~Going Once, Going Twice...~

Hello friends!  Last time I posted, I shared with you our decision to downsize our home and farming operation.  Part of that process involves purging, packing and selling alot of "stuff" that we will no longer be needing or have room for.  It is amazing how much "stuff" we have accumulated in the seven years that we have lived here!

With everything that we were letting go, we decided it was best to have an auction and, hopefully, we would reap fair dollar value for everything.  After about six months of preparing, the big day finally came on the first of June.  We were concerned about the attendance as it had rained all week (over five inches!!) leading up to sale day.  We live out in the country....on a dirt road!  But knowing that God was in control, come rain or shine the sale would be all that He wanted it to be so fretting was definitely a waste of time and energy.  Sale day came with clear skies and cool breezes. :)

 All of the goods were laid out for everyone to see.  Tools and equipment of all sorts...

 Dishware, pictures, lamps, books, pots and pans, you name it!  Oh, I forgot to take a picture of all the furniture that was in the house before the sale started. :/  Darn.

 Our son brought down all of his carpentry and remodeling tools as he was closing his construction business.....

 Mr. Bill and the kids were no longer riding the horses so, other than a few sentimental pieces, there was no need to keep all the horse tack...

 Big equipment such as the stock trailer, spray tanks, flatbed trailer, grain feeder....

 And, finally, Mr. Bill's beloved cattle.  See that big brown bull in that sea of black?  His name is "Quirt".  All of our bulls were named after John Wayne characters.  This one came from an old, old black and white movie.  LOL

 Advertise and they will come.  We were shocked at the people who came and were willing to walk a long ways, on a muddy road, to see what kind of goods they might take home with them.

 The cars were parked down the road and around the corner, which is one-quarter mile away from our driveway.  Look.  You can see the deep ruts that someone created when trying to park along the driveway.

 Looking the other way, there are more cars for as far as you can see.  We figured at least another quarter of mile.  Plus  people were parked along both sides of our long driveway as well as out in the area in the pasture for designated parking.

 The sale began with all the goodies out in the yard but I was so busy in the house I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the chaos success going on out there.  Here the crowd is watching and bidding on several pieces displayed on the porch.

 Some of the wicker furniture that I bought at auction (same company doing ours) several years ago.  What goes around, comes around, huh?

 John, owner of the auction company, trying to get top dollar for my beloved antiques.

 I think these guys were mainly onlookers or they were waiting for the guys to make it around to this area of the house.

 Shannon's tools sold well over all.  He didn't have to take anything back to Omaha!

 Justin, son of the auction owner and one of Shannon's best friends (oh, the joy of living in a small community!).  His bird's eye view from the trash dumpster.

 Tools and equipment always sell REALLY well in a farming community.  There were definitely alot of interested folks.

And, finally, the cows sell.  We were thankful that one guy bought most of our cattle.  It takes a while for cattle to settle into a new environment and having most of the 'family' going together makes the transition smoother.  It really does.

So, there you have it!  It was a long, hectic and tiring day.  I had a bucket load, or two, of dirt to sweep up from all the people who went in and out of the house. They tried really hard to wipe their shoes clean before coming in but, with all that mud, it was almost impossible. Thankfully, we have wood floors and it wasn't too hard to clean up.

A few household things didn't sell but everything else did and, overall, we were realy pleased with the final results.  It took several days for everything to be picked up and taken to their new homes.  It was somewhat emotional for us but we know it was for good.  The place is already up for sale but we are still putting on some necessary finishing touche to make it more sale worthy.  Since there is no time or job constraint, we're not worried about whether or not the place sells right away, although it would be nice to go ahead and move on to the next chapeter of our lives.  But it will all happen in God's great timing, won't it?

Until next time ~