“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” (-Sam Keen)

Here in Cary, NC, we are feeling some of the summer’s steamiest days, but there are still so many enjoyable things to do that make this time of year memorable.

Saturday morning, Joe and I wandered over to the local flea market as we are wont to do on a lazy weekend day. You never know what interesting item you might stumble upon that has your name on it. Even if you don’t find that special something, it’s fun to see what’s out there, and watch what others are haggling over.

Our plants are all in the ground and thriving, but it’s amazing how many people are still purchasing flowers, even in August. I was attracted to the parasols I saw several women carrying, and thought they were a smart find for when one's out in the searing sun...I found the vendor who was selling them for just a few dollars, but I didn’t see the light lavender one I had my heart set on, so I decided to wait for another flea market Saturday to see if I can "find it next time.”

For a number of flea market visits, I’ve been keeping an eye out for a small end table to put next to our bed in the guest bedroom, but I recently found one, and it fits perfectly where I wanted one to go, so now I’ve set my sights on a good, small lamp instead.

There’s nothing like a decadent slice of greasy cheese pizza with a cold drink on a hot day under the trees, while the guitarist plays his music each week, and then it’s on to find some good, healthy veggies and lemon yogurt pound cake at the farmer’s market.

“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” (-Ada Louise Huxtable)

"One man's trash is another's treasure"

What is it about a flea market that’s so appealing to me?

Call it what you will: a garage sale, a rumble sale, a car boot sale, a yard sale, a bazaar, a charity…there’s something very attractive to me about rummaging through other peoples’ cast-off things.

I think it’s got something to do with the notion that I can somehow incorporate a part of another life successfully into my own. One of our favorite activities on a Saturday or Sunday morning is to get up early and head to the local flea market, which is quite extensive, mind you. You can find any manner of things that might suit your fancy: linens, china, silver, old military patches, those old green Coca Cola bottles with the soda still in them, jewelry, garden plants, furniture, swords, baseball cards and corn on the cob. All in one place.

It’s just great fun to handle things that have past lives, but for me, the appeal is also in calculating how I might take some object and re-purpose it quite differently in my own life. I find great satisfaction in browsing through old photos of people I don’t know, in clothing from a different time and place. While it saddens me that some family member probably died and their belongings and photos were dispatched in this way, I find solace in thinking I’m somehow “rescuing” items, and giving them new life. (I believe in some quarters, this is known as “hoarding.” I prefer to call it intentional rejuvenation.)

My favorite thing about the flea market is probably the other people, though: the ones looking, just like me. It has to be one of the all-time best people-watching venues. And have you ever noticed that an item no one else would have ever given a second glance, suddenly takes on enormous appeal when you have an interest in it? The haggling and negotiating is all part of the fun.

“One man’s trash is another’s treasure.” Come to think of it, our entire house attests to that.