BURN Baby BURN, Disco Inferno...

That is the song I can't get out of my head since visiting Yard Sale Buddy last week. It doesn't help that Pembroke's only 24/7 Yard Sale has WROR blasting on the loudspeaker so I always leave with SOME oldie but goodie stuck in my head; Yard Sale Buddy was burning leaves and from the looks of the piles he has raked up, will be doing so non-stop until the burning season ends. I was curious about the logistics of leaf burning since my Husband is always complaining about the lack of disposal outlets around here; so Yard Sale Buddy explained to me how you just pull a permit with the town and on the day you're burning (or every day, in his case) you call the Fire Dept and give them your permit number so they know to be on standby in case something goes awry. "I've had the same permit number for 12 years," he boasted, "and they've never had to come help me once." REALLY? I replied in amazement, as I watched a burning piece of brush shoot out of the barrel and land on an awaiting pile of leaves; BECAUSE I THINK THAT PART OF YOUR YARD JUST LIT ON FIRE. He just nonchalantly walked over and tamped out the fire with his feet. That's when I realized I was not wearing Asbestos Shoes... and promptly got the heck out of there. When I got home Kenny sniffed judiciously and asked "have you been at a Fire Sale?" NAH, I replied, Just Yard Sale Buddy's Yard.

The St. Patrick's Day Massacre

With a title like that you're surely imagining Salvage Chick & Yard Sale Buddy in a Dumpster Diving accident after imbibing too much green beer... but I can assure you I was totally sober in the shop last week when I witnessed this little Irish Lass jump right off the mantel, bringing the mug down with her!! Of course, you know the music box is not something I would normally stock; but Mack from Never Open Antiques brought it over as a gesture of goodwill to contribute to my Saint Patty's display... or so I THOUGHT! He probably spring-loaded the thing so it would attack an unsuspecting customer who could then sue me so I have to go out of business, leaving this WHOLE INTERSECTION to HIMSELF and his NEVER-OPEN CRONIES. Or maybe he has just never gotten over the time I threw a sconce at his head...

Fresh from the Asylum

Fortunately, it was not THAT type of Asylum or they might have tried to detain us. Rather, it was the Antique Asylum down in Buzzards Bay and where Yard Sale Buddy and I were killing time today before a cleanout appointment in Carver. While I was browsing around Yard Sale Buddy found (surprise) a pocketknife he wanted and I overheard the guy asking him if he had a resale number. I had amassed a few items too so I took them to the counter and said "Add it all together, I have a Taxpayer ID." Now normally I choose to remain anonymous and write the tax off on the other end but Hey it's March and with business down, 5% at this time of year actually matters. I filled out the form for the lady behind the counter and she took it back and exclaimed "Salvage Chick! You're THE BLOGGER!" Gulp. Yes I am I sheepishly replied and while my mind was feverishly pedalling ('I hope I never wrote anything BAD about this place...') she pointed at YSB and said "You must be YARD SALE BUDDY!" Oh god. She said she stumbled on my blog and bookmarked it because she enjoyed it, I was very flattered but all I could think was DAMAGE CONTROL. Just this past Sunday Mack from Never Open Antiques was spouting to Yard Sale Buddy "I don't have to ask what you two have been up to because SHE blasts it ALL OVER the Internet..." I may have given YSB the impression that noone reads the Blog but Mack, Claudia, and my parents... and about 500 other people monthly, spanning 6 continents, if Google Statistics can be trusted. I may have left out that last part. I needn't have worried though, he was so tickled that our fame has spread as far as the Cape, he bought me a Happy Meal to celebrate. And we STILL had time to kill.

Visit our new friends at the Antique Asylum at 125 Main St, Bourne; and be sure to tell 'em SALVAGE CHICK and YARD SALE BUDDY sent you!

A May-December Romance?

