Estate Sale planned for next month

Alright, ye socks, it's time to mark your calendars.

We have arranged an estate sale at the new place in College Park.

The magic dates are May 23rd (Fri) and 24th (Sat).

Complete details, map, directions, and photos of items to be sold will be posted at http://www.estatesalesbycece.com/ in the next few weeks.

So, plan on coming if you can, and spend lots of money. It's going to a good cause!

The $35 couch

Actually, it's a sleeper sofa.

But, that price is right: just $35!

And, it is now proudly owned by Valda & Howard of Jenks Manor.

We picked it up at yet another of Cece's Estate Sales today. (This one was at the Escondido condos across SR 436 from The Altamonte Mall.)

And, when I say, "picked it up," I mean that. It was HEAVY!!

Did I mention the condo in question was on the 2nd floor?

Yeah, that had to be a sight, me struggling to hold up on end of a couch to keep from scuffing-up the upholstery as we negotiated our way down two flights of stairs.

But, the Jenkses assure me it was worth the effort.

And, I did find a little souvenir myself: a baseball program from the 1984 LA Olympics that features a photo of my cousin Pat Pacillo. (Not to mention his team mate Mark McGwire.)

If you're not checking out these estate sales, ye socks, you're missing out on a lot of neat stuff (and exercise)!

The estate sale was a bust

That's right, our friend Cece was holding another estate sale this weekend. This time it was in one of those fancy homes in previously-unexplored Avalon Park--a corner of our little piece of heaven that yours truly would otherwise have no reason to visit.

Anyway, by the time we made it over there, most of the "good stuff" had already been picked-over.

That was the bad news.

The good news was Cece had slashed everything that was left over by 50%.

That included this awesome table and chair set, which she was "sacrificing" for $500 (which, she claimed, was less than the owner had paid for two of the chairs alone).

But, nobody I know needs a dining room table.

And, somebody I know needs to be saving up for a trip to Kansas City, anway.

Oh, well. Cece assures me there will be more bargains at her next estate sale, slated for Altamonte Springs in the next two weeks.

I'll keep ye socks posted.

http://www.estatesalesbycece.com/

Estate Sale Find

You socks who've known me for any length of time have no doubt heard me railing about the "missing" chest of drawers.

I don't want to go into the whole story, because I'd pretty much put the whole incident behind me and resigned myself to living without it.

So, imagine my surprise this afternoon when I was asked to help a friend load a truck of furniture at a local estate sale and found a replacement just sitting there, neglected in a corner of this musty old house.

I had to rescue it.

Now, I just have to figure where the heck to put it.

We should all have this as our biggest worry, no?

Longwood Estate Sale

Got up early, like a regular "work day" so I could be one of the first people at an estate sale up in Longwood this morning.

And, I was glad I made the extra effort.

The big purchase of the day was a framed commemorative poster from the 1992 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. (You socks who know my mom are probably familiar with her burgeoning collection of these posters.)

The big suprise came at check-out, when the lady running the sale (Cece) let me have my choice of one bottle out of the liquor cabinet, because everything had to go and she doesn't have a liquor license!

In case you're wondering, I got the creme de menthe. Not because I'm particularly fond of the cordial, but because it was the only unopened bottle!!

Anyway, thanks to Cece for the heads-up on this estate sale. I'm looking forward to the one in College Park next month! (Already wondering what may be in the liquor cabinet in THAT neighborhood . . . probably Dom Perignon or Grand Marnier!

Doing my best to ignore the heat

I could've very easily stayed home today, enjoying the AC. But, I forced myself to get out and about, and was actually able to forget about the beastly heat we've been having down here.

As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, we saw a sign for an estate sale being held around the corner. It was being run by a really nice lady named Cece, who has now added me to her email list and is going to keep me updated on upcoming events in Longwood and College Park. So, stay tuned on that account . . .

I walked away from the sale with two vintage books (1920s) for a whopping $2. (And, when I got home this evening, I found copies offered online for between $58.50 and $100!)

I don't know how exactly it happened, but I ended up in St. Cloud after driving away from the estate sale. And, you know me. If there's an Irish bar to be found, I will stumble across it. Today was no exception.

O'Doherty's on New York Avenue by the St. Cloud City Hall is simply the most awesome place since they shut down Scruffy Murphy's in downtown Orlando. Huge dining room in an historic building with tons of character. Pool room in the back. But, it was the menu that made it for me (as usual).

The soda bread was so good, we asked if we could buy it by the loaf. Unfortunately, it is baked by the owner herself (Teresa O'Doherty), and she had only made enough to cover that night's anticipated crowd. But, she was kind enough to offer to bake loaves on demand with 24 hour notice.

I don't know how best to describe this bread, except to tell you to picture your own granny's home made recipe. Then add what I detected was oatmeal. Teresa mentioned one secret ingredient is wheat germ. But, beyond that, she wouldn't say much. You know how we Irish like to keep family secrets!

Anyway, we concluded the day with a tour of the Hollants-Parker estate, which deserves an entire blog entry of its own.

All this, and I didn't even think about the heat. Well, not a whole lot about it, anyway. But, glad to be back home, in the AC, with a nice cold drink in hand.

Slainte! (That's Irish for cheers!)