My Heart Did Go On

After the Pyrextasy of yesterday's trip to Value Village, I almost couldn't be bothered to head out to the Don Mills United Church rummage sale this morning. But in my mind I could smell the musty aroma of church basement and I imagined a table of home baked pies and acres of ridiculously priced home decor from the past. So I set off on my bike. On my way there, I passed a driveway sale on a busy street. It was there that I saw the object of my desire - a sky blue metal Coleman cooler that was "made in Canada." It was only $3.00. I debated whether or not I should buy it. The woman offered to hold it. I told her that if it was still there when I got back that it was meant to be mine. What a load of karmic phooey. I biked on to Don Mills United.

When I got to the church, all I saw were books: mountains of books. It was an outdoor book sale. I approached a table and what do I see first? Howard Stern's Private Parts and a game called Dirty Minds. I kid you not.

After picking my jaw up off the grass, I approached an elderly woman who was working the cash. "Would there be more inside the church?" Smiling, she replied, "No. What more do you want than all these books?" I decided to look beyond the church smut and see if I could find some great reads. I'm a bit of a book collector. Besides, they were only 10 for $1.00.

Here's my stash. The photo is a bit washed out, but you get the drift. I've never read Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel. Every time I listen to the CBC radio, they always seem to be talking about it. I hope it's as good as everybody says. Laurence has been dead for some time.

I loved this little pocket thesaurus.

I love that they put a regal cardinal on the price. Classy.

I bought The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. I'd never heard of the man, nor the novel. But after reading the best author blurb ever, I had no choice but to buy it. It's hilarious. Excessive smoking is listed as one of his favoured recreations. You just know he was a total dandy.

Groovy book of humorous rants by the late Pierre Berton, and a book of love poetry.

In the book of love poetry, all the woman look like artwork from the packaging of 1970s Cottonelle and Kotex products.

See.

I dated a boy in high school who looked a bit like this guy. I wonder what he's up to these days.

Here was my best treasure. I'm sorry the picture is so blanched, but it's a book called The Beauty of Britain, published in 1948. The owner of this book made a dust jacket out of paper which has weathered well over the years.

The owner of the book included a hand-written quote from Shakespeare on the title page.

Throughout the book, I found pressed leaves and flowers. I live for moments like these.

With these wonderful books in my basket, I headed back to hopefully retrieve my cooler box.

On my way, I passed a yard sale, selling - you guessed it - more books. These were newer and not as interesting. The seller was very nice. She showed me several books (including these poetry books), that her husband never returned to his high school library in Duncan, British Columbia. I hope the library S.W.A.T team doesn't break our door down in the night.

All of her books were .25 each, including this deluxe anthology of Emily Dickinson's poems. If I'm ever feeling a little too cheerful, this should neutralize my emotions somewhat. I realized that if I didn't get to the driveway sale pronto - my cooler would be gone. I peddled as fast as I could. This is what Celine Dion must have felt like during all those years at Cesar's Palace as she waited to be reunited with her frozen embryo. "I'm coming, Coleman cooler. I'm coming!"

When I got there, I saw a man skulking around my baby. I asked him if he was looking at the cooler. He made some joke about me putting him in it to cool down and then told me that he was looking at an old toolbox. As you can see, I did indeed get the cooler. I had to balance it on my bike basket and I walked my bike about 20 blocks home. It was worth it.

When was the last time anything besides maple fudge was made in our country?

Here's the glamour shot. I'm sure my neighbours think I'm nuts taking pictures of apparently random things.

Believe it or not, I hit another yard sale after picking up my baby. These little Pyrex custard dishes were irristable. I have a feeling, I'll come across this pattern again and I can build up a set. They cost .50 for the pair.

I liked this little English toffee tin. The label completes the old-fashioned look.

View from the top.

I've already filled it up with Duncan's foam letters.

Later, I was returning from the library with Duncan and I noticed that more items from my late neighbour Kingsley, were left at the curb. I was tempted to take the blender, but we have one already.
The Eaton logo on the faux wood panel will make Canadians swoon for the good old days of shopping at Eatons.

In the end, I took these wonky bookends. Thank you Kingsley.