One Little Corner Of The World

As we compile our list of potential sales, one of the biggest struggles we have is where to start. Sometimes, the best looking sales are more than an hour apart from each other and that sometimes makes them mutually exclusive (unless those are the only sales out there). We have to consider location and also the start and end times for the sales, all in an effort to maximize our time. This past Saturday, our task was made much easier. The three best looking sales were all in the same corner of the map and they all started at different times. Our first three stops fell into place easily. We would figure out the rest later on. So...off we went!

 Our first stop was a sale that began at 8 am. Although it was 40 minutes from the house, we arrived not too long after its start. Note: we almost never arrive ahead of time for these sales. We just don't like waiting on line. 

The house was old and charming and had a cool, basement floor. There were lots of items to consider. As it turned out, we found our best find of the day here...a 1950's men's smoking jacket style bathrobe that fit Rob perfectly...and it was in great condition! Along with the robe, we picked up some records, some books and a pair of nice picture frames at a total cost of $10. The bathrobe was worth that price alone!

Stop#2 was less than ten minutes away and was another old house. The sale was run by a Tag Sale Company that we have run across before. Like the first sale, there was a lot to consider and we came away with a lot of great stuff for a grand total of $5. Two good stops to start the day! The next stop was not too far away but it started at 10 am and we decided to stop for our traditional Saturday morning breakfast first. We were pretty hungry! 

The ride was beautiful and the trees were starting to reflect all of the beauty that is autumn.

We arrived at stop #3 only to encounter the dreaded line. This particular Tag Sale Company always seems to have lines throughout the morning simply because they only like to let wander about the house at a time. I guess that cuts down on their cost of hiring additional employees to protect themselves against the unruly and unscrupulous thieves and, yes, there are thieves out there. At this sale, we witnessed someone being thrown out for putting something in his pocket and sternly advised "never to attend another of our sales again". It's a shame that people are like this. To make matters worse, the two brothers who run this Tag Sale Company get stressed pretty easily and are not even the slightest bit tolerant of rude people. We, on the other hand, are greeted very warmly and they make small talk with us simply because we are always nice to them.

It was a great old house and, as all proper old houses should, had a mounted pencil sharpener. We prefer to see these in the basement but an old  mounted pencil sharpener is good wherever it may be! The house was a digger and we spent a good amount of time here and left with some records, books and other assorted goodies!

The itinerary for the remainder of the day would be based solely on how many additional stops we could make. There were no clear cut favorites left. Our fourth stop (above) was a clinker and we left with one record. The fifth stop yielded the same result...not much of interest and one record.

  Our sixth and final stop was in our town and that is specifically why we chose it. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was run by a Tag Sale Company we know. Their sales ALWAYS sneak up on us because they do not have a website and they never seem to advertise the name of their company. We found plenty to buy including the ladder in the picture. We are constantly borrowing Monica's sister and brother in law's ladder. Now we have our own.

We found another mounted pencil sharpener. That is always a good sign!

We both found lots of rooms to search. Looks like Monica has the records scoped out!

Based on the brown corduroy jacket with elbow patches that we found in the closet, we assume that Martin Mull once lived there! It was a good stop and we came away with some vintage shot glasses, another old men's bathrobe (probably the early 1960's for this one) and some other great stuff! 

Here are some of our finds for the week:

Some record albums

Some 7-inch records

Some 10-inch records

Some Peanuts paperback books from the 1960's

Some cookbooks and decorating books

More books and a sheet of decals

Some miscellaneous items including a box of Wizzers, some bar items and a Christmas decoration

A Television antenna and some old picture frames

More miscellaneous items including a Keds frisbee, some Christmas sputnik ornaments, some Fuller Brush giveaways and some decks of cards

A pair of vintage bathrobes

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful October day. With some leftover bread saved for just such an occasion, we decided to visit the ducks. 

Monica was ready with the bread

The ducks were patient...

...but not for long

Duck frenzy!!!

This white duck was the only one willing to be fed by hand

As it turned out, it was a little colder along the lake than we expected and our visit was not too long but the ducks were happy to see us. The trees were beautiful and so is life...together amongst the ducks.

On The Road Again

After a very busy weekend last week and very little time for saling, our plans were very, very, very simple for this weekend...get back on the road again on Saturday and spend Sunday catching up on housework, running errands and be done in time to watch The Walking Dead (our favorite show on television). Our target list of stops for Saturday was compiled and we were all set but first...

