The Toy Room Revisited

Carousel horses have always been close to my heart. The three in the Toy Room were all found at separate garage sales, and each spotted from the street as I drove up, making my heart sing!

When I spot things I immediately love, I always ask myself, "Self, what is the most you'll pay for that piece?" If I don't, once I get my hands on the merchandise, I'm lost to financial responsibility.

This stained glass piece takes up the whole top of a window, and I wasn't sure how high monetarily I should go. Looking it over, I decided it was real glass, and probably machine cut because the pieces fit together very nicely, or, at least, better than mine do. The edge told me it might have come from a larger piece. As a stain glass worker myself (notice I didn't say artist), I appreciate the time and money that went into it. Breaking my own rules, I asked the cost of the piece before I finished arguing with myself over my top price.

The seller only thought for a moment, then said, "Seventy-five cents." SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS! I practically threw the money at the woman, grabbed the piece, and raced away to my van. I didn't even look at anything else she had for sale.

When Joan and I pulled up to another sale, she had to practically hold me back when I spotted this big wire and metal sculpture. It's about four-feet wide and three-feet tall. The tail was all dirty like it'd been outside for a long time, stuck in the mud or loaded with mud dauber nests. (The dirt's still there, too, as a tribute to the piece.)

Since we look alike, people always ask Joan (an actress in our local community theatre) and me if we're sisters, so we have this little act we do at garage sales. It's fun for them and fun for us. Plus they'll never see us again, so why not? (Disclaimer: Several times Joan's been recognized at garage sales so we play it straight then.)

The act usually goes something like this:

"Hey, Sis, do you want this?"

"I don't know. What do you think, Sis?" Of course, all the while we're talking to each other, we have a hold on the debatable piece so nobody else can get it!

"I guess it depends on the price." At this point we both look at the seller.

"Oh, are you girls (girls - haha) sisters?"

"Mom always liked me best."

"I'm younger." Or prettier. Or smarter. Good laugh from everyone.

"Well, it's five dollars," the seller said.

FIVE BUCKS! We quickly threw it into the back of the van before searching through the rest of the merchandise.

Above is the signature on the piece. If you recognize it, please let me know.

When I found the wooden carousel rocking horse, I was by myself. I knew I'd pay $25 for it, so when the seller said $30, that was close enough for me. I didn't try to bargain the seller down because there was a line of buyers just waiting for me to take my sweaty, dirty hands off of it. I did, but only long enough to get the cash out of my purse!

Tomorrow, the rest of the Toy Room.