Like a moth to a flame...

I just can't seem to resist vintage linens! I have collected wayyy too many, and I have way to many for sale in my booth, but for some reason, I can't walk away! I'm keeping my eye out for my blog friend Deb, for a certain size and color in vintage tablecloths, but so far no luck! You should check out her blog Garage Sale Gal.

 I also am drawn to vintage thermoses...all because of this really cool blog I read called Monkeybox. Shara always has great finds, and great collections. You should stop by and check out her blog. I bet you'll put it on your follow list just like I did!

I went to a couple of sales after work today. One was so ridiculously priced, I'm still shaking my head! The prices made me say to myself--"Really? You've got to be kidding me! No wonder the house is still packed at 2:30! and I'm outta here!!!" Another sale had a really bad b.o. odor in the house (everywhere-ugh!) and everything felt sticky, icky, dirty. I'm glad I carry hand sanitizer in my car!!

I have a small list of things that I am always on the look-out for that friends have asked me to try to find for them, and it got me thinking...we all go to a lot of sales, why not keep an eye out for each other!?! Is there something you've been hunting for and you just can't find it? Is there one little elusive piece to a set that you are dying to complete? Are you kicking yourself for passing up that great whatchamacallit, because you haven't seen another one in years?

Maybe I can help!! Maybe we can help each other!! We could have a network group of thrift store, estate sale, garage sale, antique store bargain hunters-who could keep an eye out for each other!! What do you think?? I might see something at every sale I go to, but you can't seem to ever run across one where you live. What if we traded picker-for-hire services??

I've been thinking of starting a Wednesday blog party called "Wednesday Wishlist" where like-minded blog friends can post one thing that they are dying to find, along with a price range they are willing to pay (and a picture if you can find one) for all of us to keep our eyes peeled for, and if we find it, we could contact the person who posted it with what we paid for it, and how much shipping would be! What do you think??

I don't mean for it to be, oh, I bought it for $5, so I'll tell them I got it for $10 and then add in a couple bucks on the shipping. I want it to be, I got it for $5, it's yours for $5 plus actual shipping-from one treasure seeker to another, because it's a fun and rewarding (helping someone) thing to do!

Think about it, and let me know what you think! I would LOVE to be able to help someone finish up a set, or find that special something they've been looking for-forever!

No Sense of Humor!

Eric had the day off from school and he texted me around lunch time asking if I had plans for lunch-how cool is that when your soon to be 18 year old son wants to hang out with mom!?! He even paid!!! It was just Burger King, but it was still pretty awesome! He hung around and helped me with some things for a couple of hours and then we went down the hall to the gym where the Red Cross was conducting a blood drive.

I was really discouraged to see how few people were there to donate blood! We were walk-ins and we got right in. I was surprised when the lady asked me if I was registering today as a female...what kind of question is that? Do that many people change their gender between their blood donations that they have to ask that question? Eric said they asked him if he was registering as a male so I didn't feel quite so weird about her asking me.

I was trying to be friendly and a little chatty with the lady who was processing my information, and she kept giving me "the look", so I stopped and "behaved" myself. When the blood started actually flowing, Eric was first, but I finished first 5 minutes 46 seconds. When she was un-hooking me I asked her if I beat him and she just gave me a disgusted look and "did you beat him?" then she sighed and told me to sit up and go get some juice and cookies.

Would it hurt them to be just a little friendly? Would it hurt them to make it a little more fun? Why do they tell you your time if it isn't a competition? :-)

Some Great Ideas and a New Project!

Last week I got an email from a coworker and it really had some great ideas in it! I have already put a couple of them into practice, and plan to try out a couple more! It showed spreading chocolate chip cookie dough on   muffin cups from a muffin pan flipped upside down, and baking it that way to form little cookie bowls for ice cream-my guys are looking forward to trying that!

It showed putting a tension rod under your sink in the cupboard to hang your squirt bottle cleaners on to get them up and off the bottom of the shelf and kind of make a second shelf under there. My next trip to a hardware store involves getting a tension rod-I can't wait to try this!!

It also showed a really easy way to fold fitted sheets, and suggested putting your clean sheets into one of the pillow cases in your linen closet-so everything was all together and ready to go. It would keep your linen closet neater and you wouldn't end up searching all over for stray pillow cases. My fitted sheets have never been folded so nicely, and my linen cupboard has never been so organized!

While folding and organizing, I came across a couple of old sheet sets that I decided to put to another use. The white sheets with the purple flowers are my all time favorite sheets! Unfortunately, I was lazy one night about six or so years ago, and went to bed with an ankle bracelet on and as I stretched out my leg, the clasp caught on the sheet and ripped a big ole rip that was impossible to repair.