...there was a church sale to go to on Friday night. It is an annual sale, sometimes held in October and sometimes as late as December. It is in Monica's hometown and she has been going to this sale almost all of her life.

We got there early to beat the rest of the crowd to the potential goodies. The horses in the playground seemed to be rushing to get to the door too!

We found this statue which appeared to be Abraham Lincoln as a zombie. We did not get it but we did get lots of records from the 1980's for 50 cents apiece plus some cookbooks and a Piano 27 from Hohner for $3.

Our first stop on Saturday was a sale run by the family of the deceased and was on its second day of the sale. There were a few nice items but not much and what was of interest was way, way, way overpriced! They had a box containing six holiday Gurley candles from the early 1950's and they wanted $50 for the box! We left the sale empty handed.

After a stop for breakfast, we arrived at our second stop, a sale being run by the family but under the consultation of some people who had been in the Tag Sale business at one time. 

The basement floor was old and had a tile with a duck! 

It was the second day of the sale and some of the "50 years of accumulation" were probably long gone but it was definitely a fun house to search and Monica kept her eye out for buried treasure! In the end, we came away with an old Tupperware pie container, one Christmas figurine and a few cookbooks at a very low price.  

The next two sales yielded nothing. The first one was an outdoor estate sale and was very overpriced. There would have been lots of records to consider but they wanted $3 apiece so we saved ourselves the time and did not search the record crates. There were a few other overpriced items that we would have considered at a lower price too. The second sale just did not have anything of interest to us at all. It was not a total loss because we stopped at a garage sale just down the street and got one old cookbook which the lady gave us for free! 

Our fifth "planned" stop was an estate sale offering "50 years of accumulation" and was run by the family.

Look at that great countertop. Boomerang! 

A close-up of the boomerang counter top. It was the original counter from when the house was built in the 1950's. The house did have some cool, older items but they were very overpriced. We went home with one "Build It Yourself" set of plans to build a Santa (from 1952) and a pair of new slippers (with tags) for Monica.

Planned stop#6 was at an estate sale run by a Tag Sale company that are fairly new to us. They are very friendly and well-organized but we think they have only been in business for a short time. Perhaps they are a spin-off from an experienced company because they seem to know us better than we do them.  

Rob found a statue of one of "his people". We did not bring him home.

There was a cool oven built into the wall. It was the original oven from when the house was built in the 1950's. We do run across some old ovens in our adventures but this was so small compared to most that we have seen. That's Monica's hand in the picture trying to provide a size reference. Either that or she is auditioning for a role on The Price Is Right.  Monica...show them what is behind Curtain #2! 

This was the best stop of the day. It had everything we love...some old decor, lots to dig through and fun discoveries. We came home with a lot of interesting things at a good price.

Our last stop was at a church sale. They are always hit or miss. Sometimes there are a lot of great old items and sometimes there is nothing at all! We found two older easter decorations for a grand total of $1 so it was a good stop.

Here are some of the things we brought home with us this weekend:

Some cookbooks

A "Build It Yourself" Santa kit, a cool old "Pick A Pickle" bag, an adult games book from the 1960's (it's clean), some green and plaid stamp books, a cool Sesame Street 7-inch record and an old hair net package with the hair net inside.

A Piano 27 from Hohner. We will be experts in no time!

Playing cards, a Florida picture viewer from the 1970's, a vintage postcard from The Holiday Inn, a Tupperware pie container from 1954 from the Millionaire line, some cocktail stirrers and a ceramic Scottie Dog made in Japan

Various holiday items

The weather was fairly nice all weekend, we had fun on our Saturday adventures and we accomplished all that we needed to do on Sunday and even had some time to rest. It was a great weekend together.  It always is. 

We are two ducks swimming together in the same direction...we are two peas in a pod

The "No Saling" Weekend

Nope...no saling. It was a busy weekend filled with commitments and we knew that we would not be doing our usual thing. No Saturday breakfast out...no big Sunday breakfast at home...no saling. Rob did not even look at the sales scheduled for the weekend. He didn't see the point. He did not want to know what he might be missing. Monica peeked. She wanted to know.

Saturday was a day for the Mill Neck Fall Harvest Festival, an event that Monica and her family have gone to since Monica was a little girl. It is held for a full weekend and, the last few years, we have all gone on Sunday so it did not affect anyone's Saturday routine. This year, Monica's niece, Michelle, was visiting from Florida and she is due to have her first child in January. Sunday was the day of her baby shower and she really wanted to go to the festival too (she used to go with the family when she lived on Long Island as a kid) so Saturday it was! 

