Garage Sale Mania!

It's been almost five years since Ryan and I had our first (and only, to that point) GIANT yard sale. We did it about three months after I quit working full time at the station, and basically in that three month period, I spent many, many days combing slowly through our house, finally organizing it well for the first time since we got married. I pulled out all the things we still had in duplicate (from combining two full households) and things we hadn't used in those first almost three years of marriage.

At that time, we lived on a street that had very little visibility, so we hauled all our sale treasures to a rental house Ryan's mom and Allen owned over in Greentown. The house was empty at that time, so we stored everything inside, and when the town-wide sale weekend hit, we filled the entire yard and driveway with so much stuff. (A few friends added things of their own.) I worked hard to organize and prepare, and aside from getting stung in my tongue when I accidentally ate a bee, the weekend was a wild success. We earned enough money to pay for our fall vacation, which took us to Virginia Beach, Maryland, a state park in New York, and Niagara Falls.

Shortly after that, we moved to Kokomo, and because we've tried so hard to live as minimally as we can, we haven't had a sale since. We've tried not to accumulate to the point of needing a full sale. But starting last summer, we began to see stacks piling up, so we decided to start deep cleaning the house and pulling out things we truly didn't need. We started a sale stash in the attic with the intent of having a garage sale this summer.

We had no idea that we would be moving this summer, and a sale would be a necessity and a blessing. We were so glad we'd been slowly working on the project for a year, because it allowed us to have better success!

We had our first sale on Father's Day weekend. We both had to work that Friday, so we could only do a Saturday sale, and it was a hot day.

We sold almost all our big stuff that day, and quite a bit of our smaller treasures. When we closed the doors at the end of Saturday, we pushed the remaining items to the side, and as we packed, we just added to the pile. We found more things that we just wouldn't need in our new season, as well as things we didn't use enough to make them worth keeping.

This past weekend, we had a Friday/Saturday sale and we sold almost everything out there. Our leftovers took up less room than we had in the back of our car. It was pretty incredible.

It was also pretty hot. Again.

 (The baby wasn't part of the sale. She's the reason I filled in for her mama at the church for three months. I just adore her cute little self!)

This has nothing to do with the sale, but is pretty cool. On Friday, during a lull in traffic, we kept hearing all these really angry crows squawking outside! Ryan peeked out the garage door to see what was up and came running back to get me. He told me he was pretty sure there was a bald eagle in the tree across the street.

WHAT!?!?!?

And indeed there was! He stayed for about a half hour (while thankfully we only had a couple of customers) and we took ridiculous amounts of pictures of him. Ryan even captured his magnificent exit. It was SO cool!

Eagle bonus aside, we ended up having a really successful sale. Here were a few of the things we got great feedback on if you're thinking of having your own sale soon.

* Great pricing. Sure, we were a bit more motivated on our pricing because we were eager to see things LEAVE our garage, but we had several comment that the prices were worth it. I tried to price everything with the thought of what I would be willing to pay if I went to a sale. (One guy on our last day told us he had walked out of a sale earlier that day because the prices were ridiculously high. He said he didn't realize he would need a loan to shop there.)

* Organization. I learned this one from my last sale. People really appreciate a well-organized sale. (I think, too, that people are more willing to buy, because they figure if you've taken the time to organize well, they can trust what ;you're selling.) I sort all the stuff I'm selling into categories and label the tables. That way if shoppers don't need kitchen stuff, they know they can skip the whole table labeled kitchen. And if they definitely need office supplies, they can park at the office table for a while.

* And then reorganization. After every flurry of shoppers or after someone bought quite a few items from one area, I went back through the entire sale space, "fluffing" up the tables. I spread things out in crowded areas, refolded clothes, and brought things up from the floor where table space had been created. I tried to always make the sale look like it had just opened. People commented that it was a very organized and tidy sale with great curb appeal, and that made my day.

* Creative advertising. We didn't do newspaper advertising, because it's just too expensive here. I didn't post anything on a community Facebook page either, but I did post on my own page that we were going to have a sale. I posted pictures of all my category signs and a few of the items we had for sale that were a bit more on the "big ticket" side. Several people who came said they loved reading the Facebook posts. (Our only other advertising came in the form of a sign at the end of our street - and several people said they came just because they saw that. Fortunately at this house, the end of our street runs into a very busy road.)

