Yard Sale Addict

The Inman Park Festival is this weekend. This is the largest neighborhood festival in the city each year. The event is less than two mile from my doorstep and in the midst of my yard sale hunting grounds. So earlier in the week I pondered is there a festival effect when you have ground swell of people on the street and looking for places to park do sellers hold sales hoping to bring in some buyers headed for the festival. This weekend I found there appears to be a reverse effect. Other than a long running sale that some friends of mine have on a regular basis there were no sales in Candler Park. My conclusion is, sellers felt that they could not compete with the festival (people would rather have a funnel cake than a used bread machine) or that the sellers would rather go to the festival instead of sitting in their yard all day looking at people examining their used bread machines. So I had to drive over to Virginia Highlands to find any yard sale activity. I did get back in time to go to the festival and see the parade.







McLynn Ave. - Morningside “Yard Sale”

This was an elaborate larger sale that extended from the front yard down the driveway and into the backyard of a one-story brick home. It appeared that there the assembled clutter belonged to two or three people. The man who had his stuff in the rear of the house had the more interesting clutter and quite a flair for presenting it. The seller recognized men as – “that guy that takes photographs at yard sales” a moniker that is starting to become my middle name. He began to show me the cream of his collection. When I saw the man’s assembled clutter I began to wonder if people were starting to arrange their stuff in creative ways in hopes that I would come by and photograph it. This would of course create a creative dilemma for me as a documentarian. The best assemblage there was an arrangement set upon a small table. It contained antique photographs, a pistol, a troll, a 7Up can made into a lamp, a wad of three dollar bills with Hilary Clinton’s face on them, a faux cigar and a Nikon camera. Other displays contained mink pieces, a banjo, part of a military uniform and an overhead projector. One of the strangest items in the back yard that the seller seemed most proud of was an old large black and whitewedding picture with the brides face scraped off. A number of fine found art works graced the driveway a portrait of Jimmy Carter, a framed photograph of someone’s living room, a black velvet painting and a disturbing portrait of a man with no pupils. The seller was quite proud of this piece as it was signed “Insanity”. I’m not sure what was selling in this portion of the sale but other stuff included bins of tangled cables, various old board games and a large radio controlled tank. Among some books packed tightly into a cardboard box were “Naked Lunch”, “Adam and the Ants”, “Thunderball”, “The Curse of Collinwood”, “The Citizen Kane Book”, “Spartacus”, “Understanding Broadcasting”, “The Alley God”, “Rides of the Midway”, “None Dare Call it Treason”, “Why Not Me?” “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot”, “Tarnsman of Gor” and 14 Man from U.N.C.L. E. books.
The stuff that the other men were selling in the front yard was far tamer and much more normal than anything in the back yard. Here was an assortment of old Apple accessories, more tangled cables, a disassembled electric guitar, some men’s clothing, several old TVs and computer monitors, a pair of swim fins and a large plush giraffe.
I bought nothing.
Blue Jay and Insanity.













Photograph altered at the altar.



















More clutter from the back yard.


















Giraffe found in front yard.

















Greenwood Ave. - Searsview “Yard Sale”

This sale was in front of a reconverted loft building where Greenwood dead-ends. Years ago I lived nearby and used to wander around this area late at night looking for artistic inspiration. I don’t know if I ever found it in what was then a dilapidated industrial zone. The first thing I spotted at this sale was an empty Ikea box so that let me know what inspiration I would find here today. Lofts like infill developments just don’t have a history. This one almost made fun of that premise as they were selling two old portrait with an attached sign that read “ Instant heritage” Among the clean and glossy stuff here were a selection of skis and oars, a bin of unused looking plush animals, a fog machine, a box of bright ceramic bowls, an unused looking snow shovel and a toy tank (the second one today). On a table were five framed covers of Bark magazine. I asked the seller if he were a graphic designer for the dog aficionado for the canine journal, he said no his wife just liked the covers.
I bought nothing.

Framed canine magazine covers.















Now gentrified area where I once wandered on moonlit nights.
















