My sister Jo in South Carolina had been accumulating things from her daughters and from thrifting. She needed to have a garage sale but wouldn't be able to do it without help. I looked at my calendar and got up enough nerve to ask my boss if I could take two weeks off in a row. I would need a week with my sister and a week with my daughter Maggie in Georgia. The answer was yes and I started planning my trip starting Labor Day weekend.
When we were young we would watch our mom and grandma haul stuff back and forth between their homes. We would always have a car load of stuff when we went to grandma's and had a car load of stuff going home. This tradition has been passed down to the four of us girls and we laugh about it quite often. This trip was no different. I packed my car full of things that would go to Jo's and things that would go to Maggie's. I didn't keep things separate between Jo and Maggie in the car because I had to make everything fit! This made it hard during the trip because I always had to move things around.
I decided to go to Jo's first and then head to Maggie's. I hadn't driven from Davenport to Jo's house in over 30 years, maybe more! We always drove from Davenport to Georgia. It was fun to go a different route and look at different scenery. Love the mountains! Thirteen hours down the road I decided to call Jo when I stopped for gas. I told her I would be at her house in an hour. I was very excited to turn into her subdivision and when I came up to her driveway, I noticed they had moved the mail box from one side to the other. I remember her telling me someone had run into it and they had to put new one up. I pulled into the driveway and noticed Gary had built a very large workshop way back in the yard. Jo had hinted he had done this. The white truck was in it and I noticed the antique tractor was there too. I stopped at the side of the house and unloaded a very large plant by the back door. I then drove down the long driveway to the workshop because I had a very heavy piece of tractor to unload. I grabbed my suitcase and the bag of food and started walking toward the house.
I noticed they no longer had a pool. Jo didn't tell me they were going to get rid of that, and why did Gary get rid of the fire pit area that he worked so hard to build? And why was their white fence on the wrong side of the yard? That is when I realized I was at the wrong house! I ran back to my car with two very heavy bags, jumped in and prayed the owners didn't see me but my headlights went right into their living room. I drove to the back door to grab the plant, I jumped out and threw it back in the car and then heard their front door open. Oh boy, they are going to think I am robbing the place. I started driving and a man came out and yelled HEY! I apologized and told him my sister lives next door and I drove from Iowa and was tired and delirious.
He laughed and said he knew I was coming to visit and he couldn't believe I drove over 14 hours by myself and totally understood why I went to the wrong house. Thank goodness. Turns out Jo and Gary had become really good friends with the neighbors. Of course, I didn't hear the end of it the whole week I was there.
So, what did I do that whole week? Luckily, Jo and Gary had help getting everything out of the attic before I got there. We moved everything out of the garage so I would have room to sit and price everything.
We had a system. Jo would bring me a box to price and when I was done, she would put the items where she wanted them. I had the sitting job, she had the on her feet all day job. We priced Monday through Thursday 9am to 7pm with very few breaks.
When we were finished with the garage, she reminded me we still had all of the stuff in her dining room to price. We were exhausted and Jo became a little delirious.
I just drank tequila every night.
We were finally ready for the sale and we had a huge turnout.
We still had a lot to sell for the second day but you can tell a lot was gone.
Afterwards, I was able to hang out with my niece and my great niece which was really nice.
I then headed to Athens, Georgia to spend a week with Maggie and Chase. I still had the "go through stuff and get rid of things" bug when I got there. So, I put Maggie to work, starting with the pantry and then her clothes.
Maude and Penny really like the chairs I brought to Maggie.
I had a nice relaxing week in Athens which must be why I don't have many photos. We didn't do much except clean out a few closets. I was happy that Maggie wanted to keep my Grandmother's bird art that came from Grandma's house, went to my mom's house, went to our house in Georgia, went to Jo's condo in Myrtle Beach, went to Jo's house, and now in Maggie's house. The tradition of transferring stuff continues.
One last thing. I did make a cat basket for Jo and Gary's cat but their new dog Charlie took it over.
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