JONSING TO GO JUNKING

There's still at least another week -- maybe two, before the garage sales in my area start up, and boy am I hankering to go junking. Okay, Friday I did go to an estate sale, where I bought a stars and stripes windsock for $1 and a little blue-and-white bowl (without a lid) for $3 (I figure I'll toss my loose change into it), and that got me searching the streets for more estate sale signs.

I'm currently into roses, and it was the blue rose on the "front" side that captured my attention.

Of course, I always feel a bit guilty when I go to an estate sale. Almost always someone has died, and you see the sad remnants of a life now over. Boxes filled with sensible shoes, bed pillows nobody is going to buy. But I tell myself that the family needs to clear out a home and move on, and I'm there to help them out, in my own small way.

It was late afternoon, and the pickings were slim. I'm particularly interested in unique plates, either blue-and-white (that I've been hanging in one of the bedrooms) or roses or other hand-painted flowers. And I've decided I want to put a couple of pretty pictures in my main bathroom. So I'm on the hunt.

What do you look for when you go junking?