Blood Sport

As some of you may or may not know, I live in the heart of the Ozarks, and it's a sportsman's paradise.  Outside Magazine and Field and Stream always have my home ranked as one of the top fishing areas in the country as well as for other outdoor sports.  Having said all of that, while I did enjoy the occasional day out with the rod and reel when I was a kid,  I don't fish, trap, or  hunt in the conventional sense, but that doesn't mean I'm not a sportsman.  I hunt a different kinda game and I learned it all from my mom.  I'm talking garage sales.  That's right, Mom and I hunt big game.

Honestly, I'm a just learning,  Mom is a pro. She gets the paper, she makes a map, she's familiar with the neighborhoods and territories, we have a plan, she packs water and occasionally a lunch and we stop at the liquor store on the way home.

My favorites are estate sales ( Mom is on the mailing lists of several companies that host them ) Not only do you get to tour an occasional hoarder house, ( seriously, I have seen an entire closet stuffed with Cling -Wrap - twenty five cents a roll by the way.) it's interesting to see someone else's  possessions all together, you get a sense of who they were - and I try to think of them not being dead.

Here's the deal with my Mom. Her hobbies include knitting, gardening and sniping.  When I got here I really needed kitchen stuff, and it was my Mother's goal to get me set up in the kitchen so I could cook healthier meals. Her friend Martha was moving, we went to her house to check things out, and Mom was supposed to tell Martha  that her friend Becky wanted a specific lamp. Guess what?  Mom liked that lamp to - so she bought it for herself.  Yeah,  she's pretty cut throat and apparently has a reputation. Becky wasn't surprised to hear she got sniped and luckily found another lap.

Mom is also a good negotiator. How else would I get all this:

for $20. Yeah, quite the steal. However, as nice as my casserole dishes, pots, and mixing bowls are,there was something I fell in love with, a carved wooden rocking horse from Morocco.

These pictures  do not do the horse justice. It was $20, and I had the cash - but honestly, what am I going to do with a carved wooden rocking horse from Morocco?  I have other places that I have to put my money towards. But how I loved this horse.

I would leave it, come back, leave it, come back - over and over again ... because I really wanted to get him. Foolishly,  I called my mother over and showed her she was not impressed.  "yeah, it's nice." Her tone implied that it was not nice at all  "but you don't need that." And she walked away.  Part of my mom's charm is that she speaks the truth. I did not need a carved wooden rocking horse from Morocco, so I packed up and  put my new kitchen stuffs in the car. 

When I came back in my mom says "do you have ten dollars? I'm a little short."  Of course, I'm going to help my mother. She snatched that cash out of my hand at lightning speed and said "I'm buying that horse you like!" 

Becky actually gasped.  It was, GASP! "I can't believe you are doing that to your daughter!"  

Mom cackled. It was an actual cackle. Witchery runs in the family, and a certain someone was rather pleased with herself.  "Well, I looked at it again, and it really is gorgeous.  I love the colors, and you don't need it - and I do." 

She totally sniped me! HER OWN DAUGHTER, wait,  HER ONLY CHILD!  AND SHE WAS PROUD!  She packed up my carved wooden rocking horse from Morocco and laughed the entire  ride home. I'd give her some side eye and she just laughed harder.

She is the master and maybe now you know where I get it from.






PS.  Guess what I got for my birthday?  I'll give you a hint - it's carved, wooden and it's from Morocco.