I got up early for a 06:00 zoom call with my sisters, and took the opportunity to cut out a new pocket for my phone on my phone belt. It was good to hear about Amber’s 10-day hike in the UK. Now that they have done it, they recommend having your luggage sent on to the place you sleep and carry only a light day pack.
Today was the annual “Loppisrunda” (garage sale circuit) for the local villages. We left the house just after 10:00, and made it to 15 of the garage sales (at which we bought something at 14 of them), and then drove 20 minutes south to Stenfors Gård Antiques and Second Hand Store.
Often we bought only one thing, sometimes several things, but taken a bit at a time, it didn’t seem like much. Till we got home, and tried to fit it all on the Kitchen table for a photo.
stop 1 Mångbyn
This is an old school house in Mångbyn, really cute, and the sign on the wall says one can rent it, so Keldor took a photo of the sign with more info. There were lots of tables set up, each with a different family selling stuff, so Keldor bought from several of them
- One electric planer (his 100)
- One organising box (my suggestion, but he paid 100)
- One pair calipers (his 20)
- Two Star Wars pillows (his 20 kr each)
stop 2 Bodan
- One pair jeans (mine 20 kr)
stop 3 Bodan
- One bentwood box (mine 30 kr)
- Five books (his)
stop 4 Bodan
- One set dominoes (his)
- One set old silverware to transform into period style (his)
stop 5 Hokmark
- One Belgian waffle, with whipped cream and jam (mine, eaten directly 25 kr)
Stop 6 Hokmark
- One rain jacket (mine 35 kr)
Stop 7 Hokmark
- One cute bunny-rabbit stuffed animal (mine 20 kr)
Stop 8 Hokmark
- Six puzzles (his 20 kr each)
Stop 9 Västra Hökmark
This one was on their porch
- One rug
- One box for organising embroidery floss, unopened/in its original packaging, with the cards to wind the thread on
Stop 10 Västra Hökmark
This one was held in a cute little cabin/summer cottage. When I walked in the host greeted me with joy—one of my classmates from when I was taking classes at Lövånger Folkhogskola, before I got hired at the university. We chatted briefly, before one of the customers came around the corner to greet me. It was Christina, my favourite colleague from when I was at LTU! I thought that this was a long way from Luleå to come for a garage sale, but it turns out she’s got a summer house not far from here. We chatted for quite a while before moving on to the next garage sale. Neither of us bought anything at this stop
stop 10 Bissjön
This one was under a white party tent in their yard, they had stacks of round serving trays, printed with nautical maps. One for the Byske area, and two others which overlap with one another, but which had no place names I recognised. They were cool, but I didn’t feel the need to take any home.
- One fountain for an aquarium (his)
stop 11 Bissjön
This one is at a garage on the side of the road, all by it self, but clearly belongs to the farm across the road, as they were mostly selling garden produce, and Keldor bought some for us
- One jar homemade raspberry jam
- One bag fresh garden produce (garlic, sugar snap peas, and a zucchini)
stop 12 E4
This is one right on the highway, which is open on and off all summer, and Keldor likes dropping by, as they often have old black powder rifles. They had one this time that he didn’t buy, but he was fascinated that it had a safety mechanism, and he was very tempted. but he already has a couple of black powder rifles and didn’t feel the need to spend another 1000 kr or so on another today.
- One raincoat (his 40 kr)
Stop 13 Gärde
This house is built into bedrock, which surrounds the garage on both sides. I was a little jealous.
- One garlic press (I suggested it, he paid 10 kr)
- One box of steak knives (his)
- One pair pyjama bottoms (his )
Stop 14 Stenfors
This is the big antique/second hand store in the area. People leave things to be sold, and set their own prices. Anything that doesn’t sell that first summer they can either pick back up, or donate it to the store, and the following summer the store decides on the asking price, but gets to keep 100% of the sale price. The first year after I bought our house we took a fair bit of things from the previous owner here, and at random intervals that summer we got paid for some of them. The rest we were happy to leave for them to sell the following year.
- Two moose antlers (his 50 kr each)
- Two blue glass bowls (mine 40 kr each)
- Two hand woven belts (his 50 kr each)
- Two braided belts (mine 20 kr)
- One stone statue (his)
- Two comics (his)
It was a fun day. I bought stuff myself at only half of the stops, and spent only 260 kr total, and most of what I got was 30 kr or less. He bought more stuff, at more stops, and spent more than that.
After we got home we curled up on the couch for a bit with a book and some food (he had videos and food) before heading upstairs to make more progress putting in walls and ceiling and insulation in the room in the attic. The goal is to have that part done before winter, so the pipes to my new toilet and sink don’t freeze. He also installed the lamp he bought for the upstairs loo, so now we can see in there when the door is closed, which is nice.
I think this was also the day that he put insulation over the old door between the guest room and the laundry room, and then covered it with some plywood, in hopes of cutting down on noise in that room when the door is shut.
Now it is after midnight, and I am tired, so I should do some yoga and get to sleep.
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