Highland Park - Morningside “Estate Sale”

This sale was in it’s third day so I knew most of the contents would be depleted, but I had not visited an estate sale in some time so I wandered in. Highland Park is a one-block development off of Amsterdam Ave. Over two years ago I visited an estate sale here and took two photos that I have shown a several galleries. This home today had the exact layout of the residence of the earlier sale. So I walked about the depleted sale with a bit of Déjà vu. But sadly there was little notable left to photograph. Among some of the remnants I did encounter were a framed somewhat abstract image of a dollar sign, an autographed picture of Al Gore next to a collection of duck plates and a cabinet full of half drunk liquor bottles.
I bought nothing.

Al Gore among the remains of an estate sale.
















Fiscal art found in Morningside























N. Virginia Ave. - Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

This sale was not only depleted but also deserted. No one was here all that remained was a box marked free at the end of the driveway and a bookshelf leaning against the front steps. On the bookshelf were some pop novels, a ceramic teddy bear and some candleholders.
I took nothing and saw no one.

Paidea School Garage Sale – Druid Hills

I have covered this annual event a year or two ago and most of what I saw today was little different from what I saw then. The sale is fairly extensive and gives one an idea what parents with kids at Paidea no longer want in their homes. It seems like they don’t want old books for there was an endless amount of them. I left my reading glasses in the car so had a hard time discerning the titles in the dim light. These parents also get rid of a lot of fancy toys, games and children’s activity sets. The pictures below give a better example of what I saw.






Hand made fabric eggs no longer needed by Paidea parent.
















Creative game played at posh private academy.














These kids are so well off they have unopened packages of Harry Potter books.

















Inman Park Parade

I later headed to the festival to catch the parade. Aside from the various marching bands the parade featured the usual assortment of denizens found around the neighborhood.
Fabulous hair seen in parade in Inman Park














A Local artist's call to prayer on parade.

The full blown yard sale season appeared to have opened up this Saturday as I noticed signs in several neighborhoods on Friday night while driving to an exhibit Cindy was having at the Atlanta Photography Center. This morning I opted for hitting the neighborhood sale in Decatur and a quick stop at a benefit sale in my own neighborhood.

Save Grandma Gordon Sale – Lake Clair

Grandma Gordon is a name given to a threatened Pecan tree on Dekalb Ave that is facing the inevitable axe of development unless a citizen’s rally stops the chopping. Located on a small lot on Dekalb Ave. The tree was once part of the Gordon Plantation. General Gordon was a not so distinguished Civil war hero and politician who later grew pecans at this site. The effort to save the tree is noble and I am always for more green space but with the housing downturn and rising food prices for the developer it might be a better investment to keep the tree. Today a local gallery owner organized a benefit to support saving the tree. The sale is held on the parking lot of a car repair shop within site of the tree. Like a lot of benefits people don’t always bring their best stuff but it was a good sale nonetheless. Among the stuff was old Peter Paul and Mary lps, a box of old medical supplies, some canisters shaped like vegetables, candles, framed dried flowers, a metal tapping art kit and three aroma clocks in their original boxes. I spotted two videotapes –“30 Days to Happiness” and “21 Days to Self Discovery”. Among the books there were “Almanac of the Environment”, “Hey Nostradamus”, “Illustrated Elements of Tai Chi”, “Closing Time” and a LSAT study guide.”
I bought nothing.

Box of unused medical supplies.














Aroma clocks help save a tree.
















Decatur Great Lakes Community Sale

The Great Lakes neighborhood is the most upscale part of now fashionable Decatur. The name comes from the existence of Huron, Superior, Erie and Michigan Avenues in the area. But there are a few other lake streets there including the not so great Champlain and distant alpine Lucerne and Geneva. There is no Ontario or Salt. Perhaps these aquatic streets were developer’s dreams that never took shape. There is also no lake in the great Lakes Neighborhood. But I will not make an issue of this since my own neighborhood Lake Claire has no lake as well.

But there were yard sales in excess here today. This is a yearly event that I think I have covered here in the past. If a determined reader is interested in perusing through my archives please post a comment letting me know what year and month I covered the prior event.

