Puzzle is Puzzled! (049/365)

TIME: 9:30 pm

PLACE: Dining room
SUBJECT: Finished puzzle

*~*~*

My 50 cent bet paid off!

All of the pieces were there and I was able to complete the puzzle.

Not gonna lie, this was a difficult one to put together - there were so many straight sides on the pieces and color differences were very subtle.

It's staying on the table for awhile before it gets boxed back up.

Puzzle (035/365)

TIME: 5:11 pm

PLACE: Dining Room
SUBJECT: Puzzle

*~*~*

I purchased this at the thrift store before Christmas.

Buying puzzles secondhand is always a risk - who knows if all the pieces are still there?  

I am finally going to take the time to put it together and see if my 50 cent wager pays off. 

Truth (001/366)

TIME: 9:25 am

PLACE: Bedroom
SUBJECT: Picture above bed

*~*~*
 
I found this framed vintage sheet music at a local thrift store about 2+ years ago.

I didn't hang it up until mid-2020.

I don't know why it took me so long to hang it up - the song title totally sums up my feeling about mornings.

Goodwill (124/365)

TIME: 6:59 PM
PLACE: Goodwill
SUBJECT: Sign

Stella and I hit up a book sale and made a side trip to the Goodwill store.

She and I both love searching for “treasures” at the thrift store.

You Snooze, You Lose (076/365)

TIME: 7:58 PM
PLACE: Savers
SUBJECT: I don’t know, but his name is John

SD and I were pursuing the aisles of goodness at Savers (a thrift store), when we came across this guy.

We weren’t sure at first what John actually was…then it all made sense
He was a cell phone holder of course!

We made the huge mistake of not placing him in the cart right away.  When it was decided that we NEEDED him and went back to the shelf, disappointment set in - he was no longer there. 

Apparently someone else also saw John’s potential.

I hope he is treated well in his new home.

A Colorful New Idea…It’s Easy to DYE! (209/365)

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor, best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy, AD 121-180)

TIME: 9:30 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Putnam Dye Storage Cabinet front

I picked this up at the local flea market last year?
Or maybe the year before?
Now I’m not sure.
It’s the front door from a dye storage cabinet.
It’s rusty, incomplete.
and not in good condition.
But…


This girl has got some sass.
I like it.

Rollin’ (170/366)

“They see me rollin
They hatin”

"Ridin” (feat. Krayzie Bone), Chamillionaire, The Sound of Revenge, Universal/Chamillitary, 2006

TIME:  12:30 PM
PLACE:  Downtown
SUBJECT:  Vintage wallpaper printing rollers

I’m completely grumpy, out-of-sorts, tired, crabby, etc. etc. today.  I didn’t take a picture.  And you can’t make me either!  *crossed arms and stops foot*  Here, enjoy this photo from last Wednesday (June 13th).  Good gravy, you people are so demanding.  Geesh.

Ice, Ice Baby (067/366)

Bill Nye: [talking about the Titanic] Don't call a ship unsinkable when it's built like an ice-cube tray, and don't call an ice-cube tray unshippable when it's built like a sink.

Bill Nye, the Science Guy. TV Series. 1993–1998. KTCS Seattle, PBS.

TIME:  11:57 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Metal ice cube tray

Before I took that photo of the UFO yesterday, I checked-out the Pink Elephant Antique Mall.  And in that mall, I found something that I have been searching for – a vintage metal ice cube tray.  Why?  Well, I get tired of buying new plastic ice trays several times a year because they crack & break apart. (No, we don’t have an ice maker – we’re poor & deprived)  I look forward to my wet fingers sticking to the frosted metal, just like when I was young.  Ahh, the memories!

Snarol (015/366)

Aunt Martha: For a gallon of elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon full of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon full of strychnine, and then just a pinch of cyanide.
Mortimer Brewster: Hmm. Should have quite a kick.

Adair, Jean, and Cary Grant, perf. Arsenic and Old Lace. Dir. Capra Frank. 1944. Warner Bros. Pictures.