I've kept the sheets because I couldn't bear to get rid of them because I love them so much. Now I found a way to keep them, but see them every day! I'm trying my hand at making a rag rug!! I tried to make one last summer using bright primary colored material and I was pulling it too tight and it ended up looking like a Jamaican hat-so after a ton of teasing from my guys, I gave up.

This time, I am being really careful to not pull too tight and it is actually laying flat!! YAY!! It isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it! It is a really easy project-I wonder why more people aren't making rag rugs!! I watched some great how-to videos on youtube by LauraJaneV82. If you are interested in making a rag rug-I highly recommend her videos! She makes it sound easy enough to give it a try!

 I think I need to make my strips a little wider next time to avoid the bottom sheet from showing through.

 After I ripped the two fitted sheets into strips, I pulled as many strings as I could off and rolled the strips into balls to make them easier to handle.

My funny little tool that I made out of a paper clip and some painters tape. 

I watched a different video on ripping your sheets quickly and efficiently. I ripped a whole sheet in about a minute-it was incredible! I had to have Kevin on the other end, but it worked! Now if I could just find some extra time, I could really go to town on this! I'm still getting the teasing, but I think they can see I'm doing much better this time! I'm so glad I didn't give up and never try it again!! I can't wait to make another one-I'm sure it will be much better than than this one!!

It's nice to be at home, working on a little project-today has been a crazyyyyy day!!! I had to work the front desk during the first church service and it was crazy busy and weird! We had to call 911 for an older man who passed out during the service. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. I hope he is alright!

It seems that more times than not when I work the desk we are calling 911 for an ambulance! Most times they refuse to go. This time he really needed to go, and so I'm glad he went! There was a couple of small housekeeping/building issues that came up after that, then a woman came in and said there was a hurt deer on the play ground. So I kept our facilities Manager hopping with my phone calls for a while.

Shortly after that, a man who was helping spread salt on the sidewalks came in because he had needed to open a new bag of salt, but didn't have a knife, so he used his teeth and a small piece of the plastic from the salt bag got stuck in his teeth and it was hurting him and he wanted to know if we had some floss! Luckily someone else was at the desk helping me at that time and she was able to find him some string.

On top of regular Sunday morning office stuff and people dropping off cookies for the blood drive tomorrow, it was an unusually busy day! Kevin was taking blood pressures for anyone who wanted it today, so we got into church late and had to sit in the balcony-which was about 90 degrees! I don't think I could have lasted much longer than I did, I was getting so sleepy up there! After that, we ran out and got a bite to eat and then headed back for our congregational meeting to vote for some new elders. We didn't get home until about 3:00-and we left early!

Now I've got dinner in the oven and I will be working on my rug the rest of the night! Speaking of dinner...do you like butternut squash? Do you have a Costco near you? I found this a few months ago at Costco and we just loved it! I was so happy when I found it again when we went on Friday.

I usually chop up some onions and toss it with some olive oil and a little salt and pepper and roast it in the oven-YUMMMM!

P.S.--if you would like to see the email with all of the great ideas, just leave a comment or send me an email and I'll email it to you! I wasn't able to post pictures or copy and paste the email into this blog post.

Crazy, Busy Friday!

This morning I asked myself if I should stay home and do laundry or take a chance on a few sales that looked iffy. If you've been reading my blog for more than a week, I know you know what I chose to do! (smile) Yep! Kevin and I took off on a little adventure and tried out a few estate sales. most of them were frogs, and two of them were junior princes-not quite good enough to call princes, but not bad enough to be called frogs.

We had a nice relaxing day, enjoying each other's company-without the usual distractions around the house. One of the sales we went to actually had a bomb shelter and some of the stuff for sale was in the bomb shelter. I was excited to see it when the lady running the sale told us to make sure we we didn't miss it, because they had things for sale in it too.

The entrance was in a hidden corner of the basement and it had a long, twisty, narrow hallway leading from the basement to the bomb shelter. The whole shelter was probably 9'x9', and made me feel pretty claustrophobic while I was in there. It looked to be made out of cinder block, and I couldn't tell if there was more to it than that or not. It seemed like it could be a place someone could get trapped in pretty easily though if it caved in .

 Maybe it would be a good tornado shelter instead. The ceiling even looked to be cinder block. I bet it would be a fun fort for kids to play in-although I don't know if they'd get any internet connection in there!

This is what I picked up today:

 a chenille baby or crib blanket-no holes, stains or tears!

 Three fired-on apple dishes, two primary Pyrex 401 bowls, a few old Christmas stockings

 A plastic drink shaker, a Christmas mouse an oval frame, a clothespin bag,
 a pile of half aprons and a baby gown

 a pink and white baby blanket-gorgeous!

