Monday Rambles

First off, I'd like to give a welcome to new reader Tammy, who made her first comments over the weekend.  I'm trying to get better at recognizing readers and such, so bear with me as I learn how to be a good blogger.  She's one of those "no comment reply" readers, so I'm welcoming her this way.  I hope you enjoy your stay,Tammy.  I'm a little stranger than some other bloggers, but I think you'll find something to enjoy, even if you don't like everything.

I hope everyone had a good Fourth.  I did not venture out.  Instead, I spent the day resting, napping (are those the same things), tidying, cleaning (ditto), pricing, and sorting buttons.  More on that last one in a few days.  I also worked on some blog posts.  I know I've got you all hanging on, waiting for some topics to wrap up.  I'm hoping to be all caught up by the end of the month.

Keith went camping over the weekend, but I stayed at home.  Some folks think it's odd that he'll go and I'll stay, but I simply don't like camping the way that he does.  With the way I feel these days, it does me better to be at home to recharge.  Going to the woods is good for him to do that, so I have no issue with that.  His job is stressful.  My health situation is stressful for him.  I have to make him go sometimes, but I want him to be able to take care of himself.  He usually goes somewhere in the county, so if I do need him he can be home pretty quickly.  

Can you believe it's July all ready?  Yeesh!  That means I need to plan a cemetery visit soon.  There's a booth in the Peddlers Mall that sells lovely (and very affordable) floral arrangements.

Today is a day of rest for me too.  I am still not done with the booths, but I'm taking the day off.  I want to finish some cleaning work.  I'm also needing to recover from going to the Big Flea yesterday.

I can hear you all from here:  "I knew he'd never keep that moratorium."  But there's another side to this story.

First off, we're not talking about a bunch of yard sales here.  The Big Flea and I have a long history.  It's a special event for me.  I feel like by supporting them with my attendance, I'm giving them more reasons to expand their schedule again.  Peddlers support other peddlers, you know?  Finally, today is my mother's birthday.  (More on that tomorrow.)  One of the ways we would celebrate every year was by going to the July 4th Big Flea.  Going yesterday was something I had to do.  Moratorium be damned.  I honestly don't feel like I'm justifying here.

I did try to keep true to the spirit of the moratorium by doing a lot of people watching, buying things mainly for the house or for me personally.  I failed a bit at that intent, but that was to be expected, I guess.  That reminds me that I really need to do a post about my comic book finds lately.  It's long overdue, even though I know it will bore a lot of you.

A few of the purchases of the day.

My FP streak continues!

I thought this was a Fisher-Price military transport until I saw the Forestry logo, making it a Forestry Service all terrain transport.  This relieved me greatly.  The thought of Little People going to war was disturbing.

Nothing but awesomeness!

One dealer had an amazing stash of older religious medals.  Now I have an amazing stash of old religious medals.  They're going right into the collection.  (Note to self:  Do post about religious collection some time.)

Let's look at a couple of these a little more closely.

People used to pin medals and badges to their clothing.  It's common to find them with the pins.

This one was a new one for me.  I'm used to seeing all the common, popular ones like St. Anthony, but this is the first item dedicated to St. Stanislaus in my collection.

This one totally tickled and thrilled me.  I hope you all can read the inscription to Nuestra Senora de la Leche!  Woo hoo!  My second nursing Madonna item, found in the same year yet!

I also found this old brass crucifix.  I haven't decided whether it's a keeper or not.  It might stay with me a bit, then get passed on to someone else via the booth.

Anyone up for a game of Squarbles?

Vintage dime store toys still in package.  I am particularly in love with that play razor.

What a pair!

 A couple of oddball vintage elves, because oddball vintage elves rule, of course.

Now Chiquito can cosplay as Harry Potter!

 Two pairs of tiny eyeglasses for dolls, I guess.  Are any of those American Girls near-sighted?  I just thought they were cute.  The glasses, not the AG dolls.  Those are ghastly.  Also a vintage Tootsie Toy vehicle.  That's not ghastly in the least.

And then there are the comics.  One of the things I love most about the Big Flea is the selection of comics that are always there.  We're kind of thing, me and comics.

I got these from a dealer I buy from at pretty much every Big Flea.  Sadly, his prices have gone up some over the past couple of shows, but I can still find some stuff.  He and I seem to always have a conversation about buying lesser grade older comics, like these.

