Successful Garage Sale

Last weekend we had a big garage sale. When we sold our house in town last summer and moved to the cabin, we had a whole house of extra stuff. We decided to take some time to figure out what we wanted to keep, so we stored everything in an extra semi trailer that my husband owned. This spring the businesses in our community were planning to have a citywide event, and we decided that it would be the perfect time for our garage sale. So we hauled out all the boxes and extra furniture. We sorted through it all, organized it and priced it. We made signs from plywood. And last Friday we opened for business. I had to work that day, so after helping put up signs and pull stuff outside, I went to work. I had no idea that my husband and his mom would be so busy - but they were! When I got back after work I could not believe how empty the garage looked. My husband's sister and brother-in-law brought some of their stuff to sell, so we had new items for Saturday. Here are some pictures of the sale.

This picture was taken early Friday morning before everything was set outside. The bikes were hot items - my husband says he could have sold a dozen bikes if he'd had them.

We used my husband's shop for the sale because it was in an ideal location, and because it was big and light inside.

 We tried to organize items into categories, and display them in a way that would give buyers an idea of how they could use them.

The picture wall was my idea and everyone loved it. Buyers could see the pictures easily, could imagine how they'd look on their walls, and the plywood hid things we didn't want to sell.

Here are a few tips for a good sale:

1. Make sure you have signs that grab people's attention and give clear direction to your sale.
2. If possible, make sure there's a lot of light inside so people can see all your treasures.
3. Look for packs of pre-printed price tags to make pricing everything easier. I found packs of stickers that had a variety of prices on them at a dollar store.
4. Be reasonable with your prices, but also expect people to bargain with you. My mother-in-law said that she read this about pricing:
1. If the item is new or almost new, price it at 30% of the original price.
2. If the item has some wear, price it at 20% of original.
3. If the item is worn, but a rock bottom price on it, around 10%.
5. Make sure you have enough help for the first day of the sale. My husband and mother-in-law could have used two helpers on Friday.
6. Arrange like items together. Display home decor on the furniture you're selling.
7.  Make sure everything is clean and in working condition. Clearly mark items that work, so people don't wonder about it.
8. Make sure that you have items that men would want to buy, or at least be interested in looking at. They will be more likely to stay and shop longer, giving their wives time to find more treasures.
9. Don' have too many clothes for sale - and make sure that the clothing you're selling is clean and in good condition. 
10. Be friendly, even if people leave without buying anything.
11. Know the prices of everything that you're selling. If it's a multi-family sale, make sure everything is marked with a price, and that there's a family member from each family on hand to answer questions and make decisions on prices.
12. Make sure you have enough cash on hand to make change, but empty the cash box every so often so that buyers can't see how much cash you really have.
13. Have fun with your sale!

A Wonderful Mother's Day

Today was a wonderful day -

• Worshipping at Emily Wesleyan Church.  The congregation recognized the importance of mothers and honored all the moms. Then the focus of the sermon was the hope and joy we have in Jesus:
  
  "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
  
  What a great reminder and encouragement for the day!
• Lunch back at home with my husband, Craig - fresh salad, baked sweet potato and grilled chicken.
• Visited Craig's mom and wished her a happy Mother's Day.
• Spent the afternoon at the shop with Craig, getting ready for our garage sale next weekend. I was able to get almost everything priced, and did a lot of arranging to (hopefully) more artfully display things so people will be able to see how they could use something, and want to buy more.
• Received phone calls from all my boys. It was so good to spend a few minutes talking with each one.
• Pizza for supper and lemon blueberry cake with fresh strawberries on top for dessert.
• Skyped with my daughter, who lives in Guatemala. We had a good chat, and I got to see my grandson, Micah, even though he was fussing and tired. 
• Went for a walk with Craig and Percy, our dog. It's chilly outside, but the snow and ice are gone. The frogs are croaking, the trees are budding, and the grass is getting green.
• Heard the loons for the first time this spring. What a wonderful sound!

I am so thankful for the moms in my life -my mom, who is now in heaven with Jesus; my mother-in-law, Marcy, who lives just three miles away; my daughter-in-law Stephanie, who is a great mom to 3 of our grandchildren; and my daughter, Carrie, who is a brand new mom to our youngest grandbaby. These 4 women are incredible. I am so blessed to have them in my life. In addition, there are many other fantastic women (moms) who touch my life in many ways - coworkers, Christian friends, etc.

 Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Craig's New Vehicle

Just another sign that we're truly "up north" folks - a 4-wheeler in our garage!

