Cabinetgate

An emotional, hormonal, slightly off-kilter pregnant woman should never go to an estate sale when she has to leave the house to allow potential buyers to walk through it and decide not to buy it. Odd things happen when friends let friends go to estate sales.

I bought a perfectly lovely little table for $10. It fit in the back seat of my car. I also purchased a lighthouse stained glass thingie that I will refuse to list here what I paid for it because one of the people I gave it to will read this. (It didn't break the bank though, don't worry.) It really should have stopped there.

I passed what is known in the estate sale biz as the "bid box" in the kitchen on the way out with my stuff. Then I remembered the cabinet that was in the kitchen that I saw first thing when they finally called my number and let me in the house.

I put in what I felt sure was a too-low bid on the cabinet and left without really thinking about it. I have no idea how I thought I would get that cabinet back to my house in the event that they decided to sell it for me for my proposed price. I honestly thought it would sell for its marked price and that would be the last I would see of it.

Well...that picture of the cabinet above was taken in my garage, so I think you can all see that I did have to think about that cabinet again.

I got a call while I was over at CK and LWC's and picked it up HOPING it was my agent telling me there was an offer on my house. Instead, it was a nice lady telling me I could buy the cabinet for my ridiculously low bid price if I could finagle find someone to help me with it.

We ate dinner and I ruminated on this. The cabinet will be helpful in the new house. I have movers coming who will move it for us with no additional fuss when we head out. If I could get it back to the house, it would be a win/win. I tried to think of people I know who have access to appropriate vehicles, but as I am already busy carrying the baby, I also had to find someone who wouldn't mind carrying most of the weight of a cabinet for two pretty short stretches.

I thought for a bit, and remembered my friend from Tennessee's hatchback with fold-down seats. You should really never buy a vehicle like this, or desperate pregnant women will call you and ask for favors you don't owe them. He agreed, I was delighted, and the pickup basically went without a hitch. My friend (who I'm not mentioning here by name because I don't know his policy on using his name online) was a real trooper because it was crowded at the sale and sort of warm for moving furniture largely on one's own. He also had to drive down General Booth with the back of his car hanging open, and did an absolutely splendid job. And finally, he was the only one of the two of us smart enough to realize the cabinet had a built-in light and was still tethered to the wall by the cord as we were trying to move it out of the house where I bought it. So, smart and helpful!

I did take him to lunch to thank him, but as he will probably read this, thank you again! My cabinet thanks you! The mister thanks you! Thank you for enabling my temporary estate sale-induced insanity. I promise I won't do it again. Honest.

(I don't think there are any good estate sales next weekend anyway.)

Everyone is being really nice right now and stepping in to help and I would really just like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have offered or given me help during this stressful transition time. I won't be here too much longer for you to call the favors back, so I know it is especially selfless.