Our Adventures Amongst The Ducks: Good & Plenty

For weeks, it seemed like our saling opportunities were limited. We expected Labor Day to be a slow weekend but even the previous few weeks found us considering no more than four sales. This week was different. As we reviewed our list of potential sales at week's end, we had nine to consider. None were standouts but all showed some potential. There was only one item pictured in any of the ads that we really identified as a "hope to get". Eight of the sales were in one zone and, with an early enough start, we felt that we might make them all. The ninth one was separate from the others and we kept it in the back of our minds in case we still had time. Eight sales! This was a welcome change.

Another welcome change was the weather. The heat and humidity of last week had become a memory. Friday's overnight low temperature was 60 degrees and the humidity had completely vanished. We woke up to an overcast day that would not be warmed up by the sun but that would stay dry at least until mid-afternoon. We showered and got dressed much more quickly than usual knowing that our list was long. With a course in mind, off we went!

Sale #1 was run by a tag sale company that does not run sales all that often but, when they do, we usually find some things we like. It was an easy choice to go here first. It started earlier than any of the other sales on our list and, since it was the nearest sale to us of the sales we chose, it provided us with a course that, we hoped, would maximize the time available.

The basement was large and had quite a few dolls including this creepy doll lamp. No, we did not buy this.

There was a turntable hidden within a cabinet that the homeowner had clearly built. It was pretty cool!

There were lots of signs that the house was old and that so many things remained unspoiled from its beginnings. This great old refrigerator was one of those signs...

...as was this pink bathroom. The tub was pink. The sink was pink. The toilet seat was pink.

The tiles were great though the wallpaper above it was horrible. Here's another look at the pink sink. A closer look and we found...

...a boomerang countertop!

This house was great to wander through although there really was not that much for us, That's okay. Roaming through houses like this is fun and we did find one pocketbook for Monica and one fiberglass butterfly tray to match a set that we already have.

Sales #2 and #3 were outdoor sales within two minutes of each other and just five minutes from our first stop. One was described as "50 years of accumulation" while the other just showed a picture that pointed towards having old stuff. Both were quick stops and our total yield between the two stops was one old wall thermometer. We were through three stops already and were making good time. It was time to stop for breakfast and then take on the rest of our list.

Stop #4 looked like it would be a good one. When you couple the phrases "60 years of accumulations" with "tons of Christmas", being excited about the possibilities is justified. Plus, the sale was run by a tag sale company that has had some great sales in the past.

The first thing we saw as we approached the house was this bench on the lawn which once resided at Coney Island. It was already sold. We were not in the market for this anyway but it was still cool to see! The second thing we saw was that there were things in the backyard and garage. As soon as we got back there, we knew that our optimism was justified. There were the Christmas things! We spent about twenty minutes back there before entering the house and we already had a bagful of items to take home.

Inside was another great bathroom. A turquoise sink and toilet with pink walls.

We took a peak beneath the pink rug...what a great floor!

There was a great bar downstairs which Rob thoroughly searched. It was adorned with old party lights! That is an idea that we will steal for the future!

In another part of the basement, hidden from plain view, was this mounted pencil sharpener. We should have known!

The upstairs furniture was great too. This old dining room set was in great condition. Look at those chairs! The china closet in the back must have been bought in the early 1960's! This was another great house that we enjoyed a lot! By the time we left, we had several things to bring home...Christmas things, cocktail swizzle sticks, pamphlets, some records, some old wooden drink umbrellas and more! One of those Christmas items was a salt and pepper set that was the "hope to have" item. Although we already have this set, Rob has no problem getting duplicates of Christmas things!

We arrived at sale #5 and Monica stopped only long enough to pose for a picture. She was anxious to go inside. We both were. "Digging", "Christmas" and "1960's" are the right words to put into your ad if you want a visit from us. It was a privately run sale by the family of the deceased.

Not long into our search, we found the mounted pencil sharpener. We were on the right track! There were three floors to search and the house was fun.

It must have been fun! They used to dress their children as Christmas clowns!

We found three records, some great Christmas things and lots of vintage greeting cards, all for $5. It was a great stop!

Sale #6 was advertised as having old Christmas and holiday decorations. When we got inside, we saw that it was being by the guys who ran the "No Children. Bring Flashlight. Bring Gloves. Bring Masks" sale of a few weeks before. This was a much different sale. There was a basement but not much else to search. It was a quick twenty minute stop but it did yield an old Halloween Jack O'Lantern, two Christmas decorations and one record. Onward we went!

