The Man with the Mechanical Mind - Yard Saling With the Hubby

I usually thrift and yard sale alone but every so often the hubby is in the pilot seat. It gives me a good chance to scout out the signs and stuff so I don't mind, as long as he stops when I see something good. Kind of scares me though when he makes a u-turn a little too quick. Well, the other day we were heading to the store and saw one of my favorite yard sale ladies. She has the place just across the bridge and there is no telling what she's got out front so I stop whenever I can.
This time I looked through the boxes and didn't see much but a peach lustre ware saucer (Fireking). On one of her tables was a big pot with a separate bottom and an electric cord coming from it. The lady asked "Do you know what this is?" I told her I had no clue. I thought it was an old electric deep fryer (turkey size).  She got this gleam in her eye and told me it was an old portable washing machine from 1946. Said it worked and she had looked it up. Very interesting.
When I got in the car I asked my husband if he knew what that thing was on the table. He had the windows up and the radio on so he didn't hear the conversation. "Yeah, it's a washing machine. The motor is on the bottom" he said. "How did you know that?" I asked. "I saw it" said he and we went down the road.

Darn. The man has this mechanical mind where he can just look at something and figure out how it works, even remember how to put things back together when he takes them apart. Not so for me. Sometimes I think I have a touch of dyslexia when it comes to hands-on application. Where he can look at something and get it the first time the same thing takes me forever, like a gazillion times (ok, maybe 3 or 4) with someone holding my hand.
So anyway, did I get the washing machine? No, I little more than I wanted to spend. She does have cool stuff, though. And I got another peach lustre saucer.

New to You: Thrifting in Dixie County, FL

Today is Monday which for me means a trip into town. I know that sounds a bit weird to y’all who live with a post office and a grocery store on every corner. We live in the country so a trip to the closest store is 10 miles, not to mention the post office, bank, and so on. Monday is my day to go shopping. Since it is a “have-to” I try to spice it up with a little bit of fun stuff, namely thrifting.

Cross City, Florida is a small town on Florida’s west coast, only here we don’t call it the west coast, we call the Nature Coast. It is about 150 miles north of St. Petersburg, 50 miles south of Perry, and 50 miles west of Gainesville. In other words, not close to anything. It is a town described as 20 years or more behind the times which is fine with me and most of the inhabitants.  I go often enough to be recognized and one of the crowd, even if I wasn’t born there.

In Cross City are at least 4 thrift shops where you can find anything from clothes to books to real antiques; just takes some looking.

Today I stopped at New to You Consignment on US 19 next to McDonald’s. There is no telling what good things you’ll find in her shop. Kathy, the owner, goes through everything and puts out clothes daily for her sidewalk sale where everything is 25 cents. Inside the shop are deals, clothes, home decor, housewares, you name it. Here’s some of the things I found there:

Vintage Havilland Limoges Bone China Boudoir Basket

Vintage Hat Box

Vintage Kodak Camera.

I’ve even found peach lusterware and McCoy Cookie jars! Besides those finds I harvest bows, buttons, roses, trim, and fabric from the racks whenever possible to provide supplies for my own creations.

Today the pickin’s were a little slimmer than other days but I still found a few things to use. I got a desk organizer (to help me in my never-ending quest to organize my office), some old t-shirts (for dog and cat toys), and some clothes for the fabric (pin cushions and ring pillows?).

Well, that’s all for now. Since I bought the desk organizer I guess I ought to put it to good use and straighten up this messy desk. It will be nice and clean, at least for a day or two.

Hope you enjoyed the chicken chili from yesterday’s post.

Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff.etsy and GoofingOff.Artfire