* Keeping an open mind. One lady asked if I was selling some decorative windows that I hadn't really planned to sell. I thought about it for a minute and realized I didn't actually know where I would put them at our new place, nor was I entirely sure they would survive the trip in a moving van. They had been free to me to begin with, so I quickly priced them, parted with them, and feel very good about that decision. And as the sale began to wind down, we also kept an open mind about our prices. It was more important to us to see the stuff go to new homes than to make our top dollar dreams for each one.


So there you have it!! Our pre-moving sale fun!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Good morning, and happy Sunday to you!! Hope you've had an enjoyable holiday weekend! (I kept thinking it was Saturday all day Friday, so it's a wonder I didn't get up and go to church yesterday!)

* Last Sunday we did jammie church one more time, so that meant one more round of Ryan's famous omelets to follow up church! I knocked out a lot of scrapbooking in the afternoon, and that evening we went to pick up Ryan's truck from a friend's house, because he had been working on it. He just happened to have a little flying helicopter toy he was working on for his grandson, so Ryan tried it out - quality control. :)

* Monday was my first day off work, and I was determined to finish packing the office that day. (It was the most time consuming of all the rooms to pack.) Ryan enjoyed a little time on the porch before he headed off to work. It's just perfect out there in the mornings! AND!!!!!!!! I got my hair done for the first time since January! It was a quick job this time - she didn't redo my highlights...just fixed my (very white) roots and trimmed off all the dead ends.

* Tuesday, Ryan and I took a CPR certification class! We have to have that for our new job, and obviously he already had certification, since he works in health care, but it was my first time. Learned a lot in that! :) That night we said goodbye to our small group. One of our families hosted it for us since they have a big house and yard with lots of room for everyone to spread out! It was a very sweet evening, and they prayed for us before we said our final goodbyes.

* I did more packing on Wednesday, but I was also invited to attend Ryan's going-away party at work. (It was kinda funny...his co-workers planned a really nice party for him, but they all forgot to check his schedule, and he actually had a patient during that time. One of his co-workers took his patient for him so he could attend his own party!) I love his co-workers and was glad for the chance to say my own goodbyes! After he got home from work, we worked to organize our garage for our final sale, which we held this weekend.

* Thursday was a big day! It was our 91st monthiversary, and it was also Ryan's last full day at the hospital. I think saying goodbye was even harder than he thought it might be...and he was prepared for it to be rough! I was so thankful that Pastor Liz and her husband had already scheduled a dinner with us that night so we could enjoy some friendship, good stories, and laughter after such a tough day! They took us to a little restaurant about a half hour from home - and it was SO GOOD. It was clean and roomy and the staff was attentive. The food was delicious, too! Oh! And the inspector came to check over the house that day too. Told you it was a big day!

* Friday was our first garage sale day, and it was a HOT ONE!! We sold a bunch more stuff - and had an unexpected visitor! A BALD EAGLE!!! We heard a bunch of commotion outside, so we peeked out of the garage to look, and this huge eagle was just hanging out in a dead tree across the street. We've NEVER seen one on our street before! That was so cool! And that night my friend Amber came over to have Giordano's pizza with us. (When I ordered the one for Ryan's birthday, I had to order a two-pack, so we still had one more to consume. She'd never had one, so we baked it and shared it with her!)

* Yesterday was our final garage sale day. We didn't have a ton of stuff left, but we had great traffic and got rid of almost EVERYTHING! We were so excited! Our overall sales between the two weekends turned out quite profitable, and we are grateful. We spent the rest of the day working hard to get the house in shape for the official appraisal. (It's tricky to get everything looking its best when you're in the middle of mayhem!) Because of the virus and the busyness at home, we just weren't able to make it out for any fireworks. We decided to watch them on TV instead.

The Saturday Six

Happy Fourth of July to all of you!! Hope you have a safe and enjoyable day today. This will be the first year we don't go to our beloved fireworks display, but since we are starting our new job soon, we decided avoiding the big crowd might be in our best interest. Whether you go out or stay in tonight, I hope you enjoy your day!

