Our First House

I've been working all week trying to save my photos from this old dinosaur computer so that I can finally open my brand new fancy computer that has been sitting in the garage for THREE weeks. Lots of my photos are saved on discs, others are on this blog and now I am trying to save the rest onto another private blog, just so I still have access to them. Lots of my photos are being deleted.

While going through the photos, I have been going through a lot of memories too.

Here's a photo of the first house that DH and I shared together. We moved into it in February and got married in May of that same year. Oh, my Dad was not a happy camper about that situation. But, a terrible bad thing had occurred in my apartment building and I had to move. Not in May after the wedding, but then. That minute. We found this little house and we moved in together. Not that it was or is anyone's business, but because we were such traditional folks. We pretty much lived there platonically until the wedding. I had to get out of my apartment and I couldn't afford the house on my own, so we shared it. We were friends before we got married and lived that way until the wedding.

This photo was taken on a drive by there about two years ago. Not when we lived there. I had plants on the porch and a sweet porch swing off to the right of the door. One day I had a particularly "Day from Hell" with the evil witch that I worked with and when I went home, I cracked open a wine cooler and we went out to sit on the porch. Hubby and I were on the swing, and my Mom was sitting on a chair in front of us. While we were in mid swing, I saw her mouth open in slow motion and say, "Nooooooooooooooooooo" while her line of vision went down, but her eyes stayed at my eye level. I found it all very odd and couldn't figure out how she could look me in the ye, but her eyes were going down. And then, WHAM, I felt a crack on the top of my head and everything just sort of went wonky for a minute. Suddenly she was on her feet, DH was on his feet and I was on my feet.

The big wooden house beam that the swing was attached to had come down and brought with it the swing, me and DH. The beam was nailed up and not screwed, so everytime we had sat on it, those nails were slowly working their way out. DH seemed fine and I assured them I was fine, but then a big thick oozy trickle of blood snaked it's way down my forehead. To say that DH panicked would be a slight understatement. He wanted me to go to the hospital immediately. I agreed, however, I wanted my purse and my shoes, because I was barefoot. The being barefoot part is important because when he went in to grab my purse and my shoes, I asked for some socks, because I hate to wear shoes without socks. In fact, I am rarely ever barefoot. I always have on my socks. For some reason, this request of something so unimportant as socks, really got to him. He went a little nuts yelling at me "Socks! Socks? Socks?! You don't need socks!!!" and telling me he would not get me socks and I was going to die due to loss of blood right there on the porch while he got me socks and yadda yadda socks this and socks that. I mentioned to him that he could have gotten the socks by then and had me half way to the hospital, but he didn't care. "No socks for YOU!" Just like the Soup Nazi. I think my Mom must have grabbed my socks when she got her purse, because I know I had socks on in the Emergency Room because they made me take my shoes off. I only ended up getting two stitches on the top of my head and my drowsy fall-asleep-at-the-drop-of-a-hat husband was put in charge of watching me to make sure I didn't have a concussion. (Thankfully my Mom stuck around to watch me.) When we got home, we looked at the board lying there and realized that the eight inch long nail had really only missed impaling me in the head by a few inches.

So, if I have this sort of memory and story to tell after I look at each and every photo, you can see that this is going to be a very long process. Bear with me. You're just lucky the Birth of The Bean isn't on here or we'd all be a boohoo'ing and reminiscing!

Which reminds me of another story!

But, I'll keep this one short. When I finally went into labor after a week of patossin and other inducing drugs, I went fast. Within an hour I was not ready to I was having the baby right now. It happened so fast that I wasn't able to have my Epidural. After we were released from the hospital, I received a rebate check for $300.00 for the cost of the Epidural that I had prepaid. I'm all for saving money, but come on. I really could have used that Epidural. We bought a new TV with it. DH said he enjoyed the new TV more than he ever would have enjoyed the Epidural. Oh, he's a funny one, that Sock Nazi.

*For those of you that asked. The Very Bad Awful Thing that happened at my apartment was truly horrifying. I won't go into details, because it still traumatizes me to this day. I will say that my neighbor, through some very strange and deviant activities managed to kill himself and no one found his body for twelve days. As you might imagine, living in my apartment was not an easy thing to do during that time due to certain smells and such. And, once we found out what had happened and why it was like that, no one could stay. It was an absolute nightmare. I can't believe I just blogged about it. Erase it all from your memory.

Another Winning Post (It)

The winner of my giveaway for the Homework Help is Annette - Miss FunFindsForYou herself. Annette - if you see this, drop me an email at monkeybox @ juno dot com and I will make you and your brand new precious baby boy Cody up a box of goodies!!!!

Thank you again for all the time and energy everyone took to help us out. We are going to get started on this next week. Not sure what we will do other than learn about the State's. But, in my opinion, learning something is better than learning nothing.

I leave with you with another reason to NEVER leave the house without your camera. This truck was parked next to us at Wal-Mart yesterday.


A zillion rain soaked Post-It Notes. One side of the tailgate was cleared off, but I guess they got tired and hadn't gotten to the rest. That must have taken some practival joker hours to complete!

Off to find a sale or two before the big noisey sports festival. Ugh.

