Last rites

As usual, I'm going to tell you how busy I have gotten and how behind I am on this blog. I have really been focused on selling lately to get stuff out of my storage shed. Now that garage sale season is pretty much over for the year, I find stuff is starting to pile up a bit. I really don't like it when things get too messy or cluttered, as it seems to anger and frustrate me. I definitely notice myself getting grumpier the more I have stuff I have strewed around.

Here are some finds I got from a large pile close to home...

A vintage Olymplus Trip camera with a Sunpak flash and all the manuals

Unused and still in the box Magic Bag

This vintage  Lady Sunbeam razor (it still works!)

I love the blue peacock(?) graphic on it

A bottle of Ernest & Julio Gallo wine

A nice vintage leather flask set

 I also found some various stuff in a bag... 40 cents in change, an old pocket knife, an old Boy Scout (I think) pin, a small religious medallion, a gold stud earring, and a rosary

I thought this old Donald Duck night light cover was cute

This cross was also thrown out, it looked kind of old, and when I was looking it over I noticed that it had a sliding panel. Turns out it is a last rites set.

Inside is a small bottle that is to be filled with holy water, a spot to hold and burn 2 candles, and an instruction sheet on when to call the priest.

 Here are the instructions, you can click on the picture to enlarge it so it's easier to read.

 These old photos were also in the pile. I love looking at old photos to get a glimpse of what life was like back then.

 The rest of the finds from that spot include this beautiful amethest costume jewellery necklace

It's kind of hard to see but the smaller "diamonds" have a pinkish hue

An autographed postcard of whoever this guy is...Anyone recognize him?

This chef that holds a bottle or something kitchen-y

Another pile that looked like a big clean up included...

This working perfectly drill

Still wrapped and never used Life preserver, pool noodle, and Christmas wrapping paper

Glass chess set 

 

A pair of camping chairs

Other little things picked up here and there include...

The larger mushroom pot on the right. The next day I found it's smaller match at the second hand store :) I put a plant in the larger one as I believe it's missing a lid, and the smaller one now holds all my pens and pencils on my desk

I always save art, no matter how bad I may think it is 

I actually spotted this adorable snowman in a pile at the side of the road on a 3 hour drive to visit my sister in law. I grabbed him, threw him in the back, and kept on truckin'. He has a giant sping inside so he weebles and wobbles in the wind.

Salé & Pelletier ( a gold metal Canadian figure skating pair) skates 

Snowman tea light candle holders

A gold leafed sun mirror 

 More "junk" jewellery

and this dresser. I normally don't take such large pieces, but my son had the same one that had one corner swell up and get ruined when we had a leak in our roof. It was still useable and not really noticeable, but it still bugged me. You can see a bit of the trim popping off on this one along the right front/side edge, but a little glue and a clamp fixed it right up.

And that's that for this entry, keep looking out for treasures, and happy picking!

Marion's Table

I think I said last time that I would be doing shorter posts so that I could get some entries out there more often, however since I said that, I've had to switch my medication because of some side effects I wasn't too happy with. I've done a straight switch, but as the old meds taper off and the new meds start to kick in, I have been experiencing discontinuation syndrome which is not fun at all. It's like being stuck on a nauseating roller coaster ride and I can't get off. However, I've been lucky that it hasn't affected my driving or my picking schedule too much. I've only missed one night so far because was too nauseated to move.

So let's look at the good stuff, shall we? 

This is one of my new favourites, it was thankfully put out at the curb in a box so it wasn't damaged at all. It's a Hubert Bequet vase in the Oiseau Bleu pattern, and from what I could find, it was made sometime around the early to mid 1960's.  I couldn't find this exact vase online, but smaller ones were going anywhere from $90 -$250. This one is huge at a whopping 13.5" tall.

 From the same pile I also rescued this cute little froggy umbrella

and this old antique-y looking mirror. 

I didn't notice the unfortunate chip along the top edge until I got it home, but I still think it is beautiful. 

Another pile gave me these still wrapped chandelier lamp shades

 

My little guy loves this Lightning McQueen lamp. It just needed a new bulb :)
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These are not my preferred brand, so they'll be donated

I found this awesome Tabloid Tea tin from the 1890's while rummaging through another pile. One on Ebay is listed at almost $50.

 

And then I hit the mother lode. I don't know if these people were moving or what, but there was an absolutely massive pile taking up almost their whole front yard.  

Here's what I plucked from it...

This nice old wood box

I don't know what kind of box it is exactly or what it's original purpose was, but it has some dowels on the inside of the lid and a sliding removable tray inside. If anyone has seen a box like this before and knows what it was originally supposed to carry, please leave a comment! :)

 

I grabbed this telephone as we have the same one and I love it. Ours is in the kitchen, so this one will go upstairs in the bedroom

 

 In one box I found these 2 brand new Estée Lauder travel make-up bags. There are still silica gel packets inside, paper covering some of the zippers and a protective film on one of the mirrors.

 

A new make up mirror with 10X magnification, and when you turn it around, there is another mirror on the base with a 5X magnification.

 

Well, I guess I won't have to buy any shampoo or conditioner for a while!
 

Brand new sunglasses still in their protective pouches. There's still a UV sticker on the lens that you can see on the pair in the front

 

A few Playstation games and accessories, but no Playstation in sight unfortunately

 

A very cool vintage Penn fishing reel catalog from the 1970's

 

And a small Sunworthy wall paper catalog that was a blast to look through. It's hard to read in this pic, but on the bottom it says "...advertising supplement to Weekend Magazine April 6, 1974"

Let's take a look at what people were putting up on their walls in 1974...

