The Return of Trash-picked Tuesday!!!!

Hello Friends, it's good to have you here!

Well, since the kiddos went back to school yesterday I finally have a chance to get to work on some of my personal projects. I have so many things that I get started and then never finish because I get interrupted, or have to run out and do something, etc., etc., ad nauseum...

And one of those things is blogging!

So, longtime readers may recall that I spent a whole year (2011, 2012??? I forget) doing posts on trash-picked or free items every Tuesday. I am never above trash picking a great find or at least something that needs a little work to be cool. Even now that my kids are approaching pre-teen years and this probably embarrasses them soooo much.  Hehehe...

Last week we took the kids down the Shore for a day and on my way down there I noticed an old springer/motel chair out for the trash. It wasn't just sitting there; it looked like it had either fallen out of someone's truck or someone had jumped on the seat and caused the whole thing to collapse. I figured if it was still there later on when we came home I would grab it. And so it was.

Like a bad blogger I neglected to take a picture of it "before"..., but imagine this chair with the legs completely collapsed and almost touching the bottom of the seat- sort of like it was folded in half. (which was kind of a good thing, because I don't think I could have gotten it into the car, otherwise.) Also, the top was faded red and the bottom was faded so badly it looked gray. There was plenty of rusty spots on the legs also.

We managed to get the legs about 85% straightened out, and everything sanded and primed. Then after I put the kids on the bus yesterday, I went out and chose this pretty color of blue, Rustoleum's Ocean. Several coats on the seat, and some white on the legs and it was ready to put back together. I think it came out pretty well for something left for dead.

And here is it with its life partner- eventually I will paint the other chair to match!

What a long, strange trip it's been!

Hello Friends, it's good to have you here!

Well, summer is flying by and I realize I haven't been around here a whole lot, so we have some catching up to do! I spent the last week thrifting some spots I don't normally get to, so I have a lot to share.

My kids were at a day camp down in the area I grew up in, so after dropping them off at 9 am I got to check out all my old favorite shops. So I got myself a plan and made sure to hit the biggest stores first and then the smaller stores later on. (Camp pickup was 3 pm) Most of my good finds at the larger stores were Monday and Tuesday morning. After that, meh... it amazes me how some of these stores can be so huge (one must be close to 20,000 sq.ft- a former big box store) and have so little quality merchandise. Or perhaps that is just the age we are living in and the good stuff is getting harder to find (I know it!)

Anyway, on with the show!

This is my haul from that first big store on Monday and Tuesday mornings. As you might have guessed, it's mostly Pyrex. But I am super stoked about the blue Fire King Kimberly mug- I have a collection of one of each of these in every color and this was the last one I needed. It's taken me a couple of years to find one in the wild, and I almost resorted to Etsy a few times. 

The black Pyrex mug was one of about eight in the store- I only bought one, just to have (again) one in every color, but now I am wishing I had bought them all. They look amazing with my cinnamon colored ones and would be great for Halloween displays. Speaking of Halloween, the cat thingy is a flashlight but it is missing its innards. It's not very old either, but definitely has that vintage look, and for a buck, it cam home with me. The Terra bowls are part of my 'leave no Pyrex behind' strategy and will probably go to my booth. The Verde 443 is the start of a new collection- I just figured out that I have all the Verde fridgies, so now I must collect the bowls...sigh...

These were from my next stop. The opal hostess bowls were probably yellow at one time, but I can't find any trace of color. I'll hang onto them to mix into other displays- I have found that even though opal (aka plain white) Pyrex really doesn't do much for me, it looks great mixed into displays. The milk glass tumblers depict Jack and Jill tumbling down the hill. They are actually made by Hazel Atlas and were part of a children's dinnerware set. I can't really imagine the thought process that went into designing these for children. I know my kids would be wondering what the heck happened to Jack and Jill here...someone online referred to them as 'CSI cups' :)... but the sheer oddity of them was enough for me to add them to my collection.  

At the same store later in the week I found this awesome camp blanket. It is a really strange size- twin width but XXtra long. It came in handy already when we went to a chilly outdoor movie on Friday- we could wrap it completely around the three of with room to spare. I love finding camp blankets because they are beautiful and useful at the same time. I think I have close to 10 now, the only problem being they take up quite a bit of storage space, so I just keep piling them up on the beds. Who needs comforters?

These are my finds from one of my all-time favorite church thrifts. They get good stuff and they price it well. No $19 Pyrex here! The enamel bucket is so amazing, I have already adopted it as my housecleaning bucket. I feel like a Depression-era housewife... cool stuff like this just makes ordinary housework a little easier! (See my ironing post on this topic here) I also found an incredible vintage dress from about the same era in the store. I always wonder if things like this were donated by the same person.

This little child's tea set is so cute and perfect condition. Each cup/saucer set was just 75 cents! (Did I mention that I love this store?) The primary blue fridgie was $2.50 also. And yes, that is a Vera tablecloth! Once it gets a good Oxyclean soak to remove some yellowing, it's headed to the Etsy store.

