Why I Oughta...

 Among other items, I picked up this wooden step stool/bench/seat at an Estate Sale over the weekend.  On it, it reads:  "To brush my teeth or watch tv, this little stool was made for me".  It folds over on itself and is pretty small. I was so proud to bring it home thinking that it would be perfect for the girls.  It *could* replace the cheap IKEA ones that we currently use in the bathroom and kitchen. I bring it in to show off to Nat thinking that she was going to love it.  And guess what?  She said..."nope".  Not for us.   Sad Trombone . So, knowing that my dad is always looking for things to do, I gave it to him and told him to sell it on eBay or Craigslist.  I paid just a few bucks for it, so who knows???  Maybe we'll make a profit!

At one of the garage sales up in Coloma, I came across a tub of old Christmas stuff and as I usually do and dug out this tree topper angel.  She has a cardboard cone body and a porcelain head and is about 12" tall.  I picked her up and set her aside and kept looking to see if there was anything else in the tub worth picking. When I set her to the side, the lady who was running the garage sale remarked "oh...I remember that angel!  My mom used to put that on top of our tree.  That brings me right back to my childhood.  We would put it up on our tree every year!". I immediately thought...'ut oh.  She's sentimental about this thing, so she's going to either say that she didn't know it was in there and she doesn't want to sell it or tell a higher price like $10.' So...I replied to her:  "Oh yeah.  That's neat.  So...how much do you want for her?" Her answer?  "How about ten cents?" A dime?!?  Seriously?  I ran to m

Found this $2 coffee cup tree with an owl on at at a Garage Sale up in Michigan and was surprised when I turned the mugs over and found this: There were four mugs and a little pitcher on the tree.  For two bucks! But...alas....I passed.

This whole crate of horseshoes was five bucks.  I've never come across a set of shoes like this with the leather on them and the spikes attached.  But....I passed.

These sets of blue and pink babies and storks were in a set of cake toppers that I came across at a garage sale  this week.  Two bucks for the whole set of them.  But...I passed.

The ceramic Santa bank wasn't the only Christmas item we picked up at the garage sale this weekend.  We also got this guy.  Look at that hand-painted mustache!  He's about 4 inches tall and has this made in Japan sticker on his hat, so we can *kinda* date him.    The sticker is in an odd spot, though.  Not on the base of his feet, but up on the back of his hat.  And...it seems to almost be stitched in there. He'll look great in the mix with the rest of our stuff.   Talk about Chrismas Creep?!?  Guess I'm just as guilty as Costco, eh?

At a yard sale this weekend, we came across this blue Lake Louise plate that we couldn't pass up.  My in-laws have been to Lake Louise and have come back with lots of photos and stories from Banff. The plate was made by the Sigal Brothers in Windsor Canada and has at $5.95 price sticker on the back.  It is "made in Japan", so it likely has *some* age to it, but I can't figure out how old.  I did find a companion plate on Ebay ( here ), but the one we bought has a larger/longer description on the back and appears to be a bit older than the one being listed for sale.  They're asking $10.99, so my $0.50 (I haggled!) deal is looking pretty good.

While up in Michigan, we stopped in a bunch of yard sales.  At one of them, we came home with these two Westmoreland Milkglass candlesticks and the little bowl in the middle.  All for $2.00.   They're currently up on our mantle, but I know that while Nat adores milkglass, she isn't that into clutter.  I think these guys might have to get packed up saved for when/if we ever have a bigger house...

Part of our typical weekend routine during the Spring/Summer is to try to stop at a few garage sales.  Sometimes, Nat and the girls are with me, sometimes not.  Usually, there's nothing to be had at them as we either arrived too late or there is nothing but junk, but on a rare occasion, I find something that I like and is priced right.  This weekend was one of those times.  I found two pieces of Milk Glass: this bud vase and a weird circular hobnail pattern taper candle holder.  The bud vase was marked $0.25 and the other piece was $4.00.  We went home with this pretty little vase, but I couldn't decide on the other one, so I left it behind. She's a real beaut!

Yesterday, we swung by an Estate Sale near the old hospital in our neighborhood.  After walking around the first floor and nosing around the basement and garage, we didn't find much that we liked.  As we were walking out, I spotted this Boston wall-mounted pencil sharpener.  I asked the homeowner if it was for sale and after considering it, she said it was. After locating a screw driver and giving her a buck, I pryed this thing off the wall and took it home. It really reminds me of my dad.  Growing up, we had one of these things mounted on the wall in his work room in the basement.  Doing math homework always required pencils and we didn't have the luxury of having mechanical pencils back in 1988.  So, everytime I needed a sharp point, down I went to the basement to sharpen up. At some point, when the Babe and the Bird head to school, they'll be using pencils.  Instead of a fancy electric sharpener, they're going to have to do what I did:  go downstairs and grin