Saturday, May 5, 2012

Erbs for Sale

84 degrees - severe lightning storm and winds up to 50 mph.  Mosquitoes flying by so fast you cannot see them.

On my way home from work on Friday I picked up several containers of herbs from the home center with a plan to sell them the following morning during our community garage sale.  The driveway still has a mountain of mulch so I told the girls that we would use the Pointed Playhouse as a place to sell things that we no longer need along with some plants that we can separate out into their own biodegradable pots.  Elizabeth did a great job tying a piece of twine in a bow around the herbs and I think they looked nice.  Lauren stayed up late with me standing on the brick in front of the playhouse while putting the herbs into their new homes.  We fortunately had the bright light of a Coleman lantern so that we could see.

Herbs that survived the storm did not all survive the sale the next morning.
There was a little lightening coming from the west that we could see in the distance but I had no idea just how bad the storm was about to get.  We finished just in time and as we got into bed the full fury of the storm hit our neighborhood.  It seemed like lightening would strike every few seconds and we could hear the crash of branches coming down from the trees.  The tops of the trees whipped around and seemed to almost touch the ground.  I watched the large pine tree sway violently over the roof but it held and I know that the playhouse would be no match for a tree that size if it were to give up.

We woke early and I checked on the herbs that I had fortunately placed in a wheelbarrow and rolled under the large sheet of plywood that sat on saw horses and was used as a table the night before.  The plants were fine but the yard was a disaster - limbs, twigs and leaves scattered everywhere and later in the day we noticed a small bird that must have been blown down from a nest during the wind.  I spent a considerable amount of time picking up what I could but knew that another storm was due to hit the area later today.  One of the gates that I built a few years ago on the other side of the house is now missing its lower half, which was probably the result of being beaten up like a loose shutter during the storm.

I recently read or heard somewhere that everyone should work retail at least once during their life and that selling something is an important lesson.  The girls sold mint-lime-aide for a quarter and also helped some friends sell a few of their things in the process.  They were the ones who showed us the area about seven years ago, subsequently lived a half a block away and now are in the process of moving up to Boston.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Removing leaves from the storm off the makeshift table.
Cinco de Mayo in the German playhouse.
Ready to part with part of their childhood.
They started at $2.50 but were quickly reduced to $1.50 due to the recession.
Everyone liked making signs.
Hot cakes!  Get your hot cakes!
Flying the fish to attract customers.
This is how we spell pepper.
The basil was a hot seller.
Had to take a picture of this peony that decided to bloom during the storm.
Many people stopped by and had questions about the playhouse and the girls had fun giving the tour.  I don't think that we made enough money to pay for a dinner out but everyone had a good time and we now have a little more space in our home to buy new things.  I think it is time for a beer.

1 comment:

  1. When are you going to do more building and stuff? Don't you love my sombrero? It was Cinco de Mayo!
    ~Devon

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