Christmas at the Auction

I got two boxes of Christmas goodies at the auction. Most of the items have a vintage flair. Wanna see?

This photo is deceptive, the ornament is actually the size of a quarter!

I think this Santa was made by one of the kids in school. The red fabric reminds me of the old red long-johns.

These three pins probably aren't too old, but the colors are great!

And this guy makes me think of one of the 7 Dwarfs instead of an elf. Not sure I would put fire over his head...especially with my track record!

I've never seen Christmas combs before. Funny, the girl in the ad picture doesn't have one in her hair!

If I was sure it wasn't dry-rotted, I would so wear this one!

The wind chimes are stamped 1974...or is it 76? Still cute!

Where can I find this kind of pipe cleaner?

This cute little deer with the shag carpet style grass is adorable.

All you need is some greenery and poinsettias to poke in the back.

This cute tin plate must have come with a fruitcake on top.


And once you eat all the fruitcake, you have the recipe to make your own next year!

My favorite Christmas purchase are these beautiful Christmas cards. I'll be surprised if I can make myself send them out next year!

I have some very smart readers! I'll be posting the winner of my What the Heck is This? quiz tomorrow. If you haven't entered yet, you still have time!

What the Heck is This?

Last night, I got my auction fix. I haven't been to one since before Christmas! I was starting to suffer from delirium tremens. I hadn't planned to stay long until I arrived and saw the tables and tables of goodies with my name on them. (Plus, Chris, from I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage told me I would be a weenie if I didn't drive the hour to this auction when she was traveling 3 hours and staying overnight to get to hers!)

The next couple of posts will show you some of the goodies that came home with me. As you check them out, keep in mind I spent more on gas than I did on my goodies! It was the best $25 I ever spent. Plus, I made a couple of new red-neck, junk-loving, mouth-running friends!

Today, I have a quiz for you. Check out the photos below and see if you can guess what this little apparatus is. Make your guess and send it to me. I will make a pile of those who guess correct, get one of my fellas to pull a name from a hat, and I'll send you some goodies from my basement stash...and maybe one or two from the pile I brought home last night!

View of apparatus standing on the table

View of apparatus laying on the table

Looking down on apparatus.

Those of you who guess correctly will be listed with links to your blog after the winner is drawn. Make sure I have a way to get in touch with you...preferably, an e-mail address. If you don't have a clue, give me your most creative guess!

Have fun!

I'm So Embarrassed...On So Many Levels!

Last night before bed, I took care of my nightly prep...pj's on, teeth brushed, electric blanket plugged in, and, the first of multiple trips to the potty. As I jumped up and flushed, I thought I saw a reddish tinge going down the toilet. I made a mental note to check before flushing in the morning.

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This morning, before my eyes were open good, I headed straight to the potty. I was proud of myself for remembering to check before flushing. I finished my business, had a look in the potty and, yep, there was definitely red in the toilet.

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Next stop, my laptop. According to google, any time there is visible blood in the urine, you should see a doctor immediately. Great! Saturday morning doctor appointments are first come, first serve. I loaded up with quilting squares to work on while I waited.

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Once I got signed in and waited about 10 minutes, the nurse handed me a plastic cup and showed me to the bathroom. Now, even though the cup is about the size of a Dixie cup, I felt like I was trying to pee into a straw! I managed to catch a few ounce and wear a few. Once I cleaned up my arm, leg the seat, the floor and rinsed of the container so not to gross out the tester, I looked closely at the pee inside the cup. Clear as a bell...or at least, as clear as a bell floating in yellow pee.

Now, I was beginning to wonder what in the world was going on. I have no pain, no more blood in my urine; I've paid my $35 co-pay; I'm hanging out in room full of obviously sick people. Would it be rude to just go home? I justified staying by convincing myself that I would have huge kidney stones if I left without talking to the doctor first.

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When the nurse took me to my room after embarrassing me by making me stand on the scales (I threatened to bop her if she told me the number on the digital read-out!), I asked if the urinalysis showed anything. She said she couldn't see anything that caused her alarm.

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I waited a little longer for the doctor to come in. She confirmed that my urine was as healthy as could be and looked at me with a wrinkled forehead. When I confessed that the urine had been red both times in my back bathroom, but no where else, she suggested I go home and clean my toilet. Thank heavens she had a smile on her face when she said this!

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So, ya'll have always been nice to me and thought my idiosyncrasies were charming. Does this make you want to change your mind and delete my blog from your list of favorites? My new blog name will be Dingbat in the Basement!

Love/Hate Relationship

My house is lighter by about 6 big items thanks to craigslist.com. I love that I can post for free, edit items as needed, and get rid of things I once had great plans for but either outgrew the plans, never got around to it, or couldn't remember what the hell I was thinking!

Peek-a-boo Riley Dog

This beautiful buffet belonged to my cousin. It used to have a pub table and four chairs accompanying it. Someone wanted the table and chairs but not the buffet. Go figure! I listed it several times and kept dropping the price. Finally, a cute young couple came by, measured, opened and closed everything about 10 times, kicked the tires some more, and finally loaded her up and took her home. They were very excited about their purchase! I know it is in a good home where she is appreciated and not just sitting in my basement!

What the fragglerock is that?


