My first auction visit and the umbrella infestation

Good morning ABERDEEEEEEEN!

Today my friend Pam and I attended our first auction. Every time I wanted to bid on something, I got so nervous. It was fun! We went yesterday to look at everything and went back today with a list of not only what we wanted but of what our husbands saw on the website that they wanted! It was interesting to see what people would buy and what they would pay for it. Some table and chairs sets went for £1! Some rough and tough looking guys were bidding against each other for frilly desk lamps or tea sets. Old men were battling it out for porcelain dolls. I learned that auctions quickly drive you to resent strangers and glare at people who you would not look at that way if you met at a pub. I also learned that people collect a LOT of stuff... some very cool and some very weird. For example, those dragon shaped vases and the silver tea servers were pretty neat. The nude painting of a woman with a rose in place of her head was pretty strange.

Anyway, I came home with a secretary desk, a boat-shaped wine rack, an acoustic guitar, a bucket of umbrellas, and some shields. I don't have room for the wine rack away from a radiator in the kitchen right now (I could rearrange...) so currently the wine rack is a toiletry holder in my bathroom. I used some furniture cleaner to polish it. I like it.

The shields were too cool. I couldn't pass them up for the price! All that playing Skyrim and living where they have Highland Games ...

Now the umbrellas. So, Steve was looking online at the auction items last night. He came across a picture of a red bucket with some umbrellas in it. He said, "Hey bid on this. It's always good to have a few extras for guests who visit."

I bid and won the bucket for £14. I told Pam that those better be some awesome umbrellas. We walked over to check them out and found more than just a few umbrellas! There were 56 to be exact. FIFTY-SIX UMBRELLAS. Leave it to Steve and I to end up with 56 umbrellas. We have an umbrella infestation. ;)

"Well, (Steve chuckles) we have almost enough to supply your entire family."

Oh man. I can't stop laughing as I look at this picture. I knew you would all be curious about what some of these look like, so here is a preview:

Steve is behind that tent...er umbrella

"Well!!  I don't know what happened!"

Giant, solid black umbrellas aren't for you? Maybe you like polka-dots?

Or how about matching his and hers plaid umbrellas?

Do you like stars?

How about bunnies and puppies that are "Best Friends"... Do you think it would be funny for me to carry that frog umbrella while walking the Frog-dog?

Maybe you prefer kittens, and you are also very small.

With that, I would like to confidently state that if you come to visit, Steve's bucket of umbrellas has got you and yours covered... literally.