I was excited to get the one on the far right.  I only had Space Ranger stories in reprints, but no original comics.  Next to it is an issue of Hawkman from the 60's series--there have been several other Hawkman series since--which is only my second issue for this series.  Happy!

I've never been a freak about comic condition, unlike most other collectors.  The older titles that I like can be expensive in higher grades, so I am always happy to have a battered but complete copy that I got on the cheap.  All I want to do is read the damn things, which is what they were made for.

I'm not sure, but I seem to be developing a thing for old DC horror titles.

Whenever I approach a box of comics and I am shopping primarily for me, I scan the tops of the comics in the box and go right for the sections that are the most yellowed with age.  I only bother to flip through an entire box when I'm shopping for the booth.

So I'm at this one booth, see a telltale yellowed section in one box, and zero on it.  As I start pulling out one (to me) treasure after another (for a buck each!), the dealer comes over and starts watching me.  He kind of starts whining about everything I'm selecting.

"Oh man.  I can't believe you found that!"

"Oh geez.  You're killing me!"

"Dang!"

Then he says, "I just bought this collection and haven't even looked through it yet."  I didn't say anything, actually I've been tuning him, but I'm thinking:  "Why would you do that?"  I would never put anything out for sale without checking it out first.  If I put some kind of rare collector's item out for a song, and someone snags a super treasure bargain for it, well, all I can do is be happy for them and learn from the experience.

Let's take one last look at that comic on the far right in the second photo.

Yes, Lois Lane had her own comic for years.

Yes, that is Lois Lane turned into a snow person.  A snow person.  Who is melting.  This is why I enjoy the hell out of older comics.  Also, Snow Satan.

Fun printers blocks of cartoon-ish line art.  Can someone tell me what is going on in the second one?

Oh Yeah!

Finally, Kool-Aid cups totally rock.  Am I right or am I right?  I bought a set of five.  Is it just me, or does his slightly enigmatic smile remind you of someone else?  Someone page Dan Brown, stat!

Overall, it was your typical Big Flea--lots of salvage groceries and health and beauty stuff, Avon reps, sock sellers, etc.  Plus, a healthy sprinkling of secondhand and antique dealers.  Some of my regular stops weren't there, which was disappointing.  There were even about a dozen or so empty stalls, which was so unusual that I noticed it.  The Big Flea is usually fully rented out.  Still, it was a fun way to spend an afternoon, just like always.

I think being a flea market vendor must be a hard life with all that packing and unpacking and moving from show to show. (And then someone comes along and finds great bargains in your comic boxes!)  I very much prefer renting out my booths and leaving my stuff there and letting someone else handle my sales.  I am glad there are flea market vendors, since there would not be a Big Flea without them!

Do you know that there are people who goes to the Big Flea and don't buy anything? I do not understand this.

The next Big Flea will be Labor Day weekend.  It will have the extra wing of antique dealers.  I'm counting the days. 

As long as we are looking at pictures, here's the one I owe you all of the new book booth.

The Eddie's Attic/Booth 62 Literary and Media Annex!

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  Getting all the stuff out on its own was a good thing.  Thursday, almost all of my sales came out of this booth, and a good hunk of Friday's did too.  It's nothing fancy, I know, but it's books, you know?  They don't need fancy to attract buyers.  I am planning on adding small shelves on the back wall for action figures and nerd toys that fit the theme.

Book and comic sales have picked up considerably since the establishment of this area.  I have sold several of each every day after setting it up.  The books were so hard to get to before that I didn't sell as many.  I always sell a lot of comics, but nerds are resilient about what they'll endure to get their fix.  Suspend a box of comics over a vat of acid in a cage, and they'll swing over on a jungle vine with a blow torch to break in and get to them. 

I was not able to get to where I wanted with the other booths on Friday when I went to the mall.  I hit a point where I realized that I needed to pull 3/4 of what was in one spot out and deliberately put it back, one piece at a time.  I had hoped to avoid doing that, but it turned out to be unavoidable.  I knew that I didn't have the time or the energy to do all that at that point in time.  I'll start tomorrow with that task.  I'm thinking I'll be done on Thursday.  Work tomorrow.  Rest Wednesday. Finish Thursday.  Spend Friday in a coffee shop quaffing lattes and reading graphic novels.  That's the plan.  We'll see how it goes.

