Friday Finds

The Bean has been home sick the last couple days with allergies, drainage and subsequent stomach issues. We're trying Claritin-D and hoping that does the trick. So, since he was home sick today, what did I do? I made him go yard saling. It's not like he's dying! Now, before you think I'm a bad Mom, he had the options of me staying home, him staying home or him riding along. He chose to ride along. And then he had the options of staying in the car or looking around. He chose to look with me. And he shopped! He bought a Video Now Player with five discs and a bunch of attachments. I know he's been wanting one, but I refused to buy one because it only plays Video Now discs, etc. But, he bought it and got it all for $7.00. So, I guess that wasn't too bad. For the record, I paid and he owes me. We'll see how that goes....

Sale # 1 netted a great old seagrass basket and this fun old sock monkey for 50¢ total. I've had great luck selling old sock monkeys. I name them and give them life stories. I've already named this one "Terry" for the few minor tears and worn spots he has incurred over the years.

"Hi, I'm Terry"

Sale #2 had piles of things everywhere, tubs full, trailer loads and tarps covered in things. I'm a digger so I like sales like this one. I found a huge old rusty cow bell that weighs at least 4 lbs., 2 vintage JAPAN elves, a vintage santa, Coffee and Tea Kromex Canisters, Bag of old keys, Mr. Peanut Doll, Blue Fireking bowl, box w/ 4 handpainted glass eggs, a Razorback statue and a set of six metal trays with strawberries on them. Not a thing was priced, so I set it all down and asked, "How much?" First they picked up the trays and hemmed and hawed and decided on $5.00 for the set. I thought that was too much and politely declined. So, then I assummed that everything would go through individual scrutiny and then be priced accordingly. But the lady told me, "$1.00 for everything else." Yippee!

Lot's of goodies!

Old Mr. Peanut Doll

These vintage elves were cute enough, but when I sat them on the counter I found out they squesk when you bop them on the head. Too cute!

Sale #4 netted these two big vintage Brach's Valentine candy boxes. They are 14" tall. I have an idea for these that should be fun. They were 25¢ each. I also bought two vintage hankies - Valentine hearts and a Happy Birthday hankie for 25¢ each.

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No sales on Saturday for us. We are going to a Powwow. It is in a beautiful place. I'm sure I will have lots of beautiful photos to share on Sunday. If you've never experienced a powwow, it is a beautiful thing.

The Bean and I forwent our usual Saturday nature hunting/small town festivals this weekend. There was a festival, but to get to it, we would have had to have driven right smack through the Arkansas Razorback football traffic. 80,000 people 2 miles from my house makes me go way 'round the other way. We ended up going the "back way" as we call it to bypass the idiotic magnet encrusted flag waving vehicles (I hate that stuff, and am embarrassed to say that DH has a pimped out Razorback truck complete with logo hat, flags, magnets and various other idiotic things. That I bought!) and go to a neighboring town for more of a retail adventure.

First stop - The Dollar Shop. This is not the typical Dollar Store - this one has lots of overstocks and clearance items from other stores, but everything is $1.00. And, about three times a year, they mark everything down in 10¢ increments until it reaches 25¢ a piece. Then they close the doors for a week and restock. And I go buy my brains out. They have a great scrapbooking department - lots of kits, papers, stickers and other goodies - all $1.00. I am terrible about pretty much grabbing one, if not two, of everything! DH says, "How can you spend $50.00 at the Dollar Store???" Restraint, honey, that's how.

When we were leaving, a young couple came in - they were about 20 or so. The girl looked relatively normal - wearing cargo shorts and a tank top. But, the guy was so not normal. Oh my, where do I start? Shall I stop at the bottom and work my way up? Combat boots, black pants with zippers, chains and studs all over them, a black shirt with yet more zippers, chains and studs, arms encrusted in black leather braclets with 2-3" long metal spikes on them, arms covered in various tattoos, wide leather band around is neck with 2-3" metal spikes, various piercings on each ear, a 6" tall black dyed mohawk and the piece de resistance - a dog leash attached to a collar. And the realtively normal girlfriend was leading him around by the leash. Now, I pride myself on not being judgemental or descriminating towards any person, race, religion, stature, etc., but apparently my mouth gaped at the sight of these two, because the girl behind the counter took one look at me looking at them and did a spit take of her Coke. I guess I can be judegmental. And, rightly so, in this case. Come on! What's up with that? How do you explain that to your kid? Especially when you don't understand it yourself. (It was the dog leash that I found upsetting - the rest of it was just his fashion style.)

When we went outside, still shaking our heads from what we had seen - we walked smack dab into this truck:

I'm pretty much betting that this truck belonged to them. I was happy to knote that they were out-of-towners and not locals. Whew.

We headed out of weirdsville and went to a store called:

This big chair sits by the front door. I would love to have this in my front yard!

This is a 100,000 square foot store packed to the gills with holiday merchandise, furniture and close-outs of all sorts. They also have aisles and aisles of Hanna's candles. Hanna's candles are the ones that Valarie Parr-Hill sells on QVC. They are made right here in town. These candles are seconds, but only because maybe the stickers aren't straight, or the colors weren't perfetly pure. I restrained nearly everyone until I picked up the Chocolate Candy Corn. Yum-O. It's in a big nice heavy jar and was $2.00.

These candles are still gift-able since they are nice and still gorgeous and smell-O-rififc. Unlike the Flop-Pops we used to buy from the local lollipop factory. They make those big round suckers you see at stores that are stuck in the big wooden tree stand thingy. Anyway, we could get a 5 lb. bag of suckers for $3.00. It was always interesting sticking one in your mouth, because you would pick out a green one, but it would taste like red hot cinnamon, or a tutti frutti colored one would be chocolate. Or sometimes a red one would be grape. You just never knew what you were geting. I miss the Flop Pops. They were good.

