Chinese Checkers

Oh my, it was a beautiful day today...I saw a guy and a dog flying a kite in a big grassy field. Now there's a good idea! Actually I spend the morning inside drawing, not a good use of the fabulous weather, but I did get out in the afternoon to go to an auction.

This flea market is only a half a block from my studio. When it first opened, I went in and rented a booth, or rather a little room in the front of what used to be a car dealership. That's because a couple of years ago, I was kind of addicted to auctions.

If you don't have auctions in your town, you may not understand. But where we live, auctions are a big thing and pretty frequent. Houses, businesses, estates all go to auction. At first I didn't understand either, I thought they were boring.

Then I started going to auctions looking for old graphic magazines I was collecting, and I found that it was kind of fun. I began to see some of the same characters at them, and it became a social event mixed with some adrenaline rush I imagine gamblers might get. On a good weather day, it also feels like playing hookey from real work.

But the trouble with auctions is it's easy to end up with more than you really want. Just ask my basement. And the back of my studio. So that's why I got this little booth, to try to get rid of some of it. The only problem is, I don't want to sell any of my cool stuff. I'm not really a mercenary like many of the people who frequent auctions, so I had to cut back. AA -- auctions anonymous.

So when I went to an auction today, it was only to take my truck so Russ could load up his haul. Wait a minute, is that another cut-off saw?! Well, he said it was really different from the other one he has, because this one has a little tube that automatically lubricates the metal as it cuts.

Oh, okay. So I'm happy and smile, because whenever he buys stuff like this, it seems to justify all my weird equipment and fabric purchases.

Just as we were leaving, I noticed a table with old games and puzzles, so I couldn't resist bidding on a Scrabble game and some Chinese Checkers sets. I figure you can never have enough of those little Scrabble letters--who knows when I might need a whole bunch someday--and now I'm collecting Chinese Checkers because the graphics are so interesting.

This one I got today has unusual graphics because it has this odd little Pixie guy, and it says it was made in St. Louis.

And wow, does that guy really have five hands? I sure could use his help around the house!