Farewell to the motor home that made a home in my back yard or who is the queen of ebay?

For the whole winter this 40' Fleetwood motor home sat in my backyard.  I had listed it on eBay early in the fall, but then one of the big boys with his own financing wanted the listing, so I gave it to him.  I just wanted the folks who owned it to be able to make a clean and easy sale.  And it sure looked like that was the way to go.  For the first few weeks I kept track of it, but then it got harder to find and I became less interested.  I was sure it was a go.
Alas, the best laid plans, or so they say.  Then the owner called a few weeks ago and asked if I would re list it so he at least would know where it was.  And so I did.  There was a flurry of interest and then the auction ended.  No sale.  So I dropped the price a silly $1,000.  That woke them up and I was busy fielding questions.  Of course no one was interested in paying the asking price and there were some offers that were downright insulting.  But we persevered until finally a guy named 4x4dude out of Oklahoma emailed with a list of questions that he needed answered.  I knew by the questions that he was a serious buyer.
Had it been smoked in?  Pets? Warranty?  Where was it located?   Maintenance records and things like that.  Then nothing.  So off I went to church that Sunday morning and when I got home I had a short nap.  Then I decided to check my ebay for sales.  My item sold!  My Fleetwood sold to a guy in Oklahoma for $100K.  My heart damn near stopped!  You need to remember I am in the bird cage cover /seed catcher business and my high dollar item is $25.00!
Phone numbers and addresses were exchanged and the date was made for 4x4 to come the following week to meet with the owner.   He would bring a check.  So early in May, Karl and his wife along with brother Larry and his wife arrived at my house.  The owner was already here and after a day of new batteries, mechanic checking things out, tweeking here and tweeking there and a couple nights in the motel, it was a go.
While we were standing around visiting Karl mentioned that he lived in Mustang, Oklahoma.  Bingo!  Do you know my niece, Cindy who lives there also.  Why yes I do!  Small world, huh?  Karl contacted Cindy and he was instructed to give me a big hug, and you people know how I like to get those.  And it was decided they would spend one more night and then get an early start.  And that is how that went down.

Mirrors are adjusted, black smoke bellowed out the back, dust kicked up on the road, and the motorhome with it's new owner at the wheel disappeared down my driveway.

And that, my friends is how I became the queen of eBay!

  

The High Tea at First Congregational United Church of Christ is now in the record books.

Don't these look like happy people?  They were.  Please meet Nancy Martin, her son Ross Barnhart, her daughter in law Terri Barnhart, and  Gail Barnhart.   They arrived in all thier finery at exactly 2:00 PM because that is what time the High Tea always starts.  Teresa and her friend Patty had arrived the day before and Mayflower Hall was festooned and beautiful.  Course my camera was at home through the whole thing, thus forcing me to go on facebook and steal pictures.

The tea was hot and the food at least looked good.  

This is a scone with lemon curd and yes, I made that from scratch.  Same with the dollop of clotted cream  getting ready to end up on that strawberry.

This was my first attempt at something this fancy, but I have been told that it was great.  Of course, I did not do this alone.  Jill arranged the tables.  Teresa and Patty decorated.  And when the High Tea was in full swing Pastor Jeannine was slinging tea like a trooper.  And plates were flying out of the kitchen thanks to the three of them along with my daughter, Sue. Amy manned the ticket table and sold tickets for the raffle.  Any great event is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people.  This one was our first, but it is not going to be our last by a long shot.  We will just be more organized next time.  

First Congregational United Church of Christ is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future and  we would love to see you pop in our door next Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.    228 West Evans.