But, I digress.

I did some Christmas shopping while I was there. I got my Mom the most wonderful...pbttttttt Mumsie - I'm not telling.....

~~~~~~ The first stop we made in town was a yard sale. I hadn't been to one all weekend, so I had to go to just one. We had passed a few baby clothes/Fisher Price explosions thrown out on lawns and not stopped. But, I passed one and it was full of my kind of stuff and old furniture. STOP THE CAR! Oh wait, I was driving. So, I stopped. I bought this cool old iron and iron attachement.
I really love the polka dot graphics on all the inserts and on the box. Betty Crocker made ironing look fun! I paid $5.00 for it and have absolutely no where to put it. I hope to have a laundry room someday suitable for decorating with cool old laundry themed items, but doubt I ever will. But, when I find something particulary wonderful, I pick it up anyway. You just never know. (I do have a lottery ticket. ;O))

As I was leaving I noticed an old metal round back lawn chair siting by the fence. I am obsessed with these chairs. I see them at nearly every sale and always, always, always ask "Is that chair for sale" but they nearly always say "NO", much to my disappointment. So, I asked, "Is that chair for sale?" She said the magic words, "Yes." "But, it has a matching glider". A GLIDER? Are you feaking kidding me? I have been searching for one of those for years. You may remember my pink glider and chair set I bought earlier this summer. I adore it. But, I have always wanted one of the double seat gliders to match the chairs. I really didn't think I could get it in the back of my rather small SUV, but with a little stuffing and prodding, we got it in there. (Getting it out was a whole 'nother thing!). I paid $30.00 for the set. So, now I have the pink glider and chair set, the new old white glider and chair set as well as four other white matching chairs that I already own. I have a total of $72.00 invested in all of that - which is a steal.

This lady had a great backyard full of old junk (I called it junk and then let her know that I think Junk is a GOOD thing) and beautiful flowers. I gave her my Junkin' card and invited her to visit my blog and the other junkin' gals on blogspot. So, if you're reading this - welcome!

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This picture is not the best - but it was cool. The Canadian Snowbirds were in town last night for an arial show. We live over the mountain from the Airport so they were flying right over the house. They were really low, but this picture looks like they were very high. It is interesting to see cool things in your very own backyard. One day The Bean and I were in the yard and we heard this sputtering noise - we didn't see a car or truck coming and we couldn't figure it out. Then a big cloud cast a shadow over the entire backyard. I looked up and the freaking Goodyear Blimp was hovering over our house! Yikes!

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Off to a sale or two.....

I'm in two swaps right now and I have some obligatory posts to make:

I am in the Sister Swap at Sweet Goodness Swaps. My partner is Laura.

Here's a little 20 question questionaire about me.

1. Favorite Color: Pink
2. Chocolate Lover? Dark and White
3. What is your favorite craft hobby? I dabble in a little of everything. I'm into glittery stuff right now - vintage-y glittery stuff. I also like paper crafts and collage making.
4. What is a craft/art hobby that you would like to start? Oh my. I have enough on my plate!) ;o) Is eating popcorn in front of Dancing With The Stars a hobby?????
5. What craft do you NOT have an interest in or just not great in? sewing, knitting, crocheting (Although I love ric-rac and old trims for other projects)
6. Do you have any allergies? I'm not allergic, but I don't eat meat. I am allergic to strong smells like perfumes and overpower candles like flowers. I love vanilla though.
7.What’s your favorite part of Halloween? I love to see what decorations I scored last year at Target at the 75%-90% off sales. It's like Christmas! I love to see the litle kids come trick or theating in their costumes.
8. Do you decorate for Fall? I do a big yard display with corn shocks, hay bales, pumpkins, mums and scarecrows. (In fact, I grew my own Indian corn, corn shocks and pumpkins this year because I am too cheap to buy them!) I incorporate my junk like an old watering can, rusty rakes, the milk can, wooden "PUMPKIN" signs, etc. too.
9. December Holidays--what holiday do you celebrate? What type of decorations do you like to put up in your house for that holiday? I celebrate Christmas in the Santa/snowman/present sense. Not religious, but spiritual. I have a large vintage christmas ornament collection and collect natural looking woodsey Santas as well as other vintage Christmas collections.
10. Do you have any children, if so what are their ages, boys/girls? I have son age 12. He is all about the gore this Halloween- vampires, skulls, etc. Normally he is a regular kid - but Halloween is all about the eeew factor.

Reason #456 to always carry your camera with you:
The Bean visits the Halloween Aisle at Walgreen's.



11. Do you have any pets, if so what kind? I have three big fat lazy cats that I love.
12. Are you a reader? If so, what type of books do you like? I read a lot of decorating and collecting books as well as those tye of magazines - County Living, Country Home, etc. I'm not a book reader - but I should be....I do read the Harry Potter books with my son.
13. Are you celebrating a birthday or anniversary in October, November, or December? If so, what day and what is the occasion? No.
14. Do you collect anything? What don't I collect? Matte white pottery, vintage kitchen tools, vintage tablecloths, realistic looking bunnies, anything rusty and well loved, Annalee dolls, miniature chairs.
15. What type of things do you like to cook? Are you an appetizer person, cookie maker, dessert freak or a take out type of person?? I cook everything from scratch, but I don't use reciepes for meals. We don't eat beef, pork, lamb or anything that walks on four legs so most recipes call for just that. I do like recipes for baking - especially candy making and cookies.
16. What is your favorite scent? Is there one that you can’t stand? I prefer cinammon or vanilla. Perfum-y smells give me a migraine.
17. What’s your favorite song? Right now? Right this minute? Well, hmmm, I listen to Fergie, Pink and Justin Timberlake a lot. I also LOVE disco and 80's music. Shhh.
18. What’s the last movie you went to see at the movie theater? Harry Potter - the latest one. 19. What’s your favorite Candy? I like Heath bars/toffee the very best. But Halloween has good fun wierd stuff too. Gummy eyeballs - come on! Once you get over the gross factor, they are pretty darn good. Don't forget, I live with a 12 yr. old boy...