Let's Tie One On

An apron, that is. (Although the idea of really "tying one on" has sounded appealing. (Can you say, Stressed out?) So, some thrifting was necessary today.

I am participating in the Vintage Apron Swap at Mama and Jack's . I have a ton of aprons that I originally bought for resell, but a few of them won my heart over. I had such a Hodge Podge of them, that I decided to think of a theme or color scheme of the ones I wanted to keep.

The first theme to evolve was BLUE. I particularly like the blue ones that are made of soft old flour sack or feed sack material. These are hanging in my bathroom, which may seem a bit unorthodox, but I had a spot for them, so that's where they landed. And the walls in the bathroom are blue. So, it worked out. There is another on hanging on it's own hook to the left that has a rather dignified lady on it wearing a long skirt. But, lift up her skirt and you will be her matching undies! Dignified? Not. Funny? Oh, yeah!

The second theme came to me today - GINGHAM. I had a blue gingham one hanging with the blue ones in the bathroom and a red gingham one int he kitchen and a purple gingham one in the "to sell bag". But, today at the thrift I spotted the green gingham apron and thus, a new theme was found.
I also bought this funny apron today for $1.00. Can you read the pockets?

"Don't kiss me now, I'm too busy."

Pretty funny!

I also bought this pretty pink apron today. They were all $1.00 each. I left a few behind at the thrift, but I promise I bought they best ones. One of the thrift ladies came and admired them and told me how much she loved them and was happy to see my buying them. At that point I only had the pink apron and the Kiss Me apron in my hand. Then she spotted me later with the green one and was happy that I had gotten it too. I also got the Betty Crocker's Parties for Children book for $1.00 which is totally vintage and rather comical itself. The old wire letter basket was 25¢. Just this morning I was on a new blog and they had propped up a wire basket just like this and used binder clips to put a photo in the center. I made a mental note to look for wire letter baskets, and I kid you not, not more than an hour later, I had one.

Mental note: Keep eye out for Hundred Dollar Bills.

It's worth a shot, right?

I only found one yard sale today, but it netted me these cool old chippy shabby white table legs. Not sure what they will become or where they will be repurposed, but at $5.00 for the set of four, I grabbed them. I also got the silver tidbit up in the previous photo for 75¢. It was completely black when I found it. I like a bit of patina, but it was completely gross. Now it's shined up with a bit of patina still on it holding some blue robins eggs.

You might remember my cake plate that I bought after Easter. It was just a cake plate with no cover and, although I loved it, I was dreading trying to use it the first time and figuring out how to cover the darn cake up to keep it fresh. Oh, sure, I could eat the whole thing in one sitting....

Anyway, last weekend, I found a cake cover lid at a yard sale for 50¢. The man that sold it to me was astonished that I would want it since it was only the top. He had almost thrown it out. Lucky for me, he didn't! It's a perfect fit. And, because my cabinets are too full to store it and I am trying to enjoy what I own, I incorporated it into my bookshelf and it now houses one of my favorite chickens and some more eggs.

Tomorrow is a huge outside noisy as hell sports themed festival for kids that is expected to have nearly 20,000 children in attendance. Plus me and The Bean and The Daddy. And all the parents of those 20,000 childen.

Where's the Migraine Excedrin?

I may really need to "tie one on" after tomorrow.

A State of Thanks

I wanted to thank everyone for all the great homework help that I have been receiving through comments and in my INBOX. My head is swimming with rubber band balls, State Muffins and other oddities. The Bean and I are going to the library next week so we can sit side by side at two computers and "Google" our hearts out learning about all these interesting places. For years we have discussed renting an RV and going out in search of the biggest this and the biggest that and buildings shaped like hot dogs and baskets. Wouldn't that be fun? But, with the cost of gas right now, I think we will go on a virtual vacation this year.

I appreciate all the time that everyone has taken to help us out. I know I promised a giveaway, and I will get to that on Saturday morning, but I think that even if I wouldn't have promised a prize, that my loyal blog buddies would have helped me out. I have felt so alone and dejected since the whole "school issue" that it has really done my heart well to know that people care about me and The Bean and his education. So, thank you. Very much. And to all you first time commenters, thanks for reading this blog! And keep on commenting!

I really hate a post without a photo, but Blogger doesn't seem to want to upload any photos tonight. So, insert a photo in your mind here.

Oh, that's a nice one! Good job!

A Little Homework Help Here? Please?

Okay Blog Buddies. I mentioned back last fall that I might call upon my blog buddies and blog readers to help me and The Bean with a little Homework Help. Today we are starting a study unit on the states, state capitals, etc. I can go online and see the flower, map, crop, and all that other run of the mill yawn fest stuff that no one really ever needs to know. Besides, he already did that in the 3rd grade! I am wanting to know about a unique thing in each state. Something you might know, but someone in another state hundreds of miles away might not know. For instance I know of an eight foot tall bunny in my state of Arkansas. And Dinosaur World that I visited as a child. Why did they decide to put Dinosaur World in a little hole in the way town in Arkansas? What was the purpose? Is is it still open? Etc.

Here's what I am hoping you will help me and The Bean with now. Leave a comment here or email us at monkeybox@juno.com with a weird or interesting place in your state or something that you find interesting about your state. You don't have to tell us about it. That's the point. We are going to look them all up and learn about them. If you live in one state and have ties to another state - maybe you could help us with both states. We will use this to learn new things, make lists, practice handwriting, use computer skills and a plethora of other educational skills.

