So, here is my new "storage facility" if you will. I keep singing
"It's my shed in a box!" like the Justin Timberlake/Andy Samberg duet
"D*ck in a box" :p
On to the goods! I picked up so much stuff that I couldn't possibly take pictures of it all before I boxed it up for the second hand store, so I am mainly featuring the highlights...
Some art and a wreath. The print on the left is a print of The Young Biologist by Paul Peel, while the frame on the right is a framed piece of woven cloth which looks maybe Peruvian to me.
Next up, I picked up this vase on a whim. It was quite dusty and dirty, but since I picked up a few other little things from this pile, I decided to throw it into the box ith the rest of the stuff I had picked
Turns out it is a rare "Queue de Baleine" or "Whale's Tail" vase made by Beauce.
I couldn't find much about it except for this blurb and picture on collectors weekly.
I picked up this adorable farm animal themed canister set and knew it would be perfect for my friend who lives on a farm.
Later on at another pile I also found her this coat for her horses. These suckers usually sell for about $150+ dollars
Lots of costume jewellery...
Even a real fur scarf (with tag attached) and shawl, along with some change, and silver pieces.
The silver bracelet in front is rather thick and heavy
Not sure what kind of stone is in the ring, but it is rather large
Boxing gloves and microphones
An Olympus Stylus Waterproof camera with cord, a carrying case, and battery and 2G memory card inside. Works perfectly.
A really nice and heavy punch bowl
3 pairs of girls skates and Reebok brand youth golf shoes
A cute lamp that projects and spins pictures of some little lovebug cars
A Sega Game Gear hand held gaming system with charger. It turns on, but there were no games that I can test it on. In all likely hood, it's probably just fine and was thrown out because it is old. Also a DS and a DS lite. One even included the game Spectrobes. I was able to get those working as well with the cords from my kids' systems.
This lamp doesn't look like much, but I noticed that the label on the back said it was a Sadelite, and I wondered if it was one of those therapy lamps for S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Knowing that they cost a pretty penny, I grabbed it intending to look it up at home. Sure enough, this lamp can be ordered from the manufacturers website for $239. As you can see, it works perfectly :)
I also managed to shove these awesome pneumatic bar stools into my car. The seats are hard plastic, and the bases are heavy chrome. These should sell easily.
Picked up this Dora the explorer Ready Bed which is a sleeping bed and blanket in one. It all rolls up into a little carrying bag. I pumped it up with a pump that I had also rescued from the trash. The bed does have a small pinhole in in, but it will be easy to patch up.
Some car accessories... A cigarette lighter plug in pump and vacuum, along with a car "backpack" unused with accessories in the plastic still in the box. Who knows how long this was sitting in someone's garage, but by the makes of the cars on it, I'm thinking late 80's.
A ton of hockey equipment. Ironically there is a Canadian Tire jersey inside...in Canada, Canadian Tire launched the Jump Start program which helps families in need be able to afford enrolling their kids in sports.
Speaking of sports stuff, I also picked up this paddle. It's handle is still wrapped in plastic, and it doesn't look like it was ever used, but I can't figure out what sport it is for or why it's full of holes. If you know, please leave me a comment :)
This igloo thing is actually a cat littler box, but I think I might put it out on my porch with some cozy blankets inside for the stray cats that I feed. Yes, not only am I a garbage picker, but I'm a crazy cat lady as well :)
This carpeted scratching post is also in great condition, so it will probably go into my cat's outdoor run.
A wine rack, several plant pots, and some decorative flower centre pieces
A nice corningware bowl and some copper molds
Christmas stuff - an angel tree topper, a nice garland, 2 tree skirts, 2 tree stands, a bow still attached to the packaging and a few decorations
When I checked another pile, I noticed this walker. The people came out and were adding more stuff to the pile, so I asked them if there was anything wrong with the walker. They pulled it out and told me that the brakes didn't work and that their mother bought a new one. She then demonstrated it to me where I looked down and saw...the brakes working just fine. I tried it out myself a few times and I was like "but...they're..working...?" And she was like "Yup, they just don't work" Uhhh...Ok? I have no idea what she was seeing or thinking, but I grabbed it and put it in the car.
This is my new favourite art find. I just love the colours in it., it looks like the scenery in a vintage Disney movie
In the back, you can read it is a painting of Neuschwanstein Castle done by an artist by the name of Henri Day. Unfortunately, nothing turns up when I do a Google search.
I'm glad I got to this Bissell Little Green before a copper scavenger cut the cord off
At another pile I came across this article well wrapped and taped in some garbage bags. You can see that when I came across it, someone had already ripped a hole inside to take a peek, but I guess they weren't interested.
I, of course, grabbed it. I could see that it was a crib made of wood and it looked old. Someone had recently cut a new mattress for it out of a dense foam.
The painted details on the side...I'm not sure if this is original, but it looks older and doesn't have the same style and brush strokes of that tole flower painting that was so popular about 10-20 years ago.
A look at the old wheels on it. I'm guessing this crib is from the 1940's -50's. I'm going to have to send off some pics to my furniture guy again and see if he has any info for me.
At the same pile I also picked out this promotional VHS cassette giving a sneak peek of an up coming new Nintendo Donkey Kong video game
And 3 boxes full of sci-fi/fantasy books with the Star Wars trillogy on VHS.
More Christmas stuff from other piles. The vase on the left was still packaged unopened in the box. The Angel on the right plugs in and has lights that shimmer and gradually change colours. Beside her is a faux candle that lights up. The batteries were still in it and it turned on when I picked it up.
A "Moon Rays" outdoor lighting kit
As you can see inside, it's never been used. Unopened and uninstalled...and garbage
Tonnes of kids shoes. The 2 pairs in front are Brooks and Reebok and they are like new.
Tonnes of kids toys...The blue case in the back left is a microscope unused, in front of that is a Beyblade toy still in the package, a Disney Princess computer that works, a Bionicle still in the unopened box, a 100 piece puzzle - never opened, a box full of mint cards, a digital Tetris game, a watch, and some really cool books.
Remote controlled toys, all working.
This vintage robotic horse that moves, whinnies, plays a galloping sound and a Lone Ranger type tune.
This collector's Barbie, which sells for about $70
and once again another 3 CD stereo system
I also wanted to show you what I did with one of my garbage picks. I grabbed this little Dora lap table out of a pile. You can use it for eating on, or colouring on & it has little areas on the sides to hold your drink or craft stuff. Anyways, as you can see, some of the edges of the pictures must have started to come off and some kid couldn`t resist pulling it.
At first I thought I was just going to Modge Podge some funky material over it, but then I remembered that I had some chalkboard spray paint down in the basement. I taped everything up and here`s how it looked after it dried...
To prime the chalkboard, you have to rub a piece of chalk all over it and then erase it off. It looks much more like a chalkboard now. So the table not only gets reused, but now it has another fun function as well :)
To end this post, I leave you with a journal entry I found in a school bag full of kids clothing that was tossed. It`s really great that kids are being taught the 3 R`s in school now. My generation never learned anything about recycling when we were young. I think recycling paper was implemented in our school when I was in about 10th or 11th grade, so a lot of us still have the "Just throw it out" mentality. My kids however have been learning about recyling and sorting their trash at school since the beginning. They even know how to compost :)
This journal entry gave me hope that the next generation really gets it, and that things will change for the better...