TIME:  4:24 PM
PLACE:  Front Porch
SUBJECT:  Vintage Snarol box

I had spied this box of Snarol meal about a year and a-half ago at a local antique store and fell in love with the graphics.  I’m an odd one, I know.  It was in the bargain basement where everything was 1/2 of the marked price.  Even so, I couldn’t justify spending $20 on a vintage box of metaldehyde-arsenical bait.  This past November, the owner of the shop told me that he was getting rid of the 1/2 price basement in order to be able to rent the space out to dealers; he’d give me a good deal on the box.  Things got busy and I never went back to take him up on the offer.  SD had a birthday party at the movie theater downtown today, and while waiting, I decided to check out the store to see if the box was still there.  It was and I was able to buy it for only $8.  And you know what?  It had never been opened.  What could one do with all of that arsenical goodness…hmmmm…do you think HH would get suspicious if I started insisting he eat a powdered-sugar donut every morning for breakfast?  (I’m kidding of course!).   *Sigh* Now, I need to find out when the next hazardous waste collection is happening in my area, so I can dispose of the contents properly.  I’m keeping the damn box though.

Merry-Go-Round (146/365)

“Life's just a merry-go-round. Come on up. You might get a brass ring.”

Mae West (American Actress and sex symbol, 1892-1980)

TIME:  3:46 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Vintage Fisher Price Merry-Go-Round

This was my last day of Thursday freedom from work AND children until August when they return to school – so you know I didn’t spend it at home cleaning like I should have.  Oh no, no, no.  I ventured to the new Goodwill Outlet in St. Louis, where they sell by the pound and new crap goodies are wheeled out in huge plastic containers every twenty minutes.  *singsong voice*  I. was. in. heaven!  I found a nice Pyrex divided dish, some baseball cleats for StellaDella, several books, some vintage Christmas items, and a bunch of other tchotchkes I really didn’t need, all for the low, low price of $15.76.  That price included this toy as well – I remember seeing it in the Sears Christmas Wish Book as a youngster and thinking it was pretty nifty.  Funny, I don’t ever remember asking Santa for it though.  That could be why I never found it under the tree.

Lady Madonna (055/365)

“Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who find the money when you pay the rent
Did you think that money was heaven sent”

The Beatles. "Lady Madonna." written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney. Capitol Records, US, 1968.

TIME:  10:23 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Hull Madonna #417 planter

To reward myself after folding and putting away 5 loads of laundry, and before I ran my Thursday errands, I decided to stop by one of my favorite thrifts, the Senior Citizens Thrift Store.  I just love this thrift – this is the one where I found my orange chair.  Today, I found this Hull planter and two pieces of Haeger pottery.  I thought they would look good placed upon the shelves of the wooden hutch (the one I purchased last July) that sits on my front porch.  I brought the pieces to the older gentleman at the front check out desk, along with a tin strawberry printed serving tray and 3 small wooden block houses.  He glanced at my choices and quoted me a price – one dollar.  Do you see why I just love the Senior Citizens Thrift Store?

Vintage Beer Holder (037/365)

“Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder”

Kinky Friedman (American Singer, Song Writer, Novelist and Politician. b.1944)

TIME:  6:36 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Blue Moon Belgian White and a vintage drinking glass

I found this glass at the thrift store on Friday.  Priced at a mere 35 cents,  I thought it was both adorable and affordable – I am officially in love with the bird that decorates the sides of the glass.  I christened my new drinking vessel this Super Bowl Sunday with a Blue Moon Belgian White ale, and of course, an orange slice.  It worked perfectly.

Season’s Greetings (343/365)

What did the salt say to the pepper?
”Season's Greetings!”

Joke, Unknown

TIME:  10:36 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Christmas salt & pepper shakers

I found these flirty cuties at the flea market in November.  The vendor only charged me a dollar for the pair.  Mrs. Salt happens to be a little paint-worn.  I like to think it’s because she’s been having a fun time with Mr. Pepper.

Turkey (321/365)

“I hate turkeys. If you stand in the meat section at the grocery store long enough, you start to get mad at turkeys. There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastrami...Someone needs to tell the turkey, man, just be yourself.”

Mitch Hedberg (American Comedian, 1968-2005)

TIME:  7:09 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Turkey salt shaker

I think last year, when I took a photo of my “Thanksgiving At Grandmother’s House” I mentioned that I did not have many Thanksgiving decorations.  Well, I decided to correct that this year.  I kept an eye out for inexpensive, old, turkey salt and pepper shakers and other figurines with a fall theme.  I picked up 2 sets of shakers – each with a tom and hen – and two tom shakers that lost their mates, all under $2.00 each.  In fact, I scored this little guy, marked “JAPAN”, for only 50 cents.  I do love the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of a cheap find.  <== I am so pathetic.