One.

If you do stay home, and you decide to write with sparklers, here's a tutorial on capturing it well on camera. I've tried to do it before and mostly failed every time. Maybe we can try a redo tonight and have some success??

Two.

June ended this week, which can only mean one thing: a new one-second video!!

Three.

You know how I love a good home tour, and this post has a video tour! I will confess I typically skip video tours, because I prefer photos, but she did a great job with it! She doesn't talk all the way through...just a nice music background while she shows you around. I love her organizing style!! (And this is a rental house! It's amazing to me all she has done to make it completely warm and inviting!)

Four.

And speaking of home spaces that are completely inspirational, check out this post for how to declutter your kitchen. (Speaking from the perspective of someone about to PACK her kitchen, I feel I may need to spend some time learning from this one myself.) Her tips are great, but I also found myself swooning over her specific organizational pieces in the pictures!!!

Five.

If you've been struggling with the losses of this year, check out this article one of my friends sent to me this week. Such a beautiful reminder that this is not wasted time. (God has been driving that point home to me this week as I remembered my desert from ten years ago and the way He redeemed and restored it all!)



Six.

Source

Well, my friends, this week I wrapped up another Bible study from The Daily Grace Co. I told you a few weeks ago about the first one I did, called Amen, which was a great overview of the entire Bible. I had read that Faithful: The Covenant God from Eden to Eternity was a good study to do next, so...I did!

I've done a lot of Bible studies in my day, and this one was a unique twist for me. The six-week study follows every single covenant from Redemption all the way through to the New Covenant. As it goes along, it shows not only the covenant in real time, but how it was ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

I've never done a covenant study before, so even though I have learned about the covenants in other types of studies, it was fascinating to focus specifically and only on them for six straight weeks. In the front of the book is a blank chart that I filled in as I read through the book. The chart offers room for notes on the promises of each covenant, what each one reveals about God's character, and how it is fulfilled in Christ. I loved filling it in along the way, and I love it that I can refer to my completed chart anytime now and quickly see what I learned!

After the chart pages, the book also includes a timeline of the covenants, for easy reference of the time in between each one. There is also a page that lists the signs of the covenants (like the rainbow being the sign of the Noahic Covenant, for example).

Each week's study includes five days of reading with a page of reflection/journaling/prayer questions to follow the reading, and a summary page at the end of the week to reflect on the whole week's learning.

One thing I love about these study books is that they are so easy to complete on your own. It feels like most studies written these days really are geared for group study - with video accompaniments, etc. While that isn't bad or wrong, I also enjoy studying on my own, so this is perfect for that. (Even though it's set up this way, there's nothing to prevent you from studying it together with other friends if you choose!) They also offer a men's version of this study - which is the same in text, but it offers a more masculine presentation. So if you want to study with your husband or purchase it as a gift for a guy in your life, you have that opportunity!

If you've never done a covenant story before, I think you would find this one interesting. Though it's a deeper study than Amen, I didn't find it too hard to understand. If you're new to the faith (or studying with someone who is), this would be a great way to learn about the covenants God has made with His people throughout history! If you've been a believer for a while (like me), this is still a great way to learn something you may never have studied specifically before! (50% off right now, too...in case you enjoy a sale.)

I'm planning to make my way through every single study they offer, and I already have about four sitting on my shelf (so I don't run out) - so stay tuned! I'll have another update for you soon!

A Shafferland Date Night

Since coming home from our birthday trip, our date nights have been sort of all over the place. We have had so much to accomplish in such a short amount of time, so we haven't really been able to have a true and proper date night.

Until last week.

Sure, it was a bit of a working date night, but it was still fun - and classic, classic Ryan-and-Bekah.

Some of you might remember that when we got married, my sisters got us an amazing, non-hazardous hammock for two. By "non-hazardous," of course, I mean it wasn't one of those that you could flip out of as you tried to sit down. Because you know if I tried, I would. Straight onto the ground, legs akimbo.

This was a beautiful, fully secured, comfy hammock, and we have enjoyed it for over seven years now. Delightful.

But it's big. The frame is massive, and where we are going, there just isn't room to take it with us. We'll have access to a shared yard we can use, but unfortunately the hammock was one of the things we had to let go of.

