Rub a Dub Dub

One of the advantages of the increasingly-smaller number of sales this time of year is that you can make the rounds with no sense of hurry. Which encourages conversation, which is at least as much my goal is bringing home great deals. Of course, even if none of the sellers provide interesting talk, when you’re out with friends there’s always your own conversation to enjoy. Judy was back on the trail with us Friday after several weeks of taking care of her hubster after he had surgery. Felt like we hadn’t seen her for a year!

Unfortunately we didn’t find any vintage hats for her to try on. But KK was quite stunning, wrapped in the fifty-cent throw she bought because it was cold, and a feather boa.

A fun sale. The first lady we encountered said there was stuff in the house for sale, including lots of art, and that we were expected to buy something for our walls. Inside, three more ladies were sitting around the dining room table having a good old time. I asked if it was a sale or a party, and the answer was, “A little bit of both!”

One estate sale was several miles out of town, but the pictures in their ad had been interesting, so off we went. There were a number of vintage musical instruments, including a piano with a Solovox attachment. One of the ladies running the sale (family rather than an estate sale company) showed us the original tag extolling the wonders of the Solovox and how readily it can be enjoyed by the merest child. Turns out that her dad was a professional musician since the Sixties, a founding member of the Sawtooth Mountain Boys.

My other find at their sale was this vintage bunny figurine.

He reminds me of something, maybe a book illustration or an advertising figure? Or maybe he’s just so perfectly typical. Anyway, I fell in love at first sight. It might be that wicked eyebrow.

I think he’s going to get along very well with the Erzgebirge bunny I found last year.

After all, they share a similar taste in footwear!

 Another sale was a last minute attempt to lighten the load of a couple who are moving to Connecticut. The movers were due Monday and they were dealing. KK picked up a great metal Coleman cooler for five bucks. I went for these glass icicles.

I liked the driveway price (a dollar for both boxes, which were unopened) better than the original.

And I couldn’t resist this wooden sculpture. I think it has a midcentury modern vibe, which gets me every time. But what really grabbed me was that when I turn him in different directions he expresses new moods, changing from pensive

to oh no, I have a toothache

or oh no, I’m a napkin holder

to oh no, I think I left the stove on!

I have a feeling that he’s going to be known as Mr. Ohno.

At our last stop, we had one more conversation about how cold that wind was, and how cute their dog was. And a couple more things forced their way into my hands and made me buy them. But really, how could I resist this duck?

A duck with wonky wheels that wobbles side to side as you pull him along.  And you know my children’s literature-themed guest room really needed this Fisher Price chime toy.Those who remember the rhyme (which as most nursery rhymes do has an interesting history!) may notice that I have two bakers and the candlestick maker here.

Which makes it perfect for me; having been a vegetarian for over forty years, I’d much rather have an extra baker than a butcher!

    

Resistance is Futile

I can never resist checking out a piano. I’m really not a pianist but I own one and have fun with it. And I always want to see what other pianos sound like. (I also never pass a wind chime without finding out what it sounds like, and drums aren’t safe either. I may have to revise my self-image as a quiet person.)

So I have a couple of tunes I can play, and one of them is Ashoken Farewell, the haunting fiddle tune used in the Civil War documentary of a few years ago. And I wasn’t more than six notes into it at the estate sale on Friday when I heard a man’s voice say, “Ashoken Farewell! One of my favorite tunes!” I could hardly believe my ears. About a year and a half ago, I was playing this same tune on an estate sale piano and a man came over and told me enthusiastically, “Ashoken Farewell! One of my favorite tunes!”

This being not-so-big Salem, it was of course the same guy. I’m not sure if he remembered the earlier conversation, but we had a nice chat (again) about what a great tune it is and how it sounds like it should be from the Civil War era but isn’t. (And while we were chatting, his wife was snagging all the great Pendleton shirts my hubs would have liked, dang it!) Now I’m going to expect to see him at any sale where there’s a piano. I’ll have to make sure I keep Ashoken Farewell in practice; I wouldn’t want to disappoint him with wrong notes.

Evidently I can’t resist cashmere either. There was this really beautiful black cashmere ladies’ coat at the last estate sale we went to, and I was trying to get this other lady to buy it. We both stood there petting it (cashmere cloth feels really very nice) and saying neither of us needed another coat, but finally she gave in and put it on.