20. Tea or Coffee or other? Some brands of coffee give me hives due to the way it's processed. I'm not really a tea drinker either. I guzzle water by the gallons.

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I'm also in a Halloween Swap at the Witches' Caldron with Jennifer at the Felt Mouse.

I'm looking forward to both of these swaps and getting to know my partners.

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Next post: My latest Yard Sale Acquisitions - I only went to one sale, only bought three items, but I spent $35.00! I'll also enthrall you with the sights The Bean and I took in this weekend. Not our typical Saturday Fun Adventures, I promise you!

I did my first Hospitality Event for PTSA on Thursday. I had slim pickings of Volunteers and only a few of them promised to bring things in on the Big Day. I made a few phone calls to people and they made calls to other people and the word spread and thankfully, I ended up with a good amount of food. But, nearly everyone that was on my list that said they would bring things - didn't. Pretty darn disheartening. One lady that is also on the PTSA said she loved to bake and would bring a ton of stuff, so I decided between her and the 60 muffins I baked, we wouldn't need any more desserts. Well, she never came. But, then Friday morning she called to apologize - she had gotten unexpectedly ill and had been in out of it the last few days. But, to make up for it, she had taked dozens of doughnuts, dozens of muffins, gallons or Orange Juice and Milk along with plates, cups and napkins and dropped it off at the school. So, the teacher's got Breakfast out of the deal. She really went above and beyond the call of duty. But, I really appreciated it. And, the teachers ate good for two days!

On to the Junkin'. These are some finds from the past week -my favorites.

I found this very old tin mixed in amongst the fruit cake, butter cookie and popcorn tins at the Super Cheap Thrift. It says Beautibox on the bottom and the portrait of the woman says Betty Cunningham under it. I'm wondering if she was the "celebrity spokesmodel" for Beautibox. Looks like it's from the 1920's or so to me. It was 45¢.
I found this tablecloth after a particulary disheartening yard sailing morning. Found it at the thrift for $1.00. It is in perfect condition. Love it!

I went to a Thursday sale this week and ofund a few old goodies and a few things with promise.These crystals are plastic, but still very pretty. There are 38 of them and I only paid 50¢ for the lot of them. I'm trying to think of an idea for them. I know I can always hang them on the Christmas Tree, but I'd like to think of something more clever. Ideas?
This all came from the same sale too. Two vintage hooked potholder/trivets for 15¢ each, a giant tablecloth sized crocheted doily for 25¢, 50 fabulous old clothespins with great patina for 50¢ and a set of pillowcase/tablecloth transfers for 15¢. I never got a decent picture of it, but I also got a wonderful old scrollwork shelf for $1.00.
This old minnow bucket was 50¢. I am totally not a fisherman/outdoorswoman (and that is putting it mildly) but I loved the old minnow bucket for it's asthetic value - red, chippy, metal. Looks good on the old red stool too, eh?

Yesterday at one thrift, I spotted a nice stack of old sheet music. I love the old graphics. I know some people cut them up for crafting, but I just like them as they are - I have no use for them though! I asked how much and the ladies had a conference in the back and came out - "This one's a quarter, this one's 50¢, this ones $1.00, etc." I figured it would be one price for each one, or better yet the pile for a certain amount. I picked out about 10 of the best ones that were 25¢ each and told the grumpy old dude at the check out the ladies had decided on a quarter each. "Well, that's too much, I'm chargin' ya a dollar for the pile", he said. Now, that's more like it! I asked The Bean to go get the rest of them so I could play "Let's Make A Deal" with the grumpy old dude, but the rest of the music was gone. I think the ladies in the back had taken it back to buy. One of them plays piano at the Nursing Home and I overheard her saying how much the "eldery" would enjoy music from their time. At least I got the ones I wanted.

And, now I will leave you with the sweet romantic lyrics of "A Huggin' and A Chalk'" from 1946.

"I gotta gal that's mighty sweet, with big blue eyes and tiny feet.
Her name is Rosabelle and she tips the scale at three oh three, Oh!
Gee, ain't it grand to have a gal so big and fat that when you go around to hug 'er You don't know where you're at -
Have to take a piece of chalk in your hand and hug a chalk mark to see where you began.
One day I was a huggin' and a chalkin' and a huggin' and a chalkin' my way around, when I met another fella with some chalk in his hand, comin' round the other way of the mountain.
No body ever said I'm weak, My bones don't ache and my joints don't creak,
But I grow absolutely limp every time I kiss my baby blimp, Oh!
Gee ain't it grand to have a gal so big and fat that when you go around to hug 'er You don't know where you're at.
Have to take a piece of chalk in your hand and hug a chalk mark to see where you began.
A huggin' and a chalkin', a huggin' and a chalkin'."

Oh, it just brings tears to your eyes, it's so sweet. Hurumph!

Saturday Fun Day #1

On Saturday The Bean and I began our Saturday Fun Days. I had mentioned earlier in the week that we might go to an auction, but that was put by the wayside when I found out there was a local festival. We love that sort of stuff.

This is in a very teeny tiny town of less than 100 people. Yes,one hundred. They raise cane and make sorghum molasses. They have this festival every year, but it is usually ungodly hot, so we have never been before - but that all changed on Saturday. The temperatures remained in the mid 60's all day and it was glorious outside. Thee was a nice breeze with a bright clear sun overhead.



Wagon load of cane ready to be harvested.
The cane is stripped and ready for sorghummaking by a mule operated mechanism.




They harvest the cane, strip it and make sorghum right there. They were lucky that the temperatures were low because the men were over this fire for hours on end.