We are studying Hawaii right now, so if anyone knows anything interesting about Hawaii, drop us a note too. I've been there, but that was BM/BB (Before marriage, Before Bean) so I am sure there are many new things there.

If you leave a comment or send us an email, I will throw your name in the cookie jar and draw a name out to receive a package from me and The Bean. I'm not sure what it will be, but it will be good, I promise you! I like to send goodies especially for the WINNER, so I prefer to make a box for them, rather than just randomly hunt and gather.

Thanks buddies! From me and The Bean.

Junkin' Freestyle

I went to the big Spring Clean Up today. The trash collection really isn't until Monday, but everyone sits things out all weekend. And, everyone expects people to take things. I saw two men in different trucks picking up anything metal to salvage as scrap metal. My very best favorite find of the day was entirely comprised of metal, so I am very happy that I happened onto it before the scrappers took it away! It's probably a good thing that I haven't learned to drive DH's truck or I might have been tempted to bring more home than I did. And, I am woreid to hurt or damage Pretty Car, so I try to show restraint.

I saw a set of four neat old wooden highback wing chairs that needed re-upholstering, a nice wicker chair, another set of wicker in pretty sad condition, enough doors and windows to build a house and lots and lots of absolute junk. I did see three cribs that looked brand new. They were the Jeeny Lind type with the spindles, and I know someone could have used them to fashion some cool bench or something out of it, but I can't do it, so I left them in hopes someone will come along and junkreate them or, here's a novel idea, put their baby in one! I don't know why poeple don't Freecycle or Craigslist or at least donate to the Super Cheap thrift up the strret. Instead, they just sit it out by the trash.

What's that? Stop talking trash and show you the junk? Will do.

My first find. A metal holder of some sort. Might have been for milk bottles, papers, I don't know. It's in great condition. I'll probably paint it white, because everyhing looks better white.

These trellises came from the same place as the metal holder. But, it took me three trips to get them all. I grabbed the holder, got up the street and realized I could use the trelis for our Clematis, grabbed one then got down the street again and realized that I could fix the other one, so I swung around the block again and grabbed it. I bet those people were in the house having a big old hoot on my behalf. The window pane came from another house. It's not great, but has potential. I do love old windows. I prefer the ones eith divided panes, but this one looked like it might make a good frame. It's not like you can come back and get it later. Ya's gotta take it when ya see's it!
And, my favorite find! An old man ws literally wheeling this thing to the curb when I drove by. Screeech. Brakes! Sir, can I have that? Actually, he went back in the garage and I grabed it whcich was not an easy task as it weighs an absolute ton. It is heavy, heavy metal, solid metal. I have been wanting one to fill with ivy and Gerbera Daisies forever. Most sales put hefty pricetags on them for that very use. But, this one was gratis! The scrap guys would have loved this one. I went to eight yard sales and bought only five things. Not too bad, right? This cookie jar is glas, but looks like metal graniteware. There's not achip on it and it's in perfect condition. It was only $1.00, and I still can't figure why it was still at the sale on Day Two at 2:00. I guess it ws just waiting for me.
This little dress isn't really a dress. I couldn't figure out what it was, I just knew it was vintage, made of flour sack material and cute as heck not to mention it was only 25¢. Thought I would just buy it and figure it out later. Now that I have it home and have inspected it, I know that it is "The World's Cutest Clothespin Bag." It is darling. It is actually about as big as a 2T dress. Cute!
This Quiet Deluxe typewriter in green was a whole dollar. I know the glas keyed ones sell for big money, I rememered someone selling a green one for big $$, so I took a gamble. At a dollar, it was worth it only if I ever need to chain it to someone and throw them over a bridge. Kidding. Or am I?
This rusty litle folding table was actually purchased yesterday for 50¢. It folds up and you carry it by the two finger holes on the top. I put it in the backyard in between the white metal glider and chair set.

So, how'd I do for $2.75?

I seem to remember saying something about toning down my yard saling this year. Hmm. I don't seem to be doing so well. I will say that I am being much more selective about what I do buy and I am still making a point to donate things from the house to make room for my treasures. With that said, here is today's loot!

A motley mixture of vintage items. Items above not featured below include two strands of beautiful W. Germany beads, a unique glass S/P shaker, a very old metal toy car, a sterling silver trash can (seriously! A sterling silver trash can. What will I do with it? Who knows!) and a natural quartz/amethsyt pendant - all 50¢ each. The giant enamel turkey planter was $3.00 and my biggest $ purchase of the day. I have another one with fruit on it and they make a perfect pair.
I stopped at the "Mothers of Mulitples" Consignment sale expecting to only find baby items. I was surprised how much stuff they had - books, CD's, DVD's, housewares, craft supplies, etc. Next year I will go there on purpose, not just as a time killer. I found this wonderful vintage Christmas tablecloth for $1.50. It was also quite the crack up to see everything x2, x3, x4. Four little ruffly purple dresses with matching headbands hanging side by side by side by side. Quadruplets! Eye-yi-yi!