The Manor...it is beautiful and huge!

The family after eating. Say cheese!

On the steps of The Manor...the view is beautiful!

Rob saying "cheese"... again! Rob is a cheese fanatic and finding the Cheese Shop makes him very happy!

The kids had a great time. Posing on the big rock

In front of The Manor...two nieces, one nephew and one "nephew on the way" 

Taking a break. A family photo opportunity.

It was a great day and the weather was perfect! We had plans for the evening at Monica's sister's house for dinner and had a little time for ourselves to rest in between. On the way home, we saw a garage sale sign and our instincts kicked in so we stopped. We know...NO SALING...but it was a quick stop and there was little of interest. There were a couple of boxes of records but they were priced too high so we did not even look at them. We walked away with one old cookbook for 50 cents.

Monica in a pretty dress for Michelle's baby shower on Sunday. Monica's brother-in-law, Lenny, drove Monica and her sister and the kids to the shower and then the two boys were invited to stop by later to eat some leftovers. Rob and Lenny both brought hearty appetites with them! 

On Monday, we both took the day off to recoup from the weekend and have some time for ourselves. We decided to spend the day on Long Island's North Fork, enjoying the beautiful October day

 We visited the Riverhead Raceway Muffler Man. The last time we were here was just before Hurricane Sandy. In the storm, he broke in half. We were glad to see that he was restored and back to his rightful spot. Rob is one sixteenth Cherokee Indian so he feels that he is one of "his people"

So we ran across this "antique" shop on the way out east and stopped in. Okay...so this was only the second sale we went to in this "no saling" weekend. Shhhh...don't tell anyone. We got a yellow Lustro ware coffee canister and a bunch of old green stamp books for a total of $2. That toy box on the lawn was marked at $45. We have the same one at home.

On the way out east, we saw the giant Popeye statue that sits upon a truck in Aquebogue...

...and a giant corn on the cob on the same farm.

For lunch, we stopped at The Cutchogue Diner which has been around forever.

Look at the cool counter and stools! Hey...there's Monica on the right!

The napkin holder was glad to see us. He appears to be smiling!!!

When we arrived in Greenport, there is a small strip of buildings on the north side that are so cool. 

There's this great old sign for the Drossos Motel...

...and this sign for the Drossos Miniature Golf and Snack Bar. Just look at that ice cream cone!

Here's the snack bar. It has been there forever!

...and it still has an old mechanical horse!

A Thrift Shop is right next door. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a "no saling" weekend. We'll call it a "limited saling" weekend. Inside, we got one old ashtray and one record.

A little up the road, we stumbled upon The Silver Sands Motel

Look at that cool sign...

and as we went down the driveway to take a look....an even cooler sign! WOW!!!!

A great neon sign above a motel that seems to look exactly as it did in the 1950's!

It is right on the water

The outside of the motel rooms are painted turquoise and pink.

This is a view of the turquoise side. There is a pink side too.

Old screen doors...a plus in our book. We have decided to stay here a couple of days next year!

In Greenport, there are so many old stores and old signs

Wines and Liquors

The Whiskey Wind Tavern sign

Arcade Department Store. Great old sign and the inside has wooden floors and old display cases

The Coronet Luncheonette in Greenport. It has been around since 1949

A view from outside of the great luncheonette counter. We will eat here next time!

Rob found another one of "his people"

A view in a store window in Greenport. Lots and lots of ducks!

Yes...we bought a few. A zombie, a vampire, a turkey and a flamingo

We spent a few hours walking around town just enjoying a beautiful day

Here is another old sign just on the outskirts of town

On the way back, we stopped in Mattituck for some ice cream

Magic Fountain Ice Cream

It used to be a Dairy Queen and they left the old dairy Queen display atop the roof!

It was a great day out east and a good day to enjoy a day off at the end of a busy weekend. Driving home, we waved to all of the wineries, corn fields and farm animals we passed on the way...even the sheep who didn't even seem to notice!

Although it was a "no saling" weekend, we managed to get a couple of things

A Christmas record

Some green stamp books

A Lustro ware coffee canister, a cookbook and an old ashtray

You see? Even when our routine changes and the saling Gods forsake us, we still have reason to smile. We have the ducks...we have each other.