Estate Sale Treasures

Hello Friends,
Not quite used to posting/blogging yet.  Can't believe how many days it's been since my last post.  I started a couple...but didn't get the pictures done to put in them.  Then decided they weren't good enough to share with you.


I'm excited to share this post though.  Friday, Mr. Piggy, (I should have been more selective with the name of my blog) and I, decided to go to a couple garage sales.  The day before, I went on line and mapped out the locations.  Friday morning, I wasn't sure I could manage the walking, but I spend so much time in the house, and there was extra incentive to go...we need to replace the dirty, chewed up, love seats in our family room...plus I've got it in my head that we need a king-sized bed in the master bedroom so that with Gypsy and Suzy in bed with us, we have more room.  When they lay on the covers, you are literally pinned down!


So...off we go.  The first two sales were such disappointments...and I almost said let's go home.  Getting in and out of the van was painful...walking a few steps was painful...and then to see nothing but junk...ugh.


Well, the third time is a charm?  I had no idea the third sale was an estate sale.  Lots of cars and we arrived an hour after it opened.  Ron (Mr. Piggy) dropped me off in front and went to find a place to park the van, and I trudged up the driveway and the long walk, following the arrow signs.


As soon as I opened the door, I knew we had lucked up on the best sale I had ever been to.  Soooo many things!  It was conducted by an estate sale company.  I got their card and met the owner the second day of the sale.  (Yes we spent two days there-smile.)  Super nice people...so helpful and they did a great job.


The first day:  Everything full price but marked reasonably, I thought.  Too much to really go through and us so inexperienced.  We should have brought a couple nice big baskets to put over our arms.  When we found things...we had to carry them up to where you pay, and one person had to stay behind and tell everyone the rest of the things were sold!  There were several sets of Fostoria glasses...hard to carry 14 glasses at once...and that was just one set.  I bought a set of Amber goblets...water and juice.  Wish I had bought the green set too, but it only had one water goblet...the rest were all small ones.  Anyway, since I bought the amber ones the second day of the sale and it was after twelve noon...I got them half price, $10 for all!


So many things I wanted...that first day...but we had only brought a small amount of cash and they wouldn't accept checks or credit cards.  That caused a lot of indecision on my part (I have a problem deciding on things anyway).  In this sale...if you snooze you lose...that became obvious immediately.  I can't tell you how many things we missed out on, while I was trying to decide if my limited funds should be spent on that item.  That all changed the second day after twelve noon...if I had any inkling I wanted it...off it went to the pay table!  The ladies that were conducting the sale soon became my fast friends.


They were all helpful, but the most helpful was a lady named T.H. (yes...that was her real name on her birth certificate).  Lovely lady who confided to me that she had nearly died last year with an anti-biotic resistant infection called C-dif...caused by Dr giving her high dosage of anti-biotics, of all things.  She believes that the power of prayer is what pulled her through and I'm so glad she is still with us.  She is invaluable to that estate sale company and what a delightful experience.  She used to own a packaging company, and she packed all my purchased treasures and helped us take them out to the van!  I was so glad to have met her and wish I could have her in my life as a friend...I gave her a big hug when we finally left the sale on Saturday.


Here are some of the things I found...most purchased at half price on the second day of the sale.  I missed a lot on the first day to people with more money but I'm still very pleased with what I got!

This cute little teapot called to me the first day, but I kept passing it up, as did everyone else.  The second day, I had to have it, and $6 was a bargain.  I didn't get much sleep that first night...thinking of all the things I was going back for and hoped would still be there!

This Daffodil plate was brought out the second day.  They said as things were sold, other things were found or placed in areas to make them more visible.  If I had seen this the first day, I would have paid full price for it...but even happier to pay just $2.50 for it!

I did end up paying full price for two of these wonderful sconces.  They are so gorgeous...solid brass and they even threw in the candles.  I think people passed these up because they were BOLTED to the wall!  I'm going to figure out a better way to hang them.  I think they will go over my living room couch replacing the very french brass sconces that are there now.  Full price was $25 for the pair, including the candles!

