Mennonite Auction

Every year on the first Saturday in May (May 2nd, this year) the Mennonite community holds an auction to raise money for their school. Last year was our first time attending and we have been waiting the whole year for it to happen again. It is a fun day! They even serve a full 1/2 chicken dinner with all the trimmings for $7! And, not to forget---they also sell all their wonderful bakery items--fresh bread, cakes, cookies, pies, etc. etc.

This year I went hoping that I might find a table like the one we lost in the flood. We still have all the chairs, but the table literally disintegrated after 5 days of being under water. To my pleasure, they had two! One that expanded to 14ft and one that was smaller and just like the one we lost. We decided that the smaller one would make more sense. They get their furniture from Amish country in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

I was a little worried that the color would be dramatically different as the table is a little darker than my chairs. This table also came with 4 chairs of its own and we didn't really need them. But!! It ended up that they auctioned the table and chairs separately, so it all ended up working out better---I wanted the table and the other person who won the chairs only wanted the chairs! Score! So, yes, I bid and won the table for A LOT less than I could have purchased it elsewhere! I was SO excited!!! Yes, the table is slightly darker than our chairs, but it's close enough that you wouldn't even notice unless you really looked at it!

We also got an entertainment center (solid oak) for our t.v. Our t.v. and all the equipment have been sitting on a folding picnic table since the flood. The entertainment center was an even bigger bargain--I paid less for it than if I had bought one of the cheap particle board entertainment centers at Walmart! Yup, that's right!!! We totally scored on this day!!! And, it's kind of nice having furniture again! Here are a few pictures from the day:

Mulling around before the auction started

Fun garden item---if we had a yard, they'd be great. But some of these items go for some serious money!
I thought this wheeled planter was such a novelty. It has a sprinkler head at the top. This actually went for $350! Whew!!! (and no, I did not buy it)

A cute doghouse---it went for around $300! Too rich for my blood!

I loved this car game. I bid on it, but lost it. Later I wish I had gone up one more bid...I think I may have won it...oh well, maybe next year

This king-size quilt was gorgeous! It went for just under $1000 (I could only wish to have that kind of money to spend on a quilt)

And here is my new table with my old chairs. Looks pretty good, wouldn't you agree?

It has one more leaf, so you could probably get 6-8 people around it.

If you look at the base, you can tell it's just a little darker--but not bad!

And here is the entertainment center. I was pretty disappointed when I realized I didn't get a "before" picture with the t.v. and equipment on a small, white plastic top/metal legs folding table. Just let me say, this is a dramatic improvement!

We still have minimal furniture and that's OK. It's fun finding the bargains!

It was a very fun day at the auction. I also got a cute $5 potted plant (included a pretty ceramic pot) for my office.

It was a good day---next year the auction is set for May 1st.

I can hardly wait!