We saw a line of people forming next to the fire, but didn't know what the hubbub was about. The only way to find out was to get in line. So, we did. A few minutes later, a lady came up and asked if we were in the line to buy sorghum. I told her we didn't really know - we just saw a line and jumped in! As the line got closer, I realized people were buying the jars of hot sorghum right out of the fire. There was a sample jar on the table with popsicle sticks for tasting. (This might be a good time to mention that we had never had sorghum before). So, I dipped in and got a stick for me and a stick for The Bean. The man waiting in line ahead of us, turned as I told The Bean to try it, since we had never had it before. The man watched in aniticipation, his mouth was all set for some hot sorghum. The Bean stuck the stick in his mouth. And I stuck the stick inmy mouth. The man said, "Good, huh?" Now, I know The Bean prety well and I can pretty much read his mind. And, in his eyes I could tell that he wanted to spit that sorghum out of his mouth, but he knew tht would be rude. Instead, he just had these big huge eyes looking at me like, "Help me". At the same time, I had tried it and found it to be one of the most offeensive foul tastes I have ever had the "pleasure" of trying. The man's eyes sort of fell when he realized that we didn't like it. Then he said, "Well, it is sort of an acquired taste. It'd be better on a hot buttered biscuit." I politely excused ourselves out of the line and let the people behind us have our spot. All those poor sorghum hungry people looked like we had slapped them in the face. They loved that stuff and were waiting with slobbers on their chins waiting for a jar of it. Why, I do not know.

We made our way to the back of the field and they were having a Dutch Oven Cook-Off. Lots more big fires with lots of smoke. (Have I ever mentioned that I am allergic to smoke? Not a great place for me to spend the day. But, I am on Muscinex every four hours and getting through it!) We went along the line and looked at all the professional Dutch Oven Cooking teams. Who knew such a thing even existed!

Then we went into the old college from the 1800's and looked at a quilt exhibit. Then we visited the gift/craft shop where everything was 25¢. Seriously, I swear, these deals just find me. I found two pieces of tree bark that had been painted to look like Santa's, a Dryden pitcher with a horrific flower arrangement in it (trash time) and a few other goodies for a total of $2.00.

We went back to the car to drop of the goodies and noticed that there was another line forming near the Dutch OVen Cook-Off. Well, you know what that meant - "Get in line!" The Bean was a bit hesitant after the whole sorghuim episode, but he got in line with me. Turns out that after the judging - you get to eat all that food. For free! Give me a plate! I mentioned to the lady passing out plates that I hoped we would be welcomed back even though we had left the sorghum line. She told us that she hates it too. She said they make it bitter but her Daddy made sorghum that tasted like a Sugar Daddy - thick and caramel-y. Now, that, I could handle. We got in line and had a tasty asortment of mostly sweets as there was pork tenderloin, suasage and other meaty dishes that we don't eat. We did get a bite of chicken, a yeast roll, some walnut bread, chocolate cake, cinammon rolls, lemon poppyseed cake, apple cobbler, peach cobbler, almond cake and some other goodies. And, I mean you do get a bite. One bite of each item, so it was just on a saucer. But, it was fun and something different. The guy behind me was eating as he went along the line. With his mouth full I heard him tell someone, "That way you always have an empty spot" (on his plate). I thought that was pretty funny.

I spotted this very old slide on the other side of the college. I remember at my Elementary School we had a tall metal slide like this - I couldn't go down it on the days I wore a dress or on sunny days because it would fry your butt! They also had an old metal merry go round like the ones you push and then climb on and spin and spin and, if you were me, puke.

As we walked along we looked at the ground because we are always looking for little tresures along the path. The Bean found a perfect heart shaped rock that he gave to me. I spotted something white in the dirt and we pushed it out with our shoes. It was a piece of old ironstone pottery - just a fragment. The Bean dug up three or four pieces that were all there together. He was fascinated that the pieces all fit together like a puzzle and had been buried there for all these years and we found them and put them back together. This is so me and my childhood and life - he is following in his Mom's junky footsteps, I can tell. And, that's not so bad.

Cheap Magazines

When I first started this blog, I intended to pass along deals that I find so that others can get them too. Hence, the original name of my blog - My Deal of the Day. Now I just post about my personal deals - yard sale and thrift store finds. So, here's a deal for all of you too!

Amazon has a great deal on magazine subscriptions right now. If you buy two subscriptions, Amazon will take $10.00 off your total. If you click on the link I provided, you will find a list of all the eligible subscriptions for this deal. I got O at Home and Redbook for a grand total of $10.00 for BOTH. O at Home was $12.00, so with the code, I was able to get the Redbook subscription added for $2.00 less than just O at Home. Clear as mud? They have Country Living for $12.00 too. If you read this blog and have similar tastes to mine, you probably already have a subscription to Country Living. I just got my subscription for Country Living and Mary Englebriet's Home COmpanion on on Best Deals Magazines for a total of $20.00 for the two subscriptions. They have a Daily Deal where you can get magazines super cheap. I got my subscription to Country Home on there for about $3.00. It is not like me to suddenly decide to buy four magazine subscriptions, but I decided to splurge. I noticed yesterday that O at Home is nearly $5.00 for one issue. I love magazines, easy to read, not a lot of brain power and fun to look at while I am waiting in line at school for The Bean. I usually buy older copies at the Salvation army for 25¢ each and find freebies at yard sales and the library. But, it occurred to me the other day, that I ws reading about the latest decorating and collecting ideas from about 5-10 years ago. Eh gads, I don't want to know what was hot then! I need to know what is hot now so I can buy and list on ebay the things people are looking for now.

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Next time I will post about the fabulous vintage wooden croquet set that I missed out on at a sale on Friday morning. Once I missed it, I really lost my whole yard sale mo-jo and eneded up coming home. But the day was saved later when I went to the thrift and found a fabulous vintage tablecloth with blue and yellow daisies on it for $1.00. And, I already posted this on the boards at
