You Want Some Cheese With That?

One Hundred and Eleven Degrees

I know it is hot everywhere.  I know everyone is miserable.  I know that our situation here in NWA isn't much different than everyone else's right now.  But, I am still going to whine.  Ready?  IT IS HOT!  One hundred and eleven freakin' degrees at 7:00 at NIGHT!  That is ridiculous.  And there is absolutely no end in sight  - hot, hot, hot.  We could still have two months of this heat.  I pray it ends soon.  It has not rained one drop in nearly two months.  Everything is just dead and crunchy.  The earth is hot.  I feel like it is the end of the world and we will begin to combust at any moment.

Little Lady loves the laundry.  That makes one of us.

So, this concludes the whining about the heat.  Now I will whine about my washing machine. The repairman left here last Thursday after calling in to order the part, saying it would be in Monday and he would be back to repair it then.  Flash forward to Monday, then Tuesday and now Wednesday and I still haven't heard a word.  So, I scroll back through the Caller ID and find their number (Lowe's set up the appointment, so I didn't have a card or a number) and call them today.  The lady tells me that the part is expected to SHIP today and will be in on Monday (dejavu) and then someone will be out later in the week to repair it.  I started to say Thank you and hang up, but then I thought the better of it and said, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NEXT WEEK??????"  She said that she knows it in an inconvenience to not have a washing machine.  It is more than an inconvenience - it is a royal pain in the ass.  I am up to over $50.00 at the laundry mat (It's $2.50 a load to wash clothes now??), four lost days going to said laundry mat, etc.  It is just so frustrating not being able to get anyone to help or do their job the way it should be done.  Not to mention the fact that the washer is only five months old and this should not be happening in the first place. 

Not our car. 

Now I will whine about car repairs.  (Isn't this fun?)  We had new struts put on the car in June but a few weeks later the car started shuddering again, so we took it back in and our mechanic discovered that the struts had gone bad.  He replaced them and didn't charge us a penny, so that was great.  He did say that he wanted to switch out one more thing, but only charged us the cost of the part to do that.  Good enough.  A week later and I see this part hanging loose by the tire, so we take it back.  Now, that part has gone bad - the one he just put on.  So, today, he replaced that again.  No charge.  He said that he was constantly having to replace parts because the craftsmanship is going downhill.  Meanwhile, he is working all week replacing things and not making any money.  So, cross your fingers, the car is fixed again with all new parts.  I hope it stays that way. 

Now I will whine about those mean people I blogged about a couple weeks ago.  We have had my Grandmother's house on the market all year.  The housing market is just terrible, so there haven't been any offers.  Meanwhile, I have been getting the house ready for the Estate Sale which we will be having August 12-13.  We weren't allowed in the house to do much during Probate, but once Probate was over we could go in and start sorting and pricing things.  A couple weeks into it, a man came to look at the house one morning.  About ten minutes after he left, we got there and started moving things around in preparation for the sale.  I had no idea that anyone had even been in the house at that time.  A couple hours later, my Mom called to say that someone had looked at the house that morning and was making an offer.  He offered our asking price which is about unheard of in this economy, so that was great.  But, here's the kicker.  He demanded the contents of the house - the appliances, the furniture, my Grandmother's clothes, her knick knacks, her plant, her wheelchairs.....everything.  We have a debt to repay on the house, so we really, really need to sell it.  So, we agreed.  We only agreed to this because we had already removed all the antiques, jewelry, valuables and family items so they wouldn't be in the sale.  It was all just "stuff", but there was a lot of it.  We went back to the house one more time to pick up the tables we had borrowed for the Estate Sale and said goodbye to the house, the stuff and her spirit (which we think lives in her house.  And it's not a happy spirit).  We left feeling okay about it.  I wouldn't have to keep working on the stuff, we wouldn't have to have the sale, we could pay off the debt and still have some money left to split amongst the heirs.  It seemed like an okay deal.  It was the man's behavior that left a bad taste in our mouths.  Since the time he had looked at the house to the time he made the offer, I had done a lot of work in there - I moved nearly every item, priced things, threw some things out, took some things home, etc.  When he came in to sign the contract, he pointed his finger in my Mother's face and said "You have taken more than you are entitled to in here".  My Mom, normally, pretty reserved and mellow, screamed at him and dared him to say that again.  We hadn't taken anything out that amounted to anything.  Anything worth money was still in there.  He told her that she had better not set one foot back on that property.  What terrible awful behavior for a BUYER to use against a seller.  I never did understand it. 

