Are you ready, Freddy???

Goodness, it has been so busy around here lately that I haven't had time to post. Funny how life just seems to fly by and next thing you know you are looking straight in the face of the holiday season again.  Why didn't Christmas come this fast when I was a little girl??  I am ahead of the game this year, seeing as I have a couple boxes of Christmas stuff already sitting in the living room ready to be put out.............I even told my hubby to look and see the greatness of being AHEAD this year........what I got in return was a Grinch style smile and a head shake of irritation.  That might be because I have failed to mention that those decorations have been sitting in that same spot since I took them down after Christmas last year, but good heavens, I am trying to keep up with 3 sons (ages 21,19,17), a husband (age 44 going on 12), 4 horses, 4 dogs and work a full time job plus am trying to get my own photography business started and still find time to cook, blog, thrift and sleep...........some of the above are done all at the same time it seems.  Plus Christmas usually requires the moving of about 47 boxes to find the Christmas tree and it NEVER fails that I have to do the spider dance a couple times because for some reason they always seem to migrate towards me when I am pulling out decorations.

The other day while thrifting I came across this great old rocker and for me it had a dual appeal..........I loved it because it was vintage and for the fact that I can use it in some of my photos as well and was quite surprised at the price tag of only $15.  Needless to say, it came home with me.  My SUV was full but I always manage to make my treasures fit....where there is a will, there is a way!  My husband says if I am ever in a car wreck that it won't be the actual wreck that kills me, it will be all the "shrapnel" that's flying around that will get me. But I have learned to carry a few empty boxes and bubble wrap, a couple quilts and even a couple tie down straps because if it can't go in it, it most certainly can go on top of it....LOL!  Even as we speak there is a 1950's baby doll bed, a 1960's Christie doll, some assorted vintage glassware, a very old miniature saddle and a big orange enameled pot in the back of my explorer, along with some photo props and some more stuff I am sure I have forgotten that I bought.......all of which were products of very good yard sales.

I also managed to come home the other week from a flea market with 5 more vintage cameras to add to my mounting collection (50 and counting).  I don't care how old or how dusty or how weird they look, I just love these cameras. Someday I hope to have my own mini camera museum, and I am well on my way.

I also got these neat old sewing notions. I have an old singer sewing machine in a wooden case and lots of other vintage sewing stuff like old patterns, buttons, darning eggs, etc..... that this goes perfect with.

Even though I love all my vintage junk as my husband calls it, most of all I love this time of year and I am hoping for good health and a great time with family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! May God bless you with what matters most....peace, joy and love!

There and Back Again

Wow, this weekend was a treat for sure.  I don't get to see my brother and sisters much since they all live out of state and any time you can combine family and thrifting into one location IT IS GREAT.  My husband hates my SUV, so just the trip alone for him is almost agonizing (he says my seats are uncomfortable and it is a 7 hour drive) and the worst part for me is listening to him complain about HIS agony and MY driving for 7 hours and having to pass so many thrift and antique stores and NOT being able to go in them because he will not let me stop.  Henceforth....we should take seperate vacations, but sometimes that just isn't possible.  So Friday evening, we headed north from Georgia to my home state of Tennessee, yep, Music City here we come.  Friday night while we are on the road driving, my sister is looking up the yard sales for the next day.....can you say GPS!   We are so high tech these days!    So with game plan almost in hand, we keep driving and inching our way toward Mom and Dad's house (or as in days gone by we called it HOME), now it is our family's gathering spot for us kids since Mom and Dad are both gone now, but I feel like it will always be HOME to me. Maybe that is because I am the youngest...aka: the baby, the pain, the one who got away with murder, the catastrophe.......but heck they love me, Mom said they have to!

