Mommy, This Has Got To Stop...

CiCi and GinGin:  Mommy, you have done it again...you went to that auction didn't you?  Didn't you? You haven't even played with all the stuff that you bought at the last auction, or that estate sale thing...
Me: Sighing deeply.....I know I know...but I can't help myself...it's just so much fun.  Maybe I'll take yawl with me sometime......

Let the bidding begin.....

I go this which is a piece of the Fire King Depression Glass cookware that I collect...and are you ready for this, the auctioneer was selling a box of stuff which included this:

and this

there was another platter that I gave to my auction buddy....oh and a jello mold...are you ready?  All for $2.50 and the auctioneer put the Fire King in at the last minute.

This is the thing that I went to get.  Last time the auctioneer stopped dropping the price at $50.00 and took it off the block.  This time I was determined that it was going home with me.  It is a beautiful little sewing rocker that folds up...I got it for $40.00.

This compote will look great on my dining room table. $7.50.

This was a mistake.  I didn't look at this close enough.  It's a gravy boat, but it is hand painted ceramic piece, and poorly painted at that.  I paid $5.00.  Can I paint over it?
CiCi and GinGin:  What is that thing you bought for daddy that sounds like a duck when he blows on it?
Me: It's a beginner's bagpipe thing.

CiCi and GinGin:  See what we mean...you are slipping.
Me:  No, that just goes to show yawl don't know everything...Daddy loves bagpipe music and said he wished he could learn......so there.
CiCi and GinGin:  Mommy....
Me:  It's true..just ask him.
CiCi and GinGin: Sigh.....

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.......

Things I Bought At The Auction III

Honestly for the $37.45 that I spent for 4 hours of entertainment Saturday, I truly think that I got my money's worth.  It's the thrill of the hunt, the thrill of the battle and of course the triumph when you do win the item.
For instance, as of late I have found myself fascinated/craving silver plate.  This beauty was a surprise when the auctioneer held it up. It's huge, has gorgeous edging and handles and is footed.

The initials in the middle are CAM...mine are AJM....and it polished up to a beautiful shine.  I love it.  Oh and the guy who is a dealer and was bidding against me, said oh I didn't know you were bidding on it...I have gotten to be friends with a lot of the regulars......I flipped it over, looked at him and said these magic words--"it's Gorham."  Mine for $12.50!!!!

This is a large vintage sewing basked, stuffed to overflowing with all kinds of vintage goodies--wooden spools with silk thread, bobbins, machine parts, needles.....I haven't even looked at all the stuff in the bottom yet.

 Mine for $5.00

I love this amber glass coffee canister..so what if I can't get the lid off...Mine for $2.50!!

This little tea cup has Made in China on the bottom and all that gold all over it. I knew it was going home with me.  Mine for $2.50.

I thought that I had sworn off vintage purses, until I saw this beauty.  Needlepoint....me sighing very very deeply...Mine for $2.50...
All in all it was a very good day... I can't wait until the first Saturday in August.

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.

.

 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.

Things That Make Me Happy Part II

Before I get started, I want yawl to know that I haven't been posting or commenting on your blogs as much as I usually do because, 1.  My laptop's, charger is on the fritz and I have ordered a new one. 2.  The PC is in the part of the house where the central unit is out and even with an electric heater running wide open, it is still pretty cool back here.  3.  I keep up with what all of yawl are doing on my iPhone, but it's hard to comment and post from the little screen.  4. The charger should be here sometime this week...and I'll be back to my regular posting and commenting.  Now on to Things That Make Me Happy Part II

 

This little silicone thing that I bought from a friend's child, who was selling stuff for his school.

 

 

I love my piano.  It is the fulfilment of a dream of mine to have a digital piano.  I just don't play it enough.  I don't take the time that I should.  Over the piano hangs a vintage poster that  I bought years ago for five bucks.  It reminds me of my uncles when they played music.  You can see one of my uncle's guitars next to my piano.

 

I love these old hats.  I bought them at the auction.  And I really love the picture.  I bought the print for 10 cents when I was in the third grade.  I had it framed when I started work as a nurse.  It has followed me everywhere.  These are in my powder room.

 

This is my tricycle that I got when I was about 4 or 5.  And now it is repurposed as you can see in the powder room.......

More favorites later......love you all and have a great week.

Tarnished Silver Plate Platter

Collections collections.
I am falling in love with tarnished silver plate. And I don't know why. This is the first one that I bought at auction. $2.50 and it was mine all mine.
It is very very heavy. It is silver plate over solid copper. I cleaned it up--some of the copper is exposed in the center, and as you can see it is quite ornate. I just love it.
It took me several months to figure out where it belonged in my house.
It has been propped up on a miniature chair on the floor, on the little buffet in the breakfast nook, and in the master bedroom.
Then the day before the bridal luncheon, I pulled this ribbon out of a drawer, (the ribbon was tied around a throw I bought) figured out how to tie it around the platter, nailed a tiny nail in the wall (just big enough to hold the platter) and strategically placed it to cover some dings in the sheet rock.
Voila!! it looks just perfect in the dinning room.
I have bought one more platter, but I need at least one more don't I for a collection? Or more? Lots more....it's a new passion.
Oh and sorry about the poor picture quality I took it with my cellphone. I promise I'll get a new memory card for my camera so that the pictures will be better.