This old Plantation Dainties tin came from an odd sale. The guys running it went into their office to eat and told me just to figure out what I spent and leave it on the table. Lucky for them I am honest or they might have found a quarter on the table. I only spent $3.50, but I wouldn't have fudged anyway. This tin intrigued me because someone had scratched PENIES (sic) on the lid for saving their pennies. I also think the ingredient list back in the day was comical. Sugar, Caramel, chocolate. Nowadays you have to list every ingredient in the chocolate and every ingredient in those ingredients, then each ingredient in the caramel and the ingredients in those ingredients. Sheesh. Those were the days. Sugar, chocolate, caramel. And no calories, fat grams or sodium counts.
Chee Chow is a puzzle game from 1939 that The Bean and I played and enjoyed tonight. The utensil drawer is painted red and I think will make a neat shadow box. Or at least an orgainzer somewhere. I suppose I could use it to organize the utesnils, right? (It looks odd because I washed it and the wood was still wet inside.)
Old wood and chippy red paint. Cool.
This is a tin mold with a lid/bottom marked England on the bottom. I think you make a pudding in it - pudding means something different than our pudding, doesn't it? More cake-like than puddin'-like? It was only $1.00 and was interesting enough to warrant purchasing and researching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a computer issue that I am trying to solve. I have a prehistoric 1999 computer without a CD writer. I have thousands of photos that I am deleting and trying to transfer to a CD-rom. The only way that I can do that is to download them to Walgreen's and order a CD with the prints. The quality isn't that great when I do that, but it seems to be my only option. My computer is also missing something important (I have no idea what that is, by the way) that won't allow me to download any software from Picasa or anywhere else that allows me to download more than one photo at a time. So, here I sit downloading my photos one at a time. It is taking me forever! Does anyone have any advice or something obvious that I don't know? What about a flash drive? Can I use than with Windows ME (Mighty Elderly)? Will that hold my photos? I am willing to delete a lot of them, but I need The Beans last nine years of life off there!

Why am I doing this? Because two weeks ago I ordered and received a fancy schmancy HP computer that has a DVD drive, CD writer, bells, whistles and a lady to scrub the toilet, I think. Built for me by HP the way I wanted it. And a 17" flat panel monitor so I can see so much more than I can on this antiquated monitor. And, it is sitting in the garage still in the sealed box waiting patiently for me to figure out how to rescue my photos. And my favorites. Oye, I hadn't thought of that. I don't have bloglines, so I will lose my favorite blogs too. Jeez, is it worth it?

Help?

Thursday Thrifty Finds

Thanks for all the encouragement on The Bean's tests. He said he didn't think there was anything on it that he didn't know how to do, so I am relieved. All the parent were giving their kids the third degree about if they had covered it all and if they thought they did well. It's not just the kids that were tested. The parents were tested by proxy. If the kid fails, the parent has failed. It was also nice for The Bean to see that he isn't the only kid in North America being schooled with his Momma. The results will come in the mail for our eyes only and for statistics only. I know he will do okay, I am just happy that the %#*& school won't automatically know his scores. Since that was their big "fear" about having him return to school. I hope they are through the roof and I will take them next year and do the proverbial "Nanner-nanner-boo- boo" at them.

Today we went to two yard sales, dug in some people's trash (!) and went to the thrift. All with me sans makeup which is something that I just do not do. Ever. But, today I ventured out and ended up going into the thrift ala natural. My Mom says I have officially "hit bottom." Thanks, Mom.

Here's the loot from today and a couple things from the thrift on Wednesday.

That book in the back is a watch repair book with all the original ads and information about pocket watches. I thought it would make good crafting fodder in collages and the like. In the center is a neat old Indian Doll that was destined to go to my Mom until she said I had hit bottom. Kidding, It's still hers. There's an assortment of wooden napkin rings, a Pampered Chef Whatzit (Grapefruit tool, melon baller? I dunno, I just buy anythig Papmered Chef when it's 5¢), set of vintage avertising measuring spoons and a set of Tupperware Cookie Cutters - 10 cutters in one (I already have one of these that I use all the time, so this is destined for a Swap or "Just Because" mailing). The old blue jar isn't actually as old as I originally thought - it is marked "Avon"on the bottom. I still think it's a neat jar. And, I scored it out of the TRASH. More about that below. The little doll on the left has a head made of a hickory nut and her basket is an acorn top. It is just too cute. (I am using my old camera so the photos aren't too great and I can't zoooooooom in on anything).
I have another one of these pieces of art somewhere in my ebay stash. Now that I have two, I suspect I have another collection in the making. And being the Junkreator, it is right up my alley. The flower pot is a piece of porch railing. And the flowers, what are those? Can you make them out?
Nails!

Nails of all sizes - long, short, skinny, fat. Hammered in at different levels then painted to look like flowers. Junk! Clever Junk!

This vintage wooden puzzle was my favorite find today. It was only 25¢ and just too sweet. The clock hands are broken off, but the graphics are just too cute.

Timmy Time!

This tin is marked Western Germany on the bottom. It is all tin, but has a red flocked velvety surface. The center of the top looks like marble with the gold butterfly in the center. It was pretty dusty when I found, it, but it cleaned up pretty well. I love W. Germany tins. They are so elaborate. This was only 65¢!

