The Good Old Days...

I got an email from my dad yesterday and I can't stop looking at it-I LOVE it!!! It is pages from a 1934 Montgomery Ward Catalog. I LOVE looking at the clothing and shoes, and the prices!! All the kitchen stuff-be still my heart!

Click this picture to enlarge it and read the bottom sentence...

I'd like to zip back to those days, pick up some of the stuff I love and then zip back to current times, with mint vintage goodies-wouldn't you?

Treasure Hunting Therapy!

We're having a heat wave! It's 25 degrees today, with breaks in the big white fluffy clouds when you can actually see gorgeous blue skies and sunshine!!!

Kevin and I went to 2 sales in Ann Arbor today. The first sale we waited outside for about 20 minutes even though we got there a half hour after they opened! It was a tiny little house, so they were limiting the inside crowd. I was number 43.

I got another trunk...I can't quite figure out why I am attracted to them. It's almost like I have an old trunk radar that zeroes in on them and sucks me in. I just can't walk away! I've sold a lot of them, and so far I only regret selling one-the one Kevin and I made together. His brother bought it, so if I needed to, I could go to his house to see it.

I also got an awesome old formica table with chrome legs. It's seen better days, but the price was too good to walk away from, and it reminds me of my grandma (my dad's mom). She had one of these when I was growing up, but I think hers was bigger-this one is tiny! I bought it to sell, but it's so stinkin cute...

I also got to scratch another treasure off of my wish list! I got an old wooden ladder for my tablecloths! It's not really an orchard ladder, but it's old, and chippy and it fits perfectly in our sun room. I covered the rungs with saran wrap to protect the linens, since it is so chippy.

Kevin got a metal storage box, that he plans to use for tools and he actually took a bell thingy off of the back door and bought it. Once we got it home, we found the ringers are old fishing weights and the whole thing is homemade-LOL! He paid $10 for it! Goes to show you the old saying is true-one man's junk is truly another man's treasure!

The second sale was packed with people too-everyone must be having cabin fever! We even drove over a one-lane covered bridge to get to the second sale. It was a fun adventure today. We got out of the house, forgot about our woes for a little while, enjoyed the sunshine and blue skies and the balmy 24 degrees.

We even laughed a little at the car being filled with junk...that's one way to stick it to the man...buy more junk so they pay more for our moving expenses! Kidding!

It was good to get out and do something normal for a change. This past week has been a whirlwind roller coaster. We're keeping our chins up, doing our homework, and trusting God to lead us where He wants us. Thanks for all of the kind words of care and encouragement! I've been so blessed by your comments and emails!!! Even though I've never met most of you face to face, I consider you my friends!

 I couldn't walk away for $3...could you?

 An old work shirt was inside.

 The table is a little rough, but I'm still smiling thinking about all those canasta games I played with my grandma-and how badly she cheated! 

 One tired pup! She's been running and running and playing like crazy in the snow-she comes in with little snowballs under her armpits and stuck to her face!

 I had to go back inside when I got to the car and realized the girl only charged me for 1 dish towel and not 4. She was pretty surprised when I told her she only charged me for one and then paid for the rest. She did say thank you though!

 These crazy bell-like things were hanging on the backdoor at the first house. Kevin loves them...me not so much!

Here's the ladder in all of it's chippy goodness! I love it...Kevin thinks I'm nuts!

I better get busy, I've done nothing but start a load of laundry today, and that's only because I need my shorts for volleyball later! :) 

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

It's a beautiful snowy day here in Michigan! We got a couple of inches of fluffy white stuff today, and right now, it's just giant wandering flakes floating by-so pretty! I am home, sitting in and enjoying my sun room. I have to soak up the enjoyment while I can!

My car is back from the shop-very expensive repairs, but it is working and it is still cheaper than a car payment. Eric's car is still in the shop. They called and said they dropped a bolt, and have to take the whole thing apart to get to it, so it won't be ready until Monday now.

My parents left today. It was very comforting to have them here to talk through some of the junk that's been going on! We had a good visit with a real estate attorney yesterday. I'm more hopeful about our outcome after talking with him. Today, I spoke with an appraiser and filled out online forms for 5 large moving companies for free estimates.

I can't imagine how much moving our house and barn full of junk is going to cost!! With all of my glassware and booth inventory, my Fiesta and vintage kitchenware collections, and Kevin's woodshop stuff-YIKES!!! We're planning to include moving costs in our counter offer (once we receive the initial offer-which should come within the next 5-7 weeks). How do you put a value on emotional attachment? Memories? Location? We're 5 minutes to two towns and every kind of shopping we'd ever need, and 5 minutes to expressways-plus we're in the middle of about 100 acres of open fields with no neighbors other than the township park!

