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Liz Ciancone

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December 27, 2011

MS. TAKES: Some look forward to spring and garage sales

Liz Ciancone Special to the Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Tue Dec 27, 2011, 05:00 AM EST

TERRE HAUTE — We are officially into winter and just days after the longest day of the year. We can begin counting the days until spring and can look forward to waking up to a bit of sun.

My friend, Mary, seems to be counting the days. She is a confirmed garage sale shopper, but winter cold and gloom has very few garage salesmen willing to brave the cold. Mary’s spirits are low.

During “the season,” she is habitually late to exercise because she is lured by promising-looking garage sales between her home and the Family Sports Center. Her exercise may suffer, but her friends aren’t going to knock her interest. We have all benefitted from her finds!

These chilly days she arrives — on time — sporting an Eddie Bauer jacket. She picked this up for 50-cents at a sale where the previous owner was moving to Florida and was under the notion — mistaken — that it never gets that cold in Florida.

No one knocks Mary’s hobby. We have all received garage sale bargains she has found. We have only to express need and, sooner or later Mary appears with the requested object. There was the glass lid for Ben’s slow cooker which, somehow, got broken. Dot needed an area rug “with a bit of blue in it.” Bill’s wife likes cookbooks, and we all leap at the selection of paperback books Mary brings.

My own request was for a food warmer tray to keep food warm when serving from a buffet. I didn’t realize that warmer trays have gone the way of the dinosaur and the new thing is a table-top grill — much too warm for my needs. While I haunted retail stores, Mary arrived one Friday morning with a good warmer tray!

The problem is that Mary waves off payment on the grounds that it was garage sale cheap. Maybe, but those of us in the gang have become shy about asking for help in finding stuff. When it pitches up, there is no price tag!

I used to go to garage sales myself, but these days I need more stuff like I need an impacted wisdom tooth so I drive on by those tempting displays.

But, I will say that I’m getting good use out of that warmer tray. Thanks Mary!



Liz Ciancone is a retired Tribune-Star education reporter. Her column has appeared on this page for more than 25 years. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.

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Copyright 2013 News From Terre Haute, Indiana. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Liz Ciancone

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  April 16, 2013  

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  I saw a robin the other morning. It was not the first robin of spring, of course. A few of the more daring robins had opted to spend the winter and, although they looked pretty sorry about it on a few occasions, it was a fairly mild winter.

  April 9, 2013  

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  I read in the newspaper the other morning that Punxsatawney Phil is being hauled into court and charged with falsely predicting an early spring. I am volunteering my services as counsel for the defense.

  March 26, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Keeping eye out for signs of spring

  The problem with expecting a groundhog to predict the arrival of spring is that there are groundhogs scattered all over the country. The Pennsylvania groundhog may not see the same kind of weather as the groundhog out here in Dobbs Park. In this way, false hopes are roused and the groundhog loses credibility as a meteorologist.

  March 19, 2013  

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  It was either Romeo or Juliet who said, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

  March 12, 2013  

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  I grew up rather stupid. I didn’t realize it at the time. Neither did my teachers who seemed to think I had “promise.”

  March 5, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Years along rivers make them feel like home

  I’ve been following plans for celebrating “The Year of the River” with interest. Rivers have played such a role in my life that I’ve celebrated a good many rivers. The Wabash River is merely the most recent example.

  February 19, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: There are always cat stories to be told

  I was asked the other day why I write about dogs I have known, but never about cats. “What’s the matter?” they asked, “Don’t you like cats?”

  February 12, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Sharing the family history

  My Grandmother lived with us. Ed and I were eager audiences for her family stories about the Cooks. Mom also shared her memories of growing up with three brothers.

  February 5, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Do we want our privacy or not?

  We Americans are a strange bunch. We insist upon our right to privacy, yet we neglect few opportunities to parade our personal business in public.

  January 29, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: The low humor of Mickey Mantis

  I’m told that a pun is the lowest form of humor. I guess that typecasts me! I love them, but then, I like any type of word play.

  January 22, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: For now, justice is served in Bball Hall

  News this past week brought justice of a sort. The folks who decide these things have declined to pick anyone to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year.

  January 15, 2013  

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  January 8, 2013  

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  There has been lots of reporting lately about how long movies are becoming.

  January 1, 2013  

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  Today is the big day. That makes tomorrow a sort of let down — rather like “What have you done for me lately?”

  December 25, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: No thanks to getting mags delivered via the Internet

  I am a creature of habit. I like to know what I’m doing and I need to know how to do it. That’s why I am annoyed when corporate America seems determined to drag me, kicking and screaming into the age of Internet.

  December 18, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Everyone has a favorite holiday

  I suppose everyone has a favorite holiday. My guess is that, for most of us, that holiday is Christmas. It's a holiday with a miracle no matter how old we get.

  December 15, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Christmas season puts time back into focus

  It’s a funny thing about time. It can speed along so that you cannot believe that your kids can possibly be old enough to have good sense, or it can drag its heels while you wait for that first grandchild or while you are saving up for something really special.

  December 4, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: The bottom line is what drives ‘Black Friday’ sales

  Why is it called "Black Friday"?

  November 27, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Have we lost the meaning of holiday?

  I’ve been considering a lost-and-found ad to see if anyone knows what’s happened to Thanksgiving.

  November 20, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Magic is always there with live theater

  I’m a pushover for live theater. But movies? Not so much. For me it’s like the difference between canned peas and those picked fresh from the garden. Movies even COME in cans.

  November 13, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Maybe the Cubs will win it all next year

  I was relieved to have the World Series ending before the snow flies. Heck, it didn’t even last into November this year.

  November 6, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Holiday decorating better when personal, simple

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  October 30, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Surprises from mail worth the extra penny

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  October 23, 2012  

• More Liz Ciancone Headlines

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