Surely, I did not buy another picnic basket! No, I couldn't have bought another picnic basket. Well, apparently, I did buy another picnic basket. And with DH in tow to say, "Another picnic basket?" I use them to store my craft supplies and they are normally cheaper than buying an ugly plastic tote. This one was $5.00. It has been cleaned up since this photo. A little Murphy's Oil Soap made it shine. (I think this is picnic basket #15!) (And, a note to DH, you have TWENTY EIGHT red Arkansas Razorback shirts in the closet. So, you are not one to talk about another anything...)

The picnic basket (another?) was $5.00 and everything else cost a total of $3.40. Except the jar was free. Which brings me to the jar. And the digging in the trash stuff. We were in the town where I got this junk last year. Ever since last year I have been looking forward to this weekend with great anticiaption. Annual Clean Up. If you don't want it, put it by the curb and the city will pick it up. If there's anything left! Some people throw absolute crap out in big heaps- matresses, sticks, lumber, broken TV's, etc. and nothing looks like a treasure. Then there are the people that lay it out like a department store just hoping someone will take things. I spotted such a line up by the curb today. Everything looked to be in clean and good condition, but the jar was all I decided to take. This weekend, gues where I will be? Junkin' curbside. Oh, yeah.

Just like the Kool-Aid Man.

Oh, yeah.

Beanless

I find myself at home alone today. And, it feels odd! The Bean is at the Education Co-Op taking the Ohio State Basic Exams. They last from 9:00-11:15, but have many breaks, four, I think, so the actual tests are not much time at all. Two 25 minute reading tests and a 25 minute Math test. I was pleased to see that all the kids and parents looked pretty much like us - regular people. Some I even recognized some people from Wal-Mart and around town. Sometimes the term "Homeschooler" puts a certain image in your head. I don't mean this bad. I was just pleased to see that none of the kids looked different than the others. The teacher that was administering the tests turned out to be one of my high school teachers from *cough* 25 *cough* years ago from 20 miles away. Very, very small world. The weather has continued to be weird-O around here. Last week we had more massive amounts of rain. This picture is a pasture near the river, that is now a river itself. Normally you cannot even really see the river from the bridge as you drive over it.
Here's that bridge - water, water everywhere. There are houses and businesses under water, not here, but very near here. It is such a mess. And more rain coming Thursday and Friday. Last Wednesday night, it got really hairy down in the River Valley, but the weatherman said it would remain calm up here - just lots of rain. Well, it was calm at my house, but at about 5:00 a.m. my Mom was in bed and the power had gone out so she could here everything. She said she heard what she knew was a tornado coming, but barely had time to react to it before she could hear it pass. We are from Kansas, so we know the sound of a tornado when we hear it. Thankfully (that is an understatement) she and my stepfather and all their critters as well as their house was unscathed. They did lose a few trees. But, the houses not more than two miles up the road were flattened. Trees uprooted, cars beat up with golf ball sized hail. In the River Valley they had softball sized hail that broke holes in all the windows, holes in the siding on homes and completely broke out the windows in cars. No one was hurt, so it is a very good thing. We were watching the local wether and they had to abandon the studio and take cover and, I tell you, that was a pretty scary thing to listen to as their mikes were still on and people were ducking and running. They were okay too. It was just scary to listen to it all.

This morning it was 25 degrees so everyone had to cover up all their sensitive plants. On the way to the testing area, it looked like Halloween - ghosts everywhere! People use pillowcases, sheets, Wal-Mart sacks (which are the wrong material to use) and buckets to cover things so it looks very odd in the yards. We covered up our scared Clematis which we love so much. The Forsythia and Lilac are strong enough to make it. Wednesday it is supposed to be 85 degrees. It is just nutso.

I still have an hour to kill before I am Beaned again. We are off to WalMart to get a movie out of the Redbox which is the bestinvention of this century. And, I say that with confidence, knowing their is still 92 years left in this century.
$1.00 a night DVD rentals, no late fees, no people to hassle you, no extra charges. Just the DVD you want when you want it. Absolutely fabulous! We have seen six New Releases in the past two weeks. We normally see about one a month. We've seen "Enchanted" "Dan in Real Life", "Martian Child", "Waterhorse" and "I am Legend." Am I the only one that didn't know whaht "I am Legend" was about? I knew he was the only one left in NYC and he was trying to survive. But, that is all I knew. Holy Crap if you haven't seen that movie and you don't like scary movies, do not watch it. I was terrified. I still am! And, I am still sort of scared of the dark! Yikes!

Friday Junk FInds

This morning was a beautiful day - finally dry, but pretty windy and cool. That's my idea of a good yard sale day. I hate the hot days!

The first sale on my list was at an old farm equipment and tractor repair store that was going out of business after about 60 years. I wasn't really in the market for a combine or a hay baler or any other equipment, but I suspected they might have some old chippy rusty Junk in the midst. And, they did!

This old cabinet was only $5.00. For that price, I just had to get it. I really don't have anywhere to put it, but I thought it had a great amount of potential. I am going to clean it up and see how it looks. If that doesn't do it for me, a coat of white paint and a little sanding will have it good as new old. On top is an old red metal tray from a toolbox, an old white chippy metal box and a really cool old wooden tool caddy. All three of those things were $1.00 each.
The cabinet opens and has these shelves inside. On the top there is a row of old screw eyes and handwritten above each one is a label - "Tractor", "Barn", etc. I just love old touches like that to let me know what it was used for "back in the day". I am imagining our bedroom TV on top of it and all my old quilts inside it.

