Playing Catch Up

I didn't run away or fall off the face of the earth – but my computer might has well have. It’s been on the fritz for at least a week. Something about the operating system, which of course takes a lot of time to figure out even that much. My long-suffering husband spent ALL DAY Saturday on the phone with a technician, and late in the afternoon, after we thought we were on the road to Wellville, he restarted the computer and got the “operating system not found” message. And the technician went home for the weekend.

I live in hope it will be fixed today, at which point I’ll find out if I have any files left. I had some stuff saved ‘in the cloud’ but not everything. And not the latest sections of my  new book. Grrrrr. But that’s my fault for not backing up stuff more often. My fingers are still crossed.

It’s been frustrating at least partly because the past two weekends have just been so much fun for garaging. I finally said I have GOT to blog. Which entailed installing software on two other computers in the house for getting the pictures off my two cameras. I tell  ya, this blogging thing is SO HARD! (You have to read that last bit in a whiney voice.) And of course all the funny conversations I had on driveways fade from my aging brain as time passes. Like two minutes time. As my friend Marcia says, “I can remember anything until I take a step. So, it’s not my brain that’s at fault – it’s my feet!” At least I can show you the stuff I found, ranging from the practical to the unique. Let’s start with a couple of things I didn’t buy. These were both at the same sale, supposed to be an estate sale. When we walked into the house, the first thing I spied on a luridly gold chest in the front hall was this:

Yes. A bag o’ bones. I’m still scratching my head over this. They collected them? Saved them for the dog? Do you suppose anyone bought them? Then, when we headed into the bedroom, I stopped in my tracks at the sight of The World’s Ugliest Bed. Do not doubt your eyes. That is a bookcase headboard and a footboard with tall posters topped by chrome finials. I had actually seen a picture of it in their Craigslist ad and sent it to my hubs because it was so strange. Turns out…someone did it on purpose. They glued the posts onto the footboard!

Nope. Didn’t buy anything there!

Got some great practical stuff though. A sturdy trowel and a bulb planter (I’ll be adding allium bulbs to the front yard this fall)

 

and for inspiration:

Though we’ve already reinvented our yard. I’ll show pics soon. It’s turned out so well that we like sitting on the front deck to enjoy it. Already had a small table and one chair, and at my neighbors sale I picked up two more of these ($3 each!).

For a little indoor gardening this winter, I got this nice little planter and saucer (for a quarter!)

and some free coleus sprigs from a couple of folks to put in it.

 

At another estate sale there were no bags o’ bones, but I did score a bag o’ threads for a buck.

When I counted them, I found 51 spools, many brand new, in a variety of colors. I was about to go buy white thread at a fabric store, and now I’m set for years!

 

They threw in this cool vintage needle folder with a variety of needles

which I’ll soon be using to turn this pair of brand new double flat sheets ($1 each) into a fitted twin set.

   

My other sewing project involves this faux fur vest, quite nice quality, looks new.

I’m going to remodel it into a coat for our Zoe. Can’t wait to show you how it turns out. She’s going to look like the Flintstone’s dog!

Other useful finds included a bunny cookie cutter (perfect for dog biscuits)

a colorful wine bottle stopper

small crockpot so I can try doing hot wax treatments on my hands (found a how-to on Youtube that of course I can’t locate now to share with you)

some cute votive candles in ‘eggshells’ a couple of nice wine glasses (twenty-five cents each).Found some ‘crossover’ items – useful and decorative. Like these gorgeous etched drinking glasses

that throw a lovely shadow in the morning sun.

I just love these vintage thread clippers in their little silk-covered hand decorated case 

and I swooned over this lovely wooden acorn

that turned out to be a little box – probably quite an old thimble case.

 

Of course what could be more practical than a midcentury candy dish for the holidays? I have to admit that, stirred by that holiday feeling last weekend, I also succumbed to the lure of some purely decorative items. Like more acorns (I guess I now officially have an acorn collection) – don’t these metal ornaments look real?

I find these laser-carved cubes just fascinating, and for fifty cents this cool frog and dragonfly scene came with a lighted stand  

that changes color!

At the same sale I bought an antique teddy bear. Very antique.

He’s in quite sad condition, but I used to make teddy bears so I’m going to have a go at some restoration. I’d probably never dare if he’d cost more than a quarter! He’s spending a few days in the freezer to take care of any, um, unwanted visitors (wrapped safely in a sealed plastic bag!). I’ll keep you posted.

Finally, found two things I just absolutely love at a sale a couple of doors down from our house. Isn’t this little guy the cutest? But the doghouse roof is in sections, and it took us a minute to figure out his vintage purpose.

He’s designed to hold cigarettes, and the roof sections are little individual ashtrays! Trust me, he’ll never be used for this purpose at our house

but he’ll be right at home with my other vintage dogs.At the same sale, about three seconds after I walked in the house, I spotted this guy and grabbed him.

It was love at first sight, and it hasn’t faded yet.

Yes, he actually pedals his bike as it rolls. The bottom is stamped Czech and there’s an artist’s signature but it’s unreadable. But I got lucky. Did a Google image search and found another wooden toy with a very similar face, and was able to find the artist! He was made by Miroslav Trejtnar, a master puppet carver and puppeteer. You can see more of his art here. I’ll never know what road my riding jester took from Czechoslovakia to Salem, but from now on, we’re riding together!