Great Glebe Garage Sale

Did you go to the Great Glebe Garage Sale? Did you find any treasures?

I go every year. I was out the door at 6:30 this morning and I was digging my way through the Glebe until about 11:30. I walked 21,585 steps, which is about 10 miles or 16 km.

Some years I get fabulous stuff. A few years ago I got an Italian stovetop espresso maker for $2 and I still use it every single day. Once I got a terrific mounted photograph of Colette, by Andr̩ Kert̬sz, advertising a photography exhibit that started the day my son was born. I got a pair of brand new red Born shoes Рkind of garage-sale expensive at $20, but about $100 cheaper than what they sell for in the stores. One year I even got a budgie.

But today? I got home with a knapsack full of the kind of crap I’m trying to get rid of. I don’t know what possessed me to buy two packs of tarot cards, two decks of Jack Daniel’s playing cards in a “collector’s tin,” and a baggie full of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, whatever the hell those are. Here’s a random one: “Metal Detector: You can activate this card when a Continuous Trap Card is activated. Negate all Continuous Trap Cards during the turn this card is activated.” What?

I also bought four rubber stamps and a garden lantern that holds a tealight candle.

I kept seeing stuff I wanted, but it was either too big to fit in my knapsack or somebody else had already bought it. I fell in love with an old typewriter – and it was free! – but I didn’t want to drag it around with me.

I tried to go into Bridgehead on Third Avenue for a coffee, but the lineup was crazy. Fortunately I ran into Ruth and we sat on her porch and drank coffee. That was my highlight of this year’s Great Glebe Garage Sale.

I don’t know why I bought the stuff I bought. I got home, dumped out my knapsack, and stared, mystified, at the pile of junk.

“What were you thinking?” I asked.

“I don’t remember,” I replied.

Next Saturday my neighbourhood, Carlington, is having its community garage sale. If you’re interested, I know where you can get a really good deal on some cards.