So seven LONG, LONG hours later, 2 hissy fits about WHY can't I just stop for a second and a couple of road rage episodes...he still has road rage even when he isn't driving, we are HOME......it is now approximately 2am (1am TN time and believe you me this one hour makes a difference....especially when you show up at your sisters house at the agreed time of 6:30am and find NO ONE UP, and as you are knocking on the door thinking "why are they not up and ready, come on people we are burning daylight here".......they come to the door with eyes half open and say "I thought you said we were leaving at 6:30 am" and I said "we are, it is 6:30am" and as I look down at my phone, I realize that my phone didn't update time zones and I am still on Georgia time....."oops".  Oh and for future reference, there is a flea market in Bowling Green Kentucky that says they open at 9am (being from Georgia where time is evidentally gauged by yard sale importance not the actual clock, because if they say they open at 8am, then at first light you are fair game!).................but not this flea market, Holy hamhocks batman, when they say 9am, they mean 9am!  Anyway, we are up and at 'em on Saturday morning and off to our first yard sale......the discussion we are having is about how I am going to hide my purchases because when I left, my husband gave me strict orders that "we DO NOT NEED anything else in our house"  First of all, I know I don't need anything, but when it comes to vintage and pyrex......my brain takes a back seat to my pocket book....and I knew that I would be coming home with some sort of pyrex one way or another that is why I packed a couple extra covered picnic baskets and bubble wrap.....what he can't see, I won't have to explain and it is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.  First place we stop was the local elementary school's yard sale and I picked up a few odds and ends like a Victor Mug, a couple Avon Sachet bottles and a couple pieces of Prescut glass.  Nothing big, but every penny helped the school.  Same goes on at the next couple places....then we go to a yard sale at a local day care and that is where my pyrex fix was met.....I got these beauties all for one lump sum of $10. 

  My sister also pointed out a case of old Kodak picture slides.  I also have a huge weakness for vintage cameras and photos.  These things were the bomb!!  Slides from 1942-1957 of all sorts of landscapes and tourist attractions that no longer exsist. 

Have no idea what kind of car this is, but it is old.

This one is dated 9-13-42

Slides of Rock City, Silver Springs, Cyprus Gardens, Bok Tower, Ross Allen's Reptile Institute.

 At this point, even if I didn't find anything else, I could go home a happy camper.   But we still had lots of sales to go to on our list and that is exactly what we did.  So a few sales later, we come across this small Pyrex teapot with the paper insert and stove top wire still inside of it and it has never been used.  I already had one of these (not mint condition) but I let my sister have this one because this was her very FIRST pyrex purchase!  I told her that "Resistence is futile" and she might as well join the collective....LOL!        So for future reference we recorded this awesome moment in time. 

I on the other hand opted to buy these cool glasses.....turns out they are 1920's Wellsworth Cyclist glasses....way cool!   All in all, it was a good day....family, pyrex and a new convert!

Adventures Make One Late For Supper...

"We hobbits are plain, quiet creatures. Adventures make one late for dinner." This is a quote from Bilbo Baggins, a character in the book "The Hobbit".  I watched all the Lord of the Rings Movies thus far (and plan to see the new one "The Hobbit" when it comes out)......and wow, what a grand adventure one can find themselves taking, sometimes willingly and sometimes most unexpectedly.  I think that is why I love thrifting so much because of the "grand adventures" it can take you on.  Over the years I have met so many fellow thrifters with such interesting tales and stories of their most unique treasure finds.  There is just something about finding that ONE special piece (for you LOTR fans, it would be called "The Precious") that brings you happiness or a memory from days gone by. My husband thinks that Facebook, texting and blogging is such a waste of time, and on many levels I am sure he is right seeing as it is hard to do dishes and laundry with a computer in your lap, but where else can you talk about your undying love for a piece of colored glass and have 100 other people know exactly the heartpounding excitement that you are expressing in nothing more than a typed message? Where else can you type one word (Pyrex) and have the undivided attention of so many people? or where else can you express the utter heartbreak of breaking that said piece of colored glass and have people all over the United States clutching their hearts and saying "NOOOOO, say it aint so"  or "I feel your pain!" If you want someone to give you REAL.... from the depths of their heart sympathy.... just tell a fellow pyrexer that you just broke your prize #404 Green Dot mixing bowl that took you 2 years to find at a reasonable price and they will soothe your broken heart!!   (R.I.Pieces...........I couldn't bear to take the after picture! It was too painful.)

 Tell your husband the same thing and he will say "Good Lord, you have 27 other bowls, what does it matter?"   Did you hear that???......................that eerie silence just before the storm?........you know the one in the movies where right before the woman snaps and chops her husband into 1200 tiny unrecognizable pieces (just like the green dot bowl)..........Has anyone noticed there are ALOT of those type of shows now a days......I will have to remember that analogy in the future when he comes in after cutting his finger 1/2 off and wanting me to take him to the local hospital for stitches and I can tell him......."what is the big deal, after all you have 9 more just like it." I have tried to raise my boys, ages 20,19 & 17 to respect a woman and her dishes!  Bless their hearts I have dragged them to flea markets since before they could walk....now I have to almost beg them to go with me, but that is because they have girlfriends....God help us all.....and they know that instead of carrying the stuff around I will be sending them back and forth to the car with it, but they always get paid in the end.....after all, a happy mother is worth a whole lot at our house. Don't believe me, just ask Hank our dog, (he was brought back from a trip to the flea market about 8 years ago).......he sees it all, plus he would side with me considering I feed him all the scraps that come out of the stuff I cook in all those pyrex bowls.

