Saturday, April 30, 2011

East York Picker

"Hey kids, knock it off. It's shenanigans like this that's costing the taxpayers billions each year!"
I've been scanning the local paper, waiting for the Westview Presbyterian Church Bazaar. It's a good one and there's always tons of garage sales running the same day. Well, that day came today. And the weather was perfect.
A happy day with a happy soundtrack to listen to as you view my new treasures.


I first hit the bazaar. I did the initial desperate scan for Pyrex. I'm sure five minutes before I got there, someone loaded up a U-Haul with all my longed for pieces. After accepting that there wasn't even a dishwasher abused casserole dish to be found, I began looking for other interesting things that would put a smile on my face. The prices were rock bottom. Books were .25 and I got the funky cow creamer, the Made in Japan bird planter and tea cup stickies, along with a brand new science experiment kit for $2.50.
It's amazing what a lousy quarter can still get you if you apply yourself.
I love these tender old Golden Books. This one is to teach children about different species of birds.
The illustrations are a thing of beauty.
I bought a flower press a couple of years ago at Value Village for $1.99. I couldn't resist this homemade flower press. I got it along with the thermometer, picture frames, and hankies you'll see below for $2.00.



Here's the science kit that let's kids create stinky scents in test tubes.
This was from the Christmas Posy book at the top. I loved the title.
Off I went into the East York neighbourhood that lies behind O'Connor Bowl. These people are real meat-and-potato Canadians. No latté moms in yoga pants here. Look at the weird desk organizer I got for next to nothing. I had no idea why that picture was in it. I think it was probably the generic picture that came with it and they never bothered to take it out. For $2.00 I got the desk organizer, the very old English candy tin, the tube piggy bank that you can turn to give you computational number facts, Crayola markers and pencil crayons, and a cheese container from the Ontario Dairy Farmer's "Cheese please" era. I used to hate those commercials. I preferred the "Stop cooking with cheese" commercials from a few years ago.






At another house a I bought this compact chalkboard/whiteboard for $1.00 from a friendly mother who was clearing out junk. It will be used in my Primary classroom next year if I can sneak it out of the house without Duncan seeing it go.

This is why I'm Yard Sale Snoop. I had the exact same Woody Woodpecker nightlight when I was a kid. I have a feeling my childhood light came from a yard sale in the seventies. I got this light, along with a box of toy cars and a pile of vintage Fisher-Price toys for $18. The woman originally asked $20 for the lot. My jaw nearly dropped. I was thinking more like $10. For a moment, I turned into one of those American Picker guys and offered her $15. We settled on $18. She was elderly and she told me that her husband had recently passed away. On top of that, her adult son was in a wheelchair and they were HIS toys I was buying. I knew Duncan would be over the moon and the toys would be played with more than a newer toy that would cost more, so I swallowed my thrifty pride and forked out the dough.

Duncan was so excited when he opened the bag of goodies. "You were so generous, Mom," he said. I asked him what the word generous means and he said, "I don't know."
The motherload.
Fisher-Price brings on an ecstatic state of toy delerium.

The ambulance was cool. It comes with a stretcher and sleeping bag inside.
With the $2 I saved by haggling down the toys, I bought this Cardinal windchime foe $1.00 and still had change for Duncan's first tooth that came out this evening. We'd been waiting for two weeks for it to come out. Tonight, he was chewing on the head of his stuffed Ikea rat. I tried to pry it out of his mouth when "pop" out came the tooth. I think he'll get a toonie from the tooth fairy.

Let's hope this is the start of a bountiful yard saling season.

8 comments:

  1. Great finds. I especially love that chalkboard - whiteboard combo and the vintage fisher price toys!

    I totally do that desperate scan for Pyrex first too...lol. Couldn`t believe how many church rummage sales and yard sale there were in the GTA today. I didn`t make it that far east. It was a beautiful day! :)

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  2. Yay you got quite the haul even without any Pyrex! (I know I probably shouldn't tell you this but I've mainly stopped buying Pyrex unless it's really unusual or Aqua. I've just run out of room in the kitchen!).

    Love the flower press, I used to go crazy drying/pressing flowers as a kid (along with tumbling rocks/minerals).

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  3. You just cannot go wrong with fisher price toys...great buys!

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  4. Looks like you had a great day at yard sales. All we found yesterday was baby stuff. I did find a "Bigfoot" for $20! Never been opened! WooHoo!

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  5. Yay!!! I love your finds! The bag of toys and the night light while a little pricey were worth it for sure! Love the chalk board also.

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  6. Sounds like you had a very good day - your little guy sounds so much like our youngest - who turned 20 yesterday! Our little fella!

    Neither my husband or I felt great this weekend so we didn't go anywhere. (I'm sure every woman who has a man in her life is familiar with this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz6DktXFvg4&feature=fvsr)

    ...and I just HAVE to say thanks for the RP fix - I've been a big fan since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. I love that CD with Alison Krauss!......what a great song.

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  7. That Woody Woodpecker night light is such an awesome find, and it's so good to find something that was a fixture (har dee har har)in your childhood.

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  8. Love the ambulance. Great finds, love a good Church junk sale.

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About Me

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I'm a slightly off-beat Toronto-area teacher who enjoys writing and photography. I come from a family of collectors and now I'm dragging my own family around to yard sales. It's just a bit of fun. Enjoy the scenes.