I think I might be the only person of my generation (except maybe Mick from Everyone Goes to Micks!) who knows what that weird metal thingy is. I'll keep you in suspense about that until later! Lately I have been finding a lot of Ekco Eterna/American Tempo flatware, which is fine with me because it's easy to sell in my Etsy shop. The milk glass mugs are Fire King and Federal and are headed over to my booth. The beaker is my only Pyrex lab ware purchase- I will use it as a vase I guess.

 

On my way home from that store I stopped at a yard sale and picked up these pieces of Pyrex. The large yellow was the last piece I needed to complete another Primary set, since I sold the one I had in my booth last month. Last month's sales were amazing, so I am feeling really good about that part of my endeavors. I just found a snowflake 043 for my personal collection in my last post, so this one will go to the booth as well.

So, did you guess what the mystery item was? 

It's a UHF TV antenna from the early days of broadcasting!

 Of course, we don't need them anymore, but I have a place for it on my TV-quarium!

Pyrex Therapy

Hello Friends, it's good to have you here!

I had a pretty hectic past week, and needed a little thrifting therapy. And boy, was I lucky today!

I hit my usual two thrifts and the Pyrex was there in abundance, for a change. I was just in the right place at the right time, because some of it had just been put out.

The Spring Blossom casserole is huge! It's a 2.5 qt and in mint condition. The Butterfly Gold is also mint. These were probably donated by the same person- the lady at the checkout said they had just been donated yesterday and she had put them on the shelf right before I came in. I paid $8 for the SB and $6 for the BG.

Now, those of you that know me a little also know that in the past I have not bought these two patterns because I don't collect them. However, I have come to the realization that someone else out there is getting them if I don't. I have also rationalized it to myself that if it's not my pattern, I can still buy to resell (duh- don't know why I never thought of that). I do have a booth in an antique mall and there is no one else in there with Pyrex. As popular as it's getting, I might as well get in on some of that action as a dealer. So there, you can hate me if you want (I hope you don't though- I'm still a nice person!) but I plan on buying all the Pyrex I can and charging "antique store" prices. That way I can buy more for me! ;)

I went to another store and found these divided dishes, both were $4. The Golden Acorn is going to my booth, but the Compass has found its forever home with me.

Since our house was built in 1959/60, I think I might try to collect all the patterns in existence in 1959, now that I've found this Compass. I already have the Black Rooster space saver, a bunch of Butterprint and some of the pinks/turquoise/utility/primary sets. I'll have to do a little more research and see what else is out there.

Speaking of which, this Butterprint 444 was $5. It was pretty dirty, but cleaned up well. I have two of these already, so will not be keeping this one. 

The rest of this is not Pyrex, but collateral damage from the dishware aisle.

(Whoops- how did they get in my basket? ;)

This is one of the few pieces of GlasBake that I like. I have seen these little handled soup crocks before, but never with the lid. Isn't it cute?

I thought this butter dish might be Hall, but it isn't marked. It's pretty old though and in great condition. Should be an easy sale in the booth!

This vintage tray was only $1. I love using these as backdrops when I decorate for the holidays. And besides, it goes perfect with snowflake Pyrex! 

I also found some great vintage clothing- it's been a while since I found some good stuff locally. I haven't got them photographed yet, though so maybe another post.

A long time coming- thrift scores!

Well, long time no post! I have been pretty busy and haven't had much time to blog or read other blogs, but I wanted to touch base and show you some of my recent thrift finds. In general, the thrift stores haven't been great lately, but over the last couple of weeks I have found some good stuff. I actually took a whole day off on Friday and went to some thrift stores farther away that I hardly ever have time to get to. And boy, was it worth it!

We have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near us, but it is only open Wed-Sat. It's kind of tough to get over there on those days, and I've been meaning to go there for months. I really went hoping to find Pyrex; I've found some there in the past, and this time I had high hopes. But this time it didn't pan out as I had hoped. I did find some other things (more on that in a sec), but the only Pyrex in the place was this lone Butterfly Gold mug. This is not a pattern I collect, but I love Pyrex mugs, and I was desperate, so I bought it.

(The other Pyrex pieces in the background will figure in to this story a bit later.)

This is a refrigerator dish made by Hall China and is marked on the bottom "Coldspot Refrigerator Dish". It was pretty neat, and only $2. It's actually part of a 3 piece set.

These I bought after learning about Pyrex delphite (blue milk glass). I knew they weren't Pyrex, but I have never seen delphite in person before, so they had to come home with me. I collect jadeite, and really never even heard about delphite until I started collecting Pyrex. They are so pretty, I hope to find more! If anyone knows about the pattern or maker of these, I'd love to hear it, because in the little research I've been able to do, I've come up empty (they are not Jeannette Cherry Blossom- that I do know). They are unmarked on the bottom, except for the numbers 1,2, and 3 (presumably for the pieces in the set.)

I also bought this Otagiri Japan mug for a quarter- cute but not my style- definitely going to my Etsy shop.

Same with this Avon milk glass soap dish- really cute, and I am tempted to keep it...

This bunny planter is definitely a keeper and was only $1. I think he is Napco- there were many more Easter  things in the store and they were all crappy and more expensive than this one, go figure! I guess I have to start getting the Easter stuff out.

