Shopping and junking in the coulee

Left over muddy puddles, higher-than-normal humidity and the possibility of more rain didn’t put a damper on any of the yard and moving sales held over the weekend in the Coulee, starting as early as 7 a.m. in Grand Coulee when the “birds” showed up before the advertised 8 a.m. start times to get to and load up on those infamous best bargains.

The Comries of Snyder Hill opened a super sale on Friday morning to sell off their accumulation of furniture and household items in anticipation of their pending move to Spokane. And, as you can guess, the shoppers were ready to roll — truck loads of tables, dressers, chairs and sofas found new homes after leaving Snyder Hill for good.

At two sales held on lettered streets in old Grand Coulee, shoppers out and about on Friday found some unusual collectibles selling at bargain basement prices at Connie and Bev’s garage, such as tiny, thumbnail-sized tea sets, dishes and resin-cast figurines. The gals said they appreciated the shoppers who stopped by, so they put out a great assortment of free items to give away.

Up the Bridgeport highway, Marley and Janet’s yard sale had all the elements of one put on by a high-end department store, but with low, low prices on home decor, glassware, and overseas collectibles — all in great condition. Plus, two tables loaded with industrial-use plastic containers and metal, food service pans from one of Janet’s cafes.

The Delta Kappa Gamma rummage sale held Saturday at St. Dunstan’s Church hall was a non-profit fund raiser featuring tables loaded with gently-used and some new clothing — all sizes for the family, and some great finds on home decor. One of the DKG (Key Women Educators) volunteers said that proceeds from this sale will be used to help local school teachers pay for expenses related to training sessions that take place periodically.

And not to forget a word or two about rust and junk, a couple of last weekend’s sales included some man-stuff — stuff that a buyer might want for camping trips, repairing and remodeling, and to go with all that man-stuff that guys have in their designated areas or garages. Yes, some rust was spotted on hammers, files, nails and bolts, and screw drivers. But, alas, no junky stuff. Instead, there was a bit of dust and grease on a few power tools.

The actor Michael Douglas said in a movie about corporate takeovers, that “Greed is good,” so let’s change that to this: “Rust is good, and so is junk.”