Sale #7 was run by one of our favorite tag sale companies. The woman who runs it is very nice and her prices are very reasonable. There was nothing spectacular that drew this to this sale other than who was running it and some mild curiosity about a 1950's cabinet that appeared in one of the pictures and was labeled as a "dental cabinet". We are looking for a kitchen cabinet that we envisioned looking like the one in the picture. It was time to say hello and time to look at this cabinet.

Our first stop was the basement. Very spacious and look at that floor!

The basement was where we found the "dental cabinet". It was a little smaller than we had imagined and there was a lot of rust inside. It took us no time at all to decide that this would not be coming home with us.

The basement had this great old stove which was in much better shape than the dental cabinet.

The bathroom upstairs was old but much of what was once a pink bathroom had been updated. This built-in laundry hamper still remained and it was in great shape!

There was a great old stove upstairs too. Although there were not too many people inside the house when we were there, it seemed as if the people that were there were drawn to this stove. They insisted on standing in front of it every time that Rob tried to take a picture. It took him ten minutes to get this shot.

Although the dental cabinet did not turn out to be of interest, we did find a ceramic reindeer, some cookbooks, a couple of vintage greeting cards and a vintage Dashboard Jesus!

Sale #8 was 25 minutes to the north, the furthest distance between sales that we had encountered thus far. The ad said "1950's to present" and that was enough to bring us here.

The sale was run by the family of the deceased and the whole house was available for search. This piece of furniture was labeled "not for sale" but everything else was. It was a big house but there was not a lot here.

This old MAD sticker was stuck on a piece of furniture upstairs so we couldn't get it but we did pick up a pink Lucite drawer organizer and three decks of children's cards.

By the time we finished here, it had started raining and we were over thirty minutes from home. We no longer entertained the idea of going to the ninth sale that was only saved in case we had time. It was 45 minutes away and we did not think we would make it in time. The sales we attended, for the most part, were good and plenty. We were ready for home.

Here are some of the things we brought home:

Some records

A couple of Hawaiian records

Some Christmas records

Some cookbooks

A Disneyland vacation book from 1961, a souvenir map from the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair, an old houseplant chart, a sewing needles package and more books.

Las Vegas brochures and souvenirs from the 1960's representing The Fabulous Flamingo, The Hotel Sahara, The Sands, The Golden Nugget, The Dunes, The Riviera and The Tropicana. The Fabulous Flamingo has long since changed its name. The Hotel Sahara and The Sands were closed in the 1990's and their buildings were imploded.

Vintage baby cards

More vintage baby cards

A few more vintage baby cards

A vintage Christmas card and a vintage anniversary card

A supermarket giveaway sewing kit, a package of jigger cups, a mounted thermometer, three old decks of children's cards and an old viewfinder

A pink Lucite drawer organizer, a vintage pocketbook for Monica, a Yosemite Sam glass and a ceramic poodle (made in Japan)

A fiberglass butterfly tray

Lots of old wooden drink umbrellas

Lots of old cocktail swizzlers

A Dashboard Jesus from the late 1950's/early 1960's that is..

...the symbol of prayerful driving!

Prayerful driving is careful driving!

It is brought to you by Father Gregory who was the founder of the Dashboard Jesus

Pamphlets inside the Dashboard Jesus box. There are more things that you can buy!

An old blow mold Jack O'Lantern and honeycomb turkey

An old New Year's Eve banner

Felt Christmas decorations...a mail holder, a stocking and a money bag (all marked Japan) and two small felt Santas

A ox of Christmas ornaments and some more Christmas things. The snowpeople are salt and pepper shakers. All of the ceramic pieces are marked Japan

Foil garland in its packages. One still has its banner. Made in Japan where garland is evidently called "galrand"

A creepy Santa, a box of Christmas ornaments and a honeycomb Christmas bell. The box is nearly empty. It was full when we found it but we left nine of the ornaments behind. They were plain and we have too many glass ornaments as it is. We left the others behind for someone else to find.

It was a great Saturday of saling where the sales were good and plenty for the first time in weeks. We spent Sunday at home, relaxing and doing the errands and chores together that we always have to do before the work week begins.