Soooo Mommy Let's Talk About This Estate Sale Thing...

CiCi n GinGin:  Mommy, we don't understand the hoopla about this estate sale that you went to.  What is the big deal?  You blew off work for an hour and a half Thursday and stood in line in the early morning Mississippi heat, what is in that house?  Puppy Treats?  Birds? Squirrels?  Ice Cream?  What?  And then you went back today after church didn't you?  Didn't you?  And that heat index thing was 110.  Wasn't it?  Wasn't it?

 Me:  Okay, okay.  Yes I did....but I know the lady whose stuff they were selling, seems she moved into an apartment and had to get rid of her stuff.  I have actually gone to auctions where she and I bid against each other...we like the same stuff.  Also she used to have an antiques store, and she has spent 50+ years collecting.  So it was three stories plus a garage full of stuff.  Stuff for days and days and days.  I bet there was a squirrel in there somewhere...
CiCi n GinGin:  So what did you buy?
Me:  Well, just a few things that I wanted...there was soooo much stuff there it was just overwhelming.  But I bought...these...

They are kinda atomic glasses, I think that is the Mississippi Valley Gas logo on there. And there is a lady (Donna Reed-ish) standing in front of a stove. 7--as Larry the auctioneer says, a set of 6 with 1 to break.

And this slightly scruffy tea set...it has the words 24 karat on the bottom.  Whoop!

And I take it you like the beaded purses...the white one is your favorite?

And yawl know I'm a fool for these old pictures, especially of ladies......

And these girls need my help....two bride dolls, a Dale Evans doll and this Tammy doll...all just need my loving touch...I could not leave them there......

This chair despite the fact that it's kinda grungy will clean up nicely and be a great catch all at the back door...I love chairs..

Oh and last but not least...this little hand made high chair...Thursday when it wasn't priced the estate queen bee asked me how much and I said $2.00, she snickered at me and put $8.00 on it.  I left it there.  Today I got it for $4.00.  It was waiting on me to come back.  Did I mention that I love chairs...especially little ones?
And did I mention that today was half price day?
CiCi and GinGin:  Sigh.......

What I Have Been Doing or I'm Back!!!

I finally have my laptop back.  I have been visiting all of you from my iPhone, but it is hard to to type in comments on the small keyboard...I'm always pressing the wrong ones and having to start over.  Anyway I have missed posting and I'm back.
It has been crazy busy at work.  There are 4 RNs that keep kinda keep all the plates spinning, first of course is the Director of Nurses, then the Nurse Managers of the ED and the Medical Unit and then me the CQI/UR/Infection Control Nurse.  The four of us rotate executive call, in other words after hours we put out the little fires and handle call-ins etc.  The DON is on sick leave and the ED Nurse Manager is in Nurse Practitioner school.  That leaves me and the MedU Nurse Manager to put out the fires.  Oh and the administrator rolled the ED Nurse Manager position into the DONs responsibilities......so when the DON comes back there will still be just 3 of us rotating call.
Sooo it has been really intense for the last 3 weeks.  This is a picture of my desk.  I quit cleaning it up, I just keep layering things on top of things.

Okay I can't upload any pictures.  I wanted to upload pictures of my office for you to see......but Blogger is mad at me and won't let me.

I'll be back with stuff that is Rattling Around In My Head, maybe with and without pictures...we'll see.  If you have any ideas on how to fix my problem, let me know.

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 Okay, checked back and was able to upload this image.  Please note the schedule for 2 weeks is the yellow paper.  All that white out and scribbling is mine.  I am in love with the white out thingy that is in the lower right hand corner.  I get all giddy when I get to use it.  Just above that is a purse mirror that a staffing agency brought by along with some more goodies.   You will note the generic Naprosyn and Pepcid.  A must have when you have carpal tunnel and an aching shoulder.  And of course the lipstick stained coffee cup.  I must have at least two large cups in the morning before my brain really works.  Rubber bands, paper clips, stapler, but no tape...lost the dispenser over a year ago and never replaced it.  Several note pads.  Wound care products and skin preps for starting IVs.  That wood box used to hold an O2 saturation monitor in the ED.  I pick up discharded things....

 

This a vintage bedside table that I bought at an auction and on top of it lives a collection of McDonald's Happy Meal toys from the Wizard of Oz and one little chipmunk.  Oh and Snow White was won out of one of those pick up machines by a co-worker's child.  The sign behind them was posted on a door in surgery.  I always meant to put in in one of the bathrooms at home...

 And this is a shelf laden with my work--that's my work or last 5 years on the bottom two shelves. Reports, indicators, minutes, policies and procedures blah blah blah.
On the top and first shelf is my stuff.  My nurse dolls, my cap (nobody even gets one anymore) that I never liked to wear, various glass syringes, an old fetascope that we used to listen to fetal heart tones before the days of dopplers, old books and bottles and etc.
Yes my office is just like me, messy and multi-layered. Sigh.

I Spent Too Much Money At The Auction

Last Satuday I went to the month auction held here.  I saw her the minute I walked in and knew she was coming home with me no matter what.
She needed me and I needed her.  I don't usually collect baby dolls, although I do have all of my childhood baby dolls. But she looked so sweet sitting there, and I knew that she needed me to take her home and clean her up and make her feel better.  When I purused the stock of stuff to be auctioned off, I only gave her a cursory look--you know you have to play the game.  You can't let anybody know that you really want something.  Some people are just mean enough to run your bid up and the drop it on you.  But I didn't care--she was coming home with me.

I didn't pick her up......I was playing it cool. The label that the auctioneer had put on her stated that she was from the 30s or 40s which I think that is probably right.
The auctioneer asked a doll collector what she thought she was worth $300?  She said no and started the bid off at $10.  I immediately got in and ultimately got her for $40.  I walked up to the auctioneer and took her in my arms myself...kinda like adopting a baby or something.  As I looked her overI realized although she smells quite musty and her wig is quite messy, all her clothes, socks, undies and shoes are original. Her coloring, blushing on her check and knees is perfect and her eyes are perfect.

June (the doll collector) came up to me and asked me if I collect and I told her yes--but not usually baby dolls.  I asked her if she thought I had paid too much and she said yes.  She would have not paid more than $10.  And that I would not be able to get the musty smell out of her......I assured her that I would.  There are many websites that explain how to do this...The auctioneer's wife told me they had gotten her in Memphis in an estate sale that included hundreds of dolls. June told me that she had 4000 dolls in her house!!  4000!!  She invited me over--I can't wait to go.
Now as we were talking, out of the corner of my eye I saw the beauty on the right being passed around for bid.  I don't know where she was hiding, but I heard somebody say $40, and I jumped in.  I didn't know if they were starting the bids or if somebody was biding on her.  And she is a Roberta bride doll.  I almost piddled myself.
Most of you know that I collect bride dolls.  So I raised my hand I got her for $40.  June was apalled.  She too is musty.  But she is in pristine condition other than that. Shoes, undies, blushing--all perfect.  Looked her up on ebay and this is about right.  But anyway, I never buy my dolls for value, I buy them because they need me and I need them.
If anybody out there has any tips on how to clean them up a bit--please make a comment.