I was able to leave on of the remaining spaces orderly enough that people can get into it.  The other one is still derelict, but I have it blocked off enough that no one can get into it.  It's probably better that way.

Happily, despite the chaos, sales have remained steady and strong.  I think the holiday weekend helped somewhat.  I have high hopes for this month.  I can't wait to see how it pays off.

Speaking of high hopes, here's some life insight from a public bathroom stall.

Can I get an "Amen!"

And someone just popped in to say "hi" and see what the big deal is at the computer today.

It's Chiquito!  He loves all his blog fans!

And, with that, he scurried off.  I think maybe I should, too.  It might be bedtime.  He's always right about bedtime.  Much rambling today has worn us both out.

Nitey Nite!

More Desk Cleaning Finds!

In lieu of a Mazda shot (Moratorium = No Mazda Shot), I hereby present:

Tiny

Tiny

Tiny Kachina!

Also, ALF!

PS  I know that's not an actual Kachina figure or doll.  It's more of a representation of one, but "Tiny Representation of a Kachina Doll" didn't have the flow I wanted.  No offense was intended.

Retro Y'all!

Have a safe and happy holiday!  Travel safely.  Use those sparklers only with adult supervision.  Wear your sunscreen and your floppy hat!

Friendly Faces

I spent yesterday cleaning off my desk, because it was something I could do sitting down.  I still have a tote of junk beside it to go through, but I'll do that Saturday.  I've needed to do this, like, forever!

As often happens, I found a bunch of stuff that I had forgotten about:  a few comic books, some booth reports, a bunch of blank price tags, a couple of holy cards, some vintage Christmas cards, and a trio of friends:

Two cute vintage Kokeshi dolls and a Little People airline attendant!

Say hello, everyone!

Hello, everyone!

Moving on Up and Staying Put!

This

{{{{{HUG!}}}}}

is for everyone who has taken the time to follow this blog, leave a comment, or think a good thought for me during this whole ordeal.  One day, I hope to meet at least some of you face to face and give it to you in person.

I know more than a few of you expressed concern over my rather ambitious booth-moving plans for the week. Trust me, I have been pacing myself throughout.  The only way I know how to go about things is to make "shoot for the moon" plans and then accomplish whatever I can.  If I don't, then I end up sitting around, intimidated by everything that needs to be done and my somewhat limited abilities to get it all done. 

I absolutely hate these forced periods of inactivity and rest breaks that I have to take all the time.  It's not that I'm the most ambitious go-getter person alive.  I'm actually pretty lazy.  I just like to choose when I get to be lazy.  You know?

Monday, I got to the Peddlers Mall at about 10:30 and worked until about 7:30 that evening.  I took four half-hour long rest breaks during that time and managed to get done everything that I planned for that day.

Tuesday was treatment, so no Peddlers Mall for me.

Wednesday, I got there at about 1:00.  An earlier arrival was not in the cards that day.  I worked until about 6:30.  I got done what I wanted to get done, so I went on home.  I knew there wasn't going to be any extra work out of me last night.

Today, I stayed in.  I could tell when I tried to get up that it wasn't going to happen, so I didn't force it.  Despite what it may seem, I do listen to my body.  It screams at me quite loudly, in fact.  Today has been one long nap.  Much needed.  I think I have to pretty much go in "day on followed by day off" mode.  At most, I can sometimes do two days "on," but that's about it.

Missing today's put me behind, but assuming that I do make it over tomorrow, and that I get as much done as I want to, then I'll still be 3/4 of the way done, and that's goof enough for the weekend.  Then I can take the weekend off, and finish up on Monday or Tuesday next week, still be in good shape, and have everything where I want it to be.

Despite the chaos, I started of July with a very strong day yesterday.  The chippy pink cabinet that wooed many of you is GONE!  Someone else is loving it now, just the way I like it.  The green chair is still there, largely because no one can get near it.  About half my space is totally inaccessible.

Here is kind of what I am working with.  I don't have pics of everything, but you get the idea.

This is what my space looked like after my drop off on Saturday.  Last bit of accessibility gone.  I still managed to sell nearly a hundred bucks worth of stuff that day.  Somehow.  My uncle and I have a joke that some people will crawl into a dumpster over dead rats and broken glass to get at good junk.  An untidy booth doesn't phase 'em.  To that, I say "God bless 'em!"  \

But I do like to keep my space a little better than this.  See all of those shelves in the back?  They've been moved to the new book booth, along with the table of comic boxes on the left, so that's opened up some space to work with.  It's still disheveled, but now it looks like someone is trying to work on it, instead of just storing crap there.