Haha, yes I bought this record. I put myself on a record-buying freeze about 3 years ago and have been pretty good about it (I have thousands of records- might even have this already- I have no idea) but fell off the wagon a bit this week. Besides this LP I also bought 4 45s, and one of those was "Karma Chameleon". Well, hey, it was my childhood...you can't put a price on memories...except they were only 99 cents.

Now I saved this one for last- I walked by it and didn't recognize what it was. But on my way back I caught a glimpse of some of the fabric, 

And hey, isn't that barkcloth....

Mint, in the package, never opened. 

Set of four panels...

$10......

Oh yeah....I just found new drapes for my living room! I promise I will do a post on that in the near future. Stay tuned...

More Camp Blankets!

One of the things I love to look for when I thrift/yard sale/etc. is camp blankets. These are brightly colored blankets made in the 1930s-50s, mainly of cotton. Most often they have southwestern/American Indian style prints or are plaid. They were made to be used while camping (duh) or for picnics, as car throws, or as bed spreads. They are quite durable and machine washable (yay!) and very collectible.

For that reason, I suppose, it's hard to find them for a decent price. I have been looking for years and only come across a couple. I blogged about the first one I found here, and then have since found three more. Of course, they are readily available on Ebay and Etsy (search "camp blanket" or "Beacon Blanket") if you want to pay the price. And you know that I don't want to, so I stick to searching on the cheap!

The first one I found was blue and tan, in an ombre pattern, a hallmark of the Beacon Blanket Co. (They only ever had paper tags, so there is almost never a tag to be found.) It went straight to my son's bed, and serves as a coverlet in summer and an extra layer in winter. I then found a pink and blue baby blanket, which is currently living in my antique booth, since my babies are well past that stage!

I picked another one up over the summer at a pound store for 99 cents. It wasn't in the best of condition, but I think a little age on these is charming. It is a tan check with a blue southwestern border, and probably one of the earlier examples of these, I would say dating to the 30s. At one time it had a fringe or whip stitching around the edge, but that is long gone. After a nice hot trip through the washer, it went on the back of our sofa, and my kids snuggle under it every day. (It's in the photo above.)

Since finding one for my son, I have been looking for one for my daughter. I even looked on Etsy trying to find one that was a bit girly (yes, she's in love with pink and purple- she's 4 and a half) and reasonably priced. It's surprising how many pinks and purples are out there; it's the 'affordable' part that is the kicker. But yesterday while thrifting, I scored one for my daughter, and I thought I'd share it:

I love the colors- pink and brown go so well together. And it's got a little floral motif- perfect for a little girl! The best part is that it was only $16.50, and I didn't have to pay to ship it (these can be heavy!) So now I guess I have a bit of a collection going on- these two plus this one:

They are so addicting- aren't they fun to look at? :)

Linking up (a bit late) to Thriftasaurus and Sir Thrift-a-lot!

Dave Brubeck, 1920-2012

I've been meaning to write a post for a long time about that "other" 1950s musical idiom, jazz. For me, Rockabilly is OK, and I enjoy it to a point, but my real interest in music is the jazz of the decade. I suppose since we just lost one of the icons of the genre, and a musician I had the utmost respect and admiration for, Mr. Dave Brubeck, yesterday, this is a good time to do it.

I think many of us lose interest in jazz once we get past big band swing. The whole notion of bebop and progressive jazz is kind of stuck in an intellectual fog; most people believe they have to really know something about it to enjoy it. Not so. Jazz is probably America's greatest contribution to world culture; the idea that creative energy can flow unrestricted is the very essence of freedom. Just go into it with an open mind, and I bet you will find something to enjoy. After that, like any other form of music, you go deeper from there.

Bebop jazz in the 1950s was the language of the Beat generation. The Jack Kerouac crowd was drawn to it for its free form and spontaneous emotion, much like the literature they produced. Many of the artists knew each other and fed off one another. Milestone recordings from the era, probably must-haves for any serious music listener would be Charlie Parker with Strings (1950), Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959), Clifford Brown's Study in Brown, 1955 (my personal fave), and Chet Baker and Strings (1953). All of these are eminently accessible, many feature recordings of standards which you will probably recognize, and you will enjoy them if you check them out.

Probably one of the most notable recordings of that time, and of any time, is Brubeck's Time Out. Brubeck was such an solid musician; he sought out ways to be different and innovative, beyond just virtuosity on the piano and improvisation. Time Out, recorded in 1959, was devoted to making music in different, and rather unusual (for jazz) time signatures. Tunes in 5/4, 3/4, 9/8 make up the bulk of the album. However, that said, it is simply good music, and the fact that the time signature is a little different has really nothing to do with the accessibility of the music. It was the first jazz album to sell a million copies and is probably still selling in record numbers. Do yourself a favor and buy it- I guarantee you will like it, and probably you have already heard some of the tunes, you just didn't know it.

I was fortunate to be able to see Dave Brubeck and his Quartet live back in 1993, and meet him in person. It was a highlight of my concert-going existence and I treasure that memory.