And it didn’t fit her! Just a bit tight in the hips. About that time my friends Judy and Robin showed up and they petted the coat too. Try it on they said. I don’t need another black coat, I said. This one’s the perfect weight for Oregon, they said. It’s fifteen dollars, I said. Right, they said, only fifteen dollars! So I tried on the black cashmere coat and it fit perfectly and felt great. Then Judy said the clincher. “You can wear it with anything. You can wear it with jeans to go garaging.” So yes, I’ll be the lady with jeans and a cashmere coat out looking for bargains in the future. I admit I can’t wait to wear it somewhere. Which means we will undoubtedly be in for a stretch of warm weather.

This whole business of resisting temptation is so difficult, you know? The resolve not to buy projects or decor has made me put down any number of items, and the fact that I can’t remember any of them reinforces the rightness of those decisions. At another estate sale Friday I decided to buy a very nice bottle with a pouring spout and metal lid to use for maple syrup. There were several of them sitting there, priced at a dollar each. Judy pointed out a little chrome stand with two of these bottles plus matching salt and pepper shakers, priced $3. I shook my head, saying I’d never use them. So it would just be decor.

When I got home I noticed a label on my bottle and went to the computer to check it out.And five minutes later I headed back to that sale, fingers crossed that the rest of the bottles and the set would still be there. Because these bottles are designed by Ettore Sottsass for Alessi

and they retail for over $40 each and that set is priced at over $200. Zowie. But alas, while I scored three more of the bottles (one missing its cap), the set was gone. Sure hope whoever bought it appreciates it!

When I got home again I emailed Judy a link to the set we’d passed up, saying we’d missed the boat. I think her reply truly captures our feelings. “We didn’t miss the boat…we missed a gigantic cruise ship!”

Fishing for Hugs

Headed first thing on Friday to the sale of a friend of a friend (hi, Jeanne!). Where we took a picture of Judy in a hat

and then broke our hearts over the perfect-for-Judy’s-house wooden screen door – that was the wrong size. Like six inches wrong, which means you can’t fudge it to fit. Dang!

Heading for our next stop through a residential neighborhood, we halted at a stop sign. A youngish man across the street immediately headed for us, carrying a fishing pole. We had the top down on my car and he came right up to the passenger side. “Hey,” he said. “I need some help.” He pointed to the handle of his fishing pole. “I need something sharp to cut this off.” I’m not sure what he was pointing at, but something about the scene made me nervous.

“Sorry, don’t have a thing,” I said brightly, and put the car in gear. “Nothing?” He seemed incredulous. “Nope, don’t have a pocket knife or anything.” I pressed the gas and slid around the corner, accelerating. Judy and I glanced at each other. “Yeah, right,” I said. “Let me hand you a knife, weird guy on a street corner. As if!”

At least he didn’t ask us for a gun. Sheesh! I know, he was probably harmless and actually concerned with his fishing pole, but no need to stay and find out for sure. Besides, I’m on the side of the fish.

The rest of the morning was just fun. We found the annual sale of some ladies at a posh house with posh stuff. It’s always one of those sales that even if the prices are higher than I will go, they have cool stuff that’s fun to look at. And I actually bought something I love, in fact I have it on right now – a shawl or wrap in two shades of green

 

that is so soft and cushy I think it is probably a cashmere blend. It weighs about as much as a feather and is perfect for a cool morning or to throw on when I go someplace with over-enthusiastic air conditioning.

At our next stop I noticed several quilt books with patterns to be made “in a day.” I asked who the quilter was (nice older lady) and then inquired if you can really make one of these quilts in a day. “Sure,” she said, “if you work on it for 24 hours without stopping.” We both laughed. “Seriously, you probably could complete one in a weekend if that’s all you did.” We chatted about quilts as I looked around, and I was thrilled to find one she had pieced but never finished…for $1.50.

I think with some simple finishing it will look swell on one of the guest room walls. Or I could always give it to that cat.

Her sale also yielded some movies and music

and a Kitchenaid mixer bowl that I think I can resell.

“I had that mixer for forty years and it finally died. I still miss it. That bowl has seen hundreds of loaves of bread dough,” she told me. I’ve had my Kitchenaid for over thirty years and hope it will last sixty more!

One of the big Catholic churches in town had their annual rummage sale, and rummage we did. There are usually treasures at these sales but you do have to wade through uncountable pieces of utter crap. And this particular church doesn’t price anything; they want you to make a donation – and then every single person gets a guilt trip to try to get them to donate more. I really do prefer the other churches who price things and/or let you fill a bag for X dollars. But I did rummage and find some good stuff - and survived the guilt trip!

