siriosa 2000

white elephant sale: oakland's mardi gras.
it's just so darn cheerful, the white elephant sale. the oakland museum's auxiliary has a warehouse in east oakland. they collect donations all year, and have a two-day blow-out sale in late february or early march (this year it's march 1 & 2), with free admission. the second day of the sale, several of the departments will sell you a grocery bag for a dollar, and that includes whatever you can fit into it.

a month before that, they have a preview sale, where they charge you money to get in. fair enough: you get first shot at ... stuff.

what kind of stuff? shoes, clothes, toys, sporting goods, linens, jewelry, art, books, music, bric-a-brac, office supplies, sewing supplies, housewares, hardware, furniture, electronics. hats. one of my favorite things is that many of the volunteers wear goofy hats, so you can find them in the crowd.

at the sale proper, the girlscouts always set up a tent outside, because they know you want the cookies, and you're feeling self-indulgent because you just bought, for example, five swimsuits for $11.

which is what i did today. no girlscouts, not a lot of rain, just several hundred dollars worth of spandex, plus a pair of lined wool pants and a pair of sweatpants, for under $20.

i say it a lot: i love where i live.