Estate Sales, Craigslist, and A Daughter In The Trunk

So our daughter Anne may regret having come home this weekend.

It was a hunter-gatherer weekend for the booth, but Saturday was a bust.
We went to an estate sale at a big 18th century farmhouse.

Of the few things we might have wanted, all were priced way too high.
I am beginning to think I am not going to waste time on local estate sales;
prices are generally what this cheapskate thinks are too high.  It's Craigslist and auctions for me.

But we did enjoy looking at the house, which was amazing.

And much larger inside than it looks on the outside.



Anne took pictures with her phone inside the house.

Keeping Room; check out those floorboards!

Looking up the center hall stairs.  I've seen this same delicate handrail and balusters in other 18th century houses in N.J.

Upstairs hall; look at those boards.

More stairs, handrail, hall.  It's domestic sculpture.

One of the many bedrooms.

The other side of the Keeping Room.

A Study, lines with bookcases and a built-in bar.  In a newer wing of the house, which also housed a kitchen.

The study and the kitchen were in the wing you can glimpse on the right in this picture.

There's also a barn on the property.  This is one big homestead!

But we did get to see a part of New Jersey that was new to us but obviously,
from the age of the houses, not new to New Jersey.

What a beautiful old house.

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On Sunday, after church, we picked up a vintage French country style dining room table (Craigslist!)

that I hope to sell on eBay.  It is huge; with its 3 leaves it stretches to 10 feet long.  Lovely table.

Getting it in the back of the van would have been easy, except we had one Stow-and-Go seat up.

Where Anne was sitting.  So, we put that seat down, slid the table in, and . . .

had nowhere for Anne to sit for the 30-minute ride home.  What to do?

We considered strapping her to the roof of the minivan but, not being enthusiastic

about that plan on a 15-degree day, Annie crawled in under the table, and just lay down.

We took back roads home.  She survived.

We were not stopped by the local constabulary and ticketed for Bad Parenting.

Hi Mom!  Thanks for the ride home!

Howard realized that it was the first time since she was born that

Anne rode in one of our cars, without either a car seat or a safety belt around her.

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But this 3-day weekend is not over yet.

This morning, Anne helped Howard carry a highboy to my minivan and load it in.

And he closed the van hatch on her head.  Ouch.

It's only January, and we're already in the running for Parents Of The Year.

Anne's helping me bring the highboy to my antiques booth today, and I've promised to treat her to lunch.
I hope she doesn't get food poisoning.  -- Cass


P.S.  These are also going in the booth:

Milk glass goblets, and Avon ruby glass goblets and matching decanter.  

There were 12 milk glass pieces when I bought them (from a Craigslist listing) and when I unpacked them, there were 13.  I have no idea how that happened, but I'm pretty sure I'd have known if the little devils had reproduced themselves in amongst the pink packing peanuts.  

I think I'd have heard the clanking, and the giggling.

By the way, this is also the highboy that's waiting for its trip to the booth,

so I better leave the computer and fire up the minivan.  Have a great Monday!