Freebies

Time to start sharing stuff and telling stories, I guess.  I'm getting behind and still need to get some pics of some stuff.

The first rule of Junk Set Out is that you don't talk about Junk Set Out.   Oh, wait.  Wrong movie.

The real first rule of Junk Set Out is that it's not really, officially Junk Set Out until you see the first toilet!

This one gets bonus points for being tipped over!

The second rule of Junk Set Out is:  "Sometimes you find porn."

Just laying right in the top of a trash can like that!

I left that where I found it.  It wasn't the only porn I found, either.  The "other team" was also represented, so to speak.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin.

I found three complete season sets of Friends and one that was missing two discs.  Seriously.  I also got a bunch of kids books and Disney DVD's and VHS tapes at that house.  I'll be keeping a few of the Disney DVD's.  Classic animation never goes out of style.

Christmas tree cut from a pallet. Safely stored until next year.

Painted primitive chair from the freebies at the store closing.  There was a group of folks standing around waiting for new stuff to come out, which was happening all the time.  I spent the whole afternoon there, between the parking lot and the inside room/.  I also bought a few things, because 75% off is close to free.

Anyway, I came out of the store with an armload, and this chair had been added to the parking lot pile.  I grabbed it and some dude tried to tell me it was wobbly and didn't sit right.  I told him that it was steady enough to sit on a porch and hold a large fern this summer.  Keith told me the guy looked at me like I was crazy.

Since I'm sharing freebies, another vendor gave me a box of vintage dishes recently.  I'm selling the box as a set, except for these four cups.  You can't really tell from this pic, but these are actually the size of more modern mugs, as opposed to typical coffee/tea cups you find in vintage sets of dishes.  I've priced them separately, because I like the look of them and I think someone will like the size.  Now, that's a morning cup of coffee!

More to come.  I'm putting everything out at the booth today, so I'll have a lot more pics to share tomorrow!

Vanload of Freebies (Part II)

Wrapping up from yesterday....

The handle on the saw is split.  The metal vase is not as old as it looks.

Bad shot composition here.  There's a wire basket that you can't really see in the back.  The black thing is a metal drawer without a bottom.  I think it would be a cool planter.  I thought the round thing was a crock when I first saw it, but it doesn't have a bottom.  It's pretty clear it was made that way and not broken, so it's a pipe of some kind?

VHS tapes of old movie serials.  There are a bunch more of these.  I put them in the nerd booth.

I love the metal stand.

The concrete thing is a cute little bird bath.  I love finding so much great yard and garden stuff right when people are starting to think about such things.

And that's (almost) the haul! I realized when I was working on the pics that I forgot to get pics of two large items.  I'll have to throw those in tomorrow's post!

Vanload of Freebies (Part 1)

So let's start unloading that Mazda load of free stuff from Monday.  Like I said, I had to leave the ladders on the Mount of Sorrows for the moment.  I am working on making a spot for them at the booth this week, so I can haul them over soon.  There were also two containers of smalls left in storage, because I am up to my armpits in smalls everywhere right now.

I'm going to go ahead and reuse Monday's ladder pic anyway, so I can draw attention to the black wooden screen frame that was also part of the haul. You can see it peeking out from behind the ladders.  Shy little thing.

I'm also trying to give Donna ladder envy again.

Like I mentioned on Monday, a lot of the van was filled with boxes of books, plus a box of records.

The nice thing about stuff that comes in milk crates is that you can sell the crates too!

There was also this vintage Underwood electric typewriter, which is quite heavy. And an old adding machine, which is even heavier.  Typewriters don't stay with me very long, so grabbing it was a no brainer.  I used to never, ever find old typewriters, but these last couple of years, I'm practically tripping over them.

The adding machine is missing all the buttons except for these two, but I couldn't leave it behind.  It's got such a sweet old look to it.

 The books were mostly unremarkable--good stuff, but not worth taking up blog space.  I was kind of needing some too.  I've been selling a lot of them lately.  There was one worth mentioning here, this collection of recipes from the local paper, which was published in 1970.