We have a Realtor  who has been looking for homes or vacant land for us, but there really isn't much out there right now. I'm smitten with a house (on paper) that looks absolutely amazing! It's being built right now and hits all of our "markers" for what we want except for 3 things-natural gas, pole barn, and sun room. Two things can be added, the other...might be a deal breaker. We'll see. It has more acreage than what we have now, so we know we can add a volleyball court and pool, if we decide to do that again.

I was planning to do a marathon cooking weekend in the next few weeks (cook enough dinners for 3 months  or more and freeze it), but we really don't want to have to move a freezer full of stuff, so that idea is nixed for right now. We may not be moving in that short amount of time, it could be up to 6 months-but I just don't have the umpf to do that kind of work right now.

I'm dying for a good sale! My Dad drove my mom to her glass class in Lansing today, and came back to hang out with us until he had to pick her up at 4. I looked to see if there were some sales in Lansing that he and I could go to, but there was only one, and it wasn't my kind of junk. We just went for a quick lunch with the boys. I don't get to go out with my dad very often, so it was pretty sweet!

With all of this change going on around here, I'm wondering if I should give up the booth...what do you think? I love the hunting, I'm enjoying selling stuff that I find, but I'm wondering if that season of my life is over now too...what would you do?

Bowling Anyone??

I think I could almost take up bowling-just to have this bag!!!

Just a fun little treasure I found on Ebay-it brought a smile to my face-hope it made you smile too! It's still up for bids if you're interested...

Hanging In There...

Nothing fun happened last weekend, no junkin whatsoever! So I have nothing to share about fun finds. It has been a whirlwind week. We've gone from totally sucker punched and devastated, to resigned and hopeful, and everything in between. It's been one big roller coaster ride of thoughts and emotions.

On one hand every memory from the time the boys were tiny has flashed before our eyes, on the other...fear of not being able to find a place as good as ours. Then little thoughts of not knowing time frames, and what we're talking about financially bring in little seeds of doubt. We're constantly reminding ourselves that fear does not come from God!

I have to say how good God has been to us even in the midst of all of this heartbreaking news. He's given us lovely friends who are constantly encouraging us and praying for us and for that we are forever grateful! The kind words you've all sent in emails and comments has really been just what we needed when we needed it-so thank you soo very much!

I went to a funeral yesterday for a friend from work's mom. The pastor said, since our eternal home is in heaven, we are just living in temporary housing while we're here on earth. It was almost as if he was speaking just to me!

We have a friend who is a Realtor who has been helping us out, and today we meet with a real estate attorney to find out what our options are as far as getting the most we can out of the situation. The next step will be to get the house appraised and to wait for their offer. Which we should have in about 6 weeks

After we come to an agreement on price, we'll have 6 months to find a new place, pack up and get out. I don't even want to think about all of that. I don' think there will be enough tissue in the whole county for the tears I'll shed when we walk away for the last time! I don't think I'll ever be able to come back to see the whole thing turned into parking lots and tennis courts either.

So, we're still here. We're still hanging in there. We're still trusting that God will make something good out of all of this mess, and we're hoping that through it all we'll bring Him glory and honor.

In the meantime, we have 2 cars out of 4 that are down, Eric's has radiator issues, and I think my transmission went out yesterday in my car! I was supposed to drive to my game last night and my car wasn't going anywhere fast, and I was worried I wouldn't make it. When we have early games, my friend Becky doesn't come back from work, (since she works near where we play), and we meet at the gym.

Yesterday, she called to say she forgot her gym bag and asked if I wanted to ride with her-YES! Thank you Lord for orchestrating that! We went, we played, we started for home. It was snowing and the roads were starting to get a little slick. Once on the expressway, she was just about to change lanes and looked up in her rear view mirror and saw someone flying up and zinging in and out of lanes. So she stayed put until the person passed us.

We saw them zipping in and out of lanes at a high rate of speed and got back to our conversation after agreeing that no one should be driving like that in that weather-or any kind of weather! A couple of minutes later, we saw taillights spin out, and a car smack into the cement wall on the left with a whole pack of cars surrounding the car! It spun again and was flung off the wall all the way across the expressway and into another cement wall on the right side-the wall of an overpass-head first!

I still can't get that sound and the images out of my head! Not one other car got into the fray and we were all bunched up. It was only the one car. we all kept going with the traffic, and I called 911. There wasn't any way to stop and run to help because there was so many cars and the slippery conditions. I'm still praying that the person is or will be all right! Thank you Lord for keeping us safe!