YSQ, but I will also tell you about the sale at the house of a 70 year old couple that had Gospel Music blasting and a sex swing for $45.00. I have now officially, "seen it all".

More Stuff

I love Thursday Sales. There's usually only one or two, but they are usually sales with lots of things. I went to two this morning at 8:00 am and I was the only one shopping at both. I felt relaxed and able to browse without worrying that a treasure was being found by someone else!

Here's the small stuff:

Buttons were in the old Band-Aid tin: 50¢ Love it when I get a cool old tin plus whatever for cheap.

Two vintage crocheted pot holders - 25¢ for both. Swap bound, shhhh.

White milk glass spice jars - $1.00 (I actually got 14 of them for the $1.00) I saw on freshvintage where she had repurposed three of these old spice jars into glitter holders. I don't think I would have given them a second look if not for that blog post. They don't have lids - but the seller told me that Nexium lids fit. Hmmmmm.....

Box of Zinc jar lids w/ glass inserts - $1.00 - A stellar find, if I do say so myself. I frequently see one zinc lid at sales for $2.00-$3.00 each. I spotted this box in a box of junk (real actual JUNK) that hadn't been priced yet so I asked how much. I expected a higher price, but she said 50¢. I gave her a dollar because she had already had trouble changing my $20.00 bill and I didn't want to take her quarters too. On a side note, I now have 18 $1.00 bills....

Promise Portions Cards - Gift. The sale where I got the spice jars was around the corner from me. I know the older couple from them having sales and them coming to my sales. When she saw me, she said she had a gift for me and she gave me the Promise Portions Card set - they are little qutoes and bible phrases. I know it's from the 1950's or so. I thought it was sweet that she gave them to me, gave me a hug and gave me a blesing too. It's so nice to know nice people!

Here's the zinc lids - eight of them! Six are shiny and completely unused. I use my old blue Mason jars for rice, beans, pasta, etc. so I am glad to have nice shiny new hygenic lids for them now. I'll use my old crusty ones for display jars only.

Two vintage aprons - one with chicken scratch and a vintge Christmas apron. $1.00 each.

I am sooo in love with this stool/chair. I will have to get rid of something in the house to make room for it, but it is worth it. On the bottom it has the paint chip colors so you can get the actual paint to retouch it. As if! Love that chippy, shabby look. Oh, it probably has lead paint, but I don't plan on licking it anytime soon. In this photos it's a chair.

Lift the top and wah-lah, it's a step stool. Fab-O. A mere $7.00 brought this lovely home with me. Remember in the last post how I hemmed and hawed trying to justify my Halloween purchase (which cost $9.00 by the way, the Math got a bit askew in that last post). Well, I whipped $7.00 out Pront-O for this stool. Not a second of hesitation. I've seen similar old beat up stools in the flea market for $$$$$.

I bought a little baggie of papers for 50¢. It has a newspaper clipping about S.O. Hillman of Beaumont, TX in 1955 - he had just bought the Studebaker dealership in town. I also have his busines cards, Shriner's cards, Freemasonary cards and various other personal items. I think this will sell to either a Studebaker collector or a Freemason collector.

Another baggie of items. These are old Boy Scout patches and pins. I have quiet a collection of vintage Boy and Girl Scout items that I plan to list soon. I'm always picking up pins and patches to add to the lot. These were 25¢.

We made a quick trip to the Salvation Army yesterday. I found this Imperial planter with leaf design and the Vera scarf for $1.00 each. I'm not a Vera collector, but I was pretty stoked to find one at the Salvation Army. They think they know what every this is, so I take great relish in finding something "valuable" per say that they missed. One of the added thrills to thrifting.

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I went to the PTSA meeting on Tuesday night. I heard them ask for a Volunteer to head the 5th/6th grade dance committee. Someone raised their hand to accept it and I looked to see who it was. It was me. What was I thinking? Actually, I would rather do the dance than the hostessing stuff. I will do both this year and only one next year. It doesn't have to be a dance, per say. It can be a dance, game night, a carnival or anything that I can think of that would be fun for families. I have a $1,000.00 budget and am excited to get some ideas going. Does anyone have any fun ideas other than what I have mentioned? I have decided to poll the kids and give them options and let them vote. Even if I do a game night or dance, I will come up with a theme for it too. I put on some pretty unique kid's parties (and quite inexpensively, I might add) and everyone always comments on them, so I think I can do this up right. *Crossing fingers* Let me know if you have any fun ideas!

I finally got some thrifting in on Tuesday. I just needed to get out of the house and do a litte lookie-loo around at some JUNK. I know it was September 11th and my heart is still full of sadness over everything that happened that fateful day. But, I just can't watch all the Memorials all day. It's not that I don't care, because I do care. I just can't stand the sadness all day. I hope you understand what I am saying. I did watch "Oprah" and cried the entire hour seeing all the kids.

Anyway - on to the Junkin'.

I went to three thrifts and didn't find much. But, that can be a good thing sometimes. I bought some useable items, like books for The Bean and some shirts for him and DH which aren't photoworthy, but still good deals. The Bean got some nice Ralph Lauren shirts for 50¢ each, so what a well dressed kiddo he will be - and for cheap!

I got this great old cookie jar for $1.50. It is stoneware and handpainted. I love that cool 1930's green. It matches all those green handled kitchen utensils I am always dragging home. The lid has been broken and reglued, but I kinda like that fact. It prbably wouldn't sell for that very reason, but I like the worn patina and the broken lid. Lots of little hands reached in there for some homemade choclate chip cookies, I bet. I'll most likely put my green handled tools in it.
