Auction Boys

 
Last month I took the boys to their first auction, up near our cottage. Matthew has been watching Auction Kings on Discovery Channel and was really excited to go. Cal, not so much.

We arrived about half-way through the proceedings and made quite an entrance, with Cal complaining loudly and me hissing at him to quiet down. I would have given up, but Matthew really wanted to go, so I bribed Cal, promising anything from the snack bar if he would stop whining and sit quietly for at least a few minutes. As I was taking money from my wallet his attention was caught by the auctioneer. And he was hooked.

I think I've created a monster.

Both of the kids were eager to bid, so we registered and got a number. It wasn't long before they were begging to buy things. Anything, and everything. There's a vacuum! We don't need a vacuum. But it's only $3!!!

I told them if I bought it I would expect them to use it twice a week on their rooms and lo and behold, it suddenly lost its appeal.

The first item I let them bid on was a set of two hats. Dapper Cal spotted them off to the side and I told him that we could buy them. The auctioneer started at $10, but I told Matthew, who was holding the paddle, to sit tight and see how low it would go. At $2 he signaled that he would buy. When the auctioneer asked $3, Cal's hand shot in the air, as I scrabbled to pull it back down. The auctioneer got some mileage out of this and a big laugh from the audience to see them bidding against each other. They got the hats for $2, and a round of applause.

Matthew wore his hat non-stop for about 5 days, so it was well worth the $1 we payed for it, even if it's a little too small for his enormous cranium.

And Cal made his very first art purchases. There were a variety of paintings, and he found two that he really wanted.

He was as proud as a peacock showing them off to his father when we got home. Thankfully he was convinced to leave them in his bedroom at the cottage - his original plan was to hang these beauties in our living room at home!

And as for me, I bought myself a new wooden bookshelf for $7. You see, I had this little problem going on beside the bed.

I love the new shelf. It needs a little work, but it's all surface damage and will be easy to fix up. That's a project for next summer, though.

All in all, it was a fun morning, and I now have eager companions to join me at auctions.