Anyway, (is anyone still reading this?) we were okay with it in the end feeling free from the burden of it all.  Fast forward two weeks when the IDIOT calls up and demands that we pay $4,500.00 in closing costs to boot.  Can you imagine?  Give him the house, the contents and nearly five grand on top of it?  Sure, sure, no problem.  My Mom said, "No!" and that was the end of that.  No deal.  BAM.  It all fell back in our laps.  The house, the debt, the stuff - we have to have that sale on August 12th come hell or high water.  And now we had lost two weeks of precious time because of a greedy MEAN S.O.B. 

So, that my friends, if you are still my friends after all my whining, is what has been happening in my life.  Sucky stuff, but nothing that won't be fixed or be over with in a few weeks.  Again, I just needed to vent and get it off my chest.  *Breathe out...breathe in......breathe out......*
Back to our regularly scheduled programing of thrifting and junking soon - I PROMISE!

Every Single Time

Is there something you buy every time you see it?  I don't mean something general like DVD's or vintage linens or Elmo toys.  I mean something very specific.  Identical to the one you already own - or identical to all the other ones you already own? 

I have one downfall.  One thing I buy every.single.time I see one.  Even though I already have nearly a dozen of them. 

This particular fruit cake time gets me every time.  I just can't leave one behind!

 I think it is the Mercury glass picks and glass ornaments that get me.

This one cost 37.5¢ at the Thrift yesterday.  I tried to resist it. 

You can see how far that got me.

So, do you have a dozen identical whatzits?

Don't Hate Me

Don't hate me.  I am a discredit to the junking world.  I am a fraud.  I did a terrible awful thing this week.  I still can't believe I did it.  I forgot the new Goodwill opened on Thursday.  And, it gets worse!  I was actually IN THE PARKING LOT of the same shopping center and I STILL didn't remember.  *Hanging head in shame*

In my defense, my washing machine quit working.  I have only had it five months, so it is still under warranty.  But, I had to get the repairman out here and he had to order parts and it has been nearly two weeks without my washing machine and I am going CRAZY without it.  Especially in this 105 degree sweaty heat with The Breadman's uniforms fermenting in the basket.  (*Gag*)  So, on Thursday, after the repairman finally getting here (yeah!) to fix the machine, or so I thought, only to tell me he would order the parts and be back in a week.....argh.....I got a little crazed and decided I would march myself down to Lowe's and see if I could just swap it out for a new one.  (It didn't work.)  I was at Lowe's and I had a very one track mind on my washing machine.  So, I totally spaced on the new Goodwill. 

I remembered about it that night and I could not believe I forgot such an important thing.  Dadgumit.  You don't have to read my blog anymore.  I am a failure.

Friday I was there though, don't you worry about that.  I had to get a gander and see how the prices were going to be.  Prices were a bit more than I like to pay, but then again, I am pretty cheap.  :D  I did find a few things.  You knew I would, right?

I don't really even know what this is - it is a wooden apple on a base with four holes.  I put pencils in it, but it just looks awkward.  I wondered it it held flags on a teacher's desk.  But, I don't know why you would need four flags.  Any ideas????  It is vintage with a green felt base.

One of my beloved alabaster watermelon slices.  I haven't found one of these in years.  So, that was a happy find.

On the utilitarian side, a couple of books for the upcoming school year.  We are going to do an in depth study of space travel and moon landings, because why not get deep into something that doesn't exist anymore? :D  Anyway, the books were 50¢ for children's books and $2.00 for hardback books.  When I went to check out, the guy read about five pages of the Space book before he decided to charge me the Children's price.  Why do they make the pricing so weird?  How about 50¢ for paperback and $1.00 for hardback so you always know what is going on?  Pricing like that drives me nuts.  (But, that space book is really not a kid's book at all, so I got a bargain, so why am I complaining?)

