Wow! What $3 can buy!

We slept late Saturday morning, but I still had a half hour left before closing to catch what was left of the Colossal Rummage Sale at Christ Church on Route 169 in Pomfret.

While I would normally prefer to be one of the first to check out such a sale, there are advantages to arriving near closing time.

After parking, we saw 3 possible entry doors, and no signs were placed to clearly direct sale-goers. We saw a woman enter a doorway, and decided to follow. Once inside, a white paper was taped to the wall with the words "Rummage Sale" on it, and it directed us down a long, turning hallway. Finally we found the room with the sale!

Once inside, three very pleasant ladies greeted us warmly, and one handed me a brown paper grocery bag.

"Fill the bag with everything you can fit for just $3."

While my husband poked around for just about 5 minutes, saw nothing worthwhile, and then waited in the car, I thought I'd explore a bit.

My four-year-old daughter immediately discovered a Little Tykes baby stroller. In it she placed two more toys -- a kids' karaoke machine and a toy telephone.

Believe it or not, here's what I was able to fit into a brown paper bag:

-- Three non-fiction books

-- One kids' book on potty training

-- A lovely ceramic lamp base with strawberries art on it (signed)

-- One deep pink salad plate

-- An electric wall sconce with hobnail milk-glass shade

-- An Old Navy sage green corduroy Spring jacket ~ junior size

-- An electric paper shredder

-- A box of vintage Scandinavian pastry molds

-- A complete audio tape package on Living Well by Deepak Chopra

I also picked up two bags of Barbie doll stuff -- one full of dolls, unclothed but in very good condition. The other bag had a bunch of Barbie schoolhouse accessories, plus a decorative Barbie case. Not too bad!