NO, not me and Yard Sale Buddy! I can't believe people keep asking if we're married. Well, HE claims people ask if I'm his wife; all I hear is "Is that Your Husband's Blue Truck I always see outside?" Oh GOD. You know he COULD be my father, right?
Anyway on Sunday Mack popped by to show me a little primitive cupboard he acquired, I was surprised to see him because I knew he had a family gathering to go to; as I was talking to him this woman popped up and said Hi, she looked familiar so I just figured it was a regular customer and said Hi back then went back to talking with Mack. We went out to look at the thing in his truck and the lady followed us, that's when I realized it was his wife! She was sporting this fabulous blown-out hairdo and these cute little bootleg jeans, I was so embarrassed not to recognize her I forgot to thank her for the Christmas Cookies she sent me. Anyway where am I going with this story, you ask? To Reed Hollow a couple of hours later, where I met up with Claudia who had been in the Salvage Chic parking lot at the same time as us; and you know what she said? "Mack's daughter is so cute". I almost wet my pants laughing. That's his wife! They are about the same age but I hate to say it Mack, she looks a lot hotter than you. Please thank her for the cookies.

The Wheels Just Keep on Turning

as the Contest Deadline for cool junk projects to be featured in the Country Home Magazine fast approaches. You know how I love free publicity... well my Mom and I scored some awesome old baby buggy wheels yesterday and knowing this type of ingredient is right up the JunkMarket Gals' alley, I was anxious to create. We showed the wheels to Yard Sale Buddy and he agreed we could find some sort of axle to thread through them and have a 4 tier revolving display rack. I wasn't so sure we could find this axle by March 3rd... and Impatience is my middle name so we started poking around the shop looking for things to attach a wheel to. About an hour later after much trial and tribulation, not to mention the BFI factor (my husband's abbreviation for "Brute Force and Ignorance") we had managed to wedge a buggy wheel onto a wheel barrow wheel atop an upside-down piano stool and VOILA! The junkiest revolving display rack EVER. (*Note to self: Next Time use Protective Eye Goggles...)

Calm, Cool and Collected

That was my demeanor today when Yard Sale Buddy called me up and said "I was thinking, that cabinet I told you I would pick up for you today? How about I go get it tomorrow, I have to go to the dentist and I am going to be over that way anyway, no sense making a special trip..." Granted at first I was aggravated because he had said to call him first thing when I got to the shop to give him the information about picking it up, and I had been trying him for an hour and a half; usually when this happens and I finally get a hold of him it's "Oh, I'm over at Amvets in Brockton, since I didn't hear from you..." He seems to have selective hearing when it comes to his cell phone ringing. Anyway back to today, my first reaction was disappointment more than annoyance but I decided not to let it show, after all gas is awfully expensive these days and when I told him about the cabinet he could have said "Good score, have fun picking it up... YOURSELF." Now I should have known something was up because he called me right back asking are you sure it's OK, are you sure you're not mad, etc? "Of course not!" 5 minutes after the last phone call I heard the rumble of the Chevy's twin tailpipes and I stood up to look out the door. Lo and behold, the truck cap was up and there was my cabinet in all its beadboard glory. I ran outside and met Yard Sale Buddy with a huge grin. That's when he told me he was playing a joke, trying to get me all riled up so I'd say "Forget it, I'll get it myself since I can't depend on you!" and then feel like a REAL HEEL when he showed up with it. "Oh," I said, "Good thing I am not a raving lunatic." and you know what he replied, with a snort? "TODAY."

Buyer Beware

or more appropriately, Proprietor Around the Corner, Beware! Especially when you complain that I haven't been blogging enough. This tasty little tidbit came my way today via email... I had contacted a longtime client about a lot of 1980's 45 RPMs I recently acquired, and mentioned it would be worth his while to make the trip to Bryantville because there are also some nice 45's over at Never Open. His response? "Also, how many 45's does that Mack dude have? I am a little bit leary of him, because I bought some eight tracks from him once and I lost 5 bucks." That was too good not to share. Hey what's a little bad publicity in exchange for making a sale for him, while he's Not Even Open!!