Hello September

Hey, even most cubicle dwellers get two weeks of vacation a year, right? That's about the amount of time I've been gone from the blog. Sometimes when you don't have anything new or fresh to say, it's best to say nothing. The entire latter half of August was filled with The Chimney Fire. We had smoke so thick it seemed to lower the summer temperatures -- kind of a relief until you realized why. There were also many days of long, strange noontimes and twilights when you honestly couldn't even tell where the sun was, or even what time of day it was for that matter. 

It was a couple of weeks for inside activities and pursuits. I chose to get lost in some good books and close the blinds so as not to see the world burning up in front of me. At no time were we in any danger from the fire, but I'd say it is safe to say it lowered the spirits of the entire community.

BUT...that's over now. The fire is mostly contained and we can see the hills in the distance again (and they aren't on fire). The sky is blue again, too. It's funny, generally September is my least favorite month due to the seemingly endless heat. But after only seeing the sun filtering -- barely -- through the smoke for two weeks, I find September feels just fine, thanks.

I may have some big news to share soon as soon as some paperwork is signed, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here is a pic of the first of the Adirondack chairs I finished. I'm thrilled with how it came out and am almost done with the second one. It was actually kind of fun to pull a chair indoors, lay down a generous amount of tarps and paint away in the cool house. 

Have a seat. Finally!

They screamed "take me home!"

So we finally have some chairs to go with the antique mahogany table we found at auction several months ago. We were using our old, totally-not-a-good-match oak Mission Style chairs with it while we waited to find new ones, which of course took longer than expected. 

I got to serve Christmas dinner with a mismatched dining room set, which I'm sure no one else noticed but me. But prime rib just tastes better when everything matches or at least goes, as they say. 

And at that point the only thing that needed to go was those chairs. Out the door.

But the providence happened. A friend and her beau decided to begin living together and needed a dining room set, so we were able to pass on both our old table and the chairs to them -- which unfortunately left us minus six dining room chairs, matching or not. But they are in love and so it was worth it. We patched together some seating from other chairs around the house, but I really regretted not bidding on some chairs at the same time as we got the table.

But I was patient. For once.

And lo and behold, this month at the auction there were some dining room chairs which matched our table perfectly. And even better, I already liked the seat upholstery and it was in good shape! 

So yesterday I did the online bidding, which was very quiet, and ended up snagging these beauties for $20 each. Definitely a deal worth waiting for.

And now I have wonderful seating for six, plus two more Chippendale chairs if we need a couple of extra seats. Just in the nick of time, too, as we're hosting a lunch gathering at our house  in another week or so.

Plus it's 110 degrees outside right now, so sitting inside and admiring my new chairs seems like an acceptable and cool activity.

So I did.

Right now I am just finishing the book, "How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are," which discusses how important tablecloths are, style-wise....unless, they say, you have an heirloom table which looks better uncovered. And I thought, "well I do." Not because we are loaded with money or inherited great furniture from our grandparents, but because I'm willing to wait on a good antiques deal and pounce when I find it. 

Perhaps I'll cover it with a tablecloth later in summer, but right now I just want to enjoy all that matching wood. It's been awhile.

The rest of the library

Bookcase #1, which I almost did not bid on but am glad I did!

So the guys from the auction house delivered the rest of the furniture today...a bookcase, office center, and a writing desk. I am so happy to have these beautiful items in my home, and so lucky to have found them at auction prices.

Hutch/Office center and writing desk.

I did also get some details on how they ended up on the auction block. Turns out they were part of a divorce; when the movers went to the home there were tags for what was "his," what was "hers," and what was labeled "auction." It was a prominent person in the county, who lived in a gorgeous wine country mansion. Much more of the home's goods were also auctioned off to other lucky buyers. 

It's sad that the couple gave up so many wonderful pieces to be sold at a fraction of their original cost, but if they had a sad story at least there's a happy ending -- all these things (at least the stuff we bought) will have a place in a very peaceful and loving home from now on. They will be cared for and treasured.

