Monday, April 6, 2015

No, no, no. Yes, yes,YES!

No projects, no decor. That’s our current mantra at sales. So you probably already have a very good idea what I brought home this weekend.

Of course. Decor. And a project.

Judy and I hit an estate sale first thing Friday morning, run by the nice guys I’ve mentioned before. The house was in what is probably my second-favorite neighborhood in Salem (my own Candalaria neighborhood being first) where there are many midcentury houses for us to exclaim over. Our destination house had several cool original features, including a Dishmaster kitchen faucet.

Instinct drew me instantly to the back bedroom where vintage linens were piled under a sign that said “Make an offer.” Which is what I like about these guys sales – they’re way more relaxed about pricing than most of the other local companies.

What was interesting was that there was practically a line of ladies wanting to look at linens. We all agreed it’s a dangerous vice because vintage linens are fairly common, and quite irresistible. Fortunately they are also practical, so I felt no remorse at selecting some embroidered towels (don’t you love the Beet Lady’s expression? A Beet Lady’s work is never done, while Teacup Ladies just dance through life.)

Beet Lady

Teacup Lady

and a heavy, never-used tea towel with a recipe for Baked Mushrooms - in Czech.

Czech towelMushroom recipe

I also grabbed a pair of what I though were hand knit mittens

Mitten

but when I got them home I realized the thumb is sewn in, so they are machine made. Note to self: pay more attention to details before you spend that fifty cents.

Alas, machine made

Then I spotted a large folded linen something.

You may have picked up that I love linen fabric. Love to wear it, love to dry dishes with it. Love it on my table. Give me linen. Don’t care that it wrinkles; wrinkles are part of life (as pretty much everyone my age has found out). So here was this humungous linen tablecloth (it’s about 6 feet wide by 9 feet long)

BIG piece o' fabric

with (alas!) a major flaw.

Ink spots

Ink spots. But, I reasoned, the ink spots are all clustered in one corner, and this is great fabric. I could make something from this. And I got it for a buck. And took home another project. But I’ve already decided what I’ll be making!

Fleeing from the linens room, I spotted a small vase. Small enough to fit on the windowsill and become part of the collection of colored vases up there.

Trelleborg vaseCollection grows

Still has its old label that says “Trelleborg” which seems to have been a Swedish glass company that stopped production in 1955, so this is an old piece. I love the little bubbles.

Trelleborg label

Judy scored a round vintage metal table that I believe matches my Homecrest rocking chairs. On the way back to the car we made a pact to put in our wills that I get the table if she goes first, and she gets the chairs if I go first.

It’s good to get these things settled.

Our last stop was a house on a busy street across town; fortunately there was room for several cars to park in the driveway (and a traffic light a block away that came in handy for giving us a chance to back out onto that busy street when we left!). The very first thing I saw was this vintage cake cover.

Ransburg cake coverCake cover handle

I picked it up. No base, just the cover. Dirty. Looked like rust on the back.

Icky back of cover

It was two bucks. It was decor. I bought it. I think it was the rooster, I just love him. So yes, another piece of decor, and considering the scrubbing needed also something of a project. But my trusty can of Bar Keepers Friend and some elbow grease did the trick.

Ransburg cover cleanedTop cleaned

Turned out that wasn’t rust on the back, just dirt. I do not want to know what kind, and it’s gone now.

Icky back cleaned

This is apparently a Ransburg piece, hand painted and so made between the Thirties and the Fifties. I am sorry to know that there were canister sets that matched – just one more thing to want!

Cake cover aloft

So yes, I brought home projects and decor. I will try to be stronger in future. However, the cutest, most wonderful thing I saw this weekend I did NOT bring home. (And not because I didn’t want to.) We had Sunday dinner at my niece’s house, which has a creek behind it where numerous water birds hang out. Including Canada geese, which had been absent for the past couple of weeks…and we found out why.

Image C Kelsey Miller 2015

Babies! Most adorable things you ever saw. And Mom and Dad brought them by to show them off. We threw some seed out for them and Mom and the babies ate while Dad stood guard.            Images C Kelsey Miller 2015Now we can hardly wait for the ducks and mergansers to show up with their offspring. Isn’t spring wonderful? Flowering trees, cheerful bulbs, baby birds. And yard sales, where I will be trying very hard not to buy projects or decor!

8 comments:

  1. Fun fun finds, but my heart goes pitty pat about the Pink cake cover!! Love!

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    Replies
    1. So YOU understand why I had to relax the "No decor" edict, right?

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  2. I don't like to subscribe to blogs, but I do like yours so so much and now I have a few to catch up on. yay me! no yard sales around here yet, still too cold.

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  3. Don't hold back! You always make the most of your projects & I get a vicarious thrill from hearing about them! Might the cake cover come in handy as protectin from
    Edward for edibles on the counter?

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that is a really good idea! You're so lucky with your short dogs, they can't reach the counter!

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  4. I just absolutely LOVE your blog; I feel like I am still in touch with you! Your "voice" is unmistakable. Hugs!

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I really love your comments. Thanks for coming along on my thrifty adventures!

 
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