Yard Sale was a Success, more to come

Yes, I'm banging on about it again. 

Since not everything sold, they will be selling again next month at the Yard Sale in May.  I'll give you warnings about that one when the time gets closer.

I got to the Yard Sale yesterday at 8 in the morning greeted by my friends on the City Staff and the Historical Society of Wilton Manors.  Two friends in the City Government were there at the desk serving as the cashiers and general supervisory personnel, Lisa and Bob.  They got to volunteer their time on the weekend to see that things ran smoothly. 

I was also fortunate enough to run into my friends on the volunteer Historical Society and have a few words with them as I was dispatched through the old City Hall.  Diane, Mary and her husband, and I got to chatting and  they sent me over to the Police Gym to stand guard to help people as they began to file in.  One of the nice things about it was that I got to chat with Mary and her Husband about things through the morning, and I was able to help them with some suggestions for a laptop for the Society.  Having just been outsourced from my position of IT Manager for a mall holding company in Pompano Beach, I was able to go through all the technology that was stored in the gym and do a quick triage to determine what might be salvaged for reuse.  Unfortunately for we volunteers, as is with most "surplus gear", there wasn't much that could help us out that hadn't been picked up by the IT Manager for the City Of Wilton Manors, Russ. 

Makes sense to me, it was after all, the City's. 

The one thing that struck me was that there were a lot of people tire kicking and looking at the desks there, but the things that sold the quickest were the small items like power cables and knick-knacks.  If you need a desk, there were a few that were in perfect condition left when I ended my time there.

As the day went on, I had someone try to buy my thermos of coffee after I started up another cup.  I had roasted it fresh that morning, then immediately brewed the coffee and filled the thermos with roughly a quart of the stuff.  Tanzanian Peaberry perfectly roasted by me, so the scent was stronger than that of the old gym.  

While drinking coffee I got to visit with the people who shopped the sale as well as more friends with the City and other volunteers.   Having had a chance to speak again with Mary and her husband, I got to speak with Shirley and her husband for a good half hour between customers.  Fascinating people and I always have enjoyed their company.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and by Noon I as wiped out.  We left and went over to the local Pizza Place, Humpys for a rather excellent Cheese and 1/2 Mushroom Pizza and a bottomless Birch Beer.  The nice thing about their pizza is that the leftovers are always better warmed up the next day and there was about a half of the Pie in that came home.   The Birch Beer is something that I've always felt is a regional thing to the Philadelphia and nearby areas, and since the guys who own Humpys are from the Lehigh Valley, they appreciate a good Birch Beer too.

I haven't had their cupcakes but the idea of baking a Cupcake in a Pizza Oven is amusing.  The main chef there is someone who I see roughly five days out of 7 while walking the dog in the morning and we shared some horror stories about baking.  Baking a cupcake in a pizza oven would be a challenge to begin with, but when you add the extra wrinkle of trying it on a weekend after the store was closed like he had after Easter, it made for an amusing anecdote.   Since my own oven only holds a passing acquaintance with the actual temperature on the thermostat, I can commiserate.

That all having been said, it was a very full morning.  I was happy to give my time, enjoyed my time there watching people come and go and pick up their sold items and dicker for others.  Next month it will happen again, they will try to sell the items that didn't sell.  The building is slated for demolition and it will be a "Last Chance" to get to see the place.  Well worth the price of admission (Free) just to see what is going under the wrecking ball.