There have been millions of tiny things that have happened this past week to remind us to keep our eyes on God, that He alone is in control. Even my devotional this morning! Look at the verse...Do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith 1 Peter 4:12-13.


I will keep trusting, and praying, and I'll keep believing God for good things!

A Punch in the Gut!

Today started off like any other normal Thursday. I got up, went to work, was doing my Thursday work duties, and in the back of my mind I was already wondering if I was going to find some sales that were worth the trip, when I got a call from my husband.

A couple of days ago, we got a letter from our township offices, asking us to call them to set up an appointment because they needed to discuss something with us. Since we both worked and/or had volleyball real late yesterday, we couldn't do anything about it then, but Kevin was off today and he went over to see what it was all about.

We couldn't imagine what it was, but kind of blew it off thinking it might be that they were putting in more lights on the soccer fields, or expanding their Easter marshmallow drop, or just letting us know about a big event they were going to hold...since it's right next door to us, we always get notifications of things going on-they are very thoughtful to include us when something is coming up.

Anyway...he went, this morning, and he kind of caught them off guard. They were expecting a phone call, where we'd set up an appointment and have a meeting. They were a little stand-off-ish, and kind of hemming and hawing so he said just tell me.

That's when they pulled out a drawing...they have purchased the property behind us, between our house and the expressway, and the property east of us all the way to the end of our road and plan to put in parking lots, 4 tennis courts and some sort of building (Kevin was so shell-shocked, he can't remember what type of building). So they were tossing it out there that they'd like our property. They also said, we probably wouldn't want to live there anymore with all that they were going to do.

Talk about coming out of left field!! I'm still reeling and I've known about this for about 8 hours now! I'm not worried, or stressed, I've done enough praying and God has brought so many scriptures to mind, and encouraging words from friends, that I am trusting. We went to lunch to a little favorite place of ours to kind of decompress a little and as we sat down the song that was playing was "I look to you" by Whitney Houston-reminding me to keep my eyes on God!

The very next song blasted out "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" LOL-God surely does have a sense of humor!!!

I'm just really sad! We've lived here 19 years (as of January 1). This is the only home our boys know or remember. We've poured our hearts and souls into this house and  yard over the years. Every February since we've lived here, we've done projects around the house and yard. All we had left to do was the bathrooms and the kitchen-which we were going to start next month!

I was already planning this summer's sand volleyball since I've met so many new volleyball players this year, thinking how much fun it would be to have them all over-along with our regular crowd! Now, it looks like we'll be moving instead!

I might have to have a packing party-with all of my Fiesta and vintage goodies-I'm so overwhelmed at the thought of packing it all up-plus all those years of accumulation...I'd need a team of 20 people-just to peel me out of the fetal position in the corner!!! Kidding! Kind of...

Here's the proposed plans...our house and yard are the big white box in the lower left corner-see the parking lots all around? Tennis courts in the lower right corner, and the building is the half black half white thing in the top right. Soccer fields are immediately to the left of the fence line, so we'd end up an island in the middle of the park.

If you're a praying person, we'd sure appreciate your prayers! We need wisdom, and direction-big time! We don't want to be hasty, but we also don't want to be stuck with a place we can't sell. Maybe toss in a prayer or two for patience!

Thanks for letting me vent! I probably won't be getting any junkin done this weekend, but hopefully soon!

Take care friends!

Wild Goose Chase...

Friday was a day that I should have stayed home. I had been running every day last week after work, and really needed some down time, but there was this restless feeling of not wanting to just hang out at home doing laundry and dusting all day. So, I did sleep in, but decided to head out and check out a couple of sales.

I thought I saw some Fiesta relish tray inserts in a picture at a sale in Roseville. So I quickly found another sale in that area to make it more worthwhile than driving all that way for just one sale, and just one item-but oh what an item!

Eric was bored since his classes haven't started up yet for the new semester, so he went along for the ride. Of course, the thing I thought I saw wasn't there-so I'm willing to bet it was Fiesta inserts. I scoured that sale a few times over in all of the rooms, not just the shelving unit I saw them on in the pictures. No luck.

Nothing else caught my eye, but it was fun to look. We ran into an older man who asked Eric if he was having fun yet, and I said "you bet!" while Eric shook his head no. The man laughed and told him, "at least she is having fun." We laughed and went upstairs as the man continued to search the basement.