This was my biggest find of the day.  It's a reproduction on canvas of "Young Girl Reading" by Jean Honore Fragonard.  The frame is burled and it's matted beautifully.  I found several of them on eBay, with frames not as pretty and the prices were obscene.  I got this for $20.

Those who know me on line, know that I have watched Eagles in their nests since 2006.  Seen the Eaglets hatch and made many new chat room on line friends.  My Eagle buddies will be drooling over these.  They are antiqued brass, very heavy and so pretty.  I should have cleaned them before taking the picture...but just imagine how pretty they'll be without the dust!

I think the only thing that saved this lamp for me to buy, was the fact it was plugged in and lit up on a table with other things for sale.  People may have been afraid to unplug it and take it to the pay table...but not me.  It was priced at $10 so half of that was a $5 bargain.  I bought another lamp that I haven't taken a picture of yet to show you.

Years ago, my daughter Kristin gave me her old rattan and wicker tables for my back porch.  Over the years, the one glass topped sofa table has warped and sagged from the Florida heat and humidity...so much so that I was afraid it would soon fall down or at least that the things on it would slip off, it was leaning so much.  This table was marked $40 and was a half off bargain.  It will need to be painted with some white exterior paint to help it last in the heat and humid conditions.  It doesn't quite fit where I wanted it to go...but I can move it down to a longer wall.

A bargain at $7.50, this picture is professionally framed and the matting is just so pretty.  I'll find a place for it...not sure where yet.

I noticed this the first day...but I didn't go check it out by pulling out the drawers or anything.  It was out of my price range at full price...I love the feet...and it's old...needs some freshening up of the finish.  When it went to half price and was still there...a man was looking at it...and I decided I needed it!  So...I bought it at half price.  Sitting and resting...looked at it and knew I loved it.  Well...imagine my surprise after I paid for it and the drawers wouldn't open!  I told the people running the sale that the drawers were locked and was there a key?  Imagine my mortification when they told me it was a cedar lined antique blanket chest!  There IS a bottom drawer.  Then I discovered the claw feet on the back legs are damaged...but the pieces to repair it are in that bottom drawer.  It must have been fate, because we needed a place to put all the quilts we use on the bed.  The dogs get things dirty quickly, so we have quite a few that we wash often.  So...this lovely chest has gone in our bedroom.  Even though, there is way too much furniture in there....might not be room for a king sized bed now.

I have many more things to show you...almost all bought for a mere pittance, compared to their true worth.  I'll save those for another post.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my found treasures.  What a sale...we drove home marveling at our good fortune.  Living on Social Security, these opportunities are few and far between...if at all anymore.

  

First Flight

Is starting a blog on Friday the 13th a good thing?  Well, my Dad was born on the 13th...June 13th, 1905.  Here's a baby picture of my father, Meyer Nicholas Noderer.  I've always felt that the number 13 was my lucky number.  Our first house number was 1313.

This is the original frame.  Notice the pretty dress he's wearing?

I started this blog 2 weeks ago, but today is February 2nd, Ground Hog's Day.  It also happens to be my Mom and Dad's Anniversary.  

 I haven't a clue what I'm doing...but it seems like something I am drawn to do.  I would love for my blog to look as nice as many I've seen, but not sure how to accomplish that.  My dream blogger/person is Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch.  What a neat name.  Her home is lovely, and every post is well thought out and interesting.  I love her decorating style, and love her table scapes.  I could never dream of having so many different dishes and pretty crystal and flatware!

This blog is dedicated to my dear Mother, who passed away in 1977, at the age of 69.  I've out-lived her by two and a half years so far.  She always used to say to me, when I had some hare-brained idea..."When pigs fly you'll do that!"  So...I have a small collection of flying pigs, and they make me think of Mom.  I seem to collect many more things than just pigs with wings.  Looking around my not so elaborate home, I see Roosters, blue and white china, lots of cobalt blue glass, Rabbits (mostly ceramic white ones), Crystal eggs, Glass bells, Ducks and Geese (I love white wooden hand-carved Swans), miscellaneous tea pots, and tea cups and saucers, and a few pieces of Pewter too.  These things are all mixed in with Ron's (hubby) Civil War collection of things.  

