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.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Hey!

Anyone still out there?

*tap *tap *tap

Every day I try my BEST to think of something to blog about.  Oh, it needs to be interesting and fun and not political or topical (I found that out last week when I wrote a post and the anonymous comments started getting snarky).  Hmmmmm.  What to write?  The junking is pathetic right now.  I have found a few things here and there.  But it's the here and there that is depressing.  I want to go dig in a old house and pull out boxes of vintage goodies and pay $5.00 for it all.  Hey - it's happened before.  And I really need a good old fashioned junk fix!

Here are my latest finds.


We went to the casino over the OK line a couple weeks ago.  I lost what I took, so I needed some thrift therapy to heal my soul.  (I only lost $40.00)  I found this old suitcase, the sweet deer planter and the little Patriot drummer.  It's been so long since I found anything good, that I am afraid many of these finds have wound up being keepers.  For a bit, anyway.  I'll use the suitcase for Junk Ranch display.  I paid less than $3.00 for all three things.  


Yes, it's Pyrex.  I bought Pyrex.  I really never do that much and when I do, it goes straight to the booth.  I went to an Estate Sale (In January!  On a Monday!) .  I started out in the garage and found this bowl sitting on a shelf with random Wal-Marty pots and pans.  I decided to ask how much, because why not?  When I got inside, I saw that the prices were steeper than I wanted to pay and they were looking things up on ebay to determine their prices.  It's fine to look things up, but not in front of the customer.  I found an old Irmi baby mobile and asked the price.  The lady clutched her heart and told me that was from her son's room and it was from "NINETEEN SIXTY EIGHT"!  That is "VERY OLD", she said.  "Can you imagine that it is SO VERY OLD?"  Well, since I am from NINETEEN SIXTY SIX I took umbrage at that little comment.  Although, I guess maybe she didn't think I was VERY OLD or she wouldn't have said it to me.  Anyway, they whipped out their phone to look it up on ebay before they would quote me a price.  I told them never mind, (I knew that I wasn't going to pay ebay prices for it since I wanted to use if for crafts anyway) and then I asked about the Pyrex bowl (did you remember that was what I was even talking about?  Me either.).  They both shrugged their shoulders and said, "Eh, a buck?"  Weirdness.  I bought the bowl and it's the first piece of Pyrex I have ever considered keeping.  But not to set on a shelf and admire- but to USE.  


This is a duck.  :D  It is a blowmold duck!  My MIL had those hideous plastic duck and swan planters all over her house and yard, so I have a real aversion to those things.  Plus I have not quite recovered from the 1990's Country Duck motif.  Yes, I had them in my house.  No, I m not proud.  But, a full size light up blowmold duck - that is a horse of another color!  It will be Spring Junk Ranch fodder. 


I found this plaque at Goodwill earlier this week.  I couldn't find anymore but I just know there must be!  Do you know this Nursery Rhyme?  There was a little girl and she had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.  And when she was good, she was very good.  And when she was bad.....she was horrid.  Cracks me up.  I'd love to find the horrid plaque.  This one will hang in my "cutie pie office" after it transforms from the "store all the crap" room.  It will happen.  I swear.


We went for a ride yesterday.  Just a random drive around town ride.  But, I was driving, so SURPRISE, we drove by two thrift stores.  Funny how that happens.  :D  I found the old reader at one thrift and the baby crib toy and the pottery at another. Pottery is kind of forbidden, but PINK trumps forbidden, so there is sits.  


Besides, I didn't have a pink one.  I needed it!!!


I don't do Disney things either, but it was marked JAPAN, so I knew it was older.  Thinking the booth or Junk Ranch.  


I just thought this looked interesting and the price was right, so I bought it.  I thought it was Mexican or Italian pottery, but it is actually a French apothecary jar.  I can find similar on ebay, but not exactly. I'll list it tonight and see what happens.  The similar has good ending prices, but also had interesting contents like COCAINE.  Yikes!  There were some other not so out there ones listed too.  We'll see. 