I went to a sale at a high school that was held inside the indoor practice facility. It was dark and dreary inside and even though I knew we were walking on AstroTurf, I felt like I was in some old dark basement with green shag carpeting. I think this must have been a huge sale at 7:00 when the doors opened, but there was mostly clothes and books by the time I got there.
I did spot these thermoses (or Thermice as I said on YSQ) scattered along two tables and gathered them up. They were priced $2.00 each, but I got them for 50¢ each.I do have the lids/cups for them, but like the look of them without. Two of them even have cork stoppers. I bought them to resell, but I am really loving the graphics and colors of them. This might be one of those "keep for awhile, then sell" deals.
I went to a sale at the house where the lady had recently passed away. She was a seamstress and had tons of patterns, trims and other sewing things. Her daughter really wanted to sell me these things because she could tell that I appreciated them. I ended up just picking up a few packs of rick rack and three rolls of sateen ribbon. Those rolls of ribbon have 120 feet on each roll and have never been used. And, check out that HUGE red rick rack. Have you ever seen anything like that? It is nearly 2" wide. She sold me everything above for $1.00.
And, the Ya-hoooooo find of the day. Another Tree Turner. This one is an Evergleam to go with the Evergleam trees. I spotted it under a table at the tractor place sale and it was priced 75¢. Can you believe it? It is gold with gold glittery accents. Gaudy! When I got home I plugged it in to see if it revolves and guess what? It plays music too! Holy Moley! It plays "Jingle Bells" and you can turn the music off and on. I looked it up on ebay and one just sold for $75.00. It was silver an mine is gold. But, in the words of The Bean, "Gold is worth money these days". So,who knows? Now I can keep the one I bought a few weeks ago guilt-free and sell this one.

I actually do have a few things listed on ebay this week. I hadn't listed since last November and was practically embarrassed that I hadn't had anything on since. Hopefully, I am on the right track and will get more and more listed. Wish me luck!

Swappin' Vintage Junk

I participated in a Vintage Kitchen Swap over at Papermojo. I mailed my package over a week ago, so I am assuming it is safe to post my photos.

We had to make something for this swap, and that stymied me a bit. How do you made something vintage? Then, it came to me one night. Sometimes I just open all my boxes of odds and ends and bits and bobs ans stare at them in a trance. I start seeing repeats in the colors, themes and patterns and an idea comes to me. (DH thinks I've gone over the deep end when I sit and stare at a box of ribbons and buttons).

I took an old worn and aged recipe for Cherry Blossom Dessert and mounted it in a shadow box backed with red gingham paper cut with pinking shears. (I was going for a tablecloth look). Then I added the plastic cherries, the C-H-E-R-R-Y Scrabble tiles under the glass. The Good For One Coffee Token was added on top of the Shadow Box. Add a little red rickrack and you have yourself a brand new vintage item.
I love old aluminum kitchen things, so I added a few small vintage molds, an old mini bread tin, old measuring spoons, cookie cutters, a creamer and some pretty glass S&P's with red plastic tops. I have a stack of old fruit crate labels, so I added one for color. It's all on a sweet muslin and yellow gingham apron. That green roll on the left is a set of two hand knitted dishcloths.
I added some vintage inspired recipe cards from target and hand wrote the recipe for the Cherry Blossom Delight Dessert. The metal PRESERVES container is new, but looks vintage. I had two boxes of the old vintage Food Warmer Candles, so I shared on with my partner.
An old Premium Cracker tin, some old cookbook leaflets, a new granite splatter ladle and a piece of vintage Embroidery.
Two red and aqua vintage potholders go well with the vintage Salmon label. (That's an original label without a brand name. They made blank labels for canned goods and produce, then added the Name Brand later.) I love the old graphics and hope my partner appreciates the colors and cool old graphics. That's a very old paper napkin at the top.
I had fun with this swap and hope my partner enjoyed it. You can see her blog here.

Junking Up the New Fridge

In my continuing effort to use what I have and enjoy my junking purchases, I fashioned a bulletin board for the front of the fridge.

I took two pieces of Matte Board from The Dollar Tree and stapled them together. Then I covered it with a set of vintage fruit themed Curtains that I had picked up for 25¢ last summer. I added the red rick rack to cover up the ends of the curtains down the center. The curtains were two different lenghts, one had a stain and one had a hole. So, cutting them up was A-OK.
Add some cute photos and Wah-lah no more ugly magnets and pictures all over the fridge.

*A note about the photos. LEFT: That's my little cousin Luke with the cute grin, a antique black and white of DH (We are only two years apart, but all his photos are in black and white while mine were all in color), The Bean as a clown, The Bean and a Gorilla Statue at the Tulsa Zoo when he was three, A wee baby bunny Bean, Dead Cente: A Kindergarten Graduating Bean (Was he cute or what?), RIGHT: Baby me, The Bean, A Baby Bean and my Triplet Cousins. Can you imagine? Triplets? They are in school now, but I just adore that baby photo. I met them a few years ago. They are from Alabama and can turn a two syllable word into a full sentence. Too cute!