Regardless I wanted to check out this sale not because of the quantity of sales (the ad said over 50) but because of what I had said about Decatur in an article in Atlanta Magazine. In the May issue you will find an article on my work along with half a dozen of my photographs. In the article I say that Decatur is a good place to find children’s stuff. So Part of my work today was to find if this was true. From what I saw today I will respond whole-heartedly – yes. Decatur yard sales have more children’s stuff than even families with multitudes of children would care to see. But there was a lot of other interesting stuff and even some interesting children’s things.
As for the kid’s stuff, there were bins and boxes of toys aplenty including on of bright plastic dinosaurs, and two boxes full of Pez Dispensers. (The sellers said collectors took quite a few in the early AM) and the expected bins of action figures. There were not as many over sized plastic play sets as one might expect, perhaps not tasteful enough for the upscale neighborhood. But one sale did have an elaborate kid’s puppet theatre. There was also the usual assortment of strollers and infant accessories found wherever there are growing children.







Assortment of Pez Dispensers.















But today Decatur showed that it is still an eclectic community. One man’s sale featured framed vintage photographs taken at a European nude beach. a frightening large sculpture of a human hand and several retro light up religious figures.
Hand sculpture at a more interesting sale.













Another home presented clutter that looked more like what one expects to find in Inman Park. Here was a large load of antique stuff that appears to have been stored in a basement for some time. Among the stuff here was a collection of old birdcages, a bucket full of carved wooden angels, old sheet music, an array of baskets hanging from a clothesline, and board games from the 70’s. There was a bag marked Mardi Gras Party, attached to it was a list indicating 6 necklaces, 16 masks, 21 crabs, 10 lg. Crayfish, 3 sm crayfish, 5 mini tabascos, 1 voodoo doll & lots and lots of pepper. All this made a definitive recipe for Fat Tuesday. There was boxes of old printed material in the street at this sale including old National Geographics, Richie Rich comics, old religious tracts, a copy of Wee Wisdom -a character building magazine and an old paperback entitled “The Web of Life”. On the curb was an assortment of wooden things that appeared to be broken, I could not tell if they were throwing them away or selling them.


Another notable sale was the guy who created outstanding signs for all his merchandise. Most of the stuff he was selling was very kitschy including a Marshmallow Peep Maker, a set of Peep party lights, a Sideshow Bob figure and a set of Seinfeld playing cards. On a tree he had hung some clothing where he offered a free Tom Jones shirt with the purchase of a bobble head.








Free shirt offer.














There was a lot of other strange stuff in the neighborhood this day including a very oversized (4 foot) beer stein, a Halloween miniature city, an old plaster skull and a very dirty old recliner that had holders for two beer cans. The seller was kind enough to pose his dog in the chair as I photographed it.
















Plaster skull and tea bags.














Dog posing in recliner.














There were also a few notable works of arts found around the neighborhood including a angry looking multicolored cat, a scary blue snow queen and a bizarre big eyed painting showing a woman playing a lyre with a child on her back.
Big eyed mother and child.





















Angry Queen in Blue.


















The most notable strange item was a resplendent pheasant pelt. When I saw it for one dollar I had to have it. I purchased it under the guise of using it in some conceptual art project. When I got home Cindy remarked that it looked like road kill.

Two beaches and a long drive home

Cindy and I flew down to Ft. Lauderdale, picked up a rental car and drove up to visit her sister in Tequesta. We took the rental car all the way back to Atlanta at weeks end. One the way back we had a chance to spend a night in Cocoa Beach.
Our visit showed us the great contrast between south Florida and points further north. The Tequesta Jupiter area is immaculately clean, the in habitants well groomed and seemingly healthy in all it almost too tasteful. Yet with all this Jupiter did have some of the best thrift stores I’ have visited in some time. It appears the well-heeled visitors of the high season in Florida just abandon their fine beach and lounge wears upon heading north. We filled out trunk with large bags of used clothing. But we were also to see the contrast on our visit to Cocoa beach only a little over 100 miles to the north.


The beach at Jupiter.
