Not sure you could say I collect them, but I like clocks.  I have one Grandfather clock, and one Grandmother clock.  Several wall clocks (I don't know how many).  I also like wall candle sconces (Brass, Pewter or Wood), and I love candle holders of all kinds.  I like the look of hurricane globes too.

Here's an old picture of my kitchen table Rooster.  He often sits on my table on a lazy susan.  Yes, you can see I love blue and white and yes my kitchen is wall papered, and yes it is full of roosters.  I can't bring myself to remove that Waverly blue and white check.  It says country kitchen to me...but to someone else it probably just says "outdated".  I have a terrible time making decisions...but I guess no decision is a decision of sorts.

At some point, I want to paint my old 1970's brown cabinets...take out the fluorescent tube lighting in the sink area...would love to move the cabinets around and put in an island, but that might not be in the cards before I leave these earthly bounds.  Maybe one day I'll be sharing some newly painted kitchen cabinets with you!

  I seem to have a schizophrenic decorating style...loving things primitive but also the beautiful, elaborate, colonial things you see in pictures of restored southern mansions... like swagged draperies, heavy damask upholstery, beautiful table linens and antique dishes, canopy beds, sterling silver flatware and serving pieces, gorgeous old tables and antiques.  Things I certainly can't afford.  I'm torn between beautiful brass things and pictures of rich looking, well-decorated colonial mansions, but then again, I love primitive, simple looking things as well.  Handmade things, braided rugs, hand dipped candles, quilts, samplers, hutches and pie cupboards, stenciled wooden signs, and old painted furniture.

I mentioned I like samplers, but I only have 2 in the house...one I did myself back in the 60's.  It needs a decent frame...maybe posting this picture will shame me into a new frame for it!

I found a wonderful primitive site, with lots of inspiration.  It's called "A Primitive Place"   

So much inspiration in their member gallery pictures.  Each picture is a link to the member's own pages and pictures.  I got lost in them for days!

If you like primitive and colonial things, you'll love this site.

Naming This Blog

...the very first step to having a blog...so hard, but each thing I accomplish is sometimes like a seeing a pig take wing, LOL.  Of course, having children on their own now with their own wings...producing little piggies who are starting to fly too, makes me think of Pigs With Wings.  Since "When Pigs Fly" was already taken, and since my little piggies all seem to come home again at some point in their lives (grandson piggy staying here a few nights a week while he works part time at Disney World), I decided to call it "When Pigs Fly Home Again".  

I think I should follow some more blogs to see how things are done, before I share that much.  Now that I'm "elderly", I don't have as many projects or daily activities that anyone would find interesting.

So much to consider...dressing up my blog...what pictures to use...do I have a theme besides pigs with wings?  How do I put a background in?  Look at all those little icons above this compose area!   I hovered over a few...I can change my font...so I highlighted everything typed so far and changed it to Trebuchet...oh...don't think I like that...a little clipped looking...okay...highlight again..and now it's Verdana!  Gee, what else should I change...color maybe?  No...not yet.  Do I have a picture to use for a header?  No...too soon, LOL.  Do I know enough html code to pretty up my blog?  Will my little Canon Powershot A620 camera take good enough pictures?  Probably not...I want the camera Susan at Between Naps on the Porch uses...but my limited Social Security income might not agree.  I have to think long and hard about expenditures now that I'm retired.  Funny, all the years I worked, I longed to be able to shop on a week day...now that I can shop any day of the week, I'm afraid to spend the money.  Another reason to follow blogs and get ideas for dressing things up, at almost no cost...right?

Okay...enough for the first post...which I started 2 weeks ago.  My, how time flies, but not my flying pig posts! LOL