I got this set of NABISCO Building Block cartons to resell.  They are from 1995 and are reproductions of the cartons they used in 1924.  When they are all stacked up, they are five feet tall.  They all nest inside each other for storage too.  I can't find any others to see if they are worth selling.  if they are - I will sell them.  If they aren't - I will have clever storage containers in my office for my "stuff".

My find of the day, I hope, is a Pendleton Blanket with a1970's Arkansas Razorback logo in the center.  Pendleton blankets can bring serious cash and vintage Razorback items can do the same.  So, I have high hopes.  I forgot to take a photo of it, but I will throw one in later.

So, my take on Goodwill is this - it is close and it is semi-reasonable, so I will go again.  Oh, who am I kidding - you know I will go all the time, because you just never know......right?

What did you find this week?

Itty Bitty Little Cute Stuff

One thing that I have always had a weakness for and still do is little itty bit cute stuff.  Tiny little things. When I lived in my apartment, I had old 24 hole Coke Crates on my walls full of miniatures.  I had every itty bitty little cute thing that you could imagine.  When we moved into our house, I never put them out because they take up a lot of room.  But, one day I saw them in a shoe box and realized that they really don't take up that much room if you display them in a different way.

So, I tossed them all in a couple of old blue Ball jars and sat them on a shelf.  From time to time, I pick them up and have a little I SPY game.

 I spy two balls of yarn, some SOS Pads, a pig, a scooter, some ABC blocks and a tiny graniteware cup.

 I spy two bowling pins, Gerald Ford, a caboose, a cup and a praying angel.

I SPY  the letter "I", the number "5", a wee birdie,a Christmas tree and a HEART.

Every once is a awhile, like today, I dump them all out and put them all back in again.  Then I have a whole new I SPY Game to play.  I honestly think I like them in these jars more than I did displayed on shelves where they got dusty.  These jars are maxed out.  So, if I find any more itty bitty cute little things, I will have to start a new jar.  Oh, wouldn't that just be awful?  :D

Christmas in July

Happy Christmas in July!

Our little family started celebrating Christmas in July last year as a diversion to all the BS that was going on in our lives.  We need a break.  A fun, silly thing to do that was just ours.  So, Christmas in July was born. 

This years theme was turquoise, fuchsia and peppermints.   I made a felt banner garland for the tree and cut out some felt ornaments.  Someday I will get industrious and actually pack up a Christmas in July supply box instead of winging it. 

The theme and color selection was courtesy of this cake from Sam's that was our dessert.  It is too hot to bake and the candy making supplies are in short supply this time of year.  So, we had cake.  And, really, what's better than a "birthday" cake when it's not even anyone's birthday!

Santa and the mini BBQ grill are always a part of Christmas in July.  It's summer, baby!

Gifts consist of "stuff we have around the house" which this year consisted of tote bags, books, cookie mix and other miscellaneous items.  My Mom gifted me our family Super Pickle and Super Hot Dog from when I was little.  Christmas in July this year was only me, my mom and The Bean 'cause The Breadman just doesn't "get it".  But, that's okay - we had fun and that's all that counts.

Happy Christmas in July to YOU!

The Blues

I've got the thrifting blues.  I haven't been thrifiting very much lately because it is so damn hot.  I know it is hot everywhere so no one really wants to hear me complain about the heat.  But, this is my blog so here I go.  IT IS HOT AND I HATE IT.  Okay, that is all.  It has been nearly or over 100 every day for weeks on end.  I saw 106 on the car thermometer today.  It is way too hot for garage sales and practically too hot to go anywhere at all.  Right now it is dark and thundering, but did we get even one single drop of rain? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  Pbthhhh.

Speaking of the blues, here are my finds for today's thrift run.  A lovely vintage blue tablecloth for $2.00 and a Mama and Baby Duck set for $1.50.  Now, these are not the Country Geese of the early 90's.  I remember them from Target a couple of years ago in white, yellow, orange, blue, etc.  I think I remember them being about $20.00 and $12.00 respectively.  So, $1.50 was a good deal.  They will look good in the yard with my lush green grass, massive flower garden and jumbo tomato plants.  Well, a girl can dream, right?