Tequesta Sunset.


















Cocoa Beach just out side The Kennedy Space flight center is the epicenter of what is referred to as Florida’s space coast. It appears that the space exploration angle is no longer the magnet for tourism at it once was (a friend suggested that last year’s astro-nut stalker episode may have been the tipping point for America’s love affair with the space program.) On our visit we found that the major attraction in Cocoa Beach was not it’s closeness to the final frontier but the presence of the nations largest beachwear store. Ron Jon’s surf shop is heralded on Florida highways in the same manner South Carolina’s famous South of the Border tourist Mecca is promoted. A constant array of billboards on I 95 and 75 remind you to visit the massive emporium of flip-flops and other lounge apparel. We had visited Ron Jon over a decade a go and found the mega store to be bigger, brighter and open 24 hours. In front of its monumental façade were large sculptures saluting beach recreation, surfing, roller-skating, volleyball and jet skiing. I was disappointed there were not tributes to sand castle construction and tanning. Inside the store has taken the higher road to tasteful ness and carried not one coconut carved to resemble a monkey head. Instead they carried an endless array of high-priced bathing suits, tasteful beach footwear and surfing supplies. The apparent success of Ron Jon has spurred the Sheraton next door to open up a competing store that carries even more expensive beachwear and supplies. This stores comes across as a Neiman Marcus to Ron Jon’s Bloomingdales.

But all is not tasteful in the least in Cocoa Beach. Around the corner are three overgrown t-shirt and souvenir shops that pull no punches on poor tastes. But these stores do give heed to the vicinity of the spaceport. One store featured garish murals of spacecraft and inside sold underwear that lauded the wearer’s ability to pass gas as well as small figurines of moon walking astronauts. Another nearby store was a covered in hand painted signs that proclaimed the presence of temporary tattoos, cheap t-shirts and live hermit crabs. Cocoa Beach over all appeared to attract families and couples that became delirious in Orlando and headed to the nearest beach. Compared to the beaches we visited in Jupiter Cocoa was crowed, congested and a little on the unclean side. Perhaps its best to visit Cocoa Before you go to the pristine beaches of southern Florida.

Remnants of the Space Age.














Cheap T-shirts and a salute to America's space program.














A Few Yard Sales

We ran across two small yard sales on Friday as we neared Cocoa Beach. The sales were in the yard of two adjacent houses on a street that ran off of A1A. The first house was the larger sale with a moderate amount of clutter piled along the driveway and stuff on tables in the garage. Near the entry to the garage was a large figure that looked like a snowman transforming into a scarecrow. In the driveway I found a plush elephant, an empty binoculars case, two life vests, a dog cage, and some towels and draperies. In the garage were old house-wares, a few items of clothing and a working Coke machine from the ‘70’s. The house next door had less stuff but was a prettier setting as lush tropical plants in a dense garden surrounded piles of shoes and clothing.

Clutter among tropical splendor.

















On the way out of town the following morning we were able to find one sale before getting on the turnpike and heading home. This was another disappointing affair as the sale was in a small non-descript apartment. Here an older lady was watching over three rooms of cloth goods, a hand painted table with a woodland scene on it, a box of old Polka 8 Tracks and a Magnus chord organ.
We bought nothing. But we did get to pass by the mural of the Beer Cave on our way out of town.


Cocoa Beach Mural.















The Long Ride Home

Our trip back was as always long and monotonous, plus the crowds from Cocoa appeared to have followed us north on the expressway. We made a brief stop at the Magnolia Plantation a roadside attraction often confused with the Plantation House. Both are in South Georgia and both sell copious bags of pecans and pralines. Cindy noted that the main difference between the two is that the Magnolia Plantation does not sell cigarettes. Both also have a countless number of billboards along the highway.
We bought no Pecans.




Plentiful pecans at Magnolia Plantation.

