Greetings! Cards a Plenty!

As I mentioned earlier this week, the sales last week were terrific! I got all those lovely dishes ... but I also bought a HUGE box of old greeting cards.

I am a SUCKER for memorabilia from the 1950s and early 1960s, and these cards sure fit the bill.  The entire box (and it was a BIG ONE) sold for only $3.  I swear there must have been several hundred cards in the box.  Not all of them were keepers.  But I sorted through them and made three piles.  Those I wanted to keep, those I'd be willing to sell, and those that would go in my next (catch-and-release program, if I may borrow the phrase from the Yardsalebloodbath blog) yard sale.

Inside the big box were many smaller boxes of greeting cards.  One of them was totally devoted to welcome-to-the-world baby cards.

Isn't the above card darling?  Sadly, the ribbon didn't scan as pretty as the rest of the card.  Or how about this one?

Don't you just want to pick up that baby and kiss it?  And what about this next one?

Wouldn't you want to be this person's secret pal?

Or how about this . . . ?

There must have been at least 10 "thinking of you" cards.  Isn't this doggy card sweet?

This house card was die-cut, so that the roof and chimney are part of the card, but the pink skyline isn't.

There were a whole series of these thinking-of-you cards with the gingham background. And there were a whole box of "satin"card like the one below, printed on some kind of pseudo-satin fabric.  Lovely. Just lovely.

The scanner just couldn't do the following birthday card justice.  The "front" side" of the card (the right side) has lovely sparkles, but I scanned the backside as well because ... well, you just don't get cards like this nowadays.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the cards in that box.  There must have been over 500 cards--most of which are not that remarkable.  But the ones that are (about 100-150)  are exquisite

Or, at least I think so.  Maybe you would, too.

Big-time Yard Sale Scores!

It's been wayyyyyy too long since I blogged about my yard sale scores.  The reason?  THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY!

Along with the long weather drought, there's been a long yard-sale drought.  The pickings have been small to nothing for weeks on end.  If it wasn't for the doughnuts and coffee at the Alton Coffee Cup, my two junking pals and I would have had no joy at all on our recent junking forays.  All that changed this week.

First of all, there was a big car show in Wolcott (NY) this weekend. What a load of pretty vintage cars. (And did I have my camera with me?  That would be a very big NO!)  But part of the celebration was a community yard sale.  Yes!  Lots and lots of sales.

My first score was at a former bed and breakfast.  I got two (count 'em) bone china sugar and creamer set for the insanely low price of a buck each.

These were from a sales promotion from the old A&P grocery store in the early 1960s (or so an antiques dealer once told me).  I already have the same set (along with 6 cups and saucers and luncheon plates), but how can you pass up that kind of a deal?

This is the other sugar and creamer set, which was marked Ansley Bone China England.  Not sure what the pattern is.

At another sale, I found these sweet rose plates -- three of them -- for yet another outrageously low price.  (Can you say less than a buck?)  I do think they would have been prettier without all that gilding, but they are nice nonetheless.

My last score in the china department was from the Wolcott Historical Society.  They were practically giving this cup away, and I didn't dispute the price.  Isn't it darling?

And here's its pedigree.

Of course, that wasn't the end to the scores for the weekend, but that's enough for this post.  Check back later in the week!

A box lot of delight!

Saturday I went to an estate sale.  No big deal.  I was there about a month ago, but they seemed to be getting desperate to get rid of the stuff.  This time they had box lots of items.  I was attracted to a box lot of glassware, and in particular one tiny, heart-shaped cup.  (This must be my month for box lots.)

Isn't it darling?  The person who owned it must have loved tiny cups.  There were five of them in the box.  Sadly, one of the prettiest ones, with an old rose pattern, was badly chipped.  It's going into the trash.  : (

Here are the four of five items that were worth keeping.

They're all tiny and all delightful.

What's going to happen to the rest of the box lot?  (Which contained a couple of glasses, a few tea light holders, some badly chipped salt dabs, a St. John Fisher mug, a shot glass, and a small wire basket from The Dollar Store?  It's going into the catch-and-release plan (to steal a phrase from the Yard Sale Bloodbath blog), that is--I'll put them in my own yard sale later this summer.

The Linen Box Lot

My, I've been remiss.  I've been junking and buying up wonderful stuff and just haven't had a chance to write about it.