This is the start of the book booth, which is directly across from the other one.  I did not get an after picture, but it has been completely done.  I still have some little things to do, like get a few shelves for toys on the peg wall, but all the other merch is there.

If you can imagine the bookshelves above lining those tape lines, with the books on them and the comics on the table, you pretty much got it.  It's a book booth, you know!

The other thing I've had to deal with was this.

I mentioned that I bought some shelves from a vendor who was leaving.  Well, I also kinda-sorta bought the stuff on the shelves, too.  FROM HERE ON OUT THE MORATORIUM IS TOTAL AND SERIOUS!  I WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE ON SATURDAY!  It was one of those decisions that was kinda dumb and kinda smart.  Dumb because I didn't need the stuff and it's more work to do.  Smart because it was good stuff at a total bargain price and I would be kicking myself if I didn't do it. 

It's the sales from this stuff that's keeping me afloat right now.  I had to get all of this out of where it was, because the space had been rented for July, so I just placed it all around the edges of my other space.  It's been selling like crazy.  I think people never knew it was in the previous booth.  Those shelves hold a lot.

The shelves I had to cram into my other set of booths.  I do not have a picture of that, so if you can just imagine higgledy-piggledy, then you have it. 

I have a set of shelves I need to move from one undone booth to the other once, then some rearranging in  both spots, and restocking, and I'll be done.  I know it seems like a lot, but I'd rather be out and busy than sitting at home all the time.  I'll sit at home when I have to, but I have to get out when I can.

I'll have pics of the entire new set up when it's done next week. 

Until then, remember:

No, I am not on drugs in this picture!

This guy loves you all very much!

Your Chiquito of the Month for July and also Treatment Updates

Survey Says: "We are moving in the right direction!"

That's a direct quote from the doc.  The tumor is responding and has shrunk a bit.  We've still got a ways to go, as the tumor has to (of course) go all the way away and my immune system needs to develop to the point that it will fight off future recurrences on its own.  That's the part that takes so long, which is while I'll still be on this drug for months and months to come.

For the first time in a long time, I feel optimistic, but cautiously so.  There is always the chance the drug could stop working.  The doc says that "rarely happens," but I am nothing if not the exception to a lot of rules already.  There is also the possibility that my immune system won't respond as expected and there will be a recurrence on down the line.  But those are all thoughts for the future.  Right now, the damn thing has shrunk a little.

I'll take it.  And the damn fatigue that goes along with all this.

Also, your Chiquito of the Month for July.  He only takes second billing to treatment updates.

It's obvious he has a new theme song.

What kind of a day was it?

Saturday's smalls tell the story.

It was an Asian day.

I love Asian decor!  Vintage or not, I move a lot of it.  Happy Buddhas make me very happy.

It was a Fisher-Price day.

Including Friday's estate sale purchases.  Not everything in the pic is FP, but old toys are cool regardless, right?  Sorry about the pic.  It was starting to get dark.  I think my favorite one is the wooden dump truck.  (Second step on the right side)  All the musical wind up toys still work.

It was a coal bucket day.

Plus a thermos and other doo-dads.  The box for that Lucky Slot bank says that it accepts "98% of world currencies."  I told Keith I wanted to know which countries were in the other 2%.

It was a bucket bucket day.

Along with a great tool box and an enamelware pitcher that is the most awesome shade of teal!

It was not a Hyacinth Bucket day.

It was a whatsit day.

Seriously, anyone know what this is.  It's solid metal and quite heavy.  I think it might have something to do with printing, because it reminds me of a desk blotter.  I actually bought four more similar pieces.

It was a graphic novel (!!!!!!) kind of day!

Good stuff, too!

More please!

Finally, it was a vintage Christmas day.

There are four shoe boxes like this full, plus a couple of bags.  I got them at a discount after another dealer got really crass with the seller over them. Crass people do not get discounts.   I haven't done anything with these other than open the boxes and look at them.  They'll need sorting out and cleaning.  Everything is really dusty and some of it is dirty.  How can I clean those old glass ornaments without damaging them?

