absent.canadian

Yesterday evening I attended my first auction in many, many years.

Auctions are a peculiar beast.  I remember going to the Gary Hill household farm auctions near Uxbridge, Ontario; a place of wonder where a person could find all manner of antiques, curiosities, trinkets and other goodies.  And the thrill of bidding – oh, the rush of holding up the little hand-numbered card and entering the fray!

Last night I wandered over to Raleigh Auctions to see if I could revive the old feeling.  And sure enough, I could have blinked my eyes quickly and thought I was back in Uxbridge, Ontario!  Set in a rather functional metal building with concrete floors and exposed ceiling rafters, the auction had absolutely no pretentiousness about it.  Goods and furniture were stacked deep, and the auctioneer worked busily to keep the flow of money steady and consistent.

I was a tad disappointed not to find anything, although I did bid on one flat of crystal china with a single Mikasa piece that I thought I could sell on eBay.  Alas, a troop of elderly women deftly outbid me–eager to claim their spoils before I could take a second glance at the cardboard box top that everything was piled in.

This Saturday is an antique auction; a dangerous prospect for this antiques nut!

Last night was wonderful.  Just wonderful.

When I got home from work the temperature was dwindling in the high teens (Celsius, that is … that would be high 60’s in Fahrenheit).  I threw open every window in my house and enjoyed the first real night of my favorite season.

You see, I grew up in Canada, in a house that was heated with a wood furnace.  The modus operandi in this weather was to build a really big fire before going to bed; that would get the house toasty-warm for most of the evening.  But my favorite part of that was waking up in the cool morning air, long after the fire had died out – snuggled under ever blanket I could get my hands on.  There’s something refreshing about the dichotomy of cool air and warm covers, and it’s one of those pleasant childhood feelings I can’t get enough of.

Last night I did the same thing with my open windows.  All of nature’s noises were allowed to enter my bedroom last night, and it made for one of the most restful sleeps I’ve had in a long time.

This is also the time of year when I have to switch between heat and air conditioning as the temperature does its usual autumn yoyo, but I’m OK with that … and as long as the temperature is between 60 and 80, I’ll probably just leave the windows open.

Viva autumn.