Last week, one of my favorite purchases was a $2 box lot of linens.  I love box lots.  You never really know what you've got until you unpack them.

This box lot was a bit of a disappointment.  It had more men's handkerchiefs and nylon scarfs that were cut up than anything else, but it did have a number of doilies, a pair of kid gloves (so small I can't get my hands in them--and I have little hands), and a pair of yellow cotton gloves, and enough doilies to keep me happy.

Here are a few of the things after sorting the wheat from the chaff.  Now, they're off to the Oxiclean bath!

Have you found anything good in a box lot?

Have a Happy!

Is that all there is?

On Saturdays I usually hop in the car with my best two girlfriends and we go out junking.  (And, yes, sometimes we sing.  One of the girl's favorite new song is "Friday" by Rebecca Black.  Yeah, it's cute, but it gets tiresome.)

Anyway, we hit at least 9 or 10 sales and there was just NOTHING there.  Okay, there was stuff, but not stuff we wanted.  Here's my booty:

Bone china mug, reproduction Fire King Jadite mug (the price was right) and a willow cup from Syracuse China.  (The saucer was marked "Blatt Band" and "Made in Sweden" - and we know where the Syracuse cup was made, right?)

And though it wasn't a hot day, July is right around the corner.

We did enjoy each other's company and laughed and stuffed ourselves at lunch afterwards, and that was the best.

Did you find anything good this weekend?

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Reading for pleasure

I love to read. I'm sucker for books that nobody loves, too. So is it any wonder I rescued a book from a free box at one of the yard sales on Saturday. As if that wasn't bad enough, this had been a library discard. It's called Adopted Jane.

Here's the Amazon description: Jane Douglas has lived at an orphanage for long as she can remember. Reliable and sensible, she has watched other children come and go, but never once has any family wanted to adopt Jane. Then one magical summer Jane receives not one, but two, invitations to live in a real house with a real family for a month each. If only the summer could last forever.

I read it over the weekend and it's a sweet book. I think I'm going to keep it.

I also hit another sale and found a copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle.

Of course, I probably would have NEVER bought it if I hadn't seen the movie Julie & Julia, which I've now seen at least ten times.  The woman who sold it to me said, "Someone's going to be cooking."  I said, "Not me.  I only want to page through it because I saw the movie."  She said, "I learned a lot from that movie."  I said, "I learned NOT to crowd the mushrooms!" and we both laughed.

I imagine I'll get an hour or two of pleasure flipping through this cookbook.  (The movie really intimidated me when it comes to trying any of the recipes.)

What books have you recently acquired?

What I found while junking . . .

Finally.  Going to yard sales is starting to become fun again.  Once again I scored some nice stuff for not much cash.

My first purchase as a lovely little china plate with roses.  Isn't it sweet?

Next up, I got a hand-painted china tray.  I guess it's a dresser tray ... I just love it.

Went to a sale put on my the local ambulance corp and found this sweet little cup with roses on it.  (Seeing a theme here?)  It was only a dime.  No saucer, but it looked lonely and I couldn't resist.

I love it's pedigree, too.

I got a few other things, but I'll save them for tomorrow.

So, what do you think?

Did The Money Pit Claim Another Life?

So there I was, checking to see if my stained doilies were bleaching out in the sun.  Soak them with lemon juice, hang them up to dry. Voila!  Pretty whites once more.  Only the stains on these were pretty bad.  (Had someone tried and failed to tea dye them?)

Then, feeling all Martha Stewarty, I decided to check on my new red climbing rose.  The first bloom!  It's gorgeous.

So as I was passing the money pit (in-ground pool), I notice a very tiny little swimmer, tiring fast.  Whoa!  A chipmunk.  "Hang on, little chipmunk!" I called (yes, I actually did), and ran for the net skimmer (with the million foot pole).  I scooped him out and he (well, it looked like a he), gratefully stopped paddling.  I carried him over to the ivy in the shade and he closed his little eyes and straightened out his little limbs.  I don't know if he was already dead, but I'm pretty sure I didn't find him in time.  I gently laid him on the ivy and he sank into it.

Sometimes they revive.  Sometimes they don't.  I always feel awful if I can't save whatever is drowning.  How frightening it must be to weigh about 8 ounces and be unable to get out of a 26,000 gallon pool.