I'm off on a Junkin' trip. Wish me luck.

Randomness

Well, we made it through all day Sunday without anything getting broken. Yea for us. I kept DH in the driveway assembling shelves with the help of The Bean. They did a very good job. Thank heavens The Bean knows you should read instructions and follow them precisely. His Daddy never has been a direction follower, therefore, nothing is ever assembled correctly. When we were first married we bought a lot of that furniture in the box that we had to put together. I had put an entire Entertainment Center together alone and knew it needed to be done correctly the first time because once it was together, that thing ws solid and did not come apart. DH thought you could just randomly assemble it. When he was "finished" he would have a random pile of bits and bobs, screws, nuts and glue left. "Extras" he called it. Uh, I don't think those are "extras" since the top is leaning to the left and the bottom is leaning to the right.

The shelves went in the garage and are for my Christmas and other holiday decorations. It is really insane that I have nearly 30 Rubbermaid totes full of holiday items. Inside and outside stuff. Things I only see a few weeks apiece each year. But, would I get rid of any of them?? Uh, NO! I keep thinking that the "Clean Sweep" dude would be having a fit about my Stuff. "It's all too much". But, it is organized and shelved and I have a place for it (insert thumbs in ears and begin wagging), "So, Pbthhhhhhh..." (And I did donate another entire pickup load full this weekend to boot).

The Bean has his Homeschool testing next Monday. These are the same tests that they take at school, but so much more relaxed. At school they preapre them for weeks and weeks and then they begin practice tests for weeks. Then they have the actual tests. But, once the tests are over, it's pretty much party time until the end of the year. For homeschoolers, it is two 45 minute tests - Reading Comprehension and Math. And on the Math you can use a calculator. They say it is because homeschoolers learn things like they will use them in the real world. Yes, you need to know the fundamentals to work out a Math problem, but when you "grow up"you will most likely use a calculator to get those answers. He's taken these tests at school and done extremely well, so No Worries. Yet, anyway.

The Happy Mail fairies have been smiling down at me recently. Friday this package of goodies arrived from Helen. Helen found my blog through RefundCents last year. Since that time, Helen lost everything she and her family owned in a horrible house fire. She is a great lover of vintage things, thrift stores and bargains, so losing her possessions was hard for her, but she was also thankful to be alive. I sent her some goodies not long ago after she commented that some cereal bowls I had were similar to those she lost in the fire. And, even though I wanted nothing in return, she sent me some lovely items including this wonderful old cookbook, another cookbook with some good Vegetarian recipes and a sweet doiley. She also made me some wonderful return adres lables with monkeys and hearts on them. Watch for them when you get Happy Mail from me!Thank you Helen!

Today another sweet surprise came from Sveltestuff Sue. The Bean went to get the mail and came running in saying, "Who do we know in New York??"

Lucky for him, Sue remembered him and sent him some keychains for his evergrowing collection. As for my goodies from Sue..lookee, lookee, lookee!Two wonderful vintage potholders in loverly red and white. Check out the cherries on the square one. Love it! And a pink pin which she referred to as Pepto Pink. My fave! She also included some fabulous Vintage Christmas Cards for my collection. Sue has been very giving lately as she also sent Heidi some similar goodies. Thank you Sue. You made my day after a particulary crummy weekend. ;o)

Here's to a better week for us all!

Saturday morning, The Bean and I got ready to go to a Fundraising Sale at the High School, two thrifts and any other yard sales we passd. As we got ready to leave, I reachd into the refrigerator for two bottles of water. They were not cold at all. In fact, they were practically tepid. Crap. I knew no one could come look at it until Monday and with the price of Service Calls, we could most likely just buy a new one. So, off to Lowe's we went instead. Luckily, Lowe's is less than a mile from our house.

We bought a bigger one than we had before, with adjustable shelves and lots of door hickeys that I am still trying to figure out what is what. I really, really wanted the one with the freezer on the botom, but we were trying to pinch pennies and didn't buy it. Now, I wish I would have gone the extra $200.00, because I would be a lot happier. Oh, well. I don't like the new couch either. I hate having to go buy out of complete necessity rather than shopping for what you want. We also had to buy one that was in stock rather than be ordered since the milk was at home curdling away. So, that narrowed the posibilities. (Did you know they have refrigerators that cost nearly $3,000.00?)

I had a lot of things inside the fridge that had to be tossed, which made me sick. I had just gone grocery shopping on Thursday. I am going to call the insurance company on Monday. We had a lot of storms and might have been struck by lightening. Not sure if they will help us or not. Everything in the freezer made it okay except for some ice cream, my beloved Pina Colada fruit bars and The Bean's Push-Pops.

The real job was removing the one million photos of the Bean and art projects from the outside of the old one. I had been planning on taking a lot of things of and "neaty-ing" it up a bit, but once again, I had to do it out of neccessity. I have a vintge fruit crate label collection that I have always had on magnets on the side of the fridge. Down they had to come to. But, last night, I had the idea to mount them all on a piece of Matte Board and then use two big magnets to attach the Matte Board to the fridge instead of all the individual labels.