One of my sisters learned of this and said she would take it. She lives an hour and a half from us, so we told her we would deliver it to her house, and last Friday night was delivery night.

As I finished up my last afternoon of work, Ryan texted me this photo and said, "I'm coming to get you, Baby!"

Why, yes! That is a hammock frame secured (upside down) to a truck.

And so he picked me up at work and we folded into the cab and headed straight through the middle of downtown Indianapolis like this. I'm sure we ended up on somebody's Instagram.

We actually made really good time getting to her house. (Usually a trip there involves the interstate, but given the photo above, we stayed on the smaller, slower, city streets, and I still think we got there in the same amount of time!)

When she saw this, she said to Ryan, "You couldn't just take it apart, could you?" LOL!!!!!!! He could have taken it apart, but I admit this slid off the truck like a dream and rolled right into her backyard. She has a pool and a very cool backyard, so this looked right at home in her green space! We set it all up, delivered a few other treasures she'd found from FaceTime shopping our yard sale, and then we were off to the next adventure.

We had decided to have dinner at Wendy's, because we LOVE it, and there happens to be one practically in Julie's backyard. I was all ready for dinner next, but we had to make a quick stop to pick up a delivery at a store near her house, and it was within an hour of closing time. Ryan said he thought we should go there first, just in case there were any complications, and I agreed!

So we went there, and that did take a while, for sure. Good decision. When we were done, we looked at the Wendy's across the way, and it was in such an awkward little spot. Ryan asked if I minded if we just started heading back toward home, watching for a different Wendy's along the path that might be easier to navigate.

I knew that really was the best choice, even though hanger was beginning to set in. So we headed north - toward IKEA, actually. We had a couple of light fixtures we'd purchased when we redid the bathroom, but we ended up going with something else. Since we're moving AWAY from IKEA, we thought this was the best time to take them back.

We never saw a Wendy's on a sign between my sister's house and IKEA, so that's how we ended up in the IKEA parking lot before dinner.

Ryan said he would just run in and run out.

How were we to know that the favored pastime of Indianapolis residents involves returning items to IKEA on a Friday night?

And so it was that I draped myself over the center console of the truck to convince myself I wasn't hungry.

That doesn't work, by the way.

Ryan finally got back out of the store, and I informed him there was a Wendy's DIRECTLY ACROSS the interstate.

Not that I'd looked.

A Biggie Bag for Ryan, a 4 for 4 for me - and a Frosty for each of us.

And I was so very happy at the conclusion of this meal, eaten in our truck cab, under a tree, and near a busted concrete barrier that didn't barrier very well.

Know what?

It was such a fun night. Unconventional in every single way. But we had a blast. Told so many stories! Laughed a ton.

And that's what date night is all about anyway. Being together, growing deeper, and having fun.

Delivering hammocks, returning purchases, and Wendy's in a truck cab? Those are all just bonuses.

Finishing Up My Church Job!

Before I launch into my stories today, I want to say a very happy NINETY-FIRST monthiversary to Ryan! I love you and am SO THANKFUL for how well you love me. Life with you is always a joy-filled adventure, even when days are chaotic/hard/confusing/surprising/etc. Thanks for choosing me every single day.

And now...on to today's regularly scheduled stories.

Last Friday was my last day working at our church, and I wanted to share with you a little bit about the end of that adventure.

If you've been reading here a while, you might know that the whole church job was something of a surprise. Ryan and I had been heavily involved in lay ministry at our church for a couple of years, and there was honestly a little part of my soul that thought working at the church was exactly the next move God had planned for me. (You know...when I sat around and tried to figure out what God was going to do next. Do you do that too? No? Just me?) It just made sense. We were co-leading small groups, I was leading the women's ministry, and I had prayed that if it was a good fit, God would open a door for me to work there.

And He did! Just not in the way I expected. The day before Thanksgiving last fall, I got a call from Pastor Stan, asking if I would be able to/interested in covering for Abagail's maternity leave, which was coming up  just about any day! Ryan and I talked and prayed about it, and we decided it was a sweet provision from the Lord and we would welcome it.

