My Finds.

 There were three things that I liked from the auction. We are not buying any furniture at this point, because we know for a fact we've got to get rid of furniture when we move. So there is not one whit of sense to buy any furniture at this point. 

But I saw these ducks. They are cast iron, and they were for a garden. They needed to be sandblasted. I don't think that I would have painted them, but, who knows? I will never know. They sold for over $200 so they went home with someone else. 

I sure did not like them that much. 

There was something else that I wanted badly just as soon as I saw it. I quietly called Tim over and showed him this. It is a history of our county published in 1887. It has 692 pages, not counting the appendix, so this was a massive book. I saw that it had each of the townships listed. People, places, houses, businesses. Our city was less than 100 years old when this volume was published. 

Tim agreed that this is something we should try to bring home.

We did not know what it would go for, but we both love history. 

The auction went on and on, and the book stayed there. Once the antique muzzleloaders and swords were auctioned off, I was pleased to see that some people left. We sat there for three hours, waiting for that book to be offered. Finally it was. Tim handed me our number and whispered, "Wait until it goes low." (Unnecessary advice.) When the price went down to $10, someone bid, and my hand was up in a shot. And my hand stayed up. There were three of us, and by god, I did want that book. And I got it! For $50! The guy behind me grumbled, "She got a good deal on that book!" but he had every chance to outbid me and he didn't. So...

One of the auction assistants walked the book back to me. 

I was reading about the great hydrophobia outbreak of 1835 in downtown Warren. The problem was so serious that they passed a temporary ordinance making it legal for a resident to shoot any dog found in the street without a person. Engrossed in my story (it is a VERY readable book) I missed it when the next thing I wanted came up. 

It is a pot hanger, a pretty one. 

It dropped to $10 and then attracted a half dozen people bidding on it. The bidding was fast and furious. I tried to tell Tim I didn't want it that bad, but he wasn't listening. In the end, we got it for $55. 

It is rusty, and the metal pieces need to be 'unfrozen' so that the thing can be taken apart. Just like the ducks that didn't come home with us, this will need to sandblasted and soaked to 'unfreeze' the hooks. One the thing is taken apart, it will be painted black and properly put back together. It's a pretty heavy thing. It will hang above our old butcher block in the new kitchen. 

So that was the auction. Tim got the screen door that he wanted so badly and a kerosene can. I got my book and my pot hanger. Who do you think got the better bargains this time around?