....and as a garage sale junkie, a Block sale or City Wide sale is like winning the lottery. A lottery where you spend money instead of getting money but you get a bunch of really cool stuff instead.
The first house had a lot of old lady junk that didn't really appeal to me except for an antique Mirro cookie press with a 50 cents masking tape price tag.
When I asked the elderly blue haired woman running the sale abut it, she said she had lent it to someone years ago, couldnt remember who anymore, but didnt get the plates back.
I was quietly looking at the press and she was looking at me, looking at the price. and said, " How about a quarter?" I said, how about a nickel, since there arent any plates. Press lady finally says, I don't know what you are going to do with it anyway since you cant make cookies with it. I said Im going to save it for a rainy day because you never know what you can find at a garage sale. I gave her a quarter and told her she could keep the change. Sometimes its the win more than the money.
So on to the next sale, right next door as it turns out. Another elderly woman with some elderly things that mostly had seen better days. An old black fur coat with a large hole for $2.00. A pink baby doll dress for $1. Then I saw it. Could it be? Cookie press plates. My rainy day had come already. I gingerly picked up a ziplock bag and counted 12 round disks and a couple metal icing tips. A flower, a dog, a Christmas tree, one that looked like a camel. Why would anyone want a camel shaped disc I wondered? There was no price. Ughhhh. Guessing, the press and plates would sell on eBay for around $15 so if I could get them for a buck or 2, I could make about $10 on eBay but again, its not the money, sometimes the find is the win.
How much are these I ask the plates lady? She was clearly lonely and instead of naming her price, she regaled me with stories about her baking days and how she had learned to cook and bake from her mother. Not wanting to look eager, I waited for a pause to ask her again how much these were. Loneliness is a tough thing. My own mother used to tell me how lonely she was after my dad passed away so instead of hurrying things along, I sat down on a stool and listened as she softly spoke about the things her mother taught her and I shared stories about my mother also. She got teary at one point and so did I and after sometime, we got back to the business at hand. She said she had borrowed a cookie press and plates but her husband had accidentally only returned the press, leaving the plates behind. She didnt realized until so much time had passed that she couldn't remember who she borrowed it from and thus couldnt return them. She said she had always felt bad about it and had hung on to them for so long hoping the owner would ask for them back. As she is getting sadder talking about the missing plates, Im getting happier and finally she looks at me so quizzically. I tell her I think I know who she borrowed the Cookie press from and pull the press out of my purse.
With plates and press reunited, I ask if she wants to walk with me back to the neighbors house and return the orphaned set to their rightful owner.
We three spent quite awhile laughing about the situation and then some more time sharing baking stories and talking about 'back in the day'.
In the end, they let me keep the press and plates and I promised to bring home made cookies by the following week.
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