Hey!

Anyone still out there?

*tap *tap *tap

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

Here are my latest finds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you have all been well!  I missed you!

The Week as It is

Happy New Year!

I mean, Happy January 9th!  

Wooot!  

*Insert party horn noise.  

I hope the New Year has been good to you.  Or at least not totally sucked yet.  I finally got all the Christmas put into tubs and the regular stuff in the garage ready to come in to the house when the weather man called for COLD and SNOW.  I'm okay to work outside in those conditions (it would have taken an hour tops), and The Bean is willing to help.  But, The Breadman is not.  He hates cold more than anything.  (We had a dead battery during a cold spurt around Christmas.  He had to come outside and jump my car in our own driveway.  It was cold, but it was a quick fix.  But, he was so cold and so impatient that he SLAMMED the hood of my car down while metal "holder upper" was still in place.  It was a wild wiggly mess and the hood wouldn't shut.  He said he would fix it when it warmed up.  When it WARMED UP.  Like, when? Spring?  I am supposed to not go anywhere for three months?  Of course, The Bean fixed it and we were good to go.  But, geez,  you can't spaz out and damage things just because you are uncomfortable for a minute or two.  I told him that his concern and love for ME should outweigh his hatred of the cold by just thismuch.  He said, "But I hate the cold."  So, there's that.) Anyway, back to the Christmas stuff - we hurried around and got it all done just in the nick of time.  

Because.....It snowed!  And, it got COLD.  

Four degrees!

It wasn't a lot like some places are getting.  But it's the first snow we've seen in a couple of years.  My Mom had about three inches at her house, we had about an inch and my Dad had none at his house and they both live within thrifty (ha, I typed thrifty.  How about thirty?) minutes of me in different directions.  It's supposed to be almost 70 on Tuesday and Wednesday, then talk of "ice" on the weekend.  I don't want to hear those words.

After I took the tree down, Smokey wanted to look out the window.

And then Pity wanted to look out the window. 

(She has bald spots because she is OCD and takes a bath about 17 hours a day).

Dory actually did the exact same thing, but he was too quick for my camera skills.  

Yesterday we were looking for something to do as a family, so we went to the casino.  That sounds bad, doesn't it?  But, for the same amount as a movie and dinner, we were able to go have some fun together.  We lost this time, but we've won in the past.  The Bean likes video games, so he ventures towards those new huge machines with all the lights and screens.  I like the old school ones with the pull levers and cherries.  Actually, Mr. Money Bags is my machine.  (I only go a couple times a year.  I sound like a regular, don't I?)

After we left the casino, I spotted a thrift store!  Okay, I knew it was there and I drove straight to it.  Ha.  I found a few treasures to make me feel better about losing a little money.

That's a neat old suitcase in the back with leather handles.  The little Patriot/George Washington is just waaaay off the cute spectrum and the deer vase is just lovely.  Three fun finds in a long dry thrifting spell.  

I also picked up this Paint By Number which is newer and I think maybe a Thomas Kincaide.  I've seen crafts made out of them, so I might sacrifice it for that. 

Today we popped into Goodwill just as the carts were coming out. The Bean hit the book cart and scored a complete Game of Thrones Book set  - all 1st editions.  I have been looking for these books for him forever!  Marking something off the wishlist is always a good thing!

I'll be back with something fun soon.  

As soon as I think of something fun.  

:D