I’m ambivalent about community wide sales. They do offer a lot of different sales in close proximity to one another but the quantity often over come the quality. Kirkwood is a neighborhood just across the tracks from my home that has been the site of more and more interesting sales in the past few years. I think that Kirkwood’s more recent gentrification has been the reason for this. In Lake Claire middle class established households have already divested themselves of the strange collected things of misspent youth. While in Kirkwood I still see the detritus of Goth lifestyles, Betty Page clothing, manga motifs and whatever other subcultures may have absorbed people’s lives. In a way the appearance of a community wide sale indicates a neighborhood has come full term and are now no longer an outpost of urban pioneers but now an enclave of bourgeois life. Today’s neighborhood wide event showed both the old and the new lifestyles of Kirkwood.
I’m not sure how the sale was organized but most of the signs said “charity sale” and a map of the sales indicated that it funded the charitable work of a local fraternity.

A number of the sales will remain unnamed, as they were small events with little more than children’s clothes and playthings and a few discarded household items such as oversized loungers. But I did find some treasures and delights at these sales.

Bixby Ave

This was in the fenced in backyard/court of a frame bungalow. Here the hoarders of a lot of 70’s retro stuff were divesting their collection. Here I encountered Terry Coffee, a local reseller purchasing a 1960’s style cocktail bar. Among the clutter on display here were a number of tacky framed protestant religious artworks, boxes filled with plastic toys and pez dispensers, a life-sized ceramic chicken, an old Atari game set, a butterfly chair, a pair of crutches, a box of door knobs, boxes of comic books and an old TV set. Among some books I found “Gluttony”, “My Cousin My Gastroenterologist”, “Dreams of My Russian Summers”, “The Life to Come”, “Of Love and Shadows”, “Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”, “The Woman and the Ape”, “The Artist’s Way”, “Design of Wood Structures” and “Descent into Hell”.


Old gaming device and spiritual artwork.
















2nd Ave.

This was a household in transition. They were selling their framed Disney cartoon cells, a fancy case for holding and displaying children’s teeth and stacks of past copies of the magazine “Punk World”.













Delano Dr.

This was a very small sale with just a few things in a man’s front yard. Here I found a pair of leather chaps, a pink feather boa, a bright Xmas skirt with marabou trim and several bunches of plastic grapes.














Howard Ave.

This was my favorite sale in Kirkwood. The clutter was crowded onto wraparound porch of a large two story Victorian home. There was just enough jumble and chaos to make this sale a delight. Here I found a variety of remote controlled toys, including a fearsome looking bug, fighting robots, some helicopters and other vehicles. Old electronics were bulging out of plastic bins. There were all sorts of variety of networking hardware, tangles of cables, computer components, clock radios and car stereos. In one box was an old Richard Nixon mask and disassembled computer parts. One larger toy featured was a Terminator II action toy done in the guise of rock 'em sock 'em robots with Swartzenegger going at fisticuffs with the shape shifting killer android cop. On a table was a stack of large spools of network cabling. Other stuff included several sewing machines, some old Lps, a few items of furniture, old small kitchen appliances and some books. Among the books were “Gay Travel A to Z”, “Dr. Atkins New Diet Cookbook”, “Professional Construction Management”, “Construction Productivity Improvement” and “Myst, the Official Strategy Guide”
I bought nothing in Kirkwood.

Dueling terminators.

















Outside of Kirkwood I came across three other sales.

Candler St. – Candler Park “Moving Sale”

This was the sale of an older long time resident of the neighborhood who was sadly moving away. She even told me she was sad about moving. Here like the sale on Howard Ave. there was a large collection of confused clutter heaped onto an old porch. This porch was smaller and the clutter was more confused. Among the finds there were bins filled with faux flowers, boxes of old candles, an oversized plastic Victorian styled dollhouse, the road case of a bass drum, some ugly lamps from the 70’s, an assortment of plastic tubes marked not for sale,a large jar of marbles, a hand decorated mirror, stacks of boxes of Xmas lights and a multitude of old plates and kitchenwares. On the sidewalk and along the side of the home was an assortment of building supplies, disassembled shelving and furniture and unidentifiable objects.
I bought nothing but I did admire the woman’s fine old style garden that consisted of countless potted plants in her front yard.







Mirror and marbles.














Faux flowers.

