And that's the kind of day it was!  What kind of day did you have?

Monday Rambles

Well, so much for my moratorium on yard sales.  I didn't violate it by much, I promise.  It was only three sales.  Seriously.  In my mind, it was only going to be a few things and an hour or two.  Then I was going home and back to bed.

Shortly after I made my declaration, I found out that a church in our neighborhood was having a sale.  Oh dear.  Church sale.  In the neighborhood.  In a church that always has good sales.  A church that is also rumored to be closing.  I felt like I had to go, just in case they do close and there are no more sales.  Oh well, it's only one.

I found an estate sale on Friday that advertised lots of vintage Fisher Price toys and older Star Wars toys.  I'm expanding my vintage toy selection and the sale was run by a company I like that usually has good prices.  I was the last customer in on Friday, but there were still lots of the FP toys left and the prices were pretty good.  The Star Wars stuff was out of reach, but that was okay.  Since it was the end of the last day, I got a little bit of a deal.

I also got something I've been wanting for a while.

 

Vintage Our Lady of Lourdes figurine with St Bernadette in the Grotto.  It's safely ensconced in my religious collection!

As I was leaving, the workers called out and said "Be sure to come back tomorrow for half price day."  Half price?  Shit!  That makes two.  There were a few toys that were just a hair too high for me at their original prices.  I'd be sticking my head back in to see what was left for half price day.

Finally, I saw a listing for a sale that was going to be just down the street from the church sale.  Well, I was going to be passing it anyway.  That made three.

I figured three was pretty true to the spirit of a moratorium.  It would only take a couple of hours.  I'd only pick up a few things and that would be that.  I wasn't counting on lots of well-priced larger items.  Take a look.

I got two of these crafting cubby/organizer things and a small black bookcase at the church sale.  Cannot have too much display and storage.  The cubbies will be good for small toys and such.

Chippy pink cabinet with orange interior.  I need to brush it out a little.  It looks like it's been out in the barn for thirty years.  My favorite part is that sticker on the right hand door.

 This brings back memories!  When I was a small town Kentucky boy, Burger Queen was the only "fast food" place in our little town.  They changed their name to Druthers in the 80's, but went out of business ages ago.  When I moved to Louisville, their corporate HQ was not very far from where I lived.  I was kind of tickled to find this.  My father used to say that my mother would make him drive a half hour away so they could get BQ after they were married.  This was before my little town got one.  My mother always claimed she did not remember doing this. I do remember eating with each of my parents at both the one in our town and the one a half hour away.

Coolest find of the day.  This portable ironing board with storage baskets!  When you're through with that pesky ironing, just fold the sides down and roll it back into a corner!

There's chippy and then there's almost scary.  This chair kind of delicately treads the line between the two.  It's not child-sized.  Take a closer look.  The bottom of the legs have worn away!  I can see this one on a front porch, holding a large fern!

I like to use plant stands like this to hold small toys or bottles or other junk for display.  They're great for small books too.

I did buy some smalls, but those will have to wait until later.  We had to do a smalls drop off at the house so that I could fit some of the stuff in the van.  As for the tragically decapitated lady from yesterday, I'm going to try and save her.  The accident was totally my fault.  I should have laid the lamp down.  I had room for that, but I got lazy.  It's such a gaudily cool piece too.

This week is going to be totally insane!  Except for Tuesday, I'll be spending all day every day at the Peddlers Mall.  I'm completely redoing everything!  The manager finally decided which vendors get the new spots she opened up across from me in front of the store.

She was going to do a drawing, but she decided that she wanted to go with known quantities and good vendors, for those spots, which makes good retail sense.  They're the first things people will see as they come in the store.  There's going to be a certain standard look for these spaces too.  Walls and shelving will be a little more regulated than in other booths.  She wants vendors who will work with that.  Think you know anyone who meets all that criteria?

Well, I do!  And I got one of those coveted spots.  So it's all getting upended!  I'm moving all my books, comics, reading materials, ephemera, modern games, jigsaw puzzles, music and movie media, and nerd toys into the new spot.  

The end of the row spot will become furniture, home decor, art, vintage, primitive, rustic, classic, and vintage toys and games.  The spaces on the aisle will house the religious items, modern toys and stuffed animals, housewares, appliances and kitchenware, barware, glasses and dishes, and all that oddball stuff I like to pick up.

