Field Notes: Donuts, Dirt Roads and a Little Self Control at an Auction
Auction Haul: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Seventy-two degrees. Not a cloud in the sky. A perfect Indiana fall day. You know what makes a perfect fall day even better? AN AUCTION.
And because I needed to restock my booth at Dutch Lady Antiques in Nappanee anyway, and the auction just happened to be in Nappanee, it seemed perfectly reasonable to combine the two. Two errands. One trip. Look at me being efficient.
THE DAY STARTED WITH A DONUT.
I arrived at Dutch Lady Antiques right as they opened at 10 a.m. The auction didn't start until noon, so I had plenty of time to unload treasures, restock my booth, and add some Christmas inventory. Our wonderful manager, Malena, arrived about the same time. With donuts. Apparently, there's a food truck called Janie's Donuts out of LaGrange, Indiana, that sets up in Nappanee on Wednesdays.
HOW HAVE I LIVED THIS LONG WITHOUT KNOWING THIS?
Their specialty is a sourdough glazed donut. Malena offered me one, and I told her I'd grab it after I finished stocking my booth. Thirty minutes later, I made my way to the front counter. THE DONUT WAS STILL WARM. Friends. A freshly made, warm, glazed sourdough donut. It was divine.
I ate it on my way out the door, because apparently a perfect fall day can, in fact, be improved upon. I was feeling pretty good about my productivity. Until later that afternoon, when Malena messaged to let me know she'd safely put away the empty boxes I'd abandoned near the storage room. I thanked her and explained that I'd been distracted by the donut. A perfectly reasonable explanation.
ON TO THE AUCTION.
Fortunately, the auction was less than ten minutes away. I arrived with about an hour to preview, which was good because there was A LOT to see. As I wandered around inspecting the merchandise, I started running into other antique dealers from Dutch Lady Antiques. One after another. And then I spotted three dealers from the Rochester store. Well. APPARENTLY THE ENTIRE ANTIQUE DEALER POPULATION OF NORTHERN INDIANA HAD RECEIVED THE SAME INVITATION.
Competition was going to be fierce. But here's the thing about auctions. I genuinely believe there's enough good junk for everybody. It doesn't upset me when another dealer bids against me. We're all running businesses, and we all have different limits on what we're comfortable paying. Sometimes I win.
Sometimes somebody else wins. Sometimes I wonder what on earth they're planning to do with something they just paid THAT MUCH MONEY FOR. But that's none of my business. Mostly.
FIRST WIN: A WAGON WITH A PURPOSE.
My first purchase was a vintage wooden Jetliner child's coaster wagon. Red. Wonderfully worn. Fantastic patina. Exactly the kind of thing I have absolutely no trouble convincing myself I need. And this one came with an unexpected bonus. The auction was held at a home down a long lane, and everyone had to park out by the road. Which meant hauling purchases back to the car was going to be quite a trek. Hence the wagon. NOT JUST A PURCHASE. A LOGISTICS SOLUTION.
See? Practical.
THEN CAME THE CAKE PLATES.
I spotted an unusual glass pedestal cake plate with a shape somewhere between round and square. My goddaughter had been looking for something like this when we were traveling the 127 Sale, but she never found one. So naturally, I bought it. Then I sent her a picture to see if she wanted it. Yes, I realize most people would reverse those two steps. Fortunately, she did want it. Excellent.
A little later, another glass cake plate came up for bid. Also square-ish. Also lovely. Also reasonably priced. Well, what the heck. I BOUGHT THAT ONE TOO. Now we'll see whether she wants one or both.
I'm a personal cake plate procurement service.
The second plate came with three vintage glass refrigerator storage containers, complete with their patterned lids. These are the kind of containers people used to store leftovers before plastic containers and Tupperware took over our kitchens. They're practical, pretty, and have absolutely no interest in becoming permanently stained orange by leftover spaghetti sauce.
AND THEN I BOUGHT SCISSORS.
At some point, a flat filled with scissors came up for bid. Nobody bid against me. Which is understandable. Because who needs that many scissors? NOT ME, ACTUALLY. I wanted the two little wooden containers tucked in with them.
They're turned wood, larger than the typical vintage sewing needle holders I usually find, and I haven't figured out exactly what they were originally used for. But they were interesting. And old. And wooden. So now they're mine. The scissors? Still at the auction. I left them behind. I bought an entire flat of scissors for two small wooden objects and then abandoned the scissors.
THIS QUILT HAS SEEN SOME THINGS.
There were several quilts at the auction. None were in especially good condition. All needed serious cleaning, and some had significant damage. I ended up buying the last one. A wonderful old star quilt with vibrant red fabric, assorted patterned stars, and the kind of worn softness that only comes with decades of use.
She's beautiful. She's also damaged. There are stains, worn patches, and areas where the fabric has practically disintegrated. SHE HAS SEEN SOME THINGS. But look at those colors! Look at those old fabrics! Look at the stitching! This is what people often call a cutter quilt — one that's too damaged for traditional use but can be repurposed into smaller projects. Eventually, that's probably what will happen to this one. But first, she needs some careful attention. And possibly a bath.
AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER AUCTION.
That was the extent of my purchases. I bid on several other things, but they went beyond what I was willing to pay. No hard feelings. Besides, I had another opportunity. There was a SECOND auction starting at 3:30 in Bremen. Only about twenty minutes away. I had originally planned to head back to my workshop and continue pricing the mountain of Christmas inventory currently waiting for me. Which is what a responsible business owner would do. But...
WHAT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING GOOD AT THE OTHER AUCTION?
The FOMO was real. I drove back to Dutch Lady Antiques to retrieve my abandoned boxes and contemplated my options. Go home and do actual work? Or drive twenty minutes in the opposite direction to see what treasures might be waiting? You know where this is going.
THE ROAD TO TEMPTATION WAS MADE OF DIRT.
I headed to Bremen. The auction was down a dusty dirt road. Yes, we still have dirt roads in this part of Indiana. And yes, driving down one behind another vehicle means your car ends up looking like it participated in the Dust Bowl.
I arrived about thirty minutes before the auction started. Enough time for a quick preview. I looked around. And looked some more. And... Nothing. Not one thing was really calling my name. There were a couple of pieces I might have bid on if they'd come up immediately, but I wasn't about to wait two hours for them. So I did something almost unheard of. I LEFT BEFORE THE AUCTION EVEN STARTED.
No purchases. No bidding number. No mysterious box lots. No furniture I had absolutely nowhere to put.
Just me, walking away. I would like this moment formally documented. A RARE DISPLAY OF SELF-CONTROL. I headed back to my workshop. And then, in an even more shocking turn of events...
I PRICED CHRISTMAS INVENTORY FOR ALMOST THREE HOURS. I know. Who AM I?
I started the day restocking my booth, enjoyed an outrageously good donut, attended an auction, brought home some wonderful vintage treasures, checked out a second auction, exercised restraint, and actually made progress on my inventory. And on the way home from the workshop? I stopped at the car wash. Because apparently the price of taking the back road is having to wash half of northern Indiana off your vehicle.
Seventy-two degrees. Blue skies. Warm donuts. Old junk. A productive afternoon. And absolutely no regrets. Well, except possibly not knowing about those donuts sooner.
Take the back road. Find the good junk.
And if the back road happens to be dirt, budget for a car wash.
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