Oakdale Ave. – Candler Park “Fund Raiser for Grady HS Orchestra”

This event was in the front yard of an older home in Candler Park. Since it was a fundraiser the merchandise here had some from a variety of households. The goods were arrayed with considerable originality. Among the stuff there were old Lps and 78’s in the grass resting upon a rusting garden fence, old iron cookware scattered on the dirt, a Santa figure with a baby doll head attached to it’s forehead and old wooden boxes filled with hardware from old homes. In a box were the following books “Cloth of Dreams”, “Acts of Light”, “The Textile Art” and “The Book for People Who Do too Much”. Two interesting items at this sale were a pillow in the shape of a scooter that resembled a frog if you turn it upside down and a device for making square eggs.
I bought nothing.







Device for creating square eggs.















Old records artistically arrayed.














Scooter/frog pillow.



























Alta Ave. – Inman Park “Yard Sale”

This sale was in the grassy area in back of a condo/apartment development. Upon approaching the sale I was startled by the brightness of the pink dresser and cabinet near the sidewalk. Stuff strewn onto tarps on the grass included boxes of dolls, children’s clothing, women’s clothing and several items of décor with crescent moon motifs. Among the reading matter there was “Smart Couples Finish Rich”, “How to Make Millions in Real Estate in 3 Years Starting with No Cash”, and “Growing Up Native American”
Amid the clutter on one of the tarps was a Hannah Montana wig in its original box. Perhaps this is an indication that young Ms. Cyrus’s star has began to wan.
I bought nothing.




Used Hannah hair in original box.

Several years ago I wrote about visiting yards sales the Saturday before Easter and said it was a not so Good Saturday for sales. I learned this week that there is a lull in yard sales regardless of the weather on this holiday eve day. Some basic research revealed that I was wrong in my glib terminology. It is not Good Saturday as I recalled from my parochial school days but Holy Saturday. Among other names bestowed on the day before Easter are White Saturday, Black Saturday, Easter Eve, Low Saturday and Silent Saturday. Regardless low, silent black or white its not a great days for yard sales. While I do not want to enter into religious discussion in this site in today nearly all the book collections I found put up for sale on appeared to feature some spiritual works. Regardless of the banality of whatever other clutter the sellers were divesting themselves of the reasons these religious works were put out for sale indicates the vendors either wanted to spread the word or felt these works were simply taking up space in their home and lives. I will let the reader decide. Regardless it was still a lousy spring day for yard sales.



Elmira Ave. - Candler Park “Yard Sale”

This was a moderate sized sale with a collection of clutter spread out on the grass in front of this old craftsman bungalow. Among the stuff displayed there was a box holding quartet of bobbing headed hockey players, a box of small picture frames(another ubiquitous item at yard sales), a collection of hats and caps, a skinhead wig, a selection of unused children’s creative playthings that included coloring sets, and science experiments as well as a box of books. Among the books were “Trend Following”, “Unlimited Real Estate Profit”, and “Are You Dumb Enough to be Rich?” “The Secret Life of Bees”, “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things”, “Hope for the Troubled Heart”, “Created to Be God’s Friend” and “What Should I do with my Life?”
I bought nothing.


Quartet of hockey players.
















N. Morningside – Morningside “Estate Sale”
After driving by several locations were sales were supposed to be held, I checked out this inside-the-house event in Morningside. Only two rooms of the large manor home were open to shoppers and the contents were boring and disappointing. The living room was crowded with some furniture, books and décor items and a screened-in sunroom had some straw baskets and dried flowers displayed in old watering cans. The books were boring too. Among them I found Works by Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and Sue Grafton, “Great Entertaining”, “Crisis” and “The New York City Cabdriver’s Joke Book”. I bought nothing and quickly moved on.




Box of boring baskets.


