As with all projects in my house, something has to get broken. My new bunny from the previous post was sitting ont he counter and for some reason, I just knew she would be "The Disaster of The Day". So, I put her up in the cabinet by the glasses so she would be safe. She made it through fine. I wish I could say the same for the junky bulletin board I posted about last week. DH knocked it off, broke the top ornamental piece and broke off the spindle on the right side. All the thumbtacks came out, popping off the buttons in proces which unraveled the ribbon which caused my mementos to shoot across the floor landing under a cabinet, the new fridge and the oven. *Sigh*

Today we are going to work in the garage installing new shelving that I bought with my yard sale proceeds. Stay tuned to see, "What My Husband Ruins". Could it be my tub of cherished vintage ornaments? My complete set of "Bobbsey Twins" books from my childhood? My Christmas Wreath encrusted with vintge Shiny Brites? Stay tuned, it will be something good, I just know.

A Fowl Post

First Matter of Business:

Who does the chicken breast look like?

*Answer below.

**Yes, I know. I need a life.*

I went to three two yard sales and four thrift stores today and I spent a grand total of $3.00. I mean, the money part is good, but there was nothing anywhere. Half empty stores with junk, junk, junk. Not the good junk. The vinyl tablecloth, fruitcake tin, carnival stuffed animal, Microwave Cookbook, "What to Expect When You're Expecting", golf club, same old same old thrift store junk. No treasures. The Bean, on the other hand, had a stellar day, featuring a Remote Control Tarantula, Robotic arm and a Giant 15" tall Pex dispenser for a grand total of $3.50.

Empty Hand Syndrome (EHS) forced me to buy two packs of vintage black rick rack for 25¢ each at one thrift store. At another thrift I bought a 1947 Heinz Salad Cookbook with such delightful recipes as shredded carrots and peas in a mayonaisse lace gelatin mold (gag) for 25¢. The only buy at the Salvation Army was a book about "Displaying With Style" - How to display your collections for $1.00. I thought you were just supposed to pile your crap on the table, but apparently not! The fourth thrift store was so pathetic and overpriced, that I actually did leave empty handed.

The first yard sale proved to be BABY ONLY. Plastic baby apparatices, plasticky toys and baby clothes galore. Great sale if I had a baby. But, I do not. Adios Amigos.

The second sale had a big green sign on the corner. "SALE" it exclaimed! I turned the corner, rounded a curve, crested over a hill and saw the Mother Of All Yard Sales. Tons of things. Boxes piles here and there. Interesting items lining the driveway. Stuff, junk, crap, treasures. My kind of sale! I bounded out of the car money in hand and the lady having the sale standing there said, "I am just trying to clean out my garage!" The sale was on the next block, she added. Boy, was I humiliated. Once I left (hurriedly!) I found the other sale. I told the story of the garage cleaning lady and she told me everyone had told her that same story all day. So, ha ha lady. You are the doof, not me.

***I once knew were there was a house with so much stuff and junk piled in their yard that they had a permanent plywood sign staked in the yard that said "NOT A YARD SALE". Of course, everyone still stopped because all they really read was "YARD SALE". And, since I am telling this story, I would be remiss not to mention that a few years later the police found a dead body rolled up in a rug in that very same house. Stories like that just stay in my head and have to come out at some point. Thank you for listening.

The real actual yard sale looked like a flop from the road - only a few kid items. But, the garage had more things inside. I still only spent $1.25, but am thrilled with what I did buy. I found four packages of Dennison crepe paper in a lovely shade of pink. It's not old, but at 25¢ a package, I know I can play around with it and add it to my craftinesswithout worrying about ruining the good stuff.

And, my payback for looking and searching for a treasure all day:

*Swoon*

Freaking adorable, no? I'm not sure if she's new or vintage or vintage inspired. The latter most likely. She is comprised of a chalk egg that actually opens up. The egg is covered in pink metallic foil. She has millenary flowers at her feet, a tulle and crepe collar and is just so damn cute. I know Easter is over. But, to me, this is not an Easter only item. This is a "put it out so I can see it and swoon over it everyday" item. Did I mention she was A QUARTER? *Swoon* Lucky for me she was broken (only I would say that!), but the part was there, so I fixed her and I would defy anyone to guess what was ever wrong with her.... It was minor, but her "defect" made her only cost 25¢.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier this week I bought these vintage rooster items at a thrift. I spent more for them than I normally do ($9.00 total), but they had the Salt Shaker priced $2.00, the Pepper Shaker priced $2.00, the tea pot was $3.00 and the cups were $1.00 each and I hated to see them go separate ways when they were obviously a set and have been a set for at least 50 years. Plus, they are pristine, the cold paint is in perfect shape and there isn't a nick on them. When I got home, I was sort of sad because I thought there was a lid missing from the "cup" which I assumed was a sugar and a creamer. I didn't talk about them on here because I felt that I didn't get that great of a deal for $9.00 since a piece was missing.

But, then, the very next day I ws playing around with them and discoverd this:

They stack! Mama and her babies - complete! Yea, for me.

~~~~~~~

Back to the chicken breast at the top:

*It's Bill Clinton. A spitting image. Right?

**Am I right?????

***Or is it just me?

***Don't answer that.