Cool Stuff A-Comin'

This is what my street will look like four months from now. Eeek! In the meanwhile... cool news of a different sort:

I had a great thrifty morning. I bought something super neato that I can't wait to share. The batteries on my camera pooped out, so I'll take some snaps later. I hope to thrift in Chinatown East this afternoon. With luck I'll have a little recharged battery power to chronicle the trip.

Have a splendid Saturday, or Sunday if you're Thrifted Treasure in Australia!

Stay tuned.

Erin

God Bless the American Yard Sale

I just read Vonlipi's latest post about hitting yard sales in Maine on a Friday. I've also read several American thrifting blogs where people have talked about going to garage sales on Friday. Why don't we do this in Canada? Maybe people do it in places outside the east-end of Toronto. If you live in a Friday yard saling community in Canada, leave a comment. I'd love to hit yard sales on my Friday during my lunch break. I'd come back to my class with armloads of clutter. Ahhhh...

Jealously yours...

Post-it Notes

Which addiction is greater: thrifting, or blogging? Before becoming a teacher, I was a music journalist. When I changed my career I was still able to listen to music, but I really missed writing. I'm tickled that I can blog now. I wish I could post each day - for my own amusement and the joy of communicating with like-minded people. I see blogs as a modern version of the scrap book. It's not quite as crafty, but you can still do a lot with blogs.

Including my classroom blog, I have four blogs. It may seem over the top, but posting is loads of fun, free, and easy. There are far worse addictions anyway.

Here are a few things I packed away for a better day. I think it's time to have a better day soon and enjoy them.

I'm not quite sure where I bought this tulip-esque vase. I'm pretty sure it was Goodwill a few years back. Tiny and perfect, it fits in the palm of your hand. I could never figure out what flowers would look best in it, in terms of height.

There is no maker's mark on the bottom.

This little house came from a yard sale in St. Catharines three summers ago. The sale was a little depressing, but for $1.00, I had to have this.

It even has a chimney.

Yup, it's a sewing basket. If only I could sew. Learning to sew is on my bucket list.
Three strawberry pin cushions came inside it, so I gave one to each of my sisters and kept the other one.

These china pheasants came from a musty and dusty antique barn out in the middle of nowhere. I saw these on a shelf behind the cash. They were $40.00 for the pair. Driving back to Hogtown, I thought that every pothole and speedbump would turn my birds into a pile of pretty shards, but they survived the journey. One day, I'd love to live in a big old detached country home. I'd put these on a window ledge on the landing of the staircase. I'd look at them while walking down the stairs and I'd wonder who owned them originally.

I loved the detail and colours.

On the bottom, a very faded sticker reads, "Lefton's Exclusive." Hmmm.

Smash Up Derby is Fun

Does anyone out there remember this? I remember a slightly later version of this commercial. At the end of it, a good 'ol boy said, "Kenner's Smash Up Derby. You're lookin' at the whole thang."

How about this one? I can't believe that someone had it on VHS (or Beta!) and uploaded to YouTube. It's all on YouTube.

Song of the Week # 11 Air "All I Need"

My Heart Did Go On

After the Pyrextasy of yesterday's trip to Value Village, I almost couldn't be bothered to head out to the Don Mills United Church rummage sale this morning. But in my mind I could smell the musty aroma of church basement and I imagined a table of home baked pies and acres of ridiculously priced home decor from the past. So I set off on my bike. On my way there, I passed a driveway sale on a busy street. It was there that I saw the object of my desire - a sky blue metal Coleman cooler that was "made in Canada." It was only $3.00. I debated whether or not I should buy it. The woman offered to hold it. I told her that if it was still there when I got back that it was meant to be mine. What a load of karmic phooey. I biked on to Don Mills United.

When I got to the church, all I saw were books: mountains of books. It was an outdoor book sale. I approached a table and what do I see first? Howard Stern's Private Parts and a game called Dirty Minds. I kid you not.

After picking my jaw up off the grass, I approached an elderly woman who was working the cash. "Would there be more inside the church?" Smiling, she replied, "No. What more do you want than all these books?" I decided to look beyond the church smut and see if I could find some great reads. I'm a bit of a book collector. Besides, they were only 10 for $1.00.

Here's my stash. The photo is a bit washed out, but you get the drift. I've never read Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel. Every time I listen to the CBC radio, they always seem to be talking about it. I hope it's as good as everybody says. Laurence has been dead for some time.

I loved this little pocket thesaurus.

I love that they put a regal cardinal on the price. Classy.

I bought The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. I'd never heard of the man, nor the novel. But after reading the best author blurb ever, I had no choice but to buy it. It's hilarious. Excessive smoking is listed as one of his favoured recreations. You just know he was a total dandy.

Groovy book of humorous rants by the late Pierre Berton, and a book of love poetry.

In the book of love poetry, all the woman look like artwork from the packaging of 1970s Cottonelle and Kotex products.

See.

I dated a boy in high school who looked a bit like this guy. I wonder what he's up to these days.

Here was my best treasure. I'm sorry the picture is so blanched, but it's a book called The Beauty of Britain, published in 1948. The owner of this book made a dust jacket out of paper which has weathered well over the years.

The owner of the book included a hand-written quote from Shakespeare on the title page.

Throughout the book, I found pressed leaves and flowers. I live for moments like these.

With these wonderful books in my basket, I headed back to hopefully retrieve my cooler box.

On my way, I passed a yard sale, selling - you guessed it - more books. These were newer and not as interesting. The seller was very nice. She showed me several books (including these poetry books), that her husband never returned to his high school library in Duncan, British Columbia. I hope the library S.W.A.T team doesn't break our door down in the night.

All of her books were .25 each, including this deluxe anthology of Emily Dickinson's poems. If I'm ever feeling a little too cheerful, this should neutralize my emotions somewhat. I realized that if I didn't get to the driveway sale pronto - my cooler would be gone. I peddled as fast as I could. This is what Celine Dion must have felt like during all those years at Cesar's Palace as she waited to be reunited with her frozen embryo. "I'm coming, Coleman cooler. I'm coming!"

When I got there, I saw a man skulking around my baby. I asked him if he was looking at the cooler. He made some joke about me putting him in it to cool down and then told me that he was looking at an old toolbox. As you can see, I did indeed get the cooler. I had to balance it on my bike basket and I walked my bike about 20 blocks home. It was worth it.

When was the last time anything besides maple fudge was made in our country?

Here's the glamour shot. I'm sure my neighbours think I'm nuts taking pictures of apparently random things.

Believe it or not, I hit another yard sale after picking up my baby. These little Pyrex custard dishes were irristable. I have a feeling, I'll come across this pattern again and I can build up a set. They cost .50 for the pair.

I liked this little English toffee tin. The label completes the old-fashioned look.

View from the top.

I've already filled it up with Duncan's foam letters.

Later, I was returning from the library with Duncan and I noticed that more items from my late neighbour Kingsley, were left at the curb. I was tempted to take the blender, but we have one already.
The Eaton logo on the faux wood panel will make Canadians swoon for the good old days of shopping at Eatons.

In the end, I took these wonky bookends. Thank you Kingsley.