We all like stumbling on unexpected treasure. The fun of going to garage sales is sifting through the stuff other people have deemed disposable, in the hope that we (the hopeful shopper with pockets full of change, mind set to haggle) will come across the hidden gem that's been waiting just for us.

Problem is, I'm not an early riser. And it was the early birds who got the goods at this year's Browncroft Neighborhood Garage Sale. By the time I headed to Blossom and its adjacent roads on Saturday - around 4 p.m. - everyone was closing up. So instead, I visited a friend in the area, who'd scored some Penthouse mags from the 70's earlier in the day.

I returned on Sunday around 2 p.m. to wander about and see what I could find among the remains. Though there were still many yards filled with a menagerie of odds-and-ends on lawns, driveways, and in garages, many had sold most their stuff on the first day. Some entrepreneurial go-getters had hot dogs for sale, and others called out that they'd make me a deal on whatever I was looking at. I ended up with a few cassette tapes (25 cents each): Hank Williams, Boots Randolph. It wasn't a total bust. But from the looks of the houses in that neighborhood, I probably missed out on some great things that would've been around Saturday -- like the elusive perfect (cheap) tiny kitchen table I've been after for months.