Antiques and Other Bad Habits

One of my hobbies is browsing antique malls and going to estate and garage sales. I try just to browse, but I can't resist a bargain. Darling 2 and I love antiques and collectibles. In fact, we used to have booths in several antique malls. The problem was, we kept the best stuff for ourselves. I know, not good business, but we have some great items we enjoy. Another problem was that we never had the cash to buy the expensive but really lucrative items to resell. Assuming we would have resold them, of course.

We also love home tours. You know, the Victorian homes or revitalized area tours. Waxahachie, Texas is a town south of Dallas known for its Gingerbread Trail each spring and a similar one in November. Darling 2 and I were at one of the spring tours when we spotted one of our favorite signs, "Moving Sale." We stopped and I had just paid for a lovely folding Oriental screen I wanted. Darling 2 was still shopping when a policeman showed up and asked the homeowner for her permit. Oops. She didn't have one. He said, "Everyone will have to put everything down. I have to close this sale." The homeowner, who was moving to another state the following week, begged and pleaded. Since I had already paid, I did not feel inclined to leave my purchase. Darling 2 and I picked up the screen and hoofed it to my car a block away. That screen is heavy, let me assure you, but we made very good time and slid that baby into the car with no delay. When we drove back by the home, everyone was leaving--except the policeman. Poor lady. Not only was her sale closed down and her profits quashed, she probably had to pay a fine. For our part, my daughter and I still laugh about what a weird sight we must have made, jogging with a folded screen on our shoulders.

Darling 2 collects pottery and Darling 1 collects Stanley hand planes. I collect nativity sets, angels, and odds and ends. Hero collects electronics, tools, and fishing gear. Each of us reads so we're always happy to find a garage sale with lots of books at a bargain. We are all pack rats, so it's no wonder our basement is filled with "stuff."  We figure as long as we have the room, there's no harm. We don't have other expensive habits, so we'll continue collecting our favorites. 

What do you collect? Do you shop garage and estate sales?