No, I didn't buy this.  I held it out at The Bean but he was looking the wrong direction, When he did turn around, he had the BEST look on his face.  Like WTF and holy crap rolled into one.  This doll made me ask so many questions.  Why did anyone mark it with lipstick?  Why did anyone even bother to donate it?  Why did the thrift put it on the sales floor? How did they determine that $2.00 was an acceptable price for a lipstick covered doll?  How did I not notice that I had lipstick all over my arms and shirt until we had gone FIVE other places?  How do you get lipstick out of cotton?  So many questions.  

Hope you have all been well!  I missed you!

16 comments:

  1. thud,thud,thud..........that's what my t.v. screen sounds like when I tap it. I wonder what that sale would have priced things if they didn't have ebay to guide them? I look stuff up but do not try to resell for ebay prices since I do not have to pay for shipping or listing.

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    1. I look everything up too. But not in front of people. Plus you can tell they already thought they had a big dollar item. Not.

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  2. I'm glad you're back. Don't let the snarky people get to you! I'm glad you found a few treasures. I'm counting the days until spring and shopping season! Mary

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  3. I will usually leave if they are looking things up on Ebay. REALLY? I'm packing up things and getting ready for my Church rummage sale in the Spring. I said I would be in charge of the 'vintage corner' but no ebay prices. The doll is just so scary, why would they put that out?? Love Love the pink pottery!
    hugs!

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    Replies
    1. That would be hard to be in charge of the vintage corner and not want to buy it all! :) I know you are downsizing, and I am TRYING TO DO THAT, but it is still fun to poke around and find a treasure.

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  4. For laundry issues my new helper is one I read a while back on someone elses blog(Marly of Samplers and Santas) Pine-sol.Yep just rub some on, let it rest a bit and throw it in the washer. It works well on oils (like drippy salad dressings). I'm chuckling over the nursery rhyme because yes I do remember reading it to my boys and could still recite it from heart!By the way, I miss reading your blog when you have a dry spell. Oh and about that doll? YIKES!!! Maybe it was part of someone's Halloween costume? I hope? Otherwise I'm thinking there is a Bad Seed out there somewhere (creepy movie reference)

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    1. Thanks for the idea of using Pine Sol - sounds odd, but I bet it works! I put liquid soap on all the stains and let it sit overnight. It all came out!!!!!!! It was my favorite PINK shirt, so I had to save it! My son thought the "horrid" part was funny because what little kid knows what "horrid' even mans??

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    2. I double checked my laundry room and it's Lestoil not pine sol although they are probably pretty much the same. I'm happy your pink shirt was saved. Hahaha Bean has a good point about the word horrid but if you read it just right ohh boy the meaning comes through! ; )

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  5. WELCOME BACK!... WELCOME BACK!... WELCOME BACK!
    (NAME THAT SONG!!)

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  6. Well the names have all changed since you've been around........

    "Up your nose with a rubber hose"! (Not directed at you, of course!!!!) 😄

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  7. That doll is killing me! Or it will kill whoever buys it! That's just nutty that they put that out to sell!

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  8. After seeing that doll on instragram... I'm still having nightmares!

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  9. Hello! Love your pink pottery.. So cool that you have pretty much all the colors of that particular piece. Banish the snarks..they have no place here. Creepy doll...has Eddie seen it?

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  10. I'm so glad you got the Pyrex and are going to use it. I connect with Pyrex because I imagine all the wonderful meals made with them over the years and some designs are just so irresistible. I remember getting a set of the primary nesting bowls back in the 80s. I wasn't Pyrex crazy back then but I do remember using and loving those bowls so much. And I was crazy in love with my boyfriend at that time - good times!

    And what are those awesome pottery pieces! SO CUTE!

    I won't even address that creepy doll . . .

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  11. I love it when people overprice things "because that's what it sells for on eBay" and they miss something great that they priced $1.00. I just stand there with a smile on my face and a running commentary in my head that goes like this "yeah, it may be priced that high on eBay but have you looked at solds moron? Better yet have you ever opened an eBay and PayPal account to actually sell an item, found, cleaned, researched, photographed, listed, and then sold even one item on eBay? Then please shut your pie hole about what it "sells" for". Ok, rant over. Btw you found some cute stuff, digging the deer planter.

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  12. Love the deer planter! That Pyrex is an amazing find! $1 for vintage is always good. Even if things are slow in Thriftland, be glad you don't live in Montreal where thrifting is nearly nonexistent year round! that is why I am turning to garbage picking....

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