New To Me (314/365)

“Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!”

Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622-1673), French comic playwright. Cathos, in Les Précieuses Ridicules, sc. 9 (1659). Cathos invites her guest to sit down.

TIME:  4:42 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Chair

I stopped by the Senior Citizen’s Thrift Store yesterday morning to peruse their wares.  I found a couple of vintage Christmas ornaments and this chair.  It is very mid-century modern (a style which I’ve been finding myself drawn to lately).  My first thought upon seeing it was how much my brother John in San Francisco would appreciate it.  Then I sat on it, found out how comfy it was and decided that I needed it for myself.  One of the older gentlemen working there saw me trying it out and said that he would give me “the deal of the century” since I was such a lovely young lady  – only 20 dollars…Sold (Hey, I know he was buttering me up to persuade me to buy it, but I’ll happily accept all the compliments I can get).  At first, I was afraid that the style wouldn’t work with my living room, but it actually looks pretty good.  The chair also received Jack’s stamp of approval – he loves sleeping on it.

Time Marches On (238/365)

 
“the clock
Beats out the little lives of men.”
 
Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), British poet. In Memoriam A. H. H., Fr. II, l. 7-8) . . Tennyson; a Selected Edition. Christopher Ricks, ed. (1989) University of California Press.

TIME:  9:14 PM
PLACE:  Living Room
SUBJECT:  Baby Ben alarm clock

My big thrift score for the day…a vintage Baby Ben wind up alarm clock.  A mere quarter was paid to the Senior Citizen’s thrift store and it was mine.  I love hearing the “tick, tock, tick, tock” and the kids got a kick out of hearing the ringing alarm.  Oh, how I love digging through boxes hoping to find treasures at bargain prices.  All in all, I spent $2.25 for two grocery sacks full of goodness.  In addition to the clock, I also scored some vintage Christmas items and quite possibly the best ornament ever for the “Ugly Ornament Exchange” – it is so simplistic in its design, yet so unique.  I’d love to take a picture, but I need to keep it a surprise for the annual tradition.  It won’t be long, the way time is flying, the holidays will be here before I know it.

Insulators (181/365)

 
Col. Milt: [gesturing towards a pile of books] You read them all?
Bennett Marco: Yeah, they also make great insulation against an enemy attack! But the, uh, truth of the matter is that I'm just interested, you know, in, uh, Principles of Modern Banking and, History of Piracy. [picking up books]  Paintings of Orozco. Modern French Theater. The... Jurisprudential Factor of Mafia Administration. Diseases of Horses and novels of Joyce Cary and... Ethnic Choices of the Arabs. Things like that.

The Manchurian Candidate. Perf. Douglas Henderson and Frank Sinatra. 1962. United Artists.

TIME:  7:49 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT: Glass insulators

I picked these glass insulators up at a yard sale last weekend.  These particular ones are fairly common ~ I only paid $1 apiece for them.  I thought that they would look nice sitting next to a window, especially when the sun hits them.

Puzzle Pieces (035/365)

 
“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.”

Deepak Chopra (Indian Ayurvedic Physician and Author, b1947)

TIME: 8:29 PM
PLACE: My Desk
SUBJECT: United States puzzle pieces

After I finished at my client's office today, I had time to peruse one of my favorite local thrift stores before StellaDella was finished with Mother's Day Out.  I love thrift stores, yard and rummage sales.  You never know what you are going to find.  This particular store is staffed by older volunteers.  I'd say their average age is about 70 and they are the nicest folks.  My paternal-great aunt who is 83, volunteers there on Thursdays.  On the game shelf, I found this, which is not only a puzzle map of the United States, but it has the world on the reverse side.  Bonus!  Plus, as I was checking out, I was told that today was 1/2 price day.  It just kept getting better!  My puzzle price? - a mere quarter.    I am digging the graphics on the state pieces.  I can recall putting a similar puzzle together when I was in grade school.  StellaDella and I will assemble the USA tomorrow.