 Craig bought it at an auction about a month ago. Then he went online and found this little John Deere trailer. The trailer has hydraulics so you just push a button and the front lifts up to dump your load out the back. I envision many happy rock hunting/collecting hours in Craig's future this summer :)

From Winter to Spring

It has been a long winter.

Back on April 19 we had a big snow storm.

And we wondered if spring would ever come. But ever so slowly, the snow melted, and then the ice on the lake began to melt.

Every day I would come home from work and go to the window to see if the ice was off the lake yet.

Last night the lake looked like this...

 And today, when I got home it looked like this!

There's just a little bit of ice left close to the shore, and the trees hide it from view.

 Welcome, spring! We're glad you're finally here.

“It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what.” 
― John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga

Sunday is for....

• raspberry pancakes and a good cup of coffee
• worshipping God at Emily Wesleyan Church
• snacks and fellowship after church
• hamburgers on the grill
• afternoon nap

• watching Twins baseball
• a walk down the road with Percy
• sitting on the deck (yes, I think spring is finally here)

• pizza for supper
• resting, refreshing, renewing - body, mind and soul

Thank you, Lord, for this day of rest and for all our blessings.

Kitchen Progress

Today was a big day in our kitchen!    Here's what it looked like this morning:

Craig got out the sawsall and began to cut the opening.

Then he put up the scaffolding, and spent the rest of the day installing our new kitchen window.

The view from inside is amazing! The kitchen is full of natural light now, and it looks so much bigger. It's really exciting!

While Craig was working on the window, I was busy meeting with the cabinet maker and going to Brainerd to buy appliances.

 Here are some samples of wood - The big one in the back is for the cabinets. The smaller darker piece in front of it will be the center island. Both are made out of knotty alder.
We're still trying to decide on laminate for the countertop. We have decided to go with a laminate countertop to save some money, but we may price out granite for the island.

I had to drive into Brainerd to purchase and order the appliances because it's the closest city to our home. This was my third trip to Brainerd in a week! (Brainerd is about a 45 minute drive.) Craig and I went twice to go to different stores and gather information and prices and take a look at the appliances.  Then we would come home and go online to read reviews and more information about each brand. As you look at the pictures below, if you want to know more about these appliances just click on the pictures. We purchased them all at Sears in Baxter - the owner there was very helpful, as was the salesman who spent over an hour with us one night this week as we asked a million questions.

I have decided to get a Frigidaire single wall convection oven. After talking to three salesmen at three different stores, I chose this stainless oven because it's a true convection oven, I like the look of it, and I liked what I heard about the Frigidaire company. (And the price was good too!) Everyone I talked to recommended the convection feature. It's supposed to cook faster and more evenly.

 Craig and I fell in love with this Samsung refrigerator. The freezer has it's own cooling element which is unique to Samsung. We learned that most refrigerators circulate the air from freezer to fridge compartment and back. We also liked the handles, and the fact that it has the new stainless platinum finish which doesn't show as many fingerprints. And then there's the bottom freezer. which is a feature I've wanted for over 6 years.

The cooktop will be located in our island. We looked for one that had the controls on the side instead of in the middle. I also wanted one that had at least one burner that could be used with different size pans. And we wanted one that wasn't clear, glossy black because we heard that it would show every fingerprint and speck of dust. This GE model seems to fit our wish list. 

So the appliances are ordered! Delivery date is set for June 3rd. The only thing we haven't picked out yet is a Microwave - but we can do that any time. we are going to get a countertop model. There will be a shelf for it above the wall oven.

It's really exciting to see our dreams becoming reality. The next step is to meet with a kitchen designer to decide on the kitchen cabinet layout - how many drawers, shelves, etc. Then we will have to make a final decision on the countertop, and start deciding on the flooring. More decisions follow such as lighting, cabinet knobs or drawer pulls, etc.  There's more work to do too. Staining the window and trimming it out; changing the electric for the wall oven and microwave; emptying and moving out the old cabinets; etc.  One decision at a time, one task at a time. We're going to enjoy each step of this process. Especially now that I can look out the new kitchen window!

Crochet Flower

Here's my newest crochet project. I crocheted this two layer Irish rose using a pattern from this web site:

http://crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa030803.htm

Then I found a frame, covered the cardboard back with burlap, sewed a button in the middle of the flower, and glued the flower to the burlap.  I love the contrast in textures between the burlap, the yarn and the button.

Even though it's just a small easy crochet project, I love it!