Sunday market

The Sunday flea market is getting bigger each week, a sure sign that warmer weather is ahead. We have the market all year, thanks to a handful of diehard dealers who are willing to bundle up and spend 6 hours outside under minimal shelter - and the ones who are able to stake out space in a big parking garage that's turned over to them every Sunday.

Because of construction and space requirements, the market has moved around during the past few years, but it seems quite firmly landed now. A year or two ago, market operators were sued by clients of a nearby health club, pushed out of shape (no pun intended - I think!) because they had to walk farther than a few steps from their cars to their workout. The suit was dismissed, not before it generated some derisive letters to the editor.

It's a flea market - you can buy Peruvian hand-knit hats, old magazines, 70's clothes, new clothes made to LOOK like 70's clothes (good grief!), shoes to go with them all, dishes plain and fancy, pictures of vaguely Mediterranean scenes painted on old windowpanes, odd hanging objects made from straightened out and shined up silver forks and spoons - that sort of thing. There are coin and jewelry dealers, and a table full of old typewriter keys and Scrabble tiles.

The French call it "brocante," and a dealer from Paris would feel right at home in this market. Occasionally you find a real treasure.

Best after-market stop is a favorite coffee shop, located conveniently nearby.