What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Little Velma Jane Garrett is 96 Now

I bought all these sweet old postcards at a yard sale this morning for 25¢. They are all to the same little girl from 1912-1914. The first three with the kitties are all from 1912 and addressed to "Little Velma Jane Garrett". I think it is interesting that they cards are so similar, yet they are from three different people. Although all the postcards have writing on the back, none of them have stamps or where mailed. I suppose they where hand delivered. Where they would have had a stamp there is a square stating that postage is "One Cent".

These birthday cards are all to "Little Velma" and "Sweet Velma" on her first and second birthdays. She was one special little girl to warrant cards from so many poeple on her first two birthdays! The one on the bottom right with the basket has glittered details.

I love, love, LOVE these holiday post cards. There is Easter with the chickies, Christmas with the glittered angels, Thanksgiving with the fat litle girl pulling the dinner bell and Valentine's Day. The little black and white card with the little girl on it has a funny inscription, "Velma, Come up and play with little James. He has a little carpet sweeper and he helps his mamma sweep." I am amazed that these cards have survived for nearly 100 years and I was able to save them for 25¢. Why do I have to be so sentimental about other people's old junk?


Tuesday I stopped by Hobby Lobby to have a look around. I needed some little decorative buttons for a pair of baby shoes I am making. I have a litle blue onsie that says "Got Milk?" on it and I wanted some little cow buttons to go on the shoes. I walked that entire store three times and I never found the buttons. How could they not have buttons???? I found the fancy little decorative ones for scrapbooking, but they were too expensive and no cows were to be found.

I really, really tried not to notice the 80% off Easter Merchandise sign. Really, I did. But, it called to me, "Come look, come look." I found a lot of cool crafting items that are not Eastery per say - trims, feathers, paper mache eggs and baskets, some springy flower blank cards and a variety of pompoms in all sorts of colors. The bags of pompoms were only 20¢ after the discount. Now I can make all sorts of animal shoes! If I can get my nerve up, I plan on making a red and green glittered watermelon out of the egg basket. Can you say, tacky? Or beautiful?


I bought a couple actual Easter items too. Yes, I know you are shocked. I love the chocolate bunny although it isn't really chocolate, of course. The white bunny is heavy like stoneware and is curently with my matte white pottery collection. When I stepped into the store they had a stack of flyers on a table. They keep something on it to weigh down the flyers so they don't blow away when the door opens. They happened to have that white bunny on the flyers. I noticed it was an Easter item and would be less than $2.00, so it "hopped" in my cart. The wooden platter will be a fun addition to my Easter decor too. The chocolatey sign had to come home too, right?


And, from the "What Was I Thinking" file.....I saw this Kramer poster at the thrift the other day for $2.00. It is huge and I actually have no where to hang it and it doens't exactly fit into my country/primitive decor. But, I am the biggest Seinfeld fan ever. I can see less than five seconds of any episode and tell you all the plotlines in the episode. Kramer just had to be a part of my home. I think I will hang him behind my office door to amuse me when I come and go. No one has to know he's there.

6 comments:

  1. The cards and postcards are sweet. What are you planning to do with them?

    It appears the Kramer pic is next to your stove, that is a good indicator of its enourmous proportions.

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  2. Anonymous1:25 PM

    I wonder if the Kramer picture is worth anything on eBay (in addition to the love you have for it)? This is in his pre-going-wacko stage I guess.

    Libby

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  3. Sharra, I love to read your blog. You have such interesting stories and adventures. And you are very creative!

    Please post a picture of the watermelon basket when it's painted.

    I hope this comment isn't a repeat, I tried to post a comment a minute ago but it wouldn't take for some reason.

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  4. Anonymous1:48 PM

    Haha! I find him to be a loathome brute! He sickens me! I am still a huge Seinfeld fan too.

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  5. What great finds! You do find the coolest stuff at yardsales!
    I'm a little worried about the Kramer pic! LOL!!! I love Seinfeld too, but I have to draw the line at having Kramer staring at me all the time! : )

    Jan

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  6. Oh! That is the basket I used to make my glittery easter baskets.

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