While I'm not really wild about the rent expense for the new spot, I do need to make this move.  My biggest sources of customer mess are books and comics, so getting them their own spot will make for easier maintenance.  The space gained by moving them out will allow me to move a bunch of my stash out and into the booths.  And I'm reshuffling all my shelving to new spots, so everything will look different.  I'll get some pics up as soon as it's all done.

I think that this is the step that will eventually move me up to the level I want.  It's just going to take a lot of work to get there.  Which is why this is an all week work thing.  I have to allow time for my breaks when I need them.  Keith is afraid that I'm pushing it a bit too much.  Honestly, I probably am, but I don't want this to take forever.  If things sit half-done for too long, then sales are going to suffer, so I want to get it wrapped up quickly.

My new spot will not be available for move in until Wednesday, which complicates things a bit.  There is some work that needs to be done for the new spaces that will not be finished before the first.  I picked up some nice industrial sized shelves from a vendor who is leaving, and they need to be out of her old spot before Wednesday, since that spot is already rented again.  I'm going to try and park them in another empty booth, but if I can't then I'll cram them in my space for a day.

Tuesday is treatments day (and also scan results day), which also means I'll be moving pretty slow the rest of the week. If I can just get the bulk of it done by Friday, I'll rest over the weekend.

And from here on out, for reals, honest to goodness, NO MORE YARD SALES until further notice.  I anticipate spending most of next week moving a lot of the stash over to fill in holes created by the new booth scheme.  After that, I'm going to start planning for my own yard sale at the end of the month.  I'm going on a cleaning/decluttering tear in the kitchen, the backyard shed, and the back porch with one mission:  toss, sell, donate.  Some will end up in the booth, but there's a lot of things I want to go quickly, so a yard sale is the better route, I think.

Come August, I'll reassess the moratorium.  If I can greatly bring the stash level down, I'll start thinking about laying in a winter stash.

Someone please remind me that I've said all of this in a public forum.  Thank you. 

PS Go send Lorraine some love.  She needs it!

What's in Mazda?

This is what happens after you declare a yard sale moratorium.

I had already made a drop off at home!

As you can see, there's been a bit of a tragedy. 

OFF WITH HER HEAD!

A too quick right turn, and a lovely lady was decapitated by a book case.  She looks kind of calm about the whole thing.

Not so for me.

ALAS!

But enough of drama!  What do you think is in Mazda?

We pre-empt the regularly scheduled "Retro Y'all" post for a special announcement!

THIS

IS NOW A LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLE,

EVERYWHERE IN THESE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

WOO HOO!

Retro Y'all will return next week at its regularly scheduled time!

Taking it to the streets! (Part I)

A few times a year, the city allows residents to set out large items for junk collection.  Our most recent set out period came the weekend after we got back from San Francisco.  Like everything else, it can be hit or miss.  Some years are veritable junk smorgasbords, while others are famines.  Since our last period was in January, when I was tied up with moving out of a closing store and had no time to go out and hunt junk, I was hoping that this one would be a good one.

Junk set out is an interesting time, at least in our neighborhood.   It's supposed to be a time when folks set out large items, like furniture and appliances, that the trucks can't handle during regular weekly trash pick up.  Of course, these items can be taken to the dump, but not everyone has the ability to haul them or pay the dump fees.

What really happens is that people start getting rid of anything in their houses that is broken or that they do not want, regardless of size.  Boxes and bags of stuff pile up alongside the furniture and appliances.  Usually, there are a lot of signs of recent remodeling--cabinets, trim, carpet, etc.--as well.  Keith and I have a running joke that it's not really junk set out until you see the first toilet.  This time around, there were a plethora of potties.  Dozens.

One of our across the street neighbors always has a HUGE pile every set out.  It's always the same kind of stuff, too!  Couches, beds, carpet, tables--all smashed and ruined.  I simply cannot imagine what goes on in that house.  I probably don't want to, either.

Residents are given a weekend to put things out.  Nothing is supposed to go out before the designated Friday or after Sunday evening.  Some time during the next week, the trucks will be by to haul everything off.  In reality, stuff starts appearing on the Wednesday before the designated Friday and the piles keep growing until the trucks pass through.  As long as it doesn't rain, there can be good picking all week.  If you can beat the scrappers, that is.