On tap Saturday:  A large Church sale within walking distance of my very own house.  WOO HOO.

And, on Tuesday, a GOODWILL opens right up the street a mere 1.8 miles away.  WOO FREAKING HOO!  I am not really a Goodwill fan, but I am hoping they get good stuff and have even better prices.  Iknow of two Goodwills - one is high priced and one is cheap, so we will see what happens in that respect.

Happy hunting everyone and STAY COOL.

The Big Chicken and The Big Turkey

The giant turkey and chicken are from my hometown, but they recently removed them much to the chagrin of the townspeople.  They had been there my entire life.  But, they moved them to a small town near me, so now I get to see them more often.  I've always wanted to take photos of and with them, but never had the nerve because it was on a very busy highway at a very, very busy intersection.  Now they are in a teeny town and we can get photos any time we want!  Yeah.  I am thinking Christmas Card photo of the family and the chicken.  Why not?  (My dream would be to ride that big chicken!)

Go here  to see another thrify blogger visiting the very same big chicken and big turkey.

Hillbilly Pickin' & Junky Finds

Today, even though it was beastly hot and I got way too late of a start, I headed out for a bit of junkin'.  I had spotted one ad on Craigslist that was less than a mile from my house, "Lots of junk.  Come and brause."  Despite the poor spelling of "browse" I was lured in by the word junk, so that's where I headed first.  I knew the road, however, I never realized that the end of the road went deep off to the right and turned into a dirt road.  I followed my familiar route, then suddenly, I was on the dirt road and seeing things that I didn't even know still existed in this area, let alone that close to my house.  I spotted the YARD SALE sign and an arrow pointing, so I pulled in.  Oh heavens.  what a mess.  Three old very dilapidated trailer homes.  Junk, and I do mean junk. everywhere.  Pit bull pups running here and there and a little boy with a burr haircut and no shirt chasing the dog.   Five old junk cars, missing most their tires and parts.  Old barrels, old farm equipment.  Junk, junk, junk.   I should have left when I saw that.  I really should have left when I looked at The Bean and he had this worried face like, "We are going to die".  Despite both of these things, I continued on in my quest for some good junk.

As we emerged from the car, a young girl came out on the front porch. I asked what was for sale and she rolled her eyes and pointed back behind the trailer where some tables were set up and covered with stuff. Kind of like, Boy are you dumb you can't see the yard sale.  But, actually, that area really didn't look anymore like a yard sale than the rest of the yard.   Just random crap everywhere.

We went down to the tables and started looking around. (Note to self: Do a tick check later.) There were a few good old items there, so I started picking things up. Nothing was priced, so I knew I would have to deal with the girl.  When I finally took my pile to the girl, she declared it was $9.00. I thought it was too much, so I had her tell me what she had charged me for each item since I only had a few things. She finally picked up on item and told me that she had charged me $4.00 for it, but 50¢ each for everything else. Odd. Anyway, I put back the $4.00 item (which was an tchotke not much different that the other things I was holding) and paid my $4.00 and left.

As we were leaving, a tiny little blonde girl ran up to me from inside the trailer. She was so cute and I came thisclose to patting her on her blonde little head. Then I had bad thoughts. Really bad thoughts of head lice and bed bugs. I've never felt better than anyone else, it was weird. It was just so out of the ordinary to wind up in such a non typical typical Arkansas hillbilly trailer park junk sale that I was caught off guard. Wishing I hadn't mentioned ticks because now I am itchy all over.

**Anything I bought there has been disinfected - twice. **

So, enough yakkity yak - here's this weeks junk in review.

A very sweet Japan angel doll.  She was from that sale, but in her original package, which was unopened and now disposed of properly.  A keeper.

A cool Pumpkin man - not old, but vintage looking - $1.00 for a 105 degree yard sale earlier this week.  A keeper.

