Estate Sales

We travel the Eleven Mile road at least once a week and quite often more than that.  For the last couple weeks" there has been a sign in front of the Dailey Residence, estate sale.  This is the only house I remember the family living in.  It is a big house built long ago.  Jimmy Dailey was in my class during our school years at Oswayo Valley.  Jimmy, like his family are very nice and pleasant.  His mom and dad raised not only their own children in this house but also many foster children that they treated like their own.  They also took care of a few elderly woman that could no longer care for themselves.  That tells you what kind of parents they were, much love and lots of caring to give.  Well the parents have passed and now is the time to sort through, keep what is most important and sell the rest.  It must be a very emotional time for families to get ready for an estate sale.  Yesterday when we drove by I saw a guy that was one of the foster children walking through the yard.  I imagine every step he took was with memories and thoughts of the wonderful couple that raised him.  He was like a son to them. 

We will be going to the sale, not that we need anything but I try to pick up a memento of people I knew all my life and respected.  I can remember Mrs. Dailey coming into the Market Basked 36 years ago when I worked there.  I called her and another lady the "2 cart customers".  Once a week they filled 2 carts for their weekly needs.  Needs, yes they had many to feed.  Three meals a day plus the extras.  Everything made from scratch, no fast food in their carts.  Like many living on a budget.  It was a quiet, keep to myself guessing game on how much their total bill would be.  Actually the total didn't vary too much from week to week.  It probably depended on how much canned goods were used up or how low the freezer was getting on beef and pork from the farm. 

This will be the second estate sale we have attended on Eleven Mile and have been to two in Shinglehouse.  All people I knew, all parents of kids I went to school with.  I have a few chickens setting around I bought at the estate sale of Bunk and Dot Bailey and from the estate sale of Leo and Marie Stout, a couple china tea cups and a few old cookbooks.  Did I need the "stuff"?  No,  it is a different kind of need, emotional.  A reminder of what was and will never be again.  Driving by houses that have long since be vacated by past families and filled with the younger generation.  Sad, maybe at times but too many fond memories of the families to feel sorrow.  Someday, someone may wonder the same thoughts of our "stuff". 

The cabin is getting attention daily.  The best part, no hurry, no worry.  We work a little, rest a little on the front porch and watch our crazy dog going even more crazy chasing chippers, aka chipmunks, he is obsessed with them.  I think one of the chippers taunts him just to hear him bark. 

Four windows in one more to go tomorrow.  We cleaned the wood out of the old garage that Dick had saved from the house he tore down to make room for the cabin.  We hauled it to the back by the garden, covered it and when we feel the want............build a new chicken coup.  Nothing fancy, it will be on wheels to move it around so they will always have grass rather than mud.  Why?  Because I have lost 10 of my beautiful Australorps to Coyotes in the past two months.  Only this breed because the are the most gentle trusting chickens ever!  We have always let our chickens free range, now it is time to fence them in.  I hate to but no choice the coyotes are getting them during the day.  At night we lock them in the coup.

Back of the cabin, window on the left is in the kitchen.  Window on the right, bathroom.



First load headed out back for a new chicken coup.



Next load and it will be all cleaned out making room for the new lumber coming
from Enos.  He has been cutting the lumber from our White Pines which will be used for
 siding, floors, ceiling and partition walls.