I find myself looking out the window a lot more in the summer months, just because I try to look out for the creatures that go flying across the concrete and don't know there's an ocean in front of them hidden over a small rise of concrete.

I sure hope the little guy made it.

And now for something completely different

Today on the blog, I’m interviewing my long-time friend Tonya Thomas.  She’s a writer who has had some success writing about “women in complicated relationships.”  She’s pulled together five of her short stories and put them into one package, which is available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords (which sells all e reader formats).

What made you write the stories contained in THE EDGE AND I?
I’ve wanted to be a novelist for most of my life, but getting published isn’t exactly easy.  I hoped to “break” into the business by writing short stories.  And I did it. 

Did you personally experience any of the events in your women’s fiction stories?
Yes.  But I won’t tell which story is semi-autobiographical.  But feel free to guess.

There's a lot of hardship in these stories.  My favorite was Trapped In An Abusive Relationship.  I've known women who've been in that kind of situation.
I write about strong women who don't always make the right decisions when it comes to relationships. But in the end, they manage to pull their lives together.  My deepest hope is that someone will read my stories and be inspired to change their own lives--or the lives of someone they know to be in a desperate situation.

Where did you get the title of your newest release?
LOL--my cover designer and I came up with it.  I tossed her a bunch of picture ideas and a bunch of titles and told her to choose something, since coming up with titles isn’t my forte.  She tweaked it and voila!  The Edge And I has a lovely cover.

Tonya and I often go to yard sales together.  Will you ever write about our junking expeditions?
Hmm…I never thought about it, but I suppose I could make it a mystery story.  I’ll think about it.

Of course, I’ll want to read that story first--just to make sure you get all the details right.
Of course.

What’s next on your writing agenda?
I’m working on a fantasy saga.  Right now I see at least six stories in the series.  I hope to have the first one completed before the end of the year.

Thanks for visiting today.
Thank you for having me.

Please visit Tonya at her blog (A Touch Of Tonya) or on Facebook.  (She’s also on Twitter as @TonyaThomas1)  And you can visit her Amazon store, too.

An Office Make-Over?

And so I have decided to do a make-over on my tiny office.

This sounds really easy, right?  Paint the walls.  Maybe get a new carpet remnant.  And add a few shelves.  Oh, and did I mention there's a slight money shortage?

The truth is I've been looking at yard sales for two years now, trying to find some bookshelves that will fit.  So far no good.  I did visit a thrift store the other day and there sat the perfect sized shelf. It had two very big problems.  Price ($20) and condition.  The thing was peeling paint like crazy.  I would bet that the shelf was built before 1969, which means it's probably got lead paint on it.  It would need a lot of sanding, and I really don't want to deal with lead dust.

I'm looking for something along these lines:

I don't want to buy a cheap chipboard shelf, either.  So ... my search will go on.

What's on your yard sale wish list?

Just stop it, Betty!

A few months ago I needed a recipe for cookies and I signed up on the Betty Crocker web site.  At the time I thought it was a good idea.  Okay, so I knew Betty would probably contact me periodically and try to sell me something.  It goes with the territory.

But now I'm getting emails a couple of times a week.  Betty is trying to knock me right off my diet.

She's sending me recipes for all kinds of good stuff that's bad for me.  Stuff like cakes and brownies and cookies.  Okay, I'm weak-willed, I want to not only MAKE all this stuff, but eat it, too.

So just cut it out, Betty.

Or else!

What's tempting you from YOUR diet?

Peace to all on Memorial Day

No sales this week

The weather has been terrible lately, and quite often when I arrive at a yard sale ... it's not there.  Or rather, because of the rainy weather, the person putting on the sale has closed up.

That's always a disappointment because at least I made the effort to come to their sale.  But I can understand that if it's cold and dank, you wouldn't want to be huddled in your garage or under a tarp on the hope that one or two people will show up.

This week Mr. Ivy and I have a house guest, so no sales for me.  But my best friends will go to the yard sales without me.  They have my list--they know what I like, so I'm hoping I get a call around lunchtime tomorrow from one of my friends saying, "We got you ...."

I'm crossing my fingers.

In the meantime, June 4th is usually the big street sale in Lyons.  That's my favorite sale of the year and I'm hoping it's still on, because not only do I usually find some nice bargains, but one of the houses sells fried dough.  Yum!  Not good for the waistline, but comfort food for the soul.

I'll let you know!