I liked the cookie jar because it reminded me of this cake carrier that I already have. Actually, I call it a cake carrier, but it really holds three different items on different levels. I guess it really held pies or plates of food. This is one of the first truly vintage items I ever bought at a yardsale - and for a mere $2.00, if I recall corectly. I knew I should sell it, but I just adored it and decided to keep it.
I love this little old baby planter in the shape of a train. I really cannot accomodate any more collections, but I would secretly love a vintage baby planter collection. If I had been a thrifter when DS was born, I would have started a collection for his Nursery. This one says "Great Western Railroad" on it which I imagine is just a made up name, but will Google it in case it was actually a real railroad. It was 55¢. The green blown glass grapes were 35¢. The Gingerbread adornment in the back is actually brand new and made of vinyl. I like to add these to doorways for fun. It ws priced $19.98 from Home Depot, but I only paid $1.00 for it.
After my thriting fix, I decided to poke around Hobby Lobby. I adore that store. Such wonderful things and something is always on sale. I seriously do not need anymore holiday decorations because I have tubs of everything holiday in the garage. And the shed. And that other shed. But, my tastes have changed and I am leaning more towards the vintage look - new or old, but I like that vintage-y feel. Which brings me to this: Seriously, is this cute or what? I spotted it a couple weeks ago at Hobby Lobby. It was $17.99 - which is a drop in the bucket to most people, but that is a lot to me. Especially for something that I really didn't need. I mean, I buy my kid clothes for 50¢, so I can't justify an $18.00 bauble. But, yesterday it was 50% off. So, only $8.50. Did I need it? No. Did I buy it? Yes. I mean, I buy my kids clothes for 50¢, so I an afford it. ;o)

*******I appreciate the advice about the Title Bar - but I don't have anything up there. Not a line, not a bar, not a word. I guess it's time to get soem Blogger help. Hrumph.

Grumble, grumble, grumble. I still don't have a Title Bar and it is frustrating me immensely!
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I have been spending a little time on my very own blog looking at my Guestbook and looking at the Site Meter information.

First - I see on my Guestbook that two people from my High School left me mesages. So, if you are reading this Rosemary and Susan - HI! Susan was my best friend in 1st grade! A hundred years ago!

Second - the Site Meter had some interesting results today. The Duggars must have gone International this weekend because I had multiple hits from all these different countries: Canada, Isreal, Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, India, Maylasia, Bosnia, South Africa, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Kuwait, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Australia and the Philippines. I find it fascinating that people all over the world were reading my blog last night. I wonder if they thought I was crazy with my thriftin' and salin'?
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Speaking of thriftin' and salin' - I don't have any treasures to report today. (Wah!) It rained all weekend so I didn't get to go to any sales or thrifts. Friday we had 1 1/2", Saturday 1 1/2" and Sunday 2" of rain. So, five inches of rain in three days. The Bean (That's DS, remember?) and I stayed home on Saturday and he drug out all the birthday gifts - lots of DVD's, Playstation Games and CD's - to entertain himself. I got crafty and drug glitter, paper and glue from one end of the kitchen to the other. I actually made Halloween items, which I have never made so early in the season! I hope to list them on Etsy soon. I've never listed on Etsy before - so I will see how that goes for me.
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For some odd reason I lost the sound on my computer about six months ago. It really hadn't bothered me except when someone sends me an e-card. The brilliant Bean suggested that my speakers were unplugged. I looked and they were. It's official the 12 year old is smarter than me. So, now I am discovering that a lot of the blogs have music playing in the background. I nearly wet my pants the first time a song blasted out when I was reading about yard sale finds!!! I find it distracting to hear the music while I am reading. But, maybe that's just me.
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I have to feed 125 people on a $100.00 budget next week. Yes, I know, nearly impossible. Just a litle pick me up for the teachers during Parent Teacher Conferences. I plan on hitting the Institutional aisle for giant cans of fruit cocktail and buying lots of crackers. I'm thinking of bagged salad too - it's cheap and goes a long way. Any ideas for massive amounts of food for little money?????? I have a few parents willing to bring some things. But, only about 8 parents. That's not much help. Dadgum PTSA anyway.
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Well, thanks for reading my rants today! 'Til next time!

12!

My boy is 12 years old today. I cannot believe it. The actual day he was born is still sort of a blur to me. He was scheduled to be born on August 31st, but after days and days of being induced and being sent home for the holiday weekend, he finally made his appearance on September 6th. One full week of going to the hospital at 7:00 am and then being sent home at 8:00 pm. No food or water for those 13 hours a day. Every night when they sent me home, I would stop the elevator on the second floor and hit the vending machine for a bag of mustard pretzels. I would dream of those damn pretzels all day. Seriously. A pregnant woman should not be deprived of her cravings for 13 hours a day. Forget cravings - a pregnant woman and baby should not be deprived of food and water for 13 hours a day.

Late in my pregnancy, my blood pressure was scarily high. But, they didn't tell us that. They kept me in the dark and kept people away, but never told me or my family that I was sick. Really, really sick, apparently. I believe at one point after he was born and my blood pressure went down, a nurse commented to my Mother that "she could have died." Uh, what? Hello? No one ever said that! They gave me massive doses of Patossin to lower my blood pressure and make me all mellow. Well, what you do to the Mama, you do to the baby. He came out all groggy and didn't want to cry or even breathe. The nurses carted him across the room and worked on him a bit. After a few minutes he cried. Thank God. They handed him to me and wheeled us out. My Mom said, "Why have you been gone so long?" I thought I had only been in there a few minutes, but I guess it was actually hours.