This shelf is upside down, but I have no way to hang it rightside up in the backyard.  I love the rope at the bottom.  Makes me think of horse barns.

The croquet set is modern and incomplete.  I had to toss one mallet because the handle had split all the way down.  The balls are just compressed wood particles and two of them had split open as well.  I still think it would make a fun porch decoration.  I kept the head for the mallet I tossed, because why not?  The wood parts has some kind of weird veneer or finish on them that was peeling off.  Underneath, the wood had a really nice patina, so I peeled it all off as much as I could.

I think lots of perfectly good stuff gets set out simply because the owner doesn't want to clean it up.  Case in point this outdoor chair, which still needs a hit or two of Oxyclean, but will be just fine when I am done.  Sometimes, things have sat outside like this one without being tended.  Other stuff comes right out of basements or attics and just needs wiping off to be perfectly useable.

Like this Minnie chair.  The only thing wrong with it was that stain in the seat, which wiped up in like five seconds.  For that, it had been consigned to the middle of a junk pile.

I found three of these hardware sorters/retail displays.  I think they are kind of cool and could have a lot of uses.  I found them after dark the first night and made three trips back to the house with them.  (I was on foot.)  I knew if I left them, the early Monday morning scrappers would get them and that would be that.

Table top white board/chalk board.  It still needs a heavy cleaning with a Magic Eraser, but it's in solid shape.  An industrious reseller would repaint this puppy, but an industrious reseller didn't find it.  I did.

Garment rack.  This was the only thing that was sitting in front of the house where I found it.  It's kind of like they said "It's set out time!  Where's something I don't need?  Here!  Take this!"  And out it went.

I have this thing about making a mess when I curb dive, so I never dig too deeply into boxes and bags. I usually skim the top boxes in a pile and go on, because I don't want to waste valuable time repacking and restacking things.  I figure that way, I'm leaving stuff for the next picker that comes along.  There's usually more than enough to share. 

Another reason to beat the scrappers is that most of them don't care about the mess they make and leave.  I don't want to be blamed for someone else's ways.

I don't want to tear open bags and leave them there with holes so I usually leave them alone.  Bags sometimes have icky stuff in them too and I don't like dealing with icky stuff.  Who does?  I always end up with some good stuff that isn't quite my "vibe" but I take it because it will sell and it's free.  If I'm paying for stuff, I like to kind of stick with stuff that fits my established groove for the most part.

These cups and saucers were still in the box that the whole set of dishes came in, like they just took out the plates and bowls and set the rest right outside.  There was a dude doing renovations on the house next door to the pile where I found them.  He kept carrying drywall and crap out to the big dumpster set in front of the house and giving me the evil eye while I was digging.

I think he was daring me to try and take something out of his dumpster, as if I would want any of that dusty stuff!  Besides, I had peeked in it the week before and there wasn't anything good.

I love these glasses!  There were a bunch of them in both sizes.  They're quite heavy, too.

Spice jars.  I sell lots of these.  I think I'll leave the labels on these and sell as is, instead of stripping them and putting something in them.  I found about ten of them.  It seems like there is a stash of them every set out.

Heavy vintage pottery planter.  It's got that cool feel that only older pottery seems to have.

Louisville Stoneware Christmas cup.  Sweet!  I think this is an older one.  Never can tell what you'll find in them boxes.

There were three glass light shades, but one was already broken when I found them.  Butterfingers here broke the other one, leaving just a sole survivor.

That milk crate in the background was a find too.  There were two of them, both with the same prohibition.

It seems to me that any stealing was done by the persons who originally acquired these crates for personal use way back when.  I just picked them up off a curb, not from behind a convenient.  That;'s my story and I am sticking to it.  Besides, God told me it was okay.  He doesn't want them to go to the landfill either.  After all, isn't "waste not, want not" also in the Bible?  No?  Well, the Puritans or some of them folks said it.  That has to count for something.

I always end up with kind of mixed feelings about junk set out.  On the one hand, it's a great source of free merch.  I'm also saving good, useable items from the landfill.  As far as I know, there's no ordinance that prohibits picking, but I'm not sure it would stop me if there were.  It just makes me a little sad when I see enough stuff to stock a decent yard sale or a thrift store donation just tossed out like folks couldn't be bothered with it any longer.

There's more to this junk set out story, but this post is long enough as it is.  I'll get part two up in a few days.