 I think thrifters can just tell another thrifter when they see one......sort of like a 6th sense, you can just see pyrex in their soul from a mile away.....Just this week at work, there was a lady buying tractor parts and I just happened to be up front to try to get the demon out of the printer and make it work for the parts guys and she looks at me and says "You may think this is strange, but do you know any good thrift stores around here?"   I just laughed and said "Honey, you have come to the right person! What are you looking for? I know where every one is located on a 50 mile radius from here."  We continued to talk and NO thrifter conversation would be complete without mentioning some sort of Pyrex dishes that we are currently looking for or the ones that slipped away or the DREADED ones with the ungodly price tags!   No matter our different locations, occupations and determinations, we thrifters all have the same Vintage heart and live for the thrill of the hunt.

Maybe this piece is why I think of Bilbo Baggins every time I go to the flea market for my newest adventure, and it never hurts to be late for Supper every now and again. 

A cup of Joe and some pyrex...

I have to admit that there are few things (other than my family) that has made me feel truly happy in life. I do not know what draws me to vintage items and pyrex, but it is a strong pull. I love all the colorful pyrex bowls that I have collected over the years but I also like the more unique pieces as well.  I will never forget when I laid hold of these coffee pots at the flea market and for less than the gas I put in my car that day to get there.

I just love the wooden handle! 

I also found this pyrex measuring cup with the beater lid and it has been a nice addition to my kitchen as well.

Since we are all among pyrex addicts friends here, I will be the first to come clean and admit that sometimes I only cook just so I can play with my pyrex dishes.  Maybe that is what draws me to them, it brings out the inner child!  My husband says that for him my pyrex brings out the Middle Age spread. Either way, we are both happy and fulfilled in the end.

Here's to many more years of collecting and playing :)))

Pyrex Cataloging....page 2

Oh my goodness, it is hard to believe what you can forget about once you put them in a cabinet.  I pulled out these puppies and rewashed and then carefully put them back in their resting places.

                                      I love it when I find a unique pattern like this cassarole dish.

                 Not sure what this little guy was used for, but he is marked Pyrex and is cute as a button.

    And there is nothing sweeter than finding pyrex in the original unopened box, I opened this box just to    look at it and make sure nothing was broken..........the dishes inside are gorgeous! Oh and the original price on the side of the box was $5.95.  I paid $5 for it at a yard sale.

Taking Stock of My Pyrex...

After this past week of looking at other's pyrex collections, I decided that I really needed to get better aquainted with my collection.  I have collected Pyrex for many years now and have really lost touch with which pieces I have and which I still need to complete certain sets. I have packed so much away in cabinets and boxes and they really haven't seen the light of day in quite some time. So with the inspiration of others who are taking pictures and cataloging their finds, I decided I really need to take time to do the same. This will be a major undertaking considering I have 2 houses and an outside building that I have managed to squirrel away many pieces of pyrex into. So there is no where else to start except at the beginning.......so I am gonna just take one cabinet at a time until I am finished I guess.

My rainbow striped bowls......I always loved these colorful bowls.

I had forgotten about this little gem....that came with its own matching cloth caddy/cover.

                            I picked these oil/vinegar bottles up at a flea market many years ago.

                                                     My Orchard pattern refrigerator set.

Now I just have to find out if I have the largest cassarole dish hiding somewhere or if I need to add it to        my treasure hunting list.

Have to admit this is one of my all time favorite pieces because I have NEVER came across another one like it.....and yes it is Marked Pyrex on the bottom piece.
So tonight while the hubby is away working, I will try to do some more Pyrex Photography/cataloging.

Another day, another pick...