A big white pottery owl planter from that sale.  For the flea market.  I cannot keep owl crap on the shelves.

Seven dwarfs, who except for their clothes, look identical.  New in their package from that sale.  Cute.  Not sure - keep or flea or ????

Nat old tin globe from that sale.  I love the patina.  I think I am going to keep it.  BUT!  I will not collect globes.  i will not collect globes.   i will not collect globes......

Potter from here and there.  White planter from the Super Cheap Thrift for $1.00, white donkey planter form SCT for 50¢, three small pieces of pottery - my very favorite to find - 50¢ each here and there.

Three aqua blue Frankoma mugs.  Frankoma is so plentiful here that I never buy it.  But, the color of these mugs is popular, so I picked them up for 25¢ each at the Super Cheap Thrift Store.  When I was washing them, The Bean was drying and he asked where the fourth one was - I told him that there were only three.  He insisted that there were four of them.  I told him that he wasn't even with me the day I bought them.  Yes i was he said.  They were on your tea cart that you bought and I moved them.  There were four of them tied together with jute string.  You know what - he was right.  I did see them there, but they were $4.00.  Apparently they didn't sell so they donated them to the SCT.  *This was the sale where my cabinet was already spoken for - The Bean asked - did they donate your cabinet too???*

A sweet old Yellowstone Plate - not your typical souvenir plate.  I will look it up for ebay, but most likely put it in the flea market.

Silk embroidery picture.  For the Flea market - 50¢ at the SCT.

An old apple tin - this might have been a tobacco tin, not sure.  I need to research it a bit before I decide what to do with it.

And, lastly, the biggest stone apple I have ever seen.  It takes up both of my hands to hold it.  It should sell for good $$$$ this Fall or Winter.  (Ebay sales suck right now).

There you have it - my junk for the week and a story to boot. 

What did you get and where did you find it?

Meanies

Oh my friends, it has been such a long week. I have learned that there are hateful, mean people in this world. People that think that the world should be handed to them on a golden platter. People that think they are heads above everyone else in the world. People that will do anything and say anything they want no matter how it makes the other person feel.  People that can stomp their feet and bully others into doing whatever they deem.

MEAN

PEOPLE

SUCK

This isn't anyone in my personal life or anyone I will really ever have to deal with again in the future. But, that doesn't mean that my feeling for this person will change. This doesn't mean that I will EVER forget how this person treated me and my family. EVER.

MEAN

PEOPLE

SUCK

I won't go into the whole story since it is still unfolding, but it is all a bit unsettling.  Like I said, it's not my family or even a friend, so never fear - I will be fine.  My blood is boiling and my blood pressure is through the freakin' roof.  But, I will be fine someday.  I just had to get this off my chest and that is what my blog is for - so here it is.  You can disregard this post.  Somethings you just have to do for your own peace of mind and sanity. 

Lego my Lego

When we were in Kansas, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the Art of the Brick at Mulvane University.  The show is traveling around the world, and just happened to be in Topeka, Kansas of all places.

The artist is Nathan Sawaya and he makes things out of Lego's. Actual life sized art out of regular sized normal Lego's!

The sculptures were amazing to see.

Each one got better as we went from sculpture to sculpture.

This Cello looked like you could sit and play music on it - perfection.

This one was of a man still building himself out of Lego's.

Actual sized Lego person next to The Bean.

Do you see this?  It was nearly impossible to see it in the gallery, but once I snapped a photo, you could see it was a portrait.

It's easier to see when it's small or you are farther away from it.

Giant pencil.

These masks were huge.  Most of the sculptures had the number of bricks in them, but these didn't.  Many hundreds of thousands, I would imagine.

This one was called "My Boy" and it choked me up.  You just forgot they were Lego's after awhile.

I can't remember what this one was called - but it was so interesting.

Which one is real?  Which one is Lego's.  ha.

Giant hand.

Man holding up his own face.

I don't know how this guy was staying on there - he was only attached by a couple Lego's.

The show is currently in Paris, France.....Melbourne, Australia...and...Topeka.  So, if you are close to any of those places - go see this Exhibit.  It is wonderful!