We ran into him in another room, and he told me, "no dancing!" I am assuming he meant not to have so much fun that I break out in dancing...? Not sure on that one, but he thought he was clever. Eric and I laughed and walked out of that sale empty handed.

We went and got some lunch then went to the next sale, and sure enough, as I was in one of the rooms, I looked up and saw the old guy and he smiled and said "no dancing here either!" I just laughed and said OK, and went out to the car-empty handed again.

It was a bad day for finding treasures, but a great day for catching up with Eric and spending some much needed time with my boy! I can't believe he still will hang out with me once in a while...I bet the free lunch out might have had something to do with his decision to go, and the boredom....LOL!

He's a good kid, and we always laugh alot when we hang out together-I'm locking this day away in my heart as a day to be cherished. We stopped at several other stores along the way home-he wanted to visit Gander Mountain and Old Navy.

It turned out to be really balmy outside-we even had a window open in the car for a while! Welcome to the January thaw in Michigan!

Hope you are having a FUN weekend!! Can't wait to see what you've been finding!!!

Goodwill or Salvation Army?

Do you like shopping thrift stores? Do you have a favorite? Have you ever shopped Goodwill or Salvation Army? Do you have others that you like? Yesterday, I went to an estate sale on a whim after work, and it was awful! The smell in the house just about drove me back out the door the minute I walked in! It was the worst I've ever been in. The house and the contents seemed to be clean, it just smelled really bad. The basement was worse! Plus their prices were incredibly high.

I was so disappointed! But, since I'd been in that area many times before, I decided to visit an antique shop, and a couple of consignment stores along the way, and I found a Goodwill store too! The antique store always has been out of my reach price wise, and the people working there have never been friendly. I even was telling myself, that when I was walking in, and wondering why I was wasting the time to stop there.

The worker there was super friendly yesterday! The prices were still too high for my wallet, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how welcoming and friendly she was! I'm glad things have changed there-I think there is nothing worse than rude or unfriendly workers in any type of shop!

Once I left, I stopped at two consignment shops that I really like. One has new owners and it isn't as fun as it used to be. Translated in my language...fun=cheap, and fun=vintage goodies. Now it's mostly newer stuff, and a lot higher prices. The other one, I pretty much always walk out with something, and this is what I got:

When I went to Goodwill, it was packed with shoppers! Most of them were swarming the glassware area where I was trying to shop. I found this gorgeous square cake plate-is it Fostoria American? I think it might be...I was soo disappointed when I saw that at one point the base had come apart from the tray, and someone had used some glue that turned yellow with age to re-attach it. They also did a really terrible job with the glue!

It ran all down the sides and they never cleaned it up! It was only $6.99, so I took a chance that I might be able to get the glue off. This was on my wish list from a few years ago, so I was willing to take a chance.

I got home and started picking at the clue, and prying it with the edge of a sharp knife. I got all the drips off! I was afraid to try goof-off, because I didn't want to etch or damage the glass, so I had the brilliant idea of soaking it in hot water, to maybe loosen the glue between the two sections.

What I didn't think about...was how the glass would react to the hot water! As soon as I stuck it in the water, I heard it crack! UGH!!! It's just a tiny little crack, but it is soo disappointing!!! I continued to soak it, and it did come apart once it got soft enough, and I totally got all the yellow glue off, but now it has a crack that is about an inch long.

I still love it, and since you really have to look to see it, I'm still gonna use it. I just have to find some glass glue that won't turn yellow so I can put it back together!

Would you have taken a chance on it for $6.99? I'm so mad at myself for just dunking it in the hot water and not thinking!!! That's what happens when you've been running all day, and are trying to get the glue off while making dinner at the same time! I won't make that mistake again!

I've been lazy this morning...still hanging around in my jammies. Time to see what adventure awaits me today, and time to hit the shower!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Hunting!

Please PRAY!!

My cousin's wife just had an emergency c-section. The baby is only 2.75 pounds-the last update was that they were all doing well, and resting. This is their first baby-a girl they named Adley. If you're a praying person-PLEASE PRAY!!!

Funning things up with Meyercord decals!

I did it! I got up enough nerve to try the decals! I am sooo thankful that my friend Auntie warned me that the decals get brittle and crack and crumble and disintegrate from age! I would have been so upset had I not known that would happen when it DID happen!

This one was too bad to use, but I did use the other ones-cracks and all!

I kind of think it give it more character, and makes it look more vintage-more loved than if it would have been perfect.

I have a couple of folding bed trays that are just a natural wood color that I'm thinking of painting and using some decals on to fun them up a little too-I'll show you how it turns out-when I get the time and get up enough nerve to try it!