The nurse took him away from me, made everyone leave and left me lying there in the dark. I wasn't really ready to be left alone and not have my baby with me. (I think that is part of the problem I have always had with leaving him. No daycare, no babysitters, etc. No one can keep my boy. He's mine.) So, I had just had a baby and I was really drained and very tired and I really needed some rest. Really, really, really. But, did you ever get a song in your head and it just plays over and over and over until you think you will go crazy? And even if you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom you realize you have that damn song in your head? Well, that was what happened to me. I had that stupid John Michael Montgomery "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Song)" on my mind, "She's an eight, she's a nine, she's a ten I know....." Oh my God, I didn't even like that damn song but it just played over and over and over in my head all night until I had a pounding migraine. I was not a happy person in the morning.

They took me to a private room since I was still in recovery all night. They brought me breakfast - a platter full of bacon and sausage and other breakfast-y items that I had to have removed from the room - I don't eat meat and the stench of bacon was not helping my "she's an eight, she's a nine, she's a ten, I know" migraine. So, I called to have my boy brought to me and they announced I couldn't have him. "'Scuse me? He's MINE? Why not?" Seems they thought he had stopped breathing in the night and was holding his breath and had to be watched around the clock. To make a long story short (kinda late for that, eh?) they ended up putting him on an Apnea monitor for the first YEAR of his life. And, after that first year, when they took the monitor away, it had not gone off one time and he had not had one single problem breathing. Apparently, that freaking Patossin drip that they had given me had made him slow and sluggish for the first few days of his little life, but nothing had lasted. Thank god again.

He had a birdbrain of a doctor - actually she was doing her doctorate and decided to use him as her case study. She seemed to think his head was "big and mis-shapen" Well, yes it was at the moment, since they had just attached a plunger to his head and drug him out. But, in his baby pictures, his head is perfectly fine. She got the readings from his machine one day and called me to say that he needed to be put on heart medication immediately because the machine said his heart had stopped beating several times in the past. I freaked out, called the home call nurse that helped with the machine readings and had her make an emergency visit. She came and printed out a reading and the stupid (insert fourteen foul words here to describe her) doctor had read the TEST readings that they do on the machine to make sure it works. The dates with the stopped heart rate were BEFORE he was even BORN. (I still don't know why I didn't sue her). She put him through MRI's and cat scans and battieries of tests. Not one test or anything ever came back with anything on it. He was PERFECT. I was a new Mother and didn't have my ('scuse me) BALLS yet to say, "LEAVE HIM ALONE". But, now I have big ones when it comes to DS. Thanks to a family friend with connections to the Medical Clinic, we got a new doctor after a few months.

I didn't really mean to turn this post into a medical history of the poor kid. It's just that he got a bum deal when he was born and I did too. But, we prevailed. He is a great kid. I know I say that here a lot. But, he is really a great kid.

So, tah-dah, drumroll please, In commeration of his birthday, I am going to change his name. You don't think that is a good idea? I mean change his name on this blog. I call him DS which is soooooo ordinary and not clever at all. I don't know whay I don't use his real name expcept I think there might be perverts and creeps out there. Actually, I know there are perverts and creeps - I just don't think any of them read this blog.) And he has a long name and I don't want to type it over and over. Although that isn't fair since the poor baby had to learn to write it in Kindergarten. Took him 4-ever to write his name. The cut each letter out of paper and connected them from the ceiling over their desks. His 11 letter name hung to the floor and everyone always tripped over it. I remember once he was envious of a classmate said, "I wish I was J.T."

So, here is his new name.

THE BEAN.

We have called him "The Bean" most of his life. Actually that is what we called him when he was still invitro. We read "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" and at some point - maybe seven weeks or so, it referred to the baby being the size of a bean. A few days later DH returned from work (he was a stocker at a grocery store) and brought me one lone pinto bean that he had found on the backroom floor. I will say, that to this day, that is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift he ever brought me. A bean. For the Bean. Awww.

Happy Birthday Bean! I love you! Love, Mom

(I guess I have to think of a name for DH now. One without expletives, I suppose?????)

I'm always showing pictures of the things I drag home. So, today, I thought I would show some photos of my house and what I do with those things.

I've always had a love old advertising items - tins and signs in particular. My bathroom is decorated in a General Store theme, yes, my bathroom. I have these items in those elusive cabintets above the fridge. I am 5'2" (well, more like 5"1 1/2") so I cannot access those cabinets without a step ladder. I did have the punch bowl and the stock pot up there, until I realized, "Hey, I could put a lot of crap up there!" so I did. I took the cabinet doors off and they are inside the cabinets on the back so if we ever move (hahahahahahahahaha) I can put them back up.

Most of these things came from yard sales and thrift stores. I do a lot of my tin hunting in the manly section of yard sales and thrift stores. I usually find tins and cans full of screws and nails for cheap. I dump the screws and nuts and I have a cool old tin. I particularly like the old Brach's Cordial Cherry box in this photo. It's hard to find a pristine old cardboard box. The tobacco tins came from the eaves in DH's Grandma's barn. His Grandfather had tobacco tins stuck everywhere. There is a slat missing in the floor of her porch. I asked her once why no one ever fixed it and she told me that her husband always threw stuff in that hole - old tobacco tins, snuff cans, jars and bottles. I am dying to pry those boards up and see what lurks under there. That little Skippy jar is the first thing I ever listed on ebay. It ended with a $40.00 bid, but then the lady contacted me and accused me of trying "to steal money from her grandchildren's mouth" for selling a Skippy jar because Skippy had stolen the cartoon character from her father. Whatever, nutbag. Sale cancelled and I just kept it to remind me that even though my first stab at ebay wasn't a good one, but all the ones after that were good ones.
