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.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

A Little More Junk

Today The Breadman got home early from work and decided to take a nap.  So, The Bean and I slipped out to hit some thrifts all by ourselves.  Dad just doesn't "get" thrifting, but he always tags along.  He kind of hovers over me and cramps my style - I need to look at EVERYTHING and he doesn't understand that.  But, I have found vintage pottery with the gardening stuff and other things that were in areas that they shouldn't have been in the first place.  So, I really do HAVE to look everywhere and at everything.  The Bean is used to that and he has a route he takes too - books, music/DVD's/video games, glass case in the front for knives and swords and the toy area to look for Nerf Guns. 

We went to three thrift stores.  Left empty handed at Goodwill.  I usually find something, but nada today.  On to a thrift that used to be my favorite, but it has moved to a new location and it is "eh" at best.  I spent twenty five cents there for a 1937 book entitled, "Food for Fifty".

 Because I very often have 49 of my best friends over for dinner.
And, they LOVE *Braised Tongue*!  

Can you believe they think you need 20 pound of tongue for 50 people?  That's a lot of tongue.  My Grandmother loved tongue.  (That is a weird thing to type). She would ask me to look for it at the grocery store every time I went shopping for her.  When I would come in the door she would say, "Did they have tongue?" and I would say, "Not today."  But, I never, ever looked for it.  Not once.  

Despite the tongue recipe, there are some interesting recipes.  I was reading the pie recipes and the Bean chimed in that a pie for 50 people would be a really, really BIG pie.  I hated to tell him that it was actually a recipe to make 8 normal sized pies.  He looked at me and said, "Well, duh. I was kidding."  I can't tell him that I had actually thought it was a recipe for one huge pie myself.  :(

My big splurge of the day was this older Arkansas Razorback Picnic Basket.  When I brought it in, The Breadman said, "Finally a picnic basket I like!"  But, too bad - it's going to the booth.  I spent $15.00 for it, but I know one sold for about $50.00 at the booth last Fall.  So, I will make it part of my (much hated and dreaded on my part) Razorback display in August.  Those "Roadhogs" with the huge RV's and deep pockets just love that vintage razorback tailgating stuff.  

This tiny cigar box will go in my cigar box collection.  Oh, yes, I collect them.  Surprised?  I thought not.
A large paper mache pumpkin that isn't old but looks it and that is good enough for me.  
Especially since it was only 25¢.
I also found two old Math Games, two Easter pails, and a vintage apron to round out the day.  It's all for resell.  Except that Food For Fifty book.  It will be resold eventually, but I've got some Scrapple to make first.  

I KID!

Have you found any good junk lately?  I'm just scrapping by on what I find lately.  

I need a GOOD JUNK FIX pronto.  

15 comments:

  1. I had a good laugh at you "My Grandmother loved tongue" - not that she DID (probably all of our Grandmothers did *wink*wink*) - but over the fact that YOU know about it ((ha,ha))!

    Spring!-Saling!-Soon!-Really!
    I keep telling myself a good fix can't be too far off on the horizion!!

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  2. I hit a few thrifts yesterday looking for a plain beige long sleeve t-shirt - we have to wear beige(not white) on the safari and I don't have any! I found the shirt and some vtg lefton angel salt and pepper at Goodwill and a few patterns at the other. Not really a fix but I was in and out fairly quickly.

    Glad you got somethings to sell - that picnic basket is great! Thanks for the smiles this morning - my husband is home today as we have snow! I know just what you mean about hovering LOL!!

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  3. My Mom cooked tongue once and tried to pass it off as ham. Bumpy ham? I don't think so. yuck.

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  4. Shara,
    You are just the funniest writer! I'm so happy that you are back to your vintage hilarious posts after all your trauma of the past few months! Thanks for all the humor you put into your posts... I admire you a lot!

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  5. Okay, maybe I could use that cooking for 50 cookbook! LOL (DO NOT send it to me!) Several times I've been involved in dinners for church and it's always tricking figuring out how much food to fix for 100 women.

    Today is Porter's 2nd day of preschool, so guess what I'm going to do during that 2.5 hours? JUNKING! It's been a while and I'm trying hard to get stuff OUT of here so we can get ready to show a house in a few months, but darnit if I don't need some junk therapy!

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    1. OMG, Porter is ready for preschool already??? How can that be?

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  6. I haven't even been in the thrift shops in weeks...yikes! So glad you and the Bean got out to shop! Enjoy your finds!
    hugs, Linda

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  7. good finds!I have not thrifted much at all. I did hit our dump on Saturday and got a couple of good finds.
    Cathy

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  8. You make me snicker so hard! :OD xD

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  9. I have gone out g-saling the past two weekends. Hit the first couple and wondered why I even bothered to get up. Overpriced,poor selection,dirty and smelly. THROW IT AWAY!
    Thrifting hasn't been much better, the best finds happen when I have NO money to spend.

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  10. I found some good stuff at an estate sale last weekend -- it was odd, a tiny little rental house that was full of vintage Victorian stuff! Unexpected. But a reminder to never judge a book by its cover. The picnic basket is a good find. I was just thinking about how I need to spend a little more money on stuff that will sell for a bit more. Hard to part with the beans unless you're sure it's going to sell, though.

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  11. Oh my, I love the vintage hamper. Would you consider selling it and mailing it or are you sold on putting it in your booth? My son goes there so while I am not quite a "roadhog" I do love vintage razorback stuff!

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    1. Marci - I forgot you had a son here! My husband has indeed laid claim to the picnic basket. I think he wants to gift it to his old boss that lost so much when the company folded back in the Fall. I will keep my eyes peeled for any other Razorback stuff - it is hard to find though. Hope your son is liking it here! I know I do! :) Shara

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  12. I want an invite to the party for 50 when you serve the pies!

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  13. Your bit on grandma/tongue is so funny! :D

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