February 26, 2012

View of the month-The tables are set for the toy auction...209 pieces consigned and almost as many people present.

We got some catching up to do! We have been so busy trying to get organized for the toy auction and show...and it's tax season, so the jobs tend to get in the way at times.

We took off running in the new year with the Saskatoon toy show Jan 9th & 10th, then working the booth for the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters at Crop production on the 11th &12th, then the following week, we were doing the booth thing again in Brandon, Manitoba for a day on the 17th...just like summer...shut up and drive, only a lot colder. Although not as frigid as it has been in past years...ohhhh...we're going to pay before the winter is over.

This was the second year for the auction and we were glad that we had made plenty of notes last year...things to do...and NOT do. We were able to get prepared way ahead of schedule and with the help of several people including Marilyn's sister Margaret, Pam and Brenda, Marilyn's friends from the theater group, Al's brother Jeff, and Al's toy buddy Roger and his wife Linda, diorama expert, Murry and auctioneer Jamie from Yorkton Auction Centre, everything went smoothly.

Part of the chaos of the weekend is getting set up for the Friday auction, while finding enough time and manpower to get the tables set up for the toy show at the other building which starts at 9am on Saturday...only a cargo trailer full to set up on five tables! Again, because we were well prepared with the auction and had backup, it got done,which made the auction even more enjoyable.

We started at 6pm sharp and the hammer dropped on the last toy at 8:40pm...well ahead of last year. All had the plan to start a tradition at this year's auction, since he

plans on making this an annual event. He wanted to create a special toy on a plaque that would be auctioned off with the proceeds going toward a worthy cause. The organizers of the toy show hold a pedal tractor raffle that does the same thing and he wanted to tie them together, so when he found out about three year old Lyric Solonenko, who was undergoing cancer treatments, it was

settled.

The Steiger Panther 285 was sandblasted and repainted pink by A's brother Jeff, then the base was made and the tractor mounted on it by one of Al's 'regular' customers, Mike. We were really pleased at the outcome, with Chad Leibrecht gaining the winning bid of $475! One of the crowd got caught up in the moment and donated back a toy that they had bought for the fund, so we ended up with $530 for the little guy.

Marilyn managed to buy an item at the auction...much to Al's dismay...a beautifully crafted wooden tractor, pieced together with precision. The cylinders move in and out, the axle walks, the tires are made of almost 300 sepa

rate pieces on their own. A later blog entry will have more pictures and information.

Al was kept busy at the toy show the rest of the weekend, while Marilyn had to deal with getting the numbers crunched so the consignors could get their cash before they left town. It was a very successful weekend and once what was left on the tables was packed up and back in the trailer, we were finally able to relax. We were disappointed that we weren't able to get our 1/4 scale 7088 into the show...maybe next year.

A rest for two weeks, then another road trip...