Hillpine Dr.- Morningside “Yard Sale”

This sale set up in a very charming courtyard area beside a large Tudor home had more to look at and the clutter in this setting was pleasantly photogenic. Among the stuff displayed between a stone fountain and a restored garage was an old console stereo, a old off brand slide projector, a lava lamp, some toys, a chandelier, a copy of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on DVD and a large ceramic Easter Bunny.
Among some books were “Religious Themes in Flower Arrangement”, “Outline of General Zoology”, “The Life of Christ”, “The Land Question in Palestine”, “Healing and the Mind”, “The Desire of Ages” and “3 Most Important Steps to Your Better Health and Miracle Living”.
I bought nothing.

Lava lamp in well appointed courtyard.

















Oakview Ave. - Oakhurst “Yard Sale”

This was the most impressive and interesting sale of the day. An assortment of all sorts of clutter was spread out in the front yard of this older frame bungalow. A disassembled ceiling fan that looked sadder than most fans rested in the dirt with its amputated blades appearing limp and useless. On a sofa in the middle of the yard was a collection of framed Norman Rockwell prints and an old print of a collie. On a table in front of the sale were an opened bucket of powdered margarita mix and some plastic cocktail glasses. One presumed these items were being sold as a set. On the ground were bright blue tarps holding colorful neckties, old athletic shoes and some bedclothes. Two stools were in the middle of the yard one held a basket of Xmas foliage and the other held a motor board cap a remnant of someone’s graduation. There was a box of books on the ground that contained the following titles -“More Than you Dare Ask”, “Taking Sides”, “Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope”, “Diverse Worship” and “The Coming Conflict with China”.
I bought nothing.



Dejected and disassembled ceiling fan.














Rockwell images upon a sofa.














McLendon Ave. - Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

On the way home I stopped at this small sale near my home. A small selection of things was displayed on the homes steps and on two tables in the homes tiny front yard. On one of the tables was a wooden lamp base in the shape of a four-legged mustached man, a wine cooler, a pair of socks, some mugs, a candleholder and a few pieces of stemware. On the steps were some games toys and jigsaw puzzles. On another table were an old manual portable typewriter and an even older adding machine. Among some books was “Prayer of Jabez”, “That Special You”, “The Cowgirl Companion”, “Saturday Night Live – The First 20 Years”, “Children’s Letters to God”, “Hot Stuff” and “The Good Life”.
I bought nothing but did notice that one of the shoppers here had bought some sort of massive oversized giraffe figure that was protruding through the sunroof of her car.

Purchase made in Lake Claire.

The weather was of control here for the last two weeks. Last Saturday I set out to document sales only to encounter a freakish late Winter snowfall. The following Friday Atlanta was cast into the national news when monstrous tornados ransacked downtown and the nearby Cabbagetown. Neighborhood. Regardless some people in the face of adversity will still have yard sales.












Candler Park Dr. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”

It had rained most of the morning but the intrepid seller was arrange a yard full of stuff, some of it soaked with water when I arrived. Among the stuff gathered in the small yard of this frame turn of the century bungalow included office supplies, packages of pipe cleaners, baggies filled with plastic eating utensils, plastic cups, an unopened package of roach bait, a few kitchen knives, pile of women’s clothing a large pelt of an undetermined creature, and a pair of swim fins with party décor dumped on top of them. While storm clouds hovered above threatening the drop more water of the already damp stuff buyers picked through the merchandise. Around the perimeter of the yard were some furniture items including a table, a bureau and a small desk. Among some books there I found “Human Anatomy and Physiology”, “Eat Right for Your Type”, “Space time and Medicine”, a 2001 PDR, “Awaken the Giant Within”, “Conversational Brazilian Portuguese” and “The Lady from Atlantis”
I bought nothing. About one hour after visiting this sale a scary hailstorm hit the neighborhood.
Swim fins at a wet sale.













Sunday

Vance Ave. - Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

The weather was far different on Sunday. On my morning bike ride I happened across this attractive sale in the yard of a small home off Virginia Ave.
It appeared the sellers were having a good time with this event and the sunny spring weather boosted the halcyon mood. On the white picket fence in front of the home hung a variety of hats and caps. Greeting me at the gate was a lamp in the shape of a hula dancer with a shade of Hawaiian design. There were a lot of toys here as the seller was a rep for a boutique toy company. On a table on the porch were several new in the box sets of Seuss oriented items including a Horton tea set. Boxes on the property held piles of old blocks and wooden letters. Other stuff scattered about included men’s clothing (none of which fit me) a child’s bicycle, a bread maker, and a wooden stool with hand painted designs on it and some kitchen items.
I bought nothing.