I picked up a cute linen shirt (Judy and I both are enamored of linen these days)

and a couple of visors to shield my aging eyes in the convertible

and a wonderful French tablecloth (my eyes bugged out when I researched how much these things go for in a store).I pulled this from under a pile of sewing notions -

a completed Erica Wilson crewel design. Wasn’t she an amazing designer? Look at the personality in these faces!

And buried deep in a box of sweaters I saw a flash of color, so I dug, and I pulled, and out came this beauty (which I’ll be reselling in the winter).

It’s by Icelandic Designs, and if you don’t know their stuff, it’s absolutely wonderful. Fabulous materials and beautiful details. I don’t think this was ever worn.

When we left the church the day had grown hot. I looked at my GPS and realized we still had 11 sales on the list I’d programmed in – and there was no way I’d last through them all. So we headed for the street that was supposed to be having a neighborhood sale, which turned out to be all of two houses participating. But we had a great time at one of them. Two women, retired teachers who had team-taught second and third graders for many years. Lucky kids; these ladies were great. I was telling one of them about my search for a tiny shelf to go on the wall between the two windows in my office, and she gave me the exact thing I needed.

And we even got it put up, and now my phone extension is off my desk, but still handy. There’s even room for a notepad. Hmmm, looks like I need to move Zoe’s baby picture up so it’s framed by the shelf.

When she handed it to me, I was so pleased I commented, “I suppose you’d take it amiss if I kissed you?” and she said, “Yeah, but I’m Italian so we can hug!” And we did. It was a great end to a morning that started with a weird guy with a fishing pole!

Chipping Away

So there’s this pair of nice red French bowls, just the size we like for things like soup. Or ice cream. Plenty of room for the hot fudge sauce. And certainly the price was right.

When I got them home and peeled off the price tag…

it was covering up the chips. Can you believe someone would do that – for a quarter? Sheesh!

But not all chips are bad chips. We also met Chip and Belle.

Yup, named for the Disney characters. Friday was a fun day and Judy and I both found good stuff, though the biggest stuff was hers.

We were rocking that Beverly Hillbillies look. Judy’s trellis and vaccuum and my vintage plant stand came from our first stop, and the rest of the morning we fielded comments about our need for a truck

or how Judy could hold that sofa they wanted to get rid of on her lap.

When we paused for a sandwich there was no way to put up the lid on the car so we parked where we could keep an eye on things from our table. But the place was chock full of sheriff’s deputies on some sort of outing so we felt pretty safe.

I found practical stuff

and entertaining stuff

and inspiration.

 

Isn’t this clever? They made a cool midcentury bench from two coffee tables. Guess what’s on my look-for list now.

Picked up a couple of yard things – the aforementioned plant stand

and something I’ve wanted for years but never before found on a driveway: a weathervane.The irony is that at last I’ve found a weathervane…and I don’t think we can mount it on our metal roof. But he’ll look just find on a post in the yard.

Also picked up something that’s been on my list just a few weeks, since I rescued a warming stand from a free box that just needed the right dish to be complete.

I’ve passed up a few that were too spendy, but this one was only a buck.

My niece told me the other day to keep an eye out for a good food processor for her, so I was thrilled to spot this deal.

Totally made her day, and she just emailed me to say she sold her old processor on Craiglist for the same $10 this Cuisinart cost. Score!

At the same sale I spotted a beat up old camera bag

  with what looks like some decent equipment inside

that I’m hoping to resell. And since it came from the same sale as the chipped bowls, I hope I make a very large profit. The sellers seemed very happy to see it go, and I heard them talking about how they’d been going to throw that old stuff away. But a Pentax film camera is a workhorse and I know students like them.

In the photos of the loaded car you can’t see one of my favorite finds of the day – two happy African violets.

They were down on the floor getting a bit squished by all the other stuff, but came through just fine. Now we’ll see if I can keep them as happy.

This kitty thought the day was too hot. Everyone at their sale had to step over or around her.   Speaking of cats, don’t you love this switchplate cover?

Reminded me of someone…

Our last stop was at Judy’s friend Betsy’s house. There was a neighborhood sale going on. Her neighbor across the street had been by earlier with her seven-year-old granddaughter, who had looked at the purses Betsy had for sale. “Ohhhh, Grandma, look,” the child exclaimed…“I’m in purse heaven!”