HOW I SURVIVED THE MANNVILLE TOWN YARD SALE

When I told my friends and family back in Ontario that one of my first assignments as a Reporter with the Vermilion Voice was to cover a town-wide yard sale in Mannville, Alberta - they were afraid for me.
I don’t want to brag but I have yard-saled hard with the best of them. One of the best was my mother. She had yard sale super powers and was born to bargain. I, on the other hand, learned the ropes along the way. I patiently watched as she'd weed out the good finds from the bad, checking the markings, colour variations, and weight of an object all the while discerning whether a chip or a crack had completely obliterated its value. 

I began to go my own way as far as things I liked to pick up at yard sales, but applied the same principles. My ultimate game plan also differed from my mother’s because she collected what she loved and kept 99.99% of it.  My intention was to collect what I thought I could flip on eBay for a massive profit.  My plan had only two steps:

1.    SHOP

2.    FLIP

However, this quickly developed into a one-step plan. It turned out step two was a lot like WORK while step one was a lot like FUN. I like fun! So, I repeated step one over and over and over again.

 Before I knew it you could say I had a bit of a habit. The only thing saving me from a full-blown addiction was my inability to get to more than a few yard sales per weekend as they were spread out all over the city.

So now you can understand the concern of my loved ones. A town yard sale in small town Mannville meant I was no longer protected by geography. 

I felt the usual pre-yard sale anticipation as my boss Sue, co-worker Trudy and I pulled onto Main Street. What treasures awaited me here in Mannville? I would have to wait to find out because first we had pancakes in the pavilion (which were delicious by the way). 

There we were joined by Diane, a member of the Pink Motor Sisters motorcycle club who happened to be riding through town that day, and who also turned out to be a delightful conversationalist.  I was so caught up in the carbs and conversation, that I temporarily forgot about the yard sale.

Once we did get underway I couldn't take my eyes off the sites. From the totally retro shabby chic Mannville Beauty Salon to the absolutely charming painted fire hydrants, I was, for the first time ever, distracted from buying ANYTHING.

 Even the people were engaging. Every yard sale we hit the Hutterites seemed to get there first.  We were tailing them all day. I became more engrossed in what they were buying than buying. Finally, I said to Sue, “Just follow them.” I know die hard yard-salers when I see them.

And so it went for the rest of the day. I walked right past treasures in a garage to take a picture of a treasured “flower bed.”

When I recounted the story to my friends and family back home, no one could believe I survived the town yard sale in Mannville Alberta.  I’ll admit it Mannville – your small town charm threw me off my game – but once my immunity to cute and charming kicks in - I'll be back.

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