This one puzzles me...it clearly asks what little boys are made of-yet it is pink and white!

This is what Kevin picked up-it came with a stethoscope-$2!

Other things we squeezed into our day include: a meeting at Eric's school, a trip to Lowe's and Home Depot and a trip to Costco. We found a shower enclosure at Lowe's that looks like travertine, but is a man made product-all assembled in sheets that you glue to the wall studs. I think we both are excited, because it was considerably cheaper than tiling the shower, but much nicer looking than the fiberglass one piece unit that we currently have.

 It's something to tuck into the back of our minds, for a later time. We still have to put stone on the outside walls of the sun room and we have Eric's graduation party coming up in June. So maybe next fall we'll change up our bathrooms.

We got a rug at Costco for the sun room. I think it looks great and it keeps your feet off of the cold, cold floor. Kevin and Eric think it is too big and hides too much of the tile...what do you think? It takes up about 1/3 of the overall floor space. It's a big one-7.5'x10'!

***As I was typing this Kevin got a call from Eric to come to the end of our little road, because someone had rolled their car! He was waiting to make a left turn onto our road and someone flew over the train tracks (coming toward him) going too fast for the snowy road, and the little hill that the tracks are on and started swerving right for Eric! She over compensated and ended up in the ditch with her jeep on its side. Eric ran to the rescue with a few other people who were driving in the area at the time, and I'm happy to report that the girl was just really shaken up-but not injured at all-thank you Lord! Poor Eric, he can't stop shaking-that was a close call!

Now I am off to do that laundry I bailed on earlier, and maybe curl up with a book for a few hours. Eric got an electric blanket for Christmas, and last night I fell in love with it! He may have a fight on his hands getting it back! It is just the right size to curl up on the couch with...maybe the laundry can wait a bit longer...a book, a warm blanket and a mug of tea-seem to be calling my name! (smile).

Hope you have a great weekend! Stay warm and stay safe!

Merry Christmas to Me ~ Thanks Mom & Dad!!

I must be dreaming! I actually won a quilt top on Ebay and it was very reasonable! I used my Christmas gift card that I got from my parents and it came in the mail today. I LOVE, LOVE, Love it! The only issue I have is, it smells like cigarette smoke!

 It's twin size and I think it will look awesome on my old iron bed. It is the Grandmother's Garden pattern. It is very similar to the one I wanted to buy at a garage sale at the end of summer. The sale where the seller changed her mind and decided to keep it.

It doesn't have any stains, or rips...just the stinky smell. I don't really want to wash it, because I'm afraid the stitches might come loose. Any suggestions on getting rid of the stink? I can hang it outside to air out once the weather cooperates and stops raining. I just draped it over my tablecloth rack in the sun room for right now.

I got off work early, and was planning to go to a couple of sales, but it was yucky-rainy out and my GPS was being dumb, and I didn't feel like driving-so I went home and now, I'm sitting here itching to go to a sale-LOL!

I thought about running out to the Mega Mall, I've heard they have new management and a lot of new dealers and I've wanted to check it out, but I didn't feel like making the drive today. Maybe tomorrow. I don't see any great sales that are worth driving to for the weekend, so I might just have to get my fix at Mega Mall.

Or, maybe I'll just stay home with a good book...

A Hamster Estate Sale??

I was skimming through Craigslist and came across a hamster estate sale! It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share a chuckle with you!

Hamster estate sale - $20

Our Russian dwarf hamster passed away from old age and we are not planning on getting another one in the short-term future, so this is his estate sale...

Includes:
- Glass fish tank (10 gallon?) with mesh lid. The tank is not sealed so it won't hold water (i.e., can't be used for fish)
- Silent wheel, water bottle, food dish
- Hardwood "furniture"
- About one third to one half of a bag of paper bedding, and a similar amount of wood chip bedding,
- Half a bag (2 pounds or so) of hamster food
- A bunch of plastic components compatible with most commercial hamster habitats
- Clear plastic ball









I admire their creativity! I hope they sell their stuff!

Gorgeous Moon!!!

As I was sitting int he sunroom, surfing my blog friend's blogs, I happened to catch a glimpse of the moon through one of the skylights. I had to turn off the ceiling fan to get a shot at it (pretend you don't see the dust-I am pretending! ;) )

Then I went outside to snap a couple shots...the pictures don't do it justice! It is gorgeous!!!

Playing Can Be Work Too!!

