Spring Arrives...On The Calendar

This post is for the weekend beginning Friday, March 20, 2015

March 20th...the beginning of spring on the calendar. There have not been many signs that spring was on its way. The weather is still colder than normal and we had two snowstorms this month that dropped at least six inches of snow upon us. Spring was not quite in the air yet, but we had a three day weekend and we were happy about that. There was an estate sale that was scheduled for Friday that was of interest to us. "Fifty years of accumulation" catches our attention. This was be our starting point for the weekend.

Sale #1 was run by an estate sale company that we like a lot. We have much success at their sales but they have not had a lot as of late...at least not on the weekends. Most of their sales seem to fall on Fridays and, with both of us working Monday through Friday, we always miss them. Today was different. It was a vacation day

The house was not all that big and there really wasn't all that much there. We did find one record, an old Christmas cake pan and a pair of old pineapple honeycomb decorations that we will use at future luaus...and we had fun. That, more than anything else, is the mark of success.

With no other sales to frequent, we decided to go to thrift shops. The pickings have been slim in recent years and you just never know what you'll find, if anything at all. We went to five of them and were surprised to find a few goodies for us. 

Thrifting is fun, especially when we are lucky enough to find things, but there are perils too. You never know when you will encounter, lurking within the dark basements, a pack of walkers! 

By Friday evening, it started to snow again. It was technically already spring...but only on the calendar. By the morning, we had received four inches of new snow! Our flamingo was not happy! 

Saturday morning greeted us with two potential sales and we were anxious to see what they had in store for us. Monica had already started up the path. The sale was privately run and had a very brief description but it seemed to have the potential for old things. It was also in our town which made it a very easy decision to take a look. As it turned out, there was a lot of old things but nothing for us. The sale was being run by the decedent's brother and he told us that only 5% of what the brother had was ready to view but that there would be more in the upcoming months. We will keep our eyes out for their next sale

Our other Saturday sale was also close to our house and we could tell that it was probably also filled with old things. There were not a lot of rooms to search but we did have to dig through the rooms that there were. After a 45 minute run through the house, we found an old cookbook, several old holiday die-cut decorations and a few other things.

With the day only half over and no more sales on our list, we decided to go for lunch to a retro style hamburger place that we go to a couple of times a year. The food is good and it's a fun atmosphere and...

...we like the signs on the wall, especially this one. It's a great sign and the starbursts in the background add a nice touch.

It was a lazy kind of day and we went out for dinner too. We went to Taco John's which shares its restaurant with Arby's. The Arby's cow out front was pleading with us not to order the beef.

Here are some of the things we found on Friday and Saturday:

Some records

Some more records

Some Christmas records

Some cookbooks

An old Valentine's Day decoration

Some old Thanksgiving die cut decorations

A ceramic turkey (marked Japan) and a honeycomb turkey

An old Easter die cut decoration

More Easter decorations...a Gurley Easter Bunny candle, a pair of honeycomb Easter eggs and an old plastic Easter container

Three Eureka Halloween die cut decorations from 1966

Some Christmas things

An old pair of pineapple honeycomb decorations and a package of cocktail stirrers

We spent Sunday running our errands, doing our chores and finding some time just to relax together. It may not be as adventurous as our saling but it is time together and we love every moment of that time too. 

Now, we will turn our thoughts to Easter. It's just around the corner. We hope it brings spring with it! 

Dodging The Raindrops

This post is for the weekend of March 14th and 15th, 2015

It was still March. We haven't had the type of March days that make you think that springtime is coming. We have had the type of days that remind you that it is still winter. We haven't had snow in a week but it has been colder than average for this time of year and, while the snow piles have shrunk a bit, they are still there but...they have not grown either and that's good.

The number of estate sales hasn't grown either. Most of this winter, the pickings have been slim and this week would be no exception. At first, we thought that there might be three potential sales for us but, upon further investigation, we realized that we recognized one of the houses. The estate sale company was selling what was left. We were there just a few weeks before and we know that anything of interest either came with us or went home with someone else. Now the list was down to two sales and neither looked spectacular. Still, two sales are better than none and, with hope in our hearts, off we went. 

We arrived at the first sale and were happy to see that it was still on. All of the pictures of this sale pointed towards this being an outdoor sale. That was potentially a problem because it was raining. It was raining pretty hard...but it wasn't snow. We weren't complaining because, well, it wasn't snow.

The estate sale company running ths sale was prepared. There were tents to cover the merchandise. There were tents to cover us.

The merchandise for sale was primarily the contents of the house that had already been sold and, because of that, the house was off limits. Buried amongst the clutter was this amazing phonograph cabinet. This picture does not do it justice...

...but this one does (a picture from the ad for this sale). It was AMAZING! Although we probably don't have room for it, we might have convinced ourselves that we did if it weren't damaged during its move from the house to the garage. The middle handle had broken off and partially splintered and we have no doubt that it developed some new scratches in the garage. 

There were some books there too but none more valuable that the two above. Who knew that life came with instructions? 

While we did got get these books, we did find two giant vintage brandy snifter glasses for "tidbits" and "nuts". 

After a stop for breakfast, we made our way to sale #2. It was still raining but, at least, this sale was actually indoors. There was nothing that drew us to this sale other than pictures that showed us some old furniture. We hoped that we would find more.