Close up detail of writing desk inlay. So pretty!

Steal #1

This was one of the items I bid on last weekend, and the only one small enough to get a car ride home from the auction house today when I when in to pay for everything. The rest will be delivered on Wednesday. This table cost $70, which was obviously a steal. The wood is absolutely gorgeous, it's extremely heavy and definitely a quality piece. I don't know where it's ultimately going to sit, but for now it's in the dining room.

My problem is that now the rest of what's in the house looks a little like an ugly stepsister next to it. I sit next to it and feel a little underdressed, kind of like being at a pajama pizza party and having Zsa Zsa Gabor suddenly come in in a formal, dripping with jewels and calling everyone "Dahhhling."

So maybe I need a new house, built around this one glorious, elegant end table. Problem solved.

The auction

So last night I participated in my first-ever online auction, sponsored by a local auction house in the next town over. I've been trolling these auctions for a few months now, hanging out both online as well as in the actual shadows of the in-person one, watching how things go down and seeing what kind of deals were available. In other words; learning. I'm one of those people who needs to know what they're doing before actually doing it, especially where any money is involved. 

There is a time and a place for spontaneity, but for me it's usually not when I'm holding my checkbook. And just like at the casino, an auction is a great place to lose a lot of money quickly if you're not careful. 

(Disclaimer: Sigh. Okay. I'll tell you right now that my spontaneity comment above is basically bullshit, because in the end, while I held to the spirit of my rule, I didn't hold to the law of it. Funny how that happens. I initially set my high-end limit at a couple hundred bucks. And realized about halfway through the auction that I hadn't budgeted nearly enough. I just wasn't realistic. So I raised my limit again to double the initial budget, and came in handsomely on the mark.) 

In the end I got several pieces, which together will comprise an actual library in our house. You see, when we moved to this property, we inherited a large room in the front of the house that was probably supposed to be a formal living room. But as we had no use for that, and no furniture to turn it into one, instead we called it our library. Our file cabinets, bookcases, reading chair and desk are all in here. But all those things once resided in different rooms of our previous house, so nothing matches. So for a long time I I was also fond of calling it "the un-loved room," because that's how it looks. Then I saw the items I needed on the auction block and decided to go for it.

In the end I spent more than I wanted, but still got a good deal. By the end of today or tomorrow we will actually have library furniture to go with the idea of that room being our library now. I also get the good feeling of knowing I am re-using estate furniture instead of buying new. Anytime you can do this and still get what you want, it's a good thing. New furniture isn't the most eco-friendly option for things, although with things like beds, chairs and sofas, I get why new is best. So I can give myself some eco-brownie points, although honestly budget was as much a concern as anything else. I was just very lucky to happen to have gotten an extra large check from work last week and so the money was already there, and luckily, not earmarked for anything else.

So before actually starting the bidding process, I did a little homework. In online bidding, it turns, out, there are apparently two types of bidders. One is the squatter, who lands on the piece she wants and quickly outbids anyone who ventures into her territory. And there is the sniper, who waits until the last minute and then tries to unseat the up-until-now winning bidder.

There's a lot of different opinions about who ultimately saves more money, the squatter or the sniper. But at this point I'd tend to say the latter. And last night I did a little of both. Without boring you with a whole play-by-play of the process, there were a couple of items I squatted on and won easily, and one item where I feigned disinterest until the last minute of the auction and then became a sniper and snatched it up quickly. And of course there was one other item -- the one I needed most, sadly, where I faced a bidding war. So that jumped in price, although it was still bought at roughly 10 percent of what I'd have paid for it new (and it is in mint condition).

And so now it's all done except the pick-up. Sometime today and tomorrow, we'll get the front room ready (now really, almost a real library room!) and pick up our winning bid items. I'm excited to see how it all looks when its done, and will post some pics soon.

And now I have a new Moniker: Hot Flash Homestead -- Auction Sniper and occasional Steely-eyed Squatter.