So for three months, I filled in for Abagail - and we got a new senior pastor during that time - and then everything went helter-skelter. The day before Abagail came back, they decided to keep me full time in a cobbled together position of this-and-that. The day after she came back, we started hearing words like virus and quarantine. So I worked from home, and then they brought us back, and somewhere in all of that, Pastor Stan (the one who hired me) announced his retirement and Pastor Liz (the one I served as part of my cobbled-together job) announced her retirement.

And then...well...you read the story. God led us in a totally different direction that did not involve me working at the church at all.

Because everything about the six month adventure was so disjointed, this was the strangest exit to employment I've ever had. It wasn't bad. It was just different. Because I never truly had ownership of anything in its fullest capacity, I didn't really have to spend as much time grieving and processing like I have had to do with previous jobs. That has (and will continue to) come with other parts of life, but not with work.

Even though I may not have been able to have a strong connection to the job, I did grow to love the church staff SO MUCH, and I will miss them dearly. They were so good to me in those months, helping me figure out all the million things that only Abagail truly knows, and swapping dozens of stories with me in between phone calls and stubborn copier adventures.

And they made the last few days so sweet for me.

I never truly moved into my office, so I didn't really have anything to move out. But Jenny had been so kind to put my name on the office sign, so I had to get a picture with that. :)

I tended to be the target of a variety of practical jokes from a couple of the pastors. On one of my last days, one of them decorated a window with sticky notes that said "Bekah was here." Sigh.

The next to the last day of work, the office surprised me with a party!! They lured me to the front under the guise of sitting for Abagail so she could run some errands. Except...

And then I found out RYAN was there!

Abagail (who has a culinary degree) made these AMAZING cupcakes. I was SO SAD when they were all gone.

And the whole office had gone together to get me some gifts - so sweet!

One last group pic!

And here's the story of my last day of work.

Back in the days of quarantine, we had our staff meetings via Zoom. One day, I wore this shirt, and it made Pastor Stan laugh so much. Even though that happened like two months ago, he remembered the shirt and said I should wear it on my last day. (The dress code was very casual, so jeans and t-shirts are allowed.) I told him that on my last day, I was sitting up front for Abagail again, so I didn't think it was probably the best idea.

He said he didn't care. He still thought I should wear it. And Ryan dared me to wear it. So...

Pastor Stan was so happy. (And so was Ryan!)

Back at the same desk where I spent my first days. It seemed a fitting way to end.

And the very last photo!

Even though it was a different kind of job and certainly a most unexpected season, I am grateful for this job. I learned, I made friends that I'll keep for always, and I will treasure that! 

Remember Father's Day?

Now that I've finally caught you up on all the happenings around here, I'll go back and catch you up on a handful of other things that have happened in between all the job/moving happenings.

Take, for instance, Father's Day. Remember that??

Father's Day is always a huge family gathering on Ryan's side of the family. Many years it easily reaches 50-70 people, and that doesn't even branch out too terribly far on the family tree! There are a lot of people on his side.

This year it was much smaller. Some people had other commitments and some weren't venturing forth yet. So even though it was small, it was still a good day.

Before we even got to the cabin, we stopped by the cemetery to see Nita's stone, which had been set the day before. Allen had been very intentional about all the elements on the stone and was so happy with the way it turned out. And I think Nita would be very happy with it, too! I know she would have loved how carefully he planned it all.

And then we headed to the cabin! Ryan helped on the grilling crew, as he usually does. These guys do an amazing job every single year, and they were on their game this year, too!

My parents are always invited to the festivities, and partway through the day, they came by so we could spend some time together.

There weren't as many pictures this year because most of the group pictures were missing most of their members. But it was still a good day! (And there was still time for a nap when we got home!)

Happy Father's Day, again, Dad, a week and a half later. The blog is now caught up on the last holiday before the next holiday! :)

What I Learned in June 2020

I am certain I learned more in June than what I've listed below, but in truth, I forgot to write it all down. But that's okay, right? You don't have all day to read anyway! Here are a few things I did learn in the month of June!