This recored cabinet took a couple of listing on craigslist before it sold. I bought it with plans of using it to store crafting supplies. It just didn't work out! A young guy and his mom drove for over an hour to get this. Yep, he got a discount. Bonus...I'm thrilled to have quite a bit more space in my basement workshop! Woohoo times two!

Why did I buy these?

These chairs came out of Reynold's Coliseum at NC State University. These babies were pulled out for concerts and graduation. I bought 3 sets of these guys about 8 years ago. I sold one immediately and got all excited. Then, nothing. Crickets! You hear them? I was thrilled when a guy called and wanted the last two sets. I loaded them in my truck and headed to Sam's parking lot to meet him. While I was waiting, I witnessed three other exchanges take place. I think one was a rendezvous of sorts...lots of kissing then each to his or her own car. When the guy showed up, I was glad he only wanted the chairs. I quickly traded the seats from my truck to his and the money from his wallet to mine! Asta la vista, babies!

Dust and spider webs are free?

When my boys were younger, they brought home so much artwork every week, there was no way I could fit it all on my fridge. Tony built these wonderful dry erase boards with a magnetic background. They held loads of projects and beautiful art work and stickers. Alas, boys grow up and would rather have skateboarding posters on the wall. The wall boards came down and have been sitting in the garage for 3 years. I was so desperated for them to go away, I agreed to a discount and a delivery!

I can be yours!

I picked this little beauty up at an auction for $8. I would love to paint it red and put a faux cow hide cover over her stripes. However, my style doesn't always work for other folks. I've had the gossip bench listed for a while with no takers. Since I have nowhere for her to go in my house, I think I'll take her to the basement, paint her an ivory color and put some of my floral fabric over the stripes and re-list it. Of course, the price just went up!

I'm in Love

This was a Christmas present from my good buddy, Susie. She knows me well! To my husband's dismay, I will haul home any kind of vintage/funky/cement/metal item I find and create the perfect setting for it in my yard. (I'll show you more of my good crap in the spring.) This sunny flower welcomes visitors to my front door!

If I could figure out how to reproduce this vintage cutie, I could make $1000 (I would like to make a million but I'm lazy!) She makes me smile! Once the chill leaves the south, I'll pop her into a live fern so she can really smile!

Quote of the Day

I was ignoring Scrubs and catching up on my blog reading when I was snatched from Jenny's blog post of her favorite photo when I heard, "What the fragglerock was that?" I wasn't even paying attention to the show and have no idea what inspired the comment, but this quote made me bust out laughing! I'm glad I had just finished my coffee because it would have hurt if it squirted out of my nose!

I challenge you to use this quote at least once today...

What the fragglerock was that?

VALENTINE GIVEAWAY

My friend, Chris, is hosting a Valentine Giveaway. She promises there will be lots of candy in the package. Count me in!

Click on the picture to take you to I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage and get yourself entered!

Odds and Ends and Boobs

This morning, we headed out the driveway to wait for the bus and were met by this beautiful site. All of the sailors should stay home today!

Red sky in mourning,

Sailors take warning!

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Once Rick got on the bus, I rushed to let the chickens out and to grab a shower. No deodorant today because I was off for my yearly mammogram. (Don't worry, I dosed up when I got home!) I even shaved my legs, not that anyone will be seeing them!

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Just in time, I was ready and off for my 8:55 appointment. I handed over my license and insurance card to the woman at the desk. She looked at me sort of strangely. I figured my appointment had somehow missed getting on the schedule when the intake woman said, "You're here at the right time but on the wrong day. Your appointments for tomorrow." Well, dammit all!

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In my mind, I went through the discussion I had last week when I scheduled this appointment. I remember not scheduling on Monday because the kids would be out of school for Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday, they could see me at 11 or Wednesday I could come in early. Yep, wrong day.

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As I sat there feeling like a dunce, the very nice intake woman asked one of the boob smashers if they could fit me in. She said they could. Thrilled not to have to return tomorrow, I followed her to the boob smashing equipment. Each girl was thoroughly squished twice. I think she mashed extra hard so I will never show up early for a mammogram again!

*****

On Saturday, it was finally warm enough for me to help a friend with a chore that has been on both of our lists for a couple of weeks. A tree that was planted on her postage stamp sized front yard just after the house was built was sending out roots the size of my truck. It was buckling side walks, tipping rock walls and heading for her foundation.

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I grabbed my electric chain saw and headed over. Apparently, no one in her neighborhood had ever seen a chainsaw-wielding, truck driving mother before! They came out to watch as I plugged in my favorite yard tool and went to work. I have to admit, I felt sorry for the real estate agent who showed up in the middle of the activity to set up for an open house directly across the street. I know he thought the red-necks had killed any chance of sell for the day. He probably called the owners, too, and asked them to reduce their price!

That's me in the red!

The best part...once the tree was cut up, I let my friend's daughter (who has never driven a car before) pull my truck up so we could load the wood. The gas pedal sticks, which I forgot to tell her, so after a few attempts to get the truck moving, she stomped the gas, jumped the curb, went into the yard, then bounced back down. I was in hysterics! My friend admitted she might have hit the child had she been in the truck. Instead of money going to insurance and car payments for this child to drive, I suggested she apply it toward a chauffeur!

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Yep, that real estate guy was glad to see my tail-lights!