Seeing as I will be spending the weekend watching my husband be all happy, happy, happy while he is riding his horse in the mountains, with a new set of Sunday Shoes on Candyman and a trailer full of fresh hay and firewood, I thought I would take time out to get a little thrift store happiness in for myself, so at lunch I vistited the local thrift store.  They are getting a little unreasonable these days with some of their stuff and have even set up an "antique" section to which they are asking ungodly prices for some of the worst looking stuff I have seen. I browsed around and was feeling quite disappointed because there was nothing to really be found.  I was fixing to leave and saw a sign that said "Christmas Items 75% off" and thought Oh what the heck, might as well look at that stuff too, afterall the Christmas shopping season is already upon us...or that is what every retailer in the country already thinks. So I go in and I spy this cute little fellow. He is a bit worse for wear and I have no idea why he called out to me other than he reminded me of Christmas when I was little and he was lonely and I am stupid and you know the old saying "two fools met".  I look at his price and he is $.30, yep that means he will cost me a whole 7 cents!  But what is more funny is I look down and laying on the floor is a dime........it is like they were paying me to take him! So I pick up my dime and my elf and continue to look.  I then find this glass apple thing with plastic holly flowers in it with a red bird stuck in the middle of it..........it looked just like the stupid red bird I spent a couple hours painting many years ago for my mothers birdbath.....so yep, it called out to me too.  Again, 7 cents!   Total cost of 15 cents with tax, but let me tell you the memories these two things brought back are PRICELESS.

Vintage Organizing/Displaying

Trying to get my stuff organized is a bit overwhelming, mostly because I have so much of it, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my vintage stuff, plus this Hoosier made a great place to store all the summer canning I did for the first time. There is just something about the old furniture and dishes that absolutely warm my heart!

I absolutely love pyrex and had to have these cuties......I am hoping to find the wide neck one pretty soon!

                                    These remind me of my father and I think that is where I get the "collecting    GENE " from. I remember stopping at yard sales with him..........only wish I had gotten to do it more often.

                                         My front porch also is starting to be a collecting spot.

           I also love these little guys that I have found at the flea market over the past several months.

I have to say that I have really enjoyed looking at the many blogs of others who are Thrifter Junkies like me, mostly because I seem to be the only one in my family who LOVES to do this sort of thing. Which I guess in the long run isn't so bad because nothing could end a friendship faster than stealing someone else's pyrex or vintage fix when they have the "fever".   Happy pyrex-ing everyone!

I think I may have Pyrex-ia...

                        This is just one of many cabinets full of Pyrex and other vintage items that my
           years of flea marketing have netted me. I have to admit that Pyrex is my all time downfall when it  comes to spending money on flea market items, but it is deep rooted in my blood or atleast that is how I feel.  Happiness is Pyrex!

                                                    This is my husband's idea of happiness



Thrifter's Anonymous???

Wow, I was looking thru some blog sites today and came across tons of them dedicated to collecting vintage items.  The one that caught my eye the most was called “The Pyrex Collective”.  Being a fine connoisseur of Pyrex for many years now, I felt a strong urge to join them, it was like a magnetic pulling of something deep within………..in fact it made me think of the Cyborg Collective in the Star Trek, The Next Generation shows and I could hear  them saying  “ Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated”  I do not know why vintage things seem to interest me so much, but I have to admit it has a deep rooted hold on me and on most weekends you will find me at a yard sale, flea market or thrift store.   I have been told many times that I am “addicted” or “selfish” for wanting to pursue this hobby, until these people need something and then I’m the one they call to find something cheap for them.  It has made me think that for years something must be wrong with me if it “bothers” other people that I collect this sort of stuff.  But after today seeing that so many other people also enjoy this hobby, I finally don’t feel so alone!   Everyone has something that makes them happy, for my husband it is riding horses.  I have tried it and for some odd reason it scares the beegeezes out of me, but on odd occasion I do go with him. Personally, when I spend money for something, I want to come home with something that I can put on a shelf or display……….with horses, you put money in one end and rake up and throw away what it produces out the other end…..sorry but NOT for me.  Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful animals and I love to look at them and pet them and take pictures and have them in my back yard. Life is all about finding happiness.  For me, that is achieved with old 25 cent treasures found at garage sales and for my husband it is achieved by mountains, horseshoes and hay bales. Yes, my “collections” or as he calls it “junk” does get on his nerves, but he isn’t perfect either (if I can only convince him of that).  He tells me all the time that he is going to back my car up to the door and load it full of stuff and haul it off, but the only thing he better put in my car is GAS.  So someday, the kids will have one HECK of an Estate sale and in the meantime they can grow a lot of corn in the back yard next to the barn.  But until then, I think I am going to borrow the title of a blog I saw and turn it into a picture book and an album on my Facebook page, the title is: “Things My Husband Hates, But Makes Me Happy”.