Half of the fun of going to auctions and estate sales is the thrill of the chase.
It's not like going into a store, calmly choosing an item, pulling out the M/C and taking it home.
It's knowing that someone else, very nearby, wants what you want, and you have to race them for it.
I guess the closest equivalent to regular shopping is those crazed bridal sales where designer gowns are on sale for a fraction of the regular price and once they open the doors, you run, run, run and grab, grab, grab.
Estate sales can also be kind of upsetting.
In many cases, a family is selling off the belongings of someone recently deceased.
Sometimes you can tell that they've gone through everything and taken what they wanted
but sometimes they leave behind things that make you wonder
because they are so intimate or personal
and they are left to be pawed over by a bunch of strangers.
They can bring out the ugliest in people - greed.
But the one on Saturday was not like that.
The company that was doing the sale is called
They posted pictures of some of the items at the sale.
One was a picture of a black cat.
Being cat people,
we were interested.
When we got to the sale, there were about 10-12 people in line.
When they started to let people in, they only let in 10 at a time.
Fella and I had strategized so we agreed that the cat was the priority.
Once we got in,
I dashed to the left and to the right
(otherwise known as the living and dining room)
and I couldn't find it.
I think I even went upstairs,
frankly, it's a bit of a blur.
(The house was very large.)
I went back to the living room and looked again
there were double doors into the living room that were open
and round a corner,
there it was -
The price tag said $65.
Hmm. I thought.
I looked around and couldn't find fella
so I grabbed it off the wall and tucked it under my arm.
(you have to do that at these sales.
If you can't carry it,
get the guys to put it aside for you
or it will be gone and you will suffer heartbreak.
You've been warned.)
I knew I liked it
but $65?
Kind of steep.
I carried on, taking my time and acting more like a normal person
instead of someone who was grabbing loose $100 bills out of the air
or perhaps someone playing musical chairs -
whatever.
I had been in a panic
and the panic was over.
I looked around for fella and finally found him in the basement
(big surprise there. You find great stuff in basements,
you just have to be brave enough to venture down.
He usually heads there first.)
I showed him the cat and said
$65?
He said - well I found this other stuff so we'll make them an offer.
He had this:
Dr. Milo Tyndel was a psychiatrist.
(It was his house.)
This was his entrance.
I love old signs like this.
And this:
I'd been thinking last week that I didn't have any matches.
I loved how kitchy these were.
(Did I spell kitchy wrong?)
So we had our haul,
there were some other things we considered
but ruled them out.
We took our time going through the house because we had what we came for.
I walked by one of the guys working the sale
and he saw the picture in my arm
He said -
is that the cat picture?
And I said
yes!
And he said -
everyone is asking about the cat picture.
What is it with the cat picture?
Where did you find it?
I told him where it was
and that we were definitely taking it
and realized that in no way were we getting a deal of any kind on it.
But it was true -
the pursuit of the day was the cat picture.
Everyone was looking for the cat picture.
The guys from the sale thought it had been stolen
because they didn't see anyone take it out.
I was very excited.
I admit that part of my excitement was knowing
that I had something that other people wanted.
I felt like a kid again.
We got it home and propped it up on the mantel.
It's called,
"cat"
and the artist was from Alaska.
The year on it is 1965.
It was framed at "La Parisienne" framing shop on Eglinton St. West
and we figure Milo hung it on his wall in 1965 and it's been there ever since.
Victory is sweet.
