Amazing once-a-year luck

Last Friday, I had my big once-a-year estate sale luck.

Seriously - I'm on the mailing lists for both estate sale organizers in town, search Craigslist regularly, and have decided that I live in a No Breyer Or Other Horse-shaped Object Zone.  Sort of the reverse of a black hole.  But, about once a year, the luck changes.

Last week, the estate sale organizer announcement had 2 sales, and one mentioned Breyers.  Actually, I knew before I read the announcement, because one of the pictures on Facebook had the clearly-visible hind leg of a Breyer Racehorse, next to a silverplate wine bucket.  Then there were a couple of other pictures with Breyers and even, shock of shocks, Hartlands.  (Which are also rare around here, even though the company was headquartered about two hours from here for a while.)  There was a Fury, Fighting Stallions, Family Arabians, and woodcut Hartlands, among others.  I was really after the black Fury and Racehorse, and Hartlands.

So, the sale started at 8, on the other side of town, which mean dealing with the lousy morning traffic.  And, I managed to lose the checkbook on Wednesday, leading to panic.  I rounded up all the cash in the house, and kicked the rest of the family off to work/school early on Friday.  Got to the sale around 15 minutes after it opened and was the first Breyer buyer.  There were a few things that weren't in the pictures - like an alabaster Old Timer and a grey appy Diablo.  The Breyers were in great condition, and the newest ones there were a bay Running Mare and Bay Jumper.  The rest were all from the 60s, mostly glossy, and not played with a lot.  There was a woman there shopping for her horse-mad granddaughter, who asked my advice.  I recommended the bay Running Mare, she's sweet and a classic.

I ended up with three woodcut Hartlands, the Diablo, a charcoal Fighting Stallion, and the Racehorse.  Not sure why I passed on the Fury, except that I'd just gotten an email from an auction, and I'd won a lot with a Fury and a palomino FAF.  That used most of my cash.  Then I drove over to the pool where the kid takes lessons, and found the checkbook.  Yay!!  So I drove back to the sale and got Fury, the glossy palomino Fighting Stallion, and a cheap bedsheet to use for sewing projects.

And then I came home and said Wow.

Went back the next day for half-price, but the rest of the Breyers were gone.  I kind of wish I'd gotten the alabaster FAS, he was glossy and had a ribbon sticker.  Oh well.

And then I realized that I'd gotten an appy Diablo on eBay over the summer.  This one is much nicer, though, not as yellowed.  And, of course, the Fighting Stallions are both the 3rd copies of each, and now I've got 2 Furys.  But the Hartlands aren't dupes - there are a cherry and ebony 3-gaiter, and an ebony Tennessee Walker to go with the cherry one I already had, but they're different mane versions.

The Fury even has a price tag on his belly, $1.49.