Empty Out Your Pockets

Sometimes I forget how unusually disdainful I am. Matt and I went to an estate sale on Sunday in a small town near us. The old victorian home had been owned by an older widow and her children and grandchildren were facilitating the sale.

First, I was annoyed at how much of a rag-tag operation it was since nothing was priced and it was a haggle for every old porcelain dish. I got over that pretty quick though when I got some silverware for 10 cents a pop since I told her I would buy them all.

Next, I was browsing the deceased woman's amazing collection of cardigans when I came across some odd looking ties. They were all tied, as if they had just been loosened from around a neck and then neatly hung together on a hanger. I looked at the yellowed tag that attached them all and read in tiny cursive "These were grandpa's ties."

I wanted to grab them and show them to the woman's children/grandchildren and say "Didn't you see this? These were your grandpa's! He tied these knots! She wanted you to know" Then of course I realized they were the ones liquidating all of their mother's belongings at a dime a piece. Akward...

My next thought was to buy them but the idea of haggling over these still-tied ties that this woman obviously wanted someone to remember made me sick. I know we can't keep everything and it is just stuff, but I'm still trying to figure these things out.

Meanwhile, here is a set that I arranged from the silverware I bought:


Now you can all be disdainful of me. I'll allow it.