Wednesday, November 26, 2014

A Small Diversion

This post is for the weekend of November 15th and 16th. We hope to be caught up soon!

Our weekend would be almost fully occupied preparing to say goodbye to Monica's mom. There were lots of last minute plans to be made and everyone in the family played a role. Gathering and selecting the pictures for Sunday's wake was one of our responsibilities and we spent a good portion of Friday and Saturday evening getting them together. We had additional errands to run on Saturday and we put aside our typical saling plans for the weekend. We did, however, find ourselves with a little bit of time and we made two quick stops as a small diversion from a very tough weekend. 


We stopped to fill up Monica's car with gas before journeying too far from home. We paid less than $3 a gallon. This is the lowest price in four years! 


There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The blue presented a beautiful backdrop for the colorful autumn leaves that still remained on the trees


Our first stop was at a craft fair at a church near our house. It's an annual event and it provided two opportunities for us...their annual sale...


...and their "thrift shoppe"


As with most church sales in recent years, there was not a whole lot of things that interested us. Their thrift shop is really nice but, as is the norm, opportunities for great finds at the thrift shops are rare nowadays. We did find a few Christmas ornaments, one record and a bamboo bracelet for Monica.


Our second, and final, stop of the day was at a sale that was twenty minutes away. It was the second day of the sale and the pictures in the ad pointed towards an older home with some potential. That was our first reason for going. Our second was simply because we have become friendly with the tag sale company that was running this sale and simply wanted to say hello. It is a family run business by an incredibly nice family.

There were three rooms to explore. Much of what was originally up for grabs disappeared during the sale's first day but there was still lots to see. The person who owns this house was moving and taking almost nothing with her. She had a great collection of vintage ceramic juicers from the 1950's (mostly clowns) that were sold on the first day. A few odd ones (without their bottom pieces) remained behind. They were really cool to see but we were not looking to get any that were not complete. We already have a great one that we found at some point in the recent past.

Although we did not get any juicers, we did find a great pair of clown salt and pepper shakers (that match our juicer), a Peppy pepper shaker (missing its mate), a Napco Miss Cutie Pie egg cup (with fake egg) and one book.  The clown salt and pepper shakers and the Miss Cutie Pie egg cup are marked Japan. 

Our friends at the tag sale company also had a few gifts for us. Knowing our love of vintage Christmas things, they had vintage angel chimes (with the accompanying candles) and an old plastic Santa that they had found months back. They really are great people! 


Here are the things we brought home with us:

A record and a paperback Mad book from 1975

Napco Miss Cutie Pie egg cup, a Peppy pepper shaker, a pair of clown salt and pepper shakers (made in Japan) and a bamboo bracelet for Monica

Some Christmas things

Oh...there was one other thing we got. At the wake on Sunday evening, we were visited by a friend who we had only previously known through Facebook. He joined a Merry Kitschmas group that we started for vintage Christmas enthusiasts and he definitely fits the bill. He wanted to pay his respects and meet us in person. He did not come alone.

He brought us this beautiful vintage angel in honor of Monica's mom. It was a very kind and thoughtful gesture. It will, every Christmas, be placed in front of a picture of all of us last Christmas with Monica's mom. 

Monica's mom was laid to rest in a cemetery that she chose long ago. The cemetary allows you to place tchotchkes around the grave. She liked tchotchkes. We know where Monica got it. We have already put aside some things to bring her during the holidays. We know she'll like that. 

2 comments:

  1. What a thoughtful gift from your friend. The angel is adorable.
    Again, I'm so sorry for the loss of Monica's mom.
    I hope you're able to enjoy your Thanksgiving.
    Erica

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    1. Thank you, Erica!
      It really was a thoughtful gift!
      Monica's mom would have wanted us to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas and so we will! We will be with Monica's dad and her whole family tomorrow.
      Have a great Thanksgiving, Erica!

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