Oct 7 2011
“If you see a mouse with red pants on, that’s Mickey!”
— the kid tells me how to recognize Mickey Mouse
We went to the flea market recently. Of course the girls were on the prowl for books and dolls. Check out the video to see what they found.
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Jul 26 2011
“Hey Daddy, do you know that if you put carrots in your shake for nineteen years you probably won’t need glasses?”
— The first thing the kid says to me on a Monday morning
When I was a kid I’d go with my dad to the flea market on weekends. He was an electrician, so he’d usually be on the lookout for appliances, stereos, TVs, etc. Comic books were what I was usually after, though every once in a while I’d want something goofy, like a unicycle or walkie talkie and my dad would indulge me.
I think that’s where it started; to this day I’d much rather bum around a flea market or hit a few garage/estate sales rather than walk around a mall.
So last weekend, while returning from a Farmers Market, I stopped by the neighborhood Savers with Jill and the kid in tow. And what do ya know, they had fun!
Though I didn’t pick up anything on this particular visit, the girls found a few things that caught their fancy. The kid fell in love with a Mickey Mouse doll and also picked up a dress (she’s wearing it in the above pic.) Jill snagged a few children’s books along with some old albums. Total cost: around $12.
Maybe this is just the start of something. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to hit a few flea markets or estate sales every now and then with the family. I think my dad would approve.
Sep 10 2010
“I don’t want to get my fashions wet!”
— Lucy at the swimming pool
Two bikes in one week? Well…yep, I guess so. I got a good deal on a bike for Lucy last week. However, at this point in time the bike is a tad too big for the kid.
So hear I am, minding my own business, and I find another good deal ($10) for a bike with 12″ wheels, a better fit size-wise for the kid. So, to make a long story short…yeah, the kid now has two very girly-girl bikes.
The kid took the new smaller bike out for a spin today. I think she’s starting to grasp the whole “pedaling propels you forward, steering keeps you out of the neighbor’s bushes” dynamic.
The bike is definitely a keeper. I think she’ll be able to ride it around until she’s big enough for her other bike. Once that day comes, I’m sure we’ll be able to find another little girl in need of her first miniature bike.
Though she was having a blast riding the bike around, once the automatic sprinklers came on, she was off the bike in a flash and running a crazed obstacle course between the sprinklers.
Once the sprinklers stopped, the kid, now soaking wet, got back on her bike to finish her inaugural ride. All in all, I’d say it was a good day for being a kid.
Sep 6 2010
“I’ve got loads and loads of selections of money Daddy! But it’s your money!”
— Lucy’s logic for why we can go out
On this day of no labor I made time to hit Savers. They were having a “50% Off All Clothes” sale, so I made sure to head over by 9am so that I could scram before the place got too crowded.
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve actually been going to this particular Savers off and on for over 25 years! I shot the above pic on the left around 1984, when the store was still a Thrift Village. The top right pic was taken this morning.
It’s tough looking at jeans at other stores when I’m so accustomed to getting Levi’s for 5-6 bucks at Savers. And today’s sale made the deals that much better.
Below is a pic of today’s haul. If you click on the pic you’ll get a better view of the captions I added with details on pricing. I think I should be OK on jeans for a while!
Sep 3 2010
“Tell me a story Daddy, but keep your eyes open so I can see them!”
- Lucy getting her sleepy dad to tell her a story
Here are some pics of the kid from the past week. Every time I look at pics like these it always hits me how fast the kid is growing up.
We had a nice get-together at my mom’s place last weekend. My mom has a neat backyard, with lots of trees and plants, squirrels and birds. The neighborhood cats love it. These pics show one cat in particular who’s always lazing around in the yard. Lucy and her cousins gave the cat rockstar treatment. The cat loved the attention.
Jill and I had never used this pool before. However, the kid had never been swimming, so we packed up our towels and flip-flops and made the trek. It was actually pretty fun (and very refreshing) so I think we’ll make regular use of the pool until the weather cools.
I’ve written before about how I like tooling around on weekend mornings while the girls are asleep. Last weekend I hit a few garage sales. My dad took me to lots of flea markets when I was a kid. I loved going, even enough to get up at 7am on a Saturday (that’s pretty early when you’re 8 or 9.) He’d look at old hi-fi equipment while I was on the prowl for comic books.
One of my fondest memories involves my dad getting me a big box of a beat-up comics for $2. I had enough to keep me reading for the whole summer! Talk about heaven.
I think that’s why, to this day I love hitting garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Anyway, at one of the garage sales I hit, I saw a neglected little bicycle. I immediately shifted into flea market mode:
(look at everything except bike; before leaving, look at bike and ask out of curiosity…)
Me: “How much is the bike?”
Seller: “$10.”
Me: (pause) “Would you take $5?”
Seller: “I’d rather have $10.”
Me: “Well, good luck with that!” (interest gone, turn to leave)
Seller: “Howzabout $7?”
Me: “I’ve got my truck right here. I’ll give you $5 and take it off your hands right now. You won’t have to worry about it.”
Seller: “OK. $5.”
My dad would have been proud of me. So I got the bike home, scrubbed a couple of years of grime off, and voila!—the kid has a bike.
May 9 2010
Palo Alto HS Flea Market from Mike C on Vimeo.
Here’s a quick video I took of our trip to the flea market yesterday (May 8th. I get the date wrong in the video.) This one’s held at Palo Alto High School the second Saturday of each month. I like it because it’s pretty small, easy to get to, and is my idea of a “real” flea market (i.e., a lot of real people selling used stuff, rather than outdoor retailers selling the kind of stuff you could pick up at any big box retail store.)
Though the kid was a bit sleepy at the beginning, she perked up once she saw stuff that interested her (toy mice, dollys, wagons, etc.)
I wasn’t looking for anything in particular but wound up with a ball and mitt for $5. From the age of 8-11 I don’t think a day went by where I didn’t have a mitt on my hand at some point, probably pretending I was Campy Campaneris or Willie Mays (showing my age!) The $5 mitt brought some of those memories back when I slipped it on. And it was already broken in too—no need to stick it under the bed post! It’s funny, the stuff you wind up with at the end of the day.
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