Today was a busy day! It was "Dealer Day" at the antiques and collectibles mall where I have my booth. Dealer Day, in case you haven't been reading my blog for a while, is when the mall owners open the doors for dealers only, the first Sunday of the month from 10am-noon. They put out a buffet spread, and have two drawings-one for a $20 mall gift certificate, and the other for $50 off the next month's rent.

It's a great chance to get into your booth to rearrange, dust, vacuum, straighten, or whatever! I waited until today to take out all of my Christmas junk stuff. I'm glad I waited, because I sold some more of it this week! I sold the headboard bench Kevin made yesterday so I needed to bring in something to fill it's spot, plus I had 3 giant bins of new junk treasures to add in.

One of the other dealers came over to me with a worried look on her face, and asked if I was moving out. I laughed and said no, just moving stuff around. It looked like a bomb went off in my booth for most of the 2 hours I was there! Kevin went with me, but he was soo worried about getting out to the car to sit and wait, he kept asking if we were done yet.

I asked him along because I knew I had a major amount of work to do, and knew I couldn't get it all done by myself. I should have left him home after I kept having to explain about presentation, and displaying things nicely and not just throwing them on any old shelf. I couldn't imagine being as impatient as he is. I think I'd have an ulcer from it!!

After I got home, I decided to play with some of my finds that I've decided to "foster" for a while. I bought them with the intention of selling them, but once I got them home, I fell in love with them and can't part with them just yet!

Part of the playing involved going to the upstairs part of our barn and hauling in a twin box springs (don't worry-I thoroughly checked for critters!) and putting the bed together, as well as moving the trundle bed around. While I was up there, I found the quilt my grandma made for us for a wedding gift (it was in a clear bag-not just laying around in the barn). I never really liked it (just didn't like the colors and the way she edged it) and never appreciated the time she put into it. I appreciate the time that went into it now but part of me wonders if she really made it herself, because up until them and ever since then, I have never seen her sew a thing!

She crocheted up until about 6 years ago when she starting having issues with dementia and couldn't remember how to do it. She did ceramics until about 10 years ago until she got tired of it (or maybe couldn't do it anymore), but I never, ever saw her sew. I wonder if she just bought it. I can't ask her because she is gone now, and I know my grandpa won't have a clue, so there's no point in asking him.

I never used it on our bed. It's mostly been in the basement in a storage bin, or in the barn (I didn't put it out there-I thought it was still in the basement). The quilt batting looks like it is dissolving or something. I looked it over to see if I could just remove the little triangles that it is edged with, but that would involve removing the whole back, and that's a task I am not up for right now. So, it will stay as is, but it won't stay in the barn. It's in the house on a spare bed in the basement family room/boys rec room/treasures pricing room.

I feel bad for not appreciating it when I got it, and for forgetting about it all these years! It's still not my favorite, but I appreciate the hours and hours that went into it. I could almost say I appreciate the love that went into it, but, 1. I'm not sure she even made it, and 2. If she did make it, it was for the attention/admiration of the ladies at my shower more than out of love for me. I don't think she ever learned how to love anyone other than herself throughout her whole life. I know is sounds mean, but I also knew her, and it's the truth.

So, Now I'm headed off the see what you've been up to this weekend. Hopefully there will be some good sales this coming week! I'm itching for a good hunt! Hope you have a great week!!!

January 6th? Or April 6th?

It is a glorious, blue-sky, sunny 53 degrees out today! I am LOVING it!! It sure doesn't feel like January-more like April. I didn't go to any sales today. I went to the movies with Kevin instead. I am so glad I went too! We saw War Horse and it was incredible! I hadn't seen any previews, so I didn't know what to expect, and I wasn't too thrilled about going. I just went along because Kevin asked me, and we don't have "date time" as often as we should. I hope the movie wins lots of awards-it is very deserving in my eyes.

We're thinking of going to D.C. the end of March for the Cherry blossom Festival...any thoughts, ideas or advice about that? I know it will be crowded with this being the centennial year, I'm wondering about parking, driving around, places to stay, etc. Any tips or advice you can give me will be very greatly appreciated!!

Hope you're having a great Friday, and that your weekend is relaxing, and refreshing!

Where to go...What to do...

We are thinking of doing a little bit of traveling this year and we have to hurry and make up our minds! Every year in February, U of M makes their nurses decide on their days off for the entire year! Usually we forget about it and we are scrambling the day Kevin gets his pick. This year, we are trying to think ahead...but we are drawing a blank.

We are thinking of going in March or April, and have no idea where to go (except Florida, California and Arizona-been there done that enough times). Do you have any ideas? I thought about Savannah, or D.C., or Texas...what do you recommend? We want to stay in the U.S. this time, and it can be as short as a few days or up to 10.