Diamond in the Rough

Whenever the opportunity comes to go to a yard sale, I jump at it.

It's like going on a treasure hunt and one never knows what might be discovered.

This past summer, in the newspaper, was an blurb about a church yard sale in a nearby town. It has a reputation of being a pretty good one so early on a Saturday morning, my husband agreed to accompany me. We were off!

At first, disappointment reigned since there wasn't a single thing I couldn't live without. Suddenly, the face of a bedraggled-looking doll caught my eye. She was dirty and didn't have a stitch of clothes on her cloth body. It didn't matter, though,because it was easy to envision how pretty she could be. Priced at $8, she was definitely a bargain and under my arm she went to the car.

My husband asked if I bought anything but I didn't really want to tell him there was yet another doll joining my collection so "mum's the word" became my response. Thankfully, when we got home, he disappeared into his man cave and I got to work on my new "treasure."

She needed a good scrubbing but could not be submerged completely in water because of her cloth body. Using a washcloth with soap and warm water, the dirt began to disappear from her face. Freckles appeared on her cheeks and she had beautiful green eyes. Then I washed her hair which is brown with a reddish tint.

She has full lips and a rather serious expression but she's really a beauty. Now a little fashion plate, dressed to the hilt in a pink smocked dress, with little white shoes, the doll looks surprisingly real.

So glad we went to that church yard sale!