Mt. Moriah Baptist Church:
Pathetic book selection. I would make a lame stereotypical joke about how this reflects Baptist intellectual culture, but I might want to work for a Baptist institution of higher education someday, so I should be careful about what I put out into the blogosphere.

Still worth the visit, particularly for the vintage items donated from the estate of centenarian church member. I acquired a beautiful small wooden table, which Erika, resident design expert, has diagnosed as a circa 1930s-40s phonograph stand. It was covered with dust from having been stored in a barn for a couple of years, but cleaned up beautifully with only water. It is now holding up my television. The ugly plastic shelf unit that has been functioning as an ad hoc TV stand for almost two years has now been pressed into service to hold up MORE BOOKS.

The Rest of the Durham Church Rummage Sales:

Unknown quantities. Didn't leave Orange County.

St. Thomas More Book Sale:

Last year, I discovered this sale by the serendipity of driving past the sign rather late in the morning, by which point the stock was so well picked over there was nothing worthwhile left. But I subscribed to their mailing list, so this year I was able to get there within the first half hour that the sale was open.

The stock was still so well picked over that there was virtually nothing worthwhile left.

I blame the St. Thomas More students, staff, and parents, who had first crack at the sale before it was opened to the general public. What do they think they're doing, buying books to support the school?

I found a few books worth buying, but nothing exciting.

Chapel of the Cross ABC Sale:

I. Am. So. Impressed.

These people know what they're doing. Can you say "organized"? And where do they get all this stuff, year after year?

The lines! I got there about ten minutes before they opened the doors, and the lines were almost out to the street! But when they opened the door, everyone was inside, in orderly fashion, within minutes. The only category of merchandise where there was a line to even get in the room was Women's Accessories. I had no trouble bee-lining to the book room.

In the midst of my explorations, I got a hot tip from a friend that the Binkley Baptist biennial rummage sale, which comes around in August, is even better than the Chapel of the Cross sale. This is difficult to fathom.

Selected prizes for my personal library, at $1 apiece:









Titles added to my online resale inventory: 17
(Possible gross income: $197.29. Too much math is involved in calculating potential net, but I expect my expenses for the weekend to be covered.)

Number of those already sold: 2

Favorite find outside the book room:











For which the nice cashier patiently waited while I counted out the $6 asking price in quarters, nickels, and dimes, since I had already spent all of my cash in other sections of the sale and had forgotten my checkbook. (No, there weren't any customers behind me in line.)

I have wanted this game since it was first published, but couldn't bring myself to cough up the steep premium price, which I remember as being $40 at the National Cathedral two summers ago, and is now apparently up to $54.95 + S&H now that it is OOP.

The goal of the game is to be the first player to build a church on one of a selection of Episcopal Church properties; at the conclusion of the game, all the pieces are to gather at the winning square for a dedication ceremony and pray the Prayer for the Right Use of God's Gifts from the Book of Common Prayer. The little metal playing pieces are in the form of a lamb, dove, Bible (or maybe a prayer book), cathedral, bishop's mitre, and baptismal font. The game also comes with balsa wood-and-felt miniature offering plates for each player. What fun!

Indeed. What fun! Is a fair description of the whole day.