Cissy Gregg is a well known name around here.  She wrote recipes for the Food section of the paper for years and years.  In the 50's and 60's, the paper put out special supplement sections that collected her recipes. I'm always on the lookout for them.  I love having local interest items for sale.

The records were mostly show tunes, but there was one special album that I am saving for its own post.  It'll be a "Retro Y'all" some time in March.

So that takes care of the main core of the haul, but there's still some more to come.  Check back tomorrow.

So, this happened.

Junk set out week this time around was equal parts amazing, frustrating, and disappointing.  In the end, I got way less stuff than I usually do, but found some of the best things I've ever come across. Those stories will have to wait, however, since this is post is about something else.

Also, I'm pre-empting "Monday Rambles" this week.  I hope you don't mind.

Allow me to present:

THE MOTHER OF ALL MAZDA SHOTS!!!!!

The shoes and rug are Keith's

Side view

Other side view

View through the back

Yes, there really were two full size ladders in there.

There's a vintage/secondhand store that I used to have a booth in a few blocks from our house that's moving.  This is their last week of business at the old site, so I wanted to pop over there yesterday and see if there were any bargains.

Indeed, there were.  The best bargain of all, in fact.

FREE!

That whole vanload cost me nothing.  Well, except the three gallons of sweat that were expended in loading it all.

I think folks are starting to sort out stuff that they don't want to move, and we happened to arrive at the right moment. There was a HUGE bunch of stuff in the parking lot when we pulled up and the owners said it was all free for the taking.

So I took.

Most of the tubs are full of books, which I really need right now.  There's also a box of records that I kind of don't need, but what the hell.  There really weren't that many smalls, but there was an awful lot of very timely stuff--planters, bird feeders, etc.  Spring is right around the corner!

I had to drop the ladders at Sorrow Mountain for the moment, but the rest of it is booth bound tonight.  I'll get some more pics when it's unloaded there.  I didn't want to haul it out and put it back.  I'm lazy that way.

By the way, this is Finds Week.  Enjoy.

TOMORROW:  The best thing I have ever found at junk set out.

Fun Finds from All Over

I've started pricing the stuff I have at home to clear up my junk room and get things ready to go to the booth.  This is a combination of a thrift run, the New Year's Big Flea, and stuff I got during the closing.  These are only highlights.  Some stuff is sellable, but not blog-worthy.  The blog is for the best stuff.  Only the best for you guys.  Or at least what I think is the best.  All those boring feedsack quilts and Shaker furniture just goes straight to the booth.  You all get the comic books and Beanie Babies.  (Just kidding.  Sort of.)

The only indulgence I allowed myself during the whole closing month at the Peddlers Mall was a trip to the New Year's big flea.  We got our notice on Jan 2, and I was already planning on going Jan 4.  It's an important buying trip for me, since this is the time they add the extra antique wing, which means 400 extra dealers, none of whom are selling socks or salvage groceries.  I will always love the variety and eclecticity of a good flea market, but the chance to see a whole huge room of cool stuff is always too good to miss.

I always go on the last day, because a lot of the antique dealers have huge mark downs on that day.  There's always a lot of good stuff for a buck or so.  One couple comes from somewhere in Indiana with overstock and leftovers and such from their store.  At the beginning of the big flea, everything is in the 2-5 buck range.  On the last day, it's all a dollar.  I usually hit them a couple of times.

We were running late this year and didn't get there until early afternoon.  I was walking away from their table after buying several dollar items, when I heard the magic words:  "As soon as he gets back from the bathroom, it's all going to be a dollar a bag."  That's certainly worth waiting for!  I can put a lot in a bag.  I mean, there are always things that I like that I don't get because there are nicer things that I want to use my dollar to get.  I filled three bags.

At that point, I was feeling kind of light-headed, so I needed to sit down and rest.  After a nice break, I decided to go back to this booth and see if I could maybe fill another bag, now that others had thinned the tables out a bit.  I always seem to be able to find some good stuff that others leave behind.  Right when I got there, I heard the other magic words:  "It's all free now.  There are boxes under the tables if you need one."  You don't have to tell me twice.  Free is even better than a buck a bag!