These are some of the designs Denise and Guy were choosing between. Do you think Guy snuck in that roll of naked women while Denise wasn't looking? You sly dog, Guy!

Here is a look at what I think was one of the best looking rooms in the catalog. The rest were just a total assault on the senses. Man, some of the stuff in the 70's was horrible LOL

 

They also threw out this old fold up card table which I'm guessing is from the 1940's or 50's

 It's got some nice gold stripe inlay

And cool old hinges

 

I couldn't get a picture of it because it just wouldn't turn out, but scribbled underneath in pencil it says "Table and 4 chairs. Gift from students"

On the label underneath, you can faintly make out the name "Marion" written on it

Here is what I consider a real tragedy. This beautiful old portrait had survived for so long until someone deemed it trash and it was haphazardly thrown on to the pile. Once other things were thrown on top of it, the weight allowed something from underneath to tear through the canvas. Ug. I hate it when people are so careless like this. They could easily have propped it up at the curb for someone else to grab, but instead, it was literally tossed and ruined. I've come across so many beautiful and interesting things that were broken and ruined that could have easily been saved if someone had just been careful about it. So frustrating and heart breaking.

 

 Here is a closer look at the tear. I put something on the back to hold it all in place, but a chip is missing. Does anyone know what kind of picture this is, or what the name of the style is? It seems like little details like his eyelashes, details in his eyes, strands of hair, etc... are painted on.I find it quite neat :)

Written on the back is what seems to be the name Dan Black. Is it the name of the man in the picture? I don't think I'll ever find out.

The people that threw out all this stuff must have been into showing dogs, or doing dog grooming, or something along those lines. I found lots of almost empty dog shampoos, conditioners, etc...lots of paper work refering to dogs, and more.

These boots are brand new and never worn. They are still in the original bag and have the paper stuffing at the ends by the toes

There were also hundreds of brand new pet themed greeting cards, and a few dog themed items like playing cards, party invitations, and stickers, in a box that I grabbed

 and then I found 2 more boxes packed full of brand new tog toys and accessories. This is what it looked like when I opened the boxes at home

 

Here are all the products all laid out. Unbelievable!

Buried amongst it I also found the receipt for it all...$338.31

WOW

 

14 years ago we adopted a 2 year old dog from a local rescue. She's unfortunately not doing so well these days, and I'm sad to say they may be her last...I've already consulted with the vet's office about having her put down soon. She is now blind, deaf, and mostly incontinent wearing doggie diapers. Her old age has left her confused...sometimes she just wanders aimlessly around the kitchen and other times she ends up lost in the hallway to the bathroom where her water dish is, and she barks until I rescue her. Though, when my husband comes home from work at night, she can still sense him and she barks and wags her tail until he gives her a treat. It breaks my heart knowing I'm going to have to make that call really soon.

So in her honour, I donated all the dog stuff to that rescue that saved her all those years ago. Nobody was there at the time, so I just left the big box on their front stoop.

They do amazing work, so if you're feeling generous, please consider visiting their site and making a donation of your own.

Animatch Dog Adoption

Until my next post :) Keep looking out for treasures, and happy picking!

Before and after

As you'll see in this post, I didn't pick up much this time. The housing market in this area has really been dead. I see houses around here that have been for sale for months and months on end. When I browse the real estate website for this area, I see the same stuff over and over...nobody's buying, nobody's selling. I'm pretty sure this down turn is what's leading me to finding less stuff. The less people are moving, the less stuff gets thrown out because they just don't want to move it, don't have the room in the truck to move it, it doesn't fit in the new place, or they don't have the time to donate it.

I've also noticed a lot more piles of renovation junk like ripped out walls, toilets, counters, sinks, etc... which is making me wonder if people just staying where they are and updating what they've already got.

So here are the few things I did end up finding...

At one pile I picked up this nice little organizer box. I heard some rattling inside, and when I got home, I found some fishing gear inside. The 3 replacement hockey blades will come in handy here since my kids love wrecking hockey sticks, and the level worked perfectly and went right into my husbands workshop

 This LeapFrog activity table worked perfectly once I put batteries in as well. My little one is having fun with it for now, but once he gets tired of it, it will be an easy sell.

This tin sleigh was cute, and I think we'll be able to fill it with goodies as a gift basket for the school Christmas fundraiser  

Someones green thumb probably turned black pretty quickly, as these pots still have very new Homesense price tags underneath them. The 2 larger ones in the back are priced at $12.99 and the smaller one in the front is $5.99

This rice cooker is also like new and works just fine. I'll probably sell this as I don't eat that much rice to justify it taking up the room, and I usually cave to the convenient microwave packs :)

 

My kids loved this Spongebob chair

There 2 stools were a bit wrecked, but still very solid, and the folding mechanism still worked beautifully, so I grabbed them

Up close you can see the damage on the seats...what looks like 2 small burn holes on the one on the left, rips, tears, scuff marks, etc...

Remember all those beautiful bolts of fabric I found not too long ago? 

Ta-Da!

I didn't plan on them coming out diagonally, but when I screwed the first seat on, I guess I didn't put it on right, but I liked the way it looked, so I just rolled with it

Nice, plush, and fluffy velour :)

Not only do they look better now, but they are cushier as well :) I have them up for sale at $10 for the pair (a great deal I think since they retail at just under $20 each), but so far no bites. I might try another sale site or 2, but if they don't move fast enough, I'll have to put them out in my storage shed for the garage sale pile where they will be priced even lower to move out quickly.

Until my next post :) Keep looking out for treasures, and happy picking!