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, July 10, 2013

Some Mid-Week Junk


Today while out thrifting, The Bean purchased this deadly weapon, a Mace.  Question.  Who would donate a WEAPON to the thrift?  Weird, right?  He collects things like knives and swords but he just looks at them.  They are not weapons in his hands.  He likes historical weapons.  He also bought a Rated "M" Video game.  I asked him if he wanted me to swing through the Liquor Store for some beer and cigarettes to complete his day.  He declined.  ;)

I found a few items today and a couple over the past week.  No garage sales for me since I have been busy and really, it is just too darn HOT to go.  It was  101 today.  Boo. Hiss.

First up, let's sing the Dustpan song.

"Don't put your dust in my dust pan, my dust pan, my dust pan."  Catchy, right?  At the thrift I went to today, orange tags were 25¢.  The clerk had just gone down one aisle gathering up all the orange tags and she let me dig in her cart.  I can across a bundle of school posters including this Dust Pan poster.  There are few about Pop Bottles that were cute too.  Good fodder for the Barn Sale.

A deck of old Crazy 8 cards with fun graphics.  

I found these two plaques at Goodwill yesterday.  They will go to the Booth.    Goodwill had done a complete rearrange this week and I HATE it.  I love blowing in and out of a thrift quickly when I know the layout.  They did have about a twenty foot layout of bric-a-brac as they call it.  Now they have moved it and condensed it down to four feet.  The laundry hampers are were the kitchen stuff was and the holiday stuff moved and I don't like it one bit.  I know that once I get used to it, they will move it all around again.  I don't know why they don't call me personally and ask permission first.  You'd think I was kidding, right?

This old Kitchen Prayer plaque isn't something I would normally pick up, but it was only 50¢ and it has a date of 1944 on it.  I'm not sure what used to be in the upper corner, but I need to disguise it somehow.  

Someone painted up this old cutting board with an Atlas mason jar.  Now, I'm not  a fan of tole painting or the Country look, but this looked pretty modern to me.  And, by modern, I mean Pinterest-y modern.  

Pretty awesome representation of a Mason Jar, don't you think?  I've been making some glass tile pendants with blue Ball jars on them. 

And, I decoupaged this serving tray the other day.  'Scuse that crap around it.  It's in my "stash" and I was just too lazy to move it out for a professional photo shoot.  

This funny wind up teddy bear plays his drum at an alarming speed and is quite annoying.  I did not know that, however, when I made the decision to buy him at Goodwill.  He's pretty cute though.  He's not new, but not that old either.

This little basket is marked Dansk on the bottom.  I thought Dansk stuff was worth money, so I went ahead and grabbed it.  It's not the usual Dansk things, so who knows.  

I found this little girl in the bottom of the stuffed animal bins.  Yes, I dig in stuffed animal bins. You never know what you will find.

She hangs up and has a slit in the back for something.  I think maybe barrettes or something.  I want to say she is a clothespin bag so I can keep her.  So, she is a clothespin bag! 

A new old never used label-maker.  Scrapbookers like these, I think.  It's sort of cool.  I have a bunch of the tape that goes in it, so I  might use it to make signs or tags.  

For weeks, I have looked at this huge bag of wooden cutouts.  They are kind of country and kind of dated, but then again, plenty of people still like that look.  There are hundreds and hundreds of cutouts.  Each one is marked 2/$1.00 at Hobby Lobby.  I had seen them in the toy department for weeks, but they were priced too high.  Today they hit the magic 25¢ price, so I grabbed them.  

I'll dump them in a big basket and sell them 10 or 20 for $1.00.

So many people out in blogland find the most darling vintage tin stoves and kitchen items.  I have found a few items like that, but where I live you are more likely to find the sort of stoves that people actually used.  

I grabbed this sweet cast iron stove right as the clerk sat it on the shelf today.  It's a reproduction, but still older.  


I think it came with everything except the muffin tin.  I'm not sure what I will do with it.  I kind of like it right now, so it's on a shelf in the living room.

Lots of sales in the paper this weekend as usual.  I might go to an Estate Sale that some friends are running.  But, family matters are pressing and that's what's still the most important.  Junk can wait - family can't!


8 comments:

  1. I remember those songs! They kind of all go together in a round. We did those when I was in like fourth grade. I love those Kitchen Prayer and House Blessing plaques and sell them all the time. What goes in that corner is either Jesus in profile or the praying hands. I would think you could find a suitable pic online, print it on nice heavy paper, and then glue it on. I wish I had a thrift where orange tags were 25 cents. (Although I did go to one Monday night where everything was 40% off because the store is closing.)

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  2. The mace might not be intended for use as a weapon, cosplay (costuming as characters) is very popular with teens and younger adults. They frequently have weapons as part of the accessories.
    Love the stove, I have one like that from my childhood. It's been turned into a lamp and is shining on me as I type. It will go to Otter when she has kids, I used mine with my dolls when I was a kid.

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  3. Well this was a trip dowm memory lane for me! I had a label maker like that one and used to play Crazy Eights with a deck like that very one you found (so please don't call it an old deck,lol)during rest time at our community pool. The little girl with the slit in her back reminded me of a pj holder I had. It was also a doll and since kids never put things back in drawers you could stuff your pj's in her. Then she could hang from the door knob or lay on your bed til bedtime.
    Oh and guess what tune will be playing in my head the rest of the day LOL!

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  4. I am still finding treasure in my trove for you, I have to get a bigger box now as I keeping adding to the pile. If you wanted to do a trade for those "Brush your teeth" and "Wash your hands" sign I would love you forever! Those would be so perfect in my downstairs bathroom and now that Marjorie is starting to read maybe she would actually do both of those tasks. ;) If you want I can also throw some money in my box of treasure that I really need to get sent on it's way to you soon or you will end up with me showing up in a U-haul at your door. ;) Let me know. Thanks. Shanna

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  5. Tons of fun stuff! Love the 'clothespin bag' but it just might be a pj bag...yep! Put your nightclothes in there and then it sits on your bed as a 'doll'. But clothes pins work also!

    Linda

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  6. Well, I'm glad the mace found a good home...I know the Bean won't be out committing mayhem with it. But it does bring up why people donate some things...at the school I work at, several people donated "Fifty Shades of Gray" to the annual booksale. Really, folks - donating softcore porn to your child's school = not such a good idea.

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  7. I still have one of those cast iron stoves from when I was a kid!

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  8. I had those exact Crazy 8 cards, too - so probably from the late 70's or early 80's. And we had a harvest gold label maker just like that. Aah, memory lane. Yes, I do believe that doll with the slit is for clothes. Nice finds, as always.

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