept hoping our old haunt would return to its former atmosphere. We were pleasantly surprised with the new place and will be back.

After a fine meal, we headed out to the first of the day's adventures: exploring an old mobile home that had been empty for some time. It belonged to my granddaughter's friend's family; it was on some property they purchased and they wanted to clear it out and get rid of it. There was, my granddaughter reported, furniture and a lot of glassware in the trailer, along with lots of trash and debris. We were prepared for a mess.

And that's pretty much what it was. It was a sobering example of what can happen when someone sinks into mental illness with no one realizing what's going on. Hoarding, haphazard piles, rooms full of trash bags full of who-knows-what...I felt  deep sadness for the woman whose personal photos scattered in the mess showed a pretty woman with a handsome husband. Bundles of letters tied up in string were stacked in a closet, letters from Army bases and APO addresses. This was someone who had loved and been loved. What happened? Did he pass away, leaving her alone? All I know is that she was eventually sent away to a mental health facility, probably the very best thing that could have happened. We made an offer for what we saw that might be useable. It was bone-chilling cold but I wonder if some of the chill was the sad story the mobile home told.

Our next stop was a happier one at Noggin Whacker, our newest booth, to bring in a cabinet to replace one that was sold. This cabinet is one of those old metal kitchen cabinets with shelves inside. It was a hot mess when we got it, very dirty, lots of mouse droppings and Contact paper on the shelves. I spent several hours cleaning it up and giving it a new coat of paint and it looks so pretty now. Soap, water and patience go a long way in this work. It was fun to talk with Beth and we were pleased to find we'd sold a few other things from this quirky booth--I mean, it's in a barber shop! But sales have been better than we expected and we love the atmosphere. Storytelling happens there for sure.

Final stop of the day was at a flea market over the river in Ohio. We bought a lot of great stock for our booths, but the snow swirling around outside made us a little concerned about the trip home. However, the squall blew through and the drive was no problem; we took our time and although we saw a few mishaps in the median we had no troubles.

Friday evening we had this lovely sunset, but then the weather changed, bringing high winds and blowing snow. Last night was bitterly cold, and that cold, it seems, will continue for the rest of the week. So we'll hunker down, work on our myriad projects and enjoy the fire and our pets.

I hope all of you stay safe and warm this week.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.