Box of letters.

















Polynesian style lighting.























McLendon Ave. - Candler Park “Yard Sale”

Cindy and I walked to this sale after I returned from my bike ride. Here the driveway was filled with a collection of unwanted items for sale. The sellers must have been anticipating a hungry crowd today as they were vending hot dogs fresh and hot off the grill, a large variety of muffins, and piles of packaged salty snacks. By the looks of it the food was not moving. In the driveway we found a blue motor scooter (the first I’ve encountered since Atlanta's flirtation with cheap Chinese scooters began), piles of clothing, a pair of humidifiers, a selection of women’s shoes, a good amount of toys, including a purple Teletubby, several toy trucks and a large dog cage. On a table I found a bobbing head Michael Vick figure, an Orangutan with rainbow colored hair, a plastic device that made Cajun sounds and some books. Among the books were “Telecom Dictionary”, “The Runaway Jury” and “Four Past Midnight”. Cindy bought two bras from a box filled with bras and we each purchased a hot dog.
Later in the day I saw someone taking the scooter for a test drive in the neighborhood.



Bobbing headed disgraced football star.
















Multicolored ape with Cajun sound device.


















Box of bras.

DeKalb Ave. – Inman Park “Craptastic Sale”

I noticed the interesting signs for this event on when I was out on Friday evening. They noted “yard sale for those who are hard to buy for”. I’m difficult to buy for so I made it my first stop on Saturday morning. In the parking lot of a Neon art studio I found a number of tables holding clutter and a lot of stuff collected on the pavement. Piled on a nearby grassy area was a collection of men’s casual clothing and a box of old beer cans. There was a large selection of books here in boxes and upon tables among them was “After Thought”, “Henry Ford and the Jews”, “Practical Mental Magic”, “Small Town Girl”, “Call It Sleep”, “Middlesex”, “The Death of Vishnu”, “The Big Book of Death”, “Eaters of the Dead” and “Don’t Know Much about History”
On one table was a collection of Simpson’s stuff including a Clue Game, a trivia game, several frosted steins, a number of toy characters and an activity set. All the stuff was in it’s original packaging and appeared not to have been opened.
On another table was an old vibrating massager (in its original box) but it appeared to have been used. Nearby were some small bottles of natural creams and lotions.. On another table was a Mister Bill action figure, a playboy flask, a Trivial Pursuits game on DVD and a Financial Advisor 8 ball and ashtray or small bowl that said “tonight” on it. Against the wall of the Neon studio was a selection of old audio and video gear and a vacuum cleaner. Other stuff strewn about included a ceramic ape contemplating a human skull, a pile of deflated inflatable guitars, a plush figure of that Martian character from the Warner Brothers cartoons and a box filled with cheap give-away sunglasses.
I bought nothing.
Clothing and box of beer cans.















Deflated guitar among the clutter.



















Antique massager in opened original package.













Ashtray for tonight.














Winter Ave. Oakhurst – “Yard Sale”

I could not find anything else in my neighborhood so I headed across the tracks to two sales in Oakhurst. This first one was a small event with just a few things in the yard. Among the stuff there was about a dozen articles of women’s clothing, two red plastic children’s chairs, a plush ape, a child’s bed and two canvases with original paintings on them. One may have been Haitian the other featured either angels or fairies at play.
I bought nothing.






Art found in Oakhurst.




















Mead Ave.- Oakhurst “Yard Sale”

In front of a small frame cottage a couple nonchalantly looked over a moderate collection of clutter. In front of the home I found several pairs of flip flops, some computer programming manuals, two tubes of acrylic paint, a drum machine, a plastic ax that made a groaning sound when you pushed a button on it, a lamp, a chair a several tee shirts.
I bought nothing.








Groaning plastic ax.