1. Masks can double as great socks in a pinch.

When Ryan and I went on our birthday getaway (100 years ago at the beginning of the month) I ended up with a blister on my heel. I'd gotten new hiking shoes before the trip (never had real hiking shoes before!) and sure enough, I ended up with a blister. The good news was...we had bandages. The bad news was, they were in the car, and we were at the farthest trail point FROM the car when I started limping. But Ryan remembered he had his spare mask in the backpack, and it fit around my heel just perfectly to stop the rubbing. We tied the ear pieces into my laces and I didn't have another moment's pain for the rest of the hike!

2. Speaking of pinch, you should wear tall socks with high top shoes. 

Not only have I never before owned hiking shoes, but I've also never owned high top shoes. I did not know I should wear tall socks with high top shoes to keep the aforementioned pinching and blistering from taking place. I don't actually own any, so Ryan loaned me a pair of his for day-two hiking. And now I know!

3. Command hooks don't always provide the win. 

Perhaps our saddest lesson of the month. When Ryan decorated for my birthday (the Anne of Green Gables party?) he used Command hooks to hang up lines of twine for pictures. When he took them down, they took down not just the paint, but the drywall too. He had to mud, sand, and repaint all those spots! And it happened several more times as we took down wall art to pack it. Either we have the worst luck in the world, or we did something wrong in hanging them! (Or they're not all they're cracked up to be?)

4. God moves quickly. Hang onto your hat. 

I probably don't need to explain this one to you, do I? A month ago, we hadn't even interviewed for a new job, and now we are just a short time away from moving and beginning a whole new season! You've read the story. You know.

5. Psalm 96:11 is the center verse in the Bible. 

I've been studying the Psalms this year, and when I studied Psalm 96, the commentary mentioned that verse 11 was the center verse in the Bible. Any chance I'll remember this at my next trivia opportunity?

6. David Phelps' middle name is Norris. 

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS???? I was trying to look up a song he had written so I could see something in the lyrics, and that's when I learned his middle name. Seriously - how did I not know?

***

As I said yesterday, my dreams and goals for June didn't all quite come together like I hoped. I knew when I wrote them that it was a great possibility they wouldn't come together. When I wrote them, we hadn't yet had our interview at Gateway Woods, but it was on the schedule, so I knew there was a chance the outcome of that day could change everything about our activity for the rest of the month - and it did! Nevertheless, here's a recap of how those goals did turn out.

1. Archive another full year of old blog posts.

So close. I cranked out 10 months of them. I didn't quite get the last two months done, but given everything that ended up taking our evenings and weekends, I think 10 months is a pretty good success story! 

2. Keep up on scrapbooking and begin a vacation album.

Plot twist! I actually did keep up on our current scrapbook, which made me so happy, given how busy the month was. I did not get to start our vacation album, but I did begin and keep up with an album related specifically to our new season of life. So I feel like that swap means I can call this one a win. 

3. Keep our tomato plants alive...and maybe even see them thrive!

I did it!!!! They are alive, and though the tomatoes are still green, we have them! Both plants have tomatoes! I'm so glad we planted these in pots, so we can take them with us. I would be sad to leave them behind. 

4. Finish the living room project.

Well, it didn't happen. I mean it did, but not in the way I meant when I wrote that. We had a plan to do a shiplap feature behind the fireplace and then add tall bookcases along the rest of the entire wall. We would have had it done, too, if our bookcases hadn't been out of stock at IKEA. (They still are.) Once we knew we were going to move, we just finished painting the wall and called it done that way instead. But the new owner has told us that he plans to do a version of this project after he moves in, so maybe someday I'll get to see what it looks like!

5. Get our air conditioning fixed.

DONE!!! YES!!! We were able to get it fixed right after we returned from our vacation, and it has been splendid and delightful in here ever since. I'm also so relieved that it was an inexpensive fix and not a replacement of the entire unit. 

6. Exercise. Again.

There's always next month. This month I got my exercise packing. We worked until almost midnight most nights, so hours of concentrated exercise didn't make it in too much. Fail.

** BONUS!!**

Some of those things may have been a fail, but there were many other things we accomplished that weren't on the goal list: getting a new job, beginning to pack the house, finding a buyer for our house, doing oodles of steps for our new job (background checks, tests, etc.), finishing up my job, having a garage sale, going for a hair overhaul for the first time in six months, wrapping up a Bible study book...so it wasn't a wasted month!