The basement had two mounted pencil sharpeners...a good sign...times two!

This metal cabinet in the basement was amazing. It was so amazing that we had to take two pictures. We didn't bring it home and we both regret not making an offer for it! 

The basement was a digger which is exactly the types of sales we love! 

At the far end of the basement was some cool old furniture that had seen better days. Nonetheless, it was cool! 

The bathroom has this great mint green sink amongst a sea of pink.

Look at the great pink bathroom floor!

We spent over an hour in this house and it was a digger. We found a few things to add to our home.

Here are some things that took the ride home with us:

Cocktail stirrers and an old package of Party Picks

Radiation contamination tags dated 1960, a pamphlet and a Treasure Craft ashtray from 1963 and made in Hawaii. We have the matching pineapple ones

A vintage cocktail towel

A vintage glass tray

A pair of Royal China Blue Heaven casserole dishes and a pair of vintage giant brandy snifter glasses from the 1950's/early 1960's. We also have some in turquoise, purple, yellow and white.

It may have been a slow day for sales but we found a few nice things and, most importantly, it was a day spent together. Spring has to be just around the corner. It may not say it in the air but it says so on the calendar and the green must be just around the corner...

...even if that green was just for St. Patrick's Day. 

In Like A Lion

March is usually the time we start thinking that the winter is behind us and that the nicer weather is just ahead. The winter has been cold. February has been brutal. We did a little research. The national Weather Service's Upton office has only officially been recording data separately for Long Island since 1984. February, 2015 was the coldest month on record with an average temperature for the month of 21.6 degrees. Records have been recorded at Central Park since 1869. February, 2015 was the third coldest February in that 146-month period and the ninth coldest month overall. The average winter snowfall on Long Island is 24.8 inches. We have had 56.6 inches so far. We're ready for the spring. We are very ready. 

We expect March to come in like a lion and this one did. Sunday, March 1st brought us six more inches of snow. Thursday, March 6th brought us seven more. Temperatures dipped into the teens on four of the first seven days. 

This was the view through Rob's windshield on his way home from work on Thursday. Beautiful, yet treacherous. 

Saturday arrived and there was no snow in the forecast but it would still be cold. It was twelve degrees Saturday morning and, well, we were not all that surprised. Our week long search for sales resulted in just one sale of interest. The ad said it had vintage toys. It also said it had seasonal merchandise. Would it be vintage? We would have to see.

So, after a 35 minute ride, we arrived to encounter the dreaded line. It really wasn't a surprise. There just weren't that many sales around. It took us about a half hour to get inside and we were grateful to enter a warmer place.

There were three floors and we went to the basement first where we found this cool basement bar. Monica searched the area thoroughly.

The basement also had this cool couch which was very reasonably priced but it did not come home with us. If it was turquoise or orange, it would have been in our house by day's end!

We searched the main floor and the second floor and found some really great things. By the time that we walked out the door, we had several ceramic elves, several vintage holiday decorations, some more ceramic items and a few other great things.

Sunday is normally a day to stay at home and focus on errands and chores but we saw two sales with some potential that were not too far from home and we thought we would sneak in a little Sunday saling in the morning before getting back to our normal routine. And so we did.

Both sales were run by the same tag sale company and it was one whose sales we have attended for years! We were excited when we arrived at the first sale and saw this beautiful old house with the turquoise shutters. 

There were so many things in this house that have remained unchanged for many years. The green bathtub and sink were probably the originals.

This other bathroom had a yellow toilet, sink and baseboard heaters which were also probably here when the original owner moved in. There were also many pieces of great vintage furniture, none of which would find room in our home. Well, except the great vintage record cabinet which did come home with us! We also found two paperback books. 

Sale #2 was just a short drive away and we were anxious to see what we might find inside. Monica was waiting for Rob to hurry up! 

There was a pencil sharpener mounted in the basement. This is usually a good sign! 

The attic was cluttered and that provides us with a good opportunity to dig. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot for us in this house but we did find a few good things. A vintage wine rack, a vintage Hawaiian shirt, a vintage handkerchief and a few other things were ours after our visit.

Here are some things we took home with us this weekend:

Some Christmas records

Some books

A vintage Hawaiian shirt for Rob

A vintage bartender's apron

A vintage wine rack

An old box of little forks and a vintage handkerchief

A vintage souvenir spoon and fork from Florida and some old napkins from Jones Beach

An old Donkey Party game

A  vintage record cabinet

A whale ashtray, a pink ceramic squirrel and cat salt and pepper shakers. All are marked Japan

Two pairs of ceramic elves )which we use as St. Patrick's decorations), two ceramic Valentine's Day decorations, a pair of bunny salt and pepper shakers and a plastic Easter decoration. All but the plastic decoration are marked Japan

Christmas decorations...two Rudolphs and two Santas on bicycles

It was a great weekend of saling and, more importantly, a great weekend together. The forecast for the upcoming week was for temperatures in the forties and fifties and that would be a very welcome change! We're looking forward to the lamb. We are promised a lamb by the end of March. Spring cannot be too far way now...we hope! Walks around our favorite lake await us. The ducks will be glad to see us...and we will be glad to see them! Until then...we will huddle together in the warmth of our home knowing that better weather is just around the corner.