The two boxes on top of the granny cart are filled with free stuff!

Sadly, most of what I got that day has already been priced, shipped over to a booth, and sold.  All I have left is a few Christmas items that I had set aside to deal with after the move out madness was over.

I loved the bright colors and cute pictures on these china cups.  So sweet.  I don't think they're that old, but I like them anyway.  They're now in storage for December.  This is the mark on the bottom.

Maybe the Queen will come around to these parts and purchase them?

I generally don't do a lot of Christmas tins.  They're kind of a dime a dozen, honestly.  I couldn't resist the shape of this one.  Again, not super old, but charming.  Charming counts for a lot in my book.

I also grabbed this handful of scissors during the "free phase."  Just because I could.  And because scissors are one of those things I can never keep track of.  Not much left to show you out of a pretty great haul.  Sorry about that.

One of the first things I did after I woke up from my recovery hibernation last week was go to a thrift.  I didn't need to.  I didn't need anything.  But I wanted to, just because I hadn't been able to in so very long.  I didn't pick up much but there were a few things.

One of my rules is "Never pass up a cheap Madonna and Child."  Especially when you are trying to re-establish your religious section.

I'm thinking this might be a planter?  It's a bit large to be a creamer, it seems to me.

Anything card or poker themed is a sure seller for me.  I wish all four suites had been there, but this was all I found.  Oh well.

Another section I need to get set up quick is my Asian section.  It's another good seller for me.  This sweet little geisha will be joining everything else.

I have to admit that I am probably more in love with candle stick holders in general than I should be.  I try to be really tough on myself so that I won't be everyone I see, but the style of this pair won me over.  They remind me of something you might see on the Gold Country Girls blog, only not quite as colorful.  By the way, that's a really fun blog to follow and you should do that if you aren't already.

 

This dish had an obvious repair to the handle, plus mad crazing, but I had to get it.   All that stuff is character to me, kind of like my own obvious repairs and mad crazing.  Every mark tells a story, you know?

Let me wrap this up with a few items from my mall closing days shopping and scavenging.

There is nothing special about this basket at all, except that it was free and I liked it.  I'm picturing it filled with Easter bunnies and eggs.  I picked up a lot of baskets during the closing.  They make good display.  I never do very much for the holidays that aren't Halloween and Christmas, but I do keep a small stock of stuff.  I never got to do anything for Valentines due to the move, so I am looking forward to putting a little Easter out.  And St Patrick's.  And Derby. C'mon Spring!  (Won't be long now.  Today is Ash Wednesday, after all.)

This school bell is huge!  It's not old, but it is striking.  Interestingly, it's an award that was given to a local newscaster in the 80's for education coverage.  That's all engraved on the other side.  What's even more interesting is that I got it from a vendor who gets his stuff exclusively from storage unit auctions.  There's a story here somewhere.

I have been eying this pretty enameled brass dish ever since the mall opened.  No kidding.  The 45 dollar (!) price tag put me off, as it seems to have done every other potential buyer for the last five and a half years.

The only reason I can think of for such an outrageous price is this original price tag of 191.00.  It probably never occurred to the vendor that this is not in US dollars.   Anyway, with a very drastic markdown, and 50% off that price, I was able to acquire it for a much more reasonable price.

I actually got these mini baseball player bobblers before the holidays, but never got the chance to put them out.  This was a bulk buy--this is only about half of them--from an evicted booth.

Finally, this awesome vintage portable Royal typewriter with case, manuals, and a spare ribbon!  It's in great shape, except for a small split in the zipper near the front of the case.  I'm thinking someone is going to love it.  I've got a lot of pics, so that I can put it on Craigslist after I get it to the booth.

I'm just getting started working on things, so I'll have some more to show tomorrow for sure.  Everything I got at the mall on the next to the last day of business came home with me, since I would have been moving it out anyway.  I made two other large purchases during closing that are in storage.  I'm glad that this lot made it home, as it is giving me something to do right now while it's so cold and snowy outside.