The spice tins are my newest thing. I guess people are discovering them in their grandparents cabinets, seeing that they are no longer in "tins" and sticking them in their garge sales. I usually only pay 5¢-25¢ each. I got three this weekend for 5¢ each. I sold a Red Owl Shrimp Spice tin for $50.00 once, so I always pick them up and research them. If they sell - to ebay to go, if not, to the cabinet they go. I discovered the Shara Soda bottle on ebay one day when I put my name in the Search bar. I really didn't expect anything to come up except the Shara dolls from the 1980's and the Australian singer Shara Nelson, so I was surprised when the Shara Soda bottle popped up. I bid on it, but was outbid. I found another one later and won it. Then, one day, DH slammed the kitchen door and I heard a crash. "ANYTHING, but the Shara Soda bottle!" I said. "Uh, we have a problem" he said. Yep, smashed. So, I kept looking and found an entire wooden case full of Shara Soda bottles - cola, orange, rootbeer and lemon lime all in the case with Shara Soda on the side. It cost me a small fortune to have it shipped, but I sprang for it. The little red SHARA license plate is from my bicylce when I was a kid. The curve of the banana seat dented the top a bit. There's a Hunt's tomato sauce can behind the Shara Soda bottle that isn't that old - it's from about 1990. I was working in the grocery store stocking tomato sauce. I pulled this one out of the case and noticed it was sealed, but empty. So, I paid for it (15¢) and put it in my apartment. We all had to start somewere with our collecting.... Here in front of the cabinet for this photo only is my STUFF THAT LOOKS LIKE STUFF collection. Ever heard of a collection like that one?

7-UP can #1 - Music box that plays Love Story - this was a premium when Love Story was released (1970's?).

7-UP can #2 - A light with a cool flickering green bulb.

Delmonte corn can - A bank

Heinz LITE Ketchup bottle - actually this is a radio.

Coor's can - another radio

Macaroni and Cheese box - another radio

RC Cola can - a safe for hiding your money and jewels in the fridge.

Coca-Cola bottle - another radio - My dad brought this home to me when I was about seven years old.

There's also a Campbell's Soup can bank, a Campbell's Soup can safe and a Campbell's Soup can timer. On top of the old cracker tin is a Polaroid camera that is a bank. You can also spot a Velveeta Shells and Cheese box camera.

That silly lemon head guy you can see peeking out was in DH's Mother's refrigerator when we cleaned out her house. He said it had baking Soda in it as long as he can remember.

So, this is one little corner of my house. It is freshly dusted and rearranged so it was the perfect time to photograph it. This will be my new goal - dust it, rearrange it and show it on my blog.

Saturday was a good day of junking and being with DS. And, although I did find some treasures that I will report on later, I want to talk about something that we played a part in today that I will remember the rest of my life.

A local young man of only 20 years old from a neighboring town, died along with 13 other soldiers when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq on August 22. This is a very small town of only about 1,200 people and everybody knows everybody. The entire town lost a son.

The Memorial service was held at the high school auditorium. Practically the entire town attended. I did not go to the funeral as I did not know this young man, but I certainly did want to pay my respects in some manner. I knew the funeral procession would be coming through my town at about noon, so I planned on us being by the highway or at our high school parking lot to pay my respect to and to honor this soldier and his family.

About 11:45 we were at a Fundraising sale in the Grocery store parking lot. I heard a Mom explaining to her little son that there was going to be a funeral procession come by and they were going to wait out by the street. She explained to him that the man was a soldier in Iraq like "cousin Jason." Then the little boy understood and said, "Yes, Momma" I heard a little girl yell, "The Police are here." The Police Chief had parked across the intersection and stopped oncoming traffic. Out of nowhere, the parents of these girls at the sale drew out flags and passed them to each child and we all went to the curb to watch the procession go by. DS and I held our hands over our hearts.

Now, what I saw is what I will always remember. I knew there would be a lot of cars. I knew there would be motorcycles ahead of the hearse, because that's what they do - ride ahead to protect the family. But, what I did not expect was a car from every law enforcement agency from the local police to the county Sheriff leading the procession with sirens wailing. And then came the motorcycles. Not one, not five, but hundreds of motorcycles. Each one with a huge full size flag flying on the back of it. They were three abreast and a mile long. Each motorcycle rider gave us the peace sign or held their hands up to as they passed. Then the black hearse with the flag draped casket visible on the inside. Next was the family car with his parents in the backseat. They were looking out the window and held their hands up to the window to us. And, I could tell that this gesture really meant a lot to them. Then cars kept coming, car after car - cars full of young men his age, cars full of military men in full dress, cars of women, cars of families, pick ups full of boys, men in suits, men in overalls, kids, car after car after car. Several hundred, I am sure. And nearly all of them acknowledged the row of us standing there silent. It lasted nearly 20 minutes for everyone to pass and they were driving pretty much at full speed. The end of the procession brought even more County Officials. I read in the paper today that our Governor, the Senators and Representatives were all in the procession too.

My wish is that none of you ever have to see what I saw yesterday. It was a tremendous sight and one I won't ever forget. Heaven forbid that this happens in you area, but, if it does, please, please, please, pay your respects in anyway you can to the soldiers and to the family and friends. One very small gesture goes a long way and it will stay with you for an eternity.

Bless the soldiers and the USA.